Chapter Text
Rin was already sitting at his usual table in the cafeteria when Sousuke walked in. Rin watched his best friend walking in his direction with determination in his eyes. The red haired teenager slightly judged his friend for having that much enthusiasm for a Monday, but Rin had a rough Sunday and he was still in a sour mood. He had been sulking all day long in his room, trying to do his homework but was too distracted by the events of the night before. When he got home from his date on Saturday, Rin had locked himself in his bedroom and watched a compilation of the best scenes in romantic movies to try and cheer himself up. To be fair, Rin has been pretty devastated from his date - well, not exactly the date itself. Mai was a pretty nice and fun girl, but Rin was getting frustrated and disappointed, and so many more emotions that he couldn’t put his finger on.
He wanted to find the love of his life so badly, just like his parents. Even though he couldn’t remember his father very much since he passed away when he was still young, Rin loved hearing his mother talk about his father. The story always sounded so romantic, just like a fairytale. When he was young, Rin insisted that his mother would tell him and his little sister the story of how they met before going to bed. It sounded even more passionate and real than any other bedtime story, because Gou and him were the proof of their love. He wanted to believe that life was wonderful and that he would find love when he was still young. He wanted to build a family of his own, and he wouldn’t accept to do so until he found his soulmate. Rin knew that statistically speaking, almost half of the population was married or in a relationship with someone who wasn’t their true soulmate, that even if they weren’t made for each other, some couples even had children. He didn’t want any of that. He wanted to find the one. He had to.
When Sousuke sat in the seat in front of him with a mischievous grin, Rin eyed him suspiciously. The black haired boy lifted a finger to make him wait while he opened his school bag and fished out a sheet of paper. He handed it to Rin and waited for him to read.
It looked like a job application, and as he started reading it, Rin was indeed right. It was a flyer from Iwatobi’s lifeguard’s crew, announcing their recruitment season starting the following weekend. Swimming has always been one of Rin’s passions and Sousuke must’ve thought it would be a great way for Rin to pile up some cash during summer. Rin had shared his dream of going international and competing in bigger competitions, though it wasn’t cheap. The Iwatobi’s lifeguard’s salary seemed quite nice, and Rin already knew he had all the abilities required for the job. He was a part of the swim team of his school and was competing in some competitions so obviously knowing how to swim - and fast - wasn’t a problem for him. Plus he already knew CPR. Rin truly appreciated Sousuke’s faith in him, though he wasn’t interested. He needed to focus on his strokes and wanted to spend his last summer before college as free as possible. He wouldn’t admit it, but he also wanted to spend all summer finding his soulmate, if possible.
Rin handed back the sheet to Sousuke and shook his head. He heard his friend breathe out an annoyed huffed but didn’t pay him any attention. He simply resumed eating his tuna sandwich while Sousuke scribbled something on the back of the sheet. As soon as he was done, the black haired boy slammed the sheet between Rin and him on the table, making other students in the cafeteria jump in surprise. After all, the room was mostly silent - not a lot of people are lucky enough to find their soulmates at such a young age, and if they do, they usually try to keep a low profile so as not to annoy other kids in school. Rin sighed and looked down at his best friend’s messy handwriting.
If someone drowns, someone will have to do cpr. What if you find your soulmate while saving their life?
Rin stared at the words, especially the last sentence. He still wasn’t really interested, but the thought did cross his mind and a small glimpse of hope bloomed into his chest.
But as tempting as it sounded, Rin sighed. He picked up his phone and started typing a message.
Rin : I need to get ready for college. I want to apply to universities that have great swim teams. I don’t have time for that.
Sousuke : I’m gonna try and join the team, so we would be together. Also, think about it! If you’re so desperate to find love, it’ll be a great opportunity to kiss people. Assuming that they’ll need cpr, that is.
Rin looked up at his best friend and huffed in annoyance. He ignored the cocky smile Sousuke was giving him and he typed furiously on the small keys of his phone.
Rin : I’m not that desperate!
Sousuke : Please. We’ve known each other for over ten years, your eyes and body language SCREAM for someone to love you. I’m pretty sure you kissed half the people at school.
Rin groaned as much as he could, though the sound got stuck in his throat and he simply got up from his place. He threw the last piece of sandwich on the tray and packed his things. He purposefully ignored Sousuke’s strangled laugh as he stormed out of the cafeteria. He threw away the remnant of his lunch in the nearest trash can and walked away. His whole face and ears felt hot under his skin and Rin knew without having to look in a mirror that he was blushing. He wasn’t sure if it was from anger or if that’s because Sousuke was right about him wanting to find love so desperately, but he didn’t like that his best friend was calling him out like that.
He looked down at his phone when it vibrated in his hands and almost wanted to throw it into the wall after reading the new message he just got.
Sousuke : Does that mean you’re not gonna join the team?
Rin : Fuck off.
He put his phone back in his pocket and made a beeline to the locker room leading to the pool. He still had about thirty minutes before going back to class, and he wanted to clear his mind before attacking the rest of the day. Lately, the only way he could relax was under water, so he quickly put his clothes and bag into a locker and walked around the pool toward the diving boards. He put on his swimming cap and goggles, snapping the elastic band behind his head like he always does. He positioned himself on the platform, leaning his weight on one of his feet, the other one behind him ready to propulse himself in the water. He looked up at the clock on the wall and waited for the clock’s hand to hit the mark.
When there were only a few seconds before the second hand hit the number, Rin took a big breath and held it in. And then he jumped.