♡･ﾟ: *✭･ﾟ:*Chara's POV*:･ﾟ✭*:･ﾟ ♡

I don't know how long I stand in the cold before a subtle sound of crackling like a fire reaches my ears. I turn around to be greeted with the sight of a green fire monster. Fuku Fire. She's Grillby's daughter, and she's a Jumior, two grades higher than me.

"Oh thank god." The Monster sighs in relief. "Asriel and Frisk have been looking everywhere for you...." She gets her phone out, (specifically designed to have a very high melting point and fireproof, for those of you who are curious), and types something out, presumably texting Frisk or Asriel, maybe both.

"Thanks for helping them. My phone was silenced, so I didn't get any calls or texts." I sigh, my voice very dull and emotionless. "I had no idea anyone was looking for me."

And I really didn't want anyone to.....

Or did I?

Everything is kind of blending together, including my emotions. Or are my emotions even there? I can't feel anything....

Fuku's voice cuts through my puzzling introspection.

"Chara? Is everything okay?" Fuku asks, looking at me with concern. She bends down so we're eye-to-eye, studying me. "You look pale and tired. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

I shake my head, averting my eyes and saying nothing.

"Chara? What's wrong?" She asks again, tilting my face up with a hand. My skin tingles softly where she touches it. She's made of fire magic, so she doesn't burn anything she comes in contact with unless she wants to. Hence the fact her clothes don't burn and that she can use her phone. It's only fireproof because when she gets mad, she sometimes loses control. "You're very pale."

I look at her with dull eyes. "I'm fine." I lie. "I'm still kind of sick." I cough weakly to prove my point.

Fuku frowns, being able to tell that I'm lying, but she doesn't bother arguing with me, letting go of my chin with a sigh.

Good. She knows how stubborn I am.

"Let me walk you home then," She says, forever the responsible Junior she is, even when she's not in school.

"Okay." I shrug. "That's cool with me."

She chuckles, and that's when I realized that I had just made an unintentional pun on the piles of snow all around us.

"Heh." I crack a fake smile, and we start to walk.

***

We walk for about thirty minutes before we stop in front of Grillby's Bar. I look up at Fuku questioningly. She looks back at me and tugs me into the psuedo-restaurant.

"C'mon. Let's get you some hot chocolate first. You're shivering."

I smile slightly. I hadn't even noticed. I thought that the reason I was so cold was the emptiness in my chest. "Well not all of us are made of fire."

"True." She laughs lightly, walking up to the bar where Grillby stands, talking to a human customer.

The layout of Grillby's restaurant is quite like the one in the Underground, not surprisingly. It's also one of the most famous Monster-run restaurants in the town. I smile slightly, remembering how Grillby had fought tooth and claw- or uh, in this case fire and fire- to start a restaurant up here on the surface.

"Hey Dad." Fuku smiles, taking a seat.

I sit down next to her. "What's up, Grillbz."

"Hello, you two." Grillby's voice is raspy and crackly. "How are you?"

"Good." Fuku smiles.

"Been better." I shrug, "But alright anyways. What about you? How's the business?"

He grins at the mention of his beloved restaurant. "It's doing great, actually... People love coming here for the holidays..."

"That's great to hear." I smile.

"How's everyone else doing?" Grillby asks. "I haven't seen Sans here for a while...."

I wince a little. "Everyone's doing just fine. As is Sans."

Fuku and Grillby look at me funny, and I realize that I had said that last part bitterly. I provide no elaboration though, and they seem to move past it.

For about five seconds.

"Are you okay, Chara?" Grillby asks, concerned. "And don't give me any bullshit answer either. Tell the truth."

Great Asgore, Grillby. How can you read me so well?
Probably because he can read Sans so well. I think.

I sigh softly, looking down at my hot chocolate Grillby had brought me.
I'm not stupid. I'm anything but, actually. I've seen the similarities between us. I'm not blind or a fool. We act the same way, we are even depressed in the same way. We both use humor as a coping mechanism. We both love puns. It's almost as if we're the same person, but born in different worlds and different times.....
Except I'm not a goddamn ASSHOLE.

And for the record, I was born in the year 1960. So I technically came first, since he wasn't born yet when I fell. He wasn't born until around 29 years later. So technically he's copying my personality, not the other way around. Because that matters. I'm 58 years old, by the way, for anyone who's counting.
But we just say 15 to simplify things. 'Cause that's how old I look. Sorta. Well, if I was born in 2002 that's how old I'd be. Let's not get into the height debate right now-

"Chara? Are you planning on, you know, talking anytime soon?"

Oops. That's right, I'm with other people at the moment. People who are expecting a genuine answer.

Well as much as I'd love to tell them, I don't want to. So let's just stick to the script, shall we?

"I'm fine." I half groan, placing my head on the table.

"That's the bullshit answer I didn't want." Grillby sighs.

"Sorry." I shrug. That's the only answer I'm giving you. Everything else is too complicated. It's bad enough that I had to live through it. I don't want to talk about it as well.

That'll just make it worse.....

***
♡･ﾟ:* Frisk's POV*:･ﾟ♡

"She's back!" I run from my perch at the window of the instrument room, running  into the hall where the front door is just in time to give Chara a huge bear hug as Fuku and her walk out the door. 

"Frisk, what the hell!?" Her voice is muffled by my shoulder as I hug her tightly, my face buried in her hair. 

"I was so worried." I whisper, tears threatening to cloud my vision. "That you were kidnapped, or got hurt, or-or-"

"Frisk I'm not a baby. I can take care of myself." She mumbles, trying to escape my grasp but failing.

"I know, but still. You didn't leave a note, and you've been gone for several hours, and we both know how terrible humans can be, and-" I'm rambling now, but I can't help it.

"Wait I've been gone for how long?" She asks, now no longer trying to escape my hug, and instead returning it.

"About eight hours." Asriel says walking and looking at Chara with disapproval. Not like she can see him, with how tightly I'm hugging her. "Where the hell were you? Everyone was worried sick!"

"Sorry." She says in a small voice. "I was just walking. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going, but I ended up near the graveyard, and...." She starts to sniffle and shake, starting to cry. Asriel softens. 

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm not mad. I was just worried." Asriel says, joining the hug. "Don't cry. It's okay. You're here now."

"I'm sorry..." She whispers again.

"It's okay, Chara." Me and Asriel say at the same time.

"Come on. Let's go get ready for the party. It'll be in a bit, and it'll cheer you up." Asriel says, pulling away from the hug.

I pull away as well, leading her away from the door after telling Fuku thank you.

***THERE YA GO AERKNBIOIAJINNOBSIOTBIOVR HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019 IS GONNA SUCK MAYBE A LITTLE LESS THAN 2018 ORVIOAEIBNIUSOIJSGKMBOIDFKVFIOZFVIOX NLKXCVKIFBXOIJRGIOHDUHIGFDBKJVFNKJ XCNKJCXVNMKDSIOUSDF***