Disclaimed: Merlin doesn't belong to me.
Replied to my Reviwers:
01beirke: You're welcome. Thanks for reviewing.
kiki1770: Hehe...the cover was not mine but a great artist from Tumblr (I did ask permission). And I will explain a little about Arthur's behavior. Like I wrote on the last chapter where Bradley explained that this is Merlin's side of the story so everything Merlin doesn't like will view as a negative. But SPOILER ARLERTS: this is only the first part. The second part will be about Colin and how he is involve to all of this and in his part, Arthur's point of view will be reveal and some questions will be answer if the first part didn't. Arthur does have some friends that he kept that are not involve with the bully group but it won't be reveal until later because this is Merlin's story. so yep :D
kenya1234: Yeah, I agreed with you that Merlin did target Arthur with all the anger he had with Valiant but the Arthur is just around to be a punching bag, I will have to disagree. If a guy who basically bully almost everyone in the school, including you, then of course you would hate him and never see the good in him. Plus, the story did show that Merlin did give Arthur many chances for them to become friends but Arthur turn his back on Merlin every time. And they're still teens so you know during those age, they're kind of emo. hehe.
zoey (guest): Hello, thanks for reading my story and thanks for the nice compliments. I'm actually flatter. Well, to be honest I wrote these stories because I didn't find anything good to read. Not that the other fanifics are bad but I just would like to read a story that is not all about sex. I write mysteries and cliffhangers because I want my readers to wonder and want to return and read more to know what happen. It's a challenge tho because this story is like two different stories putting together so it was difficult. I can't promise anything but I will try not too long to update.
Corey YoungBlood: You are my loyal reader! I love you! So spoilers are there are two part to this story. I just haven't write part two yet, which will be about Colin and Arthur's side of the story and it will be connect to this story.
Okay, I'll stop blabbing now.
Chapter 12
January 1917
Coming back to Camelot High was very hard for Merlin. His mother's health hadn't improved since he last visited, it, instead, actually got worse. He wanted to stay, to take care of her, but she forced him to go back. Merlin couldn't understand why his mother wanted him to finished school so badly when he shared the same fate as she did. How could having an education benefit him in the end? But Merlin, never going against her wishes reluctantly returned to Camelot High and Will.
There was a second reason why Merlin did not wish to return; he didn't want to face Arthur. They hadn't spoken to each other since the incident between them in November. And Arthur avoided Merlin as he requested. But days have gone by and Merlin secretly missed the bullying and the pranks they constantly threw at each other—it was the only way they kept each other close. Sometimes, he regretted telling Arthur to leave him alone when what he really wanted was for them to be…friends.
As Merlin stood in front of his dorm room door, he almost hoped that Arthur would do something mean to his belongings; like have his bed not be in the room or have his paints scattered on his desk. However again, disappointingly, he found everything remained as it were before he had left. Merlin closed the door behind him and went to sit on his bed. He realized then that there was a note left on his desk. He picked up the note. It was from Arthur asking Merlin to meet him in the basement where the pool was. Merlin wasn't sure if he should ignore the note or if he should go meet the prat in the basement as asked. For all he knew, it could be a trap. Merlin hadn't pulled any pranks on the prat for weeks and Arthur hadn't tried to humiliate Merlin in front of the student body either. Was this meeting going to be some kind of renewal of their little war? Merlin wouldn't admit it even if it was to his best friend who asked him but... he was hoping that this note was Arthur's way of renewing their little war.
But instead of going down to the basement like his whole being screamed for him to, he gently placed his head on the pillow, and decided to ignore the note. He already told Arthur that he didn't want to speak to him ever again so that was that. After laying on the bed - and staring at the white ceiling for fifteen long minutes - Merlin went walking on the very wide and long-stoned pillar passage that he stumbled across when he first arrived at Camelot high.
He was tracing his fingers on the whimsical marks when he heard someone said, "Hey, it's you." He looked up to find the same handsome boy he saw when he came to this place that first time. The boy, who was sitting in the same spot he did a few months ago continued. "Merlin, right?"
"And you," Merlin paused with his finger pointing at the other boy, forgetting his name already.
He let out a hushed laughed as he could also see that Merlin didn't remember his name. "Lancelot," he reminded him.
"Oh yeah," Merlin said as he was walked towards him. Merlin realized he was reading the same book he did back then too. "How come I never see you around the school? You're not a ghost are you?"
