Chapter Text
Susie all but dragged Kris like a ragdoll to seal the fountain the second the enemy was defeated. Ralsei could tell them about the town on his own, she needed to get out of here. Fast. She had no time for talking, either, she could get giddy about Dark Worlds later, when she wasn’t on the verge of a panic attack.
She knew she was acting weird as hell, but she couldn’t give less of a shit right now. How was she supposed to act normal when she was trapped in a dark room with a girl, Noelle of all people , and said girl asked to kiss her with such a genuine tone? She needed to go home to…do what, she didn’t know actually. Eat something? Attempt to sleep? Walk somewhere? Lose her mind even further? Anything other than stay around Noelle for another second. She didn’t trust herself to not do anything stupid.
Sure enough, they reached the fountain, and Susie didn’t say a word before Kris did…whatever it was they did to seal it. They were met with a familiar sight: the library. Almost instantly, Susie looked for the nearest exit.
She turned the handle. Nothing happened. She tried again. The door wouldn’t budge. She tried a few more times, to no avail. She groaned, just wanting to get out of here and forget everything already.
She heard Berdly groan behind her. Shit. “H-Huh?” she heard Noelle mumble, voice slightly groggy. She needed to leave right now. “S-Susie!” Noelle exclaimed. Ughhhhh! Susie turned around. “Uh, h-heya, uh, N-Noelle!” she replied, attempting to open the door behind her. “Um, what, uh, crazy dream did you have? Because, er, I’m assuming that anything that you thought happened within the last few hours was all a dream! Because it, um, w-was!! Of course!!! Why wouldn’t it be?!” Jesus Christ, she was bad at this. Why was this goddamn door not opening already?!
Noelle went red, looking down at her lap. Thank fuck Berdly woke up. “H-Huh?! I…fell asleep again?!” he asked, looking around. He looked at Susie and froze. “Ah! S-Susie! I…see you’re here, again!” he stated. This was hell. Suddenly, a flash of realization appeared in Noelle’s eyes. “Wait! Wh-what time is it?!” she asked, taking out her phone.
It was then that Susie looked at the clock. 9:05 PM. The library closed at 7:30 PM.
Oh, you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.
Panic ensued between three teens (Kris was as creepily calm as always). “Ahhh!! Oh no, oh no, oh no!! Are we locked in here?!” Noelle shrieked, frantically getting up. “Oh, no! I completely missed my shift! I have to head home in less than an hour! How in heaven’s name could I possibly be so irresponsible?!” Berdly panicked, walking in circles. As for Susie’s part, she tried her hardest to stay far away from Noelle at every turn. It’s not like she had anyone waiting for her at home, or anywhere really, but she had to find a way to get out. She couldn’t stay in here for another minute, not with Noelle of all people.
Maybe she could go through the window? Yeah, that’d work. But, ugh, she’d probably get reported for destroying property or some shit! And it’s not like she’d particularly mind getting cut with glass, hell it’d probably be less painful than the conversation she’d have to endure if she stayed here, but she wasn’t in the mood to clean it up afterwards!
But, maybe Noelle would be willing to clean it up for her, sweet as she was…
Why did she smile. What the FUCK.
Okay, new plan! Maybe she could charge through the door? But, again, there’s that destroying property situation! And if she failed, she’d probably get a concussion and/or pass out. Hmm, actually…that doesn’t sound so bad. It’d get her out of this situation.
Besides, Noelle could—
Okay. For real? She wasn’t gonna let herself finish that thought. It’d only make her even more frustrated.
Suddenly, she felt something tap her on the shoulder. She jumped out of her skin so hard that she could’ve shed a new layer right then and there. Thankfully, it was just Kris. “Oh! Kris! Jesus, you scared me, you little bastard…hey, got any ideas how to get out?” she asked, regaining her breath. Kris nodded. “Really?! Hell yeah, okay, whaddaya got!?” Susie asked, almost too excitedly. “I called my mom. She said she’d be here in an hour.”
“WHAT?!?!” Susie roared. “Why is she taking so long?!” Noelle chimed in, making Susie take several steps back. Jeez, what was she, contagious? “She went out of town earlier today,” Kris said, fixing their hair after Susie yelled in their face. “Well, that’s just great, isn’t it?!” Berdly responded, crossing his arms. “Now I have to miss out on my important gaming business for another hour!” he whined. “Ugh, suck it UP, birdbrain!” Susie shouted, finding her fuse being extra short right now. “I’m gonna find another way to get the fuck out of here,” she continued, looking around the small room.
