Stealth. (FtM Karl)

Rice ;)

Re-uploaded last two chapters because I was told they were the wrong way round. Sorry!

After witnessing the events that took place, Karl helped George gather some of the broken pieces before the shorter ran after Dream, leaving Nick and Karl alone (surrounded by the many who witnessed the accident of course).

In a situation like this, silence was expected, but the schools outdoor area was filled with chatter and yelling between groups and pairs of friends.

They had all seen it. The two boys could only imagine how Dream must be feeling right now.

"I... didn't mean to..." Nick stated, he could tear his gaze away from where the mask had shattered. He had been with Dream through it all, he knew what he had gone through and the reason why he had hidden his face. He knew and now he doubted his friend could ever forgive him for this.

"I know." Karl replied, he rested a hand on his shoulder for reassurance, "I'm sure he knows it too."

—back to present time—

"I mean... it doesn't look THAT bad." The brunette defended, feeling unsure whether or not he should be laughing or crying at the mess he had made.

Dream laughed, practically wheezing at this point, "George! It looks terrible!" He exclaimed, gesturing at the object on the table.

"Nonononono! Hear me out here me out!" He protested, laughing between words. He picked it up and held it infront of his face, the mask was covered in glue and newspaper along with other objects and substances to try and fill in the cracks.
Though, the mask didn't even make it to the front of his face before almost half of it came loose and fell to the ground, leaving strips of newspaper to hang loosely from the cracked edges as the half shattered on the floor.

Both boys fell into silence as they watched, Dream flinched at the sudden sound and George stood with his hand out as if he had tried to catch it.
They both looked back up at each other, and laughter erupted within the room.

"Okay," George laughed, "so maybe it's un-fixable?" He admitted.
"Oh nono of course it's fixable," Dream denied, "YOU'RE just terrible at it." He teased amongst laughter.
George faked a gasp "Me??? YOU HELPED!" He accused.
"It wasn't my idea to get rice involved!" He retorted.
"I saw a video! The media is convincing!" George protested.

Dream laughed at his response, at the whole playful argument, infact. He hadn't laughed this much in a while, it felt good but his stomach was starting to ache from it.
George had noticed, and he was happy, he was proud of himself for making the boy laugh. It was truly an accomplishment worth pride.

——————

"So... how bad was it?" Wilbur asked as Karl entered the house, Wilbur wasn't there for last period or lunch because he had no more lessons and so he went straight home.

"Don't worry, you fixed it" he lied.
"Oh good, I'm glad. Sorry again." He sighed, relieved.

Karl walked up to his room, greeting the others as he passed them, and chucked his bag on the floor before dropping into his bed limply.

His day was terrible. Nick may not have heard any rumours, and none of his other friends may witnessed anything, but the rumours had spread a little further than he would have hoped or expected.
It was mostly kept on the down-low, only a select few knew and it didn't seem to be big enough news that everyone was talking about it, but people were.

Nobody spoke to him directly, but he could hear them muttering and whispering around him, he could feel their glares.

This was going to be a long couple of years.

——————

??? Pov:

I couldn't stop thinking about the rumour I had heard. God knows where it started, but somehow one of my friends had heard about this one guy.

'Karl Jacobs' I repeated, the word felt so familiar, but I didn't know him.
'Where have I heard that name before?'