*Purpura*
"T-thanks, Sou," I said as we finally stopped swimming.
Sou grinned. "Anytime! Although, it was surprising to see the supposedly 'perfect' specimen struggle so much."
I grumbled. "Shut it."
"I mean, did those lab guys not think you would need to swim one day?"
I looked down. "Well, my powers make knowing how to swim a bit redundant, since I can just float over the surface of the water, or push it away." I turned to the pool and pushed some of the water aside to show him, but not much as to not draw attention, but enough to form an miniature air bubble.
Souta gasped. "Woah, that's so cool!"
I lowered my arm.
He cleared his throat. "Still, you can't rely on that. What if your powers failed?"
"They won't."
"Didn't they do so before?" He leaned toward me. "Or have you forgotten?"
I turned away. "I haven't..."
Souta sighed. "Look, I don't know much about your past, or who exactly your creators are, but it's obvious they have a lot of influence."
I looked down. Well, one of them was Prince Suoh, the queen's brother.
"If they decide to hunt you down, you won't be able to hide forever, no matter what abilities you have."
I stared at him. "Is that a threat?"
He frowned. "No. It's just, your chakra is finite. Eventually, it'll run out."
"That will not happen."
"And, how do you know? Are you a psychic or- Wait, forget I asked that."
I smirked. Although, I wasn't adept at foreseeing the future.
"My point is, you should learn some basic skills so that you can survive, should you need to conserve chakra."
I sighed. He had a point, but I didn't like him pointing it out. My whole purpose for being was to be the perfect specimen. While I hated being in those labs, and wished to be free of them, part of me was afraid to leave them. That place was all I knew. And the goal given to me was my reason of being. Without it, I felt aimless. Spending days being alone in Sou's room, while he was at school with his friends, made me realize that.
"Well, let's go join the others at the food court," Souta said, picking up my hoodie and putting it around my shoulders.
I smiled. "Okay."
"So, how did the swimming lessons go?" Sehun asked, leaning against the table as soon as we found him and the others.
"Purpura's still a little rough, but he's getting used to it."
I nodded and smiled.
"I'm surprised," the crown prince said, staring at me.
"Why's that?" Souta asked, sitting down next to him.
Sehun smiled at me. "I thought he would've given up by now."
I crossed my arms. "I'm no quitter."
He chuckled. "If you say so. How about a race to prove your skills?"
"You're on! Whoever wins gets a kiss from Sou."
Souta blushed. "W-wha? Hold on, don't drag me into this!"
Sehun sighed. "Fine. I doubt I'll lose."
Souta groaned. "I'm not some trophy! Stop using me!"
Sekin crossed his muscular arms over his chest and nodded. "Sou is a person, not an object."
I chuckled and sat down next to the blushing orange-haired boy. "I was just kidding. Like I'll ever want to kiss someone like you."
Sou's shoulders slumped. He pouted. "Liar. You've done so a couple times already."
Sekin frowned.
Sayuri stared at us. "Eh? You kissed Sou?"
I looked away. Maybe teasing him was a bad idea...
Sou sighed. "Yeah. He ended up stealing my second kiss. And, uh, a third one..."
Kai's eyes widened. "Y-you kissed him more than once."
"I was teasing him, okay? Don't make such a big deal out of it."
Kai looked down at the table. "It is a big deal. Only lovers should kiss."
I blushed and turned away. "Whatever. I have no interest in him anyway."
"I doubt that," Sehun said, glaring at me.
Sayuri sighed. "I think this is enough fighting for today."
I turned away. Fighting was all I was good at.
"Sayuri's right, we came here to bond and have fun," Kai said.
Sou snickered. "Right! Let's order something!"
I watched as he went over to the counter and ordered. He sure switched moods on the flip of dime.
"Are you going to eat anything, Purpura?" Kai asked.
"No, I'm not hungry," I mumbled.
"Okay. Just don't forget to drink something, okay? It's important to stay hydrated." He brought out a water bottle and drank from it.
I smiled. This guy was similar to Sou, both naive in their own way.
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," I said, closing my eyes.
"So, what's next after lunch?" Ava asked.
Sayuri grinned. "Water slides!
Rena gulped. "I-I don't think I'm ready for those just yet..."
"We can just watch the others while we splash by the edge of the pools, if you want," Kai said, putting his hand on Rena's shoulder.
She smiled. "Thanks."
"What about you, Purpura? Up to the task?" Sekin asked, grinning.
I nodded. "Of course."
Sehun snickered. "Well then, I look forward to our eventual swim race."
