Chapter Text
“Congratulations, you are caller number 66! Please stay on the line so we can get your information, and put you on air!”
It finally happened. Susie’s heart was beating so fast, it felt like it was about to collapse into dust in her chest. She'd just won. She’d just won tickets to see December Knights! She'd been following them way before, back when they were still called Blood Crushers: The Band, and it was still just Asriel and Dess, and she’d found them via an obsessive search for anything Blood Crushers related. It wasn't her proudest moment.
However, recalling the name made a memory flash through her mind of seeing Kris’ face in a random magazine and being utterly dumbfounded. The associated article detailed how Kris had insisted they be less of a copyright hazard. Or something like that. It was the first time she'd seen Kris in ages at that point, that was way more important.
Susie scoffed and shook her head, her grin still cut wide across her face. She wasn't sure which name sucked worse but she knew they rocked hard. And soft. And not at all, when they wanted to be moody. Boy did Kris do moody well, arguably better than they ate food or drank water.
They also, in stark contrast, made sure their appearance matched the venue, even when… no, especially when it was weird. Susie couldn't help but snicker to herself as she recalled that weirdo walking out onstage in green robes and a monster-suit head modeled after their brother's face. Dess insisted all night that their name was… Ral-say? Some kinda special guest, supposedly local to the convention they were playing at.
Even as dark as it was onstage, it was obvious Dess was engaging in weapons-grade bullshitting, not helped by her inability to control her snickering any time she looked their way. Which, y'know, the goat head looked funny, but not that funny.
Not as funny as it looked when she pulled the mask off of Kris' head and kissed it on the mouth, to Asriel's very badly-acted shock and outrage, and Kris' very real embarrassment. Susie didn't think it was possible for their face to get more red. It was kinda cute, actually. At least, she thought it was until she saw a faint glint of the newly-shining spotlight reflecting off their cheeks. Wait, why was she thinking about that…?
A new voice on the line stole Susie's attention back from her memories, “Excuse me. Caller number 66, your full name, date of birth, and email address, please, or we will be forced to give your VIP tickets to someone else.”
Wait, VIP tickets? That couldn't have been right, when did they say these were…? Well, they were saying it now. If it was a scam, she could just find them and– “Oh, uh, Susie Komodo Zilla. October 3rd, 200X. Susiezilla at Queenmail dot com. Sorry.”
The familiar voice on the phone patronized her somewhat as she reassured Susie, “No worries! Congrats on your win, ‘Susiezilla’!” She could practically hear the wink Noelle gave, as though she was fooling anybody into thinking they didn’t already know each other. Did the station require her to be lame like that? Now that she thought of it, the little bits and pieces of broadcast regulations she remembered Berdly talking about suggested exactly that. Especially the part where they weren't allowed to swear. …Mercifully, Noelle ended this train of thought with a now shockingly professional, “Please stay on the line while we wait for the end of the current music block.” Ah, right. Radio. Great.
At least she got to listen to “Raise Up Your Bat” while she waited on hold. Asriel's voice was just as unbelievable the 50th time as it was the first, but the song was missing a certain vibe only the Kris-era tracks could capture. Hell, even the few times they performed that exact song after they’d gotten Kris involved, it sounded so much better.
She'd heard Monster Youth yap incessantly on their assorted social media accounts about how the band only got worse after Kris joined, how they shouldn't have been scared like Kris and kept the original name, but she wasn't going to be deterred. Kris' backing vocals and mastery of the keyboard were irreplaceable. It's what got December Knights noticed by Hope’s Stage, for crying out loud! It's why they got to open for them! John Manticorri said it himself! Did they just not see that interview, or what?
Susie huffed to herself. Monster Youth didn't know what they were talking about. Catti liked them more once Kris joined, and so did Noelle, and as far as Susie was concerned, their difference in music tastes meant that was an endorsement that could cleave through just about anyone. Anything. Dammit. They were not going to get to her like that again.
The whistle at the end of the track served as a cue for the mics to go hot in the studio, as Noelle’s voice came over the airwaves. “Faha, what a throwback. Y'all Hometown listeners really lit the line on fire for my big sis, huh? I bet she'd be touched if she was here to see it, but you'll have to settle for lil ol’ me.”
Even over the phone, Susie could practically hear Catti's eyes narrow at her partner across the table, as she tried to move the segment forward. “The Sweepstakes. Who won, Noelle?”
“Ah, right! No need to draw it out, then. It's Hometown’s local legend and head banger extraordinaire, Susie!” Catti gritted her teeth as she watched Noelle blush from across the table at Susie’s mere mention, but kept quiet as Noelle continued, “Susie, do you know what you've won? You're on the air now.”
Susie had to take a second to ask herself why Noelle would ask that. Like, everyone else had heard what they were fighting for, apparently, why ask her? “I uh, VIP tickets to see December Knights, right? Is there supposed to be anything included besides backstage passes?”
Noelle had to cut the mic to giggle to herself. Her ignorance wasn't really that funny, was it? Or her confusion? Or… “Susie, there's plenty! For one thing, you get to take home a bunch of the green candies Kris insists on keeping out of the snack bowls,” A classic contract rider. Green, though?
“A tradition they shamelessly stole from Man Tailin’, but for good reason, as I'm sure you know. And it means folks like you get the good candies, faha.” Susie's mouth watered at the thought of all the green apple lollipops she could handle, but her mind snapped back to the more probable bounty of green L&Ls, maybe mixed with an assortment of lime and green apple Littles if they really wanted to mess with her.
Mess with her? No, they'd be messing with the venue, right? Wait, maybe they would mess with her like that, she really treated them like shit way back when. Would they even remember? Ugh. The consequences of her actions. Noelle’s voice snapped her out of it once again, as she continued, “But hey, if that's not your speed, you also get a CD of exclusive remasters of Blood Crushers: The Band songs. It’s not something they can really sell, what with the name, y'know?”
