Archive of Our Own

Phantom knew he didn’t belong.

He was a replacement, and a shit one at that.

He wasn’t Aether, and no matter how hard he tried, he knew he would never be anywhere near as good as he was.

And it seemed like everyone else knew it too.

From the second he was summoned, everyone avoided him like the plague. Barely tolerating him enough for practice.

It didn’t help that he was given Aether’s guitar, a black Gibson RD Standard. Fully signifying that he was to take Aether’s place.

And he tried to not let it affect him, Phantom knew that they were grieving from the loss of the previous Quintessence ghoul, but it still hurt to know he wasn’t wanted.

He had hoped that they would warm up to him, that if he gave it his all, that they would accept him. But they never did.

Phantom would put his heart and soul into every practice, even going out once everyone else had settled in for the night to practice more and more until his hands were numb from the pain and a permanent indent found his way onto his finger pads.

Every day was a cycle, wake up tired, pretend he wasn’t, chug a terrible concoction of 5 hour energy, Red Bull, monster, and whatever other energy drink he could get his claws on, give 120% into rehearsals, hide out in his room while everyone else hung out, sneak back into the practice rooms once the sounds of the ghouls quieted down, practice until he physically couldn’t continue, trudge back to his room and collapse onto his bed, and repeat.

As ghouls, he didn’t really eat or sleep to the extent that humans had to. But Phantom could tell that his constant exertion with lack of food and rest was starting to catch up onto him. He felt sluggish, out of it, and never quite really awake.

It didn’t get better when the actual tour started.

Every ritual was a reminder that he was a replacement, that he wasn’t Aether, that he would never be on the same level as Aether. No matter how much he would interact with the fans, or imitate Aether’s moves, or pretend to get up close and personal to the other ghouls, he would never be Aether, he would never be able to do it like Aether.

And everyone knew. Dewdrop, he was told not to call him anything else, including his famous nickname Sodo, turned sour and would never match his energy, instead pretending he wasn’t there, Swiss would turn him away if he tried to interact with him, Papa would walk away if he even stepped close, Rain was nice enough to at least tolerate him being close, but he would never initiate it like he does with DewDrop or did with Aether.

Aurora was the only one who would interact with him willingly, but even that was limited since she was often with the other ghoulettes or Swiss.

Still, he soaked up as much as he could from the little interactions he got. Because he was a Quintessence ghoul, he needed to feed off of positive energy. The energy from rituals was currently the only thing keeping him on his feet. But it wasn’t enough, and he knew soon enough he was going to drop.

It happened sooner than he expected. They were at a ritual, not even halfway through the tour. Dewdrop had started the final song, Square Hammer. Phantom started his bit, waving towards fans to join in as Rain and Dewdrop did their lean, a little part of Phantom wanting to join in but knew they wouldn’t want him to. He had felt off during the entire ritual, but he had kept just pushing himself. This was the last song, he just needed to get through this then he could go back and lock himself away.

Phantom remembers walking towards center stage, prepping to do their big stomp. But it doesn’t happen. Instead his vision blacks out and the last thing he hears are scared and concerned screams from the fans.

The next thing he knows, he’s waking up backstage. He’s on a couch, surrounded by the others.

“Wha? What happened?” Phantom asked, trying to sit up before groaning and laying back down.

“Good job, you passed out.” DewDrop snarked, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Phantom winced, “I-I’m sorry…”

Rain smacked Dewdrop’s arm, “Don’t be a dick, Sodo. It’s not your fault Phantom.”

“Except it literally is, his fucking dumbass thought it would be okay to not take care of himself. Of course he would fucking pass out during Square Hammer.”

Phantom cringed into himself.

“Don’t act like you don’t do the same, we’ve had to force you to take care of yourself more than anything else.” Mountain chimed, resting his hand on Dewdrop’s shoulder.

“Here, drink this. It’ll help.” Mountain handed Phantom a cup of something, probably tea.

“Thank you…” Phantom muttered before tentatively taking a sip.

“You haven’t been taking care of yourself Aeon, now why is that?” Papa asked.

Phantom looked down at the cup, staring at his distorted reflection. How was he supposed to respond?

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m not asking for your apology, Aeon, I just want to know why.” Papa tried again, hoping to get a reason out of the newest ghoul. People, and ghouls, don’t just pass out for no reason. And even ghouls know better than to ignore their needs.

“Just don’t feel hungry…”

Now that was a bold fat lie. Phantom felt hungry, half the time he worried his own stomach was trying to eat him from the inside out. But he couldn’t admit that he didn't want to eat around people who didn’t want him around. It left him feeling sick and without an appetite.

“Liar.” Dewdrop scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Phantom snapped his gaze over to the fire ghoul. And he couldn’t stop himself from spitting out, “Why do you care?”

He immediately regretted it after he said it, snapping back to his tea and wondering if he could drown in the small porcelain mug.

“Why do I care? Why do I care?” Dewdrop seethed, “because you just ruined our ritual!”

Phantom’s breath hitched, of course… Dewdrop didn’t care about him, why would he? He was replacing his pack mate… but a little part of him had hoped… so much for that…

“Look I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pass out and ruin your little moment. I’ll make sure next time I pass out alone in my room so as to not oh so terribly inconvenience you.” Phantom sneered, rushing to get up from the loveseat he had been laying on. He stood up and immediately regretted it, feeling as if he was going to pass out again.

He swatted away the arms that rushed to his side to steady him and bolted away, running to lock himself inside his trailer.

Phantom all but tore his costume off, just now processing that his helmet and mask had been taken off. His clothes were thrown around the trailer, landing on just about every surface.

Phantom brought his now unglamored claws to his arms, digging the sharp nails into his soft skin, ripping it to shreds as beads of blood began to pool in them.

He wiped angry tears from his eyes, scratching his cheeks in the process as his nails caught on his skin.

Eventually he stopped, and was reduced to a ball on the floor, sobbing weakly, his arms gripped roughly in his claws as if letting go meant that he would die.

He has fucked up… majorly… He was probably going to get kicked off the project, maybe even sent back down into the pit.

He shuddered at the thought of that. He would do anything to make sure he didn’t end back there, even if that meant he had to beg on his hands and knees and do anything they asked. It was hell down there, literally and figuratively. He was constantly mistreated and abused, having to fight for even scraps of scraps, typically finding himself at the mercy of bigger stronger ghouls. Quintessence ghouls were supposed to be one of the most powerful, but with his luck he was a runt. Skinny and weak, his longer limbs serving to be more of a pain than an asset. He often found himself forced to take the aggression of other ghouls, often those who had been beaten or ‘wronged’ by a strong quintessence ghoul.

He’s heard what the other ghouls and ghoulettes got up to, especially during tours where they’re pent up. And while he had originally thought he was free from being below others now that he was topside, it seemed as if he was back to square one. But even then, up here was better than down there and he would do what he had to.

Eventually, the tears stopped. He was tired, having just spent however long crying after already being past the point of exhaustion. The blood had stopped and had begun to scab over, the scratch marks leaving his arms an angry red and burning.

