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The first couple of minutes in the literature club were typically dedicated for everyone to do as they please. Today was no different. Yuri was reorganizing the classroom’s closet, tending to the contents within. Natsuki was rereading a volume of Parfait Girls. Monika wasn’t in yet, most likely taking care of other matters. MC was simply staring off into the void. And then there was Sayori.
Everyone’s heads turned to one of the classroom’s entrances as the door slid open. And in she walked, the same old pep in her step as always. Her coral-pink hair bounced in rhythm with her pace as she immediately made her way to her sweet something. She greeted the other two in the room before finally stopping in front of MC’s desk.
“Heyyyyy MC!” She said excitedly, letting out a small and adorable giggle.
MC looked up to face Sayori, his expression plain compared to his girlfriend’s cheery demeanor. “Hello, Sayori.” He replied monotonously.
Sayori’s face morphed into a frown, playfully sad that MC would respond in such mediocre fashion. Then again, it was just his tone. Even if they were together, that part of him wouldn’t change. Yet, it was something she loved about him.
“Check out what I got!” She began to reach into her bag, struggling with her blind rummaging before pulling out a box of Pocky. The snack was something familiar between the both of them. MC never bought a box himself. It was usually Sayori who’d occasionally grab one for them to share. That is why, when staring at the basic red box, he didn’t react a bit. “Don’t you see what it is?” She asked after a beat of silence, tilting her head.
“Yes. It’s a box of Pocky.” MC answered.
“Well, do you know why I bought it?”
“To snack on.”
“Yeeeeees. But also…” Sayori opened the box, then the packet inside, revealing the slender snacks within. “Because I want to play a game!”
Games. It was always games with Sayori. It seemed like every day, she would find something new and ask MC to play along with her. Did he ever say no? Of course not. Whether he’d admit it or not, he always had a little bit of fun with whatever they played. He looked down at his desk, questioning whether he should give in this time. There was no reason not to. It wasn’t like he was doing anything.
“Alright, what’s the game you want to play?”
Just from the answer, Sayori’s face lit up. One could almost see visible sparkles surrounding her as her smile grew wider. She let out a quick, “Yay!” before taking a second to pull out a stick. “It’s called: The Pocky Game!”
Did she make that name up herself?
“It’s a very simple game! We each put an end of the stick in our mouths, then we munch until we get to the middle!” She explained to him. MC’s expression did not change a bit.
“So… what’s the catch, exactly?” He decided to ask her.
“The catch is the game ends when one of us breaks the stick in two. Or,” She leaned into MC’s ear. “Until we kiss.” She concluded in a whisper.
Now he got it. This game was all just some ploy to get them to kiss. It wasn’t the first time Sayori had conjured something like this that concluded with a kiss. He recalled the time she made them play a game she called ‘Face-to-Face’ where they’d see how many parts of their faces they can touch together. Of course, it ended with lips. For some reason, she couldn’t gather the courage to simply ask for a kiss. She always had to make up some silly little activity that would lead to it. Regardless, MC decided to play along.
“Fine. Just one game, though.” MC said, standing up from the chair he was sitting on.
“Yay! Okay okay,” Sayori placed the chocolate-covered end of the Pocky stick in her mouth before closing her eyes, standing on the tip of her toes to reach MC’s face.
MC simply stared at her. She seemed to be waiting patiently for him to put the other end in his mouth. He wasn’t going to do that. He looked behind him for a quick second, checking to see that Yuri or Natsuki weren’t looking. They weren’t. He shifted his gaze back to the treat in Sayori’s mouth. With no hesitation, he grabbed his end with his thumb and index finger, pulling it out of her mouth. She only had a second to react before he moved his head forward, placing his lips against hers.
They stayed this way for only a few seconds before MC pulled his head away, a light chu could be heard between them as their lips separated. Both of their eyes opened. Sayori was met with a sly smile, while MC was met with a face flushed completely red. She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head in embarrassment.
“Y-You cheated! You weren’t supposed to do it like that! We had to build up to it!” Sayori said, face still covered to hide how flustered she was over the moment.
MC chuckled in response, a very rare thing for him to do. He lightly gripped onto the side of Sayori’s forearms and slid her hands down, revealing her cherry-red face. “All I did was find a shortcut.” He rebutted, placing the chocolate treat into his mouth afterward. He only received a pout as a response.
The two stared at each other for a little longer before both of their mouths curled into smiles. Sayori wanted to be mad at MC for not playing the game correctly. MC wanted to be mad at Sayori for not simply kissing him without masking it with some silly contest. However, neither of them could be mad at each other for reasons so trivial. At the end of the day, they got what they wanted.
And it was sweeter than any Pocky stick either of them could ever eat.