* 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆.

Julian was soaking wet, his board tucked under a muscular, inked arm. Surfing out here had been good ever since he moved, and he was glad for it. He didn’t know what he’d do if he wasn’t living near the ocean as he had been his whole life somewhere else. Julian glanced over to Stephen and shook his head. “It’s fucked if you go out too far and get sucked into the rip current. I’m goin’ over there,” the Aussie said, pointing a bit further up along the beach.·“Surf should be good there, but good lookin’ out, man,” he said.·“You comin’ or nah?”

          eyes  scan  the  water  slowly,  tracking  the  exact  location  julian  was  pointing  out.   stephen  had  a  lot  of  distrust  when  it  came  to  the  ocean,  so  he  was  still  just  a  bit  wary  of  the  other's  decision  to  mess  with  mother  nature  when  she  was  already  messing  with  the  outer  banks.     ❛   you  sure  about  that  ?   ❜     still,  part  of  him  wanted  to  get  up  &  join  julian,  but  he  wasn't  really  dressed  for  the  occasion.     ❛   dude,  i  don't  have  my  board.   you  want  me  to  break  off a  piece  of  the  pier  &  use  driftwood  as  a  makeshift  one  ?   ❜     it's  meant  to  be  a  joke,  of  course.

Alexandra had a really long day and all she wanted to do was surf a little before she went home to relax. Not paying attention she stop walking as she heard the others voice. Letting out a sigh she looked up at the waves, and he was right. “Yeah, I guess you’re right” she sighed giving him a smile, “Well, thanks for making sure I didn’t die” she joked, letting out a little laugh. Leaning her board against the rail she looked up at him, “So, why are you out here?”.

          ❛   of  course.   gotta  look  out  for  a  fellow  kook,  don't  i  ?   ❜     fingertips  barely  graze  the  sand  as  he  shifts  from  resting  his  arms  atop  his  knees  to  letting  his  hands  fall  to  the  ground.   it's  a  nervous  tick  that  he  has   –––   not  that  anything  really  made  him  nervous.   although  social  &  fairly  outgoing,  there  were  times  where  stephen  felt  anxious  about  talking  to  people.   he  doesn't  do  good  one - on - one.   her  question  makes  eyebrows  lift,  but  then  the  male  is  shrugging  lazily.     ❛   got  bored,  i  guess.   ❜     well,  he  mostly  just  hated  being  inside  during  storms.   it  felt  too  confined.     ❛   there's  some  weird  fuckin'  office  party  my  dad's  having  &  it  wasn't  really  my  scene.   ❜

beau knew a storm was rumbling in the outer banks. he could smell it in the air from the moment he woke up and that’s what excited him the most. he hated surfing with the calm waves. he wanted a little adventure. with his board under his arm, he trekked through the sand at the nearly empty beach. his eyes glanced over when he heard a voice, shaking his head a bit at the words being spoken. “i’m very aware of that. it’s the best part.” he shrugged, glancing to the waves crashing against one another. “the uncertainty, that’s my favorite part of surfing during a storm. you never know what’s going to happen.” he wouldn’t mind, either. “that’s too bad. i wouldn’t mind being saved by you.” 

          the  absence  of  his  own  board  seems  unnatural  to  stephen,  but  there  was  a  lot  going  on  inside  his  head  &  surfing  just  wasn't  a  main  priority  at  the  moment.   beau's  response  catches  him  off - guard,  eyebrows  lifting  as  soon  as  the  word  uncertainty  is  strewn  into  the  open  like  it  was  nothing.   unpredictability  could  be  a  beautiful  thing,  but  it  could  also  be  tragic.   with  his  luck,  beau's  name  would  end  up  in  the  newspaper  &  he'd  be  seen  as  the  bystander  who  had  done  nothing  to  stop  a  stupid  decision  to  catch  some  waves  during  the  beginning  of  a  storm.     ❛   that  why  you  were  really  gonna  do  it  ?   ❜     an  entertained  smile  makes  an  appearance,  but  only  briefly,  as  flattery  becomes  one  of  his  biggest  vices.     ❛   to  be  saved  by  some  dashing,  young  man  who's  got  no  knowledge  of  cpr  or  basic  life - saving  skills  ?   ❜     it's  the  narcissist  in  him  speaking.

