AFTER you and Monica entered the changing room, Monica locked the door so that you wouldn't be disturbed. She had you sit down on the bench then she sat down beside you. You continued to look down. You felt ashamed that the first time that you meet Monica is when you freaked out. Some first impression.

"Do you feel calmer now?" Monica asked as she searched your face.

"Yeah. Thanks." You said as you kept your head down.

You nervously started rubbing your hands together. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I tried to stop, but.."

"But you felt powerless." Monica finished for you. "You felt like your body belonged to someone else and that you had no control over any of it."

You gave Monica a surprised look.

"Yeah. But how..........?" You started to ask as you search her face.

Monica looked at you with a slight smile.

"I've been there too." She replied as she put her hands in between legs and grabbed the bench.

Monica then explained that her step father would do things to her every time he was left alone with her. She had been afraid to say anything to her mom at first, since he had threaten to hurt her if she did. So instead she decided to ask to be signed up for martial arts classes. Her mom was surprised at first, but did it anyway.

Then once she was confident enough in herself to know that she could escape from him, she told her mom. When he found out, he came after her and tried to attack her. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't touch her. So, he went after her mother instead. Monica said that she ended up defended herself and her mom, while her mom called the police. Shortly after that, she had to fight him off and then restrain him, before the police finally arrived and arrested him for assault. Then later on, he was charged with rape and was forever registered as a child rapist. He had been in jail ever since serving his ten years sentence.

Monica told you, that ever since that day, she has continued to improve her skills so that no one can hurt her again. After hearing Monica's story, you started to see a new path for yourself and you found strong respect for Monica. If Monica can come back from that. Then there wasn't any reason why you couldn't do the same. It wasn't going to be easy, but it could be done. You gave her a huge hug that was full of tears from both of you.

Then after a few minutes, you had calmed back down. Then you each took a shower. Once you were dried off, you changed back into your school uniform. Monica changed back into her street clothes once she was done with her shower. Then you both stood in front of the mirror as you fixed your hair.

"I really appreciate you sharing your story with me." You told Monica.

Monica looked back at you and smiled. "Thank you for listening to it." She said then dropped her head. "I've found that the more and more I talk about it, the better I feel about it. It's like I'm not as afraid of it any more. You know."

You looked down and thought about how you had felt after you to told Ignis about what had happened to you. It had made you feel better. But it had also made you feel those old emotions all over again.

"I'm still too afraid to tell too many people." You said as you thought about how Ignis was the only one who knew the whole truth.

"But why?" She asked. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's not like you asked for it happen."

You caught your breath as you tried to take a deep breath.

"I don't see it like that yet. I mean, I can see in your case why you wouldn't talk. I'd be afraid to talk too. But I had gone to my counselor because I was having trouble fitting in. He was just trying to help me."

"It sounds like the only person that he was trying to help was himself." Monica said as she finished combing her hair.

"Did you ask him to do it to you?" She asked as she looked at you.

"Of course not. I never said that he could touch me. Let alone restrain me like that." You said as you could start to feel your heart rate increase.

"But it's not like I could stop him. I couldn't even speak. And I was too scared to move." You said as you dropped your gaze while you pulled your hair up into a ponytail behind your head and into your hair doodad.

"Well that is where we have to start off first." Monica said as she looked at you. You dropped your hands and turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" You asked as you watched her face.

"You have to learn how to turn that fear into fight. It's your body. Nobody has the right to do anything to you that you don't want them to do. After that, the rest will fall into place." She said as she smiled back at you.

You returned with a slight smile.

Perhaps she's right. Even Ignis said that he wouldn't do anything to me unless I gave him permission. You thought as you dropped your gaze.

"We can work on that while we work on your fighting. It helps to do both at the same time. We'll start with that next time." Monica said as she grabbed the rest of her stuff and put it in her bag before she sling it over her shoulder.

"Okay. That sounds good." You said as you did the same.

You both smiled at each other then you walked out of the changing room. When you stepped out you looked around and saw that Ignis was leaning up against the wall by the changing room door. He was still wearing his school uniform and it looked like he was deep in thought. He had his chin in his right hand as he supported his right arm with his left as he was looking down at the marble floor.

