A/N okay but like my brain was so dead today 😢 TADC theme came on during this help
Cross looked up at the shelves and shelves of books. Surely one of these had the answers he was seeking, but there was no way he'd be able to find it. He could probably find a librarian, but did he really want to talk to a librarian? There were several different types of books he could turn to for advice, plus Chara could help him search. As he stood there pondering, the doors opened behind him.
Reaper lazily floated in, looking at the young boy in amusement. He looked young enough to be a highschool student, so he must have walked here from school. What was he looking for? He seemed pretty lost. Reaper was pretty bored anyway, so he decided to strike up a conversation with this kid.
"Yo, wassup?"
Cross nearly screamed. Reaper had made no footsteps, and Cross was very used to hearing people come from a while away. He whipped around, a large red knife appearing in his hand. He brandished it towards Reaper, who just casually put his hands up in surrender and let out a chuckle in response.
"Chill kid, I'm not here to kill you or anything. You've got plenty of time before we gotta meet like that."
Cross felt chills go down his spine at the second half. This guy was dangerous, probably someone who could easily kill him if he could use his magic to just float so casually. It would be unwise to challenge him, even with Chara's magic on his side. He let the knife fizzle away and straightened his posture, awkwardly staring at Reaper.
"Much better. You're pretty on end if you're ready to impale anyone who tries to talk to you, take a chill pill bud."
Cross looked at the floor, embarrassed. Chara grumbled under their breath. Reaper chuckled, and Cross looked up. Surely it was just his behavior right? Oh well, this guy walked in pretty casually. Maybe he'd know where to go, and Cross had already ended up in conversation with him anyway. He cleared his throat.
"Hey, would you happen to know where I can find any books that could.... Maybe help me understand romance?"
Reaper's eyes widened and a wide grin spread over his face. Oh-ho, this was far more interesting than he thought. A teenage boy trying to find love huh? He hadn't really read any of the romance books, so it looked like a perfect excuse to talk to Geno.
"Ah, I only wish I could help there. I might know someone who can tell us just where to find those things though..."
Cross attempted to protest as Reaper grabbed his arm and dragged him to the counter, but it was useless. It seemed there was no stopping this man on whatever quest he was on. They reached the counter, and a very tired looking librarian sat behind it. A bright red scarf wrapped around his neck and a glitch covering his eye, he felt familiar. Cross noticed an ever open gash across the front of his chest and nearly gasped.
This person was familiar because they had met. This was Geno, Error's older brother. He had taken the group of skeletons places as kids, since none of them really had guardians. Cross felt relieved that it was someone he knew, but also nervous that he would end up bothering Geno. He knew how hard Geno worked for Error and Fresh, even if Error was just grumpy about hanging out with him all the time.
"Hey Geno~ What's up today gorgeous?"
Cross cringed. Geez, he was glad that this guy hadn't tried to give him any relationship advice. That would be the worst thing that could ever happen to his chances with Dream. Geno looked up and groaned seeing Reaper. He took a double take when he saw Cross. Completely ignoring Reaper, he laced his fingers together.
"Cross! It's been a very long time. I assume you have nothing to do with this flirt. How can I help you?"
Reaper gasped and pretended to look offended. Anyone who knew anything could tell it was just acting though. Cross sighed in relief. The second this guy started to pull moves on someone who had been with him and his friends since they were kids he was afraid that he could be associated with him. That was something he didn't want for Geno to think.
Also, given how much Error complained about an emo guy? This had to be him. Cross was in no hurry to become one of Error's enemies, the guy was not only strong but was a friend.
"I uh... Do you know where I can find some books with good romance advice?"
Geno jolted up and put his hands on Cross' shoulders. Cross nearly choked from shock.
"Oh my gosh. Is this finally about Dream? We can find the best books! All of the books!"
Geno let go and rushed over to the guest side of the desk. He grabbed Cross, dragging him off. Cross was very disorientated, especially because this was not at all normal behavior for Geno. I mean, it was true he had basically watched him crush on Dream since they were kids, but it wasn't THAT bad was it?
Apparently it must have been, because Geno grabbed a stack of books that was about half his height. He placed them (quite loudly, more of a drop) on a table and dusted off his hands. He grinned proudly at his work.
"All of these should be quite helpful! I find that they've all helped me a decent amount recently. You have to tell me how it goes afterwards okay? When you come to return whatever books you choose to take with you."
Cross smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his skull. He really appreciated it, but he couldn't help but question something Geno said.
"Hey I really appreciate this, but what do you mean by helping you recently? Have you been dealing with romance issues or something?"
Reaper glided over smugly and leaned down in front of Geno. His smirk indicated he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Geno seemed to catch on to what the other was thinking and flushed a bright red. He began to speak before stopping and settling for a glare before turning back to Cross.
"No, not particularly. I just wanted to learn about the topic. You know, I'm pretty sure Error's had a crush on Ink for quite a bit. I'm sure he could use some guidance, if he ever stops being moody and comes to ask me for once."
Reaper chuckled, seemingly to himself.
"Sureeee, if that's what you want to fool yourself with. Are you finally going to go on a date with me? Please~"
Geno shot him a glare, and Cross awkwardly cleared his throat. Reaper took this as his sign to actually scram, and let out a reluctant sigh before bowing.
"Until next time then. Nice meeting ya kid. See ya tomorrow Geno~"
Geno just dismissively waved him off as he left. He turned to Cross. Come up front if you have any issues, okay?"
Cross nodded and smiled.
"Thanks Geno!"
With that, he delved into the books, on a mission to find the answer to the troubles and questions that were plaguing him.
*The first timeskip! OMG!! Well, plenty have happened but the first in a chapter. Brought to you by my 5 whole annual readers??? Like guys feel free to comment! It's okay if you don't but thanks for reading!!!*
Cross sighed and closed his book. He had been reading for two hours, and there were still a whole lot of books left. He might need to take these home. It wasn't really that big of a deal though, especially since there wasn't anything else to do at his house. There was still an hour left until the library closed, so Cross decided to stretch.
Wandering through the aisles, he could faintly hear voices. He didn't want to eavesdrop, so he decided to quickly hurry past. He had absolutely no intention of hearing what he did, but once he heard it he froze.
"Yeah, I'm just worried about Dawn. If what you say is true she hasn't reached out to us about it."
Cross struggled with his morals. He knew what Killer would tell him; just eavesdrop. Everyone was super curious to know, and a majority of them would snoop. Dawn was going to open up to them, wouldn't this be an invasion of her privacy?
Then again, it didn't seem like she was there. Nobody who was talking seemed like they had any intention of telling her. It was probably better to listen in just in case something came up that Cross needed to tell her. He reasoned with himself that this was the best thing to do, and crouched down behind a shelf, staring intently at a book. Chara had taken the liberty of floating over there. He'd have to ask them what these people looked like later.
"I'm not lying to you. It doesn't mean that our precious ray of sunshine is either. Maybe she didn't get my message."
"Well I-"
Suddenly a third voice chimed in.
"Not here. Someone's listening."
Cross booked it out of there, grabbing his books and checking them out on his way. His mind was racing. How on earth would anyone be able to tell he was listening? Was there someone else? Whatever it was, something was different about that group of people.
It looked like whatever Dawn's mysterious past was, it was far more strange than he had previously imagined.