Rising from the couch, a figure in pink yawned and stretched, blinking her bleary eyes open. It was bright. Too bright. Immediately, she squeezed them shut again, groaning and throwing an arm over her freckled face. She must've forgotten to shut the curtains. Fuck.

For a long moment, the honey blonde girl lay unmoving, wishing she could go back to bed. The air was full of the familiar sound of Bones's snoring, and for a good while, she did nothing. Nothing, not even realizing why that sound was out of place.

She felt… Strange. Natallia felt strange today.

A familiar anxiety was rumbling in her chest, telling her that she'd been away for too long. But… Away from what?

The feeling was the same type she'd get after going missing for a while. Guilty, fearful, apologetic… But she'd been showing up for the talent show every day this week. So…. Why did she feel so off?

Slowly, she moved her arm away from her sapphire eyes, deciding maybe a cup of tea would help her forget the strange feeling. She was greeted with an atypical, yet familiar, ceiling.

… Oh.

She was still in Bones's house. No wonder she felt so strange waking up. That explains it. Yep. Definitely. Entirely. There was absolutely no other reason for her to be feeling strange. Certainly.

The girl on the couch sat up, stretching her arms above herself and yawning quietly. She glanced out the window adjacent to the couch. Good place for a window, really, but it felt pretty inconvenient right about now. Stupid sunshine.

Ah, well. She couldn't help that right now. Bones didn't have curtains. Why, exactly, he didn't have curtains was beyond her. Maybe he was secretly some sort of sociopath who enjoyed the sun in his eyes at 6AM. What kind of trauma would do that to a person?

… Again, nothing she could help at the moment. For now, she'd just have to do things.

But what things would she do?

She still had talent show things to do, obviously. So that meant picking a song and designing a dress. But after that, then what? Well, practice, then sing. But then what? Check out the house, duh, but what about AFTER that?! Decorate, obviously. But after she's done, what in the world will she do next?!

Cry, probably, judging by how her thoughts seemed to be spiraling already despite it being so early in the morning.

Perfect. That'll keep her busy until around one. After that, she didn't know what she'd do, but she'd cross that bridge when she got there.

So, arising from the cushy maroon couch, the girl with the cobalt eyes trudged forward, and snuck carefully out of her snoring friend's home.

The cool breeze of the morning greeted her. Dewdrops lined the grass. Yes, truly, this was a perfect morning.

Too bad Natallia hated the morning and was never up at this time. She'd feel more inclined to appreciate the sights if she weren't so tired. Oh well, she'd regret that later.

So, without further delay, the girl trudged forward, taking the familiar path to the Able Sisters and listening to music on her phone along the way for ideas.

It didn't take her long to pick out which song she wanted to perform.

…

Bones awoke to an empty house. He'd awoken shortly after Natallia's departure, yawning and stretching comfortably. Soon, he was hit with the feeling he was forgetting something.

He blinked his dark eyes open confusedly, eventually landing on a bright shape on his counter.

A round, ripe orange.

… Ah right, Natallia had brought that. After dropping by. Without warning. And then apparently leaving in the same manner.

Well, he was used to that by now. Nothing to fret over, he supposed.

So, arising from his bedsheets, the canine moved to start his day. Staring out of the window for a moment, he couldn't help but grin.

The sunlight certainly was beautiful today.

…

A honey blonde girl, in a desolate corner of her beloved town of Lavryn, was quietly murmuring to herself. Voice rhythmic and methodical, she sat underneath a familiar tree, reciting words to herself.

She felt nervous.

Of course, that was a given at this point. She'd always felt nervous before performances. She knew it'd be fine. But it didn't change the fact that she still felt that way.

Ah well. More incentive to practice, she supposed.

In her lap sat a bag, inside being her dress. This one was… One of her weaker designs, she supposed. But that was fine, the outfits weren't the main focus anyway.

The focus was her also-subpar voice!

… Wait, no, quit being so negative. That's illegal.

Finally, the instrumental of her song ceased, leaving her little corner quiet.

… Well, she hadn't messed up any lyrics, or stumbled. And she'd only been looking to an instrumental, so she hadn't had words onscreen to help her along, which already proved her memory of the song. But was she actually ready to sing?

No, probably not.

Well, time to try again, then!

… Her throat was getting kinda sore, though. She wasn't used to this much use of her vocal chords consecutively. She'd been doing this for days…

Again, didn't matter. She could handle this. Besides, she could probably hole up for a while immediately after it was done, so no biggie!

At the thought, though, she couldn't help but imagine her friends. Bones's dejected look. How happy he'd been to see her, how he'd told her a month was less than average, as though she'd come back quickly. As if she hadn't abandoned them.

