A/N: Okay, so. First, on a positive note, I'd like to announce that I will be publishing a new chapter for the next three weeks! Yay!

But for this chapter…There's a quite frank and (hopefully) serious discussion on depression in this chapter. So that's your warning. This won't be the last one, either, so this is probably the time to decide if you're ready for this ride or not. See you on the other side.

Italics are for emphasis and thoughts.

Muse: "Can You Help Me?" by Vertical Horizon

Waiting

By: Leafsdude

Chapter 5: Conversations

Saturday, September 16, 2017

I'm lost in the void of sleep. Any dreams I do have are immediately lost to me, left in the nothingness that is all that I will remember. It's both eternal and non-existent at the same time.

Finally, it shatters as consciousness suddenly returns to me. The first thing I notice is the weird feeling in my face.

I realize why a moment later as I'm hit by something soft. My eyes shoot open and I recoil as my vision is filled with Sayori's face. My body pushes downward into my pillow and…couch?

Oh crap. I watch as Sayori stands up straight, a pillow in her hand.

"What are you doing?" Sayori is very annoyed with me. At least she hasn't told me off yet. That's better than I should have expected.

I suddenly realize I don't have a good answer to that question as Sayori stares at me expectantly. I didn't exactly think things through last night, my actions being taken rashly in my concern and sleepiness.

"I sleepwalk?" I offer lamely, giving the sweetest smile I can muster. She obviously doesn't buy it.

"You do not sleepwalk," Sayori says. She eyes me up and down for a second. "And you're still in your uniform! Did you even go home?"

I shake my head slowly.

Sayori tosses the pillow on me as she walks away.

"Wait!" I call, standing up to look at her retreating figure. I surprise myself almost as much as I surprise her, considering the look on her face as she turns to me. I'm not sure why I did that…

"Why are you acting so…" Sayori looks at me weirdly. "Strange?"

I almost laugh, but I'm too surprised to do so. She's asking me?

How do I respond to that? As I try to figure out a way, I find myself thinking about the past few days. Sayori's behavior has me worried so much that I pretty much broke into her house and slept here overnight. There's been people I've known for a few days following her because of me. She must have noticed something, right? So what would convince her I'm not insane other than the truth?

But I've been so worried about worrying her, even when I realize how absurd that is, even when I tell her that I do, even when I'm not even sure why I am.

I sigh. She's still staring at me, waiting for my response. What else am I supposed to say? Deep down, I know there's only one way to answer.

"Because you've been different, ever since I joined the club," I finally say, the softness in my voice surprising me. "Your questions about Monika, your fears of getting in the way when you know I would never let that happen…as if it ever could happen. And then you show up at my door on Thursday morning for, what, the third time this year? Looking like you were only there because you were up all night. I knew something was going on, but when I tried to help, you pushed me away. So I decided to give you time. But I need to be there, when you're ready. When you decide you want to tell me what's wrong."

I surprise myself as I almost run out of breath at the end of my rant. Sayori doesn't respond. Her expression is one of…fear? Worry? Distress? All of the above?

"But I can wait," I say reassuringly. "I'll get used to the couch eventually. It's not comfortable or anything, but I always figured I'd become a hunchback in my old age anyway, so no harm no foul!"

I hope my levity gets some kind of positive reaction from Sayori, regardless of the awkwardness in my phrasing, but instead I get a sigh.

"Why now?" I barely process Sayori's whisper. She moves to the stairs and sits, putting her head in her hands.

I'm stuck in place, unable to decide on what to do. Do I talk to her? Make her more comfortable? Take the pressure off? But I know, this is no longer a time for words. I will myself to move, sitting next to her. I hope my presence alone is enough.

Finally, she looks at me. She sighs again.

"You're wrong, you know," she tells me. "Nothing's different with me, it's all completely normal. All that's wrong is I can't hide it this time."

