Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kris stared at the phone sitting on the table, its presence almost taunting.

They had debated doing this for the entire year. They came close to asking several times, but the courage would always fade away and turn into a defeated “nevermind” or a very awkward string of words and mumbles to try and move to a different topic. This would gain odd looks from Susie, but they never felt judgmental.

Today was another one of those days. They sat in their usual spot for lunch together, Kris sharing their own tray; since Susie never really had the luxury of such things as lunch money. It was never a big deal, just turned into routine. Friends being friends.

They gave a look to Susie as she rambled on and on about whatever what was on her mind. Home life, their other classmates, that stupid project neither of them had started working on, even though it was due in 2 weeks. She got caught into a giggle fit over recalling last week, when Berdly had somehow forgotten to plug in his headphones while watching whatever English dub of an anime he was into at the time. On full blast.

"That shit went on for like 10 minutes before Ms. Alphys finally said something. Dude, the look on his face afterwards! Hahahaha! You should've been there, everyone was dying!"

She laughed uproariously, while Kris could only manage to give a light smirk. That was about as good as a laugh for them anyways though, so they must've found it pretty funny.

Kris was petrified of losing this. Susie had been the only real friend they had made for a long time. There was Noelle of course, but as badly as they hated it, the both of them had drifted apart as the years passed. With Dess missing, Noelle began to distance herself. Kris was never one to talk much or be good with articulating how they felt. That on top of their own struggles they were dealing with, such as the divorce and Asriel moving away, it felt like they could only sit back and watch as they lost their friend. Things had gotten better recently and they talked from time to time, but never like before.

Susie changed everything. Kris never thought they would make another friend for the rest of their life, but in one way or another, they ended up meeting her. Someone who they could be themselves around and never minded the silence. Someone who they could tell anything to.

But since last year, Kris started to notice some things. How their face would suddenly get hotter whenever she was around, the sudden flashes of nervousness whenever their shoulders brushed against each other while walking down the hallway. The way her smile made everything else in the world look small by comparison.

You know, just common feelings to have about friends, they thought. But wait, they hadn't felt any of those things with Noelle, or Berdly, or literally anyone else they had talked to in their life. But no, it couldn't be that, right? But, wait a minute...

Those thoughts bounced back and forth in their mind before spinning around in erratic and imperfect circles and coming to a halting stop, bringing a realization with them. God damnit.

They liked her.

From then on, the thought of prom was always in their mind. They had already missed their chance with inviting her to go to the festival together. Well, they DID ask, but it was less of "Do you want to go with me to the festival?" and more of "Do you want to go with me, Catti and Noelle to the festival? I know you don't usually like those things but Berdly asked me to go with him and I need a reason to say no." That last part was true, but nevermind that.

Time was running out. Prom was next week and they needed to do this TODAY. They were so afraid of losing everything with her. Making things weird. These doubts pounded in their conscious and it felt like something was pinching the inside of their brain hard.

They couldn't handle it anymore. They were going to do this here, and now. 

They psyched themselves up for what seemed like hours in their head before finally snapping their head to the side and upwards to look at Susie, who was still rambling as she loomed over them, even though they were sitting.

"Hey."

Susie stopped talking and looked at them, her eyes widening a little in surprise before they relaxed and turned curious. "Yeah, what's up?"

This was it. You can do this Kris, they thought. You can do this. You can do this.

"Do-...................."

You can- wait, why did they stop? They should've been done by now, why isn't any noise coming out? Oh Lord.

They were stuttering. Nine words was all they wanted to say. NINE WORDS. How hard was saying "Do you want to go to prom with me"?

5 seconds felt like a day as they sat there frozen, sweat beginning to form with their face reddening.

"I.... Do you- we... Are you... gonna finish that?"

Mission aborted. Kris asked the question while pointing at a chip bag, recklessly crumpled up on their tray, long since emptied. Susie looked at it, confused, but then couldn't help but let out a snort and laugh.

"Kris, it's empty..."

Kris then took the crumpled up bag and threw it in their mouth. Might as well commit.

This made Susie laugh, this being the last thing she expected from Kris. "Hey, I didn't say I WASN'T gonna finish it, dickhead!"

Kris laughed along with her, a mask to hide the sadness as they watched one of their last opportunities slip away again, just like that.

Later that night, Kris stared at their phone, hands shaking. They were so sick of overthinking this. All the dark fountains they had sealed and all the trials and battles they had soldiered through with Susie and Ralsei, and they couldn't even do this. Well, no more. 

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Susie laid in her bed, staring out of her bedside window at the moon with the mumbled sounds of her mothers incoherent drunken rambling in the next room for ambience, as it was most nights. When suddenly she got a call. "Hmph." She thought, probably just a scammer or a wrong num- wait, Kris?

Weird. For as close as they were, they were never really the types to call, they just stuck to texting. Nonetheless, she picked up the phone and held it up to her ear.

"Hello...?"

Chapter Text

2 nights later, and Susie still had trouble sleeping a wink.

She had said yes, of course she did. Who wouldn't want to spend a night out with their friend, dancing to shitty music and causing trouble?

But there were a few things that she found strange. Why would Kris wait THIS long to ask them? Why didn't they ask earlier that day? Why did they sound like they were about to pass out after every word they said on the phone?

These questions paired with other thoughts in her head were getting to be too much. She needed someone to talk to in a time like this, for a second opinion.

So she went out, snuck into the school and went straight to the storage closet.

After jumping in and falling for an indiscernible amount of time, she opened her eyes and smiled as she saw the fluffy prince himself. Standing there as if he was already waiting.

