Holly's face showed a fleeting moment of panic before she collected herself, aware that all the monsters at the table were curiously watching her. She forced her face to something more neutral and pressed the phone closer to her ear to keep the sounds from leaking out of the speaker.
"I'll be right back," she told the others. Toriel gave her a worried look that Holly ignored, hurriedly making her way to the back porch and closing the sliding door. Her mother was already yelling in that grating tone that was so familiar to her; she had a suspicion that she was doing that because she'd heard Holly speaking to someone.
"Why haven't you called me, Holly?! Your own mother, sitting here worried—"
"I told you not to call this number," Holly interrupted icily. Her body was rigid; she thought about sitting down, but opted for pacing instead. The reminder that her mother had so much power over her emotions only further drove her into a foul mood.
The whiny toddler-voice dropped down into a scathing tone. "Oh, my own two children leave me without a glance backward and I'm not allowed to try and find you? You're such a selfish bitch."
Ah, there it was. When she thought she was alone with her daughters, she could be true to her nasty nature.
"Did it ever occur to you that hunting me down through distant Internet friends and my forum accounts would be considered stalking?" Holly seethed. She should hang up. Talking sense into this woman never worked, but she was compelled to try anyway for some stupid reason. She hated how her own voice wavered. Memories, unwanted, came to mind—police trying to determine whether she should be Baker Acted, hemming and hawing for weeks over important paperwork she needed for insurance, her sister being used as a pawn to guilt her into doing things…
"Holly, honey," her mother crooned, picking up on the tear-filled voice. "I'm your mom, of course I need to find you. I need to know where you are and what you're doing, it's what moms do!" God, it was horrible when she tried to prey on guilt.
Holly snorted. "Yes, so you can control me, and every piece of my life. You know what, I'm not doing this. Don't call me again, mother."
"DON'T HANG UP ON ME, YOU LITTLE—"
Call ended.
Holly clutched her chest. This was horrible timing—the last thing she needed right now was to remember old guilt and fear and anger like fresh wounds, when she was just trying to recover from the recent events that had transpired at the apartments. Fortunately, though, this was a feeling she was very good at forcing back down until nobody saw a trace of it. Breathe, smile. Laugh a little, make a joke, enjoy everyone's company. Distract them with other things, worry about their problems before her own.
She pocketed the phone and turned to go inside, but was met with Toriel's gaze at the door.
"Ah, forgive me, child, I… I was concerned about you," she said, looking sheepish. Holly gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Oh, it's all right. I uh, just had a call I needed to take care of."
"From your mother, correct?" Toriel confirmed softly. Holly's smile fell and her eyes dropped.
"Y-yeah. I didn't mean for you to hear that." Damn it, damn it, damn it! Nobody was supposed to find out about her miserable little history, they would all start looking at her with pity in their gazes, start to distance themselves just like her other friends did. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing I can't handle!" Holly tried, but her assurance sounded more like a plea.
"My child," Toriel began firmly, and made her way closer to Holly. She put a huge white paw on her shoulder. Warmth seeped from the pads of her fingers. "I do not know what your situation is with your mother, but perhaps it is something you can work out?"
Holly tensed. Oh, no.
"She is your mother, after all. Family is important."
Not this again.
"Perhaps she made mistakes with you in the past, but I am sure she misses you dearly. You should try to talk to her about it. I am sure she loves you very much," Toriel finished, attempting to be reassuring. Holly couldn't help the derisive snort.
"Not all blood relatives are family, Toriel," she snapped, surprised at the bitterness in her voice. "Some people care only about themselves." The paw left her shoulder.
"Perhaps she is a flawed person, but she is your mother," Toriel emphasized.
"Yeah, I got that," Holly retorted. Her face was flushing with anger and mortification. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Can I just enjoy everyone's company? Please?"
The goat woman let her hands fall to her sides, looking helpless. "Yes. I am sorry if I upset you."
Holly closed her eyes and let out a long breath, willing her emotions under control again. Ugh, and a headache was forming right between her eyes. Great. "It's all right, I know you meant well. Can… can you keep this between us, please?" she asked the tall goat woman, who nodded.
"Of course. Though, you are more than welcome to come to me if you'd like to talk," Toriel offered, holding her hand out palm-upwards. A small smile tugged at the corners of the young woman's mouth. What did she do to deserve such kind people in her life? Some of them were nicer to her than friends she'd known for years.
It must be a monster thing.
She took the hand that was offered, feeling reassured by how large it was as it encompassed her own.
Halloween was right around the corner, and Holly couldn't help but feel excited. It would be her first one with friends for a few years, and this time there were literal monsters involved. How could she not feel hyped?
She took people at the register with more gusto than usual, signing return receipts with doodles of spiders and jack-o'-lanterns (one customer complained that they didn't condone Halloween so she opted for fall leaves instead at one point). The line was clear for once, so she began working on the fitting rooms and organizing the clothing by section when she caught movement at her register. She dropped what she was doing and walked over, grinning when she saw who it was.
