A Swim and a Coffee
_Author's Note: Unlike my previous submissions in this series, this submission will be done in the third person view instead of the first person. I wanted to try to see how the story looked and sounded from a different view. And if it doesn't go well, I will go back to using the first person view. Hope it doesn't throw you guys to far off. _
_Also if you are confused by some of the names mentioned, you may have to go and check out the previous chapters in order to find out who they are. _
That said, ENJOY!!!
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When Tristyn left to go hang out with his younger brother for the day, he didn't realize just how much fun they would have. First they had gone to the mall to buy a set of swim-trunks for Tristyn. T.K., playing the role of the evil brother, had purposefully gave him only tight pairs of trunks to put on, some of which were near barely modest or absurd colors for guys. Finally, after many pairs had failed to meet his standards and amist laughing threats to T.K. to stop lest he a very personal injury, Tristyn had finally picked a pair of loose fitting set of swim shorts colored white, blue and yellow that looked really well on him. He was glad to purchase his new swim trunks and get out of the store; the clerk was looking quite peeved at the ruckus the two of them were making.
Walking out into the warm Pacific Ocean air, the two brother walked down the road stopping occasionally as a nice looking ship passed through the blue waters, and sparing glances as pretty girls passed by. After a half hour of walking and competing to see who could see the better looking ships and girls, they reached their destination; the District of West Vancouver Aquatic Center. They payed their way inside and entered the Guy's change-room. Tristyn was astounded at the size of the place. It was huge!!
Tristyn was relieved that there was no one other than him and T.K. in the room. He didn't want to risk any embarrassing moments because of his mixed up hormones, and he quickly went into a stall to change. He came out a minute later wearing his new swim shorts and put his day clothes into the locker he and T.K.were sharing, and waited for his brother to come out. T.K. came out of his change stall wearing a pair of grey streamlined shorts, like the ones professional swimmers wear with a space in the back to let his tail swim out behind him. Now that he was shirtless, I was able to confirm my earlier thoughts. His body had just the right enough muscle showing to look and be powerful, yet not bulky enough to slow him down. That coupled with his special Orca skin, meant only one thing; Speed.
"You on the swim team at your school or something T.K.?" Tristyn asked as they went through the showers to do the pre-swim rinse.
T.K. laughed. "Yeah, been on it for couple years now. Why do you ask bro? You jealous of this bod and want to know how to get one yourself?" He teased.
Giving him a playful shove Tristyn gave his own laugh, "I'm as jealous of your body as I envy a half drowned cat." The two walked out of the showers laughing, as they walked through the tiled hallway to the main pool area. Tristyn saw a few other animal morphs in the halls, but neither group exchanged pleasantries as they passed. Tristyn started to have odd feelings build in his stomach. At the corner that led to the main pool area, he froze, an unexpected fear paralyzing him.
T.K. looked at his brother, confused at the sudden change in Tristyn's demeanor. "You okay man? You look pale."
Tristyn looked up to face T.K., whose face showed concern. "I don't now if I can do this." He confessed.
"Dude its just a swim. How hard can it be?" T.K. asked before coming to a halt. "You.. can swim right." he asked gently.
Tristyn gave T.K. a sharp glare. "Of course I can swim! It's just that..."
"What?"
"I don't know if I can handle being around all these different morphs." Tristyn blurted, before feeling heat rise to his face.
T.K. gave him a look. "Haven't you lived around us for enough time to be used to us yet?"
"Well yeah... all the time I spent in Saskatoon I was around you guys" Tristyn shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the conversation.
"So whats the problem? Is it that you think you don't look buff enough to show off, cause if that's it then you really need to look in a mirror bud because you've got some nice muscle structure for a human.," T.K. asked not understanding the problem.
"Its not that either! I've...," Tristyn started. Oh gods! Why was it so hard to say it. "I've never been like this with them before." he sputtered, his face now very red.
