clear blue water

Rory flushed, her cheeks reddening profusely as she stared back at Floyd. Rory had always been a particularly excitable person, jumping head first into situations without even a moment’s thought – though, admittedly, even when she did think things through, she could scarcely recall a single thought in the next moment! More often than not she’d startled the boy before her, jumping full force out at him fro behind a fish tank, or one of the lockers at the pool. Floyd had a much more fragile disposition than she did but, if Rory were being completely honest, she sometimes forgot just how jittery he could be! Besides, Rory was just an overly affectionate person, and Floyd just so happened to be her favourite person in the whole entire universe, and she really liked popping up and surprising him, giving him cuddles, and kissing his cheek. Even if sometimes she had to be reminded to tone it down a notch.

“I’m sorry!” she cried, her mouth twisting at the corner, her nose scrunching in a cringe. She knew she’d gone bright red, but she didn’t mind. Lots of cool things were red! Plus,if he had to look stupid then she kinda deserved it for scaring the best boy in the whole world.

She didn’t make any promises after he asked her not to do it again, instead shying away nervously and avoiding eye contact. The both of them knew fine well that her eagerness wouldn’t crash to a sudden halt just now, and that sooner or later she’d be wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into an unwanted embrace. She really did try though. She’d learned so much since becoming friends with Floyd! There had been, like, a million and one mistakes that she’d made during the infancy of their friendship, but overtime she’d learned to adjust to the other boy and the things that made him jump and quiver, so maybe it was just a matter of time before she got it just right. Not today, though, and she scolded herself inwardly for being such a freakin’ goof.

Slowly, she leaned in towards the other boy, her motions gentle and careful, giving him enough time to pull away should he need to, and enough notice so as not to be surprised. Though Floyd was only small in stature, he still had a few inches on her, and so she wobbled on her tippy-toes before pressing a quick, fleeting kiss to the other boy’s cheek. Rocking backwards and back onto the balls of her feet, she shrugged, before pulling the focus away from him and onto the matter at hand (she didn’t want to embarrass him more! Floyd didn’t like being centre of attention).

She watched with wonder as he questioned her motives, noting the look of apprehension that washed over his features. It wasn’t entirely out there for him to be concerned. Floyd was a worrier, and Rory was… uh, not. Even when she should be, actually. Usually she just sort of… forgot that there were things to worry about? But Floyd made up for it in heaps. Though, in his defence, most people kind of… panicked whenever they heard that Rory had a plan. Once, Marlon had told her that she should focus less on her whacky plans, and more on showing up on a time. Another time he’d told her that she reminded him of that one Phoebe quote from friends where she was all ‘I don’t even have a pla-’, but that had only made her giggle because she loved Phoebe!

“Weeeeeeeeeeelllllllll,” Rory started, spinning away from him in all her excitement. Twirling on the spot, she started dancing along the corridor, leading him further into the dimly lit Aquarium, which was now theirs for the taking. Well, not taking. She wasn’t going to take anything. But it was empty, and they could do anything they liked!

Not wanting to drum up the anticipation too much – she knew how anxious that might make an already uncertain Floyd – she spun around and faced him once more, having ventured a few feet away from the boy in question.

“JELLYFISH!” she called out, grinning from ear to ear. She knew that her words didn’t really count as an explanation, because standing in an aquarium and yelling about aqua-life wasn’t particularly informative, but it was a start.

Bobbing up and down on the spot, hopping from foot to foot in pure, delirious exhilaration, she wiggled her eyebrows at Floyd, before breaking the super exciting news!

“We’re going to go swim with the jellyfish!” she told him, her cheeks practically aching from all the smiling she was doing.

Floyd waited nervously to hear what Rory had planned for them. It was overdramatic to say that the tension was building the longer he stood there and got no answers, but that’s exactly what was happening. He cast his worried glance onto his friend who was practically brimming with excitement. Clearly Rory thought that it was an excellent plan and, although Floyd wouldn’t say this out of fear of hurting her feelings, that often meant it was a very bad plan indeed. At least for him. And potentially the environment, surrounding neighbourhood and fragility of life itself.

The word burst out of Rory’s mouth like it had been waiting for years to be uttered aloud. Floyd jumped at his friend’s enthusiasm, even if he could make hide nor hair of her suggestion at first.

“Jellyfish?” he echoed. “…Are soft-bodied free swimmers with a bell and tentacles?”

Floyd wasn’t meaning to be sarcastic – he’d never been able to master the art of sarcasm, anyway – so he scratched at his temple to highlight how confused he was. Of course, there was a slight possibility that Rory meant… no, of course not. Not even Rory would think that climbing into a tank of jellyfish after hours was a good idea. That was just silly, right?

Wrong.

Floyd gaped at Rory when she confirmed that his worries hadn’t been for naught. She really wanted to go and swim with the jellyfish. Just like they were clown fish or sea turtles, or literally any other aquatic animal that didn’t sting people when they felt threatened. Floyd knew that tidbits of information tended to slip from Rory’s mind from time to time, but it was rare that she forgot vital and character-defining facts regarding a particular marine species.

“I… really don’t think that’s a good idea, Rory,” Floyd winced. He was chewing on his bottom lip, not because he was afraid to turn down Rory’s suggestion, but because he knew he was about two minutes from climbing in a jellyfish tank anyway after Rory wore him down.

“I mean, is that even allowed at this time? Plus, I don’t think it’s safe! It’s dark and I haven’t brought my wetsuit and they sting! Rory, they sting. They’re jellyfish. Who sting people.” He wanted to labour his point just in case it wasn’t quite clicking with her.

“Why don’t we go… look at the reef instead? Or send pictures of the dolphins to Dougie? You know he’d like that, he was asking how they were the other day. And if they’d mentioned Poseidon yet.” Floyd recalled the conversation with only a little hesitancy, as he still wasn’t sure if Rory’s other friend had been joking or not.

