Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

??? POV

I was walking through the halls. It was the first day of school, so thanks to our district throwing us a bone, it was just freshmen. There were only a few kids from my friend group going to this school, so I wasn’t sure if I’d make any new friends. Thankfully, the two people I was closest to were going here. Fate never liked throwing me a bone, so it was good luck. I walked through the halls to my first class with my best friend and boyfriend on either side of me.

“Are you okay, Aes? You don’t look that good.”

I looked up, my train of thought leaving me with my last braincell.

“Yeah, just thinking. Don’t worry, Chris.” I said.

“Okay, then. I need to get to my class. You lovebirds enjoy yourselves.” Chris said, walking off.

I looked at my beautiful boyfriend and we walked into class. On the board was a seating chart, and I was unfortunately across the room from him.

“Better luck next trimester?” he asked.

“Yeah. Hopefully, we do get lucky, Alex.” I said.

As soon as I was in my seat, I noticed that the girl next to me had her head down. She wasn’t moving much, but I could see she was breathing. On her desk was a pile of manga that I happened to enjoy, such as Snow White with the Red Hair, Haikyuu!!!, and Card Captor Sakura. She had purple hair, and it looked like she was a robot. I stood up and looked at her face, and her eyes were closed. I sat back in my seat and pulled out my personal manga.

“Are you reading comics in my class?” the teacher’s voice scared the shit out of me.

“Class doesn’t start for another two minutes and there’s like five people in here. I’ll put it away when the bell rings.” I said.

“I better not see it.” the teacher said before turning to the girl next to me, who was still sleeping.

The teacher shoved the manga off her desk, and it hit the floor with a loud thump. The girl still didn’t wake up, so the teacher slapped her hand with a ruler. As it was pretty clear she was made of steel, this was ineffective. The teacher took instead to shouting at this girl.

“Wake up! We’re at school, not in bed!” the bitch shouted.

The girl shot up, but she clearly looked exhausted. The teacher flicked her on the head, and she looked like she wanted to fight back but was just too damn tired.

“I do have my phone dialed to the principal, teach, if you keep getting physical.” I said.

The teacher tried to snatch my phone away, but I pressed call and the principal’s voice filled the room. Lucky my mom was a personal friend of his. Soon, his voice filled the room and the teacher looked ready to jump off a building. I explained the situation, and soon, I had principal help. Within minutes, security footage was being reviewed and the teacher was gone. The girl next to me still looked tired, but she seemed a bit more hyped up now that the teacher was gone.

“Why were you sleeping? Just curious.” I felt myself ask.

“Oh. Well, I’m not doing well at home. What’s your name, by the way?” the girl asked.

“I’m Aes. What about you?” I asked.

“Uzi. It’s nice to meet you.” she said.

“The feeling’s mutual. Do you have any other friends?” I asked.

“Yeah, but they’re all sophomores." Uzi said.

“Well, you can sit with my bestie, my boyfriend, and I when lunchtime comes.” I said.

“Thanks. By the way, is that Sword Art Online?” Uzi asked.

“Yep! I just started it yesterday!” I said.

“You’re in for a wild ride.” Uzi said.

“I watched a bunch of the anime, so I know...” I said.

~~~~~~

Uzi was sitting next to me as I drew in my sketchbook. There was a lot of Draco Malfoy X Harry Potter art, I noted, and all of my female OCs were making out with each other. Uzi seemed at least mildly entertained by my weird fanart when Chris and Alex walked up. Alex patted my head and Chris sat next to me.

“Hi, boys. This is Uzi, Uzi, this is Chris and Alex.” I said.

Uzi was suddenly very interested in my Drarry art.

“Hi, Uzi! I see you’re looking at Aes’ art. They’re pretty good, right?” Chris said.

“Hey, it’s mid at best.” I said.

“Gotta agree with you, Aes. You need a little more practice.” Uzi said.

“This is after almost a decade and a half of practice. I’ve been drawing since I could hold a crayon... Seeing as babies start gripping at about six months, it’ll have been a decade and a half in April, because April is my half birthday.” I said.

Just then, a random guy walked up to us. He was literally a purple rabbit with pink overalls and a blue t-shirt underneath. As soon as he saw my sketchbook, he tried to take it. Unfortunately for him, I took taekwondo in second grade, so I punched him in the face and grabbed my sketchbook back. Just then, someone else approached, and I wondered if I was about to get the shit beaten out of me. Uzi was reaching into her bag, and Alex put his hand in his pants.

However, much to our surprise, the second kid hit the rabbit boy in the back of the head. The rabbit boy turned around, but instead of fighting back at all, he ran off. I was scared that this other kid would start to harass us, but instead, they let out a loud sigh of disappointment before walking away. Instead of just sitting there like a bitch, I decided to run after them. When they noticed me, I was sure the would get angry at me, but they were relatively calm.

“What do you want?” they asked.

“To thank you. That guy was trying to steal my sketchbook.” I said.

“That’s my neighbor, Jax. He’s a dickhead, so don’t mind him. It was no problem to slap some sense into him.” the kid said.

“Okay. Do you wanna come join us? We’re looking at my Drarry art.” I said.

The kid looked like they were contemplating for a moment before they spoke.

“You know what, sure. Just lemme grab my shit and I’ll be right over there.” the kid said. “By the way, what’s your name?”

“Aes. And yours?” I responded.

“I’m Zooble.” they said.

Chapter Text

Uzi’s POV

I was lying in bed. Even though it was 3 AM, I couldn’t fall asleep. Just then, I got a tap on my window. When I looked, there was N and V both right there. N looked barely willing to be there, but V was eagerly throwing rocks at my window. I opened my window and pushed out the screen before jumping out. I totally 100% sticked the landing, and we were off to commit war crimes.

“Where are we headed?” I asked.

“I found this weird-ass playground by a church and a water park. We’re going over there.” V said.

“Okay, let’s go.” I said, opening my wings.

With those words, we were flying off. Ten minutes later, we were at the park V described. However, the swing set was occupied. I turned on my phone’s light, hoping to see who was using the swings. Much to my shock, I saw two sets of glowing eyes, which belonged to Aes and Chris.

“What the fuck are you two doing here?” I asked.

“Insomnia insomnia-ed, Uzi. Gotta do something with this energy, ya know?” Aes replied. “Are these the sophomore friends you mentioned?”

“Yep. This is N and V.” I said.

“Who’s this?” N asked.

“These are some freshmen friends I made. Speaking of which, if you two are here, did you invite Alex or Zooble?” I said.

“Yeah, but Alex lives pretty far all things considered and Zooble hasn’t answered my text, which means they’re probably asleep. To be honest, if you didn’t spawn in, I’dve texted you to come.” Aes said.

“I also have insomnia, but specifically at night. During the day, I have no trouble sleeping.” I said.

“I noticed back in first hour.” Aes chuckled.

“What was she doing?” V asked.

“Sleeping like she’d been hit with a blunt weapon.” Aes said.

“Uzi, are you sure you should be coming on these little adventures? If what they said is true, that means you’re not sleeping well.” N said.

“I understand sleeping better in daytime, Uzi, so I think you’re fine.” Aes said.

“Thank you, Aes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna climb on top of the playground.” I said.

“I’m joining you!” Chris said.

