Closed Nothing's the End of the World

[Susie Lagowski]

Susie almost couldn't believe it. Tori, punching a girl in the face! Twice! Rumours were known to spread quickly around the castle, often gaining new, unlikely features as they did, and when this one reached Susie, she assumed there had been some exaggeration. A slap, perhaps, she could believe, but breaking Demi's nose? It was just so... un-Tori-like. So when it came to light that the rumours were entirely true, Susie couldn't help but start to worry. Something awful must have happened between them - and somehow, though Demi was the one in the hospital wing, Susie had a feeling Tori would come out of all this worse off.

It was eight o'clock, and Susie was waiting in their favourite hang-out spot by the fire in the student lounge. Though they'd exchanged a few brief notes arranging an evening catch-up, she wasn't certain Tori would show. Maybe she just wanted some space. Susie would have understood that; but it wouldn't have stopped her worrying. Her friends' distress was her distress, and she wouldn't be able to relax until she made sure Tori was all right.

 

[Victoria de Lacey]

They'd fixed up her hand easily enough, the dent on her record wasn't as easily fixed but she wasn't going to shy away from the fact that she actually had punched Demi in the face more than once. Honestly, part of her didn’t even regret it. Demi had pushed her too far, needling and sticking her nose in where it didn’t belong until something snapped and trying to ruin a friendship Tori had worked hard to develop had apparently been the straw. The smug look on her face after the first punch practically begged for a second. Still, as Tori walked toward the student lounge, her stomach twisted uncomfortably. She didn’t want to face Susie. Not because she was ashamed—well, not entirely—but because Susie always had this way of cutting through her defenses, of looking at her like she was better than she really was. And now? Now, she wasn’t so sure she deserved that look.

Tori hesitated at the door, hearing the soft crackle of the fire and imagining Susie sitting there, waiting patiently like she always did. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and stepped inside. Sure enough, there was Susie, almost expectant but also like she was checking on Tori. “Hey,” Tori said, her voice softer than she intended as she dropped into the seat across from her friend. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, avoiding Susie’s eyes. “Guess you’ve heard, huh?” She didn’t wait for a response. “Look, before you say anything—yes, I punched her. Twice. And yes, it was worth it.” She met Susie’s gaze finally, her jaw tightening. “But I know what you’re thinking. You think I’ve gone off the rails or something. That I’m falling apart or whatever. I’m fine, okay?”​

 

[Susie Lagowski]

Susie always lit up when she saw Tori, but today her smile was fleeting. The way her friend approached, expression tense, gaze averted, made her feel rotten for even suggesting a catch-up. Nobody liked a busy-body. Was Susie a busy-body? Her brothers were always telling her to mind her own business. She thought she was being selfless - that she just wanted Tori to feel better - but what if it was all about Susie, really, and her own peace of mind? What if she was a rubbish friend after all?

"Hey," she said, her friendly tone betraying none of this internal strife. She shifted on the settee until she was lying on her stomach, upper body propped up on the fabric arm. Tori was definitely upset. Off the rails might have been a bit extreme, but Susie couldn't believe she was fine, either. The truth was likely somewhere in between. "I mean, I was just gonna say I was impressed," she said, grinning. "What'd she do? You get in trouble? Don't worry - I got your back."

 

[Victoria de Lacey]

Tori blinked, caught off guard by Susie’s grin and her lighthearted tone. For a second, the weight on her chest eased, and the corner of her mouth twitched up into something resembling a smile. Trust Susie to try and make this a little less miserable. Still, parts of her felt awfully hollow and she didn’t know how she was supposed to feel. Was she supposed to be upset that she’d hit Demi? Because she didn’t really, she still believed the stupid Ravenclaw had deserved it. She would probably hit her again if she saw her stupid face, it was why she’d been avoiding the Ravenclaw tower, even though that was where Eoghan and Lili were. She sighed, slumping in her chair. “I don’t know,” she admitted finally, “she just wouldn’t stop lying about stuff,” her voice cracked a little, and she looked down at her healed knuckles. She could still feel the crack, even if it was phantom.

She knew she’d screwed up and she was paying for it, but she would probably do it again, she wouldn’t change what happened, except maybe punch her correctly this time. “What didn’t she do. Demi’s a liar and she couldn’t tell the truth if she was on veritaserum,” she complained, shaking her head. “She thinks she’s so smart and she has so many friends, she just… crossed a line I… I couldn’t stop being angry about it.” She flexed her fingers, “she said stuff, about me and about my family, and then she just couldn’t stop talking about Eoghan and Lili and spreading more lies,” she clenched her fist. “I don’t even remember exactly what she said, just that she deserved it.” She remembered how it made her feel though, as though she was a burden to everyone and her dad wanted nothing to do with her, and how everyone was abandoning her.

Susie would too eventually once she realised that Tori was an emotional loser who couldn’t control her own temper, and then Eoghan and Lili would see it too. “Yeah, I got in trouble. Big trouble. Professor Edogawa hauled both of us to the hospital wing and then Mr. Cade took points off of me, a lot of points. I start detention with Professor Edogawa soon, I don’t know what that’s gonna be though.”​