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It was just another day.
You woke up, went to work, and now you were waiting on your bus so you could go back home and start all over again tomorrow. The only thing special about today is that it was raining and you, being the genius that you are, forgot your umbrella.
It was inconvenient, especially since this bus stop didn’t even have a cover, but at least you were able to find a little peace. When it rained it felt like the world was finally showing a little empathy for you. It was somewhat calming. But it also made you think..
You weren’t always like this, you recall. You close your eyes, trying to clear your thoughts.
You were just trying to use this time to relax. Focusing on the sound of the raindrops against the pavement, on the ripples they made in puddles, anything at all but your intrusive thoughts. But, like always, it was no use.
You weren’t always like this.
Once you were caring and kind, to a fault, even. You weren’t afraid of putting yourself out there for others. But the world taught you exactly how cruel it could be at an early age, didn’t it. That caring meant getting hurt. That being kind meant being taken advantage of. That being vulnerable meant giving others an easier target to hit. It’s what has led you to building all of these walls around yourself. But you still couldn’t deny that part of you that wanted to care. It is still who you are at your core.
That’s why it all still hurt, wasn’t it? Because you couldn’t let that part of you die. That little bit of blind hope surrounded by years of experience that told you otherwise. You felt like a walking contradiction..
. . .
You realize that you could no longer feel the rain pelting you and open your eyes in confusion. No way had it quit raining, you could still hear it pouring down.
Looking up, you see an obnoxiously orange umbrella hovering above you. And craning your neck to look behind you revealed a figure dressed in a black peacoat. They were so tall, you couldn’t even see the face of the person holding their umbrella out to you.
“HUMAN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”
You were taken aback by several things. This loud, cheery voice surprised you the most, being a striking contrast from the peaceful sound of rain. And, what did he call you? Human? That’s strange to call someone.
“I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE JUST SIT IN THE RAIN LIKE THIS.”
“Yeah.. I left my umbrella at home. And this is the only bus stop around, so..”
He moved to the side, attempting to make eye contact with you but still careful to keep you safe from the storm. He was a.. monster? A skeleton one, at that. He was definitely not what you were expecting and judging by his reaction, your expression must’ve given away your shock.
“Oh, um, sorry, human. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, if I did! I was just trying to-”
His voice had grown quieter, probably in an attempt to seem less threatening, you thought.
It had only been a few months since the monsters made their grand reappearance, and while you were comfortable with the monsters being practically next door, you still didn’t really expect them to be around, not to mention interact with you. Most monsters seemed to like keeping their distance.
“-here.”
You must’ve zoned out for a moment so you quickly try to register the situation. He was handing the umbrella over to you, concern plastered across his face. Oh god, he looked so worried, maybe even fearful. You just hoped he didn’t get the impression you were some anti-monster bigot like some humans around here were.
“No, no. I can’t take that. What about you? You need the umbrella just as much as I do.”
Then it dawned on you, he had been holding it over you the entire time, his peacoat already dampening.
“Oh! I'm so sorry, here, sit down, we can share it at least.” You scooch over a few inches, inviting him to join you and you see his face light up in joy.
“NYEH HEH HEH, GREAT THINKING, HUMAN! I WAS WORRIED FOR A MOMENT THAT I HAD TROUBLED YOU!”
“No, no, you’re fine. I- uh. Thanks for sharing your umbrella with me. You didn’t have to.”
“I AM AWARE OF THAT! BUT I WANTED TO DO IT, SEE? IT WOULD BE ASHAME IF YOU GOT SICK JUST BECAUSE OF A LITTLE RAIN.”
“THAT IS A THING, CORRECT? YOU HUMANS GET SICK IF YOU GET TOO WET.”
You smile up at him, even sitting down he still had quite the height advantage over you.
“Only sometimes,” you laugh. “It’s not really because we get wet, though. It’s just that-” you let the sentence trail off, uncomfortably letting your attention shift back to watching the rain. He wouldn’t want to hear your nerdy rambling, he was only being kind.
