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As Kris and Susie stood side by side, Kris suddenly became viscerally aware they would have to face what they saw before them. Just the day before, the two had survived multiple battles and even falling inside a Titan, yet somehow Kris found that far easier to stomach than what was about to happen. At least they could pretend, if only in part, that those adventures weren’t real.
“Dude,” Susie began. “You gotta dress up! It’s the festival!”
Their closet, on the other hand, was very real.
Kris waited tensely as Susie began gliding her claws across the few hangers that were scattered sparsely across the tension rod. She was expecting to find some hidden treasure or some new and exciting facet of Kris’ personality. Her smile slowly began to fade when she realized the only thing that lay before her were green shirts with varying splashes of yellow.
Confused, Susie turned around. She attempted to meet Kris’ eyes, but they had already shifted their focus to the carpet that rested under their feet. Slightly embarrassed, she remarked, “Do…do you not want to wear anything else? I- It’s fine if you don’t…” She was stammering. Susie found not having control of the situation to be rather distressing. “Your usual outfit is fine! I wasn’t implying tha-“
Wanting this all to stop, Kris quietly spoke up. “They match Azzy’s favorite shirt.”
They hadn’t gotten to live much of their life away from their brother. They sometimes felt invisible when he was around, but now that he wasn’t here, it was like looking into a mirror and seeing nobody staring back at you. They didn’t feel invisible; they felt like nothing. It’s only you, after all. Kris wasn’t even sure who they were supposed to be anymore.
Great, well now I feel terrible, Susie thought. Without a sound leaving her lips, her voice echoed in Kris’ ears. They both wanted to fill the silence that hung in the room, but weren’t sure how. Susie took a gamble.
“You know, your brother isn’t here now,” Susie began. She was so focused on her new idea she didn’t notice when Kris flinched at that comment. “Do you wanna try something new?”
Susie noticed Kris’ expression change at that suggestion, if only briefly. Jackpot. “Hmm, well we can’t go buy anything ourselves. Maybe someone has something you could borrow?”
At that suggestion, Kris’ mind was instantly flooded with responses: “I like this sweater.” “Noelle.” “Berdly.” “I want to wear something of yours.” “I don’t even want to go to the festival anymore.” Their head began spinning. Kris scrambled to find a response before something else chose for them.
Much to Kris’ surprise, Susie already seemed to be mulling over a list similar to theirs. Kris’ posture relaxed once they realized the choice now lied in her hands.
“Well, raiding your brother’s stuff is obviously out. My stuff’s too big. It would swallow you whole,” she said with a smirk. “I’m sure you would rather die than wear Berdly’s nerdy clothes.” They both snickered at the idea. “Oh! Maybe Noelle has something you could borrow!”
Kris felt everything down to the very blood in their veins come to a standstill. The only thing that moved was their eyes as they briefly snuck glimpses of a shadow under their bed.
“I know it’s not what you usually wear, but it’s all about trying new things, right? I’m sure she’d be more than happy to share!” This was immediately followed by her muttering comments under her breath about sneaking past Noelle's “insane mother.”
Fearing she had made Kris uncomfortable, Susie began deflecting. “Of course, we could find someone else. I forgot you two are weird around each other sometimes.”
Kris tried desperately to keep their attention on Susie in an attempt to ignore the intense draw of what lay under their bed. But as Susie continued to list off other townsfolk, Kris became overwhelmed. Her voice seemed to be getting farther away as Kris’ thoughts became invaded by the rustling of leaves, the sounds of childhood laughter, the sounds of crying, screams from their voice and others unknown to them, flashes a face grinning ear to ear, flashes of the same face looking like she’d never smile again, the noises of-----
“She already gave me something!!” They blurted out, rather hastily. Susie instantly paused, sporting a confused expression.
Shit. Why did I say that?, they thought. “She-“ They tried again to get the words out, but the memories in their mind burned their throat. They swallowed trying to push that sensation away. They turned their gaze back to their bed, unable to look directly as Susie. “She already gave me something. A few years back.”
“Dude you’re like, really red right now,” Susie commented. “You can wear the sweater and pants. It’s fine. Sorry, if…Sorry if I was too pushy.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, staring into the closet.
While Susie’s gaze was turned, Kris felt their legs move and carry them to the foot of the bed. No, no, no. Why am I doing this?, they thought. They hated whatever was compelling them to do this while also trying to suppress the fact that something deep within them desperately wanted an excuse to retrieve it, wondering if it would still hold that same feeling.
