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This might be the longest conversation of my life.
Susie and Kris had just gone to Noelle's house to look for the shelter code, and Susie was trying to keep Noelle busy while Kris was investigating on their own.
Problem was: talking with Noelle is always so. Damn. Awkward for Susie.
It wasn't that she didn't like her -- far from it, actually! Noelle was fantastic! A part of Susie just didn't know how to act around her. She always got so flustered, like her presence was lifting every social cue out of her brain.
So far, she's listened to Noelle describe her "dream" as if it wasn't real, confused her by talking about Kris's flirting skills that they've apparently never used in the Light World, and then further confused her by alluding to Ralsei's existence!
You're very smooth, Susie.
Okay, you can still salvage it, though. Look around the room. There's gotta be a conversation starter here somewhere.
A quick glance around Noelle's sister's bedroom drew Susie's attention to a framed photo on the wall of a young Kris and Noelle on a Ferris wheel together, presumably at some sort of carnival.
When she saw it, Susie felt her stomach flutter with butterflies, her memories of Cyber World floating through her mind.
Guess you're a Ferris wheel person, huh, Noelle?
...Not sure why I'm so focused on this, but, you know what? There should be a story in here somewhere.
"So, um...I noticed that there's like, this photo of you and Kris on the wall?" Susie stammered out.
Get a grip, Sus. She's just a girl.
Noelle looked towards the photo, gasped, and smiled. "Oh my Gosh, that photo's so old that I forgot about it!"
"I didn't know you were, like, um...close, I guess."
"Oh, we, um...we..." Noelle's cheeks flushed. "We're just neighbors, so we ended up seeing each other a lot. That's all."
Wait, why does SHE look nervous now?
God damn it, did I strike a nerve? Did I fuck it up somehow?
"Okay, but like, in the photo, you were kinda like, riding a Ferris wheel together?" Susie mentioned.
You looked happy. Let's talk about something happy.
Noelle giggled. "Yeah, that was kinda, you know...forced."
...Forced? What does that mean?
"So, riding a Ferris wheel together...doesn't mean anything to you?" Susie asked, trying her best to hide the disappointed tone in her voice.
"Umm, maybe not if it's like...just like a forced thing?"
"Oh..."
Well, I guess it doesn't matter. She doesn't even realize our moment was real, anyway. Why should a dream mean that much to someone?
Then again, I guess if it mattered that little, I wouldn't be this upset about her waking words.
...Why AM I so upset, anyway?
"I mean, yeah, obviously. It's just a ride," Susie quickly tacked on, so that Noelle wouldn't think she was a weirdo who gets sad about ridiculous things. "So, hypothetically, if was somebody else, you wouldn't..."
"I mean..." Noelle quickly cut her off, louder than Susie expected. She then cleared her throat and continued: "Maybe it has more to do with how the people in the wheel feel? So, even if it is forced..."
Susie nodded and giggled, realizing what Noelle was saying and suddenly feeling excited again. "Alright. Cool."
Well, THAT certainly perked your mood up!
She still doesn't know she was awake. You DO realize that, right?
I don't know what's worse, the fact that I'll never know how she felt back then, or the fact that I may not ever know how she feels now that she's "awake."
It's moments like these where sealing Dark Fountains seems less complicated, in comparison to dealing with other people...or your own VERY strange feelings towards another person...
Okay, I think it's time to divert the conversation again.