**unedited**

My eyes flew open Friday morning at exactly 6:30 AM. I sat up and stretched my arms, shoving the blankets off of my legs. The sun streamed through the curtains and I rubbed my eyes, groggily. The calendar said December 24th also known as Christmas Eve.

Today was the big day.

I slid into my slippers and trudged over to the bathroom. Perhaps the swim meet would be cancelled? Not a chance. I grabbed my toothbrush and thoroughly ran it over my teeth. A million scenarios washed over me, none of them even close to realistic. It was a common thing to before a huge event and I was practically the champion it. I stuck my toothbrush back into the cerulean blue cup, then ran a comb through my hair.

I started taking off my shirt to shower when suddenly, there was a crash in the kitchen. It was loud and someone shrieked. It sounded as if glass has broken and I was startled for a while. I peered out of the bathroom, to glance down the hallway in the kitchen. I saw multiple figures rush back and forth between the kitchen and living room, one of them appearing to be Makoto.

What the hell is he doing? I thought as I pulled my shirt on over my head again. I turned the corner and strolled into the kitchen, only to find a certain red-haired pony-tailed boy picking up shattered pieces of a crimson red bowl.

My eyes widened and I covered my mouth to avoid more screams.

"Yo, Haru," he greeted, embarrassed. "I accidentally broke this."

"Rin!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him. We exchanged friendly faces and my eyes scanned the living room, spotting Sousuke, Rei, and Nagisa on the couches.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa cried, tackling me. "I missed you!"

"Oi, calm down," I said, laughing and prying him off of me. "When did you guys get here?"

"It was all part of Makoto's surprise," Sousuke explained. "How's it going, Haru?" I gave a warm smile. It was only last year that we'd decided to call each other by our first names.

"Good," I replied. "Rei! How've you been? You're running the swim club now, right?"

"That's right!" He remarked, adjusting his red glasses. "We have a bunch of new members and many of them want to do the medley relay! It's all thanks to you and Makoto-senpai. You showed them a beautiful sight!"

"I'm glad the swim club is running smoothly," Makoto said. "Right, Haru?" He glanced over at me, his eyes glinting with happiness. I quickly looked away, only to realize Rin had seen me blush.

"Oh, getting feisty are we?" He teased.

"Shut up," I muttered. "It's nothing." I didn't really want to announce that I was dating Makoto even though Sousuke and Rin were already together. Nagisa and Rei had been off and on due to some problems they'd been facing.

"Shit, Sousuke! We're gonna miss our train!" Rin shouted, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

"Where are you guys going?" Nagisa piped up. "Rei-chan, let's go with them!"

"Sousuke's gonna take me to his house since his dad lives around here," Rin said. "See you later, Haru! Makoto!" The two of them left quickly and Nagisa shot a hopeful look at Rei.

"Nagisa-kun, we're going to the art museum today, remember?" Rei reminded him. "Haruka-senpai, what are you and Makoto-senpai going to do?"

"I have practice today," I said. "And Makoto has school. So I guess this is goodbye for now?"

"We'll see each other tonight, right Haru-chan?" Nagisa squeaked. "The carnival?" Oh shit, it was today, yeah.

"Yea-ah, definitely," I answered with my best truthful voice. It was so fake that I could swear I saw Makoto tilt his head at me, worriedly. "You guys should get going, actually. I have to shower."

"See ya tonight!" They chorused, exiting as well. I breathed a sigh of relief and took a flop on the couch. "I never got to say good morning," Makoto whispered, planting a kiss on my forehead. I leaped to my feet and our foreheads knocked against each other. "Haru! What was that for?"

"That was too sudden!" I complained. "You should probably warn me before you do those things."

"I just wanted to be nice, sheesh," he said. "Well, I'd better get going to. You'd better go show, actually. It's already 7:30." He took his backpack in his hand and hurried out the door.

I started towards the bathroom and removed my clothes, stepping in the shower. The hot water burned my skin and I stood with the it running down back. What was I supposed to say when I didn't show up to the carnival? I was sick? An emergency came up at the Sports Complex and I had to fill in for a missing swimmer?

"Damn it," I cursed under my breath. Anything could happen tonight. I slid down the wall of the shower and covered my face with my hands. I just needed a solution, actually.

Twenty minutes passed of just lying around in the shower and my phone went off. "Oh fuck," I said, scrambling for the towel. I wrapped it around my waist and darted into my bedroom. I pulled my swimsuit on and reached for the Iwatobi Jacket. I was too lazy to put on actual clothes over this so I just slipped my gym shoes on and sprinted out the door with my bag over my shoulder.

A cold breeze blew past me and I shivered, whipping a scarf out of my bag. I probably looked like an idiot because the temperature was surely below 0 and here I was shirtless, with a thin Iwatobi Jacket and a midway swimsuit. I swear I thought I heard some people snicker at me but I just kept running. I didn't even bother taking the subway so I ended up running about ten blocks. My legs burned but I kept on running until I reached the Sports Complex.

"Haru!" She cried, dashing over to me and catching me before I collapsed of exhaustion. "What the hell are you doing? It looks like you ran all the way here!"

