Chapter Text
Susie sat on the bench of the park and wrapped a bandage around her injured hand, bitting it off with her teeth to tear the strip. The rain's not letting up. A car flashed by with its high beams on, never slowing down at all, drenching her with a splash of chilling water. She stood up, and cursed under her breath before glancing up to the tree overhead.
“I HEARD that little snickering. Kids who sneak out at night instead of sleeping would get their faces bitten off by homeless monsters, y’know.”
Kris poked their head out from the leaves, looking for all the world like an apple dangling from a branch. “Susie's not sleeping either. Let’s just not point fingers.”
“Well I was just, um… practicing my healing magic, alright? Just thought it may come into handy next time you’re hurt — hey, can you not look at me with all these uncanny anticipation? I would rather never have to use it, dumbass!”
So you're that kind of person that carry bandages around — Kris didn’t voice this thought aloud. It just dawned on them that perhaps Susie carried bandages for the same reason they carried a knife.
Kris smiled and leaped down from the tree, sitting beside her. They didn't offer to help with bandage, even though they knew she wouldn’t refuse anyways. They’d both long since gotten used to doing things like this alone. So they simply sat beside her in silence — just like what their mom did long long ago. Maybe that was what exactly she is in need of.
Silence fell. Kris took an opened ketchup packet from their pocket and squeezed a bead of blood from the torn corner. As Susie bandaging herself, they thoughtfully licked the opening with the tip of their tongue, as if savoring her blood, or trying to heal something broken within themself.
“You are such a weirdo,” commented Susie. But she was grinning.
“Just stole it from the fridge. There's nothing else left to eat — it’s not like I really want to live off tree bark or moss or anything.”
“But you don’t truly like ketchup,” Susie snorted, “and you sure as hell don’t like that guy who broke into your Home and danced with your mom. Be kind to yourself, dude. I would never go and drink myself to death if I don’t want to think about home.”
Kris didn’t respond.
Maybe from a lack of sleep, they were not as quick with jokes and pranks as in her memory. They didn't smear ketchup all over their face and with a cheeky tongue-out, “this is what my face looks like when you bite it off.” At the time they're no longer able to flirt with a watercooler, they became noticeably quiet — almost fragile, as if their SOUL had been snatched out from their chest, leaving them looking like a mere cage.
Kris drained the ketchup, and crushed the empty packet with fierce. Then, as if something seemed to switch on with them —
“After Azzy left Hometown, I had once used to lie on the map, measuring the distance between Home and college with my fingers. A hundred miles. Two hundred. Then three. Four. Until I couldn’t feel my fingers, or the numbers stopped to make any sense.
“For the longest time, the hope that he’d eventually be back to Home was the only thing that kept me up. But by the seventh day of internet outage, and when police shut down the only road out to town, I started to fear he might never come back. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I can’t beat the feeling that I will be stuck here. Forever.”
Susie finished her bandage with a neat little bow, and bumped them on the shoulder.
“At least you can always come Home.”
“So can you,” Kris replied, catching the slight pause in her movement. “I mean… you can always come to my place. Anytime. …It's just because Mom really likes you.”
Susie let out a laugh. “Almost as if I doesn’t need your permission first.”
Kris’s face turned into a ripe apple. They quickly diverted their gaze.
“But what I really meant is,” Susie added, “you can always go back to the Castle Town, back to your friends in the Dark World.”
Silence again. The rain had finally stopped. Their watches had long since stopped working from all the back and forth between the Light and Dark Worlds. No one knew how late into night it was. Only the glow of the streetlamps lit Susie’s face, catching a glint in Kris’ crimson eyes.
Susie took a deep breath.
“…Kris. At that moment — when you opened the door and saw… do you feel, somewhat, betrayed? Don’t ask — just answer me.”
Kris sighed softly. “Even my mom can get drunk at some time, Susie.”
Susie’s eyes went wide. She grabbed their arm in a flash — so tightly Kris thought it might snap — but after a moment, she loosened her grip and lowered her head, letting out a dry laugh.
“Guess that’s her right. My bad. I thought people like your mom… won't do that sort of thing.”
The rain-soaked air made her voice damp and heavy.
“I’ve always been like this. Projecting my one-sided hopes onto others. Feeling betrayed when they don’t live up to them. Then comes the anger I can’t control. Then I smash everything. …And then I will move.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Susie laughed like she was one second away from breaking into tears.
“But Kris, you know what? This is the first time I’ve wanted to stay. Like, literally stay. To root myself here, and no more moving nor drifting. Of course the jerks in town still call me names and keep their kids away from me. And toss spitballs at my door and blast their goddamn high beams when they’re passing me. But screw it, I don’t care a bit.
“I don’t have a home. You don’t have an intact Home. But we — we’ve got one together. I mean, the Castle Town. Ralsei will be there. Our rooms will be there. My friends. You. Everything will be okay… won’t it?”
Kris didn’t reply. They rose onto their toes and grabbed Susie by the collar, yanking her toward them with all their strength. This time no sprites with swords flew at her face. They crashed into each other in a hard manner, Kris staggering back a few steps, and if Susie hadn’t caught them around the waist, it might not have become a hug at all.
But it did become a hug — their sweater always carried the scent of apples, cinnamon, and eggnog that were not really theirs. And her hair always smelled of smoke, dust, and a trace of blood which were also not really hers. Occasionally, she will become a part of Home. And sometimes, they will become a wandering street kid forgotten by the whole world. But right now, they were just there, arms wrapping around each other, her hair brushing against their sweater. Their scents and heartbeats mingled, more intimate than a kiss. It was as though so long as they stayed close to each other, everything would be okay.
It was like a perfectly cast healing magic. Almost as if drawing strength from it, Susie clenched her fist behind Kris' back, and blood began to seep through the bandage.
“So the Prophecy won’t take place. 'cause I will break it. No one’s getting hurt, and no one’s going to be forgotten — just like what you wrote on the QC's window.
“So we have to believe in each other. And never, EVER, betray each other. Kris, Kris, promise me — promise to me this won’t be just another one of my stupid, one-sided hopes, okay?”
Like she had so many times before, she turned to look at them — expecting a smile, a playful bump on the shoulder, or a glint of mischief behind their long fringe of hair. Maybe even a teasing line like, 'that's it,' or 'let’s wreck some fate,' as if everything they were going through was just another one of the craziest pranks back in the school closets.
But Kris, at that moment, looked more shaken than she’d ever seen. Their chest heaved in ragged breaths, their beautiful crimson eyes flickering as if struggling to speak. Their whole body trembled with the weight of something left unsaid — like her words had carved a hole straight through their chest and ripped their SOUL right out. For a fleeting moment, they looked more like a hollow cage than ever before.
Finally, a word came out from them. “Everything will be okay. I promise.”
It was like it took all the last bits of strength left in them to say those words. Like they were struggling to fill the hollow space deep within their chest with those words alone. Kris stood there, gave her one final glance, and walked off alone toward the crossroads. Their figure trembled in the wind and disappeared into the darkness in front of the church. Susie had never seen such pain on their face, and it took a long time before she understood why.