4town DDLC Au Rewrite | Some changes DISCONTINUED

Part 11 Act 1

Another day passes, and it's time for the club meeting already. I've gotten a little more comfortable here over the past couple days. Entering the clubroom, the usual scene greets me. "Hi, Robaire~" "Yo, Aaron. Looks like you're in a good mood today." "Ehehe~ I'm just still not used to you being in the club, that's all." "I see... ...That's a pretty simple thing to get you in a good mood. But, I guess it's always the simple things with you, anyway." "Speaking of which... I'm kinda hungry... Will you come with me to buy a snack?" "No thanks." "Eh?? T-That's not like you at all!!" "I have my reasons. Why don't we take a look at your wallet, Aaron." "E-Eh? Why that...all of a sudden?" "No reason, really. I just wanted to look at it." "A-Ah..." Aaron nervously retrieves his wallet. His hands are shaky as he opens it. Then, he turns it upside-down and let's it contents spill onto the desk. Only two small coins fall out. "A-Ahaha..." "I knew it... I can see right through you, Aaron." "That's not fair! How did you even know?" "It's simple. If you had enough money in the first place, you would have bought a snack before coming to the clubroom. So, either you're not hungry and you wanted an excuse to take a walk... Or, you planned to conveniently forget that you spent all your money, so that I would lend you some! But there's one more thing... ...You're always hungry! And so, that only leaves the one option!" "Uwaaa~! I give up! Don't make me feel guiltyyy!" "If you feel guilty, that means you deserve to feel guilty..." "Ahaha." Tae suddenly giggles. "Eh?" I didn't notice that he was listening in. His face is in his book, as always. "A-Ah! I wasn't listening or anything—! It was just...something in my book..." "Taeeee... Tell Robaire to let me borrow some money..." "That's—! Don't get me involved like that, Aaron... Besides... You should only buybwhat you can responsibly afford... And frankly, after pulling a mischievous little stunt like that, your suffering is fair enough retribution." "..." "Ah—! Did I just... I-I didn't mean that! I got too absorbed into my book... Uu..." "Ahaha! I really like when you speak your mind, Tae... It doesn't happen much, but it's a fun side of you!" "That's... There's no way you could think that..." "you were right, though... I did something bad now I have to accept the revolution." "Retribution..." "That!" "Still, coming from you, Aaron... I guess there's a little devil inside all of us, isn't there?" "Ehehe..." "Don't let him fool you. Aaron knows exactly what he's doing. After all, he told you guys he was bringing me to the club before he even told me..." "B-But...! You wouldn't have come if it weren't for the cupcakes... So I had to trick Z into making them!" "Come on, give me more credit than that, Aaron." "Ehehe..." Pwap! "Kyaa—!" Out of nowhere, something smacks Aaron in the face and tumbles onto the desk. "Ow... What was— Eh?? A-A cookie!" Sure enough, it's a giant cookie wrapped in plastic. Aaron glances around. "I-Is this a miracle?? It's because I paid my restitution!" "Retribution..." "Actually, that one almost worked..." "Ahahaha! I was just going give it to you. But then I heard you blab about the cupcakes. It was totally worth seeing your reaction, though. Ahaha!" "Z-Z! That's so nice of you! I'm so happy..." Aaron hugs the cookie. "Jeez, just eat it..." Aaron rapidly tears it open the wrapper and takes a big bite. "Sho good... Mmf—!" Aaron suddenly clasps his hands over his mouth. "I bit my tongue..." "Ehehe. You're going through a lot over just one cookie." Z takes a bite of his own cookie.  "Ah yours looks really good too, Z! Can I try it?" "Jeez... Beggars can't be choosers!" "But yours is chocolate..." "Yeah, why do you think I gave you that one?" "Fine... Still, I'm really happy that you shared the one with me. "Ehehe~"

