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Today at school, Kris was with Susie, again. How have they become so close? It must've been 2 days. It wasn’t fair, she’d pinned been intrigued by Susie way longer than Kris. Or maybe not. What if all those times Susie told them terrible things they actually liked it??
She feels more lost than anything, writing in her little pink diary. Kris has been getting farther and farther ever since, but she still considered them her close friend, almost like family. Well, never exactly family, just, as strong.
The sound of a phone notification shook Noelle.
Kris :3
“8PM
skate
near river
you coming?”
Waw, always so curt, she thought. She hummed, would it really be worth possibly getting in trouble?
Kris :3
“Susie’s coming”
It’s worth it.
Well, now she had to escape dinner with her mother.
Another notification surprises her. I should really mute it, she thought.
Mother
“I have to work until late. There are left overs in the fridge. Eat and go to sleep before 8PM, I will be home around 10PM.”
Well, she didn’t have to deal with this now. She has two hours with her friends. Two hours with Susie..
It was only 6PM, she had two hours to think of how to dress…
It’s harder than you think when you don’t admit to yourself that you want to impress someone.
Two hours later she choses one of her darker skirts, with some dark tights and some ripped band tee Dess once diy-ed her. She knew the band, she just hadn’t listened to them in a long time. Her mother didn’t like to see her with headphones. But she should try it again.
She wanted to have a grungier style, they were going to skate after all, or at least, watching Susie and Kris skate. She didn’t know how to skate herself and didn’t own a board. A long time ago, Dess had tried to teach her and Kris. Kris wanted absolutely to play the obstacle for her. But she didn’t know how to skate at that point so she just kept running into them.
And another point for the grungier style, Susie would think she is cool, probably. God, she was starting to overthink her outfit. She didn’t want to wear makeup, not wanting to think about taking it off once she got back home. She still had a button up shirt over it, open of course, starting to feel self conscious about dressing so different from usual.
She ate the food her mother left her. and put on her shoes. She took a deep breath and opened the door, it was dark outside, it has been for a certain time now.
On route for the rendez-vous, she was scared to be here too early. But she quickly saw her friends talking, sat on some picnic tables. They were looking at the water.
“All I’m saying is, ….” Susie was saying to Kris, low, almost conspiratory. Of course, the human didn’t answer, but Susie knew it meant they acknowledged what she said. Kris wasn’t the talkative kind sure, but she could always decipher their silence, at least Susie could.
“Hum hii” the young deer finally said once she realised Kris’ silence was an answer, fearing interrupting their discussion.
Susie turned around, a big smile full of sharp teeth faced her.
“You’re here! Great” She tapped Kris’s arm, who hadn’t turned around yet. They turned only their head to Noelle, who awkwardly smiled and waved to them.
“Well, the team is complete, let’s move!” Susie said happily, standing up, taking her skateboard under her arm.
Weirdly, after that strange dream, Noelle did feel closer to Susie. Which really helped because trying to skate for the second time in your life was embarrassing. This time at least Kris wasn’t tripping her. But it was fun to try again and Susie was really motivating. And it was really fun to see Susie skate, she was so fast, Noelle was a bit scared that she’d hurt herself. Kris on their end was pretty good at it, but in a different way, almost elegantly. She recognized Asriel’s skateboard. Watching them skate was a bit silly, but still fun, she followed them on foot. Occasionally they would encourage her to use their skateboard, mostly Susie.
Even if Kris did propose, when Susie was having fun on her own, trying some small figures. They had come up to Noelle, pushing their, Asirel’s, board towards her with their foot. She caught it with hers. They looked at her, and she understood the question before they even opened their mouth.
“It’s really nice to offer but you’ve seen how I’m shaking on this, it’s a lost cause.” She laughed at herself, she did feel ridiculous about it.
“I’ll secure you.” Well, Kris had seen her be ridiculous on Susie’s board, and Susie wasn’t looking anymore, so why not try again. She was here to have fun after all!
She wasn’t expecting Kris “securing” to involve so much touching.
“You need to be more confident when you stride, and focus on your balance.” They said, putting their hand on the small of her back. They talked so clinically, almost cold, explaining what she should be doing, but strangely she couldn’t focus, the heat of their hand piercing through her shirt and clouding her mind.
Susie yelled at them to come to her, which saved Noelle from this confusing situation. She got off Kris’ skateboard and giggled something about how “Susie is waiting for us”. She walked quickly to Susie, and Kris followed close behind.
Susie and her loud personality quickly made her forget about what happened and all the questions she asked herself.
Kris was never the talkative type. She could just understand them without them saying anything.
So when she saw how they looked at Susie she understood. She understood she lost. She didn’t even know what she lost yet. Just that she did.
Susie was laughing, seeming oblivious to Kris’s light smile and the shine in their eyes. The way they were always so close to her.
What could’ve happened in these 3 days for it to go that way. She always had a dormant crush for Susie, the trills of the bad girl. Even if sometimes she was going too far. She always made your heartbeat go faster.
