DDLC: Our Time

Chapter 7: Secret Interests

Alex made his way into the Literature Club room. When he came inside, he was surprised to find that Natsuki was the only one present. She was making her way towards the back of the classroom when he came in. She glanced back at him and nodded.

"Hey."

"Hey there," Alex greeted her, removing an earbud. "Looks like no one else is here yet, huh?"

"Nope. Yuri said she was feeling a little sick today so she's not coming. I don't know what the other two's excuses are yet." She said.

"Oh, alright. Well, guess we won't be having any tea this time." Alex joked lightly.

"I hear that won't be a problem for you." Natsuki teased him.

"Ugh, I was hoping no one would notice."

"Eh, I'm sure you were just tryna be nice. But Yuri prefers when you're up front with her about stuff, so don't feel like you have to do that." She recommended.

"Gotcha...you two are good friends?" He asked curiously.

"We all are. It's what makes the club run...well, most of the time."

"That's cool. It's gonna take me awhile to get used to all this. I've never really been part of a...literature club, reading group, whatever you wanna call it."

"We call it a Literature Club because we get into all different types of literature. You better take it seriously." Natsuki quickly set him straight on the matter. Alex nodded.

"Yeah, yeah of course," He said quickly before changing the subject. "So what sorta stuff do you enjoy reading?"

"Um...I-I keep it pretty casual." She answered a little nervously. Alex picked up on her hesitation and smiled a little bit.

"So you're a little closeted about your own interests too, huh?" He asked.

"N-No! I just...get judged a lot." Natsuki answered, folding her arms.

"Ah," He nodded and sat on a nearby desk. "My mom's like that. She doesn't get anything I'm into." He said.

"Yeah? Why are parents like that?" Natsuki wondered aloud, shaking her head.

"You know the pain." Alex commented with a faint chuckle.

"Yeah, my dad...I have to hide most of the things I like for the same reason." Natsuki admitted.

"I'm sorry to hear that...that sucks."

"Yeah, it does...I don't know why we're talking about this." She realized the sensitive nature of the conversation and tried to dismiss it with a faint chuckle. She shook her head.

"Heheh, it comes up...so what are you into? Really?" Alex asked again, smiling gently. Natuski looked at him then looked down, blushing a little.

"...manga." She finally answered.

"Oh yeah? What kinds? Hentai?" He asked jokingly.

"No! Not hentai!" She answered in a sassy manner, putting her hands on her hips, "I just like...whatever, you know, silly splice-of-life stuff." She answered with a wave of her hand.

"Gotcha. Sounds nice. I've wanted to get into manga before, I'm just like really bad at starting new things." Alex admitted with a laugh.

"Really?" Natsuki asked, looking surprised.

"Yeahhh. I downloaded an app for it awhile back, but I only have a few comic books and like one or two ongoing manga series that I haven't even started. I've barely cracked the comic books." Alex said.

"Wow...so you're lazy." Natsuki said. Alex laughed.

"I am, yeah! But I'm also pretty focused on my own writing, so it's hard to get motivated to get into something else." He explained.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense...I wouldn't have thought you'd be into that stuff, Alex." She said, looking at him with a sideways glance.

"Oh yeah? What would you have marked me for being into it?" Alex asked curiously.

"I dunno...probably video games or sports." She answered with a shrug.

"Haha, well I am kinda into sports. Definitely into video games." Alex chuckled.

"Well, at least I'm not wrong." Natsuki said with a smile.

"Yeah." Alex chuckled and smiled back. Natsuki quickly looked away again, her cheeks reddening a little.

"Anyways...I keep my manga collection in the closet. It helps me avoid most of the nasty remarks I get." Natsuki said.

"Oh yeah? Can I see?" Alex requested.

"...fine, but don't touch anything! I don't know where those hands have been! You can look but you can't touch!" Natsuki stipulated as she pointed at him.

"Where have I heard that before?" Alex slyly joked as he made his way to the closet. Whatever Natsuki was going to say in response got caught in her throat once she realized what he was referencing.

"Ugh, gross! So you're a perv and a nerd." She said. Alex laughed as he opened up the closet doors.

