[Que Chara song: watch?v=L6WE4Ifc2tI ]
After chugging it down, Chara smacked his lips as if unsure of the taste.
"There's hardly any alcohol in-," he collapsed upon the floor.
"C-Chara!" You quickly jumped out of the tub and patted his face. "Chara…. Chara wake up!" You turned him on his back and leaned your ear towards his chest. Droplets of water soaked into his shirt and slid across his skin as you moved your damp-hair out of the way. His heart was still beating, thankfully, but he wouldn't wake up. He must have just passed out cold from shooting the cup in one go.
"I really hope that wasn't a cup of straight whiskey," you quickly shook your head; Sans wasn't that drastic. You gently laid Chara's head on the towel and grabbed the cup. You went to find another towel near your bed. You threw shirts around, but then heard the front door swing open.
"C-Charlie?" Sans stumbled a little bit before falling onto the couch, he was rubbing his face. "God my head…. everything's still blurry.
"Jesus," you muttered under your breath, "are you sick too or something?"
"What're you talking about," Sans argued, rubbing the ridge between his eyes.
"Uhh, just that you're not the only one not feeling well." You stayed just outside the bathroom door, and flipped on the fan in the room to create noise so he wouldn't hear Chara.
Sans paused, he looked up from the couch and noticed the empty cup in your hands. "A-are you okay?" You nodded, shrugging like nothing was wrong. Chara began groaning in the bathroom floor. You quickly closed the door.
"Nope, I'm fine," you studied his face, expecting a certain reaction. He must have put something in that cup. Sans appeared puzzled, but then glanced at the empty cup.
"Has anyone been in here since I left," he sat up on the couch, like he was trying to focus.
"Uh, no. I actually just got out of the bath," you shook your head, allowing droplets of water to splat across the wooden floor. "See, still drenched. But why do you ask," you leaned forward, curious what he was up to. "Was someone 'supposed' to be here?"
"No, not to my knowledge," he was playing dumb.
"Hmm, right. Well, would you please go get me something….my stomach is upset. You should go see Toriel anyway to check yourself out, you're not looking so hot."
Sans wiped his forehead, "That's…actually a good idea." He began swaying back and forth.
"Oh no, don't you dare pass-," he collapsed onto the floor.
"Uhgghghghgh!" You exclaimed, "Everyone is getting sick! I thought you drugged my cup you oaf," you scolded Sans as you drug his body to the couch again. "Turns out, you're just a sick doofus…," you shook your head and texted Todd to come get him. Pap would just scold him for hours before dragging him out of the house.
About 15 minutes later your back window opened and Todd jumped inside.
"Thank you Todd, I was-are you wearing make-up?" You cupped your mouth as your composure crumbled. You were possibly witnessing a bet gone wrong.
"If you keep staring, I'm gonna charge," Todd quipped. He was in a black dress and had pink lipstick smeared across his mouth. You just choked a bit, trying to be a good friend. "If you must know," he bickered while dragging Sans's body, "it's free lady's night at the pub."
"But it's only $2 to get in," you snickered while opening the door for him to leave with Sans over his shoulder.
"I'm a cheap date," Todd carried Sans off though they weren't headed to Toriel's.
"Have fun ladies," you waved them goodbye and then quickly closed the front door. You unwrapped the towel and threw on a bra, shirt, and underwear. You double checked, no one else was home aside from him.
"Chara?" you slowly creaked the door open. He was smiling, laughing at nothing.
"C-Char, Charlie?" He slurred, rolling around playfully to get a better look of you. He landed on his stomach and stretched as if he's just woken up. After feeling even more relaxed he tried to fall back asleep.
"No, no, no," you grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up. "You need to get up. You've got stuff to pack for your trip today." He smiled and shook his head, becoming dead weight.
"All-all done," he hummed. "I packed ev-everything last night." Chara yawned, he felt uncomfortably warm as you dragged him to your bedroom floor. "I—I feel good," he smirked.
"Uh..huh," you burrowed your brow, concerned. "Chara, you're burning up. Go lay down, I'll get some water and Tylenol." He shook his head, refusing to move from his comfortable spot.
