Heyyy, welcome.

Life as the antagonist of a videogame was way more boring than what you expected. In the three more days you had spent here, you were starting to get used to your new rhythm of life. You woke up early to eat bland cereals and go to work with Blue as your driver. Then, you'd spend most of your day in the Librarby, maybe going out to get a sandwich at the bakery next door. The only real change was all the monsters you'd meet on the streets. But even then you lived with literal skeletons so who cared? At least as the MC you spent all your time flirting with the love targets. Now? Well the only flirting you did was with the food your roommates would eat at dinner. Seriously, you had to stop yourself from trying to steal a bite from Blue's plate. Yes, there were chances you'd get food poisoning knowing Papyrus's cooking skills, but all of your food was fucking grey somehow so you'd take pasta bathing in glitter any day!

For now, the only thing keeping you on edge was Red's stupid favor. The guy had yet to ask for anything and the tension simply kept rising. You were very close to simply asking him to get it done with. Luckily, or unluckily for you, Friday was the day he decided to use his joker. It was in the evening, Blue had just dropped you off home and went on with Papyrus to do his regular “POSITIVE AFFIRMATION RUN” which as you guessed was them shouting about their greatness while running. He had invited you to accompany them but you turned down his offer. This was your first Friday there and you wanted to take the opportunity to rest for a bit, and make a better plan. As you walked the stairs to the house “your” phone rang.

As you responded to the call, your ears were blasted with ambient noises and a familiar raspy voice shouting, though you couldn't understand a single thing Huh. So the skeletons did have your number. Duh you lived with them. But it seems like Y/N didn’t even bother to put in their numbers. Heh. Typical of them. You reluctantly put the phone back against your ear.

“Sup Red-”

“Shhhhhh…Kid. Today's the day.”

Blinking in confusion, you noted that he sounded drunk as hell and probably was. You asked, not sure if you even wanted to know the answer to your question.

“What are you talking about??”

You heard him scoff before answering, “Your favor! You owe meh, remember?? Well I'm at Grillby's right now and uh…I ain't supposed to be at Grillby's.”

You rubbed your temple. You could feel a headache coming in.

“So? What am I supposed to do about it?”

“Distract Boss.”

“...What?”

“Ye heard me! Make sure my brotha doesn't know I'm there! We'll be even!”

“Red, I am not going to get in between-” before you could finish your response, another game window opened in front of you.

ACTIVATION OF THE ITEM, FAVOR OWED: YOU CANNOT TURN DOWN THE QUEST.

REWARDS: EXP POINTS

Woah. This game really liked to fuck you over huh?

“Good luck Kid!”

And just like that the bastard hung up. You stared at your phone for a moment. Why couldn't things ever go your way? You had already been planning to go inside, maybe talk to someone like Sans over your agreement and calculate how much money you had aside. Every cent would count at this point. But noooooo. Well. You couldn't really complain. This wasn't the worst thing ever and would at least give you the occasion to speak to Boss.

Opening the front door your eyes automatically scanned the house. Sans seemed to be in the basement with Stretch. Or in their own rooms. They seemed to be their designated areas to stay in with the living room, so if they weren’t on the couch it was easy to guess their next stay. Which left Boss. You knew he couldn't be anywhere but inside since you'd seen his car outside, and he never left anywhere without his baby.

You wondered a few seconds where the intimidating ex-royal guard could be, before hearing shouts from the kitchen. Well now you had your answer. You quietly slipped fully inside, taking off your shoes in the process. Your senses were immediately attacked by the smell of burnt sugar. Burnt sugar and something else that you couldn’t name. It hurt your eyes and nose so you did your best at pulling your shirt over your face. Maybe you should ask Blue where he got his bandana? Could definitely be helpful in a house full of accident prone skeletons.

“Stars! What happened here?!” You coughed out while waving away the smoke- Since when was there smoke???

As you blindly walked forward, you felt yourself hit a very sturdy, Boss-shaped-wall. Turns out that it was, in fact, not a Boss shaped wall since your roommate turned around with a seemingly furious glare on his face.

Now, you really didn't mean to scream in terror at the sight of him. You had to admit it wasn’t really polite nor pleasant for Boss. But also, in your defense, you were half blinded, tired and two little red dots were staring down on you. So yes. You screamed in terror and scrambled back. Like a dumbass you grabbed on the nearest thing, Boss's arm and took him down with you in the process.

The position you ended up in was something straight out of a romance book. Both of his arms were on each side of you, most of his body covering yours while not actually touching your skin. For an instant, you wondered if you had unlocked a secret scene. A shortcut to the hidden romance of this game. Finally, things would get back to a more familiar pace! You finally had a shot at surviving this thing-

“WHY DO I HAVE TO BE CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS! AND WHAT ARE YOU GRINNING AT?!”

The smile that had drawn itself on your lips and the feverish excitement that had started to cloud your brain quickly disappeared. Damn. If he was furious before then he was livid now. Rightfully so too. Shame crawled up your back like a vile slug. How deprived were you to actually think this would charm him in any type of way?? You knew his character. You knew he wasn't easily impressed. You always struggled the most with coming up with ways to get him to even look at you as more than a friend.

This time, you were fast to get up and offer him your hand.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going and I just…thought of something funny. L-let me help-”

You couldn't even finish your pathetic attempt at an excuse as Boss pushed himself off the floor and slapped your hand away. It wasn’t painful. Humiliating, yes. It hurt your ego, yes. But it was clear the skeleton had perfect control over his strength, even while in a fit of rage.

“I DON'T CARE. AND STOP STANDING THERE LOOKING LIKE AN IDIOT. CAN'T YOU SEE ALL THE SMOKE, OR ARE HUMANS IMMUNE TO IT FOR SOME REASON?” He huffed and wasted no time in opening the windows.

“A-ah! Yes! Sorry! I just- let me-” you rushed to grab a cloth towel and started waving it around, trying to fasten the process.

It took a few minutes, but soon enough the kitchen's air was clear once again. While you sighed out of relief, Boss quickly opened the oven and took out a batch of…things. They were so burnt you really couldn't tell what they were supposed to be. The Papyrus variant swiftly slid them into the trash, and pulled out of the fridge what looked like cupcakes. Oh. So that's what he was trying to make!

“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?”

His voice snapped you out of your silent observation. He seemed calmer, while still irritated. At least he wasn't looking at you as if he wanted to kill you anymore. Maybe because he wasn't. Looking at you. Dear God, you couldn't keep expecting them to fall head over heels for you at every little interaction.

“I,” you replied a bit hesitantly, “wanted to talk to you about…” shit. You were a known hermit. Why would you try to talk to Boss? Think, think, think. Your eyes landed on the cupcakes. “Your cooking?”

“MY COOKING?”

He turned around fully to face you. Oh. “Kiss the cook” apron. Cool. Cute too. This was an unlockable skin in the game.

“Uh yeah. Red told me about it and-”

“WHERE IS HE ANYWAYS,” he had no care about cutting you off, “I NEED HIM TO TASTE TEST MY NEW CREATION!”

Oh. Oh no. If he started looking now, it would only be a matter of minutes before he figured out where his brother was, and you didn’t want to fail at your first quest. Without really thinking you blurted the first thing that came to your mind. Anything to distract him-

“I'll taste test your cupcakes!”

Honestly, you both paused at this but Boss was quicker to react.

