A/N: Not much to say here again, so…back to it we go!

Italics are for emphasis and thoughts. Lines preceded by "-" are text messages.

Muse: "Middle Ground" & "Can You Help Me?" by Vertical Horizon on repeating playlist.

Waiting

By: Leafsdude

Chapter 4: Where Are You, Sayori?

Friday, September 15, 2017

I awake with the sun in my face. My room is silent, causing me to look at my alarm clock. 7:15.

I'm not as surprised as I should be. Sometimes I'm able to will myself awake exactly when I want to be, and I definitely wanted to be up early this morning, even if I didn't realize it.

Eventually, the first thought of the morning pops into my head. Sayori.

I practically leap out of bed, grabbing my uniform and running to take a shower. I almost turn my skin red in places with the speed I'm going at. I throw on my uniform and immediately hurry to my front door. I put on my shoes, grab up my backpack and push my way out of my door and to the sidewalk. It's time to put my plan into action!

I must have set a personal record making the trip to Sayori's house today. I don't intend to wait around for her. I know her front door is locked, but when her mom is away, she always leaves the back door unlocked for me overnight, just in case she sleeps in too late even for me.

I make my way around to the backyard, taking a quick glance around to make sure no one is watching before I open the door quietly. I take off my shoes before pausing for a second. What now?

I finally make a decision and walk to the kitchen. I place my bag on a chair before opening the fridge, taking a look inside. There's not much to choose from, but I find what I need and pull it out. I grab two pans and a couple things out of the cupboard and get to work. Turning on the stove, I start cracking and mixing. Within a couple minutes, I'm pouring a batch of pancakes into the pans.

Having flipped them over, they're just about ready when I hear a door open above. I quickly put them onto a plate and start another batch before Sayori makes it far enough down her stairs to spot me.

"What are you doing?" She's clearly not happy, but I have no intention of responding as I continue my cooking.

I'm putting the second batch onto the plate and starting my third when I catch Sayori's gaping look. With nothing to do but wait for the pancakes, I finally give her my attention. She doesn't seem to realize it, though. Is she in shock about something? I look down at myself self-consciously, but nothing seems out of place.

My gaze returning to Sayori, I decide to get her attention with the tried and tested food method, picking up the plate of pancakes that are finished.

"These are for you," I speak up. She finally shakes herself out of it as she makes her way down the rest of the steps. She doesn't even seem angry anymore as she sits down and slowly eats without a word.

I put the last two pancakes onto another plate for myself and sit across from her.

"They're good," Sayori speaks suddenly. She can't keep the surprise out of her voice. "I didn't expect them to be good."

I smile at her, but don't say anything in response.

"Why did you come over?" She asks with curiosity instead of anger. "Why did you do this?"

I shrug. "I remembered your mom was away," I quickly think up the excuse, knowing the truth would probably not go over well. "I know how hard it can be, on your own. I thought I'd help you out a bit today."

For a second her expression makes me think she didn't buy it, but she doesn't say anything as she continues eating. We finish in silence and I set everything in the sink for Sayori. I'm dreading the next question on my mind, but I will myself to ask it.

"You coming to school today?" I'm careful to keep my voice even, making sure she understands it's a question without a right answer.

"I'm not sure," I know the answer is truthful as our eyes meet for the first time today.

"Well, I'll stay around if you don't," I tell her simply as a statement more than a suggestion. Her expression recoils in response.

"No, don't Johnny," she stops as she tries to compose herself. "You shouldn't miss class, just for me."

"Nonsense," I reply, shaking my head. "I've missed classes before, it'll be fine. It's Friday anyway, so if there's something important I missed, I'm sure someone will let me know and I can catch up over the weekend."

She doesn't respond, though I can tell from the subtle opening and closing of her mouth she's trying to think of a way to change my mind.

"I'm sure the club was strange without us there yesterday," I say, deciding to interrupt Sayori's losing battle by changing the topic. Instead of the resignation I expect, I see worry and panic in Sayori's face.

"Oh, no," her distress is impossible to miss. "I didn't write a poem yesterday!"

I remember that I never saw her last poem at all. I didn't even see it when she was talking to Natsuki. I decide to make an assumption and hope I'm right.