~~~~~~

I was lying facedown on the ground. Thankfully, it was dry, so my clothes weren’t getting stained. It was in that moment I realized I was still wearing my Hello Kitty onesie. I looked at what everyone else was wearing, and literally only V and Aes were in daytime clothes. V was in her usual outfit and Aes was in a lavender tank top and black jorts. Meanwhile, N was wearing a PJ set that looked like an old man picked it out and Chris was wearing an oversized shirt with a Minecraft hoe on it.

“Wanna go to McDonald’s?” Aes asked suddenly.

“Sure! I’ll go, of course.” Chris said.

“I’m down.” V said.

“I guess I will.” N said.

“I’m coming.” I said.

Aes nodded and grabbed a razor scooter, which had been idly waiting in the bike stands. I took out my wings and started flying before remembering I was still pretty new to this neighborhood. Aes motioned for me to hop onto the scooter with them, and I was unsure. However, I did as they motioned, and they took off. Chirs hopped onto his bike, and N and V followed. I instinctively wrapped my arms around Aes, and only twenty terrifying minutes later, we were at McDonald’s.

“Where did you even get a razor scooter this big?” I asked.

“I dunno, my mom got it for me as a birthday present after my tiny one got too loose and I almost hit the pavement too many times. I still have a scar on my shoulder from when I actually hit the pavement when I was 13.” Aes said.

We walked into McDonald’s, and Aes pulled out a tiny My Little Pony purse, and I almost laughed before looking at my Hello Kitty onesie once more. They seemed to notice I was staring, so they spoke.

“I got it when I was in Kindergarten, so I’m using it for more than dress-up.” Aes said.

“You’re like 15, why would you-”

“I used it for dress-up when I was six.”

I nodded. Soon, it was our time to order. I realized I hadn’t brought my wallet, but V pulled hers out, and a moment later, she was discussing how much money she had with Aes. I notices Aes had a thick stack of yellow papers and about five blue papers, which I realized were a ton of coupons. Pretty quickly, Aes had taken the reins and ordered far too many nuggets and enough fries to make a horse sick. They had also gotten some ice creams.

“Glad we got all those coupons.” Aes said.

We sat in a booth while we awaited our food, and everyone was in a conversation about compost. I occasionally offered a nod, but I mostly ate my fries. Eventually, there were only about twenty fries left, so I tried to grab them all, but so did Chris. I slapped his hand, but he slapped back.

“My fries.”

“Bite me, they’re mine!”

“I also want the fries, you two...”

Chris and I devolved into a mildly physical (but mostly verbal) fight pretty quickly. A few minutes later, the fries had mysteriously vanished, but I didn’t care anymore. I had used up all my energy. I didn’t even notice when I was no longer conscious.

~~~~~~

I woke up in my bed to my dad shaking me. I opened my eyes, and my dad looked a little peeved. I considered staying in bed just to be annoying before remembering I had school. While that wasn’t much motivation, I felt that I didn’t need a truancy so early in the school year. I dragged my ass out of bed before pulling on my usual outfit. My dad had left the second I crawled out of bed, so when I got downstairs, he was already there.

“You got a letter.” my dad said calmly.

Said letter was a haphazardly sealed envelope with my name on it. When I opened it, all it said was ‘You fell asleep at McDonald’s and N had to carry you home, emo bitch’ and it was signed by V. I almost laughed as I stuffed it into my pocket and grabbed a piece of toast before going outside to wait for the bus. By the time I got to school, I was barely remembering that the sophomores, juniors, and seniors would also be at school.

Fuck.

As soon as I walked in, I was overwhelmed with the sounds. Why were there so many people? I decided to just ignore everyone as I walked to first period. However, I wasn’t paying attention where I was walking and bumped straight into a black-haired jester girl with a permanent sad face. She immediately fell flat on her face and I didn’t know what to do next. I froze, but the girl stood up quickly and started talking even faster.

“I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t be walking so slowly! I’m just in your way!”

“No no no! I wasn’t paying attention! It’s my fault!”

We started spitting apologies, and I didn’t know why I was doing so. However, the warning bell rang and we both had to rush to class. As soon as I was in class, I noticed Aes was reading Sword Art Online. When I sat down, they looked up with a look of ennui on their face.

“What’s up?” they asked.

“The sky.” I responded.

“The sky. Good response.” Aes said.

