Author's Note (This is literally copied over from Archive of Our Own):
Holy shit! I must apologise HUGELY for the delay of this chapter being released! I might have mentioned before that I find it difficult to stay motivated to write nowadays, but for this particular chapter, there was more to that than writer's block at play.
Firstly, I had to pause writing briefly to try and focus on a HUGE project of mine. For those who don't know, I make music in my spare time and back in July, I released my debut album 'Life Without Boundaries' to music retailers! This project meant a whole lot to me, especially since my passion lies within music so deeply. So I would appreciate it if you guys streamed the album whenever you're on Spotify next (and no, Jack Rootes isn't a stage name, that's my real name).
But enough about my music, I also had some work to deal with as well. I had a new job for a while, but they felt I wasn't the right fit for the job, so they sadly let me go. Although there is a supermarket opening up later in the year and they'll be handing out job applications this month, so I'm gonna go for it and see if I can apply for some full time work there. If I do get the job, it will mean that I won't be able to post as often as I used to.
Regardless, I hope you guys stick around and see where the story goes, because now that the world building and character development is out of the way, we can now get to the juicy parts of the story. And don't worry, it's not going to be NSFW stuff, all NSFW things in this story will be implied, not shown. With all that being said, let's continue with the story!
The streets basked in an orange glow from the setting sun, empty of life, except for maybe some bugs in the road that scuttled around. It was anyone's guess if they were looking for food or trying to find their way home. Their peace was interrupted regardless by three beams of light, causing them to panic and run off, presumably to the safety of the nearby grassy plains. After a few seconds, the pillars faded into nothing, revealing Kris, Susie and Noelle in their places, their clothes back to their normal selves, a far cry from what they were wearing in the Dark World. Noelle took a second to make sure she was in familiar territory, before taking note of her clothes.
"Oh thank goodness I'm back in my normal clothes. Mom would kill me if I came back wearing something different." Noelle said to herself, relieved. "Yeah, don't worry; your outfit changes whenever you go to the Dark World." Susie responded. "Yeah, no sweat." Kris added as the three began their walk home. A few seconds of silence later, the sound of a phone rang out. The group paused, Kris and Noelle checked their pockets for vibrations or light. Susie quickly interjected with a "Don't worry guys. That's my phone." as she took hers out and answered the phone. "Yeah Dad?"
"Susie?! Oh my god, you're okay! I was starting to get worried sick! You hadn't been indoors, you never answered your phone ONCE during the day and now it's nearly 5 o'clock. NOW is the time you finally decide to answer?" a male voice said from the other side, full of worry and concern. Susie sighed, resuming her walk with Noelle and Kris. "Dad, I'm fine. I was hanging out with some friends and I lost track of time." she replied to the voice. The voice paused. "For God's sake Susan, if you're gonna be home later than normal, PLEASE call me and let me know."
"Susie, dad." she said, embarrassment in her voice. "I'd rather be called Susie."
"I know you do and I get that it's embarrassing, but Evie insisted that you be called Susan when you were born. And don't get me started on your Grandma Margerie and Grandpa Casmin. They wouldn't let anyone else outside our family refer to them as Grandma Mage and Grandpa Cas." He explained. Susie smirked. "Yeah I know, just like how mom wouldn't let anyone but us call her Evie. Evelyn Accrue." She said, laughing a little at the name, as if saying it brought back happy memories.
This seemed to ease her father's mind as she heard a soft chuckle from the other side of the phone. "Yeah. If your mother could see you now. I remember when you were a little girl, playing with your toys and all other things.", causing Susie to blush profusely. Noelle and Kris began to snicker a little, overhearing Susie's talking with her dad. "Dad!" she said embarrassed. She regained her composure as she continued to speak. "Look, I'm just around the corner. I'll be in a few minutes." Her dad said something else, but Noelle nor Kris could hear him now, but they knew the conversation had drew to a close when Susie said "Alright, I love you too dad. Bye." and hung up. Susie looked down the street, the apartment block she lived in right at the end of the road.
"Wait Susie, you don't live that far from school?" Noelle asked Susie. The purple girl glanced at the doe before responding. "Yeah. Me and my dad lived in that apartment since we moved here many years ago. Anyway, my dad's expecting me back home, so I'll see you guys later." Susie said, before walking down the street, leaving Noelle and Kris standing side by side. "You ever wonder what goes on in Susie's home-life, Kris?" Noelle asked him. He didn't have anything to say, he just shrugged in response.
Susie walked through the front door to her and her father's apartment. She only had to take a few steps into the room before her foot kicked over something. She looked down and saw an empty brown glass bottle. She knew too well what these bottles meant, but she still picked it up to have a look at it. She observed its shape, how the cold glass felt in her hand and how her own fingers felt against the glass itself. She brought the neck of the bottle to her nostrils and took in a sniff. Yep, alcohol. The same alcohol that her father would drink a couple of times a week. She was no angel though, sometimes when the day was especially boring, she'd kick a few bottles back with her old man. Hell, she IS legal drinking age after all, for this hometown at least.
Although, she was sure her father, Caine, had some sense of shame behind his drinking, since he'd do everything in his power to hide empty bottles after nights of binge drinking. As if Susie didn't notice, either from the hangovers he'd have, how he behaved after drinking too much (While well meaning, Caine had a short temper, something alcohol only intensified) or other things. She thought back to those times as she passed a nearby cabinet. On its surface laid an empty glass, something that Susie had seen multiple times days after her father's drinking. Next to it lay a photograph in a frame, knocked over and hiding its contents from the rest of the world. Susie paused at this frame and picked it up.
Upon one glance at the picture within the frame, happy memories flooded back. It was of Susie when she was a child, no older than maybe 5 years old. She wore a blue shirt and gray shorts along with some cute little red sneakers on her feet. This child form of herself was held up by her mother (a smiling lizard who was wearing a blue tank top and jeans, complete with flowing blonde hair) and father (wearing a white t-shirt, black jacket and white jeans, his hair short and obsidian), looking just as happy as she did in the picture. The background being a sun lit forest, the sun peaking its rays through the branches and the leaves behind this happy family. Ruining this perfect picture was a glass crack, running from the bottom of the left side of the frame, across the picture in an upward diagonal line, stopping at the top middle of the frame. The crack followed a path that went through the image of Evelyn, just below her left breast and exiting her out of her right shoulder, narrowly missing Susie's head. Susie looked back on the picture, wiping growing tears from her eyes, thinking how it seemed almost symbolic of how her mother passed, considering that Susie was with her on the day of the-.
"Susie? Is that you?" Susie heard Caine call out from the living room, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned to face the room before responding with "Yeah, I'll be right there." and placing the picture down, making sure the frame stood upright. Susie then took a few more steps into the living room, consisting of a sofa bed couch facing a television, a window next to it with the curtains closed, shrouding the room from the light outside. Sitting on said couch, his yellow eyes glued to the television (which was showing some stupid talk show, Susie was never interested in those shows) was Caine, a purple lizard just like Susie. However, unlike the photograph his daughter had looked at before entering the room, this form of Caine was very different, a shell of his former happier self.