Aaron gets out of his seat and goes behind Z, the  wraps his arms around him. "Ah— Jeez... I get it, I get it." Cookie still in hand, Z reaches up to nudge Aaron off of him. "...Om." Aaron suddenly leans down and takes a bite out of Z's cookie. "H-hey!! Did you seriously just do that?!" "Uhuhuhu!" Mouth full, Aaron trots away to safety. Tae and I laugh as well. "Jeez! You're such a kid sometimes! Jesse! Can you tell Aaron— —Eh?" Z glances around. Jesse isn't in the clubroom. "Ugh... Where's Jesse, anyway?" "Good question... Have any of you heard anything about him being late today?" "Not me..." "Yeah, I haven't either." "Hm... That's a bit unusual." "I hope he's okay..." "Of course he's okay. He probably just had something to do today. He's pretty popular, after all..." "Eh? You don't think he... He has a...!" "Ahaha. I wouldn't be surprised. Jesse probably more desirable than all of us combined." "Ehehe, that's true..."  "Excuse me?!" Suddenly, the door swings open. "Sorry! I'm super sorry!" "Ah, there you are..." "I didn't mean to be late... I hope you guys weren't worried or anything!" "Eh?? Jesse chose the club over his girlfriend after all! You're so strong-willed!" "G-Girlfriend...? What on Earth are you talking about?" Jesse quizzically glances at me. "Ah, never mind that... What held you up, anyway?" "Ah... Well, my last period today was study hall. To be honest, I kind of just lost track of time... Ahaha..." "That makes no sense, though. You would have heard the bell ring, at least."  "I must not have heard it, since I was practising piano..." "Piano...? I wasn't aware you played music as well, Jesse." "Ah, I don't, really...! I kind of started recently. I've always wanted to learn piano." "That's so cool! You should play something for us, Jesse!" "That's..." Jesse looks at me. "Maybe once I get a little bit better, I will." "Yay~!" "That sounds cool. I'd also look forward to it." "Is that so? In that case... I won't let you down, Robaire." Jesse smiles sweetly. "Ah... I didn't mean any pressure or anything like that!" "Ahaha, don't worry. I've been practicing a whole lot recently. And I'd really love the chance to share once I'm ready." "I see.... In that case, best of luck." "Thanks~! So, I didn't miss anything, did I?" "Not...not really." I choose to leave out Aaron's mischievous escapade. I'm sure Z will end up complaining to him, anyway. It looks like everyone has already settled down. Aaron somehow already finished his entire cookie. Tae is back to his book, and Z disappeared into the closest. "Robaire, Robaire!" Aaron suddenly comes up to me. "I'm gonna go get some supplies from another classroom. Want to come with me?" "Supplies? What for?" "Well, you know how the festival is coming up? Me and Jesse were gonna make some posters and stuff. So I need to go find some crayons, and markers, and glue sticks..." "Ah, I see. Sure, I'll go with you." "Yaay~ Okay Jesse, we'll be back soon!" "Ah, are you going with Robaire to get the supplies? There's no need to trouble yourself. I'd be happy to go with him." "Aw, but I wanted to go! It's so much fun exploring empty classrooms and stuff!" "Hehe, okay, okay. It was just a suggestion. See if you can find poster paper too, okay?" "Okaay~! Ready, Robaire?" "Yep, let's go."

Aaron and I exit the clubroom. I follow behind as Aaron hums and skips around the hallway. Honestly... It feels like i'm taking a kid to the mall or something. Aaron finds pleasure I the simplest things sometimes. "Hey, Aaron... What exactly are we doing for the festival, anyways? I'm not sure how you would make an event out of literature..." "Ehehe! Me and Jesse have it all planned out! Don't you worry~" "Is that so...?" "Yup! We're gonna do a poetry performance!" "A performance...? Of what kind?" "Well... Everyone is gonna take turns on stage... And recite their favorite poems!" "Ah... That sounds..." ...Kind of dull? "Robaire! You're not thinking about it the right way at all! It's not just about reading poems... It’s about performing them! Like you say the lines of the poem like... between my feet... The last remaining flower beckons to me. I twist the stem, freeing it from it's clinging roots... Caressing the final joyous moment between my fingers. But to what ends have I summoned this joy? For now when I look in every direction... The once-prosperous field before me... Is but a barren wasteland! ... Like that!!" "Aaron..." How do I put this... "I'm sure it's just me, but it's impossible to take you seriously when you talk like that..." "Ehhh? You meanie! I'm working super hard on this, you know!" "Ah, I know, I know! I just meant that it's a pretty unordinary contrast to your cute self." "Ahaha! Don't say that, it's embarrassing! But I guess that means I'm doing a good job~" "Yeah, I guess so..." "Aah, I'm so excited! The festival is going to be so much fun~" Aaron spins himself around in the hallway again. "Hey, Robaire, this classroom over here is empty! Let's begin the mission!" "The mission, eh...?" It's been a long time since I've spent time with Aaron like this. But in the end, he hasn't changed one bit. He's nothing but a ball of sunshine, drawing happy vibes from the world around him. It's a pretty nostalgic feeling for me. As the years went by, I began to hole myself up in my room more and more. So going adventuring with Aaron brings about a special sort of feeling I forgot I had in me.

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