(Hey all, I made an Instagram page for anyone who would like to follow to stay updated with the story progress (The Instagram is: corvokage). I don't like the idea of not being able to communicate why certain chapters take longer than others, or why a chapter is taking longer than normal. In addition to that, it lets me communicate with viewers, and I'm thinking about starting some polls on which way you guys would like the story to go, so on and so forth. I have some things about the story I wish I didn't do, and some things I wish I would have done. So give it a follow if you'd like, that way you can get some insight into what's taking so dang long whenever I don't upload! Anyways, onto the next chapter. Things are starting to get… interesting.)

I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club, nor do I own any of the characters portrayed within this story.

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My eyes shot open in the middle of the night, accompanied with a short, sharp gasp.

My head was absolutely killing me, I swear I could feel my heartbeat in my skull. It had also felt like I hadn't been getting enough air, like something was choking me in my sleep. It couldn't have been some kind of sleep-apnea either, because I don't snore in my sleep. It felt like I was being crushed, even though nothing was on top of me. Natalie had shifted off to my side rather than half on top of me, the way she did the last night, and the only thing over me was her arms. Natalie isn't even that heavy, but this feeling was different. Like my chest was going to collapse in on itself, and I couldn't move.

Is this sleep paralysis? I thought.

Luckily my gasp hadn't woken Natalie up. She was still sound asleep, which was nice considering she hasn't necessarily been able to hold her sleep lately. She slept a good amount the day of the therapist visit, but I caught her waking up in the middle of the night the last two nights she's been at my house.

What do I do at this point? I don't want to wake her. I'm the one that should be worrying about her, not vise versa. It's not like I'm immobile, I can still feel myself breathing, I can move slightly without waking her, and I'm aware of my surroundings. But, something is off.

If I was having a heart attack I would've known by now. I thought to myself. Nothing is wrong, don't make Nat worry, go back to sleep.

I closed my eyes, but I couldn't sleep, the discomfort was unbearable.

W-what on earth is going on?

I noticed I was shivering slightly, not out of fear, but out of confusion and uncertainty. I felt Natalie's grip around me tighten. I still haven't woken her up, but she wasn't helping my situation either. Is it okay to freak out? I feel like I should be freaking out.

Natalie needs strength. What kind of man are you to be waking up a girl in the middle of the night because you don't feel right? She needs you. Don't worry her.

My mind kept repeating these thoughts in my head. Definitely Dad's teaching resurfacing in there, that's for sure.

I realized we have school in the morning, and figured I probably would be needing more sleep, but fortunately, after checking the time, it was just early enough to get up and not get questioned by Natalie. She knew I was an early riser. Plus, after I get ready I can make us breakfast and everything. She wouldn't be able to tell that something was wrong, it'll just look like I got up a little earlier than normal. Or at least, I hope it seems that way.

Head still pounding, I slowly slid out of bed, careful not to disturb Natalie's sleep, and tucked her in under the covers. I got some clothes together, and made my way out of the bedroom to start getting ready for school.

As I took a hot shower, I started to feel a little better physically, but my head still hurt. I sighed as I got out, dried my hair and body, and got dressed. I walked back into my room to find Natalie turned over, facing the doorway from the bed as I walked in.

"You're up earlier than usual." She said in a groggy, quiet voice with a smile. She had the blanket draped up over her head to block the light. I shut the door behind me.

I hesitated, formulating my response, then responded, "Yeah, I woke up before the alarm went off, so I figured I'd silence it and wake you up on my own, but it looks like I accidentally woke you up already…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm sorry."

She looks me over, then responds, "It's alright, it was the shower that woke me up."

"What do you want for breakfast before school?" I asked.

"Ugh… school." She said, quite literally rolling out of bed. "Take a guess. What do you think I want?"

"Waffles and toast." I said immediately.

"Spot on!" She said, beaming at me, "you know me so well."

"Go ahead and hop in the shower and get dressed. I'll start breakfast. Take your time though, we are earlier than usual."

"Alrighty!" She says, with a little bounce in her step as she makes her way to the bathroom. The thought of breakfast must've excited her.

It's only been a day since we've officially been living together, and already she seems so much better. I hope she's feeling better and that I'm doing what's best for her.

I feel really guilty about not telling her about my morning fiasco, but I know it's for the better. I don't want to stress her out and give her something else to be worried or sad about.

'You should probably wake up, before you forget how to.' The thought made a chill run down my spine.

After a few minutes had passed, I finished making everything, and set it all up on the island in the kitchen. I wanted to change things up a little, rather than eat at the table like we did the last morning. Almost as if on que, Natalie came down the stairs and took a seat on one of the stools. She had her school clothes on, but her hair was wet. I guess you can see where her priorities are at.

"You sure you don't want to dry your hair first?"

"I smelled the food and decided it was more important, hehe." She states.

I sighed, and shook my head with a smile. "You never change." I said, poking her side.

We both finished eating, and I washed the dishes we used while Natalie dried and brushed out her hair. I set our bags by the door.

After a little while longer, it was almost time to go. I yelled to her to let her know, and she came downstairs a minute later. We headed out the door, and started our walk towards school.

We hadn't been to school in quite a while due to everything that had happened. Luckily her and I had most of the same classes, although at different periods, so all of our work up until we were gone is finished and taken care of. I figured I'd take this time to ask her some things about our… situation.

