Inside the maintenance shed, dust slowly drifted through the air.
Tony groaned.
Everything hurt.
He was still Pink.
Still wearing the frilly dress.
Still slightly insane.
But alive.
"...Ow."
He looked down.
Lying across his lap was Smiling Girl.
Unconscious.
And...
Still smiling.
The expression looked wrong now.
Unnatural.
Like someone had painted happiness onto a sleeping face.
Pink hesitated.
Then gently lifted one of her arms.
It stretched.
And stretched.
And stretched.
"Okay," Pink whispered.
"That is deeply unsettling."
Slowly, her smile began to change.
It creaked.
Actually creaked.
The corners lowered.
The grin became smaller.
Smaller.
Until...
It became a completely ordinary expression.
Relaxed.
Neutral.
For the first time since he'd met her...
She looked peaceful.
Then her body began to glow.
The strange anime uniform faded.
Her hair changed.
Her features softened.
Pink's eyes widened.
"...Alice?"
It was her.
The girl he'd spent all morning obsessing over.
The girl she'd confessed to.
The girl she'd been searching for.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The forced smiles.
The weird laughter.
The way she kept trying to steer him away from Alice.
Because...
She was Alice.
Pink's stomach dropped.
A horrible thought hit her.
She's probably terrified of me.
The moment that thought crossed his mind...
The pink glow around him flickered.
And changed.
The bright neon colors softened.
His frilly dress shifted.
Pink became white.
Not empty white.
Warm white.
Gentle.
His thoughts became quiet.
The obsessive buzzing in his head disappeared.
For the first time all day...
Tony felt like himself.
Alice stirred.
He carefully picked her up.
She was surprisingly light.
Carrying her on his back, he quietly walked toward the school.
Trying to find somewhere safe.
Alice's arms slowly wrapped around her.
She held on a little tighter.
Then...
Very quietly...
"It feels nice..."
Tony glanced back.
Alice's eyes were still closed.
She looked half asleep.
"It feels nice..."
She swallowed.
"Not having to smile."
Tony stopped walking.
Those words hit harder than any alien.
Harder than the werewolves.
Harder than being turned into a magical girl.
Because suddenly...
He remembered.
All the times he'd seen her smile.
Every day.
Every class.
Every hallway.
And every single one of them...
Had been fake.
As Smiling Girl, she'd been cursed to become exactly what she pretended to be.
Someone who smiled no matter what.
Even when she was miserable.
Tony looked at her over his shoulder.
His white hair shimmered softly.
"You don't have to smile."
Alice blinked.
"You don't."
She smiled awkwardly.
"At least..."
"Not around me."
For a moment, Alice just stared at her.
Then...
A tiny smile appeared.
Not forced.
Not perfect.
Just small.
And relieved.
Tony felt his heart skip.
Not because she was beautiful.
Though she was.
Not because she was obsessed.
Because...
For the first time...
It felt like he was finally meeting the real Alice.
He quickly looked away.
His face turning red.
"U-Um!"
"I know a classroom that's probably safe!"
Alice giggled softly.
Actually giggled.
And somehow...
That sound felt more magical than anything they'd done all day.