Chapter Text
September 2021
Time melts by slowly and in a blink of an eye at the same time. Spring melts into summer, summer swiftly transitions to Fall. In September, Skeppy falls into a deep rut, at first he tries to claw himself out of deep fog, but eventually he succumbs to the darkness in his mind.
He is overwhelmed and depressed. Numbed by the feelings of failure, he spends days on end in bed. Nothing is right. The last time Skeppy experienced an episode like this was about two years ago when loneliness overtook him in his LA apartment.
It is clear that Bad notices Skeppy’s mood shift immediately as he dutifully calls Skeppy at least twice a day to check in. Skeppy appreciates the dedication and care that Bad shows for him, but he doesn’t understand it. To Skeppy it is almost unfathomable that someone so kind and loving exists. Why did this person choose him as a best friend? It didn’t make sense.
“Hi Skeppy. How are we today?” Bad asks in a chipper voice on their first call of the day.
“Not good.” Skeppy murmurs.
“How can I help?”
“I am sorry Bad, I don’t think you can.”
“Don’t be sorry. Do you want to play some games? Wool wars? Bed wars? Beat Minecraft together?” Skeppy mulls the suggestion over but he realizes that getting out of bed is not an option.
“Not today.”
“Skeppy, tell me some things you love.” Bad prompts.
“Why?”
“It’s good to be reminded of things that we love sometimes.”
“Okay. I love my family. I love Minecraft. I love tennis. I love…” You. Skeppy snapped his mouth shut. He could say it. He has said it many times. It would be normal. They always told each other how much they loved each other. But today, it felt deceptive. Why did it feel deceptive?
“When’s the last time you played tennis?”
“I don’t know, a couple weeks ago.”
“I have pretty great hand-eye coordination. I could probably beat you in a game of tennis pretty easily.” Skeppy’s lips twitched at the argument bait.
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Oh, so you admit it?”
“No. Bad? Can ask you something?”
“Yes, what’s up?”
“Why me? Everyone loves you. Why did you choose me as your best friend?”
“Hmm. Interesting question.” Bad pauses and exhales slowly, “I guess it was less of a choice and more an inevitability? Like, we were kind of like magnets. We were drawn to each other. Still are, I think. But if I could, I would choose you every time Skeppy.”
“Why?”
“You have such a big heart, you make me laugh, you always cheer me up. I can’t list all the reasons on why you’re so great, it’s too difficult to put them all into words. You are just my favorite person in the whole world, Skeppy.” Bad’s voice is so genuine and kind, Skeppy finds himself burying his face in his pillow. Shit.
“Thank you Bad. You’re my favorite person too.” Skeppy said, voice muffled by the pillow. He is suddenly flooded with desire to cuddle with his best friend. If Bad were here everything would be better. But what does that mean?
“In the whole world?” Bad asks softly.
“Yes, in the whole world.” I love you. He doesn’t say it now because he knows the meaning of the phrase has shifted. Skeppy loves Bad in every way imaginable.
“Skeppy, I-“ Bad starts.
Skeppy cuts him off, “Bad, I- I am gonna go. I think I will go shower, okay?”
“Okay, Skeppy.” There is a slight hesitation in Bad’s voice, “Sounds good.” Skeppy hangs up the phone and sighs. He slowly sits up in bed. It took over 2.5 years of friendship and a depressive episode for Skeppy to admit to himself that he was fully in love with his best friend.
He shouldn’t be in love with Bad. Skeppy is certain that Bad would not want Skeppy to act on his feelings. Bad doesn’t even want to meet him in person, he would never want date Skeppy.
The thought of uttering a love confession to Bad makes Skeppy cringe. He knows Bad would hate it. Bad would probably say ‘thank you’ or ‘anyway.’ Skeppy groans even thinking about it.
On the bright side, Skeppy has a new project. He needs to fall out of love with Bad. Skeppy lays back down on his bed. He can start tomorrow.
