Yet another day passed, and it was time for the club meeting once again.  I finally got a bit comfortable with being here. As I entered the clubroom, the usual scene greeted me. 

"Hi [F/N]-chann~" Reiji sang, waving to me. 
"Hey, Reiji.... Looks like you're in a good mood today." I sweatdropped. 
"Hehe~" he giggled. "It's just that I'm still not used to you being in the club."
"I see..." I nodded. "... That's a quite simple thing to get you in a good mood... But I guess that's just you being you."
"Speaking of which... I'm kinda hungry~"  he pouted. "Will you come with me to buy a snack?"
"No thank you." I narrowed my eyes.
"Eeeeh???" he yelped. "That's... not like you at all!!"
"I have my own reasons... Why don't we take a look at your wallet, Reiji?"
"H-Huh?" he sweatdropped with a sheepish smile. "Why...?"
"No reason." I shrugged. "Just wanting to look at it."
"O-Oh..." he chuckled awkwardly, nervously getting out his wallet from his pocket. Fumbling with it a bit, he opened it. Then, he slowly got out it's contents, putting it onto the desk. The contents were two small coins.
"... Hahahaha..." he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I knew it." I rolled my eyes. "I can see through you, Reiji."
"That's not fair!" he whined. "How did you even know...?"
"Simple - if you had enough money, you would've bought a snack before coming to the clubroom. So either you aren't hungry and just wanted an excuse to take a walk... Or, you planned to "by chance" forget that you spent all of your money so I would give you some. But... there is also one more thing."
I flicked his forehead.
"You are always hungry! So that only leaves one option!"
"Wah-" he yelped, rubbing his forehead. "Okay, fine, you got me! Don't make me feel guilty!"
"You deserve to feel guilty..." I grumbled. 
"Haha." I heard Camus let out a gentle chuckle. 
"Eh?" Reiji looked at him questioningly, along with me. I didn't even notice he was listening to our conversation. His face was in his book, as always.
"Oh..." he looked away. "I... apologize, it was something in my book."
"Myu-chaaaan...." Reiji whined. "Tell [F/N] to let me borrow some money!"
"That's... Don't get me involved, Reiji." he sighed. "Besides... You should only buy what you can afford yourself. And frankly, after pulling a mischievous trick like that, I believe your suffering is quite fair retribution."
"..." I blinked at him.
"..... Sorry, I didn't mean that." he mumbled, returning his gaze to his book.
"Haha~" Reiji chuckled. "I really like when you speak your mind, Myu-chan~ It's rare, but it's a fun side of you!"
"... There is no way you would think that."
"You were right, though." he hummed. "I did something bad so I have to accept the revolution."
"Retribution..."
"Yeah, that!"
"Still, coming from you, Reiji..." Camus muttered. "... Well... I guess there is a little devil inside all of us."
"Hehe~" Reiji giggled.
"Don't let him fool you." I sighed. "He knows exactly what he is doing. He told you guys I'm joining the club before he even told me..."
"But...!" Reiji pouted. "You wouldn't have came if there was no cupcakes... So I had to trick Ran-Ran into making them!"
"Oh come on, give me more credit than that." I rolled my eyes. 
"Hehe...-"

Something suddenly hit Reiji hard in the face, falling on the desk after.

"GAH-!" he snapped. "Ow...! What was-... E-Eh?? A cookie!!"
It was a giant cookie wrapped in plastic. Reiji looked around.
"... I-Is this a miracle!? It must be because I paid my restitution!!"
"Retribution..." I and Camus corrected him.
"Hahahahaha!" I heard Ranmaru laugh. "Well, I was just gonna give it to you! But then I heard your blabbering about the cupcakes. It was totally worth it."
"R-Ran-Ran!" Reiji gasped. "That's so nice of you! I'm so happy!!"
He hugged the cookie.
"Jeez, just eat it..." I sighed. 
He hurried teared open the wrapping and took a huge bite.
"Sho goofd..." he mumbled with his mouth full, but then yelped. "Mmmf-! I bit my tounge..."
"You are going through a lot while eating a cookie." Ranmaru rolled his eyes with a chuckle, taking a bite of his own cookie.
"Oh, yours looks really great too!" Reiji gasped. "Can I try it?"
"What- no!"
"But yours is banana..."
"Yeah. Why do you think I gave you the other one?"
"Fine.." Reiji grumbled. "Still... I'm really happy that you shared this one with me! Hehe~"
Standing up, he hugged Ranmaru from behind. 
"Ugh...! I get it, I get it, get off!" Ranmaru groaned, trying to nudge the brunette off of himself, cookie still in hand.
"... Nom."
Reiji suddenly leaned over and took a bite of the cookie.
"Hey!!!" Ranmaru snapped. "Did you seriously just do that!?"
Reiji only laughed with his mouth full, running off to safety. Camus and I were laughing as well.
"Jeez, you are such a kid!" Ranmaru snapped after him. "Ai! Can you tell Reiji... Huh?"
He looked around - Ai was nowhere to be seen. 
"Ugh, where's Ai, anyway?"
"Good question..." Camus muttered. "Have any of you heard about him being late today?"
"Not me..." Reiji came back from the corner. 
"Yeah, I haven't either." I nodded. Camus let out a hum in thinking.
"... That's a bit unusual." 
"I hope he's okay..." Reiji frowned. 
"Of course he's okay." Ranmaru rolled his eyes. "He probably just had something to do. He's pretty popular, after all..."
"Eh?" Reiji yelped. "... You guys don't think he... he has a...!"
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised." Camus chuckled. "He is probably more desirable than all of us combined."
"Well, that's true..." Reiji chuckled as well.
"- Excuse me!?" Ranmaru snapped. 

Suddenly, the door opened. 

"Sorry I'm late..." Ai panted a bit.
"Oh, there you are..." I looked at him.
"I didn't mean to be late. I hope you weren't worried."
"Eh??" Reiji blinked. "So Ai chose the club over his girlfriend after all! How strong-willed!"
"... Girlfriend...?" Ai furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head. "What on earth are you talking about?"
Ai looked at me questioningly.
"Oh, uh, don't mind that..." I sweatdropped, looking away. "... What held you up, anyway?"
"Ah... my last period today was study hall. I just lost track of time..."
"That makes no sense, though." Ranmaru furrowed his eyebrows. "You would have heard the bell ring."
"I was practicing the piano, so I must have missed it." he looked away. 
"Piano...?" Camus asked. "I wasn't aware you played the piano, Ai."
"Oh, I don't play often..." he shook his head. "I only started recently... I kind of wanted to learn it."
"That's so cool!" Reiji sang. "You should play something for us, Ai-Ai!"
"... That's..."
Ai's gaze traveled over to me.
"... Maybe once I get a bit better."
"Yay~!" Reiji cheered. 
"That sounds cool." I smiled a bit. "I'm looking forward to it, too."
"... Is that so?" he smiled back. "In that case... I won't let you down, [F/N]."
"... Ah..." I felt myself blush at his sweet smile. "I didn't mean pressure or, stuff...!"
"Don't worry." he chuckled. "I've been practicing a lot recently. And I'd love to share it once I'm ready."
"I see..." I slowly nodded. "... Good luck then."
"Thank you." he smiled. "... So, I didn't miss anything, right?"
"... N... Not really."
I chose to rather not talk about Reiji's mischievous escapade. I'm sure Ranmaru will end up telling him, anyway.
It looked everyone settled down. Reiji somehow already finished his cookie. Camus was back to his book, and Ranmaru disappeared into the closet.

REIJI'S PART

"[F/N], [F/N]!!!" I heard Reiji shout as he ran up to me. "I'm gonna go get some supplies from another classroom. Wanna come with me?"
"Supplies?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "What for?"
"Well, you know how that festival is coming up? Me and Ai-Ai were gonna make some posters, and stuff. So I gotta go and find some crayons, markers, glue sticks..."
"Ah, I see." I nodded. "Sure, I'll go with you."
"Yay~" he sang with a huge smile. "Mkay Ai-Ai, we will be back soon!"
"Ah, so you're going with [F/N] to get the supplies?" Ai looked up. "... There is no need to trouble yourself, I'd love to go with her."
"... Awe, but I wanted to go!" Reiji pouted. "It's so much fun exploring empty classrooms and stuff!"
"Fine, fine." he sighed. "It was just a suggestion. Try to find poster paper too, okay?"
"Okaay~!" Reiji sang. "Ready, [F/N]-chan?"
"Yup, let's go." I nodded. 

