Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sleep… Cosmo slipped into his bed, diving under the covers, eyes heavy with exhaustion. 

As the night ticked away, his eyes seemed to rest only for a second. 

Tossing and turning, his body felt heavy as something rough brushed against his head.

Too tired to care about the foreign feeling he tossed away, not chancing to look. But he only felt the same feeling again and recognized it as - a plant?

Why would a plant be in his room? It’s way too cold to keep life alive…

He rubbed away the crust from his eyes as he attempted to look around, his room looked entirely different.

Next to his bed emerged large plants and flowers littering the floor from his bed to his closet. Weirdly enough, there was also a tree.

A tree? Then that means…  

Soft grass caressed his socks as the cake roll slipped out of bed. 

Suddenly, he wasn’t in his room anymore. 

Trees surrounding him flourished 20 feet to the sky, green leaves up above casting patches of sunlight on the ground. 

Cosmo looked around and pushed his palm into the tree bark. 

This dream… He thought, looking ahead the same path he’s been seeing the past few nights. 

He noticed he wasn't in his pajamas anymore but in his regular clothes. Facing the inevitable, he started up the path. 

“Cosmo.”

A voice he could never place called out to him, he didn’t know who it could be, but at the same time the name was at the tip of his tongue. 

“Cosmo!” 

He turned, and a blurry figure held out their hand. 

It didn’t matter what he did, it all ended the same. No matter what he tried to conjure up in his mind, this person was always… Just an unknown figure.

The voice wasn’t deep, high, or soft, he just knew what it was saying, calling him. 

He followed down the path, it was garnished with morning glories and wisteria. The colors were purple and pink, almost glowing in the sunlight.

Although he had no idea where this place could be, it felt all too familiar. 

The usual bend in the road and the roots that protrude from the dirt, he ingrained the pattern of where the figure led him in every dream.  

Pushing past some dangling willow branches the sunlight revealed a secret area that looked over a little forest with a waving sea not far beyond.

The figure patted next to them a spot on the grass and Cosmo sat crisscrossed. 

This is the part where Cosmo tries to remember each part of the dream, looking past the shining sun, counting the treetops, and watching the sea, all before the figure sat up, pulling Cosmo up, scrambled words that changed each night. 

Brrring!!!! Brring!!!!

The ringing of his alarm awoke him in a stunned gaze. Reaching to try to swipe the off-button he fell out of bed. 

“Ow… Ugh.” Rubbing his temples as he stumbled back into bed 

School… It was only Tuesday and the week was already crashing out. 

The Cake roll pushed his pajamas off and slipped into navy blue jeans and an oversized Nirvana shirt. Kept his socks on, for good measure since it was so darn cold outside. 

He checked the time on his phone as he creaked his bedroom door open, attempting to be unheard. 

It was 6:45, early as hell but he didn’t want to get stuck in dreadful lines… Rather be tired than freezing outside!

Cosmo tensed with each creak of the stairs, his previous effort futile. “Cossie? Care for breakfast?” 

Can’t hide now. Cosmo dragged himself into the kitchen, sliding onto his arms on the island table. “Mmm, Good morning…” 

The warm smell of scrambled eggs filled his nose as his mom spoke to him, her demeanor strangely bright as she looked at him with a smile. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t be going this early, too dark outside.”

“But you get up this early?”

“You know I have work.”

The Cake roll lifted his head to the sound of a plate to marble. Smiling as his stomach grumbled lightly.

“Thanks, ma’.”

The soft clicking of heavy work shoes echoed through the hall as the sound of coffee sipping entered the room. 

“See you bright and early!” Siippp  

Coffee stained his candy gem-shaped mustache. 

“Hi, Dad.” Cosmo dug into his breakfast with delight, he appreciated his parents' efforts for his life. But there were some things he would never let them help him with, or acknowledge. 

Though he didn’t know what his dad expected of him, the man was a workaholic! 

“I’ll drive him to school today.” His mom said.

“Yeah!”

Since Cosmo woke up as early as his working parents, he didn’t take the school bus that went around the neighborhood. Not that he wanted to be seen as the privileged kid who got to drive around but because of the… people . In that bus. 

Fllashhhbacckk!!!!

When I was small, or smaller, freshman year, everyone was relentless. 

Remembering the first few days of high school couldn’t have been worse than what elementary teachers tell 8th graders. 

A bright sunny morning, parents gone for work, and a Cake roll patiently waited on the path of his house. 

A few ideas passed his mind from all those high school musicals he watched, he knew it wouldn’t include the songs but definitely the mean girls. 

A big yellow truck passed by, honking a blaring horn. “We ain’t got all day!” 

Cosmo jumped on the first ledge, holding up a sleeve to the humid smell of the bus. The lady who drove the bus had messy brown hair and it didn’t seem she had good dental insurance. He tried to make his first day go smoothly “Good morning.” He smiled lightly.

‘Did she not hear me?’

“What did you say!?”

“I said- Good morning!” 

“Oh.”

What a success! He thought, but his anxiety churned as he looked down the aisle of kids. 

‘Not too bad! I think.’

He pushed past lone backpacks and left garbage looking for a seat, which all seemed to be taken up. 

None of them seemed too friendly, as if they were all under some sorta spell that they couldn’t see Cosmo standing right there. 

Cosmo smiled, pointing towards an empty seat towards a friendly looking shr- “Sorry. This seat is taken.” The orange-pink boy pushed his backpack on the seat, smirking at Cosmo's dismay.

Nope. Not friendly.

‘All that's left is the back…’ He frowned, slinging his backpack off and looking out the window, breath fogging up the view. 

End of flashhhbacck!!!

Comso finished his breakfast and put on his hoodie and down coat, layering for the cold. 

Hats don’t go for Cosmo, and he hasn’t worn earmuffs since the incident. 

“I’ll drive you to school, let you have the radio station?”

Cosmo followed his mom outside and got into the front car seat. 

Getting in the seats was cold, but starting up the car with hot air blowing in his face was a relief. 

Scrolling past the noisy stations he hit 97.1 radio station, classic rock. 

The ride on the road was silent, not that he didn’t like to talk, his head already raced with thoughts he couldn’t keep up with. 

