Chapter 6

Frisk woke with the absolute worst headache she had ever had. The pounding in her head seemed to be audible. She burrowed deeper into her blanket, hoping to smother out the headache. Why did her head hurt so much? She groaned and curled up tighter. Confusion overtook her when she realized that she had shoes on. What? How tired was I last night? Wait, what did I do last night? It took Frisk a moment to remember going out with Emily the night before, but she could not, for the life of her, remember how she got home. Did I really drink that much? There was no other way to put it, Frisk felt like absolute shit. The last thing she really remembered was going to get water with Emily and the rest of the group. However it happened, Frisk was just happy to have gotten home safe.

She slowly opened her eyes, squinting in confusion at the faint light filtering through her blanket. Did she take down her curtain last night? Frisk shot up and threw her blanket off, jumping off of her bed despite the agony it caused her head. She didn't realize until she actually reached the window that the curtain was still up and it was dark outside. Her sigh of relief quickly turned into a pained groan. Frisk clutched her head. Keeping her eyes closed against the harsh light, Frisk stumbled back towards her bed, blindly fumbling for the lamp on the floor by her bed. Once she flicked it off, Frisk gently opened her eyes and kicked off her shoes. She was about to crawl back into bed when a shiver went down her spine.

She froze. Behind her, she could hear a gentle tap, tap, tap. She slowly looked behind her, but saw nothing in the pitch black apartment. She could have sworn she felt someone watching her. She broke out into a cold sweat and her heart started thumping frantically. The tapping sounded like it was coming from her coffee table. Whatever or whoever was making the noise was close to the door. Her window didn't have a fire escape, she had specifically made sure of that before she moved in. Now she wished she hadn't. She had one large knife, but it was in the kitchen area near the door, too. No good. She couldn't remember where she had put her purse when she got home, which still had her pocket knife in it. Barely daring to breathe, Frisk slowly, quietly tried to feel around the floor near her bed, praying to every god she had ever heard of that her purse was there. Her heart dropped into her stomach when she found nothing. The tapping seemed to get louder. The sound was horrifyingly familiar and if it weren't for the headache Frisk had woken up with, she would have thought this was another nightmare. The window. If I can make it out the window, I can figure it out from there. She thought, knowing that "figure it out" really meant "fall to my death". But it might be better than the alternative. She might survive the fall, or maybe she'd be able to grab onto the ledge of the window below hers. Maybe.

Frisk began to creep back towards the window, her headache forgotten in the adrenaline rush. She knew once she reached the window, she would have to move quickly. Whoever he had sent after her would see her as soon as she opened the window. Frisk kept low to the ground and tried to slow her heart, sure that whoever was in the apartment with her could hear it.

It's not him, he wouldn't be here. It's night. He can't be here. It's not him. It's not him. She silently chanted to herself as the tapping continued. She stopped breathing and concentrated on listening for any movement from whoever was doing it. Her foot hit the back wall by the window and she froze. The tapping stopped. Frisk waited, but she didn't hear any other movement from the mystery person. One...two...three...NOW!

Frisk spun around, flinging the curtain back and grasping for the lock on her window. She slammed the window open the second she unlocked it. She was halfway out when a painful grasp on her arm yanked her back inside. Frisk clawed at the hand on her arm uselessly. She tried to kick at her assailant, but they moved too quickly for her to land a blow. Desperate, Frisk leaped forward and tried to bite the arm holding her.

"what the shit?!" Yelled a familiar voice, letting Frisk go, "did you just try to bite me?"

"sans?" Frisk asked, shocked. Frisk ran over and turned on her light, conveniently putting some distance between her and the skeleton. Said skeleton gave her a death glare. Frisk returned it.

"good detective skills, sweetheart. yeah, it's me." sans retorted. Frisk looked around her apartment for her purse, spotting it by the door. sans caught her looking in that direction and moved to block her escape.

"What are you doing in my apartment?" Frisk demanded. She straightened her back and put her hands on her hips, trying to look intimidating. Trying not to show just how much her mind was reeling. She quickly looked behind her to make sure that she hadn't ripped the curtain off when she had tried to escape.