For some unknown reason, you thought it'd be a good idea to find a ticklish spot. You tickled behind his ear but he didn't budge, just laughed at your attempts to persuade him. You instead tried under his arm, he willingly rose both to give you free rein, nothing.
"Chara," you growled, leaning in close to his ear, "get your ass in bed and rest or I'll send you home like Sans. Better be in laying down before I get back with medicine," you turned around and grabbed a clean glass from the kitchen. You poured cold water until it was halfway and grabbed some pills to reduce the fever. You heard him finally moving around in the room, shuffling around almost like he was struggling. "Come on, all you had to do was throw yourself onto the-."
…..
….
"Chara." You calmly called.
"Huh?" he mumbled, face down in the bed… butt-ass naked.
"I, you, ummm okay. Okay, okay, okay," you grabbed a sheet and threw it over on top of him, being an adult about this. "I have the medicine, but why'd you take off your clothes?" You sat on the bed, he rolled his face sideways and opened his mouth. You put the pill inside and carefully poured some water in. He coughed up a little but finally downed the pill, sighing after the exhaustion.
"I was really warm, need-needed to cool off," he huffed. You could now see beads of sweat roll off his forehead, his own hair was now drenched. You placed a hand overhead, this was getting bad.
"Chara, I'm going to call Toriel. Your temperature isn't breaking, this isn't good."
You pulled away but Chara grabbed your arm. "No. Don't. I'll be fine…just…tired." He drifted off, falling asleep. You snuck away and grabbed some ice and placed it in a plastic baggie; then placed it over his forehead. You pulled up a chair and grabbed a thermometer from the night stand and monitored his temperature every couple of minutes. When his fever finally broke after a few hours, you smiled, resting your own face upon the bed for a short nap.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock echoed throughout the house. You awoke to the sound of nothing, incased in bedsheets. Someone tucked you in after you passed out. Chara was gone. Everything in the room was dark.
"Chara can you turn the lights on?" you yawned, stretching your arms. No response.
You froze…you glanced at the clock, it was 9:00 pm. Chara told you to give him an answer by 8:00 pm. You jumped out of bed, running into the living room and snatching the cell phone off the counter. "Come on Chara, pick up." You kept dialing, but he didn't answer. "Dammit," you leaned back against the counter. You called again, this time it didn't even ring. It went straight to voicemail but instead of his voice, an automated voice messaging system replied.
"This device does not have voicemail set up, please try again later. This devise does not have voicemail set up, please try again later. This devise-," you ended the call, pulling your hair back and groaning.
[Sorry, Chara…I couldn't make it in time.] You texted him. No response.
You slowly slid down the back of the counter, feeling left behind. It was your fault…falling asleep all day. You heard something chirp, like a phone notification but it wasn't yours. On the couch was Sans's phone where he dropped it. He just got a message from Chara. You normally didn't invade privacy, but only opened it because it was him.
[Thanks for not killing me, I guess. Good bye. Take care of Charlie.] You quickly used Sans's phone and called instead. It rang three times…
"Jesus, if I'd known you'd be this needy, I wouldn't have texted," Chara quipped, he sounded like he was driving. "Sans, I know you're upset at me, but don't worry. I won't be a problem any-,"
"Chara is me!" You shouted. The phone went silent. "Why didn't you wake me up?" He didn't respond. "The least you could have done was wake me up so I could say goodbye…" you held back spite, feeling betrayed after all the years of being friends.
"Charlie…," he spoke calmly. "I knew what your answer would be even before I even asked you. It's okay. Don't worry about it. I knew that if I woke you up, you'd try to convince me to stay-,"
"Chara you idiot, you never let me answer for myself. I wanted to go with you!"
Tires screeched across the pavement from what you could recognize on the other side of the phone. You could also hear aggressive honking from other cars as you patiently waited on the other line, hoping for his reply.
"Chara?" You waited again, his phone went silent. "Chara?!" Nothing, the call dropped. "What? Are you fucking me?!" You tried to call again but Sans's phone powered off. "Shit," you took your own phone and called instead but it went to the automated voice messaging system again. "No, no, no," you kept calling and calling but it was to no prevail. It continued going straight to the automated voicemail.
