the-rats-story - Tumblr blog

[the-rats-story]

Hey guys, I’m giving this a try!  Due to recent events, I’m going to have a lot more time and I plan on writing more.  I’m also planning on exploring other creative media over the next few months. So we’ll see what happens with that!

Also, this ko-fi account is IN NO WAY related to my fanficiton writing. I have no rights over my fanfiction, I do not own any of the material my fanfiction is based off of and I am in no way profiting off of it. 

I am mainly posting this account because of the fact that I have been laid off of work due to the corona virus. I’m not looking for any charity, but I just wanted to post this on the off chance that I could get some help. 

[the-rats-story]

Don’t Look Back

Chapter 7

Spider Dance

Chapter 7

“Ruby, this martini is to die for!” Emily exclaimed after taking the first sip of her drink. Frisk smiled at her best friend, who was currently sitting at Grillby’s bar. Emily had pounded on Frisk’s door earlier in the day, the biggest grin Frisk had ever seen on her face. She proceeded to tell Frisk that she had the day off and wanted to do “something fun”. It had near broken Frisk’s heart to tell Emily that she had picked up a shift that night. Emily, not one to let a little bump get in the way of her plans, had simply told Frisk that she would come with her to work!

Frisk had been a little nervous about how Grillby would react to her friend hanging out around the bar, but he didn’t mind so long as Frisk wasn’t too distracted from her job. Frisk promised that she wouldn’t be. Luckily, it was a slow night, so Frisk had plenty of time to talk to Emily while she worked.

“I’m glad you like it, but you should tell Grillby, he is the one that made it.” Frisk replied with a smile.

“Oops!” Emily swiveled her head to find the fire monster, “You are aboslute bees-knees, Mr. Grillby!” Frisk could almost swear she saw faint tints of pink flame where Grillby’s cheeks were. She couldn’t blame him, though. Emily was beautiful, inside and out.

“Just Grillby is fine.” The bartender replied, nodding his head in thanks.

“Oh, well then, Just Grillby, you are the absolute bees-knees!” Emily repeated, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Grillby’s flames hissed and popped as he let out a small laugh. Frisk raised a brow at him; normally Grillby wasn’t affected by patrons attempts at humor. Seeing the look, Grillby shrugged. Frisk tossed him an understanding smile and continued polishing the silverware in front of her.

“So, Ruby, I was thinking….”Emily began, Frisk looked over at the girl, confused. She sounded hesitant, and Emily was anything but. “I know that last time didn’t work out well, and you had a really bad experience, so I totally understand if you don’t want to, but I was thinking maybe, if you’re okay with it, we could try to go out together again? Only if you’re comfortable!” Emily rushed. She wasn’t looking at Frisk when she asked. She was staring intently at the martini before her, shoulders hunched.

It had been almost two weeks since the incident at Alibi. The day after Frisk had woken up from the drugging, Emily had burst into her apartment, food and tea at the ready as well as a thousand tearful apologies. Frisk had almost cried herself, overwhelmed by someone caring so much for her. The two girls had practically been attached at the hip since that night, only seperating when they had to work.

“I would love to try again, Em.” Frisk replied, putting a hand on Emily’s shoulder. She could feel Emily relax and shot her a gentle smile.

“Oh, Ruby! I’m so happy! I promise this time will be so, so much different! We’ll pregame at my apartment, no drinks at the bar! And we’ll go to a different club! I was getting bored of Alibi anyways! I’ve heard of this great new bar, it’s called Celestite! I heard it was named after the glowing crystals in the Underground that looked like stars or something! They always have great bands! And I heard that the gangs don’t usually hang out there, so we don’t have to worry about too much danger!” Emily explained, energy returning as she went on, “And we could go dress shopping and get you something more modern! Maybe in red! I feel like you would look amazing in red!”

“heh.” Frisk stiffened when she heard the all-too familiar chuckle. Emily whipped her head around and gave a little yelp when she found sans sitting right next to her. The stool had been empty a few seconds ago. Frisk had seen sans around since the incident, but they had avoided each other. Both feeling awkward.

“Something funny?” Frisk asked, ice lacing her voice. Emily looked wide-eyed at her. Emily knew exactly who the skeleton was. Frisk had filled her in after the incident and now Emily was caught between fear and anger towards the skeleton. He was one of the most notorious gangsters in the city, with a rumoured body-count to rival the actual Grim Reaper, but on the other hand, he had continuously insulted and creeped out her best friend. But then again, he did save Ruby. But he had stalked her to her house before that. Emily decided to treat him with neutrality.

“jus’ thinkin’, ruby dressed all in red. sorta fittin’ innit?” sans replied, looking at Frisk with a smirk. Frisk narrowed her eyes at sans, unsure if he was making fun of her or just trying to crack a joke to break the tension. Not sure what to say, she simply shrugged.

“still can’t take a joke, kid?” sans scoffed. Frisk rolled her eyes.

“For the last time, I’m not a kid. I’m 22.” She crossed her arms and gave the skeleton a glare.

“22? such an adult.” sans muttered, raising the bottle of ketchup to his mouth. Frisk quickly reached out and squeezed the bottle, causing the ketchup to burst out and splatter all over sans’ face.

The bar went silent.

Frisk stepped back, hands over her mouth, eyes wide. sans’ eyes were blank, his hand still holding the ketchup bottle. Ketchup slowly dripped off of his face. The skeleton’s permanent grin seemed even more intimidating and Emily slowly inched away.

