Chapter 5

                                    

                                          
Tommy’s POV

                          
    Cold. That was the first thing I felt as I woke up. The next thing I perceived was the soft feeling of a bed beneath me. Slowly I opened my eyes, seeing two men beside where I was lying. The first man was standing up- no, floating. He had a beanie, grey skin, and a yellow sweater that reminded me of something nice, although I’m not sure exactly what. The other man had half black and half white skin and was sitting criss- cross applesauce on the floor. As I looked at them, slowly I could hear their voices fade in. The next feeling I got was an abrupt pain in the throat, like I had swallowed acid.
                          
    I groaned at the sudden pain, sitting up on the bed. Immediately the two men stopped talking and looked at me. “Tommy, are you alright?” The man in the yellow sweater said. I froze. That name. Tommy. In an instant it all came back to me. I had remembered part of my life. The memories were fuzzy and vague, and when I tried to recall them it made me feel sad, so I pushed them away and returned my attention to the situation at hand. 

                          
3rd POV

                          
“Please don’t call me that.” Tommy said, lava bubbles floating out of his mouth as he spoke. “What?” Ghostbur asked dumbly. “Please don’t call me that name. I don’t like it.” Tommy repeated in a small voice. Ghostbur felt a twinge of pain in his chest realizing his brother wasn’t the same anymore. He quickly grabbed a light blue crystal from the table and held it for a moment. After a few seconds it turned a dark blue, and he put it back on the table with a happier expression on his face, the tugging in his heart gone. “Ok! I won't!” Ghostbur said cheerfully. “Well what do you want to be called then?”
                          
    “Uh… I don’t know, you decide for me.” He replied. “Hmm…” Ghostbur said, putting his hands on his hips. “Oh what about Ghostinnit?!” Ranboo said. Tommy stared at him for a moment. “Ghostinnit.. Ghostinnit! I think I like that!” Now renamed Ghostinnit said, cracking a small, slightly nervous smile. “Oh I’ve got another one! TOAST!” Ghostbur proclaimed excitedly. He leaned in towards Ranboo and whispered, “You know, like Tommy and ghost?” Ranboo smiled at Ghostbur, admiring his positive attitude. “I think… I think I like that too!” Ghostinnit smiled. “Ok, so call me Ghostinnit, or Toast!” He exclaimed, proud of his new names. 
                          
    Ranboo grinned at him, while Ghostbur dropped down on his knees so his and Ghostinnit’s faces were about level and took Ghostinnit’s hands in his own. Ghostinnit was about to pull away, afraid of burning him until he noticed Ghostbur wasn’t smoking. Or burning at all. He looked back up at Ghostbur’s excited face, confused. “Hello then Toast! My name’s Ghostbur, it’s nice to meet you! I’m actually your brother… although you might not remember it. Oh and in case you’re wondering why you’re not burning me, it’s because I’m a ghost too!” 
                          
    “Ghostbur.” Ghostinnit repeated, testing out the name. It gave him feelings of sad nostalgia, like happiness and admiration tainted by something dark. “Nice to meet you Ghostbur. I didn’t know I had a brother.” Ghostinnit then turned his attention to the other man, who was still on the floor. “And who’re you?” He asked. Ranboo blanched at that. He didn’t even know who he was. Suddenly tears began to silently fall down his face.
                          
    His friend was dead! A ghost! Tommy- no, Ghostinnit didn’t even remember who he was. He just couldn’t hold it in any longer. This had been building up inside of him ever since he realized Tommy was a ghost. He began to quietly sob, desperately trying to wipe the tears from his face and quiet his sobbing. Ghostinnit paled at this. “Oh, no please don’t cry. Um…” He wanted to hug him, try and comfort him but he knew that if he did he would burn the poor guy again. 
                          
    Suddenly Ghostinnit had an idea. He ripped the partially burned blanket off the bed and covered the front of his body as a protection device, then swiftly pulled Ranboo into a hug. Ranboo blinked in surprise, then hugged him back giving up trying to stifle his cries. The hug was warm, and Ranboo found that the young ghost didn’t burn at the touch this time, even with his arms against his skin unprotected. Instead, he was a comforting warm, like a fireplace on a cold winter’s day. They stayed like that, Ranboo sobbing into Ghostinnit’s shoulder, for a while. Finally Ranboo took a deep breath, and let the last of his tears fall.
                          
    He then drew away from the embrace and looked up at the worried and confused ghost and gave him a small smile. “I’m sorry, that must have kind of scared you, for me to just start crying like that. My name is Ranboo, nice to meet you.” He said, his voice gradually becoming more steady. “O-ok Ranboo. Wha- whatever I did I’m really sorry for making you cry! I swear I didn’t mean it!” Ghostinnit stuttered out, clearly still shaken from Ranboo’s outburst. “It’s ok, it’s not your fault, I promise.” Ranboo replied. 
                          
    Just then they heard a door shut and they both looked over to a panicked looking Ghostbur with an armful of light blue crystals. “Oh- um, since Ranboo seemed sad I went to go get some blue for him. Here Ranboo, have some blue.” Ghostbur set the crystals on the table and handed one to Ranboo. He took it, allowing his sadness and grief to seep into the crystal. Ghostinnit stared at the crystal turning dark blue in wonder. “What’s that?” Ghostbur turned to him. “It’s blue! What you do is hold it, and it takes away your sadness, then you can throw it out afterwards and you feel better!” He explained excitedly. “Here have some blue!” He handed the blue to Ghostinnit, and he took it gratefully. 
                          
The crystal started to turn dark blue in ghostinnit’s hand, the shade turning deeper by the second. Ghostinnit started to feel some of his anxieties slip away, and after a second they were gone. He set the now almost navy blue crystal on the table and looked at his lava- like hands. Although his worries were gone, he didn’t feel happy. Instead, he had a distinct emptiness where his sadness had been. A void of emotion.
                          
He coughed, releasing more lava bubbles into the air. “I’m sorry Ghostbur, but I don’t think I like that all that much.” Ghostinnit then broke into a coughing fit, flurries of lava bubbles coming out of his mouth. He could feel the lava at the back of his throat, threatening to come out but he suppressed it. As quickly as he had started coughing, he stopped, swallowing back the lava still threatening to spill out. Ranboo and Ghostbur hardly had any time to react, but were now by his sides, concerned looks on their faces. 
                          
“Sorry.” Ghostinnit cut in before Ranboo or Ghostbur could say anything. “Sorry about that, I’m ok.” As a few more lava bubbles floated out of his mouth, Ghostbur and Ranboo looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces. He was different. The usual Tommyinnit was brash, vulgar, impulsive, loud and never said sorry. Ghostinnit on the other hand seemed to be actively shrinking in on himself, his voice small and soft, and his demeanor similar to that of a frightened puppy. He was anxious and confused, a barely existing shadow of his former self. 
                          
Ghostbur was worried for Ghostinnit, and right then and there made a promise to himself. He promised to always be there for his brother, and to help him no matter what. Ranboo also made a promise. Looking away from the more innocent Ghostbur, he came to a conclusion. Tommy had a troubled past, almost everyone knew that. Ranboo especially knew just how traumatized and vulnerable the poor kid was. He could barely handle the stress of his past when he was alive, but now that he was dead he seemed all the more fragile. Ranboo promised to himself right then and there that he would protect Ghostinnit no matter what. Protect him from his memories, make sure they wouldn’t shatter him.