I'm entirely confused. "What?" I cough after my voice cracks at the question. "What can't you hide?"

Sayori takes another deep breath. "As long as I remember, even before we met…" she closes her eyes, hiding the pain that I only catch a glimpse of. "Depression. I have depression."

Involuntarily, my mind immediately flashes back to the club meeting this past afternoon…

"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…depressed."

My mind races. Thoughts going a mile a minute. But one thought keeps breaking into them, quietly at first, then louder.

Why didn't she tell me? …No, don't talk, just listen.

"You had no idea, did you?" Sayori says.

But I could have helped her! …No, don't talk, just listen.

"I didn't think you ever would, it's what I deserved," she continues.

I would have helped her, made her feel better! …No, don't talk, just listen.

"I make you wait almost every morning for me," the shame in her eyes is palpable. "I know that, but that's still not enough for me to get myself up."

She'd be okay now if I had known, I would have figured out what to do! …No, don't talk, just listen.

"That's not fair to you, so I dragged you to the literature club, hoping you'd get close to everyone else," Sayori sighs. "A-and you did, but you still waited for me."

I could have told her what she needed, and made sure I gave it to her! …Dude, shut up, and just listen!

I'm finally knocked out of my thoughts that were seemingly coming from separate corners of my mind. I had heard Sayori's words throughout, but I hadn't processed them at all. Now, however, I'm alert and focused as I look Sayori in the eyes. I expected tears, or sadness, but instead all I see is emptiness, hopelessness…lifelessness.

"And now, when you should be spending time with them and forgetting about me, instead you keep showing up here, with me. I just don't understand the reason why you worry about me, when I fully know how worthless I am…" the dull emotion in her voice doesn't do anything to lessen the impact of those words in my head.

Okay, now is the time to talk, dummy, the voice in my head tells me, and I let my thoughts out instinctively.

"Sayori, no!" The words come out of my mouth forcefully, getting the desired effect of silencing her. "You're not worthless. Not to me. Not to anyone who knows you at all like I do. I worry about you because of how much worth you have."

"But why?" There's nearly a plea in Sayori's voice within the monotone. She looks away from me. "I'm not worth the effort."

"Sayori," I wait for her to look back at me. "I'm your friend, right?" I find I can't hold the desperation out of my voice.

"Yeah," the response is weak, but she gives me no reason to doubt her.

"Then that's why," I tell her simply. "It's the only reason I need. Friendship is always worth the effort, including yours. Especially yours."

I see a flicker in her eyes, just for a second, and they shift. I don't see the warmth that I'm used to, but there's something in there that's different from a moment ago. Something better.

"Is it really that simple?" Sayori asks hopefully.

"Yeah," I nod. "It's that simple."

"No, no, no, Johnny, no," Sayori's in full panic in half-a-second, standing up in her sudden dismay and backing up a couple of steps away from me. I stand up with her, looking at her worryingly. "I've been a bad friend. I've been so mean to you this week."

"Sayori, it's okay," I put my hand on her shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. "It's okay. It's fine."

"But…" I see tears threaten to fall in her eyes as she looks at me. "But I made you join our club. And then I yelled at you when you were walking me home. A-and I…I just hit you with a pillow. Twice!"

"Yeah," my tone is dismissive, and though my nose tries to protest, I ignore it. "But you've been dealing with a lot, for a long time. And I don't want you to pretend you're happy if you're not."

"But then you're not happy," Sayori shakes her head. "And when people aren't happy, I feel worse. I know that's selfish of me, but…"

"Sayori, that's not selfish," I cut her off sharply. "You're not selfish."

"But I am, I know I am," she looks up. I sigh as I see a teardrop splash onto her cheek. I take a step forward before awkwardly put my arms around her.

"You're not," I repeat softly into her ear. "You're the most selfless person I know. Did you know that? I've met great people this week, because you wanted me to, even though you thought it would mean you would see me less and less. If that's selfish, then it's the greatest kind of selfish."

