(Matteo's PoV - 13 years old)

A flash of lighting flickered outside. I eyed around nervously, hoping it may have just been a faulty light in the pool area, but the following clap of thunder extinguished that idea.

Oh please, no, I silently begged. It wasn't supposed to storm tonight. The weather forecast just said rain. Nevertheless, I could already feel my breathing growing faster.

"Allright, everybody out!" Coach Sarah announced.

A few of my teammates interjected.

"Oh, come on!"

"We're inside."

Coach Sarah shrugged. "Rules are rules. Besides even if the pool is indoors, most of the pipes for it are outside. Lighting hits one of those just right, and it'll send an electric current to everyone in the water."

Why would she say that, I panicked, immediately pulling myself out of the water.

Most of my teammates found groups of people to talk to, but I retreated to a corner and covered myself with a towel. I didn't know how much longer I could hold back tears.

Apparently it was two more instances of thunder before that happened.

"Matteo," a high pitched spoke. I knew at once it belonged to Emmy Graves, one of the girls on my team who was just a year younger than me.

I simply just covered my eyes towel instead of responding, afraid of what my voice might sound like if I talked.

"Matteo, are you cold?" she asked. "You're shaking like crazy. You can borrow my towel if you want," she offered.

"No, I'm fine," I said quickly, but my voice still cracked. I pulled my own towel over my arms, trying to give some believability to the "cold" story, but by doing that, I forgot I had to take it away from my watering eyes.

She gasped and I felt like my life was over. A girl saw me crying. And not just any girl. Emmy Graves, who was practically afraid of her own shadow, was seemingly fine, while I was a nervous wreck. I wanted to be back in my bedroom, covering myself with a blanket in an attempt to shield myself from both the storm and humiliation.

I flinched as lightning struck again and a thought occurred to her.

"Matteo, are you afraid of thunderstorms?" she asked.

Not having any more energy to hide my emotions, I pleaded with a straining voice. "Please don't laugh."

She frowned and tilted her head to the side slightly. "Why would I?"

I looked at her puzzled. Both here and back in Spain, I had been mercilessly teased for having a "stupid fear only found in toddlers."

"I know what it's like," she explained. "I'm scared pretty much all the time. It sucks."

She sat down in front of me and gently gripped my hand. "If it makes you feel any better, if anyone asks, we can just say you're comforting me."

I gave her a small smile.

Her hand fidgeted in mine as well. Despite the fact that her skin was cold and wet, both of us were twitching a bit, and her long nails sometimes accidentally scratched me, it felt good holding her hand. While my nerves were still heightened, I also had a feeling of warmth. I'd never felt this way around a girl before.