(Archived) Poth Short Stories and One-Shots

Sharing is Caring - Chapter 1

"Palette, what are you doing here? You were supposed to go home!" Goth gasped as he opened the door.

A big test had been announced for Friday. The two boys had decided on Tuesday to meet up for a study session after school on Wednesday and plans had been made to have the meeting at the smaller skeleton's house.

On Wednesday morning, Palette arrived at school sporting bags under his sockets and a flushed face. He spent the day muddling through his classes, even dozing off during lunch, and Goth had explicitly told him to go home and rest after school... yet here he was on the smaller's doorstep, backpack in tow, still looking a bit unsteady on his feet.

Said monster merely flashed a grin and laughed, "It's just a little bug, no biggie. I took some medicine earlier, so I'm good now." He stepped past Goth, taking off his boots at the door and looking around. "I can set up here, right?" he asked, glancing at the cream-colored couch and coffee table. The hooded skeleton's eyes widened, following his guest.

"You can't seriously expect us to study! You look like... well, my dad! Anyway, you're sick and you need to rest!" He shouted, earning a wince from the other skeleton due to his volume. 

"I'm okay Goth, really," Palette reassured him, setting his bag down, "I'm already feeling a lot better than I was this morning, that nap at lunch really helped. Stuff like this never gets me down for long,  plus there's no way I'm missing an opportunity to hang out with my bestest buddy."

Goth grimaced from the combination of 'buddy' and Palette's stubbornness... but ultimately gave in since he knew arguing wouldn't get them anywhere. He also wanted to spend time with his 'bestest buddy', truth be told. 

"Alright... but if you start to feel bad again, we're stopping and you're resting. No ifs, ands, or buts about it," he conceded with a pout.

"Yes mother," Palette 's starry eyes danced with mirth as he pulled open the zipper of his bag. He was met with a single rolled eye light.

"So," Goth sighed, sitting down next to Palette, "Which chapter do you want to go over first?"

---

Palette walked briskly into the classroom Friday morning. The study session had gone great! He actually learned quite a bit from Goth despite feeling under the weather. The small skeleton always managed to find a way to explain everything in a way that made it easy to understand.

Goth had made sure he promised to rest once he got home, going so far as to escort him home to make sure nothing happened on the way. He even got a text message the next day from the worried skeleton making sure he'd listened! He assured the smaller that he'd spent the night resting and taking it easy like he promised he would, reviewing the notes he made on Thursday. 

We're going to blow this test out of the water!

As more monsters and humans piled into the classroom, the excited boy's smile started to fade when his friend didn't appear. The bell rang and Goth had yet to show up, causing Palette's expression to sour. 

Where is he?

He was broken out of his worry as a stack of papers was flapped in front of his face.  He took a paper and passed the stack back to the person behind him, his mind drifting back to the missing skeleton.

Palette wasn't naive, he knew full well Goth didn't need to study, and that their meeting was more for his benefit. He was so smart and caring, it was a wonder he didn't have more friends. 

That's part of the reason I was so adamant about coming to the study session despite... having... a cold...

His soul quivered as realization dawned on him.

Oh stars... I got him sick, didn't I? I stayed home yesterday and I didn't get to talk with him since he only texted me... but Goth would never miss school, especially on a test day, without a reason.

"You may begin."

Palette was startled once more when the teacher spoke. The test had started. Trying to push thoughts of his possibly ill friend out of his mind, Palette turned his test sheet over. 

He had to pass this test before he did anything else. He wouldn't be able to live it down if Goth's potential sacrifice went to waste.

***

Yeah, it's short... but this was more of a natural stopping point in the story.

Word Count: 745