The following couple weeks, everyone visited Avanna and Jordan's house, almost on a daily basis. The swim club tried to make these meet ups as often as possible but if they came over more than a couple times a week, the second time Avanna would be sleeping, working or so irritable that she seemed like a completely different person from her usual sweet self.
"Don't take it personally. She gets overwhelmed easily." Jordan informed the group as they all ate lunch.
"She doesn't get like that with you." Nagisa sighed.
"You don't want to see what she gets like with me. Honestly." Jordan laughed. " And besides we've known each other for such a long time. There is probably things that you don't particularly like about each other, but have learned to tolerate over the years."
"She doesn't like us?" Nagisa whined.
"No...no, she does." Jordan sighed, "Avanna is a very complex person. She can, just be so different under certain situations."
"Can we see her today? I want to bring her donuts and strawberries, and smoothies. All her favorite foods, She will be so happy!" Nagisa smiled. Everyone looked at Jordan waiting for a response.
"We can see. But you guys did come over just several days ago, so I can't be responsible for how she acts. 'llI text Rin-kun and tell him to meet us." Jordan stated.
"I can't. I was going to another friend's place." Gou said, as she finished up her lunch.
"Yeah, I can't go either. I have some family stuff." Rei announced.
"Okay then. I'll give her your best then." Jordan replied.
"Aviator! I'm home!" Jordan called, kicking off his shoes and removing his coat. Rin had met the boys halfway there. Everyone else took off their shoes, but Nagisa ran to Avanna's room.
"Ava-chan!" He yelled, running into her room before anyone could stop him. "Aw, so cute!"
"NAGISA! GET OUT!" Avanna yelled, throwing a book at him and slamming the door shut.
"Is she in a bad mood?" Haru asked, in his usual quiet voice.
"I don't think so. She's just mad that I saw-" Nagisa began, his face a bit red.
"SHUT UP!" Avanna yelled from her room. At first the others were confused, but slowly, one by one, they pieced it together. Avanna came out of her room shortly, Minerva following behind her. She had a big sweater and leggings on and her face was redder than anyone had ever seen it before.
"I've seen you in a swimsuit before, it's not much different." Nagisa muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Minerva hopped onto Makoto's lap. Avanna tried not to say anything, but ended up bursting.
"T-The difference is I had a top on!" Her japanese slipped up again. Everyone looked shocked again.
"I thought you just saw...oh..." Jordan said, laughing. Rin hit Nagisa on the head and glared down at him.
"Owww." Nagisa whined, rubbing his head. "I'm sorry Ava-chan." Avanna nodded at him,gesturing that she at least, partially accepted his apology, and shuffled into the kitchen.
"Are these donuts for me?" Avanna looked up slightly. All the boys nodded. A bright smile stretched across her face as she began to eat one. As she ate, the boys talked amongst themselves about their studies and swimming, and the snow fall outside increased.
"Are you guys staying for dinner?" Avanna asked as she pulled things out of cabinets and the fridge.
"If Ava-chan is cooking, I want to stay!" Nagisa smiled.
"I'll stay. If you don't mind." Makoto said. Haru nodded.
"I guess." Rin sighed.
"Yes or no?" Avanna glared at him. She seemed to be the only person to match his intense stare.
"Fine. Yes." Rin buckled under the pressure, looking out the window.
"Great!" She smiled, her attitude doing a complete 180. "I'll think I'll make bibimbap. That's pretty easy." She began preparing the vegetables, and Haru stood up and sauntered over to her.
"I'll help." Haru stated as he washed his hands.
"Thanks Haru." Avanna leaned over on the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the guys. The smallest blush played at his cheeks. "If you could please prepare the rice and/or whichever seafood you'd like... though I'm afraid we only have mackerel and salmon." Though Haru's choice was obvious. Avanna set out several spaces at the kitchen table, and set up everyone's plates. "Okay. Dinner is ready!" Avanna smiled. "Thanks for the help Haru." He just nodded and sat down at his spot and began to eat. Everyone else sat down and began eating. As they ate the rain outside increased. Makoto and Avanna were the first to finish. She picked up her plate and cup and placed it in the sink. Makoto stood up and did the same.