"Well, hello, Papyrus! Hi, Sans!" she greeted, leaning on the other side of the register. The shorter skeleton was looking over her uniform, seeming curious.
"HI HUMAN! We were in the mall and Sans said you worked here! So we came to find you, though I wasn't sure which area you worked in," Papyrus said. "Your store has a lot of different sections! With a whole section for just socks!"
"Heh, yeah bro. It's for people like me who have sock collections," Sans added. Holly noticed he had a specific glint in his eye when he teased his brother.
"NOT EVERYONE IS AS WEIRD AS YOU! Anyways, Undyne and Alphys are here too! They went to one of those shops with the human history regalia to find Halloween costumes…" he trailed off, leaving Holly to look at Sans with questions in her eyes. He just shrugged. "We wanted to know what time you go on break! There are places to buy food here and we wanted you to come, too!"
"Aww, you guys!" Holly laughed, but sobered slightly when she saw a group of people trying to approach the register. They were looking at the skeleton brothers with undisguised nervousness. "Of course I'll come! My break is in about forty minutes and it'll be for an hour. Now, I need to do my job, so off you two go!"
"Of course! We will let you get back to work. Come on, Sans, I want to see if this store has what I need for my costume!"
"Yeah, okay bro. Seeya, Holls," Sans called, and gave the woman a wink before trailing after his brother. Holly's cheeks tinted at the nickname—she always felt a little extra special when someone came up with one for her. Though in Sans's case, it was probably laziness. She straightened up and gave the next customers a polite smile.
"Hello, did you find everything you need?"
"Um, yeah we did—were those skeletons?"
Holly chuckled. "Yes, they were skeleton monsters. They're friends of mine, I apologize for the minor hold-up," she explained, taking their items and systematically ringing them up. A little girl, about six years old, looked up at the man with wide eyes.
"Dad! They were real monsters! Real live monsters!" she enthused, jumping up and down with each emphasized word. She seemed to be in awe. "Daddy can we go say hi to them? Pleeeease?"
The man looked at Holly with a secretly sheepish expression. "Uh, honey, it's not polite to do something like that…"
"Oh, sir, I don't think they'd mind," she corrected, smiling. "Papyrus—the tall one—would actually love that. He really likes kids. And attention," she added, deciding it was best to be truthful. She glanced down at the little girl, then back up at the father. "Do you mind if I…?"
He seemed to be a little nervous, but shrugged. "Yeah, sure."
She came from behind the counter and gave the girl a pen and a piece of receipt paper. "Papyrus is a friend of mine. He used to be in training to be a royal guardsman underground," she told the girl in a hushed voice. The kid's jaw dropped dramatically. "I bet he would love it if you asked for his autograph."
The girl nodded solemnly. "Okay." Her mood flipped like a switch as she grabbed the hem of her dad's shirt eagerly. "DAD, DAD, WE GOTTA CATCH UP TO 'EM!"
"Okay, sir, your total is on the screen. I've got everything bagged up for you," Holly finished, getting back behind the counter with a smile. The girl was still saying 'dad, dad, dad, dad' like a mantra as he hastily slid his card, looking grateful but exasperated.
"Thanks a lot. They're, uh. Safe, right?" he asked, avoiding her eyes. She knew it was hard for people to let go of appearances and trust something unknown to them—it was human nature to be skeptical. But the fact that this man would set that aside to give monsters a chance… it gave her hope that maybe the two races could live in peace, after all.
"Yes, I promise they are. Safer than most humans, really," she said quietly, meeting his gaze. He nodded, his face relaxing.
"Okay. Thanks again, uh…" he glanced at her nametag. "Holly. You're a real doll."
She blushed but laughed, waving as the pair of them rushed deeper within the store to find Papyrus and Sans.
"SHE KNEW MY NAME! AND ASKED ME FOR MY AUTOGRAPH!"
The tall skeleton was gushing, his bony hands cupping both his cheeks in something akin to modesty. Holly wasn't sure if Papyrus was capable of such a thing, but it was nice to see him so over the moon.
"You're just a popular guy, Papyrus," Holly laughed, to which the skeleton's face turned an interesting shade of orange.
"I—I'm popular? Wowie! Sans, I told you I'd be popular someday! I was just looking for the wrong audience."
"Good job, bro," Sans said, and Holly could see that his grin was relaxed but genuine. It was humanizing—or, she supposed—monsterizing, to see him look so happy for his brother. It was a feeling she could relate to. He caught her looking at him, his pupils flicking over to her. He gave one of his customary thumbs-ups of approval and she couldn't help but give him a big smile.
"Holly, wait until you see our costumes," Undyne butted in, her eye glinting with excitement. "Alphys looks so cute in hers! Or, should I say, Alph-chan," she teased, and the short yellow monster beside her flushed brightly.
