Author's Note: Just so you know, I'm going to try showing a change in POV with the . . . thing and changes between scenes with the lines. Of course, not all . . .'s will mean a POV change, as I also tend to use them for tiny time skips. Hmm...maybe I should try finding something else for those...meh, you guys're smart.

Chapter 2: Not-So-Spooky or Scary Skeletons

Having the two skeletons as company proved to be a bit more than what Lou originally expected. It was more interesting, more fun, more confusing, just…more on so many levels. Then again, she'd never really hung out with a monster before…and she didn't really get out much socially to begin with so there was that. Maybe she was just socially tired today and overthinking it. Papyrus kept his word of keeping her safe, even though there wasn't really anything to protect her from. He proved to be the more energetic of the two skeletal brothers, even more so than any human she'd ever been around. Part of it made her exhausted but yet another part made her want to…join in on his enthusiasm? She wasn't sure what exactly it was but something about his boundless energy made her want to bounce around like a child. Of course, her timid nature stopped all of that in its tracks and instead settled for small laughter and a smile.

Papyrus wasn't as into the anime books as she was, but boy he sure loved puzzles. Lou led him to the crossword and puzzle book section and he looked like he'd just entered heaven. If they hadn't advised against it he just might have bought every single book in the aisle. Cook books were also a big hit with the tall monster, especially anything with pasta. Okay, more like anything with spaghetti, but other kinds of pasta were just as good.

Sans seemed to love cracking jokes. Any chance he got he cracked a pun. Papyrus didn't seem pleased with any of them and practically begged his brother to stop. The larger skeleton also took a few glances at some Sci-Fi and physics books when he thought no one was looking (of course Lou totally noticed). Lou tried to make sure she remembered these small details about what they liked or disliked. The skeletons both seemed very nice and if she could she wanted to get to know them, become actual friends and not just someone she met once.

. . .

Sans kept a close eye socket on the human. This Lou kid seemed nice enough, but if his experience with humans was anything to go off of he had to stay on guard. She took all of this pretty well for the average human; especially for one meeting monsters for the first time like she'd said. Papyrus was a cool guy, there was no doubt, but he didn't exactly have good radar for bad people with ill intent. He was just too kind for that. All of them had issues when they'd first met humans on the surface world. Most humans feared them, but Lou seemed different. Still skittish and jumpy, but she didn't seem afraid. Part of him got the feeling that's just how she was around people and monsters.

Sans huffed out a breath of air, looking the human girl over. She was small, barely even reaching his chest. Heck, the top of her head only just reached his bottom ribs. Monsters were notoriously larger than humans but even this much of a difference was a bit ridiculous; she was practically child sized. If she'd fallen into the underground instead of Frisk and wore a striped shirt he had no doubt everyone would have thought her to be much younger than she truly was. Her hair was a short brown too, choppy bangs that were a little overgrown and hanging in front of her eyes. How she still saw through those was a wonder to him, but somehow she seemed to look at them and read books just fine. From the slight peek he managed to get at her eyes they were a deep brown with long, dark lashes; not wearing a single bit of that makeup that other human females seemed to cake on their faces.

Other human girls wore weird outfits that showed far too much of their skin and looked too thin to keep them warm when it got cold. Everything was tight fitting and impractical, but not with Lou. Not with this one. She wore an army green hoodie that looked like it might be a size too large for her and on the back was simply the word 'NOPE' in all caps and off-white bolded letters. The letters were faded along with the color of the hoodie, showing how many times it had been worn and washed. He hadn't noticed the nope until she'd first turned away from them to go back to the other aisle. The girl also wore a simple pair of boot cut jeans and sneakers. Simple, sweet, and comfortable.

Geez, when Paps had followed after her he almost wanted to scream. He just knew his sockets had gone empty when he hissed out his brother's name, mentally urging him to not follow. But he had, and now they were spending the day with her. Apparently. If he was honest it wasn't all that bad, like he said she seemed like a sweet girl. Paps liked her and she seemed to genuinely enjoy his company. At least he thought so. Lou was a bit quiet and had an almost constant neutral face (almost like a certain human child). She smiled a little when Papyrus talked to her though. It was cute and small. Kid seemed to like his puns too. He caught a small smile whenever he busted a few of them out before Papyrus complained for him to stop. So far though the most he managed to get out of her was a small snicker, and even then he wasn't sure if he'd actually heard it.

"Oh! I-I almost forgot!" Lou froze while looking through the children's books with Papyrus.

