Chapter Text
Ding dong!
The bell of Noelle’s rather enormous house chimed, letting out a soft but noticeable alert. The deer’s ears perked up as she had dropped her pencil, leaving behind her arts and crafts to answer the door. As she approached, she wondered who this could be. Was this another package delivery that needed a signature? Perhaps it was just some small company that wanted to advertise their weed sparking service. Worst case scenario, it could be the strange neighbors who offered free food on Wednesdays.
“I really need to remember to close the gate, huh?” The girl asked herself with a chuckle, telling herself this is why she gets in these situations. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Noelle quickened her pace to reach the door. She let out a deep breath and with no hesitation, she opened the door. What greeted her was a shocking sight.
It was Berdly. That wasn’t a surprise. It was the outfit he wore. Berdly was decked in a black tuxedo and a white-colored shirt underneath. He also had a tie, that was very clearly a clip-on, which matched the blue hue of his feathers. In his hands was a bouquet. It was an assortment of crimson roses and white tulips, as well as another flower type Noelle was not familiar with. Lastly, the look that Berdly acquired was a charming smirk. Or at least, it looked charming in the bird’s mind.
At that moment, Noelle wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. She gave an awkward smile and greeted Berdly with a meek hello.
”Noelle, my sweetheart, my angel, my sugar muffin, my player two!” Berdly sang, causing the deer monster to mentally face-palm. She kept her outside as cool as snow to not hurt her friend’s feelings, though it was quite hard with being called, ‘sugar muffin’.
”I know you can not deny your feelings for me much longer! It has been hard for you to suppress those deep, burning emotions in your great, big heart! And, as your romantic interest, I have taken it upon myself to ease the pain!” Berdly monologued, trying his best to charm Noelle. On the flip side, her heart was in a state of shock. More shocked than Noelle herself was.
”In fact, your heart must be doing flips at this current moment!”
‘Actually, it’s probably crying.’ Noelle thought to herself, holding back a giggle. She kept this comment to herself to, again, not hurt her friend.
”Excuse my rambling, dearest deer friend! Or- uh…not so friend,” Berdly fumbled, letting out an awkward little cough in an attempt to clear his throat with nothing but dry air. “I would like to ask you to go on a date with me! It would help strengthen our romantic bond! I know we have potential and we both like each other! So, what do you say, my sweet Noelle?”
Noelle stared in awe.
Her jaw was slightly agape, trying to process what was happening. No, she was trying to process what to say.
‘What am I doing? I’m just standing here! Come on, Noelle, just come up with words!’ Noelle internally screamed. She was grabbing for something, anything! The monster had blurted the first thing that came to mind. Unfortunately, it was quite sudden and not the best thing to yell.
”I’m a lesbian!!!”
Noelle immediately covered her face with her hands. Despite fur covering her face, the red hue of embarrassment that coated her cheeks was very visible. The girl was internally exploding, imaginary sparks popping throughout her body. Her biggest secret, the one that only 2 people were allowed to know, was so easily spewed out of her delicate mouth.
As the rush of humiliation washed away, Noelle felt awkward approaching this subject with the bird on her porch. With no thought, she tightly gripped his wrist and yanked him inside her abode. The door slammed, resonating with a loud thud. Without waiting around, Noelle’s eyes pierced through Berdly’s.
”I’m really sorry. I don’t know what came over me! That’s not how I intended to come out…” Noelle gazed at the floor, gripping her arm with a sigh. She continued, “I just said the first thing that came to mind and it was really stupid of me, fa ha ha!” She chuckled, attempting to fill the thick, tense air with a bit of humor. However, Berdly did not find this funny.
”Wait, are you really…gay?” Berdly spoke up with a slight tinge of depression in his voice. Noelle could see the pained look on his face. It put daggers into her chest. It’s not fair to Berdly if he thinks he has a shot with her.
”Yeah…I’m so sorry if I made you believe that I was into you like that. You’re a great friend and I love having you in my life! Just not as a lover.” Noelle scratched her neck in embarrassment, before being hit with a realization. Berdly’s gesture was surprisingly sweet. He can be annoying at times, but she still cares about him. She believes taking the flowers would be the best action.
”I can still take these if you don’t mind! They look very pretty!” Noelle snatched the bouquet from Berdly’s feathered fingers and took a nice, long whiff. She let out a surprised, “Oh! And they smell pretty too!” Noelle made her way to her kitchen, signaling Berdly to follow her. She was desperate to get out of this situation.
“I’m so sorry to spring that on you. I thought you had feelings for me, which is why I felt the urge to put all of this together. Oh, and worry not! Your secret is safe with me!” Berdly’s mood flipped, almost making him sound relieved. Noelle didn’t say a word, only looking back at Berdly for a brief moment and giving a smile. As they made their way past the dining room table, something caught the bird’s eyes.
