The Day After

	Kris woke up with the familiar pain in his chest that he has grown accustomed to. The Light from the window assaulted his eyes, forcing him to move. Toriel's overbearing nature sometimes makes him wish he lived with his father, but then he remembers the bed made of fertilizer. Kris's thoughts about his broken home were interrupted by the very monster that ruined any chance of having a decent sleep, "Kris! It's already seven, and I'm not gonna let you be late to school two days in a row. Now hurry up and get ready." Kris barely lifted his head to see the goat saunter out of his room.
	Kris would normally be somewhat concerned about his lackluster attendance, but that was before he learned what a pushover Ms. Alphys is. She didn't even care about him just disappearing from school with Susie. Then again, he doubted that anyone actually cared that he wasn't there. Enough self-pity, it's time to get dressed lest he face the wrath of The Goat. Kris was feeling adventurous today. Naturally, he wore a yellow stripe sweater with jeans. Lookin' handsome. Now it's time to head downstairs for the five star breakfast Toriel prepared.
	Cold eggs and a burnt piece of bread. Kris can't really complain about the eggs, since that's his own fault, but it constantly amazes Kris that his mother is able to prepare baking masterpieces, yet she still manages to screw up the simplest thing. With one bite of the blackened solid, his teeth were struggling to to remain unchipped. Luckily, Toriel had already left for the school, so she did not have to bear witness to Kris shoveling his plate into the flower-scented trash can. At least now it'll smell like rotting food instead of his father. Although, Asgore probably has eaten a lot of spoiled foods based on his lack of spending money. Oh well, not much Kris can do about it. Now that he was out of options for breakfast, there was only one thing that remained, the glorious corrupter that is Toriel's pie.
	If anyone was present in that kitchen, they would claim that a demon had been summoned to devour the dessert's soul. Needless to say, Kris was a veteran sugar-addict. With a towel to his face, Kris finally decided to take a glance at his phone's clock. 7:24 was shown. 7:30 is when class starts. Sprinting to school was not an everyday occurrence for Kris, but today he really did not want to get on his mother's bad side. He did plan to see his draconic friend after school. The green blur had burst through the classroom door just as the bell had rung for class to start.
	He may have been out of breath, but it was all worth it when he saw... Susie's empty desk? Must be late like usual. "Thank you for waking us up Kris. Now could you please get off the floor and get to your desk." The nasally voice of his teacher really makes you want to punch her right in her gigantic Schnoz. Perhaps Susie rubbed off on him. Now that the theatrics of his entrance had died down, Kris walked to his seat, ignoring Berdly's snickering on the way.
	"Now that everyone's here, I have an important announcement." Alphys's voice once again interrupted the rowdiness of the class. "Everyone?" Kris echoed in his head. "Um, Ms. Alphys, Susie still isn't here," the observant Noelle continues to live up to her reputation. "Actually Noelle, we won't be seeing Susie in this class for a couple of days. Due to her recent 'behavior' issues, she has been put under Ms. Toriel's supervision. Kris, you are still her partner, but your group work will have to be done entirely as homework... sorry." It appears that the silence about Kris and Susie's truancy only extended to the now annoyed human.
	This wasn't the first time Susie had been removed from class, but she didn't even deserve the punishment this time. It's not like they intended to skip school. They were just shoved into the dark world with no prior warning. It wasn't often that Kris felt frustration for the sake of another. "Anyways, the announcement," the liar kept talking, "next week we are all taking a trip to the lake so we can all learn about underwater life. Isn't that exciting?" The class was silent. "W-well make sure you bring your excitement next week then." Sometimes Kris felt pity for the awkward dinosaur. The rest of the school day was as bland as the start. Kris was unable to see Susie all day.
	After the final bell had rung, Kris had planned to rush to his mother. Sharp, purple claws had decided for something else. No words were exchanged between the two of them. They both knew where they were going. With Susie dragging him, Kris barely had time to send a text to his mother. The closet door never stood a chance against the warriors of light. Minutes passed by as the two of them frantically searched for the method of transportation. It no longer existed. Although Kris was a little disappointed with this new development, Susie's wall punch proved that she was far beyond upset. "Dammit," the choked up screech surprised Kris, but it wasn't unexpected. Now that the goal has been completely shut down, Kris finally had a good look at his friends face.
