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Cross is no stranger to manipulation. She wishes she could claim to be immune to trickery and lies, but she knows she'd be even more a liar.
Lairs in mind, Killer is running her mouth once again. Like a pest. It's... not the first time she's partaken in such idiocy. Killer likes to say exactly what Cross wants to hear, then prove her words with according actions. Such is infuriating.
There must be a goal in mind. Killer must be trying to achieve something. Once Cross figures out what that something is, she will finally be able to keep herself ahead of Killer. It's exhausting, holding Killer close, just so, to occasionally try out emotional intimacy whilst keeping her far enough to leave her powerless to harm Cross. It's exhausting and it isn't even working.
Now she finds herself standing by a gramophone playing some unimportant music that Nightmare fancies. Something about a romantic era in classical music, Cross really couldn't get herself to care. Her patience is rapidly thinning as Killer leans against the wall lazily, telling Cross how much she missed her while she was out on a mission.
Cross wishes that she'd stayed gone.
"I've been thinking, ya never had any video games 'n shit as a kid, right? While I was out, I saw some knockoff game shop we could go over and jack games from." Killer brings up, pointlessly.
"Why would I want to do that?" Cross mumbles, albeit rudely.
"Damn, okay! Who pissed in your cereal this morning? Are ya cranky 'cause ya missed me too much Criss-Cross?" That cheeky jackass.
Has Killer ever done even an ounce of reflection?
"Why'd you assume that it has to do with you?" Cross' defensiveness was far too evident in her tone... what a mess.
"Hm..." Shit. Killer is onto her now.
That annoyingly captivating laugh sounds abruptly. Its noise was lively and disorderly, how something so careless can be so fascinating is far beyond Cross.
"Well, I was just jokin' before, but now you've gone and told me all about how it's got to do with me!" Killer nearly shouts. Or... perhaps not shouting, but she said those words far louder than Cross would ever want them to be.
Cross is turning purple, she can feel it. Somehow, she feels like this is another trick she's fallen for. A trick that she made all on her own.
No, Killer is just a tactless opportunist. Like a wild animal. That must be the case.
"Cat gotcha tongue?" Oh, Cross forgot to respond. She's wasting time, and it's not even being spent on planning this interaction through. Whatever happens to her sensibility when Killer's around? Why is it that she can't pull herself out of the moment?
"Um.... Hello...?" Damnit.
"I was just thinking. You aren't the only thing I'm capable of concerning myself with, you know." Simple. Concise. Perhaps not the best argument she's ever made, but it's passable.
"No, but cha sure do spend a lotta on me, huh, Lacrosse?" What. What did Killer just call her?
"Lacrosse...? Sorry, is that supposed to be a nickname?"
"Not really, jus' talkin' outta my ass."
She's going to kill her.
No, nevermind that, this is a waste of time. This is a trick. There must be something Killer is aiming for, and Cross just won't get her head straight.
Cross decides she's had enough. She turns on her heel and powerwalks towards the next room, the living area. Killer jerks her body to look in Cross' direction.
"Uh oh, yer posture is straight! ... Did I do something wrong?" How does she know that? Since when has her posture been straight when she's upset? Does she slouch normally?
It doesn't matter, she decides. What matters is that Killer has noticed this small detail about her. This is dangerous.
She sharply turns back around.
"Could you stop knowing me!?" That's not fair. Cross didn't mean that.
"Uh... What?"
Well, she's already dug her grave, she may as well lie in it.
"Just... You know me too well... Stars, what do you want?" Her own voice is shrill, Cross notes.
"You, mostly." Killer just said that so matter-of-factly, as if her words aren't truly devastating. "I mean, yeah, I suppose that I'm crazy enough to settle for anyone, but you're one of the coolest monsters I've ever met. Would be nice if you'd throw me a bone every once in a while."
"Wha-"
""S chill if ya don't though, I mean, 'S not like I'll be going anywhere anytime soon. I'll getcha one day." Why does that hurt so much, but feel so comforting?
"So you just want to use me." Cross can only barely keep herself from crying. Any hope of her feelings going undetected are as good as gone now.
"Not really? I don' think so. What's wrong with liking ya?" Everything. Everything is wrong with liking Cross.
It's not possible to like Cross. She's unlikable. The only thing anyone could ever like about Cross is what she offers as an asset. That's not liking Cross, that's liking an item.
So, Killer is either lying, or there is something seriously wrong with her.
Cross doesn't know what to say. Maybe she doesn't want to say anything.
That's fine, because Killer once again runs her mouth.
"You can contemplate... whatever it is you've got running through your head all you want, you know you like me." What kind of like are they talking about here? "And y'know I've got patience, I did win Nighty over after all." That is irrelevant.
It's irrelevant but... Killer is good to Nightmare. As far as Cross has been able to tell, the two aren't trying to use one another... But maybe they are...? Was Killer trying to say something by comparing Cross and Nightmare? Is Cross reading too deep into this?
Maddening. Killer is maddening.
Cross wants more. She wants to play with the fire that she is certain will burn her. Killer didn't earn her name by being kind and loving. The only love she knows is LOV. Yet, still, Cross wants to involve herself and her emotions with this walking disaster.
"Okay." What else is she supposed to say?
"Yeah, I know it's okay." Killer should just cease to exist, actually.
Again, she's being manipulated and used. This time, she's knowingly walking right into it. Even if Killer has yet to make her move in shackling Cross, it's just a matter of time. Surely. No doubt about it whatsoever.
Maybe, just maybe, Killer is so messed up in the head that she's capable of caring about Cross. Shamefully, Cross hopes that such is the case.