Chapter Text
Kris twirled his pencil in hand, hardly bearing through Ms. Alphys's lecture on biology. Nothing like high school science to numb a teenage boys mind.
His nonexistent thoughts were interrupted by the bell.
"Okay, time t-to go to lunch!" Alphys stuttered, even though more than half the class had already made their way out the door.
Kris made his way out the door, giving the nervous monster words of encouragement along the way. He always thought it best, seeing that she needed the encouragement desperately.
He observed the hallway. Posters advertising the Sadie Hawkman's Dance littered the walls as a wave of students shuffled to lunch. He, unlike his classmates, hadn't given the dance much thought since they announced it. All he cared about was his mom pressuring him to ask someone, which was something he did not look forward to. Plus, it's not like he had any options.
His thoughts halted almost as fast as his face. He fell on his back, smiling as he saw the person he'd managed to run into.
"The hell...?" Mumbled the voice of an all too familiar purple dinosaur Kris knew all too well, "Kris, you okay?"
He got back up, laughing. Susie made a passing quip about Kris's hair and how it would lead to his demise. Other than that, they walked in comfortable silence, as they would any other day. He took the opportunity to continue his previous train of thought.
He didn't consider himself unpopular. With his brothers reputation, that's nearly impossible. He didn't expect people to be eager to go with him to the dance due to his lack of interaction with, well, anyone.
"You going to the dance thing with anyone?" She asked, mirroring his current state of mind.
Kris's mind went blank, though he had just been thinking about this exact dilemma.
"I don't really know. It's not like anyone's gonna brag about being able to go with the weird, quiet kid, right?" He answered, laughing of his swiftly diminishing self esteem.
"Good point," Susie joked. "But seriously, I bet there's plenty of people here who would totally go out with you. You just don't have the guts to get out there and find out!" She playfully slugged his arm, earning a smile.
The day would've felt relatively short to most people, but Kris couldn't stop thinking about the dance. He didn't know why, but after talking with Susie, he was filled with a determination to not be looked at as the weird kid.
He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. The dance is stupid anyway. His mom calls is a "great social experience." That means it HAS to be bad.
Why had this motivation only just now come? He always knew that he should've put an effort into making friends again, but hearing it from somebody other than his parents really opened his eyes. He promised to himself that least ask someone out to the dance.
As he walked home from school, Kris remembered that it was Wednesday, the day he chose for a weekly visit to his dad's flower shop. He liked to see his dad every now and then, just to keep in touch. Unlike his mother, he still loved his father.
As he saw the plain looking red pickup, he knew that he had made it. He made his way inside, seeing the large goat man tending to his massive collection of flowers.
"Kris?" Asgore said from behind the counter, "What a pleasant surprise! Get in here!"
Kris only gave a smile and a hug, one which he quickly lost control of when the much larger goat man hoisted him up and crushed the air out of his lungs.
"How is your mother?" He asked after putting the newly deflated Kris to the floor. "I have some flowers I would like you to deliver to her."
"Mom's fine." He answered, taking the flowers. He cringed internally at the inevitable fate of the poor plants. "She's really excited about the dance at school."
"Are you excited about the dance?" His father's eyes then clouded with nostalgia. "One of my fondest memories of my high school reign was with Rudy. We crashed his new car, but it was one wild night."
"I don't know yet. I'll figure it out later," Kris answered, fiddling with the collection of fresh buttercups.
"Speaking of Rudy, why don't you ask out his daughter. Noelle, was it? You used to be inseparable back in the day!"
"Pfft. We haven't talked in forever. I wouldn't doubt it if she'd already forgotten me."
Asgore closed his eyes and smiled. "Friendships themselves are powerful, but childhood friendships last forever. Again, look at me and Rudy. Trust me, son, she'll be elated to hear from after so long." He looked at his watch. "You might want to head on home now, Kris. It was great having you over!"
"Later, Dad." Kris walked back home, taking in what his dad had told him. Should he ask out Noelle? Would she be interested? No way, he thought. She was a perfect student, straight A's, on the track team, and daughter of the mayor. She probably had guys on their knees wanting to go with her. What was gonna make him any different?
Another option was Susie. Either she'd have his face beaten into a pulp or he'd just be teased and not taken seriously. That rules that out.
He took a deep sniff of the buttercups. They reminded him of his childhood, when him and Noelle we're just kids. He used to give her little buttercups to put on her antlers. And ears. And face. And anywhere he could put them. Turned out she was slightly allergic. Ah, the wonders of childhood. He chuckled to himself, and thought of his father's words.
With another whiff, he opened the door home. His mother greeted him, not too eager to see Asgore's gift. She immediately threw them away. Kris watched the melancholy fall of the poor flowers into its cruel and untimely demise.
"I've told him a thousand times..." She mumbled to herself before putting a guise of psuedo happiness on to greet her son. "Hello, Kris. How was school?"
"Fine," he simply answered, walking up to his room.
"Dinner will be done soon!" She called up to him.
Noelle was most likely his best bet. After considering the idea, he found he quite liked it. He didn't know about her, but she was his only real friend back then. It was kind of a given, seeing as their parents were best friends, but it didn't matter. They had fun together. He would sometimes prank her, other times he would include her in the set up to get his brother, Asriel, into a trap of whipped cream, wax paper, and vaseline.
A note will do, he decided. He flopped onto his bed and whipped out a notebook, writing with care. He played it out in his head. He'd walk up to Noelle in the hall, between periods, say hi, hand her the note, and leave. A simple three step process. Even he couldn't mess this up.
He was also aware that this was a fifty-fifty shot, though. Either Noelle said yes, and they had a good time together, or she said no, and everything stayed the same. The latter outcome, sadly, was the most likely.
"Dinner's ready!" Toriel called from the kitchen, "I made your favorite!"
How long had he been fantasizing about Noelle?
He sat down opposite of his mom. He picked at his food, but didn't eat. The possibility of rejection may have scared him, but what would he do if she said yes? He'd never had a girlfriend before, and it wasn't like he was surrounded by relationship experts.
"Kris?" Toriel called, "You haven't touched anything on your plate."
"Sorry."
Goat mom tried her best to break the awkwardness in the air. "Have you asked anybody to the dance yet?"
"No."
Yet another silence.
"Do you have anyone in mind?" Toriel persisted.
"Yeah," he answered, regretting it quickly after seeing his mother's eyes light up. He felt bad for his bluntness, but this wasn't exactly the conversation topic he wanted with his mom, of all people.
"Who are they?"
He debated whether he should tell her. She would most likely approve, but he didn't want her interfering and embarrassing him.
"Why dont we wait until I actually have a date before we have this talk?"
Toriel's eyes dulled a little.
"Well, okay, just remember: I'm your mother. You can talk to me about anything."
The two sat contently and finished their meal, Kris's mind temporarily free of the fear of rejection.