~~~~~~

“Seriously, I think Pikachu would be stronger if he had a gun!”

We were sitting at the same table as the day before, chatting about our political views, but in the most bullshit way possible.

“As true as that is, Zooble, who in their right mind would give an electric mouse a gun?” Aes said.

“I would.” Alex said.

“Yeah, but nobody who’s sitting here is in their right mind.” Aes said.

“Bite me.” I said.

“And with those two words, you just proved my point! Congratulations!” Aes said.

I noticed Zooble try to hide their laughter with a cough, and Chris didn’t even try. Just then, N and V came up to us. Alex and Zooble looked confused and nervous, but Aes and Chris looked unbothered.

“Mind if we join you?” N asked.

“Not at all, feel free!” Aes said.

“Do you know these people?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, Chris and I met them at 3 AM. They be chill.” Aes said.

“You don’t lie, do you? You should go to sleep sometime, you know?” Zooble said.

“Never, my sleep schedule is fucked up.” Aes said.

“No shit, most people are asleep at 3 AM.” Zooble said.

We sat in silence as Aes and Zooble had a friendly debate on Aes’ sleep schedual for a few moments before N spoke up to ask a question.

“Do you mind if I grab some friends I made today?” he asked.

“N, you could make friends with a drunk rock. Do you know that?” I asked.

“Yep! Is that a yes or a no?” N asked.

“As long as they’re not homophobic, the more the merrier.” Aes said.

N ran off to grab his new friends while V sat down and everyone continued with their conversation about how Pikachu would be better with a gun. Two minutes later, N returned with a girl in a purple and black hoodie whose body was made of ribbons and the same jester girl from earlier. I stared for a moment before N introduced them.

“This is Gangle and Pomni! Gangle and Pomni, this is V, Uzi, Aes, Chris, and two people whose names I don’t know yet!” N said happily.

“I’m Alex, that’s Zooble.” Alex said.

The jester girl stared at me before she spoke.

“I’m sorry about this morning!” she said.

“It’s my fault! I’m sorry!” I said.

Everyone stared before we collected ourselves and just continued the conversation like nothing happened. I tuned out, but I overheard what Aes and Alex were saying behind our backs.

“How did you make the friend group grow from three to nine in just two days?” Alex asked.

“Easy, I adopted an introvert who had already been adopted by an extrovert. It’s not that hard, hun.” Aes said before kissing Alex’s nose.

Chapter Text

Zooble’s POV

I was idly lying on the couch, playing on my phone while I struggled to keep my eyes open when a knock came on the door. I considered answering, but my little brother beat me to it. I decided to roll over and ignore the world for a few minutes when my brother ran over to me.

“There’s a grey cat thing at the door who says they’re your friend.” he said.

“That’s racist, Di, don’t describe people like that.” I said, wondering who he meant.

“Well sorry!” he said.

“Don’t sass me, you’re too little for that.” I said, standing up and walking to the door.

When I made it to the door, I saw Aes standing there, looking at least mildly annoyed at how my brother had described them.

“I’m a fuckin’ mountain lion.” Aes said.

“How did you find where I live?” I asked.

“Passed your house on my drive home from school, both yesterday and today and thought I’d visit since I only live like a block away.” Aes said.

“That’s less creepy than I expected, honestly.” I said.

“By the way, Uzi’s just outside.” Aes said.

“Is there anyone else available?” I asked.

“Nope, that’s why I came to harass you.” Aes said.

“What are you planning on doing?” I asked.

“My enby parent is planning on taking my brother and I to the movies, and they said I could take three friends.” Aes said.

“Alright, I’ll ask my mom.” I said.

My mom happened to be not far from hearing range, as she responded almost instantly.

“Honestly, as long as you don’t add to or subtract from the population, I don’t care what you do. You’re turning fifteen in a week, I think you’re mature enough to go to the movies without me, especially if your friend’s parent is gonna be there.” my mom said.

“Thanks, Mom.” I said, grabbing my hoodie and stuffing my phone into my pocket.

I walked outside and closed the door behind me. True to Aes’ word, Uzi was waiting impatiently by a large Razor scooter. As soon as she saw me, she walked over to us.

“Can you have even taken a minute longer? The bird shit I was staring at is still wet.” Uzi said.

“Have patience.” Aes said.

Aes hopped ont their scooter and Uzi hopped on behind them. However, Aes didn’t start moving quite yet.

“How much do you weigh, Zoob?” Aes asked.

“Uh, about 50 pounds? Why?” I asked.

