Yo guys, your author is back to give you another chapter of Grouptale. Before we get started, I want to clear some things up about the kids and their appearances. Tessa and Emily's appearances are kinda changing every single chapter (well really just the beginning said a certain color and it's different now) and I haven't confirmed their appearances yet, so I'm gonna do this right now. I'll also add their ages and birthdays, but not last names, I'm saving most for the end of the story.

Tessa- Long brown hair and light, baby blue eyes. Usually wearing a light blue shirt and a cyan skirt, but as underground I think I labeled her as wearing a cyan dress. Patience Soul. Birthday is January 6th. She's 13. Five foot five inches

Ethan- Short, light brown hair. It's kinda sticking down (the bandanna contributes to that), with orange eyes. Orange t-shirt, navy shorts, black shoes (a total mess). Bravery Soul. Birthday is February 25th (hence h0tman225). He's 13. He's five foot six inches

Harmony- Very long, silky auburn hair. It's in a bun usually, but sometimes in a ponytail. She usually wears a dark blue skirt and a dark blue shirt (she coordinates her clothing lol, unlike me). Integrity Soul. Birthday is May 22nd (hence justasimplebutterfly522) and no I didn't make it that to be opposite to Ethan's. 13. She's five foot four inches

Ivan- long black hair with purple eyes and black framed glasses. Before getting his emotions back, his eyes were gray. He's a sweater vest kind of guy, he has a purple turtleneck on Underground though. Perseverance Soul. His birthday is July 5th. 12. He's five foot two inches.

Emily- short blonde hair with emerald green eyes. She has her apron on over her undershirt (Green) and wears shorts. Kindness Soul. Her birthday is June 9th. 12. She's only reaching five foot but eventually would get taller.

Aiden- dirty blonde hair and amber eyes. He has the cowboy hat, obviously, and wears a faded yellow hoodie. He has his gun. He's usually cold so that's why he has a hoodie on. Justice Soul. His birthday is September 30th. 14. (Oldest of his friend group) Five foot eight inches.

EXTRAS:

Frisk- You know, short brown hair (similar to Emily's), brown eyes (nope they aren't red in this whoops. They're red when she uses her sword uwu). Purple and blue hoodie. Stick and Bandage. Red/Determination Soul. Her birthday is August 1st. Age is presumably 13-15. Solid five foot eight inches

Chara- Green and yellow hoodie, red eyes, pink cheeks, golden locket, brown hair like chocolate. You know the drill. Red/Determination Soul. His birthday is unknown. Age of death is presumably 14-15. Five foot ten inches

Let's do the story now folks

"Daddddddddddy!" Emily tugged on her father's pant leg, "Can you help me cook because Mommy's at work?" She batted her eyelashes, begging with the most adorable face.

"Of course, honey. What do you wanna make?" He picked the young girl up. Emily looked around the cabinet (with the help of her father) and picked out a chocolate cake mix. He seemed satisfied with her choice and the two began to make the cake.

Despite being seven, Emily's father noticed she had taken a quick fascination to cooking. He approved; after all, how couldn't he be proud of his little girl? She already had gotten the eggs, the vegetable oil, and the water. He got the measuring cups and poured the vegetable oil into one of them, letting Emily tip it in. He did the same with the water, but cracked the eggs himself. He got a whisk and started whisking the combination into suitable batter for the cake. He poured it into a pan and put it in the oven. Emily and her father decided that while they waited, they could play video games in the living room. She couldn't be happier.

When the oven beeped, her dad pulled the cake out of the oven. He grinned at Emily, "What do we do next, sweetie?" Emily reached up for him and he pulled her up. She put a toothpick in the center to see if it had risen the way it needed to. Finally, they did her favorite part- ice it! They had a few tubes of chocolate icing and they spread it across the cake neatly. The cake was done- and looked delectable, too! Saving it for dessert for the following day, the two put it in the fridge. Emily yawned and rubbed at her eyes, making it abundantly clear she was tired. The sun had barely set, but her father tucked her into bed. She was already drifting off to sleep when he got back to his feet, walked over to the door, and switched off the light as he whispered, "Goodnight, Emily."

"Goodnight Daddy..." She murmured, falling into a slumber moments later.

"It isn't fair! I won't believe it!" Emily heard from the kitchen when she got home from school. She set down her backpack, hopping over, concerned. When she reached to touch her mother's arm, she turned away and continued speaking,

"If he is, then it's your fault! Why did you send the one firefighter with a family?" She paces around the kitchen, glancing at Emily occasionally and then looking away. As if she was hiding something...

"No, you're crazy!" She argued, "He would never volunteer for something that dangerous! He wouldn't! He wouldn't risk leaving Emily like that!" Her voice began to become desperate, "please..."

Emily frowned, uncertain of what was going on, "What's wrong, Mama?" She whispered gently. Fearfully.

"Yes... that... would be great..." She hung up the phone after a few more words. She slowly bent down and picked Emily up. She held her tightly.

Emily didn't understand. Not one bit. She cocked her head to the side innocently. Wondering what was wrong.

