High up in the sky, a twinkle shone through the night. Its light was enough to catch a young boy's eye, even through the dense trees of the forest he was wondering through. Snow crunched under his feet as he ran, darting energetically through the shadows, seeking out that gleaming light. "Tinker Bell," He whispered, stepping into a clearing. "T-Tink, is that you?"

He had never been in that clearing before. It was beautiful, and as he tip toed forward, he saw that it wasn't just a beautiful clearing, it was also a looming cliff, looking over the whole city. Thought it was a spectacular view, it wasn't the city below that had the boy slowing to a stop. He was looking up; realizing that the light he had believed to be his friend was instead a very familiar star. He smiled, standing up on his tip toes as if to get closer. Everyone knew the second star to the right was the portal to Neverland, and the way it gleamed just called to him, lulling him into a sort of wondrous trance, compelling him to take just one more step.

The soft crunch of snow was quickly followed by the crumbling of falling rocks, and suddenly, he was being yanked back by the collar of his shirt. "O-oh," he said, chuckling softly as he was dropped safely on his butt in the wet, semi frozen slush. "Uh, hello Tinker Bell."

Looming over him with a flashlight was the prettiest girl in the world, her blonde hair free and swirling in the breeze while her cobalt blue eyes peered straight into the boy's soul. She wore a short, white fairy dress with shimmering blue wings, and her pouting lips were painted the same color, as well as the symbol on her chest. She gave him an exasperated sort of look. "You're so lucky I'm around, Peter," She told him. "You fall so often you'd be a goner without what I taught you."

He gave a nervous laugh and struggled to his feet, straightening until he could look down at her. "What… Um, what was it again?" He asked. "That you uh, taught me?"

"To fly, of course," She told him smugly, shimmying her shoulders to make her wings flutter. "Remember how?"

He glanced from her eyes, down to her lips and back again, hesitantly stepping forward. "Faith…"

She nodded.

He took her hand, meeting her eyes. "Trust."

She looked a little uneasy at the contact, but played along. "One more thing."

"Pixie dust." Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned in and closed his eyes, but before he knew it he was stumbling forward. She had yanked her hand away before he could get close enough, and his sudden loss of balance earned him a face full of snow.

"Ew, Tavros," She whined, glaring at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"S-sorry," Tavros stuttered, teeth chattering as he picked himself up. His Peter Pan costume was far from warm, especially after years of wear, tear, and sketchy sewing jobs. "S-sorry, I'm uh, never mind… Sorry."

"What?"

"I… I got caught up in the moment." If Tavros was being truthful, their game of Live Action Role-play was only partly responsible for his attempt. Vriska Serket, the only one who ever Larped with him, made his heart melt like butter on a stove. His whole face was aflame with embarrassment at such a blunt rejection.

"Whatever," She sighed. "School's starting up again tomorrow anyway, and I want to something sweet to ring in the New Year. I've been planning for this all damn winter, and it finally hit me. Painball!"

Tavros looked alarmed. "Excuse me?"

"Paintball! I was thinking we could wait until everyone left school, then turn the whole cafeteria into a giant, badass, paintball arena! No one would know what hit them!"

"U-uh, Vriska, I don't um… I mean, are you sure that would be-"

"You will be there," She said, cutting him off. "I'll supply the equipment, you just bring you're a-Game."

Before he could form any more protests, she was gone, leaving him alone in the snow. Feeling pathetically alone, Tavros shuffled his feet, leaving small patches of grass exposed, free of the oppressing slush. Sometimes, it was very difficult to be friends with Vriska Serket.

Their friendship went back as long as Tavros could remember and as far as he knew, his crush on her went back even longer. It was painfully obvious how out of his league she was, anyone could have seen it, and the way she treated him made people wonder why Tavros even tried, but he knew without Vriska, he'd have almost no one.

Almost no one.

Just then, the heavy crunch of trodden snow perked Tavros' ears, along with a stream of wordless, off beat singing that could only be coming from one person. Tavros squinted, seeing a tall, lanky silhouette strolling carelessly nearer. "G-Gamzee?" Tavros asked, surprised. "Gamzee?"

The silhouette paused and the singing stopped, then, as the towering shadow turned, the light of the stairs illuminated a familiarly painted face. The clown smiled a lazy, light heated smile that stretched the gray paint, and Tavros straightened, standing on his toes to get a better look at his best friend. "Gamzee!"

