| 006. Splash Zone |

  The gathering that evening lacked the cohesion of a true social event. An assembly of individuals arranged by habit rather than affinity. Xenia took a deep breath of the cold night air. Her window was cracked open just enough that she could hear the quiet buzz of people as they dipped their toes into the hot tub down below.

  It was ridiculous, she knew, to be self-conscious about such things, but she was fully aware that two of the girls, Lily and Demeter, were wearing very flattering bikinis. She was slightly furious that Neil had invited them, as she understood they lived at Blake's boarding house rather than being residents of the flats. They were irrelevant to the families, and therefore she was even less prepared to engage with them than their neighbours.

  Her own teal one-piece was fine. Her figure was rather underdeveloped, and the cut of the suit was modest. But she felt unfashionable by comparison. Stupidly, she couldn't help but wonder what Malachai might think. She wasn’t accustomed to caring about others opinions of her, but today had proven that she was more emotionally invested in Malachai than was good for her. A costly mistake.

  “Are you ready yet?” Neil called from behind the door.

  “Yes,” she lied smoothly, picking up a towel from her bed and joining him outside the room. She would never be as psychologically prepared as she would like. She would simply have to rely on her acting abilities. “I didn’t realise the flats were so male dominated,” she commented as they exited the apartment.

  Neil hadn't noticed.

  “Perhaps that's what makes the whole group dynamic feel strange,” she said. “Obviously this is an inexpert opinion, but the girls are very... different.” Neil conceded the point. If anything it had been an understatement. Jenna Rusk was a shy, stuttering sort of person. Jung-hee Gim was blunt and demanding. Lily Tekeny was beautiful and unassuming, whereas her friend Demeter Hearth weaponised attraction. The type to play with others’ emotions when she got bored. “Is the reason they pretend to get along because of you?” Neil blinked.

  “What?” They were almost on the ground floor now, so he hesitated a few steps up, trying to prolong the conversation in private.

  “Well, they wouldn’t be spending quality time together if you hadn’t invited them,” Xenia pointed out, putting a hand on her hip and staring up at him from the bottom of the staircase. “I’m just wondering if they’re pretending to get along for your sake, or whether I should expect some two-faced moments in the future.” Neil was at a loss. Xenia sighed. “Never mind,” she muttered, and turned to exit out to the poolside.

  He stared after her. He’d never thought about it before. His closest friends - Malachai and Leo - had never bothered to hide their dislike of Lily, and their regard for Lily’s friends had always been nothing short of explicit. They thought Lily was hot. They thought she was vapid. They thought Neil could do what he liked with her. It was only now that Neil wondered what Jung-hee might be thinking, and what she might have said to James, Jenna and Phillip about Lily unsettled him slightly.

  Xenia looked around when they got outside, quickly judging where everyone was, and which particular mini group to settle next to. Malachai was sitting with James, Demeter and Lily. Xenia couldn’t help lifting an eyebrow at the attentive expression on Lily’s face. James and Demeter were in the pool, mid-flirt. Demeter’s suggestive face reminded Xenia far too much of Ashley. A short distance away Jung-hee and Jenna sat with Phillip Monastirsky, who Jung-hee was teasing mercilessly.

  Only Leo sat by himself. He looked ghostly in the light reflected from the pool. Blue ripples of light danced over his skin. Xenia was surprised to see that though he’d shed his clothes for swimwear he was still wearing the hat from earlier. His eyes were closed and he had headphones in his ears. If only she could channel that energy. There was a time when she'd been equally uneffected by crowds. So she headed towards Leo rather than Malachi. He opened his eyes when she sat down beside him.

  “Hello, again,” he said, pulling one of the headphones from his ears. She raised a hand in greeting.

  “Do you often come to parties and sit by yourself?” she wondered. Maybe it was easier that way.

  “Not really.” He shrugged easily and looked at the others engrossed in their conversations. “I’m not sure this is what you’d call a party though.”

  “Isn’t it?” Xenia asked, following his gaze. “I thought that was exactly what it was; a gathering of people, appearing to have a good time.” He glanced sideways at her.

  “Maybe,” he said. "Not my forte." She didn’t know him well enough to know how to reply. He smiled slightly, sensing her hesitation, and retreated back to her earlier question. “Actually, today I’m feeling pretty tired.”

  “So why not rest?” she asked. He sat up straighter to look at her, and she glanced sideways at him, not moving her head. In the blue light her eyes looked etherial. She had a feeling that Leo couldn't be bothered with any form of pretence. Life was too short.

