Downfall [h.s]

↞ Chapter 14 ↠

"My arm freaking hurts. Remind me again why we decided to get tattoos on Friday," Asher complained, glaring down at his arm. He was such a baby when it came to pain and even though our tattoos were pretty small and didn't take all that long to do, he still acted like he had spent hours in the chair. It had been three days since we had gotten them done and they were still tender and sore to the touch. For Asher that meant that it seemed like his arm was getting chopped off.

"We got tattoos because we all agreed to get them done. You are such a baby," I huffed. I got mine on the outer part of my hip which thankfully didn't hurt all that bad. Out of all of us, Asher had complained about the pain the most.

"Hey! My area hurt more than yours did," He defended. It only made him sound more whiny than he had been before.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my book. We were supposed to be doing independent reading in the library for English class but of course Ash couldn't help but bother me whenever he had the opportunity. Now thanks to him I had lost where I had been on the page, and because this was Beowulf and just reading one line took as much time as reading a normal book would take, I had to start over from the section. After re-reading the same paragraph a few times and still not understanding what the hell it was saying, I gave up and put it down. I would sparknotes it later.

The two of us were sat by one of the large windows overlooking the beach in the library. We were tucked in a corner away from the rest of the class but the sub had allowed us to sit wherever we wanted so I doubt she minded not being able to really see us. That was why this was one of my favorite places in the whole school; not only would no one bother me here but I also got a beautiful view of the ocean.

That was the best part of having a high school near the beach, especially when your friend group loved to surf. It was even better that school started mid-September, giving us more surfing time during August. Even though September was just as nice out, the beach wasn't as crowded as the summer months. Even now as I looked out at the water, there weren't as many people out tanning compared to a few weeks ago.

"So. You've got another session with Mr. S after school today right?"

I tore my eyes away from the view and looked at Ash, not hearing his question in my daze. He sighed and repeated himself. I nodded, groaning at the reminder. Mr. S and I had skipped tutoring on Friday because of Mack's birthday but today we were picking up right where we left off. Even though he had somewhat promised that he wouldn't be a sarcastic asshole during our session, I had little faith that that would actually happen.

"I didn't expect to see you two back here," A familiar voice chuckled, pulling us from our conversation. I couldn't help but grin up at Toby. "Not many people know that this little nook even exists."

"I didn't until last year. I accidentally found it when I was looking for a book one day. How do you know about it?" I answered, scooting over so he could sit down next to me on the small couch. He plopped down and his leg pressed against mine, the pressure made it seem purposeful.