Chapter Text
You find yourself walking forward in darkness. 'Darkness' seems inadequate - blackness, thick and endless.
Darker than a moonless night. Darker than the thickest forest.
Darker than being locked in a windowless room.
Your feet carry you forward, though you cannot guess where.
You twist and turn, as though navigating a labyrinth despite the sightless conditions.
You feel a sense of urgency, a sense of purpose. Your head holds no knowledge of your destination, but your heart knows the way.
A dull sound envelops you every few seconds, a vibration so deep that it stirs the marrow in your bones.
At some point, you recognized the sound by its distinct syncopation:
The beating, bump-bump (and pause) in quick succession, of a human heart.
The longer you walk, the further you travel, the sound grows louder.
You approach the source until the pulse makes your whole body quiver, threatening to sweep you off your feet.
Pressing onward, you grow closer and closer with every step, until -
~~~~
"Get. Up."
What awakens you, at last, is a voice so loud and so harsh that it breaks through your stupor.
"I am leaving for work. I will trust you to make your own way to school. Do not be late."
As the sound of footsteps fades further away from your bedroom door, your heart rate slows enough that your mind and your vision clear, and you assess your situation.
Your bedsheets and your sleepwear cling to your matted fur, soaked as it is with cold, sticky sweat. Sunlight streams into your room through your open window. Your morning alarm, which you've evidently slept through, blares loudly in your ears.
Judging by the time your clock shows as you slam your hand down on the 'stop' button, you're probably going to be late for school.
You rise from the bed in a flurry of motion, stripping off your dirtied nightclothes while you open your closet to find a clean outfit, only then remembering the clothes you set out for yourself the night before. A skirt, blouse, and sweater - and underwear, of course.
You can't spare the time for a morning shower if you want to attempt punctuality, so you spray yourself with a generous portion of deodorant before applying perfume, hoping and wishing that it's enough to cover the reek of your...
Your stream of consciousness is broken by the memory of your dream, your nightmare, your... whatever it was. You can't afford to be distracted, though, so you push the thought down as you rush to breakfast.
Your mother would chide you if she saw you take a muffin from the pantry for breakfast, and insist that you sit down to have a fuller meal - get some fruit from the fridge, drink a glass of juice or milk, and while you're at it, why don't you swap out that muffin for something less sweet?
Would she bother to do so on a morning like this, when you're already running late, or would she chide you instead for your seeming lethargy? The more you think about it, the less sure you are of the answer, so it's fortunate that you don't have much time to think.
A growl of the stomach prompts you to take one large bite from the muffin, then throw it in your lunchbag with the salad and bagel you prepared last night. Surely Ms. Alphys won't mind if you eat in class, right?
You drop your lunchbag into your bookbag, you heft the larger bag over your shoulder, and with that you're out the door, feeling the wind in your hair as you run.
The Cattersons shout "Goooooooooooooooooooooood morning!" as you pass them by, an unfamiliar skeleton waves hello from the porch of the town's grocery store, and Officer Undyne tips her hat while directing the morning traffic. Very little else sticks out as you as it all passes by in a blur. You can't be late, you can't be late, you really don't want to be-
The bell rings as you're rounding the corner to approach the school, and you break into a sprint on instinct because maybe that's the first bell and you still have time to -
*WHAM*
In your haste, you failed to pay attention to your surroundings, or even what was ahead of you. You aren't even sure what you ran into, at first, until you stumble back and fall on your behind, slowing you down enough to refocus, and look up...
Up past a ragged pair of jeans, up past a long, thick cardigan worn over a plain shirt, up past an unkempt mane of brown hair...
To the sharp teeth of Susie, standing only inches away from the front door of the school, turned around to grin down at you. "Running late, buckteeth? That's a first."
"I- ummmm, I, uh..." The power of language escapes you. You're unsure whether you're unbalanced by the girl in front of you, the situation you're in, or the composite whole of it all, but whatever the reason, you find yourself unable to form even one coherent word.
You hear Susie's nose begin to produce noises. She's snorting at you, then snickering, and finally chuckling to herself at the sight of your distress.
You feel your cheeks redden, but still you just stare up at her, unsure what to say.
