(A/N: Hey, this is Tea! This is my first HTF fanfic, but I've been thinking about writing this for years now. It'll be mainly about Flaky and Flippy so if you came here for other characters, you might be disappointed. This is set in a human universe of HTF. Things might get gory and smutty, so hence the M rating. Please enjoy!)

Before I begin this tale of misery and woe, I should introduce myself. It's only fair you know exactly who's telling this story. Then maybe, you could have it in your heart to forgive me.

I'm Flaky. I don't know how old I am, and I doubt anyone here knows how old they are. I have red eyes, but don't be fooled. I'm not anywhere near scary; I'm the most scared person in any given room. My hair is also red and untameable, with dandruff everywhere. Psoriasis is annoying, but I can't really care for it when literally everything is out to kill you every day. And I've died, in more ways than I can remember.

Happy Tree may just be the best contender for the most misleading town name ever. It's cursed, or maybe it's hell. I don't know. But I do know that Happy Tree is a timeless place that resets every midnight. This might sound nice and convenient but it's not like a "hard" reset. Oh no, you keep your memories, all your feelings, intact. It's just that Happy Tree refuses to be destroyed. You could burn the entire town down and the next morning, it's as good as new. All the charred corpses are back to living status quo, making breakfast and getting ready to start the new horrible, terrible day.

You might think it might not be all bad. After all, shouldn't I be used to it? If everything's going to reset anyway, I shouldn't worry so much and just let myself enjoy each day.

No. You wouldn't say that if you were regularly scalped, burned, diced, maimed, and killed in such creative ways I wonder if my life was meant to be a comedy.

That's what Happy Tree is like to outsiders. A joke. A neverending cycle of bloody hilarity.

I take it back. Comedies are supposed to have happy endings. And sorry to say, but this won't have a happy ending.

I wish I could properly start my story, give an exact date and all. But like I said, Happy Tree is timeless. Nobody can remember how or when they came here. We all certainly remember when "new" neighbors moved in though, like how we remember Flippy coming into town, but we can't remember exactly when. Maybe it was six months ago or a century ago. It doesn't matter.

... That's probably the best place to start this. When Flippy moved in or, I should say, came back. I was attending what you could call high school then. Cuddles, Giggles, and other Friends (that's what we call the residents of Happy Tree) attended high school with me as well. There was a lot of buzz; very few people moved in Happy Tree. Usually they just appeared one day because all Friends knew each other even vaguely. Flippy was an unusual case; he lived in Happy Tree before becoming a soldier and we knew his name in passing. Now that he was back, this was a case where we knew a Friend's name but we really didn't actually know who they were.

There were a few concerns. There were rumors that he didn't come back right, that he brought pieces of the war with him. Everyone knew soldiers always came back with a chip off their shoulder, but this was Happy Tree. There's never an "usual" case with anything. People were concerned that he might not adjust well into civilian life.

Just the thought of the situation made me nauseous and nervous. An unstable veteran was the last thing we needed. Friends were getting their faces ripped off and fingers crushed left-and-right, and now we had a possible psycho reentering the community.

Yet... In that saccharine, naive, Happy Tree way, I was worried too. Although I was always the most paranoid and skeptical of the Friends, I still cared deeply for everyone. You might think that a daily reset would make us unfazed and jaded but actually, the torment brought us together even closer. We all looked out for each other. And when I was younger, I especially ignored my frequent fits of fear for the sake of trying to be nice.

Still, none of that community feel-good sentiment could have prepared me for my chance meeting with Sgt. Flippy.

I was walking back home after school (I didn't take the bus because last time, I ended up decapitated) when I saw the conspicuous green camouflage-print uniform. The mere sight of him gave me such a fit of anxiety that I started shivering, flakes scattering everywhere, even when the weather was perfectly normal. The man himself was quite tall, with a rather muscular figure. He certainly looked like a soldier. That just intimidated me even more. I was about to quickly walk past him before he could notice me, but he already spotted me a block away. The moment I came to into earshot he waved cheerfully at me. I froze and gave a swipe of my stiff palm to acknowledge him.

"Hello! Are you a student from the local high school?"

Oh no. I was not going to talk to him. "Y-yes... E-Excuse m-"

Before I could get away, he swiftly continued as if he'd been waiting all along. His green-hazel eyes shone as he spoke.

