Chapter 8
"Nagisa?" My voice sounded groggy as I woke up from my nap on Haru's family room floor. As one hand rubbed my eye I stared at the blonde that was sitting at the table.
"Hey, Kei-chan. What're you still doing here?" He asked me.
"I must've fallen asleep. I should get going though." I stretched my arms above my head and twisted my waist, so my back would crack back into its original position. "What're you doing here though?"
"Haru-chan found me and I'm looking at the Leonids." He explained. As I yawned I stood up and nodded my head.
"Alright then." I walked into the kitchen and looked at the soup Haru was making. He wordlessly passed me a spoon, so I could try the broth. As the warm liquid slipped its way down my throat I looked at him and said, "It needs a tad more salt." After placing it in the pot and giving it a stir it made my taste buds happy. "I'll see you tomorrow, Haru." I leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before turning around to find Nagisa staring at the two of us with intent eyes.
"You two are the cutest couple!" He squealed. I laughed and dismissed the statement with my hand.
"I'm sure there are cuter, but I must say, we are one of the best looking." I joked as I walked through the family room and opened up the door. "I'll see you boys tomorrow, goodnight."
Gou constantly sends me photos of Haru and I. Some photos made me extremely happy because they were cute, but others were very unnecessary. I was looking at the latest picture that she had given me and I was pleased with the shot.
It was a picture from my surprise birthday party. Haru had his arms around my waist as he kept me from falling on my back after I had tackled him with a thank you hug. A grin was plastered to my face as I looked up at him and he stared at me with soft eyes and the smallest smile on his lips.
A sigh escaped my lips as I placed the photo back on my peg board and sat down at my desk.
"What're you two going to do? After graduation, what're you two going to do?"
"I don't know."
Like all teenagers in a relationship I wanted to know the answer. I wanted to know what was going to happen to us. Haru and I have been happy and content with our relationship, so I wanted to stay with him. He made me happy and I felt like I made him happy as well. I felt like we complimented each other in a positive way and I didn't want to let that go.
But did he want to let that go? Did he feel the same?
Usually people have said the 'L' word to each other by the time they've reached their one year anniversary, but we haven't. I knew that Haru was special to me, but I didn't know if I loved him. I didn't know any of the signs of being in love, so this whole concept was hard for me to get my head around.
But did he love me?
A sigh of frustrated escaped my lips as I lied down on my bed and groaned.
"Why is everything so complicated?"
"What do you mean Nagisa has run away?" I yelled as I ran into Haru's house. Haru, Makoto, and Rei all turned their heads to look at me.
"He's run away and none of us know why!" Rei complained.
"Can you talk to him? Please?" Makoto asked.
"Have you guys talked to him yet?"
"Yes and none of us have gotten the reason, so we need you to help us! Please." I sighed as I walked towards the family room door. I slid it open and saw Nagisa sitting in front of the table.
"Nagisa, what's this I hear about you running away?" I asked him as I sat down beside him.
"It's nothing." He pouted.
"Don't say that. You have to give me a reason." He continued to stay silent as he sat there. I reached over and place my hand on his shoulder. He looked at me with a surprised face as I smiled at him. "You can tell us, Nagisa. You're making everyone worry." As he sighed and allowed his head to drop I gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "I'm going to grab the others and you can tell us all what's happened, okay?" Without an answer I got up and waved the three boys into the room.
Makoto and Rei sat beside Nagisa as Haru sat beside Makoto. I sat beside Rei and we all looked at Nagisa with soft eyes.
"What cause you to run away?" Rei asked the blonde.
"You're making Haru, Rei and Kei worry about you. You should at least tell us why you ran away." Makoto told him.
"Nagisa…"
"Mako-chan, Haru-chan…"
"Do you trust us that little?" Rei asked the blonde.
"No!" As Nagisa gripped onto his pants a little tighter he apologized, "I'm sorry for making you guys worry. Yeah, you're right. I'll tell you the truth. I may be forced to quit the swim club."
"Huh?!"
"Why would you…" Rei was trying to fit all the pieces together and this didn't work in his brain.
"To be honest, my test scores have been really bad lately. And my parents really go nuts over stuff like that. So they ordered me to quit the swim club. But of course, I would never agree to do that! That's why I ran away from home."
"But if that's the case, you just need to improve your grades, right?" Makoto suggested.
"That's right! I would gladly help you study! So if we tell your parents that-" Rei offered his assistance.
"Once my parents tell me I can't do something, they'll never allow it."
"But if we just told them clearly-"
"I'm telling you, they just won't listen!"
"Nagisa…"
"But, you can't go on living like this either." Makoto said.
