Even after retiring to bed, MC's night remained a long, lonely one. Sleep came and went in sporadic bursts. All of it was dreamless. He wondered, to his unending anxiety, if Monika would be willing to talk things out tomorrow. When it became pretty clear that he was not gonna get a good night's sleep anyhow, he resolved to pay her a visit in the morning. If she was there and calmed enough to accept an apology, he would give her one right then and there, something straight from the heart. If she wasn't around, or if she refused to give him any chance to reconcile, then at the very least he could comfort himself with the knowledge that he tried to make things right.
At some point, the near-pitch darkness of night began to die. The first light of dawn trickled into MC's bedroom from a crack through the curtains of his window. Yawning, he forced himself to get out of bed. He stepped over to the light and pulled back the curtains. A thick, heavy blanket of snow coated the suburban landscape before him. As far as the eye could see, the morning skies were shrouded in white, puffy clouds. He raised an eyebrow. It had not snowed in over a week, and the last snowfall had melted days before. Monika had even worn a sundress to their date last night, a testament to how warm the weather had recently been. Before him now, however, the entire city was coated in an incredibly thick layer of the stuff. Had the mother of all cold fronts come into effect overnight, or was this the deliberate work of Monika? Whatever the case, there was something rather pretty about it. He smiled optimistically. Maybe she would come around, after all.
The 15th fell on a Saturday, which meant no school even if the weather conditions were ideal for it. After a quick shower and an even quicker breakfast, MC threw on a puffy grey jacket, a wool cap, and a thick pair of gloves. He didn't know if Monika had come around, but even if she hadn't, perhaps an honest conversation would do the trick. Sleeping on the issue had left him to come to two conclusions: First of all, that he was certainly in the wrong to denigrate his greatest love like that; Monika had every reason to be mad. However, the second conclusion was that Monika herself had been in the wrong to just shirk off his apology like that. He had gone to great lengths to give her a good night, not to mention all the times he displayed love to her in the past. How many times did he need to apologize for something he legitimately felt remorseful about before she accepted and forgave him? As he entered the dining room, he cast a forlorn glance at the stale food still sitting out on the table. He placed the plates in fridge. Maybe the sandwiches would still be OK. If they were, they could still hopefully enjoy a romantic lunch.
After taking care of that last bit of business, MC opened the front door. He was immediately blasted with a frigid gust of air; it caught him entirely off guard. Even dressed in his winter clothes, he shivered. The world was colder than it had ever been before. Still, he was not deterred. He exited the house and started down the street. Monika lived a good distance away, but she might even now be walking down the street towards his house. Even if she wasn't, he supposed a long walk through an arctic landscape was enough punishment for last night. The walk to Monika's house was long, lonely, and hauntingly quiet. Nobody was out and about except for MC, and it remained that way until he finally reached Monika's house. By then, it was around the middle of the morning, and the world remained almost completely still and empty. Shaking off the depressing sensation of it all, MC walked up to Monika's front door.
Ding-dong!
The chime echoed throughout the neighborhood before the porch died into silence once more. MC waited, and as a few seconds became a few minutes, he rang the doorbell again. Still, there was no answer. The futility of the situation set in. MC glanced at the doormat dejectedly. Some small part of him hoped that Monika was simply out somewhere, but if she was, it almost certainly had nothing to do with him. If she was locked in her home and simply ignoring him, he supposed that continuing would only make her more resentful. Throwing his hands up in defeat, he turned around and started towards the sidewalk. Going into the cold, he felt more alone that ever.
There wasn't much reason to stay outside, not unless he wanted to freeze into a block of ice. Like a Continental soldier in the days leading up to Trenton, he dejectedly trudged through the snow. The walk home was quiet, lonely, and altogether uneventful, at least until he approached his house. Without any warning, a snowball slammed straight into his face. MC flinched. It stung horribly. A pink-haired head poked out from behind a bush and snickered at his frosty fate.
"Gotcha!" Natsuki exclaimed through victorious laughter.
MC shot her a scowl. "Damn it, Natsuki, I'm not in the mood."
His tone was entirely serious and more than a little angry. Nevertheless, Natsuki smirked. She was used to giving others attitude; receiving a little in return did not bother her. "Don't be a buzzkill, MC."
