Spring.

The warm air finally breaking through winter's grasp and leaving a glistening finish to all the freshly thawed plants. Some snow still lay on the ground, albeit in small patches now. The wind, still cold, blew over the walkway just outside a high-school that had just finished classes for the day. Everything was starting to gear up ready for the new warm weather.

Except for Cole.

Bunched up in his oversized blue hoodie and jeans, he skulked down the walkway away from the school with a hideous scowl on his face. The world around him, warming up to the spring sun, fell cold again to his presence. Today, like most days, was not kind to him. Normally he would be seen alongside his two friends as they messed around in Dice Dungeon at one of their houses. But today, Cole had enough.

His hoodie pocket suddenly buzzed, breaking the dark atmosphere around him. Cole reached into his pocket and read the text he had just received.

"Cole, where you at? I was going to stop for bubble tea before going to Mac's." A text from Kreme, one of Cole's closest friends who was just a grade higher. Cole's expression remained unchanged as he typed his response.

"No." Short and to the point, not something that Kreme liked, but something he tolerated. Kreme stood awkwardly in the highschool commons looking for Cole. He wore a lazy T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. His hair was fashioned into a large blonde mohawk.

Kreme pondered over the text he had received from Cole, still standing in the school commons looking for him.

"Why not? Did something happen?"

"I don't want to." Kreme's phone buzzed to Cole's reply, to which he shrugged. Guess Cole is having a mood today. Kreme shook off his unsatisfied face and put on a cheery smile as he turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, towards the bubble tea shop that he and his friends frequent. As he stepped outside, his phone buzzed again.

"I'm already home, setting up." A text from Mac, the oldest of the group.

"I'm going to get some bubble tea. You want anything?"

"Just a matcha milk tea today. Is Cole with you?"

"No. He's having a mood." Kreme looked up from his phone after sending his text, making sure not to wander into traffic as he crossed the road just in front of the bubble tea shop. Its quite hard to miss, sticking out with its bright pinks and whites practically glowing onto the road. He must have beat the general rush, because there was only one person in line inside.

"Namaste!" A female voice exclaimed from behind the counter as Kreme entered the building.

"He's not coming?"

"He said he didn't want to."

Mac's phone buzzed in his hand. He was standing over his desk with several props haphazardly strewn on top of it, as he had turned his attention completely to his conversation with Kreme. Before typing his reply, he brushed his long brown hair back and fiddled with his goatee.

"Did he say why?"

"Nope. He pretty much just ghosted me."

"Next please!" The cashier called out to Kreme, who was still texting Mac. He approached the counter, but hesitated on ordering.

"Its fine. I'll play his character until he comes back."

Kreme frowned at the idea, and thought for a moment.

"Did you want to order?" The cashier asked, alluding to the line that was piling up behind Kreme. Kreme inhaled loudly, having made up his mind on what he wanted to do.

"I'll have a mango milk tea with lychee jelly, a matcha milk tea with no ice, and a royal milk tea with light boba and light ice," he said, having memorized everyone's favorite drink. The cashier wrote down the order and sent it to the back of the shop, yelling the order in a different language. Kreme paid for the order and then sat down at one of the uncomfortably small, yet cute, tables.

"Give me just a minute," He texted Mac, then exited out and returned to his conversation with Cole.

"Cole, the radiant shining light of my life that can only be compared to the heat death of the universe! Where you at now?"

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Cole's hoodie pocket buzzed again. He ignored it and continued walking. It buzzed again. This time he huffed loudly and pulled his phone out, glowering at Kreme's texts, his expression twisted slightly at Kreme's joke as he tried not to laugh.

"I'm walking home."

"I'll be right there."

Kreme stuffed all 3 drinks in his messenger bag and dashed out of the shop.

Cole, after reading Kreme's message, put his phone back in his pocket and continued his walk home. Moments later his phone started buzzing multiple times, as Kreme started sending him random messages in rapid succession. He groaned and pulled his phone out to block Kreme's number. He suddenly heard the sound of someone running towards him, and was then swiftly tackled onto the pavement.

Cole opened his eyes to see Kreme on top of him with his usual cheery smile.

"I told you I didn't want to go--" Cole's shouting was suddenly cut off by Kreme shoving the sealed cup of bubble tea in his mouth to shut him up.

"Cole, you had a bad day. Drown your sorrows, and lets make you feel better, okay?" Kreme said in an unusually serious tone.

Cole glared at Kreme, then, he shifted to the side of the cup stuffed in his mouth. He then gave Kreme a defeated expression.

Kreme stood up with his phone in hand, texting Mac.

"Coles coming."

Mac's phone buzzed on his dining room table. Mac's face lit up. He jumped up and grabbed the rest of his cardboard props from his room. Suddenly a weird feeling tickled his chest, making him cough rather violently a few times. Mac pounded his chest a few times to stop, then reached for his phone.

"Perfect, doors open. Just walk in."

Kreme's phone buzzed. Kreme replied with an okay, and returned his phone to his pocket.

Meanwhile, Cole, who was walking beside him, took a long drag of his royal milk tea. After several seconds, he swallowed and his expression became visibly lighter.

