"Hey, do you want to watch one of the movies I brought?" twelve-year-old Rosalya Tawaraya exclaimed to her best friend, sitting on the floor next to him.

The relay was tomorrow, and Rosa's family was out of town for a small holiday nearby; since the tournament was the week they left and they knew Rosa wouldn't want to go, they originally arranged for her to stay with her aunt Delaney, but Rin had a better idea:

A sleepover, at his house.

Rosa didn't need much convincing, neither did Rin's mom, but the girl's parents were another thing.

They claimed that they didn't want to bother his family, but they weren't bothered at all, in fact, they were more than happy to welcome her in. Rin's little sister, Gou, was particularly excited since she would finally be able to meet the girl her brother talked so much about.

Then, they tried to argue with the girl that her aunt was already expecting her at her house and had even arranged her shifts at work to be able to spend more time with her niece. But when Rosalya told her aunt the plan with Rin, she was unbothered. Delighted even, saying she would have more fun that way.

But still, her parents were not convinced.

So, Rosalya had to appeal to her last resort: pity.

'But mom, after the tournament, Rin is leaving for Australia! I won't be able to see him again! Pretty please! Everything will be fine, I promise'

A sigh.

'Fine. But only the night before the relay, afterward off to your aunt's you go'

And so, here they were, at 10 PM in Rin's room debating what to do with their time. They didn't have a curfew, which Rosa found very nice of Rin's mom, and they weren't tired either.

"Why not?" Rin replied with a shrug; it was an entertaining idea.

"I brought three" the girl replied, walking over to her bag and taking them out "These are all North American movies, which means that they're in English" her friend couldn't suppress a grin.

"C'mon now, are you really going to test me like that?" he asked good-heartedly.

"To be fair, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to practice your English" she replied, going back to him and placing the DVDs on the floor "But they have subtitles. My dad is a huge fan of these movies, so when we moved here he made sure to bring his entire collection"

"What are the options?" he questioned curiously, looking down and trying to read and understand the titles.

"We have an action/spy/thriller called Mission: Impossible" she motioned to the first one "It's kind of old, but a classic" she moved on to the next one "This is my all-time favorite animated movie called How to Train Your Dragon" the boy frowned.

"Isn't that a children's movie?" Rosa opened her eyes wide.

"Excuse me, but this movie is a masterpiece," she said sharply, folding her arms, and Rin found her expression kinda adorable. She looked like a child who had just been denied candy.

"Okay, sorry" he chuckled "And what's the last one?"

"Uhm...A horror movie" she replied, shifting on her seat "The Conjuring, it came out fairly recently, but I don't think-"

"Oh, I want to watch that one!" Rin said eagerly, and that was exactly what Rosa had feared.

"A-are you sure? There are-" he folded his arms upon hearing her shaky voice, and smirked in mockery.

"Are you scared by any chance?"

"No way" she replied, doing her best to make her voice sound steady.

"Then there's no problem in watching it" he stated, grabbing the DVD and walking over to the TV. Rosa didn't say anything, she just brought her legs to her chest and waited for the movie to start, as her friend turned off the lights and came back to her. She took notice of the blanket lying beside her, in case she needed it.

That blanket never left her body, since It turned out that bringing that movie was the worst mistake she had ever made.

As it went on, she grew more and more uneasy. With each passing second, she huddled closer and closer to Rin instinctively, who didn't seem frightened at all. She didn't understand how.

"Are you okay there?" he couldn't help teasing upon feeling her movements.

"I'm fine" she replied stubbornly "I'm just cold"

"In the middle of summer?" he asked with another grin, and she just hit his shoulder in annoyance, to which he chuckled.

She grasped the blanket tightly around her as if it would protect her, while one of the characters in the movie looked behind her, thinking there was something there while she held a mirror with her hand.

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, her knuckles almost hurting because of how firm her grip on the blanket was.

The character lowered the mirror, and a demonic face appeared.

Rosalya gasped and hid her head in Rin's chest, a scream threatening to leave her throat, but she held it back since everyone else in the house was sleeping.

"I thought you said you weren't scared!" Rin kept on teasing, it was too fun to see her like that. She was usually very strict and firm while training them or even swimming herself, but he was seeing her in a new light.

"S-shut up" she replied, raising her head from his chest to look back at the TV, but her hand held tightly to Rin's arm. Digging her fingers into his skin, she was terrified.

"Would it make you feel better if I turned on the lights?" the boy asked, actually beginning to get worried now.

"Y-yeah, a little bit" she replied, and Rin nodded. He softly moved her hand from his arm, and stood up, beginning to make his way towards the switch next to the bed, stumbling through the darkness. The movie's background was dark as well, being a horror movie and all, so he had no indicator of whether he was going in the right direction or not.

