3RD PERSON POV

September 12, 2019

1:00 pm

Ocean laid down on her couch. She showered and her hair was still wet. She the lights was off and the curtains were closed. The only light came from the TV playing UP. On the coffee table was a pint of ice cream that's starting to slowly melt. Next to the ice cream was a half-empty bottle of wine and a wine glass. Ever since she got back from New York, she wasn't the best at self-care. She left her cat with her parents and told them what happened. They agreed that it isn't the best idea that she takes the cat back just yet

Outside of her apartment stood Robert, Jon, Lauren, Joey, Corey, Jaime, Nick Lang, and Jeff. They knew how much Ocean was hurting and wanted to make her feel better

Robert knocked on the door. "Ocean?" He called out

Ocean stood up. She went to the door and opened it slightly. She saw the 8 people in the hallway and she immediately closed the door. She went back to the couch. She covered herself in her blanket and closed her eyes

Robert sighed and turned back to the group. "So what now?" He asked. "She obviously doesn't want company,"

"Maybe she doesn't want everyone to be here. Maybe if one of us goes alone, she'll open up and let them in," Corey suggests

"We still planned an entire day to cheer her up. She can let one of us in but, that doesn't change the fact she might not want to leave the apartment," Jaime said

"Then the person who goes in just has to convince her to get some sun," Lauren said

"Who's going then?" Joey asks

"Whoever she's closest to, I wonder who that could be," Jeff said sarcastically

Everyone's heads turned to look at Robert

"We'll just wait in the lobby or something. Good luck Robert," Nick said

Without giving Robert a chance to say anything, everyone left to the elevator

Robert sighed in defeat. He knocked on the door again

Ocean heard the door again. She groaned and got up again. She walked to the door and opened it slightly once more

"Hey Ocean, can I come in?" Robert asks

"Just you?" Ocean asks

"Yeah, just me," Robert responded

Ocean didn't really open the door. She just left the slightly opened as she walked back to the couch

Robert walked in and closed the door behind him. He made his way to the couch where Ocean was sitting. "So, how have you been?" He asks as he sat down

"Meh," Ocean said. She grabbed the ice cream and took a spoonful of it. "I have to go to work tomorrow and because I left, I have to work every day for the next 2 weeks to make up for the days I missed,"

"Well, you wanna talk about it?" Robert asks. He looked over at her

"Why am I still so hung up on Mariah? She's probably living the life in New York while I'm here in my apartment, looking like a bum. I have horrible luck with relationships," Oceans said. "Why can't I just be normal," She put her ice cream down

"This is normal. People grieve in different ways. Some people don't get sad and some people can't help but be sad," Robert said. "Some people stay hung up on a person for a long time, others move on in a month. This is normal and okay," He placed a hand on her shoulder

When he said that this was all normal, Ocean started to cry. "I'm sorry. . . I needed that. . ." She whispered

"Come on, go get ready. We're gonna treat you to a nice afternoon. And while you go get ready, I'll clean up around here," Robert said. "But first, come on, hug time," 

Ocean hugged him tightly. It was what she needed

Robert hugged back. He felt her tears wet his shirt, but he didn't mind. His heart sped up

"Thank you," Ocean whispered. She pulled from the hug and wiped her tears. She got up from the couch. "I'm gonna get ready," She said

"Alright," Robert said. He stood up and gave her another hug. "It's gonna be alright," He said. He pulled from the hug and gave her a reassuring smile

"If you say so," Ocean said. She went to her bedroom and changed her clothes

Robert opened the blinds to let some light in. He closed the bottle of wine and emptied the wine in the cup into the sink. He grabbed the tub of ice cream and put the spoon in the sink. He closed the tub of ice cream and put it back into the freezer. He washed the dishes and put them on a drying rack. He then went back to the couch. He turned the TV off and reorganized the table. Finally, he fixed the pillows and folded the blankets

Ocean put on a baby blue button-up shirt and partially tucked it into a pair of high waisted jeans (and that's on bisexual fashion). She put on her socks and put on her black boots. She grabbed her small black backpack and put in her power brick, charger, phone, wallet, and a water bottle. She was about to walk out of the bedroom, but she forgot about her hair. She placed her played the backpack at the door and went to do her hair. She brushed it and blow-dried it. Her hair was naturally wavy. She brushed her hair one last time and put on her backpack. She walked out of the bedroom

Robert looked at Ocean. "Alright, let's go. Everyone is waiting for us downstairs in the lobby," He said. He offered his hand to hold to Ocean

Ocean just walked past him and grabbed her apartment keys. She opened the door and walked out

Robert felt a bit rejected but quickly shook it off. He walked out of the apartment