“WHY WOULD I EVER LET A PUNY HUMAN GET THE HONOR OF TRYING MY BAKING?”

“Because then you'll get another point of view! You know, different tastebuds that aren’t fried due to chugging down mustard all day!”

You weren't sure if it was obvious but you were sweating bullets. The reasoning was stupid. You knew that. The chances of him accepting were thin.

“ALRIGHT. SIT DOWN.”

…

Well damn. He didn't hesitate for very long. And neither did you as you hurried to take place at the table. The kitchen, now that you could see it more clearly, was a mess. Batter and flour was everywhere. HOW were there traces on the ceiling?? The oven, of course, would need a deep clean afterwards.

Boss put, quite loudly, the tray of baked goods on the table, staring at you expectantly.

“Wow. Uhm. Now that I think about it I've never seen you bake before-”

“SHUT UP AND EAT.”

“Right. Right. Sorry.”

Slowly, you took one of the cupcakes. Immediately you could tell there was something wrong. The cake was too hard. Like rock hard. Like building-your-house-with-it hard. The frosting on top was shiny at least. That had to be good right? You spent a few good seconds trying to bite into the thing. At some point you settled on sucking on a part, making it get a fraction softer, and THEN bite. It worked. But no amount of saliva could save how dry this was. You thought the frosting could maybe help, but the oily texture that filled your mouth proved you wrong. The taste was…awful. No other words could describe it. It was downright awful. You hesitated swallowing it, it couldn't be good for you, but a quick glace towards the expectant glare of Boss made the oil covered crumbs in your mouth slide right into your stomach. Nice.

“SO?”

“S-so?”

“SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

Oh. You had to describe the experience now. Great. You shakily put the abomination down and and swallowed a few more rests. You knew Boss. One might think that the best choice was to lie through their teeth and acclaim him for his culinary revolution. But you knew better. If he needed a taste tester, it was because he wanted real feedback. Not to be coddled. Not on this. You wouldn't lie, it took you a flew playthroughs to understand that though.

“Well, I think something went wrong with the cake in itself. It's too hard.”

“HMPH. THIS WAS DONE ON PURPOSE. IT’S GOOD TO TRAIN YOUR TEETH,” he was deflecting, clearly disappointed in some way and trying to keep face. Hey, he wanted an honest opinion, didn't mean he knew how to take it.

You sighed, “No it isn’t. And do you have any idea why the cream is so oily?”

“THAT'S EASY. I PUT OIL IN IT.”

“Wah-...why would you ever do this?”

“BECAUSE THE MOMENT I STARTED TO PUT SOME IN MY LASAGNAS THEY TURNED OUT FANTASTIC.”

Ah. This explained a lot. He was applying pasta logic to baking.

“Yes but I'm sure the recipe didn't include any oil?”

“THE MALEFICENT EDGE DOESN'T NEED A STUPID RECIPE TO BOSS HIM AROUND! HE JUST DOES!”

Well that was certainly a confident outlook on life. Wait.

“Edge?”

“YES.”

“I thought your name was Boss??” Well you knew his real name was Papyrus, but you thought they'd all agreed on their own nicknames.

“NO IT’S NOT. MY BROTHER CALLS ME THAT JUST TO PISS ME OFF. HE KNOWS HOW MUCH I HATE BEING REFFERED TO AS THAT.”

“Oh.”

This was not in the game. But then again, now that you thought about it, Red was always the one to introduce Bo- Edge. Kind of a douche move.

“That's…Well I will call you Edge then.”

“YOU-...You Will??”

Genuine confusion seemed to fill his voice. So much so that he lost a few decibels in volume. You couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable with how amazed he sounded by someone simply respecting his boundaries.

“Sure! I mean, I wouldn't like it if someone called me a name that wasn't mine. Or at least one that I didn’t like.”

“...HMM. PERHAPS YOU HAVE MORE HONOR THAN I EXPECTED.”

“...Thanks? Anyways you have to follow a recipe or some kind of tuto-”

“I WON'T FOLLOW THE DIRECTIVES FROM A STRANGER ON THE INTERNET.”

“Alright,” at least he was as difficult as in the game, “How about baking with the others here?”

“THOSE MORONS? PLEASE. NEXT TIME IT WON'T BE THE CAKES THAT WILL BE CREMATED BUT THE HOUSE!”

Touché. It took a while for the Papyrus variants and Blue to learn how to cook something. So multiples learning how to BAKE at the same time? Might as well have been suicide.

“Well there has to be someone else in here that knows how to make cupcakes!”

“BECAUSE YOU DO?”

You mindlessly replied, “Of course I do! I used to bake all the time with my friends.”

“PERFECT. THEN LET'S MEET EACH FRIDAY FOR BAKING LESSONS.”

You paused. You didn't expect him to get to this conclusion so fast.

“Wait. What. Why me??”

“WELL ISN'T THE ANSWER OBVIOUS?” he tilted his head, as if you had just asked him a stupid question. “YOU ALREADY LIVE IN MY HOUSE, SO I WON'T HAVE TO LEAVE THE FAMILIARITY OF MY KITCHEN. AND YOU HAVE PROVEN TO ME THAT YOU WOULDN'T LIE TO PROTECT MY “FEELING”, THOUGH I DIDN’T THINK YOU OF ALL PEOPLE WOULD CARE ENOUGH TO DO SO.”

Oh. He chose you because you were easy to get a hold of and he thought you were the original Y/N and you could confirm, they did not give a shit about anyone's feelings.

“Oh. That’s…yeah okay.”

“OKAY??”

“I mean, sure. It's not like I have something else planned for my Friday nights,” and any way to get closer to the love targets was a good one.

“...I Expected You To Put Up More Of A Fight- BUT GREAT. THE MALEVOLENT EDGE WINS YET AGAIN. NYEHEHEHEH!”

You couldn't help but chuckle at his excitement. It was nice to see him lowering his guards a bit.

“WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?! CAN'T YOU SEE WE HAVE A WHOLE KITCHEN TO CLEAN?!”

Well that cut you straight off.

“Wait. What do you mean “we”??? I didn’t put the kitchen in this state!”

“YES. BUT YOU HELPED YOURSELF TO ONE OF MY FRUITS OF LABOR!”

“FRUITS?! More like-” a single glare from him and you shut up. Stood up from your seat and went to get a cloth to clean the table. This was bullshit.

Edge did help you- (you were supposed to help him not the other way around) and ended up doing most of the cleaning. You were both focused on the task so you didn’t speak much. Honestly it wasn’t too bad. Once you were done, he shooed you away, proclaiming it was his turn to cook food tonight and he needed the kitchen to himself.

With nothing else to do you sat down in the living room, hoping to catch a stray Sans or Stretch and pull them in a conversation about your contract and maybe extending your stay? But it was useless. You watched some uninteresting tv show while spacing out. When you came back to your senses was when Edge was shouting for everyone to get to the table to eat.

…Shit you ended up not cooking anything. You weren't really disappointed because the image of the greyish food you were forced to swallow was utterly repulsive. Meh. You laid back down, closing your eyes. You’d eat tomorrow. Wow. If Betty saw you, she'd destroy you, saying you were giving Sans a run for his money in terms of laziness. But she wasn’t there so fuck it.

“HEY. HEY! HUMAN. COME SIT RIGHT NOW.”

When you opened your eyelights, your fingers sank into the sofa, stopping yourself from jumping like a cat. Uncomfortably close to your face was Edge, staring down at you with crossed arms, a scowl on his face. Maybe he was trying to kill you. Through a heart attack.

