A Shadow in the Fourth Wall

by Herooftime27

A boy wakes up with no memory of his life before, not knowing where he is. He clearly is enrolled in a school and has a best friend. Why is he being plagued by nightmares from these girls he's just met? Why does he feel connections to each of these girls...a stronger connection for one in particular?

7. Connected Dreamscape

A/N: So, around this time of writing, the story started to stray a tad from how it originally started, or how the original tone was. Like I said, I usually have a goal, or have it in mind on what each chapter has in it or how I want it to end but I mostly wing it. That being said, it started going a direction that was a tad different than the first few chapters so yeah! I hope you enjoy. :)

….

"Your resistance is futile"

An all too familiar voice taunts me. Once again, I'm thrust into absolute darkness, with no frame of reference on what the current setting is.

"She trembles in fear, hides her abuse and insecurities with aggressiveness"

For the first time in these dreams, I find my voice.

"Hey! Shut the fuck up! Who exactly are you?" My voice, as much as I tried to have confidence, still leaked uncertainty and fear.

The voice chuckles sinisterly.

"You will know in time. For now, stand powerless against inevitable odds and cower in fear. You have no strength here."

I feel the presence of the voice dissipate, and I am greeted to a scene.

I seem to be in a house. I'm at the base of grey carpeted steps. I gaze around to see if I can recognize anything. Countless alcoholic bottles and cans littered the tile and carpeted floors, trailing from what I could only assume was a kitchen and past me, up the stairs.

The only light that seems to be emanating came from upstairs. I stand motionless until I hear a crash from the top of the stairs and some whimpers.

Reluctantly, I make my way up. My legs felt like Jell-O, so holding onto the guardrail was a must for me. As I rounded the top of the steps, I saw a pink door that was barely cracked open. The trail of bottles and cans piled around the door and the smell of alcohol stung my nostrils.

As I neared the door, I heard voices and cries.

"Father, please! I promise I'll make it just like you want next time!" I hear a girl's voice cry out. "There just wasn't a lot of ingredients lying around and-"

Her voice was abruptly cut off from a gruff male voice.

"Shut your fucking mouth! Did I ask for fucking excuses from your pathetic mouth? No! I asked for dinner to be fucking made and for dishes to be washed! Is that so hard to do? Huh? I provide you with a home and a bed and this is how you fucking respect me?"

I hear the girl whimper and sniffle behind sobs.

"I-I know, father. I'll get home extra early tomorrow and finish everything before-" Her voice was cut off as I heard a smack followed by her voice crying out.

"Speaking without being told to? Do you know nothing, whore?" I heard the male say.

I open the door into a room with walls that were pink, flowered decorations littered all over from top to bottom. Straight ahead was a window, with a small twin bed directly in front of it. The door quietly shut behind me. The beer bottles and cans from the halls led up to the feet of a man.

He stood half a foot over me, easy. He stood in place with a bottle in hand. Well not exactly standing, more like swaying, as he was clearly intoxicated.

At his feet, a girl who looked small and timid, especially in comparison to the grown man who towered over her, was laying defenseless on the floor. Her neck-long pink hair was covering her eyes and her cheeks were stained with tears. She had a bright-red hand mark printed on her right cheek, and visible bruises that colored her arms and legs. I even got a hint of one from one side of her shirt riding up.

As I ascertained the situation, anger flowed throw my limbs.

"Natsuki..?" I say, but I was snuffed out by the man yelling once more.

"You are so damn pathetic! If I would've known you would be like this when your whore mother left, I would've been better off throwing you out in the street to fend for yourself! It's where you belong anyways!"

He pulled a full beer can out of his pocket and chucked it at Natsuki. It hit her abdomen with reasonable force, causing her to cry out and whimper, balling up in the fetal position on the floor.

"I need more beer, you fucking brat." The man says.

"Hey! Motherfucker!" I yell out loud, surprising everyone in the room, me included.

The gruff man turns around, a crazed look in his eye.

"Who in the fuck are you?" He says, balling up his fist.

My eyes dart down to Natsuki, who makes eye contact with me. Her stained-red eyes opened wide, and she sat there speechless and I knew she recognized me. Which to me was weird because wasn't this supposed to be a nightmare?

Before I could ponder, the man shoulder charged me, pinning me against the door with a rough hand against my throat. My hands gripped his wrists and I grunted, trying to steady my breathing.

He bore down his eyes on me like a predator stalking his prey. He took a whiff of the air around me like he was smelling for fear, which honestly was probably in healthy supply at this moment.

"Maybe you didn't hear me, runt. Who the fuck are you and why are you in my house?" The man growls again. Fear was replaced with anger. I narrowed my eyes at the man.

"That's a damn good question, old man. I got a better one. Why the fuck are you abusing my friend?" I shoot back, struggling against his grip on my throat.

The man swiftly delivers a hit with his beer bottle across my face with his unoccupied hand, pain flaring across my head and sending stars behind my eyes.

"Abuse? Abuse? Who the fuck are you to interfere with my family? It's calling fucking reprimand, you prick!" He screams at me, his spit splattering on my face.

He picks me up with the hand that gripped my throat and held me a good few feet above the ground, my feet dangling. His grip on my neck tightened and my vision was started to blur. I felt myself gasping for air and my hands clawing at anything they could.

For a man who was intoxicated, he sure as hell could keep composure when fighting or asserting dominance, which is scary as hell.

As I struggle against the oversized tyrant, my eyes lower to Natsuki. I see her laying there, mentally broken and quivering from the pain. We lock eyes and I feel a surge of courage flow through me.

My right hand desperately grasps for anything until it lands on the beer bottle the man held in his non-dominant hand. I gripped it and yanked it from his grasp, causing him to momentarily break focus from me to his hand. In a swift move, I swung as hard I could to the man's head with my acquired weapon, the bottle making contact and shattering against his scalp.