"So… I think its time to address the elephant in the room." I said as we started walking.

She looked up at me with her bight blue eyes, and nodded without saying anything.

"As far as missing school goes, I believe we'll be fine. The teachers don't really bother us much about that, especially since we're seniors.. You even did a pretty good job of covering your bruises, anybody who doesn't know about what happened will have no clue." She really was good at makeup, despite the fact that she doesn't normally wear too much of. "But what do we tell the girls at the literature club? Have you talked to them at all?" I asked

"No. Well… not really. All three of them texted me separately and asked if I was alright, but that was it."

"You didn't tell them anything?" I asked.

"All I said was that I'm okay, and I would explain it my first day back to the club. They all accepted that well enough I guess." She stopped, then added "Naomi asked about you." She said plainly.

She asked about me? Why?

"Really? That's surprising. I thought she liked me the least of all of them."

"You'd be surprised, they all like you a lot. I figured you'd catch on to that, at least." She pauses, then adds, "You can be pretty dense sometimes." laughing to herself.

"Hey!" I exclaim. We continue walking a little farther.

They actually like me? I'm glad I'm at least fitting in.

"I'm sure they were just excited to get a new member, so first impressions didn't matter. None of them like me like that." I said.

"I think you made a pretty good impression on them. Especially with the way you and Naomi were getting pretty friendly." She says straightly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Was she talking about how I caught her from falling? "Do you mean when she fell off the chair? She would've gotten hurt! I would've done it for anybody else."

She looks away with an annoyed expression, blushing.

"Are you jealous?" I said with a sly smirk.

"N-No! You can talk to whoever you want, I don't own you. Just… save some time for me…" She says, shyly.

It's obvious she's jealous. I can tell she's pretty agitated about it, so I decide to drop it. "I will, don't worry." I say, patting her head.

She giggles, then responds, "I'll come up with something while at school today before club time. Don't you worry, I have it handled!" she says, beaming at me. The head pats must've brought up her mood. She's always liked those.

"We aren't going to tell them the truth?" I asked.

"No. Not yet at least. I don't…" She's quiet for a moment. "…I don't want any of them to be worried about me, I don't want to waste their time. Plus, it's kinda embarrassing."

"You wouldn't be wasting their time! They're your friends-" She looks over at me, and gives me a look as if to say 'I'm not arguing with you about this right now' "-but, that's your decision to make. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I'll support you no matter what." I reassure her.

"Thank you." She says, smiling at me. "I know I can always count on you."

I smile at that thought, as we make our way to the front gate, and onto school grounds.

"I'll see you at lunch, and then the club. Alright?" I said.

"Sounds like a plan!" She says, giving me a thumbs up, and a half-hearted.

"Are you going to be okay? You haven't been away from me for a good amount of time before."

"I think I'll be okay. I'll see you in the halls in between classes, and we have lunch." She says, but I can tell she's uneasy.

"I'll come to you after every class just to check in with you." I say.

"Y-you don't have to… eheh, you worry too much about m-"

I pressed a finger to her lips and cut her off.

"Don't even say it. We talked about this. I'll see you later, okay?"

"O-okay."

We say our goodbyes, and part ways to our classes. Luckily, we didn't get any kind of interrogation about our absence from any of our teachers on our way to our homerooms.

Natalie has been a little distant to me this morning on our walk over to school, but I don't blame her either. I think she's just trying, or going to be trying, to get back into her façade that is her happy self. It's not that she isn't happy, or that that isn't her normal state, but she hasn't had to act in a while, and considering she doesn't plan on telling anybody the truth, she has to get back into it.

I never considered Natalie to be the jealous type though. I have to admit, it's kind of cute. But to think something as little as helping Naomi made her jealous? What is she going to think whenever I start reading manga with her, or read that book with Ada?

I'd be okay with sharing something with Marissa as well, but she hasn't necessarily approached me about anything, if you don't count the whole poem sharing thing since that's for the club. I have no idea how I'm going to regulate what time I spend with whom. Club time is only for about forty-five minutes after school, and if you don't account for club activities, it would take a whole club period just to spend time with one person.

What a mess… I don't want anybody to feel left out. I guess I should feel thankful though. Not many guys get in the unique situation of deciding how to manage their time spent with four different beautiful girls.

I'll be honest though, when I started at the club, I thought Naomi was pretty cute, just my type even. But I really connected with Natalie these last few days, and I had always liked her when I was younger. But… if Natalie hadn't done what she did that day, would her and I be as close as we are now? Would Naomi and I have connected more if we had gone to school those days, and Natalie hadn't tried to take her own life?

Natalie and I aren't necessarily dating, it hasn't been said by either of us. But, we've done things that certainly make us more than friends. Would I have a shot to talk to Naomi a little bit? Maybe even Marissa. She's pretty as well. Arguably the prettiest there…

Wait…

What?

What am I thinking?!

This isn't what I think! Right?...

I love Natalie! JustNatalie! Right?...

Where… where did these thoughts come from?

I shook my head as I walked into homeroom, and set my stuff down.

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(Way back in chapter one, I had made the decision that there would be no outside forces acting upon Nick. Now that I've been writing a little bit, I think my feelings have changed. I have some ideas though, I don't know how I feel about it. Will I actually go through with it? Are these feelings Nick's actual feelings? What's up with Natalie? Find out in the next chapter of One Wish!)

(God, I'm such a nerd.)