“I-I am so sorry, sans, I don’t know what came over me.” Frisk snapped into action, grabbing the nearest clean rag she could find, she reached out towards his face to clean off the ketchup. I am so fired. I am so dead. I am so fired. I am so dead, her mind kept screaming. Her hand froze mere inches from sans’ face when she noticed the skull shaking.

“heh...heh heh. heh-hahahahaha!” sans burst out laughing, the suddenness causing Frisk to jump back again and clutch the rag to her chest. She looked over to Emily, What the fuck? Emily shrugged, I have no idea.

“Are you….are you okay, sans?”  Frisk asked, unsure of how to proceeed. She nearly screamed when a warm hand landed on her shoulder.

“He’s fine, Ruby,” Grillby said, looking down at the human.

“oh, man, you- haha!- you should have seen your face!” sans pointed at Frisk, other hand on his ribcage. He didn’t even seem to notice the ketchup sliding down his face. His eyelights had returned and he caught Frisk’s eye.

“it’s been a while since i’ve had a really good laugh, thanks, kid. yer face cured me of all my ales,” sans said with pointed look at the beer taps. Frisk felt her temper flare again, forgetting entirely the fear that had overcome her just moments ago.

“You’re one to talk, bonehead, you look like you’re doing a poor impersonation of a tomato. All round and red.” She snapped. sans’ laughter cut off and he shot her a glare.

“and who’s fault would that be?” He demanded.

“You started it.”

“did not.”

“Did so! You kept calling me a ‘kid’!”

“ain’t a good enough reason ta dump my drink all over me. i’m a payin’ customer.” sans retorted, reaching over and yanking the rag out of Frisks hands to mop off his face. Grillby cleared his throat.

“I wouldn’t call you a paying customer. You haven’t paid your tab in months.” He interrupted, leveling sans with a glare.

“er... i’m a customer that’s gonna be payin’.” sans amended.

“He does have a point, Ruby. This is not how we treat our customers, regardless of whether or not they’ve paid their obscenely large tabs.” Grillby scolded. Frisk blushed a furious red.

“I’m sorry Grillby.” She murmured. Emily reached over the bar and put a comforting hand on her arm. Frisk shot Emily a grateful smile.

“I’ll look over this one incident, Ruby. Only because there’s not many people here to have seen it and sans did start it.” Grillby shot the skeleton a glare when he tried to interrupt, “Just try to exercise more self control in the future.” With that last warning, Grillby walked to the other side of the bar to finish polishing the martini glasses. Frisk and sans glared at each other for a moment, then sans smirked at her.

“don’t worry, kid, i’ll get ya back fer this.” he said, casually taking a sip of the remainder of the ketchup. A chill went down Frisks back, but she didn’t let any fear show.

“Bring it on, bonehead.” She hissed back at him.

“yer gonna regr-”

“SANS!” Frisk, Emily, and sans all jumped at the loud voice. Marching towards the bar was a tall, blue fish monster with hair even more red than Emily’s. A black eyepatch covered her left eye and she wore a black pinstripe suit. The glare she had could melt steel.

“aw, shit.” sans muttered before chugging the rest of the ketchup. Frisk looked between the two monsters. Was this woman his girlfriend?

“Sans! Why the HELL weren’t you answering your phone? I’ve called you at least  ten times!” She yelled, not bothering to lower her voice as she got closer to the skeleton. sans gave his pockets a pat down before pulling out a cellphone. He grimaced when he saw the screen.

“jeeze, undyne, ‘at least ten times’ is a bit of an understatement. i haven’t even been here long enough for you to call 42 times. didja just let it ring once, hang up an’ try again?” sans asked, tired already from dealing with her.

“Shut up, punk! You need to answer on the first ring! What if it was an emergency?” The fish lady demanded.

“is it an emergency?” sans asked, sliding a hand down his skull.

“No! But it could have been! Your brother always answers on the first ring, you have no excuse!”

“i don’t recall it being in the job description to have ta answer it so quickly.” sans quipped. Undyne grit her teeth. She must be his superior in the gang, Frisk thought to herself. She felt pity for the fish woman. He must be a real pain in the ass to deal with.

“Could I get you a drink while you’re here, ma’am?” Frisk asked, worried that if sans worked the fish woman up any more, she would break something. Not that Frisk would have blamed her.

“Not now,” Undyne said with a quick glance. She went back to talk to sans and her good eye widened almost comically when she looked back at Frisk.

“A human!? Grillby!” Undyne called the bartender over and pointed at Frisk, “Did you know there was a human behind your bar?!” She yelled. Frisk heard the flame monster let out a quiet sigh.

“She’s my employee. Ruby, meet Undyne. Undyne, meet Ruby.” Grillby explained before going back to his polishing, clearly annoyed at the days events.

“Nice to meet you, Undyne.” Frisk said, holding her hand out. Undyne glared at the hand as if it had just insulted her mother. With much reluctance, she held out her own and shook Frisks.

“Hmph. I’ve got my eye on you, human.” She said when the handshake was over. She pointed a finger at her good eye, then back at Frisk.

“don’t worry, undyne, i already got two eye sockets on her.” sans supplied, earning a glare from the fish woman. She reached behind sans and grabbed the back of his shirt collar.

“Get your ass in gear, sans, we gotta go. We’re already late because of you.” She grumbled as she literally dragged one of the most dangerous gangsters in the city out of the bar.

“catch ya later, kid.” sans called with a mocking salute as he was hauled out of the door.

“Well….”Emily began, “you certainly work at an interesting bar.”

----

“Okay, how about this one?” Emily asked, a smile about ready to split her face in two. Frisk could tell that Emily was really in her element. The girl was a natural at shopping. The dress she was holding out was stunning. Bright red with black embroidery and sequins. Long, sheer sleeves covered with sequins in an art-deco pattern. The dress was longer than any of the other’s Emily had pointed out, and the fringe elongated it even more. And best of all? Emily had picked it up from the clearance rack.