Watching each house pass by, thinking about what the day has in store for him. Upcoming Geometry test, Chemistry… What else could he worry about? Having a life? Heck no. He had to catch up on his grades.

Make it to Friday.

The car soon pulled up to a dimly lit school mall path, barely anybody there. Good.  

“Do well at school Honey.” She smiled as her son stepped out of the car. 

“I’ll try, bye.”

“Love you!” 

“Mmm..” He closed the door before he could muster a response. 

The reason Cosmo could get in at least 20 minutes before all the freshmen got here was that he was kinda a loser.

Cosmo was pretty sure the security guards just felt bad for him when they let him sit in the hallway to finish his homework before the day started.

Time ticked by as well as his patience for homework, the line outside started to fill up and he decided it was time to get to the first period. 

Not without seeing his best buddy though!

Cosmo wasn’t exactly social, sure he had some acquaintances in each class he chatted to once in a while, but not a true friend. 

But in this special case, he was sure this was a “reel” friend. 

Leaning against the brick wall scrolling on his phone nonchalantly, he recognized a familiar squeaky voice that echoed through the hall with a certain cringe as if you were watching one of those brainrot videos.

The cake roll couldn’t help the smile cracking onto his lips as the fishbowl's face lit up at his appearance. 

“How’s it going?” He asked as they started walking down the hall.

“This weekend needs to arrive alreadyy.” Cosmo exaggerated, dropping his head only to be met with a hearty giggle. 

“Yeah, but we get nachos on Thursday!” Finn patted his friends back as they led to the lunchroom to wait for the bell.

Situating themselves on a fairly empty table, Finn started to ramble on about his classes. Cosmo wouldn’t argue about how much Finn talked, he honestly liked to hear something other than muttered voices behind his back, whispering about him. 

“Everyone be sayin’ they're stressed for their biology test! But I’m not!”

“I wish we were in the same bio classes, ugh.” 

“What so I could help you with the homework?” He chuckled

“Maybe.” 

The two sat with one another in moments of comfortable silence. Cosmo remembered when the two met back in elementary. Finn was just like him. Little ol’ 7th-grade Cosmo approaching the exchange student with confidence in making friends with a fellow lonely-only. 

Their small friendship lasted the following years, hanging around with one another finding peace from the external world. 

It was a nice few years up until high school, the first few days when Finn found a different kind of group he lingered with. 

They’re still good friends! Cosmo was sure of it… 

“Ey’ Finn!” 

The fishbowl turned his head to a group of boys calling his name. 

Sigh. Guess I’ll be left again. Maybe it isn’t too bad?

“You at least wanna try to meet them?”

Or not. 

“I don’t think they like me very much…” Sliding up from where he rested his arms on the table and slinging his backup on he shimmed where Finn faced the group. 

“I know they’re different , just say hello. Open your comfort circle!” 

Cosmo was very comfortable in his comfort circle. But Finn was also in his comfort circle. So when Finn trouted towards his friend group Cosmo couldn't help but follow. 

“Whats up guys!” raising his hand to clash with another boys creating a pop sound.

“Good to see you, and yur uhh. This guy.”

An orange-pink-skinned boy squinted his eyes in a peculiar way towards Cosmo. What body language.

What's with this guy? They didn’t even bother to call me his friend!

“Oh, uh. Hi.” The cake roll muttered, already cringing at his awkward tone. 

Behind the shrimpy teenage kid were others dressed in similarly styled clothes. Are they in a gang? No… Emos?

Only acknowledging Finn's presence, Cosmo gave an awkward wave to Finn excusing himself for class.

“You shore you don’t wanna stick around?” 

Cosmo tried to show a bit of gratitude but the look that the shorter boy gave him made his stomach digest glass.

Looks like he's having more fun with those others anyway.

-

A few agonizing hours passed, looking out the window and drawing in his notebook. 

Ehh schoolwork. Cosmo did have a high outlook on himself. 

The buildup of anxiety and worry to fulfill unspoken expectations of others and his parents. They were working people, hours away from home let his mind wander to inescapable dread about the future. 

But then again, sometimes he didn’t worry. That was when he had nothing left to do.

The outside was cloudy, with dead trees and dry grass in the courtyard. It only snowed once that September but the ice was left long overdue. 

This period was APUSH, a pushy and indulging class.

Although it called nightly homework of students and timely use of memorizing each piece of history since the start of 1776, Cosmo kinda enjoyed knowing about the little things. Like how the signing of the Declaration of Independence wasn’t all fireworks and glory, it was more like sweaty dudes in a stuffy room arguing about commas. It made history feel... human.

But he’d never admit that out loud. The last thing he needed was for people to think he actually liked school. Seen as the lone nerdy boy whose life was only about the almost excellent report card.

The teacher went on about the years 1860 whatever. How the North was trying to reconstruct the South for the betterment of the Union. 

“Alright everyone, we're gonna start working on our presentation projects tomorrow, find a partner.”

Cosmo dreaded group projects. Not that he was particularly bad at public speaking, but it was the other students he worked with. 

To his worry about glancing around the room, some girls were gathering in their group, and some other friends here and there, but then he spotted someone stuck in their seat. Keeping their head down, probably taking notes about the lecture. 

How bad should this be? Cosmo thought to himself walking up to the desk.

Turns out the purple box wasn’t taking notes, instead shakily holding his pencil, scribbling… 

“Hi Boxten.” 

“Ah!” The boy straightened his back to the chair seat, fumbling to put his glasses back on.

“Wanna work on the project together? Or not it's fine.” Cosmo shrugged, one hand in his pocket while the other held his binder ready to drop it on the desk. 

The lean music box had his history of being the odd one out. Usually the victim of dogged bullying. Cosmo kinda liked him for being shy, it made him feel a little better about his own quiet voice. 

“U-uhm, sure. I guess.” 

The two only had this one class together, and the rest of the students had already found a partner so it was official. 

Cosmo smiled as he leaned back into his chair diagonal to Boxten, he felt a bit of pride that he could just approach this guy without trouble. Some sort of friendship he guessed.

“I’ll assign each of you a topic from period 2 to research.” 

The rest of the period went by with Cosmo creating Google slides and picking the research topic about Ulysses S. Grant and how the North changed for the better during the 1700s. 

