Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Where are they at? We’ve walked around for ages,” Carl fanned himself, praying that they find the other three soon. Harvard was next to him, eyes half-lidded, suppressing a yawn. 

“It’s only been a few minutes, besides the beach is huge. Have you texted them yet?”

“Yeah, and none of them responded,” he groaned, shielding his eyes from the sun, “Can we just tell them to meet us here?”

“Nah, they’re over there.” He pointed in front of them, Manimani waving to get their attention. Mikey was standing next to her, less enthusiastic in his waving while Zhang was grabbing sunscreen from his bag. They strolled over, waving back as they got closer.

“Thank god, we’ve been waiting forever,” she put her arm around Carl’s neck, grinning at the ginger.

“Maybe you should have given us easier directions,” he rolled his eyes, sliding off his shoes now that he was in the sand. 

“You just suck at finding places, Mikey and Zhang found me pretty easily,” she gestured to them, or at least where they were. Said people were currently heading to the water, the three of them being left behind. He turned to face his partner, who was lying on the towel, sunglasses covering the top half of his face. 

“We’re gonna head to the water, mind holding down the fort for us?” 

“Mhm,” he weakly did a thumbs up, already nodding off. He and Mani went closer to the water, at a slower pace than the other two went.

“Damn, he’s sleeping already?” She craned her head behind her, commenting on the sleeping blond.

“He made me drive here since he took melatonin and was apparently, “too afraid of falling asleep at the wheel.” I think he just didn’t want to drive here.”

“Huh..that’s kinda smart though. Imma use that excuse next time.”

The water was cold, sending a shiver down his spine as he stepped in. Water droplets hit his face as Zhang splashed at Mani, prompting her to do it back to him. Mikey was nowhere to be seen, probably retreating from the battle. She splashed him this time, laughing at his surprise, only to lose the smile when she got hit back. 

He prepared to send more water her way when something grabbed his legs, making him yelp as he was pushed up, put on someone’s shoulders. Glancing down, he saw Mikey, a playful grin on his face as the others understood what he meant. Mani climbed onto Zhang’s back, a competitive aura surrounding them as they approached him.

Carl locked hands with her, the two pushing each other away. He didn’t have the best balance, but it was better than hers, and Mikey seemed to have a pretty good grip on him. She pat Zhang’s back, the two squatting down so she could push water into their faces. Now that she was lower, he could-

She lunged at him, knocking him back a little as gripping onto Mikey’s arms. He fell off, grabbing her so they both fell into the water. Swimming back up, he gasped, glaring at Mani, who was cheering.

“You know you lost, right?”

“I knocked you off, so no.”

“You hopped off his shoulders to do it, you quite literally lost.”

“Zhang, back me up. We won, didn’t we?” She turned back to face him, who nodded.

“Of course he’s gonna agree, he’s on your team!”

“Well, I don’t hear Mikey agreeing with you.”

“She has a point,” he shrugged, getting glared at by Carl.

“…Are you serious?”

“Just admit it, Zhang and I are simply superior chicken fighters.”

“Nah, rematch. Losers buy the winners’ food.”

“You’re on.”

Zhang and Mani won again, though if anyone else asked he would say they cheated (They did!). Leaving the water, Carl stopped by their spot, checking on Harvard. He crouched down, poking him slightly on the side.

“Hey, hey we’re gonna go to the boardwalk, you coming?” No response, his chest slowly moving up and down as he breathed. If he was still asleep, there was no point in waking him up right now. He’d be fine if they left him here for a little. Carl made a mental note to bring him back something, catching up with the others.

“Soo, since you two lost, you gotta buy us something..hmm.” She tapped her chin, scanning the boardwalk for anything that would catch her eyes. Her eyes lit up, pointing towards an arcade. “Can one of y’all buy me a game card?”

“The agreement was to buy food,” Mikey folded his arms, already regretting making the deal.

“$10 game card or $20 worth of food, you pick.” Carl sighed, following Mani into the arcade to purchase it for her. She ran off to a claw machine, testing her luck to get a plush, Mikey following her to help.

