Pay Attention! (Oriel, Wren)

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After Phoenix's encounter with Wren at the pool, it didn't take too long for him to bring up the subject with Oriel. Of course he wasn't going to have some stranger be teaching him how to swim without the other boy knowing - that was absurd. And Oriel would likely soon find out anyway, and what would be the consequences of that? Nope, it was a given that Phen would let his lover know before it happened.

He hadn't actually known Oriel would be coming along to watch/help/, but he wasn't against the idea at all. And so a few days later, rising early again, Phoenix tugged on his swimming trunks underneath his clothes, waiting for Oriel to do the same (much to Phen's distress - how was he supposed to concentrate with Oriel there half-dressed?), and stuffed his duffel bag with towels and other things, keeping out the rubber ducky in case it got stuck again.

And so they arrived at the pool during the quiet hours; Phoenix hoped Wren had meant what he said about being there often, and that they wouldn't end up just sitting around waiting. Although then again, there was always the hot tub, which they could relax in and just hang out.

Phen stripped down to his swimming trunks, setting his bag aside as he approached the shallow end of the pool, sitting at the edge and dipping his legs into the water. Compared to Wren and Oriel, his thin, waifish figure would seem even more fragile. "I hope this goes alright," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced at Oriel. "You're gonna be a damn distraction though," he sulked playfully, tilting his face up in search for a kiss.

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Oriel wasn't too upset over Phoenix learning how to swim…he just didn't like that he was learning from someone who was not him. Possessive much? And aside from that, where did he meet this guy? Who was he? And why did Phoenix think it was ok to go without him?

Needless to say, Oriel was decked out and ready to go before Phen was that morning, ready to give this so-called "teacher' the evil eye if he so much as touched his Phoenix.

Oriel stepped out of his jeans to show off his red swimming trunks, then peeled off his shirt, revealing his healthily toned torso, obviously belonging to one of an athlete. Despite being suspended from club activities for the moment, Oriel still made time to keep up his morning routine. He didn't want to have to work from the ground up again. He stuffed the shirt and other items into the duffle bag, then followed behind Phen to the edge of the shallow end. Oriel leered at Phen. "Well, excuuuse me. You don't like it, don't look." As if he could do that.

Oriel fell for the trap, leaning in and planting a quick yet gentle kiss on his lover's lips. "You sure you want to do this?" Oriel knew Phoenix was afraid of deep water, he wasn't sure how long it was going to take him to get over that fear or if it would completely prevent him from learning in the first place. "I could just….carry you on my back forever." He snorted a laugh then leaned in for another long, slow kiss.

[Wren O'Hara]

Wren didn’t mind public displays of affection as a general rule, but that was because he usually assumed that he could safely look away without plowing into the couple in question. As it was now, he hovered uneasily behind the two other boys, having just exited the locker room. He was still a little transparent, since he’d had a quick shower; he quickly rubbed at his face, trying to get it back to full opacity.

He was wearing the same black and blue swim jammer that he’d been wearing when he’d met Phen, although he didn’t have his swimming cap on yet and he hadn’t had time to pull his goggles around his neck. Reasoning that he probably wouldn’t need either today, he rested them as quietly as possible on the nearest starting block.

He looked up to see if the kiss was over yet. It was.

“Uh,” he said, for lack of anything better to say. “Hey.” It was only upon closer inspection that he recognized Oriel; he knew he’d heard that name before.

He paused awkwardly, but managed to inch his way closer to the edge of the water. He scratched at his hair pensively, then turned his attention to Phoenix’s skinny frame, his face a mask of seriousness.

“You ready?” he asked. Then, he turned to Oriel. “Do you swim?”

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Phoenix rolled his eyes at Oriel's retort. "That's not what I meant, and you know it," he huffed, prodding a finger against the boy's stomach. There was nothing he liked better. He smirked at the peck, though it faded slightly at Oriel's question. "I think so," he replied slowly, looking back over the expanse of water. It was... Quite frightening. But, he told himself, he would just stick to the shallow end. And he had Oriel and Wren if anything went wrong somehow. "I can't rely that much on you all the time," he whined, though if he was being honest with himself, it didn't sound like the worst thing in the world.

He was fully engrossed in the kiss when he realized they had an audience, and he pulled reluctantly away, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Well, so much for being subtle as to his relations with Oriel. Not that there was a chance of that to begin with.

"Hey," he replied nervously, once more purposely averting his eyes from Wren's muscled figure. He concentrated on the lines of Oriel's abs. It was still weird seeing the other boy sort of half-visible, and he wondered how hard it would be to learn from someone that he might not be able to actually see.

He hadn't expected Wren to seem quite so serious about the ordeal, but he swallowed and gave a couple nods. "Ready as I'll ever be," he replied, hesitating before pushing himself forward and lowering himself into the water, which came up to about his upper thighs. Well, at least he could touch the bottom. That was good.

