The Saint's Lips

Chapter Six

By the time Friday comes around, I'm already tired of working and I have yet to go out to, or be invited to, any form of social gathering, or more specifically a party. Still, it's Friday and Katherine has organized a trip down to the beach, similar to how we used to spend our Friday afternoons last year.

While we all squeeze into Katherine's new toyota, she blasts some of her indie rock music and I allow the wind from the windows to mess up my curls. Louis and Kat are comfortably chatting in the front while Liam is squished between Niall and I in the back. I constantly thank whatever cosmic universal force there is, that I have such an outstanding group of friends to hold me together. Without them, I don't think I would be capable of much socializing, let alone experiencing much of anything. Even with them I'm more of the anti-social type, but each of them causes me to grow in a new and exciting kind of way.

"What are you thinking about?" Liam whispers to me when he notices that I've quieted down while staring out the window, like some cheesy movie montage.

He's holding on to his snapback since the wind is fierce out on the highway, and we have nearly all the windows open. Today the warm weather forces him to wear a muscle t-shirt that shows off his arms, and I can't help but take notice of them for a second before answering.

"Just about how lucky I am to have you guys." I say with a smile and he returns it with his own wide grin. He doesn't hesitate to put his arm around me and squeeze tight to show that he feels the same way. We all feel lucky to have found our quircky little group.

"I think Liam and Ava are gettin' sappy over there." Niall shouts above the wind to the front where Louis turns to see us in a friendly embrace.

"Aww well come here you two." Louis says to us and then tries to get out of his seat to join the hug. Kat begins laughing and Niall joins the frenzy too, where I can't help but explode in a fit of laughter.

"Okay guys, stop I'm trying to drive here!" Kat yells at us when the shrieking laughter becomes overwhelming and possibly hindering to her driving skills.

Eventually she makes her way to a remotely empty parking lot near the beach, and we all file out of the blue toyota camry. The sun beats down in a series of fresh waves, and the cooler waves from the water annotate our background noise.

A lot of West Campus High's students end up down here after school on Fridays and sometimes even during the weekdays. I can see the sands from the beach dotted with familiar faces, and we go to join them. Katherine doesn't hesitate to throw her towel down and take her shirt off with it. She wears an aztec patterned strapless bikini top with matching bottoms and her body already seems tanned and smooth. Her long black hair is tied up in a high bun, staying true to her usual hairstyle, and she quickly asks me to spred some sunscreen onto her back.

Louis, Niall and Liam all race straight to the water throwing their shirts behind them as they run. I follow Kat's hairstyle and put my mess of curls up in a messy bun, mimicking as best as I can her own hair, and then strip down to reveal a plain black bikini.

"Okay, we need to take you shopping." Kat says to me when she lays down to commence a good hour's worth of tanning. Even if she's dark enough to be considered latina, I think she secretly just wants to put up the façade of "hot chick on the beach". It works well since most of the men can't seem to keep their eyes off of her the minute she arrives.

I pale in comparison to Kat, literally. Although I'm not as white as a sheet of blank paper, my olive toned skin doesn't tan in the same way. Even if I were to tan as much as she does, my skin would still give off the impression of being a little whiter.

"Why don't we shop for some new bikinis this weekend then?" I ask with a smirk on my face, mentally teasing her for being so typical.

"Hey don't laugh at me, you need a serious wardrobe update. It'll be fun." She smiles to herself and then continues to lay still in the full heat of the sun.