Rosalya stared out the window of the bus she was currently in, her four friends sitting close to her on their way to regionals. They were the only people there besides the bus driver. Gou, Miss A, Sasabe and a couple more people from school would be leaving Iwatobi early the next morning to arrive in time for the medley.
After several stops on the way, which they used to sightsee and grab something to eat, they were now just a few hours away from the capital.
"Hey, guys?" Rosa called, looking to her side where her friends sat on the other row of seats.
"What is it?" questioned Rei, as everyone gave her curious glances.
"I just wanted to say thank you" she admitted "For being with me" she added. The past months with the boys had been some of the best times she had ever had in her life so far, she had so much fun training them and hanging out with them and their occurrences; she really missed it when she was away in England.
"No need for thanks" Makoto replied with a smile "In fact, I think we should be thanking you, since it's because of you that we even made this far in the first place"
"That's a lot of credit" the girl stated good-heartedly "I'm sure you would have made it this far even without my help. All I did was give you an extra push"
"We still appreciate it" the olive-haired replied.
"But you truly helped me" she spoke up once again "All four of you. I wasn't at a particularly good place at the beginning of the year" she added, her gaze casted to the floor as she remembered everything that happened the year before, and she hated to say that not much of it was happy "In fact, I would've hit rock bottom, if it wasn't because of my family and Joy who I had to support me, it was the minimum necessary I needed to keep me afloat" the boys listened quietly to her; it was the first time she mentioned something like that to them "But I never liked to do things half-way, so I decided I needed a change if I wanted to go back to my old self, and that's what brought me here" she said with a smile, finally looking at her friends, who smiled back "I thought coming back where I grew up, where I was shaped, would help me swim further into the surface, at least enough to be able to dive back in when I felt I could, but much to my surprise that also happened while I was here" the boys smiled upon hearing that "So really, thank you. I owe you a lot"
"I'm glad you're here with us as well" Nagisa said with honesty, making her smile.
"Me too, Nagi, me too" she nodded "And I want all of you to know, that no matter how harsh I've been on you when you were training" the boys chuckled slightly upon hearing that "Or whatever happens tomorrow, I am proud of you, and of how far all of you have come" she added, her gaze lingering on Rei for a few seconds, since he was the one who had made the most progress out of all of them, even herself "I wouldn't wish for a better team"
"Aww, Rosa! You're going to make me cry!" Nagisa exclaimed, jumping on her to give her a hug, which she returned with a chuckle. And maybe some hidden tears of her own.
"It's been so long since I was here" Rosalya breathed out as she walked around the room she had for herself at the hotel, for obvious reasons "I mean, look at this view!" she added, turning her laptop screen to face the window, Joy's image reflected on the glass.
"That looks awesome" her best friend said from the other side "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay!" replied the black-haired, facing the laptop towards her once more as she sat on the bed "I have absolute faith that the guys will nail it at the tournament, they haven't been training for nothing"
"Aren't you sad you won't be able to compete?" Joy asked remorsefully.
"Maybe a little bit" admitted Rosa "But I will have plenty of more opportunities, so I won't let it get in my head"
"That's the attitude, girl" her friend said triumphantly, making her chuckle, but Joy's face then faltered "Do you know if you're coming back here anytime soon? I miss you"
"I miss you as well" Rosalya replied sympathetically "And I hope you're not thinking what I believe you're thinking, Joy Lance, I could never forget about you"
"I'd murder you in your sleep if you did" Joy said with a deadpan face, making Rosa giggle "I was just...wondering, now that you've come back to swimming, what will you do? I know next year is months away, but it will be your last year and all of us thought this self-discovery thing would last more than six months" Rosa took a moment to gather her thoughts before beginning to speak.
"Well...I love England, and I had a great time at Laguna Creek, but...I don't feel I can go anywhere else now that I'm here. Besides, I still have some things to take care of" she replied, and even though she didn't say it, both girls knew what that pending business was "I've gotten used to the life I've created here, to seeing the guys everyday...I don't want to resign that, especially since it hasn't been that long since I moved" Joy stayed quiet for some minutes. She was happy for her best friend, happy that she was having fun, but she had to admit she was also a bit sad that she didn't seem to have any plans to come back. Rosalya was like a sister to her and she missed hanging out together, but if she was fine where she was...She would support her.
