Nowhere Without You

[Izaak Finch]

Summer was always the busiest time of the year and year in and year out Bondi beach was always guaranteed to cop the worst of it. Everyday busloads of tourists would scramble out eagerly onto the crowded shores, fling themselves into the deceiving surf, catch themselves in a backpacker’s rip and need rescuing. For Izaak, it was a routine well worn but he’d perform it each and every day with perfect grace. People never seemed to get any wiser but he loved it all the same and could never imagine being quite so content anywhere else in the world.

Having finished his shift, the azure-eyed lifeguard dragged his uniform jersey over his head and threw it in a pile amongst other belongings in his club bag. Most of which were more or less staple items; a drink bottle, a battered pair of thongs, keys, his phone, wallet and the list went on. But there was something he had come to prize above all the rest and quickly too seeing as he had only picked it up during his lunch break. A ring box, small enough to fit inside the palm of his hand, and covered with the softest of navy blue velvet. Azure eyes lingered over it with a smile bright within them in mere anticipation of what was inside. Unable to keep himself at bay any longer, Izaak bent down to catch it securely with his fingers and flip it open between them. The ring inside twinkled up at him, boasting the flawless cut of each and every single diamond embedded into the silver band. It alone had scorched a hole in his pocket, his wallet and just about every other place that he stashed his savings into. But it had been worth every last cent. It was for his one and only after all and oh, what wasn’t she worth?

They had always said that they had never wanted to marry young, back when they had been together of course. But the last time they had even prospered on such hopes was a year ago, almost to the very day. Izaak had changed since then though. There were the changes that were obvious of course; he had stretched to his last inch, his body had filled out considerably and the last of his boyish looks had been hidden beneath a strong jawline. Then there were those that one would find a little deeper. He had instilled his faith in a new belief, true love. Isabella seemed to have snatched his heart up for awhile there but there was no denying who it truly belonged to. And Izaak was going to stop at nothing to make sure she knew that. He’d get down on one knee and offer his heart to Alexis Richarde. Whether or not she’d accept was a different question entirely but Izaak could not shake the feeling that they were meant to be together.

Knowing that he was building upon hopes when he probably shouldn’t, Izaak smiled down at the engagement ring one last time before snapping the box shut and burying it in the side pocket of the SLSA duffel bag. With a quick glance at the time, which read to be a little past five, a wondrous jolt of excitement shot through Izaak’s veins. Casey would be here any minute now if she weren’t already. And there was no one he’d rather see more, not even Alexis at this moment in time. Sighing with a tonal smile, Izaak drew his arms across his bare chest and gazed out over the foaming waves and remembered the time he had first brought her here a couple of years back. It had been right before they had made their pact to keep away from one another. Looking back on it now it all seemed a little silly, their Valentine’s Day incident was almost laughable to Izaak now after having been dragged through so much worse. But those had been the days, the ones in which they’d stay out on the grounds all day making animals out of clouds instead of sitting through those long hours of History of Magic. When they’d meet at the halfway point between the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms and sit there chatting animatedly away to one another for hours on end in preference of the company of their fellow housemates. The countless times that they had been thrown out of the library because Izaak hadn’t been able to control his laughter at something Casey had observed and scribbled onto a piece of parchment for him to read. And there was all the many dances and the school trips to Hogsmeade and the many breakfasts they had chimed in on one another’s house tables. Yep, those had been the days. Casey Carlin had made school fun like no one else was capable of doing and now she was making him miss it? The extraordinary powers of one’s best friend, eh?

 

[Casey Carlin]

Finally, the holidays were here and Casey was free from her imprisoned life as a student within the walls of Hogwarts. Just one more semester, she reminded herself whenever she thought of having to go back later in January. But it wasn't January yet, thankfully, and Casey Carlin was going to take full advantage of her holiday break and be completely careless with her best friend while she still could. All thoughts of school had checked out from her mind and weren't due to return any time soon.

As soon as the holidays had began, Casey went over to her apartment quickly to pack a few things, just things that she'd left behind and didn't already have with her at Hogwarts. The apartment walls echoed with emptiness and smelled like paint, as if it was unused, and it was. Aside from a few fond memories held within the small apartment, nothing there was personal yet, she was simply a guest in a hotel room. Though the only reason for the empty apartment was that Casey was still in school and had only just moved in the previous summer before transferring into Hogwarts New Zealand for her second semester of her sixth year. Her family strongly disapproved of Casey moving so far away from London, but then again, her family seemed to disapprove pretty much anything Casey did, so their pleas for her to stay at home with them had little to no effect on her.

After gathering her few belongings and throwing a dress on, Casey stood at her doorway, looking into her empty apartment, the yellow glow from the sun spilling in from the blinds, illuminating something that looked out of place in the mess of sheets and blankets that was Casey's unmade bed. She tilted her head to the side and walked over to the bed, picking up what happened to be two envelopes. It was a letter from Bella and the other from her cousin Leighton. Casey opened Bella's letter to read it, naturally, to see where or what she had been up to; but after the first sentence, the Gryffindor girl immediately folded it back up and stashed both unread letters deep into her bag. No, she was not going to ruin her holiday by reading the letters. This holiday was all about her and Izaak and being careless, nothing else was going to ruin that. The Veela girl checked the time and knew she needed to hurry up before Izaak thought she was late or something, and closed the door without another look back.

Casey's eyelids closed shut over her eyes and a second later she could smell the vaguely familiar scent of salt water and sunblock fill her nostrils before she could even open her eyes. The sight that met her eyes when she did open them confirmed that she had made it to Bondi beach, the place where Izaak could probably live forever if the sand didn't get into uncomfortable places while you slept; Casey chuckled at the thought that her blue-eyed best friend was probably used to that feeling. As she looked around looking for him she was reminded of the last time she had come here, her first and only time, with Izaak of course. It was two years ago after they had drunkenly hooked up on Valentine's day when Izaak had a girlfriend. At the time it seemed like their friendship seemed inevitable to suffer thanks to their intoxicated decision and they'd come to Bondi to have one last grand adventure together before they had to attempt to stay away from each other. That hadn't lasted long.

Thankfully things seemed to have worked out for the two and they still remained the same tight-knit friends they had been back when they'd met in school. Again, Casey laughed. Even though she had witnessed it for herself, the thought of Izaak in school seemed like an unfathomable image. She remembered the times when he'd always skip class and convince her to go along with him, which she happily obliged; a bad influence indeed. Finally, Casey spotted her best friend, bare chested as was natural in his environment, yes, his environment, and walked over to him. "So, guess who finally passed her Apparation test?" she said as she approached him, grinning proudly at her achievement, even though it had been her third time taking the test.