Late Nights
It takes quite some time for April’s blubbering and incoherent wails to become decipherable, but by the time 40 minutes roll around, she was calming herself down and you were beginning to develop a large, painful headache.
“Do you have any alcohol?” April asks tearfully, sniffling.
“No.”
“Do… do you have any smokes?”
“No.”
A very long side glance goes your way, “Do you have-”
“No.”
She grumbles something inaudible, before her lips start trembling some more and tears brim her eyelashes. She starts breathing heavily again, and oh lord.
“Do you… want to talk about it?” You ask gently.
Her watery look eyes you before suddenly she explodes, babbling incoherently once more but you can pick out the phrases of He’s a fucking jerk! And How could he dump me like that? and I bet HE was cheating on me the whole time! And It’s not like I particularly LIKED monsters anyway!Hardly even fucking talk to them!
That headache was slowly getting louder, roaring in your ears, but you find yourself giving April comforting pats and soothing noises- then suddenly she springs on you, soaking up any type of affectionate, comforting gesture you were willing to give.
Somehow, through her babbling and sloppy cries, you learn the sad little tale of April’s recent breakup.
Apparently, April’s boyfriend was monster-phobic; at least you assumed because that was the primary reason for the breakup to occur. It was also the main reason why April hardly ever was here and elected to go to her boyfriend’s house all the time. Apparently she had started doing that as soon as the Bunny family had moved in- but you weren’t exactly astute to notice that connection.
“He just really hates them,” April had sobbed, “So instead of making him pissed off, and possibly- well- possibly do things, I just always stayed at his place. And, honestly, his place is a lot closer to shit than my step-dads stupid little apartment thing he gave me here-”
However, you cut her off, “Do things? April what do you mean by do things?”
April shifts uncomfortably at that question.
“Would he… attack them?”
April doesn’t look at your face, and instead mutters, “He gets pretty passionate about things.”
But there’s something deeper in her voice, and you find yourself narrowing your eyes, “April… does he get… passionate at you?"
April balks, “No! No!”
You don’t really believe her, but your silence leaves April to spring further into her tale.
“But- for some strange reason he insisted on having a party at my apartment the other night. I couldn’t exactly say no, even though I tried to persuade him otherwise- But he wasn’t listening and he was trying to accuse me of some other man back in Foxdale and before- before I knew it he had invited all his friends, and we were partying and- and…” April’s lips were trembling again.
“And what?”
“And then he found out.” April whispers.
“Found out?”
“It was in the afternoon of the next day, and by that time everyone was feeling pretty hungover and ready to go to their homes, ya know? So we all called cabs- I called one for Caleb and we both got in it… but as the cab was making its way out of town, one of the rabbit people were out for a stroll. And Caleb saw.” Her eyes were tearing up again.
“What did he do?”
“He started shouting, yelling. I was trying to calm him down- but he was beginning to threaten the driver, ask him to pull over so he could-” April looks away at that, taking a deep breath, “Well, anyways, I managed to convince the cab driver to take us back to Caleb’s place- and somehow keep Caleb quiet. But once he got into his house… He, he wasn’t very quiet about it.”
Your grip seems to tighten, “Did he… get passionate at you?”
April gives a little, humourless laugh, but doesn’t comment on that, “Caleb started accusing me of all sorts of things. He… he called me a monster lover. Said I was hiding the monsters living across from me because I was cheating on him with them, or something. He- he called me…” Her lips were trembling some more, “He called me a bunch of names… A monster fucker… a- a- whore, a cheap cunt a-”
“You don’t have to list them for me.”
April takes a big, shaky breath, “And then he just dumped me!” She concludes on a wail, “Said if I liked monsters so much, I should go be with them! He’s - He's such an asshole!”
“He really does sound like an asshole.” Your own voice was trembling with anger
April continues to cry, “I loved that stupid motherfucking piece of shit and then he just goes and dumps me because I live near a bunch of fucking rabbits?! God I was so fucking pissed! I still am!” April continues to insult her, now, ex-boyfriend as you make soothing intones and agreements towards the remarks about this new-found asshole.
“But then, why were you passed out drunk the other night?”
April's teary eyes look at you like you were stupid, "I went to some bar, I got drunk. What the fuck do you think I'd do after getting dumped by that asshole?"
"Mm, makes sense." That still doesn't explain how she got back here...
