Chapter Text
Natsuki sighed and began walking out of the room as Monika called off the meeting. Before she could leave, she heard an annoyingly familiar voice.
“Natsuki! Wait! I thought we had a plan to meet at your house after school!” Sayori practically yelled it at her. Shit. Natsuki wondered why she even agreed to that. She knew her dad would be a bitch about it, and she didn’t want to worry Sayori.
“Stop yelling, I wasn’t going to leave you, dummy!” Natsuki shot back, trying to think of what to do about her dad, “Anyways, my dad might get mad that I invited a random person over.”
“Aww, but I'm not a random person, I’m your friend! Please?” Sayori whined.
“Hmph, fine!” Natsuki finally agreed, hoping not to get in trouble. Sayori exclaimed in excitement before they both walked out together.
Sayori was surprisingly silent. Natsuki thought she would have more to talk about. And why were they close on the sidewalk?! Natsuki tried to redirect her focus to the clear blue sky, and the trimmed plants lining the street. But all she could focus on was Sayori’s arm against hers. She felt her face flush. Why am I thinking like that? It’s just because of the tightly spaced sidewalk, dummy!
But as they got close to Natsuki’s house, her focus was instead put to the pit of anxiety and fear in her stomach. She tried to breathe, opening the door carefully. She was hit with the smell of cheap beer and cigarettes. Shit. He was in a bad mood again. The house was dimly lit. Her dad lay on the messy couch, taking a swig of beer before sitting up. He had that drowsy look on his face that meant that he was probably going to do something dumb. Sayori stood just inside the doorway. She better not do something stupid. Instead she just stood there, waiting for Natsuki to do something.
“Hello, papa.” Natsuki said, somewhat shocking Sayori, as she had never seen Natsuki so shy. Her dad’s gaze shifted to Sayori, so Natsuki stepped in before she got scared away.
“S-she missed the bus. The next one is in a few hours. Is it okay if she stays? Just for a bit, please?” He simply examined her for a moment before speaking up, in a loud booming voice.
“What did I say about inviting people over without telling me first?!” He yelled, his voice slurring. At that moment, he began to notice how drunk he was.
“I’ll allow it this once, but I will beat the shit out of you if this happens again, understood?!”
“Yes, papa!” Natsuki ushered, her voice shaking. “Thank you”. They both carefully took off their shoes, Sayori lightly bowing before she followed Natsuki to her room.
As they both entered Natsuki’s room, the air between them seemed to relax a bit. The place was decorated with soft pink decor. She had lots of plushies on her bed, a vanity decorated with stickers, and cream white walls with little pink polka dots. She took a seat on her bed, hoping that Sayori wouldn’t judge her for her fathers actions. Sayori sat down next to her, acting way different than she normally did.
“Is he… always like that?” Sayori asked, quietly.
“Only when he’s drunk…” Natsuki responded
“Does he…” Sayori didn’t want to cross any lines, but she allowed her curiosity to get the better of her. “Does he ever hit you?”
“Sometim-” Natsuki stopped abruptly, remembering how her father told to never let anyone know. “But not that much! J-Just a bi-” She was stopped by Sayori putting a hand over her mouth. She had on that determined expression that she put on when trying to cheer people up.
“Don’t try to sugar-coat it! Monika told me that sometimes he doesn’t feed you, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad… Just know that me and all the club members are always here for you and you are never alone” Sayori must have seen the tears welling up in Natsuki’s eyes, because before she could respond, she was met with a long hug. Natsuki didn’t know what to do. She hadn’t felt like this in so long. She just sat still and embraced the moment.
Sayori allowed her to cry for a bit before pulling away and staring at her for a moment as Natsuki’s tears stopped.
“What is it?!” She asked, slowly becoming her normal self.
“Nothing!” Sayori said, beginning to smile again. She reached into her bag to grab something. She pulled out a bag of chips and handed it to Natsuki.
“You wanted to tell me about that manga, right?”
“Yeah! Finally you mention it, idiot!” Natsuki nagged, though she couldn’t help but allow a smile to tug at her lips. She opened the chips and began eating. She pulled out the Parfait Girls: Volume One book and read it next to Sayori. They were so close. Natsuki tried to focus on the book, but the way their shoulders touched and she could hear Sayori’s breath drove her crazy. Natsuki rested her head on Sayori’s shoulder, savoring the intimate moment as long as she could. For just a moment there, things felt perfect.
After a couple chapters, Sayori checked her phone, realizing that it had been hours of reading about magical girls saving the world.
“I really should get going now” Sayori interrupted in the middle of when Natsuki googled a detail about one of the girls' backstories.
“Oh. Well yeah sounds good, I’m tired of reading with you anyway.” Natsuki agreed, somewhat flustered. “And I am not walking you home”
“Ehehehe, okay!”
“Oh, and take this with you!” Natsuki handed her the manga they were reading. Sayori took it and they both walked downstairs carefully, before realizing that Natsuki’s dad was asleep on the couch. As Sayori left, Natsuki felt off, missing Sayori’s company already. She tip-toed up to her room, to notice a couple packets of sweets and chips were left on her bed.