“Ugh- Edge? I didn’t cook anything so-”

“WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THE MISTAKE YOU CALL FOOD??”

“Uuuh,” he was kinda right so you didn’t say anything. Wordlessly he grabbed your arm, effectively getting you up.

“I DO NOT WANT YOU TO THINK MY COOKING SKILLS ARE THE SAME AS MY BAKING ONES. THEREFORE YOU WILL TRY MY UNDERGROUND FAMOUS LASAGNAS AND GIVE THEM THE APPLAUSE THEY DESERVE.”

Without letting go of your arm, he made you sit right next to him, where Red usually stayed. Hmm. The bloke must’ve teleported back to his room but way too drunk to come down. Sneaky asshole.

The other skeletons were all staring at the interaction. Some were more shocked than others. Stretch clearly did not give a fuck. Blue on the other hand was tilting his head, a bit confused. Papyrus, or Cinnamon, seemed confused as well, but also a bit happy, surely from seeing Edge (or you for that matter) socialising outside of the family group. Sans was…neutral. Or amused.

But after a few more seconds things went back to normal and they started talking about their respective days. Meanwhile you simply stared at the lasagna in your plate. Colors. The red of the sauce was deep, contrasting with the beige of the pastas and cream.

You didn't really listen to what your roommates were talking about, or notice when their voices…stopped. Why? You were too busy inhaling the pasta. Who could blame you? For five days now, you've been eating nothing but tasteless bullshit. So this was a nice change. In an instant you were staring at an empty plate. You were a bit shocked at how fast you went, and looking up you could tell that so were they.

You flushed red in embarrassment. Wow, you must’ve looked like a pig.

“Ah. I'm sorry. It's just that this is so much better than my cooking-”

“NYEH! OF COURSE IT IS! YOU ARE TASTING MY SKILLS AFTER ALL!”

Edge cut you off but for once, it helped calm you down. You simply nodded and wiped any sauce left on your face. You asked for seconds, 1 because you were hungry and 2 so that you would really taste the thing and spent the rest of the meal in silence. As everyone was leaving, putting their plates in the sink, you were about to leave when a voice stopped you.

“Hey. Wait.”

Stretch’s skeleton hand suddenly touched your face. You froze on instinct, and you soon felt him wipe your face.

“There. Nyeheh! You had some sauce left! Welp. Good night, Y/N.”

You stood there for a good while even after he left. What was that…Was that…Okay this had to be a romance scene but what if it wasn’t??? What if he was just being friendly? Who was friendly like this?! Yes but why would he flirt with you?! Oh dear gosh.

It was a bit humiliating but you ran to your room like a school girl after talking to your crush and threw yourself on your bed.

Pushing open the doors to the library- or Librarby- you took a deep breath in. You were going to be okay. You had your badge (you found it after snooping around in old Y/N's room) and you knew your usual tasks. After all, when you went to the Librarby while playing the game, you could sometimes see Y/N doing their shift.

Walking in, you saw someone else behind the desk. They seemed to be some kind of…what the fuck were they actually? At first glance you could've mistaken them for a human. They were certainly humanoid, had the right amount of limbs and lacked a tail or horns. But what made you doubt things was the mask covering their face. It was a sleek, flat, oval and white thing, with no holes for the eyes or anything else. A smiley face was scribbled upon the surface and you swore you'd seen it as something else a second before. They wore some sort of costume that would fit better on a stage for an old play than…well a public library. Taking a deep breath you quickly made your way over there.

Immediately as you got close, who you assumed to be your coworker perked up and waved in your direction. Once again, the mask's drawings changed to open the mouth.

“Y/N, as punctual as always! It is my greatest pleasure to greet you on this fine morning!”

Woah. The rich, smooth and deep voice that reached your ears was NOT what you expected. The tone they used was full of theatrics. Dramatic in a way that made you feel as if you were in some sort of piece (and you sort of were). Just where did this character come from??? You'd never seen any NPC like them in the game! Then again, most of the time you barely interacted with characters other than the main ones. There were just too many to focus on already. But maybe if you'd gotten bored enough from the game- yeah no that would never happen.

Realizing it must be rude to just flat out stare at a coworker you're supposed to have been working with for at least a year, you waved back at them.

“Oh hey- uhm-” Crap you don’t know their name! “I guess it is a beautiful day! Haha…ha…”

You weren't sure what you were blabbering about at this point, so you simply quickened your pace and found your way over to your seat.

This didn’t seem to even phase them.

“You are most certainly right! Ah! The beauty of nature's rebirth is always enough to inspire my very spirit! It would almost be enough to bring me to tears!”

Woah. Okay. So it wasn’t just the tone. You nodded in their way. They reminded you that the events of the game took place in Spring, so it was normal that you only were at the start of it. It also explained the wind this morning. The ride had chilled you to the bone. Dang it, you weren't a skeleton. The pun couldn't work. Fuck your life.

Your displeasure seemed to have translated over to your face since your coworker- you really needed to find out about their name- leaned in. You quickly leaned back, hitting the back of your chair. While the expression on their mask was nothing but friendly, it could be kind of creepy this close. The lines changed instantly, almost like the storyboard of an animation, to show an open mouth and they slowly tilted their head.

“You're pondering about something,”

You closed and opened your mouth, hesitant to talk as you were waiting for the rest of their sentence. Nothing. You glanced at the rest of the workplace. No one else was there. Yeah, the number of people coming to borrow books on a Monday must’ve been around 0.

They weren't moving, despite the awkward silence. So you put your hand on the mask, and slowly pushed their head away from you. Was this rude? It wasn't their real face. Or maybe it was?? Hey they got in your space in the first place! They didn't seem to mind, letting themselves be pushed.

Wincing as you did it, you answered.

“You are right. I am…thinking about things. I just would prefer it if you didn’t get too close uuuhh…”

“Cyno.”

You blinked, your brain shock circuiting. How did they know you couldn't remember their name?

“If my memory does not fail me, this is the first time you harbor the desire to know the way people refer to me!”

“...what?”

“You never asked for my name. And when I tried to tell you told me and I quote “Don't care, didn't ask, weird face.””

Ah. You had nearly forgotten how rude Y/N could be in the game. It didn't surprise you but it certainly did not help your case.

“Well I had a change of heart! I realized how rude I had been with…kind of everyone I interacted with. And I'm trying to better myself! So I hope we can start over?”

You offered them your hand, putting on a nervous, albeit hopeful smile. Their mask- face? Pick a side Y/N. Their face had changed to a blank expression, and they went oddly quiet. You were really starting to miss the silly smile from before. The silence stretched on to an uncomfortable degree before they finally perked up and quickly shook your hand. Woah. They had a stronger grip than you expected!

When they finally let your hand go, you continued to shake it a few seconds after in the air. You didn’t even have time to properly stop it when they slapped you on your back, almost making you fall in the process.

They loudly proclaimed, “To this new friendship! Ah! I knew the gods must’ve blessed us with their blessings! Today is a day I never thought would've come!”

Coughing, you quickly nodded. They were really too much. But you also knew that if you had met them while playing- weren't you still playing already? Whatever! If it had been during one of your playthroughs, they would've been a favourite. Though they really don’t know what personal space is.

