September 25th, 2017

It was the day of the festival, and all the preparations for the event were nearly completed. The banner Jake and Yuri painted was now dry, and Jake gently rolled it up to take it with him.

Yuri sent him a pleasant text reminding him not to forget anything. This simple reminder made Jake feel both happy and nervous at the exact same time.

Funnily enough, Jake probably felt the same way as Natsuki about the event. He was a lot more excited for it to be over so he could go on his date with Yuri at the festival. A date with Yuri. Just the thought of going on a date with her made his heart want to bounce out of his chest.

Despite his excitement, Jake was still a little bit concerned about Sayori. These last few days had been tough for her. He was still upset with himself for not acknowledging her problems sooner; all his life, Sayori had been their for him in his time of need, yet he glossed over the fact that she might be the one who needed support.

"Heeeeeeeyyy!!" came a high-pitched voice that echoed throughout the streets.

Jake grinned as he watched his best friend running towards him from the distance, waving her arms in the air as though she was oblivious to any attention she might draw to herself. Staying idle in front of the crosswalk, he waited for her to catch up to him.

"Haaahhh... Haaahhh..." Sayori gasped as she tried to regain her breath, "I'm sorry, I overslept again! But I'm really glad that you waited for me!"

"Of course I did. Best friends don't leave each other hanging, right?" asked Jake.

Sayori nodded, "Right! What's that you got there, Jakey?"

"Oh this? It's the banner Yuri and I made for the festival." Jake explained, "We couldn't add the lettering cause the paint needed to dry, so we decided to finish it in the classroom. So, how are you feeling today?"

"Oh, I'm doing okay. Me and Monika managed to create enough pamphlets for the event. I may have been a bit quieter than usual, but other than that it went pretty well. How about you?"

"To be completely honest, I'm actually pretty excited. You'll never guess what happened after Yuri and I finished the decorations yesterday..." Jake said with a goofy smile.

"You asked Yuri out to the festival!" Sayori blurted out.

"Wha...? H-How did you-?!" Jake asked, completely shocked.

Sayori tapped her fingers together nervously, "I, uh... may have seen you two outside your house while on my way back from Monika's... So, I might've been listening from behind the fence when you talked about going on a date during the festival..."

"You really are the worst, Sayori..." mumbled Jake.

"But it was soooooooooo cute!"  She squealed loudly, "Your face was like a big round tomato the entire time and it was the most adorable thing I've ever seen in my life!"

"Shhh, shhhhh! Keep it down!" Jake shushed her, hoping nobody would notice her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Sayori apologised, "I'm just super happy you actually went and confess to her like that. And all by yourself, too. I'm so proud of you, Jake."

"Yeah, thanks Sayori..." said Jake, feeling a bit embarrassed, "How about we get going before we end up being even more late?"

Sayori nodded, "Right, of course! Let's get going!"

The two friends then crossed the street together and made their way to school, just like they did every school day. But today, things were very different. Because now, for the first time in several years, both of them truly understood each other better than anyone else.

Thinking back to Saturday, something crossed Jake's mind that he hadn't really thought about until now. Something that Sayori mentioned after she revealed that she was a lesbian.

"Hey Sayori, can I ask you an awkward question...?" He asked her.

"Of course you can! What is it?" She replied.

"Do you... have a crush on Natsuki?"

Sayori's smile was now gone and was replaced by an uncertain look. Jake immediately felt bad for bringing this up. It had only been two days since she told him the truth. Maybe he should've waited longer before bringing this up?

"Well, I guess I do..." She admitted, "She can be a little moody sometimes, but other times she's a real sweetheart and lots of fun to be around. I can't blame her for being cranky, though. Some people treat her like a child because of her stature, even though she's seventeen. In fact, she's a few months older than I am."

"Really? I never would've guessed..." Jake looked away from Sayori and guiltily rubbed his neck, remembering how he first assumed Natsuki was a sixteen-year-old when he first saw her.

"Maybe I just felt bad for her or something, I was one of the first people to talk to her when she transferred here a few weeks ago. After I found out about her love for manga, I told Monika she would make a great edition to the club, so we invited her to come join us. The very next day, Natsuki literally brought her entire manga collection to the club."

"Every single one of them? Why is that?" asked Jake.

"I guess she thought the rest of us would be interested in manga too. I read a few of them with her from time to time, but Monika and Yuri prefer sticking with novels. I figured you two would get along because of that."

"Well, manga and anime come in many different genres besides slice-of-life or baking stuff. I'm honestly not surprised that you feel so happy around her. I think you two would make an amazing couple." said Jake.

"Do you really think so?" asked Sayori.

"Of course I do. She loves cute stuff and you're as cute as one can be." He replied.

"Ehehe. You really shouldn't say things like that to me when your going out with another girl..."

"Right, right! Okay, forget I said anything. How about this; You are the most annoying, childish, and un-cute thing I've ever met in my life. Is that better?"

Sayori chuckled quietly, "You don't have to be that mean, Jakey."

"Okay, sorry. But still, you'll always be my dearest friend." He said solemnly, "I know you're still struggling with a lot of difficult feelings right now, but I promise things are going to get better. You're not alone in all of this."

