Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Sans, meet your new roommate!"

Sans looked at the newcomer with disbelief. She was carrying one huge, black suitcase on her back and holding a violin case in her right hand. Despite the load, she looked to be somewhat comfortable carrying these things. The newcomer was glancing from him to Callista in confusion as an awkward silence started to emerge.

"babe, what-"

"Since we have one more extra room, I figured we could give it to someone who really needs it."

"babe, we didn't-"

"Come on, (Y/N)! I'll show you to your room!" Callista ignored Sans and harshly pushed (Y/N) into the house. Before Callista could show (Y/N) to her room, Sans put his hand on Callista's shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"we need to talk." Callista let out a groan and turned to (Y/N).

"Can you wait right here for a sec? I have to talk to my boyfriend."

“O-Okay.”

Sans teleported Callista to his room to talk. She quickly sat down on his bed and glared at him. She began to rub her temples in a circle motion.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you should warn me before you do your weird teleport thing! Now my head hurts!”

“sorry.” San sat next to Callista and placed his hand on her thigh. “can you tell me why you brought a stranger to come live with us?”

Callista stopped rubbing and placed the tip of her left index finger into her mouth. She looked up and stared deep into his eye sockets. Sans gulped. She was so cute every time she did that.

“You see, she’s my best friend and she was recently kicked out of the house by her parents. She had asked me if I knew of a place where she could stay. I figured that since we have an extra room, she could live here with us.”

Callista began gently rubbing Sans’ back. “I didn’t tell you or anyone because I was afraid of what all of you might say. Even though she has her faults, she doesn’t deserve to be on the streets!” She hugged Sans tightly and cried into his jacket.

“sweetheart, don’t cry! please don’t cry.” Callista sniffled into his jacket and held him more tightly.

“Are you m-mad at me?”

“no, i’m not mad, Callista.” Sans held her cheek and wiped away a tear with his thumb. “i just wish u would have told me and the others about her.”

“I’m so sorry. I was just scared and I couldn't say no to my best friend. You know how I am.”

“yeah, i know.” Sans pulled her close and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “so who exactly is this (Y/N)?”

“Oh! She is my best friend. I’ve known her all my life. We practically grew up together.”

“sounds like you two are close.”

“Yes! Well….not so close anymore.” Callista looked away from Sans and looked at the little pile of clean socks that was in the corner of the room. “I desperately want to remember the times when she was a kind person, but a few years before monsters emerged from Mt. Ebbot, she changed. She became the opposite of what she was when I first met her. Then she became even worse after monsters emerged. She began to steal from me, lie about me and lie about others, and just overall started to become a stranger that I once knew. Her ideologies became hurtful towards others, and especially…” Callista looked at Sans then looked back at the pile again, “towards the monster race.”

“i think you should cut her out of your life, babe.”

“No! I truly believe that even though she has changed for the worst, I believe my best friend is in there. The best friend that I grew up knowing. Besides, no one deserves to be on the streets.”

Sans couldn’t believe that a beautiful woman, like Callista, was in his life. Even though the so-called “friend” of hers has been terrible to her, she still believes in her and even wants her to have a roof over her head.

“Please, can she stay?” Sans was not enthusiastic about a human, that was a monsterphobe, staying in his and his brother’s house, but…..if it would make Callista happy...

“alright.”

“Yay!” Callista gave Sans a big hug, then kissed him on the cheek. He flushed blue and scratched the back of his head.

“HELLO HUMAN! WHO MIGHT YOU BE?” Papyrus’ voice was heard all throughout the house, and Callista started to panic.

“We better hurry down there before she says something that might hurt Papyrus' feelings!” In a panic, Callista ran out of Sans’ room to go downstairs, and Sans teleported into the living room to protect his brother from (Y/N).

Chapter Text

You glanced at the time. It was 5:30pm. Usually you would start packing up and heading to the house, but tonight you just did not feel like dealing with everyone so soon. I mean, you were having such a good day, it won't hurt you to have at least one more hour away from "your home".

This morning, you were determined to have a good start to your day, so you had woken up two hours earlier than usual, got ready for the day without waking anyone up, and managed to silently sneak out of the house without making too much noise. All done before 7:00am. A little excessive but it was necessary with the roommates you were living with. Not having to talk to anyone in that house this morning, was a tremendous start to your day.

The memory caused you to chuckle quietly to yourself, as you finished reading the last few pages of the book you were reading. The book was a mandatory read for a class, and you were glad to be done with it. The book was a bit dragging in the middle and lacked any interesting qualities at the end. You found yourself dozing off at some parts.

Waking up so early to get out of the house was so out of character for you. At your parent's house, on a day like this, you stayed inside most of the day and went out when you wanted to get something that you wanted. At any other house, you would have done just that, but at the house you were staying in now? You could not do that. The reason was because, simply, you could not stand being in that house for more than an hour. Conscious, to be more specific. At least, when you were asleep in that house, you were unconscious and not aware of your surroundings. The roommates that you lived with were very unpleasant towards you. Almost every time you entered the house, you were blamed for something you did not do, and every time you did something productive or positive, a roommate named Callista took all the credit for that task you had done.

Callista.

Immediately you felt anger, for the first time today, as Callista’s face entered your mind. She truly was the embodiment of a backstabbing, scandalous, disgusting witch. She honestly reminded you of the Grand High Witch from the 1990s movie, The Witches starring Anjelica Huston. Almost every time she would speak to you, you would imagine her taking off her face mask, to reveal a hideous thing underneath.

You did not only have to share a house with Callista, you also had to share it with eight skeleton monsters. Their names were Sans, Papyrus, Blue, Stretch, Edge, Red, Black, and Mutt. In retrospect, these guys would be great company if Callista was out of the picture. Their personalities were diverse and engaging, and you would have liked to get to know them more. Too bad Callista had manipulated them into thinking you were a horrible person before you could do that.

When you first met Callista, it was after you replied to an ad that was posted on the Off Campus Housing section of your college’s website. You were living with your mother for the first two years of college, mostly because you were concentrating on saving enough money to get your own place. You did not want to spend extra money living on campus with a roommate, all because it was expected of people your age to do. Also, you are not a people person, and you wanted privacy.

You did not care about what strangers thought, or what your family said:

“You’re young! You should be out and about, especially out of your parent’s house!”

“You’re going to regret not experiencing college life.”

“Are you that anti-social, (Y/N)?”

First of all…..rude, you are not anti-social. You have a lot of friends actually, and you were experiencing enough college life before you decided to live near it.

The reason you answered Callista’s ad, was because of how involved you were starting to get with the music department. You were involved with the creation of an upcoming musical, you were practicing for a recital, you were in the Mt. Ebott Symphony, and you had a job teaching children how to play string instruments. All of these were in association with the Mt. Ebott University. Additionally, you were practicing to get ready for a very important violin competition that would greatly improve your resume if you got in. ALSO, this did not include the regular practicing you had to do to stay on point and your English degree assignments. You were a busy gal.

It became tedious to commute back and forth, especially with everything you had to do. Your parent’s house was an hour and a half away from the college, and you had managed to make this work for two years. When you began to get calls for extra rehearsals, emergency meetings, and calls from your boss wanting you to stay a little longer with a struggling student, you started to think about getting a place near the campus, to make it easier for you.

You also, admittedly, wanted to be near your friends. You always would feel bad every time you had to leave a get together early because you didn’t want to drive in the dark, or you didn’t want your mother to worry about when you were coming back home.

Callista’s ad was the only ad that had offered the amount of rent that you could afford to pay. So you showed interest and she decided to meet with you at a random cafe. You thought she was nice at first. She told you about the other guys in the house and told you about the size of the room you were going to stay in and what came with it. You remember that she complimented your outfit and said that she was eager to become friends with you. This was the first and last time she was nice to you.

Honestly, you were impressed with how fast she created a story about you and her being best friends, and you suddenly becoming the opposite of “who you once were”. You were surprised she wasn’t an English major, like you were, with how quickly she could come up with a fake story.

After two weeks in the house, you observed that Callista had seemed to put a love spell over all the skeletons in the house. They were all in love with this girl, and, for the life of you, you could not see why. Besides being mean to you, she was a brat and had tantrums whenever she did not immediately get her way. She loved talking about herself, and would lose interest if any other subject was brought up. If Callista did not like something, she let you know about it. Rudely.

Regardless, all the guys in the house absolutely loved her, and did not see the awful side of herself she would show to you.

What puzzled you the most, was how the guys would believe every word she uttered. No matter how ridiculous it sounded, and how easily it would be to recognize her lies. They could look at the security cameras and look at her social media and see that she was at a party, instead of studying. But to them her word was fact. At first, you encouraged them to look at the camera footage and to look into things themselves, but they refused, saything that “she would never do that!” and Callista would mischievously smile in triumph.

Does being in love make you stupid?

Not have common sense?

Does it make you blind?

You found yourself constantly asking those questions every time you entered that house you were staying in.

And right after, you had to calm yourself, and be reminded that the guys were being manipulated by her. Still, it does not excuse how some of them treat you though.

Man, they made you think you should have stayed at home.

Sans, Stretch, and Red were somehow convinced that you would hurt their brothers in some way, Edge and Black just flat out hated you, and you could tell that Blue and Papyrus were uncomfortable every time you entered a room they were in. However, you had no opinion on Mutt, as he seemed to be either smoking a dog treat on the porch or sleeping in the living room.

You also discovered why Callista put that ad up on that website. She wanted to be her true self without ruining the projection of herself that she has shown to the skeletons, so she had put that ad up so that someone can take the blame every time she would do something that would make herself look undesirable.

Believe me, you were looking for a way out the moment you discovered this. Unfortunately, your friends didn’t have an extra room in their apartments or houses, and didn’t know anyone who did. You called your older brother and two sisters, who were also attending Mt. Ebott University, but they couldn’t help either. The Off Campus Housing website did not have anything you could afford, and other websites gave you no luck, too. You were stuck.

So two months went by. All the while, you worked, focused on your degree path, and paid attention to the friends and the life you had, outside of the house. The goal was to save enough money to get out of there, as soon as possible.

The ultimate goal was to get a living space, that wasn’t just some rinky-dinky place in a hole somewhere. No. You wanted your own apartment, or even a one story home, all to yourself, but you knew you were a long way from that possibility.

After finishing all of your homework, you checked the clock, and it was definitely time to go. You packed your things and walked out of the library. The sun was setting, so everything around you seemed to have a dark orange hue. You blocked the sun with one of your hands as you walked down the grand staircase that led to the library. Some photographers were on the lawn that was in front of the library, taking pictures of the scenery around them. You figured they were using the golden hour to take some nice pictures.

“Hey, (Y/N)!”

“Aza! Hi!” You happily waved to your best friend, who was walking towards you.

“I haven’t seen you all day. What have you been doing?”

“Oh, just, taking it easy, finishing my homework. Just simple things.”

“You didn’t want to do anything special today?”

“Well, I don’t have anything in mind.”

“You know that’s not true. Where were you going just now?”

“I was about to go to the house.”

“Stop. No you weren’t.”

“Yeah, I was.” Aza, looked at you shocked, then put her hands on her hips.

“(Y/N)!”

“What?! I woke up early, so I didn’t have to talk to anyone, I had a nice breakfast at my favorite restaurant, I practiced my violin and bass, and I finished all my homework. I think that’s a good birthday.”

“Oh my gosh, just follow me.” She grabbed your left hand, since your other hand was carrying your violin case, and started heading to your car.

“How did you know that I parked here?”

“I might have followed you.”

“How?”

“I know your schedule, (Y/N). Just like how you know mine.”

“........you right,” Aza laughed as she continued to lead you. “I guess we’re both at the ‘stalker’ part of our friendship now.”

You laughed with Aza, as she led you to your car. When you got there, the car handles had balloons tied to them. Each balloon had a ‘Happy Birthday!’ written in marker on each of them.

“Awww, Aza. This is so sweet.” You quickly put your violin case down, and gave her a big bear hug. “This is a lovely surprise.”

“I’m glad you like it!” The moment she returned the hug, you felt a dose of serotonin go through you. It was moments like these that kept you going.

“Careful, you’re going to squeeze the life out of me!”

“Five more minutes, please.”

“I’ll be dead by then! And, I won’t be able to tell you the other surprise!”

“What other surprise?”

“Release me from your clutches, and I’ll tell you.” You ended the serotonin dose.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was 10:00pm when you arrived back “home”.

You sat in your car, reminiscing on all the fun you had. Your brother, Yuto, and his roommates had decided to throw you a surprise birthday party at their house. He made sure friends you knew and some of his friends were there to surprise you. Oh, the aura in that house was heavenly. You didn’t want to leave.

Video games, board games, karaoke,.....the FOOD! You were in a blissful daze as you wiped off some glitter that had, somehow, gotten on your clothes.

Everything was perfect. Your mother set up a Zoom call, and wished you a wonderful, happy birthday, one of Yuto’s friends tripped and fell headfirst into a slice of cake, you discovered Matthew, a good friend, could sing, to your horror Aza learned how to twerk, you got to show them your cooking skills by cooking up some bomb oatmeal raisin cookies, which everyone loved, and the gifts you received were so thoughtful, it almost made you cry, but Aza started twerking, making you cry from laughing so hard, instead.

You, still in your blissful state, gathered your things, your bag full of gifts, and walked up the stairs to the front door of the house. The keys were put in the lock and you entered the house.

Everyone was in front of the tv, watching an action movie. Callista was on the couch, sitting on Red’s lap. She looked in your direction, then paused the movie with the remote. Everyone turned in your direction as you took off your shoes. The feelings you felt before said their goodbyes, and were replaced with uneasiness.

“Where have you been? You usually come home earlier than this.”

“I was out with friends.”

“And you didn’t invite me?”

You were already tired of this conversation and didn’t reply. You started to walk to the stairs. Stretch teleported in front of you. He gave you no warning, so you bumped into his chest, and backed up, startled. You looked up at his face, and saw pure hatred. Usually Edge and Black looked at you like that, but not Stretch, he usually just glared at you, and would bump into your shoulders sometimes.

“i hope you’re going to pay back what you stole from my brother.”

“What?”

“Oh yeah! I forgot about that!” Callista exclaimed as she got up from Red’s lap and walked toward you. “(Y/N), why did you take Blue’s credit card?”

“I didn’t take his credit card!”

“I saw you, this afternoon, in his room shuffling through his things, then Blue says his card is missing.”

“I wasn’t even here this afternoon! I left the house at 7:00am, and now I’m coming back home.”

“WELL THAT’S TRUE,” Papyrus chimed. “I DIDN’T SEE YOU COME DOWN FOR BREAKFAST THIS MORNING.”

“AND I PEEKED OUTSIDE, AND SAW YOUR CAR NOT THERE,” Blue added. His face was a mixture of contemplative and disappointment as he looked at you. You felt bad for him.