He was wearing a white tank top with what looked like an orange food stain on the chest. Susie couldn't tell what it was, but if she had to guess, it was probably part of a microwave curry he had. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans some worn out flip flops. His hair, still as obsidian as it was in the picture, was much longer and rugged, as if Caine had difficulty keeping it tidy. There was also a five o'clock shadow on his face along with dark bags under his eyes. "Has dad had difficulty sleeping again?" Susie thought to herself as she observed Caine's face from the living room doorway. Susie took a few steps forward, causing Caine to avert his eyes from the television to his daughter, a sharp toothed smile appearing on his face.
"I was wondering how long you were gonna be. I was starting to get worried, thought you were trying to avoid your old man." Caine said in jest as he stood up, holding out his arms for a hug from his daughter. Susie quickly hid the look of hurt on her face as she smirked and walked over to her father, returning the embrace that he offered her. "Nah. I wasn't trying to avoid you dad. I was just hangin' out with some new friends." she explained as she felt her father's warmth. This seemed to take Caine by surprise, as he quickly released his daughter of his hug.
"Oh? Friends?" he said as he took a look into his daughter's eyes, his daughter looked back up at him. "Yeah. Me and Kris have been assigned a project together and..." she began to explain, but she trailed off as she thought back to the Dark World and the two's adventures there. "Kris? You mean, the Dreemur's son? I've heard a lot about that boy. He plays the piano down at the hospital sometimes." Caine added, as he sat back down on the sofa, his eyes once again fixated on the TV as Susie sat down on the sofa next to her dad. "Yeah, he told me about it a few weeks back. He then took me to the music room during lunch and played a piece. I think it was the love theme from that movie we used to watch. I can't remember what that movie was called, but it was about a broke girl and a rich man on a cruise ship that hits an iceberg and sinks or something."
"Titanic. And it was a broke man and a rich girl." Caine corrected. Mentioning the movie's name seemed to bring back memories as a smile grew on his face. "Wow, it's been years since we last saw that movie as a family. I insisted to your mother that the movie wouldn't be appropriate for you, but she persisted that you watched it with us. God, I still remember you crying when that string quartet was playing on the ship's deck, showing all those people about to die. If memory serves me correctly, you were crying when Jack froze in the water as well." As he rambled, Susie felt a rush of heat invade her face. It was embarrassing to admit, but she remembered so well how she burst into tears when that blasted scene played out.
Just something about that string accompaniment with those images of people accepting their fate aboard that doomed ship, saying their final prayers and finding comfort in their loved ones as the icy cold waters approached them, certain death for all those caught within its unforgiving embrace. It just brought a painful feeling into Susie's mind that made her eyes water. The fact the movie was based on an actual event certainly didn't help either. Of course, she'd always deny it whenever somebody would notice. Alphys showed part of the movie in class for a project regarding the vessel and when that dreaded scene appeared, Susie had to use all of her power to subtly wipe the tears brewing in her eyes away.
But she wasn't ashamed to admit that she cried when the male lead died in the movie. Pretty much everybody, their mothers and their grandmothers cried at that scene. Heck, I'm certain you probably cried at that scene too! For now, Susie was focused on the memories, that stupid talk show playing on the television. The father and daughter were quiet for a few minutes before Caine cleared his throat. Susie mentally braced herself, for she knew whenever her father cleared his throat before talking, it usually meant something serious. "Susie... I've had a phone call from the school. They said you've been getting into fights again." he said with a disappointed tone. Susie could only sigh. Only thing was, she wouldn't call it a fight. All that happened was that Berdly made one snide remark to Kris one lunchtime while he was hanging out with her, before Noelle sat down. Just one little comment and Susie snapped at him, grabbing his shirt and raising a fist, screaming at him to shut his beak and threatening to, as she put it, "have that beak of yours wired shut for a good few weeks" with the amount of damage she'll do to it. She never did hit him though, both Kris was able to talk her out of doing such an act. The whole thing looked more like that one scene from the Great Gatsby more than an actual fight.
"Look Dad, Berdly had no business making that smart-ass comment he did. I was merely responding to what he said to Kris. That's all it was, just a threat! The only time I'd actually hurt Berdly is if he made any move to hurt my friends!" Susie explained, her voice raising in tone as she spoke. "Maybe so, but that doesn't give you an excuse to threaten other students, Susie! Do you know how many schools you had to be transferred to because of your temper? Your mother was so shocked and appalled when she found out that you broke a student's arm back in the 8th grade!" Caine responded back, clearly starting to lose his patience with his daughter's attitude. He quickly paused, trying to calm himself down, placing his fingers on his forehead in an attempt to do so. After a few seconds, he exhaled, now calm, before speaking.
"Susie, you know I'm worried about you. With your reputation around the school and your problems with your temper. I'm scared one of these days, you're gonna end up killing somebody. I know you like to think you're a tough girl that could take on the world if she needed to, but if you're not careful with it, you'll put yourself in a situation you wouldn't be able to handle. You and I both know that's not what your mother would've wanted." He said. Susie could only look ahead, not at the television or anything in particular. She was listening, but she just couldn't find any words to express herself. Perhaps she knew deep down, her father was right. Perhaps she just didn't want to accept it. There was a lot of things running through her mind at that moment, it would take a long time to list them all.
Susie sighed. "Yeah, I know dad. I... I just feel like... I can't change that." she said. Caine, who was lying back on the sofa, sat up at this confession from his daughter. "What do you mean 'you can't change that'?" he asked. Susie glanced at her father. "What I mean, is that I've really tried to change who I am since Mom died. But those other kids at school only know me as Susie Accrue, the delinquent daughter of Barney the Dinosaur, the big bad bully bitch in purple!" Susie exclaimed, her voice sounding slightly upset, her father cutting in briefly with a stern "Susie, you know I don't like it when you swear.", but Susie took no note of it as she continued to rant, her voice slowly changing from sadness to anger, possibly attempting to hide the former with the latter. "Do you know what it's like to walk down the corridor, trying to make friends with people, only for them to cower in fear when you so much as reach a hand out for them to shake it?! I can't even wave at other kids without somebody calling out for the teacher, when I never laid a hand on them! That was why I gave up on it, Dad! Because what's the use?!"
"Now wait a minute, young lady-!" Caine began, before Susie quickly stood up, still furious over her situation. "Do you honestly think I'm not even trying to improve myself?! If there's anybody in this family that isn't even trying to improve, it's YOU Dad!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at her father. Caine could only stare daggers at his daughter as he raised an "Excuse me?!" in response. He opened his mouth to voice more, but Susie was too quick to cut him off. "I mean, how many bottles have you been hiding around this house?! I've managed to kick over one when I came through the door! I KNOW when you've been drinking Dad! And you know what the worst part about ALL of this is? You'll probably forget about this conversation later on, because you'll go out to the bar again, drink all your problems away as if that's gonna solve ANYTHING in the long run and you won't come back until late, drunk out of your fucking mind, passing out on his couch and waking up with your hair greasy and your face in a dried vomit puddle! And I know you'll do this because you've done it over and over again when you told me you'd try and change yourself! I guarantee that NONE of this would be the case if Mom was still here with us! Perhaps she'd give you a little bit more drive to cut down on the alcohol and became less of a wreck than you are now!"
