Making a Difference - Ch. 3 - Sunday Morning

	Kris awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside of his window. Pulling out his cellphone, the groggy teen checked the time only to find that it was 6:43 AM. Kris felt surprised that his mother had left him alone last night. He figured that he would end up sleeping in late if he were to go back to bed since church was in three and a half hours, so the tired teenager reluctantly climbed out of bed. Searching his haphazardly stuffed dresser for clean clothes, Kris managed to pull out a white undershirt, boxers, and two mismatched socks. Pants seldom needed to be washed unless they had anything spilled on them, or if they got dirty from rough outdoors play, so a new pair of pants wasn't an issue. Stumbling through the hallway and down the stairs as if he were drunk, the half-awake human made it to the bathroom. Locking the door behind him and flipping the light switch, Kris began to strip his clothing before climbing into the shower. At his current level of sleepiness, Kris couldn't care less about where each article of clothing ended up.

	Some body wash and apple-scented shampoo later, the human turned the water off and grabbed a nearby towel. It was at this point that Kris felt like he was forgetting something very important, but he couldn't place his freshly washed finger on it. 'I'll think about it later.' crossed his mind before he proceeded to dry himself. After donning clean underwear and yesterday's pants, Kris wiped the smog away from the mirror and brushed the hair away from his eyes. Placing both hands opposite from each other on the sink, he stared into his own eyes for several seconds. He was much more awake now, but that feeling that he was forgetting something only intensified now that he could think straight. Kris' eyes shot open, his fingers pressed against the sink to the point where his fingertips and knuckles were white, and his heart began beating at a quick pace. He had just taken his clothes off and touched private parts of his body, albiet for hygienic purposes, and he had completely forgotten to check if that the voice from yesterday was still there. Gritting his teeth, Kris barely mustered the courage to speak.

	"...Are you still there...?"
	"*...Yes."
	A feeling of embarrassment washed over the young man's face.
	"...Did you see or feel anything?"
	"*...Uh..."
	"Well!?"
	"*Hey man, I got no interest in your ju-"
	"Answer me. Did you see or feel anything?"
	"*...Yes. I did."

	Kris backed up against the wall and collapsed to the floor, covering his face with both hands. Not caring if he would wake his mother who was likely still asleep upstairs, Kris loudly groaned into his hands in anguish.

	"*..."
	"Why are you still here? WHY?"
	"*That's a fine 'good morning', innit?"
	"Ugh..."
	Kris took a moment to process his thoughts before speaking up again.
	"Why didn't you say anything?"
	"*Because I wanted to wait until you were fully awake before talking to you, and I thought you remembered that I still existed. We DID spend the entire day together yesterday, didn't we?"
	"..."
	"*You should go ahead and put some deodorant on, though."

	Kris took several more seconds to think. Kris stood up to approach the sink, reaching for the cupboard. The teenager found some deodorant and began to apply it to both of his armpits. It wasn't any special kind of deodorant that made him smell manly or something; rather, it was just generic deodorant that smelled pleasant enough. Placing the hygiene product back into the cupboard, Kris grabbed his shirt and lazily slipped it on. Before snatching his dirty clothes off of the floor, Kris paused; his mouth slowly opening.

	"...How long are you going to be here?"
	"*I have absolutely no idea."
	"..."
	"*You realize that I'll still be here even when you have to... you know... relieve yourself?"
	"...Great."

	The thought of the soul being there at ALL TIMES made Kris incredibly uncomfortable. He had never thought about what 'ALL TIMES' *really* meant until he was in an embarrassing situation that he couldn't avoid for very long. He was probably going to have to get used to this. Deciding it was best not to think about it, Kris opened the bathroom door and carried his dirty clothes upstairs. Toriel's room was locked as usual, but her room was the only place in the entire house that held a washing machine, so Kris left his clothes by her door like he usually did. Walking back into his room and sitting on the side of his bed, Kris knew that today was going to be a very long day.