	What he saw unnerved him. The right side of her face seemed to be untouched. The left side, not so much. The area around her eye seemed to be a darker shade of purple, and a large claw mark seemed to stretch from her cheek to the beginning of her frown. Kris visually jolted which did not go unnoticed by Susie. Her frown began to deepen before she spoke up, " Kris, before you say anything, I've had some goat bitch trying 'fix' my life all day, so I don't need your worthless pity." Kris, ignoring the insult to his mother, decided to change the subject, "Want to go to the diner or something? We can talk there if you'd like."
	Susie's frown had now changed back to her normal look of disinterest. She took one last look around the closet with her sad eyes before she gave him an answer, "Fine but only if you pay." It wasn't an enthusiastic yes, but Kris was just happy that his new friendship wasn't broken by a storage closet. As they were walking to the diner, Kris noticed that Susie was staring at the concrete for the entire walk. He wouldn't ask about the injuries, but he will help her forget about whoever caused them or at least try. The two outcasts had received many strange looks from monsters on the way. It didn't really bother them though. There were much more important issues at hand. Like what they were going to eat.
	When Susie entered the building, everybody that was already there had the brilliant idea of changing there meal to "to go." She didn't say anything, but Kris knew she hated this. A sudden surge of guilt took over him as he remembered all the times he avoided the dragon. What a fool he was. They took their seat in the corner booth furthest from the counter. Both of them awkwardly stared at the table with the occasional glance at the other. Kris was used to not carrying conversations and allowing other people to talk at him. Susie, however, was just as reserved as him, so the chattering of the diner filled their ears. "That girl's always getting into trouble." "I heard that the cops showed up at her home yesterday." "That kids gonna be arrested before she even graduates high school."
	Kris tried his best to keep up his solemn farce instead of getting angry. Everyone always wants to kick the one that has it the worst, so they feel better about themselves. Kris is very familiar with this because of a certain obnoxious bird. Cops, huh? Perhaps, it's time for Kris to put forth his expert detective skills. "Hey Susie, you're not in any legal trouble are-" Kris's career as an investigator was cut short by the tears on his friends face.
	"I'm not a criminal Kris. I didn't want any of this." What the hell happened to her? Yesterday, she seemed so full of joy. It was a far cry from the sobbing mess that was in front of him now. At least the other monsters in the diner stopped talking about her as soon as she started crying. Kris was never good with emotional shit. He usually just let Asriel do the talking when things got serious. Now it's time for Kris to step up to bat. "Hey, I'm not the best with this personal crap, but you can talk to me about it if you want." "Can we go somewhere else? I'm not really hungry anymore." "Yeah, sure." Catti was taking too long to build up the courage to take their order anyways.
	They needed to go to a place where there wouldn't be any nosy onlookers. A place where they can just sit and talk. A place where someone could finally take the time to learn about the mystery that is Susie. The obvious choice would be the Dark World, but that one's currently under renovation. Going to Susie's place was a bad idea because Kris had a hunch about that place being part of Susie's problems. Toriel is far too overbearing and watchful for them to go back to his place. Well that and the fact that Susie had already been preached at by her for the entire day. He'll have to ask about what they talked about later. Just then, Kris had remembered that Alphys had mentioned the lake this morning. It was perfect. Since it was the middle of Fall, it's too cold for anybody to go swimming, and it's Tuesday. Nobody ever goes out on a Tuesday.
	Susie was surprised when Kris suddenly grabbed her hand and started leading her, yet, for once, she didn't even think about punching him in the face. Although her face still run wet with tears, the judgmental looks of those on the streets still seeped their way into the core of the dragon girl. Before they could make it to the solitude of the calming lake, they just happened to pass by the Flower King himself, Asgore, who just so happened to be unloading his pickup truck. Of course, he just had to say hi to busy but beloved boy. "Kris! Are you out on a date right now? You should come and introduce her to me." Humiliating and awkward, the pair of teens wouldn't have it any other way. Kris declined his father's offer while trying to signal his friends current to him. "Oh, sorry Kris. Maybe next time then? You hardly visit me anymore. I would really like to spend more time with you. I only got so many years left in me." With a curt nod, the pair continued on the path to the lake. The young human was now thoroughly painted red. Loud and hoarse laughter suddenly entered the boy's ears. "You know, Kris? If I had a dad like yours, I don't think I'd ever have to worry about getting punched in the face."
