Hydrophobia

Chapter 4

Jo and I entered the Aquatic Center at the same time. As soon as I stepped foot into the building, the temperature dropped. It was so cold! I crossed my arms to conserve the little body warmth I had left. Jo lead me down a hall and up to some double doors. She stopped and turned to me.

"The pool is in here. The tile may be a little slippery, so be careful. Go and talk to the coach. You'll know it's him when you see em'." She gave a small smile.

"Y-You're not coming with me...?" I asked, the same tone I gave Gabriel this morning. She shook her head.

"Sorry kiddo. I got to change for practice. I'm already late as it is. I don't want to be punished with any more meters than I have to do." She rubbed my back. "Good luck." And she turned to walk down the opposite way of the hallway, into the girl's changing area.

I faced the door and swallowed hard. Slowly, I pushed it open. As soon as did, it felt like a massive cold front just hit me. It was freezing! Great. Left alone again. I hated being alone. I was too scared to do anything by myself. I took a deep breath and stood on the tile. I stayed along the wall as I walked, trying not to step on any water. At all.

About ten minutes of walking the perimeter if the room, I came up to a man. He was short, and plump. He had a lettermen on, with a polo and some jeans. With a cap to finish it off. He had one hand in his pocket as the other carried a wine glass.

Wait. A what?

"E-Excuse me...." I called out, shyly. The man turned to me, swallowing whatever he had in his mouth.

"May I help you?" He responded,Scottish accent overpowering his vowels.

"Are you the coach?"

"Indeed. Coach Crowley Fergus MacLeod."

"Oh.. Uhm... Mrs. L-Laura signed me up for this..." I added, nervousness crawling up my back.

"Oh, a new swimmer joining the team?" A smirk passed his lips. I shook my head. His smile dropped immediately. "Why soever not?"

I didn't want to answer. It was silly. And in this case, ironic.

"I didn't want to." I lied. The man sighed.

"Your loss. We are the best team in the district." He commented. "What are you here for then?"

"Mrs. Laura signed me up so that I can be the team's manager..." I answered,  feeling small already.

"Oh. Great. I did ask for a little helper for Christmas. I guess Santa came early." He replied sarcastically. He handed me his glass. "Refill that would you? The ice chest is over there." He pointed.

"Are you s-sure it's okay to drink on school h-hours?" My hand trembled, I tried my best not to drop the glass. He looked at me, probably asking himself if i was serious.

"It's only century old grape juice. Go on." He replied as he gestures for me to go away. I looked down, turning away, and walking toward the ice chest that was on the other side of the pool. I sighed.

As I walked along the walls of the room again, I saw Jo in her bathing suit. She looked so nice and professional. Then I heard coach call out her name. She walked over. I couldn't hear their conversation exactly, but coach sounded mad. Then he pointed to the pool, as she turned, placed goggles over her eyes and jumped in.

I watched her when she rose from the water and started swimming. She was graceful, and she was fast. Each stroke she took was amazing, and she kicked her feet to power herself. I was in so much awe.

In the corner of my eye, I saw someone step onto one of the blocks. He stretched his arms out, then he bent down to touch the block. Seconds later, he dove into the pool. His dive was so majestic, and perfect. He slid into the water with ease. I was so amazed. When he started to swim, he was already at the other end of the pool in seconds. He then flipped in the water, and pushed off the wall with his feet to swim the other way. He did this four times.

Shit. Coach's drink!

I quickly walked up to the ice chest and opened it. I saw a thermos in it. I grabbed it, unscrewed the top and poured the liquid into the glass. Afterwards, I put the top back on and returned it to it's rightful place. Then I walked all the way back to the opposite side of the pool.

"Here coach..." I said softly as I offered the glass to him. He turned to me.

"Ah. Thank you...?" He accepted the glass.

"Castiel."

He smiled. "Yes, thank you Castiel." Then he took a sip of the wine. Yes, I know it's wine. I stared back to the boy who was swimming so perfectly. I had no clue how the form was suppose to look like, but he seemed like if he was born with great talent.

"W-Who's the boy swimming in that lane over there...?" I asked quietly, pointing to make my question more specific. Coach swallowed and sighed.

"That my boy, is Junior Dean Winchester. Fastest, and best swimmer on the team. He started as a freshman, like you. But once that boy hit water, it was like he was born to swim."  He replied, proudly.

"Oh. T-That's  amazing."  I commented, smiling at the ground. Coach grabbed his whistle he had around his neck and put it in his mouth. He blew on it hard.

"Winchester!" He called out. "Get over here boy!"

"W-Wait... why are you calling him over here?!" I asked, feeling extremely nervous.

"Swimmers got to meet their new manger, no?" He gave me a devilish smile. Soon enough the boy climbed out of the water and began to walk toward us. He ran his fingers through his hair as water slowly ran down his muscular chest, and arms, and his gorgeous face...

Wait.... what?

"Yeah coach?" He said, as he came up to us. I recognize that voice.

"Meet out new team manager, Castiel." Coach introduced me. Dean took off his goggles and looked down to me. I couldn't believe it. It was the same green eyes I met in the hallway. The same green eyes that I bumped into. The same bright, sharp, green eyes that pierced through me.

"Oh hey. It's Baby in a Trenchcoat." Dean smiled. I looked at him hurt. Did he just call me that?

"Oh? You two met?" Coach asked, rather surprised.

"Yeah coach, he bumped into me in the hallway." Dean scoffed as he scanned me. I hid behind coach, embarrassed and shy.

"Oh, how adorable. He's shy." I heard coach say softly to Dean. He placed an arm around me. "It's alright Castiel, Dean doesn't bite." He chuckled, as if he lied.

I fixed my glasses and peeked my head from behind him. I looked up to Dean. His smile dropped slowly as we locked eyes. I couldn't stop staring at those green eyes. They were so addicting. I sighed lightly.

"H-Hello Dean...." I said softly. The boy smiled brightly after I said his name. His smile was astonishing. And he made it after I said his name.

Me.

Small, pathetic, weak, crybaby, Castiel James Novak.

Made Junior, Champion Swimmer, Beautiful, Dean Winchester, smile.

"Hey." He replied, happily.