"But you never showed your last poem to anyone," I say. By Sayori's look of recognition, I figure I made the right decision. "So you can just use it, right?"

"Oh, right, um," Sayori's blush threatens to take in her whole face as she's unable to form a coherent sentence. It takes a moment for her to catch herself. "Yeah," she sighs. "I…" she takes another moment. "I think I'll go to school today. It'll be okay if I do."

She seems to say the last bit to herself more than to me, but I nod with satisfaction. She doesn't say anything else before going back upstairs to get ready.

I grab my phone from my pocket, still concerned. Pulling up my contacts list, I start typing a message to Natsuki.

- Hey. Might need your help. Sayori had to convince herself to go to school today. Let me know when you have time to talk.

I keep the phone out as long as I can, but I get no response before Sayori is heading back down, ready to leave. I turn my phone off quickly, not wanting Sayori to start asking questions. She looks disheveled, but still much better than yesterday. It's not quite 8:30 as we exit.

The walk to school is mostly silent, with just the odd statement passing between us once in a while. Aware of the continuing irony, I'm worried anything I say will make it clear how worried I am about her, so I mostly keep my mouth shut. But while I'm concerned, I'm also hopeful. I've known her for so long, I'll figure this out, I tell myself.

We make it to school in a decent amount of time and enter the front doors together. Different from the past few days, she offers only a curt goodbye before walking off. I find myself unable to react as I stand alone in the middle of the hallway.

Today Natsuki catches up to me before I make it to the cafeteria at lunch. I wonder if she's been following me or something in order to keep running into me constantly all over the school's hallways. I don't say anything, however, as we sit at the same place as yesterday.

"I got your text this morning," Natsuki says quietly to me. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I need to keep Sayori at school today," I tell her. "So she's at the club meeting."

"Do you think Sayori went home without telling anyone?" Natsuki looks worried. "I should have answered your text earlier…"

"Don't worry, I don't think so," I interrupt her. "She's got good friends in her morning classes, like Yuri. She clearly didn't want any of us to worry about her, so I don't think she'll give them any reason to, either."

"She could just say she's sick again," Natsuki argues. I roll my eyes.

"I don't think anyone would believe she's actually sick," I tell her. "I think even Monika didn't buy it."

"Then what's the problem?" She asks, confused.

"She has lunch on her own, next period," I tell her. "She eats alone, like I did."

"And you think she might just leave instead," Natsuki fills in the rest. Before I can respond she has her cellphone out and is tapping away furiously.

"Yuri also has that lunch period," Natsuki says as she puts her cellphone down. "Maybe she can help."

I frown. Having Natsuki know is hard enough, but Yuri too? But if there's a chance to keep Sayori here for the club meeting, I'll take it.

Natsuki's phone vibrates and she smiles. "She'll do what she can." I relax a little, hope growing in me that Yuri's presence will be enough.

She looks at her phone again and her brow wrinkles. "Hey, John, Yuri wants to know if she should say anything to Sayori or…"

"No, just keep her company, or watch her," I sigh. "Just make sure she doesn't leave."

"She's nervous," Natsuki tells me. "She can do it, though!"

I wish I shared her optimism right now.

"Oh," I pull out my own phone and turn it on. "Maybe…maybe Yuri can send me some updates. So I'm not worrying about it too much."

A moment later and Natsuki nods as she looks away from her phone. "Yeah, she said she can do that."

We both are lost in our thoughts the rest of the lunch period, only speaking up to say our farewells before we go our separate ways.

I'm on time as I enter my class after lunch. I keep my cell on, not worried enough about being caught to let it cancel out my need to know what is happening.

We're almost a quarter of the way through class before I finally feel my phone buzz. I'm as discrete as I can be as I read it.

- I found her. She's with me in the cafeteria.

I sigh in relief. For the next few minutes she sends me a few more texts.

- I couldn't find her for a while, but she was here the whole time.

- If she wanted to leave I wouldn't have found her before she could.

- She seems tired. Not sleepy, she's alert, but she's not focusing on anything.

I frown when I read the last text. The teacher notices my expression and asks me if I didn't understand something, but I manage to pass it off without revealing anything.

It takes forever, but eventually class nears its end. I'm putting my things away when I get another text.

- She's heading to her next class. I'm going to walk her there. I'll tell you when I leave.

