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Kris hastily chugs a glass of chocolate milk. They nearly slam the now empty glass down on Noelle's kitchen counter, before collapsing onto it. They let out a long groan. Being without their SOUL for a moment felt very freeing; like cutting the strings used to puppeteer you and finally being able to move on your own—and yet, it was exhausting at the same time; as if the strings you just cut were the only things helping you stand upright without immediately toppling over.
Kris pulls themselves off the counter and stands up mostly straight, glancing over towards the grand piano on the other side of the room. They could stop and play it for a moment... And God, is that thought tempting. Kris can't remember the last time they got the chance to play—it has to have been at least a month by now. They stumble over towards the piano and rest themselves on the bench. Kris sets their fingers delicately on top of the keys, deeply inhales, and starts to play a rendition of Rouxls' theme. Every key they play stings, but they continue on with the song nonetheless. A small smile begins to cross their face. A moment passes, feeling as if it took both five seconds and five years, and then–
The kitchen door opens—suddenly, but not quite loudly—as Susie pokes her head through. She spots Kris, and walks through the doorway, closing the door behind her. "No way, is that Roulxs' theme song, or whatever?"
Kris pauses, staring directly at Susie. As far as they know, they haven't ever gotten a moment truly alone with Susie since they really got to know her, without that goddamn SOUL dragging them around and speaking almost all of their words for them. And yet, here they are—no SOUL in sight. Just Kris, and Susie.
Susie looks a little disappointed once Kris stops playing. "Hey, don't stop just 'cuz of me! I mean, I know you're supposed to be looking for clues and stuff, but... psh– you can play the piano for a moment if you really want to. I'm sure we've got time."
"Uhh–" Kris clears their throat. "Yeah, yeah... alright."
Kris hesitates to start up again, and Susie notices.
"Y'know, I can like, leave, if you want... I realize I'm kinda barging in on ya. I can leave you alone."
"No, wait–" Usually, Kris didn't very much appreciate playing the piano while other people were around. It felt really uncomfortable—everyone would just stop and stare at them while they played, or make some stupid comment that left them annoyed the rest of the time. But, for whatever reason, Kris just... didn't want Susie to leave. "You... you can stay. If you want."
Susie grins. "Cool." She walks across the room and leans against the wall close to Kris.
Kris takes a deep breath—much deeper than the last—and begins to work the piano. Pressing the keys still stung, but they could ignore the pain more easily now.
"Hey, what song is this one? Sounds pretty good."
"It's, um..." Kris' playing doesn't let up, even for a moment. "I actually, um, composed this one myself. Never really named it, though. I've just been calling it, uh... Seven Four, which is kinda funny, because the time signature is technically seven eight... But, still, you could write it as seven four, just with doubly long measures."
"No way, that's sick as hell! I didn't know you could write songs too." Susie seems genuinely impressed, if not slightly confused with all the talk about time signatures.
"Hah, yeah..."
Both Susie and Kris opt to stay quiet, Susie listening carefully to the music. The melody sounds almost bittersweet in a way; as if you know you have a thousand bad memories behind you, and a thousand more waiting for you ahead, but the moment you're in right now is peaceful enough you don't have to worry about anything else. Occasionally, Kris presses a key a little bit too early, or falters for just a second as they try to time the notes properly—but Susie hardly notices any of that. She just patiently listens to the song, focusing her attention on Kris as their fingers glide across the keys.
Eventually, Kris plays the final note, and gently takes their hands off the piano and onto their lap.
"Kris, your... Your playing sounds beautiful. Really." Susie smiles lightly.
Kris keeps their gaze fixed down at the piano. Their eyes start to water with tears, and they quickly dry their eyes on their sleeve. "Th–thanks, Susie... I–"
Suddenly, all the lights in the room shut off—presumably the ones in the living room as well, since Noelle's scream can be heard muffled through the walls.
"Shit!" Kris mutters under their breath.
"Damn, I better get back to Noelle before she runs in here." Susie sprints across the room and stops at the door. "Make sure to like, actually look for clues now, 'k? I mean, if you can even see... Whatever– good luck!" Susie hastily opens, walks through, and shuts the door.
Kris sits completely still, on the bench in front of the piano. Susie had no idea that she had just gotten to speak to Kris as their friend without them being practically possessed by an eldritch being for the first time. She couldn't have known. And yet, the only thing Kris wants in this moment is to tell her. To jump into her arms and tell her that this time it was just Kris, the real Kris.
But they can't. Not only couldn't Susie have known, but she certainly can't find out. So many plans would break and fall apart as soon as that thought landed its way into her head. Speaking of...
Kris lets out a sharp, heavy sigh, and picks themselves up off the bench. Another piece of information that would ruin a lot of plans if Susie got her hands on it is the code inside that guitar. No doubt that SOUL was already on its way to help her find out. And it was Kris' job to stop it.
Maybe one day Kris and Susie could have this again. Maybe one day, Susie would look into their eyes, and she would know that it was them.
But for better or for worse, today was not that day.