Sayori doesn't hug me back, but I don't worry about that. She's shaking slightly, so I tighten my arms around her.

"I don't know…what I'm doing," she says, her voice hitching. "I'm scared, Johnny."

"I know, I'm scared too," I sigh as I rest my chin on her shoulder. "But you've already made it so far, and now you have me to help you the rest of the way, okay? Until we're old and wrinkly."

Sayori doesn't respond for a moment, but then I feel her move, tentatively at first, before her arms wrap around me tightly. She sighs.

"Okay," she says softly as her tears slowly cease.

We stay like that long enough for me to lose track of time. Finally we both pull back together. I decide to fall back on what I know to try and help Sayori.

"Do you maybe want to go for a walk?" I ask her hopefully. "It might help get our minds off things, even if just for a little while."

Sayori takes a moment to think it over before she nods slowly. "Yeah, I-I think that'd be good." She pauses for a second. "The leaves should be pretty by now."

I'm a bit surprised, but I don't let it show too much. The leaves had started changing colours a while ago. Sayori really has been lost in her own head lately, I realize, and I resolve to distract her as much as I can.

She goes upstairs to change out of her pajamas while I wait for her. We make our way to the front door together once she makes her way back.

"Okay, you ready to go?" I ask after we put on our shoes.

Sayori smiles at me in response as I lead the way out of her house. It's not her normal big smile, but it's one I have seen before, though not very often. It's the same smile she gave when Yuri said she'd join us on Monday. I suddenly wonder if those smiles over the years were all fake, there to make me and everyone else around her happy. I'd always thought they were genuine, but I'm not sure anymore. This smile, though, is different. It's not there to warm up a room, or give happy vibes. It's there because it deserves to be there. And if it takes the rest of my life, I will spend it all making sure she knows that.

The morning air is cool and crisp. I consider suggesting we return to her house so I can get the blazer that I left there, but when I look at her, I'm unable to determine if she's feeling cold like me. I decide against it; getting her outside was easy this time, but I worry she might retreat back in if we return now. We walk down the same path we took home on Thursday, though we take the direction away from school. Unconsciously, I walk closer to Sayori, our shoulders touching as we share warmth.

I look over to see that she is lost in thought as well. I sigh. Didn't I suggest we come out here to get ourselves out of our own heads? To think about things other than the heaviness of this morning's conversations? It's definitely doing a hell of a job with that, I think to myself sardonically.

I will myself out of my thoughts and take in the scenery around me. The view around the pathway is, as Sayori put it, very pretty. The many colours of red, orange and yellow are scarcely interrupted by the odd green around them, while the ground still remains relatively uncovered by them. It is a breathtaking sight.

A small bird flies by overhead, its movement like that of a dart, grabbing my attention for a moment. I turn back to the hillside and notice a couple squirrels skipping upwards to the few evergreens above. I put a hand on Sayori's shoulder and point towards them with my other hand when she looks up.

"Hey, squirrels!" She smiles at me playfully. "Who would have guessed, you watching them?"

Squirrels are my favourite wild animal. Their nervous energy is often a joy to watch, especially when their curiosity overrides it for just a moment. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time outside observing them, but I haven't had the chance to just spend a day watching them in a long time. I would often drag Sayori along with me, but she would always get bored and restless, so we would wind up playing tag or some other childhood game instead.

"What can I say? They entertain me," I say with a chuckle. "Definitely more than a screaming girl running in between thorny bushes!"

"Hey!" Sayori laughs, slapping my arm. "Meanie."

I frown at her for a second, my thoughts drifting back to serious things again automatically. "You know I'm just kidding, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Sayori's tone changes immediately at my question. She looks down at her feet again as we continue walking.

I berate myself for being so silly. Of course she knows. Right? I shouldn't be this worried about how our normal conversations affect her. Right?