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	At last, Kris' draconic masterpiece, the scantily clad female dragon carrying a mace was finally complete. The hormonal teenager admired his work for several seconds before picking it up off the table. After slowly digging his mattress out of the bed-frame, Kris found a hidden slit with a small piece of paper sticking out of it. Kris pulled out a small folder filled with lewd art similar to the drawing in his hand; some works being lewder than others. After placing his newest creation into the scandalous folder, Kris placed it back into the slit in the mattress, lowering it back into the bed-frame.

	"*You really go out of your way to hide your stuff, huh?"
	"...She'd have a panic attack if she ever found this."
	"Hah, yeah... It's a lot more creative than hiding it under your pillow or under the bed, I'll give you that."

	Now that Kris thought about it, this 'soul' thing wasn't THAT bad. It didn't judge him for making lewd art or criticize his mannerisms save for that one time last night, and it didn't bother him when he needed some peace and quiet. It reminded him of his mother in a weird way. Even if he felt offended that his lifestyle was called 'depressing as all hell', he couldn't help but reluctantly agree, but he made sure that he didn't tell the soul that. Checking his phone again, Kris read the time. It was currently 7:28 AM, signalling that Toriel would be getting up in the next few minutes, so it was good that he got his less-than-holy-artwork completed before there was a chance of being interrupted.

	"*So, you got church today, right? When's it gonna start?"
	"Around 10:00."
	"*Two and a half hours to kill, then. What'cha gonna do?"
	"...Eat breakfast I guess."

	Before the soul could offer any suggestions on how to kill the time besides just eating, the faint sound of an alarm could be heard from the other room. The alarm was stopped with a thud, followed by shifting bed sheets and loud footsteps.

	"*Sounds like your mom is up."

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	Bacon sizzled on the pan with the occasional pop; the meaty, salty smell filling the entire house and overpowering any other scent. Kris was waiting patiently at the table in his usual spot, listening to his mother hum a song that he didn't recognize. From the looks of it, breakfast consisted of bacon, scrambled cheese-eggs, and pancakes. A Dreamurr family classic. The bacon was lifted from the pan and placed onto a plate, which was covered by several layers of napkin to soak in all of the excess grease. Placing more napkins on top, Toriel began to prepare two plates of food for the both of them. After waiting for the grease to soak into the napkins, Toriel unveiled the bacon and placed two pieces on each plate. "Kris, breakfast is ready!" The fluffy monster places a plate at each of their proper spots on the table before sitting down. For whatever odd reason, Kris couldn't help but smile just a little.

	"*Looks good. Dig in whenever you're ready."

	"Now, let us say grace, Kris." Toriel said with a smile. Kris raised his hand to be within grabbing distance as Toriel gently grabbed it and closed her eyes. "Angel, I thank you for this food we are about to enjoy, and for this lovely Sunday. I want to thank you for another wonderful day here in this little town, and I pray that you keep my family safe in these times of separation. I pray that you keep our friends and their families safe, and that no misfortune may fall upon them. In the Angel's name we pray. Amen."
"...Amen."

	Before Kris could grab his fork, his mother spoke up once again. "Oh my! I forgot the syrup! Give me a moment, dear."
	"...Sure." The furry matriarch stood up to fetch the syrup. Toriel swiped a half-full bottle of syrup from the cabinet and placed it in the center of the table before sitting back down. "Ah... Now, where were we?" Breakfast proceeded as it usually did, with Kris' mother asking him how he slept and telling him how excited she was for church. Toriel was always a devout woman who was known to go to the church multiple times a week, even if it wasn't necessary. As Kris finished his meal, he smothered a small burp into his arm.

	"......Thank you."
	"Oh, you are so very welcome, Kris! I am glad you enjoyed it. Now, would you be a dear and put everything up and do the dishes?"
	"...Sure."
	"Thank you. Now, I must finish up and get ready. Do you have something nice to wear?"
	"...Yeah."
	"Splendid!"

	As Kris drained all of the grease into an empty coffee can, he felt something odd. Something he wasn't very familiar with. It was a warm and pleasant feeling at he couldn't describe very well. Normally, he only felt indifferent about Sunday mornings, but something about today was different somehow, but he couldn't figure out why.