Miserable at best.

>Kris couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he walked down the sidewalk with Susie. Ever since her and Susie had become friends he found himself doing it near constantly. They were just so much alike, Susie began to laugh to herself after recounting about their latest adventure to the Dark World. “C-can you believe that ralsei is scared of Bugs!? He fuckin bleated! Ahahaha!” Susie held her head as she laughed uproariously. Kris couldn’t help but laugh with her. Something about that hoarse voice just made him feel all fuzzy inside he couldn’t place why though. Susie collects herself with a final chuckle and has a grin plastered across her scaled face. “Man, I’m so glad we have a place like that where we can escape from all the assholes from school.” Susie says as she hslings a large arm over Kris’s shoulder giving him a small ruffle of his hair. Kris breaks away from Susie, laughing a bit while Susie has a smug smile on her face showing off her yellow teeth.
>Kris regained his barrings before thinking about something he wanted to ask Susie for a while. “Hey Susie? Have you tried talking with other students?”. Susie looked to him her smile fading and turning to a lazy scowl. “Why should I? They ignored me for most of my life and nearly shit themselves whenever I approach them.” Susie spits into the grass as she finishes her stat,ent with disgust.
>Kris didn’t want I let up though, he knew Susie was a great person and he wanted other people to see it too. “I’ve tried it and gotten some people to not avoid me, completely anyway. Just once, for me?” Kris asked trying to sound sympathetic. Susie sighs “Fine, I’ll try but when things go south I expect an apology sandwich by the time school is over today!” Susie jabs her finger at Kris with little energy.
>Kris smiled he knew she would do fine and did not...well he hasn’t plenty of pranks that they could pull on them together! As the duo opened the large door before them, Kris sees Monster kid Kid and Jockington talking, kris motions her jokingly toward them which she does with a scowl, doing a “I’m watching you” gesture to Kris before leaving, Kris chuckled to himself and made his way to class.
>With class ended his final class and walked out the door expected to be met with a pissed off purple monster.
“Hey...” Kris turned to his left to see...a widely grinning dragon, having a similar smile that she had when they are together. “That went, really well actually.” Susie smiled and began to gush about how both jockington and her loved monster trucks and wrestling and how monster kid loved cheap horror flicks just like she did. Kris smiles at this he had never seen Susie ramble like this. But he didn’t stop her, he should have.
>The human stood outside of the restaurant where he and Susie were supposed to meet, she is usually late but never a whole hour! Kris kicked a rock across the parking lot he was bored out his mind. “Kris!” Said boy whipped his head around to see Susie running towards him. Susie catches her breath as she hold herself up against the brick wall of the restaurant.
>”Sorry I’m so late, MK invited me over for a bit, and I lost track of the time.” Susie explained as she sat down on concrete  stairs of the restaurant. Kris tilted his head “MK? Who’s that?” Susie scoffed “Momster Kid, duh. He’s a super chill dude for a guy who has no arms.” Susie explained. Kris shrugged and sat next to Susie on the steps and offered her her now cold food, which she scarred down. He listened to Susie joke and vent about her life problems as she usually did that usual fuzzy feeling returning to his chest. Kris felt his smile return as the two teens laughed the evening away. Yeah, this would never get old. Not by a long shot.

>”Kris, could you maybe, add a bit more to the conversation? It’s like I’m talking to myself here.” Kris froze he stared at Susie, what? “What do you mean Susie?” Kris asks unsure of what she means. Susie rubs the back of her neck trying to not make eye contact with the human. “It just that...you don’t add much to these conversations. Your a great listener, but... don’t you have anything cool happened to you today?” Susie asks, her now familiar hair tied in a pony tail as she munches on a single fry. Kris thought for a moment.
> “We stopped that rebellion in the DarkWorld!” Kris says trying to sound exciting but only succeeded in having a slightly louder monotone. Susie looks at her drink trying to avoid her friends gaze. “I know, that was great but, like tell me about something you find badass!” Susie says won’t a smile. Kris tilts his head and tries to think, “Monster trucks are...cool?” >Kris says as if he is on a game show. Susie sighs “Kris you didn’t know what a monster truck was until like 3 months ago when you introduced me to MK and JC.” Susie explained as she rested her palm on her cheek.
>Kris nervously prodded his fingers together. “Uh, we could talk about...wanna prank someone?” Kris quickly added in an attempt to change the subject. Susie sighed a bored a sad look in her eyes as she gets up from her place on the concrete steps.
>The boy just looks up at her, confused. “I’m not in the mood today, maybe some other time, alright Kris. And with that he watched Susie leave him with a smile and a wave, which he returned. Kris looked down at the half eaten meal, she always eats everything...why was she acting so differently? Kris shrugged and decided to shelf that thought for now, if Susie had a problem she would tell him. That’s what friends do right?

