Fic: Gold in the Air of Summer
Gold in the air of summer
Author: cobalt_siren
Artist: eskimo_jo
Link To Art: here!!!
Word count: ~4,000
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Some language (and kissing? don't think that really needs a warning)
Disclaimer: Skins is property of E4 and Company Pictures. I do not own the characters or settings, and this story is not for profit.
Summary: Alo, Rich, Grace, and Mini go on an impromptu summer road trip after Alo fixes the van. Mini is dragged along, still feeling insecure in her new friendships, but gradually relaxing as they go to the seaside, get caught in the rain, and spend the night in a cabin. With Rich and Grace being very involved in each other, she spends some time getting to know Alo, and learning a bit about letting go and enjoying a little spontaneity in life. (Mainly gen Mini, with established Rich/Grace and a hint of Mini/Alo.)
Notes: Massive thanks to my beta prunesquallormd (I would never finish anything without you Si) and to my artist eskimo_jo for her encouragement and, of course, fabulous art.
*******************
Alo still had grease on his face when he knocked on the door. Mini answered, and her eyes were instantly drawn to the dark streaks.
“What, Farm Boy? Is there a dire emergency that brought you straight over from the tractor pull?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“We’re celebrating, Minerva! I’ve fixed her!”
“Who?”
“The van, of course! Get Gracie, we’re going on a road trip.”
“Road trip to where?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Alo said, pushing her gently back into the house with a grin and a wink.
***
Grace had already thrown some snacks and drinks into a bag by the time Mini and Alo found her.
“Rich texted me,” she explained, twirling through the kitchen and grabbing Mini’s arm. “Ready to go, Mini-Moo?”
Mini suppressed a smile. Grace had been light and music about the house ever since she had started living there. Mini had happily told her she could stay as long as she felt like keeping away from her parents. It wasn’t as if Mini’s mum would give a shit, and having Grace around negated any tendency she might have to brood over her Mum’s stupid boyfriends or Franky or the fact that she’d put on 60 grams. Grace seemed to relish puttering around, humming a tune whilst cleaning, or dragging Mini out of the house to window shop and throw chips at strangers. She didn’t like not knowing where they were going today, but Grace’s enthusiasm convinced her that a little spontaneity couldn’t hurt.
“Ready as I’ll ever be I suppose,” she sighed. “You packed some water, yeah?”
She eyed the pop and fruit punch in Grace’s bag. Grace rolled her eyes and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. Alo stretched his arms towards the ceiling and then wrapped them around the girls’ shoulders, aiming them towards the door.
“Right, ladies! Your chariot awaits!”
***
Rich was sitting in the passenger seat, his arms folded over his chest and his enormous boots propped up on the dash. His hair had grown too shaggy to draw comparisons with Justin Beiber, but now he just looked a bit silly, with his fringe perpetually in his eyes.
“Finally,” he deadpanned as Alo climbed into the driver seat, “I was beginning to think they’d pulled you into their room to paint your toenails.”
“Don’t be silly, dear!” Grace exclaimed, leaning forward momentarily to give him a peck on the cheek. “We’re saving that for tonight, after we’ve curled up in our pyjamas and braided each other’s hair.”
Rich actually cracked a smile, and pulled her back in for another kiss. When tongue started to be involved Mini rolled her eyes, and found Alo was doing the same and giving her a knowing smile. She was glad that she wasn’t going to be the third wheel, watching the almost-married couple make out for the entire trip. Alo started the van and revved the engine, jerking away from the kerb and causing Grace to fall backwards into the pile of cushions serving as a back seat. Mini practically snorted trying to control her laughter, but then Grace fell further into the cushions in a fit of giggles and Alo and Rich began to chuckle as well. So, with peals of laughter filling the rusty van, they were on their way.
***
They had been travelling south for about two hours when Mini couldn’t help but voice her concerns.
“You do know where we’re going this time, right Alo?”
“Oh yeah, no worries! I’ve been there once before, and I’ve got a map and everything.”
He waved a piece of notebook paper in the air, and Mini snatched it from his hand.
Alo protested, “Hey! It’s supposed to be a surprise, remember?”
Mini quickly waved him off and examined the map. It consisted of about three unlabeled roads, a wiggly line that seemed to represent water, and an ‘X’ near the middle.
“Please tell me you’re fucking with me,” Mini asked, fearing the answer.
“Let me see that,” Rich interjected, taking the map from Mini.
He scanned it quickly, then dropped it to the floor and let his head drop back into the headrest with a sigh.
“What?” Alo said, glancing back and forth between them.
“You are fucking retarded, that’s what,” Rich replied. “That’s the most useless map I’ve ever seen. It’s a few scribbles and no fucking words. How are we supposed to find this place?”
“I told you I’ve been there before! It’s all up here,” Alo tapped his forehead emphatically.
“Well, then we’re definitely fucked.”
Rich shrugged and clenched a fist as if he was resisting the urge to slap a palm to his forehead. Grace leaned up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Oh, give him a chance, Rich. If we don’t find it, at least it will be an adventure!”
“Sure, if this rusty old thing doesn’t collapse on us again,” Mini muttered.
“Hey, she can hear you , you know!” Alo said, sounding offended.
