Kind of OOC Natsuki/Anon

“Anon! Are you listening to me?” Natsuki griped, brows furrowing in frustration at the boys lack of concentration. Anon had indeed been lost in thought and his focus was elsewhere, mostly on what the hell he was still doing in the literature club. He was hoping to get at least another boy into the club during the festival but alas, not a single person had been interested in joining. Even though it was mostly an all-girls club. That fact had baffled him slightly, what boy wouldn’t want to join a boring club full of attractive girls? Maybe it was just him.
“Oh uhm, sorry Natsuki, I was just… my mind wandered off for a moment there.” Anon chuckled, averting his gaze from the girl in front of him. Natsuki huffed and crossed her arms, as she did when she was annoyed. It was one of the things that Anon found cute about Natsuki. Then again, almost everything she did could be described as cute.
“What could you be thinking about that could be more important?” She asked him, trying to keep her voice down so as not to disturb the other club members. Even though they were in the back of the room, Yuri was a few desks down from them reading her book. Sayori was just in front of her practicing her poem writing while Monika was seated up front, working on some paperwork. What it was for Anon had no clue.
“Hey, focus for two seconds idiot.” Natsuki snapped her fingers to grab his attention once more.
“Right, sorry. I was just thinking what I’m still doing here I guess.” Anon admitted to his friend. He looked back up at her quickly, holding his hands up defensively. “N-Not that there’s anything wrong here, the clubs great and all it’s just… literature isn’t really something I’m into that much. Honestly I’m quite surprised Monika hasn’t kicked me out yet.”
Natsuki lost her sour look, uncrossing her arms and placing them on the desk in front of her. While she wouldn’t admit it, she was also quite surprised the boy had stuck around as long as he had. She had been certain he would up and leave after the festival failed to attract any new members. Yet here he was, still sticking around nearly a whole week after.
“Well why stay then if you’re unhappy? Nobody’s forcing you to stay.” Natsuki inwardly cringed at how rude she sounded just then. She didn’t really mean it, she wanted him to stay. But of course she couldn’t let Anon know that. He might get the wrong idea or something. Wouldn’t want that.
“Well I can’t leave you without a friend to read manga with.” Anon smirked, knowing it would get a reaction out of her. Sure enough Natsuki’s face turned a shade of red as she stammered to find words.
“I-I… Yuri is starting to read manga, if you left I’d still have her!” The girl protested, turning away from him and checking if Yuri had overheard. If she had then she didn’t give any visual indication. She turned back to Anon who shook his head and smiled.
“Well that’s fine then, guess there’s nothing binding me here.” He leant back in his seat, hands behind his head. Natsuki stared at him wide-eyed, her fingers digging into the desk.
“Y-You wouldn’t just leave me here would you?” Natsuki felt a moment of panic course through her. She felt stupid, why push him away and expect him to stay? Maybe she should apologise, or admit for once she was being rude. While her thoughts were running a million miles a minute, Anon brought them to a halt with his next response.
“Nah, I’m not that mean, I wouldn’t just leave you like that. Besides, I’d never hear the end of it from Sayori.” The bundle of joy and happiness herself perked up from hearing her name. Twisting her head around to look over her shoulder she called out to the duo.
“It wasn’t me!” She proclaimed, completely unaware she wasn’t being accused of anything. Anon couldn’t help but laugh from her reaction. She was always a little foolish and Anon loved that part of her. Never failed to make him smile.
“I wasn’t blaming you for anything.” Anon called back, Sayori’s face relaxing again.
“Good, because it was actually Yuri’s fault.” Sayori stated matter-of-factly. Yuri in turn looked up from her book at last, her face a mixture of horror and confusion.
“Me? What did I do?” She asked in a panic, tugging on her sleeves. A nervous tic of hers.
“Everybody calm down please, what’s going on?” Monika finally looked up from her own work, turning in her seat to face the four other club members.
“Anon started it!” Sayori pointed to the boy accusingly. Anon gasped and held a hand over his chest in a mock hurt expression.
“I’m wounded you would imply such a thing.” He exaggerated his words for extra sarcasm, not that Sayori picked up on that at all.
“Wait, no I didn’t mean it!” Sayori apologised, getting ready to get out of her seat. Anon held up his hand to stop her however.
“It’s fine Sayori. I was kidding.” Anon clarified for her. Natsuki finally intervened, clearing her throat to grab the attention of the room. Everybody could tell she was clearly annoyed that her conversation with Anon had been interrupted.
