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"What the fuck, guys? I thought we agreed we weren't going to the beach!" Smitty was dismayed to learn there was a "slight change of plans" when he woke up this morning.
"That was before everyone got here and realized how fucking hot it is, Smitty." Scotty replied, unperturbed by the suggested change of plans.
"Seriously, if I'm gonna sweat my balls off at least let me do it in nothing but shorts." Anthony said, voicing his agreement.
"Nothing's stopping you from doing it now, big boy." John said with a waggle of his eyebrows, getting a laugh out of Anthony.
"W-well I didn't even bring anything to wear!" Smitty argued lamely.
"It's the beach, you fuck. Just wear a pair of shorts. I'll fucking lend you mine if it'll get you to quit bitching." Tyler said, shutting down that argument.
"Come on, I think it'll be fun, Smitty." Craig said "Weather's looking good today."
"Besides, we've known each other for years now and not once have we all had a group beach trip, so suck it up, Milk Boy." Tyler added, leaving no room for debate.
"Alright alright, fine, you guys win." Smitty conceded with a huff of annoyance. "But I'm not gonna enjoy it!"
"You don't gotta go in the water, dude. You know there's sand at the beach, right? They don't have beaches in Canada or something?" John asked with a smirk, cutting to the core of the problem.
"Shut the fuck up, John." Smitty responded, unable to suppress a smile as he shoved John backwards over the couch he had been sitting on the edge of.
The two broke into laughter as John tumbled onto the floor.
Marcel walked in just as they composed themselves. "Alright bitches! Who's ready to go to the beach?" He asked, having packed the last of the stuff into the cars.
A large whoop of excitement broke out as the men began heading to the cars, Smitty begrudgingly following, his protests already long forgotten.
The beach was a little over an hour away, which gave them all time to chill and make small talk. But if any of his friends noticed Smitty was quieter than normal they didn't push it, and he was left to mentally prepare himself in relative silence.
Apparently he wasn't hiding his anxiety very well though, because John grabbed his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile when there was a lull in the conversation. "Relax, man. It'll be fun."
And despite everything, Smitty would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little more at ease after that.
They got there relatively early in the day. Rather than take any risks by showing up at a public beach, they opted for a private one, finding they had the whole stretch of beach to themselves.
Some of the more vocal and impatient guys went for the water immediately, leaving the rest to set up the towels and stuff on land.
Smitty made sure to set up a good ten meters away from the water, so the guys decided to leave their electronics and most of the stuff with him.
To the beach's credit, he was actually having fun, aimlessly building or drawing stuff in the sand, making small talk with whichever of the guys weren't currently in the water. John even hung back for awhile and attempted to build a shitty fort with him.
However it soon became obvious John was only hanging around because of Smitty, as everyone had bailed for the water in order to escape the summer heat some time ago.
"John, you can go join them, y'know? I'm just gonna chill here on my phone or something." Smitty said grabbing a bottle of water from the cooler before settling down in the shade and pulling out his phone.
"You sure? Pretty sure those idiots are getting along just fine without us anyway."
"Yes. I order you to go join them, peasant."
"Anything for you, Master." John cooed as he got up and started heading over.
"About damn time, John!" Marcel said once John was in earshot.
"Is Smitty coming over too, John?" Craig asked, straining his eyes to look back at Jaren.
"Nah, I think he just wants to chill on the beach." John told them, assuming that'd be the end of it.
However Tyler wasn't having it. "Seriously?! It has to be like 90 degrees out right now! Is he trying to die of heat stroke?"
"Come onnnn!" Tyler suddenly yelled at Smitty from across the beach. "Quit being a lil bitch and join us!"
"Yeah, Smitty, you're missing out!" Marcel joined.
"At least come closer to the shore, dummy." Scotty demanded. "It's not going to kill you."
Smitty hesitated, unsure what to do, before pressure won over and he got up and ambled his way over to the very edge of the water. It gave him goosebumps whenever the waves ran over his feet, but there was a collective cheer from everyone when he finally came over.
The group fell into an expected silence, until it became evident Smitty had no intention of coming any closer.
"...You're not gonna come any further into the water, Smitty? Are you not frying right now?" Anthony finally asked, incredulous.
Feeling several pairs of eyes on him, Smitty attempted to push down his fear and venture further into the water.
"Ayeee, nice of you to finally join us, Smitty." Craid said once Smitty had gotten just up to his knees.
"F-fuck, that's cold..." Smitty couldn't tell if the chills running down his spine were from the temperature of the water or the growing terror he felt the further out he walked. Despite the fact he was walking closer to them everything seemed to be getting further away.
He risked a glance behind him when the water was just above stomach level and felt his legs turn to jello.
He was sure his friends were saying something to him now, but he couldn't hear it over the pounding of his heartbeat in his ears. Everything was going fuzzy and-
He didn't even realize how hard he had been shaking till he felt a hand on his arm guide him back to land.
Smitty promptly collapsed onto the towels beneath him once they had made it back.
John waited till Smitty's breathing returned to normal before asking "You okay, dude? You looked like you were gonna fall over any minute there." Even though Smitty wasn't looking at him, there was no mistaking the concern in John's voice.
"Yeah... Yeah, I'm good now... Thanks." Smitty said, sitting up and grabbing his previously abandoned water bottle.
This time Smitty could see the relief on his face. "Well, I think I'll stick around anyway."
"You can go back now, y'know. I'm fine, you don't gotta babysit me, John."
"Yea? Well I think the sand is better anyways."
"Why's that?"
"Oh, I don't know, probably because the sand didn't almost make my best friend pass out."
"...You make a good point."
They fell into a good silence, neither feeling the need to say anything more, until John decided to grab a water bottle of his own from the cooler.
"Hey John, wanna bury the cooler before the rest of the guys get back?" Smitty asked, a mischevious grin already in place.
"You read my mind." John responded with one of his own.
The fact that it was only a minor inconvenience didn't stop the two of them from laughing like maniacs when their friends had to dig it out.
When all was said and done Smitty decided maybe the beach wasn't the worst place ever.
But the ocean could definitely still fuck off.