Getting each other's G-mails and research is halfway done, the bell rang for the day, and the last periods awaited.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur, his last period included Finn at least. 

Kids running out the doors and onto the regular City bus, Cosmo waited with a hood over his head texting his mom. 

Looking around watching people come and go, he noticed a certain splash of water that caught his attention

Oh, there's Finn! “He-!”

Oh, there’s those… Other guys.

Eh, it’s fine. Cosmo thought to himself, he didn’t want to be a burden on his friend anyway. Too clumsy and awkward around new people, maybe he would ruin the fishbowl's reputation. 

That was until he felt a tap from behind on his shoulder.

Looking to his left, nobody was there. Turning back there was-

“Heyy man!”

“Hey Finn.” His breath fogged in the cold air.

It seemed his buddies followed him like a magnet, except that one shrimp boy, his stature robot-like because of the weather. 

“This is Cosmo, good friend of mine!” Finn smiled to his friends, which none of them really offered back in his presence.

They all had this sense of style that he guessed led them to be friends. Some tall guy with intense makeup, a slim guy with leaves for hair, (How is he not a frozen strawberry yet?) And the little chihuahua. 

Cosmo almost let out a laugh at the thought.

And Finn, speaking of him, did stop wearing all those colorful sweaters.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable as none of them started small talk, he looked at his phone once more. 

“Oh boy, looks like I gotta go! Bye.” He waved and only Finn waved back. 

Walking away he couldn't shake their stares off. 

“Are those your friends?” A husky voice asked as Cosmo opened the car door.

“Yeah, I think.” Cosmo slumped into the warm leather seat, holding his backpack on his lap.

“Don’t talk to that mirror kid.”

Cosmo slumped further into the seat as the car started.

No matter how much he wanted to push and ask why, he already knew the answer. His dad wasn’t exactly accepting of certain people. 

Probably the reason Cosmo didn’t have a lot of friends, or maybe it was just cause he was a loser. 

It was a quiet ride home, stomach rumbling as he saw the kitchen lights on. 

Cosmo practically raced up inside to avoid one of his Dad's lectures, throwing himself onto his bed. 

What a day.

As he lay there he thought that maybe it’d be ok to sleep in jeans. He didn’t even take off his coat yet. 

Homework.

Huh? What was that? Something he needs to do?

Homework!!!!

“Ughh..” He groaned rolling out of bed and out of his coat. 

Throwing his backpack to the side of his desk he hears his mom call

“Care for dinner sweetie?” 

“Sure!”

“What??”

“I said SURE!” 

-

Finishing the last page of Geometry he practically fell on top of his open laptop. 

It was only 7:36 at night, maybe he could sneak in a little video game?

Cosmo opened the Roblox website on his computer and booted up MM2, a simple game he enjoyed. 

A few rounds went by, and him getting innocent almost every time until a round started and a player said “Bet you cant beat me sherif” 

He smirked as he looked at his chosen role for the round.

“Oh yeah?” 

Hearing the murderer stab wounds around the map made his heart beat, watching every corner with his robloxian gun out. He turned his sound up, watching and waiting.

He started typing a response to taunt the other player but he stopped midway as a knife swung next to his character.

Bang!

“Haha yu cant aim”

Cosmo grumbled at the little chat peaking out from behind a wall. 

Ugh, let me just win this thing already!

Hiding inside of a little office room, not daring the step out the door, he waited, and waited, until he hear foot steps and-

Stab!  

“Dude!”

“dude”

“You had invisibility the entire time!”

“uh yeah”

“I call a rematch.” 

“oh your on”

The cake roll couldn't help but correct the others immature misspellings. 

“Uhm actually its youre.”

“dont you mean your’e”

“Wrong again…”

“whatev” 

The two had continuously long rounds of fighting each other in the murder mystery game, surprisingly Cosmo was getting better at being Sheriff.

Little comments and jokes littered throughout the chat that had Cosmo audibly laughing as they played on and on. 

A game of MM2 led to the two friending each other and joining other competitive games, the cake roll barely noticed the time passing.

9:50 PM.

Oh crap! And it’s a school night!

Cosmo quickly typed into the game chat that he had to go to bed.

“not even that late 1 more game”

“I wake up early, see you tomorrow?”

“yeah sure”

A smile grew on his face as the others little character hit a cute dance as a way to say goodbye. 

Quickly slipping into his red and white striped pajamas and jumping into bed. His heart beat fast and he wondered if he’d ever get any sleep tonight.

But time went on as he thought about his interactions with the unknown person through the screen, but he thought they got along pretty well.

Tossing and turning his exhaustion took over, mind left resting easy and he got through the night.

-

NOTES:

Hello people I really hope you enjoyed this little EXPLOSION of my ideas of comos highschool life

Although Sprout is barely introduced yet I promise I lowkey have so many more ideas for more story!!!

I originally wanted them to be Juniors in highschool but then realized I have no idea how to write that!!!!

Also sorry if they seem a little ooc 

Please leave a comment I love reading them a lot!!!!!!

and SMASH that like button and HIT subscribe and welcome back to FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDIES

Chapter Text

I don’t want a lot for Christmas… 

There is just one thing I need… 

The catchy song rang through Cosmo’s head, barely processing he was waking up. 

Pulling his blankets over his feet and covering his face from the blinding sunlight, the song went on.

Don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree

Curling up into a ball, the heating pad underneath his bed had yet been turned off.

Cosmo couldn’t go back to sleep now, hasty thoughts preventing rest, his alarm didn’t even go off, 

My alarm didn’t ring? I must’ve gotten up early.

Might as well start the day.

Trudging out of his bed and opening up the curtains, the sky was a shiny grey that reflected a classic case of the Wednesdays.

Wait, SUNNY? 

With that, Cosmo quite literally dashed to his phone on his nightstand. 

7:02 AM.

He noticed a little sticky note next to it, recognizing the fancy cursive as his mom’s.

“Good morning sweetie, you were sleeping deeply I thought you needed the extra rest. P.S.: Leftover waffles in the fridge.” 

Cosmo groaned as he put random clothes on, only caring a little bit about what he wore to school. 

His mom always worried that her son was below average height, if only he could show her the other kids at school; She’d think he brought her to a kindergarten.

