Ongoing Cycle

36

That was too close for [Y/N]'s comfort – way too close. It didn't help that she started to imagine how it would feel if she had leaned in a little more. To have her fingers digging into those soft, dark locks of his and to have those warm lips pressed against her own. Those thoughts of hers horrified her. It also led her to the conclusion she'd been denying for a while: That she... had feelings for Kuro.

      She didn't know how or why, but it snuck up on her, and she hated it. She had to somehow dispose these feelings of hers before things got messy. Her best bet was to stay away from him for the rest of the trip. If she was lucky enough – maybe by the end of the trip – she would go back to being sensible.

     It had been three days since the first night of the trip and she'd been successful so far. During the activities that the staff made them do, she'd been put into groups different from Kuro's. Whenever they ate their meals, they also sat in separate groups. And most fortunate of all, he hadn't visited her another night.

     Now, on her fourth day here, her friends wanted to go swimming. She didn't feel like swimming, but Miku had been resilient. Fixing the straps of her two piece bathing suit, she sighed and wrapped a towel around her body. Walking out of the bathroom and into the living room, she found her three roommates waiting for her. With that, the four girls stepped out into the late evening sun.

     The walk to the indoor pool was a short one. They entered the large, dark room that was illuminated by the blue lights glowing underwater. Taking in the place, [Y/N]'s throat suddenly got caught when she saw Kuro and his friends. Fighting the urge to flee the pool and run back to the cabin, she followed her friends to the plastic chairs. They all took off their towels, so she numbly did too.

     "There's so many cute boys here," Miku whispered to her.

     "I guess," [Y/N] responded nervously.

     "They're not as cute as us though," Oka joked sassily, leaving them giggling.

     On their bare feet, they stepped through the marble floor and got into the water.

     "It's so cold," Aoi pointed out with a shivering voice.

     "Should we go to the hot tub instead?" Miku suggested.

     [Y/N] glanced at the hot tub in the corner of the room and her blood froze. That was where Kuro and his friends currently were. She didn't want to go – not at all. She stood there, feet firmly planted in the water as her friends climbed out. Miku looked over there and it seemed as if she also noticed the same things as she did. Except, instead of turning to [Y/N], she turned over to Aoi.

     "We don't have to go over there if you don't want to, Aoi. I see your ex."

     Aoi's response had totally let her down. "No, it's fine. I don't want you guys to freeze here just because of me."

     "You guys can go ahead," [Y/N] finally blurted. "I'll stay here."

     Miku looked over at her and shook her head. Before she could protest, her best friend reached over and pulled her arm. Being forced to leave the water, she was now dragged towards the hot tub. Panicking on the inside, she anxiously tried to think of any excuse to leave; however, none came to mind. They reached the smaller rectangle of water and she lowered her eyes to the ground. She knew she was supposed to act normal to not raise any suspicions with Kuro, but she couldn't – no matter how hard she tried to — make eye contact with the peculiar male.

     Someone from Kuro's group lowly whistled. She scowled at that, but still didn't raise her eyes. These boys must be... excited. Their hungry hues were probably taking in the view in front of them.

     Soon, they slipped into the hot water and Oka even began to make conversation with the boys.

     Staring at the rippling water below her, she slowly swayed her right hand back and forth. Suddenly, a splash of water hit her face and she could no longer keep her head down. It turned out to only be Oka jumping in the middle of hot tub, but that was enough for her to look straight into those blue eyes.

      Her breath hitched as she couldn't seem to look elsewhere. Those eyes staring coolly right back her, the lips that belonged to the same face curved up. They glistened from the water and parted slowly, as if to was mock her. Then the hair. God. The hair. Dripping at its tips, his bangs fell sexily across his forehead. She wished she could just go over there and—

     It was actually Kuro who looked away first. Using his lean muscles to push him upward, he went back to conversing with his friend.

     [Y/N] cursed under her breath. Her face flustering and her heart pounding, she gritted her teeth. She'd gone swimming with him before. What the hell was so different this time that she was so entranced by him?

     Tired of this shit, she quickly excused herself from her friends. Hurrying out of the suffocating tub, she wrapped her towel around herself. Stepping out of the large hall, she was now in a hallway. She was taken aback when she saw another familiar face.

     "We meet again!" exclaimed Shou. His goggles on as he was holding a big duck floaty.

     His friends were right behind him and when they saw her, they shot her a small smile. One of Shou's friend spoke to him. "When you're done, come join us, okay?"

     Shou happily agreed to that and his group left the corridor. Now it was just the two of them.

     "Are you having fun so far?" [Y/N] asked him, forcing a grin onto her face.

     His eyes lit up at her question. "Yes! They have so much dessert here, it's crazy." He then looked down at the wet towel she wrapped around herself. "Are you already leaving?"

     "Yeah... I think I am..."

     He frowned. "Aw... I was hoping to go swimming with you," he mumbled under his breath.

     "We still have a few more days left. I'm sure we can swim another time," [Y/N] assured him.  

     "Yay!" Shou cheered, giving her hug. Surprised at this sudden motion, she hesitantly hugged back.

     It may have been random, but it felt nice; it was something she needed during this time of confusion.