@rxpture asked: "..you don't smile like you used to." Noelle said, suddenly, as the two sat on a bench awaiting Susie's return with snacks. Her face, framed by the curls of her hair, was palatable, if tinged with a melancholy that was so often there whenever the monster thought nobody was looking. A side of Noelle she didn't want others to see, anymore. "Except.. when you're with her."
Noelle doesn't want an explanation, no, it wasn't a question. It was said like the factual statement it was. Susie was achieving something that Noelle couldn't anymore. Whatever the two of them had, it was something Noelle herself couldn't. Not after everything that has happened.
Her own smile was tinged with a sadness far beyond her years as she finally turned her head to look at Kris properly.
"I'm glad. I was worried…" The thought it cut off as Noelle seemed to realize what she was saying, a small guffaw escaping her. "Faha. S-Sorry, that.. that probably sounded a little weird, didn't it? I mean, um, smiling suits you. You should do that.. more. Yeah."
They hadn't been focusing before. So they didn't know if she said anything, at any point, before she was able to get their attention back. No, they'd just been staring into the distance, thinking about... Nothing. Numbness. A ringing in their ears. Could they hear music? Didn't matter.
But now they were looking at her, inspecting her face from behind their long locks. Red eyes tracing over familiar traits of her facial structure, though changed from time and... Conscious effort on her part, if they had to guess.
Lots have changed since Dess disappeared. So many of them she had no clue about. And they couldn't tell her about any of it either.
" ...I miss you smiling too. " And that was something that only Susie could bring out of her too. Like they used to. Or, well... Was it ever like that? Were they ever that close? Or do they just wonder about it? The what if that ruins their sleep.
What if everything went right. What if she didn't disappear. What if... What if things were normal?
But they didn't address what she said first. Because they couldn't. They wouldn't. It... It wouldn't be right. They can't want it. Because if they do... They won't get to have it. Like always. So they'll ignore it. And they'll suffer. Like they always have.
So they look away from her and just... Stare at the ground. Quietly.