Chapter Text
“I can’t believe he- fucking hell!”
The door slams open wildly. You startle harshly, looking up from your burger angrily. Your dinner break had just started damnit and you were really looking forward to some peace and quiet. But Karina looks beyond angry. The blond bombshell stomps across the room towards the wall, slamming her hand against it. Ouch. Looks painful.
She yelps, cussing loudly and shaking her hand in the air to dispel the pain. Eventually, she just groans and leans back against the wall. “Seriously! You’d think he’d take a hint…or a hundred!” She sighs.
The fuck do I say to that? It’s obvious who she’s talking about. You wrinkle your nose in disgust. A saggy face pops into your mind. The creep has been coming every night she works. It's a mystery to everyone how he knows her schedule. You sort of think he’s looking in through a window or something. His advances had been kind of funny the first few times. Karina had been happy with the abundance of tips as well. But all amusement stopped after a few months of her working. The man never stopped.
“What did he do?” You put down your burger sadly. Well, you guess that’s it for dinner.
“He grabbed my fucking ass!”
“The fuck??” You bring a hand to your mouth. Wait. How did he grab it over the bar? Huh. You mentally shake yourself. NOT the time. “What did you do?”
“I told him off, of course.” Karina picks at her nail in frustration. “Then I came back here. Oh my god, I need to calm down.” She puts her head in her hands, taking a few deep breaths. What a day for Wendy to call in sick. The waitress would have known what to do here. For a brief moment, you contemplate not doing anything at all, actually. It’s not your battle. You have no stakes in this. Karina is not even really a friend of yours. But…
“I’ll go out.” You sigh, standing up. “Stay back here for a bit. I’ll try to get him to leave.”
The blond pushes herself up from the wall. “Wait, really?” She looks down at you, shocked. Damn her fucking five inch heals. Unfair. “But…what about bossman?”
You sigh. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with him.”
Despite your apparent bravado, internally you're a bit worried about what will happen. Not with the customer, no. You've dealt with enough assholes to be comfortable with that. Your concern is more about what will happen with the boss. The man is never happy with sudden changes or upset customers. He abides by the 'customer is always right' mantra, which fuck that. If the guy ever worked a day in his life at the bar he owned, he'd know how wrong that is.
You slide the burger into the fridge (because there is no way you are throwing away free food) and head on out front. As the door closes behind you, Karina calls out a ‘thank you’. You raise a hand in acknowledgment.
Of course, the creep is still there, sitting at the bar with a distant smile on his face. You breathe in through clenched teeth and walk behind the bar. The man startles slightly, and the smile on his face falls as he notices you.
“Where’s Rina?” He asks. A nickname? Gross.
“Seemingly not here.” You reply, deadpan. “I’ll be taking care of y-“
“When she be back?” Ah. His words are beginning to slur. A tipsy creep then? Even worse.
“Dunno.” You shrug. Oh, how you urge to say ‘whenever you leave you fucking pervert’. But, you DO value your job. “That said, I’m going to have to cut you off soon. And I hope you’re not planning on driving back.” You grin. You can at least have fun with the fucker while he's here. He's nowhere near needing to be cut off, and he knows it.
His eyes narrow. “Fuck you!” He points at you.
You raise an eyebrow. “Sir, you are getting out of control.” Careful to keep your tone calm, you continue. “I will have to ask you to leave if you continue.”
“What?!” He stands up. You take a step back, seeing others in the bar turn at the commotion. “Listen here you little shit-“ He raises his fist up. Is he going to try to hit you?!
“Whoaaa buddy!” A hand appears on the creep's shoulder. You both look at the newcomers. There are five people standing behind the creep, looking a mix of ‘tough guy’ and ‘concerned’. A sharp feeling of relief and gratitude hits you. Thank god for awesome regulars. “Why are you bothering her?”
The creep, turns around with gusto, only to deflate when he realizes he is vastly outnumbered. All bravado leaves him, he stammers as he meekly allows himself to be led outside by the group. You watch them in silence as they lead him out the door. He won't be back...tonight anyways.
Once he's out the door, you let out a long breath. "Does he, uh, bother you a lot?" You look up. Ted is standing there, looking very concerned. You give a small smile and shake your head.
You let out a long breath of relief, closing your eyes. “Does he, uh, bother you a lot?” You open your eyes. Ted is still standing there, looking very concerned. "I've seen him here before." You give a small smile.
“Nah, not me. One of the girls though.” Reaching out, you grab the creep's leftover glass. You pour the rest of the drink out into the small sink behind the bar. "Comes with the territory though." Ted frowns and looks like he's going to speak up about that. It's nice of him, truly.
But you take the easy out, let him know that you'll be right back. You turn and bring the glass into the back, setting it onto the 'dirty dishes' rack. Well, that could have gone much worse. You give yourself a moment to re-compose yourself before heading back out. The gang of regulars are back inside, chatting at their regular booth. A few new people are at the bar. It's like the moment never happened. How quickly life moves on.
You let the new people know the bartender will be right with them, and head back into the little office. Karina is sitting in the chair behind the desk, fiddling with her phone. She looks up instantly as you come in.
“He’s gone.” You nod at her. “You should be fine now.”
Karina stands up with a huge smile. “Cool, thanks a bunch!" She stretches her arms up in the air. "Alright, back to work for me then." She walks by you and back out to the bar. There's a cheer as she returns, particularly loud from the gang of regulars' table. You chuckle a bit and sit back down. Truly, you think one of them - Barney, the loudmouth in a suit - is going to try to hit on her soon. It'll be fun to watch. You sit back down on the chair.
A moment later, you're standing back up. You're too wound up from everything going on to sit down and relax. You need to move, to do something.
Fresh air. I need fresh air.
Grabbing your purse you leave the office, turning down the small hallway that leads to the exit door. With a small push, it opens and you are outside. It smells…like an alleyway. There are garbage bags piled up beside the overflowing dumpster. The garbage truck must not have come by. So much for fresh air.
You look down at your phone. Even adding an extra seven minutes to your break time to excuse that entire situation, you still only have ten minutes left. There's not enough time to go anywhere else. Ugh. Well, maybe you can at least get that elusive peace and quiet. You take a few steps from the door and lean back against the wall. Looking up at the grey sky, you wonder if it's going to storm tonight. You frown, looking at your phone again. Huh. You have a new message.
[from Debbie]: sleepover tn?
A warmth begins to grow in your chest. The girl always seems to know when you’re having a bad day. You type out a quick response.
[to Debbie]: fuck yea! done at 8, come pick me up.
You’re just hitting ‘send’ when a sound echoes lightly in the alleyway, followed by a groan. You freeze. What the fuck is that?
Immediately you’re on edge. Is it the creep? You push off the wall, looking around. There’s movement, in the garbage. A raccoon? Or…
A garbage bag rolls away. You freeze. Even in the dark, you notice a huge black…something. Your eyes widen, pulse picking up quickly. That is NOT a raccoon. A bear? You slide against the wall, heading back towards the door. Shit shit shit shit. The garbage ruffles a bit more. Another groan.
“Hey…” You call out, wanting to hit yourself instantly. The movement stops, suddenly. So…a human? A drunk? Well... that's something you're at least familiar with.“You alright?”
There is no response. Unless you count a groan. Which you don’t, by the way.
Honestly, this is when you should turn back. Run back into the office and bury your sorrows in your burger. This break was obviously just not meant to be. But...fuck...you don't want ot go back in there. You just want out. You want to leave. If it wasn't for your bills, you'd be gone. Fucking capitalism.
“I got some…Edvil if you need any?” That's it, you definitely have some sort of danger fetish. What the fuck are you doing? Drunk men aren't exactly a picture of polite and kind folk. But your mind conjures up countless mornings spent in pain, groaning into your pillow. You would have done anything for medicine then. “Possibly some Esprin too.”
No response…cool. Probably the best.
“Well then, alright. I’ll leave you to your suffering.” You take one last step to the side, now finding yourself in front of the door. Then you hear it.
“please…” THAT was definitely a male voice. It's deep and gravelly. You pause. Ah fuck. You reach towards your purse with one hand, fiddling through the main section until your hand falls over a bottle. You pull it out. Esprin. Eh, that works.
Every instinct in you screams not to get closer to this person. You don't know who they are, what they look like, or what their intentions are. Luckily, the large dark blob doesn't seem to want to get close to you either. It doesn't move at all.
“I’ll just leave the bottle here.” You place it down on the concrete, failing to make it stand up completely. The bottle just falls to its side. “Take one or two, any more will make you sick.” Taking a deep breath, you turn slightly and grab the handle of the door. Pulling at it, you slide back into the pub. You never turn your back to the man.
You still feel like you were robbed of a few minutes of your break. The exhaustion hits immediately as you get back on the floor. It's not a busy night, at least. The gang of regulars is still there, as usual, and they manage to make you smile with their antics. You fall into a familiar routine. The creep doesn't return. Honestly, it could have been a worse night. You still can't wait to be out of here.
Debbie shows up about ten minutes before eight. She plops herself down at the end of the bar and waits for you to be finished. You take your spare minutes to tell her about what happened with the creep earlier. Her smile tightens a bit, and she goes off about the things she could 'do' to him with science. It's a little evil, but you appreciate the sentiment. Karina gets a huge kick out of it though.
At eight on the dot, your replacement walks out into the bar. It's a bit annoying, she should be here at least a few minutes early like the rest of you. Still, you're too exhausted to say anything. You simply give her a nod and head into the back to punch out. The place will be fine without a waitress for a few minutes. As you're punching out, your eyes fall on your purse. You recall the weird situation in the back alley. It had sort of fallen to the back of your mind during your shift. You hope the person didn't die or something. Maybe you should have called the police. Heh. Fuck that.
You head back out, packed up and ready to tell Debbie about the situation, but she seems to have other plans. When you walk out of the office she is right there at the door with a big smile on her face. She grabs your hand and drags you back over to the bar. Karina stands behind it, in the middle of pouring out four shots.
You snort, looking over at Debbie. “I hate you.” You lie.
She laughs. "C'mon! Drink away the problems with me!" So unhealthy. You sigh and sit on the barstool next to hers. It turns out, her excuse for buying you fucking shots, is that she bought them all for her but can't drink them all because she's driving. “…so you might as well make sure they don’t go to waste.” Typical. She winks at you. You stick out your tongue in response, picking up the first shot. “Shot, shot, shot, shot!”
You take the mystery shot. Ugh. Straight vodka. Why. You send Debbie a look of betrayal. She just giggles.
By the time you finish the third shot, you can feel the first beginning to hit. Not hard, but a bit of warmth. You say a quick goodbye to Karina and your replacement, before heading out with your friend. Debbie leads you to her car parked a block away. You slide into Debbie's car and plug your phone into her AUX cord for music.
The car comes to life, and she pulls out onto the road. You find a song, turning it up instantly. Both you and Debbie sing along. You’re feeling pleasantly buzzed as you harmonize (badly) with your friend. You won’t remember your earlier encounter the rest of the night.
Notes:
HELLO MY LOVES
If you're new here, welcome to the adventure! If you're one of my lovely EBS readers, thank you for sticking around!
This is the Underfell version of my EBS fic. It's a lot grittier...but also a lot more magical. SO we'll see how it goes.Why is this a thing? There's MANY scenes I've written out for EBS that just...don't work there. Sometimes there isn't a good time, or the characters are not at a place where the event would happen (physically or mentally). I've been thinking about ways to bring these scenes into EBS for a long time, and eventually they sort of morphed together into their own story. And THUS, here we go!
Alright, so it's a BIT of a rough start. But let's be honest, so was EBS. Stick around for some fun and angst ;)
-J ❤
Edit: Oh, this will be updated less frequently then EBS (at least for now), expect around a chapter a week. However, I'm not sticking to a tight schedule and there may be two one week and none the next.
Chapter Text
A distant beeping sound brings you back into consciousness.
Without opening your eyes, you roll over wildly swinging your hands. It hits the top of a frankly outdated alarm clock, stopping the sounds. For a moment, everything is calm. You take a few deep breaths and enjoy the quiet. Then you open your eyes.
Instantly, you’re assaulted by the morning light burning deep behind your eyes. Your head starts pounding. With a groan, you flip onto your stomach and bury your face into the pillow. It doesn’t help; the damage has been done. You’re well and truly hungover. Fuck.
You want to stay in bed and hide from the lights and noises of life, but you know better by now. You need water, medication, and some toast. Another loud groan and you’re rolling towards the side of the bed, getting a bit caught up in blankets. In the back of your mind, you register that Debbie must be awake if you haven't hit her. You literally slide out of bed, barely making it to your feet. Ughhh.
Do you regret last night? Nah. Do you wish you hadn’t given away your Esprin? Yup.
