Ten minutes later, Monika cleared her throat, "Okay, you three! Since the mood's become a bit gloomy, why don't we start figuring out-"

"Hold on a second!" Natsuki interrupted her, "Is it me, or did you say something strange just now?"

"Eh...? What do you mean?" asked Monika.

"Something did sound a bit unusual..." said Yuri, thinking back on what Monika had said, "That's right. You deviated from your usual catchphrase when addressing the club."

"C-Catchphrase? I don't have a catchphrase..." stuttered Monika.

Natsuki placed her hands on her hips, "Jeez... Why is the mood so weird today? First Sayori and Jake both go quiet, and now you're saying things differently. Look, even Yuri isn't immune to it."

Yuri looked away and fiddled with her hair "Uh... Stagnating air is a common foreshadowing that something terrible is about to happen..."

"Ooooh..." Jake groaned, not feeling much better after Yuri said that. He had spent the last ten minutes trying to to freak out over the unexpected absence of his normally cherry friend.

"Relax. The only thing different is that Sayori isn't here." Monika explained.

"Ah, it seems you're right." replied Yuri.

Monika sighed, "Sayori always helps lighten up the mood a little bit, doesn't she? It's almost like everything is thrown off a little when she's not around..."

"Where the heck did she run off to, anyway?" asked Natsuki. "I thought she just went to pee."

"Natsuki, please show some decency..." said Yuri, giving the girl a stern look.

"Oh, come on." She whined.

"Actually, she went home early. She said she wasn't feeling well..." Jake told them. He felt pretty bad about lying to them, but he also didn't think it was a good idea to tell them about Sayori's possible depression. If she found out he told them, she might get even worse and wouldn't want to talk to him anymore. And he would lose the only friend he ever had growing up.

"Is that so? I hope she's alright..." replied Yuri, sounding concerned.

Natsuki huffed, "Seriously? Of all the times to not go home with her, you pick the time she's not feeling well? So much for you two being all lovey-dovey."

"Natsuki!" Jake yelled, a little louder than he intended, "It's nothing like that! Me and Sayori are just friends! Besides, she wouldn't have wanted me to go with her after what we-"

Yuri made a funny noise that sounded like 'hooooh' and was looking at Jake with a very curious expression on her face.

"Calm down, guys...! I talked to her earlier and everything is fine." Monika assured them, giving Jake a small wink, "Anyway, we need to figure out the rest of the festival preparations, so let's decide what everyone will be doing this weekend."

"I already know what I'm doing!" Natsuki piped up with a big smile.

"That's right. Natsuki will be making cupcakes." announced Monika, "But we might need a lot of them, and different flavours. Can you handle all of that yourself, Natsuki?"

"Challenge accepted!" Natsuki replied, grinning even more.

"As for myself, I'm going to be printing and assembling all the poetry pamphlets. Sayori will also be helping me design them." Monika then look over at Yuri, "And as for Yuri... Yuri you can... Ah, um..."

Everyone looked at Monika, who seemed to be rather puzzled over what kind of job she should give to Yuri. She glanced over and Natsuki and Jake. "Guys... Could you help me come up with something for Yuri?"

Jake could see Yuri's face beginning to fall and he predicted how she must feeling right now. She turned away again, looking absolutely miserable.

"I... I'm useless..." She muttered under her breath.

(No, don't say that...) Jake thought sadly.

"N-No! That's not it at all, Yuri!" Monika said quickly, "You're the most talented person in the club, you know!"

Natsuki crossed her arms and threw a glare at Monika, who quickly noticed.

"N-Now Natsuki's pouting too??" She mumbled.

(God, where's Sayori when you need her?)

"I guess Sayori really was the glue that held this club together, huh? Everything must be harder for you without her lighting up the place." said Jake.

"Ah, that may be the case..." Monika agreed, "But if I can't be a good leader on my own, then I won't be able to grow as a person."

