Stay, Forever

18

"Karl?"

The name falls from George's lips, and he waits to hear the familiar voice again.

There's nothing but staticky silence for a second, and then Karl finally answers, "George? Why are you calling Sapnap's phone? I thought you were with your parents."

George falters, and his breath hitches when he remembers the lies he told Karl weeks ago. He was doing it in Karl's best interest then, but now he just feels guilty and wrong.

"George?" Karl's voice pulls him back, and he glances down to see Dream watching him with questioning eyes, "I don't understand what's going on."

Breath caught in his lungs, George grapples for an answer that'll make sense. He already knows about Sapnap and Karl. But he still wasn't prepared to hear Karl's voice on the other end of the line. And now, he has no idea what to say to him.

"I don't..."

His voice wavers and tapers off, and he decides that he can't tell another blatant lie given the circumstances, "I don't know what to say, really. It's just...it's complicated, Karl."

Static hums between them, and George has never felt more distant from Karl than he does now. But he can't tell him the truth without telling him everything, and he knows that both Dream and Sapnap would never allow that.

He doesn't want Karl to know anyway, because that would mean having to tell him the truth about his parents. And he's not ready for that just yet, either.

Karl doesn't say anything, and George's chest tightens as he tries to push forward with a question of his own, "are you with Sapnap right now?"

George thinks that considering the fact that there's crazed murderers after them, Sapnap would stay away from Karl to keep him safe. Worry and anger churn together low in his stomach, but when Karl finally speaks again, George can almost hear the smile behind his words.

"He just left actually," Karl answers in a rush, "but he forgot his phone. I really wanted to call and tell you, George, I swear. We've been seeing each other since Halloween weekend, that night we all went out together. But we've only been officially dating for like a week."

George listens to Karl ramble on about how amazing Sapnap is, and he catches bits and pieces of what he's saying. And one thing in particular stands out.

George's eyes widen, and then they flicker down to meet Dream's waiting gaze. Fingers tightening around the phone, he hears himself slowly say the words back, "wait, slow down, Karl. You're dating Sapnap?"

Dating is a far cry from sneaking out for visits, and he isn't sure how he's meant to feel or react. He wants to be happy for Karl, but it's not that simple. He glances down again to see Dream's eyes widen, and his mouth opens around a silent, "oh shit."

And in that moment, it's clear that even Dream had no idea the extent of Sapnap's visits to Karl.

Karl confirms it with a cheerful, "yeah, it's pretty new, but I really like him, George."

George nods even though Karl can't see him, and his mouth opens but no words come out. He feels guilty for not giving Karl the reaction he's expecting, but he's at a complete loss for what he's supposed to say here.

"George?" Karl questions slowly, and George tries to shake off the surprise. He does his best to force himself to sound a bit more cheerful than he feels, and he quickly responds, "I'm really happy for you, Karl."

He knows his voice is flat and lacking enthusiasm, and he knows Karl is probably confused. It wasn't so long ago that Karl and him would be sitting side by side in Karl's tiny living room, binge watching Netflix and talking about new crushes and relationships. His chest tightens, and he wishes more than anything that he could go back to that. It was simple, and this is anything but simple.