~9 years later~
~At the surface~

Author's POV

"Kris, if you do not wake up we will be late for school!" The mentioned boy stirred at the sound of his mother's voice. Toriel went over to the window to let the rays of sunshine in the room. Then she turned back to Kris, who was still laying in his bed with the covers over his head. "I'll wait outside for you, alright? Don't take too long." The nice goat woman exited the bedroom to do as she said. Once the door closed, Kris let out an annoyed sigh before pushing the blanket away from his body and standing up. Within a few minutes, he got dressed in his favorite yellow and green striped sweater with dark brown pants. When he was done, he made his way outside, through the hallways of the house, past the cozy kitchen and living room and out the door.

Once outside, he noticed Toriel standing beside the red car waiting for him like she said she would. "Kris! There you are! We might still be able to make it!" They both got into the car and Toriel drove off. "Kris... It is a beautiful day today, is it not? I hope it stays this way when Asriel visits next week." The boy didn't really respond and just nodded, still looking our the window. He was never much of a talker, it got even worse when his brother Asriel went off to college. His mom understood that perfectly but still talked to him like nothing ever happened. "But I wonder... After the excitement of University... Will he still enjoy coming home to this little town...?" Again, not an answer, just a simple nod of his head as he watched the townspeople greet them with kind waves.

It didn't take long to arrive at the school house. The two got out of the car, Toriel took her adopted son's hand and they both went into the school building. Once inside the hallway, it was time to seperate ways for the day. The goat lady gave Kris a gentle hug, which he hesitately returned, then he walked to the left to get to his classroom.

Kris knew he was a little late already, so he didn't bother hurrying anymore. He opened the door and entered. All eyes were on him. "Oh... K-Kris...! We thought you weren't coming today." His class teacher Ms. Alphys stammered. "We're doing group projects this month... Uhhhh... so, walk around and find a partner, ok?" Kris mentally groaned in annoyance. He hated group projects. It meant that he had to talk to people more than he had to. Of course he went to Noelle, since she was one of the nicest people to him and doesn't bother him to talk much. He guessed that he could qualify her a friend. "Hey Kris! What's up? Didja lose your pencil again? Here you want the candy cane one or the one with lights on it?" Kris shook his head and pointed towards the blackboard with the word 'Group project' on it. "Huh? You want to be partner's? Ummm... Sorry... Berdly already asked me... But I could ask Ms. Alphys if we could make a group of 3!" Kris, of course nodded, because he suspected that everyone in class already got a partner and to be honest, partnering with Noelle would be his best option here. Even if that meant being in the same group as Berdly. "Ok, I'll ask!" Noelle raised her hand. "Miss Alphys! Umm, is it ok if we have a group of 3?" She asked with a smile.

When Berdly heard that, his head snapped upwards. "Hey! What? No! I do not approve of this! ABORT!" Kris gave a 'Tsk' sound. He never liked Berdly anyway. "What?" Noelle spoke up shyly. "B-But Kris doesn't have a..." She trailed off. "Noelle, what were you saying?" Ms. Alphys asked, only now looking up from her phone. "Oh she was just saying we're FINE being alone!" Berdly mocked with that stupid grin of his. All the attention was now on those three and that made Noelle even more nervous, making her speak quieter. "A-actually, I just wanted to know if..." Someone could barely make out what she was saying. "Noelle, can you please speak up?" But before anyone could say another word, the door bust open, almost crashing the glass window in it.

The whole classroom went quiet. It was Susie, the school bully. 'Mmm, I'm surprised she comes to school for a change...' Kris thought to himself. "H... Hi, Susie." Ms. Alphys called nervously. Susie stepped further into the classroom, not saying anything for a few seconds. "... am I late?" She asked in her monotone voice, even though she already knew what the answer was going to be. Of course she was late but the teacher as well as all the students were too scared of her to correct her. "Ohh, n-no! You're fine! W-we were just, uh... ch-choosing partners for the next group project, and... Ummm, Susie, you're with Kris!" She sent an apologising glance in Kris's direction. Kris shoved his hands into his Jean pockets with a huff, knowing really well what partnering with Susie meant. He was going to be stuck doing all the work while she just sits at the side lines doing nothing. Susie was quiet for a moment for answering with the same tone as before. "...... great."