“I knew you would like it! Nice and modest, just like you wanted, but still gorgeous. Personally, I don’t like the sleeves, but I know you prefer them. Honestly, the sleeves are probably the reason it’s on clearance, nobody wears dresses with sleeves anymore. But that’s perfect for us! You have to try it on! Oh! And try it on with these shoes!” Emily shoved a shoebox into Frisk’s arms with the dress, “C’mon! Hurry, I wanna see what you look like! I bet ya you’re gonna be the belle of the ball!” Emily exclaimed, pushing Frisk into a changing room. Frisk smiled as she began to strip out of her everyday clothes. She quickly put on the red dress before opening the shoe box. Inside were a pair of t-strap heels. Unlike Frisk’s t-strap flats, these were made out a shiny material and goodness the heels were high! Frisk took a deep breath and, full of determination, put the monstrosities on. She stood up and wobbled a bit on the carpet flooring, but was able to balance herself out. She opened the curtains and struck an awkward pose, much to the delight of Emily.

“Oh my gosh! Ruby! That dress looks amazing on you! Red really is your color! And those shoes! They have to add at least five inches! Your legs look like they could reach up to heaven! I’m going to have to beat men off of you with a stick! And probably women, too! Oh! Goodness! You have to get them! I’ll buy the shoes for you! No buts! Unless it’s yours shakin’ it in that dress! I owe you after last time, so at least let me get the shoes. Plus, they weren’t on sale, and I know you’re trying to save your money. Okay, go put your other clothes on! We still need to get you a purse! I think a cute little black clutch? With sequins? Yeah? Yeah. That sounds good. Tonight is going to be such a blast! I know exactly what I’ll do with your makeup.” Emily continued to ramble on as the two paid and left the store. They walked down the street, stopping only to buy a clutch that had stood out in a window. Frisk felt positively giddy. The sun was warming her skin and for the first time in years, the feeling didn’t spark fear. Something about Emily’s attitude was just contagious. Frisk had spent more time in the daylight in the past few weeks than she had since- since before. For a moment, Frisk felt the familiar cold fear race through her veins at the thought of her past. He could still be searching for her.

“Hey,” Frisk’s thoughts were interrupted by Emily’s voice and a gentle hand on her arm. Emily looked up at Frisk with worry, “Are you okay?”  

“Yeah, sorry, just tired.” Frisk gave a warm smile to her short friend. Emily held her gaze for a moment before grinning back.

“Well, we’ll have to get you some coffee, we’ve got a long night ahead of us!” Emily gasped and her eyes lit up, she practically hugged Frisk’s arm, “We should go to Muffetts! She sells coffee, too! Not just pastries! I’ve been meaning to take you! This is perfect! And maybe, if she’s free tonight, we could invite her! I’ve been getting pretty chummy with her lately! You’re going to love her,Ruby, and I’m sure she’ll love you, too!” Emily began tugging on Frisk’s arm, hurrying the pace up.

It was a surprisingly short walk to Muffett’s Bakery. Emily’s stream of chatter making it seem even shorter. Frisk couldn’t help but stare at the little bakery. The little shop was covered in shades of pink and purple with white and black accents. There was white lace made to look like spiderwebs decorating the displays. The pastries on display in the windows made Frisk want to drool. Emily saw the look on Frisk’s face.

“I told ya it was cute! C’mon! I wanna introduce ya to the main lady herself! Hopefully she’s in! The store is rarely open without her bein’ there, but ya never know!” Emily led the way in, cheerful bells rang as the door opened and closed. Frisk gasped, if the outside was cute, it paled in comparison to the interior. Lace and frills were everywhere, but somehow, didn’t overwhelm the aesthetic. Frisk felt almost as if she had stepped into a rich little girls dream dollhouse. And, stars, the smells! Frisk was sure that this was what heaven smelled like. Simple, clean, and sweet.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo! Hello, deary!” A voice called from behind the counter. Frisk tried not to stare, Emily’s description had been spot on. A purple spider monster with five eyes and six arms was manning the register, a fanged smile on her face. The monster wore a frilly dress that matched the scheme of the bakery and managed to look fantastic on her. Frisk noticed that little spiders were crawling around on the dress, making the patterns appear to move.

“Hello, Muffett! This is Ruby! My friend I told you about? I finally brought her!” Emily exclaimed, presenting Frisk with such an exaggerated pose that neither Frisk nor Muffett could help but laugh.

“Well, it’s certainly nice to meet you, Miss Ruby, Emily has told me all about you.” Muffett said, extending one dainty hand over the counter. Frisk extended her own hand and was surprised at how firm Muffett’s grip was.

“Likewise. I love your pastries, Emily has been feeding me them nonstop.” Frisk replied with a smile.

“I’m always glad to hear that, deary! I’ll be sure to tell the chef,” Muffett said with a wink of multiple eyes, “Now, what can I get you lovely ladies today? I just finished up some lovely spider doughnuts, they’re still a bit warm!”

“Always business first, right Muffett?” Emily asked playfully, “Well, in that case, we’ll take two doughnuts and two… black eyes!” “Staying up late tonight?” Muffett asked as she directed her little spiders around the shop to prepare the meal, using a couple of her own hands to ring up the total.

“Yes! We’re going to Celestite! Gonna dance till we fall down! Kick and twist and shimmy!” Emily exclaimed, handing over the money owed to one of Muffett’s outreaching hands. Frisk had learned not to try to argue when Emily wanted to pay for something, the girl could be as stubborn as a mule. Frisk had managed to pay once, only to find money from Emily stuffed under her door later.

