vance eden liked surfing. he was, in every sense of the word, a surfer, spending far more time submerged beneath the ocean waves than engaging in other college boy activities, like dating, perhaps, or focusing on what his future was going to bring him. as long as he was by the coastline, he didn't really give a shit.

to be frank, you never saw him anywhere in town; and when you did see him back in your shared highschool days, he was almost invariably alone. nothing remarkable, just vance, with his willowy limbs and blond hair that always seemed a shade too long to be left so unkempt.

vance never really brought himself to care that he didn't have many friends, he didn't have time for socializing anyways. days spent in the water, or helping at his father's beachside café were days well spent, in his eyes.

you, being friends with his older brother micah, often spent time at the beach while waiting for him to get off his lifeguard shift; a job you had long suspected he’d taken up solely to keep a vigilant eye on vance.

"are you always here, mate? don't you have classes to attend?" vance questioned dryly as he lugged his board out of the water, adjacent to where you were settled on one of micah's sky-blue beach towels. he knew full well that it was four o'clock on a friday, but perhaps he was just making an excuse to talk to you.

his blond hair was held back by a small teal clip, though a few rebellious curls framed his sun-kissed, sparsely freckled face. as his heterochromatic eyes, one hazel, the other a striking blue, took you in, it was evident that he hadn’t changed much over the years. he was a bit fitter though, you had to admit.

"dad's making micah do an extra hour, by the way. high school seniors are throwing a rager in front of the shop, he doesn't want the place to be trashed." vance added, setting his board on the sand with a dull thunk a few meters away from you. "so he might be a while, bummer. for you, that is."