Chapter Text
Quackity stares at the letters on his screen in disbelief.
Behind him, Roier starts cheering.
"You did it, man!" He shouts and playfully shoves him to the side.
It takes Quackity unimaginable amounts of effort to keep himself upright. He isn't even sure what Roier said to him just seconds ago. Because this is real. This is true.
The letters tell him what he most wants to hear—he got in. He got accepted into the law course. He's going to be a law student. Just the thought of it makes a chuckle escape from his mouth.
"Can you believe it, Roier? I got in!" He yells, finally feeling stable enough to face his friend.
Not only is he going to study law, he is going to study it at the Cucurucho University. The one place he was sure he would never get into. But he did it.
"We should celebrate, man. Look!" Roier says, sticking his hand in his pocket.
Quackity eyes him curiously. For a while, he is unsure if there's even anything in this pocket at all, with how long it's taking his friend to find it.
"This!" He exclaims, holding up a small piece of paper and waving it around.
"What's that?"
"A ticket. Two tickets, actually." Roier clarifies, handing him the second one. "We're going to a concert."
If he was completely honest with himself, he's not sure he even likes this type of music. Roier, on the other hand, keeps insisting this one band's really good, though Quackity has never heard of them before.
He looks at the ticket in his hand. Husaria. It's the first word he sees.
It's, according to Roier, the best local band. And a Polish one too. That could be fun, he guesses. What matters most is that he's celebrating with his friend. Even if the band turns out to be mediocre, he'll still have his place at the university. That's what this is all about.
He doesn't let himself hope that this is going to be the best concert he'll ever see.
Even though the posters seem pretty cool… As he enters the venue, he feels an unexplained wave of excitement. Maybe it's because Roier has only been saying great things about this band.
It's not a big venue. But despite that, it seems as if there are thousands of people in the crowd. He looks to his side, making sure Roier is still beside him. The anticipation is clear on his face, and it's contagious. So much that it starts stressing Quackity out.
Only when the lights go out does he notice just how close they are to the stage. Did they really arrive that early?
He doesn't even remember anymore.
The people around him start chanting the band's name. Quackity feels out of place here—he doesn't know a thing about Husaria, aside from them being Polish. Still, it won't hurt to chant with everyone, right?
Just as he opens his mouth, he sees someone finally appear on the stage. They wave and run to the keyboard. The chants get even louder.
A few seconds later, another person walks onto the stage, this time with drumsticks in their hands. They try to appeal nonchalant, but he can see the smile on their face as they sit behind the drum kit.
The next band member is the guitarist—and an attention seeker, it seems. Immediately upon their entrance, they play a chord so loud Quackity thinks it made him go deaf for a second. And as if nothing happened, they laugh and turn the volume knob down on their guitar.
He can practically feel the excitement around him. Everyone in the crowd starts vibrating with it, like something amazing is about to happen now.
Quackity glues his eyes to the stage, awaiting it.
And finally, he sees it—the singer. That must be the singer, he thinks.
He stands behind the microphone stand with a completely neutral expression, opposing everyone else in the venue, both in the crowd and on the stage. Unlike his clothes, his bass actually includes a color other than black. On its black base, there's a symbol, strangely reminding Quackity of radioactivity, which fits it, because the symbol appears to have been made with a neon green paint.
This time, Quackity is speechless. He's really thankful he's standing so close to the stage.
And he must admit it, Roier has been right. They're fucking amazing!
He can't understand a single word, but he doesn't need to. All that matters in this moment is the music, Roier standing right next to him, and the band's frontman.
It takes him a while to realize what that thought meant. A blush involuntarily appears on his face, but luckily no one is going to see it. There are too many people here. He can do whatever he wants.
He can do whatever he wants…
So he decides to just stare at the singer the whole time. That is enough for him.
Before he realizes, an hour passes. The singer steps away from the microphone and the guy who's been playing the keyboard takes his place.
"I know you were expecting more…" He starts talking in such a British way it throws Quackity off for a second. "But I promise, we'll be able to put on even longer shows when we finally release our album. So, next week!"
The keyboard guy smiles and returns to his keyboard. Everyone cheers. Quackity, however, can't contain his laugh, not like anyone would hear it.
Because why is that guy British? Aren't they supposed to be Polish?
Roier looks at him, puzzled.
"What's so funny, man?" He yells just to be heard while they're leaving the venue.
"He's so fucking British!" Quackity can't help but start laughing again.
"Oh, Graf? Yeah, he's fucking smart. He speaks like five languages, I think."
Suddenly, Quackity stops laughing. He turns to Roier with a serious face.
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah."
"That's so cool. Does he speak Spanish?"
