Work Text:
Chapter one: preparation panic
Bocchi POV:
It was summer once more. This school year had gone by way quicker than I thought it would. This was mostly thanks to Kita. We had grown close. Very close, in fact. So close in fact, that she'd not only give up spending time with her pupils at lunch to come hang out with me, but also given me permission to use her surname, "Ikuyo". Naturally, I was still unsure about calling her anything other than Kita, since I knew that she felt the same way about that name as I did interacting with people out of the blue.
Still, she'd manage to change me in ways I never thought possible. Though I crumbled and turned into a pink tornado of anxiety, she had helped me work the courage to try to talk with some of the friends in her class. We had also gone out... Quite a lot considering my record before this year was 0, excluding family trips. We had about 5 to 6 outings all of us as a band, as friends, but also, on two separate occasions, Kita had invited me only. Not Nijika, not even her idol Ryo, me, the boring and anxious Hitori Gotoh.... Perhaps it was me not understanding human emotions, another flaw that kept my already flawed character in an unlikable state, but I swear I had a crush on her. Like not just a superficial "You're so pretty, please go out with me crush", no, I wanted to hold her close, watch movies with her, be by her side when she needed most and grow old-
"Hitori-chaaaaaan! You there?"
Kita awoke me from my transe of thinking about... Well... Her. I observed my surroundings and saw that we had already arrived at the Starry club.
"Oh, y-yeah-, just lost in thought a bit, you know." I tried to give a reassuring shrug, but by Kita-sans attempt to hold in a giggle I could tell I was looking silly to say the least.
We climbed down the short set of stairs and entered the club, to see Nijika and Ryo awaiting at the "planning table" while Seika took inventory.
"Hello Kita-san! Hello Bocchi-chaaaann!"
"Hello Kita-san, Bocchi-san."
"Hi!"
"Hello Nijika-san and Ryo-senpai! Hello Seika-san!"
"Afternoon."
The whole dynamic of the "Starry gang" displayed through simple greetings. I had grown quite fond of these girls. If anything were to happen to them, I'd kill EVERYONE IN THE ROOM, AND THEN MYSE-
"C'mon, Hitori-chan, looks like we've important matters to discuss!" I could only let out a cry of indignation as Kita-san dragged me down the stairs to join our friends in the discussion.
"Sooooooo" began Nijika, putting her hands on the meeting table and standing up. "Me and Ryo-san have been discussing about the possibility of having a proper beach day, all four of us!"
"Huh?!"
"Beach day?!!!" Kita was already shining brighter than the sun. I tried to tap her head to make her sit back down, but ended up giving her two soft pats. She completely froze before she sat back down. I couldn't see her face, but I could've sworn she was blushing.
"Anyway," continued Nijika, Roy-san has talked to her folks, and they said we'd be able to use their summer home for a night or two, depending on how long we want to stay."
"YOU HAVE A BEACH HOUSE?!"
"Yes. It's no grand Villa, but my parents could afford a decent sea-side house, and well..."
Kita still looked flabbergasted, while Ryo looked somewhat painted. I shot Nijika and inquisitive look.
"Oh, she's been forced to be careful with her allowance and not spend it all on basses."
"It's been a painful two months." The sorrow in her voice sounded genuine. I could only sympathise with her... Not too much though, she still owed me for a snack from a week ago.
"So, Bocchi-chan, Kita-san, what do you two say? Me and Ryo-san would be down for a beach day."
"YES! YES YES YES!"
"Bocchi-chan, are you alright?"
Nope, no I was not. I didn't have time to even consider all the possible outcomes for spending a whole day with three other people that were not my family, when Kita just... AAAAAGH!
"I'm n-not t-too sure." I stammered, using all my strength to even mutter those words.
"Oh, don't you worry. I'll handle the cooking. We're just gonna go to sunbathe, enjoy some sea water and have fun!"
"GUH-!" Sunbathe.... Seawater.... SWIMSUITS! ALL OF US WILL BE IN SWIMSUITS!!!! NONONONONONONO NO, I CAN'T, ALL OF THESE PRETTY GIRLS IN SWIMSUITS. Oh no I'd need to wear a swimsuit...
Feeling at the brink of an internal crisis, I looked over to my friends. They all seem concerned. After a while, Nijika spoke up.
"Listen, Bocchi-chan, we understand if you don't want to go, but... After last summer we realised we ought to do something nice for you. We know you don't go out much, so we wanted to offer you this opportunity." I once again looked around. Kita's smile was the only one that didn't look soft, only because I could tell she was bubbling with excitement.
I finally came to a conclusion: "Yes, I'd love to go-"
"YAHOOOO!" Kita cut me off, almost taking off towards the moon.
"B-b-b-but..." All attention was once again drawn towards me. Whyyyyyyyyy?
"What's wrong, Bocchi Chan?"
"I- don'thaveanysuitableswimwear...." If it weren't for the clattering of Seika now tending the glasses, you could hear a pin drop. They all stared blankly. That's until Ryo spoke up.
"That's okay, I'd like to get a new set for myself."
"Huh?"
"I was originally going to borrow some of Seika-san's old swimsuits from when she was my age buuuut-"
"You wish!"
"I rest my case."
We looked over at Kita, who seemed to be a little taken aback by the shift in focus.
"Oh-, I don't... Really need anything new, I'm pretty well stacked when it comes to-....* She trailed off, her face growing red with embarrassment. Did she think we think...?
"Okay soooo, shopping trip tomorrow?"
"Mhm."
"Y-yeah-..."
"I'll come with!... J-just in case, you know..."
"Then it's settled, today we work and practice hard, tomorrow we go swimsuit shopping!"
In unison, me Kita and Roy responded with a resounding "Yes!". We stored away our instruments and other stuff and clocked in, ready to work. Still, the thought never left my mind. It was going to be an interesting day tomorrow.