265 First Night

My eyes were fixed on the figures of Luna and Zevin as they walked down the path back towards the house, their shadows elongated by the angle of the setting sun. Slowly, I turned my gaze towards the ocean, taking in the figure of Erith and Alvelyn as they seemed to be wrapping up the lesson. It seemed like now would be a fine time to tell them that we should be heading back, but I'm not in the mood to yell right now, so I'll just wait for them to get up here. I could communicate this with Alvelyn telepathically, but then it would be weird and suspicious, so I decided to not to do that.

With a sigh, I leaned against the railing, feeling a sense of fatigue in my body. Once again, I gazed out at the setting sun and the beautiful blend of orange and purple as the twilight hours of the day slowly gave way to nighttime. Slowly, I forced myself to stand without having to support myself with the railing, and began walking towards the stairway that led up from the beach. That is where Erith and Alvelyn are headed.

As I walked, I heard the sound of a car horn honking at me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that it was a familiar SUV and sitting in the driver seat is Emilia. As I turned to face her, she slowly rolled down the window.

"Where have you been?" I asked her as she brought the vehicle to a stop.

"Went out to pick up some stuff that is needed for dinner," she answered. "Mainly extra paper dishes and cups. Are you walking back? Do you want a ride?"

"..." I stared at her and maintained silent. Then, I slowly looked over at Erith's and Alvelyn's figure as they approached the stairway from the showers. "No. I'm feeling like walking back. You can go ahead."

"Is that so?" she nodded. "Then I'll see you back at the house."

With a nod in her direction, I watched as she rolled up the windows and drove off, leaving me standing by myself as I awaited for Erith and Alvelyn.

When the two finally made their way up the stairway, I was the only one standing there and greeting them. My presence was seen as a surprise by Erith and a bit less so by Alvelyn. However, what was more in Erith's mind was probably why I was here instead of Luna.

"Where's Luna?" she asked, looking around in search of her figure.

"She got picked up by Zevin," I answered her.

"Why're you here then?" she then asked.

"I heard that you're teaching her how to swim," I said, looking over at the fatigued Alvelyn. "So I came to watch."

"To watch?" Alvelyn muttered to herself. She seemed to be shivering a bit, probably from the frightful experience of having to learn how to swim.

"So did she learn how to swim yet?" I asked Erith.

"Nope," Erith sighed.

"I would've thought," I nodded and looked over at Alvelyn in an apologetic manner. "They say dinner is almost ready."

"Let's head back then," Erith said, as she started walking. Draped over her shoulders were her towel.

I looked over and met eyes with Alvelyn, whose expression seemed to be one that was holding back a slight amount of anger. It would appear that she's somewhat mad that I didn't choose to help her and simply watched. However, what could I do in that moment? Even if it's myself, I cannot simply just "save" myself.

The walk back to the house was...rather silent as none of us made conversation. I guess this is in my favor because I really don't feel like being able to converse after what I just experienced. Alvelyn must be being impacted by my mental state. However, Erith on the other hand, seemed to be influenced by something else. Even though she's not showing it, I can sense that something's bothering her.

After eating dinner, we all simply sat around in the living room watching television to pass some time before we felt tired enough to sleep. The open seats on the couches were taken, and the people that weren't able to have a seat used the kitchen chairs. Since there were only two bathrooms, one upstairs and the other downstairs, we all took turns using the shower and brushing our teeth as we prepared for the end of our day.

It was...a rather weird feeling to be in staying the night in a house where everyone else is present. Everything is just...so much livelier. Unlike my house where everyone are on the quieter side and the loudest sound being the audio from the television, this place was rather lively, with conversations being had between everyone.

As the clock ticked further and further into the night, the volume became quieter and quieter as everyone seemed to be affected by their fatigue of spending the day by the beach. The only ones not entirely tired were Emilia, Mura, and I, the three that did not go to the beach and spent the majority of the day here. Therefore, I suppose that is the reason why the three of us were the only ones that still appeared to be somewhat invigorated while everyone else's eyelids appeared heavy.

"Hey," Irina said as the living room quieted down. "There seems to be a firework festival that will be going on starting tomorrow night. Let's go watch it."

"Sounds like a good idea," Luna agreed.

"Why not?" Noah chimed in.

