𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘵 || 𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐧𝐚𝐩

˜"*°•.˜"*°• 𝕤𝕒𝕡𝕟𝕒𝕡 •°*"˜.•°*"˜

      »❝the night we met❞ —lord huron

The swings squeaked in the cold night air as Sapnap swung his legs forward. The park was completely empty, a cool fog settling around the playground. Tommy was swinging beside him, his squeaks slightly more aggressive as he excitedly swung his legs back and forth.

"You should've accepted the invite," Tommy told Sapnap.

Sapnap sighed and looked away from Tommy, out into the dark streets. There should be streetlights but the city seemed to give up on their neighborhood, leaving the light bulbs cracked and unfixed. Sapnap didn't blame them.

With a frown, Sapnap turned to look back at Tommy. "I don't do parties," He answered truthfully.

Tommy scrunched up his face and looked back down at his feet. "You need some new friends, you know," He murmured. "You can't just hangout with a 14 year old boy for the rest of your life."

Sapnap scoffed. "I don't need anybody," He declared with annoyance.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Everybody needs people," He pointed out. "Just because you're all tough doesn't mean you're an exception."

The squeaking from the swings were starting to bother Sapnap. He huffed and dismounted his swing, the woodchips under his feet crunching. He heard Tommy dismount behind him and he rubbed his cold face with his palms.

"It's too late now," Sapnap muttered. "There's no point in arguing about this."

Tommy laughed.

Sapnap glared at the younger, unsure of why he felt the need to giggle at him.

"I'm sorry," Tommy wheezed. "It's just... obvious you've never been to a party before. Trust me, it's not too late, it's only 10 o'clock." He held up his wrist and gestured to his watch to prove it.

Sapnap grunted and leaned against a slide. "You're really gonna make me do this?" He groaned.

Tommy beamed. "Yeah?" He stated as if it was obvious. "You have to. It's probably the only chance you'll ever get."

Sapnap bit his lip indecisively. "How about this: If I go to this party, you have to stop your stealing habits."

Tommy's jaw dropped. "But like... stealing is my coping mechanism-"

"Shut the fuck up," Sapnap interrupted with a playful smile. Tommy giggled as Sapnap smacked him on the shoulder. "Coping mechanism my ass. You're just an adrenaline junkie and we both know it."

Tommy shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sapnap shook his head with a grin. "Fuck off," He said while still chuckling. "God damn it. Alright, I guess I'll go."

"YES!" Tommy cheered, pumping his fist up into the air with victory. "Sapnap the party boy!" He added with the biggest smile that Sapnap's seen him wear in weeks.

So, that's how Sapnap found himself walking through Roosevelt Estates. The rich neighborhood was filled with smooth pavement and bright streetlights, flower bushes galore. He despised places like this. It all just seemed too perfect for his taste. He much preferred the dangers of his shitty home.

Once Ranboo's house appeared around the corner, something caught Sapnap's eye. A familiar figure was sitting out on the doorstep of Ranboo's home, and as Sapnap grew closer, he realized that the person sitting there was in fact Karl Jacobs. The boy who invited him in the first place.

Sapnap's steps up the driveway made Karl's head snap upwards. Sapnap could see the wet cheeks from here, and when he approached him, he swore he saw Karl wipe his face and heard a sniffle. "Hey," Sapnap greeted solemnly.

"Hey," Karl replied, still managing to sniffle some more. He scooched over on the steps and allowed Sapnap to sit next to him. Together, the two looked out into the lovely night. "I thought you weren't a party person."

Sapnap shrugged. "I'm not."

A slight whistle of the wind cut through the air and blew at some trees. The leaves bent and curved around the light from the moon that shown down on the teens. The two of them sat in silence for what felt like hours but was merely seconds. Neither of them dared to make the first move for a while, but Karl's sniffles caused Sapnap to be the first to speak.

"I'm sorry for slamming the door on you," Sapnap finally said. He could already feel the weight being lifted off of his chest. "I just had a bad day. I wasn't mad at you or anything."

Karl wiped his nose and looked over at Sapnap with a grin. "I get it," He replied. "It's okay."

The neighborhood was pretty. Sapnap never actually got the chance to admire it at its best. The night was quiet, no couples fighting or drunk guys shouting, it was just simply peaceful. The working streetlights offered a safe place to walk in the middle of the night. It seemed relaxing.

The streetlights inspired Sapnap. "Hey, we should go stargazing," He declared.

Karl looked surprised. "What?" He blurted in disbelief.

"What?" Sapnap asked innocently in return. "I bet the stars look cool tonight. You just can't see them with the streetlights on," He explained.

Karl shook his head. "No, no that's not... I guess I'm just surprised that you want to stargaze," He admitted. "I took you as the... 'misunderstood bad boy' of the school, I guess."

Sapnap couldn't help but cringe. "The what?" He repeated with a chuckle.

"Nevermind," Karl groaned, shoving his face into his hands.

Sapnap rolled his eyes. "Come on. You obviously didn't like the party," He pointed out as he stood up from the steps. He turned back towards Karl and held out his hand.

Karl looked back up at him and smiled, grabbing his hand and allowing Sapnap to help him to his feet. He brushed off his pants as he followed the other, continuously glancing up at the sky to see if he could see anything.

The two of them ended up only seeing stars once they left the neighborhood and entered an open field. Sapnap began to run towards the middle of the field, leaving Karl to giggle and chase after him. The air filled with laughter as they zigzagged through the grass, dodging fireflies and listening to the crickets tweet.

Eventually, they ran out of breath and resorted to flopping on the ground. Sapnap rolled onto his back, eyes widening when he saw the sky. "Karl, look," He whispered.

Karl turned over and let out a gasp. The stars shone beautifully over their heads, sparkling like paint flicked on a black canvas. Karl had never seen anything like it before. He couldn't believe he took it for granted before this moment.

"This feels crazy when you're high," Karl murmured.

Sapnap let out a noise of surprise. "You're high?" He questioned.

Karl nodded slowly. "That's why I was crying. I think I was having a bad trip until you came."

Sapnap furrowed his eyebrows. "You must be tired, then," He said.

Karl let out a yawn on cue. "Yeah."

Slowly, without hesitance, Sapnap rested his hand on the back of Karl's neck and guided him to his shoulder. He rubbed Karl's arm as the boy curled into him, letting out a sigh against Sapnap's chest.

Sapnap grinned and brought his hand to Karl's hair, gently carding his fingers through the brunette locks. He felt as Karl's breathing evened out and the boy fell into a deep sleep. Sapnap felt a warm feeling bubble in his chest at that.

Why did Sapnap feel this way?

With the cold night air brushing at his face, Sapnap felt content for the first time in a long while. He snuggled in closer with Karl and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to overtake him.