By the time Friday rolled around, Monika was more than ready to crawl into her bed and refuse to move for the entire weekend. All she had to do was get through one more school day, and she was home free–her Mother wasn't even going to be around this time. The brusque woman had informed Monika on Wednesday that she would be away for an extended business trip, and that the girl was responsible for herself during that time. Not that she minded, of course, ever the contrary. It was a blessing not to have the woman breathing down her neck at every opportunity.

With that thought as her boon, she soldiered on through several boring lectures and a calculus test in moderate spirits, and by the time lunch period rolled around, she was breathing easier knowing that the week was nearly through.

Sayori was waiting for her at their usual spot in the Library, and the barrage of texts spurred her on quickly after a stop by her locker to change out her materials for the second half of the day. Stepping through the doors into the now uncomfortably cold space–they hadn't bothered to turn off the air conditioning as far as she could tell–she spotted the coral haired girl already hard at work. The desk was covered in papers as though a small math-bomb had gone off, and Sayori was ground zero.

"Hey, you," Monika greeted warmly, pulling out the chair next to her friend and settling in for what would undoubtedly be a frantic cram session.

Sayori offered her a quick glance before turning back to the pages, staring at one intently. It wasn't the type of response Monika was used to. Even on days when the girl was near tears with stress, there was an undeniable sort of energy that permeated the air around her second in command. Whatever she was feeling, she often felt it at levels that surpassed the average person, and it showed.

That made her demeanor all the more consternating, and Monika leaned her elbows on the table, a small worried frown creasing her brow. "Is everything okay? Worried about your test?"

"Uh, no thanks…" Sayori murmured in response.

The completely nonsensical reply would have been funny at any other time, but it only served to deepen the disquiet stirring in Monika's heart. "Hey," she tried again, resting a hand gently on the shorter girl's shoulder.

That seemed to get her attention, and ocean blue eyes came into focus, turning their gaze to her. "Oh. Monika. Hey."

She let her hand slip from its perch, coming to rest with her other one on the table's surface, and threaded her fingers together. "Is everything okay? You're not that worried about the test, right? It's just one unit–I really think you're gonna nail it," she tried encouragingly.

Sayori leaned back in her chair, tilting her head to look up at the ceiling panels. "No, it's not that. I'm actually not even stressed about it…"

"Then what's up? I don't think I've ever seen you like this before."

The coral haired girl fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, unable to keep her hands still. "I have…" she trailed off, as though the words weren't flowing in the way she wanted them to–a tap with a clog. She tried again. "My mom made me an appointment to see a therapist this afternoon, so I'll be taking the test late."

Oh.

"Oh." They sat there in silence for a beat while Monika collected her thoughts. Then, she spoke. "Well I'm sure it'll be okay. She just cares about you, that's all. And if you don't like it, I'm sure she won't force you to keep going back." She didn't know that, of course. Sayori's family life was still a relative mystery to her. As far as she could recall, she had never been to the girl's house in this iteration, even for a study session.

"Actually," Sayori began, drawing Monika out of her own musings, "I asked her to." Her fidgeting intensified, and she looked at Monika anxiously. Then, more softly, she asked, "Do you think there's something wrong with me?"

Monika looked back at her in shock. "What? No! No, of course not, Sayori!" The words didn't seem to hold much weight despite her sincerity, so she continued. "I'm really proud of you, Say. That's a huge step, I mean it." Sayori's shoulders lost some of their tension at that, dropping away from her ears ever so slightly. "Listen," the Club President intoned, "Lots of people struggle. It's only normal considering how messed up this world is. But there are way too many people who go through all that hardship alone. I'm really glad you're reaching out for help. It's, like, super admirable."

While the reassurance seemed to help, the coral haired girl couldn't stop all of the negative thoughts swirling in her mind, and one managed to slip through. "You don't seem to have that problem…" she muttered glumly.

Monika knew she didn't mean anything by it–if anything, it was another moment of self-deprecation–but it made her feel guilty all the same. Oh, you have no idea. "Hey, I have my moments, Say," she laughed it off, nudging the girl's shoe with her own, forcing a smile. "But still, It's a great first step." She thought for a moment before adding, "If you want, you can call me tonight and tell me how it went."

The deflection seemed to do the trick, and Sayori brightened slightly. "Yeah, I might do that. Thanks."

