CHAPTER 15: PRINCE CHARMING

Five years ago

"Hey guys, I have a favor to ask."

"Yeah?"

"Can you well…can you look over Misaki for me?"

Auburn eyes stared down at the concrete as Rin buried his chin into his scarf. After a few moments of silence he dared to look up. Their faces were blank, even Makoto's who usually had a gentle smile twisting his lips upwards. Thirteen year old Rin's face began to burn as he turned to look back down at the concrete in an attempt to hide his rosy cheeks.

"Why?"

It was Haru who spoke and the question made Rin become internally flustered. "Just well…"

Haru spoke up again, "Is what all the kids in class say true?"

"Are you dating her?"

Rin looked up at the sound of Makoto's voice. "N-No o-of course not!"

"Then you don't like her?" Haru folded his arms over his chest.

"I didn't say that," Rin mumbled as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Why do we need to watch over her?"

Haru was surprisingly talkative about the subject while Makoto stayed silent. His green eyes watched as Rin shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Well when I get back I just well I kind of want to go out with her." The last few words came out a soft whisper as Rin looked to see his friends' reactions. Haru's mouth was slightly agape while Makoto was looking up at the barren cherry blossom tree.

"That's kind of stupid," Haru's eyebrows knitted together, "It's not like we can keep her from dating someone. Plus you can't expect her to wait for you."

"She'll do it," Rin looked up, a fire in his eyes as he held his chin up in the air, "I know Misaki will wait for me." The thirteen year old had never been more certain of anything in his life.

"Do you love her?" Makoto's gentle voice was carried by the wind. It hit Rin's cheeks and stained them red as his confidence crumbled.

"Jeez what a weird question," Rin rubbed the back of his neck as he tapped the toe of his right shoe into the ground in an attempt to act nonchalant.

"It's not weird," Makoto defended, "If you love her then you won't break her heart. If you promise not to break her heart then we'll watch over her for you."

Rin's cheeks were warm and an odd feeling was pooling in his stomach. He had felt this before when thinking about Misaki. A feeling of floating, of being happy for no good reason, and maybe it was the feeling of love. Rin certainly did like Misaki a lot. He couldn't really see himself growing up and being with anyone else. Maybe that meant he loved her.

"Don't be silly," Rin scoffed as he came out of his thoughts, "Of course I won't break her heart."

"Promise?"

Rin locked eyes with Makoto as he nodded his head up and down once, "Promise."

"Then we promise to look after her until you get back."

"I didn't agree to that," Haru objected, his arms folding over his chest as his blue eyes flicked between Makoto and Rin before the sound of the bell signaled them all back inside.

Rin wasn't himself, and it was really starting to irritate him. His mind was wandering during class. He barely focused during swim practice. His grades and swim time were suffering and it didn't matter what Rin did- it wasn't getting better. Half the time his mind was stuck on Misaki. He kept remembering things from their past. Little things that made no sense to reminisce on like that one time she dropped her pencil in class and Rin picked it up for her. Then after memories like that his mind would travel to more recent moments. He couldn't stop thinking about what they did which led to him thinking about the other person who had constantly been on his mind. Makoto.

Just thinking about the green eyed male made Rin want to punch something. How could he be so mad at someone and feel bad for them all at the same time? Guilt and anger mixed together in his stomach until he could barely see straight. Because Makoto promised, he fucking promised. And he broke that promise, even though he knew how much Misaki meant to Rin. Because 'looking after someone' means not dating them when you know that they belong to someone else. And Misaki certainly belonged to Rin.

Hours passed as Rin tried to convince himself that having sex with Misaki was okay. He saw her first. He loved her first. And had things gone according to plan Rin would have dated her first. It all made sense in his mind but it didn't make him feel any better. No, because in fact Rin felt like shit.

He couldn't sleep, could barely eat, and the only thing that made him feel better was texting Misaki. He just wanted to be around her because when he was around her things cleared up for a bit. The sun came out and if only for a moment Rin could breathe again. Too bad he hadn't seen her in a few days due to falling behind in school and on the swim team.

"Matsuoka-senpai!"

Nitori's voice floated into Rin's ears yet the maroon haired boy didn't even flinch. He had been lying on his bed on his side and facing the wall for the past hour. Misaki hadn't responded to his text, leaving Rin's mind to run wild. Maybe she was out with Makoto. That thought alone made Rin feel sick.

"Matsuoka-senpai?"

Rin could hear the concern in Nitori's voice which only made Rin feel worse. The last thing he needed was to worry the first year especially when the whole thing had nothing to do with him. "What?" Rin noticed how tired his voice sounded, how distant and cold and it made him hate himself a little more.

"Oh," Nitori's gaze fell down towards the ground, "Nothing. I well I just wanted to ask if you were okay."

"I'm fine."

It was the biggest lie Rin could tell because he hadn't been 'fine' since he found out Makoto and Misaki were dating. Rin had worked so hard and come so far since he returned to Japan. The man he came back as was not the man Misaki had loved- which is why he couldn't be around her. Rin first had to settle things with Makoto, Haru, and Nagisa. He first had to become a better person because good people get rewarded right?

