Blah Blah Blah Let's just get into the story.
Translation: Thank you all for the support on the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy what I have next.
Also no you didn't skip a chapter. I renumbered them because I didn't like seeing 'Chapter 6 and a half.'
After driving for several minutes we finally arrived at the nearby mall. Derek and I both found separate parking spots and regrouped at the front entrance.
"Hey you guys have to settle something for us," Melony says as we approach the two of them. "In a relationship, you should tell everything to your significant other. Right?"
"Of course." Monika answers.
"Oh come on. That's not enough context." Derek says before looking at us. "I had a conversation with a friend who told me not to tell anyone about what he said."
"That doesn't apply to your girlfriend!" Melony interrupts.
Derek sighs. "Well if it has nothing to do with you then why do you need to know?"
"Because we're a couple," Melony argues. "We need to be on the same wavelength. Share the same thoughts and all of that."
"That's why I feel Dean's heartbeat every night." Monika laughs out.
"Yeah!" Melony says enthusiastically before her face morphs into a confused expression. "Wait what?"
At this point, I decided to finally speak up. "Alright! How about we head inside." I say trying to change the subject.
"Good idea," Derek says, walking into the mall with all of us following.
Upon entering the building were greeted by large groups of people populating the area. To the left of us is a section of the mall dedicated to food courts. To the right is a large JCPenney, taking up almost a quarter of the building. Straight ahead is the rest of the mall fit with escalators multiple floors and various different stores.
"So, where should we start?" Melony asks.
I can't tell if she's genuinely asking us or if she's just voicing her thoughts out loud. Melony has always been a fairly energetic and intriguing person. It's hard to tell what she's thinking or why she does certain things.
After a few seconds of silence, Derek brings up a suggestion. "How about we-"
"Oh! Monika, I know the best clothes store for you." Melony says excitedly, interrupting and ignoring Derek.
Derek sighs as we all follow Melony.
I always found it weird why the two of them got together. They seemed to be polar opposites and often Derek seems genuinely annoyed with her. I chopped it down to just Melony being her usual playful self and Derek just playing along but I'm curious as to how long a relationship like that can last. It just confuses my what two completely different people would ever see in each other.
"Okay I'm a bit lost." Melony say stopping in her tracks with all of us doing the same.
"What store were you looking for?" Derek asks.
Melony thinks to herself for a second. "I forgot the name of it."
Derek sighs. "How could you forget the name?" We've been here thousands of times."
"I don't know the sign looks weird," Melony says in an attempt to defend herself.
Suddenly Monika laughs to herself.
Melony looks back at her questioningly. "What's so funny?" She says, stifling a laugh herself.
"Nothing," Monika says. "You just remind me of a friend from my old school."
Monika's comment takes me by surprise. "What old school?" I think to myself. "What friend? Wait is she talking about-"
"Oh! Here's a nice store we can go to." Melony suddenly says, taking me out of my thoughts.
Melony, followed by Monika, walk into one of the nearby stores. Derek smiles to himself before following them in.
I approach the store and look at the sign above the entrance. It reads 'Aéropostale'.
I hear Monika call for me from inside the store. "Dean come over here."
I enter the store and scan the room for Monika. Once I see her I walk over to her.
"What do you think of this?" She says as she holds a shirt up to her chest.
The T-shirt is light pink with faded drawings of roses covering half of the shirt.
"I like it," I say. "The roses are a deal breaker for me obviously."
Monika giggles. "I thought so. I'm definitely getting it then. Something to remind me of my special rose."
"Aw you guys have pet names," Melony says, who was looking at shirts a few feet away. She looks over to Derek who was awkwardly standing in the middle of the store. "Derek, why don't we have pet names?"
He walks over to her and says, "What do you want your pet name to be?"
"Melony sighs, annoyed. "That's not how it works. You have to come up with one for me."
Derek shakes his head and goes back to aimlessly walking around the store.
"Hey Dean." Monika says, bringing my attention back to her. "This look familiar?" She smirks at me and holds up a white tank top.
I look at the top curiously for a few seconds trying to recognize it.
