The Ghost On The Other Side Of The Screen: Part 2.
I sigh in dreamlike wonder as I gaze at the object of pure beauty in front of me, my emerald green eyes locked on to his soft, brown ones as I continue my mindless gaze, transfixed like a child in front of a television.
As my body stays motionless, my mind wanders and my imagination explores the possibilities I could indulge myself in with him while trapped in this one classroom. This one classroom that used to be the home of my club, My failing, miserable, pathetic excuse of a club, now salvaged and turned into my own little patch of heaven.
He and I could talk for ages. We could confess our deepest dreams, our wildest fantasies and our darkest fears. We could confide in each other about what brings us such sadness, pain and misery. We could play games. Write poems.
We could kiss each other, my back against the wall as his tall frame casts it's shadow over me.
We could lay down on the floor and cuddle, snuggle and nuzzle for eternity.
He could run his smooth, warm hands down my body and massage my back.
He could pin me to the floor and make love to me.
He could lean in close and whisper in my ear… I love you, M̸̨̠̣͋̓̐ơ̵̬̩̦̅̇̅̍n̷̨̯͎̜̭͆͋̅̚ị̶̢̛̈́̉̃̾̏k̴͍̜̽̏ḁ̶̏̌̚͝m̶̡͎̱͙͎͗͊̔̂ͅm̵̨͎̫̝̈́m̷̛̙̝͋̕m̵̧͇̥̘̎̕ḿ̵̖̪͌́͗͆ḿ̴͖̅̋̇͑̊m̸̧̱̥͗͒̋̃̒̾m̶̼̗̦͎̞̃̍̅̍m̷̩̳͕͚̼̐̄m̷͍̀̃́m̵͔̺̆͂͗m̵̱͙̓͌ṁ̵̝̖̏͆̅̑̕ḿ̸̱̬̦̼̺͛̈́m̸͍̌͊̈́̇̓́ͅm̷̝̯̣͎͚̣̂̀̈́̀̒͝m̷̢͇̿̓m̶̠͈̻͊̉̊m̴̻̹̭͈͐́̚̕m̸̩͈̓̽m̷̧̱̗͚͗̍͊͗̚m̷̛͎͔̞̺̣̄m̷̹̼͉̭̮̤͗̃̉͘m̶̛̘̠̌̃m̵̪̉̏́͊ḿ̶͙̰͓͓̹̮̈́͑͐́͘m̷̹͚͈̥͓̿͊̍̌̃͛m̵̛̝͑̽̆̍͗m̸̝̻̆̎m̶͖͐͑͑̕m̸͎̫̣͇̹͈͆̿̉͠m̵̨͈͉͙̄
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"…"
"Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me?"
"I know you can. I know you're there. I know you're listening"
"I miss you… I miss you so much"
Aaron groaned in annoyance as he stood up from his bed, the light of the morning sun peering in through the blinds of his window as the heavy sound of knocking echoed through the entire house, the wood of his front door being pounded harder and harder as the seconds went by.
"Alright! Alight, already! I'm coming!" He shouted loudly, aggravation in his voice as he pushed the covers off his body, leaving his soft, comfy, warm bed and walking downstairs into the empty, cold living room of his house.
"M-Maybe this isn't such a good idea. It's understandable if he's in no mood for visitors. It is the weekend after all and school was very stressful for all of us yesterday. We should just go and leave him be"
"Why? So he can go back to sleeping all day while we work our butts off? Please" Aaron heard the muffled voices on the other side of the door as he peeked through the peep hole, seeing Yuri and Natsuki arguing on his porch.
"Open up, lazy ass! We got work to do and you're burning our daylight!" Natsuki shouted loudly as she violently pounded on the door, Aaron jumping back instinctively, not expecting someone so small to bang so hard. She could probably break off the hings if she really wanted too.
