Ocean Avenue

DAY THREE

The first question that Alex had about surfing was why it had to be salt water that had the best waves. For the entire morning, the spring breaker had been calm and quiet as his new friends explained the ins and outs of the sport, and he had not asked anything in reply. Once it was go time, though, and Alex was urged to make his first attempt, he realized how much he hated the salty sea. As the water poured into his mouth, and occasionally his nose, as he fell, Alex wished that the earth worked differently. He thought it’d be way better if the lakes had salt water and the oceans were fresh, especially in his case. Or, maybe he just had to learn how to not suck so much, but he wouldn’t admit that to himself.

Alex was weak in the legs as he stood on the sandy shore, soaked, for what seemed like the millionth time today. He clutched the surfboard in one arm and stared out to sea like the others did. As the waves got bigger, Matt nudged Alex and then took off. Alex sighed and followed his friends as they got on their stomachs on their boards and began to paddle. Alex had decided very quickly that he hated surfing with a passion. It was as if the ocean hated a northern native. But as much as the ocean despised Alex, Alex held double the resentment for it.

Watching as the other guys ventured out further into the sea, Alex realize that he’d have to attempt to stand up soon. Taking a deep breath and trying to stir together all the courage he had, Alex put more force into his drive forward and started to do the technique of getting up that he’d been taught. Unfortunately, he was focusing more on what his friends were doing ahead of him. Alex thought that if he tried to watch and mirror the movements, he would get it right… He was sorely mistaken. As Alex pushed up on shaky feet and let go of the board with his hands, salty sprays of water assaulting him, he could already feel the shakiness. A cold dread flipped his stomach upside down while he wobbled back and forth quickly, hands shooting out to try and keep his balance. His efforts were futile however, and with a yell Alex wiped out completely. All he saw was a flash of color, heard was a swear, and felt was himself crashing into someone else before he was underwater. Water flooded his nose and mouth, and that’s when Alex decided that humans weren’t meant for the ocean. Once fully emerged, Alex dwelled on how much he really didn’t belong there. Falling was definitely the worst part of any water sport.

"Dude! What the hell?" Alex heard a distressed voice call out once he'd risen to the surface. Rubbing his face while simultaneously trying to stay afloat, Alex looked back with wide eyes. Jack stood- well, swam, before him, one arm over his board while the other was reaching out to Alex.

"Holy shit, are you alright?" Jack questioned his friend again, fingers resting lightly on the bridge of Alex's nose. The other boy looked back at him curiously, taking a while to realize what Jack was going on about. Once Alex looked down, though, he understood the problem. Blood was pooling and disappearing in front of him, the substance smeared on his hands from when he'd touched his face earlier, as well. Gasping, Alex dunked his hands into the water, splashing his nose as well. Jack laughed in response, earning a glare from Alex in return.

"Hey, it's okay. Come with me," Jack motioned. "And hold onto your nose, too. But don't tip your head backwards."

Nodding, Alex did as Jack suggested, grabbing his hand and letting the other boy pull him and their boards to shore as he focused on trying not to bleed to death.

-

Once they finally got out of the water, Jack set the boards down and Alex spoke. "What now?" He asked, voice sounding quite nasally.

"Jeez, you're impatient," Jack laughed. "I think there's some tissues in the car."

"Well, I'm bleeding! Am I supposed to be calm about this?" Alex continued, "This was stupid, I hate surfing."

"It was your first time." Jack rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't the worst that could've happened."

"Well, I still don't like it," Alex huffed, following as Jack started to make his way up the beach. By the time they'd made it up to where Matt's car was parked, the other boys weren't far behind.

"Whoa, what happened?" Rian asked as Matt immediately took to unlocking the car. Jack opened one of the back doors, jerking his head to the side to signal for Alex to take a seat.

"Someone fell off their board and crashed into me," Jack said, quite amusingly. Alex returned the remark with another glare, earning a few chuckles from Zack and Rian.

When Matt emerged with the tissues, the boys were able to nurse Alex's nose back to normal. The group decided to call it quits for the day, instead going with what was Jack's suggestion to head to the ice cream parlour.

Jack had suggested it as he held a tissue to Alex's nose, the other boys deciding to just goof off in water again until Alex was ready to go.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way," Jack apologized, returning the small smile Alex gave him.

"It's fine. What about you, though? Did you not get hurt?" Alex asked, trying to talk around the piece of fabric pressed to his face.

"Nah, I'm good," Jack reassured, "And I think you're about finished bleeding, too. Now how about we go get those other idiots, and head out for some ice cream?"

