Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~~Chapter 1 start~~

The faint sound of people chattering. Haunting, and yet comforting. The chattering, however, was currently being drowned out by a ringing sound, and sirens.

It felt… distant.

But it wasn't.

Someone yelled something incoherent. It was a familiar voice.

The voice grew louder.

“Ink…” It cried.

“Ink!”

Ink sat up, gasping for breath loudly as he looked around the room. Dream was sitting next to him with a worried look painted on his face.

“Ink?” Dream pat Ink's back as he caught his breath. “Sorry… you looked like you were having a nightmare.” He spoke sheepishly.

Ink shook his head. “No, it’s okay…” He mumbled, thinking about his dream.

Weird.

What was that all about?

Dream softly smiled. “Well, guess what?” He asked.

Ink perked up a bit. “What?”

“It’s time for you to get ready for school!” He spoke, pulling the blankets off of Ink.

“What? Nooo!” Ink whined, trying to pull the blankets back onto himself, but Dream was stronger and walked up to the curtains covering the window. He opened them, causing Ink to hiss at the light.

Ink and Dream had been living in the school dorms together during the summer. Dream had a house, his family was pretty wealthy. He just preferred to be with Ink, especially after the incident with his brother.

And Ink?

He was the complete opposite.

But no one asked.

“Come on, sleepy head! Get out of bed before you make us late!” Dream complained, tossing clothes out of Ink’s closet so he would take less time. “I’ll make pancakes for breakfast while you get dressed. And you have to eat this time!”

Ink pouted, sluggishly catching his clothes and standing up. “Dream, you’d be a terrible housewife.” He complained, causing Dream to chuckle.

“Says you, you act like you’re five.” He spoke with a small smirk as he walked out of the room. “You have ten minutes, if you’re not ready by then I’m going to drag you to class in your underwear!”

Ink looked at his clothes. His black slacks and white dress shirt were plain, but nice. He was probably overdressing, but whatever, he didn’t pick it out. He slipped them on, then struggled with a brown, checkered vest.

Something was missing though.

And it wasn’t the patch on his cheek, that was always there. He should change it, considering it's visibly dirty.

Later.

He’ll do it later.

Wait a minute... His scarf! His scarf was missing!

Ink looked around his room, probably making a bigger deal out of it than it was.

When he didn’t find it, he ran towards the door, ready to look in the laundry bin and by the front door and under the bathtub and-

SLIP-

THUMP!

“Ink!?” Dream called out, running towards his room. He opened it and found Ink face planted, a paper slowly falling to the ground.

Ink slowly raised his head, looking at Dream with teary eyes.

“Wh-“ Dream was frozen for a bit, trying to process the sight before him.

“I slipped.” Ink answered, knowing what he was going to ask. “I slipped on a paper.” He slowly sat up, rubbing his nose.

Dream looked at him, holding back a chuckle, then walked in and kneeled down in front of him. “Why were you running?” He asked. “What was the rush?”

Ink looked off to the side awkwardly. “Well, um, I couldn’t find my scarf…” He mumbled. Dream looked around the room.

“You mean that scarf?” He asked, pointing to a neatly hung cloth on the wall. Ink looked over to check.

It was a soft, dark brown, not too dark though. It had a gradient to a lighter yellow around the end of it. “Oh!” Ink got up and walked over to it rather quickly. He took it off the wall and embraced it, then put it on and braided the leftover scarf.

Dream sighed with a soft smile, walking out of the room.

About five minutes later, Ink was out of his room and ready to go to school. After eating breakfast. Which he didn’t want to do.

He walked into the small kitchen, the smell of fresh pancakes and syrup filling his nose as the warmth from the room embraced him.

Dream immediately greeted him. “Hey, you didn’t take as long as I thought you would!” He spoke, placing two plates on the small table. One of them noticeably had less food. Ink assumed that was his.

“Of course I didn’t, I’m not Lust.” Ink rolled his eyes, sitting down. Dream sat down next to him.

“You say that as if you didn’t take forever to get ready last year.” Dream teased, nudging his arm with his elbow. He then began cutting into his stack of pancakes, which had three.

Ink studied his own plate. “Oh, ha-ha.” He spoke sarcastically. He wasn’t upset though.

Dream sighed. “I only gave you one pancake so that you’d try to eat.” He explained, putting a slice in his mouth.

“Right.” Ink nodded, slowly cutting into it. He really wasn’t hungry.

Dream watched him, waiting for him to begin eating. Ink was cutting into the pancake slowly, making sure to only get a little.

“Oh, come on Ink! You didn’t eat dinner yesterday, can you at least eat half of the pancake?” Dream complained, sounding worried. Ink shrugged.

“I don’t really feel hungry…” He mumbled as he took a small bite. He rested one of his elbows on the table as he slightly slouched, causing Dream to frown at his poor table manners.

“I understand, but you need to eat.” Dream spoke, his frown softening. He took another bite of his own stack of pancakes.

Ink was slowly chewing on his pancake, looking slightly disgusted.

Dream sighed at this.

“Fine, never mind. Just… promise you’ll eat lunch?”

Ink nodded in response, avoiding eye contact. Instead, he studied the kitchen which he’d grown so familiar with. The walls were white tiles, some wooden shelves across it held spices and potted plants. The ground, in a similar manner, was a checkered pattern. The tiles for it were noticeably smaller though.

He didn’t bother turning around to look at the rest, instead looking at the white windowsill. They were on the 5^th floor of the dorm building, so they had a pretty good view of the city. It was rather dull. At least he didn’t have to be outside for too long when walking to school.

Dream finished his food eventually. “Hey, Ink?” He spoke up, grabbing Ink’s plate, then his own as he stacked them to put in the sink.

Ink looked at him, snapping back into his mind. “Huh?”

Dream let out a small chuckle in response. “Can you start taking your meds?” He asked, pushing his chair in.

“Oh, yeah.” Ink responded, standing up as he pushed his own chair in as well.

He walked over to the little basket with medicine, grabbing two pill bottles. He took two little pills out of the first one, and a big one out of the second one.

“Here.” Dream handed Ink a glass of water.

Ink took it. “Thank you.” He threw the pills inside his mouth, taking a sip of the water. Before he put it down, however, he realized Dream was staring at him. “Fineee…” He whined, chugging the rest of it.

Dream let out a content nod, then put the plates in the sink, taking Ink’s glass once he finished.

“Hey Dream?” Ink spoke up, walking out of the kitchen, Dream following him.

Dream hummed. “What’s wrong?” He asked, picking up his bag once they got to the doorway.

Ink picked up his own back. “Um, I’m… You know the, you know…” He stuttered, walking out of the door. Dream only looked confused as he walked out behind him. “I… nevermind.”

“You sure?” Dream put his hand on Ink’s shoulder as they walked to the elevator. “I’ll understand whatever you tell me.” He smiled, stopping when Ink did.

Ink pressed the button to call the elevator, nodding. “I’m sure. It’s… complicated.”

Ding!

Ink walked into the elevator, Dream following behind him. “If you change your mind, I’ll be here.” He smiled. Ink looked away, feeling a bit guilty.

By the end of the elevator ride, about 3 other people had stepped in from different floors.

The dorms didn’t have too many students, since most would rather live with their families or their parents didn’t let them move out. Most of the dorm populace were exchange students or students who are being funded by the school, and the ones who came from other cities. The rest are people trying to escape something or trying to have more freedom.

He knows because over the Summer only exchange students and students with dorm exceptions are allowed to stay. Dream told him all about it.

While he and Dream walked, Ink couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched.

No,

That he was being watched.

That’s how he knew that he was back.

The shadow man.

~~Chapter 1 end~~

Chapter Text

~~Chapter 2 start~~

“It’s all your fault!”

“I- I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!”

“I HATE YOU!”

“I’m sorry!!!”

Thump, thump, thump….

“INK! GET BACK HERE!”

“INK!”

“H-huh?” Ink looked at Dream. “What?”

Dream sighed. “You were spacing out and almost walked out into traffic. Are you okay?” He asked, looking worried yet again.

Ink looked at the cars moving quickly in front of him, before looking back at Dream. “S-sorry…”

Dream shook his head. “No, it’s okay… sorry for yelling at you to come back, I know you don’t like it.”

“So…” Ink looked back at the cars. “Remind me why we’re here? We were already on the school campus…” He asked.

“You have the memory of an old man.” Dream teased, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “We all agreed to meet here, remember? You, me, Blue, Lust, the usual group.”

Ink nodded. “Are Ccino and Outer joining us too?”

Dream thought for a second, before shrugging. “I think Outer isn’t cause of student council, but Ccino might.”

“Cool.” Ink hummed, looking around. Students were walking by and waiting on the crosswalk, a few others were talking loudly and laughing obnoxiously. There were a few people listening to music.

Ink looked back at Dream, who was distracted by his phone. He seemed like he was texting someone. His yellow eyelights were stuck on his phone, his yellow crown glistening in the morning sun.

