behind the wheel

~5: George~

//tw: mature language, mild peer pressure (just for a dare :))

Slushies.

I love them so much.

After a long, hot day, my go-to snack is a slushie.

But the thing about slushies is they always end up getting me into the worst situations.

After the race, I was feeling more up to going out than I normally was, which is saying a lot since I never got out. Unless Karl dragged me out, of course.

Karl took me right to Taco Bell for a Baja Blast and I was extremely satisfied with the choice of venue for this particular slushie outing.

I chose a cozy-looking table for two in the corner, but Karl slid into a both for four by the window, waving me over.

I wasn't very keen on what he was intending, but I figured he wouldn't invite anyone other than Sapnap and Quackity so I plopped down in front of him.

When the waiter came over, he greeted us nicely and asked us what we wanted to drink.

Karl smiled up at him. "What's your name?"

The waiter looked surprised that he had asked. He obviously didn't get asked that much. "Oh, I'm Callahan, sir."

Karl gave him a nod and a bright smile. "Nice to meet you, Cal! We'll just have two cherry Baja Blasts and two blue raspberries."

Callahan smiled and nodded. "I'll be right back with those." He disappeared into the kitchen.

I looked at Karl. "How are you so outgoing?"

He shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "It's in my blood I guess." He pulled out his phone, most likely to check the status of our company.

I looked out the window, wanting nothing more than to grab my slushie and crawl back into my room alone. Being lonely is easier when your best friend doesn't force you to get out of the apartment all the time.

I looked up as I felt two pairs of eyes and nodded my head a little in greeting towards the two guys approaching us.

Karl waved ecstatically and patted the seat next to him while looking up at them. "Hey! Thanks for meeting us! Did you get those tires taken care of?"

Sapnap slid into the booth next to Karl. "Yep!"

"They were a pain in the ass to carry though," Quackity mumbled, sitting down next to me.

I patted him on the shoulder. "You'll be alright."

Karl chuckled a little.

Callahan appeared back at the front of the table, setting down the four drinks with four straws.

"Thanks, Callahan!" Karl called as he walked away again.

"You learned his name?" Sapnap looked at Karl curiously.

"Well, yeah! Common decency, am I right?"

Quackity squinted at Karl, wanting to have a little fun. "I think you like him."

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

Karl tilted his head in utter confusion. "Who..?"

Quackity grinned mischievously. "The waiter dude."

Karl's ears went pink out of embarrassment. "Who, Cal? I don't even know him, I just learned his name!"

"Crushes can develop fast, KJ." Sapnap teased, poking Karl's arm.

"Guys lay off. Karl's just a nice person by nature." I tried my best to defend him, but it was no use. They were already too far in to turn back now.

Quackity's grin grew. "I dare you to get his number."

Sapnap snickered as Karl's neck grew hot.

"But I don't even-"

"Ten bucks says you won't."

Karl took a moment to consider this, gears in his head ever visible as he silently weighed the pros and cons. He looked back up at Quackity. "Fine. But you have to ask that guy to go to the party with us." Karl pointed across the room at a brunette with curly hair, round glasses, and a beanie on. He was sitting at a round table with people that were presumably his family.

Quackity visibly paled little, cocky walls breaking for a fraction of a second. He quickly turned back to Karl. "Deal."

They shook hands.

I shook my head at them and sipped my cherry slushy, letting the icy liquid calm my insides. At least this would be entertaining to watch.

Quackity went out to his car to get something, probably one of the cards with the party information on it.

Just as the fourth member of the group had left the group, Callahan came back.

"Is there anything else I can get for you all today?"

Sapnap grinned at Karl.

Karl looked like he was going to puke. "Uhm... could I uh... could I just get... your number?"

I put my head in my hands.

Callahan blinked back a bit of surprise, but nodded, tearing a sheet of paper from his notepad and scribbling something on it. He handed it to Karl and rubbed the back of his neck.

Sapnap let out a scream-laugh of pride, bursting out laughing as Karl took the piece of paper from Callahan.

Karl stared at the paper in his hands, still looking sick to his stomach. "Thanks... we can take the check now," he mumbled miserably.

Callahan nodded and went to tend to a different table across the room.

Quackity came back to the table holding a card and reclaimed his seat next to me. "What'd I miss?"

Sapnap wiped tears of laughter from his face. "You, my friend, owe Karl ten big ones."

Karl ran a nervous hand through his hair, desperately grabbing his blue slushie and chugging it without a straw.

Quackity grumbled something to himself as he pulled out the cash and laid it next to Callahan's number. "Yo Karl. You good?"

Karl held out a thumbs-up, still chugging.

"Uh... okay then..."

After the chaos of the slushie outing was over, everyone piled into their separate cars to go get ready for the after-party that was awaiting them.

I decided it would be best to drive, just in case Karl got sick on the way home. He still looked pale from the incident and agreed desperately.

The drive was silent, and when I pulled into the parking lot and looked at Karl, he looked more deep in thought than sick.

"...Karl? You okay buddy?"

Karl's head turned sharply towards me. "Do you think I liked Callahan?"

"Wh-What? What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer honestly. Do you think I liked him?"

"Um... no... no I don't. It looked to me like you were just trying to be nice. The other two just wanted to poke fun, I doubt they actually thought you had feeli-"

Karl just nodded and got out of the car, disappearing into the apartment building.

I sighed and followed him, knowing there was no getting out of going to the after-party now.

-

Chapter 5 doneeee!! Wow it's late- I'm finishing this at midnight haha. Anyways- I'm really excited for the next chapter :))) Thanks for reading!