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Things are better, now, Kris knows, that Susie will look them in the eye without sneering.
Things are better, now, Susie knows, that she’s not alone in the world, that Kris is by her side.
And yet, they can’t help but wish things were still as they were, the two of them alone after class, Susie tormenting Kris as they sit and take it, the taste of apple on both their tongues. The knowledge that this will not end well.
After all, Susie will bite to their core eventually, find their bitter seeds, leave them to rot.
After all, Kris will see her for herself, find her bruises and blemishes, leave her for the next in line to raise her battered hopes.
It would be easier, they both think, if they had stayed that way forever. If they’d never gotten attached, if they’d never made themselves vulnerable.
But Kris has a duty to fill.
But Susie has hope crossed on her heart.
They just hope against hope it doesn’t kill them, in the end.