Chapter 2 - Broken Turntable

There was not much time left. Skull Boy's eighteenth birthday was tomorrow. And by golly, Ruby was determined to make it his best birthday ever, and she wouldn't turn in for the night until she was completely sure that everything was ready—but she was still fearful of her friend's depression preventing him from enjoying his special day. All she wants to do is help, but what if she only made things worse? What if Skull Boy gets mad at her?

And speak of the devil…

"Hey," Skull Boy greeted dryly as he approached Ruby, who was sitting next to the fireplace in the foyer. She seemed to be transfixed by the glow fire while holding a present that was nearly finished being wrapped, and she blinked rapidly when she turned to her skeletal friend.

"Oh. Um, h-hi. You feeling any better?" Ruby questioned out of concern.

Skull Boy quirked a brow, "What makes you think I wasn't feeling good?"

"Well, there was the conversation Misery and I were having yesterday, and you come into the kitchen for your usual cup of coffee this morning. I was worried, is all."

While the two old friends were talking, Sculli was walking by on the upper level that overlooked the foyer with some sheet music in her hands. She was closely examining them to memorize them for later, when she did a double take and noticed Ruby and Skull Boy. She stopped and put her elbows on the rails, listening as closely as she could to their conversation.

Skull Boy sighed, taking a seat next to Ruby and crossing his legs, "I told you, don't worry about it. It's the truth, and I've learned to live with it."

"You promise?" Ruby asked with high hopes.

"I promise," Skull Boy reassured with a small smile.

Ruby sighed in defeat, "Well then—I guess I'm really just worried about your party tomorrow."

"Uh-huh. You've got a surprise planned, don't you?"

Both Ruby and Sculli's eyes widened at Skull Boy's confidence. Either surprises are really normal here, or she's just easy to read, Sculli pondered.

"U-Uh…well, actually…I-I…" Ruby was at a loss for words, which gave it away.

"It's ok. I'll let it slide this time," Skull Boy chuckled.

"But I thought you hated surprises," Ruby pointed out in confusion.

"I do. But I trust you, and I know you just wanna cheer me up. And if you succeed, I'll owe ya one."

"Oh, no! You won't owe me anything. It's your birthday, after all."

"Yeah, but I'd feel guilty if I didn't do something for you in return. You do so much around for here for everyone, I'm surprised we're not all planning parties for you."

Ruby giggled, "I guess you're right. But still, tomorrow's all about you. Don't forget that, ok?"

"You wouldn't let me. Anyway, I'm goin' ta bed. G'night."

As soon as Skull Boy stood up, he ruffled Ruby's hair playfully, to which Ruby laughed and shouted his name while trying to fix her hair. Sculli had been watching the two the whole time, and she couldn't help but smile at how close they are.

Sculli knew it was up to her to help keep these two friends as tight as they are now. Ruby may be planning the entire festivity, but she obviously relied on her to help. Ruby needed her to help show Skull Boy just how much she truly cared. And Sculli swore that that was exactly what she was going to do.

She looked down at the sheet music in her hands, and smirked with a brilliant idea, "Change of plans."

Morning in Gloomsville grey and dreary like it always is, and Ruby was the first one to arise, also as per usual, to go over everything for the party. She was nearly done checking over everything when she came into the foyer to find something had changed quite significantly; for example, there was a large turntable in one corner of the room with two large amps on either side, and all of it was sitting on a mini stage supported by metal beams.

Sculli soon popped up from behind the turntable, for she was busy setting it up. She smiled when she saw Ruby.

"Mornin', Ruby!" Sculli cheered with a wave before diving back behind the table with a bunch of chords in her hands.

"Uh…what is all this?" Ruby asked in awe.

"It's my turntable set. I take it with me everywhere I go," Sculli simply replied.

"But how did you—nevermind. Is everything gonna be ready to today?"

"It sure will. just make sure to keep Skull Boy out of the foyer until then."

Ruby's eyes suddenly popped wide, "Wait, what time is it?!"

"It's almost eleven. Why?"

"Oh, no! Skull Boy gets his coffee right about now, and the only way to get to the kitchen is through the foyer!"