“After leaving this morning, Blue, she came back in the afternoon, took your card, spent some of your money, and then came back at around six to put your card back in your room.”

“I did not. Just check the cameras, and you will see my car not there in the driveway, all day. Also, how would I even use his card? I don’t know his pin number!”

“(Y/N), if you needed money, all you had to do was ask me. I give you money all the time.”

Every time, you had to refrain yourself from jumping on Callista and beating her face in every time she made a remark like that towards you. You internally breathed, and calmed yourself from doing so. Your taekwondo classes have really helped you with your anger over the years.

“I will keep repeating this til the cows come home. Check the cameras.”

“We don’t need to check the cameras! I saw you.”

“and I will believe, honeybun over here, over you any day.” He then got up real close to you. You didn’t dare move back. You had to stand your ground. “you better pay back every cent you spent with my bro’s card,” growled Stretch.

Callista was standing behind Stretch with a smirk on her face. You rolled your eyes, and walked around the two. Their gazes followed you as you walked to Blue, who was sitting next to Red on the couch.

“Blue, I’m sorry that your credit card was stolen, but I’m not paying for something that Callista used your money for.”

“why you little-”

“HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE HER!” Black said as he stood up from where he was sitting. He snatched the bag full of your gifts and looked inside the bag. “IT’S CLEAR YOU WENT ON A SHOPPING SPREE!”

“Those are gifts from my friends!”

“Why would they randomly give you so many gifts?”

“If you were my so-called “best friend” you would know why, Callista.” You both glared at each other, before you quickly took the bag back from Black. He looked at you with malice at this action. You retreated back to the stairs, just in case anyone made another attempt to take your precious bag. “On the camera footage, you would see me leave first, then everyone else would leave. Callista’s car would still be in the driveway, then shortly after 12:00, you would see Callista leave. That is what you would see if you looked.”

The only sound heard was the drops of water coming from the faucet. You looked at everyone’s face, and you could tell that no one believed you. You were tired of wasting your time, talking to people that didn’t want to listen, so you walked up the stairs.

“Believe what you like, but I’m not paying for something I didn’t do.”

You hurried to your room, and closed the door. You heard some chatter coming from downstairs, but it was muffled. Your back was against your door, and you exhaled. You had used the last of your energy for that conversation, and you were about to drop. You put the gifts in a hidden part of your closet, and got ready for bed.

You would never accept the things Callista would accuse you of doing. You knew it would be easier to do so, to just say, “ Yeah, I took your card, Blue. I’ll pay you back.” and be on your way, but no. That would not be you. Accepting would make living in this house much easier, but you chose not to. Sure you had to go through so much conflict, so much arguing, so much thinking to provide proof for yourself, so much general hate towards you, but you would rather go through that, than accept the label Callista put on you.

In a deep part of your heart, even though you were frustrated with them, you had hope that one day, Blue, Papyrus, Sans, Black, Red, Mutt, Edge, and Stretch would see Callista as who she really was. You think, maybe, one day they might think, “Hm, (Y/N) hasn’t owned up to one thing Callista has said she has done, maybe there’s a reason for that.” And finally look into Callista’s lies.

But, one can only hope.

You plopped yourself into bed and dreamed about your friends and your family.

Chapter Text

"And why did he do that?....uh huh….That doesn't make sense!....Why?.... He could have just told her what's going on!….uh huh….uh huh….yeah….No. No!.... That's five more episodes right there...."

You were on the phone with your sister, Eve, talking about a soap opera that the two of you watch. You never thought you would be hooked on a drama show. Soaps we're usually boring, filled with too much talking and not enough action to gain your attention. There usually were too many love triangles, cheaters, and good people dying in random accidents to keep track of. Your sister however, was obsessed with soaps, and introduced you to one in particular called "Wheels of Love". Surprisingly, this one was actually good, and it snagged you, like a fish on a hook. The pacing was perfect, and the actors actually moved when they talked to each other. Also, this soap was easy to understand and to follow.

The phone was on speaker, as you got dressed for the day. You were brushing your hair in front of the mirror, that was placed on top of the dresser in your room.

"I like Eric! Why don't you like him?….What do you mean 'of course I would like him'?....Hahaha! Noooo!....He's not mean!....He followed the rules!....okay….yeah….He did that….Yes, and that….But still!"

After styling your hair, you turned off the speaker on your phone, and walked out of your room. You were still on the phone with your sister.

“I have one class today, then I have some time to practice before taekwondo….You want to do that?....Okay then!.... Which café are you-”

You were interrupted by Callista harshly and annoyingly, tapping on your shoulder.

“(Y/N). (Y/N). (Y/N).”

“I’m on the phone right now, Callista.”

“I don’t care.” She tapped harder, and your anger was beginning to rise from the repeated action she was doing on your shoulder.

“What were you saying, Eve?....uh huh….yeah….Okay….”

“Hurry up!”

“You can wait two seconds, Callista.” She then tried to snatch the phone out of your hand, but you were too quick for her. “Just wait a moment, jeeze.”

“Hang up the phone!”

“....yeah that’s her….I’ll see you later….bye.” You stuffed the phone in your purse.

“Done with your stupid conversation?”

“What do you want?”

“I need you to do something for me.” She grabbed your hand and started to lead you towards the stairs. Even though you hated that she was touching you, you were curious to see what she wanted you to do, since it was always interesting to see what chore she promised her boyfriends that she, herself, would do. Do all their laundry, sow the clothes they used to train in, clean their rooms, clean the whole house. You did that last one frequently though, because, who wants to live in a dirty house? So you went on ahead and did that chore for her, but that was it. You didn’t have time for anything else, and you didn't want to do anything else for her.

You had to admit, it was tempting to do the guys' laundry, and to sow their clothes, because every time you refused to do it, Callista would, of course, throw a tantrum, then would try to do it herself, and ruin their clothes. Every single time. She would put too much bleach and stain all the clothes or make the clothes even dirtier, which you had no idea how she did that. With the sowing, she just didn't know what she was doing. You thought maybe with the amount of money she had, she would just get a tailor to fix their clothes, but she promised the boys she, herself, would do it, and ruin them every time. And guess what? Blame every screw up on you:

“(Y/N), must have messed with the clothes while they were in the washer. I’m sorry, everyone. You know how she feels about monsters….”

“I tried to sow your clothes, but (Y/N) said she wanted to do it. I thought she was trying to be nice, so I let her, and she did this to them. I’m so sorry.”

Ugh.

The both of you were walking down the stairs, and Callista was taking her sweet time doing it, too. Since Callista was still holding your hand, you had to go the same pace she was going, and it was torture. Man, it felt like you were going a snail's pace.

“Good morning, everyone!” She waved to the skeletons below her, like she was a queen, waving to her subjects. You noticed that Sans was at the head of the table drinking a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper, Papyrus was setting the table, and Red and Stretch were sitting across from each other at the same table. Edge and Black must have been in the kitchen, and you couldn't see where Blue and Mutt were.

“mornin’.”

“GOOD MORNING, ANGEL!"

“hey baby.”

“good mornin’ darling.”

When you and Callista finally reached the bottom of the stairs, she tugged you towards the table, and let go of your hand to hug Papyrus.

“HOW IS YOUR MORNING, CALLISTA?”

“It’s perfect, now that I am hugging you! Are Black and Edge still in the kitchen?”

“YES. JUST FINISHING UP, I’M SURE. ALTHOUGH, IF BLUE AND I HAD FIXED BREAKFAST, WE WOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN EATING.”

“I HEARD THAT!” Edge peeked his head out of the door that led to the kitchen. “GREAT COOKING REQUIRES TIME. THAT’S WHY WHEN YOU AND BLUE COOK, IT TAKES NO TIME AT ALL!”

“YOU ARE SADLY MISTAKEN. PAPYRUS AND I, ARE ABLE TO MAKE MAGNIFICENT FOOD QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY!” Blue walked out of the living room with Mutt. Blue sat next to his brother and Mutt just pulled out a chair that was closest to him, and put his head on the table. “YOU TWO MAKE GOOD FOOD, BUT IT TAKES FOREVER TO DO SO!”

“ARE YOU TWO STILL SALTY ABOUT LOSING THE BET THIS MORNING?” Black taunted from the kitchen.

“NO!” yelled Papyrus and Blue simultaneously, clearly irritated, assuming from the supposed bet they lost.

“was that a pun, brother?” Mutt lifted his head and smirked in Black’s direction. A mixture of groans and chuckles occurred, and a loud Gahh! was heard from the kitchen. With a face full of disgust, Edge’s head went back into the kitchen, and the door closed.

“ANYWAY,” Papyrus returned his attention to Callista. “ARE YOU FREE THIS AFTERNOON? I WAS THINKING WE COULD GO ON A PICNIC TOGETHER AND-”

“Oh, Papyrus. Didn’t I tell you? I have a project due soon, and I don’t have a lot of time to waste. Also...a picnic? When we do have time to go on a date, can we do something less dirty?”

Papyrus’ expression faltered, but quickly replaced it with an even bigger smile than the last.“...OH...W-WELL OF COURSE WE CAN! WHEN YOU ARE FREE, I’LL HAVE THE BEST DATE PLANNED.”

“You are such a precious thing!” Callista motioned for Papyrus to lean down, which he immediately did. She squeezed both of his cheeks, and kissed the top of his forehead.

You were not a fan of eating outside, because of the ants and flies, but in a well kept area, a picnic would not be a bad idea. From the two months you have observed Papyrus, you knew he would not have chosen a bug-infested place.

You were lost in thought, when you felt that familiar aura that someone was watching you, or rather, a few eyes watching you. Callista had let go of your hand close to the table, so you were uncomfortably close to the guys sitting there. After the chuckles had ended, the guys seemed to notice your presence, and started giving you looks that asked Why are you here? Their glares bore into you, especially Stretch’s, making you even consider skipping breakfast just to avoid them.Their stares were getting to you, so you decided to go sit on a stool. You knew the staring wouldn’t stop, but at least you would not be so close to them. Before you could do that though, Callista grabbed your hand and started tugging once more.

“where are you two going?” Sans asked Callista as he put his mug and newspaper down on the table.

“Why do you ask, baby?”

“just wondering.”

“I’m just going to show (Y/N) something in the laundry room.”

“why are you holding hands?”

“Because we’re best friends of course! We like holding each other’s hands. Right, (Y/N)?”

“Nope.” Saying that was a reflex at this point, and every time you did say it, your face would look so serious. It did bring you a little bit of joy every time you said it though. Sometimes you hoped Callisa would ask that question to you, so that you could say it.

Callista squeezed your hand in anger, but stopped when you started doing it back. At least she had the brain capacity to remember what happened last time. You would think that she would stop trying to hold your hand after that.

“Ah, c’mon, (Y/N)! You’ve used that joke ten times already! Think of another one.”

“Can we go now?” You ignored her stupid request, eager to get your business with Callista over with. You surely did not miss the mean look Callista and the other guys gave you.

“Come on then.” Callista finally led you to where she wanted you to be. The laundry room. She shut the door behind her, and locked it.

“Tch. I thought they would be done in the kitchen by now.” Her demeanor had done a complete 180.

“Why did you bring me in here?”

“I wanted to use the kitchen to talk, but they are in there, so I went in here. Duh.”

“Okay.”

“I need you,” She pointed at your chest, “ to cook dinner tonight. I told them I was going to be in charge of dinner, but I have somewhere to be.”

“Do you really have somewhere to be?”

“Shut up. Just listen. I told them I was going to prepare a home-made style steak and chicken dinner, but I can’t cook, and I just-”

“Don’t want to do it?”

“Oh my god, you are so annoying. Just do it, okay?”

“If you think I’m going to cook dinner for you, you must be out of your mind.” You crossed your arms, like you were discipling a child. “We don’t have steak or chicken, so I would have to go to the grocery store to get those things, not to mention, I would have to think up some sides to cook to go with the steak and chicken, and get those ingredients as well. Do you know how long that would take to go grocery shopping, and cook everything? Hours. And I would spend all that time cooking, just for you to take all the credit? No thanks.”

Callista was literally shaking, her face was red, and she was looking at you with the intensity of a venomous snake, ready to strike its victim.

“If you don’t do it! I-I will tell Edge that you…..” She crazily looked around the laundry room, and her eyes landed on a bottle of bleach. She smiled and grabbed it. “I’ll tell Edge that you ruined his favorite leather jacket, by pouring bleach all over it!”

You were well aware of the jacket she was referring to. Red had bought that jacket for him, as a gift, and you could tell that it meant a lot to him, even though he never said it out loud. The jacket was black, and little silver spikes were placed on the shoulders. He wore it often, and you knew he would be mad if it was damaged. Edge’s anger was never something to play around with, and you had experienced his rage directed at you one too many times. One time, you were convinced that you were going to have to fight him to protect yourself, but something happened for it to not go that far. You didn’t want to imagine what he would do if he thought you had ruined his favorite jacket. Let alone, not only Edge, but Red as well. He would surely be furious.

This is the first time she had threatened you like this, and you admit, it did catch you off guard. You were seriously considering it. Avoiding Edge and Red’s wrath? Good. But….you had to send Callista a message. That you will never do what she wants you to do. No matter how much threatening she will do.

“I get blamed for everything else. Let’s add something to the list.” You replied sarcastically, as you walked around her. “You promised that you would cook, Callista. Figure it out, because I’m not doing that. I have things to do.”

You closed the door behind yourself, and she started shrieking the moment it clicked shut. You sighed, and walked towards the kitchen table, where all the guys sat. The food was laid out on the table, and they had started eating. Trying to ignore the silence that happened once you approached the table, you placed your backpack, and violin case next to your chair, sat down, and started filling your plate. You always made sure to sit at the corner of the table, so that you could leave quickly without having to bump into anyone.

Mutt was in front of you this morning. He took a second to glance in your direction before going back to his own plate.

“UM, GOOD MORNING, (Y/N).” said Papyrus.

“Good morning.” You gave him a quick smile and looked back at your food.

“HAD A PLEASANT SLEEP?”

“I did, thanks for asking.”

“i’m sure you had a good night’s sleep. dreaming about the things you bought with my bro’s card.” Hearing that, you immediately started to eat your food faster.

“five-hundred dollars worth of junk.” Stretch mumbled as he picked up his coffee mug that had ‘Honey Bee’ on it.

“BROTHER, WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THIS. I’VE FORGIVEN HER, AND THAT’S THAT.”

Stretch slammed his mug on the table. You jumped, shocked that Stretch would do such a thing. You were surprised the mug didn't break upon impact.

“but she stole from you! she should pay you back!”