Berdly raised a brow. Yeah, that was definitely a dream, dream Susie was way more charming than the real one, unfortunately. “Hmph. And why are you in such a hurry, Susie?” he asked, noting her frantic behavior. Susie flinched, instinctively glancing to Noelle and then immediately looking away. “Duh. You think I wanna stay here with you nerds?” she replied, avoiding Noelle’s gaze like the plague, though she thought she could feel Noelle's stare burning a hole through her head. “Fine, then!” Berdly concluded. “I’ll be waiting patiently right here!” He sits down on a chair, arms crossed, and then goes back to the book he was reading.
Susie tried picking the window lock, to no avail. Ugh. Screw everything. Why did something like this have to happen today, of all days?! Out of frustration, she kicked the wall, making Noelle let out a small squeak behind her. Susie flinched, instinctively looking back at her.
They locked eyes for a second, and Susie had to run away to the opposite side of the room.
She caught her breath, sitting down near one of the shelves. God, why can’t she just forget about that whole ordeal?! Why did she ever let herself get to that point?! Why did that ever happen?! Why didn’t she push her off?! …Why did she not want to push her off?
Fuck. Since when did her life become so plagued with girl problems? She didn’t even realize she liked girls up until recently.
No, she doesn’t like girls. She doesn’t like anyone.
She’s not even fooling herself at this point, huh?
Just then, the tapping of hooves took her out of her crisis momentarily. “U-Um, S-Susie…?” she heard a sweet familiar voice stammer. Susie, for the hundredth time in the past 10 minutes, found her adrenaline pumping. She (reluctantly, knowingly) looked up to find Noelle staring at her, her hands playing with the hem of her skirt. Susie found herself, yet again literally, backed into a corner, not seeing a feasible escape without pushing Noelle out of the way. She swallowed.
“Uhhhh…” she managed to get out, cursing herself for how shaky her hands suddenly were. “H-Hey there, N-Noelle…um…” she mumbled, eyes piercing through her. Noelle bit her lip, quickly asking “D-Do you think…I-I mean…Can I…sit here?” She could tell Noelle was trying her hardest to not make her nose light up again. By this point, Susie had ran out of words and simply continued stupidly staring at her and did a lazy nod of her head, Noelle taking that as her cue to sit down.
As soon as she did so though, Susie instinctively scooted a few inches away, still not having the balls to just…talk to her about it. Bad idea, as she could see Noelle tense up beside her out of the corner of eye, and now Susie feels like a dick. They stayed in this exact moment for what seemed like forever, before Noelle, bless her, decided to speak up. “Um…s-so, uh, we’re…locked in here for a while, huh?” she started, hesitating to bring it up. Susie knew they were both hesitating, but she didn’t want to bring it up. Susie let out a small hum in response to her question, still avoiding eye contact.
More silence.
A minute passes.
Yet even more silence.
For the third time that day, Noelle was the one to break the silence. “OkaysoumI’mreallysorryaboutwhatIdidearlierandIappreciateyoutellingmeitwasallrealandbeinghonestwithmeevenifnothinghappenedbetweenusandI’msupersorryifImadeyouuncomfortableorwentpastyourboundariesandIreallyshouldhaverespectedthefactthatyou’renotcomfortablewithphysicalaffectionandifyouneverwannaspeakaboutitagainIcompletelygetitokaybyeI’msorryagain!!!” she rushed out with such speed Susie marveled at how she didn’t pass out from a lack of oxygen. Before she could say anything though, Noelle was already up and back to her original spot at the round table with Berdly.
Susie felt the spot next to her feeling colder than before and bit the inside of her cheek. Noelle felt like she had to…apologize? For what? She didn’t do anything wrong! And, sure, Susie was uncomfortable with affection, but…it wasn’t…bad. It was nicer than she could ever admit, actually…Then why can’t she just tell her that?! Ugh! Only, what, barely 7 minutes have passed since Toriel was called? About 7 out of 60. Jesus, she feels like she’s aged twenty years already!
Suddenly, she heard Kris’s voice. “Noelle,” they started. “Can you go get my game controller in the closet?” they asked. Noelle stared at them, trying to keep her composure from the last conversation she had mere seconds ago. “Your…your what?” she asked, blinking. “My game controller. It’s at the very top of the closet. I left it there. Can you get it for me?” they repeated, flatly. She could see many questions flash through Noelle’s eyes, but instead of asking any, a decision she’d soon regret, she simply went to the closet, being cautious in case Kris did something to scare her.