Monika turned back to Yuri with renewed strength, "So, Yuri! You have beautiful writing just like Jake's, you know? So you should make some banners and decorations to help set up the room's atmosphere."

Yuri looked back at Monika, wearing another curious expression.

"Atmosphere...? Um, about that... I..."

Yuri's eyes darted over to Jake, who could only see half of her face and one eye. She looked so cute doing that, and Jake found himself feeling a whole lot better now.    

"I love atmosphere!" Yuri suddenly exclaimed. Jake's eyes widened in surprise at the amount of power she put into her voice, like she did while she was reading her poem. Yuri then closed her eyes and silently nodded to herself.

"You're mind is already racing, I see. That's great! You'll be a wonderful help, Yuri." Monika said happily. "But anyway... That just leaves you, Jake."

"The one who is truly useless..." He muttered.

"Ahahaha!" Monika laughed, "Don't say that! In fact... Both Natsuki and Yuri have some pretty heavy tasks to handle. It would probably go a long way to give one of them a hand."

Monika then smiled to herself. "Plus, you could always help me out, as well... I would be really appreciative of that."

"Uh, that's..." Jake trailed off, looking at the three girls.

Was Monika suggesting he should spend the weekend with one of the club members? The only girl... no, the only person, he had ever visited or brought over to his house was Sayori. How on Earth would he be able to handle going to the house of a girl he had only known for one week? And more importantly, how would the girls even respond to a suggestion like that...?

"Ah, I... suppose I wouldn't mind a bit of help..." Yuri said, blushing slightly.

"Well, even if you don't know how to bake, there's always some dirty work I could give you. It's not like Monika's going to give me much of a choice, plus you shouldn't just be sitting on your butt anyway..." mumbled Natsuki.

"Um... if I recall, Natsuki..." Yuri spoke up, "You mentioned that you would like to handle baking the cupcakes on your own. Jake may not like to be around you if you only make him out to be a nuisance. So therefore... He may be more suited to assisting with the decorations."

"Hold on! I never said that!" yelled Natsuki, "How hard could it be to make a few decorations, anyway? Sounds like you're just making excuses for Jake to-"

Jake winced and quickly covered up his ears; he was not ready to deal with another one of their arguments today.

"W-What are you saying?! It will be extremely meticulous work..." Yuri said anxiously.

"And baking isn't? Just what do you think-"

"Guys, guys! Let's settle down for a moment, you're upsetting Jake." said Monika sternly, giving Jake a sympathetic look as he uncovered his ears. "In the end, I think it's up to Jake to decide how he'd like to contribute. Besides..."

Monika then gave Jake a sweet smile, "He hasn't really gotten the chance to spend any time with me yet, you know? So I'm sure he's interested in-"

"You literally just said-" Natsuki began, but Jake cut her off.

"Natsuki, stop it!" he snapped, wanting to end the argument before it began. She opened her mouth to protest, but to Jake's surprise, she backed down and crossed her arms in a huff.

"I-I'm surprised as well!" said Yuri, looking at Monika with a rather suspicious look. Monika then seemed to realise what she had said and laughed nervously.

"Sorry, sorry! I was just saying, though..." She reasoned.

"Jeez... Can we just settle this already." groaned Natsuki.

"Yeah... Jake, you're okay with this, right?" Monika asked him. "In the end, it's up to you."

"Hmph!" Natsuki huffed.

"Very well..." Yuri responded.

 "Uh..."

At first, Jake considered going to help Monika, as she was right about them both not spending as much time together as the others and he was honestly a bit eager to find out more about her life outside of school. But then again, Monika already said she was going to get help from Sayori and printing pamphlets didn't really seem like a three person job.

Natsuki was already an expert on baking and making several serves of cupcakes for the festival would probably be a breeze for her, although Jake guessed having an extra pair of hands would take away some of the pressure. However, he wasn't sure how comfortable he would be having to spend an entire day working with someone he was always arguing with.