Lancelot threw back his head as he let out another laugh. "No, no, I'm real and alive," he assured him. "I had to withdraw from school last semester because of some family problems and when I returned a few days ago, my room seemed to be taken by a new kid named Percival."
Merlin opened his mouth in surprise; Will's roommate was supposed to be Lancelot. "Oh I'm sorry to hear that," he said, trying not to sound disappointed that Lancelot didn't end up being Will's friend. He liked Percival, a lot, but he knew Will and Lancelot would have gotten along also.
He shrugged. "It's not like they don't have spare rooms," he said, raising both of his knees up so Merlin could sit on the other end of the stone rails. "Weren't you supposed to meet Arthur down in the basement right about now?"
Merlin arched one of his brows, a little bit surprised. "You know Arthur Pendragon?"
He smiled as he nodded. "He's a friend…well, not for a long time but we recently became friends again."
"I can't imagine you being friends with that idiot."
"He wasn't always an idiot," he said, not totally disagreeing with Merlin. "He just had a lot on his shoulders."
Merlin snorted a laugh. "What could he possible have on his shoulders? Gold? Money?"
"Well, his father was one reason. He was a very vile man."
"Really? I heard he spoils Arthur a lot."
He quirked an eyebrow, questioningly. "Let me guess you heard that from the students here."
"Well yeah."
Lancelot scoffed. "And they told you that he threw a tantrum because the rooms were too small?"
"Yeah."
"That was just a rumor."
He looked skeptically at Lancelot. "Well, his room is twice the size of all the other rooms; that pretty much speaks the truth behind that rumor."
The older boy shook his head solemnly. "It wasn't Arthur's idea to knock down that wall; it was his father's. Mr. Pendragon always enjoyed finding ways to intimidate people. He doesn't just contribute a lot of money for the school from the goodness of his own heart. He only does it to scare off the other parents. And, about knocking the wall down... that wasn't Arthur's idea either. It was his father's plan too. He did it to show the students that he had power over the school. And after showing them just how powerful and how rich he could be, nobody wanted to become Arthur's roommate because they were afraid to."
Merlin still didn't seem convinced. He witnessed and even experienced Arthur's mistreatment, he couldn't imagine Arthur as a victim. "If Arthur was such a saint, how come you didn't volunteer to be his roommate then?"
"Like I said, me and Arthur weren't on good terms again until recently but that doesn't mean I don't know him." He said, sounding sincere about it. "What you heard from your classmates and the staff were based on the fear built upon what Mr. Pendragon started. They judged Arthur and then found him guilty before even getting to know him. He is more of a victim than you think."
Merlin wanted to believe what Lancelot said but Arthur had proven him wrong every single time he thought Arthur could have been a good person. "I don't see it that way."
"Really? Did you ever ask him why he was the way that he was?"
"No, but even if I asked, he wouldn't tell me. He hates me."
Lancelot smirked. "Don't be so sure about that, Merlin," he said and leaned forward. "The Arthur, I know, the real one, he is anything but a spoil brat. I see much potential in him becoming a great leader. He just needs the right people to get him there—and his father is not one of them."
"And you think I am?"
Lancelot shrugged casually. "He came to apologize to me in November, claiming that he wanted to make some changes. I asked him why the sudden change of heart. Do you know what his answer was?"
Merlin shook his head.
The older boy pointed at Merlin, which he scoffed.
"Me? You think I've changed the most hard-headed rich rat in the school?"
Again, the other boy shrugged. "He may be hard-headed but you are very hypocritical," he said and before Merlin could protest, he added, "Do you know anything about Arthur other than rumors?"
Merlin trailed off as he realized he didn't know anything about Arthur other than the rumors. The only real thing he knew was from the conversation he had with Arthur about Valiant. Arthur's father used Arthur to associate with Valiant's family while the both of them actually despised each other. Could Lancelot be telling the truth then? Was Merlin too quick to judge Arthur?
"Merlin, there are reasons for people to quote 'don't judge a book by it's cover'," he said earnestly, tone sounding almost like a plea. "Go to him."
Merlin studied Lancelot closely; unsure if this was a trick that he and Arthur plotted together - they were friends after all. But, something in Lancelot's eyes told him that he wasn't lying to Merlin. After a long minute, he finally convinced himself to give Arthur another chance to redeem himself and the peace between them. "Fine, I'll go and meet him," he jumped down from the railing but faced the older boy again. "But if this is a prank, I swear I will make the two of you suffer for it."