"I understand that, but…"
"Nagisa-kun…were you thinking that if you don't go home, your parents would eventually acknowledge your swimming?"
"Yeah."
"Rei?" Haru was wondering where his teammate was going with this.
"Were you honestly thinking they'd give their approval based on that? If you want their approval, aren't there much better ways to get it? And if you did get their approval using such a method, could you really swim at full strength after that?"
"Rei, just leave it at that." Makoto stated. The sound of a phone went off to break our silence. Nagisa fished out his pink phone and looked at the text message he had received. "What's wrong?"
"It says my mother is coming here to take me home!"
"Huh?"
"Wh-Wh-What do I do?"
"What do you mean, what?"
"We haven't come up with a solution yet!"
"You boys head towards Iwatobi SC Return." I told the four.
"What about you, Kei-chan?" Nagisa asked.
"I'll stay here and get your mom off your scent, but you four better hurry and get a move on." I began to move the four towards the front door, so I could push them all out and have them run for the swim club.
I sat in Haru's family room and waited patiently. I didn't know when Nagisa's mom would be here and I didn't know what to expect when she got here. I had never met the woman in my whole life, so my nerves began to get the best of me when I heard someone knock on the front door.
"Hello, Mrs. Hazuki." I respectfully bowed and greeted the blonde haired woman in front of me. Anyone could tell that Nagisa was a spitting image of his mom. They had the same coloured eyes and both their hair was a beautiful gold. "Please, come inside."
"You must be Haruka Nanase, correct?" She asked me as she stepped inside the house. I shook my head as I introduced myself,
"That's my boyfriend. My name's Kei Mizuko. I'm a good friend of Nagisa's."
"Oh okay. Is Nagisa here? I was told that he is here."
"He's not."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Nagisa loves to swim." I mentally slapped myself for my word vomit. It always came up at the most inappropriate times.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry Mrs. Hazuki, I mean absolutely no disrespect when I say this, but…Nagisa loves to swim and he's really really good. Of course grades are important, I am not saying they aren't, but I am saying that Nagisa is willing to pull up his grades and make you guys proud."
"That's all I want." She simply stated.
"But he also wants to swim."
"Kei, I'm sure that you mean the very best, but I don't think you understand the severity of the situation."
"You're completely right, I don't, but I do know that swimming is everything to Nagisa. I love to sing and I gave up what I loved once and it completely tore me up inside. I would never want Nagisa to feel the kind of emptiness that I felt." She continued to stare at me with a blank expression. I didn't know if what I was saying was getting through to her or if it was just making her angry, but I never did know how to shut my mouth properly. "I sing now and I've never felt more alive, Mrs. Hazuki. Nagisa has a ton of friends who are willing to help him raise his grades, so he can make you proud and to stay in the swim club. I believe in him. I know he can do it."
"What do you want to be?"
"Huh?"
"What do you want to be?" She asked me again.
"A-A teacher." I stuttered out my answer.
"What a shame, we need people like you in the limelight, but a teacher is a good second option. Thank you, Kei Mizuko. I can see why Nagisa calls you such a close friend." She turned around and placed her hand on the front door before looking at me one more time. "I can also see what Haruka Nanase must see in you. Goodnight." And with that she opened up the front door and walked out of Haru's house.
I felt someone slightly shaking my body. As I began to open my eyes I saw Haru's face in my vision. He stared at me with soft eyes as I began to sit up. As I looked around I noticed that I had fallen asleep on Haru's floor once again.
"I should stop making it a habit to fall asleep here." I muttered to myself.
"What're you still doing here?" He kneeled down in front of me, so we could be at eye level.
"I waited for you to come home, so I could know what happened with Nagisa." I answered.
"We went to see his parents and they agreed to let him stay in the swim club, but he needs to pull up his grades." A drowsy smile spread across my lips as the thought of Nagisa still in in the swim club crossed my mind.
"Good. That makes me so happy."
"What did you say to Nagisa's mom?"
"Hm?"
"Before we left she pulled me aside to talk to me."
"Haruka, I need you to know something."
"Yes?"
"Your girlfriend, Kei, talked to me tonight and I must say, she has a big heart. Please take good care of her, Haruka."
"We didn't say much. We just talked about Nagisa and how he should stay in the swim club."
"Really?" I nodded my head as a yawn escaped my lips. As I stretched my arms over my head I looked back at Haru.
"I'm going to head home now, okay?" He nodded his head as he leaned towards me and placed a soft passionate kiss to my lips. As he began to pull away a smile formed on my face as I stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Haru."
Looks like Kei doesn't know for sure if Haru loves her...what do you guys think? What do you think of the chapter? Leave me a review! :D
-xoxo JaminJazzi