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Well, that was a day. And honestly, she should feel like utter dogshit.
After all, that day was a burden. First, she learned of the Knight and their schemes. Then, she learned of Noelle's horrible mother. Then, she met an awesome old man that she honestly looked up to, before realising that not only he's dead, but also that he only appeared in that specific Dark world, meaning that she would never see him ever again. Then she fought a Titan, and Gerson made a final appearance. Then she never got to say goodbye to the old man, and then she learned of the prophecy's tragic ending, and then the realisation that the old man really was never coming back again hit her. And then it turned out that the annoying convenience store guy was probably fucking her friend's mom.
Terrible day, that was. Fucking awful in about every single way possible. Yet, somehow, she has woken up, done her daily morning routine, and stepped outside with an actual smile. The prophecy nonsense is still weighing on her, but... It's the festival. Today. And she's taking Noelle. To the festival.
Ahh, yeah. Noelle. Probably the biggest reason behind her happiness. She has always had a lot of respect for Noelle. She wants to be like her. She wants to be kind to others, she wants others to be kind to her. The candy cane incident, while it didn't taste like candy at all, gave her a bit of hope. That maybe she had a place here.
To sum it up in three words, she likes Noelle. Telling her bitch mom that she's taking Noelle to the festival felt good, but not just because she was telling an asshole off. It was more like...
...As if there's any doubt in her mind at this point. She like likes Noelle. She's crushing on Noelle. And, dare she even think about it... she loves Noelle. Romantically, too.
And, honestly, she's always thought Noelle didn't share those feelings. Perhaps she was tolerant of her at best. Every time Noelle seemed to show anything that could be perceived as a sign, she tried to rationalise it. She was a blushing, stuttering mess that day because OBVIOUSLY she was on to their Dark World adventures. And not because she... had a crush on Susie. Susie, the bully of Hometown. The thought of someone so... awesome, liking someone so... awful, kinda disgusted her. She has so many better options, even now. That mom of hers is probably having her married off to some rich dude in the future, anyway. Someone who's actually up to Noelle's standards.
Well, if Noelle wants to marry downwards, she thinks, that's entirely her choice. If Susie of all people is what makes her happy, then she can't really stop her. She has little time left anyway, so... she'll try and make the most of the situation. Heh. 'Love finds its way towards the girl'? More like 'The girl finds her way towards love'!
She sees the festival has already started. There are Christmas decorations everywhere. They make her think of Noelle, making her feel warmer than Christmas decorations should probably hope to achieve. The streets are littered with people and booths and games, and, somewhere in Hometown... the ferris wheel. But first, Noelle.
She heads over to the Holiday mansion's gate. There's no doorbell or anything. She feels the urge to climb over, or just... walk past the gate. It doesn't seem to be that protected from the sides anyway. She could just go through the trees.
But she, instead, screams Noelle's name to the heavens, trying to reach her.
"NOELLE!!! ARE YOU AWAKE!?!?!?"
Thank goodness she can be loud. She hears a faint shout from the other side. She can't quite make out the details.
"AWESOME! SEE YA!!!" she yells. And so, she waits. And she waits. And then, Noelle walks up from behind the gate, sliding open for her. She sees that Noelle dressed appropriately for the occasion... Basically, her in a Santa outfit. A red suit, a red skirt, and a red, pointy hat, her antlers sticking out of holes on the sides. Additionally, she carries with her a faint scene of peppermint and pine trees. And she feels small in comparison. Susie herself only has her regular old, tattered clothes, and a helping of deodorant to use as a makeshift perfume.
Also, while Susie liked Noelle in dark makeup (seriously, that CD's the only good thing Susie can thank that furball for), she has to admit that this is good too. It's actually pretty hot, even.
"Uhh, Susie!" she says, her confidence clearly wavering. "Uhh, not really sure what's 'awesome' about..." she points to her hat, "trying and failing to get this stupid thing on," she laughs awkwardly, "but thanks. I, uhh, appreciate you're here."
"Huh? Oh, uhh..." she stammers. Crap, she already made a bad first impression. "Thanks," she says, buying herself a little more time to plan her next move.
