Bailey
My bare feet slide along the hardwood floors of my apartment as I rush around, trying to clean the place up a bit. Dirty mugs get thrown into the dishwasher, dirty clothes stuffed into the washing machine. We've only been back, doing classes for a handful of days, and already my place is looking like a dump. The complete opposite to the environment I was living in back at my moms place.
I don't even know why I'm putting all the effort in. Melanie's coming over so we can do the first part of our project, much to both of our dismay. We also need to head over to the pool afterwards, to help coach figure out who'll be swimming in what events for our first competition in just under 2 weeks. But... it's just Melanie, it's not like I want to impress her with my cleanliness or anything. But, on the other hand, I don't want her to think I live in a complete pigsty either. So here we find ourselves.
A knock at my door pulls me back to reality, and I take one last look around my apartment. It's practically spotless, probably the cleanest it's ever been.
I reach my door, pulling the handle to swing it open. Melanie's standing with her back turned to me, the sun glowing off of her side profile. She looks beautiful, with her hair laying naturally on her shoulders. I can't even deny it, Melanie is one of the most gorgeous girls I've ever laid eyes on. Not that I'd ever admit that, of course.
She turns around while I'm looking at her, flaring her nose as she pushes past me into my apartment. I'm left with my arm leant against the door, and I shake my head slowly before letting the door fall closed.
"Make yourself at home." I say sarcastically, watching as she throws her bag down before dropping herself into one of the chairs surrounding my small, circular dining table.
"Do you want anything to drink?" I continue, watching as she pulls our her laptop as well as a couple of pens and a notebook.
"I'm good. You'll probably poison me or something." I laugh, surprised to see her not even cracking a smile.
"So... how are you?" Melanie laughs this time, narrowing her eyes.
"Look Whitlock, I'm not here to chit-chat the day away, I'm only here because we need to do the project. Now, can you hurry up so we can start?"
"Always one to hurry into things, aren't you Melly?" I joke, causing her to roll her eyes.
"I can't believe I'm stuck doing this project with you for a whole year. You're just so..."
"Handsome? Charming? Inspiring?"
"Insufferable."
I hmph, pulling open my own laptop as I take a seat beside her.
"So, what part of the project should we do first?" Melanie asks, tapping a colored pen against her notebook.
"I don't know, I don't really care." She throws me a death stare, sighing loudly.
"I'm not going to do all your work for you, you know. I'm not some slave that you can use to get out of doing stuff you don't want to."
"I never insinuated that you would. Only that, I couldn't give less of a fuck about this entire project, so you can choose which part we do first. I'll do the work, I just don't care in what order." Melanie shakes her head, flicking through something on her laptop.
"Alright, well let's start with the fitness part then. It says here, 'You and your partner must make a joint fitness plan that you will both follow and complete together. You will need to take into consideration the difference in fitness levels and strengths/weaknesses in everyday fitness.'"
"Wait, we have to workout together?" Having barely read the actual task, I didn't realize we'd basically be having to do everything together. Melanie nods, her mouth set in a tight line.
"Hey, I'm not too thrilled about it either, but maybe just try and make it look like you can't wait to rip my eyeballs out and roast them on a fire."
"Thanks for the idea."
She rolls her eyes again, clicking open her pen.
"Okay, so what kind of exercise do you normally do? I'll write down what we both do and then we'll sort of combine them into one program." She continues, staring up at me as she asks.
It's sounds stupid, but I can't help but study her eyes. The way they're mostly brown, but there's little lighter flecks sprinkled into them. The way they light up when we're arguing, or when we've just been swimming.
"Uh, well I usually do some form of weights a couple of times a week," she nods, writing it down. "but I also go on a run most days for cardio." she slams her pen down, widening her eyes.
"Why would you bother doing cardio when you're swimming as your sport? It literally is cardio."
I snort, running a hand through my hair.
"I do it for fun. It's not hard, it just gives me break from both school and swimming."
"Well, I hate running, so we're not doing it." Melanie retorts, crossing off the idea in her notebook.
"Hey, why not? This is supposed to be a 2 person thing, not just whatever you want.
"Fine, I'll go running with you. But, if you get running, you have to do yoga with me. Deal?" If there's one thing I hate more than cleaning my apartment, it's yoga. It's boring, and long, and painful. But, I do want to see Melanie try to run.
"Fine, deal."
She smiles in triumph, pretending to punch the air. I shake my head. Dork.
"Okay, so how about we do weights with stretching twice a week, and then we'll do running and yoga for another 2 days. Then, we'll still get a few days off for rest. Sound good?" I nod my head, watching as she ditches her notebook in favor of her laptop.
"Alright, well we should probably make a powerpoint then. What kind of weights do you lift?"
We spend a painful 20 minutes or so dividing our action plan, before Melanie closes her laptop, stuffing it back into her bag.
