A/N: Yo! This is my first DDLC fanfic. I've written other fanfics before, but that was years ago so I may be a bit rusty. This is going to be a 5 part story consisting of a prologue, three longer chapters and an epilogue about the same length as this prologue. Hope you enjoy!

Prologue: Crossing the Line

"You really do act as young as you look, Natsuki."

"Me? Look who's talking, you wannabe edgy bitch!"

"You think you can counterbalance your toxic personality just by dressing and acting cute? The only thing cute about you is how hard you try."

"Whoa, be careful or you might cut yourself on that edge, Yuri. Oh, my bad... You already do, don't you?"

Next thing she knew, Yuri felt a sharp pain in her hand. Had it not been for the sharp sound echoing in the clubroom, she wouldn't have even noticed how hard she actually slapped the pink-haired girl in front of her. Natsuki saw the taller girl through blurred vision.

'How could she do that to me?'

A sob tore its way out of the short girl's throat before she darted for the door, leaving it open behind her as she ran out.

Monika stood silently with wide eyes and a hanging jaw.

'What kind of club president can't even keep her own members in check?' she thought to herself.

Time seemed to stand still in the next few moments, only restarting once Sayori opened the door with a wide smile on her face and a half eaten chocolate bar in one hand.

"What did I miss?" she asked, completely oblivious to the situation.

"I'm sorry," choked Yuri.

'I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry... I'm sorry.'

Sayori could only watch as the long-haired girl clutched her left hand, endlessly staring at it. Her expression immediately fell.

"Yuri... Is everything okay?"

The girl in question didn't respond. Sayori looked around the room and turned to her superior.

"Where's Natsuki?"

Yuri suddenly inhaled sharply. Her eyes widened as she snapped out of her looping thoughts. She looked around the room as if she had no idea where she was.

'I have to get out of here.'

She shoved past Sayori and ran towards the bathroom. Luckily for her, the halls were void of anyone who would question her actions. Not that she really cared.

The purple-haired girl allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief as she reached her destination, only to inhale it once more at the sight of the short girl crying in front of the mirror. Natsuki only glanced at her for a split second, but to Yuri, it felt as though she was staring at her broken expression for an eternity. The broken expression she was responsible for. Her voice got caught in her throat. Her thoughts began to loop once more.

'I'm sorry...'

She felt tears well up in her purple eyes as she turned away.

No. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't allowed to. She inflicted pain on one of her friends. She had to suffer. She wouldn't let crying make her feel better. She didn't deserve to feel better. She didn't deserve her friends. She didn't deserve anything good. She only deserved pain.

'Pain...'

Yuri stopped dead in her tracks. As she looked around, she saw that she had already made it well out of the school building.

'My bag is still in the clubroom.'

She looked back momentarily, but her breath hitched when she saw her broken friend standing in the distant doorway. The lump in her throat grew, which ended up making it difficult for her to breathe. Despite this, she turned and ran even faster than before.

"Yuri!" called Natsuki.

'No...'

She sped up, knowing that it wasn't good for her. Natsuki could only watch as her broken friend sprinted out of sight. She let out a disheartened sigh and tenderly touched the right side of her face.

'And here I thought school was a safe space,'

She turned around and saw Sayori and Monika standing in the hallway, waiting for her. She looked down, unable to face them in her current state. She couldn't help the fresh tears that easily flowed down the path that was previously laid out for them.

"Leave me alone..." she spat.

Monika stood still, heeding the short girl's command. The vice president, on the other hand, didn't really care about what she said. She knew that Natsuki had a hard time showing her true feelings, so Sayori simply embraced her.

"It's okay, you're okay," she said.

Monika looked on with a sad smile as Sayori comforted Natsuki.

'If only I could do the same for Yuri right now,'

She realised that she couldn't do anything about it in that moment, so instead, she joined Sayori. Natsuki realised that these people must surely be trustworthy if they can show her this kind of compassion after the horrible things she'd said. She found solace in the loving arms of her friends, the same loving arms in which she, for the first time, readily showed her vulnerability.

A/N: I'm not used to writing in the third person, nor am I used to writing with so many characters interacting with one another at the same time, so I apologise if you found it a bit awkward to read. Otherwise, constructive criticism is welcome. Chapter 1 will be out in a week, so look forward to it!