Chapter Text
NOELLE
The ring bells. Alphys looks at the clock. “So… uhm… that was all for today!” she finishes.
I start packing my stuff, while looking at the two empty seats. What could they be doing? Kris isn’t the kind of person who just skips class, but Susie is. Did she convince them to run away from school? Maybe I would have run away with her, if I had gone with her and…
Oh gosh not again, this… this warm feeling in my chest. This is not the moment to think about that stuff, this is not…
I finish packing my backpack, as Berdly approaches my seat. “So, what could we do for the project?” he wonders.
“How about we talk about it later? I’m not really in the mood right now” I reply.
“Sure, Discord call at seven o’clock?” he asks.
“Yeah” I answer.
We start heading outside the building, when he suddenly mentions “What do you think happened to Kris?”
“And Susie…?” Susie also didn’t come back, although that’s more expected of her.
“Nah, whatever happened to Kris, Susie was involved”
I don’t think that Susie did something to Kris. I mean, she isn’t really that bad, is she? She’s scary, and mean, but she has never done something evil. And she is nice to me. Why is she nice to me?
I realize that Berdly was talking the whole time. Then he stops, and looks at me waiting for an answer. What should I do? It would be mean to tell him I wasn’t listening… I’ll just… “Yeah, that’s true” I say. I don’t even know what he was talking about, but this usually works. Just nod, and say yes to everything, that way I don’t have to listen to him and he doesn’t feel like I don’t care.
“Of course it’s true! It’s just pure logic!” and he starts rambling again.
We finally reach the hospital crossroad, where we usually part ways. “Anyways, goodbye my dearest Noelle, I’ll be patiently waiting on Discord during the evening” he says as he starts heading towards his home.
There is the hospital. I enter, and the receptionist greets me as always. “Hello Noelle! Here to see your dad again, right?”
“Yeah” I reply.
“You know you don’t have to bring your lunch always, right? We can prepare an extra tray for you”
“I’m fine, thank you” I answer.
They give me a thumbs up with a big smile, to which I do the same. They are nice.
I cross the door, and go to his room. I finally open it and see him in the bed, as always, reading a book. As he hears the door open, he raises his sight and sees me. He puts on a wide smile, he is happy to see me. Although this has become a routine, I’m also happy to see him.
“Well well well, if it ain’t the smartest girl in town!” he greets me.
I leave my backpack next to the bed and approach him to smooch him in the forehead. “Hi dad”
“Did you bring any food today, or do we ask for another tray?” he wonders.
“Don’t worry about it, I made my own” I say as I pull out a Tupperware from my backpack. I put it on the table, next to the microwave. I’ll wait for the nurse to bring his food, as always.
As I’m grabbing the chair to sit next to him, I can’t avoid looking at the flowers, and the ‘get well soon’ note in front of them, signed by Toriel. “The flowers are from Toriel as well?” I wonder.
He cracks a laugh. “Nah, they are from Asgore” he replies.
Of course, they are from him. He is the owner of the only flower shop in town, after all, and Toriel would never buy flowers from him.
“And how is he doing?” I ask. It’s not like I really care, but he and dad are good friends and I know he likes talking about him.
“As usual” he mentions, with a shift in tone, he sounds a bit worried. “Trying to negotiate with the town hall to keep the shop”
I probably shouldn’t have asked. Asgore’s situation isn’t good, and he probably doesn’t like thinking about how his friend is having a hard time and he can’t help, save from trying to convince mom to turn a blind eye.
“And how are you doing? Any news?” I ask him.
I have a strong feeling, that I try to ignore, that this won’t end well. He keeps acting as if nothing bad will ever happen, but the fact that he has been here for a month says otherwise.
“Better than ever, the doctor says I’m improving” he mentions. “I’ll be out of here in no time, don’t worry”
When he got hospitalized, he almost died because of a cough attack. The cough is partially gone now because of the treatment he is receiving, but he’s still being tested. And although he may be feeling better, until the hospital doesn’t give an official stance on his condition it won’t mean anything.
“And how was your day?” I inquire.
“Boring as always,” he mentions with energy. “Asgore visited me earlier, and that’s pretty much it, at least you are here now and mom will come later” he adds.
Mom. I feel a shiver. I don’t like her, and he realizes. At least I’ll be home by then. At least she isn’t as terrible as she usually is. Not after that thing she did. But I still don’t like having her nearby.
“And how was your day?” he asks as soon as he realizes what I’m thinking about.
My day… my day… “Oh, it was okay,” I say.
“Did you learn anything new?” he wonders.
“No, not really, but we have to do a group project” I say. “With Berdly, as usual, it’s the only way we will both get the highest grade”
“And what are you doing it over?”
“No idea! We’ve still got to discuss it later today”
I remember something. “I tried to include Kris in the group, but he opposed it so…”
Dad makes a disapproving sound. “Come on, girl! You can’t let that nerd be the only one who takes those decisions!”
I shrug. “I guess”
A nurse finally enters the room with the trays. “Hello Rudy! Here you have your food!” he greets as he hands dad a tray. He looks at the Tupperware next to the microwave, and hands me a plate. “Here, for the food”
I thank him and he leaves the room. As dad opens the tray, I start pouring my food into the plate, and fit it into the microwave. A really nice smell comes from his bed. “What is it today?” I wonder as I approach.
“Looks like couscous” he replies. “Want some?” he offers.
“No thanks, I’m good”
The microwave is finally done, I approach and open the door. It smells so nice…
“What did you prepare this time?” dad asks. “Is that carbonara I smell?”
“Yes!” I reply as I pull out the spaghetti plate.
