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The lake.
It was their escape.
Their escape from everything.
No matter what was happening at home, it didn't matter when they got there.
Castle Town used to be their escape. Susie remembers when even Ralsei said that Castle Town could be "a place that [they] can go...no matter what's happening outside."
And Susie took that and ran with it.
Because sometimes the outside was too hard to deal with.
Although, when summer break began and the school was locked up, Susie and Kris had to find another escapade.
So, one day they went to the lake. They never talked, yet it felt like they never needed to talk. If they wanted to talk, they’d go somewhere more social. But the lake was for them and their thoughts only. It was for just relishing in the comfort of each other, without any rules or regulations.
It was a place just for the two of them.
Just hearing the lap of the water against the bank was enough for Susie to think that just for now, everything would be okay.
Seeing Kris beside her just gave her an even deeper sense of comfort and peace. Their stoic nature was almost contagious. Whenever Susie was feeling overwhelmed, Kris always managed to put her at ease.
They were sitting beside her, just silently gazing at the water like it was the most important thing in the world. Deep down, she wished they would stare at her like that sometimes. Yet, she’d never admit it to herself.
Their chocolate-colored hair fluttered in the wind, often obscuring their face. Every once in a while, Susie caught a glance of their enticing, apple-red eyes.
Susie never failed to notice that every time they returned to the lake, Kris always sat a little closer to her.
She never minded. She wouldn’t be lying if she said she wished she had the courage to do the same.
Right now, they sat just close enough that their shoulders brushed. Susie tried to keep down that yearning feeling of wanting to sit closer to them.
She pushed down a lot of her feelings. But sometimes they'd become too much and overcome her tough-girl façade.
She scooted a little bit closer to Kris. Now their thighs were touching and their shoulders were pressed a little bit closer.
Kris glanced at her as she did so, their eyes widening slightly in surprise.
Susie tried to act like nothing happened. "What?" She brushed some of her bangs out of her eyes.
Kris just turned their gaze back to the lake, rolling their eyes slightly. She caught a hint of a smile on their face… and was that a smidge of pink on their cheek?
Nah, she was probably just imagining it. Susie thought, a warm feeling spreading throughout her body as she noticed that Kris had scooted closer as well. She glanced over.
"What?" Kris mocked her, trying to mimic her voice. The smile on their face grew.
Susie snorted. "Whatever, nerd." She could feel her face heating up. She turned away and brushed some of her bangs to obscure her face.
It’s nice for it to just be me and Kris. No one else. No problems. No pressure to talk. No Titans or Roaring Knights to fight. Just us and the lake…
Of course, their more memorable moments were when they were causing chaos or on an adventure. But moments like this were just as important. Moments like these she looked forward to. Each time they--
Her thoughts were interrupted by a weight placed on her shoulder. Susie froze in place.
She looked down. Kris had laid their head on her shoulder. Their bangs covered half of their face, but she could just barely see their eyes gently closed. It was hard to tell, but they seemed to be asleep.
Her face turned a deeper shade of purple. Heh, guess they were really tired. She thought as she warmly gazed down at their peaceful form. I don’t blame ‘em. All that prophecy stuff was a lot for us. . .
She looked down at them again.
Sh-should I place my head atop theirs? She thought suddenly. I mean, I don’t want them to get the wrong idea, but they’re asleep, right? She looked down at them once more to be sure. Yeah, no, I should be safe.
After much consideration, she placed her head atop theirs. It was surprisingly comfortable. When she breathed in, she could smell their intoxicating scent of cinnamon and apples. I wonder if I smell like anything to them . . .
Man I really hope they aren't actually awake right now. Susie thought as she pushed her snout further into their hair to sniff their scent more deeply.
I really don't know what I'd do without you, Kris. Susie hoped humans couldn't read minds. You pulled me from the depths.
It was true, but in reality, hadn't they really pulled each other from the depths?
Susie remembered watching them fall asleep every day in class. She remembered how exhausted and depressed they had looked all the time. She remembered how she did the same, how she felt the same.
She remembered that she had bullied them.
Susie tensed up as the thought crossed her mind. She grabbed the edge of her jacket and curled her claws into it.
She remembered that they did nothing wrong. They hardly had ever spoken to her. Yet, she still bullied them.
It was out of fear. Growing up in a town with all humans, she was bullied ruthlessly. So, when she moved to Hometown, she targeted Kris out of fear.
I never even gave them a chance. Susie breathed out shame.
"Kris, I'm sorry for bullying you back then. I was…nervous, is all. I-I'm really sorry." She prayed to the Angel that her voice had fallen upon deaf ears. She really didn’t want anyone hearing this.
Unfortunately, the Angel was not in her favor today. "'S okay, Suz. I know."
She jumped and pulled her head from where it had rested on Kris's, "Y-you're awake?!"
"Half-awake," they mumbled sleepily, "and, do I really smell that good?"
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Dude, you literally shoved your whole snout into my hair." They chuckled softly.
"I was...checking for lice." Susie mumbled.
"Sure you were."
Susie, her face still beet red, laughed nervously.
Their head was still nestled in her shoulder. It felt nice. Neither of them were usually big on physical contact, but they both enjoyed this.
Susie froze as she felt a small hand on the left side of her head. The hand gently pushed her head back on top of Kris's.
"It's comforting," Kris mumbled an explanation, their cheeks tinged with red.
Susie smiled, "Whatever you say."
They sat like that for a while. A good, long, needed while, until Susie decided she had to acknowledge it.
“Hey, Kris…?”
“Yeah?”
“I, uh, meant it. Y’know, the thing I said before? I really hope you know how bad I feel about it. Nothing could justify bullying you. A-and you don’t have to forgive me or anything—”
"Susie." Kris muttered. They picked their head up from her shoulder.
“—was a real asshole to you, so you don’t have to keep being my friend or anything, but I—”
"Susie." A bit louder this time.
"It was nothing personal. It's just when I was—"
"Susie!" Kris gripped her by the shoulders.
Susie's golden eyes glittered with tears she hadn’t even noticed, "Wh-what?"
"Susie." They said again. "It's okay. I know. But the thing is it doesn't matter anymore."
It...doesn't matter? Susie thought. Of course it matters!
Just as she opened her mouth to say that, Kris shushed her. “Of course, it’s important to acknowledge and stuff, but your past doesn’t define you. The only thing that matters is that you became better. We’re friends now. You've been the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Shit, did I really just say that? Kris mentally slapped themselves. They caught the wide, stunned look on Susie’s face and quickly mumbled, “I mean . . . I mean it. Don't dig up the past, Susie, it'll only bring harm upon yourself.”
A tear fell from her eye. Kris reached a hand up to her cheek and brushed it away.
“Y-y’know, you’re too good for me, man.” Susie mumbled, her face heating up. She liked how soft their fingers were. “Really, I don’t deserve you.”
Kris just smiled softly and shrugged. They dragged their hand away from her cheek and plopped their head back down on her shoulder. She slowly rested her head back down in response.
“As long as we’re friends forever, I won’t hold anything against you.” Kris muttered after a stretch of silence.
“Then, I guess you’re stuck with me forever.” Susie chuckled, her face burning up. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on their waist and pulled them in closer.
Susie saw a soft smile form on their face. Susie grinned and gazed back at the shimmering lake, silently thanking it for this moment. It seemed to glitter back at her in response.
She breathed in their scent slowly. Forever could never be enough with a friend like you.