“Look it was just a misunderstanding ok? Can we get back to what we were doing?” Natsuki pleaded, hoping the others would just leave them to talk. However it would appear Monika wasn’t going to let that happen just yet.
“And what is it that you were discussing before all eyes were on you?” She asked, leaning forward and resting her chin upon her hands. Natsuki became flustered, looking away from Monika.
“N-None of your business!” Natsuki retorted. Monika giggled and relented, turning back to the work she had on her desk. Sayori and Yuri returned to their own tasks as well.
“If you insist, but please, try not stir any more trouble.” Monika requested without looking up from her papers. Natsuki took a moment to calm herself down, turning so she was facing Anon again. Sure enough his mind looked like it was starting to wander. She snapped her fingers in front of his face to grab his attention for the second time.
“Hm yes? Still here.” Anon focused back onto the pink haired girl beside him. She muttered to herself about what an airhead he could be before continuing.
“You’re not actually planning on leaving, are you?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Now it was Anon’s turn to avert his gaze.
“Well… no but… I just feel out of place you know? You’re all so invested into this club for your own reasons. Me? I stuck around because it was full of cute girls.” Anon shamefully admitted. Thankfully for Natsuki his gaze was still averted or he would have seen her go yet another shade of red. So her suspicions from the start had been mostly correct, he wasn’t here for literary reasons. But again, neither was she really, so she couldn’t really say much there. As the silence began to drag on Natsuki spoke up at last.
“Well… you’re not entirely alone there.” Natsuki agreed. Anon looked up at her, slightly surprised at her response.
“You came here because of cute girls?” Anon asked in an amused tone. This earned him a punch in the arm from the girl before him. “Ow, ok yeah I probably deserved that.” For somebody so small she had some surprising strength to her.
“No idiot, I was saying I didn’t come here because I love literature. I came here because… it’s an escape.” She didn’t really feel like telling him the full story, so she left it at that. Nobody wants to hear about her sob story anyway.
“An escape? From what exactly?” Anon questioned, curious to the answer. Natsuki let out a heavy sigh, crossing her arms and giving a shrug.
“Doesn’t matter. Point being, we’re both here for other reasons. Those three-“ Natsuki nodded in the direction of their fellow club members. “-they are here for literature. Us? Not so much.”
“If I bail, you wanna come with?” Anon joked. Natsuki glared at him in turn, clearly not humoured.
“Of course not, I’d have to find someplace else to go for a few hours.” She hissed. Anon frowned and sat forward a bit.
“Need an escape that badly huh?” Natsuki didn’t respond to his question with words, her body language told him all he needed to know. “Look hey, Natsuki. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m not going to abandon you guys, you four turned out to be pretty cool. Yuri’s so smart, Monika is determined and hard-working, and I could never leave Sayori behind.” Anon held up a finger for each girl he mentioned.
“And me?” Natsuki mumbled, looking back up to meet his eyes for a moment before looking back to the ground.
“You’re the sane one, the only one I can actually hold a conversation with.” Anon chuckled, Natsuki smiling slightly in turn.
“Yuri’s smart, talk to her.” Natsuki said with a hint of humour. Anon waved her off.
“She’s too smart for me.” After a moment Anon gave her a playful punch in return. “Nah, you’re pretty cool too. I mean we both like manga, and you make some mean cupcakes.” Natsuki couldn’t help but smile.
“I am pretty good at baking.” Natsuki agreed, finally looking back up at her friend. Anon gave her a toothy grin when she did, which only made Natsuki’s heart flutter. Oh how she wish it would just settle for two seconds so she could hold a conversation. Really it wasn’t like there was a reason for her heart to go crazy. Anon was just her friend, nothing more… right?
Natsuki’s thoughts were still clouded by the events of yesterday as she sat in class. The discussion with Anon about leaving had really left a pit in her stomach. Why did she even care so much if her left? He was just a friend, nothing more. Friends leave all the time. Yet there was something about him that made her want him to stay. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it… Manga! That must be it! She didn’t want him to leave because then she wouldn’t be able to discuss manga with somebody who actually cares about it. Sure Yuri was getting into it but she could never love it like Natsuki did, not like Anon. Satisfied with her answer her stomach started to feel at ease. Aside from the incredible hunger she felt that is.
“Natsuki, you ok?” One of her friends whispered to her. Natsuki quickly shook her thoughts away and glanced over to the girl in question. She could never quite remember her name very well. It was Tam something. Normally she didn’t struggle to remember a friends name but she couldn’t exactly call this girl her friend. Friend was just easier to say then somebody you hang out with just to you don’t look like a loner when lunch time rolls around. There was a word for that right?
