Title: Calumet Jar

Genre: Romance

Style: One-Shot

Jen picked up a glass of pebbles from the cabinet in her room. She examined each colorful stone as she recounted every moment, every memory from two summers past. When her hand closed around a smooth gray stone, speckled with bits of quartz, her heart twisted in her chest as she remembered that particular month. It had started at the beach near Calumet in the heavy heat of mid-June…

Closing her eyes, she could smell the salt of the ocean, the tang of the seaside breeze. In the lukewarm morning, she dug her toes in the sand. A few gulls glided effortlessly through the wind, diving for fish and abalone. Sand crabs wiggled in and out of the dirt, some scuttling over her toes with miniscule legs that tickled her feet. She giggled; this was home.

A male voice interrupted her thoughts, yelling, "Hey! Who're you?"

Intense hazel eyes snapped open to scan the sandy horizon. The voice called out again. "I've never seen you before."

Turning around, Jen saw a lanky boy a few feet behind her, surfboard in hand. The boy didn't look to be much older than seventeen, or it could've been the height. Tangled, brown hair was clipped right above his shoulders, a few strands hanging in front of forest-green eyes. He was dressed in a black wetsuit, broad shoulders and a wide stance giving him a cocky appearance.

"Answer the question, Ms. I-Can't-Talk. Who are you?" He repeated, this time sounding distasteful, as if he were talking to a kindergartner. She immediately stopped staring.

Jen's voice was acidic. "Jen Williams."

There was some satisfaction in seeing that arrogant expression twist to something similar to shock. Obviously, he wasn't expecting such an icy response. It would be no wonder, too. This cretin probably had enough ego to occupy a blimp. The surprise was quickly masked by a charming smile. "I'm Klaus, Klaus Collins."

"Jen?" She turned to face her uncle. "Ready?"

Raw with grief, she nodded, following her uncle, the jar still clutched in her hand. As she got into the car and stared at passing landscape, her mind was jumbled with thoughts of the perfect blue sea, the summer wind, and…him. The trees were suddenly thrust back, revealing the majesty of the Pacific Ocean, a sapphire expanse in a never-ending stretch. A sob choked up in her throat as the memories seem to crowd out any other logical thought.

"Hey Jen, are you coming back next year? Or, will you?" Klaus glanced at her and grinned. But somehow, there was seriousness to his eyes that she could sense.

It was the last day of freedom before college would begin in the fall. Everything had come so fast and another month with him anchored their blossoming relationship. The two had promised to keep in contact, and visit the other weekly, but that was never enough. They didn't want another month; they needed one.

All that composed in a simple question. Jen smiled, "Always."

She didn't even notice when they creaked to a stop. The car door opened and her uncle said solemnly, "We're here."

Grabbing onto his arm for support, Jen hauled herself out of the car and leaned heavily on Uncle Isaac. They were in the middle of nowhere. A plain that lay out with tall grass whistling in the wind connected to a forest further down the east. To the west were the brilliant waters. And in between was a lone gravestone.

She keeled over, falling on her knees in front of the monument, fingers tracing over the words, "Klaus Collins. 1996-2013. A caring son. A protective friend. Died in chivalry."

A ghost of a smile rested on her lips as she recalled his bravado, the cynical humor beneath the arrogance. Jen could hear his voice scoffing at the line. Chivalry? If anything, it was just another godforsaken man who shouldn't be behind a wheel.

She set the jar down beside the headstone. "Hey," she greeted softly, "how's it going in heaven?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see her uncle walking away to give her space. It was appreciated. She continued. "I don't even know if you can hear me. In fact, I probably look like a madwoman right now, talking to myself. To a dead person, I mean."

She paused, listening to the wind. "I did what you told me to. I looked at the jar again. You know, before you had to go."

Her voice cracked, the sorrow gaining a bitter edge. "You promised something to me. Usually, I hate promises, but I took your word for it. And what did you do? You left me."

Mind racing, she recalled that night, the last night they spent together.

It was August 25th, the biting chill of Jack Frost creeping onto the summer evenings, as if ushering out the season of change. They had decided on a scenic walk on the beach—the main attraction being The Spot where they had met—before a simple picnic.

"I got something for you," Klaus whispered, a hand behind his back.

Eyes alight with curiosity, she tried to get a peek. "What is it? If it's another conch shell, I swear, I will—"

"It's not a shell," he reassured, "It's something much better. Ta da!"

She stared at the glass jar half-full of…rocks. "You got me a bunch of compressed sand?"

"They're not ordinary pebbles," he said with a smile, "each one represents a thought I've had about you. For example," he took out a ragged black pebble, "this one means 'Wow, she's a fighter' and this one," he took out a pink pebble, "means 'Hmm…Ice Queen is not so icy after all'."

They spent the rest of their beach-side picnic with the jar. She'd pick a pebble and he'd identify it. Sometimes sweetly, sometimes cheekily, and sometimes sarcastically. By the time the hour was over, Jen pulled out the final stone, a gray surface studded with quartz. Those brilliant green eyes softened. "This one? This one means 'I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world' and…" he hesitated, a flash of fear among the nervousness, "and 'I love her with all my heart," a kiss on the right cheek, "and soul," a kiss on the left, "and mind'."

He leaned in, placing a chaste kiss on her mouth. Not teasing. Not seductive. Not even playfully. It was just a kiss, but oh it was filled with so much promise, promise of a future beyond this summer. Promise of springs in the trees, falls in the leaves, and winters by the hearth, coupled together in a warm bundle of hot chocolate and love.

All lightheartedness disappeared and the atmosphere became weighted after Klaus's declaration. Her heart was racing, but an elated smile lifted up her expression. "I love you too."

The words echoed into the present as she whispered them back again. She emptied the glass jar over the grave, love, sand and passion spilling through her fingers. The once-empty mound was now decorated with the colorful pebbles, a beacon of love and loss in the calm seaside. Seeing the ornamented grave gave her an odd sense of completion, an ambiguous ending to one story, yet the hesitant beginning of another.

Rising uncertainly, Jen headed towards the car with an uneven stride that slowly gained strength and confidence. As she looked on at the blue horizon, her hand cradled the glass jar. And in that jar, lay one lonely pebble: a soft grey, speckled with quartz.

A/N: Hey Everyone! I haven't published anything in a while, so my story style has changed. I wanted to write a bit of romance for once and this is actually derived from a vocabulary assignment last year lol. But anyways, the character development is not very complete, but since it's a one-shot, I hope it's ok.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :)