Chapter Text
Oscar
Oscar stares at the large waves thundering against the shore and the overcast weather lingering against the horizon. These seem like desirable conditions for pro surfers, but Oscar’s not a pro surfer — he’s just Australian.
“Are you sure he’s coming mate?” Liam shifts in the sand, adjusting the legs of his black wetsuit.
Oscar scrunches his feet tight, sand particles slowly releasing from his toes. Of course, he’s not sure. He met the guy last night at the pool. Not even from his own hotel. They made out under the stars for what felt like hours, but then the guy had to rush back to his room, frantically after receiving a text.
“We can wait a few more minutes,” Logan assures with a quick nod, scanning a different area of the beach for the man. The entire group knew what this guy looked like: they met him at the hotel pool yesterday.
It was the third day of their winter break — officially done with their first semester of Year 12 and ready for their final semester of senior secondary school. Only six more months separate them from graduation and attending international universities.
Oscar doesn’t know what he expects on this trip, but he knows it isn't to meet an older, smarter, goofier guy. Something about him seems different than the guys from his private school. Someone who doesn’t take life too seriously, and Oscar feels like that screams mature. Oscar finds these traits undeniably more attractive than the boys he’s met back home.
“Did he text you?” Guanyu locks eyes for a brief second with Liam before inspecting his surfboard for the third time.
“He did.” Oscar sighs. “You all can go ahead if you want.”
Liam and Guanyu stare at him to check if he’s serious, and Oscar uses that as a signal that it’s time to get this show on the road. “Just go.”
The two drop their phones in the bag under their daisy-yellow umbrella and walk towards the Indian Ocean. Oscar isn’t surprised, waves like today are a surfer’s siren song.
There are others in the water, ready to seize the sunrise. “You can also go,” Oscar clarifies, staring at the large group of men over to his left, avoiding Logan’s gaze.
He watches three men with black White Lotus shirts split up the group.
His group of friends aren’t officially associated with White Lotus. Oscar has a family friend who gets them into the resort whenever they want. Which is nice because it has a restaurant, a pool, a view, and most importantly, beautiful men. After all, White Lotus Bali is a premier gay destination.
So, yeah. Oscar really wasn’t expecting to meet anyone yesterday, not really. And maybe now, as he hears his best friend repeat ‘five more minutes’ for the fifth time, he realizes it’s too good to be true.
Maybe the guy woke up and realized that he was talking to an eighteen-year-old. An eighteen-year-old who’s insecure and indecisive and immature, and decided that yeah, he doesn’t want anything to do with that.
Maybe it’s too much to think that a guy he met less than 18 hours ago would drop his morning plans on the last day of his vacation for Oscar. Especially when the guy didn’t sound like he knew how to surf in the first place.
“Let’s just go.” Oscar turns around to drop his phone and key card in an open backpack. He doesn’t even want to look at Logan’s face when he says it.
“Are you sure?” Logan sighs but drops his stuff also.
“I don’t—”
“I AM SO SORRY!”
Both men snap their attention to the source of the shout.
And Oscar really shouldn’t.
He shouldn’t smile at the scene, but he can’t help it—because‚ well, he’s here.
The man continues to lift his legs high through the sand and make as much ground to presumably cover his late arrival.
Oscar hears Logan chuckle somewhere in the background and feels a firm grasp on his shoulder. “I knew he would come. Have fun.” Logan grabs his board and walks towards the water, excited to do what they actually came to Bali to do: surf.
“I’m—so—sorry—”
“It’s fine, Lando.” Oscar smirks, watching the other hurl his hands down on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath.
“Fuck!” Lando looks up, his face red, his dark blue eyes squinting, his brown hair tousled from the ocean breeze. “I figured you’d be in the water by now and I’d only have a speck to go off. I’d probably be cheering for the wrong person for a full hour before making an arse of myself.”
Oscar finally laughs out loud. Because he’s glad that in the morning light, Lando hasn’t lost his humor. That last night wasn’t some alcohol-induced delusion.