Reiji and I left the classroom. I let Reiji drag me as he hummed a happy tune. Honestly... It feels like I'm babysitting a kid at a mall, or something. Reiji really finds pleasure in the most simple things.
"Hey, Reiji... What exactly are we doing for the festival?"
"Haha!" Reiji laughed. "Ai-Ai and I have it all planned out! So don't worry~"
"Is that so...?" I sweatdropped. 
"Yup! We are gonna perform!"
"Perform...?"
"Yeah! You know, everyone is gonna sing their own favorite songs they've written!"
"... Ah... That sounds..."
"[F/N]-chan! You aren't thinking about it in the right way!" he nudged on my arm. It isn't just about the songs... it's about performing them! Like, if you sing a line like..."
He cleared his throat.
"The nightscape's chandelier is so cruel
It seems to spark a man's true intentions
For discovering the real me,
What kind of miracle should I give you?"
....
"Yeah, like that!" he smiled childishly again.
"... Reiji..."
... I never knew he sings like that.
".... Like that, no one will take you seriously."
"Eh!? You're so mean!" he pouted. "I'm working super hard on my singing, you know!"
"Yeah, I know, I know! All I'm saying is that it's an unusual contrast to your cute self...!"
"... Oh."
Blushing, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Haha, don't say that! It's embarrassing... But I guess that only means I'm doing a good job..."
"I guess..." I muttered.
"Wooo, I'm so excited!" he snapped. "The festival's gonna be so fun~"
Jumping around, he suddenly stopped moving. "Hey, [F/N]-chan, this classroom here is empty! Let's begin the mission!"
"The mission...?" I sweatdropped. 
It's been a long time since I got to spend time with Reiji like this. But in the end... he didn't change one bit. He is nothing but a ball of sunshine, making everything happy around himself. It's a pretty nostalgic feeling for me. As the years went on, I began to lock myself in my room more and more... So adventuring with Reiji gives me a special feeling I kind of forgot I had in me. 

The two of us entered the classroom. Reiji headed over to the closet, and I followed him.
"Let's see..." Reiji hummed. "... Crayons!!"
He pulled off a box full of crayons from the shelf.
"They are the best brand! Though they are kinda dirty..."
He started pulling out the crayons from the box one by one, reading the color's names. 
"Well, that's one down." I noted. "Don't get so distracted, we still need to find...-"
"Wait, I'm looking for my favorite color." he shushed me.
"Fine..." I sighed. "Then move away at least, so I can look for the poster paper."
"Ah, I dropped one- OUCH!"
While bending over, Reiji smacked his forehead into the shelf. Falling onto the floor, he dropped the crayon box, making the crayons spill all over his lap.
"Owowowowowowowow...." he hissed in pain, rubbing his forehead.
"Are you okay...?" I looked down at him.
"My forehead..." he muttered.
"Jeez, Reiji.... you are such a klutz. Come on, let me see."
Gently pulling him out of the closet, I leaned down to him.
"Move your hands."
"But it hurts..." he looked up into my eyes just like a lost puppy would.
"Just for a second." I sighed, making him slowly let go of his forehead. I gently brushed his bangs to the side.
"Ow-!" he hissed.
"Sorry..." I muttered. There was a huge red mark on the center of his forehead. A bump was also starting to form.
"Oh man... that's gonna swell up." I sighed. "I have to find you some ice..."
"[F/N]..."
"Where can I even find ice...?" I grumbled. "Ah... I guess a cold drink would do."
"You don't have to-! I'm fine with... looking like a unicorn-"
He is even able to make a dumb joke while wincing from pain...
"What are you saying?" I chuckled. "I'll be right back."
"O-Okay..."

Patting Reiji on the shoulder, I ran out to the hallway. I spotted a vending machine nearby.
"What should I get...?" I muttered to myself, looking through all of the options. It didn't really matter, since it will be used as an ice pack rather than a drink, but still... I knew that Reiji likes apple juice, so I bought that one.  Then I returned to the classroom where I left Reiji.

He was still sitting on the floor, with one hand on his forehead and the other one clumsily scooping the crayons back into the box. 
"At least they were in the wrong spots before I spilled them..." he muttered to himself.
"Reiji, here."
I handed Reiji the apple juice bottle.
"It's nice and cold..." he sighed out.
Opening the cap, he started drinking from it.
"- What are you doing!?" I snapped. "It's for your forehead, you idiot!"
"Ah... Sorry, I forgot..." he chuckled awkwardly.
"How hard did you hit your head...?" I sweatdropped.
He placed the bottle against the bump on his forehead.
"It stings..." he hissed.
"Just bear with it... it'll be better soon." I sighed. "Looks like you cleaned up most of the crayons... that's good."
"... Hey, [F/N]... This kind of reminds you of growing up, doesn'it...?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"You know... how we used to play outside all the time." he smiled sheepishly. "I always tried to keep up with you. You were kind of oblivious in some kind of ways... Like, I usually fell behind or had trouble climbing on things you did... But sometimes when I tried to do things I couldn't, I got myself hurt. Falling, scraping myself, or getting a bump... And that times, I started crying."
He chuckled awkwardly. "At that times... you rushed over as quick as you could. And tried really hard to get me to stop crying. It was like you blamed yourself and didn't want anyone to find out... when it wasn't your fault at all."
"... Did I really do that...?" I sweatdropped.
"Yeah... you don't remember?"
"... Coming to think of it, I do a bit.... I guess I was always too focused on my games to pay attention to you... So... in a way, it was my fault. Kinda like this time... If I wasn't rushing you out of the closet, you probably wouldn't have hit your head..." I frowned. 
"[F/N]..." he looked up at me. "... I don't think you really realize it, but you always think about other people. Even after all these years... you are rushing over to help me, even though I'm just being clumsy. You are such a sweetheart..." he slowly smiled sheepishly.
"... D... Don't call me that!" I looked away. "A-And I don't do these kind of things all the time... When it comes to you, it just feels natural... I'm treating you like that before I know it... I guess that's what happens when you've been friends with someone for so long."
"Really...?" he asked slowly. "Maybe you're right... [F/N]... I'm... really glad that nothing changed between us. Do you think... we can be like this forever?"
"Forever...?"I repeated.
Honestly... there is really no telling where we'll end up for college and after. So it wouldn't be fair to make any promises... But...
"... I hope so." I smiled a bit. "It's been this long already, hasn't it...? I can't imagine you changing... so my hopes are high."
Reiji smiled widely. "I'm so happy..."
Looking into each other's eyes, we remained silent for a few seconds. He is so silly and clumsy on the outside, so when I see him like this... It makes me want to...
"... I-I guess we should go back. You know, I shouldn't worry Ai-Ai and stuff..."
"Good luck..." I slowly nodded. "... He's gonna see your forehead either way."
"Not if I hide it under my bangs~"
He jumped up on his feet.
"Argh-!" he hissed, clutching his forehead again.
"Don't stand up so fast after hurting yourself..."
"Gh..."
"But I guess it's too late now... Anyway, let's go." I sighed, following Reiji out of the classroom. He was playing with his bangs to try and hide the bump, without much success. In a moment, we were in the clubroom once again.

"Ah, you're back." Ai noted one seeing us enter. "Good timing, I was just about to start with sharing our lyrics.... Huh? Reiji, what's up with your forehead?"
"He's fine, don't worry about--"
"I was playing with the crayons and smacked my forehead into the shelf." Reiji smiled, almost proud of it. 
"..." Ai and I both stared at him in silence.
"... Anyway." Ai cleared his throat. "Were you able to find everything we needed?"
"Yup! I have it right--... Eh?"
Reiji glanced around himself in panic.
"... I forgot all of the stuff!!!"
"Calm down, Reiji." I sighed. "I have it all right here. I found poster paper, too."
"Well, sounds like you ended up doing all the work, [F/N]."
"Well, Reiji was..." I tried making up an excuse for him, and failed.
"... I made it an adventure!"
"... Yeah, that."
"Sure, sure." Ai waved us off. "Good work, in any case. I'll start working on the posters tonight."
"Me too!" Reiji nodded widely. 
"... Okay, everybody. Are you ready to share your songs?"
"Guess I should grab mine..." I muttered, making sure the crayon box is closed and returning to my seat.

