I have no excuse for not updating in so long. For those of you that are still sticking around, I thank you deeply. You really don't know how grateful I am if you are still here, reading this. That said, I hope you enjoy the latest installment of Beautiful Lies and Hideous Truths.

Also... I like my new username very much.

You felt tears streaming down your face as your hand shook and the bright red slid down your pale skin, contrasting harshly. The metal in your hand bit deeper with each tremble, stung harder, brought to life more of this awful river of red. You let it get too far, too fast. You couldn't wait. You couldn't have waited until they finally left. You couldn't have waited until there would be no one around to care. You felt yourself slump against the cold bathroom wall, the red seeping out slowly and lazily onto the blue and white tilings. It had just been easier to stay there for awhile, listening to your thumping heart and weeping SOUL. So... so much... easier...

After what you would have assumed to be anywhere between forty-five minutes and an hour you pulled yourself up off the floor, the flow of blood from the wound having considerably slowed. Still, you took it upon yourself to clean the wound and bandage it tightly, tucking away the blade carefully. You swore you heard it snickering, feeling the little burns on your arms sting as the match boxes joined in. You tossed your backpack where you had hidden them aside, the noise diminishing. It was silent in the whole house; your father had left on a 'business trip', leaving you alone for maybe... two weeks? A month tops?

Despite having just set it aside, you felt something calling you, and you felt compelled to go there. He may not care but his company is as good as any. So, you stuffed a lighter and a cigarette or two in your pocket and put on your trusty eyepatch and hoodie, and a handful of change for the bus. You locked the door on your way out and actually went in the opposite direction for a good quarter mile, before finally pausing at the bus stop. You wanted to just sit on the bus for awhile before climbing that mountain. Not ten minutes later the bus arrived and opened its door welcomingly to you, and you dumped about half the change you had, taking a seat all the way in the back, next to a window. It set into motion and you felt it lift a little bit, beginning to move forward. Then, it began to drizzle lightly. The pattering of the rain was sweet to listen to and remained constant; you found yourself being lulled into a light sleep.

LAST STOP, MT. EBOTT

You heard, snapping awake. The rain was coming down a bit heavier now, enough that you felt the rain seep through your clothes to your skin in a matter of a few minutes climbing up the mountain. About halfway up, you were walking across a small bridge over a short gap. The drop to a small lake below was far but secluded, and the bottom of the lake could not be seen... just the dark water. You're not sure why, but you stopped and spent a few minutes staring over the little rope supports into the lake below. You wondered how deep it was, and how hard it was to get to on foot. You shook your head and kept walking, a new thought in your head; a new idea. A more sure-fire way to do what you had failed to do the first time.

Soon enough you were at where the barrier had been and passed through with ease, crossing across the different sections of the Underground just as you had the first time, once again grabbing an umbrella on the way back, but not bothering to stop anywhere else. You waved to the Riverperson who waved back, you waved at the snowman who simply smiled back to you... and when you reached the clearing, Flowey was already there, seeming to just have been sitting around in the middle of the clearing, face up to the water, seemingly relaxed. He knew you were there, this much you were sure of. You acknowledged him with a small nod, opening the umbrella and seating yourself next to him so the umbrella covered the both of you. At the lack of rain on his face, he let his head tilt downwards a little, and the two of you were able to sit in a comfortable silence for a long while.

Until you felt a familiar, terrifying feeling. One that gave you chills down your spine and raised the hairs on the back of your neck. The feeling of predator stalking prey; you were being watched. Someone else was here, and you didn't know who or why, but they were watching you and it made every part of you want to jump and run until you collapse and can run no longer.

You played it cool and acted as if you didn't know anything; a specialty of yours. It seemed to work as nothing out of the ordinary happened within the next few minutes and you didn't hear a noise; if there was someone else here they weren't about to make a move. Flowey acted normally as well with the new relationship the two of you shared. You weren't acquaintances, but you didn't want to call it friends either... lest you offend him.

"So, what brings you back here?" He asked after a few minutes, looking up at you. Without looking at him, you responded,

"Just felt like it."

"Mm."

The silence ensued. You weren't sure what to do next or what to make of the situation just yet.