His grip faltered and he staggered to the opposite wall. I crumpled to the floor, coughing violently. I crawl across the floor towards Natsuki, who held her hand out and desperately grasped for me. She pulled me to my knees and I tried to calm down my coughing, my neck already raw and sore from the man's strength.

I steady myself on my knee and turn my attention to the man. He was leaning against a dresser that Natsuki had the far side of the room. He gripped his head where the bottle shattered, and I could see hints of blood dripping down.

He looked over at me and Natsuki, his eyes piercing us with malice. He growled in rage, lowering his hand to his side and drunkenly stumbling back on his feet, unsupported by the wall or furniture.

"How dare you strike me? Do you know who I am? I will kill you!" He roars at me.

I glance at Natsuki and she lightly clings my shirt, her eyes pleading for help. The way she looked innocent and distraught at my side, grasping at me for assistance, gave me strength. She was the spitting image of a little sister, and that alone gave me the energy to stand up to this tyrant.

I grabbed a bottle that lay on her mattress in one hand and the unopened beer can that assaulted Natsuki from before and stumbled across the room to keep the general direction of attacks away from the small pink-haired baker.

"Listen up, you pathetic fuck." I spit at the man. He narrowed his eyes on me like he couldn't believe I was talking to him. "First, I'm going to beat your fucking ass into submission. Second, if I find out you even so much as lay a fucking finger on Natsuki ever again, I will personally find you and eternally torment you for as long as you fucking live!"

The man roared at me like a bear and charged. As strong and burly as he was, I still had one distinct factor to my advantage. This man was intoxicated. As he neared, I side-stepped to my left, bringing down my empty bear bottle with force onto the man's unguarded back as he stumbled past me. The bottle didn't break but landed an audible thud.

I centered myself again in a defensive position in the room while the man grasped his back and cried out in pain. She turned around and threw a bottle that he grabbed in my direction. I deflected the bottle painfully with my hand but was immediately knocked back from his fist that was hurled into my abdomen.

I rolled back into the wall, my vision blurred. My gripped my stomach in pain and cried out. "Shit!" I stammer, feeling the blow shoot pain throughout my body. The can I held rolled up to my leg.

The man slowly stalked towards me, almost like admiring his prize.

"It's best to stay down, fuckface. You'd going to end up on the ground anyways." He growls out, brandishing a broken beer bottle.

I propped myself on my knee. As I look up at him, he charges with his sharp weapon, ready to strike. I swiftly pick up the can by my foot and hurl it at the man. It strikes him with velocity right on his pelvis, eliciting him to groan in pain and drop to a knee.

I stagger towards him and without warning, bring down a nasty right hook straight to his face. The man flops over on the ground and rolls.

Natsuki, who at this point was sitting with her knees to her chest on her bed, gasped to herself.

The man groaned on the ground as he tried to life himself up, struggling against his drunken weight.

"I'm going to kill you." He groans out.

I lightly stagger over to the man, wincing in pain from each step. He looks up at me, his eyes burning with hatred. I clench my fists and stare down at the pitiful display.

"I'm not abusing you, it's called reprimand." I say. I bring my right fist down with amazing force, delivering a blow to the mans face. He falls completely limp onto the floor, unconscious.

I was breathing heavy, feeling like my body was weighted. I glance up and see Natsuki still on her bed, huddled up and staring at me.

All the adrenaline wore off from the fight and I was immediately hit with exhaustion. I stumbled to her bed and she reached out to catch me.

I sat down on the edge, fighting back the throbbing sensation that was consuming my body.

She began sobbing into my arm and grasping on to me for dear life. I kept my head up and took deep breaths to stay conscious. I started to become all too aware of the attacks that were inflicted upon me. My side started to ache and my jaw was sore. I tasted iron in my mouth. For a nightmare, this felt insanely realistic.

Natsuki squeezed my side and I winced.

"Oh shit, Christian I forgot!" She stammers out and she lets go quickly.

I put a hand up to show her it's okay.

"Don't worry about it, besides I'd felt worse from Sayori and her hugs." I chuckle and wince at the sudden movement. She lightly smiles before sighing.

"What are you doing here anyways? How did you find me?" She asks me.

I turned my head to her. "Well for one, this is a fucking dream."

She gripped my shoulder. "Yeah, no shit, dummy! How are you in my dream!?" She says to me.

I just stared at her, stunned. "Wait, you know this is a fucking dream?!" I ask her.

She simply nods. "Well, sort of. Me and father just had a, well you know, confrontation and I remember passing out in fear. And then here we are." She says this, choking out the last part, which I don't blame her. This is a terrible thing to go through.

I wrapped my mind about what she said. 'We're sharing a damn dream? How in the hell…' I thought to myself.

I glance down at the unconscious body of her father. He was breathing, but it seemed like he was more sleeping than anything. Probably thanks to the alcohol. I glanced back up at Natsuki until I felt my consciousness slipping away. The look on her face was alarmed as she reached out for me.

"Christian!" I hear her call out as I the room fade to black.

….

"Wait!" I yell as I sat straight up in my bed. My head darted all over my body, examining for injuries or imperfections. I took deep breathes to control my erratic breathing and felt sweat dripping down my face. I immediately was confronted with a sore pain going through my sides. I groan and winced as I held my side, trying to examine for an injury but it was too dark to notice anything.

At that moment, I felt stirring next to me and darted my head over. That when the previous night's events flooded into my head again. "Monika…" I mumble to myself.

She was laying on her side, head on the pillow, her left arm hanging onto my waist. The light shine of the moon through my window light up her face and she looked beautiful.

Of course, she had to stir and awaken at this moment, right when I just had a crazy nightmare that I could actually interact with and feel pain.

Her eyes fluttered open and landed on me. When she saw me sitting up, she slowly sat up and leaned against me, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"H-honey? What's wrong?" She asked, nuzzling her face into my arm.

