Getting back into shape (Anatra)

Getting back into shape

Tyren Orca - District Two - Eighteen

"The truth or dare...the dare that you got? You don't remember?" Oh god, what is he going to say...? I ask myself. This could be anything, anyone and anywhere that he is talking about. It is obviously the camping trip, but what did I do that is so bad? I wouldn't have thought that I'd be the one doing anything wrong, seriously. He leans back against the wall. In this moment, I give myself time to question what it really could be. Did I really hit somebody? Did Max do something? Did I... speak with Kyanite? "Crap!" He exclaims, which has my eyes widening a little. I'm worried, now.

"You were dared to kiss me and told me you wanted to do it." Bullshit, I wouldn't have said that I wanted it. What's he talking about? I give him a daft look, he's not telling the truth, surely. I do a double take, and when I look back he's still got that serious look on his face. "Wait, you're serious aren't you?" I question. He continues to detail whatever it was that allegedly happened. I still don't believe that I would have wanted it. Maybe that's just his way of hiding the fact he did. Or maybe, he's just joking. I hope so. I don't know why he would feel the need to talk to me like this if it was just a dare. One of us must have wanted it, and it sure as hell wouldn't have been me.

"I...er..didn't....I'm not sure what was going on but I think I wanted to outdo the girls, so we kissed. I mean just smack, not....a gentle sort of kiss." So he did want something from it. "Smack?" I question. I don't know what the hell that is, he needs to be specific. "Well whatever happened, I didn't want to kiss you." I hold my hands up, surrendering, with a sly grin on my face. "I save that shit for the weekends." He chuckle a little but I'm not so sure he's taking the jokes.

Getting back into shape

Tyren Orca - District Two - Eighteen

"I'm not kidding, man." He really does know how to set the mood. He's deadly serious now, and I can see it as clear as day. I revel in the fact that I've worked that one out (that was sarcasm). "I said no right from the start but you came scooting over and said 'let's do it'. What was I supposed to do? be the only one who'd chicken out? Not bloody likely." He's talking so much shit right now, I can't listen. I would never do something like that, and if I did it would never have been serious. "I fucking didn't. Even if I did, nobody made you." I'm growing readily irritated by this whole situation. Maybe I don't need to deal with this right now. How can he beat up my cousin and then land this bombshell? I can't stand for this...

"You gotta be kidding me. You stuck your tongue in my mouth."

"You wanted more. I have no idea what's gotten into you but you were all over me like stink on a monkey."

"At least you decided to fall asleep after you stripped down to nothing but boxers instead of going any further."

He's such an idiot. Why would he say all of this? If I wanted to get with him, I really would have done it a lot earlier than this, and now. I also wouldn't be hiding it, because why would I? I'm old enough to fight my own battles, which means that I don't necessarily need to deal with any flak from others judging me. I've had that long enough with the career program, I'm not going to let my friend think that I'm an easy target for the same thing. He needs to shut his mouth before I shut it for him. "Are you trying to say you had no intentions of ....I don't know..whatever you could do with me." He's so blind. I can't bare this. My face grows easily more irritated by him. His words are like poison, and I'm about to give them the antidote. "I can handle the truth, I swear!"

Okay then, Matthew. Here's the truth. You're not ready for it.

"I'd never go near you in that way even if it meant the end of the world." I give him a look of disgust. "You're not my type, and I'm clearly not yours. Now move on, I can't be bothered with your stupid paranoia. I've got enough on my plate without having to deal with something as pathetic as a drunken kiss that wasn't serious."

Getting back into shape

Alexander Orca - District Two - Eighteen

I see Tyren listening very intently to whatever Matthew has to say. I'm going to be brutally honest, I want to go over there and talk too. I feel as though maybe it's needed. I shrug the thought off for a moment, just to myself. I'd taken little Tyler in, and he's now just playing around in the house, I'm not quite sure who else is up but oh well, he'll be fine. Half of me wishes that Tyren bothered to wake me up so I could go on this little camping trip of theirs. I'd quicker go with them than spend the day sorting through files for my dad. He paid me, though. It's a bonus I needed, me and Adina. She told me some really good news last night, news that in my mind will change everything between us for the better. Not that it was ever bad, though.

