Chapter Text
Fall had come in the remote town, but one could be forgiven for believing that the town, whose native trees bore naught but amber leaves all year-round, was enveloped in a neverending autumn.
Crisp, orange leaves struggle to remain attached to the branches of their withering creators.
Eventually their will gives in, and they snap off, without making so much as a peep, before beginning their gradual descent towards the earth.
Before their journey can end, however, a gentle breeze carries them off their trajectory and onto its own unruly one. Unfazed by the leaves, the breeze continues on, passing through the quiet autumn town, complimenting the tepid weather.
A young boy watches the leaves drift by as he rests upon a flowerbed, splayed out on the soil in his green-and-yellow striped sweater, with a little red hornband sat atop his head. As he continues to watch the leaves float in the air through the slits between his long, brown bangs, he is nearly lulled to sleep by the serenity.
His eyelids begin to close involuntarily, but he is suddenly jolted awake by a loud voice in the distance.
"Hey! Kris! Is that you?"
There was no mistaking that happy-go-lucky voice, it was the boy's big brother. The boy turns his head in the direction of the yelling and sees his brother in the distance, jogging towards him. The two of them always wore near-identical striped sweaters, so it was easy to tell they were related despite their lack of physical resemblance. His brother was an interesting young man. He knew of nothing but kindness, and was revered by all who knew him on account of his long list of academic and athletic accomplishments, as well as his general tendency to help the townsfolk whenever they had problems. Ironically, his only real flaw was that same kindness, which kept him blissfully naive. He was often clueless to the harsh realities of the world that others, including even the boy, who was much younger than him, were privy to. Malice, disingenuity, domestic disputes... these were all foreign concepts to his big brother, or just things he was... purposefully ignorant of. Seeing his brother closing in on his position, the boy sits up to greet his rapidly approaching sibling.
"Howdy, li'l bro! Is this where you've been hiding? C'mon, the girls are waiting for us! Besides, I, uh, don't think you want the mayor to catch you lying here, haha!"
The boy picks himself up off the flowerbed and jogs behind his brother, who ushers him up the nearby walkway.
"Yo, Azzy! You find him?"
A familiar voice calls out from in front of the huge, white mansion at the end of the walkway. It was the older of the two sisters with whom they spent so much time. The snarky one who was always getting up to trouble. She was wearing a black-and-red checkered flannel jacket and a pair of ripped jeans, with messy, frizzy, brown hair perched upon her head. In a way, he kind of envied her carefree lifestyle. Unlike his brother, she understood that not all facets of life were perfect. Even though her life being the mayor's daughter was burdensome and full of expectations, she always found reason to smile, despite her tendency to not meet those aforementioned expectations. Some part of him was always drawn to that defiant nature of hers, even if it would save her parents a lot of headache if she toned her delinquency down just a notch... but at the same time, he also admired his brother's unwavering kindness and discipline, and understood there was merit to following the rules every once in a while. Speaking of which, his brother had now caught up to her, and they were both waiting on the boy to catch up.
"Yeah, I found him. Caught him napping on your mom's flowers. Saved him from another lecture."
His brother informs her as the boy finally catches up. She looks down at him and gives him one of her infamous half-sincere, half-sarcastic smiles.
"Aww, that true, K.D.? You give 'em a good trample for me?"
She asked enthusiastically. As expected, his brother is taken aback by the comment.
"... Dess, I don't think your mom would be so annoyed with you all the time if you didn't do stuff like... trample her flowers..."
He says with a worried smile on his face. Her face sours as she crosses her arms defiantly and looks away.
"Tch. She'd be annoyed even if I didn't trample them..."
After a second, she glances back down at the boy, before uncrossing her arms and regrowing a smile on her face.
"... but hey! You guys ready to get your asses handed to you at baseball again? Remember, it's Holidays - 4 and Dreemurrs - 0!"
"D-Dess! Don't swear in front of Kris!"
His brother shouts nervously. She lets out a hearty laugh.
"Don't be such a prune, Az. Maybe if you loosen up, you won't have to rely on Kris to make all the runs for your team."
His brother sighs and looks down at the boy, slightly embarrassed. Baseball was maybe the one thing he had his big brother beat at... but then again, he could just be losing on purpose because he had a crush on the older sister, which the boy always found surprising given their opposite personalities. Even more surprising was the fact that she seemed to be the only one oblivious to his crush on her.
The older sister turns back to face her front door, which is still open, and calls out.
"Yo, Noe! We're waiting on you!"
Then, she turns back around quickly and whispers quietly to the boy.
"Hey, K.D., I already know what you're planning, and don't you even think about it. I've barely been able to get her to sleep the last few days because of that stupid story you told about ICE-E's last week. So no more tricks, jackass! Or else the bat's gonna have a few more choice words for you."
The boy feels a bead of sweat form and crawl down the back of his neck.
Just then, they all hear the distant clacking of hooves against the smooth, hardwood floor of the mansion and turn to face the doorway.
A small figure timidly exits from behind the doorframe. The younger sister. His best friend.
The resemblance between the two sisters was uncanny, although their similarities ended just about there. She sported long, wavy, golden hair, which she had tied into two pigtails that day. She was wearing an oversized Christmas sweater, a red scarf, and a pair of earmuffs. She had always been a timid girl, for as long as he could remember. Unlike her sister, the pressure of being the mayor's daughter did not lead her down a path of defiance, but rather one of unquestioning obedience and order, not too dissimilar from his brother, though without the confidence. However, despite essentially having completely opposite personalities, the two sisters had an undying love for one another, and it was rare for anything to ever get between them.
"Hi, Azzy!"
She calls out excitedly and runs down the steps to give the boy's big brother a hug.
"Hey, Noelle! Good to see you!"
He exclaims happily while hugging her back. Then, she lets go of his brother and turns to face the boy with a nervous expression on her face. The two of them had been best friends for as long as he could remember. They had known each other their whole lives, and thanks to their parents being good friends, they got to do everything together. She'd always been a little frightened of him because of the tricks he liked to play on her, but he knew she was always happy whenever they got to spend time together, as was he. Then, as if she could read his thoughts, her nervous expression slowly shifts to a wide grin, unveiling her buck teeth.
"Hi, Kris."
She says softly. He smiles back at her and is about to respond, but for some reason her voice continues to echo in his ear...
"Kris... Kris... Kris..."
"Kris!"
Kris suddenly awoke in a cold sweat.
"Kris, if you do not wake up, we will be late for school!"
His mother said, gently shaking him from his bedside. He groaned as he rolled over to face her.
"... alright, alright. I'm getting up..."
He said in a raspy, phlegm-filled morning voice. His mother smiled as she kissed his forehead, before getting up from his bedside.
"I will wait outside for you, alright?"
She left the room, shutting the door behind her. Kris's gaze absentmindedly traveled to his ceiling. He looked up, manually blinking his eyes repeatedly, trying to mentally prepare himself for the day ahead. Once he was conscious enough, he looked around the room briefly...
... but found nothing out of place or noteworthy... at least not on his half of the room. His side of the room was... barren... to say the least. Not because his parents were neglectful or anything. In fact, his mother had been adamantly encouraging him to decorate for the last few years, as there was a time when his room was relatively furnished, but these days he really just couldn't be bothered with something he found so frivolous. On the other hand, his brother's half of the room had hundreds of cool things to gander at: trophies, posters, mementos. It was like a museum, one to Hometown's pride and joy. Though, it could definitely use some dusting. Asriel had been gone for quite some time now... Not dead or anything, just off to university, in a city far from Hometown, studying whatever major he felt like studying that semester... He was a chronic major switcher, you see. Kris missed his brother. Asriel had been going to university for a few years and hadn't been home in months... but why did it feel like Kris had seen him just recently...?
...
Oh yeah, his dream! He'd completely forgotten about it when he woke up. Funny how dreams work like that. He'd seen his brother in his dream. That dream, it was...
...