With that rant over, Susie stormed out of the living room, her vision a blood red and her mind fuming. She stomped her way out of the living room, down a corridor with two bed rooms on either side and a bathroom at the end. "Now you-! Susie!" Caine stood up and turned around, calling back after his daughter. He was still angry with her talking back to him like that, but at the same time, he was trying to keep himself calm. He knew if he lost his temper, the argument could escalate into something worse. "Susie!" he called one last time, as he watched her daughter reach her bedroom and walk through the doorway. There was a brief pause before the bedroom door slammed, the sound echoing throughout the home. Caine, frustrated with the situation, exhaled sharply and sat back down, resting his head in his hands. He hated it when his talks with Susie ended with raised voices and slammed doors. He could easily storm over to Susie's room and argue with her some more, but he felt as though Susie was probably going through a lot at the moment and the last thing he wanted to do was add to the stress. So he took his mind off of his daughter and switched his focus back to the television.
With the door slam, Susie was alone in her bedroom. Still fuming, she stormed over to her bed and sat down, arms folded, her yellow eyes, while lined with brewing tears, staring daggers at the closed door, which had a poster for a metal band she liked taped to it. The only sound emanating from the room was Susie's own heavy and shaky breathing, as she sat there, trying so hard not to burst into tears. If Susie was to be honest, she wanted to right there. As much as she was a tough girl, she hated having these arguments with her father. Not wanting her mind to linger on such painful thoughts, she let her eyes glide around the room, taking in the atmosphere. She read about this method of calming down somewhere on the internet. Granted, it's recommended for a panic attack, not for anger, but Susie felt as though it worked for her regardless.
The walls, originally colored beige, was adorned with various posters. Some, like the poster on her door, were for rock and metal bands, including a poster for 60 Minutes to Saturn, showing all the members standing against a white background, front man Gerald Lato taking the middle while the other two members stood beside him. Others were for rappers and pop stars she liked. There were even a few movie posters put on her walls too. The ceiling was a dirty white with a single light in the middle of the room, a round bulb screwed in, attached to the ceiling. Aside from her bed, which had a maroon cover and white pillows, her room also had a small desk with a laptop on it. There was a rack of CDs next to the laptop, including 'A Chaotic Order' and 'Animal Kingdom' that Susie was talking about with Kris and Noelle.
At the end of the bed was a small dresser with a television on top with a built in DVD player. Whenever Susie was like this, she would usually put on a DVD and watch a movie. Well, she'd say she watches them, but what would really happen is that she would get about half way into the movie she was watching, then fall asleep, waking up either later that day or that evening with the TV on, the DVD menu of whatever film she was watching on screen. Most of said DVDs were from the living room, but Susie really was in NO mood to go back out there after exploding at her father like that. A wardrobe stood next to the bed, filled with various clothes that she had over the years. Despite the large amount, she often preferred wearing the same old jeans, jacket, shirt and shoes. Something about it just... fit her, so to speak.
Admittedly, her bedroom was small, maybe even too small for some, but it was comfortable for her at least. Besides, it wasn't like she or her dad could do anything about it. Susie stood up and walked over to her desk. She paused for a second before pulling out and sitting down on a desk chair. She opened up her laptop and pressed the power button. The room was filled with the sound of the laptop's fan whirring away like mad as the small computer powered on. Her desktop was a photograph of her and her family in much, much happier times, just like the photograph out in the hallway. The first thing that she did upon seeing the image was move her mouse over to a video file on the desktop. With a pair of clicks, a picture popped up.
It was a picture of a picnic that Susie's family had, some months before the accident. The camera was mostly focused on Evelyn, looking healthy as ever, smiling at the camera. Susie sat next to her, wearing a bright red shirt and blue jeans, eating what looked like a piece of chicken. She was so focused on her food, it looked like she hadn't noticed the picture being taken until the last second, her eyes looking into the camera widened in slight surprise. The two sat on a light blue blanket that had three small lines going down it, one red, one pink and one white. The background of this utopian image was of a field on a sunny day. The grass moving away from the two monsters until it almost seemed to vanish into the background, meeting some distant trees. There was not a cloud in sight in the blue skies above the scene. Susie smirked as she looked upon the picture. She remembered being caught off guard by the click of the camera's shutter, how she blushed as she quickly turned away, not realizing the image had already caught her. If she had known at the time, she would've more than likely begged Caine to delete the picture, saying how ugly she looked, but following the accident that took her mother, it was a nice little reminder of better times.
Susie sat back in her chair before speaking, seemingly to the picture on her desktop. "Hey mom." she began, pausing for a second before resuming. "I know it's been a while since I last talked to you. Me and dad had another fight again. I..." Susie wiped away a tear that had escaped her eye and let out a soft sniff. "I don't know how you were able to get dad to slow down his drinking. Since you left, he's been knocking bottles back as if he's competing for some... stupid alcoholic Olympics." she added, a little chuckle briefly being released at her own comment.
A layer of silence hung over the room, as if Susie was expecting the picture to answer her. To be honest, that's kind of what Susie hoped would happen every now and then. Since her mother died, the only method of talking to her would literally be speaking to a jpeg image on her desktop. To others, it made her look insane, doing something that somebody like Kris would do, but to Susie, it gave her a sense of comfort. The ability to speak confidentially to her mother. She'd still take talking to a still image of her mother over not speaking to her at all, which is the most she could do really. After a few seconds, Susie spoke up again.
"School's been a drag for me. Maybe it's different than what you had back when you were my age. I know I've never been that good girl you always wanted me to be. Maybe you're watching me from wherever you are now. I do wish you could give me a sign that you are."
No matter how much she tried, Susie couldn't hide the morose sound in her voice. Just as she finished her speech, her phone vibrated in her pocket, taking her briefly by surprise. She took it out and looked upon the screen, showing one new notification: a text from Kris. She opened up the text message and read it to herself.
'Hey Susie, U available for later this evening? We've still got some shit to do for our project.'
Susie smirked. It seemed no matter what bullshit life threw at her, Kris always gave her a little comfort. She looked back up at the picture of her mother. "Oh, sorry mom. I got a text from a friend. I um... started being social with Kris. Ya know? The Dreemur kid? Or maybe you don't. You were always a 'keep to yourself' kind of monster. Guess I know where I got that from." She explained to the image, chuckling to herself once more, as she started to response with a text of her own. Her smile quickly faded and she stopped texting briefly as she heard a knock at her bedroom door. "Susie? I'm gonna head out for a little while. I'll be back in a few hours." Caine's muffled voice said through the door. Susie didn't say anything in response. She just waited until she heard her father's footsteps walk away from her bedroom door. A few seconds later, she heard the front door open, then close a few seconds later.
