Note: The song used is an modified version of Johnny Cash's Hurt, which is originally by Nine Inch Nails.
AN: Huge thanks to ThunderAnt. There was indeed something cringy and very off in the chapter, that I needed to rectify. Apologies to anyone who has read that part.
"Whaaat?! That's so unfair! And why did you go 'yerr', anyway? What's wrong with you boys?!" Natsuki bemoaned.
I playfully scoff at her.
"The heck you mean, B? This is fair! It's a 4v4! And don't you question it! The code of the-"
I turn to my head towards my team.
"YERRRR!" I call out.
"YERRRR!" They call back to me.
"... is something us boys know! You wouldn't understand it!" I counter.
"B-B-B? What's a B?!" Natsuki asked with a fair bit of anger.
Yuri cleared her throat, attracting the attention to herself.
She was crossing her arms and had the rarest trait of anger emblazoned onto her face.
"Valkyrie, I agree with Natsuki. This isn't fair. You men are much more athletic than us... Perhaps it would be fair it were a 2 versus 4." Yuri stated shrewdly, satisfied with her answer.
I smirk.
"Really? So according to your words, that means we are, I dunno... better than you?"
Yuri was taken aback from this, her professional demeanor now reduced to nervousness.
"N-No! I-I didn't-!"
Monika gave a low hiss, coming to Yuri's aid.
"No, you aren't! You boys are not better than us, women!"
She points to herself.
"We!"
She then points to us.
"Are superior to you!"
She leaned in, glaring at me with her hands on her hips.
I wouldn't doubt that, actually. Women are way more sophisticated than us. That's why they are so difficult to understand.
But eh, whatever.
To further spite her, I cross my arms and looked at her dismissively.
"Yeah... sure. Whatever. We'll be going easy on you ladies."
This triggered everyone on the other-side of the court.
Sayori, Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika were all vexed from my snide comment.
With an eye-roll and keeping my smirk, I turn my attention to my "squad".
"Isn't that right, boys?" I asked.
"Damn straight!"
"Hell yeah!"
"Yeah, sure..." Tom meekly agreed.
We all glared at him, unhappy with his timidity.
Thankfully, he got the message.
"I mean... Let's fucking go! Yeah!" He yelled, with fake enthusiasm.
We let it slide, and our glares subsided. We then turned out attention to the girls, who were apparently starting to collect themselves.
"So, who's serving?" I asked, while stretching.
...
There was a moment of silence between my group and theirs, unable to decide who going to serve.
Sayori spoke up.
"Oooh! I got an idea! Why don't we play rock, paper, scissors? Whoever loses gets to serve!"
We shrugged and agreed with her idea.
"Sure. Who's contending for you girls?" I asked, still looking uninterested.
They all looked at each other, unsure of who's going to go up.
The atmosphere looked tense from their side. They gave the impression that whoever goes up is going to duel death itself.
After a brief moment of silence between the girls, Monika stepped up.
"I'll do it!" Monika stated proudly.
The girls cheered for Monika's bravery.
However, it was a contrast on our side.
We honestly couldn't care less who went up on our side.
We kept silent, giving a silent coercion to whoever is going to go up.
"I'll go." I said, walking up with a half-lidded eyes.
"Yay."
"Woo.
"Can you get this over with? I wanna play some fucking volleyball!" Gabe pumped.
I walk up to net where Monika was standing.
"Okay, on three!" I declared.
"One, two, three!" I counted.
I chose rock.
Monika chose paper.
Oh no. Not again!
I quickly changed it to an okay sign or also known as the finger hole sign, winning the exchange.
"Gotcha!"
I heard cheers from my team, proud of my strategy.
She arched an eyebrow at this.
"Huh?" She muttered in confusion.
"I won, Monika. Was that too much for ya, eh?" I said with a devious smirk.
She looked at with me with a puzzled look.
"Val, you just changed hand signs after you said three! And what even is that?!"
I shook my head and walked away.
"No. I just won. If you do that, then it's an automatic win. And no complaints, alright?"
I got the ball from Tom and threw it over to their side.
Yuri caught the ball.
"Whatever! We're still going to win, Val." She sternly stated.
"Yeah, I know! We're going easy on you!" I exclaimed.
She just rolled her eyes.
"Okay, Yuri! You know what to do!" Monika cheered.
"R-Right!"
While they were waiting for the ball to be passed, I raised my arms and stood next to the net.
I couldn't help but stare at her, just so she can serve...
It didn't take long that my eyes ventured towards her breasts.
I never knew that Yuri's rack was that big... Wow...
Yuri finally served by tossing the ball in the air and hitting it mid-air.
They jiggled ever so slightly... Haah... What a beauty...
The ball barely went over the net.
I was so mesmerized by her breasts that I almost lost the opportunity presented to me.
Fortunately, the advantage was still accessible, so I spiked the ball down as soon as it reached my hand, without having the need to jump.
The court was silent as the ball bounced about on the floor.
My team was trying to stifle their laughter, while the other side was dead silent, unsure of what to say exactly.