	Both of them now stood motionless in complete silence. Susie had come to the realization that she really needed to shut the fuck up sometimes. Kris didn't know how to respond to that. He could only stare at her with an expression mixed with awe and fear. As much as she wanted to jump into the lake and drown, Susie just stood there staring at Kris with her wet, scarred face. Kris would've found out eventually, so she might as well tell him now. "I hate my dad." Kris had finally put the puzzle together: the claw marks, the cops, the eagerness to leave. It all made sense now. "What did he do to you, Susie?" He already had a good idea of what had happened, yet he wanted to hear her say it out loud. It was as if he needed justification to hate her dad too.
	Before we delve into the details of modern day abuse, it's time for a brief history lesson. Monsters and humans didn't always get along, but you probably already assumed that, didn't you?  It was only about 100 years ago when the great war began. Ignoring the many deaths and structural damage, the war's victor was never decided. The fighting had stopped but the tension and hatred remained. This is why many towns and communities remain segregated, even to this day. Hometown would be an excellent example of this if not for the sole outlier, Kris. When the Dreemurs had brought Kris into this isolated town, they were met with protest. Fortunately, most monsters had come to peace with humans and accepted Kris open arms, but a few had wanted to force the goat family to leave.
	What is this tangent leading up to? Well, let's just say Susie's father was very not okay with Kris. It also didn't help that he was very jealous of the wealth and status of the Dreemurs. While they were always the shining example of what a family should be, he was just ignored while he worked in his run-down auto-shop. There aren't really many other careers for a high school dropout in such a small town. He liked to believe he had loving wife and child at home supporting him, but as the years went on, they drifted further and further apart. Since he and his daughter hardly ever spoke or saw each other, he never bothered caring about the phone calls from school. That changed when he was told about how his daughter had skipped school with that ugly monkey.
	The shop was closed immediately, and he stormed home to wait for his daughter. Of course, with this newfound stress, alcohol had been consumed in what some might say, "unhealthy quantities." Time had continued to march on, and the belligerency of an angry father only grew. Susie had finally walked through the door. "Where the fuck have you been?" Susie was taken aback though she stood her ground. "Excuse me?" He reworded his question, "Who told you you could 'get friendly' with that disgusting humie?" "I can hang out with whoever I want, asshole." Violent tendencies ran in the family as shown by the half empty beer can hurtling towards the younger dragon's face. Her eye hurt, and the wasted liquid was spreading on the already dirty floor.
	"What the hell is wrong with you?" Before she had received an answer, claws had reached her face. The "victorious" father had asserted dominance over his rebellious daughter. Susie was strong, sure, but there was no way she was going to fight her dad. The wonderful adventure in the Dark World is over. It's time to return to the reality of your miserable life. She had run from home as her father reflected on his actions. He had felt triumph until he had watched his daughter's skin turn to dust on his own nails.
	Eventually the cops arrived to find a sulking mess. Susie had spent her night in the company of Undyne. Justice had been served, and everyone had a good night's sleep.
	Susie had finally finished recounting last night's event to Kris. He could only morosely stare at the lake's water. If Kris wasn't sympathetic to his friend before, he was now. "Well? You happy now? Susie's life sucks. The end." Kris had finally remembered what a Dreemur does best. He hugged Susie. Although it wasn't much, Susie appreciated the gesture and hugged Kris back. They didn't need anyone but themselves in this moment of calm. Kris had briefly opened his eyes and fell over from shock. Their special moment had been ruined by the giant, voyeuristic onion shaped monster. Something was different though. Instead of the usual shiny yellow, the lake monster now sported a dull grey. The two were unable to react before tentacles wrapped around each of them and dragged them into the depths of the waters. Kris was losing consciousness, but he somehow knew deep down that when he wakes up, they'll be back in the Dark World.