#did you know a person surfing naked is hanging eleven

[ceilingfan5]

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congrats @himbotaako...here are the mermaids you wanted!

Taako should be at the Marine Institute, you know, doing his job, but he’s surfing. And who could blame him? The weather is gorgeous, the sun is bright but not too hot, the waves are just perfect, and also paperwork can kiss his ass. He didn’t get into marine biology to drink bad coffee and do paperwork, or worse, math. He got into it to learn about the world and fucking help animals. 

So when the weirdest possible thing happens, Taako could argue he was actually out there doing his job. Because he finds something beautiful, something impossible, something no one has probably seen before...or rather...someone. 

He finds a merman. 

He’s beached near this enormous rock outcropping Taako and his sister used to camp out on when they were teens, roasting marshmallows and their classmates and laughing at scarier and scarier stories told with the drama of a 14 year old with nothing better to do. He hasn’t been there in years, partially because they kind of assumed it was private land and didn’t want to get caught trespassing somewhere people might actually go. It’s a weird pang of nostalgia that he has to shake off, because he sees a man bleeding into the sand, gasping for air and gripping his side, hair splayed out around him like a watery renaissance painting. 

“Holy fuck,” Taako says, for lack of literally any other way to react. “Holy fuck,” he repeats, eyeing the man’s long, black, shimmering fish tail. 

“Help,” the man chokes out, and Taako nearly freezes, the same two words on his lips again. 

“Sure,” he says instead, although he hasn’t got a clue what to do. 

“Water-?” 

“Right, right, right, right!” Taako unfreezes and takes action. No matter what he has to do, he’s not letting this beautiful man bite it. They could learn so much. They could discover so many things about the ocean. 

Also, he’s cute as hell, and Taako has some Thoughts and Feelings along those lines. 

“Hold tight,” he grunts, and he puts his arms under the merman’s shoulders and heaves him toward the surf, slowly but surely. The blood worries him, but land isn’t too far away, and if he can get him back to the Institute, Taako can take care of that. Probably. 

Hopefully. 

Inch by inch, Taako drags the man through the sand. He’s fucking heavy, which isn’t great, but makes sense if he’s a deep sea creature that needs to stay warm and handle the pressure, and Taako shakes himself, trying not to nerd out while he’s saving a life. Nerd time later. Hero time now. He finally gets into the water and lays the man out just deep enough to completely cover him, and the merman sighs deeply. There are gills on his neck and sides, Taako notices with absolute fascination, and they’re torn on his left side. Taako has to wonder from what. 

The merman presses a firm hand to the wound and, to Taako’s complete thrill and befuddlement, it begins to glow, literally glow. Like, for real. Taako hopes he hasn’t hit his head on a fucking rock or something, because the implications here are fucking delicious. Merman magic. 

The wound seems to close up most of the way, but the merman winces and it gets a little bigger again. Taako frowns. 

“What, no good?” 

The merman shakes his head. At least the bleeding has mostly stopped. Taako gets his surfboard and hefts the merman atop it, and before the merman can object, he’s paddling his way back to the goddamn shore. 

“Name’s Taako,” he says, nearly out of breath, because again: fucking heavy dude. No offense. The adrenaline may have something to do with it too, because Taako’s insides feel like a Ferris Wheel on turbo mode. He can practically hear the bad music playing in his head as he kicks through the water with more urgency than he’s had since his last high school swim meet. 

“Kravitz,” the merman groans out. “Where...”

“Just chill.” 

The back dock is open, which is more luck than Taako could probably have hoped for, and that means Taako only has to carry the guy a little ways into the Institute. The staff is small, after their latest budget cuts, and most of them are probably out to lunch, if the sun in the sky is anything to go by. Taako hates watches, especially surfing. 

Taako bodily lifts the guy into the nearest hospital tank. 

Kravitz yelps and then stares at Taako with incredible betrayal through the thick glass. 

“I’m sorry! I had to do something! You should be thanking my ass for getting you this far!”

Kravitz leans against the side and squirms enough to get his head above water while still clutching his wound. 

“Your ass?” he intones. His eyebrows explain in careful detail that he is not impressed. 

“Jesus. How much English do you know, anyway?” 

“Enough,” Kravitz says. “Can you...can you fix this?”

“I can try. Why didn’t your, uh, your magic healing-dealy work?“ 

“Too tired. The water...it is bad, also.” 

“Huh,” Taako says. “Can’t say this stuff is much better, but the saline content should be decent.”

“It is...what is the word. Stagnant,” Kravitz says, his eyebrows announcing further disapproval. 

“Again, you’re welcome?” Taako grabs the nearest kit he can find. The tank is already at a decent height, or Taako never would have gotten him in, but he has to kind of nudge Kravitz to roll over. Kravitz continues to be unimpressed. “Let me see, you waterlogged bitch,” Taako mutters, mostly to himself, which he belatedly realizes might be okay to say to an octopus, but not to a merman who has already expressed himself quite clearly in English. 

“Sorry?”

Kravitz huffs and exposes his side. 

“Gnarly,” Taako whispers.  “I can do surgery, but you won’t love it.”

“No,” Kravitz agrees. “Do it. Now.” 

“It’s not sterile!” Taako can’t believe he’s having this conversation. “We need to- it’s not- What if- Can’t you try to heal it again?” 

“Not in this water. Unless...”

“Unless??”

