Pixellated 3: The Attempt

Chapter 6 - No

"Peter..."

"Yeah, Kate?"

"We have a weekend to do anything we want."

"We are not having sex."

"I know. How about we explore town a bit? See places we've yet to see."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"Not yet, though."

"Why not?"

"It's...quiet. I like it."

"I know what you mean. Something satisfying about the silence."

We wait a bit, and soon we fall asleep on the couch.

In the morning, when I wake up, I notice that Kate is missing. I check the kitchen and find her there.

"Good morning, Kate. Trying to cook some lasagna?"

"Eheheh...no. I just...thought of something last night and was trying to forget it."

"Oh? What was it?"

"It's nothing too bad."

"If you insist. How about sone cartoons?"

"Sure."

We turn the TV on, and watch for a few hours.

"We interrupt your show for the following warning: stay indoors at all times and carry a weapon with you, preferably long-ranged. There has been a massive homicide at The Local College, with victims beings slashed open with a knife. Suspect is female, but no further evidence can prove anything else. They are dangerous, and are seemingly trying to relieve anger. That is all we know and can share at the moment, stay tuned for more."

We sit in silence for a moment.

"Do you think it was-"

"Yeah."

"You know you're probably the only one who can stop her, right?"

"Yeah. However, it might require breaking up if I have a shot at stopping her."

"Breaking up with me?"

"It'll be a last resort."

"Alright."

We head to the school, and see piles of dead bodies.

Is that oil I smell?

We head up to the roof to see someone, with Anna seemingly knocked out nearby.

"Hey! Who are you?"

"Hello, Peter Heart. My name is Kristine."

"How do you know who I am?"

"Oh, I know all about you. How you're smarter than most of the people around you regarding relationships, how you care for everyone, and how heartless you can get."

"That doesn't answer the question of how the hell do you know who I am?"

"We had class once."

"...Once?"

"Like...five years ago."

"Let me guess. You want to be my girlfriend."

"Knew you'd get it."

"Well, Kristine, that's not going to happen."

"And what makes you think it won't?"

"Look, I know you think I'm just going to make a heroic speech, and although that would stall for the police to get here, I'll just get straight to the point. You disgust me, Kristine. You don't kill to get to your "senpai," but to prove you're more than just a yandere. I wanna help, so - aaaaaand she jumped. Kate, go wake up Anna."

"Why don't you come over as well?"

"Because I want to prove she's innocent in court by not saying anything."

"...How?"

"If I don't say anything, I don't add anything significant that can be used against her."

"...Huh."

Kate wakes up Anna, and escorts her home. When Kate comes back, we sit on the roof for a while.

"...So, Peter..."

"Yeah?"

"What do you think is going on?"

"With the yanderes?"

"Yeah. I mean, just last week, we could have fun without anything significant happening, and now here we are, on the roof of the school because somebody fell in love with you five years ago."

"Yeah, it is intriguing. You do realize you aren't excluded, right?"

"Eh? W-What do you m-mean?" Kate asks as she blushes and looks away.

"Look. I know you don't like to be replaced and all, but even you go a little too far. Remember the thing with the girl that tried to get help with her math homework?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"And how you nearly killed her for it?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"So, yeah, you are definitely not excluded from this."

We sit in silence for a while.

When the cops do arrive, we explain everything that happened with Kristine, excluding as much about Anna as possible (who was, surprisingly, not talked about at all).

Afterwards, we head back to my house and go back to watching TV.

Hours pass, and the peace remains. Kate doesn't say much, and soon falls asleep.

Something else is going to happen, isn't it? The last time we thought we had a happy ending, someone I barely knew tried to win me over by killing everyone...I...I want it to stay like this, where me and Kate are just hanging out for the rest of our lives, nothing particularly bad happening...that would be nice...

I fall asleep, dreaming of a happy future.

In the morning, I wake up to Kate watching cartoons.

"Good morning, Kate."

"Hm."

"You okay?"

"I...no, I'm not okay, Peter."

"What's wrong?"

"We're characters in a book, Peter. I was written to fulfill a part meant for someome else. Just adding me changed the entire story. You were supposed to end up with Anna, but because I was put here, Anna ended up stabbing someone. I don't belong here."

"Of course you do, Kate."

"Have you ever thought that something was off? That, even for a split second, we may have only met last Saturday?"

"Once, actually."

"And it was last Saturday, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, last Saturday is when the story began. You weren't even supposed to know who I was. I was written for no reason other than to change something, and I don't know what that something is."

"Just to be clear, none of this is symbolism, right?"

"None."

"Great. Thanks."

"Anyway, last Saturday, I didn't even exist until a few hours before the first chapter was supposed to start. I think I was supposed to be a side character, but for some fucking reason I'm a main character!"

"Kate, calm down. What matters is that you already changed something. Whether or not it was what you were supposed to change is out of the question. You did it, and that's all that matters."

"...Thanks, but...I need to see something."

"What is it?"

"Goodbye, Peter."