Susie was sulking in the corner, trying to pretend she was not upset.
    "God, why am I so ?!?!?!? weak...he's just another monster like everyone else. I shouldn't be so caring," Susie told herself.
    Thoughts ran through her head like cars down a highway. She couldn't focus on one thing, she was every way but nowhere at the same time.
    "I just want to get out of this stupid building and run away," Susie thought. "Anything would be better than this,"
     That's when she heard fast footsteps coming at her. She looked up, just too see someone jump onto her, and give her a hug. It was Lancer, who had tears coming out of his eye sockets.
    "I'm so so so so so so so so sorry, Susie!" Lancer shouted. Susie stood there with wide open eyes, not knowing how to react. Finally, though, she slowly embraced Lancer back with a gentler hug.
     "I didn't mean anything I swear! I didn't even know what I said until Martha told me!" Lancer apologized.
     "You really don't need to say sorry, bud. Everything you said was true—"
     "No it was not! I have no right to be accepted for saying what I did!"
    "I should have been a better friend...I'm such a ?!?!?!? failure,"
    "I should have calmed myself down! I'm so really really sorry!"
     "How'd you even say learn those swear words?" Susie asked.
    "From you!"
    "Oh," Susie said in realization. "That makes sense,"
    Lancer got off of Susie and sat next to her.
   "Did I hurt you? I really didn't mean too, I'm so sorry!"
    "No, you really didn't! I deserved what you said,"
   "Are you just saying that?"
   "Slightly yes and no,"
   "Oh my god, I'm so so so so sorry!"
    Lancer hugged Susie once again, even tighter this time.
   "Lancer! Stop it! You're gonna choke me!" Susie joker. Lancer laughed, releasing his tight grip around her.
   "I just really didn't want to be considered the child of the group! In an apocalypse, you need to be strong!"
   "You're right. I just got so used to being the protector of the group, that I didn't want to let you go,"
   "Cause you were afraid of me being hurt?"
   "Worse," Susie answered, with a low and grim voice. "You being bitten."
   "You're not wrong to feel like that," Lancer sympathized. "I know you love me and everyone else—"
   "What? Pssssh! No, I just am worried for you! That's all!"
   "I know you love all of us deep down!"
   "Keep thinkin' that, bud. No one is going to change my mind!"
   "Really now?"
   "Yup."
    "Well ok, what ever you say!"
   Lancer looked up to the ceiling, going off into a daydream.
   "Anyway, I should probably go, someone else wants to talk to you anyway!" Lancer got up, dusting off his legs and butt, before walking away. Martha walked up to her this time, sitting down in the same spot Lancer sat. Susie frowned as soon as she sat next to her.
   "What do you want?"
   "To talk to you. What else would I be sitting here for?"
   "Well? Go on,"
   "I know we've had our faults—"
   "Cough cough, your faults, cough cough,"
   "But I wanted to make up for all those faults. After all, we'll be staying with each other for the next however long we're alive,"
   "Great. I don't really want to make up for all of them so. Good luck with that,"
   "What do you hate about me? Just so that I can fix it," Martha asked. Susie grinned, taking out her hand and raising a finger every time that she listed something.
   "You're dumb, you're a petty rich human, you can't make simple decisions, you're weak," Susie listed. She looked back at Martha, setting her hand down.  "There's more but I'm too lazy to continue. Cause we'd be here for the next year,"
    "Those are the reasons you hate me?"
   "Yeah! Why else would I hate you?"
   Martha leaned a tad bit closer to Susie, giving off the most monotreme face she could make.
   "Let me ask you this," Martha started, "Are you mad at me because I'm with Lancer?"
   "No? Why would you say that?"
   "Because you only started being mean to me when you found out we were dating. Despite me sitting at the table with you for longer, and possibly being slightly...a bi***,"
   Susie went silent for a minute, before shaking her head and staring at Martha.
   "I'm not jealous of you and Lancer! I don't love Lancer!"
   "I know you aren't jealous of me," Martha answered. "My question is, are you mad, or upset, that I'm with Lancer?" Martha questioned again.
   "I-I'm not! Now stop pressuring me!"
   "I think all of us see you as his mother. You care for him with your heart and would do anything to protect him," Martha said. She set her hand on her lap, as she extended her legs, getting comfortable in her spot. "We all know that you care for him more than us. I've seen more, though. You've talked to him before, hinting to break up with me."
     Susie went silent once again, this time she didn't talk back.
    "So, this is the last time I'm asking you. Are you upset that me and Lancer are together?"
     "...Yes. Yes I am," Susie answered. Martha sighed, rubbing her eyes.
    "See? Not so hard! So explain to me why, despite it kinda being obvious,"
    "I don't think you're worth him, no one I've met is worthy of him. He's too innocent and kind for you, or anyone else! I feel like he was only with you too get popular in school!"
    "You care for him, yet you snapped at him?"
    "I have anger issues, ok? It's hard to control my emotions when anything that's in my head comes out my mouth in the end!"
    "My mom and dad abused me as a child! I never had a good childhood and I never had anyone that loved me or cared for me! I was just an outlier with nobody to back me up when I need help!"
   Martha could see tears were rolling down her cheek and onto the floor. She felt extreme sympathy when she heard the words "I never had a good childhood".
    "That's why also why I wanted to talk to you...because I know how it feels to be hurt like you were,"
   "No you don't! No one does!"
   "I might not have been physically abused, but I was verbally. My parents told me that I was a fat slut, that I should get thinner. They sometimes didn't give me food so that I could get thinner,"
   "I tried to hide it too the point that I did everything in my power to let people know how good my parents were,"
   "That's why I wore so much makeup and bought 'fancy' clothes. Too make my parents think that I was better than I was. Becoming popular was just a side step. Although, it was one that I needed,"
   "Wait...so all those times you acted sassy and snappy—"
   "Were to keep up my act of being popular, so that my parents would think I was better than I was,"
   "Guess what? They never thought it was enough. They pushed me to the point where I would eat a grain of rice per day to make me look skinny,"
   "I got eating disorders because of it too, and they only took me to therapy so that other people would think they're 'good' parents,"
   "Luckily, I got over them and then they stopped taking me to therapy. I managed to feed myself properly ever since then, despite them still barely giving me food,"
   Susie didn't know what to make of this information. She felt confused again, she never though that Martha was...
   "I know how it feels, Susie. You're not alone. You don't need to bottle up your emotions, you don't have to be scared,"
   Martha outstretched her arms to Susie, waiting for her to give a hug back.
   Susie looked down at her arms, and with no second thought, she gave the biggest hug she could give.
   "Looks like we're both equally broken, heh,"
"Friends?"
"Yeah, we're friends,"
Susie and Martha never released their grip, their emotions spreading across both of their bodies. Susie finally released her grip, as they both looked at each other in confusion of what to do next.
"If you ever want to vent to anyone...just know that I'll be willing to help. K?"
"I really don't know if you can handle them. I don't want to hurt anyone else,"
"Friends vent to friends. If you're uncomfortable you don't have to," Martha stood up, yawning and stretching her arms. "But if you want to, I'm here."
With that, Martha headed back to Lancer, who was sitting behind the reception desk, talking to Ralsei and Kris.
Susie smiled, one of the first times she had smiled like this, though. She actually could feel like her soul wasn't dead, lifeless. It felt like she had been struck with energy, energy that she so desperately needed.
She rested her head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. Imagining the starry night above, with snow falling, hopefully, soon. She felt at ease, and for one of the first times, she actually slept.