behind closed doors

an invitation

Karl hated parties.

the timid brunet boy screeched as he lost yet another bed wars battle against his friends Alex, George and clay. he would rather play Minecraft with his online friends than go to school just to get bullied. George was British, caring and calm. some would say the 'mom of the group'. Clay was confident, popular and very talented, his laugh was contagious and he was always flirting with George. Karl was a very shy person around others, but with the three he felt confident for once. then there was Alex, the loudest of the group, always making them laugh with his inappropriate jokes and making fun of them.

however at school, Karl would sit alone, watching the minutes tick by on the clock that hung on the brick wall. he had gotten used to the strange stares and laughs that he would get from people passing by and chose to ignore them.

Tuesday was just a repeat of any other day, he was still sat on his lonely bench by himself, staring at the little hand circling around the clock. suddenly, he was startled by a light tap on his right shoulder. he turned around. big mistake. in front of his stood a very tall guy with curly hair the same colour as his. the top of his guitar case peeped over his shoulder. he knew this boy. Wilbur was his friend from kindergarten, they would sit in the library and play video games together. then Wilbur met two boys names tommy and techno. and Wilbur started to bully Karl for no reason, Karl still didn't know the reason to this day. stood behind Wilbur were the two other tall boys, one with blonde hair and one with long pastel pink hair. one stood staring at Karl menacingly and one stood completely oblivious to the situation, he just continued to listen to his music through earphones. "h- hello" Karl stuttered. Wilbur didn't say a word, he simply handed Karl a small piece of paper. Karl sat silent, still shocked and confused as to why he was in this situation. a deep monotone voice from behind Wilbur finally spoke, "come to the party loser". the boy next to him let out a little laugh but was immediately stopped by a punch in the arm from Wilbur. after an awkward silence. Wilbur let out a big sigh and walked off, dragging the youngest along with him. Karl stared down at the paper, it read; PARTY AT MINE FRIDAY NIGHT AT 8, DONT BE BORING DUMBASS. Karl read it over and over. there's no way he had just been invited to a popular kids party. especially one who hated his guts.

the rest of the day seemed to go pretty fast, as the final bell rang, he ran out of the doors and jumped on his bike. he rode home as fast as he could, the wind swept through his fluffy hair and a smile stretched across his face. he had completely forgotten about the invitation, he was just exited to get home and speak to his friends again. he burst through the front door startling his mother who was cooking in the kitchen. the sound of pots and pans crashing down onto the floor filled the house causing Karl to flinch. "you scared me don't ever do that again" "sorry mum" Karl responded quickly as he continued to run upstairs.

Alex and George were already in a vc when he joined. "oh hey Karl" George greeted, "how was school?" Alex asked. the question reminded him of the the event that happened that day. he began rummaging through his backpack and pockets. George and Alex both sat in confusion, waiting for a response from Karl. "Karl?" "ahh there it is" he shouted, pulling the small crinkled piece of paper from his back pocket. "what is it?" Alex asked in curiosity. "its an invitation to a dumb party, an old friend of mine gave it do me, I don't know why he gave it to me, he hates me and and its not like Im going to go anyway, its just going to be a bunch of popular kids making out with people they don't even know" Karl ranted. "oh my god Karl you should really go, maybe you could find some new friends to hang out with at school" George tried his hardest to convince Karl until Alex butted in "why would he wanna make friends with any popular people there all just dicks who only care about themselves-" "ouch" Clay interrupted. "Clay?" George spoke loudly, "since when did you join the call?" "i just joined call down" clay spoke through wheezes. "anyway, what were u saying about popular people Alex?" clay questions sassily. "nothing" Alex responded without hesitation, sending everyone into fits of laughter. the call went on and nothing else was mentioned about the party, although thoughts still spiralled around Karl's head. Alex was probably right, popular people can be intimidating most of the time but it might be nice to speak to people.

as it started to get late George announced that he was going to bed, clay agreed and was quick to leave the call too. "they are acting so sus" Karl said as he giggle. "they are always acting sus we should be used to it by now" Alex stated. "anyways about earlier, i was joking about the popular people being dicks-" "you should probably be telling clay this not me" Karl interrupted. "no, i mean, u should go to the party. u never know what could happen until u try" Karl thought for a while about what Alex had said. he finally responded with "ill think about it". "okay goodnight Karl" "night Alex". the sound of him leaving the discord call rung through his headphones. he shut down his computer, stumbled over to his bed and in seconds he was fast asleep.