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Skeppy let out a frustrated breath and pushed himself away from his desk, his chair rolling him away as desired. He had enough of that conversation. Bad and Skeppy had both agreed that the ‘bf’ twitter jokes would be fine and for Bad to pretend he got the wording messed up or whatever. They had seen some other famous people pull stunts like that so it never really mattered. But now Bad just thinks that everything is not what it is.
Skeppy asked to meet up. It used to be a weekly occurrence. Before that it was almost every day. Now he hasn't asked in a few months. Too many months if you ask past Skeppy. But hope has left. Skeppy grew used to the loneliness. To the empty feeling that comes with your best friend in the whole world- the person you love most who you are not related to -the person who is your literal soulmate if those things existed in real life, not even want to see you.
Skeppy felt like a kid again. Watching cities pass by in the car windows and not holding onto friends long because his family was always moving. People have always come and gone for years. His mom would always tell him to just close his eyes and sleep to the late night songs on the radio or the morning talk shows while his parents stayed silent in the dread they faced for moving their son around since he was born.
Skeppy didn’t have friends. Eventually he had a younger sister, she was the closest thing. Everyone else in the world were strangers who wanted to be friends with Skeppy. Skeppy never let them. All he and his sister had to look forward to as they entered high and middle school was closing their eyes and falling asleep to the radio.
It was always easier to just sleep when you needed to be facing your issues.
That and run away.
His mother taught him that as well when he was younger.
Skeppy grabbed his phone and opened his messages.
Zak > Hey.
Sami > It’s almost 4 am, Zak
Zak > Are you home?
Sami > with mom and dad or
Zak > yes
Sami > They have dinner plans tomorrow night
Sami > I’m sure you could find a flight
Zak > sick! Thank you
Sami > what did he do
Zak > ?
Sami > Darryl.
Sami > Ur running away Zak
Sami > we only run away from people we love who hurt us
Sami > and outside of the family you only love one person
Zak > we’re just friends
Sami > pack a bag. I’ll find you a ticket and a hotel if you dont want mom and dad knowing you are here. We started school break early for thanksgiving and I havent told them yet so I can go see you while pretending to be at class
Zak > thank you
Sami > see you soon
Zak > see you soon
Sami > and Zak
Sami > give me his number
*
“Samira, we are leaving!” Skeppy’s mom yelled and Samira shouted an ok and heard the door click shut.
Sami > You can head over now, they just walked out
Zak > Thank you
Sami > I am the BEST little sister for this.
Zak > sure, pumpkin. Whatever you say
Zak > oh, he texted me
Sami > do not touch that conversation till you are here.
Zak > ..fine
-
The siblings met in a hug and they went to Samira’s room where Skeppy sat on a chair. “What if I just be honest with him?”
“For the first time in how many years?” Samira asked and Skeppy chucked a box of tissues at her from the desk he was stationed at. She laughed a bit but hummed, “Yes. You already ran away, why not take a vacation for a while?”
Her phone buzzed and she raised a brow, “A scheduled tweet, really?”
He shrugged, “It’s for the bit!”
“I would say that your fans would be mad but who am I kidding.. You posting about a meetup is no shock to them nor will they believe it.” a pause, “text him.”
Bad > Hey Skeppy! We haven’t spoken all day :(, usually you text me when you wake up but you have been active today and not a word. Just checking in and saying hi!
Skeppy looked at the message he had received a while ago from his dear friend.
Friend.
Skeppy huffed and began typing, checking the message with Samira before hitting send.
Skep > Darryl, I have been meaning to tell you this for a while. I love you. Not as a best friend. Not platonic. I love you romantically, Bad. I have for a very long time. I may not have realized it when it started and I had come to the conclusion after asking to meetup hundreds of times. Now I'm at thousands, probably. But the answer is still no. Meeting up has nothing to do with my love for you, it's not that I want this magical movie moment to happen where we instantly lock eyes and fall madly in love forever and ever. I just want to hug my best friend. And you won’t let me. I am lonely, Bad. I have been all my life and having you so close but so freaking far has always stung. More than I think you realize. Because, platonic or not I just want you. And I wish you wanted me too.
And that’s when the world spun away from its axis.
Skep > there will be more scheduled tweets. You dont need to respond.
Skep > nor do you need to respond to this.
Skep > I wont be around for a while
Skep > I love you, Darryl.
Skep > I love you with no hesitance or stutter.
Skep > I love you with no motives or hidden meanings.
Skep > I love you with all I have
Skep > you are my soulmate
Skep > but you are keeping me from my soulmate
Skep > and I wish you didn’t because I swore against the person that might keep me from my soulmate since I was young
Skep > I just hope you dont ask what you would do if I stayed.
