Eventually the day of the Dream Festival rolled around after a much anticipated wait. Like Kris had told me, we did not have school that day and many of the shops were closed as everyone made their final preparations for tonight's festivities.

It would seem that the Dream Festival would be perfect; a warm yet gentle breeze constantly swept through the grass and trees and the sky had only a few clouds scattered about. There wasn't a chance at all for rain, that much I knew.

But I do need to mention the first night of having Asriel over. Since there's only two rooms, Asriel initially believed he would be sleeping on one of the chairs in the living room. Of course though, Kris and I always snuggle at night so we offered to let him stay in technically his room and on his old bed. The shock on his face when he saw Kris and I all wrapped together was priceless, though I only managed to catch it with the corner of my eye because of my position.

But a part of it almost seemed to be jealousy. I think that Asriel might not entirely like me… I think he thinks I'm stealing Kris from him. Both Kris and I have told him that's not at all what's happening-Kris still loves him very much and he's still the best brother, but…

Anyways, with a lot of the places in town closed and all, Kris and Asriel and I just sat around and talked. Asriel told a lot of stories from college, describing other humans to Kris and telling of some of the crazier events that went on in his classes. Kris and I joked that it just seemed like our current school but with more people, and Asriel agreed for the most part.

After a while though, Toriel called and asked for a taste-tester for her pies to make sure they were up to standard. Kris readily agreed, jumping up from the bed and running out of the room before any of us could even stand up. I was about to go follow him when Asriel grabbed hold of my hand.

"Be down in a second, mom!" he yelled.

"Asriel…? What's-"

"Sit back down," he instructed. Or was it a command? There was an odd glare in his eye.

"What's going on?" I asked. I was a little afraid to be honest.

"I'm just going to see what you know. First question: what's Kris' favorite color?"

"Uh-um… it's um…"

"You don't know. It's blue. And not just any blue-the clear blue of the lake," he snarled.

"...Okay."

"Next question: who was the first one to show him the lake?"

"...I don't know. I thought he found it on his own…"

"Wrong! I took him there the very first time. I remember it perfectly-we sat there on the grass, staring up at the stars and watched fireflies flutter by." It may have been me, but it seemed like his voice got louder.

"Next question: what is it that Kris likes about the stars so much?"

"Um…"

"He always got to sit and watch them with me," he smiled, "next question! Who was always there for him when he needed help the most?"

"...You, and Toriel?"

"Only me. Final question: who's Kris' best friend?"

"You…"

"That's right," he walked across the room and shot daggers down at me with his eyes, "and that's how it'll always stay, you got it? Now go apologize to Kris-the fact that you only could get one question right means you don't know enough about him."

I ran out of the room. I couldn't be in there with him anymore. There were tears forming in my eyes, but I wiped them away before going downstairs. Kris… didn't need to know about this.

"What kept you two?" Toriel asked.

"I just had to talk to Ralsei about something," Asriel beamed. His personality completely shifted.

I took the seat next to Kris like I always did.

"Sorry…" I whispered over to him.

"For what? Taking so long? Don't be sorry for that!" Kris laughed.

"...Okay," I tried to work up a smile.

Nothing else really happened until it was time for the Dream Festival to begin. Kris and I put on our outfits, Asriel donned a tuxedo that he said he rented for the occasion, and Toriel wore a silky dress similar to what she always wore.

I made sure to stick close to Kris the entire time, too afraid of what would happen if Asriel managed to get me alone again.

When we arrived at the lake, many people from town were already there. I saw a lot of the school students, including Susie and Noelle, I saw Catty and Bratty, and a whole lot of faces I didn't recognize.

"You all have fun now, I will join as soon as I set up my stand," Toriel said.

Asriel and Kris immediately seemed to find one figure in the crowd: another goat-monster that looked to be around Toriel's age. He had a much bulkier figure than either Asriel or Toriel though, but despite this it appeared that he was tending to some flowers. Asriel ran over, Kris trailing behind, and with me having nowhere better to go I simply followed.

