The Little Mermaid [Zac]

[Jemima Rennal]

Jem was very proud of her reputation on the swim team. She was one of the best girls on the team, and could even do a little synchronized swimming when she wanted. Her mum and her had always gone to the baths every Friday back in Toronto, but it'd taken her some time before she'd convinced herself to join the swim team. She was fast, and though she wasn't the tallest, she had strong leg and arm muscles that could push her through the water.

Today, however, she was practicing her synchronized moves for a competition she'd decided to enter in Toronto during the summer. In her simple pre-swim outfit, she popped a portable stereo back from the pool and crouched beside it, flicking through a few tracks and pressing repeat on the one she wanted, pulling off her cover up and toeing off her flipflops, diving into the pool and doing a few simple warm up stretches by the side. Nothing too fancy, but enough to stop her from getting cramp and flailing aimlessly in the water before drowning. That would be an embarrassing way to go, that's for sure. Pulling down the goggles over her eyes, she flipped backwards and did a handstand under the water, trying to get used to holding her breath before starting her routine. She wished she'd bought herself a nose plug, water just wanted to rush right up her nostrils no matter what she did.

Re-surfacing, she frowned and rubbed the end of her nose. She'd just have to get used to this. If she didn't practice before summer she'd look like an idiot in the water. Leaning against the edge of the pool, she trod water, before swimming to the center, spreading her arms wide to each side, and lifting her chin up. Once the music began to end it's first cycle, she readied her routine. Jem felt the tickle of thrill run down the back of her neck as the start of music came round. Delicately, she raised one hand above her head, then turned underwater, keeping one leg up in the air, the other to the side, then moving up to the music - which was obviously slightly distorted under the water.

She was about to raise her leg again to continue the routine when she spotted the shadow of someone entering the pool room, and did a semi-elegant turn in the water to surface, putting one hand on her hip, the other pulling her goggles off.

"Ugh, Zac, I booked the pool." She complained, frowning.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Growing up in a mansion house with a relatively large pool in its premises (about half the size of what most people would refer to as an Olympic-sized one, if Zac remembers it correctly), it’s not entirely surprising that Zac had grown rather fond of the water. In fact, he’s been waddling and splashing about before he even knew what a tennis racket or a basketball hoop is. Seeing his interests, his parents even hired a personal swim coach when he was four just to further their son’s apparent interest.

Don’t get him wrong though – just because he likes swimming more than he likes, say badminton or volleyball, doesn’t mean he can’t deliver a wicked smash or a powerful spike when needed. With his build and muscle mass, it’s rather embarrassing if he was a total klutz in the playing field, or so he thinks.


Having just finished a couple of laps in the school oval and spent a good half hour in the school’s weights room, Zac in all his sweaty glory is currently heading towards the pool to finish off his not-so-daily workout routine (lucky for the egotistic bastard, he can sidestep the whole exercise-daily principle of maintaining his body due to the physical side effects of his power). He was halfway through changing into his swimwear in the locker rooms when he heard the whole music thing going on, causing him to cross his eyebrows somewhat in surprise. So he wasn’t the only one in the pool at this time then?

It took him a while to get ready, spending ample time under the showers in an effort to wash all the dirt and grime away from him (he does have some common courtesy after all). Towel slung over his shoulders, he promptly sat on the side of the pool, dipping his feet under the water as he watched the lone figure go through various routines, grinning widely as he did. There was no doubt in his mind who the figure was though; as far as he knew, there were only a handful of people in the school with enough swimming prowess to perform such complicated feats, each of them he can easily identify with a glimpse of their thighs.

For a while, watching the girl go through all her positions and poses was fun, but after a while, it gets rather tedious. Not because of her though, but more because the boy’s been itching to get into the pool for quite some time now. He had just stood up and was just about to dive into the pool when the figure stood up and faced him.

“So? When did I ever follow those things anyway?” he smirked, winking at Jem and diving into the water, “What’ca practicing for anyway Auntie Jem? I don’t think the school’s participating in a synchro-swimming competition anytime soon. Or do you just know I’m coming so you’ve decided to wave those legs of yours around?” Crude, rude and lewd. When will Zac ever learn?