Flynn wasn’t oblivious to his natural allure, not by a long shot. He knew that people of all genders and sexualities tended to find him attractive, and he couldn’t really blame them. He didn’t think of himself as arrogant, not as such (you have to think pretty highly of yourself to be considered arrogant, and Flynn knew his own self worth was in the single digits), but he knew that he was attractive, and that very few were immune to his charms. So, despite the current situation that he’d found himself in, he couldn’t help but smirk at the way the boy whose wallet he’d just pocketed was now flushing under his gaze. He could give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he was just a little flustered at the close proximity with which he stood, or at being cornered by a total stranger, but he liked to think he had a little insight into the workings of the male mind – especially when he was the subject to a stranger’s affections.

A twinkle in his eye, Flynn allowed his smirk to stretch out into a wide, warm smile as he looked down at the boy. With his hand still placed firmly on his shoulder, he gave a gentle squeeze, fluttering his eyelashes in a subtle movement as he gazed back at him. It was a dirty move, to play on his looks and use them against the boy, but it appeared to be working. In fact, it was a move that rarely failed. With the exception of Anya – and Rae, it seemed – Flynn couldn’t think of anybody that his smouldering gaze hadn’t worked on. Retrieving his hand and shoving it into the pockets of his own jacket, mimicking the boy’s current stance, he let out a low laugh, before shaking his head as though to wave away the boy’s words.

“I’ll try not to make a habit of leaving you so breathless like that,” he told him, his tone cheeky as he flirted.

There was a part of him, somewhere in the back of his mind, that knew what he was doing was wrong. He knew that it was deceptive and cruel, and that stealing from an unsuspecting stranger – or anyone, for that matter – was morally indecent, and that he had better clean up his act. That being said, he’d always done whatever he could to survive, and with the current state of his and Alan’s apartment – combined with the fact that neither of them could quite pull themselves together enough to keep their electricity on for more than a week, or scrape together enough cash for a decent meal – he was just doing what needed to be done.

Subtly sliding his cellphone from his pocket, he chanced a quick glance at the time, trying to determine roughly how long the two of them had been stood there. He figured he’d give it a few more moments before making an escape – he wanted to at least appear convincing, and not make it painfully obvious that, once the boy noticed his missing item, that Flynn was the one responsible.

Is inner contemplation was wasted, however, as the kid caught on a little quicker than anticipated, his fingers fumbling through his empty jacket pocket, a look of panic creeping across his features as he whirled around, staring wildly at God-knows-what in search for the missing wallet.

A spike of guilt surged through Flynn at the sight of him. Not only did he never usually stick around long enough to see that look of sheer concern that came with losing something so essential, but the boy in front of him seemed so… small, and fragile. There was an air of innocence to him, and Flynn bit back any sense of morals that were trying to break through, focusing instead on the rent that desperately needed to be paid by the end of the week, and how if he didn’t have it covered he’d be out on his ass, living on the streets without so much as a place to rest his head.

“Your wallet?” Flynn responded, letting his lips fall into an oh shape. He tried his hardest to look as perplexed as the boy before him, not wanting to hint at knowing a single thing about the location of his missing wallet.

Instead, he opted for joining in with the search, crouching down so as to be at his level, absent mindedly swivelling his head this way and that – never actually looking, but putting up enough of a front so as the convince the boy at his side. With a lazy, resigned shrug, he eventually rose to his feet, furrowing his brow and letting his lips fall into a thin, sympathetic line.

“I’m sorry, kid,” he apologised, clapping him gently on the shoulder and giving him another, gentle squeeze. “I just don’t see it around. You sure you didn’t, I dunno… leave it at home?”

He could hear Anya, in the back of his mind, reprimanding him for the lies that he was telling to someone so seemingly innocent. He could see the look of disappointment that she’d no doubt wear if she knew what he was up to, and found himself floundering ever so slightly under the pressure. Jeez, who’d have known his conscience would manifest in the form of his idiot best friend?

“Damn it,” he cursed under his breath. “Do you need some help… looking for it?”

He had no idea what had possessed him to ask, knowing full well the only way that either of them would find it was if they were to thrust a hand into his own jacket pocket, but the offer was out there now. 

“I didn’t leave it at home!” Floyd cried, his voice turning a touch hysterical. “Who comes shopping if they’ve left their wallet at home?” 

The words were out of his mouth before he could take them back and swallow them whole. Had he really just done that? Gone and mouthed off to a total stranger. He was sure that Andie was somewhere applauding him for his gall, but all Floyd wanted to do was crawl under the table covered in bruised apples and stay there for the forseeable future. He stared regretfully up at the brown-haired boy, even though the mere sight of the guy wasn’t helping matters at all, and he slowly covered his mouth.

“I am... so sorry,” he apologised when he eventually pulled himself together. Bright red and close to tears, Floyd comforted himself by acknowledging the fact that the other guy probably knew he wasn’t spoiling for a fight. Absolutely anyone could land Floyd on his ass and looks alone left him coming across as the least confrontational person in the whole world. But he was known for stressful outbursts and the loss of his wallet only brought on this one. Raking his hands through his hair, already defying gravity after his morning swim, his head jerked up hopefully when the stranger offered to help him.

“W-would you?” he asked, pulling the sleeves of his jacket over his hands and casting his round-eyed gaze on the other boy. He knew he looked downright mournful and pathetic and he wasn’t proud of it, but most people he knew liked to take pity on Floyd when he was feeling down in the dumps, and he needed all the help he could get right now.

“Thank you so much,” he gushed then dropped to his knees so he could search the ground around them, even though the other guy had already noted that it wasn’t to be found in the surrounding vicinity.

“Uh, it’s brown and kinda leathery? The button’s loose and it has... shit, it had everything in it,” he sighed tearily. How was he going to pay rent to Dave if he couldn’t find his wallet? He knew that he should leave some money at home but he was too wary of Dave snooping around the place and pocketing Floyd’s savings himself. It would only go towards booze and cigarettes and Floyd had plans for that money. He didn’t know what those plans were, but he’d earned his wages himself and he wanted to make sure they went to a good cause.