"What're we, um... How's this gonna work?" He glanced at Oriel as Wren asked if he could swim, biting his lip. He knew, of course - Oriel had already saved him from drowning once.

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Oriel sent Phen a devilish smirk, knowing full well how infatuated the other boy was with Oriel's body. Phoenix made it so easy to tease him.

Phoenix sounded hesitant and unconvincing. "I'll be right here, so you don't have to worry. If the other guy doesn't catch you, then I will, I promise." Oriel hoped that his presence would at least be a little reassuring to Phoenix(in addition to being distracting). He cocked his head arrogantly. He brushed a stray lock of hair from his face. "Of course you can, because I said so."

Oriel didn't notice when Wren had shown up, but then again, he wasn't expect a half invisible half naked man to be showing up. It was only when Phoenix pulled away embarrassed that he looked up and gave Wren a glare that could kill puppies. How dare you interrupt us. "Hey," Oriel returned the greeting. Now that he looked he did recognize this kid, the nosy brat who assumes too much and paints potatoes. What was his name? ".......Wren," he said with a bouncing finger. Now he remembered. "You turn invisible in the water."

With a snort and a sigh, Oriel gave Phoenix one more kiss on the forehead and stepped away, pulling his hair back into a small ponytail as he did so. "Yeah," he replied, not giving Wren his full attention. He was too busy trying not to be a dick. Though he supposed if he scared this dork away, then he'd have Phoenix all to himself again. Oriel stepped over to the side of the pool and sat at it's edge, sticking his feet into the water and watching them both with a pointed stare.

[Wren O'Hara]

Wren nodded at Phoenix’s tentative affirmation. He didn’t seem enthusiastic about the general idea, but Wren could forgive him for that. He’d never been nervous about water – obviously – but he could, at the very least, sympathize with someone who was.

He wasn’t, however, confident about his ability to teach someone else to swim with someone like Oriel glaring at his shoulder-blades the entire time. He reminded himself that their initial conversation hadn’t ended poorly, but it was kind of hard to remember the good things about someone who often looked like they would sooner eat a puppy sandwich than play nice.

“Right,” he confirmed Oriel’s statement. He knelt in front of the water, then, and tried his best to gently plop into it so that he could maintain the maximum amount of visibility. It sort of worked; he managed to keep his arms mostly dry, and that was the most important bit. Nevermind that he was an oddly floating mass of abs and pectorals.

“Um, generally the first thing that you learn is how to float,” he said, trying to sound confident about it. “Which is important, because you have to relax to float, and being relaxed is the key to good swimming. Because you sink like a rock if you panic,” he said, bluntly. He did, however, offer the other boy an awkward smile.

“So all you really have to do is… kind of…” he made a vague motion with his hands and began inching away into the pool. “Lean back and stare at the ceiling. Taking deep breaths might help.”

There was a beat of silence, and Wren cleared his throat, waiting patiently.

“Whenever you’re ready,” he said kindly. “If it freaks you out, just remember that you can stand up anytime.”

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Phoenix gave Oriel a look of such unfiltered adoration and devotion when the boy assured him that he would be there if he needed them that anyone would be able to tell the depth of his feelings for his lover. "Okay," was all he said, softly, feeling his nerves settle a bit at the reassuring words. He'd be fine.

He blinked between the two boys as Oriel said Wren's name. "You guys... Know each other?" he asked, surprised. Phen couldn't help but wonder how, but he supposed that wasn't too important for the time being. Although, he thought he felt some sort of tension between them, though that could have just been Oriel being... Oriel.

Phen tried not to be too distracted by the simple movement of the boy tying back his hair as Wren got into the water, and then he was equally distracted by the fact that he looked like he had lost most of his legs. Okay... A bit unsettling, but nothing the hallucination-experienced boy couldn't handle.

"Floating doesn't sound too bad," he replied quietly, though at the 'panic' bit, he winced visibly. "No panickin'. Right, easy." He looked at Oriel again, then back to the half-body that was Wren. His breath rasped in his throat as he inhaled deeply.

"I won't sink if I lean back onto the water?" he asked dumbly, not understanding the physics behind how that worked. "But um... Okay." Once Wren was a little closer, he shrugged. Well, here goes nothing. Another breath, and he began to slowly lean back, letting one foot drift off of the bottom of the pool. Easy. But as soon as the other lifted, he felt his core begin to dip into the water, and his limbs jerked as he struggled to keep his face above the surface. He imagined the cool, uncaring water slipping past his lips and choking his lungs and-

"Fuck, that's not happening," he gasped harshly, scrambling back onto his feet. His expression was a mixture of fear, embarrassment, and uncertainty. "Isn't there an easier way t'do that?"