“And Uzi, how much do you weigh?” Aes asked.

“Uhh, why?” Uzi asked.

“Just answer the question, I’m figuring shit out.” Aes said.

“I weigh 45-ish pounds.” Uzi said.

“Alright. This scooter supports slightly less than 200 pounds of weight, I’m 112 pounds. This won’t do, you guys haven’t been to my house yet and we’re too heavy to all ride the scooter. Uzi, could you fly behind? You can keep up more easily on your wings than Zooble can on foot.” Aes said.

“Sure.” Uzi said, getting off.

I carefully got on behind Aes, wondering what to do next.

“Grab onto my shoulders, and if I move them, let me or we’ll crash. Also, try to keep your feet on the scooter.” Aes said.

I did as they told, and they took off. I watched Uzi take some wings out of her body, which somewhat shocked me, but I didn’t know if I should have been surprised. Uzi’s a fucking robot, robots are weird. I let myself space out, and it only took about a minute to get to Aes’ house. When we got there, Aes looked at me, stopping the scooter. I stepped off and Aes carried the scooter up the front steps. When they came back out, they were accompanied by a taller boy and who I assumed was their enby parent.

“You got everyone you’re bringing?” the adult asked.

“Yeah.” Aes said.

“Where’s Chris?” the adult asked.

“He has to practice his instrument, so he can’t come.” Aes said.

“I see. Does he still do drums?” the adult asked.

“Indeed he does, father.” Aes said.

“Who are these friends, then?” they asked.

“This is Uzi and Zooble. Guys, this is my enby parent.” Aes said.

“I told you, you can just introduce me as your dad.” Aes’ parent said.

“I know, I just like it when my friends call you by your correct pronouns.” Aes said.

“Well, let’s get going.” Aes’ parent said.

As soon as they said that, the tall boy jumped to the front seat.

“Who said you’re getting the front seat, Joni?” Aes asked.

“I’m taller!” the kid, apparently named Joni, said.

“Well, I’m older, and age trumps height. I also think it’d be polite to let one of my friends take the front seat.” Aes said.

“Oh. D’oh.” Joni said.

Aes turned to us. “What are your birthdays?”

“September 5th.” I said.

“January 3rd.” Uzi said.

“Zooble gets the front seat.” Aes said.

Joni moved to the backseat, which Aes was already climbing into. Since I was sitting next to Aes’ parent, I decided to ask them something.

“What do you want Uzi and I to call you?” I asked.

“Just Mx. Craftsman is okay.” Aes’ parent said.

“I have the power of your full name.” I said, looking Aes in the eye.

“Nope, I have two middle names.” Aes said.

“Who in their right mind gives their kid two middle names?” Uzi asked.

“My parents, and I got one from each side of the family. Honestly, it wouldn’t even bug me if you used my middle names, it bugs me more if you mispronounce them.” Aes said.

“Then what are your middle names, Aes?” I asked.

“I’m not telling you because it doesn’t matter.” Aes said.

“Come on, Aes~” Uzi said.

“No! I refuse!” Aes said.

Uzi and I both looked at Aes, giving them our best puppy-dog eyes, but they remained steadfast in their refusal. I pulled out my phone to turn it on do not disturb when it started vibrating with a flood of notifications from my mom’s phone. One look at the messages told me one of my siblings had gotten my mom’s phone and was just trying to figure out where I was.

“Who texted you?” Aes asked.

“One of my siblings probably stole my mom’s phone.” I said, showing them the text messages.

Both of them immediately started laughing.

“Seriously, do they think they’re convincing? ‘Cumm hoem write nao or ur grownded four a munth’? That sounds like a toddler wrote it!” Uzi laughed.

“I mean, my youngest sibling only just started kindergarten. It was probably my youngest sister, she’s old enough to at least attempt to spell words that long.” I said.

“Their mom even directly said it was okay for them to come while I was there.” Aes chuckled.