His shirt was also yellow, but it was a bit lighter. It also had a childish-looking smiling sun, which was kind of cute. He wore khaki, skinny jeans and almost black shoes. It honestly fit him pretty well.

Dream was the type of person who could wear anything and look good in it. Ink only looked good in brown and black.

At least he wasn’t like that group of kids who dresses like they’re in the 90s… Baggy pants, weird hats, bright clothes… They’re a real eyesore.

Ink felt bad for Lust, since he shared a few classes with them last year and Lust absolutely despised the way they dress. He says that it’s just “not in style.”

Dream said to be nice to them, but honestly, it’s hard…

They were like clowns at this point, making fools of themselves. Not to be rude or anything, but they’re really not in the right era. So many clothing items were banned because of them too.

“So…” Dream spoke up, looking at Ink. “Think there’s any new students apart from freshmen?” He asked.

Ink stared at Dream. “I am a freshman, Dream, how would I know?” He raised a brow.

Dream chuckled. “Yeah, well, it’s not like it changed that much, you just moved buildings on campus. Surely you saw some of the older kids?”

“I dunno… Maybe there’s new students on freshman? I’ll probably be able to tell.” Ink shrugged. “Speaking of freshmen, where’s Blue? And the others?”

“Oh, um, well… about that-“ Dream sounded a bit nervous now. “Blue told me that while walking to school, he saw an old friend of his and they stopped to chat for a while.”

Ink groaned. “Why is Blue so extr—”

“BOO!”

“EEP!”

Ink leapt into Dream’s arms, looking behind himself with teary eyes.

The culprit had burst into a fit of giggles, and soon after, Dream did as well.

“Wh-“ Ink let go of Dream. “Luuust!” He complained, pouting angrily.

Lust wiped a tear from his eye, his long lashes fluttering a bit as he pushed up his star shaped glasses. “Okay, okay, sorry! I didn’t think you’d get that scared.”

Ink crossed his arms, looking away.

“Ink, don’t get mad at Lust-“ Dream spoke, the slightest hint of amusement tainting his voice.

Ink groaned again, before looking up at Lust.

“Sorry hon.” Lust smiled in a playfully apologetic way.

“It’s okayyy…” Ink’s pout faded as Lust pulled him into a hug. His perfume smelled sweet, like freshly baked cookies.

Ink returned the hug, looking up at the taller. “Did you hear from Ccino? I know you guys are really close.”

Lust nodded, his gaze on Ink. “He said his sophomore year will have to wait for his cats to let him get out of the front door.” He chuckled.

Dream smiled. “I see he still has the really clingy ones following him around.” He added in a teasing tone. Lust chuckled once more.

“Yep, no luck getting any of the older cats adopted this summer. Everyone wanted the newborns so much they had to put a sign out in front!” He spoke, laughing more. “Honestly, I thought his family had a cat café, not an animal shelter or whatever.” Ink rolled his eyes.

“Well,” Ink pulled away from the hug. “People love kitties, I guess?” He awkwardly said. “I mean, they’re really cute.”

Dream shook his head. “They wouldn’t love them if they saw how they looked straight out the womb.” He joked.

Ink hummed. “It’s a good thing that they’re not giving the kitties away.”

“Yeah, they’d die. Not only that, it’s illegal to separate them before they’re old enough.” Lust commented, looking around. He seemed like he was searching for something. Or someone.

Dream noticed, a playful smile crawling on his face. “I know that look~” He teased, crossing his arms. “Are you scared that one of those kids is going to come up to you and speak in their 90’s slang?”

Ink realized what Dream was doing and smiled a bit. “Ooh! I heard that they’ve started putting gold in their mouth! Like teeth!” He added.

Lust’s face immediately ‘ick’d. “Don’t remind me.” He grumbled, pinching his nose bridge.

“Oh?” Dream raised a brow. “Of what? The 90s nightmares?”

Lust glared at Dream, in a sassy diva way, and popped a piece of gum in his mouth. “What else?”

Suddenly, Ink gasped loudly. “Lust! They’re behind you!!!” He screamed.

Lust shrieked and ran to hide behind Ink, grabbing him by the arms from behind as he squatted down to his height.

Dream and Ink burst into laughter, leaving Lust to realize what had happened. “Oh, very funny guys!” Lust moaned, his face scrunching up into an annoyed stare.

“Yo, yo, yo! Wiggidy wiggidy wassup, y’all!” Someone spoke up from behind Dream.

They all froze.

The person continued, “See yo, I was won’drin’ if ya know where mah lil brah went, we was suppose ta walk ta school togetha, but he up an’ left me yo!” He complained.

Dream and Ink slowly turned to face the person, and shortly after, Lust did as well.

They all had to tilt their heads up to make eye contact with him, but he was wearing these… annoyingly square shades.

“Oh, my bad y’all, forgot ta describe him to ya radical dudez!” He chuckled. He had… a gold tooth… “He’s up about this tall, yo, like, 5’8, or sumthin, maybe 5’9. He was all up an’ wearin’ this jacket he got from da school for being in a sport, n stuffs. It’s like, black an’ yellaw an’ red, or sumthin. Y’all seen him, little dudes?” He tipped his hat a bit.

Lust slowly moved to hide behind Ink. Dream cleared his throat. “Ah, um… Where did you… lose him?” He asked sheepishly.

The tall man seemed expressive, as he was showing a lot of body language. Like, he was moving a lot. He rubbed his chin, before shrugging at Dream. “Ion kno’… Like, ‘round town? Some lil’ dude round y’alls size ran up to him an’ all, an’ he was up on his face, screamin’ excitedly, like a chile.”

Dream blinked twice. “And you didn’t think to… stay with them?”

“SEE YO! Here’s da thin’! They ditched me! They was all up in ‘ere like… ‘Hey bro, look over there.’ An’ I look’d. An’ next thing Ah knew, they was completely outta site!” The man ranted.

Lust silently groaned, whispering in Ink’s ear. “I can barely understand him… I bet the author writes his dialogue wrong on purpose.”

Ink blinked twice, staring at Lust. “What?” He asked.

Lust stared back. “What?” He echoed.

“Wabbaut y’all?” The man asked, walking up to Lust and Ink. “Ya seen a grumpy guy an’ a kid full’a energy?”

Ink stared up at the man. It hurt his neck, considering this guy was probably like, over 2 feet taller than Ink.

“U-um… us?” Lust stuttered. “Not really.” He shook his head.

Ink coughed a bit. “We’re, uh, actually waiting for our friends, so we’ve been looking for them instead.” He spoke, trying to sound as normal as he could.

Dream stared at them, a small smile cracking on his face. He seemed to have noticed the height difference. Greaaat.

“Dam brah, allavas seem ta be lookin fur sumone, mind if I wait with y’all radical dudez?” The man asked, turning to Dream.

Dream shook his head. “N-not at all!” He spoke nervously. He was clearly being polite.

Ink rubbed the back of his head, looking anywhere BUT at the 90’s  skyscraper in front of him. However, he could see man things out of his peripheral vision. Like, the huge smile he had. And um… his really thick eyebrows…

Normally, Ink wouldn’t mind those, but like, this kid was, uh, well, a skeleton?

Why did a skeleton have such thick eyebrows???

Ink looked at Lust, knowing that he also noticed. Except, he was probably more weirded out than Ink. Then again, everything from these kids weirded Lust out.

But, one thing’s for sure, Ink had been joking when he said they had gold on their teeth. He didn’t expect one of them to actually have any.

When are Blue and Ccino going to get here?

“Oh-?” Dream squawked, looking around. He was holding his phone in his hand, which could only mean one thing.

Ink poked Lust.

“What?” Lust asked, raising a brow. Ink pointed at Dream. “Fuck-“ Lust grunted, pulling out his phone quickly.

Just as he thought.

Someone sent a picture of the group standing there in the chat they shared.

Ink and Lust also began looking around, the 90s nightmare looking around as well with a confused smile.

“Wut we lookin’ fur?” He asked, still looking.

“One of our friends.” Dream responded, fully turning now.

Ink frowned. “Wait- Lemme see that.” He said, snatching the phone from Lust’s hands.

He stared at the picture, before looking across the sidewalk.

And sure enough, hiding behind a tree, was the ‘culprit’.

~~Chapter 2 End~~

Chapter Text

~~Chapter 3 Start~~

[30 Minutes Earlier, Blue’s POV]

Blue walked into the room, hands on his hips. “Hey bro!” He called. “Have you seen my lucky gloves? I really wanna wear them to school!”

The tall man sitting on the couch turned to face him. He had an orange hoodie on and green shorts, and he was reading some newspapers while sipping on coffee. “Your… lucky gloves?” He asked.

“Yeah! Don’t tell me you haven’t seen them! It’s the fingerless ones? They’re like… blue.” He explained. “You’ve seen em… right Stretch?”

His brother, Stretch, raised a brow. “Weren’t they in the laundry bin or something? I thought I saw them in there.” Stretch was a Papyrus, if you didn’t know, and he was like, almost 7 feet maybe? He didn’t care enough to keep track.