Phantom pulled himself together and wrapped his wrists with some bandages he had in a first aid kit that all the trailers seemed to have. He then dressed in some more comfortable clothes without daring to look at himself in the giant mirror. He accidentally caught a glimpse and he couldn’t stand to look at how pathetic he looked. His eyes were red and bloodshot, stinging from how raw he had rubbed them. He had little scratches on his cheeks from his claws, leaving red lines all over. His lips were dry and cracking, blood smeared on them from him biting his lips so hard and piercing them with his fangs. He looked away as quickly as he could.

He reluctantly unlocked his door and made his way outside after slipping on some shoes. He made his way towards the tour bus, fully expecting it to be gone and leaving him to find his own way to whatever hotel they were staying at. Not that he even knew the name of the hotel. He probably would have to just sleep in his trailer for the night, making a makeshift nest out of his clothes.

Surprisingly the bus was still there. He hesitantly stepped on, refusing to make eye contact with everyone and instead staring at the floor.

“Fucking finally, took you long enough.” Dewdrop complained from where he was sitting.

Rain leaned over and landed a hand over his mouth, shooting an apologetic smile towards Phantom that he would’ve caught if he hadn’t been staring at the floor, never mind the fact that somehow he wasn’t out of tears and his eyes had begun to water once more.

Phantom proceeded to just rush towards the back of the bus where no one else was and plop himself in an empty seat, he hoped they would leave him alone ‘like they had been til now’.

He closed his eyes and willed his tears away, ignoring the yelp that came from Rain as Dewdrop proceeded to bite his hand.

Someone sat down next to him, but Phantom dared not to open his eyes.

“Are you okay?” It was Mountain.

Phantom responded with a noncommittal noise.

“We were all worried about you when you locked yourself in your trailer. I think Dewy was a couple seconds from straight up busting your door down. But Rain convinced him to give you space and time and said that you would come out on your own accord.” Mountain explained.

Phantom doubted that ‘Dewy’ was worried, he likely was tired of waiting for him to get his act together.

It seemed as if his doubts were present in his expression from Mountain’s frown.

“Have some water, you look dehydrated.” He handed him a can of liquid death.

“Thanks…” Phantom muttered, taking the can into his own hands, eventually taking a sip after Mountain continued to stare at him expectantly.

Phantom cringed at the metallic taste, unsure if it was from the can or his own busted lips.

“You should get looked at.” Mountain commented, taking in Phantom’s appearance as well as the fact that he had passed out earlier.

Phantom made another noncommittal noise.

“I’m serious, people, and ghouls especially, don’t just pass out of nowhere. And I doubt those scratches on your cheeks are the only injuries you’re housing right now. When was the last time you ate? I know we don’t have to eat as often as humans do but it helps us maintain energy, and even with your ability to feed off energy it’s not enough to properly sustain you.”

Shit, it seemed like Mountain knew his stuff.

“You aren’t the first ghoul to overexert themself, your bodies are a lot different than what it was down in the pit, I’m sure you’ve realized, but you have to get accustomed to taking care of it.” Mountain explained.

Phantom shrugged in response, what even was the last thing he ate? Had he even eaten since he came topside. Everything had blurred together.

“Let’s get you some food once we’re at the hotel. I can’t promise you it’ll be the best but you need something. And I’d like to look at any wounds, or at least let someone else do it.” Mountain looked at him with a sad expression.

‘I don’t want your fake sympathy and pity…’

But he didn’t say that. He didn’t want to be rude. This was what he had wanted, wasn’t it? Love and affection, even if it was fake and forced.

Instead he gave a weak smile, hoping it would please Mountain.

It was either convincing enough to please Mountain, or he just gave up but Mountain quieted down. He didn’t leave though, instead staying by his side in silence.

It felt awkward, suffocating in fact. But Mountain seemed blind to it, simply sitting there with his eyes closed, soaking up the quiet.

Eventually their bus came to a stop outside some hotel in whatever city they had performed at. Phantom forced himself to get up and dragged himself off the bus, everything having caught up to him leaving him practically dead on the spot.

He wasn’t even sure he would have the energy to enter the building, let alone his room and shower before collapsing on the bed.

Luckily, he was able to drag himself into the hotel and eventually into his room. Unluckily, he was rooming with Dewdrop.

Phantom heavily debated trying to chuck himself off the balcony or sleeping in the hallway, or just anything to avoid rooming with Dewdrop.

And it seemed Dewdrop felt the same way, if the constant fidgeting was to imply anything.

Of course Dewdrop didn’t want to room with him, he hated him, he was his friend’s replacement, his worse stand-in.

His overthinking was interrupted by a voice.

“Sorry bout earlier, shouldn’t have gotten all pissy.” Dewdrop apologized.

‘Oh…’

“Oh, it’s okay.” Phantom cringed, hoping to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible.

Dewdrop rolled his eyes, “It’s really not. I was being an ass.

“It’s fine, really. It’s not like I’m not used to it.” Phantom muttered, hoping that last part wasn’t caught by the fire ghoul’s ears.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Dewdrop’s head snapped towards Phantom and he stalked forward, “What do you mean?” He demanded.

Phantom took a step back, his hands raised in case something happened. “W-what?”

“What did you mean by that you’re used to it?” Dewdrop demanded once more, staring Phantom dead in the eyes.

Phantom was taller than the fire ghoul, but at that moment it felt as if he was staring up at Mountain with how Dewdrop’s presence towered over his.

“It’s not like I’m the most popular ghoul or anything…” Phantom muttered, his comment lacking the humor he had hoped to land on.

Dewdrop opened his mouth to start but he couldn’t get a word out before Phantom continued.

“And I get it, you all don’t want me here. Hell, I wouldn’t even want myself here. I know I’m just some crappy replacement for Aether, some kid you scraped out of the pit to be some D list member of the band. A failure who will never be able to live up to Aether, no matter how much I fucking practice. I get it, I already know I’m a disaster, a screw up, a washout, a let down, a botched ghoul-“ tears were starting to well up in his eyes when Dewdrop interrupted him.

“Stop, stop.” Dewdrop stared at him, an emotion clouding his gaze that Phantom couldn’t quite read. “What are you going off about?”

Phantom was silent, he hadn’t meant to explode like that. “It’s nothing…, pretend I didn’t say that…”

“What?! No! I’m not just going to ignore that self deprecating shit you just dropped on me! You expect me to just continue on my day like you didn’t just drop that bomb on me, what the fuck?”

“… it’s just… you guys have made it pretty fucking clear you don’t like me…”

Phantom refused to look up at the other ghoul, instead trying to focus his watery gaze at anything else but the figure in front of him.

The room felt significantly hotter as the fire ghoul steamed in front of him. Phantom felt his clothes dampen with sweat, and he was sure he was going to piss himself in fear. He had heard of the shit Dewdrop could do if someone set him off and he was sure he just had.

Phantom scrambled for an excuse to leave the room, “uh I’m going to go out for a smoke.”

