.

so i left home, i packed up

and i moved far away from my past one day

and i laughed, i laughed, i laughed, i laughed

i sound fine on the outside

.

priscilla ahn – fine on the outside

"Hey... Hey. What are you daydreaming about? You've got that weird look on your face again."

"It's nothing. Don't worry so much."

"Well, it doesn't look like nothing. Come on, Chara. You know you can tell me anything."

"..."

"Char, nobody says not to worry the way you do unless there is something to worry about."

"Wow, okay, sorry for wanting some privacy. I just... I don't know. I guess I was thinking about the day we met."

"How come? Hey, why are you smiling? That's not funny! I was really scared that day, you know?"

"Yeah, and I was really dying that day. Who cares?"

"Jeez, you don't have to snap at me. Can't you just say what's on your mind?"

"Fiiiine. I was just remembering how happy I was."

"Okay, that's the second time you've said that to me now! You gotta tell me what that means."

"It was just good, alright? Knowing I'd never..."

"Never what?"

"... never mind."

"Stop it! Why do you always do this?"

"I am stopping."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"... it was just... good, okay? Knowing everything was over."

"What does... that mean?"

"Tell you when you're older."

"I'm older than you are! Don't be so mean. I'll tell Dad, I'm not even kidding."

"Oh no, whatever shall I do. Mr. Dad Guy's wrath will fall upon me and I'll end up buried under a mountain of pies. Because that's soooo intimidating."

"Don't be a jerk about Dad, come on. Why are you always getting weird like this? You can trust me! I'm your best friend!"

"..."

"I'll take it out. I'll totally do it."

"Oh my god, don't even start with that – ugh, you are such a dork. Do you always have that thing on? Like, are you just wearing it under your clothes when it's cold out? Why do you dress like that, anyway? You never even get cold."

"Because it looks awesome? And maybe I do have it on all the time. So what?"

"You're way too sentimental, don't you know that? It's gonna get you hurt someday."

"So where's yours, then? In our room? I bet you sleep with it under your pillow – OW, knock it off!"

"I stepped on it and then I threw it away. It's in the dump now. No way anybody could find it."

"Liar... Whoa, holy crap! What's that over there?!"

"What's what – whoa get OFF what are you – oh, come on. That's cheating. Plus it was so lame."

"You cheat all the time, don't complain. And it worked, too. I knew it. I kneeeew you were wearing it under that coat. I bet you never take yours off either, even if you try to hide it."

"Just shut up already, okay? Will you shut up if I tell you what I was thinking?"

"Maybe. You're just... haha... I guess you're in an even worse mood than usual."

"Do you want me to tell you or not?"

"Yes!"

"I'll tell you if you'll be my servant for a day..."

"Yeah, right. Nice try, your highness."

"Shut up, doofus. Princes don't call anybody your highness. You're, like, actual royalty. I mean, I'm not even your real... I mean..."

"Hey, whoa. What's going on? Where's... where's that coming from?"

"... sorry."

"It's okay. Just tell me already."

"Alright, alright. That day, it was just good to know... that I'd never see anyone again. That there really was no turning back."

"... I thought... I never really asked because I thought you were... sad. I thought you'd talk about it when you were ready. About... about the surface."

"Well, I just did, so I guess you're always right about me, huh?"

"Chara, please stop it? You're really hurting my feelings. That's not a joke."

"It's pretty funny for something that's not even a joke, then."

"... wow. wow. i'm going home. you can just sit here alone if you want to so bad."

"..."

"..."

"... As... Asriel?"

"What?"

"I'm... I'm s-sorry, okay? Don't leave. D-don't ev... I mean... HEEEEY, let go of me!"

"Nope! No way. You're not allowed to get all mopey and rude. I'm gonna hug you until you cry."

"What's that even mean?"

"It means what I said, dummy."

"Well, I'm not going to cry. I never cry. You're the crybaby around here."

"... it's just... Chara, why would you..."

"Why would I what? Oh my god, are you actually going to cry? What's your deal?"