The engine sputtered and backfired, then flared to life again. The four of them looked at each other, eyes wide.
“See!” Alo hissed in a dramatic whisper, “Don’t jinx it!”
***
Rich had climbed into the back to sprawl on the cushions with Grace, who dozed lightly against his shoulder. Mini still didn’t quite see what Grace saw in him, with his sarcastic attitude and snobbery, but the way he was looking down at her as her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks made something clench in Mini’s chest. She stood, stooping to avoid bashing her head, and crawled over the bags on the floor into Rich’s place next to Alo. She rolled the window down to get a breath of fresh air. Trees flew past them, occasionally broken up by flashes of bright sunlight.
“All right, Minerva?” Alo asked quietly, placing a hand on her knee.
She half nodded and hummed an affirmative, keeping her gaze fixed out of the window. His hand slowly slipped away.
“Can you smell it yet?”
“What?” she asked, turning towards him and catching him grinning.
“Wait for it…”
They came to a crossroads and he turned the van right. Suddenly the tunnel of trees ended and they came out onto a small headland. The sea was before them as far as the eye could see, glinting brilliantly in the sunlight. Mini gasped involuntarily. She heard Grace stir behind her, and soon her friend was leaning over her shoulder, breathing “Beautiful…” at the sight. Alo turned off of the road into a faint set of tyre tracks that led slightly downhill. At the end of the trail was some sort of shack.
“This is it? You mean you actually found the place?” Rich asked.
“Well yeah, and thanks again for the vote of confidence, mate.”
He parked the van in front of the shack and threw open the door.
“Welcome, ladies and gents, to Dowie’s summer home!”
“That’s where you’ve brought us?” Rich scoffed. “A glorified fishing shack?”
“Hey, this is prime beachfront property! What more could you ask for on such a gorgeous day?”
Grace had already climbed out and hitched up her skirt to run through the tall grass in the yard.
“It’s lovely!” she cried, gazing down past the house to the beach at the foot of the hill.
“See? Gracie’s stamp of approval. Now stop being a wet blanket, Rich, and let’s go swimming!”
***
A narrow path led down from the shack to the beach. The spray of sand was sheltered in a small cove between tall spits of rock. Grace shed her ballet pumps as soon as the scrubby grass gave way to sand, and was down at the water’s edge in a moment. Rich set their bags down on flat rock and sat himself on the edge of it.
“I didn’t bring a swimming costume, did you?” Mini asked Alo.
“Nah, over-rated,” he said, and pulled his shirt over his head.
Before she could even avert her eyes he had shed his trousers and boxers as well and was running down to the water’s edge. She wanted to laugh, but felt it might be rude. It wasn’t that his naked form was intrinsically funny (well, not that funny) but he was just…shameless. Free. Grace had stripped down to her bra and knickers and joined him ankle deep in the waves, where they started kicking water at each other. Behind her she heard Rich make a noise that sounded almost like a chuckle. She turned to find him taking off his boots and carefully setting them on the rock out of the sand. He took his leather jacket and jeans off as well, but left on his boxers and a black shirt for what she assumed was a band or something called “Amon Amarth”. After he’d folded his things and set them by the bags he shrugged at her with a half-smile and slouched off towards the others.
Mini bit her lip as she watched them, one arm held across her stomach. Grace caught her eye, and waved her over while trying to simultaneously ward off sprays of salt water from Alo’s feet. Rich rolled his eyes and plopped down on the beach a few feet away from their antics, his long legs sticking out into the surf. Alo took one good kick at Rich before running to the safety of deeper water and diving under an incoming wave. Mini smiled as he surfaced and shook water from his ears. With a deep breath she shimmied out of her skirt and bike shorts. She folded them up inside her denim jacket and set them by Rich’s things. She tugged at the hem of her long vest, but it still didn’t quite cover her knickers. She turned to walk towards the water and found Grace trotting to meet her. She exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and let Grace grab her arm and drag her into the sea.
***
The rain came from nowhere. They hadn’t even noticed the clouds rolling in. Within minutes it was pissing down and they were running for the house. Grace leaped onto Rich’s back with a yelp and they stumbled in sand. They all laughed as they ran onwards, the rain washing the salt from their skin. Alo snatched the bags from the rock and they haphazardly grabbed their already soaking clothes. By the time they were halfway up the hill they were all panting, and Alo had to grab Mini by the elbow to steady her as she caught her toe on a stone. When they made it back to Dowie’s shack they collapsed in a sodden heap on the floor.
Alo hauled himself up and dashed out the front door when Mini began to shiver. He came back a moment later with a blanket that was mostly dry.
“Here you are, no getting sick while we’re having an adventure!” he said, handing it to Mini.
She wrapped it around her shoulders and found it surprisingly warm despite having a few conspicuous holes. Glancing over and finding Grace looking a little blue, she stretched the blanket out with one arm and motioned her over. They huddled together, while Rich shook out his hair like a puppy. Alo had gone over to a small cupboard in the corner and found a stash of firewood. He stacked it up in the fireplace that seemed to be the shack’s only amenity and patiently held a lighter under the pile, waiting for it to catch.
“Aren’t you supposed to have kindling?” Mini asked, tilting her head onto Grace’s as they watched Alo. “You’re supposed to know these kinds of wilderness skills, Farm Boy.”