"Hey dad!" Asriel yelled as he half-tackle hugged him.

"Asriel? Is that really you?" he said.

"Yeah! I got time off and thought I'd come to the Dream Festival!"

"Well, it's wonderful to have you here, son. And Kris! There you are."

Now it was Kris' turn to give a hug.

"You must visit more, it gets a bit lonely sometimes," he smiled.

"Sorry, dad. Been a bit busy lately. And it's because I made a great new friend!" Kris pointed back to me. Asriel shot his glare for a moment.

"Oh? And who are you, little one?" he asked.

"R-Ralsei," I stuttered, a little shaken thanks to Asriel.

"I think it's a wonderful name. My name is Asgore, and as you can probably guess, I am Kris and Asriel's father. I run the flower shop here in town, and I decorated the area for tonight."

"I think it looks amazing!" I got out.

"Yeah, good job dad," Asriel said.

"Oh, it's the least I can do," he said.

There was a pause of silence for a moment.

"Hey Asriel, since you're here, want to show me how your magic is coming along? I'm sure you practiced for tonight's magic competition."

"Oh, good idea!"

"Excuse us, Kris and Ralsei," he said.

Then it was just Kris and I. Finally...

"He seems polite. A lot like Toriel, actually," I said.

"Yes… unfortunately they divorced over a few issues. I think Toriel is still a bit bitter," Kris told me.

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

"Ralsei, what did I tell you about apologizing? You're perfect, so stop!" he laughed.

"I'm so-" I caught myself. Kris rolled his eyes, and laughed a bit more.

"At least I have both my parents. You didn't really get to know either, did you?"

"No, I didn't. But it's okay! I have everything I'll ever need right beside me."

"Want to go talk to Susie?" Kris asked.

"Oh yeah!" I exclaimed.

Susie and Noelle were sitting together at the edge of the lake. It looked like they were sharing one of Toriel's pies and laughing with one another.

"Well if it isn't the two love birds…" Kris mocked.

"Whatever, Kris. You and Ralsei are glued together," she mocked back, "and you're even wearing matching outfits!"

"Hello Kris, hello Ralsei, you both look nice," Noelle said.

"As do you," Kris said, "never thought I'd see Susie like this though!"

"Noelle tried to get me in a dress and it didn't work."

Susie was wearing a black jacket over a white shirt and dark dress pants.

"It was the next best thing, and she seems happy in it," Noelle said.

"I'm tolerating it," Susie corrected Noelle.

The two of them laughed.

"Mind if we sit here?" Kris asked.

"Do whatever you want," Susie answered.

The next few minutes were filled with idle chatter. Susie commented on how good Toriel was at baking, and that I'd have a lot to do if I wanted to best her. Noelle mentioned how her father was doing, who unfortunately couldn't be here tonight and was instead in the hospital after an accident. She was going to visit him later, and so was Susie.

Eventually Kris told me he was hungry, and Susie said she was still hungry, so I offered to go get them food since I also was sort of getting hungry. They both agreed they wanted one of Toriel's pies, Noelle just shrugged and honestly I was fine with the choice.

When I went over there though, Berdly wanted to talk to me for a moment.

"Hey, Ralsei. Can I just ask you something?" Berdly said.

"Of course!"

"Why do you hang out with Kris? You seem pretty smart, but then you hang out with a loser like him."

"Hey! Kris is not a loser!" I shouted.

"Yes he is-his work ethic is terrible, he doesn't care much about anything, and frankly he's not the brightest. He tried to partner with me for the last project! Me! How laughable!"

"...None of that is true about Kris."

"Oh, I get it! You must be just as much of a loser!" Berdly laughed.

I didn't say anything, but instead just put my head down.

"Well see you later, loser!" he said before walking off.

I kept going to Toriel's stand. It seemed like a lot of the pies had already been taken.

"Move," Asriel pushed me aside.

