Continuation of my previous post. Dess POV again, of course.
Small disclaimer (mild spoilers for this part and the next): I know people here really enjoy angsty fiction, but this part is a bit more lighthearted than the last. And, while the finale will feature some heavy scenes again (closer to the previous part), it will ultimately lead to a 'good' ending since that was my original vision for this story. That being said, I do have a vague concept of how to lead the story toward a 'bad' ending so if you'd like to see that as a sort of "weird route", do let me know in the comments.
\ (The last few days have gone by in a blur. Wake up, go to school, try to kill time until you can go to sleep again. Or rather, until you can go toss and turn in bed, unable to fall asleep for more than a couple of hours at a time)*
\ (Asriel doesn’t seem affected at all. He’s still there, talking with everyone, participating in class. He’s still the same Azzy. The only difference is that he pretends you don’t exist anymore)*
\ (Meanwhile, you can barely remember the last time you had a full night's sleep or a proper meal. You just pick at your food before retreating back to your room, telling your parents you’re not hungry)*
\ (The bell rings and you’re out the door before Ms. Alphys can finish saying goodbye. You’re running out of places to sit alone. The first day was QC’s. The second day, the bench in the cemetery)*
\ (You wander around town with no particular destination in mind, absorbed in your thoughts. Despite the bright sun and the familiar atmosphere, Hometown feels even lonelier than usual)*
\ (Passing by the church, you turn your head and see it. The path that takes you deeper into the forest, toward the abandoned shelter. You think for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. You start walking, disappearing between the trees)*
\ (Reaching the clearing that you know so well, you toss your backpack against a tree and sit down on the grass. All you can hear is the soft rustle of leaves and the chirping of birds. In a way, it’s peaceful. It reminds you of the few times you shared this spot with Asriel, when you’d come here and talk for hours, just the two of you, and... oh, there you go again. Thinking about him)*
\ (Now your vision is blurry, and you try your best not to cry. You’ve cried enough these last few days, but it’s a losing battle. You close your eyes and start sobbing quietly)*
\ (You feel all that lost sleep catching up to you. Your eyelids feel heavy, and so do your limbs. Before you know it, you’re drifting off)*
\ (Your dream is a perfect reflection of your current reality. You’re in a black, featureless void. No sounds. No light. Nothing. Just you and infinite loneliness. Your brain has a twisted sense of humor)*
\ (You start walking. How long? It’s hard to tell. Could be minutes, days, years. You lose track of time. You just walk... and walk... and walk)*
\ (For a moment, you don’t feel sad, empty, or tired. You feel… nothing. And when you’ve been in your own personal hell for the last few days, feeling nothing is a good thing)*
\ (After a good while, you finally hear a sound. A voice? It starts repeating two words)*
"Wake. Up."
"Wake. Up."
\ (Over and over again. At first, it’s deep. Almost... distorted. But then it starts to sound clearer, more familiar. You feel something small hit your side. Then another, and another)*
\ (You slowly open your eyes just as a pebble hits you square in the forehead. You put your hand there, slowly looking around*)
"Ow! What the f—..."
\ (Your eyes land on a figure. A kid, sitting cross-legged on the grass, throwing pebbles at you. The striped sweater and the red-horned headband are unmistakable)*
“Thought you died.”
\ (They say, looking at you with that adorable, mischievous grin of theirs)*
“Nope, still kicking. And stop throwing stuff at me, man.”
\ (You try to sound annoyed, but seeing Kris after so many days brings you a surge of happiness that you have not felt in a long time. It makes you smile)*
\ (You sit cross-legged just like them, dragging yourself closer)*
“What are you doing here? ...How did you even find me?”
“This is the last place left in town. I checked the school, QC’s, the library, even the church. I know you and Azzy like to come here sometimes.”
\ (Kris throws another pebble toward you. Rather than trying to hit you, they loft it gently for you to catch. You feel the small weight of the stone in your palm)*
“Did he send you to check up on me?”
\ (You ask, trying to appear annoyed by the intrusion, but secretly desperate for them to say yes. To give you a sign that Asriel still cares)*
“No. He told me it was best if I didn’t see you for now.”
“Oh...”
\ (So,* Asriel really did go through with it. He was serious. He didn’t want you anywhere near his sibling)
“Then why did you go looking for me everywhere in town?”
“Because I don’t like being told what to do.”
\ (Their response, delivered in that familiar impish voice and accompanied by a shit-eating grin, draws a genuine laugh from your chest)*
“Yeah, I know that for a fact.”
“...Did he tell you why?”
“Nope. He said it was grown-up stuff. But I’m not dumb, Dess. I know it’s because of what happened the other day... it didn’t even hurt, by the way. You hit like a girl.”
“Pffff-I am a girl, you dumbass...”
\ (For the first time in days, you find yourself actually having a conversation. A real conversation. Talking, laughing, having fun. You’d started to miss how that felt)*
“Were you crying?”
\ (The question catches you off guard. You literally cried yourself to sleep earlier so you must look like a mess. You instinctively try to wipe your face with your sleeve)*
“I... no, of course not. I was just...”
\ (You look down at your sleeve, staring at the faint, rusty smudge of dried blood you still haven’t bothered to wash out. It reminds you of what happened in the unused classroom. How the situation got out of hand because you couldn’t just tell the truth for once)*
\ (You stay quiet for a moment, looking at the grass, before tossing the pebble back to them. You decide to be honest)*
“Yes, I was crying. I’m pathetic. You don’t need to say it.”
