Chapter Text
"Leave." Carol spoke, commanding and terrifying.
"What?" Susie stuttered.
Carol turned around, with terrifying levels of anger in her eyes. She was shaking from it, even. She stepped forward, shepherding Susie towards the door, not pausing for a moment. "You. Are not. Welcome. Leave."
She stepped forward, making sure Susie would hear every last command she gave. Her right eyelid twitched. "And. Don't. Talk. To my daughter. Again." Nervous, Susie stepped back. Carol turned and began escorting Noelle to the kitchen, guitar in hand.
"Hey, I can ex..."
Noelle interrupted. "Susie, just... just go." She held back a sob, terrified of her mother's incoming wrath.
Susie turned, and began to retreat, before smirking and growling towards Carol. "Well... guess who's taking your daughter to the FESTIVAL tomorrow, jerk!?" Susie laughed and sprinted out of the house, slamming the door behind.
Noelle clapped her hands to her cheeks, humiliated, but... wait! Susie said they were going to the festival tomorrow! This could mean... there was a chance that... Noelle blushed. "Umm, I'll be in the kitchen!" she squeaked, before scrambling into the kitchen.
Noelle sat in a kitchen chair, frantically playing with her hair. Some commotion could be heard outside the kitchen, and then Carol entered the room, the temperature dropping significantly. She carefully closed the door behind her, and placed the guitar carefully on the table.
She slowly turned to Noelle, and glared.
"Mom, I-"
"Noelle Holiday, did I not EXPLICITLY tell you to avoid engaging with delinquents such as Susie?"
"But, Mom- she's kinda nice-"
"If you had a look at her criminal history, you'd be on my side as well. Now go upstairs, and call it off with her. I forbid you from going with her."
"But Mom- she and Kr-"
"No talking back. Go upstairs now."
"NO!"
"..." Carol froze in place, her mouth agape. Noelle was shaking.
"I won't! First of all, she probably only robbed placed because she was hungry! There's nothing immoral about that! Second of all, she and Kris have been hanging out, and according to Kris, she's actually really kind and thoughtful!" She took a moment to breath, before speaking normally again. "And, last of all, I'm... growing up now. I want to make my own decisions and hang out with who I want to hang out with."
Carol nearly shook her fist. "You... did you forget what happened to Dess? Did you?"
"Well she's fine now, isn't she?! She has everything I've ever wanted!"
"Noelle, don't you even think for a MOMENT that I know what's best for you?"
"I don't care! I don't!" Noelle pulled her hair as she talked. "I want to grow up! I am in High School, but you still treat me like I'm like, ten!"
Carol looked stunned. She opened her mouth to retort, but her mouth slowly closed.
Noelle shivered. She hadn't meant to be so harsh to her mother. Had she gone too far? She gulped, and decided to get one last swing in. "It's time for me to grow up, and time for you to let me." She spun around and sprinted out the kitchen, not looking back. She ran up the stairs to her room, locked it, and collapsed into her desk chair.
She brushed her hand against the erasers of her pencils, neatly standing up in her pencil mug. She felt them warp and turn as she moved her hand, and heard the quiet clicks they made as they collided.
Noelle listened out the window as the beeping of reversing trucks rang through the streets, and as faint crashed of metal beams reverberated. Last year's festival was... in no uncertain terms... a disaster, and Noelle was looking forward to another one- with Susie!
Bzzz. Her phone woke her out of her trance. She pulled it out of her pocket, and saw it was from Susie. It read:
Susie <3 - 11:34 AM
hey when do you want me to pick you up
Her heart almost exploded, just thinking about the fact that she was going with Susie. She calmed down and responded.
Noelle - 11:35 AM
I'll be ready in an hour. 12:30?
Susie <3 - 11:35 AM
yup, I'll meet you outside your gate. don't wanna piss off your mom
Noelle jumped out of her chair and began getting ready. She had picked out the outfit last night. It was a cute autumn-themed sweater, and some jeans (obviously taking inspiration from Susie). She also made sure to do her hair. By the time she was ready, it was 12:26. Noelle rushed to grab everything she needed- phone, wallet, no keys- and rushed out the door. Noelle stepped out the front door, and turned to look at the gate.