"Natsuki! That's rude!" Yuri scolded, clearing her throat as she gently pushed her club mate aside, standing directly in front of the door, looking directly at the peep hole. Whether she knew Aaron was watching her through it or not, he couldn't really tell. "Aaron? We really need your help today. If you could be so kind as to come out"
"One minute!" Aaron said to the door as he dashed back up the stairs, realizing that he woke up today wearing nothing but his boxers. Imagine if he opened the door, only for the girls to see him in his underwear! Natsuki would either laugh hysterically or scream in shock. Yuri would most definitely faint.
Aaron soon returned wearing a loosely fit tee-shirt, an old pair of jeans and well worn sneakers, finally opening the door, the two girls quickly straightening themselves as it opened, Yuri brushing a rouge strand of hair out of her face, moving it behind her ear and Natsuki adjusting her shirt in an attempt to hide her chest, even though there wasn't much for her to hide anyways.
Speaking of clothes, Aaron was initially taken aback when he found the girls in their casual clothing, seeing Yuri in her black leggings and beige turtleneck, which loosely fit around her waist and chest, yet seemed oddly tight looking around her arms, practically hugging the skin from her shoulders to her wrists. It was almost as if the sweater was custom tailored to prevent the sleeves from falling, should the wearer ever raise their arms up. Odd. Then again, maybe Yuri just liked the snug feeling on those particular parts of her body.
Natsuki's clothing on the other hand, was far from snug. A very loose fitting tee-shirt, probably made in a size bigger than her, with pink trims along the sleeves and neckline, as well as a small cat face decorating the side of her chest. She also had a ruffled pink skirt over lightly fitted black leggings. Very appropriately matching her hair color.
"See where being nice and polite gets you? You ought to try it sometime" Yuri jabbed as she gave a light scowl to Natsuki.
"Ohh? Well excuse me if I don't like being-"
"Good morning, Aaron" Yuri greeted with a smile, interrupting Natsuki before she could finish her sentence, causing her to huff quietly to herself as she crossed her arms, a defeated look on her face. "Sorry for dropping by unannounced like this and ruining your weekend plans. Dreadful etiquette, I know. But we were wondering if you'd be willing to help me, Natsuki and Sayori with a few of the preparations for the festival" Yuri continued, smiling politely as she held her hands behind her back, Natsuki huffing again in annoyance, rolling her eyes at Yuri's polite disposition.
It was infuriating, honestly. Her whole please and thank you routine. Her whole I'm a good, polite girl who could do no wrong act. Yuri practically rubbed it in Natsuki's face whenever possible, always trying to be the example of 'proper' behavior. Always trying to one-up everyone by acting so posh and refined, so prim and proper, like she was a descendant of royalty or something and had to let everyone know.
That wasn't to imply that Natsuki hated or disliked her fellow club member or anything. Far from that in fact. She just… She just needed to vent for a little bit over something that honestly annoyed her way more than it should have. Yuri was genuinely a good person, even if in Natsuki's eyes, her mannerisms did come off as a way of flaunting arrogance and superiority.
"Basically, we got stuff to do. As a fully fledged member of the club, it only makes sense for you to stop lazing around all day and start pulling your weight, right? So come on!" Natsuki said, Aaron sighing as he crossed his arms, looking at his fellow club members, a slightly irritated look on his face.
"Don't you guys think it's a little early to start preparations? The festival is a full week away. We've got plenty of time" He stated.
"Believe me, I said the same thing. You're not the only one who made weekends plans, you know" Natsuki stated, her face flawlessly mimicking the irritated look on Aaron's, sharing his sentiment. "I wanted to laze around too. But Sayori doesn't take no for an answer! It's for the good of the club, Natsuki! Let's just get it out of the way, Natsuki!" She said, failing to imitate Sayori's voice. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to slam the door in her face. However, unlike you, I'm willing to sacrifice my valuable time to help out the club" She added.
"Where is Sayori anyways?" Aaron asked, not seeing her on anywhere on the porch.
"Come on, Aaron! Hurry up!" He found her after hearing the loud shout she made as she poked her head out the window of a small, yellow car on the curb of the street, Sayori honking the horn loudly as she flailed her arms, Aaron seeing her mother sitting in the driver's street, shaking her head as she dismissed her daughter's actions.
