Chapter 35: Four

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Abigail is acting strange. More strange than usual, that is. After leaving Charlotte at the school gates her mood went from sorta-normal to... whatever it is now.

You can’t help but look up to her and try to see what’s wrong. She’s walking with her head low, lips occasionally moving and eyes scanning something that isn’t there. Her hand keeps squeezing really hard then letting go, and you can tell that she’s shivering a little even though it’s not that cold.

“What’s wrong?” you ask her for maybe the third time.

“Nothing,” she lies again.

You stop walking while Abigail continues. She only makes it one step before your linked hands stop her. She turns to you, then looks around a bit. You’re both in a quiet part of Five Peaks, the roads here all on a slope that makes it so that the houses on either side of the street all look uneven.

“I don’t like it when you’re like this,” you tell Abigail. “What’s wrong?”

“Noth--”

You do the thing where your cheeks puff out and your brows get drawn together. “Don’t. Don’t say ‘nothing’ when it’s something.”

Abigail just breathes for a moment and she wiggles her fingers until you let go. Carefully, she adjusts her glasses and crosses her arms. “It’s that whole Gardening Club thing,” she says.

“They were nice,” you say.

Abigail nods. “Yeah, they were. But Daphne goes there. And it’s a place for... for girls who like other girls.”

“I’m wearing a girl body and I like you. That’s okay, right?”

“It’s not the same kind of like,” Abigail says.

“There’s more than one sort?” Maybe you can like Abigail in all the ways.

Abigail nods, her cheeks reddening again. “They like other girls in an... intimate way. A way that I... don’t know if I do. Not that... not that I mind that Daphne is that way. I wish she had told me earlier.”

“Like how you didn’t want to tell me what was wrong?” you ask.

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Abigail smiles, it’s sheepish and a little embarrassed. “Kind of like that, yeah. But over... years, I guess. And for me. Me. I’m just... me.”

“You’re Abigail. The prettiest and nicest Summoner ever, and you give the best pats and the best cuddles,” you say. To prove the point, you step up to her and wrap your hands around her legs and tuck the side of your head against her tummy. It’s nice and warm and good.

Abigail chuckles and you can feel the rumble of it. “Yeah, I guess. But, I... I don’t know if I’m like Daphne, if I can... reciprocate.”

You look up, then pull away and grab her hands. “Let’s go,” you say as you start dragging her after you. You know where you’re going because you never forget a place where you’ve slept. Abigail protests a bunch, but she’s still a small mortal and there’s no way she could stop you.

It takes a few minutes, but you arrive in front of Daphne’s place and walk up to the door. A tentacle wraps around the knocker and thump-thumps it against the wood.

The door opens a moment later to reveal Edmund in his suit, one arm folded before his chest with a towel wrapped over it. “Hello Miss Abigail, Miss Dreamer,” he says. “How may I assist you this afternoon?”

“We need to talk to Daphne about how much she loves Abigail,” You say.

Abigail makes a squeaky noise, but when Edmund moves out of the way she follows after you without protest. “Miss Daphne is in her office,” Edmund says as he closes the door behind you.

You nod and pull Abigail over to the little office where you’d talked to Daphne the last time you were here. She’s sitting behind the same desk, her school robes discarded over a chair and her hat on the same perch as Archibald. “Daphne,” you say. “Archibald.”

“Who,” says Archibald.

Daphne stares. “Dreamer? Abigail?”

“Yes,” you confirm in case she wasn’t sure it was you. “Abigail needs to talk to you about feelings.”

“Oh no,” Abigail says as she tries to hide her face. It’s useless, of course, you all know what she looks like.

“Her... feelings?” Daphne asks.

“Yes,” you say. “We went to the Gardening Club and we learned that you love Abigail and now Abigail is being silly.”

Daphne makes a noise. It’s a sort of squeak, like when you squish something alive between two tentacles and all the air inside of it squeals out. Her mouth is also moving a lot. She stops, takes a deep breath, then another, and recentres herself. “I see.”

Abigail lowers her hand. “Were you... were you ever going to tell me?” she asks. “That you’re, ah, more interested in women?”

“I-I.” Daphne swallows. “I was going to tell you. You’re my best friend. Of course I would tell you. I’d tell you anything. But every time I was going to I... I am something of a coward. The longer I went without telling you the harder it became to do so. As you can imagine, this is not how I imagined things going.”

“How did you imagine things going?” Abigail asks. There’s a bit of anger there, so you grab her hand to sooth it out and remind her that you’re there.

Daphne closes her eyes. “Well, in the best case scenario you would... reciprocate.”

“That’s not the case.” Abigail says. She’s shaking, and her eyes wont meet Daphne’s. “I don’t... I don’t think. I don’t know.”

Daphne flinches back. “Ah, well, I was hoping to tell you a little after our wedding, maybe?” she smiles, but Abigail doesn’t laugh, and you’re not sure if it was a joke or not. She deflates. “That fell flat. I’m sorry.”

“Dreamer, I think we should go home,” Abigail says as she starts towards the door. “I need, I need time, to think.”

“No, wait,” Daphne says.

“What?” Abigail says. There are tears in her eyes, not happy ones. You’re not sure how to fix this. Usually problems just need tentacles to fix them, but they might make things worse here, and more tentacles isn’t a solution.

“Can we, can we talk? Maybe tomorrow? Please?” Daphne asks before sniffing. It sounds all wet and disgusting.

Abigail shifts a little, looks down at you, then back to Daphne. You don’t know what her expression means. “Tomorrow,” she agrees before pulling you to the door. You’re almost out when she stops again. “I... you’re still my best friend, okay Daph?”

“O-okay,” Daphne says. It’s choked. “Dreamer, dear, could you close the door?”

You nod and pull the door shut behind you.

There’s sad noises from the office after the door clicks shut, but they fade as you walk out of Daphne’s place.

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