It was a late evening in early January when you finally crossed the boundary into the city of Ebbott.
You would have sighed in relief if you didn't still have to unpack what few possessions you owned that were currently stuffed with you in the small interior of your jeep.
Your phone flashed. You nearly jumped out of your skin as your GPS cut through what was only silence for the last 30 minutes of your journey. You'd had a lot to think about.
You were only about five minutes off from arriving at your new home. Better give your new roommate a call so you don't get stuck sleeping in your car for the night. It was kind of late, almost 10pm.
You hadn't expected the drive to take this long but had gotten stuck in traffic earlier in the afternoon. It was a nearly 10-hour drive from where you had been.
Not far enough, really.
You clicked the phone button on your car's console and flicked to your last call, 'Papyrus.' You held your breath as the phone rang, and rang, and…
"HELLO, NEW ROOMMATE! IT IS GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU, I WAS BEGINNING TO GET WORRIED!"
It'd been a long time since someone had been worried about you.
"Hey Papyrus. I'm only about five minutes out-should be there really soon. Sorry to keep you waiting so late."
You assumed this was late for him. You'd never actually met the only real conversation you'd had with him was through the AD posted online and a brief phone call to make sure you weren't a murderer.
You'd had your reservations about moving in with a man you didn't know, but you don't really have a choice; trying to find housing in a small university town outside of the normal leasing period (May to May) was actually hell on Earth. The fact that Papyrus was one of the Monsters that emerged from the mountain just a few years prior was kind of to be expected when the city you're moving to is right above where they resided for however many centuries.
"NO WORRIES, HUMAN, I COULD NOT POSSIBLY SLEEP RIGHT NOW! NOT WITH THE EXCITEMENT OF HAVING A NEW FRIEND THRUMMING THROUGH MY VEINS! Not that I actually have veins, BUT THEORETICALLY SPEAKING!"
You gave a weak chuckle. Papyrus was loud and enthusiastic, probably the exact opposite of you, but it was kind of refreshing.
"I'm excited too. I can't wait to meet you in person! I'm gonna go now, but I'll be pulling up any minute."
Papyrus gave a quick 'NYEH, GOODBYE HUMAN!' and you quickly ended the call.
Should you have kept talking to him more? Did you cut the call off too soon? God, you hated talking on the phone-not that you were any better talking face-to-face.
You quickly arrived at your new home. It was a duplex, and it was massive- Just the side of the duplex you would be sharing with Papyrus was a three bedroom, two bath.
The house itself was a ginormous Victorian style house with a large wrap around porch. It was also almost right off main street. It was a wonder you had managed to snag up the rental on one of the bedrooms.
One other car sat in the driveway, a bright red convertible that must have been recently waxed as it shined in moonlight. It was either brand new or someone took excellent care their car.
Papyrus was waiting eagerly on the porch as you pulled into the driveway.
He was at your driver's side door the moment you placed the vehicle into park. He was larger than life - he easily cleared 6'4".
He was a skeleton monster, which was not exactly what you were expecting. On the news you had always seen monsters that more resembled animals: goats, dogs, fish. You'd even caught a glimpse of one that resembled a small dinosaur… To see a walking, talking skeleton was a little more unnerving than you thought it would be.
He was dressed in matching purple polka dotted fleece pajamas and matching cute polka dot sleep cap.
For a moment, he stared at you, a bony hand jerking up and clutching his chest. His eyes shot open, and he breathed out tight before opening his mouth:
"HUMAN! I AM BEYOND WORDS; YOU DID NOT MENTION THAT YOU DROVE ONE OF THE RUBBER DUCK VEHICLES!"
He was grinning largely, and his wide eyes gazed down at you in amazement.
Despite the pit in your stomach at having a literal skeleton moving its jaw and squinting its eyes at you, you couldn't help but return his contagious smile.
A lot of people who owned jeeps popped a rubber duck onto the antenna. It was about as stereotypical as having a cute tire cover over the spare on the back of the car.
"Ah, yeah, I've had the jeep for about five years now." You'd actually gotten it as a birthday present before things at home had gotten bad.