Ocean locked the door and put her key in her backpack. She started walking to the elevators with Robert

Robert hesitated to hold Ocean's hand or put his arm around her shoulder. He wanted to do that in a friendly way and not a romantic way. He took a breath and put his arm around Ocean's shoulders when they were in the elevator together

Ocean leaned onto him. She did this mostly because she was tired

Robert smiled when she leaned. It reminded him of the times before Ocean was dating Mariah

The elevator opened and the two of them walk out of the elevator. They walked to the group, who all had Starbucks in their hands

"See, we knew you could do it," Lauren said. "Jon got you two drinks," 

Jon handed the two of them drinks

"Thank you," Ocean said. She got a grande green tea lemonade. She took a sip and smiled a tiny bit

"She's already smiling," Jaime said

"Alright, let's go to the 1st location," Robert said

"I'll go as long as you don't take me to a secondary location," Ocean says and lets out a small laugh. She nudged Robert

Robert laughed. "Maybe we will. Maybe we won't," He said

They all walk outside. They get into their respective cars. Jon drove and Robert sat in the back with Ocean. They put a blindfold on Ocean to surprise her even more. The drive was around 25 minutes long

Robert got out first and opened the door for Ocean. He led her out and removed the blindfold. They were at a roller skating rink

Ocean gasped. "I wish you told me we're going here!" She said. "I could've brought my skates,"

"Well, it's good that while you were changing, I got Jon to get your roller skates for you," Robert said. He opened the trunk and grabbed her roller skate bag

(Ocean's skates:)

"You're just full of surprises," Ocean said. She hugged him tight

"Well, it only happened since you always forget to bring your skate bag in your room," Robert said. He hugged her back

"Alright, we're the last ones here we gotta go inside," Jon said

Robert closed the trunk as Ocean put on her bag on

The three of them walked inside where the others were waiting

"Does anyone here have a membership?" The employee asked

"I do," Ocean said

"Great can you show me your card?" She asked

Ocean showed her membership card. "Oh yeah, can I get a locker for my bag?"

"Thank you. Here's your locker key," The employee said. "You can enter,"

Ocean took the key and walked in. She headed to the locker. She put in her bag and took out her skates. She waited for the others and once everyone was there, they all got on their skates and went into the rink

"Ah! I'm in my happy place," Ocean said. "Do any of you need help?" 

"We'll be fine," Corey said

"I got them covered," Jaime said. She could skate and was willing to help the others no fall down

Ocean nodded. She looked at Robert. "Would you like me to teach you some tricks?" She asks

Robert nodded. "Sure," He said. He skated towards her and kinda wobbled a little before he got to her

Ocean grabbed Robert's hand. She started skating along the side of the rink

Robert smiled when she grabbed his hand. He tried to keep up. It felt nice to go around the rink with her. It made him happy. "So about those tricks," He said

"Oh yeah," Ocean said. She skated towards the center of the rink. There weren't many people there so it was possible to get to the center without spiraling towards it. "Okay, so cross your arms and hold my hands. Then, you point your right toe out," She said. She did was she was saying as an example

Robert nodded and he grabbed her hands and mirrored her position. 

"Then, on three, you use your other foot and push off," Ocean said

"Alright," Robert said. He took a deep breath to prepare himself

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" Ocean counted. She pushed off

Robert did the same and they started to spin in a circle. He smiled wide since he got it first try

Ocean smiled too. The lights behind her blurred as they spun. She was the only thing in focus in Robert's eye

The two of them started to slow down. The rest of the world came back into focus

"That was really good for your first time," Ocean said. She gave him a thumbs up

TIME SKIP

They had all gotten out of the roller skating rink. "Thanks for taking me here, guys," Ocean said. He had her roller skating bag in her bags and her backpack on her back

"It's not over yet," Robert said

The others nodded

"We have two more places," Joey said

"Let's go back to the car," Robert said

Everyone got back into their cars. Robert put the blindfold back on Ocean and they started driving

While Jon was driving, Ocean reached over to Robert's arm. She held onto it. "Hey, Robert. I wanna take a nap. How far are we away from the next place?" She asks

Jon overheard. "Like around twenty minutes away," He said after he looked at google maps

"Alright, night," Ocean said. She closed her eyes under the blindfold and drifted off into a peaceful nap

At a red light, Robert scooted to the middle seat and as soon as he did, Ocean rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled

Jon pulled into a parking lot after 20 minutes of driving. He parked and got out of the car

Robert unbuckled both himself and Ocean. He took off her blindfold. "Hey, wake up, we're here," He said. He shook her a bit to try and get her to wake up