Susie sighed, putting her phone back on the desk, the text still unfinished. Caine would often say that he's going out somewhere and that he'd be back in a few hours, but Susie knew the truth. What would usually happen is that Caine would leave the house either to get something from the shop or to go out drinking. She wondered how on earth he was able to afford all those visits to the bar. Whatever the case might've been, Caine would end up at that same bar, drinking himself into a stupor, before stumbling back home at silly o'clock at night, tripping and tumbling through the house and passing out on the sofa. Sometimes, he was able to get himself into bed, but most of the time, his consciousness gave out on him when he got to the sofa. Usually, whenever he did come home, Susie would either be out herself or asleep in her bed. More often or not, Caine would accidentally knock something over, causing Susie to wake up, but she'd still stay in her bed until Caine was asleep. Some nights, while pretending to be asleep, she'd hear Caine walk down the corridor, open her bedroom door and watch her sleep in his drunken state. Susie assumed that he thought she was asleep, but part of her felt like he knew she was faking it. Eventually, Caine would close the door and walk to bed.
She turned back to face the picture. "I really wish it wasn't like this mom. Things were so much happier while you were here. Why? Why did you have to leave us?" Susie asked the picture, her voice wobbling at her question. Again, no reply from the image. She expected nothing by this point, but it still would've been nice to hear SOMETHING. Susie wiped a tear away that had escaped her eyes and was making trails down her cheek. "Sorry mom, I know you don't like seeing me cry, but I..." she began, but sighed in defeat. "You know what, if I don't go, I'm gonna start crying again. I'll speak to you later this evening."
With those parting words, she moved the mouse to the x button that held the image and clicked it. Within a few milliseconds, the image on the desktop vanished, leaving behind the desktop image. Susie glanced at the desktop picture for a few seconds more, before shutting the device down and closing the lid.
"You know, I do wonder about Susie sometimes." Noelle said to Kris as the two friends continued walking towards their respected homes. "Not just about how she is and stuff like that, but I mean she's obviously got some things on her mind." Kris could only nod at Noelle's statements. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was obvious Noelle had her heart set on Susie, much like him, but what could he say that wouldn't break his childhood friend's heart? Noelle was about to say something else, when her phone suddenly rang. Startled, she pulled said phone out her pocket and answered it with a timid "Hello?"
"Took you long enough to answer Noelle!" Berdly's snarky voice answered through the receiver. "I've been waiting at your place for the last few hours so we can continue with our project! Where are you anyway?" Noelle's eyes went wide in shock. "Oh B-Berdly! I'm so sorry! I was hanging out with Kris and we just-!" She began before being cut off by Berdly sighing through the phone. "Noelle, you know that if you hang out with Kris too long, you won't have time for our assignment and our grades will slip!"
"Oh screw off Berdly!" Kris yelled over Noelle's shoulder at the phone, startling her. She responded to this outburst from her friend with a hushed "Kris!" through gritted teeth, before turning her attention back to Berdly. "L-look, I won't be long Berdly. I'm just around the corner. In fact, I'm literally standing outside Catti's house." The blue bird only responded to this statement with a "Well, hurry up! I don't want that boy friend of yours to be responsible for our grades taking a nose-dive into an 'F'!"
Noelle noticed from the corner of her eye that Kris was getting more annoyed by Berdly's statements, so she quickly hung the phone up. After placing the phone back into her pocket, she turned to face Kris. "Why do you need to be so mean to him?" She asked her human friend. "I know he's arrogant when he talks about his school grades, but I'm sure you two would get along fine if you just talked to him." Kris sighed. "I wish it was that easy Noelle, but he's just SO damn unlikeable! You saw a few weeks back how close I came to having a fight with him in Alphys' classroom."
"I know, but I do think... okay, who am I kidding? I can't stand him either." Noelle confessed, hanging her head in shame. Kris then looked upon Noelle, moving his hair out of his eyes. "Then, why don't you ditch him? He seems to have the brains to carry the project all by himself." The boy asked, the sun casting a shadow of his body on the pavement that almost overlapped with Noelle's. She didn't move her head nor look at him when she spoke up. "Because he would get so uptight about it. Can you imagine? He'd spread stupid rumors about me around the school, saying that I left him as a partner because I wanted him to fail or something stupid like that. He did that when Jockington had to leave him last time we had an assignment, even when he told him he had a family emergency to deal with. If Berdly had no problems creating rumors about him, then he'd have no problems creating some about me!"
The two stood in silence, Noelle's head facing the ground. In what emotion Kris couldn't tell. Fear? Shame? Guilt? He just couldn't tell. Rather than guess, he walked around to stand in front of Noelle. "Noelle..." He said as he gently took his index finger and thumb and placed them onto Noelle's chin, before gently lifting her head so that she faced him. Noelle looked deep into Kris' eyes, taking in how the blue color almost seemed to glow in the natural light.
"You need to stand up for yourself. Berdly has no right to control you the way he does. For all we know, once he gets the grades he wants and graduates, he'll probably ditch you and leave you by yourself. Tell me, when was the last time he did a favor for you? Or even said thank you for all the help you've given him? I don't know what goes on behind closed doors, but as far as I know, you've given help to him so many times with his school work and not once has he even offered to help you with anything of yours." Noelle was silent, she could only watch her friend's expression as he continued. "Besides, who cares what that lonely nerd says about you? You know he only brags about his grades because he has nobody, I repeat, nobody, to hang out with. You on the other hand? You've got me and Susie. Heck, you've got Ralsei, Lancer and Rouxls to speak to when you go to the Dark World."
Kris removed his hand from her chin and smiled. "To be honest Noelle, if me and Susie didn't get along, I would ask you to dump Berdly and be my partner instead." Kris finished. Perhaps it was the wording Kris used, maybe it was the smile, or maybe it was just the setting around them, but Noelle suddenly felt a rush of heat rise from her heart into her cheeks, causing them to flush red. Before she could respond, her phone rang again. When she checked the caller ID, she saw it was Berdly again. Instead of answering, she hung up. With a sigh, she responded with "Berdly's calling again. It was nice hanging out with you Kris, but I gotta get going. I'll see you at school." before turning and quickly heading down the road, back to her home.
Kris just stood there, watching her walk away. After a few steps, Noelle stopped and turned back to face him, the sun shining brightly in front of her so that Kris couldn't see her face clearly. There was a chance that she could see his face, even if he couldn't see hers. So with a small smile on his face, Kris raised his right arm and waved goodbye to her. Unlike most waves, Kris had a special childhood wave he'd do to Noelle ever since the two were little. He would close his ring and pinkie finger, so they faced into his palm. He'd then cross his thumb so that its tip would be aligned with the rest of his fingers, making his hand resemble a gun. He'd then split his index and middle fingers, making a V out of them. With the gesture complete, he'd wave his hand side to side at Noelle. They started doing this wave since they were 6 and they hadn't stopped doing it since, even if others didn't get it.