Kravitz squints at him, like he’s scanning Taako’s soul down to the nitty gritty details. Taako hopes he can’t see how many times he’s shoplifted Froot Loops. 

“Could use your energy. You have much.” 

“Would, uh, would that hurt?” 

“I don’t know,” Kravitz admits. “But it would connect us.” He winces and grabs at the wound, which has started to bleed again. The pink water makes Taako’s stomach turn. They’ve gone from out-of-control ferris wheel to the fuckin’ slingshot, and Taako’s about to lose his hypothetical cotton candy. 

“Go, just, just do it, alright?”

“Very well.” And Kravitz grabs him by the hand, and the world goes black. 

Taako wakes up with a gnarly headache and two bright red eyes barreling right into his. 

“Morning,” he mumbles, his mouth dry. And then the weird thing happens. Well, weirder. 

He hears Kravitz’s voice inside his head. 

It is not morning, Taako. But I am happy to see you are awake. Something strange has happened. 

[blissfulxivarchive]

The Sky Captain

full name.  Farris Van-Hassel

pronunciation. Fair is nicknames. Far height. 5′11 age. 32 deity.   Halone - The Fury languages. Common, Hingan, and Eorzea.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour.  Grey Hair eye colour.   Heterochromia - Light Green ® and Seafoam Green  (l) skin tone.  Deep tan. body type.  lean muscle Accent.  a whisper-like voice. Dominant hand. She can use both hands., mostly left handed though. Posture. confident Scars. She has a small scar over her nose that visible to the naked eye. Her right eye is scared and she is somewhat blind.  Accessories. She carries with her, guns, her books of arcane magic, potions, and her sense of humor.  most noticeable features. Her eyes because they both two shades of green, however her right eye is scared from the brow to the just below the lower lash line. Also cannot miss her tattoos running up and down her arms with varies themes and colors. 

BASIC BACKSTORY Farris life story its a long one but lets keep it short for this. Her mother was an Elezen slave to the Garlean empire. She had Farris to an Garlean upper rank soldier. However, Farris was given to the orphanage even though her parents are still alive and well. Farris is a mistake to her father. Her mother on the other hand never saw it. Farris never knew her parents. So she lived with orphanage until she was about eleven summers old. That’s when she ran off to the port city of Limsa Lominsa. She did what should could survived. Then she joined the pirates off the bays of Costa Del Sol and Aleport. From there she made her way up to Sky Captain. She owns her own ship and sails the skies looking for the next adventure and booty whatever that be and she can find. 

occupation. She studies magic, witchcraft, piracy, weaponry, potion maker, and likes to conjure up new magic. current residence. Living here and there. Couch surfing at her friends places, living in in the Inns and Taverns until she gets her airship back. The Silent Princess.   pet. relationship status. She doesn’t use labels. financial status. She has to fight tooth and nail to make it.  weapons. guns, her body, charm, wit, and integrity. vices. Booze, gambling, 

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation. Farris doesn’t use anything standard labels. It is what it is.  preferred Emotional Role. Only when she is close to someone. She will let you know. preferred Sexual Role. See above. turn On’s. tall men, brute types, banter, dancing, self-confidence, turn Off’s. clingy, prudes, self-loathing, whiners, love Language. Caressing, holding hands, dates, 1:1, quality not quantity, not having to say much to express how you feel, lazy summer, relationship Tendencies. She never was taught anything so she does what she feels like is right. She does like one on one dates. She does like to hang out with friends see how things goes from there.

MISCELLANEOUS. hobbies to pass the time. She loves to make wine, loves to collect the strange and unusual, gamble, fight, and has a passion for brewing her own potions. mental illness. She some PSTD, ADHD and has some times where she is spaced out.  physical illness. none left or right brain. she is able to use both sides of her brain. Farris a kid wonder. self-confidence level. She is strong, stands on her own to feet, she is not a brat, her confidence shows when you are around her for awhile. She has her insecurities for sure. She doesn’t need to flaunt her body to get action. Just a smile and wave. vulnerabilities. Abandonment 

feel free to send anonymous or direct asks for further information

RP HOOKS.

Piracy: Living the good life of Pirates, finding things to plunder and pillage. 

Weaponsmithing: She is a smither in training. She also likes to trade for services and goods. 

Beach life: Costa De Sol. She spent most of her life living on a ship but costal towns such Costa De Sol, Aleport are her mainstays. 

Garlean RP: anything to with magiteck/ the empire, if you are a runaway. Still working with / or around the Garlean Empire. 

OOC.

- i am over the age of 35, my personal life is my business, I will share it when I feel comfortable.

- i am on the Crystal Data Center- mateus. - pls don’t hit me up asking for erp and if you’re only interested in rp if there’s a ship possibility look elsewhere.

@crystalxivrp​

[cannedapricot]

the wind, the sky, and you.

ocean man take me by the hand. hahHAHAH i’m sorry

lmAO am i just gonna be writing seasonal fics for the dreamies or what bsefveVBIFUVE i swear i’ll write something non-seasonal one day. i had a hard time choosing between jeno and haechan for a summer fic but jeno won in the end sorry hyuck i still love you :c

you can find the spring fic i did for renjun here but it’s not in the same universe as this fic!! also,,,, the formatting looks weird on mobile ug h it ruins the flow of the story subvsoeb

word count: 6.8k of hopefully cute summer shenanigans loosely based off of nct dream - la la love. god this is long.

