As Charlie walked with Vanessa toward the lake, after having picked up something to eat on the way, he couldn’t help but wonder if he had just asked her on a date without realizing. It wasn’t the first time they had spent time together alone. She was one of his closest friends... who he also happened to have a massive crush on.
“So many weird things are happening lately around town,” he said as they got closer to the lake. Maybe being near the water would make the taste and smell of the ocean go away. It’s not like it bothered him a lot, but it was just strange.
“It’s a bit weird, isn’t it?” Vanessa agreed. She didn’t have any explanation to offer, it was all certainly difficult to make sense of. Either way, Vanessa was happy to get out of the house and enjoy the day. Her fathers agreed to let her go to the lake with Charlie and it was perfect way to spend a Sunday. Plus Charlie was a friend, and she enjoyed being outdoors.
At the same time, she had to admit to herself that it was nice to spend this time with him. Vanessa had kept it to herself, her feelings about Charlie. He was a friend yes, but over time they grew much more for her. Developing a crush on one of your friends wasn’t the easiest to deal with, she had no idea what to do. Thankfully their friendship was strong enough that she never got too nervous around him. “It’s nice to get out though, away from all the weirdness. What about you? Are you still smelling the ocean?”
“Very weird. People getting picked by the wind, almost getting struck by lightning... I wonder if we’re not in some paranormal city sometimes,” he said with a small laugh. It was certainly strange the things that were happening. And other than being caused by something supernatural, he had no explanation for it.
He nodded. “Yeah, very nice,” he said with a smile. Specially if it was with her and no one else. “I’m definitely still smelling and tasting the ocean in my mouth,” he replied. “I wonder if maybe I put my feet in the water it’ll stop.”
“Hm. Maybe!” Vanessa agreed. To be honest she had no idea if it would help, had they been closer to the ocean, she would suggest that they go there. From the way Charlie described it made it seem like the ocean was calling to him. It did sound like it was straight out of a storybook, maybe the feeling would subside if he actually swam in the ocean.
“We’re definitely in the right spot for it. You’re not wrong though, it does make me wonder if something else is going on that we don’t know about. There’s always towns where paranormal things happen and the average residents never know about it.”
As they reached the lake, Charlie began to take his shoes off. The water was probably and most surely freezing, but hey, he had to try it. This whole ocean calling him thing was weird; though he was glad it was happening to more people and not just him. That would’ve freaked him out a lot more.
“There’s definitely something going on,” he said with a nod. “Though when you think of paranormal is usually ghosts and haunted houses, not the ocean calling people like in Moana,” he said with a small laugh.
“Maybe you’re all secretly mermaids.” Vanessa laughed. She’d let Charlie dip his toes in, but she wasn’t quick to join in. The water would likely be cold, and Vanessa wasn’t the one that had a strong call to the ocean. “If you’ve been a mermaid this whole time and haven’t told me, I’m going to be very angry at you.” Of course she wasn’t serious, her smile and tone said that.
“I hope there aren’t any ghosts though. I don’t know if I can handle ghosts.” Vanessa’s always been in the opinion that she’s never going to say she doesn’t believe in ghosts on the off chance they are real. That’s how people get haunted.
Charlie laughed softly at the mermaid comment. “That would be kind of cool, to be honest.” Being a mermaid -- or was it a merman if it was male? -- sounded pretty awesome. Being in the ocean all day, swimming super fast... Yeah, Charlie wouldn’t mind that. “If I were a mermaid, or merman, you would’ve been the first to know, trust me.”
He shrugged lightly. “Ghosts are cool. I mean, the ones that don’t try to kill you like in the movies,” he chuckled. He wasn’t sure if he believed in ghosts or not. He liked to think there was something else after dying, and honestly, haunting a house and scary people sounded like fun.
“Good! I appreciate it!” Vanessa replied. Not that she truly believed Charlie was a merman. To be honest if something weirdly magical was happening, she’d be jealous if she wasn’t a part of it. Her life was books, mostly video games these days, but her first love had always been books. It’d be a shame if a story was unfolding in their town and she wasn’t a part of it.
Vanessa just shook her head. “Nope. I can’t do ghosts.” Thinking of all the times the ghost scary movies made her jump and scream, even during the daytime. “Let’s just hope it’s not something really dangerous, but all the supernatural stories usually are.”
“Okay, no ghosts,” he smiled, giving her a nod. “But something is definitely going on around this town. And yeah, let’s hope is nothing dangerous. That’d be really bad.” People getting picked up by the wind, the ocean calling to some... There was definitely something weird happening.