"Hmm..." Susie turns fully around and takes a step forward, looming over you, her fangly grin growing wider. "If you're in a hurry, I'll bet you don't have an excuse to be late. Nobody knows where you are, though... and nobody would know where to look."
The heat building up under your collar is becoming unbearable.
Susie crouches down in front of you. This close, you can actually see her yellow eyes between the thick strands of her hair. They squint at you with a look of appraisal. "If you disappeared right here, right now... how long would it be before the search started?"
Your heart is pounding so loudly that you can heart nothing but Susie's voice over the blood rush. "I. I, uh... you..." You still can't form a coherent word. You aren't even sure what to think.
Susie inhales deeply, leaning into you so that you're practically eye-to-eye... then she snorts, and in one smooth motion, she hauls you up to your feet by the waist. You wobble, but catch your balance easily enough. "Come on, no point in being any later."
Without another word, she walks over to the front door of the school, kicks it open, and holds it for you. "Well?"
You do not want to keep her waiting. You scurry past Susie after only the lightest self-inspection to make sure you didn't drop anything, feeling your cheeks flush again as Susie calls, "Nice perfume!" after you, and then burst through the door into the classroom.
Even if you couldn't see everyone in the room from here, you would probably be able to feel all of their eyes on you. Chest heaving, eyes wide, and your skirt must be thoroughly rumpled... you're probably quite the sight.
Eventually, the person at the head of the room breaks the silence. "Oh, Noelle! There you are. I was... getting worried?" Miss Alphys seems relieved that you've shown up. "I-I was going to call your mother to ask if you were sick, but now I guess you can just take your seat!"
While you maneuver between the desks to take your usual seat next to Berdly (Who leans over slightly and tries to whisper "And a good morning to the fair maiden!", but fails at the being quiet part of whispering), Alphys clears her throat. "W-well, now that Noelle's here, I suppose you can all choose partners for the group project."
Immediately, the rest of the class begin to talk amongst themselves. While you take that opportunity to catch your breath and retrieve your muffin from your bookbag, you hear the sound of a throat being cleared from next to you. Looking up, you see Berdly leaning over from his desk and grinning at you. "Of course, we will be partnering once again, to dominate this group project with our shared smarts."
It's not a question, but why would it be? You always partner with Berdly, since he always wants to. For some reason, though, your mind wanders, and you look around. Catti is already chatting with Jocktington. They're a couple, so of course they've teamed up. Snowy and Kid are similarly a consistent pair, and Temmie... has produced an egg from somewhere...
All that leaves is Kris, sitting at the back-middle of the room, leaning so far back in their chair that they're probably just a few degrees' rotation from losing their balance.
For some reason, your vision blurs when you try to focus on Kris, but you shake your head and snap out of it, taking a bite out of your muffin so you have something to focus on. Kris didn't even seem to notice you staring. Do they notice anything that's going on right now? Is Kris even awake...?
Another clearing of the throat draws your attention back to Berdly, who looks at you expectantly, apparently waiting for a verbal confirmation. You swallow down your food, then open your mouth to answer...
And that's when the door slams back open. Susie steps through, looming menacingly in the doorway. Once again, all eyes are drawn to the new arrival to the classroom. Absolutely deadpan and straight-faced, she walks a few steps forward and asks, "...am I late?"
At the front of the room, Ms. Alphys gulps and answers, "U-um, Susie! No! No, you're... you're just in time to get a partner for group projects. H-here, um, let me -"
Turning around to the blackboard, you heard the teacher mutter, "Oh, oh dear, where's my -"
Alphys snaps her fingers - as though she's figured something out - and turns to the doorway. "S-Susie, I, um, I seem to be all out of chalk. Would you, uh, mind going to get some from the supply closet? Since you're already standing? Please?"
Susie just stands there for a second, still as a statue... and then she shrugs. "Sure."
She walks out just as abruptly as she walked in, closing the door behind her with a loud CLACK.
Alphys inhales deeply, and lets out a sigh of relief. "Alright then, let's, um... If you've all found partners, we can start the lesson, but... someone should probably go check on Susie and make sure she doesn't, um, get into any trouble, right?"
She looks out expectantly over the classroom, clearly nervous about what Susie might get up to if she's left to her own devices.
"S-so, um... any volunteers...?"
~~~~
* Volunteer Kris
* Volunteer Berdly
* Volunteer Yourself