… That wouldn't stop her. As much as she wanted to believe that her friends could keep her from leaving again, as much as she wanted to believe in her guilt, she knew she couldn't. It'd never worked before. It wouldn't work now. Friends or not, she was just that brand of horrible.

But that didn't matter either. She wasn't gone yet. She still had a few more days to enjoy. It was time for her to practice, so. She'd worry about this instead of sleeping, or during her crying appointment, or something.

So, trying to ignore her own feelings once more, the pink-clad figure resumed the instrumental on her phone and continued practicing.

…

A dog with white fur, as always, sat eagerly among a crowd. His tail wagged behind him happily, against his own knowledge. He watched with eager eyes, awaiting the arrival of his friend.

Behind the curtain was a human with honey-colored hair. As had become routine, she steeled herself for a performance. She knew that they'd eat it up, even if it was mediocre. All she had to do was dazzle them the best she could, and she'd be able to go on home.

No big deal. She wouldn't fuck this up.

So, stepping out onto the stage with a faux-excited twirl, Natallia spun into view with a grin.

Her friend's fidgeting increased, as did his smile.

Her dress wasn't very impressive today, in her own books. The song lyrics didn't give her any particular ideas, so this one was based more upon the music video. Issue was, most of the people listening to her probably haven't heard this song, let alone the music video. But that was okay, she supposed. Even if they didn't understand why she'd picked this design, it was still pretty.

It was a sundress-esque dress, with short sleeves and a rather open neckline. It revealed a lot of her shoulders, but not any lower than that; Natallia would rather die than let anyone look at her lower neck. Why? Well, that was a good question. One she didn't know the answer to, in all honesty.

It had many ruffles, looking vaguely crinkly. Like paper. It was also a smooth, off-white color. Again, like paper. There was some subtle, scribble-like detailing across it, in a blackish blue color, almost like handwriting. Which you'd find on, you guessed it, paper.

Are you seeing the theme here yet?

Well, if not, it's paper. That's… Yeah. That's what Natallia was going for. Paper.

She'd switched the flower in her hair to match, of course, to a simple white cosmos. Cosmos? Cosmo? Whatever. She didn't know any flower names other than the basic stuff (roses, daisies, dandelions…) and carnations, because she usually wore carnations the most. Didn't matter what the adjective is, that's her point. Point is, it's sing time!

"Hey! How're you all doing tonight?!" She chirped out enthusiastically, in spite of the sun shining high above her. Nevertheless, she got cheers, although some were slightly confused.

She grinned wider.

"Cool, cool! Well, hopefully I'm about to make your day a lot better, because I'm doing the singing thing again! So, if all goes well, I can only assume you guys are about to have an enjoyable experience! Isn't that awesome?!"

The resounding cheers sounded slightly more confused this time.

"Haha, awesome! Okay, without further ado, it's melodic screeching time!"

The audience didn't have a chance to do anything more than mumble confusedly before the instrumental started up, slow and dreamlike.

Natallia, careful of her microphone, took a slow, deep breath, preparing herself mentally.

"The sun is filling up the room, and I can hear you dreaming. Do you feel the way I do, right now?" She began softly, slow and strangely sad.

"I wish we would just give up, 'cause the best part is falling. Call it anything but love..." The next line came out like a depressed sigh. The audience then realized that this song, perhaps, might keep the trend she kept yesterday of being sad.

The instrumental, still maintaining its dreamlike, saddened tone, slowly began to pick up.

"And I will make sure to keep my distance. Say I love you when you're not listening."

"And how long, can we keep this up, up, up?" The girl sang onstage, voice threatening to tremble. Too close to home, this one was… But that's why she'd picked it. So she had to keep going. She had to.

"And please don't stand so close to me, I'm having trouble breathing. I'm afraid of what you'll see, right now." She spoke quietly, hands shaking as her voice grew ever sadder.

"I'll give you everything I am, all my broken heartbeats. Until I know you'll understand…"

"And I will make sure to keep my distance, say I love you when you're not listening, and how long, can we keep this up, up, up?!" Natallia cried out, holding a high note at the end of the sentence as the instrumental suddenly picked up. Her voice shook. Fuck, she always sucked at high notes… Whatever, maybe the audience would think she was about to cry again and leave it at that.

"And I keep waiting, for you to take me! And you keep waiting, to save what we had-" The instrumental quiets once more, and Natallia faintly lets out a relieved sigh, "-So I'll make sure to keep my distance…"

"Say I love you when you're not listening... And how long, can we keep this up, up, up?"

The instrumental picked up once more, leaving Natallia raising her voice in an almost desperate manner.

