There's not much to say about the hours following the terrible idea of drinking the wretched honey water other than the fact that it was long and uncomfortable. The pain in your stomach hadn't even completely subsided by the time you'd finally fallen asleep around 3:30 AM, but you didn't tell Maia. For all she knew, you went to bed at 1:00 AM. But, alas. You weren't able to sleep. So, you sat awake going down the wormhole of weird videos on YouTube ranging on how snails reproduce to the renowned video "Late For Meeting" by David Lewandowski.
But, eventually you fell asleep with your phone laying flat on your face. How that happened, you're not completely sure—though it's still funny nonetheless. Well, funny until your alarms went off early in the morning and scared the heck out of you.
When it happened, you jumped so fast that your phone was actually launched across your small bedroom, twisting and turning in the air until it hit the floor, alarm still going. Thank God you had a case on your phone or else, it would've been done for.
After getting your phone off the floor though, you felt the sleepiness in you and just knew you couldn't go to work, so you reluctantly called in sick again and apologized to Muffet who luckily understood your lack of sleep, sickness and pained words. After all, even though it'd been a good 6 to 7 hours or more since ingesting that poison, your stomach still felt the affects incredibly well. So, with a yawn, you climbed back into bed and fell asleep for a good, long while.
At least, until you were shaken awake. "Morning, (Y\N)!" Maia's cheery voice awoke you and you groaned, pulling your covers over yourself. "Ten more minutes—" You whined and Maia chuckled. "Come on, I got us some breakfast sandwiches!" Maia exclaimed and you groaned again. "I don't think I can eat anything yet. My stomach feels like it was flipped around itself thrice." You murmured and Maia sighed. "Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't mean for you to get so sick and miss work." She quickly apologized and with hesitance, you popped your head out from underneath the covers, blinking your (e\c) eyes sleepily. "No, no... Don't apologize, it's okay." You yawned. "It was gonna happen eventually." You added, slowly sitting up lazily.
"Yeah, but you said you needed to go to work last night." Maia pointed out, sitting on the side of your bed. "Yeah, I did... But I was just being anxious. I'll be okay." You reassured her gently. "Alright, good... But if you need any money, I can lend you some." Maia offered but you shook your head. "No. It's fine, Maia." You responded as you slowly climbed out of bed. "Say, what kind of sandwich?" You asked suddenly which caused her to giggle. "(f\f), that still your favorite?" She asked and you nodded. "Regrettably, yes. My stomach is wrecked but I wanna eat it so badly-" You whimpered and Maia patted you on the shoulder comfortingly. "It'll all be okay. You can eat it tomorrow. Don't strain your stomach. Just eat some saltine crackers and sip on a ginger ale." Maia spoke with a shrug and you clicked your tongue. "But I don't have either-" You began, but when you saw a grin form on Maia's face you paused. "You got me some, didn't you?" You asked and she nodded rapidly, causing you to shake your head back and forth, chuckling
"Oh, you rascal." You continued to giggle and Maia gently nudged you with her elbow. "Kay, I'll join you in a second. Lemme get dressed and brush my teeth." You responded, fighting a yawn. "Got it! I'll see ya in a minute." She replied, getting up and walking out of your room apace.
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After getting going for the day and hanging out with Maia for around an hour or more, you both plopped down on the couch and began to chat some more. But, that was soon cut off when your phone began to ring. Maia instantly paused mid sentence and you lifted your phone to be able to see the contact name. "Who is it this time?" Maia asked and you felt a smile come upon your lips. "It's Papyrus-" You murmured quietly and Maia giggled, then froze. "Did you tell him you were sick and not coming into work?" She suddenly asked and it almost felt like time froze. "Oh shit. No, I forgot... Dammit!" You gasped and she shook her head. "Answer it, he's gonna be so worried." She remarked and you nodded, answering it. "Hello?" You spoke, only to be greeted with a sigh of relief from Papyrus.
"thank god, you're okay. when i went into muffet's to see ya, you were nowhere in sight so i waited, and waited until muffet told me ya were sick and i was gettin' real worried there." He suddenly spoke. "Oh, jeez Papyrus... I'm so sorry, I should've called you but it slipped my mind. I feel like such a terrible friend." You groaned, leaning back on the couch, sighing slightly. Maia gently patted your leg at that remark, mouthing "You're not a bad friend, relax." to calm you.
