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Alone.
That's how it has always been for One.
Constant exclusion. Constantly being brushed to the side. Constantly being only able to watch rather than participate, no matter how much she wanted to.
She didn't know why, of course- nobody just ever seemed to like her. Nobody ever invited her to anything, or even really spoke to her aside from declining any requests she made to join the other algebraliens. She never knew why that happened.
Admittedly, though, there were times where the solitude was nice, but those were few and far between. Far too little to make any of it worth it.
It only got worse after… everything that happened that day. Finding the Yoylelite. That power… it ruined everything, didn't it?
Part of her wished she never found it in the first place.
One would've never been trapped in the moon. Three would be okay. Or maybe if she just kept it a secret from Three. Lied and said that she didn't have to worry about it. Nothing would have changed, sure, but maybe it wouldn't have gotten worse if she never said anything.
Maybe Three wouldn't have died that day, even if it was only for a few minutes at the most.
Maybe she wouldn't have made that awful mistake.
She didn't mean it, truly. She did not want to hurt Three, and yet she still lashed out. She still killed her, for those brief moments.
And even then, One couldn't even bring her back properly.
She stared up at the moon. The hole she made in order to escape. The prison she was kept in for over a decade.
She was sure that she would never be able to get the darkness and the sheer lonliness out of her head. Nobody should've gone through that. She thought that Four would've known that. Or maybe that he would just listen to her and let her fix it.
Yet he didn't. She was stuck in the moon for years instead.
One's frown deepened, and she walked off, sitting against the wall at the side of the hotel. Somewhere nobody would see, hopefully, especially now. It was night at the moment. She doubted that anyone else was awake.
She hated feeling this way. She wished she could just go on with life as if nothing happened.
She hated Four and the others for doing this to her. For making her like this. All over a mistake.
Math, she looked pathetic.
"One?"
In a heartbeat, she snapped her gaze towards the source of the voice. Basketball, just around the corner, and only coming closer, and eventually sitting beside her. They both stayed silent for a few moments. One didn't know what to say, knowing Basketball was seeing her in such a pitiful state, and she doubted that she knew how to react.
"Are you okay?"
Hesitating. She didn't want to be seen like this. She never has been seen like this.
"… No."
"What happened?"
One looked away, grumbling. "I don't want to talk about it."
Basketball nodded, and they sat there for a while longer.
She didn't dare look up at the object next to her. Some part of her said that she only thought of it as a nuisance. A waste of time. One didn't want to see for sure if that was true, as though merely looking at her would reveal such a thing.
Alone. Alone. Alone. Maybe that's how it meant to be. Maybe she's meant to have nobody.
It only made sense. One. What she was. It always referred to a singular thing. One meant that there was something there, and nothing else at all.
The thought always upset her to some degree, but it only made sense. That had to be why, no matter what she did, One only ended up alone.
At least she had the stars to comfort her. That was all that she had, really. She enjoyed watching them, seeing how the constellations would change over the seasons. It gave her a distraction from everything. A feeling that, maybe, just maybe, it'll be alright.
How wrong she was.
She must have forgotten that Basketball was there, given how she flinched at first to feeling rough leather against her when Basketball leaned against One.
She looked at Basketball, being met with an expression of worry.
One leaned back into Basketball.
All she wanted was a friend. She couldn't tell if this was that- if this really counted as friendship. One really hoped that it did, despite the rough start and all. She could only hope that Basketball moved on from what happened regarding that contract, what happened regarding Robot Flower, what happened…
She didn't deserve Basketball, truly. One knew, while comparably, what she did back then wasn't quite as bad as some of the things done here, she still knew her actions definitely hurt others. She still knew that she hurt Two, and however many other contestants who were close to those who she made those deals with.
Not to say she regretted it, exactly. Some part of her felt guilt to some degree, but that was a part of her she'd long since drowned out.
Anything to help Three. Anything to fix her mistake.
Maybe then things can go back to normal. Maybe then everything will be all better. If only she just fixed it. She already knew where Three was, it shouldn't be hard to do at all!
…
She knew that wasn't going to happen. One knew. Too much has happened since then, anyway. Too much has changed for everything to go back to normal. Nobody would forgive her, anyway, would they? No matter how badly she wants them to?
At some point, she found herself actually crying. She tried to push down the tears. These feelings.
She should've known those attempts would be futile.
"I don't know what happened, but I'm here for you. It's going to be okay." Basketball finally spoke. One's eyes widened, never being quite used to comfort like this.
"I don't- uh-" She stammered, looking away from her again. "Thank you."
"Always."