I sighed and kissed her forehead. "It's nothing, just had another dream is all." I say back.

Her eyes scanned my face. "Another nightmare?" She innocently asks. I simply nod my head. She slightly frowns and kisses my shoulder.

"What was it about this time?" She says. I sigh and relay everything to her. Finding Natsuki being abused by her father, the battle that ensued with the drunken man, and Natsuki knowing we were in a dream. She nodded intently while listening the whole time. Once I finished, she nuzzled harder into me.

"I'm sorry, dove….I'm here to help you through it though." She sleepily says to me. I get the feeling she is still half asleep. I move my shoulder, bring her face to mine and place my lips on hers. I let the warmth flow through my body and comfort me.

I departed and starting to get off the bed. "I'm going to wash my face real quick. I'm sweatier than the gym shorts of Arnold Schwarzenegger."

She pouts and protests the loss of me but I ensure her I'll be back and depart the room.

I get to the bathroom and flick on the light switch. My eyes pinch and adjust to the sudden exposure to light. I sigh and get to the mirror. I splash some water on my face to cool me down. I rotate my body and see a baseball-sized bruise on my body.

'What the hell?' I think to myself. I reluctantly touch the bruise and wince from the pain. 'Why in the hell was that dream so real? Why do I have legit physical injuries?'

I finish washing myself and return to the room. I have a feeling of unease like nothing I've had before.

I return and see my goddess still laying in bed, barely able to keep herself awake while she waited for me to return.

I lay back in the bed and pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her and her head softly resting on my chest. Pain erupts from her squeezing but I try my best to hide it. She shouldn't have to worry about that at least at this hour. Other than the pain, her holding me helped all the unsurety and anxiety slowly wash away.

She places a kiss on my chest. "Do you feel okay?" I hear her voice say, trying to mask her nervousness.

I interlock my fingers with her and kiss her head. "I am now." I tell her. Yeah, that's right. I'm cheesy and romantic, deal with it.

She nuzzles into me harder and I feel her whole body weight on me as she cuddles as hard as she can. I lay a barrage of kisses to her head and glance at the clock.

"3:45" It reads. I sigh happily and mutter to myself, "A few more hours, perfect."

I let myself fall asleep again, not worrying about anything because Monika, my rock, was holding me and keeping me safe when I needed it most.

….

"I can see it as you turn to stone, still clearly I can hear you say, don't leave, don't give up on me-"

I groan and reach my hand out to slap my phone to turn off the alarm. I give out a big sigh and stretch. I go to sit up and hear some cute pouts coming from a body clutching to my side.

"Monika…" I say.

"No. Five more minutes." She says while pouting, sounding as cute as ever.

I roll my eyes and lean my head near her ear. "If you get up, we can shower together…"

She bolts upright in bed, her emerald eyes wide and a broad grin on her face.

"Together? Naked?" She says excitedly.

I rolled my eyes and got out of bed, scooping her up bridle style. "What other way is there, princess?" I tease her as I head to the bathroom. She lays a barrage of kisses on my chest and holds on as we go to clean up.

The warm water hits us and sets the room all steamy. She looked gorgeous, wet from the water and having her hair cling to her body. She must've noticed me looking in between scrubbing because a devilish grin appeared on her face. She stepped forward and clung to me, pressing her chest up against me.

"You know that I love it when you stare at me…" She whispers seductively at me. I clear my throat and try to hide my embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I just got lost in thought-" She silences me with a kiss.

She pulls away and her eyes stare at me with utmost lust.

'Good lord this girl has a crazy sex drive!' I think to myself. As if reading my thoughts she pounces on me, pushing me against the shower wall and delivering feverish kisses against my face and body. She wrapped her arms around me and I subconsciously wince.

Her lustful gaze fades to concern. "Christian, what's wrong?"

"Nothing Monika, it just tickled." I try to say and fake laugh but she knew all too well. She scanned my body until she saw the baseball sized wound on my side.

She carefully rubbed her fingers along it and I winced from the touch. She looked up into my eyes and I saw a tear stroll down her cheek.

"Please don't worry I'll be fine-" I try to say but her face suddenly radiated anger.

"When did this happen?" She shot at me.

I step back slightly (as far as I could because I was already up against the wall) shocked that she raised her voice that way.

"Er-well…" I thought about lying but her stare scared me into being honest. "I think it's from the dream I had."

She sternly looked at me. Without saying a word, she demanded that I tell her more. Jesus, I love that she cares so much does she have to be this assertive?

"Don't you remember the dream I told you about earlier?" I tell her, trying to see if I can turn the tables on her. Unfortunately, that didn't work.

"I was half-asleep, Christian! I remember you having a dream but I don't remember you being injured" She says at me. Her eyes radiated pain and I knew she was only coming off as hostile because she was scared for my well-being. Quite frankly, so was I.

I sighed and looked her in the eyes and recounted my dream. After I finished, she looked down at my wound again. The only sound that could be heard was the water falling against the tub around us. Her eyes were piercing my bruise, scanning the rest of my body for other wounds.

She leaned down and kissed my bruise. I contained myself from wincing, so she didn't get startled. When I looked into her eyes, the stern look she harbored was fighting fear. I grabbed her face and placed a kiss upon her forehead.

"Don't worry, little dove. I will figure this out in time but for now, let us enjoy our morning together."

She reluctantly agreed and we continued our morning. The shower ended shortly after, where we finished cleaning ourselves up and getting dressed and getting breakfast.

I was throwing on my shoulder bag and looked at my phone and saw no notifications.

"Damnit, Sayori hasn't said anything to me yet…should I be concerned?" I ask Monika as we head out the door. She grips my hand and uses a free hand to rub my arm.

"Give her a call and check up on her." She replies.