"Tavbro," Bellowed Gamzee, breaking into a run when he recognized the boy on the cliff. "Tavbro, my motherfucking favorite mother fucker all up and waiting for me like a chocolate coated miracle!"

Tavros couldn't help but laugh when he was tackled to the ground and wrestled into an affectionate headlock. "H-hi there, uh, buddy. What… What uh, brings you to… you know, out here?"

"Ah, the land of logs and snow!"

"The uh, the what?"

"The motherfucking forest, man," Gamzee chuckled, rolling onto his back and looking up at the stars. "The tree zone all up in winter, the place where all the little woodland motherfuckers be making their place of residence, man."

Tavros laughed again. "Yeah, that. Um… Bro."

"You know me," Said the clown. "I'm always all up and hunting for a quiet place to get my smoke on and pray." As if what he said reminded him of something important, Gamzee jolted upright, staring wide eyed at the sky before his lazy expression returned, relaxing his features. "I came, man, because I'm expecting me a real big miracle."

"What kind of miracle?"

"A miracle of the white king," He said, a touch of his true excitement leaking past his casual high. "Something is gonna happen that is so motherfucking beautiful, its gonna free my father from the dark carnival he's all up and involved in."

"Wow…" Tavros breathed. He loved the way Gamzee spoke of miracles. He may not have understood his friend's religion, or believed in it at all himself, but nothing compared to the pure faith in Gamzee's voice.

"And I swear," Gamzee continued, tone hushed and filled with wonder. "My mother told me so all up in one of my dreams."

"That's… That's amazing Gamzee," Tavros whispered, feeling a slight ache in his chest. Both of them had lost their mothers very young. Gamzee's mom had died in a fire, and shortly afterwards Tavros' mom died in a horrible car wreck. She had been driven off of a bridge and into a river. Her body had never been recovered. Without mother's, both Gamzee and Tavros were left in the care of their fathers. He didn't know the details, but Tavros did know Gamzee had been abused. It made him very grateful for his own dad, who was nothing but loving, protective, and kind.

In a way, they owed their friendship to their loss. It was how they had met to begin with. In the second grade, they were in the same class, and the whole school was having a big mother's day celebration. Tavros had attempted to bring his father instead, but the teacher hadn't let him, leaving him alone and crying on the playground. He didn't stay too upset long, though, because it was there that Gamzee found him, the only other kid without a mom. Ever since then, they stayed closer than brothers, depending on each other for almost everything. The relationship was perfect because they both had their moments where they craved answers, where there were missing pieces they couldn't seem to find. It was nice to have someone who understood. Gamzee looked over as Tavros sat up, and gently bumped him with his shoulder. "What about you, Tav?" He asked. "You all up and missing your giver of life?"

"Oh uh, it's not that," Tavros said, realizing he was slouching a little. "It's just… School starts again like, tomorrow, and… Vriska had a few… plans."

Though Gamzee wasn't much older than Tavros, he had finished school in sophomore year, dropping out to live on his own. "Wanna talk about it?"

"M-maybe a little," He admitted, watching Gamzee stand and brush snow off of his dark, baggy jeans. "You don't uh, mind?"

"Course not, little bro," Gamzee looked down with a casual smile and extended a hand. "I'll walk you home."

Accepting the hand, Tavros allowed Gamzee to tug him to his feet, fixing his little green hat with a nervous laugh. "Thanks," He said as they started back through the trees. "I… I don't know much about it yet, but she… Vriska, that is, uh, she's planning this big p-paintball thing and I don't know… It doesn't sound very safe."

A strange sort of look crossed Gamzee's face, but it was gone as quick as it came. "If the idea puts your guts in a twisty sort of zone, you can always play a game of hooky with your favorite motherfucking juggalo." He pointed to himself with a dopey grin. "I could take you some place fun and we could lay real motherfucking low, you know?"

"I guess so," Tavros sighed.

"I'm not liking the vibes I'm getting man," He said a little more seriously. "But if a bro wants to go and get his swagger on, who am I to tell him no? I'm just saying that I ain't got a better motherfucking thing to do that chill with you, my brother."

"Th-thank you, Gamzee." The two stopped when they reached Tavros' house. The Nitram home was small and old, but it had personality. It's cobble stone walls and round windows made it look like a cottage from a fairytale, and to Tavros and his father, that was exactly what it was.