"Hello, Susie!" Ralsei chirped, "It's been a bit, hasn't it? Where's Kris? I-"

His train of thought was cut off by Susie snapping her arms around him in an almost lethal bear hug.

"It's been WAY MORE than a bit!" She laughed, putting him down and watching as he adjusted his glasses.

"I'm pretty sure Kris is asleep right now. Would've brought them along, but I figured it should just be me and you for this. I need some... advice??? Or maybe just someone to talk to, I don't know."

Ralsei looked up at her with that always present smile as he let out one last cough from almost having his ribcage shattered a second ago. "Of course, Susie! You know I'm always here to help! What is it??? Having trouble with your math homework again?"

Susie sighed, scratching the back of her head. "Nah, nothing like that. It's kinda a lot, I'll explain once we get to my room."

Ralsei nodded, eagerly hopping behind Susie to follow. "Sure thing, lead the way!"

As they began walking, they exited the long corridor and entered Castle Town.

Things in Castle Town had gotten weird, to say the least. With Ralsei often gone away on adventure with Kris and Susie, he wasn't really there much to manage things. So Lancer just kind of took it upon himself to become "Substitute Prince". At least, that's what he called it.

Strangely, he seemed to be pretty popular in the position. So much so that a campaign had started to crown him "Permanent Prince." There were crappy hand made signs and banners everywhere you looked, with words written in crayon that spelled things like "Lancer 2028" and other political nonsense. He'd been talking to his dad too much.

Meanwhile, Queen had decided things had gotten "Very Mega Mega Awful Agonizingly" boring. So she, of course, decided a yoga class would be the best thing to keep the citizens of Castle Town active.

A building that was once one of the shops was now renovated and had a sign calling it "Queen's Super Ultra Mega Awesome Only For The Coolest Darkners This Side Of Town Robot Yoga". It's like regular yoga, except everyone has to wear cardboard boxes on their head with robot faces drawn on them. That was the only difference.

After making their way through the crowd at one of Lancers campaign speeches, they finally managed to reach Kris and Susie’s conjoined rooms. Susie walked towards her bed and flopped onto the mattress. So much more comfortable than her home bed.

Ralsei opted to sit at a table nearby, already pouring a cup of tea. “You want some?” He offered politely.

”Sure, I could use whatever right now.” She accepted and Ralsei obliged, pouring her a cup and handing it to her as she sat on the edge of the bed.

”You seem a little tense Susie, are you sure you’re alright?” Ralsei asked with a curious tone.

"Yeah, in general I guess." Susie let out a sigh. She was terrible at easing into conversation.

"Kris asked me to prom."

Ralsei's eyebrows raised in slight surprise, taking a sip of his tea before responding. "Prom? That's like a dance, right? That should be fun!"

"Yeah, should is the key word there." Susie tilted her head down to look at her tea cup, which was somehow already empty.

"Well, why wouldn't it be?" Ralsei asked. "Do you not want to go or something?"

"No, of course I want to go! I said yes, it's just that asking someone to prom is usually seen as..." Susie ran a hand through her hair. "It's stupid, I know it doesn't seem like me to care about this kinda stuff, but I guess I just don't want people to get the wrong idea from us going together."

"...What idea would they get?"

"That we're together or something, I don't know!" Susie responded, her voice slightly raised. God damn, she thought. Why did trying to explain these things feel like running a marathon?

Ralsei finished his tea, putting it down on the table and facing Susie again. That often curious look on his face accompanied his response.

"Well, what idea do you get?"

"I don't know, not... that?" Susie looked out of the bedside window, avoiding eye contact.

"Then why should it matter what other people think? As long as you have a good time with Kris, that's all that should matter, right?"

"Wish it was that easy to think like that." Susie added. "I guess my point is that it would just be annoying. People spread rumors, I've seen it before. Those rumors would make their way back to us and then things would get awkward, then-"

She stopped herself, leaning over and placing her head in one hand. "I know I can't control what people think or say, but I wish I could just have a night out with my friend without people thinking I... like them in that way or something."

Ralsei paused for a second and pondered that comment. He never said anything on the basis that he thought it would be rude, but he had noticed Kris and Susie's relationship seemed to run deeper than a typical friendship.

He was best friends with both of them, but he never noticed either of them interact with him the way they interacted with each other. The bond that they managed to create together in such a short amount of time through the adventures they all shared together seemed to hint at something more. All the awkward glances, the subtle blushes, the way they both seemed to always look towards the other, even if they were turned away. Something was there.

"Well, DO you like them in that way?" Ralsei's stomach dropped. Shoot. Did he just say that? WHY DID HE SAY THAT?!?!?

"What???" Susie lifted her head with a look that could burn through solid steel.

Ralsei's cheeks immediately turned bright red as he tried to explain himself. "I MEAN!!! In the way where- you... I didn't mean it like that, I swear!!! I just-"

Susie just stared at the stuttering mess in front of her that was Ralsei at the moment before she thought to herself, while the initial shock and slight offense from hearing that question faded away.

Fuck it. She could trust him with this.

"I used to." She finally replied. Those words seeming to stop everything in the room, including Ralsei's current borderline panic attack.

"I'M JUST SO SORRY I DIDNT MEAN TO- huh?" 

"I used to. For a little bit, I'd say for about the first month where we really knew each other." She explained, the look in her eyes far more relaxed than before.

"W-well, what happened? Did you ever say anything?" Ralsei questioned, his breathing finally not sounding like he was gasping for air.

"No, it was stupid. I was too nervous to say something, but honestly that was for the best. I think it had just been so long since I had made an actual friend. That combined with watching too many soap operas and being desperate for any sort of attention, the lines between platonic and romantic relationships started getting blurred. I figured it out though, got over it a bit ago.”