Reaching under the bed, their hand was met with a course fabric. They pulled it towards themself. A rather large quantity of dust began to circulate, causing Kris to cough. The noise startled Susie and she looked in Kris’ direction.
Their face heated up. They felt like it was on fire. Maybe they would burst into flames. They’d rather that than go through with this. But putting it back under the bed and pretending nothing had happened would lead to far more confusion.
They couldn’t will themself to stand up, so they stayed sitting on their knees. Susie watched intensely as Kris stared at the rather large piece of cloth, while they slowly began moving their fingers across it. To Susie, this was something far more personal than she was expecting to see. To Kris, this was a cold drink of water late at night. The memories this was reviving provided a cooling sensation throughout their entire body, nourishing it, and calming the flames that were burning so fiercely moments prior.
As their breath steadied, the ability to speak returned to them. “A few years back, before…before things go weird between us, Noelle gave this to me.” They chose their words very carefully. God, they never talked about Noelle. Why did they suddenly feel compelled to do this now? They stole a glance at Susie before continuing.
“She said something similar, actually. I told her,” they chuckled as the memories began taking over. “I told her I liked her skirt and she… handed me an extra one from her drawer. I didn’t even ask she just…knew.” Kris was surprised. Yes, this did dredge up a plethora of unpleasant feelings, but it also came with a sense of peace, as if talking about this lessened fear’s grip on these memories. They found themself unable to stop now.
“We were just kids…playing in the yard. I loved the way her skirt flowed when she ran through the grass. She looked so...free.” They felt a smile creep across their lips as they continued. “Her sis-“ Ah, an unpleasant memory. Fire. Burning. Darkness. Think of something else. Chase that good feeling. Where is it? Find it.
“Her family. She dressed different than them. Every single person. She was herself without any hesitation. Even when I teased her about it. It never bothered her enough to change anything.” Kris could feel Susie’s uninterrupted gaze transfixed on them, but couldn’t face it. Not if they wanted to get through everything.
“We went back up to her room. I tried the skirt on, and after I just…I just ran around. We both did.” Their grip on the cloth in their lap tightened as fragments of childhood laughter began to ring in their ears. “I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and….” Their voice caught. It wasn’t until they swallowed that they felt the tears they had been holding back. They quickly widened their eyes to try and keep them from flowing.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t like what I usually wore. Azzy’s clothes were so soft, especially after mom would take them out of the dryer.” As they spoke, Kris began to pull their arms in, as if they were relishing in that warmth. Although any sensible being could tell the ones they were wearing had been worn out, perhaps taking one too many tumbles in that dryer. “And it was nice knowing what I was supposed to look like. It was comforting to have a blueprint.”
They continued. “That day in the mirror…I saw someone else. Someone different. Someone new. I didn’t look like my brother. Well, I never have. But I didn’t look like I was trying to be my brother. I liked it, but it scared me. I didn’t know this person. Not yet. I just remember staring at my reflection until Noelle appeared behind me. She had the stupidest grin as she put her hand on my shoulder. That stupid, annoying, cute grin." They did a rather poor imitation of her voice. "‘Don’t you see? I have all sorts of different clothes. You could wear whatever you want!’ Her voice was so squeaky back then.” Kris let out a small laugh before continuing. “Mrs. Holiday let me keep the skirt. I wore it all the time. Mom loved it too. I’m not sure why I stopped but…” Kris’ voice trailed off as they became lost in thought.
Kris finally looked up, to see Susie wide-eyed and slightly blushing, staring into them as if they held all the answers to the universe. Then they felt a strange warmth on their cheek. They slowly moved their sleeve up to wipe away a few tears that had begun to fall. They sniffed and turned away in embarrassment.
Susie doesn’t want to go to the festival with me anymore. This was so stupid to get worked up over. Maybe she should just leave me alone to rot away in my room for all eternity.
But Kris looked up to find Susie now sitting on her knees in front of Kris. The room was tense, but not hostile. The two sat in silence and just existed near each other, without the need for words.
“Y’know,” Susie said after some time. She was almost speaking in a whisper, yet her voice could have ruptured Kris’ ear drums. “Dude, if you wanted, you could wear that skirt now.” She clocked their panicked expression. “I’m not asking you to wear it to the festival or anything. I’ve just…I’ve never seen you smile like that before.”
