(Goth)

Honestly, I didn't expect much the next day. As much as he said it wasn't, I couldn't let go of the thought that this all might be one of Palette's pranks. Admittedly, it's much more elaborate than anything he's done before, but still.

When I saw a note taped to my locker door then next morning, I expected it to say 'ha!' or something. Instead, I saw a drawing of me. I was alone on a bench, hunched over a book on my knees. This was ages ago... did he remember it, or is this that old?

At the bottom, in his scrawly cursive, he wrote, 'Meet me at the place this all started after school. ~Pal' and a winky face.

"Whacha got there, Goth?" asked a sly voice behind me. Hurriedly, I folded the picture and stuffed it in my pocket, turning around. The sharp-fanged dog monster that hung out with Palette, the one who always encouraged him to go one step further, loomed over me.

"None of your business, Doggel," I growled, turning back to my locker to get my things. I felt something tug on my pocket and turned in time to see a shiny web pull the picture out of my pocket.

"Then what's this?" asked the raspy spider monster dangling the note by my face. He was sticking to the wall above me, smirking.

"Give that back, Sling!" I snatched at it but he yanked it away. He tossed it to Doggel with a laugh. Doggel grabbed it and unfolded it, holding it above my head as I went to snatch it again.

He had it almost all the way open when a half-gloved hand took it away from him. Palette smirked as he unfolded it, then eyed me. His eyes didn't match his smirk, but he laughed it off, smacking the page.

"Our little Gothy has a secret admirer," he said easily, flipping the picture around. It had changed. Instead of a skillfully drawn picture of me at the park, it was a hastily scrawled heart with my name in it.

"Wonder who it's from..." Palette smirked, flipping the paper over and searching for a name.

"Give it back, Palette," I growled, fighting the heat in my face. My fists curled at my sides as he looked over at me. As I watched him, I noted for the first time his smirk didn't reach his eyes.

He flipped the page over once more, then folded it carefully and held it up just out of reach. "No name, heh," he sighed, "This is nothing, boys. I mean, we all know who Goth has a crush on... Can't mess with him about this now, can we?"

He stepped closer to me, leaning on the locker behind me, "I mean... unless he's changed his mind..."

A blush lit up my face as he smirked. He held up the note, waving it in my face.

"Didn't think so," he said, pushing himself off the locker.

"C'mon guys, first period's about to start," he turned away, bumping me and knocking my books out of my hands. Sling and Doggel laughed as I scrambled to get my things. The note floated down by my face and I picked it up, watching as Palette walked away, laughing with Sling and Doggel.

I unfolded the note again. It was the picture again, just as detailed and shaded as it had been before. I looked back up at Palette. How did he do that?

Someone crouched beside me and began helping me. I looked over at who it was.

"I don't know why you don't fight back, Goth," the black skeleton said sadly. He helped me to my feet, both of our other arms full of books, "You could easily scare him off."

"It'd only get worse if I fought back, Gray," I sighed, looking over at Palette. He saw me looking and huffed.

"Nor do I know why you like him," Gradient said, handing me my books, "He's a total jerk, especially around you."

"I can't explain it, Gradient," I sighed, putting the folded note in my pocket.

"You know you can always ask me for help when he gives you a hard time," Gradient glared over at Palette, "I'd love to give him a piece of my mind."

"I don't want you to get hurt, Gradient," I shook my head, "Don't worry about me. I can handle him just fine."

"If that's what you think," Gradient said, "Just, know that you're not alone, okay? I'm here when you need me."

"Thanks, Gray," I said before walking to class.

At the end of the day, I was standing on the front steps of the school, looking down at Palette's note. 'Where this all began'... does he mean the park or... no...

Hitching my bag up, I made my way down the steps and started on a path to the woods.

A little clearing on the path of the woods is where Palette found out I had a crush on him. Three years ago. He'd been walking with those jerks he hangs out with, and he overheard me confessing to my older brother Raven that I liked him. Since then, he's targeted me.

I reached the clearing in no time and found Palette already sitting on a tree stump, whistling to himself.

"Well, I came," I told him, setting my bag down on the ground and sitting on a stump next to him.

"Glad you remembered," he said, looking over at me. He was still smirking, but this smirk was different. It... felt different.

"Think I would forget this day?" I shot at him, "It was probably the worst day of my life."

"Yeah, it probably was," he said, chuckling a bit. We went silent, staring off into the woods.

"So? What's your answer, Palette? Do you want to see where these feelings will take us?" I hugged myself, bracing for his answer of 'no'.

He sighed heavily, looking over at me, "I want to figure out how I feel about you, Goth. Whatever we shared yesterday... that's the only way I can do it."

My soul paused, is he actually agreeing to this? Is he for real?

