It's a windy day as I step away from Tyler's house. It's a cold, persistent gust that patters my face and makes my ears tenderly sting.
There's no escape from the wind, and accepting the inevitability of these things is a part of life.
I'm pushed and pulled, thrashed around by its invisible vines. There is no escape, and there is no reprieve.
Against the wind, there is only one thing I can do.
I walk.
And walk.
And walk.
…
"There you are! I've been waiting for you!" Natsuki waves me down as I approach the school building.
I'm initially inclined to stay silent, until I notice the significantly shorter girl standing next to her. "What's she doing here?"
"Hi Serena-" The girl stops in her tracks. "Wait. Right. Not Serena. That's so weird."
"Yeah, long story…" Natsuki averts her eyes from me, and lets out a chuckle. "So, more or less…"
"She beat up her dad," PG blurts. "It was AWESOME."
"Right on, PS!" Natsuki awkwardly firstbumps the air above her. "Anyways, she's along for the ride now. After what I did, there's not really a place for her here anymore."
"Right. Anyways, uhh… Is there something I'm not clued into here?" The alternate Natsuki asks, understandably perplexed.
"Don't sweat it, little sis! You'll figure it out in due time."
"Little-" The alternate seems like she's about to protest, before cutting herself off. "This is all so bizarre."
Natsuki giggles to herself. "We'll explain it all after we make it back to the real world. You ready, Xavier?"
"Wait, we're going back? Right now?" I perk up an eyebrow and raise my voice. "How much planning did you all do while I was gone!?"
"After what happened with Tyler, I convinced Natsuki to tie up loose ends with her dad, so to speak." She speaks with a shit-eating grin likely plastered on her face. "In exchange, I offered to show her the secret behind something that she'd already discovered for me. Something that she's already quite familiar with."
"Familiar with? This is about the weird machine I found in the gym shed?" Natsuki tips her head slightly.
"Right you are. I believe you've already worked with the thing once, have you not?"
"Can you please not speak in riddles for two fucking seconds? You're driving me up too much of a wall for me to think about this." As Natsuki and Phone Girl start to bicker, the new girl next to her grows more and more impatient.
I break them up, pointing in the direction of the shed. "Let's just go."
…
The halls of the school are quiet. Truly deserted, with no inhabitants and no watchers.
The silence between the three of us is deafening. Especially with Natsuki constantly sneaking looks at me…
I sigh. "If you have something to say, Natsuki, say it."
"I…" I hear her swallow. "...I heard about what happened. With Tyler. I'm sorry."
I pause, looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact.
"...It's fine."
"No, it's not. And if I'm being honest, he's a piece of shit for not understanding how much Monika manipulated you back there. How much she played us all, really…"
"She stopped controlling me a while before then. What I did to Tyler and Elizabeth is entirely on me." A part of me doesn't believe my own words, but they're true. They have to be.
"Like shit she did. Don't tell me you're still hung up on her… She played you, man." Natsuki tries to put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, but I bat it away.
"You don't know that! You didn't know her like I did!" I don't mean to raise my voice, but my voice echoes through the halls. The door is close, and I start to move my hand towards the handle.
"Bullshit, you two knew each other for a fucking MONTH before you decided to fuck off and get married! I knew her WAY before you two met, and she manipulated ME into spending TWO FUCKING YEARS working on her stupid-" Suddenly, Natsuki freezes in her tracks, eyes going wide as I open the door.
"What is it…?" As I ask her, she slowly moves her hand up to point towards the opening. As I turn, I realize what it is that caused her abrupt realization.
"Her stupid planar bridge…"