"Here, I'll wash the dishes. It's the least I can do." Makoto smiled. Avanna pulled on his shirt sleeve, and he bent down a bit. Avanna still had to get on the tips of her toes, but she managed to give him a kiss on the cheek. His face was bright red.
"Thank you Makoto-chan." Avanna giggled. He nodded and distracted himself with the dishes.
"Ava-chan! You kissed Mako-chan and Haru-chan, what about me and Rin-chan!?" Nagisa whined. Avanna giggled again, walking over to Nagisa. She gave him a peck on the cheek and he smiled. "Now Rin-chan!"
"I'm good." Rin stated, plopping down on the couch. Avanna walked over to him, and bent down, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and he was visibly blushing. Jordan laughed from the other side of the couch, and Rin leaned over and punched his arm.
As Makoto and Avanna cleaned up, the lights flickered.
"This storm has gotten intense." Jordan stated looking out the window. Makoto wiped off his hands on a towel and Avanna turned off the water. They all sat in the living room. Jordan, Haru, and Nagisa were on the couch, and Makoto, Rin and Avanna on the floor. Avanna cuddled herself up in a blanket. They watched a movie and a couple shows before a weather warning blared loudly on the TV, causing Avanna to jump a bit. The lights went out and Avanna clutched onto Rin's shirt with a small yelp. He jumped a bit too, but ended up putting his arm around the shaking girl.
"It'll be okay Aviator." Jordan yawned, "I'll go get the flashlights." Jordan stood up, stumbling over Nagisa. They could hear him run into a couple things, but eventually he came back with a couple flashlights. He handed one to Makoto and one to Rin and then sat back on the couch. They all turned them on. "There. At least we have light. Hopefully it won't get to cold too quickly."
"Looks like we'll be spending the night too." Nagisa stated. Avanna took Jordan's flashlight. She stumbled around a bit, but eventually the living room and kitchen were lit up with candles.
"That's better." Avanna smiled. "Now where can you guys sleep? Sadly the study is filled up with pins and needles, so you can't sleep there. I could make room out here, but I don't know how comfortable the floor would be and I don't want guests sleeping on the floor. There's my room but I'm afraid Jordan's room isn't in the best condition right now."
"Why not?" Rin asked.
"Minerva, kind of... pooped in his room... and tracked it around, earlier today." Avanna laughed. She scanned her eyes over them. "And Jordan's down for the count." Jordan had already fallen asleep, "Seriously that boy could fall asleep during an earthquake."
"I'll sleep with you Ava-chan!" Nagisa beamed.
"Shh... I don't want Jordan to wake up. He really needs to rest." Makoto and Haru stood up from the couch and Avanna picked up Jordan's feet, placing them on the couch. She got a blanket out of a closet and wrapped it around Jordan, and placed a pillow under his head. "Come on, you can all sleep in my room."
"W-What? There isn't enough space a-and-" Makoto's stuttering stopped as he stumbled over a chair. Avanna put her hands out, grabbing his arm to stop him from hitting the floor.
"The couch is a small pull out bed, I have the recliner chair, and my bed. That's enough space for all of us." She led them all to her room. Lucky for them, it was too dark for her to see their blushing. She lit the candles in her room, and took the cushions off the couch, pulling out the bed. "I'll get some blankets. I don't want any of you to get cold." Haru removed his jacket and laid down in Avanna's bed.
"Why are you getting in Avanna-chan's bed?!" Makoto called quietly.
"I don't want to mess up my back." Haru stated simply.
"But I wanted to sleep with Ava-chan!" Nagisa whined, as quietly as he could. Haru sat up.
"My back will get messed up if I sleep on that chair, or that couch bed thing! I'm sleeping in her bed!" Rin grimaced. Avanna returned with a stack of blankets and pillows in both her arms.
"Have you guys decided yet?" Avanna yawned, closing her door quietly, dropping a few pillows. She could just barely make out their faces, and she sighed. "Pick a number between one and ten."
"3." Nagisa stated.
"10." Rin said.
"7." Makoto said.
"5."Haru said.
"Tachibana was the closest. It was 8." Avanna announced with a yawn. Makoto slightly grimaced at the name. She really was different when she was tired. She placed the blankets and pillows on the couch.
"How was I the farthest... My back.. Uncomfortable..." The other whined. Avanna glared at all of them. They could barely make out her face, but the negative shift in the air was undeniable and they all simultaneously remembered how she was when she was tired.
