~Melody~
In the morning, Sans took the kids to this diner called Grillby's. Melody quite liked Snowdin, even if it was a little cold. She didn't like Sans and Papyrus at first, and even now she had mixed feelings. Strangely, they almost reminded her of Brayden and Faye. Brayden was loud and annoying, like Papyrus, but he was actually a pretty nice guy. Faye told bad jokes sometimes, like Sans, yet she was also nice. It was funny.
In the morning, the kids had found Brayden sleep-hugging Faye and the eighth human. Brayden was really embarrassed about it when he woke up. Melody thought it was adorable. Brayden was a pain in the butt sometimes. Melody wouldn't have become friends with him if his mom didn't ask him to. But she didn't regret it. He wasn't such a bad kid. Pretty nice when you got to know him.
Faye, on the other hand, was quiet, easy-going, and a lot more observant than she looked. Melody hadn't become friends with her until she and Brayden became friends. She was surprised when she learned Faye and Brayden were best friends, but they got on surprisingly well for being so different. Melody found Faye was a little too easy-going sometimes, but other than that, she was a good listener and overall a good friend. Sort of like Toriel.
Melody missed Toriel, too. Of course, Melody had her real mom, but Toriel was much more understanding. Melody's mom was just... selfish and a suck-up to her husband. Melody's dad was different. He had a lot of integrity and responsibility. He was quite a father to look up to, if Melody was honest. Even if he and her mother were art-obsessed. At least her brother wasn't like that, even if he was a goofy dork.
Melody followed the rest of the gang to Grillby's. It was a typical wooden diner with lots of tables, customers and orange lights. Melody's parents would never want her to go to a diner. 'Too old-fashioned', they'd say. And Melody listened.
But this diner was different. Cody looked excited about the food. Ah, yes, Cody and Clover. Melody found Cody rather friendly. Like Faye, he seemed to be easy-going and kind. But there were differences. Faye was more mischievous and waited for her opportunities. Cody didn't always wait. He just tried to grab them without hurting anybody. And he cared about everything and everyone. Mostly.
Clover was different. Melody found her almost as annoying as Brayden. She was obsessed with silly cowboy nonsense and policemen. She was stubborn and over-protective. And she could be very rude (and, well, boyish). But, in the end, Melody did not hate her. Clover wasn't awful either. She was nice to anyone who was her friend, even Melody.
Then there was the eighth human.
They were the strangest kid Melody had ever met. They had weird powers, they were determined, they were amazing at everything (including dancing), they never spoke yet you could understand them, they could see with their eyes closed, they were either extremely brave or dead-stupid, they knew everything and they did some weird things. Melody wondered if they were really human. But then again, no one knew anything about them. They seemed to be friendly, so Melody trusted them. For now.
Percy stood near Melody, adjusting his glasses. He looked uncomfortable in this diner. Melody could tell. Percy was tense. Melody knew Percy stupidly well. They'd known each other since they were babies. They weren't just best friends, they were family friends. Almost siblings. Percy was currently staying at Melody's while his parents were away on a research expedition. Percy came over to Melody's so often he practically lived there.
Percy, like Melody, used reason and logic. He was smart. Melody, if she was honest, was smart too. Hanging around Percy had taught her about a lot of things. Though Percy was terrible with people. For a long time, Melody was his only friend.
It wasn't vice-versa. Melody had friends from her dance group and she was friends with some of her brother's friends, as well as the other kids of course. But Percy only had Melody. Melody took pity on him and stayed with him most of the time rather than the others.
"hey everyone," Sans greeted.
Everyone in the bar looked at him: Dogamy and Dogaressa, Greater Dog, Lesser Dog, Doggo, some weird monster that had a huge mouth, a bunny thing, a bird monster, a fish monster and a fire entity wearing a fancy suit. Melody wasn't sure about that one with the huge mouth. It looked kind of dodgy.
"Hi!" Cody waved at the random monsters. He stopped when Clover stared at him.
"Where are we gonna sit?" Clover asked.
That was a good point. Suddenly, the eighth human had an idea. They walked over to the table with Greater Dog, Lesser Dog and the dog couple. They held up their stick and waved it like a flag.
"STICK!" the dogs screamed together.
The eighth human almost expressed something. They turned and fled, the dogs chasing after them. They gave everyone a thumbs up while they were leaving.
"welp, we've got a seat now." Sans commented, sitting down at the table.
"Whoa!" Brayden admired, staring at where the eighth human was a few moments ago.
"That was pretty cool." Clover agreed. She frowned. "Are they gonna be alright?"
"They're the stick kid, they'll be fine!" Brayden told her, grinning.
"I'm still a little worried..." Cody admitted, gazing at the exit.
Even Melody was slightly worried. That kid had some dangerous habits.
"I think they'll be okay," Faye commented. "They've had sticky problems before."
Everyone groaned.
