Afterward (Reigisa)

Chapter 3- Jealous Gaybies

Nagisa stood by the pool gate, looking back at the changing room. What was taking Rei so long? What had Kodokuna wanted? Nagisa hated the little twinge of jealousy creeping into his mind. He had long since accepted the truth that he had a raging crush on his best friend, but... he'd never had reason to feel jealous before. Rei didn't seem like the type to fall in love, to want a boyfriend or girlfriend. It was barely a year ago that he had scoffed at the very idea. It hurt, but Nagisa had come to terms with the fact that Rei would never look at him that way. He glanced up as the pair came out of the locker room- was Rei blushing? Why was he blushing?! Nagisa squeezed his eyes shut and turned around to leave before they reached him. Don't be jealous, don't be jealous, don't be jealous... he chanted to himself as he marched away. Nagisa risked a peek over his shoulder: Rei looked confused, Kodokuna worried. Well, let them be! Nagisa thought angrily, as long as they're together! He blinked, confused by his own emotions- hadn't he just sworn off jealousy? And who said they were together? All the same, he couldn't turn back around now- he'd already made a fool of himself. Sighing, Nagisa continued his trudge back up to the school, forcing the image of Rei's hurt expression from his mind.

~

Nagisa looked round at the other passengers on the train. Rei's face was not among them- he must have been walking home. Did he think Nagisa was angry with him? Nagisa glared at his lap and clenched his fists. Why had he done that? Why was he jealous of Kodokuna? No, no I'm not jealous, Nagisa assured himself, I just don't want Kodokuna to- Alright. Maybe he was jealous. He lifted his head with a sigh. This was certainly going to make things awkward. The train slowed, coming to a halt at the platform. Nagisa rose, murmuring pardons as he maneuvered his way to the door. Upon stepping out onto the street, he realized that this was the wrong stop. Nagisa whirled back around towards the platform, but the train was already pulling away. He exhaled loudly, glancing around at his surroundings. The building a few blocks down seemed familiar. Nagisa approached, squinting up at the sign in the fading light. Samezuka! So that's where he was. He turned away, thinking he could walk home from here, but a shout stopped him.
"Nagisa?! What are you doing here?" Nagisa turned at the sound of his name. Standing behind him was a slight boy with grey hair. "Ai-chan! Hi!" he called excitedly, walking up to Nitori.
"Please don't call me that," Nitori mumbled, shifting his gaze away.
"I got off at the wrong train stop. How are you? You've been made captain, right? How's that going? Rei's captain back at Iwatobi now, our club's much more popular! What about yours? Oh, have you heard from Rin at all?" Nitori paled at Nagisa's rapid fire questions.
"Erm- the team's doing fine. I haven't really heard from Rin..." The pale blue eyes glanced downwards, suddenly not as bright. "He hasn't written or called at all... I thought maybe-" Nitori stuttered to an abrupt halt, snapping his head up, cheeks bright red.
"You thought what?" Nagisa asked sincerely.
"A-a-ah nothing! I just- no! Nothing!" Nitori began to back away, blushing furiously.
"No, Ai, wait! Actually, I have something I think you could help me with," Nagisa said, struck by a sudden idea.
"Er... Alright. What is it?" Nitori said warily, face still tinged pink. Nagisa squatted and sat down on the steps leading into the dorm houses. The other did the same, positioning himself awkwardly by the blond.
"You know Rei, right? The butterfly swimmer for our team?" Nagisa started, blush creeping up his own face now. Nitori nodded. "Well, I like him," Nagisa said softly, laughing as he looked up at the sky, "and I thought maybe you could help me with how to tell him? Because, you know, of you and Rin."
"Wha?! How do you-?!" Nitori turned redder than ever, burying his face in his knees.
"Oh, come on, it's really obvious, you know," Nagisa said, glancing knowingly at the other.
"Well.. I never told him. I think he must have figured it out on his own, but he's got Souske now so-" Nitori's voice cut off in a squeak. Nagisa gave a sad smile.
"Yeah, I guess that's how I feel with Rei. There's others on the team now, and I have to admit I'm a little jealous."
"Oh, don't worry, I would feel that way all the time about Rin. I still do," Nitori said with a laugh. "Look at us! Rivals, talking about such trivial things."
"Oh, I don't think they're trivial," Nagisa mused thoughtfully, rising to his feet, "but look. It's getting dark, I better get on home."
"Yes- bye then."
"See you, Ai."
Nagisa walked the rest of the way home in semi darkness- he didn't have enough change left for another train ride. He thought about what Ai had said, and how they really should talk more often.

Ahhhhh that's it for my first update! I hope you like it, I'm trying to make more of a story out of it than my last one. Sorry all the chapters are so short ^^; I'm doing my best to be consistent and stick to a plot. Please vote/comment if you like it, it really means a lot to me. Thank you for reading! ~Felis