Hello~! So I got hooked on Free! Eternal Summer (naturally) and Sousuke quickly became my new fave (sorry Rei-chan ...) but since I already ship all of the other I didn't have anyone to ship him with so I thought, why not my wonderful OC Angel? (≧ω≦)

Please tell me what you think of the first chapter, this is my first Free! story ever and I'd really like to know if I've managed to keep the Iwatobi boys in character.

Chapter 1

Uwah! I can't find my room!

With my mind a mess, I scuttled through the hallways of my new school, Iwatobi High. This was only my second day and I was already going to be late unless I managed to find my classroom on time! I clutched my bag to my chest as I ran along the hallways, scanning every room.

Ok, ok … So it should be around here somewhere … Right?

"Waa!"

While running frantically through the hallways, I wasn't looking where I was going, so due to my inherent bad luck, I crashed into someone. Or something. Everything happened so fast and was in a blur, but I definitely felt like I had bumped into something as hard as a rock, maybe even harder. The impact sent me flying backwards and I winced quietly as my butt hit the tiled floor.

"Oh, hey … You ok there?" Apparently, whatever I had bumped into, it could talk.

I looked up and brushed my bangs out of my eyes. I gaped as I saw what seemed like a giant towering over me with a concerned expression on his face.

Wow … he's huge!

"Um … I think I am …" I muttered.

He offered me his hand and helped me get up on my feet. Now that my initial shock had died down and I could take a better look at him, I realized that he was still pretty huge. But he didn't seem threatening in the very least. In fact, he had one of the gentlest faces I had ever seen.

"S-sorry … I didn't mean to bump into you …" I apologized, rubbing the back of my head. I felt like an utter idiot …

"It's fine … You seem more ruffled than me anyway." He said with a soft chuckle. "Where were you running to by the way?"

"Ah … this is embarrassing …" I felt my face grow hotter. "You see, I'm new here and … I can't find my classroom." It was such a cliché! It was like I was in some manga …

"I could tell that. You're speaking kind of weird, so I'm guessing that you're not from here." He remarked.

"Y-yeah … my dad accepted a job here and we moved. Is my Japanese good, by the way?" I asked a bit nervously. "I've been studying it for four years but I've never been good at languages."

"It's fine." He smiled. "My name is Tachibana Makoto, by the way."

"Oh, nice to meet you, Tachibana-kun." I smiled politely at him. "I'm Angel."

"Angel … That's a nice name."

"Oh … Thanks …" I blushed.

"So where do you need to go? I could show you to your room."

"Really? Well, I have Chemistry. And I'm pretty sure that the room is supposed to be somewhere here."

Makoto stared at me for a while. He then chuckled and pointed to a door just a few feet away from where we were standing. My eyes widened slightly and I blushed even more. Just perfect … I made myself look like an idiot in front of an upperclassman. And the day had barely even started!

"W-well … thanks, Tachibana-kun …" I muttered.

"Anytime." He gave me one last gentle smile and then walked off. He probably had his own classroom to go to.

I took a deep breath and walked into the classroom. Moving to a new school and town was bad enough, but moving to a new country entirely was even worse. I felt different. In all honesty, people were nice to me, but I could feel that they treated me like an outsider. Maybe they just needed time to get used to me … And I needed time to get used to them too.

I took a seat in the middle row and got my stuff out. I was quite nervous – I still wasn't used to hearing Japanese during classes and taking notes at the same time. I had to concentrate, lest I wanted to fall behind.

I always got good grades in my Japanese classes back home, but coming to Japan and speaking with the natives was entirely different. Back home, my teacher used to speak slow and clear, making sure that every word was intelligible. Of course, I couldn't expect of native speakers to be as considerate. As I said, I needed some time to adjust.

To cope with my nervousness, I started doing what I always did when I needed to calm down – I started doodling. I rather liked my new school's mascot – I had no idea what that thing was supposed to be, but it was cute – so I started drawing it in different outfits and styles. This "therapy" helped, as I soon became too wrapped up in my doodling to notice anything else. Which is why I was caught off guard so easily.

"Wooooow!"