“Why that sounds like a wonderful time! I’ve heard great things from some friends who love going~ I’m sure you’ll have fun ~ hoo hoo hoo!” Muffett said, leaning over the counter and handing the girls their orders.

“Well, Muffett, Ruby and I were wondering if you wanted to join us tonight! You work so much, you deserve a night of fun!” Emily offered. Muffett blinked slowly, surprised. Her smile grew.

“You know, I think I might just do that. I’m sure some of my friends will be there, and I could introduce you. It would be like a big party ~ hoo hoo hoo!” Muffett giggled. Frisk smiled at her. Two weeks ago, the thought of meeting strangers outside of work would have terrified Frisk, but Emily, unknowingly, was helping her get past her fears. It’s been seven years, she reminded herself, he must have given up by now.

“Wonderful! Ruby and I are going to drink at my apartment before we go out, so we can save money, do you want to join us or would you rather meet at the club?” Emily asked, bouncing with excitement.

“I would love to meet at your place! Hoo-hoo hoo! And I could bring some monster liquor, as a treat, free of charge~” Muffett replied, eyes gleaming. Emily exchanged addresses with the spider monster before the two girls bid her farewell. Muffett still had a few hours before she would close.

Frisk had a feeling she was in for a good time.

[the-rats-story]

He Said She Said - Ashley Tisdale

[the-rats-story]

Good stuff.

[the-rats-story]

Villain!Deku fanfic recommendations part 2!

These are my personal favs, I might miss a few but i’ll try my best! (there may or may not be repeats from my last rec list)

1. “Something’s Gotta Give” - TubbsTheCat: Shigarki and co get to Izuku before the heroes do. People die, it’s sad and emotional and really really good.

2. “Playing With a Full Deku” -  Haurvatat: Izuku is more of a sassy vigilante than a true villain. Funny and sad at the same time. There’s a side story with some Todoeku :)

3. “ All for One, All for Him” -  Auresalia: Total villain izuku. Heartbreaking at times and so so good. 24 chapters of angst and amazing writing

4. ”It’s Spelled ‘Trader’ Not 'Traitor'” -  JackobolTrades : okay so I love this fic but it’s not really villain izuku but oh well. Basically Izuku has AFO and uses it to help people with their quirks but it gets a little complicated. Slight tw

5. “One May Smile, and Smile, And Be A Villain” - AvaRose: Izuku isn’t accepted into UA and becomes a police officer instead but it doesn’t really work out as planned. 

6. “Sleeping With Ghosts” - Lalazee: Small but really awesome one shot. Villain Deku plus an angry Katsuki and at grocery store :)  

7. “Pulling the Wires” -  catsplosionxd, PsychoLimbo: :) I just HAD to include PTW. If you haven’t read it already do it now!!

8. “Decomposition” - thepensword: super angsty one shot. Poor Izuku :(

9. “At Times so Self Destructive” -  theshoutingslytherin: SUPER emotional. tw for suicide attempt. Villain Izuku defect AU

10. “Changeling” - littleberd: noumu Izuku. Very good but super angsty and a few tw just a heads up. 

OKAY i’m done for now! If you guys want another one soon just let me know!

[the-rats-story]

[the-rats-story]

Writing Prompt #654

“I don’t wanna.”

“Sir, you’ve been graced with gifts from the Heavens themselves, surely you don’t mean that!”

“No, I really, truly, with every fiber of my being don’t wanna.”

[the-rats-story]

“Hello, old friend.”

“Oh. Hello. Stranger. Stranger who is covered in blood. I’m assuming you know my twin.”

[the-rats-story]

B: I would like to date your sibling

A’s overprotective sister/brother: and I would like you to die, so

[the-rats-story]

Person A: Why Do I even like your dumb ass?

Person B: Huh?

Person A: *panics* I SAID YOU HAVE A NICE ASS

[the-rats-story]

Write two very different haikus that end in the same line.

[the-rats-story]

It has become a law to hibernate during the winter with the help of a machine, but there is a glitch, and you wake up halfway through winter and find the reason why the government made hibernation mandatory

[the-rats-story]

How To End Your Story

The Circle Ending- A story that does a full circle and comes back to the beginning

The Moral Ending- An ending where you learn a lesson and see the character develop

The Surprise Ending- A big plot twist last minute

The Reflection Ending- The Character looks back on their past achievements and experiences

The Emotional Ending- Leave your readers feeling sad, bittersweet, or happy

The Cliff Hanger Ending- End on something that will leave your readers at the edge of their seat

The Humor Ending- Finish in a funny or humorous way

The Question Ending- Make the reader wonder what will happen next

The Image Ending- Show, don’t tell

The Dialogue Ending- Finish with a quote from one of your characters

[the-rats-story]

Day 2 ⛷

Fair warning to anybody who will attempt to buy me a present - I hate everything.

Nobody should be couch surfing on Christmas.

This would be easier if you didn’t tear down my decorations!

I’ll never disappear.

Did you really think that they wouldn’t take the opportunity?

I don’t think that’s how you really pay respects to anyone you love…

Where’s the hot head?

You should thank me for getting your brother out of trouble.

At least brush those lucious locks!

“I mean honestly how much worse can I make it?” “I refuse to answer that.”

[the-rats-story]

“Thou art a most foolish cur.”

“Yeah? Well you’re a cunt!”

[the-rats-story]

Spooktober: Day 1: Trick

A Labyrinth Story: Trick

“Hurry up, Sarah! We’re gonna miss out on the best candy!” Toby whined as he tugged on his sisters hand. Sarah smiled down at her enthusiastic brother.

