Shadowteer

Chapter 33

Manon sputtered and swam up to the surface just in time to see Alex standing over her with a nasty grin on her face. "Oh my gosh, Manon, I am so sorry. It was a complete accident."

She felt rage build up within her, but above that rage was the embarrassment. She could hear laughter and she wanted it to stop. She covered her face with her hair, wishing she could drown when someone gasped. She looked up, shocked to see Chris jumping in in all his shirtless glory. He swam over and grabbed her.

"Manon! Are you okay?!"

"Dude, what are you doing?"

"I... I thought you couldn't... Swim?"

"That was when I was six, dude. I learnt how to swim years ago!" He fell silent, an embarrassed blush rising on his face.

"Oh. Wow. I just made a complete fool of myself." He blushed harder when he heard the laughter above him and dove behind Manon. She giggled and pulled him out of the water, pressing her lips against his cheek.

"Well, you might be the sweetest complete fool I've ever met. Thank you." He stammered out a few words, unable to form a sentence. While she was speaking, his eyes had trailed down and he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. "Chris? Chris!"

He tore his eyes away and looked at her with wide eyes. "I... Don't think I'm gonna be getting out of here for a while."

She frowned until the lightbulb hit. She eased away from him, her face burning. "Right. Yeah. I'll see you at the house later, then." He forced himself to ignore the water dripping down her frame as she got out and focused on calming his little buddy down. He got up and entered the house, raising an eyebrow when he saw Manon talking to Riley. He walked over and put an arm around her, sending a cold stare Riley's way. He was undaunted, shamelessly licking his lips.

"You look adorable shorty. What next, gonna put ribbons in your hair and walk around pouting? Oh wait, you already do that."

"Wow, aren't you just a sweet talker. I wonder why we broke up in the first place. I recommend you take those words and shove 'em up your butt. While you're at it, look up Better Than You Left Me by Mickey Guyton and Fuck You by Cee Lo Green. If you can't already tell by the titles, they'll tell you exactly what I think about you." He rolled his eyes, looking unimpressed. She shrugged, folding her arms. Chris smiled a little and turned to Riley.

"Just so you know, Ryan, Manon isn't just 'adorable'-"

"It's Riley-" he ignored him and continued.

"She's fucking gorgeous. A goddess with beauty like hers deserves respect." Manon choked on air and blinked rapidly. That's a... A lot of compliments. "Take your fame digging girlfriend and leave. You definitely deserve each other."

"Oh yeah, and Alex, wanna thank you for the shove. And for everything else you've done to pull me and Chris away from each other cause it's only made our bond stronger. Hope the door hits you on the way out." Riley rolled his eyes and grabbed Alex by the wrist. She winced and followed him, looking at Chris and Manon one last time with an expression that conveyed no emotion. The door shut and everyone cheered. They both laughed at their idiot classmates who had shipped them from day one, turning back to each other.

"Right. Still wearing the bikini, huh? Don't want to give a guy a break?" She chuckled, not realising just how much of an effect she had on him. It was getting harder and harder for him to control his urges. She slipped on a jacket and shorts, in the end, just to make it easier for him and watched the crowd of people thin out. In the evening, it was only her, the gang, the Dupain-Chengs, Agrestes and the Lahiffes left.

"Thanks for coming everyone." She hugged Sabine warmly and nearly suffocated when Tom pulled her into his chest. A round of hugs was shared, an awkward silence rising when it was Marinette's turn. "Uh... Marinette... I just want to say I'm sorry-"

"No, Manon, that was all my fault. I shouldn't have mentioned it. Plus, things seem good with Chris." She winked. Chris looked between them, clearly confused. They both laughed and hugged. Marinette was about to pull away but Manon held on to her.

"You were a great babysitter. You've always been good to me, even back then. Thank you." Marinette smiled and nodded, joking about how difficult but fun she had been to look after.

"Later bro." Chris waved to Nino silently. Manon hugged the little ones goodbye and shut the door.

"Well gang, I guess its time for you guys to go too, huh? It's getting pretty late, it's gonna get dark in a bit so go-"

"Who wants to play truth or dare?" They ignored Manon's protests and made her sit next to Chris as they formed a circle. They spun a bottle to decide who would ask and who would answer. Eventually, the bottle reached Chris. Meera looked up with bright eyes, a wide smirk on her face. Chris groaned, knowing it would be something horrible.

"Truth or dare, Chrisie poo?"

"This isn't going to end well either way so I'm just gonna go with a dare. Not that it's safer but I don't trust you, woman." Her grin expanded and at that moment, Chris knew he had chosen the wrong option.

"You were right not to trust me. I dare you to go do seven minutes in heaven with Manon!" The others cheered. Kemen mumbled, 'that's why she's my girl', under his breath, making her smile widen. They both groaned but their friends were adamant.

Eventually, they were shoved into Manon's room. Chris managed to flip them the bird before they shut the door and locked it. He groaned and turned to Manon who was staring at him. "What?"

"Uh... I dunno. You aren't wearing your hoodie."

"And you're not wearing any clothes. It's weird for me too." She rolled her eyes and flicked his arm. They sat down and she packed her hair into a bun, kicking off her slippers.

"I'm wearing a jacket and shorts. Pretty sure that's enough."

"How've you been?"

"Me?" She smiled and bobbed her head up and down. "I'm okay."

"No, you're not. I don't appreciate that lie." She chuckled.

"You really get me, dude. It's kinda scary, to be honest. Yeah, you know what Serena said about my dad? Lieutenant Orlando Chamack, he was a soldier in the army. He died defending those who couldn't defend themselves. He had such a bright smile... She made me hate him. Despise a man I never got the chance to know." She cleared her throat, pushing back her tears with a smile. "I'm fine though. All good."

"Really?"

"Yep." He bit back a groan and ran a hand through his hair, sending her a look. She folded her arms. "What?"

"This may sound weird and all but you have to cry." She blinked, not fully understanding. "I knew it would be weird... But like I said, I need you to cry. Not want. Need. Seeing you cry makes me feel worse than my hypnophobia, insomnia and PTSD combined but it'll help you release and you need that. Please cry, Manon."

"I... I don't want to... I won't..." She fought back her tears fiercely. Hearing him say all those things made her want to cry even more than before. He shoved his hands in his pockets and moved to the door.

"I'll give you your privacy-"

"No- uh- wait..."

"Yeah?"

"Uh... I just- I mean-" she tried to form words but it wasn't going so great. He tilted his head to the side, nodding slowly.

"You want me to stay here with you?"

"Y-yes. I do." She took a deep breath and nodded once.

"W-well, I don't know Manon, you know I don't like dealing with this kinda thing, I'm no good at it and I won't be able to-"

"Just stay. Please?" He squirmed. She took a step closer and grabbed his hand. He sighed gently and opened his arms wide.

"...fine." She sighed a little and accepted his warm embrace, finally letting the tears flow.