Chapter 9

"Finally!" Kou dropped her duffel bag and quickly ran to the shoreline, letting her feet be kissed by the beach waves. "That bus ride was too long, and Nagisa wouldn't shut up."

"Should we set up our tents now?" I asked, and Kou just looked at me like I grew another head. "What?" I frowned.

"You want to stay here in the beach with the guys?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a hotel nearby," Kou said. "Amakata-sensei and I are staying there while the boys camp out here. Didn't I tell you that?"

I deadpanned. "Apparently not since you basically just showed up at my house and forced me to pack my stuff for a 'training camp,'" I glared at her. "You never told we girls would stay at a hotel, so I also brought my tent!"

"Ohhh," Kou drawled as realisation dawned on her face. "Well," she shrugged, "now you know." Then she checked her watch. "Come on, Kai. We still have to book the rooms."

I looked longingly at the beach. "I think... I'm gonna stay here," I said with finality.

"What?!" Kou exclaimed.

"No, no, no, absolutely not," Amakata-sensei huffed, placing a hand on her hip. "I am not letting one of my female students camp outside. It's dangerous." She stepped closer to me and stared at me right in the eyes. "Strange things happen in the dark," she drawled, trying to sound eerie.

"The guys are there," I jerked my thumb over their direction. Nagisa was playing around with a tiny crab, while Rei explained its species. Makoto and Haru, on the other hand, were busy setting up their tents.

"The more it is inappropriate to leave you here," Amakata-sensei said. "Four boys and a girl? Absolutely NOT."

"Oh, come on," I frowned. "What harm could they possibly do?"

Just then, a yelp echoed, so we turned and saw Nagisa crawling away, yelling, "It almost got me!"

"It's tinier than your palm," Rei sighed, shaking his head. "What could it possibly do to you?"

"Well, they are idiots," Amakara-sensei mumbled under her breath, but I was still able to catch it. "I guess someone has to keep them in line. Make sure they don't do anything stupid and all." She placed her hand on my shoulder. "Watch out for yourself, okay?"

It took me longer than usual to set up my tent without shoving sand inside, but I managed to get it done. I was shoving in my travel bag and setting up my sleeping bag when I heard rustling noises from the side of my tent. I popped my head out the zipper door and saw Haru pulling Makoto's and his tent closer to mine.

"What... are you doing?" I asked, watching him curiously.

"Nothing," Haru replied.

"Well, you basically just pulled your tent closer to mine."

"It's safer."

"'Safer'?" I echoed while nodding slowly, trying to decipher what he meant. Safer for him? Or for me? But I didn't want to put much more meaning into this, not after what happened in his house. I never actually had the courage to ask him if he remembered the kiss or if it was just him being in a daze from the fever.

"Haru, I'm going to the convenience store to buy more water," Makoto said. "Do you want to come with– What did you do to the tent?! There's sand inside!"

I sat closer to the fire and stuck my hands for more heat. I never expected for the evenings to be absolutely cold. I think I should've considered the hotel better.

Nagisa, being notoriously known for snacking, snuck a bag of marshmallows in his bag and began handing them out to us for some toasting around the campfire. We all knew that Kou would give us an hour long nag if she found out about what we were eating, so we savored the opportunity had on our hands.

Rei was focused on his marshmallow, trying to get it toasted evenly on all sides, while Nagisa forgot to toast the marshmallows and went to eating them straight from the bag. Makoto was probably the only one doing his toasting the most normal. However, he probably didn't realise that he was drowsing off.

"Here," Haru handed me a perfectly toasted marshmallow.

"Uhh~ thanks," I said and tried to take the mallow, but he held it away from my hand. I looked at him confused, and Haru just stared at me steadily as he pushed it near my face. Did he want to—? Oh.

I opened my mouth, and Haru popped the marshmallow inside. Everybody else were too engrossed in their own business that they completely missed that weird exchange. Haru silently grabbed another marshmallow from the bag and began toasting it. Once it was toasted, he did the same thing all over again.

After the fourth mallow, I took the bag from Haru and began toasting my own marshmallows. When I took it out and blew on it to cool, I noticed Haru was staring at me. As I took the mallow out of the stick, Haru leaned in closer. Blushing profusely, I tossed the mallow into his mouth.

"Haru-kun, mind if I have a word with you?" I asked, trying not to sound suspicious. He nodded, so I got on my feet and led him to behind the tents where we can have some privacy because Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei already developed some curiosity for Haru and I.

"What is it?" Haru asked.

"You... What... I don't know," I sighed, not finding the right words to say to him. I rubbed the back of my neck and stuck my hands in my pocket. "Haru-kun, about that time when you were sick, do you remember what happened?" I asked.

Haru didn't answer. Instead, he stepped forward and crashed his lips to mine.

Oh. So he did remember.

Guess who just finished this trimester (badly)?! Guess who can now do regular updates?! Whoop whoop!

Actually, I already finished this chapter a week ago. I forgot to publish it. I'm sorry. Lol.

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