“JUST WHAT, HUMAN?”
Turning back towards the skeleton, you’re faced with his genuine interest as he leans in closer to you, wanting to catch every word. He really did stand out in this city.
“Well, um. It’s just that, if a human gets too cold or wet, our immune systems become less effective so that makes us more susceptible to diseases. The rain or cold doesn’t directly cause sickness.”
“WOWIE! I GUESS YOU DO LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY, DON’T YOU?”
“.. TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS CITY, HUMAN. MY BROTHER AND I HAVEN’T BEEN HERE FOR MORE THAN A FEW WEEKS, SO I HAVE YET TO EXPERIENCE MUCH OF YOUR WORLD. I WOULD ASK THE OTHER MONSTERS OR HUMANS BUT EVERYONE SEEMS SO BUSY HERE.”
Normally you would find his booming voice and overly cheerful personality tiring, but for whatever reason, it felt more soothing than anything. Maybe it was just the air about him. He seemed so open and nonjudgmental; something about him was truly refreshing.
His company made the wait seem much shorter than it was, and you found yourself lingering on the bench even as your bus pulled up.
“Well, this is me.” You tried to hide the disappointment in your voice.
“IT WAS NICE TALKING TO YOU, HUMAN! PLEASE TRY TO REMEMBER YOUR UMBRELLA NEXT TIME!”
“I KNOW YOU SAID RAIN DOESN’T DIRECTLY CAUSE ILLNESS, BUT IT IS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY!!”
You can’t help but smile to yourself, waving at him from over your shoulder.
“I’ll try.”
But you take another pause right as you are about to board the bus, you really didn’t want it to end here. You wanted to see him again..
Shaking your head to dismiss your thoughts, you step up onto the bus. No, it was better to leave it like this, right? To leave on a good note with him. Nothing could come to getting too close to anyone, anyways..
“H-HUMAN, WAIT!”
Caught off guard by his voice (boy he sure was good at that), you turn back to face him.
“WELL, SINCE YOU’VE ALREADY FORGOTTEN YOUR UMBRELLA ONCE, IT’S BOUND TO HAPPEN AGAIN, CORRECT?”
“SO, PERHAPS I COULD GET YOUR NUMBER, SO, YOU KNOW, I COULD TEXT YOU THE FORECAST AND...AND MAKE SURE YOU’RE NOT CAUGHT IN THE RAIN AGAIN!”
His reasoning was more than a bit off and he seemed less confident than before, despite his voice keeping its boastfulness.
“Sure, if you want.”
Grabbing a piece of paper from your bag, you quickly jot your number down for him and place it in his red gloved hand.
“NYEH HEH HEH, THANK YOU! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER RUN INTO THIS ISSUE AGAIN! I PROMISE YOU!”
Papyrus, was that his name? A font? You almost laugh but realize your own mistake of forgetting to introduce yourself, as well.
“Oh, shoot, I almost forgot, I’m ____.”
The bus driver gives a loud cough, indirectly hurrying you to get on so he could close the doors and be on his way.
Taking a step away from the doors you add, “It was nice meeting you!”
“LIKEWISE-” Papyrus was cut off abruptly as the doors shut with an irritable squeak but he continued to wave his goodbyes to you nonetheless and you took your seat.
Even though your encounter had been brief, you already had a good read on that strange skeleton, Papyrus. He was an open book so it wasn’t hard to see his true character despite still being practically strangers. Someone like him just didn’t fit in. He was so cheery and bright. Too kind and too trusting. People around here would surely take advantage of him.
But those things were exactly what you liked about him.
You look over your shoulder and out the rain-spattered window to watch that ridiculous orange umbrella get smaller and smaller into the distance; you watched it until your bus rounded the next corner, its bright color being the perfect contrast to the gloomy rain and grey buildings of the city.
He definitely didn’t fit in.
But maybe, if someone like him could make it here, so could you.