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⚠Trigger Warning; mentioning/(brief) description of scars. Stay safe<3

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Saturdays are by far the best days of the week. No school, no responsibilities, and no brain-eating anxiety about Monday because fuck it, there's still a Sunday in between. What more could you ask for?

"Robbie, are you paying attention? Which way do we go? I have an appointment at seven, in case you forgot." Aleksia sighed for the millionth time, impatiently tapping her foot against the pavement. 

That's right. Aleksia and I had two very different definitions of the perfect Saturday. Currently, I was in the process of tying my shoelaces while under the influence of a heavy dose of stress-clumsiness, because someone had booked an appointment at a hair salon she didn't know the location of. And turns out, I did know. Now I can imagine you thinking, but couldn't she just look up the location? Well yes, yes she could. But apparently, spending time with me is much more fun. Lucky me. "I'm trying my best, jesus. Just give me like, a second," I grumbled, groaning when one of the laces just.. flopped out of its knot, slipping into a disappointing worm shape. 

I could feel the sun burning down my neck, despite the hottest hours of the day being already over. Through squinted eyes, I glanced up at Aleksia and pursed my lips. "I seriously don't understand how the fuck you can survive with clothes like that," I huffed, waving a hand at her navy blue blouse, hanging over a big belt on her most likely way too tight jeans.

Aleksia just rolled her eyes, muttering a "finally" when I got back up, one lace now just stuffed into my shoe. "You really need to stop swearing in every sentence, you're literally an adult. And also, I can survive, because I'm a mature woman and I don't complain about every little thing."

"I'll help you out again, my god. And you're only five years older than me, shut the fuck up!" I groaned, throwing my arms in the air as a physical statement to my constant complaining.

"One more word and I'll shove your talkative ass into the next pile of dogshit we pass."

Well, that shut me up.

-

"Okay, this should be it," I said as we approached what I hoped was the correct hair salon, squinting to try and read the massive sign above the door. Nikki's Salon. A neon blue sign on the window said the same thing, bold curly letters surrounded by fake vines. It reminded me of instagram. Random. 

Aleksia nodded, greeting a stranger before pushing the door open to reveal a brightly lit salon, a wave of cold air smacking us in the face. A little bell rang as we entered and the sound of the sea began to fade away, soft melodies of over-played pop music filling up the silence instead. 

Thankfully, it wasn't super busy. A tall woman with tied-back, blonde hair was applying bleach to someone's head, pieces of foil sticking out of their light brown locks. Another —significantly younger— girl was busy washing someone's hair at one of the three washing units, laughing at something they said. The vibes were nice.  

I followed Aleksia to the counter, breathing in the smell of shampoo and hairspray. She pressed the little bell right next to a cute tip jar, shooting me a smile. 

The tall woman glanced at us, smiling kindly. Then, while still massaging a lock of hair, she turned her head towards the back of the salon, where I assumed they kept all their products and shit. "Seth, customers!" she yelled, giving us one more nod before returning her attention to the bleach. 

Before I could even process anything, Seth appeared from behind a dark green door, his hair in a somewhat messy half-ponytail (just like Nyx) and a black apron tied around his waist. Smiling at the other customers, he rushed over to the register and hit some buttons on the computer. "So sorry about tha—" he stopped mid-sentence when he finally looked up, eyes widening. "Robbie?"

Okay, what the fuck. My mind ran blank. Like, completely empty, blank. I could almost hear the painful silence eating at me as everyone waited for me to start functioning again but fuck. I was not prepared for this. He wasn't supposed to be here-! "Y— you work here?" is what I managed to stammer out, immediately regretting the words the moment they left my mouth. But then again, publically face-palming yourself wasn't really an option either, so instead I just tried not to think about death. It was difficult. 