I typed in my response to the messages before turning my phone on DnD. Once we made it to the movies, I let myself relax. Mx. Craftsman bought us one large popcorn to share, and I didn’t want to let my siblings ruin my day.

~~~~~~

We came out of the theater discussing the movie in such a way that anyone coming in would probably get spoiled, but with how old the movie is, shame on you if you haven’t seen it yet.

“I really like it when the theater does a Studio Ghibli event. Then, we get to watch those masterpieces on the big screen.” Aes said.

“Yeah, Spirited Away is a classic.” I said.

I decided to turn off DnD and see how many texts I got when I saw a spam of texts obviously from my siblings trying to get me to come home. The last text was my mom apologizing for their bullshit. I stuffed my phone into my pocket as I got back in the car. The drive was pretty quiet, at least until we were getting closer to home.

“Hey, I just wanna know, what’s it like to have siblings? I...don’t have any.” Uzi said.

“Well, it’s annoying, but at least I have a kidney to steal if I need to.” Aes said.

“I’m right here, Aes, and I’m not just extra parts for you.” Joni said.

“Well, you were an accident. At least I was kind of planned!” Aes said, grinning.

Joni just glared in Aes’ direction.

“Well, all of my siblings are under the age of ten, so they look up to me and throw hands if I’m not there. My mom’s chill and she lets me do what I want, even if it pisses them off. It gets annoying when I’m trying to do homework and I feel a million tiny hands on my back trying to get my attention, but at the time, if I ever need body parts, they’d donate in an instant.” I said.

“So siblings are annoying spare parts?” Uzi asked.

“Unless they’re physically disabled, then you’re their spare parts. Because I’m me, I’m more likely to get hit by a car and need a kidney.” Aes said.

“Well, is there anything good about them besides that?” Uzi asked.

“If they’re younger, they often worship the ground you walk on, so that’s nice.” I said.

The car pulled into Aes’ driveway all to fast, and I went home feeling better and more energetic than when I left. However, the moment I walked through the door, I was shoved to the ground by my siblings. They were all yelling my name and trying to hug me, so I just accepted my fate. The three girls were the firsts to stand up, and the oldest picked up our brother.

“Why did you leave us?” she asked.

“Well, Cosmo, I have my own life and my own friends beyond my third grade baby sister.” I said.

“You’re just way bigger than us! I’m not even a baby, I’m turning nine in two weeks!” Cosmo said grumpily.

“And I turn 15 in less than one, now let me get inside.” I said.

My siblings moved aside.

“Where were you?” my middle sister asked.

“I was at the movies, Marley." I said.

“What movie did you watch? Why didn’t you take us?” my youngest sister asked.

“I watched Spirited Away, and my friend was only allowed to take three friends, and I was the third they asked.” I left out the fact that Chris was unavailable. “Anyways, I’m in high school and I have a social life, unlike you, Fifi.”

“That was mean of you to say.” she said.

“First graders don’t have a firm social life. If I don’t have friends, there’s a risk that I’ll get flushed down the toilet, Sophina. Thankfully, I got adopted into a big friend group because I punched a guy.” I said.

“Why did you punch him? What did he do?” the brother asked.

“Well, Dijon, he stole someone’s sketchbook, and it’s that jerk kid who lives next door and throws spiders through my window and stuff.” I said.

I walked in and took out my phone while my siblings sat around me, staring at me like I’d just cured cancer. I just started scrolling Tumblr, wondering if I should take a couch nap before dinner.

Chapter Text

Gangle’s POV

I was drawing yuri at the lunch table when the freshmen in the friend group arrived. Most of them were talking, but Aes was eating a popsicle. I looked back at my sketchbook and kept drawing. However, Aes seemed interested in what I was doing. They finished their popsicle before they spoke.

“Can I try redrawing your OCs?” they asked.

I looked at them, surprised, before nodding. They looked at my sketchbook and started drawing. I continued sketching, but they were done after a few minutes.

“It’s a quick sketch, but I hope you like it.” Aes said, giving it to me.

“Thanks, Aes.” I said.

“No problem! A lot of the people here draw, you know.” Aes said.

Uzi immediately ducked under the table. I laughed lightly before turning back to my art. Before I knew it, lunch period was over. I hadn’t even eaten anything, but it had been about a week since I’d last eaten, and I wasn’t planning on fixing that any time soon. I made my way to my next class, which was an animation class. I idly worked on my project while I spaced out. My non-existent stomach hurt like Hell, but I didn’t give a crap.

After dragging myself through school, I got home and crashed on the couch. I knew my siblings were probably gonna kill me, but I didn’t care at this point. I was too tired for some odd reason I couldn’t figure out. I kept my eyes closed even as my siblings poked and prodded at me, and eventually, they gave up. I had had enough social interaction for the day. I curled up into myself and started fidgeting with the hem of my hoodie rather than talk to my siblings. Just then, my mom got home.

“Hey, Gangle, what’s wrong today?” she asked.

“I’m drained.” I said.

“Well, I’m here if you want to talk, and your siblings are as well.” my mom said.

“I’m just tired, Mom, really.” I said.

“Alright, Gangle, just know we’re worried about you.” my mom said.

I curled up into myself, feeling nauseous, though I’d read that was a side effect of my antidepressants. I never wanted to eat because of it, but that was fine, considering the fact that I would need to go back to the psych ward if I got off my meds for too long. My family was still processing the sight of the scissors against my neck, ready to cut at any moment, and I didn’t want to get any worse than that. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to ignore anything.

When I finally pried myself off the couch several hours later, it was to go to bed, where I had little trouble falling asleep. When I went back to school the next day, I noticed Zooble and Pomni sitting in the chairs in the lobby, chatting about something or other. When they noticed me, they waved me over. I walked over, feeling like I was about to pass out, but I sat down to talk with them. However, I couldn’t focus on their voices as I felt myself pass out.

~~~~~~

I woke up in the nurse’s office with my mom talking to Zooble and Pomni. When they noticed I was awake, Pomni immediately gave me a granola bar, which I was too tired to ignore. I took a bite, wondering why it made me feel so full when it was so small. I chewed it thoughtfully as my mom talked with the nurse. I noticed this granola bar also had some salted peanuts in it, and it almost tasted like trail mix. I finished the bar before closing my eyes again.

“Hey Gangle, are you okay?” Zooble asked.

“I’m not sure.” I mumbled.

“Well, if you’re at school tomorrow, we’re here if you want to talk to someone.” Pomni said before she and Zooble presumably left.

“Gangle, do you think you’re okay to walk?” my mom asked.

“Y-yeah.” I said.

I stood up, noticing the nurse was typing something on her computer, and I saw my freshman picture out of the corner of my eye. However, I ignored it and kept walking with my mom. When we got to her car, she drove straight to the hospital. I recognized the path from when I was taken to the ER for my attempt on my own life. We were silent for a while, as I was staring out the window and my mom was focused on driving us to our destination. Eventually, I broke the silence.