“Okay, I’m gonna see if getting my feet wet works and the ocean stops calling,” he said before he headed to the water and got his feet in the incredibly cold water of the lake. “Oh shit, it’s freezing!” he exclaimed.
Vanessa started laughing as Charlie shouted out. “What did you think it’d feel like?” She placed her hand on her forehead, amused. “If it’s that cold, I’m definitely not joining you now.” She crossed her arms and she shook her head on him. “I’m staying here where it’s kind of warm and dry.” After beat she asked, “Do you feel any better though? Or are you still hearing Poseidon’s call?”
“I should’ve known better,” he laughed.
Charlie closed his eyes for a moment and focused on the water, the sounds of it, the feel of it against his skin... But the feeling of the ocean calling him was still there. His shoulders fell and he sighed in defeat. “No. I can still taste the ocean... This sucks,” he muttered as he made it back to where Vanessa was. “This better only last a day or I’ll be very annoyed.”
Vanessa frowned as she took a small town out of her bag. “Here, dry yourself off.” It wasn’t just weird that the feeling didn’t go away. The whole thing was very odd. Why would certain people have a feeling that the ocean is calling to them? There were many why’s as of late and Vanessa honestly wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work, Charlie.” She looked at him with concern in a little sympathy. “I’m sure it wont last long.” To be honest though Vanessa had no idea how long it would last. What else could she say though? She wanted to be comforting and she knew that Charlie was frustrated.
“Thank you,” he told her a he grabbed the towel from her and dried his feet off. He put his shoes back on and sat down. “It’s alright,” he said with a smile, shrugging lightly. “At least I tried... And now we can eat with a pretty view.” Although he wasn’t sure if he was talking about the lake or the pretty view that was Vanessa.
Vanessa sat down next to him and did her best to be more cheerful. She can’t understand what he was feeling, but she knew it was frustrating and not having an answer was even more frustrating. “Bright side.” Vanessa agreed. She reached into her back and pulled the food that they had packed, though she wasn’t quite hungry yet. The butterflies in her stomach started fluttering as her shoulder brushed his. “I like it here.” Vanessa said smiling. “I know my Dad’s are asking about where I want to go to school next year and if I’m thinking about an out of state college, but can I tell you a secret?” She turned to him and smiled. “I’m not even sure if I want to go to college. I know I could probably get a scholarship for games at one of the schools that compete, but have you seen any of them tournaments on tv? There aren’t many girls.”
There was definitely a bright side to all of this: spending time alone with his crush. Charlie wasn’t sure if this could be considered a date or not, but whatever it was he liked it. He tried not to be nervous when her shoulder brushed his, but he couldn’t help the smile that curled his lips almost immediately. “You know, if you want to complete professionally you should go for it. It’s not like you couldn’t go to college after a few years... But you’d make a lot of money competing. And get super famous,” he said, honored that she had trusted him with that secret. “Just don’t forget about me when you get all famous and shit,” he teased, nudging her with his elbow lightly.
Hearing someone, especially a good friend, made Vanessa feel so much better. “Thank you.” She stared out at the lake and smiled. “I haven’t told anyone, and my Dad’s have no idea. I honestly don’t know how they’ll take it. I’m honestly worried they’ll be disappointed in me but-” She turned to Charlie and smiled. “Hearing someone tell me to go for it does make me feel a lot better.” His last sentence made her laugh. “Of course. I don’t think I could ever forget about you.”
“No need to thank me, Ness,” he said with a grin. He was happy he could make her happy. And he honestly hoped her dads would take it well and let her follow her dream. It was an awesome dream, to be honest. “Good, because I could never forget about you either,” he said smiling, maybe even flushing a little bit.
Vanessa smiled. Having a friend like Charlie was really comforting and even though she often wondered what it’d be like to have more, Vanessa was incredibly grateful to have him in her life. “Good.” She turned her head back to the lake and smiled as she rested her head against his shoulder.
Charlie smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. He bit his bottom lip as he pondered whether or not to make a move. It wasn’t a huge move, mind you. Just wrapping his arm around her. But to him it was huge.
Taking a deep breath, he moved his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, praying and praying that she wouldn’t push him away.
Vanessa tried to hide her smile. She adjusted herself but did not make any movements that said she didn’t approve. At least with all the other craziness that had been going on, this didn’t feel crazy.