I squeezed my eyes shut, terrified of their decisions. Another rejection. Another abandonment. The familiar buzzing in my ear paired with the quick thumping in my heart began. My hands started to tremble again.
Then...
"If they treated you that way, they're not your real teammates. There's no reason to hold on to people like that," Nanase's monotone voice broke through the silence.
My heart thudded to a stop from its palpitations. I slowly raised my head to look at Nanase. He had the same blank expression, but I found so much warmth in it.
"So I'm not kicked out of the swim team?" I asked slowly.
"What?! Of course not!" Nagisa said, sitting down beside me and slung an arm around my shoulder. "Rei-chan and I worked hard for you to join. We're not giving you up that easily."
"That's right," Ryugazaki nodded in agreement. "They didn't kick me out when they found out I couldn't swim. We'll help you out, Nakahara-san."
I sniffed, wiping tears from my eyes. "Thank you, everyone," I smiled. "Thank you, Nana—," I trailed off when I noticed that Nanase wasn't there anymore. He already dove off in the pool for another round of swimming. Again, I was enchanted on the way he swam.
"Alright, everyone! Back to practice," Matsuoka clapped her hands to pay attention. Ryugazaki and Nagisa ran back to the pool. She turned back to me. "How about taking a break today? Is that okay, Nakahara-san?" I nodded in response, and she ran off to the pool.
I noticed that Tachibana was still there standing beside me, looking at the others swimming. "Aren't you going to join them?" I asked.
"I figured you could use some company," Tachibana said, sitting down beside me.
"I'm fine."
"He's amazing, right?"
"Huh?"
"Haru," Tachibana pointed at Haru, who was about to dive for another lap. "It's amazing how he understands everybody. He dove after you before you began drowning."
"You know a lot of things about Nanase-senpai, don't you, Tachibana-senpai?"
"Well, yeah, Nagisa, Haru, and I are childhood friends," Tachibana explained. "We were in the same swim club when we were young too."
"D-do you think you know what Nanase-senpai likes best?" I asked timidly. I feel like one of my teammates who would always fuss over the boys from the basketball or kendo club. However, I just wanted to give Nanase-senpai something to show my gratitude of him saving me.
"Haru loves water," Tachibana answered. "No doubt about it."
I sighed. This was not going to go smoothly. "Any other things? Food? Particular dishes?"
"Well, Haru isn't a picky eater, but he does love mackerel."
"Like the fish?"
Tachibana nodded. "He probably loves it as much as he loves water. He eats grilled mackerel almost everyday."
Mackerel it is.
I realised how I haven't been updating, yet this story has been getting votes and more readers. Sorry and thank you so much! *bows* Since the upcoming Free! movie is almost here, I'm getting a wee bit inspiration to write. I'll try to make this story less than twenty chapter, so please leave a comment down below on which Free! guy you want me to write about next!
Feedback is greatly appreciated.