Chapter Warnings: Injury

***

A cold wind swept through the park. Goth shivered as it ripped through him, "Ugh, this weather is the worst. I really should have worn something warmer..."

As much as he loved the white hooded coat given to him by Uncle Papyrus and his tattered scarf gifted to him by his mom, they really weren't doing him much good in near-freezing temperatures. The short-sleeve shirt and shorts he had on underneath probably didn't help, especially with the slush and snow around his feet soaking into the soles of his slippers. He would need to start thinking about changing out his wardrobe to match the nip that winter was bringing with it; one would think being a skeleton would bypass the issue, but his shivering frame said otherwise.

A jingling noise brought Goth out of his thoughts. A quick rifle through his pants pockets produced his phone, the screen flashing to announce the arrival of a text message... from Palette.

Some of the chill ebbed off him at the thought of the cheerful skeleton, replaced by a subtle warmth starting from his soul and flooding outward; Goth had just spent the day hanging out with them, drawing, playing video games, and watching a movie while eating some pizza before the darkening sky finally prompted him to head home at 8:30 at night. It was now just a few minutes shy of 9:30. Unlocking the screen, his messenger popped up.

P: Hey Goth! Do you have any plans tomorrow? I just thought of something really cool we could do!

G: What do you have planned?

P: It's a secret!

P: An awesome secret!

Goth chuckled as he passed by a deserted park bench covered in a thin layer of snow, typing out his response with his left hand while lazily skimming his right hand over the bench, disturbing the snow upon it. Palette must be really excited about whatever he had planned.

G: Lol alright, what time?

P: Meet by the park fountain around 10 AM?

The fountain... he had passed by the snow-covered fixture a couple of minutes ago. If he recalled correctly, water was still trickling from the main spigot; given how cold it was, it would only be a matter of time before the pipes froze over completely.

G: Sounds good, see you there.

P: See ya bright and early tomorrow, buddy!

Amidst the warm feeling, a small prick of sadness arose as if a needle had poked his soul; the sensation stopped him in his tracks as another chill wind blew through him. He disliked when Palette used words like 'buddy', 'pal', 'best friend', and the like; it only served to remind him that his crush only ever saw Goth as a friend, and nothing more. Another prick dug in, a bit sharper this time. His grip tightened slightly on his phone.

As much as Goth wished Palette would feel differently, he simply couldn't gather up the courage to take that leap of faith and confess at the risk of ruining their friendship; it hurt to even think about losing the most important person in his life. Their laugh... their smile... their positive demeanor... their goofy humor... everything.

A small drop landed on his dimmed screen; was it raining?

He looked up, seeing some flurries had started up again, but no rain. Looking back down in mild confusion, he felt something wet slip down his cheek, leaving a stinging trail behind in the cold air; it took him a moment to realize he was crying. He was lucky no one was around to see him.

Wiping at his face with his sleeve, Goth resumed his trip back home at a faster pace with his slippers kicking up snow and slush. The sooner he reached home, the sooner he could go to sleep and forget the aching feeling in his ribcage; at least, he hoped he would.

As the skeleton passed by a gnarled tree, the ground gave out under his left foot; Goth let out a surprised yelp as he floundered to regain his balance. Why was the ground so uneven here; did he meander off the path?!

He grunted as he landed on his side, scrabbling in a panic as he found himself tumbling down a hill. Rocks beneath the snow and branches from bushes bumped and scratched him as he steadily picked up speed down the slope.

No... too fast, he was going too fast!

He thought he heard a ripping noise, but he couldn't afford to care in his desperation to find something to slow him down. Everything was passing by too fast for him to grab hold or even get his bearings.

He barely registered the jagged rock racing up to meet him before pain blossomed in his skull; the world lit up in sparks before going black.

---

Palette grinned widely as he sent a reply over his phone; he couldn't wait for tomorrow to come!

A week ago, his mom had told him about this really pretty area in the park that the older skeleton had found back when Dream and Ink were still together; apparently, not many people knew about it since it was so off the beaten path. When Palette went to look for it himself, he was awestruck at the view; a quiet little hill with a single flat rock overlooking a field of flowers that still somehow managed to bloom despite the frigid temperatures.

He knew Goth loved scenic places, so his best friend was guaranteed to love it. The weather forecast even predicted tomorrow would be cold but sunny; everything looked perfect!

Holding back an excited squeal, Palette looked at the clock on his phone; it read 9:36. Plugging in his phone and setting the alarm, the skeleton pulled up the covers and snuggled into his pillow to ward off the chill in the air. He wanted to make sure to get an early start on the day tomorrow.

***

Word Count: 994