The more he thought about it, the harder it was to exactly call it a dream. That dream... Everything that happened in it really happened. Seven years ago. For some reason, that day was so vivid in his mind. He remembered that he was eleven at the time, and that his brother had just turned fifteen. They spent the day playing baseball with the Holiday sisters, like they'd done many a time.
So he dreamt a memory... but how can you dream a memory? He'd never had anything like that happen to him before, but... he had been reminiscing about the past lately... and he noticed that his dreams were usually a culmination of things he'd thought about recently, but never before had he dreamt a perfect retelling of an actual event in his life...
... Maybe he'd been reminiscing a little more than he thought...
To say that Kris yearned for the days of his childhood would be an understatement. Back then, his family was all together. Him, his brother, his mother, and his father. Not to mention the Holidays, their neighbors, who might as well have been part of their family with how much the two families would spend time together. Kris's father was old college buddies with Rudy Holiday, the father of the Holiday sisters. It was through them that the two families were acquainted. The wives got along well, and introduced their firstborns to each other the moment they were both born. Then, they did the same with Kris and... her...
...
... Noelle...
Kris couldn't recall a time when he didn't know Noelle Holiday. They might as well have been actual siblings, the way they were glued to each other as kids. She was always impressionable, and he was always... uh... impressioning...? Usually not in a good way. He would always play practical jokes on her, like the time he put ketchup on his arms and told her it was blood, or the time he told her that ICE-E, the pizza place mascot, was real and eats kids. Dess whacked him pretty hard for scaring her with that one. He never took things too far, but looking back on everything now, he definitely could have been a little nicer... Well, it's not like their entire friendship consisted of just pranks. They played all sorts of games together and had each other's backs at the end of the day. Noelle would always help him with school, and homework, and the like, and he would make sure she never got picked on by anybody, which, of course, in retrospect he sees was kind of hypocritical, but the hypocrisy never crossed his mind as a kid. She was... his best friend, after all...
... but of course... things happened... and everyone went their separate ways. Kris lived alone with his mom now. Asriel was off at university. His father owned a little flower shop by the lake, which also doubled as his residence. Rudy had come down with an illness recently and had been bedridden in the hospital for the last few months. His wife, Carol, was the mayor of Hometown, and, as such, she was constantly busy, and word around school was she had become a much stricter parent as well. Dess was living on Hometown Community College campus and didn't visit home often.
... and Noelle... well...
She and Kris both shared Ms. Alphys's class in school, which was nothing new since they had always shared the same class, and they both attended service at the same church every weekend, but now they rarely ever spoke to each other anymore. Kris wasn't even really sure why. There was no bad blood between them, no inciting incident that caused them to stop talking, no reason for them to have stopped being friends. It was just happenstance. Their friendship was caught in the crossfire of familial drama. He didn't really know much about what she had been up to the last five or so years. They had both moved on, adopted new hobbies, made new friends. Of course, he was lamentful about the fact that they had drifted apart, and in hindsight he would have put more of an effort into maintaining the friendship, but he figured there was no use in crying over spilled milk. He... was a different person now... with a new life.
...
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
Kris was suddenly startled by a loud vibration coming from his dresser. It was his phone. He grabbed it from atop the dresser and quickly flipped it open and answered the call, forgetting to check the caller ID first.
"Hello?"
He said with the phone up against his ear, voice still raspy.
"Kris! I have been waiting in the car for nearly ten minutes! Whatever have you been doing?"
His mother's voice asked worriedly through the speaker. He got so lost in thought, he almost forgot about school entirely.
"Right, sorry. I'm on the way out right now."
"That is alright, dear. Just be quick or we are going to be late."
That was a lie. Even if they left in half an hour, they would still be early. His mother, even if she was a teacher, was strangely insistent on getting to school extremely early.
"Got it. I'll be right out."
He said before hanging up the call and putting the phone in his pocket. Finally, he crawled out of bed and let out a huge yawn. Thankfully, he was already in his school getup since lately he'd just been sleeping in his day clothes. He still wore the same exact kind of sweater as when he was a kid, green-and-yellow stripes and all. It was fall anyways so he liked having on more layers while he slept. The khaki pants, on the other hand, were not as comfy to sleep in, but not uncomfy enough for him to go through the trouble of changing into pajamas before bed. He stretched his arms briefly before slipping on his brown leather shoes and walking downstairs and into the bathroom.
He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He never really knew what to make of his physical appearance. In a town full of monsters, Kris was the only human, so he had nobody to compare himself to. Humans were never shown and rarely ever mentioned by his school's history books, or by anyone for that matter, so he never quite knew what weight his status as a human even held. He didn't know what the future had in store for him as a human living in a town of monsters, but lately he'd been thinking about how his family used to be, and how maybe one day he might have a family like that of his own. The whole family sitting in the living room and watching TV, cooking dinner and baking pastries, walking to church together on Sundays. It sounded like the perfect life in his head, but he wasn't even sure if it was possible to achieve. At least, not in this town. He had never seen nor heard of a relationship between a human and a monster. He didn't know if it was looked down upon, or forbidden, or if they were even capable of having children together. Everyone he's talked to is either clueless or extremely uncomfortable when the topic of human and monster relationships gets brought up, which sucked because he just wanted to know if he'd have to be single forever or not. Well, not forever obviously. If nothing else, he'd find a human girl once he moved out, but that's besides the point.
From what he understood, monsters had extremely varied body types compared to humans. Some, like the Holidays, who were reindeer monsters, looked fairly similar to him, minus the hooves and antlers. His own family, the Dreemurrs, were goat monsters, and shared a vague resemblance to him. In fact, when Kris was really little, he thought that living with a family of goat monsters meant that he himself must be a goat too, but that his horns just hadn't grown in yet. Not wanting to break his little heart, his parents bought him a little red headband with horns on it to tide him over, which he used to wear all the time. Of course, eventually he realized that he wasn't really a son of the Dreemurrs, and the headband hasn't been seen since. It took time, but he came to terms with his humanity, and his mother did a good job of making sure everybody in town knew Kris was just as much a monster as the rest of them. He wasn't sure why Hometown was exclusive to monsters, but he was thankful for his mother's endeavors nevertheless. Nowadays, the townsfolk treated him the same as anybody else, and from what he could glean, the monsters in town generally found him good-looking despite his alien nature, so that was definitely a plus for his self-confidence. Even still, people found his crimson red eyes unsettling, so he always kept his bangs long to hide them. That was the catch, he figured. His hair was generally fairly long anyways, at shoulder-length, so the bangs sort of matched.
Kris quickly brushed his teeth and combed his hair, before running upstairs to grab his backpack, and back down and out the front door. His mother was standing outside, holding the passenger seat door of her red minivan open for him.
"Kris! There you are! We might still be able to make it!"
Again, that was a pretty big exaggeration, but he digressed. She ushered him into the car and shut the passenger door once he was inside. He strapped his seatbelt on while she looped around to the driver's side and got in, also strapping herself in, before starting up the car. She slowly pulled out of their driveway and onto the streets of Hometown.
"Kris... It is a beautiful day today, is it not?
Kris looked through the car window and caught a brief glimpse of a wayward orange leaf, floating through the distant sky.
"... it sure is."
As Kris exited the car onto the staff parking lot grounds, his mother grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along gently as she jogged towards the entrance of the school. Hometown was pretty small, so the town only had one school for all pre-college education, which is why he and his mother went to the same school even though he was a high school senior and she was a grade school teacher. Once they were inside and had reached the branching hallway where they had to part ways, his mother knelt down to give him a big hug, before they waved goodbye and went on to their respective classrooms. Approaching the door to Ms. Alphys's classroom, Kris heard several voices chattering loudly from inside. Other people decided to show up early that day too, he figured. Upon opening the door and walking inside, he found himself in the middle of a heated argument. Kris just stood there in the doorframe for a second, unnoticed.
"No way, dude! I tried it for like two hours and I couldn't beat it, yo! There's no way you got it on your first try!"
M.T. exclaimed.