"I'll see you in a couple days." Monica said as she walked down the hallway.

She could clearly see that you both needed a moment.

"Okay. See ya." You said to Monica then you turned and walked over to Ignis.

"Hey Ignis. Are you okay?" You asked as you approached him.

"No. Not really." He said as he layed his right hand down over his left arm.

You stepped closer to him and placed your hand on his upper arm. He turned his head away from you as soon as you touched him. His motion felt like a dagger right in your heart. You stepped in front of him and placed your other hand on his other arm so that you could try and look at him.

"What's wrong?" You asked as you tilted your head so that you could try and look at his face.

He closed his eyes before looking back down at the ground in front of him.

"Please don't tell me your uncle doesn't want to teach me now because of that?" You asked in a pleading voice.

Ignis shook his head. "On the contrary, he was impressed with you. In fact he was so impressed with you that he said that you don't have to worry about showing him now until our final test."

You froze as you took in the words that he had just said.

"That's a good thing right?" You asked as you tried to read his expression.

Ignis looked back up at you. "Yes. Indeed it is."

"Then what's the problem?" You asked as you could tell that there was still something wrong.

"That's twice now that I've seen you react like that." He said in a very serious tone.

You dropped your eyes and swallowed as you thought about how you must have looked as you laid there on the ground.

"I hate seeing you like that. It drives me crazy because I feel like there isn't anything that I can do for you." He said as he voice started to get rough.

"But you have helped me." You said as you smiled back at him.

He lifted his gaze and looked right at you as he searched your face.

You took your hands and moved them into where his elbows were bent so that his arms could lay across his chest. The motion caused him to separate his arms. Then you stepped forward as you wrapped your arms under his jacket and around his waist as you pulled him into a warm embrace. You reached your hands up on his back and pressed you face against his chest. He stood there for a few minutes with his arms just out to the side as if he was afraid to touch you.

"You have helped me both times by simply comforting me when I was scared." You said as you melted against him. "That is more than enough for me. Because that's what I needed and wanted."

Ignis closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around you and squeezed. You could feel his heart beating quietly in his chest as he held you. You closed your eyes and took comfort in his warm embrace as he just held you. You stood like that until you heard the door open to the training room.

"Everything alright you two?" Gladio asked as he looked at you.

"Yeah." Ignis said as he released you. Then he turned towards Gladio and saw Noctis standing right beside him with a inquisitive look on his face as he looked at the two of you.

"Well good. Let's say we call it a day. It's getting late." Noctis said as he gave Ignis a hard look before turning and walking away.

You looked up at Ignis. You thought that you saw him do a quick glance away as if he had just been caught doing something. But he quickly changed his expression and started walking towards Noctis as he headed down the hallway. Gladio looked between the two of them before turning and doing the same. You stood there for a few minutes as you watched them walk away.

What the hell was that about? You thought before you started to follow them.

Perhaps I'm seeing things. You thought as you followed them back into the front foyer.

Once everyone was in the front foyer, Gladio saw his dad waiting for him by the front door. He then excused himself for the night as he followed his dad and they headed out the front door. You then looked at your watch and saw that it was time for you to head home as well.

"Oh, I should call my dad." You said as you went to grab your phone out of your backpack.

"No. We'll make sure that you get home." Said Noctis.

"Ignis, I trust that you have already called Tredd?" Noctis asked as he turned and faced Ignis.

"He's already outside waiting." Ignis responded as he put his phone away.

"Alright. Well then." Noctis replied as he walked up to you. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

You smiled back at him.

"That you will. And you better be ready for your swim lessons." You teased him.

"I will." He smiled back.

"Are you going to be okay tonight?" He asked as he gave you a more serious look.

"Yeah." You said as you tried to reassure him.

"I'm not convinced." He said as he grabbed your hands.

You looked down and grinned. He smiled then he pulled you in for a hug.

"Call me tonight alright." He said quietly in your ear.

You hugged him back. "Don't I always."

