Chapter 6

Monika woke up in a daze, still lying in the driver's seat of her car.

How long have I been here?

She glanced at the clock to notice she had been asleep for at least three hours.

Monika sighed, deciding to get something to eat from the restaurant she was parked.

Upon entering, she heard the sound of a familiar laugh, her heart skipping a beat.

"Sayori..." she whispered to herself.

In a booth at the corner of the place sat a very flustered Natsuki being teased by the lively and bubbly Sayori.

Monika brushed them off, turning to order something so she could hurry and leave.

"Yo, Park!" Monika flinched at the sound of her name.

She turned to see Natsuki motioning her over and willed herself to advance in their direction.

"H-H-Hi." Sayori said as she approached.

"Have a seat, Monika." Natsuki smirked, pointing to the spot beside Sayori smugly.

Monika hesitantly sat down, feeling Sayori tense beside her as she twiddled her hands in her lap.

"Are you three ready to order?" a waitress asked, holding the pad and pen as she smiled at the girls.

"Oh, um... I-I'm not with-" Monika stopped abruptly, noticing the heartbroken look on Sayori's face.

"C'mon! Have a bite with us." Natsuki said nonchalant.

Monika slowly nodded, settling back into her seat.

"Awesome!" Sayori said with a grin.

Monika blushed, offering a crooked smile in return.

They made their orders; Monika getting simply an order of onion rings and a strawberry milkshake, Sayori and Natsuki agreeing to split a plate of fries and a large Dr. Pepper.

"So, Monika... Why'd you have to leave earlier?" Sayori asked, glancing at her hands as she nervously pressed her fingertips together.

"Oh um... I forgot I didn't feed my cat since I went home with you two." Monika lied, though it wasn't far from the truth.

She had left a very unreliable neighbor in charge of her cat for the day so for all she knew her cat could have been neglected, but she doubted that.

"Oh, that makes sense. Sorry, I didn't realize you had a responsibility like that or I wouldn't have asked so suddenly..." Sayori rubbed her upper arm, blushing at Monika.

"It's fine." Monika assured her.

The food arrived as the three ate in silence.

God dammit... Why am I always a third wheel?!

Natsuki excused herself, making up a reason she had to leave.

Sayori blushed deeper. Without the distraction of Natsuki, there was nothing stopping her from stealing glance after glance at Monika.

Monika looked at Sayori from the corner of her eye, startling both girls to turn away as their eyes met.

What do I say? What should I do? Why can't I function properly?!

"So, Sayori..." Monika began, trying to think of a way to break the ice.

Sayori snapped to attention, turning her head to face the brunette.

"Um... D-Did you finish your poem? F-For club." Monika asked.

Way to go, Monika. Out of the infinate topics to talk about you chose homework.

"Oh! Um... N-Not yet.. I uh... Kinda stink at writing..." Sayori chuckled sheepishly.

"I'm sure that's not true! I'd love to hear one of your poems..." Monika said softly.

"R-Really?" Sayori asked.

"Y-Yeah." Monika smiled.

"I-It's getting pretty late... Do you, uh... Want a ride home..?" Monika asked, noticing the sun was already setting.

Sayori nodded, following Monika out of the booth.

They threw away their trash, exiting the building to enter Monika's car.

~~~

"Thanks for the ride!" Sayori waved as she walked towards her house.

Monika nodded, pulling the car away.

Once inside, Sayori lost all composure.

"Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod." she said, pacing her living room while gripping her hair.

What the frick Sayori? You barely said anything to her!

Sayori groaned, flopping down face first onto her couch.

"I'm an idiot!" Sayori whined.

She gasped, remembering what Monika said about the poems.

They had to share them on Monday, and today was Saturday.

She hastily bolted up the stairs, pulling out a notebook and her bunny pen as she waited for inspiration to strike.

She thought of Monika.

"Green and brown
The perfect tree
A tree for shade
A tree with many blooming flowers
I could climb that tree
See what awaits me at the top
But I'm no good at climbing trees
So I sit at the base and smile
The tree smiles back, brighter than the sun's rays
And I know the tree won't fall down"

Sayori read over her poem, mostly satisfied with how it turned out.

She wrote a title, deciding to call it "Tree" for lack of a more creative name.

Looking it over she was confident Monika wouldn't be able to tell it was about her, which helped calm Sayori's nerves just a bit.

Glancing out the window, she decided it must be pretty late and decided to go to bed.

Jumping into it, she dozed off with only one thing on her mind.

Monika...

~~~

Monika sighed, stepping into her rather large, empty house.

"I'm home." she called, humoring herself with the idea someone might actually answer her.

But someone did.

"Ludwig!" Monika smiled, scooping the chubby ash grey cat into her arms.

Monika walked up the stairs with her cat in her arms, setting him down on her bed.

Monika sat at her desk, remembering she had forgotten to write a poem since she was invited to that sleepover.

She blushed at the thought, opening her notebook to a clean page to begin writing.

"An endless sea
Churning and bubbling
Your waves crashing over me
The boat of my mind finds itself defenseless against you as you toss it around
I'm a simple passenger, though with you I'm not alone
Your waves crash over me, enveloping me like a wet hug
And I never want to reach land"

Monika tried to deny it but to no avail, this poem was completely about Sayori.

She couldn't think of another poem, so she simply hoped Sayori wouldn't know the true muse of her work.

Sighing, Monika stood and walked over to her bed.

She climbed in, covering herself as Ludwig buried into her side.

Monika dozed off with visions of a blue eyed princess prancing through her thoughts.