"Make sure to keep my distance! Say I love you when you're not listening!"

"How long, 'til we call this love, love, love...?" She finished, voice dropping into a defeated tone. The instrumental played a bit longer, somberly, before finally ceasing, leaving the girl onstage with her head bowed sadly.

Slowly, she looked up again, eyes dark as she looked to the crowd.

Cheers immediately erupted from the audience. Natallia, in spite of herself, grinned.

"Thank you, thank you!" She chuckled. "T-That one was, ah, Distance, by Christina Perri!"

Slowly, the excitement died down, letting Natallia speak once more. "Anyway, thank you for listening to my performance! Goodbye now, enjoy the rest of the show!" She announced polietly, before skipping off the stage with a spring in her step. As she glanced one last time out of the shelter of the curtains, though, she spotted something in the corner of her eye.

Smile dropping, she made her way to the dressing room.

"Ah geez… I made him cry again?" She murmured to herself, a tad concerned, and strangely flattered all at once. She chuckled fondly. "Sappy idiot…"

…

A familiar set of russet eyes, immediately, lock onto a familiar figure dressed in pink. He waves to her excitedly. She smiles, looking slightly nervous.

"Hey there…" She greets carefully.

"Natallia!" The canine exclaims excitedly. "Th-That was amazing!"

"D'aww, you really think so Bonesy?" The girl grins jokingly.

"Of course! It was great! I mean, I-"

"Cried?" Natallia inturrupts. "Yeah, I know."

"I mean, I was going to say loved it, but yeah. Wait, how DID you know that?"

She shrugs. "Intuition."

"... You saw me."

"Yeah, I saw you."

"How're you always able to pick me out in a crowd?" Bones asked.

"I dunno, you're pretty identifiable to me…" The girl blushed. "Maybe I've just gotten used to seeing you, so it makes it easier for me to do?"

"That… Doesn't entirely make sense." He replies. Once again, Natallia shrugs.

"Natallia!" Another voice calls from the crowd. The aforementioned performer turns to see Purrl making her way towards her. "Oh, hi!" She chirps.

"That was great!"

"Was it?"

"Yeah, duh!" Purrl responds.

"What do you mean, of course?!" Bones insists.

"I'm starting to think you guys are biased…" Natallia grins, less jokingly than she would've liked.

"Nonsense! I'm totally impartial!" The cat insists. Bones nods along, despite clearly knowing the information to be false.

Natallia only laughs. "Aww, shucks…"

"Who even says that anymore?"

"Me, apparently."

"Quiet!" Bones suddenly interrupts. "We're gonna miss the next act!"

"Okay, okay…"

…

Finally, Natallia collapsed onto her bed, exhausted after a long day. Surely enough, her house was done being remodelled by the time she'd arrived back. The basement was actually full-sized already, much to her surprise. Hopefully Nook could actually expand the kitchen next, then…

After seeing the wide open space, Natallia immediately got to work, decking it out with wallpaper and flooring, and a few lackluster decorations. Once satisfied with the meager work (she was too tired to put in some proper effort), the girl had collapsed into bed.

After all, she had an appointment to fulfill! It was Cry Time!

But suddenly, she paused.

How… Was she gonna start crying? She couldn't cry on demand. Sure, she could watch some sickeningly sweet shipping compilations, but that was getting old… Besides, the plan was for Bad Tears anyway.

So, of course, she began thinking of all of her failures.

Immediately, one particular trend popped into mind.

Ah, yes. The vanishing act.

God, she wished she'd stop doing that. And yet, here she was, already planning ahead. Already picking when, exactly, to do it. Already giving up on stopping herself.

Did she even try anymore? Why didn't she try anymore?

What was wrong with her?

Why did she do these things? Why did she hurt the people she cared about? Why was she so afraid to open up, like, really open up? Why did she deserve to…

… No, please, not that. Not yet… We don't wanna get too into it now, this was just supposed to be a quick thing.

Lets focus on the vanishing for now… We're not ready for that just yet… Not now…

Disappearnance… Hurt… Abandonment… That stuff. That's what made her weak.

Maybe she should've entered into the talent show as a magician, what with how often she'd disappear...

… Wow, that was cheesy. How could she attend her crying appointment if she was too busy making herself laugh with all these amazing jokes?

Plus, there was already a magic man in the talent show. That'd just be unoriginal. Sure, she could threaten him to stop, but that'd just be mean. Surely, she couldn't steal her brother's glory.

… She began thinking about her brother.

An absolute shut in, for sure. He'd lived in this town for years, just as she had, and yet almost no one really knew him. Some of the villagers here didn't even know his name. That's why people referred to him as they did. As the human.