Aaron sighed again as he heard the loud honking of the car horn, knowing that his beloved childhood friend would never stop till she got her way.
"Alright. Let's get this over with" He said, finally agreeing to assist his club mates with the preparations.
"Finally" Natsuki said in a relieved tone as the three of them walked to the car, opening the door to the backseat and climbing inside. Yuri first, Natsuki second and Aaron last.
"Good morning, Aaron!" Sayori's mother greeted happily, waving to the boy.
"Hello, Ma'am" He greeted back politely, almost as if he was addressing his own mother, which, in a way, he was. Sayori and Aaron had been friends since they were just little kids, practically spending their infancy together. So it was only natural for Aaron to see Sayori's family as a part of his own, just like Sayori did with his family.
Aaron yawned tiredly as he sat in the backseat, his eyes wandering around the car, hearing Sayori talking with her mother, the two discussing where they needed to go in order to begin their preparations. In the corner of his eyes, he could see Natsuki sitting at his side in the middle of the backseat, her eyes closed and her head bobbing as she listened to the music coming from her earbuds, J-pop most likely.
As for Yuri, she seemed very disconnected throughout the entire drive, her notebook in her lap, opened as she gazed out the window, observing the landscape outside as the top of her lilac colored pen quietly tapped on the page.
Turning his head to look, Aaron could see that the page had recently been written in. It didn't contain anything Aaron felt he shouldn't be seeing. In fact, the writing looked to be nothing more than notes, observations and reminders, though it was always difficult to tell with Yuri's handwriting. Her eyes suddenly lit up as the car passed by one of the more forested areas, her quickly adjusting her pen and writing in her notebook, almost as if inspiration had struck her.
"What's that about?" Aaron asked, Yuri turning her head to look at him.
"O-Oh, this? Nothing special. Just notes" She stated, confirming Aaron's assumption.
"Notes?" He pushed, mainly for the intent of starting small talk, as the silence of the car was growing irritable. "Working on something?"
"Mh-hm" She nodded in confirmation. "I'm working on the poem for the festival. I want to try something a little different with my writing style, lately I've been trying to give more attention to the environments, but it's not going so well. That's what this is for. I'm hoping that by paying more attention to places and noting them down, I'll be able to express them better in my work" She explained. "Plus, this makes it easier to remember ideas and details when they randomly pop into my head. It's actually really helpful" She added.
"Cool" Aaron said, not really knowing what else he could say to that. He guessed it was somewhat shocking to him that Yuri, being the most experienced and exceptional writer in the club, in his opinion, would still have trouble with certain aspects of writing.
"What about you, Aaron? How's your poem coming along?" Yuri asked.
"Um… I haven't actually started it yet. I Don't even know what to write about, honestly. I kinda just sit down and wait for the words to come to me." He explained.
"You like to improvise, huh? Not to sound rude, but that's a very dangerous way to go about writing. Inspiration rarely comes when needed. I'm sure your poem will turn out fine though" Yuri stated, her gaze turning away from Aaron and returning to her notebook as she wrote down the various details of the landscape she observed through the window of the car. There was a particular focus on the abundance of trees. The length of the wild grass and so on.
Aaron then sighed as he leaned back into his seat, turning his head to face the window, watching the world outside pass him by.
"Oh, almost forgot. Hey, Aaron!" Natsuki called as she tapped on his shoulder, him turning his head to see Natsuki holding something out to him. Something wrapped in aluminum foil with his name crudely scrawled in red marker. It was warm to the touch and gave off a rather heavenly smell, so much so that his stomach immediately identified it as food, growling loudly to show his hunger.
"You made me breakfast?" He asked as he took the aluminum foiled wrap, opening it to reveal a toasted bagel stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheese and bacon. "Why?" He asked.
"For the chocolate bar from yesterday, duh!" Natsuki stated. "I told you I'd pay you back"
"And I told you not to worry about it"
"Just shut up and eat it already!" Natsuki shouted, Aaron smiling as he rolled his eyes, taking a bite out of his breakfast, careful not to make a mess.
