Dinner was quiet for Raven as she sat with Elaise and Stephanie, joined by Sally, Gwen and Allison. Elaise was happy to meet them and have more people to talk to, but Raven couldn't help but glance over to where Jason was sitting with a few others friends, as well as Der and Eliza. Jason didn't look at Raven once as he spoke with his friends and Raven wanted to go over and ask why he wanted her to break curfew in swimmers.
"So, you seriously punched her in the face?" Stephanie asked when Elaise told her what Raven did to Brittany. "You'll have to watch out now, Raven. Brittany will try and get you back for it."
"We'll keep her away," Sally patted her chest, over her heart. "You guys have a little team of your own now!"
The group of friends laughed and Raven was so glad to have a new little group, like back at Blue Rose High. Raven wondered how their old friends were doing…
After dinner, Raven almost dragged Elaise back to the dorm, leaving Stephanie to hang out with the other girls. Elaise blinked in confusion. "What's the problem?" she asked the blonde when they walked into their dorm.
"I… need to borrow some swimmers," Raven bit her lip and knew Elaise was going to swarm her with questions. Raven would have snuck out to meet with Jason by now, but because she was terrified of water… she didn't have any swimmers of her own.
"Whyyy?" Elaise asked, narrowing her eyes. "What are you up to? Where are you going?"
"Um…" Raven took a deep breath and told her what was going on, praying that Elaise wouldn't refuse to allow her friend to go.
Elaise almost squealed with delight and rushed to her room to get a pair of swimmers. She came racing back with a pink two-piece bikini and white, mini board shorts, shoving them into Raven's hands. The blonde sighed deeply and headed for her room, quickly snatching Jason's shirt off the kitchen bench and taking it with her. She put it on her bed before she changed into the borrowed clothes. She pulled a white singlet from her wardrobe and put it on, walking back out to where Elaise was bouncing happily.
"It's a date!" Elaise teased in a sing-song voice. "Raven has a date with a hot boy!"
"It's not a date," Raven complained. "I'll see you later."
She dashed out of the room and she quickly checked around corners again as she made her way outside to the basketball courts. She began to think of herself as an idiot, telling herself that Jason wasn't going to show up. It had to be a prank to embarrass her. He had to have found her fears hilarious and wanted to lure her out of her comfort zone to humiliate her.
Relief flood through her however, when she saw Jason laying in the middle of the basketball courts. He was wearing black board shorts with a black tank top, and he got to his feet when he noticed her approach.
"Glad you could make it," he smiled. "I almost thought you wouldn't show up."
"I almost didn't," she admitted, feeling a cold chill creep up her spine. "Why did you ask me to come out here like this?"
Jason took her hand and led her away from the courts, avoiding the oval and stopping when they reached the giant swimming pool that had been recently cleaned of dead leaves and bugs.
Raven pulled away and Jason turned to face her. "I can't," she shook her head quickly. This was his plan all along? She was stupid not to have realized!
"Trust me," he whispered to her and she looked around him to stare at the pool. The lights were on, giving it a bright blue glow. She watched the water flowing smoothly and her heart pounded harshly against her chest. "I won't let anything happen."
She let him lead her over to the pool and he let her stop when they stood two feet from the edge. Jason quickly pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it aside and took a running jump, bombing into the deep end of the pool. Raven shied away from the huge splash but could help but laugh, seeing his silhouette under the water, moving closer to the shallow end. His head broke the surface and he shook the water from his face, sending droplets flying from his soaked hair. The water in the shallow end reached his waist and he moved towards the steps.
"Come on," he held his hand out for her. "It's okay."
Raven frowned. If she had or realized this was what he was going to try and do, she never would have come. She probably should have guessed that these were his intentions since he specifically asked for the appropriate attire. She felt tears sting her eyes again as she thought of getting into the water, but Jason's voice seemed to chase her fears away.
"I won't let you drown," he assured her. "Raven, trust me."
She took a deep breath and took her singlet off, throwing it over to where Jason's shirt lay, ignoring the cheeky smirk on the boy's face. She stepped closer to the pool and Jason kept his hand out. She reached for it and almost shivered as the warmth of his skin mixed with the cold in her body. She slowly moved her foot towards the water and placed it down on the first submerged step. The water was cold, and she fought the urge to run from it, but she didn't feel as scared as she should have been. She took another step into deeper water and Jason was patient with her until she was away from the steps and stood in the shallow end with him. Raven gasped when she looked at what she had done and took deep breaths. Never before had she been brave enough to do this, fearing that she would drown. Did she really just toss aside her fears for a boy?
"See? I got you," Jason chuckled.
