~Brayden~
Sans and Papyrus had a pretty cool house. It was a wood-plank house with a snow-covered roof. There was a Christmas wreath on the door. Two mailboxes were next to it.
Papyrus was standing near a gleaming window.
"SO YOU'RE ALL HERE FOR THE SLEEPOVER!" he shouted. "GREAT! SANS AND I ARE JUST SETTING UP INSIDE. YOU ALL WILL BE SLEEPING IN MY ROOM! I WILL BE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH..." He grinned. "WOWIE! I'VE NEVER SLEPT ON THE COUCH BEFORE!"
"We can sleep on the couch if you want," Cody offered. "We don't have to take your room..."
"No way! Room for the win!" Brayden cheered.
"You're not sleepin' on the bed this time, pardner." Clover told him, giving him the stink eye. He blew a raspberry at her.
"AND THE RED CHILD AND I NEED TO HAVE A DATE!" Papyrus cackled. "NYEH HEH HEH! IN WE GO!"
He opened the door. Everyone went inside. Inside was a nice-looking house with maroon walls and a green and purple zig-zag carpet. There was a green couch, a TV and an entrance to the kitchen. A wooden table was carrying a rock covered in sprinkles. There was a staircase leading up to two bedrooms.
"Nice house, Papyrus!" Cody complimented. He was eyeing the kitchen.
"I like the rock." Faye commented, staring at the rock.
"I'm not sure about the colours, but apart from that I like the house." Melody commented.
Clover shrugged. "It's fine."
"Where's your room?" Brayden asked Papyrus, almost jumping up and down. Although he hadn't been to many sleepovers (he had had some trouble with friends in the past), he was still very excited.
"THIS WAY, LITTLE ORANGE HUMAN!" Papyrus declared, running up the stairs.
"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!" Brayden yelled, chasing after him.
The kids entered Papyrus' bedroom. It had a purple mat with a fiery border, a wooden table full of action figures, a race car bed and a bookshelf. There was a computer in the corner. Percy was staring at it, almost smiling. A pirate flag was on the wall. There was also a spare bed in the corner, covered in a colourful doona.
"HERE WE ARE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "WHERE YOU ALL MAY SLEEP TONIGHT!"
Sans entered the room, grinning. "the kids are here? awesome. let's just hope this sleepover doesn't turn into... a child-tastrophe."
"SANS!" Papyrus yelled, eyes appearing in his sockets.
"No kidding." Faye agreed, smirking.
"SANS! YOU'VE INFECTED THE LIGHT BLUE HUMAN WITH YOUR PUN ENTOURAGE!" Papyrus bellowed.
"i don't think that's her name, pap," Sans chuckled. "hey, kids, what are your names?"
"I'm Faye, nice to meet you." Faye introduced herself.
"I'm Brayden!" Brayden yelled. He stared at Papyrus. "NOT SMALL ORANGE HUMAN!"
"I'm Melody, if you forgot." Melody sighed.
"Percy." Percy said, focusing on his notes.
"Hi, I'm Cody!" Cody said brightly. "Thanks for letting us stay here!"
"The name's Clover." Clover introduced, adjusting her hat.
"and what about you, kid with the stick?" Sans asked the eighth human. They looked away.
"Oh... they don't really have a name..." Faye explained.
"Just call 'em stick kid or something." Clover told the skeletons.
"WOWIE! CHECK IT OUTIE, SANS!" Papyrus cheered. "I HAVE SEVEN NEW FRIENDS!"
"great job, pap," Sans chuckled. He eyed the kids. "you kids can go to sleep whenever you want. there's spaghetti in the fridge if you're hungry - or you can go to grillby's and get something there if you want. i'm going there tomorrow, actually. you kids can come with."
"Or I could cook something, if you've got the ingredients," Cody shrugged.
"enjoy yourselves, kids." Sans told them. He winked. "just don't kid around too much."
He left the room, Papyrus screaming his name. The taller skeleton chased his brother.
"I just realized," Faye commented. "We never really introduced ourselves to the stick kid..."
Brayden wasn't really sure he wanted to. That kid was still sort of annoying him, even if they looked at him with a haunting expression. Somehow that managed to tug at his heartstrings...? He didn't like that feeling at all.
"Well, we introduced ourselves to Sans and Papyrus, and the stick kid is not deaf, so that greeting can go for them as well." Percy said. The eighth human seemed okay with that.
"What do you wanna do now, y'all?" Clover asked.