"I mean it. I'll be waiting to hear from you" Noctis said as he gave you a peck on your cheek before releasing you.

You smiled at him and nodded before heading for the front door.

"Ignis, see that she gets home safe." Noctis said in a serious voice.

"Of course." Ignis responded with a slight nod before following you out.

Once you and Ignis were outside you glanced over at Ignis as you walked beside him down the stairs. There was something bothering him. But you weren't quite sure what it was about. He didn't glance in your direction either as you descended the stairs. So you turned your attention back to the stairs before they caught you off guard and sent you tumbling.

"Is something wrong?" You asked as you kept your eyes on the stairs.

"It's nothing." Ignis quickly replied without looking at you.

Once you were in the car and heading for your house you turned towards Ignis again.

"What's wrong?" You asked with more force this time.

Ignis looked down for a moment before looking outside the car window. "I'm sorry but I can't discuss it right now."

"Was it something that someone said?" You further pressed.

"I'm not at liberty to say." He answered.

"Now can we please drop it?" He said as he turned and looked at the floorboard in front of him.

You weren't sure what was going on, but you had a pretty good hunch that the tension that you had sensed earlier between Ignis and Noctis had something to do with you.

"Are you and Noctis fighting over me or something?" You asked Ignis.

The color seemed to drain from his face as he turned to face you.

How did she find out? He thought as he fought to control his expressions.

"Perhaps a bit." Ignis answered as he looked down.

"But why?" You asked.

"It's not like I could ever really date Noctis." You said as you watched Ignis.

He looked up and stared at you for a moment.

"You know as well as I do that Noctis has to marry someone with noble blood or someone from another kingdom, or something like that. Commoners aren't even considered when it comes to being suitable for royalty." You said as you looked down.

"Besides, he already told me about his promise that he made to Lady Lunafreya. You know, about how she is going to ensure that he can become the King when it's time. Besides, she was one of the reasons that he is still here today. If it hadn't been for the oracles, he would be gone. That and he told me that he really cares about her." You said as you looked out the window for a few minutes before you continued.

"But that's one of the main reasons that I want to help him. I figure if I can't be with him, at least I can still be his friend and make sure that he's happy. That's all I want for him.

"He use to tell me how lonely he was at home. I didn't like the idea that he felt alone. I know that feeling all to well, and it hurts. That's why ever since he told me that, I have always tried to be there for him so that he doesn't feel alone." You continued to stared out the window for a few minutes before you felt Ignis' hand grab yours.

"You really are a good person. you know that." Ignis said as he looked at you with a bit of sorrow in his eyes.

If that's how she feels about Noctis. Then what about me? Ignis thought as he studied your face.

You sadly smiled back at him and slide over so that you were right next to him. Then you wrapped your right arm around his back and placed you left arm on his chest as you snuggled up to him so that you were laying against him as he sat back in his seat. You rested your head on his chest as you took comfort in his strength and warmth. He was a bit surprised at first, but then placed his left arm around you and pulled you closer to him.

"Thank you." You said just quiet enough for him to barely hear you.

And that's why, I love you. You thought as you closed your eyes and snuggled closer to him.

Ignis gentle rubbed your back and smiled down at you as your breathing slowed to a slow steady pace. He tighten his grip on you as he settled further down into the seat so that he was comfortable. Then he laid his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes.

The light from the overhead came as a bit of a surprise as Tredd opened the door for you to exit the car. Sine the rest of the car ride home was quiet, which led to you falling asleep on Ignis. You blinked and slowly sat up as you removed your arms from Ignis.

He straighten up himself. He must have fallen asleep as well. He looked over at you and smiled. Then he climbed out of the car and held out his hand for you to grab, so that he could help you get out of the car.

You grabbed your bag then slid over to the door and grabbed his hand as he helped you out. Then you stood there still holding his hand. You smiled at him then leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading towards the house.

"I'll see you tomorrow." You said as you looked back while walking up the driveway.

"Good night." Ignis smiled back.