But what she thought when she saw the scene wasn’t how sad she was that Susie couldn’t be hers, no, it was how she played in the sand with Kris when she was younger. They’d always find a way to put sand in her hair, but she found it funny at the time, the way they teased her.
It made her laugh how she could see the surprise in their face when she didn’t start crying but rather laugh, and try to reciprocate. Growing up she became more squeamish but the way they always cared about her reaction made her feel some kind of special. And how they immediately came to her help if they felt like she didn’t like the joke.
You also remember this prank. You both were young, six maybe. They’d made paper rings for you and them, and asked you to marry them. You said yes, because you loved playing in their prank and little scenarios, always made life more fun, no other reason. And to seal the marriage, they kissed you. A small peak on the lips, barely touched them. But you froze, and they immediately, despite their limited range of emotion, seemed worried for you. Then you laughed, because that’s what you always did. You’ve felt something you couldn’t understand at that time, and something you don’t want to try understanding now.
Especially now.
Susie laughed at Kris’ one word response and they snickered with her. And at this moment, behind them, so close, you felt unnecessary. They were good together. What was she even doing here?
A paper ring, which would have never stood long and a kiss that never meant anything. That’s what she was holding onto. What an idiot.
You remembered your dream. The one in this strange place, a cyber city. It was fun being with them all, Susie, and Kris.
You all continued to walk around town, avoiding the city hall, laughing together, despite this feeling creeping up in her.
“Well, it was so fun, but I’m getting really tired, Imma head out” Susie unceremoniously said. Yeah, she is right, it will soon be 10PM, she’d have to go home quickly too.
“We can walk you there, huh Kris?” She didn’t want to leave Susie yet, she felt like she hadn’t really fully taken advantage of the fact they were together outside of class.
“Oh hum yeah no I can’t, wellI have to go byye.” Susie seemed a bit embarrassed and left quickly.
Oh, she wouldn’t say she expected that. Now it was just her and Kris.
“Let’s go.” Kris said and started walking before Noelle could confirm anything. Well, they had almost the same road to make so it made sense that they would tag along with her. She walked a bit faster to catch up to them.
“Sooo, you and Susie?” She couldn’t figure out why she asked them that, was it hurt herself?
“Mmh?” Kris answered, in a very Kris fashion.
“I mean, I’m not blind fahah, I see that there is something between you two” She was trying to be nonchalant while asking, a bit too much because she wasn’t looking where she was going until Kris took her arm, hard, and tugged her close to them.
“Careful” they whispered, close to her face, so close, saving her from walking into a street lamp.
“Ahah yeah sorry it’s late you know, tired and all that” What was she even talking about?
“What about Susie?” Through their bangs she could see their gaze. Always gave her a chill, couldn’t figure out why.
“Uuh, you two seem just really close and I wanted to know?”
“Jealous?”
“Whaaat?? Nooo” yes, not obvious at all
“There is nothing between me and Susie.”
“Oh?”
“Why are you smiling?”
“I’m not!!!” She was, she just didn’t realise it. She suddenly remembered how close they were, as Kris hadn’t let go of her arm, and their faces were so close.
She looked at the ground. “Do you remember our marriage?” she said jokingly, a bit embarrassed.
For a second, Kris looked surprised.
“Didn’t want you cheating on your commitment, you know, fahah.”
“I'm committed to someone ?” Kris asked, their tone light, playful.
“Don’t you remember, you married me, even gifted me a handmade ring.” Noelle said, with a lot of pride, mostly as a joke, but partly for something else.
“I do remember.” They seemed sincere. She believed them.
She blushed, and hoped it was well hidden behind her fur.
“May we… renew our vows?”
Wow, the joke was really going far, like when they were younger. Behind the stress, you felt nostalgically happy.
“But you don’t have any ring.”
“But I have something else.”
“Uh yeah?” And then, Kris put their hand that wasn’t holding her arm in front of her eyes, and whispered in her ear “A kiss, to seal the marriage.”
The blush couldn’t be hidden by anything.
She wasn’t able to say anything coherent, only “uuh” like an idiot.
She heard Kris snickers, and they removed their hand from her eyes, they were laughing.
“You wanted that mmm?” They hummed, unable to hide their smile.
Her face was probably as red as her nose. They were pranking you, she thought.
Stoned face at first, a giggle bubbles out of her, and in seconds, she was laughing, laughing with Kris. It had been so long.
Their other hand never left her arm. As if they were scared she’d leave them. As if they really cared that she was in their life.
They continued the walk until Noelle’s gate, Kris close to her, who had chosen to interlock her arm with theirs. The short walk back was silent except for some small giggles coming from either one of them.
They quickly arrived at the metal gate.
“You got me good Kris, I missed that, you know.”
Kris mumbled something, but she could only decipher the word “kiss”.
“Mmmh?” she asked, looking at them. They looked shy. Wow, that was new. Kris was always an introvert but never shy.
“Nothing, good night Noelle.”
And they speed walked away before she could even answer.
“Good night Kris.” she said at normal speaking volume, almost to herself.