(Art by @sunglassesdoggodoesart, check her out, she's amazing)
Kris walked down the hallway in the university, his backpack still wrapped around his torso. "Is this seriously what university feels like? Everything feels so...Hollow. Maybe that's just me. I think my room's over...Here." Kris thought to himself as he found the door to his dorm. The boy reached into his pockets, and instead of hearing the sound of jangling keys, he heard, well, nothing. "Oh you gotta be kidding me, already? Dreemurr, what the hell is wrong with you?" He muttered to himself, banging his head on the doorframe.
However, hope didn't seem to be lost just yet, seeing as how the door opened soon after he banged his head on the frame. Behind the door stood a lean-looking woman with short red hair, black boots, ripped jeans, a green shirt with an alien on it, and a black jacket with red patches on it. Kris quickly regained his composure, taking his head off of the doorframe and looking at the woman.
"...Uh--" Kris was cut off by the woman's own words. "Do I know you?" She asked, and Kris scratched the back of his head. "Uhh...No. But this is supposed to be the dorm room I'm staying at. Room, uhh…" He paused, reaching into one of his backpack's pockets and grabbing a folded piece of paper. Once it was out, he unfolded it, reading through it quickly. The woman at the door rolled her eyes. "Fifteen?" He said, looking back up at the woman, who nodded in response. "Guess we got a new roommate." She said, before walking in and gesturing for Kris to follow her. "...'We?'"
Kris followed the woman into the dorm, and looked around. The place looked rather home-y, surprisingly. There wasn't that much space but it was definitely more than he expected. There was one other room to the side, and in the room they were in currently, there was a bunk bed right next to the door, a couch right next to said bunk bed, and a desk with one or two small shelves right next to that. On the other side of the room was pretty much nothing but a desk with a microwave on it, and under it were three bookbags.
Sitting on the couch was a girl with long hair, a blue shirt that showed off her shoulders along with some pink and purple stripes and shapes, a black skirt, and pink sneakers. She was currently reading a book, though she perked up once the woman walked in with Kris. "Hey, Chara! Is that our new roommate?" The girl asked the woman, whose name turned out to be "Chara", and she nodded. "Sweet! Hey, Papyrus, we got a new roommate!" The girl replied, calling out to the skeleton in glasses, an orange turtleneck, and a red scarf sitting on the desk. His name was apparently "Papyrus."
Papyrus turned around, seeing Kris and Chara at the door. "OH! HELLO THERE! WAIT A SECOND…" He greeted, before putting one hand on his chin, examining Kris. The skeleton got up, and walked over. "...OH, I REMEMBER YOU! KRIS DREEMURR FROM HOMETOWN, RIGHT?" Papyrus asked, and Kris froze up for a second. This was Sans's little brother, wasn't it?
"Uh, yeah. How do you know me though?"
"OH PLEASE, YOU WERE THE ONLY HUMAN IN TOWN, OF COURSE PEOPLE KNEW YOU, EVEN IF THEY HAVE NOT MET YOU! AND BESIDES, SANS SAID YOU'D SHOW UP TO HANG OUT WITH ME ONCE, AND YOU DID, BUT YOU, ERM...NEVER SHOWED UP AGAIN."
Kris sighed and scratched the back of his head. He really didn't show up again, did he? Figures. Guess there's consequences to this whole "Delta Warrior" thing that he hasn't even went through yet. "Sorry, Papyrus." The boy apologized, and Papyrus shrugged, smiling. "NO WORRIES, WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE, I SAY!" He replied, and then the girl in blue walked over. "Hiya. Kris, right? My name's Frisk, and it is a great pleasure to meet you." She greeted, taking a dramatic bow, which sort of caught Kris off guard. Chara then whispered in his ear, "Frisk's messing with you. She's all into theatrics and stuff." And Kris nodded as Frisk got back up, holding out her hand for a handshake. He shook her hand, and the three stepped away from him.
"Alright, so, make yourself at home I guess. We got like, two more beds in the room over there, so you can sleep on the one in the right. Not the left because that one's mine." Chara stated, and Kris nodded. The boy just took a moment to think, looking around at the whole room, the people in it...This isn't exactly what he wanted. "Um, Kris, are you okay? You're kind of quiet." Frisk asked, her face shifting into an expression of concern. Kris nodded in response, almost dismissively. "Yeah, I just, uh...Need some space, right now. We'll talk some other time, okay? I'll be in the other room if you need me." He said, before dropping off his bookbag next to the other three and heading into the other bedroom, closing the door behind him.
"You're kidding me. We welcome him with open arms and then he just leaves without even trying to get to know us?" Chara folded her arms, scoffing. Frisk, however, went to Kris's defense. "Well, Chara, if I've learned anything from the time I've known you, is that there's most likely a reason as to why someone isn't really open to friends. And since he came from Hometown, well…" She said, rubbing her left arm with her right hand. Chara's eyes widened for a moment, before softening. She didn't really look mad anymore, just remorseful. "...Yeah. That makes more sense. Do we just give him time, then?" She asked, and Frisk and Papyrus nodded.
"HE'LL OPEN UP SOON, I KNOW IT. WE JUST NEED TO LET HIM DO IT ON HIS OWN TERMS. THOUGH WE CAN STILL TRY TO BE FRIENDS WITH HIM, I SAY!" Papyrus said, and Frisk nodded. Chara stopped for a moment, before shrugging.
Kris was lying on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. He sighed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone, which had a small crack on the screen. The boy tapped on the gallery app, and scrolled through his photos until he found a specific one.
It was a photo of himself with four smiling people. A reptilian girl, a deer girl, a goat boy that looked around the same age that he is now, and a teardrop-headed kid with a Spade mask.
Kris stared at the photo for what seemed like forever, before turning off the phone and putting it on the desk next to the bed.
"...I'm sorry." He said to himself.