Their conversation diverged after that, turning to the material that Sayori was still struggling with. The postponement of her test was a blessing in disguise–it gave her an extra weekend to look over the text, which lessened Sayori's usual level of test anxiety substantially. Monika didn't point out that she didn't really need it–she probably could have aced it that afternoon–instead allowing the monotony of the problems to act as a distraction for herself as much as for Sayori.

The girl's comment had really stuck with her, and she was finding it hard to wrangle her mind away from the implications–what could talking with a professional do for her, anyway? They'd just lock her up and throw away the key, probably. Therapy was for people with normal problems, not for semi-immortal girls trapped in a dating simulation, though that implied that Sayori was a normal girl. Paradoxically, Monika's mind fought itself on which was more true in this case–was Sayori real, and therefore likely to benefit from professional intervention, or was she fake and all of this was incredibly pointless and inconsequential–

"Oh, hey, hey!" Sayori's finger prodding her bicep dragged Monika back out of her mind–so much for a distraction. Once the coral haired girl was certain she had her friend's attention, she pointed in the direction of the bean bag chairs in the far corner of the library. Their placement was ideal for those looking for a quiet, secluded place to read, situated as they were by the windows looking out over the courtyard. Monika looked in the direction Sayori was indicating. "Isn't that her?"

There, nestled deep in the embrace of yet another heft volume of literature, was Yuri. "Ah, uhm, yes?" Monika replied uncertainly.

"She's in my Chem class second period on Wednesdays!" Sayori offered without prompting. "She's really quiet, though… I'm gonna go talk to her!"

"What, why?" Monika squawked in surprise at the sudden declaration.

Her reaction seemed to confuse the shorter girl, and she paused half-way through rising from her seat. "Cuz she's reading a book, duh! She obviously likes literature! You said yourself that we need to keep looking for new members for the club."

"Well, yeah, but–" Sayori didn't wait for her to finish, hopping up from her seat. "N-no, wait, Sayori! Just—shit…" Monika whispered after her, trailing off into a curse as her friend showed no sign of stopping.

Monika watched in stupefied horror as Sayori bounded up to Yuri who was, for all intents and purposes, lost to the world, enthralled by her book. As Sayori plopped down into the chair next to her, she looked up, startled.

The two conversed for a moment, and try as she might, Monika couldn't make out what was being said–it wasn't as though she'd ever had reason to develop the skill of lip-reading, after all. After a few agonizing minutes, Sayori gestured in her direction. When soft lavender eyes fell on her, Monika looked away quickly, feeling a deep flush bloom across her cheeks.

After a moment, she chanced another look and saw Yuri shaking her head at something Sayori had said, but Sayori was persistent. Even from her seat, which may as well have been on the opposite side of the world for all the difference it made, Monika could see the moment Sayori gave the poor, unsuspecting girl "the stare."

While the Sayori Monika had known had always had a bit of that "kicked puppy" vibe, this Sayori was in a class of her own. Monika had yet to meet anyone who could withstand that level of concentrated charm. It was a dangerous weapon, and the coral haired girl wielded it with pride.

At first, Monika considered the possibility that the girl was simply unaware of the sway her puppy-dog eyes had, but then she'd witnessed her turn the devastating power on someone first hand–Natsuki. That single expression had the ability to convince their pink haired club member to do, quite literally, anything–even apologize as happened to be the case at the time–and Sayori knew it. The very thought gave her chills. What a terrifying person to make an enemy of.

Sure enough, it only took a few seconds for poor Yuri to cave, and the two rose from their seats and headed in her direction. A pulse of panic flowed through her body at their approach, and she scrambled to make herself look busy, stacking several pages that were nearing the edge of the table into a neat pile. Sayori took her normal seat, and Yuri took the one at the end of the table–the furthest away from Monika. Ouch.

She tried not to let it bother her, organizing and reorganizing the papers as the two chatted away. Well, Sayori was doing most of the talking with Yuri giving her half-hearted replies and the occasional nod. Every few minutes, her eyes would flick to Monika only to flee when they made eye contact.

Eventually, Sayori slowed in her interrogation of the girl, turning back to Monika, who hadn't actually been intaking the words she was saying. Caught off guard at the sudden inclusion, she blinked slowly. "Uh, sorry, what?"

"Saturday! We're still on, right?" Sayori repeated, smiling at her widely.

When Monika didn't respond, staring back at her friend vacantly, she turned in her chair, digging through her backpack for something. As she did, Monika couldn't keep her gaze from drifting back to Yuri who, seeing her chance, had opened her book once more. Monika was surprised she hadn't used the brief moment of distraction to make her escape, but she seemed content to simply pick up where she'd left off in the sizable tome.

