Chapter Text
——3rd Person (K) Noelles Gate——
"Noelle." Kris greets, voice grainy. "Saw you at the hospital."
Noelle looks awkward, turning to see the unlikely suspect, meeting Kris' eyesight past their bangs.
"Oh! Kris. Is there... something you need? We didn't get homework, fahaha..."
Her voice trailed off, audibly swallowing before looking back at Kris, visibly contemplating for a moment.
"Kris... with Susie... can you... tell me what she's like?-"
"Shes fine." Kris replied. Too fast.
"Kris...? Is something wrong?"
Her voice made Kris' breath hitch. They heard her concern, before pausing, feeling the invader in their chest select
"She's Awful"
Kris' eyes widened, being force-fed memories of earlier that day. Biting their cheek until it was sore.
"She... shoved me against a locker..."
Kris had accidentally let slip, their teeth gritting together. Catching the gobsmacked look on her face, and paling.
"She-" Noelle started, visibly caught off guard, eyes wide.
"IT'S-" Kris nearly screamed, before flinching at their own words. Breathing shakily, "I-Its fine."
"It's not!" Noelle spat, the look of upset getting more and more visible on her face. Clearly upset for the human's mental neglecting.
Kris flinched. "You..." they started, then stopped. Trying to find it in themselves to speak, with the Soul selecting one of their two screaming answers that were lingering in their mind. Thankfully the right one. "She... We get along now."
Kris rubbed their arm, as if it would get rid of the ichy feeling surrounding their whole body.
Noelle took a deep breath, her face getting firm. She reached out, gathering Kris' hands into her own. Holding it firm with shaky hands. "I just..."
She looked away, still shakily holding into their hand. "I worry. You... you've been different..."
Kris couldnt hear the rest, they felt shock, horror, and sick all at the same time. She had noticed the Soul. Their teeth were practically screaming in pain from clenching.
She noticed the Soul.
What about the plan?
What about their promise?
Kris had to try to keep from passing out because of hyperventilation.
"You've... acted different today... and you and Susie... were gone." She looked sheepish as she spoke, almost frightened. "I just don't understand when... before at the-"
"I WAS JUST JEALOUS" he screamed out of anger although with their weak vocal cords, it sounded more like a a strained version of raising their voice. Going pale at what they said, as they fumbled with their mouth, opening and closing like an idiot.
Why did that come out?
How did it come out?
The Soul-
Where's the Soul?
The only prevailing thought in Kris' mind was 'Where?'
Before calling onto their Soul. It was their own SOUL. Their REAL one. The pale blue SOUL echoed in their chest. PATIENCE. What a fucking joke. They had ran out of patience, and now everything was fucked.
Kris stumbled backwards, their posture snapping out of the perfect control of the ANGEL, and firmly back into the clumsy human Kris'. Their feet moved back weakly, almost falling in the process. Stepping as if the ground burned to stand on.
"Kris...?"
Kris had nearly forgot about her. They panicked. They couldn't take the stress or the sickness. They lost grip of their emotions, and fainted. Head hitting the gravel as they lost consciousness.
Now to tell you the truth, Kris had believed with all their very being believed they were dead when they found themselves in front of their own body. But paying more attention to their own autonomy and the fact that they saw LITERALLY EVERYTHING around them at a topside view, they could maybe tell they were probably the Cyan SOUL floating above their own body.
Noelle screamed, and Kris flinched, somehow. Good grief, was he not ready to deal with that. Mentally, he sighed.
'This is gonna be a drag.'
——3rd Person (N) beginning of day——
Noelle was not having a good day.
You see, let's start at the beginning.
She had woken up that day getting out of bed, getting dressed, and heading out the door. Perfectly normal as ever. Almost boring. Sometimes, she hoped for change.
She arrived at school just in time for Berdly to march up to her and declare himself her partner proudly. Annoying. But regardless, she just awkwardly laughed it off, deciding to just accept and move on.
When Kris arrived soon after, she felt suspicious. They were late as always. Obviously. But earlier than normal. They never show up this early.
She was almost caught staring by Kris, before she turned, looking forward. Before seeing them walk over, standing next to her.
"Oh! Ahm... What's up? You need a pencil...?"
She asked, confused, why go up to her first, I mean-
"Partners..."
Kris mumbled weakly, startling the doe, blinking rapidly, bewildered.
Kris? The selectively mute human? Speaking? To her? To be her PARTNER?
She felt warmth rush to her cheeks, before forcibly pushing that down immediately.
'WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT WAS THAT? CMON NOELLE!'
She berated herself mentally, before realizing she had to respond.
"O-Oh? You wanna be partners? Sorry, but I'm already partnered with Berdly. I can ask miss Alphys if we can make a group of three, if you want?"
She said, surprising herself at her own hopeful voice.
"Yes, ask."
Kris mumbled, voice faint and almost nonexistent.
Probably strained from talking after years without use, she noted.
"U-Uhm! Ms Alphys? Can we make a group of three?"
She asked, ignoring the complaints Berdly made.
Weird... why did that make her so much more angry than usual...? Why did she... wany to be Kris' partner so bad...?