Irina's suggestion seemed to have gathered unanimous support as I am pretty sure that everyone knows that a second day at the beach won't be as enjoyable due to the law of diminishing marginal utility. Therefore, it is only reasonable that they would be searching for something else to entertain themselves with before we return home the day after that.

"It's getting late," Emilia said as she checked the time on her phone.

"I'm quite tired," Luna yawned.

"Let's go to bed then," Erith suggested as she clung onto Luna's arm.

"I guess it is time," Loyd nodded.

"I'm practically dead," Zaksus yawned as he leaned his head back against the backrest of the couch and closed his eyes.

"Yeah," Zevin nodded. "It's kinda painful knowing that we gotta get up."

"Don't remind me," Noah whined as he let out a groan.

"We still have to go up the stairs," Irina chuckled and said. "All you guys have to do is go to that room over there and sleep."

"I guess it's time," Noah said as he forced himself up from the ground. "I'm going to bed now."

Following Noah's departure, everyone gradually started scattering, slowly making their way to their own respective rooms to sleep. The girls went upstairs for their room while the boys made their way over to our room on the first floor. Since my stuff is in that room, I followed them into the room as well.

Upon entering, I once again felt how crowded the place was with five guys. Loyd seemed to be retrieving something from his bag as he stood by the long, rectangular bed while Noah, Zaksus, and Zevin all were laying down in their own respective plot on the long bed. Even with only three people laying down, it already appeared somewhat crowded.

"This isn't gonna work," Loyd commented as he smiled at me.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"Are you sure?" Zevin asked as he forced himself to sit up. "I can switch with you."

"It's fine," I said, grabbing my bag from the room as well as a blanket. "I would actually prefer sleeping on the couch."

"Sorry," Loyd whispered as rounds of soft snoring rang in the room originating from Zaksus and Noah.

"They're asleep already?" Zevin whispered in surprise.

"They were the wildest today," Loyd softly chuckled. "Well," Loyd then looked over at me and smiled. "Good night."

"Good night," Zevin added in.

"Goodnight," I responded, nodding at them as I exited the room and softly closed the door. Loyd or Zevin will probably turn off the lights when they're ready to go to bed.

I walked over to the couch and placed my bag next to it. I laid down on the couch, testing it for its comfort level. It was just slightly shorter than my height, so I had to rest my feet on the arm rests at the end of the couch. Other than that and the smaller size of the couch making it so that I don't have room to turn, the couch is fairly comfortable.

I laid down and closed my eyes after turning off the lights, listening to the sound of waves crashing by the shore from the opened sliding glass door leading to the yard. It was a rather comfortable place to sleep in with the ambiance noise of the waves and the gentle ocean breezes that blew in from the crevice of the sliding glass door.

I heard the sound of footsteps walking down the stairs which lead me to open my eyes. I looked in the direction of the stairs and saw that it was Emilia.

"Still not asleep?" I asked her as she walked over.

She nodded in response. "Are you sleeping on the couch?"

"Yeah," I responded. "The bed in our room is too crowded for five guys."

"I see..." she nodded as she quickly surveyed the living room and the couch that I was laying on. "Come with me."

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and stared at her in confusion. "Where?"

"Come with me and grab your bag," she simply said after grabbing a few bottles of water and walked back up the stairs.

Confused as to what she was saying, I had no choice but to retrieve my bag and leave the established comfort of the couch. Slowly, I walked over to the stairs, preparing myself to enter the forbidden territory of the girls' floor. With a deep breath, I took the first step. And then the next, and the next, and the next until I was finally up the stairs.

Looking down the dark hallway, I saw a sliver of light slip out into the hallway from the slightly opened door at the end of the hallway. Slowly, I walked over to that door in a quiet manner so as to not alarm any of the girls and notify them of my presence. Soon, I had snuck past the closed door that the girls were sleeping in and to the doorway leading to Emilia's and Mura's room.

Looking into the room, I saw Emilia sitting on the long bed in the room while on her phone. Next to her, Mura seemed to be sorting through her luggage bag.

"Come in," Emilia said to me as I stood at the doorway.

"W-what's the situation?" I asked as I timidly stepped into their room.

"You can sleep in here," Emilia said as she set her phone down.

"W-what?"