Afterwards, you sat back down, albeit a bit shakily and began to get into work mode. Even though the library opened at 12, there wasn’t anyone until 4pm. While you took care of a patron's request you found yourself wondering why the original Y/N came in this early. There really was no need to wake up at 6:00 for this. Granted, you did need that time to get ready and convince Red to drive you to work. But you wouldn't need to every morning. When an old man called you over to know which book was where you pushed the question to the back of your mind.

By 7 pm you finally clocked out. Cyno, in a very extravagant manner, gave you “the most popular way to reach my person”. Their phone number. They meant their phone number. Smiling, you took it and watched them run outside. You briefly hesitated to ask where they were going to be so urged but decided to keep your mouth shut. You weren't close enough for this. Until today you didn’t even know their name! With a sigh you headed out of your workplace as well.

The rush of the fresh air upon your face was almost washing away all the exhaustion of your day. You felt yourself relax. You quickly resolved yourself into walking back home. It may have been a bit far from the house but you couldn't risk giving too many favors to Red. Knowing this jerk he would use every little thing you gave him over you.

Walking did you good. It gave you time to really think about everything that had happened since yesterday. You were stuck in a videogame. This was your reality right now. And while certain aspects seemed to still exist, albeit bugged like the game window, others had completely disappeared. You could feel a headache coming in. At least you were stuck in a game you knew like the back of your hand. It could be worse. Yes.

…and yet it could've been so much better because why were you stuck as the freaking antagonist?! It just wasn't fair! What had you done to deserve this?! Yes, it was true that at some point you wanted to be a bit more like them. You envied their capacity of saying no and the strength they had to get themselves out of an abusive situation. They didn't take shit anymore. That much was true. But you had to admit they had isolated themselves to a point where it was sickening. They only went to two places, the library and the house. And they didn’t have a single friend in either of those places because they drove everyone away!!

Back home, you weren't crawling under the number of friends you had but you still had people you could count on! You weren't sure if you'd be able to take one more bewildered look from your coworker just because you said “thank you” when they gave you a pencil. And this house…

You slowed in your steps without noticing.

It had always been an almost comforting place in the game. But remembering the looks thrown your way during dinner, how you'd been panicking and freaking out while feeling invisible- you didn’t want to go back there. To witness the painful contrast between the colors and life and sheer money in the skeleton's stuff and then eat grey cereal- GREY CEREAL! WHO IN THE EVER LOVING FUCK HAS GREY CEREALS!?

Stop. You were going insane- you certainly looked insane. Crying- when did the tears start coming?- and throwing a tantrum in the middle of the street. You were being selfish too. You had read fanfictions where the main character would literally get abused by the skeletons. Them being reasonably cold to a roommate who's been many times an asshole shouldn’t be a surprise. But you didn’t do anything! You shouldn't pay for someone else’s actions- SHUT UP. That’s your life now until further notice. Focus on not getting kicked out and going back to your original life. But you hate it here!

“Then make it into something you like. You don’t have to love it, but since you'll be living here for at least a year you should get comfy.”

You paused as those words came back to you. Betty's words. You’d been freaking out after moving into your University's dorms. You had trouble breaking the ice with your roommate and you terribly missed home. Law school wasn’t for the weak so you barely even had time for yourself since you weren't sure how to organize yourself. In a night of distress you had decided to call your best friend. Crying and sobbing how you just wanted to quit and work at Target if it meant never having to do this again.

“If you do this I will personally beat your ass Y/N. I am not kidding,” she had said with a firm tone.

“Listen to me. I refuse to let you throw away a chance that some would kill to have. I know this is overwhelming and weird and you hate it there. It's school. Everyone hates it there. But you're studying to do more than half of this country's population will ever do. So you're gonna tough it out, get your degree and take us to a trip to the Bahamas once you get that big brain job money!”

You chuckled at the memory. You had yet to take her on that trip. But soon, after all, you were almost done with…University. SHIT. If you were stuck in the game, that meant time was still passing in the real world! Yes, it passed faster down there, but months here would still translate into at least a day in the real world. And you couldn't stay there forever! You had tests and Betty was about to get married! You couldn't miss your friend’s wedding! You couldn't miss your whole life! You HAD to get out of there!

This time, you didn’t let panic sweep you away. Betty was right. Even though this was not University, the context was similar. Nothing was ideal. But you had to make it work. Because the objective you had to work towards was too important to lose sight of. With a more determined onlook you started walking once again.

It was 8 pm when you got to the house and you were TIRED. All the skeletons had come home and you could hear a few of them chatting (or screaming) in the kitchen. Huh. Must’ve been Papyrus and Boss trying to cook together for dinner. You’d throw something together once they would be done. You started going to your room- Yes. It would be better to take up the time to socialise but you needed rest goddammit.

“So, how was work?”

You could almost hear the smirk in the voice. Whirling around you found yourself face to face with a certain tall skeleton in an orange hoodie. A cig in his mouth- no, it was a lollipop when you took a closer look- Stretch was leaning against the wall, his head tilted while looking at you.

“Heard that Red had to drive you to work?”

“Y-yeah. How did you know?”

He let out a raspy chuckle and you felt yourself shiver. Fuck. Get a grip Y/N.

“He ran to tell Bun and I about it. First time I've seen that fat bastard not use his teleportation. Heh. He kept on going about how you were acting all nice and stuff.”

While telling you this, he started to walk to put himself right in front of you. You noticed that he subtly leaned to look into your eyes.

“But I guess he did mention something interesting,” you’re not sure why but you felt yourself stiffen up, maybe because you knew how observant the judges are? Did they know you weren't from here? If Stretch noticed your change in posture, he didn't mention it.

“So, busted car eh? That sucks.”

Ah. You had to keep in the sigh of relief that threatened to spill out. You nodded.

“Yeah. It really does. Plus now I owe Red a favor.”

“Oooof, sorry to tell you this kid, but you might be in trouble. You should've asked Blue or Papyrus, the Librarby is on their way to work and they get off earlier than you so they can drive you back too. You might have to wake up earlier but I know they wouldn't mind.”

While his tone was teasing this was genuine advice. And frankly you might just do that if only to never have to walk back home on your own two feet. This wouldn't be forever. Just until you could get yourself a bus card.

Still. Something was a bit fishy.

“...Why are you helping me like this? I've been nothing but cold towards you guys. You're not gonna hold this over me afterwards right?”

You really wanted to delude yourself into thinking your tone had been firm, but the laugh Stretch let out led you to believe you were more around the whiny range.

“Nyeheh- let's just say we both had a change of heart. Seems like you're trying to be more open, who am I to close those doors? Anyways, MTT is gonna be on so Imma get going. Do whatever you want.”

And just like that he teleported away. Huh. Almost instinctively your head went towards the living room. Blue was there. Papyrus was in the kitchen with Boss. A choice to make.

Blue was the easier route and you weren't ready to deal with the headache that probably was a negative level of affection Boss. You quietly made your way towards the couch where Blue was sitting. While getting closer, you realized he was hunched over something. A book. He seemed really focused. For a moment you thought about asking later. You didn’t want to bother the poor guy. You shook your head. No. You needed this. Be selfish Y/N. Your reputation is so abyssal you don’t need to worry about disappointing anyone.

“Hey Blue! Uhm, can I ask you something or am I bothering you?”

The short skeleton immediately looked up, his eyelights fixing themselves on you. In the game it was cute. Now? You wouldn't lie, this was unnerving.

“OH! HUMAN! HI!”

