Chapter Text
Suburban life was not what you expected for yourself in your twenties.
It wasn't awful, per say, you just certainly didn’t fit the demographic of who usually made up the populus - nuclear families who found their rhythm and were content to settle into a simpler cycle of life.
When a fresh, young face - and human to boot, arrived in the quaint little town, you certainly turned some curious heads. It wasn’t your first choice, stuck between moving into residential silence or a buzzing cityscape. You were here because you liked your quiet. The research you did certainly did as well.
That peace and solitude that was desired however, had begun to overstay its welcome.
Cooped up in your study with papers strewn across the table, a typical Saturday afternoon consisted of organizing and deciphering old runes until your head finally reeled at the amount of information you tried to decode. The past few weeks have been like this, actually. The topic that interested you seemed more and more fantastical with each passing deep dive, and now you were wondering if pursuing this line of work would make you look insane.
With a groan, you peel yourself off the seat to stretch out your back. The sound of your crunching muscles gave indication that it was time for a break before you manage to spiral yourself into oblivion. You pause your work for the day to go out.
Your home was more on the outskirts of town, shrouded in forest with only a single cobbled path lining its way back to the main streets. It wasn’t too far of a walk, though it certainly added on to your unintentional isolation against the rest of the neighbours. If they wanted to converse with you specifically, they had to really go out of the way. Most didn’t. Toriel did, and it made you feel welcomed enough.
Speaking of her, returning some files that you helped sort back to Toriel was a part of your to-do list. After a quick stop for some groceries, you arrive at the Dreemurr household, only to be met with no response.
Damnit. You guess you’d just drop it off at the school instead.
You start walking again, ignoring the hapless stares some of the residents gave when you passed by. It hasn’t quite reached the one year mark of your moving in yet, so you didn’t expect your presence to be familiar. You just wished that some would stop looking at you with such peculiarity. Did you really not leave your house that much?
With a click you unlock the school’s entrance, the clomp of your shoes filling the empty hallways. You reach the classroom, and place the folder on the desk, scribbling a sign off on a post-it slapped on the top. Mission accomplished. Now it was time to go back.
Ugh… You don’t want to go back.
You reach for the door.
…
Why do you hear footsteps?
You peer out with caution. Who else would be in the building on the weekend? Pushing the door back some more, you manage to spot a familiar blend of green and yellow disappearing past the halls. Was that…Kris? And why was Susie trailing behind them?
Curiosity got the best of you, mostly since you recall Toriel describing her child as more of a lone wolf. Susie had a reputation of her own - one you didn’t take as truth, but out of concern of the possibilities, you had to make sure you weren’t about to be complicit in any trouble that might be brewing.
With gracious stealth, you tiptoe to the edge of the wall, leaning over to see that the two stopped by the supply closet, its doors wide open.
Words could not describe your shock when they both jumped into the closet, and somehow, fell beneath the floor.
What?
What the hell did you just watch?
Where was the floor?
Where were the kids?
It was one thing to watch two teens sneak into the school to fool around, - you probably would have cared less, but watching them disappear into a dark abyss? This town was weird, just not that weird. Now you felt like you had a responsibility to figure out what was going on.
Cautiously you approach the set of doors, darkness bleeding into its surroundings despite it being the middle of the day. You stick your head into the confines, feeling the chill air within. You stick your leg in, feeling the absence of the surface when your appendage sunk itself lower than the door frame. The confirmation that there wasn’t anything under catches you off guard, and you worry even more about the status of those two. What were you supposed to do in this situation?
Fate seemed to have already decided for you when you slipped, the grip of your hand losing the wall while you were still leaning forward. With your loss of support, the force of gravity pulls you in.
And then, you fall.