Rubbing at your eyes, you stagger towards the attached bathroom door. You don’t knock, but luckily it’s empty when you walk in. You go straight for the medicine cabinet, raiding it for some of Debbie's Edvil. It's easy enough to dry swallow, so you double the dose, promising yourself to drink some water soon.
You close the medicine cabinet, getting an unfortunate look at yourself in the process. Ew. In your sleep, your bun has almost completely fallen out. Your eye makeup has smeared completely and yet somehow faded away to show the bags under your eyes. You adjust the bun into a more comfortable position and splash some water on your face. That doesn't do much, so you borrow some makeup wipes from your friend and go at it. It takes a few minutes, but you manage to make yourself look... somewhat presentable. Eh…good enough for now. You leave the bathroom, heading towards the kitchen. The smell of food hits you quite suddenly, but you’re not sure if it's a good or bad thing at this point.
“Hello gorgeous!” Debbie smiles wildly, curly hair flying as she turns to see you. Ugh. She’s too damn peppy in the morning. She’s standing over the stove, a whisk in her hand. A smile begins to grow on your face. Hangover breakfast for two. Hell yea! “Sit down, it’s almost ready.”
You comply immediately and notice two steaming mugs of tea already on the table. Ah, Debbie. Such a saint. You grab the one nearest to you and take a sip. It burns, but otherwise is very good. Peppermint? You hum in contentment and hear Debbie giggle in the background.
“And we’re done!” You watch through half-lidded eyes as she plates the scrambled eggs beside some toast. Honestly, you’re not hungry but it still looks amazing. She grabs both plates and walks over to the table, setting one down beside you before sitting down across from you with her own.
For a few moments, you eat delicious food in silence. The Edvil begins to take effect, making your headache fade slightly. Thank god. You look up at Debbie, noticing for the first time that she is completely dressed and ready. “You working today?” You ask, furrowing your brows. You can’t remember the last time she worked on a weekend. She was on the 9-5 grind.
Debbie lets out a long sigh. “Yea…apparently some important people from Ebott are coming around to ‘check the facilities’ and they want everyone there.” The two of you lapse back into silence for a moment. From Ebott? You thought that place didn’t exist anymore after…
“Going to see Luke today?” Debbie’s question breaks you from your thoughts.
You frown, taking another bite of your toast. “Saturday lunch as usual.”
She lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Seriously, you need to take him up on his offer!”
“Deb-“
“Listen!” She interrupts. “You’re not happy at the pub since Carl left. The new manager seems like a dick.”
“I’m NOT a charity case.” You look away.
“No.” She replies firmly. “You’re not. Look…how long has he been asking you?”
“Two years.” You grumble.
“Two years.” She nods. “Luke’s a nice guy, but he’s not the type to extend an offer to someone for so long out of charity. You’re good, and you know it.”
You roll your eyes but stubbornly don't reply. It's not like you haven't considered it. Luke’s diner has the reputation of a safe, happy environment to work in. It's the complete opposite of what McLarens has become. You KNOW that Luke is a good boss. But…something always held you back. Maybe it’s the alcohol you can sneak at the bar.
You change the topic suddenly. “So, did you see the Game of Swords episode last night?”
Debbie narrows her eyes for a moment but gives in. “Yea, it was pretty cool.”
The two of you spend the rest of breakfast talking about the show. However, eventually, Debbie has to leave. She grabs both plates and puts them in the sink, forbidding you from doing any dishes. With a quick hug and a wave, she’s gone.
For a moment you sit in silence. Then you let out a small breath and get up, walking over to the sink. As if you’re going to just leave them there. You grab a sponge and the dish soap and get to work, humming a familiar tune to pass the time. Soon you’re done, placing the last of the dishes on her drying rack. You walk back towards Debbie’s bedroom, finding your phone laying on her floor. You grab it, checking the time. 9:10 am. You’re supposed to meet Luke in a bit under two hours. That’s enough time to get home and dressed.
Wait. To get…home…
Your car is still at the pub. With a groan, you plop backward onto the bed. Well, shit. Guess you’re raiding Debbie’s closet today.
[to Luke]: Can u pick me up today? @ Debbies
You hide your eyes under your arm. The headache is almost gone. Woo. Your phone bings.
[from Luke]: Sure!
Eating lunch at the diner is always a nice experience, but weird. A look into a life you could have led. Luke makes a grand affair of it every week, bringing out new and old recipes until the table is full. You would feel bad, but honestly, you really can’t turn down the food. Typically you eat more than you should and pack the rest up in boxes to eat for the next few days.
It would be easier to refuse if Luke wasn't such great company. It's a fun tradition, despite his constant and not subtle hints about you changing jobs. If it was up to him, the meals would be completely free. After two years, you’ve given up on paying for them (every time you tried, you coincidentally found the exact money later in your purse or your pocket) but you insist on helping out with the dishes afterward. You don’t take charity from anyone.
You wonder what he sees in you to go this far.
So, you again find yourself in the diner kitchen, washing dishes while listening to music. A sound behind you breaks you of your thoughts, and you turn around. It’s one of Luke’s more recent hires, a bald chef named Heisenburg (you really hope that’s his last name ‘cause if that’s his first name then…wooo….that sucks). Apparently Luke went out of his way to hire the chef and his niece, who became the new busboy. Busgirl? Honestly, it’s a bit weird to you that he suddenly hired them. The restaurant could use more waiters before chefs. Then again…Luke still believes you’re going to join him any day. It’s a bit frustrating actually.
“Hey.” Heisenberg starts, looking a bit awkward. “I can’t find Bluman, but we need this taken out back.” He holds up a garbage bag. It clatters a bit as it moves, must be broken glass. Ah, that makes sense to get rid of as soon as possible. “I'm sorry, I have a lot of tickets. Do you mind?”
You shrug and wipe your hands off on your apron. “Sure, no problem! I’m done anyways.” He hands you the bag carefully with a thankful smile. “Thanks for all the food today.” And every Saturday. He just smiles at you and returns to his station. You turn around and begin the walk toward the back exit. Using your side to open the door, you walk into the back area.
Instantly you’re hit with the smell of fresh air. It's nice in comparison to the musty alley behind the pub. The only thing reminiscent of the alley behind the pub is a cigarette burning out on the ground. You look at it. It looks…very new. As if someone just dropped it in a hurry. Huh. Weird. The garbage truck had definitely arrived already, and the dumpster was empty. You walk over and carefully throw the garbage bag into it.
As you turn around you see movement out of the corner of your eye. A figure. Holy shit. You freeze, slowly turning your head to face it. It’s hidden in the shadows. A tall, thin figure with red eyes.
As you lock eyes on it, lets out a deep growling sound and bolts. You jolt back in surprise as it runs by you. Your eyes attempt to follow the silhouette as it turns the corner out of sight.
Were those…cat ears? Was that a cat? You stare at the corner where it had disappeared for a few moments in shock. A tall cat on two legs? That's not…possible. Suddenly your phone pings. You startle harshly, before reaching down and grabbing it from your pocket.
[from Luke]: Where did you go? :(
Almost mechanically, you turn around and head back into the diner. Your head is still full of half-thoughts, still clouded in confusion. You don’t tell anyone about what you saw. You don’t even know WHAT you saw.
Luke drops you off at the pub around two in the afternoon. You don’t work until nine, so you don’t bother going in. You just slide into your car and head home.
Home is a small one-bedroom apartment in the shitty part of town. The electricity only works half the time, and you think there might be black mold in your bathroom but it’s cheap and central. You pull into your parking spot and get out of the car, walking towards the building. The elevator has been broken for months, so you use the stairs to get to the third floor.
It’s only when you’re in the shower that you let yourself think more about what happened behind the diner. By now, you’re half convinced that you made the entire thing up. Maybe your eyes were just playing tricks on you? A standing cat? Pfft, yea right.
There’s no way that was a human though…right? You push your face under the spray, exhausted brain attempting to come up with some sort of answer. Humans don’t move like that. But…
You sigh and lean forwards to turn off the water. You’ve been in there for an hour and your playlist is starting to repeat itself. The rest of the day is spent laying around the apartment, trying to get your mind off everything. Luckily, Luke proves to be a great distraction. He’s been texting you non-stop about working at the diner. You wonder what’s lit the wind under his sails recently. He’s never been THIS insistent before.
[from Luke]: Why don’t you just try? A trial run? See how it is, paid of course.
You groan, plopping down fully on your bed. In all honestly, Debbie and Luke are beginning to wear you down. And all the bullshit around the pub isn’t helping. At least the regulars are awesome. You’d rather deal with a gang of happy twenty-somethings than old ladies. Still…
[to Luke]: Fine.
You leave at eight-thirty for your shift at McLaren's, getting there about ten minutes early.
It isn’t overly busy, just a regular Saturday evening so far. Your eyes scan the area. The regular gang isn’t in, but neither is the creep. Eh, you'll take it. Karina is already working behind the bar, so you head on over and ask her to make you whatever she wants. She gives you a wicked smile and nods. A moment later she slides you a glass of... something blue. You shrug and take a sip. Oooo, wow. That's strong. Unexpected. You give Karina a look of approval. She smiles triumphantly and goes back to her other customers.
How could you give up this to work at a diner? You down the drink in a few minutes and head into the back to get ready for your shift. Tonight you're acting as a second bartender, as it's expected to get a bit busier later on. You take one last breath as a 'free woman', and then head on out front.
You don’t get a break until around eleven, which is fine with you. It’s been busy, but you do actually enjoy your job. When people aren't shit anyways. Tonight though, people are nice and the tips are good. You've worn your favorite low-cut top, the one that gets you the best tips, and it's really pulling its weight.
Karina comes back from her break to send you on yours. Your original plan is to get some peace and quiet in the staff area, but walking up to it you can already hear rambunctious laughter. Must be the kitchen staff. Fuck your luck. You pause, sighing. Honestly, you just need some time to clear your head. You don't want to be dragged into any conversations. Decision made, you head into the staff area to grab your shit. The kitchen staff say hi, and try to convince you to stay to 'settle a bet' (whatever that means). You reject the offer and head out back.
The smell of garbage hits you immediately, making you scrunch your nose a bit. This is one thing the diner really has on the pub. Where the diner backs onto a nearby forest, this is just an alleyway. The building next door is a Mcdonald's. Still, you're determined not to go back in. You flip over a nearby milk crate, check to make sure its okay, and sit on it. Digging your phone out of your purse, you open a text conversation.
[to Debbie]: How’d today go?
There's a shuffling sound in the distance, making you look up. Huh? What was that? You frown, standing up.
You're not stupid, really. Even if your actions don't always belay your intelligence. You're very aware of the dangers that could be lurking in the dark. People get hurt, even in small towns. Immediately on edge, you look around wildly. You're only a few steps from the door and are relatively confident that you can make it back inside quickly. You don't see anyone, but the shuffling sound happens again. The fuck is that? Your eyes narrow. Is someone playing a game with you? One of the little shits from McRonalds? You've kicked the teenagers out a few times, and wouldn't put it past them to try to mess with you.
“Someone out here?” You call out. “Hey. Come out you little shit. No games.”
For a moment, nothing happens. Then a deep chuckle.
You freeze. That doesn't sound like a shitty teenager. Turning quickly, your eyes search for a source of sound. Your breath catches in your throat. Two glowing, red eyes stare straight at you from the shadow of the dumpster.
Oh FUCK.
Your heart jumps to your throat. That’s not human. No fucking way that’s a human!
A sound begins in the shadow of the dumpster. You jolt as you notice something being rolled toward you. Your first instinct is to run, but you're frozen in place. It’s a…pill bottle? As the bottle rolls closer to you, your eyes widen. It’s the Esprin bottle. Your Esprin bottle. That means this is the…thing from behind the pub last night?
"thanks." Holy shit it speaks. Your mouth opens, shuts, and opens again. You want to say something but what the fuck would you even say?
“You’re not human” is what ends up coming out of your mouth. Fuck. That was definitely the wrong thing to say. But, that outline. Those glowing eyes. There's no way. Human beings don’t look like that. The figure moves slightly, and you jump back. You are too afraid to turn and run. You don't want your back to this thing. Silence permeates the alleyway. You're locked in an unfortunate staring contest with a creature that is definitely not human. Fuck.
Your phone pings in your pocket. You startle harshly, but can't take your eyes off the creature.
“ya better get that sweetcheeks.” A deep chuckle, and he’s gone. Just…gone.
You don't (can't) move. For a long time, you just stare at the area, back against the wall. You're sure that the creature is going to show up again. Eventually, you shudder and grab at your phone, taking your eyes off the alleyway to glance at the screen. It's just Debbie.
[from Debbie]: Idk, it’s all super weird. The girl in charge is super cute tho.
You can’t bring yourself to respond and just shove the phone back in your pocket, missing the first time with your shaky hands. You consider just leaving the Esprin bottle on the ground, but that shit is expensive. Ensuring your back is still against the wall, you bend down and grab it, sliding it into your purse. With one last terrified look at the shadow where the creature had been, you rush back inside. You slam the door behind you and lean up against it.
