"Phew... I guess that's everybody..." Jake sighed with relief, glancing around the room after showing his poem to all the girls.

That was even more stressful than he had anticipated. It seemed as though everyone in the club was judging him for his mediocre writing skills. Sure they were trying to be nice, but it didn't make him feel any better about it. He was never going to live up to their expectations...

Across the room, Sayori and Monika were chatting happily. Jake's eyes landed on Natsuki and Yuri. They were both exchanging their poems with each other and reading them. Jake watched as Natsuki began to frown while Yuri smiled sadly.

"What's with this language...?"Natsuki muttered quietly. But clearly not quiet enough as Yuri looked back at her.

"Eh? Um...did you say something?" Yuri asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." dismissed Natsuki and she returned the poem to the desk with one hand. "I guess you could say it's fancy."

"Ah- Thanks..." Yuri replied. "Yours is... cute..."

"Cute? Did you completely miss the symbolism or something?" snapped Natsuki. "It's clearly about the feeling of giving up. How can that be cute?"

"I-I know that! I just meant... The language, I guess... I was trying to say something nice..." said Yuri.

"Eh? You mean you have to try that hard to come up with something nice to say?!" Natsuki said, sounding frustrated. "Thanks, but it really didn't come out nice at all!"

"Natsuki..." Jake tried to say, but he said it so quietly nobody seemed to hear him.

"Um... Well I do have a couple of suggestions..." Yuri started.

"Hmph!" huffed Natsuki. "If I was looking for suggestions, I would have asked someone who actually liked it. Which people did, by the way. Sayori liked it. And Jake did, too!"

Jake scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"So based on that, I'll gladly give you some suggestions of my own. First of all-"

"Excuse me..." Yuri interrupted her. "I appreciate the offer, but I've spent a long time establishing my writing style. I don't expect it to change anytime soon, unless of course I come across something particularly inspiring. Which I haven't yet. And Jake liked my poem too, you know. He even told me he was impressed by it."

Jake starred at Yuri, looking shocked; her words were blunt and her tone was full of pride. He didn't expect her to sound so... rude. Sure, she was very confident in her writing abilities, but that didn't justify the way she brushed off Natsuki like that.

Natsuki suddenly stands up, smiling confidently. "Oh? I didn't realize that you were so invested in trying to impress our new member, Yuri."

Both Jake and Yuri's demeanours immediately changed upon hearing Natsuki's words. Yuri returned to her timid state and looked completely terrified. Jake's eyes widened, his mind snapping back to reality.

(Yuri's trying to... impress me?)

"E-Eh? That not what I...! Uu... You... you're just..." Yuri then stands up as well. "Maybe you're just jealous that Jake appreciates my advice more than he appreciates yours!"

"Huh! And how do you know he didn't appreciate my advice more?" snapped Natsuki. "Are you that full of yourself?"

"I...! No... If I was full of myself...then I would deliberately go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!" Yuri snapped back.

"Uuuuuu...!" growled Natsuki. "Well, you know what?! I wasn't the one whose boobs magically grew a size bigger as soon as Jake started to show up!!"

"N-Natsuki!" Yuri shouted, looking embarrassed.

Jake simply starred at the girls with his mouth open, having no clue what to do and now trying to keep his thoughts away from Yuri's chest. Should he try to stop this?

"Natsuki, that's a little-" Monika tried to say.

"This doesn't involve you!" Yuri and Natsuki yelled at her.

Jake gulped. (Well, that answers that!)

"I-I don't like fighting, guys...!" whined Sayori.

"Yeah, p-please calm down!" said Jake.

Suddenly, both Yuri and Natsuki turned towards Jake, as if they just noticed he was standing there.

"Jake...! S-She's just trying to make me look bad...!" Yuri told him.

"That's not true! She started it!" roared Natsuki. "If she could just get over herself and learn to appreciate that simple writing is more effective... Then this wouldn't have happened in the first place! What's the point of making all of your poems convoluted for no reason? The meaning should jump out at the reader, not force them to have to figure it out. Help me explain that to her, Jake!"

