Chapter Text
“A-one-and-a-two-and-a-three-and-a-four–and-a-five-and-a-six-and-a-seven-a-switch! A-one-and-a-”
“Wh-why are we doing this again?” Chara finally questions her partner in impatience and confusion after a full trek of walking gracefully to school in unison, the same hypnotic rhythm as their past journey through the forest of Snowdin, to which the cowboy simply grins in anticipation and swings the clearly exhausted girl onto his back for the rest of the trip.
“Isn’t it obvious, pardner?” Clover confidentially remarks as he bounces down the path towards the front array of steps to the school’s entrance as Chara remains lazily wrapped around him, “We’re TV celebrities now! We haveta be in the performing mood if we wanna be among our new gracious fans!”
“‘Fans’?” Chara scoffs as she slumps her chin against the top of her escort’s head, her teeth jolting together slightly with every hop the cowboy takes up the tall stretch of stairs as she grumbles, “Please, I know you’re ambitious and whatnot, but if there’s any sort of immediate attention we may receive beyond those doors, it’ll be detention for missing school on Friday…”
“You’re no fun!” Clover only whines in response before finally pulling the front door open and waltzing in through the grand entrance, allowing Chara to lazily slide off his back to avoid another PDA reminder from their beloved principal…
However, much to both his and Chara’s surprise, a crowd of students already seems to be circling around a rather unfamiliar figure, only slightly visible to the cowboy while completely concealed from his slightly shorter partner’s view.
“What the hell?” Chara barely mutters to herself as she makes somewhat of an attempt to lift her head higher in order to pinpoint the source of the ruckus, “Who are they all surrounding?”
Clover eventually notices his partner's continuous struggle when he suddenly gets an idea, carefully grabbing Chara from under her arms and lifting her above his head before she can even protest.
“S-see anything?” Clover desperately asks as he struggles to maintain his hold, his jaw clenching as he impatiently watches Chara carefully survey the scene.
“Hmm…” Oblivious to her cowboy’s struggle, Chara intently rubs her chin with her index finger and thumb as she rotates slightly back and forth in the air, only barely catching a glimpse of the being in question before Clover abruptly sets her back down in front of him in exhaustion.
“Did ya see anything?” Clover tilts his head in curiosity as he eagerly awaits for any insight. As she scratches her neck, however, Chara provides the cowboy with quite the unexpected answer.
“I-I think… I saw a human…”
“...A human?” Clover’s heart drops upon hearing her claim, immediately attempting once again to spot the figure within the confines of the circle as he struggles to keep his head high enough to observe today’s star sight on the school grounds.
Luckily for him, however, Frisk, who finally turns their head back to witness the couple struggling to see past the tightly packed crowd, lets out an exhausted sigh as they uncuff their arms and motion for Dess to follow them over to the two idiots.
“Welcome back,” Frisk nods to their friends before offering Clover the usual fist bump, who accepts without even taking his attention from the still vague figure behind the blockade of monsters, “How was the game show?”
“Well,” Chara huffs as she reflects back on the chaotic, so-called “fun” she experienced yesterday, “I suppose it went how you’d probably expect.”
“W-wait, did ya not watch it yesterday?” Clover finally shifts his focus to the conversation at hand with an apparent frown of disappointment as he eagerly awaits a response, to which Dess and Frisk each provide a rather unfortunate answer…
“I wanted to, bro, but Carol would’ve flipped her lid if she saw you on TV, especially after you skipped school…”
“...I just didn’t care.”
“W-well…” Struggling to craft a clever response, Clover can only sigh in defeat before eventually returning to the primary matter at hand as he scratches his head and asks, “Um, what exactly is goin’ on here?”
“We got a new student,” Frisk stretches their arms above their head as they finally answer the burning question eating up the cowboy’s mind, “Get this, they’re a human.”
“So I’ve heard…” Clover mutters as he carefully glances over at Chara, to which she returns his stare and shrugs in uncertainty, “Did ya recognize 'em at all, Frisk?”
“I-I mean…” Slightly embarrassed, Frisk scratches their head in a struggle to provide a proper answer to the rather layered situation while Dess desperately battles the urge to burst out in a fit of laughter, “They really seem to recognize me-”
“Yo, Frisk!”
As their name is called, the crowd of monsters finally disperses, and the supposed new student, alongside Monster Kid, starts towards the group of four, an apparent mix of pride and excitement in his grin as they pat their “buddy” on the back.
“I was looking all over for ya!” The human jokes as he rests an arm on Frisk’s shoulder. However, his attention quickly shifts to the other two humans on their right as they awkwardly stand stiff in place and stare back at him with a mix of shock and skepticism, “U-uh… hello there!”
In a frantic attempt to show his kindness, the human steps in front of the rather odd-looking couple as he first offers a handshake to the smaller of the two.
“The name’s Augustus!” The kid displays a cheery grin as he tilts his head slightly and waits for her to return their gesture, “You must be Chara, right?”
“U-uh… yeah…” Chara’s head gradually arches back to meet the rather tall individual before very subtly shooting a glare at Frisk, to which they can only shrug before she is forced to answer the new face’s handshake and continue down the sudden greeting, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Augustus.”
“Ehh… um, August is just fine, actually!” The boy sheepishly chuckles as he scratches his head, leaving Clover’s concern to only grow immensely as his mesmerized gaze upon August morphs into a cold stare…
“Oh, I’m not sure if I know you,” Now slightly more confident, August turns to face the taller of the couple with a welcoming, yet laid-back smirk as he offers a second handshake to the surprisingly unfamiliar figure, “Got a name, bro?”
“Clover…” The cowboy mutters his answer as he abruptly rises to his toes in a sudden attempt to meet his new “competition’s” height, accepting the rather fit student’s handshake with an oddly excessive amount of firmness, “Pleased to meet ya, August.”
For a moment, an awkward silence looms over the group, forcing August to travel his view around the perimeter of Clover’s face in an attempt to avoid the cowboy’s unusually tense eye contact. Luckily for them, however, M.K. suddenly peeks out from behind his shoulder to announce some striking news…
“Yo, Clover,” Monster Kid’s face gleams with pride as they excitedly blurt out, “August is joining the basketball team this year! Coach Phil might even make him captain!”
“R-really now?” Clover’s eye twitches slightly at the unpalatable development, his attention now drawing towards August’s orange bandana wrapped around his forehead, leading him to brush away his bangs in a pathetic attempt to introduce his own yellow and blue checkered bandana to the scene, “That’s interesting… I’m joining the team too.”
“Y-you are?” Chara places a hand on her hip as she tilts her head, admittedly thrown off by the sudden declaration her partner seemingly kept from her, “When the hell was this decided?”
“Well, I was recruited by the big man himself!” Clover lifts his chin as he proudly crosses his arms and boasts his achievement, receiving… mixed, silent responses. However, he cannot dwell on this for long, as upon squinting his right eye back open, he suddenly notices the janitor in question at his daily routine near the bathroom, “Say, perfect timin’!”