"Let's figure out who's sleeping where, duh," Melody told her. "Some of us can go in one bed and the others can go in the other."
"I BAGS THIS ONE!" Brayden yelled, jumping into the race-car bed.
"I am not sharing a bed with Brayden." Melody declared. "No way in heck. And not with Clover, either."
"I'm okay to sleep anywhere." Cody spoke up.
Faye nodded in agreement. So did the eighth human.
"I'll sleep on the floor." Percy said, sitting on the carpet.
"Percy, you don't have to..." Melody began.
Brayden knew Percy was a guy who liked his own space. Brayden wasn't too fussy, though he had preferences (Faaayyyeeeeeee). At home, sometimes he slept on the couch with his sisters. Once he fell asleep on his mom after school, and he really hoped no one found out about that.
"I'll go ask Sans and Papyrus for some more pillows and blankets for you, Percy." Cody said. He left the bedroom.
"Your brother is way too nice, Clover," Melody sighed. "My mom said he might get into the 'wrong crowd', like Brayden."
"Hey!" Brayden protested.
He didn't like to think about when he got in with the 'wrong crowd'. Those kids were a bunch of cowards. They hurt his friends. They hurt Faye. They hurt him.
"That won't happen," Clover replied. "Not as long as I'm here."
"Alright, calm down," Melody said, waving her hands. "Well, if Percy wants to sleep on the floor..."
"Even divide," Percy said. "Those two look comfy."
He was talking about Faye and the eighth human who were on the spare bed. They were talking to each other about something. Brayden gritted his teeth. He jumped on the bed and joined in.
"WE'RE BEDMATES NOW!" he yelled, putting his arms around them.
"Oh come on!" Melody complained, eyeing Clover.
"My bro is sleeping between us," Clover said, folding her arms. "And don't you dare annoy him."
Speak of the devil (cinnamon roll, more like), Cody returned with pillows and a blanket. He helped Percy set up a pillow/blanket bed on the floor.
"I also tried some of Papyrus' spaghetti!" Cody exclaimed. He made a face. He looked around, as if he was looking out for spies. "It's, um.. well... I think we should go to Grillby's tomorrow."
"Fine with me." Clover said.
She was sitting up in the race-car bed. The eighth human left to go on their 'date' with Papyrus. No one liked Papyrus like they did, so no one came with them. Brayden was happy because he got to be alone with Faye (apart from the others).
"Heeeeeey," he said, grinning at her. She looked at him. "Wassup?"
"The ceiling," she replied. Brayden groaned. "My dad said that to me once." She paused. "Do you like all the monsters we're meeting? It's so nice. I haven't made this many friends for ages."
Her smile twitched a little. She was probably thinking about Toriel.
"Yeah, they're AWESOME!" Brayden cheered. "Monsters are the coolest!" Faye looked inquisitive about something. She frowned.
She stared at Brayden with a funny look in her eyes. "Do you hate them?" she asked, sounding sad. "Do you hate the stick kid?"
"WHAT?! No!" Brayden answered.
Suddenly, his feelings felt mixed. Stunned? Sad? Guilty? He grabbed the doona tightly in one fist.
"You're jealous of them, aren't you?" Faye asked, gazing at him.
"NOO!" Brayden grumbled. "I'M NOT JEALOUS OF ANYONE!"
"He's jealous." Melody agreed, looking over from her bed. Clover shrugged. Percy was writing notes. Cody looked awkward.
"I'M NOT!" Brayden repeated. "YOU'RE ALL WRONG! AND NOW I'M GOING TO BED!"
He face-palmed onto the pillow.
"A true man would reveal his feelings." Melody told him. "It's the right thing to do."
"GOODNIGHT." Brayden said loudly, fake-snoring into the pillow.
Feelings made him feel weak. And he wasn't weak.
Suddenly, the eighth human and Papyrus burst in.
"HUMANS!" Papyrus yelled. "YOUR RED FRIEND AND I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING... WE SHOULD ALL HAVE A HANGOUT TOGETHER!"
"Together?" The kids stared at Papyrus and the eighth human.
"YES!" Papyrus said, grinning. "ALTHOUGH I ASSUME ONLY THE RED CHILD HAS FEELINGS TOWARDS ME, THAT DOES NOT MEAN ALL OF US CAN'T BE FRIENDS!"
The kids gazed at each other.
"A date...? Whaddya say, y'all?" Clover asked, raising her brow.
"I've never been on a date before..." Faye mumbled.
"I think we should do it," Cody agreed, smiling. "Papyrus is nice."