"You might not like what you find..." I said softly. I felt his hand around my wrist and looked into his eyes. He was full of a strong emotion I couldn't pinpoint.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," he said, "But only if you're willing to take it with me."

Looking down at his hand, I twisted my wrist so I was holding it in my own.

Though all of my previous experiences screamed at me not to let these feelings take over, I also knew that this was the only way to sort through them.

"Okay," I sighed, looking back into his eyes, "We'll do this until we figure it out."

"And I'll let you know when I do," Palette smirked again, with that changed look, "If I want it to stop, that is."

"So... what now?" I asked him, looking into his dark starry eyes.

"How about this?" he wrapped his other arm around me and pulled me into a kiss.

I closed my eyes, wrapping my own arms around his neck. His tongue entered my mouth, massaging the boundaries of it. Our tongues twined together, mixing and twisting as more passion poured into the kiss. I felt his hand grip me tighter, tracing up my back to cup my skull.

His other hand stopped at the base of my spine and pushed me closer into his body, scooting me to the edge of my tree stump. I pulled him down, or maybe I pulled myself up into his embrace.

He broke away for air and I smiled up at him. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought...

He kissed me softly again, then stood up slowly, still gripping me tightly. I went up with him, hanging onto his neck tightly.

"We should get home," he whispered softly, taking one of my hands in his own. He kissed it softly.

"Okay," I agreed quietly. He let go of me and I backed away a bit, grabbing my bag.

Slinging it over my shoulder, I caught him looking at me, smirking with that new look of his. "See you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"Where?"

"Short-cut?"

"...Okay," I nodded, "Oh, and Palette?"

"Yeah?"

"When did you draw this?" I asked him, holding up the note.

"Yesterday," he answered, "Why?"

"Because it was me from two weeks ago," I said, blushing hotly, "I remember. You were in the park that day with that bunny monster, on a date..."

"So?" he grinned like an ass and I turned away with a huff.

"Nevermind," I grumbled, walking away. The jerk... Remembering me from his own date...

(Palette)

We met up like that nearly every day for two months. We would go to one of Goth's haunts or some other hidden place. Sometimes we'd talk, sometimes we'd enjoy the company, most times we'd kiss. And kiss, and kiss, and kiss some more.

During the day, I'd keep up the teasing and pushing. I didn't do anything like leave another drawing on his locker. That had been too close for me. I couldn't be sure to catch Doggel and Sling every time and be able to change it.

As I met more of Goth and discovered more about him, my feelings began to orient themselves into something understandable. He wasn't just some loner with no friends. He had friends, he just never really hung out with them. There were only two of them, but I could tell they shared the same concern for his welfare.

One, Gradient, a black-boned skeleton, was the more active of the two. He would shoot me glares of anger if we passed, and he would try to comfort Goth. Goth would shake him off most of the time. He definitely hates me, but for no reason of his own.

The other, Amber, a crimson colored fire monster, was a bit subtler about hating me. She would hang around Goth and give him a bit of company. But if she saw me behind his back or when he wasn't there, she would flare up and stare at me in a way that made me afraid.

One day, Goth wasn't at school. I was okay with it. It meant I didn't have to keep up my façade. Because it was a façade now, to keep Doggel and Sling off my back.

It was the last day before the weekend and I was on my way towards home. Reaching a set of stone steps on the path to my house, someone called my attention. I was on the top step and turning around when I felt a heavy blow hit my shoulder. I fell, rolling down the steps roughly.

I landed at the bottom with a grunt, landing on my forearms to stop my roll. I could feel a crack on the side of my skull pulsing with pain. There were scrapes I could see through a few holes in my shirt. Pushing myself up onto my knees, I was about to look back at my attacker when another blow fell on my cheek and knocked me over again. I coughed, feeling a crack on my mandible. I touched it lightly, and looked up at my attacker.

Doggel and Sling stood above me, looking angry.

"G-guys? Wh-what are you doing?" I coughed, heaving myself into a sitting position.

"You've been lying to us, Pal," Doggel growled angrily.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I asked, grinning up at them. Sling swung one of his hands at me, smacking me upside the head.

"You know pretty damn well what we're talking about!" he shouted. All six of his arms had fists at the end.

"No, I really d-" Sling smacked me again, cutting me off. The crack in my mandible widened.

"Shut up!" he snarled.

"You've been seeing that loser Goth," Doggel growled, "The one we torment. The one you enjoy tormenting."

"Is this all some elaborate joke, Palette? Are you leading him on just to break him more?" Sling asked, his voice clicking with anger. His aunt, Muffet, would do that a lot of the time.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about," I growled, trying to stand. Pain shot up my leg and I fell back down, panting. My ankle... god, it hurts...

"You're so weak, Palette," Doggel growled triumphantly.