"Th-the senshi outfit looks so much cuter on you, though!" Alphys insisted, her claws fidgeting. Her face was turned up forcefully when Undyne smooshed it between two hands. The short monster's face was so cute that Holly almost aww'd aloud; her cheeks mushed into the lines of her mouth, nose crinkled, glasses askew.
"No way, nerd! You're way cuter!"
The two of them were so sweet, it could give someone a toothache. Holly turned to the brothers, letting her two friends gush over each other in relative privacy.
"I don't have anything as neat as a sailor-senshi costume, but I'm going as a leopard. I can do really good costume makeup, so I'm gonna go all out with it," Holly said, munching absently at the rest of her fries. They tasted really good with the spicy ranch dip she'd gotten to go with her chicken tenders. "I have a ton of leopard-print shirts, so I can use one of those. I still need to buy the ears somewhere…"
She glanced over at the taller skeleton. She always struck up conversations with Papyrus more easily than Sans; there was still a little bit of tension between them that was dissolving slowly. Plus, Papyrus was generally more talkative.
"Papyrus, what are you dressing up as?"
"I am trying to find an outfit that matches the culture behind my dance!" he said proudly. "I have been researching with Sans's help! And I found pictures of what I would like, but… it's proving difficult to find a good quality outfit."
"Oh? What's the outfit?" she asked curiously, wondering what he'd go with for a Latin-dancing culture.
"Well, it's more the music behind my dancing, but I saw something called a mari… mari… Sans, what was it called again?"
"Mariachi, bro."
"Yes, that!"
Holly raised her brows, interested. "Oh! That's a neat choice. You did research on the culture and everything?" she reiterated.
"Yep. I've been helpin' him out," Sans said. She detected a hint of pride in his tone.
"That's really cool. Did you have an idea for an outfit, Sans?" she asked. He shifted in his seat.
"Uh, not yet. But Paps' outfit's gonna be super cool. I used to help him make outfits in the Underground all the time, heh," he said. Holly raised a brow, noticing the deflection, but didn't call him out on it.
"Yes he did! He helped to make my battle body," Papyrus said, giving his brother an appreciative look. Holly smiled at the two of them before she remembered that her break was nearly over. She jumped and checked her phone, mildly panicked, but calmed when she saw that she had just enough time left to get back.
"Ah, hate to cut it short, guys, but my break's over soon," she told them, gathering her plastic utensils and putting them on the food court tray.
"Aw, already! Well, you get to see my outfit later, then, punk," Undyne said, getting up and ruffling Holly's hair.
"Hey, easy! I can't look like a monster's been messing with my hair at work," Holly teased, and Undyne gave her a light shoulder punch. It still made her fingers tingle with numbness.
"Ha! Well, don't work too hard. See ya!" They all began to leave the food court, heading the opposite direction from Holly.
Sans lagged behind and snagged her shirt between his fingers when the rest of the group was walking away.
"Hey, I know it was you who sent that kid over," he said, giving her a soft look. "I just wanted to say thanks. It made Paps really happy."
Holly looked surprised for a second, then modest. "It was nothing. The little girl seemed excited to see a talking skeleton, which, I mean, who wouldn't be?" she laughed, but Sans's expression sobered.
"There aren't a lot of people like that out there. Most of 'em are afraid of us," he informed her, the fabric from her shirt falling from his hand.
Holly sighed. "Yes. An unfortunate human reaction to the unknown is fear," she told him. Her brow creased. "And fear leads to hatred. People just need to know that you're… well, all of you have been so kind," she finished, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and smiling.
Sans was quiet for a moment. "Well, I just wanted to say thanks." There was an awkward quiet that fell between them, filled with the bustle of the busy mall. "Hey, can we talk? Later, when you're over at Toriel's place?" he asked, not quite meeting her eyes. She noticed that his grin had tightened. Wondering exactly what Sans wanted to talk about, she tilted her head at him curiously.
"Of course. What about?"
He shuffled, obviously uncomfortable. "I'll tell ya later. You better get back, or you'll clock in late," he reminded her, and shuffled off to catch up with the others.
Holly watched him go, confused. What would he have to talk about with her? He'd already (sort of) apologized for when he'd threatened her on their first meeting, and as far as she knew they were on okay terms now. As she walked back to work, she couldn't help but worry. Did she do something wrong? Did she say something offensive by accident? She wasn't sure how monster culture worked, but she didn't think she'd done anything bad… Did Alphys mention that they'd talked about his lack of dancing? Did Toriel talk to him about the phone call she'd overheard, despite her promise not to?
The thoughts whirled in her head as she worked, distracting her somewhat. Her smile wasn't quite as cheerful as from before lunch, and her mind only came up with more and more wild theories by the time she clocked out.
A/N: Thanks to Akinai_Sere for being my beta.