** #2 in WATTYAWARDS** ** #24 in FUNNY!** **#3 in SHORT STORY** I whipped around to smell the scent of pine, cigarettes, and mint. Amused grey eyes shined, and dark, shaggy, brown hair filled my vision. His hands were in his low, dark jeans, and his muscled chest puffed out of his white t-shirt, and black leather jacket. His smirk made me tense up. "You." I glared. "Me." He smiled. The one person who could piss me off in a split second, the person who was the sole reason I am who I am today was leaning against one of the navy blue lockers. The atomic bomb just exploded in my life. And his name is Roman Quinn. DISCLAIMER: I wrote this when I was a good 12 years old. There are plot holes, spelling and grammar errors. However, this is the first thing I've ever written and somehow I am STILL proud of it and the grateful for anyone who laughed. (Even if it was just once). Viewer Discretion is Advised.

Everyone has a fear. Fear of spiders? Arachnophobia. Fear of small spaces? Claustrophobia. And of course, the fear of being tickled by feathers: pteronophobia. Sophie Smart fears drowning. No, her fear isn't some made up malarkey like exposedflabophobia (acute paranoia when wearing a swimsuit and baring pasty thighs and a round bottom). Sophie drowned as a child. She died for three minutes. Her childhood trauma is real. Yet Sophie, hot-shot advertising executive, isn't a child anymore. Now Sophie's most important client, handsome Matthew Silver, is insisting she learn how to swim. She can't blame him really - he's the owner of a chain of swimming centers, and Sophie's in charge of his new advertising campaign. The last thing Sophie wants to do is get in the water, in a clingy swimsuit, with a client she's trying to impress. She's not going to win him over flapping around like an idiot, is she? But with a broken heart from her last relationship, maybe getting into the pool is just what Sophie needs. Maybe she can trust Matthew with her fears. Maybe it's time for her to forget about her past and take the plunge?