I
It had all started when Makoto made Haru sign up for others activities. That day they had received a small notice from Ama-chan, saying that, in order for the club to be more diverse and required, they would have to fit in other clubs. Rei had already joined back in the track team and Nagisa had joined the tennis club, to improve his reaction and strength on his arms. Makoto was unsure at first. He wanted to join the same club as Haru, to make sure he didn't get himself in trouble, but he ended up falling for basketball and decided to join in. Haru had finally decided to join the art club, since there were several students there that kept complementing his art.
.
It was just a normal day, with a normal practice starting. Makoto was already in his swimming gear and was waiting for Haru to get out of the lockers room, while Rei was sitting on the edge of the pool with his feet on the water and Nagisa was already inside it, playfully arguing with Gou. And, when the raven haired teen finally came out, Makoto said:
"There you are, Haru! What took you so long?"
But the boy only side-glanced him and gave him an 'Hn' for an answer. Walking to the pool and passing Makoto, he entered the water gracefully. Makoto only shook his head with a smile and turned to enter the pool, diving as well, hearing Gou shout the new training plan. Comprehending fairly easily what he had to do, Makoto started swimming.
"Haru-senpai!" Gou's voice yelled out "Your phone is ringing!"
Emerging from the water, the boy looked at the redhead whom was waving his phone. Stepping out of the water and drying his hands, Haru turned his back on the pool and walked away a little. All the teens watched Haru when he did such a thing. And that was when Makoto saw it.
It was just a scratch. Well, actually, eight of them, grouped in two distinct places. Four of them were on his right shoulder blade and the other four were over his left kidney. They were still fresh, the brunet could tell. Their color was still pinkish, and the lines were firm. He wondered what had happened while watching Haru give his phone back to Gou, whom placed the item in her pocket. But, almost like reading his mind, Nagisa's voice asked:
"Haru-chan? What happened to your back?"
It was like everyone's attention was focused on Haru. Well, to be more precise, on Haru's back. He looked carelessly over his shoulders and shrugged, answering:
"I don't know."
"Oh, Haru-senpai, it's impossible to have such wounds inflicted and not knowing what did them!" Gou exclaimed, concerned about Haru's well-being.
"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt."
"Haru, what happened?" Makoto asked, not only curious, but concerned as well. He was scared that his friend got caught in something he shouldn't.
"Nothing." he simply answered, diving.
~.~.~.~
Later that day, the boys were already leaving the pool, only Haru and Makoto staying behind. Haru, surprisingly, was already outside the pool, finishing getting dressed while Makoto waited for him. It was the perfect time to talk to him, since even Gou had already gone home. The raven haired boy walked to him and Makoto asked:
"Shall we?"
Receiving an 'Hn' for an answer, Makoto chuckled and walked outside of the building, Haru behind him. They walked in silence for a while, Makoto wanting nothing more than to just rip off the truth from Haru, but he knew he had to take things slowly. Haru wasn't very talkative and if he pushed the teen too far, he might break and run off, like a scared animal.
"So, Haru..." Makoto started, but the boy interrupted him, saying:
"Don't even try. I'm not going to tell you what are those."
"I wasn't going to ask that. How's art club?" Makoto asked with a smile, surprising Haru.
"It's fine. We're drawing fruits..."
"Oh yeah? Which fruit are you drawing?"
"A blueberry."
"That's good. How are the people there?"
"Okay, I guess."
"They aren't too pushy?"
"On the first days, yeah. But no."
"Oh, is that so? What made them stop?" Makoto causally asked, no intentions behind the question. It was a normal thing, something that a friend would want to know. But Haru's reaction wasn't the one he expected. Haru stopped himself in his answer and blushed.
Haru blushed.
He turned his head and gulped, catching Makoto off guard. How could such a simple question upset Haru this much? Placing a hand on his shoulder, Makoto made him look into his eyes. Haru's cheeks were tainted with a soft shade of pink and his eyes were sparkly. Makoto found it cute that Haru got this embarrassed over such a small and insignificant question. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked. "No." was his answer. Nodding and removing his hand, Makoto walked past him, understanding that, with time, Haru would talk to him.
II
One week had passed since that incident.
One week in which Nagisa filled Rei's head with stupid, impossible and perverted theories. One week in which Gou didn't argued with Nagisa when he called him 'Gou'. One week in which Makoto tried to drop small hints and get Haru to talk to him. One week since Rei had started to go a little insane thanks to Nagisa. One week where Makoto started to get worried over Gou, while watching her sad when she thought no one could see her. One week in which during it, Haru hasn't spoken a word about the scratches.
But that day was different.
