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Something was off. Something was definitely off. Bad had known for some time now, that there was something not quite right about the way his best friend Skeppy had been acting during the last few weeks, but he had ignored it in the hope that everything would turn back to normal soon. Apparently, that wasn’t the case though if one took the way the gemfolk almost fled the kitchen as soon as Bad entered into consideration. “What the muffin?” Bad mumbled to himself.
Again Skeppy had avoided him.
With a frown on his face, he slowly put all the ingredients he would be using for lunch into storage, before doing a quick headcount. This had been the fifth time this week alone that his best friend had acted weird. And it was Wednesday. Just yesterday Bad wanted to offer to join Skeppy on a mining trip but didn’t even get a chance to ask because the other had left so quickly. And before that the demon wanted to visit Puffy with Skeppy but when it was time to go the gemfolk suddenly was nowhere to be found, so Bad had to make his way over alone. Those were just a few of the many, many instances and the demon was getting really confused about them.
Bad quietly climbed up the stairs as he went in the direction of Skeppy’s room. He hesitated for a few seconds, before approaching the door and knocking softly against the smooth wood. “Skeppy? Are you in there? I want to talk to you about something.” There was a moment of silence. Then the other replied in a slightly panicked voice, “Sorry, Bad, I’m really busy right now.” “Okay, let’s talk later then. When will you be available?” “Uhm, probably in an hour.” The demon agreed to meeting up in an hour and went back downstairs to start lunch preparations.
This whole situation with Skeppy made him feel extremely off-kilter. Usually, the gemfolk was pretty open when it came to addressing issues. Especially when it came to Bad. He was never shy to complain about things he didn’t like. The smaller also wasn’t know for being afraid of confrontations and conflicts. On the contrary, usually Bad and Skeppy would have a squabble every second day. Usually, it was about small and stupid stuff, but the demon still appreciated that they always managed to talk through everything that came up. He felt like this was the reason why their friendship was so strong and why living together worked that well.
An hour later Bad went up the stairs again. He knocked on Skeppy’s door, waiting patiently for a minute before calling out, “Come on, muffinhead! You said you would be free to talk now.” He didn’t get a reply. Finally losing his patience Bad threw the door open and stomped inside the room only to find it completely deserted. Oh, that little memer!
Bad quickly realized that Skeppy must have snuck out the window because he definitely hadn’t left through the front door, or the demon would’ve noticed him. Now it was decided. Bad would spend his afternoon looking for the gemfolk and confront him about his frankly ridiculous behaviour.
Apparently, this wouldn’t be an easy endeavour. After two hours of walking around the server Bad wasn’t any closer to finding his best friend. Even after talking to Tommy, George, Puffy and Dream he still had no clue where the other had disappeared to. It seemed like he had vanished into thin air. Sighing deeply Bad trudged down the Prime Path. Part of him was angry at his friend for being so difficult, but at the same time he was concerned. It was never a good sign when Skeppy tried to hide something. Usually that only happened when the other was planning a troll of some sort but this time Bad had a feeling that it was something different.
Out of the corner of his eyes the Demon suddenly noticed a figure wearing a blue hoodie, who was about to seek cover in the thicket next to the path. “Oh no, you don’t!” Bad took a few fast strides forward so that he wouldn’t lose sight of Skeppy again. The other had clearly noticed his pursuer as he doubled his efforts to flee the scene. Thankfully for Bad the bushes weren’t feeling particularly cooperative and the gemfolk got caught in a thorny part of a shrub.
“Okay, that’s it, mister! We’re going to talk now!” Bad exclaimed. He grabbed the other by his hood and dragged him out of the bush he was about to disappear into. The smaller struggled in the demon’s hold, desperately trying to break free. “Wait, wait, wait, Bad! You don’t understand. It’s really not a good time to talk right now.” Bad narrowed his eyes and snorted, “Well, it apparently hasn’t been a good time to talk for three weeks now. I’m done playing this game, Skeppy.”
He dragged the other off the Prime Path towards a secluded bench. He forcefully took a seat before giving Skeppy a clear signal that he should do the same. For a second it looked like he would try to run again, but then his shoulders slumped in defeat, and he sat down next to the demon. Bad gave his best friend, who had his face deeply hidden under his headbox, a reproachful look. Then he noticed how the other seemed exhausted, maybe even a bit haggard and his gaze softened.
“Talk to me, Skeppy. What’s going on?” The other appeared to retreat even further into himself as he responded in a dejected voice, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing’s going on.” Bad shook his head in disbelief, “I’m not stupid, Skeppy. I can see and hear that you’re not alright. Please let me help you.” Silence settled between them.
Finally, a small, shuddering sigh broke the tension and the gemfolk replied, “This is something I have to deal with alone. There’s nothing you could do about it, that would make this situation better.” Now Bad was really starting to worry. “Can I see your face?” he asked carefully. The demon knew that his best friend preferred to cover up his face when they were outside, but he felt like this situation required a face-to-face conversation. Skeppy hesitated for a few seconds before he slowly grabbed the lower edges of his head box and lifted it off his head.
With his face fully revealed the demon immediately noticed how the gemfolk looked a lot paler than usual. In addition, he had dark shadows underneath his eyes that were an indication of a few too many sleepless nights. With his protective wall down, Skeppy diligently tried to avoid eye contact with Bad by intensely looking at the ground.
