Astronomy (of Us)

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Saturday Nights by Khalid
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"Hi! My name is Karl, and I'm wondering if you've seen my dog." Karl grinned as worriedly and gently as he could when he spoke to Warren. He was taller than the boy, but he could tell what Sapnap meant by Warren having stupidly broad shoulders and a lengthy, winding spine. That much wasn't fair. Karl was stuck being lanky and so, no girth to intimidate the people who tormented him at school.

"Maybe?" Warren shifted under the transom of the front door. He went debating between options in his mind as he gazed at the guy in front of him. Warren was pretty sure the guy's name was Karl. He wasn't really listening for the beginning. "Sorry, I'm Warren." He shook his head swiftly, remembered his classical manners, and extended his hand for the boy to shake. Karl returned it but only after a split second of hesitation that made Warren

Karl seemed to be around the age of Sapnap, Warren decided. A few details made the younger of the two inwardly giggle, like how the hand he shook was patched over with a Band-Aid. In fact, all over Karl's exposed arms were bandages, all of them shades fit to rival light through a prism.

"We found a dog a few days ago, outside of the small market about ten minutes away," Warren murmured before opening the door further. It edged towards a question at the end, not like he was unsure of the time but rather like he couldn't decide if he should've told Karl or not.

Karl stepped through with the invitation newly present and gazed around the rest of the house he'd only seen a piece of. It wasn't unexpected that the entire feel of the household was far different from Sapnap's room at 3am. It was bare, proving Sapnap's story of the family only being here for the summer months. That fact still made Karl's stomach do somersaults and his heart wrench itself from right side in to inside out.

"Baltic!" Warren called after facing away and shutting the door. Soon enough, the patters of paws against carpet erupted and slowly got louder as a clumsy dog came barreling down the stairs. When the boxer mix went meandering to the kitchen, opposite to where the two boys stood, Warren giggled and whistled, "Over here, boy."

Karl stood frozen, watching the demeanor of the canine as it trotted over. With no doubt in his mind, Karl knew it was Bueller. Karl was familiar with every detail of that dog, but he'd already made up his mind before he rang the doorbell to this house. Sapnap had agreed to the plan, the one where Karl took the dog from their house and went home with triumph in his step, but Karl didn't care. He could tell as Sapnap nodded with a melancholy tone, that the shorter of the two wanted to keep the dog, wanted Baltic in his grip, so Karl... lied. He lied directly to Warren's face and without Sapnap's knowledge.

"That's not him, sorry." Karl shifted his weight to his left foot and felt smog creep into his mouth. When he tasted it, it was laughing gas rather than soupy smoke. Saccharine, honey, and licorice slicked up the walls of his mouth after they'd gone dry.

"Oh, okay," Warren settled on the ground and wrapped Bueller up in an affectionate hug.

Karl took it as a sign to leave, assuming that Purlain had taught the younger boy to let people come and go freely. Karl backed away and smiled at Bueller behind Warren's back. With his lie over and the real plan executed, Karl turned in his heel and left the house, a small murmur reaching his ears from Warren's mouth:

"You get to stay with us, bud-bud."

It was for Sapnap, though, not Warren and sure as hell not for himself. Karl found himself not minding too much with that fact in his head.