December 6, 2021
Winter brings some relief to the unrelenting Florida heat. Skeppy throws himself into his work and begins living a bi-coastal lifestyle, splitting his time in LA and Florida. Bad often voices concern that Skeppy is overloading himself. With his businesses, his new crazy upload schedule on his YouTube channel and tennis, Skeppy simply doesn’t have the time to think about the distance between him and Bad. Distraction is key. If Skeppy can focus all his energy on connecting his tennis racket with the ball perfectly, then he can forget the longing for his best friend's affection for at least an instant.
Of course, the distraction never lasts long enough. If anything, the endorphin rush often betrays him. More often than not, Skeppy catches himself snapping a sweaty selfie sending it off to his best friend without a second thought after a match. Skeppy then usually flops his body down on the clay court and stares at the clouds awaiting a response.
Bad’s responses vary greatly depending on his mood. If Bad is already annoyed with Skeppy then the response is a simple thumbs up emoji. On very special occasions, Skeppy receives a compliment usually about his hair. However, Skeppy’s favorite response is a single red heart emoji. The first time it happens he thinks it is a mistake. He quickly swipes open his phone to see what the red emoji could be next to on the keyboard, only to find it rested with all the other heart emojis. Skeppy finally realizes it wasn't a fluke when Bad starts adding the red heart on to the end of other messages. It is different from the typed out “<3” Bad sends everyone, at least that is what Skeppy tells himself.
Fine, Skeppy admits that falling out of love with his best friend is more difficult than previously anticipated. His newly invigorated upload schedule results in more quality time with Bad. This of course is also detrimental to his plan of getting over Bad. The pair usually record together for 30 minutes and then they talk about everything under the sun for hours on end after they finish. Sometimes they sit in complete silence and sometimes they yell at each other about nothing important. As ridiculous as it sounds, it all just makes Skeppy feel even more fond of Bad.
“Bad, I want blanket permission to visit whoever I want.” Skeppy blurts out one day after a video recording session. The topic is unexpected and off-topic, but when Skeppy opens Twitter, he is bombarded with pictures of other content creators meeting up. He feels left out and lonely. When he met up with Quackity for the first time, Bad called him yelling and then sulked for three days.
“W-what?” Bad sputters.
“I want to meet up with people and I don’t want you to get mad about it.” Skeppy simply states.
“Are you still recording Skeppy?” Skeppy can hear the suspicion in Bad’s voice.
“No. Should I be recording this?” Skeppy laughs.
“No.” Bad grumbles.
“Okay, well, I’m not. So, what do you think?” Skeppy askes timidly.
“You don’t need my permission to meet up with people, Skeppy” Bad states flatly. Skeppy starts giggling which quickly transitions to a full boisterous laugh.
“Liar.” He laughs “My best friend’s a big liar.”
“Oh, so you think I am tall?” The smile was clear in Bad’s voice.
“Oh no, you are teeny tiny. The only thing about you that is tall are your lies!”
“Wow, that’s mean Skeppy.” Bad feigns being hurt, but the playfulness was still clear in his tone.
“You’re mean. You want to keep me all to yourself and to never let me meet up with anyone.” Skeppy pouts.
“Well, maybe… I just want to see you first.” Skeppy can almost hear the puppy-dog eyes through his screen.
“Yes Bad, but that will happen at never-o’clock.” Skeppy sighs.
“Hmph.” Bad made some grumbling noises.
“So? Can I go meet up with some of our friends?”
“Well, which friends do you want to see?”
“Nah, I am requesting blanket approval, it shouldn’t matter who I want to meet.”
“Well, maybe if you gave me an example, I could see how I would feel about it?”
“Ugh, this is dumb. Well, I want to see Sapnap again, and maybe meet Dream because they are both in Florida and it would be easy.”
“You want to meet Dream?” Bad scoffs. His tone is harsher now.