“Money, my credit card, and the inside pocket it has... a photo... it - it’s a photo of my mom.” His voice cracked on the last word and he hastily blinked and wiped at his eyes before stubbornly lifting tablecloths that hung from the other tables, but no avail.

“I can’t even remember where I had it last. Let me think,” he huffed, swiping a hand across his forehead.

“I bought some tomatoes and then some carrots.” He used his finger to trace his path through the market. “And I had it then. I swear. That’s how I paid for the stuff. I had it up until...” He drew his finger to a halt when it stopped in front of the boy. “...Until you bumped into me.”

Now, Floyd wasn’t the kind of guy to throw around mindless accusations. He knew better than to jump the gun and start pointing fingers, but he also knew fine well how to look after his belongings and always knew exactly where they were. He was more than sure he’d had a tight hold of his wallet right up until the other boy had crashed into him. That’s right! The guy had tripped over nothing, but had still managed to collide with Floyd anyway.

Floyd’s butt landed on the ground with a thud as he sat down heavily, watching the brunette warily. “I...” he began, but nothing followed it. How did you ask a perfectly perfect stranger if they’d stolen your wallet or not?

Keeping her head down and squeezing her eyes shut, Ella tried her hardest to ignore the way her cheeks and ears burned with humiliation. She had ventured out to the local pool in the hopes of stirring memories of a happier time, reminding herself of the times spent there splashing around with Jackson, Gus, and Peyton. She’d hoped it would jog memories of her mother and father, the way they’d guided her through the pool the first time she’d ever been in one, how her father had held her form so carefully, so firm, until he was absolutely certain she was okay with him letting her go, letting her float by herself. She couldn’t even begin to hazard a guess as to where all her mother’s old photo albums had gotten to, but she thought, tears stinging the back of her eyes, of all the snaps that she’d taken when Ella had been just a little girl, photos of Ella and her father, all of her friends, splashing around in the ocean, running along the sand, enjoying seaside resorts and funfairs. She’d hoped that coming along might remind her of happier times, and that she’d be able to pretend, even for a short while, that she was just like everyone else; normal. Instead, she’d painted herself to be something of a weirdo, and the boy in the pool no doubt must have thought that she was awfully odd to be loitering near the pool, all on her own, with absolutely no intentions of getting in.

She had rather hoped he wouldn’t approach her at all, but she couldn’t blame him for being curious – or cautious. He didn’t climb out of the pool, so she had something of an advantage there, she supposed. Not that she could, or would do anything. She wasn’t going to run away and leave him standing there, utterly dumbfounded by the strange girl who’d intruded on him at work.

Lifting her gaze to look at him, Ella found herself rather pleasantly surprised by his tone. He wasn’t scolding her, it seemed, and she hadn’t quite prepared herself for that response. Blinking, she stared back at him a little dumbly, uncertain on just quite what to say.

“Oh…” was all she managed to muster, and she shook her head, insecure and embarrassed by her own idiocy. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Sorry, um… hi.”

It was feeble, but it was a start.

She fiddled nervously with the edge of her sweater as she stared at the boy. It was curious, really. He’d simply spotted her, waded through the water and away from his class, and was now leaning against the edge of the pool, a kind smile on her features. Had this been Anne or Diana, or especially her stepmother, she might even have thought perhaps he was tricking her. She’d grown all too used to people adopting sickly sweet tones with her, taking her kindness and her gullibility and using it to their advantage. So often she fell for charming smiles and sympathised with the very same people that would then twist her words and actions and make a fool out of her. This boy, however, didn’t appear to be doing that. Of course, she could very well be falling into the same old traps that she always did, but Ella would rather be taken for a fool than to misjudge somebody harshly, or treat them with hostility where it wasn’t warranted.

“You’re not in my way!” she insisted, raising her voice a little higher for him to hear her this time. She took a deep breath and tried to push through, remembering those same words that her mother had drilled into her; have courage, and be kind. The kindness part had always come as second nature to her, but often she found that she lacked in the courage department.

Shaking her head, a nervous smile found its way onto her lips. He was being ever so polite and hospitable, offering to share his space with her, and even opting to move out of her way. It was quite sweet, especially given that he absolutely didn’t need to. Not only because she was the one intruding on him, but because she hadn’t swum in years! It would be a complete waste of time, and she’d only embarrass the pair of them.

“I… I promise I’ll be out of your hair in no time,” she informed him, nodding softly to herself. It was easier to insist that she’d be well out of the way, than to further humiliate herself with the admission that she couldn’t swim – or, rather, that she’d forgotten how. When his pool was full of infants almost a quarter of her age, it felt a little foolish to confess such a thing. 

“You don’t have to go!” Floyd quickly reassured the girl. He began to have second thoughts about approaching her, wondering if his presence was acting as added pressure for her to leave. The last thing he’d wanted was to scare her off as he knew better than anyone how much of a sanctuary the pool area could be. Even when he wasn’t here to swim, he enjoyed sitting by the pool’s edge, dipping his feet in the water and escaping from the hostile environment of his childhood home. Plus, he figured she’d rather sit closer to his group of kids than next to the rowdy teenagers cannon-balling into the deep end.

“Really, it’s totally cool if you want to chill here,” he told her, offering a weak smile. “Not that I’m like... the person who decides who gets to sit here or whatever. I don’t own the pool.” He blushed a bright red, hoping the girl didn’t think he was getting too big for his boots. He was only a swimming instructor and part time lifeguard after all and, even when he was lifeguarding, he was way too timid to be anything close to assertive.

He glanced over his shoulder at the kids who were growing a little restless, splashing at each other as they floated in the shallow end, and Floyd suddenly had horrific if not slightly far-fetched visions of them growing impatient and settling on dunking each other under the water for entertainment. Gulping nervously, he turned back to the girl.

