Francesca stared at the spot where the Boogeyman had stood only seconds ago. She hadn't killed him, but she had certainly succeeded in banishing him!
Quickly finding and putting her glasses back on, she ran towards Grim. Her heart was beating madly in her chest, and she felt as though she would never reach him. But she did, and she sank down onto her knees beside him.
"Grim...!" She gently lifted him in her arms, fighting back her tears. It was a worse fight than the one with Boogey.
"Unh...Fr-Francesca...You...did it...!" Grim moaned, enjoying the touch of her hand caressing his bruised skull.
"Y-yeah, I-I did huh..." Francesca sniffled. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears for much longer. Taking the scythe, she gently cut off the vines that bound him, releasing him.
"Th-thanks," he said weakly. But he couldn't stand the pain. He twisted in the unbearable agony, crying as he tried to withstand the wild throbbing in his damaged bones.
Unable to take it anymore, Francesca felt her own tears roll down her cheeks, dripping down her chin. She cradled him in her arms, desperately trying to calm him down.
At that moment, anyone would have wondered which was the greater and more insufferable agony: the emotional one in her heart or the physical one in his body.
"It's gonna be okay," she whispered, gently stroking his face: "I promise!"
"I...I hope so..." He murmured.
"I...I didn't rescue you to watch you die! I won't live without you, ever! I need you!" She confessed shamelessly.
Grim gazed at her, the one being that really and truly meant everything to him. He watched her crying for him, bleeding for him. Her heart was breaking, he could almost feel her pain too.
"Grim...I...um..." She was desperate to confess her deepest feelings. What if he died, here in her arms, never knowing how she truly felt?
"What is it?...Tell me," he encouraged her, trying to hold her hand.
She was silent for a moment, too emotional to utter a word. But then...
"...I love you," she whispered.
He smiled, as he always did whenever he received some rare form of affection. He had known it, but listening to those three beautiful words made him forget his pain. He had been hated, insulted, bullied, threatened, messed with all his life. But here, after all those thousands of years was one person who was risking her life to protect him, telling him she loved him, crying for his pain...
"I...love you s-so much...dammit, it's more than I can bear! You're supposed to be 'evil', yet you never harm anyone, and I c-can tell...all you ever really wanted, was someone t-to love you, didn't you?" She said between sobs.
"Perhaps...you're right...and I...I love you too...Francesca..." Grim murmured.
She gasped, barely able to believe what she had just heard. He loved her too?! She had always known he liked her way more than any other person, but love her? This was too good!
"Y-you...you love me...too?!" she asked bewildered.
"Yes...I do...I promise, I'm telling you the truth..." said Grim.
Francesca smiled weakly and felt her heart splitting in two. She should be happy, happy that he loved her too. But instead, she felt as though she would die of pain. It was all too much to take in, too much to bear...
"Um...I'll take you home...come dear," she said as she picked up his scythe. Placing him gently on the ground, she tore an opening through the air that gave way to another dimension and their destination: home in Endsville.
"Come with me," she whispered, lifting him up in her arms. Together, they passed through the portal and disappeared.
A few seconds later, they stepped out into Billy's bedroom. It was 2 o' clock in the morning, and a heavy silence hung in the air.
"Don't worry, I'll help you," Francesca said as she gently helped him get into bed.
He lay his head down on the soft pillow and let her cover him with the quilt. Nervously, she lay down beside him on top of the quilt, resting her chin on her hand. He closed his eyes and relaxed while she massaged his sore arm, careful not to thread on any of the vicious, violet bruises.
"Thanks for saving me..." He whispered, smiling sweetly at her.
That smile made her heart soar. She felt so much in love, she couldn't resist not grinning cheekily.
"It was nothing," she said shyly: "Um...say, who was that guy?"
"His name is Boogey, and he's been holding a grudge against me since we were just kids," Grim explained: "He hated me so much, he seemed to have been born simply for the purpose of hating me! He made my life hell, and even now he strives to do everything in his power to break me. His hobby is torturing me..."
"Man...how sick..." Francesca admitted. How could anyone be so unnecessarily evil?! I mean, okay, he was a demon an' all, but so was Fred Fredburger! Geez!
"Everyone in the Underworld hates me!" Grim said exasperatedly: "They all hate my guts! They join forces with him to bring me down! It's not fair! He turned every friend I had against me, and-and-!" But he couldn't go on. He just broke down crying and sobbing.
"Aaaww, Grim...!" Francesca cooed, placing her gentle arms around him: "It's okay, it's okay now, I love you. I always did and I always will! I'll be everything you were always deprived of: love, care, friendship, protection, anything! You name it! I'll never stop being there for you!"
Shakily, Grim stopped crying and looked up at her. Her head was still bleeding ever so slightly, but she appeared to have forgotten about the pain. In reality, she hadn't, but she was putting him first.
And he had never appreciated anything more in all the thousands of years he had existed.
"Y-you, you must be in pain, aren't you?" He asked.
"Yeah, but it doesn't matter," Francesca put up her hand to feel the nasty wound, a bleeding crack in the side of her head: "Its not much."
"I...I appreciate your help. I'm grateful for everything you've done for me..." Grim said nervously: "I've never felt this way about anyone before...A love so deep, so precious..."
"Me neither...I just wanna spend time with you...I just wanna hear your voice, see your face, touch your bones...You're beyond beautiful, in every darn way..." She admitted huskily. They had crept extremely close to each other, so close they were almost touching...
Grim lifted his sore hand and cupped her blood-stained cheek, gazing fondly yet somewhat nervously into her pretty eyes. They were dark, but held such affection in them.
She edged a little closer, brushing her lips against his. She was trembling, and he was shy, but eventually, they started to kiss. The touch of his tongue wrapping around hers was sweet and promising. How she had dreamt of this moment, when she would be lucky enough to share her passion with Grim!
They were holding eachother fondly. It was paradise! She kissed every part of him she could reach, and he stroked her beautiful, silky hair. He moaned when she stroked his ribcage, and she gasped when he pulled her closer.
It was beautiful. They were lost in eachother's love. Grim had never felt more happy, more comfortable, more relaxed. He just relished the sweet love pouring from her heart, his pain all forgotten.
"I love you..." She murmured, her face buried in his chest.
"I love you too," he muttered, closing his eyes: "I love you too..."
