Feeling hungry for the sixth time that day, Frank and Len made theie way up to the house. They opened the front doorand walked inside. Sitting over by the fire in the blood red, high backed chairs were Iris, Misery, and Skull Boy. Each had a depressing look on his or her face. The sight of the familiar skeleton churned an immediate reaction in the twins.

"Skull Boy!" Len screamed.

"You're back!" Frank yelled.

Skull Boy gave the twins a confused look, "Yeah, I've been home for a week now. Iris and Misery brought me back,"

"Then how come you look so glum?" Len asked, "Aren't you happy to see us? Aren't you happy to be home?" Len asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

"Of course I'm happy to see you guys. I'm glum because Ruby's sick and she thinks I'm never coming back." Skull Boy sighed.

"Ruby's sick?" Frank questioned in surprise. He looked over to his brother, "Did you know that?" Len shook his head.

"Ruby's been sick for a month, you guys," Iris claimed.

"A month?"

Len rubbed his head and blinked his tired eyes a few times, "How long was that nap?"

"Why don't you guys just give her some soup?" Frank suggested, "That always helps me when I'm sick."

"It's not that kind of sickness," Iris informed, resting her chin in her pale hands, "That's only part of it. She claimes that Skull Boy is just a figment of her imagination every time she sees him and claims he's never coming back."

"I keep telling you that we need to call a doctor," Misery told her.

"If worst comes to worst, Misery, then we'll call a doctor, okay?"

"So what do we do to make her better?" Len asked. He and Frank took seats on the hard wood between the two chairs.

"We don't know," Skull Boy said, "Right now we're brainstorming."

The five of them sat in silence, mulling over ideas in their heads. At one point or another someone contributed an idea, only to be shot down. Or countered with a, "Maybe,"

"Are you 100% sure that we don't need a doctor?" Misery begged.

"Ruby always said that problems can be solved at home. I know we can do the same with this one." Iris insisted, trying to hold back a yawn.

"We're never going to come up with anything if we're all tired," Skull Boy noticed, "We should get some sleep,"

That was the one thing the five of them could agree on.

.-~+*+~-.

That night Ruby had nightmares. She couldn't remember the content of them, just that she was terrified.

Skull Boy could hear her screaming all the way from his bedroom. He green eyes snapped open and his surgically-made heart skipped three beats. He immediately jumped from the coffin he slept in and ran to her room. Iris and Misery got to her door the same time he did. The female Cyclopse reached for the door handle. Misery grabbed her wrist and held her back.

"Wait," she hissed, "This could be an excellent time to get Ruby to think she's not hallucinating,"

Skull Boy nodded and entered her room. Ruby was no longer screaming, but whimpering quite loudly. Doom Kitty meowed over and over, pawing at her cheek, trying to get her to wake up. Skull Boy rushed to her bedside and grabbed her shoulders, gently shaking her.

"Ruby!" he whispered loudly, "Ruby! Ruby, wake up!"

Her blood shot eyes snapped open and she gasped for breath. Ruby looked around the room wildly and settled on staring at him. With some difficulty, she sat up and hugged Skull Boy around the chest.

"Oh, Skull Boy, it was so aweful!" she cried, tears beginning to spill on his night shirt.

He wasn't sure whether she still thought he was a hallucinaton or that he was real. Either way, he hugged the sugar skull girl to him and rubbed her back in comfort.

"Shh . . . its alright, Ruby, it was just a nightmare,"

"But it was so real,"

"What did you dream about?"

"I'm not even sure. I just know that I was scared of it,"

"It's okay, you're safe now. Nothing will hurt you while I'm here,"

"I'm so glad you're back Skull Boy,"

Skull Boy froze as the sentence sank in. She just said she was glad he's back. Litterally. Like ten seconds ago. Then he felt a sudden relief wash over him. She wasn't hallucinating! He was real to her!

Ruby pulled back to look at him. She wore a small smile on her lips, a shadow of the one once worn by the happiest girl in the world. He couldn't help but smile back at her.

And then . . .

She stopped smiling. He chapped lips fell into a depressing frown. She removed her arms from around his body and sunk back into her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. Skull Boy became confused. What just happened.

He slid off her bed and onto his knees, facing her. Ruby had tears in her eyes as she tried to blink them away.

"Ruby, what's wrong? What just happened?"

"You're not real,"

"But . . . but I am real, Ruby!"

"No. No you're not,"

And she turned away from him. Skull Boy stayed there for a while, trying to make sense of the current even. A few minutes later he got to his feet and quietly walked out of her room. Iris and Misery were still standing outside the door.

"So?" Misery asked, "What happened?"

"Didn't work," he said flattly, and the young skeleton hobbled grumpily off to his room.