Everyone can only watch helplessly as Clover skates past August and Monster Kid and jogs towards the oblivious coach’s direction, nearly slipping on the freshly mopped floor before plopping against the wall and catching his footing just before he can kick over the soapy bucket.
“Ayyy, Coach Phil!” Clover snaps a pair of finger guns at his “pal” as he sheepishly attempts to act out a cool dude facade, nearly slipping once again as he casually leans an elbow against the wall and whistles, “So we cross paths yet again!”
“Uhh, can I help you, kid?”
Clover’s mind nearly blanks at the uncalculated response, his posture growing a tad less lax as his hold against the wall grows rather stiff along with his face. Eventually, however, upon glancing back slightly at August and Chara, Clover frantically clears his throat and turns his attention back to the custodian before attempting once again to sway the conversation in his favor.
“I-it’s me, Clover!” The cowboy, though clearly panicking at this point, places a thumb against his chest with an added air of confidence as he reminds the recruiter, “You sent Frisk to get me for the basketball team, and now here I am!”
“R-right…” Failing to beat around the bush any longer, Phil can only scratch his head in a last dose of hesitation before letting out a deep, reluctant sigh, “Sorry, but I already added that new kid to the roster, so the team’s full.”
“But I’m your star player!”
Unfortunately for Clover, Phil only shrugs down the argument and reiterates, “Nothing I can do-”
However, before he can fully finish, Clover’s chill front finally shatters as he desperately clings onto Phil’s uniform and sobs, “Please! I’ll do anything, coach! ANYTHING!”
“A-alright, fine,” Scrunching his face, Phil attempts to inch away from the strange student as he struggles to shove him off, “I’ll see if I can put you in as an alternate.”
“Aw yeah!” Now starting to slightly get on the older human’s nerves, Clover jolts his fists in front of his chest as a small dance of victory before twirling on his heel and strutting back over to his friends… and August.
“Well,” Clover stretches his arms high above his head as he slides through the gathered circle before arriving at his partner’s side, resting his forearm on her shoulder as he continues his boast, “Guess who’s gonna be ‘Alternate Team Captain’ of the basketball team?”
However, much to the cowboy’s dismay, Dess, with her unwanted fawn’s hearing, shakingly lifts a finger as she unsuspectingly asks, “Didn’t he mean alternate player-?”
“I know what he meant!” Clover’s volume suddenly grows in his abrupt protest as his apparent confidence only continues to clash with the rest of his timid demeanor, though going mostly under the radar of August and M.K. However, his outburst does grab the attention of a different monster, one far less endearing…
“Where were you last week?” Principal Holiday's voice cracks through the frost of her breath as Chara and Clover frantically turn to face her.
“P-Principal Holiday!” The pair bows in unison as the sweat along their faces chills into a vapor among the ice cold atmosphere, their wide eyes fixated on their superiors heels as they anticipate their inevitable punishment for skipping school.
However, much to each of their confusion, Carol seemingly performs a right face turn with her hooves, prompting them to glance up slightly as her attention surprisingly shifts to the rest of the group for once.
“Frisk,” Carol’s tone, though still stern, tames itself naturally as if she is addressing the ambassador on a more equal ground, “Do you mind giving our dear new student, Augustus, a tour of our facilities?”
“Uhh, yeah,” Frisk simply shrugs in response, motioning their head for August to follow along as they slide their hands in their pockets and turn to start down the far hall, “C’mon, I’ll show you the nurse’s office first. You’ll… probably be there a lot.”
“Right… following you.”
As their distance rapidly grows, Carol slowly steps in front of the remaining four students, each collision between her heels and the floor echoing along the snow-white painted cinder block walls of the main hall, before halting abruptly and turning her head back to view their timid expressions.
“The rest of you are ten minutes late to first period…” The principal’s tone returns to its initially cold, jagged rhythm, “Go.”
However, as the two humans prepare to follow after Dess and Monster Kid, Carol suddenly stops the cowboy in his tracks with a simple touch of her long, sharp nail against his shoulder.
“Clover…” Principal Holiday mutters to the child as her view locks on the glass of the front doors past his annoyingly large head, “Do me a favor, do not interact with August in any capacity.”
“Wh-what?” Clover squints in confusion as he swiftly turns his head to face the old deer, “Why not?”
“Do I really need to spell it out for you?” Carol grows slightly impatient with the oblivious cowboy’s pointless protest, sighing as she places her hand on his shoulder to brace him for the harsh reality of the situation, “If you must know, August is the first human to enroll in this academy, not counting you, Chara, and Frisk, of course, and it is my job to ensure that he has an exceptional stay here.”
“Right,” Still somewhat confused, Clover nods his head as to show his understanding, only to undermine this once again by reiterating, “Why can’t I help?”
“Oh no…” Chara’s eyes scrunch up in a sudden realization as she reluctantly braces for what is to come…
“Clover,” Carol starts without wasting a second more, “You are the most problematic, irresponsible, idiotic, immature student I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, and I would be remiss if I were to let you poison Augustus’s thoughts with your parasitic influence.”
“I-I-”
“Chara,” The cold-hearted deer tilts her head to face the girl, choosing to ignore the apparent twitching of her eye along her seemingly irritated expression as she continues her command without interruption, “Keep Clover under your radar today.”
“...Y-yes ma’am.” Chara bows her head with an underlying scowl as she reluctantly complies with her cursed superior’s command, remaining stiff with rage briefly after Carol returns to the suffocating confines of her office.
“Son of a basket raffle…” Clover huffs as he rubs his eye while slouched over in exhaustion, prompting Chara to creep over to his side and gently wrap an arm around his back, “How nice of August to make his grand debut today of all days…”
“A-are you…” Chara drags out the sound as she hesitates to voice her concern, only for Clover to jump to his answer as he stretches his hand down his face.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine…”
“A-alright…” Chara’s view briefly wanders to the floor in guilt as she struggles to continue her little questionnaire, so, realizing she simply cannot, the professional girlfriend opts to tactically switch to a more sarcastic tone instead as she twirls a spiral in the cotton of Clover’s shirt with her pinky, “Well then, we’d look pretty terrible if we were late to Guidance of all things, wouldn’t we?”
“Pssh, I don’t need guidance!” Clover sticks out his tongue in protest as Chara pulls him down the hall with remarkable ease, likely due to his underlying enjoyment in the facade.
“Hm, SURE ya don’t, cowboy…”
After five more minutes of frantically searching for their unexpectedly missing classmates, Chara and Clover finally found everyone’s location to be in the library, something that must have been explained on Friday, conveniently the day they ventured to the Underground…
The pair claimed a set of small cushioned chairs, likely meant for smaller children, in the back corner of the library near the rather limited fiction section, while the rest of the class also seems to have broken off into small groups around the vicinity.