Pushing past that, she was interrupted by Susie, slamming open the door and marching in.
"Am I late?"
Weird. She feels how she usually does around Susie. But she can't help bit compare it to how she felt a little bit ago with Kris... with Kris... it felt so much more present... so much... happier. Huh. She might need to talk to her dad about that...
Anyways, it ended with Kris partnering with Susie. With a sinking feeling in her heart. Like the feeling with Kris, was missing... but... wasn't she supposed to feel jealous of Kris...? She had to push past those thoughts. Try to ignore them. At least long enough to figure out what they were.
She listened to Alphys as she talked. All things she's already studied ahead on. Having already studied a full month in advance, just to be able to be able to relax in class. And also to get her mother off her back, but regardless.
She flinched when she heard a loud bang, causing the class to go dead silent. Some whispering among each other. Before unanimously deciding Susie simply slammed her locker shut, fed up with Kris.
Noelle felt no such relief. Being Noelle, she knew Susie didn't use a locker, despite being assigned one.
Her heart felt heavy, and she had to swallow heavily, just to get the feeling out of her throat.
Regardless she pushed past. Going through the day, suspiciously without Kris or Susie, never coming back with the chalk. Which of course meant they couldn't continue the lesson. Which basically made the class prep for the project. Berdly of course suggested it be on some obscure video game. All inferior to Dragon Blazers of course, she thought.
Instead they ended up not picking anything, deciding to just figure it out the next day when they had time to study.
She left class a minute early, with Alphys' permission. Immediately looking for Kris and Susie, finding nobody. She sighed in frustration, turning back, before freezing. Flinching at the sight of the dented lockers.
'Maybe... she just punched them?' She thought hopefully, although the sinking feeling grew larger and larger.
She continued hurriedly to the door, headed out and continuing down the street, going to the Hospital to visit her dad.
She talked about many things with her father, ending up never telling him directly about her strange feelings with Kris. Instead opting to ask about the feeling in general, making a small vague description. What he told her felt similar, but was hard to place as the exact feeling. She talked, and the topic of Susie eventually came up, she felt... strangely bland talking about her. It somehow didn't feel different. Just... different to how she SAW the emotion before. Again, strange.
It was at the end of the Susie talk that she turned to leave, noticing Kris as she left.
Mentally she cursed herself.
'How much did they hear...?' She thought, biting the inside of her cheek.
Why does that feel so miserable...? To know Kris heard me talk about Susie... like that... it doesn't make sense. No. I'm lying to myself. It's the feeling I felt this morning. It's happier. It's love. Fuck, i love Kris. That's why Susie feels so bland in my mind. I'm so deeply in love with Kris. Fuck how long has this been a thing? She probably knew. She just shut herself down with emotions before she could ask.
She remembered all the times with Kris. The joy, the pure unadulterated joy she felt around them. Since they were kids. Oh Angel, since they were kids. She's been in love with them for years. Fuck, she made Kris think she was in love with Susie. Did she ruin everything? Is there no more hope? Did they even feel the same?
She had to stop herself from crying. Steeling herself as she reached her gate, fiddling with her bag, before realizing she forgot her keys, cursing herself.
"Noelle." She heard. Turning to be met with Kris. "Saw you at the hospital."
Kris. She thought. The root of her spiraling thoughts. Talking. To her. Again. She felt her heart spiral out of control. She felt like now that she was aware of her feelings, it was so much more present. Almost overwhelmingly so.
"Oh, uhm. Kris. Is there something you need? We don't have homework today..."
She started, before trailing off, this was her time to ask. To figure out the two of them.
"Uhm. Kris... I have something to ask. With Susie... how was she-?"
"Shes fine."
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. She knew Kris better than anyone. They're hiding something.
"So today...?"
She watched them flinch,
"She... shoved me against a locker."
So that was why. She felt rage boil inside of her. Seeing the sheepish human drove her over the edge. Kris shouldn't have to feel awkward for saying this to her. She felt awful for not realizing sooner.
"She-"
"IT'S-" She flinched at their weak frail scream, years without use, and they were straining it against her. She immediately felt immensely guilty. "It's fine" they continued, quiet.
"It's not!" She said angrily, feeling pissed at the humans self neglect. She had missed her own feelings for years. She won't allow Kris to suppress theirs.
She watched them close their eyes, shaking slightly "You..." they started, making her immediately interested, before they go off a different track, "She... We get along now." Her heart felt strained. They seem so defensive of Susie. Why? She hurt them. That felt unforgivable to her. Noelle doubted she'd ever even look at Susie the same anymore.
She sighed. Overwhelmed. "I-"
She stepped forward, taking their hands into hers, pushing past her racing heart to help to poor human.
"I just..." She looked away slightly, speaking a mile a minute. "I worry. You've been so different, and, you were hurt, and-"
She rambled on, only stopping when she heard them scream, and in her confusion missed what they said. She watched in pure horror as they fell, missing them when they reached out to grab them, seeing their head hit the gravel with a loud splat sound.
Taking a moment to process, she screamed, unable to control herself any longer. A blood curling scream that echoed across several blocks.