Ocean Blue & You

sea shells and salty winds

"What?!" I burst out in alarm. I couldn't contain my surprise.

"Emma's my cousin," he repeated, with a satisfied and amused expression on his face. He clearly expected my reaction to be similar to the one it was.

"But- how?" I said carelessly, the words once again bursting out of my mouth without me really thinking.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you know how cousins work, right? Your dad or mum's sibling's kids-"

"I know what cousins are!" I blurted out. "I just don't get it. You guys don't look alike at all. She's darker and you're more fair."

"She's related to me on my Dad's side. He has dark hair and eyes, and his sister (my Aunt) had her," he explained. It seemed crazy, but now that I thought about it, I never really realised that they both had American accents.

"But she's so-"

"Bitchy? Yeah I know," he said, grinning, as he finished my sentence. "Believe me, I'm not proud of it."

"Oh well," I said, as more grains of sand seeped into my sandals, "can't help your relatives I suppose."

"Ugh," he sighed regretfully.

We walked on for a few more minutes in silence, until I broke it desperately.

"This sand keeps getting into my sandals," I started. I stopped walking and unbuckled the little buckles on my sandals and held them in my hand, walking barefoot along the beach.

"Yeah, it's annoying," Jack agreed. And he took off his sandals too, as we walked barefoot along the beach together. We were nearing the end of it now, where rocks emerged and the cliff started to rise up. The sun had now long since dipped below the horizon, and the whole town was now set in a summer evening shadow. The sky had turned a cloudy grey, and the sea was a darker shade of it, as it completed its constant exchange of tides lapping in for pebbles and shells from the shingle. Jack saw we were reaching the end, but continued to walk until the end, and then started putting his sandals back on.

"I thought you said it was annoying?" I asked.

"Do you fancy a little climb?" he asked, grinning at me a little mischievously.

"Sure!" I answered. I hastily buckled my sandals back up as he clambered up on to the charcoal black, sea worn rocks and held out his hand to help me up. I took it and felt his soft skin touch mine for the third time. It felt beautiful, even though it was short. I could hold that hand and stroke that skin forever.

As we clambered over the ragged rocks, we continued our deep conversation we were having earlier. Jack told me even more about his life back in California and his family, and I retold hilarious stories of Anna, Faith and I, and told him more about Littleton and my childhood here. I learnt more than I ever thought I could know about Jack, and by the time we stopped climbing and clambering to sit down on an overhanging rock over the salty sea below, he felt almost like an old friend.

"I wish I could just paint that beautiful sea right now," he said dreamily, gazing out at the stretch of it into the horizon as I swung my legs back and forth. Ever so often a big wave would break and crash against the cluster of rocks below and splash little salty droplets on to my toes.

"I know," I said, understanding what he meant. Sometimes I felt a sudden urge to paint something beautiful when I was feeling artistic, which was very often.

"It's so vast," I added, "So majestic and mysterious."

"If I could, I would paint you with it," he said, looking at me now. I looked back at him, and into his familiar blue eyes. I didn't know what to say to this, so I awkwardly looked down at the rocks below and tried to hide my blushing. But I felt his gentle hand tuck some hair behind my ear to look at my face, so I looked back. He stared into my eyes again. And then smiled, saying,

"It matches your eyes, see." He pointed at the ocean, even though there really was no need, as it was all I could see for miles and miles ahead. I smiled back at him, experiencing what felt like a swarm of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach, and it felt light and overwhelmingly exciting. The wind blew harder now it was the evening, throwing my hair all over my face, so that I had to push it repeatedly out the way of my eyes to see.

We gazed out at the sea for a little while longer, mesmerised by its sheer size and capacity and beauty, until I moved the position of the hand I was leaning on and rested it on something bumpy and sharp.

"Ouch!" I muttered, lifting my hand off what looked like a big, curved shell, the type that look a bit like strangely shaped telephones with holes and spirals. I picked it up and examined it. Jack looked over at what had caught my interest.

"You know they say you can hear the sea in those," he said, as I continued to observe the shell. I lifted it to my ear to prove this claim I'd heard many times before and listened hard. I heard the familiar whooshing and splashing sounds of the waves on the rocks and the ocean I always heard from my bedroom.

"I'm not sure if that's a distant sound from the ocean I'm hearing, or if it's just because I'm right by the sea and that's all I can hear right now," I said.

*

On the walk back we also chatted together, as the sky grew darker and darker until we were right back at the steps down to the beach. The sky was now a deep, cobalt blue, and shimmering with stars. The clouds were still covering some, but had mostly shifted away now. I remembered what had come up in an RE lesson back in Year 9, when my old Religious Education teacher had told me hundreds and hundreds of years ago they believed the stars weren't really very distant balls of fire, but pinholes of light shining through the sky from heaven. I loved this thought so much. Even though it was not true, it was a sweet idea and made me smile at the thought as we stared up at the sky. Then Jack looked back down at me, and I looked back at him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he said, repeating my thoughts aloud.

"Yes, stunning. I can't decide whether the ocean's more beautiful or not," I agreed.

"Well, I guess this is where we leave," he said, sighing, as we stopped at the bottom of the steps.

"Yeah."

"I had a great night," he said.

"Me too! I learnt so much about you."

"Yeah. You too," he said.

There was a short pause.

"You'll have to show me California some time," I suggested, smiling.

"Yeah," he replied, looking enthusiastic. "I'll have to show you the waves. They're amazing! And the beaches..." he trailed off, staring into space.

"Better than here?" I finished his sentence. "I know you miss it. But it's great that you're here now."

"It really is," he answered. We looked at each other again, and into the other's eyes. We seemed to have a habit of this now, but I wasn't complaining. It seemed to be at least five minutes before Jack finally spoke.

"Well, I'll see you at school," he said, waving me goodbye.

"See you," I said, staring after him as the wind made my hair dance in it, and the sand sunk into my sandals the longer I stood there. I felt the grains of sand tickle my toes long after I watched him disappear down the opposite road from the beach, wishing I could never see him go.

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A/N

hey everyone! sorry these past two chapters have been fairly short. But throughout this story, some will be long, and others shorter. I've got an idea of the main chapters and events in my head, but I don't want to put them out immediately because then this story will be very short. so some of the next chapters might have less Posy and Jack moments, or just are shorter with smaller events happening in them until I decide to start releasing some exciting, long ones. so far I'm thinking of doing these kinds every four or five chapters. but do not fear! there are a lot more exciting things happening next, just not straight away. hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. sending love and light!

- Fleur xo