"Believe what you will, but my beak spews nothing but the truth! I beat the Amethyst Weapon superboss on my first try! It was simple, really. For a gamer of my caliber, anyway."
Berdly proclaimed proudly.
"C'mon! Nobody can beat that thing first try! If you really beat it, how'd you do it?"
Snowy chimed in.
"Hmph. Well, if you must know... I devised a little plan that involved the use of Blaze Potions and Level 3 Fire Monsteria..."
Once Berdly started listing off his strategy for beating the boss, Kris took that as his sign to tune out and walk to his seat. Berdly was the self-proclaimed "Smartest Kid in Class," though everyone knew Noelle was the real smartest student. He was a bluebird monster and only ever talked academics or video games. According to his hierarchy, Kris was the third smartest kid in class, after him and Noelle, which was way higher than Kris thought he deserved honestly. Kris and Berdly were unofficially "gaming rivals" in Berdly's words, though it wasn't much of a rivalry since Berdly hardly ever stood a chance against him in any game they went head-to-head at. All those years of losing to Asriel at fighting games made it so Kris had enough experience to take Berdly on with ease, so maybe it wasn't a complete waste of time getting his butt kicked at games his whole childhood.
"Ah, Kris! You can solve this little dilemma. Kris was witness to my feat, you see. Kris, tell them how I bested the Amethyst Weapon on my first try!"
Berdly requested as Kris passed by his desk.
"You beat it in like five hours after you died a bunch of times and switched up your loadout over and over."
Kris said without hesitation.
"Yo, I knew it!"
M.T. shouted in triumph.
"H-huh?! Those first attempts don't count, Kris, and you know it! I won on my first attempt using the optimal loadout! All other previous attempts are null and void! Null and void, I tell you!"
" 'Null and void'? I think you mean, 'you got destroyed!' "
Snowy refuted, with one of his iconic "not really a joke" jokes. Snowdrake, or Snowy for short, and Monster Teen, or M.T. for short, were two best friends who were always getting up to aimless shenanigans. Faceplanting stunts, headbashing doors, headbutting handballs into police cars, you name it. They used their heads for lots of things, on account of them both having no arms. Kris wasn't sure if that was why they became friends in the first place or if it was just a strange coincidence. Sometimes, he wondered if there was such a thing as an armless human. Aside from their lack of arms, there wasn't a clear category of monster that either of them fell under, but they definitely weren't the same kind. M.T. was slightly taller and slimmer, with a yellow, reptilian-like body, and Snowy was stouter, with a blue body that vaguely resembled a dragon-like drake, if he had to make a distinction.
As they continued to argue, Kris silently removed himself from the conversation and continued on towards his desk. On the way, he passed by Noelle's desk. They made eye contact for a split second before both quickly looking away, awkwardly. For some reason, he felt especially awkward in her presence that day. Probably because of the dream, if he had to guess. He passed by Noelle and sat in his seat, which was one seat down and to the right of hers. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw Catti, who was sat at the desk next to Kris and behind Noelle, tap on Noelle's shoulder, provoking her to turn around. Before speaking, Catti beckoned Temmie over from across the classroom with her paw. Temmie's face lit up as she hopped excitedly out of her seat and wobbled over to Catti and Noelle.
"Yaya! Why you call Tem for, Catti?"
Temmie asked excitedly.
"Yeah, what's up, Catti?"
Noelle asked.
"... Next month. Mulberries concert. Hometown Music Center. You guys wanna go...?"
Catti asked unenthusiastically. Catti was a cat monster and was longtime friends with Kris. Not for as long as him and Noelle were, but longtime nonetheless. Stoic and loving of all things dark, Catti was an intimidating figure to be sure. In middle school, she and Kris used to practice sketchy occult rituals they found on the internet together. Kris grew out of that phase eventually, but Catti ended up embracing it as her personality going into high school. Regardless, they remained friends, and still hung out from time to time. Temmie, on the other hand, was about the furthest you could get from Catti personality-wise. Kris was honestly a little baffled at how close of friends they were. Sporadic and a little ditsy, but with a big, naive heart, Temmie was, in a lot of ways, the life of the classroom. Like M.T. and Snowy, her physical appearance was sort of ambiguous. She looked kind of like a dog, but also kind of like a cat...? Not in an anthropomorphic way like basically every other monster he knew, she just looked like an actual dog or cat. The three girls were the closest thing you could call to a clique in the class. Though, they didn't collectively share many interests, they were just a big group of friends... Three people was a lot in a class of nine students.
"Malberriez? Did u say Malberriez? Yaya, off course Tem wants to go with friendz!"
"Really? The Mulberries are playing here? Yeah, the three of us should totally go!"
Noelle said enthusiastically. The Mulberries were one of the only things all three of them collectively enjoyed. They were a popular rock band of traveling monsters. A lot of kids at their school liked them. Even Kris, to an extent.
"... Then it's decided. I'll buy four tickets online once I get home. You guys can pay me back at the concert."
Catti said.
"Huh? Four? Why four?"
Noelle asked, puzzled. Catti sighed before responding.
"Big sister. Found out about concert. Insisted on tagging along. A pity."
"Oh, no, it's fine. I like Catty. She comes to service on Sundays sometimes, and we talk after choir. She's nice."
Noelle reassured. Catti just let out another sigh. Noelle gave her a nervous smile.
"Come on, Catti. It won't be that bad. I mean, you know Catti's sister, don't you, Tem?"
"Yaya, Tem know big Catty! Sometimes she lets Tem into her house and lets Tem play with yarn ball!"
"... I've never seen you in my house before, Tem."
Catti said, confused. Temmie also gave Catti a nervous smile before clarifying.
"Uhm... big Catty only lets Tem inside when smol Catti is not home. Said u would be embarrass."
Catti stared at her for a second, blinking her eyes repeatedly.
"... Guess she knows more about me than I thought."
Kris tried not to eavesdrop any more, since it was really none of his business. It was hard to hear their conversation anyway with Berdly screeching from his desk, which just so happened to be right in front of Kris's.
" 'sup, Kris."
A voice called out nonchalantly from the desk behind him. Recognizing the voice, he smiled and turned around in his chair to greet the speaker.
"What's up, Susie."
He responded. Susie gave him a wide, fang-filled grin. He could tell it was sincere even with her long bangs, not too dissimilar from his, covering her eyes. They clasped their hands together firmly, before transitioning the clasp into a handshake, and then finally letting go. They didn't have a name for this legendary move yet, but they'd been brainstorming ideas.
"If I knew you were gonna be late, I wouldna showed up on time."
She followed up, still grinning. Susie was a purple dragon monster, the only one Kris had ever seen. She always wore a raggedy purple jacket, which nearly matched the color of her skin, and a pair of ripped jeans, along with some old, beat-up black sneakers. She was feared by the entire school because of her towering stature and unmatched strength. She transferred to their class last year from a different school, and people were scared of her before she even had a chance to make a name for herself. She had never been in a fight, at least not in Hometown to anyone's knowledge, but she did pick on people from time to time. She used to pick on Kris too, until a few months ago in junior year, when they were accidentally locked in the school's supply closet together for seven hours straight. At first, Susie was furious and kept pacing around the room and trying to kick down the door. Eventually, she gave in and sat down, with her back against the closet door, with Kris sitting on the opposite end of the room. With nothing else to do, they started talking. Susie was reluctant at first, but eventually she warmed up to him. They talked about everything: School, movies, games, food. She even apologized for picking on him, albeit as indirectly as she possibly could... but still, Kris appreciated the gesture. Since the incident, they'd been hanging out almost every day. The class was in awe at how quickly Kris and Susie's dynamic shifted from bully and bullee to friend and purple friend. However, the class came to accept, or, at the very least, respect their friendship, even if they were still scared of Susie.
"Late? I'm way early! What do you mean late?"
Kris refuted, while also still grinning.
" 'Way early' is still late for you, dude. Usually you're the first one here."
"You can thank my mom for that. I'd rather have the extra thirty minutes of sleep given the choice."
Susie nodded in response.
"Sleep rules, man. Sleep rules."