Ralsei was very good at getting a quick read on people's emotions in the moment. Her eyes contradicted that last statement.

Seeing how open she was suddenly being, he figured asking this next question couldn't hurt.

"Do you... think they like you in that way?"

Susie chuckled at that. "Seriously??? 'Course not! I wouldn't expect them to say much if they did, but I think I could tell."

Ralsei nodded. "Everything seemed normal when they asked you to prom, right? Just seemed friendly?"

"Yeah!" Susie eagerly replied, her mellow demeanor while confessing her prior feelings being replaced by her usual spunky demeanor. "It was weird, cause they don't usually call. I thought their breathing was a little intense while they were talking, too. But those were probably just yawns. It was getting late."

Ralsei just smiled and took that information in. He knew, but decided he had already dug enough.

"Well, if there's one piece of advice you want to take from me tonight, I'd say don't think about it too much. Everybody's got their own stuff to worry about, I doubt they would take the time to spread some dumb rumors, like you were suggesting. It's supposed to be fun, right? So have fun! If anyone has a problem with it, then-"

"Fuck 'em.” Susie interjected, a wide grin on her face.

Ralsei laughed. "Not the exact phrasing I would use, but you've got the right idea."

The rest of Susie's visit was pleasant, with her and Ralsei just talking about whatever else they wanted to before it was eventually time to go.

Susie looked at the clock, and stood up. "Oop. Sorry man, I gotta get going. It's already way too late, I'm gonna be tired as shit at school tomorrow!" She grinned, getting herself situated as Ralsei stood up as well.

"It's a school night?? You should be sleeping right now, Susie! Not wasting your time with me."

Susie nudged him, letting out a chuckle. "Shut up, man. Time with my buddy is anything but wasted."

Ralsei gave her a soft smile, both of them walking towards the door. But as it opened, they were taken off guard by a mischievous little spade.

"Well, if it isn't my political opponent!" Lancer spat out, looking at Ralsei before noticing Susie right next to him. He gasped and glared back at the current prince.

"You slippery snake, trying to sway my own friend into voting for you!" He snapped his head back to Susie. "What did he offer you, Susie? Money? A position in his administration? A free Robot Yoga membership?"

Susie laughed and kneeled down to Lancer's height, giving him a light noogie. "Come on bud, you already know my votes with you!"

Lancer backed away a little, a bright smile on his face. "REALLY!?!? Well, if that's the case, how would you like one of these to show support?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pin with "Lancer for Prince" printed on it. How he was able to produce these, nobody knew.

Susie took the pin and pinned it onto her jacket, shooting a grin towards Ralsei. "Sorry dude, what can I say? He's very convincing."

"HA!!!" Lancer cackled in victory. "At this rate, I'm going to win in a landslide! Get ready to transfer that symbolic crown, furry!" Lancer waddled away with that laugh persisting before suddenly vanishing, that weird squishing sound that always seemed to accompany his disappearance playing.

Susie looked at where Lancer once was in confusion. "Since when is there an election for these things?"

"There isn't." Ralsei sighed out.

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Susie and Ralsei once again made their way through Castle Town and back through that long corridor towards the beam of light, Susie's exit.

"Hey." Susie blurted.

"Yes, Susie?"

"Thanks for what you said earlier, seriously. I think I already knew the answer to my problem, I just had to hear it from a friend. I feel a lot better now."

Ralsei smiled. "Always, Susie. You can come to me for help anytime."

Susie then walked in front of Ralsei and went in for a hug. A lot softer, this time.

After embracing and letting go, Susie walked into the beam of light and waved goodbye. "I'll visit again soon, I promise! I'll bring Kris, too! They miss you!"

Ralsei waved back. "I hope you two have fun! I wanna hear all about it when you come back!"

With one last "seeya", Susie floated upwards into the light, and made her way out of the closet.

She eventually got home and snuck back through her bedroom window. Man, she was tired. 

"Wow, I was gone longer than I thought." She mumbled to herself. But thankfully now she was curled up in bed, at least able to a get a few hours of slee-

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Susie jolted up, scared shitless by the sound of her alarm. She looked at the time.

"7:00am"

Time for school. Of course.

Chapter Text

6:07pm

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Well, this was it.

Kris and Susie sat in the back of Toriel's minivan, both of them in good spirits. Kris scrolled through their phone with Susie, both of them laughing at whatever nonsensical video would pop up on their feed.

Toriel looked at them both through the rearview mirror, a smile on her face. As she turned into the road that lead to the school, she spoke. "I'm sorry there wasn't enough time to get you two some proper prom clothes, I hope you're okay with what you've got!"

Kris and Susie looked at each other after she said that. It was true, it had been too last minute to buy good clothes for prom, but it didn't matter much to them. Wasn't exactly their style to dress fancy. They settled for church clothes, with Kris wearing a short sleeve button up shirt that was pretty much a copy of their striped sweater in design, with a brown long sleeve underneath to cover their arms. Meanwhile, Susie was dressed in a brown jacket and khakis. Good enough.

"Nah, don't be sorry, it's ok." Susie responded. "It'll make us stand out, if anything! All those fancy suits and dresses will start blending together after a while, we'll bring something different!"

Toriel giggled at that. "That's one way of looking at it, I suppose!"

She continued to look at the road in front of her, before giggling to herself again and continuing. "You're taking this a lot better than the last person I drove to prom, Kris. I remember Asriel went with Noelle’s sister, he was SO nervous I could practically hear his teeth chattering he was shivering so much!"

This gained a momentary somber look from Kris before they covered it up with a faint chuckle. "Noelle's sister", they thought. She couldn't even remember her name?