Summer.

This word brought utter joy to some people. 

It meant goodbye to snow and hello to sand. 

It meant laughing with friends while frolicking on the beach.

It meant clear, cloudless skies.

It meant that the icy winds would finally be replaced with cool, refreshing ones.

But to you,

it meant the arrival of hell.

You hated summer with a passion. 

You’ve read enough to know about how summer was portrayed in books. You know how highly everyone thinks of the warm season.

Cicadas called to each other gently as you sat on your porch with a book in hand. Lifting your head and looking up only to smile and wave at a small group of children passing by.

What a lie.

Cicadas did not call gently. They shouted angrily at each other like their neighbor stole their crops, staying on the porch for more than five minutes attracted multiple bugs to come at you, and children around your neighborhood liked to scream their heads off when they were bored. You could hardly find any of these pleasant.

To top it all off, the temperature was absolutely unbearable. All the fans do is direct the hot air towards you and it wasn’t like you could stay inside your air conditioned house all day either. Your mom would yell at you to “go outside and play like a normal teenager.”

Hanging out with your friends sounded like a great, positive way to spend the summer holidays right? 

Well, too bad that your friends were all dirty rich and went to a new, foreign country to spend every summer at.

Another reason to hate summer, ticked off and added onto your list.

As the sun beat down on the earth and sunflowers turned to face it head on, you chose to turn away from the ball of light and attempt to shield yourself with your hardback copy of ‘Lord of the Flies’. Walking to school under the intense glare of the sun was absolute torture. Your sneakers, worn with time, slapped against the hot concrete path as you round the corner, arm already sore from holding the book above your head.

There was really no point in going to school the day before vacation started. The teachers would all be just as ready for school to end as the students are. They’d likely open some kahoot on Disney Princesses for the students to do or they’d play some David Attenborough documentary for the class. 

Honestly, if your mother didn’t force you out the door this morning, you wouldn’t even be dealing with the sun beams. Your plan to skip and sit under the air conditioner for the whole day wasn’t going to happen, not on your mom’s watch.

You sighed in defeat as the sleek school buildings started coming into sight. At least the fancy private school you attend, (thanks to your uncle who’s the chairman), actually turns their air condionter on during summer days.

  “I’m off to the Maldives this holiday. Dad’s hosting a high school reunion over there so I guess I’ll be snorkeling all summer again.” Jisung said, sliding onto part of the bench next to you.

It was noon and the bright, burning sun was hovering right above the school. The small breeze, though pleasant upon contact with skin, hardly did anything to counter the blistering heat. Under a big, green tree you sat with two of your underclassmen, content with the shade, their company, and your book.

You hummed in response to Jisung, who had bust open and started sipping on his capri sun.

“My family’s going on a tour around Europe this summer. Eleven weeks, fifty countries. I’ll end up bringing back suitcases of souvenirs for you guys.” Chenle joked, sliding a can of peach soda across the picnic table to you before settling down on his seat.

“As expected of President Zhong.” You remarked with a smile, looking up from your book. “Remember, when you take over your family’s hotel chain, let me live there for free.”

Jisung tutted while shaking his head, his messy blond locks shaking along with the movement.

“I can never beat President Zhong can I?”

Chenle’s eyes crinkled up and his lips let out a small, high pitched giggle. With a grin creeping up onto your own face, you directed your full attention back to your novel, hoping to finish it before the sun retires.

“Say, what about Y/N? Gonna spend summer with her imaginary friend again?”

Your head snapped up at the mention of you and your ‘imaginary friend’.

“I’m telling you, Jeno is a real person!”

Both of your underclassmen shared a look before bursting into laughter. They loved teasing you, even though you were older than the two. They found your reactions adorable! 

You, however, didn’t. 

“I want to graduate as soon as possible.”

You had meet your ‘imaginary friend’, Lee Jeno, a few summers ago, during your first summer vacation as a high school student. You had been trudging home from the last day of school, your head deep in a book and barely caring about your surroundings. 

Living on a street just five minutes away from the beach meant that you had the choice of going down to the boardwalk and enjoying the salty sea breeze anytime you wished. But that day, you seemed to be able to smell the familiar scent, even though you were in your own neighborhood. You didn’t complain though, you rather enjoyed it. It was the really the only part you enjoyed about summer.

Only upon reaching your front door you had noticed that there was a boy squatting in the front yard of your neighbor’s house, happily pulling weeds out of the flower garden. 

Strange. You had thought. A new neighbor? But Mr and Mrs Lee never sold their house?

The brunette had noticed you staring at him. But he didn’t look away or question you. Instead, he straightened up, and stared back at you. 

Realizing that you were being a huge creep, you had dashed into your own house, a million thoughts going through your head at once. Did he kidnap the old couple that had lived beside you? Or was he their new adopted child? Flinging your book to the side and groaning, you decided to stop overthinking and hop into the shower. It wasn’t any of your business anyways.

But what you hadn’t noticed after rushing indoors, was the boy’s eyes and lips curving up in amusement before he stood up, dusted off his pants, and went inside himself.

That same summer, you had gotten to know Lee Jeno. 

You were hanging around the smoothie shack that your friend, Mark, had a summer job at on the boardwalk. Due to similar tastes in literature, you got along very well with the older boy and visited the shack whenever your mom kicked you out to talk about new book releases.