>Where was she? Kris looked around as he stood in the middle of the sidewalk, he was halfway to school now and Susie wasn’t there to greet him. That’s weird, she must have slept in again. Kris began to walk to his school. Kris went through the motions as he opens the glass doors, with his usual stoic look Kris opened the door to class to the usual uneventful greeting from the teacher. Taking his seat in the back Kris could only wait for his friend to help him relive some bor-
The door is kicked open, but unlike how it usually is it the kick only had enough force to open door not slam it. Susie waved to him as us- To notice most of the class waving back they looked...happy to see her. Huh, he never got that treatment. Susie took her seat behind Kris a smile on her face. Kris attempts to make a child remark, only for him to realize Susie isn’t talking to him, rather it’s the upbeat voice of MK who calls out first “Yo, Sus! How are things?” The dinosaur-like boy added with enthusiasm. Susie answered with a smile “You should have seen what happened with Catti and jockington.”. The two of them began to talk about...what Was without a doubt more interesting than whatever he was about to say. Kris can only sit back in his seat and listen to Susie’s  conversation. Man, that stuff sounded fun, he always daydreamed about having conversations like these where he was the center of attention. Where people wanted to talk to him.
>He couldn’t help but feel like he was back to where he was before Susie now, she barely did anything with him these past few weeks. Kris shook his head, he was just exaggerating, she was just doing so well with her new friends that she wants to work on them a bit more! T-that’s a thing right? Susie wouldn’t avoid him, she thought he was cool, that he was funny, that he wasn’t a freak. Kris eavesdropped on their talk about jockington apparently trying at failing to use a baseball bat.
>Well, it’s just a phase, she’ll grow out of it.

>Susie...fuck! Kris clenched his fists as he lay face down in his bed, silently groaning in his pillow. It wasn’t meant to be like this. Susie was the only one who got him and now she seems to want nothing to do with him! It’s been months since they last hung out near the parking lot, just talking about their problems. But it seems as if Susie...has other people she can talk to now...Wait, that’s it! Kris removed his face from his pillowed silencer and sat on his bed.
>He just had to convince Susie that he is her best friend still! He just needs to tell her about the stuff she cares about most. Like pranks, horror movies and some good ol’ mischief! No wait... the dark world! That’ll bring her back! Kris smiled as he imagined Susie with a smile of genuine excitement on her face, one she hasn’t worn around him for a long time now. But now he is determined to see this through with a smile Kris turns around and stares at the ceiling, tomorrow he would bring Susie back! To that special place where they are heroes.
>The boy walked down the halls a grin on his face as he approached his class, the usual ignorance of his class not bothering him today. He sat down behind the seat Susie had took, not noticing him as she chatted away about something with MK.
>Kris tapped Susie’s shoulder. Who turned and gave a lazy greeting of “Oh, sup Kris?”. Kris formed a rectangle with his hands in the shape they made to identify the dark world without-“Wait, have you been to that dark place too!?” A familiar enthusiastic voice rings. Susie pushes her arms infront of her and makes rapid “Shhhh!” Noises with her mouth. Kris felt his heart drop a bit, he looks at Susie who seemed rather guilty, with how she couldn’t look him in the eyes. “Oh, never mind.” is all Kris can say as he slumps back in his desk.