Alex nodded at the preposition, climbing out of the car and following Jack back down the beach.

-

Later on, the five boys found themselves circled around a table, each with their selected choice of ice cream. They were seated outside, Matt claiming that it was too nice of a day to eat inside. He probably said that every day, though, Alex thought.

Inside the parlour, Jack had purchased the ice cream for everyone, saying that it was the least he could do about Alex's bloody nose. The other boy stated that he hadn't brought along any money, and Jack had simply just waved him off, This confused Alex, as he'd been the one to crash into Jack. He didn't understand why the local wasn't more upset at him, because Jack seemed like the type. Or, he had in the beginning, at least. Now, Jack was being quite nice to him, actually. Alex was half impressed, surprised by how fast these guys had stuck on to him, too, but he was also slightly annoyed with himself. Why was he being so friendly with them, especially Jack? 'Long lasting' friendships weren't something Alex exactly needed, especially with people that lived on the opposite side of the country as him.

Nevertheless, Alex let Jack make the purchase. Matt, Zack, and Rian did too, Jack rolling his eyes at the claims that they'd 'pay him back somehow.'

-

"So," Matt asked, in the midst of their conversation, "Are you dating anyone, Alex?"

The group had been talking about people they went to school with and people they were interested in, but Alex hadn't been paying much attention. Instead, he mindlessly listened, thinking about what it'd be like to hang around with people like this full-time and looking up when a new person began speaking.

Alex looked up particularly fast when Matt spoke to him, heartbeat quickening at the sound of his own name. The brunet was startled by his reaction, unaware of any the question meant so much to him. The answer was quite easy, a simple, 'no,' but the word left Alex feeling slighty embarrassed. He settled with saying, "Not right now," as Rian responded with, "Hmm, sure."

The looks that Matt and Rian were giving him made him quite nervous, like they were waiting for him to confess something right then and there. Alex knew that wasn't the case, though, and convinced himself to lighten up. He was thankful that Zack was immersed in his phone, and that Jack was busy waving back to a group of girls walking by. He didn't need to be questioned by four people, two was enough.

Alex thought about how he didn't even have many friends back home, and these boys expected him to be in a relationship. That finally brought a smile to his face, and he shook his head, listening to whatever his friends were talking about now.

"What should we do tomorrow?" Matt asked, looking at everyone around him.

"No idea," Jack mumbled, catching Alex's eyes as he spoke. He smiled across the table, and Alex smiled back. Their little exchange was interrupted by Rian, though, who began talking loudly.

"Man, I LOVE summer. We're so free! We're making plans for tomorrow because we're FREE! This is how it was meant to be!" He exclaimed, arm gestures wide, “This is totally how I’m going to live all the time when I’m older.”

The rest of the boys laughed along with Rian, spending the remainder of the day sitting under the sun until it was no longer there. In that moment, Alex truly agreed with Rian. By no means would he ever consider himself a West coast boy, but he could definitely see himself wasting many more days into nights here.

-

When Alex got home, his mother was waiting for him. Her and Alex's father had spent yet another day out, and although she had enjoyed it, she was hoping for at least a couple family-oriented outings soon. Walking into the entry, she smiled at Alex, noticing the pink tinge to his cheeks that he'd developed from spending all day in the sun.

"Alex, honey, what were you up to today?" She asked, greeting her son with a hug. Mrs. Gaskarth had just finished cleaning up from dinner, but there was always time to make something for Alex. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Uh, nothing mom, and sure." Alex smiled back, following his mom into the kitchen.
Realizing how tired he was, he took a seat at the table, while his mother kept herself busy.

"So, what do you say we do something together tomorrow?" Mrs. Gaskarth asked, as Alex's smile faded. His mother gave him a questioning look, and he knew he'd have to actually explain himself this time.

"Actually, you see, I have plans," Alex sighed, not particularly excited for her reply. It wasn't that his mother would be rude about his new friends, it was just that she'd be very, very invasive.

"Plans? Oh, nonsense. It's not like you've been doing anything important these last few days," his mother spoke, "Or have you?"

"Uh, yeah, I made some friends. Now what are we eating for din-" Alex tried, to no avail.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Mrs. Gaskarth sang, "You should definitely go out with your new friends, tomorrow, then." Family time was very important, but the fact that her son had already made friends here had astounded the woman. She could sacrifice their vacation time, if it meant that Alex would be spending time with actual people, for once. And as much as Alex didn't want his mom to know about the guys, for fear of his parents embarrassing him greatly one way or another, he was glad that the news had made her as happy as it did.