…Were the pants always this tight? Yeah, sure, Asriel did say they felt cramped, but he wasn't that much thinner than him. Did Toriel overdo it with the pies and chocolate? No, actually, even a skeleton would seem fat in these. But more importantly, they did not bow. He'd just have to peg-leg it and hope the darkness and masks make nobody see him.

This is what fashion meant. Feeling horrible to look slightly better

‟You seem to be enjoying yourself." - The light-bulb flashed the room dark, and there He was, the Soul.

‟I'm kinda— BUSY!" - His knees would complain later.

This was not an opportune time. Not that the Soul ever picked opportune times to come out and talk. He actually picked the least opportune times He could, just for some sick twisted pleasure. The boy thought. He walked his eyes to the streaming lake of clothes around his bed.

Dress-up? Never thought you the type."

No, Soul. I am not playing dress-up. I told you tonight is Halloween."

‟So, that is supposed to be a 'monster'?"

‟It's a character from a kids' show Asriel and I used to watch. And it's a human. Prolly." - Cartoons were weird back then.

‟You think?"

‟It's like a… moon seafarer sort of thing, they're heroes."

‟And that's why you're wearing tight spandex?" - As snarky as ever, Kris thought.

‟No, that's not why. And this is velvet."

The Soul, then seeming very interested, asked, ‟How's the plan going?"

‟It's going great. You should know. We share eyeballs." - He was basically dating Noelle at that point. Well… largely.

‟I wanted to hearit out of your mouth."

‟That's all?"

He didn't like hearing his reflection one bit. It was a reminder of how he required someone else's help to be liked. A little shadow darkening anything he'd done.

‟Holding up well?" - The mock care didn't help.

‟I'm doing fantastic."

There it is, the I'll tell you how much of an idiot you are later, so for now I'll make fun of you in my thoughts expression. The Soul loved it.

‟What's that face for? Got something to say?"

‟Don't force yourself"

‟Don't force yourself either, worrying's not your style." - Even without blood flow from his lower body, the half-dressed boy still had his class A snark…

He just wanted the Soul to be gone, above all else.

‟How cruel."

Kris buttoned the suit pants up. And it was done. From the deepest depths of his heart of hearts, he knew they would not survive being taken off. He prayed they would not fall apart until he retreated home, where his feet would detach and start running away from him in protest.

‟Isn't that part of the costume?"

There was a small, heart-shaped pendant thrown with all the clothes on the bed. It sank into the screen of colors around it, leaving only a silver shimmer.

‟That's a pendant I made with Az. I still wear it under my clothes. Sometimes." - He never takes it off. He also doesn't talk about it.

The Soul's face has gotten emotive enough to pass for alive. He's been practicing. Or Kris was rubbing off on him. Alive as it pretended, it couldn't feign interest.

‟…I meant the knife, Kris."

‟Oh, that's just my knife. I carry it under my clothes." - The thigh holster had no hope in hell to fit in those trousers, so the knife was sitting in the open, waiting for its rightful owner.

‟We carry a knife?"

‟You have a problem with that?"

‟You should have told me sooner."

‟…Why?"

"You think I don't like knives?"

X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X

Obscure cheap snacks, garish giant decorations, Indecipherable bass-boosted music…It was a school celebration, as-was-decreed. The hallway had even mysteriously grown three sizes to accommodate the event, like it always did. A school talent show was horrifying enough, so one done on Halloween night should scare the students straight, is what the organizers of the event must have thought. Well, 'the organizers' was actually his mom. Who was luckily not eyeing the entrance to embarrass him.

‟Perfect timing twerp, you just dodged the opening speech."

Kris was set upon by someone of great stature. Actually, judging by the silver glow of her arm tubes and the square holes in her cardboard helmet, it was a something, of great stature.

‟Did Alphys try to do it again?"

‟Nope, she made Noelle do it this time." - Susie had no intention of pretending to be a robot.

‟Oh, dang, missed it."

‟Leave the dang speech, Kris, what's that costume?!"

W-What?"

‟Didn't take you for one of those people, Kris."

‟…Huh?"