"i would advise against that route, it would only end in pane." sans pulled out a cigar and lit it before taking a long drag. Frisk shot him a dirty look, she hated the smell of cigars. She walked slowly to the window, closed it, and snapped the lock in place. Once she was done, she turned and faced sans, glaring. The skeleton rolled his eye-lights and exhaled. A puff of smoke escaped between his teeth.

"look, i ain't here to hurt ya, kid." sans explained. Frisk raised a single eyebrow and waited. sans let out an irritated huff before continuing, "what do ya remember from last night?"

Frisk's other eyebrow rose at the question. She didn't see where this was going and her headache was starting to make itself known again.

"Last thing I remember is Emily leading me to the bar to get some water."

"sounds 'bout right. that's about when some creep tried to spirit you off somewhere." Frisk's eyes widened. This was news to her.

"Explain."

"do ya remember goin' to the bar to get water by yourself? an' do ya remember the slimo guy who talked to ya at the bar?" sans continued as Frisk nodded in affirmation, "well i'm pretty sure he slipped somethin' into yer water while he was trying to shmooze ya. 'bout twenty minutes later, you were stumblin' all over the place. next thing i know, he's carryin' your unconscious body out the back door. i know grillbz is fond of ya, so i intervened. told the bartender at the club t'tell yer friends i had ya. yer neighbor stopped by around noon." Frisk grasped onto that last sentence like a drowning man to a straw. She looked over to her clock on the wall it read 11:30.

"Are you telling me….that I slept almost a full 24 hours?" She asked, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. sans took another long drag on his cigar before replying.

"yup." Was all he offered. Frisk held her head between her hands. I was almost taken. I was almost taken. sans saved me. I was almost taken. Frisk concentrated on breathing. One deep breath in, one out. Repeat.

"anyways, only reason i'm still here is cuz grillbz asked me to make sure you woke up. i phoned him when when i got you here. he promised to give me a few rounds on th' house for stayin' with ya, and me bein' the generous, carin' guy i am, how could i refuse?" sans chuckled.

"Wait." Frisk said, holding up a hand. She raised her head to look at the skeleton, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "If you didn't call Grillby until after you brought me here and you didn't talk to my friends, how did you know where I lived?" Frisk rose back into a standing position. When sans didn't answer, she took a step toward him, angry red splotches rising on her cheeks.

"listen, dollface, in my line of work ya-" Before he could finish his sentence, Frisk broke into a sprint for the front door, surprising the skeleton mobster. Before he could turn towards her, she had fished her knife out of her purse and stood with it facing him. She reached behind her and made sure the door was unlocked, but didn't run yet.

"Drop the bullshit and tell me. How. Did. You. Know. Where. I. Lived." Frisk demanded. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. If sans was able to find her home so quickly, would others be able to as well?

"you threatenin' me, dollface?" sans asked so quietly Frisk almost didn't hear him. A shiver of fear crept down her back. sans' eye sockets were pitch black, his smile sharp and dangerous. Frisk suddenly remembered his gang name. The Reaper. You don't get that kind of nickname for planting daisies in the park. This monster was dangerous.

"A mobster with a big reputation I just met the other day is in my house. When he shouldn't know where I live. And I'm alone with him. Can't blame me for wanting some protection." Frisk replied, hiding her fear. "Now tell me, how did you find my home?"

"put the knife down, ruby." sans took a menacing step towards her. He put out his cigar on her table. Frisk raised the knife higher.

"Not until you tell me how you found my home." She replied.

"heh. so i save yer sorry ass from what was bound to be a bad time, and this is the thanks i get? a knife in my face and you demandin' answers from me? you got balls. i admire that. really, i do. but i think it's time to stop playing." sans raised his left hand and his left eye flashed with blue light and blue smoke trailed out of the socket. Frisk gasped as the knife in her hand was surrounded by a blue light and increased in weight. The knife was ripped from her grasp and slammed into the floor with an unrealistic amount of force. Without hesitating, Frisk turned to open the door and make a break for it, but before she could make even one step, the blue light surrounded her feet and they were held in place.

