Cole had no idea how long he laid there but as the crowd began to disperse, he finally realized his friends weren't coming to get him.

They really left him there. He swallowed but his mouth was already dry. He was slowly dehydrating and the sand was no longer offering any comfort. It just felt like pins fucking pricking his skin.

Moving had his own problem so he stayed there, asking for help from the people who passed him but they all laughed at him or ignored him. What are with people these days?

The sun had gone down and now he could count the people on the beach. They weren't much. Just a few couples.

Cole quickly looked away from their direction. The idea of being in love baffled him. Not that it was a bad thing, he just didn't know what it was.

Don't even think about what he had with his family because he had nothing.

He hated his little brother, Tames, his mom, Ashley and his dad, John. It wasn't his fault. They hated the fact he was gay. This was why telling the twins was so out of his to do list. Maybe he'll tell them on their grad or something. They don't plan to go to the same school anyways.

"Uh...what are you doing?" A voice brought him back from his thoughts about hate to a world of hate. OK, now he had no idea which was worse.

He looked to his left to see a boy standing there, staring at him. He looked about two years younger than him. Brown hair with soft blue eyes that Cole didn't know he was staring at until the boy talked again. "Stop staring at me. You are creeping me out."

"Sorry." He mumbled, looking back at his body covered with sand.

"Uh, do you want to get out?" He asked confused.

He looked back at the boy, "You here with someone?"

"Oh no. I am the life guard here. I'm done for today so I was just taking a stroll then I saw you."

"You are quite young for a life guard." He said between breathes.

"Needed the money." He shrugged.

"I would condemn your ability as a life guard since I have been in here for what? Five hours? And you were nowhere to be seen. But I need your help so I will say this nicely. Help me out of here."

The boy glared at him as he pulled him out of the sand roughly. Cole coughed and tried to dust the sand off his body but they weren't coming off so he just left it there then looked up at the boy, "Can I get a bottle of water?"

"I have in my bag over there but I don't think you are worth me walking over there." He said coolly, smirking at him.

Cole stared at him with boredom, his mouth opened wide to take in chunks of air. "If you won't, in the position I am in, I can just suck you off dry. I need anything at all in my mouth."

The boy stared at him with disgust then ran off quickly. Great, he just scared off his only chance of survival. Smart move Cole. Smart.

Cole tried to get on his feet but with one step he was kissing the ground again.

Groaning, he rolled on his back. He could die here. The ocean breeze was warm mixed with the cool land breeze. He could see the stars and how bright there were. Here, he could hardly think of his family and the lie he was at school.

Cole's view was interrupted by the can of water in front of him. Grinning like he just saw the city of gold, he quickly took it, sat up and popped the lid off. He didn't care who gave him his saving grace, just drank the whole thing until it was empty.

Sighing in relief as the water began to do his magic, he looked up to see the boy raising a brow at him.

"You done?"

"I think so. I thought you ran away?" He asked curiously.

"I couldn't leave a dying man even if I tried." He answered with a shrug, flopping down on the sand with him. The silence between them didn't last long since the boy asked almost immediately, "So, you are gay?"

Cole pursed his lip at that. He stared at the empty bottle in his hands as he voiced his thought. "If I were a serial killer, I would say yes then kill you. But I am not," he added, "So we shall never see each other again."

"Oh. So is that a yes you are gay or a serial killer?" The boy asked confused.

"I think a yes and maybe. I am gay and I would love to be a serial killer. I will start with my family. I know, weird." He huffed then threw the can into the sea. Take that water force that read comics.

"I know what you mean. I used to think of that too when my parents treat me wrongly because I am gay too. They don't accept me. Using the bible against me. Psychotic idiots. But I love them because I had so many chances to kill them but I didn't. It's actually the reason why I work here on weekends and then help out my uncle at an art studio after school. They pay well." He added with a shrug.

Cole nodded. He seemed like a workaholic but why does he care? It wasn't like he was going to date him. Maybe after grad but now, no. The last thing he wanted was his dad disowning him. "I'm Cole."

