As it turned out, Shane's clothes did not fit Felix.

"How is it going?" Shane asked from outside the bathroom door, the shadow of his figure visible under the door. "Do they fit?"

Felix stared at himself in the mirror. The basketball shorts Shane had given him were barely staying on, sagging just below his waist, and the navy blue athletic shirt appeared baggy of Felix's thin frame. He almost wanted to laugh at how similarly he resembled a child in an adult business suit.

"They kinda fit," Felix answered, grinning.

"Come on out then."

Felix glanced at himself one last time in the mirror before grabbing the door handle, swinging open the door. Shane stood a few feet away, patiently waiting. Upon seeing Felix, a wide grin broke out on his face, and he clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.

"What?" Felix asked, glancing down at himself.

"Nothing," Shane said into his hand, a grin evident on his face even with the covering.

"It's a little loose, I think."

"A little?"

Felix glared. "I'm skinny as hell, okay? Everything's loose."

"I'm skinny too!" Shane exclaimed. "Usually no one fits into my clothes!"

"Well I didn't break the pattern," Felix pointed out. "I can take them off and just wear my clothes."

"Just keep them on, you look," Shane paused, as if was stopping himself from saying something. Then he smiled. "Nice."

Heat rose to Felix's face as he glanced down at his—Shane's—clothing. To Felix, it did not look good on him, as the bagginess made him look disheveled and fresh out of bed. But he wasn't going to contradict Shane, so he simply smiled.

"Thanks," he murmured. Shane's smile grew into a lopsided grin.

"Yer welcome," he responded in a strange voice. Felix smiled, bemused.

"What kind of accent is that?"

"It's a pirate accent!"

"Why are you a pirate?"

"Better question is, why aren't you a pirate?"

Felix raised an eyebrow. "Because I don't want scurvy?"

"Just eat fruit then."

"I am fruit."

Felix's eyes widened at what he had just said. Shane's eyes widened as well, a large, bemused grin on his face. Felix was unsure if Shane understood the joke he had accidentally said, looking for any hint of recognition. The two of them stared at one another in silence, the air thick with tension. It continued on until eventually Felix couldn't take it.

"I'll just wear the clothes," Felix said awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Doesn't matter that they're loose."

Shane shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Let's head on down to the pool."

Motioning for Felix to follow, Shane briskly walked out of his room. Felix stuck closely behind, not wanting to get lost in the maze of hallways that Shane called a home. To Felix, every hallway looked the same, and if not for Shane, Felix felt he would spend days trying to find his way out.

The smell of clean laundry wouldn't exit Felix's nose. He was unsure if the source was from Shane, who was a mere two feet away from him, or if it was from the clothes Felix was borrowing. In either case, it was strong, yet not overwhelmingly so. It was soothing despite its overpowering quality, like a weighted blanket wrapping around Felix.

He shook the thought from his head as Shane began to step down the stairs. Heat rose to Felix's face, which thankfully Shane couldn't see. If Felix was questioned about it, he wasn't sure he'd be able to figure it out himself, much less explain it to Shane.

"You a fan of heated pools?" Shane asked, breaking the silence. Felix snapped from his thoughts, blinking rapidly.

"Uh, maybe?" Felix said unsurely. "I don't think I've ever been in one."

Shane glanced back, a surprised smile on his face. "You haven't?"

"As far as I know."

"Well, you're not missing much," Shane assured, turning forward again. "We don't have one, I just wanted to make sure you weren't used to a heated one."

Silence fell over the two of them as they continued their way through the hallways. As they made their way to the hallway connecting the front door to the deck door, Felix piped up.

"How are heated pools any different?" He asked curiously. Shane looked at him with a smirk.

"They're heated," he teased. Felix rolled his eyes.

"No really?" Felix shook his head. "But seriously, how are they different?"

Shane shrugged. "In my experience, they aren't really. You still get cold pretty fast on the not-so-warm days."

"But is the water warmer?"

"Kinda, but not really."

"Seems like a waste, then."

Shane grinned. "It is."

Finally, they stepped out of the house onto the patio, the sun shining down upon them. Within seconds, Felix's skin felt warm, tingling slightly as it lost the cool layer that had attached to him. A cold chill ran through his body, causing him to shiver lightly.

"Cold already?" Shane smirked. "You haven't even gotten in the pool yet."

Felix glared. "I'm not cold, it's the change in temperature."

"Sure," Shane said, winking. Felix narrowed his eyes.

"It is."

"I believe you."

"I'm telling the truth."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Felix's brain short circuited as he tried to understand that last comment. "What?"

"Nothing," Shane said with a grin. "C'mon, the water's not getting any warmer!"

Before Felix could reply, Shane sprinted for the pool, launching himself into the air. In a beautiful, graceful motion, he dove into the water with the skill of an olympic swimmer, the water barely reacting around him. He remained under for a moment, before resurfacing, wiping the water from his face.

"What're you waiting for?" he yelled. "Get in here!"

