"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE," Bellary complained. "Why can't we just start our training without them?"
"I know right," Della nodded. "Why do we have to wait for the boys if they're so slow? We could just swim a 400 before they arrive..."
"But we don't want to swim more than we should," Frigg reminded them, deciding to be the voice of reason. "Let's just wait for them."
When the swimmers and Robert finally arrived, the first one to complain was Ramira. "How does it take you guys longer than the girls to change?" She wondered, leaning against the wall and staring at the empty pool in boredom. "And I thought my team was slow..."
"What can I say, we gotta keep our speed for the swimming," Jai shrugged.
Rebecca snorted, taking it as a challenge immediately, and Frigg wasn't surprised, seeing she was a very competitive person. "I best any of us could beat the fastest of you!"
"And I bet the fastest of us is definitely going to beat any of you," Lucas threw back, crossing his arms on his chest. What the boy was playing at, when he'd only been swimming for a year, Frigg didn't know.
Robert raised his head with hope as he glanced around him. "Wait, this is going to go to a race. That means I won't have to force them in the water!"
"That's actually a good idea," John smirked. "Let's make a race. The fastest of us against whoever he wants from your team."
"Fine," Rebecca snapped.
"Fine," Lucas agreed.
All of the boys's eyes fell on Aiden, and he blinked, understanding with a groan what had just happened. "Of fucking course. Organise a race, and then force your friend to do it."
"And who are you swimming against?" Robert asked, ignoring the strong words.
Aiden sighed. His eyes wandered on the girls, and Frigg followed his stare. Rebecca seemed pretty confident, so did Bellary. Neither of them. Aiden knew he was a good swimmer, but he didn't like to take risks, she knew that. Annie and the Dellas were talking together, not minding the whole race thing, she knew he was too kind to force them into this.
He looked at Frigg. She raised her eyebrow, knowing she was his only choice. "Let's make a deal," Aiden said.
That interested her, and she leaned forwards. "I'm all ears."
"If I win, you have to stop your stupid pranks."
She tilted her head, he would never let her lose at that prize. If there was one thing about their prank war, it was that both of them needed it, it was the only normal thing left after Vivian's death, the one tradition they could hang onto. "And if I win?"
"Your prize."
Frigg narrowed her eyes and bit her lip. "I get to make you dance the Just Dance version of What Does The Fox Say, and I get to film it. Of course, I'm allowed to use that video as I please."
He rolled his eyes, not looking fazed the slightest by her idea. What was there left for her to do to surprise him? It felt like he knew everything she had done and everything she would do. "Deal."
She smiled, her blue eyes glinting in amusement. "Deal."
Della laughed. "You don't know what you just got into," she said. Aiden shrugged. Frigg didn't put it against him, if there was one thing he adored more than science, it was swimming. Fork, he somedays started training at four in the morning, she would be surprised to win against him if he did his best.
"100 meters freestyle. You know the rules," Robert told them.
"I say," Frigg said, knowing she had to find a way to trick him into letting her win, "That the first one out of the pool after those 100 wins."
Aiden gave her a glance. "What the hell? That's weird as fuck." She glared at him and he sighed. "Fine. Why not."
Pleased with herself, Frigg forced her face to remain as neutral as possible, putting her cap on, and getting closer to the edge, ready to duck. "Good luck," Aiden whispered.
She smiled. "I won't need it."
He looked confused, and she knew he was wondering exactly how good at swimming she was, she knew he was calculating how she could win against him in a race, when he trained more twelve or more hours a week to swim, and she only trained for synchro.
She loved confusing him more than anything else.
Robert whistled and they both dove. She was almost impressed by the speed at which he completed his first 50 in butterfly, to then swap for crawl for the last 50. She didn't miss how he looked for her at one point, and he must have been reassured to find her a few meters behind.
Frigg felt immediately happy that she wasn't planning on wining this on swimming talent, because she would have lost, and what would she do of her days if she couldn't prank him?
The second he touched the edge, she stopped swimming, faked chocking on some water, and let her limbs go as she screamed and sunk in the pool.
The effect was immediate, he turned around in a second, and she swore he couldn't have swum the one meter that divided them quicker. The second she felt his arms reach for her, she put her hands on his shoulders and used them to push herself to the edge and get out of the pool.
Aiden was staring at her in pure shock, and she would still see the remaining of fear in his eyes, only for those emotions to turn into anger and embarrassment.
She immediately knew this had been a bad idea.
He hissed himself out as well, eyes fixed on her figure, and huffed. "I fucking hate you."
She knew that of course, but she couldn't help but feel triggered, because there was a point he didn't, there was a point when they would team up against Vivian's bullies, there was a point when he would let her cry in his arms when she fought with her parents or friends, there was a time when he had looked at her straight in the eye and said she was his favourite person. But suddenly, all of that had just disappeared into thin air, and he hated her.
"I know. No need to worry about me forgetting it. You remind me of it all the time," she finally let out. "But you know what? Vivian actually liked me."
She shouldn't have mentioned Vivian, she realised that immediately. Aiden's eyes watered, and he glared at her, trying to contain the tears. "You are so fucking annoying," he hissed. "Of course you had to use her name like that."
She didn't stop her tears. "You think her death only affected you? Well grow up a little. We were best friends! Don't you think I'm devastated too?"