“Calm down, kiddo, we still have over an hour.” She chided.

“That’s not the point! If we don’t hurry all the other kids will get the good candy and we’ll be stuck with the gross ones! And no one at school will want to trade with me!” Toby pulled even harder on Sarah’s hand, leaning forward to try and gain some momentum.

“Alright, alright! God forbid you don’t get to trade your candy tomorrow! It would ruin you in the eyes of your friends!” Sarah put a hand to her head in a mock faint. Toby rolled his eyes, but refused to reply. He was used to his sister’s dramatic antics by now. He was seven, after all. Practically an adult. Sarah let out a laugh and picked up her pace.

She supposed Toby had a point, there were a lot of kids out Trick-or-Treating this year. She suspected that a good amount of them were from other neighborhoods and their parents had brought them to this one because it had good lighting and wide sidewalks. It was a “safe” neighborhood. She thought that some of the neighbors might have suspected this would happen, as a few of them went all out with their decorations. Flashing lights, spooky lawn ornaments, and recorded screams combined with the high volume of children in costumes created a rather disorienting feeling. Sarah made sure to keep a tight hold on her little brother.

The two siblings marched up to the next house on the street and Toby knocked with determination.

“Trick or treat!” Sarah and Toby shouted in unison. The woman at the door pressed a hand to her chest in mock fear.

“Goodness! If it isn’t the Addams siblings! Wednesday and Pugsley!” She exclaimed. Toby let out an excited gasp.

“You’re the first grown up to get it!” He shouted, beaming.

“I am? Goodness! Well, I say you deserve extra candy as an apology for all the other ‘grown ups’ you’ve visited tonight! Your costumes are spot on!” The woman said, shooting Sarah a wink. Toby held out his bag, grinning a Cheshire cat’s grin. The woman dropped a few pieces in his bag before turning to Sarah, who sheepishly held out her own bag. The woman chucked as she gave Sarah just as much candy. Sarah knew that at 21 she was far too old to go trick or treating, but she couldn’t say no when Toby asked her to take him. And she figured if she was going to put all of the work into dressing up and going door to door with Toby, she might as well reap some reward.

“Well you two have a happy Halloween, and be safe tonight!” The woman said with a pointed look at Sarah. You keep an eye on him, it said. Sarah nodded back, I will. Sarah took Toby’s hand again as they walked back to the street. The woman had nothing to worry about. Sarah was, to put it mildly, protective of her little brother. She loved him more than anything in the world. He was a part of her soul. Even now, when she had her own apartment and a full-time job, she made sure to spend as much time as she could with Toby. The days she couldn’t visit him, she would make sure to call him and talk to him. Even if all Toby wanted to talk about was what happened on the most recent episode of his favorite cartoon, Sarah made sure she made the time for him.

“Woah! She gave me full-sized candy bars!” Toby exclaimed, his head practically completely shoved into his bag. Sarah gave a low whistle. Full sized candy bars were no joke. She was about to check her own haul when someone bumped into her shoulder.

“Hey, watch-” Sarah bit off her sentence when she looked around to see who the offender was. She barely caught a glimpse of wild blonde hair and a black cloak before the figure disappeared behind a group of rowdy trick-or-treaters. Something about that figure gave Sarah the oddest sense of deja-vu.

“Sarah?” Toby tugged at her shirt, “Sarah, what’s wrong?”

“I thought I saw something….” Sarah murmured. Taking a step in the direction the figure had retreated.

“What did you see?”

“I’m not sure… he went this way.” Sarah tugged Toby along with her, trying to find the figure again. She ignored Toby’s protests and marched back the way they came. Something told her that she knew who the figure was, but she couldn’t remember. There! This time Sarah was able to see a bit of a white, flowy shirt under the cloak and leather boots. The pushed past masked trick-or-treaters and annoyed parents, dragging Toby behind her.

Alarms rang in her head. Some long forgotten memory itched to resurface, but no matter how hard Sarah dug, she couldn’t uncover it. She felt like she had done this before, searched this man out in a mass of costumed people. Only catching glimpses before he disappeared again. She barely registered Toby’s worried questions as they began to walk further and further away from the houses with the candy and closer to the deserted park. Less people surrounded them, but the stranger was now hidden by trees and bushes.

Strangely, Sarah could hear laughter around her, accompanied by rustling leaves and quick moving shadows. The smell of peaches wafted on the breeze. Sarah felt some old memory beating on a wall in her mind, begging to be released.

“SARAH!” The shout, emphasized with a small fist hitting her back, broke Sarah out of her trance. She gasped as she looked around, realising just how far they had gone. Toby was crying, clawing at the hand she was holding him in a death grip in.

“Oh, Tobes, I’m sorry!” She knelt down and brought him against her in a crushing hug.

“Yo-you weren’t answering me! And you k-kept walk-walking! And you wouldn’t let-let go!” He wailed into her chest, he leaned back to look at her, “Why?”

“I’m sorry! I was following that man, I don’t know what came over me! I didn’t mean to scare you Toby! I should have known better than to follow a stranger.” She explained, tears pooling in her eyes as she thought of the danger she had led her precious brother into. Toby looked at her in confusion, tears still streaming down his face.

“What man? Sarah, there wasn’t anybody else here! You just walked and walked and walked and didn’t listen to me!” He sobbed. Sarah’s blood turned to ice. She looked around to see if the blonde stranger was there, but there was no hint of him. No rustling bushes, no leather boots, no peach scent. Had she imagined it all? She stood up and scooped her crying brother into her arms.