Nodding with a friendly smile was all Merlin got from Lancelot before he left for the basement. When he got to the entrance to the poolroom, he stood there for a good five minutes before going in. He wasn't even sure if Arthur was still waiting for him but he couldn't make himself return after promising Lancelot that he would go to Arthur.
As Merlin entered the rather large room made of cement flooring and white marble tilt walls, he still couldn't help but think this was all some kind of a joke that Arthur cooked up. He didn't expect to see the sight that was before him.
Arthur was standing a foot away from the ten feet pool of water shirtless with only his swimming shorts on; shorts that hugged nicely onto his nice butt showing off his muscular thighs. Merlin wondered why the princely prat would wear swimwear when he didn't even know how to swim. Although, that wasn't all he was thinking about; he was more distracted of how beautiful the muscles of Arthur's exposed back looked. The contour of it was gorgeous. Arthur's shoulders were as broad as Merlin expected and it tampered down to a slender waist like an erotic triangle.
Arthur turned around when he heard the double door shut behind him. A little smile played on his red lips. "I thought you wouldn't come."
Merlin's mouth went completely dry and he tried to look away as he saw the prat's slightly pinkish-brown nipples—those perfect small nubs in the center of the darker circling flesh. Merlin swore that he was into girls the second before he laid eyes on Arthur's. Why does he suddenly want to lick them? He could feel his face heating up at the thought. "Well," he cleared his throat as his voice came out as raspy. "What do you want?"
"To swim," Arthur simply said, moving closer to the pool.
Merlin gave him a confused stare, avoiding looking downward to those lick-able abs. "But you can't swim."
Arthur simply smiled. "That is why you are here."
Merlin sighed exaggeratedly. "Arthur, I can't swim anymore."
"Yes, you can."
"No, I can't. I'm pretty sure that you know that so stop it." Merlin suddenly felt that Arthur was trying to make a fool out of Merlin.
Arthur's grin didn't falter as he stepped closer the pool. Merlin could see that his supposed-enemy wasn't kidding about going swimming even though he couldn't swim to save his own damn life; and Merlin knew he wouldn't be able to save Arthur this time if he was to drown. "Arthur, what are you doing?" he asked as he moved closer to the prat.
"Swimming."
"Don't be stupid."
Then Arthur hopped into the water.
"Fuck!" Merlin cursed and quickly jumped into the water after Arthur without thinking. His heart was racing in panic as his whole body went completely under the water and he couldn't hold his breath as long as he wanted to. He tried to look for Arthur under water but he couldn't see him anywhere. Then he felt his lungs were giving out on him and he tried to paddle his legs to the surface himself but couldn't. His body couldn't provide the energy he needed from it.
Suddenly, he felt two large hands wrapped around his chest and pulled him up to the surface. He gulped up a chunk of air as soon as his head was out of the water. While he was trying to catch his breath, he saw Arthur was floating right next to him, gripping onto Merlin's waist holding him up. "Arthur," he gasped, surprised that the prat could swim. Or had he always known how to but pretend not to? No, he was sure Arthur didn't know how to swim and almost drowned back then. "You can swim? But how?"
Arthur smiled confidently. "A friend of mine used to be the swim team captain here, he agreed to teach me how to swim. I've been practicing at it all winter break. Are you impressed?"
Merlin was shocked at Arthur's words; why did Arthur spend his winter break learning how to swim while the other rich kids probably spent their break going across the world to places like Paris or London? Did Arthur do it for him? "Why?"
"Because you were right, a real man should always keep his word." He stared down to Merlin's eyes in a soft sort of way that Merlin didn't know how to react to. "And when I said I wouldn't humiliate you anymore, I meant it. I didn't know any way to prove that to you so I…I decided to conquer my fear of large bodies of water. To swim, so that I can always take you swimming."
"You know, you could have just given me a floater."
Arthur laughed. "And get rejected? No, I want to give you something better; me, a human floater."
Arthur twisted his body around and wrapped Merlin's arms around his shoulder as he started to paddle his feet under water. "I will be the energy you need to swim," he promised as he started paddling around the pool, dragging Merlin behind him.
Merlin had lost his power of speech as Arthur just kept on paddling around pool with him holding onto him. "You will get tired," he said in general but he felt what he said was more toward how he really felt about Arthur. He was afraid; he already knew that his true feelings behind his hate towards Arthur were not based on actual hatred or friendship. And he wouldn't mind just being friends but what if one day Arthur learned the truth, and left him, what would he do then?
"I won't."
"How can I be sure?"