[/blockquote]
ooc:
SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG ZUU. D;. Travelling back and forth is so not good for thy muse. D;
- Jam

[Jemima Rennal]

Jem was about to make a scything comment about how many socks Zac had packed into his red manpanties when it dawned on her he'd probably turn that into him smirking on about how she was staring, so she swallowed it down and instead folded her arms. Despite being her teammate on the swimming team, Zac was so goddamn arrogant that she almost hoped he lost his races so he could get served and she could applaud the boy who beat him. As it was, the teen never lost a race so far, and she had to wonder if he maybe used his powers a little to get an advantage.

Not that she could talk. Jem, despite being a very, very good swimmer occasionally went creeping down to the pond, or to the local zoo early in the morning to go and say hello to a terrapin for a little extra boost. Zac and her had an alarmingly similar power in some respects, but she'd never admit that they had anything in common whatsoever.

"Not that it's any of your business." She began, raising her arms up to hide her face from Zac's splash. "But I have a competition back in Toronto in the summer." She pushed her goggles down and leant against the side of the pool. "And I need to practice." Jem eyed the boy, then waited out the end of the song so she could start again.

"If you stay over that side of the pool, fine. But try a-ny-thing and I will personally skunk your room." The blonde girl narrowed her eyes and waggled a finger, then pushed her goggles down and moved back into position, arm in the air, finding her concentration a little off, mostly acutely aware that Zac was a pervert and could harass her if he so chose. The quiet teen scrunched her face up in a suspicious way, before taking a deep breath and submerging again, leg back up in the air. At least if she was upside down, the irritating boy couldn't pull down her swim suit or grope her under the water.

She hoped, anyway. Chasing skunks just to gain their DNA was rather strenuous. And smelly.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac had little respect for most people in the swim team. He’s told Mr. Callahan time and time again to revise his try-outs technique, saying that if he was going to admit anyone that auditioned, he might as well change the name to something more appropriate, say swim-party or free-pass-to-a-school-varsity-team or something (he’s not exactly an language person, forgive him). Jemima can breathe easy though, as Zac considers her among the select few who really are worthy of being in the team (along with RC and him, of course) – not that he’d tell that to her out loud anyway. Once he graduates maybe, but in the mean time, he’d continue teasing her to bits and telling her how she looks like a clumsy walrus underwater (please ignore the fact that walruses being magnificent and graceful underwater totally destroy his teasing).

“Ooh. Synchronized swimming competition in Toronto? May I come?” asked Zac as he rose from the water, cheekily brushing his hair as sent an impish wink towards Jemima. He slowly swam towards the blonde, smirk still in place, eyeing her suit with much mocking and exaggeration. “I promise I’ll behave. Just take me there and once we land, I’ll leave you be. Cross my heart,” added the smug teen, even going as far as to do the whole cross-gesture over his chest. “I can’t say the same for your teammates though. Or you competitors. Where are they anyway?” He looked around for a bit, trying to find traces of bags or anything that doesn’t belong to either him or Jemima. None. “Aren’t synchronized swimming supposed to be team events or something?”

Zac acknowledged Jemima’s threat with a simple a thumbs up sign, highly doubting that the girl could do such a thing anyway. He can skunk her room with his power, but her doing that, not a chance (he thinks). If he understands her power right, she needs some sort of physical connection to the animal to do such a feat and unless she has a pet skunk, Zac knows not where she’ll get her DNA for that.

He only gave Jem a few seconds of peace before he went underwater, grinning widely as he poked Jem’s sides as he circled her. Teach me

[/b], he mouthed, playfully copying Jem’s poses to emphasize his request.

Screw swimming laps. Annoying the snot out of Auntie Jem is much more rewarding anyway.[/blockquote][/justify][/font]

[Jemima Rennal]

Jem was just about to start the dance again when Zac bombarded her with some of the most retarded questions she'd ever heard outside of a mental asylum. The water distorted a large amount of his annoying voice, but it was still enough to make her resurface with a whoosh and glare over at the boy with her eyes narrowed.