RANMARU'S PART

"..."
Ranmaru came up to me not much later.
"Yeah, yeah... don't worry, I kept my promise." 
I pulled A Fever You Can't Sweat Out out from my bag. Ranmaru took it from me, and glanced it over thoroughly for any scratches. 
"Hey, I'm not that careless..." I huffed. "I handle CDs all the time, you know."
"I just wanted to make sure." he rolled his eyes. "Don't blame me. I don't give these to people every day, you know."
"That's true... I don't blame you."
"Well anyway... let me put this one back. I'm gonna go get the next one."
He made his way back to the closet, and I followed.
"So tell me everything you thought! Which was the last song on this one again? I forgot..."
"Ah, the song's title was--"
"AI!!!!" he screamed from inside the closet. 
"Eh...?" I furrowed my eyebrows, and peeked inside. All of Ranmaru's albums were lined up on the very top shelf, which was humanly impossible to reach. 
"Did you move my albums again!?"
"Oh... sorry." Ai hummed. "The teacher got mad at me for taking up so much place in her closet, so I had to move things around and clean up a bit. It's all still there, though."
"Ugh..."
The top shelf was far above both of our heads. He jumped, trying to figure out how to reach the box.  "Jeez...! This is impossible! I have to move these all back down... There's plenty of room on these shelves here. And besides, it's much more satisfying to look at them all lined up... Why would you waste that on the top shelf?"
"Ah, Ranmaru... There's a stool on the wall there." I pointed out. "If you want, I can reach up there and give them to you..."
"I can get them myself. You are shorter than me, anyway." he grumbled, grabbing the stool from the wall and jumping on it. The stool was a bit wobbly, and so he let out a slight groan.
"Be careful..." I muttered.
"I know what I'm doing okay!?" he snapped. 
Standing on the stool, Ranmaru's fingertips reached the top shelf. Well, I wouldn't have been able to grab those albums...
"U-Ugh..." he used one of his fingers to scoot a smaller box to the edge of the self. "... Argh-!"
The box suddenly fell off, and he barely caught it before it could reach the floor. The stool wobbled again. Losing balance, Ranmaru jumped off of it.
"... Well, here!" a bit shaken up from almost falling, his voice was shaking. I sighed. 
"There is no need for you to prove yourself to me... There's no way you'll be able to get the bigger boxes like that. So let me just get a chair and..."
"I told you, I don't need your help." he grumbled.
"I'm gonna get that chair, so hang on." 
Slightly pushing me away, he left the closet. 
"Let's see..." I heard him mutter. The classroom chairs have the desks attached to them, so they're too big to fit into the closet. 
"Ahha!"
Ranmaru headed over to teacher's desk, which had a computer chair behind it. He rolled it over to the closet. 
"Oh..."
That was a little dangerous, since the chair has wheels. But I kept my mouth shut. Ranmaru climbed on the chair, slowly balancing on his feet. Since he refused my help, I sat down near the doorway and watched. 
"There we go." he muttered, taking a box. "See? I can easily do it now."
He grabbed a stack of albums and bent down to put it on a lower shelf. He yelped as the chair swiveled, but he managed to catch himself on the shelf.
"What are you doing just sitting there??? Can you at least hold the chair steady??"
I thought you didn't need my help...
"Yeah, yeah, I got you..." I sighed, standing up and grabbing the chair. Ranmaru reached back up. As he lifted his arms, his shirt moved a bit, and from the position I was, I....
... I'm able to see under his shirt...!?
"Screech!" I blushed deeply, forcing myself to turn away. Ranmaru did NOT think this through...! If he realizes, he'll kill me!!
He let out a groan, wrapping his arms around the largest box on the shelf. "It's heavy..." he muttered under his breath. "Hey, [F/N]... I don't think I can bend down without falling... So take this one...!"
"Eh?" I looked up at him. "But then I have to let go of the chair..."
"That's fine, it's just a second...! Hurry up..."
"O-Okay..." I muttered. "Let me just stand up..."
I slowly let go of the chair. 
"Why would you be on the ground---..." he looked down at me. He furrowed his eyebrows, then putting the box on the shelf near his arms level, he lifted his arms. ".... You little...!"
He lost his balance.
"I-I'm really not!!! I, I was just- R-Ranmaru, stop moving!!"
"You little brat...! Just go away, get out!" he snapped at me, grabbing the box again.
"But-"
"I'll do this myself---!!"
The chair suddenly swiveled beneath his feet.
"Ranmaru-!!"
Letting out a slight yell, he fell down from the chair. The box fell from his arms and the albums went flying.
"H-Hold on-!!" I tried to somehow catch him.

Crash!

He ended up falling on me with full force, sending the both of us to the ground. A bunch of CDs smacked me in the face. Ranmaru tried to shield both himself and me with his arms, and he ended up burying his face in my shoulder. 
"Ugh..."
My right arm and my back hurt from the impact. Ranmaru let out a groan and slowly pushed himself up. He was basically pinning me.
".... uh..."
"...Gh!" he blushed a bit himself, quickly pushing himself off of me. "What... the heck were you thinking...!? You brat...!"
"Everything okay over there...?" Ai peeked in the closet. "I heard a loud noise."
"See, Ai!? This is what happens when you put my stuff on the top shelf!! Are you trying to kill all of us or something!?"
"Jeez, sorry..." Ai muttered, furrowing his eyebrows. 
"Oh, and also. It seems like our new club member fantasizes about weird stuff, so I hope you are happy...!"
"I didn't...!!"
I tried to explain the bizarre situation to Ai, but I couldn't find the words to. "I-I swear I didn't do anything...!"
"Yeah, I know. Don't worry." Ai muttered quietly to me. Looks like I'm off the hook...
"... Huh?" I looked questioningly at Ranmaru, who suddenly went quiet and pale.  He slowly bent down, and picked up one of the albums that scattered on the floor. The CD was broken. 
"... O-Oh..."
"..."
Without a word, he threw the album in the corner with anger. He lowered his head, remaining silent. 
".... A-Are you okay...?" I slowly asked, bending down. He turned his face away. 
"I'm fine." he muttered.
"... Maybe we can somehow fix that CD..."
He shook his head.
"... No... I don't care about the CD."
He slowly looked up. He grit his teeth with a dark look.
"I'm just not having the best day... That's all."
I frowned.
"I didn't mean to take it out on you..." he sighed. "Sorry..."
"... I-It's fine.. Do... do you want to talk about it?" I asked gently.
".... Don't go all pitiful on me, jeez. I'm not a kid, okay? I'm fine..." he muttered.
"... Alright." I nodded. "Well... I'll help clean this up, okay? And I'll move the rest of your albums for you... Oh."
I saw yet another P!ATD album on the floor and picked it up.
"This is the next one, right? I'll set this one aside... This will probably help you cheer up a bit. We can start listening to it once I'm done here."
Ranmaru stared at me for a few seconds. 
"... You're an idiot..."
"Huh?"
".... Why are you being kind to me?"
"..."
I didn't expect that from Ranmaru.
"... W-Well, I just... treat you like a friend." I sweatdropped.
"..." he lowered his head again. I'm not really sure what happened to him today, but I guess being nice is the least I can do. We fell silent for the next couple of minutes, and I began picking up the scattered albums. I made sure to slip them into the box in the correct order. After a bit, Ranmaru started helping. Before long, we were done, and I put the box to the shelf where he wanted to put it. Then, I got on the chair and wobbling a bit, but managed to finish moving the rest of his albums from the top shelf with Ranmaru holding the chair steady.
"Well, that should do it." I hummed, hopping down from the chair. Ranmaru looked away. 
"... Thanks, kid."
"..." I chuckled. "It's nothing."
He was holding the album that we set aside.
"Well, I'm ready!" I smiled at him.
"Good... even if you weren't, I'd make you listen anyway." he grumbled. "... You better keep your promise about this making me forget about all of the crap."
"Sure!"

We sat in the same spot as the last time, and I carefully placed the CD in the music player. Ranmaru's mood improved quickly, grinning and pointing smaller details out in the music. In the end, I'm pretty impressed by this band's songs. I guess Ranmaru has good taste, after all. After some time, Ai got our attention as usual, and it was time to share our songs.
"Guess I'll be holding onto this for now..." I muttered with a smile.
"Yeah! Even you sound more flattered about it now."
"Well, I'm starting to like it, you know!" I chuckled, which made him grin widely.
"Haha, told you!"
"Yeah, yeah..." I laughed, returning to my seat and slipping the album into my bag.

CAMUS' PART

"Hey, Camus."
"Hm?"
"... Oh." 
I noticed that Camus was reading a different book from the one that we've been reading together.
"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt..."
"... Ah, no... I was just waiting for you." he smiled.
"Oh, if that's the case... Why don't we get started?"
"Yes, let's." he nodded with a smile. "Actually, I have a request... Do you mind if I make some tea first?"
"Not at all." I shook my head.
"Thank you very much." he bowed his head to me a bit. "If there is one thing that can make reading here any better, it's a nice cup of tea.... Not to mention for yourself, as well."
Camus stood up, making his way over to the closet. I followed and watched as he took a small water pitcher. 
"Can you hold this for a second?" he asked.
"Sure." I nodded, taking the water pitcher. He also fetched an electric kettle.
"I'm going to plug this in at the teacher's desk, and then we'll go and get some water."
He walked past me and set the kettle down on the teacher's desk. I simply watched his movements. The way he moved really contrasted his speaking mannerism. Especially because of his long legs, he appears elegant and methodical.
"Okay, may I have the water pitcher? Thank you. I will be right back."
"Ah, I might as well go with you..."
"..." he looked at me for a second, then smiled sheepishly. "I don't see why not. Shall we go, then?"
"Yeah..." I nodded. 
"Hm? Where are you two going?" Ai suddenly asked.
"Huh? Um, we're just... Camus was going to make some tea, so..." I muttered, realizing how weird it sounded to explain this. "We're just filling the water pitcher..."
"Ah, okay." Ai nodded. "Sorry for being curious. That's kind of a one-person job though, isn't it?"
"That's--"
"Ai, please mind your own business for once." Camus suddenly hissed in a somewhat different tone. "Or are you meaning to tell me there is something wrong with helping to involve [F/N] in club activities?"
"....." Ai blinked at Camus in complete shock. My mouth also gaped.
"I... suppose there is nothing wrong with that..." he muttered slowly.
"Tch..." Camus narrowed his eyes. "... In that case, let's go, [F/N]."
"..... O... Okay...?"
I quickly followed Camus out of the room.