The boy smiled, "Henry."

Cole smiled briefly back at him then laid back on the ground, looking up at the sky, at the stars. "What do you want to be Henry?"

"An artist. I also love photography. Look, we could take a picture toge-"

"Why would I want to do that?" he looked at him, suspiciously

"If you want, Cole." He added innocently, reaching for one of those ancient cameras that produced the pictures immediately, from a backpack he didn't even notice on him.

Cole stared at the boy. What was wrong in taking a single picture? It wasn't like he was going to see the boy again. Actually, he was going to make sure of that.

Hesitantly, he gestured for the boy to get closer and Henry happily did, moving closer to lay beside him.

Cole gave it his carefree face with a peace sign while Henry just grinned. Henry snapped the picture twice, whipping the first one so their faces came alive and doing the same to the second.

Dropping the Camera, Henry stared at them then gave one to Cole, who looked at it like it was poison. "Why should I take it?"

"Just take it," he said, dropping it on his chest then sitting up to stare at his own. "So that someday in the future when you are going through some difficulties, you could look back at this and realize that you aren't the only one suffering. That there was this guy, who was kicked out of his home at 15 and living off the payment from is life guard job and uncle's art studio and could still smile like this."

Cole sat up quickly after hearing that, holding the picture to his chest, "How old are you now?"

"I am sixteen." He was still staring at the picture, as if looking for some kind of hope.

"One year? Where do you live?" he stared at the back of the kid, Surprised.

"In an apartment, in my sister's name. It was her old apartment since she is married now." Henry took a deep breath, sniffing. "She is only paying for my first two years of college. The rest are on me."

Cole was starting to feel awkward. He wasn't the consoling type of guy. When he cried about his parents-Yes, they snubbed him to the extent he actually cried-there was never anybody there.

He hadn't dated a guy before or loved someone to get his heart broken so he hadn't been consoled by his friends. Cloud can go to hell. He beat them up, they prank him, he beat them up, and they prank him. It's a fucking circle now. It's even turning out to be some game.

As he stared at Henry, he wondered what he should give him. A hug or a pat on the back? Not being able to decide, he thought of doing neither. He kept his arm around his shoulder, pulling Henry closer to himself.

"If it makes you feel better, my life isn't fun also. I have nowhere to go so I am stuck with a family that pretends I don't exist. I don't get breakfast or dinner. Last Christmas I got kicked out of the house to come back...well not on a special day so I won't spoil it when they had family dinner.

"But oh, they remember me a lot when they see my colorful report card. My dad proudly calling me a faggot. My mum, insulting me constantly. After my bully fest in school –this guy doesn't even know I am gay– I hang with the twins, my best friends, until around one then sneak back to my house to get more clothing.

"I did this for a month and they didn't even notice or ask where I was. Just walk past me like I wasn't even there. Henry, I hate my family. Your parents kicking you out gave you the chance to love them. I don't. I just think of jail every time the thought of killing them crosses my mind. That place gives me the creeps." He flinched just imaging the place.

Henry laughed and that made his heart skip a beat. His laugh was so cool and carefree, he just wanted to wrap the kid in a big hug and cuddle. But he couldn't. Wouldn't. He knew his dad would kick him out of his house if he did. So he just smiled and looked off into the ocean.

"Thanks." Henry answered softly, making Cole act on impulse. He pulled Henry closer, then placed his chin on the kid's head.

"You don't need to thank me. You helped me too." He murmured as they both stared at the sea.

No one said a word after that. Just stared off into the ocean with a completely blank mind.

It was getting to around eleven before they decided to depart. Henry went his own way while Cole did the same.

He got home around twelve because the distance from his house to the beach was quiet far. Cole snuck in through the back door and quickly ran to his room.

Locking the door, he threw his stuffs on the floor. He would pick it up later, he thought as he hung the picture henry took right under his picture of his best friends during the last Christmas holiday, on the mirror.

Cole smiled.

He had no idea where Henry came from but he hope that someday, they would meet again in a better circumstance.