You spent an entire hour calling him back, feeling more defeated each time he failed to pick up. You eventually stopped calling and just sat there, wondering why you even bothered. Maybe this was for the best, now Chara can be on his own, without us watching his back.
You dragged your own body back into the bedroom after that hour passed. You didn't even bother turning on the lights and took off your shirt, turning in early. The bed was still damp from Chara's sweat but you didn't care as you pulled up the covers and laid on your side.
You could see a silhouette of someone's face outside your window.
"Holy fuck," you screeched, flipping on the lamp switch next to the bed. The lamp highlighted the left side of the room, illuminating the window.
Chara was outside, panting. He was completely out of breath, trying to see inside. You covered yourself with a pillow and rushed over, opening the window with one hand after unlocking it.
"What is it with you guys and not using the front door!" You felt relieved, but worried, why'd he rush home?
"A-are you sure!?" He gasped, out of breath. "I need to know." He was waiting…
"I, Chara, yes. B-but I don't even have anything packed, we don't have time-" you frantically looked around while covering yourself. Chara jumped through the window and began stuffing random clothes into a suitcase he brought. "Don't have long…before they get a hint your coming too," he huffed, stuffing shoes and toothpaste. He quickly looked around, "Is there anything here you HAVE to have? Mementos?" He glanced at you, half naked. "Favorite pillow?" You shook your head, trying to cautiously find a shirt to wear. You we're still topless. "What?" he glanced at you covering yourself. "Oh, get a shirt on already. It's not the first time I've seen boobs. Come on lady." He snapped his fingers, "Chop chop."
"Fine," you huffed, throwing up your arms and exposing yourself. You found a sports bra in the closet and then snatched a jacket from the coat-rack. "Ready…I think. I didn't really have any heirlooms for-," you turned around and Chara had disappeared. You stuck your head out the window, he was chucking shit into the back like an apocalypse was happening.
He waved you to come on, you jumped out the window and headed over. "I'm going to have to call them soon, I don't want them to assume the worst." You hopping inside the truck and slammed the door, scooting to the middle seat.
Chara started the car and pulled out of the driveway, "Not until we hit the highway, don't want them following us otherwise this getaway will really be for nothing." He calmly put the truck into gear and floored it, carefully eyeing the roads. You had to sit directly next to him because the other window seat was taken up by a cooler with snacks and drinks for the trip. Opening the lid, there were juice boxes, soda, a few cheese sticks shoved into the ice at the bottom.
There was silence for the first 10 minutes as he took the backroads out of town. You calmly sat next to him, feeling his arms occasionally bump into you. You watched the trees, cascading in shadows by the headlights piercing through the openings. There was always an eerie feeling in this forest at night but you've long lost the fear of the woods. In the woods, you could hide. Being in the open, that's dangerous.
Chara remained silent until the truck finally pulled onto an intersection. As soon as the tires hit the interstate, he sighed, leaning back. He smiled to himself, feeling triumph.
"I know this may be a bad time to ask, but do you know where we're headed?" You pulled up your feet up to your chest.
"Colorado." He replied, moving into the left lane to pass someone. "They have nice winters there, mountains, forests, and fresh air like here. We can choose to live in more remote places in their wilderness, possibly work at factories or at ranger stations together. Plus, since we're both humans, there won't be as much criticism to live there either so should be smooth sailing."
"I'm sorry, but how're you not exhausted?" you interrupted the conversation. "You sweated like a gallon in the bed and now you're up like nothing happened. How long did you sleep?" You felt his forehead, no fever.
"Long enough," he pulled away. "You should probably keep your distance, don't want you catching a cold because I might need you to drive later." He leaned across your lap and opened the cooler and pulled out some water. "I've got sprite, and granola for now if you'd like. We can't stop until Kansas; I would stop at a hotel but I'm sure they would check for us there."
"Understood, should I be doing anything?" you rubbed your hands together. "I can navigate using a map, keep a look out for the exits." You shifted around bags and boxes, searching for it.
"Don't need it," he tapped his skull. "I've been there before…. a long time ago."
"You remembered your past life on the surface?" You leaned against him, trying to influence him to spill his past. You playfully wiggled your eyebrows. "Is Chara even your REAL name?"
