Cealeste Academy || BL

Chapter Seven || The Lake

It took some searching but eventually, he did find the lake. It was located further from campus than he was expecting. But Red was right, it was quite crowded. There were students all around it. Some were just relaxing but a few people were swimming. Which made him feel a little less awkward.

But it wasn't fun either, like come on, he's a shark, well half shark. He's supposed to know how to swim. With or without tail. The fact that he had to learn alone, was embarrassing. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

William walked up to the lake, looking around at everyone. It was surprising to him just how many different creatures went to this school, though most of them looked human.

He took a breath as he walked up the dock, towards the middle of the lake. This part of the lake was less crowded, as there wasn't much space to sit in the grass due to all the trees around the water. A few people were sitting on the dock, but not this far out. *

He looked down into the water when he reached the edge. Is this the only option he had? He could always just admit to the other he doesn't know how to control his powers fully yet. That is the reason he went to this school. And the fact that there were special classes for it proved he wasn't the only one here with that issue. But that didn't change his feelings.

He stood there for a bit, deciding if he was gonna jump in or not. Maybe it was a bad idea, nothing was gonna happen. And what if he drowned, he couldn't swim after all. He let out another sigh. He was about to turn around and head back to his room when a sudden voice stopped him.

"What are you doing?" The voice laughed. William looked around confused, not being able to locate the source. There was a rustle, but before William could find where it was coming from someone jumped down in front of him. He looked up confused. One of the nearby branches reached far enough that if you were in the tree you be able to jump down onto the dock.

He looked down at the figure, only to find Korbin standing in front of him with a smile. There were leaves and branches stuck in his hair. William looked up for a second. Was he in that tree..? "I- where-?" William stuttered. "Are you okay? "Korbin asked, looking up at him.

"Where did you come from?" William asked while laughing. Korbin looked up like it was obvious."Well, up there I guess."He smiled. "You were in the tree?" WIlliam asked. Korbin nodded back.

"Why were you up there?" William asked, confused. "Because it relaxes me." Korbin turned around and sat down on the edge of the dock. "Why were you looking into the lake?" He asked back. William took a few steps towards him. "I well..." He said hesitantly. He sat down next to Korbin, looking down into the water.

"I was thinking about swimming but..." He sighed. "But it's better if you didn't." Korbin smiled at him. WIlliam let out a laugh. "Yeah." He looked up. "And the reason you can't is the same as why you didn't jump in the ocean last time?" Korbin asked. William nodded, staying quiet. "And I'm guessing you're not going to tell me this reason?" He added.

William let out a sigh, looking back down at the water. Was he going to tell him? He doesn't really know this person, sure, they met before but he only knew his name. Then again, this information isn't that personal, just embarrassing.

"I'm just afraid it won't go well..." William said, Korbin looked back at him confused. "If I remember correctly, you said you were a tiger shark?" He asked. William nodded, already knowing what he was gonna say next. "So how would you going in the water not go well" He asked. "Well, that's the thing..." William started. "I can't control when I shift, so I can't... swim..." He said hesitantly.

"You can't swim?" Korbin asked surprised. "Well no- I mean- I can swim, just not like.. This." William gestured to his legs. "This week is the first time I've shifted to this form. Surprisingly, I've been able to keep it up this long." He laughed. "And you think that if you jumped into the lake like this you wouldn't be able to swim?" Korbin smiled. William nodded, looking back at him.

"Have you tried?" He asked. "What? William asked confused. "Have you tried swimming like this?" Korbin copied him, gesturing to William's legs. William looked down, thinking back. "I- no not really..." He said back. "Then how do you know you can swim?"

William looked back up, meeting Korbin's eyes. "I guess... I don't." He said. Korbin smiled proudly. Even though this doesn't prove anything, it gave William a little bit of confidence, that it might be fine. "Right, then maybe you should just try it," Korbin suggested. "Not now though-" He added. "Do it with someone who you trust."

"Who says I don't trust you," William said back, a faint blush on his face. "Well I-" Korbin stuttered. "If you do get in, and it turns out you can't swim, I won't jump in after you." He said. "Why not?" WIlliam laughed. "I don't like water..." Korbin added, looking away slightly. "But I thought you wanted to go swimming together?" William asked, a bit confused. "I do, but if you can't swim..." Korbin teased, looking back at him.

"Very funny." WIlliam nudged Korbin's side playfully. "That reminds me." He started. "You never told me what you are." He said. "I told you I was a tiger shark, so now it's your turn." he smiled.

Korbin sat up a little. "I thought it would be a little more obvious." He laughed. "I did just jump out the tree." He joked. In the past, he never really had to tell people. They usually guessed he was a bird at least, just from the feathers on his face. "It's not obvious to me." WIlliam shrugged. "Well then" Korbin smiled, looking down. "I'm a raven."

William nodded, feeling a little dumb he couldn't find that out by the context clues. "Right, that does explain a lot," He laughed. They both went silent as they looked down into the water, staring at their reflection. "I guess that makes us opposites..." Korbin smiled. "In a way, yeah." William shrugged. "Well, you know what they say," Korbin started. William looked up intrigued, "Opposites attract-" he said with a smirk.

As soon as the words left his mouth, his face turned bright red. Why did he say that, there was no reason for that. What was he gonna think? Korbin kept staring at William with the same expression, trying not to show his real emotions. William looked at him confused before he burst into laughter. Korbin's expression softened, not sure if he should be happy with this reaction or feel offended in some way.

"I guess they do say that," William said as soon as he caught his breath. This was a lien he'd heard before, quite a lot, but they were always a little cringe to him. Most of the time they were just some cheap pickup lines from guys wanting to get in his pants. It was funny to hear it being used seriously.

"Sorry, that was weird," Korbin said back, his face bright red. "It's fine, it was cute." WIlliam s, smiled back, his face turning red as well. They stared at each other for a bit, but before either of them could say something Korbin's phone went off. He grabbed it from his pocket to see what it was. "Right, guess my breaks over." He sighed as he put it away. "Already?" Willaim asked, slightly disappointed.

"Unfortunately," Korbin said as he got up. "So where are you going now?"William asked curiously, looking up. "I'm helping out the flying team today." He said happily. "Unfortunately I can't join the team, so this is the closest I get." He sighed. "Why can't you join?" WIlliam asked as he got up as well. "I don't go to this school remember, that is one of the requirements." He explained. "Right..." William smiled.

Korbin was about to turn away when he stopped himself. "Right, this might be a little weird but can I ask for your number?" He asked. William let out a small laugh before pulling out his phone. "It's not weird.." He said back. Korbin took his phone before copying the number to his own phone. He smiled as he gave the phone back, "Right, I'll talk to you later then?" He smiled. William felt his face heat up as he looked back at him. "Yeah, sure." He smiled. Korbin waved at him as he turned around and headed back towards the school.