He didn’t even smoke.

But it gave him enough time to scramble out the door and that’s all that mattered. He winced as the door slammed and a “you don’t even smoke!” Was heard from the fuming fire ghoul inside.

He raced towards the fire exit stairs and jumped down, barely landing on each step as he tried to get as far away as possible. He faintly heard the door slam open and Dewdrop make his way to the same stairs to chase after him but by that point he was already out of the stairwell.

Luckily for him he had reglamored himself on the bus so he was able to easily slip in between humans and find some random corner of a Starbucks to hide in. He just needed to hide until Dewdrop eventually calmed down and went back to their room and fell asleep. That couldn’t possibly take that long right? Rituals were exhausting, especially for the little fire ghoul who made it his life goal to spend as much energy into everything.

By some good fortune he had enough cash and coins crumbled away in his pockets to order a small cup of coffee, pointedly ignoring the annoyed look the cashier at the Starbucks had given him for having to count change.

And so he sat in a little corner, taking small sips of his coffee until it was cold and everyone else had left.

Eventually he could no longer prolong his return and trashed the cup, trudging his way back up the stairs and into his room, glad that he had the other key with him as to not wake up Dewdrop when he returned.

The lights were off when the door creaked open, reassuring Phantom that Dewdrop had turned in for the night. As the light faded from Phantom closing the door, the lamp turned on with a click. And with it, an angry looking Dewdrop, sitting on the bed.

Phantom jumped back in surprise, having not expected the other ghoul to still be awake.

“Where have you been?” The fire ghoul demanded.

“Wha-what?”

“I said, ‘where have you been?’ Do you know what time it is? You left for a ‘smoke break’ for 3 hours! What, did you smoke an entire store out of their cigarettes?” Dewdrop repeated, fuming in his seat. Visible smoke was at this point seeping off of the shorter man.

“I got a drink…” Phantom started, quite unsure of where the other was taking this conversation.

“You went out drinking?! You fucking passed out earlier today and don’t think I haven’t noticed that you didn’t eat anything today! Fucking Satan, how incompetent can you get?”

Phantom immediately denied the accusation, “Nono, I meant coffee! The Starbucks in the lobby, you can go ask the barista!”

Dewdrop gave him an unamused look, “You mean to tell me you spent 3 whole fucking hours drinking coffee? Satanas Phantom, it’s fucking one am, why were you drinking coffee of all things.”

Phantom didn’t have a response to that. How was he supposed to explain that he was trying to hide from the fire ghoul.

It seemed the other could read his expression because he grew a scowl on his face. “You better have eaten something too, caffeine on an empty stomach, Satanas.”

Dewdrop stood up and stalked his way over to the other ghoul, taking in his appearance.

“C’mon, let me see your wounds. I know damn well Mount told you to get them dressed and from that guilty ass expression you’ve got on you clearly haven’t.”

Phantom took a step back, “I… did..”

Dewdrop gave him an unimpressed look, “yeah right.”

“They’re fine…I dressed them up myself earlier…please just leave it…”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” With that Dewdrop grabbed Phantom’s wrists and rolled up the sleeves, revealing the hastily wrapped bandages underneath. “Mm, good job dressing them,” sarcasm dripped from his words.

Phantom cringed into himself as Dewdrop began peeling back the bandages, revealing his wounds bit by bit.

Dewdrop hissed as he assessed the damage, “Satan have mercy what the hell did you do to yourself.”

“I’m sorry…”

Dewdrop hummed and pulled Phantom over to a bed, sitting him down on it. He then went to his bag to pull out a protein bar which he tossed to Phantom before grabbing some first aid supplies to properly address his wounds.

“Eat.”

Phantom held it in his hands for a moment, unsure of what to do. Surely Dewdrop wouldn’t try to poison him like the ghouls down in the pits would. Right…?

“For fucks sake, I will literally shove it in your mouth and force you to chew and swallow it if you don’t.” Dewdrop growled, back in front of Phantom once more.

Phantom flinched and hurriedly moved to unwrap the bar, dropping it in the process. He panicked and rushed to pick it up, unintentionally head butting Dewdrop right in the stomach.

Dewdrop grunted, luckily avoiding the horns. “Hey! Watch where you’re moving! I’d rather not be fucking stabbed with your horns thank you.”

“Sorry!” Phantom apologized, slowly down to properly open the bar and take a bite as Dewdrop took one of his arms to bandage it

It felt weird… chewing… The texture wasn’t like anything he was used to, nor was the flavor… but once he had started eating he found himself unable to stop. His body was so hungry that he devoured the entire thing in mere seconds.

“Did you even chew?”

Phantom flushed in embarrassment, he had been so engorged in eating that he had forgotten about the other.

“I have another one if you want it.”

Phantom felt bad asking for another one so he stayed silent.

He could feel Dewdrop’s eyes staring into him though before the other sighed and walked away, making Phantom snap up at him. A little part of him had feared he was going to leave.

Before anything else could happen a protein bar smacked into his face.

“…” Dewdrop was silent, he had tossed the protein bar but didn’t expect Phantom to just not catch it.

“Thanks…” Phantom muttered before opening that one and eating it as well, much slower this time.

Dewdrop began to wrap the other arm, his touch delicate and light, so unlike his presence. Phantom, now not as hungry, was able to actually enjoy the protein bar. It was sweet, and quite nice.

Soon enough there were two empty wrappers and two wrapped arms.

“Do you have any injuries on your legs?” Dewdrop asked.

Phantom shook his head no.

“Are you being honest? Because if I find out you lied to me I’m going to kick your ass.”

“I promise!” Phantom squeaked. “Just my arms and face!”

Dewdrop gazed at him, accessing his honesty.

“Fine, let me put this ointment on your face”

Dewdrop stepped closer to rub a healing ointment on Phantom’s cheeks and his eyes fluttered shut, his breath hitching as the other’s touch landed on his skin.

“There, done. Now you and I need to have a talk.

Phantom cringed, “Do we? I’m really tired and I’m sure you are too. We should just go to bed and talk tomorrow instead.”

“And who’s fault is that?” Dewdrop asked, rolling his eyes. “You avoided this conversation once already, you’re not doing that again. We’re going to sit here and have this conversation whether you like it or not.”

Phantom sighed and shuffled around in his seat, getting comfortable. Dewdrop sat next to him on the bed and turned to face Phantom.

“So…” Dewdrop started, “what happened?”

Phantom cringed. It was such a simple question but it left his head swirling in replies.

Dewdrop noticed that Phantom was getting lost in his head and gently placed a hand on his thigh.

“How about I reword that… let’s break it down a bit. What happened on stage today?”

Phantom chewed his lip for a moment, pondering how to phrase his response. “I was tired… everything had felt sorta fuzzy… but I didn’t want to cause any trouble and I thought I could make it through the ritual! But it got real bad towards the end. Last thing I remember is making my way towards the center front in Square Hammer and then screaming. Next thing I know I was waking up…”

Dewdrop sat still for a moment before nodding, “I think we all noticed you weren’t doing the greatest, but you weren’t saying anything about it so we didn’t press. We should’ve if it would’ve prevented you from dropping like a fly on stage.”

