"What did he mean, a swim suit? I don't own a swim suit! How was I supposed to know I would need a swim suit? Kyle's out with Jer and I don't have a key to her room so I can't borrow her old swim team one, but I'm not going without one, and-"

"Holly. Breathe. In. And out. And in. And out." Sarah was gripping Holly's shoulders and shaking her playfully, a grin flitting across her ruddy mouth. "It's Reid, you should've known he'd want to see your boobs. And it's swimming….which involves swim suits. You can borrow one of my bikinis. You're a little taller, but we're probably close to the same size." As if this prospect would cheer the dark haired girl up, Sarah began rifling through the second-to-last drawer of her dresser, pulling out several nylon-y looking and very, very small articles of clothing. "Here, these are probably the biggest." She tossed a brown triangle-top to Holly, and a pair of orange side-tie bottoms.

"Why… are there so many strings?"

"Cause you can loosen them so they fit you, the other ones would probably be way too skimpy." Holly grabbed the mismatching swim suit in a bunch, straggling into the showerless bathroom and shutting the door with a huff. Sarah fought back a giggle as she heard muffled shits and are you fucking kidding mes coming through the closed door, accompanied by bumps and thuds that did not sound comfortable. The door to the bathroom swung open to reveal Holly standing, one hip jutting out, arms crossed over her chest.

"I need a one-piece." Sarah went to the girl and pried her arms away from the top, forcing her to turn as she surveyed her.

"Holly, you look hot. You look great. Just wear it."

"Sarah. I am very nearly wearing pasties with strings and some orange dental floss for a bikini. This is not hot."

"Oh, look what time it is! You're late!" Sarah shoved a towel at the girl and forced her out of the room, grinning to herself. "The pool's across from the main building!" She called cheerily through the door, snickering as she heard Holly letting her know her just what she could do to herself with her hair straightener.

--

Reid found Holly already at the pool when he slipped out of the locker rooms, unselfconsciously bouncing on the diving board. He paused for a moment, enjoying watching her with her defenses down; enjoying the long shape of her body: longish, tapered neck gracefully arching out into shoulders which gave way to wiry arms which currently sandwiched a chest that he was delighted to notice was quite scantily clad. Her ribcage thinned gracefully inwards, following streamlined curves through her hips and legs. The orange bikini bottoms were unfortunate against her rather average fog-dweller's skin, although the brown top he could definitely appreciate. Reid decided that he liked the way her bangs looked, fluttering in front of her eyes, and remembered that he had overheard her trying to persuade that friend of hers- the blonde that dressed like a missing member of the Mod Squad- to cut them for her. But he liked them the way they were, a little bit unruly, too long, beautiful in an accidental way. He was surprised to realize that she was- beautiful. How had he never noticed before?

But then she went rigid when she heard him shift behind her, and her eyes- doe eyes, so large when she wasn't frowning- narrowed once more in embarrassment at being caught unawares. She didn't strike him as someone who liked being seen with her defenses down. He hated girls who were hard to figure out…

"You're beautiful." The words were out before he realized he'd opened his mouth, and Holly's mouth formed a perfect O as she lost her footing on the diving board, landing from a jump. He watched her fall in slow motion off of the left side of the board, and it was a moment's more shock before he raced for the pool, diving without hesitation. He circled pale arms around the girl, noting with interest that he registered the smoothness of her skin and the fluidity of her body against his in this moment, as he was holding her head up and treading water, making his way towards the side of the pool. He didn't let go of her until she had both hands firmly grasping the lip of the pool, and he had to stop himself from smirking at the wet-cat pissed off look on her face.

"Fuck you, Reid." Her voice crackled with some kind of electric current.

"Don't you mean thank you?"

"No." She gave him a look clearly illustrating that she would like very much to prod his eyeballs with something, preferably something sharp and white hot, and began to move slowly, hand over hand, towards the shallow end of the pool. "This was a stupid idea. I should go- no, seriously Reid." She was pulling away from the hand that held her shoulder in place, trying to keep her from leaving. Reid could stand by now, and he pulled the girl off of the wall, holding her still.

"So am I. I'm going to teach you how to swim, seriously," he grinned, mocking her, but his face became serious when he saw hers- she was biting her bottom lip fiercely, fighting to keep from crying. "What's wrong, Holly?" She turned her face from his.

"Nothing." He released one shoulder to pull her chin up to parallel his. Her eyes darted left and right before finally meeting his; resigned. "Everything. You. Me. This. That. Chemistry. Interviews. Near death by drowning. Writer's block. Performing anxiety."

"You know what I like about swimming?" Reid's voice was quiet, almost lazy, but Holly fixed her eyes on his almost hungrily as she shook her head. "It makes everything go away. At least for a little bit. You just float. And everything's okay." Holly leaned back slightly, taking in his face in it's entirety. Reid moved both hands down her waist and she shimmied out of his grip. "Come on Holly." She didn't pull away when his hands slid into the groove of her hips, just beneath her bellybutton. He lifted her- feather light in the water- and tried to ease her into a reclining position. She immediately stiffened. "Come on, Holls. Lay back. You'll float." Still she remained rigidly motionless, not even registering the nickname only her friends called her coming from his lips. "I won't let go." She relaxed, infinitesimally. "Trust me."

The bad thing was, she later decided, she did.