Blue’s gaze softened. “You sure?” He asked, backing up a bit. Stretch nodded at him, turning back to the newspaper in front of him. “Okay, thanks!”

He began running towards the space under the stairs. It was where they kept their washing machine and dirty clothes.

Since he wasn’t wearing his shoes, he slid right across the wooden floor, striking a pose before he began shamelessly digging into the bin like a raccoon searching for food in the trash.

Swap lived with his mother and brother, and was the youngest in his entire family. His mother worked nights in the hospital as a nurse, and Stretch worked dayshifts at a daycare whenever he didn’t have college classes. It helped keep them under a roof and they got to eat dinner together most of the time.

Swap had offered to work for his family multiple times, but they always told him to focus on his studies. He didn’t understand what potential they saw in him, but he had to admit it was kind of nice to not have the stress of both working and studying like his brother did.

Finally, after dumping out half the clothes in laundry basket, Blue yelled, “Ah-hah!” Holding up a pair of light, almost latex-looking, gloves. “Found them!” He called out to his brother, slipping them on.

He ran over to the door, putting on his dark blue boots. “Hey bro, what time is it?” Blue called.

After a second, Stretch responded. “You have time, it’s 8:25. Make sure to bring your umbrella with you, the forecast says it’s going to rain!” He peered out at Blue through the door hole connecting to the living room.

“Okayyy!” He stood up after tying his boots, adjusting his tank top before slipping on a jean jacket. His entire outfit gave off punk-vibes, but he liked it. He felt cool. He pulled up his black jeans and picked up his backpack, grabbing an umbrella from the rack.

His brother sighed with a smile. “Have fun at school.” He waved.

Blue opened the door, turning to face him. “See ya!” He waved back, twirling his fingers.

.

.

.

A few seconds later, the door opened again.

Stretch had an amused smirk on his face, his arms crossed.

“Forgot my keys.” Blue chuckled awkwardly as he grabbed them from the little table next to the front door.

“I know you did.” Stretch rolled his eyes playfully. “Bye bro.” He said again.

Blue stuck out his tongue, closing the door again. This time, he managed to lock it.

Golly! This is so exciting!!! He was finally going to be a freshman, and he was going to see his friends again, and he was going to live life like those high school movies, and it was going to be so cool!

Blue skipped down the sidewalk, clearly excited. He did not act how he looked. It was, somehow fitting?

The morning was dull, but it was pretty bright, and the closer he got to school, the more students he saw on the street.

Dream had suggested that they all meet up by the crosswalk closest to the school, since most people in the group had to pass through it each morning to get to school.

He had so many questions! Like, if they were still going to have those hangouts they had last year after school and on weekends, and how were Ccino’s newborn kitties, and if Outer was doing better with his anxiety, and if Dream had spoken to his brother, and if Lust had talked to his family about the thing, and if Ink-

Bump-!

“Ow-“ Blue groaned.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, punk!” The person in front of him complained.

Blue looked up at them. “Oh gosh, I’m so sor-” He apologized, but immediately stopped when he saw the person’s face.

The person looked as confused, and so did the taller walking with him. “Uh…”

“Error? Is that you?” Blue asked, his eyelights changing to cyan stars from excitement.

“…Blue?” He mumbled.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Blue pulled him into a tight hug. “Oh my god, it really is you!!!” He exclaimed in pure joy. “Where did you go!? You just left in the middle of third grade!”

Error hesitantly returned the hug, then pulled away. “Our parents... uh. We had to move away.” He explained.

“Yo brah, who diz lil dudeski dats huggin ya?” The man next to Error asked. He was huge, like a skyscraper. He was also dressed like the 90s, those kids that Lust hates.

“Oh, uh, Fresh, this is-“

“My name’s Blue! It’s s’well to meet’cha!” He took Fresh’s hand and shook it frantically.

Fresh chuckled. “Luv ya vibez, broski! I'm de freshest guy ‘round, so fresh dat my mama named me dat! Ya know my bro? Soundz like y’all have a past, yo!” He responded.

Blue nodded. “We’ve known each other since we were in kindergarten!” He smiled. Fresh smirked.

“Yo, yo, yo! I din’t knuw dat a grumpy guy like yew could be palz wit dis cool lil dude!” Fresh teased his brother, nudging his elbow. Error blushed a bit.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He responded, clearly embarrassed.

Blue turned to face Error. “We oughta catch up!” He said excitedly. Error stared at him, before turning back to face his brother.

He cleared his throat. “Fresh, I think someone is smoking over there!” Error exclaimed, pointing somewhere behind him.

Fresh turned quickly. “Wut! Whear!?” He yelled, scanning the area.

Blue leaned over to search as well, before he felt someone tug at his arm and drag him away.

“Shhhh.” They shushed, covering his mouth. Blue looked up. It was Error. He probably just wanted to get away from his brother.

After a few seconds, Fresh turned around, speaking. “Yo, my rad brotato chip, I don see nuthn. Ya forget ya gla-“ He stopped. “Uh, Error? Broski? Where ya go? Ma said she wanted us ta walk 2getha!” He called.

After scanning the area, he kicked the ground and kept walking in the direction to school.

Once out of sight, Error and Blue stepped out of the bush.

“Sorry, if he was around while we talked, all he’d do is tease us.” Error explained, rubbing the back of his head with a bit of blush on his face.

Blue shook his head. “It’s fine, I understand!” He smiled. “My friends do that too-“ He spoke, then heard his phone ding.

He pulled it out. It was Dream.

—

D: Hey, when are you coming? Me and Ink are bored to death!

L: Yeah! Sneaking up behind Ink, don’t tell him.😈

D: Okay, haha!

—

He smiled, then began typing.

—

B: I bumped into an old friend while walking! Literally! I’ll be a while, we’re going to catch up on stuff. 😄

D: Aww! Don’t take too long! We’ll leave if you're gonna make us late!

—

Blue put his phone away, before looking up at Error. “Sorry, some friends asked me a question.” He apologized.

“It’s fine.” Error shrugged. He began walking in the general direction to school, but definitely at a slower pace than before. “So, how’ve you been?”

“Me? I’ve been good! My parents finally got a much needed divorce after my father threw a flower vase at my mother. He almost hit her in the face. It’s a good thing Stretch told me to call the cops while he tried to break them up.” Blue spoke, a small smile on his face as he looked forwards. “You?”

“Oh, uh, I’ve been good. We found a doctor that could help Geno.” Error sighed in relief. “My dad is always on business, though I guess we do get more freedom. We also have a way nicer house.”

Blue perked up a bit, curiosity taking over. “Oh, really? Do you live at the end of a cul de sac or something?” He joked.

Error playfully pushed him. “I wish. The house I’d always wanted was off the market.” He responded, sounding a bit whiny.

“So, why’d you come back?” Blue asked.

Error, looked up, then back at Blue’s face. “Well, we found treatment for Geno, and my dad wanted to find a nice place for us to settle down again, even if he’s never home. He’s a good guy.” He shrugged. “I suggested here, since it’s where we were all born and we had a pretty calm life. He listened. And now we’re here.”

Blue smiled. “I’m glad you’re back. I’m also glad you’re as open as you used to be.” He teased.

“Tsss- Only reason I’m telling you this is because we left in such a rush that I didn’t have a chance to explain myself.” Error teased back, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, sure~” Blue said in a singy-song voice. “So what, you’re into sports now?” He tugged at Error’s sweater.

Error moved his arm away. “What’s it to you?” He raised a brow.

Blue looked smug. “Well, when we were younger, you used to hate sports. You hated everything, actually.”

Error scoffed. “Oh please, I didn’t hate everything!” He retorted.

“Oh, right! You loved chocolate!” Blue teased, poking his arm repeatedly with both hands. “You would always ask for chocolate for Christmas and for your birthday and for everything!”

Error chuckled. “That’s not true!” He said swatting Blue’s hands away. He felt his cheeks warming up a bit, before shaking it off.

“Sure it wasn’t.” Blue agreed sarcastically. Error rolled his eyes once again, and began walking faster. “Hey- wait!” Blue called, jogging to catch up to him.

“What?” Error raised a brow. “Can’t keep up with those tiny legs of yours?” He teased.

Blue pouted. “I’ll have you know I'm one of the fastest runners in the school’s Cross Country team!” He bragged.

Error acted like he thought for a second, then turned to face Blue again. “Let me guess,” He began. “The people who are faster are taller than you, aren’t they?”

“Wh- That has nothing to do with it!” He spoke defensively.

“But they are, aren't they?” Error asked again, knowing he was right.

Blue sighed. “Yes, but-”

Error poked his friend. “Bet you’re the shortest in our grade.” He smirked.

For once, Blue was able to hold a proud smile. “Actually, I’m not. And I know that because the shortest person in the grade is my friend.” He responded, his smug tone crawling back into his voice.

The taller stared in disbelief. “Sure, whatever you say.”

“It’s true!” He argued.

