Everyone Has Problems Chpt. 1

Everyone Has Problems

Chapter 1: Ignored

Midnight. If anyone happened to be awake at this point, they would hopefully realize that the time had come for them to rest. Plans to attend, places to be, people to meet, and friends to be with. For now, however, was the time to relax and let slumber fall upon one's body. Without the proper energy, how could they do everything they wanted to the next day? It was a typical routine for just about everyone in Hometown. Even the most regular of routines, however, are broken.

The Dreemurr household was deathly silent, for the most part. Both participants of the household had gone to bed hours ago, preparing for the day ahead of them. In one of the bedrooms laid the only human inhabitant of the town: Kris. Unfortunately for him, he could not find it within himself to allow his body to drift off to sleep. Especially not with that soft, gentle noise that filled his eardrums every few seconds.

Thump... thump... thump...

Kris hated it. He loathed it. Not because the noise was keeping him awake. Rather, he hated the source of the noise itself. Slowly shifting his head upwards, his unblinking red eyes piercing the darkness of his room as his gaze immediately fell upon the end of the bed. A small, rusted, forgotten toy wagon sat there, with an even more rusted and worn bird cage. His eyes narrowed, his vision slowly got adjusted to the source of the noise. It was as red as Kris's eyes, though it seemed to glow even more so.

That stupid soul. Kris knew that it had been with him as far back as he could remember, but had never really liked it. Some days, the soul would stay confined in it's cage for a few days, but it always found it's way back to his chest again. Despite different tactics, such as covering the cage with a blanket, or taping the door to the cage shut, to even throwing the soul out the window, it found it's way back to Kris. He never understood how or why this happened, so he just stopped trying all together. He just hoped he would become lucky enough to not have to wake up and feel that thumping beat in his chest.

Under the covers, Kris let his fingers feel over the outline of their knife, gently caressing it so he wouldn't accidentally injure himself and get blood all over the covers. Again. The tiniest grin formed on his face as he watched the heart twitch in place. It was scared.

Good.

Kris had no idea why he was cursed with it to begin with. He was always the weird kid. The quiet kid. The freaky kid. That's who he was, no question. He never fit in, no matter how hard anyone tried to reassure him. Kris may have been quiet, but he wasn't stupid. He knew what he was, and he wasn't a monster like everyone else. No one else was like him. Despite this, Kris felt... invisible for the most part. No one ever approached him. He coasted along with his grades, above average at best, barely passing at worst. Unless Kris felt compelled to talk to someone first, no one spoke to him. After awhile, Kris just stopped trying, and let everyone carry on with their own lives.

Kris accepted this, for the most part. It was what it was, and he couldn't change it. It wasn't until one day that Kris felt his chest... thump. It scared him, placing a hand over it to feel it. It was warm, and comforting in a sense. A sensation Kris never truly felt before. It wasn't until school later that day did Kris garner their opinion for the new sensation: hatred. It wasn't until later still that Kris realized how desperately he needed friendship. It hurt him, knowing that everyone was judging him. The awkward, creepy kid barely had anyone to call a friend. Even with the local bully, Susie, he barely crossed into her consciousness. The whole day, Kris barely payed any attention to class, instead opting to head straight home immediately after the bell.

Toriel, his adoptive mother, often asked Kris how his day was. As usual, he remained quiet. Ever since his older brother had moved away to college, each day seemed emptier and emptier. There was almost no point in even trying to do anything. With these new revelations, however, Kris's mind moved at 100 miles a minute. Every thought climbed in and assaulted his brain. Why couldn't he do anything about his loneliness? Why couldn't he live up to Asriel? Why did he allow himself to be so isolated? Why why WHY?

Once alone, Kris did everything he could to remove it from his own chest. He felt it beat helplessly in his hand as he stared on in dismayed horror. What was this thing? Had it always been there? Why was he still holding it?! Looking on the opposite side of the bedroom was the abandoned bed of his older brother. Resting in the corner was an empty birdcage, the only memory left of an old family pet. Kris hurried over to it, opening the metal door with one hand and throwing the soul in as hard as possible, quickly slamming the door shut.

