chapter three

Oliver couldn't fucking swim.

He never had any intention of swimming, so he never found the need to learn. Only, maybe he should've accounted for the chances of someone pushing him into a fucking pool. That might've given him some motivation.

It took him a few seconds to realize that he was drowning. At first, all Oliver felt was the stinging of chlorine in his eyes. He had kept them open in shock, and now they burned from the chemicals. Then, the panic set in. His lungs ached from the lack of air and his throat constricted, anxiety crawling up his throat. His limbs thrashed, and Oliver sunk down to the bottom of the pool. He tried to push off from the bottom, but it was like the lack of oxygen--the panic--caused him to shut down. It was a weak push and he barely made it up higher before sinking back down. His vision began to darken. But, the scariest part wasn't that he could no longer move. It wasn't that he could die, right here, right now because of stupid fucking Celia Orlov.

No, the scariest part was that his mind was completely empty. Not a single thought infiltrated his brain. The swishing of the water in his ears seemed to stop, and instead, all he heard was his decreasing pulse in his ears. His mouth was closed as he tried to hold his breath--the breath he no longer seemed to have--but through the searing pain in his chest, he became blindingly aware of one thing.

It was quiet.

Well, it was quiet before Oliver's brain faintly registered a splashing sound. The waves of the pool altered, becoming more violent around him. More black dots danced across his vision.

He was losing consciousness, and his head was still empty of thoughts by the time he'd fainted.

***

Carson wasn't a lifeguard, but he took a CPR course once. As far as he knew, he passed, which Carson assumed made him qualified.

He was still chatting with his friends when he heard a yell fill the room, sounding distinctly like a boy's, followed by a splash. A higher pitched, louder scream broke the air a few seconds later. Carson swiveled around, eyes scanning the entire pool area to find out what was happening.

There was a girl. A horrified expression crossed her face as she bent over the pool and looked down. Carson followed her gaze and noticed that the undisturbed pool waves disappeared, replaced by bubbles that drifted to the surface. There was a boy stuck beneath the water, his body lazily drifting.

Carson immediately sprang into action and jumped into the pool. He held his breath, feeling the undisturbed peace underwater familiarly before his eyes searched for the body. Once he found him, Carson swam over to him and grabbed onto his body, using his other hand to paddle to the top. His teammates had gathered around them, standing around on the pool tiles.

Carson lifted the body up as much as he could with a grunt, and Holden took the boy's upper body from Carson while Nico then took the boy's legs. Together, they pulled him up onto the tiles.

"Christian, go get the nurse," Carson ordered. The boy sprinted out of the room and toward the nurse's office.

Carson wiped the water from his face and pulled himself up and out of the water. It wasn't until he was stood over the boy that he realized that he knew him.

It was the ice cream boy. Oliver.

Carson knelt down next to Oliver and pressed two fingers to the vein on his wrist, feeling the faint heartbeat against his skin. He put his hand in front of Oliver's face, waiting to feel an exhale against his palm. When he didn't, Carson's panic spiked. He pressed both hands to Oliver's chest and began chest compressions. He tilted Oliver's head back, lifting his chin up. Carson pinched his nostrils together and leaned in, pressing his lips softly to the other boy's. He gave the first rescue breath and watched to see if Oliver's chest rose. When it did, he gave him a second breath and resumed his chest compressions.

After two cycles, Carson was about to lean in again when Oliver doubled over to the side and choked out water. He heaved and coughed, and Carson gently patted his back, releasing a sigh of relief. He hadn't noticed how fast his own heart rate had been going--how his muscles had tensed with concentration and unease. Oliver was hyperventilating, his body trying to recuperate all of the oxygen he'd lost.

The nurse came in, followed by two paramedics. They all rushed in and surrounded Oliver, and Carson rolled his shoulders and took a step back, letting them deal with the situation. He put his hand to his forehead and sighed, rubbing his face with his trembling hands.

Oliver had almost died.

***

If Oliver had passed out again, he certainly didn't remember it.

When he'd woken up, he was in a hospital bed, hearing the heart rate monitor with its steady beeping. It didn't take him long to remember what had happened, and when he did, the monitor's beeping increased, fury lacing through Oliver's veins.

Celia had nearly drowned him.

A knock on the door sounded, and the girl herself came bursting in, shock lacing her face when she noticed he was awake, but then switching to a guilty expression. "Liv, I am so sorry."

"You really fucking should be."

"I didn't know you didn't know how to swim and-"

"What an ignorant thing to assume." Oliver drawled.

"-and I promise I only had the best intentions and I didn't mean to nearly kill you-"

"I fucking hope not, that's illegal."

"Oliver!" Celia yelled, "I'm being serious."

Oliver rolled his eyes, sitting up. "I'm being serious too. I almost died, but even through the haze, your excuses still sound pathetic."

Celia slumped down into the chair next to his hospital bed. Her dark eyes were red and puffy.

Hm, Oliver thought, she cried over me. Pity she smudged her makeup while I almost died.

"Oliver," Celia begged, "please, what can I do to make it up to you? I'll do anything, I swear."

Oliver pretended to ponder it for a moment. "I don't know...I'll let you know in ninety years when you're in your grave."

Celia fidgeted with her hands for a bit before glancing up, looking as innocent as Oliver had ever seen her. "Carson saved you," she informed him nervously after some hesitation, "he dragged you out of the water and did CPR and everything." Celia bit her lip.

