"You should have seen his face when you threw him at the pool. He tried to swim so fast." Natalie laughed as she remembered the male puppy, Popo, who was thrown to the pool. Nate was also laughing. As he turned the car towards where Natalie stayed, he can't help but thank Natalie for the wonderful day. She also thanked him. Besides, he was the one who wanted her to stop crying. He parked near the entrance and both of them went out the car. Nate wanted to see where Natalie's room was, so both entered the building together. They were still laughing at Popo's reaction. As they were about to approach the door, coincidentally, Jake went out while carrying his gym bag. When Jake saw the both of them, he stared at Nate, and then at Natalie.

"Nat. Why haven't you replied to my messages?" He asked. He wasn't feeling good about it. Why would Natalie go out with a rival?

"I was busy."

"At that time? That was 7 in the evening, you're not that busy to not reply Nat."

Nate shrugged as he said those words. He wanted to help Natalie since she wasn't looking good. He placed his arms around her shoulder and said, "She was with me. We were having a date and I took her phone so that friends won't mess it all up." He smirked and kissed her hair.

Natalie wasn't able to make a sound. Jake on the other hand was trying to stay calm.

"I didn't know that both of you knew each other." Jake stared at Natalie.

"We met last Monday. She was having difficulty with her luggage and I tried helping her out."

Natalie was silent the whole time. Jake stared at her while she evaded his gaze. Jake wasn't feeling good but since he was a sport, he reminded Nate of their swimming practice.

"Be there after you drop her off," he said in harsh manner. Nate looked at Natalie's hurt expression. He didn't want to see her that way. "Hey why don't you come with me to practice? I'll show you how good I am. Come'on Natalie. For meee?" He wanted to make sure Jake heard it. Jake did hear it and it strucked him. He waited for Natalie's response. To his surprise, Natalie held Nate's hand and agreed.

Nate and Natalie held hands as they went to the pool. Jake saw how they acted and it was painful for him. When they entered the pool, both men went inside the locker room while Natalie stayed on a bench at the left side. Inside the locker room, Nate was whistling a familiar tune. 

He acted as if he was in love. Jake couldn't stop staring. "Isn't she great?" Nate asked Jake who was trying to hold his composure.

"Who is?"

"Natalie Wilson! She's really nice and beautiful. I really like her a lot." Nate smiled.

"Yeah. She is." Jake knew Natalie was special. He just couldn't see it until now.... now that Nate has arrived.

When the Wales grouped together at the top left corner, Coach Adams chose four people to compete for the race. He chose Nate Walters, Denise Young, Marco Gonzalez and Rafael Hernandez. Nate smiled at Natalie and Jake couldn't help but notice. He didn't like Nate and he wanted to teach him a lesson so he asked Coach Adams if he could compete with Nate first since he won last time. Coach Adams agreed to his request. He wanted to see who was really the fastest. He was also at the verge of choosing the next swimming captain.

Both positioned on their designated boards and waited for Coach Adam's signal. As soon as they heard the whistle, both men jumped towards the water. Coach Adam's wanted three cycles; freestyle. As Natalie sat at the bench, she was worried of how the race would end. The pool was 15 feet deep and 50 meters long. She watched as both gave their all. Nate was really fast, but Jake wasn't slow either. The other men howled and cheered for them; some even placed their bets. When the third cycle started, it was a tie between Jake and Nate. As soon as they were halfway there, one swimmer stopped to try and tell the others that he was in pain. The other swimmer continued swimming til the end of the line. As Natalie looked at the swimmer who was trying to call on the other men to get him out, she held her breath. As soon as he was out, she ran towards him and asked him where it hurt. The winner got out of the pool and looked at the bench to smile at someone he thought was still there. He was proud to have won, but as he gazed at Natalie approaching his injured opponent, he can't help but get jealous.

"Tell me where it hurts Nate?" Natalie was worried. She didn't like what happened and something tells her that Nate shouldn't get hurt. She knelt beside Nate as the others tried to pull both his legs. Nate looked at her and smiled. "I'm okay Nat. You don't have to worry. I just had cramps." He touched her face as she held his hands. Jake stared at the both of them. He was jealous. Yes he won, but he didn't expect her to run to aid Nate. He thought he'd get her back after he won. He went to the locker room and changed to his casual attire. When he went out, Nate was no longer at the floor but at the bench beside Natalie. Jake quickly went outside. He thought Natalie would see him so he waited outside the door in case Natalie would go out to ask him what was wrong. Five minutes passed; there was no sign of Natalie. He was pissed off, so he went back to his room to cool down.

"Thanks for standing up for me." Natalie told Nate.

"Thank you for running to my aid. I didn't expect that." Nate replied.

"I was worried. I'm not used to seeing you get defeated."

"Me too, but I have no choice. I needed to stop, it was too painful." He looked at her and she looked back. Nate changed back to his clothes since he wasn't feeling good. He called his driver to pick him up. As both of them sat down, Nate took Natalie's hand and traced the creases of her hand. She didn't mind the gesture. She just looked at his hands and relaxed.

"Your future is cloudy. You're going to marry someone who is cold hearted—but amazing."

"And who would that be?" She asked.

"Me!" He said with a big smile as Natalie pulled her hand.

"I was joking Nat. Hahahaha."

Natalie gave out a nervous laugh. Nate smiled at her expression. Both of them stayed there for a while. They gazed at the other players who were practicing. After a while, Nate's driver arrived. Natalie helped him towards his car. Nate placed his right arm around her. She tried carrying his weight but he was too heavy. He went inside and said goodbye. When the car left, Natalie was left alone. She didn't mind at all. It was getting dark and she decided to go back to her room, but as she approached the Emerald Lake, someone took her hand and pulled her towards a big tree.

"You can't be with him Nat!"