"Can you bring me the mug…?" I manage to say. "I think I need something warm." She looked at the mug like she forgot she brought it in here. Wordlessly, she stood up and went to retrieve it. I grabbed the blanket that I had originally brought up here and haphazardly slung it over myself. It didn't feel very comfortable with all the layers of clothing grinding against each other, so I slipped off my blazer. It didn't do much to keep me warm anyways.

Sayori sat down besides me slowly, making sure sure she didn't spill any of the coffee. I accepted the drink, the blanket draped over me sliding off my arm as I took the mug. Judging by the rim on the inside of the cup, she probably spilled a small portion of it on the way up here. I switched hands with the mug to grab the blanket again, but I was distracted by Sayori taking off her own blazer and scooting closer to me. The momentum being absorbed by the bedframe almost caused me to spill coffee on myself as the world swayed, but I was fortunate enough to avoid any mishaps.

She grasped the open end of the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulder so we were sitting huddled underneath it, essentially joined by the hip. It took a moment before I realized how close together we actually were. I held the mug in both hands-the only place I could rest my inside arm would be behind her back or awkwardly hunched forward in my lap. "Ah… Sayori?"

"Shush, you'll be warmer this way..." she spoke carefully and quietly. I tried to get a better look at her, but as it were I could only see a small sliver of her face poking out from underneath her hair. I was close enough to her that I could probably nudge her bow with my nose, if I felt inclined to do so. I just drank the coffee instead, taking a small sip of the hot liquid. I didn't know if it was good or bad as far as coffee went. It was pretty bitter… I think it was just flat black coffee. Is that how Sayori drank it?

We sat in silence like that for a few moments, my hands holding the mug, her hand clutching the blanket, the other hidden somewhere behind my back. I sighed, knowing that what came next was going to be difficult. "I don't really know how to explain this, but… someone's messing with me, I guess. I don't know who, but it's… it's complicated."

"Are you being bullied...?" She asked me in a hush. I wish it was so simple...

"I don't know, I don't think… but it's… it's…" I started to choke up, regaining some sense of emotion that had escaped me earlier. "I don't know how to explain it, but it terrifies me! They've... " I exhale with a shudder, trying to force myself to speak through the cramps in my head.

I felt Sayori's hand find its way across my back. "What have they been doing…?"

It took a minute for me to put the situation into words. I noticed that Sayori's hand was moving in a faint caress along my side… "They've been sending me these creepy messages, delivering the letters to my house while I'm at school…" Her hand stopped moving, locking in place. "... and every time I've read them, something strange comes over me, like the world changes from what I once knew… like nothing I used to know was actually real, but just some... bastardized, false image…"

"MC... "

"And it's a long story, but I think they broke into the house and found the spare keys, and…"

"Wait, what?" Sayori's hand fell off my body, and she shuffled away from me so we could actually look directly at each other, the blanket being discarded. "That's not okay! What the heck!" She paused, looking around the room like we were in immediate danger. "Do your parents know about this?"

"I was going to tell them to get the locks changed…"

"Oh my gosh… you must be freaking out, I know how paranoid you get…! It's no wonder you were such a mess this morning!"

I manage to chuckle in self-pity… because you know what they say, 'it's funny because it's true.'

"Jeez... MC, you're going to come and sleep over, okay? You're going to leave a note, and this'll get sorted out."

... ... ...

"Gee, it got cold outside pretty quickly…" Sayori closed the door behind us once we had made the short adventure to her house.

"It is pretty late…" I copied her as she took off her backpack and mounted it on a coat rack. My attention lingered on the book bag. It was the same one that Sayori has been courteous enough to take with her… it was the same one that has two days worth of incomplete assignments inside of it. I don't know if I even had the time to do any of them anymore… My migraines, while they did feel a bit better now, they were still an obstacle, and I doubt I could do much with that weighing me down.

Sayori gazed upon my backpack with a silent understanding. "... You don't have to do your homework, but I'm willing to help you if you want to do it tonight…"

"I don't think that's important anymore." I mutter, shaking my head.

"Hah, you said it…" We stood there awkwardly, centered around the backpack like it was an art installation. "I'm going to go change into my pajamas. You should change, too." Sayori declared unimpressively as she made her way up the stairs. I just nodded and watched her ascent.

Once she was gone from my vision I collected the clothes I had stuffed into my backpack and searched for a room to change in. There was an incredibly small room behind the kitchen that had a composite washing machine and dryer that would be private enough for a quick change. I switched the school uniform for a yellow tee-shirt with a faded red logo on the chest and a nondescript pair of gray sweatpants. I suppose they would be comfortable enough to sleep in… I didn't actually wear anything besides my boxer shorts in bed, but I couldn't do that now that I was sleeping over.