"Like this?" T.K. asked slowly. Then realization dawned in his head. Tristyn had never been swimming with animal morphs before. His mouth curled into a smile and from that smile came a burst of laughter. Tristyn was acting so nervous because of something so ridiculous! He had never heard of a human having a problem like that. Human...! He gave a glance to his brother and the laughter died in his throat. Tristyn bangs had fallen over upper face, blocking anyone from seeing his eyes. His face that could be seen was very red and his mouth was straight, devoid of any emotion. His fists were clenched so hard the knuckles were white.
Oh shit! He's serious! thought T.K. Checking to make sure that no one was around at that moment, he put his hand on Tristyn's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "I'm sorry man, I shouldn't laugh at something like that."
Tristyn's fists relaxed and his face returned to a more normal shade. "No. Its okay to laugh. It really is a silly thing to be afraid of." he smiled as if to prove his point.
T.K. didn't buy it. Spying a bench off to the side he led Tristyn to it. Waiting until a family of ferrets that had appeared had passed them and gone around the corner, he said, "You may have some problems Tristyn, but you need to know something. We, all of us, all around the world, those who have changed, we are still human on the inside. We may look so very different but we are all the same people we were before the change." He brushed the hair from his brother's face. "You have nothing to worry about. But this view you have needs to change soon. You won't survive long out here if you get nervous around us all the time. But if you want, we could always come back some other time you're up for it"
"No" Tristyn muttered.
"What?"
Tristyn rose from the bench and walked so he was facing the wall opposite. "I know," he said softly, "I knew I'd have to change." He turned around with a smile and looked to T.K. his demeanor doing a complete 180. He reached and pulled his brother into a quick, short hug and then released him. "I already knew I had to change my thinking. Guess you bringing me here made me make up my mind faster. I needed a real reason to change and you gave me one. Thank you."
He walked to the pool area entrance, "We came all the way here, hell, I even bought myself a swimsuit. Enough of this dreary talk. Let's just go and have some fun! "
Surprised but pleased to have a happy Tristyn with him again. "I'm all for that."
The time Tristyn and T.K. spent out at the Aquatic Center was time well spent in Tristyn's mind. Most of the action involved racing each other around the pool, which T.K. usually won, to which Tristyn called him a cheater, using his body's natural ability in the water to always pull out the win.
"Well if you got it, use it" T.K. teased, to which he would be promptly dunked underwater by his human brother. The racing was swiftly replaced by water wrestling, that lasted for at least an hour, before a group consisting of two sharks, a female lizard and a dog asked if the two wanted to join in a game of water volleyball. Looking to his brother, who gave a shrug, Tristyn said, "Sure"
They split into two teams. Tristyn, T.K and the smaller of the two sharks, who introduced himself as Michael, and the other three, who Michael introduced as his older brother Cal, his girlfriend Lola and the dog named Kyle. It was a 3 vs 3 match. Often times it it was T.K. who served for his side, and he was awesome at it, but the other side had a good defense and for the two hours the game lasted, the score was a tie. Other patrons of the facility had taken note of the intense game and were cheering and rooting for both teams, sitting at the sides of the pool.
The two hours of hard playing had taken its toll on Tristyn, who had to resort to the occasional shake of the head to clear his vision. T.K. saw his brother's struggles with fatigue and was about to call the game when Tristyn hissed that he was fine and to keep playing. Shrugging his shoulders T.K served the ball. The opposing team caught it and began taking the offensive. Cal took the final hit of his team, smashing the ball across the net. Michael called it, but whether due to the fatigue he was feeling or he didn't hear it, Tristyn also leaped for it. The two collided mid air and Tristyn, being the smaller of the two, took the brunt of the hit and was thrown back. To make it worse, the incoming volleyball decided to make an impact, literally, on Tristyn's face.
Hitting the water with a splash, the part of the pool area where the game was fell silent as one of those "That's GOTTA Hurt" moments passed over the area. When Tristyn emerged at the side of the pool coughing up water, T.K. and the Shark brothers were at his side immediately, while Lola and Kyle came up from behind, being slower in the water.
