The boy.

Summer, eight years ago, in Loch Cliff.

Nana leads Merette and Marianne through the hallways towards the living room. Merette's heart thump against her ribcage, sweaty palms squeezing Marianne's.

"You're too lame for this, getting all worked up for what? Seeing a boy?" Her sister whispers in her ear, her warm breath tickling Merette's earlobe. She shoots a glare at Marianne's way to which the girl muffles a laugh behind the back of her hands.

"Shut the hell up." Merette mouths.

When they reach the living room, that boy is not there. And for a moment she thought he's got bored of waiting and decided to go back home. Though before she could hold onto the though which surprisingly upset her, she hears voices coming from the front yard.

Nana swirls back, glaring at the girls before rushing toward the front door. "Are you going?" She calls to the boy who stands at the front yard with Papa and Kanaila, she happily sat on Papa's hip with her hands around his neck, grinning at the newcomer.

His head snaps to the house, gaze catching Merette for a second before she moves back to hide behind her Nana. Jeez, she's so embarrassing. A flush rise up to her cheeks.

"No. We were talking." He says, and his voice is so cool and boyish that it only makes the blush on Merette's face intensify. She curses her stupid heart for being so easy to flatter.

Nana smiles sweetly at the boy, eyes crinkling by the corners. "You've already seen Merry before, right?" She asks the boy, who nods with a smile adorning his pretty pink lips.

Marianne beams beside Merette, "Yes, we have." She nudges Merette, making her stumble forward from behind her Nana.

"Then I guess you're seeing this one for the first time." Nana says playfully, holding Merette by her wrist and bringing her to stand beside her. Merette's heart gives a harder quirk from inside her chest, her legs suddenly feeling like jelly.

A breath caught in her chest when her eyes lock with the boy's, throat bobing in a gulp. Now that she looks at him— like actually looks at him, she realizes he's quite the handsomest guy she's ever laid her eyes on.

His eyes are so green and filled with life and energy. His hair, as black as the midnight sky, falls on his face as the breeze blows past them, freckles dotting his tanned cheeks.

God, he's so gorgeous that it actually leaves a ache in her chest.

Merette doesn't know she has been staring at him with her mouth open in the slightest until he says "Hi," again, for the second time that day and when she tries to open her mouth to address him back, it is already open.

Embarrassment colors her cheeks in a much darker shade. "Hey." She manages, throat feeling dry all of a sudden.

"You were crying." He blurts out, then snapping his mouth shut as if he wasn't supposed to say that, as if he can't believe he said it.

Nana makes a sound, just as Papa asks, "Why were you crying?"

"I was going to ask the same thing." Nana is saying.

Merette's heart drops, mouth opening and closing with the lack of answer. She doesn't know what to answer to their question. Was she supposed to say she was crying because her sister won't let her go to the lake? That's so ridiculous and absurd. How embarrassing can she be?

Marianne let out a laugh from beside her, making her body jerk back. "That's a funny story, Papa."

Merette's eyes go wide at the accusation in her sister's voice. She garsbs her arm when she start to open her mouth to let out more of the event that took place here not more than a few minutes ago.

"Funny?" Papa's eyebrows coak up, head tipping to the side in the slightest. Brown hair fanning on his eyes when a particular strong breeze blows.

Marianne shakes Merette off and takes a step forward. "She tried to sneak out to the lake!" She exclaims.

"Not again, Merette." Papa sighs, shaking his head and giving her a pointed look. Kenaila in his hands shoots glares at her, little hand reaching to tap her Papa's cheek to get his attention all the while holding Merette's gaze.

"I asch her to tach me and—and che ched no!" ( I ask her to take me and she said no)

She opens her tiny palm out in the air in exasperation as if to make him understand the depth of the situation.

"Ooohh… did she say that?" Papa asks, leaning in to press a kiss on her rosy cheeks. Kenaila nods, letting out a high pitched "yesh".

When she drags her eyes to the boy standing next to Papa, she finds him already staring at her, though as their eyes clash, he's so fast to cut it to Papa. Merette bites down on her bottom lip to cut the smile that threatens to stretch her lips.

"And when I found out because Kenny won't stop crying, she asks me for my permission. When I didn't grand it, she got mad at me saying she's going to the market to ask you guys." Marianne stops her rant with a laugh at the end which takes up almost the half of her speech.

The betrayal that seeps under Merette's skin can't be compared to any other. She decides then and there that she won't be talking to her sister today at all.

Merette doesn't know why but her eyes keep going back to the boy, each time she caught him starting at her and every time he tries enough to seem like he hasn't been staring at her, maybe that's why, to see him getting flustered. But it's also to know if he thinks she ain't cool at all. Her chest tightens at the last chance.

"Do you wanna go to the lake?" He asks, surprising both Merette and even him seeing the slight widen of his eyes, she guesses.

With a curt nod of her head, she utters, "Yeah…"