Felix's feet remained glued to the ground. If he sprinted over, he would look weird; he'd always been told he looked silly when he ran. Shane would see and laugh at him, then he would start judging Felix. But Shane would never judge Felix, to his knowledge. The very thought of it-

Before he had any more time to dwell, his feet unfroze, tearing across the patio. His brain crackled with anxiety as he jumped into the pool, much less graceful than Shane. Shane yelled something as Felix's limbs flailed, but Felix couldn't hear what he said before he plunged beneath the surface, the cold water stabbing his skin like tiny knives. His feet grazed the bottom and he pushed up, soaring towards the surface.

The air was cold against Felix's wet skin as he broke the surface, gasping for air. Shane was cackling a few feet away, his head tossed back as he floated through the water. Fear struck Felix's heart as he thought back to his sprinting, and dread quickly rolled in.

"That was," Shane said, trying to catch his breath as he laughed. "The funniest jump, EVER."

The anxiety started to leak away as Felix smiled unsurely. "It was?"

"Are you kidding? Of course it was!"

"Cool," Felix responded, his chest beginning to flutter. The anxiety had melted away, filled by the light feeling of hope. Hope for more praise.

"Cool indeed," Shane said, grinning. "Do you know how to dive?"

Felix raised an eyebrow. "Uh, did it look like I know how?"

"I figured maybe you were just trying to get in as fast as you could."

"Yes, but also, I don't know how to dive."

Shane laughed. "Okay, well, I'll teach you."

Shane gracefully swam to the side of the pool, lifting himself out effortlessly. Felix slowly tread after him, not-so-gracefully making his way to the poolside. Shane reached his hand down, water dripping off his fingers and hitting the water with gentle ripples. Staring at it for a moment, Felix hesitantly reached his hand up, clasping it in Shane's. With one swift motion, Shane lifted Felix up, allowing him to grasp the poolside and climb onto the pavement. Shane waited for Felix to stand up before he started speaking.

"Diving is easy once you know what to do," Shane assured him, smiling warmly. "Just bend your knees like so, and press your hands together like this."

Shane demonstrated as he spoke, pressing his hands together and bending his knees ever so slightly. Felix copied him, watching his every move to figure out what to do. After checking to make sure he was following along, Shane continued.

"Now, you're going to launch forwards, your hands leading your body," he explained. "The key is to enter the water at an angle, since we're so close to the surface."

Before Felix could ask any questions, Shane dove forwards to demonstrate what he was talking about. He entered the water gracefully, the water barely splashing as he shot beneath the surface. A moment later, he resurfaced, brushing his hair from his face. He grinned at Felix.

"Now you try!"

Felix looked down at himself unsurely. He spent several moments adjusting his stance, trying to copy everything he saw Shane do. He could feel Shane's gaze focused on him, and despite the easy grin on Shane's face, Felix felt as though he was wasting Shane's time. Giving it not another thought, Felix jumped forwards in a perfect arc.

The perfect arc quickly went awry as Felix forgot the key detail of angling his body. Instead of hitting the water with a clean cut, he slammed the front of his body against the surface, a dull pain hitting him. He barely sunk beneath the surface, the cool air breezing on his back as he turned upright once again. Shane had a hand clapped over his mouth, a grin evident from behind his fingers.

"That was bad, wasn't it?" Felix asked, already knowing the answer. Shane slowly shook his head.

"No, it was," Shane paused as he poorly disguised a laugh. "Improvement."

"So it sucked."

"It was great," Felix glared at Shane, until eventually he added, "Okay, it wasn't the best. But just keep trying it, you'll get better."

So, for the next hour, Shane watched as Felix dove off the side of the pool time and time again. Each time did get better, just not by a lot. But he slowly improved, until after several dozen jumps, he could perform a passable dive. And up to that point, Shane cheered after every dive, encouraging Felix to keep trying.

"See, you're getting better!" Shane said after a particularly successful one. Felix smiled, brushing his hair from his eyes.

"I'm still not very good."

"Good shmood," Shane said, waving his hand dismissively. "All that matters is that you improve, and that you have fun."

"I guess that's true."

"No guessing, it is the truth."

"I guess," Felix said, smiling mischievously. Shane glared playfully, his lips tugging up into a smile.

"You guess?"

"I guess."

"Well you know what I guess?"

"What?"

"I'm guessing you're going to get splashed."

Before Felix could ask what he meant, a wall of water slammed into Felix's face. He spat and sputtered the water from his mouth as he wiped at his eyes, the sound of Shane laughing filling his ears. It was on.

Taking advantage of Shane's laughter, Felix blindly splashed water forwards. He heard a yelp, followed by the quiet crashing of the water hitting a surface. Felix quickly finished wiping his eyes in time to see another wave headed for him. This time, he managed to shield his eyes, the water splashing over his forearms. He dropped his arms to send an attack to Shane, only to be splashed himself.

