^Jake in casual clothing^

"Stagnating air is a common foreshadowing that something terrible is about to happen..."

Yuri's words echoed in the back of Jake's mind as he began to think about Sayori. And as he did, all those positive thoughts about Sunday were suddenly clouded by a feeling of terror.

(Should I go talk to her now?) He thought to himself, (Well, she did leave so she wouldn't have to keep talking to me... Maybe I should give her some space. It'll be better in the morning. Right?)

That evening, he didn't hear a thing from her since she left the club early. She normally would've been on social media, sending him a funny cat video or texting him goodnight when she went to bed. But tonight, she was nowhere to be found.

S@Y0R1-CH@N is offline.

Seeing those words while surfing the web usually made Jake give a sigh with relief. Instead, all he felt was dread. He wanted run over to Sayori's house, bash his fist on her front door, and ask her parents if she was doing alright.

No. This was for the best. The only way he could truly help her right now was to give her time. It worked with him, so it would probably work for her as well. Once they had both had some sleep, he would try to talk to her again.

September 23rd, 2017

After having breakfast, Jake went over to Sayori's house as like he said yesterday. He tried giving her a call, but she didn't answer her phone. Rather than trying to ask again, he simply texted her "I'm coming over", like she did whenever he didn't answer any of her texts after a certain amount of time.

Jake had slept about as well as he did the previous night, but his own drowsiness was the least of his concerns at that point. All that mattered to him now was the state of his childhood friend. The girl he'd known since he was seven years old, and the only friend he had ever since.

Once Jake reached Sayori's house, he knocked on the door before entering it himself using the house key she had given him. As children, they used to play so often that they'd made it a habit of simply entering each other's houses like they were family.

"Jake! Long time, no see!" A familiar voice greeted him. It was Sayori's mother, She was holding her car keys in one hand and a bunch of shopping bags in the other.

"Hey, Auntie Mayu," Jake responded. Although she wasn't actually his aunt, Sayori's mother had encouraged him to call her that ever since they first met, when Jake was still struggling to speak Japanese and accidentally referred to her as his aunt. She found it quite funny and eventually it became second nature for Jake to call her 'Auntie Mayu'.

"I do wish I could stay and talk, but as you can see..." Auntie Mayu held out the bags out at arms' length, "I'm a little busy this morning."

"It's okay. Is Sayori up yet?" asked Jake, trying to hold back the urge to just barge past her and head straight for Sayori's room.

"Hasn't come out yest, I'm afraid..." Auntie Mayu sighed, "I keep telling her she shouldn't stay up all night and have to keep you waiting when she oversleeps, but there's not much I can do about the weekends... But you're more than welcome to wait here until she wakes up."

"Thanks, Auntie Mayu. See you around."

"Goodbye, Jake."

As soon as Auntie Mayu closed the front door behind her, Jake immediately walked towards the staircase that would him to Sayori's bedroom. It was already quite strange for him to not see her running down the stairs to greet him, like she would when he used to visit every day.

And with every step Jake climbed, memories of their childhood flashed before his eyes; the days they spent learning together, playing with each other, watching movies, walking in the park, and of course, getting into lots of trouble.

All of those years seemed like a lifetime ago. Everything was so simple back then, but those days were over. And now, here he was, trying to help his oldest friend overcome her inner demons. He just hoped that he wasn't too late...

Once he was finally outside her bedroom, Jake raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. After a moment's hesitation, he knocked on the door.

"Sayori?" He called out.

There was no response.

Jake couldn't believe he ended up doing this after all, waking Sayori up in her own house. Isn't that more like something a boyfriend would do? He immediately thought back to what Monika theorised yesterday, about Sayori possibly having feelings for him, but he pushed that thought aside; now was not the time for that.

"Jeez, and I thought I was the heavy sleeper..." Jake said to himself, desperately trying to avoid panicking. He knocked again.

"Wake up, sunshine."

Still nothing.

Jake swallowed. He really didn't want to have to enter her room like this. Wasn't that a breach of privacy? But she wasn't exactly leaving him much of a choice. And at this point, he was searching for any excuse to not have to do this himself.

Jake gently opened the door.

".......Sayo-"

"Oh! Oh, hi Jake~" Sayori greeted him. She was standing right in front of the door, as though she had been about to open it right as he had forced himself in. She forces a smile, but it was easy to tell she was different.

"Uh, hey. Sorry, for barging in like this." Jake apologised, scolding himself for being impatient. It was quite clear she had still been asleep, and he had just rudely awakened her. She was wearing a pink shirt with rolled up long sleeves and a pair of blue shorts.

"No, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting you to come over, that's all." Sayori told him.

Jake raised an eyebrow, "I texted you that I was coming over today."

"Uh, m-my phone is dead! I lost the charger last night and couldn't charge it, sorry."

TING!

Sayori winced as her not-so-dead phone gave a familiar notification chime. Rather than push a rather meaningless argument, Jake just sighed and took a seat in her desk chair. A long minute of silence passed between the two friends.

"You haven't come over like this in a long time, have you?" asked Sayori.

