Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

The Absent Part 8

Love... No, why am I even thinking about that? It just Mali trying to get under my skin again. I know that so... Why is it still bothering me so much?

How could I even love him like that? There's no way, right? I... I can't.

Natsuki shook her head, but her attempt at refusing the notion only convinced Mali to continue.

"Do you ever think of the future, Natsuki-Chan? When you do, is Senpai in it?" Mali questioned.

Natsuki kept her mouth shut, prompting a small, delighted smile to fall on Mali's lips.

"Do you find Senpai and his constant cheek scratching quirk cute? Does Senpai make you feel like you have a better sense of self?"

"He..."

"Ehehe, Natsuki-chan..." Mali slowly made her way towards Natsuki. Every step she took slowly distorted Natsuki's already worried face, filling Mali with great pleasure. "You can't tell me that being around Senpai doesn't make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, right?"

"That's kinda an exaggeration..."

"You can stand there and really tell me that his innocent and somewhat awkward smiles doesn't make you weak in the knees? Him always making time for you when you need him and respecting when you need to be left alone? Him sticking up for you and diverting any blame to himself to keep you from feeling even worse than you already do time and time again?"

Mere inches away from her face, Mali stared deeply into Natsuki's eyes.

"All those times you two talked; him listening to you and you listening to him... Surely that meant a lot to you didn't it? Respecting his morals, finding his point of view interesting and him respecting yours."

Mali reached forward and scratched Natsuki's bright pink right cheek in a teasing manner.

"Just thinking about Senpai sends your heart aflutter, doesn't it? And when you think about him, you have to think about the conversations you may have with him, you want to hear his opinions and just overall wondering when's the next time you can be around him.

And that desire doesn't require a deep, analytical deep dive to understand what spawns it. It just feels wonderful. It feels wonderful to be around Senpai because of how you feel about him. Because you..."

"I don't..."

"When it comes to Senpai, you..."

"I..."

"It's just one sentence, Natsuki-chan. Whether it's the truth or your attempt at a lie, you only have to say just a few words."

Now taking a step back, Mali giggled upon taking in the entirety of Natsuki's confusion and anxiety.

"Well, Natsuki-chan?"

Natsuki knew deep down that she should not have paid attention to Mali's words, but now that she had, she felt trapped by them. It would be so easy to just deny her claims, but something deep inside prevented her from uttering a single word.

"The girl's right. You only need to say one thing."

If her heart could stop right then, Natsuki would have considered that an act of mercy. She couldn't dare look up. Even keeping them open amid the loud encroaching footsteps was too much.

"Didn't you say that up and down that that kid was only a member of that club you were in? Didn't you say that over and over even though you wrote differently in your book?" Kaen's words of reminder were like a dagger to her still beating heart. "Didn't you?"