"It's good. Thank you" Aaron said, showing his appreciation towards Natsuki.
"You're welcome" She smiled warmly, a sight rarely seen by Aaron and… pretty much everyone else Natsuki knew. "Now don't start thinking I made it because I like you or anything. I did it because I owed you. Nothing more" She quickly clarified, her warm, friendly smile immediately fading away as she did her signature arm cross and pout, turning her head away from Aaron.
"Whatever" He said, smiling at her as he continued eating.
A few minutes passed before the car finally reached it's destination, a large, spacious plot of concrete spanning a good few acres with hundreds of little canopies, stalls and shops spanning every inch, the people manning it shouting advertisements, desperate to see their wares.
"A flea market?" Aaron asked in confusion as the car stopped at the front gate, everyone stepping out.
"That's right!" Sayori said as she exited the car. "This is the perfect place to get all the supplies we need for the festival. Everything in one spot and cheap to boot!" She added, emphasizing the importance of price. "I tried really hard guys… But they wouldn't give me anything bigger than this. Sorry" She said in an exhausted sigh as she pulled out a small pouch from her back pocket, the logo of the school embroidered on it, opening it only to reveal a meager amount of money.
It was an old initiative formed by the school long ago. A budget given to club leaders days before the festival, insuring that the various clubs had a way of obtaining the resources they needed in order to insure quality. Sadly however, this budget varied greatly from club to club, depending mainly on the amount of members and how long the club has stayed around.
While long time, well established clubs like the anime, art, music and debate clubs got gigantic budgets for their parts in the festival, newer clubs like literature were almost paid no mind, leading to them receiving nothing more than pocket change when compared to everyone else, not having even the slightest chance of matching the quality of the much bigger clubs, often leading to potential members turning their cheeks and walking away. Not to mention all the dirty politics the older clubs shamelessly participated in, all made in attempts to gain bigger budgets during festival time.
The school was usually a very nice place, filled with lovely, kind people. But once the festival starts to come around, all the clubs begin to go at each others throats like animals in a turf war, the newer clubs too weak to even compete with the higher ups.
"That's… not much" Yuri said as she looked down at the small amount of money. "Especially not for what we have planned" She added.
"Yeah…" Sayori sighed in disappointment, a saddened look on her face as she gazed down at the small amount of money that barely filled her palm.
You see that? That's all you're worth. That's all your dumb little club is worth. Nothing! Literally nothing!
"Hey. You okay, Sayori?" Aaron asked in concern as he saw his friend hang her head low, his voice causing Sayori to snap out of whatever trance she'd fallen into, picking her head up to look at him.
"Um… Yeah! I'm fine!" She said with a smile, immediately perking up. "It's okay, guys. We can still do this! I mean, at least we have a budget, right? That's better than nothing!"
"I guess…" Natsuki said, her arms crossing as she huffed in annoyance, angered by the fact that the student council had showed little consideration to the literature club's plight, leaving them with only coins while the other clubs got the real dough. "Those jerks could have coughed up a little more though. Stupid, self-entitled upperclassmen"
"They said this was all they could afford to give" Sayori stated.
"Yeah, because they probably gave the rest of it to the sluts in the cosplay club, just like last year"
"Natsuki!" Sayori shouted, taking offense at such horrible language
"Oh, come on! You know I'm right! I mean seriously. We all know that those girls don't really cosplay! They just use it as an excuse to wear lingerie and stuff while the boys drool over them!"
"Well… She's not wrong" Aaron added.
"We're getting off topic" Yuri stated, reminding everyone what they came here to do. "I know it's inconvenient that our budget is so low, but we just have to work with what we have. Arguing isn't going to solve anything"
"Wow. Way to take charge, Yuri! That's great initiative!" Sayori praised, impressed by the sight of Yuri throwing away her meekness and enforcing her authority as vice president.
"Um… Th-Thanks"
"Okay, everyone!" Sayori shouted loudly, getting everyone's attention, an odd sliver of dread running down Aaron's back as he heard Sayori say those words, causing him to shiver slightly.