“AND SHE DIDN’T EVEN APOLOGIZE!” Edge scowled at you. “I WILL TELL YOU THIS HUMAN, AND ONLY ONCE! IF YOU STEAL FROM ME, YOU WILL HAVE HELL TO PAY!”

“you’re lucky Blue is a push-over.” Red stated, as he chewed on a piece of bacon. “if it were me, or my bro, ya would be long gone, and we wouldn’t give a damn.”

“I’M NOT A PUSH-OVER! I JUST DON’T WANT TO HOLD A GRUDGE ABOUT MONEY THAT I CAN EASILY GET BACK.”

“bro but…”

The conversation continued and your thoughts started to go elsewhere. The bickering, and the arguing, became background noise in your mind. Instead, Edge's warning rang repeatedly in your head, and it made you focus on thinking of a plan.

You didn't want Callista to ruin Edge's jacket, not just because of the consequences. You knew what it was like to have meaningful possessions destroyed, all because of something trivial. Everyday, memories from your early childhood made you more thankful for the family you have now.

Before you brought yourself deeper into the past, you shook your head, and started thinking of ways to stop Callista from getting Edge's jacket. You were thinking of hiding it somewhere, but you didn't know where. Hiding it in your room was a bad idea, because he would think you stole it, so that was a no. Hiding it in another bedroom, would cause Edge to think that person took his jacket, and you didn't want to get anyone in trouble.

Red…..Red! You could hide it in his room! Their fashion style, or at least the colors they chose to wear were similar, so it would be believable if he did find it in Red's room, he would think some of their laundry got mixed up. He would be irritated, but that would be it.

"(Y/N). why are you staring at me?" whispered Mutt.

You blinked repeatedly, and found yourself staring at Mutt. He had a look of confusion on his face. You must have been staring at Mutt unknowingly, while you were in thought.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking to myself. I sometimes end up staring off into space when I do that."

"Hm." Mutt shrugged, and went back to eating.

Everyone was at the table right at this moment, so doing the plan had to be immediate while everyone was distracted by the breakfast. You began to eat even faster, trying to leave the table first. Even though you were eating fast, it felt like you were hardly making a dent at the pile of food that was on your plate.

"fine." grumbled Stretch, as he picked up a fork to start eating again. You decided to focus on eating, so you didn't see who he was talking to. Soon, Callista appeared and sat next to Edge. Jesus, how long was that tantrum?

After hearing Callista talk about herself, for a little while, you were done, and excused yourself from the table.

"Thank you for cooking Edge and Black, it was delicious."

They replied with grunts and humphs, you quickly washed your dish, and headed upstairs.

Finding Edge's jacket was easy. His room was so neat and tidy, and the closet was organized by color and type of material each piece of clothing was made out of. One look in the black, and leather section and it was there.

You peeked out of his room, and saw no one in the hallway. You heard friendly conversations at the table, and heard Edge's voice ring out above the other voices, after listening for a few seconds. Great, he was still there. Time to go to Red's room.

You headed to Red's room, and tried to open the door. Something was blocking it, so you had to push your way in. After managing that, you looked at the room, and saw that it was a complete mess, like usual. Total opposite to Edge's organization. You looked behind you and saw that a pile of clothes was the culprit for you having difficulties entering his room.

You had to ignore the state of the room, and look for a place to hide the jacket. A sock drawer….sweater drawer…. under his pillow? ....no….hang it in his closet?....no….it can't be there in plain sight for Callista to grab…..um….his dress shirt drawer?....no, he hardly uses the clothes in there….under the bed?

That could work. When it's laundry day, he just dumps his clean clothes on his bed, and lazily stuffs them in his drawers. Some clothes could end up under the bed accidentally. You bended your knees and looked under there to see, that lo and behold, some clothes were under the bed.

Would Callista look under his bed for the jacket? You didn't know for sure, but hiding it here seemed to be the best option. This way, Red wouldn't look too guilty and you wouldn't be blamed for Edge's jacket being missing.

You were placing the jacket under the bed, when you heard footsteps in the hallway.

When people are raised in a strict household all their lives, they start to recognize their parents footsteps. From the stomps and steps, a child can tell which parent was coming to their room. That ability to do that stays with that child all their lives, and it stayed with you. So when you heard those footsteps, you could tell that Red was coming to his room.

Oh no! You scrambled looking for a place to hide, almost tripping over a random fake plant in the process. You took off your backpack and placed it under the bed, did the same to your violin case, and squeezed yourself under there too. You were flabbergasted that you were able to make it, because just when you hid your foot from sight, Red entered his room.

While laying on your side, you slowly curled yourself into a ball, trying to make yourself smaller. Even though you managed to fit under there, it was still a tight squeeze. A flat metal rod was against your cheek, and your shoulder was in agony. You couldn't see what was against your shoulder, but you could assume it was probably against a piece of flat metal, too.

You saw Red's feet enter his walk-in closet, making you thankful you did not choose his closet as a hiding place.

You suddenly heard a thump, making you flinch. It was followed by a few curses. On one foot, he hopped out of the closet. He had stubbed his toe, somehow.

"stupid! stupid! stupid, box!!! f***ing, s***!"

You covered your mouth with one of your hands, trying to keep yourself quiet. You couldn't laugh, but it was so hard not to.

He entered the closet again after shouting profanities for two whole minutes. He then came out again. He must have put on some black jeans because you could see the color of the bottom hems around his ankles.

He stood in front of his dresser, for a second. You guessed he was looking at himself in the mirror. All the bedrooms had mirrors that were placed on the dressers.

"lookin' good."

Totally unexpected, you heard a kissing sound coming from Red. What the heck? Did he just kiss his reflection? What was that?

You couldn't see it, but you imagined Red kissing the mirror, and you had to cover your mouth again.

To your relief, Red teleported out of his room after impersonating Narcissus. After struggling to get out from under the bed, you gathered your things, and hurried out of his room, out the front door, and out the house.

You could finally breathe.

Chapter Text

After you attended your morning class, you drove to the café where your sister, Eve, wanted to meet you. You gave a casual glance towards the sky, expecting a clear sky, instead you noticed grey clouds that were starting to slowly overtake it. You rolled down your car window, and cool air and the smell of rain, filled the car. Shivering now, you rolled the window back up and put on the A/C to warm up the car. Confused about the sudden weather change, you turned on the radio and turned to a weather channel, hoping that the news anchor would report about cloudy skies and nothing else.

Earlier that morning, you had got a notification from your weather app telling you that it was going to be warm with no chance of rain. You left your coat at home because, according to your app, you didn't need it. Now it was going to rain? You hoped that the man reporting would say that it was only going to be cloudy, but the clouds were getting darker, and the smell of upcoming rain was getting stronger.

“Good afternoon. This is Rebecca Groten with your Southeast Ebott news report. Today’s top story involves bubble gum and wires.”

“Bubble gum and wires, Rebecca?”

“Yes, Steve. According to a mother, named Karen Gniyonna, her child was playing with a broken electrical socket in her home, when the child got shocked in the hand, causing the child to be injured. The mother wants to sue the child’s teacher because the teacher gave everyone in the child’s classroom bubble gum.”

“Well, to me, the bubble gum and the incident in her home do not correlate, at all. Did she give a reason why she wanted to sue?”

“Yes, Steve. She claimed that the bubble gum that the teacher gave to her child caused her child to be hyper, which caused them to mess with the broken electrical socket in her home. In an interview she claimed that her child never acted this way before, and that she is surely not at fault in any way, but before we dive deeper into that, let’s take a look at today’s weather. Over to you, Ryan.”

“Thank you, Rebecca. Let’s take a look at what’s happening right here in Southeast Ebott this afternoon. The temperature is 67 degrees, dropping steadily with the humidity at 40 percent. The wind is blowing towards the west at 5 miles per hour. Despite the warm weather this morning, there is now a high chance of rain showers occuring in the early afternoon, or later. The wind is dragging the clouds with them, so West Ebott will most likely be getting the same weather report soon enough.”

“The total opposite to this morning’s weather, right Ryan?”

“Indeed, Rebecca. And very suddenly as well. To everyone listening, make sure to tune back in for the evening news to receive evening weather reports from me, Ryan.”

“Thank you, Ryan. Now, back to you, Rebecca.”

“Thanks, Ryan. Now, back to the top story. Karen Gniyonna, a mother of a child, claims that bubble gum is what caused her child to be injured in her own supervision…..”

You grumpily changed the channel to a music station and saw drops of rain hitting the windshield, and after a minute, it started to pour. You groaned, switched on the wipers, and held your steering wheel tight. You hated driving in heavy rain. You were a careful driver, but you always made yourself anxious thinking about the other cars around you. You knew when it came to rain, people were either more careful or more stupid when they drove, and mostly people were stupid. They don’t turn on their headlights, drive even faster, or pass red traffic lights thinking the heavy rain will prevent a police officer from seeing them do it, which is a myth that is completely wrong.

Luckily, you found a parking space that was directly in front of the entrance. You internally prepared to sprint to the door, then you made a break for it. You miraculously managed to not slip on any water, but you still got soaked with rain, despite your efforts and being so close to the entrance.

“Welcome to Brown Beans.”

You smiled politely at the cashier, and went straight towards the narrow stairs that led to the second floor. Usually when you and Eve would meet at this café, she would always want to eat on the second floor, and play games that were present on that floor, like pool, ice hockey, table tennis, or cards.

You didn’t have to look around long. Eve got your attention.

“(Y/n)! I’m over here! Hey! Look over here! Hello! (Y/n)! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!”

“I’m coming. I’m coming!” You hurried over to her booth, before she brought the whole place down with her voice. As you sat down, she looked at you and chuckled.

“The rain got you good, huh sis?”

“Yeah. I didn’t expect it to rain today.”

“I was lucky enough to make it inside before the rain shower began. A lot of students here are planning on staying here and waiting for the rain to stop. I think I'm going to do that too.”

“Man, I wish I could stay here for the rest of the day.”

“Why can’t you? You had only one class today, right?”

“Yes, but I also have taekwondo today.”

“Oh right! I forgot.”

A comfortable silence then occurred, and Eve sipped her tea that, you assume, she already ordered before you got there. She put her mug down and pulled a strand of orange hair behind her ear. You adjusted yourself into the booth better, making yourself more relaxed. Then your sister dramatically gasped.

“What am I doing?! I should be getting you a towel! You’re soaked!”

“How are you going to get me a-”

“Just stay there! I’m going to ask the kitchen if they have a spare towel they can allow you to use.”

“Eve, I don’t want no dirty kitchen towel!”

“Don’t worry and calm your butt. I guarantee I’ll be back with a towel for you!” yelled Eve as she briskly walked towards the stairs.

“It better not be dirty, Eve!”

“It won’t be!” And with that, she was gone.

Eve ended up persuading the workers to give you a towel and it was fresh, clean, and green, the color of Eve’s eyes. She even ordered a hot drink for you, so that you could warm up.

You loved how your sister was so kind and friendly with everyone. You never heard of Eve having enemies of any sort. She was just that likable, and with that likability, people tended to be more attracted to her, in more ways than one. They wanted her to be their friend, to be in a loving relationship with them, or to just be near her because of her…...vibe. She had a good vibe. At first glance, many people have mentioned that they thought she was just a stuck-up girl who only cared about her looks, but once they had one conversation with her, they wanted her a part of their lives. It was like her excitement for living would leak on to others.

You thought Eve was beautiful inside and out. And you always supported her, like she supported you. Your whole family supported each other. You couldn’t imagine not doing that.

“Was Callista bothering you again this morning?”

“She sure was. While I was on the phone with you, she was tapping on my shoulder like an annoying little brat. You know what she asked me to do this time?”

“I’d love to hear it.”

“She wanted me to spend the whole day cooking….what was it? Oh yes. A chicken and home-made style steak dinner for all of them!”

“That would take all day!”

“I know right?! So anyway, I said no.”

“I wonder,” Eve said while twirling a strand of hair with her index finger, “will you ever say yes, (Y/n)?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Good! You know, Callista is in most of my classes.”

“Really? So, she must be majoring in journalism? Like you?”

“Unfortunately, yes. On the first day of class, when we introduce ourselves and all that, she said as such. Anyway, I know you don’t want to talk about Callista all day, so let’s get down to the real reason we’re here.”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

Eve rubbed her hands together, scooted closer to the table, and leaned on it. You stretched your arms over your head and rolled your shoulders back.

Let’s do this.

“Why, on God’s green earth, are you on Team Eric, (Y/n)?!”

“I’m with Eric because I don’t trust Charles, at all.”

“Charles has cared for Lorrain for 2 years now, and not caused her any pain. Eric on the other hand, has lied to her, put her in danger many times, and even killed her father.”

“He is-”

“And her mother!”

“No, that is not true! Lorrain walked into Eric looking at the corpse of her father, which so happened to be in his office. Now, why would Eric, as smart as he is, kill somebody in his office? That doesn’t make any sense. I think Charles put the body in Eric’s office to make him look even more undesirable in Lorrain’s eyes.”

“Charles wasn’t even in the same country when that happened! He was on a business trip! He would never hurt Lorrain, in any way, after saving her so many times. He even attempted to help her brother out with his drinking problem.”

“When Lorrain’s parents were alive, he didn’t help them at all. Charles knows that she is more close to her brother than anyone else. So that is who he is mainly focusing on. Her brother. He just wants to look good in front of Lorrain. I guarantee, this is not how he really acts like, which is why I think he hired someone to kill her parents.”

“I think it's not that complicated. Charles is always away whenever something bad happens to Lorrain and Eric is always there whenever misfortune comes into her life! Remember when Eric told her to meet him at the spot they first met, so that he can give Lorrain her grandmother’s necklace? Well, when she arrived, he said that he lied to her so that he can get a date out of her. She said that she drove for four hours for that necklace! And the worst part, if Eric hadn’t done that she would have been able to pick up her brother from that party, instead of him trying to drive home drunk.”

“Ok. That was bad, but Eric did not know his lie was going to lead to that.”

“But it did, and it added on to the list of misfortune that he has caused to her. I just don’t understand why Lorrain keeps on rejecting Charles and telling him to wait to be her boyfriend.”

“Because she knows something is up with him! He is always away whenever somebody dies, and Eric is always right in the middle of it. I think Charles sets it up to where Eric is always in the worst place at the worst time.”

“Charles is-”

“And! Every time he is in court, nobody can find enough evidence to put him in jail. Now, why is that? Every time he’s in court, he is wrongfully accused, so somebody, which is Charles, is trying to set him up!”

“You are making it too complex! Charles is good. Eric is bad. End of story!”

“Nope. Team Eric forever.”

“Team Charles.”

“Eric.”

“Charles.”

You and your sister were staring at each other so intensely that the both of you did not notice the monster coming towards the table. Someone cleared their throat, attempting to gain you and Eve’s attention. You both looked up to see a yellow lizard monster that was wearing a light brown turtleneck and wore round, black glasses. They were holding a notepad with their left arm and they were slightly shaking.