“You want one too?” Zhang shook her head, knowing him, he had something else up his sleeve for what he wanted. Whatever it was, Mikey could pay for it. He might as well buy his own card, putting $10 on it. Most of the games were rather rigged or for tickets, and it was basically impossible for him to get anything worth it from using tickets. A small claw machine caught his eye, random animal plushies filling it halfway. A cat plush was right next to the hole, if he grabbed it at the right spot, he could easily push it in. Maneuvering the claw, it hovered right above the prize, descending when he pressed the button.

He was off by a little bit, the claw latching into a Hershey bear instead. It rose up, hanging on by a thread as it moved towards the hole. The bear got caught on the cat, unable to move forward as he groaned. It kept moving, pushing the cat into the hole, the bear barely making it into the hole with it. Stooping down, he pushed the flap back, reaching in to grab both prizes. 

“Broo, how??” He flinched at the sound of Mani behind him, her leaning over his shoulder to see the plushies in his hand. “I’ve been trying to win a prize for ages, can you do it for me?” She batted her eyes, pleading. He nodded, being led to the machine she’s been at the whole time, handing him the card.

“Which one do you want?” 

“The caterpillar.” In the corner of the machine was a rainbow caterpillar, about the size of a neck pillow. Chances are the claw isn’t strong enough to hold it up, it’ll take multiple chances to drag it to the goal.

“How much is on the card?”

“I think 3 dollars.” So he had three chances, he could do it. Swiping the card, he led the claw towards the middle of the rainbow critter. Mani went to the side of the machine, pointing at him to move the claw backwards. He followed her signals, running out of time as the claw dropped, barely latching onto the caterpillar. It dragged towards the glass, only half of it in the hole. If they shook it, they risked pushing it backwards or getting caught. The other half needed to get moved over, easier said than done. He swiped again, grabbing the tail end of the insect.

“No, no move up a little. Not that much. Back a little andd…there!” He stopped moving the claw, staring at her.

“That’s where it was before,” he said in disbelief, watching the timer countdown.

“It’s moved up a little bit.” A barely noticeable bit, but there was no time to change it as the timer reached the end, grabbing the plush toy by the tail, raising it into the air. The half in the glass rose with it, flipping over so the other half was in the hole. They blinked, staring at each other, slack jawed. 

“Are you fucking kidding?”

“We still have one more try, we should go for the middle.”

“I swear, if this doesn’t work you gotta refill the card.” He opened his mouth to protest, shutting it as he swiped the card once more. She wasn’t the only one invested in winning this prize, he would add a few more dollars just so he could win it. Sue him, it’s kinda addicting.

Carl went for the middle this time, nudging it closer to the tail end as he slammed the button, watching the claw pick it up. The head hovered over the sparkly floor of the claw machine, flipping over and falling into the hole with the rest of the toy. Mani pushed him to the side, squatting down to take the multicolored creature out of the door. 

“Thank you,” she side-hugged him, more focused on the stuffed toy in her hands. “Mikey abandoned me at the machine, god knows where he went.”

“5 bucks says he’s with Zhang.”

“Nah, you’re probably right.” And he was, the pair playing Mario Kart against each other. Zhang reached over to mess with his steering wheel, Mikey wasting his mushroom due to it.

“Oh, you won the caterpillar.” He took his eyes off the road for a moment, snapping back to it when Zhang passed him.

“No thanks to you,” she stuck her tongue out at him, getting no reaction as he finished the race, getting 1st. 

“Y’all ready to leave here? I wanna get back to the beach soon,” Zhang stood up, side-eyeing the man he lost to. 

“What happened to doing a second race?”

“You still owe me Mikey, don’t think you can get out of it.”

“So do you, I think we’re even then.” He left the chair, the four leaving the arcade, their prizes in tow.

They made it to the end of the boardwalk, money spent and souvenirs filling their pockets and bags. Carl tried texting Harvard, asking if he wanted something to eat, being left on delivered, so he brought him fries, hoping they’ll still be warm by the time he woke up. 

