Bad and Broken (H.S)

Chapter 3

The walk back to Lei's house was somewhat painful, she chewed my ear off with endless chatter and silly questions such as "what do you think of  Harry? What are you going to name your children?" I was too lost in my own thoughts to even bother answering her, so she took my silence as an invite to talk more about her own problems.

The buzz of her phone stopped her mid sentence and mid step when she checked the screen.
"It's Niall! Elli oh my gosh he text me." She squealed happily.
Sometimes her smile was contagious and I managed an encouraging grin for my best friend. Niall was a great guy and I could definitely picture them together, she was wild and free while he was quiet and focused, but together they fit perfectly.

"What did he say?" I questioned, leaning over her shoulder as we arrived at her driveway, her small silver Mazda glistening in the hot Australian sun, Leila polished that car like a trophy. She loved it so much that she wouldn't even use it to drive us to school, for fear some jerk would scratch it.

"'Heading down to the beach, want to come?' Oh wow this is the first time he's asked me to go anywhere with him outside of school! The furthest we travelled together last year was the freaking school library."

"Perfect, get him to hang out with us." I smiled at her cute little dimples on her cheeks as we entered her house to get changed.

Eventually we were climbing into her car. I grabbed her phone off her so she could drive, safety first right? And a distracted Leila was not a safe one.

I text Niall on Leila's behalf as she backed out onto the road.

L: I'm heading down anyway, want to hang with Elli and a few of our other mates?

N: Sure, can you pick me up please? X

"He sent an X Lei! Damn this sure isn't the shy Niall I know." I laughed and Lei swerved suddenly, her face an image of shock. I looked in the mirror expecting to see a bird or something on the road that she swerved to miss.

"Stop lying Elli, he did not!" She screeched and I grimaced at the high pitch. Her car moved dangerously from one side of the road to the other and back again.

"Also, you have to pick him up." I added.

"I'm still on the X thing here."

"He sent one, I'm not kidding. Focus on the road. You have to turn left up here... Left... LEILA LEFT!" I shouted as she almost missed the required turn. She twist the steering wheel so sharply that I'm sure she left black skid marks on the road.

"I've been sending hearts and X's for months and he never once sent one back!" She was grinning from ear to ear and I couldn't help sharing the feeling of my heart fluttering, it was nice for things to finally be working out for Leila. "Did I look good today? Was it that? Did I glow up over the holidays?" She was rambling excitedly as we pulled into Niall's driveway.

"You always look good. Okay, cool down." I said calmly as Niall emerged from his house and headed towards the car.

He hopped in the back seat with a "Hey guys." And off we drove.

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It only took five minutes to get to the beach and once we arrived we pulled a blanket, picnic rug and beach umbrella from the back of the car to set up on the sand. Niall insisted on carrying all three in which I assumed was an attempt to impress Leila, and it seemed to work. She couldn't keep her eyes off his muscular back and arms - which were slightly freckled from many days in the sun - while we walked behind him towards the spot where Liam, Harry and a few others were sitting. They had chosen a perfect place next to a stretch of rocks where the water in the bay was the clearest, free of seaweed and glinting in the afternoon sun.

Butterflies reappeared in my stomach and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. If ever there was a time to be comfortable in my own skin, it was now. Beaches usually involved wearing bikinis, something I should be accustomed to since I grew up in sunny Australia, but I never did have confidence like Lei, and I hated other people seeing my body. I knew deep down there was nothing to worry about, but that didn't help in the least.

I smiled to hide my real emotions, I was terrified but determined not to embarrass myself again. I noticed Harry and two others were already in the water, it looked glorious. The water, I mean...

Liam turned toward us when Lei shouted out her greeting. He was smiling, but when he spot Niall, Liam's eyes narrowed and his grin disappeared.

"Hey Leila, Elli. you finally got here." He didn't sound happy for some reason. Did he regret letting us come along now that he had other pretty girls here? I glanced toward the model-like girls heading toward the water. Stop over analysing everything Elli, He's your friend. I mentally scolded myself.

Lei skipped up to him, giddy with happiness. "Hey Liam! This is -"

"Niall. Yeah, I know." He interrupted coldy. "Hi. I'm Liam." He glared and turned towards the water with another sudden change of mood. "Well then, you guys coming?" He sprinted off towards the water and entered with a shallow dive that made a splash when he connected with an oncoming wave.

Leila and I both undressed to reveal our bikinis while Niall set up the umbrella in the sand. My bikini was deep red complimenting my tan skin and Leila wore a colourful tie dye bikini that was just as gorgeous as her.

"You look pretty Leila." Niall said quietly. I left the two 'love birds' together as I walked down the the waters edge quickly, determined to go under as soon as possible so I didn't feel so exposed for long.

I gracefully dived in like I had learned when I was younger, arms squeezing my ears and legs locked tightly together like a rocket ship.

I swam under a few rolling waves, along the sandy floor. My hair tangled within the white wash and my toes scraped along the shells and pebbles on the bottom of the sea.

I welcomed the refreshing coolness and surfaced in an area where I could still stand. My eyes met Harry's who was treading water nearby. Two other girls were flirtingly splashing him but he disregarded them and started to swim towards me.

"Nice dive." He complimented when I was within earshot. His smile was genuine, crinkling his eyes that reflected the serenity of the clear blue water.

"Thank you, I used to swim competitively a few years ago." I returned a smile and my nerves disintegrated. Maybe it was the calming effects of the ocean, but I felt comfortable, like I had known this guy for one hundred years.

"Why did you stop?" He asked, slightly frowning.

"I guess I didn't enjoy it as much as I used too..." I trailed off as a bulging wave lifted us a few metres higher in the water.  I saw Niall and Lei talking in the shallows, Liam was a few metres away, watching them. I didn't know if he was involved in their conversation or not but he looked pretty angry. "What's up with Liam? Do you know?"

"No idea, he was fine before. Woah, look at this killer of a wave." He exclaimed excitedly. I looked to the horizon and saw what he was talking about. The dark wall of water was pushing towards us, closer by the second. White wash already beginning to form at its crest. The water was thundering towards us, gathering speed and becoming bigger and scarier.

It really could be a killer wave.

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