I Only Wanted To Swim (1-2more){Wollman Rink, CP}

[doriangray]

Central Park was gorgeous.Especially, at night, when the buildings were lit up and supplied ample lighting for all of Central Park. Courtney was enjoying a late night swim at the Wollman Rink… well, Wollman Pool. She was completely alone as she threw her bag over the high fence. She wasn’t thinking that it was sneaking around, just taking advantage of the time alone. She made it to the top of the fence, hauled herself onto the top of the concession stand, and walked along the rooftop.

She balanced close to the edge with her arms outstretched and her eyes set on the ground. Her footsteps were sure as she stopped turned and sat down with her legs dangling over the edge. She hummed lightly some tune to a song she heard on the radio earlier. She slide off the roof and landed gracefully on the ground.

She walked over to her bag as she slid off her shirt, exposing her bare chest to the cool air of the New York City night. She withdrew her towel and placed it near the edge of the pool, in case someone found her. Highly unlikely, but not impossible. She slid off her pants, and smiled as her eyes watched the lights of the buildings dance on the surface of the pool. She stood there just watching the light ripples of the pool bounce the lights and a slight smile crossed her full lips.

She waited for the perfect moment to jump. It came slowly, but surely and when it hit her, she just took a leap into the cool, crisp water. When her body was completely enveloped by the water, she just allowed her body to sink slowly to the bottom. Everything was peaceful.

Quiet.

Even being alone wasn’t, so bad after all. She could make due with a little alone time, right?

That’s when disaster struck. She resurfaced for air, but everything was completely dark. She immediately felt colder and the darkness around her seemed to tease her. She panicked and saw for what she thought was the edge, but only ended up farther into the open. She kept swimming until she felt the bottom of the pool touch her foot. She screamed, but regained her wits… sort of. She climbed out of the pool and blinked her eyes. They were adjusting far too slowly as her wet feet padded on the concert. The noise was like a calling call to the demons of the dark.

She was shivering now. Holding her arms across her chest as she made her way to her towel and backpack. She would wait it out inside the concession stand. She wrapped her towel around her chest to cover her chest and a bit of her lower half. She gathered her things and ran to the stand and found the door. She wiggled the knob.

Locked.

Courtney counted her breaths, “1..”Exhale “2…”Inhale “3…”Exhale “4…”Inhale… She slammed into the door and it creaked menacingly, but barely budged. She tried again. No avail She slid down the door and pulled her legs close to the chest and hugged them against her. She just needed to wait this out.

[JENNA GRAY]

”Miss Gray, is it true that you’re planning a return to the catwalk in the next five years?”

”No.” She shoved the microphone from her face, biting her lip and strolling briskly up the sidewalk, her blonde hair rattling in the restless wind behind her.

”Miss Gray, the world wants to know, where on Earth is your fashion line headed for next week’s show at the Garden?”

”No comment on the subject.” She ducked a dangling camera, snapping the head off of a microphone that assaulted her face. Her heels clicked against the pavement as she turned onto the main road, brushing through the crosswalk and into a side street.

”Miss Gray, any truth to the rumor that you’re dating Shia LaBeouf?”

”None.” She yanked her hat down over her face, inhaling the scent of cashmere and glaring through the thin fabric at the street before her. She turned onto the grass beside the path, speeding up to a light jog. A small smile allowed itself to spread across her face as the blinding lights and belligerent chatter of the paparazzi faded behind her, but it didn’t last long. They never did.

The first burst of pain came about two minutes in. She stumbled to a stop, gasping like a drowning child, as the first flames began to sear in her chest. Oh, God, fuck, this one was bad, this one was really, really bad. Jenna stretched out a hand to collapse against a fence beside her, her palm colliding with a plate of metal. Glancing down through anguished tears, Jenna managed to read “WOLLMAN POOL IS CLOSED FOR THE NIGHT. NO SWIMMING WITHOUT LIFEGUARDS ON DUTY.”

Another arrow of pain pierced the flesh of her chest, exponentially stronger and more determined than the last. She needed to be alone.