“Damn, you suddenly got much fancier with food, didn’t you?” he jokes.
“It’s not that hard to prepare, to be honest” I brush it off as I pick up the fork from inside the Tupperware.
“Bon appétit!” he says as we start eating.
I usually prepare the food after arriving home, that way I’m learning how to cook by myself. And honestly, I was kind of only eating macaroni with tomato and salads, so I tried something different yesterday. And it’s pretty decent, I must say. It’s not as great as the one dad cooks, but hey, it’s my first time making this.
“…and then I asked if I could go with Susie, but she sent Kris with her instead,” I tell.
He looks proud. “Well, you had to try”
“Yeah, but… it still bugs me, Kris never skips classes”
“Would you skip classes if it was for her?” he teases me.
And I blush. I would. What would we do if we skipped classes together?
Then, a terrifying thought crosses my mind. What did Kris and Susie do, skipping classes together? “Why would Kris skip classes with her…?” I think out loud.
“I don’t know, could be anything…”
“No no, what if they actually like each other? What if Susie actually likes Kris? What if Kris also likes Susie? What if…?”
I start hyperventilating. I don’t want that to happen, that can’t be what happened.
“Knowing Kris, they probably went to do some mischief somewhere in town” dad mentions.
That’s true. Kris is the pure embodiment of chaos, if they weren’t a human they would be a literal gremlin. And Susie is a rebel. A really hot rebel, who doesn’t fear anything, and who…
Oh gosh my nose is almost glowing again. I hear dad giggle, he has noticed. I cover it with my hand, I’m too embarrassed right now. “Come on, sugarplum! Liking a girl is nothing to be ashamed of” he says, in a joking and loving voice.
“Yeah but… I don’t even know if she likes girls, how am I even supposed to approach her? I can’t just try to flirt with her, that could come off so wrong…”
And even then, I don’t even know if she would like a girl like me. But that’s not something I want to think about, I’ve already had this discussion with dad before, and as much as he reassures me that it doesn’t matter at all, it’s still an insecurity I have deep inside.
“Just ask her to go with you to the dance, easy” he says. “You could ask Kris for help, don’t you think?”
I don’t know what to say. “As if that would ever happen”
He starts gesturing with his hands, as if he was holding a sign. “Just stop her in the middle of the hallway with a big sign above your head that reads something like ‘will you be my partner in PDA crime?’ while playing a cheesy song, she won’t be able to say no if you invite her to commit a crime” he jokes.
“No way I’m doing that in front of the whole school, oh my gosh” I say. But it would be fun. I start feeling that heat again, just by imagining doing it.
“And what if you just asked her? No signs, no music, just approach her and ask her out” he suggests.
I giggle. “DAD! I can’t just SAY that to her! Oh my god… I’d DIE, I’d LITERALLY die”
But I wish I could. Maybe I could try, dying like that doesn’t sound that bad after all.
“Noelle, sweetheart, first time I laid eyes on your mother…” he starts recalling. “I walked right up and told her she was a HOT piece of work”
No way, for real? “R… really?” if that actually happened and they ended up marrying…
“Yeah, she slapped me so hard I blacked out!” he starts laughing, but a cough interrupts it. At least this is more of a normal cough.
I start imagining Susie reacting that way. It would be… it would be nice? I start feeling that heat again. Oh gosh, it would be really nice to have her slap me.
I giggle, not knowing whether from the story or from the idea of Susie slapping me. “Dad, that doesn’t help at all!”
He looks at me with a mischievous smile. He knows what I’m thinking, but there is no shame.
“Anyway, how’s Dragon Blazers three?” he changes the topic. “Beat it yet?”
“Nah, I’m still at the Ice Palace” I haven’t played ever since he was hospitalized. “I’ve been kind of…” waiting for you to get better. “…kind of waiting to finish it with you, Dad”
He gives me a melancholic look. “Noelle…” he starts saying, kind of sad. “Maybe… maybe you shouldn’t wait”
I feel a knot in my stomach. That idea disturbs me, I don’t want to think about it. “D… dad?” Is there something you want to tell me? Is there something you don’t want me to know?
“You should bring it HERE! I’m bored as hell!” he exclaims, with a big smile.
I laugh with relief. He didn’t want me to think something bad, and he also doesn’t want to think about it. He was just joking, of course.
“FINE, you win! I’ll bring it next time!”
I don’t know why I didn’t think about it sooner. It’s a Switch game, I could just bring the console, we don’t need the basement TV for playing it.
I check the time in my watch. It’s almost six and a half. And I have homework to do… “Oh, it’s getting late…” I say. I wanna stay here longer, but I have to study. And also, mom will be here as soon as she leaves, at seven. And I don’t wanna have her near. “Guess I better go. I’ve got HOMEWORK”
“Oh, that’s the group project voice” he mentions. That’s right, the group project voice. I’m the group project voice. “Bird guy again? What’s his name, Nerdly?” he jokes.
“It’s, um, Berdly…” I correct him. I know he knows his name, but he’s still my friend after all. “He’s not that bad, dad.” Just really annoying, but I can’t blame him.
He puts on that sergeant face he makes. “I’ll kick his ass,” he says imitating Rambo.
I giggle. “Dad, you are not even supposed to get up,” I remind him.
“Bring him by the window! I’ll throw something at him!” he keeps joking.
It’s fun joking with him, but I’ve got stuff to do. “GOODBYE, dad”
“Bye, honey,” he says.
I grab my backpack and head towards the door. Right there, I find Kris, waiting to enter. What is Kris doing here…? Were they here the whole time…?
“…oh? Hi Kris…?” I greet them before finally leaving.