META'S POV:
The ocean's roar, usually a balm, only amplified the tempest raging in my skull. My own tears, long dry and crusty on my cheeks, felt like a betrayal. Why? Why had the sight of this shore torn such a raw, unnamed grief from me? Rationality offered flimsy shields—stress, the brutal echoes of recurring nightmares—but they shattered against the profound certainty that this loss was familiar. It was a phantom limb of a memory, an ache for a piece of my soul I hadn't known was missing. My gaze snapped to the water, where that Snotty Kid remained submerged. He was an infuriating enigma: a brilliant mind trapped in a bundle of raw nerves, a kind heart hidden beneath a layer of reflexive curses.
He'd been under too long. The thought, at first a flicker, ignited into a numbing dread in my gut. A prank? I scanned my memory of the last twenty-four hours: the rooftop, the chaotic chase, the way he'd practically vibrated with anxiety. No. From what I'd observed, calculated cruelty wasn't in his programming. He was a walking, exposed nerve, not a trickster. A vicious, icy clamp seized my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs. The world narrowed to that patch of shimmering blue. Something was terribly wrong.
I didn't even register kicking off my shoes. I was simply moving, sprinting into the surf with a raw desperation that clawed at my throat. The moment I plunged beneath the surface, the world dissolved into a suffocating, silent green. Panic, sharp and savage, clawed at me as I scanned the murky depths. Nothing. My lungs burned, a dull echo of the terror he must be feeling. This was insane. I'd known him for barely a day, yet the thought of not finding him felt like a physical tearing inside me, a premonition of a loss so profound it defied all logic, shook my foundations.
Then I saw it. A dark shape, undeniably a body, being pulled from the seabed by another figure. A figure that wore my face but was horribly, unsettlingly wrong—a thin, white scar gleamed on his cheek in the faint underwater light. Was I breaking? Was the lack of oxygen dredging up ghosts from my nightmares, or had the stress finally fractured my mind? The scarred doppelgänger's eyes, unsettlingly familiar, fixed on mine from the gloom, then he vanished like a phantom, leaving Thyme's limp body floating just within my grasp.
There was no time to question my sanity. I seized him, his body a terrible, fragile weight, and fought, churning for the surface. A primal roar echoed in my soul, a desperate command that drowned out everything else: Save him. He is important. You cannot lose him.
I hauled him onto the wet sand, my own breath ragged, and began the frantic, rhythmic press against his chest. One. Two. Three. Each compression was a desperate plea against a silent, unresponsive body. Nothing. The sorrow I'd felt in the car surged back, no longer a quiet ache but a black, venomous despair. Hot, useless tears of rage and grief streamed down my face, mixing with the saltwater and the sweat beading on my brow. I was losing a boy I barely knew, and the world, for me, was ending. I had no other choice.
"I'm sorry, Thyme," I choked out, the words raw and broken. "I have to do this." I pinched his nose, covered his mouth with mine, and breathed a desperate, frantic plea into his lungs. I pulled back, slammed my palms against his chest, and repeated it, pouring every ounce of my will, my breath, my terror, my very being, into him. For a horrifying moment, there was only the cold, unyielding finality of failure.
Then, a miracle.
"Khuh-KHUUUH! Hkkk—KHHHK!"
The gruesome, miraculous sound of him convulsing, of water violently leaving his lungs, ripped through the air. A wave of relief so potent it nearly buckled my knees, threatening to collapse me onto the sand. I had to physically restrain myself from gathering his trembling body into a hug, terrified the sheer intensity of my emotion would shatter him.
He gasped, his chest heaving, his wide, panicked eyes finally focusing on mine through a haze of saltwater and terror. "Wa...wait… di...did you perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?" he wheezed, his voice raw and thin.
I could only give a single, sharp nod, my own throat too tight for words.
The effect was instantaneous. The color drained from his face as if by magic, replaced by a look of pure, theatrical agony.
"SHIT! NO......" Thyme's scream was a masterpiece of despair, echoing across the quiet beach. "You... You stole my first kiss, argggg!" He looked like he wanted to throttle me but settled for smashing his fists into the wet sand, a portrait of impotent fury. "Wha..What am I supposed to do now?" he mumbled, utterly defeated, his voice barely a whisper.
I couldn't help it. A bark of hysterical, unhinged laughter tore from my throat, raw and uncontrolled. To be wrenched from the abyss of watching him die, only to be met with this… this absolute, ridiculous absurdity.
"You! You have the nerve to laugh?" he shrieked, pointing a shaky, accusing finger. "You Giant Gorilla, you stole my most precious treasure! You have to do something!"
The lingering adrenaline, the raw fear, the utter confusion—it all funneled into a single, reckless impulse. I needed to regain control of this insane situation, to rein in my own chaotic feelings. Teasing him was the only shield I had. "That was my first kiss too," I said, my voice level and serious, watching his eyes for a reaction. "So what should I do?"
He went completely still, his face erupting in a furious, almost comical blush. "You... You don't have to do anything! Just—just forget it!" He tried to scramble away, to escape the mortifying topic, but his leg seized up, a fresh cramp. With a yelp, he lost his balance and toppled over. I moved without thinking, a reflex, catching him before he hit the ground. His small, warm body collided with mine, a surprising jolt.
"Wha..what are you doing?" he stammered, trapped in my arms.
"I'm saving you," I stated, my voice low and dangerously close, an unbidden thrill running through me. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Shit." Of course. He slumped against me, defeated.