"Ugh, Zac." She grumbled, about this close to kicking the boy in his red clad manparts. "I'd like to think it's illegal for you to have an ego larger than your penis in Canada. And oh dear, would you look at that." She made an obscene gesture with her pinky finger and leant against the edge of the pool. "In the short answer? No, I don't want you at my swimming competition hitting on everyone. The long one? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." Her voice was loud, which was a rather unusual feat for Jem, but enough for her to realise she was getting abnormally irritated by the boy.

"It's a solo dance event. You're meant to- you know, I don't have to explain my extra curricular activities to you." She frowned, and did a few laps to pass the time before the music repeated back round again. "The winner gets a prize. And a trophy." She added, huffing as she glided through the water, only to squeak as Zac orbitted her a few times. A few seconds before Jem was about to strangle Zac and claimed he accidentally drowned in the water, she realised he was asking her to teach him how to become an elite synchronized swimmer.

Pausing in the water, she gave a confident smirk, then dunked the boy in the water. "Alright then Zachary. You want to learn how to twirl and look fabulous? Then lets have at it." As the music started up again, she pulled Zac up onto tippie toes and showed him how to pose. "Just imagine for the shortest of moments that you aren't an ignoramous, and listen to the music." She encouraged him, before flipping him upside down and holding his legs in the air.

It was rare for Jem to take the bait, but having an excuse to hold Zac underwater was just too rare an occurance for her to pass up.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Unfortunately for Jemima, with Zac around, it’s highly doubtful she’d be finishing anything of importance anytime soon. With the boy in full annoy-to-death mode, she’d be lucky if she could get at least thirty seconds of silence. So sorry about that.

He simply gave Jem a sly wink when she teased him about the supposed size of his manparts. “Those insults never get old, don’t they?” he shrugged, swimming closer until he’s just a mere centimeter away from the girl. “We both know that you’re saying that just because you’re a bit too regretful that you blew me off even before you had a chance to have a taste of this,” he whispered, playfully shaking his hips. He did back off almost immediately, just in case the girl suddenly had the idea to kick him in the balls (with such proximity, he doubts the water could cushion the kick enough to make the pain negligible). When he was sure he’s a safe distance away, he smirked widely, adding “And now you’re being such a grouch by not sharing this awesome gift to the whole world? Shame on you Jem. Shame. On. You.”

The triumphant grin that was on the boy’s face when Jemima stopped her swimming and faced her was lost quickly, as he felt himself suddenly grabbed by the girl then dunked forcefully soon after, almost choking to death as he forgot to close his mouth or take in air for that matter. He flopped awkwardly underwater for a while, breathing hard when Jem finally pulled him up and forced him on his toes. “Darn it Jem, are you trying to kill me?” he pouted, crossing his arms as he tried to get a feel for the music. Which proved to be quite the task, considering that he wasn’t at all familiar to the song currently playing.

He was ready when Jem flipped him though, but his nose and ears almost exploded with the sudden change in air pressure. As Jem tried to guide his legs, Zac being the horny and annoying teen he was, decided to tease the blonde further and use his legs to pull her closer, flailing them around whenever he feels that she’s resisting it.

Does he not realize that Jem can make him drown if she so wishes?

[/justify]

[Jemima Rennal]

"I'll share your gifts with the world if you aren't careful." Jem grumbled, thinking of tearing off Zac's nuts and parading them around on a spike just to prove that she had conquered the irritating LaRousse Boy. "And if I'm honest, you're completely not my type, you're an arrogant jerk and just shut up so I can teach you how to swim without looking like a shark thrashing around with a seizure." She said sharply, tapping her foot in time to the music underwater.

Seeing the grin fade on Zac's overconfident face was definitely worth putting up with him for a few moments, at least until he started to pull her closer under the water, which was just damn offensive. Grumping, she then jerked the guy's leg to the side rather roughly, into a sort of half-split, then moving in a circle under the water so Zac was turning. "Beautiful." She said with a smirk, before righting her swimteam buddy again and showing him how to step delicately in a circle, before forcing him into doing a backflip. She guided him slightly more gently into the next pose, not wanting to break his spine.

"You are a prick." She complained simply, holding Zac so his back was arched under the water, legs pointing towards the wall. "Now, just imagine you're slowly stretching up, with your arms." She said, keeping the boy in the right position, guiding him, and oh so accidentally thumping Zac in the crotch with her elbow.