"Same."
"Just don't expect me to be your cheering section," Souta said, returning with a tray of hotdogs.
"What makes you think I would ever want that?"
He huffed and handed me some grape soda.
I took it. "T-thanks."
Sou grinned. "You're welcome! And, don't worry, I got us all different flavors, so hopefully everyone will like what they got."
I stared at the can. It was the same color as my hair. Was that the reason he got it? Or was it because he noticed I liked grape juice?
"Thanks," Kai said, taking the lime flavor one.
Sayuri got lemon and Ava got strawberry.
Rena got cherry, while the two cousins got regular cola.
I took a sip of mine. It tasted like grape, but a tad different.
"This is pretty good," I said, blinking.
Sou chuckled. "Of course! I'd only get the best for my friends."
I smiled. He considered us friends. While I never would've thought to consider him a friend when we first met, I couldn't deny that I had come to enjoy his company, and that of the others.
After finishing eating and chatting for an hour, we made our way back to the slides.
"Wanna try the big ones, Purpura?" Sou asked, pointing at one.
I glanced at the giant, winding spiral of death. "Maybe not. I'll start with something simple."
Sou snickered. "Don't wanna die just yet?"
"Not really. I like living."
"Then, maybe later?"
I shrugged. "Sure, whatever."
Sehun grinned. "Then, you're gonna ride the kiddie, eh?" He pointed at the short, narrow yellow slide that went into the water. The only people riding it other than kids were their parents, which had to have been a little embarrassing for them.
"Like I would," I said, glaring at him.
He snickered and turned his back to me. "Then, see you at the top." He pointed to the death spiral.
I glanced up at it. This guy was a true sadist, wasn't he?
"You're not going to do it, right?" Sou asked, looking up at me.
I glanced at him and smirked. "You think I'll back down after that? Someone has to put that smug prince in his place."
Ava sighed. "Don't let others egg you on like this. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to."
"No, I can handle this. I can handle anything, remember?"
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Mr. Perfect."
I smirked. "Thanks for the recognition."
"Boys." She rolled her eyes yet again before swimming off.
Souta laughed and patted my back. "I guess we're cheering for you, Purpura. Sek and I'll be waiting for ya two at the bottom, so don't push yaself too hard, okay?"
I nodded.
"I think you should listen to Ava," Rena said as she sat at the edge of the pool the water slides led to with her brother.
"I'll be fine. I'm the perfect specimen, remember?"
She sighed and stared at my wounds.
"Don't worry. These are healed already."
"You don't have to overdo yourself."
"I'm not. I can do this, believe me."
Rena looked down.
"If I get hurt, I'll be fine."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I'm not like normal people."
She frowned.
I pointed at Sou. "Plus, I got him to patch me up if I do."
Sou sighed. "Although, I would prefer you not get hurt in the first place."
"Well, sorry, but it's a risk I have to take. I've never backed down from a challenge."
"There's a first time for everything," Ava said as she swam back over to us.
I crossed my arms and sighed. "Well, the line's moving. I gotta go."
She grabbed hold of my left arm. and stared into my eyes. "If you start to feel sick or in pain, stop and get off. Don't hurt yourself for your pride, only idiots do that."
"I know, but I'm not an idiot. See ya."
She let go and huffed.
"Take care," Kai said, waving.
I waved back and smiled. My eyes widened as I realized Sou had disappeared. Where had that guy gone off to? He wasn't at the end of the slide with Sekin either.
"Where's Sou?"
Ava sighed. "Probably up there with that jerk, trying to talk him out of this."
"You really don't hold back that tongue of yours, do you? Even your lover gets scolded."
Her face reddened. "I-it's not like that! And, you don't either. You're a rude person who needs to learn some manners."
"You're not wrong, but I'm not going to change anytime soon. And while I might be rude, at least I don't sleep with the boyfriend of my friend like a certain someone."
She looked behind her, but Sayuri was all the way back at the edge of the pool, talking to the Malachite siblings.
"Please, don't tell her and Sou. I don't wanna break their hearts."
I sighed. "I plan to eventually. But, not yet. I don't want to ruin today."
"Thanks, Purpura."
I put a hand on her shoulder. "You still have a chance to tell them yourselves, maybe then, they will be willing to forgive you."
She lingered in the same spot, eyes downcast.
I sighed. "Go join Sayuri. You can apologize another day."
She nodded and swam off.
I sighed. Hopefully, Souta wouldn't hate me when the day of truth came, for having keep it a secret myself.