He watched the heart thrash around the cage, both the heart and the human scared out of their wits. After awhile, it remained still, resigned to it's fate. Kris let out a deep sigh of relief, feeling themselves sit upon their own bed. He was finally free of this cursed... thing.

...so why wasn't this making him feel better? The thoughts weren't gone entirely. Kris was already aware of the fact that he was seen as a loner. Despite feeling numb and dull to any sort of pain towards these ideas, Kris felt even more depressed. Now, however, he felt even less compelled to do anything about it. He felt greedy for desiring anyone's attention whenever he wanted. It hurt.

That night, he felt it was for the best. Why would anyone want to be his friend anyways? Quiet, creepy, ominous Kris. That's who he was, and nothing could change that.

These thoughts refilled the human's mind as he stared at the cage opposite of his bed. The soul remained still this night, though Kris's gaze would not remove itself from it. The heart slumped down, hitting against the floor of the cage, giving up for the night.

Kris felt better. Not a lot, but slightly. His own head slumped down back onto his pillow, closing his eyes for the first time tonight. He knew everyone merely tolerated him, and some even hated him. He knew it.

...did he?

Now that he thought about it, that wasn't entirely the case. Susie was now his friend, technically. The whole Dark World incident happened only a few hours ago, and was still quite fresh in their mind. Ralsei and Lancer were their friends, too. They all respected Kris's leadership, bravery, and courage. Kris turned in his bed, sighing gently. That wasn't him, though. That was the soul.

...but was that the case? They all still looked up to Kris, didn't they? He lead everyone to the King, showing mercy to every adversary they crossed.

...and also, what about the rest of the class? Noelle was the closest thing to a friend for the longest time, after all. She was always kind, always patient and sweet. Even if she never approached Kris on her own that often, she never seemed to be against talking with him. Monster Kid, as well. He tended to be very chummy with Kris, keeping a conversation going for quite awhile whenever prompted. Temmie was... well, Temmie.

Drake was okay, similar to Monster Kid. He always tried too hard to be funny, but never seemed to treat Kris as something different. Neither did Jockington, who was always smiling as hard as he could to anyone, as well as boasting about his own skills about sports. Catti was... indifferent? It was hard to read her expressions most of the time, due to the fact that her eyes were often looking downwards, usually at her phone. She barely seemed irritated whenever someone interrupted her, preferring to stick to herself. She reminded Kris a lot of himself, in some ways.

Then there was Berdly. Kris didn't like Berdly, and he were pretty sure he didn't like him back. Always acting so smarmy and condescending. It was like he was just asking for his face to be punched in. Then again, he acted like that towards everyone, didn't he? He's heard many an annoyed grunt from various classmates after he shows everyone up with his "superior intellect", which has happened more than once. So it definitely wasn't just Kris.

But these were his classmates. They all probably felt some sort of obligation to be friendly, right?

...but what about the other citizens of Hometown? Catty was very friendly to him. Almost too friendly. Bratty as well, even if she just wanted something out of him. Father Alvin was always very kind, though he was like that towards everyone. Oddly enough, Burgerpants of all monsters found himself becoming close to the human. Kris always noticed that, despite his constant ramblings about work, he never seemed uncomfortable around him.

Ms Alphys was... interesting, to say the least. While definitely smart, she was incredibly weird, and very socially awkward. Her taste in fiction was very niche as well, but that only made her a much more interesting teacher to deal with. Ms Alphys liked all of her students, and always voiced concern for Kris whenever they were showing signs of struggling. Even if she didn't always succeed in giving proper assistance, she always meant well.

There was also Rudolph Holiday. Much like his daughter, he was incredibly nice and patient, and very jovial, despite his situation. The first time Kris had ever visited him in the hospital, Rudy was surprised, but welcoming. He seemed quite proud of him for having matured enough to become more sociable. His pride for Kris was almost visible, shining through his worn face.