“Are you sick? Did something bad happen? Please talk to me! I’m really worried about you,” Bad whispered. He felt a mixture of dread and despair settling in his stomach as he focused his gaze on the hollow look in his friend’s eyes. Suddenly a horrible thought crossed Bad’s mind. Skeppy had been avoiding him. So maybe Bad was the reason his friend was feeling this terrible. Maybe he had unconsciously done something, that hurt Skeppy and now the other wanted to get rid of him by ending their friendship.
Bad couldn’t keep these thoughts to himself, so he fearfully asked, “Is it me? Did I do something to hurt you? Is that the reason why you’re avoiding me?” Immediately Skeppy’s gaze snapped towards Bad, his eyes full of shock, “God, no! No, no, no, Bad, this is in no shape or form your fault. This is all me. I’m the one who fu..fudged everything up.” “What do you mean by that? I’m so confused, Skeppy. Help me understand. Please!” Bad replied, while anxiously playing with his fingers. The gemfolk looked at him with wide dark eyes, that seemed to get wetter by the second. Then suddenly the first teardrop fell, making its way down Skeppy’s cheek. Helplessly Bad tried to grasp the others hand in comfort, but the smaller immediately withdrew his hand again. He took a hold of his own messy hair and gave it a short rough tug, before jumping to his feet. Frantically pacing in front of the demon he screamed, “You want to know what’s going on?! I’ll tell you what’s going on! I’ve ruined everything. For the longest time all I wanted in my life is to have a friend who actually likes me and isn’t just trying to use me for my ability to create diamonds. Do you know how lonely I’ve been before I met you, Bad?”
The demon watched the other in mute shock. In all their years of friendship not once had Skeppy been as open with him as in this very moment. “It was terrible. All these years I’ve spent solely surviving. Never settled, never home. And then I met you and my life changed completely. Suddenly I had someone in my life who actually made all of these struggles worth it. It’s worth it because I can be with you, Bad. You gave me a home, you taught me what it means to have a friend. Heck, you even helped me form other friendships as well. You showed me so much love and care. I can’t lose that, Bad! Do you understand? I cannot lose that!”
Slightly out of breath Skeppy stopped directly in front of the other. He looked the taller straight in the eyes, apparently waiting for an answer. “Why would you lose any of that though? You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to leave you. You mean the world to me too, Skeppy” Bad finally replied with a soft smile on his lips. For a second the gemfolk started to return the smile before his expression grew tense again, “See, and that’s where I screwed up.” “Language!” Bad admonished him quietly, before motioning for the smaller to continue.
Taking a deep breath, the other seemed to steel himself for something big. At last he said, “I love you, Bad.” Still confused the demon replied instantly, “I love you too.” That seemed to trigger another wave of nerves in the gemfolk as he almost moaned in despair, “No, Bad, you don’t get it, do you? You really, really don’t get it. I don’t love you, I LOVE you!” “I know, I love you too!” “NO! I know that you love me, but it’s not the same. I LOVE love you!” “Oh my goodness, Skeppy, I love you too! I have no idea what the problem is here.”
By now the gemfolk’s despair seemed to have turned into a full-blown storm of frustration and annoyance. With a growl he approached the still sitting demon and grabbed Bad’s collar tightly, “This is stupid, this is so stupid!” Then he bent forward and quickly pressed his lips against Bad’s in a short but firm kiss. Everything seemed to come to a standstill at that. Bad’s mind was empty. All his words, all his thoughts gone with one single action. Stunned into complete silence the Demon gaped at his friend.
Slowly Skeppy let go of Bad’s collar and took a step back. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that without asking first, but I really wanted to get my point across, and I felt like this would do the trick. Do you get it now?” Bad nodded wordlessly. He was still reeling from what had just happened.
After a short moment of observing the taller’s shocked face, Skeppy seemed to lose all the confidence he had just gathered, and he awkwardly grasped for his headbox. “Alright then. Now that this went down…splendidly I will just disappear into some cave and die of shame. Thank you for all the years of friendship we had,” he mumbled, before turning around. He was just about to walk off, when Bad suddenly managed to regain control over his body. He stood up and grabbed the gemfolk’s shoulder with a trembling hand, silently asking the other to face him again.
Skeppy turned around. He had a defeated look in his eyes. “Do you really mean it, Skeppy? I have to make sure. Is this a troll or are you serious?” Bad asked with an unreadable face, his white eyes wide and almost glowing. Skeppy snorted softly, before replying, “I wouldn’t joke about something like this, Bad. You know that.”
Bad swallowed heavily and finally nodded. “Back when I decided to stay in the overworld permanently, when I bound my life to yours, that was a decision I made for one sole purpose: to be with you and spend our lives together. I wasn’t joking either when I said that you mean the world to me, Skeppy. I’ve loved you from the start. I honestly never expected you to return my feelings on a deeper level than friendship and I was completely fine with that. As long as I can be by your side and share my life with you, I’m happy.” Bad shot the other a kind smile.
“Wait, wait, wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Skeppy replied, rapidly blinking in disbelief. “I LOVE love you too, you muffinhead!” “Holy sh…” Bad quickly moved forward and pressed his lips against the gemfolk’s, muffling the rest of his sentence with a soft kiss.
Finally, he gently took Skeppy’s hand. “Let’s go home!”