"You okay bro," T.K. asked, concerned about his near drowned brother.
Tristyn nodded before wincing as a stinging pain sent a shock wave through the left side of his face. Bringing his hand to the affected area, he winced again as the touch brought another bought of pain. Drawing his hand away, Tristyn noticed it was covered in a red colored liquidy substance. Is that blood? he thought.
Michael took a closer look, noticing three distinctive claw marks along the underside of Tristyn's left jaw bleeding slowly. He quickly backed away, and looked at his hands. Sure enough, there was a bit of skin on the claws on his hand. Oh shit!
One of the spectators mentioned taking Tristyn to the First Aid station, and, arm around his brother, T.K. slowly moved Tristyn out of the pool. Tristyn went silently, still in slight shock, and Micheal and Cal followed, leaving Lola and Kyle and the rest behind. They reached First Aid where a speckled dolphin quickly assessed Tristyn's injuries before taking him inside. Stuck outside to wait, T.K. resorted to pacing while Michael sat on bench and fiddled with his thumbs nervously and Cal leaned against the wall and waited.
Minutes passed. The silence became intolerable. The guilt became too much for Michael and he groaned, "Oooh this is all my fault!"
T.K. stopped pacing, "What do you mean 'Its your fault'?"
Showing T.K. his claws, Michael said, "It was me that cut Tristyn. Its because of me that Tristyn got hurt." He started to cry.
Cal walked over to his younger brother and sat down next to him, putting his arm around his crying brother's shoulder. "Come on man. Its not all your fault. It probably didn't help that I smashed his face with the ball."
A voice behind them said, "Nah, I'd say it was more of a threeway effort."
The three turned to see Tristyn standing behind them, small white bandages across the claw marks on his jaw.
Micheal perked up immediately, "Tristyn! You're okay!"
"Of course I am. It was just a nick. Stings like hell though" He said, like it was nothing.
Michael became downcast again, "I'm really sorry Tristyn."
Tristyn walked up to the sad shark and flicked his nose. "Hey, listen. If anything it was my fault. I could have chosen to have not jumped for the ball but I did. So it's my fault. Got it?"
Michael looked up and smiled. "However," Tristyn started, making Micheal cringe slightly, "If you feel that badly about it, you could always make it up to me; with a coffee at this coffee shop I saw on my way here."
Michael saw the broad grin Tristyn was sporting and his heart rose. He wasn't mad he thought happily. Not to mention the offer of having a coffee was very appealing with such an interesting person like Tristyn. He realized that he hadn't given Tristyn an answer and stuttered, "S-sure I'd like that." He looked to his brother Cal.
"Hey don't worry bout me Michael," Cal said shaking his head, "If you want to go, go."
Giving his brother a quiet yet happy thank you and a quick glance to T.K. before turning to face Tristyn.
"Well then," Tristyn said, patting T.K. on the shoulder, "See you later man." Turning to Cal he gave a handshake, "It was nice to meet you Cal. Thanks for the game."
"You're welcome Tristyn. It was nice meeting you as well."
Michael and Tristyn started to walk towards the hall that led to the change-rooms but before he went around the corner, Tristyn paused before turning around to ask, "Oh yeah. I kinda blacked out for a moment when the ball hit my face. Did we win?"
T.K. and Cal looked to one another. It was T.K. who spoke, "I-er don't think we won Tristyn."
Tristyn sighed, still smiling. "Damn. Would have made this," He pointed to the bandages on his chin, "More worthwhile if we would have won."