“Yes, Bad.” Skeppy holds his ground. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“Hmm, I don’t know.”
“Bad…” Skeppy trails off. There a is a long pause.
“I am sorry. My roommate’s calling me. Got to go.”
“What? Bad?” Skeppy hears call drop. What the hell. Bad never really hangs up on Skeppy. He’s usually the one who gets mad when Skeppy hangs up abruptly. Skeppy waits a few minutes and then he calls Bad again. After two rings, Bad’s voicemail kicks in. Skeppy tries FaceTime. Bad rarely resists a FaceTime request. Voicemail again. As a final attempt, Skeppy texts Bad asking if everything is okay.
After a night of sleep and 21 hours of silence, Skeppy gets nervous. He tries Bad’s phone again. Nothing. Skeppy checks twitter. That asshole tweeted. That jerk was ghosting him! For what? For wanting to meet up with Dream someday? Skeppy quickly tweets out Just told BadBoyHalo I’m meeting up with Dream and he ghosted me for 24 hours. Skeppy ends the tweet with two crying face emojis.
He waits. About 20 minutes later, Bad calls him.
“Hi Skeppy.” Bad sounds sheepish.
"Bad. What the hell. I thought something terrible happened” Skeppy scolds.
“Oh sorry, I just got busy!” Bad keeps a causal tone.
“Busy with what?”
“Busy with stuff.”
“Stuff? What kind of stuff?” Skeppy demands.
“Oh you know, your normal, run-of-the-mill kind of stuff.”
“Right.” Skeppy rolls his eyes. After all this time he should be used to Bad’s deflections.
“Alright, now that we have addressed that, do you want to record a video or something?” Bad asks cheerfully.
“Uh, no Bad. We still need to talk about why you hung up on me yesterday.”
“I never hung up on you!” Bad’s yells with fake outrage.
“You basically did.”
“Nope.”
“Fine,” Skeppy says mischievously, “It sounds like you have given your blanket approval for me to visit our friends.”
“Well, hang on now.” Bad grumbles.
“Yes, bad?”
“Fine,” Bad lets out a heavy sigh.
“Fine?” Skeppy is shocked. After a day of silence, he thought there would be more of a fight.
"Yes, you can visit anyone you want.” Bad mumbles. “But, could you maybe wait until the new year?”
“Why?”
“I just want to get used to the idea. Like, prepare myself mentally or something.”
“Okay, deal.” Skeppy answers quickly. He is so excited. Now he won’t have to worry about Bad every time anyone suggests a meet up. Besides ,the New Year was only 3 weeks away, it was not a big request.
“Thanks Skeppy.” Bad’s voice is laced with sorrow.
“If I could choose to visit you or anyone else, I would choose you every time.” The words fell out of Skeppy’s mouth before he can even realize what he is saying.
“Thanks Skeppy.” Bad mumbles, “I am sorry that I ghosted you for a little bit.”
“So you admit it!” Skeppy smiles triumphantly.
“Yeah, I just needed some time to think. Sorry if I worried you.”
“Okay, It’s all okay Bad.” Skeppy smiled, “I am just glad we can chat now. What exactly did you have to think about?”
“Stuff.”
“I would pay 100 grand to know what goes on in your head, Bad.” Skeppy laughs.
“That’s not creepy at all, Geppy.” Bad states dripping with sarcasm.
“It’s true though. Hey, want to record a video now?”
“Okay, Skeppy.”
December 27, 2021, About 3 weeks later.
The muffled sound of typing came through the cellphone resting on Skeppy stomach, Skeppy stares at the shadows on his bedroom ceiling. He starts to blink slowly. Bad’s soft humming is lulling him to sleep.
“Skeppy? Are you still awake?” Skeppy hears Bad whisper through the phone.
“Mhmm, Badboy, barely.” Skeppy can hear that his voice deeper from sleepiness.