Error smiled “Okay, whatever.” He responded, then quickly stopped smiling. He didn’t want to be seen smiling. Blue noticed, but didn’t say anything about it.

The rest of the walk to school was mostly silent, as Error was looking around the town he’d grown up in. Blue did ask why he’d been studying it if he was in a sport since there was summer practice for all of them.

Error’s response was vague.

“I just haven’t actually taken the time to look around yet.”

Blue doubted that, especially since he seemed to know the way to school pretty well. He wasn’t going to press him on it though.

.

.

.

“Wait.” Blue grabbed Error’s hand, stopping him from walking any further. For a second, he could’ve sworn he saw Error blush a bit, but it was probably something else.

“What?” Error asked, looking anywhere but the direction Blue was in. “Something happen?”

Blue shook his head. “No. I just need to do something.” He said.

Error finally turned to face him, tilting his head curiously. “Huh?”

The shorter smirked. “You see that group of 4 people across the street?” He asked. “Uh, the 3 short people that Fresh is standing with for some reason.”

Error nodded hesitantly.

Without explaining anything further, Blue took put his phone, and took a picture of them. Error watched him, the look on his face pure confusion.

—

B: Friendly neighbourhood stalker😊

B: Image

—

Blue then put his phone away, a satisfied look on his face. Error raised a brow, wondering what he did.

He turned to the group across the road, noticing that they were all freaking out and looking around.

“Hey you,” He turned to Blue, a small smile on his face. “You’re just as mischievous as I remember.”

Blue shrugged. “What can I say? I’ve always liked causing trouble.” He responded, before looking across the road again and smiling widely. He began waving frantically.

And with that, they were at school.

~~Chapter 3 end~~

Chapter Text

~~Chapter 4 start~~

[Ink’s POV]

“You little rascal! C’mere!”

“S-stop! Hehehe! I give up, I give up!”

“Too late now! Ya little troublemaker!”

.

Blue was kicking his arms and legs, trying to get out of Dream’s arms. He was being held down while Lust tickled him. Ink had been put on picture duty.

Why?

Dream and Lust liked taking pictures to preserve memories, but if they were both doing something, then they had to get someone else to do it.

90s nightmare was standing next to them, giggling.

But now there was someone else.

He wasn’t taller than the 90s kid, but he was definitely taller than everyone else.

Ink couldn’t help but stare at him as he studied his physical appearance.

Tall skeleton, except his bones were black, red and yellow. He had some blue things falling from his eyes, kind of like tears. They weren’t actively falling though, it was more like… Just, there. Stationary? It was from his eyes to the bottom of his cheeks.

He had weird eyes. Instead of his eye sockets being black, they were red. One of them had a small, white eyelight, while the other one had a bigger one. It was blue and had a yellow circle inside it. His nose hole was also red.

“What’re you staring at?” He growled, glaring at Ink.

Ink flinched a bit, clearing his throat silently. “Um… nothing.” He dismissed.

The man scoffed. “Whatever.” He turned to face the group again.

How rude. Ink rolled his eyes, looking at the group as well. Blue was still begging for mercy from his friends. He was probably one of the most ticklish people, which was always used against him.

Blue let out a little snort. “L-let go!” He squealed, still squirming in Dream’s arms.

“I think he’s had enough.” Someone spoke, putting their hand on Dream’s shoulder. Their voice was soft, like they chugged honey every day to soothe their throat. “You’ve been tickling him like this for a while now, haven’t you?”

Ink looked towards the speaker. It was Ccino.

“Ccino! My hero! Make them let go of me!” Blue cried like a princess in need of saving.

Ccino chuckled, then gave Lust a knowing look. “Okay, I’ll stop.” Lust surrendered, putting his hands up. He had a small smile on his face.

Dream also let go of Blue, shooting him a little smirk. “You haven’t learned a single thing from that, have you?” He asked sarcastically, his arms crossed.

Blue shook his head. “Nothing at all!” He confirmed proudly. Lust playfully punched him in the arm.

“So, who’re the two new people?” Ccino asked, pointing towards the two taller ones. Ink handed Lust his phone back, listening intently now.

He was pretty curious.

Blue smiled. “This is, uuuh, Fresh, was it?” He spoke, pointing at the 90s kid.

“Yup-yup! Wiggidy wiggidy wasgood y’all?” He greeted. Ink could almost see a ‘radical’ aura radiating off of him as he posed. Ccino chuckled at his introduction.

“And this is Error!” Blue trotted up to the other, less tall skeleton, and showed him off. “He was my first best friend up until third grade!” He explained.

Dream took a step forward. “Is he the one you were catchi-”

“YO!!! ERROR-BRAH!” Fresh exclaimed, trotting up to Error. “WHEAR DIDYA GO B4 YA ALL UP N LEFT ME?”

Error sighed. “You walked off on your own while I was looking at something. I told you to wait.” He explained.

“NAW! YOU AN’ LIL DUDESKI OVE HEAR TOLD ME SUMWUN WAS ALL UP N SMOKIN BRAH! THEN YA POOFED!”

“I did not-”

“YA DID!”

“Fresh-”

“I THOUGHT YA WERE MY TOTES RAD BROTATO CHIP! MY BROSEPH! MY BROSKI, EVEN!” Fresh cried.

Error crossed his arms, glaring at Fresh.

Ccino cleared his throat. “It’s okay, I’m sure he meant no harm.” He said, trying to calm him down.

“No, I meant all the harm.” Error rolled his eyes.

Ink stifled a snort, receiving a glare from Dream.

Fresh let out a dramatic groan, walking off on his own as he complained about how his little brother didn’t love him and how he was going to get replaced.

Error watched him walk off, staying silent.

“Sooooo!” Blue began, “Wanna meet my friends?” He offered Error.

“Not really.” He responded. “I don’t have a choice though, do I?”

Blue smiled mischievously. “Correct!”

Ccino took another step forward, now in front of Error. Dream did the same. “My name is Ccino.” He introduced.

“And I’m Dream.” Dream held out his hand for a handshake. Error just looked back and forth between his face and his hand.

Blue stepped in. “Sorry, he’s not big on physical stuff.” He apologized.

Dream shook his head. “That’s fine. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Lust.” He greeted, stepping up as well. “And that’s Ink.” Lust added, pointing behind himself.

Ink took a small step forward, awkwardly waving. “…hi.” He mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

“He’s shy.” Blue whispered towards Error.

Ink frowned. “Am not!” He argued. Dream chuckled.

“Well, shy or not, I’m sure you’ll be great friends!” Blue spoke excitedly.

Error shook his head. “I want to focus on my studies.” He lied.

Blue was visibly disappointed. He obviously didn’t realize he didn’t want to be friends. “Oh… That’s okay too, I guess.” He shrugged it off.

This caused Ink to frown. Why was Blue even friends with this punk?

Whatever.

“Let’s start heading inside.” Dream spoke, almost as if suggesting it based on his tone. Ccino nodded.

And with that, the group was heading into the school.

~~Chapter 4 end~~

Chapter Text

~~Chapter 5 start~~

“Are you excited about your first day at school?”

“Yes! I hope to make soooo many new friends!”

“Oh you, always wanting to talk to people. C’mere, lets take a picture!”

“By tḣ̷̬́e way̵̖̖̍̕, m̸̭̈́e̷͇̍r̸͓͐c̸̬̍ì̸̫, m̷̛̛̩̾̑͐́̋͒̅̐̒̎͌̈́̈́̉̀͐̕ą̵̨̧̛̛͍̪̪̪̺͚̗̜͍͍͔͖͖̆̆̃̀͗̀͒̏̒̐̃̽̀̀͒̇̔̐ͅm̴͔̞̻͉̏͂́̂̀̿́͛͘̚͝ȃ̷̼̬͇̙̙͓̲̣̫̫͇̰̙̝̓̎̔̑͂͌̃́̋̆̾̕͝ṇ̵̨̡̧̛̩̥͖̩͉̺̞̺̰͍̟̘̫̦̗̤̩̘̥͚̗͕̻̹̝̣̤͚͎̈́̀̃͆̾̀̈́͐̓̎̅͐́̅̓̊̈́͒̀̒̾̌̄̉͗̀̂͘͜͜͠.”

“Don’t touch me!” Someone exclaimed.

Another person chimed in shorty after. “I ain’t touchin’, I ain’t touchin’!”

A third person was giggling at the two, tugging on Ink’s arm.

Blue, Error, and Fresh.

Ink knew Blue was trying to cheer him up, but it wasn’t working. Especially since he didn’t know what was wrong in the first place.

He, Dream and Ccino always tried doing that. They’re fixer-uppers, that’s how they found each other. Even with that one huge argument they had once, they’re still great friends.

Ink never did get to find out what the argument was about, but any time he asked they’d start tearing up about it. Clearly it hurt more than they’d let on.

Suddenly, the little skeleton realized. “H-hey, um… where are we even going…?” He spoke up, looking over to Dream.

