"Wake up!" I'm rudely interrupted in my pleasant slumber by an annoying voice. I look up and instantly blush at the sight of the blue-eyed devil. Rolling my eyes, I get out of bed to kiss Tristan. Providing that we spent the whole afternoon yesterday making out, I think it's okay. He smiles and pulls me closer. Just as we're about to kiss, a loud knock on the door interrupts us. Tristan rolls his eyes and pulls away to open it. A rush of cold air chills me at the loss of his touch.

"Hey, girl!" Lisa exclaims, bounding in uninvited, towing Hannah after her. "How's it going?" "Well, it would be better if you guys would've let me sleep," I say, trying to sound angry and totally failing. Hannah rolls her eyes and Tristan says, "Hurry up and get dressed, we're going to the beach." I roll my eyes at his bossiness as I dig around in my drawers for a bikini. Once I find it, a cover-up, and a hoodie, I put the hoodie in my beach bag and shoo the rest of them out so I can change.

I change into my bikini quickly, pulling the cover-up on after it. Then I rub concealer over my arms and throw the bottle in my bag. I slip on some flip-flops and rush downstairs.

Lisa, Hannah, and Tristan are waiting. Lisa hands me a muffin and I eat it hungrily while following them out the door. "Hey, aren't we just staying here?" I ask as Lisa veers towards her motorcycle, which is parked in the driveway. Hannah shakes her head as she follows Lisa. "We're going to this private beach that Tristan rented for a day." I look up at Tristan, surprised. "Why'd you do that?" I ask as I get my motorcycle from the garage. "Why'd I do what?" he asks innocently. I roll my eyes. "Why'd you lease us a private beach?" I ask him, eyebrows upturned. He smiles and leans in closer, making me shiver. "Maybe I wanted to impress the girl I love." I smile and lean in to kiss him.

Suddenly an annoyed voice interrupts our moment. "Will you two quit sucking face long enough to get there?" Lisa asks peevishly. I give her an eye roll and a smile before jumping on my motorcycle and starting it. Tristan follows suit, holding my bag. I quickly lean forward and soon we're flying after Lisa and Hannah, his arms binding me to him.

Soon we get to the little private beach that Tristan got us. Hannah and Lisa set up claim up a bit, far from the water. Tristan and I set our things on the sand closer to the water. "Come on, I wanna swim!" Hannah shouts as she tears off her cover-up. Impulsively, my eyes wander to her thighs. I can see a trace of red, but most of her cuts are covered with concealer. I wander over to her, hanging behind the others so we can talk in private. "Does Lisa know?" I ask her, gesturing to her thighs. She nods, then says, "Tristan won't tell anyone will he?" "Of course not," I say. "But, if you want, I can bring your towel to the shore so you can wrap up when the concealer starts to come off." She shakes her head. "I'm okay with being lesbian, so I'm going to be okay with my self harm and showing it to the world." I watch her as she dashes off.

As I take off my cover-up, I think about what Hannah said. Maybe I shouldn't wear my hoodie to swim. Lisa and Hannah are obviously proud of being lesbians, and they're not afraid to broadcast that to the world. Should I be proud of my scars? They signify years of battling with pain and sadness, so I guess they could be considered battle scars. Soldiers who lose a leg or an arm to war aren't afraid to show their battle scars, so I guess I shouldn't be, either. With a new spike of determination, I leave my hoodie in my bag as I make my way to the water and my friends.

***

"No!" I squeal, splashing through the waves to try and elude Tristan. "Lisa, save me!" I beg as I approach her. She rolls her eyes and doesn't move. "Sorry, Alex. I love seeing you get dunked," she says with an evil smile. Screeching, I try Hannah, but she argues with the same response. "Argh!" I growl at my unhelpful friends. I continue running, trying to get away from my crush. Unfortunately, athleticism is on his side.

He scoops me up easily, and soon I'm dangling upsidedown from his shoulder, his arm keeping me in place. "Tristan Daniels!" I yell at him, feeling the blood rushing to my head. "Stop!" He smiles. "No can do, babe." I'm too aggravated at him to even fangirl over the fact that he just called me babe. Then, suddenly, he stops. Relieved but confused, I try to look and see what made him stop. Before I can do so, he turns around so fast that I almost fall from his shoulder. "SHARK!" he yells, running as fast as he can.

I twist my head around, trying to catch a glimpse. When I do, I burst out laughing. Tristan puts me down, looking at what I'm looking at. "What are you laughing at, Alex? That's the shark's fin!" I just keep laughing, pointing at it and gasping for breath. Before long, Lisa and Hannah join me and start to laugh, too. "What?" Tristan asks, bewildered. Finally I have enough breath to speak. "Tristan, that's not a shark!" I say, gasping for air in between giggles. "That's a dolphin!" Lisa finishes for me.

Tristan looks at us, then back at the dolphin's fin, and groans. We bust up laughing again at his obvious mistake. Anybody who has spent even a little time around the ocean and it's creatures would know that that's a dolphin fin, not a shark. Tristan sighs and grabs my hand, leading me out of the water. Hannah does the same to Lisa, and we head up the beach towards our stuff.

Reveling in Tristan's gentle touch, I let him collect the bags and towels. I grab mine and towel off quickly. As I'm doing so, Tristan picks up one of my arms and smiles. "You didn't wear your hoodie," he says, as if he's just now noticing. I smile back, and whisper to him what Hannah told me and how it impacted my decision. He takes both of my hands and stares into my eyes. "I'm proud of you, Alex," he says, with sincerity in his tone. Then we lean forward and share a sweet kiss before heading to my motorcycle to go home.