Phantom flinched, “Sorry…”

Dewdrop hummed, “So you don’t remember passing out?”

“Yeah, it felt like I blinked and the next moment I was on the couch.”

“Ah, well you walked up to center stage, but you were lacking all the finesse you typically have. You sorta wobbled? And then you just fell over. Thank Satan you didn’t fall forward and instead fell towards me, or else you would be in a hospital right now.”

Phantom winced, “I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Dewdrop scoffed, “I’ve handled worse than a ghoul passing out on me. It’s not like Swiss likes to pretend I’m a pillow and just flop his entire body onto me.”

“I could’ve knocked you over, or damaged your instrument… or Aethers! Fuck, are they both okay!?” Phantom panicked, hoping he didn’t break either instrument, but especially Aether’s guitar. It had been passed down to him and was extremely sentimental to the other band members but especially Dewdrop.

“It’s your guitar, not Aether’s… not anymore. Why do you refer to it as his?” Dewdrop questioned, catching onto the fact that Phantom hadn’t referred to it as his own even though it now was.

Phantom didn’t have a response. Why had he not called it his own? Has he ever called it his own? He never really felt like it was his… more like he had borrowed… no- stolen- it from Aether. It wasn’t his… How dare he take someone’s instrument, just like how he dared to take his part.

Before Phantom could spiral into his thoughts, Dewdrop’s hand rested itself on his back, tracing different sigels into it.

He recognized a few, sowilo, wunjo, algiz, jera-a.

“Why did you pass out? I know it’s cause you haven’t been taking care of yourself but I need more information.”

Dewdrop paused and then added, “Don’t even try to lie to me and say you weren’t hungry because we both saw how you devoured those protein bars.”

Phantom’s shoulders dropped. “I haven’t been getting much sleep… and I haven’t really eaten…”

Dewdrop didn’t say anything, waiting for the other to continue.

“I’m exhausted all the time but I just can’t rest…” Phantom paused and continued much quieter, “I feel like I can’t take a break…I don’t deserve to, so I practice instead because I need it, I’m ass… I keep messing up my marks and even things we’ve gone over so many times! I need to practice so I can stand with all of you… even if I’ll never reach your level…. I need to make Aether proud, so that he doesn’t realize he gave up his part to the worst possible replacement that’s literally ruining the project.”

“So you’re sacrificing your rest time to practice because you think you suck ass…?” Dewdrop reiterated.

“I know I suck ass…” Phantom muttered bitterly, “but yeah…”

“You don’t suck ass, you’re missing ques because you’re so exhausted and because of that you think you need to practice more which is only making it worse. It’s a cycle.”

Now Phantom knew, logically, it made sense. But his head didn’t want to accept that.

Dewdrop could tell that it was going to be a process that needed to be worked on instead of something that could be fixed in one talk so he dropped it for now.

“How about your eating habits? You’re malnourished, Phantom.”

“I just… don’t have an appetite… the thought of eating kinda makes me want to puke…” Phantom mumbled, fiddling with his fingers.

“Do you feel like puking now?” Dewdrop asked, concern flooding his face.

“Erm… sorta? But I’m not going to… actually eating is fine I just, feel all icky and bad when I think about eating…”

“So it’s not actual sickness but more like mental…?” Dewdrop asked, trying to understand the situation better.

“I guess yeah…”

“So what about eating makes you so… overwhelmed…?” Dewdrop was studying Phantom’s expression.

“It’s a bunch of different things I guess…. Human foods are weird, they’re a lot more than food down in the pit… it’s hard to word it.”

Dewdrop nodded along, “Yeah, I get that. Foods up here have a lot more variety than what we’re able to get down in the pits. It’s pretty overwhelming when you’re new to it.”

Phantom took a deep breath before continuing, “I’m a runt…”

Dewdrop nodded, it was a fact. Compared to the previous Quintessence ghouls Phantom was by far the smallest.

“You know what it’s like don’t you…? Runts aren’t treated the best down there… and… and so many ghouls have anger that they just release on us… especially since I’m so weak compared to the other Quintessence ghouls, I make an easy target for them to take out their issues…and I often didn’t get food, and what food I managed to scavenge was barely even edible or enough to energize me. Then there were the occasions where some ghoul thought it would be funny to pretend to be nice to me, only to feed me some poison.”

Dewdrop frowned, remembering his own experiences in the pit. “To be honest, I rarely dealt with much aggression. I was a Water ghoul before, and they’re one of if not the most peaceful type of ghoul down there so no one typically messes with us. But even with that I did deal with minor issues for being so small compared to even other Water ghouls. But yeah.. I’ve seen how bad it can be down there for other runts… I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault,” Phantom said before what Dewdrop said really caught up to him. “Wait, you were a Water ghoul? But you’re a Fire ghoul now…”

Dewdrop’s breath hitched, “I forgot you didn’t know. I used to be a Water ghoul. Before Rain came along I was the bass guitarist, but when Ifrit left the Clergy summoned a new ghoul to take his place… but instead of a Fire ghoul it was Rain. So I was changed into a Fire ghoul… it was a rough transition, especially from being water to fire… and I took out my pain and anger onto Rain… but now I realize he didn’t steal my Water or my position. It was my choice to switch, for the sake of the project.”

Phantom looked at Dewdrop in amazement, “Wow… you’re so… strong… I don’t think I would be able to handle having my entire elemental change… that must’ve been so painful… and to see your old spot taken by someone new…”

Dewdrop let out a sad chuckle, “I’m not proud of how I handled the switch, if I could, I would travel back in time and beat my younger self up for even getting the idea of getting upset at Rain. He didn’t deserve my anger.”

Dewdrop took a moment before continuing, “Nevermind my issues, keep talking. I know that isn’t all that’s keeping you from eating.”

Phantom’s breath flinched, he had hoped he wouldn’t have to share the final reason.

Dewdrop looked at him with kind eyes, something he really hadn’t ever seen before.

“It’s hard to eat… with you all…” Phantom muttered.

“What do you mean?” Dewdrop inquired.

“It’s just… It’s awkward… you guys are all… I don’t know… it’s hard to say…” Phantom trailed off, weakly motioning with his hands as if that could convey the thousands of feelings that were storming around in his mind.

Dewdrop waited patiently for him to continue.

“I just feel like… like I don’t belong… you know…?” Phantom stared down at his lap, unsure if he could take the look that Dewdrop was giving him.

Before he knew it, Phantom began to ramble. “And it’s- it makes sense. I’m new, I’m the replacement. Of course you wouldn’t want me around. It's just, it’s really hard to eat around people who actively wished you weren’t there…”

Dewdrop cut him off, “Who said they don’t want you there?”

Phantom looked up and Dewdrop was steaming in his seat. His face was hardened and clearly upset.

“No one’s had to say it… no one’s had to say anything.” Phantom replied, more bitterly than he would’ve liked.

