‟I need your help."

The night was silent. He was alone in the park. Nothing and no one else was around. A soft wind flew in from the browning leaves. The pond was still, him being the only thing disturbing its profound sleep. Then, the surface rippled, like someone was coming up for air. Without a sound, his reflection spoke.

‟… Did you have to come all the way here?"

‟It's important."

‟… It's always something important, is it important enough to come to the park in the dead of night?"

It wasn't Kris in the pond. It was someone else inside him, something who appeared only in reflections. A spirit who lived in his thoughts and manifested through his actions. He was a guest, of sorts. A guest with rough manners

‟It's… a different kind of important from what we usually discuss." - Turning his eyes to the side, Kris scratched the embarrassment off his arm.

The Soul inside him just stared, as expressive as a cadaver in rigor mortis. Like His own face was a foreign instrument to Him.

‟Uh, I… I like a girl." - He grimaced at his own words, they were hard to believe to his ears.

‟Oh?" - The Soul couldn't manage to hide a raised eyebrow.

‟And I think I need your help."

‟You want me to help you?"

The question was left in the air. Left unanswered in a slow and muted stroll on the dark edge of the pond. The Soul stepped away from Kris, but even when the boy couldn't see Him, he felt where He was, and even though he made no sound, Kris heard what was said.

‟I don't know about that. I'm not a 'people' person, and I thought talking was your job."- The Soul blinked, and His worry died under the spiral of waves.
‟Unless you think fighting her is an effective flirting strategy, but I have an inkling those aren't your type."

‟Yeah, you're right… but, I still think I need your help."

‟Well, it's not like I'd refuse… what would I do?"

The cut grass was getting colder. The sky was fogged up with dark clouds. The leaves shook a little wilder. Kris's words were almost drowned out under the wind.

‟… She doesn't like me back." - Kris knew that. It was as clear as night. He wished he could turn a blind eye to it, but he had to look reality straight and accept it.

‟You think I can make her like you?"

‟No, but… you gotta help me."

He was puppetting his brother's mannerism. This isn't what he would do. It wasn't him.

‟So, what do you want me to do?"

‟I need you to give me a push."

‟ …Is that it? Is that all you want?"

‟Well, the more you'd help… the better." - Kris felt like he was serving himself up. No idea what this meant. He knew the Soul could control him. Just not how much or in what manner. He needed to try anything.

‟… Who's the girl?"- Soul's face looked as excited as a corpse.

‟Noelle… Noelle Holiday."

He thought teenage love was beneath him, as did all teenagers, but a part of him he thought long dead had roused to life after he had been with her in the Dark World. He had uncovered feelings that he thought buried by time. All of his memories with her were like a distant life that just crashed into him once they met face to face.

‟…Doesn't she like Susie?"

‟Yes, she does." - Noelle was still the spitting image of her childhood self, preserved and embalmed until they met. That she liked Susie was one of the few, vital, differences.

The Soul closed his eyes, he looked at peace floating down the surface of the river. Kris was left in the dark. There was a small rock by the lakeside, he reached out to grab it, but it was already buried in mud. From the wet nothingness, two red spotlights stabbed him from below.

‟I'll help."

‟You will!?"

‟I already told you, it's not like I'd refuse." - The Soul said with a smug tone that sounded no more alive than His usual inflection. His face didn't change.
‟But I'm not fully convinced." - There was something like worry on the reflection's face, or more likely, it was flaps and flutters of water painting it uncertain.

‟…Well, you agreed, so you can't back out now."

He found it, it was a way forward, a light at the end of the tunnel, he had somewhere to drive to, even if it led off a cliff. A cliff would have been better than the circles of doubt he had been going in for the past couple of days. He was able to breathe. His heart was beating. He had woken up after a deep slumber. Even if the reality he chose might have been worse than his deepest nightmares, he was in control of something.

‟So, here's my first idea." - Soul's monotone voice buzzed from the river like an alarm clock.
‟We go to sleep."

‟…Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

Kris's reflection disappeared, and the water went still again, he said no goodbye, because the Soul was still with him. He was afraid to check his phone, if Toriel found out, she'd have his head on a platter. And, regardless, the park was too macabre at this hour.

Even though it was still dark, his path home was illuminated by old street lamps. The few that worked only provided fuzzy, dim glows, but that was enough to light his way.