Until he took a step forward, and the rug underneath him slipped, causing him to fall into something soft and hear a low 'oomph'

"A-are you okay?" he quickly questioned.

"I got it" he heard the girl's voice speaking up, and the light was turned on.

And when he looked down, he found out that when he fell, he had landed on her body. His gaze lingered on her for a second as the world seemed to slow down. The movie kept playing in the background, but he was convinced his heartbeat was louder. His mind stopped functioning for a second, and for an instant, he wondered if he was even breathing.

"Are you going to move or do I have to push you?" Rosalya broke the atmosphere, a playful smile on her face, and Rin's muscles finally reacted, immediately moving away, being extra careful so as not to hit the girl.

"S-sorry" he apologized in embarrassment, sticking out his hand to help her up "Are you hurt?"

"Physically no" she replied, her humor coming back along with the lights, taking notice that Rin's hand was still holding hers, but making no comment on it "Emotionally? I'm traumatized"

"S-sorry," he said, averting her gaze. The movie had been long forgotten "I didn't think it would scare you so much"

"Are you calling me a scaredy-cat?" she asked, feigning offense "Rin Matsuoka, how dare you!"

"You were the one who said you weren't scared!" he replied defensively, making her chuckle slightly.

"Fair enough"

"Never again will I watch another horror movie in my life" she admitted later that night, the lights turned off to hide the fact that they were still awake at 1 AM despite having to wake up in just a few hours. They were head to toe on the single bed.

"Why are you set on giving me a hard time?" he asked good-heartedly "I said I was sorry"

"You were the one who made me watch that movie, so the least you can do is hear about my trauma" she replied the same way and heard him chuckle, which made her smile.

Silence reigned for some minutes, the girl's head swarming with thoughts of everything that had happened the past months. Meeting the guys, training them for the relay, and even the relay itself. Everything would culminate with that. All the training, all the time they spent in that pool was going to round off with that relay. Afterward, she was off to England. She probably wouldn't see Rin or any of them for a very long time.

She was happy about it, of course, swimming was part of her and there was nothing she wanted more than to become the best she could be at it, but she had to admit, it was going to be hard saying goodbye. She had only known them for a couple of months, but it felt like much more. She was so glad she decided to talk to them that day at the pool, she didn't want to know what would have happened if she hadn't.

She couldn't even begin to imagine it.

"Hey, Rin?" she couldn't see him, but could feel his eyes on her "Thank you for choosing me to be in the relay team with you"

"There wasn't anyone else" he replied with a smile "It couldn't be anyone else"

"But why me specifically?" she asked curiously. That question had been roaming in her head for a while now "We barely knew each other"

"I don't know" she felt him shifting on the other side of the bed "There was just something about you. Call it an instinct, but I just felt it would work, somehow. If that even makes sense"

"It does" the girl nodded in her spot "And I'm glad you did"

"I'm afraid the price of admission is making this pool usable again" stated Miss A the next day.

"At least we got a pool now" commented Rosalya, trying to remain optimistic.

The four of them and Miss A were standing in front of the mess that was the only pool of the school. The club had been approved, but they would have to do all the work on their own.

Rosalya, Nagisa, and Miss A spotted Haru and Makoto scurrying backward, but Rosalya held Haru's arm and Nagisa held Makoto's to prevent them from walking away.

"There's no running away, guys," said Nagisa with an innocent smile, which was a huge contrast with his threatening glare.

"You said you were willing to do anything!" reminded Rosalya "If this is the price we have to pay, we're gonna do it"

And so, the four of them spent the next couple of days trying to bring the pool back to its original state and preventing Haru from stripping in front of fish tanks.

"The pool's looking great!" exclaimed Miss A one day, sitting on a deckchair while watching the four friends cleaning up "Keep it up!"

"Uh, ma'am?" Nagisa called as Rosalya spread blue paint on one of the walls. Her clothes were full of stains, so she was glad she chose to wear something old, something she would probably one wear that time and then throw it in the trash "Is there any chance you might just do something besides giving us moral support?"

"Which is appreciated, but not very useful" added the girl, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"No, there is not" replied the woman sternly "UV rays are an absolute nightmare for complexions like mine! We, fair-skinned folks, have to be extremely cautious about the sun!"

"But Rosa is helping out, too, and she has the same complexion as you!" the boy argued.

"Woah, incredible job, you guys!" the voice of Gou was heard as she looked around the pool. She couldn't even remember what it was like before now.

"Thanks!" exclaimed Nagisa "Are you here to lend a hand, Gou?" he added, pronouncing her name wrong again.