"Because you made me want to be a better man, Merlin," he said and Merlin's heart skipped a beat when Arthur said his name for the second time. "When I first met you, I thought 'who is this idiot trying to fight me? Doesn't he know who I am?'" he laughed at his own stupidity. "Turned out you didn't know who I was but when you did, you didn't treat me any different. I kept testing you to see if you're were only doing it for your own purposes or if it really was in your nature to treat everyone how they should be treated."
Merlin scoffed. "So meaning you did shred my uniform?"
Arthur gave out a very deep laughed. "Yeah, I did but you shaved my head."
"Apparently, you deserved it."
The princely prat nodded his head, agreeing. "I wanted to be friends with you after the lake incident."
"But your father interfered?"
Arthur sighed apologetically as he nodded. "He heard what happened but he wanted me to keep being friends with Valiant. Business was more important than my life apparently."
"So you humiliated me because?" he asked, still curious why Arthur would have gone through with it.
"It was Valiant's idea but I didn't know they were going to beat you up," he said earnestly.
"What's changed then? Is it because of my sickness?"
"Yes, but it was not out of pity. When I found out that you were sick, I suddenly saw how weak I was. I had a powerful name, with all of the riches, but I had become a bully like my father, who was…is a bully that I hate. But, you…" He turned to face Merlin, who tried very hard not to blush by their closeness. "You were…p-poor and have a terminal illness but you still stood tall and held your ground. You don't seek money but life and adventure instead. I admire that about you, which is why I want to become a better man. You make me want to become better." His eyes were so determined that Merlin couldn't help but believe him. "I know it's hard to believe it now but I will prove myself to you. This will be the start of it. So... would you please accept me as your friend, Merlin?"
Merlin was fascinated by the change he saw in Arthur. A few months ago he was just a brat but tonight, in front of him, was a person he would likely grow to respect. He was still unsure if he could trust Arthur but he was willing to give him a chance to change. And in thinking of changing, Merlin also realized that he needed to change too. He had harshly judged Arthur before he got to know him for himself. If he had done that from the beginning instead of listening to rumors, he and Arthur could have been friends a long time ago. Although, he was glad it worked out for the best for them both now.
"All right, then let's start over," he raised extended a hand out to Arthur. "Hi, I'm Merlin Emrys."
Arthur genuinely smiled and Merlin thought that smile was the best smile he received from the prat—his new friend.
Arthur took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Merlin. I'm Arthur Pendragon."
Present Day
"…We are friends now. Can you believe it? Not a few months ago we were at each other throats and after tonight we are friends. It's hard to believe and I wonder how long this friendship will last. It still frightens me that he could back out of this, that he could play it as another joke, but I can't turn back now. I have to risk it. And truthfully, I am happy that we decided to be friends instead of enemies. Merlin Emrys."
As Bradley put down the diary, he saw that everyone was just as shocked as him.
"They were lovers," Sarah said what everyone was thinking out loud and they all turned to Bradley.
"We don't know that for sure," said Bradley.
"And there were no gay rights during that time and if their sexual orientation was made known they could have been killed," Angel added with a worried expression, ignoring Bradley's comment totally.
"What if Arthur broke the promise by isolating him? He was a scoundrel from the beginning, maybe he still was at the end," Katie said accusingly.
All of them frowned at her. "Do you have something against Arthur Pendragon, dear?" asked her mother.
"No, but he had a very high status as a womanizer. I don't believe Merlin would have tolerated that," she pointed out.
Bradley gulped and nodded as in agreement, though he feared to know the consequences of what happened to them. "Hey, Angel, you said that your brother became obsessed with Merlin, do you know why?"
Angel shrugged. "I don't know but I could call him and ask."
"Could you please?"
She nodded and flipped her phone to call her brother. She hoped he would answer her call. He was all the way on the other side of the world in Africa doing some Peace Corps service. After a few rings, her brother answered sleepily from the receiver. "Hey, Miwa, I'm sorry to call you so late but I need to ask you something…yeah, right now…Do you remember Merlin Emrys?...yeah, I was wondering why you took such an interest in him?...uh huh…yeah…" Angel suddenly covered her mouth in surprise, making everyone anxious to know what she found out from her brother. "Oh…really? They still don't know what happened to him?" She listened intently for a long minute as the other waited. "Okay, thanks…sorry to bother you. Bye." She hung up and glared at them grimly. "Merlin Emrys was filed as a missing person; still, to this day, no one knows what happened to him."
A/N: Yes, another cliffhanger. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
