Over the next few days, Rei had seemed a little off. I hoped it wasn't because of his failed attempts at the other strokes. Then Rei had plans everyday after school, but I didn't think much of it. Sure, it felt like something was missing when I was hanging out with the boys, but I disregarded it.

However, I was worried about my relationship — Rin rarely had time to talk these days. We still saw each other on the weekends, but it was only for an hour or two before he had to go. He never said anything about what he was doing, but my mind started to wander. I knew Rin wouldn't do anything to hurt me, but that doubt was still nagging at me. So, I decided to talk to the one person that would help me: Yukari.

"Hey, what's up?" Yukari answered when she picked up the phone.

"It's Rin, he's been so distant lately," I said.

"How distant?"

"Like he rarely has time to talk, and I don't get to see him for too long on the weekends. I mean, he's never told me what he's doing. He's always vague about it, and I want to ask him, but I don't want to seem like I'm accusing him of anything," I explained.

"I highly doubt that Rin is cheating on you. He's had feelings for you since you guys were kids; you think he would want to fuck things up after you two finally get together?" Yukari asked.

"I know he would never do anything to hurt me, but after being cheated on—the doubt nags at me." I felt my eyes starting to water as I thought about us breaking up.

"Okay, I have a solution. Why don't you show up at Samezuka after school. Surprise him with some snacks or something," she suggested.

"I think he has practice tomorrow, but I'm sure he won't mind. I'm an honorary member after all." I let out a small laugh.

"That's the spirit! Let me know how it goes, okay?"

"I will. Thanks, Yukari, you always know how to make me feel better."

"Of course I do, I'm your best friend!" she laughed.

I let out a laugh too before we both hung up the phone.

I got up off of my bed to tell mom I was going to Samezuka after school tomorrow. We didn't have practice, so I could leave right when school ended and still get home before dinner. She told me she'd give me a ride home after I saw Rin. I knew there was a store I could stop at that had one of the energy bars Rin liked. He wasn't too keen on having sweets.

.oOo.

When school ended, I told the boys I was meeting Yukari. I didn't need Nagisa asking what was going on between us if I mentioned Rin Of course, Nagisa wanted to invite himself to have coffee with us, but Makoto got him to stop asking. As Makoto put it: 'I needed time away from the boys.'

On the train ride over, I was so nervous. I had no reason to be nervous though; I was going to see my boyfriend after all. Plus, this wasn't the first time I'd be visiting him at school by myself. When I got to the store nearby the school, I grabbed something Rin would like to eat, and a sweet bun for myself. After I paid for the items, I exited the store to go to my final destination. Every second I got closer to Samezuka, my heart started racing faster and faster.

"I just have to go do it. It'll make me feel better," I mumbled to myself as I made my way up the sidewalk to Samezuka. There were various students hanging out around campus, but they paid me no mind as I walked by.. Then I went to the visitor's office to check-in. Most of the time I didn't have to, but it was a weekday, so check-in was mandatory..

Once that was taken care of, I headed to the pool. I opened the door just enough to peek inside to see that they were in the middle of practice. I immediately closed the door and stepped off to the side to call Yukari.

"Hey! How'd it go?" Yukari asked.

"I haven't gone in to talk to him yet. I'm really nervous," I frowned.

"You shouldn't be! Rin will probably be so happy to see you," Yukari said.

"Yeah, but they're in the middle of practice." I started to dig my shoe in the ground.

"So, say you came to watch practice and visit Rin. Simple! Now go and do it. Text me if you need anything. I'm in the middle of designing your outfits for the photo shoot."

Whenever Yukari was in the middle of a creative flow she didn't want distractions. "Okay, goodbye," I said before I hung up.

I started to take some deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves. It would look creepy if I was just standing outside of the pool. Just as I was about to open the door, someone else opened it from the inside. It was Rin.

"Hey, one of the guys said he thought he saw you looking in. What are you doing here?" Rin asked, clearly confused.

"I wanted to surprise you." I held up the bag from the store.

"You didn't have to do that. Why don't you come inside and watch the rest of the practice?" He stepped aside to let me in.

Once I walked in, those who weren't in the water looked at me. I waved to the familiar faces as I took a seat on the nearby bench.

Rin went back over to his teammates to instruct them on what they needed to do before he got in the water.

He looked like he was a lot faster from the last time I saw him swim. I sighed as I watched him — it was going to be a while before I could talk to him. I sent a text to Yukari, updating her on the situation.

Me: So, one of the Samezuka guys saw me peek in, and Rin came over and invited me to watch practice. He looked more confused than anything.

Yukari: Well, it's progress! Plus, if you were waiting outside that would look really creepy.

Me: I'm still nervous…

I turned my attention back to Rin as he got out of the water. It looked like Sosuke was teasing him about something. If I had to guess, it had to do with me being here. I smiled a bit, but the doubt slowly started to creep back in.

Me being cheated on didn't affect me at all when I first started dating Rin, but him being distant made those doubts reappear. We had always made time to try to talk to each other, but lately it seemed like that was starting to happen less and less.

.oOo.

Once practice was over, I watched as Sosuke whispered something to Rin before he left. Rin came to sit next to me as everyone else went into the locker rooms to change. I looked down into the bag to get Rin the granola bar I got him. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see him peer into the bag,

"You know sweets are bad for you," he said.

"I know, but I can always run it off." I handed him the granola bar as I got out my sweet bun.

"So, what's wrong?" Rin asked.

I took a deep breath before saying, "Do you not want to be with me anymore?"

"No! Why would you think that?" Rin gingerly made me look at him.

