talking to him

parting ways once, twice.

𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖌𝖊𝖗 𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖆𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗'𝖘 𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖊

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"what happened to your neck?"

after seeing himself in the bus reflection, karl knew this was coming. he just hadn't anticipated it being the first thing said as he enters the apartment, before he's even taken off his shoes, while both of his friends stare at him from across the room.

karl swallows the lump in his throat. he could see the bruises in the faint reflection, but it was the act of running his fingers over the skin of his neck and collar that made him aware of the bite marks.

there isn't a world in which karl can lie here, but he equally can't bring himself to tell the truth.

instead, he does what he knows is the right thing to do, and swallows the pain in his chest as he croaks out, "i want to break up."

sapnap looks back at quackity, and the shorter ravenette's eyes blow wide in shock.

karl imagines the narrative that they must be writing in their heads:

karl found someone else. he has been cheating on sapnap instead of staying late at work like he always says. he has hickeys. he isn't even trying to hide it. he wants to break up to be with the other person. karl is a cheater.

which is why he is all the more confused when sapnap stands slowly from the couch and asks, "what happened, karl?" his tone is so gentle, so calm, that you would think he's talking to a scared animal.

karl still struggles to breathe, and he can feel the way his chest is rising and falling with each breath. "i don't want to be with you anymore," he forces out. he would rather let sapnap make up a story in his mind than confess what really happened: that he really is a cheat.

quackity stays sitting, and karl takes an instinctive step back when sapnap tries to advance towards him, bringing the ravenette to a stunting halt.

sapnap looks scared by the distance karl keeps between them. it's clear that he's trying to stay level-headed and not make assumptions, but karl can see the way his jaw flexes when he looks at the marks on his neck.

this time, when sapnap says, "tell me what happened," his voice is more demanding. yet, somehow, karl feels as though the anger isn't directed at him.

the brunette shakes his head. "i can't do this anymore," he tells sapnap, desperate to give the ravenette the freedom he deserves. "you need better than me."

sapnap seems to deflate, his shoulders sagging. "you always say this, karl, and i always tell you it isn't true."

karl shakes his head, minutely aware of the hot tears that begin to stream down his face. "why won't you just let me leave?"

"because i can tell you don't want to," sapnap easily answers, and it's then that quackity rises to stand.

"what brought this on?" he pries, rewording sapnap's previous question as if it may trick karl into answering.