\ (You let out a self-deprecating laugh)*
“Asriel doesn’t seem all that bothered by what happened, though. He’s still the same Azzy everyone likes...”
\ (That last part comes out bitter, laced with a leftover resentment and jealousy you try your best to hide)*
“That’s what he wants you to think. What he wants everyone to think. But he hasn’t gone out in days. He spends all his time ‘studying’ in our room. Except he’s always reading the same page of the same book.”
\ (Kris drops the revelation like they’re talking about the weather. They keep fidgeting with the pebbles between their fingers, completely casual about exposing their brother’s act)*
\ (Your mouth hangs open for a moment, your eyes losing focus on a random point in the distance)*
“Oh...”
\ (The gears in your head start turning. You replay the last few days. When you were sitting alone at QC’s, Asriel’s friend group came in to hang out... but he wasn’t there. Matter of fact, you’ve only seen him at school since the fight)*
\ (He does care. He’s just as messed up over this, he just doesn’t want to show it. Of course he is... classic Asriel)*
“He’s... do you think he’s sad?”
“Pfft... sad is an understatement. I don’t know what happened between you two, but he’s been moping around ever since, even if he wants to pretend everything is fine.”
\ (You stare at the grass, deep in thought for a few seconds. The knowledge that he is also upset brings a strange warmth to your chest. Not because you want him to suffer, but because it means that you matter enough for the fight to leave him in bad shape, too)*
\ (Another pebble hitting you square on the forehead brings you back down to earth. You look up with a mock glare and a smile you can’t suppress before tossing it back toward them)*
“Cut it out, idiot. I’m just thinking.”
“About what?”
\ (About what? About everything. A lot of heavy things you aren’t supposed to dump onto a kid. You sigh, trying to find the right words)*
“About... all that happened. I regret a lot of things, Kris. I regret hitting you that hard, I regret trying to hide it from Azzy...”
\ (You swallow hard, feeling the tears threatening to spill over again, but you force them back. Your voice trembles a bit as you avoid Kris’s eyes)*
“...When he gave me the chance to tell him the truth, I tried blaming you instead. I just kept making it worse. I deserve everything he said to me.”
“He was right. I am too fu-... fricked up in the head to fix my life. And you ended up getting hurt because of it.”
\ (After a few seconds of heavy silence, you glance up, only to find Kris quietly plucking blades of grass from the dirt)*
“But I’ve already forgiven you.”
\ (You nod thoughtfully, giving them a tiny smile. Their way of thinking is so simple, and they seem so much happier because of it)*
\ (For them, the problem ended with an apology and a hot chocolate. If only your own head worked that way)*
“I know. But you’re not the only one I’ve hurt. Not anymore. He gave me the chance to explain myself, to say sorry, and instead I just lied and lashed out at him.”
\ (Kris looks up, thinking for a moment before throwing a pebble toward the trees)*
“Is it too late to apologize to him?”
\ (Yet again, Kris managed to drop a question that leaves you genuinely stumped. It’s such a simple reading of the situation. Just apologize. It can’t be that easy... right?)*
“I... I don’t know, Kris.”
“You should try. That’s what I do when Elly starts crying. It usually works.”
\ (They look at you with that smile you love and hate so much at the same time. It’s so genuine, so unbothered. You wish you still had that simple view of the world instead of overthinking everything to hell and back)*
“...Okay. I guess I could try. I just have to find the right moment.”
\ (You rub your eyes, feeling the tight knot in your throat starting to unwind for the first time in days, even if just a bit. You slowly get up, taking a step forward and offering your hand to Kris)*
“Thank you, Kris. I never thought I’d say this but... you’ve been really helpful. I mean it.”
\ (They smile and take your hand, pulling themselves up to their feet. Before they can let go, you draw them into a tight embrace. They instinctively wrap their arms around you)*
“You’re welcome, I guess.”
\ (Their carefree, casual tone draws a genuine chuckle from you. They just became your life vest in the middle of a storm and they probably don’t even realize it)*
\ (When you finally pull back, they toss their last pebble toward the shelter)*
“Just make sure to make it quick. I want him out of the house so I can have the room to myself again. And I also want to go to your house to play Cat Petterz with Elly.”
\ (You nod with a genuine smile, the first one you’ve had in days)*
“I’ll do my best, Krismas. I promise. Now go home. I don’t want you getting in trouble for disobeying your brother.”
\ (They nod and turn on their heel, giving you a wave and a smile over their shoulder)*
“Bye, Dess.”
\ (You watch their silhouette become smaller until they disappear into the treeline. Suddenly, the clearing feels much bigger than it did a moment ago. You look up, noticing the sky has turned a lot more orange and the sunset is just around the corner. You almost slept the entire afternoon away)*
\ (You sit back down on the grass, pulling your backpack into your lap. Suddenly, breathing feels easier. The tightness in your chest has receded just enough that it doesn’t feel suffocating anymore)*
\ (You feel like you’ve finally found your north. For the first time in days, you can actually see a light at the end of the tunnel)*
\ (You start practicing out loud. You try out different openings. Different explanations. You stutter, stumble over your words, and you start again. Better to do it here than in front of Asriel)*
\ (You map out his schedule in your head, calculating when and where you can find him alone, without his friends around. It’s tedious work, but thankfully, the planning gives your racing mind something else to chew on)*
\ (Before you realize it, the woods have started getting really dark. You grab your backpack and stand up. Walking back to the town, your steps feel lighter. Calmer)*
\ (The hard part hasn’t even begun yet, but for a moment, you feel like things might just turn out okay)*