April lets out a wet, sloppy snort, “Was even going to get completely laid too, but I think the guy called me a cab instead?”
“Ah, oh. That was kind of him.”
April hums, but then her emotions turn on another dime and she’s crying again, “I’m going to be so alone!”
“Wh-What? Why?”
“The only friends I had were asshole’s friends! They all probably fucking hate me now! Not like I liked any of them- but I have no one! No boyfriend, no friends, nothing!”
And then it’s out of your mouth, “Well, I’m right here.” And April’s looking up at you with a watery, hopeful expression and she begins crying into your shirt again, hugging you even as she mutters,
“I don’t need your charity.”
“I’m not offering charity, I’m offering friendship.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP
You rise from your bed like the dead, groaning and moaning. You drag yourself to the shower, and then to your kitchen and make the magical substance of pure rich liquid wake-up and snack on a granola bar. April is still passed out on your couch, clutching the empty box of popsicles you had offered over as some type of comfort food. April hadn’t done much more than insult, cry and swear at her now ex-boyfriend; and you had followed along with your own insults, despite really not knowing him, murmurs of comfort at her tears and the offer of cheap, trashy horror films (apparently April liked those) and ice cream pops to make her feel a bit better. After her whirlwind emotional state finally calmed down enough, she simply crashed on your couch at about midnight.
And so, mistakenly, you tried to at least get part of that lab report done, since you hadn’t even started it. However, all you had was a half-assed introduction and some measly re-written results from your lab book.
Your phone buzzes on your countertop, startling you and nearly causing you to spill the delicious wake-me-up drink. You narrow your eyes on the phone, before picking it up. Who could be texting me…?
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:13 AM
HELLO AND GOOD MORNING, HUMAN FRIEND!
[XXX] 6:14 AM
Good morning.
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:15 AM
YOU TRULY ARE AN EARLY RISER! I AM VERY PROUD OF YOUR SIMILAR PRODUCTIVE ATTITUDE TO MINE!
[XXX] 6:16AM
Well, gotta go to school nearly every day at 8, and busses take forever to get there from where I live.
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:17 AM
IS THAT SO, HUMAN FRIEND? I ALSO HAVE A FRIEND THAT IS PLANNING ON GOING TO SCHOOL, SINCE THE LAWS HAVE CHANGED AND ALLOWED HER ACCESS TO HUMAN EDUCATION.
[XXX] 6:18 AM
Is that so? Well, I wish her good luck on that.
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:19 AM
I WILL INFORM HER OF YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT TO HER EDUCATION! I BELIEVE SHE MENTIONED THAT SHE IS POSSIBLY GOING TO THE UNIVERSITY IN THIS CITY, AS THEY HAVE FINALLY ACCEPTED HER APPLICATION.
That causes you to pause as you cram your bag full of school and work things, before heading out the door.
[XXX] 6:20 AM
Your friend is going to go to my university?
How was that possible? Most of the higher ups didn’t want anything to do with monsters or teaching them- At least, that’s what you’ve heard Ben and Sam rant about when you were half-paying attention to their activist spiels.
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:21 AM
YOU GO TO THE UNIVERSITY?!?!!?!?! THIS IS SPLENDID!!!!!! WHAT A JOYOUS COINCIDENCE!!!!! ALPHYS WAS WORRIED ABOUT GOING WITHOUT ANYONE SHE KNEW, BUT YOU CAN CERTAINLY BECOME HER FRIEND!!!!! UNDYNE WILL BE SO RELIEVED!!!!!
Wait, what? You rush down the stairs, falling into step with Janet as she makes her way out the door. She gives you an odd glance as you only mumble your good morning reply to her, but thankfully she doesn’t comment. You wave to her absently as she heads her way to down the trail.
[XXX] 6:27 AM
Yeah… well, what program is she going into?
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:28 AM
SOMETHING VERY SCIENCE-Y, I SUPPOSE. I DID NOT ASK, BUT ALPHYS IS INCREDIBLY SMART!
[XXX] 6:30 AM
Oh. When is she entering?
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:31 AM
VERY SOON, ACTUALLY. APPARENTLY THE UNIVERSITY IS GRANTING HER ENTRANCE DESPITE THE SCHOOL YEAR HAVING ALREADY BEEN STARTED. I THINK SOMETHING CALLED THE “SGA” FOUGHT HARD FOR HER TO BE ENTERED IN THIS YEAR, RATHER THAN HAVING TO WAIT UNTIL SOME OTHER TIME.