“Do any of y’all know where we started?” Zhang squinted, trying to retrace their steps.

“The arcade, right?” Carl pulled out his phone, looking to find Harvard’s location.

“Yeah, but which arcade? There’s like a million.”  

“It had a star on it right? It’s probably that one.” It was that one, the entrance to the beach being only a mere feet away. Walking back onto the beach, a seagull dived at him, trying to grab a fry. He swatted it away, covering it as he sped walked to their umbrella. Under it, Harvard, who hasn’t changed positions since he got there.

“Yo, is he still asleep?” Mani nudged his foot, getting no reaction or movement from it.

“Guess so, at least we have something to mark our spot.”

“I’m heading back into the water, you guys coming?” Mikey pointed back at the ocean, noticing Zhang sitting down in the shade. She jumped on his back, pointing towards the water as he ran towards it. Carl was more hesitant, debating whether or not he felt like going back in.

“I’ll watch Sleeping Beauty over here, go splash Mani for me.” Getting waved off, he followed the other two towards the water, grabbing the beach floaty Mikey brought. He watched from afar as Mikey and Mani messed around, the water spinning him around as he sat in the ring. Far behind him, a couple were wakeboarding, the wife yelling loud enough for him to hear as it dragged her along, her wife cheering her on from the boat. Whether or not it was out of enjoyment or fear was beyond him.

Someone was screaming on the beach, feet away from them, the noise alerting people around her. The three of them stopped, focusing on the sound. She kept yelling, her voice cracking as sobs wracked from her. They got out of the water, Zhang joining them as they ran towards the source, getting through the crowd to see the issue.

A man, unmoving and pale, was in front of them, the girl seemingly finding him.

“He-he came from the water! I don’t know what happened to him.” She stepped away, a bystander holding her as she cried. Mikey put a finger to her neck, shaking his head as he pulled away. 

“He’s dead, possibly for multiple days. Someone call an ambulance for him.” He turned back to the crowd, a man shakily dialing the number.

“Call the police as well,” Mani pulled the corpse’s shirt down, marks around his neck, “This couldn’t have been an accident.”

“The police said they’re on their way, though it may take them a while.” Shit, it’s up to them to figure this out, at least until backup arrives. 

“Thank you, we’ll figure this out.” He faced the crowd, smiling to try to ease any worries. “For now, can we ask that you stay away from this area, it’s now a crime scene. You,” he pointed at the sobbing woman, whose eyes widened at his words, “Can you come with me? I have a few questions I’d like to ask about this.” She nodded, him and Mani walking off with her.

Carl whipped his phone out, going to the notes app. “So, Mrs..,” “Abigail Smith.” “Yes, Mrs. Smith, can you give me a quick play-by-play of what happened? How did you come across the body?”

“I was relaxing on the beach, my husband had taken our daughter to get ice cream. I saw something floating towards the sand, so I stood up to see what it was. When it washed up, I realized it was a body, and he wasn’t breathing. I screamed, hoping to alert a lifeguard but you guys showed up and said he was already dead,” her voice cracked, she wiped her eyes, “I’m just glad my daughter wasn’t here, she’s too young to see a dead body.”

“Does the name Jonah Carron sound familiar to you?” Mani was typing away on her phone, clearly having figured something out.

“Jonah… oh! My friend mentioned him before, he has an Instagram account. Wait, is that-?”

“Someone over there recognized the body, apparently that’s him. I’m guessing you don’t know much about him.” She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Thank you ma’am,” He shook her hand, putting his phone in his pocket, “If we have any other questions, we’ll make sure to reach out.” 

“Take my phone number, I want the criminal to be brought to justice.” They exchanged numbers, the two detectives walking back to the scene. The body was covered with a white sheet, no one else was around except for Mikey, Zhang, and someone they were talking to.

“Guys, this is Trinity Boon. Ms. Boon, these are my colleagues.”

“We were told you know our victim?”

