Distance / Gilinsky

Chapter 1

The sun had just set. A beautiful yellow-orange, deep red hue decorated the sky and was perfectly mirrored by unmoving ocean. I was surrounded entirely by sand, water, and salty air, which made for the most perfect evening. The soft hum of the night bugs began to grow louder and I raked my hands through the soft, white sand. This was it. This was the most beautiful, serene moment and it created a feeling inside of me that nothing else could. It was so strange how I could be so perfectly happy here all by myself on an empty beach, while other people my age were probably with their friends, the guys obscenely hitting on the girls, while the girls obliviously laughed loudly and twirled their hair around their fingers. But this was it for me. Nothing was better than this.

-

I brushed the sand off of my legs before I stepped inside. I inhaled deeply. The smell of the summer house never got old. Warm sugar and coconut mixed with vanilla and salty air. It felt so good to be back here where I could relax and not have to worry about the stress of school or home life.

"Hey," Levi said, trampling down the stairs. His hair was messy and tousled in all directions, and he was wearing board shorts.

"Went surfing?" I asked, walking into the kitchen and plucking a water bottle from the fridge.

"No," he smirked. As if on cue, a brunette girl appeared behind him in one of his t-shirts.

"Oh," I trailed off. I walked into the living room and plopped onto the couch, curling my legs under me.

"Hey, you're all sandy." Levi said, still perched on the stairs with the girl behind him.

"And?" I asked, turning on the T.V.

"Levi, leave her alone. Let the girl watch some television."

Andrea had walked into the room, unnoticed.

"Thank you, Drea." I called, using the nickname I had given her when I was just a toddler. She smiled and walked out onto the back porch again with my mother.

Levi rolled his eyes and the girl behind him tugged the collar of his shirt as if to tell him to go back upstairs with her. He shrugged her off and loudly clambered down the stairs. He came and sat next to me on the couch and took the remote from my hands.

"Hey," I said in annoyance, slapping his chest with the back of my hand.

"Anything good on?" He asked, putting one hand behind his head.

"No." I glanced up at the girl, and she wasn't there. She must've been embarrassed and gone back up to Levi's room.

"Where's the girl?" I asked.

"Oh, Taylor? She's probably in my room, putting her own clothes on."

"Ew," I groaned, rolling my eyes.

He laughed and tugged on the ends of my hair with his free hand. I quickly grabbed his hand and twisted it, playfully.

"Ow! You little buttface!" He yelled, howling with laughter.

He stood up and I tackled him before he could turn around and grab me. I clung to his back as he tried to peel me off. I was laughing so hard I almost fell off his back.

"Get off, you little parasite!"

"Shut up, numbskull!"

We were laughing hard, rolling around on the ground, pinning each other down and screaming fake insults at each other. It was so loud we hadn't heard her the first time, but the second time, her shrill voice rang out over the laughter and clamber of our bodies hitting the floor and couch.

"Hey! Levi!"

We both looked up, and there stood the girl, with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. She was wearing her own clothes now, and she had her purse in her hand.

"Oh, hi." Levi said, clumsily getting up and going over to walk her out. Just before he reached the door, he turned around and stuck his tongue out at me. I gave him the finger and he opened and closed the door so fast he didn't see.

I stood up and smoothed my hair down and decided to go on a walk.

I walked onto the back-porch and there was my mother and Andrea, laughing hard and holding their stomachs. My mother had a beer can in her hand, and Andrea was holding a cigarette. My mother never drank or smoked, but when she got around Andrea, they acted like teenagers.

"Hey, Lex." Andrea smiled, taking a sip of the beer in my moms hand.

"Hi."

They were sitting there with their jeans rolled up and feet dangling into the cool water of the pool.

"Going on a walk." I said, hoping down the wooden stairs that led to the beach. They bent inward with each step I took. I remembered running up and down the stairs as a kid, Levi chasing me as I held a half melted Popsicle in my sticky, seven year old hands. I smiled at the memory, and looked down at the wood that was worn away with years of salt water damage.

"Don't go too far," my mom said, relaxed, but still my strict mother from home.

"Jen, she's old enough to go on a walk."

My mother smiled at me, and Drea winked. I smiled back.

I only realized I had forgotten shoes when my feet hit the sand. I didn't mind and I kept walking forward towards the water. Somewhere farther down the beach, I could hear faint music, and I could see the distant red glow of a bonfire. It was pitch black on the beach, but I could clearly see the teenage bodies that were dancing and sitting in the sand and even making out with each other. Sometimes I wished I was one of those teenagers. The kind that partied and always had boys following then wherever they went. But I wasn't. The only boy I had ever truly had a connection with was Levi, and he was like a brother to me. I had known him since I was born, and he had always been like the older brother I never had.

-

I had finally gotten back from my walk. Halfway down the beach I decided I didn't want to risk getting spotted by someone and have them call out to me or something like that. Instead, I went the other direction. It was so deserted and empty, a complete contrast to the daytime. But I loved being on the beach alone. It felt so good to just be surrounded by my thoughts and the soft rumble of the waves.

-

Levi was already asleep, and Drea and my mom were probably upstairs watching a movie. I got a snack from the kitchen and sat at the breakfast bar by myself, all the lights in the house still on.

After my snack I walked around the whole house shutting lamps and TV's off until the whole downstairs was pitch black. I felt for the staircase, and once I found it, I slowly retreated up to my room.

When I got there, it was still the same as it had been every year I had come to the summer house. My small little trinkets were perfectly aligned on the dresser, and my bed still had the ugly floral printed sheets I had wanted once upon a time. The walls were still a faded pink, and it still smelled like lavender. This, right here was all I would ever need. I crawled into my bed and inhaled the scent of the sheets. These ugly sheets, these childish walls, these trinkets Levi had won me at the boardwalk, all these silly things are all I will ever need.

-

(Hey guys! So this is my first fanfic and I seriously was having writers block and I couldn't think of anything to write so I came up with this I guess. Hope you like it.)