Part 10

The various whispers and mutters of other students milling around and keeping their distance was slowly becoming increasingly irritating over the expanse of the day.

"Pretty sure her and Monika broke up."

"I heard there was an ambulance outside of her house."

"No, I think it was Monika's house."

"This is all for attention, she's fine."

"Someone told me she tried to kill herself."

"Definitely for attention. Is dating Monika not enough?"

"If they even are any more. Not what I heard. Monika looks pretty down, so..."

"I wonder how she did it."

Natsuki clenched her fists, her fiery temper flaring. How fucking dare they. To her left Sayori's abandoned desk sat unoccupied once again, apparently a few days of staying clear from school encouraged a shit load of rumors to fly around.

This was so, incredibly unfair on Sayori. She hadn't encouraged this kind of attention and if she knew some of the things they'd been saying...well, Natsuki was fairly sure they would only add to the initial problem. Her calculated gaze dropped to the phone in her hand, scanning the messages upon the little screen.

Old Message(s):

1:25pm: sugar^and^spice - I hate to be a downer but I keep hearing some really shitty things about Sayori from our classmates. Can you do anything about these rumors, Monika?

1:27pm: Love_For_Literature - I am afraid I have heard some unpleasant statements too.

(1) New Message(s):

1:29pm: lilmonix3 - I'm working on it.

Being student body president gave Monika a little influence over situations like this with aid from the student body, fortunately. Hopefully she would be able to diffuse the rumors quickly, particularly before Sayori returned. It would already be hard enough for her, couple that with constant staring and whispering leaves a pretty tough situation.

"Phone away, Natsuki. I will not ask again." She scowled tensely at the teacher, her grip on her mobile tightening. So it's perfectly damn fine for the other students to belittle Sayori but not for me to try and help?

Fuck this backwards school.

However, she grit her teeth and did what she had been ordered to. Despite her snarky attitude she still tried to be a good student. Her eyes landed on Sayori's empty desk beside her, a twinge of pain shooting up her chest and wrapping cold fingers around her heart. If she had succeeded in ending her life...yeah, that would have been so fucking tough. Her best friend had been suffering and she had never even thought twice about it. Hopefully Sayori would want to see her at some point, she missed her.

(2) New Message(s):

2:40pm: lilmonix3 - I've spoken to the student council. They're going to help control the spread of the rumors, we've done it before we can do it again.

2:44pm: Love_For_Literature - Thank you again for that. I certainly hope it works this time, too. Poor Sayori.

Natsuki breathed a quiet sigh of relief, the little ball of mangled tension in her chest loosening. That was a good start, at least.

2:46pm: sugar^and^spice - Nice one, Moni

2:47pm: lilmonix3 - Hey, aren't you supposed to be in a lesson??

2:49pm: sugar^and^spice - You didn't hear a thing from me...

She pocketed her phone and turned back to the work in front of her. More trigonometry, ugh.

Maths was the only lesson she didn't share with Sayori and it was actually a pleasant change from seeing her empty desk for consistent hours on end. Instead she had another student that she could tolerate talking to, which could be fairly entertaining. They often talked about their mutual interest in manga and anime, Natsuki tended to use her to get her experiences off her chest. It was an awful feeling when something exciting happened and she had no one to talk to about it, but that's when Mia stood in. Since Natsuki had recently re-watched it, they had discussed Angel Beats again throughout the course of the lesson. Partially because she wanted to and partially to distract her from bringing up Sayori as a conversation topic, as a lot of other arrogant students had attempted. She was getting progressively more annoyed at being asked if she knew what had happened, but fortunately a sharp, sly remark would send them scuttling. They had no right to pry, after all.

The class was dismissed while Natsuki and her friend were still discussing the anime, their conflicting opinions on the relationship between Kanade and Otonashi the forefront of their conversation as they left. But Natsuki halted in surprise when her eyes landed on Monika and Yuri, seemingly waiting for her. She raised a curious eyebrow, they usually met her at the club. "Hey? What are you doing here?"

Monika stepped forward and linked her arm through Natsuki's, her signature twinkle in her eye. "It's club time! We were passing the class and thought we may as well wait for you." She glanced passively to Yuri who was noticeably fidgeting with the hem of her azure skirt, but she sent her an uncomfortable smile anyway. Natsuki waved her friend away before she was pulled along the corridor by an overly chatty Monika, Yuri trailing apprehensively beside her like a lost dog. She was being much quieter than usual and it unnerved her a little, but she didn't get much time to dwell on that before Monika breezed through the club room door with a contented sigh.