Dream shrugged. “We need to bring you lot to the assembly hall.” He responded, grabbing onto Ink’s hand.

Ink smiled softly. “Well, uh, later can I… like, speak with you?” He mumbled. It had been bugging him for weeks. He always felt like he was being watched. He knew he was back, he’d known for a while. How to bring it up? Unknown.

The taller nodded at him. “Yes, of course… if you want, we can step off to the side now? I am sure the others will not mind.” Dream’s entire demeanor and tone changed to a more serious one, this being his way of showing concern.

Ink shook his head. “I’m sure it can wait. I also don’t… want to talk about it here.” He muttered. Dream tightened his grasp on the other’s hand, giving him an understanding look.

Lust joined in, grabbing onto the other two as well. “Mind if we join the conversation?” He asked, gesturing towards Ccino and himself. Dream shook his head.

“I do not mind,” he spoke, smiling once again. “Ccino, how are your kittens?” He asked. Ink looked at them, before looking up ahead. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of that… black skeleton guy thing. He didn’t even know if he was a skeleton, he’d never seen one come in a different color. Dream says his brother got corrupted and that’s why he looks like that, maybe that’s what happened to this one??

I mean, he has some random glitches, and his voice sounds like somebody is speaking through a shitty mic. Whoever this guy thought he was, he does NOT have a good gamer chair.

L

Suddenly the group came to a harsh halt, causing Ink to almost bump into that guy. Almost.

“Here we are.” Dream spoke, signaling to the auditorium. It was huge.

“Holy fucking shitballs…” Ink mumbled to himself, causing a few in the group to chuckle.

They didn’t understand the hype though. The auditorium was beautifully built! Then again, maybe they reacted the same way when they first arrived. Or not, they’re not that into art.

Ink, however, loved art a lot. He came from a family of artists. His mother was a painter, and his father an architect. Well, his mother had taught him a lot of art stuff, she was kind of all around, but she mainly painted--not that you care, you’re only here for the ships.

He didn’t pay mind to his past though. The hall was beautiful, and that’s all he cared about.

After a while, it was almost as if everyone around him disappeared, feeling himself squeezing through empty spaces just to see more of it. Ink always loved fancy areas like these. It was shocking how big the difference between a middle and high school could be.

Eventually, someone came over a speaker, snapping Ink to reality. “Will all students take a seat, please?” Spoke a female voice on the stage. She seemed to be some sort of student council member or teacher.

Ink felt Dream tugging on his arm, indicating for him to sit down next to him.

[Time Skip!]

            “That’s about all you need to know! Classes will be shown tomorrow, and you can have the rest of the day for yourselves. Feel free to use campus resources, and athletes, don’t forget to attend to your practices!” She spoke in a whimsical manner. “Let’s have a good school year!”

The auditorium cheered, which was… weird, to say the least. No way high schoolers were this excited over a school. Impossible. Then again, Dream, Ccino and Lust did hype up the school.

Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as middle school…?

Suddenly, he felt himself snapped out of his confusion by Blue. “Hey Ink, do you have any gymnastics practices this afternoon?”

“I don’t think so, why?” Ink responded, standing up with the rest of the group.

Blue grabbed onto his arm. “Well, I thought we could all go out for a walk! Maybe we can try to get Error to make some new friends too!” He suggested. Ink glanced over at Error. It was… frustrating.

This guy, he was visually appealing? He didn’t know how to word it, it was just… He dressed nicely, and despite how strange it was, his bones were interesting. Ink wanted to know more, but Error was unwilling to talk to him. That was a given.

Ink’s focus shifted back to Blue. Maybe he knew more. “Sure, I’m down.” He confirmed, stretching. Blue smiled, giggling.

Blue likes him, maybe he isn’t that bad. Like this school.

Dream grabbed onto Ink’s other arm, his gaze on Blue. Naturally, Ink questioned it. “Why’re you two grabbing onto me like that-?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Dream assured, Blue nodding in agreement. The others in the group seemed just as confused, but began walking as soon as Dream and Blue did.

Ink doubled down, tripping over himself. “I think, I think I will worry.” He stuttered out, his gaze down to try to keep himself from falling.

Suddenly, Ccino spoke up. “Oh, don’t tease Ink like that.” He scolded, seemingly catching on to what the other two were doing. “Ink’s they’re trying to lift you up until your feet can’t touch the floor. Dream and Lust did that to Blue yesterday.”

As soon as Ccino said that, Ink began squirming to get out of their grasp. “Why are you guys so mean to your own friends!?” Ink whined, knowing he was just as bad, or worse.

Okay, maybe not worse, there was no topping Blue. Once, he tried to use Ink as a fucking basketball. Sure, it was at a jumping park where the fall would’ve been softened, but still!

Ink felt his full weight again, listening to the other two giggling to themselves. They were outside now, which caught him a little off guard. Was the distance between the auditorium and the main entrance that small? How did they take so long to get there in the morning?

Before being able to think more to himself, he heard an unfamiliar voice. He turned around, and sure enough, Error was holding up a conversation with Ccino.

Ccino could talk to anyone, just like Blue. It was admirable.

“So your family owns a cat café?” Error asked, His eyes seemed to light up at that thought. “What kind of cats do you have? Where is it located?”

Ccino chuckled. “We have many kinds of cats, they’re all adoptable once they’re of age.” He smiled. “You should definitely drop by, maybe we can get everyone to walk there?”

Error nodded, turning to face Blue. Ink noticed his gaze landed on him instead, and he quickly looked away.

That’s… kind of awkward. He was making such a bad first impression compared to everyone else.

Ink wanted to be friends, he really did. Any friend of Blue’s was a friend of his. But this guy… he was scary. Appealing, but scary. Just like those humans. They were interesting creatures, but they were scary.

Ink shook himself out of his thoughts. He had to stop getting caught up in his head. It wasn’t safe to do so in the streets, outside of home.

He just, really didn’t know what to do.

Eventually, the feeling of being watched came back, and he began looking around nervously, grabbing onto the nearest person so he wouldn’t trip.

That nearest person turned out to be Dream, unsurprisingly enough. Ink and Dream were very close, since they both had problems with their family. Dream was like a brother to Ink, and he could only assume the other saw him the same.

Ink felt his hand be gently squeezed, seemingly out of reassurance. Dream hadn’t even turned to look at him, he was still talking with Lust. Those two had gotten closer as well lately.

Blue had joined the conversation with Ccino and Error. As always, Ink didn’t know how to join the conversation. There were two, and both were occupied and seemingly full. He couldn’t just… randomly join the conversation, could he?? That would be rude.

He figured he would just stay alert, try to figure out where that feeling of being watched was coming from.

In the past, Ink had been stalked by someone. They never figured out his name. That person had gotten arrested before, but no restraining order was ever put in place, so they could start all over again if they wanted.

And that’s what Ink felt like was happening.

This person already knew everything there was to know about Ink, and probably more. It was infuriating. What was he supposed to do about it? If only he’d pressed the authorities for a name in the past, the feeling wouldn’t be back.

God, he was such a fucking idiot.

And how was he supposed to tell anyone? Just interrupt Dream and Lust and tell them that “the shadow man is back”? What about that Error guy? This was personal information that Ink was not willing to give out like that.

Though… maybe he’d know how to help?

No! Ink, don’t drag Blue’s friend into this! You already have your friends involved, no need to bring in more people.

Though, that was last time… maybe since the authorities didn’t work last time, he could get some ideas from scary-looking people… who most likely are delinquents?

M-maybe not… without even knowing this guy’s appearance, it would be really hard to fight him… even then, it’s not like Ink had any muscle to even fight in the first place. He was a skeleton, and a small and slender one at that.

This is so frustrating!!! What is he supposed to do!?

Not even a day of being back to school has passed, and he’s already-

-

-

“There!” Ink yelled, stopping in his tracks and pointing.

The whole group stopped as well, looking in that direction. There was quick movement into the area Ink was pointing to, which was an alleyway.

Dream looked down at Ink, raising a brow. “I-Ink…? What happened?” He asked, clearly startled by the other’s initial exclamation.

“The shadow man! He was right there! He was there I’m telling you! I knew we were being watched!” Ink rambled, his voice louder than usual.

Ccino hushed him. “Keep it down, Ink. Are you sure you saw him? I thought he was in jail for a few more months…?” He mumbled, leaning down to Ink’s height.

Ink frowned at the doubt, and maybe at the fact that he crouched, but just maybe. “Yes, I’m sure! I felt like we were being watched the moment we stepped outside the school! Heck, since this morning!”

Blue and Lust walked next to Ink, before the group started chatting amongst themselves.

[Error’s POV]

‘Okay… what the FUCK is wrong with this little dwarf?? He’s been staring at me nonstop, and now he’s yelling at the top of his lungs! Is he fucking schizo? How did Blue even find this guy!?’

Error scoffed, watching them all form some sort of protective bubble around the freak. They were all chatting amongst themselves about some weird ass shit.