"Feeling better?" Kreme asked with a soft tone. Cole grumbled slightly.

"Yeah."

"You wanna talk about what happened?"

Cole took a smaller sip of his tea.

"Not really."

Kreme wrapped his arm around Cole and hugged him from his side.

"If you want to talk about anything, you know I'm here. You could even text me at 3 in the morning and I would happily read you a bed time story if it makes you better." Cole smirked slightly at the ground, then looked back up at Kreme.

"They're bullying me again." He muttered softly.

"Again!?" Kreme took his arm off Cole and put his hands on his hips. "Well if what Mac and I did last week didn't get the school to step in, nothing will. Cole, best you don't show up to school tomorrow."

Cole grimaced at Kreme's dark joke, to which Kreme just laughed loudly.

"I'm kidding! But seriously, Mac and I are going to do something to Den and his buddies."

"Its not a big deal." Cole tried to talk down Kreme from helping him deal with the situation.

Kreme stopped walking, having arrived at Mac's house.

"Cole." He said sternly.

"Kreme." Cole replied, equally sternly.

"If you want the bullying to stop, then you have to stop ignoring them. The teachers all say that ignoring the bully will make them stop, well, how is that working for you now? Den and his buddies are bullying you because they can get away with it. Do you want them to stop?"

"Yes." Cole said submissively.

"Good, but first lets get our fantasy on. I've got a new build I want to work on." Kreme opened Mac's front door and let himself and Cole in. "Honey, I'm home!" Kreme announced sarcastically. Mac was sitting at a large round dinner table with several of his props up, showing a fantasy forest and several plastic figurines strewn about. Kreme opened his book bag and set the other 2 drinks onto the table. Mac turned his attention to Cole, knowing that Cole wasn't originally going to come concerned him. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah." He said quietly.

"Perfect. Alright, Kreme, Cole, Parmi, nice cosplay by the way, everyone sit down and lets begin." Mac said, motioning to each person as he said their name.

Kreme raised an eyebrow. "Parmi's here?"

Both him and Cole turned around to see a person towering over them. He was dressed in a dark blue business suit and pants, a purple bow-tie, and their head appeared to be a comically large skull whose jaw was twisted in a large toothy smile.

"Huh." He exhaled, "you two aren't supposed to be here." His tone was charismatic, but had a chilling echo. The man reached into his suit's inner pocket and pulled out a small booklet, flipping through its pages.

"Mac this guy isn't with us." Kreme said with a nervous tone.

Mac gave the tall man a confused look. "Then who are you?"

The man turned to Mac and put his booklet away. His boney jaw warped into an even wider smile.

"Hello children, I am Death. You may call me 'the Reaper' and I am here because you died." The Reaper said, pointing to Mac. "You two are also supposed to be dead, but you're not supposed to be here." The Reaper motioned towards the other two.

Kreme and Cole backed away from the Reaper.

"Cole, call 911." Kreme said as he grabbed a chair to keep the Reaper away, thinking him to be a burglar or serial murderer.

Cole backed even further and pulled his phone out, but it wouldn't respond to him touching it. "My phone is dead!"

Scared, Kreme swung the chair at the Reaper as a distraction and scrambled to Cole, trying to use his own phone to no avail. "Wait what!? Mine is too!"

The Reaper straightened his bow-tie and cleared his throat, completely unfazed that he was just hit by a chair that is now smashed to pieces on the floor. "Lets settle down now." He said, vanishing and then reappearing behind Kreme and Cole. "Everyone just take a seat." The Reaper guided Kreme and Cole back to the dining room table and sat them down side by side with Mac. He then pulled up another chair for himself, and sat across from them.

Kreme and Cole huddled close to Mac, deeply scared of the intruder now sitting in front of them.

"Firstly--" The Reaper started, "I'm not some maniac who broke into your home, I am the embodiment of death." The Reaper summoned his scythe from thin air and pointed the blade at the trio. "And like I said, I'm here because you died."

"Well, uh, you should know Mr Reaper, I'm feeling pretty not dead." Kreme remarked, trying to fake a normal tone. He then elbowed Mac, whispering "Is your phone working?"

Mac shook his head. "Its not,"

"I'm going to try and distract him," Kreme said, picking up Mac's props and throwing them at the Reaper. But to his shock, they just hovered in the air, as if time had stopped.

"I know, Kreme. In fact, you said the same thing the last time we met." The Reaper remarked with a dark implication.

"Yeah, well, if you're really the Reaper, then I challenge you to a game for our souls!" Kreme shouted, grabbing a die and rolling it on the table. It landed on a 20.

Mac gave Kreme a stupefied look. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know, dude," Kreme whispered back. The Reaper looked at the dice, then back at the trio and narrowed his gaze. He then clapped his hands together and cleared his throat.

"Well then, I guess I can't argue with that. I accept your challenge!" The Reaper boomed. "But I must warn you, this game will be to die for!" The Reaper reached into his suit pocket again, and this time pulled out an incredibly large book and slammed it on the table. It was bound in dark leather and glowed brightly with the letters "Dice Dungeon" engraved on it. He then opened the book to the first page, held it up to the trio, and with a flash of light; everyone vanished.