Sayori broke the silence for her team.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Sayori called out.
We didn't bother listening to Sayori's mini rant.
Me and the boys were starting to laugh at how I spiked the ball while they were serving.
This obviously brought about some growling and hissing from the other side.
"Hey! The Hell's wrong with you boys?! Can't you guys take anything seriously?" Natsuki yelled, obviously irked from our laughing and antics.
"Sorry! Sorry!" I said through burst of laughter. "I won't do it again!"
I motioned Yuri to go ahead again.
She rolled her galaxy purple eyes at me, showing she was also irritated by us.
Yuri served with another overhead serve.
This time my eyes wandered on how her long legs danced and swayed, as they did one simple movement.
I never thought Yuri's movement would be so...
Exquisite and so effortless...
What beauty...
I snapped out the trance as I noticed the ball was coming in with alarming speeds.
However, the ball was again, barely above the net. So, I couldn't help myself.
I did the same thing again.
The ball bounced around the floor again.
We tried our best to stifle our laughter once more.
Yuri picked up the ball and walked under the net, moving towards me.
I was attempting not to laugh and wasn't paying any heed to Yuri's furious advance.
I also wasn't paying attention to how Yuri was audibly stomping towards me, the ball raised into the air, ready to deliver justice.
I didn't even get the chance to see her hit me, because I was starting to laugh with eyes closed in joy.
And as a result, I was caught off-guard when the ball bounced off my head.
It didn't hurt, rather it stunned me for a good few seconds.
In my daze, I couldn't recognize who hit me with the ball.
There was a gorgeous purple haired woman in front of me. Her glaring purple eyes piercing my onyx ones.
Whoever she is... she's hot...
"Heeeloo, sexy!" I absent-mindedly say.
Yuri's glare subsided now was replaced with scarlet red blush, which had a look of pure confusion and embarrassment.
"E-Eh?! W-wh-what did you just say?"
Wait a minute! That's Yuri!
And I said that in front of her!
Ow... My head...
I rub my head from the concussion I received.
"Uh... what happened?"
Yuri gave breath of relief, looking calm before seeing my condition.
"Aaah! Right! Um..." Yuri stammered nervously.
"Arrgh... Did you hit me with a ball, Yuri? A volleyball?" I asked, still trying to rub the concussion out.
Her lips started to quiver.
"I... I... I did! I did! I'm so sorry Valkyrie! I didn't mean to!"
I gave her a confused, but reassuring smile.
"Hey, it's fin-!"
Yuri cuts me off.
"Waaah! I've never felt this frustrated before!" She covers her face in shame.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
She then plunges into my chest.
"Please forgive me, Valkyrie!"
My brain still couldn't process what was happening, the scowl on Natsuki's face, a strange sense of very irritated patience coming from Monika, the sounds of amusement from Gabe and James, the myriad of silent curses from Tom, and squealing from a fan-girl Sayori.
But, what I did know was that I felt someone nuzzling my chest.
And it was Yuri, herself.
I look down on her.
"There, there..." I reassuringly say, still unsure of what was going on. "It's okay. I think."
"Y-you think?" She looks up at me.
"My bad, 'I know'... I think... Look, it's fine, Yuri. It's a pretty interesting side of you, Yuri."
"You think it's... interesting?" She says with obvious insecurity.
"Yeah...? I think... Either way, I like it."
She smiles at me.
And I smile back.
I run my hand down her hair, my sense of touch never getting to attuned to how cushiony her hair was.
Her smile grew stronger as I did this.
Yuri started to giggle, a giggle that tickled my heart with jubilance.
"My hero..." She muttered.
Hero? Didn't she mention that before when we woke up together...?
Was I that Hero in her dream?
Either way, I didn't realize that we so close to each other.
Nor did I realize, that we could feel the hot breath of each other on our lips.
Her eyes were giving me incentive to do more, a lot more than just stare at each other.
And I willingly complied.
I can see her nebula purple eyes flutter shut as we grow closer, so we can finally-
"Yuri!" Monika yelled, her expression now showing very, very scant patience.
"That's long enough! Get back here! Right now!"
Yuri and I give an exasperate sigh, both knowing that the moment was ruined by Monika.
Yuri, however, didn't want none of it. She irritated that we never got a chance to do anything together.
So, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
With mischievous mirth in her eyes, she gives me a quick peck on the lips.
I gave a surprised gasp as she takes my lips into hers.
I felt my mind run a million operations a second. A couple of thousand thoughts were running through my head while we kissed for a very brief moment.
Mmmm... Jasmine tea...
Wait!
She's kissing me!
Yuri's actually kissing me!
Yes!
She likes me! Yuri actually likes me!
No, wait...
No? Is this not a good thing?
Doesn't matter! I still love this feeling!
As soon as I wanted to kiss back, she pulls away abruptly, avoiding any suspicion during her peck.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Natsuki bringing her fists up her midsection, as if she was ready to break something.
Oh.
We back away from each other's embrace, and turn away from each other. Our backs opposite to each other, doing our own thing.