I sigh and dial her number. At this point, me and Monika are standing out on the street. The air was once again cold, but not as cold as the day prior. The snow still covered the ground but the sun showed through the clouds so there was promise of warmer weather.

After a few seconds, I hear a dreary voice on the other end of the line.

"H-h-hello?" I hear Sayori say, still half-asleep. I sighed in relief.

"Hey, dorko. Time to get up, school is soon." I respond.

She gives me a small yelp, hangs up and proceeds to get ready.

I turn to Monika. "Hey, I think for now it's best to keep our relationship to ourselves.." I tell her. She looks up and me and to my surprise smiles.

"I think I agree, especially with everything that's going on with the girls.." She slides her hands from my arm. She has a calm expression but I can tell she was slightly hurt. I pull her into me for one last, passionate kiss in the open before we covered ourselves up. She blushed as she pulled away, locking her gaze on me.

"I love you, Monika." I tell her.

A smile grows wide on her face and her eyes light up dramatically. "I love you too, Christian. So muchhhh!" She emphasizes and it makes me laugh. Jesus, this is some weird, hellish scenario I got dragged into, but with her around it really does make everything better.

I can't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. 'Jesus I really did love this girl' I tell myself. In just a short amount of time, it happened and I didn't care one bit.

Before we knew it, the cinnamon bun ran up to us, panting like she just ran a marathon.

"S-sorry! I overslept again!" She tells me.

I simply pat her head and laugh.

"Don't worry about it, doofus. I don't mind waiting for you." I tell her.

She pops a smile and notices Monika standing behind me.

"Monika! What are you doing here?" She says, excited but confused at the same time.

'Shit, I didn't anticipate this question,' I think to myself.

Before I can answer, Monika speaks up.

"I always knew you guys walked together so I was curious how close you guys lived together! I kind of wanted to tag along in the mornings!"

"But don't you live a few streets over?" Sayori quizzically asks.

"Yeah but I don't mind leaving a little early to see you guys! Besides, morning walks are always nice." Monika responds.

Sayori seems to buy this because she shrugs and grins.

"Well I'm glad to have you with us! Now let's go!" And with that, she grabs my wrist and we leave for the school.

….

Once again, the school day was a drag. It was Friday, so naturally most of the lectures consisted of quizzes or tests, which I literally didn't study for but somehow passed my way through. Why am I taking tests when it's my first few days of school? I have no idea.

My 6th period is study hall. I brought out a composition notebook to take up room on my desk and lay my head down. Thoughts of the literature club swarmed into my mind.

'Just one more class and I have to go there.' I tell myself. 'I know somethings going on now and I need to see if I can fix it…maybe when we all share poems I can take the time to pick each of their brains or something…'

I sigh audibly and then realized something.

'Fuck I didn't write a poem!'

I open my notebook and get to an empty page. I pull a pen I had from my pocket and look at the clock.

'I have forty minutes. Jesus why'd I have to let Monika seduce me.' I joke to myself and get to work.

Hope

The world is enveloped in black

The path forward is uncertain

I see a light and I get my hope back

I take a breath and raise the curtain

There is a figure that stands in the light

It beckons me with a helping hand

I swallow fear and push with all my might

I grasp the hope that I was given, moving away from the darkened land

We enter a place, uncertain of life

I am assured that we can push through

I feeling pierces in my heart, warning me of strife

She caresses my cheek, hope burning true

I look at my paper and see the poem I have created.

'Isn't the worst thing in the world I guess, but I wonder if Monika will know it's kind of about her.' I think to myself.

A few minutes pass and I make my way to my final class to finish off my school day.

….

I arrived at the club room and realized I was the first one there. It seems a little strange but I didn't question it.

I sat at a desk, pulled out my copy of 'Portrait of Markov', and popped in some headphones.

It's been easily five minutes and no one has entered. I got lost in my own world, reading and listening to music.

"Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings. Twisting your minds and smashing your dreams.."

I air-guitar to my music and sing to myself, completely oblivious to the laughing that has been occurring around me. I start air drumming and feel a finger tap my shoulder. I jump in my seat and turn to see Yuri standing right by me, followed by the remainder of the girls laughing.

I take the headphones out of my ears and sigh.

"How long have you all been standing there?" I say, trying to sound irritable and hide my embarrassment. Sayori bounds up to me. "For like several minutes! You look so silly sitting there playing fake instruments!" She says, grabbing my shoulders.

I try to hide the shade of red that overtook my face and look the other direction. "Come on, no one was here and I was just relaxing before anyone did."

"Oh come on, dummy. It was funny!" I hear Natsuki say. I sigh and shake my head.

"Whatever, anyways it's nice to see everyone." I say, trying to change the subject.

I heard Monika chuckle. "So someone has a little weakness." She teased.

I rolled my eyes and buried my face in my book. 'These girls drive me crazy' I tell myself.

Yuri and Natsuki go to their respective spots in the club, Natsuki's being the closet and Yuri's being a desk with a book. Sayori and Monika sidle up close to my desk.

"You okay dorko? We were just messing." I hear Monika say. I roll my eyes and smirk.

"Yeah I know, you guys just startled me was all." I tell her. I make eye contact with her and she shoots love lasers into my eyes. I blush at her intensity but resist the urge to give her a kiss.

I turn to Sayori who was on my other side. "You seem like you're in a much better mood today." I tell her.

She pokes her fingers together and looks sheepishly to the side. "I'm always okay! I don't know what you're talking about." She tells to me. "The clouds just were tame today.."

I sigh and pat her head. "I know, I know I'm just messing with you dork!" I tell her.

There's a slight silence between us and I notice Yuri walk to us. "Hey, Christian! Are you busy at the moment?" She asks.

I nervously turn to Monika and we share the same gaze. 'Oh no'. I turn back to Yuri.

"Eh, well I'm just kind of discussing stuff with Monika and Sayori here…" I tell her.