  “I wouldn't want to miss anything,” he confessed quietly. She looked away. He wondered if he’d made her feel uncomfortable. “Even if I’m tired, sometimes it’s fun to be around people who have so much energy.” She still didn’t respond, and they lapsed into silence. Leo fiddled with the spare headphone. He could hear the sound of all of his friends. His older brother James kept looking over to check on him, even though he should be engrossed in his impromptu date. Jenna was blushing as Jung-hee asked her opinion and then rounded back on Phillip again. Neil had joined Lily’s group and was playing it cool, speaking to Malachi more than her, causing Lily to poke him and vie for attention.

  She understood, distantly, that Leo's desire to witness everything was a form of defiance. It unsettled her more than overt despair would have.

  “What are you listening to?” Xenia asked suddenly. Leo pulled out the other earpiece and passed her the headphones. She didn’t seem like the sort of person to cultivate a love of music. He felt a little touched that she’d started up a conversation into unfamiliar territory for him.

  “See for yourself.” Haltingly, she raised both earpieces to her ears. After a moment she frowned, unable to understand a word of it.

  “What language is that?”

  “Swedish,” Leo said. “I don’t understand it either.” She blinked at him, and then she laughed. The laughter animated her face. She suddenly seemed friendlier. More approachable.

  “I don’t really listen to music,” she said. "Except for classical."

  “Well, that is similar, I suppose. Listening to the noise, rather than the words. Music can transcend cultures. I think there’s something beautiful in that.” He realised she’d fully turned to face him at some point. Fascinated. He smiled a little sheepishly. “Maybe I'm sentimental?” She smiled back, and for a moment Leo felt warmer.

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  They were interrupted by Jung-hee running over and collapsing between the two of them. Rather than greet them, she was still engrossed in her previous conversation and rolled onto her side to yell back at the others over her shoulder.

  “At some point we’re actually going to have to meet your significant other!” She grinned broadly, deeply pigmented lips tinting her teeth whiter in the gathering darkness. The pool lights twinkled comfortably around the area.

  “I’m not dating Andy,” Phillip shouted back. “We’re just friends.”

  “That’s what they all say,” Jung-hee said snidely to the two of them, but she waved back at Phillip as if to say she was only joking. “So, what’re you two talking about?”

  “Music,” Leo replied simply. Jung-hee looked between them stoically.

  “Really?” She didn’t sound like she believed him. “Is that all?”

  “Did you have something better in mind?” Leo asked openly. He didn’t sound like he was teasing her, but Xenia could see it wound Jung-hee up.

  “Jenna, come here!” she demanded. Jenna excused herself from her conversation with Phillip and carefully picked her way across the ground with her bare feet.

  “W-what’s up?” she asked, stammering and sitting down beside them. Her long bright yellow skirt fanned out on the ground around her. Xenia wondered if Jenna had a speech therapist. She'd noticed that Jenna disappeared in conversations unless addressed directly. Probably because of the stammer. Although Jung-hee dominated conversational space without apology, Xenia couldn’t help but appreciate the way she constantly invited Jenna back into the space.

  “I think we should have an intervention,” Jung-hee said, turning to face Xenia very seriously. “What do you think of Lily?” Xenia pursed her lips. In talking to Neil earlier she’d made reference to the two-faced nature of girls. She hadn’t expected Jung-hee to be the one to start it, however.

  “I don’t know her,” Xenia stated bluntly. It was obvious to anyone that Neil had a ridiculous crush on Lily. It might even be mutual. As she watched, Lily fiddled with the ends of her hair, twisting them round and round into a giant ringlet and crossed one perfect leg over the other. “And I’m not in the habit of telling Neil what he can and can’t do. If you have a problem, tell him directly.” For a moment, Jung-hee was silent, just watching her. Then she slowly smiled. Her eyes were hard with contemplation.

  “I knew you'd be guarded. I just thought you’d have more of an opinion about the bad choices your cousin makes.” Xenia scowled. Good or bad, they were Neil’s choices to make. Why on earth did she have to get involved? It wasn’t like any of it mattered, really.

  “I’m sorry,” she said coolly. “I didn’t realise they were getting married. Of course, we should contact the lawyers to draft a prenup immediately.” Beside her, Leo snorted quietly into his hand, and in trying to conceal it, started a coughing fit. Jenna anxiously reached out and touched his shoulder, but he waved her away. Jung-hee looked at them stonily.

