"Hey," Jade says, knocking on the door. "Dinner's ready..."
"I'm not hungry..."
"Fine, don't eat," Jade replies. As she walks away, she mutters quietly, "Can't he just move on from that damn girl?"
"...You haven't talked to Emma in a while. Ace said she's really worried about you," She calls.
"Who cares? Olive left a note telling me to 'be happy' with Emma. I know what she means. She did that because she thought I would leave her for Emma, and she'd hurt her," Norman replies.
Jade walks back up to the door. "Yeah, even Olive cared about her. You should, too."
"I hate her..."
"You know, you're lying to yourself- and to me. You don't hate her." Jade sits down.
"You idiot, I do hate her!"
"She died because she knew it was right. I'm not the idiot, you're the one whose been depressed for the last two weeks," Jade says, with no tint of sadness, anger, or worry in her voice or gaze.
"You know... The reason you recognized Emma the day you met her was..." Her voice trails off. "I can't tell you, but you shouldn't say you hate her! She's a kind, caring girl..."
"No. She killed Olive."
"You idiot!" Jade laughs. "They never met each other! Oh, I mean... Would you be angry if Olive beat her?"
He says nothing.
"Come on... Think of before Olive died. You were good friends. I even saw... I forgot, no telling."
"I would be disappointed... But Olive... She was used to that. Everyone beat her. She finally had something good in her life and she wanted to protect it. Can't blame her..."
"If you're not going to eat, go buy me some mochi. You have no choice." Jade tells him, smirking. He'll be shocked to see who I've sent...
...
Emma looks in the freezer reluctantly. Then a purple box gets her attention. Mochi! She walks over and grabs the box.
"Excuse me," Someone's voice says.
"Sorry!" Emma apologizes and steps away. That voice... "Hey, do I know you?" She asks without thinking. The person looks her in the eyes, and she smiles.
"Don't say anything."
"Why? I haven't seen you in two entire weeks, Norman! I've been so worried! Wait... Jade said you wouldn't leave your room! Why are you here?"
"What? I barely go in my room."
"Oh... Well, uh, could you give this to Jade? She asked me to buy some," she says, handing him the box and some money with it. He blinks a few times and looks back at her, confused.
"She told me to get this." He tells her.
"It's good to see you again!" She says, changing the topic.
"Shut up." Emma flinches.
"What?"
"You're just not understanding what I'm thinking and saying."
"You're right. I don't."
"Olive- you know, my girlfriend- Well, she committed-"
"Ace told me."
"Shut up! She left a note behind saying you were a better choice, and she was just a damn idiot or something. You're the reason she's dead. You're just a damn murderer!" He glares at her.
"I'm sorry, Norman..." She whispers, trying to fight back the tears she had. "I just wanted to be your friend... I would never get in the way of your relationship!"
"Whatever. I don't want to be your friend anymore. I fricking hate you."
That broke it.
The only thing keeping her from crying broken. She felt tears well up in her eyes. Then she felt a hand on the top of her head.
"I don't want to look like a bad person. Stop the damn crying."
"This... This isn't you..." She whispers through tears. "You would never say something like that! Stop the damn crying... No-"
"You've known me for three weeks! You aren't someone who can say that!" He yells, and people around them start to stare.
...
"Damn, we messed up."
"Yeah. I'm gonna get a scolding and maybe a beating from Norman."
"What?"
"Ever heard of a joke?" Jade asks, smirking at the fifteen-year-old. "He's my younger brother, anyway. I have to get beaten."
"Whatever."
"It's our ship sinking, and we have to prevent that!"
"You made up a ship name?"
"Yup, emo boy. Noremma."
"Don't call me that."
"Damn, I didn't realize something..."
"What? Is it important?"
"Yes, very important."
"What is it?"
"Emma's hair tip thing looks like an antenna."
"...That's not important."
"It is, Ray! You're just an idiot!"
"And you're a tsundere."
"Hol up-"
"It's a joke."
"That's the best news I've heard all day, gosh."
...
"Ladies, sir, this is a Wendy's we're at! Stop the drama!" A random guy, just a teenager, calls out.
"It's a Walmart, Sussy Baka!" A girl says.
"Oh, really? Wanna fight?"
"I'd be glad!" They both break out laughing.
It's quiet for a while. No one says anything except for the two teenagers jokingly punching each other and quietly yelling at each other and laughing. A third one looks at them and pulls up a picture of a ship. "This is them," They point at the picture.
...
"Jade."
"I'm gonna die, am I? Can I just please finish this episode before you kill me?"
"Look, I'm clearly not interested in Emma. Especially not now..."
"Before you kill me, kill Ray. It was his idea."
"Can't you just be serious for once!? The only time you were actually serious was when Ace told you about Olive!"
"Shut up! You know I'm just a dumbass insomniac who won't get anywhere!"