Not because of the scratches, which were barely visible by now. Not because of the unanswered questions Haru left. Not because of his sudden embarrassment every time Makoto tried to tease him.
No.
That day was different because, instead of new scratches...
Haru had a small red mark on the base of his neck.
Once he walked in the doors, all eyes were laying on him. Haru was late. Haru was never late when it came to practice. And there it was, arriving fifteen minutes later, and running, for all that matters. Makoto looked up to him, he was currently talking to Gou. Noticing his best friend's faint blush, he excused himself and followed Haru to the locker room. He saw the boy stripping off his vest and buttoning down his pants when he stopped. Haru turned around and saw Makoto staring at him.
"What?" he simply asked.
"What? That's all you have to say? Who are you and what did you do to Haru?"
"It's still me." he answered, turning away and undressing, stepping out of his jeans and fixing the swimming gear underneath.
"No, the Haru I know doesn't get late for practice. What happened?"
"Got caught in the traffic. Too many people on the street."
"It's Saturday morning. People are still sleeping."
"Then what are we doing here?" Haru replied, looking at him before placing his clothes on his bag.
"How's the art club?" Makoto asked, knowing that it was the key for Haru's strange behavior.
"Good. We're drawing landscapes."
"What are you drawing?"
"The sky."
"The sky? I thought you were going to say the ocean."
"I can't. Too many shades of blue."
"Do they still bother you?"
"Not anymore."
"What keeps them from such?" Makoto asked and, once again, Haru stopped himself and blushed. Makoto began to realize that that person, whoever he/she was, was the key to find out what was going on. Haru looked away and Makoto immediately noticed the red mark contrasting his tanned skin. Gulping, he asked:
"Haru...? What is that on your neck?"
"Nothing." he said, covering the mark with his hand and walking out of the room, quickly diving in the pool.
Makoto sighed. If he wasn't mistaken, the red mark on Haru's neck was... A hickey. He had saw a couple on Gou's neck when she was dating Seijuro. He wondered how did Haru got himself a hickey. Maybe a girl... No. That was impossible. Haru wasn't dating anyone and, if he was, Makoto would know it. While watching Haru swim, the brunet sighed. Gou sat next to him and asked:
"Mako-senpai? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah... I'm just worried about Haru." He answered, looking at the boy.
"Yeah, he's been off lately." Gou agreed.
"You noticed too?"
"Yes. It's almost like he's living a double life."
"Gou-chan, how can a person get a red mark on his neck?" Makoto suddenly asked.
"Well, a red mark in the neck is most likely a hickey..." She said, confirming his thoughts "Why? Who has a hickey?"
"Haru does. I saw it."
"Impossible." she said. Standing up and walking to the pool, she screamed "Haru! Get your ass right here!"
Finding cute the way her eyes sparkled when she was angry, Makoto watched Haru swim to Gou, silently asking her 'What?'. She bowed down and Makoto actually thought that she was going to drown him by the way grabbed his hair, but she only used such to turn his head to the side, to better observe the mark. Hearing her gasp, Makoto stood up and walked to her. The girl straightened herself and asked out loud:
"How in the hell did you get yourself a hickey?!"
By that moment, everyone was paying attention to them. Nagisa swan closer to Haru and spotted the red mark, exclaiming:
"Oh my god, Haru has a hickey!"
"Will you get off already?" Haru shouted, pushing Nagisa and Gou. "Aren't I allowed to have a private life?"
"Well, of course, Haru, but you need to understand, we're worried about…" Makoto tried, but Haru interrupted him, saying:
"There's nothing you need to be worried about! I'm fine!"
Stepping out of the pool and walking away, the group sighed. Makoto was worried. Haru wasn't the same. Something must have turned him bad. He feared that Haru was going through a rebellious phase. That couldn't happen. Haru had no one else to take care of him expect his friends. His grandmother had already passed away and the boy lived by himself, the only company he had was when he was in school.
Another splash of water was heard and Makoto saw Rei walking in the same direction Haru went. Makoto was about to follow him when Gou placed a hand on him arm and shook her head. He sighed and wished for the best.
Haru was sitting on one of the branches, looking to the sky. Why couldn't they just back off and let him be? He was perfectly fine. He had the water, he had his friends, he had mackerel, he had everything he needed and wanted. So why bug him off? The boy was busy with his thoughts when a voice interrupted him, asking:
"Why do you swim, Haru?"
Looking to the side to see Rei sitting beside him, Haru quickly adverted his gaze back to the sky and answered "I don't have a reason."
"Haru, is this something we should be worried about?"
"No." he simply answered.
"Okay. I won't push and I shall talk to the others to do the same. But you're worrying us." Rei remarked.
"I'm fine." Haru insisted.
