barriers on the tube line

14. london puts barriers on the rails

for fuck's sake, karl, get yourself together.

just enjoy the rest of your time with quackity.

we're all unusually silent as we drink our drinks, to others it may have looked awkward but it wasn't really. i think we are all just dwelling over the fact our lives are gonna go back to the shit they were before.

'quackity do you want us to drive you home?' i ask, realising i just assumed we would be doing that instead of asking.

'if you guys want to, i don't mind getting the bus back again.'

'no i want to spend as much time with you as possible.' i smile at him, 'we don't know when we can do something like this again, so why waste any opportunities?'

he smiles widely, 'yeah i'd like that, is that okay with you sap?'

sapnap smiles and nods and we all finish our drinks so we can leave. i take it upon myself to drive the hour to quackity's because sapnap would be driving from quackity's to ours.

on the drive home, quackity introduces us to more of wilbur's music, including that of his band's. one of my personal favourites is taunt by his band (lovejoy). i don't understand how every one of his songs are actually amazing, but he's definitely becoming a new favourite artist.

we started listening to some of them on repeat so sapnap and i picked up on some of the words to sing along with quackity. i love these moments. driving home in the rain, blasting tunes and singing along with your best friends. it's the dream.

of course, as the old saying goes: time flies when you're having fun. and we reached quackity's house in what felt like 5 minutes. quackity told us to park around the corner so his mum didn't see him getting out of an unknown car.

i cant help the streams of tears that start to fall down my face as i pull up and we just sit in the car, engine still running as i don't want him to get out. i finally turn off the engine, but we all just sit there; i'm silently crying, big q is taking deep breaths and if i turned around i would probably see sapnap holding back tears. he doesn't like to cry in front of people.

suddenly, i turn to quackity and pull him in the biggest hug, my shoulders shaking due to the huge sobs i'm letting out. hey, i don't know when i'm next gonna see him.

he hugs back instantly, and i feel him start to cry with me.

amidst all of this, i manage to choke out, 'i love you, big q.' and he pulls out of the hug, giving a small smile as he tries to give a reply, 'i'll see you as soon as possible karlos.'

then quackity gets out of the car and goes to sit in the back with sapnap, having a similar sort of goodbye to mine. i decide to busy myself and i also get out, but go to the boot to get quackity's suitcase out, which gives me an opportunity for a final hug when he takes it off me.

'i love you. don't forget about me.' i laugh to try and ease the pain.

'i love you too, i could never forget you.' he tucks some of my hair behind my ear in a jokingly manner, both of us now laughing through our tears.

and then he takes his suitcase and walks away from me to his house.

i keep waving, and sapnap stands next to me and we're waving quackity down the street until he turns the corner.

then we also turn around and head back to the car, i get in the passenger seat and sapnap in the drivers seat.

we practically recreate the scene from earlier, sitting in silence and not moving, both fighting back tears as the rain pours down onto the car.

then sapnap turns to me and says something really unexpected: 'how do you manage to still look pretty when you're crying?'

excuse me?

are my ears deceiving me?

'huh?' i say, wiping my tears and looking at him.

'i think you damn well heard me.'

'sapnap,' i give him a look of sympathy, 'you have a girlfriend.'

he turns to face the road again, almost angrily, 'am i not allowed to compliment my friend?'

'we both know we have more than platonic feelings for each other.' i say quietly, also turning to face the road.

'both? sorry did you say... both? of us?'

i nod.

'you feel this way as well?'

i nod again.

he sighs.

'karl i don't give a shit about my girlfriend and she sure as hell doesn't give a shit about me. what if we just date secretly?' he turns to me again, 'you know more about me than anyone ever has. you know that.'

i nod again, this time with tears brimming my eyes. he reaches over and puts his hand on top of mine.

'karl, look at me.'

i look up slowly and he leans in. just before anything happens, he asks, 'can i?' i nod.

and then he kisses me gently.

possibly the best kiss of my life.

when he pulls away, we both cry through our tears. god we're on an emotional rollercoaster.

'so...' i trail off.

'so.' he repeats.

'what does this mean for us?'

'karl jacobs. will you be my boyfriend?'

'of course i will.'

and with that, we drive home playing more of wilbur's songs. specifically, jubilee line.

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1587 words

one more chapter after this

very sorry for the lack of updates :(