Dragging his backpack down the stairs realizing he was home alone, he quite literally shuddered knowing he couldn’t take the car today.

He felt a little angry that neither of his parents bothered to get him up, let alone allow his alarm to bypass.

But then again, the morning was already here. He knew he shouldn't have stayed up so late…

Kicking on his shoes and nomming on a cold waffle, he walked up to the post where the bus would usually stop.

He hadn’t taken the bus in a while, but he knew how to avoid attention. 

Waiting with his hands in his pockets, an old rusty yellow bus slowed down on the street, honking its horn.

He got on the bus, walking down the aisle, sighing to himself as he already knew his spot to sit.

He didn’t bother to greet anyone there, nobody even looked his way.

He recognized a few of the students sitting all around, but not enough to say hi or offer a smile. 

Keeping his head low, and steps long, Comso was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize the foot right in front of him.

Nearly landing face first into the dirty floor of the vehicle, he heard a mocking chuckle from behind.

His hands stung as he brushed off the dirt. Cosmo saw the one convicted of the crime of tripping him was looking away and whistling.

Two little spiked fins poked up from above the chair seat, no other than the notorious Shrimpo Shrimply.

Cosmo looked around to see if anyone cared about what happened. Cosmo wasn’t bullied often - Since he never took the bus - but this baffled him that kids actively turned their heads when the cake roll tried to find some support.

The cake roll huffed as he let it go. There's no way in hell that Cosmo could confront the meanest kid in school without consequences. 

The bus started again, pushing him down the aisle. But before he could get another step in, some girl stood up and shouted 

“You’re really gonna let him do that to you?” 

If kids were ignoring him then, Cosmo could feel the heads turning now. 

“No- nono no. It’s okay, really!”

Cosmo tried to calm the bubbly girl, not wanting anymore attention then as is.

She then got up “You tripped cause of him, right?” she pointed towards the perpetrators direction. 

“I mean yeah, but I’m fine.” He tried to walk down the aisle but was stopped again.

“He can’t get away with it this time, just look at him.”

The two little fins picked up in response, the Shrimp turning in his chair. 

“What’chu mean, look at ‘im?” He snarled.

"What's your problem, huh? So angry all the time for no reason?” 

“Why don’t you come over here and say it to my FACE.”

“I think I might as WELL!”

Shrimpo jumped out of his seat, brows knit together angrily. Although the bubbly girl stood inches above him, he wasn’t imitated.

“You sure you wanna keep quiet, or do you have something to say?” 

The light blue-skinned girl fisted her hands. “You think you can just go around pushing others down? Don’t think I haven’t remembered what you did to Boxten!”

Cosmo backed away from the two, worried about the physical outcome of this situation. 

Another boy, from the same seat as Shrimpo, tugged on his shirt.

“Cmon man, just sit down.” 

“Nah! I wanna see what this chick thinks she has going on!”

“Chick? CHICK!?” The girl screamed.

Suddenly, the bus came to a halt, nearly throwing both standing students out of stance. 

“DO I HAVE TO TURN THIS DAM BUS AROUND OR ARE YOU GONNA SIT DOWN?” 

A hearty holler rang through the bus. 

Quickly the two jumped in their seats.

Cosmo slumped into the back of the chair, hugging his backpack close. 

Does everyone hate me now… Oh they probably do… Ughhhh

The girl from before, her original face of grimace turned into a soft smile as she turned in her seat to face Cosmo in the back. 

“You doing ok? That was quite a fall. Hate that Shrimpo guy.” She scowled.

One person doesn’t hate me.

“Yeah, It was nothing, really…” Cosmo lied, his hands still stung. 

She really, yelled at him like that.

As she was turned away, Cosmo tried to speak with the little courage he had. 

“Uh, thanks for doing that back there…”

“It was no problem at all! Besides, I have a bone to pick with him anyway. Such a prick!” 

Cosmo awkwardly laughed.

“I’m Poppy, by the way!”

“I’m Cosmo…”

“Nice to meet you!” And she turned away.

The bus made a familiar right turn next to the entrance of the School mall. 

Cosmo waited for the rest of the kids to pile outside to get out last. Like he always is, last. 

The cold breeze nipped at his nose, feet crunching in the leftover snow to the main building. 

He pushed through the hallway of students, groups of kids ‘walking’ incredibly slow down the hall going God knows where.

Cosmo walked up to his locker, 1411. 

He twist the lock left and right, trying to remember his code.

Failing several attempts, Gosh why can’t I just remember?  

Was it 39- 13? No.. 13, 29… No. 13,39.. WRONG AGAIN!

He tried not to care about the imaginary audience watching him, only finally getting the code right after a minute.

Hanging up his winter coat and pink scarf, he heard the first bell ring — a five-minute warning to get to class.

Definitely not walking in a straight line trying to get to his first class of the day, head down low, an itching feeling to look up made him nearly crash into the person in front of him. 

He backed up “Soso so sorry!” 

“Oh, hi Cosmo!” A cheery voice said. 

A pair of shiny brown eyes and a sparkly bow captured his attention.

Bubbly…? Bubbler, no, no … pop, popp.. Poppy!

It seemed that his partner in APUSH was next to her as well.

“...Hi Poppy.” Cosmo tried to offer a smile, perking his head up a bit as he trudged down the hall.

With a stupid still plastered to his face, he quickly shook his head to return to nonchalantness. With a sigh, he opened the door to his first class, English.

It wasn’t his particular favourite class or the least of the day.

But when they had an essay, or test, or quiz, and that was the first part of his day… He would rather have a band or an elective in the morning.

Finding his seat near the left side of the class, a few more kids walked in with loud bicker and the teacher stood up front shushing everyone.

The 30-second bell rang and Cosmo flipped through the pages of his newly purchased dystopian fiction, Dry. 

Although some kids degraded on reading for class in many ways, the latest assignment was to find your our book to read and then write an essay about. But the essay part was later.

The book he chose was good, just about society going ballistic when water resources went out. Survival of the fittest… More exciting than my life. 

-

The hours dragged on, transitioning from building to building in the dreaded weather. 

Cosmo eventually got to work with Boxten again in Apush, talking with one another to prepare for the class presentation tomorrow. 

Typing away on his Chromebook it nearly slipped Cosmo’s mind about what happened this morning until Boxten raised his voice for a second. 