“I don’t exactly have any, Mins, I don’t keep sticks in my back pocket.”
“Haven’t you got papers?”
“Not dry ones-ow!” Alo yelped, jerking away as some flames finally licked around the logs. “Shit!” he shook his hand and blew on it.
“Are you okay?” Grace asked, pulling away from Mini and the blanket in her concern.
“I’ll be fine,” he waved her off, before crying shit! again and grabbing his lighter from where he’d dropped it in the fireplace.
“Jesus,” Rich said, “I’m no longer surprised that you managed to blow up a cow.”
“Oh god, please don’t talk about Bessie!” Alo said with a wince, sucking on his wounded fingers.
“Fine, but I’m never letting you play with fire again, you clumsy twat,” Rich muttered with a roll of his eyes.
“And I’m not letting you roll your eyes again or they may just stick back there,” Mini shot back with a smirk.
Rich started to look up, but quickly stopped himself with a scowl. Mini couldn’t help but laugh, and she felt Grace vibrate with a giggle next to her. Grace dropped her end of the blanket and walked on her knees across the floorboards to kiss the creases between Rich’s brows. He blew ineffectually at his fringe as she settled into his side and wrapped her arms around his waist. Cold began to seep into Mini’s side. Rich leaned over and tilted Grace’s face up to kiss her. Mini absently picked up the other side of the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulder. Alo had blown on the fire gently until all the logs were burning. He turned back to the others with a grin and held up their bags of snacks.
“All right, gather round! It’s time for the feast!”
***
Alo passed Mini the bag of crisps after they gathered in a semi-circle around the fireplace. She took two before passing them on to Grace. She put one in her mouth and let it dissolve slowly on her tongue while Alo complained about his farm chores.
“It’s like they keep inventing new and more boring things for me to do! I was less busy during the term than I have been this summer.”
Her first crisp gone, Mini popped the second one into her mouth and crunched it loudly.
“Honestly,” Alo continued, “I’ll be glad to be back in the halls of learning in a few weeks!”
“And by learning,” Rich interrupted, “you mean smoking spliff on College Green.”
“Well, yeah, obviously.”
“That’s sounds like it will be fab, Alo,” Mini said, “if we aren’t all expelled for our parts in Operation Runaway Bride.”
She thought too late about who her present company was as she watched Grace’s eyes widen.
“Oh, daddy wouldn’t really do that!” she said lightly, too lightly.
Mini exchanged a look with Rich and he glanced at Alo, who completed the awkward circle by looking back at Mini. Grace followed their worried looks and inhaled sharply.
“Oh…you think he would.”
“Gracie,” Mini said slowly, “you know your father better than we do, but… he can expel us if he wants to and he seemed more than ready to pack you back off to the nunnery, so…”
“I don’t…he can’t expel you all,” Grace said, wiping her eyes briefly. “I’m sure he…I’ll make sure he won’t.”
Rich had eased an arm around her as she spoke, and when she finished, she smiled tightly and leaned into him. He planted a kiss on the top of her head, and she tilted her face up so he could kiss her lips. The kisses deepened, and after a few moments it was as if they had forgotten Mini and Alo were in the room.
Mini’s eyes shifted uncomfortably as Rich and Grace kissed. She settled on watching the smoke from the fire drifting up towards the tin roof. It took several minutes of watching it to realize the roof was no longer reverberating with the sound of raindrops. With a quick glance at the couple to confirm that they were still lost in their own world, she got up and headed towards the door.
***
The air was still damp and rather chilly, with wind coming in strong off of the sea. Scraps of gray clouds scudded low across the horizon, turning red in the light of the setting sun. Mini walked over to the low stone wall surrounding what might once have been a garden behind the little house and leaned against it. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself as the breeze stirred the grass around her ankles. She heard the door click behind her as Alo came out and joined her by the wall. He leaned against it for a moment before breaking the silence.
“It’s a bit disgusting, innit? All those…tongues everywhere.”
Mini set her chin against her shoulder and watched Alo’s face as he stared out to sea. He looked uncomfortable, certainly, but not disgusted.
“It’s okay if you’re jealous, you know,” she said gently.
“What?” Alo shot her a horrified look. “I…that’s not, I don’t like Grace like that!”
“Not what I meant.” Mini smiled and shook her head. “It’s just…he’s your best mate. You’ve been through everything together. But it’s not exactly like this is an experience he can share, is it?”
His face had relaxed after he realized she wasn’t accusing him of having feelings for his best friend’s girlfriend, but it positively fell as she finished.
“No, not really,” he said with a grimace.
“Just, don’t feel like you have to push yourself to keep up,” she continued, inching closer and putting a hand on his forearm. “He’s not really leaving you behind.”
Mini bit her lip and wondered if she’d said too much, but Alo just sighed and put his hand over hers.
“You know, after all of the shit you did to Franky at the beginning of the year, I never would have guessed that you were actually…a good person.” His last words came out forced, with a rush of breath.
“Yeah,” she said, looking back out at the sunset with a small chuckle, “me neither.”
“Speaking of Franky…” Alo said softly, carefully.