Ahh. That would probably explain why the University board was suddenly so welcoming. You were sure that Ben and Sam were going to be over the moon about this news- if they didn’t happen to know already. You get on the bus and swipe your card before replying to Papyrus.
[XXX] 6:35 AM
That’s pretty cool Great Papyrus. Hopefully she’s in a few of my classes so I can help her out and stuff. And I can introduce her to all my friends, they’re really nice.
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:36 AM
THAT IS A VERY WONDERFUL IDEA!!! AND I AM POSITIVE ANY FRIENDS OF YOURS ARE INCREDIBLY KIND AND AS NICE AS YOU ARE!
[XXX] 6:37 AM
Awh, thanks Papyrus. You’re really sweet yourself ;)
The two of you continue texting each other, as Papyrus moves on to talk about the things he plans to do today. As (apparently always) he had morning training sessions with Undyne, he was still planning on finding a job online, and- according to his brother- he hadn’t collected enough boxes and needed to get more.
[XXX] 7:01 AM
Are you guys planning on moving sometime soon or something?
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 7:02 AM
NOT THAT I AM AWARE OF, HUMAN FRIEND! SURELY MY BROTHER WOULD ANNOUNCE THAT TYPE OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO ME! BESIDES, WE CANNOT MOVE! YOU HAVE YET TO COME OVER AND TASTE MY DELIGHTFUL CUISINE!
[XXX] 7:03 AM
Right, right. Still good for next Tuesday?
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 7:04 AM
VERY MUCH SO!!!
Then it’s onto topics about yourself, which Papyrus grills you on your day- and your entire week, for that matter- on when you were going to be at school, when you were going to be at work, etc. etc. until, finally, you were heading towards your class and you had to (sadly) tell Papyrus goodbye. He sends back a happy cheer for you to have a good day, and somehow manages to wiggle in how happy he was that he got to talk to you.
That sets a smile on your face for the rest of the day. That is, until you are bombarded by Ben at your break time between the end of classes and the start of work, with his shrill voice screeching your name.
“YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT’S HAPPENING!!” Sam follows behind him, looking completely ecstatic. You quirk your eyebrow as you munch on the sub you bought from one of the Subway’s within the University, debating on ruining his steam and telling him you already knew what you were sure he was hyperventilating over.
“What?” You ask instead, between your mouthfuls of sandwich.
Sam balks, pointedly holding his hand up and looking away from you, “Ugh, gross!! Close your mouth while you eat! That's so disgusting!”
However, Ben jumps up and down, ignoring Sam's whining and your open-mouth chewing, “A MONSTER IS COMING TO THE UNIVERSITY! A MONSTER! ISN’T THAT COOL? THE SGA WON THE DEBATE, LIKE JUST THE OTHER NIGHT!! WE'RE FINALLY ACCEPTING MONSTERS!! INTO!!! THE!!! UNIVERSITY!!!”
At that, you swallow and smile, feeling pretty smug, “Oh, I know.”
Ben immediately freezes, eyes narrowing on you, “What do you mean you know?!”
Your smirk grows a bit wider, “Well, I happen to be friends with the monster in question’s friend. He texted me this morning, talking about it. He was really excited for Alphys to be continuing her education.”
“You’re W H A T?!” Ben screeches loudly.
“The monster’s name is Alphys?!” Sam is astounded.
You can only laugh as the jealousy seems to swarm on Ben’s face, and he sits down beside you, “You’re going to tell me right now how you know this before I did, or else.”
You can’t help but laugh, “Or else what?” You taunt him.
“Or else you’re out of a lab partner for Biochem. I’ll ask Alyssa to be my partner instead."
You gasp, “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I would.”
“Ugh, it’s not like it’s that big of a story anyway! The friend that told me, Papyrus-”
“Papyrus? You mean like the font style?” Sam asks. You blink. Huh, you hadn’t even thought of that.
“-Yeah, I guess so? Anyways, I met him after work a few days ago. Some douche knocked him over, made him drop his groceries on the ground. I helped him up, picked up his groceries- you know, nice person stuff. He thanked me, we talked before I had to leave for the bus.” You start snickering lightly as you remember the day after that, “Apparently I made a good impression on him, cuz the very next day he systematically checked each and every storehouse window to see if I was there. Luckily I was at work at the time, so he found me- and we exchanged phone numbers. We’ve texted a bunch of times now. He told me this morning.”