Noelle smiled at this gesture Kris gave her. It brought back such happy memories for the two and seeing it again after so long made her heart flutter. She raised her own arm and waved back to him, mimicking the same hand gesture he gave to her. Once the two lowered their arms, Noelle turned back and walked to that familiar gate back to her home. Even if Noelle was in a bad mood, or had a bad day at school, one little wave shared with Kris immediately lifted her sunken spirits. She was sure that she had a crush on Susie, yet... there was part of her that seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for Kris as well. This conflicted her for many years, so much so she'd try and block it out. He was her friend. Her childhood friend at that! Surely when Kris said that if him and Susie didn't get along, he'd ask her to "dump Berdly and be my partner instead.", he meant be his partner with the assignment. It wasn't like Kris was trying to flirt with her... right?
Noelle opened the front door to her home and stepped inside. A familiar looking landing greeted her, a large foyer with a marble staircase leading upstairs. An archway to her left led to the kitchen, an archway to her right led to the living room and straight ahead was the study area, a swimming pool visible through a pair of glass back doors. Although she loved coming back to this house after a busy day of school, it didn't seem as brightly and lively as it used to be. She remembered her father would be sitting out here, reading a book, looking up at the door when he heard her walk in. He'd put the book down and walk up to greet her with a hug. But since Rudolph was admitted to hospital, the house had gotten so quiet.
Not to mention, her mother, Holly-Ann Holiday, was the mayor of the hometown that everybody she knew lived in. Thus, she had hardly any time to spend with her daughter, always spending her home-life either on the phone with someone from the office or going through some paperwork that Noelle didn't understand. Speaking of her mother, she was sitting in the kitchen, her face focused on some of the aforementioned paper work Noelle was thinking of. The deer girl walked into the kitchen, causing her mother to look up, her gaze meeting her daughter's. "Oh! Noelle, thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried sick when you didn't answer your phone!" Holly-Ann said, relief washing over her as she rose up out of her seat and walked over to Noelle. Her arms became pythons around Noelle's body as she pulled her into a hug, something Noelle returned upon seeing how worried her mother had gotten.
"I'm so sorry mom. I wasn't planning to stay out so late. I was hanging out with Kris and we just lost track of the time. I was panicking when I saw what the time was..." Noelle began to explain, but after mentioning Kris, she heard her mother sigh. Holly-Ann, while friendly with Kris much like Rudolph, had a strange feeling about the boy. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something... off about him. Maybe it was because he kept to himself a lot? Maybe it was because he would only hang with Noelle and Asriel when they were younger? She just couldn't tell. Even Noelle couldn't get an answer out of her mother. "Noelle, I know you and Kris have been friends since you two were kids, but I do worry about you when you hang out with him. I'm just worried that if he gets into serious trouble and you're with him, you'll get pulled in as well. It's bad enough your father's in the hospital, I don't know how I'd react if something happened to you." Holly-Ann explained as she released Noelle from her hug. Now it was Noelle's turn to sigh.
"I know. I understand your worries, but Kris is a good kid. Sure, he can be a little brash and thoughtless at times, but he does mean well. Those pranks he pulled on me when we were kids is just how he is, nothing malicious behind them or anything." Noelle said, her locking eyes with Holly-Ann. A smile crept onto her face as she continued. "And admit it; you found it funny when you saw him tangled in our Christmas lights. When dad and Ms. Toriel was getting him down, I saw you trying not to laugh." Holly-Ann smiled a little. She DID find the whole thing funny. Kris got on the roof to try and get some snow, so that he could place some into Noelle's coat hood, so that when she pulled it up, she'd be greeted by a bitter cold feeling on the back of the head and neck. Of course, he would've been successful with it, if there wasn't ice on the roof, causing him to slip and fall off the roof. He probably would've broken a few bones had the Christmas lights not tangled around his legs and ankles on the way down, leaving him swinging upside down in the front porch like an animal carcass in a butcher's freezer.
"Yeah it was funny, seeing Kris like that. Until we got the bill for repairing the lights he managed to break on the way down. I would've thought a lot less positively of him if he hadn't helped to pay for them." Holly-Ann agreed, the last part being said under her breath, so Noelle wouldn't hear. Suddenly, a nearby phone rang, startling Holly-Ann. "Oh! That's probably work calling me. Berdly's waiting in your room for you, I'll cook you something for dinner later!" she quickly explained as she moved to pick up the phone. Noelle knew deep down that Holly-Ann wasn't going to make any dinner. She always said she would, but would get so caught up in her work, that more often or not, Noelle would be the one who ends up cooking for herself and her mother. She was glad that her dad taught her how to cook at a young age. She was also glad that there were plenty of recipe books in the kitchen she could use. And if either Berdly or Kris just so happened to be visiting, she'd cook for them as well. She used to enjoy cooking, especially when it was with Rudolph, but nowadays, it felt stressful and melancholy for the poor girl, having to work hard at school, deal with Berdly's attitude, then have to come home and do housework when she was tired. Sometimes, if Kris was around, he'd help her with things like that and she was thankful that he'd dedicate some of his time to aid her, but when she was doing them by herself, it just brought sadness along with it.
As her mother's voice faded into the background as she answered the phone, Noelle looked up the staircase towards her bedroom. She knew Berdly was up there waiting for her, even before Holly-Ann mentioned it. And honestly, she wasn't looking forward to going up there. She knew that the moment Berdly heard her come into her room, he'd chew her out for making him wait so long to continue with their project. He had done so a few days she hung out with Kris and Susie. They'd do some activities after school and just like clockwork, Berdly would be over at Noelle's place, waiting for her to come back.
Noelle sighed, taking those fateful steps up to her room, her mother's voice slowly fading into the background until it was almost unintelligible to the doe. A few seconds later, she was at her front door. Placing her hand on the door knob, she paused and took a breath before walking in. She had a glance around the room, still the same as she left it that morning. The walls had a forest green color painted onto it and the carpet was a checkered pattern of black and white squares, making the whole room's floor look like a fuzzy chess board. Hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room was a bedroom light en-caged by a small chandelier covered in little glass diamonds that shone and reflected onto the walls whenever the light was turned on. In one corner of her room was her bed, neatly made up with a maroon bed cover and pillows adorned with cases that were checkered with squares that were green and red, the same colors as Noelle's shirt. A tall mahogany wardrobe stood at the end of her bed, facing the rest of the room, with a few drawers below it for smaller pieces of clothing Noelle would wear.
