skephalo: a story

chapter 2

Zak wakes up late the next morning - or, if he's honest, early in the afternoon. He groans when he checks the time - another morning wasted because he'd been up late - but makes no effort to get up. Instead, he reaches for his phone, which is hanging precariously from the side of his bed, held up only by the headphones he'd been wearing the night before. Bleary eyed, he unlocks his phone, scrolling through his notifications. He notices some texts from Darryl, and smiles.

Baldboyhalo 💞 [2:44am]: Sleep well muffin!!!!

Baldboyhalo 💞 [3:07am]: Oh my goodness Skeppy now I can't sleep and it's all your fault :(

Baldboyhalo 💞 [3:08am]: It's okay though I'm happy you got to sleep okay!!!!

Baldboyhalo 💞 [3:08am]: Besides it was nice to hear your voice :D

Zak can't help but think about how utterly adorable that string of texts is - how adorable Darryl is in general. He thinks people really don't appreciate him as much as they should - he's so lovely and caring, and even though he gets mad and yells a lot, it's so obvious how much he cares. Rereading the texts, Zak feels a sudden surge of emotion. God, Darryl's so cute, Zak can't help but love him, and - wait, Zak loves him?

It's something he's thought about before, but he's never felt so strongly about it as he does this morning. He's known Darryl was different to everyone else for a while now, but he figured everyone agreed on that - he's such a lovable person that he doesn't understand how anyone could not notice. And yet he's noticed recently that none of his other friends seem to care as much for Darryl as he does; of course they care about him, but it's in the same way they care for any other one of their friends, and Zak just doesn't get it. Is it really just him who has such intense feelings towards the older one? Is it just him craving Darryl's comfort and affection all the time? Yeah, he realises, maybe this is a crush - but how can he have a crush on Darryl?

He sits up, more awake now, and realises that he needs to talk out this whole mess of emotions with someone. He knows he likes Darryl more than anyone else, in a different way to everyone else, too, but he doesn't understand what that means - he's not gay, he's into girls, he's never liked a guy before, and none of it makes sense. In situations like these, where he needs to talk to someone, it's usually Darryl he seeks the advice and comfort from. Obviously, he can't do that in this situation. Groaning in frustration, he gets up and decides to find something to eat. Then, he decides, he'll talk to Vincent about what's going on.

To a6d [1:27pm]: yo are u free to call rn

His response comes in the form of him getting a call notification not even a minute after he sent his text. His friend's familiar voice comes through.

"Hey Skeppy, what's up?"

"The sky?" he responds, smirking. He realises he has the same sense of humour as a nine year old.

"Oh, ha ha," Vincent responds, a sarcastic tone to his voice.

"Okay, basically," Zak starts after a long pause, and takes a deep breath, "I, uh, think I might be in love with BBH?" he trails off, a questioning tone to his voice.

"Yeah." Vincent responds, seemingly unbothered.

"What do you mean 'yeah'?"

"Like... yeah. We know."

"Bro, how would you know that?"

"Have you seen you two? Ever?" Vincent questions. Zak's confused - is he that obvious? How had he been so obvious when he's only just realised it himself?

"Yeah, I guess, but - I don't know. I'm not gay, Vincent."

"Wellll, you don't have to be gay. You could be, like, bi or something, I guess."

"I've never liked a guy before."

There's a few moments of silence, Vincent evidently wondering what to say, before Zak speaks again.

"I just - I don't know what to do."

"I think," Vincent responds after a moment, "you and BBH are something different."

"Yeah?"

"I know it's probably really hard for you, but only you know how you feel. I can't help you work through your emotions. But I know he really likes you. So if you figure yourself out, I say go for it."

Zak lets out a sigh. It's not what he wanted to hear - he wanted Vincent to somehow have all the answers - but he knows it's what he needed to hear. He wishes he could meet up with Darryl; maybe physical proximity would help him understand his emotions further.

"Thanks, a6d."

"No problem," he responds, "hey, you wanna play some Minecraft?"

His worries are soon forgotten as he beats Vincent again and again in Skywars, and it's only after Vincent ends the call that he realises he hasn't responded to Darryl's messages from that morning.

To Baldboyhalo 💞 [4:31pm]: omg sorry i didn't see this lmaooo bruh moment

To Baldboyhalo 💞 [4:32pm]: but i'm glad i got to talk to you too, missed ur voice <3

He adds the heart at the end impulsively, regretting it the second the message sends. What if it's too much? Will Darryl notice something's up?

His worries are gone the second he receives a response, only a few minutes later.

Baldboyhalo 💞 [4:36pm]: I really enjoy talking to you <3