“I-I’m sorry for bothering you two, b-but I couldn’t help but overhear y-your conversation. A-And I’m sorry for eavesdropping but, um, I, u-uh, I wanted to know if you girls w-were talking about Wheels of Love?”

“Yes!” Eve replied with a smile. The monster flinched at Eve’s loud voice and Eve immediately apologized.

“I-I’m so sorry! Sometimes I fail to bring my voice down a couple notches! My name is Eve, and this is my sister, (Y/n).”

“Hello. It’s nice to meet you.” You put your hand out to shake hands with the nervous monster. When she shook you hand, she shared a little smile, which, of course, caused you to do the same.

“M-my name is Alphys. It’s nice to meet you t-two.”

“So, you were listening to our conversation?” you asked.

“Y-yes. N-not the whole t-thing! I-I just heard the n-names Eric and Charles and started to listen, since I watch the show a-and all. I t-thought I was the only one that watched W-Wheels of Love around here…..”

“I love the show! And I got my sister into it not too long ago!” remarked Eve. “You wanted to join the conversation?”

Eve made room for Alphys to sit beside her and tapped the now empty space with her hand. Alphys looked hesitant and glanced at you.

“We would love to hear what you have to say about the show, if you want to sit with us that is.” you offered warmly.

After a moment, Alphys went back to where she was sitting, but did not sit down. She picked up her drink and her raincoat, and walked back to where you and Eve were seated.

“I-I have a few things to say….”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alphys did not have a few things to say. She had a LOT to say.

Alphys shared her theories about the characters and they were all interesting. You and Eve were intently listening to every word, like they were gold. She also shared her views on what she thought of Eric and Charles.

And to your delight. Alphys was Team Eric.

“What?!” gasped Eve. She clamped her hand over mouth in shock.

“Charles is n-nice, but I just have a bad feeling a-about him. Sorry, E-Eve.”

“I told you! I told you I wasn’t the only one!” You pointed at Eve’s face and did a little dance in your seat.

“I don’t understand it. Charles is so nice, and I am facing two Charles haters!”

Your phone vibrated, and you checked it. It was an alarm reminding you that it was time to be on your way to your private taekwondo lesson. You stuffed your phone in your pocket and looked out the window. The rain was still pouring and with a sigh, you started gathering your things.

“I’m sorry but it’s time for me to go.”

Eve looked at the time on her clock and nodded.

“I guess it is about that time. Time goes faster when we’re having fun, huh?”

“Yeah…”

“W-Where do you have to go?” asked Alphys.

“I have to go to my taekwondo lesson. It’s not that far, but my instructor will punish me with some sort of exercise punishment if I’m even almost late.”

“It was nice talking to you in person! I’ll call you later ok?” said Eve while waving fast. “Oh! And give your fingers a break! Don’t practice so much!”

“Ok-”

“OOOH! And tell Mr. Moen, ‘Eve says hi!’”

“Ok, Eve! Alphys, it was nice meeting you! I hope we bump into each other again! Bye!” You turned to leave while looking through your purse so that you can have your keys ready to unlock your car.

“W-Wait!”

You turned around and Alphys was looking at you. Eve was looking at Alphys with a surprised look. With both you and Eve staring at her, Alphys started to turn red with embarrassment.

“I-I, u-um! I-I just wanted t-to know if you had a j-jacket, s-since its raining…” Alphys whispered.

“I, uh, I don’t. I left it at home.”

“W-Well, I can lend you mine, i-if you want it.”

Your heart soared at the sound of that.

“That’s so nice, Alphys!” complimented Eve with a big smile.

“You would do that for me?”

“S-Sure, of course. You’re nice and I wouldn’t want you to get s-sick, (Y/n).”

“But, then you wouldn’t have a jacket.”

“That’s okay. I-I’m on my day o-off. I can stay here all day with Eve. W-We’ll wait out the rain t-together.” Alphys scooted out of the booth and handed the jacket to you.

“I-I’m sure y-you’ll return it when we b-bump into each other again, r-right?”

“I’ll definitely return it! Thank you!”

You gave a thankful hug to Alphys and said your goodbyes before really going out of the café. The raincoat did its job, and you were dry when you made it into your car and into the taekwondo academy.

Your private instructor, Master Moen, has been your private instructor since you were 10. He was a big part of your life, and the lessons he taught you, helped you to become the person you were today. He taught you how to fight, and to control your anger.

You changed and greeted Master Moen by bowing.

“Hello, (Y/n). Glad to see the rain hasn’t stopped you from coming.”

“Nothing will stop me from coming here, sir. I love coming here.”

“I know.”

Master Moen bowed too. After giving our respects to each other, Master Moen told you to place a hanging sandbag in the middle of the floormat.

“I want a combination of front kicks and elbow strikes. Don’t stop until I tell you to. Understand?”

“Yes, master!”

You began your assault on the sandbag. The bag began to swing wildly, but you dodged and swiveled, and made sure every hit made contact with the bag. Master Moen yelled additional commands as you kicked:

“Give me 5 eagle strikes and 10 forefists! Hit it harder!”

“Watch your balance! Good...good. Keep it up!”

“I want more movement on those legs! Keep your opponent guessing, (Y/n)!”

“Back kicks now. Switch it up! Give me palm strikes!”

Today, he was giving you no mercy. You went over everything he has taught you and he was the strictest he has ever been in all your years with him.

“I want 5 axe kicks and 10 flying kicks! Hit the bag HARDER! Are you weak, (Y/n)?”

“No, Master!”

“It seems that you are.”

“No master, I am not!”

“I asked a question and you did not respond. I asked, ‘Are you weak, (Y/n)’?”

“No, master, I am not!” you yelled louder.

“I said! ARE YOU WEAK (Y/N)?!”

“NO! MASTER MOEN!!!!” you screamed.

“Show me.”

You increased your abuse on the sandbag and the image of the bag in front of you started to change into none other than Callista. Her stupid taunting face, laughed and pointed at you, saying insults:

“Why don’t you do what I tell you to do? You’re no good for anything else.”

"English? That's a degree you chose to pursue? Ha! A boring degree for a boring person. It fits you."

"If you spent any effort with the clothes that you chose, maybe my boyfriends would believe you, but that will never happen."

"What you're doing right now is not nearly as important to what I want you to do for me."

"My boyfriends will never stick up for you. Hell, I'm pretty sure no one will. Because you're pathetic. Stop trying  and stay in your lane."

The rope, holding the sandbag, snapped, and the 80 pound sandbag hit the floor with a very loud thud. It burst upon impact, and white sand popped out of the bag.

You and Master Moen stood in silence and watched the bag slowly roll away while leaking its sand contents. You were breathing heavily, and were trying to keep yourself from panicking. You had never done that before! Your confidence at your strength was overtaken by the realization that you were going to have to pay for a new one. You immediately bowed to Master Moen, quickly apologizing.

“I’m so sorry Master! I’ll pay for a new one! I know that was the only one we had and I’m very sorry that I ruined that one! I’ll have the money by-”

You were interrupted by Master Moen laughing heartily. He was laughing so hard, he had tears coming out of his eyes. You were so confused. You thought he would be upset.  What is happening?

“Y-You really wanted to prove me wrong!” bellowed Master Moen as he bent over with laughter. “Follow me into my office, (Y/n)! I have to tell you something.”

He motioned for you to follow him and you did as he asked. Behind you, the bag had finally hit a wall, and the bag was still leaking.

“What about the sandbag?” Master Moen turned around to look at the poor sandbag that was losing its plump, and making a huge mess on the mat. He shrugged and continued to walk to his office.

“Do not worry. We will take care of that later.” 

He unlocked the door to his office and motioned for you to sit down. Master Moen’s office was a lot bigger than most college professor offices, so there was enough room for a couch, a tv, and a little table to put food and drink in a corner of the room. In another corner, a life sized training mannequin was placed for him. The mannequin had dents and scratches all over its body and it had seen better days. Master Moen’s wife knew that he liked to practice in privacy, so she had got that for him or his birthday. You had been in his office before, but it never dulled out the astonishment that would come to your face whenever you entered. Shelves of trophies lined the walls, rows of different colored belts covered the wall behind his office desk, and pictures of his family were seen in every corner of the room.

You sat in the chair that was placed in front of his desk and waited for Master Moen to say the reason why you were here. He locked the door and sat at his desk. 

“(Y/n), I have been your teacher since you were 10 years old. I have seen you struggle with your anger, struggle with your self esteem, and struggle with your mental health. I have shown and taught you that you can use your past pain to improve yourself, and you have continuously shown me that you have put my lessons to heart. Taekwondo is not about only self defense, it is about discipline. Disciplining your body and mind to keep going no matter what is in front of you.”

He paused and pulled out a form. He placed it in front of him and flipped it over before you could read what it said.

“In all my years of training pupils, I have never seen someone with such perseverance . Throughout the years, I have pushed you, and encouraged you to give your best try in everything that you do. Every time, you exceeded my expectations, and then some. Today, I wanted to see if you would remember every move that I had ever taught you. And you did remember, even the ones I only taught you one time.”

He paused again, but this time he looked at the flipped form, then back at you.

“(Y/n), I bring you in here to ask you one question. Can you tell me what you have learned while being under my instruction?”

Rain lightly tapped at the window that was in the office and the clouds were clearing the way for the sun to release its rays to the world below. Master Moen’s office started to get bright with orange as the setting sun shared its rays to the world below it. This is the longest lesson you have ever had with Master Moen, because in the past, you probably would have been heading home from the music practice room by now, but you were still at the taekwondo academy.

You looked at your lap, thinking about what you were going to say. There was a lot to say. Master Moen was a big part of your life, and because of his influence, he was a big part of how you became, well, YOU.

“Master Moen...when my mother brought me to you when I was 10, I was so eager to get started, because I thought that anyone and everyone would leave me alone once they knew that I could fight. I wanted kids to leave me alone, even if I had to scare them away. At my young age, I thought that any problem that I had would be solved by hurting anything that got in my way. Yes, I did learn self defense, and yes, I did get stronger, but I gained more than that. Under your instruction, you have taught me to control my anger and to not resort to immediate violence whenever faced with any problem. I have learned to channel my anger and my other feelings into the music that I compose. You have shown me that restraint can be just as strong as strength…”

Master Moen nodded as you went through everything that was on your mind at the moment. You knew it was probably too much, but you couldn’t stop talking. Since your mother was a widow when she adopted you and never married again, Master Moen became a father figure to you. You looked up to him, came to him for advice, and vented about your troubles through the years. One day, you had even called him ‘Dad’ during a lesson. That still haunted you to this day, but he brought it up whenever he wanted to tease you.

“...am better able to deal with the stresses of my life because of your instruction. And lastly, you have taught me to show what you can do through actions rather than with your mouth………………..and that is all I can think of.”

Master Moen let out a breath and looked at the flipped form again. He took out a pen and placed it in front of you. He leaned back in his chair and looked at you with a thoughtful expression.

“I never knew that I had such a great impact on you, (Y/n). I am honored. When I asked that question, knowing you, I knew you would not answer with just ‘self defense’ but I was not expecting a speech.”

“I’m sorry if I talked for too long.” 

“Nonsense. You have just told me everything that I want in an assistant instructor.”

His words didn’t sink it yet, as he flipped over the sheet of paper that was placed in front of you. At the very top, it read Assistant Instructor Application Form. Your mouth dropped open upon reading the words.

“You want me to be your assistant instructor?!”

“Yes, I do.” Master Moen replied with a grin. “As you know, I am getting up in age, and more students are coming into the taekwondo academy everyday. My wife told me to think about an assistant instructor, but I could not think of anyone that I could trust, until I thought of you.”

“So, I am at a high enough black belt to qualify?”

“You are a 3rd degree black belt, so you are qualified. Of course, you do not have to do it. Being an assistant is hard work and I know you have a busy schedule, so take this form and think about it. Take the pen, too."

“How long do you want me to think about it?” you asked while looking at the form and pen on the desk.

“I’ll give you until we meet again next week, Friday.” You picked up the form and smiled at it. You were definitely going to take the job! You were not going to pass up being the assistant to your father figure! And by just glancing at the salary, you felt so happy. With this job and your job teaching students how to play stringed instruments, you were going to get out of your “home” in no time!

The form shook in your hands and you looked up at Master Moen.

“May I hug you?”

Master Moen laughed and let you hug him.

“Don’t get too happy! You still have to clean up the mess you made on the floor mat.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You arrived “home” and were greeted by no one. You internally cheered and hoped it would stay that way and you would be able to go to your room without seeing any of your roommates. The moment you closed the front door you heard Black yell out. 

“SHE’S HERE!” 

Black and Edge walked out of the living room, and everyone else came out of their rooms to talk to you, or rather argue with you about something. You rolled your eyes and took off your shoes. Were they just waiting for you to come “home”? Don’t they have things to do? 

Callista was holding Sans’ arm as she walked down the stairs.

“Guys, please don’t make a big deal out of this!” She let go of Sans and dramatically stood in front of you, pretending to protect you from Edge, who had been advancing towards you. “I can just pay for more groceries!”

“SHE WASTED ALL THAT FOOD, JUST TO SPITE US AND YOU, DARLING! SHE NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON!”

“We already agreed on what she was going to do to make up for it. Now, please calm down.”

You looked at everyone confused. You didn’t know what you had supposedly done, until Callista turned around and put her hands on your shoulders.

“(Y/n), since you burnt the dinner that I made, on purpose, you are going to pay for everyone’s dinner tonight. It’s only fair.”

Callista then whispered, “This should teach you to do as I say.”

What? Oh. OH. With your Master’s offer on your mind, you had completely forgotten about what Callista wanted you to do this morning. Now you got it. Callista couldn’t make the home-made steak and chicken dinner, so she just lied about you burning it all on purpose. Because you’re a racist against monsters. Give me a break.

You yanked Callista’s nasty hands off of your shoulders. Callista whimpered like she was in pain, loudly enough for the skeletons to hear. Red teleported and grabbed your arm. 

“don’t ya dare hurt my kitten.” growled Red. “that’s right. you’re paying for all of us, so get your wallet ready, cus it's gonna be empty by the end of the night.” 

“I’m not paying for anything.” Red’s grip on your arm tightened.

“oh, you’re gonna pay, sweetheart.” His eyes were devoid of any light as he glared at you.

“No I’m not.” You forcefully yanked your arm from Red’s grip and walked towards the trash can, ignoring the looks of disdain as you walked to it. You didn’t miss the surprised look that Red gave you as you got out of his grip. That made you internally smile. He had underestimated your strength.

You lifted the lid to the trash can and nodded.

“If I burnt the food, why is there no burnt food in the trash? I should be seeing black, uneatable food. I don’t see any.”