“Let’s go back to the houses, okay? We’ll get all the candy we can carry! And you can have all of mine as an apology, okay?” She murmured as she walked as fast as she could out of the park. Toby rested his head on her shoulders and nodded.

“I’m so sorry, Toby.” Sarah sighed. Perhaps she hadn’t seen anything at all. Perhaps it had all simply been a trick of the light.

---

My first time trying any sort of writting challenge! I only had about an hour to throw this together, so sorry for any mistakes/shitty writting!

[the-rats-story]

Don’t Look Back: Chapter 6

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13887174/chapters/35384934

Or read below.

Chapter 6: Haunted Rhymes with Hunted

Frisk woke with the absolute worst headache she had ever had. The pounding in her head seemed to be audible. She burrowed deeper into her blanket, hoping to smother out the headache.  Why did her head hurt so much? She groaned and curled up tighter. Confusion overtook her when she realized that she had shoes on. What? How tired was I last night? Wait, what did I do last night? It took Frisk a moment to remember going out with Emily the night before, but she could not, for the life of her, remember how she got home. Did I really drink that much? There was no other way to put it, Frisk felt like absolute shit. The last thing she really remembered was going to get water with Emily and the rest of the group. However it happened, Frisk was just happy to have gotten home safe.

She slowly opened her eyes, squinting in confusion at the faint light filtering through her blanket. Did she take down her curtain last night? Frisk shot up and threw her blanket off, jumping off of her bed despite the agony it caused her head. She didn’t realize until she actually reached the window that the curtain was still up and it was dark outside. Her sigh of relief quickly turned into a pained groan. Frisk clutched her head. Keeping her eyes closed against the harsh light, Frisk stumbled back towards her bed, blindly fumbling for the lamp on the floor by her bed. Once she flicked it off, Frisk gently opened her eyes and kicked off her shoes. She was about to crawl back into bed when a shiver went down her spine.

She froze. Behind her, she could hear a gentle tap, tap, tap. She slowly looked behind her, but saw nothing in the pitch black apartment. She could have sworn she felt someone watching her. She broke out into a cold sweat and her heart started thumping frantically. The tapping sounded like it was coming from her coffee table. Whatever or who ever was making the noise was close to the door. Her window didn’t have a fire escape, she had specifically made sure of that before she moved in. Now she wished she hadn’t. She had one large knife, but it was in the kitchen area near the door, too. No good. She couldn’t remember where she had put her purse when she got home, which still had her pocket knife in it. Barely daring to breathe, Frisk slowly, quietly tried to feel around the floor near her bed, praying to every god she had ever heard of that her purse was there. Her heart dropped into her stomach when she found nothing. The tapping seemed to get louder. The sound was horrifyingly familiar and if it weren’t for the headache Frisk had woken up with, she would have thought this was another nightmare. The window. If I can make it out the window, I can figure it out from there. She thought, knowing that “figure it out” really meant “fall to my death”. But it might be better than the alternative. She might survive the fall, or maybe she’d be able to grab onto the ledge of the window below hers. Maybe.

Frisk began to creep back towards the window, her headache forgotten in the adrenaline rush. She knew once she reached the window, she would have to move quickly. Whoever he had sent after her would see her as soon as she opened the window. Frisk kept low to the ground and tried to slow her heart, sure that whoever was in the apartment with her could hear it.

It’s not him, he wouldn’t be here. It’s night. He can’t be here. It’s not him. It’s not him. She silently chanted to herself as the tapping continued. She stopped breathing and concentrated on listening for any movement from whoever was doing it. Her foot hit the back wall by the window and she froze. The tapping stopped. Frisk waited, but she didn’t hear any other movement from the mystery person. One...two...three...NOW!

Frisk spun around, flinging the curtain back and grasping for the lock on her window. She slammed the window open the second she unlocked it. She was halfway out when a painful grasp on her arm yanked her back inside. Frisk clawed at the hand on her arm uselessly. She tried to kick at her assailant, but they moved too quickly for her to land a blow. Desperate, Frisk leaped forward and tried to bite the arm holding her.

“what the shit?!” Yelled a familiar voice, letting Frisk go, “did you just try to bite me?”

“ sans? ” Frisk asked, shocked. Frisk ran over and turned on her light, conveniently putting some distance between her and the skeleton. Said skeleton gave her a death glare. Frisk returned it.

“good detective skills, sweetheart . yeah, it’s me.” sans retorted. Frisk looked around her apartment for her purse, spotting it by the door. sans caught her looking in that direction and moved to block her escape.

“What are you doing in my apartment? ” Frisk demanded. She straightened her back and put her hands on her hips, trying to look intimidating. Trying not to show just how much her mind was reeling. She quickly looked behind her to make sure that she hadn’t ripped the curtain off when she had tried to escape.

“i would advise against that route, it would only end in pane .” sans pulled out a cigar and lit it before taking a long drag. Frisk shot him a dirty look, she hated the smell of cigars. She walked slowly to the window, closed it, and snapped the lock in place. Once she was done, she turned and faced sans, glaring. The skeleton rolled his eye-lights and exhaled. A puff of smoke escaped between his teeth.

“look, i ain’t here to hurt ya, kid.” sans explained. Frisk raised a single eyebrow and waited. sans let out an irritated huff before continuing, “what do ya remember from last night?”

Frisk’s other eyebrow rose at the question. She didn’t see where this was going and her headache was starting to make itself known again.

“Last thing I remember is Emily leading me to the bar to get some water.”

“sounds ‘bout right. that’s about when some creep tried to spirit you off somewhere.” Frisk’s eyes widened. This was news to her.