I was looking outside the window, mimicking the notion that I was actually interest with something outside.
Yuri, on the other hand walked away, playing with her hair while at it, dead silent on what just happened.
Gabe leaned towards me.
"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if you two would've went to the bathrooms..."
My face flared up at his comment.
I punched his arm.
"Fuck you, Gabe."
He snickered at me, rubbing his arm.
That was amazing...
So if she kissed me, that has to mean that sees me more as a friend!
Oh no...
That's not good.
There's now two girls gunning for me!
Shit! This isn't going to be good!
James looking a bit bored spoke up.
"You guys, ready?" He asked both sides, now uninterested about my love life.
We both gave signs of affirmation.
Sayori was now up to serve, probably because of what has happened.
She served with an easy overhead pass, again barely hitting the net again.
I didn't do my "douchy" move and spike the ball, rather I passed it to Gabe.
He softly hit the ball back to the other side, going over net with a comfortable amount of distance placed below it.
Natsuki jumped and smashed the ball back towards us, with a loud thud.
The speed of the ball caused all of us to flinch and dodge it, as the ball hit the wall next to us with a soft smack.
"Holy shit..." I uttered, completely off-guard from Natsuki's apparent strength.
James broke free from the shock.
"Jesus, Natsuki! Are you trying to kill us?!"
We take a look at Natsuki.
Her posture looked as if she was ready pulverize something.
She wasn't just annoyed.
She was infuriated, completely seething in rage.
Just as we were going question her state of mind again, she sobered up and gave her toothy smile to reassure us.
"Ah! No! I am not trying to kill you guys, haha!" She giggled.
Her giggle came to an abrupt end. "Well..." Her voice doused with vicious venom. "Maybe I am, with one of you guys..."
She started to giggle again.
Yeah, she's jealous of me having that small moment with Yuri...
I look at Monika, her posture showed veiled irritation, but no anger...
How come Monika's not furious too? She usually gets angry as well when that happens...
Weird.
This pacified James to an extent.
"Alright, I'll take your word of it..."
Tom picked up the ball and threw it back to other side of the court.
Sayori caught it and readied herself to serve the ball again.
Wait... So if Monika does get angry at this sometimes... Does that mean...
That she's jealous too?!
Gah! Why does it sound like that I'm surprised?!
Of course I know that!
Her reasoning is that she's looking for the best person for me to love.
Hah, like that'll ever happen.
But her reasoning is really off too...
Why am I noticing this now!
Damn it!
If her reasoning is off, does that mean she...
I glimpsed at Monika, who was directly in front of me.
She was staring right at me.
And I was staring right at her.
She smirked and winked at me.
I gave her an amused face and winked at her back.
She giggled and blew me kiss.
I figuratively caught it and snapped my fingers at her in a charismatic fashion.
Monika eyes widened at my act.
Hey... what's taking so long for Sayori to serve?
I turned my gaze towards Sayori. I saw her tying her loose shoelace, hugging the ball under her arm.
Oh, that's why.
I looked at Monika in the meantime.
She darted around the court, as if checking for someone. She was maybe doing to this check if the coast was clear.
I raised an eyebrow at her, unsure as to why she was jumpy.
Finally, her emerald eyes met mine.
She grinned impishly.
That doesn't look good...
I saw her tilt her head to one side, in an 25 degree turn. Monika rolled her eyes up, looking upwards, almost as if she experiencing some heavenly and she opened her mouth, letting her tongue out. She finally gave the expression that she gleefully enjoyed on whatever caused her to do that.
She held that "sexually pleased" face for a split second before looking away.
I felt my right eye starting to twitch, unable to comprehend on what I just saw..
That face seemed so very... erotic.
That looked so hot...
It didn't seem real...
I will do anything for that face to come back.
I mentally shook my head.
It made me feel heavy and turned on...
It can't be real! I must be hallucinating!
I recovered from the twitching and glared at her for making me feel like that.
And I saw her laughing at me.
It was real!
Oh my God!
It is real and it was so sexy!
I think, I might pass out...
If Monika does that face again...
I don't know what'll I do...!
Sayori, after a long hiatus served the ball.
I had a extremely difficult time coordinating my limbs after witnessing that perverted face.
It's as if they were being held down with weight, making it difficult to maneuver with.
I hit the ball with just enough force, allowing it to glide to the other side of the net.
Yuri stopped the momentum of the ball by hitting it upwards and moving towards Natsuki.
Natsuki then added a bit of force and hit towards Monika.
They were going to spike it.
And I had to intercept.
Monika jumped the air to spike it, and I jumped to counter spike it.
For a split second, our eyes met.
And for a split second, she had this devilish smirk.
I wasn't sure how long time had stopped for, but she winked and puckered her lips, giving a smooching sound while at it.
This made me hesitate, making me think about that lewd face she made a few moments ago.
Monika seized the opportunity of my lowered guard and spiked the ball.
Immediately after, Gabe and James gave signs of displeasure and disappointment.
"Come on, Val! What was that? You had that!" Gabe stated gruffly.