No way in hell someone would chose to stalk that… thing. No way! Error refused to believe it. Of all the pretty boys and girls and whatever else, it chose him.

That’s just unreal.

It’s probably some sort of fucked up prank being played on him. There’s no fucking way.

Error focused his eyes on that alleyway. His vision was so fucking blurry… But he’d rather run into oncoming traffic than wear his glasses.

Whatever. That Ccino guy mentioned his cats, he had to see them. If there was something Error liked, it was cats.

Well, obviously he liked chocolate or whatever. But cats, now that’s something.

He just had to figure out where this Cappuccino Cat Café was. If that was the name, maybe he remembered it wrong.

It probably was. It would shorten to CCC, so it only made sense. Right??

Didn’t matter, he’d rather be shown where it was. In all the summer he’d spent there, he hadn’t seen any of those gay little cafes, and he didn’t want to. Until he heard about the cats, that is. He’d love to see the cats. Call him a faggot all you want, Error’s getting his daily dosage of dopamine with those little furballs. And nothing, and he KNOWS nothing, is going to stop him from seeing them.

Eventually, he noticed the group dissipate slightly, but still standing around the midget protectively. Error rolled his eyes.

“We going?” He asked, his arms crossed.

Blue and Ccino, and the others, turned around. Those were the only names he remembered, if he was being honest. He wouldn’t even remember that Ccino if it weren’t for the cats.

That yellow one spoke up. “Yes, sorry, something came up. We’re still going to Ccino’s, but we’re going to have to walk at a quicker pace if you don’t mind.” He spoke.

His voice was gentle. It was nauseating.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever… I can probably outwalk you guys anyways.” Error mumbled, trailing behind the group. They were all quiet, clearly keeping watch of their surroundings.

What was so important about that guy anyways? So what if someone was stalking him. It’s not a big deal, just thug it out.

[Outsider POV]

From how they were all walking, you’d think Ink was someone famous. Error was behind them, keeping up their pace, and the rest were on his sides two of them holding his hands while the other two kept watch.

They kind of looked like a polycule. Now that’s something to laugh at.

Eventually, they all got to the café. Ink rushed in, followed by his now less rushed friends.

Error was the last one in.

He was also the first one to mutter, excitement hidden in his tone. “Oh my gods…”

~~Chapter 5 End~~

Chapter Text

~~Chapter 6 Start~~

[Error POV]

There are so. Many. CATS. And Error was not one to complain about cats. Quite the opposite, actually. Cats were probably the only living thing he could touch without his haphephobia acting up.

He’d try to suppress it when Blue tried touching him, but it still really hurt. With cats, however, it was like he didn’t have the disorder in the first place. He could pet them and not feel like a freak of nature for once.

Error wasn’t even upset about not being caught up on the situation at hand at all, he’d prefer to be with the cats than… dealing with whatever that little boy was troubled with.

Honestly, it still seemed kind of… hard to believe. He’d calmed down now, but uh… yeah. Even while trying to focus on the cats, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Yeah, the freak was a stranger, but he was Blue’s friend. If Blue were to get sad over him it would really fucking suck.

After a few minutes, he heard some footsteps, followed by a slightly familiar voice. “O-oh…” They mumbled, causing Error to turn around. It was that midget. “No wonder we couldn’t find you.” His voice was quiet, almost as if looking to not be heard.

Error stood, glaring down at him. “What did you say?” He asked, stepping closer. The other took a step backward, tilting his head down. Pathetic.

“I, um… D-Dream, and Blue… are looking for you.” He responded, his tone indicating he was clearly intimidated by Error’s presence. On second thought, no wonder it was him who was being targeted. What was he going to do to protect himself? Whimper?? Hah.

“Blue’s looking for me?” Error asked once again, tilting his head slightly to the side as he crossed his arms.

The smaller nodded. “And… Dream…” He clarified. Error scoffed.

“Who the fuck is Dream?”

[Ink POV]

Ugh!!! This guy’s a dickhead! Is there really no other options??

“Dream, he’s- uh. You’ll see…” Ink mumbled. There was no point in sharing, it’s not like the other cared anyways. Either way, if he agreed, then he would have to learn the names of his friends. Probably his own too.

Error (?) hummed. He was glaring daggers at Ink, but for what reason?? Whatever.

Ink turned around, walking downstairs. He could hear Error reluctantly following him. This guy really would rather spend his time with cats than make friends. I mean, same, but… it’s lame to see it actually happen as an outsider.

“Error! We’ve been looking for you! We thought you left?” Blue trotted up to him, grabbing his hand. This caused Error to flinch, Ink noticed. Weirdo.

Error pulled his hand from Blue’s, shaking his head. “N-no, no. I was with the cats.” He clarified. His tone wasn’t as harsh with Blue, but it still didn’t sound like he was that fond of him.

Blue hummed, turning to Ink, then Dream, then the rest of the group who happened to be sitting at a stall and playing with the cats. “You’re not the only one.” He chuckled, though the joke was a bit late. “Come sit with us.” He offered him, causing Ink to grimace. Are you serious… uuugh… whatever.

Ink walked over to the table, sitting next to Lust in a rather grumpy manner. Dream sat down next to him, and Blue and Error sat on the opposite side facing them. What a joyful get-together this would be if Mr. Meanie Weenie Pants weren’t here.

Error spoke up first, questioning the group. “So, uh, what’s going on??” He inquired, clearly wanting to know how he was involved.

Ink stared at him, though this time that stare of fascination for his bone patterns was more of… a glare? He couldn’t tell himself. He disliked Error. Blue told him he was unpleasant, but, this wasn’t just “unpleasant,” this was full on asshole.

“Well,” Dream spoke up, resting his hands on the table as he interlocked his fingers. “Ink here has a bit of a struggle with, I’m sure you can assume what but, a stalker. We’re unsure of why him, but, we have some theories.”

Ink nudged Dream, noticing he was running off into a different conversation. Dream looked down at him.

“R-right, sorry. We discussed, and we figured we could, well, how do I word it…” He mumbled, before smiling awkwardly. “Bluntly? We want someone to fake being his boyfriend. None of us would be able to do it well enough. I see Ink as a brother, and the rest of us just wouldn’t be believable.” He explained, glancing at Blue.

That was his cue. “So I suggested that maybe you could have a go at it?” Blue spoke up, his tone a bit shyer than usual. “I know I shouldn’t have, but, it’s worth a shot. I-I mean! It’s okay if not! Really! We just want someone who we can trust, and well,” He tilted his head slightly, “for me, that someone is you. And if I can trust you, then they can too.”

Lust, Dream and Ccino nodded along, but Ink simply closed his eyes and looked away. He was pretty sure Error might’ve caught that as well. Best that he knows that his presence is not wanted.

Ink heard Error hum.

“B-before you make up your mind,” Ccino spoke up, causing Ink to look over to him. “I did speak to my parents earlier. They would be alright with you coming here to spend time with the cats for free, whereas usually others would have to pay.” He added, as if that made a difference.

Instantly after that, Error gave a nod. “Sure.” He mumbled. He sounded just as excited as Ink himself. Great, so neither of them wanted to do this, that’s just… lovely.

[Error POV]

Holy fucking shit what did he just agree to. All for cats. CATS. And… Maybe Blue. Whatever, to all of them, it seems like it was cats that did it for him. This is so fucked up and evil.

“I wouldn’t want to see Blue upset, I guess..” Error added quickly, unhappy with how he came off. Though, this took away any intimidation he could’ve had over the others. Showing a weakness for a friend? Well, it wasn’t really that desirable.

Ccino smiled, nodding. “Of course! That’s great to hear.”

Error heard Ink mumble softly, but it was hard to understand what he said. It must’ve been bad, because yellow nudged him with a frown. “Thank you, Error.” He smiled up at him.

“It’s whatever.” Error muttered, feeling not great. What would Blue think of him? Would he be interested in him at all after this?  He’d had a crush on him for the longest time now. He had to, they were childhood friends. That’s how it works, right?

The group sat in an awkward silence, however, Ink and Error were practically glaring at each other.

“I’m going to use the restroom.” Ink mumbled, getting up and squeezing past the yellow guy. Dream?? Error watched as he walked off into the bathroom, before getting up and following him.

He was not going to get away with those fucking dirty looks.

Error leaned against the bathroom sink, waiting on him to get out of the stall. He was messaging someone on his phone. He’d met him through the basketball team. Why the basketball team started practices during the summer was unknown to him, considering it was a winter sport, but it was whatever. More practice meant they were better.

—

N: Wait, you’re going to try to beat up a kid??

E: Yes.

E: Also, he’s not a kid, just incredibly short??

N: I mean, good on you dude, but why do you feel the need to?

E: He’s been looking at me weird this entire fucking time dude, I’m tired of it.

N: Oh lmao-

N: Have you told him to cut it off??

E: No, but whatever, I’ve made it clear I don’t take this type of bullshit.

N: Alright dude, whatever.

N: Tell me about him, I guess?

E: Wait, later, he just flushed.

N: Good luck, I guess.