“What do you mean?” He asked, looking a bit taken back.

“You guys are all pretty clear that you don’t want me around…”

“You keep saying that, what makes you think we don’t want you around.” Dewdrop strained.

“…” Phantom gazed off, wondering where to even begin.

He took a deep breath and sighed, “Just a lot of things I guess… like since I was summoned you all have been indifferent to me, if not straight up mean… Like everyone avoids me, I’m always alone, no one ever includes me in anything. I’m always just secluded in my room, even during this tour whenever you all go out I’m just left in the hotel, abandoned. I had to figure out everything on my own, no one’s been there to help me adjust from the pit. And I get it it’s not your job, it’s not your responsibility but you all did it to Aurora! So why couldn’t you all be there for me! I needed help adjusting, I needed assistance figuring out what to do with everything! I was new to everything here and you all just left me to figure it out on my own! I learned a fucking language on my own! I learned how to play guitar on my own by sneaking back into the practice rooms at night! I did everything on my own!”

He paused, allowing himself to catch his breath.

“And I try so hard, so fucking hard. To be liked by you all. I get it! You didn’t want me but you didn’t have to just fucking exclude me like that! It’s not my fault! I didn’t ask to be brought here! It’s not my fault that Aether isn’t here! Yet you all act like I did this on purpose, like I wanted to take his spot! And you’re the worst of them! You haven’t liked me since the start! You find any excuse to comment on what I’m doing wrong, fuck you won’t even look at me half the time! I feel like I have to beg for your attention only to just get shoved and pushed away like I’m not even anything worth looking at! You told me to stay away from you and you tried to bite me when I accidentally called you Sodo because that’s what everyone called you and no one fucking thought to actually introduce me to you all. Even the fucking fans have noticed how you just look away whenever I try to interact with you on stage! You can’t even stand me enough to pretend to not fucking despise my guts for one fucking second.”

Phantom had angry tears streaming down his face by the time he was done and he was breathing heavily from how worked up he had gotten.

“So tell me, Dewdrop. How am I supposed to feel when that’s how I’m treated by all of you. Tell me, how am I supposed to take that? Because what your actions have translated to me is that I’m trash, I’m worthless, I’m useless, I’m not wanted, I should just go die and crawl my pathetic ass back into the pit!”

Dewdrop looked horrified and he attempted to stutter out a response, “I…”

Phantom beat him to it, “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to go off on you…”

Dewdrop snapped out of his shock, “Wh-what? Why are you apologizing?!”

Phantom cradled his knees, “You’re getting over Aether’s departure… I shouldn’t be pushing my insecurities onto you…”

“You’re not pushing your insecurities onto me… I’ve been treating you like a dick… all of us have… You’re right, we were hurt by Aether leaving, but that doesn’t give us the right to treat you the way we did. None of this was your fault. You didn’t ask for this, you didn’t take Aether from us. But we treated you like you did. You needed us to be there for you, to help you adjust. Like we were for Aurora and every other ghoul and ghoulette before… we failed you.”

Phantom didn’t know how to respond, he hadn’t been expecting Dewdrop to react like this. At most he expected the other to get mad at him, get upset, maybe fight him or kick him out of the room… not whatever this was.

“It’s okay…”

“No, it’s not,” Dewdrop angrily snapped before reeling himself back, “sorry I shouldn’t have been so aggressive saying that. What I mean, is that it wasn’t okay for us to treat you like that. But we’ll fix it. I promise, we’ll make it up to you- I’ll make it up to you.”

Phantom sniffles and Dewdrop scoots closer until the two are pressed together.

“I’m sorry, Aeon. I’ve treated you terribly, all because I couldn’t get over Aether’s leave. It isn’t your fault that he isn’t here anymore, but I acted like it was. You didn’t deserve my hate and anger, nor anyone else’s. I promise none of us hate you, we just have been having a hard time getting over it. Which isn’t an excuse for how we handled it, but our reasoning for it. I promise I’ll try harder, I wasn’t thinking about how my actions would affect you or make you feel. I was just upset and you were there, wrongfully caught up in my turmoil.”

Phantom was silent for a moment, taking in everything that Dewdrop was saying. “You promise you don’t hate me? I didn’t ruin everything Aether built?”

Dewdrop was quick to erase Phantom’s insecurities, holding his hands in his own, “Of course. I promise I don’t hate you. I’m just an asshole who should’ve thought about your feelings. And you haven’t ruined anything. You’re perfect, Phantom. You’re so dedicated, and kind, you work so hard, and you’re so talented. I’m glad that you’re the one taking over for Aether, because you’ve done nothing but improve since you arrived. Aether would be proud to hand you his mantle.”

Phantom wiped away his tears, “Really?”

“Really.” Dewdrop assured, nodding his head firmly and moving one of his hands to play with Phantom.

Phantom chirped and leaned in closer to the touch, finding comfort in the hand running through his hair.

The two sat in silence, Dewdrop, soothingly combing through Phantom’s hair with his claws, while Phantom leaned into the touch, having never experienced touch that was so soft and lacking of ill-intent.

Eventually Phantom’s head began to loll over, his exhaustion having fully caught over.

“You’re tired Phantom, you should go to sleep.” Dewdrop commented endearingly.

“Mmm” Phantom hummed noncommittally, not making any moves to get up and away from Dewdrop’s touch.

Dewdrop began to retract his hand but Phantom’s voice cut him off, “Noo,” he whined, “don’t stop, feels nice.”

Dewdrop chuckled softly, “C’mon. We can cuddle as we lie down. But we’ve both had long days, especially you.”

“Fine…”

It took much more effort to get them both comfortably in the bed than necessary. But eventually the two were cozyly under the covers.

Phantom snuggled into the other’s body, wrapping himself in his warmth. It felt nice, protective, and comforting.

Dewdrop had his arms swaddled around Phantom, releasing just enough heat to keep the two nice and toasty.

One of his arms was being used as Phantom’s pillow while the other traced a couple pentacles into the Quintessential ghoul’s back.

Soon enough the two fell asleep, still tightly bundled up within one another.

The next morning, Dewdrop woke up much earlier than the other. Luckily today was a free day for the ghouls, a day to rest up before they had to continue moving to the next ritual.

He placed a light kiss on the still resting Phantom and slipped out of bed to find the others. He needed to have a conversation with them and discuss what had happened with Phantom the night before- or well earlier that morning.

Dew went from door to door, gathering all of the ghouls and ghoulettes into Copia’s room.

Looking around the room, most of them were confused, some even barely awake. All of them quite unsure of why Dewdrop of all people had gathered them together.

“Why are we all gathered here in my room, Sodo?” Papa asked, still dressed in his silk robes.

Murmurs of agreement passed the room.

“We need to talk about Phantom.” Dewdrop stated, his arms crossed as he stood in the center of the circle ish shape that had formed.

“Look we get it, you don’t like Phantom, you don’t need some meeting to tell us.” Aurora chimed, rolling her eyes.

She was the 2nd newest ghoul, but she wasn’t blind to how differently she had been treated in comparison to Phantom.