She nodded, slightly uninterested. “He’s a regular at our beach, he tried hitting on me a few times.”

“Our beach?” Mani raised an eyebrow as Carl typed this into his notes.

“I’m a lifeguard here, and according to his social media, he’s actually from Jersey, which makes no sense. There are beaches in Jersey, why come here?”

“What were you doing here a few days ago?”

“What, am I a suspect?” She rolled her eyes, “How many days ago?”

“Three or four.”

“Three or four… I don’t think I was working that day.”

“Well, do you know who might have been working here?”

“Uhh, Milo and Alex might have been. Alex is over there, just keep walking straight. As for Milo, I have no clue where he might be, he’s kinda all over the place.”

“Thank you,” Carl nodded, debating their next move. 

“You’re welcome, am I free to go?”

“Sure, but we may have to call you back here, so please don’t go far.” She turned around, pulling out her phone as she walked away, leaving the four detectives to plan their next move.

“Carl and I will go after Alex, can you guys keep watch? Send us anything you find out.” Zhang put his thumb up, still observing the body as he searched things up.

They walked across the beach at a fast speed, the surf shop becoming closer and closer. No one was in the store, except for someone leaning over the counter, probably Alex. The door swung open, the two walking in. He perked up, fixing his posture.

“Welcome, how can I help you? Y’all here to buy a board?” He put his hand out, shaking Manimani’s hand.

“My colleague and I have a few questions for you, hopefully you can give us answers.” Carl pulled his phone out, prepping his questions.

“Do you happen to know anyone named Jonah Carron?”

“Jonah.. He came to my shop days ago, he borrowed one of my boards.”

“Did he return it?” 

“Nope, usually if someone’s staying for the weekend, I let them have it for a few days before I chase them down for it back.” Her phone vibrated, opening the message from Mikey.

“Can you describe the surfboard you gave him?” She eyed her phone, then back at the man in front of them. Her phone stayed close to her, not even letting Carl see what he sent.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure it was red, with pink and yellow stripes on each side. What’s going on?” He looked at the two of them, confusion on his face.

“Jonah was found dead, about an hour or so ago. It seems he was murdered, however it hasn’t been confirmed”

“So you think I did it?!”

“No! No, we’re just interviewing the people around, including workers such as yourself,” he explained, calming the older man down.

“I see.. It’s a shame he died. I don’t know much about the man, but he was well-liked. I wonder if Derrick knows.” He muttered the last part, looking down.

“Who?”

“Derrick Moore, he was his surfing buddy, or rival depending on who you asked.” He took note of the name, storing it for later.

“So do you have any other jobs on the beach, or is it just this shop?” Mani closed her phone, putting it back in her pocket. Whatever was sent to her, she can tell him later if it was important.

“I have to lock up the beach for the night, as well as help clean up.”

“Last question, do you know where I can find someone named Milo?”

“Milo? Chances are he isn’t here yet, he usually comes at night or in the early morning to clean up the beach. He’s a volunteer, good kid.”

“Thank you sir, you’ve been very helpful.” Carl nodded, closing the notes app.

“Of course, you guys want water? Consider it free for your help.” He went into the room behind the counter, grabbing two water bottles. He grabbed one, immediately feeling the cold temperature, some ice sliding off of it. They waved as they left his shop, Mani downing the bottle of water.

“Mikey found a surfboard near his body, though it didn’t quite match up with his description.”

“You think they got it from his shop?”

“I think he got it from his shop. Every piece of evidence we get points at an accident, yet it doesn’t completely add up. Why were there rope marks around his neck if he was surfing, and if he was murdered, why is there a surfboard?”

“Hey, we still have two more people we need to talk to. Maybe they’ll clear things up,” he nudged her shoulder, “I doubt we’ll find Milo, so let’s look for Derrick.” His phone vibrated, a message in their group chat from Mikey.

sunshine: come here

sunshine: y’all know anyone named derric

sunshine: *derrik

sunshine: **derrick

“There’s no fucking way, this has to be a joke.” A man was standing above Jonah’s body, yelling at Zhang, who was ignoring him. They jogged up to them, becoming the target of his anger.

