Open Waters | Free! Fan Fiction

3. Midnight Visit

Open Waters

Chapter Three

Midnight Visit

"Hey, have you heard?" Nagisa piped up. He danced down the stairs and, when he reached the bottom, the excitement was plainly transferred into his movement as he jumped around, grinning. "The swimming club we went to in grade school is going to be torn down soon. So, before that happens, why don't we pay a visit?"

"You want to visit an abandoned building?" Hana asked, her brow furrowed. "But, I doubt -"

"To dig that up?" Makoto asked, cutting over her. Hana folded her arms and glared at him. It wasn't like Makoto to cut over anyone. Maybe he just hadn't heard her. If that was the reason, Hana wouldn't have been surprised. She had spoken fairly quietly.

Still, she did hear what Makoto said about digging something up. She frowned, not understanding what her friend was talking about.

"Yes!" Nagisa said enthusiastically. He mimicked the action of someone sneaking past. "We can sneak in at night..."

"You can go by yourself," Haru interrupted.

Nagisa reacted immediately. He spun around, his big eyes even wider than usual, his mouth open and gaping. He looked so shocked and horrified, it was almost comical. "You can't say that!" Nagisa exclaimed, clutching the sleeve of Haru's blazer as he walked past. "Come with us, Haru-chan!"

"I'm not going." Haru sounded absolute.

Nagisa hadn't given up yet. "Don't you think it'll be fun?"

"I don't."

Hana sighed. "Haru, it doesn't sound that bad," she said bracingly, lightly stepping down the stairs. She made sure to stop at a step just above everyone else, so that for once she didn't feel so small.

"Why don't you just humour him?" Makoto continued.

Haru turned away from them all. "No, it's too much effort."

"Aww!" Nagisa moaned, and leaned agaisnt Haru as though his words had shocked him so much that it had caused him to lose all support in his legs.

Hana sighed and visibly face-palmed. "It's just a simple visit to an old building," she tried to reason. "I don't see much hard work in that."

Unsurprisingly, Haru paid no heed to her words.

Makoto held his chin, looking as though he were in thought, or remembering something. "But there's a pool there," he said slowly. "A pool is much bigger than a bathtub."

Hana almost burst out laughing right there. Oh my goodness, Haru is so cornered. She glanced over at Haru, who had looked back at Makoto, a spark of interest in his eyes. Yup, we got him.

She wasn't wrong in thinking that. "All right," Haru eventually said.

Makoto and Nagisa shared victorious looks. Hana laughed and trailed after her friends as they chatted animatedly. She frowned thoughtfully as she walked along. Surprisingly, found herself intrigued about the swimming club.

She didn't know much about her friends, even Mako, who she knew from childhood. There was so much she didn't know and, until then, she couldn't entirely be a part of their lives. 

She needed to understand.

"Hey," she blurted without thinking. The boys all turned to face her and she flushed, fiddling with her hands as she looked down at the floor, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. God, why didn't I think this through? Why did I speak without thinking? "Do you, uh, y'know..." She cleared her throat. "W-would you mind terribly if I come along?"