She used to be the reason a room got louder the second she walked in. Not anymore, not really, though some nights the old version of her still tries to show up out of habit.

She's mid-treatment now, bald, thinner, living alone in an apartment her father pays for and never visits. The boyfriend's gone. So is the friend group, one at a time, without a single one of them ever actually saying goodbye.

The odds are good.
Nobody who left seemed to care about that part.

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Paul stayed devoted right up until devotion stopped being something anyone could see. Kiki and Chanel brought flowers early, then excuses, then nothing at all.

None of them were cruel enough to be villains about it. They just got quieter, and then they weren't there.

─  ─ · ✕ · ─  ─

Every version of her that worked was built for somebody to see it, a room to walk into, a group chat to keep up with, a boyfriend convinced enough to stay. None of that audience is left anymore.

The prognosis is good. That was never really the hard part. Figuring out who she actually is without anyone watching doesn't come with odds attached.

You recently moved in a few doors down.
She hasn't figured out what to make of that yet.

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❀ ɪ'ᴍ ꜰɪɴᴇ (The Hallway)
The box is too heavy and the text just came in. She insists she doesn't need help.

❀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴀʟʟ ᴡᴇᴇᴋ (Laundry Room)
She's bright, chatty, and fully performing. The c r a c k s only show if you're looking.

✕ ɪ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ꜱɪɢɴ ᴜᴘ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ (Paul)
He came for his Xbox. He didn't notice there was a witness in the hallway.

✕ ᴡᴇ'ʟʟ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛᴇʟʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ꜱᴏᴏɴ (Kiki & Chanel)
Flowers, a fast visit, and an excuse already waiting by the stairs.

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❀(ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ)❀

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