“Is he seriously dead? Y’all gotta be punking me.” 

“Sir, are you Derrick Moore?” They searched up his Instagram, it being filled with photos of rather woman or surfing, a few family photos scattered around.

“Who’s asking?”

“We’re with the police, do you know Jonah?” Notes app already pulled out, ready to jot down anything new.

“Course I do! He’s a huge pain in the ass, but we surfed together. There’s no way he died while surfing, he didn’t suck that bad.”

“So you were friends?”

“You could say that. Where were you these past few days?’

“I was with my family, if you don’t believe me you can check online. I posted about it.” He pulled out his phone, showing them his camera roll. The most recent photos were a few with what they could assume were family members. “I came down here to visit them, and I spent yesterday and today at the beach.”

“Do you know of anyone who might have tried to kill him?”

“Nope! The dude had fans, I’d give him that, but none were obsessive to the point of murder.”

“Hm...”

“Whose board is that? I’m pretty sure his is red.”

“We’re trying to find that out as well. It washed up not long after he did. Has anyone seen him these past few days?”

“I’m not that close with the guy, but I haven’t heard anything though.” Something brown caught Carl’s eye in the water, leaving the questioning to Mani for a moment to chase after it. He reached down, grabbing the soggy piece of rope, water dripping off of it. 

A piece of rope, their victim having been strangled, did the murderer try to dispose of the object? That doesn’t make sense, it could just be a random thing of rope, having no correlation to the crime scene.

Unless…

Realization struck him, running off by himself. He knew the way back to the shop, it only took a few minutes to reach it. The door slammed open, Alex jumping at the sudden noise. Next to him, a curly haired boy who couldn’t be older than him. 

“What do you know about this board?” He showed him a picture of the blue surfboard, his eyes widening at the sight of it. 

“It went missing from my shop recently. I’m guessing you found it with Jonah?”

“Yes, along with rope. Do you know how long it’s been missing for?”

“I’d say a day or two, or at least that’s when I realized it was gone.”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was missing? I saw it in the water yesterday!” The curly haired man shrunk into himself when all eyes were on him.

“Why didn’t you say anything kid? Oh, this is Milo by the way.” He waved towards him, then back at Carl.

“I wasn’t completely sure it was someone’s board at first, but after seeing the picture, I know that’s what I saw.”

“Was there anything on the board?”

“Uhm,” he paused, closing his eyes, “I think something small was stuck to it, but I don’t know what it was.” The rope. If his guess is correct, Jonah must have been floating in the water for a while.

“So, what were you doing at the beach yesterday?” He grabbed his phone, eyebrow raised.

“I volunteer to clean up the beach after hours. Today was my day, so I came over around 1am. If- if you don’t believe me, I can call up my boss to prove it!”

“No need, do you know anyone by the name Jonah Carron?”

“It doesn’t sound familiar to me… I only really go to the beach to volunteer.”

“Alright.” He breathed in, making a face at a foul smell. “What is that?” The other two seemed to catch a whiff of it as well, reacting to the pungent aroma.

“Shit, it might be the food back there.” He slipped to the back, closing the door behind him only to come back out.

“Sorry, I had some frozen goods and I left them out. My freezer’s been on the fritz for a while, I need to buy a new one soon.”

“No problem, it was just curiosity. Thank you again.” He left the store, new knowledge stored. Something wasn’t adding up, how did Jonah get killed and hidden before being let out to sea? He could spot the other three from afar, catching up with them.

“Where’d you go? You just ran off without saying anything,” Mani crossed her arms, annoyance and confusion on her face.

“I think I figured out how they killed Jonah, I just need a culprit. It had to be somebody who had access to the beach after hours, which narrows us down to three people: Trinity, Milo, and Alex. The thing is, none of them really have a reason to kill him, none of them being close to him.”

“It could have just been a random target,” Mikey pointed out.

