Softly To Me

Luhan looked behind his shoulder where the campsite was. It was long behind us by then. “Wait, do you remember how we got here? What if we get lost?”

I stepped over a big rock, taking note of its pretty colour. “We’ve just been walking straight near the shore. It’s impossible to get lost.”

“You’re right.” He squinted to where the faint orange light was flickering that indicated the bonfire had still been alive. “Besides, I can hear Chanyeol laughing from here.”

I paused to listen. “...I hear him too.” Well, he was either laughing or someone was pulling his hair out in bunches and he was crying out in pain. Both sounded the same. “How do you think work is going?”

Luhan gave me a look. “Are you seriously still thinking about work? On vacation?”

I waved a hand at him. “Shut up. I’m just worried about the meetings I’ve missed and the things I probably don’t know about.” A lot could happen in a few weeks.

“Don’t worry about that stuff now.” Luhan made a sharp turn and headed towards the water.

“But I—" I stared after him as he kicked off his shoes. "Where are you going?”

Kicking off his shoes, he stuffed his socks in them and then put them side-by-side beside a piece of drift wood. “Let’s see how far we can walk into the sea, c’mon!” Without waiting for my response, Luhan towed me along behind him by my wrist.

“The water looks cold." It felt like the sea was watching me ominously. "Oh my god, it is cold.” The first wave hit my legs like needles of ice. “Gross, what the hell am I stepping on?”

Luhan shrugged. “Probably a washed up dead body or something.”

I shrieked, tip-toeing away from the gooey spot underneath my foot. “Don’t say that!”

The further we ventured, the harder the waves were trying to push us back. Seeing Luhan’s determined expression to move forward, I took it that he was ignoring the waves and the chilling temperature. He was set in his own useless goal of standing away from shore as far as he could endure the water.

When the water crept to my waist, I made a full stop and dug the heels of my sandals into the sand, pulling Luhan to a halt as well. He shook his head at me in amusement. “You’re giving up already?”

The next wave rocked by and made me step back by an inch. “We should go back.”

“Why? This is fun though.” Luhan walked backwards further into the water, his smile daring me to follow him.

My shirt clung to my skin and the wind that was picking up make it feel like the temperature had dropped by ten folds. “Hey, I’m serious! Get back here or I’m leaving you!”

“But the weather’s perfect!”  He shouted, meters away from where I stayed rooted.

That sarcastic little—

A wave that rocked by slapped me in the face and I instinctively flinched away. It was a struggle to find the proper footing that wouldn’t allow me to fall. Wearing floppy sandals in the water wasn't exactly the best idea. The moment I looked up again, I was alone. I was pretty sure I was just with an idiot literally a few seconds ago. The emptiness was nagging at me the more I stared at water and more water. Just no Luhan in the equation.

“Luhan?” I whirled a few degrees to the left, feeling the sand shift threateningly underneath me. “Luhan!” What if he had been rushing to shore to beat me there? Turning to where the sand laid expectantly, I was met with more emptiness and debris.

I shielded myself in time for the next wave and I was pushed back by three steps. “Where’d you go? Luhan!”

The silence was almost mocking me. What if he... No. What if he fell somewhere? If he did, Luhan was taking a rather long time to resurface. What if he hit his head? My voice was coarse and it took me a second too long to realize I was screaming his name again.

“Luhan!”

I felt useless and weak with the weight of some invisible force pressing down on me. My feet wouldn’t move. No matter how much my brain was screaming at every nerve in my body to move and find him. Desperately looking to the campsite, it would be too late by the time any of them got here to help. I couldn’t even speak with the lump in my throat let alone shout for help.

Luhan was gone.

“Boo!”

My heart had stopped for a moment when a pair of hands grabbed me from behind by my shoulders. Luhan’s familiar face reappeared in my view as he spun me to face him. He was pale as a ghost from the cold, or maybe he was already a ghost. Luhan’s hair was slicked back and wet, indicating he had been underwater for quite some time. I was washed over with relief but as soon as that relief had come, I felt so unbelievably angry. With the dumb smile on his face, all I wanted was to hurt him for thinking I would find some sort of joy in his prank.

It was a prank.

“What the hell! Where did you go?” My fists banging on his chest were barely making him flinch. “I thought... You... That wasn’t funny! I hate you!” My eyes stung.

“Aww, c’mon it was a joke.” Luhan laughed, patting my cheeks with both his hands. Locking eyes with me, he paused and dropped his smile. He tilted my head back to see my face through the terrible lighting of the evening. “Sora… a-are you crying?”

“It’s the salt water.”

Pulling away, I turned my back on him and furiously rubbed at my eyes. Stupid beach. Stupid weather. Stupid Luhan. Choosing to pretend he didn’t exist for the rest of my life, I trudged my way to the shore as quickly as I could, though the water was slowing me down and I felt like I was only moving in slow motion. My arms were wrapped around myself, trying to keep form shivering.

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