Oliver's heart dropped.

He should've just fucking died. Out of anyone who could've saved him, it had to be him.

Damn him and his stupid fucking kindness.

Oliver groaned and slid down in the bed, pulling his covers over his head, wanting to suffocate. Celia gasped, jumping up and tearing the covers back. "Oliver! Don't do that!" she chastised.

"Don't tell me that you actually care about my survival this time around." His tone was infused with bitterness and boredom--a stunning indifference that made Celia wince.

Celia's voice dropped to a low murmur, and Oliver had to strain his ears to hear her. "I may be a careless bitch, but I really didn't intend for this to happen. I should've thought it through." Her gaze drifted away from him. "I can't apologize enough. Livvy, you're my friend."

"We'll see about that."

"Olive-"

"Celia," Oliver boomed, effectively stunning her into a silence. "enough. I don't care if I'm being overdramatic or how many times you apologize--I almost died because of one of your charades. It's one thing to commit arson against one of our freshman teachers, and it's another thing to push me into a pool and forget that I could drown." He examined her heartbroken expression for a few seconds. His tone then switched to something softer, more tired. A weird show of emotion from the boy who claimed he didn't have any. "From one careless bitch to another, I think you just need to leave me alone to chill for a little bit."

Oliver gave Celia a weak smile, and Celia's brows furrowed. He wasn't being mean, he wasn't being rude--he was being real--a side of him that Celia had probably never seen of him before. But after what he'd been through today, she couldn't exactly blame him for being tired and breaking his persona--and for wanting some space.

Celia nodded timidly--something that was strange compared to her usual, loud personality--and quietly exited the room.

Oliver exhaled and let his head fall back onto the pillow.

Damn it.

***

Oliver appreciated naps.

He didn't take them very often, but after the day he'd had, he definitely appreciated them. After his parents had left the hospital room, slightly calmer compared to how they came rushing in--frantic and scared--Oliver had passed out, snoozing.

Now that he had woken up, he was restless. He hated being restricted like this--to one room and staying still. Annoyance crawled up his chest until it embedded itself in his every fiber. They had kept him here for observation, but quite frankly, Oliver was fed up with being observed. He looked down at the IV in his arm and shut his eyes tightly, his fingers finding the needle and slowly pulling it out. He felt a pinch in the crook of his elbow and winced, but stood up and turned off the machine. He took off the device on his finger that was hooked up to the heart monitor and rolled his shoulders back, his muscles aching and tense.

When he left the room, several nurses tried to stop him, but Oliver ignored them all and kept walking. The signs above him pointed him in the direction of the front desk and when he arrived, his breath seized. It stopped in his chest and panic once again crept up his throat. Fucking hell, Oliver couldn't avoid him.

Carson.

He stood at the front desk, arguing with a lady and irritatedly tapping on the counter. "I'd just like to see how he's doing," Carson said slowly, so the woman understood his every word.

The woman looked a bit miffed herself. "Sir, I understand, but I cannot let you go to his room. You don't even know his last name. There are many 'Oliver's' who are currently admitted. Besides-"

"Yeah, but I told you what he looked like," Carson argued, trying his best to stay polite. "He's a bit shorter than me--about to my chin--and he has dark skin and curly black hair and these really cool blue eyes. He's my age--c'mon! There can't be many kids who look like him admitted to this very hospital."

"Mr. Laurent is underage, he cannot-"

"Laurent?" Carson interrupted.

"-he cannot have any visitors besides family, and I assume you're not family-"

"I know I'm not family, but I literally just saw this girl come out earlier, and she definitely didn't look like family either-"

"She was his cousin."

"Are you kidding? She's definitely not- can't I just-" He broke off and took a deep breath. "Okay, fine, can you at least tell me how he's doing?"

"I'm sorry, sir-"

"It's fine." A voice said. Oliver blinked and realized it was him. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. His heart had stopped beating when he heard Carson say his name, and now he was here--and now he had noticed Oliver--and Oliver stood frozen. His heartbeat started up again and raced even faster, the sound echoing in his eardrums.

Carson's eyes widened. "Oliver!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing up? Did you get let out?"

Oliver choked out a nervous sound, but the woman at the front desk stood up. "Mr. Laurent, you cannot be out of your room." she gritted out. Oliver had a feeling she hated her job a bit more now.

Oliver looked at the woman, momentarily forgetting about Carson's presence and pursed his lips. "It's a hospital, not a mental ward. My family is the one who's paying for me to be here--I can do whatever the hell I want."

The woman looked momentarily stunned, but she regained her professionalism quickly. "Sir-"

Oliver rolled his eyes and turned to Carson, his breath hitching. "You can come to my room." he blurted out. "My parents are probably fine with it." With a glance to the lady, he added, "You can call them if you'd like."

Carson smiled his breathtaking smile, and for a second, Oliver was glad that he was alive to witness it. "Lead the way."

---

A/N: Woohoo! New chapter! So I mean technically this was Carson and Oliver's first kiss even though ... you know ... Oliver wasn't conscious. How do you guys feel about how Oliver handled the situation with Celia? How are your feelings about her now? New chapter coming soon!

Xoxo,A Shadowhunter Wannabe,herondaledevices <3