Woah. The volume level that reached your ears was uncomfortable. But you willed yourself into not wincing.

“ASK AWAY, THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE IS OPEN TO YOUR QUESTION.”

A smile slipped on your face. Yeah. Even to someone who was nothing but cold towards him, Blue was always as friendly as someone could be. Still you felt bad that you technically only talked to him to ask something, and trying to make amends now was better than never right?

“I…Okay. First of all I wanted to say sorry,” you paused, Blue tilted his head with a confused look. “I haven't been the nicest- no screw it. I have been a very bad roommate. To all of you. And I really want to change. To be better. But I don't really know where to start, so all I can say for now is sorry.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment to the point you started asking yourself if you had said something wrong.

Then Blue suddenly jumped to hug you, the book on his lap falling to the ground and you almost jumped out of your own skin.

“YES! MWEHEHE! I ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGY HUMAN! AND WORRY NOT, I WILL GLADLY TAKE UP ON THE MANTLE OF GUIDE IN YOUR QUEST FOR REDEMPTION!”

You chuckled nervously before realizing this was the moment you needed to ask for his help.

“Thank you so much! I uh- I also need to ask you a favor. I was wondering if you could drive me to work? My car is busted and- you don’t need to drive me back home but-”

His grip got even tighter and you started to wonder how such a small body could have so much strength. He didn't even have muscles!

“WORRY NOT HUMAN FRIEND! I DON'T MIND! PLUS IT WOULDN'T BE VERY SAFE TO LET YOU WALK BACK TO THE HOUSE THIS LATE!”

This was a relief since you couldn't feel your legs anymore. Though if this was because of all the walking or the way your blood circulation was being cut you couldn't tell.

After a few more seconds he finally let you get back down and you were never so thankful for being about to breathe again. You were about to go back to your room when Blue caught your hand. It wasn't a forceful grip, but it was clear he wanted you to wait.

“HUMAN, I THINK YOU SHOULD TRY TO EAT WITH US AGAIN. YESTERDAY WAS ALREADY A GOOD INTRODUCTION, BUT YOU WERE TOO BUSY TREMBLING IN YOUR CORNER,” ouch. His raw honesty hurt. “THIS TIME, LET'S TRY TO INCLUDE IN THE CONVERSATIONS!”

You pursed your lips. He wasn't wrong. But you had no energy. Still, looking into Blue's big eyes (or eyelights) you knew you couldn't back away now. You just had a big speech about how you wanted to integrate yourself in this house! With a sigh you nodded.

“Yeah. You're right. Let me just make something for myself and I'll join you guys.”

Blue quickly nodded and let you go, going back to his book that had been forgotten on the floor.

Your time in the kitchen was…interesting. You knew how to make dinner. But it was difficult when the ingredients were so few. You ended up making a struggle meal and looking towards the big table, saw an excited Blue waving towards you. Seems like he had saved you a place next to him, though still at the edge of the table.

You hurried to sit down as multiple eyelights focused on your form. It honestly felt like a walk of shame. Still you sat down and sighed out of relief. This was done. You did your best not to look at Blue's plate which seemed much more filled than yours. You shook your head. Yeah, you were starting to understand why the original Y/N didn’t come down to eat with them.

The dinner went a bit better. While the skeletons talked about subjects you knew a bit about due to your knowledge of the game, it still wasn't enough for you to add anything interesting. Blue tried to help you, giving you some opportunities to interject. All in all it was a very uncomfortable experience but last time was worse.

Soon enough you cleaned after yourself and went back to your room. But before then Blue waved at you.

“GOOD NIGHT HUMAN! I'LL COME WAKE YOU UP TOMORROW!”

Smiling at him you nodded, “Yeah, thank you. Good night to you too Blue.”

And just like that you got inside your room. Your body hit your bed like a rock and you easily went to sleep.

Falling. You were falling. Cold dread was gripping your heart. Air rushing past you. The ground kept getting closer. The ground? Yes. You could see the grass at the very bottom. Everything else was pure darkness except for this single patch of grass. You kept getting closer and closer. You were certain of it. You were going to die-

RING RING RING

Quite literally saved by the clock, you woke up with a gasp. You looked around confused as to where you were before the memories rushed back inside your head…this room was really shitty. Maybe you could re-decorate a bit? You understood the original Y/N really wanted to leave, but that didn't mean you had to live in a tv show from the 1940s made reality. Fuck it, you were actually living in a vr dating sim made reality which wasn't any better. Was it your fault? Perhaps. If you hadn't played so much maybe it wouldn't have happened to you. Maybe some other poor soul would've gotten sucked in. Or was it some kind of fated thing? Even if you would've only played twice you’d still end up in this virtual reality?

RING RING RING

Ah. Right. You had to go to work because the antagonist of this game had a job and “I'm not the original owner of this body” surely wouldn't be a good enough excuse. But then again, maybe if you were sent to a mental hospital you'd be safe from the ex there? While this option was tempting, it wasn’t the best one. How would you be able to go back to your world (if that was even possible) while locked away? So you forced yourself to get up.

You took a quick shower, put on an outfit you felt half comfortable in, and while searching through your part of the pantry for something to eat you quickly realized there was a big problem. How are you gonna get to work? Sure, the original Y/N had a car (as run down as it was) but…You didn't know how to drive. So while you technically had the legal piece of paper showing you knew how to drive, your head was empty.

No bus card either, this just kept getting better. Maybe you could pay for a taxi…except you didn’t know the address to the Librarby (yes that’s the name) FUCK YOUR LIFE!

While thinking of a solution to your problems and eating the bland cereal- seriously why was everything grey about this antagonist?!- you saw out of the corner of your eyes a very groggy Red. What was he doing up at this hour? The more energetic skeletons were already gone for work, but you didn’t expect to see any of the judges awake. Was that another Stretch situation? Wait- maybe you could use this.

Swallowing your cereals, you tried to get his attention. “H-hey! Didn't expect to see you roaming the house this early!”

Red snapped his head towards you before looking around as if to make sure you were talking to him. With confusion, and exhaustion, painted on his face he walked up to you.

“Uuuuh, yeah. Boss woke me up, said something about a package I needed to get for him. Honestly, I didn’t listen.”

…Huh. He was more polite than you'd expected. He seemed more surprised by the fact you talked to him than anything else. Maybe it would be okay to ask him for a favor then? You were roommates after all, it wouldn't be too weird.

“Ah that sucks haha! Say, I think there's something wrong with my car, I'll call a mechanic later but uhm…I kinda need a ride to go to work?”

You smiled awkwardly. Fuck you hated asking for favors. This type of stuff never happened when you played the game! You didn't have to actually drive- or do anything except for flirting with the skeletons. The situation was way too real for your taste.

Red's ever constant smile only grew wider, if not sharper. He leaned against the table while looking straight into your eyes. “Well well well, now ain't that rich? Ain't you the one who, just a couple of weeks ago, would prance around claiming you didn’t need shit from anyone?!”

He let out a loud laugh. Okay, maybe you were wrong and there was some built up resentment. It only made you wonder just what the antagonist said to them, the game never really elaborated on that.

Red continued on, getting even closer, “Or maybe you just didn’t want to ask for the help of dirty monsters, hah?”

That made you panic, the last thing you wanted or needed was to have the “monster racist” etiquette assigned to you. Waving your hands in front of you, you frantically shook your head.

