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With Chloe and Max visible up ahead, Red took off running, not even looking at Pink.
Pink froze, watching her sister rush off without a single word or a second glance.
It felt like a stab right to the heart.
Hazel and the Smees appeared from behind, stepping out of the doorway, and Pink shook her head, tears building up in her eyes.
"There," She said weakly, "Leaving me behind again. What am I, disposable?"
Her head hurt— it had been hurting for the past few days because of Red's behaviour, but this was a new low point entirely. And her heart hurt even more, like the tiny cracks that had been spreading through it for the past few days had finally split open entirely, and her heart was in shatters.
So was her world.
"Well maybe you are if you're gonna just stand there and take it."
Pink tensed. Hazel's voice was so sharp and cutting and brutally honest, because deep down, Pink knew she was right. That if she wanted Red to notice her, to care about her again, she had to do something about it.
But if she was to chase after Red now, what would happen? It wasn't like everything would just magically fix itself, in fact, it would probably make things worse. Red would just roll her eyes and snap at Pink if she followed her, wouldn't she? She'd just...get mad at her for interfering, or getting in the way.
Tears stinging her eyes, Pink pushed past Hazel and the Smees back into the cottage, stumbling back to the room she had been staying in.
She weakly sat down on the edge of the bed, her tears finally springing free and starting to fall down her cheeks as she shook her head.
Hearts, what had she done? To lose the love in Red's eyes? What had she done wrong?
They had been inseparable as kids, always playing and singing and dancing, doing everything together, and lately it had been as though Red didn't even want to know Pink anymore.
Every time Pink hugged her, she'd go tense.
Every time Pink tried to talk her, she distanced herself, as though she was afraid of being with her.
Every time Pink looked at her, she offered back a smile so fake that it hurt, that never reached her eyes.
What in the name of hearts had Pink done to cause this?
Pink only ever wanted everybody to be happy. Hell, she'd sacrifice her own happiness time and time again just to make sure everyone else was smiling, but nobody was smiling now.
Pink Hearts was the cheeriest, most upbeat girl that anyone knew.
Well, that was the thing. Did they know her at all? Or just the version of her that they wanted to know?
Because lately, Pink had been wondering if anyone in her life knew her beneath the mask she had to put on in order to achieve the persona they all expected of her. Because if her own sister didn't want her, did anyone?
What would they say or do if they knew who she really was beneath the bubbly exterior and the overly cheerful smile she plastered onto her face every single day, smiling until it hurt.
Pink was the one to turn to when someone was upset, because she always had the answer, and she was never not smiling. At least not to their faces. What she was like when she was alone in her room, now that was a different story.
She was tired. So, so tired of the act she had to put up. Her whole entire personality was a mask at this point. She didn't even know who she was anymore, because over time, she had slowly morphed into who everybody wanted her to be, and had lost every part of herself.
Nobody suspected how hard it was for her to be so cheerful all the time, did they? Did anyone notice or care that she was slowly starting to fall apart? Probably not. Because it didn't seem like her friends cared about her in the slightest.
She was just the annoying little sister, wasn't she? The one who talked too much— but that was because if she didn't, then she wasn't saying enough. Too much, not enough, that had become her life, and she could never find the balance between the two. She was either way too loud and talkative or way too quiet and a burden.
They pretended to tolerate her, they said they wanted her around, but...what was the point in having Pink with them? They all had somebody they were going to choose over her. She was a surplus to the group, and she knew it. She wasn't wanted with them.
She was always overlooked. It was clear that everyone here took Red's directions and orders far quicker than they'd ever take hers. But it had always been that way. Pink had always just been the little sister, and Red had been the true perfect princess.
Pink had never envied her sister, though. She understood why everyone would love Red more than her— Red was funny, and strong, and quick-thinking, and Pink was...well, Pink.
The annoying little sister.
The burden.
The one who had to dramatically shove her way into anything, declaring she wanted to be in on all the fun, because it was the only way she'd be included.
Pink had always looked up to Red, loved her more than anyone. Had that feeling ever been mutual? Lately it didn't look like it. It didn't look like Red wanted her around at all.
Hearts, this hurt. She loved Red so much, but in the end, it seemed so clear now that Red was always going to move on without her.
And leave her behind.
Did Pink even know Red anymore? She didn't feel like she did at all.
The Red that Pink knew never would have done this. Red never would have hurt her so much, or snapped at her so often, or tried to hide from her, or pushed her away, or broken her heart so much.
Or maybe she would. Maybe Red would have done all of this. The Red that Pink thought she knew never would have done this.
But, as more tears continued to fall and a sob escaped Pink's lips, she knew that she didn't know Red at all anymore.