Chapter Text
Noelle jolted out of her sleep, the sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. Sighing, she wiped a bead of cold sweat off her brow. It was just a bad dream , she thought to herself, shaking her head to clear the feeling of anxiousness. It wasn’t as vivid as it was in the library, though their voice had been present and stayed loud and clear, telling her what to do.
“It’s not real, there’s no way,” she ended up mumbling to herself mindlessly. Part of her wanted it to be real, the good part where she got on that ferris wheel with Susie. The part where Susie genuinely cared for her, the way she got flustered when Noelle saw her tail, where they both looked each other in the eyes and -
Suddenly, there was a curt knock on her bedroom door shortly followed by Carol’s stern voice, cutting her little fantasies short. “Noelle, dear? Come down for breakfast now, or we’ll both be late!"
Of course, she didn’t actually care for me, that never happened, she kept telling herself.
“I’m coming, just a second!” Noelle slid out from under the covers and shuffled over to her closet, changing out of her pajamas and into her green and red checkered sweater, skirt, and… huh. Her silver watch was missing. Well, that doesn’t mean anything… I could have lost it in the library. Maybe she’ll ask her mother if she’s seen it around somewhere, it can’t have gone far.
Noelle set her hand firmly on the handle to her bedroom door, looking down to the ground. She’ll have to see Kris at school again. How hard is it to pretend like nothing really happened between them? She’ll have to stay on the down low, maybe avoid them for a while while she processes everything that happened in her nightmare.
Noelle opened the door and trekked down the spiral staircase, one foot in front of the other. Everything seemed so surreal to her, as if she was sleepwalking. She sluggishly made her way to stand in front of the dining room table. Her breakfast was sitting beside her mother. “Morning,” she muttered, taking a seat. There was an awkward moment of silence inbetween, only broken by the occasional clink of silverware. The house felt so... empty.
Carol was the first to break the silence. “Did you sleep well, dear?” Carol asked, lifting a chunk of pancake off her plate and into her mouth. “You don’t look well.”
“I had a nightmare,” she quietly replied, poking at her soggy pancakes. She’s looking at me like I’m about to explode.
"Oh, dear,” Carol said, wiping away a piece of syrup from her daughter’s cheek. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”
Noelle recoiled back into her seat. “It’s really nothing… I-I don’t even remember it,” she stuttered, trying her best to keep her composure. “But… It just felt so real, yknow? Sometimes it’s just so hard to discern from reality… fahaha!”
Carol raised an eyebrow, but didn’t push further. “No, I understand. Dreams are like that sometimes.” She raised herself up from her chair, tapping on the table toward her plate. “Hurry up and finish your food, I haven't got all day.”
Thank god. I don’t want to have my mother asking me a bajillion questions. Had she known, she'd never let Kris enter the house again, real or not.
As she watched her mother disappear into the kitchen, she scraped her leftover food into the trash and quickly followed her to place her plate in the sink. Noelle then retrieved her backpack from the coat hanger and threw on her backpack begrudgingly, opening the front gate to enter the car.
Outside it was just another boring day in Hometown, but for Noelle, she wouldn’t give it up for the world.
Noelle stepped out of the car onto the pavement, looking up towards the large school doors. A sigh escaped her lips, head racing. “Here we are,” she murmured, biting her lip and tightening her hold on her backpack. A sickening feeling of unease rised in her chest. Attempting to push away any overwhelming thoughts she might have, she puffed up her chest with newfound confidence and swung the double doors right open.
WHAM!
A flash of brown hair appeared in her way, the door almost knocking the figure over to the side.
So much for confidence.
To her dismay, it was Kris. They had managed to lift themselves up, putting a hand to their forehead. Her thoughts swirled again. “Oh my god…!” Noelle clasped her hands over her mouth, leaning over them. “Kris, are you okay?”
There was no reply, but instead, another voice.
“What’s going on here?” A snarl came up from behind Noelle. Normally, Noelle might have jumped when she heard her voice, but she felt… unusually confident? She knew it was Susie, judging by the tone she's heard many times before. Noelle whipped around to face her - her guess was right.
“Susie…! I was walking into the school when I accidentally bumped into Kris here is all. I’m terribly sorry.” Noelle dipped her head apolegetically.
Susie scratched the back of her head, glancing to the side. "Oh. Well, I heard a loud slam, so I automatically assumed danger. No need to be sorry." She paused for another moment, narrowing her eyes past Noelle. "Wait a minute here…” Susie pushed past Noelle, crouching down. Kris stared at their hand, covered in blood. A low growl escaped Susie’s throat for her friend, but she knew it wasn’t right to blame Noelle for this accident.
Susie helped to get Kris to stand, supporting their weight on her shoulders. “Cmon, let’s get you to Alphys, yeah?”
Kris silently nodded, wiping the blood on their sleeve. And as they walked towards the classroom and past the students in the hall, Kris turned their head to look at Noelle.
A chill sent down her spine.
No one will ever believe you.