Warming a Frozen Heart

Desolation

CHAPTER 27

Desolation

-Kyousuke-

"You should seriously know how to swim," Luke said to JC while floating in the water. "What if you're drowning? You won't be able to save yourself by then."

He did several twists and dives, and soon JC was eyeing him with envy. "I-it's not like I want to do it like you're doing now..."

I swam over to Luke and whispered, "You could start at the shallow part of the pool."

He bursted with laughter. "We could start at the kiddie pool." I gave him a look of disbelief. He continued laughing despite my efforts to shut him up. "JC can drown in two feet of water, Kyou. She doesn't even know how to float."

"Oh." I looked at JC, then back at him. "You could teach her."

"Fine," he sighed, then swam over JC. He pulled her down the stairs to the water slowly, but the moment her feet weren't able to touch the ground anymore, she started climbing back. "Hey, JC! You can hold on to me if you like! I won't drop you!" Luke shouted.

She stared at him like he was insane, but gave in anyway. "Oh shit..." she exclaimed, holding onto Luke like she would sink. Well, actually, she would sink.

Then he started detaching her tight arms from his neck and held her by her wrists. "Luke, if I drown, I'll possess you," I heard her say. Luke turned to me. "See? I told you she doesn't want to. If you can't learn it from me, I'll have Kyou to teach you."

"No, no, I was just joking. What do we do first?" she quickly added. JC was clearly trying to avoid me. I rose from the water and sat on the edge near the deep part of the pool in case JC slips.

"Try floating by hanging on the rim of the pool. Make one lap around." JC gave him a glare for his spartan command. "Oh, one word of advice. The pool gets deeper the farther you go into the left side. Be careful."

"Be careful?! You're asking me to make one lap around an eight feet-deep pool and be careful?! God!" She was a little confident at first, but that drained from her body the moment she reached the deep side. As I expected, her hand slipped and she started thrashing wildly, popping in and out of the water for air. I looked at Luke, but he wasn't moving a single muscle to save her. I was very, very near JC as well. I stretched out a hand for her to grab on, but instead of simply holding it to stabilize herself, she pulled at it so hard that I fell into the pool myself. I expected her to stay still after that, but that wasn't the end of it. She grabbed my neck and her face buried into my shoulder, panting hard. "I swear, I'm gonna kill Luke after this..." she muttered faintly while coughing. "Hey JC! You haven't finished your lap yet!"

"Shut up, Luke!"

Maybe she thought I was a branch or something, because she didn't detach from me yet. She was holding on tightly, as if she would drown again if she does. "Dammit," she cursed.

"You okay?" I managed to ask.

"Y-yeah... I'm... I'm... wait, what?" She removed her face from my shoulder and looked at me. Her eyes widened and she removed her arms off me. The second she did, she started sinking again. I realized that we weren't near the edge anymore, so there's nothing else for her to hold on except me. "Gah!" she shouted, climbing back onto my body just so she would be able to survive. "Hey baby! Are you gonna finish the lap around the pool or are you just gonna hang on Kyousuke forever?!"

"Stop calling me that, you idiot!" She started clawing at my shoulders- good thing her nails were trimmed. "I'd rather drown that have you calling me that."