Chapter Text
[The beach is a good distraction, but you are the real attraction]
Derek Hutchins was a straight A college student, perfect scores, perfect grades, and a certified nerd. Though, he had little friends to talk to or even invite to play games with.
Thus, he laid on his bed phone in hand, thumb scrolling through the conductive screen as he looked for a Minecraft server on discord to ease the loneliness off of his chest and find a community that he could be a part of. He had joined a server once and it didn’t go well, unknowingly joining an anarchy server and leaving already after a few seconds of looking at the broken surroundings that he spawned on.
A sigh escapes his lips
“This isn’t working”
Derek thought as his gaze landed on the monitor of the computer just atop the desk.
Then a discord notification broke his gaze.
Tapping the screen, he saw the direct message of his friend named "Oliv_err" undoubtedly Oliver
“Hey Derek, up for a trip to the beach?”
Derek pauses to think.. It has been pretty hot in Washington, the summer heat has been a problem for a while.
Derek pauses to think of a reply before typing again
“Sure, what time?”
“Around 12:00pm”
Oliver replied, rather quickly
“Alright, where are we headed?”
“The usual beach we visit, silly!”
“Alright then, I’m gonna get ready. See you later”
“See ya derek!”
…
His hand reaches for the phone charger, plugging the other end to the outlet and the other to his phone as he gets ready to pack.
“Sunscreen..”
Derek checks off his list as he throws the bottle of sunscreen in a bag.
“Swimsuit..”
“Extra clothes.. and a towel..”
Derek looks around his room as he thinks of things he could add to the pile.
“Snacks..”
Derek muttered, reaching for the mini fridge’s handle and opening it gently. His gaze landed on a pack of chocolate, a smoothie, a few cans of monster and a pack of raw hotdogs.
“Hm..”
Derek is in deep thought of what he should pack before grabbing 2 cans of monster (Assuming the only person there was his friend), the pack of raw hotdogs and the chocolate before closing the fridge.
He adds the items to the pile, separated by plastic. He goes to the bathroom, taking a quick bath before drying himself and putting on a white shirt that had
“You shall not pass.” Written on the front and a black shorts. He grabs his bag, slinging it over his shoulder before grabbing his keys, wallet, earphones and wallet, checking how much he has before taking off.
He exits his dorm, stepping down the stairs leading to the lower area of the building before leaving.
Walking to the bus isn’t usually exciting unless you have someone by your side, so he grabs the earphones, plugging it into the phone and putting the earbud in his ear before playing ambient music and checking the time.
“11:20am..”
Derek silently calculates the time that he will be at the beach.
“Assuming there’s no traffic.. I’ll be there at 11:50am..”
Derek muttered as he walked the pavement.
A couple minutes later, the bus stop came into view and there was already a bus, how lucky..
He entered the bus, gave the driver a coin and a direction where to go, the driver nodded his head and he sat down near the driver.. His stop is close after all.
Derek passed the time by looking at the bus window, the vehicles passing by like a blur as he waited for 20 minutes before the driver stopped to his destination. Standing up and exiting the bus, he saw his friend.
“Oliver!”
He spoke, his mouth curling to a smile before it drops as he saw another person with his friend
“Derek!”
Oliver replied with the same excitement as he smiled and upon seeing Derek’s frown realised he should’ve introduced the other.
“This is Dan, another friend of mine.”
Oliver began, the man in question raised his hand before waving it.
“I’m sorry for not telling you that he’ll join us”
“Hello, you’re Derek, yes?”
Dan asked, the excitement from Oliver evident to him as well.
“Yeah, nice to meet you man”
Derek replied casually, hiding the frown expertly
“Nice to meet you too”
Dan replied, Oliver cutting the conversation short with an impatient wave before crossing the road. The two followed, cautiously crossing the road and into the beach.
The beach was simply beautiful, the sand, the view of the water and the cleanliness of the surroundings adding to the appeal. Dan immediately ran for Oliver, with Derek following closely behind.
Oliver stopped, finding a place suited to set up a blanket and put their things down. Eventually, Oliver settled for a place, placing a blanket on the sand and setting down his bag with the others as Dan starts a conversation with Oliver.
