more than the past ➶ natsuri [ddlc]

★ chapter 10

Monika's story seemed to end here. After all, her entire life had been searching for someone to love her. Ever since her mother left, she was desperately searching for some kind of affection. She was like a bear for honey and only ended up getting stung. It almost felt like when she finally found something, that her search was over. She felt like her story was ending and she no longer had that goal to strive for.

But Monika's story had just begun. Sure, she was popular and beautiful. Boys seemed to fall at her feet, but that's not what she wanted. Boys would ask her out and she'd tell them she was gay, only to receive:

"You're too pretty to be gay."

"Are you sure?"

"Maybe you haven't found the right guy yet."

"I can change you."

Sayori stared at Monika, trying to figure her out. At school, she seemed to be the one layered popular girl. The bitch. Sayori felt lucky to see Monika much closer. The brunette was much more than just her surface-level mean girl façade.

"What are you thinking about?" Sayori asked. Monika had been heatedly mumbling to herself and looked ready to cry. "What's wrong?"

Monika looked up to meet Sayori's eyes. She looked at Sayori's hand that was resting on her knee.

"I've just been thinking a lot," Monika answered.

"Thinking?" Sayori asked, tilting her head. "About what?"

Monika bit her lip.

"Come on, you can tell me anything." Sayori reached up and brushed a piece of brunette hair out of Monika's face. "Anything."

Monika reached up and took Sayori's hand, kissing it softly. "I know. I trust you with my life, but I don't know where to start."

Sayori cracked a crooked smile at her girlfriend. "Maybe you should start at the beginning."

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Natsuki blinked back her tears. They were uncomfortably hot in her eyes. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. At that very moment, she had realized how incredibly tired she was. She put down her book and wiped away her tears. She felt that reading this book was pointless. Life was already sad enough without a book like this.

She put her book on her nightstand and cuddled into the soft sheets. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Katsuo's smile and heard his shameless flirting. She needed to do something.

Just as she was about to give up and go to sleep, an idea began to form. It wasn't an immediate revelation. Rather, it was an idea. The idea began to become clear and larger, as did her grin. She hopped out of her bed and burst out of her room. She ran up the stairs as if she had been running from something.

She had almost burst into Yuri's room before she had stopped dead in her tracks. A faint sound came from behind the white door. Her hand retracted from the doorknob to cup her head. She slowly and carefully placed it against the door. 

Small, passionate moans came from the other side of the door. Did Yuri have Katsuo over? Natsuki almost gagged. She did not need to see anything that was happening on the other side of that door.

"Natsuki?"

The pink-haired girl screamed, and the moans stopped abruptly.

"What are you doing?" The purple-haired girl asked. 

Natsuki stared at Yuri, then at the door. "If you're here, then who's in your room having...sex?" She said the very last word in a hushed whisper.

"Natsuki," Yuri said quietly. "That's Monika's room."

"Motherfu-" Natsuki's sentence cut off as the door swung open. A disheveled-looking Sayori answered the door, seemingly catching her breath.

"Hey, Natsuki!" Sayori said in her singsong voice. She had said it in a way that insinuated that she had not been having sex only seconds ago. "Monika! Your sister is here!"

Monika appeared with an inside-out t-shirt. "Were we watching our movie too loudly?"

"Your movie?" Yuri asked, perplexed. "Natsuki here just told me you were having sex."

"What the fuck, Natsuki!?" Monika thundered. She looked like she was going to slap a bitch.

"Calm down, love," Sayori said, with her usual bright smile. It had become apparent that Monika and Sayori no longer used honorifics with each other.

Monika's demeanor softened. "How did you even know I was having sex?" she asked calmly.

"I-" Natsuki stopped herself. How was she supposed to explain that she had thought that Yuri was having sex with Katsuo? "I was coming up here to ask you a question, and I heard the noise through the door."

"Well, what was your question?"

Shit. Natsuki had dug herself a hole that was a little too deep for her liking. "I-I was just wondering what you guys wanted for dinner."

"It's almost midnight." Yuri started laughing. Her phone began to ring and Natsuki caught a glance of the contact.

Katsuo :) is calling...

They were already on a first name basis? Fuck him with his stupid smile and his stupidly sexy laugh and his dumb athleticism. Natsuki turned on her heel and ran back to her room, leaving the other three girls confused. She pulled out a slip of paper and her favorite pen.

At the top of the paper, she scribbled How To Get Happily Ever After. She needed to devise a plan, and she already knew her first step. 

_

_

She arrived at the school just a little earlier than usual. The bus that came an hour earlier was eerily empty, with a few savvy businessmen or some cranky old ladies. The early bus driver was a cheery old man who smiled widely, showing his crooked teeth.

She carefully peeked into the gym, spotting Katsuo in basketball practice. Perfect. She carefully tiptoed into the locker room. Her eyebrows narrowed in determination. She needed to find some kind of dirt against this seemingly perfect guy. He had no right to waltz into Yuri's life and easily win her over. There had to be something here. Something that would reveal that he's truly a nasty person, and his kindness was just an act.

The locker room was oddly inviting. It faintly smelled like cologne, and each locker had nametags. She found Katsuo's name and carefully unzipped his bag.

In the gym, Monika and Sayori were watching the basketball practice. At least they were pretending to watch the basketball practice.

"Why the sudden change of heart, babe?" Sayori asked, cuddling up in the bleachers next to Monika.

"I realized I don't need to keep Yuri from dating anybody. I realized I wasn't really in love with her, I was in love with the idea of having someone who cared about me as much as she did. I'd rather have her dating Natsuki than this boy."

"Wait, why is Katsuo getting his towel and heading towards the gym doors? Practice isn't supposed to end until 8:30!"

"I don't know. The other guys on the team are still practicing. Let me text Natsuki and tell her he's heading that way." Monika looked for her purse, which contained her cell phone. "Shit, I left my bag in the car. You text her." 

Sayori nodded and unlocked her phone. She sent a quick text to Natsuki, warning her that Katsuo was on his way to the locker room. "Oh dear..."

"What's wrong?" Monika held back a giggle. Only Sayori would say "oh dear."

"I don't get reception in this gym."

"The gym is a storm shelter," Monika realized. "That must be why you don't get any reception."

Monika and Sayori began to panic.

Meanwhile, Natsuki was scrolling through Katsuo's phone. Specifically, his text messages. Little did she know, Katsuo had finally reached the locker room door.