Hello again! I have another one-shot for you! Please note that Splash City is a name made up by me! I do not know if it exists, and I do not own it if it does.
Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent, or any characters in the story. Only the plotline is mine (as far as I know).
Thank you so so so so much for all the views, reviews, and support on my first two stories.
"C'mon Tris," my best friend, Christina begs. "Please? I'll owe you one." I shake my head adamantly.
"Two?" she asks. I shake my head again. She's been trying to convince me to go on this giant, but pretty gentle water slide with the rest of the gang: Marlene, her boyfriend, Uriah, Chris and her boyfriend, Will, Shauna, and her boyfriend, Zeke, and Shauna's sister, Lynn. They've already been on it three times, without me. I'm terrified of the water, and only Christina knows it. But being the perfect (and also perfectly annoying) best friend, she never wants to see me sad, and so she told the others I wasn't feeling too good, and thus, would not go on the rides with them.
I sigh. I promised Chris I would go with everyone to Splash City, when she was crying over a bad breakup a couple of weeks ago, and she decided this was the perfect weekend to do it. I tried convincing her that we were too old for it; we were 21, and Zeke and Shauna were even older for heaven's sake! When that didn't work, I made all kinds of excuses as to why I couldn't go. But she started crying even more, and asked me why I was so against it, and then of course, I had to tell her I would go.
But she wouldn't let up, and she practically forced out of me that was I was afraid of any body of water, pools included.
"Pleeeeease, Tris?" She gives me her best puppy dog eyes. "It will be really quick, I promise. You won't drown. It will be over before you know it!"
"No," I say for the hundredth time.
She huffs. "Fine. Be that way. You'll just be forever known among us as the party pooper." She declares dramatically. "The line's moving, and the gang's almost at the front. I'm getting in line with them. If you change your mind, you know where we are."
I nod, and watch her walk over to the other, most of her beautiful chocolate colored skin exposed in her blood red bandeau style bikini. I myself am in a black borrowed two- piece that makes me feel incredibly self-conscious with my obviously underdeveloped body. When I let Chris in on my insecurities, she handed me a bikini wrap to go with it, so I guess that makes it slightly better.
Christina's pleas echo in my head, and one of my mom's favorite saying pops into my head: "What's life if you don't live a little?" she used to ask me when I was little, and afraid of trying new things. I decide to suck it up and be brave. I take two steps towards the gang, then hesitate. They're almost at the front. If I go there now, there's no turning back.
What's life if you don't live a little? My mom's voice rings through my head again.
I go a couple steps further, and then a burst of confidence surges through me, and before I can think a third time about what I'm doing, I'm stepping in line with all my friends.
"Tris?" Shauna asks. "You sure you're feeling up to this ride?" Shauna's hazel eyes are full of concern. She's always been motherly towards all of us.
"Yeah, I know Christina has been bugging you, but don't go if you feel sick," Will advises, ever the erudite.
"Yeah, don't puke on the slide." Uriah jokes, resulting in a slap on the head from Marlene. He rubs the side of his head, scowling at Marlene.
"Uh, yeah, I'm, um, feeling a lot better now." I say nodding. Christina gives me a giant grin and thumbs up.
"All right", the guy checking tickets says in a bored voice. "Next ten." I take off my wrap and put it in one of the little cubbies where you put things you don't want to take up with you.
We all head up the stairs. My hands shake and I actually begin to sweat in anxiety.
"Dibs on going first!" Zeke yells before Uriah can.
"Not if you're too slow!" Uriah yells back, and starts to sprint up the stairs.
"Losers." Lynn mutters, rolling her eyes.
When we get to the top, I'm practically as soaked from sweat as the others are from the rides. One by one, they each get onto the slide, wait for the girl standing by it to give them the signal allowing them to go down the slide, and go down with a loud 'whoop!'
Soon, just a few of us remain. Shauna stands with me, along with Will and Chris. Will goes down, with a "See you guys at the end," quickly followed by Christina, and her girlish squeal. Shauna gives me another worried glance.
"You don't have to do this to prove anything, if that's what it is Tris. We get it. Besides, if you don't feel well, then the ride will only make it worse." She reminds me. But I know that I would never go back down now. I simply nod in acknowledgement that I heard her and watch her push her swim ring down the slide. I tremble as I set my own floatie down on the slide, and lay on top of it.
"Go ahead," the girl shouts over the flowing water, and loud chatter of people behind me. I squeeze my eyes shut, send a quick prayer to the lord up above, and push myself down onto the slide.
I can't help but scream as I zip down quickly, the fast-flowing water, and incline of the slide carrying me down.
A couple moments later, I see the end of the slide leading into a little pool at the end. I panic, and begin to flail wildly. Before, I can calm myself down, I reach the end of the pool, and am completely submerged. I gasp loudly, and try to keep my head above the water. Christina is trying to tell me something. I think she's saying "put your feet down." I can't think at all, my hands are still smacking the water, my face is slowly going underneath.
Before I know it, two strong arms have wrapped around my waist, and are pulling me to the stairs of the pool. I try to calm myself by looking into the man's navy blue, almost black eyes. His muscles bulge under his white and red lifeguard shirt, and red swim shorts. His dark brown hair looks black from the glistening water. In other words, he looks like a god.
He presses a hand on my back, guiding me, as I walk slowly up the pool stairs, shivering.
"Are you okay?" He asks. I startle; his voice is much deeper than I thought.
For the first time since I got out, the embarrassment of the situation fully kicks in. I mean, the pool was three feet deep! Sure, I'm a little short, but not too short to stand in three feet! I could have easily stood up straight. I blush bright red.
"Uh...yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, by the way, you know, for rescuing me." I mumble, looking at the ground, willing my cheeks to cool down a little.
He chuckles, which doesn't really help my embarrassment levels. "No problem. It's kind of my job.. Although, I think I would have done it anyway, for a beautiful girl like you. I'm Tobias, Zeke's best friend," he says gesturing to my friend, who's not being very friendly at the moment, by rolling on the ground, laughing. Yeah, definitely not helping my embarrassment levels.
"Tris," I reply, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.
"It was great to meet you. And it would be even better if I could meet you again, tonight at six," He says, almost shyly, in contrast to his prior confidence.
"Least I could do." I say, smiling at him, a faint pink blush still coloring my face.
"Thanks," he says, sounding relieved. I nod, and start walking towards the gang, waving at him.
When I get there, they're all howling with laughter.
"You thought you were drowning!" Christina chokes out, before dissolving into another fit of giggles.
"In three feet!" Uriah adds, clutching his stomach.
"Okay, okay. We got it. Now shut up." I say, eager to get the attention off me.
"It was - just - so - funny!" Marlene says, her face flushed. I roll my eyes, and walk ahead of them. As they scramble to catch up to me, I can't help but think that maybe all the embarrassment was worth my first date with this godly man.
As I said above, I appreciate your responses to my first two one-shots more than I can express. However, I have decided for now to keep them as one-shots, because I have so many more ideas. I'm actually working on another one I think you guys will like a lot. Please leave a review, and thank you to all those who reviews, favorited, and followed. A special shoutout to kiwifan13 for your suggestion. I will try to remember not to leave ANs in the middle of my stories.
~ Anna :) See you guys soon!