Ethan’s chest expanded from the large breath he took, breathing in the fresh beach air. It was a bright sunny day that morning, the sun beaming in a bright blue sky. A gentle breeze passed around Ethan, gently shifting his clothes and providing some relief from the intense heat. As Ethan moved further and further from the bus stop, he took in the view around him. 

It barely took him a minute to move from the firm concrete to the soft brown sand. The further Ethan got from the bus stop and concrete roads behind him, the cleaner he found the sand to be. Ethan marveled at the mixture of grass and trees that surrounded the boardwalk with the pale sand that led up to the water. 

He looked left towards the volleyball nets, smiling when he found groups of people practicing before the games started. Along with the volleyball crowd, Ethan could see families and friends relaxing on the beach or swimming in the cold water. Along the pier people ran, walked, or rode their bikes. 

There was so much life and energy all along the beach and Ethan was smiling happily as he made his way closer to the sand. Ethan was still scanning the scenery and observing the people around when he noticed a familiar boy watching the volleyball players practice. 

Ethan began jogging and the closer he got, the more he could tell that it was Chris standing there in green swimming trunks and a light gray t-shirt. Ethan was wearing similar clothing, but his t-shirt was a pale blue and his trunks were slightly shorter and black. 

“Chris!” Ethan called out, causing the aforementioned black man to turn around, black sunglasses adorning his face. Once Ethan closed the distance between them, he suddenly realized that ignoring all of the strangers, they were alone. The only people that they knew on this beach at the moment were each other. Ethan became conscious of how he should act. He wanted to give Chris a massive hug, but that would be a little too friendly for their situation. He decided to do the exact opposite and be extremely friend-like. “Hey man, what’s up?”

Ethan’s smile didn’t fall, but his expression did wobble before freezing in an awkward,  wide-eyed, large smile place that felt as uncomfortable as it looked. Chris assumed that Ethan was just a bit nervous because this was the first time they agreed to meet outside of school before. To ease Ethan’s worries, Chris simply smiled wider and pulled his glasses off of his face. He hoped that seeing his eyes would help Ethan see that Chris was genuinely happy to see him and get Ethan to relax. 

“Hey, Ethan,” Chris replied, taking Ethan’s hand and pulling him into a man hug that gripped both of their hearts painfully with how platonic it was. “I was just checking out the players since they may be our competition.”

Ethan laughed at Chris' comment, checking out the volleyball players from this closer distance. There were varying levels of skill among those in front of them. Some were trying to get their ball to get over the net consistently while others were leaping up, working to get their spikes as fast and accurate as possible. 

His eyes lingered on those more intimidating players, Ethan then looked up at Chris. He was squinting against the sun but Chris could still see his deadpan expression. 

“That’s a lot of confidence considering that you’ve been watching these killer players for the past few minutes.” Ethan noted, watching Chris carefully. He wasn’t sure if Chris was genuinely confident or just making a joke of it all. Chris looked down at Ethan, his eyes growing thin with the intensity of his smile. 

“I’m not that confident, actually.” Chris began, earning a little snort from Ethan. “I’m not! I just think that if money is on the line, we may as well try.”

“You really think the two of us can win against these great players?” Ethan asked disbelievingly while watching the other players. His eyes widened when he noticed the size of their teams. “Players who are currently getting into teams of 6!”

Chris didn’t seem fazed at all about Ethan’s observation, his previous smile unmoving. 

“Six isn’t really a problem,” Chris told Ethan casually. “You see-”

“Ethan!”

Ethan felt the colour drain from his face, making his poor skin grow pale. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that the familiar voice was simply a part of his imagination. But, when he was forced to take a few steps forward because of the force of the body that clung to him, Ethan knew that it was real.

“Meaghan.” Ethan got out through clenched teeth. 

What the hell was she doing here!? He hadn’t told her anything about this! Ethan loved Meaghan. She was one of his newer friends but the two have really bonded and Ethan trusted her with a little. However, he didn’t trust her to not do something crazy in the name of love and ships. So, Ethan decided to keep his—date? Outing?— from her and Aiden. Aiden was his very best friend, but Aiden would have probably just shared the good news with Meaghan as well.

Ethan was sure that doing this would ensure that he and Chris would be left alone. But, to have Meaghan hanging off of him now made him reconsider what he’d done the previous day. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that he had kept his lips sealed and his thumbs away. So how had she found out?

Ethan looked up at Chris who just greeted Meaghan with a calm smile.

Was it Chris? Ethan wondered, a confused frown on his face. Ethan didn’t listen to their conversation as he continued to think to himself. He still felt as if he was forgetting something. Then, Ethan remembered that he’d left Aiden a voicemail right before he got off the bus. He’d wanted to call him and tell him about the beautiful view. During that voicemail, Ethan mentioned looking for Chris once he was off the bus.

That was it, that’s how Meaghan knew!

Meaghan and Chris were still making small talk when Ethan turned back towards them. Ethan put his hands on Meaghan’s shoulders, using his firm grip to turn the brown haired girl around.

“Can I talk to you over there for a second?”

Ethan didn’t let Meaghan respond, walking her away from Chris immediately. There was just the beach a few steps away from Chris so he couldn’t hear their conversation.

“Look, Meaghan, I have no idea how you got here so fast but I would really appreciate it if you just left.”

Meaghan’s happy smile contorted into a confused frown. She recoiled away from Ethan and his negative reaction.

“What are you talking about?” Meaghan asked in confusion, causing Ethan to scoff.

“You know what I’m talking about.” Ethan insisted firmly, a frown marrowing his warm skin. “You came here to mess with me and Chris. You came, made your entrance, and now you can go.” 

