Chapter Text
Noelle was used to watching Kris, observing their little twitches, and noticing things no one else did. She’d done it since they were kids. It started with a quick glance… then a few long looks until eventually she would be looking for so long she started creeping herself out. It was only for Kris, though. Noelle wouldn’t be caught dead looking at anyone else like, uh, Berdly that way. She wasn’t doing it to get something from Kris or even to understand them better. She just did it.
Noelle liked it like that. When it was just the two of them.
Kris was unaware most of the time, always avoiding eye contact, usually somewhere in their own world. It wasn’t that they were a bad listener; in fact, they picked up on the slightest change in Noelle’s tone, sometimes even before she did. They just never looked too deep.
But again, Noelle liked it like that. When it was just them.
Kris-watching, as she had coined it, only worked when Kris didn’t look back at her. Which, of course, was common. It wasn’t that Kris didn’t like her; it was just the way Kris was. Her mother often criticised that, telling Kris from a very young age they should ‘act normal’ around their friends. It never bothered them though, which Noelle was more than envious of. She wishes she could ignore her mother, but she didn’t have it in her. Especially not after Dess…
She knew she owed her mother respect.
Kris and Dess didn’t seem to think so, though. They were so similar, more than Noelle had realised when Dess was still… Noelle thought it was sweet, cute even, that Kris copied Dess down to Dess’ walk. A memory that often came to mind was when Dess was doing.. recreational.. activities, Kris had seen her in the garden. The next day, Kris almost set fire to their garden trying to copy what Dess was doing. Noelle let out a laugh, picturing little Kris’s not-so-innocent face staring at her parents trying to put out the fire.
“Er, what’s so funny, N-Noelle?” a timid voice broke her out of her daydream, snapping her back to reality. Right. Class.
“U-Uh,” she stammered, flushing as she felt eyes from the rest of the class behind her.
“Miss Alphys!” A shrill voice rang out from beside her, taking the teachers’ attention off her. She sighed and shrank back into her chair. She usually couldn’t stand Berdly, but she was thankful for his conceitedness in times like this.
“Apologies, but I believe Noelle couldn’t help laughing at my side-splitting joke!” Berdly remarked, grinning at her. Great.
“O-Okay.. next time, er, maybe share it, er, with the class, Berdly?” Miss Alphys had a blank expression, then turned back to the chalkboard. “A-Anyways, before tomorrow, I-I expect everyone to have r-read up to Chapter 3. O-Or as much.. As much as you can.”
Noelle smiled at her, nodding to reassure her that at least one of her students was listening to her.
“C-Class dismissed!” She squeaked, tables and chairs shuffling quickly. Noelle got up, picking her messenger bag up and slowly putting her things away.
“Elle.” A familiar voice said from behind her. Noelle bit back a smile. Kris. She swivelled around, pens still in hand.
“Kris!” She said, less casually than she wanted to. “H-How are you?”
Kris shrugged, then walked over to her and opened her bag.
“R-Right, I’ll try to be quicker next time.” She beamed slightly, putting the rest of her stuff away. Kris somehow managed to pack up quicker than everyone, almost as if they never even took their books out. Which, now that Noelle thought about it, was probably the case.
Kris stood anything but still, tapping their fingertips against each other, swaying back and forth as Noelle zipped her bag shut. She glanced over to their eyes and saw they were intently watching something. Or someone.
“Yo, Kris!” a loud voice rang out from the direction Kris was looking.
“Susie,” Kris replied, monotonously but with a smile on their face. Susie came over and put her arm on their shoulder, shifting her weight.
“How was class, dorks?” She grinned, looking over at Noelle. Shoot. Noelle was fine with eye contact, usually, but when it came to Susie, it was different.
“Faha, it was g-good!” She chirped, her voice noticeably a higher pitch. Why did she have no control over her voice?
Kris and Susie both looked at each other, then back at her, before letting out a roar of a laugh. Noelle’s ears were red now, as she slung her bag on her shoulder and looked at her feet. It was embarrassing, of course it was. But she didn’t mind. Not when it was Susie, and definitely not when it was Kris.