Once in the hallway, he suddenly put his forehead against the wall.
"I spoke without thinking..." he muttered quietly. "How... could I say something like that...?"
".... Camus..."
"I just... something about the way he said that... It made me feel so..."
I suddenly saw the cold look in his eyes again.
"... irritated... Something... must be wrong with me."
"N-No, Camus... I think you did the right thing." I jabbered. "I wasn't really expecting it, but it's also not right for Ai to judge people like that..."
"... [F/N]... Why are you being so kind to me even when I do something bad...?"
"Just because." I shrugged. "And nothing that you do is as bad as you make it seem in your head. Nobody is perfect... We have emotions, and we can't always hide them away. But you always amplify things in your head... your mind... turns a light rain into a hurricane."
"... Ah... Wouldn't you hate me for something as terrible as that...?"
"Why would I hate you? I can't hate someone for having emotions. What kind of friend would do that?"
"..." he turned his head away. "Friend... you say?"
He slowly looked back into my eyes.
"[F/N]... I really like...... being friends with you."
"... Thanks." I chuckled a bit. "I like being friends with you too."
Saying something like that feels awkward... But I must do my best to help him feel better.
"Anyway...!" I cleared my throat.
"Ah... yeah. Shall we go?"
"Yeah."
We walked to the nearest water fountain. Once we finished with filling up the water pitcher, we returned to the classroom.

"Do you like oolong tea?" Camus asked me.
"Oh, yeah." I nodded. "Anything is fine."
"Very well, then." he nodded, setting the temperature on the kettle to 200 degrees. "Now it's time to get the teapot."
"You really know how to do this properly." I hummed.
"Of course..." he looked away a bit. "I shouldn't do any less while making tea for others."
"Even if I'm not an expert on tea and all...?" I raised an eyebrow with a smile.
"Well in that case, you will be even more impressed." he chuckled.
"Ah... maybe."
Camus got the teapot and began measuring the tea leaves. He started humming a tune to himself. 
"You must be in a good mood." I giggled.
"Is that so? So you noticed. I thought about it a bit... and I decided I should try expressing myself a bit more." he let out a chuckle. "It turns out it's not too hard for me to do... While around you, anyway."
"... O-Oh... Well that's great!" I smiled. "Just don't push yourself too much..."
"You always worry about me." he chuckled. "It's really endearing."
I felt myself blush as Camus poured a cup of tea for each of us.
"I have another request." he looked at me. "Do you mind if we sit on the floor today?"
"Huh? Why?" I tilted my head.
"It's easier for my back. I can read with my back against the wall rather than bending over at my desk."
"Oh... sorry I didn't realize."
"No worries. So we should sit on the floor."
"Fair enough..." I nodded. "I'll go ahead and get the book."
I took out the book from my bag.
"Ah, I have some chocolate, too..."
I also grabbed the bag of small chocolate candies that I kept hidden from Reiji's candy radar. Camus and I sat against the wall, with our teacups by our sides. We got in the same reading position as the last time, each of us holding one half of the book. Expect this time... our bodies were even closer to each other.
"I can't see too well..." Camus muttered under his breath, sliding even closer to me - now our shoulders were touching. How am I supposed to focus like this...!? I like Camus but when he's being like this it's so much more than what I can handle...!
"Here..." he handed me my teacup. As I held it with my free hand, I ended up in an even more uncomfortable position. Because now I had to make sure he doesn't accidentally touches my...!
I tried to not squeak. Meanwhile, Camus haven't noticed a thing. His expression was focused, and it seemed like the world around him has completely faded away. I tried hard to focus on reading.
...
After a few minutes, I finally managed to relax a bit. I put the teacup down and messed with the chocolate paper.
"Oh, sorry..." I muttered, quickly letting go of the book to finish opening the wrapper. "You can have as much as you want."
"... Ah... That's.... okay, I won't take any." he muttered, it was seemingly really hard for him to press out those words.
"Eh? Are you sure?"
"Well... if I touch it, it might get smudges on the pages."
"Oh... you're right... I didn't even think about that... My bad..."
"No need to apologize." he shook his head. "I will hold the book, alright?"
"Are you sure....?"
"Of course." he smiled, now holding the book open with both hands. He held it so it isn't any harder for me to read from it. But as a result, his left arm was basically resting in my lap.
"W-Well in that case..." I muttered, but Camus was totally focused on reading again. I took a chocolate and put it into my mouth. Then, I took another chocolate, and held it up to Camus. He didn't even look up, he just parted his lips as if this situation was completely natural. But that only means I can't stop here...! I gently placed the chocolate into his mouth. He closed his lips over it.
"... Huh?"
His expression suddenly broke.
"... Did I just..." he looked at me.
"...[F/N]..."
"... S-Sorry!!! I-I guess I shouldn't have done that..." I jabbered.
"That's.... well... you were... simply helping... that's something that... friends do...... Right?"
"........."
Is it...?
"... U-Uh--- yeah, totally!! That's... all it was... ahaha..."
"Yes..." he nodded. "Then... you.. don't need to stop... or anything..."
"... I-I see..." I slowly nodded as well. This is kind of awkward...
Camus tried to return to the book. But I could tell that even he couldn't focus now. My heart is beating so fast...
I nervously took another chocolate. But this time, Camus' eyes met mine.
"..."
We ended up staring into each other's eyes. I even noticed smaller things like his breaths, or how blue his eyes were. I slowly raised my arm, and like before, Camus parted his lips. I slowly put the chocolate in his mouth. I felt his hot breath on my fingers....

"Okay, everybody." I suddenly heard Ai snap.
"UWA-"
"Ah!"
Camus and I both jumped as he moved away from me.
"It's time to share our songs. [F/N], you can help Camus put away the tea things, right?"
"... Y-Yeah, of course..."
"Okay, thanks."
".... I will..... take care of the cups..." Camus slowly muttered.
"Yeah..."
He picked up the teacups from the floor and stood up. I picked up the bag of chocolates. We ended up cleaning up in silence. I feel like this is something we won't talk about again...

BACK TO MAIN LINE

I made my way over to Reiji, song in hand.

REACTION ON REIJI'S RUN

"..."
After a bit of silence, Reiji looked up with a smile. "[F/N]... I really love your songs. I can't believe you've been hiding these from me!"
"Eh? I'm not hiding anything!"
"But... your songs are soooo good... you can't tell me you haven't done this before!!"
"... You are really the only one who feels that way, so.." I frowned.
"Eh!? No way!!" he snapped. "Not even Ran-Ran...?"
"... Ranmaru is the least likely to admit he likes something. But I don't think it's that." I sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"Well-..... I guess I'll just... be honest about it..." I muttered slowly. "It's... a lot easier for me to write lyrics when I'm thinking about you..."
"E-Eh!?" he widened his eyes. "Wha-Wha-!?"
"Stop thinking weird things!!!" I squeaked out. "I-I just meant that you are a really... expressive person, I guess... how am I supposed to write songs about my own dumb life...? But... you somehow make everything in your life an adventure."
"Like cooking!!" he snapped.
"Let's just not talk about that." I sighed, making him chuckle.
"So, yeah... what I'm saying is... I can feel more feelings through you... than I can through myself. We have that... kind of weird connection. It's your fault for getting in my business all the time...!"
"Eeeeh...? I don't really know if I understand..." he muttered. I sighed.
"You never understand when I try to explain stuff to you. Do you, Reiji?" I chuckled, patting his head.
"Haha! Heeey! I'm not a kid, you know!" he laughed, pushing my hand away.
"Are you sure about that?"
"... Well... maybe~" he hummed, messing with his pencil between his fingers.
"Hey, [F/N]... will you give me your song? I kinda wanna keep it..."
"Eh? Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows. 
"Because... well..." he looked away. ".... it's the first time you wrote something for me. Haha..."
I let out a slight squeak. "R-Reiji, you completely misunderstood!! I didn't write this for you!"
He chuckled awkwardly, and I sighed.
"Are you even listening to me?... Well, whatever. I'll give it to you when we go home."
"Really!?" he gasped, dropping his pencil. He quickly bent down to pick it up, but he ended up bumping into me. "S-S-Sorry!!!"
"It's fine, it's fine..." I sighed. "I'll get it for you."
I bent down and picked up the pencil. Reiji's knees were basically shaking, and he quickly grabbed the desk to support himself.
"I'm a... little clumsy today..." he chuckled awkwardly.
"You should sit down." I sweatdropped.
"Y-Yeah..." he muttered. I grabbed his arm and helped him sit by his desk.
"Anyway, I still haven't read your song..."
"Oh. Sorry, I forgot about that... But it's not as good as yours!"
"Jeez, don't worry." I sighed. "I'm sure I'll like it."