Not only did she lose her best friend and soulmate, she lost Aiden, she lost Reece, she lost the Jackson parents, she lost half of her forking world in a death. And the worst part was that she still didn't know why.
Vivian Jackson had killed herself, and even her own best friend didn't know why, didn't have a clue why she might've wanted to, why it had happened. She didn't know if it was her fault, if she could have done something differently, if she could have prevented it.
"You can't understand," he laughed bitterly. "All you can see is your own little person. You're way too narcissist to even feel the way I do about her. And I hate you. I don't fucking see what she saw in you because in front of me, there's just a selfish person. And I hate that person."
She looked at him in disgust. Maybe she was selfish and narcissistic, she didn't know about that. But how did he dare to doubt the undying love she had felt for Vivian? "Well good! 'Cause I hate you too!"
And with that, she ran away. She was a runner, she didn't like problems, and she took her feelings and fuelled them into her legs as she cowered away.
"Well damn," she faintly heard Jai let out, "You fucked up man."
She still didn't stop a single moment in her track, not even to change, and she felt the ground sink into her bare feet when she got outside. The winds was so cold on her wet skin, she was freezing.
It was only a good ten minutes later that her obstination melted away, and she gave into the cold and exhaustion. Her cheeks felt like they were burning and she had to lean forward, her hands on her thighs, to breathe. She took off her swimming cap, letting her hair out, and she threw it on the ground. She had others anyway.
She remembered the night before Vivian died vividly, it had haunted her for the last two years. They were fifteen, watching The Hunger Game once again. She remembered telling Vivian how much better the books were, and she had replied that the books were always better anyway, complaining again about the new Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion on Netflix, about how absolutely terrible they were.
Vivian went home. Frigg fell asleep. Frigg woke up. Poof, no more Vivian.
Frigg pushed her hair back as she sighed. She let a few more tears fall on her cheeks, and shivered at the cold. She needed her clothes. Her pride could take it, she turned around and looked at the houses and the park.
Fork.
She was lost. Awesome. She mentally cursed Aiden, because it was definitely all his fault, she decided. She bit her lip and hugged herself in an attempt to not freeze to death.
She knew what she should do in this scenario: stay put and wait for someone to find her. She just couldn't help herself, the minute the stress went up, she ran away again.
She walked in silence in the unknown streets, wondering how there wasn't anyone there. No creepy man, no children, no one. The place was empty, there was only her in a cozzie, trees, benches, and houses. And darkness.
"Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again," she hummed, suddenly remembering those lyrics.
People sometimes told her she was stubborn, and never thought before she did anything. Maybe there was an ounce of truth in that.
An owl sang, and she jumped. Calm down Frigg, there's no monster that's going to eat you or who knows what. Maybe an alien, but then it would be a kind alien, like E.T., not like Resident Alien. Well, Harry was nice, but he did try to kill a child several times, and managed to kill a man to replace him. So not like that show.
The wind blew again, and she huffed. She now officially hated the wind. Why the hell was she still walking anyway? Her parents had told her to stop and wait whenever she was lost! She sat down on a bench, arms wrapped around her legs, feeling so forking cold.
She didn't know how long she sat there, wondering why the hell she hadn't brought her phone. Her eyes closed in the dark and cold, she was so tired. She wanted to sleep.
"Frigg?"
She opened her eyes slightly, that was her name. Great, now she was seeing things, well more like people. Aiden was looking at her in shock, and she blinked at him, wondering why she hallucinated him and not someone more helpful.
His eyes were full with worry, that's how she knew she was imagining him. You don't worry for someone you hate.
"Birdbrain?" She asked, still hoping he could be true.
He let out a long breath, before he sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and ducking her into his chest, engulfing her into his warmth. She she gave into him, his head rested on hers, and his other arm wrapped around her legs, pulling them over his lap.
She hadn't realised how much she had missed this. Before Vivian died, they used to be three peas in a pod, they used to be each other's safe place, and suddenly, she lost Viv, and with it, for a reason she still couldn't fathom, Aiden.
"Fuck," he said. "You gotta stop scaring me like that."
"I'm cold," she complained.
He let out a small chuckle, and Frigg felt warmed by it alone, because she hadn't heard one of those in such a long time. "I know, Freya, I know."
She narrowed her eyes at his pullover. "If you were nice you would have given me that pullover already."
"If you were patient you would have waited for me to give it."
Frigg freed herself from his hold. "Gimme," she ordered. "We both know I'm not patient anyway."
He smiled slightly, and took it off. Before he could hand it, she grabbed it from her hands and put it on, before resting herself on his lap, as he grabbed her waist and shoulder again.
"I'm just doing this cause I'm cold," she informed him. "Don't get ideas."
He laughed again, but his grip tightened, and they sat silently until she spoke, her voice trembling. "I'm such a bench, Aiden." She felt him stop a laugh at the Good Place swear "I shouldn't have faked to drown when we're both dealing with Viv's death still. I shouldn't have mentioned her in the argument. I'm sorry."
He looked at her patiently. "I'm sorry for everything I said, I was just trying to get back at you, not saying anything close to the truth. You're the nicest- no, Chloe. One of the nicest persons I know. I just got so scared for you."
"Awe you care for me," she teased Aiden, expecting him to deny it, but he just let out a sigh.
"Truce?" He finally offered.
She nodded, "Truce." After a moment of silence, she added quickly: "But you still owe me that What Does The Fox Say dance."