Chapter Text
The gamer walked with his best friend, side by side as the autumn leaves fell from the trees on to the ground near their feet. As he would pass over them and continue on his way home, the gamer thought about many things. Such as These leaves are really sticky and I hate that this town won’t clean them up, do they know how hard it is to get them off for the love of Angel I CAN’T WEAR BOOTS, but even more he thought about his talk with… Kris. In the brief moment of silence, he started to seriously consider their offer. Dressing up… with his friends there. Just a nice atmosphere where he can be himself and they would be there to encourage them, a fun cosplay session with him as Zelda in a pretty and sparkly dress, all of them together laughing, having fun and him no longer being alone or scared, no longer forced to hide anything...
It was strange to think about it, it filled him with happiness, but still, a fear would suddenly take over his mind. Fear that came from the idea that this offer may have not been genuine or that it was just Kris being nice due to the awkward scene. But that couldn’t be it, could it?
HAHA you have fallen for my trap card Berdly! How foolish you were to believe I’d ever love be nice to you, NOW I BANISH YOU TO THE SHADOW REALM!
Nope, don’t think that. He knew at least he could count on Noelle, she was his best friend. At least that’s what he considered her, she never called him that. She’s never called him a friend either now that he thought about it, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t. Sure, she was very insistent and eager to spend time with Susie rather than him lately, but a good gamer lets his best friend hang out with others, jealousy would ruin it. It didn’t mean anything and bringing that up would make him look clingy and weird, he didn’t want that...
HAHA you seriously believed I was your friend?! I was just pitying you, you are nothing but an annoying loser! NOW I BANISH YOU TO THE SHADOW REALM!
No, that’s silly… don’t think that. Anyone would be excited to hang out with Susie, she is extremely cool and nice! She even accepted him, she wasn’t lying…
You suck.
NOW I BANISH YOU TO THE-
“Berdly, are you feeling ok? You look a little lost and pale…” said the kind girl next to him, snapping him back to reality. She looked at him rather concerned; he had only now just realized that they had well passed the part of the street where they would usually separate to go each their own direction. It seemed that he continued to her home up to the gate without much thinking.
“Ah, of course my dearest Noelle!”, stop talking “I had just thought of escorting you to the gate this time like a true gentleman!” that’s a lie and you know it.
“Well, I’ve been meaning to talk to you…” she said, as her eyes turned to the ground. Her plan now was set in motion. Kris helped her with Susie, now she can do a little bit of assisting herself.
“You know there’s a reason why I’ve been hanging out more with Susie, it has a bit to do with you…”, it didn’t but hey he didn’t know! She could use this to her advantage.
But as Berdly heard this, his heart started to beat incredibly hard. The anxiety came over him as all those thoughts came back. He knew it, he knew it was true, she didn’t like him, they didn’t like him, he is unlikable, forgettable, he is a burden and he will forever be alone, alone, alone…
“… it’s because I w-wanted to get you to spend more time with Kris!”
Wait what
“Huh… uh why exactly? Are you trying to aid me in gaining knowledge of their strategic cheating?”, he responded, nervously. What did she mean by this, what are the two of them up to?
“You s-see”, she put her palm on his shoulder dramatically (she really got into the zone with this acting), “me and Kris had been friends for years and I have been keeping a secret. But I just can’t keep it to myself anymore, I can not watch them be in so much pain! And you could be the only one who could help them…” excellent delivery.
“A secret?”, Berdly’s eyes widened, Kris has a secret. And he is the only one who can help them? thump thump
“The truth is Kris… really likes you!”
Kris really likes you.
(thump thump)
Kris really likes you.
(thump thump thump)
Likes you…
(THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP)
A sentence echoed out, one that he did not expect, a sentence that made his heart want to break out of his chest and start doing the most epic Fortnite dance ever. But this was only the opening for the greatest performance in history, starring the soon to be Oscar nominee Noelle “Totally not copying Kris” Holiday.
“They have um.. always wanted to be your friend, but you know Kris… they are so shy and when they get nervous, they just… uh… start cheating and pulling pranks. It’s their sign of appreciating you!”, great line delivery, good job Noelle.
“But Kris cheats so much when we play… and has pulled a lot of pranks on me…” thump thump, “are you uh sure?” Berdly asked, facing away instinctively as he felt the warmth in his cheeks and chest. His excitement was so elevated, he had to cross his arms to stop himself from flapping away to another galaxy.
“Of course, just remember how many pranks they pulled on me when we were kids and we are super close friends today!” she said, proud of her performance today.
“I don’t know…” he said, “I just don’t see Kris, having a positive opinion of me…” he lowered his head. Noelle noticed this, she was not ready to back down. Obviously Berdly seemed to also have wanted to be closer to them, so now it was time for the finishing blow.
“I know they do! T-they think you are… fun and um… they were so concerned for you today! They even told me they didn’t know how to get closer to you because they think YOU don’t like them. They had to ask me for help, talking about how they want to be there for you… I could tell they meant it, they were smiling so much when talking about you fwahaha.” nailed it like a true Holiday, her dad would be proud (and confused probably).
