Everything at Once -- (Animal Kingdom -- Craig/OC)

Chapter 1

Jessica Green - Caterina Luna
Maxi Iglesias- Rafael Garcia

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I sat there on the beach watching as the sun set, leaving a soft warm glow all over the sand around me as the water danced all along the waves almost as if it was kissing each wave. There was a light cool breeze hitting my face pushing the few stray hairs away from me as it tried its best to dry the wet of my ponytail. I pulled my knees to my chest watching quietly as the sun began to set slowly hiding itself behind the waves lighting the sky in a beautiful mixture of pinks, purples and blues.

"You know it's not really safe to surf at night." I heard a voice from behind me, yet I didn't need to turn. I knew who it was, I always knew who this was.

"Good thing I'm just watching the beauty before me." I laughed softly as my friend sat next to me. "How's Smurf and the boys?" I asked looking over at him.

Tattoos hugging his skin, much like his scruffy beard and long blond locks of hair. He just shrugged handing me a beer after he opened it. "Same old, throwing a party at the house tomorrow night you should come for once. I'm sure Baz and Craig wouldn't mind seeing you again."

I let out a sigh taking a swig of my beer, "I don't know if that's a good idea." I could feel him rolling his eyes, stirring me to continue. "The last time I saw Craig we didn't leave off on good terms."

He just laughed, "Yea, you went to university and he dove straight into the rabbit hole. He'll be fine, besides Smurf will want to see you. She's the one that invited you." He told me as I quickly turned my head to look at him. Smurf was a smart woman, she never did anything that wasn't calculated.

"What did I do? She knows I haven't told anyone about that job." I told him moving around a bit so that I was on my knees, feeling the grains of sand as they slowly started to embed in my knees.

"Don't be crazy. Smurf loves you, she was pissed when you and Pope broke up in high school, I mean probably a bit jealous you dated two of her kids." I pushed his shoulder, "First off, I hardly call what Pope and I did dating. He was older than me, and I thought he was cool." Daren started laughed causing him to choke on his beer.

"Please don't ever say that again." He told me wiping the beer from under his nose and beard drying his hand off a towel he brought. "Then tell me the real reason for the invite, Smurf never doesn't have an angle." I told him sitting back down on my butt looking at the sky which had now began to show darker tones of blue and purple. "That's for her to tell you, just come... would be good to have you around again." He told me as I just shook my head.

Standing up I brushed the sand off myself before looking down at him, "Tell her I'll be there just after dinner, my boyfriends taking me out for our third year." I told him as I turned around and sped off to my car before heading back to the condo.

"Thinking about your mom again?" A voice asked me from the kitchen, sighing I dropped my bag on the small table near the front door before shutting it and walking in further. "Yea, and my little brother called me from school today... was slightly emotional you could say." I smiled to him as I moved next to him, before he could quickly shove his phone back into his pocket.

"Well, how about after we eat we just snuggle up on the couch with a movie and we talk about it?" He asked me as his light brown eyes met my own light baby blues. "That sounds amazing." I told him as I pulled him into a hug running my hands through his shoulder length wavy black hair.

"I am however going to shower." I told him as he just shook his head and chuckled before looking back down at his phone again.

The water was always my place to think, and seeing Deran today was just something to spring thoughts I hadn't even remotely considered in a few years. Five years had passed since I had seen anyone in the Cody family besides the time I visited Pope in prison, or the few times I saw Deran on the beach. I knew going to Smurfs tomorrow was a terrible idea, Rafael would be livid if I did.