Candy Rings

What's Light without Darkness?

Homecoming had felt miles away now that it was summer before junior year. Karl and Sapnap were both seventeen, a little older and a little wiser. Though one thing stayed the same like every year since they met, the line between themselves and true happiness was still drawn. Last year's ring was still placed around Karl's finger, the lilac and tangerine colors imprinted to the back of Karl's mind. He hadn't felt the need to bring out his box of rings lately as he was still fixated on the most recent one.

This ring signified a deeper meaning in their friendship, but what was that meaning and what did it mean? Nothing ever really came after the gift-giving of the rings, just the typical growing emotions.
Things never made it outside of that one little box.

Were they too scared to take a step further because they were afraid of rejection or afraid of love?

It was a night of many thoughts, and nothing had caused them, no. Karl and Sapnap were outside in a field with millions of stars floating in the sky above them.

The week before Karl received a telescope for his 17th birthday, something he had asked for a couple months prior.
He had been fixated on the science of space and learned about the many constellations, each one more interesting than the last. So, he asked for a telescope so he could see the beauty of each image someone had created with their own imagination many centuries ago.

And what better person to test the new present out with than his best friend?

Sapnap knew next to nothing about the stars, he didn't pay no mind to the science lessons pertaining to them in school. Now that he got a good look at the beauty of the world beyond them, he couldn't unsee how similar the stars and Karl's eyes were.

More specifically the constellation Orion. The blues matched well with Karl's eyes which looked darker now that the sun had disappeared. But it had been replaced with something just as beautiful.

The night was Sapnap's favorite time of the day. The world around him was quiet and he didn't feel the ongoing pressure he did when he was around everyone else. Though, his mind was anything but quiet. He couldn't help but overthink in the deafening silence. It's why he stayed awake late most nights.

Tonight was different. Tonight he was free from it all, and it was because of starlit eyes.

Karl somehow added light to any dark room without even meaning to, but that was okay for Sapnap. If Karl was the light in the room, he would never turn it off.

Sapnap was the opposite for Karl. Karl's life was too bright and needed some darkness to keep everything at bay, and Sapnap was the perfect being for that. It was just the right balance for him to stand up on his feet.
Afterall, what's light without darkness?

Sometimes those two things could clash and set both worlds unbalanced. Karl and Sapnap had yet to experience that type of unbalance and they hoped it wouldn't ever get that far.
Right now, it was just them and the stars.
The stars Karl could somehow find with ease with his new telescope.
The stars he would name one by one just so Sapnap could know, even though he would forget the information later. But that didn't matter right now. It was just the stars and Sapnap that mattered.

"Hey Sap, come here and look at this one." Karl said, looking away from the telescope.
Sapnap did as he was told and went to the telescope for what seemed like the millionth time that night. Karl had shown him many stars, but he still looked at each one for the boy.

He put his eye up to the eyeglass to find what Karl wanted to show him, but all he could see was clusters of whites, oranges, blues, and yellows.

"Uhm, Karl. I don't know what I'm looking for." Sapnap stepped back from the telescope looking confused.