“Um... I should probably get back over there,” he said, jabbing his finger in the direction of the small gaggle he’d abandoned. 

“But, like I said, you’re totally welcome to join! Or... you can just sorta paddle near us... And I can talk really loudly so you can hear me and not have to pay for a lesson,” he offered. Floyd had never talked loudly in his life, but the girl was looking as anxious as he felt and he didn’t want the tension around the pool to be charged with a nervous energy. So he went for a joke instead and reminded himself why he’d never have a career in comedy.

He let out a short, embarrassed laugh and rubbed at the back of his wet hair. “Anyway, it’s totally up to you. Oh, and my name’s Floyd.”

Floyd: Happy birthday Flynn!!!!

Uhhh, Rory, Andie, Misty, Ariel and Nico! But those are just like, the top five that popped into my head. I like a lot of other people. Like Anna and Ella, who are my newer friends. And even people like Flynn and Harry who like... kinda scare me sometimes...

Bouncing forward and down the corridor, ducking out of the way of confused tourists and grunting security guards, Rory beamed as she spotted her most favourite boy in all of the world! Floyd! Right there, at the end of the corridor, and waiting for her!

Grinning, she twirled on the spot excitedly, skipping forward, and springing on the boy from behind, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, before cheekily covering his eyes with his palm. Tucking her chin against his shoulder, she giggled, adopting a deep, playful voice as she called out, “Guess whooooooo?”

Laughing, she pulled away, before hopping forward and into Floyd’s full view, giving him a wide, toothy grin. Of course, he knew who she was – duh, nobody was that forgetful – but it was still fun springing on the boy. She loved Floyd. Floyd was her favourite person in the world, he always made her smile, and Rory thought he was the best. He was super nice to her when they’d first met, and hadn’t even made fun of her when she forgot his name the second time! They both loved swimming, and life guarding, and fish, and Rory liked smiling, and Floyd had a great smile, so the two combined just so happened to be her favourite thing.

When she’d texted Floyd that morning asking what he was up to, he’d been really accommodating – or, rather, that’s the word Andie told her that she was looking for! – and had said that of course he’d meet her tonight when her shift finished. And he totally had! He hadn’t even forgotten, or been late. That was so cool.

The aquarium was shutting up now that her shift had finished, closing for the night and sending their staff home, but sometimes Rory liked inviting her friends to visit after hours. She had a key to lock up – which was loads of responsibility, it made her feel crazy special – and so she got to roam the halls of the aquarium, admiring all of the beautiful tanks, and their occupants, in the dark! Well, she’d turn a light on, but after the sun had gone down! And Floyd seemed to enjoy it, too. Last week, they’d spent a whole night exploring the anemone rockpool! Anemone was a word that Rory couldn’t say, and always struggled to say, and usually she ended up saying something a little more along the lines of ’an enemy rockpool’! It was really exciting, and really educational which Rory didn’t usually equate to being ‘exciting’, but when it came to marine biology she totally did.

“So!” she excitedly proclaimed, hopping and skipping from one foot to another. She’d never been one to stand still, always needing to be on the go at any given moment.

Peeking over her shoulder, she threw her hand up, wiggling her fingers in a wave to Misty as the other girl slipped out through the front entrance, leaving Floyd and Rory the only people left in the aquarium. Pulling her keys from her back pocket and shaking them in Misty’s direction – and receiving a thumbs up in return as the other girl peered through the glass – Rory turned her attention back to Floyd.

“So, I have a wicked cool idea that you’re gonna love!”

The Cherry Grove aquarium was one of those places where, even though Floyd worked there, he often found himself visiting on his day off. It provided a much better sanctuary to him than his own home, and even spending time at the docks was proving to be more difficult since he could only sit there for so long, with the wind whipping off his reddening cheeks, before he called it quits and retreated to much warmer indoor places. He didn’t have to worry about the temperature in the aquarium, so when Rory had text him and asked that he meet her after her own shift was finished, he hadn’t hesitated to reply that he would love to.

Making his way downstairs and simultaneously struggling with the task of pushing his arms into the sleeves of his jacket as he did so, Floyd took great care to keep quiet. He could hear Dave snoring from the living room, feet propped up on the automan and a can of beer in his hand while he snoozed. His stepfather must have dozed off during one of the football games as their TV was blinking with the picture of the after-game commentary that never helped Floyd understand the sport any better. Not wanting to wake Dave, Floyd opted to go out the back door instead, closing it quietly then fetching his bike from the garage and setting off for the aquarium.

Arriving at the building just as the last guests of the day were filtering out, he chained his bike up outside. Anna had warned him to do so seeing as there were a few belongings around Cherry Grove getting pinched on every odd day. He’d remained quiet about his own suspicions regarding the rise in theft, simply out of respect for his weird but oddly satisfying friendship with Flynn. He wouldn’t rat the boy out, not just because Floyd was a sucker for brown eyes, but because he liked to think Flynn was on some sort of path to redemption.

Finding himself in the same corridors that he traipsed through on a daily basis, Floyd pushed himself onto his tiptoes in order to catch a glimpse of Rory. He was so busy searching one end of the corridor that he didn’t bother checking the other and regretted that lapse of judgment when a weight slammed into him from behind and he was immersed in darkness.

“Wha- what?” he gasped, swivelling around, all too aware that someone was clinging onto him with all of their limbs wrapped around his frame. He was on the verge of panicking when a familiar, if slightly distorted, voice reached his ears. At once, he wilted in relief and shook his head.

“Roryyyy,” he whined as she clambered off him. Embarrassed by his overreaction, he rubbed the back of his neck and glanced sheepishly at his best friend.

“Don’t do that again,” he mumbled, even though he knew she would and that Floyd still wouldn’t have the heart to scold her when she did. He really liked Rory, even if her outgoing nature had presented itself to him as somewhat alarming when they’d first met. But ever since he had adjusted to the other girl’s loud, bubbly and oddly forgetful personality, he’d spent months on end traversing rock pools and sea lion tanks with her. Now he was calling her one of his closest friends, proven by the way he had readily agreed to meet her after hours.