I jumped up in my seat and my sudden movement caused my shoulder to slam directly into someone's chin. I twirled around to see who had been peeking at my sketches from behind me and saw … uh, someone. I didn't know his name. He had slightly messy blond hair and kind of looked like a very excitable puppy. His eyes were teary – probably because of me hitting him on accident.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed. How was it that I managed to hurt two people in the span of a few minutes? I was definitely not having a good day.

He looked at my drawings again and seemed to forget about his aching chin immediately. He stepped closer and grabbed the paper, looking at it with sparkling eyes.

"Wooow, this is so cool!" He exclaimed – his voice was quite loud.

"Ah … thanks?" I was confused and slightly intimidated by his erratic behaviour.

"Nagisa-kun, don't take people's belongings without asking for their permission first!"

Another student had joined us. This one was tall and looked quite prim and proper, standing completely straight and with his uniform all neat and tidy. He was looking at his friend with a stern expression.

"But Rei-chaaaan, look!" He shoved the paper almost in the other's face. "See how cute this is!"

He sighed and adjusted his red-rimmed glasses, then took the paper away from the shorter boy and handed it back to me.

"I apologize for Nagisa." He said in a rather formal manner. "He sometimes doesn't respect other people's boundaries."

"Rei-chaaan …" Nagisa whined and nuzzled into his friend. "That's mean …"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched those two interact.

"It's fine, really … " I said, smiling softly. "I'm actually flattered – he seems to like my doodles a lot."

Nagisa gave me a wide grin and then suddenly he hugged me. I blinked - this action was not expected at all – and looked at Rei with a silent plea for help in my eyes. He sighed and grabbed Nagisa by the collar, then started dragging him away. I could hear Nagisa complaining and chuckled, shaking my head.

What an odd pair … But they do seem very close.

By the end of the school day I was feeling exhausted. I had to be alert during all my classes so that I would understand as much of the lessons as I could. I couldn't afford to get distracted even for a minute.

How do the other students manage to do it? I feel so exhausted!

"Angel-chaaaan!"

"Huh?" Before I knew it, someone had jumped on me and were now clinging to me so tightly that I thought that they were trying to choke me. "N-nagisa-kun?"

He grinned at me with sparkling eyes and then nuzzled me.

"I have a great idea!"

"Ok?" I replied cautiously – this guy's actions were unpredictable.

"You can make posters for our club! That way we can get new members!" He exclaimed.

"Um … Nagisa-kun …. I'm really flattered by your … request, but I don't even know what your club does." I really didn't know what to answer. This was all so unexpected! "And … well, I suppose I'll need to talk to the rest of your club, right? They need to all agree to this."

"Right! So let's go!" Nagisa grabbed me by the wrist and started dragging me somewhere – I supposed to his club. I didn't have much choice but to follow him.

Soon we arrived at the club – apparently it was the swim club. And it consisted of five people – four boys and a girl. I was surprised to see that I already knew three of them – Nagisa, Rei and Makoto. How odd, to meet them all in the same day …

"Hey, guys! This is Angel-chan and he's agreed to make posters for our club!"

"Wha-" I blushed and quickly tried to correct my classmate. "N-no! I haven't agreed to do anything yet!"

Ok … Note to self, don't trust Nagisa. Ever.

"Can you draw water?"

I looked at the guy that was talking. I didn't know him. He had a calm, almost bored expression and his voice was even and dull. To be honest, it was kind of scary how unaffected he seemed by what was happening.

"You mean if I can draw the pool or something?" I asked.

He didn't reply. Instead, he turned to the window and stared at the pool. Alright … this guy was weird. I bit my lower lip and turned to the rest.

"Um … I could make one poster, as an example. If you like it then I can make some more and you can photocopy them." I suggested.

"Are you sure?" Makoto asked. "We'd be really grateful if you did that. We seem to be having trouble getting new members."

"Oh, in that case I'd be happy to help you!" I exclaimed. "Besides, it would be fun, right? Making posters." I smiled, suddenly feeling nostalgic. "I used to these things for the clubs in my previous school all the time."

"Then you must know a lot about it!" Nagisa exclaimed and nuzzled me.

His excitement was contagious, apparently. The others started to smile as well; even the apathetic guy was beginning to look mildly interested. I couldn't help but feel enthusiastic as well. I was going to do my best to help the Iwatobi Swim Club.