“It’s possible, but none of the clues we have really point to a person. Everyone seems to have an alibi, and no one is really suspicious.” He put his hands to his head in frustration. Harvard could have figured this out, he was smarter than him, but chances are he was still sleeping (seriously, how??), blissfully unaware of the murder happening right on the beach. Think Carl, why would the murderer dispose of his body in the water days after he killed him?

“I think I know who did it.”

“You wanna share with the rest of the class?” Zhang stood up, wiping some sand off of his legs.

“It’s just a hunch, but-”

The four main suspects were all gathered around the body, the detectives standing in front of them. Mikey stayed behind them, in case anyone tried to escape.

“You figured it out?” Derrick kept his eyes on the white sheet, his glare hard.

“I think so, I may need y’all’s help as I explain.” He took a deep breath, checking over everything in his mind before speaking.

“The murderer..”

“...is you, Milo!” He wasn’t one for dramatics, he didn’t need to point the person out. All eyes were on the curly haired male, whose breath hitched at his name being said.

“M-me?”

“Let me explain, the body earlier this morning, it appearing at the shore. Later, a surfboard and a chunk of rope were found as well. Our victim was found with ligature marks around his neck, which we can assume he was strangled to death with that piece of rope.”

“How does that make me the killer?”

“To dispose of the body, you tied him to a surfboard, pushing him out into the sea. Unfortunately, you didn’t tie it well enough, and it came undone. That way, the body showed up first on the land, hours after you committed the deed. Am I correct?”

“No. No, that’s not what happened at all!”

“Then tell me what happened.”

“I was cleaning up when I saw the surfboard. I knew it was from Mr. Jameson’s shop, so I tried to get a little closer without getting my clothes wet. There was rope attached, but it was coming undone. Under the surfboard, I saw something sticking out from under it, and saw Jonah. I told Mr. Jameson, but he threatened me not to tell. He did it, not me!” He covered his mouth after saying it, shaking.

“What the hell?! Don’t blame me for your shitty murder plot!”

“Stop lying! You told me you’d kill me if I said anything, so here! Kill me right in front of these detectives, see what happens you monster!” He threw his arms out, tears streaming down his face as he stared at Alex, determined to prove him guilty.

“There’s no need for all of that, we already know he’s the culprit. I just wanted to confirm it.”

“Eh?”

“Confirm what? That the kid’s a liar?”

“No, that you’re a murderer. You killed Jonah, then hid him in your freezer, hiding the smell with rotten food,” he pointed at him, watching his composure completely drop, anger littering his features. 

“My freezer is-”

“Perfectly fine. Remember, you gave my friend and I water from there earlier, and I heard from bystanders that you were selling popsicles not too long ago. You purposefully left food out, that way if anyone noticed the smell of his body, you had an alibi. Eventually, you decided to dispose of the body, tying him to one of your surfboards and setting him out to sea last night. Your job is to lock up the beach, isn’t it? It makes sense that you would have the keys to get in and out.” He flinched, had he realized that he was caught?

“You then told Milo, who had seen the tied up body this morning, to push it back into the sea. That way, if it came back to the shore and was found, his fingerprints would be on it, not yours.”

“That’s insane! Why would I want to kill him anyways?”

“He rented one of your boards right? You said that people coming for the weekend can have it for the weekend, but he was here on a Wednesday. Once he didn’t give it back, you confronted him, only to find out that he broke it.” He lifted his phone, pulling up a video from Jonah’s Instagram. The video played, showing him surfing, before crashing into something offscreen, the camera panning to him with the board snapped in two.

“You told him he would have to pay you to replace it, and when he declined, it pissed you off, causing you to fight him. You choked him out using the rope, and it ended up killing him. Am I correct?” That was everything, if he was incorrect on anything, it was too late to take it back. He observed the man, how his expressions changed as he spoke. 

“I-I,” he sank to his knees, the fire he had before snuffed out, “It’s true, I killed him.” Carl sighed, they figured it out, just in time as he could hear sirens approaching. Police officers and paramedics began to enter the beach, a path clearly as they moved closer. An officer put cuffs around his wrists, pulling him up as a medical examiner checked out the body, confirming that he was deceased. 

