Chapter Warnings: Bullying mention
***
Goth felt like his soul would beat right out of his chest as he ducked his skull, stumbling over his words while trying to explain, "Well, um... last night you... you kind of... grabbed me, and wouldn't let go... I didn't really have a choice in leaving... so we... um..."
He wasn't sure if it was his flustered demeanor, his staggered words, the awkward position they were in, or a combination of the three, but Palette's hands suddenly whipped up above his head and away from Goth's waist like he'd been bitten, his eye lights shrunken down to pointy pinpricks as he loudly apologized, "Oh stars, I'm so sorry! I didn't hurt you or do anything bad, did I?!"
The volume had the effect of making them both wince, but Goth was able to recover more quickly as he sat up and hurriedly reassured his companion, "N...no, I'm alright. Nothing happened. I was honestly more startled than anything and you fell asleep right after."
He made the judgment call to leave out why he was within grabbing range in the first place along with the fact that he actually didn't mind the impromptu sleeping arrangement that much.
"Oh," Palette relaxed his posture and sat up against his headboard, his cheeks glowing brightly while wearing an abashed look, "Well, I'm still sorry I did that, it must've been really weird."
"It's fine, no harm done... by the way, how are you feeling? You were pretty hammered last night," the smaller stated.
Palette grimaced pitifully, "My skull really hurts now that you mention it, do you have anything I can use?"
"I have some medicine in the bathroom cabinet," Goth clarified, "I can go get it, are you alright to get yourself some water?"
"I think I can handle that," the taller laughed, regretting the action immediately as he got up to follow his roommate out the door. He was still a bit wobbly on his feet, but he made it to the kitchen without issue and got himself a cup of water to wash down the medicine. Goth got a cup as well, downing a half dose to take the edge off his own mild headache.
Placing the emptied cups in the dishwasher, the pair went back to their rooms to change out of their rumpled clothing from last night and returned to the living room.
As Palette flipped on the T.V. and lowered the volume to something more tolerable, Goth recalled his previous night's curiosity. He broached the subject hesitantly, "By the way, do you remember anything about last night? Like, anything you did or said?"
"Um... not after we started drinking, no. Did something happen?" the taller crossed his legs and rested his hand in his lap, frowning in concern.
"... Kind of? You just got really defensive at the bar when Zeke kept pushing our drinking contest. After that, you were clinging to me the whole way home and said...," Goth paused, unsure of how he should continue, "I'm not sure if I should even be asking, it sounded like it might be personal. Something about old friends?"
"Old friends...," it took Palette a moment, but his face drooped a bit in realization, "oh..."
The smaller backpedaled, "If you'd rather not say, it's fine. I was curious, but didn't want to press while you were out of it last night."
"Oh no, it's nothing too deep," the taller denied, though his smile hung askew despite his words, "I just had some problems with people at my old college that called themselves friends, but they were really just taking advantage of me. I know that now.
"They would ask me to do favors for them, borrow my things, pay their way whenever we hung out... stuff like that. I thought that was what friends were supposed to do, so I always said yes. Problem was, they never returned favors, they never gave back anything they borrowed in the same condition they got it if they returned it at all, and never offered to pay me back when I treated them. One day, I finally got fed up and told them no."
Goth's sockets furrowed, not sure if he liked where the story was going, "... And what happened?"
"That's when the bullying and rumors started," the taller admitted sullenly, "It was small stuff at first. Roping people into ignoring me, saying my parents sent me to live on campus because I annoyed them, claiming I was only being nice to get attention. That didn't bother me too much.
"But it steadily got worse when I didn't give them the reactions they wanted. They turned the few people I still called friends against me by spreading lies, pushed me and teased me when no one else was around, stole the teacher's supplies and planted it in or around my room to blame me, and sabotaged my art assignments so they got torn up or went missing.
"Still, I tried not to let it get to me. I wanted to be an artist no matter what. It all came to a head when the lead administrator's office was broken into and vandalized. Evidence was left behind that put the blame solely on me. It was their word against mine and I had already gained a bad reputation among the students and staff. Without any evidence or allies on my side, I was expelled."
Palette inhaled deeply, his mask of indifference cracking further. Goth scooted closer and wrapped an arm around them much like his companion had over a month ago. The small skeleton tried to keep the anger out of his voice as he said, "I'm so sorry that happened. You didn't deserve that."
Palette gave off a frail smile as he recalled, "I remember at the time, it felt like my dreams had been shattered. I was disillusioned with college, lost the will to do anything artistic for a while, and even had a hard time getting out of bed some days. I nearly gave up on everything, but my mom managed to give me hope. He called an old friend and offered me a new start at a new college... and a month later, I drove out here, started my job at the cafe, and moved in with you."
Goth resisted the urge to move closer, feeling like it might be too intimate after last night's events. He settled for asking, "Was coming out here everything you hoped it would be?"
Palette latched onto him instead, his voice hushed as he said, "It's everything I wanted and more. I'm not confined to a college dorm this time, I only need to go on campus for exams or projects twice a week and can turn in everything else online. Everyone here's so kind and supportive even though I'm still new, no one gets mad or makes fun of me when I make a mistake, and you're always willing to help or answers questions when there's something I don't understand. I finally feel like what I'm doing matters again, and I have you and Mona to thank for that. I wish I had moved out here sooner."
"Well, I'm happy for you. You've earned it," Goth smiled softly, reciprocating the hold to pat his companion on the back. Palette was a kind soul that deserved so much, and he wanted to make sure his companion never fell again.
***
Word Count: 1,235