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Callie often forgot that Acht and Dedf1sh were the same person. It confused her to no end! Why choose such a name? What motivated it? But… the more she looked at them, the more it made sense. Acht would definitely pick that name, and they looked like they would too.
Callie was in the middle of a meet-and-greet with a few newer fans. They had watched the Grand Festival performance and seemed obsessed with her and her cousin’s bit. Marie was getting a lot better at talking to people, Callie noticed. It made her proud. But a little jealous in a way she couldn’t explain… How could she be so good at it? Almost… better than Callie herself. She had a sour look on her face as the fans took their leave, too nervous to talk to a girl with her heart on her sleeve. No. Pull yourself together, Callie. They still wanted to talk to you… just not at the end. That wasn’t their fault.
Callie felt Marie staring, and quickly looked over, her face bouncing back to its usual smile. “Hi Marie! You know, you’ve been getting REALLY good at talking to fans lately, it’s some significant progress.” She tried to compliment in the most innocent way possible, but her jealousy was cracking through just a little.
“Yeah, they love me. Too bad number one’s losing her spot…” Marie joked, but her smirk lowered once she realized she hit a nerve. “You’re still my number one though.” All either of them could do was hope that that would help
…
Callie went home earlier than she had planned to, unable to get thoughts out of her head. She put a smile on her face and distracted herself with all of her favorite things. Marie didn’t seem to be the best solution, not like she deserved to be used like that anyways. Marie was fine to do as she pleased.
Callie thought about Acht, how they had been helping Pearl and Marina out with everything and wouldn’t be home all the time. She groaned to herself and tried to think of something else to pass the time. Staying distracted was the only way to get through this… these horribly nasty thoughts. Or maybe they weren’t too bad. Probably just different.
Callie ate the food she was going to eat for dinner, knowing fries usually set her straight. She was tense and her breath was a little shortened— “what does this even mean?” It was the only thought in her mind as she horked down what she would now consider an afternoon snack.
Exhaustion overcame her, so much so that she couldn’t even make it to her bed. Callie started to doze off on the couch, staring at the ceiling and just waiting, anticipating, almost hoping for a bad dream. She was sure one would come, especially now…
…
Acht came back to their house after a long and annoying discussion with Pearl and Marina. They still held onto that hope that Marina would appreciate them more than she did. That hope was… obnoxious, enough for them to shove it down whenever they thought about it. Acht saw Callie sleeping on the couch and was initially perplexed. A girl like her never stooped so low…
Acht sat down, trying not to disturb Callie but wanting to stay close. They had never really admired Callie like this, when she wasn’t laughing about how funny it looked, when she wasn’t hiding anything. When she didn’t know Acht was hiding anything… Acht let their hand lead them and eventually found it on Callie’s cheek, rubbing softly as if she was a fragile animal. Acht appreciated this unaware silence— it was much easier to appreciate more than just her personality when she wasn’t giggling and messing around.
Acht nervously pulled their hand back as Callie seemed to wake up. Sleeping beauty, Acht thought. They looked at her for a few more seconds before speaking, “did you even get good rest on that couch? It’s for sitting, not sleeping, y’know.” “I know what it’s for, I just… wanted to see how it would feel.” Callie spoke in a hopefully unknowing voice, not wanting Acht to realize that she had just been too tired to move anywhere else. Callie looked at Acht’s own exhaustion, grabbing them by the waist and gently pulling them down to cuddle. “You look tired. Let me know how today went… please?” She asked with her best convincing face, satisfied when Acht relaxed their shoulders and began to talk. “It was pretty annoying. I was helping Pearl and Marina with some music. Usually they don’t ask, but if it’s a way to get their friendship, then I guess I can. Marina talked to me less than Pearl did, so I was constantly wondering if she’s still awkward. With me.” Acht paused, rubbing Callie’s arm as they laid there. Such a warm body… Acht felt themself sink down into her. “They’ve got some good skill… I don’t want them taking mine, if I’m honest.” Callie nodded and squeezed them tight. “I totes get that. No one could ever replicate those sick beats you’ve got though! It must be hard trying to piece back together a friendship that kinda crashed… I’m sure she’ll come around! It took me a while to get into that level of buddy-buddying with Marina, if that helps at all.” “Yeah, she is slow with letting people in. I don’t blame her for that. Guess it is hard to replicate something with no specific style, huh? Well… I think I’m done talking. For now. What’s been going on in there?” Acht placed their hand ever so gently on Callie’s head. She wasn’t necessarily someone who needed to be coddled, but they could tell that she didn’t like it when they weren’t considerate enough. “I uh… Marie and me- or- Marie and I… we were doing a meet-and-greet for the first time in forever! I hadn’t noticed how good Marie was at talking to fans… she’s totally improved a lot and that’s great for her! I felt jealous though. And scared? Like she’s just better than me. It’s always kinda been that way. Always one step ahead in something. Always surpassing. That’s not even what she’s doing but I’m- I don’t know!” Callie felt herself getting worked up. She closed her eyes and tightened her hold on Acht, silently praying for them to squeeze back. Acht got the memo that she needed something and made sure to hold Callie tight. “Neither of you are better than the other, I hope you can learn to realize that. You’re both good at certain things, and there is always room to improve. It’s how life is.” Callie looked down at Acht. “You’re pretty wise!” She tried to act like she didn’t say anything at all, but Acht shushed her. “You can be tired. I’m tired myself.” The two of them adjusted themselves as if some other entity commanded them both to move at the same time. Callie sighed and looked into Acht’s eyes. “I guess we can be tired… it’s just… stressful at first.” She sighed before her eyelids lowered again. Acht’s breath slowed down, and before either of them knew it, sleep overtook both of them. Peaceful, undisturbed, and comfortable sleep…