Page 32 of The Jorogumo

Smiling, I waved at him to take a seat, before lowering myself on the blanket. Sitting on the ground was not easy, but once I got my legs spread out in front of me, I could settle in comfortably.

I could spread my legs out at a right angle both in front of me or behind—but not both at the same time—but it was the "getting into the position" part that always gave me trouble, especially when the ground underneath wasn't solid.

Liam waited patiently for me to situate myself, then took my hand in his. Dragging in a deep breath, he smiled softly before turning to me, his brown eyes bright and sparkly from the light reflected off the water.

"This is wonderful, Haruto. Thank you for doing this for me. I've never actually been to a beach before."

"Really?"

Liam shook his head, then sank the fingers of his other hand into the sand, smiling softly. "It feels better than anything I'd imagined."

"I'm glad."

Liam glanced around curiously, then turned his gaze to me. "Where's everyone? The people who live here?"

"Well, a lot of them live underwater and don't come out often. Some are working on their chores. And others decided to give us some privacy."

"Oh, that's nice of them. Do you visit each others' areas often?"

"I personally don't, but I know a lot of the others do. The headmaster's one rule is that we should have meals together, but other than that we're free to go wherever we do or don't want to."

Liam was quiet after that, lost in thought, and we sat in companionable silence for a few minutes.

"You mentioned there's one supe who can't leave his area, though. Right?"

"Shade," I agreed with a sad smile. "Light hurts him, so the headmaster created an area that has no light specifically for him. He's comfortable there, but..."

"Alone," Liam finished for me, and I sighed.

"Yeah. We visit as often as we can, but it's not the same."

"I'd like to meet him sometime."

I smiled, thinking of those two extroverts meeting.

"I think you'd get along well."

Liam smiled at that, then shifted closer to me, leaning his side against mine.

I wouldn't mind spending the whole day just like this.

Liam

We must've sat and chatted for hours, talking about everything from magic and supernaturals to comic books and anything else that came to mind.

I loved spending time with Haruto, loved the way he always listened so attentively, like everything I said was of the utmost importance.

A bell interrupted me mid-sentence—the second one of the day—and Haruto raised a brow at me.

"Would you like to go grab some dinner?"

I was surprised to realize it was dinnertime already. Had we really spent the whole day here?

"Uh, yeah, I'd like that."

We'd finished our basket of lunch and assorted snacks a while ago, and my stomach was definitely ready for more food. Who knew talking all day could make you hungry?

Haruto and I ate with his friends again. Khush and Silas's jokes and teasing, Keoni's excitement over the most random human things, Dustin's cheer, Touya's quiet support...I could get used to all of it.

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