Proceed: A Snowgrave Story

Susie

I didn't get a wink of sleep that night. I was just tossing and turning, thinking about what happened. That dream...it felt so real! And Berdly...why was he so cold? The computer lab was normally room temperature. The sun started to rise, and I decided to get up. 6:35am. I would usually get up at this time, so it wasn't that big of a deal. I put on my clothes and headed downstairs. As I was drinking my coffee and eating my frosted flakes, Mum walked down the stairs, ready to go to work.

Vixen Holiday, also known as my mum, was the mayor of Hometown. Although she loved me, she was always busy with work. I mean, being a mayor often leads to unexpected jobs.
"Morning, Elle." Mum greeted, giving me a hug. "How'd you sleep?"
"OK, I guess." I lied. "I ended up waking up at 5 instead of 6. Will you be working a lot today?"
"I'm afraid so. Sorry, honey." Mum said sorrowfully. "However, I think I'll be free tomorrow, and we can play that Lizard Burners game you and Dad seem to love."
"It's Dragon Blazers, Mum!" I laughed.
"Same difference." she giggled before planting a kiss on my head. "Love you, snowflake."

It was the weekend, so I had a day of relaxing. Well, I had planned to explore the forest south of town with Kris, but I didn't feel like doing it. He did send me a text saying that Toriel had him doing chores, so he wasn't able to hang out anyways. So, I decided to make myself some hot cocoa and watch TV for a bit. It was just me, nobody else. Soon, the morning turned to the afternoon. I turned off the TV, grabbed my Switch, and I walked to the hospital to see Dad.

"Yes! Finally beat that boss!" I cried with glee.
"Nice job, honey." Dad congratulated. "The bosses do get progressively harder as you go on."
"Oh boy, I'm not looking forward to the final boss..." I murmured.
"Well, maybe go get some new armour and weapons. It'll probably make the final battle a breeze." Dad advised.
Every day, in the afternoon, I go visit Dad in the hospital. He had cancer, and, while it was tough for him, he stayed positive. Mum would visit whenever she could, but I always had time on my hands. Dad and I loved playing this RPG called Dragon Blazers 2, and, though I wasn't great at it, I tried my best.

Dad also often gave me advice about asking out someone I had a crush on. There was this girl named Susie that I had a crush on (yes, I'm a lesbian, so what), but I didn't know what to say or how to say it. Dad would give me pickup lines or give me ways to flirt with her. Apparently, he had tried some of the pickup lines on Mum, and some of them were really inappropriate. Still, the stories he told me made me laugh, even if they were a bit spicy. After about an hour of playing games, we wrapped it up and called it a day. However, when I left the hospital, I saw Susie just chilling on a bench nearby. My heart was beating so fast, I could feel it pounding in my chest.

"Oh. Hey, Noelle. You visiting your old man?" she asked.
"Uh...yeah." was my awkward reply.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"Hey, mind if I ask you something?" Susie asked, beckoning me to her seat.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"W-well, if you want." I stammered, sitting down.
"I'm just wondering about you yesterday. You seemed...nervous about something. Are you alright?" Susie mentioned.
THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.
My heart was racing like a rabbit. Susie? Worried about me?
"Oh, i-it was just the bad dream. Just a bit shaken up, that's all." I hastily explained.
"Hmm. Right. Tell you what, if anything like that happens again, here's my phone number. I might know a thing or two about it. Catch ya later, Noelle."
Susie handed me a crumpled bit of paper and walked away.

Did that really happen? Did I just get Susie's phone number? I took the piece of paper and put it in my pocket. Did Susie plan this? Why would she give me her phone number? All these questions bounced around my head, but I shoved them to the back of my mind. I walked through the gates of my house and opened the door, my heart still feeling like it would burst out of my chest.