REACTION ON RANMARU'S/CAMUS' RUN

"... Oooh! I like this one! It has some nice feelings in it~"
"Ah, I'm glad." I nodded. "Does that mean it's better than yesterday's?"
"Hmmm..... I dunno!" he smiled. "I like them both! Haha!"
"That's not very helpful you know..."
"Well, I'm not too good at figuring out if songs are good or bad. But that's why I just go by my heart~ If it makes me feel things, then it must be a good song!"
I'm not really sure that's how it works... Well, I guess conveying feelings is an important part for this whole thing.
"Yeah, maybe... I don't even know what kind of writing you like in the first place."
"Yeah, me neither!" Reiji nodded.
"Ugh... Just try giving it some thought."
"Aweee~ you wanna write something for me? That's so sweet~" he smirked.
"Yeah. Right." I narrowed my eyes. "You're always thinking about other people. You need to think about yourself every now and then. If you don't, you might end up getting hurt or something."
"Eh?" he sweatdropped. "Well... I don't really get what you mean, but I'll try to keep it in mind..."
"Whatever..." I sighed.
"Anyway, let's see..." he hummed. "Hmmm... I guess... I like happy songs~" he smiled brightly. "... Wait, sometimes I like sad songs too. Sometimes a bit of both... There's a word for that, right...? What's the word..... Bittersweet! Yeah!" he nodded confidently. "I like things that are happy and things that are sad."
"Happy and sad?" I tilted my head. "I can't see you liking something sad, Reiji..."
"Well... I like happy the most!" he shrugged. "But, sometimes... when you have a little raincloud in your head... A sad song can help give that raincloud a hug... And make a nice rainbow!!"
".... That's... unexpectedly poetic."
"Eh? It is?" he blinked. "Maybe I'm getting better at expressing myself after all!! Thanks, [F/N]-chan~ I should go write that down for lyrics, then! You can read my song now, okay?"

BACK TO MAIN LINE

I slowly read through the song, which was surprisingly long for Reiji. It was actually quite deep, and started off as happy... but as I went on, my stomach slowly got in a knot. Lost friends, shattered dreams...?

"Holy...." I whispered. "... R-Reiji, did you really write this?"
"Of course I did!" he furrowed his eyebrows. "Didn't I tell you yesterday I was gonna write the best song ever?"
"Y-Yeah, but... I mean I... didn't expect this coming from you..."
"Ai-Ai taught me a lot!" he smiled brightly. "And I've been really in touch with my feelings recently..."
"... I see that..." I slowly mumbled. "... It's almost kinda creepy."
"Creepy...?" he tilted his head.
"W-Well not exactly..." I shook my head. "... Maybe it's because I'm so used to you being cheerful... Well nevermind. I'm probably overthinking it...." I cleared my throat. "... It's really good, so you should be proud of it."
"Awe, thanks~" he hummed. "I feel like... I was meant to express myself this way. It even helps me understand my feelings better... Lyrics writing is like magic!"
"You've got pretty passionate about this, huh...?" I sweatdropped. "I hope you keep it up."
"Yeah!" he nodded energitically. "Writing is the best! I'm gonna keep writing until I die!!"
"... Ahaha..." I laughed. "... Don't get ahead of yourself."
Reiji kinda has a habit of getting obsessed with something, then dropping it a week later. I wonder if this is one of those times... But seeing the passion in his eyes makes it hard for me to be pessimistic. 

Done with Reiji, I made my way over to Ranmaru.

REACTION ON REIJI'S RUN

"... Huh." he muttered once done reading my song. "Well... it's not really any worse than your last one. But I can't really say it's better, either."
I let out a sigh of relief.
"What is so relieving about that?" he raised an eyebrow.
"... Well... anything that's not a trainwreck, I'll take as a win. And I somewhat get the feeling you're probably the most critical."
"HEY! What makes you--!?" he snapped, then cut himself off. "... Wait, maybe that was a compliment...?" he muttered under his breath, looking away, then quickly put a grin on, sweatdropping. "A-Ahah! Glad to see someone finally recognizes my experience! Keep practicing and maybe you'll be as good as me someday!"
"... That's... um..." I sweatdropped. 
..... Something tells me Ranmaru totally missed my point.
"Come to think of it, this kind of reminds me of Reiji's song from yesterday..." he muttered, reading through my song again.
"Eh? You think so?"
"Yeah. Well, I guess if you've been friends with him for so long, you might be on the same wavelength." he shrugged. "You never really struck me as his type, though."
"Reiji has a 'type' all of a sudden...?" I sweatdropped. 
"How should I know? But honestly... how can someone so... childish?... spend so much time with someone like you? It's like he's dragging around a dead weight."
"... That was a little unnecessary..." I sulked. "... But think of it this way. If it weren't for me, he would probably just fly away like I'd let go of a balloon. You could say we each take care of each other in our own way."
"Whatever it is, I don't get it..." he rolled his eyes. "... Oh yeah, I guess I'm supposed to show you my song. Here."

REACTION ON RANMARU'S RUN

"...." Ranmaru read my song in silence. He kept glancing at me, then back at the song. By now, he must've read it more than once. He soon let out a groan. I looked at him questioningly. 
"... Is it that bad?" I frowned. 
"No! No, it's not!" he snapped. "It's good, it's really good okay!? There, I said it...!"
He looked away, his face turning red. "Ugh... this wasn't supposed to happen at all... Why can't you just be bad at this?? MY songs are supposed to impress YOU, not the other way around...!"
"You're trying to impress me?" I blinked at him.
"Obviously! You think I'd let you enjoy Camus' writing more than mine...?" he huffed. "... Give me a break."
"... Well... In that case... what's the problem with me trying to impress you?"
"I'll tell you! You--!!........."
Ranmaru froze completely, staring at me with shock.
"Y-You.... you're trying to impress... me?"
He quickly scanned through my song again. Then, the paper slipped out from his hands and fell to the floor.
"..... I.... gotta go!!"
With a red face, he sprinted out of the room.
"... Hey, [F/N]..." Ai looked at me. "Did you do something to Ranmaru? He just rushed out like that... You didn't do anything bad, right?"
"Huh? No!! I just told him that--!"
I cut myself off. There's no way I can tell Ai that I'm trying to impress Ranmaru. 
"Hm?" he tilted his head as he saw the song on the floor, picking it up. He read through it.
"... I see. You wrote this for Ranmaru, didn't you?"
"... I-I mean..." I looked away.  "... Not... really..."
"In fact, didn't he like your song a lot the other day, too? I'm surprised you know his taste so well already..." he hummed, then looked at me. ".... Are you sure you're not cheating, [F/N]...?"
"Cheating...?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"..." he smiled. "Nevermind, I'm just kidding."
I didn't understand Ai's supposed joke at all.
"Anyway..." he cleared his throat. "How do you think Ranmaru feels about you?" he asked, but then shook his head. "Ah, you don't need to answer that. It was just something for you to think about."
"Oi!!" Ranmaru snapped from the clubroom door, then snatched the song out of Ai's hands. 
"Did you read this, Ai?" he hissed. 
"Of course. And I liked it." he nodded. 
"Ugh..." he clentched his fists. "You should really stop reading things that aren't for you. You have a bad habit of doing that."
"Eh?" Ai tilted his head. "But [F/N] wrote this song. And we're supposed to share with everyone, right?"
"Ugh...!" he glared at him, but he didn't say anything back. Ranmaru apparently forgot that my song was technically for everyone to read.
"Okay, well, I think [F/N] is done sharing this song with everyone." he muttered. "It's not like anyone would want to read it anyway... S-So I'm just gonna hold onto this."
"... If you insist." Ai shrugged with a small chuckle.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that!?"
"Like what?"
"Ugh... Nevermind." he groaned. 
"... Uh, Ranmaru..." I muttered. "I'll give you the song, but that's still not too fair with Camus... He hasn't got to read it yet."
"So what?" he rolled his eyes. 
"Well... [F/N] has a point, Ranmaru." Ai looked at the silverette. "It's not fair if you don't let everyone finish reading it."
"... Fine." he sighed, giving my song back to me. "It's not like he will like it, though.... Anyway, read my song now. And no, I won't let you keep it. This is my only copy."

REACTION ON CAMUS' RUN

"... Huh." Ranmaru muttered. "Well, I can admit that it's better than the last one... It's nice to see that you're putting in some effort."
"That's good..." I sighed in relief.
"But I still don't like this at all." he glared at me. "It's trying too hard to be serious."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"Songs don't need to be all deep-sounding to express something. It's just going to sound like you're forcing it unless you really don't suck at it." he sighed. "Honestly... Don't bother trying to write songs like this until you're on Camus' level--..."
He cut himself off suddenly, freezing, then slowly looked up at me with cold eyes.
"Don't... tell me..."
"... Eh?" I blinked. 
"... You aren't... just trying to impress Camus, are you!?"
"W-What are you talking about??" I yelped. "And keep your voice down...!"
"You know very well that Camus would love this kind of...!!!"
"Just because he's a talented writer doesn't mean... I-I mean...!!"
"Ugh...!!" he grit his teeth. 
Well, looks like I'm in trouble. I somehow made him angry, although how is a mystery to me.
"I'm so done with you." he hissed, shoving my song back into my hand. "Take your stupid song. If you wrote it for someone else, just don't show it to me!!"
"Ouch..."
This is what I get for letting someone like him step into my business. At least I wasn't trying to impress him in the first place...

BACK TO MAIN LINE (DISCLAIMER: ON CAMUS' RUN, RANMARU DOESN'T SHOW YOU HIS SONG, SO SKIP OVER TO CAMUS!!)

