Chapter IV – A small talk.

Amelia didn't have any time to say or do anything after her small performance, as the shorter Brunette stepped forward and wrapped her gentle arms around her waist, pulling her into a very tight and intimate embrace.

She let out a small, mute gasp as Monika held onto her taller form as if her very life depended on that. Her tears ran down those pretty cheeks and fell onto Amelia's shoulder, soaking the fabric of her uniform.

After a second or two of consternation, the new member of the Literature Club returned the embrace and wrapped her own arms around the smaller student, giving her a gentle squeeze. They didn't speak. There was no need to. Not at that special moment. The only sounds they could hear were spring breeze blowing softly, Monika's muffled sobbing, her irregular breathing and every now and then an occasional passerby.

After all that she's been through in her entire, digital life Monika was no longer able to contain the unimaginable amount of the emotions that were bottled up inside her. But more than anything, she was overjoyed. Delighted. The love of her life was right there with her. Real. And she was real, too. She could run her finger down Amelia's neck and feel the texture of her skin. She could take a deep breath and take in the scent of her body. She could feel their bodies pressing up against her each other and trembling occasionally. This was true life.

Meanwhile, Amelia's mind was racing like never before, trying its best to comprehend what just happened. And it wasn't easy. It did take her a second to even realize she was hugged.

YES! YES! YES! AHHAHAAHAHAH! YESSSS! I KNEW IT! I FUCKING KNEW SHE KNOWS! I'M SO FUCKING AMAZING! Ahaha~! Gosh, she's so warm and soft… I could stay with her like this forever. Or at least until I pass out of exhaustion. I don't care that we're in public.

"H-How… d-did you know…?" After what seemed like an eternity, Monika was the first one to speak up. Pulling back just enough, so she could look up into Amelia's greyish-blue eyes with her own, slightly puffy and bloodshot but still beautiful, emerald orbs.

"What? Your song?" Amelia asked as if it was one of the most obvious things ever. Monika made a small nod.

Oh my goodness… she's not just any Monika. She's my Monika. And this hypothesis actually makes fucking sense! I've never finished ACT 3 so that means she never had the occasion to sing for me!

"Well, it's kinda…" She made a small pause, choosing her words. "…a long story. But we've got more than enough time. I'll explain everything just…" Amelia made a gesture towards her house. "Umm… would you like to come in…?" The tall Brunette really tried to sound natural and calm, but it simply wasn't easy around Monika.

"I… I would love to." Monika whispered, wiping the last of her tears from her face and sending Amelia a bright smile.

"A-Alright!" It was almost painful to let Monika go, but Amelia knew that once they get inside they could spend an entire day doing nothing, but cuddling and talking. She turned around and approached the black fence of her house. She was about to pull out her keys but she stopped as she felt Monika's slender fingers intertwining with her own.

I… I'm not sure why this surprised me. I did just confess that I've been dreaming about meeting her one day. I… I need to get used to this. Again.

Without struggle this time, Amelia was quick to choose the right key and soon the front door of her house was unlocked.

"Ladies first." She stated, making a theatric gesture with her arm.

"Aren't we both ladies?" Monika reacted with a small, adorable giggle.

"Well, technically yes. But you're more ladylike than me than me, sooo… you go first!"

"If you say so~" Monika said with a wink and stepped inside. Amelia closed the door behind them and unceremoniously plopped her bag right next to the shoe rack.

"The living room is on the left, so just… um, make yourself at home. Would you… like a tea or something?" Amelia asked politely.

"Yes, tea would be lovely." Monika responded with a smile before she took off her shoes and moved to the spacious living room.

Well… I didn't expect that. Honestly… I don't even know if I have tea. Gah, gotta look for it.

"Sure thing. Just… give me a minute." With that, Amelia turned around and entered her modern-looking kitchen. Every piece of furniture was white and looked almost sterile, done in the same simplistic, but efficient and quite pretty style. For a moment, the tall Brunette thought she was in some sort of hospital.