"I hope you at least come visit me during Summer" she said sternly "And we're gonna have to raise the quota of calls we have per week, from 3 to 5" Rosa chuckled upon hearing her friend's words.
"Deal" she replied happily "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! I raced your brother the other day!" Joy arched her eyebrows upon hearing that.
"Really? What was that like?" she questioned, leaning forward in her seat "Did you pulverize him? Please tell me you did"
"I can't compete with a guy who has been attending the best swimming school in the whole of Iwatobi for two years straight" she replied, shrugging it off "But I had a lot of fun"
"Oh, well, next time maybe" Joy said hopeful "Woah, now that I think about it, I haven't raced Nathan in a long time"
"He's coming to visit this summer, right? That could be your chance" suggested her friend, to which the girl nodded.
"Yeah, maybe" she agreed, tilting her head to the side, just as a knock in Rosa's door was heard.
"Oh, hey, hold up" indicated the girl, standing up and opening the door, to reveal her four friends standing outside.
"Rosa! Are you ready to go?" Nagisa exclaimed, and it was at that moment that she remembered the guys and her were going out for dinner.
"Oh, yeah!" she said promptly "Just give a minute"
"Who are you talking to?" Joy's voice came from the laptop, startling the guys a little bit.
"Oh, the guys are here" she replied "We're going out for dinner"
"Who is that?" Nagisa questioned, approaching the desk where the laptop was and looking into the screen curiously.
"It's my friend Joy whom I told you about" she explained as the other guys got closer "Joy, this is my team" she introduced "These are Nagisa, Haruka, Makoto and Rei"
"Nice to meet you!" Joy said politely, waving at them, putting what little Japanese she knew to practice, she had learned a couple things from being with Rosalya "I've heard a lot about you"
"You too" Makoto replied with a polite smile, as Joy looked at him with decent interest; Rosa raised an eyebrow upon seeing that gaze, before she looked back at her.
"Well, I guess I better leave you then" Joy spoke up, talking to Rosa "Don't forget about the increased quota!" she reminded, making her friend chuckle, before looking at the other guys "Good luck tomorrow! I'm rooting for you!"
"Thanks" Haru said quietly, before Joy ended the call. Not so long after, Rosalya received a message.
Omg, what was the name of that olive-haired cutie? Makoto?
She held back her chuckle.
Someone has a crush.
Can you really blame me?
"I think I ate too much" Rei complained later that night, as the five of them walked down the streets after a dinner at a traditional restaurant, since it was the best choice because they had to prepare for swimming the next day.
"You ordered too much" Rosa scolded in disapproval.
"It was a mistake!" he complained, as the four of them chuckled, while a couple of guys passed by.
"Oh, I bet those guys are gonna be at the tournament tomorrow!" Nagisa exclaimed, and Rosa smiled at his excitement. He was clearly very eager to participate in the medley, so were the others, she could tell. So was she "Wouldn't it'd be crazy if they were in the lane next to us?"
"It's more likely they're local high school students" Rei observed, folding his arms "Besides, I highly doubt they swim competitively, their muscles don't look built for it"
"And that's how you know you've spend too much time with Gou" Rosa mocked, making the boys chuckle.
"How about we got check out the pool?" Makoto suggested, and everyone agreed, but when they arrived they discovered it was closed.
"Well, it is about 9 PM" Rosa commented logically "Too bad"
"Not quite" Haru replied, and everyone looked at him curiously "Maybe we still might be able to see it"
Some seconds later, they arrived to a set of stairs, that led to a platform high above the ground, and down below, the pool could be seen in all its glory. It was gorgeous; it almost seemed as if the water was glowing.
"To think we get to swim in such beauty!" Rei exclaimed, his eyes shining.
"And I thought I was pumped before getting a look at this!" Nagisa added.
"Me too" Makoto replied.
"This is what I'd call a glow up from painting a pool for a week" Rosalya commented, leaning her arms on the rail, her eyes fixed on the pool she would witness her friends swimming at. They boys chuckled upon hearing her words.
Everything would culminate tomorrow.
Very late into the night, Rosa was lying on her bed, trying to get some sleep, but she couldn't as much as she tried. She didn't even know why she was so nervous, she wouldn't be swimming the next day.
Her phone then vibrated, and with a frown she grabbed it from the table, wondering who would be texting her at 11 PM.
From: Gou
I hope you have cute pjs!