“Looks like it’s just a study hall today…” Clover ponders to himself as Chara presses her cheek against his arm in boredom, reaching over her head and pulling a thin Christmas themed book from the shelf, titled “Professor Punch and the Holiday Hiccup”.
Clover has vaguely heard about this “Professor Punch” character. A crime fighting superhero by day and a mathematics professor by night… oddly not the other way around. Supposedly, she grew as quite the popular children’s book mascot among humans ever since Clover initially fell into the Underground.
“Smart and badass, huh?” Clover mutters to himself outloud, capturing the attention of his partner as she curiously glances up at him.
“H-huh?” Chara raises an eyebrow at the lack of any further explanation as she impatiently pries, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Here,” Clover sets the book in Chara’s hands, allowing her to skim through the back description before slyly remarking, “Say, she kinda reminds me of you!” Flustering the girl beyond belief and she shoves the hard cover back into his face.
“Whatever.” Chara huffs as she crosses her arms and leans more of her body against her partner, greatly amusing the cowboy for a moment as a playful grin briefly paints his expression.
However, his thoughts are soon poisoned with a sense of self depreciation as the interaction from earlier starts to replay in his head.
“Gee…” Clover sighs as he rests his chin against the top of Chara’s head in a sort of protective and desperate measure, “Why would a superhero like Chara want a bum like me when there’s dudes like August out there?”
Just as he starts to dwell on this unaccounted fear, Chara shifts the back of her head against her cowboy’s chest uncomfortably as she grows concerned at the present tension in his current hold, eventually clearing her throat in annoyance as to signal her partner to let her break free.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Chara leans forward as she turns her head back and squints at the frustratingly oblivious cowboy, leaving him to tilt his head and part his lips slightly in a rather innocent confusion.
“Wh-why do ya ask?” Clover’s heart skips a beat in terror as Chara flips onto her knees in order to fully face him and study his expression closer, leaving him to frantically question, “C-can she hear my thoughts or somethin’?!”
“You’re not really great at hiding it, cowboy…” Chara scoffs as she rolls her eyes in frustration at the persistence in Clover’s dense demeanor, “You’ve been acting off ever since we first got to school today.”
“S-sorry…” Clover frowns in guilt as he scratches his neck in an effort to form a satisfying answer, “I suppose I was a little startled by the new kid…”
“That… was a bit unexpected…” Chara can only nod in agreement as she slumps back into her partner’s lap, allowing Clover to open the book in front of her as the pair starts to skim through Professor Punch’s Christmas fiasco, “Y-you’re sure you didn’t recognize them?”
“I-I mean,” Clover bites the side of his lip in a struggle to jog his memory, ultimately drawing blanks, “I don’t think so-”
“Oh! Chara!” From out of nowhere, what looks to be a sentient mirror, complete with a pair of librarian glasses, floats around the corner to greet the child, “I didn’t realize you were here today!”
“Hello, Madam Tcelfer.”
“Madam… wh-who?” Clover stumbles over his words as he struggles to sound out the monster’s name. However, the librarian luckily remedies his struggle as she conceals a small giggle with her hand.
“It’s quite alright,” Madam Tcelfer emits a cheery tone as she somewhat awkwardly clarifies, “Madam Reflect is just fine too!”
“A-alright.”
“Are you… August, by chance?” The mirror carefully studies the unfamiliar boy as she hums her rather unexpected question, causing both Chara and Clover to stumble slightly in their seat as the cowboy nearly chokes on his breath.
“Wh-what?” The boy gasps as he frantically glances up at the hovering librarian, his eyes twitching as he struggles to compose his frustration, “I-I’m Clover! Chara’s boyfriend!”
“Ah, well that would certainly explain why you two are sitting so close!” Madam Tcelfer chuckles as the two humans blush immensely, struggling to mask their embarrassment as they subtly squirm away from each other and desperately attempt to each occupy the far ends of the rather cramped chair, “Apologies, I’ve just heard some of the other students describe them as a human with a bandana around his forehead.”
“I-I see…” Suddenly getting a thought, Clover starts to stare into his reflection in the mirror surface of the librarian, a small crack on the edge barely going noticed under the over of her multiple necklaces as the cowboy primarily focuses on his face, noting his checkered bandana concealing the majority of his eyebrows and a faint sliver of his eyes…
A bandana…
Finally, it hits him…
“Of course!” Clover lightly taps his chest with his fist with a mix of pride in his discovery and frustration in how blind he had been, “He was one of the kids in the poster! They must’ve been one of the five human souls the monsters gathered!”
For a moment, Clover allows himself to bask in the achievement of his exceptional detective work. However, as he starts to dwell on it all more, he only stumps himself with yet another burning question…
“H-how the hell is he even alive?!”
“Hm? Is something the matter, Clover?” Madam Tcelfer tilts slightly as she grows puzzled by the ever-changing perplexity of the child’s expression, watching with a bit of concern as he notably shakes his head and comes to his senses.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Clover sheepishly grins as a hand awkwardly wanders to the back of his hair, “Just thinkin’, that’s all.”
“Well, I won’t interrupt your brainstorming,” The librarian playfully winks to the cowboy before turning to hover over to the next pair among the mostly unsupervised class of students, “Take care, you two!”
As the mirror floats off, Chara and Clover finally relax their nerves, simultaneously slumping back in the chair as Chara snuggles her back against her partner and allows him to reopen the book, each of them returning their attention to the story with content as the adventures of Professor Punch finally start to unfold…
Not that Clover can truly ease his spiraling thoughts, however, as one last intrusive thought lingers at the forefront of his mind…
“Well, August, the competition between us has only just begun…”
The rest of the day was… a learning experience, to say the least. During lunch, August seemed prone to hoot and holler to his heart’s content. Not that Carol bothered to force her hand of discipline, as she believed she had already taken care of the true issue by forcing the poor cowboy to eat outside without even the desired company of his dear Chara.
Math was also… something. Half the class involved August whispering to Clover for clarification on the topics he is behind on. Though, admittedly, Clover might as well be even further behind with all that has been distracting him in between school. The other half of the period somehow devolved into the jock, alongside the rest of the class, yapping with Mr. Gill about the latest news in football, while Dess filled the role of prying for answers from Clover as Chara impressively slept through the entire half hour.
Finally, after what felt like an eternally long and draining school day, the dismissal bell rings, and Chara reluctantly rises from her unbelievably comfortable chair in her Literature II class.
However, on her way out the door, her wise instructor suddenly calls out to her, despite seemingly being glued to his work.
“Kid, stay for a sec, alright?”
“A-alright, sir,” Chara unassumingly shrugs before waltzing over to her teacher’s desk, leaning her arm against the corner of the table as to maintain a sort of mutual respect as she raises her eyebrows slightly in a masked impatience, “What’s up?”
