Skeppy's Pov:

I stare up at the sky, which is being covered by the leaves of the tree that I'm sitting under. Only strips of light manage to go in between the leaves. Beside me, I have my new horse plush under my arm. I gently caress it every now and then. Bad gave it to me once we finished shopping with our friends. As soon as we got home, he pulled out the toy from the shopping bag and gave it to me. He said that he wanted to do something nice for me, and since he saw me as the type who likes plushies, whatever that means, he decided on giving me a horse plush due to the time that I was staring at the horses.

Regardless, I appreciate the thought behind the gift. It doesn't matter what he would've gotten me. I would've liked it either way since it was from him. The horse plush is so comfy that I can't help but sleep with it at night. It feels nice to have something to hold on to, especially if I get another nightmare about my time in the lab.

But... the horse plush reminds me of how horses get treated around here, which then makes me remember how I got treated in the lab. The reminder of how I used to live has got me thinking lately, and I'm starting to wonder if... I should open up to someone about my past. Even if it reveals part of the truth behind me. As long as the secret of my power isn't discovered, it should be fine, right? The dilemma in my head is what I've been going over and over while sitting under this tree. I get snapped out of my thoughts once I hear Bad say, "Skeppy?"

I look over at Bad, who is standing near the front yard of the house, so he there is quite some distance between us. Bad starts to slowly walk to where I'm at. He asks, "...What are you doing out here? You've been sitting out here all alone for a while now."

"Hm... just thinking."

Bad is now only a few steps away from me. He slightly tilts his head to the side in curiosity and asks, "About what?"

I look at Bad in the eyes as I contemplate over this idea in my head. I think... if I'm going to tell anyone anything about my past, it should be Bad. He's helped me out the most and is the person that I currently trust the most. Plus, he's shown up just as I was thinking about my past. Shouldn't that be some sort of sign? Maybe if I tell him, he'll be able to understand me more... I break eye contact with Bad as I sigh, bracing myself for the decision that I just made. I slowly say, "I... never told you why you found me the way you did when we met... right?"

Bad immediately widens his eyes in surprise. He quickly says, "Well- yes- but it's fine! You don't have to tell me if you don't want to-"

"But I do. ...I do want to tell you, Bad. If there's one person who deserves to know, it's you."

Silence fills the air for a moment. I cut off some of the tension by patting the grass near me, saying, "You should sit down. It's probably going to take a while."

Bad gently nods and goes to sit somewhere near my right as his body faces me. He stays quiet, waiting for me to start speaking. I take in a quick breath of air and say, "You- first found me unconscious, right? With bruises and all that stuff-"

"Yes... it seemed like you were bleeding from your head because you hit it against a rock."

"That sounds about right. I... tripped and fell with my head hitting the rock because I had been- running away for so long and wasn't even paying attention to my surroundings."

Bad furrows his brows and asks, "Running away? ...From what?"

I fall silent at that. I look down as I try to build up the courage to say what I want to say. Bad looks at me concerned and says, "Don't feel pressured to tell me, Skeppy. If you aren't ready, then I understand. You can tell me some other time."

"No! I- I am ready...! It's just... going to be a bit hard for me."

'A bit' is an understatement, a part of my brain says to me. Bad smiles warmly at me and says, "Well, if you're ready, then I'm ready, Skeppy."

A small smile of gratitude is shown on my face, but it quickly fades away once I start talking. I say, "Now, where should I start..."

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I told him. Everything. Well- everything except the fact that I have diamond powers which have been used to create weapons. But other than that, I pretty much told Bad everything. From my destroyed community, the lab, the healing property in my blood, the abuse, the poisoning, my escape. Basically, everything. I couldn't look at Bad the whole time that I was explaining, but now that I'm done and am looking at him, he looks absolutely horrified at what he just heard. Earlier, he looked like he wanted to cry, with tears forming in his eyes but never spilled out. After processing what I said for a while, Bad looks at me with a panicked expression and says, "You've been- dealing with all of this ever since you were four? And it's been twenty years since you were taken to that lab!?"

I just give him a short nod. He hunches over, looking at the ground, with a hand over his mouth. I hear him mumble out, "So much makes sense now..."

He then looks up at me and asks, "Is that why you sometimes seem confused about certain things- or you ask about something that you don't know of, like the muffin? Because you forgot about it? I mean- you were so young when you isolated from the world-..."

"Yeah... you're right. I forgot about many things while growing up in that lab. Even my own name. It makes sense why my behavior would sometimes seem weird or out of place."

The words came out of my mouth before I could stop it. I didn't even get to process fully what I said. Bad beat me to it. The moment he realizes what I said, he reacts by saying, "Wait- ...is 'Skeppy' not your real name...?"

I freeze at that. F*ck- I let that slip, didn't I? Well... no point in hiding it now, I guess. I gently nod my head and say, "Yeah... I just made up the name Skeppy. I forgot my real one a long time ago since the doctors at the lab gave me a different name."

"...And let me guess, you didn't want to tell me the name that you were given in that lab?"

I nod. Bad stays quiet for a moment before he asks, "So... you don't remember anything about your real name?"

"Well... I don't remember it, but whenever I stop to think about it, one of the first thoughts that come to my head is that it starts with the letter 'Z'."

"I see... then- do you want me to continue calling you 'Skeppy', or...?"

"Yes, please. I don't have any good memories with the only other name that I know."

Bad stares at me for a moment. It almost seems like he wants to ask me what the name that I was given was in the lab. But he decides against it as he stays quiet. His gaze on me softens, and he scoots closer to me. He then gently pulls me into a hug, which makes me tense up at first, but I don't pull away. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and says in a gentle tone, "Thank you for trusting me enough with this information, Skeppy... I know this must be hard for you. If... you ever need help with anything, are curious about something, or just need someone to talk to, just know that I'm here for you. I'm always willing to listen."

I melt at his tender touch and voice. I feel tears threatening to leave my eyes. I forgot just how much I craved for some sort of affection growing up, to have someone finally care for me. It... feels nice. I bury my face in Bad's shoulder and wrap my arms around him as I let the tears roll down my face. My voice cracks as I say, "Th-ank you- ...so much..."

(I decided to rush and post this earlier because today is my birthday! 😁)