Long time no sea

[Elodie Kesslar]

Elodie strolled along the beach her hands shoved deep in the pockets of her black faux leather jacket trying to keep them warm. It was overcast, grey clouds hung heavily in the sky, it wasn't really beach weather. But Elodie ventured onward, she couldn't go to the beach when it was sunny. Her skin burnt so easily so she always chose to take a trip to the beach when it was cloudy, eliminating all chance of skin burning rays. Her dark hair whipped around her face in the mildly gusty wind and loose sand stung her eyes, but despite the obvious discomfort she found the fresh sea to be rather relaxing and therapeutic. Inhaling deep breaths of the seaweed tinged air Elodie's dark eyes swept the sandy plains before her. She noticed a large log, long since dead lying partially buried in the sand mere meters from the water's edge. Walking over to it Elodie lowered herself on to its sea corroded surface and gazed out over the sea.

The waves were grey and violent and were drawing alarmingly close to her seat but she didn't move. If the tide was going to come up Elodie was going to let it, she didn't mind the icy chill of the water swirling around her feet' As the edges of the waves tickled her feet Elodie exhaled deeply and closed her eyes, this was the most relaxed she had been all week and it was nice to finally take a breath and unwind. Drawing patterns with her toes she smiled, this was a great day. She decided she was going to stay here for as long as the tide would let her. Pulling her iPod out of her pocket she put her ear phones in and let the familiar music wash over her.

 

[Annie Cartwright]

Annie's uniform clung to her body, still damp from her shift a half an hour ago, the blonde was making her way back home, after a hard day's work keeping the shores safe for the public. Her half wet sun bleached hair draped over one shoulder, the ends partially wet with salty water. The overcast day sent a chilling breeze through the nineteen year old's spine, causing a slight shiver to sink into her body, worsened by her damp lifeguard uniform. The bright yellow and red making Annie stand out like a sore thumb within the dull grey overcast sky. The blonde never minded standing out, however at times she was the only thing visible; she wished to blend into the scenery. She would have much rather worn a shade of blue to work instead the bright yellow and red, conversely one obvious flaw arised whenever Annie considered an alternative to the yellow and red. Blue would not be as easily visible in a raging sea. The landscape, a rainbow of dulled colours, looked eerily beautiful, practically begging to be captured on film. The blonde smiled at the thought, promising herself she would return later in the day to have a polaroid photography spree along the beach.

A short five minutes away from her oversized home, Annie felt herself stop in her tracks, at the sight of a girl, looking sullen in the shallows, perched on a worn out log. With the tide obviously rising, and the blonde's caring personality. Her first reaction was to comfort the girl, or at least, get convince her to get out of the shallows before she drowned. Annie inhaled the ocean mist, breathing out slowly, composing herself she would be fine. The blonde strolled towards the dark haired girl, her lips curving upward into a warm smile when she stopped next to the log. Annie rolled back and forth on her heels, her arms held behind her back, smiling as she did so. "It's a lovely day!" The blonde exclaimed, her words truthful. Only Annie's optimism and sheer ability to see everything in a good way could force her to see a grey and overcast day as bright and sunny. The nineteen year old hummed quietly, in wait for a murmur, a mumble, any hint of acknowledgement from the other girl.​

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[Elodie Kesslar]

Elodie heard the voice through her music and she pulled her headphones out of her ears. Turning her head she looked up at the speaker and resisted the urge to do a double take. Standing front of her was her ex, Annie from Beauxbatons. Biting her lip she twisted her hands together, she hadn't expected to bump into Annie and now she was feeling rather uncomfortable. "Ah... yeah it is." she said confused, despite the fact that she was enjoying the day she hadn't expected anyone else to be. Awkwardly stood up trying to keep her composure and not make herself look like a total idiot in front of her ex.

Elodie quickly gathered that Annie hadn't recognized her and the corners of her mouth twitched upward in a faint smile. She was unsure whether or not to re-introduce herself. She wasn't sure how Annie would take her turning up now. Deciding it would be best to come clean she gave Annie a smile. "Er... Hi Annie" she mumbled looking away from the blond in front of her. "It's me... Elodie." she added blushing slightly, her attempt to seem calm and blase wasted.

 

[Annie Cartwright]

Puzzled at the stranger knowing her name, Annie crocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at the dark haired girl. She seemed familiar, in a way, but the blonde could not put her finger on where she had seen this Elodie girl before. Shaking her head, her thoughts falling back on the current conversation, Annie smiled, nodding in reply to Elodie. "Well I don't remember you but let's get you out of this cold." The blonde replied, feeling another chill roll down her spine. She draped her white fluffy towel around her shoulders, shivering into the soft fabric. If it wasn’t already obvious Annie was cold, her shivering made her look even colder. Lingering in the wind with wet clothing could made anybody chill, even a girl who swam every day, like Annie.

