Under the Ocean Waves

The wind picked up some of the sand as it blew across the beach. It was dark, making it a little hard to see, but Vic could still make out the figure walking towards him. His eyes stuck out like sapphires in the dirt, so it was kind of hard not to.

When he was within touching distance Vic reached out and pulled him close. “Scary day,” he said softly, burying his face in to Kellin’s shoulder.

“What happened?” asked the siren, wrapping his arms around Vic’s waist.

“I’ll explain later, let’s get out of here,” said Vic, who could not shake the feeling that they were being watched or something. They locked hands and started walking back towards the parking lot. Vic had actually decided to walk today, meaning they weren’t taking the car, which Kellin was more than fine with. No matter how many times he got in to it, he could never get used to it.

It was nice tonight, though, so it didn’t really matter to either of them. Vic was tired from work, but not so tired that he couldn’t enjoy their little stroll. He led Kellin in to town, taking the more public route to his apartment. Which wasn’t necessary, but he wanted Kellin to see a little more of what San Diego had to offer without whizzing by in a car. There were lights and people and restaurants, and so many different sights and sounds at night.

“What is that?” asked Kellin, pointing up the sidewalk where a man was doing street magic.

“A street performer,” answered Vic. “Let’s go check it out.”

They walked up the street, Vic pulling Kellin towards the man that was now juggling bowling pins, throwing them what looked like twenty feet in the air and catching them with ease. Kellin watched with wide eyes. He’d never seen something like that before. “How does he do that?” he asked.

“He’s got lots of practice,” Vic answered. He let Kellin watch for a few more moments before pulling him away, chuckling at how he glanced back over his shoulder for a last look at the man. The tan boy squeezed his hand as they rounded the corner, leaving the street performer out of sight.

A cool night breeze blew throughout the city, making the siren shiver a bit. One thing he had noticed was that he was usually so much warmer up here, which he liked. Vic put his arm around him, pulling him close and rubbing his arm, smiling at him.

Kellin was about to smile back and maybe peck him on the lips, but a shout from behind them cut him off.

“Hey! Faggots!”

It was a group of kids, or teenagers, whatever - they wore baggy clothes and high topped shoes, and had evil-looking grins on their faces. “Faggots! Where ya going, fags?” Shouted one of them.

Although he couldn’t make out the meaning of the word, Kellin felt afraid. They were obviously yelling at him and Vic, but he didn’t know why. “Vic?” he whispered, looking at the boy with concern. His lips were tightened and he looked straight forward, tightening his hold on Kellin. “What’s a faggot?”

Vic glared over his shoulder, shooting the boys a dirty look. “Ignore them,” he muttered.

“San Diego doesn’t need anymore faggots! Why don’t you go fuck each other in the ass somewhere else!” one of them shouted, to the applause and laughter of his buddies. Vic picked up his pace, pulling Kellin along with him.

When a small rock flew past his head and the other knocked in to Kellin’s shoulder, though, Vic finally snapped.

“Listen you ignorant dumpsterfucks,” he seethed, turning around to face them. “You want a fucking fight? You’ve found one, get your skinny-little asses over here so I can kick you in to next year!”

“Oh, now he wants us to go over there!” Laughed a boy, still holding a rock.

“Careful dude, he may try to bumfuck you!”

Another rock was tossed in their direction, missing both the boys. Kellin was standing behind Vic, not saying anything, just feeling scared and staring at their attackers, wondering why they were throwing things at him. What had he done?

“V-Vic, don’t get hurt…” he said, his concern only for the boy trying to protect him.

They shouted more things, before turning and running away before Vic actually went after them. “You better fucking run!” He shouted loudly. Turning away from the scene, he grabbed Kellin’s hand, pulling him along. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

He managed to calm down as they walked along, Kellin just squeezing the boy’s hand to comfort him in the only way he knew how. Once they got closer towards the suburbs, he relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking at Kellin. The siren nodded his head, squeezing Vic’s hand once more.

“What’s a faggot?” Kellin asked as they kept walking. “Why did they start shouting that at us?”

Vic ran a hand through his hair, wondering how on Earth he was supposed to explain this to the siren. “Well, its a really hateful word they use for um… for guys that like other guys.”

“I don’t get it,” admitted Kellin, looking up at realizing they were almost at Vic’s apartment.

Vic sighed and slid his arm around his waist, making note of the fact that Mike’s car wasn’t in the driveway. “They were, what you call, ‘douchebags’. And they’re very ignorant. Just, forget about it okay?”

“They were making fun of us?” said Kellin, refusing to drop the subject. Vic nodded his head and opened the door, allowing both of them to go inside the apartment.

“Its me!” he called down the hallway. No one answered, and the place was dark. No one else was home.

Kellin kicked off his shoes after Vic did, then followed him down the hall to his bedroom. Vic flopped down on his bed, burying his face in the pillows. The siren hesitated for a moment before laying down next to him, putting his face close to Vic’s. The tanner boy turned his head to look at him, taken aback once again by how bright the siren’s eyes were.

“Let’s just go to sleep,” he suggested, pulling Kellin closer to him.

