Marked

Chapter 27

Skeppy POV

By the time Skeppy reached his house, the sun was rising. He stepped out of the car and unlocked the front door. The house was still and silent. Upon returning to his room, Skeppy found Rocco laying on his bed, waiting for him. "Did you miss me, buddy?" He pet the top of Rocco's head.

Skeppy sighed and laid down on the bed. It was comforting to be back home, but he still felt terrible about everything that had happened the previous day. Skeppy allowed his eyes to close for a moment. It was as if he blinked and it was already mid-afternoon. He had no nightmares, just a dreamless time skip.

After getting up, he found his parents in the living room. "Oh, you're home!" His mom said.

"Yeah," Skeppy took a seat next to them on the couch.

"Did something happen? I didn't know you were headed home."

"I suppose you could say something happened. It doesn't really matter though."

Skeppy's sister, Sam, walked in at that moment. "What, did you get in a fight with your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Skeppy defended himself.

"Mhm, sure. That's why you two-"

Skeppy cut her off, "Sam! Stop!"

"Fine," she laughed, grabbing a soda from the fridge.

Skeppy's parents were both staring at him after hearing what Sam said. Skeppy felt his face go red. "I swear! He's not my boyfriend!"

He stood up and walked away, leaving the rest of his family there laughing at him. He sighed as he sat down on his bed. Skeppy grabbed his laptop and checked his email. Nothing new. It seemed that nothing was ever new anymore. Skeppy had stopped uploading as frequently, each day seemed to blend into the next. It was early May and everything was starting to get warmer.

Too hot to go outside much in his hoodie, Skeppy would spend his days inside. Sleeping until noon, arguments and fights, followed by falling asleep late in the night. Skeppy had grown tired of living his life that way. He needed a break. Time to breathe and think.

Against his better judgement, Skeppy didn't message Bad. He didn't respond to any of the DMs Bad sent him. Each time he would leave Bad on read. It made Skeppy sad, but he knew it would all be better in two weeks time. He just needed to make it through those 14 days.

14. It was always 14. Fourteen was the number that Skeppy's life revolved around. Ever since he had become friends with Bad, it was that number that would appear everywhere. It was Skeppy's favorite number, but it was also an annoying number. Good or bad, it was only ever 14.

There was a notification on his phone. A message from Bad. He read it.

Please Skeppy, just answer me. I'm about to stop trying :(

Skeppy sighed and tossed his phone down on the other end of the bed. If this was the last time Bad would try, so be it. As bad as he felt leaving Bad alone like that, Angel had told him about what he needed to do, and he believed this was the only possible way to do it.

He can't fight with Bad if he doesn't speak to Bad, right? Skeppy figured that if he survived death itself, he could deal with two weeks without Bad. Surely. He wanted to make some videos with some of his friends, but each time he'd check who was online, it was only Bad. Skeppy decided to just leave everything alone for the time being.

He put on his airpods and listened to music. The evening was fast approaching and the day was cooling off a bit, so Skeppy got Rocco's leash and took him for a walk. For a moment, he was so caught up in the song that he forgot about all the issues happening. Almost. He glanced over to his left and found Angel walking alongside him. He took out the airpods and paused his music.

"I'm gonna end up looking like I'm talking to myself," he mumbled.

"Oh, right..." Angel said, before quickly doing a hand motion. He looked like a normal person, nothing haunting about him.

"What did you just do?"

"Well I'm walking alongside you as a normal person," he stated.

"So other people can see you now?"

"Yep."

"Ok, well, what are you doing here?"

Angel sighed. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I know this is all rough on you, but you're doing the right thing."

"Psh, doing the right thing. Sure," He had a sarcastic tone.

"It's so much easier to protect you when you're apart. It won't be for too long, just don't give in."

"Are you even still allowed to talk to me? I thought interference would stop the time."

"Well, technically I'm never allowed to talk to you, but it doesn't matter as long as I'm not assuring you don't fight."

"This is stupid. I hate this, and from what you've said, it's all your fault."

Angel stared down at his shoes. "Not entirely... I mean, you can blame me, I don't mind. I was just looking out for you, making sure you didn't die in that accident..."

The way he said it made Skeppy feel bad. "No, no, I won't blame you... I blame myself."

"Skeppy, it's not your fault either."

"It is. I'm the one who causes these fights with Bad."

"No! It's the fates' fault."

"Fate? Is that what came between us? Or did we do this on our own?" Skeppy felt like it was his own anxiety, worrying about fate, that had pushed him to act this way. The tattoos seemed to have no effect aside from the effect on his mind.

"You may or may not be right about that, but it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. The fates messed up the tattoos, not you."

"It's my own mind that drives me down this spiral of doubt, not the tattoo itself."

Angel stopped arguing, but instead continued walking along with him in silence.

Word Count: 1022 words