I drag myself out of my thoughts just in time to notice a bench. This time I grab Sayori's hand to drag her over, and we sit down.

"I'm sorry," I say after a moment. Sayori looks at me in surprise. "I…I guess I can worry about you too much sometimes. I should trust you, to tell me when I say things that upset you when I don't mean to."

Sayori looks down at her hands in her lap. "I want to let you worry about me. I really do. But it hurts so much when you do. When anyone does. The voice in my head gets so loud."

I frown. "Voice?"

"Yeah," Sayori looks back up at me. "My mind can be very mean to me, when I'm like this. Telling me how I don't deserve anyone's attention, that I'm just wasting their time. Usually I can push it into a corner, hide it behind other voices, but it's harder when people care. It wants me to run away, to tell everyone to stop. Like Thursday. And it makes me very mean, too."

"Sayori, no, you're never mean," I keep my tone soft. "You're always so kind and caring. Just because things sometimes get to be too much for you doesn't change that. It's just who you are. And someone like you should never have to apologize for that."

Sayori takes a moment to collect her thoughts. "Sometimes," she sighs. "When the voice is really loud, when I can't do anything to push it away and it keeps telling me that I'm worthless, then you show up with a smile and show me that you care. And for a little while, the voice goes away, and I can feel without the pain and hurt."

My smile is bittersweet. "I'm glad," I tell her. I look around for a second and I can't help but laugh. "You know, we were supposed to be out here to get away from this stuff."

"Oh, yeah," Sayori looks away from me. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, no," I try to get her attention back. "I'm just saying, we didn't really do a good job of it. Even before I put my foot in my mouth."

"I was trying to stop the voice," she tells me. "It wasn't working, until you saw the squirrels. I pushed it away, for just a little bit."

I can't really think of a way to respond, so I stand up and offer a hand for Sayori. "Perhaps we should just go home, then."

She takes my hand and I help her up. "Okay."

"It's starting to get a little warm out here, anyway," I say offhandedly. Sayori gasps.

"Hey! You still haven't gone home!" she exclaims. "And your uniform's a mess! You need to get it cleaned!"

I laugh as I fight off Sayori's attempt to straighten up my shirt. "I'll take care of it, okay?"

"Alright, fine," Sayori pouts, and we begin our walk back.

"How about you come over?" I ask her hopefully a few moments later. She nods her agreement and smiles.

We manage some actual casual conversation throughout the trip, and as a result Sayori seems distracted for real this time. As we pass her house, we drop in so I can grab my stuff before heading to my house.

I open my front gate and motion Sayori through before following. I open my front door and am greeted only by blackness.

"Poki?" Sayori calls out. There's no response. "I think she's mad at you."

"What?" I'm confused. She sighs.

"You ditched her for me and now she's mad," she replies, pouting.

Involuntarily, I laugh. "C'mon, Sayori. She's probably just sleeping."

As if on cue, we hear a meow from the top of the stairs. We take off our shoes as Poki makes her way down, slowly walking towards us and giving an extended stretch as if to punctuate the point.

As Sayori and Poki greet each other, I hurry over to the kitchen. Surprisingly, there's actually some food left in her bowl, but I still add some more for her before placing it back down, watching as she runs over to it.

As I stand up, I'm met by the clock on my microwave. "Huh," I quietly express my blunt surprise. It's 2:00. I calculate back for a few seconds and realize that Sayori must have woken me up around 10:00 in the morning. It didn't seem like I slept that long, but I definitely feel awake. Suddenly I realize just how hungry I am, which is not surprising considering I haven't eaten anything in nearly a day.

"You hungry?" I ask Sayori. She looks at me for a second.

"Actually, I am," she answers with a soft smile.

I quickly put together a simple meal for us and we eat in silence. I happily notice that Sayori finishes before I do. She seems to almost be back to normal. Will she ever be back to normal? Can I ever see her as the carefree girl I thought I knew again? Knowing her thoughts and feelings like I do now, will that ever be possible? Perhaps if I can get glimpses, just moments where I see the girl I used to see, it won't matter.

