#goth (utmv)

“W-What?” Goth sputtered with a light chuckle, unsure of what Paperjam had meant. Paperjam was always dry and cold, only ever showing their anger and annoyance. They smiled occasionally, usually when Goth made some sort of dark joke. So when Goth looked over to try and get a sense of what Paperjam was feeling, he got nothing. Their multi-colored eyes were looking away, taking in the scenery of the park the pair were walking in. Goth had to admit that he loved looking at Paperjam, they had such a spunky and unique style that just captivated the eyes. Today, their outfit was relatively simple, it being a little chilly and all. Goth liked it though, it made the eye-makeup they were wearing pop. Paperjam was cool, and Goth considered himself lucky to be their friend.

“You can be real cruel with the hearts of men, Goth.” They replied, as if that would help ease any of Goth’s confusion.

“What are you, um, talking about?” Goth swallowed hard before whispering, “Are you mad at me?”

“Mad at you?” Paperjam laughed, it was dry, although it was what Goth was used to, “Nah. Not really. I just think it’s funny. Especially how you’re blissfully unaware of what you’re doing.”

This was weird and Goth was very lost. The hearts of men? Surely Paperjam was talking about themself, but Goth wasn’t cruel with anyone’s heart! At least, not intentionally? He racked his brain, trying to find something, anything, that made this make sense. Of course, Paperjam’s face gave nothing away. Their expression could be considered stoic. Although Goth knew that they had a resting bitch face, if you will. Goth took relief in knowing that they weren’t mad at him, that was what he was mostly worried about.

“Unaware of what! PJ, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Honest.”

“I figured.” Paperjam shifted in their blue jacket, taking their hands out of their pockets to cross their arms. With that posture, they looked even more upset than before. Though, they did walk a bit faster than before. Goth had to quicken his own pace to catch up. If their face was in a scowl, then even Goth would be unable to tell. Their face was neutral. Or, as neutral as Paperjam could get. They were perpetually salty, much like both of their dads. “You couldn’t lie to save your life, Gothy.”

“Then could you tell me what’s up? I don’t mean to be cruel…” Goth hushed his voice to a whisper, hands fidgeting nervously. “Especially not to you!”

“It was kinda dickish of me to just say that huh?” Paperjam scoffed, a smile dancing their lips for a moment. “Sorry.” They scratched the back of their neck awkwardly, pulling their small ponytail over their shoulder and messing with it. They didn’t apologize often, and never to a select few people, and Goth felt a little special every time they did to him.

“I just mean that it's funny. I mean, with you dating my half-bro and all, and then spending basically all the time you have with me when you come over. You ‘oughta let him down easy.” 

There was a beat and Goth had to stop entirely to comprehend what he just heard. Him? Dating someone? Since when?! Did he hear that correctly? Not to mention Paperjam though he was dating one of their half-brothers? Which one? They had like twelve! Almost immediately Goth’s mind went racing as to who Paperjam could be talking about. It was obviously someone on the Ink side, since they didn’t live in Nightmare’s castle, and Goth only ever visited the Star Squad house. Though that didn’t really cut down the list, only dropping Radier and Goth didn’t want to touch him with a ten foot pole. Much less accidently date him!

Goth gave it a few more moments of thought before gasping. There was only a limited number of people who fit the description that Paperjam gave and once Goth thought it through a bit more, it became obvious as to who Paperjam thought he was dating. And he also realized that Paperjam hadn’t stopped walking.

“H-Hey! Paperjam! Wait up!” Goth called out, jogging a little to catch up to Paperjam who had gotten surprisingly far?!

Of course, Paperjam didn’t stop moving. Although they did turn around, raising one of their eyebrows at him. They continued to walk backwards with a confidence that made Goth worry. He didn’t want them to run into a tree or some kind of foliage, or get hit by someone not paying attention while driving or riding their bike! Maybe Goth was just being a little overly anxious, it was really only them in the park. 

“Jeez,” Goth huffed, catching up to Paperjam. “How do you walk so fast?”

“You’re such a dramatic Goth. I wasn’t even that far away from you.”

“I’m not dramatic! I think I’m pretty easy to get along with…”

“Oh, you totally are. But you’re also dramatic as hell. It makes you fun to talk to.”