It was extremely hot that day, the sun shone down without any restraint and many people swung by to try cool themselves down with a iced smoothie. You had perched on a stool in front of the counter and watched Mark flutter around, trying to get everyone’s orders made as quickly as he possibly could. Though your book was open on top of the wooden counter, it was long forgotten as you watched Mark nearly spill some Strawberry-Banana smoothie onto himself with glee. 

You caught the eye of a familiar brunette as he neared the shack, blue surfboard under his right arm. Smiling to himself, he ran his free hand through his wet hair before walking up to the little shack.

You had smelt him before you saw him. The familiar scent of salt, getting stronger and stronger. It wasn’t like you knew it was the boy from next door exactly, you just thought it was another beach goer. But then he rested his board against the shack and sat on the stool. Right next to you. 

Frowning, you had snapped your head to your left. All the stools were vacant. The customers bought their fruit smoothie then left to head towards the beach once again, replaced by new customers who would stand around to wait for their order. 

You swore mentally. You didn’t do well with social interactions when they’re with strangers. Especially when they’re half naked from surfing.

“A strawberry smoothie please.”

Mark had raised an eyebrow at you when he took the surfer’s order. It was as if he was questioning you whether you knew him or not, but soon left to take care of the fruit drink. Then your neighbor turned to you.

“Hey, I’m Lee Jeno. The guy you stared at the other day.”

You cringed at the memory before cracking an awkward smile, eyes darting to a crowd of chatting teenagers who were waiting on their drinks. 

“Hi, I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you, Lee Jeno, the guy I stared at the other day.”

You cringed again, How much lamer could you get.

To your surprise, you had gotten along quite well with Jeno, despite him being more into sports and you more into literature. He didn’t laugh at you for liking books like some jocks would. Instead, he payed attention to every word you had gushed about ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and reassured you that he was not at all bored when you asked him. You admit, you tend to go on and on about the books you love and the listener gets bored quickly.

But he found the twinkle in your eyes fascinating.

The two of you had walked home together. Even though the sun sets later in summer, it was as though the day went by in a flash. You suspected that the sun was jealous of you finding a new friend and decided to end the day earlier. Though you had only gotten to know Jeno that day, the two of you had talked away like old friends.

Bidding goodbye in front of your house, you counted on your fingers what you had learnt about your new friend that day. 

His name was Lee Jeno, he was from the neighboring town and was spending the summer at his grandparents house, he’s learning to surf because that’s on his bucket list which he wants to complete, he adores cats, he prefers strawberry over blueberry, and,

he always smelt like sea.

Literally no one from your school believed that you met a boy named Jeno. It didn’t help that you didn’t have his phone number either! All your play dates were spontaneous and at the most random times. For example, he had showed up at your house one morning and announced that the two of you were going paragliding. You had grinned and went with him without second thought.

It also didn’t help that everyone else in your school went somewhere else during the holiday. No one was there to back you up. 

Except for Mark. But he believes that the two of you are summer flings. To which, you deny.

Chenle and Jisung claimed that he was part of your imagination. Claimed that you had missed the two of them too much. To which, you also deny. 

But even you had started doubting his existence.

He seemed too good to be true.

The next summer, however, Chenle and Jisung were proved wrong when Jeno showed up at your doorstep with bright blue hair. You had gawked at the bright color choice whilst he just smiled brightly at you. 

“Your hair!” Had been your first words to him that summer. 

The boy’s bright smile turned into a sheepish one as he ran a hand through his brand new, sky colored hair. 

“Yeah, I wanted a change. Does it look weird? Jaemin said it looked cute on me, I’ll kill him if he’s lying-”

“No! It looks perfect on you!” You interrupted. 

You had immediately regretted saying that out loud. Feeling your face heating up in embarrassment, your hand flew up to rub the back of your neck. 

As though he had sensed your awkwardness, the boy in front of you had cleared his throat and announced that he had bought a new board, pulling you by your hand and dragging you all the way to the beach. 

The summer breeze blew past the two of you as Jeno pulled you along the familiar road to the sea, even taking the shortcut that you had discovered the year before. It astonished you how he could still remember it after a year of not even being in town.

Jeno’s laughter mixed in with the wind and passed by your ears. Unknowingly, you had started to laugh with him.The two of you must’ve looked crazy, but who cared about the people looking at you weirdly, it was summer, it was time to unwind from school. After all, your summer started when you smelt the salty scent of not the sea, but of the boy whom you associated with the sea.

The town had a fair that summer, right on the boardwalk. It was one of the bigger events the small beachside town had. 

You had been reading Eleanor and Park that evening. Snuggling into your sheets, you had decided that you’d finish reading the book before sun rose and before your room became unbearably hot. Until you heard a clunking noise on your window. Frowning, you unwillingly shuffled to your windowsill, cursing at whichever cicada thought it’d be fun to try break in. Shoving the glass pane to one side, you had stuck your head out, trying to locate the source of the noise. You surprised yourself by narrowly dodging the rock that had flew at you.

“Jeno, what the hell?” You had hissed down at the boy. “Are you trying to kill me?”

His eyes had brightened and curved up into moons when he saw you. Dropping the handful of pebbles he was throwing at your window, the boy waved for you to come down. You rolled your eyes at him before closing your window and trudging down to meet him. Your parents had glanced at you suspiciously before you assured them that you were just going out with Jeno and that you weren’t going to do anything illegal. 

