talking to him

prologue - sapnap

𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖌𝖊𝖗 𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖆𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗'𝖘 𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖊

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karl passes the beer bottle back to quackity, blinking slowly as he looks out over the stretch of garden before him. he glances up at the sky, letting his eyes try to make out shapes in the clouds as they drift past.

"do you actually like it?" quackity asks after taking a few long swigs, giving the bottle back to karl. the brunette shakes his head, grimacing to himself, and then tips his head back as he downs another few mouthfuls of the bitter drink.

when they planned to steal alcohol and get drunk together for the first time, karl didn't think it would taste so foul. unfortunately, his dad definitely would've noticed if he took anything more expensive than the cheap beer that he and his best friend have been readily smuggling out of the kitchen.

he doesn't even know how many cans they've shared now. four? five?

karl wouldn't say he's drunk, but there's a little bit of a blur at the edge of his vision and his head feels heavier than it usually does it.

"well then why do you do it?"

karl turns to his friend with furrowed brows, his head tilted slightly to the side as he passes the bottle over again. "what?" he questions, figuring he's lost track of the conversation at some point.

"kissing," quackity specifies. "why do you do it if you don't like it?"

"oh! kissing! i thought you were asking if i liked the beer," karl laughs, shaking his head at himself. he looks back out across his vast garden, remembering days when they were just kids, running about and rolling around in the grass. he'd like to do that now, but the rest of the world is expecting them to grow up. "i like kissing. it's fun."

quackity shakes his head as if he disagrees but he can't really know because he's never tried it. the ravenette has turned down any chance he's had to be with a girl. "it just sounds gross," he says, grimacing. "i don't even know if i ever want a girlfriend, at this point."

karl frowns, looking for a response, but all thoughts in his head are scattered quickly when he hears the back door swing open behind them.

he turns back quickly, pleased that the beer bottle is hidden safely in quackity's lap when his eyes meet his dad's. "hey," he says, maybe too quick, maybe too guilty.

"ryan's just got here, come say hi," his dad urges with a gentle smile, holding the back door even wider and nodding to gesture karl inside. "he travelled in from the city."

karl pulls himself up from the back porch steps and looks down at quackity to say, "back in a bit." the ravenette nods understandingly and karl heads towards the back door, passing his dad to enter the house and leave his best friend outside.

he waits for his dad to lead and then follows, weaving through the throngs of people that are crowding their too-big house. karl used to love it as a kid but it feels weird now, having so much space just for the two of them. it's better on nights like today, when they have guests over to make the place feel more alive.

karl's dad takes him through to the lounge, where the brunette spots his godfather sitting down on the couch. though, when the older man spots karl, he stands from his space and puts his drink down on the side table.