I emerged from the washroom into the kitchen, and decided to look around while Sayori was still upstairs. Her house was marginally bigger than mine, which I was always a little envious of. All of the appliances in the kitchen were either noticeably new or distinctly old, such as the sleek chrome-embellished microwave that was suspended above a retro stovetop oven that had long since turned yellow. I would be surprised to learn an oven like that still works... I fiddled with the dials, and discovered that it was a gas stove. I don't have much experience with those...

I noticed there was a note pinned to the refrigerator. It was a list of phone numbers with cute doodles next to each one. I recognized the handwriting as being Sayori's from looking at her homework earlier. It seemed that the doodles were symbols for who the numbers were for. There was a pizza next to the first one, what I think was takeout next to the second one, an airplane for the third, then a purse, and then a bow, and finally a heart for the last one. Wasn't the bow number Sayori's cell phone? The heart one was familiar, too, but I couldn't think of what it was. I took a step back and noticed there was a house phone sitting on top of the fridge.

"Heh. I guess Sayori misplaces her phone enough that she had to write the number down so she could call it up with that." I mused to myself.

For whatever reason I felt compelled to peek inside the fridge. Most of the food looked pretty standard, but a good chunk of it was pricey organic wholefood. There was also a leftover pizza box sandwiched above everything. Sayori and her mother must have some conflicting tastes…

But in any case, it looks like they had plenty of milk and eggs… Oh! I should check if Sayori has any other baking ingredients…

I closed the fridge and picked a cupboard to begin my search with. On the inside there was… a lot of microwave noodles. I never would've thought there was this many brands and varieties, but… wow. The other pantries were nondescript, but they did contain a variety of supplies that Natsuki could probably make use of.

"MC…?" Sayori summoned me from the edge of the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

I met her gaze from the other side of the room. She had changed into an off-white button-up and short red shorts that hugged her legs. She still kept her bow on, though. Did she forget it was there? "I was just curious." I admit.

"Are you… are you feeling better?" She touched her fingers together nervously and tilted her head.

"Well… yeah, a bit. I'm still sort of uneasy. Being here is definitely helping… thank you." I trail off unevenly.

Sayori smiled with relief. "Oh, good! Come on, let's sit down, there was something I wanted you to do." She quickly vanished from the doorway. I followed her to her couch, which was considerably larger than the one in my house. Just opposite of it was an active little electric fireplace, and between them was a coffee table with a few sheets of paper and some writing utensils. The fireplace heated the room nicely.

I sat down while Sayori had attended to the items on the coffee table. Before long, she presented me with a paper and a pen. "I want you to write a poem…!" She sounded like she was struggling to say that. Was something wrong…? "Oh, don't look at me like that! It'll be fun!"

I took the pen and paper and looked between them. "Uh… what am I supposed to make it about?"

"You can make it about anything!" She cheered, taking a seat next to me. That answer didn't really help steer me in the right direction… and I think Sayori realized that after seeing my vexed expression. "You could start by thinking of some key words or phrases you want to use, and then write around them."

The pen still refused to move in my hand. Her tip would definitely come in handy, but I didn't have any ideas to be inspired by.

"Think of it like a vessel for self expression! In school, it's never interesting because you're forced to do it for a grade. I want you, and the literature club as a whole, to see it differently!" She announced pridefully.

"What was that about the literature club?"

"I decided that as a club, all of us should write poems and share them with each other…!" She laughed nervously. "I talked about it with Yuri, among other things. She'll bring a poem tomorrow. Now that you're making one, that just leaves Natsuki, and… well, you know how it is. She hasn't replied yet."

"You don't think she'll make one?" I inquire, and she simply shakes her head no. "I think she will. Maybe you should invite her over sometime. I think she'll like having access to a real kitchen for a change."

"Ehh...? What does that mean?"

I realized I just said something I probably shouldn't have. "Well… I learned that Natsuki only bakes so rarely because she can't do it at her house, since she never has the ingredients."

"O-oh… huh." She slouched forward, matching my own posture. "I guess I'll think about it…"

It was strange to see Sayori being so wishy-washy about this. I thought she'd be a lot more eager to host Natsuki… I know I would've been, if it meant getting early access to her baking-fresh from the oven, no less! "You really should. Natsuki would really appreciate spending time with someone after school."

"I'll do it." She blurted defensively. "Let's just focus on writing that poem, okay?"


[Author's Note: Sorry about the strange division in them suddenly changing houses. In the original draft, the parts are much longer and the transition between locations is the transitions between parts. Between parts 5 and 6, actually. Fun fact! Anyways... I hope this chapter is to your liking. The next chapter is going to include some poetry. See you next week! ~Stareo]