"Oh, it looks just like the one from the valentines day fanart," I say.
"Correct!" Monika says happily. "Maybe one day we can reenact that picture."
While saying this, Monika leans forward slightly while holding her hands behind her back. I look at her, confused until I realize what she's doing.
"Are you doing the pose?" I ask her, laughing slightly.
Monika laughs then reverts to a normal standing position. "I was feeling nostalgic. I had to." She says playfully.
At this point Melony approaches us with Derek following behind her, holding various amounts of clothes.
"Alright. I got everything I need." She says. "You guys ready to go?"
"I think so." Monika replies. "I got a couple tops and a few pairs of jeans."
Melony looks over everything Monika is holding. "We're gonna have to show off our best outfits at school tomorrow," Melony says.
We all go to the check out where Derek and I pay for the clothes.
"I hope it's not too much," Monika says, worried.
"Not at all," I reassure her. "I have a couple hundred dollars in my bank account so you have nothing to worry about."
After the purchases have been made we all leave the store.
Melony speaks up. "So I had an idea. How about we have everyone pick one store to go to. That way we won't spend too much."
"Thank you," Derek says silently.
"Monika, where do you wanna go next?" Melony asks.
Monika has an embarrassed look on her face. "Well, I don't really know that many American stores…"
"Oh yeah you're from Japan. I forgot about that." Melony says.
"Well I'm sure I'll find somewhere that looks interesting." Monika says. "For now, Dean why don't you pick a place."
"Uh… I-I don't know many places either." I stutter out, embarrassed.
"Oh come on," Melony says. "Where do you usually get your clothes from?"
I laugh awkwardly as the three wait for me to answer.
"H-Hot Topic," I say quietly, trying to play it off as a joke.
"Oh, I love that place!" Melony says, much to my surprise. "They always have such cool band tees. Let's go!"
Melony walks off, dragging Derek along with him.
Monika pulls me aside. "So why were you so embarrassed to say it?" She asks.
"Well…" I try to explain myself. "Hot Topic is kinda like 'the' emo store."
"So what?" Monika asks confused.
"Well, it's just kinda embarrassing to say you shop there." I clarify. "It's like admitting your emo."
Monika smiles at me. "Dean don't be embarrassed about things you like. And who cares if you're emo? You're who you are and you should be proud of that."
I smile back at Monika. "Thanks. You're right I'm being dumb."
Monika gives me a smirk as a small blush appears on her cheeks. "Plus I think black looks really sexy on you."
She then walks ahead to catch up with the others.
"I love her so much." I think to myself as I follow her back to the other two.
After a short walk, we arrive at the store. Melony and Derek have already entered. The former was looking through all the different buttons they had at the front desk. The latter was looking through a couple t-shirts.
Derek holds up a Guns and Roses t-shirt and grins to himself after seeing it.
"They have some nice band tees here," Derek says before looking over at me. "Good call Dean."
I give him a small nod and smile as to say "You're welcome". I then head to the back of the store where I find Monika looking through the various anime themed clothing.
She spots me and gives me a concerned look. "There's a lot of stuff from video games and anime here."
"Yeah they have a lot of different franchises here," I reply.
Monika continues. "So is there anything from…"
I wait for her to finish before I realize what she's about to say.
"No there's nothing from Doki Doki Literature Club," I reassure her. "Yet."
We sit in silence for a few moments.
"She did you find anything you like?" I ask, trying to change the subject.
Monika smirks at me. "Well, I found a few things you might like."
She then shows me two items that she'd been holding. A pair of fishnet stockings and a spiked choker with a heart ring in the center.
A slight blush appeared on my face as I imagine Monika wearing these. I stay silent but it's obvious what my opinion is on them.
"Glad you like them." She says in a flirty voice. "I wasn't sure if you'd want the choker around my neck or your hands.
Monika blushes slightly from her own flirting.
"Y-you're making it sound like I have a BDSM fetish," I say, jokingly.
Monika looks at me questioningly.
