Beneath You're Beautiful (EDITING)

Chapter 9: The Beach

* Thomas' POV *

Saturday morning came very quickly and Luke was definitely right about the weather- it was very sunny and warm. We had all agreed to meet at 11 o'clock outside the bakery near school so we could buy some food for our picnic then take the two cars to the beach. Although, I realised that I was going to be late so I quickly stepped out of the door in a rush and said a quick goodbye to Maria and David.

I had just crossed the road to the bakery and looked up to the group that was waiting patiently for me when I seen her.

She wore sandals on her feet and her toes were painted a light blue. Her skin was sun kissed which made her eyes and hair stand out more in contrast. The shorts she wore wrapped around her hips and her crop top clung to her chest enticingly.

Her hair was slightly curled and shifted lightly with the soft breeze. The eye shadow she wore blended on her lids and her long, black eyelashes were standing proud. Her cheeks were a light shade of pink as she beamed at me. The highlighted tones made her cheek bones look more prominent while here lips were a natural reddish colour as they stretched across her face into an attractive smile.

Then I looked into her eyes, her deep, blue eyes. I was overwhelmed by her beauty. She was astoundingly gorgeous. Of course, her female friends were pretty too but they didn't compare to Alice. No way near.

When I reached the group, I was still in a daze and couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from her enchanting gaze.

"Hey man."

Our gaze was cut off by Luke's voice, which I was quite thankful for because I would have looked like an idiot if I stood doing nothing. One the other hand, I could have  looked at Alice all day, which I was very tempted to. I don't know what I felt every time I seen her but I just couldn't not mesmerise at her beauty.

I was beginning to like Luke. After having lunch with him on Friday, we shared some classes together and got talking. Now he spoke to me like a normal person and so did the rest of the group. I was still not used to this though, socialising with people and having friends, but I liked to think I was getting better at it. I hadn't lashed out in ages, a part of me told me that was because of Alice. She made me want to try and start over, do what she said and make a life actually worth living.

"Hey Luke, Olivia, Penny, Zack...Alice."

Everyone replied with small greetings then we entered the bakery to get our food. While we were at the tills Alice nudged me and said, "I'm glad you came."

We both smiled to each other on the way out of the shop.

"Ok so who's riding with who?"

Zack had began to talk more. Maybe he was getting over his hatred towards me...however he would still shoot me unwanted glances.

"Well my minivan had a flat tire so we brought my dad's Jeep instead. Shall we have a race and do boys verse girls?"

I saw Alice and Luke smirk at one another, they must be quite competitive.

"Hell yeh."

Alice gave me one last smile before jumping into Penny's Beetle while they put the hood down.

Luke got into his driving seat while Zack got into the back, we rolled down all of our windows as Penny revved her engine. We all counted to three and drove off to the beach like drunks being chased by the cops down a highway at night.

It's lucky we didn't get stopped actually...

The girls were screaming and we all sang along to the songs they played loudly from the radio. I'd never done anything like this before. I'd never shown a fun side to anyone but this felt right. I was enjoying myself already and the day had only just begun.

I watched as Alice sat at the back of the Beetle and waved her arms in the air while the wind blew in her hair, throwing each blonde strand past her face.

Once we had arrived at the beach, we parked and got out of the cars. I looked over the sea as it glistened and the sun shone brightly at the top of the cloudless blue sky. My observation was disturbed when Alice gently pushed me out of the way and ran down the beach towards the sea.

I noticed that her sandals were left in the middle of the path but before I could get them Zack picked them up and laughed.

"She always does that." Olivia said as she laughed along with the group.

"...why?"

They all laughed some more at my confused expression. I looked back at Alice who had reached the sea and started walking into it.

"We don't really know exactly...Alice is quite a mystery."

"Though once she brought us down here at night and ran around like a mad person. She mentioned something about how it made her feel free."

We all looked back at her as she looked up at the sun and moved her arms slowly over her head and down again.

After we pondered over her movements, we all made our way down the beach to reach her, it took a few minutes before we did.

"Hey guys, this water is quite warm."

"Finished with your crazy moment Alice?" Luke teased her and she laughed back.

"Oh I'm not so sure...I think I still have a little crazy saved for later."

Throughout the day we climbed the rocks, built sand castles, and splashed in the sea.

It was starting to get darker now but we planned on staying for just a few more hours. I had helped the guys get wood for the fire and brought some logs over for everyone to sit on.

Alice was right about saving some of the crazy for later! She danced around the fire as if she was an Indian chanting to her ancestors. We all laughed at her but soon joined in.

Later on, everyone sat around the fire in a comfortable silence when Alice slowly stood up and strolled over to the rocks.

We looked after her but no one seemed confused like I was. When they caught my expression they knew that they would have to explain.

"She goes off on her own sometimes."

Penny said it comfortably enough to suggest it happened a lot.

"It's normal, she just likes to be alone sometimes and think."

"Why?"

"Dunno, she doesn't really talk about her past so we assume that's why."

I thought back to the conversation we had when Alice said we shared the same book, which had a lock on it. I felt like I needed to follow her, hear what she was feeling. Maybe she would tell me some of her past.

"Well I'm gonna go talk to her...you don't think she'll bite my head off do you?"

"Nah we've done it before, she just prefers to have a moment in her own little bubble."

I left after that to go onto the rocks where she sat at the very end of them, almost touching the small waves that rippled over the rock's edge.

When I reached her she turned around, gave a small smile, then turned back again. I decided to sit next to her and follow her gaze to the sun which was almost upon the horizon.

A/N
Hope you still enjoy reading my story, there's more to come!