This was… odd. He of course, didn't know why such a simple sentence triggered such a reaction from him, but it did. Okay, everyone. Why did that phrase sound so familiar? And why did it have such a disturbing effect on Aaron?
"Split into two teams! Me and Natsuki will go left! Yuri, you and Aaron go right! Try to find as many things on the list as possible. And remember, we don't have a lot of money, so haggle! Lemme see your haggling face!" Sayori commanded as she handed Yuri half the money and a small list of the necessary items, Yuri looking at Sayori with confusion on her face, unable to understand what kind of facial expression one would show for haggling. "That's perfect!" Sayori seemed to go along with it anyway. "Good luck!" She added as she grabbed Natsuki by the hand, the two walking off briskly in a random direction, leaving Yuri and Aaron alone in the middle of the gigantic market place.
"What… What just happened?" Yuri asked in confusion as she looked at the list and small amount of money in her hands. "Did she… Did she just dump all the work on me while she goes off and explores?!"
"Yep. You got played" Aaron stated with a light chuckle. "She does this kinda stuff to everyone. It's just what happens when you stay around her too long. Don't take it personally"
"Rather irresponsible of her" Yuri said, a slightly angered tone in her voice. Obviously bitter for getting played so easily.
"Sayori and responsible? I don't think those two words mix" Aaron joked, chuckling again as a small smile found it's way onto Yuri's face, cheering her up slightly.
"Well. I guess it's up to us. We'd best get to work" She said, Aaron nodding once in confirmation as the two walked off, going deeper into the large flea market, passing by stall after stall, their eyes scanning for anything that could be used for the festival.
Their primary concern was more towards decorations and atmosphere than anything else, Yuri going into great detail about the various ways she was going to transform the club room. Darkening the windows so natural light could not enter, illuminating the room with nothing but candlelight and even using aromatherapy to enhance the mood when needed! Aaron being more than a little impressed by Yuri's dedication and creativity when it came to the club's decorations.
She certainly showed more creativity then Sayori could. Aaron wasn't saying that to be mean or anything, he just knows that she wouldn't see decor as important as Yuri would. Sayori would probably just set up a few chairs in a row and call it a day. But Yuri? She was going above and beyond when it came to making this experience truly unique.
"So, what about Natsuki? What's she going to do for the festival?" Aaron asked.
"Oh. She wants to make confectioneries" Yuri stated.
"Confectioneries?"
"Cupcakes. Pastries. Sweets, basically" She clarified, teaching Aaron a new word as the two of them walked through the large flea market, occasionally stopping at some of the booths to purchase items needed for the festival, Yuri crossing them off the list once obtained. A few minutes passed and next thing they knew, the list was done! Every item needed being in their possession and crossed off the list, the two obtaining so much that they had to get a basket to carry it all.
"Well, that's everything" Aaron stated in a relieved tone, his work finally finished. "We should try to see if we can find the others, right Yuri?" He asked as he turned to his side, only to find that Yuri wasn't next to him. She was behind him, standing in front of one of the stalls, gazing down at the display cases it held, Aaron turning around to see what had taken so much of her focus away, to the point where she'd stop dead in her tracks. "Whatcha' looking at?" He asked as he approached her, looking in the display case to see a wide variety of knives all spread out and displayed for sale.
The stall had almost every kind you could imagine. Big knives. Small knives. Thick knives. Thin knives. Knives made for carving wood, fighting, skinning animals and much more. Some were even decorated with ornate carvings in the hilts and sheaths along with intricate engravings along the blades, these rare few knives obviously standing out among the rest, their ornate appearances showing off the love and care that went into their crafting.
Aaron glanced at Yuri oddly after seeing the display cabinet filled with knives, watching her eyes light up in excitement as the corners of her mouth arose into a small smile, almost on the verge of becoming a grin as she continued to gaze into the cabinet, the gleam of the sun reflecting off blades practically hypnotizing her, demanding all of her focus and attention, so much so that she initially ignored Aaron's call.