...and of course, there was his family. Despite not being a monster like him, it was clear that they kept him close to their hearts, and Kris returned the favor. Toriel was as motherly and caring as ever, of course. Asgore, despite not living in the same house anymore, loved both of his children as much as he possibly could. As for Asriel, well... Kris missed him. A lot. Probably more than anyone else. The two were practically inseparable. It hurt a lot when Asriel had to move away. It was an extremely long, unbearable good-bye.

Kris wondered if Asriel missed him as much as he did.

Kris's eyes felt heavy as his brain kept trying to reason with itself, reassuring the human that he was not as hated as he felt he was. Just before Kris fell asleep, he thought he heard the sound of a metal door creaking open...

Kris's eyes opened up as the sound of knocking was heard.

"Kriiiis! Time to get up! I do not want you to be late for school again," Toriel called out. The human checked the time, noticing that he had not overslept today. He still felt very groggy, and would've loved nothing more than to drift back off to sleep for another hour or so. Something kept him from doing so, though. Very slowly, Kris managed to lift himself off of the bed, adjusting so that he was now sitting up. After a quick glance over at the cage at the end of their bed, Kris reaffirmed that the soul had gotten out again. He clutched his palm to their chest, feeling for it's pulse.

Thump... thump... thump...

With a sigh, Kris let his hand hang limply to his side. It was too early to deal with it, now. Hopefully, he could ignore it for the day and continue about his boring routine. Like every day, Kris shuffled on his standard clothing before heading downstairs. Despite looking as cheerful as a serial killer, Toriel smiled brightly to Kris as he shambled to the table. "Good morning, Kris. I'm glad to see you up earlier today," She greeted, gently setting a plate of pancakes and sausage in front of him. The human merely nodded silently, helping himself to breakfast. "Did you sleep well last night?" She decided to ask.

Kris answered by giving another nod, an answer which satisfied his adoptive mother quite nicely. She was used to Kris being nonverbal, so it never surprised her whenever he said nothing. She smiled sweetly to him as she ate her own food. "I'm glad to hear. Try not to dally too much, though, okay?" Another nod came from Kris as he hungrily ate. Toriel's cooking was always incredible.

The ride to the school was very uninteresting, as it usually was. Kris stared out of the window at all the houses as they passed by. It was strange to think that just yesterday, he found themselves talking to everybody, which everyone found welcoming, if a little unusual. Kris wasn't sure if he liked being this social just yet, regardless of the unwelcome guest in his chest.

Kris found it strange to walk onto school grounds when there were so many other students around, heading inside the school. One of the main reasons he preferred to sleep in was mostly due to the fact that he could avoid everyone by being late. However, since he had decided to arrive on time, it couldn't be avoided.

Right as he unbuckled his seat belt, Toriel turned to him, a concerned look on her face. "...you know, Kris, if it embarrasses you, I don't have to walk with you to the school. I understand you are getting older and want to be more... independent I suppose," She started.

The human looked up at her, shaking his head in response. In all honesty, he didn't really care what others thought. He was already a weirdo in everyoe's eyes, so why bother trying to change their view of them? Besides, holding his adoptive mom's hand made him feel... good. While not too keen on hugging, the small gesture of affection was actually greatly appreciated by the human.

Toriel gave a small smile, nodding to him. "If you say so, my child." With that, she unbuckled and exited the car with him. Gently, she gripped his hand and slowly began to walk into the building. As expected, they gained quite a few stares from a few of the other students. They were all smart enough to know not to laugh a teacher, let alone her own child. Ms Toriel was very nice, but everyone knew to not do anything to make her angry.

Regardless of how everyone must have felt about the sight, Kris held onto his mother's hand, walking alongside her into the building. Once inside, they would share a quick hug with each other before parting ways. As usual, no one seemed to really notice Kris's existence, which may have been for the better. Despite the fact that he obviously didn't care what others thought about him at this point, he still didn't want to waste energy about it, if confronted.

Kris had been late so many times, he had almost forgotten what it was like to show up on time. As expected, Berdly and Noelle were already seated. The two were huddled around the latter's desk, looking over their already completed project. Temmie was also there, reading a graphic novel, a hard boiled egg resting on the corner of her desk. As Kris shambled his way to his desk, silently pondering on what to do his project with Susie about, the sound of a semi-surprised Berdly was made known.

