"Paige McCullers right?"

Paige looked up from where her hand was still palm to palm with Emily's, unaware of how long she had been staring down at their connection. She reluctantly ended the gesture, not wanting the moment to become awkward. Her hand tightened into a fist as she put it in her pocket, less an act of frustration and more an attempt to capture the warmth and calm that she had felt, committing the sensation to memory.

"Erm yeh, how did you…" Paige began, trailing off as her voice began to waver.

"Coach Fulton told me you would be joining the team this year, I just didn't realise you would be joining this early in the morning," Emily joked.

Out of nowhere, Paige felt a laugh escape her lips. Feeling embarrassed by her outburst, she looked down, the hand that wasn't shoved in her pocket, now awkwardly fiddling with the strap on her duffle bag. Silence filled the space between them.

'Will you just act like a human being for 5 minutes and use proper sentences. Jeez, how do you even make it through the day?'

"My dad, he…erm…" Paige stuttered.

'Good one superstar, she now knows your name and that you are probably mentally retarded!'

Paige forced herself to look up. As if they were being drawn involuntarily, her eyes met Emily's. She hadn't expected to be greeted with such a tender and inviting stare. When she stuttered and fumbled her words around her father she always tried to avoid his gaze. His eyes always able to convey the disappointment he felt.

The calmness Paige had felt when their hands had touched returned now as she held Emily's stare. She felt her fidgeting hand relax on the strap of her bag.

"My dad's pretty strict; he pretty much has me in the pool whenever I'm not in school or studying. He has this whole regime for me outside of team training, 5:30am laps being part of it. I was kind of hoping for the morning off today, but I suppose it being my first day here doesn't factor into his plans."

Paige noticed a slight change in the expression on Emily's face, her eyes were still warm and inviting, but she now looked slightly concerned. Mentally berating herself for probably revealing too much about her father, she forced a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Anyway, what's your excuse?"

"Let me show you." A grin spread across Emily's face as she spoke. Paige instantly recognised it as the same grin she saw in the photo in the trophy cabinet. Once again, it was impossible not to mirror the smile herself.

Emily excitedly stepped forward and grabbed Paige's arm, pulling her towards and through the double doors in front of them. Paige clumsily followed behind, concentrating more on where Emily's hand was rather than where she was being dragged. All of a sudden she felt herself come to a crashing halt, bumping hard into the back of Emily. As she went to apologise, her senses became overwhelmed by the figure in front of her. The chlorine was now replaced with Blueberry, every inch of her skin that was in contact with Emily immediately formed goosebumps, her own shallow breathing became drowned out by Emily's relaxed breaths, her eyes slammed shut, not being able to handle the proximity to the dark haired beauty.

"Paige! I'm so sorry, are you ok?"

'Erm dude, you may want to say or do something…like open your eyes. That would be a good start!'

It wasn't the ever annoying voice in her head that brought Paige round, it was the silk like touch to her cheek. Her eyes slowly opened to see that Emily had turned around and was giving her the most concerned look as her hand gently caressed Paige's cheek.

Paige felt her body relax. With every stroke of Emily's hand the tension that had built from moments ago when Emily had invaded her senses began to dissipate.

"I'm good" She smiled. "Really," she assured as she watched Emily's eyebrows rise quizzically.

Emily dropped her hand from Paige's face, and reached for her hand.

"Here, this is what I wanted to show you."

Paige took a deep breath as Emily gently led her to the edge of the pool. Paige stood and watched Emily beside her. She could see her shoulders drop, her chest rise and fall slowly, with every strong, deep breath.

'Checking out her chest? Nice one Paige!'

She quickly averted her stare, looking up to Emily's face. Her eyes were closed, her face relaxed as if she was completely oblivious to anything and anyone around her. Her features were soft and slightly illuminated by the underwater lighting. Paige wanted to freeze the moment. She couldn't remember a time when she had seen anything more beautiful than what she was witnessing right beside her. She almost felt like she was invading the moment Emily had created for herself.

She felt herself become slightly agitated by the thought, only for the feeling to subside as soon as she felt a slight squeeze on her hand. She closed her eyes and turned her head towards the pool. Minutes passed as they both stood in comfortable silence. As she inhaled ,a perfect mix of chlorine and blueberry swept through her, it was intoxicating, addictive even. She didn't want it to end, as if the scent was a lifeline, a buoyancy aid keeping her head above water. Stopping her from losing herself, giving up, letting her mind take control. She felt a wave of relief course through her as she realised that for the past few minutes she had felt free. Free from her infuriating and belittling sub conscious, free from her father's expectations and constraints, free from the unbearable loss that came from her mother's death.

"This is my sanctuary. It's like the calm before the storm. You know that moment just before a race starts, when you're on the blocks, your skin is aching for the cool rush of the water against it, the smell of chlorine makes your head rush with anticipation? And all you can hear…"

Emily stopped, as if trying to gather the right words to express everything she was feeling. Paige heard a frustrated sigh.

Paige opened her eyes, looking out over the pool. "All you can hear is your own breathing, the thud of your heart in your chest. There's no outside noise, not from the crowd, from the coach, from anything. There's no interference, like there is a barrier between them and you. It's just you and the water."

"Yes!" Emily exclaimed excitedly. "That is exactly it. I thought it was just me who got that. That's why I come here at 5.30 in the morning. This is the closest I can get to that moment without actually being in it."

Paige felt Emily turn to look at her. She couldn't bring herself to look away from the pool. She felt exposed. For the first time In her life it felt like someone else got her.