She agreed, in a weirdly serious tone.
"What's going on today?"
Kris asked.
"Hell if I know. For once, we all beat Alphys to class."
"Oh, I didn't even realize she isn't here yet."
"Heh, really? I can't even picture being in this room without her talking my damn ear off."
"Dude, c'mon. She's not that annoying."
"She is too! Man, last week she was going off about that difference of chairs junk for like forty minutes straight. I was probably the closest anyone's ever been to seriously dying of boredom!"
"... You mean difference of squares?"
"Dude, whatever. You get the point."
Just then, the classroom door swung open and in the doorframe stood Ms. Alphys, their teacher, panting, and hunched over with one hand on her knee.
"G-Good morning, class! Sorry for being late, traffic was just awful on the way!"
Ms. Alphys was always a nervous wreck. She had a hard time speaking to people, and was often intimidated by students. Not even by scary ones like Susie, just by your average everyday student. She was hired thanks to a recommendation from Kris's mother, Toriel, and as a teacher she did a fine enough job. She was a stout, yellow lizard monster, not unlike M.T., though they definitely were different. Main difference being... she had arms.
"Worry not, our beloved teacher! We, your treasured students, understand the hardships of teacherhood, and elect to grant you the proverbial 'late pass' on this wondrous morning of mornings!"
Berdly proclaimed loudly. Ms. Alphys stared at him, a little dumbfounded.
"... T-Thank you, Berdly...?"
She said, not quite sure what to make of Berdly's comment.
"A-Anyways, class. As you know, today is the day we will be assigning p-partners for the next group project."
Ms. Alphys declared.
"Project? I don't remember hearing about any project?"
Susie whispered to Kris.
"She's been talking about it nonstop for two weeks. How did you hear all forty minutes of her math lecture, but not this?"
Kris asked in amazement.
"I dunno what to tell you, dude. I've got selective hearing, I guess. Anyways, we're gonna be partners again, right?"
"Yeah, for sure, but no freeloading this time!"
"I wasn't freeloading last time! I was your supervisor!"
"You were barely even awake while I was working on it!"
"Fine! I'll help this time! Just don't make me get stuck working with one of these other bozos!"
"As you also all already know, the project will be on the h-history of Hometown itself. Each group will have to make a model of one historic building or landmark in town, as well as write an analysis paper on its historical significance. N-No less than five pages, of course, like all of our other research papers. Make sure you check in with me by next week the latest to make sure you and another group haven't picked the same landmark. O-Oh, right, and the project will be due exactly a month from today."
Ms. Alphys explained.
"Uhh, she speaking in hieroglyphs? What was all that?"
Susie whispered to Kris again.
"I'll explain it to you after class."
Kris whispered back.
"Now, a-after what happened last time, I've decided it's best if I select the groups this time around."
Ms. Alphys stated hesitantly.
"What?!"
The whole class cried out in unison. Ms. Alphys jumped in her seat, despite anticipating the reaction.
"C-Class, calm down! Last time I let you guys choose partners, you brought in a cup of dirt and a volcano model with molten cheese in it as lava for your projects!"
"Hell yeah! Cup of dirt!"
M.T. and Snowy cheered simultaneously, before headbutting each other. That was their equivalent of a high five. Kris and Susie gave each other an actual high five. The awesome, cheese-filled volcano model was their project.
"What's not to like about molten cheese? You lactose-intolerant or somethin', Ms. Alphys?"
Susie yelled from the back of the class.
"N-No, Susie, but the assignment was on 19th century monster industrialism, not molten cheese..."
Ms. Alphys responded. Susie just shrugged her shoulders.
"Now, as always, we have an odd n-number of students in the class, so somebody will have to go solo. Any volunteers this time?"
"Tem will go alone, Ms. Alphyz! Tem work good by herself!"
Temmie volunteered.
"Temmie... You were by yourself the last two times, a-and both times your project was just a hard-boiled egg..."
Ms. Alphys responded.
"Awa... but Tem very proud of eg. Is Tem's life work..."
"H-How about you, M.T.?"
Ms. Alphys asked M.T.
"H-Huh? Me? But teach, I wanted to partner up with Snowy, yo!"
M.T. argued.
"... I'm not letting you guys bring in a cup of dirt again. Y-You'll be by yourself this time, M.T."
Ms. Alphys affirmed.
"Ah, crap..."
M.T. said with a pout.
"Snowy, you'll be with Temmie this time around."
Ms. Alphys said, pointing at the two of them.
"If you insist, Ms. Alphys. We'll make the most egg-cellent project that hands can make!"
Snowy proclaimed. Everyone stared at him in silence for a second.
"Or, er, that Temmie's hands can make..."
He corrected himself. Temmie let out a sad little whimper.
"Dude, I better not get paired up with Catti. That chick hates my guts!"
Susie whispered to Kris worriedly as Ms. Alphys continued to assign groups.
"Huh? Why? What'd you do to her?"
Kris asked.
"Nothing! I've barely even talked to her! Way too freaky. You guys are friends, right? Maybe you can ask her sometime."
"Catti, you'll be with Jockington."
Ms. Alphys announced. Susie let out a huge sigh of relief. Kris noticed Catti's ear twitch as she raised an eyebrow and looked in Susie's direction, unbeknownst to her.
"Alright! Catti and Jockington! We'll be the ultimate academic duo! Haha, we're gonna have a Ball!"
Jockington cheered. Catti just let out another sigh. The final student of Ms. Alphys's class, Jockington was a snake monster, a full-on snake. Kind of like how Temmie was a full-on dog... or cat... or whatever. Everybody loved Jockington. He was way into sports and also ran cross-country alongside Noelle... or slithered, rather. He even sold his own memorabilia as merchandise, and it sold like crazy! He was the closest thing the school had to a celebrity.
"Hey, Kris! There's only two groups left! Maybe she'll pair us up again!"
Susie said excitedly.
"Ah, my dearest Noelle. It seems as though our benevolent educator has decided to group the class's brightest minds together. An impeccable decision, I must say!"
Kris overheard Berdly say to Noelle.
"Um, Berdly, we haven't even been assigned groups yet..."
Noelle responded, confused.
"Ah, true, but Ms. Alphys would be a fool to not pair the class's #1 and #2!"
"Susie, you and Berdly will be partners this time."
Ms. Alphys announced. Susie and Berdly both froze in place.
"Dude, nevermind. This is way worse than Catti."
Susie whispered to Kris.
"S-Susie?! Ms. Alphys, surely this is a mistake. Noelle has a vacant partner slot ready to be seized by a valiant gamer genius!"
Berdly pleaded.
"Can it, birdbrain. I don't like it any more than you."
Susie barked.
Kris had yet to receive a partner, and there was only one group left to make.
Wait, then that just left...
"... and finally, Kris and Noelle, you two will be the last group."
Ms. Alphys declared.
... Huh?
Kris thought as his mind took a second to process what he'd just heard. He... got paired up with Noelle? He shifted his gaze to look at her, only to see she was already staring at him, with the same perplexed look on her face.
"A-Alright, that should be everyone. Remember, class, have your topics s-selected by next week, and run them by me before you continue on with the project."
Ms. Alphys reiterated.
"Noelle, huh? You two used to hang out, right? Shouldn't be too bad. Just be thankful you don't have to spend a whole month with Nerdly... Yeesh, talk about getting the short end of the stick..."
Susie whispered before noticing the confused stare Kris was giving Noelle.
"Uh... or not...? You guys have beef or somethin'?"
"No, we just..."
Kris responded, somewhat distracted.
"You used to date, right? Is that it?"
Susie asked with a cheeky grin. The distracted look on Kris's face quickly disappeared as his focus shifted entirely to Susie.
"Huh?? No! Where the hell'd you get that idea from?!"
He asked, slightly embarrassed. Susie laughed obnoxiously.
"Chill, dude! I was just guessing. Was I close?"
"No, it's nothing like that. We just... haven't really talked in a long time..."
