Skipping Stones - Karlnap

•10|New Perspective|10•

My Blood - Twenty One Pilots
—
Can one change their own reality? The way Sapnap always saw it, reality's set and stone. Something inescapable. Inevitable. Like a mirror— showing the truth of what is there no matter how harsh and painful it is to see. However, now Sapnap's not quite sure what reality is. What's real? Is Karl real? Is his family real? Is he real?

He shakes the thought. Don't think of that. It hurts more to think about.

He reaches the trailer park just as the sun creeps out from beyond the hill. Now he understands what Dream and George meant when they told him after George's twenty-first birthday that he can't hold a drink for the life of him. He didn't even drink any more than a bottle and a half and it was already enough to cause him to blackout and still suffer the hangover twelve hours later.

He squints his eyes as he travels down the path of trailers. Little kids are already up and running around the lot, already dressed for school despite it not starting for another few hours. When he reaches his trailer, he can see his maroon curtains from the window as well as silhouettes from the window next to it.

He pulls open his door, and immediately all three of his other family members' eyes shoot to him, catching him by surprise like a flare gun.

"Sapnap!" His mother cries, stumbling to the door and gripping him into a tight hug.

"Where have you been?" His father asks behind them.

Sapnap hasn't come up with an excuse. Though, he probably should have on his way out of the forest and back home. However, all his mind would focus on was the thought of reality and the way perception affects one's reality. And he began to wonder if any of this is actually happening.

"Honey, you're a mess!" His mother gasps, pulling out leaves and twigs from his hair.

"Did you sleep on the grass field in the square or something?" Allie asks, crossing her arms.

"We've been looking all over for you," His father continues to lecture.

Sapnap pushes his mom off of him and shuts the door behind them. They all stare at him as if he's a ghost and looking away would cause him to vanish into thin air.

"Well? Explain yourself," His father demands.

"I don't remember," Sapnap says. It's not technically wrong. He doesn't remember actually leaving his home and walking to the forest. All he remembers from last afternoon was that he drowned his sorrows in his mother's beer and woke up in the middle of the forest with Karl. He never went back to sleep, either. He stayed awake all night chattering away with the younger boy. All Sapnap wants now is a coffee and sleep.

"You don't remember?" His father scolds.

Sapnap locks eyes with his mother. Inside is the most life he's seen in it in years. Her hazel eyes are bold. Scared. He scared his mother, and his heart can't help but swell.

"I'm sorry," He whispers to her. Her trembles stop for a moment, and she reaches out to him again.

Softly, she whispers back, "I do remember."

His eyes widen, "You do?" Not even he remembers what happened, and now electricity shocks through his veins as he thinks about all the dirty little secrets he's been holding that could have slipped from his intoxicated mouth.

She nods, "And I'm sorry."

He raises an eyebrow, "What?"

***

Sapnap had only drunk on one other occasion, and that was his best friend's 21st birthday. As George is the youngest of the group, the three had agreed to wait until all three of them were of age to drink. He barely remembers that night. However, Dream and George do, and they made fun of him for having no hold of his drinks.