She had been welcomed with warm arms and given infinite patience as she adjusted to life on the topside while Phantom was disregarded and thrown into the deep end.

Aurora had wished to help Phantom but she could never catch him, he would bolt the second anyone even looked at his direction. And for good reason, anyone would feel threatened by the way some of the ghouls looked at him when he even entered a room as if they were asking, ‘Why are you even here, leave.’

Dewdrop sighed, “I know I haven’t treated Phantom the kindest… or kindly at all. But I realized my mistake… and the thing is, we’ve all been treating him like shit! He was saying all these things yesterday and I didn’t realize it could but my heart actually fucking shattered.”

Everyone was silent, waiting for Dew to elaborate by what he meant.

“He thinks we all hate him! He thinks he’s shit, that he’s useless, that he is ruining everything and he isn’t! He’s literally so talented, he’s so kind, he puts in so much effort and we- I- just disregarded that! I made him feel unwanted!”

“What do you mean?” Mountain asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on his legs.

“He’s not even taking care of himself. He barely gets any sleep, he fucking sneaks back into the practice rooms at night apparently, he doesn’t eat because he’s uncomfortable and feels like we don’t want him there and he literally fears being poisoned! I gave him some protein bars yesterday and he thought I poisoned it! He genuinely feels like he’s trash and it’s all our fault! We all avoided him because we missed Aether but we didn’t take his feelings into account! He was just new and instead of helping him we hurt him!”

Some of the ghoulettes were crying and everyone was somber and remorseful as they took their actions into consideration.

“So what do you suggest we do, Dewy?” Copia asked.

“I-I don’t know. I want to show him that he’s loved and cared for.” Dewdrop frowned, how was he supposed to show someone who didn’t trust them that they cared. “He’s been used and played so many times below in the pit, he’s not going to believe or trust us if we just start bombarding him with care.”

“It would also be very overwhelming, if he’s not used to being shown care then if we just love bomb him he’s only going to retract more.” Rain commented.

“Mmm…” Dewdrop began to pace, faster and faster as he tried to think of what to do.

Swiss noticed Dew’s pacing and grabbed him, pulling him close into his comforting hold.

“Sh… it’ll be okay Dewy. But overly working yourself isn’t going to solve anything. We can slowly work to regain his trust and show Phantom that we do care and love him. I didn’t realize that what I was doing was going to hurt him that much. And I’ll be sure to tell him how sorry I am for it.” Swiss combed his fingers through Dewdrop’s hair, nuzzling his nose into his scalp.

Dewdrop let out a couple deep breaths, relaxing in the other's hold.

“Thanks…”

“Of course Dewy.”

“Where’s Phantom now?” Rain asked.

“He was asleep when I left…”

“You left him alone…? After he told you about how he feels unwanted…? Sodo…” Rain deadpanned, sighing in disappointment. “Let’s go check up on him, make sure he doesn’t think you just abandoned him again.”

“Shit!” Dewdrop cursed, hoping that the other ghoul hadn’t woken from his slumber.

He quickly ripped away from Swiss’ grasp rushing to exit the room and run back to his.

Rain and Mountain followed him, being two of the calmest of the ghouls in case something went wrong.

Dewdrop slammed open the door, madly looking around the room.. The sheets were messed up and crumbled, but most importantly- empty.

“Crap, crap, crap, crap!” Dewdrop roared as he ran around the room, scouring for the missing ghoul.

“Phantom! Where are you?” He called out, ripping open cabinet doors, looking under the bed, even bursting into the bathroom.

Finally he attempted to open the wardrobe door, key word- attempted.

The doors would not budge.

“Phantom? Are you in there?” Rain asked, using his most soothing voice.

A whine was their only response.

“Phantom, bug, please, can you come out.” He tried again.

“No.” A sniffly voice responded.

“Why not?” Rain pressed, sliding down the wall by the wardrobe until he was sitting down next to it

A wobbly voice replied, “He left me…”

“Dew didn’t leave Phantom. He went to grab breakfast for you.” Mountain chimed in, appearing at the entrance of the hotel with a tray of delicious looking breakfast foods.

“He didn’t leave me…?” A hopeful voice questioned.

“I didn’t mean to leave you alone, bug. I didn’t think you would wake up.” Dewdrop replied. He had no idea where or when or even how Mountain had gotten the food but he was extremely grateful.

Phantom tentatively budged open the wardrobe door, peeking his head from behind the pane. When he saw that Mountain had food he began to exit the tight space, freeing his gangly limbs from the closet.

Mountain set the food down on the table, taking a step back to give Phantom space.

Phantom stepped closer to the food, sniffing it suspiciously before eyeing Mountain to see if there was any hint of malice.

“I can eat this…?” He questioned.

Mountain nodded, “Wasn’t sure what you would like so sorta just grabbed a bunch of breakfast foods. If you don’t like it, we can grab you something else.”

“Thank you,” Phantom muttered but he was still hesitant about eating the food. He didn’t think Mountain of all the ghouls would purposefully harm him, but he wasn’t sure if he wouldn’t purposefully harm him.

Dewdrop witnessed this pause and remembered what he had said earlier about ghouls in the pit poisoning him for fun and moved closer to the ghoul, taking a forkful of some of the food and eating it to show that it was fine to eat. “It’s not poisoned, see?”

Now with that reassurance Phantom moved to begin eating. He took slow bites, no where the speed he had used earlier with the protein bars.

After a few moments of him just eating he realized that he was the only one eating, it felt awkward, like they were all watching him.

“W-would you all like some…?”

Mountain shook his head no.

Rain replied, “I already had breakfast.”

Dewdrop shrugged, “Don’t typically eat breakfast.”

“This is too much for me to eat,” Phantom insisted.

“You don’t have to eat all of it.” Mountain explained.

“He got you a lot of food, I don’t think any of us could eat it all.” Rain pointed out.

“Here, I’ll eat a couple bites.” Dewdrop took a pancake and took a bite.

As the two ate their breakfast, Rain and Mountain left to get ready for the day.

“Sorry about hiding….”

“It’s okay, I didn’t realize that you would wake up while I was gone. I should’ve let you know.”

Phantom hummed in response.

It was comforting, the two sitting there side by side. Almost leaning on each other as they ate breakfast.
Neither of them talked, just simply enjoyed each other's presence as they ate.

Their silence was broken by a knock on the door, “Dewy, Phantom! Start getting ready, we’re gunna head out soon!” Swiss yelled through the door.

“Get ready? For what?” Phantom asked, looking at Dewdrop.

“The amusement park!” Dewdrop exclaimed, jumping up. “I forgot that we said we were going to go today! C’mon, c’mon let’s get ready!”

Phantom found himself being pulled upwards by the other. “W-wait, I’m going too?”

Phantom had overheard the other ghouls making plans to go to the amusement park a couple days ago. But he had assumed like all the other plans they had made, he wasn’t included.