I couldn't tell them why I didn't counter spike the ball.
"I know! I know! It won't happen again, watch!" I assured.
Monika giggled audibly.
"I don't know about that, boys. I think I found Val's weakness~!" Monika said with an impish smile. "I never thought he would be so naughty..."
"Jesus, Val. What did you do this time?" James asked nonchalantly, but had a mocking smirk.
"What?! I'm not naughty! I'm a good boy!" I defended.
"Uh, huh. That isn't what you told me! Hehe!" She condescendingly stated.
"I-I! Mon, come on stop lying!" I begged.
She feigned being hurt.
"Oh? I'm lying right now?"
Monika looked towards my friends
"Hey, guys? Do I look like a person that would lie?" She asked with false pain.
"No, I don't think so."
"Nah."
"Probably, not."
Monika, knowing she has won the exchange straightened her posture and pointed her nose towards the air.
I looked back to my friends and they all looked as if they were going stand by their answers.
I lost the exchange.
"I'll get you for this!" I hollowly threatened.
"Mhm, sure."
Sayori served the ball again.
This time, I was ready.
The ball was too high for me to reach, so Tom was able to pass to Gabe, who was on the bottom right. Gabe then passed it to me, within comfortable range to spike it.
I hit the ball downwards, and it bounces on their floor.
I pump my fist in the air.
"Yeah! That's how it's done!"
They cheered for my performance and gave me quick high fives as a reward.
The other team rotated, giving Natsuki the spot to serve if they win a point.
She throws the ball to us with frightening force, only for me to jump and catch it.
"Thanks!" I yelled.
I threw the ball behind me to the person who was serving.
It was James, and he was ready to serve.
He did an underhand serve and the ball went over the net.
Unfortunately, it did go over the net, James put a bit too much force into his serve, causing the ball to go out of bounds.
Gabe turned to him.
"Jim, what the fuck?!" He yelled.
"HEY! It's my bad, Brothello! James yelled back.
"Brothello?" I asked.
"Yeah, Brothello, my fellow!" He rhymed.
I shrugged at his behavior.
Natsuki was now up to serve, her pink hot rage still not subsiding. She was ready for us to flinch and dodge the ball from it's extraordinary speed.
Until the first bell rang.
We all gave a relieved sigh, all due to fact that Natsuki's anger augmented her volleyball skills.
"Yay! We won!" Sayori jumped in joy.
Monika smiled at the overjoyed Sayori.
She looked at us with a smug look on her face..
"Told you that we were superior!"
I shook my head in denial.
"Hold on! We said we were just going easy on ya, so it doesn't count!"
"Sure, sure. That's sore loser talk! If this was you going easy on us... then you boys probably won't have much to offer tomorrow at the beach..."
"Yeah! Monika's right! Boys who go against us, always get demolished! Even when they are trying!" Natsuki added up.
"Hmm... To be Frank, this wasn't much of a challenge..." Yuri also agreed.
"Wait, you guys are going to beach? Are we invited?" James asked.
"Yeah, are we? Can we pull up?!" Gabes also asked, excited to come along.
I looked back at them.
"Guys, guys, this isn't the time for that! We have to defend our honor!"
"Fuck honor! Will that shit help us go to the beach?" Gabe questioned.
Oh. He does have a point.
"You boys can come, if... you admit that females are the superior gender!" Sayori playfully demanded.
"Hey... That's a good demand, Sayori!" Monika complimented.
"Thanks!"
I still wasn't going to let it slide.
"Guys! Don't fall for that! It's not wor-"
"Aight! Girls go to college to get more knowledge!" Gabe started.
Oh boy.
"Boys go to Jupiter get more stupider!" James ended.
In all my life, I never thought that I would hear that from males...
Sayori and Natsuki laughed at this, while Yuri had this foreign smirk on her face.
Monika, on the other hand, nodded in solemnity.
"Very good! You two are now invited to the beach!" Monika declared.
"Yeah!" Both my friends exclaimed, as they fist-pumped each other, high fived, and gave each other a good old smack on the cheek.
I face-palmed at this.
"Whatever. Come on guys, lets go change." I said out of habit, despite me being my uniform.
We all played along knowing full well that we were in our uniforms.
Tom, James, and Gabe picked up their blazers on the equipment side and followed me.
We grabbed our bags and went to the male locker room.
Once we got in there, I placed my bag on a bench and looked for any deodorant.
"Yo, anyone got some deodorant they wanna share? I didn't know that we would have gym today." Gabe asked.
"Eugh... no." James replied.
"Nope." I simply replied.
"Yeah, I got a spare." He got a new and wrapped deodorant out from his bag.
"Here." He tossed to Gabe.
"Thanks, Broseph Stalin! I appreciate you helping a fellow Fidel Castbro out, unlike these two."
Me and James rolled our eyes, on both his insult and over-use of the term, "bro".
"Anyway, what do you guys have next?" I asked, trying to move away from Gabe's misadventure.
"I remember that, me and Gabe have an internship to . And after that, the school day is over." James responded.