"nice one, faye," Sans winked. "you're quite the pun master. you've got a skele-ton of puns inside that skull of yours."
"Thanks, Sans," Faye replied. She smiled. "Though you can be a bit of a bonehead, your puns are pretty sans-sational too."
Everyone groaned again.
"CAN WE STOP THE PUNS NOW!?" Brayden asked, pulling his hair.
"Sounds like you've got a bone to pick with, Brayden." Clover commented.
She high-fived Faye and Sans. Brayden yelled something and banged his head on the table. Melody rolled her eyes.
"anyway, you kids wanna order?" Sans asked.
"We should wait for the stick kid to come back." Faye said quietly.
"Nahh! I'm hungry!" Brayden whined, folding his arms.
"It would be rude of us to eat without them." Melody pointed out, raising her brow.
She snorted at all the hot air. It was so warm and sticky in here and she didn't like it very much.
Speak of the devil, the eighth human returned, covered in snow. They wiped some off their face and sat down next to Cody and Clover. A snow beret was on their head. There was a tuft of dog fur in their hair.
"Howdy, pardner," Clover greeted. "You okay?"
The stick kid nodded. Cody patted their shoulder.
"What'd you do with the dogs?" Faye asked them. "Also, I like your hat."
The eighth human held up their stick and made some gestures. Faye nodded intriguingly.
"wow," Sans commented, staring at the eighth human. "that's awesome, kiddo. anyway, you kids wanna order now?" The kids nodded. "alrighty. whaddy'all want? burgers or fries?"
"BURGER!" Brayden hollered.
Melody glared at him. She hated it when he did that.
"One for me too." Clover said. She seemed relaxed. Funny, since Melody noticed she was usually always on guard.
"I'll have fries." Percy said, looking up from his notes.
"I'll have a burger," Cody said. He smiled. "Though I'd like fries too - I'd like to try all of Mr. Grillby's food!"
"Is there anything thing else other than burgers and fries here?" Melody scoffed. "Grease is disgusting."
"you could always have some condiments, melody," Sans said, holding out a bottle of ketchup. "or, y'know, sit here and breathe in some oxygen."
The others giggled at this.
"I'll have fries." Melody sighed.
"I'll have fries too, please." Faye said, smiling at Sans.
The eighth kid pointed at Clover, Brayden and Cody.
"four burgers and four serves of fries," Sans said. "hey, they all sound pretty good. i think i'm in a fries mood today. i'll go get our food."
He walked off to the bar that had the fire dude.
"He owned you so hard, Mel!" Brayden laughed, banging a fist on the table.
"He got you pretty good, pardner." Clover agreed, smirking.
"It's just a silly diner," Melody commented. "And, besides, what kind of diner only has two menu options? Absolutely ridiculous if you ask me."
Everyone laughed. Melody huffed.
"Melody has a point," Percy spoke up. "Most diners don't have only two menu options. Sans was most likely not revealing anything else on the menu. Why? I'm trying to figure that out."
"Who cares?!" Brayden asked, folding his arms behind his head. "Food is food!"
Sans came back and sat down in his chair. "alright, all ordered. so..." He made a face. "what do you kids think of my brother?"
"He's pretty cool!" Brayden answered.
"Nice enough." Clover said, folding her arms.
"He's a really nice and cool guy!" Cody answered.
"Interesting for a living skeleton." Percy said, observing his notes.
"He's like snow," Faye answered. She grinned. "Because he's pretty cool."
Everyone groaned. The eighth human gave Sans a thumbs up.
"He's kind of annoying, honestly," Melody answered, raising her brow. "He's just so... superfluous."
Sans' eyes went black for a brief moment.
"Melody!" Cody gasped. "That's so mean!"
"yeah, melody," Sans ground his teeth. "sarcasm isn't funny."
Melody frowned. "I wasn't being-"
The eighth human covered her mouth. They shook their head at her. Melody removed their hand and scoffed. What was so wrong with expressing her honest opinion?
"my brother's a real star," Sans told the kids. "he's the person who pushed me to get this sentry job. maybe it's a little strange, but sometimes... it's nice to have someone call you out on being lazy. even though nothing could be further from the truth."
"What do you mean by that?" Percy asked, looking up.
"here comes the grub." Sans said.
Grillby came over, carrying nine plates of greasy food. The fire entity placed them down in front of the kids.
"you kids want ketchup?" Sans asked.
"NOPE!" Brayden yelled. He was already tucking in.
The eighth human was shaking their head at the ketchup.
"no?" Sans asked. He shrugged. "more for me, then."
He chugged the ketchup straight from the bottle.
"Eww," Melody crinkled her nose.
"Just eat your food, Melody." Clover sighed.
Melody hesitantly picked up a fry. It was golden and covered in hot frying oil. Grease. Gross.
"Ughh," Melody groaned.
"THIS IS AMAZING!" Brayden looked up from his burger, mouth full of food.