Skep > because I might leave, its what I do best
Skep > and if i do
Skep > dont forget that I love you
Samira hugged Skeppy as he cried into her shoulder.
He returned to his hotel before his parents came home and he curled up in the shitty bed with his phone completely off. Bad could bypass his Do Not Disturb and he didn’t have the energy to fix that.
He didn’t have the energy to do much but lay in bed for days before he walked into the home where his parents and sister were and marched right to his mom’s office. She went to make a witty remark about him being there but once she saw the tears she opened her arms silently for her son who cried into her for god knows how long. He didn’t say anything, but he didn't have to. His mother could recognize a broken heart.
But now Skeppy would need a new place to run to.
And he happened to know a guy or three.
*
Skeppy was curled up on the couch with Sapnap, Dream and George when Dream suddenly got a call. “Shit, I have to take this.” Dream said and George lifted his head off Dream’s lap, allowing the dirty blonde to stand and rush to his office, the group heard a ‘shh, calm down’ from Dream before his voice faded away from distance.
Skeppy let out a breath, his phone wasn’t off anymore. He just muted all notifications from Bad. He knows it was idiotic but he also… cant fathom heartache.
George moved and laid his head on Skeppy’s lap and Skeppy chuckled, playing with his hair. The boys hadn’t been kidding when they said that George had been like a cat.
“Wait,” Dream said, “He said what?”
Bad huffed, “‘I just hope you don't ask what you would do if I stayed.’ is what he said.”
“And did you ever respond to this rant of his?” Dream asked.
“And say what, Clay?” Bad asked. “He gave up.”
Dream groaned and started typing at his computer swiftly, sending Bad a link a few moments later. “You’ll get here by tomorrow night. If you don’t get on this plane, I will fly myself to your house and drag you here.”
Bad just hummed, “I’ll pack my bag,” A pause, “But Dream what do I ev-”
“You have the whole flight to plan that out. But make sure it is the truth. You owe him as much for him telling you the truth. If George poured his heart out to me like that- god I would be the luckiest man alive.” Bad knew that Dream would love the confession he had earned from George. Bad knew the mutual pain they shared of pining for their best friend and assuming it was unrequited.
“He loves you.” Bad spoke softly.
“What?” Dream asked.
“George loves you, Clay.” Bad spoke casually like he had known this forever. “Just as you love him. You have been saying the same thing to me about Skeppy for a while now and I realize that I should start telling you- because it is true. Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made.” bad said and ended the call. Dream let out a breath and just spun in his chair a bit, hearing a faint knock from the door.
“Come in, George.” Dream said, he had George’s knock memorized.
George opened the door, “Bad texted me and told me to come in here. You okay?” George shut the door and walked over to Dream who stopped spinning his chair and stood up, facing George.
Dream narrowed his eyes a bit, “I love you.” He said.
“I know that, idiot.” George said. Dream shook his head.
“George, I love you.” Dream said again and George chuckled a bit.
“You literally just said that yo-” George was cut off by warm, chapped lips pressed to his own and a palm on his cheek. George melted into the kiss instantly and when they parted George went to say something but noticed a notification on Dream’s monitor that a flight had been scheduled. “You’re leaving?”
Dream shook his head, hand still on George’s face, “Bad is coming here.”
George chuckled, “You genius.”
Dream laughed as well as he lowered his hand and interlocked his fingers with George, leading them back to the living room to hang out. They would finalize things later on. Right now they need to fix the broken relationship.
*
Skeppy did not expect to wake up to Bad sitting on his bed and playing with his hair. But he would not complain. Skeppy leaned into the touch as he slowly left sleep behind. “Hey…” Bad spoke softly. “I was originally going to be here later tonight but Clay found an earlier plane for me. So I am here now.”
Skeppy smiled weakly, “I’m glad to finally meet you in person.” Skeppy sat up and instantly took Bad into a hug.
“I know how boys like you taste.” Bad said.
“Like unshed tears?” Skeppy asked.
“And broken hearts.” Bad finished.
“We had talked about the possibility of us being together before.” Skeppy reminded him. “You said no.”
“Back then I just..” Bad sighed, “I didn’t know how to love somebody. Not like how I should have and not how you deserved it. But I knew I was loved, Skeppy. I knew that you loved me with so much of your heart that I learned to love through you.”
“Don’t you see that it hurt me when you abandoned me- the fans have seen it. Why haven’t you?” Skeppy asked.
“You broke me, Skeppy.”
“Like a KitKat?” Skeppy asked. “Left your heart not found rotting in the trash?”
