Swim like Hell

° .• Chapter Four ° .•

Elijah's POV:

I was nervous. Anticipation had been crawling up my spine all day at the idea of racing. I was nearly sick at one point from the nerves but eventually the race came around and I'd finally get rid of my uneasy feeling.

"Next heat is the 100 meters freestyle and the last heat for this section," The announcer called as we all headed up to the starting areas.

I shrugged my team jacket off, placing it on the chair behind me and putting my cap and goggles on.

Lane 3, one of the golden lanes. Alec was in lane 4, the other golden lane causing a stare down mid-way through our stretching. I could feel the excitement bubbling off the walls as spectators, other swimmers and coaches watched us prepare. In lane 2 next to me was Michael who grinned my way when he made eye contact with Alec behind me, shooting him a thumbs up. Suck up.

Hearing a loud voice in the crowd calling for Alec, I looked up to see that guy from earlier who he was with cheering. Maybe his boyfriend?

A pang of jealousy shot through my chest at the thought but now wasn't the time to concern myself with Alec's love life. He could replace me with whoever he wanted, but he knows I would anyways be the most important person deep down, no matter who he used to fill that void. Why would he be so obsessed with hating me if he didn't care about me?

The first bleep sounded for us to get on the diving blocks. I shook my arms out quickly, making sure I was warmed up enough before hopping on the block along with everyone else. The water stared back at me as I kept my head down, preparing to shoot off the block. It was agonising watching it, knowing I could fall in at any second.

The silence waiting for the signal to go was deafening as butterflies swirled in my stomach. My fingers clutched the block as I braced to enter the pristine water, anticipation flowing through my veins. My fingers were probably white with how tightly I was clenching the diving block, nerves rocking me.

Beep.

We all simultaneously shot off the blocks and into the water, kicking strong and rapid as we waited to break the water. Any nerves, or butterflies, disappeared the moment my body entered the pool. Now, the only thought I could think of was swimming as fast as I could and pulling myself through the water as quickly as I could.

The second my fingers touched the surface I began swimming as fast as I could, not bothering to look where anyone else was, just constantly looking for the wall in front of me. My arms ached as I reached as far as I could before pulling my body forward. My legs were burning at the sheer adrenaline I was using to pump them. My chest felt like it had a brick on it, as if I couldn't get enough oxygen in but I persevered, refusing to let any of this affect my performance.

I flipped at the wall, kicking off as fast as I could to break the water again and continue my way back up the pool. It was a 50 metre pool so thankfully it was just a straight swim now as fast as we could.

It felt forever making my way up the pool, I felt like I'd definitely lost with how long it felt I was swimming but eventually I hit the touchpad and whipped my head to look at the times.

0.30 seconds faster than Alec.

First.

Relief flowed through my veins as I cheered and ripped the cap and goggles from my head in victory. My lungs felt like they were on fire as my chest heaved up and down but that was a background thought as I kept staring at the board of times, displaying my PB.

I had finally redeemed myself after Alec's win last time.

Glancing his way, I saw him look down at the water, jaw clenched as he realised, he lost. His own chest was heaving up and down, trying to take in oxygen. His whole body was rigid and tense, making his movements look robotic and forced. He tore his own cap and goggles off, running his hand fiercely through his hair to mess it up in frustration.