Once on the stand, Alfred watched the man in a speedo with a keen eye.
Somehow, he was going to have to find out if that man was gay.
Just by watching him.
Already, Alfred was adding faults to his character. In his mind, the man was below scum, due to that accursed speedo. And he had this, this...cocky sway, that was only exemplified by a permanent smirk. And his eyebrows! What was wrong with them?! The man's hair was blonde but his eyebrows had taken on an extremely dark tint, almost black. Even when his hair was wet they stood out like caterpillars on a leaf...
Just looking at him was pissing Alfred off. But he had to win this bet…
So he kept watching.
Begrudgingly, Alfred admitted that the man did have quite the physique. Alfred had seen far too many men with their shirts off (at the pool!) to not give him some credit. It was obvious from his toned stomach and weighted arms that he was into some kind of intense athletics.
But that did not excuse the Union Jack speedo he was wearing.
No matter where the man was, Alfred couldn't stop looking at it. Even after dragging his eyes off the speedo, a few seconds later Alfred found himself glaring at it again. That stupid god damn speedo…
And the man was beginning to notice Alfred's glare.
Every now and then he would look up at Alfred, and smirk. Smirk! Who the hell does this guy think he is?! Alfred's internal rage monster was up and roaring, furiously waving patriotic banners.
Yet it continued. The man seemed to remain in the diving area exclusively to annoy Alfred. Or at least that's what Alfred thought.
Again and again the speedo man jumped up onto the diving board to perform perfectly sculpted dives, making hardly a bubble. Others began to shuffle aside when he got in line for the board, offering their positions just so that they could watch him dive.
Gradually, an audience of kids, followed by their parents, and then teens began to form, creating a ring around the diving well.
"Alright, what do I do next?" the man prompted, turning in a circle on the board. He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair while the children grappled for a response.
Alfred folded his hands under his chin, gaze unreadable.
I hope you land on your ass. He thought dryly
"Do a triple!" One kid shouted, fist pumping.
"WAIT, No no a backwards triple!" He corrected himself, looking pleased.
Other kids began to cheer, and the parents turned to look at the speedo man expectantly.
For once the man had lost his cocky smirk.
Alfred saw his jaw tense, a steely look overcome his features.
Alfred's eyes narrowed.
He's not going to do it, right? Just because some kid asked…
He's not that stupid.
Alfred hoped.
The man wound up from the very end of the board, hunching forward with an odd sort of scowl on his face. His tongue was sticking out slightly, Alfred noticed.
A split second later he was off, bonding toward the end of the board. He sprang into the sky, legs tucking over his head, once, twice, three times! He crashed into the water head first, a bit sloppily, but the crowd cheered anyway.
But Alfred knew that something was wrong. There had been a crack when the man's head had collided with the water, and Alfred knew that at the height the man had been, his impact would be painful, even if he had entered correctly.
Alfred was already in the water when the bubbles started coming up red.
Taking a huge breath, Alfred dove below the surface, kicking furiously towards the bottom of the 15-foot tank.
The man was lying limp at the bottom, unconscious and bleeding from both of his ears in weaving streams of red.
Alfred hurriedly fumbled to flip the man around, hooking his arms under the other man's and pushing off the bottom to reach his discarded buoy, floating at the surface. Shifting his grip on the man to have his arm wrapped around his chest, Alfred grabbed his buoy and hauled both of them over it, clearing the man's head from the water.
At the presence of air, the man came to, gasping as his eyes snapped open in bewilderment, searching wildly around before settling on Alfred's face, which was turned towards the side of the pool, where they were heading.
The man hung onto Alfred's arms, albeit weakly, even when they bumped into the side of the pool.
Alfred saw Francis on the other side of the pool, worriedly scanning the rest of the patrons while Alfred was in the water.
Alfred turned back to look at the man he'd rescued, startled by the unnatural acidic green eyes that met his.
The man was just looking at him pathetically, eyes wide, terrified, still clinging onto his arms.
Alfred glanced pointedly at his constrained arms, mouth in a flat line.
The man's eyes widened even more, and he immediately let go of Alfred, head dipping below the surface before he came up again, sputtering. Alfred smiled sympathetically, helping him grab onto the pool side, though still keeping an arm across the man's back to make sure he didn't dip under again.
"Hi," he said softly, not wanting to hurt the man's bleeding ears.
"I'm Alfred, I'm a lifeguard. May I provide care for you?"
The man was looking at him quizzically, confused by the formality, but nodded anyway.
Their audience on the pool deck was all hushed, intently watching the scene unfold before them.
"Let's get out of the pool," Alfred said, tugging the man over to one of the step ladders. The man took the steps shakily, almost slipping before making it to the top.
Alfred hauled himself out onto the pool deck, holding the man's shoulders to keep him steady.
Shaking incredibly, the man began to sway back as forth through the parting crowd. A few steps later Alfred was holding the entirety of the man's weigh.
With a tight smile Alfred flipped the man into his arms, carrying him to where the first aid kits were in the facilities' guard shack.
The man still seemed to be in a bit of a daze when Alfred plopped him down on one of the chairs in the office, and wrapped a towel around his quivering form.
"Alright," Alfred began. "I need to check your vitals." Seeing the growing look of horror on the man's face at the mention of "vitals," Alfred quickly added, "just your heart rate. And I need to look at your ears too." Alfred coaxed a band around one of the man's pale arms, tightening it slightly. The man watched it contract numbly, eyes dilated and glazed.
While the heart rate machine checked for irregularities in the man's heartbeat, Alfred produced a small flash light, shining it into the man's right eye.