"Great! I was just wondering if you knew where the book store is? I'm awfully lost; so many things have changed since I was last here." He laughed lightly, and that's when I saw his dimples. That's when I realized he was actually quite old, or maybe just aged from battle. I never really noticed age in Happy Tree.

But his comment rubbed me off the wrong way, and I really didn't want to spend another second with this man. His broad silhouette made me tremble under his shadow. "I-It's right next to the market... N-Now if you'll e-excuse me..." I nearly ran away, but I tried hiding it by walking fast with wide steps. But the sergeant chased after me. Cold sweat started beading my face.

"Wait!" He called out. "I actually don't know where the market is either. Could you point it out for me?"

Just get a map, and get away from me! I wanted to shout, but my throat was tight and my mouth dry. Knowing that if I just kept walking he'd tail me endlessly, I abruptly stopped and looked back to face him, a cloud of dandruff falling as my hair whipped back. I gathered up my the small amount of courage in my shrinking gut before I squeaked, "I-If you don't know, I c-could just… lead you there... F-follow me..." Scarcely before I finished speaking, I scurried away to keep my distance between me and the potential psycho.

Flippy's eyes widened to the point the brim of his beret rose slightly. "Really, you'd do that for me? Thank you!" He called back behind me as he followed. His military boots gave his steps a heaviness that made me shudder. The thought of those grave footsteps following behind me on a dark night... His dog tags too, gave a chilling metallic chk! chk! each step he took.

The noises nearly broke my facade of a kindly neighborhood helper. I anxiously sprinted to the market, but each step I took it seemed like the soldier took three. He easily closed the space I made earlier. Soon enough, I could almost feel his breath behind my neck! By then, I was moving with such haste I probably made a trail of flakes across the block.

He looked normal, but he certainly didn't look like anyone else in Happy Tree. In a way, he reminded me of a bear. In cartoons, bears were always soft and cuddly; they were the ones who helped their friends with their quiet strength. In real life though, bears could maul and ravage a person into red ribbons. I imagined his large, hardened hand around my neck, his nails tearing into my skin, choking me and making me struggle for breath. In his other hand was a combat knife, hovering threateningly as his smiling face reflected off the blade. He stabbed me several times in the stomach, my screams inaudible for they never escaped my mouth.

"Are you okay…? You look pale."

I snapped out of it, noticing that my sweater was damp from my cold sweat. My face was indeed as pale as a sheet, but the sheet was quickly filled with bright red, my shame impossible to hide. I frantically waved my hand, my feet fumbling. "O-Oh, it's nothing, I just forgot we were supposed to take a turn a block ago…!" With a nervous laugh, I looked down on the ground, trying to hide my face in my long hair. I didn't dare look back at him.

Finally, after what seemed like hours when it was more like 5 minutes, we were there. The book store was mostly empty, with just a few quiet readers inside. I only noticed then that the sun was steadily setting.

I pointed to the entrance, although my baggy sweater sleeves hid most of my hand."H-Here it is… Um… I should go…!"

Again he stopped me, this time by placing a hand on my shoulder. The touch of his cold leather glove sent a chill down my spine, and I swear my face turned green. He's going to choke me! the inner me screamed. Maybe he didn't notice or just didn't care, but he continued to cheerfully speak to me. "Could I at least get your name? I want to return the favor and properly thank you. I'm Flippy." He offered me his hand.

My face was stone but I mustered enough nerve to shake his hand, my eyes lingering on his glove for too long. "I-I'm Flaky…"

He shook firmly, too firmly. "Nice to meet you! Sorry if I bothered you, not a lot of people want to help out the new guy in town. Not like I blame them."

As he let go of my hand, I felt a tinge of guilt in my heart. How could I have judged him so harshly? I wasn't a popular person myself, and I could understand what it was like to receive little help from so-called Friends. "Oh, no, it wasn't… You weren't a bother, haha…" I gave him a halfhearted joking salute as if to dismiss him. Just at that moment, his eyes flashed at me like a wild animal's, the green of his eyes turning almost bright yellow. I flinched, taking a step back. He quickly regained his smile, but I noticed his lips were slightly crooked.

"Please don't do that... I'm not on active duty anymore. I'm just another Friend now." He laughed lowly, taking off his beret and rustling his hair. I responded in turn with a sorry, nervous laugh, but I knew that he was serious.

I looked down, not wanting to look at him face-to-face. Muttering a bye under my breath, I ran off like I wanted to since the beginning. I wished I would never have to speak to him again. I wished I would never have to see those eyes again.

But my wishes were not to come true.