You stopped at the door and gave him one last wave before heading inside.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

T

he next day, you were back in the changing room at the Citadel. But this time you were wearing nothing but a swimsuit. You looked at yourself in the mirror and sighed. You had hoped that you might have developed a bit more by this time compared to last year, but to no avail. You had developed some pubic hair and you also had to start shaving. But that was because the hair on your legs seemed to grow faster than the hair on your head.

The rest of you though seemed to be slow on the uptake. The other girls in school seemed to be larger in the bust department then you. Now you had them, but they didn't seem to be as large as some of the others. You ran your hands along your swimsuit one last time to make sure that it was comfortable.

You had decided to go with your old competition suit from last year. The black cross back suit with a red stripe that ran from your left shoulder to you right hip was one of you favorite suits by far. It was like your good luck charm last year. You had gone all the way to districts in three events and would have gone to Regions if you would have been two-tenths of a second faster. You just couldn't seem to catch the other three swimmers and instead you came in fourth.

You smiled to yourself before putting on your warm up pants and jacket. Then you put on your slip-on shoes and walked out with your towel, goggles and swim cap in your hand. Ignis had said that the pool was two doors down from the practice room. So once you entered the hallway you headed in that direction. Once you got to the other side of the practice room you could smell the chlorine from the pool water. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath as you smiled to yourself. You loved the smell of chlorine. It always reminded you of all the fun that you have ever had in a pool.

You grabbed the brass door handle and pulled it open to reveille a beautiful indoor pool. It wasn't as big as the one at the Rec center. But then again, this was just for the citadel. The room did also have a separate 20-foot dive pool that had a 1-meter and a 3-meter springboard and a full-size hot tub on the left side of the pool deck.

You smiled when you saw Noctis and Ignis over by the hot tub. Noctis was sitting on the edge of the hot tub with his feet in the hot churning water. He was only wearing black swim trunks and a towel draped over his neck. Ignis was standing beside him wearing dark blue swim trunks and a towel draped over one shoulder.

You paused for a moment as you watched them. You blushed a bit when you caught a glimpse of their bare chests. But then you shook your head. You had seen the guys on you team like that. But then again, this was Noctis and Ignis. Still, you silently hoped that they wouldn't stare at you, like you were at the moment, when you had to take the warm up suit off.

"Hey. There you are." Noctis said as he glanced over and spotted you.

"Hey." You quickly responded as you shook your head as you walked up to them.

You came to a stop right beside Ignis.

"So what are we going to learn today?" Noctis asked as he looked at you.

"What do you mean?" You asked him.

"Well we are here to learn, right?" He asked as he grinned at you.

You shook your head and laughed. "Right. Well let's start with stretching first before we begin."

"How about we stretch out over here?" You said as you pointed to a large section of the deck that was free of chairs and benches.

They both nodded. Then they walked over to where you were standing. You lead them through the stretches that your coach had hammered into your head over the years. You started to relax more as you put yourself in the swim team mode. You felt like you were back at the Rec Center again which helped you to stay focused on what you wanted to do tonight with them.

Once everyone had finished stretching, you lead them to the shallow end of the pool where everyone put their towels down on a bench by the wall. Then you told Noctis to get in the first lane so that you could see which strokes he knew and which ones he didn't. You had Ignis get in the second lane so that he could watch as well. You stood on the deck so that you could watch him from above.

"Ok Noct, show me your front crawl or freestyle stroke." You asked.

Noctis gave you a strange look. "The 'what' stroke?"

"You know the front crawl....... hand over hand........ doggy paddle?" You asked each one only to still get a confused look from him.

"You might have to show him which one your talking about. Again he doesn't know what they are called." Ignis said as he watched Noctis turn around and give him a sour look.

"Right. I had forgotten." You said as you shook your head and glanced off to the side.

"Fine I'll show you the strokes first." You said then took off your warm up pants and folded them up and set them by your towel on the bench. Then you unzipped the jacket and turned around to see them staring at you.

"What?" You asked as you took off your jacket and folded it up before setting it on your pants.

You could almost feel their eyes trailing over you as you took your hair and twisted it up on your head. Then you pulled your swim cap over your hair and tucked up All of the loose ends so that they were under the swim cap. Then you walked back over to the pool and dipped you goggles in the water. Then you licked your thumb and rubbed it on the inside of both lenses.

