sink or Swim

Jules' pov

Blaze's eyes were a sharp dark color, eyes so dark, it almost overshadowed the white parts. His face was chiseled and he was so sinfully attractive that it almost felt like he was unreal and shouldn't be stared at without taking permission. His hair was wavy and the ends hanged over his face, and somehow, that made him appear hella mysterious.

My mouth felt dry and I swallowed emptily before slowly averting my gaze as color flooded my cheeks. It was only a few seconds but it felt way longer than that. No emotion crossed his face throughout that fleeting moment and that unnerved me even more.

This was the second time I was locking eyes with him and barely thirty minutes has passed since he arrived here. My heart was still racing fast and I tried to get it under control in order for me to focus on what the teacher was saying.

"I believe there isn't anyone here who isn't good at swimming. For those of you who are pros, be considerate to your fellow students and look out for them, if you're kind enough." As the teacher spoke, most people snorted at the end of his sentence.

The teacher inched backwards and clapped his hands together.

"Alright, everyone get in the pool then! If you can't swim, refrain from getting in and just observe from outside the pool… but, who really doesn't know how to swim through?" The teacher laughed at the end of his sentence and the rest of the crowd joined in as well.

I could feel my hands start to get sweaty and once again, my heart was starting to race in nervousness. I didn't know a thing when it comes to swimming, back at home, I've never been in a situation where I'd ever have to learn how to swim.

I know I could easily stay right here and observe the rest of the students in the pool, but I knew I couldn't afford that because apart from the fact that everyone had laughed at the thought of one of the students here being unable to swim, should i refrain from getting into the pool along with the rest of the students is only going to bring me a bunch of unwanted attention, attention which I certainly couldn't afford to have on me right now.

It's my first day here and so far, I believe I've gotten more than enough attention today.

When the teacher clapped his hand once again, everyone hooted and rushed to the pool. In no time, the students at the predator's angle were all shoving themselves into the pool and doing all sorts of flips into it, while the preys were all getting into the pool like normal people were supposed to. Taylor grabbed my hand and I instantly stiffened.

I wasn't used to strangers touching me without any warning, but I guess this was okay since he had basically stuck with me since we exited the classroom together.

"You ready?" He asked and I bit on my bottom lip and nodded my head in response. It was at the tip of my tongue to reveal to him that I couldn't swim, but I was certain that I already felt super lame to him already, I didn't want to grow even lamer in his eyesight.

We approached the edge of the pool and I carefully slid in after Taylor. The water wasn't as cold as I had imagined it to be, but it didn't really make any difference because it still felt super scary to me.

I was thankful no one was paying me any special attention right now. I couldn't feel the ground underneath the water and it was making me panic. It was hard to float properly and I kept feeling like I'd sink and down in the water should Taylor decide to leave my side for a moment, because I was currently clinging to his hand like my life depended on it, because it does. At this point, he must have figured out that I sucked st swimming but is choosing not to say anything just yet, which I was really grateful for.

After a little while, it felt like I was already getting a hang of it, coupled with me sticking to the corner of the pool so I could rest against the edge and have a semblance of firmness underneath my hands and back. When the teacher began to explain a particular technic of exercise which could work in water, I tuned him out as my eyes wandered over to the spot where Blaze was seated. He was on his phone once again and I still felt immensely shocked over the fact that people who are students of this school can just chose to sit out of something which is considered important and unskippable to everyone else.

After a while, the students were all doing their own thing. The teacher was no where to be found and I was starting to get cold. I wanted to leave the water but no one was leaving yet and because the teacher was yet to dismiss the activity yet. I glanced around for Taylor but couldn't find him, he had said he wanted to quickly say hello to his friend and had been gone for over five minutes.

I was lost in my thoughts when I felt something brush against my leg. I didn't pay it any heed because a few students legs have mistakenly rubbed against mine over and over again throughout the time I've spent in here. When that feeling returned again and again, I absentmindedly glanced into the water and my heart instantly slammed against my chest as I locked eyes with the vampire from the classroom this morning.

He was grinning up at me, fangs glistening in the water as his fingers slowly wrapped around my ankle.

Fear instantly gripped me but before I could make a sound, I was being pulled into the water in a flash. Water rushed into my nose and mouth at once and it felt like I'd vomit my heart out. The vampire was grinning at me as he held my struggling body there, eyes twinkling like this was nothing more than game, while I was feeling my life slip from my fingers.

How the vampire had managed to leave the predators area and emerge in the preys' area was completely beyond me. No one seemed to have notice anything that was happening, they were all in different moments at once.

At one point, I felt the strong grip around my ankle slowly loosened, but instead of my body floating upwards, it sank to the bottom of the pool like a stone, and in no time, my eyes were sliding close.

~~~

When I managed to blink my eyes open, I felt extremely light headed and the entire world swam above me. I was choking, finding it hard to breathe and could barely focus on anything. It took a little while for me to notice that I was currently cradled in a pair of strong arms and was being moved out of the swimming arena.

With the last strength in my neck, I glanced in the direction Blaze previously was.

He was gone.