She smiles brightly. "Oh lovely! Would you mind accompanying me? I need to make a quick trip across the campus to restock our tea and would love your company!"

Before I could answer, Yuri grabs my wrist and yanks me to my feet. Without avail, she brings up towards the door.

"Monika, me and Christian are going to go retrieve some supplies for the clubroom!" She calls over her shoulder. Monika shuffles nervously in place.

"Yuri, maybe Christian would be better here-" Monika starts but Yuri cuts her off.

"Nonsense! He wants to help me!" With that, she drags us out of the classroom. I give one last look behind me to Monika, seeing concern in her eyes. I blow a quick kiss before Sayori can see and we exit the room.

….

We make our way across the school, out to the courtyard. There's a large fountain in the middle, constantly gushing with clear water, with several cherry blossom trees littered throughout the place. Benches lay under each tree, and some on concrete paths.

Yuri drags us to a cherry blossom tree and forces us to sit down with our backs to it. She gives out an exaggerated sigh.

"This is one of my favorite places to be. It's so pristine and relaxing, the smell of the blossoms calm my soul….it's amazing." Yuri says. She turns to me with a blush on her face.

I nervously chuckle. "Eh-Yuri? Why did you take us here? Aren't we supposed to be getting supplies for-" She silences me with a finger to the lips.

"I just needed to get you alone. I love spending time with you in the club, but with everyone around it still makes me anxious. Bringing you to my favorite place though, it makes me feel the most comfortable." She says, her gaze drilling into my face.

I felt a bead of sweat drip down my head. Yuri was being extremely forward.

Without saying a word, she grabs my hand and thrust it onto her chest, right outside her heart. I felt her heartbeat, beating a thousand miles a minute. Her soft breast was squishing against my hand, causing me to blush and internally freak out. I really did not want to touch this girl!

"Do you feel that, Christian?" She asks, her blush increasing. "I don't know what's happening!" She exclaims with genuine excitement. "It's like my heart is going to explode out of my chest!" She says. She lifts her gaze and looks me in the eyes.

"Christian….would you mind reading with me today?" She says. I was at a loss for words at what was happening so I timidly nodded my head. She produced a copy of 'Portrait of Markov' and brought it in between us.

She opened the book to a chapter I haven't read yet. I didn't mind though. I was more concerned with the situation. The only thing running through my mind was the dream I had and Monika telling me about her obsessive personality and self-harm.

She became fixated on her book, and for once I was starting to be at ease. 'Maybe this is my way to help her cope'

She sat to my right, with her shoulder touching mine so we could read closely. I held the book with my left hand and she held the other end with her right hand. The entire time, I was zoning out thinking about Monika, who I honestly would rather be spending my time with.

Yuri notices my disconnect and turns her head to me.

"Am I wrong to say that you aren't enjoying yourself?"

I nervously turn my eyes her direction. "Of course I am! I just, I can't help but think we should be back in the clubroom. I mean, we have poems to share soon heh heh…" I nervously laugh to her.

She looks at me with dejected eyes. "I knew it, Christian…"

I sighed nervously. Shit did I say something wrong?

"You really don't enjoy spending time with me, do you?" She says. Her voice quivered with sadness, but her eyes had a hint of something else…

"No, no! It's not that Yuri! I just don't see everyone else during the day and I like using the club time to talk to everyone." I assure her.

Her mind seems to race as if processing what I said.

She looked at me and made eye contact. "Okay, I understand Christian. But, before we go, thank you for spending this time with me."

She leans over and places a kiss on my neck, running a tongue from my collar to my cheek. I turn to her, red in the face, as she stared back with a lustful gaze.

"I guess we can head back now." She says, her voice confident, uncharacteristic of her. I internally scream and nod my head, completely shocked.

I steadily stand up and try not to act like what just happened was abstract. 'What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck!' I kept telling myself. My mind was blank. The entire walk back to the club, Yuri just kept giggling to herself. It seriously was freaking me the fuck out.

We made it back to the clubroom and the girls were already sharing poems. I saw Monika's eye light up when she saw me. My face must've shown a sign of true terror because her face turned into genuine concern.

"Do you want to share your poem with me first, Christian?" Yuri says to me, already reaching into her bag for her poem.

"Eh, maybe I should-" Before I can respond, I feel her hands on mine, handing me her paper.

"I wrote it with extra care this time, hehehe~" She giggles at me. I grip the parchment and turn it over the read what she has written.

The poem was very abstract. There was almost no form to the paper and it just consisted of her writing down dozens and dozens of analogies of different objects with different purposes. 'breathing blood', 'God disproving the existence of God', 'snakes with human eyes'. My brain was trying to rationalize what I was reading. My hands started to tremble. Something about this poem gave me extreme discomfort.

I tried to read the poem as long as I could, but I felt the sting of eyes on me. I peered over the poem and saw Yuri piercing me with her gaze, a smile wide on her face, her body shaking with anticipation.

I lowered the poem and could barely muster a nervous smile. "It's er-it's good, Yuri! Very abstract.." I try to say. She starts laughing maniacally.

"I'm glad you think so, Christian! It doesn't really matter what it's about though, it's just so special that you're touching it!" She giggles at me. I stare at her wide eyed. "Did you notice the markings that I placed on it?"

I gazed back onto the paper. Where my hand lay holding the paper was a mixture of brown-burgundy stains. On several more spots of the paper, there was amber stains. I shook as I lowered the paper and stared back at the obsessed purple-haired girl.

"Y-yeah?" I muster out. She laughs to herself and takes a step closer to me, her face inches from mine.

"I'm glad you noticed. I endowed it with my scent! You can keep it if you want hehehe~.' She tells me. I stuff the paper into my bag without questioning it.

