MC awoke to the gentle tapping of rain on his windowsill. It came with softly, falling with a gentle pitter-patter that only served to soothe. With a stretch and a yawn, MC turned over to his side and tried to go back to sleep.

Wait a minute, he thought. Something's wrong. It doesn't rain in the game world.

MC shot up and immediately turned his attention to the world outside of his window. Sure enough, a torrential downpour was occurring, and the normally bright blue skies he had grown to accept as permanent were gone, hidden from view. Shrouding them were numerous of the darkest gray imaginable. The result dimness painted a rather gloomy picture for MC, and that worried him.

Was Monika behind this? MC questioned. Is she OK?

A pang of guilt shot through MC's spirit. Regardless of whether she was or not, he didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Monika hadn't shown up for school yesterday; that alone was cause for alarm. Monika loved the literature club, and not just because MC was there. Her absence had thrust Sayori into a spontaneous position of leadership, and the club had found out firsthand that Sayori's vice presidential qualifications were roughly on par with Dan Quayle's.

In any sense, MC came to the conclusion that the rain and Monika's withdrawal were no coincidence. With newfound worry building in his chest, MC snatched his phone and went immediately began to text Monika.

Hey, Monika. Is everything OK? You weren't at school yesterday, and we were worried about you. Please text me as soon as you get this, OK?

He sent the message, leaned back in bed, and waited impatiently for a response. He gave her ten minutes before he would take action, and ten minutes of the most hellish waiting passed without so much as a "Yeah". His heart began to beat rapidly, and beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

He couldn't take it any longer. He had to check up on her. The last time he had neglected a friend's feelings, she took her own life. The horrific image on Monika suffering the same fate flashed in MC's mind. He wasn't going to let the same mistake happen twice.

MC threw on a tank top, shorts, and a pair of running shoes. None of these made for proper school attire, but MC couldn't care less about school right now. Indeed, breakfast and basic hygiene were secondary concerns at this point. All that mattered was making sure Monika was OK. He dashed down the stairs and checked the broom closet for a poncho, an umbrella, anything to keep the rain off him. It was to no avail; MC would have to trudge through the rain. It was a sacrifice he was more than willing to make.

Monika's house was far, practically on the other side of town, so MC ran. He ran until his legs screamed for him to slow down, and then he ran even faster. The rain was cold, typical for early spring. It stung his arms, it gnawed at his legs, and it constantly bit at his face, yet it only served to push him further.

It was not until MC arrived on Monika's front porch that he skidded to a sudden stop. Exhausted, soaked, and out of breath, he used the last bit of his energy to knock rapidly on Monika's door.

"Monika!" He wheezed. "Monika, answer this door! Monika!"

The knob turned, and out stepped Monika. She was dressed not in a schoolgirl uniform, but rather in a set of button-up crimson red pajamas, and her hair was a tangled mess. She yawned deeply, then opened her eyes. They were windows to the morning fatigue one might expect from a teenage girl on a school day, yet there was something deeper within them. They were bloodshot, and her cheeks were puffy and red. Had she been crying?

"MC?" She questioned, more surprised then anything. Said shock soon morphed into something like annoyance. "What do you want?"

Such a reaction immediately struck MC as strange. Monika was always happy to see him, why was today different? Nevertheless, the joy he felt from seeing her alive and well triumphed all else.

"Monika, you're OK!" MC exclaimed joyously as he threw her arms around her. "I thought-"

"Don't touch me!" Monika shouted harshly as she wriggled out of the hug. MC stumbled back, and the two locked eyes with each other. Monika's face was wrinkled in a tight scowl, and though her head was bent down a bit, her eyes were trained right on MC's. There was great anger in them, an anger MC had never truly seen before. There was something else in there as well, however. Hurt? Pain? Sadness? A sick combination of the three?

Where MC had felt anxiety, he now felt guilt. Had he done something in the past few days to hurt her? "Monika, what's the matter?"

