Chapter Text
I hadn’t always lived in Iwatobi, I went to elementary in another town not too far away. I didn’t remember much about it, I had a few friends but the relationships I formed with them didn’t really seem to stick. I would hear them talk about me behind my back, so I decided to not let them get too close. So when my mother told me she got a new job in another town and that we would both would have to move I wasn’t really all that distraught. Neither were my friends, which I had to admit hurt just a little bit. It affirmed my suspicions that they never really cared about me in the first place. That last day of 6th year, the day I had to move, I cried just a little. My mom assured me that I would find new friends that were even better than the ones you had and this time would be different. It made me feel a little better. My mom could always do that, brighten my day when I didn’t really want to be happy. I always kind of saw her as the best friend I never had.
That summer that we moved went by surprisingly fast. Between moving and my mom making sure I did have a least a little bit of a summer vacation, the school year was quickly approaching. We went to the beach a couple times and I had a lot of fun there. I’m kind of glad that there is one was so close in this town. I’ve always loved the water. Ever since my mom made me take swimming lessons when I was about 5 years old. I felt like a totally different person in the water. I was more confident, happier and carefree. The water accepted me as I was. The water didn’t care that I was too shy to make friends, it didn’t care that I was so self-conscious that I had a hard time looking up to face other people. The water saw me as [f/n] and no one else.
Before I knew it, it was the night before 1st year and my first day at Iwatobi Middle. I was secretly freaking out about the next day. What if no one liked me? What if I was the center of being bullied in this new town? What if I made no friends and I was alone like the previous 6 years? I knew you could get through it, I had before, but I would at least like to have a few friends.
I didn’t let my mom see my worries as we ate dinner with that night. We were enjoying this because we knew after this, dinner with my mom would be a rare occurrence. My mom was starting her new job the next day. The hospital she was working for let her get adjusted to the move before starting, which allowed you two to have some bonding time. She was a ER doctor in Tokyo before you moved but she found a job here at Iwatobi that seemed to be of slower pace. She would get to spend more time with me but she would still get home late. At least we would have weekends together. We understood why we couldn’t spend as much time together as she wanted. She worked so we could have the life that we had right now. And she took this job so she could do more for us. I could never thank her enough for all that she has done, all that she has sacrificed. So I ate my dinner happy and let my worries stay in the back of my mind. We talked about our new life that is about to begin and she jokes about the new school year.
“I bet you’ll have a boyfriend within 3 months. I wouldn’t be surprised. I have a pretty beautiful daughter.” Your mom jokes.
“MOM!” you blush. “Thanks, but I’ll just be happy to make a few friends. Ones that I can be proud to call my friends.” you confess.
“[F/N],” your mom softens “Don’t worry. You’ll find friends here. People in smaller towns are usually aren’t as spiteful as in the place we were from. You’ll find friends and you’re always welcome to invite them over. Unless its boys…I want to at least know about that” she winks at me.
I blush furiously and my mom just chuckles. She looks up at the clock, “[F/N], I think we should head to bed. It’s getting late and we both have a busy day tomorrow.” My mom starts heading to her room and then turns back, “And [F/N]-chan don’t worry about tomorrow. It will go just fine. Probably better than you are expecting.” And then she headed back to her room for the night.
I decided I better head to bed too so I headed to my room. There are still a few boxes around but for the most part my room is starting to look like my room again. I head over to my bed and just lay there. That is when the worries that I held back at dinner start floating to the surface. I try to close my eyes but all I see is darkness. I toss and turn all night, waking up a few times.
Easy to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night.