“Uhm, yeah I’m fine, just tired.” Natsuki assured Tam. In truth she was a little tired, her father was up late last night watching a string of movies. But she was used to it by now. Being tired was always her excuse because more often than not it was true.
“You sure, you don’t normally get this spaced out?” Tam asked with concern. Natsuki sighed heavily and gestured to the board in front of them.
“You understand any of this crap? You can’t tell me you can look at that work and not space out a little.” Natsuki growled. Natsuki actually had no idea what they were being taught seeing as she wasn’t paying any attention. Tam seemed to fall for her lie however.
“I guess, it is extra tricky today.” Tam muttered a little too loudly.
“Enough talking!” The teacher called from the front of the room. Tam and Natsuki snapped to attention, nodding quickly and shutting their mouths. It remained like that until the end of the class, the bell finally releasing the girls for lunch.
“So I was thinking…” Tam started, Natsuki drifting off so she wouldn’t have to listen to her incessant ramblings. Don’t get her wrong, Tam was a nice girl at times but she never knew how to shut up, nor did she ever hang out with the right kind of people. And wherever Tam hung out, Natsuki had to follow.
“Natsuki!” A voice rung out across the halls. This caught the girls attention, whipping her head around to find the source. “Over here!” They called again, a hand poking above the wave of students.
“Monika? What does Monika want with you of all people?” Tam asked a little sceptically. Natsuki felt a little offended that Tam implied she wasn’t worthy enough to be seen speaking with Monika. Or maybe she was blowing that out of proportion. She couldn’t blame her for thinking like that, even a few bystanders gave a semi-surprised look as Monika reached the smaller girl.
“Caught you this time. I need your help with something club related, can I steal you for a bit?” Monika asked sweetly, smile ever present on her face. Ah, that explained it. Natsuki knew exactly what Monika meant when she needed her help.
“Sure, ok I can do that. Catcha later Tam.” Natsuki didn’t even give her a sideways glance, she just wanted to get out of the crowded hallway. Monika lead the way, stopping quickly at her locker and grabbing a small shoulder bag before continuing on her way. When the students that speckled the hallways finally left, Monika came to a halt, fishing around inside the small bag she had.
“Here, you’ll want this.” Monika offered, holding out a bento for Natsuki to take. She did so eagerly, eyeing the rice, fish and vegetables hungrily. Her mouth was practically watering as her stomach growled, begging to be filled.
“Thanks Monika, you’re the best.” Natsuki beamed. She didn’t even try covering it up with her usual snarky attitude, she meant it this time and wanted Monika to know that.
“Really it was no trouble. I have to look after my little sister after all.” Monika said in a sing song tone. Natsuki’s face turned a shade of red as she huffed angrily.
“Don’t call me that! It’s embarrassing.” While Natsuki didn’t like to admit it she didn’t mind Monika referring to her as her sister. She never had siblings but Monika was like the big sister Natsuki never had. She always looked out for her, bringing her meals whenever she was particularly hungry and sending her uplifting messages anytime she was down.
“But it’s super cute when you get all flustered.” Monika giggled, opening the door the clubroom. Natsuki stepped in after her, her eyes landing on the teacher inside. He went to speak but when he saw Natsuki he just gave Monika a quick nod before heading out the door.
“What was that about?” Natsuki pondered as she took a seat next to Monika.
“We have a little agreement, that’s all.” Monika smiled, pulling out her own meal and setting her bag down. It was just noodles with vegetables, no meat. Natsuki never understood how Monika could live without eating meat, meat was so good.
“Right, so why did you bring me here, usually you just hand me my lunch before school. Wasn’t that what we agreed upon?” Natsuki poked at her food, trying to figure out what to eat first. It all looked so appetising…
“I was late to school this morning and I thought you might be a little embarrassed if I brought you lunch in front of Tamae.” Monika explained, taking a forkful of her own meal.
“Oh, that’s her full name. I always forget.” Natsuki admitted, beginning her lunch at last. “So that’s it then? You just happened to arrive late to school?” Monika looked away at Natsuki’s question, letting out a nervous chuckle.
“Not quite…” Monika started probing her meal, her appetite lost suddenly. Natsuki gave her a concerned look, wondering what could be putting her at such unease.
“Monika, what aren’t you telling me?” Natsuki asked the club president. Monika let out a long sigh and nodded her head.