          ＦＩＲＳＴ  ＷＥＥＫ  ＢＡＣＫ  ＩＮ  ＣＬＡＳＳ   and  he  already  longs  for  it  to  be  over  .  the  lectures  about  a  system  he  finds  little  to  no  interest  in  has  become  more  and  more  tedious  over  the  years  ,  so  much  so  that  he  barely  remembers  the  lessons  from  his  professors  .  he’s  fresh  out  of  one  ,  clad  in  his  best  shirt  and  tie  ,  pants  rolled  to  his  knees  ,  and  a  tattered  ball  cap  settled  backward  on  his  head  .  his  parents  would  shutter  at  the  sight  of  him  ,  nagging  him  about  how  the  garments  would  wrinkle  ——  the  custom  made  cufflinks  could  be  lost  in  the  loose  sand  .  all  the  more  reason  for  him  to  keep  his  path  toward  the  water  ,  searching  for  a  few  moments  of  tranquility  where  all  he  can  feel  ,  hear  and  see  are  the  waves  crashing  around  his  feet  .  before  he  can  reach  that  point  though  ,  his  attention  is  captured  by  the  voice  of  the  male  nearby  .  cole  inhales  a  deep  breath  and  glances  his  way  ,  lips  pressing  into  a  tight  and  unimpressed  line  .   ❛  if  the  current  sweeps  my  ankles  away  ,  know  that  they  won’t  hold  you  accountable  for  it  ,  ❜  he  responds  with  a  shrug  and  a  wave  of  his  hand  ,  then  steps  into  the  water  and  releases  the  captive  air  in  his  lungs  .  the  cold  water  was  as  relaxing  as  it  was  energizing  .   ❛  ever  go  surfing  during  a  storm  ?  it’s  fucking  cool  until  the  waves  get  way  too  violent  .  gotta  take  risks  sometimes  ,  don’t  you  think  ?  swimming  though  ,  well  ,  i’m  not  a  fucking  idiot  don’t  worry  .  ❜

“I hate that I’m into this show, watching it was suppose to be a joke.” Tobias stated as he looked over at the person on the other side of the couch, in disbelief. “I thought we’d watch the first episode and be done, but I wanna know more, are these people actually going to get married? They’ve known each other for like three days.” A glance towards the television where ‘Love is Blind’ was paused and despite himself he had the urge to hit play. @kildarestarts·

          comfort  manifests  in  the  form  of  long  &  lanky  limbs  strewn  lazily  across  his  side  of  the  couch.   one  leg  is  hanging  over  the  furniture's  arm,  index  finger  &  thumb  barely  supporting  his  jawline  as  stephen's  shoulder  remains  posted  against  a  few  stray  pillows.   the  disinterest  in  the  show  before  him  is  shown  through  straight - faced  remarks  &  eyebrows  that  portray  confusion  half  the  time.     ❛   press  play  &  i'm  throwing  that  remote  across  the  room  myself.   ❜     with  that,  the  male  sat  up  straight  with  a  tired  groan,  arms  stretching  in  front  of  him  as  a  yawn  parts  slightly  chapped  lips.     ❛   put  on,  like,  a  horror  movie  or  something.   i'm  fallin'  asleep  over  here.   ❜

      𝙹𝙰𝙲𝙾𝙱  𝙴𝙻𝙾𝚁𝙳𝙸.   𝟸𝟸.   𝙷𝙴 / 𝙷𝙸𝙼.   𝙿𝙰𝙽𝚂𝙴𝚇𝚄𝙰𝙻.     have  you  met  𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧  𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐚  ?   they’re  a  well - known  𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤  in  the  outer  banks.   rumor  has  it  they  can  be  𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞  &  𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝,  but  also  𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞  &  𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥.   they’ve  lived  on  the  island  for  𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲  𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬  and  work  as  a  𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞  𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫.   when  you  hear  their  name,  you  can  always  picture  𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝  𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧  𝐨𝐮𝐭  𝐨𝐟  𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝  𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫,  𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬  𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐮𝐩  𝐢𝐧  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝,  and  𝐚  𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  𝐨𝐟  𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭  𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐝  𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬.     𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓪.  𝓮𝓼𝓽.  𝓼𝓱𝓮 / 𝓱𝓮𝓻.