Right, she has to flirt with Noelle. She's only tried flirting a few times, and it... was god-awful, but with Noelle, she could definitely produce something great. So, she clears her throat.
"Hey, uhh, Noelle?" she asks, smiling.
"Yeah?"
"Uhh..." only saying something she wants people to say to her doesn't seem to work amazingly, so she thinks extra hard on this. The silence, and her confusion, only bring pressure.
"Are you a railroad?" she asks. Noelle tilts her head. Susie continues, scratching her head, "Because I, uhh... really want to run a train on you."
And suddenly, Noelle gets completely red in the face, and she jumps in shock. "Y-Y-YOU WHAT???"
"Uhh," she says, realising she probably screwed up, "You know, because trains are cool? And, since you'd be a railroad, the train would ride on you?"
"S-SUSIE? Wh-What are you saying?" she asks, her face carved into a massive, uncomfortable smile. Her face is still strongly reminiscent of a tomato. Did Susie say something weird there...? Well, she'll really have to try and salvage the situation now.
"A-And, well I think railroads are awesome, laying on the ground, uhh, waiting to be... used by a train. You know?"
'Y-YEAH???"
Good, now she's getting somewhere, "And, you know railroads have, uhh... nice curves. That a train would, uhh..." she struggles thinking of a suitable word, "come on to. Like, again and again. And the railroad would keep waiting for more. Which is, obviously fuckin' awesome, isn't it?"
Noelle's just looking at Susie, with a cute, almost out-there smile on her face.
"...Yeah. It is," she says. And then she realises what she responded to and how she responded, and immediately backpedals, "Uhh, Susie, do you know what you said?" she asks.
"Uhh, yeah?" Susie asks, "I mean, trains are cool, aren't they?"
"They are, but... Gosh, that was definitely an experience! Fahaha!"
"Me talking about trains is an experience to you?" she asks, blushing a little at what is probably a compliment.
"...Susie, you said you wanted to run a train on me! Do..." her voice grows quiet, "Do you even know what that means?"
"...Wait, is it supposed to mean something?"
"It's... It's... a euphemism, for," she almost whispers, "having sex."
"Wait," Susie asks, trying to process what she just heard. "WHAT THE FUCK? D-DID I JUST SAY that... I-I wanted to... have sex with you or something?"
"Oh, you sure did! I mean, you weren't subtle or anything. Gosh, the train 'riding' me, me having 'nice curves' that the train would 'come on to again and again. And uhh, 'waiting on the ground to be used by a train', that too. I mean, I-I wouldn't be-'"
"Wait, you know a euphemism for sex?" she asks, the thought just having popped up in her mind.
"W-Well, yeah! I mean, I-I'm a teenager too, you know? Uhh, please don't tell mom, by the way."
"...Wow," she says, her mind utterly blown. "Uhh, yeah, no, don't worry. Your mom's never gonna know. And, uhh..." she trails off, realising this is the perfect chance to deliver her finishing blow to Noelle. Maybe, she could totally steal her heart with this.
"Look, I know I accidentally, INSINUATED those things, but..." she puts on a smile, "Heh. Let's just say I'm not entirely against it."
"R-REALLY???" Noelle screams, sounding as if she's about to explode.
"Really. Gotta be honest, Noelle, I, I always looked up to you. And, well, I realised, I do like you. I'd love to make this a date."
"Uhh... YES! Yes yes yes I want this to be a date too!"
"Uhh, cool. Let's date."
If there's one thing she'll give that damned Prophecy, it's that it forced her to basically speedrun getting into a relationship with Noelle. She had to do this, what with the little time she had. Walking around with Noelle like this, meandering about on topics that vary wildly in significance, it feels completely different from doing it with Kris. She feels bad about ditching Kris, but she knows they'll have Berdly. Always thought the two had SOMETHING going on, anyway. Noelle's adorable outfit that she has to admit is really attractive, her passionate ramblings about a game she now knows is based on the Prophecy, they're all worth protecting to Susie.
She is absolutely not letting anything bad happen to her.