“So he’s the friend of the… Alphys that’s coming to the University?”
“Yeah. He asked if I could befriend her too, make her more comfortable.”
Ben rounds on you, eyes flashing demonically, “You better tell me you were planning on introducing her to us as soon as you saw her, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, I was! Now can you let me eat my sandwich in peace before I have to go to work? I’d rather not starve to death on the job.”
Ben snorts, but says no more as Sam sits down idly beside him. They then start to ramble about the debate the SGA had won, but again- you were only half-listening. You wondered if perhaps Papyrus would visit you at work again today. Maybe he’d bring along that Alphys so you’d know who to meet before they showed up at the University.
Ben reminds you of your promise to get him and Sam to see Toriel sometime, as you get up to leave to catch the bus to work. You roll your eyes and sigh, stating you had already asked her and just needed some kind of consensus of time between all of you.
Ben hurriedly whips out his phone, “Okay, so here is all of my free time this next month-” He recites off a few dates and times, to which Sam chimes in his own availability. You take note of the days that you could also be there, and quickly enter them into your phone.
“And I want to meet this Papyrus too!” Ben calls out to you as you finally make your way to the bus.
“I swear the only time you guys want to hang out with me is when I have someone else to introduce you too!” You loudly tease them. They don’t seem to shout a reply, but that’s probably due to the fact you had already walked out the door. Sighing loudly, you head to the bus station to catch your bus and then transfer over to the one that would take you to work.
Settling into your seat, your phone buzzes a few times.
[Unknown Number] 3:20 PM
Hello, it is I, Toriel. I was hoping, once again, to invite you over for dinner, perhaps on the weekend. My child certainly cannot stop asking when we will next met you.
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 3:20 PM
HELLO, HUMAN!! I WAS HOPING THAT IT WOULD BE OKAY IF I AND MY BEST FRIEND, UNDYNE, WOULD BE ABLE TO VISIT YOU AT WORK TODAY? UNDYNE IS VERY ADAMANT ABOUT MEETING YOU, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE HELPING ALPHYS AROUND THE UNIVERSITY WHEN SHE JOINS. ALPHYS AND UNDYNE ARE DATEMATES. I ASK ALPHYS TO JOIN AS WELL, BUT SHE IS NOT THE MOST SOCIAL OF MONSTERS.
[April] 3:21 PM
u srsly dont have booze. i can fix that tho lmao
You send a quick reply to Toriel, expressing that you could probably do a dinner on Saturday (you had a morning shift). You glance at the availability of your friends, but sigh as you note that Ben wouldn't be able to be there, so elect to ask Toriel for a date next week, when both could come (she responds with a yes, we would love to meet them). You reply to Papyrus’ question with a “yes, of course!” and simply sigh as you read April’s message.
It's within the next three hours that Papyrus bursts into the fast-food restaurant, a figure in tow. You tell your co-workers you were taking an early break; they didn't exactly care- and you walked out the employee entrance to greet Papyrus.
"AH! THERE YOU ARE HUMAN!" He proclaims elatedly, rushing up and hugging you happily. You smile at him, however that smile freezes on your face as you glance over his- no, actually through his body- at the "Undyne" he wanted you to meet.
Unlike all the other monsters you had ever met, who smiled and laughed and had a certain happiness to them- Undyne looked angry, dangerous, and snarky. Undyne was a large, blue-scaled fish-like monster, and looked incredibly... well, buff to say the least. She had a black tank-top, along with navy blue jeans that fit snuggly around her impressive leg muscles. Flaming red hair twisted around her shoulders, a shock of it falling in front as hefty bangs, which couldn't fully cover a very prominent eye patch on one eye. The other eye, however, was trained very intensely on you, the deadliest tint of yellow with a slit of black marking her pupil. A large, feral grin grew on her features, sharp and glinting teeth protruding from her curled lips. You gulp.
"So this is the punk, huh?" Undyne's voice is raspy, harsh and intense- much like her smile, and very demeanour. She radiates pure violent intent, unlike the rainbows and sunshine that is Papyrus's presence.