"Don't worry, I got it! Just distract him for about a minute!"

Ruby immediately darted for the nearest hall while Sculli went to work on hiding everything. Sure enough, after a few flights of stairs that led up to Skull Boy's room, the said skeleton was seen walking down towards her.

"Morning, Ruby. What's up with you? You look like you're in a hurry," Skull Boy pointed out.

"Uh, heh-heh…n-no, I'm not…in a hurry…hoo!" Ruby lied between huffs, as she leaned against a wall to catch her breath. But Skull Boy merely shrugged and continued down the stairs, much to Ruby's fear of him ruining the surprise.

"Uh, where are you off to in such a hurry, Skull Boy?" Ruby chuckled nervously and rushed to the said skeleton's side.

Skull Boy's eyes squinted in suspicion, "Getting my coffee at about eleven like I always do. You know that."

"R-Right! Silly me! I'm such a forget-y forget-erson!"

Skull Boy cringed at Ruby's sudden burst of laughter, and he could instantly tell that something was up. But Ruby also noticed that they were running out of stairs, so she had to act fast.

"Uh-huh…well, if you're done acting weird, I'm gonna go," Skull Boy slowly informed, but Ruby immediately sped past him and started walking down the stairs backwards.

"W-What's the rush, Buddy?! I mean, why don't we just take a lovely stroll through the forest? Just the two of us?" Ruby quickly suggested. But her attempts at tricking the skeleton failed, and he just stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm good. It rained last night anyway, so there'll be mud all over the place."

"What's so bad about mud? We could have mud baths, make mud pies, put on mud masks!"

Skull Boy suddenly stopped, but not without stomping his foot to show his annoyance, "Ruby, what is going on? Why've you been acting so weird lately? And what's wrong with me going to get coffee this morning, huh?! You know it's the only thing that keeps me going these days!"

Ruby gasped at that. Had Skull Boy really lost so much faith in his friends that he only relied on caffeine to actually function? Had she already failed her friend?

Skull Boy huffed and rolled his eyes before pushing past Ruby and continuing on, but she didn't go after him. It wasn't until another moment past by and Skull Boy called Ruby's name from downstairs that she suddenly remembered Sculli. The redhead raced down stairs, fearing that that everything she had planned was ruined.

"I'm so sorry, Skull Boy! I didn't mean for you to see this!" Ruby exclaimed as she sprinted up to the said skeleton.

"What do ya mean? I was just gonna tell you that Doom's scratching the curtains again," Skull Boy informed flatly, and refused to make eye contact with Ruby. The latter quickly glanced at the corner that Sculli had set up her equipment, but found the corner to be completely empty. Instead, all she saw, true to Skull Boy's word, was that Doom Kitty was scratching the curtains.

"Doom!" Ruby snapped, instantly making the said cat jump in surprise and stop.

Skull Boy then left and headed for the kitchen without another word, and Ruby sighed heavily in relief. But she still couldn't figure out how Sculli made her equipment disappear like that.

"Is he gone?" Sculli asked while poking her head out from behind the curtain that Doom was scratching.

"Yeah," Ruby replied, "Where is everything?"

Sculli simply pointed up, and Ruby gasped when she looked directly above her to see that all of Sculli's equipment was hanging from the ceiling in a giant net.

"How did you-?"

"I always take a net with me in case I need to clean up really quick."

"Wow. You're even better prepared than me," Ruby complimented in amazement.

"Thanks," Sculli stated with a smirk.

The sound of approaching footsteps could soon be heard, and Ruby knew exactly who it was.

"Quick, hide! He's coming back!" Ruby whisper-shouted, and Sculli quickly behind a set of curtains that hadn't been torn up. Skull Boy soon emerged from the kitchen, steaming coffee mug in hand, and once again avoided looking at Ruby as he headed up the stairs to get back to his room.

Ruby couldn't help but sigh with great guilt, unable to shake the feeling that all of this was somehow your fault.

"You ok?" Sculli asked softly when she noticed the redhead's sorrowful expression.

"Not really," Ruby sighed.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

Sculli then placed a reassuring hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Don't worry. I promise you, I've got something planned that'll knock his socks off and more."