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The coffee place that Tristyn had seen was called 'Encore Coffee & Tea' and by the smell and the crowd of people around, he could tell that the place was popular at least. Whether it was good or not would depend on if the drinks here were any good, at least, that's how Tristyn saw it. So while they waited in line and chose what they wanted ahead of time, Tristyn took a moment to study his new friend. Michael stood about the same height as Tristyn at... well, it had been awhile since Tristyn had measured his height so he couldn't really say how tall he was. His tail ended in a typical shark fin that when it swung gave off an almost dangerous air, but Tristyn knew that Michael was far from being dangerous, save for unfortunate accidents. Though Michael now wore a shirt, Tristyn could still see the faint outline of his muscles, meaning that he frequented a gym regularly.
Thinking of the workout schedule his friend Reggie had given him, Tristyn wondered if he should ask Michael if he knew a gym around here that he could go to. Maybe he should. Michael seemed to be a nice enough guy. He'd appeared to be very upset when he had scratched him, which indicated that he was kind, at least in that area. I keep meeting so many interesting people in this place, I like it. he smiled. Heck, maybe they could wind up being workout buddies.
The line moved forward bringing Tristyn out of his thoughts, as the cashier asked what he wanted. He gave his order, followed by Michael's. When Michael moved to pay, Tristyn stopped him, instead pulling out his own wallet and paying for it instead. Michael gave him a confused look. Wasn't he supposed to pay for it? Tristyn just gave a wink while taking his change back and moving to where you pick your order up. Grabbing both drinks, Tristyn motioned towards the outside seating area, to which he went followed by a still confused Michael.
Sitting down at a table, Michael gave a sigh, "I'm confused."
Tristyn looked at him for a moment, "What is there to be confused about? You ordered a mocha and I got an iced coffee. I don't think it's that hard to figure out which is which."
Michael chuckled a moment before continuing, "No, that's not what I meant. The way you said it back at the center sounded like you wanted me to pay for everything. But then we got here and you payed. It just kinda threw me off."
Understanding now Tristyn said, "Nah, that's not it. Like I'd let a new friend pay for something first time hanging out."
"Friend?" said Michael slowly. Could he have really made a friend that fast?
Tristyn turned slightly red before looking away, glancing at Michael from the corner of his eye. "Well.. yeah. I mean... if... you want... we could be friends."
Friends with a human. The idea intrigued Michael, as he took a sip of his mocha. Putting it back down he said, "I think I would like that very much Tristyn."
The human grinned broadly, "That makes you the first friend I've made outside my family Michael"
Michael was confused. "What about T.K.? Isn't he your friend to?"
"No. He's my brother." Tristyn stated.
Michael was now very confused, "Your brother? but you two look nothi-"
"I'm Adopted." Tristyn said bluntly.
Embarrassment crept into Michael's face. "I'm sorry. I should have realized."
"Don't be. I'm okay with it. I think I'll be answering that question a lot while I'm here."
Still feeling awkward, Michael decided to turn the topic to something else. "So," he started, "What kinda music do you like?"
That started a whole new conversation, leaving both drinks to turn lukewarm in the afternoon sun.
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The sun had started to set on the jovial pair as they walked the streets towards Tristyn's home.
"I can't believe your friends dared you to egg your Principals house," exclaimed Tristyn, "If I had even thought of doing something like that my dad would have killed me."
The shark grinned, "Dared, Did and got away with it." He thumped his chest in pride before he turned to whisper, "Better not tell anyone about that unless you want a nice bite mark on your shoulder." Michael showed his sharp teeth, as if to make good on his promise.
Tristyn backed away, those teeth looked dangerous. "I like the way my shoulders are thank you very much," he said laughing. He was really enjoying himself.
Too soon they made it to Tristyn's place. Michael stared at the place like Tristyn did when he first saw it. "You live here? Damn you're lucky! Our house is like, a third of this size" To which Tristyn replied with a chuckle, "Its not that big of a deal."
They walked halfway up the walk before Tristyn stopped. "I would like to invite you inside, but I don't know if my family is too keen on me bringing friends over the second day I arrived." He shuffled his feet, embarrassed.
"It's okay man, I understand." Michael said, before an idea popped into his head. "Hey I just had a thought. Why don't we trade phone numbers? We could get together sometime, or just use them to stay in touch."
