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10. Water

10. Water

Scott mentally patted himself on the back as he looked out at the water.

Not only was he convincing everyone here that he was having a great time, but he was continuing to convince himself the same when he was in their presence.

Since his vow to himself to make an effort to portray his old, funny self, everyone seemed to buy it. And when he was around everyone else, he actually felt okay.

It was when he went back to his room, by himself, that it would all hit him again. Like a punch in the gut.

You. Are. Alone.

As he pondered this, an open hand found the center of his chest, and Scott realized just how slippery catamarans could be.

He panicked for a moment as his footing was lost, and he reached out to grab the nearest thing in an effort to ground himself.

It just happened to be the same person who had pushed him.

So he and Louis went crashing into the water a moment later. Chaotically, after Scott's ankle clipped the railing, landing in an inelegant back flop, effectively knocking the wind out of him.

Once he hit the water, it was hard to tell which way was up, and it certainly didn't help that Louis was grabbing at him, frantically, pulling at his arm.

His head broke the surface just as he thought his lungs might explode.

Other than his gasp for breath in tandem with Louis, there was silence.

"Holy shit, Louis, what were you thinking?" Zayn yelled from the boat's edge, breaking the silence, angrily. Kevin was halfway over the railing, preparing to jump in after them. Once he saw Scott's head break the surface, Scott saw the fear leave his eyes as he climbed back over.

Louis let out a laugh. It was a nervous sound, and Scott was unsure if it was due to the group's clear anger towards him, or the fact that he was pretty sure that they almost just died.

"That didn't go as planned," Louis called up to them, spitting ocean water out. "Was just trying to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, blankly staring at the sea."

Scott began to swim back to the swim platform, calling back to the man following close behind. "You could have called my name, you know." He tried to keep his voice light. He was angry, but he knew that if he didn't make light of it, the others might actually kill the poor kid.

But his back hurt.

Once he arrived at the swim platform, he waited until Louis got out, first, silently panicking at the pain that was shooting up his spine. Zayn and Matt met them there, but they didn't extend a hand to help pull Louis out.

"You're an idiot," Zayn scolded him, turning to Scott and reaching a hand out towards him.

"No big deal," Scott defended him, accepting the hand as it pulled. "Shit. Wait."

Zayn let go, and Scott sank backwards into the water. Much more gracefully, this time, but embarrassing, all the same.

Harry had joined them on the platform now, and the color had completely drained from his face.

His face was unreadable, but almost... worried.

He watched as Harry slapped Louis on the chest before turning his attention towards Scott. "What's the matter?" Harry asked, crouching down and extending his own hand, his angry demeanor changing to worry again.