"Uno!" Jared screeched for the fifth time that game

"Are you fucking serious..." Charlie murmured as she drew five cards from the stack "Please, God, give me yellow."

Tyler sat smugly with two cards in his hands, he didn't really know how to play, it was his first game and the boy was already doing better than his friends who claimed to be Uno veterans. Charlie's face twisted with anguish as she plucked more and more cards from the stack. Finally, the girl plopped a yellow seven in the middle and sat back down with a heavy sigh.

"How many cards do you have?" Jared snickered

"Twelve," Charlie murmured "No, wait, fifteen."

"Sucks to be you guys," Jared chuckled, clutching one card in his hands

Gerard just sat quietly, tugging his sleeves down to protect his pale skin. You'd think that the boy would be sweating in his all-black apparel but Gerard didn't seem to be bothered by the heat at all. Tyler eyed down his pale legs, it's strange to see Gerard in something other than black skinny jeans. The brunet pried his eyes off the scars that the scabs had left on Gerard's legs where he used to pick at his skin. The boy is doing better now, at least his skin is healthy now. Gerard still wore a subtle headwrap that hid most of his hair.

Charlie was fuming, her anger helped Tyler to distract himself from Gerard's scars. The boy caught him staring but he just smiled and nodded, he was okay. Tyler was okay. Everyone was okay.

Tyler smiled to himself as his friends argued about the rules. Gerard tried interfering but had to shut his mouth. Charlie was too passionate about the game. Tyler's eyes travelled from the stack of cards to the horizon where the deep blue met the clouds. He dug his toes into the sand, a warm golden enveloped his feet. Tyler whispered into the breeze, his eyes fluttering shut as he breathed in the briny aroma. Scrunching his toes again he felt the dampness of the sand below him, mixed with the brittle grains from the surface.

Tyler's eyes travelled to the apricot clouds, the lazy wind carried them across the horizon. His eyes were glued to the sky where the sun was starting to slowly melt into the clouds, giving them even more vibrant hue. The forever stretching line of water was masked with a deep red, beautiful umber flowing into turquoise.

The brunet felt his head become heavy, a nudge to his ribs forced him to snap out of his haze.

"Dude," Charlie shook the boy "It's your turn,"

Tyler blinked rapidly, the cards in front of his eyes mixed into one. He whispered Uno before setting a yellow three in the middle. Both Jared and Charlie groaned in pain. Tyler didn't know what he was doing and he was winning. Charlie managed to get rid of most of her cards, Jared was wailing, Gerard gave up and Tyler was the only one who had one card. The boy didn't care about the game but somewhere deep inside his pride was squirming with joy.

"Well, lads," Tyler chuckled "This was an amazing game of one but I must be on my way now."

The light in Charlie's eyes died as Tyler placed his last card in the middle. Jared tossed his cards away with a spasm. Tyler stood up and dusted off his knees. Gerard walked to the bar to get himself something to drink. Charlie and Jared were left alone to argue about the game.

Tyler strolled across the sand, his eyes looking for a certain young man. He sighed, the coastline was empty. Where did Josh go? He was splashing around in the waves just a moment ago. Tyler's feet dragged across the sand as he walked, the waves came with hurry just to be tugged back before they reached Tyler's feet. The boy left wet foot imprints in the sand, the water quickly erased them.

Tyler tried to steady his heartbeat, a nasty feeling inside his gut was eating away at the boy. It's been five days since his last encounter with Steve. Tyler didn't have the courage to tell Josh about that. If he decided to tell that would've meant that Josh would've found out about the bet and the break-in. Tyler didn't want that. All he wished for was to leave that stupid life behind. They were happy, why should he ruin it with his stupidity?

On the other hand, Tyler was worried about his sister. Maddie meant the world to him. Steve was an unpredictable bastard and hell knows what was going on in his rotten brain. He was that kind of person who could've killed a puppy just for fun. Tyler clenched his jaw in frustration and anger, he was supposed to be relaxing with his friends, not solving a dilemma. The boy couldn't get Steve out of his head, it was like a wiggling worm, gnawing on the left side of his brain.

The boy felt hotness envelope his eyes. No, he wasn't about to cry in the middle of the beach, he had better things to do. Just before the dam in his eyes broke, Tyler's body lifted from the ground and flew into the cold waves. The curly-haired boy didn't have time to react. His waist was held in a strong grip that he knew too well. Waves crashed against Tyler's chest making him squeal.

"Josh!" Tyler sputtered "The water's cold!"

"You came to the beach and didn't even dip your toes in the water," Josh cackled behind Tyler "I had to do something."

"There are more humane ways to do it!" Tyler flailed his limbs "Josh!"

The man didn't listen, he sunk down into the water with Tyler still in his arms. The heat of Tyler's skin was washed away by the salty waves, they weren't that cold but Tyler liked being dramatic. Josh's wet chest pressed against Tyler's, he could feel the man's heartbeat. Rising, speeding up.

Josh dunked the boy into the water a few more times before letting him go. Tyler stormed away pretending that he was mad when actually it was kind of fun. The brunet was already planning revenge. Josh caught up to him promptly, salty water droplets rolling off his heated body.

"Wait for me, I gotta change," Josh murmured as he grabbed his bag

Tyler watched the man wash off the salt water, his forearms itched. The boy realized that he should probably wash it off as well but he hated the beach showers. Good thing that it was dark, no one could see him.

"Hey," Josh smiled when Tyler slipped under the same stream as Josh even though there were three showers available next to them

Tyler didn't reply, his fingers trailed down Josh's wet shoulders. The man slowly ran his fingers through Tyler's hair, yanking his head back a bit. Tyler let out a submissive whine as the man's grip on his hair tightened.

"You like that?" Josh murmured, his wet lips ghosting over Tyler's

The boy swallowed thickly and nodded the best he could with Josh's fingers tugging his hair back. The man ran his hand over Tyler's body aggressively, pushing the boy against the pipe. Tyler turned off the water, his lips latched onto Josh's hungrily, heat was already swirling in both of their stomachs. Josh's fingers found their way to Tyler's throat, the boy gasped audibly. A broken moan left Tyler's lungs.

"You like feeling helpless, don't you?" Josh grinned pleased, Tyler nodded with yet another submissive whimper

The man dragged Tyler away from the showers, one hand on his waist, the other squeezing the boy's throat. Josh pushed Tyler into one of the changing booths and locked the door. Tyler's throat tightened as his body was pushed against the wall. The heat from Tyler's stomach spread to his whole body forcing his muscles to spasm.

"Josh-" he moaned, the man's fingers slid under the boy's swimming trunks

"I own you," Josh growled, fingers squeezing Tyler's ass firmly "Say it."

"Y-you own me," Tyer stammered

"On your knees," Josh commanded, Tyler gladly obliged

The older man watched the younger boy from above, wet skin glistening in the dim light. Tyler crawled up to the man closer, his face sinfully close to Josh's crotch. Tyler licked his plump lips slowly, making Josh's thighs quiver from anticipation. The man tipped Tyler's head upwards, thumb dragging down Tyler's bottom lip. The boy's mouth enveloped Josh's thumb, the man swallowed the lump in his throat with difficulty.

"Yeah, just like that," Josh grinned, his saliva coated thumb pushed against Tyler's lips, the boy continued sucking "Good boy."