I woke up by myself in my bed. I groggily stretch and let out a soft squeak. I slowly sit myself up and push my back against the wall. The sun was lightly shining through the blinds, giving the room a light glow.
I lightly swing my legs off my bed and place my feet on the floor, experimentally putting pressure on my right leg. I felt nothing but a dull throb to the pressure. I lightly lift up the boxers covering the wound and see that is more of a bruised scar. 'Jesus, what the hell did Yuri give me?" I think to myself.
I shakily stand up, still weary of my leg, and make my way downstairs. As I'm walking down, I hear some music playing and someone singing. I get to the bottom floor and stare at Monika in the kitchen cooking, singing and dancing. She was wearing one of my old pairs of shorts and over-sized black shirt, complete with a red apron that was twirling with her moves.
"I need a hero! I'm holding on for a hero 'til the end of the night! He's gotta be strong, He's gotta be-AH!"
She turned around as she danced and saw me, jumping in place. I bust out laughing and step forward and grab a wooden spoon that was on the table.
"I need a hero! I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light! He's gotta be sure, and it's gotta be soon, and he's gotta be larger than life! Larger than lifeeee~"
I finish singing, causing her to become less embarrassed and laugh with me. I stepped forward to pull her into a hug.
"Good Morning urg-Sweetheart!" I say in between her squeezing the air out of me. "Having fun down here?"
She giggles and leans up to peck my lips. "Well, I was browsing some music you have and I really liked this song." She points to a laptop that was connected the same Bluetooth speaker I used the other night. It flashed "I Need a Hero – Bonnie Tyler"
She looked back up to me and poked my cheek. "You seem to like it too!"
I chuckled and scratch the back of my head. "hehe, yeah the lyrics just kind of came to me. I don't really know from where though, must be from my previous life."
She sighed and squeezed me again, making me groan. "Well still, I loved seeing you sing and dance."
I chuckled and stepped farther into the kitchen to examine what she was doing. "Well, it felt fun. Anyways, what are you cooking up in here, sweetheart?"
I look onto the stove and see several pans with assortments of eggs and bacon in each.
"Well I wanted to be a cute little housewife and make my man breakfast!" She exclaimed brightly, grinning from ear to ear. I chuckled and playfully rolled my eyes.
"Well if that's what it takes to get great food all the time, then allow me to wife you up right now." I joke to her while stealing a piece of bacon.
She placed the apron on the hook on the pantry door and pivoted on her feet to look at me.
"Really? You'd do that right now?" She excitedly says to me, her green eyes twinkling.
I chuckle and finish chewing my bite.
"Hold your horses, little lady. I was just making a little goof."
Her eyes immediately dimmed and she half-heartedly sighs. I step forward and grab her hand to lead her to the kitchen table.
"Hey now, don't get all gloomy! At least let us finish school first." I tell her while smooching her temple.
Her eyes light up once again.
"That's perfect!" She exclaims while she puts her hand to her chin, thinking of all the different possibilities and realities that could outcome. "We're in our last year of school right now. We can graduate and before either of us starts our education we can run off and get married!"
I give a hearty laugh while I retrieve plates and cups to get our breakfast together. She practically bounces in her seat.
"My love, that's perfect!" She squeaks as I walk over to give her the breakfast. "We can have little Christian's that run around and get some animals, have our own house…" She sighs happily and stares off into the distance.
I take a bite of my food and chuckle at her. I crack a genuine smile at her giddiness.
'She may be getting a little ahead of herself, but honestly I don't mind,' I think to myself.
As I eat my food, I feel my phone buzz. I ponder down and see it's from Natsuki on the messaging app.
"Hey, dumby. What time are we coming over again?".
'Shit,' I think to myself. I draw my gaze back up to Monika who is still dreamily staring off into space.
"Earth to Monika." I say while waving my hand in front of her face. She blinks a few times, clearly confused, before landing her gaze on me.
"hehe, sorry, dove. I was just thinking…" She embarrassingly giggles to herself.
I wave my hand to dismiss it.
"Don't worry about it, dorko. Natsuki texted me and asked me what time they were supposed to come over." I tell her while scrolling through the message.
Monika brings out her own phone and taps away. I raise my eyebrow and watch her movements. Before long, my phone dings and I look at it again. A new message pops up that's labeled 'Literature Club Hangout'.
I tap it and pull up the message chain. The first message is from Monika.
"Hey, everybody! Meet at Christian's place at around 3-ish!"
The other members of the chat sent confirmation texts. I look up to Monika again.
"Do they know where I live?" I ask her.
She types a few things and the chat dings again.
"They do now!" She chirps. I chuckle and place my phone away. I stand up and take my dishes to the sink.
"Hey, you! No more phones at the table! Finish your breakfast before it gets cold!" I tell her in a fake-authoritative tone. She chuckles and takes a bite of her food.
"Okay, fine I will…..daddy."
I slowly turn to see her grinning madly at me, her eyes half lidded.
"E-er, what?" I stammer to her embarrassingly.
She busts out in a hearty laugh and holds her stomach.
"Jesus, I didn't think it'd be that funny to see your reaction!"
She continues to laugh madly while I roll my eyes at her and finish putting away what I used.
"Yeah, yeah whatever, you perv. I'm going to go clean and change myself before cleaning up my house a bit." I holler at her while going up my stairs.