"I’ll be back before twelve!” You assured them before stepping out into the darkening evening.

You found Jeno standing in your driveway, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans and humming a song as if he wasn’t just in your backyard, throwing rocks at your window.

“Hey.” You greeted, your own hands in the pocket of your hoodie. The air was starting to cool down as the sun dived below the horizon for the day. The sky was no longer the blue that matched Jeno’s hair, but was various shades of orange, pink, red and yellow. The boy turned to greet you, the descending sun dying half of his face a glowing orange. 

“Hey.” He greeted back. “Let’s start making our way over before it gets dark.” 

You were confused at the time, completely forgetting that the fair was that evening, only following Jeno because of your trust in him. Whenever you asked him where the two of you were going, he just simply grinned and dodged your question. 

You had gasped upon arrival. The boardwalk was bustling with people, even more than there had been during the day. Usually at this time, everyone would be packing their bags, dusting off sand, and heading home for the day. Fairy lights strung from the fencing and hung from the many booths that opened just for the night. Even the nearby Ferris Wheel, that was closed during the darker hours, was open and running.

Laughing at your shocked face, your blue haired friend snorted,

“Are you sure you even live here?”

Giving him a light slap on the back, you mumbled a weak ‘yes’ before sauntering off towards the candyfloss booth, Jeno following suit. 

The rest of the night was full of laughter, teasing and challenges. You had won Jeno at the shooting games and he had won you at the claw machines. Jeno said that he’d gift you the giant Rilakkuma plush he had picked out from the obnoxiously bright machine, but ended up admitting that he had gotten quite attached to it by the end of the night. The two of you even had a good giggle when you neared the smoothie shack and caught Mark being as busy as a bee. The older boy, catching you two out of the corner of his eye, had yelled at you two to either, 

“Buy a drink or get lost!” To which you and Jeno laughed even harder at.

The walk home was in a comfortable silence. You watched as the streetlamps neared, then disappeared into the night behind you. Stars watched over your journey home, twinkling to each other as if having conversations. The summer nights were much better than the days. Even you had to admit, the gentle snoring of the cicadas were rather pleasant to the ears. Turning to your friend who had an iron grip on the bear plush, you had asked,

“Say, Jeno, what do you love so much about summer?”

His head snapped up at your question.

“What’s there not to love about summer?”

Humming, you took a sip of your raspberry flavored slushie rephrasing the question,

“Alright, what do you love most about summer then?”

Jeno smiled at this. Tilting his head so that he was looking at the stars above, he answered,

“The wind and the sky I guess.” Bringing his head down to face you once again, you saw stars reflecting in his eyes. “The summer wind is always so gentle and pleasant. And the sky’s always such a beautiful clear blue! I always get the urge to want to fly up there, you know!” 

Smiling at the gushing boy, you nodded. He liked summer as much as you liked your books. 

And maybe, you were starting to like him too.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t excited to see Jeno again this summer. 

But he was even more excited than you were. 

With Chenle’s electric handheld fan held up in front of you, you were practically being dragged out of the air conditioned school and back into the heat. The two troublemakers claiming that the three of you should spend some ‘quality time’ together before they left for vacation.

“Come on Y/N, let’s go see Mark. It’s been ages since the Fantastic Four has met up.”

“Yeah, your attempts at resisting are futile.” 

Whining, you tried, once again, to wriggle out of their grasp. The heat wave came early this year and you, for one, weren’t happy about it. Even Jisung’s promises of buying you McDonald's weren’t enough to make you agree to head to the beach.

Everyone stared at you guys with their eyebrows arched. If they hadn’t known that you three were friends, they could easily misunderstand the situation as a kidnapping. Which is what flashed through a certain boy’s mind.

“What’s going on?”

Looking up towards the source of the voice, you met eyes with a blond haired boy. A boy who smelt like the sea. Yet, your first words were, once again,

“Your hair!”

Jeno chuckled a little before responding,

“Ah, don’t worry, I didn’t dye it again. The blue just faded away.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, you straightened yourself before Chenle started elbowing you.

“Introduce us.” He whispered, smiling at the taller boy in front of him.

“Right! Chenle, Jisung, meet Jeno Lee! The boy you thought was fake.” You mouthed the last half, a victorious smirk hanging on your lips. Jisung and Chenle’s eyes widened in shock before exchanging a knowing smile.

“Well, nice to finally meet you, Jeno.”

“Ah, yeah, Jisung and I were just off to Burger King, weren’t we?”

Burger King? You frowned. Weren’t they just dragging you to the smoothie shack just a second ago?

“Ah, I see! You’re Y/N’s friends right?” Jeno asked, not a trace of suspicion on his features.

“Yes! Yes, we are! Now, if you’ll excuse us!”

“Say hi to Mark for us!”

Then you were left with Jeno. The two underclassmen slipping off with hushed whispers being exchanged. You stood there amongst the summer heat, jaw dropped in confusion as Jeno waved goodbye with a pure smile beside you. You didn’t even realize that Chenle had taken his fan with him until you turned to face the boy next to you and finding your hand grasping nothing. 

Jeno’s eyes sparkled like they always did whenever you saw him. The stars you had seen last summer never left his eyes, it seems.

“Hey.”

After clearing your throat you replied, 

“Hey.” 

Jeno’s eyes curved up into the moons that you were oh so familiar with. You’ve always found the way they curved up charming. Heck, you found everything about him charming. But soon, you find that you weren’t the only one. Your fellow students had started noticing this boy shining amidst the crowd with his blinding smile and pure heart. 