You tried to ignore their stares. But you don't think that their eyes left you the entire time. Which didn't make you uncomfortable. But it did make you feel a bit more conscious about what you were doing.

"What?" You asked again. "You guys are starting to freak me out."

"My apologies." Ignis said as he continued to watch. "But I never occurred to me that you had to do all that just to get ready to swim?"

You laughed. "Yeah I guess it does seem like a lot when you think about it."

"Why did you lick your thumb and smear it on your goggles like that?" Noctis asked as he continued to watch as well.

"Well it helps to prevent the goggles from fogging up. Some people spit in them, but I don't like to do that. So I just rub it in instead." You explain as you dipped your goggles back into the water again to rise them off.

Then you stepped off the edge and into the water. You landed right beside Noctis in the water. You then put your goggles to your eyes then pulled the straps over your head so that they wouldn't fall off. Then you smiled to him and grabbed a breath before you slid under the surface and pushed off of the wall into a prone glide.

You brought your arms down to your side before straightening back up and placing your feet back on the bottom of the pool. You turned around to see Noctis give you a curious look.

"What was that?" He asked.

"That was just a prone glide. All you do is push off from the wall with both feet and with both hands in front. Then you stretch out as far as you can go." You explained. "You do know how to do that right?"

Noctis gave you teasing look. Then he did the same thing and came up right beside you.

"I do know how to swim you know." He answered once he stood back up.

You smiled back.

"I'm just checking." You teased back. "Okay then. Try this."

And with that you pushed off from the bottom as you stretched your left arm out as far as you could as you slight rolled to the left as you took a breath. Then you brought your right hand into the water right beside your left wrist and slightly rolled to the right. As you rolled you kept your face in the water while blowing air out your nose and into the water. You then brought you left hand down as you pulled the water as if you were climbing a ladder. Then once you reached your shoulder, as you moved your hand slightly away from your body before bringing it back in towards your body. Once you reached your body again you straightened your hand back up with you body as you pushed it all the way to your leg.

Then you brought your left hand up and out of the water, to go over your head and back down to meet your right hand again and rolled back over to left. Then you did the same thing with your right hand but brought your face out of the water so that you could grab a breath. You repeated the pattern with your arms while you kicked your feet up and down in the water like you were taking quick baby steps on your tiptoes. You finally came to a stop once you touched the wall.

Noctis gave you a smirk then proceeded to swim down to you. The only difference that you could see was that he was just pushing his hand straight down to his side. You smiled and nodded as he swam up and touched the wall. At least he wasn't doing the full arm circles like you had seen a lot of the first years do on the team. That's one of the first things that they have to break them of once they have more confidence.

"Very nice. You do know the front crawl. Or freestyle as we call it in competition." You said to Noctis with a grin.

"Of course." He said as he leaned up against the wall of the pool.

"Your turn Ignis." Noctis told Ignis who was just watching the fun.

"Very well." He said as he went under the water and pushed off very hard from the wall as he glided up to the edge of red floats on the swim lanes.

Then he stopped and turned around a swam back to the wall. His free style stroke perfectly matched yours.

"Someone paid attention in swim class." You commented to Ignis after he stood back up after touching the wall.

He smiled back at you as he leaned against the wall.

"Well that is the first stroke that they teach." He commented.

"Very true. Alright then. Let's try the backstroke." You said.

Then you took a deep breath and laid back down in water as you went under. Then you pushed off of the wall with both hands above your head. As you faced up, you did two dolphin kicks with both feet together as you started to come up to the surface. Once you were back on the surface you brought your right hand slightly out to the side before bringing it back towards your body by your shoulders. Then you pushed the water straight towards you feet. You then slightly rolled to the left as you lifted your right arm straight up and out of the water as you brought to meet up with your left hand.

Once your right hand reached your left hand, you moved your left hand slightly out to the side then back towards your body to again push the water towards your feet. Then You once again, brought your arm out of the water to meet back up with your right hand. You repeated this until you came to the flags that hung above the pool to warn swimmers that the wall is coming up. Once you reached the flaggs you came to a stop and put your feet back on the bottom of the pool.