"I got Pre-Cal next." Tom simply replied.
"Great. I'm going to be alone at Study Hall."
"Aw, it can't be that lonely. You have got to know someone there!" James reassured.
"Well, I meant that I'm going to be there with Monika. I got no backup if things go... weird." I clarified.
"Oh." Gabe spoke up. "In that case, you're scre- Fine."
"Yup."
"Eh, whatever."
Something didn't add up with Gabe's sentence.
"What? You were going to say something else, Gabe?"
"No, I just said you're going to be sc- Fine."
Is this some sort of joke? Must be...
Whatever.
I rolled my eyes.
"Thanks for the moral support, guys. But, a quick side-note though, are you guys gonna be there at the Literature Club?"
Gabe shrugged while still putting on deodorant and James did a simple nod.
"Alright, I appreciate that you guys are gonna be there for me. It means a lot to me."
"It's aight." Gabe responded.
"No problem, Val." James also responded.
I took my bag and walked towards the exit.
"See you all there." I said, looking back at them.
"See ya, Val!"
"Bye!"
"Good luck! Haha!" Gabe said, before I closed the door.
I shook my head out of irritation and made my way to Study Hall.
Damn it, Gabe.
I arrived at Study Hall, opening the door to see filled with a lot more students than usual.
That's weird, where did these students come from?
I walked up to the teacher in charge of the attendance and gave her my name.
Once that was done, I strolled to one of the computers and took a seat there.
I put my bag down and leaned back on the seat.
My eyes wandered to find Monika.
Where is she?
My eyes meticulously scanned the area to find her. I needed to find her chestnut colored hair, her black leggings, and best of all her emerald green eyes...
But I couldn't find her.
I sighed.
"Um..." A feminine voice said to my side.
I looked to my side and felt my eyes widen at sight.
It was a blonde girl with blue eyes.
God, it looks a lot like her.
But, it isn't her...
"Hmm? Is there something wrong?" I asked, with shrouded irritation.
"No... I was just wondering if your name is Valkyrie..."
I eyed her in suspicion.
"Yeah...? Why do you ask?"
She looked somewhat flustered by my question.
"Well... I heard you were a transfer here from a few days ago. So, I just have a quick question to ask you."
This better be good.
"Lay it on me. What is it?"
She tapped her index fingers together.
"Is this... Study Hall? My boyfriend said this is the place, but I just want to make sure..."
That's her question?
"Yeah. This is Study Hall. Now, let me ask you a question."
"Okay...?"
"Why did you ask me if I was a transfer? And how did you know my name?"
The girl tapped her chin in thought.
"Well... you are a pretty well known transfer... both famous and infamous, actually. Every girl in their 4th year keep gossiping about how you beat up a bunch of boys up, just cause they were harassing you..."
"Yeah, they were." I stated coldly, uninterested on that certain topic.
"And how you became the boyfriend of the school's most popular girl, within a few days..."
I arched an eyebrow.
I need to correct that.
"No, you must have mistaken. Me and Monika are not a couple. We are just..."
My throat dried up, making it difficult to enunciate any words.
"...Really, really close friends. N-Nothing more."
I'm lying.
She looked considerably surprised.
"Oh. Anyway, my point is that you are probably the most friendly transfer here, so I needed to find you."
There's more to this. I know it.
"I see... Is there anything else you need help with?"
"Nope! Thanks!"
She smiled at me.
That smile... It reminds a lot of her...
No! It can't be her!
"Hold on, before you go. What's your name?" I asked with extreme reluctance.
"Oh! My name's Chiyoko."
So, it isn't her.
"Chiyoko, eh? I see. It's nice meeting you, Chiyoko."
"Mhm! It's nice meeting you too, Valkyrie!"
She walked away with a joyous smile.
I was still waiting for Monika to come.
My eyes wandered around class.
I looked towards the piano area of the class.
It was vacant, and it was ripe for the taking.
Damn it! She isn't here yet.
Monika would probably want to play the piano, so I should just save her that seat...
I reached for my bag and got off the seat I was relaxing on.
I walked towards the piano, and sat on the seat, saving it for her.
I scanned the room again, looking for her distinctive physical characteristics, but no avail I couldn't find her.
Where is she?!
What's taking her?
I decided to text her, so I pulled out my phone and pulled up her number.
"Monika, where are you?"
"I'm near the piano, btw"
I waited a minute, and it seemed as if the messages were sent to her phone, but haven't been picked up yet.
Is her phone off?
Great. Guess I'll just wait.
I took a look at the piano, marveling at the quality and how modern it was. There was no signs of vintage wear and tear, it seemed as if it was constantly repaired and tuned for optimal performance.
My fingers glided on the keys of piano.
Piano... I played it for a while when I was in high school, back in freshman year.
Man, freshman year was fun. I had a hell of a time, attributing some of that fun to the piano.
I never thought learning the piano would be so easy! Well... given the fact that I also know how to play the trumpet, clarinet, saxophone and drums... I guess it was a piece of cake learning another instrument to play.