Raven bit back a yelp as her foot slipped but Jason grabbed her waist and pulled her into him. Her hands flew up and rested on his chest but she couldn't stop herself from laughing her fears away, quickly joined by Jason. She couldn't believe it. She had just gotten into the water! She looked up at Jason and felt safe; no fear at all, just safe. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but she was glad to have him beside her.
Pool Party
7. Pool party
Raven yelped as Jason moved her closer to the deep end but he pulled her back when she shook her head. She clung onto him tightly and her heart was beating a million miles an hour.
"I can't swim," she reminded him.
"It's okay," his silky tone reassured her. "You won't drown while I'm here. I promise."
Raven looked up at the night sky and saw the stars shining brightly down at them. The moon was almost full; just a few more nights, she thought with a smile.
She turned her attention back to the water and felt Jason's hand holding her waist firmly. She trusted him and he slowly moved her closer to the deep end again, stepping with her until she couldn't touch the ground. He could still stand up, she thought with a jealous scowl, but he didn't let her go.
"You okay?" Jason asked as Raven felt his hands loosen their grip on her. She slowly nodded. "Just kick your legs to keep you up, and move your arms to keep your balance."
Raven felt like a child as she obeyed him and kicked her legs in a scissor motion, holding her arms out to help keep her balance like he had said. She didn't even notice when Jason took his hands away from her body. She floated in the water for a few moments before she saw Jason step away from her completely.
"There you go," he smiled. "You're swimming."
Raven was struggling to believe it as she kept herself afloat. She tried to bite back the smile but failed and Jason took a deep breath, disappearing under the water. She frowned and looked around for him, unable to find him. She barely managed a mouthful of air before her ankle was grabbed and she was pulled under the water. Her alert bells rang in her head but as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Jason in front of her, flashing a cheeky grin. She glared at him and he grabbed her waist, pulling her back up to the surface. Raven coughed and gasped for breath and Jason chuckled, pushing a clump of wet hair out of the blonde's face and tucking it behind her ear.
"You still scared?" he asked.
She was going to say yes, but she told herself she would have been lying. She didn't feel scared at all. Her whole life, she had been terrified to go near a pool or river or creek… She had missed out on a lot of school excursions because they involved swimming and not even Elaise had been able to quell her fears. But with Jason, she fe
lt safe. Nothing bad was going to happen while he was with her. She shook her head at him.
He pulled her back under the water again and she held onto her breath as he pulled her straight down to the very bottom of the deep end. She looked up and saw how far up she had to swim to reach the surface, feeling slight panic rise up in her chest. It was quickly forgotten when Jason playfully kissed her cheek and broke away from her, pointing up to tell her to swim on her own. She nodded and they both swam back up, breaking the surface. Raven breathed deeply and scowled at the laughing boy, splashing water in his face.
He put on a shocked expression and splashed her in return, ducking under the water as she went to do it again. She looked around for him but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her under, releasing her at once. She broke the surface and waited for him, but he still hadn't come back up. She saw his silhouette over near the shallow end and she took a deep breath, kicking her legs and using her arms as propellers like she had seen on television. She was out of breath when she reached Jason and he was crouched under the water, just poking his head out to blink at her.
"What are you-" she didn't get to finish her sentence as he grabbed her waist and stood up straight, picking her up out of the water. She laughed and squealed like a child. "Put me down!" she pleaded with a giggle and he obeyed, putting her back on her feet in the water.
"I couldn't resist," he grinned.
She shook her head at him but couldn't stop the shiver as the cold water gripped her. Jason chuckled at her and she grumbled. "What? It's not my fault I don't have an inbuilt heater like you!"
"Come here," he sighed and stepped back towards the steps, pulling her with him. She blinked as he sat down on the step and spun her around, pulling her down onto his lap. Her cheeks burned as he wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. She froze when he pressed his cheek against the side of her head. This was not something she was familiar with, she thought but accepted the extreme warmth of his body, letting out a quiet sigh. She felt him smile and she slowly rested her hands over his as they lay on her bare stomach, not sure what she was supposed to do now.
"You're not used to this," he picked up on it right away, sounding a bit shocked. Raven felt her breath catch in her throat when his hands intertwined with hers, sending sparks running up her arms.
"You could say that," she breathed, her heart fluttering in her chest. "This is much different from what I'm used to."
"You've never been cuddled before?"
"Never," she admitted, feeling embarrassed to admit it. After all of the boys she had slept with in the past, she wasn't familiar with this thing people called 'cuddling'. She had seen it in movies and she had seen other people do it… But she had never been cuddled by anyone before.
Jason was silent for a moment and she felt him shrug. "You'll get used to it."
She tried to look up at him but found that she couldn't. "Are you trying to hint something there?"
"Maybe," he chuckled. "But, I was wondering if I could ask a question?"
"Go ahead," she blinked, feeling his warm breath on her ear and her ear burned.