"Time to make you pay for lying to us," Sling cracked his knuckles, all of them.

Doggel stood above me, winding up for another blow, and I braced myself for it. He swung his arm down and I closed my eyes, but the blow never came. Peeking up, I saw a glowing red scythe holding Doggel's arm back. His eyes widened in surprise as another scythe flashed and stopped, forcing up his chin. The blade gleamed with sharpness. Sling looked surprised as well and glanced around at the source, only to find himself wrapped in glowing chains trailing from yet another scythe.

"Leave him alone," a cold voice rang out. It drove a spike of fear into all of us. Doggel whined and Sling shook with fear. The chains and scythes vanished as a smoky black figure emerged behind me. I couldn't see him, but I saw the smoke trailing off of him in waves.

"Now," the cold voice rang out. Doggel yelped and ran, his tail between his legs. Sling shot a web onto a light post and pulled himself away, swinging into the distance.

A hand grabbed my injured shoulder and hauled me to my feet. I yelped in pain and the hand released, quickly wrapping around me so I didn't fall to the ground. I couldn't stand on my own. Looking down, I saw a splinter of bone tearing through my pant leg.

"Can you walk?" the voice was still cold, but softer.

"Gah, no," I said, gasping in pain as I tried to put weight on it, "My ankle, it's broken."

"Great gods, how hard did you fall?"

"Well, I was punched down twenty feet of stairs, so pretty hard," my sarcasm escaped as a natural reaction, "Sorry."

"It's okay, you're in pain," the figure said, "I've had about every reaction to pain there is, so I don't mind. You're on the milder side of bad reactions, anyway. Hmm..." the figure seemed to be considering something, "I'm going to have to carry you."

"What?" I asked. Ignoring my response, he scooped me up and I was hanging in his arms. I felt more pain shoot up my back and grunted.

"Those guys did a number on you," the figure said. I couldn't see his face: it was hidden beneath a black hood.

"Doggel hit me first," I said, "he packs a punch."

Instead of walking, the figure wrapped us in a cloud of smoke and we found ourselves in a living room. The figure deposited me on a couch and left.

"Son, get down here and bring the med kit!" he yelled upstairs before going into another room. He came back with a bowl of steaming water and some rags just as someone came barreling down the stairs.

"What's up, dad?" asked a familiar voice. Goth came around the corner, holding a box with a red cross on it. He froze as we made eye contact. There were conflicting emotions in his eyes.

"Get over here, Goth, he's hurt," said the cloaked figure, sitting on the floor beside me. Seeing Goth, I looked over at the hooded figure and swallowed.

"You're Reaper," I said, suddenly scared.

"The Grim Reaper, at your service," he said pleasantly, "I hope these aren't your favorite pants."

"They're not," I said, and he ripped them up my leg to reveal my broken ankle. I saw Goth blush as he set the kit down and turned to leave.

"Stay, Goth, I need your help," Reaper said without turning around. Goth sighed, his shoulders dropping, and he turned back.

"What do you need me to do?" he said, resigned.

"Hold him down. Be careful of his right shoulder, I think it's cracked," Reaper instructed. Goth nodded and settled himself over me, pinning me to the couch.

"Alright, boy, this is going to be extremely painful," Reaper informed me, "If you want to bite down on something, I have some rags here."

"No, I'll be fine," I said, "go ahead."

"Okay, I'll do it on three," Reaper said, "Ready and, three!" Reaper snapped the bone of my ankle into place. I bucked and screamed as it felt like fire burned my bones. A soothing, cool feeling followed it and I glanced down, feeling tears of pain roll down my face. Tendrils of cold blue magic wrapped themselves around my ankle, easing the pain.

"That wasn't in three," I growled at him through my teeth.

"I said 'on three' not 'in three'," Reaper corrected.

"Whatever," I tried to get more comfortable but the bumps and scrapes made it impossible. Pain shot through my shoulder and ribs and I groaned.

Reaper sighed, glancing at Goth, who was trying very hard not to look at my face.

"Okay, boy, take off your shirt," he commanded.

"What?" me and Goth said at the same time.

"I need to look at your shoulder, and by the looks of your shirt more of your chest is damaged than I thought. So, take off your shirt."

"I, um, I'm not sure I can," I said as I shifted, "I can't move my arm."

"Goth, give him a hand," Reaper grinned at the joke. He began to wrap bandages around my ankle as Goth stared at me, his cheeks dusted red.

"You heard him," I smirked at him, then grimaced in pain as the crack in my mandible stretched.

Goth sighed and began undoing my shirt. I helped him with my left arm, but he had to tug it off my right arm. Glancing at my shoulder, I groaned again. There was a massive crack in my shoulder blade and the joint was dislocated. Great. More of Reaper's wonderful counting.