Apparently not because the only 'reward' Rin got was a feeling like the world was slipping when he found out that for nearly the past year Misaki had been dating Makoto. She had been going out with him, holding hands with him, laughing with him, kissing him. The worst part was that Rin had to pretend like it was okay. Like his heart hadn't just been stomped on. Like he hadn't been betrayed. He had to be around Misaki three to four times and week and help her with math like nothing was wrong. Rin thought things couldn't get worse but they did.

Rin would have been able to get over Misaki not loving him. Sure it would always hurt but with time Rin was sure he could do it. Finding out that Misaki had waited for him, that she regretted saying 'yes' to Makoto, that she still had feelings for Rin- that changed everything. Now Rin couldn't give up, couldn't move on, because he had a chance. And that's why he did it. That's why Rin went so far with Misaki because he couldn't give up on her.

Rin sighed heavily as he pushed himself off of his side and into a seated position. His elbows rested on his knees as he stared down at the floor, "Oi, Nitori."

"Y-yes senpai!" The boy had been sitting at his desk when the sound of Rin's voice made him jump up in delight.

"Did I ever tell you how I got this?" Rin sat up straight and dug into his sweat pant pocket and pulled out a long silver chain.

"Matsuoka-senpai that's lovely!" Nitori moved closer and held the bird pendant between his thumb and index finger, "I didn't know you wore women's jewelry senpai."

Rin's closed fist hit the top of Nitori's head with a thud. "I don't wear it idiot! It was a gift from someone!"

Nitori rubbed the top of his head as he let out short gasps of pain. "A g-gift? From who?"

Rin placed the necklace into the palm of his hand and squeezed it tightly. "A girl," he mumbled, noticing how cool the silver felt against his hot skin, "It was this girl I liked in elementary school."

"A crush!?" Nitori seemed shocked at not only his senpai's confession of having a crush but also the fact that he was sharing this information with the first year.

"You could say that. This necklace was her grandma's, she gave it to me so I could remember her while I was in Australia. I gave her a bracelet so she could remember me."

"Aww Matsuoka-senpai that is so romantic!" Nitori was nearly jumping up and down as he clasped his hands in front of him, "Have you seen her since you came back from Australia!?"

Rin nodded his head, an annoying lump beginning to form in his throat, "Yeah but she has a boyfriend now."

Nitori's excitement deflated as his hands fell to his side, "Is that why you've been so upset recently?"

"Who said I've been upset!?" Rin's voice rose in volume, causing Nitori to flinch.

"You've just looked gloomy that's all," the blue eyed boy tried to explain, taking a step backwards.

Rin exhaled deeply as he opened his palm and stared down at the pendant. That simple necklace used to give him so much hope, but now it just reminded him of what he lost. Rin lost the chance to be Misaki the right way. Instead he was now stuck in a tangled web of lies and deceit that caused his stomach to churn and his head to spin.

"Maybe you could sweep this girl off her feet!" Nitori stood up proudly, raising one arm into the air, "Like Prince Charming!"

Rin nearly laughed at Nitori's choice of words. Misaki had always been addicted to those Disney princess movies, it would only make sense if Rin could be her Prince Charming. "Prince Charming huh?"

"Yeah! If you wooed her then I'm sure she'd dump her boyfriend and be with you!"

"What makes you so sure?" Rin cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

Nitori tapped his chin with his index finger as a stared up at the ceiling, "Because if she gave you something so special like that necklace then I'm sure she must have liked you. And you liked her too. Which means you two should be together!"

Nitori's eyes sparkled as he pulled his fist into his side as if saying 'yes! I figured it out!'. Rin was envious of how simple Nitori could make it seem because in reality it was really fucking complicated.

"That's your opinion," Rin laid back down, placing his arms behind his head as he looked up at the bottom of Nitori's bed.

"Well if you ever need help," Nitori stuck his thumb towards his chest, "You can always ask me."

Rin let out a single chuckle. What would Nitori be able to do to help? The boy had never had a girlfriend, or at least Rin wasn't aware of one. But even if Nitori had experience with women Rin was positive he still wouldn't be able to help. Unless Nitori could somehow making cheating not something everyone distained then Rin was pretty much screwed.

Lips turned downwards as Rin wondered how Misaki felt about this whole thing. It had, after all, been her idea to have sex. Not that Rin was complaining. He was sure he probably liked it way more than Misaki, but still. Misaki had always been a people pleaser. She would never intentionally do something to make someone upset. That's why Rin wasn't surprised by her guilt after they had kissed. Rin was certainly surprised though by her willingness to have sex with him and her surety in the matter. She's probably drowning in guilt, Rin thought sourly knowing that if he felt like shit about what they had done to Makoto then Misaki probably felt even worse.

The ping of his phone caused Rin's shoulder to tense as he quickly reached beside him and unlocked the device. "About fucking time," he muttered, wondering what took Misaki so long to reply.

Eyes widened as Rin sat up straight, the phone firmly grasped in his hand, "Yo Nitori, do you know whose number this is?"

Nitori turned around in his seat as Rin held the phone out for him, "No, sorry I don't."