"Why were you scared of water to begin with?" he asked. "It can't just be because you couldn't swim…"
Raven sighed and decided to tell him at least half of the story; she owed him that much after all he had just done for her. "I… fell into a well when I was a kid," she whispered and felt his muscles tighten around her. She hoped he wasn't going to crush her with all his strength. "I forgot how long I was trapped in there, screaming for someone to come and help me… I tried to get out, but I just couldn't climb the walls. My hands were bleeding from my attempts and I was so dizzy from exhaustion. I was terrified… I thought I was going to die. The only thing that saved me was putting my feet on one side and pressing my back against the other so I didn't have to keep myself afloat."
"Damn," he murmured. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," she said and gently released her hands from his, turning onto her side and cuddling up to him, savouring the warmth of his skin. His chin rested on the top of her head and his arms wrapped around her securely. She felt awkward in his embrace, but he showed no signs of letting her go any time soon.
"Comfy now?" he laughed. Her cheeks burned and she guessed her face had turned a bright red. She nodded slowly and bit her lip when one of his hands rested against her hip, the other moving up to play with her hair. "What about your dad?" the unexpected question made her jump and Jason noticed. "Sorry. It's just… From what you said yesterday…"
"Don't worry about it," she muttered, trying her best to force back the memories. "He was a violent drunk and he always used to… hurt me." Jason's muscles tensed up even more. "My mum didn't believe me when I first tried to tell her, but she walked in one day as he hit me. She pretended to ignore it, but when he passed out, she gathered our things and we left. I haven't seen him since."
"That must have been very traumatic," Jason whispered, his breathing rough.
Raven nodded and chewed her lip. "Jason?"
"Hmm?"
"Why is Martial Arts mandatory for you?" she asked cautiously. "Der told me."
He was quiet again for a moment before letting out a deep breath. "I have temper problems. I get riled up so easily that I can't control it sometimes… Everyone says I'm mentally unstable."
"Why are you that way?"
"Think of a pitbull," he told her and she imagined the short, stubby dog with a lethal bite. "They're not naturally aggressive, but in the hands of a bad owner, they become what everyone now sees them as. It's how they're raised that makes them what they are."
Raven thought about that for a moment and she had to agree. Pitbull dogs were widely known as 'dangerous' because people treated them badly. Raven had met people with pitbulls, but they were the sweetest dogs she had ever come across. But why was Jason talking about dogs?
Suddenly, it clicked. "Did your parents treat you badly too?"
"I never really knew my parents," he shrugged. "They died when I was young. My brother and I were put into foster care together, and we were in and out of families for years. After a long time, we were adopted, and those people didn't treat us well."
"So they sent you here?" Raven asked. "Where's your brother now?"
"I came here because it was safe," Jason said and Raven could swear her heart skipped a beat. That's what she was told too. "As for my brother… he's still with them. I tried to persuade him to come with me, but he chose to stay."
Raven frowned. "Why?" Who would want to stay in a place where they were mistreated?
"Because he's just as bad as them," Jason sighed. "He got so accustomed to the way we were treated that he started acting the same way."
"That's horrible," Raven pressed her ear against his chest and heard his steady heartbeat. "I'm so sorry."
"I got over it," he admitted. "But, that's why I'm still getting used to socializing with people; I never actually learned how."
"And I thought my childhood was fucked up," Raven mumbled and Jason choked on a laugh. "What are you going to do when your time is up here at the academy?"
"I don't know," he readjusted his grip on her and cuddled her more strongly. "I never thought about it."
Raven chewed her lip. Jason had had a really rough time as a kid. Never knowing his parents, and being in and out of foster homes to then be adopted into a family that treated him like dirt… It was so cruel. Raven knew that he had to be very strong to have made it this far.
"Raven?"
"Yes?" she tried to look up at him again but failed because of his chin on her head.
"Can I ask you to do something?" he sounded pleading. "I promise I won't do anything."
"What is it?"
"Can you… tickle my stomach like you did last night? It felt really nice."
Raven rolled her eyes and wasn't sure what she was getting herself into. "You're not going to jump me, are you?"
"I won't, I swear," he promised, still toying with her hai
r, twirling blonde locks around his fingers.
She held back a laugh and tickled his bare stomach. His muscles finally relaxed around her and he let out a soft groan. She couldn't help but trace her fingers over his abs and he didn't seem to mind. She had to ask herself what she was doing, but not even she knew. She had never been treated like this before. It was strange, but she liked it. She liked it a lot.
"I could get used to this," Jason stated.
"Don't expect this every day," she muttered. "But… why is it that you've protected me for the two days I've been here? Boys could be harassing girls all over the school, and you choose to make sure I'm okay. Is it just because I'm new?"
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