You didn’t like it.

In one swoop, you gripped onto Jeno’s arm and started leading the way to the beach, your lips pressed into a straight line. It wasn’t until you heard Jeno’s giggles that you came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street. Then, for the first time in your life, you found the cicadas’ cries interesting. 

“What happened to you? I’m usually the one pulling you to the beach.” The summer child breathed between laughter. Feeling heat starting to consume your ears, your eyes followed a working bee as he traveled from flower to flower. Not noticing that Jeno’s teasing laughter slowly died down and changed into a small smile full of pure adoration for you. Stepping in front you, he softly ruffled your locks before starting walking again. This time, him pulling you along. Like it’s always been. But you miss the small mumble that tumbles out of the boy’s lips.

“It’s not like I mind you taking the lead though.”

“I can’t believe you still work here. Even after graduating high school.”

Mark rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, well, college tuition fees aren’t going to pay themselves.”

Snickering into your blueberry smoothie, you watched as Mark placed Jeno’s strawberry smoothie down. Your older friend was back in town for the summer and like usual, he’s going to be working at the smoothie shack for all of his holiday. At least it was rather empty currently.

“I can’t believe the blue faded out of Jeno’s hair. I can’t call him ocean boy anymore.” Mark joked, leaning on the counter. The book you had long forgotten like usual fluttered as a breeze of wind passed by. Pushing your friend’s wire framed glasses up his nose bridge, you snorted.

“You still can. Nobody’s stopping you.”

Scowling, the black haired boy adjusted his glasses back to where they were before waving to Jeno. The ‘Ocean Boy’ jogged over to where the two of you were situated, surf board under his arm and shaking water droplets off of his hair. Reminded of the same scene two years ago, a smile made its way onto your face. Gulping all of his smoothie down in one shot, the surfer let out a content sigh. Another breeze of wind passed by, the wind chimes hanging from the shack alerting you of its presence. 

“Wind chimes? Those are new.” Jeno noted, nodding in thanks as Mark threw his plastic cup away.

“Yeah, Jaehyun added that recently.” Mark said, referring to his boss. “Said that it’ll ‘add aesthetic to the shack’ or something.”

Glancing up at the glass trinket, you closed your forgotten book. 

“I think it’s cute.”

Jeno couldn’t help but let out a smile at the softness in your tone.

“If Y/N think it’s cute, then so do I.”

Rolling over in your bed, you groaned at whatever was making that stupid tapping noise. Cracking one eye open to check the time on your bedside clock, you let out a whine. It was only five AM. You’d thought that the tapping would go away if you just ignored it and so you rolled back over. But it didn’t. Annoyed at whatever that wanted to shave off your sleeping time, you sat up in your mess of a bed, snapping your head in the general direction of the sound. Concluding that it was indeed coming from your window, you get out of bed in order to shut it up. Except you slipped on your sheets and fell out of bed. Mumbling some colorful words under your breath, you made your way across the room to slide open the window. Poking your bedhead out and squinting around, you tried to locate your biggest enemy at the moment. 

“Psst! Y/N! Down here!”

You should’ve known. Of course it would be Jeno. 

“Jeno, it’s five in the morning.”

“I know! We’re already running out of time!”

“I- What?”

You furrowed you eyebrows. Did you have some sort of thing planned for five AM?

“Come on now! I’ll wait in your drive way!”

“Alright, I’ll just change out of my pajamas-”

“We don’t have time! Grab a jacket and let’s go! You look cute anyways.”

A familiar heat started to climb up your neck and to hide your reddening face, you ducked back inside. Grabbing a random jacket, you trotted as lightly as you could as to not disturb your parents. Shutting the front door with as little force as possible, you mentally back yourself on the back for making it out. The sky wasn’t even light yet. As much as you wanted to swear at Jeno, one look at the boy completed melted any anger you had. The image of his tall frame leaning against the streetlamp just outside of your driveway, waiting, must be enough to make tons of others green in jealousy. Wrapping your jacket around yourself, you shuffled over to the ocean boy.

“Where are you taking me at five in the morning you creep.” 

Finally noticing that you’ve come out, Jeno takes your hand into his. Then breaks into a small jog to the beach with you in tow.

“The beach of course! Where else?”

You rolled your eyes in mock disbelief, even though the big smile on your face ruined your game of pretend. Did this boy know anything else apart from the beach?

The second your feet sunk into the soft sand, you stopped running. Doubled over and gasping to catch your breath, you looked up at the boy who brought you here.

“Good, we’re on time.” He whispered between breaths himself.

“What are we even here for?” You asked, grabbing onto Jeno’s arm in aid to stand up straight. Turning his head to look back at you, he flashed you his signature eye smile before saying,

“To see the sunrise of course.”

So here you were, sitting shoulder to shoulder with the ocean boy, on top of his flannel he had shed on the cool sand. The only sound being heard were the light splashes as ocean waves hit the shore. The first light had yet to break and usually, without a book, you found waiting around to be unbearably boring. But with Jeno, your unfinished story of ‘1984′ didn’t even cross your mind. The boy you had always associated with summer had his eyes closed, enjoying the cool summer air before the sun woke up and warmed the land. Your lips curved up into a sweet smile. With your knees curled up to your chin, you leaned your head on your legs, soaking in Jeno’s beauty. You always disliked the fact that your time with him was limited every year. Only during the months of summer vacation were you able to see him. It was a shame, but perhaps it made you appreciate the time with him even more. 