Tristyn paused, face a little red. There was a slight problem with that plan, but he didn't feel like sharing that with Michael. "Sure, but I don't really have my phone one me right now. And... I don't really have my number ready off the top of my head. So maybe you could give me your number and when I get my phone I'll text you my info." It was a weird request and Tristyn knew it. Michael put his hand to his chin in thought.
"I guess I could do that," he said after a minute of thinking. Grabbing a pen from his swim bag and taking Tristyn's arm he wrote his number.
"Do you always carry a pen with your swimming stuff?" Tristyn asked while he inspected the number.
Michael shrugged, putting away his pen. "Well you never know when you need one. Might need to write a check, sign a note...," He grinned as he looked at Tristyn, "Or write your phone number on your friend's arm." They both laughed at that, before they started their separate ways.
Tristyn walked up to the door, but before he opened the door he turned around and shouted to his friend, who now stood on the sidewalk, "Hey Michael!"
"Yeah" came the shout back.
"Thanks for hanging out with me. I appreciate it!"
"No problem! See ya 'round" Michael gave a wave.
"Later!" Tristyn waved back as he opened and entered his house. Leo, his other orca brother, was just coming down the stairs when Tristyn walked in.
"Hey.." he said quietly, still-half asleep.
"Hey Leo. I'm glad you're up. I need some help." said Tristyn as he peered through the windows to see if Michael was still around.
Leo yawned. "Help with what?"
"You're going to take me to the mall and help me pick out a cell phone, cause I need one. Bad!"
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Michael had just finished in the shower, thankful for the hot water washing all the chlorine off his skin. He fell back first onto his bed with a happy sigh, pleased that he could finally just lay back and relax. His moment was cut short however, by the sudden sound of his phone ringing. He cursed, and reaching over picked it up, seeing the screen flash 'Unknown Number'. Wary that it might be a telemarketing scam, he answered the phone with a quiet and slightly annoyed, "Hello?"
"Uh, hello. Is this Michael? I-I mean is this Michael's phone I'm calling? Wait, that makes no sense..." A laughing sound could be heard in the background. The voice on the phone went, "Oh shut up Leo! You don't even know what this is about so stay out of it!"
Michael recognized that voice. "Tristyn?" he said, his heart starting to beat faster. He had kept his promise to call!
"Michael? That you? Thank goodness, I've been trying to get this thing to work for the last forty-five minutes." he sounded quite relieved, "Must've read half the manual trying to figure out how to just call."
"Can you text," Michael asked.
"Yeah I can text, its just the actual phoning, you know, talking part that is difficult."
"You could've just sent me a text then. It would have been easier." said Michael.
"I guess I could," Tristyn said, "But I thought it would be better to give you my number personally. Got a pen and arm ready?" his voice humorous.
"Yep," Michael said, the humor not lost on him as he wrote down his friend's number.
"So really that's all I wanted to say for now. Maybe we could get together tomorrow sometime and talk some more?" Tristyn asked.
"Dunno if that's going to work. I got school tomorrow so I'll be busy for most of the day." Michael said, disappointing.
Tristyn gave a small chuckle, barely audible over the phone. "Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that."
Before Michael could ask what he meant, Tristyn said quickly, "Hey sorry. I gotta run. See ya later."
Michael only managed to give a quick goodbye before the line went dead. He set his phone down on his nightstand and rubbed his head. He thought he had Tristyn pretty much figured out, but then he does something like that. He couldn't get Tristyn out of his head. Why did that human intrigue him so much? he asked himself.
It was a question that Michael would take to sleep with him for days to come.
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*Author's Note: *
*Okay, that finishes the Third-person point of view. *
Man that was harder to write than I thought.
So, please comment and tell me if you liked reading it this way instead of the first-person view the previous submissions of this series are in. It will affect future submissions of the series so feedback is appreciated.
Thank You!!!