(Friday, 7:00PM; School; Akihito's PoV)

We're just around 5 minutes away till we reach home. Me and Monika were talking about stuff we did in the arcade. My chest pain hasn't gone away, so I've just been clutching my chest the whole walk back.

Monika: "Are you sure you're okay? It looks really bad."

Aki: "I'm fine, really. Like I said earlier, some Tylenol will help."

We reach my house, and I take my keys from my pocket. Huh? The door's unlocked? I'm pretty sure I locked it earlier.

Monika: "What's the problem Aki?"

Aki: "Door's unlocked."

Monika: "Did you lock it when we left?"

Aki: "Pretty sure I did."

Monika: "Oh no... what now?"

Aki: "Stay behind me. We'll both go in, be careful."

Monika: "Okay..."

I gently open the door and walk inside slowly. All the lights are off. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I head to the kitchen to grab a knife just in case. Suddenly the lights go on.

Monika: "AAAAAA!"

Monika grabs me as tightly as possible. I make my hands into fists, ready to counter any coming attack.

Aki: "SHOW YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!"

?: "Surprise!"

Monika: "A-Aki? Who's that?"

I look to see... Mom?!

Aki: "Mom? What are you doing here?"

Akira: "Well, I got a small vacation from work, and I wanted to see my precious child!"

Aki: "O-oh. This is uh... awkward..."

Akira: "I see you've brought company! Who's that behind you?"

Aki: "T-this is Monika..."

Akira: "Monika, so nice to meet you! What are you doing here at this time with my son?"

Monika: "Wait, you haven't told her yet?"

Akira: "Told me what?"

Aki: "We're... dating..."

Mom gives me a shocked expression. I don't blame her.

Akira: "My son has a girlfriend?! Since when?!"

Aki: "Mooom, stop overreacting!"

Akira: "I think I have the right to overreact when my baby has a girlfriend!"

Aki: "Fine... you have a point. We started dating just after the festival."

Akira: "Well, Monika, you're gonna tell me more about yourself while I prepare dinner.

Monika: "Uhh sure... I can do that!"

I stay in the room, but Mom just stares at me.

Aki: "Is something wrong?"

Akira: "Yes, I would like it if you would let us have a little girl to girl talk."

Aki: "But-"

Akira: "Go to your room, I'll send Monika up there once I'm finished."

Aki: "Okay..."

Monika giggles to herself a little. This is horribly embarrassing. I head up to my room and play some Smash Bros., it's basically my favorite video game. I wonder what Monika will say about me...

(Friday, 7:10PM; School; Monika's PoV)

I watch as Aki goes to his room. I can't help but giggle. Him getting 'yelled at' by his mother is just so cute.

Mrs. Yamada: "So, tell me a little bit about yourself darling."

Monika: "Well my name is Monika, and we started dating Monday, so it's a pretty new relationship."

Mrs. Yamada: "Oh I see! When did you both meet?"

Monika: "Well we shared a class last year, but we barely spoke to each other. It was only when he joined the club that we started talking."

Mrs. Yamada: "Hold on, my boy is in a club?"

Monika: "Yes! The Literature Club! Has he not told you about it?"

Mrs. Yamada: "No, we rarely talk since I'm always busy with work. Tell me more about this club."

Monika: "Well, I'm the president of the club. And I'm sure you're familiar with Sayori, correct?"

Mrs. Yamada: "Gosh it's been so long since I've heard that name. Her and Akihito were basically inseparable when they were kids."

Monika: "Well, she's the vice president, and she's the one who actually invited Aki."

Mrs. Yamada: "Aki? Is that his name now?"

Monika: "Well he said that his friends call him that, like a nickname."

Mrs. Yamada: "Oh that's nice. Well, it's nice getting to know you Monika! You can meet up with Akihito if you like. He's probably playing video games or something."

Monika: "Thank you Mrs. Yamada, Aki has told me so much about you."

Mrs. Yamada: "Oh please, call me Akira."

Monika: "Okay then, thank you Akira. May I ask you something before I leave?"

Akira: "Sure!"

Monika: "Whenever Aki talked about his family, he only talked about you. Is his father not around?"

Akira: "Oh, this is a deep topic."

Monika: "Oh, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Akira: "No no, it's okay. You should at least understand Akihito's point of view. You see, his father and I have been… divorced for a few years now. It was when Akihito was in his last year of middle school."

Monika: "Oh… I'm so sorry to hear that..."

Akira: "Akihito loved his father so much, he would always try and spend as much time as he could with his father. But he didn't know that his father was an alcoholic, and having an affair. I found out about it late at night and confronted him. It happened to be on that night that his father was severely drunk."

Monika: "Oh no..."

Akira: "I made the big mistake of confronting him in that state. He... did some things that I'd rather not state, and left."

Monika: "W-what do you mean by that?"

Akira: "He just left the house and never came back. He doesn't call anymore or keep in touch at all."

Monika: "So why doesn't Aki talk about his father?"

Akira: "Well, he was old enough to understand what I went through, and he hated his father for what he did. Aki loved him so much, and he felt betrayed. So, he put all his hatred towards his father."