"The captain is probably screwing with me," Rin glared down at the message. 'hey rin! 3 i was wondering if maybe you'd be free to hang out tomorrow night?'

What really irked him was the heart emoticon, oh and the fact that he had no fucking clue who was texting him. It's probably the captain, Rin thought as he decided it would be best to just delete the message.

Another ping caused Rin's teeth to clench as he read the text. 'hehe probably should have told you who this is huh? it's azami :)'

"How did she even get my number!?" Rin was both terrified and furious as he stood up from his bed. He could faintly hear Nitori asking what was wrong but Rin didn't have time for that.

Rin's growing anger caused his vision to blur and he almost called the wrong person three times. Finally he managed to find the noirette's contact. "Pick up, pick up damn it," Rin paced around the room, Nitori following close behind.

"Hello?"

"Did you give her my number!?"

"Oh my god why are you yelling and what are you talking about!?" Misaki sounded confused to say the least, and also irritated at Rin's screaming.

Rin inhaled deeply, trying to soften his tone before continuing, "Azami just texted me asking if I wanted to go out with her tomorrow night."

Silence. A whole five seconds of silence before Rin heard what he swore was a growl. "I'm coming over."

"It's ten at night what do you mean you're coming over? Hey and why didn't you text me back earlier?" Thinking about Misaki not texting him back and actually verbalizing it turned out to be two very different things. Rin hated how clingy and paranoid he sounded because the reason had to be because Misaki was with Makoto right? Right?

"I want to see you, and sorry I was watching a movie and fell asleep."

Wrong. Rin felt even more stupid about his previous line of thinking. Though beyond that Rin felt joyous over hearing that Misaki wanted to see him. "I can just go over there."

"No I've been stuck in my house all day. I really need to get out." She sounded tired and Rin could have sworn he heard a trace of sadness.

"Tch, fine just be careful."

"Okay, see you soon."

Rin hung up the phone with a sigh before looking down at Nitori, "What?"

"Who was that?"

Rin wanted to lie because it'd be easier but he wasn't sure what to lie about. It wasn't like he could say that it was nobody and then Misaki shows up. "Her name is Misaki and she's coming over."

"A girl is coming over now!?"

Rin wasn't sure if the grey haired boy was excited or nervous. Auburn eyes danced around the room before landing on Nitori's desk, "Yeah so you better clean that up before she gets here."

"Ah! You're right!"

As Nitori tried to clean up his desk Rin laid back down on his bed. An annoying feeling was beginning to flutter around in his stomach. Rin was overly excited and eager to see Misaki. He felt like some sort of lost puppy without her- a feeling which the maroon haired swimmer truly detested. Rin closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Soon she'd be here and that was enough to make him feel better for the time being.

Author's Note: So it was actually pretty fun to write third person limited Rin rather than third person limited Misaki. I want to do more chapters like this and also give some chapters from other characters perspective. My only hesitation is usually fear of not portraying the characters right, so how do you guys think I did with Rin?

JJ: I just had to make Rei the super spy since he already had that job when he was stalking Rin at the festival.

Lisa: There will be some cute scenes next chapter!

miss a: Most likely there will be more, though I just have to plan where to put it so it's not just a random lemon.

HellOnTheEngine: One of the main reasons Rin and Misaki did what they did is because they are two teenagers in love. It wouldn't have happened if they didn't have feelings for each other because both of them realize that cheating is bad. And I don't condone their actions either (even though I wrote them) and it's not like what they did won't have consequences. And yeah I think if Rin and Misaki hadn't known each other for so long it would have been way awkward the next morning!

Guest: I feel like I need to refer to you as 'nice guest' or something that way I can tell the difference between you and any other guests! And oh my gosh when reading your comment I just imagined an announcers voice at the end of some TV show who is like 'all these questions and more will be answered next time on Promises!' And oh lord if Azami sent Rin sexy pictures I think Misaki just might kill her lol

Mini: I think it'd be so cute if everyone in Free! went as someone from Finding Nemo for Halloween! Like Haru would be Nemo and Makoto would obviously be Marlin since he cares and looks after Nemo. Nagisa would probably be Dory. Rin would be Bruce. Rei would be Jacques. Gou could be Flo and ah it'd just be wonderful!

Ember: You seriously took the words right out of my mouth in regards to if Rin/Makoto would ever do this. Also Rin didn't just do it with some random girl that he had no past with. Plus Rin feels horrible about what this could do to Makoto- as evident in this chapter WHICH I hope you liked since you wanted to see a chapter from more of Rin's POV

Guest (the other one): If you didn't like the story I'm assuming you might not have read this chapter and won't see my response to your review but I figured I'd reply anyway. First off, I don't see you as the 'bad guy'. I knew some people wouldn't like this story because it does deal with subject matter that not everyone is a fan of and that's okay. In regards to the rest of your comment I'd have you read Ember's and HellontheEngine's reviews since they basically said what I would have said in response to this.

By the way thanks a lot to Ember and HellontheEngine for in a way sticking up for this story. It means a lot to me and I'm really grateful. And thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. It's been so nice to read all of your thoughts on the story and I really really appreciate you guys taking the time to review!