"I can tell. A side of that bruise, as Nagisa called a 'hickey' you seem perfectly healthy. But is your emotional side the same?" the bluenet asked.
"It is."
"Okay then. Wish to join us in the pool?" Rei asked, getting up.
"Just a minute." He simply asked.
"Take your time." He replied, walking away. Haru was never the kind of person to do rebellious acts. Was this some kind of late phase? Or was it something else? Once he arrived the pool, he quickly instructed his friends to not question Haru about his current situation anymore. The boy would tell them once he feels prepared.
"Is he okay, Rei-san?" Gou asked.
"Yes, Kou-chan, he's just fine. Give him time. He'll come back to his senses." Rei answered before diving in the pool once more.
III
"I'm getting tired of waiting for Haru to open up." Nagisa suddenly said, making everybody look in his direction. They were currently at the library, studying after classes.
"What do you mean, Nagisa?" Rei asked, putting down his book.
"I mean… We need to find out what is going on with Haru! Who's with me?" he asked. Gou sighed and answered:
"I'm with you, but what's on your mind?"
"The easiest way of finding more about someone is to trace all his steps." Nagisa stated, raising his finger in the air in an as-a-matter-of-fact way.
"What do you propose?" Makoto asked, defeated.
"I'd say we follow him!" Nagisa exclaimed, pulling out a couple of 'shh' from the other people in the library.
"Well… It's not that bad." Gou stated.
"Oh, screw it. Let's do it." Rei accepted, getting up. Makoto soon followed and, in a matter of minutes, they were already on Haru's tail.
"How did you knew where to find him?" Gou asked.
"I texted him and asked him where was he so we could go pick him up for an ice-cream. He told me he was at his place but wasn't hungry, so he'd have to pass." Nagisa simply said, making the teens behind him sweat-drop.
"You're an idiot." Gou stated, following him.
They chased after Haru for fifteen minutes. The boy just felt the urge to stop at every shop he saw and even entered a couple of them only to come out empty handed. Gou was already getting impatient but Makoto always tried to calm her down, saying that it wouldn't take long. But after a while he started to get impatient as well.
It was hot outside and Nagisa had made them all wear long coats, sunglasses and a hat so 'Haru wouldn't find out about them'. It was in the middle of the spring! No one wears that in the middle on the spring!
"Is he gonna hurry up and show us what is he hiding?" Rei asked, annoyed by the wait and the heat.
"I don't know. Wanna go there and ask him?" Nagisa spat back.
"It's your fault that we're not getting any results!" Rei told him "With this stupid clothes, he already saw us and it's just trying to lead us away!"
"You guys, stop!" Gou exclaimed, putting herself between the boys "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere! We need to stop fighting and continue to spy on Haru!"
"Oh, so that was what you were trying to do." A voice declared. The teens turned around and saw Haru standing in front of them, arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face.
"HARU!" they exclaimed, turning red. "We weren't doing a thing!"
But the teen just stared at them. The air was hot and hard to breathe. The way Haru's eyes showed no emotion whatsoever was dangerous. His arms, crossed over his chest, were flexed, and his fists clutched. But walking to the teens and eyeing them one by one, Haru spoke:
"I thought you were better than that."
IV
"Well, what are we going to do?" Rei asked, her head resting over her crossed arms. Nagisa sighed. None of his plans had worked. They tried to follow him, he found them. They tried to talk to him, he changed the subject. They tried to threaten him, but he only glared at them and walked away. Hell, they even went far enough to lock him in the locker room, but somehow the boy managed to escape and when Rei and Makoto went to check on him, Haru had locked them inside!
And yet, Haru kept showing up in practice with new and different marks. Sometimes it was a bite. Others it was another hickey. Others were scratches, even though one time he refused to go inside the pool and Makoto stripped him out of his shirt and saw that his entire back had thin pinkish lines all over them.
"Nothing. We simply do nothing." Nagisa sighed, defeated.
"There must be something we can do!" Gou insisted. Makoto got up. There was something they could do. But it was something he wanted to do alone.
"Where are you going, Mako-san?" Nagisa asked.
"Home. I don't feel like staying here anymore. I have to take care of the twins and if you feel like bursting your head trying to figure out Haru, I wish you the best of lucks."
Walking out of the pool, he quickly made his way to the school. He fairly remembered that the art club was located in the basement, due to the fact that he had to go get Haru there because the members had 'kidnaped' him. Chuckling at such memory, Makoto climbed down the stairs. It was chilly in the bottom floor. And it smelled funny. Maybe that's why the club was there. Because those conditions were needed. Once he arrived the basement, a soft humming filled his ears.