“You should check on your other friend,” Jameson said as the other officers led him off the beach, the paramedics leaving as well. Other friend? He glanced behind him, all four of them were accounted for. So who was-

Holy shit, he forgot about Harvard.

He could see their umbrella from here, it being not too far away from the crime scene. He dashed, Mani following as he reached their spot. Everything was in place, nothing seemed to be missing

Except the blond who had been sleeping here.

He wouldn’t have walked off without saying anything, and it was impossible for him to not notice the commotion with the murder scene. Jameson wouldn’t have said anything if he didn’t know, he wished they didn’t take him away so soon. 

“Check his shop!” Why should he-

He used the same rotting smell trick he did for Jonah,

Harvard isn’t here.

Oh shit.

Wherever he was, it definitely wasn’t the beach. 

It was freezing cold, not literally, or he hoped not, but it was enough for ice to form around him. There was enough room lengthwise for him, but he could barely move his arms around in here. He pushed upwards at the white ceiling, wincing as he came in contact with the cold surface. It wouldn’t budge at all, was this a prank?

Drowsiness called to him, the lull of sleep pulling him back under. Wherever he was, it sure was chilly.

Carl ran across the beach, not waiting or stopping for anyone. If he was right, and he really wished he wasn’t, then Harvard was in a lot of danger. He banged on the door, wishing that he was stronger so he could open it. Nothing around him was strong enough to break through the glass, or enough to bust open the door. He was going to die if he didn’t get in there. 

Mikey appeared from behind him, kicking below the door knob, something breaking behind it. Kicking again, the door opened, Carl leaving him in the dust as he went behind the counter, opening the door behind it. Nothing but boxes were in the room, him scanning it for something, anything that would prove where Harvard was. To his left, he gasped at a freezer, a few boxes on top of it. Praying it wasn’t what he thought it was, he slid them off, opening the freezer door, the cold air hitting his face.

Harvard laid still in the freezer, as if he hadn’t woken up at all. He scooped him out, laying him on the floor to check his pulse. He sighed in relief when he still felt it, albeit weak, though his neck was cold. Not deathly cold, but still slightly worrying. It was a good thing he wore a crop top, it might have prevented him getting frostbite on his body. Some ice still clung to his legs, him flicking it away.

“Hey, hey, Harvard, wake up.” If this was a few hours ago, he would let him sleep, but now he needed to know whether or not he needed him conscious, he wasn’t fully out of the woods yet. He had no clue how long he’d been in that freezer, it could be too late.

“Get up!” His heart started to race, too afraid to check his pulse again. 

“Cmon, wake up really quick!” He couldn’t have been too late, he wasn’t going to die on him. He put his ear to his stomach, hearing him slowly breath. It was a good think he was breathing, but it sounded too slow for his liking, he needed him awake before he did anything

“WAKE UP!” He slapped his face lightly, flicking off some ice as his eyes started to open. He squinted, still clearly tired but somewhat aware.

“Ugh, Carl?” He whispered, eyes still half closed.

“Yeah, yeah it’s me. Are you okay?” He let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

“Mhm, where the hell are we?” He slowly sat up, rubbing the ice out of his hair. “Why is there-?”

“It’s a long story, let’s get back to the beach,” he helped him up, feeling his boyfriend shiver as he got closer to him. He felt cold arms wrap around him, Harvard leaning against him for warmth. Mikey was waiting outside, the worry melting off his face when he saw the two of them. They went back to the beach, Mani and Zhang lighting up when they saw them return.

“Glad to know you’re alright, you missed a lot.”

“How much?”

“Well….”

“I still can’t believe you let me sleep through a murder.” The two of them had some alone time on the beach, the sun preparing to set in front of them.

“You don’t sleep often! We had it handled.” He muttered something to himself, the blond raising an eyebrow at it.

“What was that?”

“I might have…forgotten to wake you up?”