Ocean's eyes flutter open. "I'm awake," She said. She rubbed her eyes. "Good morning. I can see you," She said with a smile

"Come on, we're here," He said. He opened the car door on his die and got out. He took his hat off and ran a hand through it before putting it back on

Ocean got out and stretched a bit. She walked over to Robert. "Are we the first ones here?" She asked

"Yeah, let's go request a table," Jon said

The three of them walked into the restaurant. It was a simple seafood restaurant. It had around 3 floors. The first and third floor had an outdoor area. The first floor was a bar and the 2nd and 3rd floor were the eating areas

"I have work tomorrow, don't I," Ocean said when she noticed the bar

"If you want, I can try and visit you tomorrow. I don't drink, but I can be there for moral support," Robert said. "Protect you just in case some asshole wants to hit on you,"

"That would be nice. I get asked by guys if I can give them a private lesson in bartending and it's obvious that they're lying. I'm just a baby bartender. I don't do any tricks besides the 'flavorful' shake, but I am learning, I just make the drinks, seat people, go through the menu sometimes, and take orders. Nothing else. Some guys reach over the counter and grab my arm. It's gross and they always smell like weed," Ocean said with a frown

"Well, not on my watch," Robert said. 

"They said they'll text me when our table is ready and that the wait is around thirty minutes," Jon said to Robert and Ocean

The three of them walked outside and saw the others. "We have thirty minutes what do you guys wanna do?" Jon asks

"We can go to the stores by the pier," Corey suggests

"That sounds good," Lauren said

"Let's go then," Ocean said

They all walked over to a big walkway lined with shops. The walkway led into the pier. In the walkway were palm trees with fairy lights strung onto them. The stores sold the normal swimsuit and swimming gear. Other stores had small beach trinkets and souvenirs. Then there was a bar and a restaurant at the ends of the lines of shops

The group first went into a surf shop. It was full of everything a beachgoer needs. It had clothing, surfboards, skateboards, Longboards, penny boards, accessories, and sandals

Everyone went their own separate ways to look at various things in the shop

Robert and Ocean went over to the swimsuits. Or well, Ocean dragged Robert to the swimsuits 

Ocean picked a cute two-piece swimsuit with stars on it. It had a bandeau top and a bikini bottom. "This is so cute!" Ocean said. "What do you think?" She asked. "It's perfect because I don't have anything to show off,"

"Uh," Robert said. "It's nice," He didn't know exactly what to say. He didn't know if he should compliment it or just be blunt

"I think I'm gonna get it," Ocean said. "Do you want anything? I'll pay for it. We can get you a nice button-up," She grabbed his hand and walked towards the men's section

"You're gonna end up stealing it away from me anyway so why not?" Robert asks. It wasn't like he was gonna wear it away. His style consisted of workout clothes and nothing else

"True. . . But, on the off chance, you do decide to wear it, you can remember me!" Ocean said. She got to the men's section and looked at the vast selection of button-ups.  Some were plain and others had designs on it

The two of them looked at the selection and Robert ended up getting a baby blue button-up. They walked to the cashier and Ocean paid for their things. They walked out of the store. The only people there were Jon, Corey, and Jaime 

"Hey, Jon how much time do we have left?" Ocean asks

"Around fifteen minutes," Jon said as he looked at his phone

"Let's go to another store!" Robert said

Ocean nodded and the two of them walked to the store right next to the one they were just in. It was a smaller shop that had more beach trinkets. Things like shells, necklaces, bracelets, charms, and other beach-themed things. Hanging from the ceiling was a chandelier made of sea glass. It gave out light and dark blue lighting 

The two of them walked around the store. They look at the various things the store had. At the back of the store, there was a display of all of the jewelry

Ocean picked up a necklace

"Robert! Look at this necklace! It's beautiful!" Ocean said as she showed Robert. It was simple but very beautiful. "Do you think that I should get it? I don't have a lot of jewelry," She admired it. She looked up at Robert

Robert looked at the necklace. "It's sea glass and your name is Ocean. I think it's great," He said. He looked at Ocean's face. The sea glass chandelier shown its blue glow onto Ocean's face. It made him blush

"I'm gonna get it," Ocean said. She then walked away and towards the middle of the store where there was a marble display. "I love marbles!" Ocean picked up a pink marble that had some blue and purple coloring in the middle

Robert walked over and saw the marbles

"If you want some marbles I'll be happy to pay for them," Ocean said. She grabbed a small drawstring bag and placed a few marbles in it. "I'm gonna make something out of these," She said

Robert grabbed his own bag and placed a few inside

The two of them walked towards the cash register and placed their things on the counter