Seth laughed, a sound so perfectly charming and natural that it almost scared me. He dusted off his apron, white t-shirt underneath contrasting the black, but it worked. Though I had a feeling that was simply because Seth wore it. "Not only that," he said, leaning forward before lowering his volume, "I live here, too. That's my mom," he explained, jabbing a thumb toward the tall woman with the bleach. "Hi mom!" He gave her a little wave, which she happily returned before going back to work. Cute. Wait no—

"Anyway, how can I help you today?" Seth asked, dashing smile still on his face. 

Aleksia smiled. "I have an appointment at seven. Aleksia Blue." She rummaged through her bag—a brown leathery one— and pulled out her phone, its case matching her navy blue nails. 

Seth hummed at that, clicking a few more times, his eyes scanning the register. "Yup," he confirmed after a few more seconds, glancing at the two of us. "Good genes run in the family, I see," he mumbled, shooting me a small wink. Ohmygod— Before I could fumble around to hide my fucking tomato face, Seth slipped away from behind the counter, placing a hand on Aleksia's shoulder to guide her towards a chair in front of one of the big vanity mirrors. "My colleague should be with you in just a minute," I heard him say, still smiling as he put a black cape around her, pumping the chair up a little bit with his foot. 

After his mom had come to take over, Seth's eyes locked with mine, a grin crawling up his face. He walked over to me and began untying his apron. "Fancy seeing you here," he joked, shaking out his hands a bit. 

I chuckled, glancing around the salon. It was genuinely very pretty. "So you live here?" I asked, still confused as to how one can live in a hair salon.

Seth nodded as he plopped down onto the little dark-gray, (probably fake) leather couch right next to the door, waiting for me to do the same. I sat down next to him, trying not to yelp at the cold fabric jolting into my skin. Letting out a peaceful sigh, Seth hummed, glancing around the salon like a cowboy inspecting his land in a western movie. "Yeah, it's just me and my mom. Oh, and my gecko."

My eyes widened. "A gecko?" My skin's sticking to this couch. Help.

"Harvey, yes. He's a little orange dude," Seth said with a chuckle, his hand fidgeting with his bracelets. 

"He sounds awesome." 

And that's all either of us said for a while, silence slowly overtaking us, safe for the distinct chatter of the other people. It was quite peaceful, the white noise of those spray bottles— snerp snerp— and some random Harry Styles song playing in the background. 

"What about you?" Seth suddenly asked, breaking the silence with his warm, somewhat raspy voice. He shifted around a bit, folding one leg into a crossed position. "D'ya live with your parents? Sister?" Running a hand through his hair, he quickly added, "Don't feel pressured to answer though, don't wanna be invasive or anything."

Well shit. It was true, I didn't particularly love that question. In fact, I usually would do anything to avoid it. Well not anything— but like, you get what I mean. I gnawed at my lip, anxiety soaring into my brain. "I, um—," my voice fucking broke, an invisible lump forming in my throat. Fuck fuck fuck. What the fuck is happening?

Seth placed a tentative hand on my shoulder, actively snapping me out of my head. Why the fuck does that feel like fucking electrici— "Hey. You're good, don't answer. I'm sorry for asking," he assured, voice softer than usual. 

I shook my head, my heart racing a bazillion miles an hour and not in a good way. It hurt. "Shit, s-sorry," I choked out, attempting to laugh it off. I fucking hated my brain sometimes. All these people were taking up all the oxygen in the room, and their presence felt heavy on my chest. 

"Robbie, breathe," Seth instructed, getting up from the couch. He held out his hand to me, still smiling that smile of his. "C'mon, you wanna get out of here? I'll introduce you to Harvey."

It didn't feel real. Like my mind had switched to auto-pilot and I couldn't turn it back. I could almost hear the kids yelling at me to end my life, they wouldn't back off, the car and—

A hand on my back. "I'm sorry," Seth mumbled, guiding me through the hair salon until we reached the dark green door. Why are you apologizing?  He pulled it open to reveal a storage space with a big, oddly homey staircase in the left corner, carpeted steps leading up to a second floor. 

