Part 2/3 x)

The boys congregated by the concessions stand, nattering amongst themselves about the details of the film they'd just seen and giggling over the funnier jokes.

Nagisa smiled widely, unable to keep the smile from his face, nodding and giggling along with his friends.

They walked from the cinema, down the road in a large clump towards the swimming pool.

Nagisa wrapped an arm around Nitori's shoulders, hugging him, "Did you enjoy the film Nitori?"

Nitori nodded, "Yeah, it was great… Thank you for paying for me."

"I couldn't have you miss it!" Nagisa almost yelled, hugging Nitori tighter and nuzzling him slightly.

Nitori bit his lip slightly, cowering slightly, "Yeah, I know," he said quietly as they turned into the swimming pool, Rin holding the door open for them.

Rin held out a hand to stop Nitori as he walked through the door, "Nitori… Could I talk to you for a moment?"

Nitori gave a small nod, "Yes Senpai," he squeaked, looking at the floor, still unable to stop smiling. Nagisa gave him another small squeeze and jogged off after Rei, Haru and Makoto.

"…What did you want to talk about?" Nitori asked once Nagisa had left, looking down at his feet, still smiling but unsure of Rin's tone.

"Are you ok?" Rin asked, frowning slightly.

Nitori nodded, looking up at him, "Yes, of course I am... Why wouldn't I be?"

Rin shifted slightly, swallowing hard before he spoke again, "I was just wondering, because of last night." He began walking towards the changing rooms, not waiting for Nitori to follow him but glancing back towards him as he turned the corner.

Nitori smiled as their eyes met, and Rin walked away, not breaking his pace. Nitori let out a tiny hiccupped giggle before following him, his smile breaking his face.

He looked around as he entered the changing room, seeing only Rin in there, "…Where are the others?"

"You know how fast they change," Rin said shortly, pulling off his clothes and changing quickly, eager to re-join his friends.

Nitori nodded, watching Rin leave the room again. He began to change, slower than the others, listening to them as their noise grew louder.

When he entered the room they were already in the water, playfully racing and splashing each other.

"Nitori," Makoto called, waving him into the water, "The heating was on already so the water's warm."

Nitori nodded and jumped in, not making any effort to be graceful with his entry. He swam a length and back, stopping at the group, wondering why their eyes were all on him, he smiled and looked between them, panting slightly.

"Nitori…" Makoto started, smiling softly as the other boys dispersed, "Rin talked to us. He said that last night you were upset."

Nitori looked taken aback, lowering himself slightly in the water, "No, I wasn't upset…" he felt his heart rise into his throat, he didn't want this kind of attention, he didn't want them to take this the wrong way.

Makoto frowned slightly, "Nitori, if anything's wrong you can tell us. If you're having any problems we can try to help."

Nitori shook his head, "I don't need any help, I'm fine."

"…Is it something to do with why you couldn't pay for yourself at the cinema? We can stop doing things that are so expensive."

Nitori bit his lip again, once more astounded by their willingness to give up on things in order to make him feel included. "No… I bought new clothes so I've used my allowance for this week, that's why I couldn't pay. I'm not in any trouble I promise."

Makoto exhaled slightly, thankful that Nitori wasn't having any serious problems. "…Then why did Rin hear you crying, Nitori?"

Nitori's breath hitched slightly as he tried to think of an answer, trying no to feel angry at Rin for telling everyone, but feeling the emotion creep up on him regardless and a small frown creep onto his face. "He shouldn't have told you that," he said quietly, "I wasn't crying because I was upset," he explained tentatively, "I just, I didn't mean to cry."

Makoto frowned and nodded slightly, "…Ok. Well, if you want to talk about anything you can talk to us. …You'll have to talk to Rin about it, you know he won't bring it up."

Nitori nodded, glancing over to look at Rin, watching him swim, "Ok." He turned back to continue talking to Makoto, but realised that Haru had come to drag him away.

He sighed slightly and moved away. He didn't want the group to think he was upset, why had Rin told everyone? He hadn't needed to tell anyone, why couldn't he have just talked to him?

Nitori lifted himself up to sit on the side of the pool, frowning as he watched Rin swim.

"Are you ok?" Nagisa ask, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"I'm fine," Nitori replied, trying not to snap at the other boy; he'd done nothing wrong after all.

Nagisa glanced at Rin, smiling softly, "You're mad at Rin-chan?" he asked softly, "You should talk to him, he's worried about you."

"He's got nothing to be worried about," Nitori said with a shake of his head.

Nagisa nodded, "I know... You know he was worried we wouldn't like you. He cares about you even though he doesn't say it."

Nitori smiled, moving his legs absentmindedly through the water. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, feeling himself blush slightly. "…I should talk to him shouldn't I."

Nagisa nodded, "I would." He smiled, giving Nitori a slight pat on the shoulder, "I know you like him back. He's too stubborn to talk to you about anything like that…"

Nitori bit his lip, unsure of what to say in reply, he gave a small nod and waited for Nagisa to leave, smiling to himself and letting out a small sigh, he lay back on the tiles, folding his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling, and he began to plan out the situation in his head.

He wasn't sure how to approach Rin about this sort of thing, he'd tried to refrain from talking to him about his 'feelings' in the past, the idea of it made him light headed.

He sighed and smiled softly, letting out a tiny chuckle as he realised again how lucky he was to know these people.

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