I decide to walk on over there from the door. I may as well. The stones against my feet make little noise, and apparently I'm not seen as I walk up to the pair, towards Matthew's back. I overhear something, Tyren's speaking, I'm still walking. He's answering something or other. "Because it makes me look..." He seems to stop speaking. "What happened that night has been bothering me since the weekend and I want to make sure no stupid strange affection is coming between us." I stop. I'm a couple of meters away. I raise a brow, Tyren's looking at me casually, with nothing suspicious omitting from him. I don't really want to question what they were talking about. "Ty, I was just fixing to go in the pool. Coming?" I ask him, though I'm entirely open for Matthew to join. He nods at me briefly, his gaze returning more-so to Matthew though. "You coming?" He asks him.

Getting back into shape

Alexander Orca - District Two - Eighteen

Slowly, the idea of going in the pool on a day like this is proving to be quite a good one. We rarely use our pool, except for those times when we have a barbeque or something like that. Thankfully though, our parents had me and Tyren so we could use the pool. It's our only commitment to the house; use everything in it, and make it look like it is worth paying the bills for. Though, Matthew somehow gets invited. As much as I don't have a problem with that, I do. He seems like a bad guy to me. I don't quite know what it is, maybe it's just an aura that only I can see. Maybe I'm making it up. "Sure, why not." He says, and just like that it seems like a plan. Tyren nips inside quickly, probably to get his shorts. I've already prepared, having mine underneath what I'm wearing now. When me and Tyren used to visit the public swimming pool, we'd always have a good race or two, do some diving and then they'd always release all of the floating equipment for an hour on a friday so we, as kids, would always make sure to go during that time so that we'd claim the biggest, best ones. It was definitely a lot of fun, but only something that we can look back on now, as young adults. The walk around the house is quiet. I didn't expect Matthew to say anything, so I didn't either. In a way, I wanted to, just to spare the pair of us of the awkward walk to the pool. It's a big pool, quite deep with only one shallow portion, then it suddenly gets deeper. It's not exactly child friendly, but that's why we're here. Plus, he's three so he's getting the hang of it anyway.

Tyren comes out from the house a little bit later with just his shorts on, with the one and only Tyler in his arms. Tyler's got his armbands on (red, obviously) and is demanding that he get put down. Tyren isn't used to Tyler being able to walk, talk and run around; either it's that or he doesn't quite want him to. He's protective, and it's natural. We're both the same in that regard. I take off my kit and I'm also down to my swimming gear as well. It's at this moment that all of Tyren's scars are on show, but he doesn't care. For that, I commend him. To have the balls to do that, even in front of probably his two most valued friends, is a pretty noble effort. "Er...I don't have my shorts with me." Matthew admits. "Well that's no good, there's some in the house." Tyren says, but I have a feeling that Matthew just doesn't want to swim. That's alright by me, but what is he going to do? Watch us? Though I have to admit, Tyren's plenty more muscular than the last time we'd went swimming. "Oi, Tyren. The gym doesn't have beds, you don't have to sleep there you know." I call out, joking about his increase in productivity apparently. "I can't say the same for you, mate." He calls right back. Damn it, I have nothing to come back with, mentally I have a lot to say but none of them spring to my conscious. "Yeah right." I say, though I have to admit it is a little more arrogant than I'd like to have been. "Matt, decide. Who's the stronger one?" Tyren asks his friend, and I have to keep quiet now. It's plainly obvious that in the ways that Tyren is strong, I am larger. He's shorter whilst I'm taller, so his muscles are plenty in what he's got. Mine are broader and more general.

Tyren lets Tyler down and he walks his way over to the edge with him. Last minute, he pushes him right in.

Getting back into shape

Alexander Orca - District Two - Eighteen

Tyren pushes little Tyler straight in, and the first thing that comes out of my mouth is a laughter. It's a funny spectacle, but then Matthew gets his pants in a twist. “What the fuck.” He exclaims, shaking his head at Tyren as he takes a stand, literally. Tyren just chuckles to himself, looking down into the pool as Tyler surfaces, half thanks to the armbands and half because he's quite competent indeed. I dip myself in a little quicker so that I can go and support him, though in actuality he may not need it. He can paddle fairly decently, and he's far too used to being thrown in like this. Having a pool in the back is very rare for families in districts. It's not exactly the best looking thing, maybe because it is new it seems better.