Her eyelids close slightly and she rubs her hands on my arms. My hairs stand up and I get tingles along my spine. When Monika did it, it was sexy and lovable all at the same time and made me excited. When Yuri did it, it was creepy.

I shuddered and she noticed and giggled. "Don't worry, Christian. We'll get our alone time soon. I promise." She winked at me and turned around, heading towards Sayori and Natsuki. I trembled where I stood.

'What the fuck just happened? What does all that mean?' My mind raced. I was shaking, feeling my mind on the verge of a mental breakdown. I heard slight footsteps behind and a gentle hand on my shoulder. When I turned, it was my love, Monika.

"Christian, what's wrong?" She told me, her voice full of concern. I grabbed her arm and I dragged her out of the clubroom.

We got to some vending machines down the hall and moved into the empty space in between them. Before she could say anything, I pull her into a strong embrace and broke down.

She said nothing and rubbed my back, delivering kisses all over my cheek and temple. After a few minutes, I controlled my breathing, though now was becoming embarrassed that I cried like I did.

"Christian.." I hear Monika say softly. I said nothing and stood in place, not daring to move. She gently grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her.

"Baby, tell me what happened." She says. Her face showed that she was concerned, but she forced extreme love into the expression to comfort me. I push my forehead onto hers and took a shaky breath.

"Monika, I don't know, Yuri is getting dangerous." I tell her. She grips my arms gently and says nothing so I can continue.

"She took me outside to the courtyard just so we could be alone. We read for awhile but she kind of told me that her heart went nuts whenever she was around me. She kissed my cheek and licked my face and it freaked my out."

I felt her grip tighten onto my arms when I mentioned that but she said nothing.

"I then made a note that we should make our way back to the club so we can spend time with everyone and she reluctantly agreed. When we got back, we noticed it was poem time and she showed me hers first. It was so abstract!"

I paused for a moment to catch my breath. Monika carefully rubbed my arm and caressed my hands. I kissed her forehead and continued.

"She told me she just kind of wrote it and endowed it with her scent. She wanted me to keep it I guess, and I was so mortified that I just stuffed it into my bag without questioning her.

I brought Monika into a hug and she reciprocated.

"Well, what about when she got all close to you..?" She asked, her voice guarded. It was obvious she didn't appreciate Yuri that close to me physically, and I can't blame her."

"She got close and told me that…." I faltered and looked into her eyes. "…me and her will get alone time soon and she gave me a sinister promise."

I finish and look at my beautiful girl to see her response. She just stared into my chest without saying a word.

"Monika…" I quietly say. She looks up at me. "I'm scared."

She leaned and placed a kiss on my lips. She opened her eyes and caressed my cheek.

"Don't be, love. I'm right here with you." She says.

I faintly smile and squeeze her in a hug. "Sweetheart, what if we can't control what's happening? What if the same events are just going to continue and I have to watch them unfold, like in the dream?" I tell her.

She sighs against my chest. "We….we just have to try. It's all we have right now…"

Silence falls between us while we hold each other until I speak up.

"D-do you want to read my poem?" I ask her nervously.

She looks at me and smiles. "Of course I do, my love."

I hand her my poem and she reads it. It's obvious she knows that it's a poem dedicated to her because I see her expression contort in awe. Her eyes glisten and she looks up at me.

"What did I do to deserve you?" She says to me while placing a kiss on my cheek.

I laugh (which feels amazing with what just conspired for the passed hour) and hold her waist. "I seriously wrote that in thirty minutes in study hall, so it can't be that great"

She giggles and kisses me passionately. "I don't care how long it took, I love the poem and I love you." She says.

I sigh happily and stare at her. "We're going to get through this bullshit, together, and figure out how to help these girls. Even if they are clingy." I joke to her. "Thank you for calming me down. Something about all this made me feel helpless.." I faltered.

She kisses me once more and squeezed my hand. "Of course, dear. I'll always be here for you. "

I grab her hand and pull her out of the vending machine hiding spot. "Come on, we don't want to seem too suspicious." I tell her.

We arrive back in the class and the girls are still having a calm chat amongst each other. Yuri glances up and gives Monika a slight glare before turning her attention back to the conversation.

We walk up to the group and they let us in.

"-Please? I just want a bite!" says Sayori. I look and see Natsuki holding a big chocolate chip cookie. It was wrapped in plastic and looked recently fresh. Sayori kept trying to reach for it but Natsuki was hiding it from her.

"Urk-Sayori! You already had one! This one is for Monika!" Natsuki says.

Sayori pouts and prods her fingers together. "You know my affinity for sweets, heh heh~"

Natsuki turns to Monika and smiles. "Here you go, club president. Baked them myself. Everyone already got theirs but you guys left the room together."

"I wonder what for.." I hear Yuri say but I refuse to answer.

Sayori's eyes light up. "Oooh! Oohhh! Monikaaaaa! Christiannnn!" She sang. Monika and I quizzically turn our attention to the cinnamon roll. 'Oh, boy here we go.' I think to myself. Sayori sidles up in between me and Monika, eyeing both of us suspiciously with a smirk on her face. "You too are dating!"

I cough nervously and try not to look embarrassed. Monika stutters and looks around.

"Sayori, don't get the wrong idea, we were just discussing things for the club!" I respond to Sayori. Her smirk gets wider.

"I'm the Vice President. Kind of fishy I didn't get notified of any new things for the club, dontcha think?" She says while walking circles around me. I sway nervously, because Yuri was eyeing me down with a neutral face.

Before I could deny her accusations, she started sniffing real close to me.

"Christian, care to explain why you smell slightly of cherry?" My eyes dart to Monika and we make eye contact. 'Um, fuck sandwiches' "And on top of that, you have little smooch marks on your face and neck! Christian and Monika are a couple! Ooooh~, Ooooooh~" Sayori started dancing and grabbing us.

