F!ReaderXSusie

No Way Out

"W-what??" Susie stammered, backing away a few steps.

I maintained steady eye contact with her, seeing a glint of her greenish, blue eyes, widened with fear.

"Yeah," I said softly, slowly walking closer to her. "I overheard your earlier conversation with yourself and connected the dots."

Susie stopped walking backwards and as I got closer to her, I could see her trembling. My eyes never left hers and I could see her struggling to look at me, her eyes darting back and forth, her chest lifting rapidly from her quick breaths.

I stopped a few steps away from her, I was close enough and she looked like she was going to faint or have a panic attack. Or worse, remember her job and try to kill me.

We stared silently at each other for a few tense moments before she broke the silence.

"I don't understand...I didn't ask for this," she muttered, playing with a strand of her hair nervously. "I didn't want the Entity to do this, and I didn't mean to trick you into thinking I was a Survivor, I promise!"

I remained silent, only tilting my head to the side, prompting her to continue.

Susie shuffled her feet nervously, avoiding my eyes and holding her arms. "I just...felt a connection to you since I first saw you and...." She fell silent after a second and I raised an eyebrow.

"And...?" I asked, unconsciously leaning closer as I waited for her answer.

Susie removed her mask and slowly met my eyes.

"And I didn't want you to hate me. I didn't want you to know that I was a Killer and worry that I might have to hurt you, or for you to be scared of me or...run away from me."

Her eyes were so sad, so full of loneliness, hurt and anger that it surprised me. I watched her quietly as she continued to speak.

"You were the first person to treat me like a normal girl again," Susie continued, using her hands to gesture agitatedly. "Do you know how long it's been since I've felt...normal? To feel like a normal teenager and be able to have a casual conversation and not be treated like some horrible, fucking...monster?!"

I took a chance and stepped forward, gently taking her knife and holding her hands. This seemed to calm her and she looked down at our hands, tears slowly forming in her eyes.

When she spoke, her voice broke my heart. It was the softest, most pained sound I've ever heard.

"I just want to go home...." Her tears fell, splashing our combined hands and I knelt with her as she sank to the ground and held her in my arms as she wept.

"I never wanted to be here, I didn't want to kill the janitor, I don't want to hurt anyone...I just want my life back."

I rubbed her back and soothed her, making the same crooning noises my mother used to when she comforted me after I had a nightmare. After a few minutes had passed, the silence only broken by my humming and Susie's quiet sobs, I leaned back and gently tipped Susie's head back with my finger.

"Hey hey hey, it's gonna be ok," I whispered, softly stroking Susie's cheek. "I don't hate you, and I'm not scared of you. I know you're a good person who is being forced to do things you never wanted to do."

Susie sniffled and looked up at me, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Do you really mean that?" She asked, her voice slightly hoarse from crying.

I nodded and held her face in my hands, looking deep into her eyes.

"Yes, I do mean that, Susie," I said softly as she quietly continued crying.

"I mean it and I want you to know that even if we are technically supposed to be enemies, I'm not afraid. I'm not going to run from you, I'm not going to abandon you just because of some stupid label that we were given by some Entity. I'll stay right here, and I'll be here for you in our Trials together. Whether that means giving you a Sacrifice, just talking and spending time with you, I'm here for you."

Susie sniffled, rubbed her eyes and leaned forward to hug me, tucking her head under my chin. We stayed like that for a few minutes, me simply comforting Susie with my presence and Susie slowly calming down.

As I rubbed her back soothingly, Susie eventually leaned back and asked quietly, "Could we...maybe meet at the Barrier between Trials? T-the wall that separates the Killers Realm from the Survivors Campfire?"

I gave her a small smile. "Of course we can, Suse. We can even use the Dire Crows to communicate meeting times and places."

Susie jerked slightly when I spoke, but then smiled so sweetly it made my heart warm.

She laughed and thanked me as I stood up and offered her a hand. Taking my hand and standing up, Susie dusted off her skirt and looked around for her knife and mask.

I handed them back to her and she murmured her thanks as she put her mask back on and held her knives. She shuffled her feet nervously and asked, "So...what do we do now?"

I put my hands on my hips and said, "Well, I guess I don't mind letting you Sacrifice me, so you can get a solid win, and that way the Entity can't be mad at you..." I trailed off as Susie started shaking her head.

"No, I won't do that. Not this time, at least," Susie stated flatly. I raised an eyebrow at her as she continued. "I've already Sacrificed three out of four Survivors, that should be enough to satisfy the Entity. We'll look around and find the Hatch."

I pursed my lips and thought, resting more weight on my left leg than my right. That did sound like a more agreeable ending for me than being skewered on a giant meat hook....

Susie watched me through the tiny holes in her mask as she waited for me to make a decision.

Finally, I nodded and she breathed a small sigh of relief. Susie nodded in the direction she wanted us to start looking and we started walking together.

I walked quietly, hands in my pockets as I kept an eye and ear out for the Hatch. Susie prowled a short distance in front of me, easily slipping back into her graceful, predatory stride. Her head tracked back and forth as she also searched for Hatch.

After we made almost a complete round of the map with no luck, I began to hear the distinct hum of the Hatch as we neared the Yamaoka house.

Susie must have heard it as well; her head perked up and she turned back slightly to check if I was still behind her. When she saw that I was close by, she quickened her pace and slipped into the house, waiting for me to catch up.

I followed her into the house and as I made it through the front door, I saw Susie standing near the Hatch, thick black Fog curling around it and her legs.

I rubbed the back of my neck and said, "Well....I guess this is where we part ways." Susie nodded slowly and said, "For now, yeah."

We stood there, staring at each other, neither of us wanting to make the first move to leave. After a while, I slowly walked to stand next to the Hatch and Susie shifted closer to me. I raised an eyebrow and started to ask her what she was doing when she surprised me.

Susie crept closer to me and lifted the bottom of her mask, just high enough for her to lean forward and kiss me softly on the cheek.

My eyes widened in shock and I could feel my ears burning as I froze. Susie took this opportunity to shove me lightly down the Hatch.

As I fell into thick Fog, the last thing I saw was a small smile on Susie's face as she replaced her mask and walked away.