Both boys looked at each other quizzically; eyebrows raised on both parts as the girls spoke and eventually walked off together. Chase knew that this was normal behaviour amongst people their age. You go to a party, generally you drink a lot and you have a good time. Yet it wasn’t really a social norm that they or any of their family really partook in. An occasional drink every now and then on special occasions but never to access and the terms ‘drinking’ and ‘game’ were never used in the same sentence. It dulled the senses and clouded the mind and it wasn’t a sensation he enjoyed.

“She’s a wild one.” Mason stabbed with a wink, jabbing the other boy in the arm with his elbow. “Do you think you’ll see her again?”

Chase rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly. “Honestly? Not really. Maybe… around town or something, maybe a passing glance, a wave, how are you doing kind of thing. But I just…”

“But you wanna.” Mason stated, looking at the other boy seriously. Chase didn’t turn to look at him, simply shrugging his shoulder and letting his hair fall over his eyes as he stared at the fire. The older boy rolled his eyes and groaned loudly, pushing him on his shoulder. “Come on you sad sack, we should probably get a head start on clean up, now that Ryan has managed to weasel his way out of it. If you ask me he had Seth appear on purpose to get out of it.”

He stood and waited, Chase eventually standing too as the pair began cleaning up the mess on the beach. By sunrise you never would have guessed there had been a massive party save for some left over ash from the fire and a lot of disturbance in the sand. The boys didn’t make an appearance until midday; the sun was beaming down and the sand was just starting to get hot underfoot. But the waves were perfect; the water was blue, clear and extremely refreshing. The salt water splashing against his face was really helping to wake Chase up and clear his mind.

Seth was with them today, but Mason’s cousin as well as his own sister had elected to skip the surf in favour of a spa day. Chase didn’t mind, it was good for Ash to spend time with an older girl and she always looked up to Chloe. For now Chase was content to hang back behind the breaks, watching as his friends caught the beautiful waves nature had provided for them.