"I can't help it," MC admitted. "I've had a bad night, and the day doesn't seem to be getting much better."
"Can't imagine why," Natsuki sarcastically remarked. Another chilly breeze blew through. Natsuki, clad in earmuffs, a scarf and a pink sweater, shivered more harshly than MC did. "D-do you mind if I come in?"
MC shrugged. He saw no harm in it. Besides, it sure beatbeing alone. "Yeah, let's get inside."
Once they were through the front door, they welcomed the warmth with open arms. Natsuki let out a blissful sight, took off her scarf and earmuffs, and took a lazy seat on his couch. Once there, she stretched herself out like a sleepy cat. "Thanks, MC. I needed this."
As MC divulged himself of his coat, he asked. "What were you doing outside my house, anyway?"
"To hit you with a snowball, duh," Natsuki joked. "Did I knock your brains with it, too?"
Her shameless pride finally elicited a chuckled out of MC. "No, but really: Why?"
"Eh, I got excited by the snow. I went over to Sayori's to see if she wanted to play with me, but she didn't answer the door. Knowing her, she's probably still in bed. I was about to just go back home, but then I saw you coming down the street from far away. I snuck around Sayori's backyard and got into position. Even a dummy like you knows the rest."
While she was explaining her grand strategy, MC had been hanging up his coat. He finished and took a seat on the sofa's other end. "Well, getting smacked in the face with a snowball isn't the worst thing to happen to me in the past twenty-four hours."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
MC cleared his throat, shooting a look at the burnt-out candles that still lied on the dining room table. "Sit down, Natsuki. I gotta tell you some things."
"I'm already sitting down."
"Oh. Well, sit down harder."
"So let me get something straight," Natsuki said through a mouthful of sandwich. "You tried to have an honest conversation about the publicity of your sex life, she shut you down, and then she got super upset with you when you got angry?"
MC set his plate down. He had dug the sandwiches out of the refrigerator for the two of them. He had supposed that it was better to eat them than let them go to waste, and Natsuki didn't exactly protest. "It's not like that. I took it too far."
"You mean like when Monika told us all about the sex you were hav-"
"Do we really have to retread that ground?" MC interrupted.
"Hey, all I'm saying is that your anger was valid. If I had a boyfriend telling everyone he knew such a personal thing, there'd be hell to pay."
MC opened his mouth to counter that point, to defend Monika in some way, but nothing came to mind. He groaned in frustration. "I dunno, Natsuki. I feel like you're being a tad disingenuous about Monika's intentions."
"Oh, I believe she had no ill will," Natsuki clarified. She took another bite and continued, "But if I had to pick a side, I'd go with yours."
MC sighed. "Well, thanks, I suppose."
"Thanks for the sandwich," Natsuki smirked. Her smile, however, quickly changed into something unusual. It was rare for Natsuki to give anyone a look that wasn't, in some way, mischievous or angry. Now was one of those times; she offered MC a genuinely friendly grin. "Don't be so hard on yourself for standing up to something you think is crappy."
MC smiled at that. "Aw, I never thought I'd see the day where you'd act like a sap."
Natsuki's eyebrows furrowed. "J-just don't tell anyone, OK? I have an image to keep up, after all."
"Your secret's safe with me," MC assured. He leaned back. His heart ached, and it had nothing to do with his impromptu brunch. He felt himself dangerously close to tears, but he fought hard enough to successfully keep himself from letting them spill. "It hurts that she just ignored my attempts to apologize. I don't know what she wants me to do."
Natsuki practically lunged for her last bite. "Do nothing," she declared with no hesitation whatsoever. "You've already apologized for it; I'd bet Monika is just mad that you 'ruined' her Valentine's Day. She's a good president, but she can sometimes be a bit of a control freak, right?"
That invoked memories of the many times Monika attempted to derail the game. If only you knew, he thought to himself.
"So what you're saying is that I should just wait for her to come around?" MC questioned.
Natsuki nodded. "I'm sure she'll get over it."
MC's attention flickered to the snowflakes falling outside the nearest window. Whatever happened, the weekend was shaping up to be a long one.
"I hope you're right."