"Kris? You're actually here on time?" He began with a genuine tone of disbelief. "Well, you know what they say about broken clocks," Berdly continued, his usual smarmy grin on his beak. "I'll be really impressed if you manage to get a passing grade on your project. If you turn it in on time, that is."

His usual response was as it always had been: silently walking past, ignoring the smug bird. The only thing that would constitute any acknowledgment of the comment involved Kris rolling his red eyes, which were hidden by his long, unkempt hair.

As he sat down in his desk (dead center, as always), Noelle spoke up, trying her best to defend him. "Hey, c'mon Berdly. I'm fairly certain that Kris hasn't finished it yet. Heck, I'm pretty sure we're the only ones who are! Ms Alphys did assign the project yesterday." The reindeer stated.

At that point, Kris had already seated himself, pretending that he wasn't eavesdropping in on the conversation. Of course, whether they cared or not probably didn't matter, due to the fact that there were very few other students at the time being. A couple more seemed to be walking in, but that didn't stop the two smartest students in the class.

"Noelle," Berdly began in a condescending tone that everyone was overly familiar with, "He's paired up with Susie. I highly doubt that a couple of delinquents are going to come up with something within the deadline." Kris dug out his notebook and a pencil, twirling it idly to help occupy himself. Apparently, if you have the track record of being a mischievous prankster at a young age, it's held over you for the rest of your life. The next thing Berdly said is what finally made Kris freeze up a bit.

"... they might even skip classes and... 'hang out' in the supply closet again."

Kris's hand froze, his body shaking some. Not out of anger, but out of embarrassment. Thinking about it now, they had been gone the whole day yesterday. Did everyone think that they had..?

Noelle flushed almost as brightly as Kris did, almost sharing the same amount of embarrassment. "B-berdly! D-don't say stuff like that out loud!" She squeaked, trying to keep her voice to a semi-whisper. "Besides, they would've gotten... c-caught if they were doing... that..." The flustered deer continued, trying to avoid making the obvious too obvious. Kris seemed to notice a small amount of envy in her voice, which didn't go unnoticed by her nerdy friend.

"Are you sure you're not just jealous?"

"Ugh..!" She huffed, already turning her back to him and heading to her own desk. "You're impossible."

Kris broke out of his shock of the earlier accusation in order to hide the tiniest little laugh. Berdly wasn't wrong, as it was pretty obvious to... well, everyone, that Noelle had a certain crush on a certain purple mean girl. Noelle's face was as red as a Christmas sweater, trying her best to hide her blushing face, having turned her head away from the others. Berdly just sat back in his seat, seemingly satisfied with riling up his friend.

Kris began to wonder if explaining that he didn't do that with Susie would actually do him any good. Most of the other students probably wouldn't believe him, albeit in a sort of 'wink wink nudge nudge' type of way. He had a feeling that he should explain to Noelle first, although he figured that she would end up initiating the conversation anyways. The rest of the class had begun to file in, glancing curiously at the embarrassed reindeer (who was very intrigued with whatever was written in her notebook, at this point), as well as looking towards Kris before turning away at the last second.

As usual, MK sat to Kris's right. He had no idea why they still felt a little bitter of his comments about Susie yesterday, but he did. She was not as bad as she makes herself out to be, and hopefully after traversing in the Dark World, she opened herself up a bit more. Even if she didn't, it was still no excuse for talking behind her back like that.

Apparently, MK noticed that Kris had stiffened up a little, almost willingly trying to ignore him. With a guilty look on his face, he decided to try and apologize. Monster Kid liked Kris, and honestly didn't want to get on his bad side. With a bit of a humorless and guilty laugh, he tried to start up a conversation. "...y-yo, Kris..! Uh... sorry about all that junk I said yesterday. I, uh... didn't know you'd take it so hard," He began, kicking his feet idly. Kris had turned his attention to him, his face neutral as always. If his eyebrows were visible, one of them would be raised.

