Fight for Me #Wattys2017

Chapter 20

I lay out my towel down in the sand, admiring the view of our secluded spot of beach. "I still can't believe we're the only ones here." I laugh contentedly as I sit down on my towel and bury my feet in the warm, golden sand. I look beside me to notice Michael putting his towel down next to mine. "You're not going in the water with the rest of them?" I question nodding to the group jokingly shoving each other into the ocean.

"Not right now." Michael replies with a shrug. "Can you believe we've already been here for nearly a week?"

I just shake my head at him as I think over the past few days. "No, I can't. It's felt so much shorter than that." I lie to him. Truthfully, it's felt like an eternity since I started avoiding Luke. Luckily, I didn't have to be drastic about it, I just hung out with the other guys or always had someone else in the room if Luke was there. "I'm glad for this trip. I feel like I've gotten a lot closer with everyone."

"Even Luke?" Michael asks, and I quickly look at him with surprise. "Oh, come on, Andy. It's not like I haven't noticed you avoiding him."

"I'm not avoiding anyone." I state pulling out a book out of my bag.

"You're not getting out of this that easily." Michael laughs snatching the book from me. "We all know you've been avoiding him. Except for Luke, he knows something's up, but he can't figure out what, and neither can I."

"Nothing is up." I insist, trying to grab my book back from him, but he jumps up keeping it just out of reach. "Whatever. I'm not having this conversation right now." I tell him angrily as I pull off my cover-up and head down to the the water.

"Andy, I'm not going to tell anyone. I just want to make sure you're okay." Michael says as he runs up behind me and grabs his arm. "Everyone's getting worried about you thinking we did something wrong."

"Michael, I'm not talking to you about this right now. Not with everyone around at least."

"So will you tell me later? If no one is around?" I nod, and he nods. "Okay, we'll talk about it later. I'm not trying to push you, but you're one of us now. I want to make sure you're all right."

"Thanks, Michael." I tell him with a small smile, and he pulls me into a hug. I hear Michael laughing when he lets go and keeps looking over my shoulder. Just as I'm about to turn around, I feel arms wrap around my waist, as someone lifts me up. "Oh, no! Don't you dare throw me in the--" I start to yell, but I'm tossed in the water before I can finish my sentence. I surface out of the water, my blue hair covering my face as everyone laughs. The moment they see my expression, everyone goes quiet. "Who did that?" I laugh trying to seem angry. No one speaks up, but I get my answer when Calum tries running away. "Calum Hood, get your butt back here."

Calum stops in his tracks wiggling his eyebrows at me as he says, "Oh, Andy, I didn't realize you noticed my butt."

"I didn't. I just said that to get you to stop running." I laugh as I tackle him and he falls in the water. A chorus of laughs erupt as Calum comes back up with a mop of wet hair. "Now, we're even." I tell him with a grin as I hold my hands up.

"Not even by a long shot." Calum laughs as he tries to splashes me, but hits Ashton beside me instead. Before we even realize it, a war starts, all of us trying to splash the others or dunk them into the ocean.

Everyone quickly learns that I'm notorious for tripping people or sneaking up behind them and splashing them right in the face. Unfortunately, when they catch on my plot is foiled. I start to sneak up behind Ashton. Right as I'm about to tackle him, I feel someone grab my arms and pin them at my side. "Gotcha!" Luke screams picking me up. "No more sneak attacks for you!" He shouts as he takes me to shore.