"What was that for?" I demanded.

"You were in my way, and I'm hungry," he said, continuing to the stand and taking a pie.

"...Hey Toriel," I said, "um… one-no, two pies please."

"Go ahead and take them, child! Hope you're enjoying the Festival!" she beamed.

I wanted to say I wasn't, but I masked the urge with a soft smile. Just had to get back to Kris and then everything would be better…

"Thanks, Toriel! Hope you enjoy the Festival too!" I said before walking away.

When I was about halfway back, Monster Kid noticed me and came over for a quick conversation.

"Thanks for stealing my friend," he said.

"I didn't…"

"What? I asked if you were having fun, dude! Are you telling me the Dream Festival isn't the coolest?"

"Oh, I'm sorry-I heard something different. Yes, I'm having tons of fun," I lied.

I excused myself after that. I just wanted to go sit next to Kris again, I just needed his smile.

And so I finally got back. That short trip to get two pies felt like it took ages. I handed one pie to Susie, who immediately took a slice of it after she got it. The other pie went to Kris, who took a slice of his own.

"These pies are so good!" Susie exclaimed.

"Yeah they are," Kris said, "here, Ralsei, take a slice!"

"Um… I'm not hungry," I said.

"You sure?"

I nodded slowly.

Kris ate the slice himself, then sat a bit closer to me.

"Are you okay, Ralsei?" he asked in earnest.

"I'm fine. Just not hungry, we eat a little bit later usually so this has thrown me off my schedule."

"Do we?" Kris asked, "...But if you're sure you're okay…"

I wanted nothing more than to tell him I wasn't at all okay. But I couldn't. I had to just keep this mask on. This was Kris' time to have fun, not worry over me.

Suddenly a figure announcing himself as the mayor stood in the middle of the field. He got our attention and said that the time to say our dreams for the next year was about to begin. We all crowded around, our quartet closer to the edge than the middle.

"I suppose I ought to begin! My dream is to better this town," the mayor said.

There were a lot of people, now that I had the time to think about it. And to see everyone here gathered was a lot.

"I think our special guest of the evening ought to go next; Asriel Dreemurr please come up!"

The crowd erupted into a cheer. I tried to fake the excitement as best I could. Everyone hushed when he was about to speak, as if his words would be the most important thing of the night.

"I have two dreams. One is to continue to better myself through my studies," the crowd applauded such a goal, "and the other is to continue being the best brother ever!"

The memory from earlier came back to haunt me. His words kept repeating through my mind, over and over and over again in a never-ending cycle of pain. I clutched my heart, it was starting to hurt.

"Ralsei! Are you okay?" Kris yelled.

"...No. I'm sorry. Just… just no…" I said weakly.

I turned, and I ran. I ran away from the scene that was about to happen. I didn't want Kris to see me cry. I didn't want to ruin the night with my own insecurities. I didn't want to be the center of all the problems again. Kris didn't need me, he had Asriel! Asriel was right, I really wasn't good enough…

I found myself arriving at the school. I looked behind me, Kris hadn't followed. It confirmed my suspicions that maybe Asriel was right when he said Kris liked him more. The main entrance was unlocked, and I went in. I was going to go back to the one place where nobody would ever have to see me again, where I wouldn't ever be a burden for anyone again.

I threw myself into the portal linking our worlds-I went back to the Dark World.

Author's Note:

I deeply appreciate the concern shown after the last chapter. Funnily enough, the day after my uploading of that chapter was when life started to climb back up, so I have been better. And do not fret! I have every intention on finishing this story, frankly it would be an insult to myself just as much as my readers if I didn't.

I say I'm better, but then I write this chapter. Honestly, when I thought of making the Dream Festival, this was the immediate chapter that came to mind. While yes it was intended to be a way for Ralsei to talk to more people, it was also an excuse to write what I believe to be the lowest point of the story so far. I do apologize for doing stuff like this to you all. You deserve better-you deserve perfection.