The hands of the classroom clock ticked along their orbit, taking their sweet time to get to the magic numbers that meant school was over. But as much as Kris was watching the clock out of hope it would somehow go faster, he felt anxious about seeing anybody down in Ralsei's world, Ralsei especially. Everytime he thought back to a cheesy flirt, or ingenuine compliment, he felt the need to pull his hair out and scream. And the hugging, oh, the hugging. That red upside down shit factory not only made him hug a total stranger, but it just kept going. Over and over and over again, not one being reciprocated by Ralsei. The thought made him grit his teeth, but Ralsei didn't seem to mind. Whether that was due to him being touch starved and/or a doormat or his awareness of the situation was hard to pin down, but the train of thought was pulled out of his head by a clawed finger poking the back of his head.

He turned to see that Susie had picked her head up off the desk, at least enough for her jaw to rest on her hand. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask her if she needed anything, but she just grinned back at him and put a hand to the side of her head.

"What was that?" She whispered, blowing hot, mulchy breath into his face. Kris turned back to the front of the room, trying to stifle a smile from his discomfort in the situation. He could hear Susie cracking up behind him, as being quiet was not one of her strong suits. Alphys turned with an open mouth from the chalkboard to speak, but saw who the culprit of the sound was and turned back around with a clear of the throat. To Kris and Susie's relief, but also her own, the bell rang after what felt like forever.

"Al...Alright. R-Remember to...um…" She started to speak, but was drowned out by an ocean of chairs squeaking, bags zipping, and students talking. "J-Just remember to watch the homework board!" Alphys smiled painfully, tapping at a squared off section of the board that listed the same assignments as the day before.

Kris suddenly remembered the group projects that were assigned yesterday, and realized that neither of them were actually there for its explanation. He looked around and thought of who to ask, but his classmates seemed to avoid him more than usual. It was also no help that Alphys was usually out the door before most of the students. "Hey, Susie?" He turned around to see his purple project partner stretching on the desk and popping just about every joint in her body. "Do you actually know what our project is supposed to be about?"

She yawned and rubbed her back. "Eh? I dunno. Can't be that important, but I forgot you're a little nerd who cares about grades." She leaned on her desk to give her spine one last good crack. "One of us has gotta be." Kris responded with a blank look. "Alright, alright! I'll figure it out whenever I get around to it. I gotta get home, so see ya." Her eyes shifted around after another brief pause, before quickly walking out the door.

"Bye." He stammered out, doubting she would even hear it after it emerged from his mouth. He stood around in the classroom, feeling a bit overwhelmed. Once he was the last one there, he just sat down and waited for a moment. He would have to wait for everyone else to leave the halls, anyway.

"Why'd she get like that before she left?" He pondered obliviously, his barren self confidence and deluded sense of conceit clashing in his brain to come up with a perfect solution. "Oh no. She doesn't like me, does she? What if she's got a thing for me, but I'm messing it up?" He stared at his desk, feeling his face heat up. "She does seem to be awfully touchy with me...but I don't know…" His hands turned to fists as he stood to his feet. "Having to deal with things yourself fucking sucks." He mumbled as he meandered towards the door. "Screw it, I'm gonna go now." He walked out into the hall, only a few stragglers left in the halls. His mother had gone home already, the younger class's days being shorter than the upper class.

The large metal doors didn't slam open like before, only giving him a sneaky crack of darkness to signal he was welcome. He slipped inside when he felt no eyes on his back, and took in the quiet darkness. It was peaceful, he thought, up until the floor was yanked out from under him once again. He had a feeling that wasn't going to stop scaring the hell out of him anytime soon.

"Wait, how did I land the f-" Before he could finish his thought he was suddenly on the ground, feeling dust kicked up around him. The now blue human staggered to his feet, uninjured, and began again the trek through the strange cliffs. However, once brought to the landslides, Kris felt too scared to do anything but slowly scoot down on his butt until he got to the bottom. He began to walk faster as the ground began to turn black beneath his feet, signalling he was now in the empty town.

Ralsei was nowhere to be seen, however, in the town square or in their first meeting place in front of the castle. Kris called out to him, cringing at his voice being used at a volume louder than close quarters speaking. He looked up at the large palace before him, the entrance being blocked off by what appeared to be a large drawbridge. "Uh." Kris approached it and knocked on the massive wooden barrier.

"Kris?" A soft voice floated right behind him like a wisp, making him turn around suddenly. "Oh! I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to make sure you, um…" His voice trailed off as it usually did when he said something that didn't sound rehearsed. "Hi." He had his hat on, but it made his smile easier to see against his vanta-black cloak as he gave a little wave. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon."

"Why not? Susie said we should come back right after we left yesterday." He shrugged, restraining the joy on his face. "But don't tell her I said that." He felt his face burning up.

"Oh, that is very nice! But, um...I'm noticing she isn't here. Where is she?" Ralsei looked around like he was expecting an ambush.

"She got in trouble with her parents for disappearing so long, so she couldn't come today." He watched Ralsei's ears seemingly deflate, flopping down by his shoulders.

"Aw, she got in trouble? I'm very sorry, Kris." He bowed his head in shame.

"Don't apologize to me, I just got sent to my room for the night. Her parents are just kind of dicks, I think." He scratched under his chin.

Ralsei's eyes widened, and before Kris could roll his eyes, a smile sprang forth and he was suddenly assaulted by a very slow and pillowy body check. "It really is you, isn't it? I assume that was the signal we discussed."

Kris felt stunned, his mouth partially open as he felt like he was being enveloped by the world's tiniest black hole. "Oh, uh, that. Yeah, it's me, but if we're doing secret signals, try not to announce it…" He stood in place awkwardly, keeping his hands by his sides. "How'd you know, anyway?"

Ralsei pulled away from him and adjusted his glasses, cheeks aflush. "Ah, s-sorry, I just got excited." He rubbed his cheek and giggled. "But now that we have more time, I began to grow suspicious whenever we fought. That thing that goes in and out of you...you behaved differently whenever it was out. It was a little off putting. I didn't know what to do, and...and I was scared. Mostly of being rude by asking you, but…" He fidgeted with the edge of his robe. "Is everything okay, Kris?"

Kris's mouth straightened, not expecting such a heavy question at the first greeting. He almost forgot that he had to respond to Ralsei now. "I'm alright, Ralsei. It's not a big deal."

"Promise?"

Kris felt a tug at his heart. He wondered why he was so mean to Ralsei in his head when he always treated him with nothing but kindness. Maybe it was just the soul's obsession with him that made him feel bitter about him.

"Kris…?" Ralsei's voice got quiet.

Kris snapped back to attention, answering without delay this time. "Yeah, I promise. Sorry, I was just thinking."

"It's alright, Kris. That's all that matters." He smiled once again, letting Kris rest easy for the time being. "So, you came here...did you have anything in mind you wanted to do? I figure we should wait for Susie before I bake those cakes."

"Actually, I really just wanted to talk to you."

Ralsei had stars in his eyes. "Really? Oh! What did you want to talk about?" The back of his robe fluttered as his tail began to waggle excitedly.

"Uhh...not much right now. It's more like I wanted to ask you something. Are you able to come to the...our world?" Kris screamed inside, every part of his body telling him not to do what he was about to do for fear of being laughed at. But if Ralsei was going to laugh in his face, he thought he'd just pack it up at that point, as all hope would be lost.

"The Light World? Me? I don't actually know…" Ralsei rubbed his hands together with uncertainty. "Darkners used to live there with Lightners without issue, so I should theoretically be fine. How did you and Susie get home yesterday, would be my first question."

"Uh. Shit."

Ralsei tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"I used my soul."