"I mean, I keep hearing talk about you two hanging out yesterday. Heh, guess I got the memo a bit late, huh..?" He continued, a small, yet innocent, smile on his face. From what Kris could tell, MK was more... naive than the others. While any of the other classmates could sense the double meaning, he took it in a literal sense. Despite looking guilty, and a bit nervous, he gave a small laugh. "Haha... I mean, yo, that's pretty cool! At least she's going easier on you." Kris couldn't help but feel himself lighten up a little. After all, he knew MK meant no harm by what he said. He, like everyone else, had no real idea what really went on. For the most part, he wanted it to stay that way. Who'd believe that the supply closet was actually a portal to a different world?

It was easier for Kris to simply shrug and give a small thumbs up as a way of showing forgiveness. In almost an instant, MK lightened up even more, gratefully accepting Kris's message. "Cool! Thanks, man! Uh... good luck on your project," He finished, becoming a little bit awkward as he ran out of material to continue on. Not that Kris could blame him, of course. One of the easiest parts about not talking a lot is that people don't expect you to say much.

At this point, just about everyone finished getting seated, preparing everything they would need for the class. Ms Alphys came in last, holding her own stack of books, as well as a small box of personal chalk. "Let's hope I don't lose these again..." She muttered to herself, turning to the class. "Uh... g-good morning everyone! How is everyone's projects, um... going?" She asked, already feeling somewhat nervous as she addressed her own class. After about 10 seconds of awkward silence, Alphys cleared her throat, trying to continue as if someone had answered. "Well, uh... let me just... take attendance real quick and we can... get started," She said, trailing off awkwardly.

Because of the fact that Alphys already knew the entire class by memory, she made no movement for any sort of clipboard. Instead, she would scan over the class, her eyes falling to one empty desk, located right behind Kris. "W-well, as we can see, it looks like-" the teacher wouldn't be able to finish her initial thought, as the door to the classroom was opened suddenly, slamming against the wall. This made quite a few students jump, though Kris was quite relieved to see Susie standing at the doorway, holding an old, worn out backpack over her shoulder as she walked in, using her foot to slam the door behind her casually. While Ms Alphys stared with wide eyes as the last student moved to her desk. It was clear she wasn't in a hurry.

She'd avoid people's gazes, much like Kris often would. However, when she passed by his desk, Susie turned her head to him and flashed a grin. "Sup," She'd greet simply. He responded with a small, yet genuine, smile, lifting up a hand with a small wave. Satisfied with that, she'd sit herself at her own desk, her own grin not fading away from her face.

After a few seconds, Ms Alphys found her voice again. "... like everyone's here! G-great!" Her tone was that of relief, moving over to her blackboard and beginning to write on it with a fresh piece of chalk. From that moment on, everyone knew that the rest of the class period would not be interesting in the slightest. The only noises heard was Alphys talking and asking questions, along with the occasional answer from someone, as well as the shuffling of papers and pencils.

Halfway into class, Susie gently jabbed a claw into Kris's left shoulder. Not enough to hurt, of course, but with enough force to get his attention quickly. Quickly turning his head to the dragon behind them, he waited to see what she had to say. He certainly had a hunch as to what it would be, though.

"After school?" She'd murmur simply. Kris gave a subtle nod to her, the two sharing a small smile between each other before returning to note taking. Well, for Susie, it was more along the lines of scribbling idly in her notebook. Their short conversation, if you could call it that, was subtle and quiet enough that they weren't caught.

At least Kris had something to look forward to later. A visit to the Dark World to see Ralsei, Lancer, and everyone else would do them some good. They didn't know what was in store for them when they all returned, but that only made Kris more excited.

If it weren't for the fact that plenty of students were leaving the school, there would have been a much bigger crowd around two certain schoolmates, who were trying to pull open the supply closet door, sometimes even banging on them. One was almost instantly recognizable, since she often liked to terrorize other students on her own free time. She, in particular, was banging and yelling the loudest.

Susie slammed one more fist against the supply door, huffing out with a low growl. "Dammit! Did the janitor already lock it or something? The hell's going on?!" She yelled aloud, mostly to herself. Kris, who was standing right next to her, was still trying the handle of the door. No matter how hard he pushed or pulled, the door would not budge.