“I’m sorry I made you have to come all the way from the office.” I said.

“It’s no problem, sweetheart! You and your siblings are more important to me, and my boss understands.” my mom said.

“Everything must be so rough for you, considering everything you’ve gone through in the past five and a half years. I’m sorry I’m so problematic.” I said.

“Gangle, I promise it’s okay.” my mom said.

“You didn’t even want triplets, you and Dad were one and done. I shouldn’t have been born. Then, you’d be able to afford Ribbons and Twist’s college fund.” I mumbled.

“Gangle, I’m gonna stop you right there. A lot happened that we didn’t want and we couldn’t control, but you’re one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.” my mom said.

“Dad would be so disappointed in me.” I said.

“Gangle, he loved you and your siblings more than anything. He always said that his favorite memory was waking up from his medically induced coma and holding you for the first time. Don’t you remember how he’d look at you three and he couldn’t help but smile?” my mom said.

I didn’t respond.

“Well, my point is, you’re incredible and your father would be so proud of you.” my mom said.

We pulled into the hospital driveway and we got checked in. The doctors did a bunch of tests on me, and a few minutes later, the verdict came: I was low on sodium and underweight. I was surprised about the sodium thing, but apparently, antidepressants have their way of reducing sodium levels. On the drive home, my mom got a small serving of fries for me and encouraged me to eat, which I did, albeit slowly out of fear of vomiting. The next day, I walked into school, only to be hounded by the entire friend group.

“Are you okay today? Zooble and Pomni said you passed out yesterday.” Aes said.

“I’m doing better.” I whispered.

“Well, that’s good, right?” Zooble said.

“Yeah, it is.” I said.

“Guys, don’t you think we should give her space?” Pomni said.

“Right! Sorry!” N said.

“It’s alright, I just didn’t have enough salt in my body.” I said.

“Well, we’re glad you have enough salt now.” Chris said.

“So what should you do during lunch?” Aes asked.

“Eat salt?”

“Exactly.”

“Jeez, you sound like such a mom, Aes.”

“Shut the hell up, Uzi, I don’t care.”

Chapter Text

Pomni’s POV

I was sitting in the auditorium next to N, Gangle, and V. I’d been friends with Gangle since middle school, and as of now, I had had a crush since freshman year. I knew I couldn’t act on it with my parents being as they were, but I could at least admire her and my other crush from afar. Speaking of which, across the room, Uzi and Aes were pouring icy lemonade on their head as they recoiled in shock. Then, they proceeded to pour their lemonade on Aes.

I was stuck with my earbuds in, trying to drown out the chaotic sound of the assembly, hoping my ears wouldn’t end up hurting. Thankfully, the sound was drowned out enough that I could stay sane. I silently observed the assembly, and from my vantage point, I saw the student body treasurer read a few names from the Freshman volunteer box, and by absolute coincidence, it was Uzi, Aes, and Zooble who got called up. At least, I thought it was until he revealed they were the only Freshmen who volunteered.

I watched as those three had to battle the entire student government in a tug-of-war, which I thought was unfair until I remembered Uzi is a robot. Once the Freshmen demolished the student government (which, to be honest, was mostly Uzi’s doing), they were sent back to their seats. Unfortunately for them, their spots had been stolen. Thankfully, there were some seats near us Sophomores. As soon as they’d situated themselves, Aes started braiding Uzi’s hair while Zooble chugged lemonade.

“You three are weirdos.” I said playfully.

“Yeah, so?” Aes chuckled.

“We do what we want, what more can we say?” Zooble said, raising their eyebrows playfully.

“Yeah, if you don’t like it, you can bite me!” Uzi said, grinning.

~~~~~~

I was walking the long way home, even though I didn’t even live remotely close to the school. Any excuse to avoid going straight home was good. I didn’t like it when my dad touched my thighs or threw bottles at me, and I hated it when my mom tried to force me to be her perfect little doll. Every time I went into that house, I felt like I was drowning. Eventually, I reached my neighborhood, though I wished I hadn’t quite yet. Every fight, every bruise, every word felt like an uphill battle.

As I walked in the door, the familiar sight of beer bottles and cigarette butts scattered across the floor hit my brain. I pretended I didn’t notice them, instead pulling out the numbers I’d been given by my friends. God, I wished I had my own phone. I went into my room, ignoring the holes in the walls and the glass shards everywhere. I pretended not to notice the lack of a door as I went into the cleanest room in the house and listened to music on my school computer.

I didn’t hear as my parents fought for the upteenth time.

I didn’t hear my dad throwing bottles.

I didn’t hear my dad stab my mom with a broken bottle.

I didn’t hear my mom choke my dad as she bled out.

I didn’t hear both of my parents die to each other’s hands.

When I finally left my room, wondering why my dad hadn’t come into my room to complain about me being a daughter and not a son, I saw both of them, dead. I had no idea what to do, so I did what I did best. I ran as fast as I could. I looked at the address Aes had given me, and it was not too far from my house. After taking several wrong turns, I somehow made it to my destination. I knocked on the door, and even though it was pouring rain, I didn’t notice.

A medium height skinny boy with the same eye color as Aes opened the door and looked me up and down. I was terrified I was at the wrong house until Aes walked to the door. They weren’t in their usual hoodie, instead in a lavender tank top and black jean shorts. As soon as they saw me, they froze up. Once they’d collected themselves, they grabbed me by the shirt and dragged me inside, offering me a cup of yogurt once I was there.

“What happened?” they asked.

“I don’t know, all I saw was my parents...Oh God, they’re...” I broke down.

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Aes said.

“It’s not.” I whispered.