With a quick turn to the direction of her home, and a smiling glance around her shoulder, Annie made her way towards her large home, built for six people, when it only contained one, she grew lonely often, surprisingly even when the company of her boyfriend, Jake, was so close by. The sand felt soft under Annie's feet, distracting her from the autumn chill. Soon enough, the blonde arrived at her front door, unlocking it with a quick turn of her key Annie stood back to let Elodie in. She walked into the lounge room after the dark haired girl, smiling at the sudden warmth of indoors. "I'll make us hot chocolates in a minute. Let me just get changed first, okay?" She said, a warm smile gracing her features as she made her way into her bedroom to find some dry clothing.​

Out of Character:

It's total crap but here you go

 

[Elodie Kesslar]

Elodie bit her lip, Annie didn't recognize her? "Hm" she hummed aloud and shrugged. She didn't want to admit to Annie who she was, perhaps it was better if she didn't remember. Giving the blond a small half smile she nodded and followed her silently up the beach. Elodie shivered subconciously, when Annie finally realised who she was this meeting was going to get extremely awkward and she felt aprehensive about following her ex to her house. But despite her obvious reservations she followed her anyway.

Elodie followed her ex up the beach and toward what she assumed was her house. Elodie was outwardly impressed it was a large and impressive house. She let out a low whistle "Nice house." she told her in voice full of awe. She followed Annie up to the house and followed her in. She made her way over to a sofa and took a seat. "That sounds great." she said smiling and she settled back to wait for Annie to get changed.

 

[Annie Cartwright]

Annie strolled into her bedroom, changing into her favourite white sundress, the same sundress she had worn when she first met Jake. Memories of that night always seemed to creep back into the blonde's mind, possibly because it was the night she had met her boyfriend, something to remember indeed. Annie looked at her reflection, quickly brushing her still damp blonde hair. After putting her hair brush down, and inspecting her complexion, did Annie realise who Elodie was. Her bright blue eyes widened, while her jaw dropped to let out an excited scream.

Since her move to New Zealand, Annie's life in France had almost been forgotten, everything was a blur, with the exception of her family, and Jake. The sudden appearance of Elodie back into her life seemed unreal, foreign within the comfortable fresh start the blonde had gotten with the move to New Zealand. Annie ran out of her bedroom to return to the living room, where the familiar Elodie sat casually on her couch. Annie let out another scream before seating herself nest to Elodie, hugging her tight. "Sorry I didn't remember you!" She exclaimed, still hugging her ex tightly.
​

 

[Elodie Kesslar]

Elodie relaxed in to cushions of the couch trying to steady her heart beat. This was the most awkward meeting she had ever taken part in. Sighing deeply she ran a hand through her hair, she hadn't pictured the reunion between the two of them going quite like this. Nevertheless Elodie decided that she was going to make light of the situation and enjoy a hot chocolate with her old friend.

The first scream that emmited from Annie snapped Elodie's mind back to the present, "Annie... Are you okay?" she had barely uttered the concerned words before she saw Annie running from her room and pulling her into a tight hug. Stunned Elodie hugged her back, it seemed the blond had suddenly remembered her. Laughing she released her ex, "I take it you remember me now?" she asked dark eyes twinkling with amusment, "How have you been?"

 

[Annie Cartwright]

The time spent away from France, her family, and the people she considered familiar faces like Elodie's had been pushed aside so furtively, suddenly almost, as the young blonde's attention had been attracted, and focused on her boyfriend, Jake. This was not a bad thing, neither was hardly thinking about her loved ones, many miles away, because it was that attention she focused on Jake which caused her not to become plagued by home sickness after her move, nor much loneliness when living in such a large house alone for the first time. Jake had been a shoulder to lean on, loosely putting it, keeping her safe when she chose to drink too much on their first date in the hope of numbing her nerves, and keeping her smile bright, and genuine during her time living in New Zealand. So why was Annie hugging Elodie, her ex-girlfriend, so tightly after having such a reliable person like Jake around her for so long? Because she simply missed her old life in France, no matter how restricting it may have been, her aunt and uncle, although incredibly kind, and caring, kept Annie on strict rules, even in her seventh year, treating her as more of a child, than a young adult. New Zealand posed more freedom than her life back in France ever could have, yet Annie craved familiarity, was it after seeing a reminder of home, which was causing the blonde's sudden homesickness? Annie shook her head, and quickly distracted herself with uttering an answer to Elodie's question. "I've been good, more than good actually." She said through a smile, letting a moment of stillness fall between the two before her next words cut the silence. "I have somebody for you to meet, later." She uttered, half whispering while biting a lip.

If Elodie met Jake, surely their meeting wouldn't be to awkward, had a meeting between one's ex, and one's current love interest ever been comfortable, to Annie's knowledge, no, yet her optimistic thoughts remained ever hopeful it wouldn't end up a disaster, considering her and Elodie hadn't had a serious relationship in any way, shape or form. For some reason, Annie felt oddly comforted in Elodie's presence, it seemed as if a day had not passed, and they were talking like they used to. Annie did plan to introduce Elodie to Jake, if she stayed that long of course. "How have you been?" The blonde queried her old friend, befuddling herself, her gaze falling upon Elodie, as she lay in wait for an answer, eager to hear of Elodie's life since they last spoke. ​