Chapter Warnings: Bullying mention

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Goth breathed a sigh of relief as the bell rang, signaling the school's lunch break period... which meant time to hang out with his best friend and secret crush, Palette. He lightly jogged down the halls, weaving through the students making their way to the lunchroom while making sure to avoid the hall monitors attempting to catch rulebreakers as he headed to his friend's classroom; they usually waited for him there... except the room was empty today.

He stepped back into the hall with confusion written on his face. They ate together every day... Palette wouldn't forget, would he?

Hurrying over to the lunchroom, a quick perusal of the lunch line and the tables showed the skeleton wasn't there either. Goth's mind buzzed with possible scenarios; Palette was really popular, so he didn't think bullies were a problem... did they leave early because they weren't feeling well?

Checking his phone showed there were no new messages; that meant Palette didn't go home... so where was he?

Goth made his way through the crowded room, pushing his way out through a set of double doors that lead to a paved walkway connecting other buildings on the premises. As he was planning out his search route, a faint sniffle caught his attention; it sounded like it came from the courtyard.

Rounding the corner of the building, he nearly cheered at the sight of Palette sitting on one of the benches. Before he could even think to call out, though, the sight of tear tracks running down their face while staring at a crumpled piece of paper in their hands stopped him in his tracks... something did happen.

Dashing up to the crying monster, he shouted, "Palette, are you alright? Are you hurt?" The monster startled from his thoughts, hurriedly wiping the tears off his face with his sleeve as Goth took a seat next to him.

"No, I'm not hurt... at least, not physically. This girl from my class... she said I... I was an insect... that she would... burn my drawings... that I should die," new tears formed and a choked sob slipped out as he continued, "That it... it would be better if people just... forgot about me."

The smaller skeleton's gaze fell on the wrinkled picture in Palette's grip as he clenched his sockets, trying in vain to stem the flow of tears. The picture contained a large sketch of a character. Goth remembered hearing about this character; it was from a show his crush had been into lately. His sockets furrowed at the rip starting in the top left corner, cutting through almost a third of the picture with drops of light green tears dotting the surface.

Goth was outraged that someone would treat Palette this way; he was always such a bright and passionate monster who didn't have a mean bone in his body... how could anyone say such things about him? How could anyone hate him?

"Goth...," Goth's single white eye light met Palette's starry ones; they were clouded with uncertainty as he begged for reassurance, "Is she right? Would it... would it really be better if I disappeared?"

Bristling at the mere idea, Goth shook his skull furiously as he pulled Palette into a tight hug, "No, never! There are plenty of others that want you here... I want you here!" He felt embarrassed by his own words, but he refused to take them back; his companion needed to hear these things right now! A little embarrassment was well worth their smile.

"She can say or believe whatever she wants, but she's just one person... and if she really feels that way about you, then you shouldn't be concerned with her opinions! If you want to draw something and you enjoy doing it, she can't and shouldn't take those feelings from you! There are plenty of other humans and monsters who enjoy what you do," he pulled away from the hug, giving Palette a concerned smile, "so please, don't let her bring you down like that. I know I'd be really upset if you disappeared."

His soul felt like it was flipping in his chest as Palette flashed a watery, yet dazzling grin in response to his impromptu speech, "Thanks, I really needed to hear that."

"Anytime you need to hear it, I'll be here," Goth replied, slipping off the bench and extending his hand toward the taller, "Now come on; I think I know some people that would absolutely love to see your art."

Palette rubbed the remaining moisture from his face and took his friend's hand, "Okay."

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Word Count: 764