“She’s doing some sort of DJ thing with Nick and Matty this weekend, I think,” Mini replied, keeping her voice light.
“Not really what I meant.”
She didn’t answer him right away, and couldn’t look at him when she did.
“She’s forgiven me, and we’re actually friends now. That’s enough, I think.”
He pulled his arm from under her hand and settled it around her shoulders.
“It doesn’t get easier, does it Minerva?”
She smiled and shook her head. Not really wanting to follow that train of thought further, she focused on his last words instead.
“You do know that’s not really my name, right?”
“No?” he said, surprised. “What is Mini short for then?”
She looked at him with one eyebrow raised, and then shook her head vigorously.
“No way, it’s far too embarrassing to admit! I want to kill my mum just thinking about it.”
“Mins,” he said, leveling her with a serious look, “my name is Aloysius. How bad can it be?”
“Fine,” she heaved a sigh, “But if you ever tell anyone I won’t hesitate to do murder…”
“All right, all right!” He held up his hands in surrender.
“It’s….Wilhelmina.”
“Wow, that is….bad.”
“Minerva is like, a goddess though, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You can keep calling me that then, Farm Boy.”
A small smile played at the corner of her mouth. The sun was now just a sliver of light reflected in the water. Alo chuckled and put his arm back around her as they turned to go inside.
“As you wish, Minerva.”
***
Mini woke slowly, becoming aware of the uncomfortable wooden floor beneath her before she got up the will to open her eyes. A few shafts of light were falling through the windows, but it was still quite early. Her head was resting on Grace’s stomach. She carefully eased herself up and untangled her legs from Grace and Alo’s. After she and Alo had returned (and Grace and Rich had sheepishly apologised for their display) they had all fallen asleep in a heap by the fireplace. She had a wicked cramp in her shoulder, but honestly felt more rested than she had in weeks.
Mini picked up her skirt and jacket from the floor where they’d been spread to dry. She pulled them on and tiptoed over to the door. The morning air was chilly and she shivered, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. The rocky path to the beach was cold beneath her bare feet, and still damp but not slick. At the bottom of the path she began to wander the boundary between the scrubby grass and the sand. She didn’t even notice the bottle lying in the grass until her toes bumped into its cold surface. As she bent over to pick it up, she heard a yawn behind her. She stood up and turned to find Grace and Alo coming to meet her, the latter stretching his arms above his head with his mouth open wide.
“Morning!” Alo said as he finished his yawn.
“What’s that?” Grace asked, and Mini took a closer look at what she had found.
It was a slightly cloudy glass bottle, the end stoppered with a large cork. Inside was a replica of a schooner with triangular cloth sails and delicate string rigging.
“A ship in a bottle.”
“Ooh, what a perfect souvenir! It looks like it’s always going on an adventure,” Grace said excitedly.
She thought for a moment about keeping it, but Alo was giving her a lopsided grin, and she returned it as she replied, “Then let’s send it on one.”
She raced them down to the shoreline and into the shallow waves. When they were in almost to her waist, Mini set the bottle afloat. Her eyes misted as they stung in the salt spray. She blinked to clear them as she grabbed her friends’ hands and they turned back towards the hill, the van, and home.
***
Rich was waiting at the top of the hill.
“Were we gonna go? Cause I need some fucking breakfast, and who knows where we can actually get food around here.”
“I’m sure there’s a McDonald’s or something on the way back,” Alo said, trying to placate him.
“I’m not eating that shit,” Rich and Mini said nearly simultaneously, and then looked at each other in horror.
Grace giggled, and then grabbed Rich’s hand.
“Oh, come on, it’s not like we’re in a trackless wilderness, there’s bound to be somewhere to eat along the road.”
“Fine, fine, let’s get on with it then.”
They climbed into the back of the van and Mini took one last look out at the sea before getting into the passenger seat.
“Right, we’re off!” Alo said, and backed them out onto the country lane.
About an hour after they stopped at a cafe for breakfast, they were completely lost.
***
“Are you sure Grace? You know you can stay if you want to, right?”
Mini bit her lip as Grace hauled her bags towards the front door.
“I’m quite sure,” Grace said with a deep breath. “The longer I run away from this, the worse I’m making things for everyone, including myself. And if mum and dad can’t accept me as I am, well…I’ll just turn up on your doorstep?”
Her hopeful little smile brought tears to Mini’s eyes. “Anytime.”
Mini waved, and tried to pretend she wasn’t about to cry. It didn’t matter anymore though, when Grace leaned back through the doorway and threw her arms around Mini’s neck.
“I’ll see you soon, Mini-Moo, okay? We’ll have a girls’ night with Liv and Franky or something.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” she replied, squeezing Grace back before pulling away with a forced smile.
***
Alo texted Mini a week or so later, adventure or burgers? She made a face, but quickly texted back, are those the only choices? His reply came only a few minutes before he showed up in front of her house: both it is then.
“Really, Farm Boy? I don’t do burgers,” she said as she sat down in the van.
“Oh, come on. I promise it won’t be McDonald’s.”
“Maybe. That’s the best you’ll get.”
***
After lunch, he turned down a road that certainly wasn’t the way back home.
“Where are we going, Alo?”
“Dunno. I guess we’ll figure it out,” he said with a sideways glance and a smile.
