I Fell In Love With The God Of War (Boy x Boy)

Chapter Four: Underwater

   "Is your neck alright?" my father said, pointing to the moody bruise that had spread on my neck. "It looks a little sore." He sat back on his chair, reading a sports magazine with a can of beer in his right hand.

   "It's fine," I told him, watching him take a sip. He told me not to drunk. He told me not to smoke. Yet, he had started doing both of those things.

   "You know what's good for sore necks? Swimming."

   "It seems your a little busy here. I'll be in the pool."

   "Good boy," he said.

   Under his authority, I was nothing more than a dog who let himself be pulled about. He shouted fetch, and I would go. The only thing I needed now, was a collar and a lead.

   As I walked through the gym, I saw the new kid sitting in the corner by the boxing ring. His attention was invested in a piece of silver which glistened in his hand. It narrowed into a short point. He didn't even hear me walking towards him.

    "Hey..." I managed to croak. His head shot up and his brown black eyes darted to mine, he hid what was in his hands behind hid back. "Look, I think I upset you in the ring today. I wanted to apologize, I guess I didn't like losing in dodge ball. I get real competitive."

   "Forget about it. You learnt your lesson," he said grimly.

   "Yeah. You hit hard. Have you trained anywhere?"

   "No," he said. "I'm just strong. "

   "It's late. What are you doing here, is everything okay?"

   "Why do you care?" 

    "I know I'm a bit snobby, and I have success issues, but I do tend to care about people you know. I'm not a total douchebag."

   "I thought I was a "faggot", James?" he snapped.  

    "I didn't mean that. You're not gay, I was just being -"

   "I am," he admitted.

   "Am what?"

   "Gay. I'm gay."

   "Oh," I responded slowly, taking a quick glance behind me into the empty gym. "Everyone makes a choice, and you've made yours. I shouldn't have called that."

   "It's not a choice, James. I don't really think you understand. Please, I just want to be alone right now."

   Despite the awkwardness I felt, I didn't want to leave the new kid on his own, not this late. I itched my neck and tried to say something. A few lines ran through my head, but as my eyes adjusted to the dark, nothing wanted to come out my lips.

   "If you want to talk. I'll be in the pool."

   He didn't reply. He looked towards his feet, licked his lips and ignored me. I took a step forward as if to try one last time to comfort him, and then stepped back and made my way upstairs towards the pool. It glistened blue, the pool cover had been dragged off and left in a crumple at the side. I knew Dad wouldnt take no for an answer, I thought to myself. I could even feel the heat from the water somewhat lukewarm in the large room.

   "At least it's not going to be a cold swim," I joked to myself. I ran my fingers over my hair and kicked the towel that had been left there away from the edge of the pool. No one was around, so, I didn't see a need to get into swimming shorts, which were probably still wet from earlier. Stripping to my underwear, I slowly lowered myself into the water and waded forward. It was calm and relaxing. Besides me treading water, there was no sound. I was careful to not dive, because I didn't feel like I'd ever want to come back up.

   A few minutes of silence was interrupted my a severing screech. I rotated in the water. "Hello?" 

    No one replied. I swam to the the edge of the pool and listened out for noises, looking for any movement. Suddenly the water got cold. The heater was still on, by the sound of the rough buzzing, but that water felt icy. I turned, feeling the cold lick my neck.

   The water fell over the sides of the pool, running sluggishly and silently across the tiles. Desperate ripples spread across the water towards me, lurking over like someone had poured in milk. Bobbing above the pale surface, wide-eyed, I tried to leave the pool. Tried, by the operative word. A subtle feeling pulled me into the middle of the pool, and struggling didn't help. Fog cooked in the air, it made it almost impossible to see. And then, I was underwater.

   I was a strong swimmer, but the bitter water pushed me to the bottom of the pool. I screamed underwater, my arms flapped helplessly.

   I couldn't breathe.