Once upstairs, Seth squeezed my shoulder one more time before taking a few steps in front of me, spreading his arms into the air. "Welcome!" he called out with a big grin, motioning around the peach-colored walls surrounding us. The staircase didn't really have a hallway, it was more of a slightly narrow space broadening into the living room. 

I felt myself grin, the heavy anxiety slowly fading into a watery discomfort I could live with. "This looks like a cool place to live," I said, nodding at the windows, which showed a beautiful view of the promenade and the beach. 

Seth hummed, opening a door right aside from the stairs. I followed after him, eyes widening when I realized this was his bedroom. "Sit down wherever," he said as he walked over to the little terrarium where I assumed Harvey lived.

I opted for his bed because it looked comfy. Seth's room was interesting for sure, I had more of a round shape and the walls were split horizontally. The upper half was a dark green, almost the same color as the storage space downstairs, whereas the bottom half was made of wood, just a shade darker than the floor. But somehow, it worked. The walls were decorated with posters of rock bands— I recognized Green Day and AC/DC— and guys on skateboards, photos shot mid-jump. Above the door hung a huge surfboard, grooves of silver engraved into its material. So he's a surfer, too.  

After a few more minutes, Seth turned around with a little orange gecko on his hand. Its tiny, beady eyes glistened with faux innocence, squishy tongue occasionally blooping out of his mouth. "Say hi to Robbie, little bud," Seth mused, walking over to me to sit down next to me. He allowed Harvey to crawl onto my lap, little paws tip-tapping over my legs. 

"Oh my god, you're so cute, stop. You're literally so adorable," I rambled on, causing Seth to grin. Carefully, I placed the tip of my finger on Harvey's little nose. "Boop!"

With a chuckle, Seth let himself fall backward onto his bed, his hands folded underneath his head. "You're too c— Uh, yeah. Harvey's a real charmer, and he knows it."

I wonder who he got that from. Wait— do geckos even copy personalities? I thought that was just dogs.. "Haha, yeah." Copying Seth's actions, I fell down next to him as my view shifted from the white-framed window to a ceiling filled with those glow-in-the-dark stars from everyone's childhood. It made me smile. "I like your stars," I mumbled, throwing a lazy arm at the ceiling.

My eyes fell to the side, to Seth, whose jaw tensed for less than a moment before his lips tugged up to a wry smile. Not the usual smile, though. He blinked, a soft chuckle escaping under his breath. "Yeah... I uhm," he paused for a moment, turning his head to the side to look at me, which was when my dumbass realized how close we actually were. "I used to be scared, uhm, scared of the dark. Guess I never took 'em off."

And I must've looked like a complete fucking idiot, because we ended up just staring at each other for like a full five seconds. That was until Seth cleared his throat and turned back to the ceiling, while I just lay there, swallowing away the sudden nervousness in my chest. What the actual fuck is happening to me. "O-oh.. That's— that's cool." Am I malfunctioning?

"Do you wanna go to the beach?" Seth suddenly asked, fingers fidgeting with his bracelets as he glanced at me. His face resembled that of a person who's trying to escape a meeting, which, if I thought about it, was a little weird.

Still, I decided not to think too much about it and instead just nodded, because I mean, come on. The beach is awesome. "Yeah, sure."

-

This sand's so nice and warm, I love it. "So, how'd you get into surfing?" I asked Seth, though it was a bit of a stupid question. We were walking along the soft, foamy waves, drenched in warm sunlight. After texting Aleksia I'd be home later, we had escaped through the backdoor in the storage space but not before Seth had reassured me that he didn't officially work for his mom, and that he could leave whenever.

Seth narrowed his eyes at the sun, watery foam lapping at his feet. "I've always lived near the water, so when my pa— my mom got me one of those foam-based surfboards for my seventh birthday, there was no going back." 