As soon as he watched Misty leave with a small wave in the other girl’s direction, he was palpably aware of the fact that only he and Rory were the only ones left in the aquarium. Even though he knew they weren’t doing anything wrong, Floyd’s willingness to constantly pander to authority left him feeling like he was trespassing somewhere he shouldn’t be. It was like roaming school hallways after all the teachers went home but he forced himself to relax, even though the brief feeling of serenity that he had stubbornly pulled over himself was washed away by Rory’s words.

“Okay…” he said slowly, unable to hide his wince. “Rory, your ideas kinda scare me sometimes, you know.”

At least this one wouldn’t involve cliff diving as there we no cliffs or Andies in the aquarium at that moment in time, so Floyd offered his friend a soft smile. “But alright, what did you have in mind?”

Floyd had stood where he was, stuck to the ground like glue, rigid and unmoving. He was too terrified to twitch even a muscle as a deathly silence cast itself over the kitchen. Dave had blinked a few times like he was waking up from some sort of trance and eventually had the good sense to back up and away from Floyd then storm out the house, slamming the door behind him.

Too scared to stay where he was in case Dave came home in a worse mood, Floyd grabbed a sandwich bag from the drawer and dropped the broken shards of his mom’s plate into it, running his finger and thumb along the seal to close it. The action was done with laboured breathing and shaking hands and he willed himself not to have a panic attack in the middle of his own kitchen. Squeezing his eyes shut so colour burst into his vision, he muttered encouragements to himself under his breath and when that didn’t work, he thought of Rory and Andie and Ella and imagined they were here. The embarrassment brought on by the idea of them finding him like this seemed to bring him to his senses and he pushed himself to his feet, his eyes swimming with stubbornly unshed tears as he pulled open the drawer and rummaged around for the tube of super glue that he knew was in there. Then he went to the garage, got on his bike and headed for the docks.

Dropping down on one of the piers, he pulled his sneakers off so he could dangle his feet in the water, letting the cool waves lap at his bare toes and help him relax. With boats bobbing where they were tethered to their posts, gulls calling out to each other and water splashing against the underside of the wood he sat on, it was hard for Floyd not to feel completely at home. Sometimes the docks were more of a home to him than his actual house. It shouldn’t have been the case but it was, and he swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat when he slid out the individual pieces of his mother’s broken plate.

It was silly to think that a piece of crockery held such sentimental value to the boy, but his mother had always been proud of her best china. It was the one wedding gift that she still treasured and hadn’t been forced to sell when Floyd’s father left them. Floyd had never been able to see what was so pretty about some fancy plate but his mother was always so excited when presented with the opportunity to use it. He couldn’t bear to see a piece of it smashed up and set to work unscrewing the cap from the glue and dabbing the liquid along the edges of it.

It was one of the trickier jigsaw puzzles he’d done in his life, but he was slowly getting there. With just a few more shards to slot into place, Floyd set it to the side and turned around the get the next piece from the sandwich bag. He didn’t hear anyone approaching behind him, but what he did hear was a sickening crack and he whipped his head around to see that the half-mended plate was in pieces again, smashed even more under someone’s boot.

A breath of air flew from the back of his throat and he lifted his gaze to see the culprit. Another boy around his age stared down at him with bright eyes that didn’t look remotely apologetic. They were pretty eyes, not in the same warm manner Flynn’s were, but they were that kind of sea-green that was amplified by the sunlight bouncing off the ocean water. Floyd’s own eyes were suddenly brimming with tears again, a stupid, chickenhearted reaction to the realisation that he’d have to start fixing the plate all over again.

“Did… you do that on purpose?” he asked, forehead creased as he cast a crestfallen look at the broken porcelain. He never usually called people out on their wrongdoings, especially when they were against him, but he was at the end of his tether today and felt his chest tighten no matter where he looked.

The sounds of Cherry Grove’s public pool filtered through the air as Anna skidded to a stop on her bike, her tires squeaking in protest against the hot concrete. In the near-distance, Anna could distinctly hear over-excited children as they splashed happily among themselves, occasionally omitting a squeak, or being interjected by the sound of a high-pitched whistle, calling someone into order.

Anna drank in all these sounds as though they were the first time she’d heard them. Probably because, well, they were. In the many years Anna had grown up in the small community of Cherry Grove, she had never once set foot in the public pool. When her friends had suggested doing so in the past, Anna had garbled some half-baked excuse about spending the day with her big sister, who almost always had other plans, or lying about feeling a cold coming on. The truth was, Anna had never learned how to swim.

Swimming was something your parents were supposed to teach you to do, holding onto you as you hesitantly dipped a toe in the water. Of course, the Abrahamsens had had family trips to the beach when Anna and Elsa were young, but Anna had never done more than run toward the lapping waves in delight, and then retreat, shrieking, as the water climbed its way back up the sandy shore, her Father’s booming laugh providing the soundtrack to each and every trip. Anna thought about those days with a heavy heart now, and only wished she’d been brave enough to venture in back then. Perhaps if she had, she wouldn’t be nineteen years old and have no idea how to swim.

Tucking her arm bands underneath one pale, freckled arm, Anna approached the public pool, absentmindedly wondering if she ought to have chained up her bike. Cherry Grove had always been a relatively safe place to live, somewhere you trusted your friends and neighbours. However, Anna had been noticing that more and more people’s belongings seemed to be going missing. This was something she’d verbalised to her group of friends, and for some reason, had caused Flynn to choke on a brownie whilst Rae worriedly patted his back, her eyebrows furrowing together in alarm. She’d never understand boys.

Picking up the pace, Anna began to jog a little as she made her way into the pool, suddenly excited to see her friend. The scent of chlorine filled her nostrils and the wind whipped through her red hair, which she planned to plait hastily before jumping into the water with Floyd. Well, maybe not jump… gingerly clamber in while Floyd held her hand, sounded more like it.

