Editing Noelle Meinhardt (section)

====[[Francis Krouse]]====
Sometime after she was voted captain of their school's [[Ransack]] team, she started dating [[Krouse]].<ref>“You assholes!  I didn’t want him on the team in the first place and now you’re ''replacing'' me with him!?”<br><br>“Calm down, Cody.”  Luke, ever reasonable.  “Shouting isn’t going to help, and it’ll bother the neighbors.”<br><br>“He’s manipulating you!  He’s a slimy creep, and you know this is ''exactly'' why he’s dating Noelle.  Or don’t you find it a ''little'' suspect that they started dating almost right after we voted her captain?” - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/migration-17-1/ Excerpt] from [[Migration 17.1]]</ref><ref>There were nods from the others.  Krouse stayed very still, watching them.<br><br>“This makes things complicated,” Luke said.  “You’re in charge, though, so you get the final say.”<br><br>Noelle made a face.  “I know, but the problem is we’re not just teammates.  We’re friends.  And you guys know that Krouse and I are dating.  That complicates things.  I don’t think I have the perspective to make the call on my own.  I put my thoughts in the emails, I’m just hoping you guys can give me some direction.  If you say we shouldn’t-”<br><br>“No.  The shitty thing is that the logic is sound,” Luke said.  “No offense, Krouse, but this would be a lot easier if you sucked and we could kick you to the curb.”<br><br>Krouse shrugged. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/migration-17-1/ Excerpt] from [[Migration 17.1]]</ref> Near the end of December 2009, Noelle was still in the very early stages of dating him and was taking things very slow;<ref>“I just- I worry I’m not being fair.  We don’t actually-”<br><br>“We do what we want to do, right?  We enjoy each other’s company?”<br><br>“Yeah.”  She sipped at her coffee again, then put it down to rub her hands for a second.  “I enjoy your company.”<br><br>Tentatively, he reached out and placed his hand over hers.  Cold.  He reached out with his other hand and placed it under hers to help warm it. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/migration-17-1/ Excerpt] from [[Migration 17.1]]</ref><ref name="17.1 eSkittish" /> before being transported to [[Earth Bet]], she admitted for the first time out loud that she liked him.<ref>“We ''are'' boyfriend and girlfriend?” he asked.  He could see the smile fall from her face.  He hurried to speak before she could protest.  “Probationary boyfriend and girlfriend.  You know you can still break this off any time, right?  Don’t give a second thought to my feelings.”<br><br>“That’s not it.  I like you, Krouse.”<br><br>Francis Krouse felt something jolt inside him.  It was like surprise but not.  He already knew she liked him, but hearing it said…  he felt his face warming up, and distracted himself by untucking and folding his scarf.<br><br>Finding himself unable to look directly at her, as embarrassed at his own embarrassment as anything else, he replied, “I like you too.” - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/migration-17-1/ Excerpt] from [[Migration 17.1]]</ref> 

[[Krouse]] was not yet part of her intimate personal space, as she still parceled out hugs,<ref>“Actually…” He trailed off, sticking his hands in his pockets.  “I took my old machine, I replaced the power supply, formatted it, installed a clean OS and done all my usual tricks for clearing out the crap that we’ll never use and optimizing it.  You can consider it an early Christmas present.”<br><br>She stared at him, and he tried to interpret her expression.  A used computer for a present, would she be offended?  Or, conversely, was she bothered at the idea that he’d given her a two-year-old, two-thousand-dollar machine and that he might want something of equivalent value?<br><br>She hugged him for the first time in recent memory.  “It’s great.  Thank you.”<br><br>“I know the hardware is two years old, but it’s still better than most.”<br><br>She hugged him tighter, then let go, “I don’t know how to thank you, and I don’t want you to take this as me dodging the subject or being ungrateful, but we really should prep.”