"Yeah."
"No way! I think I like them even more now."
"You like them?" Roier asks with a smug expression. "I told you, man! They're so fucking good."
"Right…" Quackity says, the singer's face making its way into his mind without his agreement. He's so cool…
But he can't do this now. Not in an almost empty street. Not in front of Roier. He stares at the sidewalk, hoping his friend doesn't notice anything weird.
"What are their names anyway?" He interrupts the silence before it could become awkward.
"Well, Graf, the guy that sounds British, plays the keyboard. The drummer is Nexe, the guitarist is Ewron, and he's really annoying if you ask me. And the singer, and also the bassist, is called Multi. He's a fucking cool guy."
Multi…
He commits the name to his memory.
The rest of the conversation is a haze, like it wasn't even him speaking with Roier, but rather someone else and he was just an observer. And suddenly, he finds himself standing in his apartment.
As quietly as he can, he makes his way to his room when a voice from behind him startles him.
"How was the concert?" His mom asks.
"Great, but I'm really tired." Quackity says, grabbing the handle. "Goodnight!"
He enters his room and closes the door, maybe too quickly than he should have. But what can he do?
This Multi guy has just taken over his mind.
Quackity runs up to his desk and opens his laptop. He didn't expect to find much, but luckily, he was wrong. There is a whole website about Husaria. Seems like their other fans are just as obsessed as he is.
Each band member has a page dedicated to them, but truth be told… He only wants to see one.
He skims through all the information, hoping to find something interesting. But one thing makes him stop completely.
Age: 19
"He's just a year older than me?!" Quackity whispers to himself. And he's already so cool…
He would've lied if he said that didn't make him feel at least a little bit worse about himself.
Whatever… He decides that's enough for today and turns off the laptop. Forgetting about having to be quiet, he throws himself on the bed. That's when he notices how much his legs ache. And his head too.
But it was worth it.
It was all worth it in the end.
When he wakes up, it feels like it's been a hundred years since the day he fell asleep. Checking the time, he finds it actually was ten hours. His eyes widen slightly. When was the last time he slept for ten hours straight?
Did that concert really tire him out so much?
He sits up slowly. Looking at his clothes, he realizes he didn't take a shower or even change yesterday. He can only hope there's no one home except him to see it…
But before he can leave his room, there's something more he has to do. Quackity opens his laptop and searches for that website once again. He needs to be there next week. The guy on the keyboard, Graf, said something about an album.
He can't miss that.
Not like he has anything interesting to do anyway. University starts in two weeks, so he might as well do something to not go insane in his home during this time.
That's all there is to it. All.
Finally, he stands up from his bed, almost falling to his knees in the process.
Maybe he could just nap a little longer…
But the growling in his stomach immediately tells him no. On trembling legs, he walks out of his room, searching for any indication that anyone else than him could be home.
After listening to the silence for a solid few seconds, he makes his move to the kitchen.
Every second feels longer than it should. He wants next week to just come already, he wants to see them again. Is that how his life is going to look for the next few days? Full of endless waiting and replaying the same scenes in his head all over again?
It's almost embarrassing, how fast he became a fan. And truth be told, he can't even pinpoint the exact reason why. It just happened, and now he's left with the consequences.
He supposes he could just listen to their music this whole week to make the wait more bearable… But it won't be the same. Still, it's better than nothing.
When he finally finishes eating, taking a shower and getting dressed, that's when the boredom really hits. His apartment feels both empty and suffocating.
Quackity grabs his earphones and heads to the front door. He has no destination in his mind, but that doesn't matter. He'll just go wherever.
For minutes, or maybe hours—he can't really say, he wanders aimlessly around the city. His consciousness only seems to come back when a painfully loud voice registers in his mind. He takes out one of his earphones and looks back.
"Oh my god, Nexe, I'm not even walking fast! You're just slow!"
He recognizes them instantly.
The four of them, talking, as if Quackity wasn't panicking right now at all. What is he supposed to do?!
He has to say something… This is his chance. He has to do it!
"Hi, guys!" He says, as nonchalantly as he can—which, in this situation, isn't really easy.
They pause their conversation and look at him expectantly. He feels his confidence start to falter.
"Um… I really like your music, and…" He scratches the back of his neck. "Can I have a… Picture with you? Maybe?"
Ewron smiles widely.
"Of course!" He shouts, grabbing Multi by the shoulder. "And don't you run away! We have a fan to take a picture with!"
Multi mutters something and sighs, seemingly giving up.
Feeling his face hurt from smiling so much, Quackity grabs his phone and turns the camera on. It's a little tricky to fit all of them in the shot on the narrow sidewalk, but somehow they manage to do it.
