where the water meets the moon | e.d.

seven

addison

monday night is a calm night.

the waves lap on the sides of the anchored boat soothingly, and i see the moonlight from the small window in my room.

when it seems to be midnight, i just can't take it anymore.

i could be outside enjoying this instead of pretending to sleep.

so i quietly tip toe out of my room in my flowy pajamas that are just some shorts and a matching shirt, along with a pair of slippers.

captain avery's loud snores can be heard even on the complete different level of the ship, making me laugh a little as i maneuver around the research room in the dark.

my hand grasps the observation deck door, and it opens with ease.

immediately, the light, warm breeze hits my face and i notice the moonlight beaming across the water.

it's making a trail up to the boat.
up to me.

and in this moment, i'm completely thanking my mom for persuading me to go on this trip.

it's beautiful.

i take two steps out into the deck, only to be stopped by a quiet voice.

"hey."

i turn around, only slightly alarmed until i see none other than ethan sitting on one of the benches, a notebook and a couple pieces of paper in his lap.

he looks tired, even in the minimal light.

"hi..?" i respond, more as a question. "what are you doing out here?"

he shrugs lazily and drops the pen onto his paper. "couldn't sleep."

i'm quiet, just because i know if i speak more than i should, he'll just find a way to turn around and insult me.

"what about you?" he surprisingly questions.

i stumble over my response. "i um, i saw the moon and stuff. i wanted to come out and look at it."

ethan nods, leaning his head back on the wall.

for some reason, he seems sad.

but i don't want to question anything.

so instead, i turn around and lean up against the sturdy railing, feeling the boat rock with each small wave that laps around it.

the moonlight trail is still as bright as ever, and i smile.

"did you know that the dark side of the moon is a myth?"

i wrinkle my nose at ethan's random question.

"i like that album too."

"no," he surprisingly gives a short, weak laugh. "not the pink floyd album. the actual moon. the dark side is a myth."

i turn around with furrowed eyebrows. "what?"

"yeah. we only see the same face of the moon every single night. scientists thought that the other side was significantly darker than the one we see, due to lunar liberation," he says casually and lazily, staring past me and at the water. "but really, it's not at all. it's the exact same as the side we see."

i'm quiet, since that's probably the most i've ever heard come out of the guy's mouth since we met.

his eyes then flick to me, like he just remembered i'm standing there.

"sorry," he mumbles and starts to gather up his things.

i don't know what to say, so i say nothing.

he gives one last look to the moon before disappearing back inside, papers tucked under his arm.

i don't understand him.

he seems highly intelligent, but why does he waste his time being rude to me? why is he even on this trip if it's clear he didn't want to go without the girl?

he seems to like evan and avery, but goes out of his way to either ignore me or make rude comments. none of it makes sense.

i sit outside for awhile until my eyelids start to feel droopy and tired, and only then do i make my way back to my room.

i meet evan in the hallway as he's making his way to the bathroom, half asleep and rubbing his eyes.

"hey," he croaks out. "why're you up?"

i give a closed mouth smile and a shrug. "wanted to look outside. goodnight."

"night," he mumbles half heartedly and continues on his stumble across the boat.

as i fall into bed, i think of ethan.

not in a weird way, just more curious.
i wish i knew more about him, and then i'd be able to judge him. he seems nice to other people, but not to me. why? i like to think i'm nice to him.

and the conversation about the moon was the most i've ever heard come out of his mouth at a time. he seemed sleepy and out of it, so that's probably why.

but he knows a lot about the moon, i guess.

tomorrow is a day of scouting the area and taking more notes than we did this afternoon. it'll probably be this boring all the way until july when we finally start to find stuff and identify it.

when i fall asleep, i don't hear ethan mumbling through the thin walls, which tells me he hasn't dozed off yet. i think him talking in his sleep is kind of funny, since he seems like the type to be utterly embarrassed by it.

and even after 15 minutes it still doesn't come.

so i can't help but wonder if we're both staring at the ceiling, pretending to be asleep.