Just Keep Your Head Above (Hugo)

[Carleigh Davidson]

After having a fun afternoon in the pool with River a couple of weeks ago, Carleigh figured she would go down on her own time and enjoy some time to herself. Although she much preferred the company of other people, she didn't want to bother anyone. Not to mention, her objective was to work out. Couldn't swim laps when talking with somebody else.

She made her way down to the pool, shivering at the thought of entering the cold water. The blonde couldn't wait for the warmth of summer. Entering the change room, Carleigh peeled off her street clothes and tucked it into one of the lockers. She tied her hair back into a ponytail before grabbing her towel and heading out to the pool.

The cool air hit her bare skin, causing goosebumps. Carleigh was tempted to just jump into the water, but she would probably scream in response. She set her towel aside, walking closer and closer to the water. Her toes hovered over the edge of the pool, breathing in. It wasn't until she jumped in that she realized there was someone else swimming laps around the perimeter of the pool. She paused, raising an eyebrow at how composed the boy looked. 

Sitting on the edge, Carleigh watched the boy until he noticed her. She beamed with a wave of her hand. "This water is so cold, I don't know how you can do this." She said with a laugh. Hopefully he wouldn't mind her interruption. Leave it to the blonde to talk to someone, even if they were busy exercising. 

[Hugo Banks]

  He felt the water move, breathe around him. Sometimes he imagined it was sentient, silently encouraging him as he swam. He didn't even need to think, he just felt. It was this feeling that he longed for, strength and power, rushing through him like the blood in his veins. Swimming came naturally, water is his element after all. He didn't even need to take breaths of air. Today, the water in the pool was cold, but the movement of his body kept him warm. As he neared his tenth lap, he slowed. It was about time for a break.

 When he stopped and started stretching his legs, that was when he noticed her. She could be described as an 'all American beauty'. Long blonde hair, blue eyes and a winning smile. He recognized her easily, her name... it was Carleigh. He'd learned a lot of names by just listening. Hugo noticed he was staring at just about the same time she did. She waved and said "This water is so cold, I don't know how you can do this." Hugo wished he could hide, he wished the water would swallow him. He suddenly felt colder standing there. He gave her a half hearted smile. "I practice a lot" He said. His voice was calm but unsure.
 
 He didn't know what else to say. She was the one good at conversation. He'd seen her, talking animately, her whole face lighting up. Unafraid, confident, everything he wished to be and more. He wished to whatever gods there were that this went smoothly. 

[Carleigh Davidson]

Slowly, Carleigh eased her legs into the water, in no rush to enter the cold water. The goosebumps on her skin continued to raise as she was knee deep in the water. She sat on the edge, looking over at the boy, whom she vaguely recognized. There were so many students at Hammel, but Carleigh tried her best to remember each name and face.

She brushed off the thought for the moment, beaming her smile at the boy. "You must. Swim team?" Carleigh asked, throwing out the guess. It seemed that nobody on the swim team minded the chilly temperature. "Or do you do for recreational purposes?" She added, dipping her hands into the water.

The water around her feet rippled, as Carleigh swayed her feet back and forth. Yeah, she was fine right here for the moment.

[Hugo Banks]

 At least she asked questions he could answer. "Just recreational. It wouldn't be fair if I joined, since I can breathe underwater." Hugo said, with a distant look in his eyes. He would have liked to be on a swim team again. It was where he made most of his friends before, after all. He just didn't think it would work out, now that he had his powers. He was glad Hammel had a pool though, so he could practice.
 
He realized he was being rude again, first the staring, now the not paying attention, and he hadn't even introduced himself! He hit himself, mentally of course, no need to make her think he was crazy on top of being awkward. "Um, my name's Hugo." If first impressions were really everything...he was doomed.

 'Be conversational!' His inner voice snapped. But, how? 'Ask her a question! Stop being an idiot!'   "How-how about you?" He asked. He wasn't stretching by now, just standing in the water, gathering goose bumps. 
 

[Carleigh Davidson]

A frown appeared on Carleigh's face at Hugo's explanation. "Aww, that's a shame." She sympathized. The blonde couldn't imagine what she would do if she couldn't do something due to her power. Well, besides her minor life changing insomnia. No biggie though right? "I'm sure you could still join! Maybe not compete, if they do."

She waved at Hugo, still smiling. Now she had a face to the name, and likely wouldn't forget now. "I'm Carleigh. Nice to meet you." She greeted cheerfully, wiggling her toes in the water.

"So, how long you been at Hammel?" Carleigh asked, going through typical questions for first conversations.

[Hugo Banks]

 He listened to her answer, maybe he could join...wishful thinking probably. She asked another question.

 "Ah, it's been since I was thirteen, so, about four years." Hugo replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Had it really been that long? Gosh, does time fly. He remembered his first year, as a small and terrified kid. The long days of practicing making waves in the pool, reading in the library, and swimming...
Nothing had changed, besides being older and larger. He still did almost the same things every day and was still terrified all the time. Hell, even now, he was afraid he'd say something wrong.

 "So, how long have you been here?"

 He silently congratulated himself on a successful conversation so far. It wasn't as hard when the other person led him through it. With every question and answer from her, he grew slightly more confident.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Carleigh hadn't noticed Hugo's struggle with the social interaction. She was ignorant of the fact that a lot of people weren't big talkers like herself, and assumed all the best with their brief conversation.

Four years. Nodding, Carleigh smiled at Hugo. "Nice. You enjoy it here?" Personally, the blonde didn't find it too bad. There were a lot of students from different social backgrounds. Instead of growing up in her wealthy neighbourhood back in California, she was introduced to other people's struggles (fairly recently, her mind went back to Oriel) and economic background. Besides her insomnia, life was pretty good.

"Six years. I manifested kind of early." Carleigh said with a wide, sheepish smile. Her age group had been a relatively small one at first, with more kids coming later on.

As the timelines went together in her head, Carleigh frowned. "How come I haven't seen you around here much?" If Carleigh thought hard about it, she could remember fleeting moments of seeing the dark haired boy. "Are you a junior too then?"

[Hugo Banks]

Hugo nodded. "It's nice here." Truth was Hammel was his home now. The brief trips to his house weren't enough to get comfortable there again. He didn't have friends there either, and felt like he barely new the place anymore. Then there was his dad. After all these years things were still tense and awkward at home. He felt like his dad just didn't know how to treat him anymore. Mostly, they just avoided each other. Did he even think of him as a son? Hugo shook his head. Now was not the time.

"I-uh" He blushed. "I send most of my time here or in the library."
'Smooth, now she knows your a nerd.' his mind supplied.

"Yeah, I'm a junior."
But, we're worlds away. The blonde was popular and bubbly, he was alone with his shy self. They were not anywhere close.

"So...why are you here?"
He grimaced a little at his rushing to get the words out.
"I mean the pool. Why are you at the pool?"

[Carleigh Davidson]

"I agree with you there." Carleigh said with a nod. Most summers, unlike other kids, the blonde stayed back in Pilot Ridge, avoiding her family and the craziness that came from the Davidson clan. She grimaced a little, but thankfully, her social manners were enough to save her and a beaming smile was back on her face.

Pool or library. Two places Carleigh tended to avoid. "The library here is nice." She commented with a soft smile. When she did go, everything was always well organized and easy to find. "You enjoy reading then?" It was a fairly straight forward answer, but she wanted to coax the shyer boy along.

"Cool." Carleigh grinned, chuckling a little at Hugo's awkwardness. It wasn't done with spite though. "Just seemed like something different to do. My one friend enjoys coming here and I figured, swimming seems like a nice way to stay in shape and keep cool."