I remember when how I impressed the music teacher with my progress, that he got me a song to play.
It was a variant of Hurt, by Johnny Cash. The original makers of the song was from a band called Nine Inch Tails.
...
That song reminds me of her... I never thought that I would ever think of her again...
And I don't want to think of her ever again.
The pain in my heart... it isn't as bad when I found out.
But it still hurts...
"Val!"
I look to my side.
Monika...
"There you are. What took you? I was waiting for you." I asked.
She looked flustered.
"Ah! I was... walking my friends to their classes! Since it's Study Hall, the teacher wouldn't mind if I walked in a few minutes late."
I nodded.
"Oh, okay. Luckily, I got here earlier, so I saved you the piano seat."
I patted down at the seat.
Monika beamed, showing her real smile to me and sat right next to me.
"I can see that... Thank you, Val. It makes me happy that you know that I love playing the piano."
"Yeah, yeah. It's fine, Mon." I dismissed.
I glided my fingers down the keys of the piano.
"Don't you have a song to play?" I asked, my gaze focused on the piano.
"I do! But, it looks like you want to play the piano today..."
I burrowed my eyebrows and eyed her.
"What? What do you mean?"
Monika tapped her chin in thought.
"Well... You seem awfully interested to play, you're looking at it more than me..." She defended with a hint of jealousy.
"You may be right... But, I don't want to play the piano." I solemnly stated.
"Eh? Why don't you want to play it? It's a fun instrument to learn!"
"Monika, I do know how to play it! I learned how to play it during freshman year, up until junior year. But, the thing is..."
I looked away in sorrow.
"It brings up memories that I don't want to relive..." I finally admitted.
"Memories..?!" She muttered in shock.
By the looks of how she said it... It's like she knows exactly what I'm talking about.
Must be a pure coincidence, perhaps...
"Yeah. And because of that, I don't want to hold down any notes of the piano." I explained.
"Val... You can tell me what's bothering you. I'm your best friend, remember? You can trust me."
I looked at her.
"I can't. Every time I think about it... it just hurts my heart... So, it's best that we don't talk about it and move on."
"Please, Val. I can help you!"
"No! You can't! It's a long story that deserves to be buried!"
"Please! I'm willing to listen to whatever hurts you! Don't shut me out! Let me help you, Val! I'll do anything to help you!" She begged.
She isn't going to let up.
Maybe, I might as well, tell her...
"I will do anything to help you, Val. I promise." Monika vowed.
Maybe, finally I can begin to recover the right way.
With friends...
Or a friend that I really like...
Doesn't matter. I need to tell someone this, it's been too long that I held this in.
I let out a heavy sigh.
"Alright. I'll open up to you. I'll tell you what hurts me, in a form of a song."
"A... song?"
I nodded, pressing down the keys of the piano.
I expected the notes to be foreign to me... But that wasn't the case.
The sweet, harmonious notes were lifted in the air, suspended in it's track. It was inviting me to do more.
"I was surprised that you knew how to play the piano, Val... That really impresses me."
I closed my eyes.
"Thanks, Monika. That means a lot to me."
I open my eyes.
"Okay... Here goes..." I said, clearing my throat.
I press down onto the keys of the piano, the inviting and soothing notes begging to be followed up were answered as I continued to playing.
I started the beginning instrumental part of the song.
...
"I hurt myself today..."
"To see if I still feel."
"I focus on the pain..."
"The only thing that's real."
"The needle tears a hole..."
"The old familiar sting..."
"Try to kill it all away..."
"But I remember everything."
...
"What have you become?"
"My sweetest friend?"
"Everyone I know..."
"Goes away in the end."
"And you could have it all."
"My empire of dirt."
"You have let me down..."
"I will make you hurt..."
...
"I wear this crown of shit..."
"Upon my liar's chair..."
"Full of broken thoughts."
"I cannot repair."
"Beneath the stains of time..."
"The feelings disappear."
"You are someone else..."
"I am still right here."
...
"What have you become?"
"My sweetest friend?"
"Everyone I know..."
"Goes away in the end."
"And you could have it all."
"My empire of dirt."
"You have let me down..."
"I will make you hurt..."
...
"If I could start again..."
"A million miles away..."
"I would keep myself."
"I will find a way."
...
I let out a sigh, my mind now feeling fresh and invigorated.
I really underestimated how this great it feels to tell someone about my pain...
I smiled to myself.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chiyoko staring at me from a distance, her blue eyes keen around mine.
She gave me a smirk and turned her back at me, moving into the library side of Study Hall.
What was she doing there...?
It gave me flashbacks of my past, specifically of that one girl.
Why does she make me think about her?!
I know that isn't her, and I shouldn't get angry at her cause of that!
What's wrong with me?!
To my side, I heard Monika silently crying, with her face covered.
No more. I need to move on...
I can't dwell on it anymore...
"Monika?" I called to her.
She didn't respond.
I pull her hands away from her face.
Her face was red from all the crying, her emerald eyes cloudy from all the tears.