Derek, not knowing what to do and with no one to talk to, approached the two.
“Hey, I’m gonna go for a swim”
Derek spoke, grabbing his swimming clothes, a towel and the sun screen.
“Alright, have fun”
Oliver replied, Dan managing a nod as he’s occupied by his phone.
Derek walked towards the changing room near the urinals, entering an empty stall and closing the door behind him before changing into his swimwear which is just another casual shirt and pants before lathering his exposed skin with sunscreen.
He opens the door and steps out of the changing room, walking towards the water, practically mesmerized as he stared at the distance before..
A thud
He wasn’t really paying attention but when he heard a voice
“Ow.. dude watch where you’re going..!”
Derek saw a man that collapsed on the ground and panic started to set in
“H-hey are you okay?”
“Does it look like I'm okay?”
The man exclaimed, with clear venom
“I’m sorry.. let me help you”
Derek helps the stranger up, offering him a hand. Of course, the stranger accepted.
“Are you okay?”
Derek asks the stranger again, worry clear in his face
“Yeah.. fortunately I was going very fast and..”
The stranger paused and looked around frantically before pausing again.. looking at the side walk
“My skateboard..”
The stranger walks a couple of steps, clearing aching in pain
“Okay it’s not broken..”
They muttered. Derek still worriedly looking at the stranger
“So.. what’s your name?”
Derek starts, looking at the other’s face.. noting their features dark curly hair and green eyes.. god he must be so weird right now..
“Oh.. I’m Avery.”
…
*Avery’s pov*
College was tiring, 5 hours of lectures combined with an ungodly amount of yapping is a good formula to make students fall asleep. Of course, Avery was one of the people who experienced this formula. Thus, relying on caffeine to stay awake seems like a good idea until the side effects hit.
Avery was scribbling in his notebook as the professor continued to yap about biology, the AC blowing softly with a steady hum as Avery drew his Original character.. a spartan warrior adorned in golden armour with a red scarf draped within his neck and a helmet that mostly covers the face.
“Hm.. looks alright..”
Avery mumbled an acknowledgement to himself as he added detail to his art. The voice of his professor’s voice blending into the background with the hum of air conditioning and time seems to slow… before..
A ring cuts the professor’s words as a ring interrupts the class, signaling the end. Avery grabs his notebook, putting it inside his bag, slinging it over his shoulder before heading to his locker.
The walk to his locker was loud and bustling as you would expect in a college campus though, Avery didn’t care about the noise nor the people. Instead he made a b-line to his locker, inserting the key to the lock and before opening it. The inside of the locker was chaotic, drawing tools inside a small pencil holder almost falling, the drawing pads neatly organized and a skateboard on the bottom part of the locker.
Avery reaches for his skateboard before shutting the locker, securely locking it. He places the skateboard on the ground, grabbing the bluetooth headphones from his bag, pairing the device to his phone before playing a playlist named “White girl music for skateboarding”. Tucking the phone securely on his pocket and mounting on the skateboard, he uses his right foot to propel himself forward towards the open doors of the campus, doing an ollie to jump to the railings off the stairs, doing a 50-50 grind before landing on the ground, continuing to propel himself forward like nothing flashy had happened.
He heads off to the beach, wanting to relax after the grueling hours of yapping and lecture and
After 30 minutes of skating and safely avoiding cars, he saw the view of the beach making him mesmerized.
**Thud**
He crashes into a person, his skateboard flying out a little to the side as he felt his leg ache
“Ow.. dude watch where you’re going..!”
“H-hey are you okay?”
The guy replied, panic clear in the guy’s face he bumped into
“Does it look like I'm okay?”
Avery exclaimed, with clear venom
“I’m sorry.. let me help you”
The stranger helps Avery up, offering him a hand. Of course, the stranger accepted it.
“Are you okay??”
The stranger asks him again, worried clear in that beautiful face.
“Yeah.. fortunately, I was going very fast and..’’
Avery paused and looked around frantically before pausing again.. looking at the side walk
“My skateboard..”