"Oops." She said brightly, grinning and righting him again. "Just follow me now, I can't force you into every move." Jem then disappeared under the water and held her arms and legs out of the water while keeping her body low, then carefully making circular motions with her hands and ankles, before looping out of the water repeatedly. "Just keep looping." She said with a grin, hoping the boy's confidence would eventually drown in the water before she had to do so herself.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Jemima’s sharp tongue is one of the few reasons why he loves annoying the blonde girl to no end. It’s very much like L.C.’s, only not as deadly and dangerous. Until now, that is.

“You’d share me for me? That’s awfully thoughtful of you. Thanks so much,” smiled Zac widely, promptly returning the sarcasm. He may not know what Jem was thinking, but judging her grumble, it wasn’t good. Not one bit.

Given his position, Zac didn’t have the chance to foresee the retaliation before it happened, causing him to oompf when he felt his legs pulled apart, making him release some air unintentionally. In an effort to protect his manbits from anymore stretching, he promptly put an arm over his groin and tried to support himself upside-down with just one arm, a feat which proved to be extremely hard for a beginner, especially when Jemima suddenly spun him around, making him rather dizzy that he felt like he could barf anytime soon. Thank goodness she pulled her up soon after.

“Careful with the stretching Auntie Jem,” he protested, coughing a bit as he might’ve drank some pool water on the way up, “Men do have more bits hanging out than you guys. We can’t exactly do splits easily you know.” That, and Zac’s not exactly the most flexible of all people. He hasn’t had the faintest clue on a mammal that might grant him extra flexibility at the moment. It’s a good thing that Jem guided him gently with the backflip, else he would’ve given up right there and then. Who thought doing such maneuvers underwater would be so hard?

“And you’re a prude. A sex-deprived prude, I might add.” Not sure what the connection is with the whole conversation, but with Zac being thrown all over the place, all that juggling might’ve affected his thinking process as well. The whole elbow-nudge wasn’t ignored, but instead of reacting negatively, it made the boy smirk really. “Mimi, if you wanted to cop a feel, you could’ve just told me. I would’ve let you use your hands you know.” Somebody please shut his trap?

He tried to follow the blonde’s movements as much as he can, but to his dismay, he can’t. He was the one actually looking like an awkward walrus on land, wiggling and wobbling in all directions. “Never actually thought synchronized swimming is hard,” he mused, not really caring if Jem could hear her or not, “You’ve been doing this since you were what? Five?” Who knew a couple of stunts could deflate the boy’s enormous ego?

[Jemima Rennal]

Jem felt a triumphant grin rise on her face as Zac spluttered, and merely shrugged her shoulders. "Some ballet dancers of the male persuasion are able to drop to the floor doing the splits." She looked at Zac's hopeless attempts at being graceful in the water and laughed to herself, swaying a little to the music, before wrinkling her nose at his next insult.

"I'm about as much a prude as you are modest." She said with a snort, before continuing the looping, before disappearing under the water and launching her legs out, moving them gently in time to the music, fully aware that waving your legs for an extended period around Zac probably meant you were going to get sexually harassed. She re-emerged quicker than she should have and eyed Zac's smug face for a moment. "I'd sooner get giardisis." She said icily.

It did cheer her to see JUST how craptastic Zac was with imitating her moves, and she moved to the side of the pool, launching out of the water and sitting on the side. "Yeah. Five." She shrugged. "Mum taught me some moves, she used to do the same when she was younger." Pushing her goggles up her face, she quickly dried off her face and then playfully threw one of her flipflops - they're clean, she doesn't wear them outside of the pool- at Zac's head. "Don't worry Zac, I'm sure with some real practice you might just scrap bad instead of abysmal."

Teasing done, Jem moved over to the stereo and glanced over her shoulder. "If you stay out of my way, I can show you the finished product." She added, flicking the track back and offering her hand out to take the flipflop back. Instantly she knew Zac would probably pull her back into the water, but she just wanted her shoe out of the water so it could dry. "Then maybe you can give me an honest verdict. I could do with some critique." It was a risky idea, because Zac could be childish and insult her and generally be the Brat Prince, but on the other hand, she needed someone to judge the routine before she stopped tweaking it.