Panic was starting to set in for the human. There had to be a way in. There must be. The thought of being away from a world where they had more friends was literally right behind this door. As Kris jiggled the handle, yanking with all of his might, his dreaded soul pulsed within them. He was determined to get this door open. He knew that if he tried hard enough, it would open. He would get to see everyone again. He could stay as long as they wanted, and go on adventures, and eat cake, and make jokes, and have fun. He could do this as many times as they want, so long as he get this angel-forsaken door open.

Kris did not know how long the two of them were trying to get in, but at some point, he felt a firm palm place itself on their shoulder. "Kris," Susie's voice began. Her voice was low, although clearly saddened with this discovery. The human didn't hear her and kept desperately pulling. His mouth was contorted into a pained frown, their breathing picking up, almost hyperventilating. "Kris! Come on, man, we can't get in. Let go of the handle..!"

At this point, Susie was trying to pull Kris off of the handle. His knuckles were chalk white, firmly gripping the handle as if letting go would kill him. The handle was digging into his hand so deeply, it threatened to draw blood. It wasn't until Susie placed her hand on his, letting out a sharp yell. "Kris, let go!" Her voice was not mean, rather stern, filled with immense worry.

Kris held his breath for a bit as he heard Susie, and he suddenly, yet unwillingly, let go. If it wasn't for the fact that she was holding his hand, it would be shaking like a leaf in the wind. Under his bangs, his eyes were wide, tears already starting to form. His frown was even deeper, showing grim acceptance. He was unable to meet his friend's eyes as she lead him away. Susie gently let go of his hand, which fell limply to his side. Just looking at his saddened state made her own mood plummet even further. The two of them understood why the other was so downtrodden about this whole ordeal. Neither one of them had a friend before the two fell into the Dark World. An entire world that they could've visited and reunited with: gone.

For the longest time, the two of them stood near the supply room doors, neither one of them even bothering to look in it's direction. Kris's breathing had steadied, although his depressing mood was palpable. Even though minutes passed, it would feel like hours before Susie finally spoke up once again, giving him a gentle push. She was trying her best to smile, although it looked quite forced. "Hey. Let's try again tomorrow. Maybe we'll just have to try earlier tomorrow. Whatcha say?" He looked up at her, trying to meet her eyes. It was difficult, since the two often kept their eyes covered by their hair, but somehow they made it work. Kris gave her a small nod.

Now that he was friends with Susie, he couldn't help but feel much more at ease with her. While he wasn't comfortable doing so, he knew that if he needed to vent to her or talk to her about something, she'd most likely allow him. He knows that she's not a therapist, but he isn't either. He'd be willing to listen to her if she ever needed it. Kris knew that the two were still getting used to their friendship, so it would take some time for it to get to that point.

Susie leaned against the wall, letting go of Kris's shoulder. With her disappointment, her thoughtful expression came across as more sullen than she probably meant it to be. She looked up at him once more. "So uh... how about we get this dumb project started?" Kris's eyebrow raised a little, somewhat confused. He knew for a fact that schoolwork was the last thing in the world that Susie would want to do. Before he could give an answer that wasn't a blank stare, she gave a small smile, turning away and slowly walking out of the building, her hands in her pockets. "I'll see ya in the library."

Wordlessly, he watched his friend slowly walk out. Kris stood in place for awhile, mulling everything over for awhile. He decided to push the thought of why she'd offer to do homework to the side and thought about other things. Mainly, the supply room door. He felt scared. Not just because he may not be able to see his new friends again, but because of the desperation he felt towards it. Without looking anywhere else, Kris pulled his hand up to his chest, feeling for that familiar pulse.

Thump... thump... thump...

His fingers wrapped around his sweater gently, letting out a soft sigh through his nose. It was that familiar emotion of loneliness, one that he wanted to change. A desperate need for companionship in any form. He briefly considered immediately going after Susie, but something stopped him. Perhaps she needed her own alone time for a bit? Kris dug his phone out, looking at the illuminated screen for awhile. He knew he was going to meet up with her, but maybe he'd wait just a few more minutes. It was evident the two needed to sort some things out, mentally. Before Kris could call Toriel, however, another voice quickly caught his attention. "...Kris? Um... do you have a minute?"