"Sayori, please you're really looking into this too much…" Monika starts to say. Yuri abruptly stands up and looks upset.

"Monika, is it true? Are you in a relationship with Christian?" She says, her voice sharp. I did not like the energy coming out of the girl.

Monika slightly flinches at the question. 'Shit, this was not going according to plan.' I think to myself. Monika stares in my direction and pleads at me with her eyes.

"Guys maybe this isn't the best time-" Yuri cuts me off by grabbing my hand, startling me.

She brings it to her chest and stares at me with sadness and determination. Her eyes hide another emotion that I can't quite make out….

I try to pull my hand back but Yuri holds it firm to her. Anger and irritation has taken over the emotion on her face.

"Christian, I won't let her take you from me." She says flatly. We all stare at her in shock. "I think you're amazing and I haven't felt this happy in my entire life. I'm not going to have Ms. Perfect over here ruin that chance for me!"

I was at a loss for words. 'Welp, this is how I die.' I think to myself. To my surprise, Natsuki speaks up.

"Yuri, are you crazy? Let him go!" Natsuki grabs Yuri's arm and pries off her death grip from me. I stumble back a few feet and stand beside Monika and Sayori.

Yuri glares down at the pink haired girl. "Excuse me? Who are you to interfere?" She says, causing Natsuki to flinch. I half expected Natsuki to blow up on her, but she took and breath and remained calm.

"Look, Yuri, you aren't you right now. Trust me, I know." She turns to me as she says that and it makes me nervous.

"Christian helped me and I think he can help you too." She says. I helped her? How?

Before I could question Natsuki, Yuri spoke up. "What are you going on about? He helped you, too? What, you're trying to seduce him too?"

Yuri turned her attention back to Natsuki, balling her fists. This was all starting to get out of hand.

"Yuri! Stop!" I yell at her. She jumps in place and looks back at me, her anger being replaced by hurt. I furrowed my brow and crossed my arms, stepping close to her. "What has gotten into you? Just the other day you were a shy and kind young woman! Now you're acting like a total fucking Yandere and it's freaking everyone out!"

She opened her mouth to answer but I continued, on a roll now.

"I don't know exactly who you think you are or who you think I am but at this rate, you have no chance of being with me, not that im even interested in the first place."

The room was quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Without saying a word, Yuri ran out of the clubroom. I exasperatedly sigh and sit at a desk, burying my face in my hands. None of the girls dared move, for they were all stunned at what just happened.

Although the whole experience was very shocking, I couldn't help but harbor frustration and everyone being quiet and still wasn't helping.

"Someone for the love of God, do something. It's all done now, no need to stand around and stare." I say. Jesus, I didn't mean to sound like an ass but it was all getting to me. And in the wrong way.

I tilt my head up and see everyone's eyes on me. I take a deep breath.

"Sorry, everyone. Didn't mean for it to sound like that I just-" I let out a drawn out sigh and rub my temples. "-I don't know, stressed me out, I guess. Sorry for being an ass."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and see Sayori, her leaning in and giving me a hug. "It's okay, no one blames you! That was extra duper weird! I've never seen Yuri like that!" She says. The other two girls chime in and agree.

"Yeah, I don't know what's gotten into her." I say. "I don't know her as well as you guys but even I could tell that she has been different these past few days. I don't hate her or anything, I just want to figure out what the hell is going on."

Sayori lets go of me and stands up straight. "I'm going to go look for her and make sure she's okay! Maybe she came to her senses or something!"

We nod at her and she exits the room. I sigh and look at the other girls. Natsuki was still standing with her arms crossed a few feet from my desk while Monika was sitting in a desk right next to me, looking at me with dejected eyes. I reach out and grabbed her hand in mine.

Her eyes met with mine and she fainted a smile.

"So, it is true?" Natsuki says. Luckily, she wore a smirk on her face and kept it lighthearted.

"Er, yeah. Yeah it is." I tell her. Monika blushes and looks away. "What, am I that bad of a boyfriend that you don't want people to know? Oof, I guess I'll just get up and-"

"No!" She says while scooching over her chair and grasping my arm. I chuckle and let her lay her head on my arm.

"Besides, something tells me that Natsuki is just the person we can trust right now." I turn my attention back to the baker. "You remember, don't you?"

She nods her head. "I didn't know if I believed it at first, but when I woke up, things felt strange. Father was….approachable. For the first time in years, I could actually be in the same room as him." She told us this with difficulty, but I think the experience we shared really helped her feel comfortable. "The weird voice was also absent this time too…." She finished saying.

I sat forward in my chair. "Weird voice? What weird voice?"

She looked at me and Monika with a worried look before taking a shaky breath. "There's a weird raspy voice that's been speaking to me. It's kind of an asshole and it gives me terrible nightmares. It's only been happening recently, and that's why this week has been so hard…" So faltered and choked back a sob. I gave her a comforting stare and she continued. "Dad got much worse this week and I don't know, it sounds crazy but I think that voice has been influencing him or something."

"As crazy as it sounds, that makes stupid fucking sense." I tell her. She looks at me gratefully.

"I know it's not gone for good though. I still feel it somewhere in the back of my mind. It just feels much better now though. It's like you kicking my dad's ass in the dream pushed it back or something."

I felt my mind racing. 'I wonder…..if that voice that has been taunting me is in each of the girls here, forcing them out of their worst habits.' I turn to Monika and I think we have the same thought.

"Natsuki, thanks for telling me this. Definitely gives us a direction on where I can go to help everyone…..let's just hope that Yuri isn't getting the same treatment…"

I sigh and start thinking about the different ways I can help the girls. Monika squeezed my arm and delivered a soft kiss to my cheek. I turn my gaze to her.

"Well, I guess we are one step closer to fixing everything." She half-smiles and nods her head. Right at that moment, we heard the clubroom door explode open, with Sayori dragging Yuri in tow.

