𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐃𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒, k. jacobs¹

Chapter XX

I get a phone call during my Latin class. Didn't I put my phone on silent? Apparently not. Thank Hades that I'm muted right now. I fumble with my phone to get it out, the panic of my teacher noticing getting to me. It's Karl. I really want to answer him, but I decline the call and message him quickly.

Karl<3

hey, sorry. i have Latin right now
but it ends in like 15 minutes or so, so if you want you can call me then

oh, sorry
i'll do that

sounds great, bye

goodbye pretty girl

All I'm hoping for is that I someday will get completely used to the nickname so I don't flush red with emotion like I am right now. I just hope no one in my class notices, or they can, as long as the teacher doesn't. And thankfully they don't.

~a time skip brought to you by; my lack of interest in her online Latin classes~

My class hasn't even ended when Karl calls me again. I answer but turn down my volume so he won't be heard when I unmute to say goodbye to my teacher with the rest of my classmates. I sit on edge until she finally greets us, students, goodbye and we can do so as well.

"Goodbye Mrs. Johnson," we say in unison and then I leave the zoom. I quickly pick up my phone to turn up the volume as well as put it on speaker.

"Hey, sorry Karl, I just had to-" He cuts me off before I can finish.

"Yeah, I heard. Sorry that I called you too early." He waves my apology away like it is a fly. I sit there, stunned for a second, before catching myself.

"So, what are you up to pretty boy?" I try asking him because even though we're close it still got awkward sometimes.

"I'm not doing too much, I have a stream later but that's about it." I can't see his shrug, but I can still see it, in my mind. "How about you?"

"I have a one-hour break before my classes start again but nothing more than that," I inform him. I didn't really understand the logic of having a one-hour break, having a class shorter than that, and then going to lunch. It was pretty weird and inconvenient in my opinion. Without it the school day would be shorter, but what do I know? I shake my head and listen to Karl.

"Sounds great." He goes quiet for a few seconds and so do I. "Do you actually want to visit or is it something I've made up in my head?" He sounds heavyhearted and my own gets struck with sudden pain. Guilt. How had he ever come to think that I wouldn't want to visit him? He was my closest friend.

"I do, I do. Why wouldn't I?" I ask him, the sudden mood change getting to me.

"I don't know, just what you said to Sapnap, and then not bringing it up at all since then..." He still sounds sad. I feel so bad right now. I start chewing on my bottom lip, starting to feel the rusty and salty taste of blood on my tongue.

"No, don't worry about that, that was just... I don't know, I got surprised I guess? I wasn't prepared" I admit. I actually had planned on telling my brother about our plans, but when Karl just said it right there and then, I panicked. "I'm sorry." I apologize full-heartedly, trying really hard to express myself through my voice and tone.

"It's fine," he says. "But does that mean you'll be visiting soon?"

"Yeah, probably" you make the promise before you've even thought about it. You can do school from his place, right? Like what was the big deal? That Sapnap weren't coming with? That could be easily fixed.

"YESSSSSS!" He celebrates through the phone and you smile widely at his reaction. Some mistakes were worth making.