"YEAH!" Brayden yelled, suddenly sitting up. "LET'S DAAATTTEEEE!"
HANGOUT! START!
"HERE WE ARE!" Papyrus yelled. He was standing in front of the kids with a big grin. "ON OUR DATE/HANGOUT! I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY DONE THIS BEFORE."
Brayden hadn't dated anyone either. He was... excited?
"Great to know." Melody commented, frowning.
"BUT DON'T WORRY!" Papyrus shouted. "YOU CAN'T SPELL 'PREPARED' WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME!"
"Three letters," Percy said, holding up his notes. "The words share three letters in common."
"YES!" Papyrus agreed. He held up a dating manual. "I SNAGGED AN OFFICIAL DATING/HANGOUT RULEBOOK FROM THE LIBRARY! WE'RE READY TO HAVE A GREAT TIME!"
Believe it or not, the eighth human looked... bored. They looked like they'd done this before. They looked less bored when they stared at the others.
"Awesome!" Brayden whooped.
"Yay!" Cody said brightly.
"Let's do this." Clover said, grinning.
"STEP ONE..." Papyrus said, holding the book up to his face. He looked like James Bond. "OPEN THE DATING HUD!"
"What's the dating hud?" Brayden asked.
The eighth human opened the dating hud. It was a computer-like thing with monitors recording stuff. Percy looked fascinated.
"There's an egg in the corner." Faye noticed, staring at an egg in the corner. No one knows why there's an egg in the corner, not even the eighth human.
"STEP TWO... ASK THEM ON A DATE," Papyrus said, referring to the book. He cleared his... throat... I give up. "HUMANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GO ON A HANGOUT/DATE WITH YOU ALL!"
"I ain't dating anyone." Clover grumbled.
"And we're too young to be dating anyway." Melody agreed.
The eighth human pouted.
"We're not technically dating, we're hanging out," Percy retorted. "To 'hang out' means to spend time relaxing or enjoying oneself, usually with friends. To date means to go out with someone who is sexually or romantically-"
"CAN WE JUST DATE!?" Brayden yelled, not interested in hearing Percy talk for an hour. He stared at Papyrus. "WE'LL 'HANG OUT' WITH YOU!"
"WOWIE!" Papyrus blushed. Percy freaked out because it looked like an anime expression. "R-REALLY?! I GUESS THAT MEANS IT'S TIME FOR PART THREE!" The book returned. "STEP THREE: PUT ON NICE CLOTHES TO SHOW THAT YOU CARE..." He gazed at the kids. "WAIT A SECOND. YOU'RE ALL WEARING CLOTHING! NOT ONLY THAT, EARLIER TODAY, YOU WERE ALSO WEARING CLOTHING!"
"Well, we aren't going to run around nude, are we?" Melody asked, shaking her head. "My parents would never approve."
Papyrus started blushing again. "NO... COULD IT BE?" He gasped. "YOU'VE WANTED TO DATE ME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!"
"Only they want to date you." Melody pointed at the eighth human.
"Yeah, dating is... kinda weird." Brayden commented, making a face.
The eighth human was nodding at Papyrus with a smirk. Papyrus gasped.
"NO!" he exclaimed. He looked derp. "SMALL RED HUMAN! YOU PLANNED IT ALL! YOU'RE WAY BETTER AT DATING THAN I AM! N-NOOOO! YOUR DATING POWER!"
A bar called 'DATE POWER' appeared. The blue bar increased, causing Papyrus to freak out.
"Is Papyrus okay?" Cody asked with concern.
"NYEH!" Papyrus yelled. Somehow, he was sweat-beading. Tension was increasing. "DON'T THINK YOU'VE BESTED ME YET! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... HAVE NEVER BEEN BEATEN AT DATING AND I NEVER WILL! I CAN EASILY KEEP UP WITH YOU ALL! YOU SEE, I, TOO, CAN WEAR CLOTHING!"
"Charmed," Melody muttered.
"This is getting very shojo," Percy uttered.
"ATTENTION, HUMANS!" Papyrus yelled, observing the kids. "I ALWAYS WEAR MY 'SPECIAL' CLOTHES UNDERNEATH MY REGULAR CLOTHES! JUST IN CASE SOMEONE HAPPENS TO ASK ME ON A DATE!"
He disappeared for a moment.
"He said he's never dated anyone before," Melody commented, raising her brow. "But he acts like he's done this a ton of times."
"Maybe you're just jealous, Melody." Brayden said, smirking.