Eventually, Sayori found what it was she had been looking for, flashing two bright yellow tickets in front of the club president's face, grinning widely. Monika frowned slightly for a moment and Sayori sighed. "You forgot, didn't you?"

The disappointed look on the shorter girl's face made Monika wince apologetically. "I'm sorry Sayori, what are those?" she asked, lightly tugging one from her friend's grasp and examining it.

"The fall festival. It's in town this weekend–you said you'd go with me, remember?"

Recognition flashed in the girl's green eyes. "Oh, right! That's this weekend?"

Sayori squirmed excitedly in her seat. "Mhmmmmmm. We still on?"

A tenuous smile crept onto Monika's face as she ran a finger over the edge of the ticket. It was thick card-stock, seemingly cut by hand. The lettering was printed in a bold font, and a small pumpkin decorated the bottom right hand corner. It was simple, but someone had clearly put some time into designing it. Something about it made her heart clench in her chest. It felt so… tangible . Not a copy-pasted asset, but a tiny, real piece of the town. Someone made this.

It was such a small thing. Inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but it was like she'd been forced out of her body at the revelation, like she was a visitor in someone else's life looking out through the windows of their eyes. What was this?

"Monika?"

Sayori's prodding snapped her out of it, slamming her back into the present like a door closing on an elevator. What was wrong with her, spacing out like that. "O-oh, right, sorry. Yes, yes we are absolutely 'still on'."

The answer seemed to satisfy her friend, and she grinned widely, whooping, only to receive a harsh glare from the aid working the circulation desk for her outburst. As she whispered a soft "sorry," Monika noticed Yuri's eyes on her, studying her. Even when they made eye contact, she didn't look away immediately, a question forming in those lavender depths.

Whatever it was disappeared the moment Sayori turned her attention to the bookworm. "Oh, wait! Yuri!" The purple haired girl startled at the full force of Sayori's bubbly chatter suddenly being directed at her.

"Y-yes?" she replied hesitantly.

"What about you? You could come with us if you want! I'm sure they'll have plenty of tickets left at the gate!" She leaned forward, dropping her head into her arms as she waved the aforementioned ticket lazily.

Yuri raised her eyebrows in surprise before her face morphed into something near regret. "A-apologies, Sayori, but I am… otherwise engaged this weekend. I will be attending… an event." And it really seemed like she meant the expression of remorse, though how Sayori had managed to win over the tall, guarded girl in such a short time was beyond Monika. A people person, through and through, that Sayori, she supposed.

"Aweee," Sayori whined sadly. Disappointment was evident on her face, but only for a moment. Then, her eyes narrowed. "Wait, you're going to the Halloween party, aren't you." Monika looked up at the mention of the party, curious to hear the purple haired girl's response.

Yuri nodded her head doggedly, "That was my intention, yes."

Sayori leaned back in her chair with a huff, "Ick."

Monika elbowed Sayori, the light blow finding purchase between her ribs and she let out a sharp oof. The brief interaction brought an arc to one of Yuri's eyebrows in an unspoken question.

Sayori was only too happy to oblige her. "He's just such a tool–"

"Sayori!" Monika admonished.

"Well he is! He's always giving you a hard time, Moni–"

She cut her off with a tired sigh, "He's not that bad, and besides, Yuri is more than capable of making her own judgements about people." She stopped short of saying anything further, realizing she'd just spoken about the girl as if she wasn't sitting right next to her. "Sorry," she mumbled by way of apology, though if Yuri understood what she was apologizing for, exactly, she didn't show it.

"I-it's fine," she replied anyway to be polite.

The conversation lulled after that, Sayori returning to her studying with Monika's distracted guidance, and Yuri burying herself back into her book, though she still didn't leave the table. When the bell rang, dismissing them back into the sea of students heading to their next class, Sayori wheeled onto her heel to face the direction Yuri had headed. "Don't be a stranger!" she called down the hall, earning her a few confused glances. Yuri ducked her head to avoid attention being called to her before hurrying off, only offering a brief raise of her hand in reply.

"Say!" Monika groaned.

"What? She's nice!"

The Club President shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "That's fine and all… it's just…"

This time Sayori peered at her with exaggerated interest. "It's just what?" she prodded.

"Maybe you shouldn't try to force her to be around me."

Sayori frowned, clearly confused. "I mean, I wasn't. I just thought it was a good opportunity is all." Then, she seemed to think about it for a minute. "But why do you say that?"