It was Noelle, standing just a few feet away. A small smile graced her face, but her face expressed obvious worry. Before he could ask how much of that scene she saw, she pretty much answered it for him with her next statement. "I uh... saw you and Susie trying to get in." Her statements were quiet, and she had noticeable trouble trying to keep any sort of eye contact.

Kris looked down, almost ashamed of himself for displaying such behavior in front of others. He gave a single nod, the side of his mouth lifting up into a humorless grimace. Upon looking back up, he noticed her own smile had faded away, although she was still looking off to the side. For awhile, she said nothing. Noelle was smart, though, and seeing how they were acting upon seeing the doors shut told a different story than what the rumors had told. Susie and Kris's actions were not in mild disappointment, were not playful, or humorous. Just seeing the two of them so downtrodden made her own heart hurt.

After spending some time trying to find the right words to start with, Noelle finally looked up at him. "... are you two okay?" She asked simply, not being able to start with something less blunt. Kris gave a mere shrug, unsure of how to answer her question.

"Well... whatever is going on with you two and... the supply closet?" She continued, glancing towards the doors for a second before turning back to him. "I'd very much like to help. I mean, you don't have to tell me right now, if you're not up for it!" She rushed, not wanting to pressure her friend in any manner. "It's just... I've seen that expression before, Kris," Noelle sighed. Kris understood what she was referring to. She thankfully didn't elaborate, correctly assuming that he would immediately understand.

He felt the same way when Asriel moved off to college.

The next few days after he moved, Kris had began to isolate himself from others, somewhat. At school, they participated even less than before. If Kris was quiet before, he never even uttered a sound. Barely acknowledged anybody. His grades began to slip, as well. To put it bluntly, Kris was an emotional disaster. Rather than let it all out, he had let it bottle up, not wanting to make a scene or bother anyone.

Despite how stupid he felt just standing there, staring at the floor, limp as a doll yet stiff as a statue, he couldn't help it. He felt drained. Empty. He failed to realize that Noelle had stepped a bit closer, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. This caused his head to lift up slowly, greeting her. She still looked very concerned, but was smiling gently to him once more.

"Please don't let whatever's happening get you down. I might not understand what's going on, but I can tell that... you and Susie are really close," She began, flushing some. "D-don't worry, I don't mean it that way. At least, I don't think...?" She trailed off, unsure about her own theory. She tilted her head to Kris, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Kris responded by shaking his head quite vigorously.

With a small, somewhat relieved sigh, she smiled a tad brighter. "Great..! I mean, I thought so. After all, those were just rumors," Noelle went on. "But anyways, that's not the point. I don't know why, but yesterday, you were more... talkative. Not just with the rest of the class, but around town, as well! Even my dad said... you came to visit," She said, trailing off as a somewhat somber look flashed across her face. She shook herself out of her minor daze and kept on. "A-and that's good, honestly!"

Kris knew the reason why he was so talkative, and it was because of that overactive soul of his. That wasn't him, was it? All he's ever known was the fact that everyone thought he was weird and creepy. Did... him being that sociable really mean that much..?

"Kris, please don't let whatever's been going on hurt you too much," Noelle said, her genuine smile growing, radiating warmth. "Even if you don't know it, you mean a lot to a lot of people. It... it'd be nice to see you be happy again." She concluded, sighing gently.

He felt... touched, to say the least. His body and soul felt warm. He had no idea why, but... it felt nice. Kris felt... validated. To hear from one of his oldest friends that he meant a lot struck a chord with him. Slowly, yet surely, he gently patted at her hand in a gentle manner. The corners of his mouth slowly turned upwards, gracing a tiny, yet genuine, smile of his own. He was thankful that no one was able to see his eyes, as they were tearing up.

Noelle beamed to him, giving a nod. "Please take care of yourself, Kris." She finally removed her hand, Kris doing the same and letting it fall to his side. In an instant, Noelle's eyes lit up, letting out a small 'oh!'. She began to scramble her hands in her bag, as if remembering something.