—

As soon as the door creaked open, Ink made eye contact with Error. “Wha-” He stuttered, before being pushed back into the stall by Error.

Error locked the door behind himself, pushing Ink against the wall.

[Ink’s POV]

WHAT IN THE YAOI WHAT IN THE YAOI WHAT IN THE YAOI WHAT IN THE YAOI WHAT

“G-get off??” Ink mumbled, pushing against Error. Error didn’t budge, however, simply glaring down at him. What does he want? It’s not like they’re actually dating; it’s just play pretend. That being said, WHAT THE FUUUCK….

Error scoffed. “You’re so fucking pathetic.” He spoke, hate dripping from his tone. Oh great. Did this guy have some sort of degradation kink too?

“I said get off!” Ink argued, pushing harder.

“I’ll get off when you stop giving me those pissy little looks, you hick.” Error spat, leaning down closer to Ink’s face.

Ink blinked twice, before frowning. He felt frozen. He wanted to fight back, but all he could do was… glare.

He heard the other let out a low grumble, likely muttering something, before pushing him down to the ground and towering over him. “If you keep fucking doing that, I’ll beat you to a pulp and call this whole boyfriend thing off. I’m only doing it for Blue, I could care less what happens to you, so show some respect.”

The shorter had his gaze up on the other, before looking down. He’d hit his head hard, but he wasn’t going to do anything. Not that he could, anyways. Any movement he attempted was denied by his body, as if it weren’t his own. His heartbeat was loud, to the point of echoing in his head. His throat was closed up as well, so a single breath felt like he’d just come up from the bottom of the pool after a minute.

He was, admittedly, afraid of Error. This wasn’t going to work. It wouldn’t work. But… just like Error, he cared about Blue. Calling it off without giving him a chance would likely not end well. At least, not with how Blue felt.

“Tch.”

The bathroom stall opened, and Error left. As soon as the door shut and Ink was sure he was alone, he felt his mind start to race. What the fuck just happened?? He couldn’t breathe. He had to breathe. He had to calm down. His “ears” were beating along with his heart. How was that even possible??

It’s loud.

It’s so loud.

I can’t breathe.

Why did I ever agree to have Error try it?

He clearly dislikes me.

He hates me.

I can’t trust him.

~~Chapter 6 End~~

Chapter Text

~~Chapter 7 Start~~

[To facilitate this for me, I’m writing it in first person from Ink’s perspective in this scene.]

…

…please

…

I shifted in my sleep, before waking up in cold sweat. I could feel my “heart” beating in my “eardrums,” and my throat was closed up. This wasn’t unusual, though. I’d been having night terrors ever since, uh… yeah…

I felt myself shiver a bit, likely from the wave of cool air that swept in through the window. It probably didn’t help that my bones were damp. I could hear Dream peacefully snoring in the bunk above me, making me wonder what time it was.

2:37 AM

Great.

The one time I actually managed to fall asleep early, it had to be interrupted. Errors actions earlier tod—I mean, technically yesterday—definitely followed me into my dreams.

I sighed quietly, getting up and opening the noisy door we had as quietly as possible. Might as well wash off this sweat if I can’t sleep. But, uh, forgot the underwear, so I kinda just made noise for nothing. Fuck.

I crept back into the room, not worrying about my steps being too loud. Instead, I worried about the floorboard creaking. Everything in this school building was super loud. There was no quiet if you were moving.

I pulled open our underwear drawer, grabbing a pair from my side of it. I also grabbed an undershirt, not that I used them for anything other than sleeping. I could only wear them at the apartment around people who knew about my situation.

I walked back out the room, slowly closing the door trying to make the creak quieter. It only made it drag out for longer though.

[Sorry giys I’m not writing that shower scene—back to 3^rd person]

“Ink, why are you up?” Ink heard a voice call ou. So much for the stealth he thought he had.

He slowly turned, clenching his jaw nervously. “Good morning, Dream…” Ink mumbled, not looking at him directly. He could feel Dream giving him that look. “Okay, listen. I just-”

Before he could even explain, Dream stood up. “Was it a nightmare again?” He asked, putting a hand on Ink’s shoulder. He nodded, a gesture so small it was barely noticed. “Listen, how about I make you a warm cup of honey milk, and we sleep on the same bed, hm? I’ll call in sick for you tomorrow so you can sleep more.” He spoke, squeezing his shoulder.

“That’d be nice…” Ink muttered softly, a smile growing on his face. He felt Dream’s other hand slip into his own as they walked through the dark hallway and into the tiny, yet cozily moonlit kitchen. The uncharming room was suddenly much more attractive when in a pleasant mood.

Dream began heating up some milk on the stove, the smell drifting off into the air and into Ink’s nose. He rested his head on the kitchen counter, looking out that window that always bothered him in the mornings due to the sun always getting in his eyes. The night breeze swept into the room once again, causing the curtains and plants to dance in a swirling motion.

After a few minutes, Dream put a cup in front of Ink as he sat down holding his own. “…Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, taking a small sip from his drink. Ink sat up, cradling his own cup with his hands.

He watched as the liquid sat still, inspecting the illusion caused by the light. “I’m not sure…” Ink responded, letting out a soft sigh. “I just… it’s not what it usually is…” He explained. “It’s… usually about, you know…”

Dream nodded, tilting his head a bit. “Your parents, right…?”

“Yeah.” Ink nodded. “This time though, I can barely even remember it. I was running through a long, dark hallway being chased by someone.” He paused to take a sip. “But then I got stuck in a bathroom stall, and the person was like… a silhouette of Error.” He looked out the window. “I just… he was threatening me like he did in the bathroom.”

Slam!

Oh.

Shit.

He forgot to tell Dream.

“What do you mean he threatened you?”

“D-dream, wait, it’s not—I just-” Ink stuttered, trying to salvage what he had said, but he knew Dream wouldn’t listen to his pleas. “Listen, y-yes, he did threaten me and get a bit physical in the bathroom, but, it’s—it’s okay!”

Dream raised his voice a little. “Ink, it’s not okay! He hit you!?” He argued, clearly upset. “He’s supposed to be protecting you!”

Ink put his hands up defensively, trying to calm Dream down. “Dream, please.”

“No!” He stood up and slammed his hands on the table as he yelled, before taking another look at Ink and instantly feeling his rage wash away.

He was curled up, scared.

“Oh, Ink… I didn’t mean to- I wasn’t-” He began, before stopping to think about his words. “I’m sorry.” He spoke, walking over to Ink and wrapping his arms around him. “I wasn’t trying to yell at you. I shouldn’t let myself loose like that knowing how it makes you feel.”

Ink Slowly returned the hug, keeping a bit of distance between himself and the other.

“Here… um… finish your milk, we’ll talk about this tomorrow with Blue… okay?” He comforted, letting go of the other and sitting down.

The shorter nodded, picking up his glass of milk once again. The uncomfortable silence that once was shortly replaced by the comfortable laughter of friends, as the conversation topic quickly shifted from the physical encounter with Error to Saturday group nights.

And eventually, it was time to go back to bed.

“Top or bottom bunk?” Dream asked, knowing Ink’s answer already.

Ink acted like he stopped to think about it, scratching his chin in an overly dramatic manner. “It’s a tough choice, it really is… I think I’ll have to go with the bottom bunk though as appealing as the top one is.”

Dream chuckled, walking over to the bottom bunk. “You’re laying down on the inside part of it so the monsters don’t get you, right?” He joked. They’d done this a thousand times before, he knew exactly how it all was meant to be.

The other stuck his tongue out at him. “Yeah, because you’re so whimsical they’ll get burnt by you the minute they try to get you, if they’re even dumb enough to try that.” He replied, climbing onto the right side of the bed.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m like a star, I get it.” He giggled, laying down on the left. “Cuddles or no cuddles?”

Ink held out his arms as a response, to which Dream wrapped his arms around Ink in a protective manner in return. Ink let himself get comfortable in the other’s arms, resting his entire body on top of him.

Before Ink could even ask him to, Dream began humming a comfortingly familiar song as he rubbed his back. The song was always the same, and it had been sung so much to Ink that if he wanted to he could sing along. He didn’t want to though. That would only ruin it for him.

He felt himself melting into the embrace as Dream rubbed his back, the warm milk taking effect quickly as he felt more tired than he had ever before. Ink always had trouble sleeping, but whenever Dream chose to put him to sleep like this, he fell asleep faster than a baby lamb.

All of his worries, troubles, and past experiences all washed away and were replaced by a wave of good memories. Memories of her. Dream was the one acting on this, but it was as if she were doing it through him.

It’s the closest Ink had to her.

~~Chapter 7 End~~

Chapter Text

~~Chapter 8 Start~~

“Blue, he’s late!” Dream complained, crossing his arms.

The other let his arms fall to his side, groaning. “I know, I know, it’s just by 5 minutes though! Give the guy a break, it’s way earlier than when any of us wake up!” He argued, putting his phone away.