The familiar scent and sound of the pub seem almost odd to you now. Something BIG just happened, you can feel it, but everything else is still the same. Nobody knows except you. And, how could you possibly tell anyone? They'd think your crazy, or drunk, or both.
“I was beginning to think you disappeared.” You jolt at the words and look over at Wendy, who’s smiling at you from down the hall. Her smile fades a bit at your look. “Hey…everything okay?“
"…of course.”
You end up faking being sick to go home early. It’ll really cut into your budget, but you were messing up even the smallest things. Your mind is reeling, unable to stop thinking about the craziness of today.
When you get home, you head straight back into the shower to get the smell of ‘pub' off you. The second you hit the warm spray you realize that your breaths are just a bit too fast, and your heart rate is a bit too high. It takes you the entire shower to calm yourself down, to recognize your own safety here. You’re alright, you're in your house. Nothing can happen here.
Eventually, you have to leave the shower. You don’t bother getting dressed and just climb under your covers. It’s already two in the morning but sleep isn’t coming. Now a bit calmer, you’re able to truly go over what just happened.
For hours you engage in circular thought. Animals don’t look like that. Humans don't look like that. The one behind the diner actually growled at you. The one behind the bar spoke English. But they both had red glowing eyes and intimidating silhouettes.
There’s only one explanation popping up in the back of your mind. Monsters.
…but that’s impossible. They all died years ago.
Notes:
আমার সুন্দর পাপী
A lot is happening here in just over 2000 words lol. For the first little bit the chapters are going to match up with the ones for EBS, but we're already starting to veer off a bit from that storyline haha.
I hope you guys enjoy!
-J ❤
Chapter 3: The Tequila Sunrise
Chapter Text
Despite your trepidation, you don't see anything suspicious the next day, the day after, or the day after that. And you were looking. You just hope that 'it' has moved along, but something tells you that it's not the case. You keep seeing things, movement in the corner of your eye, a shadow where there shouldn’t be. It’s driving you insane. You’re more paranoid than you’ve ever been.
It's already time for your trial shift at the diner. It's almost annoying, how peppy Luke has been prior to today. You gave your pub shift to Karina, who was happy with the extra dough in her pocket. Your pride takes a hit as you walk into the diner doors, feeling almost like you've lost a grueling 2-year fight. But as you step into the calm atmosphere and Luke pops his head out from the back to give you a warm smile, you can't help but smile back.
The trial shift goes by fine. It's completely normal. You feel comforted by the diner in a way the pub never could. Where the pub has dark corners and flirty old men, the diner has bright open spaces and chatty old ladies. You smile and perform your job well. But, you're not used to this. At all. The lack of an 'edge' seems to put you on edge even more. It's like you're waiting for something bad to happen, for the other shoe to drop.
You're aching for fresh air. At the pub, you don’t have to be ‘customer service nice’ to every person. Your real personality is allowed to show. Here…it’s much more PG, and it tires you out more than you'd expect. So when Luke tells you to go on break, you book it out. It's a rush to hang up your apron, grab your phone, and clock out. Now officially on break, you make yourself a coffee and head towards the backdoor. It’s only as you’re pushing careful not to drop the steaming mug that you realize that something is weird.
It starts with you almost running into Bluman- Heisenburg's niece, and the new dishwasher- who is rushing inside. Rude. She could have looked. You narrow your eyes at the girl as she passes by, shaking your head in disapproval. With your foot, you hook and flip a nearby plastic crate on its top to form a little seat. You hum a bit as you sit down, prepared to chill out for your break. Maybe you'll go for a quick walk in the forest afterward. It's a nice day outside.
You drink your coffee simply, just existing in the sun. It's nice.
Ping. You look down at your phone. Oh, half of your break is done. If you want to make it on a quick walk, you better go now. You stand up and stretch, twisting your back and hearing some satisfying cracks down your spine.
You freeze, back twisted so you're looking behind you. Eyes stare straight at you from the shadow of the building. Oh fuck. Oh fuck fuck fuck fuck. Your mind becomes an unhelpful loop of profanities, and your body is unable to move.
A low growl begins to grow from the creature, deep and dangerous. You jolt, turning quickly in fright and dropping the mug. It shatters on the concrete, hot liquid splashing at your leg. You barely feel it. Your eyes are stuck on the creature, your heart pounding harshly in your chest.
“I-uh I mean no harm!” The growling increases as you speak. Fuck. “I don’t want to harm you.” What am I even saying???
The growling cuts off into a quick sound, not unlike a laugh but not quite one. “As if you could hurt me.” Your mouth opens in shock. That was a voice, deep and rough. And then there is movement in the shadow.
Those glowing red eyes disappear for a second, only to reappear much higher. Oh. It stood up. And now it is much, much taller than you. Your heart jumps in your chest, instincts telling you that this is a dangerous being. This creature could end you.
It feels like ten minutes go by where you just stand there shaking, though it might have been only a moment. But you notice something. The creature is holding itself weirdly, tilted as if leaning to one side. Why? And suddenly that's all you can think of, your mind trying anything to decrease the increasing panic. Why is it standing like that?
“Are you okay?” Oh my GOD, what the fuck?! Do I have a fucking death wish? Why did I say that? Those red eyes narrow, and another chill rushes down your back. Is it mad? This creature can attack you. You’re well aware that it would be bad. That could be the end. Even apparently hurt, you don’t doubt it. Still, your mind travels back to a week ago…the different thing behind the pub. That had ended well…right? “Listen I’m not a doctor, I don’t know much but…” You reach into your pocket. “I have some Esprin left. I heard it’s good for pain?”
Why am I doing this? You reach down and roll the bottle of esprin towards the creature. The red eyes don’t leave you until the bottle touches its…foot? Only then does it slowly bend down to get the bottle. It shakes the bottle as it comes back up, eyes reading it.
“Trying to poison me?” It glances at you out of the corner of its eyes.
“No!” A bit too loud. Your hands wave uselessly in the air beside you. “I didn’t even know you were here!” Oh shit.
The creature stares you down for a long moment. Evaluating you. You shift your weight from side to side, nervous. Is it going to attack? Will I have time to run? To defend myself? Or will it be over, just like that?
“Do you have a smoke?” Wait, what? You stare at the creature, lost. “Hey, brat.” Its eyes narrow again. “Do. You. Have. A. Smoke?”
“I- ah- don’t smoke.” Surprisingly, cigarettes have never been one of your vices. “Sorry.”
It lets out a sigh, shoulders dropping. “What use are you then? Leave.”
Well, that is an out you are more than willing to take. A quick nod and you turn on your heel, headed straight for the metal backdoor. You grab the handle with one hand, pulling it quickly open and stepping inside.
Call it curiosity, fear, stupidity, whatever you want but you can’t help taking one last look back. Your eyes widen. It has stepped out of the shadow.
It’s a cat?
You reach out to the door, stopping it from slamming shut behind you. Propping it open with your foot just a crack, you peek out. The cat creature is staring at the bottle of esprin, red eyes narrowed and tail swishing behind it. One hand goes up to open it. Oh. It can't figure out the child lock. Its face becomes frustrated as it struggles, ears flattening to its head.
An almost hysterical chuckle threatens to bubble up in your chest. You bite your lip and let the door close fully, heading back inside.
It takes you a long time to calm down from that fright. Your adrenaline had kicked in, and takes a long time to fully wear off. You are jittery throughout the rest of your shift. The day seems too long, your mind feels like it's in a fog. You work on autopilot, definitely not giving it your all.
You keep repeating what happened in your head over and over, analyzing everything you did.
What the fuck is wrong with me?!
Unfortunately, others begin to notice after a while. Your new temporary coworkers start to send you weird looks, Luke pops out occasionally with a concerned look on his face. You are called into the office an hour before your shift is supposed to end.
Luke neglects his office chair, sitting on the desk like the nerd he is. You decide to sit in the other chair like an actual proper human. His arms cross in front of him, a frown on his face. “What’s wrong?”
Heh. What could you say to that? That there’s a monster behind the diner? Fuck no. He'd send you to get checked out. “Nothing.” You shrug. “Why?”
The frown deepens. He stares at you a moment longer, before letting out a long breath. “Maybe a full shift is too much right now. You worked last night right?” Ouch, that hurts your ego. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off, go rest at home?” It’s phrased as a question, but you know how it works. When the boss says that, you go.
You run a hand through your hair, frustrated with yourself. “Okay.” After pushing yourself up out of the chair, you head out of the office. You don't look anyone in the eye as you head towards the employee break room to grab your stuff, mumbling only a quick goodbye as you leave.
You feel like a failure.
Opening the door to your car, you basically fall into the driver's seat. You slam your head back against the headrest. Fuck it. Fuck everything. You didn't even WANT this damn job to start with. You are just doing this as a favour to Luke and Debbie, right? Then why does this…suck so much? Your mind keeps playing a fucking re-run of Luke’s disappointed face.
Why did this have to happen?
Ah, yes. The fucking cat. Right. With a groan, you push yourself upright and slide the keys into the ignition. The car starts easily enough and you pull away from the diner, beginning the drive to your shithole of an apartment. It’s a pizza and shitty television night for sure.
The view is boring, really. The same trees and houses you’ve seen the entire time you’ve lived here. It’s no wonder your mind starts to drift to an impossibly tall figure with glowing red eyes. Of an odd stance indicating incredible pain.
Your fingers start to tap on the steering wheel. No, I can’t help the monster.
tap tap tap tap.
I can’t. There’s nothing I can do.
Tap Tap Tap Tap
It would probably attack me anyways. I’m lucky it let me go today.
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP
I can’t. I REALLY can’t.
TAPTAPTAPTAPTAP
You let out a frustrated groan and are forced to pull over to the side of the road to bury your face in your hands. “Fuck this.” You mumble to yourself, eyes closed. Fuck everything that made me this way.
You are beyond nervous walking back into the diner the next day. Something like this has never happened to you before.
Well…no. You’ve definitely gotten in shit before but this is the first time you’ve really cared. When Luke reached out to you last night to discuss a second trial shift, you hadn't fought back hard.
Everything at the diner seems normal . Luke asks you how you are feeling once, and leaves it at that. You are…kinda grateful, really. The shift itself goes pretty well. You are on your A-game to make up for yesterday and people can tell: coworkers are smiling and you’re getting good tips. However, your mind is still not completely there. You keep on checking the clock, feeling the nerves starting to bubble in your stomach. You try to force yourself to think of other things. It doesn't work.
When you finally get the signal for your break, you almost throw off your apron and disappear into the break room. You're quick to grab your bag and head towards the backdoor. It is only when you are at the back door, hand on the handle that you pause.
Am I REALLY doing this?
Closing your eyes briefly, you count to ten.
Big breath in.
Out.
In.
Out.
Okay.
The door opens with its signature rusty creaking sound, making you wince as the loud noise grates angrily in your head. You step outside, looking around. It looks empty, but fuck, you know better than you assume at this point.
“Um, hello?” You call out.
But nothing happens.
Nervously clenching your hands around your bag, you take a few more steps closer to the dumpster.
“Uh, cat guy? Hello?” Oh, you sound so fucking stupid. You are the damn idiot in a horror movie that dies first. At least you're self-aware? You take a few more steps toward the dumpster. Nothing happens. It's both a relief and a concern, really. Why are you doing this? Why do you need to stick your nose in this situation? You escaped potential death by monster twice already, you should know better than to go looking for trouble. You let out a sigh. Maybe this is a sign you should head back. Then you notice something that makes your heart drop.
Your shadow...it's grown taller.
It’s not just your shadow anymore.
Oh fuck.
It's behind you.
“Don’t you dare scream.”
Effectively silenced, you turn slowly toward the voice. Your heart pounds heavily, blood rushing to your ears. Oh god. It's RIGHT behind you. Close enough to touch. Close enough you have to look up to see those red eyes.
It’s definitely a cat. A humanoid cat, but a cat nonetheless. Peach-coloured and red eyes. Not the weirdest cat you'd ever seen and definitely not as terrifying as your paranoid brain had been picturing. Still, you get a feeling from this creature. A dangerous aura. Your instincts scream at you to stay away.
But when have you ever done the SMART thing?
You reach towards your purse. It -he? The voice is deep as hell- flinches away harshly, ears flattening and teeth bared. Defensive. “It’s okay!” You keep one hand open and up, palm facing the creature in hopefully some sort of placating manner. “I just have something for you.” Your other hand snags on a smaller box. Slowly, you bring it out and toss it toward him.
He catches it with one hand, not even looking. Though, once he gives it a look his eyes widen, ears perking back up. “The good stuff…” Red eyes glance back at you. “Why?”
“Fuck, I don’t know. Maybe I’m a masochist.” The words are out of your mouth before you even think of them.