"I know, and I'm sorry about that..." Jake replied sadly, his heart flooding with guilt. He glanced around Sayori's room, which was as messy as it had always been. He recognised the decorations on her walls that she had for years now.

Pieces of clothing were shattered all over the floor. Her school books were piled up on her desk, next to a cold cup of coffee. There was also a small bin filled with scrunched up pieces of paper, which Jake assumed were poems she had been trying to write down.

There were two stuffed animals, one next to her window and another at the end of her bed. Jake had given the latter to Sayori for her birthday when she turned eight. Although she didn't know it, he had given her that particular one because he thought she ate like a cow. Luckily, she never realised that and loved it.

"Not much has really changed, has it?" He said with a small smile.

"Ehehe~" Sayori giggled nervously, "If you came over more often, then it wouldn't be in such a mess... How come you suddenly wanted to come over today? Aren't you supposed to be buying stuff to help out Yuri tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but... Wait, how did you know that?" Jake asked in surprise. She had already left by the time he and the others had made that decision last meeting.

"Monika told me. It's only natural for her to keep me informed about the festival preparations, right?" explained Sayori. "She said you and Yuri were going to make decorations together."

"Ah, that's true... Since you're working on the pamphlets with her, it makes sense that she'd be keeping you in the loop." Jake said, mostly to himself.

"Yeah... So, why are you visiting? Don't you want to relax and play games today before you have to do more work on Sunday?" she asked.

"Well, there's been a change of plans... I decided to come over and help you out today." He told her in a seriously tone.

There was more silence between them. Sayori started starring in a random direction, something Jake would often do whenever he was discussing something he found uncomfortable. In fact, a lot of her behaviour recently had been eerily similar to his own.

Feeling a little freaked out, Jake quickly got to the point, "I just... I-I wanted to see how you were doing, after you left yesterday... I know you're trying to hide it, but you're not okay. I can see that now... And the fact that I couldn't see it before hurts me..."

"That's no good, Jake." Sayori smiled and shook her head gently. "Why can't things just be like they'd always been? This is all my fault..."

"Sayori, d-don't say that-"

"If I wasn't so weak, I wouldn't have tricked you into joining the club. If I didn't make that stupid mistake... then you wouldn't have been worried about me at all. You wouldn't have come here... You wouldn't even be thinking about me right now..."

Her smile faded, "But this... is my punishment, isn't it? I'm getting punished for being so selfish. I think that's why the world decided to have you come over today. It just wants to torture me...!"

"S-Sayori!" Jake stuttered, grabbing her by the shoulders, "Please, listen to me! I know what it's like, feeling as though everything's working against you! Like the air itself is tightening around you, squeezing the life out of your body. Like your entire life is just a game for somebody else to play with. Like your very existence is empty and meaningless. I know what it's like, trying to tell someone you know that...that everything is fine..."

Jake loosened his grip on her, "I know all of that, Sayori... I know your pain... I know something happened to you... And I couldn't care less about the festival, knowing all of this is happening to you... and until I know why, I won't ever be able to stop thinking about it!"

Tears began falling down Sayori's face as her changed into a look of defeat and despair. Jake felt his own eyes beginning to water from she her look so upset. So broken...

"Why am I feeling this way, Jake?!" Sayori howled, "It feels like my heart's going to split in half! It hurts so much...! Everything hurts so much! This would be so much better if I just disappeared!"

"No, Sayori!" Jake replied, barely able to control his voice, "That's not true at all! You don't"

"But it is, Jake!" Sayori cried, "If I wasn't here, then you wouldn't be wasting your sympathy on me! You wouldn't have to put up with me being so annoying and selfish!"

Jake starred straight into Sayori's watery bloodshot eyes that were so often filled with joy. It was so bizarre and frightening to see them looking this way.

"Sayori... I really need you to listen." He said sternly, "You are not selfish. And I am not gonna let this continue. Having you around isn't a burden and it never will be... It's something that makes me happy. It's something that I wouldn't trade for anything else."

"B-But..." Sayori looked away from. Fresh tears began to leak down her face. Jake placed a hand onto her shoulder and wiped her tears away with the other.

"I know we have our differences... but that doesn't change how much I care about you. Because you are... my best friend, Sayori. And whatever it is that's making you feel this way, I'll always be right here at your side to help you get by, until you don't feel any more pain..."

Sayori opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again before any words could come out.

"What's wrong, Sayori?" Jake asked her.

"I-I... c-can't tell you..." She stuttered quietly.

"Yes, you can." He replied just as quietly, "You are my best friend. And since the day I came here, 11 years ago, you have been the only true friend I've ever had. I know I haven't been a good one to you lately. And I am sorry for that... I've never had a sister, Sayori. And I've never really wanted one. But you have always been like one to me, and there's nobody in the world that I rather have as one... I promise..."

Jake looked into Sayori's eyes, trying to assure her that he was being sincere. Sayori shuddered and took a deep breath.

"I-If I tell you, you have to keep this a secret!" She said.

"Yes, of course I will. Trust me." He replied.