She's Sayori, after all, my best friend. Even if there's parts of her I never knew, I still know her well enough to never want that to change.

I finish what's left in front of me and smile at Sayori. "You know, there's cookies if you…"

"Cookies?!" Sayori nearly shouts, cutting me off. Her smile is massive as I get up to grab the box out of the cupboards. I hold back my own smile at the expected reaction.

The cookies are soft, the type that need to be enjoyed warm to get the full texture and flavour, so I put them on a plate and stick them in the microwave for a few seconds before I place the plate on the table and shift my chair towards Sayori.

"Be careful, they're…" before I can finish, she's already grabbed a cookie, shoving half of it into her mouth before biting down. Her eyes go wide immediately.

"Owieowieowieowie!" Sayori chokes out, mouth full. Her arms raise in shock at the heat that her mouth is clearly suffering through. She swallows and immediately downs the remains of the cold drink in front of her.

"I tried to warn you," I say, somewhat defensively. She gives me a pained smile. Was that because of her now burnt tongue, or my statement? I try to shake the question out of my head. I really need to stop overthinking things, I tell myself once more.

Sayori doesn't seem to notice as she picks up her cookie again, this time blowing on it before taking a smaller, more careful bite. She smiles warmly at me.

"Aren't you going to take one?" She asks me. I didn't even realize I hadn't. I reach forward and take the one closest to me. I take a small bite, savoring the flavour.

We finish the rest of our cookies in more comfortable silence. While the single cookie I finish is more than enough to satisfy me, Sayori goes through three of them without much trouble.

"So, what do you want to do now?" I ask as she finishes her last bite.

"Well, you did help me clean my place yesterday," Sayori starts. "Maybe I should help you do the same? You know, so you don't have to tomorrow for Yuri."

I intend to object. There's more fun and entertaining things we could do instead. Before I can open my mouth, though, I think back to last night's activities. She seemed much more relaxed and active when brushing and dusting her house down. She even sounded more like herself, in the few conversations that passed between us.

"Okay, sure," I say instead. "Why not?"

Sayori looks pleased, even if not necessarily ecstatic.

The fact that the place looks worse than I originally thought it did makes me thankful I changed my mind. Even a cursory glance around makes me pretty confident that I wouldn't have been able to clean the place to my satisfaction on my own before it was too late to invite Yuri over.

We finish cleaning the floors and dusting and wiping the entertainment centre down before heading towards the stairs.

"So now Yuri can come over bright and early," Sayori says to me as she takes a rag and some window cleaner and starts to clean the picture frames hung up there. "So you'll have enough time to make sure you can get everything done without rushing."

"Maybe," I shrug. "I think I'll let her have the morning, though. I'll invite her over after I finish lunch," an idea hits me suddenly. "Or maybe I'll invite her over for lunch."

"Oh, yeah, that sounds like fun!" Sayori tries to sound happy as she forces a smile at me, but I now know better.

"Sayori, is something wrong?" I ask carefully. This time I know I'm not overreacting as she looks away from me and sighs.

"M-maybe," she avoids my gaze.

"You're worried she's going to take me away from you," I recall from this morning's talk. Suddenly I find I'm confused. "Or was it that you wanted that?"

Sayori looks at me now, though I can tell she's still upset. I notice a slight blush on her cheeks. "This week, it was what I wanted, but now…I don't know what I'd do without you, Johnny. I really mean that."

For as long as we've known each other, we've never expressed this kind of sentiment to each other. I always figured it went unsaid, but now I'm wondering if making sure she knew what an important part she played in my life would have been exactly what she needed.

"As long as I'm able, as long as I can do something about it, you'll never have to find out, okay?" I say earnestly. I give her my cheesiest smile.

"Promise?" She asks hopefully.