Before I go in my room, I hear her shuffle throughout the kitchen. The music resumes and I hear her lightly humming to the tune while finishing her food. I smile to myself and enter my room, feeling like the luckiest bastard in the world.
…
"Christian….Christian…CHRISTIAN!" Monika hollers from downstairs. I finish fixing my belt and sliding into some shoes before responding.
"WHAT?!" I yell back.
"Hurry up and get your ass down here!" She yells back. I lightly roll my eyes and chuckle . at her outburst.
I glance into my full body mirror and get a look at myself. A normal pair of blue jeans, a fitted red T-shirt and some nice shoes. Not too formal, but more than lazy attire. I switch off the light and proceed downstairs.
When I hit the ground floor, I see Monika in the living room plugging in a vacuum. I approach her and raise an eyebrow.
"What the hell are you yelling about?" I fake scold.
She paused her actions and looked at me.
"I don't know, I just missed your face is all"
I roll my eyes at her and smirk, turning to walk to the kitchen table.
"Wow, rushing me just to be told that I'm missed." I joke at her.
She straightens up from plugging in the machine and trots over to me, wrapping her arounds around my abdomen and laying her head on my back.
"Well, I mean that's one of the reasons. I also was hollering because you have a job to do!' She cheerfully says.
I pocket my phone from the table and pry her grip off me so I can turn around to face her.
"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" I quizzically ask.
"I figured that it'd be best if we divided our efforts! You know, you go to the store to get things that we'll need for everyone while I clean up our home!" She chirps at me.
I rub my chin in thought.
"I don't have enough stuff already? And what do you mean our home?" I question as I peer into my pantry.
She moves past me to the sink and kneels down to rummage in a drawer. She stands back up with cleaning supplies.
"First off, yes it's our home. I love you and you love me and that equals us sharing a home so shut up." She wags a finger at me. "Second off, you don't have to get like the entire store. Just get some snacky things for us to have, you know, things that people would have at a party."
She began spraying down the table, not waiting for a response.
"Wait, so are we just going to thrive on some snacks tonight or am I making something for everyone?" I ask. She pauses slightly before continuing.
"Um, I don't know. We could make something, sure, or we could order something. Maybe pizza?" She suggests.
I ponder the thought while throwing on my jacket.
"Does everyone even eat pizza? I'm pretty sure Yuri hunts for rabbits and bears in the arctic wilds for sustenance." I joke to her.
She laughs and turns her cute gaze to me.
"Well duh, who doesn't eat pizza?" She exclaims matter-of-factly.
I grab my wallet and keys.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll figure it out when that time comes. I guess I'll be off then." I tell her while turning to the front door. Before I could exit, I hear her over-exaggerate clearing her throat. I turn my head towards her.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She says coyly, feigning sadness.
I chuckle and walk up to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. She giggles and hums at my hug and buries her face into my chest. I kiss the top of her head.
"Happy now?"
She audibly hums as if in thought. "Hmmm, not quite." She says.
I slowly pull away and raise an eyebrow at her. She playfully rolls her eyes and leans up to my face to capture my lips. I return to gesture, wrapping my arms around her waist in the process. I feel her lips form into a smile and she wraps her arms around my neck.
She passionately deepens the kiss and melts her body into mine. Before things can escalate any farther, I reluctantly pull away.
She cutely pouts at my sudden movement. I poke her nose and take a step back.
"I don't want things to get out of hand, missy. We both know how we are. Besides, aren't you happy now?"
She closes her eyes and flashes a big grin.
"Yes. I am now. Now go, my dearest! Onwards to your errand!" She declares at me, all regal-like. I laugh and exit the door, entering the cool world outside my home.
…
I haven't had a chance to visit the town since my week of being here (that I remember, anyways). Luckily, it wasn't too far a walk, which was mighty convenient for me because I didn't want to be gone forever.
It hasn't snowed since the day prior but there was still snow and ice all around. It was generally warmer today, so it wasn't too unbearable. It was slightly cloudy, but the sun still remained dominant and lit up the world with its rays.
As I made my way down various streets, I popped in some headphones to lose myself on my errand. I always like walking around with music. It's also nice to show people that I don't want to be bothered as well.
I walked my way into a sort of general outlet, with a bunch of different stores all lined up on either side of me. The stores kind of formed a giant square shape, with the middle being inhabited by a small park and assorted food carts. It was a Saturday so naturally it was decently populated.
I stood towards the middle and scanned a giant sign that had assorted store names and arrows to where they were located.
'I need a more general store', I thought to myself.
I ended up deciding on one of the bigger stores that resides in the outlet, due to it have 'superstore' in the name.
I scanned the aisles and just grabbed little things that stood out to me. Chips? Check. Snack cakes? Double Check. Chips again? Never can be too sure.
I was in the middle of browsing some sweets when Sayori popped into my head.
'Man, I should probably ask her what she wants. I'm sure she'd appreciate to have some of her favorite treats waiting for her.' I think to myself.
I pull out my phone and pause the music. I find Sayori's contact and initiate the call. It rings several times before I hear the other line pick up.
"Hey, Sayori! Whats up?" I start.
There was a slight pause on the other end of the line, almost like she was thinking.
"H-hey, Christian." I hear her respond weakly. I immediately felt a sense of unease wash over me. I stepped out of an aisle and found a nearby bench to sit down on, putting my basket I had down next to me.
"….is everything okay?" I cautiously ask. Another moment of silence again.