He burst out laughing, trying to keep calm so he would stop swerving. The laughing died down abruptly, no response. You pouted.
"Well, is it?" You spat. He just grinned, like he couldn't hide it any longer. "No. Nuh uh," you gasped. "It isn't…is it? What's your name?" You pulled on the arm he wasn't using to drive. "You've kept me in the dark for so long, spill it."
"Chara was given to me, by Toriel," he shrugged. "I almost forgot my own but it came back to me the day you fell into the underground. You're eyes."
"What?" Your scrunched your nose, "What about my eyes? They're just blue."
"Yes, and they reminded me of someone. Just," he shook his head, "Listen, I told you I won't be focusing on the past anymore, nor things I can't change."
"Baby steps," you patted his arm. "No pressure…. but would you pretty please tell me your name," you prodded. "Is its Patrick? Isaac? Matt?" He kept shaking his head. "John? David?"
"It won't count if you just guess it, you need to remember."
"Remember? I've never seen you before the underground. Are you messing with me?"
Chara glared off at the road, "Just forget it. Go to sleep." You grunted, lowering your head into your knees.
"As if, I'm not going to sleep until you tell me your name."
You couldn't even endure the first hour of the trip and slept the whole way to Kansas. The sun wasn't even up when you heard the engine turn off. Chara closed his car door and hopped into the bed of the truck, searching around. You were too lethargic to even bother to check and continued resting. Chara walked in front of the truck and dropped a bag on the ground outside your window. You yawned, leaning back into his seat to finally lay down.
The door opened, Chara poked you. "Hey, get up. We're sleeping out here."
"Outside? But it's cold." The truck would have been a better option.
"You haven't had a problem with it before," he quipped, helping you out. "Just keep your coat on, and get inside."
"Inside what?"
In front of you was a tent all set up with the front door already zipped down. You rubbed your face, getting a few sleepy laughs out of the situation. It was ironic, sharing a tent with Chara.
"I don't remember a tent being amusing…but if you want to sleep in the truck, fine. Just keep the doors locked in case." He took of his boots and nestled inside the tent.
"Psssh, it's not like it's the first time I've shared a tent with someone I ran away with." You muttered under your breath so he couldn't hear. Standing out in the cold, your breath fogged the air before you. Air molecules condensed into tiny droplets of water that you saw as a cloud expanded. You looked back at the truck, but knew very well you had trouble staying warm on your own in the cold. "Shit." You hurried over.
You zipped the door down, took a step back and tumbled inside, just like Undyne used to do.
"Really? Really?" he took off his boots, setting them aside.
"You're just jealous, I used to master tumbling. Had to fall forward into the snow a few times to practice. But yeah-" you sighed, remembering the finer times of war. But now you were literally in bed with the enemy. You giggled.
"Do I just amuse you?" He scoffed, laying on his back.
"Irony, it's gets me every time," you smiled back.
"What's ironic?"
"What's your real name?" You retorted. "Seems we all got questions that need answers, huh?" Your sass caused him to turn away from you. You hopped into the sleeping bag and rolled around, bumping into his back. You snuggled against him so that you could stay warm. He didn't fight you for once, but grunted in discomfort. You laid you head down to rest.
Then it hit you, what was Sans going to do once he found out?
"Huh wha?" Sans awoke in a bar, covered in a sticky liquid that had dried upon his shirt. "C-Charlie?" He rubbed his head, still pounding. Cluttered around his space were bottles upon bottles of half-finished mixed drinks. There was also mustard stained across the table and his hands.
Half-naked and asleep on top of a bar-table was Todd, all sprawled out. Sans pulled on the cat's tail, "Hey, where are we?" Todd didn't budge, he was out cold.
"Hey good lookin'," a man cooed at Sans with a snide remark. With such distain, Sans flared a quick glare at the man. "UHhh, never mind!" The man quickly left the bar entirely, stumbling while drunk. There were still a few stragglers left in the building, eyeing Sans and Todd.
"What!" Sans shouted, edging them on. "You all keep staring, is it because we're monsters!?"
"Sans," Todd whined, barely opening his mouth. "Stop shouting….my head, it hurts so damn much."
"Are you even a woman," one man spoke up, gulping down his drink.
