Chapter Text
“Bye Kris! And. . . umm. . . bye Susie!"
“Umm. . . see ya”
Noelle turned to leave the computer lab, but as she reached the doorway, she gave into temptation and turned around. In her dream, she could have sworn she had seen Susie with a tail. She tilted her head, hoping to spot it, but she tripped over her own hooves and dropped her books all over the floor. Susie whipped around and immediately questioned the flustered Noelle behind her.
“WHAT!? WHAT!? Are you looking for something!?”
“UH… NOTH- oh”
Noelle looked through everything she’d dropped, all her books were there, but- “I, can’t find my key”
Ugh, this had been the second time this week she’d misplaced her key. She wasn’t in the mood to break into her own house tonight, and she was pretty sure Catti had work this evening so-
“Uhhh, can’t your mom just let you in?” Susie said, interrupting her train of thought
“Oh she gets off of work at like 10 on a good day” Noelle chuckled to herself as she finally got all her belongings back together, “I doubt she’s home”
“Okay, come hang out with us for a while then”
Noelle’s ears shot up. Did she hear that right? Susie, asking her to hang out!?!? Well she did agree to study together, well, before she fell asleep for Angel knows how long. But Noelle has asked SUSIE to study for school, now Susie’s asking HER to just, HANG OUT!?!? CASUALLY!?
“That sounds great! Oh, but I should probably go visit dad. I, don’t want him to get bored, ya know?”
Susie shrugged, “Well, if your mom’s busy doing mayor stuff when you’re done, you should like, stop by Kris’s. We were gonna go work on our project, or something”
“I told her there'll be pie” Kris corrected as they began to collect, spare computer mice? “Ya well pie makes studying way more tolerable dumbass!” Susie blurted out as she shoved Kris to the side, before turning her attention back to Noelle
“If you don’t it’s whatever, more pie for me”
Noelle stood as she watched the two walk out the library, she was too caught up in her own head to even notice that they’d stolen almost half the computer lab
“You okay there kiddo? You’ve been staring at the game for a while now. I’ll be fit as a fiddle by next turn at this rate!”
Noelle snapped out of her daydream as her dad laughed at his own joke. She had been thinking about Susie’s invitation so much she’d completely forgotten about the boss she was in the middle of battling
“Sorry dad, just, distracted”
“Well it outta be something good if it takes priority from spending time with dear ole dad”
Noelle failed to hide the blush forming on their face. Gosh it had been a nice daydream
“It’s just, Susie wanted to know if I wanted to hang out later.”
Rudy raised an eyebrow “Oh really, hang out and do what now?”
“Oh nothing just, working on our projects at Kris’s house is all! Nothing really, Fahaha!” Noelle looked away. “Well, that and Ms. Toriel is making pie.”
“Well it sounds to ME like you outta skidaddle! You think you’re gonna get a slice of homemade pie with Krismas lurking around? You’d have a better shot convincing your mother to take a day off!”
Rudy nudged Noelle lightly. Noelle looked up at her father confused. “But-”
“Oh don’t you worry, I ain’t going anywhere. You’ll just have to spend EXTRA time with me at church tomorrow” Rudy insisted as he handed Noelle her bookbag
“Okay okay I’m going. I’ll bring you some pie if there’s any left.”
“You better” Noelle started out of the room, but stopped as her father cleared his throat “Oh, before ya go, tell that Susie girl that if she makes one wrong move-”
Noelle laughed, “GOODBYE DAD!” She shut the door to her father’s room, but not even the mighty hospital door could muffle her dad
“TELL HER I’LL KICK HER ASS!”
She’d nearly forgotten how good Toriel’s cooking was. Noelle, Susie, and Toriel, pie safely secured, sat in the living room. It’d been years since Noelle had visited the Dreemurr household. She hadn’t been there since before, she disappeared. But despite the years, hardly anything had changed. Like a time capsule finally being opened. She remembered sitting here watching the TV. She thought about all the times they sat and watched while Kris tried their best to pull some elaborate prank, only halted by the careful gaze of their older siblings. It felt right to be sitting here again. Even if Kris was, nowhere to be seen. Is it because I’m here? Noelle thought to herself as Toriel excused herself outside. Surely it is. We haven’t properly spoken in years, and here I am sitting here like nothing ever happened. Noelle sat there quietly, poking at her plate of pie before Susie finally spoke up.
So, uhhhh, how’s your project coming along?”
“Oh it’s going okay. We’re a little behind, after today, but I’ve been in crunch time before. I’ll just have to stay up late tonight to finish. What’re you and Kris doing your project on?”
Susie looked flustered at Noelle’s question, “You guys did, start right?”
“Uhhhh, course we did,” Susie spouted before looking around frantically, her eyes locked onto something in the kitchen. “Kris! Tell Noelle about our project!”
Noelle turned to look out into the kitchen as well, where Kris had finally shown themselves. They turned, an equally flustered look on their face. They mumbled something, but it was incomprehensible, for their face was completely stuffed with pie. Noelle sighed as she chuckled to herself. But that conversation quickly ended as Toriel opened the front door. Noelle thought she looked scared for a second. But as she spoke, Toriel didn’t even seem shaken.
“Susie, Noelle, why don’t you children just spend the night tonight? It’s already gotten so late, I’d hate for you to walk home in the cold”
Susie stood up, “Really?! I mean, if it’s alright with you.”
Toriel clapped her hands, “Perfect! You three can just spend the night here on the couch! It’s always been used to being a bed.”
“Wait, Ms. Toriel!” Noelle interjected, “I really should be getting back. My mother will worry if she gets home before me! She doesn’t even know I’m here!”
Noelle shuddered at the thought of facing her mom’s wrath. Last time she had been out past her curfew, she’d been grounded for longer than she even thought groundings could possibly last. But as Toriel picked up the phone next, some of her worries alleviated
“Oh worry not my child, I’ll talk to her. I’m sure Mrs. Holiday will understand”
Noelle breathed a sigh of relief, though her worries were not fully elevated. But any worries of her mother disappeared as Susie cheered
“You know what this means you two?” Noelle and Kris, whose face was now fully unpied, looked at her intrigued as Susie began to poke around the living room.
“All. Night. Movie. Marathon! Kris, where the heck do you keep the remote around here?”
Kris shambled onto the couch next to Noelle, reaching their arms deep into the couch cushion, unveiling a remote from deep within the couch before tossing it to Susie. Susie looked at the remote in her claws, a satisfied grin on her face, before she plopped down on the couch with the other 2. Noelle, twiddling her thumbs nervously, found herself sandwiched between the two as they bickered about what to watch. After much debate, they finally settled on an old kaiju movie. The effects were dated, especially the giant lizard’s suit, but the puppet for the plant monster was masterful for the time. Her nervousness settled a little as Noelle found herself laughing alongside the two as they leaped from topic to topic, before sleep finally took them
Kris laid there, pretending to sleep for what seemed like forever. This wasn’t the plan, Noelle shouldn’t be here. Not tonight. They hesitated, contemplated calling it off. Postponing the next Darkworld. But they didn’t know when they’d get another opportunity. But they went through with the plan, Carol would have showed up if it wouldn’t work, after all. Kris, their soul now wedged in the couch, slowly opened the door to their house. Noelle was a wild card, they didn’t know what to expect anymore, but they’re used to thinking on their feet. Kris raised the knife to the air, channeling their will into the blade. They gazed upon the sleeping Susie and Noelle, before plunging it deep into the floor. The darkness began to fill the room, they only had a few moments to work now. They turned on the TV, hoping it understood its assignment, before sitting back on the couch besides Noelle as the darkness consumed the room