“Explain.”

“do ya remember goin’ to the bar to get water by yourself? an’ do ya remember the slimo guy who talked to ya at the bar?” sans continued as Frisk nodded in affirmation, “well i’m pretty sure he slipped somethin’ into yer water while he was trying to shmooze ya. ‘bout twenty minutes later, you were stumblin’ all over the place. next thing i know, he’s carryin’ your unconscious body out the back door. i know grillbz is fond of ya, so i intervened. told the bartender at the club t’tell yer friends i had ya. yer neighbor stopped by around noon.” Frisk grasped onto that last sentence like a drowning man to a straw. She looked over to her clock on the wall it read 11:30.

“Are you telling me….that I slept almost a full 24 hours?” She asked, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. sans took another long drag on his cigar before replying.

“yup.” Was all he offered. Frisk held her head between her hands. I was almost taken. I was almost taken. sans saved me. I was almost taken. Frisk concentrated on breathing. One deep breath in, one out. Repeat.

“anyways, only reason i’m still here is cuz grillbz asked me to make sure you woke up. i phoned him when when i got you here. he promised to give me a few rounds on th’ house for stayin’ with ya, and me bein’ the generous, carin’ guy i am, how could i refuse?” sans chuckled.

“Wait.” Frisk said, holding up a hand. She raised her head to look at the skeleton, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “If you didn’t call Grillby until after you brought me here and you didn’t talk to my friends, how did you know where I lived?” Frisk rose back into a standing position.  When sans didn’t answer, she took a step toward him, angry red splotches rising on her cheeks.

“listen, dollface, in my line of work ya-” Before he could finish his sentence, Frisk broke into a sprint for the front door, surprising the skeleton mobster. Before he could turn towards her, she had fished her knife out of her purse and stood with it facing him. She reached behind her and made sure the door was unlocked, but didn’t run yet.

“Drop the bullshit and tell me. How. Did. You. Know. Where. I. Lived.” Frisk demanded. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. If sans was able to find her home so quickly, would others be able to as well?

“you threatenin’ me, dollface?” sans asked so quietly Frisk almost didn’t hear him. A shiver of fear crept down her back. sans’ eye sockets were pitch black, his smile sharp and dangerous. Frisk suddenly remembered his gang name. The Reaper. You don’t get that kind of nickname for planting daisies in the park. This monster was dangerous.

“A mobster with a big reputation I just met the other day is in my house. When he shouldn’t know where I live. And I’m alone with him. Can’t blame me for wanting some protection.” Frisk replied, hiding her fear. “Now tell me, how did you find my home?”

“put the knife down, ruby .” sans took a menacing step towards her. He put out his cigar on her table. Frisk raised the knife higher.

“Not until you tell me how you found my home.” She replied.

“heh. so i save yer sorry ass from what was bound to be a bad time, and this is the thanks i get? a knife in my face and you demandin’ answers from me? you got balls. i admire that. really, i do. but i think it’s time to stop playing.” sans raised his left hand and his left eye flashed with blue light and blue smoke trailed out of the socket. Frisk gasped as the knife in her hand was surrounded by a blue light and increased in weight. The knife was ripped from her grasp and slammed into the floor with an unrealistic amount of force. Without hesitating, Frisk turned to open the door and make a break for it, but before she could make even one step, the blue light surrounded her feet and they were held in place.

“i think it’s time for you to take a seat, kiddo.” sans said. He pointed at her, then pointed at her bed. Frisk suppressed a scream as she flew across the room to land roughly on her bed. sans smirked down at her and leaned against the back of her chair. Frisk made to get up again, but sans just used his magic against her and forced her back down. She stiffened and glared, causing sans to mutter, “yeah, yeah, you’re very intimidatin’. now, i got some questions fer ya, now that we have some one on one time. first of all, what’s yer real name?”

“Ruby.”

“try again, dollface. i can smell a fake name when i see one. ‘s part of my job description. you react a little too slow to people callin’ you ruby.” sans explained while examining his philanges, but Frisk could see him peeking at her through the corner of his eyes.

“I have a hard time hearing people at the bar.” Frisk replied without missing a beat.

“nah, that’s not it. see, sweetheart, i think yer name is frisk.” sans replied, still not looking directly at her. Frisk could feel all the color drain from her face.

“What?” Her voice came out cracked, quiet.

“yer, name, dollface, it’s fri-” before sans could finish the name, Frisk had shot up and dashed over to him, intent on attacking him, silencing him. Making sure that he never told another living soul that name. She moved so quickly that she almost grabbed sans’s shirt before he could react and throw her back onto the bed with his magic. sans grinned sharpley at her and scolded, “yer gonna hafta try harder than that to get me. i do shit like this fer a livin’. so, frisk, mind tellin’ me why yer goin’ by ‘ruby’?”

sans sighed when frisk didn’t reply.

“look, you seem like a nice girl, grillbz likes ya, and he hardly likes anyone. so that says a lot of ya, but in my line o’work, ya can’t be too careful, ya dig? just answer my questions, and we can forget this ever happened. what do ya say?” sans offered, his eyelights returning to normal. Frisk thought furiously. What was the best route to go? If she tried to make a break for it, he would just use his magic against her again, and she really didn’t want to piss him off. She felt that that would end poorly for her. But she couldn’t tell him the truth. She couldn’t anyone the truth. But she could tell part of the truth. Surely that would be safe, right?

“Fine.” She bit out as she moved to sit at the edge of the bed and straightened her back. This would require very quick thinking. sans let out a relieved sigh.

