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Dedication: OnyAnonymous for the amazing cover! Thank you!
Recap:
"Well, thanks for the chat," I said breezily, grabbing my bag. I began walking from him. "See you around, Ashton."
"You definitely will, Connaway. I'll be here this afternoon, if you want to swing by."
"Maybe, if you're lucky." I called over my shoulder as I walked into the locker room.
As the door closed behind me, I lent on it.
He was definitely flirting with me.
And I was going to use this to my advantage.
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Byron Elite Private School is a lonely place.
Besides the classes I have with Harvey, I'm completely isolated the rest of the time. Everyone has their tight-knit groups and I don't fit into any.
Damn being a transfer.
At the end of our Society and Culture lesson, I've had enough. I stride towards a group that I would label the popular kids. Their style somehow made the hideous uniform look kind of cool.
I wonder if I would have made the cut if I had originally started at this school?
I probably should have felt intimidated walking up to the group. One, they're clearly the elite of the elite. Two, there's a chance that they will now target me. Three, they probably won't hold back in embarrassing me.
"Hayden," I address him coolly, coming to a halt.
The chatter stopped abruptly. Eyes swivel my way. A girl, flanking Hayden glares at me so hard I almost want to take a step back. I understand why Harvey is scared of them. They definitely are intimidating.
The girl has short blonde and bright, doe eyes would have been pretty if they weren't narrowed into slits. The scowl on her face made her look unattractive when she clearly isn't.
He doesn't answer, simply offers me an unreadable expression.
"Can I talk to you?"
The silence is deafening. The group flickers their eyes between us, waiting for his response. My heart rate begins to increase when he doesn't reply right away. Maybe this was a bad idea. Hayden cocks his head to the side and reclines, looking extremely relaxed.
"We have nothing to talk about," he says in a flat voice.
"Really?" I ask, my voice icy. "I think we do."
"Nah," he shrugs and a few snickers can be heard amongst the group.
One thing about being dark-skinned is when I blush, you can hardly see it. I'm thankful for that right now. My nails biting into the skin of my palm makes me acutely wear of the anger bubbling inside me. He's showing off to his friends and now I'm really pissed off.
"Hayden," I warn in a low voice.
"Grace," he replies in the same tone.
Reaching out, I grip his tie and pull on it. Surprisingly, he stands and walks over to the other side of the classroom with me. The group he left stares after us in shock and curiosity.
I fold my arms defensively across my chest and stare up at Hayden, who is about a head taller than me.
"I'm going for a spot on the team."
"Good luck."
"You know I would be valuable, why are you being such a prick?"
He half-shrugs, leaning nonchalantly on the wall. "Maybe you're not as good as you think you are."
"How will you know if you don't give me a chance?" I snap, losing any bit of patience I was holding on to.
"I don't need to give you a chance," he says, pushing off the wall. "You'll be out of my hair in no time. Transfers don't last around here."
With one last arrogant smirk, he turns his back to me and strolls over to the group. I'm so furious, I wouldn't be surprised if there is steam coming out of my ears.
I hardly pay attention to my other classes as I'm so annoyed at Hayden. And the others. And everything, basically. Doesn't he realise the potential I would bring to the team?
Maybe you were good at your old school, but you're at the bottom of this one, a bitter voice whispers and it makes me cringe. I can't think like that.
Stalking to the pool, I throw my bag on the floor and change possibly the fastest I ever have. I'm going to practise as much as possible. I have to get on the team.
"Connaway," Coach Brennon calls, giving me a charming smile. "How did I know you couldn't resist seeing me again?"
Warning bells ring in my ears. Should the coach be talking to me like this? Probably not, but right now, I don't really care.
Smirking, I shrug. "Of course not. I'm only human."
He offers my a playful returning smirk and I flick my hair over my shoulder, brushing past him. I shove my goggles over my head.
"You coming in, or what?" I tease, slowly mounting the block of lane 4.