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"Yeah, long story, I'll tell you later." Oriel spoke dismissively, not sure if he really wanted to tell the story later, but Oriel had no secrets from Phoenix. At least not many. Though Phoenix was right completely about the tension, both that there was something strained between the two boys and that Oriel was just being Oriel. He didn't expect to like this mystery instructor from the very beginning and now that he knew who it was, well, he still didn't like him.

Oriel watched the lesson mostly in silence, mentally rolling his eyes at Wren's explanations on how to float. Though it was absolutely hilarious seeing the boy as only a torso floating on the water. He had to seriously bite his lip to keep from saying anything, though Oriel still held a devilish and amused smirk throughout the whole scene, right up to when Phoenix looked at him, to which he gave a very "happy" wave to, and then tried to lean back.

Phoenix flailed and Oriel laughed hard, barely keeping himself upright, with his cackles echoing throughout the large pool room. In all reality, Oriel knew he should be more sympathetic, and he was, but he knew very well also that Phoenix wasn't in any real danger…though the moment that changed, Oriel would dive in in a heartbeat and end this whole lesson on the spot. "You having trouble there Phoenix?" Oriel mocked his lover with the same condescending voice he used in their play sessions. "Ready to give up yet?" It was…his own twisted way of giving Phen his encouragement.

[Wren O'Hara]

Wren stood awkwardly amidst the conversation of the other two boys, which he didn’t know how to participate in and thus wasn’t going to try. If Oriel wanted to tell the story, Oriel could tell the story; it wasn’t like Wren had been the one skulking around looking for people to bother.

Not that he’d ever say that out loud…

“It’s real simple,” he assured Phen, ignoring the amused look on Oriel’s face. Wren waded out a little further to give the other boy space and watched him lean back into the water. He nodded silently to himself, thinking that it was going to go off without a hitch. Unfortunately, Phoenix was even more uncomfortable in the water than Wren had realized – he came up splashing, and Wren winced briefly.

“Alright,” he said, inching forward again. “Hey, it’s fine. It’s kind of a weird sensation.”

Oriel’s words cut across his, and Wren furrowed his eyebrows at them. They weren’t very nice, for one thing. He looked from one dark-featured boy to the other, wondering if Phoenix was really going to take something like that from someone who’d just been sucking his face; he said nothing, though, and shrugged it off for more important matters.

Namely, swimming, which trumped all matters, pretty much always.

“I’ll stay closer this time,” he told Phen, kindly. “If you start to feel like you’re falling, just let me know. And like I said, try to inhale deeply – the air helps you float.”

He cleared his throat again; he was trying desperately to keep his arms visible, purely for the sake of vanity. The last thing he needed was any quips from the peanut gallery.

“If you’re ready,” Wren prompted patiently.

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Phen gave Wren an embarrassed look at his reassurances, feeling like a complete failure even before Oriel started cackling at him. He winced back, much like the submissive reaction he had given not all that long ago during their little... Experiment with Erik, his eyes wide and anxious and obviously obedient. Poor Wren would have no idea that this was usual behavior for the two boys, and Phen got a sick sort of satisfaction from Oriel's taunts, no matter how hurtful they might seem at the time.

"Thanks," he whispered meekly to Wren, before averting his attention back to Oriel. "I ain't givin' up," he spoke quietly but firmly, giving the boy a stare for a long moment before going back to the task at hand. He was more determined now to get it right, so really, Oriel was helping... In a sort of twisted way.

"Okay," he mumbled, setting himself up to fall back again. It's just two feet of water, he told himself. He could do this. Taking another breath in, he lowered himself back, lifting one foot and then the other, struggling to keep himself afloat. His weak stomach muscles just kept collapsing into the water, and his butt began sinking again, no matter how much he tried to keep it up.

"Fuck, how..." he forced himself not to put his feet back down, but he was obviously struggling and not doing a very good job at the floating business. "I'm fuckin' fallin'," he stated the obvious, glancing in the direction of where Wren was and expecting some magical words of advice, or... Something.

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Oriel didn't know what was more amusing, seeing Phen's dejected looking face, or seeing Wren's confused and disapproving face at the sound of Oriel's merciless taunts. Either way, Oriel knew Phoenix had it in him, he just needed the motivation to bring it out. And nothing worked better than the desire to impress or one-up his master.

The grin Oriel was flashing was completely wicked and provoking, it was the one he flashed when he was purely enjoying himself. It was also, unfortunately, very reminiscent of the kind of hungry look that a certain other psycho liked to give his meals before he devoured them. Oriel was having a great time watching Phen struggle, and an equally great time watching Wren struggle with Phoenix's struggling. And he wondered how long it would be before he had to step in and take care of things himself.