He stares at you for a second, before a harsh laugh breaks from the creature. “You’re not too bad, little brat.” Brat?
You watch curiously as he pulls out the cigarette box, opening it with one hand and popping one in his mouth. His other hand goes up to the end and the cigarette lights up. Huh. You didn’t see the lighter in his hand. Weird.
Then there is silence, broken only by the occasional bird in the distance. You can’t even hear cars back here. Honestly, it’s sort of nice. The cat creature breathes out smoke that disappears quickly in the light wind. As the cat takes another hit, your eyes shift down his body towards his leg. You were right, he was definitely favoring one leg, the other taking little -if any- weight.
You don’t want to break the oddly peaceful moment but your break will eventually come to an end. You don't know how long you’ve even been out here. “I have something for your leg.” Those eyes snap back at you, narrow and suspicious. “Just some things for a splint. It's in my car.”
A long silence. You are almost about to rescind your offer when, “I'm not getting in your car."
What?
Your eyes widen. “Uh...I don’t...want you to?” Confused.
Another long silence. The creature looks you over, taking a few more deep breaths of tobacco. It almost hurts your lungs just watching him. “I parked just around the corner but I can go grab the stuff?" You offer. No response. “...or nah?”
The cat blows out another breath and throws the stub on the ground, stepping on it to extinguish the flame. “Alright. Lead the way.”
Oh. Okay then. A quick turn and you head towards your car without looking back. You don’t hear anything behind you, but he had already snuck up on you once so…
It's a bit terrifying, knowing that you are definitely being stalked by a dangerous being. Even if it is your idea. You had parked your car close to the back today, planning ahead, but the walk still feels extra long. You check for movement before going more into the open. Nothing. Great. It only takes a few steps before you reach your car.
Oh fuck!
He’s right behind you in the reflection of your window. Like a damn horror movie. Great. Cool. You don’t know how many more of these jump scares your heart can take. Still, you try to calm your breath and open the back door, reaching for the bag of items.
Wordlessly you hold out the bag to him. He takes it, hand rubbing against yours during the exchange. He's soft. Huh. Those red eyes look at you for a moment, before he gives you a nod and turns around. Immediately he heads back towards the dumpster.
“Do you want any help?”
“I can do it.” A rough response. Okay. You shrug.
Suddenly your phone starts going off in your pocket. Your alarm. ”Uh, okay then. I’m going to head back inside.” He doesn’t respond, disappearing around the corner. You watch the area for a second longer, before closing your car door and heading back inside.
Your break is over.
You try to put what happened out of your mind for the rest of the day. Your coworkers seem to have everything under control at least, so you don’t need to do any heavy thinking. It's a good thing because you can't afford another fuck-up day.
Humming a tune, you sweep the floor and wash a few tables. It has died down from the lunch rush, and you have only one table of your own. As you sweep, you notice a new figure in the corner of the room looking at you. A man. It’s a bit unnerving actually. He got in without the door ringing. You give a small, awkward smile and continue your duty. Why are people so fucking weird?
Unfortunately, after about ten minutes you realize you'll need to sweep near the weird customer. With a resigned sigh, you head on over. You can’t help but look as you get closer. Who could blame you, really? It’s a good-looking man at least, around your age. He’s wearing a uniform, but you’re not exactly sure what it is. The logo says ‘MRC’. A new company maybe? Hm.
“I haven’t seen you around here before.” Oh, a chatty one. You look over, leaning against the broom handle.
“Back at ya." It’s harsher than you intended. Whoops.
He looks shocked at your response. “Oh, sorry. I guess that’s true.”
You feel a bit bad about that one. The poor guy was only being friendly. He has no way of knowing your current emotional struggle. You throw him a bone. “I'm new here. “ You explain. “I mostly work at Mclarens.”
A smile appears on his face. “Ah, yes. My partner likes to visit there.”
"Your partner?” You question. Does he mean work partner or personal partner?
The man opens his mouth to answer when his phone rings. He gives an apologetic smile and answers it in a hushed tone. You respectfully step away, continuing your sweeping closer to the barstools and away from the booths. That logo is stuck in your mind though. You’ve seen that before, right? What is it?
It hits you.
MRC. The Monster Retrieval Committee. An armed force of officers whose only purpose was to hunt down and trap or kill monsters. You haven’t seen the logo in years, no wonder you didn’t recognize it. They haven't been around since all monsters were declared extinct. What would an MRC guy be doing around here?
Your eyes widen. The cat! You look back at the man in the booth. He looks frustrated with whoever is on the phone. Another MRC officer? Shit.
The Monster laws are old but must still be in effect, right? All monsters are considered armed and dangerous. All people are required by law to immediately call it in when they find one so that the MRC can come to collect and destroy them. You think about the cat monster at the back of the diner. It had...definitely seemed dangerous. You know it could have hurt you if it wanted to. But, it didn't. Why not? You're a complete liability for it. You could have called the police -or the MRC, which apparently still exists- anytime. But it still came out of its relative safety and followed you to the car. You think a bit more, staring at the MRC officer.
Well, fuck. I don't really have a choice now, do I?
You collect the dust and debris picked up from the floor and put it in the garbage. It's not nearly full enough to throw out, but it gives you a good excuse anyway. You tie the bag and head out the backdoor quickly, purposefully keeping your steps loud as you walk closer to the dumpster. The cat monster doesn't show himself. Maybe he left. Still...it smells like smoke...so maybe...
“I don't know if you are here still.” You whisper. “But there is an MRC officer in the diner. You should hide.” No movement. No sound. You take a deep breath. “Good luck." You whisper it into the air before you head back inside.
The MRC officer is gone when you return. He left a huge tip on the table though. Over 200% tip for his coffee. You take it, unsure of how to feel but not in the position to refuse money, and continue to work. Only a few hours left.
The end of your shift can’t come fast enough. You had felt your paranoia creep back in as you worked. Did the MRC officer hear you somehow? Are you going to get arrested? Thrown in jail? Worse? But nothing happens, and eventually Luke pops his head out of the office to tell you that you’re done. You leave quickly, for once happy to be out of the diners walls.
Your heart beats heavily as you get into your car, slumping back against the seat. Hopefully, the monster heard you…
Why am I protecting it again? It is dangerous, you know it is. You felt it as you stood beside him. Those red eyes have the ability to kill. You remember seeing the news footage from back then: the horrors, the carnage. What are you fucking doing?
You sigh, sitting up and starting your car. You slide on your seatbelt, check your mirrors and-
“FUCK!" You scream.
Red eyes stare back at you through the rearview mirror. Cat ears flatten at your scream. He looks annoyed. There is a monster in your back seat.
Why is there a monster in your back seat?
“I changed my mind. I’m going with you.”
WHAT?!
Chapter Text
You feel numb as you slowly pull into your assigned parking spot. It’s shock. It has to be.
What the fuck is happening? The monster laying in the back doesn’t make a sound, but you can smell his cigarette smoke. You roll down the window a bit. Your hands clench and unclench around the steering wheel. Again, what the fuck is happening here?!
“So, we’re here.” Your voice is louder than normal. Whoops. The monster remains silent, but you hear a shuffling behind you. “I have no idea how I’m gonna get you inside.” It’s not like you PLANNED for this or something, and even in this shithole apartment, people will take notice of a large cat monster walking around. The cat sits up, holding up a plastic bag.
“I’ll be fine.” He says. You look at the plastic bag in confusion. Bag over his head? That…won’t work, as funny as an image that is. The monster takes a look at your confused face and rolls his eyes, opening the bag. He begins to pull clothing out of it: a big hoodie, a scarf, gloves. Wait…they look familiar.
You blink. “Did you raid our lost and found?”
“Yea.” He replies as if it's nothing, sliding the hoodie over his head. You remain quiet as he slides on the gloves and wraps the scarf around his face. Huh…this could work. It is still suspicious, as the amount of clothing he’s wearing is waay too much for the weather but…it might just work. You take a deep breath and turn the engine off. Without the rumbling of the car beneath you, the fast pumping of your heart feels more apparent.
You open the door. Okay, here we go. The back door opens as you close yours, scanning the area around you for movement. The monster slides out, slamming your door closed. You flinch. “Alright. Follow me, and stay quiet.”
To his credit, the monster is extremely quiet as he follows you toward the lobby, even with the leg. The broken door makes it easy for you to get inside. You feel slight relief as you make it into the apartment without crossing anyone outside. For once luck was on your side as you don’t see anyone while climbing the stairs. But as you turn into your hallway, a familiar face greets you.
“Hellooo.” Mrs. George is a nice neighbor, not involved in anything illegal or suspicious. However, she has a gossiping streak a mile long and nobody to talk to other than her two kids. She is always trying to get you over for a ‘girls' night’ despite your very different ages.
You pause. “Hi Mrs. George.”
“Oh dear, you know to call me June. And who is this?” She tries to look behind you at the monster. You casually step in her way.
“Just a friend.” You say quickly, a bit too quickly. Mrs. George’s eyes narrow slightly, her mouth opening to speak. “We have to go, sorry!” The monster follows quickly behind you as you rush towards your door. You quickly unlock it and you both slide in, slamming the door shut behind him.
With a racing heart, you lock the door behind you and lean against it, sliding to the floor. You made it, somehow. You stare at the ceiling for a moment, breathing heavily and head swimming in relief before you look at your companion. You blink slowly.
You burst into almost hysterical giggles immediately. “What?” The monster asks, tilting his head. It just makes you laugh more. You blame it on the shock of the whole situation.
“You…look…ridiculous…” You say through trying to breathe. And he does. You hadn’t had a good look at him in the car, but no wonder Mrs. George was staring. The ‘hoodie’ was definitely a green crop top, exposing the shirt he was wearing underneath. The scarf around the bottom half of his face had ducks on it. For children maybe? The gloves were relatively normal but had huge pom-poms attached. But the image it made…was just amazing.
The monster growls a bit, eyes narrowing at you. He begins to look around the apartment for…something? His eyes settle on the cheap full-length mirror you have across the living room and he stomps over, pausing as he sees himself.
You manage to get your laughing under control as you realize he might actually be ANGRY that you laughed at him. Fuck. You did it now. Way to anger the monster in your house. Nobody will know where to find your body. You watch him with wide eyes.
He snorts, hand reaching up to pull the scarf away from himself. You feel an instant relief fall over you. “Yeah, I look ridiculous.” The monster laughs. He pulls off the crop sweater and starts to look around the rest of the house. It doesn’t take long. ”You got a shitty place, brat.” You shrug -he’s not exactly wrong- and step up beside him. He glances at you out of the corner of his eyes.
“So, what’s your name?”
The monster takes a minute to answer, sharp and observant eyes taking in the apartment a bit more before landing on you. “Call me BP.”
“BP?” You question. That’s a weird name. You raise your hand to your chin. “That’s not your real name, is it?” He doesn’t respond, just narrows his eyes and looks away pointedly. You sigh inwardly. “Shit, it’s fine. I’ll call you whatever you want. Uh, within reason.” The monster raises an eyebrow at you, definitely catching your accidental innuendo. Your face heats up a bit. “Anyways, uh. I’m not exactly sure why you are here. "
BP’s eyes look you over, before settling on your chest. It sets you on edge immediately, but you get the feeling he’s not exactly looking at your boobs. You get a lot of that at the pub, you know that look. Then again…he’s a monster. Maybe it's different. You open your mouth to make a -probably ill-advised- comment, but he cuts you off.
“You’re not too bad, brat.” He sighs, reaching into his pocket and grabbing a cigarette. He plops it in his mouth and lights it. You don’t have the energy to tell him not to. “Better than them anyways.”
Ah. The MRC guys. It makes sense really. He’s using you to get away from them. Something about that sense of sanity in this insane moment gives you calm. “Okay then. I guess if you’re staying, make yourself at home. The washroom is the door on the right down the hallway and my room is the one on the left. I’ll bring out an extra pillow and blanket for you for the couch and, uh…” Your voice fades away as you look at him. He isn’t paying complete attention to you, instead just looking around. He blows out a puff of smoke, ears twitching.
You feel a weird sensation in your chest.
“Shit, you’re good at this.” You watch with entranced eyes as BP cracks four eggs open perfectly at the same time. He looks over at you, ears twitching a bit at your praise.
“Yeah, well. I’ve had a lot of practice.” He mutters. “Usually I wait until they’ve gone bad though.”
“Wait, what?” He doesn’t respond, and you lean against the counter with a frown. The fuck did that mean? He reaches past you for the pepper, sprinkling it carefully into the eggs. As he gets closer, you can smell your body soap on him. You'd been surprised when he asked to use your shower. Like...he's a cat, right? But was that...speciesist? You frown. You’d given him a pair of your loosest sweatpants to accommodate the makeshift splint he was wearing and a sweater. He was almost too skinny for them, the sweatpants rolled a few times at his hips.