It's a few minutes before Yuri does so. I send her some messages of gratitude that she tries to respond to. I can tell she's flustered.

As I head for my last class for the day, I turn my attention to the club as I send Natsuki a text.

- Meet me at my locker after school.

She sends a short message a moment later, right before I get to the door.

- ok

I take a deep breath as I prepare for what will probably be an excruciatingly long period.

I'm first out my classroom door when the bell finally rings, heading to my locker as fast as I can.

When I arrive, I find Natsuki already there. Should that be surprising? I ask myself. I'm not sure.

"I half-expected you to be dragging Sayori here," Natsuki says before I can even voice a greeting. "You know, because you could get her this far, but you'd need my help the rest of the way."

"That's not funny," I'm not in the mood for jokes right now. Maybe if I was I would have found it funny…

Natsuki crosses her arms in front of her with a slight huff. "Whatever."

I hastily open my locker and swap my things out before closing it. "We're going to her locker."

Natsuki smiles. "Oh, so you couldn't even drag her this far without my help?"

I give her a look. I don't think she got the hint as I walk off without a word.

"Look," I start my explanation after Natsuki catches up. "I brought you along because I need someone," I pause with a sigh. "Someone who'll say what needs to be said, when it needs to be said. Things I can't say."

"Oh, 'cause you're friends?" Natsuki reasons.

"No, Natsuki, because that's what you do," I shake my head at her, surprised at her sudden lack of self-confidence, or maybe self-awareness? "You're as much friends with her as I am, but you speak your mind around her anyway. And part of why you're friends is because of that, not in spite of it."

To my surprise, Natsuki blushes and looks away. She doesn't say anything in response as we continue to make our way through the thinning crowd of people to the other end of the school.

As we get close enough to see the section of lockers that includes Sayori's, I try to look around the crowd as we move through. It takes a while before I get a clear look.

"She's not here," I glance around me but don't see any sign of her. "Maybe we just got here first."

Natsuki frowns. "We had to go through all these kids to get here. I don't think we were all that fast."

"Her last class is on the second floor, right above where my locker is," I explain. "So maybe?"

"She could just already be at the meeting," Natsuki argues. "She's usually there before you anyway, right?"

Before she finishes, I pull out my cellphone. I quickly type out a text and send it to Yuri. The response is almost instant.

"Yuri says she's not there," I say with a frown.

"So do we wait awhile, or…?" Natsuki asks impatiently.

I don't answer. Instead, I make my way to Sayori's locker. "Hey, keep an eye out for her, okay?"

Ever since we'd started using lockers, Sayori and I had always used the same 4-number combination on our locks. We both had found ourselves unable to come up with a combination that was both at least somewhat difficult to guess and something we would remember. Together, however, we managed to brainstorm a useable solution: we would use the two-number combinations for our favourite food and drinks in the school vending machines.

I pause for a second. I'd never actually opened Sayori's locker before. Was there a trust between us that I was breaking here? Or would Sayori be perfectly fine with this? I'm not sure. I plow ahead anyway, my concern and curiosity winning out. I reach for the lock and turn it quickly.

The locker pops open and I look through it. It only takes me a moment before I close it and turn back to Natsuki. "Her textbook for her last class is here," I tell her with a sigh as I walk past.

"Maybe she just forgot it?" Natsuki says after she once again catches up to me.

"She would have come and got it, somehow," I tell her.

I walk up to the doors to the stairway on this end of the school but Natsuki gets in front of me before I can open them.

"Where are you going?" She asks threateningly, an accusing finger raised towards my face.

"To the club," I tell her. She shakes her head at me angrily.

"You're not going to go find her?" Her tone is incredulous. I sigh.

"After yesterday, no," I tell her, hoping she just lets it go. But, of course, it's Natsuki.

"Yesterday?" Her curiosity is about even with her anger now.

"She was mad at me, when I walked her home," I shake my head. "I think I made things worse, whatever it is."

"Well, then I'll go find her," Natsuki says confidently, though she holds her ground. "And if she gets mad at me, I'll just have to get mad at her!"

I shake my head. "We don't know when she left, Natsuki," I remind her. "Or where. She could be home, or at the mall, or who knows where else. By the time you find her, the club will be long done."