I sit up in my seat and watch them approach us, Yuri looking extremely more timid than she has been today and it is such a relief.

She avoided every ones gaze and took a seat at a nearby desk, burying her face into her hair. The air became heavy and quiet again but Monika seemed to have the perfect solution.

"Okay, everyone! I think we can end today's club meeting! It's Friday so we finally have the weekend to relax!"

Sayori and Natsuki cheer while I just chuckle to myself. 'Sleeping in and relaxing does sound pretty nice. It's been a looooong week.'

"I want to hang out with everyone!" Sayori says. We turn our gaze to her and she continues. "We should all have a hangout night! It'd be fun! We can have it at Christian's house, right? Please? Please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease." She grasps my arm and jumps in place like she's asking a parent if she can have a Christmas present early.

I grab her and hold her place. "Sayori, sure I don't care, I want to spend more time with everyone anyways, it gets quiet in my house."

She basically explodes in place. I can't help but laugh with her. 'It would be nice to relax, maybe keep my mind off of everything. Keeping everyone close would be good too, keep them safe. Not to mention some more alone time with Monika would be heavenly…'

I gaze at Monika and the previous nights events popped into my head. She catches me staring and I blush and turn away.

"Okay, Saturday it is then! We'll meet at Christian's and hang out!" Monika declares. Everyone agrees happily, well Yuri very meekly agrees.

With that, everyone started to get up and gather their things. Sayori bounds up to me, handing me my bag. "Ready to head home, Christian?"

I nod my head until I feet a hand on my wrist. I turn to see Yuri looking up at me.

"Christian, before you go, can we have a talk? I want to fix things…" She shyly says. I nod my head and turn to Sayori.

"Think you'll survive the walk home? I feel like I should take this.." I tell her. She giggles and flicks my forehead.

"Of course I will! Take your time! I'll see you tomorrow~" She sings as she skips out of class. I chuckle and turn to Yuri.

"Hey, I'm going to use the restroom, okay? Be right back."

I exit with Natsuki and wave to her goodbye. I hope everything actually mellows out for her at home.

I finish using the restroom and walk out, seeing my princess waiting for me. I smile and pull her into me, where she practically breaks my ribs in a hug.

"Hey now, I don't want to be crippled for life yet! Give me a few years." I joke at her. She chuckles and sighs into my chest.

"You're staying back with Yuri?" She asks, clearly worried. I simply nod and caress her cheek.

"Yes, little lady. But don't worry, I'll be home soon enough, okay? Will I be seeing you later?"

She leans up and places a kiss on my lips. "Of course. Besides, I have to…..reclaim what's mine because you were tainted today." She says this while kissing my neck. I shiver and she giggles to herself.

I laugh and pull her into one last hug.

"Christian, please call me or text me when you get home…" She quietly says. I place a kiss on her forehead.

"I will, Monika. Don't want you to worry."

She sighs happily and pulls away. "I love you, Christian."

I smile and start walking towards the clubroom. "I love you too, Monika! Thiiiiss much!" I make a show of stretching my arms way up high like a doofus. She laughs at me and blushes. I turn and continue my way to the end of the hall to the clubroom.

When I walked in, the soft smell of tea hit my nostrils. Yuri was standing at the teacher's desk with her tea set out, pouring two cups.

She saw me walk in and had a warm but timid smile.

"Welcome back, Christian. I figured some tea would help us relax so I could apologize."

I gave her a smile and approached, taking the cup she handed to me.

"I guess this wouldn't hurt. I hope you don't think I hate you, by the way. I just got stressed and lashed out. So I apologize for acting like an ass." I tell her.

She sighs and looks up at me. "It's okay Christian, I understand. I figured I'd make some tea to help us relax to keep us in the best mindset. It's the healthiest way to be when having a serious conversation."

I just nod my head and agree. Fun fact: I know very little about tea.

"How about we drink our cups before we begin?" She suggests to me.

"We don't want to sip on this throughout the talk?" I ask her. She shyly smiles at me and answers.

"It would be best to finish the cup so we can get relaxation."

She ushers my cup to my mouth and I comply. 'It's a little weird but I guess she's trying…' I think to myself. The tea is a weird shade of purple but I don't question it. After all, I've never had this kind before.

I finish my beverage and place my cup down. It had a weird aftertaste. A really weird aftertaste. Not like exactly negative but it was very potent.

I noticed Yuri giggling. I look up at her, but I couldn't focus. The room kept swaying back and forth, prompting me to grasp on the teacher's desk.

I shakily look up at the purple-haired girl. "Yuri…what…"

I stumble to the floor on my hands and knees and struggle to get on my feet. I hear Yuri bust into a maniacal laugh.

I force myself up on my knees and turn my attention to Yuri. The room was spinning, the walls were merging and convulsing, bringing my attention everywhere and nowhere. Yuri was slowly stalking towards me, a huge grin on her face, twirling her hair in her hands.

"Yuri….what the fuck did you put in my drink?" I say through gritted teeth.

She simply sighs and giggles, bending down to be eye level with me.

"Christian, did you forget already? I already told you that we'll have our alone time! I even promised!" She sighed dreamily at me and brushed my cheek. Her pupils were dilated, bleeding lust onto my gaze. The more I looked into her face, the more I realized she was gone. The shy Yuri was gone and the one surfaced was crazy and hell bent on having me.

I would've batted away her hand if I had any strength in me, but instead focused my efforts on keeping myself conscious. I, however, was failing. Darkness was slowly stealing the edge of my vision. I look at Yuri, struggling to stay awake.

"You embarrassed me in front of everyone, and you must take responsibility for that, but don't worry, darling, you'll be taken care of, I promise you. You're all mine."

With that, I felt my eyes roll back as my body collapsed on the floor, echoes of Yuri's crazed laughter ringing in my ears as my consciousness faded to black.