Anna was running, her flip-flops slapping against the tiled floor, when suddenly, she heard a voice reproaching her not far off. She came to an abrupt standstill, her cheeks turning a similar colour to her hair as she looked around, searching for the person the voice belonged to. Eventually her gaze settled on Floyd, bobbing anxiously in the water, and to the group of boys who were intent on defying his orders. Putting a hand on her stomach, Anna began to giggle brightly, content now that she knew she wasn’t the one being told off.

Still! Her pal looked pretty miserable, so plastering a sweet smile on her freckled face, Anna burst forward as she began to wave to him, her hand flapping animatedly and almost taking the head off a single father desperately trying to towel dry his daughter’s hair.

“Hi Floyd!” she squealed, her voice immediately cutting through the noise. When she immediately drew looks, Anna pressed her lips together sheepishly, realising she was being perhaps a little too loud. When Floyd was a little closer, Anna gave him a slightly smaller wave.

“You… huh?” she said, wrinkling her nose. Staring down at her attire, a pair of denim shorts pulled over a swim suit, Anna was confused. Had he not invited her here to teach her? It was her best swim suit too, the one plastered with bright yellow sunflowers on a cool blue background, it always made her feel light and pretty, setting off her hair quite nicely, too.

“Oh.” Anna echoed, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. Anna hated being forgotten, and even though it was clearly a mistake on Floyd’s part, (he did seem like he had his hands full, after all), it still kinda sorta stung.

“That’s alright!” Anna said, drumming up faux-enthusiasm. She reached out and gave him a gentle punch of the shoulder, as though to say, ‘no harm, no foul! I’m not crushed and still totally psyched for our swimming lesson!’. She only hope her smile conveyed that too, and wasn’t over-excited bordering on ‘slightly scary’.

“So, what do I do in the meantime? Do I just… get in?” Anna asked, eyeing the water warily.

Anna swallowed, staring at the kids, splashing about, and at the water as it splashed over the sides, wetting her toes. She suddenly felt a wave of anxiety, which she was intent on squashing, and turned to Floyd.

“Right. Well. Let’s get to swimming… in five minutes. When you’re ready and available!”

“Oh, don’t get in just yet,” he cautioned Anna. For one, he didn’t want to turn his back and then find her struggling helplessly in the deep end five minutes later. And also, Floyd was always eager to obey the rules set out by the pool owners, hence his readiness to try and get the previous tweens to stop running around. He pointed to one of the nearby signs in order to draw Anna’s attention to it.

“You need to quickly shower before you get in the pool, just to get rid of any outside germs and stuff,” he explained then immediately caught himself. His eyes bulged and he blushed furiously, throwing his hands up and wincing. He’d already offended enough people today, he didn’t need to go around insulting his friends. “Sorry, I mean, no! I mean, it’s the rules, I’m not saying you’re like… germy or anything…”

With a frustrated sigh (directed fully at himself), Floyd slapped a hand to his face and dragged it down his cheek. He knew that Anna would understand he hadn’t meant anything bad by his words; he was always making blunders like this after all, and she was still friends with him. With a soft shrug of his shoulders, he sheepishly gestured towards the shower area.

“How about you grab a locker for your stuff, take a shower and then I’ll meet you right back here in five minutes?” he suggested, giving her a tiny wave before retreating and making sure everything around the pool was in order by the time the other life guard returned from lunch. Passing over his whistle and lifeguard vest was like unburdening himself of a weight he’d been carrying for much more than half an hour. As much as he loved water and safety, and the life guarding at the pool was a combination of the two, Floyd’s anxiety seemed to suffer every time he put that red and white vest on. His nerves weren’t equipped to deal with rowdy teenagers disobeying the rules or people thinking that they were allowed to dive in at the shallow end. Yelling at them was never an option since he couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever raised his voice at anyone, and it wasn’t as if they took his timid scolding seriously. Grateful that the rest of his afternoon consisted of a one on one lesson with Anna, Floyd went in search of the redhead and found her hovering by one of the ladders.

“Come this way,” he instructed her, leading her away from the deep end and towards the slope that descended into the shallow area of the pool. Anna could dip her toes in the water then slowly wade into it without having to climb down a ladder and immediately immerse herself in the chlorinated pool. Floyd stepped in first, turning to Anna with an encouraging smile and offering a hand to her.

“It doesn’t get deep until at least halfway down,” he reassured her. “Just take your time and get your bearings. We have all afternoon!”

Cherry Grove wasn’t always ideal for pickpocketing. Flynn had found, over time, that he felt a little unnerved walking the streets, bumping shoulders and exchanging glances with people he recalled lifting cash from only days prior. Living in the city meant that familiar faces were few and far between, and that you were unlikely to find yourself crashing into the same person you’d stolen from the day before. Small towns like Cherry Grove changed that, making it harder to steal – or at least, making it harder to live with it, Flynn’s conscience a little worse for wear because of it.

In fact, since his initial run in with Rae, and the blonde’s surprising consistency in his life – his mind seemed to jumble when he tried to recall just how their first meeting had lead to them becoming friends, but she had a particular way about her that made her hard to resist – he’d found himself questioning his every move. He hadn’t cared about things like stealing before becoming acquainted with the girl, it was a way of life and, sometimes, the only way that he could survive, and yet recently he found that same, nagging guilt bubbling at the back of his mind, as he wondered what Rae would think about what he was doing.

Even so, he tried to push those thoughts down, and as deep as possible, as he scanned the crowd for his next mark. The village was busy today, the market in full swing, people flitting from stall to stall, buying flowers and fruit, tasting new recipes and concoctions, and conversing with their neighbours. It was all very friendly, quite quaint, and there was a sense of community spreading through the town. Everybody seemed to like everybody – well, with the exception of some, as he knew a certain redhead and her brunette friend who had a particular distaste for hulking French men – which, once again, made it a little harder to break the trust of people who, quite frankly, had never done a thing wrong to Flynn. He didn’t have the same luxuries as some, though, and he continued to ignore any feelings of guilt or sympathy for the people surrounding him. He and Alan hadn’t paid their water or electricity bill in over a month, and their ramshackle of a cottage was starting to resemble more of a bomb site than a home. Over the years, Flynn had learned that money was money, no matter where it came from, and he needed cash soon.