Natsuki glares at me, but I guess she sees my point as she drops her shoulder into the door aggressively and pushes her way into the stairwell. I follow quickly.

"I'll check her house on my way home," I tell her reassuringly. "It's Friday, so we can hang out all night. Maybe I can finally get some answers from her."

She doesn't respond, but she does seem less tense now. It's a shorter walk to the clubroom from here, so we finish the rest of it in silence.

Although Sayori's absence creates a strange vibe immediately, otherwise things are pretty typical as we enter the clubroom. Yuri is reading a book while Monika's folder is out as she sorts through papers.

Yuri immediately looks up at us. Her disappointment is clear when she realizes only the two of us have entered. She sighs before she returns to her book.

I suddenly have an uncomfortable feeling as Natsuki sits at her own desk. I start to reconsider my earlier decisions about Sayori. What if she wants me to catch her? I worry. What if she's in trouble, or hurt, or something? I take a moment to calm myself. Am I just overreacting? Maybe she was mad at me because I am. Is she even behaving that weird?

I'm startled out of my thoughts by a voice beside me.

"No, you were right," Yuri's voice is soft, but I'm still caught off-guard. I didn't even notice her get up. "Sayori was not like herself at lunch today."

"Huh?" I'm confused for a second. "Was I thinking out loud?"

Yuri shakes her head, giving a soft laugh in response. I realize I don't think I'd ever heard her laugh before. "No. I can just tell when people are doubting themselves," Yuri's voice is definitely calming. "And I know you've been thinking about Sayori most of the time lately. I just combined those two things together."

I suddenly wonder why that observation doesn't embarrass me more, but I push that aside quickly. "Maybe I should go find her. Even if she's upset, I'll just have to cheer her up!"

"I don't think it'll be that simple," Yuri says, shaking her head at me. "She didn't seem like she was just upset, it seemed more like…like she was…"

"Hello everyone!" Everyone turns to the door.

It's Sayori, her face bright with a big smile as she bounds her way into the room. She seems…happy? Energetic? Normal?

Yuri is blushing as she avoids my gaze. Sayori walks to us, her smile still wide.

"Hey, Yuri," she says, her voice full of mirth. "I can't wait to meet that cute friend you were texting at lunch!"

Yuri is speechless as Sayori goes to take her seat. I find it impossible to get any words out myself. Did Yuri call me cute, or was it just a cover? I don't get the chance to decide before Monika gets the day rolling.

"Okay everyone, let's share our poems," she announces as normal.

Natsuki has already forced her way over to Sayori's desk. I hope against hope that she doesn't say anything she'll regret; or that I'll regret.

Meanwhile, I go to join Monika. I read her poem, but I'm too distracted to make anything of it. My thoughts and vision are stuck on Sayori. She's a lot more animated than yesterday as she talks with Natsuki, a poem in her hands. I can't help but wonder what has her in such a good mood suddenly, especially after this morning.

I try again to read Monika's poem. I'm more successful at comprehending enough of it to at least make conversation with her for a couple minutes.

"Oh, um, also, I've been thinking about what poem to read," I tell Monika after we return each other's poems. "I've picked a few from some books I found in the library, but I haven't decided on exactly which one to use."

"That's okay," Monika reassures. "Just make sure to let me know by Sunday."

"For the pamphlets, right," I nod at Monika with a smile.

Monika hurries off to join Yuri, leaving me with a difficult decision. I make it quickly, however, as I head over to Natsuki. I'm a bit wary of having Sayori sitting around alone, but I decide I need to hear what they talked about first.

I'm still taking the club seriously, though, so I make sure I read her poem and give some thoughts on it. Natsuki does the same, giving me her usual blunt yet helpful advice.

"So, she seems better," I observe as I look over at Sayori.

"Yeah, she's her giggling self again," Natsuki looks relieved. "I guess whatever it was she figured it out. Maybe just a thing with a friend."

"Maybe," I say. Suddenly I realize something. "Her mom's out of town for a few weeks," I pause and sigh. "Though that's happened before and she's never been like that."

"Closer to her than her dad?" Natsuki's question carries an air of bitterness, but I shrug it off as just her typical abrasive attitude.

"Actually, her dad's not home either," I tell her. "Probably on the other side of the world right now."

"Wow, harsh," Natsuki says.

