Bye beach house

The waves drifted calmly under the raw night sky, and the stars in the sky dimmed as the moon looked over the horizon. There was not a sound out there; the only people who were there were Futoshi and Reina. 

Under the moonlit sky, Reina's eyes sparkled. She turned to Futoshi, who was leaning over the silver railing of the balcony. 

"Hey Futoshi... I need to tell you something." 

Her words were soft, calming. 

Futoshi gazed at the water that had now darkened. What he saw looking back at him was himself, the same old unkempt hair, but an above-average frame and face stared back at him. 

"What? You aren't gonna give me a whole lore dump, are you?"

"No, not that, and why be so blunt?!"

"Just how I am."

"I know."

They both answered, not facing each other.

"So annoying!" 

Futoshi shouted at himself- the doppleganger reflected in the water. He had taken a shower just before this, so his hair had still been wet. Plus, the steam from the shower had clouded his vision, letting a loose bit of shampoo in his eye. 

Reina jumped back, getting spooked by the annoyed sigh he had just let out. In contrast, Reina's hair had been silky smooth from top to bottom. Unlike Futoshi, Reina came out of the shower perfectly put together. 

"What were you gonna say?"

Rubbing his eye vigorously, Futoshi popped the question that Reina had desperately wanted to answer.  She grabbed a longer strand of hair, running her fingers through it and wrapping it around a finger.

"Uhm...well."

Her face turned red, and she paced around.

"Futoshi... I love-"

"Futoshi! We're done."

Haruto peeked around the corner at the two of them, followed shortly by Rin, who had been tailing behind. 

"Leave the two of them alone!" Rin grabbed  Haruto by the ear. "Read the room!"

"Ow, ow, ow...stop!"

Haruto put his hands together, apologizing. The quiet moment had been stripped from them.

Reina lowered her head.

"Forget it."

The mood had been ruined, so whatever she wanted to say would've had to be put on the back burner. 

What was she going to say? I'm pretty sure I heard the word 'love' in there, but I'm not sure. Reina loves me, huh? I honestly wonder what that would be like, probably just as bad, if not worse than the dream. 

The two headed inside. Futoshi was leading the way while Reina had been trailing behind, not saying a word.  The lights rained down, casting their light over the room below. The overheads helped light the way back to the living area. 

They both lowered themselves on a nearby couch and joined in the discussion:

"Looks like you two sorted things out then."

"Still mad, but I can see why he lashed out. Plus I blame Yamada-kun."

 Rin pouted as she pinned the blame of her anger onto Shuchin, who had been sitting opposite her. He had been sitting idly, knocking his fists against his leg. 

"Again, I'm sorry, everyone."

Then- 

His head cast upward on its own. He looked around to see who it was. There was a familiar scent in the air- one that he had become accustomed to. 

"Hajime-san?"

He spoke in a flustered tone. Her words must've still lingered, the ones from before. She had told him, 'I love you.'  A phrase that carried all of one's feelings. 

What a waste of perfectly good looks. 

Even after she had come out and told him how she felt, he still refused to acknowledge it. He sat there, fiddling with something in his hands; it was as if this were a way to avoid confronting the situation. 

It wasn't his place to say anything; heck, he even knew that. They had practically been strangers- ones that had just met recently due to club activities. Even then, he couldn't hold his tongue. Seeing how much warmth was in her eyes when gazing at him, it wasn't right. 

"So, Yamada-kun, have you given her an answer yet?"  

He spoke without pulling any punches.

Shuchin lowered his head; his expression had shifted, reflecting the sadness in his eyes. Unlike before, they had a softer, more regretful tinge to them. 

"No, I uhh..."
"You what ?"

Futoshi raised his voice, but kept his tone monotone. He had wanted to get to the bottom of whatever he was going to say next. 

"I... uh"

  Shuchin started to roll over his words, like he had been caught red-handed when he had tried to steal something.  

"I turned her down."

Yep, thought so. 

Looking at Aoi, who tried her hardest not to be cast under his gaze, Futoshi sighed.

She had been sitting there, tousling her hair, running her hands through it to avoid suspicion. Her gaze had hollowed out, leaving nothing in its reflection. If he had gazed at her a second too long, he might've been dead. 

"He said let's stay friends, he said he likes someone else."

She repeated this phrase, curled up into a ball. She had held her knees close to her chest as she cried. 

Even though she tried to hide them, the tears had soaked through her clothes.

Reina and Rin went over to comfort her, rubbing their hand up against her back. She had lost, in the mental race for Shuchin's affection, Aoi had been left trailing behind. 

He understood in that moment. 

He faced Reina, who was still there, comforting Rin. Their plan had been a resounding failure. For starters, Haruto had blown up, and both Rin and Shuchin. Rin had confessed that the girl they had known was a lie and...

Reina tried to tell me something.

But what was that something? The thought hammered into him like a drum. She had always been defensive and deceitful in how she felt, but then they had these moments, those quiet moments that felt almost perfect. 

Like they were the only ones experiencing it, that's how it had made him feel. 

Her eyes had usually had a sharpness to them, but in those quiet moments, they softened. 

Wait...