"i think it's time for you to take a seat, kiddo." sans said. He pointed at her, then pointed at her bed. Frisk suppressed a scream as she flew across the room to land roughly on her bed. sans smirked down at her and leaned against the back of her chair. Frisk made to get up again, but sans just used his magic against her and forced her back down. She stiffened and glared, causing sans to mutter, "yeah, yeah, you're very intimidatin'. now, i got some questions fer ya, now that we have some one on one time. first of all, what's yer real name?"

"Ruby."

"try again, dollface. i can smell a fake name when i see one. 's part of my job description. you react a little too slow to people callin' you ruby." sans explained while examining his philanges, but Frisk could see him peeking at her through the corner of his eyes.

"I have a hard time hearing people at the bar." Frisk replied without missing a beat.

"nah, that's not it. see, sweetheart, i think yer name is frisk." sans replied, still not looking directly at her. Frisk could feel all the color drain from her face.

"What?" Her voice came out cracked, quiet.

"yer, name, dollface, it's fri-" before sans could finish the name, Frisk had shot up and dashed over to him, intent on attacking him, silencing him. Making sure that he never told another living soul that name. She moved so quickly that she almost grabbed sans's shirt before he could react and throw her back onto the bed with his magic. sans grinned sharpley at her and scolded, "yer gonna hafta try harder than that to get me. i do shit like this fer a livin'. so, frisk, mind tellin' me why yer goin' by 'ruby'?"

sans sighed when frisk didn't reply.

"look, you seem like a nice girl, grillbz likes ya, and he hardly likes anyone. so that says a lot of ya, but in my line o'work, ya can't be too careful, ya dig? just answer my questions, and we can forget this ever happened. what do ya say?" sans offered, his eyelights returning to normal. Frisk thought furiously. What was the best route to go? If she tried to make a break for it, he would just use his magic against her again, and she really didn't want to piss him off. She felt that that would end poorly for her. But she couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't anyone the truth. But she could tell part of the truth. Surely that would be safe, right?

"Fine." She bit out as she moved to sit at the edge of the bed and straightened her back. This would require very quick thinking. sans let out a relieved sigh.

"finally. yer costin' me a lot of time. time i could be usin' to sleep or drink….or sleep! I'm bone tired cuz a' you." sans sat down on the floor, resting his back against Frisk's chair as if to emphasize just how exhausted he was, "now then, back to question numba one, why the fake name?"

"Someone is trying to find me. I don't want to be found." Frisk answered as she stared him right in the eye.

"no shit, why else would anyone take a fake name? let me be a bit more specific: who's tryin' to find ya?" sans asked, glaring.

"A man. A-a bad man. Who hurt me. A lot." Frisk admitted. It was the first time she had ever told anyone that much, so the discomfort she showed was genuine. sans cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.

"i see." he said, scratching the back of his skull. "sorry to hear that, that's rough. i've known a few people who have been in that kinda relationship, it's hard to get out of." sans admitted. Frisk felt guilty, but did not correct him; she simply shrugged.

"so, anyways, next question, what's yer last name, frisk?" sans asked, breaking the awkward silence. Frisk looked back up at him.

"I don't know my real last name, I really am an orphan, but I was given the name Terain a few years ago." Frisk said quietly. Thankfully she had no documents or paper trail with that name, and only one person knew it, so he wouldn't be able to trace much from her. Hopefully.

sans hummed in thought.

"I think it's my turn to ask a question." Frisk said, steering the conversation away from the details of her life, "Like, how did you know where I live?"

"oh, that's easy. i followed you home one night." sans replied offhandedly.

"Excuse me?" Frisk stared, eyes wide.

"what? how else do you think i did it? you didn't even tell grillbz your address. an' it wasn't that hard." sans waved his hand in dismissal. Frisk felt icy cold. Wasn't that hard? To follow me home? But I take the back ways and dark alleys! And I make sure no ones ever behind me!

"When did you do it?" Frisk demanded. Voice cold and sharp. sans looked at her, sensing that maybe he shouldn't have admitted that.

"the night i stopped you behind grillbz. followed you from there. right to yer door." sans explained, his voice casual. As if stalking random girls was an every day activity for him. "just hadta duck outta sight whenever you stopped to look around."

"Why?"

"so you wouldn't see me, why el-"

"You know that's not what I'm asking." Frisk interrupted. sans groaned in annoyance.

