~Cariño: A Quackbur Story~

~Brain Freeze~

Cigarette smoke.

Quackity sometimes forgot why he hated it. 

The smog they produced was thought consuming.

It clung onto things, haunting the breath of a person like a ghost.

When the smoke wafted into his face, it irritated his eyes, making them water.

The thickness of the smoke made his skin itchy. He could only cough at the pungent odor.

He always remembered immediately why he hated it when he visited his best friend's, Schlatt's, apartment.

The man in front of him smiled, offering him a cigarette like he always did.

And when he did, it always went the same. Quackity would pout and go on a rant on how unhealthy smoking was, even though he knew Schlatt wasn't going to stop.

However, today was different.

Quackity huffed, snatching the cigarette away from him and rolling it in between his two fingers. 

He watched as Schlatt's face contorted from shocked to amused.

"What's wrong now, Alex?" Schlatt muttered, hesitantly flicking on his lighter. He looked at Quackity for reassurance. He nodded, putting the cigarette in his mouth, and Schlatt let the flame lightly touch the tip of the cigarette.

Quackity inhaled, laying back lazily as he exhaled.

"Everything. You know that."

He coughed, rolling his eyes.

"...no. It's something different today." Schlatt rubbed his unshaven jaw, observing him. He crossed his legs on his beaten up couch. "We've talked about your dad before. We've talked about the café closing... Those all felt different from how today feels, somehow."

"Nothing's changed." Quackity looked up at the apartment ceiling.

Schlatt had turned eighteen not too long ago, and his parents were ecstatic to get rid of him. They were nice enough to agree to pay for his rent and groceries until he finally graduated high school, along with Alex.

"Quackity." Schlatt tapped his cigarette into an empty ash tray. He licked his teeth. "I know you better than you do."

"You come to my house on a Wednesday at 8: 30 at night, which is past your curfew, take a cigarette when I offer it to you, just so we can talk about something we've talked about on Discord? No, something's wrong. Something's different."

Quackity sighed, closing his eyes and putting his cigarette to his mouth. His eye bags were dark and defined. Even though the café was closed, he never looked more tired.

"I might as well tell you since you're interrogating me." He discarded his cigarette in the ash tray. He rubbed his eyes, sitting up and sighing. "Just promise you won't make fun of me."

"Okay..." Schlatt laid back in couch, crossing his arms. "I won't, I swear."

Quackity groaned, glaring at him. "I think I'm in love."

"Huh?"

"I... I've been friends with someone for the past two years. Someone I never told you about." Alex bit the insides of his cheeks. "We've been getting closer. And... they've worked at the café. I was ordered by my mom to stop talking to them after the café closed."

"So... you're all pissy and depressed over some girl?"

"They're a guy."

Schlatt paused, grabbing and lighting another cig. "That's actually worse."

"What?"

"There are guys everywhere. We're in high school. What's one guy?"

"Schlatt. I like him. Like a lot." Alex laid his head in his hands. "There's so much about him, that's... alluring."

"Well, if you love him so much, why are you here?" Schlatt exhaled, smoke wandering into Quackity's nose, making him cough. "...Sorry, man... I'm just saying, why are you here at my house at 9 at night instead of his?"

"It's not that easy, Schlatt."

" 'Course it is. Just go to his house, sneak in his room, and-"

"No, Schatt!" Red flushed his face. "I don't even know where he lives."

"Then text him."

"I can't! He's blocked on my phone."

Schlatt quirked his head to the side, like a curious cat. "What? Then just unblock him."

"I can't! I said it isn't that simple. I'm not allowed to..."

"Why?"

"It's my mom and-"

"Only your mom's stopping you?"

Quackity gave him a pointed look.

"I just can't... legally."

"Oh."

Quietness sat in the room, heavy as cigarette smoke.

"So what're you going to do about it?"

"I don't know, I've been thinking about it for weeks... nothing's come to me. I just... can't fix it."

Schlatt bit the dead skin off of his lip. "...How about we focus on something else for the rest of the night? You excited for your law thingy?"

Quackity scoffed. "Yes, I'm excited for my law program. The thought of it has been the only thing that's kept me going these last few months."

Schlatt grinned. "I still can't believe you're going to be a fucking lawyer. Alex Quackity, a goddamn lawyer..." He sucked in smoke, blowing out billows.

Quackity coughed, covering his nose.

He hated cigarette smoke.

- - -

Words: 805 (according to Wattpad)
A/N: I made Schlatt a cool friend to give my TTDML and LD girlies whiplash.