"Well, I mean," I mentally berate my big mouth. "They're still, uh, together. He's a pilot. And a bit of a workaholic."

"I can definitely understand her being angry about that," Natsuki says, crossing her arms.

Is she? I ask myself. Even though her family life has caused some rough patches in her life, Sayori's never seemed upset about it at all. More like troubled? I sigh as another thought hits me.

"And then I had to be overbearing," I shake my head. "It's no wonder she was so angry with me yesterday."

"She knows you were just trying to be nice," Natsuki says confidently. "I'm sure she's completely regretting taking it out on you. Just be careful when she apologizes, okay? None of that 'don't worry, it was nothing' stuff."

"She takes it worse if I'm not dismissive, actually," I say with a smile.

"Oh," Natsuki frowns. "I mean, I've only known her for a little while, right? Goes to show how much I know about her."

"Three weeks is more than enough time to learn a lot about Sayori," I smile softly at her. Natsuki nods.

"I don't know how many friends I can say I have that I know better than her," she says quietly. "It's not a lot."

"I already knew she was my best friend after that long," I tell her. "And that was when we were in Kindergarten."

Natsuki eyes me closely for a second before smiling widely. "She's said some really weird things lately, but she's at least got the right idea with one," she says, a teasing tone in her voice. I frown at her in confusion. "You care too much for her…well, almost."

Before I can answer or even comprehend what she said, Natsuki takes her poem and shuffles over to Yuri's desk. I sigh as I glance at Sayori before walking over.

"Hey Johnny!" Sayori's voice rings out with a singsong tone. She shifts around in her seat a little as I join her and we exchange poems.

We sit in silence as we read. I feel my brow wrinkle due to her poem. I'm surprised at the feelings expressed in it, especially at the end. It seems almost…hopeless?

"Oh, wow," Sayori speaks up through my thoughts. "This is really good. Like, really, really, Johnny. It's kinda funny, but not just funny, y'know?"

I give her my best smile in thanks.

"Your poems are getting better, too," I tell her, deciding to skip over the contents. "At this rate, you'll be as good as Yuri soon."

She almost rolls her eyes. "But she's so good. I shouldn't be compared to her. Or Natsuki."

I hold my sigh. Usually I'd pay no attention to her lack of confidence, but after yesterday I'm wondering if I should begin to do so.

"Hey, can I keep this?" Sayori asks me suddenly. "I like it so much!"

"Sure," I tell her with a smile. I'm not that attached to it, anyway. "I mean, I'm not going to read it at the festival or anything."

She jumps up and gives me an excited hug before picking up my poem.

"Oh, wait, Sayori," I stop her quickly. "I still need to show it to Yuri first."

She looks at me sheepishly before handing my poem back. We both make our way over to Yuri while Natsuki goes to join Monika at the back of the room.

"You go first," I tell Sayori. She begins to object, but I cut her off. "You still need to see Monika's, right?"

Her objections halt. I take a seat on my own as she joins Yuri. Sayori giggles as they chat just quietly enough for me not to hear, while Yuri looks a bit uncomfortable. Eventually, they return each other's poems and I make my way over to join them.

"Good luck, Yuri!" Sayori says before taking off towards Monika. I smile apologetically at Yuri as I hand her my poem. I try to ignore her obvious discomfort as I read the paper she hands. I find I don't have much to say about it as I finish.

"Y-you know I w-wasn't talking about you, right?" Her voice is almost panicked. I'm confused. Her poem? "W-what I told Sayori, about our texts."

"Oh," I take a moment to react. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Don't worry about it."

Yuri relaxes quickly.

"You okay?" I ask, curious about her sudden change in mood. She smiles reassuringly.

"I'm just happy I was able to do something," she pauses. "F-for Sayori, I mean. It calms my nerves."

"Thank you," I say earnestly. "I'm glad I'm not the only one looking out for her."

Yuri blushes.

We discuss Sunday for a little bit before Sayori and Monika finish sharing.

Before we leave, Monika has us quickly read poems, as practice for Monday. Each of the girls read their poems from today.

Sayori goes first. I'm a little surprised about how she reads it. It's a very emotional poem, but she doesn't seem to be emitting them as I expected. The poem itself is still effective enough, however, and I wonder if my own expectations are clouding my opinions. I decide to be supportive instead of critical as I join the others in a raucous round of applause.