“WHAT?! No! Never- I-I mean I can understand I came off as kind of cold but I swear it was never my intention for it to come across as…that…”

You looked at the clock on the wall (bone themed, you noted). You couldn't waste any more time and you needed that ride. But if you knew one thing about Red was that he liked when people begged.

“I really hate to ask favors in general, just not with monsters- there's nothing wrong with you guys and why would I even live with six skeletons if I had a problem with-”

“PFF- HAHAHAHAHAHA-”

You paused in bewilderment as Red's deep and loud laugh resonated. Tears of laughter were even falling out of his eye-sockets, which he quickly wiped away.

“Ya should've seen your face kiddo! Hahaha- aaaah. You humans always panic like this! ‘s too fuckin’ funny.”

Ah. He was simply mocking you. What a bastard! You felt your own face going red, from embarrassment or the need to punch his face? Probably both. You quickly calmed yourself down. Don't forget Y/N, do NOT attack the guy you need a favor from.

With a more than forced smile plastered on your lips you managed to grit out, “Yeah, I guess it is. Anyways, I'd be very thankful if you could do this one thing for me.”

The golden toothed skeleton pretended to think it over before asking with a smirk, “Yeah, but, what do I get out of this?”

Of course he'd ask for something in return. In fact, you were more than sure almost any of the judges would have. Red would simply be more difficult to buy.

“Well, considering you're helping me with something important, I guess you can ask me anything you'd like afterwards.” You began to sweat imagining what it could be, so you quickly tried to propose something else. “Or I could…pay you? I don't know how much you'd like-”

“Ehh, nah. Sorry not sorry but you're kinda broke and that’s a known fact. I mean, just look at the shit yer eatin’.” Gosh you wanted to strangle him even if he was oh so right. “But I'll take you up on the previous offer. It's always good to have someone outside of the family that owes you somethin’.”

Before you could protest, because frankly this stinked from a mile away, a screen appeared in front of you. While this made you pause, the love target in front of you didn’t even seem to notice.

CONGRATULATIONS ON OBTAINING THE *owing favor* ITEM. WITH THIS ITEM, IF THE ASSIGNED LOVE TARGET ASK YOU SOMETHING YOU WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ACCEPT THE QUEST. THIS IS A ONE TIME ITEM.

Oh. OH. So that's how it was gonna work?! This fuckass game was only gonna work when the situation was against you! Fucking great. With a certain frustration you closed the game window, even if a small part of you was relieved by the fact that clearly not everything was bugged. It meant you could get it to work again. Maybe.

You decided to focus on the current situation. Red was already at the front door, surely ready to get it over with. You hurried into taking your coat and bag, before following him outside.

He led you to what looked like one of those old motorbikes. You’d only seen it a few times while exploring the map, and never gave it too much attention. Nevertheless now that you were in front of it, you had a greater appreciation for the engine. Even someone with no interest in auto could tell this was a fine model.

“Honestly, I should be making you pay to even look at this beauty,” he said with the proudest and smuggest grin, the 3d models could never replicate fully, “But I'll take into account your…situation. Plus, I'll find a use for this favor you owe me, don't worry.”

You gulped nervously, only imagining what he'd make you do. Knowing how his character worked when on low levels of affection, you'd surely end up doing his round of dishes or clean up after him for a week give or take. It would be annoying but worth it in the end, though you couldn't keep doing this in the long run.

Red opened the compartment at the back, pulling out two helmets. He quickly handed you one of them before putting on the other one (the cooler looking one you had to admit). You stared at the helmet for a moment, lost in your thoughts but Red had none of it.

You yelped as he pushed the helmet even closer.

“Put that on. Now. I ain't playin’ around with security. You should have more protection but it’s a one time thing so I'll let it pass.”

“A-ah- Yes sir!”

You quickly put it on, a bit surprised by his reaction. You didn’t expect him to be concerned about your security, but it felt nice. Yeah, that was one of the aspects you liked about the underfell brothers. Despite coming from a violent world, they still remained good people. Hurrying a bit since you sensed Red didn’t have much more patience, you sat down behind him.

Honestly? It was a bit intimidating. You’d never been on a motorbike before and you didn’t know what to do with yourself. When the rumble of the engine started you almost jumped out of your skin. It was going too fast! He was about to start and you still weren't sure what to hold unto. While you felt panic starting to rise within you, Red's deep voice stopped it from overflowing. Without even looking back he simply said:

“Ya can hold onto me. You should appreciate it since it'll be a one time offer!”

While the latter comment was really not needed, you still did as he said and gripped at his shoulders. Maybe it wasn’t what he meant but fuck it! Red finally took the road and you steeled yourself.

Let's just say that the moment he started going faster, you changed your mind about your hand placement and wrapped your hands around his chest instead, clinging on for dear life. Honestly? It wasn't sexy nor romantic. Between the rush of the air and the multiple cars around you, you could hear Red laughing, clearly very amused by your fear. Yeah, it wasn't the same as the dating sim at all.

After a few minutes you felt stable enough to ask:

“You do know where I work right?”

Red only scoffed in return, “Of course I know! It doesn't take a genius to figure out where the library is!”

“Librarby.”

“The fuck you goin’ on about now?”

“The owners misspelled the name. Everyone calls it the Librarby.”

Why were you correcting him? You…don't know. It was more on reflex than anything else. Neither of you seemed to know what to add after that so the rest of the ride was silent.

Faster than expected you finally reached your destination. And on time! Relief flooded your being and you felt yourself smile genuinely for the first time since you got here. You stepped off Red’s bike, handing him the helmet he landed to you.

“Thank you so much, I'll find a way to get back to the mansion on my own.”

“Pfff- it was nothing. Plus it ain't like I'm doing it for free.” Red simply shrugged, his visor blocking off whatever expression he had. You were pretty sure he had on the same shit eating grin as always.

“I know but still. You didn’t have to do that. Like I said I don't like asking for favors but I do know how to appreciate them.”

Honestly? Your mind felt clearer than before. Yes, you were still in a shitty position and Red had now something over you. But this moment had just reminded you that no matter the role you took on, you weren't surrounded by bad monsters. So you couldn't help but smile like a fool as you made your way inside. If Red didn’t have his visor on, you'd have seen the confused look he wore as he stared at your retreating form.

Nothingness. That was all you could see, hear and feel. Like falling into an endless hole, with the end being unreachable. Memories flipped through your mind, too fast for you to actually catch anything. And when you began to wonder if this would be your fate, to eternally fall, you finally woke up.

You came to reality in a cold sweat, your hair sticking to your face, your clothes feeling like the worst sensation on Earth while doing very little to keep you warm, the room was stuffy and some sort of pounding in your skull that just wouldn't stop kept you aware. A nightmare. You surely just had one. The type that you forgot the moment you woke up.

After a few more seconds of panting, you let out a deep breath and laid back down on your bed. It must’ve been early in the morning since the light passing through your blinds was still weak and yet oh so piercing. It was the weekend, right? So no work. And no school. Thank god, after a night like this your aptitudes would have truly been put to the test. You felt like shit, probably smelled like it too after this much sweating. You stared at the ceiling, despite the few rays of lights, your room remained quite dark. You were hesitant to take a shower. Of course it was obvious you’d end up doing it anyways, being all sticky didn’t feel good at all. Yet at the same time, you had the childish fear that going alone in the dark corridors of your house just to get to the bathroom, after a nightmare, would end very badly. What if it was a sign you’d end up falling into the stairs and die?!