His gaze landed on a boy, rather timid looking, staring around him with an anxious look on his face. Flynn’s heart clenched, and he cringed inwardly. He knew immediately, the second he caught sight of him, that he was his best shot. He looked much too uncomfortable and nervous to be able to protest if he did happen to catch Flynn (which was unlikely), somewhat resembling a frightened kitten. He was an easy mark, and Flynn cursed loudly – momentarily catching the attention of a group of elder women, who gasped at his profanities, a few of them really topping off their horror with a hand pressed to their chests – as he realised just how cowardly he was being, but still, he tried with all his might to focus on the task at hand.

Hands at his side, he trudged forward, weaving in and out of the crowd, his eyes firmly on the boy he’d spotted before. A quick bump and snatch could be so easy, but it was also lazy. So often he’d opted for the simple route, finding himself walking away with something utterly useless – he shivered when he recalled the time he’d left with nothing but some old dude’s used tissue and a packet of tic tacs. Never again. No, he’d have to be convincing.

Driving forward, with as much gusto as he could manage, Flynn surged forward, his shoulder crashing with the other boy’s, and stumbled forward frantically, an arm flying out impulsively to balance himself (all the while slipping it into the boy’s jacket pocket, retrieving anything that he could fast, before pulling it back to his side). He regained his composure, as convincingly as possible, and stared up with wide eyes, throwing his hand up, his palm facing the boy in an apologetic gestures.

“I am so sorry!” he exclaimed, his tone as sincere as he could manage. “I’m so clumsy, I didn’t see you there at all.”

With that, he took a few steps forward to see if the other boy was alright – it was partly sincere, he had no intentions of actually hurting him – and placed a gentle arm against his shoulder, his other hand patting him down softly – it was his way of checking to see if he could feel anything through the boy’s jacket, while disguising it as a careful, concerned gesture.

“You alright, buddy? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he mused, ducking his head a little to catch the stranger’s eye. 

Floyd liked to convince himself that living with Dave wasn’t as bad as his nerves made it out to be. He still hated the way his step-father liked to stomp around, slamming doors and cursing at the most minute things, but the two had reached some sort of mutual understanding; if Floyd stayed out of Dave’s way, then Dave would give Floyd an easy life. It meant rarely talking bar an unanswered ‘good morning’ on Floyd’s part, but the small blonde had learned to live with that. It felt strange to be living with practically a stranger in the house he’d grown up in, but that was just how things were these days. Parts of his childhood home that he’d run around in as a kid were now closed off to him, marked as Dave’s territory and no longer welcoming to the little boy who’d once played hide and seek in the cupboards or used the beds as a makeshift trampoline. He supposed it was sad, but Floyd chose to be grateful for a quiet life instead. After all, Dave could have kicked him out long ago, but he hadn’t. So Floyd dealt with the hand he’d been given.

Grocery shopping was also an isolated chore. Floyd bought his own food from the market, while Dave ordered takeout every night and sat in front of the TV eating it. Dave wasn’t worried about staying healthy, which meant he didn’t spend his time at the Cherry Grove marketplace, studying individual apples to spot which ones were the least bruised like Floyd was doing now.

He held one apple in each hand, eyeing them carefully and studying the darkened indentures on the red skin. The one on the left seemed a little more bruised, but the one on the right seemed to have deeper bruises. Catching his bottom lip between his teeth and chewing it anxiously as he considered the fruit, Floyd was blind to the approaching ordeal. When a body collided with his own, he was taken completely by surprise and dropped both the apples at once, hissing when his shoulder was wrenched back.

He didn’t want to complain though, not when the other guy immediately began apologising. It was an innocent mistake, that was all, and Floyd knew how scary it was to be scolded for a mistake that wasn’t his own fault. Besides, he didn’t have an angry bone in his body and quickly began shaking his head to dissuade the other man’s worries.

“No, no, don’t worry about it! It’s…” As soon as he looked up, Floyd’s words died away in his throat. He wasn’t sure why he was suddenly so tongue tied but it probably had everything to do with the sight of warm brown eyes, a mop of curly brown hair and an apologetic smile framed by dimples that left him feeling light headed and all too conscious about the smell of chlorine that stubbornly clung to his own hair.

“It’s fine,” he managed to finish, his voice barely a whisper.

When the other man ducked his head to catch Floyd’s eyes, he couldn’t help but let out a stuttered and embarrassed laugh. Maybe it was an unkind thought, but he was glad Rory wasn’t there at that moment, because he knew she’d only tease him like any best friend would. Cute boys just had this effect on Floyd and he ducked his own head as soon as he felt colour rising to his cheeks.

“You didn’t hurt me,” he shook his head, still smiling softly. Anxiety crawled up his stomach but it was the good kind, warm and tingly and the kind he knew was pathetic because this would be an encounter that resulted in absolutely nothing bar one of those bury-your-face-in-your-hands memories that Floyd would cling to and turn over in his mind at night when he wanted to replace the pounding of his heart with something happier as soon as he heard Dave come home. Letting out a soft huff, he pushed his hands into the pockets of his jacket in an attempt to look somewhat put together, only for his anxiety to take a sudden spike when he couldn’t locate his wallet.

“Um… oh, I think… sorry!” he apologised at once as soon as he spun on the spot. His shoulder tearing away from the other man as he swivelled around with frantic eyes. “Sorry, I just – I think I dropped my wallet?”

He bent down to look at the ground around them, but all he could see was a sea of feet and the apples he’d dropped earlier. A soft curse of ‘oh no, shit’ left his mouth and he pushed a hand through his hair, the pool water from this morning making it stick up comically. But the situation wasn’t very comical.