"Okay... J-Jake... I-I just want you to know-"

"It's alright. Take your time..."

"I... I want you to know that I'm... I'm gay..."

...

"You're... w-what?"

Sayori breathed in and out loudly, before looking down at her feet, but she didn't cry. In fact, she didn't even sound very upset anymore. Instead, she seemed kind of... relieved. And Jake started to wonder just how long Sayori had been wanting to say this to someone.

"It's true. I figured it out just last year." She said quietly, "Whenever I'm around some of the girls in my classes, I started to get all... tingly inside. I couldn't understand why, and I didn't want my parents or my friends to think differently of me, so I've been keeping it to myself. It feels wrong. But, at the same time... it also feels right. Especially around... Natsuki."

"That... actually explains a few things..." Jake muttered, thinking back to Wednesday afternoon, when Sayori requested that he spent time with Natsuki, and then asked him some very specific questions about her on the way home.

"It's been so hard being around her on my own the last few weeks and trying not to make things too weird. I just wanted to have someone I knew to be there with me..."

"...So you kept trying to convince me to come join the Literature Club." Jake finished for her.

Sayori looked back up at Jake with a guilty smile on her face, before it was suddenly replaced by a pleading look, "I don't understand any of my feelings, Jake... Why am I feeling this way? Could there be something wrong with me?"

Jake looked into Sayori's eyes, still trying to fully processing what she had just confessed to. And then, he took one deep breath of his own and finally made his response:

"Sayori... I, I probably have no idea what this must be like, having these feelings for someone of the opposite sex. But, I do know this... there is nothing wrong with the way you feel. Everyone in the world is unique in their own special way, whether it be the way they talk, look, think or feel, but those things do not change who you are as a person. You're still the same caring, loving girl you've always been your whole life. And you have feelings for other girls should not, and never should be, something to feel ashamed about. This is who you are."

Sayori breathed heavily, "But what about my parents? If they find out, they'll get uncomfortable being around me. If my friends find out, what if they never want speak to me again? I don't want to be abandoned, Jake!"

Before Sayori could say anything else, Jake quickly pulled her into a tight embrace. She flinched as she felt his arms wrap themselves around her. Although her own arms remained firmly at her sides, she gradually erupted a fresh wave of sobs.

"No... Don't do this... to me... Please don't do this... Jake... I..." Sayori barely managed to speak as she cried into his shoulder.

"They won't abandon you, Sayori..." Jake said quietly, "Everyone in the club cares about you. I know they do, cause I've seen what the club is like without you with us. When you aren't there, everything becomes so much harder... Natsuki's temper was boiling over, Monika had to break up the arguments... and Yuri even tried to lighten the mood like you always did."

Sayori chuckled at that last part, but she still didn't hug him back. Taking this as a sign she was calming down, Jake continued as steady as he could.

"I don't care who you find attractive, and neither should they. The world is changing, and so are people's opinions. You shouldn't feel like you have to hide this from us, especially if it's apart of who you are. And I assure you, no matter how bleak things might seem right now... your friends, your family, and me... we all love you very much."

For a long moment, Sayori remained still and silent, and Jake wondered if his words were even reaching. Then finally, she gently put her arms around him in return.

"Your hugs are always so warm... They always brighten up my day..." She whispered to him. 

"It's okay, Sayori. It's all gonna be okay..." Jake whispered back. The two continued holding one another in their arms, as Sayori's bedroom was slowly bathed in the light from the rising sun as it shined through the window.

After what felt like forever, Sayori's breathing returned to normal and she let Jake go. As she did, Jake slowly let her go as well.

"We're preparing for the festival tomorrow." Jake reminded her.

"Yeah..." Sayori said weakly.

"And Monday's going to be fun, right?" He asked.

"Yeah." Sayori said again.

"So how would you like for me to spend the rest of today with you?" Jake watched Sayori's face carefully, as her mind registered what he had said.

"U-Um... Ah-" She stuttered.

"We can do whatever you wanna do. Maybe we can watch a movie? Or go for a walk through the park? Something that'll help clear your head and relax a little."

Sayori wiped her eyes, "I... I think that would be nice... But I'm still really tired. Maybe you could come back this afternoon, when I've gotten some more sleep."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Jake agreed, "And if there's anything else that you need me to do... you can send me a text, okay?"

Sayori smiled weakly and nodded, "I will... I'll see you this afternoon, okay?"

"Sure thing. Have a nice rest." He replied.

Sayori then returned to her bed and hopped back beneath the covers, while Jake closed up her curtains, walked out of the room, and gently closed the door...

--------------------

Phew! That was a big one! For me at least. I honestly got a bit emotional writing this, since I recently had a period extreme anxiety, which made me feel really depressed and unable to write for a long time. Thankfully, it seems to have passed.

So yeah, I changed Sayori's character a little bit. Okay, a lot has been changed. I decided to do this mostly cause I ship her with Natsuki.

P.S. I'm really sorry if this wasn't a very good depiction of an LGBT character. I'm just trying to do something I've never tried putting in a story before.

~Cheesy