Before Kris started to zone out for too long due to that comment by their mother, they felt a light shove on their shoulder and looked over to see Susie. Giving a look and a thumbs up to see if they were okay.

They gave a thumbs up back, the smile on their face genuine this time.

As they pulled into the school they saw tens of cars also in the driveway, other students waving goodbye to their parents and beginning to walk inside the school.

Kris and Susie exited the car out of their respective sides and turned to face Toriel one last time before their night began.

"Remember Kris, I want you home by midnight at the latest! Susie can stay over if she wants, but remember. Midnight!"

After Toriel was finished sternly reminding them of the curfew, Susie threw an arm over Kris's shoulder and pulled them closer in a teasing manner.

"You don't have to worry about a thing, Tori! I'll try my best to keep this party animal at bay for you!"

Toriel gave one last smile and a wave before driving off, leaving the two to start their night.

They began walking towards the entrance, the front of the school haphazardly strung up with colorful lights that somehow shined in every direction except to the sign above the doorway that read "SENIOR PROM."

Before they walked in, Kris heard a familiar voice calling their name to their left. "HEY!!! KRIS!!! SUSIE!!! OVER HERE!!!"

Kris didn't even have to look for more than a second before recognizing who it was. Noelle ran over to them in a white, snowy dress with shiny bracelets and an opal necklace to go with it.

"How are you guys doing? I was starting to think you wouldn't be here!" Noelle said with a smile, clearly excited to see her two friends.

"And miss this absolute rager? No way." Susie sarcastically remarked, looking around at the somewhat subdued environment that was surrounding them in the moment.

Kris smiled at that and was about to add something when somebody else came from behind Noelle, wearing a grim expression that shot itself towards Kris and Susie.

"Oh, Catti!" Noelle looked surprised before grabbing Catti's hand and moving closer to her prom date. "Sorry, I didn't mean to run off. I just saw Kris and Susie here and had to say hi!"

In contrast to Noelle, Catti had a dress that was pitch black, accompanied with gloves and a hat that had a mourning veil attached, as if she were attending a funeral.

".... Hi, Kris...... Susie." She greeted them both, her tone somewhat cold and uninterested.

The briefest second of awkward silence followed before Noelle picked things back up. "We were just about to go inside. You guys wanna go with us? See what they got in terms of food?"

Susie smirked. "You had me at food."

The two groups walked into the school, a bunch of signs pointing towards the gym. Must be where it was taking place.

As Kris watched Noelle and Susie chatting before they entered the the gym, they felt a hand on their shoulder stopping them from going forward. When they turned around to see who it was, they saw Catti. Her eyes still glued to Susie with resentment before they landed on Kris.

Kris waited for them to speak for a moment, before speaking up themselves. "...What's wrong?"

Catti pulled Kris to the side and began to talk herself. "Listen, Kris. You've always been nice to me, so I feel like I have to warn you. It's a bad idea, getting as close to Susie as you are. She's a dark influence."

Kris's face turned confused at that statement. "What are you talking about? She's nice."

"That's what you think, but I know what she really is. A bully."

Catti glanced over once again to see Noelle and Susie together at a table filled with food, Susie already stacking her plate high as they headed to another table. Her face scrunched with anger.

"I'm aware that you like her, but I have my own experiences with her. The things she's said..." Her face almost looked sad before she continued. "A person like that is going to hurt you. Badly. Either that, or rot you from the inside out until you turn out just like them."

Kris's eyebrows furrowed, an offended tone accompanying their words. "I don't know what you think you know about her Catti, but you're wrong. We're already closer than you could know and she's been the best friend I've ever had. Whatever it is she did to you, talk to her about it. Holding grudges isn't good for you, or anyone else."

Catti closed her eyes and sighed. "I was able to deter Noelle from her enough, but it looks I'm gonna have to leave the rest of this to you. Tonight is very important, Kris. You don't have to agree with what I said just now, but don't say I didn't warn you."

As Catti moved on and walked into the gym to join Noelle and Susie, Kris just stood there for a moment. It was hard to take in all of what was said.

Catti didn't know what she was talking about, Kris thought. Susie used to be more rough around the edges and closed off, sure. But she had left that act behind ever since she met Kris. Whatever happened was most likely just some stupid passing comment she took offense to. Nothing that would warrant a grudge that's lasted for a few years now.

Trying to forget about the conversation, Kris made their way into the gym, eager for the night that awakened them.

The night that would change them and Susie. Forever.

Chapter Text

8:42pm

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After their very awkward pre-dance dinner with Noelle and Catti was finished, Kris and Susie quickly found themselves unenthused with the environment that surrounded them.

So they decided to take a walk in the hallway, with it now being mostly empty from any students or staff.

"I get they wanted modern dancing music, but DUBSTEP??? I would've taken disco over that!" Susie claimed, clearly dissatisfied with the DJ the school had hired.

"I don't know, I kinda liked it. I don't get why they didn't just play EDM if they wanted dance music. The 'D' in that literally stands for dance!" Kris responded, their tone more expressive than usual.

"They probably couldn't tell the difference." Susie said, causing them both to laugh, the echoes of it cancelled by the muffled sounds of the music blasting from the gym.

The pair continued to walk down the hallway, talking about how this wasn't exactly everything all the movies said it was before noticing two people talking by the vending machine.

"Shit, Kris get behind here!" Susie rushed, pulling Kris with her behind the wall that turned the corner to the vending machine.

"What's wrong?" Kris whispered

"Cop. She's with someone else, but I didn't get a good look."

Kris looked confused. "So what? We're not doing anything wrong right now."

"Everything I do is wrong to this one." Susie scoffed. "I had one too many run-ins with her in the past and now every time she sees me she acts like she just caught me planting a bomb."

