CASE CLOSED-ii au

ticking

Before we start!

I apologize if my art style changes between chapters!! There might be large time gaps between chapters and my art style can vary a lot in a short time :)
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Suitcase was waking up to her usual alarm...again. like the day before, she turned it over and turned it off, checking the time. She sighed and groaned, getting up and sighing. After her daily routine, with a shower added into the mix, she left the room and went downstairs.

She made it downstairs and grabbed eggs and bacon. She sat down on the couch and noticed Nickel and Balloon chuckling with each other. They saw baseball and waved, calling him over. They had so much fun without her, it felt like she was being ignored. Her throat tightened a bit and felt wet tears prick her eyes. She didn't cry though, just sighed. Nickel noticed her staring and she glanced away quickly before glancing back to see if the short boy was still looking. He thankfully wasn't, but she looked at her plate and sighed, continuing to eat. She had some eggs left and she burnt the bacon a bit so it wasn't worth eating. She got up and threw the contents of the plate out before putting it in a rack that had a note on the front that said "to be cleaned." Soap made the rack, she was a very organized girl. Suitcase glanced at the sink, pausing when she saw black ooze, much like the ooze she saw at the creek, filling it. After a bit of staring, she snapped back to reality with a blink and she was just...looking at the dish rack. She looked back at the sink and it was pristine, no black goop or ooze. She moved her hand to look at it, she felt her palm with her thumb, then moved her fingers along the warm, dry surface. She then looked back at the sink, confused. She walked off, holding her head uncomfortably, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

[Balloon's POV/first person]

I was chatting with Nickel and Baseball when I noticed Suitcase walking past, looking utterly confused and dazed. I looked at the two other boys, who were chatting and holding hands. I spoke up

"Hey, I'm gonna...be right back."

The two gave a glance at each other nickel gave me a thumbs-up with a smile. I got up and followed Suitcase's path. Or what I remember of it. Eventually, I found her walking to her room. I called after her, running up to her.

"Suitcase, there you are!"

The shorter girl jumped a bit and smiled softly.

"Hi, balloon."

"This is a bit random but- are you alright? I saw you walking up here and you looked nervous or something?"

"Oh- I'm fine, thank you for asking, though."

"Are you sure because-"

"I am fine. I told you."

I was a little startled by the sudden and harsh interruption but replied nonetheless.

"Oh uh...alright! Just uhm...you can talk to me anytime you need!"

With a deep breath, she replied with her usual kind, gentle smile.

"Thank you, balloon."