Makoto smiled. Whoever the voice belonged to, it was beautiful. Walking in the direction the voice led him to, the smell got stronger and the temperature got warmer. 'Thank god, it was just the entrance. I wouldn't want Haru to bear this cold every day', he thought. Pushing the door open, Makoto's jaw fell on the floor.
The room he was standing before was enormous. Nearly the size of the enclosure of the pool. Looking around, he saw scattered paintings, old brushes and inks, broken easels and all kind of modeling and structuring objects and figures. On top of a stand a little further forward, he saw bulk molding, pieces of all sizes, complete statues, half-finished ones and even just a pile of material.
The humming was further in the room. So Makoto decided to find out who it was. Walking past the easels, all of them with a canvas on it, some completely white, others with tentative brushes on it and one or two already finished. Grabbing one that had a fruit basket filled with dead rabbits a skull of a deer and even a shotgun, Makoto stared at it. It was indeed beautiful, despise the morbid appeal. And his curiosity was getting the best of him. But suddenly… The humming had stopped.
"That's a very charming one if you ask me…" a soft voice spoke, making Makoto jump and look around.
Standing beside him was a girl. A girl that could easily pass unnoticed. Her skin was pale and she was short, but curvaceous. Her eyes were bright blue, sparkling and alive. Her face was small and adorable, but Makoto couldn't see her hair. Because she kept it tied up and hidden inside her black beanie. Looking her from head to toe, Makoto noticed that she was wearing a black tank top, blue faded jeans and black combat boots, a white apron covering her clothing to prevent them to become dirty, but the same didn't happen to her face, since she had a small line of blue on her cheek.
"Did I scare you?" she asked, Makoto finally realizing that he had to answer.
"Oh, no, not at all. You just surprised me."
"Are you here to join the club? Because if you are, you should come back tomorrow. Boss isn't here right now." She informed him.
"Oh, no… I just heard this humming… And I wanted to check it out. Was it you?"
"Yes. I'm sorry if I bothered you." She apologized. Makoto quickly brushed it off and asked for her name. She told him it was Hayden. She quickly turned around and went back to her place, sitting him front of her painting.
"Say, Hayden-chan… Are you familiar with Haruka Nanase?" Makoto asked, hopping that the girl could help him.
"Yes. What about him?" she replied.
"Well, he's been acting strange lately. Have you seen or heard something here that made him act this way?"
"No, not really. Nanase-san is a pretty quiet guy." She told him.
"Where is his spot? Maybe I can tell something out from his paintings." Makoto suggested. Hayden merely pointed to the sit right behind her, turning back to her art.
Makoto followed her indication and stood in front of the painting. It was a clear blue sky, with a few firm grey lines at the bottom. Makoto quickly realized that the view was from the roof top, where the teen went every day. Caressing the fluffy white clouds with the tip of his finger, Makoto found odd the way he had drawn them. Almost like they were forming a picture. The one on the left, a small one was clearly a star, while the biggest one resembled a seagull. Also noticing that the other clouds on the background all resembled like shells, castles and splashes, Makoto quickly realized that Haru had created a beach in the sky, all the elements represented by the clouds.
He walked away, not wanting to remain there for longer than he needed, just in case that Haru came back and saw him there. Turning to thank Hayden, he noticed that the girl was no longer on her spot. 'She's pretty calm and quiet. Not only as personality, but as physical as well', he thought. Taking a small moment to watch what she had been painted, he suddenly realized why Haru didn't want to paint an ocean. In front of her drawing there were at least five bottles of blue ink, all different. But it must have been needed, because her painting was a perfect picture of an ocean, softly dancing on the horizon.
Smiling to himself, Makoto left.
V
Gou decided to take the matter on her own hands. She was currently following Haru. He was walking around town, almost like he was looking for someone. Taking some time to rethink what she was doing, Gou sighed.
He was her senpai. She wasn't supposed to act this way. She was a nice responsible girl who didn't get herself in trouble, let alone follow people around like a creepy stalker. Twice! But Haru was worth it. Even if she did get caught, which was the most likely thing to happen, she wouldn't give up. Because she knew she had to find out what was going on.
Haru eventually stopped to look around. Gou hid behind a tree, worried that he may have seen her, but he quickly started walking again. They were currently in the square, stores and restaurants all around it. And it was in one of those stores Haru entered. Before barging in behind him, Gou took a few seconds to look at the name of the store. It was Springfield.
Shrugging, she entered, and spotted Haru immediately. He was walking between the women clothing. Did Haru had a thing for buying women clothes? Gou immediately shook the thought. It would be too weird if her senpai had a thing for actually wearing them in the secrecy of his house. Picking up a baggy grey tank top with a printed white tiger on it, Haru took his time looking at the cloth. Finally deciding himself, he took the shirt with him until his eyes laid on a beanie.