Noelle couldn’t be upset hearing Kris’ laugh. It took her back to when they were kids. Back to when Kris’ laugh was quieter, like it was meant just for her.
The laugh Kris had now was louder, unrestrained. It didn’t need her there to exist.
Susie nudged Noelle, then Kris. “Come on, nerds, one of you has to do my homework for me.” She chuckled, heading towards the classroom door.
Noelle giggled; Susie had such contagious energy it was hard not to. Kris grinned, then glanced over at Noelle. Who was, obviously, already looking at them. They cocked their head slightly, then glanced over at Susie, who was already by the door. Noelle knew that meant, ‘Come on, Elly.’ Kris’ kid voice rang in her ears.
As she made her way to the door, trailing behind Kris, she couldn’t help but notice the way they followed Susie. Kris wasn’t a stranger to behaving.. puppylike, but the way they followed Susie felt different. More trusting than usual. Like even if they didn’t know where they were going, it was okay because Susie was leading the way.
Noelle couldn’t say she disagreed. Susie had only recently come into their lives, but the impact she made was undeniable. She was a loud, loving, aggressive presence that both Kris and Noelle had needed. She was the balance. Not that Kris and Noelle needed balance.
They walked out of the school, to the library, she assumed. For the first time, Noelle wasn’t sure who she was following. Her eyes shifted back and forth between Kris and Susie, their heads both bobbing weirdly in sync as they walked. It was funny, she never noticed how tiny Kris was until they stood next to Susie. Noelle was tall, sure, but Susie was a giant. Her antlers barely reached Susie’s chin. She wondered if Kris had ever even seen the top of Susie’s head. That curiosity turned into banter very quickly.
“Kris, have you ever even seen Susie’s head from down there, faha?” She giggled way too hard at her own joke, as Susie began to laugh too.
“Wow, Noelle, harsh.” Susie howled, that loud, bellowing laugh from earlier. Noelle felt a smile creeping back onto her face.
Kris just stared at both of them, squinting. They tilted their head up exaggeratedly, then stood on their tiptoes and stared straight at Susie’s head. They held that position for a few seconds, as both Noelle and Susie were laughing watching them. They pouted slightly and shook their head, dropping back to their normal slouched posture.
Susie put her arm around Kris, ruffling their hair a bit.
“Don’t be sad, dude. At least being short means you uh..” She trailed off, glancing to Noelle for help.
Noelle thought for a second before exclaiming, “It means you can save money? On kids' shoes?”
Kris stopped in their tracks. They turned their head towards Noelle, creepily. Noelle simpered, if this was anyone else, she would already be halfway across town. But it was Kris.
“Oh come on, nerd, enough of the aurafarming.” Susie lightly punched their arm and kept walking. Kris let out a quiet chuckle, tapping their fingers against Susie’s back. Kris loved that word, for some reason. Noelle thought it was silly, but she thought that about most of the stuff ‘kids’ said nowadays. But she’d never admit that, it sounded way too pretentious.
The trio finally made it to the library, and the doors loomed ahead of them. The sunlight reflecting faintly off the glass. As they made their way inside, Noelle felt more excited than usual. It was nice to be here with both of them, it felt warm. Safe.
The afternoon stretched before them, and as they all (other than Noelle) begrudgingly got their books out, a not-so-focused study session began.
–
By the time Noelle got home, the sky was dark, and the street lamps hummed gently on her walk home.
She had thought about going to see her dad before heading home, but she knew he’d be resting, and she didn’t want to risk it by getting home any later than she was already.
She approached the front doors, the ‘grand entrance’, and held her breath. Noelle hoped her mother was still working, she didn’t want to have an argument about whether or not she was hanging out with a ‘delinquent’ again. She walked in, her chest tight, and let out a sigh of relief. Empty. Thank goodness.
Noelle locked the door behind her and sped towards her room, ready to sleep. She did her normal nightly routine: switch the lights on, brush her teeth, floss twice, wash her face, switch the lights off, change into her PJs, and get under the covers. She smiled as she lay down in her warm bed, letting the duvet swallow her.
Her eyes felt heavy, and within minutes she was knocked out.
Noelle opened her eyes to darkness, then a familiar flash of colour. She was back.