"I was gonna give you a gift, but since you called me that, maybe I'll reconsider!" Rosalya rolled her eyes upon hearing the childish discussion yet again.

"Sorry, it was an accident!" he stated, but the black-haired was sure it wasn't.

"I'll leave this juice here in case you guys feel thirsty" Rosalya looked to the side, to find the other girl leaving a grocery bag on the floor.

"Great. Thanks a lot, Gou" she replied, smiling at her.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" the younger one questioned softly, kneeling down beside her, and earning a curious glance.

"Yeah, sure" she nodded and left the paintbrush on the can to give the girl her full attention.

"Why did you quit swimming? You used to love it so much" Rosalya's heart sunk a bit upon hearing the girl's words "I remember the day of the relay, you looked so happy" she stayed silent for a few minutes before speaking up again.

"I don't feel like going into the details, but if you really wanna know...It has to do with my brother" Gou looked at the girl silently, waiting patiently for her to keep talking "After he died...It just didn't feel right to continue"

"Then why did you join the swimming club?" she questioned curiously, and logically, too. If Rosa didn't swim anymore, why was she part of a club created to do just that?

She smiled upon hearing that.

"Because I love to hang out with these guys" she replied, giving Mako, Nagisa, and Haru a glance over her shoulder. They were talking cheerfully "And I want to see them happy. They all looked so excited with this idea, I didn't want to let them down. I want to support them as much as possible" Gou smiled slightly upon hearing her words "If you want me to be honest, they are the reason I transferred back here" her friend looked at her curiously upon hearing that "I could've gone anywhere else, but I didn't. I came here just to be able to see them again and hang out with them like we used to. I needed a fresh start" giving the guys one last glance, she turned to look at Gou "And can I ask you something now?" she questioned, making her nod "You said that if Rin saw us he might open up about what happened in Australia, especially since I was there. What did you mean by that?"

"Rin was talking about you all the time when he came back for holidays" she replied, making Rosalya look at her curiously "He mentioned how you helped him to adapt to Australia, how you talked every week and told each other about your days. You meant a lot to him. I don't know what happened to make him act the way he did towards you"

"Neither do I" replied Rosalya with a sigh "And it's disconcerting. I just hope I didn't do anything to hurt him"

"I'm sure it's not your fault" Gou replied. With how much her brother cared about this girl, she was sure it was impossible for him to get angry at her over anything.

"Thanks," said Rosa with a small smile "I want him to be okay, that's all"

The two girls stayed in silence for a few minutes, until the younger one spoke up again.

"I'd like to join your swim team" the black-haired looked at her surprised upon hearing that.

"Really?!"

"Yes" replied the girl firmly "My brother needs to get back on track. This will light a fire under him" the girl couldn't help smiling; Gou really loved Rin, she could tell "If you're willing to let me join, I think I'll be really efficient as the club's manager"

"Did she just say what I think she said?!" Nagisa yelled from the other side of the pool upon hearing her words.

"Yeah, Gou just agreed to be our fifth swim club member!" Rosalya yelled back.

"Awesome! You know what this means, right?! The swim club is officially open for business!"

When Rosalya went out for a jog that evening, she found herself at the club once again. And she wasn't the only one.

"Hey, Mako" she greeted and approached him. When the boy saw her, he smiled.

"Hi, Rosa. Out for a jog?" he questioned, upon seeing the sporty clothes the girl was wearing.

"Yeah, I need to get some exercise in" she replied "What about you? What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I just came by to look at it one last time" he replied, and Rosa smiled in understanding. There were a lot of good memories stored in that building, it would be hard to just see it disappear.

"Like a knife through the heart" they heard a man's voice behind them, and turned around to find a blonde man wearing a pizzeria uniform, leaning against a delivery cart "Nothing like watching your dreams come crashing down around ya, huh? Quite a sight" he turned to look at them, and Rosalya found him strangely familiar "So what's your story? Used to come around here a lot?" he quickly answered his own question "Sure you did. Why else would be standing right here in the middle of the night?" Mako and Rosalya exchanged glances, finally recognizing the man.

"Coach Sasabe?!" both of them questioned at the same time, and he frowned at them, clearly not knowing who they were.

"Do you remember us?" questioned Mako excitedly, leaning close to him "I'm Tachibana Makoto, and that's Tawaraya Rosalya" recognition was then written on the man's face.

"Last time I saw you, you were 4'0 high!" he exclaimed "And your hair was shorter!" he added the last part looking at Rosalya. Both friends chuckled upon hearing that.

"It's been a while!" replied the girl "I recently came back after five years of being abroad!"

"Oh, right! You were going to a swimming school in England, weren't you? How did it go?!" he asked, and Rosalya did her best to sound cheerful and muster a smile.