Meaghan’s defensive stance changed into shock, then sympathy in an instant.

“Oh, honey.” She sighed, biting her bottom lip as she took Ethan’s hands into her own. “I’m sorry.”

Now Ethan was the person who was confused. He shook his head, bewildered by Meaghan’s sudden shift in attitude.

“Meghan, what are you . . . ”

Ethan cut himself off when he heard Chris calling out several familiar names.

“Hey! Aaron! Courtney!” 

Ethan turned around and found Chris waving energetically at a group in the distance. Squinting his eyes, Ethan saw that he was waving at their friends. All of their friends. Meaghan came around to stand beside him, a comforting hand rubbing up and down his arm.

“Chris messaged everyone last night about coming to the beach to hang out and play volleyball.” Meaghan explained, closely taking in Ethan’s reaction. “I had no idea that you didn’t know.”

Ethan swallowed harshly, blinking back tears. It took him a few seconds of breathing deeply and keeping his eyes off Chris and all of their friends for Ethan to reign himself in. He looked at Meaghan and gave her the best smile he could muster.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

Ethan trudged his way across the boardwalk, sand, grass, and concrete again. He kept a lot of distance between himself and the oncoming group. Ethan wasn’t sure he would be able to smile and talk when he just wanted to-

Ethan cursed under his breath, finding that the bathroom was locked, costing 25 cents to open and use. Ethan cursed and muttered to himself the entire time he pulled out the small quarter. Ethan pulled frantically at the door, rushing to get himself inside with the door locked. 

When the door was finally closed, Ethan drew in a large breath. Then, he screamed. His scream wasn’t far from a yell, lower in its tone. But the volume of it and the pain that ripped through Ethan’s throat as he did it let him know that it could only be described as a scream.

Ethan just had to do it. The tears that had sprung into his eyes on the beach weren’t from sadness, but from embarrassment. Ethan felt like a wholesale fool, thinking that Chris wanted to spend time alone with him. Chris wanted to spend time with all of his friends equally. Ethan wasn’t special.

But yesterday afternoon, Ethan forgot that. Now, he was left trying to get over the fact that everyone else would be joining them as well. If Ethan needed a reminder that this wasn’t a date, the presence of six other people would do just fine.

Ethan chuckled to himself at the thought.

Honestly, Ethan was trying to become better friends with Chris. Although the alone time had been nice, it would have been a strong temptation for Ethan the entire day. And, if Ethan was trying to be positive, larger groups were always a lot of fun.

Ethan left that 25 cent bathroom feeling much better than he did when he walked in. He wasn’t going to ruin a great day at the beach over a misunderstanding. He was going to have fun today with his friends. He and Chris would have perfectly platonic fun.

—————

“Ethan!” Aiden yelled, making Ethan turn to where he sat at the sidelines. “You guys need to get this point or else you’re going to lose!”

Ethan rolled his eyes in annoyance and noticed that many of his other friends/teammates were doing the same. Aiden was one of two people who came that wasn’t playing, yet he never refrained from critiquing them on their performance. Scarlett was sitting beside him, giggling behind her hand at his brash comments.

Nearly an hour earlier, they decided that they would join the tournament as a team. But, they quickly found out that teams had to be groups of six. Seeing as they were eight people, Aiden decided to step out and Scarlett joined him, claiming that she’d rather relax with him. So, it was incredibly funny and frustrating to have Aiden acting like a coach from the sidelines.

But, if Ethan was being honest, they really weren’t doing too well. The team they were competing against was only a couple of points away from winning the entire game. The six of them tried their best for the next few minutes, but they ended up losing despite their efforts. 

Their goal had been to win the cash prize which turned out to be $1000, but instead, they lost in the second round. Rachel came over to Ethan, patting a hand on his back with a smile. Ethan was impressed with her chill attitude because he’d assumed that most athletes were incredibly competitive. Looking over to Aaron and Chris who were walking off on their own, grumbling to themselves, Ethan saw the stereotype personified. 

Ethan turned back to Rachel who was also watching them with a small smile. 

“Do you want to go over to Aiden and Scarlett?” Ethan asked her, glancing over at the two. Rachel nodded with another smile and the two of them started leaving the volleyball court. Of course, the court was just sand with a bunch of nets, but it got the job done. 

As the two of them made their way over to Scarlett and Aiden, Ethan caught Chris' eye. Chris' shoulders were dropped as he was obviously disappointed about their loss. But, when he looked up, a smile slowly made its way onto his face. Ethan’s cheek went red at the thought that Chris was smiling because of him. 

It reminded him of what happened earlier when they won their first game. They had been on a little high from the victory and the first thing Ethan did was pull Chris into a hug. Chris had probably hugged him because he was riding the victory. But, Ethan was still all too happy to enjoy that hug. 

Ethan sat next to Scarlett and heard as she, Rachel, and Aiden started talking about some of the guys they saw here. Ethan’s mind drifted off to what happened before. 

He and Chris had pulled out of their hug within the socially accepted time frame but it was far too soon for Ethan. Chris stepped out of the hug with a cheeky grin then jogged off to talk to Rachel. On his way, he’d been stopped by Courtney who pulled him into a hug herself. 

Ethan watched, his mood dropping as Courtney, clad in a bright red bikini, held Chris close to her body. The contact seemed to last forever. This was the first time that Ethan seriously wondered if there was something going on between them. Was Courtney’s plan really working?

Ethan had a great time with his friends for the rest of the day. But, Ethan couldn’t take his mind off of that. Ethan never expected to be with Chris, but he also hoped that he wouldn’t see Chris with someone else. 

However, that time might be coming sooner than he expected.