On the coffee-colored table was a mixture of construction paper, glitter glue, markers, and various sorts of arts and craft materials. What struck Berdly’s attention, however, was a neatly written letter on a separate sheet of loose-leaf paper. He skimmed through it, becoming quite curious in the process.
”Dear, Classmate
Hello! It’s so nice to finally give a letter to you. I have made various attempts at this, but I guess this time I finally had the guts to actually do it! I’ll make this short and sweet. You have a secret admirer. And that secret admirer is me! I find you super cool and mysterious and would like to get to know you better, but due to certain private issues, I can’t do that. Instead, I just wanted to let you know how great you are. You are super incredible so I made you cookies as well! I’m sure you already saw those since I sat them next to your letter. You might have already eaten them! Either way, I hope they are to your liking. Maybe one day, I’ll admit who I am. For now, I need to remain anonymous. This will not be the last letter you see from me!
I hope to speak to you again, Your Secret Admirer. <3”
Berdly swiped the letter and brought it closer to his face, making a closer examination of the handwriting. He inspected the delicate pencil strokes, light pressure, and fancy cursive print. “Ah, yes. Noelle definitely wrote this,” he muttered quietly to himself.
As he continued to follow Noelle, she failed to notice the sheet of paper in Berdly’s hands. Instead, she was filling a fancy, Christmas-themed vase with water. With delicate fingers, she placed the fragile glass on the counter. After that, she put the flowers in the vase.
”I’m sorry that I can’t return your feelings, but I really appreciate the flo-“ As Noelle turned around, she saw something that sent chills throughout her body. The goosebumps made every bit of her fur stand tall and stiff. The sight she had seen was Berdly reading her super-secret, a classified letter. He seemed really in tune with it as if he had seen it and was reading it for the 10th time. No one was allowed to read it except her and herself. Noelle let out a ghostly shriek and swingy took the paper back to her safe arms.
”You weren’t supposed to look at that, Berdly!” Noelle yelled with a horrified tone. He just confessed his feelings to her! Noelle would hate to break his heart. On the other hand, no one was supposed to know about her crush on Susie. Knowing Berdly, she assumed he would go and tell the whole world about liking Susie. Noelle wanted to shrink at that very moment. She wanted to crawl into a little hole and pass out, forgetting all about the world and just softly fading away. Unfortunately, that was not possible.
“You have a crush on someone in our class. It must be a girl since you’re a lesbian. Now I must figure out who.” Berdly perked up with a serious tone, his face unreadable to Noelle. She was frightened only because he might become jealous of her crush.
“First of all, me being a lesbian means I don’t like guys. Not only liking girls. I can date people of many genders as long as they don’t identify as a guy. Second of all-“
”Oh, Noelle, you just made things a lot easier for me.” Berdly chimed and his smirk was as shiny as his glasses. Noelle was confused by what he meant. Did he want to beat Susie up? Was he gonna get her in trouble somehow. This was becoming her worst nightmare pretty quickly.
“W-Well?” She hesitantly questioned, waiting for Berdly to finish.
”You have a crush on Kris!”
”What.”
”You do! It would explain a lot. Firstly, you two are childhood friends. A cliché trope, but pretty fair to comprehend. Secondly, this ‘super cool and mysterious’ person you described in this very letter sounds a lot like them. And finally, they are non-binary so they fit your standards!” Berdly continued, making it known how proud he was by having his arms crossed.
“I do not like Kris. They-“ Before Noelle could make a point, Berdly interjected. He made no hesitation as he proudly declared his own words.
”Tsk tsk, Noelle. You always try your best to make others happy. But when will it be your turn for someone to reach out a wing and help? That’s why I’m here. To help you!” Berdly cooed, wiggling his feathered eyebrows.
Noelle was confused. How in the world could Berdly help her? Especially when he has the wrong person to do so? Was he going to get out of her hair, buy her dinner to ease the stress, or perhaps be a source to “vent out” her problems? Unbeknownst to the deer girl, he had many more plans.
”As your number 1 and superior friend, I will be your cupid. I will help Noelle swoon with her true love! I will swoop in as her brave knight and give Noelle the partner she deserves. A partner who is 3rd in class and probably has nipples. Kris!” Berdly declared, cheering as he made his way to the door.
While Noelle followed him, she tried to make him stop by saying, “Berdly, wait! You have it all wrong!” She reached her arm out to stop him even though he was a good 10 feet away.
”Oh, Noelle,” Berdly signed, looking to the floor. He was now in front of the door, about to exit. Before he did so, he turned around and smirked. “I know you’re saying that to stop me. Worry not, dear friend! I will make you happy. You will be with Kris, I promise you that!” He turned with no delay and closed the door, leaving the massive house in cold, dark silence.
Noelle’s guts were churning, afraid of what was to come next. Her head swirled with possibilities. They all ended in disaster. She clumsily made her way to her couch, her eyes never leaving the closed door. Noelle huffed, only muttering, “I wish he would listen to me.”