Susie was absent-mindedly whistling a tune, and tapping her foot to it. Noelle watched silently for a few moments, star-struck. She snapped back to it and walked over.
"H-hey, Susie," Noelle said, awkwardly waving to her.
"Gah!" Susie yelped. 'Oh. Hey, Noelle. I was... distracted,' Susie said, scratching the back of her neck.
"You wanna go now?" Noelle asked, excited.
Susie grinned and nodded. Noelle opened the gate- it took a while- and closed it behind her- which took even longer. She pranced out to meet Susie, who was offering her hand.
"Y-you..." Noelle gulped.
Susie grabbed her hand from her side and pulled her along, saying nothing except an enthusiastic "C'mon, dude." Noelle chuckled and followed along, her hand nearly shaking under Susie's grip. Noelle's sweater flowed underneath her, the autumn breeze flicking Susie's hair into her face. Not that she didn't like that. Ugh... I'm such a freak.
Noelle eventually caught up in her stride and walked alongside Susie, never letting go of each other's hands. They dodged people crossing the street, setting up stalls and signs, and navigated around a small crane, upon which a cat monster was hanging up a large banner. Noelle glanced into the driver seat of the crane, only seeing a small white dog playing with children's toys. Somehow they were expertly operating the crane.
She brushed it off and they walked further, stopping outside QC's, where they would meet up with Kris. Susie leaned against the wall of the diner, casually looking around at the festival, and Noelle stood beside her, not daring to mess up her sweater against the concrete wall.
They watched as Kris turned the corner, wearing a black t-shirt with some words on it and their usual pants. They waved at them and cut across the small patch of grass to greet them. "Sup." They muttered.
"Hey Kris!" Noelle said, still riding the high of holding Susie's hand.
Susie gave Kris a high five, saying, "Hey dude." They nodded back.
"So... what are you gonna do at the festival today, Kris?" Noelle asked. Kris shrugged, turning slightly to the side as to obscure their shirt.
Susie raised an eyebrow. "Kris, what are you up to, freak?" She pulled Kris' arm to get them to look at her. Kris looked at the ground, embarrassed, as Susie and Noelle read the shirt.
"Huh- Player... Two? Player Two?" Susie looked confused. "Kris, why does your shirt say Player Two?"
Noelle joined in the interrogation. "Kris? Who is Player One? Kris?" Kris simply averted their eyes, their cheeks slightly reddening.
"No one... I- uh..." Kris stammered.
"Wha- Kris? Dude, you better fucking tell me, I swear-" she growled, jokingly grabbing their shirt and pulling them. "Helloooo?" Kris covered their face with their hands.
"Hey!" someone yelled. Susie and Noelle snapped to attention. "Hands off!" The unforgettable and insufferable voice of a shrill bird neared. "Don't you fret, m'they'dy," he said, as he grabbed Kris' hand and pulled them away from Susie's grasp.
"Oh Angel..." Noelle muttered. Susie simply croaked in shock.
"Your knight in feathered armor is here!" Berdly said, enthusiastically. Susie's jaw dropped as she read the text on his shirt... Player... One...
Kris simply stood beside him, blushing furiously. "There's literally no way..." Susie muttered into Noelle's ear.
"How did he pull them...?" Noelle questioned under her breath, back in Susie's ear.
"So, comrades," Berdly chirped. "Shall we begin the festivities?"
"Oh hell no," Susie said, grabbing Noelle by the hand (again!) and running away from the bluebirds. They ran further down the main street, turning and running further past the Hospital then the police station, to where the main festival was set up.
They looked on in excitement at the stalls, lined chaotically up and down the sidewalk- at the kids, running across the road, throwing toys- at the ferris wheel, ominously standing at the end of the cul-de-sac.