Papyrus sets you down, right in front of the intimidating woman and introduces you, "THEY ARE MY SECOND HUMAN FRIEND!" Papyrus happily concludes, "THEY ARE INCREDIBLY KIND AND NOBLE."
Undyne quirks a brow, "Is that so?" She draws out, crossing her arms underneath her chest, and tilting her hips as she surveys you. You feel more than slightly intimidated at the probing, judging looks. Especially as it focuses intensely on your chest area.
"YES. THEY ALSO ARE GOING TO THE SAME UNIVERSITY ALPHYS PLANS TO GO TO."
Undyne merely grunts at that information, her one eye still assessing you. Suddenly she holds out a webbed fin, smirking slightly. You hesitantly take her fin in your own hand, and let out a slight gasp as her grip tightens on yours aggressively. Her smirk grows at the squawk of pain you let out.
"Ya sure I can trust this punk with my little Alphie?" Undyne asks aloud, but the question is clearly directed at Papyrus.
"OF COURSE YOU CAN TRUST THIS HUMAN!" Papyrus proclaims, "THEY ARE INCREDIBLY TRUSTWORTHY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS NO DOUBTS."
You offer a little grimacing smile, stretching your hand as Undyne suddenly lets go of it. You try your best to make a good impression on the intimidating woman, "Well, I was actually going to introduce Alphys to some of my other friends once I met her. They formed the pro-monster group at the school-"
"Yeah, we got an email about that group." Undyne interrupts pointedly, "That one lady from the SGI or whatever said it would be a good place to find some friends within the school."
At that you beam proudly, "Yes! It is! Ben, Sam, Joyce, Tristan and Yvonne are incredibly welcoming people, who helped to start and fund the Pro-Monster group. Ben and Sam, especially, are very active members of not only the newly formed Pro-Monster group, but also of the LGTB-plus community and Pride group within the school, and I believe next year they want to get voted into the SGA. They are really looking forward to meeting Alphys when she enters into the University sometime soon."
Undyne narrows her eye on your face once more, humming thoughtfully, "How do I know ya aren't some sort of in-disguise Anti-Monster group? Just lying in wait to attack m'girl?"
You freeze slightly at the implications, trying to think of something to prove your friend's innocence, but coming up blank, "I... I guess you can't really know unless you decide to trust my word for it," At Undyne's look, you rush to try and at least prove somehow your friends weren't racists- or would it be specist? "I swear none of my friends would ever dream of hurting any monsters! And, to be honest, were one of the fore-front advocates besides the members of the SGA on instigating monsters within the University when the law was passed early this year that you could obtain an education. They really were one of the most happiest at hearing the news a monster was finally accepted! I promise you they have no ill intentions!"
Undyne's gaze continues to search you, "You seem pretty proud of them, punk." She finally comments
You blink, before shrugging awkwardly, "Well, I guess I kind of am."
Suddenly Undyne swoops in on you, shoving you into her side as she swings an arm around your shoulder, "Ya know, maybe I'll try an' trust ya. But-" She adds warningly, one eye glinting, "If you're lyin' to me, I know exactly which punks to beat to shit."
"UNDYNE, I AM SURE THAT IS UNNECESSARY. DID I NOT TELL YOU HOW MY HUMAN FRIEND WAS SO KIND-"
"That she picked up your spaghetti boxes after some asshole human knocked ya down, yes, Papyrus. You told me that, like 5 times already." Undyne groans, rolling her eyes and pushing you away. The intimidating air to her was rapidly beginning to disappear, even as she continues to eye you down, "Like I said, punk, one misstep- one little tear falls from my precious Alphie's adorable face, you'll be-"
"Let me guess, I'll be sleeping with the fishes?" Papyrus lets out a large, choked sound as Undyne's one eye widens comically on you.
"NO! NO! NOT YOU TOO!" Papyrus announces dramatically, "I CANNOT HAVE ANOTHER JOKSTER IN MY LIFE!" He looks very put-out by your simple little jest to try to impress Undyne. Or at least make her laugh.
"Ya know punk, I think I can learn to like you." Undyne comments after a good few minutes of her gawking at you, but her smile turns cheeky, "However, I already got someone to sleep with me." Your little smirk at the play on words turns into a blush at the other connotation you hadn't meant to insinuate to the- heh- fish monster.
"UNDYNE."