Kris gazed into Susie’s face. She could be such a strong, intimidating monster, yet she always wore a soft expression so full of hope when talking with them. Kris nodded, clinging to that infectious hope. She helped them rise. As the two stood up, the skirt unfolded in Kris’ hands. It was full of wrinkles from lying untouched for years.
Kris slipped the skirt on over their pants. It still fit, although a bit more snugly than before. Susie stepped back to give them some room. It felt like they were a kid again. They felt like running around and jumping. They felt like climbing the tree in Noelle’s yard. They felt like twirling around until they became dizzy and they collapsed on the floor. It felt invigorating. It felt euphoric. It felt just the same as it had before. It felt empowering. It felt…nauseating.
The joy had become so much it was sickening. It felt like old memories. Bad memories. Good memories, but those had soured over time. It felt overwhelming. It felt terrifying. It felt awful. It felt undeserved. It was too much. They wanted this, so why did it suddenly feel so bad? They felt their breath grow unsteady as the room seemed to shrink around them.
Panicked, they looked to Susie. As they focused on her, Kris’ breath steadied. She was smiling, actually smiling. Kris began to think maybe, just maybe, with Susie by their side they could do anything, that they could be anything. And they laughed. It was a genuine, honest expression of joy. They were still filled with fear, but they felt a push to use that energy in a different way.
They took Susie’s hands and spun around. She had never seen them act with such joyful spontaneity. She was certainly caught off guard, but soon she, too, was laughing. The room became a blur of colors around them as they held tightly onto the other. Kris felt like time stood still and hoped they could spin around with her forever. It could have been mere seconds or serval minutes, neither could tell. Eventually, they both fell to the floor, out of breath.
They both found themselves looking up at a spinning ceiling. As their view of the room returned to normal, Susie spoke up. “So, you wanna head out to the festival now?”
“Yeah. Just let me get out of this real quick,” Kris responded, as they began to stand.
Surprised, Susie asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to wear this? I personally don’t like skirts, but I’ve never seen you smile for that long ever!”
“It’s all…this is great but, I…”
How to finish that sentence?: "But I can’t have Noelle see me in it.” “But I feel like I can’t have this.” “But I need to look like Azzy so mom will be happy.” “I’m scared to be something other than what I know.”
“It holds some strong memories. I can’t wear this one. At least not for a while,” Kris finally stated.
“Sure you don’t wanna give it some new memories?” Susie inquired.
“You already have.” Kris said. The two shared a smile, both parties feeling at peace. It remained unbroken until Susie’s face suddenly changed.
“I have an idea! Stay here!” she exclaimed.
Kris laughed as she bolted out of their bedroom door. They barely had time to slip out of the skirt before she returned.
“I remember seeing this next to that awesome dragon book you locked away!” In her hand she held a blue ribbon. “Maybe it’ll be easier to start with a small change?”
Kris was genuinely taken aback by this gesture. They smiled softly and nodded. Susie moved behind them and pulled their hair into a half-up-half-down style. The bow was tied rather haphazardly and Kris pretended like it didn’t pinch when she got some of their hair caught in the knot.
“Now you look like you do in the dark worlds! Badass.”
They both moved to the hallway. Kris caught a glimpse of the two of them in the mirror and began to let out a sigh of relief. Before the air fully left their lungs, they were jerked to towards the stairs. Susie began running towards the door, holding tightly onto Kris’ hand. Their feet were barely able to keep up with Susie. They laughed as she pulled them along into the brisk fall air.
“C’mon Kris! We gotta go! I hear they have cotton candy! We gotta get there before they run out so we can eat it all ourselves!”
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Kris lay motionless in their bed. They were desperate to try and cling to the freedom and solace of sleep. If they didn’t wake up, they didn’t have to face what would lay before them. They wouldn’t have to think. They had nothing to think about, anyway. Well, nothing that didn’t make them feel like vomiting.
It wasn’t until they heard their mother’s footsteps approaching their bedroom door that they fully awoke. “Kris!” she called out from the other room. Her voice grew in volume as she continued stepping closer to the door. “It is getting late! You do not want to be tardy to the festival, I presume!”
Without moving their body, Kris glanced at their door to make sure it was closed. They wanted to get up before their mom opened the door so they could pretend to have been awake already. But their body was full of gravel and there wasn’t an ounce of motivation to move their muscles. Their eyelids became heavy. They were stuck.