Susie scoffed. “Yeah, not that they've tried very hard. Y'know how many times Kris told them to just rebrand those?” Noelle’s face scrunched up as she pondered the question, only to be cut off by Susie’s continuation, “Nobody does, but it was enough for it to come up in an interview, so it's too damn many. Seriously, you'd think Kris was the only one trying to keep them out of trouble.”
Noelle couldn't help but giggle at the thought, which Catti interrogated, “You think Kris is trying to keep them safe? The original haunt of Hometown? December Holiday’s favorite sandbag? The infuriatingly effortless piano prodigy who was doomed to be overlooked until the golden boy insisted Dess give them a chance? That Kris?”
The silence was almost deafening enough to make Susie's ears ring, until she broke it by speaking her mind to the skeptical cat, fist clenched at the insinuation that she was some kind of Neo “Haunt of Hometown", as well as the slander of Kris, “Yeah. Of course, that Kris. Do you know any others? Do you see Azzy or Dess putting in the work? Kris has been busting their ass on songs, and on venue booking, and on stuff like that contract, and the rebrand, and… yeah. What do I have to tell you for, anyway? You've known them way longer!”
Catti's eyes narrowed. A sigh fell from her mouth as she admitted, “Hm. I misjudged you. Looks like you do get Kris.”
This time, the silence succeeded in triggering a sound like mic feedback in Susie's head. At least, that's what it sounded like, but maybe she'd just fucked up her ears after going to one too many shows. Catti wasn't trying to curse her through the phone, was she? Noelle finally cut the tension after what felt like an eternity. “Um, so… there's a whole rest of the swag bag to go through, but I think maybe we can skip that, at this rate. Is there anything you wanna say before we cut to commercial, Susie?”
Well, she replaced one kind of tension with another, at least. Susie pondered briefly, opening her mouth and closing it a couple of times before deciding it wasn't worth the effort. “Y'know what, nah. Better luck next time, losers!” Her ensuing belly laugh practically reverberated through the very radio waves themselves as her challenge was broadcast for everyone to hear.
“Well, um, a decisive statement from Susie, as usual! Congratulations, Susie!” Catti rolled her eyes at Noelle’s continued fawning, but still echoed her sentiment with a curt “Congrats.” As though that was supposed to be encouraging. Whatever. Catti could piss in her own cereal all she wanted. Susie was determined to have a good time either way.
Noelle started to wrap up the segment for real this time, “Alright, well, just one more thing! You may have heard December Knights have been hard at work on some new songs, and we actually have a sample here for y’all! Funny you two should talk about Kris so much, because they're the lead on this one! So as we fade to commercials, stay tuned for an exclusive sneak peek at a song Kris is calling ‘Distance Between Two’! It's not one you're likely to hear at any shows, but it is a beautiful, moody track that’s so very Kris. We hope you enjoy!” The studio volume cut out of the broadcast as the new song began to play.
It was… wistful? Was that the word? Susie had heard it once and this seemed like the right time to use it. If she didn't know any better, she'd think it was lamenting something, but what was there to lament?
It sounded like a remix of a track from the beginning of Dess’ music career, even before she’d roped Asriel into it. It was a relatively simple solo guitar track she’d simply titled “Lost Girl”. Ever since, she'd worked the melody into countless tracks, but never quite as plainly as this. It never sounded so sad.
Susie found herself tearing up at the thought of Kris alone in their room, carefully tuning the sound of this track to distract themself from their loneliness. It took a disruption from the other end of the phone line to shake her out of it, Noelle's voice more welcome to the dragon now than it had been for a while. “Susie? Are you okay? You um, I think I heard you sob.”
Susie rubbed her eyes, abruptly aware of the tears now openly falling from them, “Huh? Y-yeah, just… Y’think Kris is okay? This sounds… sad. Like, they're sad.” Catti scoffed, as though the answer was too obvious to be worth commenting on. “Of course they're sad. They're living the musician’s dream. Without us. Famously a path that leads to sadness.”
Susie gritted her teeth at the cat’s sarcasm. If she was going to be a bitch, would it kill her to be direct about it? Hell, if it did, could she have the decency to spare one of her lives making an exception? She couldn't stand thinking about Catti anymore right now, a sentiment she had to push down to simply ask “Are we done? Is there any other info you need?”
Noelle shook her head at first, then replied verbally, “No, you're all set! Congratulations again, Susie, and um, I hope you feel better? I didn't… mean to make you sad.”
Susie’s expression sunk further at her implication, as though she hadn't just witnessed the cause of her bad mood. “...Thanks,” was all she could muster before flipping her phone closed and tossing it to the side.
Susie wasn't sure why Catti still held such a vendetta this long after high school had finished forcing them together, but what she did know is it was all she could do not to scream at how badly Catti had managed to get under her skin.
As though there hadn't been a single miserable musician in history. Burt Domain was a very happy human who loved the industry, famously. Even as far back as Veggrooten, you could find tortured musicians, same as you could find tortured artists of any type.
Susie sighed to herself as she picked up her phone again and laid it on her chest as she continued to lay in bed. She wasn't about to let Catti ruin this for her. She still couldn't believe she'd won. She was gonna get to see Kris backstage! And Dess and Azzy, too, of course, if they weren't too busy in their trailer.
Susie felt like those two owed it to Kris to at least keep them company while everyone was backstage, but if they weren't going to, she would have to fill in. Keeping them company. Probably by herself, because nobody else would think to do it. The thought brought a pale pink glow to her face as she shook her head and put her phone to her side again.