Everyone fell into an awkward silence, noone wanting to say anything at the moment. "N-now that everyone's here, I'll write the assignment!" Alphys walked over to the blackboard but stopped in her tracks. She looked around, seeming to look for something. "Uh... H-has anyone seen the chalk? This is the third time it's gone missing, and... Y-you all know I can't start class without some!" Everyone stayed silent. The teacher started to get nervous again. "H-how about this? If noone speaks up... e-everyone gets in trouble..." She tried to threaten the students but again, not a single sound was made. Alphys started to sweat, unsure of what to do when no one spoke up. "A... Anyone? P... Please?"

Noelle, who wanted to stop this awkward situation for the teacher, shyly rose her hand to suggested something. "Hey, there might be a box in the supply closet... Miss Alphys, why don't Susie and I..." She was caught off by Alphys but what she said didn't go unnoticed by Kris. He knew that Noelle had a... soft spot... for Susie. She believed that there has to be some good in her and that believe eventually developed into a crush." G-good idea, Noelle! Susie, since you came in last... Why don't you go get it for me...?" The teacher tried to be a little more confident but Susie simply moved her hand into the pockets of her purple jacket. "...Whatever." She walked outside, slamming the door once again, startling everyone a little. Then Ms. Alphys turned to Kris, who was still standing besides Noelle's table all this time. "And K... Kris... Can you go with her and make sure she... Um, actually gets it? And, um, stays out of trouble...?" She didn't even give him time to answer. "Thanks Kris! See you later!"

Kris rolled his eyes behind his bangs but went over to the door anyway. An the way there, his classmates whispered stuff like: "Don't die." or "Good luck", but Berdly couldn't help but be a jerk again as Kris passed him. "Kris, didn't I SAY being late was a bad idea? Hmm, it's almost as if you should have, as they say... listened?"

'Ugh, this guy is so annoying. He thinks he's tough but he's not.' Kris gave a tsk in his direction. Before he exited the room, he turned around to almost everyone giving him a thumbs up, trying to reassure him.

When Kris got out of the classroom and closed the door behind him, he looked to his left to see Susie standing a few meters away from him, her back turned to him. She pulled something out of her pocket and... ate it...? Kris noticed that what she just ate was the missing chalk. 'Wow, did she just eat the chalk?' Kris thought as Susie turned around, noticed his presence. "...Kris... Didn't see you there." She looked towards the ground before turning back around "... hey... You didn't see anything just now, did you?" The boy stayed silent, too confused of this whole situation. "Hmm... you can't even say?" The monster turned to face her classmate again. "Kris.." Susie took calm steps towards him. Kris didn't know what to do so he just backed away when she came to close. That however, lead to him being trapped against the lockers behind him. Eventually, Susie was right in front of him and she gave him this smile, as if she knew something he doesn't. "Hey..." She put a hand on his shoulder, making Kris flinch slightly and rising his guard. "Let me tell you a secret." With one quick motion, she grabbed him by the collar of his sweater, pulling him upwards and pushing him into the lockers. Kris gave a slight groan of pain but stayed still none the less.

"Quiet people piss me off..... You think just 'cause you don't say anything... I can't tell EXACTLY what you're thinking? 'It's OVER! I caught Susie eating ALL the chalk! This was her last chance! Now she'll FINALLY be expelled!'" Kris rose a hand to his collar, trying to losen up her grip a little, since this really started to make breathing a little difficult. He gazed up at her with wide eyes, covered by his hair. 'What? This isn't what I was thinking at all. I was just surprised that she was eating the chalk, that's all.' "Haha... Come on, Kris. Don't act shocked. You know it's true. Everyone is waiting for it. Everyone wants it. So congrats Kris. You got me. I'm done for....... Just, lemme say one little thing. It seems like a waste to get expelled just for having a snack. So, Kris, if I KNOW you're gonna pull the trigger... Heh heh heh... Why don't I just get expelled for some REAL carnage?"

Not gonna lie, Kris was starting to fell a little scared. "Kris... How do you feel..." Susie opened her mouth, fletching her yellow teeth. Her expression became slightly insane and her grip on his collar tightened. Then she continued. "... about losing your face?" Susie opened her mouth further, moving Kris's head closer to it, ready to probably bite his head off. Kris tried to struggle a bit but it was no use. The monster was phisically way stronger than him. He was about to accept his defeat or hoping someone would walk into the situation and stop her but... that wasn't the case at all.

