Chapter 17

                                    

                                          
Rider was sound asleep for a while before he woke up. He groggily sat up and breathed heavily, spotting some bandages next to him.
He unwrapped the jacket from his arm and started replacing it with clean bandages. 'I'll get him a new jacket,' he thought sleepily.
Rider had finished wrapping up his arm, ripping the end of the bandage off with his mouth while he held his arm with his good hand. 
He tucked in the edge and looked around. Goggles wasn't here? But then who brought the bandages? Maybe Goggles went to go get a snack so he left again.
Rider waited patiently. 
Silence.
There were some footsteps, and Rider peered over the edge, but it was never Goggles. He sighed and went back to waiting. It felt like Goggles was taking hours.
'Did I scare him away?' Rider thought with a twinge of guilt.
Surely Goggles wasn't scared of him, otherwise he wouldn't have come back to give him bandages. But he wasn't here. Why didn't he get a snack on the way of retrieving the bandages for a one way trip?
Rider got to his feet, picking up the jacket and looking at it. He looked back out and around the Plaza. "G...Goggles?"
"Don't worry Rider!"
Rider looked around wildly. "HUH?! GOGGLES—!?"


"........PFFFFT—-" someone snickered.
"H..uh?" Rider's mouth twitched. That is NOT Goggles.
"Hah! You really think I sound like Goggles? At least one of my impressions is good~ (I'll work on yours, don't you worry!)" What a familiar voice.
"I-" Rider's eye twitched, too.
"ALOHAAAAAA?!?!?!!? ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?!!?!! YOU'RE THE WORST!!! GO AWAY!!" Rider yelled.
"GAAAAH- GOGGLES NOOOOOO!!!!!" Aloha popped his head up, giving his impression of Rider. 
"That was you, wasn't it?" he pointed at Rider with a smug face.
"What- what are you talking about-?!" Rider crossed his arms. "You're being pointlessly annoying right now and I don't like it."
"Oh? You don't know? Then I'll get to see your reaction myself! (I don't have to imagine it anymore~)" Aloha grinned. 
"Reaction to WHAT-?!" Rider started to panic. "WHAT DID YOU DO...?!"
"I didn't do anything! I swear dude!" Aloha held up his hands. "At this point it's on you. You couldn't manage to get away even with my distraction!"
Rider grit his teeth. "Tell me what happened before I kill you."
"AH! WELL-" Aloha's eyes widened. He made sure he could easily get away incase Rider went after him. "You're buddy dude isn't doin' so well."
"WHAT?!" Rider's patience was hanging by a thread. "TELL ME...!!! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"I DON'T KNOW ALL THE DEETS BUT I FOUND HIM LAYIN' AROUND-"
"YOU FOUND HIM LAYING AROUND?!!?!"
"I was just walking around after the party died down and found 'em! Pretty weird? I mean the deuce was just layin' out in the open!" Aloha tapped his chin.
"OH MY— FUCKING COD—-" Rider ran over to the edge and jumped off the top of Shrimp Kicks, rolling when he got to the bottom. 
He quickly stood up. "Show me where."
"AH-?!" Aloha flinched, looking at Rider, surprised. 'He didn't attack me?'
"Hmph~" he jumped off of the vending machine and ran off.
Rider ran after him, keeping his fists clenched. No matter what he saw, he'd probably beat Aloha up for the fun of it afterwards. He still hated him. Annoying jerk.

They both arrived at an area surrounded by bushes not too far from the tree Goggles and Rider hid in.
"Wow! You kept up with me? Guess after all that runnin', you're pretty used to it now~ (If only the ladies chased after you like that~)" Aloha teased.
Rider stopped next to him and glared. "I'm not interested in grabbing a girl's attention like you, Aloha."
"Ah! Because you want Goggles's attention aye?" Aloha walked over and opened up some bushes. 
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I- not what I....." Rider trailed off.
Hidden in the bushes was Goggles, laying on the ground. A small puddle of blood formed beneath him, soaking his shirt. He seemed almost lifeless. 
Aloha looked back at Rider.
Rider stared in horror, his pupils shaking. He couldn't help but breathe heavily to the point of hyperventilating. It felt like the world was crumbling beneath him all over again. He never wanted to feel this way again.