After a few minutes, the eggs are ready. Using your spatula, he easily slides them onto the already-toasted toast you had on the side. “And voila.” You mutter, walking around the monster towards the food. “Some damn easy egg sandwiches.” You pick up a plate, walking towards your shitty couch. The monster does the same, falling down beside you with a slight groan.
“What now?” His tail swishes against the ground. “Just eat in silence?”
“Who do you take me for?.” You grumble, picking up your remote and flicking on the TV. The television matches the apartment, you’d picked it up at a garage sale somewhere for dirt cheap. Still, it was a flat-screen and big enough for you. “What do you like?” He opens his mouth for a moment, before closing it and giving you a shrug. You sigh. “Alright. I’m gonna flip through the channels just stop me when I find something you’ll like.”
You start to flip through the channels: NNC, XOF news, Manhattan Nine-Nine, This is Me, The Small Boom Theory…. Nothing seems to get his attention. “Nothing?” BP just shrugs. You sigh, flipping back to Manhattan Nine-Nine. At least you would enjoy it. You lean back on the couch and start to nibble at your sandwich.
It’s close to ten minutes into the episode when your eyes shift to BP. It's surprising actually, how he seems actually interested in the show. Some joke comes on screen and his mouth twitches. Huh. So the monster likes comedy. You store that information in your brain for later use, whatever that may be. BP suddenly looks over at you, raising an eyebrow. You take the hint and look back at the screen, feeling a bit awkward at being caught. Still, it doesn’t take long for your eyes to shift back toward him. Who could really blame you? BP is a monster. An intelligent being that isn’t human, but made of magic. It terrifies you as much as it amazes you, and it satisfies so many of your childhood dreams. Ones that you thought were impossible after…well everything happened at Ebott.
“A girl is staring at me, I wonder if the kit actually worked…” He suddenly mutters, looking at you out of the corner of his eyes. Oh yea, cats can see in the dark. “Do you feel the need to vomit?” You pause, baffled. Your mouth opens slightly. His eyes stay focused on you.
His hand goes up to his mouth. The snort he makes becomes a short-listing chuckle.
You don’t understand what happened but are happy anyways.
You spit out the last of your mouthwash and head across the hall toward your bedroom. Pausing mid-step, you turn a curious eye toward the living room. It’s dark, and quiet and the back of the couch is facing you. You see nothing. If you didn’t know better, you’d think you were alone. Shaking your head softly, you continue into your room. You make your way towards your bed by memory alone and slide under the covers, flipping your pillow over before burying your face in it.
What a day. You feel beyond worried about the future. Maybe if BP wasn’t so fucking vague all the time. You think about the events of the night.
2 Hours Earlier
“So, why did you choose me as your getaway human?” The question has been nagging you for a few hours now. Were you just a convenient kind person?
He simply shrugs.“I wasn’t exactly getting away.”
“What?” You look over at him quickly. He stares at the TV, eyes half open. “I thought you were running from the MRC goons.”
“Nah.” He yawns into a paw. “It’s not them I was worried about. They aren’t looking for me.” You frown. What does that mean? He does not elaborate but you find it difficult to push him. Looking back at the TV you find he’s somehow still watching Manhattan Nine-Nine. He must have found a marathon or something.
You pull yourself from the memory. BP hadn’t seemed too concerned about the MRC, but you are. For him but also for you. If caught, you’d at least face jail time. You are helping a creature that is labeled a terrorist species. Could you be charged with treason? Harboring a terrorist? That sends a shiver down your spine. Ugh. You need to stop this train of thought or you’ll never get to sleep. You look at your phone for distraction: 6 new messages. Whoops.
[from Debbie]: so this new girl is not cute.
[from Debbie]: she keeps spouting all this shit about
[from Debbie]: actually maybe we should speak in person. when u free?
[from Debbie]: hello?
[from Debbie]: ???
You are immediately more awake. Quickly, you type out a response.
[to Debbie]: Sorry, busy day at work. I’m only at the pub the next few days, so i’m down for whenever.
You switch to the new message from Luke while waiting.
[from Luke]: I’m just getting home. This is why I need you.
[to Luke]: Lmao.
Debbie’s conversation pings.
[From Debbie]: how about tomorrow @8.
You frown. You guess you’re not getting much sleep tonight then. It’s already midnight. But…Debbie wouldn’t ask you out this early unless it was important.
[to Debbie]: Centre Perk cafe?
[from Debbie]: sounds good. Night love.
[to Debbie]: night xoxo
You lay your phone down with a sigh, staring at the ceiling. Your life has surely gotten more complicated recently, and it seems like Debbie is about to make it worse. You’ll accept whatever she wants, however, because well…it’s Debbie. Your mind drifts to the monster sleeping (?) on your couch. Should you tell her? A large part of you wants to tell her. You two don’t keep secrets, and she’d probably have an idea or two, her scientific mind able to come up with ideas you cannot. Hmm…maybe. You’ll see how the conversation goes tomorrow. With that, you turn over and close your eyes.
Time for sleep.
Yet your mind doesn’t seem to agree. It races with thoughts both random and relevant. Thoughts you can’t keep a hold of or really focus on. It's as if your mind is on cocaine, and you let out a groan. It’s not often you had these random bouts of insomnia, and never fun when they occur. It pretty much guarantees that you won't get to sleep for the next few hours, and waking up to meet Debbie is going to be agony. Unless…
You have a drawer full of medicine, a just-in-case drawer really. But in there is some nighttime cold medicine. It hits you hard, you know. Should you use it? You contemplate for a while, but your mind can’t even really focus on that. It keeps going on tangents. With an angry breath, you open your eyes and start to sit up.
You slide yourself out of bed towards the drawer, grab the bottle of pills and shove two down your throat before heading back to bed. You lay on your back, unable to sleep until the pills kick in.
It’s only for that reason that you hear the quiet sound of your door open. At first, you are confused. Who? You settle a bit as you realize it must be BP, and glance down towards the door wondering what he wants. A shadowy figure steps inside the door.
No.
THAT is not BP.
The huge figure that walks through the door is definitely not the cat monster. You sit up immediately, watching in silent fear as the figure closes the door behind it. It turns to look at you. You can’t see much in this light. But you can see the glowing red eye focus on you.
“shit, you’re awake.” That voice. You’ve heard it before. But where? You feel your arms start to shake. “ it doesn’t matter.”
And suddenly that eye is much, much closer. You open your mouth to let out a scream, but nothing comes out. Something is heavy on your chest, pressing you painfully back down into the bed. You can’t breathe. Oh fuck, you can’t breathe. You can’t even move. You can’t do anything except stare up at the creature above you.
You can see it now that it is closer. You wish you couldn’t. It looks like the fucking grim reaper. A skeleton with one empty eye socket and one glowing red one. Its face is pulled into a terrifying smile. Is that a gold tooth? Your vision begins to blur as you lose air. It seems to make the creature’s smile grow.
“heya.”
That's the last thing you hear before you black out.
Notes:
Aaand we have successfully deviated from the main work.
Just another heads up that this story WILL be very different than EBS. EBS is more gritty and realistic, while HH will be MUCH more magical. But look out for similarities. For example: Read's backstory is almost the exact same in both version. The only difference is one event which is triggered by monsters rising to the surface, which became different in each universe. There will also be various events that happen in both stories, and how they affect the different characters will be very interesting to write haha.
I still think it will definitely be worth the ride!
Thank you all so DAMNED much for all your support and love <3 I promise I wont give up on EBS or HH.
Chapter 5: The Spiked Absinthe
Chapter Text
Oh, your head fucking hurts.
You groan angrily, turning over on your side to snuggle further into your pillow. But you don’t. You can’t move. You’re stuck on your back. What? Your eyes open.
The first thing you notice is the glass pane a few inches in front of your face. What the? You want to reach out and touch it, feel if it’s really there or just a figment of your imagination. But you can’t. Looking down, you see the straps that hold you in place. Your eyes glance left to right, but the other walls of this container you’re in are opaque white.
You should be freaking out right now.
Why are you not freaking out right now?
While not extremely claustrophobic, you’ve never enjoyed tight spaces. And here you are, trapped. You look around, confused, before your eyes focus on a small hole in the glass. A black plastic tube is connected to the hole, leading out into the room outside. Nothing is coming out though. Or…is there?
Gas? You remember getting your wisdom teeth out years ago. You had been so alone and nervous, so the nurse gave you some laughing gas to calm your nerves. It had worked very well. You went from being scared to thinking you could stay like this forever; breathing heavily to watch your heart rate monitor go up and then holding your breath to watch it go down.
Is that what’s happening? You don't know. Still, you can't bring it in you to struggle. Your heart doesn’t beat fast, your brain stays sluggish and in pain.
You only react a bit when a figure comes into view. A tall, menacing figure that by all rights should have you screaming in fear.
It’s a skeleton. Humanoid but not human. Definitely not human. It’s too tall, too big to be a human, the bones too thick and sturdy looking. Red eyes look at you, widening slightly at the sight that you are awake. Then, a devilish smirk forms on that skull revealing impossibly pointed teeth. The thing winks at you.
Shit.
The skeleton turns to the side suddenly, mouth opening and shutting. Is it speaking? You can’t hear it. Someone else is there? Another figure comes into view, responding to the skeleton. It’s tall and brown and…
You know that face.
“BP…” You mouth, lips unable to pull sound for the words. But… as if he’s heard you, the cat monster suddenly looks your way. His narrowed eyes lock with yours for a moment, before his years flatten down on his head. He looks away, refusing to further meet your gaze.
Why is he here? What is going on? You watch as the two monsters talk, unable to hear what they are saying. BP looks agitated, his tail swinging left to right rapidly and his ears not leaving his skull. He keeps gesturing toward you but doesn’t look your way. The skeleton for its part looks relaxed. It keeps glancing in your direction with that shark-like grin.
Do they...know each other?
They must, right? There’s no way that two monsters survived… and ended up in the same small town by accident. There’s just no way. So they are working together? Your brain hurts too much at the thought, and a weird feeling of betrayal begins in your chest. You shouldn’t feel betrayed, it’s not like you knew the cat monster long enough. Still…
You focus back at the monsters, eyes widening as you notice they’ve changed positions. BP is gone, and the skeleton is much…much closer. It stands in front of the glass, looking down at you with a blank face. Somehow more terrifying than before. It stands there for an uncountable amount of time, just staring at you. You can’t do anything to get away but you can avert your eyes. Look anywhere else.
Bones clack harshly against the glass as it reaches forward, resting its hand there. You look back at the skeleton. That ghastly grim reaper face smiles again down at you. Its mouth opens and shuts. It’s talking. To you? But you have no idea what it’s saying. You can’t hear any words in here.
Does it have a gold tooth? The fuck…
Suddenly the sound of a machine coming to life hits your ears. You look right- towards the sound- but can’t see anything. The black plastic tube moves a bit. You see it this time, the gas moving from the hose into your only breathing air.
You look back up at the skeleton, watching its face fall from that grin. Its face returns to a more neutral position, but it doesn’t look away. It’s just there. Watching you.
You feel yourself drift away.
Chapter Text
“I can’t believe he- fucking hell!”
The door slams open wildly. You startle slightly and look up from your phone. Your dinner break had already started, but for some reason, you hadn’t ordered food like normal. Something inside you told you to wait. You fucking KNEW something like this was going to happen. You can't catch a break, can you? Karina looks beyond angry. The blond bombshell stomps across the room towards the wall, slamming her hand against it. Ouch. Looks painful.
She yelps, cussing loudly and shaking her hand in the air to dispel the pain. Eventually, she just groans and leans back against the wall. “Seriously! You’d think he’d take a hint…or a hundred!” She sighs.
The fuck do I say to that? It’s obvious who she’s talking about. You wrinkle your nose in disgust. A saggy face pops into your mind. The creep has been coming every night she works. It's a mystery to everyone how he knows her schedule. You sort of think he’s looking in through a window or something. His advances had been kind of funny the first few times. Karina had been happy with the abundance of tips as well. But all amusement stopped after a few months of her working. The man never stopped.
“What did he do?” You slide your phone into your pocket.
“He grabbed by fucking ass!”
“No!” You bring a hand to your mouth. Wait. How did he grab it over the bar? Huh. You mentally shake yourself. NOT the time. “What did you do?”
“I told him off, of course.” Karina picks at her nail in frustration. “Then I came back here. Oh my god I need to calm down.” She puts her head in her hands, taking a few deep breaths. For a brief moment, you contemplate not doing anything. It’s not your battle. You have no stakes in this. Karina is not even really a friend of yours. But…it's not like you're doing anything except scrolling on your phone.
“I’ll go out.” You sigh, standing up. “Stay back here for a bit. I’ll try to get him to leave.”
The blond pushes herself up from the wall. “Wait, really?” She looks down at you, shocked. Damn her fucking five inch heals. Unfair. “But…what about bossman?”