You laugh awkwardly, before trying to playfully continue the sudden new joke, "I guess you could say you'll leave me drowning in sorrow." Undyne snorts, but shakes her head sadly.
"HUMAN. HUMAN PLEASE. THIS IS UNFAIR. I THOUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THIS."
"Paps, your brother is gunna love her."
"I MUST NEVER EVER LET THEM MEET. I CANNOT HAVE EITHER OF THEM INFLUENCE EACH OTHER." Undyne gwaffs at that, before roughly grabbing Papyrus by the shoulders, still laughing.
"Well, I guess that ruins that spaghetti night for ya, huh?"
Papyrus lets out another loud gasp, "I HAD NOT THOUGHT OF THAT!" Suddenly his eyes narrow, "HUMAN, ON TUESDAY NIGHT YOU MUST BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOUR AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU ALLOWED TO INFLUENCE MY BROTHER'S HORRIBLE PUNS."
You give a nod, trying to be serious, "Of course, Papyrus." But you turn your gaze up curiously to Undyne.
Suddenly her eyes widen, "AH!" She proclaims, before digging into her pockets and producing a beaten, dark blue wallet, "Should prob'ly show you a picture of m'girl, that way you know what cutie to look for," Undyne rips out a picture from her wallet, and it unfolds into a long line of several photos. They get shoved towards your face, a proud gleam in Undyne's eyes, "That's her! That's my Alphys! Isn't she the most cutest, sweetest monster you've ever seen?"
The pictures are all different photos of a rather small, nervous looking yellow dinosaur-lizard type monster. A few of them have Undyne in them as well, hugging or otherwise giving the small monster affection- causing a large blush on her face. you look up at Undyne, smiling at the obvious affection she had for the monster in the picture.
"She certainly looks adorable." You tell her gently, and Undyne snorts loudly.
"Of course she is! Alphys is the BEST! THE CUTEST! THE SMARTEST MONSTER THERE EVER WAS!" Undyne continues to rain praise down on the monster in question, and it brings a large smile to your face.
"You seem pretty proud of your girlfriend." You tease lightly. Undyne stops her ranting to blink down at you, before laughing and blushing slightly.
"Well I guess I kind of am." She mockingly replies back to you, before giving a large grin. Her eyes snake to the clock set up, and then she glances back down at you, wolfish smile still in place, "Well, punk, we should let you get back to this smelly grease-trap to continue working. Ya better take good care of my Alphie, or you'll be hearing from me again. Sleeping with the fishes and all that!" Undyne winks, and then drags Papyrus out the door, despite his protests of wanting to talk longer to you. He awkwardly waves goodbye, as Undyne seems to continue to grip him under her arm.
"Well," One of your coworkers announces dryly, as you enter the back room, "What was that all about?"
You shrug your shoulders, "Undyne wanted to make sure her girlfriend wasn't going to be hurt once she entered University." That's basically the short and long of it, you supposed. Give or take that awful joke you made.
"Hmm," Your coworker hums, "Didn't know monsters could be lesbos."
You crinkle your eyebrows together, Is that all he got out of that? "I'm sure monsters can be whatever sexual orientation they want to be."
Your co-worker rolls his eyes at that, huffing, "Whatever." However, there was a weird look creeping up on his face, and you didn't want to know where his thoughts were leading to.
The rest of the shift passed awkwardly, especially as that coworker started asking probing questions about how you knew the two "lesbian monsters". You were more than glad when he finally left, his shift completed. And then a few more hours until you could go home.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
You arrive at your apartment, tired and sore. For some strange reason, after you were left to close by yourself, it seemed as if everyone suddenly wanted your restaurants shitty food. Some monsters even came in during those hours, to which you thankfully weren't forced to over-charge them (your boss wasn't there, so who would know?). You wanted to go to bed as soon as you entered the complex, but you had a lab report due so you had to suck it up and force yourself to stay up really late once again.
Well I guess I'm going to have to shove coffee down my throat and hope for the best.
You enter your apartment (it was a little startling that it wasn't locked, but then again April), and muscle your way to your island counter. You blink at the large bottle of alcohol sitting there, with a sprawled, curly note near them.
- Got you some alcohol! Now, next time I cry on your shoulders I can actually get drunk doing it. Thanks though, for listening to me. - A.