“You’re friends with Poppy?” 

“Oh, uh-” 

Was he? An act of kindness from someone who liked him or took pity on him? He can’t deny she was nice though. 

“I guess? Yeah.”

“She said something happened on the bus today.”

The nerd said with a statement-like voice, not exactly pushing Cosmo to say more but just letting the words sit in the air. 

Cosmo uncomfortable shifted in his chair. Weren’t you bullied too?

“Alright class, make sure to finish your presentations for tomorrow!”

He looked up to the clock, 11:30. Class was minutes away from finishing, and then LUNCH! Which means seeing his one… and only friend, Finn!

Cosmo slid his notebooks into his bag. “So I could do slides 1, 2, and 3? How about that?”

“Ok, then I’ll do the rest.”

He looked up, it was probably only a few minutes ago but they met eyes this time. The worried smile on Boxtens face confused Cosmo for a second until the bell rang aloud. 

“See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Trudging down the stairs and getting past hallway traffic, Cosmo arrived at the long lunch line.

After waiting for a few minutes he got to see the selectional for today's meal.

Some cheap looking pizza, basic snacks, and cheeseburgers. 

Getting pushed down the line into the terribly hot cafeteria with no air conditioning (considering it was winter, but boy they sure did heat the place.) he choose some lettuce with the burger and milk.

Scanning the room for his usual seat against the far-off wall in the room, Finn wasn’t there. 

The place was loud, the high ceilings didn’t help cancel out the noise. 

Just before Cosmo sat down, a familiar laugh caught his eye to the middle of the cafeteria. Finn, and his… New group of friends. 

It couldn’t hurt too much. Would it?

To his (total) surprise, no seats were open next to his friend. 

Cosmo awkwardly stood at the end of the table, sliding his plate into an open seat and waving at his friend. 

Wiping a tear from his eye and looking up to his cosmic brownie friend, Finn smiled. Nobody else though. 

Stiffily sitting next to one of Finns friends, Cosmo pulled out his phone and distracted himself. 

Not daring to look up he could already feel a certain pair of angry eyes absolutely burning holes in his face. 

Finn luckily started a conversation, Cosmo felt like he was about to bolt out the door. 

It wasn’t too comfortable eating around the unfamiliar faces, but he got through Lunch by siting on the edge of the seat afraid of doing anything to get judged at. 

Stupid school wifi… WOn’t let me play roblox. 

-

After a totally. TOTALLY awesome lunch period - Cosmo waved goodbye to his friend and prepared himself to feel the stupid cold wind blow in his face going to the other building. 

But the day eventually ended, Cosmo went to his locker. 

He wondered whether his mom would pick him up or not, it would be a pain to get on the bus again. Especially with that new driver. 

Mrs. Crabtree. Cosmo psychially shuddered just thinking of her jagged teeth.

But relief washed over him as a Black SUV honda pulled up to the driveway of the school.

Getting in the car and turning the dial of the radio, Black Hole Sun faded in.

Not much talk happened in the car, only the riffs of the guitar and the slow sync in the background. 

The voices in a strained tone, lyrics that didn’t entirely make sense, but Cosmo felt the strive of the words.

Pulling into the driveway, he walked in with his mom and went to his room.

He didn’t have that much homework to do tonight, a few things were practically finished already. 

Rolling onto his bed and pulling out his phone, he checked his email, watched a few videos, until a lonely only text popped up on his screen. 

Huh, I never usually get those…

Although it wasn’t a text from normal messages but instead from a game, Roblox. 

Two words: hop on

Cosmo smiled at the outdated username, he would have to ask his online friend about it later… Xx Wh1te_Fang

Opening roblox on his phone and joining a game called Squid Game.

He had never watched the show before, it only came out a few years ago but he never found the time. 

Joining in a lobby area with a two minute timer up above, Cosmo saw a familiar little character emoting on his character. 

“wsp” 

“Im good, bad day tho…” 

“nah tell me about it” 

The timer went by fast, other roblox players surrounding the big gate into what he supposed was the first game.

“Just some stupid kid at my school”

“#####################”

“Wat?” 

“what they do”

“Not something bad enough to get detention”

“where they at ill handle them lol” 

“Noo just forget about it”

“whatev” 

The gates opened and revealed a vast plain sandy room with a giant robot girl at the end. 

Red light green light? Right? Should be easy enough!

As the game began with a green light flashing his screen, he ran across the sand, surpassing his friends character in the process. 

His screen flashed red and Cosmo nearly dropped his phone to stop moving on the game.

Typing quickly as he and a few other players were lined up on the sand, he taunted 

“Ill get there first!”

“uh what did you say?”

Before Cosmo could type again it seemed that his roblox character got PUSHED before the light changed and he went back to the start. 

“WHAT!”

“hurry up slow poke” 

An hour later of getting past each level and teaming up on the tug of war, Cosmo was eventually called down from his room to eat.

“Bye gotta go”

“c u later” 

Cosmo jumped up from his bed, dropped his phone on the bed, and rushed downstairs for dinner. 

Hm, if only he could download a VPN to talk to his friend at school…

Maybe that’s what I’ll do.

Chapter Text

Soft grass

Warm sun

Cool breeze

He didn’t even know where this place was. Why must he be brought here so many times… Questioning so many things only to never get an answer.

The two sat there… Or one? Should Cosmo even consider the dream a person? A spirit?

It was peaceful, at least. Like it wasn’t even winter at all.

It was like Sara Bellum from Power Puff Girls, you never get to see her face but stay endlessly curious if they’ll ever reveal it.

  Who can it be now

Cosmo looked to the side and wondered if he could just reach out and… Answer a few questions.

  Don’t you want to find out?

He reached for the figure, but the landscape suddenly stretched, expanding the distance between them until it felt like miles apart.

At the pluck of a guitar string, the grass started to fall beneath him, the warmth of the sun disappeared, everything went black. 

He bolted upright, the echo of his own shout still pounding in his head.

A jolt a worry pushed his hand to turn on his phone, only to release a sigh of relief as he saw the clock. Just a few minutes early.

Cosmo dropped back onto his bed. Brain barely processing he needed to get ready soon. 