“...Did you meet ‘em yet?” Gerson eventually mutters his question as the quill of his pen starts to trail along the edge of his paper, eventually glancing up at his student as he notices a clear look of confusion in her expression, “August, I mean.”
“O-oh!” Somewhat thrown aback by the fact that the old turtle even knows about the new human, Chara takes a moment to repeat the asked phrase in her head before finally answering, “Yes, Clover and I met him this morning.”
“Uh-huh…” Gerson rubs his beard as he ponders to himself for a moment, eventually pinching the hair at the bridge of his chin as he finally asks, “...How did he seem?”
“Clover?”
“No, no, August.”
“O-oh, right…” Chara nods, slightly embarrassed at her own immaturity in prioritizing her partner, when she finally scratches her head and blankly answers, “Yeah, they seemed normal, I suppose.”
“I see…” Gerson barely mumbles as he abruptly returns to his work, only causing Chara to pry further with a mix of confusion and frustration.
“I-is there a reason why you’re asking me this?”
“Well,” Gerson yawns as he slumps back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head as he answers, “August is… not exactly supposed to be here, no offense of course! Gyah hah hah!”
“Wh-what the hell are you talking about… u-um, sir?” Chara clears her throat as she sheepishly attempts to replace her previously sharp tone with a more malleable tone, to which the turtle smiles in an understanding before leaning forward on his desk once again to explain.
“Ye see, August is sorta like Clover… one of the six unique souls whom the king gathered,” Gerson noticeably stunning Chara despite his lax tone as he decides to laugh off her apparent shock and continue, “I found ‘em passed out on the trail down from Mount Ebott this past Saturday, but how he came to is admittedly beyond my knowledge.”
“H-he was one of the fallen humans?!” Chara’s jaw nearly drops onto the desk as she asks, only amusing Gerson further as he tries his best to clarify.
“The one right before Clover, to be exact,” Gerson starts to take a sort of pride in his extended knowledge of his old friend as he confidently adds, “The soul of great, unmatched ‘bravery’!”
“R-right…” Chara considers this for a moment as she tries to picture an orange soul in her mind, ultimately failing, however, as she rolls her eyes and suddenly grumbles, “If you asked me, I’d assume they had the kindness trait with the way they were all ‘buddy-buddy’ with everyone...”
“W-well,” To Chara’s confusion, Gerson emits an awkward chuckle as he scratches the top of his head and argues, “A misconception like that isn’t really all too surprising…”
However, much as the teacher expected, this only baffles the child even further.
“Wh-what makes you say that?”
“Ya see,” Realizing now that he’ll have to tell the tale, Gerson sighs before clasping his hands together as he rests his elbows comfortably against the hardwood top of his grand desk, “Attie fell into the Underground around the same time I was watchin’ over another human down in Snowdin. Their name wouldn’t be too important to ya, but they were the origin of that kindness trait you saw him tryin’ to uphold.”
“Uh-huh…” Chara, in an attempt to display her focus, pulls over a chair from one of the front student desks and sits backwards in it, resting her chin on the back of her wrists as she waits for her mentor to continue the explanation, to which Gerson complies…
“Over a month or two, they became pretty close, sorta like you and Clover, just with a higher combined intelligence! Gyah ha ha!” The geezer lets out a belly laugh at his sudden low-brow joke, eventually wiping a fake tear upon noticing the clear irritation in the girl’s red hot face as he brings the discussion back down to the mellow, “Only kidding, smartypants. Point is, Attie had what you have once upon a time, poor kid…”
For some reason, a faint glint of guilt crawls up Chara’s spine, causing her to uncomfortably bite the corner of her lip as she hesitates to ask a rather… sensitive question.
“Wh-what… um…” Breaking her eye contact with her teacher, Chara’s view wanders out to the hall, taking note of the bustling footsteps crossing the doorway as she tactically lowers to a more private volume, “What happened to them?”
Gerson closes his single open eye in realization that such a question was inevitable, so, with a heavy sigh, he scratches the side of his forehead with his nail as he attempts to set the scene.
“Ye see, August’s friend… err… fell ill, very ill…” Gerson starts to scribble in the corner of his page as he struggles to maintain his casual facade, “They died after about a week or so, and August, that crazy fool, carried ‘em all the way across the Underground up to Asgore’s throne room before ripping out his own soul right there on the flower bed…”
“...J-jeez…” Chara’s eyebrows narrow in utter disbelief at the rather dramatic story, straightening her posture in an uncertainty of how to respond as not even a frown can melt her frozen expression, “U-um, sorry…”
“Eh, it was no one’s fault, kid, just figured I’d brush ya up on your history,” Gerson winks in an attempt to ease the young girl’s mind, his brief grin eventually falling back into a neutral, mundane expression, however, as he returns his vision to his barely touched upon paper, “Just be a friend to him if ya can, alright? Might even make ‘em feel oddly better if he saw how happy you and the cowboy are together.”
“I understand, sir.” Chara nods in a somewhat remorseful compliance as she finally rises from her chair, giving a subtle bow before collecting her books from the elder’s desk and exiting out to the hall.
As she walks, her vision grows quite narrow, focusing only on the stretch of tiles along the long hallway floor as both her sight and her thoughts remain equally clouded…
“...Guess I really took it all for granted, huh?” Chara’s eyebrows quiver as her view of any particular details of the school remain squinted and blurred, “Seriously though… how the hell is this kid even alive?”
Before she can even try to piece any of it together in her head, however, Frisk suddenly calls out to her from the end of the hall, standing next to, unsurprisingly, August, as they impatiently wait for her to catch up.
“What took you so long?” Frisk crosses their arms and asks as Chara’s plod finally evolves into a light jog before abruptly skidding to a halt in front of the two humans, “Seriously, you were in there for quite a while.”
“I-it’s nothing, really,” Chara scratches her neck as she attempts to dodge the humiliation, eventually turning her attention to the taller of the two as she thinks back on Mr. Boom’s request, “Anyway, August, how was your first day?”
“Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, it was cool!” The athlete cheers as he gleefully places the knuckles of his thumbs against his hips, “I got to meet so many awesome folks, like M.K.!”
“Well, good,” Chara nods slightly as a warm smile of relief distracts from the clear exhaustion in her eyes, “If you need anything at all, feel free to contact me and Clover, alright?”
“You got it.” The athlete grins with a thumbs up.
Meanwhile, Clover and Dess have just finally been freed from their English for the Trades quiz, each slumping out of the classroom as they try to hold each other up in exhaustion.
“That… was… tortasaurasaus…” Clover pants with each word he mutters, leaving Dess to glance at him in confusion as the cowboy fails to elaborate.
“Th-that was… what?”
“It’s a new word I’m tryin’ out,” Clover rubs his eye as he mutters his “explanation”. However, as the two round the corner of the hallway, Clover’s heart practically rises into his throat as he locks onto the sight in the distance, “Wh-what the heck?”
“What?”