At the very last moment, Susie stopped in her tracks, closed her mouth and dropped Kris to the ground. ".... Nah" She simply said, turning away. "Kris. You've got a good mother... it'd be a shame to make her bury her child." That statement made Kris very confused as he rubbed his throat. Susie turned back to him, returning to her cold attitude. "Alright, let's get this over with. We'll get more chalk. Mosey back to class. And then, Kris... YOU'LL do our project. How's that sound?" She asked with a grin. Kris glared up at her, knowing he wouldn't have a choice anyway... and he was right. "Don't bother answering. If you haven't gotten it by now... Your choices don't matter." Susie stepped a few feet forward before turning her head back, noticing that the boy wasn't following her. "Let's go, freak." Then she walked off to the end of the hallway.

Still a little shoken up, Kris stood back up and followed her with calm steps. When he finally caught up to Susie waiting impatiently in the hallway. "God, can you walk any slower, or what? Nah, I get it. Not used to walking around without someone holding your hand? Come on, freak." Kris blushed a little in embarrassement at that comment but once again, his expression was neutral with his hair bangs covering most of it. They went one until they finally reached the supply closet at the very end of the hallway. "Well, here's the closet. Too bad... We were just starting to have fun." Susie grinned, flashing her teeth again. Though, Kris just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. So he grabbed the door knop and pushed the door open, then stopping in his tracks. Something about that closet gave Kris anything but a good feeling.

The whole aura around the two went darker and the pitch black closet seemed to be the cause of it. It looked really threatening, daring them to enter. The two teenagers backed away from the room as everything around them seemed to get darker. Even Susie seemed to be caught off guard. "... Hey, Kris, is it me, or... Is it really dark in there?" Kris nodded and there was a short silence. "What's the holdup, Kris? Are you gonna go in or what?" The boy did not have a good felling about this. As if he knew something was going to happen as soon as they stepped into that closet. He backed away further, trembling a little but it was barely noticeable. "Fine! If you're gonna be a WIMP, then I'll..." The girl shouted, about to say that she'll go in herself but then she glanced back at the closet, most likely feeling the same thing that Kris did right at that moment. "We'll both go in at the same time!!" She finished, as if it was no big deal but Kris knew she was a little scared too.

Taking a deep breath, they went inside the darkness of the room before them. There were a few papers scattered around the floor and besides the light that came from the hallway, everything was pitch black. "See? Why are you so scared? There's nothing in here but old papers. Let's try to find a lightswitch." Susie walked further into the dark closet. Kris looked back at the door, wondering if he should just leave and the girl noticed him. "Kris, if you leave me here, I'll..." Kris turned back around and forced himself to follow her. "That's weird... I can't find a switch. Guess it's further in..." They walked deeper but the boy knew there was something fishy here. A supply closet is never this big. Kris tried to feel around, hoping to find a wall anywhere but to no luck. "... Uhhh... kind of big for a closet, huh? You'd think we'd have reached the end by now..." Susie walked even farther into the darkness with Kris hesitantly following her, desperately wanting to just make a run for the door and never come back in here. Susie moved her hand around, hoping to feel anything. A wall, a chair, a closet, anything but there was nothing. She stopped and turned back to her classmate. "... Hey, Kris. I think this closet's, uh... broken. There aren't any walls.... Well, we worked hard enough. If Alphys wants chalk so bad. She can get it herself. Let's split."

She didn't need to say that twice. They made their way back to the door at the fast pace. But before they could exit, the door slammed shut, making the teens stop in surprise. "Wh-What the...!?" Susie ran to the door, hammering against it. "Hey, this isn't funny! LET US OUT! LET US--" All of a sudden, the ground started to shake, startling the two. They frantically looked around, trying to find the cause of this situation. "The floor, it's...!"

Then the paper on the ground started to fall one by one down into the abbys, signaling that the ground was disappearing. Susie and Kris backed away but the falling ground caught up to them. Both gasped as they fell, down, down, down into the darkness.

They fell for a while, getting separated unnoticed by them and it didn't take that long before Kris felt that rough ground under him, knocking him out almost immediately.

~To be continued~

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