Anticipation at Iwatobi: Haruka

Your book-bag pulls you backward in your fall after colliding into your crush, but while he may have stumbled, he regained his balance just fine. "Hey, (Y/N), are you okay," Haruka asks, reaching out a hand to help you off the floor. "Yeah, uh, I think I'll be okay," you answered, but your legs were still trembling. You wanted to run, but something in you forgot how to do that. All you could do was stay there completely frozen, embarrassed as hell in front of the best swimmer in all of Iwatobi. Cocking his head to the side, Haruka checks on you again: "Are you sure about that?" He takes your hand in his. "Let's walk you down to the nurse's office."

Your face turns even redder with every moment he continues holding onto your hand. Every step closer to the nurse's office feels like a step closer to relief; once you're inside, he'll be free to leave you alone. And you'll be free of your embarrassment. This ends up not being the case.... He stays with you and the nurse to make sure that you'll be all right, even though after a few minutes, the school nurse is able to determine that there's nothing wrong with you. She simply has you take some ibuprofen before sending you and Haru back out into the hall.

The walk down the hall continues, but on the way back to your respective classes, he stops to ask you the truth. "What's wrong, (Y/N)? You're buckling at the knees, and your face is redder than ever. Did I do something?" You turn your face away from him nervously. "No, I just feel a little embarrassed is all," you reply, pushing a few strands of hair behind your ear and avoiding eye contact. You can feel his gaze on you, still uneasy about what you said. Finally, he suggests, "I'll catch up with you after school, okay?" He turns back toward his classroom and leaves you to do the same. "So, I'll see you later?" You give him a confused look, still not believing that he should be so insistent in caring for you. "Well, I guess," you wimper before scurrying back to math class.

Everything feels like a blur. Your make-up mistake, bumping into him, Haru taking you to see the nurse, him asking you to talk after school, and the rest of the day all up until the point you grabbed your book-bag and coat before heading home. The usual sea of students flooded its way out of the building with the final bell, and you were just another fish among them. As if Haruka Nanase would really try to hunt you down. He had swimming club, right? He usually walked home with Makoto Tachibana, right? You were too embarrassed to think of facing him again. The end of the school sidewalk inched closer and closer, where the student sea parted to go their separate ways, and it was then that you heard a familiar voice call out to you. "Hey, (Y/N), over here!" Nanase was waving his hand up in the air for you. With him drawing attention to you like that, it would be foolish to ignore him.

Keeping your head down, you walk over to him sheepishly, but he doesn't get to the point immediately. "So," he begins, "which way do you walk home?" You point straight ahead, knowing that he usually goes left to go home, but he takes your hand and heads exactly in that direction. You can hear him breathing heavily. But why would be be breathing heavily like a fish out of water? You break the unnerving silence. "You don't have swim club today?" You look up long enough to see him nod. "I do, but I was more worried about you. I can manage." A little further down the street the two of you go. You didn't know what to say, even if your head was filled with a million questions. Why would he care about you? Where's Tachibana to save the day and take Haru away? Doesn't he have something else he would rather do, like swimming? But then he cuts off your train of thought, ironically enough: "You've just been acting funny lately. I want to know what's wrong? The day after they mention the sweetheart dance, you start stumbling everywhere. The next day you come in wearing a lot of make-up and stumbling even worse. You need to worry about being more careful."

You chuckle back a laugh, to which Haru turns around to give you a confused look. "Me," you howled, "acting funny? You're one to talk! Every other day, I'm just a normal girl you say hi to every morning, but the minute I start tripping, all of a sudden, you feel like getting involved. What happened to you, Haru? Aren't you normally less aware than this? It's not like I'm a pool!"

Taking a step back, Haruka leans against a tall, wooden fence to take a good look at you, with a smile on his face. "Water and swimming isn't all I care about, (Y/N)." You stare back into his eyes. You needed a moment to let this sink in. Was he admitting that he had feelings for you? You decided to test that. "Yeah, I know. You're friends with Nagisa, Makoto, Rei, and Gou, so you care about them too, right?" He nodded but didn't take his deep blue orbs off of you. "You're right. You're friends with Gou too, aren't you?" You shrug your shoulders at him. "So what if I am? What's your point?"

He leans back away from the wall and continues walking with you. "Nothing really, but maybe you could come by the swim club some time. We can use all the support we can get, and Gou can't do it alone." Blinking yourself away from getting your hopes up, you put one foot in front of the other on your way down the street. "I guess it couldn't hurt. I'll think about it." Silence ensues the rest of the way home for you with Nanase, but as he drops you off at your door, he tells you one last thing before he goes. "I'll see you tomorrow, (Y/N), and maybe again at swim club? Oh, and about earlier... don't worry about wearing make-up. I notice you just fine without it. See ya later."

You watch him until he's around the corner and on his way home, and once he's gone, you burst into the house and up to your room, where you bury your face into your pillow. Maybe this was your chance, joining the team and Haruka at swim club! You dreamed wildly where this might take you. Perhaps you could bring dinner one evening? Oh, what about bringing your swimsuit and swimming with them for fun? As if you could, but it was worth a try, right? The White Day dance was on the way, and with this opportunity, you weren't about to screw this up!


*AND THERE WILL BE A PART TWO TO THIS EPISODE!!! Did you really think I would leave it at just one mini-story per swim club member? This IS called "anticipation" for a reason. You can say I'm not very good at one shots... Enjoy!*