>“Oh, shi-er shoot, Kris. if it makes you feel any better catti and jockington have been there too. So were the hero club!” MK smiles with innocence. Susie tells MK to “Shut it!” as she watches her human friend seem to lose the life in his eyes. >Well...that makes him feel....his chest hurts a bit, Mk sees this and attempts to remedy it unsure of what’s causing him to be this way oh he’ll change the topic. “Um, well isn’t Susie a great leader! She lead us through that palace without us hurting anyone, she even had this cool ar-“ MK stopped as he saw Susie’s glare. “uh, sorry man.” He slumps in his seat. >Kris doesn’t notice, only the realization of something. He wasn’t really that special was he? Susie took over his role as leader? What does that mean? Wasn’t he wearing that armor because he was special? No, he isn’t, he knows that, all his life he has had that been painfully laid out for him.
> He’s not worth keeping secrets for, he’s not worth keeping around out of anything but pity. Hell, half the damn class knows about the dark world now! A place that he thought was theirs alone to share! Kris couldn’t thing this new pain in his chest blocking out any rational action. Before Kris ran his legs were carrying him out of his class. He ran out of the school, he just has to get away from it all, it’s not fair! He had someone who’d cared about him! Why was that taken away!?


>Kris ran, wanting to go somewhere where can’t get hurt, but his feet oddly enough stopped at his house. Opened the door doing his best suppress his emotions. “Kris why are you home so early?” Kris didn’t want to answer the old goat, he didn’t want to look at her, he just wanted this day to be over. “Your not skipping school are you?” Kris could practically feel the goat glaring at him judgmentally. Judging him, yeah that seems about right. Ignoring her the boy silently walked upstairs and stewards his room. “Kris if you even think about going to your room I’ll-“ Kris didn’t could only hear the muffled sound of a likely furious mother as he closed the door and flopped on his bed. Starring up at the ceiling.

>Toriel sighed to herself as she closed her book. That boy...why couldn’t he see reason? With a huff Toriel made her way up the stairs and knocked on Kris’s door, she can’t have him making this a habit. “Kris, if you don’t get back to school, I’ll forbid you from seeing this friend of yours!” Toriel said putting her best commanding voice. She waited near the door waiting for a response. Only to be met with silence. “Kris?” Toriel asked now feeling worried. Toriel twisted the knob, he left it unlocked, he never leaves it unlocked when he’s angry. The distressed mother opened the door to see Kris laying in his bed, doing nothing. “Kris are you-“ That’s when toriel looked into her sons eyes, they were back, back to the same blank stare they were a year ago. His small smile that she had come to cherish that way he would come home with that wild grin rather a stoic frown. He said it was because of his friend, one whose name she didn’t know of, but she didn’t care, her boy seemed to enjoy himself for the first time in years. And to see that gaze after so much improvement...
>”Kris...what happened?” Toriel sat at the edge of the boys bed, he didn’t acknowledge her. “Is this about school? If your feeling this bad, I mean it’s one day.” Toriel said  as she brushed they boys hair gently with her paw hoping to get a reaction out of him. “Susie’s moved on.” Kris mumbles aloud, as if he needs to tell himself that more than anyone else.
>Toriel recoils a bit “Susie? Is that who your friend was!?”. Toriel is shocked the school bully was his best friend!? The one who made her son turn his whole life around, was her? “Is this your so called first friend?” Toriel asked, Kris just nodded meekly.
>Toriel wasn’t sure how to take this, but anyone who could make her son happy like that had to be a good person, right? Kris sighed “It’s my fault, as always. I made her become more social and that made her realize just how boring I was compared to the others I guess.” Kris slumped in his bed more. “She gave up something I thought only we promised that would be our secret, and now the whole class knows.” Toriel stared at Kris as he poured his heart out. Kris put his palms to his face as he shook his head. “I’m scared, don’t know what to do, I can’t lose her like this.” Toriel heard something in that moment she had never heard from Kris before, sincerity. He generally meant all that he said. Toriel felt her motherly instinct take over and embraced her son ina soft hug. Unlike many times before Kris did not fidget or fight back, but hugged her back as hard as he could. “I’m scared, mom, I’m so scared...”
>Toriel felt her eyes start to water, both at his willingness to show emotion and the terrible pain he must be in. “Kris, she cares for you doesn’t she?” Kris hesitates but nods. “I think so, but her new friends always have something more interesting to say or do,”
>Toriel lets someone out a reassuring smile “Why not try to invite her into doing some of her favorite activities, this time away from her friends? If she’s your friend, she’ll accept and at least try to do them with you.” Kris buries is headmaster in his mother’s chest. “And if she refuses?” Kris pouts. Toriel looks at him with a stern look in her eyes. “Then she was never really your friend.”