“Wh-why is August tryna offer Chara a fist bump?” Clover whispers to his trusted deer friend as he squints in suspicion at the scene unfolding. However, Dess does not necessarily follow his same wavelength.
“Uhh, he’s probably just being nice, dude.” Dess simply shrugs in response, somewhat taken aback by Clover’s unfamiliarly accusatory demeanor, scratching her head cautiously as she hesitates to ask, “Y-you good?”
Blanking for a moment, Clover finally comes to his senses, or so it seems, scoffing as he proudly crosses his arms and answers, “Of course!”
“Besides,” Clover’s smug expression gradually morphs into an evil, resentful grin as he stares down cheery lil’ August, “It’s not like Chara’s actually gonna accept his ge-”
Just as he thinks to himself, however, Clover’s skin turns pale white as he observes Chara shrug slightly before… returning the fist bump…
Dess can only jump to the wall in shock as Clover suddenly plummets backward, his soul nearly escaping through his nose as he hits the hard tiled floor with a heavy thud, startling the three humans in the distance as Chara immediately rushes to her partner’s aid upon observing his condition.
“Clover!” Chara frantically squats down and grabs onto her cowboy’s hand, lifting his elbow onto her knee as she attempts to get through to him, “A-are you okay?”
Clover fails to initially respond, staring up at the fluorescent lights in the ceiling with his eyelids only resting half open, before eventually lifting the back of his head slightly off the ground to glance over at his girlfriend, shining majestically in front of the rays of the afternoon sun peeking through the front doors of the school.
“OHh… heyYy baby-” Clover barely slurs his lackluster attempt of a flirty remark together before Chara suddenly bonks him on the center top of his skull with the bottom, softer edge of her fist, “O-OW!”
“G-GET UP, YOU IDIOT!” Chara’s mouth seemingly stretches three times in size as she screeches at the top of her lungs, forcing her partner up to his feet by the pull of his wrists before tugging him along as she continues to berate him, “What’s gotten into you?!”
“S-sorry…” Clover sheepishly scratches his head as he stumbles alongside Chara’s speedy pace, covering his face from the light with his arm as, before he can even process anything, the pair catches up with Frisk outside…
The rest of the walk home remains quite calm in comparison to initial dismissal, the sun starting to fall to an orange glow just as the trio walks through the park, now littered with piles of fallen leaves. Frisk notices Red resting at a distant picnic bench on the opposite end of the park while Kris swims through the abnormally large pile with a helping of dead, wet leaves stored in their mouth, so they decide not to draw attention to it out of embarrassment.
However, as Clover swings Chara’s arm back and forth with his while deep in thought, he suddenly deviates his friends’ attention as he musters up the courage to voice his concern…
“Haven’t either of ya wondered about it?” Clover mutters as his eyes grow heavy, his sight training on the cracked path ahead as he waits somewhat impatiently for an answer, “How August is alive, I mean.”
Frisk is taken slightly aback at the cowboy’s unexpected question alongside his partner’s apparent agreement, admittedly impressed that either of them could deduce August being one of the fallen, but eventually, they lift their hand to signal for the two to stop for a moment.
“I got a hunch when August told me who they really were…” Frisk rubs their chin in thought as they step backwards off the path and lean against a nearby tree, “I was thinking back to yesterday, when Clover showed us his cuts.”
“Wh-what about them?” Clover tilts his head, now a little worried, as Chara silently notices his grip between her fingers tighten ever so slightly.
“Well, your soul can likely produce magic far more abundantly than most, especially after you and Chara fused your souls…” Frisk scratches their neck as they hesitate to continue in explaining their theory, but they sigh as they rise from the comfort of the tree and rejoin their two close friends on the gravel binding of the path, “Don’t quote me on this, but it’s possible that, wh-when you bled out, your body released a lot of the magic you must’ve formed from that jump in your LV.”
“Wh-what? That can happen?!” Clover’s mouth hangs agape at the sudden influx of information, taking a second to process it all in his head as he attempts to answer his own question. However, just as he comes to terms with the theory, his hubris suddenly catches up with him as he crosses his arms and turns his head without prior warning, “Hm, well if that’s what woke up August, why him?”
“I-I guess they might’ve had the most determination of any of the fallen humans?” Frisk can only shrug their response, somewhat jarred by the sharp tinge in the cowboy’s last word as they cautiously continue, “Or maybe because they were the last to die before you fell? D-does it matter?”
Shaking his head, Clover crosses his arms in an immature dissatisfaction as he returns Frisk’s shrug before stomping off without another word.
“C-Clover!” Chara reaches her hand out to grab her problematic partner’s attention, awkwardly turning to face Frisk for a moment as she completes the triangle of shrugs before jogging off to catch up to her cowboy, “I-is everything okay?”
“...Everythin’s peachy…” Clover grumbles as his steps grow stiff, slouching his head forward as the buildup of exhaustion, paranoia, and jealousy throughout the day finally catches up to him, “Let’s just go home…”
Chara cannot help but frown at the sight of the poor cowboy’s deflation, a feeling of uselessness washing over her as she awkwardly walks to the side of Clover at an uncomfortable distance.
For about a suffocating minute or so, the two remain apart like this, their focus each forcefully locked on the path ahead as they struggle to rekindle from the tension.
With every step Clover takes, the sun starts to gradually set more and more. Though, his own vision seems to darken much quicker…
However, before he can completely shut his eyes in defeat, Chara, unable to hold her breath any longer, nearly trips into Clover’s side, as she wraps tightly around his upper arm, halting him for a moment in despair as the cowboy frantically turns to face her. Taking note of her uneasy expression as she bites the inside of her mouth, Clover can only sigh before freeing his arm and wrapping his hand comfortably, yet protectively, around her waist, a renewed look of determination setting in his eyes as he guides his other half the rest of the way home.
Tuesday morning, 7:00. Chara sinks into the center of the mattress, stretched along the bed like a dried out starfish as, on either side of her, both the alarm clock and the sun desperately call for her to rise.
It is only when she finds free movement in her right hand when she finally realizes Clover, oddly enough, is not currently sharing the bed with her…
“...What?” Chara rubs her eyes for a brief moment as she sits up on the side of the mattress, finding no recent indication of her partner being in the room, “No way he slept on the couch, right?”
Hesitant to know the dreaded answer for sure, Chara kicks herself in the shin before rising carefully from the bed, tiptoeing to the door in an attempt not to make a peep before creeping out into the hallway.
Peeking over into the living room, however, Chara still finds no sign of-
“Morning, darlin’!”
Chara nearly squeals in shock, her heart skipping several beats as she covers her mouth with one hand and sticks her fist out defensively with the other, only to realize in humiliation that it was simply her partner who called out to her.