"I don't." I clarify. "I mean I guess if you really wanted me to tie you up…"
"Okay!" Monika cuts me off, her blush growing larger. "How about we wait until we've actually had sex before we get into that stuff."
"So do you want to have sex?" I say half-jokingly.
Monika blushes madly but maintains a serious but innocent expression. "Well… I mean, do you want to?"
I inhale, as to say something but I fail to find the right words to answer that question. I decided to say exactly what I'm thinking.
"Yes," I say in a very serious tone.
Monika nearly jumps at the sudden response but manages to compose herself.
"I-I do too." She says in a similar tone to mine.
We stare at each other in silence for a couple seconds before Melony and Derek approach us.
"Hey, you guys ready to go," Melony asks.
She's holding two t-shirts with various different buttons resting on top of them.
Monika and I look over at them with blushes covering our faces.
"Uh… Y-yeah we're ready." Monika says trying to act natural.
Derek gives me a strange look that seems to be a mix of suspicion and relief.
"Alright let's check out then," Melony says.
We purchase all our items and exit the store.
"So Derek it's your turn to pick a store," Melony says.
"Pass," Derek says.
"What? You can't pass. We've only been to two stores." she complains.
"Well I don't know what to pick. I'm not a huge fan of shopping." he replies.
Monika then speaks up. "How about I pick one. I saw a store that I thought look interesting on the way here."
The three of us followed Monika as she lead us to the place she mentioned.
"Here it is." She says as she walks into a store.
I look around, trying to understand what kind of place it is. From the different clothes that they have on display, it seems that it's some kind of cosplay/ anime store. Filled with all kinds of Japanese themed clothes.
"Is this an anime store?" Melony asks out loud.
"It looks like it." Monika answers. "But they seem to have more normal clothes too."
"Hmm, I didn't think you'd be into anime-type stuff." Derek says. "Although I guess it makes sense considering where you came from."
Monika and I look at him, worried.
"What do you mean?" Monika says nervously.
"Well because you're from Japan so I guess it would make sense for you to be into anime." He clarifies. "Sorry was that racist?"
Both Monika and I sigh in relief.
"No it's just…" Monika tries to find an excuse but fails. "Nevermind."
"That reminds me." I whisper to Monika. "Is it safe for you to be here? I mean people who shop here are pretty likely to have at least heard of DDLC."
"Don't worry about it." Monika reassures me. "I'm starting to think that I can't be recognized."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
Monika continues. "I overheard two guys talking about Doki Doki Literature Club after school. And one of the guys is my partner in chemistry class. He's never even mentioned the game to me before. He even forgot my name at one point."
"How is that possible?" I ask. "Does the shorter hair really make you look that different?"
"Even if it does that wouldn't explain how he forget my name," Monika replies. "I mean he mentioned my name a few times when he was talking to his friend about the game."
"None of this makes any sense," I say to myself.
I look up to see that we've walked to the back of the store.
I chuckle. "I didn't even realize we were walking…"
I look at Monika who has a large blush on her face and seems to be looking at something. I follow her eyes to see that she's looking at a specific piece of clothing. It's a gray sweater with no back or sleeves. Simply a long piece of cloth to cover the front parts of someone's body. The virgin killer sweater.
I look back at Monika who shyly looks back at me with a blush covering her face. I take the sweater off the rack and hold it up to Monika with a smirk on my face.
"Think this will fit you?" I ask.
Monika embarrassingly looks over it. "I-it's a bit too sma-"
"Perfect." I sinisterly.
I then fold it up to disguise it as a regular sweater and walk back to the front of the store.
"Hey, guys I think we're ready to go," I say to Melony and Derek.
"Cool." Melony replies. "So what'd you get Monika?"
"J-just a few skirts." She says, trying to hide her embarrassment.
We head to the checkout and purchase our items.
"Did you see the weird stuff in the back?" Melony asks jokingly.
"Nope! Let's go!" Monika replies as we all exit the store.
"Okay so since Derek didn't choose a store that means I get to pick another one," Melony says. "But the boys have to stay behind."
"What why?" Derek asks.
