Theo likes summer.

The heat, blazing sun, crickets at night, longer days, lemonade, swimming. His mother likes it too, it puts her in a good mood—some weekends, she buys ice cream for them; some others, they set watermelon slices on a plate and marathon a series.

Swimming is one of his favourite activities during summer holidays. That's when being friends with Lucas comes in handy; he gets an invitation to come to the pool as often as he wants. Theo tries not to overdo it, but Lucas is a relentless, stubborn child, and he doesn't stop bombarding his phone with texts until Theo agrees to come.

"Wait, wait, I can't get in just yet. I just put on sun cream, gotta wait like, a few minutes," Theo resists as Lucas pulls on his wrist to jump into the pool.

"Ah, what a nuisance," the boy says, giving up. "It's your fault for being so damn pale."

Despite complaining, Lucas sits next to him and waits until it's time. Theo gives him a smile, nudging his knee with his own. His eyes wander; it's true that he's a lot paler than Lucas. He likes Lucas's skin colour better, though, at least he can wear light clothes without fading into the background. And he never gets sunburnt, the dickhead.

"Have you been exercising?" he asks all of a sudden. Lucas quirks an eyebrow. "Your shoulders are wider than mine, here."

"Oh?"

Always the one to brag, Lucas gets up and makes a show of his broad back and his newfound muscles. Theo's mouth goes dry and his ears burn—is this what envy feels like? Weird.

"Didn't know you were getting ripped."

"Scared I'm gonna steal the girls away from you?" Lucas says, flexing his arms with a smirk.

Theo rolls his eyes, girls have always thought Lucas is more handsome anyway. He doesn't care about competing.

"How shallow." He stands up with crossed arms, shaking his head in mock disapproval.

At his antics, Lucas huffs out a laugh.

"Kidding, kidding. I'm just trying to get stronger."

"What for? To impress the girls again?"

"No," Lucas grins. "To do this."

Before Theo can react, the boy's arms wrap around his waist, he barely gets time to yelp, and then they're crashing into the water. He flails his arms around until coming in contact with the edge of the pool, and uses it to regain his balance. Coughing, Theo straightens up and swats the wet hair out of his face. Lucas appears on his field of vision then, cackling like the idiot he is.

"What the fuck, asshole!"

Being soaked and breathless must dampen the effect of Theo's glare, because Lucas doesn't show an ounce of regret. Theo clicks his tongue and splashes him, which only starts a petty fight between the two of them. Minutes later, Lucas is the first to give in, yelling his apologies in between laughs.

"That's enough, you don't have to kill me, jeez!"

"Serves you right," Theo huffs, letting the boy go and taking a step back.

"Whatever. We're here now, isn't the water nice?"

Lips pursed, Theo moves his hands under the water, feeling it move between his fingers. It is nice, that much he can't deny; not too chilly, but cool enough to offer some relief from the heat. He's about to admit it out loud, but the words die in his throat when he turns back to face Lucas.

His black hair looks even darker when wet. The sunlight makes it shine, makes the droplets scattered around his shoulders glint and sparkle. Theo follows the movement as Lucas raises a hand to bring his hair back. It ends up standing up in every direction. Heaving a sigh, he throws his head back and relaxes, letting the water hold half his weight. Theo's breath hitches, his gaze remains trained on Lucas's exposed neck for who knows how long.

Despite the cold water, he feels something inside him burning. He shuts his eyes closed, holds his breath and submerges his head for a few seconds. When he comes up again, his face still radiates heat. Maybe he's getting heatstroke.