"Well, I'll probably be most useful helping out Yuri." Jake said truthfully, as making decorations did sound like a lot of work and his neat handwriting would probably come in handy here.

"M-Me...?" stuttered Yuri, sounding very surprised.

"Are you serious? Why would you-" Natsuki began, but Monika cut her off.

"Natsuki! I can already tell you're about to say something mean."

"N-No... I was just saying... Ugh..." Natsuki groaned, crossing her arms.

"So, you'll be helping Yuri then, Jake?" Monika asked him.

"Uh, yeah. I guess I am." Jake said with a shrug.

Yuri smiled, "I'm glad... I have a bad habit of overthinking these sorts of things, so I think your assistance will be very useful."

"Ah, thanks..." Jake mumbled, rubbing his neck nervously.

"That's great to hear. Natsuki, will you be able to handle the baking yourself?" Monika asked the still cranky girl. Natsuki placed her hand on her hip.

"I mean, yeah. I already said I would be fine." She reminded her.

"Okay, okay..." said Monika calmly. Everyone could tell that Natsuki was feeling a bit sour about Jake's decision. He was almost starting to feel bad for her. Almost...

"So... are we done here?" Jake yawned, feeling tired again.

"Yeah, that should be about it." Monika said cheerfully, "Are you guys excited?"

"Well, 'excited' may not be the correct word to describe it... But I suppose I'm looking forward to it a little bit." Yuri admitted.

"You you feel the same way, Jake?" Monika asked him.

"Me? Uh, I guess this'll finally be an interesting Monday to say the least..." He replied.

"That's good enough for me! What about you, Natsuki?" Monika asked her, but Natsuki doesn't respond. Yuri notices this and looks at her.

"Natsuki!" Yuri called out.

"What??" Natsuki asked rudely, "Why is everyone yelling at me? I didn't even do anything!"

"N-No-! That's not what I meant at all! A-Ah..." Yuri anxiously glances between everyone in the room, "I-I'm sorry for this... I don't really know why Jake picked me..."

"Because I know making decorations is not an easy task, especially if you're making them for an entire classroom. That kind of work would definitely benefit from having more than one person handling." Jake explained.

Yuri's face burned up and she looked away from him, fiddling with her hair again "That's... that's a good point. Thank you, J-Jake..."

She then turned back to Natsuki, "And also... your cupcakes are the best cupcakes I've ever had! They go really well with my tea! And nothing I do for the event will compare to that, so... so..."

Natsuki sighed, "I get it, I get it. I'm kinda surprised, though..."

"W-Why?" asked Yuri nervously.

"Um... Well, I'm the one acting immature. I already know that. But you're trying to cheer me up all of a sudden..."

"I-I know I'm not very good at it... I'm sorry if I said something bad." Yuri apologised.

"No, no, it's okay Yuri. You did good." Jake assured her.

He was about 90% sure Yuri was trying to sound like Sayori. Even if it wasn't quite the same, he could tell she was trying to say something Sayori would say in a time like this, always trying her best to keep everyone happy and wash away all the negativity. It was quite an admirable thing for Yuri to do in his eyes.

"Yeah, I kinda appreciated it." Natsuki admitted, "I'm sorry for making a big deal out of nothing. But I am going to say this."

Yuri looked at Natsuki with another curious expression.

"You better bet that my cupcakes are going to be the best part of the whole event!" She yelled dramatically.

"Ah... I believe you." Yuri replied calmly.

"Yeah!" Monika agreed, "Hope to see everyone do their best. But with that... There's nothing more for today. So I guess it's time for us to head out."

"Alright, let's get out of here, then." Natsuki responded.

Everyone packed up their things and Jake started to follow Monika and Natsuki out the door as they chat between each other.

"U-Um-!"

Jake turned around upon hearing a small voice call out. Yuri was standing behind him, looking very anxious. Jake felt his face flush and gulped nervously as he realised that for the first time, they were completely alone in the classroom.

