It was obvious to Rin what was happening again. He'd leave and come back; leave and come back. And for what? Nothing in particular. Staring at the bottom of the bunk above him, he heard Nitori shift in his bed. The other boy was fast asleep and the silence in the room made Rin's thoughts seem louder. Folding his arms behind his head, he closed his eyes. Maybe he'd be able to sleep tonight unlike the night before.
His phone buzzed. Sitting up lazily, Rin ran his fingers through his hair. It was about 3 am, who was texting him? He checked his messages seeing one from Gou. She was wondering when he was going to come home again. He shut his phone off. Replying was such a hassle especially since he didn't know the answer.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and held his head in his hands. What exactly was he doing? He was basically hiding from everyone since he gave up swimming. He'd promised himself to try again but he just wasn't good enough. Trying his hardest was getting him nowhere. And if his best wasn't good enough, what more could he do? It'd been so long since he'd enjoyed swimming. It just didn't feel the same.
Stumbling out of bed, he tied his hair back. He would go for a run to clear his mind. If he was tired, he'd be able to sleep when he got back. He pulled his shoes on silently careful not to wake his roommate. His calves were still sore from his running yesterday but he'd push through it. Grabbing his jacket, Rin slipped out the door.
The cool outside air whipped across Rin's face as he jogged down the block. It's dryness stung his skin and made his eyes water. It reminded him of when he would play with his friends when he was younger. He always got tagged, and eventually made everyone run away from him. It seemed like he could never catch up to them.
Stopping to jog in place at the next stop light, he took in his surroundings. The small town looked dead from here. Not a single person was on the streets but him. His heart pounded in his chest as he slowly caught his breath. A car drove down the one-way road passing him slowly. He continued his jog down the street in the cold feeling more awake than before he left. But that was normal. He hadn't sleep properly in the past few weeks. He yawned approaching his middle school. He looked in through the gates briefly before continuing his jog. When he got back to his room, he lay on his bunk without taking his shoes off. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he passed out.
"Matsuoka-senpai?" Rin's eyes flashed open.
Nitori was standing entirely too close to him. His wide eyes showed slight concern.
"What?" Rin growled sitting up and rubbing his throbbing forehead. His body felt sluggish and sore. Coughing, he covered his mouth with his forearm.
"You didn't wake up this morning?" Nitori backed away.
Rin stared at him blankly. What the hell was he talking about? Glancing at the clock to his right he noticed the time. It was 5 in the afternoon and the sun was lowering in the sky through the window. He hadn't even heard his alarm this morning.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Rin wobbled out of bed and over to the closet.
"You seem…off…" Nitori mumbled wringing his fingers and looking at the floor. "Are you sick?"
Pulling his shirt over his head, he froze. Ever since he'd transferred to Samezuka a month ago, he'd felt off. Was it really that noticeable? On his first day, he'd wanted to join the swim team but never did. He couldn't remember being out of water this long.
"I don't know", Rin felt his head throb again. He staggered but gripped onto the wall tightly.
"Senpai!" Nitori rushed towards him. "You should go to the nurse!"
Rin waved the younger boy off. He would be fine.
"I'll just go out for a walk" he mumbled.
It set in on Rin that he'd turned his phone off. He always set his alarm on his phone and he'd completely forgotten about it. Turning it on, he watched as Nitori climbed back into his bunk. The younger boy realized he couldn't force Rin into doing anything. Opening the door to the dorm room, Rin turned on his phone. After making his way to the lobby, he saw an unread message. It was probably from his sister. He ignored it.
Stumbling out of the building, he considered Nitori's words. Maybe he was sick. He felt sweaty and uncomfortable. It had been ice cold just the other night and now he was burning up. Or maybe it was the fact that he was wearing swim shorts under his clothes. He couldn't remember putting them on but now everything was getting a bit hazy. He continued walking down the street without a particular direction. He knew that eventually he would have to rest, but the outside air was better than the stuffy indoor air of the dorm room.
Turning one last corner he found himself at the old swim building from middle school. The sun was setting and the worn paint on the walls looked creepy. Hearing a cracking noise, Rin almost jumped into the air. Spinning around he saw a tall shadowed figure just standing behind him.
"Who…?" he started.
Makoto's green eyes became visible. Rin almost let his mouth drop open, but pressed his lips together. Was that really Makoto? Sure he'd always been tall but he wasn't the same boy Rin had played with as a child. Even through the jacket Rin could make out broad shoulders. It was disorienting. Dragging his eyes to the other boy's face, he saw a familiar smile.
"Rin-chan" Makoto smiled brightly.
He took a step forward to hug him, but hesitated. Rin was still staring at him blankly.
"Makoto…" Rin couldn't find the right words for now.
His heart was beating quickly and he felt dizzy. His head lifted off of his shoulders as the ground rushed to meet his face.
"Rin!"