"Excuse me?!" Sans marched forward, threatening him. "Do I look like a woman to you, well do I!"
The man kept laughing, trying to keep his cool. He then pointed towards the wall. Sans drew back and looked, it was a mirror. He tilted his head, almost curious as to what the fuck was staring back.
He could then see red lipstick spread across his mouth in a sluggish fashion. Someone attempted to put eyeliner over the ridges of his eyes. And foundation? He quickly rubbed his face with the sleeves to his jacket, only smearing it everywhere. The man was now crying, trying to keep it cool but the woman slowly left the table, thinking a fight was about to happen.
Sans turned, "TOOOOOOODD!" Todd was gone.
"I really liked the whole idea of dressing up for Halloween," Alyphs commented as she set the dinner table. "I mean, I could personally create some costumes for you if you'd like."
"Oh no," Pap smirked, waving her idea away. "I already have one in mind."
"Not that old piece of junk," Undyne spat as she jumped on top of her chair. "That's all you've ever worn in the underground, it's old. Wait, never mind, you should wear it. Maybe even add a black cloak overhead….and possibly bring a scythe."
"For the last time I won't dress up as death!" Papyrus slammed his fist into the table.
"Hey!" Asriel snapped, walking in from the kitchen, "Ruin that table and we'll all meet death for Halloween. Besides," he took a seat, "isn't it for kids? We're adults." He sighed, helping pass around rolls.
"Okay," Toriel announced, "Tonight's special will be lasagna, eggplant, and some squash from the garden." She placed the main dish down, Asgore brought the sides. After the food was brought to the table, everyone digged in. "So," Toriel began, "I was trying to figure out how we should decorate the house this year. I also think it would be a nice change to dress up as something else, preferably something new, something refreshing."
"Ha!" Undyne pointed at Papyrus, "Even the queen agrees with me Pappy."
"I told you not to call me that," he hissed. Alyphs took the whole basket of rolls for herself, calling dibs while they bickered.
"Agree with what?" Toriel asked, cutting the lasagna.
"That we should dress-"
The front door slammed open, Todd busted through and tumbled into the floor. He quickly scampered to his feet and pushed the front door back.
It almost closed all the way before someone's foot got caught in the doorway. Everyone was frozen, worried, or confused. Todd tried to push them together but Sans bull punched through, almost breaking both doors from the hinges.
"Shit, what happened to your face!" Undyne lifted the eyepatch, wondering if her good eye was going bad.
"Looks like someone is already dressed up for Halloween," Alyphs sassed, high fiving Undyne.
"Sans….," Asriel was afraid to ask, "have you been crying?"
"What? No, no!" He tried to smear the makeup off but only continued making it worse. "I, just, never mind that!" He pointed a finger down, "YOU!"
Todd gulped, "Heh…. heheh, well, it was free lady's night. But on the bright side…you did g-get a lot of free drinks."
Undyne started crying, banging her fists against the table. Alyphs pulled out her phone and began taking pictures.
"Don't you dare move, I'm not done with you yet," Sans warned while patting his pocket for his phone. His face drew a blank, it wasn't here. He kept looking through each pocket again to be sure. "My phone, dammit, must have left it at the bar…Todd, do you have it?" The cat shook his head. "Goddamit, I need to leave."
"Sans, why not stay for dinner," Toriel suggested, thought it sounded more like a subtle order. "Surely you should rest…given you probably weren't feeling well from earlier." She hinted. Sans sighed, knowing he shouldn't dig a deeper hole. He took a chair, Todd was still laying in the floor, covering his face for an attack. "Todd, you too." She calmly placed a napkin in her lap and ate. The cat snuck under the table, opposite from Sans.
A blinking light flickered in front of Chara's face, causing him to be rudely awaken. He grumbled, taking his phone and opening it. There was a text from Todd.
[Red finally woke up, you're on your own.]
Chara sighed, at least they made it out of state. He turned around and laid the phone upside down. You were still asleep as he touched your own skin. It was ice cold, and pale from decreased blood flow to the extremities. He took his arm and pulled you in from the waist, hoping his warmth was enough.
He kept cursing under his breath, "We should have just gone to a hotel. Stupid, stupid, stupid…"