~~~~~~

I was staring at the adoption papers. It had been a full month and a half since the incident, and it felt surreal that Aes’ parents had listened when I asked them to adopt me. Their home was far better than anything I’d ever experienced with my bio parents. It was my job to confirm getting adopted was what I wanted, and I was trying my best to articulate that yes, in fact, I wanted to get adopted by these kind-ass people.

“You know, Pomni, we’re gonna be more than friends if this goes through You’ll be my sister.” Aes said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“That would make me so happy.” I whispered.

“You know, Joni loves you, and he’ll be excited to find out you’re gonna be our sister.” Aes said.

“I’m not sure he really likes me that much. I haven’t paid much attention to him.” I said.

“You played Zelda with him, and that’s one of his hyperfixations. You also helped him create monstrosities, which is enough for him to follow you forever.” Aes said.

“I guess I can ask how he’d feel if I became his sister.” I said.

Suddenly, Joni burst in, practically vibrating with excitement.

“YOU’RE GONNA BE OUR SISTER?!?!” he said, excited.

“If everything ges right, yeah.” I said.

Joni acted like he was gonna hug me but didn’t touch me.

“Air hug?” he said.

“I guess?” I responded.

Chapter Text

N’s POV

I was sipping at some oil I’d brought for lunch when I saw Aes got that look on their face. They had the most shit eating grin on their face, and I was concerned. They always had that look before they revealed something like how they’d had a pet Brown Recluse named Fuzzy Wuzzy as a child.

“So my parents adopted a girl recently.” they said.

“What’s she like?” I asked, excited.

“Well, she’s very short, and she’s kinda feral, and-” Aes was cut off by Pomni smacking them in the back of the head.

“And? What else?” I asked.

“She’s pretty sweet, and she goes to our school!” Aes said, smiling at Pomni.

“Yeah, Aes’ parents adopted me.” Pomni said.

“I have another person I can harvest organs from~” Aes chuckled, leading to Pomni smacking them in the back of the head again.

Everyone at the table was staring at the new siblings in shock. Meanwhile, Aes was sipping at their chocolate milk while Pomni started eating her sandwich. I think there were chips on that sandwich, because I heard the crunching echo through the entire cafeteria. Almost the rest of the lunch period was spent staring in shock at Pomni and Aes, who kept grinning at each other, probably happy that they were confusing us. Eventually someone spoke.

“So you’re not gonna arrive at school as early?” Zooble asked, disappointed.

“Well, we still arrive pretty dang early, so you get to watch me eat my breakfast.” Aes said.

“Why do you eat breakfast at school?” I asked.

“I got no time at home.” Aes said.

“Aes is wrong, they just scroll through their fanfictions for so long that they forget to eat.” Pomni said.

“What can I say? I like my Undertale fanfictions.” Aes said, smiling.

“Isn’t that fandom dead?” Gangle asked.

“Only kind of.” Aes defended.

“What is Undertale?” I asked.

“Only the best video game ever.” Uzi said.

“Yeah, I have it. You should come over and play it! Pomni’s been attempting Genocide.” Aes said.

“I’m sorry, I can’t, I have to take care of my little sister.” I said.

“What’s her name?” Aes asked.

“Cyn. She’s almost ten now.” I said, pulling out a picture of her.

“She’s cute.” Pomni said.

“She’s a psychopath. I watched her throw a chair because I was hanging out with her big brother.” V said.

“She’s learning, she didn’t understand how bad that was, but she knows better now.” I defended.

“She’s still a bit crazy.” Uzi said.

Aes seemed to suddenly come to a realization.

“If your parents say yes, you can take her with you. Chris has brought his little brother to my house before and it was fine. That way, you can keep an eye on her while you play Undertale!” Aes said.

Uzi and V were trying to shut Aes up, probably thinking they’d offend me, but I just smiled.

