HIP #2: Summer Of Love

Chapter 43

Both Britney and Shane, together with Chance, left earlier after a night of sleep they spent here.

Britney had to go home because his dad scheduled a road trip for their family. The adaptive ones, I guess.

Shane was in a different camp. Perhaps it was the journalism team.

And Chance, of course, had to get back with his basketball team. He told me last night that he asked for an excuse from his coach and he only agreed for one night.

Here I am, trying not to walk up to Peter's room after the slight argument we had last night. But what can I expect from my heart who is now cheating on me? I immediately went to the door and shut it once I was already outside my room. Then I took a few steps forward to Peter's room. I wanted to knock, but I know he would just tell me to go away. So, without knocking, I opened the door.

I put my feet up, but when I looked at the bed; I froze after seeing it all neatly cleaned up. The table was tidy and the bathroom door was open, exposing its space. He's not here.

I shut the door and rushed down the stairs. "Have you seen Peter?" I asked Amber as I saw her walking up with a set of folded towels in her hands. She shook her head and continued walking.

Not in the breakfast restaurant, not in his room, and Amber hasn't seen him yet. There's only one place where he might be. I rushed to the gate leading to the beach as I scattered my eyes around when my feet met the white-hot sands. I walked around and found a lot of people murmuring to each other and some are even laughing. But I couldn't care less. All I want is to find Peter.

"Hey! You looking for me?" I turned around and found no one. I recognize Peter's voice from afar but I don't know where it came from.

"Over here!" I heard a bit of laughter. I turned to face the sea and finally found him. I thought he was in the cottage where I surprised him as a pilot but I was wrong. "You made me nervous!"

"What? How?"

"I thought you left me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because we fought last night and you said you didn't want to see me again."

"I didn't mean it... let's just let it slide, I guess? For now, let's enjoy the beauty of the sea since we only have a week left to spend in this place." He's right. Summer as a knife will end in a week. On Sunday, we'll leave and will come back after a year. That would be too long already. I don't think I can take it.

The eleventh grade will start next Monday and I have to prepare for the first year of senior high school leading to college. It would be awesome. But he and I are in different schools. Being with him here in Mancheston Beach just by ourselves, developed a feeling I lost before and I wanted to lose.

When I had already forgotten that I once had a crush on him, he reminded me and he took it to the next level by turning my crush into love. I love him. And even if it's wrong, I will always love him. Without further thinking, I ran to the sea and I watched him stare at me as my clothes soaked in the salty water and it raises whenever I run faster.

I stopped in front of me holding a thick smile on my face and he had the same thing.

I now know what this feeling is. It's the feeling of being electrified because I'm with him: My best friend that became my crush and now is the one I love.

I don't want to think about why I'm doing this. On Sunday, our lives would be back to normal. We would be just friends and would act like nothing happened through the months we've been together.

As if we didn't argue about what we're feeling for each other, as if we didn't sing All Too Well 10-minute version in the middle of the night, as if I never comforted him when his disorder attacked him, as if we never talked about ourselves, as if I never loved him and he never loved me, we'll be friends again when we return to the world of pain.

"The water's nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I just hope there aren't any kids peeing right now." We both chuckled.

"Umm, what happened to those?" I pointed my fingers to the scratches, scars, wounds, and imperfections on his body which I'd never seen before. They don't look fresh. But it's just now that I saw them.

"My scars."

"Obviously! I can't transfer mine into you what I mean is how did you get them?" The fake smile together with the silence he showed me gave an answer to my question. His dad.

"Your dad?" I asked to confirm it. "But I've never seen them before in all the weeks I've been swimming with you."

"I'm sorry,"

"What?"

"I hid them using makeup before. I didn't want you to see them so I tried to cover them." He's being soft again yet is tough to face all these craps.

"You didn't have to. But why did you?"

"Because I thought you wouldn't find me sexy with all these scratches around my body."

"You are sexy just the way you are without even trying to."

"You don't need to fake your words. I know you don't like my scarred body. No one would."

"Listen to me, okay? Those scars are scars of art. Your father gave them to you. You're still alive, you survived all the pain he put you through. And they make you a stronger person. Those scars shouldn't be hidden. You should be proud of them. They're remembrances of how you suffered, how you didn't fight back to respect your father, and how you stayed strong. And I find all those sexy. Even if other people don't think that those scars look good on you, well, I do! Because I know the story behind them."

The biggest question of mine just has been answered. The past few days we were swimming together, I always wondered why he didn't have any scars despite all the things his dad did to him. I thought it was magic but now, I figured out makeup is the tool he has been using all along. Poor him who had his confidence downed because of the imperfections he physically has. And it's not even his fault.

"Your flaws are perfect," I whispered and the smile grew bigger on his face. "Though they make me ugly?"

"You're not ugly! Even if you would be, I don't care as long as you treat me the same and the other people too. Because that's how I loved you. You were kind and patient, despite all craps behind you, you're always nice."

Loving Peter was a different kind of level.

It was... to the max. because everything I didn't expect, happened one summer. I had fun, I gained sadness, I held my confusion up high, I cheated on my boyfriend, and now, I'm in love with a different person who is the first guy I had a crush on.