"Exactly-"
They stare at each other for a while.
"Y-you were just joking... right?" Jade whispers.
"Sorry... I was just mad at you..."
"Listen. I know I'm just an insomniac, weeb, loser, dumbass. But I know you weren't joking. It didn't hurt... I get told that by almost everyone. If you didn't know, before I was adopted, Ace was the only person in my entire class who didn't think of me as a monster, loser, all that." She reaches her hand out and pats his head. "That's where I got this from. When I would be angry, Ace would pat my head like that."
"I think I've heard that at least a thousand times from you." Norman smiles.
"For a while, I thought Ace singled me out. I wanted to hurt- damn, even kill everyone including him. Especially him, for that matter. I know you wish Emma dead, right? Whatever. It's just something you'll get over. Make things right with her. My friend Caleb did that with his- now- girlfriend, Halley. It took him four years to get her to actually trust him. I'll tell Emma that you didn't mean it."
"What do you mean? How do you..."
"Oh, yeah, heheheh... me and Ray watched you two. He called me a tsundere."
Norman laughs. "Why?"
"I called him an idiot. He didn't think that Emma's hair tip thing looking like an antenna was important!"
"Well, it's not."
"Shut up, you idiot!"
"You're a tsundere!"
"We're siblings!"
"Not blood related."
"Norman... I have a question..."
"Huh?"
"Did you love Emma?" Jade asks. "Before Olive... died?"
"I didn't admit it to myself because I knew I loved Olive at that time. You don't think I should've told Emma that she was just a damn murderer. You think I didn't mean it. But if Emma did was the question."
Jade smiles. "It was my fault... Knowing any girl, you should be a little distant from her unless she tries to say something to you. She... she might be angry that you called her a murderer and the next day told her you loved her. Platonically, I mean. She might also believe you. She's pretty naive."
"What do you think... What would Olive think? If she was watching us... What do think goes through her head?"
"Sadness. She died because she wanted you and Emma to be together. She did it out of kindness. I think you're the tsundere, not me."
...
Norman opens his eyes. Damn, another day of boredom at school. He walks out of his room to eat breakfast before doing anything else. Then, a familiar red-haired girl wearing a grey cardigan and green dress confronts him.
"O-Olive?"
She giggles. "No, it's Ray. You know, Emma's friend. With the obsession of cameras and fire. Of course it's me! Who else is it?"
"This was a dream? That you..." He hugs her.
"Damn it. You're choking me!"
"Sorry..."
"What did you mean? That I what?"
"Nothing. It was just a dream. It's not important."
"I... I wanted to say something to you..."
"What is it?" He asks, smiling at her.
"Goodbye... Before that, can we talk?"
"Sure. What? And why isn't Jade hitting me on the head with a pan?"
Olive laughs. "Look... I know what's happening. You're upset I'm dead and you're taking it out on Emma."
"This is the dream? Damn it... I thought... I thought you were still alive!" He grabs her arm. "Y-you're joking! You aren't dead, and this isn't a dream!"
"Weather this is a dream, or a nightmare depends on how you think about it." Olive tells him. "Norman... I understand. You miss me. When you're over me... please... Even if it's only platonic, love Emma. She did nothing wrong." She walks into the kitchen and grabs a knife.
"W-what are you doing with that? Don't hurt me, please!"
"Oh... I wasn't going to hurt you..." She smiles sadly and draws the knife closer to her. Norman tries to move, but he can't. "Goodbye, Norman..."
He shuts his eyes for what seemed like years. When he finally opened them, he saw Olive on the ground, her red blood staining her light grey cardigan and pastel green dress.
"Olive!" He screams. "Jade!"
No one answers.
He grabs his head. "Why?" He cries.
"Hey... Don't blame Emma... Be... happy..."
...
Jade wakes up to a scream and a cry. Her gaze fills with horror as she gets off of the couch and runs toward Norman's room. "Open the damn door!" She kicks and punches the door. It's not locked, why am I doing this!?
She opens the door. Norman is holding his head, crying.
"What happened?" She asks, softening her voice. "Hey... was it a bad dream?"
"Why... Olive... why!?"
"What happened?" She hugs him.
His fast breathing becomes slower, still shaking.
"I had a dream... Olive was there, and she took a knife, and she said to love Emma, and I couldn't save her!"
"Slow down..." Jade sighs, both with relief that he wasn't physically hurt, and also with the impatience that came with his trying to get over Olive's suicide.
"Did she... stab herself?"
He nods.
"She said to love Emma?"
He nods again. Jade reaches out her hand and puts it on Norman's head. "Everything is going to be okay..." She assures him
I hate myself for thinking this, but... will it really? Basil said the same thing... and in most of the endings, Sunny dies! Damn... I need to stop losing sleep... turning everything into a video game or anime reference...
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