But Berdly couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard. Kris likes him? Actually likes him? So all of that today was… really genuine. It felt as if a weight had been lifted, only for a moment before he felt bad that Kris thought he hated them. He didn’t mean for it come off like that…
“But uh I don’t hate Kris! They are you know a very formidable rival and… uh… a nice person.”, said the gamer trying to hide his eagerness to remain as cool as ICE-ETM brand GAMER BLOOD ENERGY DRINK, but drank by Falco to increase the coolness level.
Yes! Her plan was actually working, surprisingly well even. Noelle felt sort of proud, she always thought she was too reliant on her friends, so being someone to actually help out others like this made her feel fulfilled. She even considered an acting career at that moment, a new future horror star.
“Noelle… I don’t think… that I would be a good friend to them though…”
“Huh?”, she responded surprised. Berdly was usually more open to her, never mean and would from time to time show a meeker side of himself. So seeing him so sad, made her both surprised and worried. Now she got what Kris meant, something more seems to be going on.
“Why do you think that?”, she asked.
“Well… I mean are we even friends? If I was to be honest, I sometimes feel like I am not really good at being a friend…”, he said, as the honesty started to leave his mouth and didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop, it was all that he had been bottling up.
“I mean, am I even your friend? You do so much for me and I really appreciate it but… I feel like I am just a burden to you. I always want to repay you and do something great for you too… yet I am never able to do that. If I am terrible at being a good friend to someone who has done so much for me… I am afraid of how I might hurt others…”, he said. “What if no matter who I am, I will always make others feel bad… what if me being me is even worse than whatever this is now… haha… I am sorry I am bothering you again, we should just pretend… this never happened…” he looked away, he couldn’t bring himself to look at her face to face. He shouldn’t have said this. Even if it was just part of what he felt, it was already bad. Noelle is dealing with so much, burdening her with all of his problems and emotions is unfair, it would make her realize how much of a liar he is… a bad friend… he should just keep everything to himself…
Noelle however didn’t know what to say at first. She never would imagine to hear such words from him, it felt like there was something more bothering him. Was he afraid of being himself? She knew how that felt, she used to dislike who she was in the past, even today she struggles being herself around others, letting herself be weird and sharing those parts of herself that make her think she will be disliked. Was this what was bothering him? She didn’t know, but she also didn’t want to force him to admit everything to her, he already seemed overwhelmed. Instead, she thought in a situation like this, what would she like to be done and what needed to be done. She gave him a warm smile and grabbed his wing, putting both her palms as a sign of support.
“That is absolutely not true and you should know it. You are not a burden and you never will be. You are my dorky fun friend, who, even though REALLY needs to stop calling people stupid, will always be important to me.”, she said, making him finally turn his face, the foggy glasses covering his eyes.
“You want to know what your real problem is, honestly?”
“… what is it?”
“YOU DON’T LISTEN!” she yelled with a little giggle after, flicking her fingers on his head. It didn’t hurt too much, but it was surprising nonetheless.
“You always talk and talk and talk over me, if you really wanted to repay, then just listen to me now! I would never spend so much time with someone if I hated them. I mean sure you have lots of flaws, but you are not a bad person.” smiling, she let go of his hand and started to look for her keys. He stood there staring, sort of frozen by her words. They were powerful and strong words, said with encouragement. Berdly has never seen her so forward, it was impossible to think it was a lie at that point.
“Besides, you’ve done things for me too, you know? I still remember when dad got sent to the Hospital for the first time, I wasn’t able to do any of my homework, I didn't want to… Then, Alphys told me she graded my book report as a B-. I was so confused since I didn’t do it, but when I saw the writing style, I immediately knew it was you. Fwahaha you even admitted it after I beat you in Marco Kart 8!”, she said. Berdly felt rather… warm by her saying this. He didn’t think it was that much of a big deal, yet she seems to have really appreciated it. He was even surprised she remembered something like that.
“So whatever is going on… please listen to me when I say this! You can tell me, we’re friends, we’ll always be there for each other.” she said, looking at Berdly and noticing he was about to almost burst into tears. But most of all, she knew she meant it, she is a good friend and Berdly is one too. So, it would be an honor to face something together, no matter what it is.
“Berdly are you… um, crying?” she said, instinctively looking to give him a tissue.
“C-cosplay… *hic*” he sobbed out.
“Huh, what?”
“This… weekend….”
She looked a bit confused…
“What do you-“
“IMGONNADRESSASZELDAANDYOUAREAGOODFRIENDIWILLLISTENTOYOUMOREANDIWOULDLIKEYOUTOBETHEREIWILLTELLYOUEVERYTHINGLATERONCHATTONIGHTIPROMISEOK BYEEEeeeeeeee” he yelled out as he ran back home, the tissue escaped his hand and got blown back under Noelle’s feet. Dammit… he littered.
“What just happened…?”