The Elijah Walker Fanclub

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

They announced the swimmers as they entered the pool for their races, which allowed me to see Elijah splash into the water and take his position. By the time his race started the team was doing pretty average as a whole. None of the other teams were really doing amazingly well but ours needed this win just to ensure they'd qualify for the finals. There was another race after this one, but it wasn't against any of the teams that were in the lead.

A klaxon signalled the start of the race and the swimmers pushed off from the edge of the pool. Elijah wasn't as quick to start as everyone else was but once he got some momentum going, he sped through the water like a dolphin who'd ingested its weight in skittles.

The sound from the crowd, especially the part of the stands where the people from our school stood, was momentous. The roars of voices calling out the names of the swimmers was deafening, the energy was so much that even Cody got involved, grabbing my hand and punching it into the air as he screamed.

I wanted to scream Elijah's name too, but I was caught up in the enthusiasm, my pulse racing and my body completely tensed as I watched the water with all of my built up excitement bubbling just below the surface.

When Elijah finished the race, beating out the other teams by a mile, I wooped along with everybody else, jumping up and down with Cody with big beaming smiles on our faces.

The energy calmed down a little after that for the final race. A lot of the crowd was beginning to peel away, with their own schools' teams either already moving onto the finals or having missed out on the chance. The swimmers who had finished competing were already back in their school tracksuits and standing off to the side of the pool talking in groups.

"I'm just going to pop to the bathroom before we head back," said Cody, eyeing up a group of swimmers dressed in the same green colours the curly-haired boy had been wearing earlier.

"Okay, have fun with the bathroom," I said, holding up my fingers in air quotations when I said bathroom and grinning at him. "I'll be here."

Cody rolled his eyes but didn't deny his plans to track down the swimmer. Instead he flipped his ponytail over his shoulder and headed off toward the pool. I smiled after him, then scanned the area. Elijah had disappeared after his race. My shoulders drooped in disappointment as I realised, he may have already gone home.

"I thought I told you to back off," said a croaky voice beside me.

My eyes snapped to Danicka Avery, standing with her hands propped on her hips and her long blonde hair hanging loosely over her chest. The expression on her face said I don't like you in a million different miniscule muscle movements. I blinked back at her. This girl was persistent as heck!

"Is that what that was?" I asked, finding my voice again. "I thought it was more like a strongly worded warning. You know, like, don't stroke those crocodiles because they might think you're a tasty snack."

Danicka scowled and shook her head in frustration. "I don't understand what you don't get about this. I said to back off and you joined the council, and now you're here. You clearly don't understand what you're up against," she said, her voice breaking as she spoke.

"Are you okay?" I asked, ignoring her comments, and peering at her face. "You sound a little hoarse, are you getting sick."

For some reason that seemed to make her angrier. She grinded her teeth and spat out her words like venom. "I was cheering loudly." She gestured to her throat. "This is just the consequence of caring a lot about how Elijah feels. He deserves to feel like a star."

"Okay," I said straightening and cocking my head to the side. "What did you want again?"

"Just stay away from Elijah Walker, you don't deserve him," she growled.

She fisted her hands at her sides as she marched past me, shoving me with her shoulder so hard that I stumbled backwards. I stretched my hands out to the sides for something to grab onto but there was nothing nearby. I fell backward, landing on a cushioned ground. Danicka had already disappeared off as I brushed myself off, wondering what had broken my fall.

My relief was quickly washed away by agonising pain as my bare arms began to burn like they had caught on fire. I looked behind me and to my horror discovered I'd landed smack bang in the nettle bush.

"Are you alright Mae?" said Elijah, materialising as if by magic right in front of me. He held out an outstretched hand, the hand of my guardian angel coming to rescue me from my torment. "Here, let me help you up."

I took his assistance and he helped pull me to my feet. As much as I wanted to continue holding onto his hand, I needed my own to rub against my enflamed arms. I looked down to see hundreds of angry bumps taking up residence all over the bare skin. It hurt so bad I wanted to cry and yell. But I couldn't do that with Elijah stood right there in front of me with those big concerned eyes of his.

"I saw you fall, I can't believe Danicka just walked off after she saw you land in the nettles," he said, his eyes falling to the ugliness that was now my arms.

"It's not so bad," I said, trying to shake it off. It was bad, and my gosh did it hurt.

"Oh, hang on, I've just remembered something," he said thoughtfully, walking past me and crouching on the ground near the nettles. He started ripping large leaves out of the ground and came back to me swinging them around like leafy fans.

"Here," he said, taking one of the leaves and rubbing it up and down my arm.

I watched him in wonder as the pain began to subside a little, like he'd magicked it away with his sorcery skills. "What are you doing?" I asked him, shocked at his sudden medical ability.

He moved over to my other arm, glancing up quickly to offer me a small smile. "Dock leaves have this weird numbing effect on nettle stings, and by sheer luck they tend to grow near nettles," he explained.

I shook my head in disbelief. "That's amazing, how did you know that?"

"It was just something my mum used to do for me," he said, his voice softening. "I was a bit of a terror when I was a kid, always running off into woodland, climbing trees and swimming in ponds. I've had my fair share of nettle stings."

The way he spoke about his mum made me feel a sting of jealousy. Not because he clearly adored her, but because I didn't remember having any loving memories like that with my own mum.

"Is that better?" he asked, stepping back to analyse his handiwork.

The marks didn't look quite so furious anymore, and it still hurt but not so much like I had my arm stuck in an open flame. I shook my arms at my sides and smiled up at him. "Tons better, thank you."

"Good," he said, his smile bright, relieved.

He was so sweet and sincere, like one of those old-fashioned gentlemen you saw in movies. I just wanted to curl up in a big comfy chair in front of a log fireplace and endlessly listen to him tell stories about his childhood. But my moment of serenity was quickly slashed

"If you're okay, I better head off," said Elijah, now looking past me in the direction of the car park. "I'm getting a lift with the boys and it looks like they're ready to head off."

"Oh okay," I said, trying not to sound as disappointed as I felt. "See you later then... Oh and, congratulations on the win."

"Thanks," he said, shyly, and raised his hand in a bye gesture. "See you at school LB."

I waved back and watched as he ran off toward the car park, my heart doing a small flip inside my chest. It was nice that he knew my name now, but I definitely preferred when he called me by my nickname.

**Author's Note**

Fun fact, this actually happened to me when I was ten, and being covered in nettle stings is one of the worst type of pains!

Super Elijah to the rescue! Sorry for the semi-regular updates, I know I usually post slightly more often but I've been a bit busy recently planning for a big move. I hope you won't hold it against me and continue to enjoy the new chapters :)