I should be studying now, so I don't fail all my classes when I go back to school, but never mind that.
Okabe is different now. Mayuri can't quite put her finger on what caused the changes; she thinks that the weird dreams she's been having might have something to do with it, but she doesn't know what. Whatever happened to him, she's determined to help him with it. After all, Okabe is her best friend and he's done so much for her, so if she can do anything for him, she's determined to do it.
He walks with her to school every morning now, and meets up with her every afternoon and walks her home, or to the lab, or to Queen May's. Mayuri is delighted to be able to spend more time with him, but she can't help but think that Okabe must have more important things to do than accompany her everywhere. When she asks him about it, he shrugs it off. She wants to push the issue, but the look in his eyes, so familiar to the despair she's seen in her dreams, makes her drop the subject.
He doesn't argue with Mr. Braun anymore, instead just passively accepting the threats to raise the rent. Daru comments on it being odd, but mostly he just seems relieved that they are not being threatened with being evicted on a daily basis. Mayuri notices how Okabe seems so tense whenever Mr. Braun or the new part-time worker, Moeka, are around. Most people wouldn't notice the difference, but Mayuri knows Okabe too well to miss the slight tensing of his shoulders or the wary look in his eyes. She doesn't ask; she, too, is wary of Moeka, but she can't quite remember why.
Okabe is wary of cars now. Whenever they go somewhere together, he's extra careful at every crosswalk, only crossing when there are no cars in sight. This new quirk may annoy the people walking around them, but Mayuri is happy to just roll with it if it makes him feel better. He insists on leading her by the hand wherever they go, and it's a comforting reminder of how he always did that when they were young. Unlike then, however, she's slightly nervous at each intersection, and she doesn't know why.
He has terrible nightmares now—he always wakes up shouting her name. She tries her best to comfort him, stroking his hair and murmuring to him, but he always looks so terrified and upset when he wakes up. She wonders if his dreams are like hers, but without his timely rescue at the end. He always seems so surprised to see her when he jerks awake. She can't help but feel that the nightmares are all her fault, and she racks her brain to try to think of a way to help him.
After yet another dream where he wakes up screaming her name, Mayuri thinks she's thought of a plan. She waits for him to adjust and remember, then tries to get his attention. "Okarin?" she asks quietly. "If anything is wrong, you can tell me, okay?"
"I know that, sweetheart," he whispers.
She grabs his hands and wraps them around hers. "Please, Okarin. Tell me what's going on. I want to help you," she begs.
There's a minute of silence, and then—"You really want to know? The whole story?"
"Yes, of course! If you talk about it, maybe we can find a way to fix it."
He takes a deep breath, sighs heavily, and begins: "Well, it all started with the microwave we bought…"