"I think so. I just kind of woke up." She says. I flip my phone screen up for a second to see the time.
"Damn, you slept for a while dorko!" I half-heartedly joke. Once again, the conversation is covered in a slight awkward silence.
"So, um…." I clear my throat awkwardly. "I was just at the store picking up some stuff for the hangout today and figured I'd call you to see if you had a preference on anything."
She stays quiet for a moment before answering in her uncharacteristic melancholy tone.
"No, I'm fine, Christian. Don't worry about getting me anything special."
I grip the handle of my basket and take a deep breath so I can keep my voice calm.
"Well of course I'm going to worry about what you like! You're my best friend, you're the only one I'd worry about getting special snacks for anyways! Besides, we both know Yuri would probably rather drink tea or something than eat junk food." I joke, trying to lighten up the mood a tad. Unfortunately, she is immune to stupid right now.
"I'm fine with whatever Christian, really." She stubbornly insists. I mentally roll my eyes and remind myself not to press her too hard.
"Okay, okay I'll just surprise you! Did you see what time we were meeting up?"
I heard her shuffle around before returning back to the mic.
"Yeah I just saw it." She says flatly.
"Erm-okay, cool! Will I see you any earlier? Or just around that time or something…" I was grasping at straws here, trying to get something out of her.
"Um, maybe." She says. Maybe to which part?
I stand up and pick up my basket to start walking around the store.
"Okay, well how about when I get done with the store, I'll swing by your place and you can come help me get stuff ready! How's that sound?" I half-enthusiastically ask her.
She audibly sighs on the other end of the line and my small smile fades.
"Christian I'm fine being here for right now. I don't want to be a bother."
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers. 'If you would've been a bother, I wouldn't have offered in the first place, dork!' I think to myself. I once again grab some enthusiasm from within and respond.
"Nonsense, dork! I'd love for you to be there. In fact, it would be more fun with you around!"
"Christian…" she mutters, trying to find any excuse.
"I'm almost done, so I'll see you soon, cinnamon bun!" I tell her, hanging up the phone before giving her a chance to retort. I was not giving her a chance to avoid me. She clearly needs my help right now, so she's going to get it whether she likes it or not.
I hurriedly moved my way to the front of store to purchase the snacks I had.
Before I knew it, I was outside the store. I gazed around the outlet to see if I could remember the general direction where I came from. Fortunately, I didn't live far away. Unfortunately, I'm an absolute idiot so even that is going to be a challenge.
I ponder around anxiously for a few moments before recognizing the way I came from. I started to jog, with Sayori's home being my current goal.
…
"Knock-knock-knock"
I stood patiently and quietly, waiting for the door to open. Moments pass and I was still standing on the porch. I curiously tried the doorknob and to my surprise, it was unlocked.
I wandered inside and quietly placed the bags I had from the store on the ground near the door. This is my first actual time in my recent memory of me being in her home. No lights were on, other than the sun shining through closed blinds, so the home bled a melancholy atmosphere.
As far as I could tell, it was fairly quaint. Immediately following the entrance of the door was steps that led to the upper floor. To the left of the stairs was the rest of the downstairs, a decent living room with a connecting kitchen and several rooms farther into the home that had closed doors.
The walls and furniture were decorated with assortments of family portraits. Sayori seemed to be an only child. She strikingly resembled the taller woman in the photos, presumably her mother.
'Where could her parents be, especially at a time like this..' I silently pondered to myself.
I made my way up the stairs to see if I could locate her room. The top of the stairs connected to a hallway that had several closed doors, two on either side. I had no clue which one could be Sayori's, so I just awkwardly called her name.
"Er-Sayori? You up here?"
I heard some shuffling from the furthest right room down the hall. I gingerly approached the door and lightly knocked.
"Hey, crazy. I hear you in there, you aren't being sneaky!" I lightly joke to her. I hear her yelp and shuffle around. I hear something being lightly dragged on the carpet and several soft thumps on the floor.
Confused, I slowly open her door.
Her room was more lit due to some of blinds being slightly opened, which was a pleasant contrast from the gloomy gray of the first floor. Her walls were painted a baby blue, several posters and decorations hung up throughout the room. Her quarters just had a singular window near her twin bed, a mahogany desk with a chair tucked neatly under it, and a walk-in closet to my left from the entrance.
Sayori was awkwardly standing at the foot of her bed, her hands planted at her abdomen. I raised an eyebrow and shot her a skeptical look.
"Er…whatchu doing in here? What was all the shuffling around?"
She awkwardly looks around the room and sits at the end of her bed.
"N-nothing, Christian! Just decided I should get up you know, hehe.." She says while prodding her fingers together.
I walk up to her and ruffle her hair with my hands.
"Well good! I didn't want to have to drag you out of bed!" I joke to her while poking her cheek. She sighs out of relief and pulls her face away from me.
"Hey now, meanie! I am perfectly capable of getting up on my own!" She retorts, slightly becoming embarrassed. I decide it's best not to tease her too hard and chuckle at her.
"Okay, okay I know, I was just messing. Are you ready to come over?" I ask her while glancing around the room.
She gets up and walks into her closet.
"Er, not yet. I want to change first." She half-heartedly says to me. I hear the sounds of hangars being tossed about like she was struggling for an outfit. I chuckle and sigh, until I saw something that caught my eye.