"Where's Daddy?" She questioned, searching around for him in the quiet house. It was bitter silence; almost as if the world had stopped.

"Daddy... Daddy's not coming back, Emily..." She told her gently, brushing her fingers through her soft, thin hair. She looked up, her expression wavering, "You mean... he's..." Her voice trailed off, not being able to speak her thoughts.

"He's... he's dead, Emily." There were already tears streaming down her face.

She shook her head and fussed, "Stop lying, stop lying!" She put her hands over her ears. It wasn't true, it couldn't be! He couldn't be dead! He promised her he wouldn't! He promised!

"He... got you this, Emily... it was... going to be for your birthday." She pulled out a box from underneath the cabinet, setting her down. She sniffled and looked over at her mother, as if to confirm if she could open it. The response was a small nod. She carefully unfolded the flaps of the box. Inside was an apron. It was white and tied in the back, but what really made it stand out was the pastel pink heart on it. She picked it up, knowing it would be too big for her. But she smiled solemnly as the tears dripped down her face, her lip quivering.

He was gone.

Emily sat on the park's bench calmly. Maybe a year had passed. Everyone had moved on. Everyone except for her. Her knees were pulled up to her chest.

"Is this seat taken?" A boy asked timidly, his expression half blank. He had shiny black hair and unenthusiastic purple eyes.

Emily turned a little bit to make room, "No... all yours." She replied softly, barely audible, yet audible enough for him.

"Thanks..." They sat there in silence for a bit, the weather dying down and beginning to drizzle. But the boy sat there. He didn't move. Neither did Emily.

He was a little more on the chubby side, she noticed, but didn't comment. Besides, she was only nine. She didn't have to be rude.

"My... my name is Ivan." He whispered quietly, his voice shaking. He looked up at her, "What are you doing out here in the rain?"

"I'm Emily... I... could ask you the same thing..." She countered, falling silent. He licked his lips, looking slightly amused.

"Fair enough. I'm here... here because my sister's gone... passed... whatever way you wanna phrase it. I thought I'd come here because it's not... not home. I'm tired of home... but why are you here? Doesn't look like you're too happy either..."

"I... I lost my dad a year or two ago... and... I'm angry at him now. I'm... angry he left... without a goodbye... without one last word to say to me or mother..."

"Erin... Erin went the same way... well, I just mean... she left us and only Aiden heard her last words... and... I miss her..." He sighed in an upset tone. The pain and suffering in his voice was crystal clear.

"I mean... why did my dad have to be a stupid firefighter? Why'd he have to volunteer to go into the collapsing building? After all... it wasn't fair. It should've been someone else's dad. Not mine. What did I do to deserve the hurt and heartache of his death?" She realized her explanation had turned into a rant and it wasn't what Ivan wanted to hear likely.

"It would've taken away someone else's dad... and he did it because he was selfless. Because he was caring. Because he was a true hero..." Ivan's words hit Emily like a bullet to the chest as he continued, "...please promise me something. Promise me that you won't give up. That you'll keep going. For your mom's sake, and for some random stranger's sake. I... I want Erin's story to be an inspirational one. You may have lost that fight... but the war isn't over. It's up to you to keep battling life... and not dwell on the fact that it was your dad's fault he's gone."

"...I'll try. I'll say... now that I see you closer, you look like someone at school. Do you go to [insert school name here]?"

"Ah... yes. That's where I go. Probably have a different teacher from you, which would be reasonable."

"I guess I'll be seeing you around then, Ivan." She finally cracked a smile for the first time in forever. Ivan tried to smile back. Emily got to her feet, fixing her hair.

"See you around, Emily..."

After years, Emily had finally succeeded in doing the one thing she didn't know how to do; move on. And it was all thanks to her friend Ivan.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to crack a smile once in a while."

Ivan had come over to Emily's house to help her with her upcoming cooking competition, along with Tessa, Aiden, and Aiden's new friend, Ethan. Ethan was weird, they had collected. Emily, a little upset with his current expression, scolded him for it.

"It hurts my mouth." Ivan shrugged, trying to defend himself. He wasn't the same kid that Emily had met a little over three years ago. He transformed into a completely different person. Emily guessed that, perhaps, it had just been him finally moving on from Erin's death, no matter how comforting and supportive she attempted to be.

"Come on, Em. He smiles sometimes." Tessa fixed the ribbon in her feathery brown hair. Emily doubted her, as sad as it sounded. She shook her head to herself as Aiden and Ethan were being idiots and trying to catch cheese balls they were throwing in the air into their mouths.

"Hey, Eva, or Evelyn, or whatever your name is, why do you like cooking so much?" Ethan questioned before popping another cheese ball in his mouth. He was wearing his typical attire- a t-shirt and shorts. Only one problem his friends had with this; it was winter! Who wears shorts in winter?!

"First of all, it's Emily," She correctly calmly, not much of a person to snap, "And why not? Cooking is amazing. And when you get into baking- cakes are delicious!"

