Riptide

a|n; |hyperventilates| c: I'm so excited that so far, you guys like it! I was a little worried, & contemplated re-writing the first chapter (& I may still do that, so it has a better flow since I'm making it a little longer than expected) but...yay! Thanks for taking the time to review, & here's Chapter 2 !

oh! Some other notes to consider before continuing. Since I've decided to make this an ongoing fic, I'd like to do in this story in Emilia's point of view. Which I know is probably majorly disappointing if you're here for Bodie-ness, but...I can relate to her more. C: We're kind of one in the same. But still! Enough of Bodie to not deter you. :D

Alright, that's all seriously this time. On with the show!

Emilia tried to willfully cool her breathing, upset that she reacted in such an obvious way. Her palms rest upon her door, & she tried to listen for his footsteps. He stood there—probably dumbfounded—for moments before she could hear him start to walk away. Sure that he was well out of the building, Emilia released a loud sigh, her back now against the door. She slid down until she sat upon her floor, legs crossed & arms folded. This was no way to live, sitting in the near-dark, but she couldn't bring herself to occupy light. She was entirely sure that if she caught one glance of her flushed cheeks in a mirror she would scream.

This was bad. Totally, wholly, absolutely bad.

Her fingertips touched her lips, still feeling something after that exchange.

Really, really bad.

"Damn it, Bodie," she managed to mutter aloud, finally willing herself from the floor. She took to the kitchen, feeling confident enough to embrace light, though avoiding reflective surfaces in the mean time.

She went directly for the freezer, her sole purpose to collect the ice cream to further indulge in while she did the same with her thoughts. Lugging the tub to a bar counter, she sat upon a stool, & like a jilted ex began eating from the container the two had shared just hours before.

Emi admitted to herself silently that she did, at least in a little bit of a way, enjoy it. But the cons seriously outweighed any pros.

For one, their friendship was instantly jeopardized. No longer would they be "bros," but now some kind of partnership that was unclassified. Friends, but a level higher. There wasn't quite a name for it. Not high enough on the scale to be known as a couple, yet not low enough to just be ordinary buddies.

She frowned at this thought, realizing even further that tomorrow morning would probably be the most awkward moment of her life.

Emilia checked her phone, a habit that she had around this time anyway. Not a word from him, at least not yet. She didn't really expect to get a text from Bodie. After all, she did just slam a door in his face

But what else was I supposed to do? she asked herself with a mental shrug.

The kiss was pitiful. The young woman was more embarrassed on her end. She was sure she hadn't kissed any boy since high school, & she didn't know what to do. Bodie hadn't forced her into it—rather, he drew her in. He had that stupid smile on his face. She hoped he didn't notice that she needed to grasp onto him simply to keep upright. Her lips were tight while his were pursed slightly, pressing against her own softly.

She yawned a bit, closing the container of ice cream & returning it to her freezer.

In reality, it all didn't matter. Tomorrow she'd be the same old Emi, working out just as hard as she would any other day. In her mind, the kiss didn't exist—if she willed it, it didn't happen.

It didn't happen.

Emilia flipped the light switch, as if doing so coincide with her feelings about her competitive dancing partner. They had dances to learn, contests to win, & nothing would get in the way of that.

The very next morning, Emilia met her partner at the gym they always chose to workout in. It was a small place, with little to no frills, just the way she liked it. At this moment she wished they chose a bigger gym, so she could escape on a machine in some far off corner—never to be seen by the blonde guy that her gut clenched about whenever she thought of him.

She'd left the house overly dressed. Instead of her usual tank top & shorts, Emilia donned incredibly baggy sweatpants & a hoodie. Bodie cocked an eyebrow at Emi the moment he spotted her walk in.

"Morning, B," she practically mumbled, a little nod of acknowledgment.

"Good morning," he replied, eyes still stuck on her unusual attire. "Uh..." Before he could question it, she'd already hopped on a treadmill, starting up the machine & sticking earbuds in her ears to drown out whatever conversation he intended to create.

She never looked up from her iPhone until she was sure that he was off to the side, stretching on a mat—doing his usual drills involving a bit of resistance training before he got into his cardio. Her body, tensed from pure nervousness, relaxed just a bit as she began to put her all into her mechanical run, sweat beading her forehead more quickly than usually—probably attributed to her heavy apparel.

Emilia wanted this session to be uneventful, with no sort of distraction. That was mainly her purpose for throwing on extra clothing. The less skin Bodie had to glance at, the better. Not that she assumed that he would be ogling her this morning—in fact, Bodie was always a gentleman, & never gave Emi any reason to feel self-conscious in any way.

She just needed to be...sure.