Author: cobalt_siren
Artist: eskimo_jo
Link To Art: here!!!
Word count: ~4,000
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Some language (and kissing? don't think that really needs a warning)
Disclaimer: Skins is property of E4 and Company Pictures. I do not own the characters or settings, and this story is not for profit.
Summary: Alo, Rich, Grace, and Mini go on an impromptu summer road trip after Alo fixes the van. Mini is dragged along, still feeling insecure in her new friendships, but gradually relaxing as they go to the seaside, get caught in the rain, and spend the night in a cabin. With Rich and Grace being very involved in each other, she spends some time getting to know Alo, and learning a bit about letting go and enjoying a little spontaneity in life. (Mainly gen Mini, with established Rich/Grace and a hint of Mini/Alo.)
Notes: Massive thanks to my beta prunesquallormd (I would never finish anything without you Si) and to my artist eskimo_jo for her encouragement and, of course, fabulous art.
*******************
Alo still had grease on his face when he knocked on the door. Mini answered, and her eyes were instantly drawn to the dark streaks.
“What, Farm Boy? Is there a dire emergency that brought you straight over from the tractor pull?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“We’re celebrating, Minerva! I’ve fixed her!”
“Who?”
“The van, of course! Get Gracie, we’re going on a road trip.”
“Road trip to where?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Alo said, pushing her gently back into the house with a grin and a wink.
***
Grace had already thrown some snacks and drinks into a bag by the time Mini and Alo found her.
“Rich texted me,” she explained, twirling through the kitchen and grabbing Mini’s arm. “Ready to go, Mini-Moo?”
Mini suppressed a smile. Grace had been light and music about the house ever since she had started living there. Mini had happily told her she could stay as long as she felt like keeping away from her parents. It wasn’t as if Mini’s mum would give a shit, and having Grace around negated any tendency she might have to brood over her Mum’s stupid boyfriends or Franky or the fact that she’d put on 60 grams. Grace seemed to relish puttering around, humming a tune whilst cleaning, or dragging Mini out of the house to window shop and throw chips at strangers. She didn’t like not knowing where they were going today, but Grace’s enthusiasm convinced her that a little spontaneity couldn’t hurt.
“Ready as I’ll ever be I suppose,” she sighed. “You packed some water, yeah?”
She eyed the pop and fruit punch in Grace’s bag. Grace rolled her eyes and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. Alo stretched his arms towards the ceiling and then wrapped them around the girls’ shoulders, aiming them towards the door.
“Right, ladies! Your chariot awaits!”
***
Rich was sitting in the passenger seat, his arms folded over his chest and his enormous boots propped up on the dash. His hair had grown too shaggy to draw comparisons with Justin Beiber, but now he just looked a bit silly, with his fringe perpetually in his eyes.
“Finally,” he deadpanned as Alo climbed into the driver seat, “I was beginning to think they’d pulled you into their room to paint your toenails.”
“Don’t be silly, dear!” Grace exclaimed, leaning forward momentarily to give him a peck on the cheek. “We’re saving that for tonight, after we’ve curled up in our pyjamas and braided each other’s hair.”
Rich actually cracked a smile, and pulled her back in for another kiss. When tongue started to be involved Mini rolled her eyes, and found Alo was doing the same and giving her a knowing smile. She was glad that she wasn’t going to be the third wheel, watching the almost-married couple make out for the entire trip. Alo started the van and revved the engine, jerking away from the kerb and causing Grace to fall backwards into the pile of cushions serving as a back seat. Mini practically snorted trying to control her laughter, but then Grace fell further into the cushions in a fit of giggles and Alo and Rich began to chuckle as well. So, with peals of laughter filling the rusty van, they were on their way.
***
They had been travelling south for about two hours when Mini couldn’t help but voice her concerns.
“You do know where we’re going this time, right Alo?”
“Oh yeah, no worries! I’ve been there once before, and I’ve got a map and everything.”
He waved a piece of notebook paper in the air, and Mini snatched it from his hand.
Alo protested, “Hey! It’s supposed to be a surprise, remember?”
Mini quickly waved him off and examined the map. It consisted of about three unlabeled roads, a wiggly line that seemed to represent water, and an ‘X’ near the middle.
“Please tell me you’re fucking with me,” Mini asked, fearing the answer.
“Let me see that,” Rich interjected, taking the map from Mini.
He scanned it quickly, then dropped it to the floor and let his head drop back into the headrest with a sigh.
“What?” Alo said, glancing back and forth between them.
“You are fucking retarded, that’s what,” Rich replied. “That’s the most useless map I’ve ever seen. It’s a few scribbles and no fucking words. How are we supposed to find this place?”
“I told you I’ve been there before! It’s all up here,” Alo tapped his forehead emphatically.
“Well, then we’re definitely fucked.”
Rich shrugged and clenched a fist as if he was resisting the urge to slap a palm to his forehead. Grace leaned up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Oh, give him a chance, Rich. If we don’t find it, at least it will be an adventure!”
“Sure, if this rusty old thing doesn’t collapse on us again,” Mini muttered.
“Hey, she can hear you , you know!” Alo said, sounding offended.
