"Pshaw!" the blue eyed boy huffed at you while you just shrugged towards him continuing to tune your old, wooden ukulele "It's true."

"Oh yeah? How would you know?" he jabbed a finger into your side, you jumped away from him and rolled over to the side.

You frowned and sat back up to face him again. "I know because it's true!" You retorted. He raised his brow at you skeptically "Oh yeah? Who told you that?" You felt yourself look away, sort of unsure "Um... My dad..?" You said through a shy grin. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest "Yeah okay, sure. You believe your dad who is known for lying."

"What? I think it's true..." You looked back to him for a moment. "Don't believe me?" you asked and strummed the little instruments strings.

Your breath floated to the air quietly and you snuggled into your winter jacket that covered multiple other sweaters a bit more. The air was a bit crisp since it had only just snowed and there was only a thin little layer of snow on the ground. You had no doubt it was going to snow again soon and with much more severity.

His eyes were cool and unamused "Not in the slightest." he sat still in his thin red zip up and a happy little toque with reindeer prancing all around his head, the ear flaps and thick strings hung from it limply and his bright blond hair poked out from the back of the hat.

His attire clashed with his current attitude.

"Alright Mr. Non believer! Let's go! And you'll see just how wrong you are!" you chirped and got off the cool ground, patting off all possible snow from your rump.

"Fine! Let's go! Let's find the monsters! Let's see if humanity is secretly even more terrible!" The light skinned boy said and stood to his feet. You quickly grabbed the zig zag patterned back pack and began to walk towards the lone mountain.

"Hey Ike! I made a song for you!" you strummed the little strings lightly. "Oh joy." he chuckled to himself "are you ready?" you asked with a little smile "yes I'm ready."

"I don't think you are but you know I'll roll with it."

You cleared your throat and roughly began to rip along the notes "Fuck this shit I'm out!"

Ike's eyes widened with surprise at your sudden outburst.

"Mm mm! Fuck this shit I'm out! Ah No Thanks!"

He tried to keep a straight face and fought back a smile.

"Don't mind me, I'ma just grab my stuff and leave. 'scuse me please"

He didn't bother to try and look disappointed, he began laughing his head off. His laugh was contagious because soon after he started you did too, you fought the giggles, making your words come out strange.

"Fuck this shit I'm out. HhmnNoPe!"
"FuCK this shit i'm out! AlRight thennnnniii" your voice travelled off into a high pitched squeak, you couldn't finish the song and you began to laugh too.

"What the fuuhha ha... ha.." Ike could barely breath and stumbled as he walked, both of you leaned on each other for balance but couldn't quite stable out so you both fumbled around aimlessly up the mountain.

-*•¤

"How long do you think we have to walk till we get there? So then I can laugh at you, say told you so and leave?" Ike whined, dragging his feet behind you as you played a sweet little melody. "I'm sure it's not too long now" you smiled back at him, over your large hood.

The sky was a pale blue that complimented the naked silver trees and the fluffy dark green ones. The farther up you went and the thinner the air and the thicker the snow. Soon Ike began to shiver against the still air.

You rolled your eyes and gave him your jacket, since it was big on you it would fit him nicely. He smiled greatfully and put it on and took his hat off, showing his messy blond hair and shoved the happy toque onto your h/c hair. "I can't just take your jacket without repaying you can I?" he chuckled heartily and side hugged you, giving you a kiss on top of your head. You placed your ukulele in the back pack and smirked up at him as you both continued to walk with your arms around each other sides. "Good thing you didn't forget, or I'd have to beat you up after school at the bike racks!"

"You and your gang of thugs are going to harass me again? I just wanted to buy some lunch at least once!"

You weren't sure where this conversation was going. It was already really strange and hard to follow. He felt you hug his side and laugh "don't worry Ike. You're the only friend I have."

"And I ain't gonna leave ya." he whispered quietly to you. Neither of you cared where you were going or noticed.

You felt the lack of earth beneath you and before you knew it you began to fall, but Ike snatched you and threw you away from the dark hole only to loose his balance.