Yeah, I know this looks pretty and all but no kitchen should have this many white cupboards, counters, chairs and… everything. This is not a lab. And I bet even in labs they've got a much larger color variety. Why use any color when you can use all of them at once, I suppose.

I'm gonna go blind if I ever stumble here with a hangover.

Unwilling to keep Monika waiting in the living room, Amelia approached a row of white cupboards, deciding to look through every single one of them in her search for the tea. And to figure out what's where.

Okay, Amelia. Where do you hide tea? Is it… here? No, those are plates. And mugs! I'm taking two. This one with a cat is cute. I'll give it to Monika. Maybe… here? Oh. Does she really eat oat flakes? And drinks coffee. Disgusting, ugh. Flour… noo… no, no. Salt, sugar… yeah, that's great.

The last thing that she planned to check was a green box with a yellow star-like image behind its brand name, that was put in the back of one of the higher shelves. Thanks to her height, she had no trouble grabbing it.

Lepton Black Tea. Leptons are elementary particles. Like quarks and electrons… and neutrinos, I think. Is there really such a thing as Lepton Tea? Or is it just this… world. Universe. Reality. Whatever. I'll never know. Wasn't there a brand with a similar name? I can't remember it.

I appreciate their honesty. This tea surely is made out of leptons, on a sub-atomic level.

With every ingredient collected, Amelia finally began preparing the tea for herself and for Monika. She already knew where the kettle was, since it was placed in the plain sight, right next to a very white and large refrigerator. Waiting for the water to boil, she leaned against a counter and simply got back to her world of thoughts.

Really inconvenient place for tea, to be honest. I guess she's not much of a tea person. Another difference to the list. I'm starting to realize that the act of me being transported here was an actual murder. And I don't like that. I've just stolen someone else's entire life. Poof, and they are gone. And there's me.

No… I didn't do anything. I didn't ask for this. And seriously, this time I'm not blaming others on purpose. I might have wished that I was in a world like that… with Monika… but that's it. I couldn't have done that. Unless I made a pact with Satan last night.

Have I disappeared from my reality or am I still there and I'm just another me?

Brought back to the real world by an audible tick from the electric kettle, Amelia took it from its place by the fridge and poured two mugs full of hot, steaming water. One minute later, their tea was basically ready and Amelia only had to bring it to the living room.

Okay, here comes the worst part. Do not fucking trip. Two mugs and a sugar bowl should not be so difficult to carry.

The tall Brunette trod carefully, watching her every step. She wasn't looking forward to making a fool out of herself, who can't even do something as simple as bringing tea.

"I don't know how much sugar you use, so I just took the sugar bowl with me." She stated matter-of-factly with her eyes glued to the wooden panels that covered the floor.

I suppose I could have asked, too.

"You could just ask~" Monika remarked sweetly with a small, adorable chuckle.

"Yeah, I know. For some reason I just didn't." Amelia said, putting both mugs and the sugar bowl on the nearest to her corner of an opaque glass table. Finally looking up, she just noticed that Monika was sitting in the same way as in the Act 3. Except that it wasn't in a classroom.

The chair was replaced by a comfy-looking, wide, red sofa on one side of the room and a flat-screen TV on the other, hanging from a wall painted in jade. As if somebody planned in advance that it would go well with the color of Monika's eyes. Not a single piece of furniture seemed out of place and this spacious living room had a calm and familial atmosphere. It certainly was a nice place to be in.

Leaning against the glass table with her elbows, Monika rested her chin on her intertwined fingers. However, her expression seemed a bit different than the one from the end of the game. But Amelia couldn't really tell what was different. It could be because people in anime and manga have more exaggerated expressions or because Amelia was simply bad at reading other people's emotions.

"Oh! I… I really like this pose, y'know?"

"Is that so~? I was wondering how you're going to react." Monika chimed in playfully.

