lifeguard↠ e.d.

exposure

grace
sixteen

he told me to meet him outside, at the back of the staff house at one in the morning. i couldn't believe i was letting myself do this, but i did trust ethan. i want to experience things with him, even though i couldn't help that i was scared.

it was 12:50 and i figured i might as well start walking over there. i slipped on some shorts and a tank top and climbed out of my window. the sound of the ocean was evident in my ears and calmed my nerves as i walked to the staff house. i eventually reached the house and walked to the back to which i saw ethan sitting on the grass with the two packs by his side and one in his hand.

"well if it isn't my favorite alcoholic," i laugh, sitting on the ground in front of him.

"hey sweetheart." i could smell the beer on his breath. apparently i had a reaction because he said, "i've only had a few sips," afterwards.

he grabs me one out of the pack and somehow opens the cap effortlessly. he hands it to me and without thinking i take a sip. the taste took me by surprise.

"damn grace. you did that like a pro," he says as he took a sip.
"it's not very good." i said, making him chuckle.
"you'll get used to it."

i pause. "will we get caught..?" i trail off.

"no, the security usually goes to sleep in the guard booth by this time. trust me, i've done thi-" he cuts himself off. "never mind," he awkwardly chuckles. "and remember, you don't have to worry about your uncle because he's out of town until tuesday," i smile and nod.

we sat in the silence, and me being me, i desperately wanted to break the ice.

"i'll chug it if you do."
"what?"
"if you chug your beer, i'll chug mine."
"you're insane,"

i put the glass to my lips, shut my eyes and tilted my head back, the drink flowed down my throat. i did it the best that i could, and as fast as i could. ethan looked at me with his mouth agape and eyes wide. my heart rate grew faster and faster, caused by both his gaze and the beer.

"take it easy sweetheart, i don't want you to overdo it." ethan grabbed my hand and i nodded.

"i'm just living, like you said." i smile, and grab another beer, handing it to him to open it. as he gives it back to me after he opened it, i hear hushed whispers coming towards us. i furrow my eyebrows and look in the direction it was coming from.

"well, well, well, it's the bride and groom," justin jokes, making the rest of them laugh. he had a couple big bottles in his arms. blake, ben, and jessica followed close behind him.

"didn't think we would miss this party did you ethan?" ben shakes ethans shoulders making him shut his eyes tightly and take another swing of his beer. they all sit around us and open their bottles.

"is this your first time grace?" justin smiles, taking the top off his bottle. i could barely make out the letters, but it looked like it said vodka. he took a long sip and sighed with satisfaction afterwards.

"oh uh, no it's not. i've drank with my older brother one time." i lied straight through my teeth. i didn't even have an older brother, let alone drank with one.

"oh yeah?" jessica asked. i nodded in response. "then chug some of the vodka justin has in his hands."

i grabbed the bottle justin offered me, and i didn't dare look up at ethan. "um, that won't be necessar-" ethan stopped himself when i put the bottle to my lips and drank as much as i could, which really wasn't much. i handed it back to justin and looked up at ethan, his eyes even wider than before.

"atta girl!" ben, justin, and jessica congratulate me, laughs tumbling out of their mouths as they pat my shoulders. i laugh along with them, and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. they all keep drinking, but ethan keeps blankly staring at me. live a little, i mouth to him. he raises his eyebrow and continues to drink his beer.

we all ended up drinking more and more as the minutes, that turned into hours went by. we were all completely wasted, even ethan. i was living life for once, and i didn't have a care in the world. that is, until i crossed the line and drank way, too much.

"i'm h-having sso much fun e-ethan," i giggled, and right after i said that, my body hit the grass.

L I F E G U A R D

grayson

i woke up to someone knocking on our door. i sat up in bed and grounded loudly.

"who the fuck is that?" jack asked.
"it's three in the goddamn morning," chris mumbled.

"wow let me use my fucking mindreading powers to see who's at the fucking door." i rub my eyes and open the door, revealing a drunk ethan. actually, a beyond wasted ethan.

"oh my god," i say as he falls into my arms, giggling like a twelve year old girl. "ethan what happened to you?"

"drunk. s-sweetheart passed out and she won't wake up, and i even tried tickling her," he giggled again. "that shit don't work when you drink almost a full b-bottle of vodka."

chris and jack rush out of bed, chris almost falling off of his top bunk. "i'll take ethan to his room," chris offers. "you guys get grace and whoever's out there."

"d-don't fucking lay your hands on g-grace!" ethan suddenly got aggressive, but wasn't very affective when he tried to hit us. i hand ethan to chris, and me and jack run outside to see the drunken messes that we're unveiled to us.

"jesus-" jack mumbles when we see all the alcohol bottles scattered on the ground. they were all a mess, but when i saw grace, she was even more of a mess. she was lying on the ground, and luckily her chest was still rising up and down.

"i'm going to kill ethan." i repeat after i grab her by her back and legs. i quickly walk into the house and lay her on her side, on my bed. "fuck, what do i do? what do i do?" i brush her hair out of her face, revealing some hickeys on her neck. i actually couldn't believe ethan, and it was hard to resist going to his room and choking him out. he's not going to be able to live with himself after this and i don't even want to think how grace will react.

and it's not like i can call anyone, really. they're underage, and could get into even more trouble. i cant call 911, let alone her uncle. my eyes stung with frustration, and i ran my hands through my hair. suddenly i heard my name from grace, causing me to whip my head around.

"come on, we need to get you to the toilet," i quickly grab her and set her in front of the toilet, and just in time too, because she immediately threw up. the sound was horrifying, and i felt terrible. me being me, not knowing what to do, i just rubbed her back and held her hair out of her face.

"i'm so sorry ethan got you into this," i mumble.
"i-it was my fault!" she cries. "i told him to... to let loose," she continued to throw up.
"no it wasn't grace, he's supposed to protect you and look after you, not let you get into stuff like this."
she sobbed into the toilet, she was absolutely miserable.

"grace, stay right here i'm gonna get you some water and some crackers, i-it'll help,"

i ran to the kitchen, and of course i had to pass ethan's room on the way, the thought of him at this very moment made me roll my eyes. i grabbed a couple bottles of water and a box of crackers, and ran back.

"i'm back grace, are you a little better?"

she was still crying. "is he gonna die grayson?"
"no, he's not going to die, i promise."
"good, because he told me he loved me and i don't want to lose him, b-because i love him too,"

L I F E G U A R D

lmao, alcohol poisoning is super dangerous, so let's ignore the fact that grace was fine whoops