Chapter 247 - Ocean – Back To The Team

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Ocean

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The day after Ben and Ryan found out what Makai and I were, it almost felt like everything was back to normal. I think they wanted to prove to Makai's parents, as well as Dr. Malachi (who slept over) that they could be trusted. Neither of them said anything about what we were. There were no jokes, no questions, none of it. It was just like a normal day with nothing at all different about it.

Today, I was going to make the coach let me swim. Today, I was going to show him that my doctor has cleared me to swim, and now that I have been in the water again, I shouldn't have to worry at all about turning into my other form. I would just be me and my normal self.

When I got to school with the others, in my car since I drove us all, I marched straight to the coach's office. When I walked in, I had a huge smile on my face. And when he saw what was in my hand, he smiled right back at me.

"Heh heh, I know that if I lit a fire under your ass, you'd do anything you could to jump into the pool and put it out." He was laughing at me. That little joke of his was even funnier than I was willing to let him know, so I had to pretend it sucked and roll my eyes at him.

"I just want to swim, coach. That is all. I want to get back into the water and then win the nationals in April. There is literally nothing else that I want more right now, Coach. So yeah, I was going to make sure that I did everything that I needed to get back here today." I could feel the happiness and the pride swelling inside of me. This was awesome. It was amazing. And it was everything that I had been dreaming of ever since the last time that I had been allowed to swim.

"And you have the clearance from the doctor? He says you can swim again?"

"Yes Sir, he even came to the house last night and watched me swim for a little bit. He says I am good to go." That was true too. After dinner, and in the middle of all the talk, I went for another swim, one where I didn't shift.

"You guys must be close with that doctor." He eyed me suspiciously.

"He's a friend of Makai's family. But he is a very good doctor. His credentials and phone number are on the letter." I held out the paper for him to see. I watched him scan it over for a moment or two before his eyes shot up and he looked at me.

"You must have a guardian angel somewhere, Ocean. You managed to land in a situation with one of the top doctors in the country who is a personal friend of yours. Don't lose that friendship with him. If you ever need anything, I am sure that man could help you out. Of course, I am talking medically. Don't hit the man up for money, even if he is rich."

"Ha ha ha ha." No worries, Coach, Makai is rich too. I don't need to hit anyone up for money. Anyway, Dr. Malachi has become a little bit like an uncle to me. He seems to be close with Makai's parents anyway, so he is pretty nice to me because of the situation." I don't know why I was telling him this. Maybe I was just extra open to talking because of last night, or my happiness to be back in the pool. Whatever it was, I was in a good mood, and I didn't want anyone to ruin it for me.

"Alright, Ocean." The coach reached behind his desk and grabbed another lock. "Here you go. Get changed and go do your stretches. I expect you to be at your best. No slacking off, you hear me?" His words may have said that, but his voice was telling me to take it easy. He didn't want me to get hurt. I was happy to have him here with me. He was such a nice guy, and a nice coach.

I hurried back to the locker room where I found Makai, Ben and Ryan, all changed and waiting for me. They were waiting for me to give them the good news. And even with me having gone to see the coach, we were the only ones in the locker room.

"I'm back." I called out to them the moment I was through the doors. "I get to swim today!" I was so excited that I could barely contain myself. Makai was also just as excited and couldn't contain himself. That was probably why he rushed to his feet, swept me up into his arms, and kissed me quickly.

"I knew you could do it, baby. I just knew it."

"Yeah, well, it's all thanks to you babe." I grinned at him, calling him that name for the first time at school. "If you hadn't messaged Dr. Malachi like you did, he might not have had the time to help me yesterday."

"Yeah, yeah, it was nothing. Anyway, get changed. We need to go stretch."

"Yeah, I will right now."

The moment that Makai put me back on my feet, I ran to my locker and changed my clothes. I put the bag inside, locked it, and followed the others out to the pool. And we still were so early that no one else was here.

The four of us were doing our stretches until it was time to start practice. As the others started to come out of the locker room I heard their voices calling out to me when they saw me getting ready to swim.

"Ocean! Hey! It's so good to have you back, man!"

"Hey, Ocean! Welcome back!"

"Hey, practice hasn't been the same without you, Ocean. We need you and Makai here to motivate us."

"Yeah, it's going to be a good practice today, Ocean's back."

"What? Ocean's back? Awesome!"

"YAY! Ocean's back!"

"Good to see you, Ocean!"

Hearing all of my teammates telling me that they were happy to have me back, it felt really good. It was also motivating me to do my best ever. I wanted to show them that I hadn't lost my edge. I was still the same Ocean. Coming back stronger and better than ever, that I was still the same person. I was just now openly gay with my boyfriend and two gay best friends. And we were the top four members of the team.

Something else that I learned not that long ago was that, while I was out of school, Ben and Ryan told the whole team about their relationship. They all knew about us and none of them had a negative word to say about it. That was literally the best thing that I could have ever imagined happening for us. I mean, I used to think that the whole school would turn against us, but now here I was openly gay and proud of my relationship.

"Alright you guys, let's see if our star guy still has what it takes. Let's see if he is still as fast as he used to be." Coach was looking at me with a grin. I know he was telling me that he was testing me, but he would let me slide if I wasn't up to swimming at my best just yet.

"That's fine with me, coach. I am ready and raring to go."

"Alright. Sounds good. You're up first with Makai."

"Ooh, it's a lover's quarrel in the water." Katie joked. "I wonder who will win."

"For them, I don't think they care who wins. As long as they give it their all, neither of them will be mad at the other." Alexis added.

"Awe. I want a love like theirs. It's so sweet." Cassie fawned.

"Enough already, let them swim." Coach rolled his eyes and then turned to look at us. Swimmers at the ready." Makai and I both prepared to go at the same moment. And as soon as the whistle sounded, we were moving at the same time.

Once again, I felt the joyous welcoming from the water. It was like it was telling me I was home. But this time, I was keeping my cool. I didn't shift at all so I didn't need to worry about anyone else seeing me.

I swam as hard and as fast as I could. Down to the other side of the pool, a quick turn with a breath, and then back down to the starting end. I was moving as fast as I could and going all out. And yet, I still felt like I was less restricted or more free somehow. I just felt so much better. Another turn and back to the other end of the pool. I was just over halfway done. Final turn now, heading back to the starting side once more. The heat was almost over. It was almost time for me to finish this. And then I would find out how close to my normal time that I was.

I gave it my all and came up with my hand on the wall. I had finished my first practice heat since I had gotten hurt. And it felt amazing.. But what was going on? Why was everyone looking at me? And where was Makai? I didn't know what was going on.