“Oh, okay go to sleep then Skeppy.” There is a hint of something in his voice. It is so sweet with a hint of disappointment.
“Did you want to talk about something, Bad?”
“Yes, but sleep is more important. It’s…” Skeppy hears Bad pause, “Oh my goodness it is 4AM.” Skeppy hears shuffling on the other side of the phone.
A smile tugs at Skeppy’s lips, “Whatever you have to say is important too, I am sure.”
Skeppy waits. No noise comes through the other line. Skeppy pulled his phone up to his face to check if he was still connected. “Bad? You still there?”
Skeppy hears a long exhale, “Yes.”
“What’s up? You are worrying me.”
“Don’t worry, Skeppy. It’s nothing bad, it’s just…”
“Bad, what? Spit it out.”
“I am ready to meet up.” Bad states quickly, as if he ripped off a Band-Aid. “With you. I am ready to meet you, I mean. If you still want to.”
Skeppy lets the words wash over him. Is he dreaming? He is not sure. He had dreamt of this moment many times. Skeppy reaches up and presses two fingers to his neck and checks his pulse. Would he be able feel his pulse in a dream?
“Skeppy? Are you still there?” Bad sounds concerned.
Skeppy sits up quickly in his bed, “Uh yes. Is this real, Bad?” Blood rushes to his head.
“Yes, I wouldn’t just say that without being serious.”
Skeppy resists the urge to scoff. He walks on eggshells. Maybe after all this time, it could be real. Bad could actually want to see him. “Are you sure? It’s 4 AM. People make decisions that they regret at 4 AM and I don’t want to get my hopes-“
“I am sure, Skeppy.” Bad cuts him off.
Skeppy can’t breathe, the wind has been knocked out of him. Tears prick the corners of his eyes. Why? Why was he getting so emotional?
“Skeppy? Do up you still want to meet me?”
Skeppy finally breathes and feels a rumble of giggles coming on. “What a dumb question.”
“Hey! That’s mean,” Bad huffs.
“I am sorry, It’s just a silly question.” Skeppy continues to giggle.
“Fine, forget you. We will talk more about it in the morning.”
“It is already the morning.”
“Oh- well- you knew what I meant.”
“No, no, we have to talk about dates.”
“Dates?” Bad squeaked.
“Yeah, what dates should we meet up? If we don’t choose dates then we will never actually meet.”
“Oh, um, do you have your calendar on you? Wait, before that, do you want to switch over to video chat?” Skeppy sits up quickly and swings his legs over the side of his bed.
“Sure, Bad. You’ll have to turn yours on too though.” He looks at his mirror and quickly tries to fix his flat hair. He hears the phone call end and the FaceTime tone start. He quickly accepts that call and is met with Bad’s green eyes. Bad is a beautiful sight. Bad’s hair had grown long over the last few months. His hair has a natural soft-looking curl. Skeppy wished he could run his hands through his friend’s locks. Bad has facial hair now too. His stubble has a faint reddish tint that Skeppy would not have expected. It almost gave Bad Viking vibes. Skeppy would never tell Bad that though. Bad would appreciate that complement a bit too much.
“Hi.” Bad says softly.
“Hi.” Skeppy grins. “You look pretty.” Bad’s cheeks grow warm.
“Thanks Skeppy. You look pretty too.” Bad clears his throat and looks away, “Anyway, do you have your calendar?”
“Sure, let me pull up my google calendar that Lya fills out.” Skeppy walked over to his computer and opens up the shared calendar. And props his phone up against his monitor.
“How does right after the New Year sound? The second week of January? Are you busy that week?” Bad suggests.
“Literally, I will make any week work. It doesn’t matter.” Skeppy resists rolling his eyes.
“Skeppy, I want to choose a week where you won’t be so busy. Check your calendar before agreeing.”