“After you burnt the food, I emptied the trash.” Callista smiled like she had won, or something.

“Alright, let’s go outside and look in the garbage bin.” Callista frowned and rolled her eyes.

“What is that going to do?”

“If there is burnt food in the garbage bin, especially steak and chicken, there will be a burnt smell. It is very difficult to get rid of a burnt smell. Actually, I don’t smell a hint of anything burnt in this house. Do you know how hard it is to get rid of a smell like that?”

“I found a way to get rid of it!”

“Tell me, how did you do it?  And I’m sure Papyrus and everyone else that loves to cook around here would love to know, too.” you said pointing at Papyrus, Blue, Edge, and Black.

“Well...I…” Callista’s eyes shifted trying to think of something. You looked at Papyrus who looked fraught.

“Papyrus, remember when you overcooked that chicken alfredo you were trying to make because you misread the time to cook it?”

“AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO FORGET THAT, YES I DO REMEMBER.”

“That lingering burning smell lasted for 3 days. All the while, you all complained about it. Papyrus opened all the windows in the house to try to get rid of the smell, but it stayed.”

“CALLISTA, WOULD YOU MIND TELLING US HOW YOU ELIMINATED THAT SMELL?” asked Papyrus while he wrung his hands together. Blue started looking at Callista too, while Edge and Black still glared at you. Callista’s face started to get red, and you could tell she was holding back a tantrum.

“Y-You believe her?”

“NO, I-”

“I can’t believe this! Why are you questioning me? I told all of you what happened and now all of you are doubting me!” Callista started to cry and all the skeletons rushed to comfort her. You could tell Callista wanted the subject to change so that they could stop focusing on her and look like the victim.

“(Y/n), you burnt the food, please stop trying to deny it!” pleaded Callista while sniffling. She should really go into acting. She would be a natural.

“I didn’t burn any food that you bought from the store.” you said.  “And again, I was gone all day today. You probably didn’t even go grocery shopping today.” you added coldly while staring at Callista as she looked at you, tears coming down her eyes.

“you are so heartless. Callista is in distress and you still won’t confess.” remarked Sans as he looked at you with disgust. Except for Papyrus, Blue, and Mutt, they all nodded in agreement as they looked at you. Mutt always had a neutral expression on his face as he observed everything that always went on in the house. You had noticed that he never stuck up for Callista, he just...observed. You imagined that he just silently liked the chaos and liked watching you and the skeletons argue like it was a movie.

“I’ll confess when Callista tells me how she got rid of the burnt smell, and shows me the receipt that she got from the grocery store. And I’ll confess when the cameras show me coming into this house before this time. I’m not going to give in to Callista’s stupid lie otherwise.”

Everybody looked like they wanted to fight you, and you felt a crackle of magic in the air. To be honest, whenever the skeletons would look at you so intensely, and their invisible, intimidation magic would roll across your skin, you would get scared. Scared that you would have to fight them, and you didn’t want to hurt any of them, except Callista. If it did come to that, you would definitely leave immediately, but luckily, it never came to that, at least you hoped it would never come to that. 

You stood your ground, unfaltered, as you faced them.

“You all heard what I have to say, so I’m not paying for dinner.”

“you know what? i just thought of a better punishment for you.” said Stretch as he put his hands in his pockets. “you’re going to be here all by yourself, while we have fun at the Golden Suites this weekend. you can stay here knowing that Callista is being spoiled rotten by all of us, and that we are having fun. i know how much that hurts you to see us happy, you monster hater.”

“THAT’S NOT A BAD IDEA. FINALLY YOU’RE USING YOUR BRAIN.” said Black as he walked towards you. “WE’RE GOING TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING CALLISTA NEEDS WHILE WE ARE THERE TOO.”

“G-Guys, please don’t do that for me. The groceries weren’t that much!” Callista said while smiling. You could tell she really didn’t mean that.

“CALLISTA, YOU SAID THAT YOU SPENT SO MUCH MONEY ON THAT MEAL, AND THAT SWINE BURNT IT ALL.”

“Definitely didn’t do that.” you said rolling your eyes.

“SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE RAT!” growled Black. He looked back at Callista with a calmer expression. “DARLING, YOU DESERVE A REWARD FOR THE HARD WORK YOU DO AROUND THE HOUSE AND WITH YOUR STUDIES.”

“I’ll pack my things!” Callista excitedly said as she ran to the stairs. That didn’t take much convincing.

Soon everyone packed their suitcases and were ready to go. You were practically vibrating with excitement in your room. You couldn’t wait for them to leave. The house would be empty with just you to deal with. You walked out of your room and looked over the stair railing to see all the guys carrying their suitcases and carrying Callista’s many pink suitcases that she had. Callista was talking happily to each skeleton about what she was going to do, not bothering to ask what they were going to do. Papyrus was carrying a lot of things, including Callista’s purse around his shoulder. You saw it slipping and it slipped off his arm and onto the floor. He was going to have to struggle to pick it back up. 

“I got it, Papyrus.” you waved down at him getting his attention. He looked up at you surprised. You walked down the stairs and put the purse back in his shoulders, much to everyone’s surprise.

“T-THANK YOU, (Y/N). THAT WAS UNEXPECTEDLY KIND OF YOU TO DO...”

Callista frowned at you and pushed you out of the way to talk to Papyrus. You stumbled and glared at Callista.

“Come on Papyrus! We don’t have all night! Let’s go!”  Everyone trampled out of the front, and soon it was just Callista and you in the house. The front door was wide open, so she started talking to you loud enough so that everyone could hear her outside.

“(Y/n) I hope you can learn to stop hating monsters.”

“And I hope that someday, you can do one task for yourself and stop lying about everything.” You boringly waved her off, and she quickly slammed the front door in anger. You were alone. Happily alone.

“Finally!” you rejoiced and rapidly pumped your fists up in the air. You flopped on the couch and turned on the tv. This was going to be a good weekend.

Chapter Text

That Friday morning…

After breakfast, Blue went upstairs to put on his navy blue postal uniform. Blue worked for a mailing company and Fridays were always the busiest for him. Even though he was the embodiment of an energy pill, he would come home tired and would go straight to his room after a long day. For some reason, a lot of mail and packages would come in every Friday, so he had to do double the amount of delivering, packing, and lifting boxes of mail that he would do on a normal work day. 

While putting on his uniform, he heard the front door close. It must have been you. You always left the house before anyone else did during the week. Blue put his left arm through his sleeve and looked out his window to see you walking to your car. When Callista had told him that you had taken his credit card, he was hurt, but mostly he felt bad for you. From what Callista had told him, you had difficulty keeping a job because of your bad attitude and bad work ethic, so having constant money in your bank account was hard to achieve for you. Callista did warn everyone that you were a stealer, and that since they were monsters, you were going to start stealing stuff from them, a lot. He didn’t expect to be the first victim, though.

As he looked at you walk, he wondered what made you hate monsters so much. So much as to ruin their clothes, take their money, and call them names whenever you could. He often asked Callista, since they were best friends, but she would always shrug, and say that she did not know. A lot of people often hated things that they didn't understand, so he figured that must have been the case for you. There must be some way for you to not be this hostile towards monsters….

He was about to go back to dressing himself when he noticed something odd. On every car handle on your car, there was a balloon that read ‘Happy Birthday!’ on it. The helium in the balloons must have been not as strong as they were before, because they were floating close to the ground. He saw you untie each balloon, and stuff them in the trunk of your car, before backing out of the driveway. 

“Those are gifts from my friends!”

Blue did find it unusual that you had come back home so late yesterday. Even though Callista told him that you partied a lot, he had never seen you come back home so late, until last night. So, yesterday you celebrated your birthday with friends, and you told the truth about that? Hm. And you took his credit card? That didn’t make sense. Why would you take his card knowing that your friends were going to give you gifts? Callista said that she saw you take his card yesterday, so you did take his credit card, but why did you do it?

“Why would they randomly give you so many gifts?”

“If you were my so-called “best friend” you would know why, Callista.”

Now that he thought about it, Callista did not say a thing about (Y/n)’s birthday yesterday. Not once. (Y/n) always showed an obvious disdain for Callista, so he would often forget that they were best friends based off of that, but Callista never failed to remind everyone of them that she knows (Y/n) better than anyone and that even though (Y/n) would act that way towards her, they were still best friends and that she knew everything about her. 

Why didn’t she mention (Y/n)’s birthday then? And why did Callista ask that question to (Y/n)? Didn’t she know that yesterday was her birthday, since they were best friends and knew everything about each other?

Blue found himself trying to remember how Callista acted yesterday. She was her usual self. Blue didn’t sense not one hint of sadness from her. He knew that if he had a bestfriend that didn’t invite him to their birthday party, he would be devastated, but Callista was not. Blue thought that was very peculiar. 

Now Blue was confused about why you would take his credit card on your birthday and why Callista didn’t mention your birthday, at all, yesterday.

After putting on his uniform, he walked down the stairs to see Callista talking with everyone at the kitchen table. Everyone was now ready to go to their various jobs, and they were taking this time to drink tea or drink their fifth cup of coffee as Sans often did. 

Blue grabbed his blue jacket from the coat hanger, and was about to go out the door, but his brother interrupted his flow.

“hey, bro. you got a few minutes? i have to tell everybody something.”

“OKAY, BUT MAKE IT QUICK. I WANT TO GET A HEAD START ON MY DELIVERIES TODAY.”

“it’ll be fast.”

Blue sat down beside Stretch and stretched his legs while they were under that table. He glanced at Callista, still in thought about Callista’s demeanor yesterday, and the balloons on your car.

“about two weeks ago, a coworker of mine gave me leftover tickets to go to the Golden Suites in West Ebott.”

“ THE Golden Suites?!” questioned Callista with a big smile on her face. “You don’t know what you possess, Stretch. You have a one way ticket to paradise. There are more shopping malls there than you can count!”

“if you’ve been to one mall, you’ve seen them mall. ” said Sans with a wink. Papyrus shook his head disappointedly.

“heh. anyway, i wanted to let you guys know that the tickets expire this weekend, so if you guys want to go, we’ll have to go tonight.”

“WHY WOULD YOU TELL US THIS NOW INSTEAD OF EARLIER, YOU IMBECILE?!” Edge questioned with a grimace. “WE COULD HAVE PREPARED!”

“i forgot and it’s not like we’ll be going on a 2 week-long vacation. it’s for 2 days. there shouldn’t be a lot to pack.”

“UNLIKE YOU, I ACTUALLY TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHAT I CHOOSE TO WEAR!” yelled Edge as Black nodded agreeing with him.

“what’s wrong with wearing a sweatshirt to work everyday?”

“EVERYTHING!” exclaimed Black and Edge simultaneously. 

“I STILL PONDER HOW YOU GOT HIRED IN YOUR PAJAMAS.” said Blue as he looked at his brother.

“i have my ways. so, you guys want to go?”

“how many tickets ya got?”

“10.”

“THAT MANY?” asked Papyrus.

“yeah. the guy has an uncle that gives him free stuff from time to time. he’s been to the Golden Suites too many times to enjoy it anymore, so he gave me all the tickets.”

“That’s enough for all of us.” Callista stood up from her chair and started to count everyone by pointing at them. “Sans, Papyrus, Blue, Stretch, Edge, Red, Black, Mutt, and me.” 

“that’s 9.” said Mutt as he chewed on a dog treat that hung partially out of his mouth. “is there anyone else that can fill the last spot?”

“None that I can think of.” pondered Callista. Blue looked at Callista quizzically after she said that.

“WHAT ABOUT….. (Y/N)?” asked Blue hesitantly. Except for Mutt, everyone looked surprised at what Blue suggested. Even though Blue avoided you for the past 2 months, in fear of you insulting him harshly in some way, he wanted to make an effort to get to know you, and to look into your relationship with Callista. He also wanted to ask why you stole his credit card on his birthday. He might be able to ask you on the trip.

“WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?” asked Black condescendingly. “YOU KNOW HOW SHE FEELS ABOUT US! HOW SHE TREATS US! SHOULD I REMIND YOU?”

“Blue, you know how she feels about monsters.”

“MAYBE IF SHE HAD A CHANCE TO HAVE FUN WITH US, GET TO KNOW US, THEN SHE MIGHT CHANGE HER MIND ABOUT MONSTERS.”

“Blue, (Y/n) has told me countless times that she hates monsters. Everyday, I try to influence her to change her opinion on you guys, but she is stubborn.”

“MAYBE THIS TRIP MIGHT MAKE HER OPEN UP. IT’S WORTH A TRY. I REALLY WOULD LIKE FOR HER TO STOP MESSING UP OUR CLOTHES.” said Papyrus. 

“i would rather not use this free ticket on her, bro.”

“IF WE INVITE HER, WE WILL BE REWARDING HER FOR BEING AN ABSOLUTE PAIN IN THIS HOUSE.” said Edge.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea right now, Blue.” said Callista with a sad frown. “She’ll definitely say no.”

“I’M SURPRISED, CALLISTA. I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE ALL OVER THE IDEA OF INVITING YOUR BEST FRIEND.” questioned Blue as he looked at Callista. “YOU’VE TOLD US HOW YOU HAVE TRIED MANY METHODS IN GETTING (Y/N) TO WARM UP TO US, AND YOU WERE RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS.”

“Oh. Well, I...just don’t have a lot of confidence in this idea. She still hates monsters and I don’t want her to ruin this trip.” She fluttered her eyelashes, and looked away from all them. “I love all of you and you all deserve to have a good time at the Golden Suites.” Callista smiled and winked, making them all a little flustered.

“so, that settles it? no (Y/n)?” asked Sans as he finished his coffee.

“CAN YOU CALL HER, CALLISTA? ASK IF SHE WANTS TO GO?”

“are ya serious, Blue?” asked Red irritatingly. “just give it a rest. it’ll be a waste of time to ask her.”

“Even if I did call her, she’ll probably say no because, you know, she’ll have to go with you guys.”

“CAN YOU PLEASE TRY CALLISTA? I KNOW IF THIS WORKS, EVERYONE WILL BE LESS TENSE AND ANGRY WHENEVER SHE’S AROUND.” said Blue as he got up from the table. Stretch sighed and started to get up too.

“i hate to say it, but you’re right. if she says no, we can say that we tried, and if not then, that’s that.”

Blue and Papyrus shared a hopeful look as everyone started to head for work. Blue was the last to leave as everyone walked out the front door. 

“CALLISTA, WHEN WE GET BACK, LET US KNOW WHAT SHE SAID!”

“Will do! Bye, cutie!” She blew a kiss and Blue caught it as he went out the door. The moment Blue closed the door, Callista’s smile dropped and turned into a scowl. She went into the living room and started to pace angrily, thinking about her current situation, and you.

