"SANS!" My little brother stood by the river, tossing a ball in the air. "WE SHOULD PLAY CATCH!"
I turned from my mother's seat to look at him. His eternal smile never fell. I glanced at Mom. With Dad busy at work, who would care for her? I doubt our little sister would arrive a month and a half early, but it would never hurt to be ready just in case.
"sorry, bro," I called back. Papyrus looked crestfallen. "I promised to make Memma some mac 'n cheese...."
"It'll be OK, love." That was Mem who spoke and I looked at her. I wanted to protest, but her smile was warm and gentle.
"are you sure?" I asked.
"Of course!!" Memma heaved herself up to her feet. I helped her by holding her hand. "I may be 7 months pregnant, but I can still make a pot of pasta!" She gave me a playful shove with a bump of her elbow. "Go on. Play with your brother."
I looked over at Papyrus, who had brightened up upon hearing our mother's words. He looked at me excitedly.
"you sure like playing catch, huh, paps?"
"THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO DO." He kept tossing the ball in the air. It was small, even smaller than a baseball, but it was the only toy Papyrus had left of his childhood, which he had left when he became a teenager two years ago. He had somehow managed to break everything he got from his birthday or Christmas, so this tiny orange bouncy ball was all he had left to entertain him. I wanted to rebuke him and point out that he was getting older, and that he should find other things to do other than play with a child's toy. But that would do nothing. You can never get Pap to listen. Everything he heard went in one ear(?) and out the other. Besides, he was too gullible and innocent to get an actual serious job. He'd make a good receptionist, but I think the heroic children movies he watched as a kid has gotten to his head. He wants to be a hero. I don't want to stop him from pursuing his dream, but we live underground. What do we have to be a hero of? Who is there to save? We're all safe.
"how about we go around the ruins instead and see how our neighbors are doing?" I suggested hopefully.
Papyrus nodded. "OKAY!"
We stepped out of our 'yard' (it's literally just stone) and walked along the path worn down by generations of children and parents walking to and fro from work. We said hello to the spiders. They offered us a donut, but we refused. We had sandwiches for lunch not too long ago, and our mother was strict about gluttony.
We finally went across two friends: Mettaton and Napstablook. The ghost cousins were floating side by side, deep in conversation. It was Mettaton we heard speak first.
"....so then I said, 'now that's a katana!'," he was saying, telling his friend about a time he was looking curiously on a human internet store called 'Amazon'. What a weird name... But then, humans are weird, aren't they?
"HELLO, ECTOPLASMIC FRIEND!" Papyrus greeted the pair of cousins with a wide grin and a wave of his hand.
"Oh.... Hi...." Napstablook cracked the tiniest of smiles, while Mettaton gave us a wide grin. "Hello, darling skeletons!"
Napsty and Metta were our only neighborhood friends for as long as I can remember... Well, that's kind of exaggerated. It was just a long time ago since I first met Mettaton and his cousin. I was 7 when he was born, and Mem and Ded were friends with his parents, Jasper and Moosh(credit to @CinnabunSatan for creating this name). I remember I was unable to hold him because I was a rowdy child back then, and Papyrus was only 2. Jasper's sister, Perri, had Napstablook a few weeks later. They were a fun family to be with. We've grown a lot; now I'm 20 and Pap is 15. Metta and Napsty are both 13.
"How is your mom holding up....." Napstablook asked.
"Yeah, how much longer till the baby comes?" Mettaton added excitedly. "I want to see a darling baby!"
"she's doing good," I answered. "and there's about a month and one week left."
Mettaton grinned again, pleased with the reply he received, and Napstablook nodded slowly.
"Are you guys coming to the Halloween party in Snowdin....." he inquired.
"IT'S HALLOWEEN ALREADY?" Papyrus said, surprise tinting his voice. I was shocked too. It seemed like just yesterday it was Easter!
"You didn't know?" chirped Mettaton. "It'll be in Grillby's. Everyone is going to be there, darling. In costumes, too!"
The sound of costumes bored me, but it obviously caught Papyrus' attention. He perked his head up. "WHEN IS IT?"
"About three days...." That was Napsty's reply.
"THREE DAYS!!" Pap exclaimed in dismay. "BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE MY COSTUME!"
"i'm sure mem and ded will help you," I said gently. "it's a chance for you to go make new friends, too. they'll encourage it, bro."
"OKAY," he mumbled doubtfully. Mettaton and Napstablook nodded in agreement to my point.
"what are you two going as?" I asked, trying to get the attention off of Pap being a drama queen.
"I'm going as a movie star!" Mettaton puffed out his chest. Napstablook opened his mouth to reply, but his cousin answered in his place. "And Blooky is going to be a sack of trash!"
"It's my favorite animal...." Napsty said quietly.
I sighed inwardly. I was used to him acting so depressed, but it was kind of sad...
"well, we better go back home to ask mem about the party," I said, smiling still.
"Okay!" Mettaton said cheerfully. "See you later!"