Why in the world had April bought you booze? You rub your tired eyes and manage to make yourself some coffee- which was no doubt a bad idea, given it would keep you up all night but a lab report had to be done by tonight. You drop the cup into the machine and slam it back down, yawning. You go to your bag, pull out your laptop and set to work.
It was going to be a long night.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
You wake up groggily on your couch, stretching and yawning. Your computer was placed on the ground beside you, with the printed report you had managed to complete in the wee hours of the morning sitting there. You yawn again, and lazily grab your phone. Lots of messages are beeping on it, but what brings dread and fear into your throat is the time that blinks on the display.
It was 9:52. Shit. If you didn't leave right now you wouldn't be able to get to the class that the goddamn lab report was due in! Fuck!
Panicking, and scrambling, you manage to toss on some fresh clothes, haphazardly brush your teeth and throw your hair up into some shamble of a pony tail. You toss your school supplies and lab report into your bag and book it down the stairs, vaulting towards the bus before it got to the stop.
You just make it. And even further still, you somehow manage to make your way into the class, only a few minutes late. You slink in beside Ben, his look making you sheepish.
"Someone looks like shit." He comments quietly, "Guess someone left the report last minute, huh?" He chuckles at the look on your face as you refuse to comment.
The class passes by and you hand your report in at the end, along with Ben's. Ben smirks at you as you tromp back up to the exit, and you frown at him as he begins to tease you.
"Well, if you're going to act like that I guess I'll have to text Toriel to cancel the little meet-and-greet I got her to agree to for next weekend..." You grumble sourly, proceeding to take out your phone. You blanch as it reminds you of all the messages- mainly from Papyrus- that you still haven't looked at.
"Wait what now?!" Ben responds, before immediately grabbing you into a large hug, "My precious friend! My dearest companion!" He coos happily, "Of course there is no wrong in accidentally sleeping in! Everyone does it! I've skipped multiple classes, in fact! I've also forgotten plenty of assignments in my time!"
You quirk an eyebrow, trying to pretend to text Toriel as you proceed to answer Papyrus's text messages. They grow from happy to increasingly worrisome as you don't reply to him like you had yesterday. You send a quick explanation and apology.
Ben desperately grabs at your hands, "No!! I promise I won't tease you about it! Everyone will totally want to go to see The Queen next weekend!!"
"Relax, I'm texting Papyrus not Toriel." You say, sending off the text once you were done. Ben stops trying to take the phone from you, and then immediately starts inquiring about the proposed meet-and-great
"So next Saturday?? Who's going? Is the Ambassador going to be there? Any other monsters? Is Papyrus going to be there? Can I invite the whole PMG?? WHAT TIME?!?!"
"Yeah, it's on Saturday. And I dunno, maybe I'll ask Papyrus and stuff, see if he can invite some monsters over. And I'm not really sure, I asked if "my friends" could come, so I'm sure if any of the others are free, they could come too... I really only asked her like yesterday, so pardon me if we haven't worked out any details yet."
"Ah, alright. I'll text Sam right now! He's going to be so excited!" Ben whips out his phone, and proceeds to sped-text Sam. Your phone buzzes with Papyrus's reply.
[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 11:39 AM
IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT, HUMAN. I AM JUST GLAD THAT YOU ARE NOT HARMED, AND MERELY SLEPT IN. HOWEVER, YOU MUST TAKE CARE TO HAVE PROPER SLEEP SO AS NOT TO BECOME A LAZYBONES, LIKE SANS.
[XXX] 11:40 AM
I'll try my best.
"Oh man, I can't wait for next Saturday now!" Ben proclaims, "But this coming Monday the new monster is going to start-"
"Alphys is starting on Monday?"
Ben nods, "Yeah, or so Shannon told Sam. I guess the University thought it better to have her start at the beginning of the week rather than get thrown into everything at near the end of the week."
"Do you have any idea what classes or program she's in?"
Ben sighs, "No. We won't know until we see her. I hope somebody in the PMG has a class with her, it'll make things much easier."
"I could probably ask Papyrus to ask Undyne. She'd know."
"Undyne?"
"Apparently Alphys's girlfriend. She, ah, kind of threatened me and indirectly all of the PMG last night when Papyrus brought her around."
"Girlfriend?! Alphys has a girlfriend?!" Ben seems positively over the moon about that information, "That makes this ten billion percent better! Not only can she join the PMG but the Pride group as well! This is fantastic! I didn't even know monsters could have such a sexual orientation!"