“O-oh,” Chara composes herself before wandering to the table, her entire head locking on the mesmerizing sight by the stovetop as the infinitely talented cowboy rocks a pan full of eggs back and forth, “Good morning, love…”
“Thought I’d surprise ya this mornin’!” Not a hint of exhaustion seems present anymore in Clover as he beams full of pride and excitement, swiping the heat dial off and tuning gracefully on his heel as he pours half the contents of the pan onto Chara’s already set plate in a showmanlike fashion before dismissing the rest of the eggs onto his own plate, “Dig in!”
“Y-you didn’t have to surprise me,” Chara involuntarily lets out a light giggle before lifting her fork with content and stabbing into the first fluffy chunk among her plate of scrambled eggs, “But thank you anyway, cowboy.”
“Hm, ya better brace yourself,” Before Chara can even take her first bite, Clover catches her off guard by playfully touching the tip of her nose as he unexpectedly claims, “That’s not the only surprise I have for you today!”
“What the heck could he mean by that?” Admittedly, Chara grows a tad skeptical as she finally chomps her first egg puff in one bite, her eyes remaining fixated on her partner as she swallows her food and takes a deep breath to properly address him.
“Clover,” She starts as she momentarily rests the plastic fork onto her napkin, “If this is at all because of anything, I promise you don’t have to prove anything, alright?”
“I know!” Clover cheerily nods with a toothy grin, almost successfully tricking Chara, even, only for her to eventually see through the mask and persist in her point.
“Clover, I mean it.”
“Uh-huh!”
“...I love you.” Chara attempts to sound loving, while reassuring in her tone, hoping it would finally put whatever matter the cowboy had in mind to rest. However, all Clover does in response is smirk, leaving the girl to finish her breakfast alone as he hops from his reclined position, kisses her on the top of her head, and skips back off into his room.
“You’ll see, Chara…” Clover mutters to himself, completely blinded by ambition, as he skims through his dresser for his desired items, “You’ll see just how awesome of a boyfriend I can be!”
The walks to school seemed… normal enough, though Chara made sure to watch her partner like a hawk the whole way. In fact, she kept both eyes glued to him up until she collided against the front door of the school, causing Clover to jump back slightly in shock before carefully peeling her from the glass.
“A-are you okay?!”
“Yeah, sorry…” Chara rubs her cheek in a sheepish attempt to wash away the irritation, directing her attention back to her partner as she suggests, “I’ll walk you to the Wood Tech room, alright?”
“Sure!” Clover’s heart flutters at such a chivalric offer, allowing his partner to lead the way as he rests his arms behind his head with content.
However, just as he squints one eye open again, he immediately notices in dread as August is standing off in the distance with Monster Kid’s group right in the forefront of the hallway…
“It’s now or never, Clover…”
“I- u-um…” Frantically looking back and forth between his girlfriend and the distant athlete, Clover finally arches forward and announces, “I haveta go to the bathroom!” before rushing off, leaving Chara at a complete loss for words as she is left alone in the middle of the hallway.
“What was that all about?” Frisk, seemingly an observer to the recent scene, plods over to Chara with their hands in their pockets as the two stare confused at the swinging restroom door.
“Beats me,” Chara sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose, her eyebrows furrowing as a burning suspicion regarding this morning sets in, “I have a really bad feeling…”
“Oi, Frisk! Chara!” Before either of them can theorize for long, August, passionate as ever, jogs in their direction with exceptional form, skidding to halt next to the short, hot-headed girl as he glances down at her in confusion.
“Oh, hey.” Chara barely nods as she reluctantly diverts her attention to her new friend, somewhat impatient with his seeming lack of attention immediately sets her off, “Um… wh-what’s up?”
“Jus’ found out I have the same gym class as you two!” August swiftly pulls out their schedule from their back pocket before unfolding it and presenting the paper to the two Dreemurr kids, “See?”
“Th-that’s great, dude.” Frisk tries to force a smile as they form a shaky thumbs-up, dropping their arm back down to their side, however, as August starts to scan around the surrounding area like a dog sniffing out a lost item.
“Say,” Coming up with empty results, August scratches the corner of his head with the edge of his fingernail as he curiously asks, “Where’s Clover, by the way?”
However, before Chara can open her mouth to answer...
“Right here…”
Frisk and August turn their heads first, to which a forming crowd of students follows suit. Based on the collection of gasps throughout the hall as well as the clearly stunned expressions on everyone's faces, Chara hesitates with all her might before eventually giving in, turning her head and…
“...No.”
Leaning his forearm on the sink in between the bathroom doors stands the cowboy in question, sporting a pair of navy blue ripped jeans, a white undershirt clearly meant for before his recent growth spurt, his signature bandana wrapped snugly around his forehead, and, to top it all off, a shiny black leather jacket from Vengeful Virgil himself, one a movie star would wear.
In fact, “movie star” is all Chara can think of upon surveying Clover’s stance and attire... “reckless, idiotic movie star”...
To the girl’s shock, Clover lifts his hand to block out all the outside noise, waltzing straight forward with his eye confidently locked on his partner as he reaches under her chin, causing her to blush in immense embarrassment as he lifts her head to face him with ease.
“Well?” Clover raises his eyebrows in contrast to his half-opened eyelids, staring directly into Chara’s eyes with intent as he hums, “What do ya think, gal?”
“Wh-wha…” Chara’s mouth melts into an innocent, lovestruck grin as her cheeks heat up in flames, a small giggle escaping through her breath as she reaches up and clings onto her cowboy’s hand.
However, for a brief moment, Chara notices as Clover barely his attention to the right, facing August with a look of victory and ego before turning back to face his partner, only for her to immediately crush his hand in her grasp in complete frustration before storming off.
“A-ah! Cha-ara!” Clover desperately gasps her name as he tries to reach out to her, only for his arm to suddenly freeze in horror as the harsh steps of a particular monster echo directly behind his head…
“Ahem.”
Tensing up at the growlish undertone of Carol’s voice, Clover’s whole body locks in place as he can only barely shift his view over to Frisk, who at this point is exaggeratedly motioning their head for Clover to turn around. However, he simply cannot bring himself to comply.
“Clover…” Principal Holiday attempts to deceive the idiotic cowboy with a tone rather lax, at least compared to the usual terror in her words, “About face.”
However, much to everyone’s dismay, Clover fails to comply, resulting in the surrounding students scattering off to their classrooms in a pure submissive fear, only leaving Frisk, full of humility, and August, oblivious to the principal’s bite, to stand beside the very alone cowboy.
“Clover…” Carol repeats his name with venom in her voice, “Turn… now…”
Scrunching up his face as to brace for the worst, Clover finally can hold his breath no longer as he swallows his dread and turns to face Carol with five, stiffly rotating steps.
Carol simply stares the kid up and down, scoffing at the clown he decided to dress after today before marching past Clover in the direction of her office.
“Detention. All day. Go.”
Without another second of hesitation, Clover rushes through the main office door, covering his face with his sleeve in complete humiliation as Frisk and August can only observe in guilt.