Goth’s cheeks flushed, and he hid away in the red scarf around his neck. Paperjam turned, ponytail swinging as they did so, and the two were walking side to side once again. Their hands rested in their pockets and Goth took a second.

“Paperjam?”

“Yeah?”

“You realize I’m not dating anyone…right?”

“What? Of course you are.”

“No…um, I’m not dating your brother. Any brother of yours.”

With the most incredulous look on their face, Paperjam turned to him. “Really?”

“Yes!” Goth was exasperated, unsure of why they even thought that he was dating someone. “Did…Palette say something to you?”

Almost immediately, Paperjam went tense. Goth flinched slightly. They looked like Error when they did that. Although he’d never tell them that. They crossed their arms, an intense scowl crawling over their face. Palette. Ink’s golden boy and one of Paperjam’s half-brothers. He was a good kid, usually. And they were pissed that he had lied. Maybe he was jealous, but they didn’t care. They weren’t particularly interested in his thought process. They were interested in how they’d get back at him. Paperjam was the eldest in the Star Squad house, being second only to Lux, who was a year older than them. It was their responsibility to get back at their little brother’s when those hooligans did something stupid. Palette had sealed his fate.

“Yeah. He did.”

“What?! Why? That doesn’t sound like him.”

Paperjam’s body shifted as the two talked, relaxing, although not unfolding their arms. “He was probably jealous and lied to me because he’s a bitchless loser.”

“Jealous? Like, of us? Oh jeez, maybe I should talk to him…”

“Nah, no need. He’ll get over it.”

“Get over what?”

“You.”

“ME?!”

Everything that came out of Paperjam’s mouth continued to slam into Goth like a semi-truck. Admittedly, Goth struggled when it came to romantic intentions, so it was very possible that Palette had been showing signs of liking him that he didn’t pick up on.

“I think that I should definitely talk to him then! I hope he doesn’t think that I’ve been leading him on or something.”

“I don’t think he does, so don’t worry about it.” Paperjam paused for a second, choosing their words carefully, “Does that mean that you don’t like him back?”

“W-Well…I think Palette is nice and all. He’s a great friend, y’know?”

Paperjam rolled their eyes dramatically. Goth tried to pay no mind to it, it was just siblings being siblings. He knew that well enough, being the middle child out of three. Sometimes when they talked about Palette and their other siblings, it reminded him of when Raven talked about him and Shino to Blueprint. Though Raven was always nicer than Paperjam. 

“But um, I don’t see him romantically?” Goth wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. He didn’t talk about his feelings very often, much less romantic feelings! He didn’t even talk about that to his siblings, and he told them just about everything. And Goth did not want to be asked the question that always came after admitting that he didn’t like a particular person. But, maybe, this time would be different! Paperjam was cool and like no one else Goth had ever met! Maybe they wouldn’t ask that dreaded question!

“Yeah no, I gathered that. I don’t see why anyone would see him romantically.” Goth’s heart swelled, this was going well. “Do you like anyone at the moment? Just curious.”

Curses!!!

Even Paperjam couldn’t not ask the question. It was just ingrained in people, he supposed.

Goth definitely did not want to answer that. He nearly choked on air when Paperjam asked. He put a fist up to his mouth, fake coughing into it. It didn’t seem to bother them though. They walked straight ahead, just waiting for Goth to answer.

“Um. Maybe?”

“Maybe?” Paperjam laughed, slowing down slightly so they and Goth were walking at the same pace. The pair walked a few spaces before they wrapped their hand around his shoulders and Goth’s face exploded, cheeks flushing. “We’re buddies, Goth. You can tell me.”

They were so close to him, his cheek basically touching theirs. He could see how their yellow, orange, and pink birthmarks shifted to the brown of their skin. And their mismatched, multicolored eyes, that were pink! He hadn’t realized how magenta their eyes really were until then. They just had so many features that he hadn’t seen before. Also their makeup was much shinier than he first thought! The pink eyeshadow on their eyelids had a slight shimmer to it.

“UM.”

“Goth. I’m not gonna like, make fun of you or something. Unless it’s someone I don’t like, then maybe I’ll be judgemental.” Paperjam laughed, and started walking again, arm still hanging around Goth’s shoulders.

“It’s uh, a secret?”

“Is it me?”