Next to her bed was a desk, overlooking a single bedroom window with satin curtains hanging from either side on a black banister above the window, which looked outwards onto Kris' house. To the right was a television mounted on the wall, giant and black with a looming presence over the room itself. Beneath was a dresser containing various items belonging to Noelle, the top adorned with a fish tank, complete with a closed lid and an LED light over it which cycled through the color spectrum whenever it was on. This fish tank was full of marbles, which littered the bottom, which was the bed to a small model of a shipwreck, a lighthouse and an old diving suit, laying against some fake rocks. The back of the tank had a picture of some coral reef, giving some life to a dull looking tank. Or it would be dull, if there wasn't three little fish swimming around it. Two of them were common goldfish, but the third was a gorgeous looking fantail fish. Noelle would watch them swim around whenever she was bored in her room. Next to the fish tank was a small closed box of fish food. Further along the dresser was a closed laptop. Next to said dresser was a black acoustic guitar that Noelle got one Christmas from Rudolph. Every now and then, she'd pick it up and lay on her bed, strumming a few notes and chords, but she never had the confidence to play whole songs, let alone perform with it, so it spent most of its time collecting dust.
Noelle took a step inside her room, taking note of the blue feathered nerd sitting at her desk, his head down and a pen moving back and fourth, presumably writing something in regards to the project him and Noelle were partners on. When she closed the door, Berdly perked his head up and turned to face the door, his eyes meeting Noelle's. "Took you long enough." Berdly said, his voice donning an impatient tone. Noelle took a step forward towards the bird as she spoke. "Look, I'm sorry Berdly. I got caught up with some... stuff involving Kris and-." she began to explain, before Berdly held up a finger, telling her to stop talking. "Look Noelle, I know Kris is your friend, and I know you both have been friends since childhood, but if you hang around him too much, you and I are both gonna start slipping with our grades! You know he doesn't take ANY consideration towards his future like I do!" Berdly said. While parts of what he was saying was true, Noelle could tell Berdly was still bitter about his fight with him a few weeks ago and was just saying anything to make Kris sound like a bad person. Thank god Holly-Ann wasn't in the room, otherwise there was a chance she'd listen to the things Berdly was saying.
"Well, I'm here now. So let's get focused on this project." Noelle said, not wanting to have an argument with Berdly. She made her way over to her laptop and picked it up. She then walked over to her bed and sat on it, opening up her laptop and turning it on. After a few minutes, she had her desktop all set up, the wallpaper being a picture of Kris, Asriel and her from the previous year on Halloween night, taken in front of the Dreemur household. Noelle was on the left of the picture, giving a cute little smile to the camera, dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, with a small red skirt, black leggings and a cute red hood, holding a small picnic basket, while Kris stood in the middle, his right arm over Noelle's shoulder, his left arm over Asriel's shoulder, his hand making a peace sign to the camera. Finally, Asriel was on the right, dressed as Count Dracula. His fur was slicked back and through his smile, a pair of fake fangs were visible, making his already sharp canines look even sharper. He wore a classic suit with a red bow tie, complete with a black cape and popped collar.
Kris' costume was... to put it lightly, over the top. He had yellow contacts in his eyes, his face was coated in makeup, making his face look pale with red eye shadow and dark lipstick and his hair was dyed a crimson red, parts of it slicked back like Asriel's, so his face was entirely visible. He wore an opened white marching band jacket that was splattered with fake blood and had purple feathers on the shoulders, along with gray trousers and black boots with red laces. Underneath the jacket was a red vest, the front held together with black string, looking almost like a corset. His left hand hanging off Asriel's shoulder had on a red glove while his right hand, which was resting on Noelle's shoulder, had no glove on. However, the lack of fashion was made up for by that hand, as it held a large black baseball bat (which went across Noelle's chest) with what looked like golden reflective material on the handle. The bat itself also had fake golden spikes on the top of it, which was caked in fake blood, and had what looked like purple glow sticks going around it, giving the impression the bat was glowing. His head was down, facing the pavement, but his eyes looked upwards, facing the camera. Accompanied with such a look was a sinister looking smirk on Kris' lips.
Noelle struggled to understand Kris' choice of costume at first and he had to explain that it was from a horror movie from some foreign country he and Asriel saw earlier that year. Something about a pop star turned serial killer that would murder his victims, then interject their screams into his music. Apparently, what Kris was wearing was the character's costume during his final confrontation with the protagonist, a music producer, towards the end of the movie. And apparently, this look Kris did, known to film buffs as the 'Kubrick Stare', was something this character did often in the movie. Noelle wouldn't know though. Kris got her to watch this movie with him and Asriel one night, but she couldn't continue after seeing a certain kill of the movie about 55 minutes into the 2 hour and 15 minute run time. In said scene, the villain, Lucas Sylva, or as he was known to his fans in the movie, the Phoenix (the name Noelle remembered since that was also the name of the movie), strung up a man by his wrists in some abandoned warehouse and cut into his abdomen using a neon colored blade, recording his screams of agony onto his mobile phone, presumably to use in his next piece of music. Noelle went to bed early and ended up having nightmares, while the boys continued to watch it. Regardless, Noelle was amazed the first time she saw Kris in that costume. It must've taken so much work and money for him to make, although he did say that Asriel helped out with creating the-.
"Noelle!" Berdly yelled, snapping Noelle out of memory lane. "Are you listening to me?!" Noelle glanced up from her desktop screen and locked eyes with Berdly, who was looking quite annoyed with having to repeat himself to her. "I said, we've got a few more paragraphs before we're finished with the first part of the assignment. Do you have them set up or not?" he said. Noelle quickly stuttered out a response of "Oh! Y-y-yeah, it's just loading up now." as she quickly loaded up the assignment she was working on, the text document now taking center stage on the desktop. As she looked through the text document she had written down, she heard Berdly sigh. "You know Noelle, I do worry about you sometimes. You get distracted so easily, I'm surprised your grades haven't taken a hit yet." he said.
Noelle tried to tune out Berdly's ramblings. He'd always go off on long tangents about stupid things if he was set off by something. Noelle used to listen, but after a while, she noticed that it seemed Berdly was only going on and on because he liked hearing himself talk, not because he was passionate about what he was talking about. Some of the folks in class would even say that Berdly was rambling purely for attention. "Especially when you're with your little boy toy Kris." Berdly remarked, snapping Noelle out of ignoring him. Perplexed, she looked up from the laptop to face him. The bird had turned around in his seat, so that his body was facing the bed.
"Boy toy? Kris isn't a so called 'boy toy'. He's my friend. We've been friends since we were children." Noelle responded. Berdly turned to face her while raising his arms up in an almost defensive manner. "I'm just saying, I've noticed you getting more close to Kris these days. Even closer than usual." Berdly remarked. Noelle was confused. "That... that doesn't mean anything Berdly. Again, he's my friend. It's natural for friends to be close." she explained. Berdly snorted. "Yeah, friends. That's what people say before they start getting together." He said with a chuckle. Noelle suddenly blushed at what Berdly was implying. "No! No no no, it's not like that with him!" she defensively said. The only response she got was a chuckle out of Berdly as he turned back to face whatever it was he was writing. "I know you too well Noelle. Usually, the girls who are so sure they're just 'friends' with a guy end up either sleeping with him or they end up getting together." He said.