This guy’s quirky personality still makes him want to vibrate out of his skin.
“I was just about to go in.” Oscar signals to his peach-colored surfboard.
It’s then that Oscar notices Lando’s attire. When Lando offered to join them on the beach, he assumed a wetsuit and a surfboard. He assumed at least proper beach attire.
“Are you…?” He glances at Lando’s polo shirt and khaki shorts.
“Oh!” Lando’s eyes expand. “No! I don’t—It’s not worth me trying to get on a board on my last day. Our plane leaves in a couple of hours. I won’t have the time to change, and all that.” He’s waving his arms around theatrically, and Oscar follows every movement. “I haven’t surfed our entire trip, anyway. Don’t need another reason for you to laugh at me.”
Oscar smiles. “Yes, I think you’ve filled that quota already in the last 24 hours.”
“Yeah.” Lando smiles back. “I came to watch you…and hopefully chat a little before I go?” Lando looks at him as if he’s trying to make sure that it’s okay — that it’s not too weird that he came here just to watch.
“Yeah, I’ll go out, get a couple of surfs in, and then we can chat a little.” Oscar half-smiles, the waves crashing in time with the rhythm of his heartbeat.
“Be careful out there, yeah.” Lando steps forward and knocks his knuckles against Oscar’s chest. “The water looks rough today. I don’t want to send another person off in an ambulance on my vacation.”
Oscar nearly loses his smile at the comment.
Lando says it like it’s a joke, but his tone doesn’t carry humor. “I’ll be careful.” He nods seriously, clipping his leash to his ankle, and begins his descent towards the water.
He repeats silently to himself not to turn around a few times. He’s 18. He’s not a lovesick idiot. He’s got this.
All he has to do now is not embarrass himself in front of the attractive, uni grad guy watching him. Easy.
Oscar feels the dark, hard sand on his feet and the water feels cold to the touch at first. He wades until it reaches his waist before hopping on his board and paddling further. He chooses a spot that isn’t super close to some of the other surfers; he especially stays as far away as possible from the beginner surfers coming in from the resort.
The water gets choppier the further he goes, but he knows it’ll be worth it. He’ll be able to catch a beautiful wave or two, and Lando will see it, and it’ll be something he’s proud of. Even if he’s rusty for the first couple—farther is the way to go.
Once he finds the right spot, he shifts to scan for upcoming waves.
But something catches his eye.
It’s navy blue—not far off to where he’s seated—and sticking out from the cerulean color of the ocean.
He turns towards the shore, catching Liam riding out a wave with Guanyu not far away, recording the footage on his GoPro. To his right, there’s a pair of guys on one board, which is…they’re making out, and Oscar swiftly looks away. He stares to the left at the lessons taking place, turning his head slightly, and spots Lando gazing his way.
He smiles and gets back to focusing on the task at hand. He decides to keep going.
Except when he does, the larger the navy blue object catches his eye. It’s with a startling revelation that Oscar realizes it’s a surfboard. A navy blue surfboard.
Oscar swallows the growing lump in his throat because it’s never a good thing when there’s a surfboard wading in the water.
It could be someone who forgot their board. But it could also be worse. It could be that the choppy waves are hiding something less forgiving.
A large wave approaches and Oscar stills stick-straight against the board, bracing for the impact. The water hits him abrasively, but he doesn’t keep his eyes off the navy blue. It’s during the impact that he spots the leash, swaying as if it’s stuck against something.
Oscar takes a deep breath. His heartbeat amplifies and he approaches the board.
His fingers glide across the thick rubber of the red leash until he’s met with a tug. Oscar feels himself getting light-headed when he pulls and is met with resistance.
He pulls and pulls, carrying half of his weight on his own board for leverage. He pulls until he’s able to see for himself what’s going on.
Oscar pulls and is met with a body. And he knows it’s dead by the pale color coating the skin. It’s bloated from the salty water, and the man is only in swimming trunks.
Oscar’s worst fears are confirmed. And he does the only thing that comes to mind.
Oscar screams.
🌴