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She puts her hands around their neck. Their eyes widen, but then close in acceptance.
A long moment passes. There is no constriction, no tightness crushing the air out of their throat. Just a delicate, feather-light grasp.
Hesitantly, they open their eyes again, to see Noelle gazing down at them with an expression they can’t name.
They can feel the pulse in their carotid artery, under her thumb. She tilts her head, like holding Kris’s life in her grasp is a puzzle she can’t quite figure out.
“Waiting for something, Kris?”
They say nothing.
She looks down at their arms, laying limp against their sides. They look as well. They could push her off. It’d be easy.
“Not even gonna try and stop me, huh.”
They again say nothing.
“Do you think you deserve this? Is that what this is?”
They still remain silent.
“Heh.”
“Wha…?”
This is what breaks their silence. They look back up at Noelle’s face, unable to finish their question. She answers it anyways.
“Aha ha ha ha ha! You’re so, so funny, Kris,” she says with delight. Like she was just reacting to their latest prank.
“Because let me tell you: you don’t.”
They can’t help but feel bewildered. Does she… really think they deserve to live, after everything they did? Everything they did to her?
If it’s mercy that stays Noelle’s hand, they certainly can’t see it. She glares down at them like they’re a rat. No, less than a rat. A rat would be enough to scare her- whatever Kris is, it’s below vermin.
“Aw, are you confused, Kris? Guess I’ll have to explain it then, you dummy.” She smiles, like she always did, when they were being a doofus.
Suddenly, she clenches her hands around their neck. Still not enough to actually strangle them, but it makes them tense.
“You know the real me won’t do this. She can’t. Not anymore, no matter how much she wants to. You made sure of that.”
There’s steel in her voice now. Contempt.
They look away, unable to meet her eyes. They can feel her gaze burning into them.
“But you want her to. You want it so, so badly.”
She relaxes her grip again, but does not relinquish her hold.
“Because you’re pathetic. Because even now, you still don’t want to take responsibility for your actions. To even make an attempt at atoning for what you let happen.”
It’s not true. They tried to fix things, with Berdly and Noelle. They really tried. It wasn’t enough, though…
“Oh, don’t give me that look. You and I both know that all you did was to try and escape the consequences, and pretend everything was still fine. You could’ve ripped it out while it was trying to put that thorn back into her hand. It sure gave you plenty of opportunity.”
They couldn’t- There wasn’t- It’d be too difficult to-
“To explain? That’s your excuse for breaking her? That’s how little she means to you? Or are you that scared of having to face all the promises you’ve made?”
She shakes her head, in disbelief.
“Noelle thinks she’s the doormat. That she’s the one who’s weak. But it’s always been you, hasn’t it?”
She drums her fingers against the back of Kris’s neck.
“And that’s how we ended up here. For anyone else, this would be a nightmare. But for you? This is your greatest fantasy. For the person you’ve wronged the most to take what she deserves.”
She moves one of her hands to cup Kris’s face.
“For her to absolve you of your sins, without you having to even lift a fucking finger. All for the low, low cost of your worthless life. You must think it’s a real bargain, huh?”
She strokes their cheek, tenderly.
“And that’s exactly why you’re not getting out of this that easy, Kris. So here’s what you’ll do instead. Oh, don’t worry, this’ll be easy, especially for someone like you. Promise!”
She smiles widely, a mouth full of knives.
“You’re going to go back to the hell that you’ve made for both you and her. You won’t do a single thing to stop it. And you’re going to watch as she gets ground away until there is nothing left. And then afterwards, maybe you’ll get to join her. That, Kris, is what you deserve.”
There’s tears running down their face. She wipes one away with her thumb.
“Now get up, silly. You’ve got a big day ahead of you at the festival! Wouldn’t want to be late for your date!”
They wake up with a start, gasping. The early morning sunlight streams through the window of their bedroom. Sweat cakes their face. They can feel something rigid in their grasp.
They look down, and see they’re still holding their cell phone, from last night.
They grab their pillow, intending to scream into it. Instead, all that comes out is a muffled sob.