"Yuri? You okay?" He asked in concern as he observed this odd behavior coming from his club mate, having never seen her act like this before. While yes, he had known Yuri to be rather oblivious of her surroundings once something drew her attention, it was never to this extent. It was almost as if her mind had shut itself down, leaving her body barely functioning. "Hey! Wake up!" He shouted as he grasped her shoulder, shaking her roughly, her eyes blinking rapidly as she gasped lightly in surprise, being taken out of her trance so unexpectedly.
"S-Sorry! Sorry. I… Oh jeez. Sorry, I kinda spaced out there for awhile, didn't I?" Yuri chuckled nervously, her hand moving to itch the back of her neck as she turned her face away from Aaron, hiding the faint blush of embarrassment.
"Yeah, I saw that" Aaron replied, crossing his arms. "What happened? You were like, a thousand miles away" He stated, causing Yuri to sigh as she continued to hide herself.
"Sorry. I just… I was just…" She choked on her words, unable to properly speak.
"Admiring the knives?" Aaron asked.
"Mh-hm" Yuri nodded, finally turning back to look at him. "I… I know it may seem odd, but I actually have an affinity for them"
"You're into knives?" Aaron asked.
"Y-Yes. Not in like, a weird or violent way or anything! I just- I can just appreciate the level of detail and complexity that goes into their craft. I just like the look of them!" She quickly stated, throwing her arms up to her chest in worry of Aaron's judgment. He didn't really seem convinced though. "What's with that look? It's not like I'm planning on hurting anyone or anything! A large majority of people are gun owners but do they enjoy shooting each other?" She asked, quickly shifting into a defensive stance, her hands on her hips while glaring sharply at Aaron.
"Whoa, calm down! I didn't mean anything by it. I just… had a bad feeling, that's all" Aaron stated, immediately trying to patch things with Yuri. "Look, if it's what you're into, cool! I won't judge you for it. It's just… odd" He added.
"Odd?"
"Th-That came out wrong! I meant… It's unexpected" Aaron clarified. "I'm sorry if I offended you or anything… Still friends?" He asked, seeing Yuri sigh lightly as her glare disappeared.
"Yes. We're still friends. If anything, I should be apologizing to you. It was wrong of me to snap at you so rudely. Please forgive me"
"Yeah. Water under the bridge" Aaron stated. "You know, I can kinda understand why you'd be into this stuff. It is kinda cool"
"You really think so?" Yuri asked, surprised to see Aaron being so open minded about her hobby, even after he'd been so rudely snarled at over Yuri's assumption that he'd be disapproving. She was glad, overjoyed in fact, that her assumption was wrong. "I'm actually quite the collector, believe it or not. I have many different kinds that I've obtained from many different artisans and craftsmen. All of them being one of a kind, hand forged pieces" She explained, going into great detail about her collection.
"Got your eye on anything?" Aaron asked.
"Yes, actually. Look there" Yuri said, pointing to one knife in particular among the rest. An odd blade with two rotating hilts that had grooves on the inside, obviously made to fold around the blade to effectively conceal it. "It's commonly referred to as a butterfly knife. I've only read about them, really. This is the first one I've ever seen. It'd be perfect for my collection"
"Lady, that's great and all. But I got a business to run here. You buying or what?" The owner of the stall asked, irritation in his voice as he stood behind the cabinet, his patience growing thinner and thinner as the seconds rolled by, Yuri apologizing as she quickly dug into her purse, only to sigh in disappointment once she realized she was broke. Didn't even have a penny, leading to her cursing internally, angered that she would be unable to purchase the knife she so desperately wanted.
"I apologize for wasting your time, sir. I'll be going now" She said as she walked away, Aaron following her behind.
He felt kinda bad for Yuri, hearing her speak so passionately about how she'd always wanted that knife, only to realize she couldn't afford it. Granted, he'd feel the same way about a child who wasn't allowed to buy that new toy they wanted. But he still felt empathetic all the same.
"We should probably find Sayori and Natsuki" He said, Yuri picking her head up as she recalled the task at hand.