“You two,” Carol stops suddenly to address the two humans, her back remaining turned as she coldly mutters “Try to keep up this academy’s pride, won’t you?” before stepping off again as the unstoppable force she seems to be…
As the day went on, Chara remained rather cold and closed off to her friends, her mind spiraling into a mix of guilt and frustration as, all day, she imagined her partner rotting away in the back room of the faculty wing.
Not even the blaring of the bell phases her nerves as the students are dismissed from their lunch period, to which, of all of Chara’s friends, Dess takes quick notice of.
“I’ll catch up with you later, alright?” Dess pulls Frisk aside as she whispers close to their face, to which Frisk simply nods and directs August and Monster Kid along as the deer remains behind with Chara.
“Wh-what’s up?” Chara cautiously tilts her head as she walks alongside Dess in the slow moving line leading out of the cafeteria.
“I’m not blind to it, okay?” Dess stares at the hothead with a deadpan glare as she bluntly asks, “C’mon, what’s your deal?”
Chara’s eyebrows lift for a brief moment, admittedly taken aback by Dess’s direct tone and notice of the ridiculous situation. However, much to the monster’s annoyance, Chara shuts her down anyway, sticking up her nose as she simply scoffs at the thought of the disaster this morning.
“Please, spare me from the melodrama,” Chara attempts to mask her mood with an air of confidence as she places her thumbs on her hips and struts along, oblivious to how blatant of a cover it is, “It’s just stupid, meaningless boy jealousy. As long as I just give him his goodnight kiss he’ll-”
However, before Chara can even open her eyes, Dess swats her across the forehead to snap her out of her pathetic delusion.
“O-ow!” Chara jerks back as she clings onto her forehead in pain, “What was that for?!”
“YOU IDIOT! YOU MORON!” Now passionate as ever to get through to her friend, Dess touches her tightened fist against Chara’s chin, her spit flying all over the place as she shouts, “DON’T YOU REALIZE THAT THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME SITUATION AS WHEN YOU WERE JEALOUS OF ME?!”
“Wh-what?” Chara’s mouth hangs open slightly as she finally dwells on this, only for Dess to smack her on the forehead once again, “S-stop!”
“Listen here, I’ve seen Clover prove time and time again just how important you are to him, but I have yet to see any of it from you in return!”
As Dess verbally strikes her, blow after blow, with her harsh, yet painfully true words, Chara can only stare back, completely stunned and unable to speak as the deer notices her eyes wander side-to-side as if she is searching intensely through her thoughts.
“U-um… sorry.” Dess, finally composing herself, glances away in guilt as she barely returns her arm to her side. However, before she can fully move, Chara suddenly shocks her in return by grabbing onto her wrist and lifting her hand in between each of their faces.
“Hit me again.” Chara demands in a now direct tone as she stares her friend down, to which Dess glances back in pure confusion and hesitation before eventually shrugging and backhanding the unusual girl, practically causing her head to unscrew before Chara recoils straightens her posture, still rubbing her face in pain as she winces, “Th-thanks.”
“Did that really help?” Dess cautiously points to the human as she asks, admittedly thrown off when Chara energetically nods in return, “S-so you know what you have to do now?”
“No, absolutely not,” Only baffling the deer further, Chara simply shakes her head before grabbing onto her shoulders without warning and claiming, “But I do have an idea, and I need your help.”
“R-really?”
“Uh-huh! Just help me escape from the school, alright?”
Dess shrugs as if escaping school is an average Tuesday for her, her view wandering to the back corner of the cafeteria as everything clicks in her head.
“We can just leave through those doors,” Dess motions for Chara to sneak along with her so as to not alert any bypassers to check in the cafeteria, “I doubt anyone like Phil will care to stop us anyway.”
Determined as ever, Chara squats down behind the deer as the two scurry to the pair of exit doors. However, just as they are about to leave the premises, Chara suddenly remembers to bring up a… crucial detail.
“O-oh, right…” Chara mutters to herself before reaching forward and tapping her friend on the shoulder, “Almost forgot, Dess. After a certain distance, I’m gonna be forced to turn into a ghost.”
“E-excuse me?!”
“Don’t worry about it, alright?” Chara sheepishly attempts to ease her friend's mind from the sudden absurd claim as she adds, “I’ll grab onto your soul so you can still see me, but I’ll be entirely invisible to everyone else until I get closer to Clover’s soul again.”
“...S-sure, whatever. I’ll try to just treat that as a normal thing!”
Shaking her head, Dess lets out a heavy sigh before finally pushing one of the doors open, allowing Chara to pass first as she scans the premises one last time before following the ghost girl’s lead…
“How do I even get involved in this shit?”
In between the last two periods of the day, Clover remains isolated in the back unused classroom, delegated as his typical detention spot as he rocks back in his chair, using his foot against the slightly cracked desk as anchor as he stares blankly up at the two fluorescent bars of light flickering above his head.
“This is just great…” Clover grumbles to himself as his arms slump down to his sides, horrific images of Chara and August interacting circling around his vision like invasive moths, forcing him to slam his eyes shut as he lets out a sigh and wraps his arms behind his head.
However, just as he begins to doze off, the front door to the main office swings open, and the sound of brash, frantic footsteps travels from the hard tile of the hallways to the carpet near the reception desk.
“Principal Holiday, hey,” A vaguely familiar voice calls for the old deer’s name, “It’s me, Augustus.”
Upon hearing this declaration, Clover’s eyes shoot open as plummets backwards in his chair, attempting to ignore the pain from the collision in his jaw as he jumps to his feet and scans the unfolding scene in suspicion.
“Principal Holiday,” August bows his head with a show of respect and fear before sucking up his gut and bravely blurting out, “I humbly request Clover be released from detention.”
“Wh-what?” Clover mutters practically in unison with Carol, his nose now pressed right against the narrow window of the bulky wooden door as his breath fogs up the glass.
“Ma’am, Clover had been a great friend to me all day yesterday,” A renewed glint of determination sets in August eyes as they stare up at their principal with unwavering, hero-like confidence, “I know how much it matters to you that I attend this school, but if you’re gonna mistreat Clover like this,” he points his thumb back to himself, “I’m going to unenroll!”
For the rest of the sequence, not another word is spoken between anyone in the office, as, with a mix of shock and immense frustration, Carol rips the detention room door open and yanks Clover out of the office by the wrist before shoving him out the door into the hall.
“Hey, buddy! Are you alright?” August tilts his head as he steps out next to the clearly dazed cowboy to which he frantically shakes his head and stares back up at the athlete.
“Uh, y-yeah… thanks…” Clover scratches his head as he straightens his posture to match the other human’s, his eyes wandering the floor, however, as he struggles to feel anything but awkward… “I, uhh… didn’t realize you considered me a friend.”
“Of course I do!” Somewhat taken aback by Clover’s strange remark, August frantically places a hand on the shoulder of the cowboy’s leather jacket with a mix of genuine surprise and flattery and he clarifies, “Dude, you're like, the coolest guy at this place!”