Suddenly, the thought that this was the last summer vacation before graduation wedged itself into your mind. What would happen after graduation? Would Jeno still be coming over every summer? Or would he be busy with work. No, he’d definitely spend it with his friends and family back in his own town right? You were about to open your mouth to ask him about his plans after graduation when he suddenly jumped up.

“Look! The sun’s finally rising!” He exclaimed, pointing to the horizon.

Giggling at his excitement, you looked at Jeno with stars in your own eyes. His smile was almost childlike in front of the giant, rising, golden star. As the sun rose and littered the sand around you in golden flakes, the birds began to start their day by singing.

“Come on, Y/N, let’s go take a skinny dip!” He said, running back and halting to a stop in front of you. His hands started to pull his white shirt up and whilst you’ve seen him surfing multiple times, skinny dipping was a whole other story. So your hands automatically went over your eyes, yelling at him to put his shirt back on.

“Alright, we’ll skip skinny dipping this time round, but do note that skinny dipping while the sun rises is on my bucket list.” Jeno said with a wide smile before rolling up his pants and running towards the sea.

As he frolicked in the shallow water, your gaze never left the young boy who loved the beach with his whole being. Against the orange backdrop of the awakening sky, the boy who brought you summer waved for you to join him. You wondered about how lucky you were to be have been able to meet him.

“You have some weird things on your bucket list for sure.” You whispered to yourself before shedding your jacket and running to join the blonde. 

Graduation? Whatever. Who cares about the future right? 

Let’s just bathe in the rays of the present for now.

 You weren’t ready for this summer to end. But alas, all good things must come to an end. 

Your room was stuffy with hot air, despite your air conditioner trying it’s best to persuade it into changing into cool air. Your summer homework was left open, yet undone on top of your desk. But how angry your history teacher was going to be was at the very back of your mind. Sighing, you stared at your calendar.

Two days before vacation ended. 

One day before Jeno had to go. 

You were being selfish, you know that, but you really didn’t want Jeno to leave. Because with his departure, your summer ends. Flopping back onto your bed, you started spacing out at your ceiling. Jeno always shows up on his last day and as expected, without fail, he’s at your window once again. You suddenly didn’t mind the tapping against your window. Moving the latch upwards, your eyes meet with the boy you’ve grown to like so much and a smile unknowingly creeps it’s way onto your face. Folding your arms then leaning on the ledge, you greet him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He greeted back with his signature eye smile. 

As usual.

“Is there any reason as to why you prefer to throw pebbles up at my glass window than knocking on the wooden door?” You asked, acting as if you were annoyed like you usually were. He shrugged,

“I read somewhere that it was romantic?”

Keeping up your annoyed front, you tutted at him. Even though the smile had never left your lips. After telling the blonde that you’d be down in a second, you pulled your window back to it’s closed state, closed your whirring air con, then ran downstairs. You stopped to make sure your hair wasn’t a mess before hauling the door open and stepping beside Jeno, who had started moving towards the beach the moment he saw you open the door.

The whole walk to the beach, you couldn’t help but notice how little space there was between you and the boy. If you moved your hand just a smudge closer to his, they’d touch. 

“So, what’s going on this time? Fair? Skinny dipping?” You asked, opting to stuff your hand in your pocket.

Grinning, he replied, 

“Chenle and Jisung’s back early and throwing a party. We’ve been invited.”

You had no idea your two favorite underclassmen were back in town. Neither did you know about the party they had decided to throw down at the pier. So the second you arrived, you squeezed through the crowds of people to find the trouble making hosts, nearly losing Jeno behind you.

“Woah there, Y/N, wait up!”

Stopping and turning your head, you noticed his blonde hair, gleaming in the sunlight, politely smiling at the party goers he pushed past. Finally catching up and taking his usual place beside you in the noisy crowd, he wrapped his hand around yours. Flustered, with heat creeping onto your cheeks already, your eyes darted to look into his. Jeno’s eyes, overflowing with confidence just a few seconds ago, became equally as flustered as yours. 

“Uh, wouldn’t want to get separated again right?” He mumbled, barely audible between the loud music and chatter.

“Right.” You murmured back at him before continuing to maneuver through the sea of dancing bodies, Jeno behind you in tow.

The moment your eyes weren’t on him, he cursed at himself under his breath. Why did he always lose his confidence every time you looked at him?

“I can’t believe you two came back without telling me.” You hissed between your clenched teeth, cornering the two hosts. “What kind of betrayal is this?”

Chenle and Jisung, noticing you and Jeno’s intertwined hands, giggled like schoolboys before answering, 

“A kind of betrayal that’s good for you.”

“Yeah, you should really see the sun more often.”

A amused snort sounded from behind. Snapping your head around, you found Jeno, trying his best to contain his laughter, his eyes curling up into shining crescents.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He snickered, raising his free hand to hide his smile.

“Today’s the day I throw a man into the ocean.” You exhaled, but it didn’t come out as aggressive as you wanted it to.

 Let’s be honest, you couldn’t stay mad, not when Jeno’s smile was creating butterflies in your stomach.