Lightly sticking out from under her bed was something that was lengthy and brown. I knelt down and grasped the rough object in my hands, realizing it was a rope.
'What the hell is she doing with a rope under her bed?' I thought to myself. Before I could fully pull it out from under the bed, she exits her closet, wearing a simple pink long sleeve shirt and some jeans, holding a jacket in her hands and a backpack over her shoulders.
Her eyes dart to my hands which were slightly holding the rope and she yelped. I instinctively dropped the object and stood up.
"Sorry, I was just got curious while waiting was all." I assure her. Her eyes were wide, like I caught her doing something she wasn't supposed to.
"N-no! It's okay! Why don't we get going, hehehe.." She forcefully grabs my wrists and practically drags me out of the room before I can say anything.
We get to the front door and we stop so she can throw some shoes on. She clumsily fumbled around with her shoelaces and seemed to be getting increasingly flustered. I placed a hand on her shoulder, and she paused.
"Let me get that for you." I softly said, kneeling down and grabbing her foot. I finished tying her laces to both of her shoes and stood up. She wasn't meeting my gaze, so I had to grab her chin to face mine.
"Okay, we're going to do a little exercise, okay?" I tell her. She wordlessly tilts her head. "You've been having a rough day so far. You're not all there right now and it's obvious. There's no need to be nervous or anxious around friends today, okay? Today is a day to relax and make memories."
She simply nods her head. Her lip lightly quivered and a few tears streaked down her face. I lightly brushed them off and placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Hey now, it's okay. I want you to follow my lead. All we're going to do is take some deep breaths." I softly tell her. She simply nods her head again, no doubt on the verge of breaking down.
I brought my free hand up to show a tempo on breathing in and out. After a few deep breathes I relaxed my eyes on her again.
"Okay, now that we have calmed ourselves a bit, are you ready to actually start your day? Because all the shit that's happened prior to this doesn't count. Let's go have some fun, cinnamon bun."
Her lips form a small smile and her bright blue eyes soften a bit. I smile back, relieved that I'm seeing her face slightly light up again. I grab her wrist with one hand and my bags with the other and we leave her home.
…..
I unlock my front door and walk in. To my surprise, the downstairs was surprisingly well kept. Everything just seemed straighter, cleaner. There was a soft scent of jasmine permeating through the air.
I walked to the kitchen and placed my bags onto the island counter. Sayori dropped her bag at the door, kicked off her shoes and followed in suite, placing herself in a seat at the counter.
"Wow Christian, I've never seen you clean up this well before." She mutters to me, clearly impressed. I chuckle and look around the room.
"Eh, I'm pretty sure the only thing I did was provide the cleaning supplies. This was all Monika's doing."
Sayori's eyes lit up a fraction,
"Monika? Monika is here? Since when?" She asked me quizzically.
"Er-yeah, she kinda stayed the night last night…" I embarrassingly mutter. Sayori's lips formed a playful smirk and she leaned in, her head cupped in her hands.
"Oh yeah? Why did she do that, hmm?" She mocks. If it wasn't for the wave of embarrassment showering my face, I'd be internally celebrating that she seemed to be back to her normal self for the moment.
"Don't get any funky ideas, missy! She was just helping me with some er-." The thought of Yuri popped in my head. I don't think it'd be wise to share that information at the moment. So, I had to improvise, which we all know is never good. "-stuff with the club, I guess. She stayed later than we initially thought so I allowed her to stay."
Sayori got up from the seat and paced around the kitchen, almost like she was searching for something. She slowly prowled around, increasingly making me nervous.
She rounded the island and approached me, causing me to slowly back up away from her. When my back was against the wall, her eyes met mine.
"Er-what are you looking for, Sayori?" I nervously ask.
Her face starts to shine red and before I knew it, she busted out laughing, holding her sides in the process. I sigh in relief and laugh along with her. She walks into my living room and plops down on one of the couches.
"Geez, Christian! You should've seen the look on your face! You got so embarrassed it was so cute~" She recounted while laughing.
"What's all the ruckus down here?" I hear a voice say to my side. I turn to see Monika walking down the stairs with her hair up in a towel. She clearly just washed herself and she looked amazing. She was wearing tight-fitting jeans and one of my rock t-shirts from my closet. It almost makes me praise that Sayori was present because I might've improvised a love session.
Sayori perked up from the couch.
"Hey, Monika! Your boyfriend here was just getting nervous trying to explain why you stayed the night."
Monika's eyes met mine and she adopted a blush and a cute smirk.
"Oh yeah? What did he say, hmm?" She coyly asks.
Oh dear, here we fucking go.
"Oh, he just made some lame excuse about working on stuff for the club. Like he'd ever be caught doing anything like that on a Friday night!" She recalls, a smirk on her face as she looked in my direction.
"Yeah, I guess that is pretty stupid, isn't it?" I mutter out loud. Both the girls melodically laugh at my response. Monika walks up to me and wraps her arms around my neck.
"You don't have to be embarrassed, my love. Besides, doesn't Sayori deserve to know that you loooove me~?" Monika teases me while smooching my cheek.
"Monikaaa…" I groan while flashing a look in Sayori's direction. Her eyes couldn't be any brighter. She practically was about to explode like a nuclear bomb.
"YES!" She excitedly screams. Me and Monika both flinch at her sudden outburst. "My two best friends are dating, this is the happiest day of my lifeee~!" She sings loudly and happily. Me and Monika both bust out laughing.