Just as Ruby smiled in appreciation at Sculli's promise, a loud snap could be heard from above. The girls looked up to find the net beginning to snap under all of the weight, and Sculli pushed Ruby out of the way just before the support rope snapped, letting the entire equipment set fall with a thunderous thud.

Sculli stared with unblinking eyes as the dust cleared, remembering all of the good times and great performances she had with her turntable and amps. Ruby couldn't look away either when she saw that everything had broken from the force of the impact, and instantly began to panic.

"Oh, no. Oh, no! Oh, no! Sculli, I'm so sorry! I don't know why this happened! I promise, I-I'll find a way to fix this!" Ruby rambled on.

"How?!" Sculli snapped. Ruby could just barely make out what looked like tears forming at the edge of her eyes, but decided not to point it out. She remained quiet for a moment, as she thought of how on Earth she could fix this.

Then, it hit her. He wasn't the best option after their last conversation, but he was their only option.

"Skull Boy," Ruby stated with a shaky smile.

"What?" Sculli asked while grimacing.

"He's a great mechanic, and could totally fix your turntable!"

"What makes you so sure?"

"He created a sentient robot from scratch once. Granted, it destroyed nearly everything in sight, but it was still pretty cool."

Sculli's eyes widened, "Really?"

Ruby nodded.

"Huh. Alright—but he'd better be careful with my stuff."

Despite Sculli going up with her, Ruby dreaded going into Skull Boy's room. She needed to ask him to fix Sculli's turntable, the one thing that would save his party, but she was scared that he wouldn't even want to speak to her after what he last said to her. Implying that not even she can get him to stay happy anymore had hit Ruby hard.

"This is my stop. Remember, give him the honey first, and then give him the hatchet," Sculli whispered firmly once they reached the doorway to Skull Boy's bedroom.

"I don't know. What if he's still mad at me?" Ruby asked nervously.

"He's your friend, right?"

"He's my best friend."

"Well, there ya go. Friends like you two never stay cross with each other for too long. I'm sure he's already forgiven you."

Ruby smiled and took a deep breath in to prepare. She then knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Skull Boy shouted flatly a few seconds later.

Sculli stayed behind but listened closely again, as Ruby entered the room in silence. It didn't take long for her to find Skull Boy, for he was sitting in his coffin bed while reading a book and taking an occasional sip of his coffee.

After a few moments of neither of them engaging in conversation, Ruby finally decided it was time to start giving him the honey.

"So, um…you're really good with machines, right, Skull Boy?"

"Mm-hmm," Skull Boy hummed without looking up from his book.

"Well, I could really, really use your expertise on that. See, I—borrowed a turntable set from a friend, but there was a little accident. Basically, I need-."

"You borrowed a turntable?" Skull Boy inquired in disbelief, as he finally looked up at Ruby.

"Y-Yeah…I-I wanted to see if I could give me some ideas for your party, but it was a letdown."

"Ruby, if this is your attempt at making me feel better by making me get out and do something just because of what I said earlier, you need to quit blaming yourself."

Ruby blinked, "What?"

"I'm not mad at you at all. I never was. I was just a little annoyed because I cranky and tired, that's all."

"You mean it?" Ruby asked with high hopes.

"Sure do. But I want you to promise me something real quick. Promise me that you'll stop being so hard on yourself. Not everything is your fault, and it's not always your job to have to fix everything. Alright?"

"You really do forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive."

Ruby instantly smiled at Skull Boy's own comforting smile, "Ok, ok. I'll stop blaming myself for everything you're going through."

"That's all I needed to hear." Skull Boy paused while book marking his page, and hopping out of his bed. "C'mon, you gotta show me where this broken turntable is."

"Wait, you're gonna fix it?"

"Sure. That's what friends do, right? They get them out of trouble after they did something stupid." Ruby playfully punched Skull Boy's arm, to which he chuckled and ruffled her hair again. And as the two best friends headed downstairs, Sculli had remained hidden behind the door and smiled intently at them. She supposed that nothing could break those two apart.

Don't worry, I'm not dead and neither is this story.

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!