The Growing of Hearts (A BTS & EXO Fanfiction)

Chapter 9: Underwater Beauty

~MERCI~

Kris's eyes widened ever so slightly as he drank in the sight of Merci's pale skin coming into view inch by inch. He swallowed the lump in his throat when Merci unzips the dress all the way.

Merci took in a deep breathe, determined to finish what Kris had started~ but in a better way. She stared straight into his eyes, which he had shifted back up to hers, and slipped one strap of the dress off of her shoulder. She shivered slightly as the cool breeze brushed along her bare collarbone.

Kris can't look away, nor does he know what to think of at that moment. All he could do was watch, mesmerized by the show Merci was putting on.

Merci's heart was in her throat as she grabbed the other dress strap. Her heart furiously pounded away while her stomach did somersaults in an irregular pattern.

Down goes the second strap.

Kris watches, his undivided attention on Merci, as she slowly starts to push the top of her dress down. Kris's breathe became to get more and more shallow as his heart rate started to raise. His body buzzed with excitement as Merci continued to reveal more and more of what she had to offer him.

With one final, deep breathe, Merci pushed the dress completely off to where it pooled around her feet. She was wearing a simple black bra with matching bottoms, but they were enough to get Kris's brain stirring.

Both of them.

His eyes trailed down from her light brunette hair that framed her tall body beautifully, to the pale skin that was splayed across her collarbones. Subconsciously, Kris held his breathe as his eyes lowered even further. He felt his heart flutter as he gazed at the curves of Merci's chest, something she never showed another guy before.

As his eyes wandered all over her body, Merci's face seemed to have a permanent blush etched onto it. Her mind buzzed with nervousness and excitement as a result of having someone look at her in such an intimate way. She couldn't take her eyes away from Kris who couldn't take his eyes away from her.

"You're so beautiful Mercedes," Kris whispered in a husky tone. Merci's heart did a flip. She looked down at her feet which she crossed over one another. A light feeling of happiness spread through her body quickly, starting from her head, ending at her toes.

She was feeling shy...

Yet confident.

She was feeling modest...

Yet beautiful.

The way that Kris was looking at her and the way he said she was beautiful meant so much to Mercedes. She had battled self-esteem issues all her life. She was never 100% happy with what she looked like.

But Kris made her feel as if she's the only person on Earth that is worth the universe. She felt the best about herself then she ever did before. Someone whom she had met just that afternoon...

Yet he has made such an impact on her.

"T-Thank you..." Merci stutters, overcome with shyness as well as happiness. Kris smiles softly and makes his way over to her. He stops when he's right in front of her, causing Merci to take in a labored breathe. He reaches out and takes her hand in his. Using his other hand, he reaches up and cups his hand under her chin, making her look up.

"Mercedes..." he says softly, looking into Merci's clear blue eyes. Both his/her stomachs fluttered while their hearts seemed to pound together simultaneously. They gazed into each other's eyes, lost in both their own thoughts as well as in each other.

Kris was honestly shocked. Mainly with himself. He's always been a player, someone that easily smooth talked girls into getting what he wanted. He never felt anything real with them, it was never a serious thing. Just a fling. Just something to use to pass the time.

Until he met Merci, as cheesy as it sounds.

She makes him want to be different. He wants to be a better person now because of her. He wants to change his ways, wants to become a warmer person. A person that is considerate towards others, someone is caring and dependable. All because of Mercedes, whom was becoming an important person to him.

Merci gazes into Kris's eyes, which were smooth, sweet and soft. He smiled and leaned down. Pressing his lips gently against Merci's, she immediately wraps her arms around his torso and leans into his embrace.

It was a picture perfect moment, one that neither of them wanted to end.

"Alright, let's go in now!" Kris exclaims, unraveling his arms from around Merci's torso. With a whoop and a cheer, he ran over to the small lake and cannonballed into the water. Merci squealed playfully as the water shot up and splashed on to her. A carefree laugh escaped her lips as she watched Kris emerge.

"HOLY SHIT IT'S COLD!" he screams. Being the overdramatic boy he was, he rubbed his upper arms briskly in order to generate some heat.

"You're such a baby!" Merci shouts. She then starts running towards the water. "CANNONBAAALL!"

Kris closed his eyes and turned his head as Merci sliced through the water. He chuckled as Merci surfaced.

"Oh my gods it feels amazing!" Merci exclaims, her voice filled with awe. Kris frowns and splashes her.

"YAH. I'm freezing my ass off in here, is that what you call amazing!?" Kris yells in a playful angry voice. Merci puts on a deadpan look on her face.

"You're such a princess," she says, starting to swim away from Kris using the backstroke. Kris's eyes widen.

'Jinja, the nerve of this girl!' he thinks as he watches Merci swim away. He tilts his head to the side as he looks on.

'Hmm... She's a pretty good swimmer,' he thinks as he subconsciously nods his head. Merci's arms glide through the water effortlessly, making it look like an everyday mundane activity like brushing one's teeth. She smiles as she feels the cool water waves caressing her arms, entrusting it with her life. It was as if both of them had their own language that they spoke. Both graceful, both elegant, Kris wasn't able to look away.

'Hell... Even I don't swim that well,' he thinks enviously. 'Tao sucks at being a teacher!'

While Kris dives into his own thoughts, Merci takes a deep breath and submerges down into the water. Opening her eyes, she feels shock as she sees what lies under the surface. Brightly colored flowers decorated the bottom of the lake. Smooth pebbles were littered everywhere while long, flowing, tall grass grew up and swayed around. Merci hasn't seen a spot so beautiful as the one she was currently in.

'AISH, Tao's probably busy at the Gucci store or something,' Kris thinks. His mind went to the topic of Tao first teaching him how to swim and that he was going to confront his friend about how his lessons weren't up to par. He then pauses and shakes his head. Why on Earth was he thinking about Tao when a beautiful girl was swimming right nearby him?

Kris turned his head, looking for Merci but she was nowhere to be found. His head and body whips around, in search for the long haired brunette, but he couldn't find her.

"Mercedes!" he calls out, panic filling his chest. Everywhere he looked, he could not spot her. Taking a deep breathe, he dives into the water. With open eyes, he searches the area and eventually finds a female figure with long hair floating by about twenty feet away. With a rush of adrenaline, he begins to quickly swim his way over to her. Upon reaching her, he wraps his arm around her torso and swims up to the surface. When both of them emerge, Kris hears Mercedes coughing violently.

"Mercedes!" Kris exclaims. He cups her face in between his hands. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Merci continues to cough, trying to clear the water out of her lungs. When she feels somewhat okay, she looks at Kris and glares at him.

"BRO" she shouts. "You scared the shit out of me! I wasn't drowning, I was looking underwater! Although I could've drowned because of you..."

Kris blinks as he realizes what he did. Oops...