"Okay, okay Sayori, it's not that crazy." I assure her. She just sighs happily and lays on the couch. I swallow the awkward feeling I have and slowly become happy that Sayori is showing her normal colors again. I'll happily be around her with Monika if that's what keeps a smile on her face and her out of her own head.
Monika sighs happily and walks into the living room as well, sitting on the couch and motioning me to join her.
"Well Sayori, I'm glad you're here! I didn't think we would be done this soon." She says while turning on the TV.
I sit next to Monika and throw my feet up on the coffee table in the middle of the room.
"Should we tell the others they are welcome to arrive whenever?" I ask Monika. She puts a finger to her chin, thinking.
"Hmmmm…nah. We'll just enjoy our own company for now." She says while dragging me to lay on her.
Sayori asks for the remote so I toss it to her. She flicks through some channels before landing on a movie that just started. It was a decently paced comedy, but I soon felt myself becoming drowsy. Of course, it didn't help that Monika was running her fingers through my hair, sending euphoric tingles through my body. It wasn't long until I fell victim to sleep's potent grasp.
…..
…
.
I heard shuffling and talking. I recognized the voices but was too relaxed to care. The talking turned into laughing and for some reason I started to get irritable.
"Whoever that is can you keep it down?" I groaned in annoyance. The laughter and giggles didn't die down, which made me more irritated.
I opened my eyes and saw a flurry of colors surrounding me where I lay. I immediately regained all my senses and yelped in surprise. All the girls erupted in more hearty laughter at my little outburst, scattering throughout the room.
I sat myself up and gave a good stretch, trying to play it off. I scanned the room and saw that indeed Natsuki and Yuri both showed up. Natsuki was chuckling and began rummaging around in the kitchen and Yuri was sitting on the couch across from me, still laughing with Sayori and Monika.
I went to stand up but still felt a wash of fatigue, most likely from having just woke up from a nap. Monika noticed the tired look on my face and approached me, sitting on my lap in the process.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. How was your nap?" She sweetly asks me. I lazily laid my head against her shoulder and fake whined.
"Would've been nice if it hadn't ended so soon."
She giggled and ran her fingers through my hair, which made me feel like passing out all over again.
"I don't even remember falling asleep." I tell her. She giggled again and laid her cheek on my head.
"Well we were watching that movie and I felt your body become heavier and heavier. I went to ask you something about the movie, but I realized you were gone."
I sighed and looked up at the clock.
"Damn, it's already fucking three-thirty? How long had everyone been here?" I confusingly ask.
"Um, Natsuki just showed up like ten minutes ago. Yuri has been here for about an hour. She came a tad early to check on you to see if you were doing okay."
At the mention of her name, Yuri locked her gaze towards us and timidly smiled.
"You've been here a whole hour? Why didn't anyone wake me up?" I groaned. The girls started giggling again.
"You looked adorable, my dear. Why would we bother your beauty sleep?" Monika said while prodding my cheek.
I drew my gaze to Yuri.
"Well, I appreciate you guys letting me sleep but I feel bad! Anyways Yuri, I appreciate the gesture. I think my leg is okay, it seemed like it was more a scar this morning anyways."
Yuri timidly smiled and nodded her head.
"That sounds about right. I never really got to use any myself or see its effects on the user, just tales from my mother on how it was helpful for her." Yuri states matter-of-factly.
I raised an eyebrow to her.
"Er-will she notice that it's gone? Or rather, some of the meds are missing?" I wearily ask her.
She shakes her head and places her hands in her lap.
"She is out of town for the time being and will be for quite some time. Besides, she always told me that if there were ever an emergency that I was granted permission to use it. I think this would constitute an emergency, wouldn't you?" She tilts her head and smirks at me.
I shrug my shoulders and move Monika off my lap, standing up.
"Yeah I guess you're right. So, with that being said, thank you." I say while taking an exaggerated bow. She giggles in response.
I sigh and look around the room.
"Okay, everyone!" I holler loud enough for everyone to hear. I pause the TV to get the room quiet. All the girls turn their attention to me.
"Hey now, that's my catchphrase!" Monika mocked. I stuck my tongue out at her.
"Welcome to Casa de Christian, home of the awesome, filled to brim with greatness, and a great share of stupid." I announce triumphantly.
The girls giggle at my antics.
"Would anyone like a tour of this luxurious abode?" I ask while look back and forth at all the ladies.
"Sure, why not." Natsuki says while shrugging her shoulders. "We could always see what kind of creepy secrets you hide anyways." She grinned.
I rolled my eyes and smirked.
"You wouldn't find anything, anyways. I'm an innocent man. What about you, Yuri?" I look at her and she smiles.
"I wouldn't mind accompanying you through your home." She says.
I motion the girls to follow me.
"You two don't break anything, okay? Or I'm going to break your asses." I point a finger at Sayori and Monika.
"Don't be a meanie!" Sayori giggles.
"Break my ass, hm? If that's the punishment, it'd be a shame if I knocked some stuff over…" Monika coyly stated while stepping near a lamp.
I mentally slap myself for not thinking about how perverted that girl is.
I roll my eyes and pointed my finger at her.
"Scratch that! Sayori, I'll break your ass. Monika, I won't kiss you for a week if you break anything."
Monika gasps and put her hand over her mouth, faking being extremely shocked.
"You monster! You wouldn't dare!' She playfully says.