Monika goes next, and true to her reputation, she gives a flawless presentation. Her confidence, probably borne of experience, is very present and clear, and she does an excellent job making the words create meaning beyond their face value.

Yuri stands up when Monika is finished, and true to her words, she seems surprisingly relaxed as she reads her poem very deliberately. I notice how controlled her breathing is. Perhaps she prepared for this last night? We all compliment her after she finishes, hoping to grow her confidence.

I go next, reading one of the poems I'm considering from my book. I'm not completely familiar with it yet, so I stumble over a couple of the words, but I still feel better about it than I thought I would. I'm still trying to interpret its meanings, so I don't know if I expressed it well enough, but everyone responds positively to it anyway.

Natsuki is last up. She reads her poem very quickly, rushing through the words. It's actually a rather interesting method, though perhaps not perfect for the poem she's reading. Beyond that, she does a really good job. It really fits her natural attitude, so she's not really doing much more than just being herself.

Each of them are very good at reading in their own way, I note. I hope I wasn't too terrible in comparison.

"Okay everyone," Monika says after we take a few minutes to chat together. "We'll meet here bright and early on Monday. We'll wait about an hour to let our classmates gather before we start the poems. After we finish, we'll take time to talk with them. We'll close the club for lunch, after which everyone can go enjoy the rest of the festival. Have a great weekend!"

I join Sayori at her desk, giving her my poem before we leave. She happily puts it into her backpack carefully.

She's just as energetic as when she came in when make our way through the halls. By the time we make it out of the school, however, she's sluggish. I don't say anything, but my mind isn't so quiet about it.

Maybe she's just tired, I try to rationalize, but I discount it quickly. She was wide awake this morning when she got up. She must have slept well last night.

I try to think of anything else through my confusion, but decide my first thought was probably right after all. She's probably just starting to feel her lack of sleep from Wednesday, I rationalize. That plus her relief about whatever had her feeling so terrible is probably just knocking her out.

Taking our normal route, I don't try to pry into anything as we walk home mostly in silence, deciding if Sayori wants to talk about it she knows she only has to ask. We end up talking a little about the festival, and she tells me she decided to read her poem from Wednesday, since it's short.

"That way, I can have more time to myself," she says with a smile. "And I don't take up everyone else's time!"

Once again, Sayori's thinking about what's best for those around her.

I tell her about the poems I've looked at the past few days. The one I read today is my favourite so far, but I'm going to take Saturday to think about it more. I don't want to tell Monika I've decided and then realize I picked the wrong one, after all.

"I liked it, too!" Sayori beams at me. "And you did such a good job of reading it!"

"Thanks," I say with as much feeling as I can muster, though I don't believe it myself. "I just hope I was as good as all of you. Each of you were amazing at reading!"

Sayori blushes as she looks away. I barely notice her smile falter, but I don't feel much concern. She's okay, don't worry about it.

It takes almost twice as long as usual, but we finally reach my place.

"Why don't we go to your house?" I suggest with a smile after a few seconds. "I can help you clean up and then have fun all night!"

I half-expect Sayori to say no, but I'm happy when she nods instead.

True to my word, we clean up her whole house, making sure it's as spotless as possible, especially Sayori's room. It's been a while since we'd done our regular clean up, so it was especially messy today, but with some effort and motivation we finish quickly. Sayori managed to find some energy, moving around the house with purpose. Sporadically, we talk about random things. She even rambles on for a while a few times.

Sayori leads the way back downstairs, grabbing up her remote and turning on the TV. All the energy she had dissipates immediately as she collapses into her sofa, and I'm surprised she doesn't fall asleep with how tired she looks now.

"Mind if I make something to eat?" I ask her politely. "I could make you something as well!"

She gives me a tired smile. "You can if you want, but I'm not really hungry."

I don't try to argue with her. It's not often she doesn't accept a meal offer, so I never push her about it. If I did, she might get more defensive about it more often, I've reasoned.

I make a quick pasta meal from the few ingredients I find around her kitchen and join Sayori around the TV. We don't talk much, mostly focused on watching the programs. The fact that Sayori's behavior this past week is primarily on my mind and my unwillingness to be direct about them prevents me from thinking about anything to say. Plus, considering how tired she seems, I'd rather let her fall asleep if she's able to.