"nah, nah... you're sick, kid. i don't mean this in a rude way of course, but ya aren't in the right state of mind, ya know? so, i understand and i'm not upset. just glad you're okay!" He replied gently, the warmness in his tone making you smile and get all warm and fuzzy on the inside. "I-oh, well..." You giggled, rubbing your cheek gently to cover your faint blush. "Thank you, oh my gosh..." You replied and you heard him chuckle deeply.
"oh, by the way, sans and i will probably be bringing ya dinner tonight. he just overheard that you were sick and is on his way to make ya something." He started, pausing. "chara told us that humans eat soup when they're sick, yeah?" He added, almost as if he was double checking the fact. "Yeah, uh—we do, actually. And thank you so much... But you guys don't have to make us anything." You told him gently and you heard him snicker to himself again. "oh, honey, there's no stoppin' sans. once he's goin', he's goin'. so, i'd better go help 'em. or, ya know... the soup could actually make ya more sick." He replied, chuckling again. "Of course. I'll make sure to update you on how I'm feeling. Thank you so much for understanding, Pap!" You chirped. "ey, it's no prob. i'll see ya tonight, friendo!" Papyrus replied and your smile faultered a bit. "Alright, bye, Papyrus. I can't wait to see you and Sans. Ciao!" You spoke before hesitantly hanging up your cell phone.
"I swear," You started after a short pause, sighing deeply, "it gets harder and harder to say goodbye whenever we talk." you finished softly. Maia gently pat your thigh again. "I know, but just think, in a couple hours you'll see the skeleboy again!" Maia exclaimed enthusiastically and you smiled, nodding. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Just hope Sans' food will be palatable though." You joked and Maia furrowed her eyebrows. "His food can't be that bad." She murmured and you shook your head. "I disagree. It's a well known fact that Sans hasn't mastered much culinary skill yet. But I still love him to death, he's a pure little marshmallow." You giggled and Maia soon joined you. "Well, I hope the dinner is good tonight. I don't wanna vomit in front of your friends." Maia chuckled, causing you to grin and reply with "Same here." in response.
And then, came a dreaded awkward silence. It lasted for a few minutes, until you finally thought of something to say. "Maia, you know the moment we met?" You asked and she lifted an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah? Mrs. Thomas's Junior year art class." Maia responded and you nodded, validating her response. "Exactly." You murmured and she shifted in her seat. "Now, what are you going on about? What about how we met?" Maia asked and you clicked your tongue. "I was insanely jealous of you when we were first acquainted." You admitted and Maia blinked in surprise. "Why–?" She questioned and you shook your head. "Your art, Maia. You were so freaking advanced! Compared to well... Me!" You explained and her mouth gaped open in surprise. "Really?" She asked, reiterating her surprise. "Yeah." Was all you spoke at first.
"It... I don't know, the teacher always praised you and just gave me a damn nod every week... It made it hard to create and that made me even more jealous of you... So I kinda disliked you when we first met. But then, I saw who you really were and—in a lack of better words—fell in love with you. Platonically in a friend way, of course." You continued, sighing. Maia smiled at that, throwing her arm around your shoulder. "I'm really happy about that, (Y\N)." She spoke, grinning wider. "I mean, look at us now! Two peas in a pod. Sticking together like glue even though two of our mutual friends slipped away." She responded.
"Yeah, hah... But I suppose that's the true benefit of a friendship. If it's true, they'll stick with you no matter what... That must be why you're my b-f-f~!" You winked and stuck out your tongue and she giggled. "Aw, hush, I'm flattered, bestie." Maia replied and you both high-fived. "Glad to have you by my side once again. I've missed your company more than I realized." You commented and Maia clicked her tongue, looking toward the windows. "Yeah, I know... I really missed this place." She nearly whispered, suddenly changing the mood of this friendly chat.
"Do you get homesick?" You asked and Maia slowly nodded, sighing. "All the time. California is so big, I miss Ebott City so much... If you're not careful, you may not be able to get me to leave." Maia responded quietly. "I don't see what's wrong with that." You replied soothingly and Maia turned back to you.