I stick my chin into the air and turn around, ready to show off my home to the other girls.
"Try me, princess!" I call over my shoulder. With that, we ventured through my house.
It didn't take long for the tour to finish. It just consisted of us poking our heads into rooms and Natsuki trying to find things to make fun of me over. Thankfully, there wasn't much.
We got back downstairs, and Yuri excused herself to the bathroom. Monika and Sayori were playing one of my games on the big TV (I think it was called Mario Kart? Whatever it was, I felt a strange calling that I'm a boss at it).
"Hey, dorks. Did you guys break anything?" I ask as I plop down on my big recliner.
"Nope. You didn't tell me that you had a Switch, meanie!" Sayori said in between bursts of her concentrating on the screen. I chuckled and sighed.
"Yeah well, I kind of didn't either..." I mutter to myself.
The girls finish the race and they turn to me and Natsuki.
"Well, you going to join?" Monika says to me while smirking. "Winners can get rewarded~" She sang while winking to me. I playfully roll my eyes and grab one of the controllers Sayori put on the coffee table.
"I almost have a feeling that you know that I'm awesome that games, so I'll be winning a lot." I joke to her. She giggles and faces the TV again.
"Maybe. Maybe not." She says coyly.
"All I know is that I always beat Sayori at this so we'll see if you can best me!" Natsuki triumphantly states. Sayori whines from across the room.
"Heyyy! We go back and forth, and you know it!" She says, sounding more determined than ever. She unwraps a snack cake one handed and places it in her mouth, all while keeping her concentration on the screen to set the game up. I was mildly impressed.
Yuri joined us on the couch but insisted she watch more instead. She brought a novel with her and seemed very content just being in our company while reading and occasionally engaging in conversation.
We played for hours. I won a majority of the rounds, which is what I expected anyways. Every time we finished a race, the girls would complain about me cheating. How I could cheat on this game is beyond me. Every now and then one of them won win and they would gloat about it for a while. It was pleasant being around everyone in this environment. We were like a family, and that's something that I've been without for who knows how long.
We finished a race and Natsuki groaned again.
"How do you always win?" She complained.
I shrugged my shoulders and smirked.
"It's just a natural skill, I suppose." I tell her.
She rolls her eyes and stands up.
"What other games do you have?" She asks while walking over to a bookcase filled with an assortment of cases. I wasn't entirely sure what I had so I just kept my mouth shut. In no time at all, Natsuki whipped a case off the shelf and held it in the air.
"Smash! Yes!" She says while changing the game. I chuckle at her cute childlike enthusiasm. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Monika staring at me.
"Hey, should we start ordering food about now?" She asks. I look at the time and see it's around seven-thirty. I shrug and get up, walking to my laptop that's still in the kitchen.
"Sure thing. Hey, what does everyone like for pizza?" I ask while finding a website for pizza nearby. I get an assortment of answers from Monika and Natsuki, while Yuri is indifferent.
'Looks like I'm ordering a bunch of things' I think to myself.
I start to sort through the site and I glance up in the living room. All the girls were preoccupied with an activity, whether it be reading or playing a game. Well, almost all of them. Sayori was just sitting there, staring off into space. She had a hardened expression and a slight frown. Her eyes were blank.
"Hey, Sayori." I called.
She snapped her gaze up to mine. I motioned her over and she relunctantly got up. She plopped down on one of the chairs next to me.
"Everything going okay?" I ask her while messing with the pizza website again.
She swallowed and forced a smile.
"Of course! This is all so much fun!" She tries to convince me. I turn my head to her and shot her a look.
"Listen, I know we talked other day and there's some stuff going on that's touchy to talk about, but don't think that I won't call you out when I see it bothering you. I saw it this morning, or more so heard it, and now I see it resurfacing. What's going on, cinnamon bun?" I ask her, making sure my tone was light but also stern, so she knew I was serious.
She sighed audibly and refused to look my direction.
"Christian, it's nothing. I told you not to worry about me. It's not worth it." She said with difficulty.
I finished typing on the computer before continuing. I closed the laptop and push it to the side while taking a seat next to Sayori.
"I don't think I can stress enough that this week has been an absolute fucking shit show, okay? Don't berate yourself like that, your problems are absolutely worth it."
She looked at me and I saw a tear stroll down her red-tinted cheek.
"It's just so hard." She quietly says. I look around and see that the rest of the crew is all side tracked.
"What is exactly?" I softly ask her.
"Everything. I'm not even safe in my dreams anymore…" She trails off. This grabbed my attention tenfold.
"In your dreams? Why, what's going on?" I ask her with concern in my voice.
She looked at me, her eyes pleading that I leave the topic be. I mentally shook my head and continued.
"Sayori, what exactly do you mean by 'in your dreams'?"
"Well…..recently, there's been this big meanie raincloud that had been appearing…" She starts. I stay silent and just nod to show her I'm being attentive. "…he keeps telling me that I should just stop fighting because I'm weak. That everything I've been saying is right."
Tears were now freefalling more easily. I reached across the table to grab some paper towels for her. I knew she wouldn't want to attract any unwanted attention, so I cleared my throat and did my best to keep us quiet.
"I know that the meanie is right. What purpose do I have anyways?" She says, turning to me with glossy eyes.
I take a deep breath and lock my gaze on hers.