I read through Ranmaru's song. I was surprised to see that it wasn't a love song for once - it had a different message. I think his main point was how people judge others by supposed weird things or hobbies they like. Again, it used simple words.
"Not bad, right?" he smirked. 
"It's a bit longer than yesterday's." I noted to him as well. 
"Yesterday's was way too short..." he groaned. "I was just warming up. I hope you didn't think that was the best I could do."
"No, of course not..." I shook my head. 
"Anyway, the message is pretty straightforward in this song. I doubt I have to explain it." he chuckled. "I think anyone would agree that the subject of this song are those typical ignorant jerks..."
"Do you know people like that?" 
"Duh. It's about how people judge..." he cut himself off. "... Well, that doesn't matter. It can be about anything. I wrote it to be easy to relate to... Everyone has a weird hobby that they're afraid to tell, since other people would make fun of them... But, that's the thing that makes people dumb. I mean, who the hell cares what someone likes, as long as it makes them happy and they are't hurting anyone with it? I think that people really need to learn to respect others about things like that."
"You're definitely right." I nodded. "I can also relate. And I'm sure a lot of people can, too."
"... You know..." he muttered. "... I'm glad that you can appreciate my writing. I mean, I know I've already said that yesterday, but I really like sharing my songs with you... so... so just consider yourself lucky, okay?" he grumbled. 
"Haha..." I chuckled. "... Thanks for being honest."
"What the heck's that supposed to mean?" he glared at me. "I'm always honest! Jeez.... Just... just look forward to tomorrow."
"Alright ~ I will."

Done with Ranmaru, I made my way over to Camus.

REACTION ON REIJI'S RUN

"Let's see..." Camus hummed, taking my song. He read through it, then let out a hum. "Well done, [F/N]. You are already improving." he smiled. 
"Really?" I blinked. "Thanks... Coming from you, that means a lot."
"It's nothing." he shook his head. "It's a pleasure for me to help inspire song writers. Just remember that you're new to this, so it's okay if you feel like you can't get your songs perfect. You can also get a little more daring... Metaphors can go a long way. Try letting your mind wander through your feelings, and write down what you see and hear. That's one way to truly let your listener to see into your mind. It's a very intimate exercise..."
"I see." I nodded. "That seems like an interesting technique. Thanks for sharing."
"I have an example of that... if you'd like to read it."
"Of course!" I smiled. "Is that the song that you wrote for today?"
Camus nodded, handing his song over to me.

REACTION ON RANMARU'S RUN

Camus stared at my song in silence. "Well..." he muttered. "..... Are you still mad at me?"
"H-Heh???" I yelped. 
"For disrespecting Ranmaru yesterday. Because, reading this.... now I know why you got mad at me."
He looked down, a quite sad yet cold look in his eyes. "You clearly prefer his writing over mine."
"T-That's not true...!!" I shook my head.
"And that means... when I disrespected him, I disrespected you too. Oh jeez..."
"C-Camus... Aren't you reading into this a little bit too much...?" I sweatdropped. 
"I was foolish. I shouldn't have let that happen." he muttered. "No matter what I do, people will just dislike me, that's clear. So... please, don't force yourself to be around me. I know that's what Ai wants, but it's not too fair with you when you could be enjoying yourself with Reiji or Ranmaru instead."
"C-Camus-!"
"Please." he looked at me. "It's only easier for me if you don't express any concern. Besides... I have my books, so it's fine. That's all I need."
"..." I stared at the bittersweet Camus in silence. He put his head down on his desk, refusing to look at me. I became frustrated. I don't hate him... but it's as if he just won't listen to me over his own thoughts. I sighed quietly. All I can do is accept that that's how he is. If he wants to be left alone, then I have no choice but to do so. 

REACTION ON CAMUS' RUN

"Let's see..." Camus hummed, taking my song. 
"..." he stared at the paper a little surprised. 
"... Do... do you like it?" I asked shyly. 
"[F/N]... This one... might be even better than yesterday's.... How did you even...? It was just yesterday that I was telling you about the techniques worth practicing..."
"Maybe that's why." I shrugged. "You did a really good job explaining. So I wanted to try giving it more imagery."
I heard Camus swallow, as he messed with the paper in his hand. 
"I'm not quite used to this..."
"... To what?"
".... I don't know." he looked away. ".... Being appreciated, I suppose. That probably sounded strange... But seeing someone motivated by me... It makes me feel really great."
"So you've never shared your songs before?" I tilted my head, and he nodded. "Seriously? I can't believe it."
"I only write for myself." he shrugged a bit. "And besides... people wouldn't like it."
"Do you really think that...?" I muttered, and he nodded again. "... Even your close friends?"
To that, I didn't get an answer. I wonder why...
"Anyway..." I cleared my throat. "... Do you mind sharing what you wrote for today?"
"No, of course not... If it's with you."

BACK TO MAIN LINE (ON RANMARU'S RUN, CAMUS DOESN'T SHOW YOU HIS SONG, SO SKIP OVER TO AI!!!)

I read through the really, really long song. It obviously used symbols, so it took time for me to at least get an idea of what the meaning could be. But when I read the word blood, I went pale, as a clear image got in my head. 
"I was a little daring with this one." Camus smiled a bit. 
"...... I... I can see that." I slowly nodded, fighting back the urge to look at his wrist. "It's a lot more, uh, metaphorical..."
I let out a gulp. I have to get that image out of my head.
"That's right. It's a bit closer to my preferred writing style." he nodded. "Using the song as a canvas to express vivid imagery, and conveying emotions through them. 
"Yeah..." I slowly nodded. "I wonder what it's about..."
"Well... It's something that different people can relate to in their own way, I suppose. I wanted to express the way it feels for me to indulge in my own unusual... hobbies. It's that sort of thing that I'm forced to keep to myself. So, I sometimes enjoy writing about them..."
"Why do you keep them to yourself...?"
".... They are sort of embarrassing. Don't you have any unusual hobby like that?"
"... I... guess I do, but..."
"I feel like everyone has something like that." he hummed. "The best we can do is respect each other. Even if that's difficult sometimes..."
"... I see." I chuckled awkwardly. A horrible feeling clutched on my heart, but I tried my best to ignore it.
"... Well, that was a bit of a rant. But I'm glad you're a good listener. And you're good at a lot of other things... Writing songs, listening... There really aren't many people like you, [F/N]."
"T-That's not really true..." I mumbled, looking away. 
"It's simply how I feel." he smiled the slightest bit. "I never thought... I could feel so comfortable sharing my writing. But now, I always look forward to it. It's really nice... And you're to thank for that."
"It's... uh... it's nothing..." I mumbled, making Camus smile at me. For a moment there, it was like his timidness was gone. 
After all that, I made my way over to Ai.

"Hello again, [F/N]." Ai greeted me. 

REIJI'S RUN

"How's the writing going?"
"Alright, I guess..." I muttered.
"I'll take that." he nodded. "As long as it's not going bad, it's fine. I'm glad you're applying yourself. Who knows... you could write a masterpiece soon."
"Haha..." I chuckled awkwardly. "I wouldn't count on that."
"You can never know." he shrugged. "Do you want to share what you wrote for today?"
"Sure... here you go." I handed him my song.
"... Alright, it's pretty good." he nodded. "It makes me think of Reiji, like the other one that you wrote. You two really go good together."
"Haha... that's not really true." I looked away.
"Probably." he shrugged. "But you do spend a lot of time with him even in the club, don't you?" he asked, then chuckled a bit. "Then again, I don't blame you for being a bit shy."
"I-I'm not shy! It's just..." I blushed.
"Don't worry, I'm just teasing you." he shook his head. "I know it takes a little time to get along with everyone. But Ranmaru and Camus are also really interesting people, so don't be afraid to spend some time with them too. You can also talk to me every now and then... I'm not like, unapproachable or something. Or am I?"
"Ah, no no, nothing like that..." I shook my head. "I'm just still getting used to being here."
"Yeah..." he slowly nodded, then shook his head a bit. "... Sorry if I was putting pressure on you, or something. I didn't mean it like that."
"No, don't worry." I smiled. "I get what you're saying."
"Alright then. But anyway... do you want to read my song now? I like the way this one turned out, so I hope you do too."
"Alright, let's take a look."

RANMARU'S RUN

"That was kind of silly with Ranmaru earlier, wasn't it?" he smiled a bit awkwardly. "I'm glad the two of you are getting along so well."
Well that's one way of putting it...
"Anyway, I already read your song, so you can go ahead and read mine now." he told me, handing me his song. "I like the way this one turned out, so I hope you do too."

CAMUS' RUN

"How's the writing going?"
"Alright, I guess..." I muttered.
"I'll take that." he nodded. "As long as it's not going bad, it's fine. I'm glad you're applying yourself. Who knows... you could write a masterpiece soon."
"Haha..." I chuckled awkwardly. "I wouldn't count on that."
"You can never know." he shrugged. "Do you want to share what you wrote for today?"
"Sure... here you go." I handed him my song.
"This one's good." he smiled once done reading it. "It feels like you're not only getting comfortable with your style, but the imagery is also better than the last one I read. Just wondering, but have you been finding inspiration in Camus' writing style?"
"... Well, I guess so." I hummed. "You can't deny that he's talented."
"Yeah, totally." he nodded. "I think his songs are the most... romantic. Then again, there are Ranmaru's love songs... But yeah, that's the best way to describe it. He's like a totally different person when he picks up a pen."
"I noticed that too." I nodded. "Or when he's talking about literature. It's like a light turns on inside him."
"Yeah. Sadly, it's hard to get much personal conversation out of him... Trust me, I tried." he sweatdropped. "You sometimes can't help but wonder, what is going on inside his head...?" (Yes.
I just did the Inside Out meme.
You're welcome.)
"I hope you don't mean that in a bad way." I huffed.
"No, of course not." he shook his head. "I just meant that I wish he didn't keep so much to himself..."
He smirked. "But still, defending him like that... you must be pretty into him."
"H-Heh!?" I blushed a deep red. "Y-You misunderstand!"
He chuckled. "Calm down, I'm kidding. Besides, I'm pretty sure he already has a girlfriend..."
"... Wait, really?" I muttered.
"Yeah. A fictional one, anyway...." he whispered the last part to me. 
".... W-Well there's nothing wrong with that!!"
"I know that... I was just saying... But anyway." he cleared his throat. "Do you want to read my song now? I like the way this one turned out, so I hope you do too."
"Alright, let's take a look."