"I. . . did. . . " I gasped in between breaths. "There was no subway."

"But they're running today," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "You were just being reckless, as usual."

"You were being reckless when you gave me and Makoto that table yesterday," I pointed out. "That was unnecessary. Did your manager find out about that?"

"Thankfully, now he didn't," she said. "The couple cancelled so he was alright with it." I gave her a pitiful look and chuckled under my breath. "We should go inside, it's freezing out here." She grabbed my shoulder and began leading me inside when I broke free of her grasp and gazed up into the sky. Small snowflakes delicately fell to the ground, sticking as they pleased.

"It's Christmas Eve," I said.

"Indeed," Alyssa answered. "Now, come on! We have to practice for today."

"Right," I said, slowly.

***

"Meet me in the Tokitsu Sports Arena at 5 PM sharp!" Alyssa announced. Her voice echoed in the large swimming pool area; the arena was practically a sun room. Everyone was either lying on the floor or in the pool, completely exhausted from Alyssa's hardcore training. "You'd better show up, or it won't be pretty."

"Is that's threatening?" Sam mocked. "I, for one, thought coaches can't mock us. Besides, what if we don't show up, huh?"

"Well smartass, wanna stay back and find out?" Alyssa shot back. Sam quickly piped down and silence grew amongst us. She sighed.

"Everyone, I know we can qualify for the Olympics. Everybody here has exceptional talent that has been taken into account for a worldwide competition. Use that talent to motivate you and push yourself to even greater heights!"

"Yes!" We all chorused. I grabbed my towel and flung it over my hair that was swept across the top of my forehead. I was extremely tired. I headed for the vending machine to grab a soda when Alyssa stopped me mid-way in my tracks.

"Yes?" I said, raising my eyebrows..

"You don't wanna get that soda," she pointed out. "Or if you do, just drink a little bit of it." I rolled my eyes, obviously annoyed.

"Whatever," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "Cut me some slack, will you? I actually worked myself today." She swung her arms around me and raised her hand up to my neck.

"As your coach, it's my responsibility to keep you all in the best shape possible," she said, with a tinge of intensity in her voice.

"I'm still drinking that soda," I protested, slipping away. She wasn't even that strong honestly, but her eyes flashed as Sam chucked me a can of Coke. She quickly pivoted her foot and snatched it in midair, smirking in my direction. "Not necessary."

"What the hell Coach?" Sam yelled. "That was for Nanase!" Alyssa smirked, gripping it tightly.

"None of you better be fucking around drinking soda and scarfing down junk food today," she spat. "I'm serious about this prelims for the Olympics." She flung her soda at the floor, causing the contents to spill everywhere.

"Yes Coach!" The class chorused. All of us filed into the locker room and I turned the dial on my locker, wondering about the meet. My stomach was born to feel queasy the entire day for sure. I knew I could explain to everybody else on what had caused me to miss the carnival but not Makoto.

Anyone but him.

A large hand slapped me on the back and I jerked forward. "Ey, Nanase! Loosen up, would ya? Are you that scared of Coach?" It was Sam. I rubbed my back and winced. It was like I could feel the large red hand-print that was probably on it.

"I'm just thinking," I replied, slipping into my jeans and shoes. I tugged my shirt over my head and swung the bag over my shoulder. "See you guys later and Merry Christmas tomorrow."

"Merry Christmas!" They all shouted back at me. I smiled to myself as I headed out the door into the blizzard-like cold. Snow was falling at a fast pace and the air smelled of hot chocolate and peppermint. The coffee shop was supposed to be having a special today for Christmas so I decided to stop by on my way home.

I trudged along the sidewalk, my eyes averting glances from strangers. There wasn't anything that could keep my mind off of what would become of myself after tonight. Makoto's thousand-watt smile was branded into my mind and the possibilities of his expressions tonight would be endless.

I entered the coffee shop only to find a line as long as Rin's hair. I sighed and leaned against the glass door, peering around.

Shit.

At table seventeen sat a tall and fair-haired boy with dark rimmed glasses perched on his delicate nose. He was sipping a cup of coffee in a mug as white as snow. When our eyes met, I swear I felt myself sink into the depths of him.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, hurrying over. I smiled at him. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Did you finish early?" I asked, ignoring the tension building up inside of me. Just tell him already. You'll hurt him, for it's for the best.

"Yeah! While you're here, why don't you stay for awhile? Rin and Sousuke should be here any minute, anyways."

"I think I'll pass," I declined. "I have to head home, actually. I'm taking a to-go." I started to move forward when he caught hold of my hand.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. "You seem tense."

"I'm fine," I responded. A part of me wanted to cry and collapse of the floor. Another part of me wished to ignore him. To move on as if nothing had happened at all.

"Haru!"

The door of the coffee shop flew open at a minute's notice and there stood Alyssa, her hair covered in sticky snowflakes, her cheeks as red as holly. She was panting and her knees were shaking. She stumbled inside and she was unnoticed until she blurted the out words that changed my life.

"Tokitsu Sports Arena at 5 PM sharp today!"

The last part of me knew that everything was over when Makoto gave me a look that would shatter my world forever.