“Right… ok so I know you don’t like people listening in on your conversations but… I kind of overheard you and Anon the other day.” She began, a sad smile making its way onto her lips. “About leaving.”
“Wait Monika you don’t understand-“ Natsuki began but Monika cut her off.
“It’s fine if you two don’t want to stay around, I can’t force you to. Literature can be quite boring.” Monika laughed, but her laugh was weak, like she was forcing it. Natsuki could feel her heart breaking right then and there.
“Monika please, listen to me, how much of it did you hear?” Natsuki begged. Monika turned away and shrugged.
“Not much, just that you guys were thinking of leaving.” She admitted, her shoulders dropping as she finished her sentence. It was Natsuki’s turn to sigh heavily, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.
“No offence, but you’re an idiot…” Natsuki began. This caught Monika by surprise as she turned around to face her friend, eyes wide. Natsuki held up her hand as if telling her to let her finish.
“Please never talk about a situation you don’t have the full story for. Yes Anon spoke about wanting to leave, but that was only because he didn’t know why he was still around if he didn’t enjoy literature. He kind of joked about me leaving with him but neither of us are going anywhere.” Natsuki finished, not once stopping to take a breath. Monika remained silent for a bit so Natsuki continued.
“Sorry I called you an idiot but-“ She didn’t get to finish this time. Monika’s arms were around her neck in a hug. Natsuki grumbled about hating it but really she didn’t mind.
“No I’m sorry, that was stupid of me. I didn’t hear it all I just jumped to conclusions cos I was worried. Oh gosh I did what Yuri does.” Monika couldn’t help but laugh slightly, pulling back from the embrace. She looked a lot better now. “So you’re both staying?”
“Yes, geez I said that. Why would I ever want to leave? You of all people should know that.” Natsuki huffed, returning to her meal at last. Monika did so as well with a small smile.
“Yeah you’re right. And Anon, did you convince him to stay?” Monika asked curiously. Natsuki felt a smirk creep onto her lips as she responded.
“I guilt tripped him.” She lied, earning a scowl from Monika.
“You did not.” It would appear Natsuki’s lies couldn’t get past Monika.
“Yeah yeah, he kind of just figured it would be rude to just leave us all behind.” Natsuki told her the truth this time. Or at least what she thought was the truth. For all she knew Anon was only sticking around for a certain somebody, probably Yuri. That thought just made her heart sink. She didn’t understand why though, there wasn’t any reason for that. Then again, Yuri was infinitely better then Natsuki so it only made sense.
“Is something troubling you Natsuki?” Monika asked with worry layered in her tone. Natsuki almost panicked, racking her brain for a quick excuse.
“I’m fine, dad just kept me awake really late with his movies last night.” Natsuki inwardly cringed when she realised Monika would see past the lie.
“I asked why you were troubled, not tired.” Monika stated matter-of-factly. Natsuki groaned and buried her face in her hands. Nothing could get past Monika.
“I’m confused ok, I don’t know what’s troubling me.” She relented at last. That part at least was true. Monika rubbed her chin in thought, looking down to her smaller friend.
“Could it be a trouble of the heart?” Monika grinned from ear to ear, hoping that she was indeed correct. Judging from the fact Natsuki responded by flipping her off she had to assume she was right. “Oh my god, my little Natsuki has a crush!” Monika practically squealed in delight.
“Shut up, it’s not a crush.” Natsuki growled, trying to sound angry but failing miserably.
“Who is he? Do I know him?” Monika probed her for answers, leaning in uncomfortably close. Natsuki pushed her away again, refusing to meet her eyes.
“Who said they had to be a boy?” She blurted out without thinking. Monika clapped a hand over her mouth and gasped.
“You have a girl crush?” She asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“I didn’t say that! Ugh, why does it matter it’s not a crush.” Natsuki fumed, burying her head in her arms.
“Aww come on Natsuki, don’t be like that.” Monika cooed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and resting her head against Natsuki’s own. “I’ll still love you no matter who you crush on.”
“It’s not a crush.” Natsuki hissed, more so trying to convince herself then Monika. Monika wasn’t buying it, not for a second.
“Don’t think I don’t know what a crush is. I see Sayori just like this anytime I mention Anon to her. She’s so hopelessly in love with that boy.” Monika giggled. It was around that moment Natsuki could feel her heart ache. It was around that moment she realised that she had been lying even to herself. It was round that moment she realised she too, was hopelessly in love with that boy.