"Oh wow, this is wholesome" Anna said, walking towards Luke and Zach. The poolside was a hive of activity as they and the rest of the Water Polo team cleaned and prepared it for the game. The dedicated Water Polo pool complex was vast and completely open air. A goal at each end. Mercifully none of the team had changed into their Water Polo 'gear' yet.
"Coach Durham says it is to warm-up and build character", Luke said through a slightly embarrassed laugh. "Most people don't see this part. Didn't think you'd show up today, Pittsburgh, let alone early. That eager to cheer us on?" Wet from the pool and the cleaning, Luke's skin glistened in the sun.
"Ah, not quite. I had to offer myself as a sacrifice to varsity sports". Glancing around the pool as she spoke, Anna couldn't help but feel quite out of place. "It was to stop Summer from hunting Lindsay like a California girl version of 'The Most Dangerous Game'".
"Great film!" Zach said, pointing at Anna from a few metres back. She waved and mouthed 'hey', which he reciprocated before continuing to mop the pool side.
"I'm sorry what?" Luke asked with flustered hope in his voice, his hands clamped around the mop. "So you think Lindsay will actually show up?"
"Oh yes, she was willing to brave Summer in full kill-Cohen mode, she'll come…But it came at great personal cost. You owe me. I want at least eight…water touchdowns…Or whatever you do in this misuse of California's precious water".
Anna couldn't have anticipated what happened next. Luke dashed across to Zach, a screeching high-five echoed across the swimming pool area, only partially dampened by the water. Then before she had fully processed it, Luke swooped back and lifted her off the ground in a hug as if she weighed nothing at all.
"I don't know what you said, but you are the best".
"I was just in the right place at the right time", Anna said, taking in the view from on high, she saw a few gazes pointed in their direction. "I think people are starting to look at us". Luke laughed, carefully placing Anna down on the ground.
"You okay?" He asked after a moment.
"Just trying to keep a low profile, I guess", she emphasised the word low as her left hand instinctively reached for right arm. "But that was kinda fun".
"Luke's been pranging all day", Zach said, mopping closer to them to join in the conversation.
"I have not", Luke protested.
"Luke. A few subtle clues such as an exuberant high-five and being lifted off the ground lead me to believe you might have been 'pranging' just a little bit". Anna said, failing to stifle her laughter.
Before Luke could half-object, the man Anna assumed to be Coach Durham shouted across.
"If talking to girls made you a better sportsman, everyone would do it! Get your asses back in gear boys".
"Yes Coach!", Zach and Luke said in unison.
"Sorry Pittsburgh, we'll talk to you after. Say hey to Summer and Lindsay for me", Anna couldn't help but smile at the warmth of his words, the cute look on his face. Without Luke being able to see, Zach gave her a thumbs up. He was clearly at least half as relieved as Luke was. Boys, Anna thought.
"Of course", she said, starting to walk away before turning back "Give 'em hell. Go team!"
Sitting down on the poolside bleachers, Anna watched Zach and Luke for a moment as they cleaned. Their friendship was earnest and uncomplicated. They had known each other through water polo but had only become close friends in the wake of Zach dating Summer. A relationship that ironically formed from the water polo team visiting Luke during his much shorter stay in hospital. Anna found herself thinking that it was a shame Ryan was busy tonight, she enjoyed watching the three of them interact. Maybe if Luke started dating Lindsay there would be more reason to?
Shaking the thought from her head, another, more anxious thought arrived to fill the void. The last time you tried matchmaking, it didn't go well.
Anna tried, and failed, to ignore the occasional glances that came her way. A group of passing guys who would visibly clock her, two girls who'd whisper some words, nod in her direction and then laugh. She realised she was gripping her backpack tight in her hands.
Ignore them, she repeated to herself. It did nothing to ease the feeling in her stomach.
Pushing through, she pulled her book and bottle of water out of her bag. Steadying her breathing, she tried to focus on the sun on her face. The taste of the water. The chemical smell of the chlorine in the pool.
"Oh hey, is that Angela Carter?" After reading for several minutes, Lindsay's voice brought Anna back to the poolside bleachers with a crash.
"Ahh, yes!" Anna said, after gathering her thoughts. "Have you read it?" She held up the copy of Nights in the Circus in her hand to show the title.
"No, not yet, but I've read The Bloody Chamber like, thrice! Every time I do, the world is turned upside down for weeks".
After a deep dive into Carter and their joint surprise that anyone else at Harbor was reading her, Lindsay and Anna bunkered down on the bleacher.
"I can't believe this place doesn't even have a roof", Lindsay said, looking to break the silence.
"Thank you!" Anna said through a small laugh. "I said this to Luke the other day. He looked at me like I was from Mars".
"I think they do that if you aren't from this zip code. You are from Pittsburgh right? Does it rain a lot there?" Lindsay sounded genuinely curious.
"Statistically more than Seattle. Take that rainy city". Anna said, lightly punching the air in front of her.
"Must've been quite a culture shock…From there to here" Lindsay said, gesturing out to the sun soaked pool, now bustling with activity.