"Sorry... I just realized that I don't have any way of contacting you this weekend..." She explained to him.

"Oh yeah, right right right." Jake muttered, "Um, well, I guess in all the excitement I forgot about that being a problem. Should I, uh, should I give me your phone number?"

"Huh...?" Yuri said, looking puzzled.

"Uh, sorry. That didn't come out right. I-I meant, I'll give my phone number t-to you! Did any of that make better sense? I, gah..." Jake's face reddened even more.

Why has it suddenly become so difficult to talk to her? A couple minutes ago he was reassuring her and trying to help her stay calm, now he was barely able to make a complete sentence.

"I think... that would be the best way, yes." She agreed.

"A-Alright then..." Jake replied, as he exchanged phone numbers with her.

"Okay. Then I'll be stopping by your house on Sunday..."

"My house...?" mumbled Jake.

"I-Is that a problem...?" Yuri asked him.

"No, no, not at all! I-I just thought that I would be the one coming over to your house, since I'm the one helping you."

"Ah, I suppose that makes sense... But if you don't mind, I think I would prefer going to your house."

"Oh, okay..." said Jake, deciding no to press for a reason.

With the state of his room at the moment, Jake knew his mother would never approve of him bringing somebody over while it was a mess. It was gonna be a pain in the ass trying to get all the dust and cobwebs out of there.

"I hope I manage to make myself useful in some way. I'm not nearly as creative as you..." He continued, trying to clear his head and control himself in front of Yuri.

"Don't underestimate yourself, Jake. I think that we'll make a very productive team. Even if you only chose me because you felt bad or something..."

"What? No, of course not!" Jake said loudly, his mouth working faster than his brain, "That's not at all why I chose you! I chose you cause I-"

Jake slammed his jaw shut like a Venus flytrap before he could finish his sentence; that was way too close! He had almost blurted out his feelings for Yuri. Just because she could not accept that he truly wanted to help her out other than out of sympathy.

"W-What? What were you going to say...?" Yuri asked, looking very surprised again. She looked straight into Jake's eyes.

(Tell her. Tell her now.) A small voice in Jake's head spoke to him.

"Ye- uh- y'know th- one thing I sh-" He stuttered.

(Dew it!)

...

"Well, c-cause we're friends! A-And friends always try help each other out whenever they can. I mean, we are friends, right?" The big chicken clucked.

"I-I see..." Yuri said to herself, "I guess that does make sense. It's difficult to come up with any other reason why you may have chosen me..."

"Why not?" Jake asked, "You're easily my favourite member in the whole club... wait, I didn't mean, I just- I-"

Yuri looked at him with another surprised expression. Then she turned her head away and began fiddling with her hair (again), but her eyes remain focused on Jake, who looked utterly horrified.

"I... didn't realize... you thought so highly of me..." Yuri whispered, so quietly Jake barely heard what she said. And then, Yuri finally relaxed her expression, "Thank you again, Jake. I'm really looking forward to Sunday."

"Yeah, I am too..."   Jake said, wanting an excuse to leave before he said any more embarrassing things. "Uh, listen, my mum said she's making dinner early, so I'd better get back home before it starts to get dark."

"Okay, then..." said Yuri, "Goodbye."

"See ya later." He replied. After that exchange, Jake quickly made his way out the classroom door, with Yuri following him from behind.

Yuri was going to be coming over to Jake's house on Sunday? His anxiety and excitement were all shooting through the roof. There was no telling what would happen when both he and Yuri were outside of school.

More than that, she was looking forward to it, and that on its own sent Jake's mind racing about all the possibilities. And for just for the briefest moment, he thought nothing would get his mind off of next Sunday...  

--------------------

Man, these last two chapters have been a pain to write. Oh well, at least we've finally made it to the more fun stuff. There's a big change in the plot coming up, so keep an eye out for a future update. Please let me know if you see any spelling mistakes and I'll try to fix them.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

~Cheesy