"I know... but what am I supposed to do? I want to tell her how I feel more than anything in the world, but I can't stand the thought of how she'll react. What if she gets grossed out and doesn't want to talk to me?"

"Look, Sayori. I haven't known Natsuki as long as you have and I don't think you should take my word for it. But I don't believe she, or anybody else, will stop wanting to talk to you. Everybody has so much more fun with you're around. They don't argue as much, decisions get made easier, and nobody stays upset for too long. You're the glue that keeps them all together. You are without a doubt the heart of the Literature Club."

Sayori's eyes went misty, "Thank you, Jake..."

Jake smiled, "No problem. Now let's hurry before Natsuki's cupcakes are all gone."

**********

Jake and Sayori arrived at the clubroom, which was now almost unrecognisable. Almost all of the desks had been pushed against the walls to make room, while the chairs were neatly lined up in front of the podium. Only five of the chairs still had desks, where Natsuki and Yuri were seated and reading over their selected poems.

It seemed as though they'd anticipated Jake and Sayori's late arrival and had decided to get started without them. Upon entering the clubroom, Jake was immediately greeted by the familiar scent of Jasmine oil being filtered through the warm air.

All the windows were covered up with black paper and the classroom was lit only by the aromatherapy candles. Hanging above the doorway was the curtain of ribbons with kanji fastened to it.

Several covered up trays of cupcakes laced out on the desks next to Natsuki. Jake took a quick moment to admire her work and felt a bit bad she had to make them all by herself. Then again, she did say she was more than up for the challenge.

Yuri was silently reading over her poem, probably to mentally prepare herself before she had to read it in front of other people. Upon seeing Jake, she quickly looked away from him. He didn't want to distract her, so he decided to let her focus on her poem.

Monika was placing booklets onto all of the desks throughout the classroom. They must be the pamphlets she made with Sayori over the weekend.

"Ah, good morning you two!" Monika greeted them happily.

"Hey, everyone~" Sayori said out loud.

"Hey Monika. I hope we're not running too late." said Jake.

"No, you're right on time! I'm just laying out the pamphlets for visitors to look at." Monika told him. She eagerly handed him one of the booklets, "Take a look and read."

Praying that no one was looking at him through the open door, Jake reluctantly took the booklet from Monika. Much to his chagrin, they were all bright pink and featured a logo that was pretty clearly designed by Sayori:

(I'm going to die...) Jake thought to himself, trying to hide his embarrassment while he silently read through the pink booklet.

It was filled with several of Monika's favourite writing tips, the names of poets and authors who inspired Monika's passion for literature, recommended poems for people who are new to poetry, etc. There was even a short poem on the back, likely written by Monika herself.

"So, what do you think?" Monika asked with her always sweet smile.

Jake smiled back awkwardly, "It's uh, great... Well, I better get busy now. See ya!"

Before Monika could respond, Jake quickly handed the booklet back and walked over to Yuri's desk. He knew this contradicted his previous choice to let her be for a little bit, but at this point he just wanted to forget about the thing he just read.

"Hey, Yuri. You wanna get started on the banner?" He asked her. Yuri jumped in her seat, looking up from her poem in surprise, "Sorry... I didn't mean to startle you..."

"I-It's okay, Jake..." She replied, not looking him in the face. Jake immediately regretted the way he approached her. He tried to calm himself down before speaking again.

"So, you want to finish up on the banner?" He asked again.

"Actually, I-I was thinking that I should f-finish the banner on... on my own." Yuri replied, still unable to look him in the eye.

"Huh? W-Why's that?" Jake stuttered in confusion. Wasn't the plan to finish it together? Didn't Yuri want to spend more time with him after what happened yesterday?

Dark thoughts started slipping inside the teen's mind; was he moving too fast for her comfort? Was he creeping her out by not giving her space? Or worse... had Yuri changed her mind about how she really felt about him?

"L-Like I said yesterday, I wanted the message to be a surprise..." Yuri told him, "Y-You should go find something to do while I do the rest."

"Are you sure?" Jake asked, feeling both sad and relieved at the same time.

"O-Of course! And maybe we can k-keep reading the Portrait of Markov after..." Yuri told him, the skin on her cheeks flushing pink.

"Okay then..." Jake said, feeling disappointed that he would not be completing what he and Yuri had been making together. He knew it was just a decoration, but that memory of painting it with her was special to him and it was a bit painful to not help finish it.

Well, at least now he had another chance to try and memorise his crappy poem, which might have just become the least embarrassing thing he would be doing. He just hoped he'd live to see another day with his dignity still intact.

__________

So... It's been awhile. I'm really sorry. I've recently been dealing with some personal issues that have left me feeling pretty depressed. I've also had a bit of writer's block, which is one reason I've been so slack in writing. The festival arc has been a real pain, but I think I might have found a way to get by. I can't say what, cause that's a spoiler. Can't say when it will be written and published, but hopefully soon. And yes, the first half of this chapter is the same as the previous one that it now part of this one. I know it's lazy, but hey, so am I.

Also, special thanks to @autumnpigmy for those beautiful covers she made for both of my stories. They're better than anything I've ever made in my life and I love them. Thanks a lot!

~ Cheesy