Thoughts stirring place to place, desperately trying to hang onto something. A reason to get up today? What’s it gonna be today… Got to get to first period; band is nice… But English? Oh noo, no. Bad teacher… What’s going to be for lunch today? Something good? Probably not. Presentation today.. No.. noo.. Listen to music? Yeah, that’d be nice… Still gotta get your headphones fixed.

Why should I even get up. So tired…

It felts like an hour already passed as Cosmo waited out his phone alarm. He had woken up just minutes before it would ring and he supposed he would get just a little bit more rest. 

Reasons, reasons… Finn will be there, not sitting next to me… Upcoming lab, should work on it. Watch videos during lunch? Yeah.. Play video games? Wifi doesn’t let me… Maybe? No.. Unless?

Cosmo’s heart rapidly sped up as he hung onto the little hope he had. It was a weird reason to get motivated. His drowsy eyes eventually let up as he raised his arms behind his head. A stupid reason it was, the idea of downloading a VPN to maybe, just maybe be able to play Roblox with his online pal. Ugh, wow. Why can’t he just be normal and have normal problems?

(Insert iPhone radar alarm)

I was getting up ANYWAY. The brownie angrily swiped the off button. 

His mind began to wander, the overthinking switching from up to down, right to wrong, back and forth.. The string of hope that maybe he could talk to his online friend hastened his pace to get ready but the strong pull of worry about classes and work that he hasn’t done yet ruined his emotions. 

Y’know what, thoughts? I’m done. Hanging up the phone. Today's gonna be a good day, I’ll make it so. 

After getting dressed, Cosmo went to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror, bringing a hand up to poke a small pimple forming on his cheek. “Stupid…” 

They were strange yet unique. Small stars of different sizes and colors littered his cheeks.  

Not too bad. For a brief second, he thought it looked cool.

Getting downstairs, Cosmo popped a bagel into the toaster, his parents talking in the other room. 

Maybe when it warms up outside, everything will be better

With a sigh, his mom entered the kitchen, smiling at her son before pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“Want some?”

“No, I don’t like coffee.”

“You will, some day.” 

“Can I ride with you today?” 

“Of course.” She smiled. 

After a few minutes of driving down the cold streets, he arrived at school and got out of the car.

The sky was still dark, only ripples of light blue tainted the edge of the earth. 

The street lights illuminated the grey sidewalk of the school mall.

It was freezing outside, the boy put a peep in his step to get inside faster. Coming up to the main entrance and skipping one step of the stairway, he flicked the call button on the wall and waited for the guards to unlock the door.

Darn this weather– The brownie thought as he pulled on the locked door multiple times, watching the guards talk amongst themselves before reaching over to press a button and unlock the door.

He walked in and didn’t bother announcing himself to the security guard sitting at the desk, relieved to be next to a heater at last.

He sat down criss-cross applesauce on the ground and pulled out his Chromebook to finish the last details on his presentation and remember what he was going to say. 

“Good morning, young man.” An older security woman walked past Cosmo, who was focused on working.

Cosmo looked up and nodded, too focused on what he was doing to think of forming a verbal response. “I said, Good Morning Cossie!” She said loudly, leaning forward with her hands on her hips. 

The student stopped what he was doing and looked up. A worker name Ms. Trixy.

“Good morning.” He blurted out, voice cracking a bit. 

She laughed and went to the other security guards, not caring that she talked about students right in front of them. 

He shrugged it off; that woman always bugged him for some reason… How could he possibly stand out?

Cosmo worked on his chromebook, whispering to himself lines that he would say in front of the class.

Cash crops, Indentured servitude…

Sunlight started to peak through the window.

7:28   Kids started to pour in, a few on their phones waiting for the bell. Cosmo put his things away and shuffled to get a part of the security line. 

Zoning out, looking at the art on the wall, his mind started to wonder. What's the point of today? Am I going to accomplish anything…

Broken from thought, a male guard shouted at the kids lined up by the door. “Alright, everyone get your id’s out and phones in your bags.” 

A dull routine.   

He scans in and starts up the stairs for his first class. The teacher usually let them sit in the classroom and play with their phones until the first bell rang, if she were there. 

The halls were empty, a few teachers walking in and out, others students coming up the stairs. A perfect time to think about the day ahead. 

Cosmo walked up to his classroom, room 215. It had a large mural above it of abstract flowers

The brownie pulled the door, fully expecting it to open, and almost smacked himself in the face with an unmoving entrance.

The brownie boy looked in, and the lights were off. As suspected… Ms. Jankowits wasn't early this morning.

Shrugging as he leaned against the lockers, he slid down and got comfortable to wait for the next 20 minutes. 

Some students went through their lockers, went to class, and a few sat in the hall like Cosmo did.

He pulled out his phone from his bag and went through youtube. A new upload from his favourite youtuber showed up on his page, quickly pressing on it to watch.

The loud voice echoed through the halls- “HELLO everybody, my name is Markiplier and today were pla-” Cosmo quickly shut off his phone and clutched the side buttons tight, noticing the coupled moment towards his direction from his peripheral vision. 

Laughing it off quietly, he turned on his phone and made sure to have sound on zero.

Watching with closed captions on, the world around him was a blur. The only things he noticed were the clinks of metal, the slamming of doors, faint chatter through the halls, focusing on the horror game in front of him. However, a big blur blocked his marginal sight. “Hey bud!” 

Cosmo looked up and low and behold, Finn McGill. A cheeky smile and a friendly set of eyes put a smile on Cosmos's face. “Come up here!” Finn reached a hand out, and Cosmo obliged, pulling on his friend's arm to lift himself from the ground. 

“So.. How things goin?” The fishbowl stood with swagger, holding his thumbs in his pockets and leaning to the side. “Don’t you mean swimming?” Cosmo tilted his head and smirked, the fishpuns had grown on him like moss. “Oh, heh, yeah. But honestly. How’s life?” 

Cosmo hadn’t expected direct questions about his well-being. It was kinda of a refresher to hear something like that, but could he answer truthfully to Finn? “Oh, classes and stuff. Have to do public speaking.” Cosmo shrugged. “School is boring.”

“Don’t even mention it. My teach wont leave me alone for my D in his class.” 

“Tough.”