The cashier rang up all of their things. He placed them in a small paper bag. "Thank you for shopping here, have a nice night," He said and handed Ocean the bag

"You too," Ocean said. She walked out of the store with Robert. When they got outside everyone else was there too

Lauren and Joey looked like crackheads who were let loose into a store with a credit card. They had buckets hats, sunglasses, matching button-ups that were opened to reveal a "Beach Vibes" tank top, and some shell accessories 

Jeff had a bucket hat that went so far down that you could barely see his eyes

Nick had a disappointed look on his face as he wore the same bucket hat as Jeff. "This is why we need an adult with us at all times," He said 

Corey said, "This is why I stayed outside. I don't want to be responsible for you guys," 

Jon looked up from his phone and over at Robert and Ocean. "Great you guys are done. The restaurant just texted me. Let's go," He said. He started walking with the others following

Robert wrapped his arm around Ocean. The two of them walked together, a little behind the others, but still close enough to still follow

"Thanks for cheering me up earlier," Ocean said to Robert. She looked up at him and smiled. "You're the best," She said 

"I know that's not true, but thanks," Robert said with a laugh

TIME SKIP

Everyone clinked their last drink of the night. The glasses were filled with soda, water, or booze. The sizes of the glasses varied in sizes

Ocean downed the entire shot glass. She placed the cup down and smiled. "I love good shot of sake!" She said. She leaned back in her seat. She drank water for the entire dinner, but at the last drink she decided to get a shot glass of sake

Robert, who was sitting next to her, looked at her and laughed. "Mmmm rice," He said. He drank his water. The two of them had an inside joke where Robert would always say 'Mmmm rice' when he saw Ocean drinking sake. This came from the time Robert asked what sake was and all said was 'Yummy alcoholic rice'

"Alright, time to split the bill," Lauren said. She took the bill and got her phone. She did some math. "Alright, so between the nine of us, each of us has to pay twenty-five dollars," She said

Ocean took out her wallet and got out twenty and two five-dollar bills. She gave Lauren the twenty and a five-dollar and placed the other five-dollar bill on the table as a tip

The others look at her as she tips

"What? The waitress was really cute and her hair was amazing," Ocean mumbled

"Alright, I can agree with that," Robert said. He took out another five-dollar bill and placed it with Ocean's after he gave his share of the pay

Everyone paid and after the waitress gave the receipt, they left

"Anyone wanna chase that food with some dessert?" Lauren asks

"Hell. Yes," Ocean said

"I'll pass," Jon, Corey, and Robert said

They all walked over to a cute little retro ice cream parlor at the corner of the street. They walked it and cheerfully greeted by the employee at the counter. The place smelled like waffle cones and sweet cream

Everyone looked at the ice cream flavor display

"If you'd like to sample anything, just ask!" The employee said

Ocean looked at the cones. "I'm ready to order," She said. She got a scoop of cookie dough, birthday cake, and cookies and cream in a waffle cone with sprinkles and a cherry on top. And that's on having a high metabolism

Jeff got a scoop of coffee ice cream in a cup with some chocolate sauce on it. He wanted to say, 'Coffee. Smoothie. Coffee and smoothie?' but he only had coffee ice cream

Lauren and Joey got chocolate and vanilla sundae to share because that's a cute couple thing. "If Joey just completely finishes this I will not be surprised," Lauren said

Nick got a scoop of strawberry ice cream on a cone. This is his vibe. Strawberries. No further questions

Finally, Jaime got a vanilla ice cream topped with some apple pie filling and a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs

They all walked outside and over to the beach. The sun was starting to set and the sky was filled with orange, yellow, pink, and purple hues. They all went over to a small stone wall where the walkway meets the sand. Everyone sat down

Ocean took out her phone. "Say cheese!" She said and tried to get everyone into the frame

Everyone smiled and Ocean took the picture. After Ocean took the picture, the others made sure the get their own picture for their instagram

After everyone took their pictures, Jeff and Jon went to play in the sand near the water. Everyone else followed

Nick and Jaime finished their ice cream and threw their trash away. Nick went over to do whatever Jeff and Jon were doing and Jaime went to take some more pictures

Lauren and Joey sat in the sand together. Lauren's head resting on Joey's shoulder as they finish their sundae. They took in the last moments of the sun together. The part of the beach they were at wasn't crowded. They took in the sound of the waves and laughter from their friends together

Corey sat in the sand, looking over Nick, Jon, and Jeff. He turned around and took pictures of himself with the three chaotic masses behind him

Ocean looked at her friends as she ate her ice cream. "Hey Robert? Do you want some?" She asked. She looked up at Robert. She got a spoonful of the ice cream, making sure to get all the flavors, and held it towards him