"Before I forget, uh... I know that you and Susie were gone all day yesterday and didn't get the uh... project info. So..!" She outstretched a had, holding a small stack of papers, stapled at the corner. "Here you go!" Kris gently took the papers, giving a small nod before putting them into his own bag. At this point, she pulled her own bag up over her shoulder, unsure of what else to add.

"Uhh... well... talk to you later..!" The reindeer concluded, turning and walking out of the building, waving him off. "...tellSusieIsaidhi," She muttered as she left, feeling her face flush some. Kris scratched his head a bit as he pulled his own bag up. He let out a sigh, feeling his smile unable to fade away from his face. His soul kept pulsing within him. He had no idea why, but... he welcomed it. It felt nice, now. He was filled with a new found determination to do better.

The first thing he would do is pull his phone out, dialing up Toriel. He had a project with Susie to work on.

Susie couldn't help but stay extra quiet as she walked down the sidewalk. Despite the voice in her head that was begging her to go home and collapse on her bed, her feet trudged on, subconsciously moving her towards the library (infamously known as the "Librarby"). She hid her outward expression as well as she always had, though her brain worked overtime.

Not only was she confused as to why the two of them were unable to get through, but she was very confused about Kris's reaction. Confused and concerned. Was Susie sad that they would have to wait another day? Was she scared that they might never even see the Dark World again? Of course she was. However, there was something terrifying and incredibly dismal about the way Kris reacted. Fear, desperation, loneliness. These were but a few of the most distinct of emotions she could read. It was a stark contrast to how Kris acted previously. Neutral and cold, before shaping up to become a leader, and a great one at that. His ability to give orders was quite amazing to behold (even if she didn't give him the satisfaction of following them, sometimes).

Susie knew what it was like to be like that, too. She was never popular, and had trouble making friends too. She could certainly remember a deep feeling of remorse, wondering if she'd die alone and friendless. For the first time in a long time, her slow shuffle came to a halt, one certain memory flashing before her mind.

Yesterday morning. The image of her pinning Kris to the lockers with one hand, openly threatening him. It almost caught her off guard that he barely seemed to react. Almost... welcomed it. She didn't go through with it, naturally, and it was slowly revealed to Kris that she had little to no capacity to actually kill anyone. Harm them? Definitely. Kill them? Never.

The dragon girl stared at her feet in regret. The two of them were more alike than she thought. Neither one of them had put in any effort to really try and make friends. With one day stuck together, they quickly grew close to each other. Susie realized that he needed her as much as she needed him. Even when she and Lancer gave Kris and Ralsei a hard time, neither one gave up. For the first time, Susie felt as though she could trust someone.

"...he deserves the same," Susie said to herself, aloud, if quietly. She continued her way to the library, a smile slowly forming. "I don't know if we'll see the others again. But until then, I know Kris needs someone he can count on. Even if it's... me," She concluded putting herself down somewhat. This didn't stop her from smiling to herself, feeling a bit determined. "Y'know what? I'm gonna be there for him. He was for me. It's only right."

Susie stared up the library for a bit, giving out a small exhale, stepping forward. "...but man, this project is gonna suck." To help sell that point home, a few seconds after stepping into the library, she was met with an overly annoying voice.

"You're here? In a building with books?! Wow, first Kris shows up on time, now this! I have to be dreaming."

Susie turned a glaring gaze to Berdly. He was sitting behind the counter, an open book laying in front of him. He had an eyebrow raised, as well as that dumb smug grin. Susie's fists tingled a little bit.

"Oh wow, Nerdly works at the library. Shocker," Susie replied, deciding to walk ahead towards the shelves.

Berdly rolled his eyes, returning to his book. "At least it's more useful than... whatever it is you do after school," He snarked. Susie grumbled a bit, her eyes scanning blankly among the book spines. "Do you even know what you're looking for?"

Susie froze, blinking a little bit as she stared ahead. After a minute passed by, Susie's smile grew, showing off her sharp teeth, her eyes widening.

"...shit."