"I'll sleep on the recliner, gosh." She stated, but Makoto grabbed her hand before she could lay down.
"No. That isn't fair to you." He said. Avanna sighed.
"I mean..." Avanna was interrupted with a yawn, "3 people could fit on my bed, or on the couch, but I don't know if that would be anymore comfortable. So I'm going to lay down in my bed, close my eyes, and you guys just pick. Or don't. You can sleep outside. " Avanna climbed on her bed and under the covers. After a few seconds, the blankets on either side of her rustled. She opened her eyes and noticed Rin on one side of her and Makoto on the other. Haru and Nagisa both took the couch. Avanna smiled and in the sweetest, sing song voice she called out, "Goodnight~"
Avanna had a hard time getting to sleep. She was smashed between these two big guys and she could feel Makoto grow tense since he laid down. Rin was facing away from her, and Makoto was facing straight up, no doubt just staring into the black abyss. Avanna smiled to herself and threw an arm around Makoto, pretending to be asleep. She heard him gasp slightly, but he caught himself as to not wake anyone. She grabbed onto his shirt and buried her face in his chest. She could feel his muscles becoming tenser. She always liked messing with Makoto, the most out of anyone else. He was so big, but was probably the most nervous and shy. Though it could also be because of a small crush she had started to develop on him. Honestly, she had a small crush on each one of the guys, except for Jordan.
"Rin-chan needs space..." Avanna mumbled in her best sleepy voice. Just when he was finally starting to relax, she placed herself directly on top of Makoto. She put her head on his shoulder and still clutched his shirt tightly in her hand. One of her legs was on the right side of his body and the other laid in between his own legs. He tensed up again, but his arms wrapped around her waist so she wouldn't fall. She smiled, nuzzling into his neck. Makoto relaxed as he looked down at Avanna. He could feel her breath hit his neck with every exhale, and could feel her body rising and falling, with not only her own breathing but his too. She was so small compared to him, that it had a big effect. She had laid her hand over his heart, feeling the melodic bumps. The warmth of her body and his, chasing out all the cold from the non-heated house in the middle of a cold storm. He smiled, kissing her forehead, and resting his cheek on her head before falling asleep.
"Good morning. I see you all had fun." Jordan yawned as he entered the room. "Especially Makoto-kun and Aviator." Nagisa sat up rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Rin groaned, nearly tumbling out of the bed. Haru simply sat up, looking around. Makoto and Avanna were still asleep, intwined in each other's arms. Jordan ran out of the room and came dashing back, taking several pictures of their sleeping figures with his phone. Rin stood up and lightly smacked Jordan's head and stumbled out of the room. Haru followed. Nagisa followed with his arms crossed, glaring at Makoto, Jordan patted his back and led him out, softly closing the door.
Makoto woke up first, unsure what he should do. He didn't want to wake her, but simply laying under her until she awoke would be awkward, wouldn't it? I mean, she could sleep for days. Luckily enough for him, she started to toss about, and threw herself onto the other side of the bed. He stood up, and saw how Nagisa and Haru left the couch bed, and decided to clean it up for Avanna. He folded and stacked the blankets and pillows in his arm and exited the room.
"Where should I put these?" Makoto half yawned as he walked down the hall. Jordan pointed to a closet.
"Good morning to you too." Rin said. "I see you had fun last night. How'd you manage that sleeping position?"
"No No! It's not like that. She rolled on top of me. I'm sure she said something like, 'Rin-chan needs more space.'" Makoto explained, his face growing redder by the second. He sat down at the kitchen table. Haru and Jordan had started making breakfast. Though the power was still out, so they made some fruit salad and sandwiches for everyone. They ate in almost complete silence, the storm still raging. Avanna sleepily stumbled out of her room and down the hall. The house was still fairly dark and most of the candles had been blown out. She started collecting most of the candles in her arms.
"Whatcha doing?" Jordan asked.
"The water's not out, so I'm going to take a hot bath. It's way too cold." She slumped away into the bathroom still half asleep. She placed the candles on the sink and floor, and lit them. She closed the door partially but still wanted to let the littlest bit of light from the hall inside the bathroom. She started the water, adding immense amounts of bubbles as the exceptional bathtub filled. She removed her clothes and sat down in the bath. Jordan stood up.
