For those of you that don't know yet, I've revised chapters 1 and 2 as of October 8, 2014. So if you haven't yet, I strongly recommend that you read them.

Disclaimer: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and its characters do not belong to me

Beta: ...

I was at home in the kitchen, looming over the stove. Potato and carrot chunks were stewing in a pot and the rice cooker was spewing steam. The bubbling stew continued to cook until the contents began to spill over the lip. But I stood there, watching. The front door opens and a boy walks in. He has a face like mine, but his eyes are dark and menacing. A girl is draped over him like an accessory. I bare my fangs and hiss at the stranger like an animal. He laughs. I begin to shout at him but no sound comes out. Becoming more frustrated, I begin to scream. I want him to get out. I want him to leave. But he continues laughing. I stomp over and shove the two out before locking the door. But I still hear his maniacal laugh. It's pounding in my ears.

I recoiled from the desk and rubbed my face, feeling disoriented. A dream?

More like a nightmare, said a small voice in my head. But honestly, it wasn't too farfetched.

I turned to the windows. The sun hadn't completely set yet so I wasn't asleep for too long I suppose. I shook off my nerves and collected my things before leaving the building.

Honestly, I did not want to go home. But I had to do my homework and make dinner since I was usually the one who spent the most time there.

The house was always empty. Living with a single mother, she was continuously busy trying to support me and my brother. She left home before sunrise, came home in the afternoon to change for her second job, already rushing out of the house again by the time I returned from school. She would then return at odd hours of the night with my cooking waiting for her in the fridge. I only got to spend time with her on saturdays.

As for my brother... I try my best to avoid him. He's a year older than me, and we currently attend different high schools, by choice. He goes to school in the city, and doesn't come home till dark. It's not that the commute is very far, or that he does sports or anything like that. It's because he hangs out with a bad crowd. He's brought home a couple of girls when our mother isn't home.

This is why I'm doing everything so my mom can be proud of at least one of her kids, and so she can live an easier life in the future. This is the reason why I'm studying extremely hard so I can get into a good university and have a well-paying job to give back to my mother for all she's done.

The scent of chlorine wafted past my nose. I again remembered what Tachibana-kun had said to me in the morning:

"We're actually fixing up the pool right now...But we're almost finished. You should stop by to see how much the pool has changed."

He couldn't still be there could he? It was already late. But my feet had already changed direction, walking down the fragrant, petal-covered path. A part of me was hoping he was there. I couldn't explain why, but I had an urge to see him.

The sound of light conversation was not that far away. I found myself jogging, then running.

When I had finally reached my destination, my breath caught in my throat. The sunset refracted off the crystalline pool, appearing as if it was flowing with gold. The tree branches had been pruned and the chain link fences were coated with a fresh sheet of green paint. The pool had most definitely changed. When I caught sight of Tachibana-kun with a group of friends, he seemed to glow in the amber lighting. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, highlighting the muscles of his forearms. I averted my eyes.

"Kaori."

I turned to the pool surprised. Firstly because I hadn't noticed someone was swimming, and secondly because I was afraid that I had been caught staring.

It was Nanase-san. He waded to the edge of the pool and looked up at me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, hello Nanase-san. Isn't it too cold to be swimming?"

He chose to ignore my question. "Did Makoto ask you to come here?"

"Err... yeah. He asked me to stop by and check out the pool."

"Kaori-san? What are you still doing at school? Did your meeting end this late?" Tachibana-kun was walking towards me. A blond boy and a red-headed girl followed behind him. They made him seem much taller than he already was.

The group stopped in front of me. I waved my hand in response. "No, I sort of... fell asleep."

He sweat-dropped. "Is that so...?"

The blond leaned forward. "Nani nani? Mako-chan, is this your friend?"

He nodded. "This is Kaori-san."

I breathed out a quiet sigh I did not know I was holding. I had subconsciously been anticipating his answer.

The red head clapped her hands together as if remembering something. "Ah! You're the new president aren't you? Congratulations!"

"Oh. Umm... thank you." I felt a bit embarrassed for being put on the spot.

"Wah," the blond seemed amazed, "Mako-chan is friends with the kaichou?" He shot him a thumbs-up. "So cool!"

The brunette sweatdropped before returning his attention to me. "Ah, Kaori-san. You haven't met these two before right? This is Nagisa and Kou." He gestured to each person respectively. "They're first years."