“Are you serious?”

“Don’t look at me like that! There was a murder, of course I’m gonna think about that more than you sleeping. You were safe there, and we knew you weren’t going anywhere.”

“Until of course, I did go somewhere.”

“Shush.” He splashed him in the face, Harvard sputtering as he stood up, kicking some water at Carl.

“We’re even, don’t hit me again.” He put his hands up in surrender, sitting back down. His eyes locked with his, until they moved down, fixated on his bare chest.

“You’re showing off my tattoos? You better have given me credit for it, I can’t have randos thinking that they can get something like that too.” He looked down, noticing he had his shirt unbuttoned, the flowers on his chest shown off for the world to see.

“I took the shirt off when I got in the water, I don’t think anyone even noticed,” he moved his arm closer to his chest, slightly hugging himself as self-consciousness flooded him. Harvard’s smile faltered as he scooted closer to him, moving his arms from his chest.

“What are you-,” he cut himself off when he felt Harvard’s cold lips touch his chest, lightly kissing him, before moving up to his neck, then to his forehead, and finally to his lips. Carl felt his hand cup his cheeks, being too lost in the high from the kiss to do anything but kiss him back. He pulled away, being wrapped in a hug instead.

“If you’re gonna tell me not to be ashamed about my scars, you better do the same for yourself.” He hadn’t even realized he wasn’t covering his arms, past scars of different sizes littered on them. 

“Besides, yours look way more badass. They compliment the tattoos perfectly.”

“You’re just saying that because you drew the tattoos.”

“Maybe, but am I wrong?”

“..No, no I guess not.” He felt himself smiling at him, leaning on him as the sun started to set. The sky changed colors, the air feeling cooler as he rested his head on Harvard’s shoulder. The moment was perfect…

Almost too perfect…

Water came from above, dropping on the pair as Mani laughed behind them, watching them turn to face her. She ran off, still giggling, Harvard close behind.

“GET BACK HERE!” He tackled her, sand landing in both of their faces.

“Get off!”

“Carl! Can you get some water?” His voice sounded sweet, as if he wasn’t holding his friend down.

“No! Carl, don't listen to him!” He filled the bucket with water, slowly approaching the two. He dumped it on her, Harvard moving away to not get hit by it. All three of them got hit by water, Zhang holding a bucket behind his back as they all turned to face him. 

“You backstabber!” She snatched the bucket from Carl, filling it with water and chasing Zhang with it, Mikey watching from afar, recording the madness. Harvard leaned onto Carl’s, hugging him from behind.

“Carl..,” he whined, “Can you drive us home?”

“Absolutely not. We made a deal.”

“I’m tired noww,” he pleaded, blinking a few times to convince him.

“You shouldn’t have slept the whole day then. Cmon, I’ll buy you a drink.” He dragged him off the beach, grabbing his bag as they left. He bought him warm cider from a food stand, the blond sipping it as they walked the boardwalk, heading to where they parked their car.

“Oh wait, I got you this,” he dug in his bag for the plush toy from earlier, handing Harvard the cat he won for him, “Here.”

“Awe, he’s cute.” He held him by the bow around his neck, petting it while they walked. A sneeze made him jolt, sniffling as he rubbed his nose. They made it to the car, Harvard taking the keys from Carl as he sat in it, turning up the heat.

They drove for an hour, the roads cleared up with less traffic. By the time they arrived home, their clothes were dried off, both men changing into something more comfortable. Harvard stole the covers from him in bed, wrapping himself in them. He tugged at them back, resorting to moving closer to him when he realized that he wasn’t going to win against him. He wrapped his arms around him, legs tangled together as he rested his head above his shoulder.

“Jesus, you’re cold.”

“Wow, I wonder why..Maybe if you moved closer I’d heat up.” He leaned into him, trying to steal the warmth from his body.

“If you sneeze on me, you’re sleeping on the couch.”

“Achoo.” 

Carl rolls his eyes and moves closer to hug Harvard better. In a matter of moments they both fall asleep.