Time passed and before she knew it, Frisk was graduating from grade 7 and moving onto high school. The nearest one from her house was Ebott Secondary School and luckily it was but a few blocks away from her house, and her old elementary school. As Frisk grew older, she became more preoccupied with many activities and duties.
She also grew somewhat colder and more distant with with her family, specifically the skeleton brothers.
Because she was also a teen, Frisk spent many of her hours with friends. She began going through puberty, and she had to explain with embarrassment what it was to her family, realizing that Monsters didn't have this stuff, luckily for them.
Because she was always so busy, Frisk rarely spent time with her family anymore. During the summer, Frisk siens her days with friends. If the skeleton brothers wanted to hang out with her, she was always busy with violin or ballet lessons, and ambassador duties. They rarely saw Frisk anymore, as she spends the rest of her days holed up in her room, the door locked.
Her family was a little hurt with her actions. Toriel and Asgore were understanding as parents and realized Frisk was going through some changes and that she was super stressed and busy in her life, Undyne and Alphys didn't mind as much and gave Frisk her personal space as needed, but the skeleton brothers... They seemed to be the most affected by the changes.
"Sans, why doesn't Frisk want to spend time with us anymore?" Papyrus asked one day, confused.
"She's very busy with life, Paps. But don't worry, she won't stay busy forever. Just give her some time and then we can all hang kit again like the good ol' days."
Sans had said that but was in disbelief when Frisk never spent time with them over the next two months. It was already August. Frisk would start high school in a month and they still haven't hung out. The brothers voiced their concerns to Toriel.
"I'm incredibly sorry, boys. I would have assumed that she would be free on one of these days. High school is fast approaching for Frisk, and I'm guessing she is very nervous and stressed about it. She told me that she wanted to get a head start on some studies so she wouldn't fall behind."
"Start ahead for two whole months?" Sans asked incredulously.
"I guess so," Toriel said with an accepting shrug. She looked up at the staircase, her eyes settling on the door of Frisk's room. "Though, I do understand your sadness. She hardly talks anymore, rarely comes out of her room to drink or eat... She's not even in grade 12 yet, which I heard is when most high school students stress because they're preparing for university. Frisk isn't even in high school yet and she's stressed like it is the end of the world. She's working too hard."
"Is that a bad thing?" Papyrus asked.
"It's bad when you strut forgetting to take care of yourself, Papyrus dear." Toriel clasped her paws together. "If you boys can somehow convince her to take a little break, I would greatly appreciate it."
Sans gave her a thumbs up. "We'll do our best, Tori."
"Thank you, boys. Good luck."
Sans and Papyrus went up the stairs and stopped in fient of Frisk's door. They hesitated, but then both of them rapped their knuckles against the door.
"Human, are you in there?"
They pressed their skulls against the door to listen for any sounds. It was eerily silent, for some reason. After a few seconds, they finally heard the sounds of shuffling in her room, as well as some footsteps. The door swung open.
Sans grinned at her. "Hey, Frisk."
"...What do you guys want?" Frisk asked, somewhat annoyed. Her tone shocked them both.
Ever since she reached puberty, Frisk looked and acted so differently from her kiddie self. Her hair had grown a little longer, she was more taller than Sans, and her overall attitude was colder and more... rebellious? It scared the brothers a bit.
Papyrus his non-existent throat uncomfortably. "We were just hoping that you could come out from your room to spend some time with us, Frisk."
"Yeah, take a little break, kid."
Frisk raised a brow. "Take a break? I'm not you, Sans." Sans flinched a fraction, like he's been slapped by her. She kept going. "I'm very busy right now, guys. Sorry."
She was about to close the door when Sans stopped her and held it open. Something within him had snapped. This was getting out of hand.
"Don't you think you're working yourself a little too hard, Frisk?" Sans remarked. He pointed at her. "You need a break. Have a snack, and spend some time with us."
"I'm busy," she deadpanned. "Though, I am a little hungry. Maybe I'll grab a small snack."
The brothers beamed as Frisk exited her room and followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sans went to the fridge to grab some condiments.
"I could make you some 'dogs, Frisk. How does that sound?" He suggested.
"Pretty bad." Sans looked up in shock and saw Frisk snagging an apple and granola bars. "That stuff is mighty unhealthy for Humans. Don't you know it clogs up arteries by forming plaques around the walls of the heart and can cause heart attacks? That stuff is deadly for Humans. You're not killing me with hotdogs, Sans. I won't allow that."
She walked out of the kitchen and Sans dropped the condiments in shock, blinking, Papyrus rushed into the kitchen.
"Brother, are you well?"
Sans blinked himself out of his stupor. "Uh, I dunno?"
"Sans?"
"Why is Frisk acting like this?" He questioned.
"Well, I for one, agree with Frisk. Hotdogs are incredibly unhealthy, Sans."
"Papyrus! That's not the point. She's... very rude, all of a sudden? I dunno how to describe it."
