Unstable

Chapter 21

A/N - Isn't it great how I apparently love drowning my characters? 😅 I promise, this was definitely not planned.

--- Fox's POV ---

Strong hands shoved me into the cool waters. I thrashed frantically, splashing my friends. They shouted, but I ignored them in my panic.

As I sunk toward the bottim of the lake, my foot touched the waterbed. I froze in surprise. I thought I was it was deeper.

Looking down, the shallow floor of the lake greeted me. Waves lapped at my waist.

"What was that for?" Aither screamed, pulling at his soaked shirt.

"I thought I was drowning, okay? In my defense, Xander pushed me," I pouted.

Xander shrugged, "I just wanted you to be the first to swim, because you knew the way to the pond."

He pulled off his shirt and shoes, and Aither and Raiden did the same.

My entire outfit was soaked from my flailing. I peeled off my top, chucking it onto the bank.

"Come on, it's really nice in here!" I paddled around, legs kicking pathetically.

We made the unsaid choice of keeping our pants on, after my warning of biting fish. Which, wasn't true. Probably.

Aither and Xander waded in slowly, but Raiden plunged in, leaving his pants and underwear on the shore. We moved farther away from the shore, until I was neck deep, and the taller boys were almost shoulder deep.

I scowled at them, "This is why I hate you guys. You're all taller than me, so I look short next to you." My hair floated out behind me. Raiden had brought out his tail, and was swimming around a little farther out.

"Not our fault you're tiny." Xander said. I shoved at the water, making a wave crash over him.

"I'm average sized!" I declared.

We started a water fight, with Raiden ending up the clear victor. He was a merman, so he had the water advantage. With his tail, it was easy to create large waves to drench us.

Before I knew it, we were in the middle of the lake. I could float, but any swimming movement was limited to walking on the sea floor, and doggy paddling.

As soon as I realized that I couldn't touch the lake bed, I began to fill with fear, and my heart felt like it dropped all the way to my toes.

"Agh, shit!" I swallowed a mouthful of water, floundering.

Aither and Raiden, being enthusiastic members of the swim club at our school, were engaged in a diving contest. They hadn't noticed my plight.

I reached out, grabbing for something, anything, to save me. I managed to get ahold of Xander, and I clutched him desperately.

He looked down at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. He swam to a shallower spot in the pond, and I tested for the lake's floor. I let go of him, breathing out shakily.

"T-thanks," I mumbled.

"No problem. So you can't swim?" He asked, his mirth beginning to fade.

"No, I don't have enough stamina." I chuckled humorlessly.

"Really?" He drew out the word, thinking.

"What?" He didn't answer, just grabbed me by the forearms, and pulled back into the middle of the lake.

I instinctively struggled, toes stretching to keep contact with the lake's bottom.

"Relax," he murmured. I tried to, muscles unclenching. But my eyes were still wide with fear, and they darted around nervously. "Keep your eyes on me," he instructed.