Apparently his face betrayed his inner turmoil because Dewdrop stopped his rush to look at him. “Do you not like heights? We don’t have to go on any if you don’t like them! We can play those carnival games, Swiss and Mountain are like really fucking good at them. Swiss typically wins out the entire stall! I’ve even seen the worker cry once!”

Phantom shook his head, “Nono I’m okay with heights, I just didn’t think I was going too.”

“Why wouldn’t you be going?”

“Well you guys always just go out without me so…” Phantom trailed off, feeling awkward now that he had admitted that.

“Oh… I promise we won’t do that again. I’m sorry for the fact that we did that in the past.”

“Like you said, it’ll be okay,” Phantom said replying with a smile.

“How about we get ready, Bug? We got a big day, don’t ya think?” Dewdrop asked.

Phantom nodded and followed Dewdrop into the bathroom, they were lucky enough to get a room with a double sink so the two were able to get ready together.

The two brushed their teeth and each took a quick shower, changing into some casual clothing and putting their glammors on.

Less than 30 minutes later, the two were ready and joined the rest of their band in the hotel lobby with their bags.

Phantom fiddled with the strap of one of his bags. This was going to his first outing with the rest and he wanted to make sure it went well. That way, maybe, just maybe, he would get invited to more things with them.

His thoughts were shaken away by a hand on his shoulder and someone else’s hand interlocking with his. He turned and found Swiss smiling down at him with his hand rested on him and Dewdrop giving his hand a light squeeze.

“Are you excited Ant?” Swiss asked, giving him his cheeky full smile.

Phantom nodded softly.

“You’ve never been to one, have you?” Dewdrop asked.

“No, I haven’t.” He shook his head.

“We’ll be sure to show you all the best rides and stalls then! I’ll even win you a gift or two, maybe even a dozen! Do you like stuffed animals?” Swiss asked.

“For the love of Beelzebub please don’t win out an entire stall, you made that poor worker cry last time.” Rain commented as he passed, “Phantom, you can tell them to shut up if they’re bothering you. Satan knows they need to get their ego knocked down a peg or two.”

Dewdrop raced after Rain, attempting to tackle him while Phantom giggled. He felt Swiss’ gaze upon him and looked up to see him staring down at him softly.

“You have a nice laugh,” the Multi ghoul mused.

The Quintessence ghoul flushed pink. “Thank you, I like your smile.”

“Thanks Bug.”

The two joined the rest on the bus, having stowed their bags in their various compartments.

Phantom wasn’t sure where to sit. Normally on the bus he would sit by himself, secluded away from everyone else. But now…

Aurora.

She was waving at him from a seat near the front, “Phantom! Come sit with me! I saved you a seat! I know you like being able to see out the window.”

It was true, Phantom loved watched the scenery around them. And it made him feel less trapped. He smiled inside at the fact that she had remembered these little details.

He moved to sit next to her, plopping himself down in the seat.

“Good morning,” He greeted.

“Morning Anton! Did you sleep well?” She replied, as cheerful as ever.

Phantom nodded in response, “I slept well, it was nice. Though I am still a bit tired.” He confessed.

Aurora hummed in response, “mmm, well, I’m not suprised. You were probably exaughsted after last night. Would you like to rest on me and sleep until we arrive? Papa said it would take around an hour to get there.”

Phantom smiled back, “That would be nice, thank you.”

He laid his head on the shorter ghoulette’s head, her short nature being at perfect height for him to comfortably lean on her, making sure to avoid both his and her horns.

Aurora began humming a song and as the bus started and the noise of all the members faded away he fell asleep, feeling at peace inside.

Sooner than he would’ve liked, he gets shaken awake gently.

“Bug, we’re here. We gotta get off the bus.”

Phantom nodded and rubbed his sleepiness away. He groggily stood up , swaying a little as he made his way out of the bus. As he stepped off of the steps and onto the pavement of the parking lot he was forced to squint from the sunlight shining directly in his face. It felt like a warm blanket and he heavily debated laying on the ground and just basking in the sun.

He looked around and saw quite a sight. If Phantom was asked what the definition of chaos was he would likely tell them of this moment. Cirrus was chasing Dewdrop around the parking lot with a bottle, screaming something about how even if he was a fire ghoul he still needed sunscreen. Rain had a large floppy sun hat and sunglasses on. Papa Copia was wearing the most clashing outfit imaginable and looking extremely proud of it in his bright red Hawaiian shirt, a black fanny pack, and some khakis. Swiss and Mountain were trying to sort everyone and get them their tickets but were quickly giving up. Aurora went over to Cumulus and was getting twirled by the other ghoulette, giggling as they did.

It was a lot, but it was nice.

Phantom quickly made his way over to Mountain.

“Here’s your ticket.” Mountain sounded like he had aged 7 years in the last 5 minutes.

“Thanks”

“Thank fuck you’re not one of the problem children.” He grumbled under his breath before fake coughing “Dew.”

Phantom let out a chuckle and moved away so the two ghouls could continue in their attempts to situate everyone.

Somehow, in doing so he landed in the arms of Cirrus who proceeded to cover him in a layer of sunscreen, going on a tangent about how important sunscreen and hydration is. He had no idea what sunscreen was and was frankly getting a bit concerned the longer she went on about skin cancer and harmful rays from the sun. Should they really be outside if it’s that dangerous? Is that why their rituals are always at night…?

Luckily someone interrupted her spiel, “Cirrus, please, you’re going to give him heliophobia if you keep saying all that. You’re going to be okay, a little sunlight is not going to kill you, Cirrus just wants to make sure your skin is protected because too much sunlight can be bad for you.”

Phantom would never admit it out loud but he was grateful for Rain’s interruption, he definitely was getting concerned with everything the ghoulette was saying.

“Oh, sorry Phantom. I didn’t mean to scare you, just wanted to make sure you were protected. Even though we’re ghouls doesn’t mean we aren’t perceptible to skin damage.” Cirrus apologized, a guilty expression painted on her face.

“It’s alright, thank you for keeping me safe from the sun. I didn’t even know that sunlight- uv…. something?- was even dangerous.”

A loud whistle drew their attention, making them all snap up to face Swiss. “Okay shut up you fuckers, we got your ticket and so if you want to in the park you’ll fucking listen.”

This shut everyone up and made it finally possible to get them all organized and inside the park.
Phantom was ecstatic, giddy, elated even. He was going to an amusement park, with his pack! They invited him to go out with him! They actually wanted him around! They don’t actually fully despise him!

Someone’s hand found their way into his and he looked up to face Mountain.

“You seem excited,” the earth ghoul commented.

Phantom nodded vigorously, trying to calm himself a little bit. He didn’t want to seem like a child.

“It’s nice to see you all happy like this, it’s quite pleasant.” he mused.

Phantom flushed, “thanks… i’ve never been to an amusement park… I've heard they’re fun. Plus this will be my first outing with you all and I want to make it really memorable.”

“It might be your first outing with us but I promise you it won’t be the last. I’m sorry we haven’t been including you, Phantom. It was…” Mountain paused, deliberating over what word would correctly fit, “uncivil… of us to do so. We should’ve been there for you as friends, bandmates, and most importantly -packmates.”