Kris said, sorrowfully. Susie, hearing the sincerity in his voice, stopped grinning and nodded understandingly... but only for a second, before letting a wide, toothy smile grace her face once again.
"... well, I'd say awkward reunions are better than having to listen to... whatever the hell Berdly rambles about all day. Count your blessings, or whatever."
Susie said, in her best attempt to reassure him. Kris gave her a little smile.
"Okay, class, n-now onto today's lecture. We'll be following up on last week's unit on the difference of squares..."
Ms. Alphys said. Susie groaned loudly, and put her head between her arms on her desk, tuning the lecture out. Kris, also tuning the lecture out, looked back in Noelle's direction. Of course, she had turned away from him by now, her attention now on the lecture, and Kris could no longer see the expression on her face. Nevertheless, he was thinking of the inevitable conversation they would have to have before the school day was over, and felt a strange, indescribable feeling wash over his body. And even if he couldn't see her face, he knew... He knew she was feeling the same thing...
Brriiing! Brriiing!
The bell rang out, freeing the students of their academic shackles. The class began packing up and preparing to leave.
"Don't forget, class! The projects! You m-may want to coordinate with your partners right now!"
Ms. Alphys suggested. Somehow, through all the commotion, Susie was still asleep, snoring loudly. She slept through most classes, but the sheer volume of her snoring intimidated everybody too much to wake her up. Except for one person, of course.
"Hey, wake up! Your big-ass mouth is sucking up all the oxygen in the room!"
Kris said, shaking her awake.
"H-Huh? Wha-? Are you serious?? Can it do that??"
Susie said anxiously, as she jolted up immediately and almost fell backwards in her seat, before finally regaining her balance and looking at him with pure terror on her face.
"No, dude. I was just trying to wake you up. Class is done."
Kris responded as Susie calmed down.
"Oh, heh. I knew that."
She said, rubbing the back of her head nervously.
"Ahem!"
Berdly called out from behind Susie. Kris witnessed all the life drain from her face as she slowly turned around to face him.
"Well, Susan. This arrangement is less than ideal, but the way I see it, this is Ms. Alphys's way of testing her number one student. Only the class's very best could create an outstanding project whilst being weighed down by the class hellion. So I accept the challenge. Let us make haste, Susan, to the librarby, for we haven't a second to waste!"
Berdly said enthusiastically.
Susie turned around and silently mouthed the words "kill me" to Kris before grabbing her bag and slowly getting up.
"Alright, dork. Lead the way. And don't call me Susan again."
Kris saw a bead of sweat run down Berdly's face as he struggled to maintain a stoic expression.
"Guess I'll catch you later, Kris. I'll text you once I'm at the librarby."
"Alright. See you, Susie."
"You better text me! I'll seriously die of boredom if you don't! My life is in your hands, dude!"
Susie said, again in a weirdly serious tone, while shaking Kris by the shoulders.
"Okay, okay! I will!"
He said, caught off-guard by the sudden outburst. She let go of him and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder and a toothy smile before exiting the classroom with Berdly. With Susie gone, Kris started putting his belongings into his backpack.
"Um... Kris...?"
A voice called out to him softly. A familiar voice. One that he'd been anticipating all day...
... Noelle's voice...
Hearing his name leave her mouth for the first time in years, a wave of nostalgia unexpectedly washed over him. He looked up from his backpack and saw her standing over him. She was wearing a black skirt and a red-and-green checkered vest over her black sweater, with the collar and cuffs of her white dress shirt poking out from underneath. Kris noticed she wore that outfit to school a lot. It must be her favorite one. As he looked up at her, she smiled that same goofy, buck-toothed smile she had all those years ago.
"... Noelle..."
... was all he could say back to her. She seemed surprised to hear such a brief response.
"I guess... we're partners, huh?"
She said nervously, while twiddling a lock of hair with her finger and avoiding eye contact.
"... I guess so."
He said. Again, she seemed taken aback by the brevity of his answer. There was an awkward moment of silence between them before Noelle spoke again.
"Um, I don't have cross-country today, so we can start coming up with ideas for the project."
Before Kris could answer, she quickly interjected.
"I-If you want to, of course! We don't have to start today if you don't want to."
She clarified nervously. Kris could tell she was anxious about confronting him again after so many years of being distant. He didn't blame her. What was she even supposed to say to him?
"No, we can start today. I mean, knowing you, you probably wanna get a head start, right?"
Kris said with a slight smile. His gesture seemed to quell her anxiety slightly, as her shoulders became less stiff and a tiny grin reemerged on her face.
"Faha, you caught me. I hate postponing assignments. They just linger in the back of my mind until I get them done."
She confessed. Kris nodded. There was another awkward moment of silence before Noelle spoke again.
"Do you... want to come over to my place? Nobody's gonna be home until evening."
Noelle's house? Kris hadn't been there in years, but just thinking about it fueled his nostalgia even more. Even after all these years, he could still remember the garden, the Christmas lights, the replica of Santa's sleigh on the roof, the waft of gingerbread-scented incense that never seemed to escape the house. His memories of the Holiday mansion were some of the very few that never seemed to leave his mind.
"... Sure. That works, I guess."
He finally said.
"... I guess I'll see you at my place then. Can you come at five?"
She asked.
"I'll be there."
He answered. She smiled again before walking back to her desk and grabbing her satchel. Kris took a moment to look around the room briefly. Sunlight poured in through the windows of the classroom. They were the only two left inside. Noelle walked over to the classroom door, but stopped before turning the doorknob. After a second, she turned around to look at him, with another goofy smile on her face.
"... see you soon, Kris."
She said softly. A strange feeling washed over Kris yet again. Hanging out with Noelle... he honestly didn't think he'd ever get to do that again. He looked at her and gave a matching smile.
"... see you soon."
He said. Then, she turned around and opened the door, and before he knew it, she was gone. With her absence, he was now sat alone in the empty classroom, basking in the fading sunlight. Everything felt peaceful for a moment. The strange, indescribable feeling lingered within him, however. It weighed heavy on his heart.
Maybe it was excitement. Maybe it was dread.
Either way, he anticipated whatever was to come.
Two hours passed by like it was nothing. Kris had spent the entire time sat on the grass in front of the school, occasionally texting Susie to keep her from dying, but mostly just thinking about his upcoming group project meetup. Though, obviously, it wasn't the project he was really thinking about. He had... other things on his mind, like how him and Noelle coincidentally got paired up on the same day he had a dream about her for the first time in forever. Was this the universe's way of giving him a sign? If so, what sign was it trying to give him?
...
... What was he saying? All this superstitious talk was starting to make him sound like his mother. Regardless, it was almost five, and Kris was on his way to Noelle's house. They were neighbors, so the route back from school was the same one he would have taken anyway. Kris's house was in a slightly remote area on the outskirts of town, and Noelle's house was about two blocks away from it, but it was still the closest house to his, so they called themselves neighbors.
During the two hours of free time he had, Kris had called his mom to let her know he was going to Noelle's place after school, and she was surprised, given that she was aware of the fact that they hadn't really talked in a long time. Although, from what little Kris could make out of her inflection through the choppy phone speaker, she sounded happy to hear he was spending time with her. Kris's mom didn't seem to hold any particular grudges against the Holiday family despite their lack of contact the past few years.
Kris wasn't quite sure what he was going to say to Noelle once he got to her house. They were going to have to see each other regularly for the next month, after all, so they were inevitably going to have to make small talk. Their exchange in the classroom was superficial, and neither of them made any attempt to address the elephant in the room, but there was no way they were both gonna go a whole month without bringing it up.
Before he had time to think about how he was going to bring up the subject, he had already reached the gate to her house. Hesitantly, he rang the doorbell and waited, gripping the one strap of his backpack that he had mounted on his shoulder. After a minute, he heard the sound of distant footsteps on gravel, and shortly after the shape of an old friend rounded the hedges past the ornate gate, smiling.
"Hi, Kris."
She said politely.
"Hey."
