Caught

Chapter 5

It was 6:00. 6 friggin o' clock! Exactly one stupid hour till my date with Chase. I stood in front of my full length mirror, and bit my lip. I cocked my head, obviously trying to see my outfit through a better angle. I know, Im weird.

I heard footsteps, and I turned my head to see a rather confused Mia. "And where are you going?"

I grinned. "I'm going out with Chase."

Her eyes widened, and she seemed to fumble over her words. "W-what? That seems like a bad idea."

I laughed. "And why would that be a bad idea?"

"Just back off okay?" She quickly snapped, and her sudden mood change frightened me.

I turned, now square on with her. "Excuse me?"

"You know what? Have fun." She clipped, and turned out of the room.

~.~

Waiting for people was the worse. Here I was, sitting uncomfortably on a beach, and it was nearly pitch black. I checked my phone. 7:15. Sighing angrily, I shoved my phone back in my bag. I stood, and brushed my skirt off with stubborn grains of sand. Obviously, Chase didn't have the common decency to even show up. Who was this guy? Asking me on a date, flirting, and then being stomped on like a- "Ally?"

I stopped my thought process, partly because a never ending stream of curse words were flowing. Did someone just say my name?

"Ally!" I turned, only too be face to face with none other than Chase. He smiled timidly, and was breathing heavily like he had been running.

"Sorry I'm late, my dad needed help with something." Sure..

I cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really? Well I was helping solve world hunger before you showed up."

He laughed, his shoulders shaking. "I'm sorry. Really."

I considered this apology. "Only if you buy me an ice cream."

He smiled. "Okay than." We ambled forward, starting toward the heart of Oceanesq.

"So.." He started, "do you have any siblings?" He reached up, and ran a hand through his hair. He had paired a long sleeve green shirt, which showed off his toned arms.

"I appreciate the conversation starter, and yes I do. A little sister, Sophie."

"How old?"

I sighed dramatically as I hopped a mound of sand. "Thirteen."

"Ah. I get that, I have a little brother that's also thirteen." He paused, and laughed." It's a.. Interesting age.."

I smiled. "And by interesting you mean annoying?"

"Completely, yes." I grinned, and nodded, "Yeah, but my friend is here with me."I nudged a lone shell with my toe, and moved a strand of hair out of my face as the wind whipped through us. I pictured our little 'scene' back in our room, and her strange anger.

He nodded, and looked out over the water. Silence hung in the air, and the only sounds were the waves crashing into the sand.

"When we moved here, I loved it. I mean, what eight year old wouldn't love this?" He said abruptly, gesturing to everything in front of us."But now.. I actually can't stand it." I looked down at my hands, and sensed something in his voice, but chose to ignore it.

"Why don't you like it?" I asked, suddenly full of curiosity.

He shook his head. "Because..." He hung on this last word, and I waited, not pressing him. "Because everything here reminds me of my mom." He sighed, and looked down. "She died when I was about ten. It killed me, and everything after that for a couple years was just a blur." We continued walking, leaving sandy footprints. My shoes hung loosely in my grasp, and I looked over at him.

I winced. "How did she..?"

"Cancer." He blew out a breath, and his face was twisted with sorrow.

I pressed my lips together. "I'm sorry. You don't deserve that."

He just shrugged. Realization began to hit him, and his eyes widened as he face palmed himself. "Wow. I am just great at date conversations. Can't you tell how smooth I am with pretty girls?" He looked over at me, and I could faintly make out his green-grey eyes.

I playfully laughed. "No your doing great!" It's true, not a great first-date conversation. But he was just so cute I decided to overlook it.

Too bad I was wrong.