A few seconds to ponder passed before Kris slowly went past Susie and peeked over the corner, seeing Officer Undyne talking to.... Miss Alphys? Huh. Somehow, they weren't surprised.

As they listened, it seemed more like a one sided conversation; With Alphys just going on and on about some anime that ended in a cliffhanger. Kris listened for a few seconds longer than they needed to, being more invested than they probably should've been before turning back to Susie.

"I don't know, they both seem pretty chill right now. We could probably just slip by without them even noticing, just act casual." 

Susie leaned her head against the wall and sighed. "Alright, I guess we can't just walk up and down the same hall the whole night, let's do it quick."

The two nodded towards each other and tightly turned the corner, trying their best to just look forward and not draw any attention to themselves. Walking fast, but not too fast.

It was working, until Susie accidentally kicked a can across the floor.

The edges of the crushed can bounced across the floor for seconds before finally stopping. The consequences of not recycling claim another victim.

Kris and Susie both closed their eyes, before opening them and looking over to where Undyne and Alphys were.

They were looking straight at them.

Great. 

"Oh! H-hi, Kris! Uh, Susie..." Alphys greeted them, her usual nervous demeanor seeming extra vibrant right now.

"Hi, Ms. Alphys." Susie grumbled.

Undyne squinted her eyes and walked towards the two, clearly already suspicious. "Where are you two headed? You know the dance is in the gym, don't you?"

"We're just taking a break from it, walking around. You might wanna be posted up in there, they're partying hard!" Susie tried to keep the mood light, chuckling as she said that; Unfortunately, Undyne's stoic face didn't break.

"Right." She groaned. "You're not letting her get you into trouble, right Kris?" Undyne turned her gaze to them, questioning. 

"There's no trouble." They answered blankly, to the point.

"Yeah, until there is." Undyne responded. She kneeled down to Kris, trying to whisper but ultimately failing to do so, everyone hearing. "This one's been putting on this act as of late, but I know her. Not heading down a good path. You're part of a good family, Kris. Don't let her drag you down with her."

Susie heard everything, her face twisting into one of anger. She walked up to Undyne and Kris, getting in between them.

"Are we done here?" She growled. "Are you actually gonna say or do anything, or are you just gonna sit here and interrogate us? We're here to have a good time, just like anyone else! I'm not doing anything wrong, so can you just leave us alone!?"

Undyne scowled, but eventually backed up and got back on her feet. "Just know I got hired to be security at this event for a reason. If you try anything, I WILL be on it and you'll spend the night at the station. Again."

"If you're security, how about you go into the gym and do your job, instead of fucking around in the hallway and flirting with my teacher." Susie responded, her tone vicious. Kris put a hand on her shoulder, trying to pull her back from getting too close to the officer that was towering in front of them.

Undyne laughed at the rebuttal, pointing a finger at Susie. "Tread lightly, that's all I'm suggesting." The officer finally turned around, walking past her date with a smile and towards the gym. "Come on Alphys, you can tell me what happened next over here!"

As she disappeared down the hall, Alphys scurried over to the two that were just pressed and started scrambling to find something to say. "I-I'm so sorry about that, you two! That wasn't right, I'm sorry for not saying something. I was just nervous. She's much nicer without the badge, I swear!" She just-"

"I'm sure she's wonderful." Susie cut her off, her voice flat. "She was just trying to protect Kris from a bad influence. I'll see you in class." 

Susie turned her back on the remaining two in the hall, vanishing around another corner.

There was an awkward silence.

"S-so, I didn't know you two were-"

"We're not." Kris blurted, turning their back towards Alphys and rushing to go find Susie.

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Kris ran around the corner, finding the hallway empty. They quietly mumbled a few curses to themself before running down that hallway and turning another corner, where they eventually found Susie, sitting on the ground against a locker. Her locker.

They walked up to her and sat down beside her, letting the silence try and soothe the wound of the encounter they both just went through.

After some amount of time, the rumbles from the gym and the muffled music was accompanied by the sound of Susie's voice.

"I want to say that they're assholes so badly, the people who hate me. But I can't." She spoke, her voice quiet and somber.

Kris turned their head to her, not sure what to say.

"All I've done is either freak people out or hurt them. My entire life. Instead of sticking through it and trying to be a good person, I broke down. I've been such a nasty person to almost everyone I've ever met. I haven't apologized. I can't expect them to believe that who they've known all these years wasn't me."

"...It wasn't you, though." Kris spoke. "That's gonna be hard for people to understand, especially those who already have their mind made up. Maybe you should apologize, but after a certain point it's up to them if they want to see the real you."

"I don't even know who that is anymore." Susie sighed. "I spent so long being a piece of shit, then I meet you and it's like I'm a totally different person. The opposite side of the coin."

Susie looked up at the ceiling, one light flickering, making the hallway constantly dip from lit to partially dim.

"Maybe they're right." She continued. "Maybe I'm just fooling myself and I just got caught up with everything we've gone through. Maybe I'm just a bully who got tired of having nobody to talk to at the end of the day."

"Don't say that." Kris said firmly. "Not many people know it, but you're one of the nicest people I've known. What's important is that you took steps to change in the first place. This is the real you and the real you is someone that I'm proud to spend everyday with."

Susie looked at them with a curious expression before looking back forward and putting her head on top of her crossed arms.

She was surprised when she felt the sudden touch of Kris's hand on her shoulder, their hair parted so that it showed one of their eyes.

Susie smiled. "I don't know how I never noticed that your eyes are red before."

"I try my best to hide them." Kris replied, the two chuckling.

Susie sighed as the laughter calmed down. "I don't know how you always do it Kris, but you always make me feel better when it feels like nothing can."

