Chapter 5: Over a Plate of Waffles

Asriel and the girls arrived on Thursday night. The entirety of Friday was Kris's to spend with his family. His mother made a full American breakfast in the morning. His father paid for lunch at QC's Diner as well as ice cream afterwards. Asriel showed Frisk and Chara all around Hometown until the sky turned dark. Then Toriel brought out the family album and made his sisters look at those god-awful photos of him wearing his old costume horns.

Although they were away from college, Asriel and Frisk still had assignments to work on. They apologised to Kris before holing themselves up inside the library on Saturday. Kris and Chara were then left alone to wander the town, searching for something to do.

They spent hours by the river. Chara had never skipped stones before, so Kris taught her how to. She failed at least a dozen times. Yet, Chara didn't give up. She was determined to make the pebble jump at least once. Kris remembered calling it quits after four doomed attempts when he started out. He didn't pick up another stone until Asriel encouraged him to try again. When Chara finally managed to skip her stone three times, Kris became lost for words.

Afterwards, Chara treated Kris at the diner again. She ordered stacks of waffles along with two mugs of hot chocolate. Kris hid his smile. At least they shared this one thing in common.

"You mind if I ask you something?" Chara piped up. They had spoken little to each other the entire morning until now. Kris had been content with the silence, though he nodded for Chara to continue. "What's up between Toriel and Asgore? They act like cats and dogs when they're together."

Kris lowered his gaze. A hollow sigh rose from his chest. "Yeah… Parents can be like that when they're divorced."

"Looked a little more intense than that, from what I saw." She referred to the moment when Asgore had picked them up yesterday. As usual, he had tried to strike a conversation with Toriel. All that he got in return was an icy glare and barbed remarks. Kris typically tried to ignore those interactions.

"Don't worry about it," he mumbled. "It's normal."

"What happened between them?"

"It's a long story. You don't want to hear it."

Chara shrugged. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

It became clear that she wasn't easily dissuaded. Kris gave in. "They were happy together once, back when they adopted me. We did everything together. Went to church. Drank hot chocolate here. Hung around by the river. I started to feel like my life was patching back together."

Kris paused. It always took him time to open up about these sorts of things. "A few years back, though, Dad started tinkering with investments. He came across a one that looked promising and put our family's savings into it. The company quickly went bankrupt and we lost everything. That money was supposed to pay for Asriel and me to go to college."

Chara gave him a sympathetic look. "Damn…"

"Mom hadn't known about the money until after it was gone. She was furious that he didn't consult her first and blamed him for not keeping track of the investment. She kicked him out. Filed for divorce a week later." Then Kris felt like everything was falling apart all over again. Every single day, for six entire months, he dreaded he'd be taken back to the orphanage for another go-around.

"So, how did Asriel pay for college?" Chara asked.

"He got lucky. Won a scholarship during his senior year." Kris laid his head into his hands. "But… that wasn't enough for Mom to forgive Dad. She still resents him. She told me that she lost all respect for him that day." If he got into college, too, would that change anything? What chance did he have of managing that, though? Kris scoffed at his own fantasies.

"That sucks…" Chara offered.

"It's not fair!" Kris snapped. "Dad knows that he messed up! I know he's been trying to make up for it! I've seen the past-due bills in his house! Dad could lose his shop at any time, and it's all because he's putting all his money into replacing my college fund! I don't even know if that's what I want to do with my life!"

Kris then opened his eyes. He saw Chara, as well as several other people, staring at him. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Got carried away, there."

Chara turned towards the wall. "Honestly, I know how you feel. The people who took me in were dicks, though. Getting into an Ivy-league school wasn't a choice. I had to get top grades to get in. At least your dad's jumping through the hoops instead of cracking the whip on you. I can tell that he loves you."

"Yeah, well, I wish he didn't have to suffer because of me."

Kris stewed in his self-loathing until Chara snapped her fingers in his face. "Hey! Look at me!"

He obeyed. Chara pointed to herself. "You see this face? This is the face of someone with absolutely zero prospects in life. I dropped out of middle school and built up a criminal record. Now I live in a shithole doing whatever I can just to get by. So long as you are doing any better than I am with your life, your parents aren't going to be disappointed with what you do. I've met a lot of assholes in my time, and those two just aren't the type."

Kris snorted. He couldn't help it. Chara's face morphed into a feral glare. "Did I say something funny?"

"God… Sorry, no! It's just… You talk just like Susie does. The two of you are a lot alike, is all."

Chara huffed, simmering down. "Well… As long as you mean it as a compliment."

"You both act so… confident… even when everything sucks." Kris smiled sadly. "I wish I could be like that." If only he was still a hero in the Dark World…

Chara knocked on the table. "First thing you got to do: stop feeling sorry for yourself. Second thing you do: stop giving a crap about what people expect from you. It's not their life, it's yours! If they don't like it, it's their problem to deal with. You don't apologise for shit."

She let the words sink into Kris. "If you want your dad to stop running himself into the ground, tell him that. He's going to keep paying for your tuition until you tell him outright that he's wasting his time."

"But what if I do end up wanting to go to college?" Kris asked.

"Then do whatever helps you sleep at night. Get a job and save up if you want. Just do something instead of wallowing around in self-pity."

The bell above the front door rang. Asriel and Frisk walked into the diner. They both appeared drained. Frisk caught sight of Kris and Chara and joined them while Asriel ordered food. While she waited for her steak sandwich and cream soda, Frisk told them that she and Asriel had each finished the work they needed to for that day. That meant that they were free to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. When they later left for the cinema, Kris stopped Chara outside the diner.

"Hey, Chara? Thanks… for earlier."

Chara ruffled his hair. "No problem, little bro. And if anyone ever gives you grief, just send them my way." She cracked her knuckles for effect.

Kris smiled. Susie always offered the same thing. "Sure. Will do."