Holding hands nervously, they ventured forth, stopping first in line for some caramel apples. As they stood there, they looked around, people-watching and thinking of what they would do first. Noelle suddenly gasped, pulling Susie away from the line and behind one of the stalls.
"Hey! What the hell?" Susie asked. "I was so far along in the line!"
"My- my mom! She was there. She would've seen us," Noelle nervously said.
Susie raised an eyebrow, then relaxed, looking on with understanding. "Listen, Noelle, I..." she thought for a moment. "Just cause she hates me doesn't mean we can't enjoy our time!"
"Wait, she doesn't hate you! She just doesn't want me hanging out with you... I guess?"
"Oh." Susie understood.
"Yeah," Noelle averted her eyes.
"She... she's a homophobe, huh," Susie said, looking at the ground.
"Wait, no, she's not homophobic!" Noelle shot to attention, laughing. "She's known since I was, like, fifteen! She just... what?!"
Susie snickered. "Just kidding. I get it. Let's move, then. I'll keep an eye out for her. You just enjoy your time."
Noelle blushed and followed behind Susie, who enthusiastically returned to the caramel apple line, muttering about losing her spot- even though she was smiling. After a few minutes of waiting, Susie grabbed three apples, handed over a wad of cash, and walked over to Noelle. She tossed one to Noelle, who only barely managed to catch it by the apple. Noelle snickered as she tried to remove the apple from her hand, some fur getting stuck to the caramel. She pulled it off and licked her hand, laughing with Susie, who was now nibbling on the stick of the first apple.
After eating her apple, leaving behind only the core and the stick, Noelle offered Susie the stick. She graciously accepted it, before tossing it straight into her mouth, eating the core and all. Noelle doubled over, finding this hilarious. She wiped her eye, as Susie laughed too, coming down from her high. "Hey, wait," Noelle noticed. "You... got a third apple?"
"Heh. Yeah, watch this." Susie peered around the wall of the stall, eyeing the crowd. "Hey, look. It's Alphys," she grinned. She crushed the apple softly in her hand, turning it almost to mush, even though it was still stuck together by the caramel shell.
"Oh, yeah, it is her! What were you thi-" Noelle gasped as Susie hurled the apple at Alphys, hitting her square on the nose. Alphys spun around, looking for the attacker, but unable to see anything with her glasses covered in chunks of apple.
Susie let out a laugh and ran away, Noelle following close behind. They ran far away, and re-emerged into the crowd, frantically catching their breaths, laughing uncontrollably. "Wow," Noelle stuttered out through the gasps.
Susie simply smirked, before turning around to look for something else to do. "Hey, I'm pretty good at throwing shit. Let's play that bottle game." Noelle nodded, and they walked to the bottle throwing game. Nine metal milk bottles were stacked in a pyramid formation, tempting them to toss a ball at it. Before they could play, though, they noticed the contestants already occupying the booth.
"You see, Kris, by perfectly calibrating the spin of the ball, you can get it to have a sideways trajectory without missing the bottles! This will cause an instantaneous chain reaction with the bottles, who in accordance with the principles of gravitational attraction-"
Berdly was cut off by Kris covering their eyes with one hand and throwing the ball with their other hand (the author makes no claim as to what hand is dominant), nailing the middle bottle perfectly, letting out a ring. The bottle gave way, the other bottles collapsing as well. After only one throw, the tower was no more.
"Congrats," the attendant dryly congratulated. "pick a prize, kid." Kris smirked and pointed at a blue bird, with... nipples? The attendant's bones clattered as he stood on a stool to grab the toy. He handed the toy to Kris, who passed it straight to Berdly.
"Wh- Kris?" Berdly stammered, utterly shocked. "Dude, how do... how have you guys obtained a plushie... so reminiscent of my own appearance?"
Sans shrugged. "boss gives me the plushies. i sell them."
Berdly opened his mouth to argue about Sans' position, but Kris pulled him away, walking straight into Susie. "Oh," Kris said.