"Promise," I agree. "Even if Monika, Natsuki and Yuri all want to become my harem girls, I'll still hang out with you."

Sayori laughs at me. "You're so ridiculous sometimes."

I laugh as well. "Yeah, I know."

She moves up the stairs to the next picture frame. As if to drive the point home, it's a picture of us, taken four or five years ago, standing together in Sayori's kitchen. As she looks at it closely, I see a hint of a smile before she focuses back on cleaning.

As Sayori continues up, I mop the floors behind her. Her quiet focus is apparent in her intense expression as she diligently cleans.

Finally, we reach the top of the steps. On the left is a closed door to the master bedroom, while to the right is the door to the second floor bathroom. Directly in front of us, the door to my bedroom sits wide open.

I continue my mopping before I notice Sayori looking at me a bit awkwardly. She finally speaks up.

"Is it okay if I clean your room?" She asks.

I nod. "Sure." I've kept it clean enough in there that there's nothing…embarrassing that she's liable to find. "Just leave the bathroom for me, okay?"

"Let me clean the mirrors," she calls after me before adding in her whiniest voice, "Please?"

"Okay, but just the mirrors, alright?" I reply, laughter in my voice.

We spend the next half-an-hour cleaning our respective locations. Just as I'm finishing up cleaning the bathtub, Sayori joins me to work on the mirror. As if in perfect sync, we both finish at the same time.

I check out our handiwork, satisfied that Yuri should be impressed enough with it before I head off to see what Sayori did with my bedroom.

"Wow, I'm impressed," I say, looking around at the space. She actually organized a few things for me, as well as clearing some of the things I'd left littered on the floor.

"It wasn't as bad as I expected," she notes.

"What, did you think I'd actually be able to give you a run for your money?" I ask jokingly.

"Yeah, I did," Sayori responds playfully. I do my best Sayori impression by pouting, causing her to laugh.

"I saw what you were trying to do," she says. "Meanie."

She seems a lot more relaxed and comfortable now, especially after this morning. Knowing at least some of that is probably because of me makes me feel really good.

"So, what do you want to do now?" I ask, sitting down on my now remade bed.

"Hmm, maybe we can see if there's anything on TV to watch?" She asks after a moment's thought. I nod as I stand back up.

I lead the way back down the stairs, letting Sayori know to watch her step behind me on the soggy floors.

We spend the next few hours watching sitcoms and dramas. Unlike last night, Sayori's totally engaged with the contents on the screen, laughing and chatting with me about every little thing she can think of. In between a couple shows, I make us a quick meal that she readily downs alongside me.

I start to feel a bit tired as the sun goes down and the look out the window gets dark. As if sensing this, Sayori looks at me. She takes a moment to speak up, and I can tell she's trying to gather up her courage.

"Hey, Johnny?" She starts. "Is it okay if…if I sleep here, just for tonight?"

I'm a little surprised, but I shrug. "I guess so. I mean, I guess it's only fair, right?"

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Johnny. You know I don't mind you sleeping over, right?" On my nod, she gives me a soft smile. "I want to sleep over, because I don't really want to be alone at home tonight."

Oh. "It's alright, I understand," I say, though I'm not sure I really do. Maybe she's just more comfortable here right now?

I had thought that she seemed happier since we entered my house, but maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see? Knowing what she's told me today, and how well she's hidden it, even from me, I find myself unsure about what to believe when it comes to Sayori's feelings.

"Nighttime is really hard for me," her voice shocks me out of my thoughts suddenly. "But knowing you're just upstairs, or Poki is just a call away, I think I'll feel better."

I'm a little surprised by her admission. Her moment's hesitation before speaking up makes sense to me now. I recall her talking about finding it hard to get up in the morning, but I only just now put together that her depression was why. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that was the reason. I worry whether I should have, but a different realization hits me before I think too deeply about it.