Back before her father had passed away, and even before she’d lost her mother, coming to the local pool had been one of Ella’s favourite things about Cherry Grove. With her father’s business thriving, and money not even the slightest issue to the Tremaine’s, she’d grown up with not only one, but two pools to her disposal. An indoor pool for the winter, and an outdoor pool for the summer. Even so, she’d enjoyed venturing out into the town with Jackson and Gus, splashing around in the pool with the locals, wrapping her arms around Jackson’s neck and giggling as Gus tried to dunk the two of them under water.

She missed the familiarity of it all, the days where she could laugh with her friends and just have fun. She rarely got to see her best friends anymore, and even when she did it was next to impossible to have a moment alone with them. If her step mother wasn’t around, then Diana or Annelise were, and she never got even half a second to breathe and just relax.

Venturing out of the house and down to the pool today had been a bold move. Luckily, however, her step mother and two sisters had already run her ragged that morning, throwing around requests – or rather, shouting out orders. It was always “Ella, cook me breakfast!” or “Ella, clean my shoes!”. This morning had been no different, only for the fact that the three women were on their way to some fancy Gala – a Gala of which Ella was not invited, though no doubt Lottie would be there, dazzling them all in a pretty frock. Lucifer, however, hadn’t taken these events into account, and had pounced on Annelise, thrusting his claws into the fabric of her dress. In her attempt to drive the wild cat off of her, he’d clung on for dear life, with their mother yanking him from behind. Ella had watched on in horror, increasingly concerned about the safety of the cat, when she’d heard the unmistakable sound of a tear, and heard the cry of horror spill from Annelise’s lips at the sight of the abysmal hole that now resided in her dress. They’d all turned and glared at Ella, as though somehow it had been her fault, and her step mother had asked – well, some might say ordered – her to patch it up in time for them to leave. And so she had.

The morning had been hellish, to say the very least, but it meant she had free reign to do as she wished, and so she’d slipped away from the manor and made her way into town, with no real destination. She’d eventually found herself sitting by the pool, staring longingly at the water as she reminisced back to happier times. She wasn’t entirely sure she could even swim any more, having gone so many years without even so much as dipping her toe into a pool. The prospect frightened her a little, but she did so miss it.

She watched, with timid, and poorly disguised, envy as a boy – or rather, a man, she supposed, he was roughly her own age – gently paddled through the water, surrounded by a gaggle of small children. Each child wore little, matching red arm bands, and they were all staring up at him with wide eyed glee, as though he were a superhero from a comic book. She could only assume he was their instructor, and she smiled softly as she observed them. It was truly a lovely sight to behold.

Just then, the boy looked up, catching her eye. Blushing, Ella turned away suddenly, staring down at her feet and hoping he wouldn’t abandon call upon her. The last thing she would ever want was him to think she was staring at him – even though technically she was. She knew it must look frightfully odd to be sat alone at the side of the pool, her own tatty, blue dress entirely out of place. She’d bravely – or so she’d believed – slipped a swimming costume on underneath it before leaving home, but had been much too nervous to actually venture out into the pool upon arriving.

“Silly Ella,” she muttered to herself, keeping her head down and her tone low. Scolding herself, she sighed. “Stupid Ella.”

Seven pairs of large eyes were fixated on Floyd and he tried not to feel unnerved. After all, the gazes belonged to seven different but completely harmless kids who were all bobbing patiently in the water, arms askew as their floaties kept them upright, waiting for their teacher to tell them what to do.

It was a job his step-father had told him he wasn’t right for, but Rory, Ariel and Andie had all pushed him to sign up for the swimming instructor vacancy. Each kid was under the age of eight, so they had yet to reach that age where obedience from an older authoritative figure meant nothing to them. He was learning now as he stood, waist deep in the chlorinated pool, that he would probably have no trouble keeping the little ones in line so he allowed himself to relax a little and pushed a smile onto his face. The sight made a few of the children perk up and he watched with a hint of pride as they stood to attention.

“So, you guys can all touch the bottom of the pool, right?” he asked and a chorus of enthusiastic “yeses!” reached him. The Cherry Grove local pool was built into the ground as a slope, meaning the wide expanse of blue catered to swimmers of all needs. There were a few teens at the bottom practising their diving techniques in the deep end, but Floyd had the shallow side cordoned off so he could make sure his kids were at a comfortable depth. Through the clear water he could see their little feet planted firmly on the bottom of the tiled floor.

“Okay, so, maybe we can get a little bit deeper?” he suggested. He awkwardly cleared his throat and then remembered that Andie had told him he shouldn’t make anything sound like a question. His students were much more likely to listen to him if he adopted a firmer stance.

“Alright, everyone. Take a step forward until you’re a little bit deeper,” he instructed. He watched as the kids squealed a little as they waded further, arm bands keeping them afloat so they’d still be above the water’s surface no matter how far they chanced their luck.

He moved in the water as well, paddling over to the other side so he could keep an eye on the kids as they moved and playfully splashed each other, only for him to stop when he spotted a young woman watching them from the side of the pool. Heat rushed to Floyd’s cheeks as soon as he saw her, fearful that she was going to be one of those helicopter parents that hovered intimidatingly during his lessons just to make sure her child was getting all the attention. A second, admittedly nervous glance, informed him that the girl seemed a bit too young to be a parent for one of his lot, and also looked too skittish to be a parent armed with threats aplenty if she saw Floyd failing to applaud her son or daughter for their backstroke.

As soon as the girl looked back down sharply, evidently embarrassed, Floyd felt guilty. He hadn’t meant to look so confused upon seeing her and he slowly waded through the water to stop a few feet away from her.

“Um… hi,” he said, pushing throw his own wall of shyness and adopting a friendly tone. “Did you wanna join us? There’s plenty space in the pool. Or like, if you wanna swim and we’re getting in your way, I can move the rope and give you more space.”