"Me? Jealous of dating?" Melody asked, widening her eyes. She smacked Brayden on the arm. Brayden yelled in complaint.
"DUDE!" Melody cried. "I would never act so, well, stupid!"
"Yeah, sure." Clover commented, folding her arms. Melody glared at her.
Papyrus came back. He was wearing a shirt that said COOL DUDE, basketball shoulder pads, a baseball hat and comedically-oversized shoes.
"NYEH!" Papyrus exclaimed. "WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY SECRET STYLE!?"
"I just want to go home," Melody sighed.
"I think it's nice." Faye commented, biting her lip.
"Yeah, I think it's cute," Cody told Papyrus.
The eighth human gave Papyrus a thumbs up. Papyrus gasped, eyeing them.
"NO!" he exclaimed. "THE FLIRTATIOUS ONE HAS GIVEN ME A GENUINE COMPLIMENT...!" The dating power went up. "HOWEVER... YOU DON'T TRULY UNDERSTAND THE HIDDEN POWER OF THIS OUTFIT! THEREFORE... WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS INVALID! THIS DATE WON'T ESCALATE ANY FURTHER!" Papyrus smirked. "UNLESS YOU FIND MY SECRET! BUT THAT WON'T HAPPEN!"
"You sayin' I can't find your secret!?" Brayden said, accepting the challenge. He grinned. "I won't just find your secret! I'LL BEAT THE HECK OUT OF IT!"
"That's not possible." Percy told him.
"SHUSH, NERD BOY!" Brayden yelled.
The eighth human had already found the secret. They pointed at Papyrus' hat.
"MY HAT," Papyrus commented. His tone escalated. "MY HAT! NYEH HEH HEH!" His cap came off, revealing a wrapped present. "I SUPPOSE I HAVE NO CHOICE... IT'S A PRESENT... A PRESENT JUST FOR YOU ALL!"
The eighth human opened it. A plate of spaghetti was sitting on Papyrus' head.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?" Papyrus asked.
"Spaghetti..." Cody shuddered.
"A long, thin, cylindrical, solid pasta. Spaghetti is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. Like other pasta, spaghetti is made of milled wheat and water." Percy answered like he was the internet.
"Pasta, I guess." Clover shrugged.
"FOOD!" Brayden yelled, punching the air.
"YOU ARE ALL SO RIGHT!" Papyrus exclaimed. He cackled. "BUT OH-SO WRONG! THIS AIN'T ANY PLAIN 'OL PASTA! THIS IS AN ARTISAN'S WORK! SILKEN SPAGHETTI, FINELY AGED IN AN OAKEN CASK... THEN COOKED BY ME, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS!"
"Wouldn't that be kinda mouldy, though?" Clover asked, raising her brow.
"Ageing food is a great way to achieve new flavours," Percy replied. "Though it's traditionally associated with blue cheese and Christmas pudding."
"Ageing works on other foods too," Cody agreed. "Like-"
"CAN WE JUST EAT THE SPAGHETTI NOW!?" Brayden interrupted.
The eighth human was giving him a look. So was Cody.
Brayden groaned. "Oh yeah, that's right, it sucks."
"Shh!" Cody begged.
"HUMANS!" Papyrus bellowed. "IT'S TIME TO END THIS! THERE'S NO WAY THIS CAN GO ANY FURTHER!"
The eighth human held up a fork. They looked like they were braving themself up. Cody gasped like it was the end of the world.
"Good luck, pardner." Clover told them, patting their shoulder.
"It smells terrible," Melody sighed. "Try your best, hm?"
"So brave..." Faye admired, biting her lip.
Brayden punched the eighth human's shoulder.
"Go for it!" he yelled.
The eighth human took a small bite of the spaghetti. Their face reflexively scrunched up. Brayden realized it must've tasted... out of this world, if they were making an actual expression.
"WHAT A PASSIONATE EXPRESSION!" Papyrus exclaimed. "YOU MUST REALLY LOVE MY COOKING. AND BY EXTENSION, ME! MAYBE EVEN MORE THAN I DO! AUGH!" He shook as the dating power increased. "URGHHH! NOOO!"
The dating power went off the charts. There was white everywhere.
"WHAT THE HECK?!" Brayden yelled.
"What's goin' on?" Clover looked suspicious.