The brownie teetered over the tips of his toes and heels of his feet, the bland conversation slowly turning tense. Cosmo glanced at the way Finn dropped his head and looked down the hall. It was quickly filling with noisy students, the sun blaring from outside. He looked back to his friend. “Hey uhm, Finn?” He looked back, the frequent smile only hooked his face. “Do you think we can-” “Heyyy!” “hang out this lunch-”

"Well, well, well, look who it is!"A tall yet flashy figure approached the two dressed in an outfit that screamed confidence and glitter. “What’s cooking, good looking?” Finn curled his lips again to a beaming smile, one eyebrow quirked up. The tall guy’s face immediately fell into an exaggerated, mock shocked expression. He shooed his hands up in the air. “Don’t be a tease.” 

Cosmo felt awfully awkward as the two interacted, his previous question totally gone with the wind. The mirror flicked his eyes towards the Brownie, which Cosmo automatically felt on him like a prey in plain sight. “And who’s this?” He crossed his arms in a somesort of bitchy way contrarty to his previous expression. The words stuck in Cosmos' throat like barred wire. “Oh I’m-” “COSMO! This is friend!” Finn wrapped an arm around him and jostled them to the side. 

The brownie boy tugged at his sleeve. Didn’t Finn just introduce me yesterday? Am I really that forgettable?

“Cosmo, this is Glisten. Glisten, Cosmo.” Finn pointed between the two and posed right between them, looking to Glisten with a face of plead and to Cosmo with a reassuring smile. 

“Well… It’s nice to meet you, Cosmo.” Glisten, a name that perfectly matched the outlook of the flamboyant mirror. “Y-yeah, you too.” Cosmo only glanced up and made eye contact for what seemed to be a reasonable amount of time. 

Although it was perfect timing, the first bell of the day finally rang, and kids were filing into the classroom. “Right, I’m gonna go now…” Cosmo gestured to his room and raised a hand to wave goodbye. 

“Alrighty! See you later-” Finn clasped his hand with Cosmos, not knowing how to offer the same weird handshake back. “-Alligator!” And so Finn took off and Glisten strutting away.

And so the day began… Sitting in English, reading his novel, and writing every motif down. If Kelton likes Aylssa so much, why doesn’t he just tell her!?

Geometry. Cosmo sat near the end of the room by the door. The teacher went on talking about angle relationships. He scribbled each marking down. Complementary angles, supplementary, angle measures, funny little roblox characters, parallel lines. Thoughts about his upcoming test overflowed with happier thoughts about getting to play with an online friend. 

“Alright class, we have about 15 minutes left so get started on your homework for your test tomorrow.” Cosmo sighed and went to get a geometry book for his homework. Plopping the book on his desk and preparing himself to save his grade. Sketching down angles and circles, aimlessly getting through each question.

“Hey, uh, do you know how to do question 7?” A girl with a red face and a blue starred sweater looked at Cosmo with a cheeky face. “Uhh. Let me see…” It was a rather odd shape, but he did find the answers. “There are vertical angles, so you can see the 70 degrees has its supplement 110.” The girl slipped one of her hands out of her long sleeves to grab a pencil. “Thanks.” 

-

A cloudless morning had turned into yet a depressing grey. Cosmo watched as people from outside went out onto the field and down the sidewalks. His lunch was only in the next hour but the chairs in this class hurt worse than… Than uh, uhm.. OW!!! 

The teacher clasped his hands together, alerting the class to pay attention. Cosmo looked across the room to Boxten, then back up to Mr. Pane. “We ready? Ok, take out your sheet of paper and group one come on up.” Group one went up, it was a group of girls. Mr. Pane set up the slides, and the first introduction slide was decorated with pink and flowers that read out Colonization!

The first one to speak giggled and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Jaxsyn and I did the history of the Jamestown settlement. The English colonizers came to Virginia and named their settlement after the King James but it was kinda of a failure and they died.” The girl snorted and the rest of them did to. “Th-Ey kinda died because of disease and starvation.” But then she immediately locked in as the teacher eyed her for talking in such a way. 

Cosmo leaned against his propped-up hand and took little note of what was happening up front. Plymouth, Bay colony, oh what am I going to say? Eventually, the group of girls ended their presentation and another one began, and then his and Boxtens' turn. Despite being nervous and eager to get it over with, time passed by effortlessly and the bell rang. 

“Don’t get stuck in traffic!” The exact opposite happened. What’s for lunch? Nothing good. Wait, Thursday? Nachos! The full halls moved extremely slow, and Cosmo tried to get down to the lunch room, skipping a few steps down the stairs to get an early place in line. The hto smell of cheese and spicy meat fogged up the first floor as the brownie boy stepped in line. 

A sweet old lunch lady handed him a plate. “You want cheese?” Cosmo smiled and nodded rapidly. she was a nice person, although he didn’t know her name. Punching in his id number, Cosmo sought the middle table in the cafeteria where he had expected Finn to be sitting. Instead, it was the mirror guy. Glisten. And the strawberry guy. The... the strawberry guy. 

“You- you guys know where Finn is?” Cosmo awkwardly stood, trying to raise his voice over the chatter of the room. Glisten was the first to look up from his phone. “Oh, I think he went outside.” He looked back down and loudly crunched a chip. The brownie boy looked around. All other tables were taken except one in the far back where only about one other person sat. With his goal of talking to Finn again today defeated, Cosmo thought about where he could eat his lunch in peace.

“You can sit down if you want.” Even though the mirror guy scrolled without looking up, Cosmo felt under the eyes of many as he sat in front of the two. It was incredibly inelegant trying to eat with loud crunch, pulling out his phone to avoid conversation, but that didn’t work. Glistens phone now sat in front of him, screen down and he propped his chind on his two hands, looking right at Cosmo.

“So,” Cosmo looked everywhere but making eye contact. “How did you two meet?” He put down a chip that he was just going to eat. “Finn?” Glisten nodded. “Uhm, I think it was back in middle school?” He fidgeted with his fingers as Glisten continued to stare. “I think-  Yeah, we were in the same homeroom. He was funny back then, fish puns and all that.” Cosmo smiled to himself, reminiscing how fun his first encounter was. 