You sigh. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with him.”
Despite your apparent bravado, internally you're a bit worried about what will happen. Not with the customer, no. You've dealt with enough assholes to be comfortable with that. Your concern is more about what will happen with the boss. The man is never happy with sudden changes or upset customers. He abides by the 'customer is always right' mantra, which fuck that. If the guy ever worked a day in his life at the bar he owned, he'd know how wrong that is. As the door closes behind you, Karina calls out a ‘thank you’. You raise a hand in acknowledgment.
Of course the creep is still there, sitting at the bar with a distant smile on his face. You breathe in through clenched teeth and walk behind the bar. The creep startles slightly, and the smile on his face falls as he notices you.
Something about this seems familiar to you.
“Where’s Rina?” He asks. A nickname? Gross.
“Not here.” You reply, deadpan. “I’ll be taking care of y-“
“When she be back?” Ah. His words are beginning to slur. A tipsy creep then? Even worse.
“Dunno.” You shrug. Oh, how you urge to say ‘whenever you leave you fucking pervert’. But, you DO value your job. “That said, I’m going to have to cut you off soon. And I hope you’re not planning on driving back.” You grin. You can at least have fun with the fucker while he's here. He's nowhere near needing to be cut off, and he knows it.
His eyes narrow. “Fuck you!” He points at you.
You raise an eyebrow. “Sir, please calm down.” Careful to keep your tone calm, you continue. “I will have to ask you to leave if you continue.”
“What?!” He stands up. You take a step back, seeing others in the bar turn at the commotion. “Listen here you little shit-“ He raises his fist up. Is he going to try to hit you?!
“Whoaaa buddy!” A hand appears on the creep's shoulder. You both look at the newcomers. There are five people standing behind the creep, looking a mix of ‘tough guy’ and ‘concerned’. A sharp feeling of relief and gratitude hits you. Thank god for awesome regulars. “Why are you bothering her?”
The creep, turns around with gusto, only to deflate when he realizes he is vastly outnumbered. All bravado leaves him, he stammers as he meekly allows himself to be led outside by the group. You watch them in silence as they lead him out the door. He won't be back...tonight anyways.
Once he's out the door, you let out a long breath. "Does he, uh, bother you a lot?" You look up. Ted is standing there, looking very concerned. You give a small smile and shake your head.
You let out a long breath of relief, closing your eyes. “Does he, uh, bother you a lot?” You open your eyes. Ted is still standing there, looking very concerned. "I've seen him here before." You give a small smile.
“Nah, not me. One of the girls though.” Reaching out, you grab the creep's leftover glass. You pour the rest of the drink out into the small sink behind the bar. "Comes with the territory though." Ted frowns and looks like he's going to speak up about that. It's nice of him, truly.
But you take the easy out, let him know that you'll be right back. You turn and bring the glass into the back, setting it onto the 'dirty dishes' rack. Well, that could have gone much worse. You give yourself a moment to re-compose yourself before heading back out. The gang of regulars are back inside, chatting at their regular booth. A few new people are at the bar. It's like the moment never happened. How quickly life moves on.
You let the new people know the bartender will be right with them, and head back into the little office. Karina is sitting in the chair behind the desk, fiddling with her phone. She looks up instantly as you come in.
“He’s gone.” You nod at her. “You should be fine now.”
Karina stands up with a huge smile. “Cool, thanks a bunch!" She stretches her arms up in the air. "Alright, back to work for me then." She walks by you and back out to the bar. There's a cheer as she returns, particularly loud from the gang of regulars' table. You chuckle a bit and sit back down. Truly, you think one of them - Barney, the loudmouth in a suit - is going to try to hit on her soon. It'll be fun to watch. You sit back down on the chair.
A moment later, you're standing back up. You're too wound up from everything going on to sit down and relax. You need to move, to do something.
Fresh air. I need fresh air.
Grabbing your purse you leave the office, turning down the small hallway that leads to the exit door. With a small push, it opens and you are outside. It smells…like an alleyway. There are garbage bags piled up beside the overflowing dumpster. The garbage truck must not have come by. So much for fresh air.
You look down at your phone. Even adding an extra seven minutes to your break time to excuse that entire situation, you still only have ten minutes left. There's not enough time to go anywhere else. Ugh. Well, maybe you can at least get that elusive peace and quiet. You take a few steps from the door and lean back against the wall. Looking up at the grey sky, you wonder if it's going to storm tonight. You frown, looking at your phone again. Huh. You have a new message.
[from Debbie]: sleepover tn?
A warmth begins to grow in your chest. The girl always seems to know when you’re having a bad day. You type out a quick response.
[to Debbie]: fuck yea! done at 8, come pick me up.
You’re just hitting ‘send’ when a sound echoes lightly in the alleyway, followed by a groan. You frown. What the fuck is that?
Immediately you’re on edge. Is it the creep? You push off the wall, looking around. There’s movement, in the garbage. A racoon? Or…
“you.” A deep, angry voice echoes in the alleyway.
Your eyes widen. Even in the dark, you notice a huge black…something. Clenching your hands, your pulse begins to pick up. That is NOT a raccoon. A bear? You slide against the wall, headed back towards the door.
It’s getting closer.
Fuck Fuck Fuck. You need to get back inside.
“don’t you dare try.”
Suddenly your limbs freeze. What the fuck? You look down at your body, your heart jumping into your throat. What the FUCK?!
There’s a red glow covering your body from your chest down to your ankles. It’s emitting pressure, not letting you move. It’s hot, harsh, and rough against your body. Unpleasant on its own, painful in how hard it presses you against the brick wall.
As the creature walks up close, your heart drops. This…this THING isn’t human. There is no way it’s human. You can’t make out all the features in the dark, but those glowing red eyes…those pointy white teeth…they scream monster.
Oh fuck. Monster.
The creature stops a few feet in front of you. Red eyes stare at you. “why didn’t it work?” The quiet mumble comes as a surprise. The creature turns to the side, pacing back and forth in front of you. Talking to itself. “everything was perfect. this should have worked. If this was that fucking cat’s fault I swear-or…” Suddenly it pauses, head spinning to face you. “what the fuck did you do?!”
A dark, deadly tone. Your mouth opens in a gasp with no sound. The pressure increases on your chest, knocking the wind out of you. Still, you force out words. “Nothing!” You’re in complete survival mode right now. You have no doubt this creature in front of you would kill you. “I haven’t done anything, I swear!”
Those red eyes stare you down for a moment longer, sending harsh shivers down your spine. Then he turns away, arm reaching up to rest a …hand? on the back of his head.
The pressure on your chest increases, crawling up your shoulders towards your neck.
No.
it's really going to kill you.
Your vision begins to blur as tears escape down your cheeks. “Please don’t.” You choke out.
But the creature just rolls its eyes. “don’t be a pussy.” The pressure grips at your neck, beginning to constrict until you feel the last air escape your lungs. Your head begins to hurt. You begin to choke, gasping body attempting to get the oxygen it needs. Your muscles begin to spasm. Your head feels like it’s about to explode.
The pressure.
“ugh, my head hurts.” That shark-like smile grins at you. “i’ll grab myself some of that esprin for next round.”
You take your last gasping breath.
Notes:
Hey loves <3
I hope you guys don't mind the few short chapters. The next one won't be that much longer anyways. They are super important though!
Thank you guys so much for reading!! I love you all :)
Chapter Text
“I can’t believe he- fucking hell!”
The door slams open wildly. You startle slightly and look up from your phone. Your dinner break had already started, but for some reason, you had been on edge.You fucking KNEW something like this was going to happen. You can't catch a break, can you? Karina looks beyond angry. The blond bombshell stomps across the room towards the wall, slamming her hand against it. Ouch. Looks painful.
She yelps, cussing loudly and shaking her hand in the air to dispel the pain. Eventually, she just groans and leans back against the wall. “Seriously! You’d think he’d take a hint…or a hundred!” She sighs.
The fuck do I say to that? It’s obvious who she’s talking about. You wrinkle your nose in disgust. A saggy face pops into your mind. The creep has been coming every night she works. It's a mystery to everyone how he knows her schedule. You sort of think he’s looking in through a window or something. His advances had been kind of funny the first few times. Karina had been happy with the abundance of tips as well. But all amusement stopped after a few months of her working. The man never stopped.
“Did he touch you?” You slide your phone into your pocket.
“Yea! He grabbed my fucking ass!”
“No!” You bring a hand to your mouth. Wait. How did I know that? Huh. You mentally shake yourself. NOT the time. “What did you do?”
“I told him off, of course.” Karina picks at her nail in frustration. “Then I came back here. Oh my god I need to calm down.” She puts her head in her hands, taking a few deep breaths. For a brief moment, you contemplate not doing anything. It’s not your battle. You have no stakes in this. Karina is not even really a friend of yours. But…this weird energy inside of you needs to get out somehow.
“I’ll go out.” You sigh, standing up. “Stay back here for a bit. I’ll get him to leave.”
The blond pushes herself up from the wall. “Wait, really?” She looks down at you, shocked. Damn her fucking five inch heals. Unfair. “But…what about bossman?”
You sigh. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with him.”
Despite your apparent bravado, internally you're a bit worried about what will happen. Not with the customer, no. You've dealt with enough assholes to be comfortable with that. Your concern is more about what will happen with the boss. The man is never happy with sudden changes or upset customers. He abides by the 'customer is always right' mantra, which fuck that. If the guy ever worked a day in his life at the bar he owned, he'd know how wrong that is. As the door closes behind you, Karina calls out a ‘thank you’. You raise a hand in acknowledgment.
Of course, the creep is still there, sitting at the bar with a distant smile on his face. You breathe in through clenched teeth and walk behind the bar. The creep startles slightly, and the smile on his face falls as he notices you.
Something about this seems familiar to you. You're hit by a strong sense of Deja Vu.
“Where’s-" He starts.
“Not here.” You interrupt, deadpan. “I’ll be taking care of you today."
“Did ya' just in'trupt me?" Ah. His words are beginning to slur. A tipsy creep then? Even worse.
You shrug. Oh, how you urge to say ‘of course I did you fucking pervert’. But, you DO value your job. “I'm sorry sir. I’m going to have to cut you off soon. And I hope you’re not planning on driving back.” You grin. You can at least have fun with the fucker while he's here. He's nowhere near needing to be cut off, and he knows it.
His eyes narrow. “Fuck you!” He points at you.
You raise an eyebrow. “Sir, please calm down.” Careful to keep your tone calm, you continue. “I will have to ask you to leave if you continue.”
“What?!” He stands up. You take a step back, seeing others in the bar turn at the commotion. “Listen here you little shit-“ He raises his fist up. Is he trying to hit you?! His hand swings forward. You watch, frozen, as the hand comes toward your face.
It stops inches from you. "Whoaaa buddy!" You hear Ted's voice in the background, but your vision is focused on the fucking fist in front of your face. "You have to get out." The fist lowers, and you can see five people standing behind the creep, looking a mix of ‘tough guy’ and ‘heavily concerned’. Barney and Marshall have the guy pinned in their arms. A sharp feeling of relief and gratitude hits you. Thank god for awesome regulars.
The creep struggles a bit but deflates when he realizes he is vastly outnumbered. All bravado leaves him, he stammers as he meekly allows himself to be led outside by the group. You watch them in silence as they lead him out the door. He won't be back...tonight anyways. You just know.
Once he's out the door, you let out a long breath. "Are you okay?" You look up. Ted is standing there, looking very concerned.
You give a small smile. "Yeah, I'm okay." You reach out, shakily grabbing the creep's leftover glass. You pour the rest of the drink out into the small sink behind the bar. "Comes with the territory. I should have known not to antagonize him...I don't know what came over me." Ted frowns and looks like he's going to speak up about that. It's nice of him, truly.
But you take the easy out, let him know that you'll be right back. You turn and bring the glass into the back, setting it onto the 'dirty dishes' rack. You still feel a bit shaky. Well, that could have gone much better. What the fuck is wrong with me today? You give yourself a moment to re-compose yourself before heading back out. The gang of regulars are back inside, chatting at their regular booth. They all turn to look as you come back out. You wave off their concern.
You let the new people know the bartender will be right with them, and head back into the little office. Karina is sitting in the chair behind the desk, fiddling with her phone. She looks up instantly as you come in.
“He’s gone.” You nod at her. “You should be fine now.”
Karina stands up with a huge smile. “Cool, thanks a bunch!" She stretches her arms up in the air. "Alright, back to work for me then." She walks by you and back out to the bar. As the door closes behind her you can hear her ask. "What's with the mood out here?"
You stare at the little office, feeling claustrophobic. Weird. You've never felt claustrophobic like this.
You're too wound up from everything going on to sit down and relax. You need to move, to do something.
Fresh air. I need fresh air.