Jake was beginning to panic. He wasn't used to being in the middle of these kinds of arguments, especially when it's about a topic that he despised so much.

"W-Wait!" Yuri piped up. "There's a reason we have so many deep and expressive words in all of our languages. It's the only way to convey complex feelings and meaning the most effectively. Avoiding them is not only unnecessarily limiting yourself... it's also a waste! You understand that, right Jake?"

"Um...!" Jake muttered, breathing heavily.

His mind was racing, trying to think of an answer. But nothing was coming to him. How did he get dragged into this? He didn't know one fucking thing about writing like this!

"Well??" The two girls asked him in demanding tones.

But this was one step too far for Jake. This was all too much for him to handle right now. He was tired, embarrassed, and above all else frustrated. He already had enough pressure that afternoon. He just wanted to go away. He wanted to go home. To be alone...

"Cut it out! Both of you!" he shouted at them.

Immediately, the entire clubroom went quiet. All of the girls were starring at Jake with different expressions. Yuri looked shocked, Natsuki looked confused, Monika looked surprised, and Sayori looked very worried.

"J-Jake...?" Sayori asked softly. But instead of answering, Jake walked over to his desk, snatched up his bag.

"Jake? What are you doing?" Monika asked. He ignored her and continued towards the door.

"Jakey, wait-" Sayori called after him.

"Stop calling me that!" Jake yelled  at her before storming out of the clubroom.

He did not look back as Sayori poked her head out of the door and watched him walk down the hallway, tears flowing down her face.

"U-Um! I-I'm gonna go check on Jake. he's probably just going for a walk to cool down." Sayori said to the others before following him.

"Ugh, nice going, Yuri!" Natsuki snapped again.

"Natsuki, I think that's enough." said Monika sternly. "You both said things that you didn't mean. I think you and Yuri need to apologise to each other."

"I-I'm s-s-sorry... Uu..." Yuri said quietly, her chin buried in her hands as she starred down at her desk. She looked as though she was about to cry from embarrassment.

"Nnn...! Fine! I'm sorry!" Natsuki clenched her fists before grabbing a manga from her desk with one hand and crumpling up her poem with the other.

"Natsuki... You really didn't need to do that..." Monika tells her. Natsuki then proceeded to throw the poem into the trash and went to sit on the opposite side of the room.

*****

Jake didn't end up leaving the area, but rather curled up in a ball next to his locker and took a moment to collect his thoughts. He felt really bad about yelling at the girls, but they're arguing and attempts to make him choose a side overwhelmed him.

"Jakey...?"

Jake looked over to Sayori, who looked very upset and concerned. Jake covered his face with his hands, feeling guilty and really stupid.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. It... It was just too much..."

Sayori placed her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay... Do you want to go home now? We can leave if you really want to. I don't mind."

"No." Jake said quickly. "I don't want you to miss out on club activities just because of me. And I wanna at least say sorry to Yuri. Natsuki said something really mean to her and I just shouted at her. She deserves an apology..."

"Alright. Do you need a moment to calm down?" Sayori asked.

"Y-Yes, please." He replied.

Sayori then knelt down next to him, placing her arms around his neck and giving him a hug. Jake sighed and let her do so.

He hated acting like a child, but sometimes his emotions got the better of him and caused him to lash out at other people when he was angry, including the ones that he cared about.

Sayori knew this, and despite her having an equally childlike behaviour she understood how serious the situation was and would adopt a calm and mature demeanour to help calm him down.

"Sayori... Can I ask you something?"

"Eh? What is it?"

"Yuri and Natsuki. Do they... argue about these things often?"

"No, no, no!" Sayori reassured him. "That's really the first time I've seen them fight like that... I promise they're both wonderful people."

"Oh, well, I was just wanted your opinion that's all." Jake explained. "It just seemed as though it wasn't the first time this has happened. And to be honest, I kinda expected them to get into an argument about something, especially Natsuki..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she seems to have a bit of an attitude. And she can be a little rude sometimes."

