Lucy's p.o.v

"Now turn here.." Kai was instructing Ace as he was driving through the narrow roads in the country.

Since Ace was set on driving us with my car and Kai was giving out instructions to get there, I was stuck in the back for the remaining time.

I had listened to them all this time somewhere in the back of my mind while reading the poetry book Halo's brother gave me.

It wasn't that bad I guess. I was flipping through the pages casually glancing up to take a look at the scenery. We just passed a large field of sunflowers.

"We're almost there." Kai said.

I closed the book and put it in my backpack.

The houses were so far apart and the privacy was enormous. It was so quiet. I could work here without any interruptions.

I took a look at my phone. Except there was no network here.

"Up this hill." Kai pointed left and Ace turned the car up a sturdy hill. Just like that we were in front of the house.

Ace parked and then pressed the horn two times.

We got out and soon enough Francy and Remi ran out with happy smiles.

Francy gave her brothers a hug and then ran towards me, jumping off her feet and hugging me. Her arms wrapped tightly around my neck.

"You're here." She kissed my cheek and then glanced up to look at me and smile.

"Here's the plan." She said. "We'll give you a quick tour of the house, you guys can change into your swimwear, and then we'll go to the beach. "

"Sounds good to me." Ace put a hand over his eyes shielding his eyes and looked around. "It's so hot here."

"Tell me about it." Remi sighed.

"Let's go." Francy took my hand and pulled me along.

The house was exactly as Francy had described it. The living room had a very old style with floral patterns, a small couch and very rustic tones. But it had a very warm home vibe.

The kitchen was a completely different story. I could tell right away Francy and Remi had gotten their hands on it.

It was repainted and it was aesthetic just in their style, with a mix of modern and wood.

"I haven't got the chance to fix any of the bathrooms yet but I'm working on them after today," Francy said.

"We need a lot of new things for it and we didn't know how to bring them over until now. But we got that covered now." Remi said glancing at Kai with a smile.

"This is great. I can't believe the difference one room has with the other. You did an incredible job." I said.

"I agree. I'm going to love coming here for weekends. Maybe we can plan something for mom and dad's anniversary." Ace suggested.

Both Francy and Remi glanced at each other proudly.

"Now let's go upstairs," Remi said.

"What about this room?" Ace asked and opened it.

"Oh that's...." Francy started..

Oh my god..

"That's Sole's paint room." she finished her sentence.

Both Ace and I got inside. The room was like a private gallery. There were paintings everywhere. Incredible paintings.

"She painted all this?" I asked Francy, knowing a bit about Sole from what she told me.

She nodded proudly. "She's amazing right. Look at all of these." Francy chose one and showed it to me.

"She paints with her mood too. You can tell how relaxed she was when she was drawing this." Remi pointed at a few paintings. "There are ones that are still unfinished though ..." Remi stopped talking.

"Like the one Ace is staring at."

Ace was standing there for quite some time now, but I was so distracted to see he was staring at one particular painting.

"Earth to Aceee." Remi spoke but he was out of it.

I approached him to see what he was staring at.

The painting was half-finished. In the middle of the canvas, there was a town painted with pastel colors.Left of the town there was a tree. The tree had branches on both sides. The one side that touched the town had bare branches and one single green leaf. The one reaching away had a single floral blossom.

"It's beautiful," I said and suddenly Ace snapped out of it looking at me and then turned around smiling.

"Let's go see the rest of the house."

Francy looked at me confused and I just shrugged.

After the rest of the tour, we prepared and headed towards the beach. Francy and Remi had packed giant baskets which I had no idea what could fit in so much in them, but I had learned not to question them.

"Park here," Francy told Ace.

The beach was still far away.

"We have to walk from here." She explained and got out.

Grabbing the basket, the beach umbrella we brought and some other things, we followed them down the sturdy road from the rocks down to the beach.

The smell of the sea was unlike anything. I could almost taste the saltiness in the air as the sun was warming every part of my skin.

As we reached the sand, I could take in a better view of the sea's vast surface and the calmness of the water. There were small waves drenching the golden sand and retrieving only to repeat the same process. It was so quiet and calming.

I put down the stuff and took off my shoes. The sand was incredibly hot under my feet, but when I pushed some of the sand aside the little grains underneath were completely cold. It was incredible.

"Elric..?" Francy came from behind me and hugged me. "What is it?"

