And They Were Roommates...

Chapter 8

Skeppy thought that maybe, just maybe, it would be better if he just let go of his problems and current dilemma and just go back to the way things had been before. This was easier said than done. He had set up his entire life around these two people and had no escape from either of them. Skeppy loved them, sure, but he felt like his life was just becoming more confusing.

Despite Bad having been asleep when Skeppy accidentally kissed him, he was certain Bad knew exactly what Skeppy was doing. "Do you wanna get dinner tonight, Skeppy?" Bad asked.

Skeppy was entirely certain that this was simply a platonic thing in Bad's mind, but Skeppy couldn't help but see it in any other way. "Yeah, sure, we can do that."

...

It was 6pm and Skeppy felt jittery, but he wasn't sure if it was due to the coffee or due to his anxieties about this date he was going on. He and Bad walked down the street together in the direction of the restaurant they had agreed on. Bad seemed as content as ever while Skeppy felt like he was going to fall down.

The restaurant wasn't super busy. It was a small diner that Skeppy had never been to, but that was common because Skeppy did not go anywhere. They sat down at a table near the window and looked over the menus. "What are you getting?" Skeppy asked Bad as he eyed the chicken strips on the menu.

"I was thinking about the blueberry pancakes," Bad said, pointing at the breakfast menu. "What about you?"

"Chicken strips," Skeppy said, knowing he sounded very basic. It was just a hard food to mess up.

Bad nodded and continued to look over the various menu items for a moment. The waitress came over and asked if they wanted anything to drink. "Coffee!" They both said at the same time. Skeppy broke out laughing as the waitress nodded and went to get them a pot of coffee.

After they ordered their food, the two sat in an awkward silence for a minute. "So, Skeppy..." Bad began. Skeppy slowly turned to look at him. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Skeppy felt like a deer in headlights. His mouth went dry as he felt panic begin to set in. There were two things he feared that Bad would bring up, but one was much much worse than the other. "I uh-" Skeppy didn't have a response.

"It's okay, we don't need to talk about it if you don't want to," Bad said, noticing how panicked Skeppy looked.

"I don't know-" Skeppy took a sip of his coffee, hoping to gain some courage with the caffeine.

"We don't have to talk about it, I just want to ask one thing, Skeppy."

Skeppy nodded, not saying anything. He could stand one question, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

"Did you mean it? I mean, when you... Y'know, did you mean to say it?" Bad asked.

Skeppy felt his panic level fall by a little. It was what he had said, not what he had done that Bad was worried about. "Uh, I mean, yeah, I did mean it... I'm sorry I just-"

"No, no, it's okay, you don't need to explain it any further. That's all I needed to know," Bad reassured him as the waitress set down a plate of pancakes in front of Bad and chicken strips with fries in front of Skeppy.

The mood returned to the way it usually was once the awkwardness of the conversation dissipated. Skeppy still felt anxious, but at least he knew Bad wasn't mad at him or anything. They chatted about work and various other things, and Skeppy told Bad his old stories from when he worked at the library. Skeppy felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders from their short conversation. He hoped things could go back to normal without him doing anything crazy again.