With a quick glance around her, she climbed gingerly over the fence to land on damp tile on the other side. Her stiletto heels clicked as she picked her way over to the pool, pulling off her shoes and swinging her feet into the water. She leaned over the waves as they lapped against her legs, staring at the unfamiliar woman buried in its depths.

In an instant both hands plunged into her shirt, removing the binder and sending it tumbling into the waters below. She watched the godforsaken fabric as it fluttered down, down, down, to rest on the tranquil blue lining bathed in the moon’s eerie glow. Then her eyes stared back at her, her strings of blonde hair, her chest…

Her chest, protruding, invading the image, slaughtering the natural beauty of the water. Jenna smacked a fist against the surface of the pool, sending ripples billowing across it. Jenna’s face wavered. She barely noticed when all around her, the lights clicked off.

You are hideous.

But the pain was gone.

And in the blissful numbness, the repulsive absence of pain, Jenna saw the huddled figure in the corner.

Someone was here.

Paparazzi? Jenna straightened, ready to sprint at a moment’s notice, but the figure seemed still, unresponsive, very unlike the frisky men she was used to. Small, too, young, and frightened-looking. Jenna brushed a lock of hair from her face. ”Bit late for a young…” one “…girl to be out by herself, isn’t it?” she asked nonchalantly, brushing a tear from her face.

["ELLE" FAIRCHILD]

Elle was very fond of mid-evening walks.

She wasn't sure what it was about nighttime, but the peacefulness of it was just...comforting to her. Quiet was comforting. Dark was calm. It was the way her mind had always functioned; dark and quiet places were where Elle often sought refuge.

In a sense, she felt as if darkness understood her. There was something empty and lacking about darkness - not in nighttime, but just in the idea of dark, the literal absence of light. It reminded her a bit of herself, in some Gothic, poetic way. Huh. Trite, indeed. What a cheap connection to draw, she reflected to herself, and hastily waved the cliché comparison away.

Well, nevermind. As dangerous as it might be for a petite young woman like herself to go cavorting about Central Park in the dark, she was quite content with her chosen activity at the moment.

She'd been exploring this evening, somewhere near the Wollman Rink, when she'd heard the paparrazos.

”Miss Gray, is it true that you’re planning a return to the catwalk in the next five years?”

”Miss Gray, the world wants to know, where on Earth is your fashion line headed for next week’s show at the Garden?”

”Miss Gray, any truth to the rumor that you’re dating Shia LaBeouf?”

Miss Gray?

Jenna Gray?

Instantly, Elle felt herself overwhelmed with a driving curiosity. Jenna Gray. Her current employer. How fascinating to meet her out here on one slightly chill evening, pursued by ravenous reporters. (She'd always felt a lurch of shame when she thought about these cheap tabloid scavengers, rats in the underbelly of the profession of journalism - at least in Elle's opinion.) Perhaps she could...rescue her, or something of that nature. No, that sounded all silly and romantic, and Elle was neither of those things, so a "rescue" was out of the question.

Would Jenna be disturbed if she just appeared and told her that she had been following her? Certainly, that would be disquieting. What would Jenna think about her then? That she was a stalker? That she was a low-life tabloid reporter? (She was neither, by the way.)

There was really no good way to go about the thing...

Still, that familiar, insatiable curiosity towards the beautiful young woman was bubbling up in her once more, and she hurried quietly after Jenna, over the fence to the pool as silently as possible, into the shadows where she could observe and not disturb--oh, God. This was really, really creepy. She should really just leave--

And then, to make everything worse, the lights went out, and Elle couldn't see her way to the exit for shit.

Goddammit. This was going to be far too hard to explain.

”Bit late for a young…” one “…girl to be out by herself, isn’t it?"

Elle blinked rapidly, trying to force her eyes to adjust to the dark, but they were stubborn; she only managed to see shapes in the weak light of the moon and stars. The entire city had fallen dark...it had to be a city-wide blackout.

Outstanding. What an article she could write about this.