"You're wrong. That voice is wrong. There's no need to think those things. Whatever this voice is, whoever it is, it's wrong. You are absolutely worth it. We wouldn't be having half as much fun today if you were gone." I softly tell her.
She looked over into the living room again.
"If I was gone, Yuri could've played instead. She wouldn't have been left out." Sayori mutters.
I put my hand on her wrist to draw her attention back to me.
"Sayori, do you hear yourself? We both know that Yuri is more content reading than doing anything else. I assure you that she is very appreciative of the company." I assure her.
She looks away from me, this time drawing her gaze out the window, where the sun has been gone and the moon has arisen.
"We wouldn't know for sure now, would we?" She says, irritation now creeping in her voice. I was a little taken aback by her tone but kept my composure.
"You're right, but it doesn't matter. This is how it is and it's perfect this way." I tell her.
She sighs and swallows again.
"He agrees it'd be perfect without me…" She mutters.
"Who does, Sayori?" I ask her worriedly.
She stays silent, just gazing outside. Her expression was almost ghostly, her mind was clearly conflicted. I was becoming more and more anxious.
"Sayori…" I softly ask while placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinches to my touch.
"….the cloud. He's been talking to me all day. Keeping me company." She flatly says.
I felt a chill go down my spine. 'A voice has been talking to her all day….is it The Voice?' I look back at her and sigh.
"Hey, whatever this….cloud…has been saying, don't heed to it. You have people all around who care about you. Never forget that."
She just stared blankly out the window. I sighed, truly at a loss for what I can do.
"Will you join us over in the living room?" I ask her. She looked at me with vacant eyes. "I know you want to kind of keep to yourself, but I want to keep an eye on you. Plus, everyone will notice you being secluded and that wouldn't help matters much." I suggest to her. She reluctantly gets off her chair. I give her a half hug and we join everyone else.
"Did you order the pizza?" Natsuki eagerly asks me. I nod my head and sit in my recliner again. I exhaled and stared at the TV until I felt eyes on me. I turn to see Natsuki still looking at me.
"What's wrong? Was the pizza a lot of money or something? I could give you some…" She says while patting her pockets.
I realized that I've had my exchange with Sayori on mind and immediately chastised myself for it.
"No, not at all! I was thinking about how I can't wait to kick your ass at this game to." I grin while grabbing a controller.
She looks at me suspiciously but immediately smirks.
"This is the one game that I know I can beat you at. I've been playing Smash for years." She says with pride.
"Yeah? We'll fucking see about that. Last I checked, Sayori was the best Smasher around, right?" I say while turning to her. She feigns a smile. I toss a controller to her and wink.
'Maybe some games will keep her mind off of everything. Well, at least until I can help her out later.'
Monika sits on my lap and I grunt. She grabs a controller and kisses my cheek.
"Don't forget that I'm an excellent Smasher myself." She says, although it was borderline seductive.
I shot her an accusatory glare and she giggled. Natsuki kicks off the game and we begin to play, waiting for our food.
I got to say, Natsuki sure could back up all her smack talk. She definitely was fierce when it came to this game. I could see that Sayori would be good too, but I think she was too distracted at the time being to fully give it her all. Monika was just mediocre, but still made it interesting.
In no time at all, I heard knocks on the door. Natsuki and Monika looked at me excitedly as I got up and went to the door.
I signed the receipt and carried the boxes to the kitchen.
"Gather 'round, my children. Come get sustenance." I say to the girls. As they funneled through the kitchen, I realized I had to use the bathroom.
"Hey, I'm going to go use the bathroom, don't take all the pizza!" I tell them as I retreat upstairs.
I finished using the bathroom and approach the sink. I had the water running low to wash my hands but go distracted by thoughts of Sayori.
'I have a really bad feeling about all this…' I think to myself. I give a big exhale and look at myself in the mirror. How can I prevent anything? Why did I get chosen to do some weird ass dream warrior shit? Natsuki's and Yuri's dream were weird as it is, I couldn't begin to imagine what Sayori's would be.
I splash water on my face and dry it off with a towel. Something tells me that tonight is my night to protect Sayori. Ever since this morning, I have been slightly on edge. Her behavior straightened out a tad this afternoon and I think that's why I feel so uneasy. 'Is it so easy for her moods to change? Or is it because of that voice she has following her around?'
I grip the sides of the sink. Is it the same voice that I have in my dreams? That the other girls have had in their dreams? It would make sense if it was….but that's what scares me. Sayori seems the most brittle of all the girls. At least mentally. I need to find a way to aid her soon.
I heard laughter downstairs and it reeled me back into reality. I realized I've probably been up here for fifteen minutes or so, just lost in thought. I quickly ran to my room and changed into a random shirt just to give me the excuse of changing.
"There he is! Get lost in your own house?" Monika teases as I walk up to the table everyone was sitting at. I motioned to the shirt I was wearing.
"I was an idiot and got water all over myself, so I changed shirts." I lied. I heard Natsuki scoff from her side of the table.
"As if, I don't even know if I've ever taken forever to change a shirt."
I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, don't judge me!" This elicited some giggles from the girls. "How's the pizza anyways? Better be worth the millions I spent on it." I jokingly said to them. They all agreed that what they each had was delicious.
I took a bite of a piece and looked at the table. 'Monika…..Yuri…Natsuki…wait, where the hell is Sayori?'
I darted my eyes around the room and saw no signs of her.
"Hey um-where's Sayori?" I ask out loud to anyone.
