Underwater (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 5 - West Cliff

"Hey... You're Oli right?" I felt a hand on my shoulder.

The waves in front of me crashed with such ferocity it was a wonder anything living under them could survive the force.

I blinked at the scene ahead of me, my return to awareness giving me a slight shock. I looked up to the person who'd spoken to me.

"Huh?"

Whatever trance I'd been in had broken, and I looked around. I was sitting in a crevice of the broken down rocks on West Cliff that led to the dangerous waters below. This was one of the ways I used to get down to the ocean... When I looked at it again, I couldn't believe how reckless I'd been.

If I had timed it wrong by one second, a wave could've thrown me right back into the rocks. An inexperienced surfer could easily crack their skulls and die here.

"You're Oli, right? I'm Jake, remember?" I blinked at him, seeing a vague familiarity in his face.

"Yeah, of course." I was pretty sure we'd chat sometimes when the waters were dead, but I used to see so many people out there, their names would get all mixed up and I'd forget.

How'd I get here?

I looked around me, trying to piece together the scene. It was sunny, and hot. Jake was standing above me in a wetsuit, board in hand. He was climbing down to the water... I was sitting on the rocks facing the water, my car keys hanging off my finger.

I drove myself...

"How've you been man? It's been boring out there, those old men are getting cocky with themselves, you gotta get back out and kick their asses. Get them to shut up."

By old men, I was sure Jake was referring to anyone over twenty-five. Jake was college-aged, I'd guess only a few years older than myself.

"Right..." I said, my mind still a scrambled mess.

I was driving to the party...

"I hope to see you back out there soon, I'm glad you're doing better." Jake said, and gave me a light nudge before continuing down the rocks. I felt as if I'd been rude.

Why was I there?

Something made me pull over...

I closed my eyes and tried to remember my day, step by step. I'd gone to school, and finished up a stressful week of avoiding Skylar. And attention. That'd proven to be difficult, especially when some students had asked if they could interview me for the school newspaper. Teo had told them to fuck off before I'd even processed what'd been asked.

I'd gone home after that... I was nervous about going to the party because Kieran would be there. Teo convinced me to go...

I started driving there, and after passing the lighthouse something made me pull over...

Helicopter...

I heard its engine and whirring blades faintly in the distance.

The helicopter had flown low, close to the beach...

"Hey, Jake?" I called out to him, standing up. He turned around, almost at the base of the cliff and into the water.

"What's up?" I looked around, the helicopter wasn't in sight and its sounds were almost faded.

"What was the helicopter doing by the beach?" Jake frowned, turning to look at where it'd disappeared.

"I think it was a private helicopter, probably some old rich people from Monterey." I nodded, feeling myself relax a bit.