The Sky Under the Sea

~ Time Lapse: Earlier ~

[Jaime]

“Come on Hime, how long does it take to get ready?” Tony groaned from outside the bathroom. I was fixing my hair for the millionth time, trying to make sure I looked good in front of Bo. Sighing, I decided on pulling a black beanie to cover my poor excuse for hair.


“I’m coming man, don’t get your panties in a twist.” I grumbled as we left the bus.


I’d decided on wearing a navy button up, one of my good shirts, with the sleeves rolled up. I paired it with some black skinny jeans and my red vans.
 As we exited the bus, I started to look around for Bo.

“Food first.” Tony said, dragging all three of us to the table. 
We all made ourselves burgers, and as soon as we were done, Tony disappeared.


“That kid, I swear.” Vic said, shaking his head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chloe waving us over from a table near their bus. My breath hitched as I caught sight of Bo, wearing a dress. It‘s the only time I had seen her in something other than skinny jeans and jumpers all tour, and I liked it. We got closer and I saw that the dress had a piece missing at the back, revealing a section of her bare back and the edges of what seemed to be a tattoo on her left side. The front was just as low cut as the back, and my face went red as I slid into the seat next to her. I put all my effort in eating my burger, wishing my cheeks weren’t so red. 


Once Mike got our drinks and left, Vic and Chloe started talking about how Ephemeral got together. She was very sparse on the details in some areas, but Vic seemed really into it. Of course he did, it was so obvious he had a crush on her. Bo wasn’t talking much, so we just sat side by side in silence and slowly sipped our drinks.


It was now that I finally managed to see what she had tattooed on her arm. 
Her ink read “Heart Means Everything.” 
The few bracelets she wore covered up some of the first word, but it was still legible.
The little bit of alcohol I had in my system bolstered my confidence a little.


“So, what does your tattoo mean?” I asked casually.


“It was something my brother said to me once, and it really hit home so I got it inked on.” Bo replied quietly.


“How long have you had it?” I turned to look at her and saw she was fiddling with her cup.


“Almost six years.”


It all went quiet after that.



[Chloe]



An hour and a few drinks later, we began to set up the beer pong table. 
It was Vic and Jaime versus me and Bo. They’d had a few more drinks than us, but we were going to win if they were sober or smashed. A small crowd had gathered around as we prepared to start.

Vic had hardly left my side all night as we sat at the table and talked about anything and everything. It was so perfect, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face if I tried. Mike had disappeared early on, and I saw him talking to some blonde girl I didn’t recognize. Jaime had been pretty quiet, as had Bo. It didn’t surprise me, she wasn’t much of a talker anyway. Jaime asked about her tattoo, but that was about all the conversation between them. Give her a few more drinks and she’ll loosen up. She and Jaime had stuck together most of the night so far, albeit we hadn’t gone far.
 The table was now set up.


“Okay, let’s just clarify some rules here so everyone knows what’s going on. Each team gets one shot at a time, and must throw the ping pong ball into the opponents cup. If it goes in, one person from the opposing team must scull that drink. This tiny cup here-” Mike, clearly already drunk, had decided to be our referee. He had a drink in his hand, an empty shot glass in the other.

”-Is the death cup. It’ll be empty, but if you get the ball in that cup then the other team just scull every drink on the table. First one to eliminate all of the other teams cups, wins. Let’s go!”


“Just promise us you won’t cry when we beat you, okay?” Bo pouted from my left. Good, the alcohol was starting to do its magic. Jaime scoffed.


It was Bo’s turn first. We’d set up fifteen third-full cups instead of ten to make things more interesting. She stood side on to the table, drink on her left hand and ball in her right. 
Her shot was straight and true, landing squarely in the first cup. Vic plucked the ball out and put the cup against his lips, pouring the liquid down his throat.

He lined up his shot, and missed. 
I grabbed the ball from off the table, and tried my best to line it up. A second later it plonked down into a cup. Bo high-fived me. That was how it went for the first five shots. They had ten cups left to our fifteen. We were getting a little too confident, being shocked when Jaime landed their first one. Bo picked up the cup, draining it without hesitation. She sunk one in return, causing Vic to roll his eyes.

I missed my next three shots as Jaime got one in, meaning I had to drink. A couple of misses from me meant the opportunity was there for them to catch up. And they did, turns out the more alcohol you get into Jaime, the better a shot he is. The crowd had gathered to watch our epic battle, shouting and cheering us on. We now had six cups left to their three. It was tight, and I wasn’t expecting much of a match.


Bo lined up her shot and sunk it straight and true. Vic was unsteady on his feet as he drank, then lined up his shot, and landed it. Bo sculled her cup, handing the ball to me. Once again, I failed miserably. Vic’s hat was slightly askew and the top button of his shirt had come undone. He was so cute when he was drunk, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.


