Natsuki stayed in the hallway by herself for a while, inwardly beating herself up for not going after Yuri. It was only when the gymnasium doors opened and students started flooding out that Natsuki snapped back to reality. She shook her head and started going along with the crowd.

"Hey!"

Natsuki looked back to see Sayori darting her way through the crowd, muttering apologies to the people that she was cutting off.

"Whew! Glad I found you!" she exclaimed, matching her stride with Natsuki's. "Oh, where's Yuri? Didn't she come by to talk to you?"

"I-I didn't see her," Natsuki snapped, crossing her arms.

"Oh," Sayori said sadly, turning away with a heavy sigh. "I see."

Natsuki grumbled and mentally kicked herself again. "Anyways, where's everyone going?"

"The auditorium," Sayori said. "It's time for the performances."

"Great," Natsuki said as they turned a corner. The door to the auditorium was now in sight, just down the length of the hallway before them. "Here's hoping they're so boring that they put me to bed."

Sayori giggled. "Oh, boy. I actually did fall asleep last year."

"Seriously?" Natsuki asked. "How did that happen?"

Sayori grumbled and looked away. "The lights were dim and the seats were really comfy and the yoga club played a really relaxing song when they went up…"

Natsuki chuckled, crossing over the doorframe and entering into the auditorium from the back. She grabbed a couple of pamphlets from a nearby table and handed one to Sayori. "Didn't you wake up afterwards, when the other clubs came up and did their stuff?"

"Nope," Sayori said with a shake of her head. "I, like, don't wake up for anything once I'm asleep. Except for my alarm."

Natsuki giggled. "Sometimes for your alarm."

The two of them funneled down the aisle and found a pair of seats to sit in. They were towards the right of the auditorium, so when they sat down, they found that their vision of the stage was a little bit skewed. But Natsuki didn't mind. She wasn't planning on paying attention to any of the performances except for Monika's.

After some time, the last few students filed in and took their seats. Then, the principal took center stage. He gave an opening speech about the freedom that clubs offered and how rare and beautiful it was that the options at their particular school offered so many different forms of expression for its students.

Or something like that. Natsuki's nose was buried in her pamphlet, trying to find Monika's name somewhere in the list of performances. Her eyes scanned line after line, but for some reason, she couldn't find her name.

"Hey, Sayori," said Natsuki. "Do you see Monika's name anywhere in the list?"

"No, I haven't found it yet," Sayori said with a frown. "It's gotta be in here somewhere, though…"

But before she could find it, the sound of halfhearted applause came from the students around them. Natsuki dropped her pamphlet into her lap and started clapping along with them. The principal was walking offstage and announcing the first act.

Which meant that it was time for her to hibernate until Monika went up. She leaned back in her chair and allowed her mind to wander. But no sooner had her mind been left to its own devices than did she find that, once again, she was thinking of Yuri. As the dance team marched onto center stage and the crowd of students clapped again, Natsuki let out an exhausted sigh.

Sayori looked over, a little concerned. "Tired?" she asked.

"A little bit," grumbled Natsuki without opening her eyes.

Sayori hummed. "Worried about Yuri?"

Just like that, Natsuki's eyes shot open. "What?"

"Well, she came to talk to you, didn't she?" asked Sayori. "Is everything alright?"

Natsuki huffed. "Everything's fine. Mind your own business."

Sayori turned away and sighed. "Okay." They watched the dance team perform for a little while in silence. "I wonder where she is."

Natsuki frowned and looked around. Sure enough, Yuri was nowhere to be found. She'd either gone out of her way to sit far away from her and Sayori or hadn't bothered showing up to the auditorium at all. Natsuki wasn't sure which was worse. All she knew was that the pit in her stomach wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

The dance team bowed, having had finished their act, and everyone in the audience applauded as they walked offstage. The principal came back onstage to announce the next act.

"I think…" said Natsuki. "That I'm going to go look for Yuri. Just to make sure that she's alright."

"Oh, okay. If you say so," Sayori replied with a smile. Then, her smile faltered for the briefest of moments. "Actually, why don't I come with you? I want to find Monika and wish her good luck one more time before she goes up."

"Perfect," Natsuki said, getting out of her seat just as the principal walked offstage again and the students began applauding in anticipation of the next act. "We'll go together."