He walks a couple of steps, his leg aching as he slightly limps
*”Dammit.. I may have sprained my foot”*
Avery thought as he picked his skateboard up, inspecting.
“Okay.. it's not broken”
He mutters, he clutches the skateboard on his side but the stranger’s worry was evident even in the dark
“So.. what's your name?”
The stranger starts, looking at his face seemingly admiring it.. avery didn't mind
“Oh.. I’m avery”
“Avery..?”
The stranger asks again
“Avery rivers”
“Oh.. I’m Derek Hutchins”
Avery almost laughs but he held himself
*”Derek.. Hutchins?, that sure is a name”*
He thinks..
“Is your foot okay?... I saw you limping.. I'm kind of worried that you hurt yourself in accident”
“It’s okay, just a sprain I hope..”
“Can I take a look?”
Derek ask, making Avery nod
“Just be careful..”
Derek nod in affirmation, crouching down to check the usual spots that gets sprained by squeezing them gently and gauging Avery’s reaction
“Your knees are good..”
Derek squeezes his ankle, making Avery wince slightly
“Hm.. yeah i found it.. you sprained your ankle..”
“Are you sure it's just a sprain?”
“Well.. it hurts but that seems to be it..?”
Derek shakes his head
“Your ankle is bruised and swollen.. it probably hit your skateboard as you bumped into me”
Derek uncouched and stood up, his gaze landing on the other
“Also.. you can’t blame me for the accident that happened to you, *you* ran me over with your skateboard”
“Oh.. I.. I apologize..”
Avery replied, already thinking of the ways on how to pay derek back
“Though.. you don’t have to pay me back.. but due to what happened to you.. I might need to take care of you”
“Bro… I ran you over and you're taking care of me?”
Avery asks, flabbergasted.
“Yes, I can’t just leave you here.. your probably gonna push through the sprain”
Avery opens his mouth to argue but nothing comes out, Derek was right. He would just push through the sprain like an idiot,
“Fine.. but i will pay you back someday”
“I said you don’t need to, dummkopf (Dumbass)”
“I insist though!”
Derek sighs, he knows he won't win this fight. This idiot was gonna be the death of him
“Fine.. but I need to take care you first..’’
Avery’s face lit up.. Derek fought a smile.. god he was so weak
“Im gonna grab an ice, just hold on for a sec and sit somewhere”
Derek leaves and Avery sat near the edge of the pavement, waiting.
His gaze landed on his knees, deep in thought
*”He seems like a nice guy..*”
Avery thought, the pain subsiding a little bit as his mind drifts
*”I didn’t expect him to be.. handsome though..”*
Avery thought, before stopping himself.
*”Oh.. golly.. “*
Avery covered his hand in shame.. he wasn’t gay..
..he.. wasn’t gay.. right..?
*”m-maybe… I am gay..”*
The sound of footsteps in the sand stopped his thoughts as he looked up.
“Hey aves.. present your feet”
Derek said, holding an ice pack, crouching down to the other’s level before applying the ice on Avery’s ankle.
“This should help to ease the bruising and pain..”
Derek explains, the gentle application of ice was somehow reassuring for Avery as they sat in silence.. the cold sting making his mind unable to drift as his gaze drifted unto the others face
“Avery.. you’re staring at me looking all mesmerized.. are you okay?”
“H-huh..? Yeah.. yeah im okay.. I was just.. day dreaming”
Avery lied.. he was staring to Derek’s face holding himself back from saying something
stupid
“Uhuh.. “
Derek says, unconvinced but letting the other play it off
“Just.. ignore that”
Derek just chuckles, a deep laugh coming from his chest
After a few minutes, Avery looks at the other man again.
“I think.. my ankle is okay now.. thank you for the ice treatment”
“You’re welcome, just be careful next time”
Avery just nods
“Well.. I should go now.. you might be b—”
“Wait..”
Avery says, not letting the handsome man (That was the source of his gay awakening) walk away
“I saw that sun screen.. are you going for a swim..?”
“Yeah.. Why'd you ask?”
“Mind if.. I joined you?”