He said, intending to follow up with something else, but not being able to think of anything to say. She continued walking up the gravel path towards him while flipping through keys on a key ring, before finding the right one and using it to unlock the gate. He walked inside and she locked the gate behind him.
"Thanks."
He said, again intending to say more, but again at a loss for words. Still, she smiled at him before beginning to walk past him and back towards the house.
"This way."
She said, turning her head back to face him and pointing in the direction of the house.
"Yeah, I... I remember..."
He said, slightly disappointed. Did she really think he forgot? It had been over five years since he'd been to her house, but still... He continued following her up the gravel walkway, taking in familiar sights along the way. Sure enough, it was all there. The garden, the strung-up Christmas lights in excessive quantity, the sleigh atop the roof, and, of course, the house itself. Kris had spent at least ten Christmases in that house. It was hard to believe there was a point in time when he would go to the house almost every day. Being back was a surreal experience, to say the least.
After taking it all in, Kris looked back at Noelle, who was still trotting to the house, but after gazing at her figure for a moment, something felt off...
... then he realized. They were both the same height! For as long as he'd known her, he'd always been the tall one between the two of them, but now they were the exact same height! She might have even had an inch or two on him now, and that wasn't even taking the antlers into consideration! When did she grow so tall? How was he just noticing this now? Maybe he was just imagining it. Maybe the path to her house was uphill and it was tripping him out. When they reached the porch, she opened the front door and looked at him, and sure enough, they were at eye level. Kris felt like he lost a sense of pride he didn't even know he had to begin with.
"After you."
She said politely. He gave her an appreciative head nod and walked inside. She walked in after him and locked the door behind them, before hanging the key ring up on their coat rack. His nose immediately picked up the smell of the gingerbread-scented incense, and, surprisingly, the living room was almost the exact same as he'd remembered it. Some things never change, he thought.
"Thanks for having me over."
He said.
"Don't mention it. Mom's not here, so make yourself at home."
She responded.
"... I heard she's been real busy with work lately."
He brought up in an attempt to make small talk.
"Yeah, mayor stuff, you know how it is. City hall always starts planning the festival a few months in advance, so everyone there is gonna be working late shifts for the next couple of months, I guess. I don't really get to see her that often."
She answered.
"I'm... usually asleep by the time she gets home, and when I wake up, she's usually already gone, too."
She followed up. Despite her smile, Kris could tell she was upset at not being able to spend time with her mom. Noelle's mom loved her, despite how strict she could be, and Noelle loved her back.
"... but hey, that's good for us at least! I figured we'd be better off somewhere where nobody would distract us."
She said, trying to get back on topic.
"It's a good thing we didn't go to my house then."
He responded playfully.
"Faha, yeah. As nice as your mom is, I think she'd be breathing down our necks the whole time while we'd be trying to do work."
Noelle said, before immediately getting flustered and quickly clarifying what she meant.
"I-In a good way, I mean. With chocolate and stuff, y'know?"
She clarified, harking back to the days when his mom would buy them chocolate, and they would sit in his yard, stuffing their faces full with the stuff.
"She doesn't really... buy chocolate anymore."
Kris responded. He had done enough chocolate overdosing for his mom to stop buying the stuff completely, but that part he opted to omit.
"O-Oh, I see."
She said nervously. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds.
"Um, so where do you wanna work?"
Kris asked, breaking the silence, while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Um, my room's kind of... messy... right now. I like to do work on the kitchen table sometimes. Do you want to work there?"
She suggested. Kris knew it was impossible for Noelle's room to actually be messy, but he caught on that she didn't want him in her room right then and there, so he indulged her.
"Sure."
He answered. A small smile regrew on her face in response, alleviating the tension slightly, as she silently pointed in the direction of the kitchen and began walking towards it with Kris in tow. Again, he was slightly disappointed that she thought he needed a refresher on directions for the house he'd practically lived in for half his life, but he didn't bring it up. They both walked into her kitchen, which was adjacent to the living room, and, again, it was almost the exact same as Kris had remembered it from when he'd last been to the house. Noelle's mom's katana was still mounted above the kitchen countertop, which apparently was meant for cutting fruitcake, but he was pretty sure her mom just thought it was cool. Of course, the oversized Christmas tree was still there and big as ever. The Holidays had had the same Christmas tree for over 18 years. They bought it the day after Noelle was born, and it stood tall in their kitchen year-round. It was getting to be so big that it made it hard to access the basement door behind it, but Kris knew the Holidays always chose festivity over practicality. It was then that Kris noticed something familiar in the corner of his eye, sitting next to the tree, not an inch away from where he'd last seen it.
The piano.
It had been a long time since Kris last played Noelle's piano. The thing was basically his, as nobody in the Holiday family actually knew how to play. He wasn't even sure why they had it to begin with, but it's thanks to their piano that he developed a fascination with the instrument to begin with. Kris couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 when he first took notice of the piano and its sleek, white exterior. At first, it wasn't a genuine interest, just something else to preoccupy himself with. At that age, he remembers, on numerous occasions, him and Noelle would mash the keys haphazardly, laughing at the harsh noises that sounded out, before Noelle's mom would eventually get fed up and barge into the room angrily, causing them to get scared and run away. Over time, however, he began to realize it was useful for more than just funny noises. Through trial and error, he learned which keys made which sounds and was able to string together rudimentary melodies. Back then, he wasn't even aware of the concept of playing two-handed, he was just playing for fun. Both families began to take notice and compliment his abilities, even Noelle's mom, who was famously selective when it came to praise. It was only around Noelle that he refused to play altogether. Any time she'd come in, he'd stop playing, and she'd storm off with a pout. Even now, he couldn't remember exactly why he never played for her. It may have been because secretly it was her opinion that he valued most, and he didn't want her to speak lowly of his playing, even though he knew she would never say anything negative about it, even if she did think it was bad. She was kind to a fault sometimes.
One day at church, a few weeks after she'd noticed he'd begun to take an interest in playing, Kris's mother told the pastor of Kris's new hobby, and the pastor began instructing Kris on how to play formally. From that day onwards, Kris would take lessons every week after service, and practice what he'd been taught on Noelle's piano. Eventually, he began to play as the instrumental backing for the church's choir, alongside his brother, who had been a longtime choirboy by that point. He remembers his father, and especially his mother, were so proud to have both of their children perform during service. Even townsfolk who didn't know him personally began to recognize him as the kid who played piano at church. However, the time came when he would stop playing with the choir due to... external factors... but Noelle ended up joining as a choirgirl shortly after his departure, a position which she still held to this day. Nowadays, playing the piano was the closest thing Kris had to a hobby, but even still, Kris's family never bought a piano of their own, as they were far too expensive. Now he'd just play at church on his own time, or on the hospital's small, obligatory piano, on the rare occasion that he found himself there. He didn't miss his days as part of the choir that much, but he reminisced fondly on the chilly evenings in Noelle's house, with both families gathered around the kitchen table, mugs of cocoa in hand, listening to him play with his newfound formal training. Those were the only times he ever played in front of Noelle, albeit reluctantly.
He'd been staring at the piano for quite a while now, and Noelle seemed to notice his enamorment with the instrument, but said nothing, as she began to lay supplies out on the kitchen table. He wondered if, without him, the thing was ever even acknowledged anymore, or if it just sat around gathering dust as an eccentric house decoration. The thought of it being neglected upset him slightly, but at the same time, the thought of him playing it again felt wrong for some reason.
"Kris, I got a few things set up."
She said, finally breaking his train of thought. He shifted his gaze away from the piano and back to her, seeing her sat at the table with some paper and pencils strewn about. All her supplies were Christmas-themed, of course. Even the paper, which upon closer inspection was fancy stationery ornamented with reindeer. He used to call attention to it, but eventually it became so ubiquitous that bringing it up seemed pointless. He walked around the table and pulled out a fancy chair next to her.
"So, any idea on what landmark you wanna do?"
He asked while taking a seat.
"Well, I've been brainstorming a few ideas, and I even stopped by the librarby on the way home and picked up a local history book."