"(Y\N)... I'm scared." She suddenly spoke quietly. "Why? Is everything okay back at home?" You asked and Maia shook her head, her blonde locks bouncing off her shoulders. "No... This place is my home and almost everything is missing in California." She sighed, shaking her head. "Asgore's leaving in a few months to come back here, my friend, Trey is getting married and moving to Utah, and I gotta leave you behind, my family too and..." Maia paused, shutting her green eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm gonna have to leave Sans... And Papyrus behind on top of that." She finished in a melancholic manner. "I miss the community. I miss it so much. And believe me, I'm thankful to be able to work at such a prestigious company–but I miss home and I can't help it. I wish I could just move back here, to be honest." Maia admitted softly and you quickly moved forward despite the annoying nausea you've been experiencing all day, pulling her into a big hug.
"Hey, Maia... It'll all be alright. We'll think of something, okay? Skype, ya know?" You tried to soothe her and she wrapped her arms around you tightly. "It's not the same as physical contact..." She murmured. "I know, but its better than nothing... Yeah?" You responded and she nodded.. "I guess..." She muttered softly, almost sounding unsure.
You continued to rub Maia's back affectionately to calm her until she pulled away from your hold a few minutes later, wiping a lone tear from her cheek. "No matter how rough it seems, I know I can make it through everything." She spoke, her voice strengthening and a slight smile forming on her lips. Her green eyes began to shine again which caused a smile to form on your lips as well.
"See, that's the spirit, my gal!" You exclaimed causing Maia to absolutely beam. "Hell yeah!" She squeaked in response, raising her clenched fist into the air with enthusiasm.
A few more minutes passed of silence before you got another call, your phone ringing nearly scaring the crap out of both you and Maia causing you and her to laugh heartily. "Oh geez, don't they ever give warnings anymore?" You joked before scooting away and picking up your phone.
"I bet it's Papyrus checking on you already." Maia remarked with a wink and you stifled a laugh, shaking your head. "There's no way." You replied as you lifted the caller ID to eye level and once you saw it, your expression changed from joy to utter dread in a single instant. "It's Mr. Smith... I bet he has news about Austin." You remarked softly, biting your lip. "I bet so too, I'm just crossing my fingers that it's good news." Maia replied, crossing her fingers and holding her breath as you clicked 'accept call', lifting the phone to your ear.
"Hello?" You spoke, your stomach contorting even more with the added nervousness, making you very queasy. "Hello, Miss (Y\N)... I have something I must tell you." Mr. Smith's familiar voice spoke in response causing your heart to drop out of your chest.
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Authors Note:
I don't think it's been too long, correct? Well, I certainly hope not. Haha. Anyway, I apologize for the cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist the evil temptation XD. I will make sure to make the next chapter a lot more interesting than this one though! Well, I hope you still liked this one of course!
I actually intended to get this out on the 15th but life didn't agree with that, so I apologize! I actually ended up getting a pretty nasty cold which I'm still getting over and the worst toothache I've ever experienced. So, I have one of my wisdom teeth to thank for that lmao. Wish me luck to get over that too because y'all, I can barely eat, it's rough.
Oh, I also wanted to address something that I'm pretty sure I forget to mention every time I'm writing one of these out—but if you want to draw fanart of the story, go for it man. I've had quite a few people ask me about it in the past so I just wanna let you all know that I am okay with it as long as you mention the story name and\or my user in a description or whatnot if you post it. But yeah, if you ever do draw anything let me know too because I wanna see it and I usually feature all art I receive of the story as chapter art or as a featured link in the A\N. Just wanted to let ya know! I love seeing everyone's artistic visions and representations, to be honest!
Thanks for participating in my last exercise in the comments, by the way! I liked getting to know you all a bit better! If you wanna have another exercise this time, feel free to comment below any theories you have about what's gonna happen in this story. Theories are literally my favorite thing to hear, haha.
Anyways, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this latest installment of the hit soap opera 'Bone of Contention'! Haha. I hope you have a wonderful day/night! Peace out, broskis ✌️
-Indiana