"Wait, upstairs?" I ask her suddenly. She looks at me sharply. "If you're sleeping over, it's not going to be down here."

"Huh?" She seems…weirded out?

"There's a master bedroom upstairs that I don't think anyone has set foot in since we first moved out," I point out to her. "You're not sleeping on the couch when that's the case."

"Oh," Sayori looks embarrassed for a second, but I decide not to think about it too much. "Yeah, I-I guess so."

I smile. Sayori hadn't slept over since her mother graduated from university. It'll be just like old times, except Sayori will be in my parent's room, instead of on a mattress on the floor next to my bed.

"Do you need to get anything?" I ask. "You know, from your place?"

She thinks it over for a second. "I-I think so?"

"Why don't we go now?" I suggest to her.

"W-we?" Sayori seems surprised.

"Yeah," I try to play it as cool as I can. "If you don't want to be alone, I can stick with you. Besides, extra pair of arms, right?"

Sayori nods at me after a second. The motion is firm, seemingly more about resolution than affirmation.

We put on our shoes and walk to her house. Once inside, it doesn't take long for her to gather the few things she needs. I make sure to lock the back door for her before she makes her way back down.

As we leave, I notice Sayori forgot about the front door, too. "Hey, Sayori?" I get her attention before looking at the door pointedly. She gives an embarrassed laugh as she locks it.

Returning to my place, I immediately suggest we get her settled into the room. We take off our shoes and bring everything up. Opening the door, I'm surprised how interesting I find the knowledge that we're the first two people to lay eyes on this room in over a year. It seems almost…momentous? I shake my head at the weird feeling. Sayori doesn't seem to notice as she puts her things on the bed.

"I-if you need to take a shower," I speak up a bit tentatively. "Well, it's cleaned and everything."

Sayori nods at me. "I…I think I will."

"I'll be downstairs, then," I tell her, heading out the door.

It takes a little while before I hear the shower running. I decide to check out an old rerun of one of my anime while I wait. Just as it finishes, I hear Sayori turn off the shower. It's a few minutes later before she bounds down the steps.

She's dressed in her sleepwear and she's left her hair down, her red bow nowhere to be found. I assume she probably put it in her for-the-night bedroom before coming down. I look at her for a few moments. Wow, she's cute, I think. I shake my head for a second, but don't give it another thought.

"You want to watch a movie?" I ask her. She grins.

"Yeah!" She responds excitedly.

I grab up a DVD and put it in. It's about a boy and a dragon. We both really enjoy it, so I know she'll have no problem watching it.

It's nearly midnight when it ends, and I find myself unable to stifle a yawn.

"Bedtime?" Sayori asks me, a slight twinkle in her eyes. I can only nod.

"Yeah, I guess so," I agree, getting myself up. Sayori follows suit, trailing me up the stairs.

"Goodnight," I say as we go into our separate rooms. I change out of my now somewhat ripe uniform and into my own pajamas before turning out the lights and making my way under the covers.

I'm surprised when I hear a soft meow from the end of my bed. I didn't even notice Poki was here. I sigh for a second. I wonder… I think to myself.

"Psst, Poki," I whisper as loud as I can. I notice her head shift in the way that cats do. She's not looking at me, but she's paying attention. "Go sleep with Sayori. She probably needs you more than I do tonight."

She meows at me again. I shift under the blankets slightly, getting her to stand up. She stares at me for a second, then jumps down, heading to the door. She makes it to the hallway, but decides to lay down there instead.

Good enough, I guess, I think to myself. I yawn again before closing my eyes and falling asleep.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

I wake up suddenly. Immediately I look at my clock. It's 2:00 in the morning. I rub my eyes and look past the end of my bed. I see Poki, still lying in the same spot, but I can see she's awake and her ears are twitching. A moment later, she gets up and walks into the other room. A few seconds after that, I hear the soft sound of her jumping.

I don't hear anything else as I fall back to sleep almost immediately.