Robert said, "Sure," He gently held Ocean hand as he guided the spoon into his mouth. He took it out and smiled. "Wow, you really know how to pick out your flavors,"

Corey saw Ocean feeding Robert ice cream and immediately took a picture. He smirked and sent it to everyone except Robert and Ocean

Jon looked at his phone and chuckled. He showed it to Jeff and Nick. He then looked at Corey. He gave him a thumbs up

"They are so hopeless," Nick said

"Agreed," Jeff said

Ocean finally finished her ice cream and the cone bowl with the help of Robert. She sat in the sand with Robert. "Today was perfect," Ocean said. "Exactly what I needed,"

"I love. . ." Robert hesitated. He was about to say 'you' but he didn't want to drive her away so he quickly said, "this day too,"

"Hey Robert?" Ocean said she looked up at him as she scooted a little closer

"Yeah?" Robert said. He looked over at her

"I love you," Ocean said. It was in a friendly way and she hoped Robert would know that

Robert paused for a moment. He wanted to kiss her, but he realized that she probably meant it as a friend. "I love you too," He said. He put his arm around her and they looked as the sun disappeared into the horizon

After the pretty colors of the sky turned into blue, everyone got up to leave. People dusted the sand off of their clothes and put their shoes back on. They all headed back to their cars

"Thank you for today guys," Ocean said. "I can't thank you enough for making me smile even if I did wake up today looking like a bum," She laughed softly. "I can't believe how I went from a fan to a friend. It seems so surreal. You guys are too nice and I just don't deserve how much love I get from you guys,"

"Aw, you're super sweet too," Jaime said as she hugged Ocean. "We're just giving back the love that you produce,"

Lauren hugged Ocean too. "You're so adorable and I cannot stress enough how much we all love you,"

The girls let go of the hug 

Corey gives Ocean a side hug. "You're amazing and you need to go shopping with me one day because your style is amazing!" 

Joey pats Ocean's back. "You've just become the little sister of Starkid and I'm glad you did. You're the best little sister," He said and ruffled her hair

The two of them stepped away Jeff came over and just gave her a noogie. "What is with my hair and you guys just feeling the need to mess with it?" Ocean asked

"Because hair is a social construct or whatever," Jeff said. "Plus, you give out little sister vibes,"

Jon hugged Ocean. "He's not wrong and you know it," He said. "Love you little sis,"

Nick went over to her. He gave her a fist bump. "You haven't been with us for long and you're already one of us. I know you're gonna make us proud with the outfit designs,"

The three of them left her alone and they all watched Robert approach Ocean. Some of them got their phone out

Robert didn't say anything and just gave her a big and comforting hug

Ocean hugged back with a smile. It felt nice to have big strong arms around her. She felt safe and secure

Corey took another picture of them

Robert pulled away. He looked at her and smiled. He bent down ad whispered in a soft voice so only Ocean could hear. "You're an amazing, adorable, kind, woman that knows how to spread joy," 

Ocean laughed and the statement. "Thank you," She said

The others looked at each other and thought about what Robert might of said to her

TIME SKIP

Jon drove around Ocean's apartment building to find parking. "I think you're just gonna have to get out here," Jon said to Ocean

"I'll walk her to her apartment," Robert said

Ocean and Robert got out of the car. Ocean got her backpack and her roller skating bad

The two of them walked to Ocean's apartment. Ocean got out her key and was about to open it, but Robert stopped her. He grabbed the hand Ocean had the key in. He pulled it away from the lock. He didn't know what he was doing, but he knew the end result

"Robert?" Ocean asked

Robert twirled her around and pinned her to the wall. He pinned one of Ocean's hand to the wall above her head. He caressed her face and placed his lips on hers

Ocean's eyes widened. She didn't know what to do because she knew she liked Robert but, she just broke up with Mariah. She kissed back for two seconds before pulling away. "I'm sorry. We can't do this. I just broke up with Mariah. I- I'm so sorry," She said to him

Robert gasped and quickly moved away from her. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking," He said. "I should've stopped myself, but I couldn't. . ."

"It's fine. You should get going now," Ocean said. She unlocked her apartment. "I'll see you soon," 

"Hug?" Robert asked. He held his arms around. He wanted to end it on a good note instead of it being awkward

Ocean goes over to him and hugged him without saying anything

Robert hugged back

They stayed like that for a while before Robert pulled away. "See you later, Shortcake,"

Ocean laughed softly. "Later. . ." She said. She walked into her apartment and sat down on her couch. She stared at the floor, not knowing what to do