Chapter Text
Life was hard.
Lo’ak was fifteen, he was young and really not as far in life as he liked to think. Despite him only being alive for a decade and some years— he was done. He was not hormonal and he wasn’t going through a phase, he was suffering from crippling depression.
Ever since he was officially diagnosed a year or two back things have blurred together like water color in a canvas so really couldn’t remember when he started feeling like this. Maybe his sixth year of school? No— seventh. Seventh grade, he gave up completely.
Lo’ak didn’t think things could possibly get worse for him up until him and his family moved halfway across the country to Florida about two weeks ago. Why they moved? He didn’t know neither did he care to inquire for the reason. Leaving his life-long home and best friends behind for “new adventures!” had only ruined his mental state farther.
He despised making new friends and he hated change, this was his own personal hell and he was leaning into it. Sure this new scenery was eye candy— Florida is the sunshine state! With the cute girls and palm trees, he thought being somewhere with so much to offer it’d bring him out of this hole he had dug himself but honestly— ever since they moved he’d done nothing but cry and sulk in his room, locked away from his family and only coming out on rare occasions.
Lo’ak sat in his bare and torturous new room. Untouched boxes packed with room decor and or clothes filled up a good fifth of the room and he hated it— even though he he felt, surprisingly, fine today it really dampened his outlook. His objective given to him from his parents while he had some time before he had to go to his new school was to unpack them, make his room less solitary confinement and more homey, but frankly, he didn’t want to do anything at all.
He couldn’t care less about what his room looked like, he just wanted to go home.
Just like an ironic coated slap in the face it was raining. The rain and dark blue clouds signifying the dreaded and long awaited day he had to go back to school, a new school. Like a clock counting down until someone’s death sentence, the constant reminder his calendar served that he had until tomorrow. Then he was back.
How could life get any worse? Any more tragic? Was it possible? No, it was not.
Just as Lo’ak was getting ready to cocoon himself in a plethora of blankets and call it a night, not even attempting to prepare for school tomorrow, his older brother barged through the wood door and walked in- Neteyam…
The perfect child. A role model to all of his siblings, a great student and a wonderful track athlete. It made Lo’ak physically ill with how much of an over-achiever his older brother was but nonetheless he looked up from his blankets and gave a dirty look that was hard to ignore.
“Can you get out?” Lo’ak demanded rather than asked although he masked it as a question, his tone condescending and should’ve served as a warning to his brother.
“No. Seeing my baby brother all down in the dumps ruins my day. Come on, get up, big guy.” Neteyam forcefully grabbed Lo’ak’s thin ankles and dragged him like a sack of potatoes out of his dented bed from the constant weight of his body.
He slowly crawled out of bed, kind of like a rat, it was a pathetic sight to see. He wore his favorite hoodie that was colored a dark navy blue, black shorts that only reached midway to his thigh and white, rolled over socks. He was usually dressed better than whatever the hell he through on that morning but he was under the assumption he had no one to impress today so why dress up?
“We’re gonna go see some friends.” Neteyam stood over Lo’ak’s limp, noodle body as he sprawled out over the cold, hard wood floor.
“What friends? Are you seeing things again- and hey! What about the rain?” He spoke into the floor, his tone monotone and fed-up already— he was also confused? What friends? They had just arrived in a new state and it seemed near impossible to meet new and make new friends already. They haven’t even gone to school yet?
“Ha- ha… No, Lo’ak. It’s these three that go to the school we are going to. The oldest boy is Ao’nung. The other two, Tsireya? I think that’s what she said and Rotxo. Really chill people. I think you’d get along with them. I’ve been talking to Ao’nung a lot recently and he’s just so funny..”
Neteyam started to branch off and focus his attention on the oldest boy, Ao’nung while he completely ignored the question about the weather. He seemed to take a particular liking to him. Lo’ak didn’t care for the boy, he was interested in the girl, Tsireya.
How Neteyam already managed to make friends was beyond Lo’ak’s comprehension but he didn’t care, this could be good! This could make the hard launch of going to a completely new school a nice and soft landing.
“Save it. Where are they?”
“Uhm.. I think Ao’nung told me they’d be down by the beach?”
It wasn’t an ordinary, public beach that was cleared off and had parking lots added to the entrance but instead a nice and secluded beach with a think forest of tropical plants and palm trees to protect it from the infrastructure of the new and modern city world.
“You in or not?” Neteyam offered a hand and helped pull Lo’ak up off the ground, “actually— you have to come.”
“Is the girl… Tsireya cool?” Lo’ak asked almost bashfully as if he knew Neteyam was going to make fun of him.
“What? you already have a crush on her and you haven’t even seen her? You’re easy.” He joked and poked at Lo’ak as they walked downstairs to leave.
“Would you quit?!” He whined,
“Yeah she’s cool. Kinda shy but I got a good vibe from her.”
Lo’ak hummed to himself and took the information in as they neared the door. Lo’ak slid into his frequented sandals and turned his head to see his mother and father in the kitchen.
“Where are you two going?” Neytiri inquired to the duo, it was afternoon and the sun was beating down— hard. She wasn’t aware of any plans so she was confused.
“Neteyam is forcing me to go see some friends down at the beach.”
“Forcing?!” Neteyam looked up from shoe laces,
“Neteyam.. if your brother doesn’t want to go out, don’t make him.” She cautioned while she scrubbed dishes.
“He’s being dramatic and lying. I’m not making him go any where.”
“I don’t care where you two go as long as you’re back before five, alright?” Jake spoke up in thunderous voice, what he was doing in the kitchen? Bothering his wife but most importantly making sure his children made it home alive.
Lo’ak and Neteyam called out with a “yep” or an “ok” and straight out the door they went.
Outside was a cool 78 with soft breeze and a clear sky— of course that was after the rain and storms had cleared up as Lo’ak predicted. It was so much nicer than it was only fifteen minutes ago that it almost made Lo’ak forget about all the troubles that have occurred and bothered him in the span of a few weeks. The two walked side by side down the rain-wetted street as birds chirped and the occasional and few cars that passed by.
Lo’ak let the wind hit his face and coarse through his braids that were tied back— Neteyam broke out with a smile after seeing his little brother crack a weak smile after so long of having a permanent frown.
“How’d you meet these three to begin with?”
“Oh dude, it was like instantaneous. Like the second day of us being here, I was down by the park over there and they were hanging out there too, we clicked immediately and Rotxo played with Tuk, it was pretty cool.”
Lo’ak nodded along as he explained and it worked out perfectly— just as Neteyam wrapped up his story, so did their walk. The street transformed into a shoreline like magic. They made their way through a few groups of trees and were warmly greeted with the others.
“Ao’nung, Tsireya, Rotxo— this is my younger brother, Lo’ak.”
Lo’ak overlooked them all, they were all different in many ways but just as he expected— he couldn’t take his eyes of Tsireya. Her dark and Lucious curls fell loosely, free even down to the midst of her back, only her hairline and back being braided in tiny sections, her eyes were a beautiful light blue that could light up a room like a flashlight, her skin was a glowing sandalwood color, even more tanned from the constant sun exposure- in all words and ways, she was perfect, just perfect.
He could get use to this view. Tsireya… not the beach that stood waiting for the spotlight just behind them.
She smiled and waved gently at the two boys that stood adjacent to them. Lo’ak returned a smile instantly.
Maybe school and Florida as a whole wouldn’t be so bad after all…?