"Try anything and I'll persuade Vincent to punch you in the balls." She added brightly, pulling her goggles over her face.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Well, I’d have you know that them ballet dancers of the male persuasion who are able to drop to the floor into splits are but cut and castrated. Hence the whole stretching beyond compare ability they can showcase,” said the mimic, mocking the blonde by copying her tone and rolling his eyes as he spoke. True or not though, it mattered little. It sounded like a perfect excuse rather factual in Zac’s head, and a fact it shall be. “And it’s extremely hard for me, considering how blessed I am.” Head, meet desk. Again. And again.

As the stunts and poses keep on getting more and more difficult (at least for the conceited beginner), it’s taking quite some time for the boy to process all the quips the blonde’s throwing at him. As it was, his mind’s already got enough on its plate right now, that the processing of such insults and the throwing of equally scathing remarks have been pushed aside. He’s so busy trying hard not to look like a total dufus that he could only shoot a glare at Jemima, and not a really imposing one at that.

Five? No wonder she’s good. He hasn’t even gotten proper swimming lessons by then (he started when he was six and a half). “Hey!” he protested, grabbing the offending footwear as he stood up and frowned, “What was that for? You wouldn’t want me throwing my boxers at you, wouldn’t you? Oh wait, you would.” He even added an overtly exaggerated laugh to emphasize his point.

“Sheesh. You could’ve just asked nicely you know,” whined the boy as he swam to the edge of the pool and hauled himself out. He was tempted to pull the girl back in, but that was just so overused that he controlled himself, instead opting to give the girl a good whack (not to hard mind you, just enough for a slight echo to be produced) on the head with the said footwear.

“A verdict? On what? Your overall appeal? I don’t need to see you swim for that,” he smirked, sitting on the edge of the pool as he checked Jemima out with such exaggerated eye motions. “You slouch slightly, your thighs and arms are a little too big while your boobs aren’t. Not enough to make you look fugly, but enough to take away points from you, bringing you down to, err, 5/10? Maybe 6 if you cut away all the split ends in your hair.”

“I did good, right Auntie Jem?” No Zac. Just…no.

[Jemima Rennal]

"I don't know what short bus you fell off, but you aren't gifted, dearest Zachary." Jem snorted derisively, making a show of holding her thumb and forefinger just a tiny way apart. "We all know that you stuff socks in there to make you look well endowed when you actually make my little finger look like the throbbing epitome of manhood." Laughing to herself, she felt smug that Zac couldn't keep up with even some of the more basic moves she'd done.

Wrinkling her nose when Zac mentioned his boxers, Jem let out a moan of irritation. "If I wanted herpes, I'd just go jump on top of Vincent." She said with a hint of displeasure. "I don't want your second hand boxer diseases messing with my body." She yelped when her flipflop hit her head and raised her fist rather threateningly, before simply turning her back on Zac and making to get back into the pool, checking the straps of her swimsuit were still in the right place - god knows she doesn't want to show Zac her boobs.

But then Zac had to open his mouth again and the blonde girl nearly crushed her flipflop in her hand. "Thank you." She said loudly, clenching her fists again and storming over to the boy, grabbing him and then narrowing her eyes. "I actually meant in the water, though thanks for the pointers, I'm sure I'll reshape my body to suit arrogant tiny dicked boys like you." And with that scythe of a remark, Jem kneed the mimic in the groin, with force. "I'll split your end." She added grumpily, before diving back into the water and starting her routine up again, arms in the air, back into position.

At least with Zac out the water, she could complete the routine at least once through. As the music - a song by Lady Gaga, if anyone's wondering - started, she began to go through the motions, flips and leg kicks and delicate movements of her body through the water to the music, stretching her arms out and launching herself up, only to fall back. While keeping time, she also made a cheerful reminder to herself to hunt for a skunk later.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Is it just me, or have you been mentioning Vincent over and over for the past half hour or so?” asked Zac, his eyes turning into near-straight lines as an impish smirk ran over him, “Keep it up and I just might tell you that I’m slowly getting jealous.” He chuckled, applauding himself inwardly for such an (obscure) observation. Anything to get the blonde riled up, obvious or not, is a good retort in his book.