"Oh, right. Er, well..."
The brothers didn't know what to do. They followed Frisk as she rushed back upstairs and slammed their door shut in the faces. The brothers flinched.
"I guess we should leave her be, brother."
"I guess so..."
This continued on. Frisk started high school in September and from them on, she got more and more busy. She got into an advanced math and English class, so that meant extra effort on her part, and more homework. Her violin and ballet lessons also intensified. On top of that, ambassador duties. Frisk literally had no free time at all.
A whole year passed and Frisk was finished grade 8. She had gotten straight As to end grade 8 on a high note. Sans and Papyrus assumed that now she has free time. They were both very wrong. That summer, she was busier than usual. More ambassador duties, and her violin and ballet lessons intensified due to Frisk entering competitions. At least she had gotten good results for herself.
"Paps, Frisk is working herself down to the bone!" At this, Papyrus frowned.
"Ugh, Sans! Again with the puns?!"
Sans blinked. "Wow, I didn't even notice it... But, seriously! She is working herself down to exhaustion! We have to stop her!"
"How? She keeps pushing us away."
"... I dunno, Papyrus."
Papyrus knelt down. "Don't worry, Sans. Things will get better. I'm sure Frisk will finish up real soon and then we can all hang out again. Okay?"
"Sure, Paps."
Things didn't get better. By the time Frisk entered grade 9, she was busier then before. Aside from the regular grind of schoolwork, ambassador duties and her extracurricular activities, she also signed up for the swimming team.
Frisk was growing more distant from her family than ever before. More time has passed and Frisk was finished grade 9, again ending her school year on a high note.
The brothers have discussed that no matter what they had done before clearly wasn't working. It was time to confront Frisk about her behaviour once and for all! They were determined.
One day while Frisk was grabbing a snack and making her way up the stairs to her room, the brothers had cornered her just as she was about to head into her room. They were standing directly in front of the door of her room.
"Um; what are you guys doing?" She questioned. Papyrus held up a hand to her face.
"Halt, Human! You shan't pass us! You cannot go into your room. We forbid it!"
"Uh, you've lost me. I'm confused."
"This is an intervention, kid." She looked at Sans with wide eyes.
"What?"
"Frisk, you are working yourself..." Papyrus shuddered before muttering in a small grumbling voice, "down to the bone." He groaned when Sans grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up at the pun. "Anyhoo! You need a break. Please halt your studies and come relax with us for a bit."
Frisk shook her head adamantly. "Sorry, Papyrus. I can't halt my studies." She made quotation marks in the air. "Do you know how hard high school is? I wanna get good grades and I have been doing that because I'm studying over the summer. Now please, get outta my way."
"No can do, kiddo. You're having a small break with us," Sans insisted, picking her up by using some of his blue magic on her. Frisk yelped in surprise.
"Hey, no fair! You're cheating!"
"What can I say, kiddo. Desperate times call for desperate measures."
They brought her downstairs and into the living room. The brothers really wanted to talk to her about all this. This was getting far out of hand.
"Frisk..." Sans didn't know exactly where nor how to start the conversation. "You've been ignoring us for the past 2 years... somehow." He chuckled incredulously. "We miss you."
For the first time, Frisk looked guilty. Her eyes tore away from Sans and bore into the carpet. "I'm sorry. I've just been super busy and stressed these past few years."
"Why don't you take a break? Doesn't have to be long. Even a 10 minute break, anything. We haven't hung out in a long time," Sans told her with a quiet voice. Frisk nodded her head.
"I know, but I can't. High school is tough, and I need good grades. I heard that the universities start looking at grades at grade 10. I'm super stressed, okay? I need to get into a good university."
"Don't most people worry about this stuff in grade 12, though?"
"Most people. The smart people plan ahead. They start at grade 9, maybe earlier." Frisk sighed.
"You know, if you ever need help with any schoolwork in the future, I've got you."
Frisk looked up. "Really?" She was smirking, and she looked doubtful.
"Hey, I learned this stuff too, you know!" Sans insisted, winking. It was the first time in a long time that he heard Frisk giggle. "If you ever need help, just tell me. Though, it looks like you've got everything under control. But if you ever need help, just ask. Okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Okay."
Papyrus prepared some spaghetti and the trio ate it happily while watching some tv. Frisk felt herself relax. It was the fish time in a long time where she could even relax and enjoy herself. She never really noticed how busy she had been until she sat down on the couch and lounged on it. Frisk was super tired, especially after Papyrus's amazing spaghetti.
...
Toriel came back to the house to the Frisk, Papyrus and Sans all sleeping on the couch. She switched off the tv, smiled tenderly at them and covered them with a small blanket, careful not to make any news. She was happy that the brothers got Frisk to relax for a bit. She could always rely on them to convince her.
Frisk was snuggled between the brothers, her head leaning on Sans's chest while his arms were around her body and Papyrus's legs were lounged unceremoniously over the couch.
It's been quite a day.