"What Is It, Human Lou?" Paps tilted his head in concern. The human hardly answered before dashing off in another direction, leaving the two of them behind. Sans looked to his brother curiously for a moment, following as his brother quickly went after her. Her run was a little bouncy, not even actually a run. It was more like a small, adorable bounce jog. Wait, why was he thinking that? stop that. she's a human you just met. quit it. Once they caught up Lou was skimming over books in the astronomy section. Sans couldn't help but raise a brow, curious on what exactly she was doing over here. "Human Lou?"

She didn't answer, just kept skimming over the book titles. For a moment she looked a bit dismayed before perking up, smiling wide. "Oh! Yay! It's here!" Her voice went up in pitch, a happy little squeak that made Sans flinch a moment before he felt magic heat up his cheekbones. Shit, why was this happening to him? Not even Frisk had been able to make him crack this easily, and they were a child! Plus, they had a few hundred resets to work on it.

"What Did You Find, Human Lou?" His brother leaned over her shoulder, practically bending his whole upper body over her head to look at the title of the book. She flinched a little when she noticed they were there, but quickly seemed to relax and hold up the book for him to see.

"I-it's the book I n-need for m-my class. I-I'm taking Introduction to Astronomy a-as one of my classes." She smiled shyly. "I-I completely forgot to check i-if I might be able to f-find some of my books here."

"Are There Any Other Books You Need, Human Lou?" Papyrus gave her a curious look.

"Um…I-I have all but one other b-book coming in the mail. I-it's for my English class. Th-they should have it, b-but it may be a bit hard to find. I-I'm not sure what genre it's under…" The human girl looked down, fidgeting as whatever thoughts she had ran through her head. Sans figured she may be considering her options. Did she look all over the store or did she try asking an employee for help?

Papyrus easily made the decision for her. "Well That's Easy, Human Friend! We Can Just Ask Someone Who Works Here! I'm Sure They'd Know Where To Find The Book You Need!" The taller skeleton took her hand in his gloved one and lightly pulled her along to the nearest help desk. As his younger brother pulled the small human along Sans couldn't help but glance at their hands. Hers were so tiny compared to the taller skeleton. He had no doubt that even if he weren't wearing gloves they'd still dwarf the human's hand. Sans couldn't even see the light flesh amongst the bright red of his brother's glove; it was like her hand had disappeared entirely and had simply been absorbed by the clothe, the only trace of it being there in the first place being the faded green of her hoodie's sleeve.

It didn't take long for them to find an employee, get the book, and check out soon after. Lou happily managed to buy the two books she needed as well as snag a copy of the Magus' Bride manga from earlier. They got a few new books for Alphys and Undyne, the friends mentioned by the brothers from before. Papyrus had picked up a book from the Fluffy Bunny series as well as a new crossword and puzzle book, while Sans stood off to the side and shrugged, getting nothing for himself. When asked, he simply stated that he didn't need anything. This made Lou frown, earning a puzzled look from the large skeleton as they left the store.

"Human Lou!" Papyrus stopped, looking down at their tiny new human companion.

"Y-you can just call me Lou, Papyrus." She gave him a gentle smile that set the tall skeleton's cheeks ablaze. "We're friends, s-so just Lou is fine."

"R-Right!" Paps quickly regained his composure, Nyeh heh-ing as he placed his hands on his hips. "I Was Wondering," his pose dropped as he bent down slightly to be closer to her level, "If You Are Not Busy Would You Like To Join Sans And I At The Café? A Friend Of Ours Own The Place."

Lou gave the two of them a blank stare, pausing to pull out her phone to check the time. It was just past noon and none of them had anything to eat just yet. "Um…"

Before she could reply, Sans cut in. They'd been taking up enough of this human's time, besides he wasn't sure how much of this weird feeling he got around her he could take. "come on bro, i'm sure the kid has a lot to-"

Papyrus's face fell a moment, seeming disheartened. "A-actually," the skeleton perked up ever so slightly at her voice. She held up a finger, her phone back in her pocket as she looked between the two of them. "I-I uh…d-don't actually have anything just yet, s-so I don't mind. I-I was kinda already thinking of going in anyway."

At that the tall skeleton beamed, sending light warmth spreading through her chest. How could anyone ever say no to such a sweet cinna-bun? She was so focused on his smiling face that she didn't even noticed the flushed grimace that replaced Sans's usual permanent smile. "Splendid! Let's Go Then, Huma- er…Lou!" Papyrus took her hand again and led her into the small café.