"IKE!" you screamed, he however did not fall, he regained his balance like a cat. "I'm okay!... I'm okay!" A smile grew on his face and a shaky laugh emitted from him. His breath floated into the air and a feeling of relief flooded over you along with a smile.

"You didn't actually think I would be taken away from you that easily did you?" he smiled and looked back over the edge catching his breath and raking a hand through his hair.

"Wow. That is a really steep drop" he looked back at you wide eyed "I could've di-" before he could say anything a spiky vine wrapped around his ankle whipped him down ferociously

Two hollow seconds.

And then a the haunting thud.

Then silence.

The mountains life went on, birds chirped, water falls roared wind blew softly.

You stared at the spot you had only just saw your dear friend. "Ike?" you chocked out, your heart beat rapidly.

There was no reply.

You scrambled to the edge of the drop and looked down "IKE!" you screamed into the darkness. "IKE PLEASE!" your eyes were filled with warm salty tears and your nose started to tingle. "IKE!" your voice strained in agony as your tears fell into the cavern.

You flung your legs over the side and slid down the side on a green vine. You jumped down about halfway down.

1 quiet second

But you landed in flowers, a golden pile of them. The bottom of the hole was warm and muggy as a metallic sent hung in the air. Frantically you got up and looked around for him, soon to spot a body on the with its back on the ground. "IKE!" you ran towards him to find him breathing, but his breaths were choppy "I-Ike?"

His eyes darted around in fear, tears soaked his eyes and down the sides of his face, but blood soaked the ground around him and a small peak of a rock poked outside of his stomach. Your fear and adrenaline skyrocketed at the sight of it.

"Y-Y/n.. I'm scared.." he trembled, struggling to hold on to the last strands of life he still had "I-I'm so... sorry."

You shook can head "No! Ike. You aren't leaving yet! Think, about your parents! Your sister! Me! We need you!"

His face turned from fear to extreme sadness, his eyes thinned out painfully as tears began to pour out and his mouth showed his teeth, he began to sob. You kept trying to keep him awake.

"Y/n, please stop!"

Your stopped speaking.

"Don't make this hurt more!"

Reality hit you like it was a hammer your heart was the nail. He and you both knew he wouldn't survive, a rock had dug itself into his back.

"Please.. send me off nicely?" he asked with a struggling voice. You nodded and grabbed your ukulele from your bag with a shaking hand. You began to play, trying your hardest not to break down.

"I'm lying on the moon.
My dear I'll be there soon." Ike smiled through his pain "you have beautiful voice" he grunted.
you felt your voice waver.
"It's a quiet and starry place.
Time's we're swallowed up in space I'm here, a million miles away"

His teeth clenched as he sang with you "There's things I wish... I knew" tears began to drip down your cheeks as Ike sung "th-ere's nothing ... I'd keep from you." He tried not to move much while the stone was keeping him in place in the most horrific of fashions but his body tried to pull off the rock making the wound worse and he yelled out with more tears slipping down, forcing every last bit of his strength into the song. You grabbed his hand and he squeezed it tightly, putting your ukulele down and scooched closer "It's a dark and shiny place." you sobbed and ran a hand through his hair, comforting him as best as you could. The knowledge that these were your last words to him made you terrified. He smiled a little from his painful, contorted expression. His body began to relax while he whispered out the last bit could with you.

"But with you, my dear, I'm safe and w-we're... We're-..." He stopped all movement started to fall limp, letting rock sink in farther. His eyes looked to yours once more in a glazed over way, you leant down to his forehead and hugged him.

"- A million miles away..." You finished for him, completely alone.

The last line you sung was quiet and haunting without his voice, it repeated in your mind multiple times, a million miles away...

That song was something you had shared together for a long time, and now it's tainted. The cavern was deathly quiet. You couldn't hold back anymore and let out a painful shriek as you desperately cradled his head in your lap, combing though his hair and screaming his name, calling for him to come back to you, telling yourself it couldn't be true. His eyes looked far off as you shakily leaned over him.

He was gone.