It was a simple beanie. Grey, woolen and had a pompon on top of it. Gou saw him pick it up and stare at the two items. Gou had to admit. It was hard to choose between them. They were both beautiful and cheap. If it was Gou's money, she wouldn't care; she would go and buy both. And apparently, the same thought ran through Haru's head, because he grabbed both items and went to the cashier, buying them and placing them in a bag with a small black bow glued to it. Black, Gou couldn't tell why. There were so many prettier colors and he chose black.
Following him out of the shop, the redhead watched while Haru sat down on a bench eating the sandwich he had just bought. His hand went inside his pocket and pulled out his phone, putting it on his ear while he ate. Mumbling to the device, he quickly ate the rest of his food and stood up, placing the wrap on the garbage. Walking away, Gou quickly followed him.
He walked for a while. Ten minutes, at least. Gou's feet were killing her already. But then he stopped. And looked around. The bag was still in his hand. His phone in the other one. Quickly texting on it, Haru turned several times, almost like he was looking for something. Or someone. And then his eyes lit up.
He walked to a tree. Gou could tell there was someone behind it, she could see a tip of a combat boot. Getting close was dangerous, but she wanted to hear the conversation. So she did. Standing leaning on a light post, Gou was able to side-glace to the teen, who clutched on the bag like a boy clutches to his jacket on his first date. And then she heard his talk.
"I told you to drop the hat already."
"You know I don't like people staring at my hair…." A soft voice answered him "And beside… It's all oily and messy."
"I got you something." Haru told the person.
"You did? You didn't have to… Can I see it?" the voice asked.
"Not here. C'mon, let's go for a walk." He affirmed. Gou turned to follow them but the unfortunate of luck happened and a group of girls stepped between her and her view. Once she was finally able to get rid of the girls, Haru was already out of sight.
Sighing, Gou turned around and went home, her curiosity spiking more than ever.
VI
Rei was getting tired. All this speculation, secrecy and lying was doing his tool on his head. It was too much pressure and thoughts. But he promised Haru that he wouldn't push him. That he'd give him time. But time was already extending. When Rei told him 'time' he was actually considered a matter of days, but it had been over two weeks and Haru hadn't say a word to him.
They were in the pool. Alone. Makoto was at home, with the twins and Nagisa was with Gou, studying in the library. So Rei went to Haru, whom was floating in the pool and asked, as casually as he took muster:
"So, Haru…"
"Hn" was his response, to show him he was listening, even if his eyes remained closed.
"How are you? In terms with what we discussed?" Rei tried.
"Not gonna say a word." Haru told him coldly.
"Haru, it has passed two weeks! You need to talk to us!" the bluenet exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.
"No, I don't." Haru observed.
"Haru. Please?"
"There's nothing to say." He affirmed.
"Can you at least give me clues?"
"Hn"
"Is it a situation or a person?" Rei started.
"Why does it matter?"
"Haru…"
"A person." He admitted, sighing.
"Do we know that person?"
"No."
"Is it a girl or a boy?" Rei tried.
"Not saying."
"How long have you met that person?"
"A month now." Haru affirmed, removing his bathing cap.
"Okay. Does he or she has a name?"
"Not saying."
"Can you at least tell me something about that person?!"
"I wanna swim all over." Haru simply said, getting out of the pool and walking inside the locker room. Rei let out an exasperate sigh and swam a little more, trying to understand what did Haru meant.
VII
Nagisa was laying on his bed, facing the ceiling. He had too much on his head. The problems Gou had helped him answer, his school grades, Haru's situation… He was just tired of it all. The blond didn't ask to be caught in the middle of the whole thing. He was just...caught.
Sighing, he turned to his side. If only there was a way to get Haru to talk to him! But the only person Haru talks to freely was Makoto and not even the captain was able to get some answers. Just how desperate he was...
He was about to grab his phone and call Haru to meet up with him when a text appeared on his phone. It was from a number he didn't know. It wasn't private or anything. It appeared that the person who had texted him didn't care about the discovery if his identity. The text was short, well written and straight to the point.
Stop bugging Haru with stupid and pointless questions.
He'll tell you when he's ready.
Nagisa's jaw fell on the ground when he read it. Who could possibly know about Haru's situation as well? Only Makoto, Gou, Rei and himself, ruling himself Haru out. Maybe Rin as well, Gou probably told him what was happening. But apparently Rin only shrugged and told them Haru knew the crap he messed with.
Maybe… Just maybe… This was the person behind Haru's condition. Nagisa grinned and immediately called the number.