His eyebrows rise. "You want me to swim?"
"Well, yeah," I reply in a duh tone. "Have to prove to me what you got, don't you?"
Grinning, he strips and I can't take my eyes off of him. His abs look rock hard and delicious. He's so chiseled that I suddenly feel privileged that someone as good looking as him is flirting with me.
He steps onto the block of lane three, not bothering with goggles.
"See you on the flipside, Brennon," I clip, before diving into the pool.
My muscles still haven't recovered considering I did laps this morning. This sort of pain isn't new to me, in fact, it partly feels good.
Making sure I keep my strokes consistent, I propel forward as fast and aggressively as I can. My hand slaps the tile and I emerge, gasping, my heart racing and my adrenaline powering through my veins.
Annoyingly enough, even though I had a slight head start, we hit at the same time.
"Not bad," he pants, running a hand through his hair. "For a transfer."
"Ugh," I groan, rolling my eyes. I lean back against the wall. "Not you, too."
He laughs. "They're not nice to strangers, are they?"
"No," I sigh. "I don't really care about making friends, all I care about is swimming on the team."
"Grace," he says somewhat seriously, leaning over the lane divider. "You will make the team. Don't let Hayden get the better of you. He's testing you out and you're falling for it. Keep your head up and swim your heart out. You'll make it."
"Glad you're confident."
Giving me a lazy smile, he leans in closer. He opens his mouth to say something, when a throat clears, drawing my attention to above me.
"Sorry," Hayden spits sarcastically. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Just me preparing to knock your socks off at the tryout," I snip without a moment of hesitation.
"Looks like it."
I scowl, looking away, realising it probably did look a little friendly, having the Coach in the pool with me. The way he had leaned towards me too, probably didn't help.
"If you don't mind," he says, sliding into the pool and physically knocking me out of the way. "Some of us are actually here to practise."
"Get out of my lane," I bark, pushing him right back. "You have all the other ones to pick from!"
"This is my lane," he snaps, shoving at the water, causing it to splash on my face.
"Now, now, children," Coach Brennon pipes up, finally intervening. "That's enough."
"Tell the transfer to crawl back into whatever hole she came from," he snarls, before turning towards me. He narrows his eyes. "Because we don't want you here."
With that, he pushes from the block and surges away from me.
My teeth grind together as I glower at him.
"He really has it out for you," Coach Brennon said. He grips the edge of the pool and flashes me a look over his shoulder. "But I wouldn't stress too much. You have my support and really, I overrule him."
He pulls himself effortlessly from the pool and I gaze after him. At least someone is kind enough to believe in me.
Suddenly, Hayden's hand drives into my shoulder. Gasping, I hit the wall harshly, spluttering as water landed in my mouth.
That was fast. Like really fast.
He emerges, slamming his hands either side my body, trapping me. Our chests bump and my breath hitches in my throat at our proximity.
"Why are you still here?" He growls, his eyes narrowed. "Get out of my lane."
Not letting him intimidate me, I stare challengingly back. "No."
"No?" he echoes, his voice slightly hoarse, water droplets running down his annoyingly, handsome face.
He's not even breathless. He just conquered two laps in one of the quickest times I've seen. In-person, anyway, T.V doesn't count.
"No. Now back off, you rich little shit."
Considering my mum was wealthy, that was kind of a hypocritical insult, but anyway.
He physically steps back and blinks at me. "What did you say?"
"You heard me," I sneer, pressing my body to his, making him step back. "Don't think you're going to drive me out. The worse you treat me, the more I'll want to stay. So go ahead, give me everything you got. I'm not going anywhere."
Pressing my palm to his head, I push as hard as I can so that he went under the water. I duck under the dividers until I'm at the edge of the pool. I stomp, as fast as I can in water, up the stairs.
I've never hated anyone more than I hate Hayden Cameron.
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What do you think of the coach?
And Hayden?