But not her, of course. Not sweet, lovable, garbage-person Natallia. Not that human. The other human.

That's what he was to them. Someone else. Someone else, who didn't matter as much as her.

She wished she mattered less. She wished he mattered more. Maybe if he saw people cared about him, he'd bother to come out more often.

She'd been so surprised when he told her he'd enroll in that talent show. She didn't know why. Why, exactly, had he decided to come out, for magic of all things?

But she'd been excited. She'd thought maybe, maybe this was something new. Maybe they'd care about him more now. Maybe he'd stop being the other. Maybe he'd be the magician. Maybe he'd be Jeremiah instead.

But so far, he'd still remained alone. Sure, the audience was wowed, sure, they loved his act. But no one had approached him, and they were almost out of time… Would he ever start making friends again?

How hadn't people started to like him yet? He was a great guy, really! A bit strange, sure, but… At the very least, he had association with her, who everyone apparently loved oh-so-much. Couldn't at least ONE idiot assume he must be nice because she was? I mean, come on people!

As the only other human in town, it was surprising that no one really noticed that they were related. Same hair color and everything… Granted, he was lankier, and he had different eyes, but still.

He didn't really talk to anyone besides her anymore. Certainly no one in town. No one except… Well, Carmen, his beloved neighbor. But now that she was gone… To say the least, Natallia was getting worried about him.

… If not for herself, Natallia was fairly sure the boy wouldn't speak to anyone again. She'd tried to set him up with her friends before, yeah, but he'd always denied the offer. He seemed perfectly content alone, sure, but again, she couldn't help but be concerned about him…

And thinking about her brother lead to thinking about the rest of her family, of course.

Oh, great, that's where this was going.

… Ah, yes.

There were the tears.

Oh my god. How long has it been since I updated this story? Let me check… WHAT, APRIL OF 2018?! Oh my god, no wonder you guys thought I abandoned this story, I'm so sorry. Well, don't worry, I didn't, I swear! This is gonna go for a lot longer. Just really inconsistently. I'll try to update this one more often, and I apologize for taking so long.

Anyway, oneshot time I guess! I got a request from FueledByNightmares, of course, that reads, "Now make a one shot where dogs attacks everyone except Bones and after killing or taking prisoner or whatever everyone else they turn Bones into their god", but as of my, "Don't submit any oneshot ideas that are too insane or stupid. I'm looking at you FueledByNightmares (no offence)" clause of Chapter 9, I've elected to reject that one. Apologies!

So, onto what I'm actually doing, which will be my own ideas, since I have no requests as of now! Enjoy!

Basic Coffee Shop AU! Natallia works at Starbucks.

Oneshot: Puns, Stories Of How Words Can't Espresso

Natallia was bored. I mean, who wouldn't be, working in an empty Starbucks with nothing to do? At least it was nearing the end of her shift, but still. She desperately wished there was a customer to come in so she could make some damn coffee and relive her crippling boredom, if only for a minute.

"I'm dying here, I swear.. If only someone could conveniently come in at this exact moment to entertain me..." The barista sighed.

The bell hooked up to the door of the coffee shop rang only a moment after she said this, startling the apron-clad figure out of her musings..

"What the fuck?!" She immediately exclaimed.

… Ah. Did she mention that, as per the employee handbook that she'd never properly read through, she'd probably get fired for yelling curses at a customer? Fuck.

She peeked over the counter worriedly, and sighed in relief. Oh, thank goodness. Looks like she wouldn't be getting fired today!

Because the scenario got ten times more cliche, as she saw the startled face of her best buddy Bones! Natallia wondered briefly if her life was a bad sitcom.

"U-Uh… A-Are you okay, or…?" Her companion asked, a worried look across his face.

"Don't worry dude, I'm fine." The girl sighed, relieved.

"R-Really? Then why did you…?" He trailed off.

"Ah, it just startled me that someone came in the exact moment I was all like, 'Gosh golly gee! I sure wish someone would come in at this very moment to relieve my crippling boredom!' So yeah." Natallia clarified, exaggerating her own words with a mockingly cheery tone.

"Wait really? That happened?" Bones asked, also seeming surprised by the startling coincidence. "Well, not using those exact words, but yes." Natallia confirmed.

"Wow. That's crazy!"

"Mhm, definitely. Anyway..." Natallia began with a smirk. "Welcome to hell, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I knew you were working right now so I decided to get some coffee! The usual, and, uh, a caramel frappuccino please!" He chirped. Natallia nodded and grinned, and prepared the drinks before handing them to the dog. He handed the caramel frappuccino back to her.