I immediately brought her close to me.
"Hey, hey... What's wrong?"
I ran my fingers down her cheeks, wiping the tears away.
"I'm here for you..."
Her green eyes met mine.
They looked desperate, scared, and exhausted, all at the same time.
"Val... that was beautiful..."
I couldn't and wouldn't take credit for my performance.
"No, it isn't. I could've done so much better." I probed.
Monika gritted her teeth.
"Don't put yourself down!" She yelled.
I jumped from her sudden yell.
"Alright! Sheesh! Can you at least tell me what I did good on?"'
Monika brightened up, her red face now dissipating like a sunray in a cloud.
"There's so much you did good on... Let's see..." She tapped her chin in thought.
"See. You had to think on what I did good on. Therefore, I did-"
"Shut up! Can't you just take a compliment?!" Monika yelled again, her ire rising.
"I'm sorry! I was raised to be self-effacing! Especially at things like this!" I defended.
"Well, if you are going to be 'self-effacing', then you aren't going to go anywhere!" She countered.
"Okay, okay! I see your point."
"Good! Now, what was I going to say...?"
"Something on my singing and piano skills?"
"Oh right! Your dic- *cough* diction was very good and each word was enunciated perfectly. I was able to understand what you were singing! Not only that, your piano skills complimented your singing skills, as if they were on sync! You knew when to go piano, then to forte! I can't nitpick anything, because it was that good!"
I blushed, unable to take the compliment Monika was giving me.
Hey, wait a minute... what was she going to say before coughing?
Eh, whatever.
"Thanks, Monika..."
"Not a problem, now... Can you do me a favor?"
"What?" I asked, curious as to what she wanted.
"Just close your eyes..."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Just close it!"
"Why? Can't I just see the surprise?"
Monika rolled her eyes.
"I won't ask again."
I rolled my eyes as well.
"Fine."
I closed my eyes.
"Alright, give it to me Moni-"
My lips had something foreign on it.
I thought I was in danger, so I opened my eyes to see what was going on.
For some reason, Monika had her eyes closed.
For some reason, my lips was on Monika's.
Oh.
AN: Sorry for the lack of updates, I was busy doing this chapter. It had a couple of writers blocks that I was able to overcome. The next chapter will be released Saturday and it will at the literature club. Not much else to say, really. Time to respond to reviews.
Remiboi, My sleeping schedule is somewhat fucked too. Oh, the benefits of a spring break. Forgive me, as I'm a bit tired. I'm gonna jump right into you answering your questions, without giving away too much. Hopefully at v8 of reviews, I can fully respond to your review and give a bit of my opinion.
James knows of the meaning of Harem, because of the middle-eastern origin. I don't really watch anime either, but I know the definition of it, via that. And yeah... I do tend to miss some words in sentences, but you get the gist.
Yes, the girls are going to talk about their feelings towards our protagonist in the club, obviously without the intervention of his friends or with Sayori. It will play a big role in the beach chapter.
About Natsuki in the previous chapter, I tried to mimic her dialogue from Act 2, when she does that little jump-scare.
It's interesting that put work into your profile picture, it's really good. Like you and Quill, I encourage you two to work on editing photos and what not. It's a good hobby to pursue.
And yes. I think that's what I think what my pfp is. It's from a Filthy Frank video.
Astillas may or may not make a appearance in the good ending. But I'm leaning towards not making him appear, rather do a mention of him.
And don't worry, the fanfic has a lot of content gunning for it. I estimate the end date of this fic at around June or at the end of it.
Jumping straight to your thoughts of lemon, I kinda don't do foursomes, or threesomes, any multiple sexual partners in one intercourse. I don't do that... I'm more of a 1 on 1 guy. Lemon may be a possibility at the beach chapter, but that's what I'm thinking of. I'll update everyone on the idea of it, however.
I wish I can do respond more, like I said, I'm going to do so at the v8 of responses. But that doesn't mean that I didn't thoroughly read through your review, dude. I read it multiple times, making sure I didn't miss out on any details. Keep doing you, fam!
PS: I apologize for not responding to your references, yet. I'm going to release v8 tomorrow.
Dickbag McGee, God, what a great name. I like it. Comedy is something I can kind of do, since I'm a chill/edge guy around my friends. Thanks for review, dude.
Tatana, Ah. It's been awhile, must be busy, I guess? Life always finds a way to keep us busy.
The inside jokes I do is to help develop the relationship between everyone in the group. It provides some comedic relief and maybe, just maybe a distraction to the readers... thinking that the worst has passed and the good times are here...
The mystery between the two other characters are to help intertwine the reality and other "reality" together. And you might be on to something... the machine breaking due to Val or Frank's memories breaking.
Anyhoo, thanks for review! It's good to know that you're still kicking!
Ryustorm, Yup! It really helped through a writer's block. I appreciate it!
Val doesn't know what "queef" means either. Bad thing are bound to happen cause of that. And could you elaborate on Monika's "dreaded heart-shaped box"? As I am also a bit confused by that.