Alfred's brow furrowed when the man's pupils remained enlarged, not reacting to the light in the least.
Alfred checked his ears next, gently turning his head to get a better look inside them. A trickle of blood ran down the man's pale cheek, causing him to flinch when he saw the red spot land on the floor, just next to his toes.
Alfred grimly concluded that the man had injured both of his ear drums during his dive.
"Okay," Alfred said calmly, "You need to go to Urgent Care. I think your ear drums are ruptured and you have a concussion," he said slowly. "Is there someone who can drive you there?"
The man's eyes widened in shock again. "No," he croaked, "no, not necessary…" he trailed off into a grimace.
"So you don't want me to call them?" Alfred clarified, one eyebrow raised.
"Don't call them," the man shook his head. "I feel fine, really," he coughed.
Alfred stared at him impassively, waiting for the man to change his mind.
No response came.
"All right," Alfred said, shrugging. "I'll write down that you refused professional service. I'll go get you an ice pack for your head. Oh, and" Alfred paused midway out the door, "I'll have to monitor you for at least another hour, okay? Stay here."
Alfred gave him a firm look, which was returned by a weak smile of the man.
"Thank you," the man said.
Francis came up to the room then, having just finished clearing the pool.
"Is he okay?" He immediately asked Alfred, searching the man's face with such intensity that the man flinched.
"Relatively," Alfred shrugged. "Can you get an ice pack?" He asked. "He has a pretty bad concussion."
Francis nodded briskly, disappearing again.
A moment of silence passed.
"When will my ears heal?" the man asked suddenly.
Alfred's mouth hardened while he thought. "It may be over a month before they're fully healed," he stated, shrugging to ensure the man knew it was only a guess. "It depends on the severity. Personally, I would go visit a doctor to see if I could get a prescription to stop an infection."
The man looked glumly at the floor. "That doesn't sound very easy." He stated simply. "I don't have a doctor here."
"Here?" Alfred asked, turning around. "You're not from around here?"
"I'm afraid not." He chuckled. "Not even from America actually…I'm from London. I'm here on holiday visiting an old friend from grade school who moved here."
"Oh." Alfred said, crossing his arms. Dammit, Francis was right! He is European!
"All I know about London is that it rains a lot." Alfred attempted a friendly smile, leaning against a table. It was hard to play it cool when he'd just lost a bet.
Wait.
Had he lost?
Francis didn't know that the man was from London…right?
Alfred smiled slyly, reinvigorate by the knowledge.
"They don't celebrate the Fourth of July, right?" Alfred added shyly, smiling despite himself.
The man's green eyes narrowed into glaring slits. "You had to bring it up." He almost hissed.
Alfred stared. It suddenly seemed extremely cold in the room.
"Well, I mean, it is the Fourth of July. How can you expect me to not bring it up?" Alfred protested, arms folding over his chest.
Damn I need a towel. Alfred thought, looking at the puddle he'd made on the floor.
Francis popped in then, a hazy look to his eyes as he wordlessly shoved a few ice packs into Alfred's chest before disappearing again, most likely to inform their boss of what was going on.
Alfred gently crushed the ice packs in his hand, humbled by the sudden reminder that he had a job.
The man looked at Alfred expectantly, a dark glare still prominent on his face.
"Sorry," Alfred began sheepishly, pressing one of the ice packs to the back of the man's head.
"I probably shouldn't be making you angry."
"Probably not." The man said, a bit too sharply, his foot tapping on the floor.
Shamed, Alfred remained silent, mechanically pulling out a stack of incident reports from one of the cabinets.
"Alright, I need to get your name, contact information, etc., etc.," Alfred began. "It's a mandatory facility thing." He said. "So, what's your name?"
"Arthur Kirkland." The man said, studiously avoiding the lifeguards gaze.
Alfred wrote that down in scrawling ink.
"Phone number?"
"I don't have cell coverage here." Arthur replied, rolling his eyes.
"Is there a phone where you're staying?" Alfred asked.
Arthur paused. "The friend I'm staying with has one."
"Do you know their number?"
Arthur paused again, brows furrowing. "No, I don't think so."
Alfred paused.
"Does your friend know that you're here?" he asked, almost accusingly.
Arthur pondered that for a bit. "I don't think so," he admitted, scratching the back of his head, only to wince.
Seriously? Alfred thought. Crap friend you've got there…
"Uh, I suppose I could give you the address though if you needed that." Arthur finally looked over to Alfred. "Would that be helpful?"
"Well…yes." Alfred admitted. "But I also do need a way to contact you to check up on you later."
"Just come by the place." Arthur said simply. "I'll be home."
Alfred paused a moment, contemplating the request.
"I don't think I can do that." He said slowly, drawing out the words. "Is there no other way to contact you?"
The smirk returned. "No." Arthur said, a wolfish look overcoming his features.
Alfred swallowed hard, suddenly feeling trapped.
"I guess I can do that." Alfred finally said, fiddling with the papers in his hands.
Arthur stuck his hand, out, asking for the form. Passing it over with a clipboard and pen, Alfred couldn't help but notice he felt an odd sort of dread rising in his chest.
Arthur wrote down an address in neat print, circling it with the pen.
Looking back up at Alfred with a smile he said, "I look forward to seeing you later," and handed Alfred back the clipboard.
Author's Note: Okay, I honestly don't know where this is going...which is kind of bad. Anyway, please let me know what you think (or if you have suggestions for where this should continue to)! I greatly appreciate any feedback! Thank you for reading!