Monika shrugged self-consciously, the tension in her shoulders from the past half-hour beginning to show in the way they were aching. "She doesn't like me. That's all," she mumbled by way of explanation.

"Whaaaaa?" Sayori exclaimed, garnering them a few more annoyed looks from the students passing them. "But what's there not to like?"

Monika sighed at that, guilt worming its way into her heart at the casual complement from her friend. "Come on, we'll talk while we walk. I have to get to class, and you ," she punctuated the word with a tap on the coral haired girl's nose, almost as if to distract herself with the motion, "have to get to the nurse's office. You have that appointment today, right?"

Sayori deflated at that, her head dipping as she stared at her shoes, watching them disinterestedly as if they belonged to someone else. "Yeah…"

The Club President nudged her gently with her shoulder. "Hey, cheer up. This is a good thing, remember? And then, before you know it, we'll be at the festival having a great time, okay?" she offered as the two traipsed through the halls in the direction of the nurse's office.

That seemed to rekindle the tepid flame of joviality in the shorter girl, and she offered Monika an uncertain smile. "If you say so…" She trailed off then turned her gaze toward the Club President expectantly.

"What?"

"Your Yuri problem," she prompted as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You were gonna tell me why she doesn't like you, remember?"

Monika would have been lying if she'd said she wasn't hoping her friend had forgotten about that little detail, but leave it to Sayori to avoid distraction when it was something to do with a friend–mind like a steel trap, that one. With a little more prompting from her second in command, she reluctantly filled Sayori in on what had occurred earlier in the week. "She's kinda been giving me the silent treatment since." A half truth. It wasn't as if she'd made any particular effort to engage the taller girl in the past week. If anything, she was too unsure about the situation to even try. Or maybe-more accurately–she was just accepting of it, unconsciously punishing herself by allowing the taller girl to develop a negative view of her. Was it really so off base, though, she thought morosely.

Sayori winced. "Ouch." She was quiet for a minute. Then, she frowned, looking up at her green eyed friend, confused. "Why didn't you just tell her that you stood up for her? Don't you think she would have believed you?"

Monika's shoe squeaked against the linoleum as she shrugged her backpack higher on her shoulders. "I don't know… I guess? Maybe? I mean I tried to, but… the words just wouldn't come out. It was like… my brain was just going too fast for my mouth to come up with anything to say. Sorry, that probably sounds stupid, ahaha…"

Sayori shook her head immediately as if to dismiss the notion. "No, I get it! That happens to me all the time, just usually about something silly, like what I want for lunch… okay maybe it's not exactly the same thing, but still." She thought for a moment before seeming to come to a decision. "Do you want me to talk to her?" she asked, determination emanating from the question.

Monika stopped, looking down at her friend with surprise. "You?"

The Coral haired girl nodded. "Yeah! I could tell her it was all a misunderstanding and that you're just a big softie." She prodded at Monika's side, and the girl shied away, unable to stop the grin from spreading across her face.

"S-stop that," she swatted away the offending appendage and schooled her face back into a more serious expression. "Isn't that kind of taking the easy way out, though?"

Sayori raised her eyebrows meaningfully. "Were you going to clear this up?"

"–w-well, I–"

Sayori forestalled whatever poor excuse she was about to come up with by holding up a finger. "Or were you going to just let her go on thinking you shit talked her with a bunch of other girls in the locker room."

Monika winced, unused to hearing the coral haired girl cuss. She was spending too much time with Natsuki... "Okay, when you say it like that…"

"I'll be the moderator! No, wait… mediator? Whatever. The point is that everyone needs help sometimes, even you. So let me help."

Green eyes met blue, and Monika considered her words for a beat. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay, you can talk to her. If you want."

"Yes!"

"–But!" she interjected to forestall the celebration just as Sayori's arm reached the midpoint of her fist-pump. "Only if it comes up," she asserted, pointing in the shorter girl's direction decisively. "I don't want her to think I, like, put you up to it or something."

"Aye-aye, Captain." She replied with a mock salute.

They reached the nurse's office then, and Monika gave a brief wave as she and Sayori parted ways. As she headed down the hall to her next class, she smiled softly to herself, thumbing the ticket still gripped in her hand. She tucked it into her chest pocket for safe-keeping. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so bad if it was with Sayori. Besides, she'd never gotten to experience a local celebration before, even in her fabricated memories. She tucked her notebooks closer to her chest, as though the action could shield the small ember of excitement glowing warmly in her chest.

Yeah, she thought, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.