She leaned down and pulled a hefty textbook out of her satchel, before letting it slam onto the table with a loud thud. Kris examined the cover of the book.
" "Hometown: A Recent History," by lauded historian Gerson Boom."
He read aloud absentmindedly, before quickly coming to and realizing whose name he had just read.
"Gerson Boom...? Mr. Boom? Isn't that Dess and Azzy's old teacher? The one who passed away a few years ago?"
He asked.
"Yeah, he was a famous historian. Didn't you know?"
She responded, a little surprised at Kris's ignorance.
"Uh... no."
He admitted, slightly embarrassed. He felt like that was something he should have known.
"Anyways, there's a whole section in here on the church. Mr. Boom was involved in its construction and he did service for a time, so he's talking from first-hand experience. Not to mention Father Alvin is his son, so we could ask him about it too! You can't get a more credible source than that!"
She explained enthusiastically. Only Noelle could get this excited about schoolwork, but... the church? She really wanted to spend a whole month doing a project on the church? Not that Kris had any gripes against the church, it was just that it already took up so much of his time on the weekend. He didn't know if he had the mental resolve for more church stuff.
"What? No good?"
She questioned. He was surprised she caught on to his reluctance. He didn't make any apparent indication that he didn't like the suggestion.
"I dunno... doing a project on the church for a whole month? We already go there every weekend. Aren't you a little sick of it?"
He asked.
"Kris! You know better than to speak ill of the church!"
She yelled worriedly. Kris forgot that Noelle was uber-religious. It's not that he wasn't, just that compared to her, he might as well be an atheist.
"Right, sorry."
He apologized. She seemed more anxious than angry at the comment, like she was afraid he'd be smited by the Angel for what he'd just said. She sighed before speaking again.
"I don't wanna do it if your heart's not gonna be in it, so what do you suggest we do instead?"
She asked. Despite being decently successful when it came to academics, Kris wouldn't say he ever really put his heart into his work, like she seemed to want from him now, but he would usually put in a little more effort when it came to group projects, as to not be a freeloader, so he tried to think of something he'd be a little more enthusiastic to work on. By this point, she'd been waiting for a reply for quite a while, and the long wait was beginning to make things awkward again, so when an idea finally entered his mind, he just spoke without thinking to break the silence.
"Oh, we can do ICE-E's! Legend has it that a long time ago, an employee there lured a bunch of kids into a staff room, then killed them, and hid their bodies in the mascot suits. Then, the spirits of the children began to haunt the suits and seek vengeance for their deaths. It's scary stuff, and it'd make for the coolest project in the class for sure!"
He suggested, somewhat sporadically.
"Uhh..."
She stared at him, perplexed, and maybe a little frightened. In his attempt to alleviate some discomfort, he'd only made things more awkward. Right, Noelle wasn't Susie. He had to filter himself a little bit. Although, when they were kids, he'd wear his weirdness proudly on his sleeve around her, but that was then, he had to keep reminding himself. This was now. Things had changed.
"Uh, actually, I don't think that's a great idea either."
He conceded, embarrassed. Even if he thought it was cool, he knew she wouldn't be into it. Actually, he's pretty sure he scared her with that same exact story when they were kids, so it was definitely a no-go. She sighed, probably out of relief, then started tapping a pencil on her chin pensively, before eventually coming up with another idea.
"Oh! How about the hospital? It's one of the oldest buildings in town, and it's also got a passage in the textbook!"
She suggested with regained enthusiasm. Kris just stared at her. He didn't wanna say it, but he thought that was an even lamer idea than the church. She seemed to be more interested in things that had lots of evidence and that could be backed up by credible sources, rather than things that actually interested her, which wasn't a bad mindset to have, but it definitely created a conflict of interest between them.
Despite his best attempts to not give it away, she caught on to his distaste for the suggestion immediately and he noticed her expression visibly droop. Since she had already realized he didn't like the idea, he figured he might as well just tell her outright.
"I mean, it's not a bad idea, but... can't we pick something cool?"
He questioned. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"Ugh, Kris... 'Cool' is not gonna get us a passing grade. Can you take this seriously?"
She said, irritated. Kris was caught off-guard, as he'd rarely ever seen her agitated in his entire life. Though, her frustration felt strangely hesitant, as though she felt she was not allowed to be upset with him. Upon seeing Kris's reaction to her comment, Noelle's eyebrows unfurrowed and she quickly became flustered, realizing what an uncharacteristic remark that was for her to make.
"S-Sorry, that was rude. I shouldn't have said that."
She apologized nervously.
"I just thought that... with you, this might be..."
She continued. There was an odd melancholy in her eyes when she spoke the words. Kris perked up in curiosity.
"Sorry, nevermind... I'll... I'll think of a better idea."
She followed up, while mounting her chin on her palm and looking away from Kris, staring off into space. What was she about to say? Was she actually excited to be spending time with him again, and he was ruining it? Kris frowned as a long list of negative possibilities cycled through his mind as he stared at the back of her head, unable to read her face.
...
There was a long, awkward silence that followed. He didn't know what he was feeling in that moment. He'd been anticipating this reunion since they'd been assigned as partners earlier that day, but even now he wasn't sure if it was an exciting kind of anticipation or a dreadful one. Although he'd made peace with losing Noelle's friendship long ago, he'd always distantly hoped they'd be friends again someday... but now he wasn't so sure. This definitely wasn't the kind of rekindling he had in mind. Had they spent too much time apart for them to be normal around each other again? The thought crushed him, and the feelings he thought he'd made peace with began to eat away at him once more. His frown grew and his gaze involuntarily traveled down to the table as he felt his head being weighed down by his heart.
In an attempt to distract himself from what he was feeling and regain his composure, Kris tried to focus on anything else. He eventually fixated on a small stain he noticed on the tablecloth. The stain was small and faded, but that color was unmistakable. It was ketchup. Kris had made enough messes at his house as a kid to know what was and wasn't a ketchup stain.
...
Just then, as he continued to stare at the ketchup stain, he was reminded of something. Something... he wanted to tell Noelle. After a moment, he begrudgingly swallowed his reemerging feelings of sorrow and longing, as he knew this was no time to be sulking. All he had to do right now was prove to Noelle that, at least for the next month, they'd be able to be around one another without it being an issue. He looked back at her, but she was still looking away, not even having moved an inch. He stared at the back of her head contemplatively for a few more seconds before finally speaking.
"... hey."
Hesitantly, she turned her head a bit in response, but still not completely in his direction. It was enough so that he could now see her hand, still over her chin and covering her mouth, but her eyes still remained hidden from his gaze.
"... do you remember that time I put ketchup on my arms, and told you it was blood?"
Upon hearing this, she finally glanced back at him, her expression confused, likely not expecting that to be the question he broke the ice with, but after a moment, her face eased up, and he could tell a faint smile had grown on her face, even though she was trying to hide it behind her hand. He felt a small weight lift off his shoulders. After another moment, she let out a small sound, almost like a scoff, before finally speaking again.
"... you mean the time you nearly gave me a heart attack?"
She asked exaggeratedly. Her lighthearted tone made him feel easy again, and he smiled at her.
"Yeah, that time."
He replied.
"How could I not? You had me convinced you were actually dying!"
She affirmed.
"Good times, huh?"
He asked cheekily. She rolled her eyes, the smile now visibly protruding from behind her hand.
"Speak for yourself."
She responded playfully. They both chuckled.
"What about the time you told me that ICE-E was real and eats kids? Remember that?"
She asked.
"If you mean how Dess beat me up with a wiffle bat after she found out, then yeah, unfortunately I remember."
"Faha, serves you right! Preying on an innocent little girl's gullibility like that!"
"But you made it so easy!"
He retorted as he began to laugh.
"Kris!!"
She yelled, as if angry, but couldn't suppress her grin as Kris's laughter grew in response to her reaction. Eventually, his laughter became contagious and she couldn't help but laugh as well.