Clover nearly chokes on his breath as he receives the sudden compliment, especially coming from someone as strong and heroic as August seems to be. Searching intensely for any hint of sarcasm in their expression, however, Clover finds none, so he decides to return the gesture with a bit of his own kindness…
“If I’m being fully honest with ya,” Clover scratches the side of his neck as he hesitantly mutters, “You’re the coolest guy I ever met.”
As he finally admits this, August’s face beams with honor, the previously blatant height difference between the two now seeming to fade as the athlete slouches slightly without either of them even realizing.
“Dude…”
“...Dude…”
However, before the two of them can enter a deep, bro-to-bro conversation, Dess suddenly enters through the front door of the school, leaving both of them to glance over in confusion as she waltzes in their direction.
“Yo, perfect timing!” Dess spins on her foot before leaning back against the office door and resting her forearm on Clover’s shoulder.
“D-didja leave the school or somethin’?” Clover turns his head to the deer as he hesitantly asks, squinting his view on her as a subtle grin clearly tells that she is hiding something.
“Oh,” Dess simply winks as she returns her attention to the front entrance of the school, “You’ll see soon enough…”
“Well… that certainly isn’t ominous at all…” Clover glances back at August for a brief moment, who seems to be equally as confused, before turning back to face Dess as he asks, “Wh-what do ya mean by tha-”
“Boo.”
Before Clover can finish his thought, a crowd of passing students immediately arches around the lobby as his partner’s one word occupies his ears, causing him to frantically turn his head to the door and…
“...Whoa.”
Leaning against the front glass stands none other than Chara, dressed in an unfamiliar pair of scuffed leggings, a black skirt with a blood-like undertone, a fiery pair of fresh sunglasses, and a sleeveless jacket with a defiantly raised collar to contrast her crimson long-sleeved shirt.
Clover can only stare in complete and utter shock. His own outfit looks like a little kid’s Halloween costume compared to the unbelievable sight before him, her view clearly locked on her cowboy as she lowers her shades down to the tip of her nose before strutting directly to him.
“Dude…” August’s mouth hangs completely agape as he shakingly offers his bro a fistbump, “That’s punk rock! Mad respect, you two.”
However, before he can even accept the gesture, Clover suddenly passes out without warning, his mouth melting into a wide lovestruck grin as he tumbles to the floor in a complete trance.
“C-Clover!” Chara immediately loses her cool front as she kneels down to check on her partner, sighing as she helps him to his feet upon confirming he is okay.
Just as she sets his arm over her shoulder, however, Carol kicks the office door open, glaring directly at Chara in a blind rage as, without a single word spoken, she points Chara back to the front door…
After about five minutes or so of pulling her partner along the path home, Clover eventually comes to as plants his feet firm against the ground, greatly relieving Chara beyond belief as she drops to her knee and gasps for air after an agonizing minute of holding her breath in her attempt to keep the cowboy upright.
“Chara!” Clover immediately squats down next to her as she takes a moment to better steady her breath.
“Th-thanks…” Chara pants as she travels her view over to Clover, a faint smile barely forming in her expression before suddenly wincing in pain as she frantically presses her palm and knuckles against her forehead.
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Headache. Probably from Dess hitting me earlier…” Chara mumbles as she struggles to rise back from the ground, scratching her head in embarrassment as she notices the clear shock present on Clover’s face, “B-but that’s not really important.”
However, before she can even react, Clover, acting as if he had not just been out cold, scoops up his partner into his arms and resumes the trek, cradling her with all his might with a new sense of determination to hurry home.
“U-um,” Chara can’t help but blush as she gazes up at her cowboy in a trance, distracting her slightly from the oncoming pain as she giggles lightly and speaks up, “Y-you don’t have to freaking carry me, silly.”
However, Clover fails to respond, lifting his chin with content and a subtle smug hint of confidence as he continues in his pace, leaving Chara to simply accept the decision as she allows herself to relax more in his hold.
As the pair continue down the trail, only surrounded by a warm breeze and the ambience of nature, Chara eventually does speak up as the pain in her head momentarily mellows down, “U-um… I got suspended, so I can’t exactly come into school tomorrow…”
“Really?” Clover can only frown in guilt as he glances down at his partner, feeling only as if this whole day was a product of his own stupidity as he mutters, “I’m sorry…”
“...Me too,” Chara stares up at her partner with more remorse than she has ever felt in her life, reaching up with her left hand to graze his cheek as she directly whispers, “I love you, Clover…”
Clover cannot hide a hint of his blush as he returns her gaze, a warm, content smile forming along his face as he nods, “Love ya too, pardner…”
“Hmph,” As the score is finally settled, Chara switches back to her usual, witty tone as she smugly winks at the cowboy and boasts, “Who cares about a suspension anyway? At least we look cool.”
“Yeah…” Clover’s gaze only remains fixated on Chara as he casually winks in return, “The coolest.”
…
“Okay, eyes on the road, pal,” Chara eyebrows narrow slightly as she grows concerned as to why Clover has not yet stopped looking at her, “Jeez, take a picture at this point!”
“Sorry…” Clover whispers as his view only softens at the mesmerizing sight of her, “I just think it’s cool how ya went all out!”
“Hmph,” Chara scoffs at the remark as she crosses her arms and argues, “Well of course I di-”
“Ya even gave yourself a lil’ mole!”
“...E-excuse me?”
“Yeah,” The oblivious cowboy simply reiterates as he points with a toothy grin to the beauty mark above his slightly concerned partner’s cheek, “Right there!”
“I-I…” Chara’s mind completely blanks as she struggles to comprehend the current conversation, lifting her sunglasses off her face to get a better look at if the cowboy is truly being genuine as she reveals, “I… always had that!”
“R-really?”
“YES!” Feeling as if the headache is returning based on the absurdity of this whole situation alone, Chara roughly rubs her cheekbone where her mole is located in an effort to prove that it is in fact real, starting to scratch her voice from all the yelling she has done this week as she can barely finish, “It’s been there the whole time!”
“M-my bad,” Clover scratches his head in embarrassment for a moment, stunning Chara even further as he obliviously keeps her up with just one arm before returning his left forearm to support her legs, “Guess I never noticed it… today was your first time wearin’ sunglasses, after all.”
“Wh-what does that-”
“Never mind…”
“...Alright.” Chara attempts to just shrug it from her mind. After all, if he wants to suddenly brush it off, she might as well respect his wish…
…
However, after a whole deafening minute, Chara can’t stand to leave it a mystery, even if it is just a trivial matter, so, stubborn as ever, Chara harshly locks her gaze onto the cowboy, not allowing him for a second to avoid her stare as, with enough perseverance, he eventually emits a long sigh before reluctantly providing an answer… one rather embarrassing for him…
“...Guess I jus’ got so used to staring into your eyes…”