Aedan's Story - 4. Chapter 4: Aedan The Artist

June 30 2017

Friday was pretty relaxed. It was a nice day and I practically dragged Jake out of bed at 6AM to go out and see the old bones because I really wanted to draw them. We left the house after getting dressed and eating some breakfast.

"Why did you drag me out here?" Jake asked, groaning as we stepped on the cold wet sand with bare feet.

"Because I want to draw," I said.

"But why this early?" Jake complained. "I just wanna sleep in." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his green shorts and yawned.

"Because it's a great sunrise, and I want you to come with me because you're my best bud."

"I'm flattered," Jake sighed. "But I'd be better off going in the afternoon."

We stepped over some rocks and reached the place. The view with the early sun angle was amazing. "Jake, you can't tell me this ain't amazing," I sat down on the sand and pulled out my sketch book and pencils.

"I don't like it when you're right, but you told me so, dude," Jake sat down on a log of driftwood, not wanting to get sand on his green shorts or orange t-shirt. I smirked a little at that.

"I promise this afternoon, we can do what you want instead," I chuckled as I began my sketch. Ten minutes went by and I had a basic sketch done. I could tell that Jake was getting restless and bored.

"Wanna include me in your sketch?' He stood up and stood next to one of the bones and flexed his arms.

"No! Get out of the way, dork!" I laughed.

Jake ended up spending his time building a sand castle and going into the water to swim and body surf while I continued to draw. As the tide came in and began splashing my feet, it wrecked the sand castle. My purple shorts were now getting wet with each wave. We had to move to higher ground, where I finished drawing the puffy clouds and the sun.

"Can I look?" Jake asked, as I was chewing on the pink eraser tip on the end of the pencil.

"Fine," I rolled my eyes. His mouth gaped open.

"Holy shit, that's great, dude."

"Thanks," I blushed. My watch was reading nearly 10AM. Had we really spent 3 hours out here?

Jake began walking back to the house as I stood up and dusted the sand off my shorts and dark grey t-shirt. That afternoon, after we ate lunch, Jake and I hung out at the boardwalk arcade. I suck at video games, so Jake won against me a lot in the arcade. We also got ice cream and spent time staring at cute girls in bikinis and telling jokes and goofing off to try and impress them. That earned me a slap on the cheek from one girl. That night, on the beach behind the house, Jake and I had a small campfire and made smores. It was a beautiful night. The moon was almost full and I could see so many stars. Jake was more into astronomy than me so he started naming off constellations and I just silently nodded, half understanding. Getting to chat by the fire was nice. I opened up some more about my father's abusive behavior while Jake comforted me. I didn't tell him that dad beats me though, because Jake might tell someone and break apart our family. He mentioned how he wishes he had more quality time with his parents, who were always busy with work. He's thankful for the wealthy life they provide, but he's entirely dependent on friends for enjoyment. I almost mentioned that I've been having bi-curious fantasies that started a few months ago, but I wasn't quite ready to tell Jake. I wouldn't know how he'd react.