In Sync ~ Free! x Reader

Chapter 2

~ Reader's Point of View

Your eyes burst open to a crashing sound from the bunk below you. You rolled over, rubbing your eyes with a hoarse groan and peering over the edge. It was just as you thought- May was lying face-down in a heap of duvet on the floor. You sat up, stretching your arms out so high that they hit the ceiling painfully-  the same thing that you did every single morning without thinking.

"Maaaay," You dragged out from the top bunk, "What is your issue with staying in the bed?". You noticed May squirm a little on the floor, though her face was still buried in duvet so you could only just make out what she was saying "Shut up. These beds are tiny." She said, her voice muffled. You rolled your eyes and checked the time: 6:47am, only 13 minutes until your alarm would go off anyway. You shuffled down to the end of your bed where the ladder was, and hung your legs off the side until you felt the cold metal of a rung beneath one foot, beginning to make your way down to the ground which May currently occupied the majority of.

You stood next to the girl, towering above her and watching to see if she was gonna bother getting up, but eventually came to the realisation that she'd fallen asleep on the floor and sighed, turning away and throwing on some clothes. May was pretty much your only friend, and she'd promised to come and cheer you on at the competition, but it looked like that was out of the question now. You decided not to call her out about it, what did it really matter anyway? No one ever bothered to cheer for you but you pursued your swimming nonetheless.

By the time you'd got dressed and ready, and packed your bag- aside from the swimming costume that was still drying down in the changing room- it was 7:43am. It was a Saturday, so normally breakfast wouldn't start until 9:00, but the swim team were allowed to go and eat an hour before on competition days. The competition itself didn't start until 11, and even then you'd have to wait an hour or two in the stands while the boys' races happened, but the pool you'd be competing at was about an hour and a half away from the school, so you'd have to leave at about 9 (Allowing a good half hour to get signed in and everything once you arrived).

Breakfast didn't start for nearly 20 minutes, so in an attempt to kill time you wandered downstairs to the changing rooms to pick up your swimming costume. As you could've guessed, half of the team were already there, a nervous energy rippling through each of them. You walked silently over to the drying rack and grabbed your swimsuit, hoping to go unnoticed. It worked to a point- most of the girls ignored you anyway- until a blonde girl with deep hazel eyes spotted you and waved her arms frantically. "[y/n]!" She shouted, turning everyone's attention to you.

You sighed, stuffing your swimming costume into your bag then heading over to the locker where you left your belongings the previous night "Hi." You said, inputting the code to your padlock. The blonde girl, Konoka, persisted to involve you in the conversation "Nervous?". You shrugged, you'd been swimming competitively since you were young, so competitions didn't tend to phase you, "Not particularly."

You could tell that Konoka was struggling to keep the conversation going, as she stared at her more sociable friends and picked at her nails, "Oh.. well yo--" She started, before you cut her off as you walked towards the door, "I'll see you later." You walked out and shut the door behind you. You had nothing against Konoka and the rest of the swim team, you just couldn't cope with small talk.

There were still 10 minutes until the canteen opened for breakfast, so you slipped out of the main entrance into the courtyard, and made your way over to the patch of grass that hid around the back of the school. It was empty and silent, for which you were grateful, as you knelt down in overgrown grass. You pulled a lighter from underneath a large stone where you left it, and flickered it on, reaching forwards and lighting a small, pale pink candle that was placed on a concrete slab for safety. Your head tipped backwards to take a look at the sky- it was probably going to rain. It didn't matter either way, what was important was that you lit the candle, it was of no significance when it would be put out.

You arose up to your feet, having slipped the lighter back under the stone, and proceeded to walk around to the entrance. A pale, skinny figure stood in your way. "Kimiko." You greeted her with a sigh. She stared at you, unmoving, her voice as frail as her body as she began to speak, before cutting herself off and frowning, "You shou..." She shook her head and turned away, "Doesn't matter."

You were used to Kimiko's abstractness, so you simply shrugged it off as you walked back into the school and to the canteen- now 3 minutes late.

I know the ending is kinda weird, but it'll make sense later on in the story, plus it adds potential plotlines and stuff :)