…Okay this was getting ridiculous at your age, you’d take a shower and go back to sleep. You forced yourself to get up with a certain slowness, your body still shaking a bit. The bed creaked with an awful sound, which made you freeze. That was new. You didn’t have the best bed in the world but it wasn’t damaged and still in relatively good shape. You’d deal with it later in the day, that’s what weekends were for after all, postponing the things you didn’t wanna do until you were basically forced out of necessity to actually act. Or maybe that was just you. Oh well.

Stumbling in the dark, you finally reached the lightswitch. It was more difficult than usual so you let out a small sigh of relief, before it was cut short on the sight before you. Your room was unrecognisable. Because, you were pretty sure that it wasn’t your room at all. The colors were gone, everything seemed to be in a combination of different shades of grey. The bed was- how to describe it? The person who this room belongs to wasn't it’s first owner that’s for sure. No wonder it cricked as if begging you to put it out of its misery. A desk was on the side, a stack of books laid on the left of its surface with notes in the middle. The set up was familiar, too. It felt as if you'd seen it many times but without ever actually paying attention.

Were you still dreaming? That would answer some questions. But you were way too aware to be asleep right now, the sensations you felt were unlike any nightmare. But then, how were you even here at all? With a certain trepidation, you opened the window as well as the blinds.

The sight before you took away your breath. You could recognize this garden anywhere, having poured more effort in it than anything you've ever owned, if not the game itself from where it came from. You were talking about SKELETAL LOVE! the latest hit in the Undertale community.

The story behind the game was as bizarre as you’d expect. It was basically a fangame made canon. Toby Fox, in his usual unseriousness, had posted another offer with an unreasonably high price. Having finally taken a deeper interest in his community, he'd jokingly said that if anyone paid him 999 999 999$, he'd make a game with them, offering them his team as well as helping with the writing. Of course, no one ever expected for it to happen, especially since it was a limited deal. And yet…to everyone’s shock some insane person did it. They remained anonymous to the public, choosing to be only known as “The author”. While it did weird out certains, the game they proposed overwrote that fact. It was deliciously cringe, straight up taken out of AO3.

A VR dating sim, à la reverse harem with multiple AUs of the skeleton brothers. You still wondered HOW Toby Fox accepted to do this. The basics were very simple, the MC, totally customizable down to the personality traits by the way, was moving into the giant house the skeletons posessed due to X reason chosen by the player. The game was powered by its own individual AIs for each love targets, so the players could really say anything to them. Of course there was still a basic as to what you should or shouldn’t say. The game was so complete it surprised a good chunk of the fandom. The only issue? It cost 70$. Now that was obscene, who'd spend this much money on a glorified fanfiction?

…You did.

Now, on your own defence, you did make your money's worth! You played the shit out of that game. Between University and your part time job, all your free time was spent playing that game. Wait no, now you sounded like some shut in loser! You had friends! You spent time with your friends too! It’s just that you needed your me time. And that time was spent trying to kiss virtual teeth. But more seriously you were a professional at that thing. You may have never dated anyone, but you were well known to give the best dating advice! And you put that knowledge in romancing the characters. Yes.

You felt silly. Have you fallen asleep while playing? That would explain the weird dream, but you couldn't feel the visor on your face. Surely you had just gotten used to the feeling- gosh Betty was right, you needed to touch grass and fast. Well that would be done fast. While you were curious about which room you were in, especially with how familiar it was, you'd reconnect once you'd actually slept.

Snapping your fingers, you waited for the game window to open. Nothing. Hmm. Maybe it hadn't been computed the first time? If you went with the theory that the game had been running for hours, it would be reasonable to think it was lagging. You waited then snapped your finger again. Still nothing. Getting impatient you tried the vocal command. “Game window.”

…This is bullshit. Alright, so if nothing is working, your last chance is forcefully shutting down the game. How to do that you may ask? Well, the casual player may not know this information, but you were no noob. While dying to a planned attack by the game only made a reset and “bad ending” screen happen, an accident, like for example being run over by a car that’s in the background, would override any other mechanic and automatically log you out before it even hit you. And trust me, when you spend days in-game and hours irl, you have been in your own fair share of accidents. The problem with open world realistic gameplay.

With a determined glint in your eyes, you opened the window. Yeah, high enough. You’d die jumping by this height for sure. In moments like these you cursed how real the game seemed. Your heart was beating so fast it might jump out of your throat. It'd be the first time you shut down the game on purpose, anyhow you needed to log out. This was the only way. With a short breath, you jumped.

Falling in itself wasn't so bad. Almost cool. Maybe you should try bungee jumping, now THAT would be an outdoor activity. Plus, Betty would come with you for sure. But soon, your insides started to tighten once again. You should be back to the real world by now. You were getting dangerously closer to the ground, and your mind started to catch on to the fact you wouldn't be logged out. Which meant you were trapped. Both in the game, and in this situation of certain death. Fuck. With panic seizing you, you closed your eyes and braced for the painful impact of the ground.

What came instead was someone else’s arms. While they were kind of plush-like- clearly wearing a hoody, the arms themselves were thin. Too thin. Skeleton thin. After a few seconds, you hesitantly opened your eyes, looking up at your savior. Oh stars.

Stretch, one of the love targets, was grinning down at you, still holding your body from falling on the ground. With a raspy chuckle (Okay, it was kinda hot.) he said, “Well, I didn’t know it was supposed to rain Y/Ns today.”

You started laughing nervously. “Yeah! I Uh- No. It's not raining me, I just…I fell from my window.”

What the fuck were you talking about?! Dammit, you were usually smoother than this, but for some reason you'd totally lost your cool in front of him. Also, now was not the time to concern yourself with the love targets, you needed to get out of the ga- did he call you Y/N? Your thoughts came to a stop at the realization. You’d never put in your own name, you were never able to. Why? Because you shared the same name as the antagonist of the game, Y/N. Some rude human who'd been here longer than the MC.

“Well, I do hope this won't become a regular thing. Otherwise I might think you're falling for me.”

That snapped you out of your thoughts as you simply stared at him. Why would it become a regular thing- did he just say that to set up his stupid pun? You blinked for an instant before scrambling to get back on your own feet. You were…honestly it was difficult to describe. Embarrassed, about this whole situation. Panicking, because your only way of getting out had ultimately failed. Deep down? Still hoping it was all just a dream. Maybe just a sign from the universe that you needed to stop playing dating sims and actually find a real life partner? Yeah, you’d unload that later.

Looking at Stretch, you realized that you weren't seeing the world through the graphics of your old vr set. Everything was so…realistic. His skull could've been mistaken for the one of a biology class's plastic skeleton, yet it managed to be so expressive. He had a lazy smirk, still looking at you. You could see the stitches on his orange hoodie and black shorts. You could even count the laces on his shoe, and realized they were undone. He was tall, though crouching. You'd never noticed all those little details when playing the game before.

“I uh…thank you for catching me. I think I would've become a pancake otherwise.”

“It was nothing honestly. Though I'm surprised you're thanking me, I would've thought you’d already be back to your room by now.”

Stretch leaned in towards you, and while his tone was nothing short of friendly, you couldn't help but step back. You’d never realized how…intimidating the skeletons could be. Of course, in scenes where they protected the MC you knew they were badass, but in day to day life? Yeah, Stretch's height did not help.