"Jakey..." Sayori said, sounding worried. "You don't... You don't hate Natsuki, do you??"

"No, I don't hate her!" Jake replied quickly. "She's just... a bit much, ya know? She actually kinda reminds me of you in a way... not that I think you're cranky or anything! Just that, you're both a bit... extreme. I can see why she'd make good friends with you."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

Sayori beamed at Jake and hugged him again. He smiled and hugged her back.

"Thank you, Jake."

"No problem."

10 minutes later, the two friends returned to the clubroom. Monika smiled upon seeing that Jake was back. It felt pretty awkward to come back here after having that outburst, but he didn't want to leave without apologising to Yuri for his actions.

Jake saw Yuri sitting at her desk, drinking a cup of tea and writing what he assumed was another poem. She glanced at him briefly before hiding her face away. Jake gingerly approached her and sat down in the chair next to her.

"Hey..." He said nervously. "I... I-I'm really sorry ab-about earlier..."

Yuri sighed. "No, I'm sorry... I can't believe I acted like that. You probably hate me right now..."

"N-No! Yuri!" Jake replied quickly. "I don't hate you at all. I-I understand how frustrating it must be to get treated like that. You handled it as well as you could. A whole lot better than I did..."

"Well... Alright, I believe you. Thanks, Jake. You're too kind." Yuri said with a sad smile. "I'm very thankful to have you a part of this club now."

"What? E-Even after the way I reacted...?" Jake asked her. She nodded her head gently.

Jake suddenly felt a whole lot better. He did not expect her to be so forgiving. He guessed that she had a couple of mysteries up her sleeve.

"One more thing... Um, that one thing that Natsuki said... About... you know..." Yuri turned away from him, blushing and fiddling her hair again. "I would never do anything... so shameful... So..."

"...It's okay." Jake reassured her. "She was just mad. Everyone says bad things when they're mad at someone, mostly hurtful and untrue stuff to make them look bad, like you said yourself."

"R-Right..." Yuri replied, looking back to him. "I-I'm going to make some tea..."

"Ah, good idea. That should make you feel better." Jake agreed. Yuri then got up from her desk and went to collect the tea set.

"Okay, everyone!" Monika announced. "It's just about time for us to leave. How did you all feel about sharing poems?"

"It's was pretty fun." said Sayori.

"Well, I'd say it was worth it." said Yuri.

"It was alright, mostly." said Natsuki.

"Jake, how about you?" Monika asked Jake.

"Uh... Well, it was "interesting" to talk about with everyone..." He said, trying his best not to hurt Monika's feelings.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. Jake took a deep breath.

"Well, actually, I have a small request... C-Can I... w-w-write a short story instead of a poem? I-I'm not a huge f-fan I poetry, so... uh..."

Jake looked down at his feet. He hated doing that poem and would absolutely hate to have to do a second one, but he didn't want the girls to think he was lazy.

"P-Please...?"

Monika smiled warmly at him. "I understand. Poetry isn't the easiest type of writing. But as long as you are doing something related to the club activity, I'm more than happy to let you do that."

"What?! How is that fair?" Natsuki complained.

"Nat... Jakey isn't used to writing a whole lot like us." Sayori reasoned, "And if he's going to stay in the club, shouldn't he be having fun instead of feeling unhappy?"

"I-It's not that I'm not happy doing it! It's just, uh..." Jake looked to Yuri, now feeling guilty. She looked at him with a calm expression, hands behind her back.

"I agree with Sayori. Being in a club should be enjoyable and not tedious. It's a lot more difficult for a person to practice their skills or complete an objective when they're feeling uncomfortable or anxious. Perhaps this would be the best course of action until Jake has settled in properly." Yuri explained.

"Thank you, Yuri." said Monika. "And thank you for bringing this up, Jake. I'm very proud of you for speaking up about this, especially after that little... incident."

"Hahaha..." Jake laughed uncomfortably.

"Also, you can always come to one of us for advice if your having trouble keeping up. So that you can improve your writing and make your stories even better!" Monika told him.