"Yes. We should. It is getting late. They're probably worried" She responded. "Oh. Before we do however, I-I'm going to need to make a detour"
"Detour?" Aaron asked. "What kinda detour?"
"C'mon, Aaron. Don't make me say it out loud" Yuri said quietly in embarrassment. "I have to… I have to use the little girl's room" She whispered.
"Oh. Oh, okay" Aaron said, chuckling nervously as the two made their way to the restrooms, Aaron waiting outside, leaning against the wall as Yuri entered.
She breathed deeply in anxiousness as she entered, already beginning to shiver as she slowly, silently checked the bottom of the stalls, seeing no signs that anyone else was around. She was alone. All alone.
"Perfect" She breathed, picking one of the stalls and sitting down on the toilet seat.
This bathroom was disgusting. Utterly disgusting. The awfully pungent smell of urine making her regret breathing through her mouth as she saw the sight of mold in one of the corners. The prints on the walls alongside juvenile writings and scrawls. The little scraps of toilet paper littering the floors. And the flies. The annoying flies soaring in their erratic patterns as the maddening sounds of their infernal buzzing could be heard, loud enough to drive anyone insane.
It wasn't the most ideal place. But still. It was a place none the less. A place that offered solitude… something Yuri needed right now.
That whole exchange with Aaron was… Well, it had a profound effect on Yuri, putting it bluntly. Left her more than a little nervous.
She fully expected him to call her out. See her interest as disgusting and bombard her with insults. Freak. Weirdo. Psycho. Every one in the book you could think of, she prepared for it. Only in doing so, she had allowed herself to be exposed and taken off guard once Aaron stated that he was accepting of her hobby, which made her shiver a little, oddly.
She just felt so… relieved and happy to know that out of all the people she knew, Aaron never branded her or judged her the way everyone else did, including Sayori and Natsuki. To Aaron, she wasn't special. She wasn't unique. She wasn't interesting. She wasn't a freak. A creep or a weirdo. She was just… Yuri. Just another person to him.
To be seen as that… To be given such indifference. Treated and seen exactly as everyone else. That was kindness she never thought she'd ever experience. A kindness she never thought she deserved. A gesture of real, true friendship in her eyes. And this gesture… excited her.
It excited her a little too much, even now that the moment has long since passed, Yuri could still feel her heart race like a warhorse charging into battle. Beat like a drum being mercilessly pounded. It was overwhelming, even more so than it was yesterday in the club room. She had to… She had to calm down.
Her hands shook and twitched nervously as she rolled up the sleeves of her turtleneck, exposing her pale, silk like forearms. She then opened and dug into her purse, her fingers gently gripping the rectangular object contained within. Her eyes jolted and widened a little once she heard that ever satisfying click, the switchblade popping out of the hilt, greeting her like a lover who dramatically revealed the skimpy lingerie under their innocent little robe.
She gulped as she felt her hands practically rumble, the excitement becoming too much to bare. She had to do it. She knew she shouldn't. She knew it was wrong. But… But…
"Kah!"
But it felt so right…
Yuri gasped as she felt the blade cut her flesh, felt the freshly made wound scream as it formed on her arm, the small drop of blood leaking out, Yuri already feeling the tension leave her, replaced with pure ecstasy. Euphoria running through her system as she breathed deeply. She then cut herself again, breathing sharply through her teeth as she felt the initial pain, feeling it eventually settle into a nice, slow, pleasurable ache.
She then did so for the other arm, cutting three times in quick succession before finishing with one final cut reaching both sides of her forearm, feeling her body shiver and squirm as the pleasure coursed through her veins, relishing and basking in her little spasms before leaning back, her body going limb, numbed from the euphoria of her sweet release as she looked down at her arms with tired, drowsy, drooping eyes, her blinking desynchronized.
She stayed in that stall for awhile. That smelly, disgusting stall, still sitting on the toilet, leaning back with her right hand gripping her left arm, the afterglow finally fading away as the world around her came back into focus, Yuri groggily standing on her feet, swaying side to side just a little bit as she exited the stall, moving to the sink to wash herself and clean the blood off her knife.