BACK TO MAIN LINE

I got confused and chilled out by Ai's song once again. The title, "Save Me", already gave me a vibe that this is not a happy song. But even when reading, I just got a weird feeling. It was just strange. It was talking about how the flashing colors and screeching noises won't stop. Then, there was a bunch of space left on the paper, and I almost missed the two words at the very bottom.

"Load Me"

".... Uhm... it's even more abstract than your last one, huh...?" I slowly muttered. 
"I guess it's just the way I write..." he shrugged. "I'm sorry if you don't like it."
"N-No, I never said that!!" I quickly shook my head. "It's just... something I've never really seen before... I guess."
"I kind of like playing with the space on the paper. Choosing where and how to space your words can totally change the mood of the song. You know, like when you take breaks between lines you sing.... It's almost like magic. The way I wrote the lines really short makes it feel like they're trying to speak over the noise."
"... I see." I nodded. "It's still hard for me to tell what it's about though..."
"... Well, sometimes asking what a song is about isn't the right question." he smiled a bit. "A song can be as abstract as a physical expression of a feeling. Or a conversation with the listener. So putting it that way, not every song is about something. Anyway..."
Clearing his throat, he turned to the group.
"Here's my writing tip for the day. Sometimes... you'll find yourself stuck while writing something. So when that happens, don't forget to save your work, because if the site decides to crash out, you will lose your progress. Because you never know when Wattpad does that..." (Yes.
I turned the fourth wall breaking into a fourth wall breaking for yOU.
Once again, you're welcome.
Don't forget to check under your bed at night.)
"... Wait, what am I saying again? I wonder..." he hummed. "... That's my advice for today. Thanks for listening. We're all done reading each other's songs right? I have something extra planned today, so if everyone could come and sit at the front of the room...
"Is this about the festival?" Ranmaru raised an eyebrow. 
"Sort of."
"Ugh. Do we really have to care about that?" he rolled his eyes. "It's not like we can put together anything good in just a few days. We'll just end up embarrassing ourselves."
"That's a concern of mine as well." Camus nodded in agreement. "I don't really do well with last-minute preparations..."
"All of you stop worrying." Ai said calmly. "We're going to keep it simple. We won't need much more than a few decorations. Reiji has been working on posters, and I've designed some pamphlets we can give out during the event."
"Ahha, that's great and all..." Ranmaru muttered. "But that doesn't tell us what we're actually gonna be doing for the event."
"Oh. Sorry, I thought you heard about it already." Ai sighed. "We are going to be performing."
"... Performing??" Ranmaru repeated with an 'are-you-kidding-me' look. Camus looked completely defeated. 
"Yeah, we are going to be singing our songs." the tealette nodded. "Each of us will choose one song, which they will perform during the event. But we're also going to let anyone else come on stage and sing, too. Reiji's putting it on all the posters in case anyone would want to prepare ahead of time." he pointed at Reiji, who giggled and held up the poster he was coloring for us to see. 
"Are you kidding me, Ai??" Ranmaru glared at him. "You didn't already start putting those posters up, did you!?"
"Eh? I did... Do you think it's that bad of an idea?" he tilted his head.
"No, it's not... But I didn't sign up for it!" he groaned. "There is absolutely no way I'm gonna be performing in front of people like that!"
"I... agree with Ranmaru." Camus nodded. "I could... never..."
"Guys...--"
"No, Reiji." Ai cut Reiji off sharply. "I understand. Remember that Ranmaru and Camus has never shared their songs with anyone until just a couple days ago. It's really so much to ask for them to not only share, but sing their songs to a room full of people... I suppose I overlooked that. I'm sorry."
"..."
"... But!" he suddenly snapped. "I still think we should give it our best. We are the ones responsible for the fate of this club. If we start the event by putting on a good performance, it will inspire others to do the same! And the more people perform, the better we'll be able to show everyone what music is all about!"
"Yeah!" Reiji nodded rapidly. "It's about expressing your feelings, being intimate with yourself, finding new horizons, and having fun!"
"Correct." Ai nodded. "And it's those exact reasons we are all in this club today. Don't you want to share that with others? To show them the feelings that brought you here? I know you do. I know we all do. And if all it takes is standing in front of a group of people for three minutes and sing... I know you can all do it."
Ranmaru and Camus fell silent. Reiji looked worried. I guess that leaves me no choice...
"I agree..." I looked at them. "I don't think it's too much to ask for. I think that Reiji and Ai have been trying really hard to get new members. The least we can do is help them out a bit."
"That... may be true, but..." Ranmaru grumbled, but didn't finish. "Ugh... Okay, fine! I guess I'll just have to get it over with..."
"Aaaalright!" Reiji sang, pumped up, while Ai let out a sigh of relief. 
"Thanks, Ranmaru. What about you, Camus...?"
Camus glanced around the room, then sighed dejectedly. "I suppose I don't have a choice..."
"Yes! That's everyone!" Reiji grinned. "You're the best, Myu-chan~"
"This club is going to be the death of me...." Camus muttered with a sweatdrop. 
"... Oh jeez." Ai chuckled. "You'll be fine... But anyway... Let's move onto the main event. I want each of you to choose a song of yours. We're going to practice singing them in front of each other.  Of course, on the actual event, we are going to have BGM."
"N-No way!!"
"Ai...! This is too sudden!"
"Well, if you can't sing your song in front of the club, how do you expect to do it in front of strangers?" he tilted his head. 
"Oh gosh..." Camus looked down. 
"Don't worry. I'll start to help everyone get a bit more comfortable." Ai said calmly.
"Can I go next??" Reiji asked excitedly.
"Sure. Now, let's see..." he hummed, standing up and flipping through his notebook, in search of a song. "This song is called Winter Blossom." he said, then cleared his throat.  And then he started singing.
I almost gaped. His clear, smooth, beautiful singing voice filled the room. He knew exactly how to sing each line, singing it so emotionally, everyone would tear up. Is this something he's done before, or is he just a natural...? I looked around me. Everyone was glancing at Ai. Reiji looked completely amazed, while Camus had an intense expression on his face that I didn't understand. Soon, Ai finished, and the four of us applauded. 
"Ai-Ai... T-That was so good!!" Reiji gaped. 
"Thank you very much." Ai smiled. "I just wanted to give a good example. Are you ready to go next, Reiji--"
"I'll go next." Camus suddenly stood up, almost sending the chair to the floor. 
"Woah!!" Reiji jumped a bit. "Myu-chan's fired up all of a sudden!!"
Camus clutched a sheet of paper between his hands, stepping to the podium.
"This song is called..." he muttered, looking nervously around the room.
"You can do it, Myu-chan..." I heard Reiji hum from behind me. 
"... It's called... Aurora." he muttered. 
He took a deep breath, and started singing. His voice was first shaking, but he soon found his confidence... and he sounded beautiful. He had a soft, deep voice. Is everybody secretly an amazing singer in this club...? Soon, he finished. Everyone was stunned. 
"... I..." he looked down. I smiled. I was the first one to start applauding. Everyone joined me afterward. It's not that we didn't want to applaud him, but we were so stunned that we must have forgotten. Camus rushed back to his seat. 
"That was really great, Camus." Ai told him. "Thank you for sharing."
Camus kept quiet.
"Okaaaaay~ I guess I'm next, then!" Reiji sang happily, jumping up from his seat and rushing to the podium. "This one's called Never...."
He suddenly let out a laugh. "Aaah... sorry, I laughed. Haha!"
"Reiji..." I sweatdropped. 
"This is harder than I thought... How did you guys do it so easily??"
"Ah... try imagining that you aren't singing in front of people. Like you are singing it in front of a mirror." Ai told him calmly. "It's your song, so it will come out the best that way."
"I see... Okay then..." Reiji muttered, then started singing. The song didn't sound like Reiji's usual cheerful self. It was bittersweet. If I would be simply reading this, I probably wouldn't think much of it... but, when hearing Reiji sing it, it creates a whole new meaning. Maybe that's why he said he likes my songs... It's like I get to see inside of someone I thought I knew like the back of my hand. Reiji soon finished, and we applauded him. 
"I did it!!" he hummed happily. 
"Good job, Reiji." I smiled. 
"Hehe, even [F/N]-chan liked it~ I guess that must mean something good!"
"What does that even mean...?" I muttered.
"It came out nicely, Reiji." Ai nodded. "The atmosphere of that song fits you really nicely. Although, it might be that other songs wouldn't work that well with that kind of delivery..."
"Eh? What do you mean...?"
"I mean, I've seen songs of yours that wouldn't work as well with that kind of gentle delivery. They might need a little more force, depending on what you are singing..."
"Ah, yeah, I get what you mean!" Reiji nodded. "Well... I've been practicing that. It's just embarrassing to do that in front of everyone... Hehe..."
"Alright. Then next time, I'm going to make you pick a song that challenges you a bit more." Ai nodded. "The festival is almost here, you know?"
"Okaaaaay."
"Now, who's next?" he looked at us. "Ranmaru?"
"Ugh. Don't make me go before [F/N]." he groaned. "It's not like I can compare to you all anyway... Might as well let her lower everyone's standards before I have to do it."
"Ran-Ran..."
"It's fine... It's fine." I sighed. "I should just get it over with. But I don't really have much of a selection of what to sing... I guess I'll just have to go with what I wrote for today."
I stood up and stepped to the podium. Everyone had their eyes on me, which made me feel extremely nervous. I started singing with my best ability. Since my confidence decided to leave me, it was difficult to put energy into it. Either way, I got applauded when I finished. 
"Sorry I'm not as good as all of you..." I muttered. 
"Don't worry about it." Ai shook his head. "I think it's less about your abilities, and more about your lack of confidence. That will improve over time, though."
"I guess..." I mumbled. 
"Alright... that only leaves you, Ranmaru." Ai looked at the silverette. 
"Yeah, yeah." he rolled his eyes. "I'm going."
He stood up, grumbling, while making his way over to the podium. 
"... The song is called..." he muttered, then groaned. "Why are you all staring at me!?"
"Because you're presenting." Ai's blunt voice came from beside me.
"Ugh... Anyway.... the song is called Be Proud..."
He took a deep breath, and started singing. With that, his sour attitude was gone. His voice was more sour, but definitely amazing. He soon finished, and everyone applauded. He went back to his seat, huffing to himself. 
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Ai looked at him. 
"Easy for you to say..." he rolled his eyes. "You better not make me do that again."
"Well... do you at least feel prepared to sing in front of other people?"
"Doing it in front of other people will be way easier! I can put on whatever face I want to. But when it's just people I know... It's just not good." he murmured. 
"Heeeh... that's surprising. I think it would be the other way around for me." Reiji hummed. 
"Well that's just how it is, so..."
"Well, I guess you don't have to worry much about the festival, then." Ai remarked bluntly. "With that, I'd like to thank everyone for trying. It might be hard at first, but I hope that you now have an idea of what it's like. Make sure you pick a song and get enough practice before the festival. I'll be making pamphlets, so let me know ahead of time what you'll be singing."
"Jeez..." I sighed. "I should probably find some other song to sing instead."
"That's fine, too." he nodded. "It doesn't have to be your own. It's already a pleasant surprise that you are putting in this much effort for the club. I'm really glad." he smiled. 
"Ah... y-yeah, no problem I guess..." I mumbled. 
"Alright everyone, I think that's about it for today. I know that the festival is coming up, but let's try writing songs for tomorrow as well." he told the group. "It's been really nice so far, so I'd like to continue it. As for the festival, we will finish planning tomorrow, and then we will have the weekend to prepare. Monday is the big day."
"I can't wait!" Reiji sang. 
"Alright..." I stood up. 
Well, there's no way I can be as excited as Reiji or Ai, but I'll definitely try my best. If it's for the sake of the club... And impressing Ai... Then I'll have to give it my all. 
"Ready to go, Reiji?" I looked at the brunette. 
"Yepp!" he nodded with a huge smile. 
"Look at you two, always going home together like that." Ranmaru smirked. 
"It's kind of... cute, isn't it?" Ai chuckled. Reiji only giggled.
"Jeez, guys..." I grumbled. "Don't make such a big deal out of it..."
"It must be nice, though..." Camus said quietly. 
"... Well uh..."
... How am I supposed to answer to that?
"It's okay, [F/N]-chan, you don't have to say anything." Reiji pat my shoulder. 
"... W-Whatever, let's just go already."

