{reserved} It's too soon.

{Reserved for Arden (Eternal Silence) and Kyle (Oig)}


Arden sat way back from the shoreline, wearily watching the waves roll in. She sighed, and put her head in her hands. "After all that Kitty did, I'm still too afraid to go in the water," she mumbled to herself, ashamed of her weakness. She had been to the beach several times after Kitty had helped her face her fears, but she had never once been back into the water. She was petrified, and she couldn't help it.

Sighing, she picked up a handful of sand, and let it go, watching it fly on the ocean breeze.

Kyle swifly walked and sat on the bench clutching the bottom of the seat.
The ocean... Why am I here again? Why do I keep getting attracted by the endless tides? Why...
He noticed a girl dropping some sand, letting it glide in the wind. He made no move to make her notice him.

She knew he was there; it was hard not to notice the dark figure against the light beach scene. But she could tell by his posture that he didn't want to be noticed, so she stared out at the water. "So pretty...but so decieving..." she murmured, wondering if he heard.

Kyle stared at her... She didn't even look back. Kyle finally stood up and inched closed to the girl, taking baby steps. Kyle was fully aware that the closer he got to her, the closer he would be to the ocean.

Arden looked up. She couldn't help it. "You can come sit down," she said, scooting over. She could tell he was uncomfortable, whether from the ocean or from her, she didn't know. She pulled her shoulders back, a gesture she knew was less defensive and closed off in terms of body language.

Kyle sat besides the girl, hesitating. He tried not making eye contact with the girl and looked into the ocean. His face stiffened and looked away from the ocean and peering into the sand as a little crab scurried by.

Arden sat in awkward silence as well, not sure what to say. She felt weird whenever she talked to a guy now, after Dean, and she wasn't a master conversationalist in the first place. She watched a small crab scurry by, and took in her breath a little bit.

"I wonder why so many people like the ocean?" she wondered out loud. "I mean, I can see why when I look at the pretty sand, and the way the sun glints off of the water. But, like, when a person drowns in the water, or gets hurt somehow, do you think the families of those people ever feel comfortable again? Do you think they can ever appreciate the natural beauty? Can they even see it, or can they only see the danger, the hurt?" She was babbling again, and she realized it a second too late. She blushed and opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She tried again. "I'm sorry. This is just a very...strange place for me to be in. I'm not myself when I'm around the beach." She ducked her head.

Kyle's hair tumbled down as he looked straigh down, under his hair was a cold glare. It wasn't mean to Arden, but he just happened to be looking at her at the time. Kyle sighed as he stood up looking into the ocean and then looking away.

Why is he glaring at me? Arden wondered, ducking her eyes a little bit. Why wouldn't he glare at me...I'm rambling again. Stupid, she reprimanded herself. "Sorry," she said, biting her lip.

Kyle turned to her and looked her in the eye. "Why are you sorry?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. He shrugged. "You did nothing wrong." He turned back and stared out at the ocean again. He ignored Arden's stare. He didn't have to look to know that she was watching him. But after a minute, he sighed. "I'm...not much of a talker," he explained dismissively.

Arden turned her attention back to the sand that she was sitting on. She brushed some of it off of her pants, and brushed her hands off. "It's okay," she said, not looking at him. "I mean, the not talking part. Sometimes I think it might be better to keep to yourself, and not display the personal parts of you to the world. That's the number one way to get hurt, I find..." she let her voice trail off.

Kyle found it hard to imagine Arden being hurt. She seemed happy, and content with her life. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I know what you mean," he said quietly. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I know what you mean..."

Arden nodded slightly. She let her hair fall in front of her face, creating a curtain between her and Kyle. Suddenly, she felt very...odd. Almost uncomfortable. "Uh..." she struggled to find something to say, but came up with nothing. So she just sat there in awkward silence, waiting for something to happen.

"..." Kyle wasn't about to be the conversation starter. Not only did he not know what to say, but he didn't really want to say it. So he just sat down again, not caring if sand got on his clothes. Who really cared anyways?

He stole a glance at Arden, and then quickly looked away again. He let his hair fall in front of his eyes, and his hands balled up tensely.

Arden sighed. "Well..." her voice trailed off. She stood up suddenly. "Sorry. I- I just....sorry." She turned to walk away, keeping her head held high, even though she felt like her face was on fire. Her heart twisted into a little knot, and she sped up a little bit.

Kyle watched her go for about four seconds, then sighed and stood up. "Wait," he said, jogging after her. He caught up quickly, because his legs were longer than hers and he was faster, anyways. He didn't stop, and she didn't, either. They just walked for a minute, before Kyle said, "...sorry." He didn't look at her this time, just kept on walking.

Arden smiled softly. "'s' okay," she said, looking at her feet as well. She absently pulled her hair over her shoulder, letting the sea breeze hit the bare side of her neck. It felt good, a welcome change from the added curtain of heat that her hair provided along with the blazing sun. She then let her hands drop to her side, fingers fumbling with the hem of her shirt.