"Oh no, I ordered that for you! You look like you need it today." He told her, paying for both drinks.

"I… Oh. Thank you… I kinda did, y-yeah..." She confirmed, feeling shy all of a sudden. God, did Bones always have to do this sappy shit? It's like he was flustering her on purpose sometimes, she swears…

She took a sip from the sweet drink. Perfect. She sighed happily, a grin spreading across her face.

"Words can't espresso how much you bean to me." The employee blurted out without thinking, as though on instinct.

The dog blinked slowly, processing what she'd said..

Natallia immediately realized her mistake.

Fuck, damn it, she was saving those! She hadn't come up with enough yet! Oh well. Now was as good a time as any. So, without further ado, the honey blonde girl decided to unleash an onslaught.

"Thanks for this, I really think you're tea-riffic!" She grinned evilly.

"That's enough, the coffee's just getting to you.." The dog chuckled, clearly having no idea where this was coming, fondness lingering on the edges of his expression.

"What, no it's not, just take the compliment! You not believing how great you are is mocha-ing me crazy!" The human girl exclaimed.

"... Wait, no. S-Stop." A faint look of fear came across the boy's face, as though he'd realized what was coming.

Good.

"Aw come on, what's wrong are you not feeling well? How are you brewing?" She worried, faux-concern dripping from her voice and a wide smile across her face.

Bones sighed worriedly and took a sip of the coffee. It didn't burn him, as it had already cooled down enough. Natallia always made sure that the coffee was never too hot for him. But that was the least of his concerns now...

"Is your name Earl Gray? Cuz you look like a hot-tea!"

The dog, immediately, started choking. "W-What?! N-No…!" He coughed out, face flushed.

Natallia steeled herself for a moment. Here we go. The worst thing she'd probably ever say, in three, two…

"Can you pass the coffee and sugar, because you just made me cream in my pants." She spoke, doing an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle and finger guns to attempt to hide her complete mortification for using that line.

"N-N-Natallia no!" The now-meek boy insisted, feeling his face going hot with embarrassment. He covered up his obviously red expression with his paws, horrified.

"I like my coffee like my men. Either tall or with a confusing Italian name." She grinned.

"T-That doesn't even make sense, w-w-we're the same height, why are you l-like this?!" Bones asked, voice muffled by his hands.

"I'll take whatever beans necessary to get the point across to you."

Absolute silence.

"I really should've told you all this sooner, but I was pro-caffeinate-ing."

...

"I've been thinking a latte lately, and decided you need to know how much you bean to me."

"You've got a nice… Mug." She smiled, gesturing to all of his face.

Nothing. "... You know, you're not some average joe."

"... Get it? Cuz, like… A cup of joe? H-Haha…"

"... Is this some kind of new form of abuse?" The dog asked, peeking at the girl from in between his fingertips.

"... A-brew-se?" Natallia smiled sweetly.

This, of course, is what it took to break the poor boy.

"Stop! Please, stop! You're just reusing the same lines now, i-it's not even funny!"

"It's de-espresso-ing that you aren't feeling so great right now, brew okay?" She continued, ignoring his criticism.

"I'm out." Bones said, fully prepared to leave the shop.

"Shot through the heart, and you're to blame." She sang. He tried to ignore the pun.

"... No reaction? Haven't heard that one? A venti for your thoughts?"

"T-That doesn't even make sense and you know it!"

"... Hey, I just met you. And this is crazy. But here's my number, so caramel me maybe?" She sang in an all too innocent tone, twirling the coffee in her hands mockingly.

Bones snapped. "WHERE THE DIDDLY DARN HECK ARE YOU EVEN LEARNING ALL THESE PUNS?! IT WAS FUNNY AT FIRST, BUT SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE… WHY?!"

"... I'd try to think of another charming pick up line, but the coffee hasn't kicked in yet."

He screeched into his paws, on the brink of sobbing.

"Oh hey, my shift just ended! We can actually hang out now!" Natallia chirped, smiling as her phone beeped. Bones was silent as she quickly clocked out and made her way up to him, smiling sweetly and holding her half-full frappuccino.

"... Okay." He sighed. Despite everything, he WAS trying hard not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the puns. Something so unoriginal didn't deserve laughter, she HAD just reused the same words over and over again, but... He was happy that he'd now be able to spend time with his best friend now, outside of work. So long as she ceased, he supposed it was okay.

As they walked out the door, she only said one thing.

"See you tomorrow Starbucks, it was nice seeing brew!"

Bones let out a sigh that felt like the end of worlds, but said nothing in return. He could only hope that the barista didn't notice the fond grin on his face.