Once again, I walked home with Reiji. Even though it's only been a few days... a lot of things have changed. But today... Reiji seems unusually quiet.
"Hey, Reiji..."
"..." he was looking down in front of himself, before he quickly snapped out of it. "... Sorry! I was spacing out...!"
"Ah, no wonder."
"... I was just... thinking about something. About earlier. I like... how we get to... I-I mean..." he looked away, his cheeks somewhat reddening. "So... uhm. Let's just say... that Ran-Ran/Myu-chan (depending on who do you have more words so far) asked to walk home with you..."
"H-Heh!?"
"What would you do...?" he looked at me.
"W-What kind of question is that..?? That's kind of..."
He only chuckled in an embarrassed way. Well...

➴╔═══════════════╗➴
𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣!
➴╚═══════════════╝➴

➸ Choice A: I would walk home with Ranmaru/Camus.

➸ Choice B: I would still walk home with Reiji.

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CHOICE A

"Walking home with him, huh..."
Why does the thought of that make my heart pound...?
"I mean..." I muttered. "I wouldn't want to turn him down..."
"Isn't he handsome and fun to be around?" Reiji smiled.
"That has nothing to do with what I just said!"
"Haha, you admitted it~"
"Jeez..." I sighed. "There's... no point in speculating something that's never going to happen."
"Well... maybe." he muttered. "But I just like to think about it... It's not long before you won't need me anymore... you know..."
"Need you...?" I looked at him. "... Reiji... I can't really figure out how you're seeing things in your head right now..."
"Sorry..." he smiled awkwardly.
"Everyone is different... nobody in the club will replace you."
"... If you say so..." he looked down.
The conversation trailed off. I felt awkward. Then again, it was his fault for asking me such a weird question... I can't just lie to him. But if there's something that makes him happy, I would hate to take that away from her... That's why I told him that there's no point thinking about that. Then again, the festival is only a few days away... Who knows what will happen...?

CHOICE B

"Reiji... You really think I would ditch you for him?" I looked at him. 
"E-Eh!?" he glanced up at me, stunned. "B-But... He's so handsome and fun to be around..."
"Jeez..." I sighed. "I already see him in the club every day. Besides, you seem to really like going home together... I can't just ruin that for you."
"... You're so silly, [F/N]-chan..." he smiled shyly. "You really care too much about me. Ran-Ran/Myu-chan would deserve it if he wanted it, so..."
"Reiji. I've already made up my mind. You're really hard to figure out sometimes..."
"Sorry..." he smiled awkwardly.
"Besides, what's the point in speculating something that's never even going to happen...?"
"..."
He didn't answer, and the conversation trailed off. It's kind of weird for him to care so much about that... But I want to respect him and keep him happy. Then again, the festival is only a few days away... Who knows what will happen...?

♪╔═══════════════╗♪
𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜!
♪╚═══════════════╝♪

~01~

『stain』            『frown』 
『hopeless』              『soft』 
『journey』            『cold』 

~02~

『heavensent』           『hurt』
『cat』           『infinite』
『bake』           『misery』

~03~

『tears』           『misfortune』
『royalty』          『dance』 
『effulgent』          『warm』

~04~

『kitty』           『destiny』
『lazy』          『existence』 
『jump』          『peace』

~05~

『crash』           『ice』
『frightening』          『happy』 
『memories』          『road』

~06~

『eye liner』           『horror』
『smile』          『determination』 
『explode』          『depression』

~07~

『tasty』           『magic』
『clouds』          『death』 
『banana』          『embrace』

~08~

『raindrops』           『intense』
 『eternity』          『stone』
 『kiss』          『love』

~09~

『dream』           『headphones』
 『daydream』          『graveyard』
 『delicious』          『blood』

~10~

『awesome』           『melt』
 『fruit』          『mountain』
 『creepy』          『sadness』

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RESULTS

~01~

REIJI: frown, hopeless
RANMARU: soft, journey
CAMUS: stain, cold

~02~

REIJI: hurt, misery
RANMARU: cat, bake
CAMUS: heavensent, infinite

~03~

REIJI: tears, misfortune
RANMARU: dance, warm
CAMUS: royalty, effulgent

~04~

REIJI: jump, peace
RANMARU: kitty, lazy
CAMUS: destiny, existence

~05~

REIJI: happy, memories
RANMARU: crash, road
CAMUS: ice, frightening

~06~

REIJI: smile, depression
RANMARU: eye liner, explode
CAMUS: horror, determination

~07~

REIJI: clouds, embrace
RANMARU: tasty, banana
CAMUS: magic, death

~08~

REIJI: kiss, love
RANMARU: intense, stone
CAMUS: raindrops, eternity

~09~

REIJI: dream, daydream
RANMARU: headphones, delicious
CAMUS: graveyard, blood

~10~

 REIJI: awesome, sadness
RANMARU: fruit, mountain
CAMUS: melt, creepy

_____♫♫♫_____

Done. Do you guys feel too how both the creepiness and cringyness grows with every chapter?
It's like your brain wants to drown itself in potato juice. Yes, beautiful feeling, I know. 

I'd like to repeat that every single line is the plot of DDLC, with a few changes. I own nothing - credits to Team Salvato.

Are you excited for the festival? I know I am. But what's wrong with Reiji...?