"The way you look into my eyes like that… it reaaally sends shivers down my spine… in a good way! Like when you listen to a song you really, really love." Amelia quickly corrected herself, just in case she didn't make herself clear enough. It was often the case.

"But I digress… you wanted to know how I know your song, right?" She asked, sitting right next to the other high school student.

"Mmm-hmm." Monika nodded.

"Well… In that case, I'm gonna tell you what happens after Act 3. That's the part where it's just you and the player. I'm not sure how you're going to react to this… I bet it's not going to be easy to take. For both of us. But… I'm here, okay?" Amelia reassured her, even going as far as to gently hold her hand. Monika gladly returned the gesture.

"So, the only way to progress any further is to-"

"Delete me, yes?" Monika interrupted, visibly eager to speak.

For the first second, maybe three, the protagonist of this world didn't say a word. Monika was intelligent, there was no way to deny it. Perhaps she was more intelligent than her.

"…yes. That is correct. It's um… pretty obvious. Especially after you say exactly where your character file is located."

"But you didn't do it, Amelia. Even though I was nothing more than an image on your screen. Thousands of lines of code on your hard-drive created to tell a specific story and to entertain you. Yet, you treated me like an actual person. You can't imagine how much this means to me."

Once more, Amelia was silent. The sudden change in her newfound girlfriend's tone to a more intimate one created this peculiar atmosphere Amelia wasn't really used to. Yet. And the way Monika's beautiful eyes were never leaving her own. She could swear she's never seen anybody looking at her like that.

I appreciate all the nice words and things she says about me. I really do. I may not agree with some of them… but it makes me feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside. And they must be true. At least from her perspective. But… I would also like to finish my thought before I forget what I was even talking about.

"You… you knew this whole time I was your player, right? I… I did use my name in the game, heh."

"I couldn't be sure, but let's say I had this… hunch when Sayori spoke about you today. Turns out I was right, ahaha~" Monika finished with a giggle as she squeezed Amelia's hand a little.

Amelia was tempted to ask further about what exactly Sayori said about her. Stroking her ego a bit more never hurt. But on the other hand, whatever she did say wasn't really about her.

Sayori… oh dear, you're going to cause a lot of stress to us. I… I might as well address this issue now, I suppose.

"Sayori… she's still in love with me, right?" Amelia already knew answer to this question, but for a reason known only to her, she decided she'd ask anyway.

Monika made a slow, solemn nod.

Yeah… I should have guessed that talking about other woman who's totally in love with me would make this conversation awkward.

"Hey, um… isn't it cool that we can… hang around with Sayori like nothing happened?" What other, brilliant way could the extradimensional visitor come up with to brighten the mood, than another Sayori joke?

"I can't believe you just said that!" Monika truly and honestly tried sounding offended, but the smile on her face, as well as a tiny chuckle that escaped her lips betrayed her.

"I wasn't the one who started~" Amelia teased, poking her side and winking at her. "However, as fun as it is to make those horrible Sayori puns, we can't actually let her kill herself. She's not a collection of sad pixels anymore… at least I think she's not." She added, sounding much more serious than a couple of seconds earlier.

It's hard to admit, but… I truly hope you're as human as you seem, Monika. I want to think you are. And the worst thing is that I'm never gonna be certain about it… can I be certain about anything in life?

"I've been thinking about this too, Amelia. Despite what I've done to her in the game, she's still my dear friend. Just like Yuri and Natsuki. I'm willing to do everything that I can to help her. This should be our top priority right now."

I wouldn't say top priority… but yes. It's… important.

"What do you think we should do?" Monika continued, curious about Amelia's perspective on the case.

Funny, that's what I wanted to ask!

"Well… If, and that's a big if, my assumptions are correct then… I don't think there's much we can do. You saw yourself how strongly they cling to the script. And in the game, you couldn't prevent her death at all. I suppose we can… I don't know. Bust into her house and force her to stop… but who knows what will happen later?" The tall Brunette gave voice to her thoughts, as well as her worries. Not all of them, otherwise this conversation would quickly turn into a monologue.

