The Chronicles Of The Finalists

On The Outside, Always Looking In

After Kreek and Tanqr leave, Ashley and Hyper are left alone to reminisce to themselves. They've got a lot of thoughts about what just happened, especially after both losing someone themselves. Someone they cared about dying.

Hyper walks up to the counter. There's a bunch of photos from it, from everyone's past.

"...Cari..." He mumbles, clutching a photo of him and someone else. Ashley never met this 'Cari' but she knows Hyper really liked her. And from what she can tell, Cari's no longer alive.

"Funny. As much as I like you guys I- i know without her death I wouldn't have met you all, but-"
"You miss her, right?" Ashley finishes his sentence for him. Hyper simply solemnly nods in response. "I get it. I do."
Ashley looks over to a photo with four people on it. One of them, on the far right, is her. They're not friends anymore.

~~~

A long while ago, Ashley was not a magical girl - but her friends were. She wasn't aware of the antics they got up to at night, what the wristbands they all wore were for. Honestly, she didn't really care, they were happy as is, and she didn't want to change that.

Keisyo, Megan, Sanna and Ashley. Four girls who lived together and enjoyed every second of it. Ashley was always with at least one of them, she never truly had much time to herself. After all, she was the one who actually bought the apartment in her name, the other three just helped pay the bills.
But then things started to change.

Ashley started noticing things. Megan was getting annoyed easily, Sanna seemed scared, Keisyo was concerned. She couldn't tell what it was, but there was a sudden air of tension around everybody. Around the whole apartment they lived in, there was an unsettling feeling about.

Then the arguments started.

"How come you didn't tell us?!"
"Obviously I didn't know, SANNA!"

Ashley woke up at night to them. They'd always argue at night as to not disturb her, the only one not in the know, but she would still listen in. Not only because they woke her up, but these were her dearest friends. She wanted to know what was hurting them and try to stop them.

"If only I had known- why didn't you tell us! We're dead!"
"You never asked." A voice Ashley didn't recognise.
"Why?! You should've told us!"

"There was no point."
And this continued, for a long time. This constant arguing about something Ashley couldn't ever know. It kept her up at night, she was so concerned. She could hear Sanna crying herself to sleep, Megan staying up due to her fears. She could see Keisyo becoming tired, see Sanna fiddling with her wristband. At night, she could see the white ferret thing escaping through the window. They weren't allowed pets.
One day, she decided to confront her friends. It didn't help.

She was tired, and she could tell the camaraderie between them was fading, she didn't know how else to stop it.

So one night, after they all got home from whatever they did, Ashley was waiting.

"Ashley, why are you awake?" Keisyo had asked.

"Guys, I'm..concerned, for you all. You all don't seem to be in a good state, and..I want to help. I want to help you." She explained.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Ashley." Megan brushed her off, before downing a bottle of water.

Ashley couldn't get anything more from the group. Things only started to fall apart further. Further and further, and the group only seemed to talk when it was convenient.