“K-Kris, I, um, don’t see it? This isn’t a prank, r-right?” she said, looking around. “I don’t think I can reach that high…” Noelle pointed out, looking down at her legs. “Hm,” Kris hummed. “Susie, go help her please,” they told her. Susie flinched, immediately not liking where this could go. She didn’t even have to look to know Noelle was also panicking. “What? No way, why can’t you help her? It’s your shit!” she snapped, knowing that Kris had to be planning something. They’ve always been scarily good at reading people. “Susie, you’re the tallest one here. Go help,” they said. Their voice was as monotone as always, but for some reason, it only freaked her out even more. She glanced between Kris and Noelle, finally coming to a decision when she saw Kris’s eyes peering at her through their bangs. They’re such a little fucking demon sometimes. “Alright, alright, fine!” she said, getting up and walking to where Noelle was.
Noelle immediately tensed up further as soon as she was Susie approaching her, and Susie tried her hardest to ignore the voice in her head telling her that she was screwing everything up by not talking to her about it. She quickly went into the closet, frantically trying to look for anything that resembled a game controller. “D…Do you see anyth--AHH!” Noelle started, before being cut off by something pushing her into the closet. Susie whipped around just in time to see Kris shutting the door behind them. The next thing she knew, Noelle was pushed up right against her chest.
Immediately, their faces flushed, both girls knowing exactly what Kris just did. Susie ran to the door, trying to pry it open with all her might. The doorknob could barely even move! It was then that she remembered that most doors in the library were almost always locked from the inside.
Oh, forget destruction of property, she was gonna commit a fucking first-degree homicide tonight.
“KRIS!!” Susie yelled. “LET US OUT OF HERE YOU PUNY LITTLE ASSHOLE!!!” she demanded, baring her teeth. “No,” was the only answer she received. She growled, banging on the door. Christ Almighty, just put her out of her misery already!
If it wasn’t for Noelle’s voice, she probably would have kept punching the door. “Um, Susie…” she mumbled behind her. Susie felt a chill go up her spine, stopping her in her tracks. Susie didn’t turn around, finding her words stuck in her throat for the millionth time today around Noelle. “I-I know we’re gonna be staying in here for a good while, b-but…” she began. “You don’t…you don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. I-I’ll just…I’ll just be here.” Noelle’s voice broke at the end. Susie’s chest started to hurt.
How could Susie pride herself on taking no shit and saying whatever she wanted to when she was being such a pussy with this whole situation? Was she…she wasn’t scared, right? That doesn’t sound anything like how she’d like to view herself as, but at the same time…
Okay. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around, facing Noelle directly. She was sitting down on the floor, seemingly checking the time on her phone. Her gaze looked…so far away. As if she was just checking her phone absentmindedly. Almost like she retreated into her own mind. Her mind couldn’t help but look back at the way Noelle stared at her during that whole ordeal, making her even more nervous. She crossed her arms. No, she was doing this, nerves be damned. “Hey, uh, Noelle,” she said. Noelle flinched, looking up at her. “Do you mind if I, uh…Can I sit here?” she asked, echoing Noelle’s words from earlier. Noelle caught on to that and let out a small giggle, giving her a nod.
Cautiously, she crossed her legs and sat next to her, the awkwardness still looming over them. She glanced at Noelle’s phone. 9:17 -- nope, 9:18. God. Okay, if they’re doing this, they’re doing this. Susie cleared her throat, but Noelle beat her to the punch. “So…do you…do you want to talk about it, or…?” she asked, still wanting to make sure she wasn’t overstepping anything. Susie couldn’t help but smile a little bit. “Yeah,” she finally asserted. “Yeah, let’s, uh…let’s talk.”
Noelle shut her phone off, putting it back in her pocket. She straightened up a bit, though her ear twitching indicated her anxiety. “So, um…” Susie began. “Look. I’m, um, sorry for not telling you sooner, but…yeah, those adventures you were in…were actually real. It’s this whole thing with magical fountains, and someone keeps opening them up to make these worlds and shit, and, um…yeah. You kept falling into them, and joining us on these trips,” Susie admitted, trying her best to explain, though it’s still difficult for her to wrap her head around it all.