"We're making cake? Awesome!" He pounded his fist in the air with an enthusiastic grin.

"Well, not exactly... we're making cupcakes." She explained in correction.

"Aw, same thing!" He waved it off, sitting on one of the barstools at the counter. Aiden slid down next to him, eyeing Emily, "Game plan? Idea of what kind of cupcakes we're gonna make?"

"Hm... I was thinking... maybe lemon cupcakes?" She said as if it was a question as opposed to an answer.

"I'm down. Mom makes them all the time." Aiden gave his thumbs up.

"Lucky. My mom doesn't do anything like that except sit around and look pretty," Ethan complained, barely even noticing his own disrespect and blatant disregard for his parents, "Not that I'm saying she's pretty to begin with."

"Anyways, I'll go get the eggs and water. You get the other ingredients?" She requested to no one in particular, going to get the eggs from the fridge. The others helped carefully. Every time someone messed up, Emily tensed up even more. It was a little disastrous, but they made it through and finished the cupcakes for the competition the next day. They would all go there to see the judges try her dish, and support her, of course. Giving their farewells, the kids left and prepared for the morning.

It was a sunny, yet frigid morning when Emily woke up. It wasn't snowing, but it was chilly, and icicles had formed on her car outside. She got ready excitedly, keeping her eye on the prize and praying she'd be the one to win.

When it hit noon, she was off to the contest, wanting to arrive early with her cupcakes. Her green eyes glinted determinedly, her short blonde hair bouncing behind her as she speed-walked into the school. Looking around, she already spotted five or six other people with their desserts ready to be presented. Her stomach felt queasy, but despite her uneasiness she walked over to the counter and they gave her a seven. She assumed it meant she was the seventh there and seventh to present. She strolled over to her table and set her box down, feeling herself freeze up a little from the idea of a bunch of people watching her be judged. As the competition started, Emily was struggling to pull herself together. Fortunately for her, her two closest friends walked in to check on her- Ivan and Tessa.

Ivan shook her shoulder a little with his hand, "Emily, what's wrong? You look as if you've seen a ghost..."

He was right, indeed. Her skin was pale and she was feeling a little lightheaded. It wasn't from stress, it wasn't anxiety, but it was her dad. This was her first competition without his assistance (she hadn't done any since his death) and all that was on her mind was that he loved baking. It was special to him through his mother, which made it special to her through him. It was a bit nerve wracking to be thinking of every second, which was why she was so afraid to step on out there.

"Em, you've got this," Tessa reassured her, "You're the best cook we know, and we're counting on you to at least try your best. You shouldn't expect to win, but you should expect to get a little criticism and feel better about your cooking. This is a lot coming from me, considering I've been in your shoes multiple times, but I know you've got this."

"Yeah, Em! Just go out there and put on the bravest face you can. You didn't get this far by giving up, right?" Ivan motivated. Emily inhaled, made sure she was good, and exhaled. The worries slowly flooded out of her and she planned to do one thing; make her father proud.

"And, coming in at Number Seven, Emily M!" The announcer called, shining a light at the curtain she came out of. She gave a slight wave to the audience and got over to the judges as she set down her tray.

The first judge picked one up and examined it, "Such perfect outer design..." He praised, taking of the wrapper gently, which made a crinkling noise and it got off of the cupcake. He took a bite and set it down,

"I give it a nine." He held up a sign with the number nine on it. Emily breathed. So far, so good.

The second judge, however, was not so pleased. She scrunched up her face at the appearance and took a nibble at it. A little irritated, she set it down,

"I give it a five."

A five? Emily thought to herself, her mind spinning. That was the worst she had ever gotten! And she knew the cupcakes had been made perfectly! But a five? Out of ten? That was only 50%! Her mind swirled with endless possibilities of what she had done wrong. Were they overcooked? Did she not read the ingredients correctly?

She glanced away, faint blush appearing on her cheeks out of embarrassment.

The third judge observed it thoroughly before she took a bite out of it. She held up a sign with a ten on it.

Emily couldn't help but give a sigh of relief. At least the other two judges liked her work! There was a rise of clapping from the crowd, but she could see the people who were clapping the loudest were her friends, squished near the end of the seats. She gave a timid, collected wave, and disappeared off of the stage.

"I still can't believe you got second place! Second! Out of like, what, thirty people?!" Aiden was still in awe of the shiny metal Emily had earned. It glistened as she held it.

"That second judge was pretty strict, apparently. Some old grouch." Ethan replied simply, shrugging it off. He couldn't help but admit it; he was surprised himself.

"I heard that, Mr. Ethan!" A voice from behind him glared. He bolted and out of the auditorium.

"What a crazy adventure." Tessa giggled, quite content with the contest.

"Are you going to compete next year too, Em?" Aiden inquired, not really curious, as he already knew the answer, but answering anyways.

She smiled to herself, not even paying attention.

"Are you still proud of me, Dad?"

Lol the cooking contest was totally improvised. Hope you guys liked Emily's backstory, it was a tad sad to write. Author outtttt