‟I was waiting to see you come in with curtains over your head!"

‟…I just wanted to look cool." - It was hard to keep up the rhythm of the conversation.

‟…Well, I guess that's fine." - Following suit, Susie analyzed the room for a remedy to the atmosphere.
‟Yo! Noelle, what's up!"

The flashy spot in the dark-brown mess of half-finished costumes carefully approached them while holding up her dress (it was more like a robe, actually). The LED halo supported by thin wires and laughably small wings would have made for a comical costume. But Kris still thought it fit her. She had probably saved the butts of every monster at the party there at least once. Adults included. So the angel get-up was maybe justified.

‟Oh my gosh, Susie! I thought I was gonna die for real! They didn't give me a script or anything!"

‟Not like anyone was listening, Noelle. Chill."

He popped his hand up,‟Great speech there."

‟Oh, thank you! Wai- KRIS!? I didn't even recognize you!"

He pulled over some smooth finger guns, ‟That's a great costume, Noelle… Much better than last year's."

‟It's the same! …Wait, you're wearing one of Asriel's old costumes?"

‟Uh, n-no?" - Noelle's pure giggle was interrupted by the first contestant going on stage.

Snowy stepped up wearing a cowboy hat and realistic leather holster.

None of the jokes were funny.

‟So what's up with you two?" - Susie's square face towered over the other costumes while she juice-cooled with the goreberry punch through the cardboard hole of a mouth.

‟Uhm, n-nothing really, just helping out… I-I really like your costume Susie!"

‟Made it this morning."

‟What are those metal things on your arms, Sus?"

‟Oh, these flappy thingies? Don't worry, I'll return 'em soon enough."

‟I… wasn't worried."

‟Ah! I see you've acquired two plastic dryer ventsfor your robot arms, Susie!" - Oh, Him.
‟How engenious! It is certain the owners of said dryers will not do so much as even to mind. For Halloween dress-up is nobler than any dryer of clothes could even dream of being! …Oh, but how could I have forgotten… Epic costumes everyone, and a happy 'eve of Hallows'."

Berdly's outfit was suspiciously similar to the one he had in the Cyber World. If he also had his spear-chicken–weapon-thing, they'd be identical. It's hopefully from a video game… it would be weirdly sad if Berdly was cosplaying himself.

Noelle, somehow listening to all that, corrected him, ‟Berdly, those are aluminum."

‟Yeah, see? Totally safe, Kris. Don't haveta be worried."

‟I really wasn't worried."

X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X

After Jockington finished the in-talent-show ad for his new sticker pack and animated series, the next contestant was Temmie. Walking up to the stand on four peg-legs, the only thing reaching the microphone was her pirate hat. And on the pirate hat was her egg. Which was wearing a fake beard and an eye-patch.

‟So, as I was saying, it is not a 'traditional' fighting game, its mechanics are concurrently simpler and abstract-ier-er than those other products on the market right now. And, as you can guess, Items act-"

‟Berdly, if you don't shut up, I WILL down-smash you into the snack bar."

‟A-ah, I had gotten carried awa- W-Wait a second! Was that a Super Sma-" - Susie command-grabbed Berdly into the air.

‟Nonono! I apologize Ididn'tmeanitIswearitjustslippedIwasntthinkingdonthitmepleasemymomsgonnahaveaheartattackifshe-"

‟Wow, didn't know you two were that close." - He said, not like she'd do anything.

A soft light floated in from the focus of the hall. Or politely trotted across. Susie released Berdly from memory, and her grip. He looked a bit out of stocks, but fine otherwise.

‟I'm sorry everyone, but I really have to go now."

He, clearly confused, ‟This early? The Show isn't even halfway done."

‟Yeah…I need to go to sleep early tonight."

‟Wait, don't tell me you're ACTUALLY going to school tomorrow?!" - Susie was surprised even through the robot costume.

No! Well, yes! But also, we're putting up Christmas decorations!"

‟You're hanging those up tomorrow?"