Noelle, still blushing profusely, turned back to her laptop. "I might be a shy girl, but I'm more than likely to get laid than you will Berdly." She muttered under her breath, quiet enough so he couldn't hear her. As she sat there, she couldn't help but wonder how different things would've been if Berdly hadn't taken her as a partner. What if Kris was the one who beat him to it? They'd probably get the assignment done within a week or two, they'd probably play video games afterwards. Heck, maybe Kris would allow Noelle to play music. Nothing heavy, just one of those lofi hip hop livestreams on YouTube. Normally, she would do so while she was doing homework, but Berdly insisted they didn't during this assignment, since he stated that playing music, even chilled out lofi songs, would distract them from focusing on their work. That being said, Noelle could've probably found so many articles online that proved otherwise, but Berdly was the kind of monster who wanted to work in a certain environment and would not tolerate any changes made to it. Noelle sighed to herself, as she brought her attention onto the assignment.
After waving goodbye to Noelle, Kris made his way up the road leading to his home. He was just about to step onto the property when his mobile phone rang. He sighed, expecting it to be Toriel again. One look at the caller ID confirmed his suspicions. He answered the call with a "Hey mom." Toriel's relieved but annoyed voice came through the phone. "Kris, what did I tell you about calling me before you hang out with your friends? If you have plans, please tell me before you do them! Where are you anyway?"
"Mom, I'm literally outside the house." Kris said down the phone. He heard shuffling on the other side before he saw Toriel looking out the window at him, phone still held up to her ear. Kris smiled and waved at her. "Let me guess, am I going to bed early tonight?" he asked down the phone. Toriel backed away from the window before speaking. "Normally, I would, but you're lucky. There's somebody here that wants to see you." She hung up after saying this. Kris put the phone back into his pocket and walked up the drive to the front door. He placed his hand on the door knob and turned it, opening the door into the living room, Toriel sitting back down in her arm chair. "Hey mom, I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was." Kris apologized, before Toriel held up a hand. "Don't worry about it. At least I know you're safe, but next time, please tell me. I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you."
Kris sat down on the sofa, taking note of some suitcases next to the front door which weren't there that morning. "So, who's this person that wanted to see me?" he asked, causing Toriel's face to light up. She leaned forward as she began to explain. "Well, while I was at work, I got a phone call on the house phone. I wasn't able to get it at first, but the person was kind enough to leave a voice mail for me." She reached over to a nearby answering machine and pressed a button. Kris also noticed what looked like some sort of maroon scarf next to the answering machine as well. It wasn't something he remembered owning, since he never wore scarfs. Before Kris could think about it some more, the answering machine spoke with an automated voice. "You have one new message, received today at 1:45 PM." it said, before the voice mail began. Through the speakers, the sounds of muffled traffic could be heard before a voice familiar to Kris came through.
"Hey mom, it's me Asriel. I've finished my classes for this semester and I thought I'd come by and spend some time with you for a week or two before my next classes start. I'm sure Kris is gonna flip when it finds out I'm coming to see you both. I'm in a taxi right now, I'm on my way to the train station. I'll be there by around 4:30 this afternoon. Okay, bye mom!"
Kris sat there in stunned silence. His brother, Asriel, was coming home for the week. He glanced at Toriel, not believing what he had just heard. "Thi... this is a joke, right? Surely, you got Asriel to prank me. Did Noelle talk you into doing this?" Kris asked. Toriel replied by simply shaking her head. "No, I haven't planned any sort of prank. I was just as shocked as you are when I first heard that voice mail." She said, the smile ever so present upon her face. Kris looked around for his brother. "Well, if he said he'd be here at 4:30, he should be here by now. So, where is he?" Kris asked, excited to see him after so long. As if to answer the question, the bathroom door opened down the hall and somebody could be heard walking out.
"Hey mom, I can't find the toilet paper anywhere in the bathroom!" Asriel's voice called out. Kris immediately jumped off the sofa and ran over to the voice like a child on Christmas morning. The two boys met in the Kitchen, where upon seeing Asriel, Kris ran up and wrapped his arms around his brother's waist like a python, almost squeezing the air out of the older goat's lungs. "Whoa! Hey there Kris. I knew you'd be excited to see me, but I wasn't expecting THIS level of excitement from you." Asriel said, a smile on his face, returning the hug his little brother was giving him. "I missed you so much Azzy." Kris said, his voice muffled by his face in Asriel's shirt. The two boys stood there, locked in their embrace, before Kris released the hug and took a step back to get a good look at his older brother.
Asriel looked much like Ralsei to Kris, minus the pink horns and accents in his fur. His horns was as white as the rest of his fur, which had grown slightly longer since he left for college. His eyes had a goldish glow to them and his mouth was curved into a smile as he looked down at Kris. He was wearing a green zip up hoodie with a yellow stripe going horizontally across it, the hoodie itself open slightly at the top, revealing a white shirt and a small locket, given to him by Toriel before he left. He also wore beige jeans, complete with red belt with a silver heart buckle and his feet were covered by white trainers. "I missed you too Kris. It feels like forever since we've managed to catch up." Asriel said to Kris, his smile still plastered upon it.
He then reached down and gently ran his hand in Kris' hair. "Still growin' your hair out I see. I remember when we were kids, you wanted to have hair like mine. You said you liked how mine looked and wanted to style it when you got older." Asriel continued. Once Asriel's hand was out of Kris' hair, the human responded. "I would, but mom wouldn't let me." Kris said. Toriel, who was behind Kris, watching their little reunion, smirked. "My child, the only reason I don't allow you to style your hair is because of how expensive it would be to keep getting you hair products. Shampoo is the only thing you'll need when you're in my household.'" Toriel said, a sense of pride in her tone upon mentioning shampoo.
Kris turned around to face her. "What about last Halloween, when you let Asriel help me dye my hair, so I could become the Phoenix?" he asked her. Toriel sighed to herself. "You know I don't like you watching that movie Kris." She muttered to herself, quiet enough so her sons couldn't hear her, before raising her voice to be audible to them. "You are aware that you liked the look of it so much, you didn't want me to change your hair color back, are you Kris? You only changed it back after Asriel talked you into doing so." The boy could only fold his arms. "I still think I look better as a red head." he muttered. She then looked up to face Asriel. "Oh, and Asriel, while you were gone, I do believe Catty said she wanted to hang out with you. Who knows? Maybe you could get your ex-girlfriend back." She said, the last part with a playful tone.
Asriel appeared to be unsettled by this invitation, as his eyes suddenly went wide and his smile dropped. The white fur that covered his cheeks then started to burn a slight red as Asriel lifted his arm and began to scratch behind his ear. "Ah... yeah, I'll um... heh... I'll think about it mom. It's been a few years and... I don't think she'd..." he replied, before trailing off. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't hide the awkward tone in his voice. Toriel just chalked it up to him being nervous about seeing Catty again after so many years. The two dated for a little while, probably only for about a month, before they broke up. To this day, Asriel never gave a reason as to why. Before anyone could think anymore about this topic, Asriel turned to Kris and changed the subject.