"Whoaaa!" Alex exclaimed, his eyes widening when he saw the extent of her collection. "This isn't a collection, this is a whole library!"

"Haha, impressed? And I've read all of them at least once!" Natsuki smirked, folding her arms proudly.

"Maaannnn. That's pretty cool, not gonna lie." Alex said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I know." She chuckled. Alex chuckled too and shook his head.

"Yeah, I could never. I would struggle so much to get through all this if I had to." He said.

"Heheh, well, everyone's tastes are different. But if you ever wanna read something, I might consider letting you pick something up." Natsuki offered.

"Yeah? I might be down." Alex replied with a nod.

"Cool. I don't know if there's anything here you'd enjoy though." Natsuki added with a shrug.

"Well, we'll see. Most of my stuff is pretty action-centric." Alex said as he briefly glanced through the different titles on the spines of each book.

"Oh yeah? Maybe not then."

"You never know. I'm pretty open. I'm just lazy." Alex joked.

"Heheh, yeah...what stuff are you into, Alex?"

"Me? Superheroes, or just hero stuff in general. I enjoy that probably more than anything else." Alex answered honestly.

"Yeah? Is that what you write about?" Natsuki asked.

"Well...sometimes." Alex answered hesitantly. Natsuki picked up on his hesitation; he always clammed up whenever someone asked him what his stories were about.

"You don't write weird stuff, do you? Hentai?" Natsuki joked. Alex snickered.

"No, definitely not! Haha...alright, if it stays between us for now, I'll tell you."

"Deal." Natsuki agreed, her interest starting to rise, mostly just because she figured it would be fun to get in on his little secret.

"Heheh, alright...truth is I write fanfictions more than I write normal original stories." He finally said.

"Oh yeah? I used to write fanfictions back in middle school." She said.

"Yeah? I get pretty in-depth with my stuff. I do superheroes, cartoons, TV shows. Different stuff like that." Alex continued.

"How many stories do you have, dude?" She asked.

"Uh..." Alex paused a little to think about it. "Like between 7 and 9. Some I haven't started on yet, they're still in the development process. Others are part of a series; there's just a lot." He said with a breathy chuckle.

"Oh wow! You must be really into it!" Natsuki said.

"I am. It's my favorite hobby for sure." Alex said with a nod.

"That's cool, Alex. If you just pick one story you're comfortable talking about, the others would probably find it cool too. I get the feeling they'll go easier on you."

"Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"

"Just a feeling." Natsuki answered, looking away. She fixed her eyes on the manga collection...

The door to the classroom suddenly swung open. Sayori came inside with Monika following just behind her.

"Hey, guys!" Sayori greeted them with a big smile and a wave.

"Sorry, we're late! It's my fault!" Monika quickly excused Sayori. "I was in the music room and didn't hear the bell ring!"

"Heheheh, you should've set an alarm or something, Monika. How careless of you!" Natsuki teased Monika with a laugh.

"Yeahhh. I'm sorry to keep you two waiting. Since Yuri won't be coming in today, we can get started." Monika said.

"Yuri isn't coming?! What's wrong?! Is she sick?!" Sayori asked worriedly.

"A little bit, so she went home after the bell rang. I'm sure she'll be back tomorrow." Monika reassured her.

"I'll send her a get-well card!" Sayori decided.

"It's not that big a deal, Sayori." Natsuki chuckled.

"Then I'll send her a get-well text!" Sayori decided.

"Ahaha, I'm sure she'll appreciate that. So, did we miss anything?" Monika asked playfully, smiling at Alex and Natsuki. Natsuki immediately got embarrassed.

"Oh, not really. Natsuki was just showing me her hentai collection." Alex answered with a smile.

"Really?!" Natsuki slapped Alex on the arm. He just laughed and stepped away from her.

"Oh yeah? Can I see too?" Sayori asked with a giggle.

"You've seen my collection, Sayori! You know what's there!" Natsuki said defensively.

"I'm sure it's in there somewhere. She hides it." Alex joked. Natsuki pointed threateningly at him.

"You better hush before I hit you again."

Monika giggled and smiled. Seeing the smile on Alex's face...it was nice to see that they were all having fun and warming up to him...