The third week of this damned punishment and you were already starting to snap. Every five minutes someone was either threatening you, trying to be friends with you or stuttering at you. All of which you weren't supposed to be rude back, or the threatening would reoccur. Maybe you had died falling off the fence and this was your hell? Maybe you'd next be thrown into a pretty pink dress and be forced to wear ballet flats.
"You're here, finally, [Name]-chan!" Nagisa greeted you as you walked into the fenced area, the scent of smoke lingering around you faintly. You had sprayed some perfume on since smoke isn't a pleasant smell.
"Not the [Name]-chan crap again, Nagisa." You muttered, walking past him to set down your bag. "What are we doing today?" You asked boredly as Gou grinned widely, her ponytail bobbing up and down.
"We're going to a joint practice with the Samezuka Team, I'm sure you've heard of them, and my brother is the captain!" She said, grabbing her bag. "If you need a change of clothes you could borrow some of mine." She said, glancing at your attire.
You gaped at her, your [eye color] eyes wide.
"You can't possibly be serious." You said, absentmindedly waving your hand. "W-Why would we even be going there again?" You squeaked out, earning looks- Most confused, from the swimmers. "I mean, why do we need them in the first place..? If it's off school property than I don't even think I'm required to go!" You finished, but as you went to grab your bag Haru stood in front of you, blocking you from going any farther.
Sometimes you just really hated him. Even if he was the one who left you alone most of the time.
"You have to go, considering you're a part of the club." His eyes flashed dangerously, almost rendering you intimidated. "I can always tell the principal." Okay, he had scared you, and you figured it was just the swim team. As if you'd see him there, he was never much of a swimmer, really.
"Yeah." You nodded, stepping back from the male to look at Gou, still a little nervous about Samezuka. "I can go, I guess, but I won't be changing my clothes." You finished, regaining your confidence as you looked at Gou, her face stern.
"Well I don't see how you could manage wearing 10 pounds (4.5-ish kg) on your feet, but whatever floats your boat." She looked over at Haru, "Not like I could get you to change. But I was wondering if you wanted a Iwatobi Team jacket, since your part of our team, whether I like it or not." You could tell this was her attempt at being nice to you, but you shook your head.
"Nah, I'm good. Sooner or later the principal will be like, "Oh that [Last Name] girl is very trustworthy I was stupid to put her in that club, I should make sure to tell her this." And bye bye me!" You said emphasizing at the end. "But I will go and change really quickly, not into some borrowed clothes, of course, but I have a change of clothes. I'll be in the locker room." Without saying anything else, you quickly dodged Haru and grabbed your backpack, rushing into the empty locker room.
You started to strip off your clothes but gave an exasperated sigh at what had happened. Nitori wouldn't really be there, would he? He was never that into swimming as a kid… he chances of him still being at Samezuka seemed very slim, and you never got out enough to really meet anyone, so you should be fine. Either way, you knew their policy at the swimming pool. No boots allowed.
You pulled on a [favorite color] tanktop, sliding on your black jacket, pulling your hair from the cap. You pulled out a pair of blue skinny jeans, undoing your boots to step into them. You pulled the boots back on, adjusting your posture before shoving the items back in your bag, walking out to join the others.
"Here's the place." Makoto said to all of you, and you immediately stopped texting your annoying brother who was back home. You had made sure you wouldn't see him, getting home late and waking up early.
"Isn't it cool, [Name]-chan? They even have an indoor pool!" Nagisa said excitedly, and you gulped, recognizing it. You had spent a good 3 years here. "Let's go!" He shouted, running inside.
As you stepped inside the glassed in area, you could see that Gou was already drooling over the guys. You had to admit, they were attractive. Your eyes wandered over to a tall redhead who was walking towards the glass area, his grin revealing sharp teeth.
He was hot, by all means, and somehow he looked like someone…
"Rin!" You watched as Gou ran over to the male, hugging him. Ah, siblings, so this was the guy Haru always swam best against? Nice. "Hey big brother, we have a new member, well kinda…" She said, motioning towards you. Rin's eyes traveled to you, and you gave him a small wave, crossing your arms over your chest.
"I'm Rin Matsuoka, the captain of Samezuka's team." He introduced, shaking your hand and staring down at you, his eyes a little bit confused. "Glad you could make it, I'm glad to see Gou isn't alone in the Swim Club…"
"[Name] [Last Name]." You introduced, your eyes scanning him. "She's a nice girl, although I can't seem to get much of that side." He laughed a little at your statement, before looking at the rest of the Samezuka Team.
"I'll catch you later, [Last Name]-san." He said, looking at the swimmers. "Nice to meet you, although it's kinda surprising to see a girl had joined the team. Do you swim for them?" He asked, causing you to awkwardly laugh.
"Nah, more of a helper."
"Matsuoka-senpai, I'm sorry I'm late!" You turned around along with Rin to see what that was, and suddenly you felt someone grope you, and next thing you know you were on the ground. "Ahh I'm sorry!"
3rd P.O.V.
Everyone waited for the [hair color] haired girl to yell at the male, Makoto and Rei especially preparing for it. But what surprised them all was her reaction.
"Nitori-kun?" She questioned, her [eye color] eyes softening as she stared up at the familiar male, her face emotionless, her eyes the only thing showing her emotion.
Your P.O.V.