Sleeping with that wrist watch on caused the area to be sore by the morning. They continued to take inventory of what lay around them. They noticed their hand was resting on something rather cold. Kris just barely moved their fingers before realizing it was their phone. Carol’s voice echoed in their ears. They shoved the device out of their reach, hoping it would silence her.
They fished around for their pillow, hoping it hadn’t fallen on the floor as a result of all their tossing and turning. Luckly it was just off to the side and didn’t require much effort to pull back over their head. They felt their body sink into the mattress, hoping that the weight of their comforter and coolness of their pillow would lull them back to a dreamless sleep.
This was promptly disrupted by a gentle knocking on their door. “Kris, sweetie,” their mom spoke softly. “May I come in?” They knew they were powerless in this situation. As soon as she finished speaking, they heard the door creak. They felt a tightness in their throat, realizing they were fighting tears. They kept their face buried in their pillow, wanting to disappear.
They felt the weight of their bed shift as she sat beside them. She began rubbing her hand along their back in order to gently wake them up. Great, now they actually were crying. Maybe their mom wouldn’t notice. She usually doesn’t. Or at least she pretends not to. Kris wasn’t always sure.
They avidly did not want to think about the events of the night prior. No more battles, no more choices, no more Noelle, and certainly no more of that weird man from the grocery store. As if she could read their mind she began speaking. “Don’t worry, it’s just us now. Mr. Sans has already left.” They felt themself slip further away from their body at the mention of that name. They didn’t want to be here. They didn’t want to exist.
“I heard you are going with Noelle today. How wonderful! …If a little unexpected.” She sounded joyful. Kris felt like they were developing an allergy to joy. Everything made them feel sick.
“I was just talking with Mrs. Holiday this morning. I found one of Asriel’s old suits from when he was smaller. It compliments one of Noelle’s dresses. I will leave it here. It would be so adorable if you both matched! Just like the old days.”
Kris could tell from her tone that she was smiling while delivering that information. Of course they would match. Of course everyone could tell they were together. Of course there was no escaping the prison of their current existence.
They felt themself begin to rise, yet it was as if no consciousness was inhabiting their body. Were they doing this on their own? Or was this the workings of something else? They supposed it didn’t matter. Kris was only able to watch their body proceed to make choices on its own.
They looked over to their dresser and noticed the set of clothes laid on top of it. Kris recognized it instantly. It was just about the only thing their brother owned that wasn’t green. In front of Kris was a light maroon shirt, a red bowtie, black jacket and slacks. Their brother wore this for picture day when he was around eleven. Their face heated up from embarrassment. “Great,” they thought. “I’m too old for this. Wish mom knew that. Looks like I can wear my own shoes, at least.”
It wasn’t like they hadn’t wanted to wear this suit before. They remember being quite jealous of their brother they day he got it. “Why does Azzy get all the nice stuff. I can wear nice stuff, too.” They recalled their parents replying with something along the lines of “Once you stop dirtying your clothes with mud, then we will get something nice just like that.” Looks like today was finally the day.
The festival was for running around and causing mischief. Kris became angry that their mom and her friend were trying to make this into something formal. It was going take a terrible amount of energy for them to get themself into the suit, but it would take even more to contradict everyone’s expectations.
Kris let out an aggravated sigh when they put on the shirt. Of course it’s too big. Of course!Normally this wouldn’t have bothered them, but today it was icing on top of an already rancid cake. It felt scratchy. They had hoped they could at least wear it without the jacket, but the cold air bit at them through the thin fabric of the shirt.
Luckily the pants fit. They proceeded to walk out of their room, but looked at themself in the mirror before heading downstairs. A part of them still hoped they would see a younger version of Asriel when they looked in the mirror. But they never did. Staring back at them was a scrawny, furless and hornless, sorry excuse for a monster. The desperately tried to forget that they weren’t one, despite everyone telling them it was something that made them special. It was a good thing. Somehow. No matter what they did, they could never look how they were supposed to.
They made some adjustments to their clothing. They were begrudgingly pleased with how the suit looked on them. It looked new enough that maybe the townsfolk wouldn’t even think it a possibility that it was initially owned by someone else. They took off the bowtie and set it on the bookshelf. Ah, much better. They fixed the collar of the shirt and started to feel more like themself. Kris had opted to wear their red sneakers. It was a small reminder they had at least some agency throughout all of this.