Grabbing your purse you leave the office, turning down the small hallway that leads to the exit door. With a small push, it opens and you are outside. It smells…like an alleyway. There are garbage bags piled up beside the overflowing dumpster. The garbage truck must not have come by. So much for fresh air.
You look down at your phone. Even adding an extra seven minutes to your break time to excuse that entire situation, you still only have ten minutes left. There's not enough time to go anywhere else. You think of your boss. Would be begrudge you an extra few minutes on break? Would he know? You take a few steps from the door and lean back against the wall. Looking up at the grey sky, you wonder if it's going to storm tonight. You frown, looking at your phone again. Huh. You have a new message.
[from Debbie]: sleepover tn?
A warmth begins to grow in your chest. The girl always seems to know when you’re having a bad day. You type out a quick response.
[to Debbie]: fuck yea! shitshow at work today. done at 8, come pick me up.
You’re just hitting ‘send’ when a sound echoes lightly in the alleyway, followed by a groan. You frown. What the fuck is that?
Immediately you’re on edge. Is it the creep? You push off the wall, looking around. Your adrenaline starts pumping. If it's the creep, is he looking for a fight? There’s movement, in the garbage. A raccoon? Or…
“ this is fucking bullshit!" A deep, angry voice echoes in the alleyway.
Your eyes widen. Even in the dark, you notice a huge back...something. Clenching your hands, your pulse begins to pick up. That is NOT a raccoon. Shit! You slide against the wall, headed back towards the door.
It’s getting closer. Fast.
Fuck Fuck Fuck. You need to get back inside. You turn and run.
Suddenly your limbs freeze. What the fuck? You look down at your body, your heart jumping into your throat. What the FUCK?! You open your mouth to scream.
Nothing comes out.
There’s a red glow covering your body from your chest down to your ankles. It’s emitting pressure, not letting you move. It’s hot, harsh, and rough against your body. It turns you roughly, slamming you backward against the brick wall. Your head hits the wall painfully.
Your vision blurs. By the time it straightens up, the creature is right in front of you. Your heart drops. This…this THING in front of you isn’t human. It can't be human. You can’t make out all the features in the dark, but those glowing red eyes…those pointy white teeth…they scream creatures of nightmares. A monster.
Oh fuck. Monster?!
Those red eyes stare at you. You shudder. You've never seen eyes so full of hatred before. "i don't understand." It mumbles. "everything is right. the numbers. the soul." It lets out a growl, deep and dangerous. You can't do anything but stare in horror. "are you fucking defective?"
That startles a laugh out of you. "Probably."
The eye sockets blink, you think in surprise. To be fair, you're also shocked you said anything. For just a second, you see the hatred flicker out of the creature's eyes. Then, it returns full force. "fuck off."
The pressure on your chest increases, crawling up your shoulders towards your neck.
No.
It's going to kill you. You struggle, pushing against the red aura the best you can. It's futile. "Please please please please..." You stammer, begging for your life.
But the creature ignores you. "die faster this time." It growls, dark and deadly. Red clouds your vision and you feel get lifted off of the wall. You float in mid-air for a mere second, before being rushed again backward.
Your head slams against the wall.
That's the last you remember.
Notes:
Aaand round 3 done ;)
Don't worry, we're going to move past this lol. Please expect another chapter uploaded very soon!
I'm so happy to be writing this again. It's a fun twist on EBS. Please let me know what you think :)
Chapter Text
“I can’t believe he- fucking hell!”
The door slams open wildly. You look up, strangely not startled at the intrusion. Karina looks beyond angry. The blond bombshell stomps across the room towards the wall.
"Watch out for your -" You try to stop her, but she slams her hand against the wall. Fuck. Looks painful. She yelps, cussing loudly and shaking her hand in the air to dispel the pain.
“It’s the creep, right?” You ask. She stops waving her hand in the air to look at you. A saggy face pops into your mind. The creep has been coming every night she works. It's a mystery to everyone how he knows her schedule. You sort of think he’s looking in through a window or something. His advances had been kind of funny the first few times. Karina had been happy with the abundance of tips as well. But all amusement stopped after a few months of her working. The man never stopped. “Did he touch you?”
Karina seems to have almost snapped out of her anger. She gives you a weird look. “What the… are you psychic or something?”
You begin to laugh her off but pause. How do you know what happened? The pub has cameras, sure, but you can’t see them in here. Why were you so certain that's what happened? A shiver runs down your back, a weird sense of deja vu.
“I guess I’ve just…been working here too long.” You joke, brushing it off. You stand up and make your way over to the door, heading out into the front. As the door closes behind you, Karina calls out a ‘thank you’. You raise a hand in acknowledgment.
Of course, he is there. The creep. He's just how you pictured him: Sitting at the bar with a distant smile on his face. That sense of deja vu comes back stronger. You breathe in through clenched teeth and walk behind the bar. The creep startles slightly, and the smile on his face falls as he notices you.
“Where’s Rina?” He asks. A nickname? Gross.
“Not here.” You reply, deadpan. “I’ll be taking care of y-“
“When she be back?” Ah. His words are beginning to slur. A tipsy creep then? Even worse.
“Dunno.” You shrug. Oh, how you urge to say ‘whenever you leave you fucking pervert’. But, you DO value your job. “That said, I’m going to have to cut you off soon. And I hope you’re not planning on driving back.” You grin. You can at least have fun with the fucker while he's here. He's nowhere near needing to be cut off, and he knows it.
His eyes narrow. “Fuck you!” He points at you.
You raise an eyebrow. “Sir, please calm down.” Careful to keep your tone calm, you continue. “I will have to ask you to leave if you continue.”
“What?!” He stands up.
“DONT raise your hand to me.” Your words are harsh. The bar goes silent, others turning at the commotion. The creep gives you a wide-eyed look. His hand is clenched in a fist. How did you know he was going to try to strike you?
“Whoaaa buddy!” A hand appears on the creep's shoulder. You both look at the newcomers. There are five people standing behind the creep, looking a mix of ‘tough guy’ and ‘concerned’. A sharp feeling of relief and gratitude hits you. Thank god for awesome regulars. “Why are you bothering her?”
The creep turns around with gusto only to deflate when he realizes he is vastly outnumbered. All bravado leaves him, he stammers as he meekly allows himself to be led outside by the group. You watch them in silence as they lead him out the door. He won't be back. You just know it.
You, uh, just know a lot of things today actually. The fuck? That deja vu lingering in the back of your mind hits full force. Vision begins to blur. Nausea swirling in your stomach. The back of your head starts to hurt. Why do you feel like you're choking?
Ted is there, looking concerned. He opens his mouth to speak but you wave him off. You need to get out. Quickly you make your way to the back, very aware of multiple sets of eyes on you as you go. You don't care. Karina is sitting in the chair behind the desk, fiddling with her phone. She looks up instantly as you come in.
“He’s gone.” You choke out, breathing heavily. “You should be fine now.”
Karina stands up with a huge smile. “Cool, thanks a bunch!" She stretches her arms up in the air. "Alright, back to work for me then." She walks by you and back out to the bar. There's a weird quiet in the pub as she re-enters the front.
Fresh air. I need fresh air.
Grabbing your purse you leave the office, turning down the small hallway that leads to the exit door. With a small push, it opens and you are outside. It smells…like an alleyway. There are garbage bags piled up beside the overflowing dumpster. The garbage truck must not have come by. So much for fresh air.
Still, better than nothing.
You look down at your phone. Even adding an extra seven minutes to your break time to excuse that entire situation, you still only have ten minutes left. There's not enough time to go anywhere else. You think of your boss. Would be begrudge you an extra few minutes on break? Would he even know? You take a few steps from the door and lean back against the wall. Looking up at the grey sky, you wonder if it's going to storm tonight. You frown, looking at your phone again. Huh. You have a new message.
[from Debbie]: sleepover tn?
A warmth begins to grow in your chest. The girl always seems to know when you’re having a bad day. You type out a quick response.
[to Debbie]: fuck yea! shitshow at work today. done at 8, come pick me up.
You hit send.
The rest of your break goes undisturbed.
2 Weeks Later
Living with a monster is strangely...not strange? He’s still a bit terrifying, sure, the guy is a literal monster. He uses magic (!!!) in his day-to-day life, which scares you a bit. But he's not the worst roommate you’ve ever had. BP does his part around the house and more, which honestly still surprises you. The monster is clean, almost to a fault, and cooks meals for both of you.
His tail is a bit of an unintentional weapon against your furniture though. He’s accidentally knocked over a few glasses and a lamp. The monster blamed it on your 'short human' furniture, but you could tell he felt a little guilty about it. Either way, you brush it off. Most of your furniture you got off the side of the road or at garage sales anyways.
Well…you may be able to afford something a little better soon. You’ve decided to take Luke up on his offer. It’s more money and less stress. You can’t resist it anymore, especially after the recent developments.
In the last week, you've developed this…thing that you don’t know how to explain. A phobia of sorts that popped out from nowhere. Any time you’re asked at the pub to take out the garbage, or meet a supplier out back, or anything to do with the alleyway you completely freak out. You start breathing heavily, heart rate spiking. Your palms get sweaty and your vision blurs. It's fear. You know that. But it makes no sense, you've never been scared of the alley before.
Just thinking about the alley is enough to put you on edge (isn't that pathetic??). You feel as if something is squeezing your neck. Hard. Your head begins to hurt, painful in a way you've never felt before. The first time you tried to push the feeling away and take out the garbage anyways, it only took a few seconds for you to be fully hyperventilating. You actually fucking blacked out. How embarrassing is that? Luckily, it was only for a few seconds. You were able to get up and make it back into the relative safety of the bar. The feeling subsided a bit after that. You haven't tried since.
While your coworkers are sympathetic to you, the boss isn't. You've already been bitched out once this week by the man for refusing to go, and are not excited for the inevitable next time. So...things have to change. At least Luke was ecstatic when you told him.
You still have to quit the pub though. You've been putting it off, like an addiction that's hard to break. It's the feeling of giving up, of surrendering your independence. It's like the universe is pushing you hard to work at the diner. Up until now, you've been able to say 'Well, fuck you universe, I'll do what I want'. Dumb of you to think you could actually win.
And your dreams. Fuck. You haven’t had nightmares this vivid or vicious since you were a young child being chased by the boogeyman. But this time, the boogeyman is replaced by a terrifying Grim Reaper. In your dreams, he kills you, over and over, in increasingly violent ways. He's angry, out to get you for something you never know. Those red eyes haunt you into the waking hours.
It’s safe to say you haven’t gotten much sleep recently.
Normally when you’re feeling a little crazy, you talk to Debbie about it. But, shit, that girl is busy as well. Apparently, her work has been infiltrated by those MRC people. They've been acting suspiciously and trying to recruit employees. Your friend confided in you that she's concerned that she is being followed. It's terrifying. It's the reason you can't tell her about BP, about anything. You trust the girl with your life, but you don't know who may be listening.
So, as you wake up from yet another nightmare, its you that has to figure out how to pull yourself together. Not your specialty. You lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s not real. It’s not real.
“It’s not real.” You mumble.
It takes too long for you to calm down, but eventually, you've calmed down enough to sit up in bed. It's morning, thankfully. You don't think you'd be able to go back to sleep if it was the night. It's also your day off, which is cool. You're happy to be away from the pub, but being alone with your thoughts isn't necessarily a good thing right now. Reaching over to your nightstand, you grab a pill bottle and pop an Esprin in your mouth, dry-swallowing it. Ugh. You pause a moment there, staring into the void. Getting out of bed is rough, but you make it. You slide on a robe and make your way out of the bedroom.
After a quick pitstop in the bathroom, you make your way out to the living room. The first thing you notice is a lack of movement, of a large monster walking around. Huh. Odd. But well, he’s disappeared before. The first time, you fully panicked, thinking that you had been exposed. That night when he returned, he made fun of you for worrying. Asshole. In the end, you’ve learned not to worry as much. You make your way into the kitchen.
About ten minutes later, you're making your way back to the living room with a mug of tea. You sit down on the couch, put on some low-fi music and sip in peace. It's nice for a minute or two, before your brain really starts to wake up and cause havoc. Sitting up a bit more, you grab your laptop. You need some sort of distraction.
Along with the realization that monsters are alive , came the true severity of the situation that you’re currently in. If one monster is alive, are there more? Are they all in hiding? How the fuck are they able to do that? Why isn’t this bigger news? There’s no way such obviously inhuman creatures can hide for years, right?
You begin to do your research, looking at article after article on the Emergence and events that occurred after. It's all pretty much the same, none of the immediate sources cover the topic in any sort of detail, but it feels a little better to know the basics.