"RED HUMAN," Papyrus spoke. The eighth human looked up. "IT'S CLEAR NOW. EVERYTHING YOU DO. EVERYTHING YOU SAY. IT'S ALL BEEN FOR MY SAKE. HUMAN WITH THE STICK. I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY, TOO. IT'S TIME FOR ME TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS. IT'S TIME THAT I TOLD YOU... I, PAPYRUS..." Papyrus returned. He looked flustered. "UM... BOY, IS IT HOT IN HERE, OR IS IT JUST ME?"
"JUST TELL THEM ALREADY!" Brayden yelled.
"OH, SHOOT," Papyrus sighed. He looked away. "RED HUMAN, I... I'M SORRY. I DON'T LIKE YOU THE WAY YOU LIKE ME. ROMANTICALLY, I MEAN. I MEAN, I TRIED VERY HARD TO!"
The eighth human just shrugged it off. They patted Papyrus on the femur bone.
Papyrus frowned. "I THOUGHT THAT BECAUSE YOU FLIRTED WITH ME... THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU! THEN, ON THE DATE, FEELINGS WOULD BLOSSOM FORTH! I WOULD BE ABLE TO MATCH YOUR PASSION FOR ME! BUT ALAS, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... HAVE FAILED. I FEEL JUST THE SAME AS BEFORE."
The eighth human shrugged. They didn't mind.
"So... the date's over?" Brayden asked.
"PERHAPS IT IS, BRAYDEN," Papyrus sighed.
"Hey! You remembered my name!" Brayden cheered.
"BUT FIRST!" Papyrus exclaimed. "I MUST MONOLOGUE ABOUT HOW I DRAGGED THE POOR RED CHILD INTO A DEEPER POOL OF PASSION FOR ME. HOW COULD I HAVE DONE SUCH A THING TO EVERYONE'S BELOVED FRIEND?" He whimpered. He gasped. "NO! WAIT! THAT'S WRONG! I CAN'T FAIL AT ANYTHING! RED HUMAN! I'LL HELP YOU THROUGH THESE TRYING TIMES! I'LL KEEP BEING YOUR COOL FRIEND... AND ACT LIKE THIS ALL NEVER HAPPENED. AFTER ALL, YOU ARE VERY GREAT. ALL OF YOU! IT WOULD BE TRAGIC TO LOOSE YOUR FRIENDSHIPS."
"Hey, we're still friends!" Cody cried out.
"SO PLEASE, HUMAN THAT WIELDS A STICK..." Papyrus pleaded. "DON'T CRY BECAUSE I WON'T KISS YOU. BECAUSE, I DON'T EVEN HAVE LIPS. AND HEY, SOMEDAY, YOU'LL FIND SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME." The eighth human looked unsure. "WELL, NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE. BUT I'LL HELP YOU SETTLE FOR SECOND BEST! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
Papyrus left the room... before returning a second later.
"OH, AND IF YOU EVER NEED TO REACH ME... HERE'S MY PHONE NUMBER!" He gave the kids a phone number. Percy added it to the phone's contacts. "YOU CAN CALL ME ANYTIME! PLATONICALLY." He grinned. "ANYWAY! WE SHOULD ALL WATCH A MOVIE! THEN YOU CAN ALL TRY SOME OF MY SPAGHETTI!"
Everyone gazed at each other, grimacing.
The kids and the skeletons all watched some really terrible comedy film with awful puns every ten seconds. They all sat on the squeaky couch or the floor. Brayden was sitting next to Faye on the couch, of course. If Brayden was honest, this movie was one of the worst movies he'd ever seen. But yet he was laughing every ten seconds.
"SCREW THIS MOVIE!" he yelled about thirty minutes in. He started laughing again.
"is it really that bad?" Sans asked. Some character in the movie fell over. Sans winked. "i guess you could say... it flopped."
Everyone groaned.
"I'm surprised Sans isn't a character in this abomination." Melody groaned.
"thanks, melody," Sans replied. "but if i was in it, it would fall below the standards of 'abomination'. in fact, it would probably..." Another character slipped on a banana peel. "slip up."
"SANS!" Papyrus screamed. Faye giggled.
"This movie has fallen down further than we have." she commented, snorting.
"Don't YOU start!" Brayden grumbled, glaring at Faye.
"But Brayden, puns are funny," Faye quietly protested. "Even if they flop all the time."
Everyone groaned again.
A little bit later, the kids were starting to get tired. Even Brayden was getting tired. He ended up falling asleep on Faye's shoulder. She didn't seem to mind, even if she couldn't really move. She just watched the end of the movie, grinning at her best friend's head snoozing on her shoulder.