It's almost midnight, but somehow Sayori's heavy eyelids are still open as the episode we're watching ends. I've been watching her in the corner of my eye throughout and I notice she didn't really react to it at all; not laughing or even smiling at the jokes I know she enjoys, or giving looks of annoyance at the actions of the characters she doesn't like. I stay quiet, however, until she finally breaks the silence that had lasted the last half-hour.

"You should go home," she says. She clearly means for it to be a command, but it comes out as more of a wary sigh. Despite her clear sleepiness, I get the feeling that her being drowsy is not why she's telling me to leave.

"I don't have to," I respond softly.

"But Poki's probably worried," her voice sounds as tired as she looks. "And you have to get ready for Yuri."

I'm surprised. She knows about that?

"Who told you Yuri's coming over?" I ask a bit more defensive than I want to. Sayori's eyes are suddenly alert as she stares at me for a second.

"Uh, Monika told me," she says. Her forehead creases in thought a moment later. "I think?"

I frown. Of course she did. I can't believe I forgot Sayori was vice-president of the club. I decide not to dwell on it.

"Well, I'm going to clean up on Sunday," I explain. "She said she's not busy, so I can tell her to come over whenever I'm ready."

"You probably still should go," she repeats. "At least get some sleep."

I frown as I look at her. I decide to return the advice. "Only if you do, too."

She looks like she wants to object, but she sighs instead. "O-okay."

I pick up the remote and turn the TV off for Sayori before getting up. She stands up as well, looking shaky on her feet for a second, she catches her balance as I head to put my shoes on and pick up my backpack.

I make my way to the door and we say our goodbyes before she closes it behind me.

Opening the front gate, I make my way through, starting my walk home. I stop after a couple steps, though, as I think about the past week with Sayori, especially tonight.

She's still acting strange, the thought comes out of nowhere, but I shake my head. No, she's okay, just a little tired. I mean, I know she looked upset when I complimented everyone's poem reading on the walk home, but…it probably wasn't even what it looked like. I'm just overthinking things again.

I shrug at nothing in particular as I take another step towards home, but another thought hits me quickly. But Yuri said I wasn't overreacting, I remind myself. I consider everything from tonight again. Sayori was really quiet all night, even considering how tired she was. And then there was her reaction when I asked her about how she knew about Yuri coming over. I don't think I've seen her that wide-eyed when she's this tired before.

My lips curl downwards as I remember the rest of the conversation when I arrived at the club. Yuri was about to tell me something. She's not just upset she's…what? I curse at the time as I consider sending her a text. It's way too late now. Yuri's probably asleep.

I find I'm now just as concerned as I was last night. Nothing's okay with Sayori, I finally admit to myself as I turn around. I shake my head, though. But she's still so tired. I can't keep her up. I can keep an eye on her, though. And then we can talk first thing in the morning.

I settle next to a large bush, just within sight of Sayori's bedroom window, but with enough covering to keep me hidden. The light is on, so I wait patiently. I can't help but feel a little stalker-ish, but I remind myself why I'm doing this to calm down.

It's about a half-an-hour before the light finally goes off. I decide to wait an extra 15 minutes before I make my way around to the back of her house again. I hope she didn't lock it after this morning.

I look around for a second again before I tug at the door. To my relief, it slides open like a dream and I enter, closing it behind me quietly. I immediately make my way quietly up the darkened stairway. Just a quick peak.

Sayori's bedroom door is only slightly open as I reach the top of the stairs, but I still have a perfect angle to see her. She's turned away from the door. She seems to be…shaking? Is she having a nightmare? I wonder. Maybe she's just cold?

It is pretty chilly in here. It must be a cool night outside, though I didn't really notice it. I shake my head as I turn around and quietly make my way downstairs. I already decided she needs her sleep tonight, so I'm not going to disturb her. Besides, she'd probably completely freak out if I woke her up right now.

I take off my shoes and head to the couch. I'm still wearing my school uniform, but I don't really care too much. I take my blazer off and set it down. The couch has a light blanket and a couple throw pillows, so I climb under and try to get comfortable.

It doesn't take me long to fall asleep.