Y/N

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"I THOUGHT YOU told me you couldn't swim," I said, staring at the crystal pool before me, "so why are we going swimming?"

After the whole 'disappearing act' Louis pulled on me half and hour earlier, the aura surrounding our friendship somehow grown tighter. I guess I just felt more comfortable knowing he thought what we had was worth something.

"Honestly?" The boy said, kicking off his shoes.

I nodded, "honestly."

"I taught myself how to swim the day you fell," he explained, turning to look at me, "just so I can save you properly next time."

It was humid in Skulls Rock, the clear pond's warmth drifting out around the stone chamber, but those words still sent chills down my spine. Good chills. The ones where you didn't see it coming, but was glad it did.

"Hopefully there won't be a next time," I smiled, "but thank you."

Glancing down at my bare feet, I took a cautious step into the shallow end of the water, the cold liquid splashing against my ankles as I walked in.

Something about this pool felt different, like I would submerge myself for seconds at a time, and come back a different person. Maybe I was just trying to come up for an explanation as to why I agreed to go swimming in a ice-cold pool in the middle of the night.

"Hey Louis," I said, wading around to find the boy, "what exactly are we—"

Cutting myself off, I widened my eyes at the sight of the boy running full speed ahead towards the stone ledge diving the rocks from the water.

His brown hair flying behind him, he let out a jumbled 'COWABUNGA!' exclamation, before cannonballing next to me. A wave of the salty sea water slapped me in the face, and I went hurling back towards the center of the space.

"Oh, it is on!" I yelled, wiping my eyes dry.

Louis had barely been given a chance to get onto his feet, before I leapt towards him and shoved him underneath the freezing waves.

The next thing I knew, we were in an epic battle of the Atlanteans, both of us desperate to get revenge on the other for their mischievous tricks. Wet hair, gritted teeth, and various curses infiltrated the cave, and anyone walking by would have thought someone was being drowned from within.

They would be right; I was trying not to drown, while also drowning Louis (oh for gosh's sake, not actually! I wouldn't dare hurt him).

"To your left!" I yelled, whipping my arm out and spraying the boy with a handful of water, "take that, Partridge!"

Oh, he took it, but not well.

As if his inability to win finally took over him, he dove underwater and snatched me up by the waist, attempting to toss me off to the side.

But he slipped.

That would have seemed like an obvious observation, considering we were in a pool of water, but I didn't exactly have the time to worry about that. Why? Because if Louis was slipping, so was I.

He was still holding me by the waist, remember?

In fear that he would drop me, Louis tightened his grip around my waist as we stumbled back, but we still crashed into the rocky ledge behind us. I winced, the feeling of collision shocking me.

"Hey, hey, hey," the boy said, his voice panicked, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," I mumbled, opening my eyes, "I'm okay—"

I had more to say, but now I just completely forgot what it was.

Louis' nose was just millimeters away from my own, the droplets of water from his hair dripping down and splashing against my skin. He didn't seem to notice, because his hand was grazing against the back of my head to see if I had hit it in the fall.

There was a moment of silence when he noticed I wasn't hurt, but then realization seemed to click.

"Oh, right—yeah, sorry..." we both mumbled, a jumble of non-audible words spilling out of our mouths as we scrambled out of the awkward position, "right, then."

My cheeks burning red with embarrassment, I swam over to the opposite end of the pool, frantically searching for something to stare out so I could take my mind off of what just happened.

After a few moments of painful quiet, I heard Louis speak.

"Sorry," he said finally, breaking the silence, "it really was an accident."

I nodded my head, still staring at a pile of rocks, "I know."

"Don't think that was purposeful."

"I don't think that."

"My foot just slipped, and the next thing I knew we were falling..."

"Louis," I sighed, cutting him off and turning to look at him, "I know it was an accident, I saw it happen."

He bit his lip, his jaw clenching in anxiety. I knew he was blaming himself in his mind, but I really wished he wasn't.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled again, "I've just never been this close to a girl before."

I'm sure accidentally pushing someone against a wall wasn't part of his daily routine, but he definitely had been close to a girl. He knew Millie, after all, and was friends with my Mother.

"Yes, you have," I corrected, "Millie's always next to you."

He blinked, "I mean emotionally."

"Emotionally?"

"Yeah...that's what it feels like, at least."

"So you've never had a connection with a girl?" I said, almost a little in disbelief, "maybe even stronger? like where you liked one?"

"No, I've never had a crush before."

"Why not?"

"All the girls I've met whenever I've visited Earth never really connect with me," he sighed, waving his hands around, "that's why I've only ever brought two back to Neverland."

I pressed my lips towards the side of my face, thinking.

The last time I brought up his love life, he told me he didn't get romantically involved with people. I barely even knew him then, and now we finally did, so I was glad he was opening up. Sign of trust.

"Why don't you just ask one out on a date?" I suggested, shrugging my shoulders.

He shook his head quickly, "no, they don't interest me."

"Why not?"

"Because they're always acting like someone their not just to get me to talk to them," he remarked, strands of his wet hair curled above his eyes, "if being herself wasn't enough for me to want her, I don't know how you could expect me to date her."

"Don't blame her for trying to survive," I added, "the world has gotten to a point where it's rare to be fully accepted."

"I know, and I don't blame them for it, I blame myself for it."

"How?"

"If she doesn't feel like she can be 100% of herself when she's with me, then I'm not the right one for her," he explained, "I'd rather be alone than to deprive her of the life she should really live."

I nodded my head, getting the point.

For someone who lived on an island preoccupied with 90% boys, he sure knew a lot about respect and common decency. I wanted to praise him for it, but there was no point in praising something that should be normalized.

"Anyways, enough of this romantic talk," he said, floating onto his feet, "it's getting late."

"It is?" I said, turning to see the moon shining in through the cracks of the cave.

We had been talking for so long, I didn't realize it was well past midnight. Exhaustion started to kick in, and I let out a yawn just thinking about it.

"Well, are you coming with?" Louis said, as I started to clamber out of the pool, "I'll be outside."

As I watched him turn around the corner with a laugh, I couldn't help but freeze to my place.

I shouldn't think too much of it, but yet it was all I could think about at the moment.

What he said about 'being someone their not' struck a chord with me. I always put up a mask before I went places, because that's what I was taught to do. I was taught to blend in to the crowds, keep my mouth shut, and take the bullying, because fighting back would give the bully what they wanted (and I was never taught to embroider).

It made sense that Louis never found a girl who wasn't pretending to be someone else, because that's how things were made to be back on Earth. It was sad, but it happened to almost all of us. Yet here in Neverland?

I felt 100% of myself with Louis.