The engine sputtered and backfired, then flared to life again. The four of them looked at each other, eyes wide.
“See!” Alo hissed in a dramatic whisper, “Don’t jinx it!”
***
Rich had climbed into the back to sprawl on the cushions with Grace, who dozed lightly against his shoulder. Mini still didn’t quite see what Grace saw in him, with his sarcastic attitude and snobbery, but the way he was looking down at her as her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks made something clench in Mini’s chest. She stood, stooping to avoid bashing her head, and crawled over the bags on the floor into Rich’s place next to Alo. She rolled the window down to get a breath of fresh air. Trees flew past them, occasionally broken up by flashes of bright sunlight.
“All right, Minerva?” Alo asked quietly, placing a hand on her knee.
She half nodded and hummed an affirmative, keeping her gaze fixed out of the window. His hand slowly slipped away.
“Can you smell it yet?”
“What?” she asked, turning towards him and catching him grinning.
“Wait for it…”
They came to a crossroads and he turned the van right. Suddenly the tunnel of trees ended and they came out onto a small headland. The sea was before them as far as the eye could see, glinting brilliantly in the sunlight. Mini gasped involuntarily. She heard Grace stir behind her, and soon her friend was leaning over her shoulder, breathing “Beautiful…” at the sight. Alo turned off of the road into a faint set of tyre tracks that led slightly downhill. At the end of the trail was some sort of shack.
“This is it? You mean you actually found the place?” Rich asked.
“Well yeah, and thanks again for the vote of confidence, mate.”
He parked the van in front of the shack and threw open the door.
“Welcome, ladies and gents, to Dowie’s summer home!”
“That’s where you’ve brought us?” Rich scoffed. “A glorified fishing shack?”
“Hey, this is prime beachfront property! What more could you ask for on such a gorgeous day?”
Grace had already climbed out and hitched up her skirt to run through the tall grass in the yard.
“It’s lovely!” she cried, gazing down past the house to the beach at the foot of the hill.
“See? Gracie’s stamp of approval. Now stop being a wet blanket, Rich, and let’s go swimming!”
***
A narrow path led down from the shack to the beach. The spray of sand was sheltered in a small cove between tall spits of rock. Grace shed her ballet pumps as soon as the scrubby grass gave way to sand, and was down at the water’s edge in a moment. Rich set their bags down on flat rock and sat himself on the edge of it.
“I didn’t bring a swimming costume, did you?” Mini asked Alo.
“Nah, over-rated,” he said, and pulled his shirt over his head.
Before she could even avert her eyes he had shed his trousers and boxers as well and was running down to the water’s edge. She wanted to laugh, but felt it might be rude. It wasn’t that his naked form was intrinsically funny (well, not that funny) but he was just…shameless. Free. Grace had stripped down to her bra and knickers and joined him ankle deep in the waves, where they started kicking water at each other. Behind her she heard Rich make a noise that sounded almost like a chuckle. She turned to find him taking off his boots and carefully setting them on the rock out of the sand. He took his leather jacket and jeans off as well, but left on his boxers and a black shirt for what she assumed was a band or something called “Amon Amarth”. After he’d folded his things and set them by the bags he shrugged at her with a half-smile and slouched off towards the others.
Mini bit her lip as she watched them, one arm held across her stomach. Grace caught her eye, and waved her over while trying to simultaneously ward off sprays of salt water from Alo’s feet. Rich rolled his eyes and plopped down on the beach a few feet away from their antics, his long legs sticking out into the surf. Alo took one good kick at Rich before running to the safety of deeper water and diving under an incoming wave. Mini smiled as he surfaced and shook water from his ears. With a deep breath she shimmied out of her skirt and bike shorts. She folded them up inside her denim jacket and set them by Rich’s things. She tugged at the hem of her long vest, but it still didn’t quite cover her knickers. She turned to walk towards the water and found Grace trotting to meet her. She exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and let Grace grab her arm and drag her into the sea.
***
The rain came from nowhere. They hadn’t even noticed the clouds rolling in. Within minutes it was pissing down and they were running for the house. Grace leaped onto Rich’s back with a yelp and they stumbled in sand. They all laughed as they ran onwards, the rain washing the salt from their skin. Alo snatched the bags from the rock and they haphazardly grabbed their already soaking clothes. By the time they were halfway up the hill they were all panting, and Alo had to grab Mini by the elbow to steady her as she caught her toe on a stone. When they made it back to Dowie’s shack they collapsed in a sodden heap on the floor.
Alo hauled himself up and dashed out the front door when Mini began to shiver. He came back a moment later with a blanket that was mostly dry.
“Here you are, no getting sick while we’re having an adventure!” he said, handing it to Mini.
She wrapped it around her shoulders and found it surprisingly warm despite having a few conspicuous holes. Glancing over and finding Grace looking a little blue, she stretched the blanket out with one arm and motioned her over. They huddled together, while Rich shook out his hair like a puppy. Alo had gone over to a small cupboard in the corner and found a stash of firewood. He stacked it up in the fireplace that seemed to be the shack’s only amenity and patiently held a lighter under the pile, waiting for it to catch.
“Aren’t you supposed to have kindling?” Mini asked, tilting her head onto Grace’s as they watched Alo. “You’re supposed to know these kinds of wilderness skills, Farm Boy.”