But no answer.
He tried again.
Still no answer.
One more, he thought.
And it worked. Someone answered the phone. Nagisa quickly asked who was this and a muffled voice answered him, saying it was the person who he had called. Nagisa rolled his eyes. 'Smart ass', he thought. He tried to find out more about that person, but it wouldn't bulge.
Until Haru's voice was heard on the other side. He asked what the hell was that person doing on the phone. The person told him it was none of his business. The call only lasted a few more seconds, but those mere seconds told more to Nagisa than the entire call. A female yelp was heard and Haru's voice said before hanging up "Sorry, pal, but she's grounded right now."
Nagisa fell on his bed. What the hell was going on?
VIII
Rei emerged from the water. Gou had called him and the others. Haru hadn't show up in practice and Gou was about to communicate them why.
"You guys! Haru-senpai just texted me, saying that he had too much to do and he couldn't get here! He says he's sorry, and that he'll try to be better! He promises!"
"That doesn't sound like Haru at all." Makoto observed. "Haru doesn't skip practice."
"What is going on, you guys?" Nagisa asked "What happened to our Haru-chan?"
"I don't know anymore. I really don't." Gou spoke, sighing.
It was getting rarer to see Haru these days. She could barely talk to him during breaks and in class. She missed him and she was sure she wasn't the only one. Nagisa no longer called her 'Gou'. He stopped bothering Rei around and even Makoto lost his smile. It was just too different. But she hoped that things worked themselves out. Otherwise, she would have to kick him out of the team.
"Kou-chan?" Rei called "Do you think Haru will come back to normal?"
"I sure hope so, Rei." Gou said, sitting on the edge of the pool, watching the water forming small waves.
IX
That day Haru showed up for practice. He was quiet as usual, but so were his friends. He no longer heard the happy chatting between Nagisa and Rei or the bickering between the blond and Gou. It was uncomfortable to know that he was the cause of the mood change, but brushed it off.
Makoto was swimming beside him, Nagisa was sitting on the pool and Rei was next to him splashing the water with his legs. Gou was reading a magazine and seemed really absorbed in it. Haru reached the wall and pulled himself out, declaring:
"If you still want to know why I changed so bad, the reason is coming over to pick me up."
Makoto almost chocked himself with water. Nagisa fell in the pool and Rei stopped immediately, looking up to see Haru walking away to the locker room, leaving behind a dumb folded Gou.
The clock hit four pm. That meant the practice was over. But no one wanted to leave. They all wanted to see the reason why Haru changed. The boy walked out of the locker room, fully dressed and took a small glance at his clock, turning to the door. Since no one walked in, he turned to sit on the benches, placing his bag by his side.
Gou was standing, placing around frantically. Makoto followed her with his eyes, but didn't bothered to move from the pool. Rei sat on the edge of the pool, playing with the water and Nagisa sat rather close to Haru.
The door opened. Everyone jerked up to look at it and Haru stood up, walking to it. Gou saw him smile, but couldn't see the person. Haru walked inside once again, hiding something behind him. Smirking, he declared:
"Guys, this is Hayden. My girlfriend."
Suddenly it all made sense.
Makoto looked at the girl. It was the same girl from the art club. The same one that he had talked to, the one that told him everything was fine, the one that drew an ocean.
Gou gasped when she saw her. The clothes she was wearing. A normal pair of jeans and a pair of combat boots, but the tank top and the beanie she saw Haru buy in the shop.
Rei finally understood what Haru meant when he said 'I wanna swim all over'. The girl's bright eyes screamed 'water' but her wavy white hair made the perfect point. It was cascading over her chest and reached her waist. Her curves were delicious and her figure a goddess.
And Nagisa, recognized her voice from the phone call as soon as she spoke.
"Hi."
"You have a girlfriend?" Gou choked out, her mouth hanging.
"That is what I said. Hayden, these are Kou, Nagisa, Rei and-" Haru introduced, But Hayden replied "Makoto. I know. He came visit me a while ago."
"So… Are you guys saying something?"
"This is what you've been hiding all along? A girlfriend?" Rei asked. "No…" Haru answered "She wasn't my girlfriend 'till few days ago. We kinda liked each other and we fucked a few times but it only became official when she told me she wanted to stop."
"Wait, what? Fucked a few times? That was where the markings came from?" Nagisa asked.
"Yeah… I must admit that I'm a pretty wild lover. Sorry if that messed with your head." Hayden excused herself, smiling a little.
"Why did you tell Haru to stop?" Makoto asked, curious.
"Because I couldn't do it anymore. My feelings for him were growing fast and it wasn't just lust or passion. I actually fell in love with him. And it would be wrong if I kept doing it. Because it would pain my heart and he would feel guilty."