"Where are you going Melly?" I ask, standing from my own seat as she does.
"Coach said he wanted us in," she flicks her wrist, checking her watch. "10 minutes. So I'm leaving." She smiles sarcastically, walking hurridly towards my door. I laugh to myself as I chuck on a pair of shoes, gathering up my belongings and shoving them into the deep pockets of my hoodie.
I race outside, only a minute or two behind her, and make my way towards the pool. It's just begun to rain, and heavy droplets fall down on me as I race behind her. I round the corner of a building, which is when she finally comes into view, her bag swinging as it hangs off of her arm casually.
The rain intensifies as I sneak up behind her, careful not to make my footsteps too heavy. I near her, and without thinking twice, I bend down, latching my arms around her waist. She screams as I turn her around, throwing her over my shoulder.
"Whitlock! Put! Me! Down!" she screams, her voice echoing in the emptiness of the school grounds.
"Calm down Melly, I'm doing you a favor here." I reply, tightening my arms around her waist as she squirms.
"And what would that be?"
"Saving your little legs the painfully long journey to the pool."
She huffs, the kicking against my stomach ceasing. We round another bend, the white exterior of the pool coming into view.
"If you'd planned to attack me from behind, could you have at least brought an umbrella?" she complains, shifting against my shoulder. I laugh, leaning down to place her feet flat on the ground.
"Hey, you got a free ride from my place to here."
"Yeah, you're right. Thankyou for your service." she replies, stepping closer towards me slowly. Her eyes flick over my face, my cheeks feeling flushed.
"Melanie, what are you doing?" I whisper as she places a hand on my drenched shirt, drawing herself closer to me.
"This." She smirks, biting her lip as she places her spare hand on my other shoulder. She shifts her body back slightly, but I don't have time to reach as she lifts her knee, connecting it with my crotch.
I groan, bending my body over as pain runs through me.
"Wimp." she says, tossing a loose piece of hair over her shoulder as she turns around. I hear the door to the pool click open, falling closed a second later.
It takes me a few minutes to compose myself before I can hobble after Melanie into the swim centre. I walk past the glistening water and into the small conference/staff room at the other end of the pool.
"Better late than never Whitlock, are we finally ready to start?" Melanie's lips are turned into a smirk as Coach beckons me to sit as the round table beside him, clipboards in hand. I sink into my seat, supressing another groan that begs to escape me.
The next hour or so is spent dividing swimmers into events, with all 3 of us working together to do so. I catch Melanie's eye every so often, her face set into a self-satisfied smirk. 'Just you wait' I tell her with my eyes, 'you'll be paying soon enough'.
"Alright, well, I think I can let you two go then. I can just upload these into the system myself." I stand from my chair, turning to leave. "Oh, wait, while you're here, how's the project going? Is it easy enough to manage." No, I want to say.
"Yep, we just started the fitness component of our today. Should be easy enough to submit every month." Melanie speaks for me before I can get out what I was going to say, thankfully.
"Good, I wasn't sure about the whole thing, but I thought maybe incorporating some partner work could help us grow as a team." Coach throws me a wink, which I'm not sure what to do with. I simply nod, pushing open the door of the conference room and walking out of it.
"Hey, Whitlock!" I sigh, flicking my head around to where the sound was coming from behind me.
"Oh, hey Green." I turn my whole body, walking closer to my acquaintance. I bring him into a short hug, slapping him on the back as I do so.
"What are you doing here?" I continue, my eyes darting over my somewhat of a friend's head as I hear the conference room door opening.
"Grabbing my kit." he replies, before he turns around, following my eyeline.
"Hey there. Jamie Green, Whitlock's step cousin. Just joined the team." Jamie continues, and I can't help but roll my eyes. He sticks his hand out just as Melanie walks past, and she lifts her head, staring at us both. A small laugh escapes my lips as she simply stares down at his hand, her face clearly showing a feeling of disgust.
"Bye." She says, dodging the hand and continuing on her way down the pool deck.
"Who is she?" Jamie asks from beside me, and I can't stop my teeth from grinding together. For which reason, I don't know, only that he shouldn't be talking about her in such a tone.
"My co-captain, Melanie. Coach is in the conference room there, he'll give you a kit." I reply, hastily changing the subject. Jamie nods, slapping me on the back before walking towards the clear glass door. I turn my own way, hurrying down the pool deck probably too fast. I burst through the doors, the intense rain only pouring down harder. My eyes scan the misty courtyard, with Melanie no where to be seen.
For some reason, the fact I can't see her again today sends a shoot of annoyance down my spine, a feeling I know I most certainly shouldn't be entertaining.
A/n:
hey everyone!
thanks again for reading todays chapter!
ahhhhhh i'm so happy, it started becoming stormy while i was writing the second half of this chapter, which is my absolute favorite weather to do anything productive in!
love you all, and happy reading :)
em, xx