First, you are still not doing what she says, second, she has to come up with a way to put food on the table, and third, now she has to deal with Blue wanting you to go with them to the Golden Suites!

Callista knew that there was a high chance of you saying no to the offer, but she knew you could say yes. And she didn’t like that. If you went, they might see the real you, and she worked too hard for that to happen. Blue still had hope for you, despite the lie she made about you stealing his money, and she saw the hope in Papyrus’ eyes too. She wanted that gone.

Callista was not going to call you about the trip, she wanted you in the dark about it. She didn’t want you getting any hope about any of her boyfriends wanting you to know them. If she played this right, you probably already lost hope for them. Calling you would just give you hope that she didn’t want you having.

Callista stomped up the stairs and into Edge’s room. She definitely had to deal with you not cooking for her first. She was so tired of you not doing what she wanted you to do, so she figured that blackmailing you was the next best step. It didn’t give the reaction that she wanted, but she was still going to go through with it. Callista searched and searched for Edge’s favorite jacket, but couldn’t find it, all the while disorganizing and messing up his closet. After looking for the jacket, she saw the mess she made and left without a care. She’ll just blame you for the mess later. 

She looked in the drawers and didn’t find it in there either. Maybe it was in the hamper? Callista went back downstairs to go into the laundry room to see that the hamper was empty. She knew it wasn’t in Red’s room because Edge did the laundry yesterday, and he made sure nobody’s clothes were messed up or mixed together. She kicked the dryer in frustration and walked out the room. She will have to think of another way.

Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated, and the name Dr. Daire was shown on the screen. She immediately picked up.

“Hello?.......uh huh…...Yes it was……...Fine……..I’ll be there in 30 minutes..…”

Callista hung up the phone and ran to her room to grab her purse. She’ll have to deal with you later.

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That Friday evening…

“I’M HOME!” Blue entered his home expecting the delicious smell from Callista’s dinner to hit him in the face, instead he was hit with a regularly said name in this house that could never mean good things.

“Y/N, SAID THAT?”

“Unfortunately, yes, Papyrus.” said Callista. “I’m just surprised she hated monsters that much.”

From the expression on his buddy’s face, he could assume that you said no to the invite, but he wanted to know more, so he jumped into the conversation.

“I TAKE IT THE INVITATION DIDN’T GO WELL, CALLISTA?” asked Blue.

“She said that even though she didn’t want to see you guys having fun, she will accept. She also told me that she hated to see monsters, in general, enjoying themselves. It just sickens her to the core.”

Blue was at a loss of words. He didn't think that you would accept and also shocked that you would say that. He had never heard of a person hating to see monsters enjoying themselves in any way. You hated them that much?

“I know. I’m shocked, too. I already told everyone, and they had the same look on your face, Blue. I don’t know how she became this way…” Callista then sat down on the couch, and Papyrus and Blue followed. Papyrus was on her left and Blue on her right. 

"AT LEAST IT'S A START. SHE AGREED TO GO."

"Only because we were going to Golden Suites not to get to know any of you."

"OH. I THINK-"

“I have to tell you two that I’m sorry that dinner is not done. I turned my back for one second and (Y/n) had burnt all the food that I bought, on purpose.” said Callista, interrupting Papyrus.

“WHY DID SHE DO THAT?”

“Just to be mean. She’s spiteful like that. I spent a lot of money on those groceries, so we decided to have (Y/n) pay for dinner tonight.”

“BUT ISN’T SHE ALREADY HAVING MONEY TROUBLES?” asked Papyrus.

“Yes,  but this should teach her not to do it again. I mean, I think it's a good punishment. Don’t you? I did spend a lot on those groceries.”

“I SUPPOSE…” said Blue. Papyrus didn’t respond and left the couch, leaving Blue and Callista alone. Callista clamped her hands together, resulting in a single clap, and started to get up from the couch, too.

“Well, I’m going to go check on Sans.” 

“CALLISTA, BEFORE YOU GO, I NEED TO ASK YOU SOMETHING.” 

“What is it?” Callista sat with her legs crossed and put one of her arms over Blue’s shoulders. Blue cleared his throat, trying to focus on what he wanted to ask instead of how close Callista was to him.

“DID YOU KNOW THAT IT WAS (Y/N)’S BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY?”

“....What?” 

“THIS MORNING, I LOOKED OUT MY WINDOW, AND SAW THAT THERE WERE BALLOONS ON HER CAR, AND I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNEW IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY.”

“Of course I knew! I’m her best friend.”

“BUT, YOU SAID NOTHING ABOUT IT YESTERDAY.” With that statement, Callista’s face changed from relaxed to tense. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked away from Blue.

“CALLISTA? ARE YOU OKAY?”

“Yes, I’m okay. I was just thinking about what to say- I mean, I was thinking about last night. Blue, I didn’t say anything because... the day before her birthday, she told me that she didn’t want me around for her special day. She also told me that she didn’t want any of you guys giving her any gifts or wishing her a happy birthday because she thought it would just ruin it for her. Since it was going to be her birthday, I just did what she told me to do. It truly did hurt me to have my best friend not want me around on that day, and, uh, I...tried to hide that yesterday. I was sad about that, like very sad.”

“WHY DID YOU HIDE YOUR FEELINGS FROM US? YOU KNOW IT’S NOT HEALTHY TO DO THAT.”

“I know, but I knew that all of you would wonder why I was sad, and I would have to tell you why, and I didn’t want to do that.”

“I’M SORRY THAT YOU FELT THAT WAY. I WOULD HAVE DID MY BEST TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, IF YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME, OR ANY OF US.”

Callista nodded and kissed his cheek.  “I know. Now, I must check on Sans. I hope (Y/n) gets here soon.”

With a skip, Callista left the couch, and soon after Blue left it as well. He went into his room and looked out his window. Sunlight immediately blinded his vision upon moving the curtains aside, but he was still able to see that your usual parking spot was still empty. 

“Why would they randomly give you so many gifts?”

His talk with Callista didn’t explain why she asked that question and that bothered him. Why would she ask that if she knew it was (Y/n)’s birthday yesterday? And he was still wondering why you stole the money in the first place if it was your birthday. Maybe he'll be able to ask you while on this trip.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Callista slammed the front door after (Y/n), once again, accused her of being a liar, Blue put the last of the suitcases into the back of Red's truck.

He should have expected this outcome. No one was going to want (Y/n) to come after she burnt the food and hurt Callista. Even so, in the back of his mind, he still wanted you to go so that you could change.

"bro, (Y/n) would have made this trip horrible. she probably wanted to go so that she could be a nuisance. there's just no hope for someone like her." said Stretch as if he could read Blue's thoughts. Stretch put his hand on Blue's shoulder. " I admire your kind heart, but please stop wasting it on her. she doesn't deserve it. c'mon, everyone is ready to go."

" ...OKAY."

As they all left in their respectable cars, Blue couldn't help but wonder what you were going to do all by yourself.

Chapter Text

Despite you going to bed late last night, you still woke up early. You looked at your cell phone and saw that it was 6:30 in the morning. You wanted to wake up later, but your body had other plans, apparently.

“ I could make myself breakfast ,” you thought as you pulled the covers over your head. “ but I’ll sleep for a little longer first .” As if on cue, your alarm started going off, and you internally scolded yourself for not turning off your 6:30am alarm. Knowing that you wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, you got out of bed and turned off your alarm. It’s probably best that you’re waking up this early anyway. Better you use up the day, rather than waste it.

Since Callista or any other skeleton was not there to yell at you to get out of the bathroom, you took your time in the shower, and you enjoyed every minute of it! You washed your hair with the new 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner your best friend, Aza, gave you for your birthday, and lathered your body with lotion, another gift Aza got you. You pampered yourself, and by the time you got out, your skin was soft like a baby’s and you and the bathroom smelled like strawberry and cream. 

With time on your side, and no pressure on your back, you had time to dress like a million bucks, so you looked into your closet, and inspected your choices. Red dress? Too fancy. Sun dress? Nah, that’s for the beach. Black pants with a silky, white, long sleeve blouse? Yes. You tried on that outfit and looked in your bedroom mirror. The outfit looked great, but it was forgetting something. You went into your closet once again and grabbed a stylish straw hat with a black bow tied around it. You put it on then turned to look in the mirror. 

“I did outdo myself, if I do say so myself .” you said, quoting one of your favorite shows you used to watch as a kid. After making some adjustments to your clothes, you had the idea to make breakfast for yourself, so you looked in the fridge for some eggs. While you looked however, you noticed that the fridge was getting kinda empty, so you made a mental note to go to the store to fill up the fridge. You grabbed the last of the eggs, milk, shredded cheese, and bacon to make one huge omelet. As you were frying the bacon while humming a tune, your phone started to vibrate. It was your brother, Yuto. You put your cell phone on the counter and put it on speaker.

“Hello, Yuto, what are you doing up this early?”

“Hardy har. Can’t I check on my sister?”

“I guess so, you did plan that surprise party for me.”

“That I did. Did you like it?” Even though you were on speaker, you could see Yuto’s overly confident, smug smirk in your mind, and it made you crack up.

“No, I didn’t like it.”

“Excuse me?!”

“I’m kidding! I more than liked it, I loved it!” A light chuckle was heard from the speaker. It was good to hear your brother laughing, even if it was a tiny laugh. He was serious most of the time, and his demeanor screamed business man. With a major in Finances, and a minor in Crime and Criminology, he was on that path to becoming a defense attorney who dabbles in financial affairs.

“That’s good. If you didn’t I would have to try harder next year.  I hear a lot of sizzling. Are you cooking something?”

“Bacon. And, I didn’t get to say thank you for doing that. Planning a party for me. A lot was going on and I forgot to say it, so now I’m saying it. Thank you, Yuto.”

“I was happy to do that for you. You’re my sister, and that’s what good brothers do.”

You couldn’t help but smile as you flipped the bacon. How were you so lucky to have such a good family like yours? Eve, Yuto, Violet, little Lynal, and your mother. If everything in the world shut down, you knew that all of you could depend on each other, trust each other, and get through anything. You would do anything for your family, and from experience, they would do the same for you. Sadly, not all families have the same connection that your family has, so everyday you chose to never forget that connection, because it’s precious and not to be taken for granted.

 “Was there a reason that you called, or did you just want to talk?”

“I know that you're off today, but I wanted to ask you for a favor."

"I knew you didn't wake up this early just to talk to me. So, what is it?" You heard paper shuffling and a big yawn come from the speaker.

"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Why?" you asked, concerned as you cracked eggs into a bowl. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, (Y/n), nothing's wrong. I just pulled an all nighter. I wanted to be extra prepared for the opponent I have this morning."

"Must be a tough one for you to be sweating over them."

"Well, he's difficult to deal with when I'm not debating against him, so I could only imagine what he's going to be like fighting against me in the courtroom today."

"Wait, do you have to have a debate with, Koldan?"

"Bingo. That's why I'm stressing." You started laughing at Yuto's unfortunate predicament, while mixing the remaining ingredients together.

"Oh my gosh! You have to debate against your girlfriend's brother! He hates you so much!"

"I know. And it's not funny."

"It's very funny! You have to admit that!"

"Humph, I will not. Anyway , the favor actually relates to that, so I'm glad it was brought up. As you know, I have the unlucky pleasure of debating against Koldan, and I want to use up any time that I have to prepare for him, all the way to the last minute. The problem is that it is my turn to buy doughnuts for everyone, and I need to have them there by 9:00." 

"I'm going to assume you want me to buy the doughnuts for you?"

"You assumed correctly. (Y/n), if you do this I will be so grateful, and I will pay you back." You looked at the time as you placed the finished omelet and bacon on a plate. The time read 7:50. You had little over an hour.

"Alright, Yuto, I'll do it, but you owe me!"

"Of course, I'll be sure to pay you back. We make sure to always get our doughnuts from Muffet's Bakery, so please get the doughnuts from there."

"How many doughnuts should I get?" You put your omelet and bacon in a plastic container, and put the frying pan in the sink. Steam emerged from the water as the still hot pan was submerged under it.

"Two dozen. Twelve glazed, Twelve chocolate glazed. Do you know where to go once you buy the doughnuts?"

"Yes, now go and study some more. I got this."

"Meet me outside the International House at 11:00. I'll pay you back there."

 "Okay, I'll do that. Bye, and good luck! I hope Koldan goes easy on you!"

"He won't, but thanks for the encouragement. See you soon."

You both hung up, and you quickly wiped down the counters and put some dishes in the sink. You'll have to do the dishes once you get back home. Did you just think of this place as your home? Well, it did feel like a home, now that your roommates were gone. 

After you grabbed your violin, you hurried to your car, and looked up Muffet's Bakery on Google Maps. You had never heard of the place, and you hoped it was close by. 

The place ended up being 20 minutes away, and now the clock showed 8:25. Yuto definitely owed you for doing this one. You hopped out your car and looked at the overall appearance of the bakery. The place was a little bigger than any bakery you have been to, and it looked clean and polished. Everything was painted white except for the big, purple letters that were on the top of the building. On top of the bakery  read: Muffet’s Place: Baked Goods for your Tongue to Enjoy. You walked past some people and monsters that were sitting under purple umbrellas and eating on white marble, outdoor tables. When you entered the bakery, you were greeted by a purple spider monster. You walked closer to the white counter to see that she wore a bare midriff, garnet colored dress shirt that had a black bow pinned at the collar, and a skirt that was the same color as the dress shirt. At the base of each pigtail in her black hair, was a black bow.

“Greetings, dearie~.” 

“H-Hello.” The sound of her voice caught you off guard. For some reason, her voice reminded you of black ink dripping from a fountain pen and it was mysterious and alluring at the same time. You never heard anything like it.

“What would you like, darling~?”

“I would like to order two dozen doughnuts, please? One dozen covered with the regular glaze, and the other dozen, chocolate glazed.”

“Will that be all~?”

“Yes, thank you.” With a sparkling fanged grin, the spider monster started pressing buttons on the cash register. You really didn’t want to creep this lovely dressed monster out, but you had the urge to compliment her voice. Hoping that your compliment wouldn’t make her uneasy, you decided to go for it.

“I don’t mean to sound weird or anything, but I really like your voice.” The monster stopped pressing buttons and quickly looked back at you. She seemed startled at your words, and this made you nervous. “I-I just wanted to say that your voice sounds really soothing and enticing. And overall, your outfit is just stunning.”

Those words didn’t sound so creepy in your mind, and now that you said them out loud, you wanted to jump off a cliff. Also, you didn’t know where that last part came from, and no doubt, this monster probably thought you were a weirdo. Note to self: Never enter this place again.

“Ahuhuhu~ oh my. I’ve never had someone flirt with me while I’m on the job~.”

“Oh, I wasn’t-”

“For someone so delectable looking to compliment someone like me. I just don't know what to say~.”

