Find me in the Ocean

Chapter 9

We sit for a moment in the car after getting the milkshakes, listening to music. The air between us is nice, yet somewhat awkward, and I think Sophia also feels it. I turn the engine on and start driving.

"Where are we going?" She asks.
"It's a surprise." I finally say to her.

My heart is still racing and I can't even think straight, but it's nice, while it at the same time feels weird to be alone together with just her. Especially since Jamie and Cal are always with us. Even when it was just the three of us, we were always all hanging out together, and if someone doesn't want to do something, then we don't do it. That's mainly the reason why we rarely ever went to parties.

The first time we went out, I was 15. I think that was the defining moment to why me and Cal never wanted to go out anymore after that. Jamie somehow had gotten a hold of alcohol, even though he was only 14 at the time. He was so excited to try it out and it ended with him completely wasted. He tried asking out his crush at the time, Brynn, but before he even got a single word out, he had thrown up all over her. Me and Cal had to take care of him that night, and the morning after, Jamie wouldn't stop complaining about how bad his head hurt.

...

We finally arrive at the lake after a 15 minute drive. The sun is just about to set and it's a beautiful scene. This is perfect. I look over at Sophia, who was already halfway out of the door. She looks stunned by how pretty the lake was at this time, and her eyes almost seem to sparkle from it. She looks gorgeous standing in the sun, with the way the light hits her pale white skin in a way that makes it almost start glowing. She tucks a strand of her black, curly hair behind her ear, before turning to look at me and suddenly, the sunset isn't the prettiest thing anymore.

I open my door and take a step out, only to be hit by the light. It's so bright, but I can't look away from Sophia. She's standing by the shore looking out onto the water and the wind is flowing in her hair. I walk up and stand next to her.

"This is so pretty!" She finally says.

It kind of caught me off guard when she spoke. She looks over at me and our eyes collide once more. I've never realized how gray her eyes are before. But I can't hold eye contact for long, so I look out onto the lake.
"It is." I finally got out.

"There was never anything like this around where I grew up."

"Oh?" I look up at her again.

"Well, we used to live in a four room apartment in the middle of New York, so there was never really a moment of quiet."

I look back over at her again. Her gaze has gone back to looking over the lake again. She looks happy, but there's something in her tone that shows that she longs back to her time in New York. I get the feeling that she would never admit that she missed it, but her eyes told it all, and yet she smiles and laughs through it as if it's nothing. I can't find the words to say, so I just stay quiet for a moment.

...

"Hey," I finally manage to get out. "I want to show you something."

I reach to grab her hand and she lets me take it, and without realizing it, we're walking through the forest, holding hands. It's almost like in an anime. A romantic anime, ofcourse. It's like we're the main characters who met by accident and slowly fell in love... but there's no drama... Just two people... Holding hands... walking through the forest together. And then the guy turns around and kisses the girl...

Ok, no. I wouldn't even dare to do anything like that! I think I've watched too many anime's lately.

We arrive at a hidden corner of the lake. The area is surrounded by Youngii trees hanging down into the water, and in the midst of it are a group of rocks.