Jaime landed his next shot, and Bo missed hers. The crowd went nuts, hooting and hollering.


It was now four cups to two.

Vic sunk another one, and he seemed pretty pleased with himself. I could barely taste the liquid I poured down my throat, becoming wobbly on my feet. Three cups to two, and at the most crucial point, I missed. Usually I was pretty good, but tonight Vic had me all out of sorts.

“Sorry Bo.” I slurred.


“It’s fine, I know you have your sights set on something other than these cups.” She laughed, giving my shoulder a quick squeeze.


Jaime sunk his, bringing the cup total to a tie at two all. Bo sculled her drink and threw it into the crowd.


“Time to end this! You’re going down Fuentes.” She lined up her shot once again, and Vic’s face fell as it sailed into the cup. One down, one to go. Vic’s last throw landed absolutely nowhere near our remaining cups. It was now or never, the win just within our grasp.


“Let’s go Chloe, I know you can do it!” The crowd was screaming in anticipation. 
I took my time to line up my shot, and gave a shout for joy when it sailed into the cup with a satisfying plonk.


“And the winners are, Bloe and Cho!” Mike shouted, so wasted that he couldn’t stand upright or say our names properly. He was definitely white girl wasted.


“I think we deserve a prize, don’t you Bo?” I smirked, turning to my best friend.


“Fuck yeah. 24 wins in a row isn’t easy. It takes talent, and dedication to the sport.” Bo put a hand on her chest, pretending to wipe away a tear. We both burst out laughing, and thats when I saw that Vic and Jaime had shifted from the other side if the table to where we were.


“Nice win, although we did almost have you at the end.” Vic leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, doing the same for Bo. My heart nearly exploded. First, we sit and talk and have fun, then he kisses me on the cheek!? Jaime followed in his friends footsteps, and I saw Bo’s face go crimson as he lightly pecked her on the cheek.


Suddenly, two tan arms snaked around my waist and lifted me clean off the ground. Hearing a shriek of laughter from my left, I saw that Bo was in a similar position.


“Come on Vic, lets get out of here! We can get them to teach us their secrets!” Vic took off after Jaime as they carried us away from the party, laughing at the top of our lungs. A minute or two later and we stopped moving, and I felt the world start to spin as Vic put me down. Thank god my face was already red from laughter and alcohol.


Jaime hadn’t put Bo down though. He was yelling at her to tell him her secret. What secret I don’t know exactly, because ‘beer pong’ hadn’t been mentioned in a good ten minutes. 
We heard a thump and turned in sync, following where the noise had come from.
 Jaime had managed to trip over, falling onto his back and Bo was sitting on his chest. 
It was so cute, I had to pull my phone out and take a photo.

Until I realized I didn’t have my phone. I thought for a moment, the alcohol making me bolder than usual. I slipped my hand into Vic’s back pocket, causing him to jump. I winked at him as I pulled out his phone and snapping a photo or two. Quickly, I texted them to myself, making sure my number was saved into his contact list. As I handed him his phone, he grabbed my hand.


“I think we better give these two some privacy. Have fun fucking!” Vic yelled as we ran back towards the party.



[Jaime]



So here I was, completely smashed, with Bo sitting on my chest. I’d tripped over and she’d fallen flat on top of me, but I wasn’t complaining. Her legs were either side of my hips and I felt my heart begin to race.


“So. Are you going to share your secret of success with me?” I said. 


“I just have an immense amount of talent, that’s all. Nothing but skill, Jaime.” She stood up and nearly fell back down.


“Careful! You alright?” I asked, sitting up much too fast and getting a head rush for my trouble.

“More sober than you.” She retorted, poking her tongue out. As I managed to drag myself back to my feet, my back pocket started vibrating. I pulled out a phone and went to answer it, stopping short when I saw that it wasn’t mine. It was Bo’s. I vaguely recalled her asking to hang onto it for safekeeping.


“It’s yours.” I said, holding it out to her and standing up.


“Ozzy!” She yelled into the phone.


“I am one hundred percent totally not sober right now. But I’m better off than Jaime.” She giggled, holding the phone away from her ear.


“I’ll meet you back there, its my brother.” As if on cue, my bladder started cramping. I nodded and bolted back to the bus, desperately needing to pee.


I felt an immense amount of relief as I unzipped my fly and began.
 Two minutes later, exhaustion hit me like a train. Somehow I managed to strip out of my clothes, walk out of the bathroom and roll into my bunk. By the time my alcohol saturated brain realized Bo was coming back to find me, it was too late and I succumbed to the darkness of sleep. All night I dreamed of Bo in her low cut dress.