"I'm a bit in awe." I said.

"Why?" She asked.

"It's my first time on a beach like this."

"What?" She turned completely serious and walked in front of me. "You've never been on a beach before? What about our date?"

I smiled. "I've been to a beach, but never somewhere out on the sea. My parents were more of a lake and mountain type of people so those were the vacations we took. Lakes are a different experience than this. The beach here feels surreal."

She smiled and moved away as if she wanted me to experience it all without disruptions.

"Ahh I love the smell of the sea." Remi yelled out. "Let's set up everything."

I took a longer glance at the sea. It really was magnificent.

When I did turn around Ace and Kai had already put up the umbrella and Remi was setting up a white beach blanket.

Francy was taking off her dress, unstrapping the top and then getting her hands out of the sleeves. She glided the dress down her thighs and then it just dropped on the ground, revealing her body in that white bathing suit.

Her eyes met mine and upon realizing I was watching her, she instinctively covered her body, hugging herself.

She looked away and then glanced back at me for a second.

A rush of possessiveness went over me.

I want to run my fingers through her hair. Hold her in my arms. Feel her skin on mine.

A heavy slap came down on my back.

"Come on.. " Ace yelled out and another, friendlier slap followed. "Let's go swimming." Ace seemed like he was talking to everyone but that first slap was a warning.

"There's Sole.." Remi yelled out.

"Sole!" Francy waved at her happily.

Sole walked closer and dropped her bag on the sand as Francy and Remi jumped to hug her.

She was completely different from those two. She was completely calm, with a neutral expression on her face and a straight stern posture. Beautiful, but there was something cold about her. Unlike my Francy.

She greeted Kai and then approached me, putting out her hand . "Sole."

I shook her hand. Was it just me or she didn't want to be here.

"Elric, but everyone calls me Lucy."

"Ah, Francy's boyfriend." She said with no surprise on her face even though she sounded surprised.

She then walked over and did the same with Ace.

"Sole."

He brought his hand up and took hers in what seemed like a strong grip. " Ace."

He stared at her for quite some time with a serious expression on his face and then finally let her hand go and smiled.

"Nice to meet you."

She gave him a small nod and then returned to her bag to put away the sunglasses on her head.

I took off my shirt and tossed it on the blanket and then approached the entry of the water.

Everyone else followed standing in line. Everyone except..

"Woooo." Ace took a running stance on the beach and then ran in full speed into the water, diving in while splashing everyone who got caught in his proximity.

"You jerk." Francy yelled out.

Ace dived out, pushing his hair back and laughing. "You said something? Oh, you need help getting in?"

"Don't you dare!" Francy threatened him.

Ace smirked, taking a step closer.

"No !" She yelled out in fear.

Ace put his hands in the water.

"I swear to god if you..." Her threats were futile.

One big arm wave and he splashed the water towards her.

On instinct, I grabbed her hand and covered her. Coldwater splashed all over my back.

Oh shit, that's cold...

Francy who had closed her eyes opened them and realized what had happened.

"You guys are no fun." Ace complained.

"You!!!" She glanced from behind my back and gave Ace a threatening look.

She then looked up at me worried. "You protected me..." She smiled, her eyes glinting in the sun. "One moment babe. I just have to drown him."

With that, she jumped into the water ready to avenge me.

I saw her splashing towards Ace as he tried to get away and then jumped over his back pushing him into the water. God, I loved that woman.

We eventually all got in the water one way or another and then Ace brought a beach ball for some fun.

"How do you play the game?" Sole asked me.

I uh.. That was a good question.

"I don't know either," I told her. "It's the first time I'm playing this..."

"Ah, we're in the same boat then." She replied in a dry tone and then she swam over to Remi to ask her.

Francy's words that Sole is quite similar to me popped into my head. I could kind of understand now.

The genius part..Maybe.. But there was another thing as well..

Before meeting Ace and Francy all I could feel is the inability to reach out to other people out of distrust in their intentions. I was not able to relate to others or share the same experiences. People just led different lives from me.

Only later I realized I simply need someone to give me a hand first in order to take a step forward. That's what Francy and Ace did for me.

And now Francy and Remi were doing it for Sole.

I can't wait for you guys to read the next chapters. Oh my god. I'm losing it .. I'm so excited. Gonna post chapter 38 on Tuesday ❤❤ 🎀✨☀