Nightingale - Dreamnotfound

||Lights Out||

Lights out. The graduation party had ended when the night watch had to go pursue their duties. The Group A Specialties returned to their apartment building just next door to our's, and Techno and Wilbur had said goodnight before taking off on their own.

Sapnap slept peacefully across the room from me as I sat with my back against the wall staring at the vague outline of the door. I had finally hit the period of the night where the constant chill of my impending death had finally dissipated. Most of the pressures of the day had since been put on pause. It was as if my entire life had finally reached a moment of unprecedented peace.

If I could, I'd stay in this moment forever. Unfortunately, though, that wasn't possible.

The seconds still ticked by. Whether I liked it or not, morning would come. The sun would rise along with everybody else in the building. It was only a matter of time—a matter of ticks on the clock—before I'd lose yet another person I had once loved.

My chest swelled with the many questionable choices I had made that led me to this moment; the first being the day we met. Had I killed George the day we met, my life would still be normal. I'd turn around and go straight to Wilbur and Techno and hand over the file. I'd be done. No hard feelings. One of my closest friends wouldn't have betrayed me, I wouldn't have had that conversation with Wilbur, I never would have yet another attachment that I'd inevitably lose. My life would still be the way it was before the mission: dull and meaningless. And at this point, was that so bad?

"Clay," Sapnap mumbled from across the room. "You're still awake?" He turned over and stretched.

"How long have you been awake?" I asked.

"A few seconds," His outline wrapped the blanket tighter around him as he turned his entire body to face me. "I've been waking up and falling back asleep all night long. Same for you?"

"I haven't slept at all." I fidgeted with my hands.

"Why not?"

"I don't want it to be tomorrow."

"You know, you can always just ask Tommy and Tubbo not to complete the mission. They really like you, I'm sure they'd be willing to give it up."

"I can't. The first mission is the most important, and you know it. I can't ask them to ruin their reputations for something that's entirely my fault," I replied, although it was awfully tempting. "Besides, Techno's just going to hand the mission over to someone who doesn't care anyway."

"I mean, maybe it's for the best then."

"What?" My head snapped back in his direction.

"This whole mess started when he stole the papers. He basically wrote his death sentence," Sapnap explained. "I don't mean this as a jab at him or anything, but it was going to happen one way or another, right?"

"I guess."

"I'd just take it as a loss. A very heavy loss, no doubt, but from an objective standpoint, it started with George, and it's going to end with him too."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"I was supposed to die too, Sap, but Wilbur didn't go through with it and he didn't deal with any consequences."

"You were a helpless child. You didn't do anything wrong. George did. He stole papers. Clay, it's over."

Sapnap's words packed a punch harder than the physical ones Fundy threw at me. It was over. It had been over for a while— since the moment Fundy walked in on us, to be exact.