“ finally. yer costin’ me a lot of time. time i could be usin’ to sleep or drink….or sleep! I’m bone tired cuz a’ you.” sans sat down on the floor, resting his back against Frisk’s chair as if to emphasize just how exhausted he was, “now then, back to question numba one, why the fake name?”

“Someone is trying to find me. I don’t want to be found.” Frisk answered as she stared him right in the eye.

“ no shit, why else would anyone take a fake name? let me be a bit more specific: who’s tryin’ to find ya?” sans asked, glaring.

“A man. A-a bad man. Who hurt me. A lot.” Frisk admitted. It was the first time she had ever told anyone that much, so the discomfort she showed was genuine. sans cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.

“i see.” he said, scratching the back of his skull. “sorry to hear that, that’s rough. i’ve known a few people who have been in that kinda relationship, it’s hard to get out of.” sans admitted. Frisk felt guilty, but did not correct him; she simply shrugged.

“so, anyways, next question, what’s yer last name, frisk?” sans asked, breaking the awkward silence. Frisk looked back up at him.

“I don’t know my real last name, I really am an orphan, but I was given the name Terain a few years ago.”  Frisk said quietly. Thankfully she had no documents or paper trail with that name, and only one person knew it, so he wouldn’t be able to trace much from her. Hopefully.

sans hummed in thought.

“I think it’s my turn to ask a question.” Frisk said, steering the conversation away from the details of her life, “Like, how did you know where I live?”

“oh, that’s easy. i followed you home one night.” sans replied offhandedly.

“Excuse me?” Frisk stared, eyes wide.

“what? how else do you think i did it? you didn’t even tell grillbz your address. an’ it wasn’t that hard.” sans waved his hand in dismissal. Frisk felt icy cold. Wasn’t that hard? To follow me home? But I take the back ways and dark alleys! And I make sure no ones ever behind me!

“When did you do it?” Frisk demanded. Voice cold and sharp. sans looked at her, sensing that maybe he shouldn’t have admitted that.

“the night i stopped you behind grillbz. followed you from there. right to yer door.” sans explained, his voice casual. As if stalking random girls was an every day activity for him. “just hadta duck outta sight whenever you stopped to look around.”

“Why?”

“so you wouldn’t see me, why el-”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking.” Frisk interrupted. sans groaned in annoyance.

“cuz i don’t trust ya, genius. yer new, went by a fake name, wouldn’t even tell yer boss yer address, you didn’t talk much about yerself - why would i trust ya near my buddy? a lot of my... friends … frequent grillby’s. i hadta make sure you didn’t have any ulterior motives fer workin’ at that specific bar. my friends and i got a lotta people who would love some information on us. can’t be too careful. plus, i just plain don’t like ya.” sans finished with a shake of his head.  Frisk ignored the insult and silently admitted he had a point. It was still wrong of him to follow her like that, but she understood that level of paranoia.

“Fine. How did you know my name?” Frisk asked. She could count on one hand the amount of people who knew her real name. There was no way sans could have found it. No possible way… unless-

“you told me last night while i was puttin’ you in yer bed. woke up enough to get all pissy at me fer callin’ you ‘the wrong name’. heh. guess you gettin’ drugged helped me out in the end.” sans chuckled. Frisk groaned and smacked her forehead. Of course that’s what happened. Years of playing it safe, lying, taking shady jobs just so her bosses wouldn’t ask questions and she spills the beans because she was drugged and pissed that someone called her ‘the wrong name’.  

“Darn it.” She groaned as she lowered her head in disappointment.

“look, i get that you’re upset, but let’s watch the fucking language.” sans mockingly admonished. Frisk glared at him. He would find this entertaining. Dick, she thought silently at him.

“Very funny,” was all she said, though.

“i know, i’m a real comedian,” sans replied, “but anyways, all this seems like an awful lot of effort just to get away from an abusive ex. i couldn’t find anythin’ on ya, and i’m good at findin’ shit out about people. so forgive me for sayin’, but i still don’t trust you. ya still reek of spy” Frisk sighed. She had hoped that he was done questioning her. A humiliated blush crept onto her cheeks. She pulled off the gloves that Emily had lent her last night. sans shot her a confused look.

“Don’t breathe a word of this. To anyone. Promise?” Frisk asked, clutching her left sleeve in her right hand.

“i don’t make promises, kid.” sans replied, staring at her hand, curious.

“I’m not a kid. And fine, I won’t ask you to promise, but please know that I don’t want anyone to know about this. Not even Grillby. This isn’t your secret to share, sans.” Frisk waited until sans nodded in acknowledgement. Then a moment more. She took a deep breath and pulled up her sleeve until it almost reached her shoulder. She heard sans’s sharp inhale and winced. She knew what he saw. Starting about halfway up her upper arm, a mass of scar tissue crisscrossed. It had been years since a new one was added, but some of them were still red and raised, having been cut open again and again.  Looking away, she slowly lowered her sleeve.

“Believe me, now?” Frisk asked, still not looking at him.

“ye-yeah. i believe you.” sans replied, his voice cracking a little, “but seriously, what the fuck?”

“Yeah, well, like I said; he was a bad man and he hurt me. A lot,” Frisk swallowed, “Please don’t tell anyone. It’s not something I like to advertise.” She asked of him, finally facing the skeleton. sans nodded.

“okay,” was all he said before standing up and walking toward the door, “well, this has certainly been… er… enlightening, but think it’s time for me to go. later.” sans made a quick escape through the door, closing it with more force than necessary behind him. Frisk glared at the door. Once she was sure he wasn’t going to bust back in, she let out a sigh of relief. Her breath started to hitch and she could feel the swell of tears building up. With no one to see, she let them fall.