“I don’t exactly have any, Mins, I don’t keep sticks in my back pocket.”
“Haven’t you got papers?”
“Not dry ones-ow!” Alo yelped, jerking away as some flames finally licked around the logs. “Shit!” he shook his hand and blew on it.
“Are you okay?” Grace asked, pulling away from Mini and the blanket in her concern.
“I’ll be fine,” he waved her off, before crying shit! again and grabbing his lighter from where he’d dropped it in the fireplace.
“Jesus,” Rich said, “I’m no longer surprised that you managed to blow up a cow.”
“Oh god, please don’t talk about Bessie!” Alo said with a wince, sucking on his wounded fingers.
“Fine, but I’m never letting you play with fire again, you clumsy twat,” Rich muttered with a roll of his eyes.
“And I’m not letting you roll your eyes again or they may just stick back there,” Mini shot back with a smirk.
Rich started to look up, but quickly stopped himself with a scowl. Mini couldn’t help but laugh, and she felt Grace vibrate with a giggle next to her. Grace dropped her end of the blanket and walked on her knees across the floorboards to kiss the creases between Rich’s brows. He blew ineffectually at his fringe as she settled into his side and wrapped her arms around his waist. Cold began to seep into Mini’s side. Rich leaned over and tilted Grace’s face up to kiss her. Mini absently picked up the other side of the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulder. Alo had blown on the fire gently until all the logs were burning. He turned back to the others with a grin and held up their bags of snacks.
“All right, gather round! It’s time for the feast!”
***
Alo passed Mini the bag of crisps after they gathered in a semi-circle around the fireplace. She took two before passing them on to Grace. She put one in her mouth and let it dissolve slowly on her tongue while Alo complained about his farm chores.
“It’s like they keep inventing new and more boring things for me to do! I was less busy during the term than I have been this summer.”
Her first crisp gone, Mini popped the second one into her mouth and crunched it loudly.
“Honestly,” Alo continued, “I’ll be glad to be back in the halls of learning in a few weeks!”
“And by learning,” Rich interrupted, “you mean smoking spliff on College Green.”
“Well, yeah, obviously.”
“That’s sounds like it will be fab, Alo,” Mini said, “if we aren’t all expelled for our parts in Operation Runaway Bride.”
She thought too late about who her present company was as she watched Grace’s eyes widen.
“Oh, daddy wouldn’t really do that!” she said lightly, too lightly.
Mini exchanged a look with Rich and he glanced at Alo, who completed the awkward circle by looking back at Mini. Grace followed their worried looks and inhaled sharply.
“Oh…you think he would.”
“Gracie,” Mini said slowly, “you know your father better than we do, but… he can expel us if he wants to and he seemed more than ready to pack you back off to the nunnery, so…”
“I don’t…he can’t expel you all,” Grace said, wiping her eyes briefly. “I’m sure he…I’ll make sure he won’t.”
Rich had eased an arm around her as she spoke, and when she finished, she smiled tightly and leaned into him. He planted a kiss on the top of her head, and she tilted her face up so he could kiss her lips. The kisses deepened, and after a few moments it was as if they had forgotten Mini and Alo were in the room.
Mini’s eyes shifted uncomfortably as Rich and Grace kissed. She settled on watching the smoke from the fire drifting up towards the tin roof. It took several minutes of watching it to realize the roof was no longer reverberating with the sound of raindrops. With a quick glance at the couple to confirm that they were still lost in their own world, she got up and headed towards the door.
***
The air was still damp and rather chilly, with wind coming in strong off of the sea. Scraps of gray clouds scudded low across the horizon, turning red in the light of the setting sun. Mini walked over to the low stone wall surrounding what might once have been a garden behind the little house and leaned against it. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself as the breeze stirred the grass around her ankles. She heard the door click behind her as Alo came out and joined her by the wall. He leaned against it for a moment before breaking the silence.
“It’s a bit disgusting, innit? All those…tongues everywhere.”
Mini set her chin against her shoulder and watched Alo’s face as he stared out to sea. He looked uncomfortable, certainly, but not disgusted.
“It’s okay if you’re jealous, you know,” she said gently.
“What?” Alo shot her a horrified look. “I…that’s not, I don’t like Grace like that!”
“Not what I meant.” Mini smiled and shook her head. “It’s just…he’s your best mate. You’ve been through everything together. But it’s not exactly like this is an experience he can share, is it?”
His face had relaxed after he realized she wasn’t accusing him of having feelings for his best friend’s girlfriend, but it positively fell as she finished.
“No, not really,” he said with a grimace.
“Just, don’t feel like you have to push yourself to keep up,” she continued, inching closer and putting a hand on his forearm. “He’s not really leaving you behind.”
Mini bit her lip and wondered if she’d said too much, but Alo just sighed and put his hand over hers.
“You know, after all of the shit you did to Franky at the beginning of the year, I never would have guessed that you were actually…a good person.” His last words came out forced, with a rush of breath.
“Yeah,” she said, looking back out at the sunset with a small chuckle, “me neither.”
“Speaking of Franky…” Alo said softly, carefully.
“She’s doing some sort of DJ thing with Nick and Matty this weekend, I think,” Mini replied, keeping her voice light.
