1992

chapter eleven

graham

last day of school finally arrives and damon wanted us to go somewhere else after class.

it was a fresh, sunny day.
the familiar scent of the cool wind in the air running through my face, ruffling my hair and giving me goosebumps was one of the few things i enjoyed of colchester.

damon told me he was in the mood to go for a swim for a bit and he opted for the niquette bay state park, a park in colchester near a lake where he would sometimes visit with his family or even all alone.

when we arrived, he had brought some ales and snacks he had bought on the way to the lake.

there was this group of people having a barbecue, actually, a big group of people.
a few couples enjoying a picnic together and some kids playing tag with other kids.

the lake was all vacant, no people to be found.

'you want?' he offered me a bag of chips and an ale.
'no, thanks.' i replied.
'i didn't see you eating this morning, come on.' he insisted.
'well, let's say these aren't the most healthiest things to eat when you haven't had anything in your stomach.' i said.
'let's say it isn't the healthiest thing not to eat anything at all either.' he replied back.

in the end, i accepted and opened the bag of chips and the ale he was handing to me.
i actually didn't enjoy the bitter and strong flavour of ales, i thought they were worse than an actual beer.

but this time, there was something different about it, and i quite enjoyed the first sip.

this time, i was feeling sort of different.

damon had turned on the radio and 'three card trick' by the clash could be heard.

before going to the lake, damon had changed his uniform and had been only left wearing a sports short he kept in the trunk of his car.

he had a large and hairy chest, my eyes tracing the structure of his bones giving him the perfect shape of his shoulders and all the way down to his waist, the v-line on his abdominis muscles almost noticeable.

i knew i was staring when damon glared at me for a bit and a smile began to draw his face.

fuck.

'i know. i'm too alluring. i've had received quite a few looks like yours before.' he joked.

i rolled my eyes and instantly began to blush, this time was redder.

since i didn't have the ability to swim, i decided to only watch him from the distance.
for once, i wished i could swim so i could join him.

instead, i sat on the hood of the car, grabbed my backpack and pulled out my sketchbook and began drawing the sight that was in front of me.
the tall and fresh trees, the wind slightly blowing the leaves and a few of them deliberately falling off the trees, the immense endless lake and the little shape of damon swimming in it.

i didn't notice the song was still playing.

'who knows any better than to kick and scratch under english weather?'  was the lyric i wrote at the bottom of my drawing, small, but small enough to be readable.

seemed like damon had read my thoughts.

'hey coxon, i think this would be a good time for you to learn to swim.' he shouted.
'no, thanks. i'm good.' i replied.

he came out of the lake and began walking towards me.

'when are you gonna learn? eventually, you'll have to.' he signed.
'yes, but not now.'

he tugged at my sleeve, insisting that i should join him and let him teach me how to swim.

'damon, are you kidding? i said not now, plus i don't have any clothes to wear to swim.' i said, slightly annoyed.
'that's not a problem, i've got some clothes in my trunk. you could borrow them.' he insisted again.
'wanker.'

i had worn some shorts damon had given me, they were a bit oversized and i had to adjust them to my tiny waist.

damon grabbed my wrist and pulled me with him to the lake.

'right, put your arms around me.' he instructed me, but he didn't give me time to do as told as he was already pulling my arm the back of his neck.

'put your legs around my waist.' he instructed again.
'no, i don't want to do this.' i said quietly.
'just, trust me.' he said, looking at me with soft eyes.

he hooked his arm around the back of my knee, hiking my leg up on his hip.

'we're gonna go deeper, you're gonna let go, i'm gonna struggle and drown-
'stop- just, stop. you're overthinking, none of that is going to happen.' he said, hushing me.

i sighed and swallowed hard, reminding myself that i was always safe with him and that i could trust him no matter what.
i wrapped my arms around his neck, hooking my legs around his waist.

'now, you gotta listen to me, alright? he said.
my life depended on this now, i had to listen to everything he was going to tell me.

'i'm gonna let go and you gotta hold onto the side there.' he pointed the big rock that was only a few meters away.
'it's sink or swim.'

'no! no, no, no, don't let go-
'hey it's okay, i'm not gonna let you drown. i'm going to swim to the other side and i want you to keep listening to me.' he interrupted.
'what if i sink?' i asked, worried.
'then you die.' he grinned.
'fuck off, get me out of here.' i spat.
'kidding, kidding. you know very well that i'm not going to let you sink.'

'right, you're going to want to kick out of sync, but like a rythm. you're going to kick back and forth, out of sync and you're going to do the same with your arms, except that you're going to swim in the direction you wanna go, which should be towards me.'

'you have to quit being scared. don't let fear stop you from doing this.' he stated.
'if i sink, it'll take you a while to get to me-
'did you even listen to any of what i said? if i see you struggling, i'll meet you in the middle. but i know you've got this, i believe in you.' he tried to give me motivation.

he untangled my legs from his waist, took my arms off his neck and started to swim backwards toward the other side.

i began inhaling and exhaling moderately, causing me to become dizzy. i wanted to scream, i felt like i was going to sink straight to the bottom.

but i had to try this. as damon said, i had to quit being a coward. fear was always stopping me from doing things i always wanted to do, but not this time.

i did as told. i repeated damon's instructions in my head and began swimming towards the other side, i kicked back and forth, out of sync. it was getting easier and i was feeling a sudden relief.

before having the time to reach to the other side, damon grabbed my waist and pulled my body in front of him, hiking my legs up on his hips again.

'see? you did it. i'm proud of you.' he laughed, i could smell the strong scent of the ale he had drunk before.

'are you drunk?' i asked, wipping the water dripping down my face.
'not yet.' he grinned.
'no more ales for you, i wanna get home safely.' i signed.

A/N
next chapter is going to be like a continuation of this part so i might post it later. not too sure tho
thank u for reading<33