You never thought a puppet show could ruin your mood.

You’re sitting beside Duncan, surrounded by laughter. Everything is perfect… until she appears.

Tanselle.

She steps onto the stage with that radiant smile, spinning as if the whole world were her audience and, of course, Duncan stops functioning as a person.

“…Wow,” he murmurs, leaning forward without realizing it.

You narrow your eyes.

Ah. Perfect.

“Excuse me?” you say, crossing your arms. “Did you just say wow about a puppeteer?”

He blinks, like he’s only just noticed you.

“What? No, I just I mean, look at how she moves, it’s incredible what she does with her hands.”

Silence.

You stare at him.

He stares back.

“…That sounded bad,” he admits quickly.