The taste of blood does not go well with coffee, and the caffeine rush wasn't doing anything to encourage me to stay where I was; isolated and quiet and hidden. The best place to hide is out in the open. I was standing, back against the railing, eyes wandering over the little shops on the boardwalk. The chilly sea breeze bit at the bare skin of my arms and if I were suddenly able to step backwards a few feet into mid air the ocean spray would drench me. The clouds above floated lethargically in the sky like a badly mixed poison. At this time of the morning the beach was deserted; my only company being the gulls that circled far above.

The first thing I noticed was the bleached blond interrupting my not so panoramic view of despondent browns and beiges. He had moved up beside me, carefully facing away, out to the ocean. I wanted to get a look at his face, try to figure out what kind of person he was. I could taste smoke, bitter and choking, but at the same time so barely there that I could have been imagining it. "It's raining," he said flatly.

I choked off a startled laugh. "And we're standing in front of the ocean. Any other blatantly obvious statements you'd like to make?" My tone was as sharp as a blade, and about as friendly.

"You're in my C++ class," he offered, clasping his hands on the railing.

"Am I now?" I pushed off the cool metal and started to walk, my current hiding place having been taken over by captain obvious.

"I love you," he called over the wind. I rolled my eyes.

"No you don't."

He appeared beside me, hair flying everywhere. "You're right. But it made you stop." A shell cracked under my shoe as I walked away and it was not the sound of a gun firing because I was still alive.