As silly as it was, Natsuki still didn't feel as though she belonged there anymore. If anything she had debated skipped the literature club today, with no Sayori present to keep her occupied and the other, new members getting acquainted she wasn't sure whether it would be worth it, really. Her friends were both happier there without her, they didn't need that dead weight dragging them down.

She sat at a free desk reluctantly, Yuri sliding quietly into the chair beside her as the president detached from them to speak privately to another student. Natsuki worked her jaw a little before speaking up. "You don't have to feel obligated to sit with me, you know?"

Yuri pulled a book out of her bag, one Natsuki hadn't seen her read before, and peered at her curiously through narrowed eyes. "Why would I not?"

Her voice was quiet and reserved, which wouldn't be unusual if she hadn't been so...normal with Natsuki lately. Something was definitely wrong, but she had been fine at lunch as far as she could recall. It frustrated her, a lot. "Doesn't matter," she said dismissively and Yuri timidly opened her mouth to reply before another figure slipped into the desk beside her, cutting her off with a quick, keen greeting. Oh, Elyssa.

"Hello, Elyssa," she said formally and gestured to Natsuki. "You remember my girlfriend, Natsuki?" Even in the depths of her poor mood it felt damn good to hear her say that aloud. Elyssa looked a little surprised, but beamed nonetheless.

"Oh yeah! The one who made those super delicious cupcakes at the festival." Natsuki shrugged tightly and slouched back into her seat. She was well aware that Elyssa was just trying to butter her up, but she played along regardless of the obvious bait.

"Bad news, they're not a regular treat," she quipped, crossing her arms over her chest. Elyssa just laughed. Maybe she wasn't so bad, after all.

"So how long have you two been together? I didn't know you were." She sounded genuinely intrigued. Despite the question being aimed at her, Natsuki glimpsed mindfully across at Yuri who seemed surprisingly taut, her jaw stiff and her narrowed eyes rigidly plastered to the book between her hands. It was strange, but she shook it off to answer.

"Not long. Don't tell Monika, though, she doesn't know yet."

Elyssa motioned a cross over her heart, "Promise!" Her view landed on an unfamiliar student who had recently entered the classroom, presumably her friend, and she jumped up fluently from her seat, shooting the girls a quick grin. "See you two later!" And with that, she was gone.

Natsuki released a pent up breath of relief and turned to wave an impatient hand in front of Yuri's face, her expression still chilly. "Hello? Earth to Yuri?" Her girlfriend jumped, a nervous laugh escaping her lips as her manner softened into shock. "You okay?"

"Of course!" Her shaking voice hardly convinced Natsuki, but she let it go anyway. Now really wasn't the time to pry. Instead she allowed her to turn back to her book and decided herself to pull out her phone, opening the browser to continue where she had left off in The Portrait of Markov. She only worked through a couple of paragraphs before she was interrupted.

"Okay, everyone!" Monika's voice cut through the air like a blade, silencing the room in an instant. "I have made the decision to call off club meetings until our vice president has returned. It's a little unfair to kick start this new era without one of the founding members," she winked at Natsuki and Yuri. What was that supposed to mean? "I'll let you all know when it's officially up and running again." That sent a painful twinge to Natsuki's heart. Their once compact club was changing...and she wasn't yet certain if that was really for the better. She wasn't prepared for "club" activities with a group of people she didn't know. Would the others join the four of them on their club outings, too? What if Sayori and Monika gradually drifted away from her and Yuri for the other members? Or, even worse, would Yuri stray from her? She would hardly be surprised.

As the other students began to chat among themselves and mingle a little, Monika trotted up to their desk, her eyes alight. "Are you two free next Saturday?" Yuri and Natsuki exchanged an interested look before nodding as a form of validation. "Great! I think we should do something! I can see if the hospital will let Sayori have a supervised day out and us four can make arrangements to celebrate the club's success. What do you think?"

Okay, maybe she does care. Surely Monika saw her as more than just another name on the member list right?

"It sounds wonderful, but...It was my belief that next Saturday is your anniversary with Sayori..." Yuri said, rubbing circles on her wrist. A nervous habit of hers that she'd recently begun performing a fair amount. It was true, however, they'd been talking about that for months.

With a brisk flick of auburn hair Monika sent her a slight smile and shrugged loosely. "It is, two years and counting. But I think she would much prefer to spend her free day with all three of us rather than just me. What do you say?"