Reaper got up to find more bandages, giving me and Goth some time alone.

"What happened?" he asked, whispering as he used a warm wet rag to wipe the blood off my head.

"Doggel and Sling attacked me," his eyes widened, "I think they found out about us."

"What did they do?" Goth sounded angry.

"Punched me down some stairs, punched me some more, slapped me a couple times," I sighed, "All the while screaming about how I lied to them about us. I don't know how they found out..."

"Well, it doesn't matter now," Goth said stiffly, "Now you don't have to hang around them. Just focus on feeling better."

"I need to talk to them," I said firmly, looking at the ceiling, "Need to know how they found out."

"What does it matter how they found out?" Goth said angrily, "So what if they know?"

"If they saw us, that'd be nothing. If someone else saw us, I'd need to know who, when, and where."

"Are you even listening? It doesn't matter, Palette!"

"I also need to know who else they told if they saw us, who else might know-"

"PALETTE IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Goth screamed at me, his voice cold. I looked at him, shocked. Angry tears threatened to fall from his eyes, and he was shaking in fury.

"Just stop it!" he went on in that same cold voice, "I don't care if they know, and you shouldn't either! If you can't deal with this, then you're a bigger coward than I thought you were. You don't need to know how they found out, because it. Doesn't. Matter!" He stood up and stalked out of them, leaving me in stunned silence.

"I sometimes forget he's Geno's son, too," Reaper's voice sounded. I turned to him. He was leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen, holding a box of bandages.

"Th-that voice..." I sounded shaky and stopped talking.

"Yeah, that chill comes from me, it's true," Reaper sighed, "but that temper? That anger? Most of that comes from Geno. I mean, I can be angry at times but Geno can be set off by just about anything." He walked over to me, sitting down next to my shoulder and picking up the rag Goth had thrown down.

"Sometimes I wonder why Raven is so chill," he said, "Then I see Goth act out and realize that all of the temper I expected in Raven went to him. It's an unfair imbalance but that's how it works with families. Nothing spreads evenly."

I just stared at him, wondering how he was so calm with me after I'd just upset his youngest son. He saw my shoulder and sighed again.

"Should I even bother counting?" he asked me and a little chuckle escaped.

"Heh, I guess not," I braced myself, gripping the couch cushion in my other hand as he set up to set the bone back.

"Okay then," he snapped the bone back into the socket and it wasn't as painful as I was expecting, just uncomfortable with my broken shoulder.

"Dunno why you were worried," Reaper chuckled, "Our joints don't function like others. Our bones will pop right back into the socket harmlessly."

"I forgot about that," I said, "I haven't lost a joint since I was really little."

"Now, let's fix that shoulder..."

An hour later I was all bandaged up, the cracks on my skull and mandible healed up most of the way. I could sit up, but Reaper had put my arm in a sling so my shoulder could heal.

I was sitting on the couch, trying to get comfortable, when someone entered the house.

"Dad! I'm home!" the guy called. He turned into the living room, saw me, and his face twisted into a smile.

"What are you doing here, punk?" he growled. His black hoodie was a bit tattered in places, and his dark jeans hung loose, but there was a glint in his right eye as he glared at me. It was Raven, Goth's older brother. I haven't seen him in ages...

I waved with my left hand, unsure of what to do. In my current state, there weren't very many options.

"Raven, didn't know you would be back so soon," Reaper said, coming into the living room.

"Dad, what is he doing here?" Raven pointed at me, his actions stiff, "You know who he is. Why is he in our home?"

"Things have changed, Raven," Reaper said, walking up to me, "I saw him getting attacked on my way home from work. He's injured, and a guest. We'll treat him as such."

"Fine," Raven dumped an over-loaded backpack by the door. Reaper nodded to himself and walked back to the kitchen. Raven sat in a chair across from me, eyeing me.

"One step outta line, punk, and you're finished," he said softly to me, "If I find out you did something to Goth..."

"I've done a lot of things to Goth," I said dully, "and I don't blame you for being angry. I just want you to know that me and him have been... fixing things. Though, I think I might've just ruined my shot..."

I looked over at him, expecting disbelief or something. Instead, I find confusion.

"What?" I asked him, just feeling empty.

"You sound... regretful," he said, "It's... unusual."

"Yeah, you're used to me being a bastard and a jerk, aren't you," I said dully. I leaned my head back with a sigh, "Don't worry, it's new to me, too."

---

(Doggel and Sling are two head-cannon characters of my own. Doggel is the son of Fell Dogamy and Dogaressa, and Sling is the nephew of Fell Muffet. There are a few more head cannon characters: Amber, a fire monster, and Webster, Sling's father. Also, it is not Fell Gradient who is Fell Goth's friend. It is Tale Gradient.)