I looked down at his flushed, flustered face, so close to mine. The words, a reckless test born from the sheer terror of almost losing him, spilled out before I could stop them. "And I will do something about it. I'll take responsibility." I let the words hang in the air, heavy and loaded, watching his eyes widen in pure panic. "I'll become your boyfriend."
His entire body went rigid, like a board. I saw the pure, unadulterated flight response in his eyes and finally, mercifully, let him go, a smirk tugging at my lips. "Do you think I will let you be my boyfriend? Even if you are handsome, I will never fall for you, you stupid giant gorilla!"
"Relax, Kid, I'm just teasing you," I said, stepping back and offering a hand. "But you called me handsome, so am I handsome?"
"Let go of me!" he snapped, slapping my hand away with surprising force. He pushed himself up, scrambling, and tried to storm away, his dignity completely undermined by the pained, awkward limp of his cramped leg.
But the confusion only deepened. What was this feeling I had for this kid? Did it even make sense to immediately like someone I'd known for only two days? Or was it because he was so starkly different from others who only saw my worth in terms of status and money? Thyme was undeniably different, but I was still utterly unsure what these bewildering feelings truly were. For now, I resolved to simply get closer to him. I'd get to know him better. In that way, I could truly understand this confusing emotion I had towards him.
I noticed Thyme waiting outside the car, still blushing furiously and mumbling things I couldn't quite decipher. A faint chuckle escaped me. It was funny, because I'd noticed it earlier – he seemed almost afraid to damage my car, circling it with a cautious reverence. He wasn't like the others, eyes wide with awe or narrowed with jealousy at the sight of expensive machinery. In Thyme's perspective, this car was an untouchable, fragile artifact he wouldn't dare mar.
I walked towards him, and he practically jumped, his eyes darting to me in fresh panic, like a startled deer. "Why aren't you getting in the car?" I asked, a hint of amusement coloring my voice.
He didn't answer immediately, but the answer was already obvious in his hunched posture, in the way he subtly held his dripping clothes away from the gleaming door handle as if it were a fragile jewel.
"Don't worry," I assured him, trying to sound nonchalant despite the strange, insistent flutter in my chest. "I don't mind if your clothes are wet. Mine are also soaked."
He seemed to relax a fraction, his shoulders slumping in relief. "B...but the seat is made of leather," he stammered, his gaze flickering nervously to the luxurious interior. "The leather might get damaged. I..." His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, tinged with genuine fear. "I don't have money to pay for the damages."
I heard it clearly. A warmth bloomed in my chest, entirely unbidden and unsettling. I wanted to laugh, a real, full-bellied laugh, because he was so… cute. Wait! Did I just call this snotty kid cute? Fuck! What in the world was happening to me? I took a deep, steadying breath, trying to anchor myself. A tiny spark of panic ignited – I'd never expected to call anyone 'cute,' especially not a guy, least of all him. But as I'd told myself earlier, I needed to understand these bewildering feelings.
"I will not charge you anything for any damages to the car," I stated, my voice firm, trying to inject enough authority to quell his anxieties – and frankly, my own. "So stop worrying."
He let out an audible sigh of relief, his shoulders finally dropping completely. A small, embarrassed smile touched his lips, a hesitant flicker that made my stomach do another strange, unwelcome flip. Then, his gaze drifted past me, caught by the fading, fiery light of the sunset. He paused, transfixed, a silent awe settling over him.
I should have been looking at the sunset too, appreciating the fiery spectacle painting the sky. But my attention was irrevocably drawn to him. His innocent profile against the vibrant backdrop, his eyes glistening with the reflection of the dying sun. They were already beautiful – long lashes framing dark, clear orbs, now illuminated with a quiet wonder that softened his usually anxious features. His lips, small and perfectly formed, held a faint pink hue, and his nose was delicately, undeniably cute. His pale skin seemed to glow in the golden light. I couldn't stop myself; I was mesmerized, appreciating the unexpected, almost shocking beauty of this kid.
I watched as water dripped from his damp hair, tracing a slow path down his slender neck. My gaze, almost against my will, followed the glistening trail, down past the sharp line of his collarbone, to the V-line of his soaked uniform, where the fabric clung enticingly to the lean contours of his chest. I don't know how long I stood there, lost in the silent, almost reverent observation, simply appreciating his existence in that stolen moment.
Finally, he turned to me, his eyes still wide with the last vestiges of the sunset's magic. "It's... it's beautiful, isn't it?" he whispered, completely oblivious to the fact that my gaze had never strayed to the horizon.
I just stared, a faint flush creeping up my own neck. "Yeah," I managed, my voice a little rougher than intended, betraying more than I liked. "Beautiful." I cleared my throat, forcing myself to break the spell he seemed to cast. "Alright, Kid. Get in. We need to get you home before you catch a cold and inevitably blame me for it." I opened the passenger door, motioning for him to enter. He hesitated for a split second, then, with a shy nod, carefully slipped into the seat, still avoiding all unnecessary contact with the leather.
As I closed the door and walked around to the driver's side, a small, knowing smile, uncharacteristic and warm, tugged at my lips. Cute. The word echoed in my mind again, no longer a source of panic, but a quiet, undeniable admission. This kid was definitely something else. And for the first time in a long time, the chaos in my head felt less like a storm and more like a fascinating, intricate puzzle I was eager to solve. This was going to be an interesting ride indeed.