"Yeah, hello to you too," Susie said, mockingly. She looked straight at Berdly, who was profusely sweating now, tightly holding the plushie.
"Uh, greetings Susan, and dear Noelle... how..."
"It's great. And it's Susie to you," She growled.
"I- okay, Susie, I'm... as you know, I do have difficulties pertaining to-"
"Heh, it's whatever, dude. Kris is my friend, and so you are too... now." Susie scratched her neck.
"Well, by that logic... I suppose you are my acquaintance as well, seeing as Noelle is alongside you... Susie..." Berdly looked at Kris for approval, who simply shrugged.
"Anyway, guys, we were gonna play this game, if you want to watch us! So. Yeah." Noelle cheered, trying to increase the energy again. Susie nodded, so Noelle took 5G out of her pocket and handed it to Sans. Sans handed Noelle three balls, and Susie one.
"Huh?" Susie said. "It says it's three... for 5G?"
"yeah. i wanna see you throw though. you look like you could cause some damage." Susie grinned, and began winding up. "woah, hold on, kid," he said. "wait for your lady to throw first. it's only proper." Susie nodded and stepped back, dramatically gesturing for Noelle to continue.
Before she even knew what happened, Noelle had missed her first two shots. She threw her last one angrily, hitting the top, knocking two bottles over, leaving the other seven unharmed. "Darn," Noelle said.
Susie grinned, and looked at the lazy attendant, who smirked in approval. Susie winded up, and pitched the ball... right above the tower and into the tent wall. But, the ball bounced on the shelf, on the floor, and hit the pole on which the tower stood, knocking everything to the floor.
"nice," Sans said. "technically, i can't give you a prize, cause you broke the rules by bouncing it..." Sans scratched his non-existent beard. "but i'll give you a discount next time you come by the store. how about that?"
"Sure, thanks," Susie said, grinning. She looked over to Noelle, who was watching, star-struck. "Uhh... earth to Noelle?" Noelle jumped to attention, looking wide-eyed at Susie. "Anyway," Susie said, walking further west towards the Ferris wheel.
"Do you... uh..." Noelle stammered. "Ferris... wheel?"
"Oh, yeah, that's where I was headed." Susie smiled at Noelle, then got serious. "You alright?"
"Oh! For sure. I'm excited!" Noelle hopped as she walked, clearly energetic. Susie smirked. "You're fine... not waiting for night time?"
"Huh?" Susie looked confused. "Oh, you mean for the view. Nah, it gets crowded and they play corny music. I just want to be tog-" she hesitated. "to be chill. Just us."
Noelle blushed a bit and agreed. As they neared the Ferris wheel, Noelle's face turned pale, and she pulled on Susie's shirt to stop her. "What?"
"She's at the front of the line... waiting?"
Susie stood on her toes and looked over the crowd, seeing Carol monitoring the Ferris wheel, like the stickler for rules she was. Ugh.
Suddenly, Susie grinned wide and whispered to Noelle. "I have an idea." Susie pulled out her phone, and called Kris, who answered quickly.
"What." Kris said, Berdly's rambling audible in the background.
"Codeword."
"Okay." Kris hung up.
Noelle raised an eyebrow, and dramatically tilted her head. "What was that?"
"Oh, it's our codeword," Susie bragged.
"Your codeword... is codeword?"
"Huh? Is something wrong with that?"
"Well, it's like your password being password123, or... you know?" Noelle chuckled.
"Well it did the damn job!" Susie stomped her foot. Noelle grinned, and they waited for a minute.
CRASH!
The two looked in the direction of the sound, watching as a small stall crumbled. Some yelling broke out between two people, and behind the rubble was... Berdly?
Noelle looked over to the Ferris wheel, but Susie had already grabbed her arm, and they were suddenly running through the line to the ride. They got past the gate, and got in the seat. "Wait!" Noelle said. "There's no one operating it! My mom left!"
Susie leaned out of the window of the carriage, and flashed a thumbs up to Kris, who was standing at the control panel. They turned on the wheel, until Susie and Noelle's carriage was high enough that no one could see.
