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I cross my arms over my chest self-consciously as I stand at the end of the wooden floors that disappear under the white sand. Every time I stick my big toe into the sand, I feel myself recoil back to the safety of the wooden patio. To the average person, I probably look weird standing there in my dainty bikini, which, in my opinion, shows too much skin, and my pale complexion that makes me look like my skin has never seen the outdoors. My black hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail that leaves my long hair sweeping just below my shoulder blades. My eyes dart from side to side anxiously. Sweat collects on my clammy skin, and I've only been standing in the sun for a few minutes.

"Come on, Rose. Just one foot in front of the other. It's not rocket science!" my older brother, Andrew, exclaims from the ocean. Just the thought of being submerged in the salty water brings goosebumps to appear on my skin, despite the blaring sunlight.

I roll my eyes at Andrew, who looks just like me. His skin might just be even paler than mine, though. How could he so willingly jump into the water? We've never seen the ocean before; our family doesn't have nearly enough money for a vacation once a year. This is the first time I've ever left my home state of Alaska. Florida is a big change.

"You're a party pooper," my brother shouts, and dives into the waves. I let out a shaky breath and clench my fists. This is not how I wanted to spend my first vacation. How am I supposed to have fun at the beach if I'm too scared of the ocean?

I lean against the sign on the wooden deck that says the beach's name, Mångata Bay, on it, while keeping my eyes glued on the crashing waves. I'm so spaced out that I don't notice the boy that approaches me.

"Don't move," a voice whispers near my ear, catching me off guard. I jump and whirl around to face him, my heart beating wildly in my chest. A white bird sitting beside my arm on the railing flies away and the boy's smile drops.

"I said don't move."

"You scared me," I state, then as an afterthought I ask,"What were you doing anyway?"

"That seagull was getting really close to you, and I thought I could catch it," he explains. I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Oh, sorry."

"Nah, don't worry about it." He waves his hand in the air with a smile. My eyes quickly scan over his blonde hair, tan skin, cheeky grin, and bright eyes; the poster boy for surfers. I wonder if he does surf. With those muscles, I'm sure he could. I avert my eyes back to the water before he can notice my staring.

"The sun's pretty hot today. Are you getting in the water?" he asks, shielding the sunlight from his face with his hand.

I shake my head. "Probably not."

"Why? You'll melt out here."

"And I could drown in there." I point to the ocean just as my brother is submerged under a wave further out than any other swimmers. I wait a few seconds to see if he'll pop back up with that stupid grin on his face, but after a few panic-filled seconds and he still doesn't come up from the water, I remember that he doesn't know how to swim. My eyes widen and I lurch forward to go to him, but a life guard beats me to it. She plows through the water and dives under, pulling him up a few seconds later. I watch, terrified, as he coughs and sputters as she drags him back to the shore.

"I see your point," the boy beside me speaks up. I turn my head slightly to see him also looking away from my brother. He must notice the worry in my eyes because he asks, "Do you know him?"

"He's my brother."

"Oh." He frowns slightly and watches the scene unfold in front of us. The life guard and my brother talk for a bit. I notice how my brother stares at the life guard and realize that maybe he was milking it just to get her attention. She was pretty enough, and we don't see many people up in our small town in Alaska. He's probably feeling overwhelmed by the amount of pretty girls that flock to the beach.

"Well, if I went with you into the water—for your sake, of course— would you consider taking a dip in the ocean?" the boy beside me asks.

"I don't even know you," I mutter. Never losing his smile, he offers his hand for me to shake.

"I'm Teo Hughes."

I take his hand warily. "Rose Montgomery."

"Now that we know each other, let's swim, shall we?" Teo starts toward the shore but I hesitate. He turns back once he realizes I'm not following him. "Unless you'd much rather stay here all day and end up staring at the mångata," he adds, raising an eyebrow and cracking a smile.

"What's a mångata?" I ask. Teo motions to the sea behind him.

"It's the glimmering, road-like reflection the moon makes on the water. The beach gets really crowded by nighttime because of all the tourists who want to see it." He waves an outstretched hand to me. "So, you coming or what?"

I bite my lip and glance over at my brother, who seems to have recovered already. My eyes flicker back to Teo. "Fine."

He grins as I walk beside him in the scolding hot sand towards the water. The people along the beach seem so serene and relaxed as the sun bathe or build sand castles, so I try to calm myself down. There's no reason to be scared, I tell myself.

"The water's cold," I state once we stand ankle deep in the water.

"Feels good, yeah?"

I nod.

Teo watches me meticulously as he takes hold of my hand and gradually leads us to deeper water. I make us come to a stop once we're waist deep. I let go of his hand and let my fingertips scan over the ripples of the water, closing my eyes as a foreign calmness washes over me.

"Shark!"

My eyes snap open and I reach out to grab Teo's hand. My body trembles as I try treading through the water to get out, but Teo holds me still.

"Hey, it's okay; there's no shark. It was just some jerk trying to scare his girlfriend."

My eyes follow Teo's and see a girl smack a boy upside the head. He laughs loudly and envelops her in a hug. She seems to forgive him as her laughter joins his.

"Oh, sorry," I sigh. His lips lift into a smile as his eyes shift to the side of my head. I start to turn around, but he sets a hand on my shoulder. "Don't move," he whispers, and I listen this time as he reaches out slowly. He smirks as his hands disappear behind my peripheral vision and return with a white bird, a seagull, in his two hands. I can't help but laugh. "I didn't realize you were a bird whisperer."

"Me the bird whisperer? I've only ever gotten close enough to one when you're around." Teo holds the squirming bird out for me. I grin at him and run my fingers over the bird's head hesitantly, watching it move around in Teo's hands. My eyes flicker up to Teo's, who's already looking at me, gauging my reaction. He reflects my smile, making me forget that I'm scared of the ocean for a moment. He opens his mouth to say something, but the seagull suddenly breaks free from Teo's hands and flaps its wings ferociously. We both jump back and I end up tripping over a rock in the sand by my feet, making me fall into the water. Cold, crisp water envelops my entire body as I close my eyes tight and hold my breath. I find my balance quickly and push myself back up, breaking the surface with a gasp as the humid air meets my shivering skin.

"You okay?" Teo asks, treading through the water to stand closer to me. I wipe my hand over my eyes and my face slowly breaks into a grin. Teo's eyes study my face before a smile plays on the corner of his lips. "What?" he asks.

I don't answer; instead, I scoop my hand through the water and splash him. His hands shield his face as his eyes glint with mischief, and before I know it, we're in a full-out splash war.

I look up at one point and see my brother watching us with a smug smile. I can basically hear him say, "I told you so." I turn back to Teo, who laughs and splashes me again. I can't help but think, I never would've faced my fear if not for Teo.

A seagull suddenly swoops down, skimming the water, and pulls up right before crashing into Teo. We laugh at the bird as it flies away.

And the seagulls.