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He still remembers it all.

The good and the bad. The sweet and sour. The peace and pain. No matter how hard he tries to forget it, the fake smiles and constant cheerful mood, it lingers.

The pain remains.

Grian had just left the first Boatem meeting. Pearl had made the right decision not to ride the llamas over the void, it was complete chaos. They couldn't go a minute without someone falling or dropping something into the void but they stayed because, hey, it was funny.

The waffle haired man glided down into the start of his mountain and pulled out the notebook with all of his ideas. He had a decent idea of what he was going to build. 'The Midnight Alley' he called it. It had begun to take shape in his mind. Just as he was about to start planning out his base with some blocks, he realized he had no wool. It was the one thing he actually needed.

He flew off and arrived at his starter base. The man chuckled to himself as the 'faces' the window we're making came into view. Grian landed outside his front door and entered the mossy build. It was just how he'd left it. He proceeded to put some of his spare items in the chest near the door and began to strip the house in search of the wool he needed.

After 15 minutes of looking through his expert storage system, he came across his chest where he normally kept the wool. But there was only one color, red.

Red.

The color of the explosives, the blood, the pain, the ones who went rogue, the red winter, the l-

Grian hadn't realized he was crying until he saw the tear drops dripping onto the floor boards of his home. His breath quickened and tears filled his vision as he relived the memories of the past life he wished he could leave behind.

"Pull the lever Scar! Go!"

He watched as the TNT exploded, destroying the dessert, breaking friendships and causing pain all around.

"WHAT THE HECK!?!?" "WAIT HOW A-" "OH MY GOD!" the other people around him shouted. That was all he heard before before an arrow shot his side, claiming his first life.

"Whoever gets the paper I don't kill," Scar announced.

"Ahh my inventory's full!"

"I got it! I'll kill Grian with you!"

The red-sweater man, with a feeling of betrayal, was shot and stumbled onto his last life

"I'm so sorry Scar!"

Grian let out a pained laugh as his, friend, ally and partner's body fell limp. He had won, but it wasn't worth the price. All of the sacrifice and death were sure to haunt him eternally. The-

"Grian?"

The waffle man snapped out of his thoughts to see his best friend Scar stood infront of him. He had tear stained cheeks as he looked up at his neighbor with a broken pair blue eyes. The salesman dropped the items in this hands and pulled the small hermit in to his arms and whispered comforting thing into his ears . He was unsure of what happened, but he knew his friend needed his support.

They sat like that for a while until the blonde's breath evened out and the sobs turned into small whimpers. The silence was comforting, so they didn't mind the lack of words. Scar decided to break the silence.

"Gri, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked, concern laced in his voice.

The younger gave a small nod and began to explain. Even though he spoke quiet, barely audible words, his friend seemed to understand how troubled Grian felt. All the misery, pain and guilt bottled up the small hermit was finally let out and shared with someone.

"I just wish that I never did those things and that I could f-forget it all..." Grian mumbled, finishing off his explanation.

"G, you are the best friend I could ever ask for. We all make mistakes and you are no exception. Myself and everyone else there previously forgave you a long time ago and know you did what you had to do."

"But-"

"No buts, you are a great person Grian. If you ever want to talk about this, you can talk to me or the other hermits."

Grian practically jumped into the salesman's arms earning a small yelp for the older male but he quickly returned the hug.

"Thank you Scar, now what was it you wanted to show me?" the waffle asked after he was released from the hug.

"That can wait, it's already late. Get some sleep Gri."

Grian looked out the window and noticed that he had been there for a few hours and it was now night. Though he had so many thoughts running through his head, the man was to tired to protest. He flopped onto his bed as his friend reached the doorway.

"G'night Scar," he mumbled sleepily.

"Goodnight Grian," the salesman replied as he turned off the lights and left, content with his friends mental state. His hat shop would have to wait for another day.

Guilt will cloud his thoughts, the pain will linger,

But Grian doesn't have to go through it alone.

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