Kris turned off the ride, and sprinted away.
"Huh? What happened?" Noelle said, flustered.
"Oh, don't worry, the ride will start again soon. It's just so your mom wouldn't see us board." Susie leaned back into the seat across from Noelle, flashing a grin.
Noelle relaxed, then freaked out again. "But she'll see us get off!"
"Oh, don't worry. Nothing she can do at that point."
They both laughed, and then chuckled, then calmed down, simply enjoying each other's presence. Until, the ride slowly creaked back to life, and they began their ascent again.
"So, uh... about yesterday afternoon." Susie mumbled. "I... uh... got you another. Another flower." Susie pulled a pinkish rose out of her coat pocket- somehow completely uncrushed- and handed it to Noelle.
Noelle's face instantly turned bright red. She instinctively clasped her hands to her nose, to cover the glowing, which was leaking between her fingers. "Hey," Susie said. "You don't need to hide it." Noelle nervously lowered her hands, revealing her nose, shining incredibly bright. She scratched the side of her head, giggling, and gingerly took the offering from Susie.
She looked down at it, twirling it between her fingers to watch the petals spin. Even though it was just a rose, coming from Susie, it could've been a piece of grass, and she'd still love it. "I... I love it, Susie..." Noelle stammered, surprised by Susie's forwardness.
Susie smiled, but said nothing in response, leaving Noelle to continue. "I... this is... this is really similar to my, uh, dream." Noelle carefully placed the flower behind her ear, between locks of hair.
"The one you talked about with me yesterday?"
"Yeah. I never told you exactly what happened between the two of us..." Noelle blushed- somehow even more, and looked out the window.
"Yeah, you wanna share?"
"Mhm." Noelle looked thoughtful. She squeezed her eyes, building up the confidence. She opened them and began recounting the experience. "Well, in the dream, this lady... she kidnapped me..."
"What?!" Susie dramatically screamed. "I'll kill her! Just give me names."
"Fahaha," Noelle giggled, and continued. "Well, she put me in a castle, sort of like the Princess from the Sleeping Beauty?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"Oh. Uh... have you watched Shrek?" Susie nodded. Noelle elaborated. "Then, like, this lady was the dragon, and I was the princess? In the fortress?"
Susie hooted in laughter, only now realizing it sort of was like that. Through laughs, she asked, "Well, what happened next..?"
"Faha, she, uh, well there was a Ferris wheel... sort of like right now..." Noelle fidgeted with her hair. "We sort of talked about stuff."
Susie already knew where this was going, but she had to feign ignorance. "What did you talk about?" Susie nervously asked.
"Oh, well, we talked about crazy things we'd do, we talked about breaking the rules..."
Susie sighed, as Noelle hadn't brought up...
"Oh! We talked about your tail..." Noelle's nose lit up a bit.
"Wha- Hey! I don't have a tail! That's bullshit!" Susie roared.
"Fahahaha, then, what is wagging behind you?!" Noelle pointed out, teasing.
"I- uh, that's, I don't know! Nothing is wagging behind me!" The wagging sped up. "Did, did Queen tell you that? Cause that's not true!"
"Fahaha! No, she didn't, I saw..." Noelle froze, and grew slightly pale. "You... t-the..."
Susie realized far too late. Her tail stopped wagging with a thump. "I- you... you never told me her name... did you?" Noelle nodded slowly.
Noelle listened along as Susie finished explaining the prophecy, still a bit flustered.
"So," Susie said, dramatically clapping her hands once. "Any questions?"
Noelle raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"I... was the Ferris wheel... real?"
"Yes." Susie sighed, knowing the next question. Noelle opened her mouth to ask, but Susie answered already. "Yes, it is. But... I don't like people knowing."
Noelle looked at her sadly. "Aww, but... I think it's cute!"
"Well, that's why I don't want people to know! Cause I'm not cute! I'm dangerous!" Susie growled.