But what he said confirmed what you feared, you'd taken the antagonist's role. Fuck. It just had to be you huh? With a nervous laugh you started walking backwards towards the door.

“I uh- You're right, I'm still pretty shaken from the fall. I'mma go back to sleep-”

You couldn't force yourself to care about how rude you were being as you ran back inside. Plus, it wouldn't be taken as rude since your character's biggest trait was their rudeness.

The house was still asleep, so you had no trouble getting back to Y/N's room while dramatically running. You had no reason to, honestly, Stretch sure as hell wasn't gonna be the one chasing you and it was so early on the morning on a SUNDAY there was no way anyone was going to bump into you while you went back to that lifeless space the antagonist of the game called their chambers. Once inside, you locked the door and slid against the wall. Nothing was going how it was supposed to be. You still hadn't gotten to take that stupid shower, and you weren't sure you’d be comfortable doing it in a house you didn’t know. Well- you were familiar with it, but not to this extent! You just knew it from a player's point of view.

Maybe now wasn't the time for self-pity but damn it, it was hard to do anything else. While Y/N wasn't the worst villain to end up as (their only real fault being rude or mean) their fate was disproportionate to a concerning extent. No matter what ending the player got, one thing stayed the same, Y/N going missing. You later discovered that there was a hidden route with Y/N and you fell in love with their character. The second human of the house was someone hardworking with a strong fear of relying on others due to a past abusive relationship. They worked a job at a library, trying to get enough money to move out of the skeleton's house and even go to college. While rude, they weren't a racist against monsters or anything but rather adopted the “I hate everyone equally” mentality. But at their end of their route, you discover there is no good ending possible for the antagonist, as their crazy ass ex came back and killed them, resulting in Y/N dying in the MC's arms. From there on, the word ‘missing’ was replaced by killed. You still remember how upset you'd been upon discovering the cruel fate the character you shared your name with had. Honestly, how unfair could it be? Their highest sin had been to be mildly mean to the Main Character, this didn’t deserve a death sentence!

But now? Now you felt sick. You were going to die, at the end of some psycho you didn’t even know. The moment the story would come to an end you'd either end up being kicked out of the house or moving out by yourself. There was no way to back down as the original Y/N had signed a contract with Sans to get out as soon as possible- FUCK THIS WASN'T FAIR! IF YOU WERE FATED TO DIE BECAUSE OF THE LOVE TARGETS YOU COULD AT LEAST TRY TO BEFRIEND THEM AS TO NOT PUT YOU IN A DIFFICULT SPOT BUT YOU WERE GONNA HAVE TO BE KILLED JUST BECAUSE OF SOME ABUSIVE ASSHOLE!

Okay you needed to calm down. Taking in a deep breath, you stopped scratching your arm, something you'd been doing without realizing and it was starting to hurt. If you wanted to survive this, you had to at least plan something. You quickly checked the day on your phone. Oh. Since you'd woken up here, lady luck had finally decided to shine upon you. One month. You had one month before the MC moved in and the game started. Which meant you had one month to re-build your reputation to go from “cold and mean human roommate” to hopefully “friendly and kinda nice human roommate”. You needed to note down everything you knew before you forgot.

Scrambling, you took some of the pens on the grey desk and searched for a notebook. While it wasn’t empty by any means, it seems like the original Y/N had been trying to study by themselves, it would do.

The game had 6 main love targets:

Classic:

Bun

Cinnamon

Or Sans and Papyrus, those were more nicknames for the other skeletons to call them by.

Underfell:

Red

Boss

Underswap:

Blue

Stretch

Now there was one more pair of skeletons who had moved out of the house, making them kind of “secret” love interests.

Swapfell:

Raspberry

Syrup

You had one month before the events of the game started, until then you'd be in the dark as to what would happen but assumed it wouldn't be anything crazy. Y/N worked at the the library, or “Librarby” aaaannnddd…that’s it. For now that was it. Manage until the MC arrives then you'd adapt. You didn’t want to plan too much, as it'd only be a pain if things got chaotic. You had learned that most of the time, you were better at improvisation than keeping absolute control over situations.

With a sigh you slipped through the house, though you struggled a bit you quickly found your way to the bathroom. Usually, this space was mostly used for the mirror, to open the appearance menu. The shower was used to rinse off any hair colorant, with only a small animatic. But you were about to use it for real, only now you were wondering if they even had the stuff for you to wash yourself with. Nah, surely the original Y/N had the stuff for it. Plus, the skeletons surely washed themselves. After taking off your pajamas you stepped into the shower. Bingo, there the shower gel.

You quickly showered, not feeling too comfortable, before quickly going to “your” room. Searching through Y/N's old clothes you only found outfits that made your throat tighten. It wasn't anything improper by all means, but it was so unique in its own way, you'd never be able to wear it in public back in the real world. But you'd have to put it on, at least until you buy for yourself more clothing.

You spent the day questioning your life choices and what was reality. Deep down you still hoped it was all a dream or glitch and you'd soon wake up. Then you'd tell Betty all about it and let her mock you because the situation IS ridiculous. At the end you'd never even look at the game again and live happily ever after.

You missed lunch, so when dinner came you finally slipped out of your room. Coincidentally, it was the same time as when the skeletons came together to eat dinner. You could hear the chatter from where you were, and you already wanted to sink back into your bed. You suddenly realized just how…overwhelming this place was. You were starting to really pity Y/N. With a shaky sigh, you made your way down to the kitchen. Technically, you weren't doing anything weird, this was your house too. And you had your own food anyways. So really you were fine.

Still, you couldn’t help the nervousness as the light came into view. Your eyes couldn't lift from the floor. You felt overexposed. Like a turtle without its shell. The voices kept getting louder and louder- fuck your life why did they have to dine in the kitchen in the first place?! And right in front of the fridge too?! If only they just ate somewhere diff-

“HUMAN?”

You finally looked up to see the love targets all staring at you as if you were insane. Maybe you were starting to go insane. While you weren't sure how much of your meltdown was visible, it was clear by the looks they were giving you that you were acting unusually.

“I uhhh…I'm sorry. I just wanted to get my food.”

God you sounded pathetic even to your own ears! Luckily, Papyrus put on a kind, albeit hesitant, smile. “WELL, WOULD YOU LIKE TO EAT WITH US?”

It was clear they were expecting a no. While Papyrus and Blue looked hopeful, the rest of them either did not look impressed or kept eating. Stretch was in the later section. Honestly why did you even bother to look towards him, he's known to not be the kind of character who comes towards people by himself. Maybe it was because he's the first one you've interacted with so far? It could be.

Come on Y/N! Now's not the time to get lost in your thoughts. You desperately wanted to get some instant food and crawl back to the colorless hell you came from, but if you were gonna make connections in this house, it started now! So with a shaky smile of your own you put a thumbs up. You quickly prepared some food of your own and sat down at one of the last seats at the table, which meant at the very end of it.

Honestly? Dinner sucked. You could hear them talking to each other, and normally you'd have been content- overjoyed to simply listen! This was like a vip comic dub content! But you kept blanking out and simply ate in silence. Most of the skeletons did not pay you any mind, and at the end they cleaned off their plates and you cleaned yours. At least you weren't playing the part of the maid like in those angsty fics.

Before you knew it you were back in your bed. Your head hurt from the constant panicking and overthinking. You were tired, and easily fell asleep that night. But one question lingered in your mind before you did so.