"cuz i don't trust ya, genius. yer new, went by a fake name, wouldn't even tell yer boss yer address, you didn't talk much about yerself - why would i trust ya near my buddy? a lot of my...friends… frequent grillby's. i hadta make sure you didn't have any ulterior motives fer workin' at that specific bar. my friends and i got a lotta people who would love some information on us. can't be too careful. plus, i just plain don't like ya." sans finished with a shake of his head. Frisk ignored the insult and silently admitted he had a point. It was still wrong of him to follow her like that, but she understood that level of paranoia.

"Fine. How did you know my name?" Frisk asked. She could count on one hand the amount of people who knew her real name. There was no way sans could have found it. No possible way… unless-

"you told me last night while i was puttin' you in yer bed. woke up enough to get all pissy at me fer callin' you 'the wrong name'. heh. guess you gettin' drugged helped me out in the end." sans chuckled. Frisk groaned and smacked her forehead. Of course that's what happened. Years of playing it safe, lying, taking shady jobs just so her bosses wouldn't ask questions and she spills the beans because she was drugged and pissed that someone called her 'the wrong name'.

"Darn it." She groaned as she lowered her head in disappointment.

"look, i get that you're upset, but let's watch the fucking language." sans mockingly admonished. Frisk glared at him. He would find this entertaining. Dick, she thought silently at him.

"Very funny," was all she said, though.

"i know, i'm a real comedian," sans replied, "but anyways, all this seems like an awful lot of effort just to get away from an abusive ex. i couldn't find anythin' on ya, and i'm good at findin' shit out about people. so forgive me for sayin', but i still don't trust you. ya still reek of spy" Frisk sighed. She had hoped that he was done questioning her. A humiliated blush crept onto her cheeks. She pulled off the gloves that Emily had lent her last night. sans shot her a confused look.

"Don't breathe a word of this. To anyone. Promise?" Frisk asked, clutching her left sleeve in her right hand.

"i don't make promises, kid." sans replied, staring at her hand, curious.

"I'm not a kid. And fine, I won't ask you to promise, but please know that I don't want anyone to know about this. Not even Grillby. This isn't your secret to share, sans." Frisk waited until sans nodded in acknowledgement. Then a moment more. She took a deep breath and pulled up her sleeve until it almost reached her shoulder. She heard sans's sharp inhale and winced. She knew what he saw. Starting about halfway up her upper arm, a mass of scar tissue crisscrossed. It had been years since a new one was added, but some of them were still red and raised, having been cut open again and again. Looking away, she slowly lowered her sleeve.

"Believe me, now?" Frisk asked, still not looking at him.

"ye-yeah. i believe you." sans replied, his voice cracking a little, "but seriously, what the fuck?"

"Yeah, well, like I said; he was a bad man and he hurt me. A lot," Frisk swallowed, "Please don't tell anyone. It's not something I like to advertise." She asked of him, finally facing the skeleton. sans nodded.

"okay," was all he said before standing up and walking toward the door, "well, this has certainly been… er… enlightening, but think it's time for me to go. later." sans made a quick escape through the door, closing it with more force than necessary behind him. Frisk glared at the door. Once she was sure he wasn't going to bust back in, she let out a sigh of relief. Her breath started to hitch and she could feel the swell of tears building up. With no one to see, she let them fall.

AN:

Hey guys, sorry this took so long! I know it's short and dialogue heavy, but I had a hard time writting this. I couldn't decide if I wanted sans there when Frisk woke up or if I wanted her to find out later how she got home, but I felt this would help move the plot along a little faster. If you've read my other works, you know how bad I am at moving plot along (sorry fans of Time and Time Again! I'll try to update that soon, I know it's been years).

Anyways! Thank you all for all your lovely reviews! They help keep me motivated and Determined!

OH before I forget, Frisks last name "Terain" is a German name that means Strong Willed and Determined. I thought it would go nicely with the story, but if you guys don't like it, don't worry, it will very rarely be brought up. Might be mentioned in the next chapter, but not much more.

Let me know what you thought! Have a great day! And thank you for taking the time to read my work, I really appreciate it!

(sorry for any errors, I'm the worst at spelling and grammar!)