"You haven't been very dangerous to me today... except for with Alphys, faha!" Noelle looked on with care. "Susie... you don't need to let your guard down... but you also don't need to be on the defense all the time, right?"
Susie nodded reluctantly.
"I'm... I don't want to hurt you," Noelle said. "Listen, I... I really like you! I like you for you. And I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."
"Th... thanks," Susie muttered.
"You don't need to show anyone your tail, but I'm not here to embarrass you! We can move on if you want," Noelle offered a way out. Susie nodded.
They looked out the window, descending for the last time. "Well," Susie said thoughtfully, "I did really enjoy this ride with you... and y'know what?"
"What?"
"I... I like you for you, too. You're really nice to me. For no good reason. You and Kris, basically. But... there's something else about you."
Noelle quietly gasped into her hand, growing flustered.
"Noelle, when you first met me, on my first day... you gave me a candy cane pencil."
"Faha! I remember that. Whatever happened to that pencil?"
"About that." Susie dug in her pocket. "I kept it." She removed a pencil from her pocket. The patterned paper covering had mostly scratched off, but there was still a tiny amount of red and white near the metal eraser part.
She showed it to her, as if it was a small animal... she had never seen Susie be so gentle. Noelle looked at it, and the memories came flooding back. She remembered Susie nervously entering class for the first time, about halfway through the year. She didn't have a backpack, or anything with her. Noelle kindly offered her the pencil, introducing herself.
"You... remember that?"
"How could I not?" Susie said, carefully placing the pencil back in her pocket.
Noelle gigged. "You really are quite sentimental," she laughed, as they both stood up to exit the ride, which had come to a stop. They both chuckled together, happy as can be, as they stepped out of the carriage, hand in hand...
"Noelle April Holiday." A cold and sharp voice shattered their happiness into a billion pieces.
Noelle froze, slowly looking towards the voice... meeting face to face with her mother.
"I believe I told you not to associate with..." Carol looked at Susie with disgust. "Her."
Noelle's fist began to shake. Carol came towards her, swatting Susie's hand away from Noelle's, pulling her away as if to protect her from an attacker. "Did she hurt you? Oh Angel..." Carol frowned, and continued her relentless critique. "Sometimes you are so irresponsible... come with me, I'll get you checked up... are you hurt?!"
"NO!"
Carol froze solid. Susie stepped back. Noelle glared at her mother. "I said, no! I'm okay! I'm... I'm... I'm more than okay! I'm really really good!"
Carol's went slack-jawed, stunned at her daughter. "I... you for some reason, think Susie is so evil, or whatever!"
"Guh- She's a CRIMINAL!" Carol retorted, stunned at her daughters outburst.
"That doesn't matter! You have no idea how nice she is! How caring she is? She just has to act mean because of people like you!" Noelle screamed at her mother. "You want to put people into boxes, good people and bad people! Perfect or evil! Model citizen or dangerous criminal! Some people are neither! Susie isn't a bad person!"
Noelle took a deep breath, and adjusted the flower behind her ear, as if it was trying to calm her down... successfully. "I'm gonna continue my date now, and I'll talk to you at home." Noelle grabbed Susie's hand, and pulled her deep into the crowd, losing sight of her mother as quickly as possible.
Susie looked at Noelle, stunned, as they speed-walked. "You said... date?"
Noelle nearly tripped over herself. "I- oh, angel, I..."
"Heh, I'm alright with that. Let's keep moving," Susie laughed.
Noelle smiled wide, tightening her grip on Susie's hand. They walked past the stalls confidently, turning into a small park, eager to continue their conversation which was cut short.
Noelle sat down on the bench, and played with her hair, as Susie sat down across from her. They sat in silence, Susie putting her fingers through the holes in the table.
"I've really enjoyed my time with you, Susie," Noelle said.
"Me too," Susie said. "Anyway, I want to ask the question I asked on that Ferris wheel again." Noelle tilted her head. "If you could do something really crazy right now... what would you do?"
