Charming.

3. Coping

I'm wiped out... You thought, collapsing into a chair near the entrance of the small family diner. 

"Y/n, get off your ass and finish cleaning the tables before you take your break!" your boss scolded you. As much as you loved the old man, he could be a real jackass sometimes. 

"Fine, Dad," you said, getting yourself back to your feet and cleaning the table you'd been seated at. As you continued cleaning, your joints ached and begged for you to rest. Just a couple more tables... You told them. Then I'll rest... You wiped your forehead after you finished, taking off your apron and placing it behind the counter. "I'm taking my lunch break!" you called, and you could hear your father grunt in response from the back. "I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, kiddo. Try to get back soon, yeah?" he said, looking out to you. Studying his expression you could see a trace of regret on his tired features. You smiled, silently forgiving him. 

"Sounds good." With that, you headed out of the cafe, letting the sound of the rainy weather soothe you as you walked. You held your umbrella a little lower, just to listen more closely to the pitter-patter of the rain. This was a bad idea. Not even 5 minutes later, you bumped right into someone, knocking you to the ground. Great, now my clothes are wet... You looked up at the person who'd knocked you over, only to immediately swallow back any profanities you may have shared with him. Before you stood a tall skeleton, clad in an orange hoodie. His hood was up, but he had clearly been out long enough for that to be irrelevant. The whole top half of the jacket was wet. His expression was as dazed as yours.

"are you ok?" The skeleton asked, holding out a hand towards you. You nodded slowly, taking his hand and allowing him to help you up. "i'm sorry, i wasn't paying attention to where i was going," he said, a sheepish smile taking over his features.

"It's okay," you reassured him. "Uh... here..." You held out your umbrella to him. "I'm not going far, so take this. If you keep letting yourself get drenched, you could get sick,"  you said, earning a hearty laugh from the skeleton. 

"thanks, human." He took the umbrella, his hand brushing against yours gently. His hand wasn't as rough as you'd expected bone to be, but looking at his hand you could see how worn they were. Scratched up and even chipped in some places. You wondered what he'd faced, with hands like his. 

"Y/n."

"huh?"

"My name is Y/n," you said. The tall skeleton was about to reply, when a child came running up to him. They were carrying a small yellow umbrella, the color matching the single stripe across the sweater they wore. 

"ah, you found him, huh?" The strange monster asked the child, kneeling down to the kid's height. The child nodded with a small smile pointing towards wherever this "him" was. "well, it's been nice meeting you, y/n, but i've gotta split." The skeleton stood back up, offering to shake your hand. As you took it, a slow fart sound was released. You couldn't quite decide if you were irritated or amused. 

"Is there a whoopie cushion in your hand?" You asked.

"heh, yeah. it's a papyrus classic," he said, winking at you as he shoved his hand back into his pocket. So that was his name, then. Papyrus. "well, i'll see you around." The pair started walking away. As you watched the pair walk away, the child turned to look back at you. You made eye contact with red eyes for a split second, and then you noticed something.

A second child was with them, but it was hard to tell if they were really there. In the blink of an eye, they were gone. 

You bolted upright in your bed. What a weird dream... You thought, grabbing your phone from its charger and checking the time.