Hold You Forever - DDLC {Natsuki x MC}

-6- Demeanor

Welcome, my friends, to ze sixth chapter!
Have fun, guys and gals!
(Please notify me on any grammar/spelling mistakes, so I can correct it ASAP)

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Dan's POV

Half an hour has gone by since Natsuki and I started reading together, and the pleasant silence which was present here didn't go by unnoticed. Nothing more than whispers, turning pages and unheard thoughts. Aside from that, it was only whatever your own mind could add to the stillness.

In my case, it was this girl next to me, who sat frighteningly close and was unable to break her attention away from the manga I brought. Every now and then, she would tap my arm, signaling to me that she was done with the current page. It seemed that reading manga had brought her constant defense to a halt for just this instance. I must say, without all her snarky and sharp comments, I quickly started to see her in a different light.

Natsuki tapped my shoulder again, wanting me to turn the page. Every time she did so, I had to resist teasing her about it, all because I had simply started to enjoy this kind of company so close to me. Unfortunately, the way I was used to seeing her character up until now, which hasn't even been that long, it really makes me want to tease her about this.

At this point, I wasn't even reading anymore. I had to find a way to redirect my attention. Desperately, I traversed my sight through the room, looking at every detail it contained. Each instance I felt a tap on my arm, I quickly turned the page and forgot about it again.

I leaned back slightly. The room didn't do it for me unfortunately. That's when I heard it, tapping ever so silently on the window: rain. I hadn't noticed it until now, but it had appeared as my savior. The sounds calmed me down surprisingly quickly, and my entangled trains of thought about this girl who sat so close to me I could feel her warmth radiating, had slowly come to untangle again.

Until it all came down crashing again. Quite literally, Natsuki had somehow fallen asleep and her head landed on my shoulder of all people. This was bad. Very, very bad. I didn't interact with enough girls in my life to be mentally prepared for something like this to happen. M-my face is heating up, shit! What do I do now? I simply couldn't think properly any longer, which is why I just gave up.

I must've looked so incredibly stupid. Natsuki had her head resting on my shoulder, I sat there as stiff as a log, face glowing red and staring wide-eyed at the wall, like a deer caught in headlights. I was done for, or well, I thought I was. Until she suddenly started mumbling. There was nothing I could truly decipher from her nonsensical sounds, but my god was it cute.

Suddenly, Natsuki stirred in her sleep. I might've felt like I sat there frozen, but in all actuality, I probably jolted out of some sort of anxiety a couple of times. The grogginess from before seemed to still carry on from long before she fell asleep, as she struggled a little with getting back from her short moments of slumber.

Once her eyes had apparently adjusted again, she quickly shot up, looking at me with wide eyes. It didn't take long before her face turned to crimson either. "Idiot!" Natsuki tried her best not to yell across the classroom. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" I felt unrightfully accused. "You fell asleep, and you did so on my shoulder!" We both heavily tried to defend something that honestly shouldn't have been an issue, but my god, she was just as flustered as I was.

I saw her eyes dart all over the place as she tried to counter the facts I stated, but she failed. Natsuki leaned back against the wall, this time a little farther away from me. Then she punched me. "I'll beat you up, stupid," Natsuki said calmly.

"Ow!" Is what I instinctively said, but it was more a surprise than a pain. "Why warn me after you go through the act of punishment?"

"It eases the pain."

"That's bullshit, and you know it!"

"True."

"Not like it hurt anyway..."

She violently turned her head my way. "Speaking of bullshit, what did you just say, pervert?"

"Pervert?" That just went off limits. "Hold on, you have no reason to call me that. Don't you know how much that could hurt a person?" I pretended to be hurt.

She snickered. "Right, only because your ego is so big in the first place."

Her audacity made my eyebrows rise. "Don't you call me out like that, you're the one continuously insulting me in a way to hide that your ego is practically nonexistent!"

Natsuki gasped. I gasped. Our 'debate' fell silent. What followed, was pain. The girl began drilling my side with her light punches and she didn't stop. In fact, they were so weak, it felt more like tickling to me. "N-Natsuki, stop punching me!" As I desperately held back my laughter, I grabbed her thin wrists to stop her.

"You can't do that, it's cheating!" She growled at me.

"Don't care, stupid," I returned the insult from earlier, to which Natsuki gasped again.

"Alright everyone," Monika interrupted our intense encounter, "It's getting late, it would probably be best for us to go home soon. The teachers don't like students lingering in the building until too late, after all."

I immediately let go of Natsuki's arms after the announcement of our club admiral. "You got lucky this time," she spat at me, but not truly threateningly. "If it wasn't for Monika, you would be the one sleeping now." She shrugged as she got up.

After I packed my own bag again, I quickly met up with Sayori. I didn't see Natsuki after she walked off and I was pretty sure she had already left to go home. We waved goodbye to both Monika and Yuri, before making our way through the slowly darkening school.

"So, Dan?"

"So, what?"

"What did you think of the club?"

"Oh?" I was surprised at her question. "Such a general question, I was expecting you to get ahead of yourself and ask something rather outrageous."

Sayori chuckled lightly. "I was tempted..."

"There it is..." I sighed. "Well, it was a lot more fun than I expected it to be. And Natsuki wasn't as big of a hassle as I expected. No, I actually had a lot of fun today."

My friend had stars in her eyes from excitement. "Oh, so will you-"

Hurried footsteps ran past as I saw pink hair fly by us. "See you tomorrow, d-dummies!" Natsuki mumbled loudly enough for us to hear, and while grasping the straps of her bag, she ran off towards the exit.

Both Sayori and I came to a halt, out of suprise. "I guess she had fun too?" We both wondered. "At the very least, you're now obligated to keep coming to the club."

I laughed. "As if I'd suddenly decide otherwise."

———

So, hamburgers are great, but ever had enchiladas? Munching on those is so satisfying, especially for your appetite...
Ahhhhhh, see you later!

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