"I'd... well... uhh..." Noelle stuttered over her thoughts. "I'd... kiss you..." She stammered as she grew sweaty, her nose growing bright, illuminating the table below her.
Susie stared at her, mouth agape. "That's crazy, r-right?" Noelle began to overcorrect. "Oh ANGEL, wait, I'd... uh... I was kidding! That's insane! I'd uh... I'd do a cartwheel! Uh, into that tree! That's super crazy! Gosh, uh, I'd-"
Susie grabbed her hands, which were making wild gestures. Noelle froze, and looked at Susie with big eyes. Her mind ran wild as Susie began to lean in, and as if by magnetism, she began to lean in as well. Soon, their faces were nearly inches away, and they began to softly close their eyes...
"However, wavedashing CERTAINLY is not a valid technique for standard gameplay! In fact, I consider it disingenuous and borderline immoral!" Berdly whined, as Kris laughed. Kris opened their eyes, looking straight at Susie. They stopped short, stunned.
Susie and Noelle quickly pulled away before anything happened, frantically dusting themselves off. "Wh- oh, hey, uh Kris! Berdly!" Noelle panicked, blushing furiously.
Berdly stopped yammering, to look ahead. "Uhh... hey? Is everything alright?" Berdly questioned, unaware that anything had transpired.
"Uh, yeah, it's whatever," Susie said, waving them over. Kris sat down first, then Berdly second. They sat in silence before Berdly interrupted.
"So, might I inquire on the success of your outing this evening?" Berdly stated.
"It was nice," Susie said, coolly. Kris waggled their eyebrows, inciting Susie to elbow them before anyone saw. "How about you guys?"
Kris began to speak, "It was a-"
"We had quite the pleasant experience on this fine day, and in fact my loyal Player Two's accompaniment was rather integral to our enjoyment!" Kris rolled their eyebrows at being called Player Two... failing to distract Susie from their encroaching blush.
"You're a freak," Susie whispered to Kris. They sadly nodded.
Berdly began to add, "Additionally, we-"
Susie immediately spoke over him. "Well, we have to get going, Kris, so enjoy the rest of your night." Noelle stood up, grateful for some more privacy. They scampered away, finding a lone bench behind some trees. They threw themselves down onto it, exasperated.
Susie managed to catch her breath. "Now, where were we?" Susie offered her hand, and Noelle took it, their fingers interwoven. They both couldn't control their blushing, so they embraced it.
"Susie... I..."
"Do you not want to?" Susie asked quietly, concerned.
Noelle shook her head. "Oh angel, I definitely do," she whispered. Susie nodded and began to lean in, waiting for Noelle to follow. She nervously leaned in as well, and at last, they were connected. Susie leaned into Noelle's lips, fiercely holding her hands to ground herself. Noelle quivered, too excited to handle her emotions. She scooted forwards, to be closer to Susie, as she embraced the feeling of finally reaching the resolution of their story.
Slowly, they pulled away, nervous to look at each other in the aftermath. Noelle looked up first, and saw how red had mixed with the purple of Susie's cheeks. Susie looked up as well, noticing Noelle's characteristic glowing nose. They smiled and averted their eyes, still needing time to recover from their emotions.
Noelle spoke first, still in a whisper. "I really had a wonderful time with you, Susie."
"Yeah, me too. I really like being with you. And shit," Susie added. Noelle giggled, as she stood up, bringing Susie with her. "I'll, uh, see you tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah! I hope!" she chirped. "I'm... gonna get home before my mom sees me. Faha."
"Alright, bye Noelle." Susie awkwardly waved as Noelle turned to walk away. Once Noelle had left the sight of Susie, she jumped in the air and pumped her fist, still reeling from everything that happened. She energetically walked home, sprinting to her room, locking the door, and screaming.
On the other hand, Susie just sat back down, tapping her foot on the ground. She was surprised by how much she enjoyed Noelle's presence... maybe this wouldn't be too bad. She looked up at the sky, stars softly blinking in and out, and smiled, looking forward to whatever more was to come.