“Okay! I’ll come over this afternoon if Cyn’s willing to come with me!” I said.

~~~~~~

I entered my house, carrying a bag of groceries. I’d seen on the security cameras I had installed around the house that Cyn was quietly coloring in her room, which was very strange for her. As soon as I walked inside, I saw why. There were broken eggs everywhere, and an apology note from Cyn saying she was trying to bake me a cake. I sighed, cleaned up the eggs, and went into Cyn’s room to make sure she didn’t hurt herself.

“Cyn, are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, big brother N.” Cyn said in her odd way.

“It’s okay, as long as you aren’t hurt.” I said.

“Happy.” Cyn said happily.

“Would you like to come with me to hang out with some of my friends?” I asked.

“Excited nod!” Cyn said.

“Alright, then, let’s go!” I said, picking her up.

I walked the mile to Aes’ house, not feeling confident enough in my flying to fly with Cyn on my back. Once I got there, I put Cyn on the ground and rang the doorbell. The door opened, revealing Aes, who looked exhausted. They ushered us in, offering Cyn some leftover McDonald’s fries. Cyn eagerly took a few, and I could see she was happy. Suddenly, I heard someone screaming from downstairs, and I was immediately concerned.

“Fucking skeleton! God!” I heard Pomni shout.

“What was that scream?” I asked.

“Pomni. She’s trying to fight Sans. She sounded very similar when she was fighting Undyne the Undying.” Aes said.

Aes led Cyn and I downstairs, where Pomni looked ready to snap both her joy-cons in half. There was someone I didn’t know next to Pomni, but I just assumed he was the brother Aes had mentioned. He was snickering at poor Pomni as she tried and failed to defeat the skeleton boss she was fighting. As soon as Pomni failed her attempt, Aes gently took the controllers out of her hands. Pomni looked annoyed until she saw Cyn and I.

“Can N have a turn to try?” Aes asked.

“I think that would be smart, actually.” Pomni said.

Aes put the switch on their mom’s account, and they gave me the controllers.

“So if you need any help, ask! Also, you don’t have to kill anyone in this game. You can be friends with everyone!” Aes said.

“Yay! I love being friends with everyone!” I said.

“You can also murder everyone~” Pomni said.

“Go away! Go take your 5th couch nap for the day or something!” Aes said.

Pomni shrugged, flopped on the couch, and started dramatically fake snoring.

“Get outta here!” Aes said, poking Pomni with a stick.

“Fine, I’ll just watch. If he wants to go on the genocide run, I can help, though.” Pomni said.

“I don’t wanna go on the genocide run! I wanna be friends with everybody!” I said.

“I want to genocide, big brother.” Cyn said.

“Cyn, no.” I said.

“Cyn yes?” she said.

I picked Cyn up and put her in the flowery rocking chair in the corner. Immediately, she started rocking while eating her fries.

“You’re pretty good with her violent tendencies. Teach me your ways.” Aes said.

“Uh, well, you just need to be nice.” I said.

“Alright. Pomni, you have a nice shirt. I wonder where you got it.” Aes said.

“Oh, hardy-har-har.” Pomni said.

“Yeah, Pomni, I really like that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt. It’s a pretty cool shirt, Pomni. Tell me where you got it. I’d love to have that shirt.” Aes said.

“I get the point, I’ll give you your fucking shirt back.” Pomni hissed.

“Thank you, Pomni~” Aes said.

I was clicking buttons on the title screen. Since there was a monologue, I looked at Cyn and heard she was speaking as she rocked back and forth.

“Rock...rock...rock...rock...” Cyn said.

“Your sister is silly.” Aes said.

“Angry face. I am not silly.” Cyn said.

“Cyn, you’re very silly. We find it cute.” I said, looking back at the game.

~~~~~~

I was working as hard as I could. I needed the promotion and all, but I more so wanted to be the best worker I could be. Cyn needed a good example, and with our parents having ended up the way they did, I was planning on doing the best I could. I checked out this lady’s groceries, and once she had paid, I noticed she gave me $100 when her groceries only cost about $50. I grabbed her change, but she shook her head.

“Oh, it’s only a hundred. I can give you a few more, if you feel the need to give me change.” she said.

“It’s store policy, Ma’am. I don’t get any of the change I’m told to keep.” I said.

This lady looked at me like I’d told her my parents beat me with sticks.

“Oh, poor baby. How much do you make?” she asked.

“About $7.25 per hour, but I get by.” I said.

“Well, you’re still young, so at least you have your parents.” she said.

“They moved to Michigan last year.” I said.

“Oh. Well, how old are you?” she asked.

“I’m turning 16 in December.” I said, starting to get uncomfortable.

“Why do you live all the way up here, then? You’re just a boy!” she said.

“W-well, I’m emancipated...” I said, thoroughly uncomfortable.

“I’m so sorry about that.” she said, passing me $100.

I tried to put it in the till, but she shook her head.

“Keep it. Consider it a tip.” she said.

“Thanks, I guess?” I said.

“Oh, you don’t need to thank me, it’s my pleasure!” she said.

I watched her leave and started scanning the next customer’s groceries. The next customer was a crabby old man who looked like he worshipped Donald Trump. He immediately glared at me.

“Who do you think you are, bein’ all friendly with the customers?” he asked.

“I was just making small talk, sir. I always wanna do my best.” I said.

“Well, you’re below me in every way! You’re such a snowflake, taking care of a child that ain’t yours!” he screamed.

I kept my customer service smile on and scanned his groceries.

“You snowflakes are the reason we don’t have any jobs. Stupid p**sies.” the man said.

I kept on smiling as he kept being a jerk.

“I want to speak to your manager! You need to get fired!” the angry customer shrieked.

“I’ll call her over, okay?” I said as cheerfully as I could.

I pressed the button to call my manager, and she immediately ran over from what she was doing.

“N! Are you okay? You never call unless it’s an emergency!” she said.

“W-well, Miss Angie, this customer wanted to speak to you.” I said.

“Hello, then. What do you need?” Angie asked, tired.

“I need this snowflake fired! And where’s the real manager?!? I didn’t ask for a piece of eye candy!” the man shrieked.

“I am the manager, and I am asking you to kindly leave.” Angie hissed.

“You’re being racist! My brother-in-law is asian!” he screamed.

“And I’m half black, now get the hell out of here.” Angie said.

The man begrudgingly left, complaining about the injustice of it all.

“I’m sorry I called you.” I said.

“It’s alright. Your shift ends in an hour, right?” Angie asked.

“Yeah. Thanks.” I said.

“No problem, N.” Angie said.