The laughter piped down eventually, and another memory entered Kris's mind. It was a bit different from the ones they had just reminisced about, but it was one that he held dear and still wanted to share with her.
"... do you remember... that night we explored the woods behind the graveyard? With Azzy and Dess?"
He asked. Her eyes widened in response, but only for a moment, before her eyelids drooped and she looked down, with a little smile on her face.
"Gosh, that was so long ago."
She said, before looking back up at him and speaking again.
"You guys were all excited to go exploring, but I was so afraid to go. I remember getting scared and crying once we were there, but then Dess knelt down and wiped my tears away with Azzy's jacket. And Kris... you... held my hand, and said everything would be okay."
She recounted. He was wondering if she had remembered that part.
"I was kind of surprised. I thought you were gonna try and scare me at first, but... you were serious... After that, I wasn't afraid anymore. I was kinda excited actually. We ended up not finding anything, but... it was still fun, wasn't it?"
She asked fondly.
"... yeah. It was."
He said with a smile, to which her smile only grew in response. For a second, they just sat there smiling at each other.
Bzzzt!
Just then, Kris's phone vibrated on the table. They both jumped in their seats a little, like they'd been snapped out of a trance, before looking at the phone.
"Sorry, gimme a sec."
Kris pardoned himself before grabbing his phone and flipping it open. He had a new text message.
> yo u at noelles yet?
It was from Susie.
> yeah, i've been here for a while
He answered. She replied instantly.
> so how is it??? is it as awkwurd as u thot it would be??????
He stared at the message for a second. A few minutes ago he would have answered with yes, without hesitation, but by this point him and Noelle seemed to have broken the ice, more or less, and things felt less tense between them. Glancing up at her, she shot him another smile, and he felt confident in his assessment that the awkwardness had dissipated, for now.
> 👍 nah, things are good here
He finally texted back.
"... is that your mom...?"
Noelle asked while pointing at Kris's phone.
"Huh? Oh. No, it's just Susie."
Hearing this, her smile flattened and her eyebrows rose, but only for a moment, before she assumed a smile once more.
"Right, Susie... you guys are friends now, huh?"
"Yeah, since junior year."
"... um, so how did that, uh..."
She started to ask, but became hesitant once Kris looked up from his phone at her.
"Uh... nevermind..."
She cut herself off, earning a puzzled look from Kris.
"Um, I saw her and Berdly at the librarby when I checked out the book earlier. She did NOT look happy, faha."
She brought up, steering the conversation in a slightly different direction. Kris exhaled in amusement.
"Berdly will do that to you."
Noelle giggled.
"Oh, be nice, Kris. He's not so bad."
She scolded.
"Try studying with him and then tell me that."
He retorted.
"Uh, we do? He comes over to study all the time."
She corrected. Kris's eyes widened a bit, to Noelle's confusion.
"Oh, uh, yeah... I guess you guys have been hanging around each other a while now."
"... yeah, since the spelling bee in middle school, I think."
She clarified. Back when Kris and Noelle were still talking regularly, she didn't even know Berdly. It was strange to think that, in his absence, Berdly had likely somewhat replaced his role in her life, as Susie had done for him in her stead. It eased his mind to know that someone had been there for her these last few years, but he sort of wished that... instead of Berdly... it had just been...
Bzzzt!
Kris's phone vibrated again, interrupting his train of thought. It was another text from Susie.
> nice. i just finished up with nerdly. im chilling by the bunker if u wanna drop by once ur done
The bunker? That was a weird spot to hang out at. The bunker was an emergency evacuation shelter at the south end of town that most people were too scared to go near because of how creepy and remote it was.
"... huh."
He said involuntarily in confusion.
"What is it?"
Noelle asked.
"Nothing, just... Susie wants to meet up at the bunker once I'm done here."
"Oh. How come?"
"I dunno, that's why I'm confused. We've never hung out there before."
"Hm. That is a weird spot to meet up."
She said, before staring off into the distance, pensively. Then, after a moment, her gaze snapped back to Kris.
"... hey, wait a second. The bunker!"
She exclaimed.
"Huh?"
Kris replied, confused.
"We can do our project on the bunker, Kris!"
"The bunker?"
"Yeah! It's got a lot of history behind it, but there's also a lot of urban legends surrounding it, so both of us will have something to talk about!"
"... hey, yeah, now that you mention it, there's probably more rumors about the bunker than any other place in town. There's a bunch of stuff we could–"
Kris started, before cutting himself off.
"... you're... okay with me talking about urban legends for the project?"
She looked away and wrapped a strand of hair around her finger, slightly flustered.
"Well... I know that's the kind of stuff you're into. I can tell the history part isn't really interesting to you, so... I think it makes sense to split it up like this."
Despite the conflict of interest, she was trying to cater to what he wanted to do. For some reason, it made him feel really happy.
"Plus, I mean, urban legends are part of history too, right?"
She added.
"Totally!"
He exclaimed in excitement. She giggled at his enthusiasm, causing him to recline slightly in his seat from embarrassment.
"Then... shall we begin?"
She asked, holding up the history book, smiling. He smiled back.
"Let's."
Kris and Noelle spent about an hour researching and jotting down potential things to talk about for their analysis paper. They alternated between Noelle reading an excerpt from the book and Kris recounting a rumor he'd heard about the bunker. He struggled to pay attention while she recited passages from the book, but he managed to maintain his focus, feeling like he owed her at least that much. He did find it interesting how many natural disasters had occurred in Hometown over the years, and how often the bunker actually got used, as it had never been used for as long as the two of them had been alive. After some time had passed, Noelle glanced down at her watch.
"Gosh, would you look at the time? I don't know about you, but I'd say that's more than enough work for one day."
She said.
"If you weren't my partner, I probably wouldn't have even started for a few days, so I am way ahead of schedule."
Kris replied.
"Guess you lucked out with me as your partner then. Maybe you oughta count your blessings."
She said teasingly.
"Yeah, yeah. They're counted."
He conceded. She smiled and got up from the table.
"Here, come on. I'll walk you out."
They walked outside to Noelle's front gate, and she unlocked it, allowing him to walk through. She closed the gate and locked it behind him, before he turned around to look at her. She was looking at him with a weird look on her face. She was smiling, but there was a faint, almost indiscernible sadness behind her eyes.
"Guess... this is goodbye for now."
He finally said. Her smile slowly faded and she took a moment before responding.
"... guess so."
She said as she looked down. After staring at the ground for a second, she looked back up at him.
"... I'll see you tomorrow, Kris."
She said in a very unfamiliar tone. So much so that it caught Kris completely off-guard. It could only be described as... earnestness, like she'd dropped a front she'd been keeping up all day. The way she gently clutched one of the iron bars of the ornate gate that separated them while looking at him with newfound vulnerability in her eyes cemented her sincerity to him.
"See you tomorrow, Noelle."
He responded with matched sincerity.
Then...
For some reason...
Instead of leaving, they both just stood and stared at each other...
This time, it didn't feel awkward though. It kind of felt like...
... old times...
Eventually, Kris decided it was really time to go and gave her one last smile and wave before turning around and going on his way. As he began to walk, he noticed he didn't hear her footsteps for a good few seconds, as if she'd stood there staring at him for a while longer as he walked away.
It was a strange farewell, to say the least.
Finally alone with his thoughts, Kris was able to reflect on the events of the day that had just transpired. He and Noelle really, truly spent time together at her house for the first time in over five years. It almost felt unreal, like he was a kid again, and he'd been transported back to the days of his youth. Even still, the elephant in the room still hadn't been addressed, and at this point he was doubtful it ever would... but maybe that was okay. Maybe they could just go on like this, coexisting superficially and pretending like their lives didn't used to revolve around each other.
It was funny. For a moment, while they were staring at each other through the bars of the old gate, he felt like things might actually go back to how they were, like she wanted things to go back to how they were... but naive hope had only served to betray him all his life, so he knew better than to start believing now. There was no going back. Still, he felt happy to be in her presence again after so long. Even if they had both moved on, he was glad they had this opportunity to spend time together.
One last time.