“It’s okay, as long as it means you won’t do it again. It was really lonely… and sad….”

“I promise, we’ll never exclude you again, Bug.”

Phantom smiled at Mountain and pulled him forward, “C’mon, I want to see everything!”

He could hear Papa chuckling in the back, “Don’t wander off too far you two!”

Phantom made his way through the arches at the front and stopped in astonishment. He circled around, taking in all the sensations around him. There was so much going on. From the extravagantly decorated buildings, the sweet smells of different foods, and the delighted screams of people on roller coasters.

Suddenly there was a voice beside him, “It’s cool, isn’t it.

Swiss had materialized besides him, wrapping his arms around the other ghoul.

Phantom nodded, “I don’t even know how to word it! It’s… it’s…”

“Magical?” Dewdrop asked, chiming in.

“Yes!”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, Aeon, but we haven’t even gone to the good part yet.” Papa joined in, chuckling at the other’s exhilaration.”

“It gets even better than this?” Phantom asked, his jaw dropped.

“ Of course! We go on all the rides, eat a bunch of tasty foods, and play a bunch of games!” Dewdrop answered.

Phantom could have squealed in excitement at that moment but he composed himself. He didn’t want to be annoying now that they finally want him around.

“What shall we do first?”

“How about we start with some of the more calm rides, Phantom and Aurora have never been on a roller coaster so we don’t know how they’ll handle it yet,” Cumulus suggests.

The group nods yes to the suggestion and make their way to their first ride.

“It’s super fun, promise! You get all tumbly in your stomach and you go whoosh!” Dew was explaining what being on a roller coaster was to the slightly confused Phantom and Aurora.

The two shared a look before nodding along as if they understood any of what he had been going on and on about.

Eventually, the group made their way through the lines and got seated on the roller coasters.

“You nervous?” Swiss asked Phantom, plopping himself in the seat next to the ghoul.

“Mmm, a little bit? But I’m excited. It seems… fun.”

Swiss let out a humorous chuckle and replied in a teasing manner, “Well if you get scared you can hold my hand.”

Phantom simply smiled and took Swiss’s hand anyways, giving a small swing and squeeze as he smiled up at the Multi ghoul.

Swiss blushed at Phantom’s actions, “You’re real cute, aren’t ya.”

It was Phantom’s turn to flush. But before he could deny the words, they were buckled in and sent off.

It was amazing.

Being on a roller coaster felt like flying, it was magical.
Phantom couldn’t help but let out an ecstatic scream and when it eventually ended he had to hold himself back from just jumping right back in the line for another round.

“Fun, huh?” Swiss asked, looking at him with an amused glint in his eyes.

“Yes! That was so fun! Can we go on again? Please, please, please, please!”

Swiss laughed and ruffled his hair, “Later, Bug. There’s lots of other things you should try first. We can come back later.”

“Okay!” He was a little sad at the fact that he wouldn’t be able to go on the ride again, but he was excited at the prospect of the other ones he had yet to try. If this was a tame one, what would the other ones be like? He was practically vibrating in his shoes.

Swiss laughed and dragged him along to their next ride.

The group spent a couple hours wandering around the amusement park, riding all the rides they could. Phantom realized quickly that not all rides were the same. Some were really fast and like Dewdrop had said, made your stomach all fluttery, some were slow and relaxing, letting him look around the park and bask in all of it.

Eventually, it was time for food, and everyone was quite hungry.

They found themselves ordering a bunch of food, basically getting everything offered on the menus. It was all so delicious, some foods were sweet, some were savory, some were even an interesting mix of both.

Phantom ate more than he ever had before, which in hindsight was probably not the best idea because he found himself with an upset tummy quite a bit after and had to sit out for a while before being allowed on the rides again.

So there he was, sitting on a bench, effectively pouting. He would deny that he was pouting, but his crossed arms and stuck out bottom lip was definitely him pouting.

“Don’t be too upset, you’ll get to go on the rides soon, just as soon as your stomach settles a bit. We don’t want you to throw up.” Rain explained, rubbing a soothing touch on his back.

“But I wanna go on rides now…” Phantom (not) whined.

“Just a few minutes, love. Be patient.” He reminded.

Phantom (definitely did not) pouted but continued to sit there and wait until his stomach no longer felt like it was going to empty its contents.

Finally he was deemed okay by the group to go on a roller coaster and he bounced up and essentially dragged the group to a roller coaster he had been eyeing for a bit.

They spent the rest of the day at the amusement park, going on all the rides, eating some more treats such as cotton candy which was actual witchcraft with how fluffy it was, and even playing some games. Swiss won a bunch of different prizes for everyone and Mountain even got a giant plush dragon for him.

Sadly, the sun was starting to set and they had to leave.

Everyone piled back onto their bus and began their trek back to the Abbey. Phantom had been sitting next to Mountain and had fallen asleep on his shoulders, listening to the sounds of the Earth ghoul drumming his fingers on the things around them. It was nice being surrounded by everyone. He felt loved, and content, happy with the day.

A few hours passed and they arrived back at the Abbey. Tired groans and yawns rang out as everyone woke up and made their ways off the bus and inside.

Everyone was tired, but they wanted to do one last thing. One last act to help make this Phantom’s best day ever. A movie night which would entail a big cuddle pile.

It had been Swiss’ idea, ever the ghoul for a good movie and cuddle. And who better to do that with than the ghouls he loved? He went around the group, whispering his idea to everyone, careful to not let Phantom know. He wanted it to be a surprise, there really wasn’t a need for it to be but sue him, he was one for dramatics.

Eventually, everyone was made aware of the plans and began to guide Phantom to their main living area, the large space, comfy tv, and big flat screen being the perfect place for their impromptu movie night and having hosted many before.

As the ghoulettes began piling blankets and pillows on the couch and floor, the ghouls began to prepare snacks. Phantom, too tired to be aware of what was happening, was led to the middle of the nest the girls had created and was sat down.

Phantom felt pure bliss, the hands that were guiding him sat him down on a giant pile of the most comfortable things he had ever been on and oh was it so soft and fluffy, he could’ve melted right then and there. He felt figures sitting all around him, a few in the nest with him and a few on the couch, it was comforting.

And then there was the smell. The smell of something so good and delicious, he couldn’t even tell what it was but he wanted some of whatever it was. He had never smelled anything like it before but his mouth was already starting to drool.

He blinked a few times to clear the sleepiness and looked up at the ghouls who came in carrying trays and trays of snacks and drinks. They precariously sat down as well, making sure not to drop anything on anyone and passed around the food.

Once everyone was settled in, someone started a movie. Phantom wasn’t sure what movie it was since he had never seen it but it was cute and animated.

He smiled happily and sighed in content as he snuggled up closer to whoever was next to him. This had been the best day of his life, and he couldn’t be any happier, surrounded by the people he loved and knew loved him around him. And with that he drifted off, quiet chatter and the sound of the movie lulling him to sleep, feeling safe and protected by those he loved.