Monika: "I'm... so sorry to hear that..."

Akira: "It's okay dear, you were just curious. Now, why don't you head up to Akihito's room. I'll call you both when dinner is ready."

Monika: "Okay... thank you Akira."

I head up to Aki's room. I can't believe what I just heard. Aki must've gone through so much, I feel so bad for him. I knock on his bedroom door to let him know that I'm here.

Aki: "Come in!"

I walk in, and Aki looks worried after seeing my face.

Aki: "Monika? Did something happen?"

(Friday, 7:30PM; School; Akihito's PoV)

Dammit! This game is so annoying! I swear, Smash Bros. online is rigged with tryhards and spammers. I'm about to start another game when someone knocks on the door.

Aki: "Come in!"

Monika opens the door and looks at me with a worried face. Seeing her worried face makes me worried.

Aki: "Monika? Did something happen?"

Monika: "Your mom... told me about your father."

Aki: "Sigh... did she now?"

Monika: "I'm so sorry for what you had to go through Aki..."

Aki: "I knew this day would come, I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Well, now you know my story."

Monika: "Do you still hate-"

Aki: "Yes. He is the one that made my mom suffer, and I won't allow that to ever happen."

Monika: "Do you... wanna talk about it?"

Aki: "Whatever Mom said is sufficient."

Monika: "Okay..."

We don't speak, we just stand in silence.

Aki: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound angry at you."

Monika: "It's okay, let's do something else."

Aki: "Wanna play some Smash?"

Monika: "Sure!"

Aki: "Alright, you know how to play?"

Monika: "Of course! I have my own copy at home!"

Aki: "Nice."

We both pick our characters. Monika goes for Lucina, and I go for Ness.

Aki: "Seriously? A Fire Emblem character?"

Monika: "Hey, they're pretty good! And don't think you're any better, Mr. PK Fire."

Aki: "...Touché."

We play Smash for some time. I gotta say, Monika's pretty good. She's won about half the matches we play. I won the other half, but barely.

Akira: "Kids! Dinner's ready!"

Aki: "We're coming!"

Monika: "Aw, I was so close to winning!"

Aki: "There's always a next time. C'mon, let's have some dinner. Mom will probably want to talk with you more."

We head downstairs to the dining room- Oh shit. Mom doesn't know Monika's a vegetarian!

Aki: "H-hey mom… what's for dinner?"

Akira: "Oh, just some pasta."

Aki: "What's in it?"

Akira: "Just veggies, why?"

Aki: "Oh thank god..."

Akira: "Is something wrong?"

Monika: "It's just that I'm a vegetarian."

Akira: "Oh! That's something good to know! Well, consider it good luck that I made a vegetarian dish!"

Monika: "Ahaha, yes I guess it's lucky."

We all sit down at the dinner table, and Mom gives us our servings. Dinner was fairly calm. Mom and Monika would do most of the talking, mainly to get to know each other a bit more. I would chime in here, but for the most part I stayed silent. After dinner, we all met up in the living room before Monika had to leave.

Akira: "Oh I totally forgot to ask you Monika. Are your parents okay with you having dinner here? They surely would've made something for you at home, right?"

Monika: "I actually live alone and cook my own food normally, so it's no big deal."

Akira: "Well isn't that nice! Akihito, you should learn a thing or two from her! You're not going to be living off of frozen food for the rest of your life."

Aki: "Mooom..."

I can hear Monika giggle softly.

Akira: "Alright dear, you head home. It was nice meeting you!"

Mom then softly hits my shoulder. She then whispers in my ear.

Akira: "Ask her if she wants to be walked home."

Aki: "Would you like me to walk you home?"

Monika: "Okay! Thank you Aki!"

Akira: "Bye you too. Aki, come back home soon."

Aki: "Will do. See you later Mom."

Monika and I then walk towards her house.

Aki: "Sorry for that surprise by Mom, I didn't expect her to arrive."

Monika: "That's fine, it was nice to meet her."

Aki: "And I'm sorry for not fulfilling my dare, I'll do that next time we meet."

Monika: "It's okay, seeing you get embarrassed by your mom is more than enough for me."

Aki: "If that works for you, then I'm happy."

We walk the rest of the distance in silence. It's not an awkward silence, it's actually rather calming. I guess just being with Monika in general is calming. We eventually reach her house, and we say goodbye to each other. I walk back home, taking in the scenery of the place. Once I reach home, I open the door to see Mom doing the dishes.

Akira: "So? Did you drop her off?"

Aki: "Yep."

Akira: "Y'know, this girl Monika, she seems like a good girl. I think you two will get along well."

Aki: "I think so too. I hope we will spend the rest of our lives together. As of right now, we're keeping our relationship a secret."

Akira: "Aw, so sweet. Alright, go to bed. I'm sure you guys will have something planned tomorrow."

Aki: "Well, as of right now we don't. But I'm sure we will come up with something tomorrow. Good night Mom."

Akira: "Good night dear."

I head up to my room to go to sleep. Today was an amazing day, and Mom came home to visit. I hope she stays for sometime, and not for just the weekend. I close my eyes, and drift away to sleep.