"You've been really distant lately and I can't help but think you don't want to be with me anymore. I know that you wouldn't, but this doubt keeps nagging at me." I started tearing up.

Rin looked dejected as I finished speaking. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. "Riku, I love you so much. I would never want to do anything to hurt you, and I would never want to break up with you."

"I love you too, Rin." I spoke into his chest. It took a moment for me to realize that we'd both said 'I love you' for the first time. I hadn't said it yet because I was waiting for the right moment, even though I knew I had loved Rin for a very long time.

The sound of the pool door opening caught our attention, ruining the moment. The person who interrupted our talk was Rei. He looked like a deer caught in headlights when he saw me in Rin's arms.

"Rei, what are you doing here?" I pulled away from Rin.

Rei looked at Rin and then back at me. "I asked Rin if he could help me swim the breaststroke, backstroke, and freestyle. He's been helping me every day after school," Rei explained.

"Is this why you've been distant?" I asked Rin.

"Yeah. Rei wanted me to keep it a secret so he could surprise everyone. I didn't mean to have you think I didn't care about you." Rin tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Can you keep this a secret from the others, Riku?" Rei asked.

I nodded. "Of course I can."

"Well, I'm going to go get ready and give you guys some privacy." Rei rushed off into the locker room.

I met Rin's eyes, "I'm sorry for doubting you." I

Rin shook his head, "I should be the one apologizing for making you feel like this."

"So, now that I know, does this mean I can come and watch your practices with Rei?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure Rei won't mind. How about you come over this weekend and hang out." He patted my head gently.

"I'd like that. Can I bring my sketchbook too?"

"Of course," Rin laughed.

Rei reappeared from the locker room, "I'd appreciate it if you could come and help. I feel guilty for making you think Rin didn't care about you, Riku." He gave me an apologetic smile.

I waved my hand. "Don't worry about it."

"If you want, you can stay and we can walk to the train station," Rin suggested.

"My mom is going to come get me. I hope it's okay that I stay while I wait for her," I smiled.

Rin looked over at Rei, who nodded.

I felt a lot better after coming here and talking to Rin. I called my mom to tell her that I was ready to be picked up, and then I texted Yukari about what happened.

Yukari got excited when I told her about the 'I love yous.'. Plus, she reminded me that she was right that Rin wouldn't do anything to ruin our relationship. Now I was looking forward to the weekend; it would be a good time to get Rin's measurements.

.oOo.

Nagisa had gathered us all outside of the swim club to talk about Rei. I knew what he was doing, but I had to act the part of a clueless club member.

"Something weird is going on with Rei!" Nagisa threw his hands up in the air in distress.

"I think you're overreacting," Haru said.

"Yeah, it's not like he's missed any practices," Makoto agreed.

"Well, maybe not. But last Sunday, I dropped by his house unannounced just to check on him. And when I did… he wasn't even home. His mom answered the door. He always studies at home on Sundays, so where was he?" Nagisa asked.

"Maybe he wanted a change of scenery and went to a library or cafe," I shrugged.

"Hey, now that you mention it, I saw him last Sunday," Kou spoke up.

"You did?" Nagisa came forward with a serious expression on his face.

"Yeah. My friend Hana and I went to the grocery store together to get some cooking stuff, and there he was. I would have said 'hi,' but he seemed busy with the desserts," she explained.

"Why would he even be looking at sweets?!" Nagisa asked.

"Maybe we should go ask Coach Sasabe what he thinks," Makoto suggested.

"Great thinking, Makoto!" Nagisa grabbed his backpack and started walking off.

The four of us got up and followed behind him.

On the walk over, Nagisa tried to come up with ideas of what Sasabe was going to say. I was a little interested in what he was going to say. The swim club was getting close to closing time, so it would be the perfect time to ask Sasabe what was wrong.

"Hey, guys, how was practice?" Sasabe asked.

"We need your advice about Rei!" Nagisa cried.

"What? What's wrong with him?" he asked.

"He's been acting really weird lately," Nagisa answered.

Sasabe gestured for us to follow him to sit on some nearby benches. Nagisa was the one who did all the explaining of what was going on with Rei, and I watched as Coach Sasabe listened quietly.

"I know what's wrong. He's got a sickness," Sasabe finally spoke up.

"Huh?" We chorused.

"Yeah. He's sick in love!" Sasabe gave us a thumbs up.

"Love?" Kou and Makoto said in unison.

"Yep, I'd say your buddy Rei's probably got himself a girlfriend.," Sasabe said matter-of-factly.

"Do you think so?" Kou asked in disbelief.

"There are two types of men in this world. Those who get stronger when hit by Cupid's arrow and those who get weaker."

"Was that an impression of Miss Amakata?" I asked Sasabe.

"If what he said is true, Rei is definitely the type who gets weaker," Kou said to herself.

"This is bad. Really bad!" Nagisa looked worried.

"What's the big deal?" Haru finally spoke.

"Hmm… Well, he could become so wrapped up with his new lady friend that he neglects the Swim Club." Makoto looked at Haru.

"No!" Nagisa jumped up.

"I wouldn't worry; I've got this." Kou confidently looked at us.

"Riku, you have to go with Kou! Please!" Nagisa pleaded as he grabbed my arm.

I couldn't say no to that face, but at the same time I didn't want to go because I knew he had nothing to worry about.

"I can help her bring whatever she needs, but I can't stay to help him," I said.

"Thank you!" he smiled.

We left the swim club and went our separate ways. I had a ton of homework to do, and I still needed to figure out how to take measurements. Maybe my mom could help me after school tomorrow; it would be a good excuse as to why I couldn't stay with Kou. Thank god Nagisa didn't ask what I wanted to do because I wouldn't have had an answer.