Glancing to the side, green eyes focus on Bodie while he performed drills with a medicine ball. "...damn it." Emilia cursed her body's natural reaction, which now consist of a fluttering stomach to inform her of an emotion she didn't even know how to explain.

At that moment, Bodie sat up fully, exhaling a loud breath while his eyes instantly meet his dance partner's.

Emilia looked away swiftly, cranking up her treadmill another speed to distract any thoughts running through her mind.

The source of her distraction soon joined alongside her, starting up his treadmill he hopped on, instantly starting a steady jog as a warm-up.

& she could feel it. Her neck burned fire hot. Emi knew when she was being stared at. & so she looked up from the stats on her machine, a firm frown on her face as she met Bodie's eyes this time for more than the mere seconds they shared before.

The brunette could feel her blood begin to boil. Here they were, supposed to be engaged in this awkward interaction, & Bodie was giving her the silliest smile she could simply not ignore.

It wasn't a coy smile, or a knowing smile, or even an arrogant smile—it was Bodie's usual friendly grin, & it made Emilia so annoyed that he could be so...normal this morning.

It was this moment that made her realize that she was overreacting. Surely, last night's events were far from normal, but Bodie took the hint. & essentially, things were unchanged in his mind. If she didn't want to talk about it, he would never force her.

"What's up?" His voice was playful, eyebrows perked as he finally got some interaction out of Emi.

"Nothing's up," Emilia replied between huffs, trying not to give him the satisfaction of even a small smile.

"Something's up," he teased, cranking up the speed on his own treadmill so his stride could fall alongside hers.

"We're up. Aren't we? For practice. That's 'what's up'." Emi stopped her treadmill, jumping off abruptly. Pausing momentarily for a drink of water from her bottle, she spoke again. "So let's started. The sooner we finish is the soonest I can go back to bed."

"Alright, Em." Bodie stopped his treadmill though he'd just started, complying with her wishes to get their practice session over as quickly as possible. They joined each other in a common spot in the gym where they usually liked to practice dance steps.

The rehearsal itself was uneventful, & Emilia even shed her hoodie about halfway through. She managed to break a smile or two at Bodie's tendencies to fool around. Emi even found herself regretting that it was time to leave, though she also felt somewhat relieved to have some time to herself.

"So...tomorrow morning?" he asked. Bodie was sprawled across the hardwood floor belly-down, head tilted just enough to be able to look up at Emilia.

Emi was cross-legged, not far from where Bodie lay, her chest heaving still from the drills they'd just completed. Wiping her brow, she wasn't sure how to answer him. Usually they would hang out with each other the rest of the day if neither of them needed to work. His question was phrased as if he didn't expect to see her at all until their next practice.

But she did say that she needed her rest...she was anxious to be alone now, wasn't she?

"I guess," Emilia finally answered, her fingers picking at the fabric of her sweatpants.

"Same time."

"Same place," she finished, giving him a small smile.

Bodie hopped up, giving her a playful tap on her arm before he stood, grabbing his gym bag from the side of one of the walls.

"B, wait-" Emilia spin around, though she still sat on the floor, to face him. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"What are you sorry for?" The part-time lifeguard grinned at the irony of a conversation that so familiarly happened just the day before.

"I'm being serious." She rubbed her arm, looking at her legs, the floor—anything to avoid meeting his eyes. "I probably shouldn't have slammed the door in your face."

"It probably won't be the last time I'll get a door shut in my face," Bodie replied with a lighthearted chuckle. "No big deal, Em."

"It is a big deal. Why are you always so..." Emilia stood up, straightening out her pants, trying to find the right adjective to describe her friend's nature. "Why are you always so nice?"

"I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but I'll take it as a compliment," he replied, flashing her a grin. Emilia couldn't help but smile along with him.

"You can never fully accept my apologies, can you?" she inquired with a smirk.

"Nah, but I may be able to if we can go get some ice cream," he suggested casually.

Emilia could never resist him, as hard as she tried to. She could also never resist an offer for ice cream, which was becoming much of a ritual for the two. "Fine," she relented. "But after this I'm definitely going back to sleep."

"Sure, sure."

:O Another chapter, completed! I do hope that you enjoyed it. It is shorter than the last, which bites, but I didn't want to squeeze so much into one chapter, you know? & I'm lazy. Definitely lazy. Don't forget to tell me what you think! C: They do encourage me to write, that's for sure. Side note—I finally bought "Give Me Everything" & omg. I love that dance routine—it's probably my favorite now, aside from Massive Attack. Has anyone gotten Down On Me yet? I love that song, I just might cop it next. Okay, I'm rambling as usual & I needs some sleep! :D Until next time!~