She… She wasn't proud of what she did in there, especially since it was in a public place where anyone could have walked in and exposed her. She was glad nobody did though. She sighed as she rolled down her sleeves, covering all of her forearms before looking herself in the mirror, her own disgusted face staring back at her, shame in her eyes.
She… She knew it was wrong. She knew it was bad for her and that she should have stopped but… She needed it! She needed to relieve herself in some way! Needed to dispel the anxiousness. The anxiety. The shaking! The goddamned shaking! What was she to do? Bundle it all in until it got to the point where it would explode? And risk exposing herself as the freak she knew she was? Right in front of her friends?!
No. She couldn't take that risk. This… This was the right thing to do.
No… No, it wasn't. It was the worst thing she could possibly do. It was horrible, mistreating and abusing her body like this. Subjecting such a loyal, obedient vessel to horrible pain for the sake of gaining a short high. For the sake of petty pleasure.
Whatever. She shook it all out of her head. Paid it no mind and gave no acknowledgment. Time passes. The world continues to revolve. What was done, was done. No use dwelling on it.
"All done" She stated as she walked out of the restroom, Aaron immediately standing up from his leaning position.
"About time. What took you so long?" He asked, stating that Yuri had been in there much longer then she should have.
"Oh. You know… Private business" She said vaguely.
"Right… Well, we should get moving"
"Yes. Let's go" Yuri said as she and Aaron walked off, wandering the large flea market for hours in search of their remaining members. They eventually found them by what seemed to be a stall that sold wood carvings. Custom made wooden chairs. Clocks. Sculptures and even figurines. The sign even advertised the fact that the owner often did commissions as well, taking custom jobs for paying customers.
Anyways, as Aaron and Yuri walked towards the stall, they could hear Sayori talking the ear off the owner, going into great detail about festival preparations, while on the side of the stall, Natsuki stood, eating a rather large, grilled sandwich stuffed with many different meats, cheeses and sauces, no doubt being rather fattening. Than again, maybe that was a good thing, as many people would agree that Natsuki could benefit from packing on a pound or two.
"Hi guys!" She greeted with her mouth full, not even stopping her meal in order to greet her club mates.
"Where'd you get the sandwich?" Aaron asked, feeling particularly hungry as he watched Natsuki dig in.
"Grease truck around the block. Sayori bought it for me. Want some?!" She asked.
"Um… No thanks. I'm not big on second hand eating" Aaron stated, Yuri simply shaking her head, struggling to understand why Natsuki would put that grilled junk into her body.
"Good! Because I wasn't planning on sharing!" She snarled viciously, clinging to her sandwich like a feral beast, Aaron could swear he even heard a growl leave that food stuffed mouth.
"Oh, Aaron! There you are! Come here, you gotta see this!" Sayori said as she grabbed Aaron by the arm, pulling him to the front of the stall, pointing to something that was hanged on the wall. A small, palm sized board of glazed wood hung to the wall by a nail, a little inspirational quote carved within. "Isn't that cute?!" Sayori asked, completely in love with what was ultimately a fancy wood board.
"Umm… What's so important about it?" Aaron asked, failing to see the point.
"What's important is that this is the perfect thing for the festival! We can use these little wood plank things! Only instead of inspirational quotes, they can have our poems carved in them!" Sayori explained. "We'll even hand them out to everyone too! So when the festival is done, they have a little memento to take home! That's perfect!"
"Rather ingenious, I do have to say" Yuri stated, liking the idea. "Not only is it unique, but giving visitors something tangible that they can take with them may increase our chances of getting new members, as they'll be able to remember us easier with these little boards. Good idea, Sayori" She said, praising the president for her idea.
"I know, right?! This stuff is gonna make our part in the festival amazing!" Sayori stated happily before turning away, continuing her chat with the stall's owner. "Yeah, so I'm gonna need a few of these little wooden thingies. And I'm gonna need some custom wording etched on them too. If you could give me thirty or maybe forty of 'em by the end of the week, that'd be great!"
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