Drowning With You

CH. 11 💋

LOUIE'S POV

"Oh, you don't need your swim bag." She says, already leaving my building. A little late, but I don't care about the bag. I care about why we aren't doing her usual plan.

"Why? Aren't we swimming?" I ask her, who isn't slowing her walk to talk. Truly she's always the one who needs to be productive.

"Can you just chill?" She sighs, taking my own words and pushing them on me. I'm taken back a bit, I'm not used to her being so out of character.

"Uh, sure... Okay..." I huff as I follow her fast footsteps across campus. With my new small scandal, I'm surprised she's okay with being around me. Isn't she worried someone is going to think she's weird for hanging out with me?

The rest of the walk is silent. It must have been around ten minutes, yet she had nothing else to say, it seems.

She stops in front of the small ice cream shop on campus, which nobody goes to anymore since it's old and on the edge of campus, so everyone forgets about it.

I come to the conclusion that she is fucking with me, because the ice queen taking the girl she hates to ice cream? Too funny. I guess.

"Wow. Great way to get a laugh. Haha. I'm leaving now." I go to turn, when she grabs my hand and drags me in through the two front doors.

Her touch feels so warm, despite her pulling me roughly.

"Louie. Stop being dramatic." She tells me, not giving a flying fuck about what I do and don't want to do.

Her hair is in a nice bun, with small pieces falling out of it. She brushes some out of her face and misses one, so I quickly push it behind her ear.

She doesn't flinch or look angry that I had touched her, she only looks a bit... confused when I let go.

I nod, giving in, and follow her to the check out stand.

"Hi! Can I get a kids cone with huckleberry?" She asks, her voice nice and friendly. It contrasts her normal demeanor.

The worker does as she's told and lets me order, too.

I think about Winter's small kids cone, knowing that she held back on what she wanted.

I've never been like that. I've seen her picky habits, as if she's trying to eat perfect, just like everything in her life. That's one of the reasons I was so surprised she brought me here in the first place.

"I'll have a double scoop waffle cone, please." I look at the options, still not sure on which flavors I want. "I'll have one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of... cotton candy."

The worker gets started on my cone and Winter grimaces, probably at how terrible that combo is for ice cream.

Sure, the colors are two complete opposites, but as long as they don't melt a lot, the flavors shouldn't mix too much.

Winter pays and I don't argue, because if she wants to buy me ice cream, so be it, I'm not going to stop her.

I still don't understand why I'm not being yelled at in the pool by her right now. With her idea of routine, this is not supposed to be happening.

Is this a joke? I don't know what she'd try to do, but this isn't normal for her. And after all his week's debacle, I'm on edge. She always needs to do something productive, this isn't productive.

"Louie, chill the fuck out." She repeats, my words sounding so unfamiliar coming from her mouth.

"Says you." I retort, looking down at her cone, which she's almost done with. Not that there was much to begin with. She frowns as she looks at my full cone to her tiny one.

I've noticed she eats less than some others. More healthier foods, but not enough. Her body needs more, her mind needs more, but she won't let herself give in to the hunger. She's just hungry.

"Aren't you afraid of getting seen with me? They all seem to not like me, almost hate me more than they already did. You don't want to be disliked."

"No. I'm not afraid. And they already dislike me." She doesn't show any emotion with her reply, only keeping her gaze lingering on mine for moments too long.

Like her, I can't let my eyes leave her. The pause in our conversation only deepens our stare.

"Want some?" I ask, breaking the terrible silence. I'm ready for a decline to the ice cream that I am offering her.

"No thanks." Winter proves my last point right. She never takes other's food.

"Winter. Have some. It's cotton candy. It's the flavor of childhood, or whatever." Reminiscing on the times my parents would allow me to go to my friend's houses and their parents would take us for ice cream.

It was always nice, they were always nice and fun, they'd appreciate their children and encourage them to be who they want to be.

When I got to boarding school, it finally gave me the chance to let myself be that person.

"Hmm. I never really get ice cream. It's all fat and... I don't know. I hear it's bad. I just would like to keep my body as it is." She shrugs, adjusting her shirt a bit.

"As swimmers, we need way more food than we think we do. I know it may not be the healthiest, but it makes me happy. And I still swim perfectly fine, no matter the ice cream I am eating." I tell her, handing her my ice cream.

"Cotton candy is not even a real flavor. How many fake ingredients did they use to make that? And it's blue and pink." Winter cringes as she speaks.

"So?" I ask. "Be free, ice queen, and eat the ice cream."

She looks at me for a moment, and I don't miss the small glance to the cone in my hand, her mind urging her to have some.

She takes it, giving herself a moment before she licks the side of it that's melting a bit. After a quick pause, she nods and waiting for a second to taste it in her mouth.

"Hmm. Weird. Definitely not anything natural in there." I roll my eyes at her comment, but she smiles anyways.

What a pretty smile. Pretty lips. She takes another lick, all I can think is what those lips and tongue can do to me if they were on my skin.

How she would react if my lips were on hers. Shit. I shouldn't be thinking that about her.

She hands it back.

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that I don't care about anything other than swimming. I want to be able to swim in college. I want to be successful in this. I need you to show up to our lessons. And show up to practice. If not for me, then for the others. Show them that you don't care. That they don't bother you." No jokes, no mean glares, just plain Winter, giving an encouraging speech. Then adds in, "And again, you will not wreck this for me."

Wow.

"Fine." I say, and out of nowhere, I switch things up. "But once a week, we are doing something relaxing." It's not a question, it's sort of a demand.

"We?" Skeptical, as always, she furrows her brows.

"Yup."

"Fine." She's most likely desperate for my cooperation at this point. Then she smiles as she looks like a lightbulb went off in her head. "Then you have to be interactive and interested in my whiteboard lessons."

"Fine."

"Fine"

A/N: Not sure how to feel rn about this but IDC. guys i am obsessed with dreams and the idea of the ability to experience dreams with others. i'm gonna write a book about it i swear UGHHHHH.

too many ideas, no time :(