ciarán and salem both washed off their face masks, but not before taking silly photos. since she knew the drying quality of clay face masks, she moisturized her skin right after. she even moisturized ciarán's skin after, much to his distaste. he insisted he didn't need it, but salem assured him that he did.
once that task was done, salem packed a tote bag with a towel and a change of clothes. she planned on taking a shower when she got back home, so she didn't pack any shower essentials.
she turned toward ciarán. "can you help me apply this sunscreen?"
"sure."
she squeezed some onto her hand, and gave the tube to ciarán, who reciprocated her actions. she rubbed the stuff onto her arms and legs, while ciarán applied it to her back.
she shivered at how cold the product was.
"i bet you need spf 100." salem suddenly said, giggling at the thought.
"it's not my fault that i'm a pale, white man." ciarán mumbled, which caused her to laugh even harder.
she walked out of her room and into the living room, ciarán following closely behind her.
"y'all ready to go?" matt piped up.
"yep." and with that, the four of them headed out to the parking lot and followed matt to his car.
matt and tavia sat in the front seats, while ciarán and salem sat in the back. salem had her legs outstretched, her feet resting on ciarán's thighs. despite ciarán's protests—arguing that she could get seriously hurt if they were to get in a car accident—she didn't move. "it's a slim chance, cici."
she was right, because they made it to the brockhampton household perfectly fine.
they could already hear the boys yelling in their backyard.
salem jumped up and down energetically, not being able to contain her anticipation.
matt opened the gate to the backyard; salem being the first one to enter.
"salem!" merlyn called. he was already in the pool, waving at her.
"hi, merlyn!" she waved back. "i'll get in in just a second." she took off her shorts, then she turned toward ciarán. "so you're really not getting in, huh?" ciarán could see that her eyes held disappointment.
he hesitated, "you should go have fun with merlyn." was all he said.
salem crossed her arms. "i'm not getting in unless you get in."
he rolled his eyes, "stop being so stubborn." he swiftly picked her up bridal style, and walked over to the pool.
"ciarán! put me down! you son of a bi—" her words were cut off by the sound of her body hitting the water.
under the water, salem could see the distorted image of ciarán hunched over, laughing. she couldn't hear him though, due to the gargle of the water around her.
once she resurfaced, she wiped water from her face with one hand.
"i got you back!" he said, laughing.
she couldn't stay mad at him for very long—partly because of how cute he looked laughing—and she started laughing along with him.
she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and turned around to see merlyn.
"i gotchu, salem." he whispered in her ear.
placing his hands on the ledge of the pool, he lifted his body out of the water.
he ran behind ciarán, and with one push, the aforementioned was in the pool with salem.
now salem was the one laughing uncontrollably. that was, until ciarán—who was still underwater—grabbed her waist and pulled her under.
once the bubbles from all the commotion cleared up, she could see ciarán's face as clear as the poolwater allowed. he smiled and waved at her, but salem flipped him off, sticking out her tongue at him.
ciarán frowned, and he rose up from the water, salem following his actions.
she looked around for merlyn, who was lying comfortably in an inflatable swan.
"thanks, merlyn!" she shouted, and he gave a thumbs up in response. she turned toward ciarán, wrapping her arms around his neck. "karma bit you right in the ass." salem said, pleased with merlyn's actions.
"aye! can y'all stop tryin' to make babies in the pool!" a voice shouted.
of course, it was ian yelling at them.
ciarán's eyes widened, and salem grew flustered. she instantly let go of ciarán, shouting, "gross!" and swam away from him.
"salem, come back!" ciarán tried to chase after her, but there was resistance, due to the water.
during the time she spent talking to ciarán, salem had learned the names of the boys living in the brockhampton household.
while ciarán was busy trying to catch a giggling salem, matt was helping romil grill some burgers.
once the food was done, everyone scrambled out of the pool, eager to finally eat something.
ciarán and salem sat at the edge of the pool, their feet dipping into the water. they shared a single towel that wrapped around the both of their shoulders and had their plates in their laps.
salem had her head on ciarán's shoulder as she looked at the evening sky.
"this burger is fire." salem suddenly said, causing ciarán to laugh.
"you tryin' to mock me? 'cause if you are, fuck off." ciarán said lightheartedly.
"no, i genuinely mean it! maybe i've been talking to you too much and i picked it up." she took another bite of her burger.
meanwhile, tavia poked matt in his side, getting his attention. she silently pointed at salem and ciarán, smiling at the two.
"hey! salem and cici!" matt yelled suddenly, getting them to turn around.
tavia's eyes widened and she gave matt a look that screamed: why the hell would you do that?!
matt ignored her, "when are y'all gonna get together?"
tavia flicked him on his temple for asking such a question.
salem looked up at ciarán. he could see a blush forming on her cheeks, and even her nose. he searched her eyes for an answer, but eventually came up with one on his own.
"whenever she's ready for another relationship, ya idiot."
a/n:
i hate school but yall are probably gonna hate me more for the next chapter 😳