I hummed, kicking a seashell along until the sea took it away from me. Mean. "What about skateboarding?" I asked, still frowning, which caused Seth to grin.

"Picked up a board when I was like twelve, haven't put it down since," Seth said with a small shrug before he stopped in his tracks and... Smiled at me-? 

I would be confused, well, I was, but the current beam of sunlight burning through my field of sight was just a tad bit more inconvenient. After switching positions like a million times and squinting my eyes as if that would do batshit, it seemed that the sun had moved on and went to search for a new victim. Finally continuing with what was actually important, I furrowed my brows at Seth. "What?"

Blinking himself back to reality, Seth just shook his head, a sheepish grin on his face. He cleared his throat, collapsing onto the sand with his back against the off-white barricade. "Nothing, nothing, sorry," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. 

I sat down next to him, raising a brow. "Nothing? You can't just stare at me like that and then say nothing! Do I have something on my face?" Already examining my face with my hand, I heard Seth sigh.

He propped one of his legs up and rested his head on his knee, glancing sideways at me. "You just have really pretty eyes. Especially in the sunlight. Robbie Blue. Blue eyes."

Ohmygodimgonnaexplode— "Sh-shut up." I did not know how to take compliments. My burning face, however, didn't understand the whole 'nonchalant demeanor'. How lovely.

Seth just chuckled, cracking his neck as he sat up straight again. Playing around with his water bottle, he gazed off towards the rolling waves. "I really am sorry about earlier, by the way. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Please stop apologizing. I shook my head, my brain eager to explain that it wasn't Seth's fault at all. "It was a simple question," I shrugged, smiling when the nostalgic tunes of Heatwaves began playing from the mini-speaker Seth had apparently brought with him. Too bad it's not June yet. "My idiot brain is just really fucking stupid sometimes."

"Nah, don't say that. Whatever it is, you can tell me whenever. Or don't. That's fine too," he said, humming along to the music. He let his hand fall to the side, fingertips disappearing in the sand. 

After mumbling a soft "thank you" —because I had no other words that would express how genuinely thankful I felt— to which Seth shot me a smile, we both fell into a comfortable silence. Despite the screeching seagulls flying around us, the gentle hum of the aflame ocean, and the distant chatter from the terraces behind us, everything was quiet. 

I let my eyes fall on the small tattoos covering part of Seth's hand. They were a little confusing, I had to say. I mean, one of them, right underneath his thumb, was literally a bunch of dots and little dashes. Surrounding the dots, were a couple of tiny butterflies and a pretty flower. But it fit together, albeit slightly vague.

As I took in the rest of Seth's presence, my eyes fell on a row of faded scars traveling up his arm until they disappeared under the sleeve of his t-shirt. That's... Strange. My mind immediately began to race with all the possible explanations for those faded, off-white lines. There weren't many 'nice' options. Chewing at my lip, I took a quick breath and decided to just ask. "How'd you get those?"

Halfway through a sip of water, the bottle still pressed to his lips, Seth's eyes widened as he hummed. After swallowing the water, he followed my gaze towards his arm. "What, these?" he began, motioning his arm at me. "I was a pretty fucked up kid, I guess. Dad was an asshole, too." He shrugged, gazing at the descending sun in front of us. "But it all worked out in the end. So... whatever, amirite?"

There it was. That weird flash in Seth's eyes, that oddly forced carelessness in his warm voice, that slight tension in his jaw. Even if it lasted only a millisecond. I felt a lump form in my throat— trying to imagine all the things that Seth could've meant with his vague explanation. But I didn't want to pry, so I hesitantly nodded and instead focused on the soft, foamy waves lapping at each other as they kissed the sand. It was a pretty sight.

And yet, for some unknown reason, I found my eyes more drawn towards the boy next to me.  

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Well well well ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  Time to play detective, what do you think Seth's story is?

I hope you've had a good day today! :-P Remember to stay hydrated, leave a vote, and follow me so you won't miss any updates<3