Oliver pulls up at the parking lot of the lake and they get out.
"I'm so excited for this, baby!"Carson exclaims. He does a little dance and Oliver rolls his eyes.
"Don't be embarrassing."He tells Carson.
"Shut up, Oliver. Let me be excited."
Kyle walks silently next to them. Why did he decide to come? What was he thinking? He can't fit in! Carson and Oliver are friends with a bunch of higher classed people. Most of them are rich and come from good families.
And as much as he hates to admit it, Oliver was right. It's hard for him to let loose. He would rather be studying so he won't fail exams, which isn't a bad thing, but that just proves Oliver's point.
Butterflies start to form in Kyle's stomach and he feels like he's going to hurl.
"Hey, Kyle, you feeling alright?"Carson asks.
"Yeah, just a stomach ache. That's all."Kyle lies. He's never really been a good liar, though. However, he wasn't exactly lying. His stomach does feel bad. It's not a stomach ache, but still. Close enough.
"Look, don't you worry about a thing. Just stick with me and nobody will mess with you, alright?"
Kyle nods and tries his best to look reassured.
"Hey, hey, hey! Guess who's back!"Carson yells when they get to the rest of their friends.
"I know you're lying, Avery. You're not feeling better, huh?"Oliver says to Kyle, while Carson is talking with his other friends.
"I'm fine. Don't worry."Kyle smiles.
"Mhm."Oliver gives him a look, then goes to join Carson. Kyle follows behind them.
"Guys, I would like you too meet Kyle Avery. He's a friend, so please welcome him with open arms."Carson says when Kyle reaches up to them.
"Wait, I thought that was the kid that Oliver couldn't beat. Um somone explain please."A very pretty girl with long golden blond hair and hazel eyes says.
Kyle feels himself getting smaller. That girl looks like she could be a model. And she's friends with Oliver. Oddly enough, that makes Kyle feel...wierd. He doesn't know what it is. It just kind of bothers him to know Oliver knows such pretty girls who happen to be his friends.
He probably just sees them as friends, but what if he doesn't? Or what if they don't and they start hitting on him?
"Well, yeah he is, but I like him. So he's my friend. Plus Oliver seems to like him, too. Right?"He says, giving Oliver a knowing look.
"No, I don't. But if you want to babysit him, that's fine by me. You guys can be friends. I'm just here to swim and have fun."Oliver's says, waving a hand at his best friend.
"He's kind of cute."another girl with shorter brown hair says.
This makes Kyle get flustered and embarrassed. "T-Thanks."
"We welcome you to our friend group, Kyle."A guy that has a tattoo on his left arm. It looks like a bird.
"Thank you."Kyle says with a big smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you sure you're ok with your best friend being friends with your rival?"the girl with blond hair asks Oliver.
He takes a sip from his can of beer. "I don't care. I know that Carson won't replace me. Our friendship is bigger than that."
"I know you don't have a lot of people, Oli. I just want to make sure you don't lose him."she says, reaching out a hand to wrap around his arm.
He moves it away and rolls his eyes. "I told you not to call me that, Macey. And I won't lose him. Gosh stop acting like you care."
Macey steps back and crosses her arms. "I do care, Oliver. Why can't you see that?"
"Becuase you don't. You're a fake, Macey. All you care about is your popularity."
"Wow. Ok. I see how it is. Sorry I wanted to make sure you were ok."she scoffs and walks away.
Macey was another one Oliver's best friend's. They had known each other since they were kids. She always loved attention. She craved it.
She would always make it seem like she cared about Oliver and would try to get him to like her. She did like him, but only becuase of his good looks and his fame. If she dated him, the media would talk non-stop about her.
And Oliver knew this. He knew her too well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Come on, Kyle. Just one drink."the boy with the tattoo named Chase says to Kyle after he comes back from the water.
"I'm no good for drinking. I get drunk easily."Kyle says, wrapping his towel around him.
"Leave him alone, Chase."the girl with brown hair says. Her name is Bethany.
"Yeah, if the kid doesn't wanna drink, he doesn't wanna drink."Carson says.
"Man, you guys are boring."Chase says. "I'm just trying to help him let loose, you know? Have fun."
"He can do that without beer. He's not like you."Beth says, smiling at her own joke.
"Haha. Very funny."Chase responds.
"Anyways, you swim really good, Kyle. No wonder you were the top swimmer in your school."Beth says, turning to him.
"Heh. Thanks. I love swimming. It makes me feel free."Kyle says.
"Yeah, wish it was like that for Oliver."Carson says.
"What do you mean?"Kyle asks.
"Oliver saw swimming as a way to escape reality. But one his father saw his talent, he took advantage of it and of Oliver."Carson says.
"Yeah and it all thanks to you."Macey says. She hadn't talked in a while. Kyle had forgotten about her for a minute.
"Me?"he asks.
"Yeah. He couldn't beat you and his father would beat him for that."She says, glaring at him.
"That wasn't his fault, Mace."Chase says.
"Yeah, it's not. Some people are more talented than others."Bethany says.
"You guys don't understand. He put his life into swimming. He endured all that pain and suffering. And all becuase of one little brat." she says.
"Hey! Macey, cut it out!"Carson snaps.
She stands up and makes her way over to Kyle. "Do you know how many times Oliver felt like dying becuase of you?"
Kyle stays silent. He looks at the fire in front of him, a lump in his throat forming. He feels his vision blur. She's right. Oliver did suffer because of him.
"I-I..."He tries to talk, but he can't. "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?"she laughs coldly. "Sure."
She lifts up her hand to hit him. Kyle flinches, but he doesn't stop her. He deserves this.
"Macey! No!"Carson yells.
But before she can do anything, hand grabs her wrist, stopping her from hitting Kyle.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on him."Oliver says, throwing her hand away from Kyle.
Carson's face is surprised and he looks speechless.
"But Oliver, you did suffer becuase of him."Macey says, rubbing her wrist that Oliver grabbed. It looks red. How hard did he grab her?
"He was good at swimming. Better than I was. It wasn't his fault. It was just the way it was. Stop trying to get my attention, Macey. It's annoying and pathetic."He responds. Then he turns to look at Kyle.
"Did she hurt you?"he asks.
"N-no."Kyle responds.
"Good. We're leaving."Oliver says, grabbing his stuff.
"But Oliver-"Kyle starts.
"We're leaving and that's final."Oliver interrupts.
Kyle nods and grabs his stuff.
"Oli please-"
"I told you not go call me that, Macey! I don't wanna hear it."Oliver snaps. "Are you coming Car?"
"No. I'll go with Chase. You guys can go."Carson responds.
"Alright."
They both leave without saying good bye. Kyle just waves at them and they wave back.
'Oliver looked really angry back there. When lacey was gonna hit me. Why? Becuase she was gonna hurt me?'