They wanted to step away now, but something was stopping them. They pushed their hair away from their face as they continued to stare in the mirror. God, they looked awful. Under their eyes was a deep shade of grey, making the red in their irises all the more apparent. They began pulling at the skin under them. Surely no one would notice how sunken in their skin was, especially if they pushed their hair back over their face. They knew at least their mother wouldn’t comment on it.
They stayed looking at their face for quite some time, with something still compelling them to keep checking their reflection. They began to take in the features of their face as if they were looking at it for the first time. They never noticed how bright their eyes were. They began noticing all the asymmetry. They didn’t realize how prominent the tears stains from earlier were. They noticed that some had managed to drip onto their shirt.
Maybe they should finally pluck the few stray hairs that were growing around their chin? Or should they shave it? Their jaw clenched in frustration. They didn’t know which option was better. They didn’t even know if their body was fully capable of growing facial hair. No one had told them. No one seemed to tell them anything, except what to do.
Initially, they thought having some type of facial hair might help them feel more like their family. But no one had even noticed all that their body was able to muster. It was starting to feel worse to have a fraction of something they wanted than to have no part of it at all. They supposed it didn’t matter, not really. Not now.
Kris’ mind was diving deeper and deeper into their fears. They felt themself slipping. They began to wonder if they were even real. Sometimes it didn’t feel like it. Maybe it would be better if they weren’t. At least then, they wouldn’t have to worry about what happened. They could watch their body from above as someone else made all the wrong decisions. They didn’t have to pay attention when things got really bad, because it wouldn’t affect them. Not really. Not if they were hollowed out.
Maybe Noelle wasn’t real. Maybe everything they saw themself do to her didn’t matter. Maybe they never hurt her. They did love each other, in their own way, but something about wishing her out of existence felt kinder than letting the two of them have their shared childhood memories, only to grow up and have to live through all of this. They had grown so close, even joking about getting married when they got older. But that was kid stuff. It was never supposed to be real. Right?
Kris’ focus on the mirror lessened, and they became slightly blurry. The light reflecting off of their watch was more prominent now. Their watch. It wasn’t even their watch. It was Noelle’s. They stole it and they weren’t even sure why. Yes, it made them stronger in the moment, but Noelle looked so scared when she saw them with it. They knew this would happen. Why did they keep letting this happen?!?
They began rubbing their thumb against the side of their ring finger. They hoped Noelle was able to take the thorn ring off, even if she had to cut it out. But they knew that wasn’t possible. They couldn’t afford to care anymore. Caring meant losing her later would be even more painful. If life kept going in this direction, they hoped destruction was a two-way street. Maybe then they would be free from all of this.
Kris barely heard their mother’s footsteps as she walked down the hall. She clicked her tongue then said, “Oh Kris, you look so handsome! I should have given you this suit much sooner!”
Handsome. It wasn’t necessarily the wrong word. Kris had even happily used it to describe themself on multiple occasions. It was a good word, a great word even, but it didn’t always feel like the right one. Today was one of those days. But they remembered they probably weren’t real, so it didn’t matter. It would just be easier to proceed with the prompts they were given. “Yes, I am handsome today,” was all they thought in response.
Their mother’s voice began to sound muffled despite her standing right next to them. “I forgot to give you these! How silly of me.” Kris looked down and realized she was holding a pair of black dress shoes. They mindlessly slipped off their cushioned red shoes in favor of the stiff and uncomfortable black ones. Their choices didn’t matter. They needed to wear the shoes.
“Oh,” she jokingly clicked her tongue again. “You must have had difficulty putting on your tie. Let me help.” They didn’t have it in them to protest. They could only stand there, looking at their mom as she worked her motherly magic on the supposedly misbehaving tie. Even though she was working gently, the fabric’s presence around their neck felt like it was choking them. Their choices didn’t matter. They needed to wear the tie.
“There!” she said rather proudly. Kris gazed at their blurry reflection. Unable to clearly see the results of her handywork, they trusted they must look how she wanted. Their choices didn’t matter. But at least someone was happy. “Come!” She took their hand. They barely felt it. “Noelle is almost here.”
She carefully led them down the stairs, worrying that Kris hadn’t spoken today. “Kris, if you are not feeling well, I could make you a hot chocolate if you wish.” Kris simply shook their head and kept walking. A hot chocolate wouldn’t stop them from making whatever mistake they would watch themself make today. Their choices didn’t matter.