“I guess I just didn’t tell you because…I don’t know. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to keep going to these worlds, y’know? Everything is so…different there. I feel like I’m actually…worth something for once. People seem to like me more, but then, when the adventure ends, people just…see me as the Big Bad Bully, and not in, like, a cool way, y’know?” she continued.
“I think you’re cool either way,” Noelle whispered, smiling at her. Offhandedly. A side comment. And yet it left Susie feeling exactly like she did when that whole event happened, tail wags and all. Her breath caught in her throat, and she almost couldn’t continue, but she pushed on, as she wasn’t to the main topic just yet. “But…yeah, I’m sorry. Shoulda told you sooner and everything,” she concluded. Noelle slowly nodded. “Yeah. Well, um, I’m just…glad you told me, y’know? Honestly, I…was already questioning how fake all of it actually was. I-I mean, I’ve heard of lucid dreaming and all, but…it was a bit too real sometimes, hah…” she replied. “I…wish you trusted me enough to tell me before, but, I understand why you didn’t,” she mumbled.
“What? No, it’s not that I didn’t trust you! I just…I dunno,” Susie quickly replied. “I guess I was just…s…scared? Of…losing all the memories I made with everyone. But, especially with…you…” Susie said, going embarrassingly quiet towards the end. She was not used to being this emotionally vulnerable with anyone, but Noelle broke a lot of her rules. “Why would you be scared?” she asked, genuinely confused.
“I dunno! Agh!” she admitted, raising her voice slightly. Christ, this was too much emotion for her to handle all at once, but she forced herself to get it over with. “I wasn’t planning on telling you it was all real, but then…but then you…” she started, finally alluding to it. “I…I asked to kiss you…” Noelle continued her sentence. Their faces flushed just that much more now that they’ve brought it up. “That. Yeah. And-and it caught me…really fucking off guard, okay? It just…came spilling out before I even knew what I was saying,” she explained. “I get it! I…I kinda did that whole thing on a whim, as well…It was just building up and…and before I knew it, it was too late to take it back…” she confessed, wincing at the memory.
“G-Gosh, now that I think about it, I…I don’t think I would’ve done anything if I knew it was all real from the start,” she said, playing with her hair. “I would never take such a huge risk, no matter how tempted I was. I think the fact that you kept telling me this was a dream, it made me…made me wanna try something out of my comfort zone,” she continued. “Faha, it’s funny though, it…ended up becoming an even bigger mess.” The corners of Noelle’s mouth twitched with somber amusement at the whole thing. It was then that Susie realized how off her body language has been.
“Hey, uh, you good over there?” she asked. Almost immediately, Noelle buried her head in her hands. “Ugh, yeah…I’m just…” she responded, voice muffled. “Susie, I’m really sorry about what I did back there. I wasn’t thinking, and it just ended up ruining things. We were friends, and…and that should’ve been enough for me,” she said, looking away. Panic arose in Susie’s chest. “Wait, wait, wait, what? No, Noelle, you didn’t…you didn’t ruin anything, I…” Susie found herself stammering.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Noelle said, mustering up a hopeful smile. “I mean, we…we could still be friends, right?” she pointed out. She was thinking of the best possible scenario because Noelle would not let herself think about anything further than that ever again. They were finally friends, and that needed to be fine with her. “I-I mean…I know it’s gonna be hard, but…I’m willing to try if it means I at least…h-have you in my life…” she trailed off at the end, looking away. Susie was yet again left dumbfounded by how much genuine care this strange doe had for her.
Friends. Usually, Susie’d be okay with that label. Friends. Hell, it’d certainly be more than she was used to mere weeks ago. But Susie doesn’t know if she physically could continue to be just friends with her. Even with her just now beginning to have friends, she knew that friendship is not supposed to make her feel like this. It’s not supposed to make her heart flutter in her chest over small things. It’s not supposed to wake her up in the middle of the night simply thinking about her favorite little details of said friend. It was certainly not supposed to end up with them tangled up in a corner with that friend staring at Susie with such an intensity that she could feel her entire body tingle.
She simply did not think a simple friendship could be possible. It’d drive her mad and she’d be genuinely worried that she’d snap at some point and not be able to take the “friends” approach much longer if Noelle continued to be…Noelle. Sweet, caring, kind Noelle Holiday.
They couldn’t stay just being friends. Not for her own sanity, which was crazy to think about. But she couldn’t stand having these feelings anymore and not do anything about it.