It was great to see him shoot back that defiant look to Oriel as he affirmed that he wasn't going to give up. "Good boy," he rewarded his lover, his eyes softening up. "You're going to be fine." Oriel was certain of that.

He continued to watch with that evil little loving smirk on his face as Phoenix dared to try again. He was doing a lot better this time. Oriel knew he would.

[Wren O'Hara]

Wren managed a smile at Phoenix’s quiet determination. For a moment, he’d been a little afraid the other boy would give up… learning to swim wasn’t easy. Either way, he had offered for a reason, and he was determined to see the process through to the end. What sense was there in not learning to swim when there was a perfectly good Olympic-sized pool right on campus?

He watched Phen ease back into the water, and he inched ever-closer, determined to be close enough to intervene if things went awry. Sure enough, Phen’s lower half began to sink again; at his coarse, slightly panicked words, Wren instinctively used his hand to push up the other boy’s tattooed lower back.

It didn’t take a lot of effort – he was scrawny, and the water meant that he weighed even less. The other boy’s legs slowly rose and stabilized.

Wren’s arm had disappeared under the water, though…

“There,” he said, huffing out a bit of a chuckle. “See? You’re fine. Try to relax your legs. You won’t float if you’re tense. You just gotta relax.”

He said this calmly, as though it were the easiest thing in the world.

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Good boy. Phoenix shot Oriel another look at this, giving him a look that was half amused, half exasperated. Yeah, he'd be fine. He might end up having a word or two for Oriel later, though. He darted his tongue out defiantly before going back at it.

Dammit, why couldn't he get something that was supposed to be easy? Phoenix was waiting for some sort of support, or maybe another scathing comment from Oriel. He wasn't, however, expecting the lifting feeling of Wren's hand against his back, and gave a startled jerk as he felt his stomach lift out of the water again, laying flat as a board now on the water's surface.

But Oriel...

He immediately shot his lover a look, quite certain of what was probably going through his head. But he tried to concentrate on what Wren was saying and took a breath in, forcing his quivering, nervous muscles to relax and help keep him afloat. And... It felt a lot easier. In fact, now that he was aware of the sensation of floating, he thought he could probably do it again without a problem. "This... Ain't so bad..." he mumbled, scrawny chest rising and falling with each breath in and out, his ribcage expanding and contracting visibly under his skin. It felt kind of nice, actually. Like flying, without the pain and effort of flapping his wings.

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Oriel was watching with confidence that his lover could do this easily, a broad, while still slightly evil, smile spread wide across his face. He started doing a lot better. Even with Phen's butt sinking in the water, Oriel was sure he'd lift it back up with no problem.

But then Wren stepped in and....

From this angle, he couldn't tell where Wren's hand was....well, from any angle, he supposed he wouldn't be able to tell where his hand was, but that wasn't the point. From the angle of where Wren's arm disappeared into the water, it looked clearly like he was touching something he ought not be touching. Something soft and muffiny that belonged to Oriel and Oriel alone. He'd beaten lesser men for touching his lover, for biting him in the neck, what did this guy think would happen for plainly groping his Phoenix right there in front of Oriel! How arrogant, how smug he must be.

Oriel's eyes flared up and the smile disappeared from his face. He had already lowered himself into the water by the time Phoenix shot him that glare, stopping the younger boy in his place. Right, Ok. If Phoenix said he was alright, the he..was...ok...

Still, Oriel started slowly inching himself closer and closer to the pair . "How long you going to keep your hand there, Pervy?" He was definitely glaring the murderous glare this time.

[Wren O'Hara]

Wren blinked innocently as Phoenix twitched under him. He did a quick double-check… yep, he had definitely just touched the other boy’s back. It was just a back, right? That was fine, right? Backs were just… well, backs. Everybody knew that.

More importantly, Phen began to relax, and he began to float more easily, even without the aid of Wren’s hand. He had about a moment to feel satisfied about this before he heard the nearby splash that signified Oriel had entered the water.

It was his words, though, that Wren took issue with.

“Did you just call me a perv?” he asked, both mortified and a little incredulous. He quickly withdrew his invisible hand and forearm away from Phoenix, leaving him to float. “I was just touching his back, dude. You don’t have to make it a thing.”

He huffed out a half-hearted sigh and turned his gaze to the side. If he could just ignore it, he figured, it wouldn’t be a thing. Right?

Because there was totally no reason for it to be a thing. He wasn’t even gay. Then again, even if he had been gay, he’d only touched his back. It wasn’t like he was harboring some sort of… some sort of deep and smoldering back fetish.

“Okay. Whatever.” He held his arm up and waved it a little, so that Oriel could see that it was out of the water. Then, he looked at Phen pointedly.

“Did that help?” he asked. “If you feel comfortable with floating, we can practice kicking. You can hold on to the wall for that.”