Bad let out a breath, “Don’t do this.”
“Or maybe you’re realizing I’m as cold as an ICEE and you got a brain freeze.” Skeppy pointed out. Bad went to cut him off but Skeppy beat him to it, “If you’re always thinking about me, why do you do a shitty job of showing it?”
“And I’m what? At fault that we grew distant!?”
“You called us off!” Skeppy shouted. He swore everything around them grew quiet. And maybe it did. Maybe the people in the house finally uncovered something. “I was a game to you! A way for you to get out all the relationship needs you wanted without the actual relationship and when I wanted to be more you said no! And you have treated me like dirt ever since!”
“Skep-“
“I can’t believe I ever thought you wouldn’t leave me.” Skeppy chuckled and played with the blanket in his hands. “I can’t even trust Lya anymore after you did this to me. Better yet any other person I love.”
“I just wanted what was best for you.” Bad spoke softly.
“Best for me? The best thing for me is- was you. Now I just wish we never met. I think that would be best for me.” Skeppy let out a breath, “I should have never applied to your stupid server.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Being with you, as friends with sorta benefits was the loneliest time in my life. All I wanted - all I needed - was you. And you didn’t want to give that to me, despite promising me something as great as the world. You were always greater than the world to me.”
“You keep talking about me in the past tense. Have I really messed up that bad?” Bad asked, placing his hand on Skeppy’s.
“All those plans we had made for meeting up. Like the eyeliner thing where you sit on my lap and do my eyeliner then Vice Versa. That one was one of my favorites. Or dancing in the kitchen in the middle of the night, I would have adored that.”
“Geppy please..” Skeppy got out of bed and started putting his shit into his suitcase, Bad stood as well. “What are you doing?” Bad asked.
“Leaving.” Skeppy said. “I can’t do this anymore, Bad.” Skeppy turned and had tears streaming down his face. Bad grabbed his arm before he could go and pressed their lips together. Skeppy had tears on his lips that seeped into the kiss.
Skeppy backed away and left the room with his suitcase.
*
“I can post it for you.” Lya offered and Skeppy nodded, standing and walking away from his desk. Lya posted the video titled, ‘Best Friend’ to Skeppy’s account and met him in the kitchen, rubbing a hand on his back as he leaned on his arms on his counter with his head lax and breath harsh.
“I wish I never responded to all his dms when we first met.” Skeppy mumbled, tears slipping down his face.
Lya went to wipe them but Skeppy shook his head. The taste of the tears reminded Skeppy of Bad. Because he’s the only one that makes Skeppy’s heart feel this pain. It’s a deep pain. One that crushes his rib cage.
“You should leave.” Skeppy muttered. “I don’t want to take my frustration out on you.”
Lya sighed, “I don’t mind.” A pause, “Sapnap is coming today.”
Skeppy nodded. “He’s coming and staying for thanksgiving. He is bringing everyone.”
Lya nodded, “my offer to make mashed potatoes still stands.”
“Okay. Sounds good. We can do a proper thanksgiving. I was just… hoping Bad could be here.”
Lya hummed, “yeah, same.” She hugged him and he hugged her back. He couldn’t see the smirk that was on her face and maybe it was better that way.
*
Lya watched as Skeppy passed the potatoes to Sapnap to pass to George while Dream and Quackity talked about god knows what as Karl opened monster number two of the day.
She also watched as their phones buzzed. She checked her own. Bad had posted a happy thanksgiving on Twitter for his fans. She watched everyone at the table like the post, including herself, but watched as Skeppy just swiped away the notification.
A few minutes later, another buzz. Bad send a thanksgiving message to Skeppy specifically. Skeppy sighed and went to clear it but there was a knock on his door and he got up to go answer it. Skeppy gasped when he was met with an instant hug.
Skeppy hugged back tightly. “Bad.” Skeppy mumbled into his shoulder. “You’re here.”
“I couldn’t leave us like that. I love you too much.”
“You love me?” Skeppy asked and Bad nodded into his shoulder, pulling them away just enough to look at each other. Before Skeppy could say anything else, warm lips were pressed into his. Skeppy melted quickly into the kiss. He didn’t realize just how much he wanted that kiss until now.
They pulled away from the kiss and linked hands as they went to the table. Lya already had an empty plate next to Skeppy’s spot set up for Bad. She knew he was coming. They all did. Except Skeppy.
Bad sat down and put some food on his plate, greeting everyone. Skeppy grabbed his phone out and opened Twitter.
Skeppy @Skeppy
Happy Thanksgiving Bad 🤧
Bad kissed Skeppy on the cheek and conversation resumed at the table with a little bit more cheer.