"Thanks!" He says in a shaky voice.
Even though he can see them clearly with his own eyes, he doesn't believe it. He can't be this lucky, can he?
"To think we're not gonna have all the time to do this in just two weeks…" Ewron sighs dramatically. "I'll miss my unemployed life."
Quackity looks at him, confused.
"Oh yeah, I know it's hard to believe, but we're actually gonna have to study…" He turns towards Multi with a face Quackity can't decipher. "Especially this guy here!" Ewron giggles.
Nexe joins in on the laughter, while Graf just smiles softly. Multi glues his eyes to the ground, his expression stoic as ever.
"What does that mean?" Quackity says, his fear replaced by confusion.
"Hah! He's studying at the Cucurucho University! Smart-ass."
"You wish you were as smart, huh?" Multi speaks, for the first time in their whole conversation.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Ewron rolls his eyes.
"Wait, I'm going there too!" Quackity shouts in realization.
Every head turns to stare at him.
"Wow, I'm just surrounded by smart people now…" Ewron mutters, loudly enough for everyone to still hear him.
That gets an amused snort out of Multi.
"What are you studying?" Graf asks, the smile never leaving his face.
"Law." Quackity answers instantly. He looks at Multi, unsure, but somehow gathers the courage to ask, "What about you?"
"Nuclear physics."
His eyes widen. He's not sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that. That sounded a bit too serious. Though, he can't deny it suits Multi in a way.
"We're gonna be late for our movie, guys." Nexe speaks up to get everyone's attention. "Let's go."
"Oh, right!" Ewron checks the time on his phone. "See ya!" He yells to Quackity, grabbing Graf and Multi by their sleeves and leaving.
The silence that follows is like a physical blow.
But why? He got what he wanted.
And yet, he wants more.
Quackity grabs his phone and stares at the picture. It's only now that he notices Multi standing right next to him. Everyone struck at least some kind of pose, but he just stood there, staring at the camera. It had its own charm to it, though. He can't believe that same person from the picture is going to the same university as him.
Just how lucky can he be?!
His entire walk back home is spent on imagining different sorts of scenarios. What if they accidentally bump into each other? What if they meet, both lost in the gigantic building, and start looking for their lectures together?
That's when he remembers what he read about Multi yesterday. He's a year older… So there's a chance he's a second-year, actually. That's even better! He can show Quackity the way when he's lost on his first day…
He stops in front of his door, realizing what he's been thinking about.
The shame starts eating him from the inside. He's only known that guy for a day… Well, known is a strong word. He's a fan.
If he's a fan, then that's normal, he supposes. It's just a phase. A phase he really likes indulging in.
He smiles. It's just a phase.
Quackity opens the front door, smiling to himself. If it's just a phase, it won't hurt to go all in, right?
Not like it's going to last any longer than a month.
As he stands in the crowd once again, this time without Roier with him, he feels his excitement rise even more now.
The venue is bigger, the lights are brighter, and the crowd is much louder.
Everyone came here to hear Husaria's new album performed live. But Quackity is only here for one thing. And he's already getting impatient.
The order is the same—first it's Graf, then Nexe, and then Ewron. And then…
His heart speeds up.
When Multi shows up on the stage, he's like an entirely different person, nothing like the quiet guy he saw on the street a few days ago. His voice too—it's loud and commanding, unlike the mutters Quackity heard on that day.
He wonders which persona is the real one.
The one thing that always stays the same is the color of his outfit. It seems like he only has black clothes in his wardrobe. Maybe some of them are white, some are gray, but the majority… Quackity chuckles.
Instead of screaming and chanting like everyone around him, he silently stares at the vocalist. Indifferent to the music blasting in his ears, indifferent to the moving crowd.
And even if the concert was, in fact, longer than the previous one he's been to, it feels just as short. The moment it ends, he already finds himself wanting more.
Well, who's to say he won't be getting more…
University starting in a week isn't going to be a problem. Not for him. After all, Multi will be there.
He doesn't even notice when the smile appears on his face.
Another week of waiting is ahead of him. But that's okay. He can do it. Now, with that new album, there's even more music to listen to. More songs with the voice he most likes to hear.
If the circumstances were any different, he probably would've been weirded out by his own thoughts. But they aren't.
He's just a fan, and this is just a phase. It won't last long, and he won't hurt anyone. And it's fun!
Quackity clutches his phone tightly.
He can't even express how much he wants to look at that picture now… But he can't do that. Every time he sees it, it hurts him. Something about that photo makes it painful to look at.
So much that his eyes start watering. And he's not even looking at it yet.
But it's okay. It'll be fine.
He's just a fan. It's just a phase.
It's just a phase.