“Not really what I meant.”
She didn’t answer him right away, and couldn’t look at him when she did.
“She’s forgiven me, and we’re actually friends now. That’s enough, I think.”
He pulled his arm from under her hand and settled it around her shoulders.
“It doesn’t get easier, does it Minerva?”
She smiled and shook her head. Not really wanting to follow that train of thought further, she focused on his last words instead.
“You do know that’s not really my name, right?”
“No?” he said, surprised. “What is Mini short for then?”
She looked at him with one eyebrow raised, and then shook her head vigorously.
“No way, it’s far too embarrassing to admit! I want to kill my mum just thinking about it.”
“Mins,” he said, leveling her with a serious look, “my name is Aloysius. How bad can it be?”
“Fine,” she heaved a sigh, “But if you ever tell anyone I won’t hesitate to do murder…”
“All right, all right!” He held up his hands in surrender.
“It’s….Wilhelmina.”
“Wow, that is….bad.”
“Minerva is like, a goddess though, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You can keep calling me that then, Farm Boy.”
A small smile played at the corner of her mouth. The sun was now just a sliver of light reflected in the water. Alo chuckled and put his arm back around her as they turned to go inside.
“As you wish, Minerva.”
***
Mini woke slowly, becoming aware of the uncomfortable wooden floor beneath her before she got up the will to open her eyes. A few shafts of light were falling through the windows, but it was still quite early. Her head was resting on Grace’s stomach. She carefully eased herself up and untangled her legs from Grace and Alo’s. After she and Alo had returned (and Grace and Rich had sheepishly apologised for their display) they had all fallen asleep in a heap by the fireplace. She had a wicked cramp in her shoulder, but honestly felt more rested than she had in weeks.
Mini picked up her skirt and jacket from the floor where they’d been spread to dry. She pulled them on and tiptoed over to the door. The morning air was chilly and she shivered, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. The rocky path to the beach was cold beneath her bare feet, and still damp but not slick. At the bottom of the path she began to wander the boundary between the scrubby grass and the sand. She didn’t even notice the bottle lying in the grass until her toes bumped into its cold surface. As she bent over to pick it up, she heard a yawn behind her. She stood up and turned to find Grace and Alo coming to meet her, the latter stretching his arms above his head with his mouth open wide.
“Morning!” Alo said as he finished his yawn.
“What’s that?” Grace asked, and Mini took a closer look at what she had found.
It was a slightly cloudy glass bottle, the end stoppered with a large cork. Inside was a replica of a schooner with triangular cloth sails and delicate string rigging.
“A ship in a bottle.”
“Ooh, what a perfect souvenir! It looks like it’s always going on an adventure,” Grace said excitedly.
She thought for a moment about keeping it, but Alo was giving her a lopsided grin, and she returned it as she replied, “Then let’s send it on one.”
She raced them down to the shoreline and into the shallow waves. When they were in almost to her waist, Mini set the bottle afloat. Her eyes misted as they stung in the salt spray. She blinked to clear them as she grabbed her friends’ hands and they turned back towards the hill, the van, and home.
***
Rich was waiting at the top of the hill.
“Were we gonna go? Cause I need some fucking breakfast, and who knows where we can actually get food around here.”
“I’m sure there’s a McDonald’s or something on the way back,” Alo said, trying to placate him.
“I’m not eating that shit,” Rich and Mini said nearly simultaneously, and then looked at each other in horror.
Grace giggled, and then grabbed Rich’s hand.
“Oh, come on, it’s not like we’re in a trackless wilderness, there’s bound to be somewhere to eat along the road.”
“Fine, fine, let’s get on with it then.”
They climbed into the back of the van and Mini took one last look out at the sea before getting into the passenger seat.
“Right, we’re off!” Alo said, and backed them out onto the country lane.
About an hour after they stopped at a cafe for breakfast, they were completely lost.
***
“Are you sure Grace? You know you can stay if you want to, right?”
Mini bit her lip as Grace hauled her bags towards the front door.
“I’m quite sure,” Grace said with a deep breath. “The longer I run away from this, the worse I’m making things for everyone, including myself. And if mum and dad can’t accept me as I am, well…I’ll just turn up on your doorstep?”
Her hopeful little smile brought tears to Mini’s eyes. “Anytime.”
Mini waved, and tried to pretend she wasn’t about to cry. It didn’t matter anymore though, when Grace leaned back through the doorway and threw her arms around Mini’s neck.
“I’ll see you soon, Mini-Moo, okay? We’ll have a girls’ night with Liv and Franky or something.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” she replied, squeezing Grace back before pulling away with a forced smile.
***
Alo texted Mini a week or so later, adventure or burgers? She made a face, but quickly texted back, are those the only choices? His reply came only a few minutes before he showed up in front of her house: both it is then.
“Really, Farm Boy? I don’t do burgers,” she said as she sat down in the van.
“Oh, come on. I promise it won’t be McDonald’s.”
“Maybe. That’s the best you’ll get.”
***
After lunch, he turned down a road that certainly wasn’t the way back home.
“Where are we going, Alo?”
“Dunno. I guess we’ll figure it out,” he said with a sideways glance and a smile.