Ignis and Noctis both looked at each other then repeated what you had done. Again Ignis looked flawless while Noctis just rotated his entire arm around in a big circle. When they came to a stop you smiled at both of them and shook your head.

"I think you guys are just messing with me now." You said as you look at them.

They both smiled at you. "Not really. I never knew what they were called." Noctis answered.

"Well Ignis, you had to know. Your strokes are perfect." You said to Ignis.

"Don't count on it." Noctis answered as he gave Ignis a teasing grin. "But then again he practiced a lot so that he could do it."

"Not true. I just simply paid attention more to what the instructor was talking about, opposed to goofing off like you did." Ignis said as he stood by the lane line.

"Well alright then. Let's try the breaststroke." You said as you dropped below the water and pushed off from the bottom and pushed both hands in front of you.

Then you brought both hands down to your shoulders like you were lifting yourself out of the water by pushing on the wall. This lifted you up enough for you to grab a breath before bringing them back together in front of you. Then you pushing them forward again as you dropped your head in to fit in between your arms as you did a frog kick with both feet shooting out to the side before they met back up after they had stretched out completely. Then you brought your hands back down in front of yourself again and took a breath before repeating the rest of the motions again. You did this all the way until you stood back up again once both hands touched the wall.

After standing back up you turned around and looked at Noctis. He nodded and started swimming towards you. His stroke was good, except that his arms were slightly further apart than yours. You then looked at Ignis who nodded and started swimming and did exactly what you did.

You smiled at both of them once they reach you. "I'm impressed. But how about the butterfly?" You asked. This time they didn't look so excited.

You smiled and threw both of your arms into the water in front of you and pushed off so that you were thrown into the water. Then you brought both of your hands around to make the shape of an old keyhole with your hand ending down by your side. As you were bring your hands around you forced the water down so that you could get a breath. Then you threw you head down into the water as you brought both arms out to the side and around in front of your to reenter the water. You did a dolphin kick with both feet to help throw you into the wave type pattern. Then you brought your head back up with the force of the water being pushed down, only to throw your head back into the water again followed by your arms and a dolphin kick. You repeated the wave pattern until you reach the red floats on the lane lines. Once you reach them, you stood up and turned back towards them.

"Umm. About that one." Ignis said as he nervously ran his hand through his hair.

Noctis laughed. "Ignis can't get that one. He looks like a fish out of water. That's funny that it's called the butterfly though."

"Then how about you Noctis." You asked with a grin.

"Oh no. I know that I can't do that one." He answered as he stood there rubbing the back of his neck.

You laughed back at them both. "Your lucky. Coach once told us that not everyone gets this one. So he won't be as worried about it. But if you like, I can try to teach it to you. It's actually one of my favorite strokes. It makes me feel like a dolphin when I do." You said as you smiled back at them.

"That would be helpful. What about the starting blocks and turns?" Ignis asked as slid under the swim lane.

"We can do that next time. The main test will be your endurance. You have to be able to do the strokes for more than just a few strokes. For now we can do touch turns until you're comfortable with enough with the strokes to add in the element of the turn." You said as you gave Ignis a serious look.

For the next hour after that you each picked a lane then just did a hundred yards of each stroke to start to work on building up the endurance. The drill wore Noctis out, it seemed to be just about right for Ignis, but was boring for you. Your coach usually had you doing a lot harder workout then this. But you had to remind yourself that they weren't use to his drills yet. This was why you had to get them ready for them. Once everyone was done, everyone headed to the changing rooms to wash off the chlorine and to dry off. Once again Ignis rode home with you. But this time you talked about the next round of swimming drills for the next session.

******Author Note******
Ok, so I'll admit it. I use to be a Lifeguard, Water Safety Instructor and a Swim Coach. And I competed when I was a kid. So for me being in the water is natural. But I know that not everyone is use to it or are as comfortable in it.

I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter though and I look forward to you joining me in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading. :)
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