Awa'altu High: ATWOW highschool au!!

Neteyam

Ao'nung had clearly just gotten out of the pool when Neteyam and his siblings arrived. Neteyam hadn't expected him to be shirtless and dripping wet. If he had, he would have been able to better prepare himself. Humiliatingly enough, Neteyam could barely keep his jaw from dropping as Ao'nung spun to face him, eyes bright and smiling. He knew he couldn't be obvious. He had to be discreet, Ao'nung had begged him to be. However, that didn't stop his mind from spinning out of control as he shuffled to the lockers to change.

He was with the group of swimmers who hadn't been on the team before, being led by Rotxo. He kept glancing over at Ao'nung standing with his hands on his hips, surveying the people swimming in front of him. Neteyam looked down at the ground, taking off his goggles. He found that they were too tight, and were giving him a pounding headache right behind his eyes. He rubbed his temples gently with his fingertips, accidentally dropping his goggles on the floor. He sighed to himself and quickly bent to pick them up. When Neteyam straightened back up, Ao'nung was standing off to the side and Rotxo was gone. His brow was furrowed in confusion as he watched the ten swimmers Rotxo had told to warm up. Neteyam sniggered under his breath at Ao'nung's blatant disgust for their swimming, knowing that Ao'nung probably thought he was keeping his expression deadpan. When Ao'nung whistled sharply, the swimmers stopped. Kiri and that red head, Serena, were already finished with the warm up and leaned up against the ledge of the pool. He told the other eight to step out, and sent Kiri and Serena to Rotxo's group. Kiri grinned at Neteyam as she passed, giving him a small thumbs up.

Ao'nung counted ten random people, including Neteyam and Lo'ak, and directed them to the edge of the pool. Neteyam glanced up at him as he walked by, heading to the far end of the pool. A subconscious smile spread across his face as they eyes met, and he tried very hard to get rid of it. He stared down at the ground, determined not to embarrass himself. "Good luck," he whispered to Lo'ak as they prepared themselves. Lo'ak nodded and managed a half smile before looking away. Neteyam accepted his half-assed attempt at a response because he knew how deeply competitive Lo'ak was, especially when he knew he wasn't the best at the activity he was competing in. In addition to that, he knew Lo'ak didn't want to look like a fool in front of Tsireya.

When he dove into the water, he felt himself lapse into a familiar rhythm as his mind wandered. He thought about Ao'nung's offer to pay for his lacrosse team, and about how he would never allow himself to accept. Money guilt, as Kiri put it, was something Ao'nung probably had no concept of. He definitely never had to overhear his parents arguing about spending, or had to explain why his siblings didn't get the gifts they really wanted because it simply wasn't doable. Not that that was Ao'nung's fault, of course, but Neteyam just didn't think he could find a way to explain it in terms that Ao'nung would be able to understand.

He'd almost lost count of how many laps he was on.
When he heard the sound of Ao'nung's whistle, he immediately shot up for air, worried that he was the only one still swimming. However, he and Lo'ak were two of the four people that seemed to meet Ao'nung's standards. The group clung to the lip of the pool awkwardly, waiting for the next set of instructions. Ao'nung was staring off into space, fingers fidgeting with a piece of hair he had tugged loose from his bun. Lo'ak laughed softly under his breath. "Ao," Neteyam whispered as quietly as possible. Ao'nung blinked and looked down the line of swimmers, eyes darting around rapidly. He laughed nervously, face flushing slightly. "Sorry," he muttered. "Uh, that was good. You four, go see Rotxo." He shuffled backwards awkwardly as the swimmers got out of the water. Neteyam pushed himself up onto the edge and took off his goggles before standing. He saw Ao'nung watching him in his peripheral vision and turned his head to face him. Ao'nung instantly spun around to face the crowd, turning his back on Neteyam. He scoffed under his breath, getting to his feet and joining Lo'ak and Kiri in Rotxo's group.

"How did you guys do?" Kiri asked, grinning up at her brothers. "Good, I guess," Neteyam laughed quietly. "Mhm, yeah," Lo'ak nodded, arms folded across his chest. "What's wrong?" Kiri asked, voice teasing. "Nothing..?" Lo'ak answered, shooting her a sideways glare. "Shut up," someone hissed. Neteyam glanced over at the boy with the buzzed haircut that had shushed them. "Sorry," he grinned, nodding. "Don't apologize to him, Neteyam," Lo'ak muttered. Neteyam blinked. "Why? Who even is that?" Lo'ak sighed. "That's the guy who bothered Tsireya. Lyle." Neteyam inhaled softly under his breath. "Really?" he asked, looking at the boy in a new light. He was shorter than Lo'ak, and built densely. His eyes were blue and small, and his nose had clearly been broken several times. "Mhm," Kiri nodded. "That's a dumb name," Neteyam commented. His sister exhaled sharply through her nose. "I said shut up," Lyle muttered, tone sharp. Neteyam opened his mouth to argue, his goal of peace somewhat vanished. "I didn't even-" "Everything okay?" Ao'nung's voice called softly from behind Neteyam's shoulder. He glanced up into Ao'nung's eyes, which were fixed on Lyle. Neteyam took a step away from him, folding his hands behind his back. "Yeah, Teyam just met Lyle," Kiri whispered. Ao'nung grinned, nodding. "Rotxo, switch with me," Ao'nung called. Rotxo looked over and nodded before his eyes dropped to Kiri. Neteyam looked away as Ao'nung stepped around him, positioning himself in between Lyle and the Sully kids. Whether it was intentional or not, his large frame nearly completely hid Neteyam and his siblings from Lyle's line of sight.