'This wasn't how it was supposed to be,' Dash thought as he sat in a life guard chair under an umbrella and looked out over the empty pool. He was supposed to be sleeping in, enjoying his summer break after his junior year, and working his part time job during the middle of the day when most people came to swim, not waking up at the crack of dawn to come watch the pool at 8 am for anyone who wanted to swim that early when the water was still cold.
The life-guarding job was only part time, he worked with two others and each took a four hour shift during the days the pool was open, which was every day except Sunday. Dash had sadly drawn the short straw for the first week and gotten stuck with the morning so now the blond teen had to sit there until noon when one of the others would come relieve him for the day. It wasn't so bad because he didn't have to actually do anything but he had been hoping to check out some people covertly, but at this rate he likely wasn't going to see many kids his age.
After sitting around for 30 minutes watching the pool water ripple Dash about fell asleep again when he heard some foot steps coming from the locker rooms. He jerked his head up and shook it to wake himself up in case it was his boss but settled down when he saw it was just some guy he couldn't recognize. He saw that the guy looked about his age, and had dark hair that was a little long but that didn't really narrow it down for him, a lot of guys had dark hair. He was pretty built too, not overly so but he had development that likely came from physical activity instead of just working out. He had all the signs and build of being a swimmer from the swim cap he put on his head, to the goggles, and down to the very tight shorts that hugged his waist and thighs to prevent drag.
Dash was a little surprised to see someone young there so early. He figured most kids would still be asleep enjoying being able to sleep in like he so wished he had been able to do today. By the looks of the guy though he seemed really dedicated to swimming as he got out a small watch and set it on the edge of the deep end. The young man situated his goggles and looked at his watch before he dove right into the chilly morning waters.
The young man swam quickly down the pool flipped around and started to swim back at an impressive speed. Dash watched with mild interest as he swam the length of the pool and back. He noticed at one point that he barely had come up for air through most of the length and had to admit to himself that the guy must be able to hold his breath for a long time. As the swimmer made it back to his starting point he pulled himself up and looked at his watch again for the time. A smile came to his face from what Dash assumed was a good time and watched the guy as he proceeded to repeat the procedure several more times over the next hour.
As the sun started to rise higher a few more people started to come to the pool. Mainly there were only a few early morning sunbathers and a couple of seniors who kept to the shallow end to swim about. Dash didn't pay too much attention to them but kept an ear out for any trouble as he continued to watch the young man swimming back and forth. Each time he made a lap he'd check his watch, get out, and either get a drink of water from a bag he had carried out or would dive back in.
Finally after swimming back and forth the young man got out of the water and went over to one of the lounge chairs that were around the pool and started to towel off. His chest was heaving from all the exertion of swimming for nearly two straight hours and Dash watched him closer still trying to figure out who this guy was without being too obvious about it.
When he took off his swim cap and started to dry his hair is when it finally hit him. The guy never seemed to brush his hair and always wore it sloppily like he just toweled it off without a care.
"Fenton?" Dash called out forgetting for a moment that everyone around him was being quiet and now looking at him because of his sudden outburst.
"Dash?" Danny looked up and finally took notice that the blond lifeguard was actually Dash Baxter, his resident pain in the butt who had been bullying him off and on for the last couple years.
"What are you doing here?" The young raven haired man walked over to look up at Dash sitting in the life guarding chair.
"Me? I'm working here. What are you doing here? And since when are you such a great swimmer?"
Danny looked away with a grunt of annoyance, "I'm doing drills. I joined the swim team at school since I've always been pretty good at it. I figure maybe I can get a scholarship if I work a bit more at it. But you're the lifeguard here?"
"Just part time, I got stuck with the morning shift this week," Dash looked over the smaller teen for a moment. He hadn't been much of a bully or paying much attention to Danny over their junior year because he had been trying to focus more on his future, but he never would have imagined that the shrimp he had beaten on would have gotten so muscular. He had to admit that he was impressed with the guy.
"Well… I guess I'll be seeing you around then this week," Danny looked at him a bit nervously. To him Dash was still a bully in his eyes and being around him made him nervous.
"Yeah, I guess so. Why are you coming here so early though? Most people stop by in the afternoon or evening when the water is warmer."
"The cold really doesn't bother me too much," Danny shrugged and looked back at where he had left his bag, "I gotta get on home and get some lunch though. Uhh… Have a nice shift I guess."
With that Danny started to walk away and Dash watched him leave. He had to shake his head away when he noticed that he had been staring at his retreating form for longer than he should have.
"Geeze, what is wrong with me." Dash muttered to himself before he cast one last look at Danny slipping on a shirt and walking away. He took one last moment to watch him before he cast his eyes back out to the pool and waited for his shift to be over.