"We spent two days apart. On the end of the first, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to see her. I came to realize I was actually missing her smile, her laugh, her eyes… So I called her and told her the truth."
"Between a lot of begging and kneeling, of course. And we got together." Hayden finished, grabbing his hand. Haru leaned in and kissed her forehead, smiling and declaring:
"I hope everything is okay between us. It's just wasn't something I wanted to let everybody know."
"Of course everything is fine." Makoto declared, smiling. "I'm glad that it turned out to be a simple thing as dating. But Haru… Why would you blush every time I asked you about the teasing?"
"Because it was Hayden the one who stopped them. One time I found out she actually punched one of the guys that kept getting on me."
"They had it coming." she declared, flickering her hair back in a cocky way.
"How did you got hooked by her?" Nagisa asked.
"Well…" Haru started.
X
"People, gather around here, please." a teen asked, grabbing Haru by his arm. "This is Haruka Nanase, from the swimming club and he's joining our club!"
Haru rolled his eyes. It was predictable that everyone started cheering to that accomplishment. From his half-closed eyelids he could see everyone clapping and greeting him. But there was someone. In the middle of that small crowd that didn't clap. That didn't cheered. That didn't smile. A girl. A girl that, once she noticed Haru was looking at her, turned away and went back to her painting, concealing herself from his gaze.
~.~
"It's you and Haru the ones cleaning up today." The teen said.
"Not fair, boss! I cleaned yesterday because I needed today off!"
"I don't care, Hayden. Clean up or you're out." The boss said, crossing his arms.
"I hate you. If I die, you're the one to blame."
"Can't wait for it." The leader told her walking away.
Little time later, Haru eventually told the girl she could go and do what she needed, he'd finish cleaning. She looked up at him, eyes narrowed, but eventually nodded, letting go of what she was doing, grabbing her jacket and leaving the room, without a single word of recognition.
~.~
One late afternoon, Haru was walking to school, having forgotten his pencil case there. The school was empty. Everyone was already in their homes, warm and not needing to care about a stupid pencil case or the bad weather outside. Soaked to the bones, Haru finally entered the school, walking to the classroom and grabbing the object he came looking for. Turning around and leaving, he knocked against someone when he exited the classroom.
"Sorry," he said "didn't see you there."
"No one ever does." She simply answered.
Haru narrowed and took a better look at the girl. It was true. He hadn't seen her there. She was so tiny and always wearing dark colors that she could be mistaken by a shadow. Her eyes shove in the dark. Her hair wasn't visible, her beanie concealing it. Her jacket made her look bigger than she actually was, but Haru could see, thanks to the moonlight, the nice and defined line of her ample chest.
"What are you staring at?" she asked him. The boy shrugged and walked away, leaving her behind, busy with her own thoughts.
~.~
Haru was finishing his side of the room when his ears caught a gasp. Looking in the same direction, he saw Hayden half-lying on the floor, with a broken sculpture next to her. A soft curse escaped her lips while Haru walked to her, watching her bloody hand.
Haru grabbed it and involved it in his handkerchief, taking her to the infirmary as fast as he could. Hayden said nothing all the way. She let the school nurse stich up her hand, and only let out a few gasps whenever the nurse placed more pressure on it.
Leaving her alone with Haru, the nurse walked away. Hayden took her own handkerchief out of her pocket and gave it to Haru, saying:
"Here. Don't get punished over me."
"I don't need it." He simply said.
"Thanks." She told him, looking away.
~.~
The night was falling and he, Hayden and the boss were the only ones there, finishing the clean-up. Stretching his back, the boss said:
"Hayden, take care of the water bucket, please."
The girl quickly nodded. The boss said goodbye to them and left, Haru and Hayden being alone by themselves again. Hayden grabbed the water bucket and winced. Her hand wasn't fully healed, but still she picked up the heavy bucket. Hearing a loud noise and a yelp, Haru ran in the direction of it.
Hayden was on the floor, the water bucket turned upside down, and her legs completely wet, as well as the hem of her shirt. The girl cursed and got up, shaking the water of her hands. Drying her hands, unfastened her zipper, unbuttoning her jeans.
"What are you doing?" Haru asked, seeing the girl starting to strip right in front of him.
"You really don't think I'm gonna sit here and catch a cold over a pair of wet jeans, do you?" she asked him, pushing them down to the middle of her thighs before sighing and asking "Help me out, will you?"
"What do you mean?"
"This much of pressure is hurting my hand. Can you help me take them off or not?"
