Okay, so I was going to draw pictures for this story, but final projects are kicking my a** (shenanigans with GUIs and tkinter) among other things and I haven't gotten to post any stories for almost a month because I haven't had time to draw out the scenes. So screw it, you guys get a story without pictures.
Chapter warning: Fire-related character death
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"We were here first, so we should be seated first!" A high-pitched voice shrieked.
Goth turned in his seat to see a brunette woman yelling at a harried host at the front of the restaurant he and Palette decided to end their hangout day at. A man and two children were standing next to her with a monster and their companion standing opposition.
"Ma'am, they're being sat first because they're being seated for a two-person table, your party needs a four-person table," the host explained.
"I don't care, why can't you just pull up another table and seat us?!" the woman screeched. Goth groaned internally at the woman's behavior.
Why did this have to happen? This was supposed to be a nice, relaxing lunch after spending the day hanging out.
"Wow, she sounds really angry," Palette's voice dragged the small skeleton's attention away from the fight. He was watching the spectacle from his own seat, having a better vantage point since he was facing the front. The look on his face seemed to be a mix of uncomfortable and confused.
Goth sighed as he laid his arms on the table, resting his skull upon them, "If she's going to make an idiot out of herself, she could at least be a little more quiet about it."
Can't I have one day where I can hang out with my crush without things going backwards?
As the woman's voice rose in volume, prompting Goth to bury his face in his arms, Palette grimaced, "It doesn't look like she's calming down. They haven't taken our food order yet, do you want to go find somewhere else instead?"
"... Yeah," the smaller huffed, rising from his chair. A crash startled him mid-motion, forcing him to use the table to balance himself as he swiveled toward the source.
The host had been pushed into his computer station... which had begun sparking violently. Before anyone could react, the sparks burst into an explosion, setting the front of the restaurant ablaze and sending the customers into a panic.
"Goth-!" Palette called out frantically, only for his voice to become lost in the din of chaos the explosion created. The small skeleton was jostled by a panicked customer, quickly becoming lost in the crowd despite his best efforts as flames climbed the walls and white smoke began to billow along the ceiling.
Goth gasped as a shove to the back sent him to the floor. He scrambled to avoid being stepped on, eventually finding himself pressed against a wall.
"Palette?!" he tried to yell, standing on his tiptoes to see over the crowd in hopes of spotting his companion. His soul sank as the seconds ticked by with no results.
Where's Palette? Did he already make it outside? What if he's not, though? What if he's still in here looking for me? What if something happened to him? What if he needs help? I can't just leave him. I can't-
He was startled out of his thoughts when someone ran past him, set ablaze and screaming for someone to help them. The skeleton cringed away from the sharp smell of burning flesh, his legs frozen in horror as the body crumpled and fell to dust.
He was used to seeing dead bodies, having tagged along on his dad's reaping duties a few times... but he only ever saw the aftermath and soul collection. This was his first experience witnessing another being in the throes of death.
A monster... died. They're dead. This is... I... I'm...
Goth clutched his chest as his sockets began to water from the heat and smoke surrounding him joining the fear growing inside him.
"...oth!"
Goth's skull shot up at the familiar sound, a watery smile lighting up his face as he barely made out the sight of Palette through the flames and darkening smoke, his scarf pulled haphazardly over his nasal ridge and mouth as a makeshift gas mask.
He's alive... he's here and he's alive!
"Palette!" The small skeleton yelled, staggering away from the burning wall to search for a path that would lead to Palette as the taller attempted to do the same, pulling his own scarf against his face to stave off the smokey air trying to invade his body.
It'll be alright... I'm almost there... we can-
"Look out!" The starry-eyed skeleton yelled, diving forward to shove the smaller, sending him skidding to the ground as a wave of heat rose up around him. Picking himself back up, the words he had been preparing died in his throat at the sight before him.
Palette. Pinned under a charred beam.
The ceiling collapsed. Palette pushed me away. He saved me. And now...
"Goth...," the trapped monster gasped from where he laid beneath the debris, "You have to go... it's dangerous here... get out..."
The words snapped him out of his shock. Shaking his skull in vigorous refusal, he scrambled over to his fallen companion.
The fire blazed wildly around the pair as Goth dug his fingers under the smoldering wood, coughing into the red fabric he was attempting to use to block out the smoke. Palette struggled as the smaller attempted to lift it, wincing as it dug into his bones.
This wasn't supposed to happen! We were supposed to be having fun, hanging out, grabbing a bite to eat... not fighting for our lives...
"Goth, stop... It's not-" *cough* "working," Palette choked into his scarf as he sent the smaller a pleading look, "You have to get out of here... please!"
The hooded monster ignored him, continuing his task undaunted. Another piece of wood fell by his left foot, sending up searing sparks that made Goth flinch at the proximity.
Palette yelled, "Goth!"
"I can't!" the small skeleton shouted back, fighting the urge to cough.
"Yes you can!" the taller retorted, his expression taking on a rare anger.
Goth matched the expression as he reaffirmed his statement, "No, I can't... not without you!"
Palette huffed in frustration through his beige scarf, "Goth... be reasonable-"
"No, you be reasonable!" The hooded skeleton grunted, summoning a pair of bones to aid in lifting the beam higher, "I know you wouldn't leave me, so-" *cough* "what makes you think I would leave you?"
"Stars...," Palette wheezed, "Why do you... have to be so stubborn?"
"Because you're important to me!" Goth blurted out, choking on the sudden intake of polluted air despite his makeshift mask and missing the pinned skeleton's stunned expression.
By the time the smaller recovered his breath, the taller skeleton replied in a subdued tone, "Goth... I get it... but even if I'm-"
"No, you don't get it!" the smaller shouted, clenching his sockets and ignoring how the words irritated his throat. Heaving the wood a few inches higher, he summoned another pair of bones to support the new angle as he continued, "You never got it! You aren't just a-" *cough* "a be-"
His sentence cut out as he began hacking and coughing, fighting to maintain his grip and keep the wood from coming down on Palette's spine.
He regained his breath and resumed scratchily, mindlessly attempting to make Palette understand, "You're not just a best friend to me! I love you! I-" *cough, cough* "I love when you get that silly lopsided grin... when you laugh so hard you start to wheeze, your op-" *cough, cough* "... optimism toward others... how you stick out your tongue... when you concentrate... h... how you get exci-" *cough* "... excited when you learn some... something new... how you can't sing, b... but you still do it-" *cough, cough* "because you have fun do... doing it. Everything about you is special to me!
"I want to-" *cough* "... want to spend every day with you... live with you... m... marry you... have kids with you! I don't want a fu... future... where you aren't there... so... if I have to-" *cough* "... to give up on you to save myself... then I'd rather die! We either leave together or n-" *cough, cough* "not at all!"
Placing more bone supports, Goth risked a glance at Palette. Their eye lights locked, the scarf covering the taller's face falling askew, his eye lights mere pinpricks. The small skeleton broke contact, his cheeks burning while tears pricked at his sockets as he returned his focus solely to the pillar.
I knew it. I knew he doesn't feel the same way. I'm so stupid. We were only ever friends... and now I've ruined that too...
Whatever. Even if he doesn't see me that way, I still won't let him die.
Crouching low, Goth forced his shoulder under the debris, lifting up for what he hoped would be the last push needed to free his unrequited love... all the while stubbornly willing himself to believe the tears streaming down his face were from the noxious air.
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Word count: 1,475