The boy’s hand didn’t let go of yours for the whole party. Not even when multiple people came up to ask for his number (something you still had yet to get.). He simply cracked a polite smile, then moved not so discreetly to let the other party goer see your intertwined hands. If they were still persistent about getting his number, he’d give them the number to Mark’s smoothie shack. Nothing wrong with promoting his friend’s shack right?

But then, when the cute boy you’ve been eyeing the entire time slides up to you and asks for your number, you’d been ecstatic. You had tried to remove your hand from Jeno’s, but unfortunately, Jeno’s iron grip wasn’t a force to be reckoned with. The boy had seen the way your eyes lit up when the other dude came up to you. He had only seen you look at him that way and couldn’t help but let the green monster in him take over. 

“Sorry, Y/N isn’t looking for a significant other right now.” Jeno cut in, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes on his face.

“Oh, alright, I’ll try again later then, I guess.”

Eyes widened in shock, you watched as your ideal type walked back towards his crowd of friends.

Pulling Jeno away from the crowd and onto a creaky part of the pier that was significantly more quiet, you were ready to chew him out. But your friend started to explain himself without you saying anything.

“Look, he looks good, he’s got nice shoulders, and he’s your ideal type. I know.” He paused to look down at you for a second before looking back out at the calm sea. Your eyes pierced into his own, trying to figure him out. 

“But- Uh- The other day, I saw him with another girl. They were kissing and uh- I don’t think he’s worth your time.” 

He hated how just one glance at you can completely throw him off.

“Then who is worth my time then?” You asked, letting your hand slip away from his and running it through your hair in frustration. “I’ve been single all my life with no experience whatsoever, Jeno. Even my underclassmen are starting to date. If I don’t give anyone any chances, I’ll be single and lonely with twelve cats at sixty!”

“Maybe you should consider me for once.” He mumbled, not expecting you to hear it at all.

You heard it alright.

“What?” You whispered, thinking that your ears were malfunctioning. Lee Jeno, surfer boy with a killer smile, a sweetheart who had tons of people fawning over him, was asking you to consider him?

Muttering some curses under his breath, he turned to face you in the eye. The sun setting in the background making the moment to be much more dramatic than you liked it to be. The late summer sun’s golden rays highlighted half of the boy’s face and you swear, his features have definitely gotten more mature than the year before. The music from the party was still playing on faintly in the background and all you could really hear was the washing of the waves hitting the pier and your crazy heartbeat.

“I’m not going to hide it anymore. Y/N, I’ve liked you for a while now. This- this wasn’t how I wanted to tell you, but I guess it’ll have to do.” The boy you’ve grown so fond of chuckles before continuing. 

“I think it started during our second summer together. When we were walking back from the fair. You know, you looked stunning under the starlight. More so when your eyes had their own stars in them. I- I don’t know the exact moment I fell, but I remember not wanting to let you go.”

Jeno’s signature scent of sea salt was all you could smell. He was so, very, close. Your heart felt like it was in your throat. You couldn’t form words as you listened to the sweet confession.

“I thought it’d go away after a while, but when I returned back home to my own town, everything suddenly seemed dull. When I went on double dates with Jaemin and the girl in front of me was trying to chat me up, all I could do was compare her with you. Her eyes didn’t sparkle when she talked about things she ‘loved’. They didn’t sparkle like you when you got into a book.”

He was nervous. You could tell. Though he was trying his hardest not to advert his eyes from yours, his hands were playing with the hem of his shirt and his Adams Apple bobbed multiple times throughout his whole monologue. 

“So, I guess what I really want, is for you to see me in the same light.” 

The blond boy’s shoulders relaxed, finally finishing the words he had been preparing to say since meeting you again this summer. His eyes were squeezed shut, not wanted to face you and possible rejection. 

Finally finding your tongue again, you opened your mouth to speak, but was yet again interrupted by the boy who brought you summer every year.

“It’s okay if you don’t like me like that, I understand.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck, eyes still closed.

You let out a giggle of your own. 

Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, you pulled him down into a sweet kiss. Smiling into the kiss, you found that his lips faintly tasted salty.

Breaking away from him, you giggled at the sight of his eyes, as wide as saucers, in shock.

“I guess, I like you too huh. I mean, the way your eyes crease up into small moons are something I’ll never stop melting over. Also, did you know that your eyes also light up when you talk about the beach? I get jealous sometimes you know.”

A huge smile spread across the young boy’s face. Yelling out in happiness, he wraps his arms around you in a secure hug, then proceeds to spin you around in pure euphoria.

“So you’re officially mine now?”

You rolled your eyes, even though the smile on your face gave it away like it always did.

“Yeah, yeah. Just stop throwing pebbles at my window and we can work something out. I don’t find it to be romantic, sorry.”

Placing you down but hands not moving away from your waist, the beach boy rests his head on your shoulder and mumbles into your skin,

“I forgot to tell you, I got accepted into the collage a bus ride’s away from your house. On a full scholarship.”

Wrapping your own arms around your new boyfriend, you laughed.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

“Yeah, but you’ll have to work hard to get admitted into the same collage.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

Yeah, you hated summer.

You hated the annoying cicadas. You hated the noise the neighborhood children bought. You hated the never ending rise of temperature. You hated how your rich friends would leave you to go on vacation. 

But if a certain boy meant summer,

then you suppose you could deal with it for a little longer.

“Hey, Jeno, what’d you like about summer again?”

He pretended to think about it.

“Hm, the wind, the sky, 

and you.”