You write what you can in an empty Word document. The monsters emerged from Mt. Ebott on September 15th, 201X led by their monarchs. Humanity watched across the world as monsters of horrifying variety came out of the mountain. The human government sent an envoy to meet the creatures, seeking peace. Unprovoked, the monster King and Queen attacked. The envoy group was completely destroyed, and humanity realized that these monsters were trying to kill us. The first phase of the battle lasted one week. The monsters were formidable, their magic a weapon humans had never seen before. Humanity struggled to keep them at bay, even using our advanced technology. Many humans died in the battle. Human governments held emergency meetings to decide how to deal with the new threat. Normal weapons were not enough to deal with them. Eventually, they came to a solution. Phase two began in the second week of battle. As the military held the monsters at bay, civilians were quickly evacuated from Ebott and the surrounding area. Once most civilians were evacuated, the military left quickly. Humanity deployed its greatest weapon: a nuclear bomb. Mount Ebott and anything in the nearby distance was completely obliterated. The MRC was created to find and destroy any monsters found that had escaped the initial blast. As of 201X, all monsters have been destroyed.
You swallow harshly as you write this. Many things ring incorrect about this story. All online resources portray monsters as these nightmare creatures who attack without provocation. They are spoken of as if they had no interest in anything except maiming and killing the human race. But...you think of BP. He can be terrifying, and a bit rude, but he has never said or done a mean thing to you. He's been pretty great actually. You can't imagine him as an 'unrepentant killing machine'.
And, well, obviously not all monsters were destroyed. Ugh. You have so many questions. If only you could ask BP. But where would you even start? Why would he tell you anything? My people KILLED his. Completely wiped them out. I’m surprised he trusted me at all. And he had, the gravity of that trust weighs heavily on you. A week ago, he got in your car. Sure, it wasn't your idea, but you could have easily driven him somewhere unsafe or flagged down others. In a town infiltrated by the MRC, it wouldn’t have been difficult.
You fiddle with the edge of the duvet, feeling a bit like you can’t breathe. Eventually, it gets to be too much. You get up and make your way to your balcony.
The fresh September air feels amazing on your face. You take a few deep breaths, information rattling around your brain. You lean forward on the railing and look up to see the sky better. Fuck, why does he trust me? You’ve done nothing specific to make him think that you’re trustworthy.
“I don’t think the railing is strong enough for that.”
You jolt, turning around quickly. It’s BP, thankfully. He stands just inside your balcony doors, looking smug as all shit. Your hand flies to your chest as you try to calm your breath. “You’re an ass.”
He chuckles. “Want lunch?”
Your mouth opens. Shuts. Opens again. “Ugh. Fine.” You walk past him into the apartment.
Lunch is simple but delicious. His food always is. You always feel a bit better after eating food that BP makes. It's a bit weird, to be honest. The monster isn't a huge communicator, but recently you find he's tolerating your questions and actually conversing a lot more. Still, you stay on safe, superficial topics. After lunch, you do the cleanup, shooing him to the living room. Once done, you join him to plop down on the couch. He's smoking, which you would normally get at a guest for, but where else is he meant to go? He can't just go on the balcony. You just make sure the windows are open enough and you have candles going. The smoke curls up in the air, making swirls and patterns. He lets out a satisfied sigh.
"Can you do any of those fancy smoke tricks?" You ask, curious.
At first, you think he just isn't going to respond. Then he sucks in a deep breath and blows out smoke in little circles. You watch, transfixed as the circles float in the air. He's able to get little puffs of smoke through the middle of the circles.
"Aw, cool." You mutter. He chuckles, seeming pleased with your response. Yeah, an absolute killing machine. You think sarcastically. The silence drags on a bit. While the monster seems comfortable enough, you can't stop the questions that go through your mind. Your tired brain is focusing too much on the information you just read. In the end, its too much to stay silent.
“So…” You prompt, looking over at him. “What have you been up to?” Thats a fairly innocent question, right? He gives you a glance out of the corner of your eye, suspicion evident. You hold up your hands, palm out. “Just curious, making conversation, nothing specific.”
BP gives you a considering look. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth, buffing it out on the tray on the table. Huh. You didn’t have that before. “I went down to the diner.” He says. “I left something there last time.” Did he leave something? You wonder what it is, but his comment was vague enough that you assume he won't elaborate further. Hm. You try to think of anything you may have seen behind the diner. Why didn't he just ask you to get it? You've been there a few times this week.
"What?!" He asks, seeming a bit annoyed by your staring.
"I’m, uh, just kinda surprised you answered at all if I’m honest.” You give him an awkward smile. The monster rolls his eyes, letting out a long breath.
“Listen, brat.” How did that become what he calls you?! Ugh. “I have to ask you something. It’s serious.” You sit up straighter. The tone in his voice emphasizes his words. Oh god. "I can't tell you much. Fuck. I don’t know much about it really. It all goes over my head. That’s his specialty.” He pauses after that. You can see his tail swishing behind him. If you know anything about cats, you think that means he's irritated. “Anyways, you deserve to know more, if he’s going to use you this way.”
What? Nothing the monster said makes any sense. You're completely lost.
You frown, furrowing your brow. “Who is using me?”
“me.”
You scream, flail, and fall off the couch. BP groans loudly beside you, turning to say something you can’t hear. You can’t hear because your hearing has stopped working. The only thing you can do is look.
There, in your apartment, is the Grim Reaper from your nightmares. A skeleton in a red hoodie with angry eyes and a huge, menacing grin.
It’s here.
Notes:
And here we go!
Lets get this started :P
Thank you all so much for your support!
Chapter Text
Sans is tired, so fucking tired.
It permeates his soul, the way his magic doesn’t do what he wants, the way his bones ache and his head pounds. He feels almost melted into the chair at the bar, McLarens, watching the human parasites chat away. They’re laughing, eating, and being fucking merry. Familiar anger boils up in him as he watches. He clutches the bottle of mustard harder and takes a sip.
Getting into the bar had been too fucking easy. Years of hiding in the shadows had taught him the situations where hiding in plain sight works best. One peek through a window, a quick and painful teleport later, and he had been at the back of the bar. Humans never noticed shit. They looked at his hooded figure in the back and promptly ignored it. Fine with him. The waitress had walked over once -surprisingly brave for her species- but he had waved her off. She didn’t return.
The table he had picked was at a great angle to see what was happening at the bar. A great angle to watch her. His eyes narrowed as she came into the front, smiling and chatting away to the other girl -who? He doesn’t give a fuck. The other human goes to the back, and then it’s just her.
Seeing her sends waves of anger and frustration through him. Who the fuck does she think she is? This bitch is ruining everything. How?! She doesn’t look special at all. She shouldn’t be putting up this much of a fucking fight.
Five times.
Five times he failed. Five times he killed her. The last two times had been…worse. He’d taken out his frustrations on her. It hadn’t been pretty. Not that he regretted it.
Now though, he’s just tired. Exhaustion wears down his bones. He’s slower than normal. Heh. Papyrus would be pissed.
He has enough in him for maybe two more. That’s it. He can feel it in his soul. There’s only so much you can do to a soul before it just…gives up. Well, not every soul. He glares up at her. Even if the next two attempts were a failure, she’d keep going. She’d live her life, unaware of how fucking close she was to being the final piece.
Would it be too bad if this was the end? Doubt had started growing like a weed in his mind after the first attempt. Maybe there was no way to find them. Maybe this was destined to fail. Maybe everything he did was useless in the end. He wouldn’t know. He just wants to sleep for a long time. Forever, maybe. He closes his eyes.
That memory pops into his head. The one that seems to remain despite everything. Papyrus, the last time he saw him, yelling. “GET OFF YOUR ASS SANS!! FIGHT!!”
Ah, his head hurts. His fucking soul hurts. If he only has two chances left, he isn’t going to risk it doing the same thing over and over again. His eye sockets open slowly, and he looks at her again. She’s weak and unassuming. It would take nothing to off her right now.
He teleports away.
He is pissed.
The cat stopped showing up at the cabin. Not that Sans needed him, but it's fucking rude to just stop going. That sort of action Underground would be cause for a full brawl.
He is not worried about him.
In the end, he finds himself near the diner. It feels like forever since he’s been here, but in this reality it’s probably only been a few weeks. It’s a last-ditch attempt, the cat hasn’t been here the last few times he-
“Sans?” Of fucking course.
He straightens up, pushing all emotions other than annoyance out. “now you show your fucking ugly mug.”
“You ass-wait. No. Not the point. Listen. I need to talk to you.” BP walks out from behind the dumpster. “I think there might be a different route we can-” He stops. Sans feels his soul being checked. It used to be an invasive feeling, but it’s been long enough that it doesn't bother him anymore.
“Oh, you fucker.” The cat monster narrows his eyes, ears flattening on his head. “You did it already, didn’t you.”
“no.” He lies. It’s a shitty attempt.
“Then why is your soul fractured like that?!” BP gestures towards his chest. His tail swishes angrily behind him.
“fuck! so what if i did?!” He exclaims, throwing his hands up. “you don’t remember anyways-woah!” Sans barely teleports in time to avoid a blast of magic, reappearing a few feet away. Shit, he must be pissed. The cat monster is usually all bark. Heh.
“Don’t fuck with me like that Sans.” BP growls angrily, magic pooling around his hands. “You’re not the only one with something to lose here.”
Not wanting a fight -and isn’t that ironic for him-, he puts his hands up. “fine, fuck . whatever.”
The two monsters simmer in their anger, both at the end of their rope for much too long. Yet, no fight breaks out. It would have been almost unheard of Underground.
After a few long minutes, BP lets out a long breath. He takes a few steps toward the wall to lean against it. Reaching into his pocket, he grabs a cigarette, lighting it with magic.
“Maybe you should ask her.”
He blinks. “what.”
“Ask her, Sans.” He repeats. “Maybe she has some ideas. It’s her soul after all.”
“she’s a fucking human.”
“Maybe we need a human.” BP pauses to blow a smoke circle. His words sends angry shivers down Sans spine. “They think different than us. Shit, whatever we’ve been doing so far sure ain’t fucking working.”
“...we need a human?!” Sans growls, voice dark and incredulous. “have you gone fucking mad, cat?”
The cat monster doesn’t respond to his anger. He lets out a dark chuckle and looks up at the sky. The stars. Bringing the cigarette to his mouth, he breathes in. Breathes out. A ring of smoke. “...I live with her.”
“you what?! ” Well, fuck, that cuts through the anger.
“Eh. I needed a place to stay quick. ” Is the simple response. Sans opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again, but no words. What the fuck BP?! The cat buffs out his cigarette on the wall, letting it fall to the ground.
He steps up to the skeleton, a determined look on his face. “If I’m wrong, you can just do what you planned anyways, right?” Those eyes look straight into his, wide and round. “You can’t really lose.”
Well, he’s not wrong. Okay, he’ll play.
“i’ll do it as a favour.” He smirks. “but you’ll owe me.”
That makes BP’s ears go back. ‘You’ll owe me’: the one phrase you don’t want to hear underground. Owing someone a favour is akin to letting them choose your next move. A dangerous thing underground. You don’t renegade on a favour.
“Fine.”
The cat’s plan is simple. There’s no way it won’t be a fucking disaster. But, well, at least he’ll be owed a favour afterward. He’ll just have to remember to use it before the next round.
Sans leans up against a tree, red eyes watching the diner. The fucking MRC goons are here, right on schedule. The temptation to just dunk on them now is almost too much to ignore. Unfortunately, he already knows too well the consequences of that action.
[from: hampurrger] Come up in 5
Taking a shortcut in is easy. Sure, he hasn’t been in her apartment this time, but he knows the layout well enough from past timelines. He appears quietly in the livingroom, behind the couch. She doesn’t notice. The fucking idiot.
“Who is using me?” Her voice.
“me.”
She screams, falling off the couch with a loud thump. Heh. BP groans loudly, turning back to him. “You’re a fucking asshole.”
The skeleton smirks, looking down at the little human now on the floor. She looks up at him with a look of pure horror. He’s seen this look before, from plenty of humans -including this one. But something isn’t right.
He hasn’t done anything in this timeline to get that face. She remembers. She remembers something at least.
His grin grows. Oh. This is going to be interesting.
Notes:
Woo, alright. Now we're ready to gooo~
I know a Sans chapter isn't exactly what ya'll were thinking, lol, but I hope you enjoy it a bit. I hope it gives some insight into where his mind is at. Its sort of necessary to understand what goes on next lol.
To answer a common question:
-Yes! This IS the same sassy, horny UnderFell Sans/Red that we all love. He's just...exhausted and pissed off. There's only so much you can put a guy through, and he's been through the worst. We'll see him come back to normal though, or as close as possible.Please let me know what you think! I'm hoping to get a chapter a week if people like it :)
**Edit: So my laptop died on Monday morning. I had a chapter about 50% ready to go for later this week but uh...alas. I'll try to get it out either way but it MAY be next week! Sorry guys D:
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melodyrider on Chapter 1 Mon 11 Dec 2017 12:37AM UTC
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