Glisten made a face and then grinned. “Oh, OH! You mean those terrible jokes, yes he used to make them sometimes.” Cosmo laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t know exactly what else to say, not the best people-person. Another voice spoke up, the one sitting next to Glisten. “I remember one that was pretty good. I think it went like, are you a shark- because, because- That’s not how it went.” He rubbed his chin and put on a thinking face. 

“Do not get me started on these darn fish puns.” Glisten shrugged and covered his face. Cosmo smiled and brought up his shoulders, embarrassed. “Fish, fishy- Fin- something along the lines of that.” With little courage he had, Cosmo spoke. “Hehe, you just made a fish pun.” The strawberry boy met his eyes for a brief second but then thunk again. “Heh, cause- along the lines of…” Cosmo barely said his last words audibly as the other boy sat unreacting. Did he totally just make this entire thing awkward, again!? But instead the strawberry seemed to have a lightbulb moment and laughed. “Yeah, I guess youre right!”

“I’m not doing this.” Glisten rested his face on his crossed arms.

“It’s just a few fish jokes.” The other boy poked him in his shoulder teasingly. 

“Oh my Cod, please.” Strawberry boy and Cosmo alike both turned their heads before the table shook with sudden movement. Glisten covered his mouth and his eyes were blown wide. He then pointed angrily and the two. “You both. Heard. Nothing.” 

“Whatever you say! Or sea. Does that work?” He looked to Cosmo for encouragement. “I guess, you should ask the master himself.” “Mhm.”

The table went quiet. Cosmo had an awful giddy smile on his face after such a successful interaction. He pulled out his phone, looked at his assignments, grades, oo. Yeah, gotta raise that C. He leaned forward in his seat, opening a horizontal game on his phone. The usual lunchtime chatter from the other tables around him hummed in the background, but he didn’t need to listen to any of it. Not right now. For once, everything felt fine, like he could just exist for a moment without any pressing expectations.

Clinks of lunch trays and the occasion scream or laugh echoed through Cosmos ears like the hit of a tibetan singing bowl. A new notification popped up, Reminder: Geometry test tomorrow. He scrolled past it, groaning. Nope. Not today, I need a break. Playing around unpurposfully with the game, his eyes flickered towards the windows of the cafeteria. He hadn’t noticed it before, but some sunlight peaked through the parted clouds, shining yellow streaks into the room. Disappearing and reappearing with the wind in the sky.  Glisten was poking at his food with a distracted look, his eyes half closed as if thinking about something else entirely. Strawberry boy was scrolling through his phone, glancing up occasionally to look at the clock, his expression unreadable.

Cosmo felt oddly unconnected with his new acquintances, but felt comfortable. No one was pushing him to talk, get him embarrassed. It was nice. Time passed by in a buzz, Cosmo’s thoughts circled. His grades. Finn. What he’d do after school. Where he would be in a week. The usual concerns, but for now, they were just... there. He need’nt worry about so much at the same time.

Without sense of time, the overhead lights flickered orange and the loud chime of the bell rang loudly as kid shuffled from their seats to the exit. Shoving his phone into his backpack, Cosmo got up, narrowly dodging a milk carton being thrown in the trash. The exit to the hallway was already packed, Cosmo sighed and pushed forward, mentally preparing for what was unfortunatly the next class, Gym. 

Before going into the traffic, Cosmo looked back at Finn’s friends who were getting their things together. Might as well try , right? He stepped forward and raised his voice to the best of his ability to sound cool. “I’ll sEe you guys, bye.” The slight squeak in his voice made him facepalm internally. “Byeee!” Dragging extending the last vowel. Glisten formed a half-smile. 

— (If this were wattpad what would you name this)

The rest of the day went by in a breeze, literally, the weather had cooled down dramatically. Thankfully, gym class had only being days about learning health and no physical activity. Chemistry wasn’t too bad either. Memorizing ions isn’t that fun but atleast… Atleast, oh forget it. It wasn’t fun. Then French, his last of the day. A tall woman, who always hid her true feelings behind a smile. Reading through a passage in french and identifying certain words. Can’t it be Friday ALREADY? Glancing at the clock every once in a while the school day finally ended and Cosmo didn’t bother hiding his exhaustion.

With his hood drawn low, he slid into the passenger seat of his mom’s car. “Everything alright?” She tugged on her son’s cheek and caressed him for a moment, pausing like she would find the answer in his face. 

“I guess.” Cosmo sat still and unbothered. He didn’t exactly like talking about feelings. 

“That’s fine. You can tell me about your day later.” She didn’t press. She just left her hand on his shoulder for a second longer than usual, then turned the key in the ignition.

The drive home was quiet, no music this time. The creeping memories of today replayed in his mind. Meeting one of Finn’s friends was a good thing, why didn’t it feel like it? Closing his eyes for a brief second, the usual 15 minute ride home felt like seconds and he was nudged on the shoulder. “You know I can’t carry you anymore.” Cosmo looked up and he was home. Rubbing his eyes and dragging himself inside, the warmth made him feel more tired. 

“Honeyy, I’m home!” She shouted into the house. “Don’t you dare bring those shows up those steps!” His mom scorned him. He blinked slowly, looked up at her face, then down at his shoes, eyes heavy, thoughts even heavier. Then back up again. “Huh? Oh, yeah.”

“Maybe you should take a nap. You’ve had a long day.” She rubbed his back and encouraged him up the stairs. “Don’t take a nap without finishing your work.” A loud voice cut through Cosmos’s tired daze as he looked back and saw his dad in his white collar. 

“Oookay.” He said, not wanting to partake in any further conversation. Opening his door with a big snake poster on it, he flicked the light on and felt the silent welcoming of his un-made bed and the demand from his desk to do work. Bed, desk, sleep, work… He didn’t even have the energy to make a decision; why would he have any to study properly? 

But he had work to do. He zipped open his backpack on his table, took out his notebook, and then, instead of sitting down, fell atop his bed.

-

-

-

Chapter Text

I dont believe ill be finishing this story... Ive sort have lost interest? in dandys world. In the beginning, I had lots of ideas and excitement about writing this story and its my first story that actually had a plot to it, a long one...
Maybe it's school that has destroyed my creative mindset or the hibernation of the fandom in my mind

Maybe in a month ill start writing again

If you actually enjoyed this story thank you for reading