"Because we're going to Victoria's Secret." She answers. "So unless you guys wanna awkwardly stand around and underwear store trying not to look like perverts you should stay behind."
With that, Derek and I give Melony and Monika our credit cards as they both walk off to Victoria's Secret, leaving Derek and me alone.
We walk around in silence for a bit before he decides to break the silence.
"So you and Monika seem happy together." He says.
"Yeah, we are," I reply.
We stay in silence for a bit longer.
Derek speaks up again. "Yeah, Melony is always making me take her shopping so…"
"Yeah, I know," I reply soon after realizing my mistake. "I mean I don't know."
I awkwardly laugh to try to kill the tension. It doesn't work. We stay in silence again.
"Okay, this is awkward right?" Derek says. "I mean we both know that I know."
"Wait she told you?" I say nervously.
"Oh God, you didn't know," Derek says to himself.
"I mean I guess I should've known that she'd tell you," I admit.
Yet again we stay silent.
"You know what," Derek starts. "Why don't we just put it all out there."
"Okay…" I say worried and confused.
Derek continues. "Look, I'm gonna be honest. I planned to beat the shit out of you the first time I saw you. I was pissed at you. She tried to convince me that you weren't like that anymore but… When I saw you talking to Melony that one day after school I almost lost it. But then she told me that you had a girlfriend now. So I thought 'Okay maybe this guy really has changed.' Melony wanted me to meet you and that's kinda why we're here right now. I still wasn't sure about you but after I saw you with Monika… You love her that's obvious."
Derek then stops walking and outstretches his hand toward me. "So let's just put that all aside for now. Clean slate. All that shit."
I grab his hand and we shake.
"Thanks for not beating the shit out of me," I say jokingly. "And yeah I do love her… Monika! That is. I love Monika."
Derek laughs and I laugh along with him.
We walk for a bit longer until I decide to break the ice.
"So, weird question, what do you see in Melony?" I ask. "I mean you guys are like polar opposites."
"I don't know. Opposites attract I guess." He replies. "I've been with girls who are like me and it never goes well. When two people who are exactly alike are together it's like a constant competition of who can be more like… themselves I guess. Sorry, this isn't making any sense."
"No, I think I get it," I reply. "If the two are alike it only amplifies the parts of yourself that don't need to be amplified. So when two people are different it brings out another side of each of them. It's like sticking two different puzzle pieces together vs. two identical pieces."
Derek chuckles. "That was poetic."
"I get it from Monika," I say.
"Alright, they're probably gonna be in there for awhile." He says. "You wanna get some food."
"Sure," I reply.
We both walk towards the food court before Derek stops.
"Oh wait they have our cards." He says.
"Oh yeah," I reply stupidly.
After what feels like hours the girls return from Victoria's secret with new bags in their hands.
"Finally," Derek says in relief after seeing them. "Alright, it's like almost 8 we should get going."
"Yeah let's go," Monika says coldly as she walks past us to the exit.
"Is she alright?" Derek asks.
"Dean I'm so sorry," Melony says. "I thought she knew."
"What did you say?" I ask in a serious voice.
"Nothing," Melony says nervously. "Really I just made a little joke and… I'm so sorry."
I sigh out loud. "It's fine. It's my fault for not telling her in the first place."
I go to follow Monika out but I stop and turn back to Derek and Melony.
"This was fun," I say. "Like really I had a great time, all things considered. We should do this again."
"Sure. You guys are pretty chill." Derek says.
"I'd love to hang out again," Melony says. "Now go talk to her. I haven't known her that long but she seems like a nice person. She'll understand if you just explain."
I smile at both of them. "Thanks, guys." I then head to the exit and follow Monika to the car.
Okay, I know you guys have been waiting so long for me to reveal Dean's past but you'll have to wait just a bit longer. I'm writing the next chapter right now so don't worry. You won't have to wait a week.
Again thank you guys so much for all the support. I've been having a blast writing this even if I don't do it often. Just seeing how much you guys love this story really inspires me to keep writing. Thank you.
And with that said. I'll see you guys next time. I have a feeling you're gonna really like the next chapter.