"I'm sorry, [Name]! I didn't mean to-" You clamped a hand over the male's mouth and took a glance at the others, quickly pulling Nitori up as you sat up, sending them a look.
"Mind if I borrow him?" You questioned through gritted teeth, Nitori looking confused as you pulled him out of the glass room, into the empty hallway, pulling him into a nearby classroom. "Nitori-kun," You began, "You look so grown up."
"[Name], you're…. You look so different from the last time I saw you." Nitori said, his blue eyes deep with worry. "You're even taller than me now."
"I've just grown up, I guess." You shrugged, walking over to a nearby desk, sitting down with your hands over your legs. "I never expected to see you on the swim team. You must be pretty good to be on the Samezuka one." You filled in the silence, knowing Nitori must be a little nervous about your different look.
"I didn't know you had joined the swim team." He said after a moment before smiling widely, "This means you'll get to see me swim at the tournament! Although I wish you were still at Samezuka, but as long as I can see my best friend, it's fine!"
You stared at Nitori for a second before standing up, your hair covering your face a little bit as you sent him a small smile.
"You should get back to practice." You narrowed your eyes, "Meet up with me after, okay?" You said, trying not to be rude to your old friend, even if you had changed. Sometimes people change, but sometimes the friendship won't.
"A-Alright!'" He started to leave the classroom before sending you an awkward smile, "Sorry about g-groping you, [Name]." You blinked as he left hurriedly, quickly remembering what had happened. You didn't bother leaving the classroom though, you recognized it in fact. You had sneaked in here once with Nitori to see the class you were intended to be in.
You brushed your hand on the desk and let out a loud sigh, knowing you had to explain a lot to Nitori. Somehow you felt a little upset, but at the same time you felt glad he was here- Even if his entrance was a little bit rocky.
"[Name]?" You jumped at the noise and whipped your head around to see Gou in the entrance, and shot her a glare at the use of your name. "You left unexpectedly with that swimmer," Her eyes widened, "You didn't hit him or anything , did you?"
"No!" You defended yourself, of course you wouldn't ever hit Nitori. Possibly Nagisa or Haru, but never Nitori. "I just wanted to scare him a little.." You lied to her, your eyes looking at the floor. "Whatever, you saw the sign, right? I can't go in the pool area because of my boots, they'll scuff the tile."
"You know, I don't get it." She said to you, her red eyes narrowed. "You act all tough, but clearly you didn't intend to hurt or scare that guy. You didn't even look upset with him, more upset at us." She paused, "Do you have a crush on him?" That seemed to get her interested.
You laughed a little at that, the thought of you and Nitori dating. You could remember what had happened once, and it was clear in your mind, as if it happened yesterday.
-7th grade dance-
"Nitori-kun, you look dorky in that shirt. Seriously, plaid?" You said to the male, your [eye color] eyes full of amusement. "I can't believe you thought I liked you like that! I asked you to the dance, and this was your way of letting me down? Wearing plaid?" You watched the boy's cheeks light up and you quickly hugged him.
"I'm flattered, Nitori, but I'm into bad boys." You said, backing up and doing a mean face.
"Stop teasing me, [Name]!" He whined, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to hide his blush. "You look dorky enough with that look on your face anyways."
You sniffled a little, being called dorky was something you couldn't stand. Being at an awkward age, especially with raging hormones your skin wasn't too thick, and you tended to take things to heart. Even from a 6th grader like Nitori, despite him being taller than you.
"I'm sorry!" He said as he watched you begin to cry, quickly grabbing some tissues. "I didn't mean it, I was just kidding, [N-Name]!" He hugged you and you smiled, wiping your eyes.
"You didn't mean to, Nitori."
You smiled again, your braces showing before looking at the full dancefloor.
"Can we go dance now?"
-End of Flashback-
"God, no." You laughed again, causing the redhead to sigh. "He looked too nice, anyways, don't wanna hurt a kid like that." You always joked about being older than him, but you intended to keep your dorky past self away from these Iwatobi guys.
"Oh, okay." She said, her mood dropping a little at your statement. "But you should at least bring some moral support instead of walking around some random classroom. Just because you're technically not a part of our team, doesn't mean you don't go to Iwatobi. At least watch through the glass."
"Whatever," You started to walk by her, but she grabbed your wrist, causing you to stop.
"You should really be nicer to our swimmers. Just because they're not perfect doesn't mean they're not good. Negativity never beats Positivity." You turned to face her, your face expressionless. "I mean, Nagisa might be a little annoying from time to time, but saying his swimming is bad will only upset him. Lately he's been pushing himself, which is good, but you should really give him a couple compliments."
You never thought about that, to be honest, and you heart soften a little. You gave her a light nod before shaking her hand loose from your wrist, walking past her as you shoved your hands in the pockets of your jeans.
You leaned to rest your elbow on the small windowsill, watching Haruka step up on the diving block. You could see several sets of eyes glance at you and your appearance, but you might as well watch. You didn't wanna hurt anyone's feelings, at least not today.
You watched as Rin blew the whistle, and Haru jumped into the water, and you could almost see him as a dolphin. Your [eye color] eyes were almost mesmerized as he swam, and as he got out of the water, the two of you locked eyes.
You looked away with a sigh, knowing these Iwatobi boys wouldn't give up on trying to be your friend. Even if Haruka wasn't one of them.