Kris stood by the bathroom. It would be so easy... It would be so easy to run into the restroom and rip out their soul and yell at it and kick it, begging it to do literally anything else. Their mom would notice but they didn't care. Kris assumed she wouldn't either. The act would almost kill them, but this needed to be stopped. But they knew it wouldn’t work. Why waste the energy? Their choices didn’t matter.
Instead of acting on their own, they stood and watched their mother look at the bouquet of flowers thrown recklessly on the table a few days prior. One of them stood out amongst the bunch. The rest looked dead.
“Might as well put these to some good use,” their mother said under her breath. Kris suddenly remembered. Those were the flowers their dad made them give to her. The implication of carrying one around while out with Noelle made them uncomfortable.
“Oh, it would be so lovely if you gave this to Noelle when she gets here. I think she would really appreciate it!” She stated. Immediately after, there was a knock on the door. She set the flower on the table and went to go answer it.
Kris stared at the flower: a rose. They weren’t sure why, but they watched as their hand reached for it. They lightly touched the soft petals, observing their silken texture between their fingers. The feeling began to bring them back into their body. They could begin to feel the connection shared between their feet and the ground once more. Being aware was too painful, so they stopped.
They reached to pick up the rose. As their hand wrapped around the stem, they were shocked to see was Noelle standing right next to them. Startled, their hand seized. The immense pain inflicted by the thorns instantly pulled them fully back into their body. They were viscerally aware of everything now. They were getting ready to go to the festival. They agreed to wear this dumb outfit. Their chest was on fire. For better or worse, they were real. Noelle was real.
Kris tried to drop their horrified expression, but could only replace it with a grimace as the thorns sunk deeper into their skin. Kris wondered if they were bleeding, but couldn’t pull their eyes from Noelle to check. God, she's beautiful. Her appearance seemed to consume their every thought. She really is so beautiful. Why is she this beautiful today? It's not fair. It made them uneasy.
“Hi Kris.” She said. As she spoke, Kris began to notice that her eyes didn’t look that different from their own. It looks like she didn’t get much sleep either. The color under them was darker. The two stood in what would have been a cold, dead silence, save for Toriel and Carol’s conversation being had by the stairs. Kris could only make out small words here and there, most of which related to their outfits and “the old times.”
Maybe the two of them could pretend like they were kids again, that this was just another game. Kris looked down at their hand and realized they were still holding the rose. Something pushed them to act. As they began to speak, they heard the mothers’ voices hush, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
“I…”
Kris didn’t realize how tight their throat felt. I was harder to speak today than they realized. Their voice felt scratchy. They were being watched. They had to act accordingly.
“I’m suppo-,” they caught themself. “I…wanted to give you this.” They forced a smile, although it wasn’t much of one, as they held out the rose to present to her. They heard their mom’s voice exhale a hushed whisper of endearment.
We’re kids. This is just pretend. This is just a game.
“Oh uh…Thank you Kris.” Noelle returned an equally forced smile. She extended her hand to take the rose. Kris looked down at Noelle's hands and noticed something odd about her ring finger.
We’re kids. This is just pretend. This is just a game.
As her hand closed around the rose, Noelle let out a small yelp. “A thorn must have…must have pierced my hand. I’ll be ok.” She spoke through a toothy grin. A terrible, unnatural, frightening smile.
We’re kids. This is just pretend. This is just a game.
Kris knew she was lying. None of those thorns were causing her any pain, not after what they did to her yesterday. This must have been a subtle way for her to hurt Kris in return. It worked. They looked at her hand. Her fur was almost completely covering the old thorn, as if it was becoming a part of her.
We’re kids. This is just pretend. This is just a game.
Kris tried to swallow but found themself unable to. Their mouth felt dry. They needed water. They noticed the watch clasped tightly around their own wrist. The recalled trying to take it off night before, but it wouldn’t budge.
Noelle used her free hand to take Kris’. Her grip was stronger than expected and tighter than Kris was comfortable with. They winced. Her smile grew in response.
We’re not those kids anymore. This isn’t pretend. This is someone else’s game.
Kris followed Noelle’s lead as she walked out of their house. Neither was happy, but neither would admit it. They were proceeding with what everyone wanted. And in the process, they would suffer in silence. They quietly walked hand in hand out the door and towards the ferries wheel, both hoping the only thing responsible for the coldness stinging their skin was the weather.