<br><br>“For sure,” he smiled.  His body was buzzing from the physical contact. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/migration-17-1/ Excerpt] from [[Migration 17.1]]</ref><ref>The others were out of their chairs, cheering.  She joined them.  They hugged.  She turned, saw Krouse perched on the desk in the center of the room beside Chris and Oliver.  He was smiling.<br><br>Noelle hugged him, and for once she was able to forget all her doubts and insecurities, all her issues, the way even physical contact would leave her with a pit in her stomach.  She hugged him tight, and it was good.  It felt ''right''. - [[Interlude 18]]</ref> kisses, and holding hands with reluctance.<ref>Without looking away, he said, “Marissa.”<br><br>“What?”<br><br>“I need you to give Noelle a thorough check-up.  I… I don’t think she’d want me to do it, or see.  She was always sensitive about that stuff.”<br><br>Even hugs, even kissing, or holding hands, they were things that she’d parceled out with reluctance.  She wouldn’t want him manhandling her, checking for injuries. - [[Migration 17.2]]</ref> Before she took a [[vial]] at St. Mary's Hospital<ref>''A quarantine processing center is already established at St. Mary’s Hospital, servicing city residents who were not evacuated before temporary blockades were set up.'' - [[Migration 17.6]]</ref> and then discovered its [[Echidna|side effects]],<ref>Noelle had crumpled to the ground at the far end of the bathroom.  Oliver, Luke and Jess were huddled around her.  Marissa moved straight to Noelle’s side.<br><br>“Don’t touch me!”  Noelle screamed, her voice shrill.<br><br>Marissa stepped away, hands raised, as if showing she were unarmed, ''safe''. - [[Migration 17.7]]</ref><ref>“What happened?” Krouse asked, his voice quiet enough that the others might hear, but Noelle wouldn’t.<br><br>Each of the others gave him a look, expressions haunted.<br><br>He stepped closer, to get a better view.  Noelle’s pants were down around her knees.  Her jacket meant Krouse couldn’t see anything but her thighs.  There was a mark about a foot long and eight inches wide, raised on her left leg.  Red, angry, it was wrinkled and blistered like a bad burn.<br><br>She saw him. moved to try and cover herself, “Don’t look, Krouse!” - [[Migration 17.7]]</ref><ref>He looked again, saw Noelle’s head hanging, her hair a curtain around her face.  She was sobbing.<br><br>The skin on the angry red mark parted.  There was no surprise from the others; they’d seen this already.<br><br>Beneath the angry red skin on Noelle’s thigh, there was an eyeball, twice the normal size, with a broad yellow iris.  Noelle’s hands were clenched into fists, gripping the cloth of her jeans as the eye’s gaze darted from one member of their group to another.  It settled on Krouse.<br><br>''Accusatory''. - [[Migration 17.7]]</ref> she admitted to Krouse that she wished they did more boyfriend and girlfriend stuff as she believed she wouldn't be any good to look at if she went ahead with more surgeries.<ref>She nodded a little.  “I’m due for another surgery.  They gave me one short one, and now they’re replacing my blood, see?”<br><br>“I see,” he said, eyeing the blood bags.<br><br>“…I kind of wish we’d done more boyfriend and girlfriend stuff,” she said.  “Sorry.”<br><br>“Don’t need to apologize.  You did what you had to.”<br><br>“I could die,” she said.  Her voice was feeble, quiet.  “They’re cutting too much out, and they can’t wait any longer, but my condition’s bad, so I could die on the table.”<br><br>“You’re ''not'' going to die.”<br><br>“And even if I live, I’m gonna be ugly.  Nice big plastic plug in my belly, with a bag of shit attached.  Which is really ironic, you don’t even know…” she trailed off.<br><br>“I sort of figured it out,” he said.<br><br>She nodded.  “Big scars, bag of shit.  Is why I wish we’d done more, before.  Won’t be any good to look at, after.”<br><br>“I don’t care about scars.  But it doesn’t matter anyways.  You’re not going to die, and you ''won’t'' have scars.  Or a colostomy bag.” - [[Migration 17.6]]</ref>