Natsuki grinned a little, excitement to see Sayori bubbling in her belly as she shuffled in her seat. "Hell yeah, let's do it!" Again, she would need to make sure she had permission before solidifying any plans, but having a set date was a useful foundation to work with.

Beside her Yuri nodded in union. "I would love to."

Bouncing on her heels, Monika's delighted smile widened and she clapped her hands together swiftly. That girl had far too much energy. "Awesome! I'll talk to Sayori today about it."

"Can I ask you something?"

"O-Of course."

"You've been acting weird today, what's up?"

They sat in a wide, red booth of the milkshake bar, the coloured faux leather of the seats squeaking in irritation as Yuri shifted her weight uncomfortably at the question. Natsuki just peered across the expanse of the table at her, waiting impatiently. The small establishment was made out to look like a mini American diner with several rows of booths boasting a red and white colour scheme and quiet 50s music playing on a retro jukebox. An array of plaques and signs hosted pinup girls and vinyls along the white painted walls. They did serve food, too. Not that she had the money to buy any.

"I-um," Yuri stuttered. She had been particularly quiet since she had met her outside of the classroom and it was gradually beginning to bother Natsuki. "I-It is nothing!"

"No, it's not," Natsuki said, frustration beginning to seeth under the surface. She was easy to read, at least. "Something's on your mind."

That earned a blush from Yuri, which would have looked pretty if she wasn't so damn curious. "I assure you, Natsuki, it is nothing to worry about. I just..." she glanced at her before averting her eyes again and taking a deep breath. "I just have this, um, problem when it comes to relationships...I-I probably should have warned you earlier but I was hoping this would not happen...Yet it has, um, started to."

What was she talking about? A problem? Natsuki leaned over the table and placed a reassuring hand on Yuri's arm. At least she hoped it was reassuring. "What is it, Yuri? You can tell me."

"I-It may put you off a little," she admitted, looking flustered. Did she really think she would just bolt after everything they'd already went through?

"C'mon, I've proved I'm not that easily scared away!" It was hardly fair or healthy to allow Yuri to just bottle up her thoughts, she knew that. They'd already discussed so much and she had been well aware that many of their personal issues hadn't yet been mentioned, surely this couldn't hurt.

Eventually Yuri let out a small breath as she dropped her hand to the table slowly and took Natsuki's into it, their fingers intertwining. "I can tend to get a little, uh...Possessive, I suppose," she muttered, her head low.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Yuri nipped her lip, sending an untimely, pleasant shiver up her spine. Not now. "Remember how you were feeling yesterday?" Natsuki nodded in confirmation. "Well, times that by ten and add a stab to the heart." She laughed nervously, but it held little humor. "It is crazy, I know, but...I have very little control over those feelings and I have no idea why I even experience them, I am aware they are irrational. Sometimes I can end up acting out on them if they're particularly awful. I, um, I have never been in a relationship long enough to know whether it will get better with time, either. I was very much hoping to avoid this, but-"

She was rambling. Natsuki squeezed her fingers gently and felt her relax briefly at her touch. So this was about her and her other friend...sort of how she had reacted towards Elyssa? Wait, but hadn't Yuri had a bad reaction when she had talked to Elyssa too, though?

Either way, Yuri was just worried about losing her, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, was it? "I'm not going to judge your feelings," she said with confidence.

"Y-You cannot say for certain, Natsuki. You have never seen it," she seemed simultaneously afraid and sad. It surely couldn't be that bad, right? That wasn't in character for the sweet, shy bookworm she knew so well. Perhaps she just assumed Natsuki would be more sensitive to those things due to her father and was just being extra careful?

"Well," she started slowly, "At least you're aware of the problem, yeah? If it ever gets bad I want you to talk to me, I won't mind." She was mumbling slightly, not yet used to the cheesy relationship stuff. "I mean, I've had similar feelings, right? So I get it, I guess."

"I...I would hate myself if I ever reminded you of him, you know?"

Natsuki shook her head firmly, wincing at the forgotten bruises. "You won't."

At least that made Yuri smile. A shy, sad smile that tugged Natsuki's heartstrings. "We will see. I am...um, afraid of scaring you away, I suppose." That was sweet, she thought. But there wasn't much about her girlfriend that was scary that she knew of, aside from the knives. She doubted Yuri would ever hurt her, but...maybe someone else if she felt threatened enough? Did she even have the capacity to hurt someone? Then again, she had looked frighteningly vicious when she had uncovered Natsuki's bruises...

What was she thinking? Yuri was much too delicate for anything like that.

Right?