"Th-Thanks, Monika..." Jake replied, thinking to himself. He did learn a lot more about the kinds of poems everybody liked to write about. With any luck, this meant he could at least do a better job trying to impress them. Especially Yuri, who seemed to have some pretty high standards in this field. He really hoped she'd like his writing skills as an author better than his skills as a poet.

Sayori beamed at Jake, "I'm so proud of you, Jakey! Ready to walk home?"

"Sure, let's go." He agreed.

"Ehehe~" She giggled.

The two friends then said their goodbyes to the others, exited the classroom and left the school building. It had truly been a while since Jake and Sayori had spent this much time together. Not that he was complaining of course.

*****

When Jake and Sayori reached the outside of Jake's house, they stopped and continued to talk about nothing really important. They just enjoyed being able to communicate with each other again without becoming annoyed or distracted by other things.

"Hey, Jake?" Sayori asked.

"Yeah?"

"I was... thinking about something from earlier... I like how we get to... I-I mean..." She fumbled over her own words. This was a little unusual for her, as she often spoke her mind without even thinking it through. "So, let's just say that one day, Yuri asked to walk home with you..."

"Huh!?" Jake gasped, caught off-guard by her question.

"What would you do?" She continued.

"What kind of question is that...?"

"Would you?" She asked eagerly.

"Uh..." Jake mumbled. The idea of walking home with Yuri made his heart pound. "Well, given how hard it is for both of us to socialise, I would feel awful to turn her down, so..."

  "Isn't she so beautiful and smart?" Sayori asked him. 

"W-What!?" He gasped.

Sayori smiled, "Jakey, it's obvious. I saw you place that chocolate candy in her mouth while you two were reading. That's not really what regular friends do when sharing food."

"I-I... It was so the pages of her book wouldn't get smudged!" He replied, trying desperately to think of an excuse.

"Then why were you blushing so much when she looked at you afterwards?"

"Wha- but- I just-"

There was no way for Jake to get out of this one. When Sayori had an idea in her head, it would take a miracle for her to forget about it.

"Ehehe... you really like her, don't you?"  Sayori asked, smiling broadly.

"I... I-I guess so..." Jake sighed in defeat.

"Ahaha! You admitted it! Jakey's got a cruuush! Jakey's got a cruuush!" She sang.

"Jeez, you don't have to rub it in my face..." He muttered, turning red.

"Sorry, it's just too cute! I had a feeling you two would get along... Also, the festival is only a few days away... I hope you didn't forget that."

"Oh right! The festival!" Jake had completely forgotten about that. "Thanks for reminding me."

The upcoming school festival was going to occur next week on Monday. Loads of his classmates had been discussing and planning things for it over the last couple weeks now. Jake hadn't been planning to go himself due to it mostly being focused on the club related stuff, but since he was now part of a club, he guessed he didn't really have a choice.

"Hahaha, silly goose~" said Sayori happily, "You know, Jake... It's really nice that I get to spend more time with you again now you're part of the club. But I think seeing you getting along with everybody else is what makes me the happiest. And I think they like you, too!" Sayori told him.

"Thanks a lot, Sayori. I really mean that." Jake replied.

"Ehehe~ Every day is going to be so much fun~" Sayori cheered.

Jake gently patted Sayori on the shoulder. "You know, for once, I actually agree with you."

Sayori giggled and Jake chuckled. He really did think this was going to be fun. Now that he could focus on writing a short story instead of a poem, things seemed to be looking up for him.

"I'm glad to hear that! See you tomorrow Jakey~" She said.

"Yeah, see ya later!" He replied.

And with that, Sayori gave Jake a quick hug and happily skipped towards her own house. Jake smiled after her before he slowly walked up to his front door, his mind racing with ideas.

The thought of earning Yuri's approval filled him with determination.

__________

Yeah, so I decided to skip the poems part because I found it pretty boring to write and I was more excited to write this part instead. I hope my story will start to become more of its own thing beyond this point.

What do you think of my story so far? Is it moving too slow? Do you think that my character is interesting or just cringey? Please leave your feedback in the comments and have a very good day.

~Cheesy