I bowed to them. "Nice to meet you."

Kou-san rushed to bow back. "Ah, no! The pleasure is all mine!"

I smiled. She seemed nice.

"Hai! I'm Nagisa! I look forward to becoming great friends with you, Kaori-chan-senpai!"

Kaori-chan-senpai?

He probably read the expression on my face. "Is that no good? Then how about I just call you Kaori!"

My eyebrows rose. He was already acting so familiar!

Kou placed her hands firmly on her hips. "Nagisa! Show some respect! She's your senpai!"

Nagisa stepped into my personal bubble and looked at me with pleading eyes. I found he was slightly taller than me, and very cute for a boy his age. I restrained myself from glomping him. "It's fine right?"

I sighed. I had been defeated by his cuteness. "Yeah, it's fine."

He did a cheer and jumped for joy. Kou groaned. I quickly glanced over to Tachibana-kun, who had disappeared to help Nanase-san out of the pool. They all seem like good friends.

After he had helped him out of the pool, the emerald eyed boy glanced at his watch. "Ah, we should leave soon. Sensei warned us to leave in five minutes or else we'll get in trouble."

Shortly after everyone had collected their things, we gathered at the entrance. Nagisa-san enthusiastically bid his farewell and left with Kou-san for the train station.

"Let's go," Nanase-san said.

I was puzzled. "Together?"

Instead of answering, he just stared at me. Is he trying to silently communicate his thoughts? Probably realizing that I didn't understand what he meant, Nanase-san finally nodded in confirmation.

Tachibana-kun, watching this exchange, smiled weakly. He attempted to steer the strange conversation into another direction, "It's getting dark. We should hurry up minna-san."

I looked up at the sky and realized it was getting darker. I had to quickly get home and make dinner.

"Okay. Then, let's hurry."

.

.

Once we cleared the school grounds, I suddenly became curious as to why Tachibana-kun mentioned how dark it was getting rather than mentioning the time.

"Tachibana-kun, are you afraid of the dark?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm-"

"Ghosts," Nanase-san said.

I laughed when Tachibana-kun visibly stiffened. They both turned to me with puzzled expressions.

"Are... are you not afraid of ghosts Kaori-san?"

"No It's not that. It's just that your reaction was funny."

Tachibana-kun's lips curved into a knowing smile.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just relieved to know that you can smile like that," he trailed off as the edges of my lips dropped into a frown. "Oh, no! Don't take it in a bad way! Seeing you smile..." His gaze lowered and he suddenly got very shy. "Uwah! I didn't know where I was going with that sentence. So nevermind!" He paused. "Sorry. That was probably weird, huh?"

His natural sweetness made my cheeks feel rosy. But he probably didn't mean much by it, so I smiled reassuringly. "No it's fine."

I glanced at Nanase-san for a reaction, but he still remained quiet and expressionless. I didn't know what to say to get him to talk.

The walk home was quite peaceful. The air was filled with the scent of sea salt and savory dishes being prepared by the nearby houses.

When we finally reached the steep stairway, Tachibana-kun stopped.

"I live right here."

Tachibana-kun pointed to a two-story house that resided right next to the stairs. Moss growing between the cracks of the fence and there were many windowsill planter boxes filled with vibrant flowers that glistened from a recent shower.

I joked, "Must be very convenient that you don't have to walk up the stairs everyday like me and Nanase-san."

Tachibana-kun laughed. "You know that's not true." he placed a hand on the gate. "Well, I'll see you two tomorrow morning." He smiled before heading inside.

"It's like a storm brewing off the coast," I heard a voice murmur behind me.

I turned to Nanase-san. This was the first time he had said anything the whole walk home.

"What?"

He didn't answer, and instead began his trudge up the steps.

Was he mad at me for some reason? Needing to know, I called out, "Nanase-san! Wait!"

I began chasing after him, but for some reason he was already halfway up the steps. Maybe it was his athleticism that had put him at an advantage against my indoor nature.

When I finally reached the top, he was standing there waiting for me.

Between breaths, I said, "Nanase-san... what do you mean... 'a storm brewing off the coast'?"

He pursed his lips together before replying, "Everyone calls me Haru."

"Huh?"

"And Makoto would prefer it if you called him Makoto."

"What are you even talking about?"

Without answering my question yet again, he turned on his heel and entered his own home.

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