"I can't let her fall asl-" Jordan couldn't finish his sentence before Haru had run into the bathroom.
"Haru! No!" Makoto yelled. Rin and Makoto ran after him, but the distance between the bathroom and the kitchen was so small, Haru had already begun undressing down to his swimsuit. Jordan and Nagisa followed. When they all arrived inside the bathroom, Haru was already settling inside, sitting on the other end of the tub away from Avanna. "Haru, g-" Makoto began.
"I don't care. He's not going to do anything." Avanna sighed. She reached up, and retied her bun.
"Rin-chan and Mako-chan get to share a bed with you, and now Haru-chan gets to share a bath with you! It's no fair Ava-chan!" Nagisa whined, kneeling next to the bath.
"You saw me shirtless." Avanna mentioned. "So you all got your chance to invade my privacy." Her voice was laced with sarcasm.
"It's not the same." Nagisa cried, resting his head on the edge of the tub. Jordan sat against the door of the bathroom. Rin sighed and sat between Jordan and Haru. Makoto looked around and sat on the edge of the sink, knocking one of the candles in. The steam from the bath was a great contrast to the rest of the cold house.
"I'll make it up to you somehow, okay." Avanna smiled, holding up Nagisa's chin. He blushed briefly before nodding with a huge smile. "Though I have no idea how. Maybe you can sleep over one day."
"I wanna see your diving." Haru said.
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that." Rin added.
"She was the best diver, and swimmer in general. She would've been captain of the team if she would've stayed on." Jordan said. Everyone looked very interested, but Makoto was staring at the tiles on the floor.
"Well I usually did Twisting and Arm stand Dives. My best dives were the reverse 1 1/2 somersaults, 2 1/2 twists in the free position and Arm stand back 2 somersaults, 1 1/2 twists in the free position and of course a standard jackknife dive. Though our coach wanted me on pike dives rather than free, and more synchro. So I eventually left because, school just wasn't working out and well creative differences and some other things. I haven't been on an actual diving tower in... 2 years I think. But it was for the best." Avanna sighed, though her reminiscing smile faded. Jordan's face seemed to react to hers, as if they had both just remembered something.
"Did something bad happen?" Haru asked. Avanna shifted in the water.
"Jordan I want to get out." Avanna said.
"Haru-kun, clear out." Jordan said. Haru got out of the bath reluctantly, and when everyone was behind Jordan, he picked up the towel from the rack and held it out in front of Avanna. She stood up and Jordan wrapped it around her, kissing her forehead. He held her hand as she stepped out and she hurried to her room. Jordan drained the bath.
"Did Ava-chan get hurt?" Nagisa asked. Jordan nodded.
"Can she not dive anymore?" Makoto asked, looking at her bedroom door.
"Technically she can still dive. It's more of a point of whether or not she wants to." Jordan cleaned up the floor of the bathroom with a spare towel and threw it into the laundry basket, walking back to the living room. Haru, Makoto and Rin sat on the couch, and Nagisa and Jordan sat on the floor in front of it. Jordan had pulled out some old playing cards, for them. Avanna walked out of her room, and sat herself down in Jordan's lap. He put his arms around her.
"This is a horrible hand." Avanna stated with a smile, but her voice was still sad.
"Ava-chan. You know we are all friends, you can talk to us about anything." Nagisa mentioned, holding her hands in his.
"I know Nagisa-chan." She looked up at him and his eyes were pleading. Everyone set down their cards.
"We're here to help." Makoto said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Rin and Haru nodded in agreement. Jordan held her tighter.
"I-I just don't want to talk about it right now..." Avanna choked on her words, "Maybe a different time."
"It's okay." Jordan whispered, "You're safe now." He rubbed her arm. She smiled and looked up at everyone.
"It is okay now. I have these 5 new guys. Water obsessed, swim freaks and the bossiest yet sweetest girl ever and it's okay now. I'm gonna be okay." Avanna smiled even brighter. "So don't you guys worry about me." Nagisa leaped forward, engulfing Jordan and Avanna in a hug. When he let go, Avanna sat down in between Makoto and Rin. She reached her arms out and pulled the them and Haru into a hug the best she could. With no hesitance they wrapped their arms around her.