"I actually just never got around to getting myself a ducky." You said, shuffling out of the car, opening the back driver's side door and grabbing one of the few boxes. Papyrus immediately grabbed the remaining three boxes out with one arm and nearly leaped ahead of you to the porch.
The porch wrapped around to a second entrance leading to the other half of the duplex. Presumably yours and Papyrus'.
It was surprisingly quick and painless to get all your boxes into your new bedroom – mostly because Papyrus was extremely strong.
Placing the last box down on to your bed you turn to face your new roomie who is just standing there grinning. He had nearly talked your head off as you had been moving everything, mostly about his older brother Sans who resided in the other half of the duplex.
It was kind of odd that his brother would reside in the other half of the duplex and not one of the two empty bedrooms on the half Papyrus lived in, but you're sure they have their reasons, and you're also sure it is absolutely none of your business.
A moment passes, Papyrus is still just standing in the center of your new bedroom. His hands dangle at his sides, and he is just… just looking at you. He squints his eyes (how in the world is his face so expressive? He is literally bone) and stares hard at your face. He looks confused.
You're not sure what exactly to say, and you don't want to shoo him out of your room despite the absolute exhaustion seeping into your bones as the day of driving catches up to you.
"Well…." You begin, rocking on your heels.
"You, uhm, sure must drink a lot of milk to have such strong bones!" You comment offhandedly, fidgeting with the frayed edge of a bo
Papyrus freezes at the comment, his smile fading and a dark shadow passing over his face.
Your palms sweat as you begin to backtrack.
Was it rude to comment on their bones? Were you like body shaming him?
"Uh, I didn't mean anything by it, just you know, milk has calcium and uh, makes strong bones and -" You're cut off by Papyrus grabbing both of your shoulders and staring intently down at you.
"HUMAN, I, AS THE MASTER OF DATING, CAN APPRECIATE A GOOD FLIRT, HOWEVER AS WE ARE JUST BECOMING ROOMMATES, I DO NOT THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO BECOME DATE-MATES SO SOON." Papyrus admonishes, looking you straight in the eyes. He lets go of your shoulders and pats you on the head, hand lingering for just a moment too long.
"BUT AS I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, I DO NOT FAULT YOU FOR FALLING FOR MY CHARM NYEH HEH HEH. I MUST GO TO BED TO BE READY FOR TRAINING IN THE MORNING, BUT PLEASE DO AS YOU LIKE – THIS IS YOUR HOME NOW TOO." You literally think your face might burst into flame as Papyrus turns and strides from your room, gently shutting your door as he left.
You were absolutely mortified.
You press your palms to your face and try not to just fucking spontaneously combust on the spot. You take a moment to collect yourself before breathing deep and stretching.
Alright, time to get unpacked.
You didn't bring much, so unpacking took only a few minutes.
Everything you'd packed had to be slowly moved from your room. A few items of clothing one day, a pair of shoes the next, a book here and there.
Your new room came with a closet and a dresser. You were excited to be able to one day fill them up. There was also a queen size bed. The bed frame was really nice, maybe even handmade. It was sturdy, with a headboard and footboard. It was so different from your old room- if you could even call what you stayed in before a room.
You were so lucky to have finally gotten away.
It had taken months of careful planning, of sneaking around, of anxiety, but you'd done it. At your university your classes all had really flexible attendance policies, and as long as you showed up on test day and completed assignments, the professors really didn't give a damn. Your parents had no idea that when you were supposed to be attending classes and evening study groups at the local university you had actually been working two jobs, setting up a bank account, a phone plan, an apartment, applying for Ebott university…
Patiently planning and waiting for the right time.
You'd left early in the morning. They'd let you out of your room on the pretense that you were going to a 'mandatory orientation for winter classes'. They were overbearing on your grades but had no idea how the actual college thing worked. They just knew that each semester you were signed up for and the better you did, the more scholarships and grants you received- the more money in their pockets, something they desperately needed to maintain their lifestyle.
You didn't bring any sheets or blankets with you. Your parents would have noticed if your bed was missing the sheets or the pillow. Still, as you settled onto the bare mattress, you felt more comfortable than you had in a long time.
You'd done everything to ensure they couldn't find you; you could only hope it was enough.