Natsuki motioned that she had food in her mouth, so I waited for her to stop chewing.
"She said she had to go grab something from her house."
I felt my anxiety well up again. 'What could she possibly need from her house?'
I zoned out again thinking of what it could be. Monika must've sensed my distress because she got out of her seat and walked up me, laying her head on my shoulder.
"Everything okay, darling?" She sweetly asks me. I exhale and nod my head.
"Yeah, just hope she's doing okay. Today was a rough one for her." I meekly say.
I feel her hand rub my back.
"I'm sure today helped her. I could tell she was a little downcast today, but when we all started hanging out, she seemed happier. She'll be back soon."
I sighed and turned my face to hers. I locked my eyes on hers and smiled. 'She's right. Everything will be fine.' I pulled her face to mine for a quick smooch before picking up my piece of pizza.
"Thanks, sweetheart. You're probably right."
She beamed at me and motioned me to sit with the rest of the girls.
As we ate, we all just simply engaged in chatter. It's the first time I've ever sat and spent time with these girls like this. It was nice seeing them all in their most relaxed forms. Even Yuri seemed more open, sharing stories of her and her family.
I looked up at the clock and saw it was a little before nine. Sayori still hasn't returned. I pulled out my phone and shot her a message.
'Hey, hurry up and grab what you were getting! Pizza is getting cold!'
I put my phone back in my pocket and stood up. The girls wandered into the living area while I walked towards the kitchen. As I passed the island counter, I accidentally kicked something. I caught myself on the counter and looked down.
'Sayori's backpack? When the hell did that get over here?'
I bent down to move her bag. When I picked it up, a piece of paper slipped out. I tossed her bag towards the wall and grasped the parchment. I opened it and noticed it was a poem. A very abstract poem.
'Get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head get out of my head
Get
Out
Of
My
Head
Get out of my head before I do what I know is best for you
Get out of my head before I listen to everything he said to me
Get out of my head before I show you how much I love you
Get out of my head before I finish writing this poem
But a poem is never actually finished
It just stops moving'
My blood ran cold when I finished reading the poem. The parchment fluttered out of my hand and landed onto the table. I put my hands on the counter and pinch my eyes shut, trying to control my breathing.
'Sayori couldn't have written this, right? It was just something that she saw on the internet and printed out. Monika was right, she's going to pull through because of us, right?'
I looked at the clock. It was just about nine. The seconds hand was moving in almost slow motion. I turned to see the girls in the living room, all cheerful and carefree. I returned my attention to the poem.
It laid there on the counter, mocking me. Thoughts of Sayori crying and being depressed swarmed into my mind. I clutched my head and forced them back as much as I could. Then, I remembered something.
The rope. The rope I saw under her bed. She became flustered when she saw I noticed it. She wasn't flustered because it was embarrassing, she was flustered because she was afraid that I'd know why she had it.
Almost instantly the dream popped in my head. The dream of Sayori, hanging lifeless, her cold eyes bearing down on me. The first dream I was ever plagued with. The first dream the voice brought to me. Sayori hanging herself with a rope.
My mind blanked. I dashed to my front door, throwing regards to foot protection or coats out the window. I faintly heard confused questions from the girls as I left my house.
The cold winter air bit my skin as I sprinted across my lawn into hers. I slipped on some ice on her stairs and stumbled, hitting my head on the handrails. I blink away the stars and ignored the pain as I started pounding on her door.
"Sayori! Sayori, open up!" I cried. I tried the doorknob. 'Fuck, she locked the fucking door.'
I desperately looked around for any ways of entrance. There was a window a few meters from the front door. I noticed a few loose bricks laying about, most likely from the small garden that was in front of her house. Without question, I picked up a brick and threw it with as much strength that I could muster at the window.
It immediately pierced the barrier, the sound ringing my ears and echoing out in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, the brick only smashed a decent-sized hole into the window, not shattering the entire thing like I would have wanted.
I stuck my arm through the broken hole, fumbling my fingers around for a window hatch. I could feel points of the shattered glass lightly piercing my skin, but I ignored it. I quickly found a knob that, once pull on, unlocked the window.
I pulled arm out swiftly from the hole and kicked open the window, more glass falling off the window and littering the carpeted floor on the inside. As I climbed in through the window, my foot got caught on the windowsill and I stumbled, falling onto my side inside the home.
Some bits of glass bit its way into my skin, but I brushed it off. I abruptly stood up and scanned my eyes around the home. No lights were on other than some light candles around the living area. It was quiet except for my haggard breathing.
I spotted the stairs and immediately broke into a sprint to the top floor.
I made my way to the top and dashed to Sayori's door. I immediately began pounding with my fists.
"Sayori, please! Open up!" I begged. I heard her sniffle and hold back a sob from the inside of the room but did not issue an answer. "Sayori, don't worry it's me! Just me, please open the door!" I wiggled the doorknob, but it too was locked.
She still ignored my call. She gave me no choice. I took a step back, shifting my body weight back to front, and brought my foot to her door.
The door flew open, smacking the wall in the process. I ran into her room and my heart got caught in my throat.
Sayori was standing a few feet over to me. She was on top of a chair in the middle of her room. Worst of all, she had the rope I saw fashioned into a noose around her neck. Her eyes were streaming with tears as she looked down at me.
I stretched out my hand, but I was too late.
In one swift move, Sayori kicked the chair out from under her feet.