Skipping Stones - Karlnap

•8|Spirit Halloween|8•

Choker - Twenty One Pilots (you guys better stream this one. best song in the playlist imo)
—
Sapnap thinks of Karl all day long.

Although he's not really surprised. It seems like since the moment the two met eyes he's been tattooed onto his brain. Sapnap didn't check his watch often. He never had anything to look forward to. And then they met, and suddenly Sapnap wants to get up in the morning. He's actually become proactive at work, trying to speed up time so the sun will set and he can go into the forest and see the younger boy waiting for him on the other side of the creek.

However, now it's excessive. Now he thinks about more than just the boy himself. He thinks about his eyes. The way they flush more saturated blue under the warm, ever-glowing sun. The way Karl smiles when Sapnap asks about his cartoons or drawings. The way he hops a little when he gets too over-excited. He has such a child-like wonder about himself and his surroundings. Filled to the brim with a kind of purity that not even the heavy downpour of rain could taint.

He can't get him out of his mind. He's felt him so close to him. They fell asleep in each other's arms and woke up the next morning the same way. Sapnap didn't even care that he had to pick small twigs and leaves out of his hair the following morning. Knowing why he had it made the small inconveniences practically unnoticeable.

And now the hot and cold pull of September has seeped away and the more consistent cold of October has taken its place. He's always preferred October. The leaves finally turn red and orange and begin to fall. It finally looks like Autumn. The wind sets in, sending cool breezes throughout the small town. Even though sweater season technically began last month, there's actually no true reason for a sweater until October.

In conclusion, Sapnap loves October.

And so does the rest of the town. As soon as midnight strikes the first of October, the town is already decorated with jack-o-lanterns scattering the square, and fake ghosts and bats hang over store windows. The trees that line the square have already begun to change color.

Riding his bike into the plaza, Sapnap finds Spirit Halloween set up right next to the diner where the arcade used to be. The parking lot is the most filled he's seen it in a year. Entering the diner, Sapnap's pleasantly surprised to see he won't be the only one eating here this morning. He sits down in his normal seat and Quackity approaches him with the widest grin he's seen on his face since last October.

"Sapnap! Business is booming this morning!" He exclaims despite there only being a handful of people.

"I see that," Sapnap replies, scanning the room at the quiet chatter coming from the booths.

"This is the only reason I love October."

"Not Halloween?" Sapnap asks, and Quackity's smile falters.

"No, not Halloween. I never liked Halloween. I-I hate it, actually."

"Why?"

Quackity quickly shakes his head and scoffs, wiping down the counter despite it already being pristine standard. "Something bad happened that day." He clears his throat. "The usual?"

"Uh yeah," Sapnap replies, deciding it's best to not push an obviously sensitive topic.

Quackity delivers Sapnap his coffee and goes to tend to the other customers. Sapnap follows him with his eyes, eventually leading him to the lone telephone in the corner of the diner. It's been a week since he and Dream last spoke, and it didn't end on a good note. And though Dream promised to call on Friday, leading Sapnap to spend his entire Friday night locked in his room hogging the family phone, he never actually called.