Chara's eyes widen, and they rush to Frisk and Asriel.

"M..Mom..?" They call shakily. Toriel walks in from the other room. She immediately runs to the children.

"Oh my goodness..!" She gently takes Frisk's chin in her hand to investigate the bruises. "W..What happened?!"

"Uh.." Frisk bites the inside of their lip. "I..c...can't say.."

"Uh..B..Bullies!" Asriel cuts in quickly, sounding a bit nervous. "S...Someone attacked us a..at school.."

Chara growls. "W h a t? Oh...when I get back there, I swear I'll-"

"Chara!" Toriel scolds them. "I do not need you getting suspended again. Or expelled!"

"But-!"

"No," Toriel repeats. "I can take this into my own hands...do you know who attacked you..?"

Frisk and Asriel look at each other nervously.

"N..No.." Frisk shakes their head. "We didn't..."

"It...wasn't that child that Chara...attacked, was it?"

"No..." Asriel shakes his head. "Uh..d..different people.."

Toriel sighs. "Did..anyone see..?"

"..Well..n..no," Frisk looks to the side. "It..was p-people from school, but it...wasn't at school.."

"It was..uh..a..a while back..n..near the bus stop." Asriel adds.

Chara was pissed. Without any warning, they bolt off to the front door and rush outside. They run as fast as they can-they'd learned to run for a very long time while they first lived in the surface. They don't stop until they hear laughing near an alley by the bus stop. They lived in a pretty bad part of town, so Chara wasn't surprised that it happened here. The bus stop was a long way from home, too.

"That was our best run yet, huh?" A voice snickered from the alley.

"Definitely. That little monster whimp couldn't even speak!"

Chara felt like they recognized the voice somehow. They couldn't quite put a finger on it, but they felt something tugging them away from the voice.

"And how the freak kid was just begging!" Another voice laughed.

"Please, please stop it!" The familiar voice mocked, bursting into laughter.

Chara takes a few steps forward, hoping to stay out of sight of the group.

"Too bad that other kid wasn't with them."

"Yeah, isn't she, uh, your daughter or something, Andrew?"

Andrew.

The name immediately clicked with the voice. Chara freezes.

Andrew Price. Their father. Their real father.

"Yeah.." Andrew sighed. "If I cared enough I'd go after the demon myself, but...I don't care enough to have to track it down."

It. Chara felt sick to their stomach. That same night kept replaying in their mind, over and over. All they could see was their father holding a gun to their head, screaming about how much of a failure they were.

Chara turns around and runs off before they start panicking in the middle of the street. They ignore the shouts from the group in the alley as they see Chara run off. They just want to get back home.

They run directly into Toriel, who had run off looking for them.

"Chara..!" She sighs in relief, picking them up in their arms. "I was so worried. Why did you-" She lauded upon noticing how much Chara was trembling. "...what's wrong, dear..?"

Chara doesn't respond. They just cling to Toriel, trying desperately to push the mortifying memories down again.

Toriel frowns and starts carryingthem back home. Chara only endsup thinking more about what they heard. Their father was alive, and he knew that they were alive. What if he decided that he did care and went after them..? What if he hurttheir family?

Chara barely registers that they were crying. Toriel rubs their back as she carries them home.

Sans was lying on the couch when they arrived home, clearly still drunk. He was crying and laughing hysterically. Toriel would have to scold him for this too. They were poor as it was, the last thing they needed was for Sans to waste money on alcohol.

Toriel sighs and carries Chara to the room they shared with Asriel and Frisk. Toriel lets them go, and Chara immediately hugs Asriel. Asriel gasps a little.

"C..Chara?" He hugs them tightly. "What happened?! Where did you go?"

"T..That doesn't matter.." Chara shakes their head, crying into his sweater. Asriel nods in understanding. Chara slowly lets go of Asriel after a while. They then reach their arms towards Frisk, making little grabby hands to indicate they want them. Frisk nods. They stand and sit next to Chara, hugging them tightly. As much as Chara loved hugs from Asriel, they loved Frisk's hugs just a little more. They were just a little tighter and a little warmer and a little longer. Frisk was just as huggable as Asriel, just not as fluffy. They were soft and warm, and they didn't let go until Chara asked them to. Frisk gives Chara a brief kiss on the forehead.

"You're okay, Chara.." Frisk reassured them.

Frisk was too good for Chara. Chara was breaking down over something trivial, and here Frisk was, still injured. Yet they were comforting Chara rather than taking care of their own needs. Chara didn't deserve someone like Frisk. Hell, they didn't deserve Asriel either. The truth was, Chara thought they didn't deserve any kindness. Despite every reassurance from their family that they were worth it, they just couldn't bring themself to believe it.

Chara cries harder, hugging Frisk tightly. They loved Frisk, but they were almost certain Frisk only loved them platonically. They didn't want to be rejected if they told Frisk how they felt.

"I love you..." Chara managed to whisper. "I...I'll f..find w...who attacked you..and I...I-I.."

Frisk strokes Chara's hair, shaking their head slowly. "No...don't. It's okay. You'll make it worse.."

Chara sobs again, trembling. They were just so terrified. They wanted to keep their family safe. They were all Chara had. If they got hurt...Chara could never forgive themself. They'd rather go back to living with their mother and father than let their family be hurt.

They were terrified.