Haru sighed. He walked to the girl and bent down, removing the wet pants out of her. She patted his hand in appreciation and smiled, walking away to dry her legs. Looking at the piece of clothing in his hands, Haru quickly adverted the look to Hayden. Her smooth and long legs shone in the moonlight. Silky and elegant. Seeing her in only a black halter top and blue panties made him blush. But somehow, he couldn't turn away.
Hayden went to him and took her pants from his hands, going to the heater and placing them there to dry. She also took out her beanie, which had happened to get wet as well and shook it, placing it over the jeans. By doing so, her white hair flicked free, falling in elegant waves down to her back. Walking to her, Haru was amazed of how much beauty she actually had.
She turned to him out of sudden and Haru grabbed a lock of her hair, entwining it between his fingers. Hayden just stared at him, her eyes curious. His other hand started caressing her face. "You're just like the water." He told her. "I love water." She smiled and stood on her toes, kissing him briefly. And that's all it took for him to sit her on the counter and have his way with her.
~.~
"If they find out, they're gonna kill me." Haru told her, fastening his pants.
"It's just a hickey, Haru. Nothing else." She replied, smiling.
"I'm in the swimming team. Of course they're gonna see." He said, watching his own reflection.
"Haru, relax. It's just a hickey." Hayden tried to calm him, pressing a kiss on his naked back.
"I've never had one before. They're gonna ask." He told her.
"Let them." She declared, wrapping her arms around him.
~.~
"They followed me around today." Haru told her, caressing her hair lazily.
"Why?" Hayden asked, snuggling closer to him, her head resting on his naked chest.
"I don't' know. Maybe they wanted to know why." he supposed, his other hand finding her way to her waist.
"Why you're acting so weird?" she asked, caressing his muscles.
"Yes."
"Then tell them."
"I don't want to."
"Then don't tell them. Keep things the way they are."
~.~
"Makoto came around today."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. He wanted to know if I knew the reason you were acting so weird."
"What did you say?"
"The truth. You're a pretty quiet guy. And I had no idea. In my line of thought, you're not acting weird at all."
"True." He said, placing the mackerel in front of her, smiling when she told him it was delicious.
~.~
"Do you like it?" he asked, hopefully.
"Haru, it's beautiful!" Hayden exclaimed, taking out the beanie and the shirt from the paper bag. "Oh, and the bow! You chose black! You remembered!"
"It's your favorite color. Of course I remembered."
Hayden grabbed the two pieces of clothes and spun around with them before tackling Haru to the floor with a bear hug.
~.~
"It's the person you just called, idiot." Hayden said to the phone, smirking.
"What are you doing?" Haru asked, seeing Hayden on the phone.
"None of your business." She replied, turning to the phone again.
"Oh, you little bitch." Haru let out, grabbing Hayden by her waist and pushing her against the bed, before grabbing her phone and saying "Sorry pal, but she's grounded right now". Turning to the girl and hanging the phone call, he said:
"None of my business, hn? Let's see about that."
~.~
"Haru, stop." Hayden said when he was about to remove her jeans. The boy looked up to her and asked:
"Why?"
"I can't do this anymore."
"Why not?"
"I'm starting to fall for you." She told him, pushing him away and grabbing her shirt "And it's not fair. You're gonna hurt me because I know that you just want sex."
"Hayden…" he said, while watching the girl put on her shirt and jacket.
"I'm sorry, Haru. But trust me. It hurts me more." She said, leaving his room and house.
~.~
"Hayden! Open the fucking door!" Haru yelled.
It was almost midnight and he was shouting like a mad man at her door. He knew she was home. Her lights were on and he could hear her sobs. He hit the door again, shouting her name. Knowing that, when she was upset, she only obeyed by fear, he threatened to stay there, banging in her door until she finally opened up, even if that took days. And it finally opened.
"What?" she asked, her eyes puffy and red from crying.
"I'm not done with you."
"Haru, I've told you. I want nothing else with you! No more! I can't take it!"
"Hayden…" he whispered, falling on his knees "Come back. Please."
"Why?" she choked out.
"Because I can't. Without you I can't."
"Of course you can't! I was the one you had sex with!"
"Not that! I don't care about the sex anymore. I want you. The grumpy, passionate, hardcore, sweet you."
"What are you trying to say, Haru?"
"I love you, Hayden." He told her, and that's all it took for the girl to kneel in front of him and kiss him.
XI
"And that was pretty much it." Hayden said with a small smile.
"Wow, you guys are hardcore!" Nagisa exclaimed.
"And now you're together?" Gou asked.
"And now we're together." Haru affirmed.
Everyone smiled and congratulated the new couple, already making arrangements for later events, making the couple blush. All they knew, no matter what the future brought them, is that they would stay together.