Faded Wings [Birdtale Sans x Reader]

Chapter 41- The Photo

"So yeah that's what happened," you recounted with a light shrug, finishing your muffin. John stood there staring at you silently listening. Nodding every now and again as a sign of acknowledgment. His index finger was pressed under his nose as the rested his hand under his chin. Focusing on every single word of your story about yesterday.

After you asked for the muffins, John completely freaked out and instantly went into 'dad mode'. He scolded you about everything and nothing--while still being as kind and soft as ever--and demanded to know what happened yesterday. Of course, you only agreed after getting a 1/2 dozen muffins for you and Skyla to share. Knowing that she must've been really hungry, due to the fact that she didn't really eat anything yesterday. Shit, you were really hungry too. You grabbed your second muffin as John slowly processed the story. Hmm, muffin you treat me so good, you thought, I love you with all my heart. Oh, you wish to marry, you thought playfully, well don't mind if I do. You took a bit, in order to seal your pretend marriage. Smiling softly to yourself, John's muffins are the best.

"Hmm," John hummed pulling you from your happy honeymoon, "But what happened to your wings?" Suddenly you felt your blood turn ice cold as you froze. Time seemed to freeze as you were thrown back into the basement. Watching as the Shadow towered over you with a broken bottle. His eyes filled with nothing but hatred and disgust, the same phrase escaping his cracked lips. 

It's all your fault. 

You felt your intense appetite instantly vanish. You gently put your muffin down, dropping your gaze to the brown marble countertops. Zapped of your small bit of happiness and joy just from the mere thought of him.

"It's nothing," you lied.

"It's nothing," John repeated with a raised brow. You could hear the shuffle of John's sneakers on the tile floor in front of you. Why was he wearing sneakers in the first place when the store is closed? "It doesn't seem like nothing [Y/N]," John objected louder, anger obviously in his voice. Lightly you flinched and shut your eyes tightly, memories of the Shadow's yells and words still fresh in your head. Fearing that you were going to get hit again...

However, it never came. 

Slowly you peeled your eyes open and slightly peeked up. Seeing John bit his lip softly as he eyed you wearily. Standing still with a hand out non-menacingly but, in hesitation. Damn it, you thought as you straightened up. Covering your face with your rough hand, he noticed that I flinched. "[Y/N] what happened to you," John coaxed softly, "I just want to help."  You 'tsk' loudly towards his mindless taunt.

Help?

When has help ever come to you? It wasn't there when your mother died. It wasn't there during the first night of beatings. It wasn't there whenever you were insulted by the townspeople. Nor was it there when your classmates bullied and judged you. Help was just another nice dream to have. It's as unreal as a pegasus flying down with a cat riding on its back.

"It's nothing," you repeated bitterly. You put your hand down and clenched it into a small fist. Still, studying the mix of the browns blend together on the counters. "Everything is going to go back to normal anyways," you added, "Everyone is going to forget about it when something else happens. Skyla is going live a normal happy life like every other kid. I'm going to stop flying and be forgotten." You looked up into his tired blue eyes with your icy and dead [e/c] ones. No emotion showed on your face as you asked, "So, why help?"

John froze under your stare, gawking at you with slightly wide-eyes. You've never acted this way towards him. First, the lying, second the flinching, and now you acted as if you had no meaning. In the cafe, you were always so bright and shining. Filling the store with laughter and connecting with the customers. Yet, right now you seemed so dull. Shaking his head with a small huff, John fished into his pocket and pulled out his phone. You watched as he began to work on it, typing and scrolling. 

You sighed loudly and peered over your shoulder. Skyla was sitting on the black couch, swinging her feet gently. She had a fluffy blue blanket over her shoulders, giving her some warmth and comfort. Quietly munching on a chocolate chip muffin as she watched Sofia the First on the television. Distracting her from your talk with John in the small kitchen. Man, I wish I could chill with you right now instead of doing this, you wished silently. You examined her content smile as she hummed along with the theme song. You smiled softly at the view when it was blocked by a bright light. Making you jump back a little and shield your eyes. 

"What the," you quizzed as you rubbed your eyes. 

"Look at it," John ordered. Groaning faintly, you reluctantly opened your eyes. Small rainbow circles floating in the corners of your vision. Grabbing the object from John's hands, it felt smooth and flat. After, a couple of seconds of blinking your sight was completely cleared. Allowing you to see that you were holding John's phone. 

It was opened up onto Instagram. A picture was pulled up on the screen surrounded by the white border. You stared in shock as you observed the picture. Instantly noticing that you were the main focus of it, however, you never saw this picture before. You sitting in the tree at the school, surrounded by the changing green leaves and lighting just perfect. You were leaning forward slightly as you held onto your stomach. Your eyes were squinted shut and you had a large open smile, laughing. 

"You think you're going to be forgotten," John mused, "When that is completely untrue." At the bottom of the picture, there were a couple of words in white. 'Please help us find our friend, [Y/N] [L/N],' it read. Underneath the photo was a large paragraph. 

@punator this is my friend [Y/N] [L/N]. she is a kind and loving person, who has helped me and my friends multiple times. even though we are the only monsters in her school. she stood up for my brother and my friend, Alphys when students bullied them. she became our friend and shared laughs, jokes, and puns with us. yesterday at the flying performance a feather high, she flew away with her sister. after, flying for the first time in years and revealing her scarred wings. we are looking everywhere for her, however, we can't find a single trace of her. we are extremely worried about her. please help us find her. if you see her please contact me or the police. let's give her, her wings back and help her.

Along with the paragraph was a hashtag, #FadedWings. You tapped on it, to see a large number of posts about you. Some of them are from your bosses and coworkers. While a few were from your customers and the people you helped. However, most of them were from your 'friends'. Photos of you guys hanging out, either at the tree or after gym class. As well as a couple of pictures from the time you guys went to Grillbys. Tears prick in the corners of your eyes, covering your mouth with your hand. People cared for you. People actually cared and worried about you. You felt a hand drop onto your shoulder. You turned your head to see John smiling softly at you.

"People care a lot about you, more than you think," John assured, "And we're going to help you through this."