Chapter Text
The cool air brushed lightly against Kris’s face as they turned back toward the open window, lifting a few strands of hair from their eyes. Everything was still, so still that they could hear the pulse in their own ears. Their phone lay on the floor behind them and they gave it one last glance. That promise, clawing relentlessly at their thoughts. Beyond them, a light shone from the cage.
Kris turned away at last and set one leg on the ledge, then the other, hauling themself upward with some effort. Just for tonight, they would try to forget it all, if only for a little while. They looked down at the ground below. Could they even make the descent, weakened as they were without the soul? For a moment they imagined slipping, losing their balance, the drop opening beneath them..
Kris shook their head and pressed closer to the wall, fingers tightening against the rough surface.
They drew in a breath and eased themself down. With great care, they climbed the side of the building, using the protrusions set into the stone, until at last they dropped to the floor below. Their feet struck the concrete with a dull thud, and a sting shot across their feet. They stood there for a moment, gathering themself as best they could, before walking over to where Susie waited.
"Took you long enough, dumbass."
Susie let out a scoff as the words left her mouth. She'd been leaning against the wall beside the front door, one boot pressed flat against the brick behind her. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest. She looked up at Kris through lowered brows, wearing an annoyed expression - though it was hard to tell if she really was or was just pretending to be.
Pushing herself off the wall, she crossed the short distance between them with her usual heavy stride.
Kris muttered, rubbing the back of their neck. "Had to wait until everyone was asleep."
"Yeah, yeah." Susie rolled her eyes. "C'mon."
Without waiting for another word, she shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and headed toward the lake. Kris hesitated for a short moment before trailing behind her.
The streets were empty. All the lights in the house windows were off, save for one or two. A television flickered behind the curtains of one house, washing a living room in shifting blue light. A loose newspaper skittered across the pavement when the breeze picked up, scraping softly before snagging against a curb. Neither of them spoke.
By the time they reached the lake, the moon had climbed high enough to paint a silver path across the water. The surface occasionally rippled, spreading outward. She dropped onto the cool ground near the edge of the lake, resting her forearms on her knees. Kris sat beside her a second later, slouched over.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Susie said, glancing out over the dark water. “Like, the whole dark world thing? It’s just us. Nobody else in town knows. That’s messed up, but also… kinda cool, right?”
Kris nodded along, eyes fixed on the lake. They felt weak and heavy. The amount of effort that was required to keep themself upright gradually increaded by the minute. Their attention stayed on the immediate problem of not looking like they were about to collapse. They couldnt let her see them like that.
Susie broke off and squinted at them. “Dude,” she said, in a quieter tone of voice “You’re shaking. Are you cold or something?”
Kris shook their head at once, nervously looking over.
Susie gave them a skeptical look. “No?”
She reached up and pulled her jacket off in one quick motion, then leaned over to settle it around both of their shoulders, so that they could share it.
Kris felt their face heat up immediately. They looked away toward the water, trying very hard not to seem nervous by Susie being this close. “..Thank you.” They spoke quietly. Susie huffed a little. “Yeah, sure.” Then she looked back out at the lake and kept talking as if nothing had happened.
“Anyway, it’s kind of crazy that we’re the only ones who know about it. That’s got to mean something, right? Not in a super dramatic way. Just… I don’t know, its our thing.”
Kris watched her, the moonlight caught the edge of Susie's face as she looked out across the water. A few strands of hair shifted with the breeze, brushing against her forehead before settling again. Kris felt their stomach tighten. When did they become like this? So aware of her hands, her voice, her face. They knew they were being stupid, but it did not make the feeling go away.
Susie turned their head look them and, after a moment, smiled unevenly. "I guess... what I mean is... I'm glad we found it together, I'm glad it was you."
She scratched the back of her neck. "And, um... I do appreciate you a lot, Kris. You, uh, you mean a lot to me, man."
Kris swallowed, their throat felt tight. It took them a second to answer. They nodded in response and spoke slowly “Yeah. I appreciate you too.”
Susie’s smile widened, and for a long moment neither of them said anything.
The lake lapped softly against the shore. The wind had died, leaving only the chorus of crickets somewhere beyond the trees. Under the shared jacket, Kris could feel the warmth from Susie's shoulder.
Their hand shifted, barely an inch, until it rested just a little closer to hers in the grass. Susie didn't look away.
The moon caught in her golden eyes, and Kris forgot what they had been about to say. Their pulse thudded in their ears as they held her gaze, suddenly aware of how little space there was between them.
A rustle came from the trees behind them. Both of them startled and turned at once. It was only a bird, taking off from a branch with a quick burst of wings, then vanishing into the dark.
They both looked away. The air between them went strange.
Susie cleared her throat and stared hard at the lake. “Yeah,” she said, forcing a little laugh that did not quite land. “So. Anyway. As I was saying… aha.”
-
Susie talked the whole time, drifting from one subject to the next without really landing on any of them. She rambled about things that had happened at school, something she had seen in town, a stupid thought that had come to her earlier. Kris listened as always, nodding now and then and adding a short comment or a small story of their own when it seemed to fit. At some point they both lay back on the grass and looked up at the sky. Susie had kept them there longer than she meant to. Even when the black overhead started to give way and a gray light spread over the water, she still did not want to leave.
Later, she sat up and watched the sun rise out of the water. She rubbed one eye with the heel of her hand and sighed. “Alright,” she said. “We should probably head back.” She glanced over at Kris. They were still stretched out on the grass, eyes shut, face turned toward the paling sky. Susie leaned over and nudged their shoulder. “Hey. C’mon, man.”
In the morning light, she could see how bad they looked. Their face had gone flat and colorless, the skin under their eyes pale and washed out. Susie’s eyes widened. She shook their shoulder, then again harder, “Kris??”
Kris’s eyes opened slowly, looking at her weakly. “Jesus, man, you look awful,” Susie said, relieved to see they were not passed out or worse. “Okay, come on. Let me get you home.”
She got to her feet and helped Kris up with both hands under their arms. They sagged against her at first, and she had to shift her grip and brace herself to keep them steady. Their feet dragged a little through the grass. She moved them higher against her shoulder and put an arm gently around their back, walking them slowly along the path while the morning brightened around them.
By the time they reached the house, the sky had gone from gray to pale gold, and the windows were starting to catch the light. At Kris’s window, Susie helped them up as best she could. “You got it from here, right?” she asked, failing to hide how worried she was. “You need a boost or something?”
Kris shook their head and turned toward the wall, silent. Susie waited until they had started getting through before she finally stepped back, still looking over her shoulder as she headed away.
-
Kris climbed in through the window and dropped to the floor with a dull thud. For a moment they stayed there, one hand pressed to the wood, breathing shallowly. They pulled themselves to the bed and sat down heavily, their whole body weak with exhaustion.
Their mind kept returning to Susie’s face in the moonlight, the way she had looked at them then, with her sharp teeth bared happily. A small smile came to their mouth before they could stop it.
Were they imagining it? Were they reading too much into things because they wanted something they had no right to want? It would be selfish to want Susie to themself. It would be selfish and cruel, especially with Noelle there between them. The thought dug a pit in their stomach. Love was not something they had room for. They had a promise to keep.
Kris stood and walked to the cage. They opened it. For one long moment they held their soul in their hand and stared at it. Then, before they could think too hard about what they were doing, they forced it back into their chest.