The water fight quickly escalated into a water war; something that Felix was greatly outmatched in. Sure, he was quicker and smaller, but those only really applied to land. In the water, Shane could travel much faster than him, and body size meant little when the attacks had a wide range.

Within only a few minutes, Felix felt as though he'd inhaled enough water to fill a great lake. His focus became the conservation of his lungs, rather than the offense of the battle. He hurried away from Shane, hacking up water as he went. Shane must have noticed, as he quickly stopped splashing, but kept his advance.

"You good?" He asked, his eyebrows knit in concern. Felix nodded, coughing violently.

"I'm fine," he wheezed, coughing up a tablespoon of water. "Little too much water in my body."

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Shane placed his hand on Felix's shoulder, guilt written on his face as he stared at Felix. "I didn't think I was getting it in your mouth."

"It's all good, it's almost all out now."

Felix coughed for another minute, getting the last of the water from his lungs. They still felt painful, like a fire was lit beneath them, but he figured it would go away soon enough. He smiled weakly at Shane, flashing him a pair of thumbs up.

"All better now," he half-lied. Shane smiled back, the expression looking as weak as Felix's.

"How about we just chill out, now?" Shane suggested. "I have a couple of pool floaties, we can just lay on those for a bit."

Felix suppressed the urge to correct "lay" to "lie," nodding silently. Shane's smile grew as he backed away slowly before turning to the pool side and lifting himself out effortlessly. He quickly jogged to a small shed by the corner of the fencing that Felix had not noticed before. He opened the double doors, disappeared for a moment, then returned with his arms full of a few floats.

"Take your pick!" he shouted over the plastic objects as he jogged back towards Felix. Felix treaded towards Shane, peering up from the side of the pool.

"I'll just take the plain white one," Felix said. Shane dropped them beside the pool, raising an eyebrow.

"You sure?" he asked. Felix shrunk back slightly, as if he'd said the wrong thing.

"Yes?"

"Alright," Shane said, handing the rectangular, white float to Felix. He then grabbed a flamingo tube, looking like he was going to jump in, before pausing, his eyes lighting up. Before Felix could inquire about the expression, Shane dropped the float and dashed into the house.

Waiting for Shane to come back, Felix attempted to get onto his float, which proved much harder than he would've thought. As he struggled to get on, his legs flailing, he silently thanked Shane for having fences, because if any neighbors saw Felix in that moment, they would have assumed a wild animal fell into the pool.

"Graceful!" Shane called as he sauntered out of the house, a large camera in hand. Felix glared.

"It's difficult, okay?" He retorted, sprawled out on the float, his limbs aching from effort.

"Sure it is," Shane carefully entered the tube, keeping the camera well above his hand. "Wanna take a picture?"

"Sure?"

Shane slowly made his way to Felix, grinning. He saddled up beside Felix, his shoulder brushing Felix's. Felix's face heated up slightly, and he mentally scolded himself for the strange reaction. Then he stopped, freezing for a moment.

He'd experienced this so many times around Shane. The fuzzy feeling. The heat rising to his face. The shy yet playful mood. It all occurred whenever Shane got involved. Whenever Shane threw his goofy, lopsided grin in Felix's direction. It no longer felt like nerves, nor just simply anxiety. It was something so much more.

"Smile for the camera!" Shane said chipperly, ripping Felix from his thoughts. holding the camera out as far as he could. Felix smiled at it, quickly fixing his position to look less lazy. There was a bright flash, then something ejected from the camera. Felix blinked away the spots in his eyes as Shane took out the object.

"What's that?" Felix inquired, pointing at the square in Shane's hand.

"It's a polaroid photo," he explained, smiling as he moved back to the poolside. "Antonio convinced me to buy one. Film is expensive, but it's worth it, you'll see."

"Why are you placing it under the float?"

"Has to develop for a couple minutes, then we can look at it."

"That's cool."

A couple minutes later, after a bit of calm, silent floating, Shane lifted the float and took out the photo. He waved it in the air a bit, cutting through the water towards Felix.

"Be careful with it, I'm not sure it'll do well if it falls in the water," he cautioned. Felix gently took it in his hands.

All things considered, it was terrible quality. Shane had explained it needed some more time to develop, but even so, the exposure was godawful. Details were difficult to make out, colors were muted, and there was a spot that was discolored.

Yet, something about it enthralled Felix. It felt so real, so genuine. The grin on Shane's face seemed more vibrant, despite the lack of details. Felix's smile seemed happier, even though his expression was barely visible. Everything about it just seemed better than a photo he could take on his phone.

"I love it," Felix whispered, smiling at the photo.

Saying he loved it was an understatement. Every fiber of him loved it, hailing it as the best photo ever. And as he stared at it with Shane watching him, the strange feelings that had been plaguing him were starting to fall into place. The picture was still blurry, but Felix was beginning to realize.

"You can keep it," Shane said, smiling brightly. "On one condition."

Felix glanced up, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's that?"

"We take some more photos."