The café was a small one, the color scheme made of pinks and purples with spider webs painted on the glass windows. Cute faded pink curtains hung open along the sides of each one, giving it a homey look around the building's logo. It was called simply Muffet's Café. Lou always thought it was cute, figuring it might be a reference to the nursery rhyme or something. What she didn't expect was that the spider theme was because…well, it was a shop run by monster spiders! Amongst the humans and monsters sitting at the many tables were small spiders hanging from webs or skittering around helping to serve each table. Behind the counter was a more humanoid spider woman with purple skin and five black eyes, dressed in a puffy dress that made her remember the nursery rhyme again.

She smiled brightly as they walked up to the counter, small fangs becoming a bit more prominent. "Sans! Papyrus! Hello dearies, how are you doing?" Her dark eyes fell on the human standing between them, making the smaller human blush and hide behind the taller of the two. "Oh? And who's this little one?" Lou flushed even more from basically being called a child.

"This Is Our New Human Friend, Lou! We Just Met Them At The Bookstore And They Helped Us Find A Few Books To Show To Alphys And Undyne!" Papyrus puffed out his chest proudly, still using his more inside voice as he stepped aside to push the shy human in front of him. He leaned forward and not-so-subtly whispered to Muffet. "I Think They May Be A Bit Shy Around People, So Please Don't Startle Them."

Muffet just giggled and waved him off with one of her six arms. "Oh I wouldn't dream of it, dearie! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine." She looked back down at the human with a smile so sweet it could have given anyone a cavity. "It's nice to meet you, sugar fang. Can I get you anything?"

"N-nice to meet you too…" Lou's voice had softened significantly, much like it had been earlier that day. She glanced up at the menu hanging above the counter, likely scanning over the different treats and drinks. "C-can I get um…a-a uh…s-spider cider? A-and um…" Her gaze shifted to the many snacks and pastries displayed behind some glass. "O-one of these?" She pointed to a panini-like sandwich with cheese melted on top in the design of a spider web. It was the closest thing to a lunch item that didn't seem like a sweet. While a spider donut seemed nice, she wasn't sure she wanted one for a meal. Perhaps another time when she was stopping by for a snack?

"Oh~! Excellent choice dear, spider cider is one of our most popular drinks. And for you boys?"

The brothers each ordered their own drinks and food before going to a booth to sit down, Lou getting placed beside Sans. His face seemed to turn a light shade of blue when her side touched his, the space in the booth making it a bit difficult to fit them both at the same time. She noticed this and quickly flinched away when her arm bumped into his…belly? Strange, she didn't see how a skeleton could have a squishy belly. "S-sorry, do um…d-do you want me to switch sides?"

"no!" His sudden outburst caused her to jump, eyes widening under her bangs. "i mean uh…you're fine, kid. i don't grind it that much." His grin widened just a fraction as the pun sunk in.

Papyrus groaned while Lou bit her lips and snrked, bringing up a hand to hide her smile. "Heh, good. I was a bit worried I brew it."

Sans's grin only grew. "Oh Not You Too Human," Papyrus wailed.

"What? I didn't do anything." Lou titled her head to pretend to look away innocently, a giddy smile on her face. "I'm just trying to espresso myself."

"i think you're bean a little harsh there, Paps."

"You Two Are Terrible."

"i donut think they're so bad."

"I like a latte jokes, but dishes getting ridiculous." Lou giggled. "Uh…okay, I'm outta good café puns."

Sans just shrugged. "eh, no bones about it kid. tibia honest that wasn't half bad."

The human girl raised a brow and grinned. "Think you're pretty humorous don't you?" The skeleton just gave her a set of finger guns and winked. With a chuckle and a shrug she folded her arms on the table, resting her chin on top of them. "Eh, mine are pretty half-baked." Sans barked out a booming belly laugh that shook her down to her bones and Papyrus gave a muffled scream from behind his gloves. Lou herself just grinned.

Eating at Muffet's had to be some of the most fun Lou had ever had. Sans exchanged a few more jokes with her while Muffet smiled at the trio from her counter. When they finally left, Lou made sure to tip the friendly spider before promising to stop by again the next time she visited the bookstore.

"You're welcome to stop by anytime, dearie." The spider woman had just smiled that little fanged smile before waving them off.

"So, Lou, What Do We Do Now?" Papyrus smiled; a gleam in his socket. "I Would Assume Your Parents Wouldn't Want You Out Too Late."

Lou tilted her head up to look at him, blinking. "My…parents…?"

"Yes!" The skeleton stood proudly. "While I Do Not Understand Why A Human Parent Would Leave Their Child Unattended For So Long I Am Sure It Must Be Because Of How Brave And Independent You Are And They Trust You Will Be Careful On Your Own!"

There was a light clack from bone hitting bone as Sans face palmed, trying to hide the growing grin on his face. Beside him, Lou just stared blankly. "Uh…Papyrus? Um…h-how old do you think I am?"