Kris smiled. "Ditto."

Susie smirked back before it looked like something popped up in her mind and she stood up to open her locker.

When she did so, she reached in and pulled out a picture that was pinned to the inside of the door and closed it before sitting back down.

When Kris saw the picture, they were a little surprised.

It was a picture of the two of them at the fair, Susie holding the camera up with her arm; laughing at Kris who had a big smile with two thumbs up. They had tripped and fell with their ice cream still in front of their face, causing it to squish against their mouth and nose. It was funny.

"Whenever I'm having a rough day, I look at this to make me feel better." Susie said, still smiling at the picture before putting it in her pocket.

A few minutes of comfortable silence paused as they both smiled at one another.

"Christ, what are we doing? This was supposed to be prom. Thought we were gonna dance, not have a therapy session!" Susie laughed, the tears that nearly escaped her earlier now drying up.

Silence followed before Kris heard a song start up in the gym and smiled as they stood up and held their hand out.

"Do you wanna dance, then?" 

Susie grinned and took their hand to stand up before stopping to listen to what song was playing. "Oh yeah! I love this song! Finally they're playing some good stuff."

With that, they started moving to the beat. Both of their styles were messy and all over the place, but uniquely theirs. Their feet shuffled and their arms and bodies flailed as the pounding of the bass and the drowned out voice of the lyrics made its way through the empty hallways and straight to the two.

"Last night, I had a dream about you
In this dream, I'm dancing right beside you
And it looked like everyone was having fun
The kind of feeling, I've waited so long"

It wasn't long before they moved closer to each other, their moves becoming more connected and related to each other. Their arms reached out and eventually their hands locked together, with both of them lifting them up and waving them back and forth in sync, their footwork becoming more focused.

"Don't stop, come a little closer
As we jam, the rhythm gets stronger
There's nothing wrong with just a little, little fun
We were dancing all night long"

As the song moved along, it felt as if they were both in their own pocket of space. One where it was just them, and nobody could bother it, even if they wanted to.

Until Susie's foot collided with Kris's and they both tripped and stumbled before Susie's back slammed into another locker, Kris also slamming on the front of her body. They both straightened out and laughed hard, despite how much that might've hurt just now.

Kris rested their head on Susie's shoulder, laughing before lifting it back up.

Susie was still laughing, looking directly into their eyes.

Kris's heart felt light, the butterflies in their stomach swirling.

The laughter slowly went away from the both of them as they continued to look into each others eyes.

Aside from the music, things got quiet. Unbearably quiet. Kris's eyes gravitated towards Susie's lips before they looked back up at her eyes.

Before they closed their own and went in for a kiss.

If life was perfect, that's where things would've ended. If things always worked out, that's where the start of something beautiful that would last forever would be. If life were a fairy tale, this would be the image that's accompanied by the words "Happily Ever After."

But life is none of those things.

The next thing Kris felt in front of their mouth was a palm. Susie's palm. When they opened their eyes, they saw hers. However, the warm expression that was once there was replaced by one of great confusion, with a hint of... terror? No, she isn't scared, is she? What's going on-

None of Kris's thoughts were able to form before they were pushed away, the next thing they saw being Susie running down the hall, turning the corner with speed they'd never seen from her before. The picture she had shown earlier fell out of her pocket and floated to the ground.

They were stunned into silence before they started running towards her and shouted out. "SUSIE!!!! WAIT!!!"

They ran towards her, but with every corner they turned they found nothing but a row of lockers against each wall and the sound of the music's beat, which seemed to be way louder and rumbling. Their heart was racing and tears started to form.

Wait, they thought. Please, wait. I can explain. It wasn't.... I wasn't trying to....

They ran after their friend who was already long gone before falling to the ground and curling against a wall, beginning to cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..........."

"Ooh, I don't know what to do
About this dream and you
I wish this dream comes true"

Chapter Text

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They hadn't detached themselves this far from reality for a long time.

The rumbling floor, the sight of other students walking by them occasionally, the smell of smuggled weed in the air, the oxygen entering their lungs. All of it meshed together into one incoherent ball, buried in the fog of their own mind.

How long had they been laying on this floor? When was the last time they even blinked? Didn't really matter to them.

They felt empty. They had just lost their best friend, and now they were alone. The future was buried in dirt.

They knew this would happen. It was exactly what they feared. They were so stupid.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid stupid, stupid-

*SLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

The sound of a locker door shutting right in front of them hit their ears and woke them from whatever self induced misery trance they were in. They looked up to see who it was.

Berdly. Eating a bag of mini Oreos, looking at them with that usual smug and obnoxious demeanor.

"Partied too hard, Kris?" Berdly asked. Kris couldn't tell if that was a rhetorical jab or a genuine question.

Either way, they didn't respond. They had sat back up, but didn't speak and rested their head on crossed arms resting on their knees.

Berdly walked closer, and stood next to them. "I don't see Susie around. What, you already got dumped?" Then a laugh. A very annoying one.

Kris finally looked up at him, their eyes surrounded by their tear stained face. "Leave me alone." Berdly quickly got the message that this was not the time for teasing or his usual smart remarks. He went quiet, bag still in hand. "Sorry." A few moments passed, the tension in the air thick before Berdly decided to sit down, right next to Kris.

He reached out the bag to them. "You want some?" Kris simply looked at the bag for a second and returned back to their hermit state, not saying a word. "Alright, sorry." Berdly apologized again while reaching into the bag to get another snack.

"So, uhm... what happened?" Berdly asked, his tone more concerned and sincere.

Kris didn't respond. Not for a while. But they eventually uttered something "Ruined everything."

