Unwritten Desires

Eleanor 

"Figured you'll show up," Naomi's voice was laced with amusement as it bounced off the walls. 

My jaw tightened. She stopped just a few feet away from me, her arms crossed with a smirk playing on her lips. 

"So, what? You actually believed when they told you that Coach Ramirez was calling you? What because he's impressed with you or something? " She scoffed. "I guess you're dumber than I thought." 

I tried my best to maintain a neutral expression as it always ticked her off. "Wow. You really went out of your way to mess with me, huh? That's kind of pathetic." 

I suppressed a smile as Naomi's smirk faltered for half a second before she rolled her eyes. "Please. I just thought it'd be amusing to watch you run around, searching for something that doesn't exist." 

"And it is." She added when I didn't say anything. 

My eyes narrowed. "Right. Because you have nothing better to do." 

She stepped closer, her expression darkening slightly. "You know, I don't get it. You act all confident, but I see right through you. You're not as untouchable as you think you are." 

"And you're not as intimidating as you think you are. You're just mad that I'm not the quiet Theadora who used to tolerate your bullshit anymore." My eyes locked onto her as I moved closer to her. 

"And I'm telling you this…" I whispered into her ear. "That Theadora who used to let you walk all over her and do whatever you want? She's never coming back." 

Of course I was still on my quest to find out what happened to the real Theadora but I was still going to make sure that if I somehow managed to find her, she wouldn't let Naomi treat her wrongly anymore. 

I pulled away only to find Naomi glaring at me, her eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't quite put my finger on. "We'll see about that." 

There was something about her tone that made me feel very uncomfortable, something about it that sent a small chill down my spine. 

For a moment, neither of us spoke, the air between us thick with tension. Then, Naomi spoke, "You think I'm the one in the wrong here but it's actually you. You just barged in and took what was supposed to be mine and now you expect me to just sit back and watch. Never." 

My eyes squinted as I tried to understand her. "What are you talking about?" 

"I'll take back what's rightfully mine and trust me when I'm done with you, you'll wish we never crossed paths." 

I barely had time to process her words before I felt her hands, shoving me hard against my shoulders. 

I stumbled back, my heel hitting the edge of the pool and before I knew it, I was falling. 

A scream tore from my throat as I crashed into the water. The cold hit me like a brick wall, stealing the breath from my lungs. The force of the plunge ripped my glasses from my face, sending them sinking into the depths. 

Everything blurred. 

Panic surged. 

My body seized up, fear wrapping around me like an iron grip. I thrashed, but it was useless…the water pressed against my ribs, my lungs, my throat. 

Thea was hydrophobic. 

She was afraid of water…not me. 

But now…I could feel that fear as if it were my own. 

For a long, agonizing second, all I could do was sink. 

But then…something snapped inside of me. 

I couldn't just stay here and watch myself drown after promising myself that I wouldn't die so easily again. 

But now that I think about it, this wasn't how Thea died in the story…

I shook my head chasing the thoughts away. Right now, I couldn't think of anything else. I had to fight my fear. 

Theadora's fear. 

Clenching my teeth, I forced myself to move. My legs kicked and my arms fought against the crushing weight of the water. 

I was always good at swimming but Thea's fear paralyzed this body and now I couldn't move it how I wanted to, but I was still going to get out of here anyway. 

My chest burned and my muscles screamed as I pushed through. I might have looked like Thea physically but mentally I was still me, and I've never known myself to be a weak person, so things like this were nothing to me. 

With one final, desperate push, I broke the surface, gasping for air. 

Water dripped down my face, blurring my already hazy vision. I coughed, inhaling sharply before forcing myself to focus. 

My glasses. 

My fingers skimmed the surface, searching blindly. For a terrifying moment, I thought they were lost forever…until my hand closed around something solid. 

Relief flooded me as I grabbed them, barely managing to push them back onto my face with trembling hands. 

I should really consider talking to Thea's mum about getting contact lenses. 

My vision sharpened just in time to see Naomi standing at the pool's edge with her arms crossed and her lips curled in a smug, satisfied smirk. 

"Guess you're not hydrophobic after all." She shrugged and something inside me snapped again…this time, with pure, unfiltered rage. 

Of course she also knew about my phobia. 

I didn't bother saying anything to her, and I didn't hesitate either. 

I surged forward, my hand shooting out. Naomi's eyes widened, but she didn't react fast enough. 

I grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward and she barely had time to gasp before she went crashing into the pool, the sharp splash echoing through the air. 

I didn't even bother watching her struggle, unlike her, I didn't have time for that. 

And with that, I pushed myself out of the pool, not even sparing her a glance or saying a single word to her as I walked away with water dripping down from my clothes. 

I was able to find a towel by the racks but as expected, it didn't really do much, so that meant I had to walk all the way to the girls locker room with my gym clothes clinging to my flushed skin. 

Oh God. 

Fortunately for me half of the school were having class but the other half however was in the hallway. 

Staring.

At me. 

I made a mental note to check if I could get longer shorts since I noticed my shorts might be a little bit too short for me. 

Just when I was about to round a corner and get away from the stupid stares, I collided with a warm hard wall and my hands moved just in time to catch my glasses before they fell to the ground. 

"What the actual fuck? Can't you watch…" my voice faded into a small whisper as I saw the person standing in front of me. 

"Thea? Why are you soaked?" Jake asked, reaching for my hair. "Sofia said coach Ramirez called for you and that's why you weren't with her and…" 

"Jake, it's okay. I'm fine, trust me." 

Why did they always have to be so worrisome? Anytime I got into some kind of trouble they always acted like I was going to lose my head or something. 

I wasn't a child. 

Hell I wasn't even 18. 

Jake then let out a gasp as his eyes widened. "You fell into the pool." 

A sigh slipped out of my lips. "Jake." 

"You fell into the pool." He said, the shock evident on his face. "How…how did you get out?" 

"Jake…relax." I was already on the brink of losing my mind because of this stunt Naomi just pulled. And now Jake wanted to come and annoy me with all of his stupid questions. 

I know he meant well but come on. 

He was about speaking again when he paused and looked over my shoulder, well over my head actually, since he was way taller. 

Without thinking, I followed his gaze only to find Liam standing frozen behind us with an expressionless look on his face. We were on the lonely side of the hallways which also led to the girls locker room and one of the school's back gates so people weren't really around here when classes were going on. 

Jake was here because he was obviously looking for me and I was here because I wanted to get out of these wet clothes as soon as possible. But Liam on the other hand looked like he was going somewhere else with his bag strapped to his back. 

His eyes flicked between Jake and I, lingering on my wet gym clothes for a second longer before he turned and left like he didn't even see us. 

Ugh! Why did he always have to be so impassive and why did we always have to cross paths when Jake and I were in the worst positions???