Unaware of what was to happen next, he gave Jemima a rather cheeky smile when she walked over and thanked him. “You’re very welcome,” he said, smiling as wide as he can. He was about to add some more pointers (namely about having a nose job as well as a slight liposuction, even going as far as to giving her a name of a good plastic surgeon) but was stopped short when he felt a knee drive towards his groin, making him squirm and scream like a little girl (no offense).

“Fu-“ He couldn’t even finish his sentence, as the pain was just a little too much to bear. He fell down on the floor almost immediately, hands cupping the injured area as he instinctively curled into a ball. He went a little red for a moment there, almost hyperventilating due to the pain. He could actually feel his eyes swelling with tears already. Darn it, he didn’t really expect Jemima to go that low. Was I really that harsh to her?

Limping, the boy almost crawled himself towards the benches and wrapped a towel around himself, quietly tapping onto a bear for that extra oomph of a healing factor (it wasn’t that great, but it could speed the healing up, if only a little bit; not to mention it could take the pain away a whole lot faster). He could’ve stormed off really, but his injury is somehow preventing him from walking more than six or seven paces. Why do boys have to be so fragile?

So he was forced to stay and watch Jemima do her routine, and despite the urge to tear her to bits, he couldn’t deny that she was good. Great really. Being a newbie himself, he couldn’t really critique her properly. But he was Zac, and Zac always has something not-so-nice to say. “It’s good,” he said as the song ended, trying his hardest not to sneer, “You were just a little off with the beat during the second chorus, and you need to get your legs a bit straighter when doing that turn near the end. But other than that, it’s great.”

[Jemima Rennal]

When Jem's underwater acrobatics were quite finished, she genuinely listened to Zac's advice and gave a nod. "Thanks Zac." She added, hoisting herself out of the water one last time and wrapping her towel around her. "I would apologise for kneeing you, but honestly? You really deserved it." She said bluntly, taking her hair down and toweling it dry. She felt just a little self-conscious now the dratted boy had made those comments about her body. God he was such a jerk.

Tying the towel around her and moving to toe on her flipflops, she gestured towards the pool. "It's all yours now." Jem eyed the squirming heap of boy with a shrug. "If you can still swim with balls the size of grapefruits, that is." She smirked a tiny bit, then stopped the stereo and turned it off, leaning against the wall to take a few moments to enjoy Zac's pain.

"See you on Saturday for the swim meet." Jem laughed a little, patting the pained boy on the head, before moving off towards the changing rooms to shower the chlorine and Zac bacteria off of her. Goodness knows what squalid little bugs lay dormant in his eyelashes and on the surface of his skin. She didn't particularly want the DNA of any of them, that's for sure. "Oh, and just for your information, Zachary." She paused in the doorway. "Don't ever, ever call a girl out on those things or you'll find they'll do worse than a knee in the groin."

A sage piece of advice from the young girl, and she disappeared out of sight. Removing all traces of Zac cooties from her body and general area. Then she had a skunk to catch.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Despite being an honest-to-goodness ass, Zac does know when he merits some kind of an apology and when he doesn’t (when he’s dealing with people he’s known for a long time at least, say Jem or Robbie, for instance; when it comes to absolute strangers or people he just doesn’t like, well, it’s a different story entirely). And what he said towards the blonde just a few minutes ago was, in retrospect, a bit too scathing and offensive really. Not that he’d admit that out loud anyway.

“You’re welcome Auntie Jem. Or should I call you Pancake from now on?” he grinned, giving Jemima a sly wink. Yes, he knows of such things. The ground has ears after all. “I would say you can always give me a kiss to make it all better, but then you’d probably enjoy it much more than I would, so yeah, never mind.”

As much as Zac would want to use the pool, he’s just a bit too battered right now. He can barely move really. He’d probably stay in the said bench for half an hour or so really, because something as simple as walking is just that painful. “Oh I’m sure you’d love to see these grapefruits, wouldn’t you?” Seems he just can’t let people have the last say, can’t he?

Saturday? That close already? “Fuck,” he muttered at the sudden realization. Guess having a calendar in his room wasn’t such a bad idea after all. He simply waved Jem a salute as she gave him such sagely advice, his mind scrambling to process the new information he just received.

Guess he has to cancel all plans he had for Saturday then. Darn it.

[/justify][/blockquote]