‟Y-Yeah, we'd put them up earlier, but you know how people get…"

‟Noelle, your house already has Christmas decorations on it." - All their mansion's roofs had been painted green for the purpose of hanging Christmas ornaments on the outside all year long.

‟Yeah, but those aren't Christmas decorations, we never take them down."

‟But-But Noelle! You haven't even seen my essay on positive and negative feedback loops in game design! You said you'll give it a listen! You promised you will!"

‟…Sorry Berdly. Uhm, see you tomorrow?"

Susie said calmly, ‟We're not going to school tomorrow."

‟Friday! Whenever—"

And she went, Kris barely spoke to her the whole time she was there. Did he mess it up? Should He have been more assertive? Wait, why is he just standing there? What's he doing? Before he could ask what he was still doing there, His legs carried him out.

‟Oh, Kris!… Did I forget something?" - He'd seen her face of relaxed curiosity too many times to count, still it was the first thing his eyes crashed on after feeling the cool breeze of the night on his cheeks, his breathing quickened for a moment, and he took a bit too long to respond.

‟…I was just going home too, actually."

‟Oh, really? Did Toriel send you?"

‟N-no, I need to get back and take these off." - Kris still had not managed to bend his knees once, and under the pumpkin-coffee stained lamps of Hometown, how stiff he was was obvious.

‟Pfff- Kris, you didn't have to force yourself to wear that, costumes aren't mandatory."

‟Maybe I should've worn something simpler, l-like you." - Stop blushing, idiot.

‟Oh, this? This is just some old thing I keep. My family aren't Halloween monsters, well, except sis."

‟It still looks great." - Noelle could rock any outfit she wore.

He should've said that out loud.

‟Thanks Kris."

He wanted to be side by side with her, but the small town sidewalks weren't enough for them both and the friend-distance, so he had to imagine her comely face. She sounded to be having a good time though. And her tail was hypnotic.

‟…I do think it'd be fun to be someone else for a day, y'know?"

‟…Huh?"

‟I mean, don't you get bored of yourself sometimes?"

‟…Yeah." - Self wasn't an issue he was happy to talk about, ‟But, y-you're fine as you are now."

He was starting to knot up. It was hard to keep a straight face. It was hard to keep walking straight. It was hard to keep his head straight. It was hard to keep his words straight. It was hard to keep a straight anything at that point. Except his legs.

‟Aww, thanks Kris! You too!" - This was normal, it's the reaction she should've had. He was mad though.
‟But still, it's surprising to see you wearing that."

‟What, thought I was gonna wear white sheets again?"

‟Honestly? Yeah…" - In the forty minutes it took him to put his pants on, he was tempted to. But he pushed on, to impress her.

‟…I wanted to look a bit nicer."

‟Well, it really fits you!"

His heart was speeding up. He was alone with her. It was hard to keep concentration on the now, stress and adrenaline were all starting to blur him out of himself.

‟I remember it too! It was from that animated series, right?"

‟Yeah, it was… didn't you use to have costumes from the same show?"

‟Oh gosh, I had forgotten! I made them with Dess. They… weren't that great. Actually, I think hers looked fine, but mine was kind of… really really bad."

‟That sounds like you two."

‟That's just how we are."

‟…She's having fun at college, you think?" - Her house was right there in front of them both and he was wasting her time with nothing when he should be speaking about important things.

‟Oh, definitely! Though, I think her smoking's gotten even worse."

‟I can't imagine it."

‟Heh, me neither! Honestly…"

‟…Well, good night Kris. Thanks for escorting me. Even though you probably didn't mean to"

She turned to him and it all stopped. He was there and he needed to do something and he had no time to do anything and he stopped spinning. He was in the eye of the storm of everything he had been spiraling in his own head for so long and he could see it now all. Time itself curled around his fingers as he reached through the walls of and out into the clean night sky while she was looking at him with her eyes in his. He ripped it out of his throat.

‟Noelle, I like you, want to go on a date sometime?"

She stood silent. As the night around them.

‟…K-Kris, you mean… thatkind of date?"

‟…Yeah, just us two."

‟…I never knew you felt that way…"

‟I'm sorry. I have somebody else I like."

He walked back home.