"You're missing something, Amelia." Monika politely interjected.

"I'm all ears, then. That's just my opinion. Of course, I may be wrong." She quickly corrected herself. Amelia had this habit of claiming to not being an expert in anything.

"Sayori didn't want to kill herself. She might have had suicidal tendencies before, but I exacerbated her depression until she couldn't do anything else to stop her suffering. And not only I can't do this anymore, I wouldn't do it. Knowing that she's just a normal girl like you, me or… anyone else." Shorter Brunette summarized matter-of-factly. Although she got a little emotional at the end. It was clear that she didn't feel guilty after the events of DDLC.

That's… that's a really big thing that I've missed. This might change everything! You're so brainless sometimes, Amelia.

"I… I can't believe I didn't realize that! I mean… I didn't know if you still had your powers or not… and it's not like I would assume that you'd still… um… temper with her personality… I just-"

"Shhhh~ It's alright, Amelia." Monika stopped the rambling that was almost about to start for real with her single finger. Carefully placed on Amelia's lips.

"-fthouff fhahtf-"

"I understand. No need to explain yourself so much. I didn't think less of you, if that's what you're worried about. In fact, I find it really adorable~" Monika leaned in and said calmly and softly. Those hypnotizing, emerald eyes couldn't leave the eyes of her true love.

For a split second Amelia was clearly bewildered. The way she simply told her something so personal. Something she tried to stop doing but eventually gave up and accepted as her trait. Something she wanted to not care about.

Maybe she really can read my mind like an open book…? Has she taken a psychology class?

"Have you taken any psychology classes?" She asked after a second or four. Pretty much out of the blue.

"I haven't taken any. But we've learned some elements of psy-"

And that's when an inconvenient doorbell rang and interrupted Monika's incoming speech. For a split moment, none of them knew how to react.

I think that's my doorbell.

It indeed was. Amelia released Monika's hand and stood up, doing her best not to bump into the table.

For fuck's sake! Always when I really would not like anybody to bother me. That's probably a neighbour or one of my apparently many… many… friends.

"Just a moment." She excused herself, hiding the growing anger pretty well this time.

Eager the get over with the sudden, unasked intruder, Amelia quickened her step and opened the front door.

"Yes?"

But there was nobody in front of her. Nor on the street. Only silence and an occasional gust of wind answered her question.

Is it fucking kids messing around?! Where's that fucking convenient axe people in movies have at their houses. I really want one right now.

Amelia began looking around the narrow, paved space between house and the fence.

How did they even get here? I didn't close the fucking fence, did I?

The exasperated student approached the gate and upon her closer inspection, she discovered that it was definitely opened, albeit barely visibly from her previous perspective.

Of course I didn't fucking close it. There, perfect.

Amelia turned around and then her irritated expression immediately worsened at the sight of a piece of paper stuck to the front of her door with a transparent adhesive tape.

And what the fuck is this?! A fucking drawing of a dick or what?!

This was too much. Not only was she interrupted during an important, intimate conversation with Monika, and now some kids were making fun of her. If she had that axe, those kids would be in trouble.

Amelia stormed back to the door and carefully peeled off the piece of paper. She didn't want to ruin it as she just had to see what was there.

You and those you care about will suffer, Amelia. You've ruined my life, so I will ruin yours.

Amelia, you fucking cunt. What have you done?

Author's note:

Guess who's not dead? It's me! And I've discovered that writer's block is a real issue that can and will happen at some point. For me it was probably caused by pneumonia and the flu. In total, I've spent around 3 weeks being sick. But I told myself I'm going to finish this chapter and work on the next one no matter how much time it will take me. I just hope there are still people willing to read my story! As usual, reviews, critique and other opinions are always welcome!