(I am a first time writer, so please be gentle. Also, any input would be greatly appreciated!)

I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of the characters portrayed in this story

_

I wake up to my alarm ringing in my ear, almost falling out of bed as I flinch in response to the sudden noise. I'm sweating, and my bed is damp. I must have had a nightmare or something, but I don't remember whatever it was. I wipe my hands up and down my face, still not really awake. I look at my clock, and realize that it's Friday, meaning that I need to get ready for school. I get up and head for the shower.

As the warm water rushes over me, I begin to feel more like myself, thinking over what exactly has happened this week. I've never had much motivation to go to school, but that changed when I joined my school's literature club on Tuesday. I've gotten to know so many new people all at once thanks to joining the literature club, and I like them all well enough so far. We do club activities, mostly involving writing poems, and we are planning to hold an event for the upcoming school festival. Surprisingly, though, the one thing that keeps entering my head is Sayori, my childhood best friend who invited me to the literature club. What she said yesterday on our walk home is really bugging me.

She asked me whether I would rather walk Yuri home than her, if I got the choice. It seems ridiculous to me that that would even be a question. Not that I hate Yuri, but I would much rather hang out with Sayori, any time. That's what I told her. Still though...

"You think about me too much sometimes," Sayori said, obviously uncomfortable. "Yuri would deserve it if she wanted it."

It's almost like Sayori was trying to find an excuse for me to spend time with other people, which is really unlike her.

I finish showering and get dressed. I head to the kitchen and start making some waffles. I look at my clock, which says that I still have a half hour to get going. I decide that I'm going to make some extra waffles to give to Sayori on the way to school. I eat the waffles that I prepared for myself, finish getting ready, and pour the mix for Sayori's waffles into the waffle maker (That's right, we do waffles properly). Wrapping the waffles in a paper towel, I'm already ready to walk out of the door 15 minutes early. Although, it's probably for the best, just in case Sayori overslept too much and I need to wake her up.

_

What the hell was I thinking? Standing outside Sayori's house, I realize what a breach of privacy this is. I texted her on the way over to see if she was awake, but she's probably still asleep or in the shower, because the message hasn't been viewed. I let myself into her house, which is unlocked as usual, and notice that the water isn't running. I sigh, because that means she's probably sleeping, and head upstairs toward her room after setting down my things.

That feeling of breaching her privacy once again stops me outside of her room. Why am I so nervous about this? We're just friends, right? I have been spending more time with her because of the club, but... No, she's just a friend. I don't really want her to wake up and see me peeking through the door, so I decide that I'll try opening the door silently. I gently open the door.

I look toward Sayori's bed, where she's laying, but see something that I don't expect: Sayori is laying awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her face is pale, and she has red marks at the base of her eyes and on her cheeks. I can hear her heavy breathing from all the way at the door. She's obviously been crying. What the hell is going on? I don't think I've ever seen seen her this upset. I decide that the best way to approach her probably isn't to let her know that I've been peeking at her. I close her door most of the way before knocking on it and walking in.

"Hey Sayori, are you awake yet?" I push open the door and walk in with the waffles.

As she flinches and looks to see who is coming in, Sayori's entire face gets pink, making it harder to see the marks on her face from the tears. "A-Anon!? W-What are you doing here?"

"I made you some breakfast, because you always oversleep and wouldn't have enough time," I say, setting the food down next to her. "Why are you still asleep? I know that I'm early, but I'd think that even you would be at least awake by now."

Sayori suddenly looks panicked, and grabs her phone from the side table, saying, "What time is it?" After a few seconds, her expression softens. "You texted me to tell me that you were coming..."

"Oh, yeah. I really just wanted to see if you were awake yet. Don't worry about it."

She gets up and grabs her uniform from her drawer. "I'll take a fast shower," she says, turning toward me with a small smile. "But if I don't get ready in time, I don't want you to be late because of me, so..." She trails off.

I chuckle. "Well then I guess you better get ready fast, because I'll be waiting for you."

It looks like she wants to argue the point, but she lets it go and walks to her bathroom.

Red flags are popping up everywhere right now. Her crying, the fact that she didn't eat the waffles before going to her shower, and her suggestion that I leave without her are all bugging me. I wonder if something happened to her...

_

I hear Sayori running down the stairs just in time for us to leave. Her hair is messy, her bow is crooked, and her collar is uneven. I can't say that I'm surprised, because this is how she usually looks anyways. As she slips on her shoes she turns toward the kitchen and jumps a little when she sees me standing there. I hold out the waffles to her in one hand and a lunch bag in the other.

"I made your lunch for you while you were in the shower, because I knew you probably wouldn't have time," I say, with a light chuckle.

For a little while, Sayori doesn't say anything, but then Sayori gives me a concerned look. "You're too nice to me," she finally says. "Why did you do this for me?"

I let out a nervous laugh. "What are you talking about? I'm just doing a couple of favors for you. C'mon, we need to get going to be on time."

Sayori takes the food and we start walking. We're both silent while she eats, but I'm getting more concerned about her. Normally, she could have eaten double this amount by now.

As she swallows the last of the waffles, she flashes me a grateful smile. "Thanks for that, they were really good."

We walk in silence for the rest of the way, and we reach the school a little bit earlier than I thought we would. Standing in the courtyard, mixed in with the other groups of friends who chat before school, I see Sayori is spacing out. I've had enough of this, I need to know what's wrong.

I place my hand on Sayori's shoulder, snapping her back to reality. "Hey Sayori, what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing... I was just spacing out again..."

"I'm not talking about that, specifically. This morning, you were crying before I showed up, weren't you?"

Sayori's eyes widen a little bit. "H-How did you..." She stops herself, and goes silent for a moment, looking at the ground. "I'm sorry for worrying you. It's really nothing."

"No it's not, Sayori. All morning, you've been acting strange."

"You have been, too." Sayori looks at me me, and chuckles a little. "You made me breakfast and lunch, and even came to wake me up this morning."

"Well, that's because... The thing you said yesterday about me walking home with Yuri almost made it seem like you were trying to get me to stop spending time with you."

For a few seconds, Sayori doesn't have a response for me. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you waste your worry and effort on me like that."

"What are you talking about Sayori? I'm the one who chose to come see you this morning. If you really want me to stop worrying about it, then you need to tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened, really! I-" Sayori is cut off by the school's first bell. "I-I'll tell you later."

"Alright. I'll see you later, then," I say, turning to go to class.

I know I won't be able to forget about this until I know what's happening with her. I usually don't see Sayori during lunch, but I'll look for her today. If I don't see her there, then I'll still see her at the literature club and on the way home.