“Um, no, I-I don’t think we can be friends, Noelle,” she finally spoke up. She heard Noelle gasp beside her, and quickly continued. “Look, I…I know I have zero experience in romance shit, but…I mean for what’s it’s worth, I…I really don’t think I’d be okay with us being just friends. D…D’You get what I’m saying?” She hoped to God she managed to read between the lines. She got her answer in the form of Noelle’s nose slowly glowing, her smile lighting up her face even more.
“I…I-I’m hoping I do, but…” she said, twirling her thumbs. Feeling her usual confidence steadily coming back to her, Susie tried something else. “Hey, Noelle,” she whispered, voice low, just now realizing how close they’d gotten. “I never answered your question, huh?” Noelle shook her head, that same passion and fire she had back in the Dark World coming back in full force. Susie was planning to say something cool, but she couldn’t stop the way her head tilted forward, fully pressing scales to fur in a sensation so electrifying they were half worried about the closet catching on fire.
Noelle blinked a few times before taking full advantage and wrapping her arms around Susie’s neck. Fuck it! If this was happening for real, she was going to make it memorable. Nerves and doubts go fuck yourselves. Now, it was slightly awkward for a few seconds, as neither of them had ever kissed someone before, and there wasn’t much space to move around, but they eventually found a rhythm they both liked and stuck with it for a small while. It was a bit chaste for a minute, since both teens still didn’t know what was okay with the other, but they both quickly threw caution to the wind as soon as Noelle felt Susie’s hand snake around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. Noelle ruffled Susie’s hair, managing to sprawl herself across her lap.
She could hear Susie’s tail wagging behind her with zero signs of slowing down, which made Noelle laugh just thinking about the imagery. Embarrassed, Susie broke the kiss. “What? What’s so funny, huh?” she asked, face still colored with a mixture of her own pink blush and Noelle’s lipgloss. “Pff! N-Nothing! D-Don’t worry!” Noelle replied, stifling a laugh. Susie lightly growled, trying (and failing) to tuck her tail back in. Noelle gave her a quick peck on the cheek, which only made her tail jump back out. Noelle snickered good heartedly while Susie glared at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was “Fuck all the way off!”
And yet, Susie could not help the smile that spread across her face when Noelle pulled her back in for another kiss…until the door opened.
“Hi,” was all Kris said, donning a knowing smile as they looked down to the two girls. Immediately, Susie spoke up. “I’m gonna pummel you to the fucking ground, Kris!! Do you have any goddamn idea of the heart attack you gave me when you locked us in here?! You little shit, I’m gonna tear your fucking–” she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Toriel beside them. “Uh. I mean…Hi, Ms. Dreemur, Toriel, m-ma’am!” she greeted, straightening up. “H-H-Hi, Toriel! Ehehehe…” Noelle laughed, nervously. “Hello to you too, girls,” she said slowly, as a sort of warning, before her usual docile demeanor came back. “Sorry I took so long! The traffic downtown was just awful! I can take you guys home if you’d like!” she said.
Both girls stood up, trying to make sure no signs of what just happened were visible. “Uh, thanks, but, I can walk home from here!” Susie said. “Are you sure, dear?” Toriel asked. Susie nodded. She could use a walk after such an eventful three and a half hours. “Hm. Well, if you insist. Berdly’s already in the car, so I’ll be driving him, Kris and Noelle home!” she explained. The remaining teens followed her to the car, with the sky being really dark. “Thank you, Toriel!” Noelle said. “No need, Noelle! You’re always welcome!” she replied sincerely.
Right before they left the steps, Noelle whipped around. “Um, see you tomorrow, Susie!!” she waved goodbye. “Um, y-yeah, for sure! See y–” she got cut off by Noelle kissing her cheek again. “Okay, bye!!!” she ran off, giggling. Susie stood there, touching the spot Noelle just kissed. It was still warm, and Susie didn’t even care how stupid she looked just standing there, gaping and smiling at her as she ran away. She could feel Kris staring at her with a shit eating grin. “Eat a dick,” she replied, prompting Kris to slyly walk down the steps and towards the car.
She had a feeling that Kris would start teasing Noelle the second they got in the car together. And, god, Ralsei was gonna be insufferable if he heard about this. But, seeing how things were going to go between them, they were going to have to get used to it.
And she couldn’t help but feel her chest tighten with warmth at that thought.