The eyes turn from wonder to amazement as the tall skeleton releases a broad grin, his sockets lighting up as he slips his grasp from yours and takes up your hands in his with excitement.

"THAT WAS AMAZING HUMAN! YOU JUST SAVED ME!" He practically yells, his grip so tight it almost hurts.

You splutter for a response, having not expected this turn of events. You don't know whether to be shocked because he's a monster, a skeleton, or over a foot taller than you.

Finding your words, you manage out an awkward, "No problem."

"TELL ME HUMAN! WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!" He asks you eagerly, leaning in closer. You're sure there are more important things right now than finding out your name, like picking up the boxes and their contents which are currently spilled across the stairwell. But the skeleton doesn't even seem to notice the mess.

"Y/n." You say, glancing from him to the boxes distractedly.

"IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU Y/N! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! YOU MAY OF COURSE JUST CALL ME PAPYRUS." He says, shaking your hands up and down in some sort of two-handed hand shake. You feel the vibrations travel up your arm and through your spine. This skeleton has a strong handshake.

"It's nice to meet you too. Would you, um, like some help picking your things up?" You ask politely, trying extremely hard not to grin at his funny introduction. You've never met such a charming monster before. And to think he's also your new neighbour! Well, at least you assume he is given the boxes he was carrying up.

"THAT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED, HUMAN," He beams, and quickly turns to stride down the steps, finally releasing his hold of your hands.

He starts scooping up the items strewn about the stairs, and you quickly join in, picking up the items closest to you. You blink in surprise to find they're all action hero inspired figurines, some of posing warriors with swords, while others are camouflaged men baring chunky guns. A small smile flits across your face as you realize collecting these must be a hobby of his. It seems oddly fitting for his charismatic aura.

"These are lovely figurines," You admit after placing your collection into one of the boxes, rearranging them so that more will fit in. "How long did it take you to collect them all?"

"OH! I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED! IT HAS TAKEN ME MANY YEARS TO AMASS A COLLECTION THIS GLORIOUS. IS IT NOT IMPRESSIVE?"

"Very," You grin, picking up what you realise is the last figurine. Placing it into a box, you watch as Papyrus then attempts to balance the boxes back on top of each other, apparently intending to carry them all himself again.

"Oh, I can help you with those." You offer immediately, taking up a box into your arms. "You're heading up to the fifth floor, right?"

"WHY YES. HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?" He asks with surprise.

"I'm your new neighbour, I live in the apartment across from yours." You smile kindly, hefting the box around until you're comfortable.

"WOWIE! SO DOES THAT MEAN WE WILL SEE EACH OTHER OFTEN?"

"I'd hope so. We could even become friends if you like?"

Seeing the way his sockets light up once more at that suggestion has you internally squeal, and you struggle to keep from verbally expressing it. He's so innocent for such an intimidatingly tall skeleton. He's like a slice of giant pie with all the sweetest toppings.

"I WOULD LIKE THAT VERY MUCH! JUST WAIT TILL MY BROTHER HEARS! I'VE BEFRIENDED A HUMAN ALREADY! HE WILL BE SO PROUD OF ME!"

"You have a brother?" You ask, for some reason surprised by this news.

Papyrus nods eagerly, beginning to walk back up the stairs with you in tow. For every step he takes, you have to take two, his long legs proving hard to keep up with.

"YES! HIS NAME IS SANS! HE'S A BIT OF A LAZYBONES, AND MAKES VERY BAD PUNS. SO I WILL APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE IF HE SAYS ANYTHING OFFENSIVE TO YOUR EARS."

You shake your head good naturedly, "It sounds like you take care of him."

"YES, I SUPPOSE I DO." Papyrus agrees thoughtfully, almost walking past the entry onto the fifth floor, before realising his mistake, and backtracking. "YOU MAY PUT THE BOXES DOWN HERE, IF YOU LIKE." He instructs, gesturing to the pile slowly forming in front of his door.

You comply, and add to the growing stack. "Why don't you put your things inside?" You ask curiously.

Papyrus seems to frown, and folds his skeletal arms over his plain T-shirt, for some reason adorned with a bright-red scarf, despite the current hot weather. "THAT IS BECAUSE MY BROTHER HAS THE KEYS, AND HE HAS NEGLECTED TO GIVE ME ONE."

"Oh, well will he be here soon?"

"I DO NOT KNOW, HE WAS STILL PACKING WHEN I LEFT, AND I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM HIM SINCE. KNOWING HIM, HE HAS PROBABLY FALLEN ASLEEP SOMEWHERE AND FORGOTTEN."

"Oh dear..."

You stare at the stacks of boxes, and then to the door in thought. A memory suddenly rears its head, and you feel like hitting yourself for having forgotten.

"Give me one minute," You say hurriedly, turning to your own door and quickly unlocking it. You don't even bother to close it as you make your way to the kitchen, and pull open one of the drawers. Inside are a random assortment of objects; dead batteries, takeaway leaflets, broken keychains. You just hope the item you're searching for is still in here.

Your eyes light up once your fingers brush against something small and cold, and you pull out the key with a triumphant flourish. You can't believe you actually forgot that you had this key, given to you when your old neighbour left. She'd sent a little letter under your door briefly asking you to return it to the landlord, since she'd forgotten that she had a spare. Lucky for you, you also forgot.

Speed walking back into the corridor, you find Papyrus exactly where you'd left him, and flash him the key with a grin as you slide it into the doors lock, and turn the handle.

"There you go, lucky I had a spare." You smile, offering the key to him. Instead of taking it though, he pushes it back to you. "I THINK IT BEST THAT YOU KEEP THIS ONE, HUMAN."

"Are you sure?" You ask with surprise.

"YES, I WOULD FEEL MOST ASSURED KNOWING SOMEONE MORE RELIABLE THAN MY BROTHER HAS ACCESS TO OUR HOME."

You grin and nod, straightening up. "Okay then, if you're sure. Want me to help you move your stuff in?"

"NO, THAT IS QUITE ALRIGHT. WERE YOU NOT PLANNING ON EMBARKING ON SOME SORT OF ACTIVITY BEFORE WE MET?" He gestures to your jogging gear, having completely forgotten that you even had it on.

"Oh! Yeah! I was going to go for a jog." You grin cheesily, rubbing the back of your neck. "In that case I'll leave you to it."

You give him a brief wave as you go to place the extra key in your apartment, and then lock the door. Papyrus is already inside his own apartment as you head down towards the stairwell, plugging your earbuds in. You can't help but feel proud of yourself. You'd just made a sweet new friend. A monster friend.

...

Oh shit, Carla can never find out!