"Awesome," said Sayori, smiling again. But before she could get out of her seat, her gaze drifted back to the stage and she stopped in her tracks. Suddenly, she lunged in Natsuki's direction and grabbed her wrist just as she was about to leave.

"Ow! What?!" Natsuki hissed, turning back to Sayori angrily.

"The stage!" Sayori gasped. "She's – "

"Is Monika up already?" Natsuki growled, turning back to the stage. "Well, too bad! I've got more important things to – "

Natsuki's heart skipped a beat.

From this angle, the auditorium looked impossibly vast. If she looked dead center into the crowd of people, the seats encompassed the entirety of her vision. How many people were watching her, right now? One hundred? Two hundred?

Feeling her face grow hotter by the second, Yuri began to speak.

"Before…" she trailed off, her voice cracking. The spotlights were too bright. She could feel sweat coalescing on her face, and her chest was heaving up and down with the effort of breathing.

"B-Before the Literature Club's performance," Yuri managed, her stutter painfully amplified by the microphone's sensitivity. "I have a p-poem that I'd like to read for all of you."

Waves of mutters and mumbles washed throughout the crowd, and Yuri heard a few people laughing. Her eyes started watering.

But she didn't move. And she didn't cry. She didn't think she'd ever again be able to face anyone, including herself, if she took even a single step out of the spotlight. So, instead of moving, she cleared her throat and continued.

"I've b-been working on it for quite a while," she said. "A-And, the truth is, I…I w-wrote it for somebody."

She reached into her pocket and brought out her poem, her limbs rigid and tense.

Yuri gulped. "Y-You're out there, right now, and…I h-hope that you like it," she squeaked.

Here went nothing. Yuri took a deep, shaky breath.

SLAM!

Yuri jumped. The noise had come from somewhere in front of her, and she looked about wildly in search of its source. Her eyes rested on a pair of hands that were gripping the edge of the stage. With a grunt, the person below those hands pulled themselves up and onto the stage.

Natsuki looked Yuri dead in the eye, and she was seething.

"I-I-I-I…" Yuri stammered, her voice barely audible even to herself. Natsuki got to her feet and strode over to Yuri confidently. Yuri shrank back, but Natsuki reached out first and grabbed onto the girl's wrist. She dragged the taller girl offstage, and the audience's subdued chuckles burst into full-blown laughter.

"I-I-I'm sorry," said Yuri, stumbling over her own feet. "N-Natsuki, what are you d-doing?"

Natsuki didn't reply, and instead, kept dragging Yuri until they were far offstage. The lighting was quite dim here, and no one could see them. Natsuki whirled around and yanked on Yuri's arm, causing the girl to bend down a little bit so that the two of them were more or less at eye level. Only now did Natsuki let go of Yuri.

Unable to hold back her tears for any longer, Yuri couldn't even look at Natsuki. "I'm sorry…" she said quietly.

Natsuki gritted her teeth and used both of her hands to grab Yuri by the collar and yank her into a kiss.

Utterly shocked by the turn of events, Yuri stood there, dumbfounded, and simply let Natsuki do what she was doing. Several seconds passed, during which time she felt Natsuki exhale through her nose in pleasure. She also felt the shorter girl's tongue rub up against her lips. However, shocked as she was, she didn't respond in kind, and the two of them broke apart, gasping for air.

"You dummy…" panted Natsuki. "You're supposed…to use your tongue…"

Yuri's fingers touched her lips lightly, and she looked down at Natsuki, who was still catching her breath, in wonder. She took a few steps towards her friend. Yuri continued to advance until Natsuki, having no other option available to her other than to retreat, felt her back press up against the auditorium wall. Yuri gripped Natsuki's wrists and dragged them upwards until they were pinned against the wall by her shoulders.

Natsuki looked into Yuri's eyes. They had all but glazed over, and as she leaned in, Natsuki felt her breath puff against her face, hot and heavy.

"U-Um…" Natsuki mumbled, blushing. "Yuri?"

In response, Yuri pressed not only her lips, but her entire body up against Natsuki. Natsuki yelped quietly in surprise, but she did not resist. The tension that they'd been feeling for so very long melted away with the heat of their lips, and the two of them continued on in this way for quite some time.

Some time later, the faint melody of a piano washed over them from somewhere onstage, accompanied by the voice of a young woman.