Truly, it was such a shame that Goth was so very, very, terrible at hiding anything on his face. He never told his feelings out loud, but his face was like an open book. Any surprise, anger, happiness, sadness, any feeling he felt was written across his face in the cleanest handwriting known to man. So when Paperjam asked that, despite the clear joking tone in their voice, his face gave it away. That is not how he wanted any of this to go! Oh god, what if Paperjam felt uncomfortable, or didn’t want to be friends anymore, or hated him or-?!

“You’re such a dork, Goth.”

“Huh?! “You’re a fucking loser!” Paperjam laughed, running their hand through Goth’s coily hair. It was as if they were giving him a gentle noogie. Did Paperjam give their brothers noogies? That sounded totally in character for them actually. “A lovesick nerd with very, very, poor taste in romantic interests. But that’s ok. ‘Cuz you’re cute.”

Was Goth hearing that right? Did Paperjam, someone who he had grown to be very close friends with, and gain a little bit of a crush on, call him cute? He was a little astonished, to be completely honest. Goth never thought that cute could be used as a descriptor for him. That was something you called cats or dogs, or bees! Someone could even call a house cute! But not Goth. He didn’t think so, anyway. He could try and change Paperjam’s mind about that but that would just be fruitless. He knew from experience that their mind was not easily changed. He liked that about them. Their conviction to their beliefs was something he admired.

“You…think I’m cute?” Goth asked, just to confirm what he had heard. He hid away in his scarf, pulling it over his nose.

“Yes, Goth. Jeez.” And there it was! The obligatory Paperjam eye roll. Goth saw it coming from a mile away.

The two walked some more, Paperjam’s arm still slung over his shoulders. He questioned for a moment how that was even possible. He was the only sibling in his family who actually inherited Reaper’s deathly touch. Anyone could tell by the holes in his hands, his dark skin sinking into it. It was…gross. It was the bone that was missing, but the muscle and skin was still there. He could touch his family of course, but outside of his home? No way! He had to be careful. And yet, Paperjam always made a point of gently nudging him or touching him briefly. Admittedly, Goth didn’t know a lot about their family. If being related to Ink or Error allowed someone to be immortal was something he wasn’t sure. That had to be the case! Since Paperjam wasn’t dead where they stood!

Once, they grabbed his hand and poked the skin in the center of his hand. It had startled him, since people tended to be freaked out by it. But they weren’t. In their own words, they had said that it was “fucking sick” with a grin on their face. They weren’t ever freaked out by him. Maybe that's why he liked them so much.

With his hand, he messed with his scarf. Still hiding away even as Paperjam pulled away, shifting their hands into their pockets once again. “...Thanks.”

“Sure.”

“Does this, um, mean that we’re dating?”

Paperjam’s eyes fluttered as they took a second to comprehend what they just heard. Their cheeks grew a little warmer, and they averted their eyes. “Is that what that means? I’ve never actually dated someone before.”

“Me neither.” Goth chuckled slightly, messing with his hands. This…entire interaction was really awkward. But he and Paperjam were teenagers, so maybe that was how this was supposed to be? Even though it was awkward, it was still nice. It was a mutual awkwardness and it made Goth feel better. He could probably talk to his parents about what it means to date someone, since they were married and had been for years. However that would open up a new can of worms that, frankly? He didn’t want to deal with! Paperjam definitely couldn’t ask their parents, since they hate each other so much. They could maybe ask Blue? Or Dream?

Goth cleared his throat, “Maybe we could ask Dream? Or the internet?”

“Nah.” Paperjam responded quickly, all traces of them being flustered gone. He wondered for a second if he could make them blush again, before flushing himself at the thought. “I say we just…do it.”

Clearly, Goth’s face showed confusion at the phrase and Paperjam rolled their eyes accordingly. They stopped walking and grabbed Goth’s hand. “What I mean is, we don’t need anyone to tell us what we are. We can date and do whatever, we can just make it work. We don’t need to ask anyone about what we’re supposed to be.”

“Paperjam…” Goth touched their face with his hand. They were really warm. He had to suspect that he was really cold. “That’s really sappy coming from you.”

“Oi!” Paperjam gently punched Goth in his shoulder and he laughed. They chuckled a little as well, playing with their ponytail.

Despite them moving away and taking their hand off of his, he almost immediately put his hands back on their cheeks. “I think you’re right though. I think I like just doing it our way.”

“Haha, oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”