“I-” You were starting to get flustered. First, she thought you were flirting with her, and now she called you ‘delectable’? The exit was looking pretty good right now.

“I wasn’t trying to flirt with you! I just wanted to say something nice about your voice. I’m sorry that it sounded flirtatious!” The spider monster covered her mouth with one of her hands as she looked at you with a mischievous smile.

“Ahuhuhu~ I know, dearie. After you said it, I could tell you didn’t mean for it to sound so...provocative. If you could forgive me, I was just teasing you~.” You sighed with relief as the monster giggled and started punching in buttons again.

“What is your name, dearie~?”

“(Y/n),” you said with a little wave.

“Well, thank you for that flattering compliment, (Y/n). Have you been to my bakery before~?”

“No, this is my first time. So you’re Muffet?”

“Indeed I am~.” She punched the last button in and said the price. “That will be 20 dollars, and 75 cents~”

“Here’s two tens and...I think I have exact change in here.” You looked through your purse to find three quarters. You found two, but the third one seemed to be running away from your hand as you tried to grab it. Muffet was waiting patiently for your change, and you started to become self conscious about taking so long. You gave Muffet the two quarters that you found and went back in your purse.

“I have one more quarter. I’m sorry that I’m taking so long.”

“It’s no problem~.” You managed to grab the quarter, but the moment you lifted it out of your purse, it slipped out of your hand, rolled to a nearby chair, and stopped under it.

“I got it!” A voice is heard behind you and you suddenly see a really tall skeleton bending down to grab the quarter from under the chair. As he walks back to you, quarter in hand, you see that he is wearing circular glasses and he had braces on his teeth. He was wearing a purple shirt that had Muffet’s Place on it. With a very friendly smile, he dropped the quarter in your hand. “Here you go!”

“You’re truly an angel, thanks a ton.” You smiled at him, and he blushed before giving you the most wholesome smile you have ever witnessed come from anyone. 

“Y-You’re welcome!” He then went into a purple door that went to the back of the bakery. As quickly as he appeared, he left just as fast. You were now staring at the purple door, blinking in surprise. 

“Ahem~” You were forced out of your trance and turned to Muffet. She gave you a wink, and put one of her hands out.

“The quarter~?”

“O-Oh, right.” You handed the quarter to her, and she gave you a receipt. 

“The doughnuts will be ready in ten minutes, can you wait that long~?”

“Yes I can.”

“Just sit down, relax, and I’ll call your name when they’re done~.”

You sat down and immediately looked at your cell phone to see that it was 8:35. Great. You were going to barely make it in there. As you waited, you couldn’t help but glance at the door that the skeleton went into. Even though your encounter with him was very brief, for some reason, the image of him smiling at you hadn’t left your mind yet. His smile was just welcoming, and his orange blush was just SO cute. You wanted to see him again.

Sadly, only Muffet came in and out of that door. The doughnuts were soon ready and you had to leave. After you thanked Muffet, you glanced at the door one more time before leaving the bakery shop.

" Now I know why they go to Muffet's Place." you thought as you quickly parked. The bakery was very close to the School of Crime and Criminology, so it wasn't that much of a hassle to get here, but you were still cutting it close. You looked at your cell phone and it showed 8:52.

With the two doughnut boxes in your arms, you closed your car door with your hip, and quickly made your way into the building. As you hurried towards the elevators, you did not encounter or see anybody, so you made the assumption that the few people that were here were going to be on the second floor, and you were right, except there was only one person, sitting on a waiting bench, close to the debate room. They were looking down into their notebook, and reading their notes intensely. From their stature alone, you could tell who it was. 

Even though they were sitting, a person could tell that they were very tall. With the black suit they were wearing, they almost looked like a bouncer that was reading while they were on break. They heard your footsteps, and looked up to see you walking towards them. They smirked and looked at the watch on their wrist. 

“Yuto couldn’t get the doughnuts himself? Tch, typical.” His Russian accent echoed through the long and lonely hallway, and even though you would have to take a few more strides before even getting close to the debate room, you could hear him clearly.

“He wanted more time to prepare for the debate.”

“Really? He must have not been prepared.”

“You know perfectly well that he is, Koldan. He’s just making sure that you get pummeled in every way possible.”

“I doubt that.” You walk past Koldan, and notice bags under his eyes. Seemed like he pulled an all nighter, too. Even before Yuto started dating Koldan’s sister, they were both highly competitive against each other, anyone observing would say that they were rivals. You were surprised this was the first time they were going to debate against each other, and from how you’ve seen your brother debate normally, you wished you could see how this one was going to turn out. 

“What time does the debate start?” you inquired while putting the doughnut boxes on a random table in the debate room. You heard Koldan stand up, and walk into the room, straight toward the doughnuts. 

“9:20, so you better go. The rest of the members are going to be coming soon.”

“Man, I wish I could witness this epic moment. Are you sure only club members can participate?”

“Da.” replied Koldan as he grabbed two doughnuts. “Thanks for breakfast.” He patted the top of your head, and sat down in a chair. 

Well, ok then.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After spending some time practicing on your violin and upright bass, you decided to take a break by going grocery shopping.

Some time after you dropped the doughnuts off, Yuto texted that he wouldn't be able to meet you at the International House in time because they were still debating, so you took that opportunity to practice for your audition and for your recital until lunch time.

"That debate must be pretty intense for it to go overtime. I hope they're not going too overboard." you thought as you entered the store and grabbed the nearest shopping cart. Seeing all the food made you extremely hungry, and your stomach rumbled. You haven't had lunch yet, and you made the mistake of shopping first before eating. You tried to never shop with an empty stomach because you tended to buy more food than you needed.

"(Y/n), just buy what you need." you tried to remind yourself as you walked towards the dairy section and past the snack sect- Are those oreos? Ok, you can buy those, but that's it.

Everything you needed was in the cart, and now you were just picking up (a lot of) stuff that you had a taste for. Soon, you found yourself in the condiment aisle, trying to look for beef broth. You had decided to make beef stew, and beef broth was the last ingredient you needed. You know that you walked past it earlier, and now you couldn’t find it! A nearby employee was already talking to another customer, so you couldn’t ask them. You were thinking about whether you should give up and make something less complicated, when in the corner of your eye you saw a monster enter the same aisle you were in.

You stopped looking at the barbeque sauce as you recognized the monster as the skeleton from the bakery. He wasn't wearing the purple shirt anymore, but instead a red v-neck sweater. As the skeleton started to pile a lot of spices into his cart, you glanced at his cart and saw that he had beef broth. 

“Just my luck!” you pushed your cart and made your way to him. You were about to talk to that cute skeleton! With his bright smile burned into your memory, you eagerly walked to him. The closer you got to him the more your stomach did flip-flops. You didn’t know why, but you didn’t let that stop you from softly tapping his arm. “Excuse me.”

The skeleton looked over his shoulder and gasped. 

"It's you! You're that new customer from this morning!"

"You remember me?" 

"Of course, I do!"

“I didn't think you would remember me. You probably see lots of faces in that bakery."

"You would be right, human, but I remember you because you're the nice customer that called me an angel, and it made my day!" 

“Really?”

“It truly lifted my spirits! Nyeh heh! Oh! Am I in your way? Did you need spices, too? Is that why you came over here?”

"No, you're fine!" You pointed at the broth in his cart and explained yourself. "I noticed that you had beef broth and I have been trying to find that for a while, so I wanted to ask you, what aisle did you find it in?"

The skeleton looked in the cart and became confused when he saw the beef broth in there.

"I don't remember putting this in here…" he whispers to himself. He lifted one of the cartons and inspected it curiously before coming to a realization. "My brother must have put these in here! I’m sorry, but I don’t know where he could have acquired this...liquid.”

“Oh.”

“But, if you want to, you can follow me, and ask him yourself. I was just about to go to him.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“No! It’ll be great to have some company!” 

“Okey-dokey, I’ll follow you then. (Y/n) is my name by the way, it’s very nice to meet you!” You put your hand out to shake his hand, and he immediately shook it with both of his hands, causing your whole body to vibrate.

“I am the GREAT AUGUST! It is very nice to meet you, too!”

While the skeleton that introduced himself as August led you to his brother, he talked about what he was going to cook for dinner, his curiosity about the liquid you wanted, and various other food related things. 

“I’m going to make beef stew with it, but you can make all sorts of recipes with beef broth. Gravy, pasta-”

“You can make pasta out of beef broth?” August’s eyes widened in shock and you chuckled seeing his surprised face.

“Yeah! I never have, but some people do.”

“I’ll have to try that!”

He made a few stops between the aisles to pick up a few items, but you didn’t mind, you enjoyed talking to him, and you hoped he enjoyed talking to you, too. He also talked about his older brother, and how he couldn’t wait for you to meet him, which made you bring up Yuto. August seemed thrilled to listen to you talk about random things, just as much as you liked to listen to him. A few minutes had gone by, but you already felt like this skeleton was one of your close friends. It was rare for you to find someone that you had an immediate connection with, but here you were, experiencing it right now. The last time you had this feeling was when you first met Aza in middle school, and she’s your best friend now. 

You also enjoyed looking at him. He was taller than any of the skeleton monsters you’ve encountered, maybe even taller than Edge, who was the tallest skeleton in the house you were staying in. When August got passionate about a topic, he would use broad gestures, and seemed to emit a positive energy that you couldn’t help but want to be a part of. Everytime he smiled, things that resemble dimples would appear on his cheeks, and the longer you looked at August, the more you began to realize how picturesque he was. In your opinion, he was a really good looking monster.

“Do you think I can find that here?”

“I’m sorry, what?” His questioning tone took you out of your trance. He was now looking at you with that welcoming, warm smile of his, and it made your face heat up.

“A spaghetti ice cream maker. I saw the amazing product on tv, and I just have to have it! Of course, I don’t plan on buying the tv version, but..…human, your face is getting red.”

“O-Oh, uh, is it?” What the heck is happening?

“Are you feeling okay?” August asked as he adjusted his glasses.

“Y-Yeah. It must be hot in here, or something. Are we getting close to your brother?” you asked with a nervous smile.

“A matter of fact, yes! He’s in the next aisle.” 

“Great.” Ok, seriously, what was wrong with you? Why did you get so nervous when he smiled at you? Why is your heart beating so fast? Why do you suddenly feel this way? What exactly is this feeling? Are you having a heart attack? You slowly breathed in and out, trying to calm yourself without August noticing.

“Brother!” You successfully calmed yourself down, and walked into the juice aisle with August. In the middle of the aisle was another skeleton, he was shorter than August, but still way taller than you.  He wore a dark blue jacket that had black fur around the hood. He was large, and daunting, and the moment you entered the aisle, his left red eye never left your face. Strangely enough, that didn’t unnerve you, however, the gaping hole in his head did. The hole was huge, and his head almost looked like a cracked open egg. 

“Brother, I want you to meet someone!” 

“...who?” He asked while still staring at you. 

“I would like you to meet, (Y/n)!” August said while gesturing towards you. “I met her earlier during my morning shift at Muffet’s, and had the pleasure of running into her again!”

“Hello." You offered your hand and he just stared at it for a moment, contemplating whether to shake it or not. When he did, you internally let out a sigh of relief. At least, he didn't leave you hanging like most of the guys at the house did.

"abe."

"Abe? That's your name? Cool name."

"your name's not so bad either."

"Uh, okay?" Was that an insult or a compliment? “August told me that you knew where the beef broth was, so could you tell me where it is?”

“what makes you think I know?”

“Surely I didn’t put this in here! I didn’t even know what it was before (Y/n) told me!” exclaimed August as he lifted the beef broth and put it in Abe’s face. Abe’s red eye read the text on the container while his brother held it for him.

“...must’ve grabbed the wrong thing.” 

“What were you trying to get?” you asked intrigued about what food item looks like a container of beef broth.

“.......i forgot.” 

“Do you remember where you got it from?”

He shrugged his shoulders, and slowly shook his head. “...nah.”

Well, looks like your quest for beef stew has come to an abrupt end. You have spent way too much time in this grocery store, and you were ready to leave.

“I guess that’s a dead end. Thanks for the help, you two.” You were a little disappointed, but could certainly come up with something else to make with the food you did get. “Are you guys done shopping?”

“Unless Abe wants to get more ketchup, then we are! Right, Abe?”

“...yep. and the cart’s about to overflow.”

“Why do you ask, (Y/n)?”

“Did you guys want to go to the check-out line together?” 

As the three of you walked to the self check-out section, your heart began to beat fast once again, as an underlying question began to form in your head. You’ve asked this question to a lot of people, and not once have you ever felt like this before asking it to a stranger. You looked at August, and he was talking to Abe about that spaghetti ice cream maker he was talking to you about before. You cleared your throat loud enough to get their attention.

“Um, August?” 

“Yes, (Y/n)?”

“Can I have your... number?” You suddenly felt so sweaty, as you looked at his surprised face, which began to turn orange. Abe was definitely taken aback because his eyes widened in shock. 

“wow, making the first move?” 

“No, I...I’m asking because I want to be friends.” You replied trying not to stutter.

“You want to be friends with me?” asked August, who broke out of his shocked state.

“Well, yeah.” You looked at your cart handle, feeling sheepish. “I think you’re cool.”

“Really? Uh, well, o-of course you think the GREAT AUGUST is cool! I am GREAT after all!” The way he rolled his ‘r’s made you smile and laugh, all the way to the check-out line, where the both of you exchanged numbers. You asked for Abe’s number too, and he gave it to you. You didn’t think he would, but he did, much to your excitement. You had two new friends! After the groceries were paid, the three of you walked to the exit.

“Bye! I’ll text you guys later!” 

“Before you go, here.” From the shopping cart, August took out a bag and held it out for you to grab. You looked inside and saw that it was the beef broth that they had bought. “I want you to have it!”

“I thought you wanted to try making pasta out of it?”

“I did, but consider this a blooming friendship gift!”

“Are you sure?” 

“just take it.” Abe said with a little smirk. 

“Yes! Just take it!” August said while smiling at you. “Make that beef stew! Fill your stomach!”

“Alright! Alright!” You put the bag in your cart and you guys started to drift apart once the outside of the store was reached. “Bye! I’ll text you guys later!”

“Have a good rest of your day!”

“...see ya.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“...you like her?”

“What makes you say that?”

“...’cause you gave her food. you bought it before giving it to her. ”

“I-I just wanted to give her something nice. She looked disappointed.”

“riiiight.”

Chapter Text

After shopping, Yuto called you and said that he was finally able to meet you at the International House to pay you back, so you headed there straight away. After a few minutes, a rainbow of colors blew in the distance, telling you that you were at your destination.