Other ideas were floating around in the siren’s mind though. He turned Vic’s head towards his to press their lips together, not for himself but for Vic - it always seemed to make him happy; at least, Kellin hoped it did. Of course he kissed back, much to Kellin’s happiness. That gave him the confidence to move his hand down Vic’s chest, to the top of his jeans for a repeat of last night, causing him to completely forget about the day he’d had at work.

—

Two hushed voices whispered in the darkness, their owners situated under the cliff on the rocks where the waves crashed against the stone. The light of the moon flickered as clouds passed over it, casting shadows over their faces. Even in the dim light, their eyes stuck out, glowing almost unnaturally.

“He nearly snapped his neck falling off the ladder,” said one. “I saw it happen.”

“So, do you think your prediction was right?” asked the other.

The first speaker thought for a moment, hesitating before he answered. “Yes,” he said finally. “I think someone needs to keep an eye on Vic as long as he’s around, Matty.”

The red-headed siren nodded. “If something happens to Vic then Kellin is in trouble.”

The original speaker nodded with understanding. “I’ll keep following him around. He won’t even know I’m there.”

“As usual,” agreed Matty, nodding his head. The first speaker looked out towards the waves. They were so calm tonight, but both creatures knew that it wouldn’t stay that way forever. There was a storm coming, on land and on sea, in more ways than one.

—

For once, Vic’s eyes actually opened before Kellin’s did, in the early hours of the morning, which he was getting used to waking up during. The siren was sleeping peacefully, but Vic knew he was a light sleeper so he didn’t try to move. He just turned his head to look at him.

Even with his bright eyes closed, he still had a face that lit up the whole room. His hair was sticking out at odd angles and it was probably the cutest thing Vic had the pleasure of laying his eyes on. Before he knew it a little grin was spreading across his face because just looking at this boy’s face made him feel happy.

He moved his body so that he was looking down at him and gently pressed their lips together before Kellin had the chance to wake up.

“Good morning,” he whispered when he pulled away. Kellin stared back at him happily, wrapping his arms around Vic’s neck to pull him back down.

“Its early?” Kellin asked, sounding groggy after waking up. Vic nodded and lay back down. They were facing each other on their sides, Vic with his arms still wrapped around Kellin’s small body. The siren reached a pale arm up and started to move Vic’s bangs out of his eyes and innocently play with his hair.

Vic closed his eyes, enjoying Kellin’s comforting touch. He loved it when people played with his hair. “Kellin,” he said softly, breaking the silence.

“Yes?” answered the boy, running his hand through Vic’s dark strands of hair.

“You’re perfect.”

A grin broke out on to the pale boy’s face at Vic’s words and he pushed himself forward and kissed him again. It was like an eruption of feelings in his belly and he couldn’t help it; he wanted to spend forever with Vic and even then it probably wouldn’t be long enough.

The two of them ended up lazing about in bed for a few more hours before they heard someone knock on the door, and without waiting for an answer, Mike popped his head in. The sun was up, but it still seemed a little early for him to be awake.

“Hey,” he said groggily, completely looking past the fact that there was another boy in his brother’s bed. Maybe it was the fact that he just woke up, or maybe it was the fact that he kind of knew all along what most of his brother’s time was taken up doing. “We need milk.”

“Go get some,” said Vic, slightly annoyed. Kellin turned his head in to the pillow as if he were trying to hide his face out of fear. He still didn’t know Mike.

The tall, skinny boy frowned at his brother. “Please? I’m hungover as fuck, dude. So are Jaime and Tony. You’re our only hope…”

“I think you’re still a little drunk, too,” said Vic, sitting up. Mike took that as a yes and backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him. “Its alright, Kellin. You don’t have to hide from him.”

The siren looked up at him, surprised at his own laziness when he found that he didn’t want to get up from Vic’s warm comfortable bed. But Vic was already swinging his legs over the side of the mattress to stand up, making decisions in his head about what to wear that day.

He stepped over to his dresser, pulling out two pairs of skinny jeans - one of which he threw to Kellin. Then he grabbed two shirts for both of them, making a mental reminder to himself that he needed to do some laundry and went to the bathroom so that he and Kellin could both change.

—

They ended up taking the car to the store, much to Kellin’s horror.

“It’s alright, Kels. Will it make you feel better if I buy you some starburst while we’re there?” Vic asked, chuckling as Kellin still gripped his hand tightly while they went around corners.

He almost missed the stiff nod gave him while he tried to not crack a smile. Vic always knew how to make him feel less afraid, no matter the situation. That’s probably why Kellin trusted him so much.

When they pulled up to the parking lot of a local convenient store, the siren was almost afraid of setting foot on the pavement, nervous around so many people going in and out of the little shop. Vic gave his hand a squeeze and opened his own door, however, and Kellin obviously followed, putting his misgivings aside.

“Just stick by me, okay?” said Vic, grabbing Kellin’s hand while they walked from the car to the door. “I don’t want you to get lost.”

“Won’t be a problem,” Kellin answered happily. Vic almost gave him a cheek before they got on to the sidewalk just before the store. Almost.

Because the next second he was whipping his heard around just in time before he heard the screeching of tires and caught sight of the front end of an SUV, coming directly towards him and Kellin.