The wrath in Monika's eyes only seemed to grow stronger. "You want to know what the problem is, MC?" She asked rhetorically, jamming a finger deep in his chest. "You are, you selfish asshole! Every day, I try my darnedest to show you how much I care for you, how far I'm willing to go to make you the happiest man in the world! I try, and I try, and I try, but you never seem to care! I pour my heart out for you, and all you seem to do is spit at it!" At this point, tears were flowing freely from her face, and Monika began to sob her words. "Do you even know how early I have to get up just to make it to your house on time!? Do you even care!? No! All you care about is yourself, you disgusting brat! Y-you, y-y-y-y-"

Monika couldn't even find it in herself to continue. Right in front of MC, she fell to her knees and began to cry loudly and wordlessly. Every loud, choking sob only served to hurt MC more. He was the cause of all this, a thought that he had suspected for a while, but the confirmation still wounded him. He couldn't articulate any words, he couldn't find anything poignant to say, so he merely bent down and wrapped her in the tightest hug he could possibly give.

To his surprise, Monika did not fight it. She gave in to his embrace, and rested her face on his shoulder. Though it was already beyond soaked, MC still felt the distinctly warm tears fall upon it. He sat there, and allowed her to air her feelings, and he tried to search for something he could say to make her feel better.

A minute passed by like this, with the only sounds coming from Monika's crying and the rain outside, before MC finally decided to speak up.

"Monika?" MC said gently, trying to get her attention.

Monika managed to stop sniffling long enough to respond. "Y-yeah?"

MC breathed in deeply, then exhaled the same. He had to tell her the truth, no matter how painful it was. A lie, when uncovered at last, would only make things worse. "Monika, I guess you have a point, I don't love you. Not in the way you love me."

MC felt Monika's nails dig into his back. "I knew it," she uttered in a broken tone, her voice muffled in MC's shoulder. "Why? Why don't you love me?" She asked, pure desperation in her tone.

MC sighed. Why didn't he love her? Why didn't his heart skip a beat every time she came over? Why didn't he dream about her at night? None of it made sense. He wanted to love her, he really did, but his heart wouldn't cooperate. "I don't know."

More tears. "Is there something wrong with me?" She questioned, her tone laced with pain and worry. "Am I not worthy of anyone?"

Now it was MC's turn to squeeze Monika tighter. "Don't tell yourself that," he said in a hushed whisper. "Do you know why I ran all the way here? Through your little rain storm? Monika, I missed you. You're my best friend in this entire world, even when compared to Sayori. You're a very important person to me, Monika, to all of us. The literature club was thrown into chaos without you.

Just then, a most miraculous noise occurred: Monika giggled! Sure, it was marred a bit by her sobs, but it was clearly a giggle. "I bet Sayori tried her best to lead, didn't she?"

MC returned the laughter. "Yeah. She tried, but that's all I can really say about it, though."

Monika breathed in as deep as she could, presumably to buy time to collect her thoughts. "I guess I did make things difficult for you to get here," she half-joked as she stared up at the sky.

"That you did," MC admitted, but then he rested his head on Monika's chest. "It was worth it, though."

Monika clung on to him just a bit longer, as if she feared letting go would shatter everything. Finally, however, she found the courage within her to let go.

MC smiled, and stared deeply into her eyes. Deep down, that sadness was still there. He knew that. However, there was something else within her as well, a glimmer of hope that one day she would find the key to his heart.

"Thank you, MC," Monika almost whispered. She brought up the mod menu in front of her. "I guess I should probably get rid of this rain and start getting ready for school, huh?"

Before she could get to tapping, however, a brilliant idea struck MC. He grabbed her wrists. "Actually, why don't you keep the weather? It's a nice change of pace, and as dreary as it is, you put a lot of hard work into it."

Monika blushed. "You like it?"

MC grinned. "I do. And what do you say we skip school today? Maybe we can watch a few movies or something, just the two of us?"

Monika beamed. "You mean like a date?"

MC nodded. "Sure."

Sorry for the sad boi hours, my dudes. I know it's a bit of a whiplash from what the story has previously provided. We will return to your regularly-scheduled silliness tomorrow, I just wanted to explore something a little different, as well as sew the seeds for a tiny amount of serious backstory within this fic.

Also, this is, surprisingly, my first Author's Note since I started writing this fic. Thanks for all the positive feedback, guys! I can't believe this hit over 30 favorites within a week. Perhaps I'm not the most social individual on this site, but I do read every review I get, and I'm grateful for them. I'm very happy to know that so many people have liked what they've read so far. That being said, don't be afraid to call out any mistakes you see me make; I'm certain there are plenty in this thing.

-UglyTurnip