“Ugh fine, I’ll check my calendar, this is dumb though because I can move anything.” He frowns as clicks over to January 2022. The second week of January is blocked off in his calendar. He quickly clicks ‘January 9th’ and sees a link to a flight booking. “Hold on Bad, there's something really weird here. I don't remember having a flight booked for that day.” Skeppy hears a rumble of giggles erupt from Bad.
“Oh? You are busy that week?” Skeppy glances over at his giggling friend. Why is he laughing like that? Is he already trying to get out of meeting up?
“Relax, I am sure whatever it is I can move it. You’re more important.” Skeppy sighs annoyed that he can’t immediately jump to booking a flight to see Bad. Lya’s not supposed to just book trips without talking to him first.
“Well, where are you supposed to fly to that week?”
“I don’t know, let me look-” Skeppy answers while clicking open the link. His heart stutters. The flight is to Bad’s nearest city. Skeppy has never been to that city and doesn’t have any business partners there. Skeppy’s eyes flicker down to his phone to see Bad smirking. Skeppy is frozen. “Did you-, I don’t?” Skeppy cannot form a comprehendible sentence .
“Skeppy? Are you okay?” Bad grins.
“I don’t understand.”
“Where is the flight to Skeppy?”
“It’s to you. Right? But. How? I am so confused. Bad, please explain.” Skeppy has never been so confused in his life. None of it makes sense.
“Skeppy, you should see your face!” Bad cackles.
“Bad. Explain please.” Skeppy pleads. It’s almost as if all his dreams are coming true, but he needs confirmation first.
“Okay, so I realized a couple weeks ago that I was ready to meet up with you in person. It was after you asked to visit Dream actually.” Bad is grinning. His hands are waving wildly as he begins to tell the story.
“What?”
“Yeah, so I worked with Lya to book a flight and to clear your schedule for that week. You are welcome to stay longer of course, but I only had Lya move all your business obligations for the second week of January. My roommate will be gone for a month too, so it works out great.”
“What.” A guaranteed week with Bad with no work obligations? Just time to be with Bad, in Bad’s home and a plane ticket that Bad personally bought for him. Not in his wildest dreams, did Skeppy think any of this would happen.
“Yeah, I thought it would be really fun to surprise you.” Bad pushes a strand of hair behind his ear and Skeppy melts.
“I-wow. How long was that flight just sitting in my calendar?” Skeppy wonders aloud.
“Almost three weeks.”
“No!” Skeppy gasped.
“Yup Skeppy. If you were more on top of your schedule, then you would have known for a while now.” Bad teased.
“Shut up.” Skeppy grins.
“In a way, I trolled you.” Bad giggles.
“How is this a troll?” Skeppy joins Bad’s giggles.
“It is totally a troll! I had a secret with your assistant for weeks, and then I made you think you had a business meeting. You were so trolled so bad.”
“You’re right Bad, you trolled me.” Skeppy’s face began to ache from grinning.
“Yes!” Bad grins back at him. “I got you so bad.”
“I can’t believe this. I am going to see you in person in a week.” Skeppy laughs and then his smile falters, “Shit, none of this is real, right? I fell asleep like an hour ago and this is just another one of my dreams about you.”
“You dream about me?”
“You don’t dream about me?” Skeppy fakes outrage.
“I actually can never remember my dreams.”
“Whatever,” Skeppy scoffs. “So this is real?”
“Yes, this is real.” Bad’s offers a small smile. Skeppy’s eyes begin to water. He breaks eye contact and looks down at his hands.
“I am really trying hard not to cry.” He can feel a lump in his throat. “I love you so much, Bad. Thank you so much. You don’t even understand.”
“I love you too Skeppy.” Bad’s voice is thick with emotion. He coughs and Skeppy finally looks back up. Bad’s eyes are glistening too. They sit there in silence sniffling for a few moments.
“Should we go to bed?” Skeppy asks.
“Yes.” Bad hesitates before asking, “Can we stay on the call though?”
“Yes please.” Skeppy murmurs.