"I'm impulsive, not retarded!" Luke sure knew how to be insulting. But it was alright, their bickering wasn't at all like it had been before, it was actually friendly now. He was sprayed with a harmless little flurry of sand. He batted at the grains, laughing at Luke's playfulness. "Hey! Knock it off, you jerk!" A 'look what that got ya' expression flashed on his face when the other boy's sand...thingy fell apart.
Mao went back to looking out at the bay. Luke might be scared of it now, but Mao still liked it. He probably should have hated it, it had always been an barrier keeping him on the island, but he couldn't help but associate it with adventure. He had a hundred fantasies of setting off on it, on a boat, swimming, flying...Him escaping to see all sorts of amazing things.
Sitting quietly like he was soon made him aware of Luke's closeness. They were sitting side by side, happy, calm, not trying to kill each other. He began to smile. It was so weird, a few weeks ago he was sure Luke wasn't ever going to talk to him again, now here they were, hanging out together at the beach. Friends. Mao stole a glance at the other boy, his heart starting up like it had when he saw him that morning. He wanted to say something, maybe ask what was going to happen between them in the future, but his brain seemed to have cut itself off from his mouth. His gaze dropped to his hand, then Lukas' just a few inches away. A daring feeling came over him, he held his breath and moved his hand closer...closer...then trailed a hesitant finger down the back of Lukes' hand.
He didn't say anything, but his meaning was clear. 'Will you hold my hand?'