That was all the message said, and she had no idea what it meant, what Gou was trying to say to her. Cute pjs? For what?
Despite her confusion, she couldn't help looking down; she wasn't wearing a pj per se, but a plain white t-shirt and a flower-patterned short that was too old to use in her everyday outfits, so pajama it became.
As she was trying to make sense of her friend's text, another one dropped in her inbox.
And when she saw who it was, she couldn't believe her eyes.
From: Rin
Hey, I need to talk to you. Can you meet me outside your hotel?
Oh, so that was what Gou meant.
Rosalya took her time to gather her thoughts and get off the bed. It was the first time Rin talked to her ever since the fight they had; in fact, she hadn't thought about him at all since she arrived to the city until that precise moment.
She didn't know what to expect, she was a little bit scared as to what he might have to say to her after her words and, more specifically, her confession. She never meant for him to find out like that, furthermore, she never once thought about telling him. It was something she had kept to herself and a few people for quite a while now, mostly because of everything that had happened between them, and to her specifically. Until very recently, she wasn't in a position to get into a relationship. Much less one with Rin; she always had the feeling that there was something between the two of them, but it was just that. A feeling, no certainty anywhere.
She grabbed her phone and went out to meet the boy. The closer she got to the door, the faster her heart beat.
Finally, she arrived outside, to find Rin dressed in a tracksuit. A slight breeze was blowing, but not enough to get her cold.
"Yo" he greeted, but Rosalya couldn't bring herself to reply. What did he want to say? It was nerve-wracking "I never answered any of your questions, did I?" he added, making the girl frown, as she forced herself to say something.
"I guess…" she replied in a low voice.
"Well, it's the least I can do" she looked at him curiously, but said nothing as he began to tell his story "You were right, I was pretty obsessed with racing Haru, but it wasn't his fault I quit swimming" Rosa frowned upon hearing that, as her theory that something else had happened to Rin came true "Don't get me wrong, I was pretty shocked he beat me, but...That isn't what did it" Rosa couldn't really see his expression in the dark, but she could tell he seemed to be remembering something "Despite training everyday, and participating in every tournament back in Australia, I couldn't swim the way I wanted to. The olympics were completely out of reach, and I felt more and more like I was being left behind, even by you" her heart clenched upon hearing those words, but she said nothing "I could only wonder, why was I struggling so much? Why? And then, it hit me. I swam in a relay, and ruined myself" the girl knitted her eyebrows together upon hearing those very harsh words "That's what I thought, at least. I didn't make any effort to get in touch with the three of them, or even call you back, not even to let you know where I was because...I couldn't bring myself to do it, I couldn't bring myself to even read your letters after I quitted swimming for good. All I could think of was how ashamed you'd be of me, how pathetic you'd think I was, how disappointed you'd feel" Rosa looked at him, a slight pain in her chest "But then... I swam with Haru, and that race gave me the breakthrough I needed. After that...I fell in love with swimming again. And then, district came, and I saw the four of them swimming together. And I saw you cheering for them, and it reminded me of our relay" Rosa frowned, a question on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say anything because Rin kept speaking "And just last night...I saw you racing Lance, and it reminded me...Of us" she opened her eyes wide upon hearing that.
"Rin, I…" she began, but he cut her off.
"Ryugazaki, is it? The one racing in your team?" Rei questioned, and Rosa was surprised by the sudden change of subject "He better do the best he can with Haru and the others, I'll be watching" Rosa watched helplessly as he walked by her, walked away from her, but she couldn't just stay still, she had to say something.
"Rin!" she called, and he stopped in his tracks but didn't look back "You know you're irreplaceable, right?" she questioned, and he tensed slightly "No one could ever take away your place in my life, no matter how hard they try. Not even Nathan" he stayed still for some minutes, gathering his thoughts; he seemed conflicted from what the girl could see.
And before she even knew it, a pair of soft lips were on hers. It was her first kiss, and eventhough it was pretty much stolen, she wouldn't have wanted anyone else to steal it. But of course, all these thoughts only came to her some time later, when she was back in her room.
At that moment, all she could think of was of how gently Rin was kissing her, how his hands were wrapped around her waist protectively, and just how much she wanted to kiss back, but before her brain caught up to her desire, he broke apart from her, and placed his forehead against hers.
"I'm sorry for making you come down here" he said in a whisper, with a soft voice Rosalya had never heard before.
And just like that, he was gone.