Jinx

Yera was checking herself out in the mirror. She was wearing her bikini because Xander would teach her how to swim in the indoor pool. She never cared about her appearance before, but now she was feeling self-conscious. 

She let out a long deep breath and murmured relentlessly, "Tsk… Why did he have to say it…" Xander's words kept on repeating in her head, 'I'm falling in love with you.'

He confessed his feelings for her a while ago, saying he was falling in love with her, but she didn't respond… She remained silent… Why? Simply because she did not know what to say…

Thankfully, Xander changed the topic by asking what she was cooking. 

"Is it even possible?" She muttered as she grabbed her towel. They only knew each other for several months, since the day that Bernard died. So, how could he fall in love with her already? But as she recalled how she and Bernard had also fallen for each other in a short span of time, she knew it was possible. 

'What do you feel?' Her inner self asked, but she still could not answer. She was happy to know that Xander loved her. Xander was a good man, so who would not be? But she did not feel ready for any commitments at that point.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror once more before she went out and headed to the pool, where Xander was already waiting. As expected, he greeted her with his usual charming smile, followed by a wave of his hand as he said, "Let's start. The water is nice. It's warm and relaxing."

Xander waited for her to climb down the pool's stairs. Once she was inside the pool, Yera walked toward him and grabbed the hand that he offered. "Hmm, so basically you'll have to learn how to float on the water first. Get comfortable with water, just like how you got comfortable with me. It's not that hard, right? It's an easy thing to do..." Xander explained with a wink as he led her toward the shallow end, where water would only reach Yera's shoulder.

Yera could only shake her head from all the teasing Xander gave her.  Well, he was right about one thing, though. It was indeed not hard to get comfortable with him, and in all honesty, she had already become rather chummy with Xander lately.

"Try putting your face in the water and blow some bubbles. Then, stand back up, and breathe normally… Just like that. Keep practicing until you feel comfortable… That's right," Xander instructed. He kept cheering her as he patiently taught her.

"Why have you never learned how to swim before?" Xander asked. 

"I've never been fond of swimming pools. Besides, Grandpa was always busy… I had some trust issues when I was a kid. I don't know why, but I often got into accidents, so I was never compelled to try out some physical activities, like sports, be it indoor or outdoor," Yera explained.

Xander's forehead furrowed as he asked, "What kinds of accidents?" 

"Hmm, one time, when I was a kid and went on a summer camp, I somehow got lost and was gone for a whole day and night," Yera recounted. "I was only six, so I don't remember much of what happened back then, but I remember being in the wood, searching for the way back to the camp on my own. My uncle said he lost me when we were trailing a path in the forest… "

Xander probed further about all of her previous accidents. Yera told him everything, including the time when she tried wall-climbing, and her rope startlingly became loose. Yera also told Xander of the time when she almost caught on fire inside a locked classroom, with no way out. There were more incidents of the same nature, and she told Xander everything as much as she could remember.

"I told you… I'm like a jinx. Not only I bring bad luck to myself, but I also bring bad luck to people surrounding me…" She murmured with a low voice. It was true… Her parents died in a plane crash, Chief Doctor Song died from an illness after he took her in, her grandfather died for an unknown reason, and Bernard too… It seemed to her that all the people she loved and cared about always met an unfortunate luck.

Xander was deep in thought, but got interrupted when Yera said, "I'm ready, let's go to the deeper end…"

He looked at her and replied, "Oh, okay… Hold onto me… Let's move to the deeper part. You must learn how to float." Yera did as Xander asked. She circled her arms on his neck as she faced him, letting him lead her further inside the pool. To her surprise, Xander pecked her lips and said, "You are not a jinx, Darling. Don't think about yourself in that way. And besides, I'm the man with the greatest luck in the world, so you just have to stay beside me, then my good luck will crush your bad luck. That's the best solution..."

Then Xander pulled her closer for a passionate kiss as he murmured, "But nothing comes free nowadays… This kiss is an advance payment for both the swimming lesson and my good luck. So, don't frown and kiss me back, Darling."

He was grinning widely as he said those words, that Yera just wanted to give him a smack on his head. But then again, she thought he was too handsome to get his head smacked, so she just ignored his teasing and focused on learning how to swim. After only a few minutes, Yera was already floating. She was so happy that she smiled unconsciously as she maintained her balance and floated on the water without having to hold onto Xander.

"Hmmm, this is not good… You're learning too fast. How can I charge you big time?" Xander snorted upon seeing how easy Yera had learned how to float. He gave her a kickboard, which she could use to swim a lap in the pool.

Xander watched Yera in awe. She did just a few laps using the kickboard before she bravely swam around without the kickboard. Xander stayed near her and followed her as she moved.

"Wow, you're a fast learner! I hope you'll learn how to love me real fast too…" He unconsciously mumbled, and Yera heard it. Her concentration broke, disorienting her swimming, causing her to lose control. She panicked as she tried to float.

Xander was fast and caught her. Yera tightly clung onto her. "Shh, why are you panicking? I'm just beside you. I will never leave your side." He whispered as he calmed Yera down, who was looking at him with a creased forehead. She complained, "You really talk too much for a man…"

Xander laughed and gave her another peck, and this time it was on her nose, as he countered, "And you, Darling… You talk too little for a woman…"

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