"Why would you be happy that you... that you're stuck down here? That you might never... sorry, I shouldn't even... but, why would you be happy that you'll probably never even see your... your real family again?"

"... this is my real family, stupid. who cares about a bunch of crappy humans, anyway?"

"Well, I care about you."

"..."

"... Hey, what are you..."

"shut up. if you t-tell anybody about this, i'm gonna beat you up, okay?"

"I won't tell. You know you can trust me."

"sh-shut up. you just s-said that like a minute ago."

"..."

"..."

"... Told you I was gonna hug you until you cried."

"i'm not c-crying! i just..."

"Sshh..."

"don't sshh me, i'm n-not a baby."

"... why do you always lie? About how you feel?"

"i don't lie! ss-snnff. i'm fine. i'm always fine."

"You know, you're not very convincing right now."

"screw you."

"Whoa, hey, watch the language. You better not say anything mean like that where Mom can hear."

"i'm not mean."

"... Sometimes you really are, though. You're even mean to Mom and Dad once in a while. You always get mean when you're sad. Sometimes you even hurt their feelings..."

"that's... i don't want to hurt... i mean... i d-don't want to hurt you, though."

"Then stop doing it, okay? You don't have to hide it when you're feeling bad. I'm always right here if you need me."

"well, fine then, mr. know-it-all fluffybutt. i guess you got me all figured out."

"..."

"what?"

"It always seems like you... really hate humans, even though you are one –"

"s-so what? it's not like i a-asked to be a stupid human!"

"Whoa! Where's this coming from? What's wrong with being human?"

"humans are the worst."

"Come on, Chara. You're not the worst."

"... yeah, i am. i really, really am."

"..."

"don't pet my head, what the heck?"

"Sorry, you just look so tired."

"what's that have to do with... anything?"

"I don't know. It's true, though."

"... hey, asriel?"

"Yeah?"

"will you promise... that you'll always be my friend?"

"..."

"even though i'm not... even though..."

"Hey..."

"promise you'll never leave me alone?"

"Whoa, whoa, what's –"

"nobody understands. nobody else. it's just me and you."

"... You're so weird sometimes, Char."

"promise."

"Yeah. I promise."

"... maybe i'm mean, b-but i really do l-lo..."

"Huh?"

"... nothing..."

"Let's go home, okay?"

"don't wanna..."

"Seriously, you're, like, falling asleep on me."

"nnff..."

"Chara?..."

"..."

"Haha... told you."

"..."

"When you wake up, I'm buying you a whole box of chocolates."

"..."

"... Hey, Chara?"

"..."

"It's kind of horrible, but..."

"..."

"Is it okay for me to be happy that you're here?"

"..."

"Even if... you lost everything?"

"..."

"Maybe you don't care, though. Do you really not care at all?"

"..."

"I wish you'd just tell me what happened, and why you came here in the first place. You keep saying I'm the only one who understands you, but I still feel like... there's a lot more I could understand, if you'd let me."

"..."

"... Man... Well, at least now you can't complain about me petting your head."

"..."

"I get scared sometimes, when you talk about humans like that. About yourself. I know... I know why you always wear long sleeves. Mom and Dad must have seen it, too, even if they never said anything."

"..."

"But I can't figure out how you... got those. What happened. I know it wasn't when you fell. I just can't think of anything that makes sense. It almost looks like somebody did it on purpose, but I don't want to think anybody would ever hate you enough to... anyway."

"..."

"I meant that promise, though. Maybe if I say it when you're asleep, you'll actually believe me. Hah... I wonder if that makes any sense..."

"..."

"I really mean it. I'll never leave you. Never ever."

"..."

"But I wish..."

"..."

"I wish you didn't look happier when you're asleep... than when you're awake."

"..."

"I wish you'd talk to... talk to Mom and Dad. They love you too, Chara. They love you a lot. I'll always be your best friend, but I think if you'd just be honest..."

"..."

"... if you'd just be honest, maybe other people could understand, too."

so i just sit in my room

after hours with the moon

and think of who knows my name

would you cry if i died?

would you remember my face?