The Beach

Sawyer smiled as she pulled up to the white two story beach house that her family owned. She had spent every summer since she was 7 at the beach house, and even after 14 years, she could still feel the excitement and relaxation wash over her at the mere sight of her family’s property.

Seeing the house caused so many memories to flood back to her. All of the barbeques that she had eaten at, over stuffing herself with all of the food available to her younger self. She could remember the days spent building sand castles, looking for seashells and sand dollars, though she never found the latter. She remembered when she was 16, and she had decided she was too cool for sand castles and had laid out on a towel, tanning and occasionally picking up the copy of The Things They Carried she had brought with her, and reading a few more pages about the soldiers with emotional trauma.

It was that summer when she was 16 that she had first met Alexander William Gaskarth. It was the first of many summers spent with him, and it was the only summer that she ever considered him just a friend.

And here she was, back at the beach that had changed her life a thousand times over. She was back where it all started, but this summer would be different. This summer wasn’t going to be like all of the other summers spent with Alex.

Alex wouldn’t even be able to be here for a few weeks, which made this summer’s start completely different from all the other summers. Of course, Alex hadn’t told her this, because she and Alex didn’t exist outside of the beach. They never kept in contact once the summer ended, but would pick up the following summer as though the 10 months apart hadn’t even occurred.

But Alex wasn’t hard to follow since he had become famous.

Sawyer remembered the first time that she had heard of Alex’s growing fame. He had always talked about the band that him and his friend’s had started, and originally, the first summer that he had been brought to Virginia Beach, how upset he had been when he had to spend the summer one state over from his home town, away from his friends who he was supposed to be practicing with. She had first seen his name in a Best Buy at home, when she was looking at the new releases, her interest piqued by the unusual cover of an album entitled “So Wrong Its Right.” She recognized his voice instantly, quickly checking the cd for the names of the band members. There was his name, plain as day. She was 20 then, and had spent every year since she was 16 waiting for the summer to come, waiting to see Alex again. She remembered the summer after, when he had shown up to the beach several weeks later than his family usually did.

Sawyer held up the cd with raised eyebrows, trying to ignore the pieces of her blond hair falling around her face.

Alex grinned sheepishly at her, but his excitement was still obvious.

“You bought our CD?” Alex asked, amazed, flattered, and confused a bit.

“You recorded an album and became famous and I get to find out by seeing the cd in best buy?” Sawyer retorted, though it wasn’t exactly the best response.

“That’s why we came late this year. We were on tour up until a few days ago.” Alex answered excitedly, but Sawyer just rolled her eyes at the brunette boy who was smiling excitedly in front of her, bouncing a bit in place.

“You could’ve told me ya know.” Sawyer said, a bit of venom in her voice, causing Alex to frown.

“Sawyer, I don’t even have your phone number.” Alex remarked, stating the obvious. Sawyer tried to stay angry, but she knew that Alex was right, they were just friends for the summers.

Sawyer had kept up with any news on All Time Low after that summer, because though she would never admit it out loud, she had fallen in love with Alex when she was 16. She wanted to be more than a summer to him, but she knew it was unrealistic.

This summer would be different though, because this summer, things were changing.

Alex wouldn’t even know what hit him.