"Hey Kris, you still have your old stereo upstairs that we used to play CDs on? I got the new album from that pop star you said you got into when we spoke over the phone. What was her name? Soda World?" he asked. Ah yes, Honey PLNET, or as Kris would always say it was pronounced when Toriel spoke about her, 'Honey Plen-et'. She was one of the more newer artists that came out in the last few years, shooting to the top of the music charts with her song 'Boys Want the Same Thing', considering one of many pioneers of the 'emo trap' genre within Kris' hometown. Sadly, she was only able to release 1 album before she died from an accidental overdose the Christmas prior. From what Kris had heard, her posthumous album were remasters of songs she had recorded before getting signed. Kris had heard one song on the radio from the album, a song she did called 'Here and There', with extra production from a DJ called 'Choco-Latte'. He much preferred the original version though she posted online years prior.
"It's Honey PLNET, and yeah I do have it on me. It's under my bed." Kris continued. Asriel smiled. "Oh cool, I'll go set it all up." he said before heading upstairs, presumably to their room. "I'm gonna use the bathroom first!" Kris called up to his brother, before walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Toriel wiped a tear from her eye as she smiled. She was overjoyed that her sons were back together again. Memories of when they were young played in her mind like a projector. All the games the brothers would play, sometimes with Noelle if she was there, all the pranks they'd do on each other. Every little thing they did that got them into trouble with either her or Asgore. They were such good times to reminisce on. Toriel turned back to the couch and sat down, putting her focus onto a book she was reading.
Kris was standing in front of the mirror, sending a text message to Susie, regarding their project. After he send the text, he placed his phone back in his pocket, turning to face the door and grabbing the door handle. However, before he turn the handle, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Upon looking at his reflection, he let go of the handle, resting his hands on the sink as he continued to stare into the mirror. He took in every detail that laid upon his face. The way every strand of hair was placed, how his blue eyes reflected the lights in the bathroom, how his body was framed into the shirt he was wearing. He took it all in as he stared at himself...
And yet, something about it looked... off to him.
He wasn't sure what, but he had a strong sinking feeling that something wasn't right with him. Was it his appearance? Kris lifted a hand and pressed his fingertips against his face, just below his right eye, before dragging the skin down slightly, making his eye droop and the pink skin underneath become visible. He did the same with the other hand, until the bottom of both eyes were being pulled downwards. He glanced into his reflection, but he couldn't notice anything. He put his hands back down and took another look in the mirror.
'You're yet another burden on your family and friends.'
There it was, that familiar train of thought that hung around Kris' mind like a plague. It didn't show up all the time, but whenever it did, it hurt Kris to the core. He'd always try and ignore said thought, but nowadays, it was getting especially harder to do so. They'd vary in their messages, but it was always the same sort of topic: 'You're such a burden', 'They'd be better off without you', 'Everything you do just lets them down', etc. No matter what, it all hurt him the same.
Kris placed his fingers between his eyes. "No, none of it is true. They love me, they care about me, it's just a stupid phase I'm going through." he muttered to himself, trying to fight this intrusive thoughts. But they still pounded at his head like a drum as he stood there, trying to tell himself everything was fine. He removed his fingers from his eyes, taking another look in the mirror. "You're only 17. Thoughts like that are natural. They'll go away eventually. They always do." he told himself. He stood there for a few more minutes telling himself this, before grabbing the door handle and walking out of the bathroom, walking upstairs to his room where Asriel was waiting for him, the CD player now on the floor, plugged in.
"Dude, took you long enough." Asriel said, smiling to his brother. Kris smirked. "Oh I'm sorry, your highness. I'll just tell the little men in the toilet bowl to let my ass go once I've done my business next time." He playfully snarked back, Asriel laughing a little at his response. "You're still the little snarker I know you for, Kris. I always love it when you do that." he said as Kris sat down beside him. Kris had a look at the CD case in front of the player.
The cover art of this new album Asriel had brought along had a picture of a girl in what looked like her early teens to mid 20's. She was standing straight on to the camera, looking at the viewer, while standing against a backdrop of white clouds and the sun, the moon visible in the background. She was wearing some eye shadow that curled at the eye's edges, wore black lipstick and had long black hair, some parts of it being colored red. She was wearing a white and grey hoodie with two pockets, her stage name imprinted on one of them, the album's title 'Nothing Lasts Forever', imprinted on the other. Asriel noticed Kris' attention to the album cover and picked up the case, handing it over to him so he could get a good look. "I must say, that cover art looks a lot better than the one they had planned originally. Just her with a bunch of barbed wire and rose petals around her. It looked like some crappy photoshop edit!" Asriel added.
Kris turned the CD case back and looked at the track list. The back cover showed Honey PLNET, wearing baggy jeans and black boots as well as the hoodie she was wearing on the front cover, standing on a cloud with her back to the camera. Her head was tilted upwards, looking at a cloudy night sky, the stars shining brightly above her. The track listing was on the left of her, written in what looked like golden glitter ink. Most of the song titles were songs he had heard online where she first posted them, but according to Asriel, these songs had since been remastered and remixed. There were new producers on the songs and there were a few features on some songs, most of them Kris didn't recognise. On the 22 track album, he noticed the remastered version of 'Here and There' with Choco-Latte as track 6. He took another look at the track list. The first track was labelled 'Legacy (Intro)', probably a sample of the news reports about her death and the last track was labelled 'Wish Me Luck (Outro)', which according to forums and fan pages, made a lot of her fans cry while listening to it. As for the songs itself, track number 4 had her song 'Shatter', a song about an abusive relationship she was in prior to fame, track 12 had a song called 'Black Mirror', named after the TV show Toriel would watch and track 18 had her song 'Heaven', which according to the track list, had a feature from Gerard Lato from 60 Minutes to Saturn of all people!
"Yeah, I was surprised as well when I saw Gerard Lato's name featured on Heaven. The two's voices merge very well together on that song." Asriel said, taking note of Kris' surprise at the track. "They actually did some really cool experimenting with some of those tracks. Producers put her vocals against synthwave, lofi hip hop, punk rock, a wide variety of genres! Although for that song right there..." he added, pointing to the 13th track entitled 'Self-Important', another song Kris had already heard about people who are selfish and uncaring towards others. "For some reason, they decided to put her vocals over a UK drill beat, and in my opinion, it just doesn't work well. Not helping is that I don't like drill music."
Kris could only reply with a "Huh." to this little piece of knowledge Asriel shared with him. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this album started." he said. Asriel smiled at this. "Despite what I said about 'Self-Important', the rest of the album is beautifully done." He said as he pressed a finger out and pressed the play button.