Breathe in
Breathe out
Phew...
"BEACH!!!!" Harry and I shouted loudly while standing in front of the sea.
Beavers were swimming in the ocean.
...wait, beavers?
"Look over there, Peter!" Harry pointed to the sky.
Eagles were soaring above, clutching American flags.
"???"
"Look over there, Peter!" Harry pointed to the sea.
Down there was a pineapple house with a Moai statue next to it.
B-Bikini Bottom?
"Look over th—"
"Alright, stop it," I raised my hand to interrupt, and Harry immediately shut up.
We were waiting for everyone else. It seemed Harry and I were so excited that we didn't even put on sunscreen before heading to the beach.
"Look over there, Peter!"
"I swear to God, if you point at—"
"A Hawaiian girl in a coconut bikini!"
"Where?!"
Harry and I immediately turned to look at a tanned Hawaiian girl with impressively large breasts covered by coconut shells.
"Nice!"
"Huge!"
"Are you guys checking out girls?"
Both of us jumped and turned around.
Oh, it's Bruce Banner, phew.
"Is something wrong?" Harry scratched his head.
"No, no! Checking out girls is good. A real man looks at the boobs first and the face last! Though I prefer butts," Bruce said, pulling out sunglasses and putting them on.
Wow, is this what a real man sounds like?!
"You young folks are enjoying yourselves, huh? Wish I could go back to that carefree age," another voice chimed in. It was Steven Grant.
The four of us stood side by side, breathing in the beach air and soaking up the sun.
"...Wanna go hit on some girls?" Bruce asked everyone.
"What?!" Harry and I looked at him, shocked.
"Count me in," Steven said.
"Wait? I thought you had a girlfriend?" Bruce asked, confused.
"Broke up yesterday."
"What?! You said you just got a girlfriend, and now you're already broken up?!"
"Girlfriends are like changing clothes to me."
Wow, a woman slayer?
"Alright, I'll go first!" Bruce pointed to himself.
"You sure about that?"
"Heh, a real man, and the oldest one here, has to lead by example. I'll prove that even if I'm not Bruce Wayne, I'm still Bruce!"
"Ohhh!!!" Harry looked at him with admiration while I grimaced, not entirely convinced.
So, Bruce walked over to a girl sunbathing.
"Sorry, I'm not into guys."
"Sorry, my body doesn't vibe with your chest hair."
"You're pretty handsome, as long as you've got money."
"BRUCE!!!!!" Harry shouted, picking Bruce up after he collapsed from failing three times.
"Harry-kun... I believe in you. Carry on my will... Uhaa! Bleh."
"BRUCE BANNER-SANNNN!!!"
This isn't an anime!
Harry stood up, wiped his tears, and looked to the sky.
"Bruce-san! Please watch over me!"
He in the sand, not up in the sky, dude??
And so, it was Harry's turn.
"Hello, miss!"
"Huh?" A petite girl, seemingly Asian, responded.
"Has anyone told you... you're beautiful?"
...Dude, are you flirting using a textbook?
"Uh... thanks?"
"Yeah, I'm thankful for your beauty... your... Uhhh... breas— I mean, you!"
...Hopeless. No wonder Harry's never had a girlfriend.
I sat down on the sand nearby since I had no intention of joining in, just breathing in the fresh air again.
"Wow, you're so cute! How old are you?"
"...?"
Suddenly, two women in their 20s approached me.
"Huh? I'm... uh, 15. Why do you ask?"
"15 and already so cute, handsome, and with pretty toned abs! Wanna hang out with us?" The two girls teased, touching me playfully.
"???"
What the heck?? I wasn't even trying to flirt!
"Uh... no, thanks—"
"Don't say no, boy. Let us take you flying!" Both girls grabbed me, trying to pull me up.
'HELP!!!!' I looked at Harry, blinking rapidly to signal for help.
Harry saw me... and gave me a thumbs-up, tears streaming down his face like he was so proud of me.
'You jerk!!!!'
[What's this?! Two women daring to drag Peter away? Do they have a death wish?! I'll make them fly!]
"Don't kill them!"
Suddenly, the two girls stopped, looking at me with terribly sad faces.
"Sob... I don't think I'm worthy of you."
"Sorry, we're no better than creeps. We're going to turn ourselves in to the police!"
And then they ran off.
"...What did you just do?"
[Created an illusion of guilt.]
"...Pretty effective."
Meanwhile, Steven Grant was surrounded by beautiful older women.
"Girls who haven't bloomed are bland like water.
Girls who are married? Tasty and unique," he said, wrapping his arms around the women.
Wow, a mommy slayer.
Bruce was lying on the sand, Harry was hopelessly trying to flirt despite his handsome face, and Steven didn't even need to try.
...This is the beach I was looking forward to.
"Peter."
Someone poked my shoulder, making me turn around.
"?!"
It was Gwen, wearing a white bikini and a cover-up, with a beach hat on her head.
"So? Cute, right? Got any compliments for me?"
"...Yeah, you look cute."
"I know you mean it! Gimme a hug!"
Gwen immediately hugged me, and pretty tightly too.
Her chest pressed against me a bit, making me slightly embarrassed.
[You're enjoying this, aren't you?]
'...'
[Tch, playboy.]
'??'
Then Emma showed up, also wearing a bikini like Gwen's, but black.
I thought... it was fine, it suited her.
"What do you think?"
"It suits you."
"...That's it?"
"...Pretty?"
"Forget her, Peter! I wanna show you something!" Gwen grabbed my face to make me focus on her.
"Show me what?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Breakdance!" She stepped back and started dancing a move that had nothing to do with breakdance.
You call that breakdance? Or did you misunderstand the "dance" part of breakdance?
Seeing Peter focused on Gwen, Emma stayed quiet and sighed.
'I guess it makes sense. She's Peter's girlfriend. What chance did I even have from the start?'
So, she let go of that little bit of hope, holding onto another instead.
'As long as he and I stay friends... that's enough. I'm okay with that.'
She looked at Gwen, who suddenly jumped onto Peter's shoulders, making him fall. Peter angrily scolded Gwen while she just stuck out her tongue and laughed with a "Teehee."
Their relationship is really sweet...
"Hey, Peter! Look at that ship!" Gwen pointed to a massive, luxurious ship.
"Wow, maybe one day I'll try buying a ticket for that!" Harry said, clearly having failed miserably at flirting.
"It's huge," I said, looking closely, then noticing some writing on the ship.
Titanic.
"...Nice name. I hope nothing happens to it," I said.
"Yeah, hope nothing goes wrong," Harry echoed.
"Whatever Peter says is always right!" Gwen chimed in.
"You guys are so close," Emma said, looking at the three of us.
"You four kids wanna go? I'll use my savings to buy tickets for you if you want!" Bruce said with a cheerful expression.
"I've never been on a fancy ship before. I'm curious," Steven added.
The six of us gazed at the enormous, luxurious ship in peace.
...Only for something to rise from the sea and swallow the entire ship whole.
"...Huh?"
It was massive, bigger than the Titanic itself, and then it sank back into the sea, creating enormous waves.
All six of us stood there, frozen, no one saying a word.