Berdly nodded. "Yeah, I.... I know the feeling."

Kris raised their head from their arms, staring at the row of lockers in front of them in the dim hallway. "I don't understand why everything in my life has to fall apart."

Berdly looked at them again without saying anything, but Kris continued.

"Everyone just ends up leaving. Asriel, Noelle, my dad. Dess..." Their eyes watered as they continued to talk and thought to themselves. They couldn't believe they were opening up this much to Berdly, someone who they had thought of as just a nerdy asshole up until a few minutes ago. But he was the only one who was here right now. The only one who stopped to listen.

"All of them, as much as it hurt, at least I knew it was out of my control for the most part. Just life playing a heartless joke on me time and time again. But now..."

They paused again. They turned their head to look at Berdly, who was surprisingly still there. Present.

"I really liked her, y'know?" Kris's eyes became watery again before they just completely broke down. Their hands covering their eyes as they sobbed, tears slipping through their fingers and landing on the floor.

"I tried to kiss her. I tried to fucking kiss her. How stupid is that?" A few chuckles escaped them as they spoke, their stress levels rising again.

"Now she's gone... I had a good thing going, I had a friend... Now she's gone because I thought we could..."

"You're not gonna give up on her just like that, are you?" Berdly interjected.

Kris looked at them, taken off guard. "What?"

"You're right, you DO have a good thing going with Susie. You two have been completely inseparable as of late. The bond you two share is something I've looked for with someone my entire life. Now I see you in that position, and you're willing to throw it all away now for what, a bad date?"

Kris was confused. "What are you-"

"She's not gone, Kris." Berdly interrupted again. "You two are best friends. Whether or not that's gonna turn into something more, who knows? But it's like you're ready to just revert back to being a loner. I'm already in that club, Kris. Not fun."

Kris continued to look at him, their eyes showing they understood.

"At least try and talk to her. Find her. Tell her how you really feel."

Kris was stunned into silence. They never expected such direct advice to come from Berdly of all people, but they found it oddly motivating. Their tears slowly dried as they listened, taking it all in.

Berdly then stood up, stretching his legs out, with Kris following. They both stood adjacent to each other, a new understanding formed between the both of them.

"Now, if you'll excuse me Kris, I have to go back to livening up the dance floor and wooing all the single souls residing there at the moment." Just like that, his cocky nerd persona was switched back on. "You can have this if you want, I'm not that hungry anymore." He shoved the cookie bag into Kris's chest before they grabbed it, now holding it in their hands. 

Berdly then turned to walk away, before turning back to say one last thing. "You got this Kris, just be honest."

When he disappeared down the hallway, Kris noticed the picture Susie dropped when she ran away on the floor, now a little scuffed from other students who had passed stepping on it. The image of that fragile memory filled them with determination.

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Kris ran around the school, looking for Susie anywhere they could. Eventually they found their way to the outside of the school, where they tried to find any sign of her.

They almost figured they had ran out of luck before they wandered to the back of the school, where they found an empty cigarette pack, next to the locked gate that lead to the ladder that ascended to the roof of the school. When they looked up, smoke.

They had talked to Susie about trying to quit cigarettes.

With that thought and a sigh, they hopped the gate and climbed the ladder. With each step, they thought to themself. What were they gonna say when they eventually got up there? How would she react? They didn't know. It scared them almost fully to death. But they thought of Berdly's words. That picture.

They weren't going to throw all of this away.

When they got to the top and peeked over the edge of the roof, they saw her. The silhouette of her hair flowing in the chilled air projected by the bright moon.

The feeling in their chest was the same as when they were about to ask her to prom in the first place. their hands shaking, looking at that damned phone.

No time for backing out. Not now.

"Hey."

Chapter Text

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Kris's words cut through the howling wind and made their way to Susie, where she simply turned to look at them. Her expression was hard to determine through the darkness, but there wasn't much time to look as she turned her back towards Kris once again.

Kris made their way to the edge of the roof where they sat alongside Susie. Close, but not too close.

Like it often was, Kris had no idea what to say. They peeked over to Susie now and then, her face illuminated in the direct moonlight. Her eyes looked tired, slightly teary.

They were often together, just like this. No talking, no looks. Just the silence and the unspoken reassurance that the other was right beside them, not going anywhere. But it felt different now. Tense.

Kris's anxiety was practically boiling over as they sat next to her in this moment, at any moment it felt like they were about to burst into tears. But through their own fear, they managed to choke out two words:

"I'm sorry."

Susie looked over as they said that. A single red eye revealed itself through the hair that covered their face.

Susie looked down from the roof and took another short inhale of her cigarette, the urge to cough being difficult to hold back. "Yeah, I.... I'm sorry for running off like that." She spoke before that emptiness of the wind blowing filled both of their ears once again.

The taste of the cigarette in Susie's mouth was unbearable. Eventually, she let out a few wheezy coughs before speaking again. "Jesus, Kris... why didn't you just say something earlier? How long were you holding onto this?"

Kris looked down, embarrassed. "A while." 

They sighed, the sound shook up by them trying to hold back their tears. "I know I fucked up by trying to kiss you. I don't know why I did, I guess I just read everything all wrong. I didn't know if you-"

"I don't know if I do either." Susie cut their words off.

Kris didn't respond to that, they kept their eyes down, the sting of that statement setting in.

"I mean, not in that way... but, I'm not sure if I just like you as my best friend either."

"... What are you saying?" Kris looked up at her, confused.

"... I'm not sure." She put her head in her hand and chuckled. "It's so confusing. I liked you as a friend at first, then for a while... I thought I liked you as something else. That faded away, but something was still there."

