Red Looks Better On Liars- Schlatt X Quackity

30~ Can't Speak When I'm Dead!

I start the car's engine, eyeing Tubbo in the rearview mirror. He looked tense and unsure, a hint of something in his eye. Something upsetting. I open my mouth to speak, but he fills the silence before I can.

     "Are you okay?" He asks, holding his bag a little tighter on his lap. "You don't look very good." 

     "I'm okay, Tubbo. Don't worry about me."  I respond, eyes lingering over the boy. 

     "Why did you and my aunt fight?" He asks me. 

I stop for a second, my eyebrows knitting together. Aunt? Fight? Puffy? I didn't fight with Puffy. 

    "With Aunt Niki? I heard you guys talking, and I'm not that dumb. I know when stuff is getting hidden from me." 

Wow. He's a very upfront boy. Respectable. 

    "I'm sorry, buddy, but that's stuff that should really stay between the adults," I tell him with a tight grimace. I sometimes forget he's 12 and more than capable of standing up for himself.

     "I can be an adult," He says quickly, sitting a bit taller in his seat. He was getting taller every time I saw him. 

     "I don't doubt that. But really, it's better if you didn't know." I tell him, eyes darting to the road. "Besides, you shouldn't want to be an adult so quickly, you should be happy as a kid." 

    "I can't wait to be able to move out." He grumbles quietly. My eyebrows furrow and I look up at the boy. 

     "What do you mean?" I ask him.

     "It's not like it would be any different. It's not like my dad likes me anyway." He spat distastefully. 

     "I wouldn't say that, he cares for you," I tell him to try to comfort him. Though sometimes, I questioned if Schlatt even liked him myself.

He just looks into the mirror and makes eye contact with me, a look of annoyance obviously present. The boy just shakes his head, looking off into the window. 

I feel my heart sink. I would give the world to this kid. I didn't want him to be upset. Nonetheless, upset at me. 

     "Why do you feel like he doesn't care about you?" I ask him quietly, a frown creasing my lips. 

     "He only talks to me when you're around. When you're not in the room, he couldn't care less about me." My eyes narrow and heat creeps up my face. Seriously? 

     "Oh," Is all I could manage, my eyes making their way back to the road. Oh, that's fucking terrible. 

     "What else," I ask, voice even and eyes fixed. 

    "I can barely talk to him. He's always too busy for me. Always. He suddenly started having plenty of time ever since you came around. He hasn't always been like that." He was rolling his eyes now, arms crossed over his chest. "I know he doesn't like me."

I stay quiet. This information was... disturbing. I didn't know how to take this. 

     "Tubbo," I begin. 

He looks up to me.

     "Is he mean to you?" I ask carefully, treading the surface of the many questions flooding my head.

    "No, he doesn't talk to me. My dad barely even wants to see me. I think he's trying to impress you or something." He says.

A sigh leaves my parted lips and is then replaced with a thin line. I know I should be defending Schlatt, and accusing Tubbo of lying, but truthfully, this is a total Schlatt thing to do. Just to impress me.