  “I think she’s more manipulative than she looks,” Jung-hee said in a quiet hiss. Lily was holding onto Neil’s arm, smiling prettily at something one of the others had just said. Phillip had joined James and Demeter in the pool, and she was gleefully comparing their biceps to her own. “It’s not only Neil that I’m worried about.” Xenia noticed Jenna reach out and take Jung-hee’s hand, and her gentle smile in response. “I’m not trying to be petty, Xenia. I wouldn’t like to see them argue over someone like that. She’s not worth it.” Xenia wanted to grit her teeth and barely contained the impulse. She understood what Jung-hee meant, and she didn’t like it.

  “Excuse me,” Xenia said, and stood up. It was best not to engage. Better to hide her internal turmoil behind a mask of disinterest.

  The pool was deliciously warm. Xenia slid feet first into the water at the deep end, and took a moment when fully submerged to analyse her sense of frustration. Horrified to conclude it was jealousy. What had happened to her? She'd only been at the flats for a day and she couldn't recognise this version of herself.

  Xenia floated thoughtfully until the water exploded beside her, and Neil grabbed onto her arms, before kicking them both to the surface. She took a breath, and tried to orient herself as she realised everyone was now looking their way.

  “Are you alright?” Neil asked, panic filling his voice as he held tightly onto her arms. She blinked at him with moisture dripping down the side of her face. “Why’d you jump in!” he yelled, dragging her over to the side, splashing about like an idiot in his attempt to pull her along. Clearly, he’d never done any kind of life-saving course.

  “My question exactly,” she said, crossing her arms as he collapsed against the edge of the pool, completely out of breath. It took him a moment to realise she was floating at the surface without any kind of thrashing about. His face went red. “Neil, you realise I know how to swim, right?”

  “But you-” He looked thoroughly embarrassed. It was made worse by the laughter of his friends. “When you were-” Xenia rolled her eyes. She could tell where this was going.

  “When I was five I nearly drowned," she agreed, propping an elbow up on the side of the pool and staring at him. "Clearly I learnt how to swim after that experience.” She wondered why he hadn’t mentioned it earlier when she’d first gotten changed into her swimming costume. Surely it had been a bit of a give away?

  “But you didn’t come up for air!” He was so embarrassed he was protesting and dragging it out. She didn't know what to tell him.

  “I was holding my breath,” she said. She didn't have the heart to mock him.

  “I think that’s super cute,” Lily said, joining them and grinning down at Neil. “You can save my life any time you like,” she said, sliding into the pool herself and holding out her hands to Neil, who blushed even more furiously than before.

  Xenia lithely propelling herself up and out of the water so that she was sitting on the side Lily had just vacated and considered the pair. It was a nice save on Lily’s part. She’d covered up a lot of Neil’s embarrassment with relative ease, showing a diplomacy Xenia didn’t have. Not when it came to her cousin, anyway.

  She shivered slightly, and was surprised when someone handed her the towel she'd arrived with. Malachai. She couldn’t read his expression.

  There was something unfathomable about the way her fingers curled in pleasure when she had his attention. She hid her smile as she wrapped the towel around herself.

  "I noticed your tactical retreat," he said, gesturing across the pool at Jung-hee. "I thought you were more confrontational."

  "I won't be provoked into a reaction," she said. Or she'd never planned to be. Before meeting him, it had been so easy to shut down those kind of remarks without escalation. Now, Xenia felt her control untethered. For the first time in years, she was not entirely in control of the board, and it was a delicious, dangerous feeling.

  It made her want to be reckless.

  It made her want to crush the feeling.

  "Let's test that," Malachai said, smirking. "After all, we agreed to be personal." She felt her face flushing deeply red. The way he'd said personal made it sound deeply intimate. He stepped a little closer to her, clearly enjoying himself. "Surely, that blush is a reaction you wanted to contain."

  For a moment she couldn’t speak. Furious that she had somehow arranged this game between them.That he was right. That he'd already won.

  Xenia went very still, her face still on fire. If she had been like Ashley, she would have beaten him at his own game by flirting. But she didn't have the confidence to flirt with a composed face.

  She had to find some other way to provoke him into a reaction instead. A manic calm swallowed her.

  Swallowing, she put a hand out so that it rested flat against his chest, halting him in place.

  “I think you need to cool off,” she said, and suddenly pushed against him with all her might. Malachai’s eyes widened as he stepped back, and widened further when his foot didn’t connect with the ground and he topped straight into the swimming pool.

  The immediate shock wore off almost as soon as he broke the surface of the water. He wiped the water from his eyes, as he heard the laughter of the others. Then he was astounded anew as he processed what had just happened. It was such a childish thing to do.

  Xenia stood over him, arms crossed, and with the haughtiest expression he'd ever seen she sneered down at him.

  “I don’t like you,” she said. "On a personal level."