"Good, actually!" she replied "But I needed some time off" she added, not specifying why.

"Yeah, things changed for me, too" replied the coach, giving the delivery cart a small pat "I'm a pizza delivery guy now. So, tell me, you dropped by to see it one last time?"

"Isn't that why you're here?" questioned Mako.

"I just finished a delivery and thought 'why not?'" he replied casually "What about the rest of your crew? How are they doing?"

"Great!" breathed out the boy "We go to the same school as Haru and Nagisa, actually"

"And what about Rin? Are you still friends?" Rosalya and Mako exchanged knowing glances upon hearing that before the girl spoke up for both of them.

"Things are not like they used to be," she said, trying to ease the way she was saying that they weren't "He goes to a different school now"

"Yeah, I ran into him right after he got back from Australia" commented the coach "To tell you the truth, I was worried about him. The kid's pretty hard on himself, for someone who has the world on a plate" she arched her eyebrows upon hearing that.

"What do you mean 'hard on himself'?" she questioned, folding her arms with interest.

"Wait a second. Are you saying that Haruka never told you the story?" he demanded, which only increased Rosalya and Mako's curiosity "I think it was in the winter break of your first year in middle school. I was closing down the place for the day when Haru and Rin showed up out of the blue asking for a little pool time. They must've run into each other while he was back home"

"Why did they meet up at the club? So they could race each other?"

"Knowing Rin, it wouldn't surprise me" Rosalya stated with a small chuckle "He spends more time in the water than in his own house. What happened after that? Did they finally race?"

"If you can call that a race," said the coach "Haru smoked him, it wasn't even close. Needless to say, Rin was pretty upset. Not that anyone could blame him. I mean, he studied swimming at a prestigious school overseas and it still didn't make a difference"

The girl froze in place as she tried to process what she had just heard.

During their first year of middle school, Rin and Rosalya still spoke to each other, and never once did her friend tell her about that.

Why?

"Something wrong, guys?" questioned the coach, upon seeing that the two teens hadn't said a word in quite some minutes. Rosa took a glance at Mako, and he also seemed lost in thought.

"I'm fine" he replied softly, but she could notice that he was still thinking about something.

"Could that be why Haru quit competitive swimming?" wondered Rosalya, once the coach was gone and both teens were standing on the road, looking at the ocean.

"I think it is" stated Mako with a nod "Because he hurt Rin so badly"

"I was still talking to Rin in that period, and he never mentioned anything to me about it" she commented, as she stared at the night sky.

"I'm sure there must be some sort of explanation," said the boy, trying to comfort his friend.

"I guess"

"So you and Rin kept in touch, huh?" he questioned leaning on the rail in front of them, happy that their friendship kept going despite the distance.

Out of the entire group, Rin and Rosalya were the closest ones to each other, and nobody needed to tell the rest that. It was true that they all got along amazingly, but the friendship that those two shared couldn't even begin to be compared.

"Yeah" she replied with a nod, imitating his posture "In fact, for the first four years, we talked almost every week" she added, remembering some of the conversations she shared with Rin. From funny, to happy, to emotional. There wasn't a topic they hadn't talked about, but, somehow, they always found something new to say. They never ran out of ideas "Afterwards, he went sort of quiet"

And for a year she never heard anything from him, so she got really worried. He didn't answer any of her calls or letters no matter how much she insisted, and then her brother passed away and...Well, she didn't have the energy to keep on doing that.

"How was he doing?" Mako asked since he hadn't heard anything from the boy up until a couple days ago. He was very interested in his time abroad.

"Good" she stated with a small smile "At least, that's what he always showed to me" she knitted her eyebrows together "I keep wondering if there's something I missed because he wasn't like this before"

"What do you mean?" the boy questioned with a frown, and the girl remained quiet for a few seconds, debating whether she should tell him about the previous day or not. She didn't want to worry Mako, but it was probably too late now after what Sasabe told them a couple of minutes ago.

"Gou and I went to Samezuka yesterday to visit Rin" she began explaining, folding her arms and leaning her back towards the rail this time "And we got told by the swimming team captain that he wasn't even on the team"

"Really?" Mako questioned in surprise.

"It's really weird" she replied "One would think that if he came back home from Australia and enrolled in Samezuka, aka the best swimming team in the city, the first thing he would do would be to sign up for said team. Especially knowing how he is"

"Yeah..." he trailed off, looking back at the horizon "Do you think that he knows we started a swimming team?"

"He definitely does" she replied, not specifying how she knew that exactly "Maybe that'll change his mind" and then she added in a low voice, mostly to herself "I hope it does"