Papyrus blinked, yet another phenomenon she'd probably never understand. "About 12, Why?" The human looked to Sans, who was trying to hold back his giggles.

"i wanna say at least 17 or 18, because of the college books." He looked like he was about to fall over laughing. Bastard. "but uh…without the context? yeah, about 12. sorry kid."

"God fricking dammit…" The human frowned, crossing her arms over her chest in an annoyed huff. Papyrus looked at his brother in concern while Sans, who'd finally reigned in his snickers and giggles, just shrugged and closed one eye before lazily stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. "I'm 21…friggin' jerks…"

Papyrus's face was struck with a look of pure horror while Sans choked on air, wheezing out a laugh as he grabbed onto his brother's sleeve to keep himself up. While one looked like he was ready to die of embarrassment, the other was about to keel over from laughing to hard. "oh my stars kid, are you serious?! no way you're 21!"

With a grumble, Lou fished out her wallet from the Stitch crossbody purse hanging off her shoulder, opening her wallet and holding up her ID to the two skeletons. Both of them leaned down to look over the small card before shock once again returned to their features. She noted how Sans's eye lights went out completely. Papyrus looked like he was internally screaming.

"Oh My Stars. I Am So Sorry For Mistaking You For A Child, New Human Friend Lou! You're…Y-You're Just So- So Small!" The poor cinnamon roll of a monster seemed to be panicking. She still felt a bit upset for being called a child, but sighed. He was too sweet to stay mad at.

"It's fine, Papy. I'm short for my age, so I get that a lot. It's no problem, really." The human reached up and rubbed at his arm. This seemed to cheer him up a bit. Begrudgingly, her words weren't a lie; lots of people mistook her for a child. She was short for her age at a miniscule 4'9" and her chest was…well not flat, but it was small and her choice of clothing probably didn't help. A friend back home once joked about her legally being considered a dwarf and was quickly smacked upside the head for it.

Papyrus flushed and sighed, looking at her solemnly. "I Would Still Like To Apologize For My Mistake, I Should Have Asked Before Assuming Your Age."

"Eh, forget about it. You're forgiven." Lou shrugged.

"Wait, Did You Call Me…Papy…A Moment Ago?"

"Uh…m-maybe?" She paused, tensing up. "I-is that bad? I-it just slipped out, I-I didn't mean to-"

Before she could stutter out a proper apology she was scooped up into a surprisingly strong pair of skeletal arms and hugged tight to the monster's ribcage. Surprisingly enough, it gave off warmth much like a regular human body. His ribs were still rather hard and poked into her smaller flesh covered body, but not in an entirely bad way? Though shocking, it was a very nice hug if not a bit of a tight grip.

"THAT IS THE MOST ADORABLE THING I HAVE EVER HEARD!" Papyrus, back to his original volume, held her close to his chest. Actual stars spun in his black eye sockets, looking quite comical.

"S-so…y-you like it?"

"LIKE IT? I LOVE IT!" The tall skeleton spun in a quick circle, Nyeh heh-ing as the human he held giggled right back. Sans just watched with a lazy grin. He was glad to see his brother and the human getting along, but felt a sharp pang in his soul. It happened when Paps had picked her up and again when she giggled with him. He couldn't help but want to hear that sound again, light and bubbly.

Eventually, the taller of the two finally set her back down.

"I should p-probably get going," she sighed reluctantly. "I have t-to meet up with someone a-about possibly becoming roommates?"

"Do You Need A Ride? The Great Papyrus Would Be More Than Happy To Give You A Lift!"

"Th-that would be nice. D-do you know where Honeysuckle Loop is?" Lou pulled out her phone, skimming through until she found a photo she'd taken of the ad.

"yeah, some friends of ours live down there. what house is it?" Sans leaned over her shoulder, trying to get a look at the address.

"Um…423?" She looked up, noticing his eye lights had gotten rather small. His permanent smile now turned down in a slight frown. "…what?"

Papyrus was beaming again, standing up and proudly puffing out his chest. He and Sans said nothing. Paps simply led her to his red convertible, giving Sans a nudge so he followed. "Nyeh heh heh heh heh." Lou wasn't sure if she should be scared or not.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry this took so long, been super busy with college classes and just all around exhausted whenever I get home. Let me know what you think, feel free to come see me on my Tumblr (username is the same), and if you guys have any suggestions or scenarios you'd like to see in coming chapters just put it in a comment below! Also, any feedback is greatly appreciated and welcomed, I LOVE hearing from you guys! (love as in excited happy love, not LV love)