“What did you do that for. Can he even swim?” Tyren gives Matthew a funny look as I meet up with Tyler in the pool, smiles on all of our faces. Tyler's laughter is so heart warming. I can't wait to hear the laughing and the happiness of my own child. "Course he can, he's an Orca." Tyren says it with such definitive standard. He is an Orca, that's right. Orcas are whales, right?

“What are you packing all that muscle for Tyren? Are you planning on entering the pregames again? Or the real thing?” Ooo. A touchy subject for all three of us, but still he's brought it up. I lost my match against Mark Antony, the guy that went on to win it. For me, it's not so bad, but for the others it is. "Where would he get that idea from then?" I ask, straight away with a look of distaste on my face. I'm genuine, I want to know why Tyren would possibly want to go back in the pregames, and where on earth he got the stupid idea from. "You, I'm guessing." I say. I have to be frontal about this.

I remember what he said just before I started replying, as well. “Or showing off to finally get a girl?” Not likely, I think to myself, but I'd never have said it aloud. Tyren seems to stay quiet as I make my case.

Getting back into shape

Mark Orca(?) - District Two - Seventeen

My nose throbs under the light of the sun. Damn, this open space gym was a bad idea after all. I never thought that after all the time I spent here, I'd be getting paid off with a hit to the face and a fall to my back. It wasn't just my back, I hit the back of my head as well, off of the weights that were behind me. The pain was aching to an acute point and I really couldn't stand to bare the person in front of me that committed it. When I said, "Do it," I really didn't expect him to actually follow through with such a brutal, merciless hit like he did. It really did do some damage, I think. It hit my upper lip and my nose. Bust the former and bloodied the latter. To think, I am actually the stronger one, yet I let him beat me down like that. It worked perfectly, now I can finally get to know my cousin better. That's where I'll be heading right this moment. In fact, I am. Walking straight to his house, down that long road with the head flaring my neck. The blood is mostly wet still, running all down my t-shirt, but some is drying.

The door to the Orca's house, and I call it that because I don't live there, is a deep red colour. It's a nice red, but it's not green. When I knock on the door lightly, a familiar face appears. "Mark." She states, Cecilia, technically my aunt, standing there with her fitness gear on as though she was doing some exercise or something. It's typical of her, or so I'm lead to believe. "What the hell happened?" She asks. This is my perfect chance to get back at Matthew. I wonder if he's here now? "Matthew Dunham happened." She sighs. "Another. Great." She lets me in and fetches a towel for me from the kitchen. I look out of the window and I see him. He's there, just sitting there all casual on the deck chair. Who does he think he is? The window is open, I can practically hear them. Cecilia hasn't... done anything about it though. Does she even care? I don't know. To be honest, I'm not looking for a reaction off of her, it's Tyren and Alex that I want to go see. If Matthew wants to get in the way, he can. I don't actually give a damn.

I wipe the blood from my nose, my mouth and I head upstairs quickly because aunt Cecilia said I could borrow one of Alex's t-shirts. Me and Alex are of similar heights, I'm a little taller but it's mostly in my legs, but not by much, only a couple of inches. I put it on and it fits great. Black t-shirt. I go back downstairs, thinking about how to introduce myself to the situation. I open the back door and head straight out, casual as anything. When I see, Alex has a somewhat regretful face on him. I'm not sure why, maybe it was something one of the others had said. Tyren hasn't went in the pool yet though. "Ty, how are you?" I make myself known. He turns quickly, "Good... What about... you?" He knows. I can tell straight away. "Not the best, not the best..." I tell him, honestly. Alex has Tyler, the youngest of three, in arms reach but the moment I get near the poolside he starts paddling his way over. He clings to the side of the pool like it is his lifeline, but he looks completely capable. "Uncle Mark, uncle Mark. Come and swim." He says, his enthusiasm bouncing. "He's not your uncle, silly. That's cousin Mark." Alex corrects.

I wonder how Matthew will take all of this.