Kris saw her face clearly for the first time since they came up to this roof. She was smiling, a few tears running down her face. The burning cigarette still between her fingers.

Then she began to laugh. "Then I woke up one day and realized I love you."

Kris's breath hitched at those words, their eyes widening.

Susie continued. "I've never felt the way I have when I'm around you when I'm with anyone else, it's hard to think I ever will. It's been so hard to think of you as just a friend all this time, but whenever I think of you as a partner, that doesn't feel right either. It's something more than that, I have no idea what it is yet. It scares me so much."

Kris scooched over closer to her, their hand reaching out to hers. "I..."

Susie saw this movement and shifted, eventually standing up and taking a few steps away from Kris, her back turned again. She took another drag of the cigarette.

"Susie.." Kris stood up as well, walking towards them. They were caught by surprised when Susie turned back around, the light revealing her face once again. It was covered in tears and she was shaking.

"I just don't want to hurt you." She said quietly, almost a whisper. Her arms were folded, the cigarette still emitting smoke.

"I'm afraid I've already gotten too close. I should've...."

She stopped herself and looked away from Kris. The look in her eyes deeply conflicted and saddened.

"I'm just gonna drag you down. You know who I am, Kris. Everybody does. I don't know who I'm trying to fool. I can't be anything that I may want to be. A friend, a... partner...."

She then turned her back, and began to walk away. "Look at everything you've gotten into ever since we started talking. You're better off without me."

She only took a few steps before she heard a chuckle. Then laughter.

She turned around confused, seeing Kris with a smile on their face. Tears in their eyes.

"Without you?" Kris spoke. They weren't sure if this was nervous or genuine laughter. They then took their own steps towards Susie.

"I was absolutely miserable before we met! I had nothing, no real friends, my family was torn to shreds. I thought that was it. I thought I was never gonna have a good day ever again."

They took Susie by the hand and held it with both hands, their grip gentle. 

"But then I meet you, and every single day has been the best day of my life since. You're funny, you're passionate, you're confident in every way that I can only dream of being!"

Susie looked shocked at the sudden outburst, but their expression showed that she was listening, processing it all.

"I love you too, Susie. I really do. I don't know what it is exactly that we have, but it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I want to give it a shot."

Susie moved closer, her hand gripping back at theirs.

"So, if you want, will you stay here with me and just... see where it goes from here?"

They looked up at her, both of their eyes shadowed in the moonlight.

Then, a smile. Her healing smile. She chuckled through the now drying tears.

"You really know how to persuade a girl, don't you?"

A tense pause engulfed before Susie pulled Kris in closer.

Then, a kiss.

It wasn't certain how long it lasted, but it truly didn't matter. Tears of sadness turned into tears of joy, the moonlight beaming a beautiful light on a moment of something purer than love, stronger than any bond.

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Kris and Susie eventually found themselves back on the ledge of the rooftop, looking out at the other students who were beginning to leave.

Susie laughed. "Well, that was dramatic. So, I guess we're dating now."

Kris looked up at her, their hair now fully pushed back, revealing their whole face. "If you're good with calling it that."

"I think most people would call admitting feelings for each other then kissing on a roof at prom the start of dating."

Susie took another inhale of her cigarette and coughed, before handing it towards Kris. "You wanna try?"

Kris took the cigarette and inspected it for a few moments before chucking it off the roof.

"Hey!" Susie almost instinctively tried to go for it before realizing it was gone. "What was that for!?"

"We talked about you quitting, remember?"

Susie's surprised faced calmed down and turned into a grin. "Oh. Heh, yeah. Guess I forgot with everything going on, sorry."

Both of them continued to stand and stare at the night sky together, before Kris realized something.

They had no idea what time it was. They were supposed to be back by midnight.

That's when they saw Noelle and Catti leaving the building. They called out to them.

"Hey, Noelle! Catti! What time is it!?"

Noelle looked around for a few seconds, confused until she saw both of her friends on the rooftop. "Oh! Hey! It's around 11:40- Wait, what are you guys doing up there!?!?"

"Just hanging out! What are YOU doing down THERE?" Susie joked.

Noelle let out a laugh. "Just leaving, I guess. The dance isn't fully over, but we're both pretty tired! Right, Catti?"

Catti was looking straight at Kris with a sense of contempt. She only let out a grunt in response.

"....Right! Well, it was good seeing you guys before we left, I was wondering where you went!"

"Don't have to worry about us, we're always around." Susie remarked.

With a smile and another wave goodbye, the date turned around and left, leaving Susie and Kris by themselves once again.

"11:40? Damn." Kris sighed. "I probably won't get home on time, my mom's gonna freak out."

"It'll be alright, she's not the type to get angry over something like that, as long as you're home." Susie responded. "But yeah, we should probably be heading back."

That's when they both heard the bass and roar of another song starting in the gym beneath them. Must've been the final slow dance tune of the night. Kris backed away from the ledge with a smile and held out a hand to Susie. "Before that, do you wanna.... try this whole thing again?" They laughed awkwardly.

With a soft smile, Susie took Kris by the hand and already initiated a dance. "I'd like that."

With their hands interlocked, their feet glided across the rooftop. With the occasional sway and spin, their eyes gazed into one another as they took each other in, appreciating the new level of understanding between them.

"I may not always love you,

but long as there are stars above you

you never need to doubt it, I'll make you so sure about it

God only knows what I'd be without you."

In the midst of the dance, Susie was surprised when she felt the sudden dip of falling to the ground, being caught by Kris. Their hand placed carefully on her back.

She laughed. "You're getting stronger, aren't you?"

Kris smiled. "Everyday."

They both smiled before having one last kiss, the sound of the music somehow becoming clearer to them.

"God only knows what I'd be without you."