"It really was". Anna said, failing to stop a sigh accompanying her words. "I was going to go back. I probably would have, if it hadn't been for Summer, Ryan, Luke". Anna hadn't meant for that list to finish with Luke. Realising her mistake, she glanced at Lindsay.
"It's okay, you earned enough good-will this morning. I'm fairly convinced you aren't going to Carrie me". Lindsay was clearly still a little nervous. "I have to ask though. This will sound dumb and real elementary school but…Does Summer like me?"
"Yeah, I know she does. She wouldn't have agreed to come if she didn't. She isn't that sort of person", Anna said, trying to smile warmly. "She isn't normally like she was this morning by the way. It was just a long summer, and she has…Cohen problems at the moment".
Anna saw Zach, Luke and the rest of the Harbor water polo team emerge back onto the poolside. The game was going to start soon. Where was Summer?
"You guys seem to attract problems", Lindsay said after the cheers had died down.
"Maybe…I'm hoping the worst I'll have to deal with this year is rumours". Anna said, wanting to see if and what Lindsay had heard already.
"Ahh…I wasn't sure if you knew", Lindsay said, wincing slightly.
"Even if I didn't know who started it…Those still talking about it aren't exactly trying to spare my feelings". Anna tried her best to keep the hurt out of her voice as she spoke. She knew it didn't really matter. Yet even now she felt the anxiety welling within her stomach.
"Who started it?" Lindsay asked tentatively. Anna didn't respond immediately, composing her answer.
"They will tell you it was Marissa Cooper. But it wasn't. It was someone called Oliver". Anna tried, where possible, not to use his name.
"I heard what he did…" Lindsay said quickly and quietly. "I assume he is never coming back?"
"No. Ryan and Seth's dad, Mr Cohen. He spent the summer making sure he won't come back…" She knew it was wrong, hateful, but part of Anna didn't want him to get help. "And gets the help he needs". She continued, the larger part of her winning out.
Silence passed between them for a moment. Anna quietly berated herself for bringing up the rumours. It only gave them more power to mention them. Gripping the fabric of her shirt's left sleeve with her right arm, she tried to push back the feelings now firmly in her stomach and chest.
"Your hair is nice, dyed". Lindsay said, saying the first thing that came to her mind to try to move the conversation away from Oliver. "Not that it isn't otherwise, I'd assume". She stumbled over her words slightly. Anna turned to her smiling, the thoughts of Oliver receded slightly, just enough.
"Thanks", she said quietly, still gripping her pink shirt sleeve. "I dyed it first when my dad told me we were moving out here. My hair is a bit…nothingy without it".
"Don't listen to her, Gardner". A voice rang out from the row behind them both. Anna turned just in time to see Summer step onto the chair Anna had been saving. "I've seen pictures, she is a real cutie with dark hair" Carefully, Summer stepped off the chair before sitting on it. "Tinkerbell here used to have hair down to her shoulders".
"Incredible", Anna said, feigning shock. "It is like you heard my hair being discussed and teleported behind us with the sole-purpose of taunting me", Anna said as she laughed. "Where have you been? I was a little worried".
"It's okay. Marissa just needed me. That's all". Anna could see Summer was still breathing more heavily than usual. With her eyes, Anna asked if everything was okay. Summer responded wordlessly with just a small nod and a thin smile.
It was code for I'll tell you later.
"And then", Summer continued, pointedly injecting energy into her voice. "I wanted to wish Zach luck but the Anchors had already speedo'd up". Summer grimaced. "We should try to convince Zach and Luke to lean more into soccer with Ryan…"
"I agree", Lindsay said, properly examining what they were, or rather were not, wearing. "Call me old fashioned, but I like to leave something to the imagination".
"Luke told me it is purely an hydrodynamic consideration", Anna tried to sound serious as she spoke.
"Luke knows the word hydrodynamic?" Lindsay asked, not trying to keep the surprise from her voice.
"He takes sport very seriously". Summer said, a slight hint of pride in her voice. "They both do".
As if on cue, and to significant applause, the two teams jumped into the pool. Anna saw Lindsay's eyes following Luke as he took position in the pool. Anna had seen it before, in his element, Luke was impressive. He gave orders with calm authority. He was fair yet passionate. He worked well with Zach. Anna was impressed at the number of situations where they just knew where the other would be. How many scenarios had they practiced?
"I mean I don't know much about sports but…They are moving differently". Lindsay said. Anna realised she was right. Together, or with Ryan, Zach and Luke were laidback goofballs by default. In the pool however, there was purpose to every movement, determination behind their eyes.
Her mind went to Ryan. His eyes had that look when he played football, sure. But if he was even slightly uncomfortable, it was there, instantly. An exam, an argument with Seth or Marissa, a fight…The alleyway. Perhaps that was what a childhood like the one he had endured, had survived, does to you. Always precarious, never secure. That version of him was always much closer to the surface, in case it was needed. Needed for survival.
The desire to be with him grew immensely within her in that moment.