And yes, volleyball is also played at the beach, and it is confirmed that the match will continue from there.
Thanks for review, dude!
Guest, EY WHAT YOU DOING WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO COPY MY BOIS STYLE?
*Reads review above it*
Oh, yeah. Silly Guardian, forgetting to sign in, smh.
Tom was playing hardcore mode in mw2 and he's about to get kicked for teamkilling.
And yes, his memories bring pain and hatred to our fam.
About crime spree. YES YES EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT RUN AWAY KILL EVERYONE AND THEN COME BACK TO KILL WITNESSES. That was what I planned on meaning.
I found myself smirking when you wrote: "Make a tactical knife class. And it call it... Yuri." My god, that was gold.
Volleyball is no swole sport, the gym is. the gym is the only swole sport
I can actually imagine some guy playing the "Piano man" instrumental start at that moment. Nice.
And yes, my friends call an upright bench an incline bench for some reason. Negatives are a variation of situps where you only use your abs to go up and down, but very very slowly. IT FUCKS UP YOUR ABS MAN
Snorting protein was actually something my friend did irl. He didn't regret it and we had a helluva time.
Hey try doing some Bulgarian deadlifts they can really fuck you up real good
thanks for review
and missing the mw3 reference smh
Thewookie1, Ah, the background information can have very interesting details. Thanks for review.
Big N, Oh shit! It's the legend himself! Hey! Although I can't say my nickname you gave for me, I still appreciate it. Thanks for review dude!
hun0, Keeping my chapter quality and length consistent is a must, in my book! Otherwise, it'll drift and sink towards the ocean. Thanks for review.
Thunderant011, The jokes are awesome if understood by those who played the games or understand the context of it. Mhm.
TitanSolracar99, Thanks for reviewing! I hope it becomes a norm for you! Now, to respond to you.
I was thinking of doing something on Skyrim, since it's been the cash cow for Bethesda for a while now. Especially now that Skyrim VR came out.
The John Wick skin is cool and the Reaper skin looks cool too. Just wished that there was an alternative way to unlock the reaper skin.
Irl, we sometimes call out to each other by a YERRR, but this is extremely rare and we do it if we are really laid back on something. And it is funny how the bois lost. Hehe
hiface2000, Yup. I preferred MW2 over MW3, but that could be different for others. It can be vice-versa. Thanks for the review.
Storm177, Hmm... I don't know if you are referencing something or not... But that quote seems like something out of horror movie. It's intriguing and I like it!
Tsudzukete, Before I start, I haven't gotten the time to read your fanfic, It looks really interesting! But life is just a shitload of problems that you need to solve. I'll be sure to stop by!
And yes, it was MW3. Something that I liked when I was younger, it was badass but it was more badass to survive the shot and try stop the massacre.
Sayori will inevitably confess.
James and Gabe won't be able to withstand the glares, they are weak to it, just like how Val is weak to it aswell.
Val will probably stop being completely dense during the beach chapter, and more ignorant.
And hate to break it to ya... you probably already know how it goes.
Hmm, you do bring up a good point. The teasing is fair retribution for not giving into an M rating though. But if the reviewers want lemon, then lemon they will get. Many asked for it during the sleepover event.
Thanks for review!
Boi, Quick scoping? That's a term I haven't heard in a while... Especially the fact that many games don't really feature it anymore or that many could do it...
sbg1218, Oh okay. Relationships make or break, that's how life works. Well some of the times. Being the devil's advocate you are, you may find the study hall scene, a bit... cliché... Either way I appreciate the review!
Roast Lord, Skyrim? Hell yeah! Can't wait for Skyrim Together to come out! My friends are saving up to buy Skyrim so we all can play together! It's going to be lit!
And I didn't intend this to be meme dump in the first place, it's something that I needed to fill up on. Give something sustaining so development can be made.
Monika being the cunning girl she is, I really needed to reference MW3 and Makarov. Both are extremely cunning in their work, I was compelled to do that!
Val is a silly goose, lmao. He knows he can resist, but you know... you can't hurt girls unless they strike back with real harm. Perhaps, being a Casanova is something he want to be.
Maybe...
Yeah... this wasn't fluff, but it did help develop the boys relationship between each other.
The wacky events are a distraction to what is real and serious. Like blink, and you'll miss it. The train does intensify, and it will reach the peak during the beach chapter, along with the serious love fluff, and stuff.
AND HEY
I'm an enigma, I'm supposed to confuse.
And you asked the same question 3 times, smh.
Val does have some realization of what he's doing, but keep in mind of his PTSD, or something, if the term is incorrect. He's doing this all of a subconscious effort to avoid and cope.
Thanks for review, my lord.
MAN I MISS FLITHY FRANK
Rakino, Si, this story can be very spicy. It's a family recipe. Thanks for review!
Anyway, that's all. I'm drained and I'm going to sleep.
See you all, in the V8 response (Yes Remiboi, you are included.) And the next chapter will be released Saturday.
Note: I'm still feeling iffy on the song I put up. I might as well remove that part.