The International House was one of your favorite buildings on the Ebott University campus, second to the Music and Theatre stage that you frequently had to visit. The building was relatively new, with it being only five years old while other buildings were thirty or even sixty years old in comparison. Flags from different nations decorated the outside of the building and brought a colorful point of view to the casual blue sky as they blew in the wind. Each individual flag had their own flagpole and were located in various places around the place. The flags were hung all around the building, on the lawn, over the entrance door, even on trees that grew on the estate. At night, flagpole lights illuminated all the flags, and the International House never lost its multicolored, brilliance even at night.

The International House was a cultural center that promoted the culture and arts of nations all over the world. Multicultural festivals and other events were held here because of how big and spacey the front lawn was. The lawn alone had the ability to hold a decent sized fair, which it has done before. Sometimes you were paid, along with other musicians, to perform background music for these events.

Yuto told you to look for him in the lawn area, so you walked along the concrete path that went straight through the lawn. While doing that, you looked at the various patrons that occupied the lawn. There was a person running, trying to get their kite to fly, a couple was having a picnic, a group of friends were playing frisbee, and a bearded photographer was taking pictures of the scenery. You spotted Yuto sitting on a wooden bench with his right foot crossed over his left. He was leaning away from a young woman who was talking to him enthusiastically about something, and was giving him no space on the bench by scooting super close to him. From his expression, you could tell that your brother was trying to keep it together, but was seconds away from chewing this woman out.

When the woman noticed you walking towards them, she said something to your brother while pointing at you. You weren't close enough to hear them, but you saw Yuto respond to her, then gesture for you to come to him. After that, she stopped smiling, said another remark, and walked off while glaring, angrily at you. 

"Okay, what was that?" you asked while sitting where the woman was sitting, but not as close to Yuto like she was demonstrating. He stopped leaning and made himself more comfortable on the bench.

"Just another lady wanting my number, and not having the decency to accept rejection. She said a nice thing about my suit, and thought that was enough for me to give her my number."

"And you have a girlfriend so…"

"I told her that multiple times, and that dunce still wouldn't listen. Kept jabbering in my ear like a never ending commercial, promoting why she's good for me, all that jazz. I wanted to be rude, but I just didn't have the energy, you know? That debate with Koldan just drained me."

"What made her leave, if she was that stubborn?"

"She saw you and I told her that you were my girlfriend."

"You couldn't come up with something more creative than that?"

"I told you, I'm exhausted. That's the first thing that popped in my head and I stuck with it." He let out a sigh and looked in the direction the woman went. "But she's lucky that she buggered off after insulting you."

"She insulted me?"

"She saw you and said to me, and I quote, 'you have a bad taste in women if you settled with such a terribly dressed girl', like, b****, you are wearing an orange blouse with pink pants, get yourself color coordinated before trying to find a boyfriend, or anyone to talk to. No wonder you're walking around alone, no one wants to be seen with you, with your one dollar, rusty earrings you bought from the dollar store."

That woman would've got roasted if she stayed in your brother's vicinity. Good thing she left. 

"But, pay her no mind, (Y/n)," said Yuto while taking out his wallet. "you look great. Here's the money."

"I'm not worried about it, and thanks." After paying you back, Yuto wanted to walk you back to your car, and you let him, despite you telling him that he could just go home and go to sleep.

"Yuto, why did you call me to get the doughnuts when Eve and Violet are closer to the campus?"

"Eve wasn't awake, and Violet had an eye appointment."

"Oh, did Violet give you any updates on her eyes?"

"She said that she would let each of us know if anything different happens, but she expects the same diagnosis."

"I'll have to check on her later. I haven't seen her in a while."

"Me too." A contemplative silence overcomes the two of you for a moment before Yuto changes the subject. 

"You seem to be in a good mood."

"Hm?"

"You're smiling, a lot, and practically skipped over to me when you saw me on the bench."

"I was not skipping! I was walking fast! But, yeah, I'm in an excellent mood because my roommates went on a trip with Callista, and I have the house to myself this weekend!"

"That must be a relief. I can only imagine that happening to me. I can never get any peace with my roommates either, but they're more bearable than yours. All I want is some quiet after a long debate, and I know that I won't be able to get that when I return home.”

"Hey, who won that, by the way? Is that decided after-”

"(Y-Y/n)?" A quiet voice was heard from behind you and Yuto, and you turned around to see that monster that you met yesterday.

"Alphys?" Sure enough, Alphys was walking behind you along with another monster who was taller than her. From the blue and red fins on each side of her head, you could tell that she was a fish monster. She had a black eye patch over her left eye, and bright red hair that was styled in a ponytail. 

"I-I didn't e-expect to m-meet you again s-so soon."

"Me neither! I'm glad I get to see you again." 

"Who's this punk?" The fish woman put her hands on her hips and looked you up and down.

"U-Undyne, this is (Y/n). The g-girl that I met at B-Brown Beans yesterday."

" This is (Y/n)?" Undyne looked at her companion in a confused manner, and Alphys nodded. "......Hm."

"Has Alphys told you about me, already?" 

"Sure have! My girlfriend came home and wouldn't stop talking about how you and your sister listened to her theories on Wheels of Love, and didn't shoo her away."

"Well, they were interesting and fun to listen to."

"A-Are y-you sure I-I didn't b-bore you?"

"Not at all."

"Who would be bored of you, babe?!" said Undyne while lifting Alphys' face to look up at her. " You're perfect."

Alphys hid her face in her hands and Undyne laughed, then turned back to you.

"So, you're taking a walk with your boyfriend, enjoying the sights?"

You and Yuto looked blankly at each other. You struggled to not laugh so loud, but was failing, while Yuto shook his head, and with a smirk, crossed his arms. 

"No, I'm her brother, Yuto. We were just heading back to our cars."

"Brother? You two don't look similar at all."

After wiping a tear from laughing so hard, you joined in.

"Oh man, that never gets old. We don't look alike in any way because we're adoptive siblings. Heh, we get this a lot actually, so don't worry about it!"

"Does that m-mean your sister, E-Eve, is a-adopted, too? I d-did notice that the two of y-you didn't look related either." 

"That would be correct." 

Undyne and Alphys were going to the parking lot, too, so the four of you walked there together and talked about seemingly mundane things. What majors the two of you were in, hobbies, stuff like that. Undyne proudly told the both of you that she was a police officer, and Alphys was a scientist, and in the underground she used to be the Royal Scientist, which was astonishing that she is that smart. As the four of you walked, you noticed that Undyne would observe you closely every time you talked to Alphys or expressed yourself with your hands. Despite her tough appearance and boisterous attitude, she was nice, and was kind to you and your brother, so you put these observations on the back burner. You would have thought more about it if you thought she posed a threat to you or your brother in any kind of way, but she didn't. 

“My car is farther away than yours, (Y/n), so I’ll be going now. Meeting the two of you has been a pleasure.” Yuto reached out his hand for Alphys to shake, then for Undyne. Undyne gave no mercy to your poor brother and squeezed his hand with her strong grip.

“See you around, little man!”

“Don’t call me that.” You brother was pretty tall for an average male, but Undyne was slightly taller than him.

“Yes, call him that, please!” you said with enthusiasm.

“I would very much appreciate it if you don’t.” said Yuto while attempting to shake away the pain he received from the handshake and playfully glaring at you. 

“‘Little man’ it is!" Undyne winked and Yuto heavily sighed, exasperatedly. 

"I'll be going now. Bye, (Y/n)." Yuto gave you a side hug and started to walk away, but you put your hand on his back, and he stopped his action.

“Bye, and you should take a break from studying so much! Staying up all night studying, is going to drive you crazy, believe me I know!” 

“You should not be talking. From how much you practice, I’m surprised your fingers are not bleeding.”

“Well...I’m surprised your mouth hasn’t fallen off from how much you like to argue and debate!” you quickly retort. Yuto’s mouth opened to reply, but closed it after some thought, probably thinking that if he replied he would be arguing with you, thus, proving your point.

“Touché.” 

And with that, Yuto waved goodbye and left, leaving you with Undyne and Alphys. 

“Hey, Alphys, do you want your raincoat back? I have it in my car.” You pointed to your car, which was a couple steps away. “I don’t know how far your car is from mine, but I can give it to you super quickly if you two need to be somewhere.”

Alphys slapped her forehead. “I h-had forgotten I gave t-that to you!”

“Really? It was just yesterday?”

“I-I know, b-but I’ve been very b-busy lately and it s-slipped my mind!”

“Let me give it to you before you forget again. It’ll just be a moment.” You walked to your car, and opened your trunk, revealing the groceries that you just bought. You moved some aside trying to look for the raincoat.

“Got a lot of groceries there. You just went shopping?” You gasped and hit your head on the ceiling of the trunk, startled by Undyne’s voice, which was suddenly right behind you.

“Ow.”

“Sorry, punk! You good?”

“It’s cool.” You were thankful that your hat shielded your head from hitting it too hard. “I just didn’t hear you come behind me, that’s all. And yeah, I just got finished shopping. The fridge was getting empty, so I got some food. The roommates I have usually take care of that, but they're gone this weekend, so I decided to do it."

Undyne and Alphys glanced at each other as you continued to look in the trunk. 

"S-so, y-you're alone t-this weekend?"

"...mhmm, but I like it. I like the house being quiet for once, it gives me some peace." You closed the trunk, and looked at the passenger seat. The coat ended up being there. You really should have checked there first. You wiped off any dirt that was on it with your hand, and held it for Alphys to take. 

“Here you go. I hope I didn’t mess it up somehow.” 

“T-Thank you.” Alphys meekly said as she took the jacket. “Y’know...y-you could have j-just taken it, and n-not given it b-back. I-I wouldn’t have known if you didn't say anything…”

“Wouldn’t that be straight up stealing?” you said amused, “I don’t steal, and besides, I get the impression that Undyne would beat me up if I did take anything that was yours.”

“Would have beaten you to a pulp, then arrest you!” exclaimed Undyne proudly. 

“As expected, well, I better get going. I got beef stew to cook."

"You're going to cook a huge pot of beef stew for yourself?"

"Well, yeah. I'm spoiling myself a little. You see, it's actually a relief that my roommates are gone for the weekend, they're not really the nicest people to share a house with.”

"Hm....how so?" Undyne crossed her arms and Alphys looked at you thoughtfully.

"Um, they just blame me for a lot of things that are not my fault." You left it vague, not wanting to talk about your roommates that much. You wanted to have a relaxing weekend, and not get tense thinking about them, which you were already involuntarily feeling. 

"Are you going to b-be okay, all by y-yourself? Y-You're not going to f-feel lonely?"

"I'll be fine. I can stand being alone for a while." It wasn't that much of a difference from when your roommates were there anyway. Despite you trying to reassure them, Alphys still looked concerned for you, and even Undyne did as well. They both looked like they wanted to say something else, but didn't know how to say it. "I appreciate the concern, but really, I'll be fine. Thanks for asking though." you said with a thankful smile.

"I-If you s-say so…"

Some more small talk resulted after that and you finally asked for Alphys' number, which Alphys quickly gave you. After Undyne forcefully gave you hers, you told them that you had to put the groceries that you bought, like the milk, cheese, eggs, in the fridge before they got too hot, so you said goodbye, hopped in your car, and left the International House.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure that was, (Y/n)?" asked Undyne while driving. Alphys was in the passenger seat looking at her phone.

“They described h-her well enough. T-That’s her and... it’s r-really hard to b-believe what Sans, P-Papyrus, Callista, and t-the others have said a-about her.”

"It just doesn't make sense. All those things they've said, she hates monsters, she steals, she doesn't help with anything, she does hurtful things just to be spiteful, she lies," Undyne feeling hot, adjusted the AC in the car to gently blow cold air. "we just met her and she already disproved three of those things."

"W-When I talked to her in the cafe, I c-couldn't believe I was talking to the (Y/n) that the guys, and Callista, talks about. She was v-very friendly to me, but I d-didn't completely disregard what they said, s-so I wanted to test her in a way. It's silly n-now, but I t-thought that she might h-have been just putting on a show for her sister, you know how people and m-monsters act differently when around family?"

"Yeah."

"Even t-then, I was doubting my theory because of her c-character, but I gave her my raincoat to s-see if she would return it t-to me when we saw each other again. I wanted to see if we d-did see each other again, if she would bring it up, or if I wanted it back and she would return it then. If she didn't w-want to return it then that would say a lot about her as a person… and p-prove my theory."

"So you didn't really forget about her having it?"

"N-No, I was testing her, i-in a way."

"And you really didn't care about her getting sick?" 

"I c-cared! I-I just-" Undyne booped Alphys nose.

"Pff, I know you did." Undyne winked at Alphys, and she looked away shyly.

"I-I'm a scientist. I c-couldn't help but d-do a little experiment." Alphys went to her contacts and glanced at Callista's number, which had a picture of Callista next to it. "C-Callista is the one telling them those t-things. W-Why would she do that? Aren't they bestfriends?"

"I always found it weird that she hardly had anything good to say about (Y/n), it made me think that they're not friends at all. Who says nothing but bad things about their bestfriend? And what she's saying about (Y/n) is false. She was getting groceries for them, she practices almost non-stop, her blisters on her fingers prove that, she didn't turn malicious when her brother walked away, and most importantly, she didn't take your raincoat."

Undyne pressed a button on their garage remote and drove into their driveway. The garage door was rising and they both waited for it to go up all the way.

"Alphys, (Y/n) was trying to hide it, but she became very uncomfortable when she briefly talked about everyone she lived with. I understand anyone feeling that way about Edge, Black, Red, and maybe even Mutt, but Papyrus? Blue? Sans and Stretch? And she said that all of them being away was a relief! And not like a parent having some time away from their kids, more like how a bully is gone for a week in school!"

"You're right…"

Undyne drove into their garage, and pressed the button on the remote again to close the door.

"What p-puzzles me is the 'why'. W-Why would C-Callista lie about (Y/n) like this?"

When Undyne and Alphys walked into their home, Undyne took out her cell phone and looked at your number.

"I'm going to call her, to see if she wants to hangout with us."

"H-Have her come over tomorrow?"

"More like this evening."

"This evening?! I-Isn't that a little soon? We're still strangers to her. I doubt she'll want to hangout with m-monsters she just met. At l-least tomorrow, we can meet somewhere a-and talk, then invite her over."

"I don't think it will hurt to ask her, and I just don't like the idea of her being alone like that. I know she said she didn't mind, but just imagine... (Y/n) eating a bowl of stew, at that empty, long table that they have. Sad, isn't it?"

"W-When y-you put it t-that way it is."

"And don't you want to figure this mystery out? With her here, we'll be able to make her comfortable, ask her questions, and maybe even watch some movies together.”

“And if s-she says no?”

“We’ll try again tomorrow!” Undyne dialed your number and waited for you to pick up. “My gut’s telling me that somethings not right, and I want to solve it now!”