The three of them settled into the game, talking about the rules, the school day and the weekend ahead. Anna couldn't help but notice Lindsay was focusing on Luke, wincing every time he went into the fray. Summer's attention was firmly on Zach, shouting whenever Zach was tackled by someone for the pool.
"Don't make me come down there!" was uttered more than once.
While Anna didn't have a water polo player, she realised she was having fun. The conversation, Lindsay's snacks, the crowd. It all felt so normal. As Luke sunk the ball into the goal for the fifth time, Summer, Anna and Lindsay all stood up cheering.
"GO ANCHORS!" Anna cheered as Summer laughed and pulled her in close.
A few minutes passed and when a foul caused play to be suspended, Lindsay took her chance.
"So I'm going to trust you two, and tell you something…I figure if you turn out to be horrible I can just go back to talking to no-one and that'll be fine as well". Lindsay said, ending with a nervous smile. "I am, kinda…Maybe, interested in getting to know Luke better".
Rubbing her eyes, Summer pretended to be shocked.
"Good to hear you admit it, Gardner. Trust me, the first step is acceptance". Summer said, giving her a thumbs up.
"What Summer meant to say was 'what changed your mind?', you seemed quite adamant a few weeks ago". Anna interjected as Summer nodded agreement.
"Yeah, that…"
Lindsay took a few moments, letting out a sharp breath of air.
"I just…When we were put together as lab partners, I thought I knew who he'd be. I thought he'd be a sort of red white and blue freedom lover. But you know, the kind that thinks the only threat to freedom are girls with dyed hair and strong opinions…But then I saw he was friends with you two". Lindsay looked to Anna and Summer, slightly embarrassed. Summer only nodded encouragingly, as if to say 'yep, that's us'.
"So we got to talking a bit more and then a few days ago he told me about his dad…"
Anna remembered the week that Luke's dad's secret was revealed all too well. It had been one of the first 'events' of her stay at Harbour, and it hadn't been a pleasant one. Memories of her, Seth, Summer, Marissa and Ryan hanging out with an utterly desolate Luke came back to her. They had all been sitting on the seafront, the day Carson Ward had left town for good. Seth had offered to buy Luke as many burgers as he could eat. He had lived to regret that offer.
"I didn't know…I don't know my dad…He didn't want anything to do with me or my mom. So, yeah. I think I understood when he spoke about what it was like. Luke was kind to him…He said he couldn't imagine what it must've been like to live like that for twenty years. He was emotionally mature in a way I really wasn't expecting". Lindsay smiled, turning her attention back to the pool "So yeah, it's dumb, I know, but…I want to give him a chance".
"He has changed a lot since then", Summer said quietly. "He is kind. He is selfless. He threw himself in front of a knife to save Ryan and Anna at the beginning of last summer!" Summer said. Lindsay looked at Anna, unable to contain the shock from spreading across her face. Anna just nodded meekly.
"It is true. It feels so strange but…He didn't think twice before throwing himself between us. To keep us safe. It wasn't the first time he saved me and Ryan either…I know it probably sounds like a bad soap opera". Anna realised she sounded almost embarrassed. "I mean…None of this is a reason you should date him…But he is worth getting to know. I think you might like what is under all that muscle and blond hair". Lindsay gave a near imperceptible laugh at the end, and then nodded. The girl's head was clearly doing overtime.
As Lindsay turned back to the game, Summer stealthily nudged Anna with her elbow and mouthed the words 'nice one Rose'.
The final whistle blew and all three girls stood up cheering. The celebration died down and they walked down the bleachers to the poolside.
"Thanks for the evening you two. Luke irrespective, I actually had a blast", Lindsay said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Anna could see Summer fight her desire to respond sarcastically.
"Me too Lins, it was great. I hope you'll hang out with us more…Luke irrespective".
"Collectively, we are still working it all out…But you could do worse". Anna said as they went to hug.
"Oh look who it is", Summer said, unable to keep the happiness from her voice "I'm glad he remembered this place existed". Anna and Lindsay turned to see Seth emerge onto the pool side from the opposite bleacher. Zach and Luke rushed towards him and the three of them started gesturing wildly as they recapped the game. Even from across the pool, Anna could see Seth's visible nervousness turn into a weak smile.
Everyone was still raw from the events of last year. Dealing with it in their own way. Her, Ryan, Summer, Seth, The Cohens, even Luke and Zach. It was fragile, but with every normal day, with every little victory, with every act of friendship, things seemed better.
"Shall we?" Linking her arm around Anna's, Summer gave a small smile. She was nervous about Seth's friendship proposal, nervous that she'd be the one hurt again.
"If we both keep an eye on him, he is much less likely to do something weird", Anna tried to reassure her. Summer nodded resolutely.
"If he even looks like he is heading towards a coffee cart or hotdog stand, we both tackle him…And you, Gardner!" Summer said jokingly as Lindsay came up alongside, clearly as nervous as they were, though due to a very different Newport guy.
As the three of them walked around the pool towards the guys, Anna couldn't help but smile across at them. Despite Summer's reservations, she was looking forward to telling Ryan his invite had worked.