drowning | ruel van dijk

nine

KATE

i make it to the beach before ruel does.

that's a good thing; at least i have time to pull myself together.

i take a few deep breaths and make my way towards the water. i begin to get impatient, but before i know it, ruel greets me.

"hey, kate?"

i hear ruel's raspy voice cut through the air behind me, making it clear that he just woke up.

"sorry again for waking you. i just need someone to talk to," i tell him, truly meaning it.

he falls in line beside me, but instead of facing the ocean, he angles his body towards me.

"i thought this might help...," he begins, pulling something out of his bag.

it was only now that i realized he slung a bulky bag over his shoulder.

"hold up... you walked all the way here with that huge ass bag?" i question him before he can give me whatever it is he has in his backpack.

"well i biked, and my house isn't that far away".

he looks back to his bag and quickly pulls out an item, placing it in my hand. a chocolate bar. just like the one he let me devour only hours after i first met him.

it seems like such a long time ago, yet also like the time has gone by so fast. i cant decide which.

"thanks. i'll save it for later, though. i'm not that hungry," i say.

i think i catch his smile fade a little, but i cant tell for sure.

before i can resist, ruel pulls me closer towards the water. i try to keep calm as he gently holds my wrist, but my thoughts race a mile a minute.

he didn't have to do this. he could have ignored you. he could've kept sleeping.

but he didn't.

that's what makes me think...

"you coming?"

i snap out of my thoughts and notice ruel a few feet ahead of me, with his shoes off and his feet in the water.

"right, yeah,'' i reply, still a little dazed.

i pull off my flip flops and step beside him in the ocean as the shallow waves lap at my ankles. a rush of chills run through my spine as the cold water circles around me.

a few minutes pass, but ruel breaks the silence and speaks again.

"you wanna talk about something?" he asks, turning in my direction.

i toy with the wrapper of the chocolate bar in my hand.

another wave splashes my bare ankles.

"do you... do you remember how i mentioned i was friends with the girl i came to the beach with?" i start, lifting my gaze up to ruel.

"yeah, i do. her name was meg, wasn't it? did something happen again?" his eyebrows scrunch and i can tell he's concerned.

it's kinda cute.

"yes, well, after you left i went over to her and she accused me of being a bitch," i tell him, leaving out the part about being called a slut.

when he doesn't say anything, i continue. "but it's okay i guess. at least now i don't have to deal with her annoying ass. tons of shit happened between us and it just got too toxic."

ruel chuckles a little, and splashes up the water at his feet. "seems like you just needed to get that out to someone," he says.

"yeah, i did."

ruel looks up at the dusky sky for a few moments, and then back at me. i notice that he opens his mouth to say something, but then shuts it and shakes his head.

"what?" i question.

"do you listen to music often?"

caught off guard, i search for an answer. "umm, yeah. sure. that was an odd question," i say with a giggle.

"sorry about that, but i just thought that maybe some good music could help ease your mind off everything."

ruel turns around, steps onto the shore, and shoves his shoes in his bag. i tag along after him, also grabbing my flip flops and walking away from the water.

"why, do you have any good song recommendations?" i question him again.

"if fact, yes, i do."

i watch ruel closely, as he swings his backpack off his shoulder and pulls out his phone from the front pocket.

words rush out of his mouth faster than normal. "i'll send you the audio i have from a cool artist. he hasn't released any of his music officially yet, but i have the raw soundtrack since he's a friend of mine. if you're into r&b and pop, then i think you'll really like his songs."

"oh ok, thanks," i say, grabbing my phone from my back pocket, waiting for the notification. it dings, and i save the audio clips to my camera roll.

we've already walked to the end of the beach, but before we split off our separate ways, i com up with one more question to ask him.

"what's his name?" i ask. "i mean the artist?"

ruel snaps his head to me and stutters for a few seconds. "uhh... umm... his name... his name is Wilbur," he finally spits out, continuously running his hand through his tangled hair.

odd. unusual name.

"okay," i draw the word out, "got it."

"i'll text you later?" ruel says, regaining his cool.

"yep, text you later."

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i always have fun writing this story! hope you like reading it too!