"It's really greasy, but I can't stop eating!" Cody exclaimed. "I'll have to ask about the recipe."
"Pretty darn swell." Clover agreed.
"Very nice." Faye said, holding a fry.
The eighth human had taken a small bite out of their burger. They looked full. It looked like they had done it out of courtesy rather than anything.
Brayden burped immaturely and rather loudly.
"Brayden!" Melody groaned.
Brayden burst into laughter. Clover burped too; she and Brayden high-fived.
"Oh my goodness!" Melody yelled, glaring at the two.
"Melody, no yelling in public." Clover told Melody, smirking.
Brayden laughed even more. Melody frowned and looked away, quite done with these immature children. Meanwhile, Percy was reading notes about something. He hadn't eaten his food, like Melody.
"percy and melody, you guys gonna eat?" Sans asked.
"I might after I finish this." Percy mumbled. He was fascinated by his notes. "I'm close to a breakthrough."
"I, um, think you guys should probably eat..." Cody mumbled quietly. "If you want, you can have my burger and-"
"No," Melody huffed. "I just don't like grease, okay? And those two ruined my appetite!"
She glared at Clover and Brayden. They giggled. The eighth human offered her a Nice Cream.
"No, thank you," she waved them away. "That's yours. I'll have a chip."
She finally ate a chip. It was so good and so bad at the same time. Everyone cheered.
"Oh for goodness sake, all I did was eat some food!" she scoffed... but she found herself smiling.
"heh heh," Sans chuckled. "anyway, cool or not, you have to agree papyrus tries real hard. like how he keeps trying to be part of the royal guard."
"He said somethin' 'bout that Royal Guard," Clover said, brow raised. "What is it, exactly?"
"a group of monsters who hunt humans and protect the underground and king," Sans answered. "so, one night my bro went to the leader of the royal guard's house and begged her to let him join. though, she shut the door on him since it was midnight."
"Who tries to book an appointment in the middle of the night?" Melody asked.
"obviously people who have a sense of determination," Sans answered.
Melody snorted. She hated it when she got owned.
"anyway, the next day the leader woke and saw him still there," Sans continued. "admiring his dedication, she agreed to give him warrior training. it's, uh, still a work in progress."
"Well, I'm happy for your brother!" Cody told Sans.
"I want warrior training." Brayden commented, looking up. "Then I could do some crazy punches!" He stared at Percy's chips. "You gonna eat those, Nerd Boy?"
"Oh," Percy frowned. "You can have them."
Brayden grinned and took them.
"Oh, Percy, you really should eat more," Melody sighed. "Brayden can't have all your food."
He had some weird habits. Melody worried about him sometimes. He could be more problematic than Brayden.
"Aww, why not?" Brayden asked, looking disappointed.
He started being silly and putting the chips in his mouth and pretending they were teeth. Some of the kids started giggling.
"Don't do that!" Melody told him off.
That boy drove her insane sometimes. Brayden blew a raspberry at her.
"hey, kids, i gotta ask you something," Sans spoke again.
The scene went dark and time seemed to stop.
"have any of you ever heard of a talking flower?" Sans asked.
The kids gazed at each other. They were obviously all thinking the same thing.
"The Echo Flower?" Percy asked. "I read about those flowers in a book."
"spot on," Sans replied. "the echo flower. they're all over the marsh. they copy whatever you say and repeat it over and over again... what about it?"
"Fascinating," Percy replied. "I've never heard of anything like it."
"yeah," Sans said. He made a face. "well, the other day, papyrus told me something interesting. he said sometimes when he's alone, a flower appears and whispers things to him. flattery... advice... encouragement... weird, huh? someone must be using an echo flower to play a trick on him."
"I dunno 'bout that, pardner," Clover retorted. "My friends and I ran into a talking flower named Flowey who tried to kill us."
"HE SUCKED!" Brayden yelled.
"Not nice at all." Melody agreed, frowning.
"wow, really?" Sans asked. "doesn't sound like something a flower would do."
The darkness disappeared. It was light and cheerful again in Grillby's.
Sans stood up. "welp, id better be off. i can't believe i let you kids pull me away from work for so long."
"Hey! You took us out here!" Brayden snapped.
"also, can you kids foot the bill?" Sans asked. "it's only 10000g."
"No one has that much money, dude!" Melody groaned.
"im just messing with you," Sans chuckled. "grillby, put it on my tab. you need to learn how to take a joke, melody. you look a little blue."
Everyone laughed. Melody harrumphed.
"Oh, get out of here!" she yelled at Sans.
"alright, alright," Sans said, walking over to the exit. He turned around. "oh yeah, i was gonna say something... but i forgot. melody distracted me."
Then he left.
"Oh come on, that's not true!" Melody protested. She glared at Brayden who was sniggering.
"Let's get outta here, y'all," Clover stood up. She gazed at Percy. "Where next?"
"Waterfall," Percy replied.