Because You Are Love (Karlnap)

Chapter 6 - The long dream of life

"Are you sure you don't want to just fly? I'm sure there has to still be tickets available, or-"

"Don't worry, Dream. I'm fine to drive, I swear. If I'm going to survive this week, I'm going to need all the time I can to mentally prepare anyway." Sapnap smiled up to Dream, closing the trunk of his car.

"I'm going to call you every couple hours and if you as much as yawn, I will force you to stop at a hotel for the night." Dream said sternly, his arms crossed over his chest and his brows furrowed. Even if this moment was essentially just Dream nagging him, it was times like this that made Sapnap remember just how far he had come.

He had friends who cared about his well being. Friends who checked in on him. Friends who wanted only good things for him. He had friends like Dream, George, Quackity, and of course, Karl.

"Thanks for always looking out for me, Dream." Sapnap said a bit more tenderly than he intended. Even Dream was surprised by the sincerity in Sapnap's voice, the tension in his face melting away instantly. "Anyway, I, uh-"

"Love you, brother. Drive safe." Dream interrupted, pulling Sapnap in for a hug. Sapnap laughed awkwardly a bit, still feeling embarrassed for being wholesome. He and Dream didn't often talk that way to each other- Sapnap didn't really talk to anyone like that. Well, anyone except for Karl.

"Don't go using your George voice on-"

"You did not!" Dream scoffed, instantly pushing Sapnap away from his chest with a laugh. Sapnap also laughed, deciding now was a good time to get in the car before either of them said anything else sappy.

"I'll expect a call from you in 2 hours and then nothing for the rest of the drive because you'll forget!" Sapnap called out the window, pulling onto the road, as Dream flipped him off from the driveway.

Sapnap connected his phone to his car's bluetooth, pulling up the directions, but more importantly, putting on music.

"Great." Sapnap muttered to himself, seeing that it was already nearly 8:30am, meaning even if he drove with minimal breaks and the change in time zone, he still wouldn't get there until about 10pm.

Sapnap turned up the volume of his music, doing his best to calm his mind. He still couldn't believe it was actually happening- that he was finally going back to Texas. He knew it was going to happen eventually, but the fact it was happening right now  was starting to get to him.

All the shame he felt was already starting to flood his senses. Shame for never standing up for the kids who were bullied by being called gay. Shame for the fact that he had surrounded himself with and was friends with said bullies. Shame that he forced himself to hide who he really was, leaving him feeling like he missed out on so much. Sapnap tried to shake off these feelings, doing his best to focus on the things he did  like about Texas.

He loved the landscape, how wildflowers would bloom over acres of land. Fields of bluebonnets he could imagine Karl laying in, his camera roll soon being filled with photos of Karl surrounded by colors and light and love.

He loved his childhood home, especially the old wrap around porch. Sapnap wanted to rewrite his memories of sitting alone on the porch swing at night, hiding from the arguments between his parents inside, with new memories of him and Karl sitting next to each other. The only sound that would compete with the crickets would be their laughter.

Sapnap loved stargazing. The sky was so vast and clear at night in Texas, you could see the entire milky way. Laying in the dew soaked grass, watching shooting stars dance through the constellations, and Karl wrapped around him to stay warm.

Fuck.

Sapnap groaned, realizing the only way he could think positively about Texas was if Karl was involved. His music came to a pause, his phone ringing through his car's speaker, Dream's contact displayed on the screen.

"Hello?" Sapnap answered with a questioning tone. Did he forget something? Why would Dream be calling him already?

"So, I may have forgotten to call at the two hour mark, but at least I'm only a few hours late." Dream laughed.

"What are you-" Sapnap paused, checking the time. 3:15pm. "Damn." He sighed, switching his gaze from the clock to the road.

"Something wrong?" Dream asked, confused by Sapnap's response.

"Yeah- I mean no. No, I'm fine. I just had no idea it'd been that long. It really feels like I left 10 minutes ago." Sapnap confessed, refocusing his attention solely on the highway in front of him. It was almost terrifying how he could just completely zone out like that while he drove.

"Do you think maybe you should stop for a bit? Grab some food, water, shit- how's your car's battery?" Dream cut himself off mid thought.

"It's okay, I'm at about 30%. Maybe you're right though. I'll probably stop to charge up and grab some snacks soon." Sapnap sighed, putting his car on autopilot so he could rest his eyes for a second. Now that he knew he had been driving for over six hours, the exhaustion was beginning to set in. Maybe driving wasn't worth it after all.

"Okay. If you're still feeling tired after you eat and stuff, I'm serious about stopping for the-"

"I know, I know. I'll be fine to drive once I get some food. I'll talk to you either in two hours or when I get there." Sapnap said with a light laugh, turning the car back to manual once he saw a sign for an exit with a charging station. "I'm going to pull off the highway now, so I'm going to let you go. Bye, Dream." Sapnap finished, leaning forward to end the call once Dream said his goodbyes.

Once Sapnap had parked and plugged in his car, he headed inside the convenience store. He roamed the isles, grabbing random snacks, a few energy drinks, and-

"No way." Sapnap whispered under his breath with a smile. He pulled up his phone, taking a photo of one of the slushie machines that had a monster ultra flavored slushie.

I've lived in Florida for over a year and I'm still shocked this exists

Sapnap attached the image to his message, sending it to Karl. He watched as the loading bar on the screen paused just before the message sent, buffering for a few seconds before it eventually failed to send.

"What?" Sapnap mumbled, adjusting the array of snacks and drinks he was carrying, looking at his phone more closely. He tried sending the message and photo again, only to receive the same error pop-up.

Sapnap set his items on the counter, the cashier beginning to scan them in silence as he continued to stare down at his phone. He started a call to Karl, the call going straight to voicemail just as he pinned his phone between his shoulder and ear.

"$23.75" The cashier said in a monotone voice, placing the final item in the bag.

"Oh, sorry. I don't need any change. Have a good night." Sapnap handed the cashier $25, still not looking away from his phone as he grabbed the bag and headed back to his car.

Karl never had his phone off. Ever. He had too many business calls, sponsored social media posts, and just a general addiction to his phone. As Sapnap climbed back into his car, already turning the air conditioning back up, he continued to just stare at his undelivered message to Karl. Sapnap set down his bag of food, no longer craving caffeine to perk him up. His anxiety about Karl having his phone off was doing a good enough job of keeping him awake on its own.

"Where are you?" Sapnap questioned to himself in a whisper, seeing that not only did Karl have his phone off, but he had stopped sharing his location with him as well.

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(1,347 words) hi :) my sweet sweet idiot sapnap, really has no clue where his boy- i mean best friend could be. himbo sapnap > any other sapnap