The yellow skeleton frowned, lowering his voice slightly. “We need to talk them through it.”

“I know, just calm down! He already said he was coming!” Blue groaned once again, leaning back in his seat. “Stars…”

While they were arguing, another conversation was happening.

“You need to do at least some PDA, okay?” Lust spoke, tapping the table in an assertive manner. “Nobody believes a couple that doesn’t at least hold hands.”

Ink hummed, pouting. “I don’t wanna touch that guy…” He complained, his voice quiet.

The girl rolled her eyes. “Are we serious? You have to do something man.” He chuckled. “The more rumors you can stir up, the better.”

“But Luuuuuust...” Ink moaned, clearly unhappy with the situation. Lust rolled his eyes at the other.

Ccino walked over, placing five cups on the table, in front of everyone, before he sat down next to Lust. “Is Error still not here?” He asked, his voice soft as always.

The other four skeletons shook their heads, seemingly in sync.

The plan had been for all of them to meet in Ccino’s early in the morning before school, and before the café itself opened, to discuss how Ink and Error should go about their relationship—if you can even call it that.

It was currently 5 AM, that gave them two hours before they had to head over to school. Or, well, that was the plan, anyways. As of now, Error was 12 minutes late. He hadn’t given a heads up or a warning, all he said was “Omw” around 4:57. Since then, there had been no other messages from him, and calls were ignored.

Suddenly, there was the sound of bells coming from the door, causing everyone to turn to look. Speak of the devil.

“Error!” Blue called out, standing up and waving at him. Ccino gave him a soft smile, and Lust wiggled his fingers as a greeting. Ink glared at him—and Dream as well? That was new, Ink had never seen Dream glaring at anybody. Though, he kind of knew why.

Error walked over, taking the only open seat next to Ccino and in front of Ink. He got comfortable, leaning backwards on the chair. “You’re late.” Dream pointed out, maintaining eye contact with the other.

The darker skeleton rolled his eyes. “So what? I got lost.” He explained, clearly not enjoying the other’s expression or tone. “You got a problem with that?” Error tested, leaning forwards ever-so-slightly.

Dream sneered, causing Blue to nudge his arm. “Dream, what is up with you?” He whispered, seemingly a bit disappointed.

Instantly, the other’s expression softened from the eye contact with the other. He gave an apologetic nod, before turning to look at Error again. His gaze then shifted towards Lust, signaling for her to take the lead.

“Ahem.” The skeleton cleared his throat, leaning over the table so he could look at Error. The other barely bothered to move his head. “… Maybe this seating arrangement won’t work.”

Blue nodded, before an idea seemed to pop into his head. “Why don’t Error and Ink sit on this side, and we sit on that side?”

Ink and Error both grimaced, clearly not fond of the thought of having to sit near the other.

But alas, neither put up a fight.

And soon enough, the seating arrangement was carried out, with Ccino having gone back to the kitchen to fetch Error a drink and grab himself a chair.

Lust smiled, content with being in the middle of the booth seat. “Much better.” He gloated, before studying the two in front of him. A terrifying sight, really.

“I’ve already told Ink, but not you. The more rumors you can stir up about being with the other, the better.” She spoke, leaning to rest her hand on her chin. “High schoolers live for gossip. Do some PDA and act like it’s supposed to be secret, and it’ll spread like wildfire.

“Of course, that won’t do much at actually convincing anybody you’re in love. That’s just free publicity.” She pointed at Error. “You need to act like you’d kill for Ink.” Her finger slowly moved to point at the artist himself. “And you, you need to work on reciprocating.”

Error rolled his eyes, before speaking up. “I’m not going to touch him.” He spoke, arms crossed as he leaned backwards into a manspread. This guy really has no manners, does he? “I can barely touch Blue before whatever he’s touching starts hurting.” Lust seemed caught off guard by this.

She grabbed her cup, taking a sip out of it. He closed his eyes, before letting out a sigh. “Well, I have no ideas for that.” She admitted.

Ccino came back, placing a cup of his own in front of Error before sitting down on a chair he brought. “Why not give him an empty envelope? Like a confession.” He suggested, conveniently having brought an envelope—almost as if he knew he’d have to grab it either way. “They could stand in a relatively populated area and recite some lines to the other while acting all secretive about it.”

Blue turned to look at them, before adding his own thoughts. “Oh yeah, Ink does like improv, doesn’t he? Error has done his fair share of theatre in elementary school with me, so it might work!”

“Why not ask Outer to gather up some of the student council around the same area as well? Despite what they stand for, all of them are absolute suckers for gossip.” Dream chimed in, pulling out his phone.

The four of them began conspiring with each other, leaving Ink and Error completely out of the conversation. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ink could see Error pretty much glaring the shit out of Ink. Though, glare might not be the right word, as he seemed more confused than angry. Still had a frustrated undertone to his stare though.

Ink refused to make eye contact, looking down at his cup instead. He traced the top, focusing on the chatter in the background. They were discussing ways the conversation could go, folding up a piece of paper that had “I like you” scribbled on it and putting it inside the envelope, one of them was searching for heart shaped stickers in their purse, and another was on a call with Outer.

What about what we think-??

[School Grounds – 6:15 AM]

“Alright boys! Here’s the rundown. Outer will be bringing out the student council around 6:45—that gives us half an hour to rehearse this a little.” Lust spoke, clearly proud of herself for coming up with most of the plan. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. Error, you’ll be leaning against the tree, and Ink, you’ll be by the school gate. You can both be however you want up until Outer texts us that he’s coming outside, that’s when you take places.

“Once he comes outside, we’ll be over here gossiping about how Error asked you to meet with him.” She pointed down at the bench that she was standing on. “Ink, you’ll walk in—looking around, of course—until you spot Error, who pushed himself off the tree so you could see him.” Lust hopped off the bench, trotting up to Ccino. “You jog up to him, stopping a few feet in front of him.” He did what he described, looking up at Ccino in a sweet manner.

The other instantly caught on, pulling the envelope out of his bag. He handed it to Lust, who stood up straight and acted like he was opening it and reading it. He looked up at Ccino, the other rubbing the back of his head as he looked away. His expression shifted to more of a gentle look, a smile tugging at his lips. “And then, Ink asks Error out on a date, to the park maybe.” Ccino suggested, his expression shifting entirely as he made eye contact with the other.

“Say, Cc- ah- Error, want to go to the park later today?” He repeated, almost in a way that didn’t seem like acting anymore. Wow, he’s good at that.

Dream cleared his throat, causing the two to turn to face him. “Don’t drag it on, please.” He requested, seeming uncomfortable with something.

Lust chuckled nervously. “Right, ha-ha.” Ccino walked over to Error, handing him the letter. Error took it in a rather rowdy manner, causing the paper to crumple up a bit. “S-so, with that, you guys can do your own interpretation.” She spoke, dismissing the situation entirely.

Error walked off, seemingly towards the tree. Ink sighed, walking over to the gate as well.

Ink and Dream had been standing by the gate, watching as the alumni slowly filled in. The school’s doors opened at exactly 7 AM, so 15 minutes earlier was a perfect time. Alumni would be walking in looking for their friends, and it would be quiet enough to be able to eavesdrop on the conversation if any others than the targets were to hear.

Well, maybe targets weren’t the right word.

Ink leaned his head on Dream’s arm, feeling the other flinch slightly. He should’ve warned him. Whatever, it was too late now.

“Ink.” Dream spoke, his voice soft. The other perked up, looking at him. “Are you... sure… you want to do this with Error?”

… “Well, to be honest? I don’t even want to do this at all.” Ink mumbled in response, letting out a sigh. “I don’t know if I trust him, to be honest.” He continued, walking over to peek at Error through the entrance.

Dream did the same, before letting out a little groan. “I don’t trust him at all.” He complained, leaning back against the wall again. Ink looked up at his friend. “I just- I can’t believe he followed you into the bathroom—just to threaten you!”

The shorter grabbed the other’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“…I just wish I could’ve done something. I should’ve known to check in the bathroom when he went in- I should’ve- I should’ve checked after he came out and you didn’t-”

“Dream, it wasn’t your fault.” Ink assured, pulling on his arm a bit as he leaned on the taller. “You don’t have to protect me from everything.”

The other pushed himself off the wall, looking at him in the eyes. “I promised you, Ink. That day that you moved out, when I convinced my parents to let us stay in the school dorms together—I promised you that I wouldn’t let anybody hurt you ever again.” He justified, his voice slowly getting louder. “Ever since that day, I’ve been trying my best, Ink. And in the end, I just, I let it happen again.”

Ink’s gaze remained on Dream, watching his head tilt towards the floor. He clearly didn’t want to meet the other’s eye right now. “D-dream, I-”

Ding!

—

O: We’re on our way. We’ll be there in 5.

L: Oooh I’m getting excited~ I can’t wait to see!

C: Dream, are you and Ink ready? Remember to act like you just arrived and split up at the gate, you two always come together!

—

“...”

—

D: We’re ready.

~~Chapter 8 End~~