"I'm sure monsters can have any type of sexual orientation that they want. I don't even know if gender and sex is a term to really applies to them."
"But of course, but of course! Who am I to judge about that? Monsters already seemed to have garnered an unique equalitarian society below the mountain, so why should I even be surprised?! If only humans could learn to be as accepting and tolerant such as them!"
"How did you know they had that sort of society?"
"Do you really think I wouldn't have done research before forming the PMG? Give me a bit more credit than that!"
"But I thought the media loved portraying them as horrendous and scary. Where in the world did you get that sort of information from?"
Ben winks, "I have my sources. See you later!! I'll text you!" Ben proceeds to head off to elsewhere in the University.
"You never text me!"
"Sam'll text you!"
With that, Ben rushes away, probably to give the news to the other members of the PMG. You head off to your last class of the day, sighing and shaking your head. Ben really was something else.
The next few days pass without incident, or anything remarkable happening. Papyrus seems to like coming in for a quick little chat while you're at work, and Undyne popped in again on Friday to fully introduce herself, without the intimidating gaze or stink eye. She comments she was going to have Alphys see you, before University but Alphys- again- was too nervous to come and greet you.
"She said she didn't want to greet you now given she might 'get you to hate her' and then being friends or classmates with you in Uni would be awkward." Undyne laughs at that, "As if anyone could hate my little Alphie! I told her that, but she still didn't want to risk it!"
You nod along with that, and manage to ask Undyne about what program Alphys was in. She proudly proclaims she was in Engineering- which makes you smile widely. Joyce would be overjoyed to have another female engineering student, and Ben would be relieved that at least someone from the PMG would be in most of her classes- and magically, in some way you obtain Undyne's number, her saying she'd give it to you so you could easily give her updates on anything happening with 'her girl'.
You shake your head again. Maybe you really were a monster friend magnet.
And Ben was probably going to be leagues of jealous.
Saturday rolls around, and you're up early, getting ready for work and texting Papyrus at the same time. He's more than ecstatic about the encroaching Tuesday spaghetti night. You continue to text him until you reach your workplace, and open it up to start the day. Your boss comes in after a few minutes and the day begins slowly, and continues to be slow until your shift is over.
Your bus ride passes as normal, as Frisk starts texting you and commenting how excited they were to see you again. They were also incredibly curious over the friends you were bringing over next weekend, and you answered all the questions they pose to you.
Soon enough you were back home, and were trying to squeeze in some homework before the dinner tonight. Suddenly, your phone rings on a call. You pick it up.
"Hello?"
"HUMAN FRIEND!!" A sob cracks over the phone. You immediately sit up.
"Papyrus?"
"HUMAN FRIEND I AM SO SORRY!"
"Sorry for what, Papyrus? What's wrong? What's happened?"
"THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS FINALLY DISCOVERED WHAT THOSE BOXES WERE FOR- BUT IT IS TERRIBLE!"
Your eyebrows crinkle in concern, "Terrible? What do you mean terrible? What are the boxes for?"
"YOU WERE RIGHT IN THE FACT THAT WE ARE MOVING!" Papyrus sobs some more.
"Oh? Well isn't that kind of exciting?"
"IN MOST CASES, YES, MOVING WOULD BE VERY EXCITING! BUT IT IS NOT AT THIS POINT IN TIME!"
"Why is that? When are you moving?"
"THAT IS THE VERY THING THAT IS TERRIBLE ABOUT IT! MY BROTHER INSISTS ON MOVING ON TUESDAY!"
"Oh."
"YES, IT IS INDEED "OH" HUMAN! IT IS VERY, VERY OH! WE CANNOT MET UP ON TUESDAY! I CANNOT SERVE YOU MY MOST FAMOUS OF FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO COPE WITH THAT HEART-BREAKING LOSS AND DISAPPOINTMENT?"
"Well, I could just visit you after you move, we can have a spaghetti night sometime then." The line goes silent for a few minutes, and you worry Papyrus had hung up on you. Did he just really like Tuesday spaghetti nights or something?
"I DID NOT THINK OF IT THAT WAY, HUMAN FRIEND." You smile at the sudden light his tone had taken.
"Well, you can think of it now. Sooo, can you tell me where you're moving to?"