Possible tw: mentions of alcohol
Karl's pov this time :)
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For the past week I followed the same pattern: wake up, write, visit the band and smoke weed with them, work and drink until my knees ceased and my steps felt light.
I made sure to drink the right amount so i was still kind of lucid but not enough to think;
every day i kept myself busy with each task i could think of, obsessively occupying all the space in my mind, from walking around the apartment and naming each object i saw to scrubbing the bathroom's tiles untill my hands hurt and nails bled.
I didn't want to think about him, i couldn't. I was aware that the moment the first two letters of his name started lining up in my mind it would have been the last one without the void of his absence constantly harrassing me everywhere,
so i just stopped thinking about it.
When the topic came up during conversations i would diverge from it or make sure they knew i wasn't gonna partake in the discussion;
William once told us about an evening where, as he was writing a letter to his brother Thomas, he accidentally spelled the wrong address and sent it to another house.
After a few weeks he received a response from a girl which i recall with the name of Violet or some other color, who notified him of the error yet still answered every question the first letter asked to his brother, sparking an immediate interest in Will and quickly turning her into a mysterious and romantic infatuation.
When he invited us to share a story like his, he received a handsign by Callahan that indicated the number zero, my blank stare and a half-assed story about Charlie falling in love with this blonde girl with thorny lips he made love with and later found out to be a scarecrow. He admitted he drank excessively that evening.
Sometimes, during concerts, I would receive winky smiles and long-eyed glances by young women with luxurious furs around their naked shoulders and slim waists, which i kindly rejected as they approached me between a drink and the other.
"Why are you refusing all these beautiful women?" Will asked me, watching a blonde girl leave the seat next to mine as he leaned onto the table to see me across a few people between us. His voice was slightly raised so i could hear him through the chatter and music.
I simply shrugged, trying to make up an excuse in my mind.
"I'm not looking for distractions." I responded before thanking the barista, a ginger i recognized from his white strand of hair popping out of his pale forehead, for handing me a drink.
William looked at me blankly as he sipped on his rum and decided to get up and sit where the youthful 'distraction', as i defined her, was just a minute before.
"You're young." He started, raising his eyebrows and hinting a smile in the hope i would catch his message.
"You're only a few years older than me." I replied in plastic ingenuity, already cutting off any idea he could have proposed.
"And you really don't want to feel the breeze of falling in love? Of...of..." He started with shiny eyes, tripping over his words saturate with emotions and excitement. "...of falling asleep in the hope of seeing her in your dreams?"
I reached for my glass in a swift, nervous instinct, and taking a quick shot i swirled the sweet pain on my tongue to distract the scorching one pulsing in my wrists and temples and aching in my heart.
I gulped, exhaling a cold breath with humid lips.
"Nope." I mumbled, pressing my tongue against the palate on the 'n' and trapping it between a thin line with the 'p'.
He opened his mouth to respond, but Mr. Quackity interrupted him, approaching us quietly.
"Karl. Come with me please." He called me then, his words striking the conversation like a thunder.
William chuckled as he noticed my slight jump from the seat.
I mumbled a yes and immediately got up, pinning a few bucks on the table and following him as he silently left the room.
He led me outside the building, where he simply opened his car and got in.
I hesitantly entered the vehicle, quite confused and with a slight feeling of anguish mixing with the booze in my stomach.
I didn't dare open my mouth, but i kept watching outside the window to catch anything that would hint us where we were going.
A few minutes later we arrived at a pretty big and expensive-looking mansion he parked the car nearby.
"Is this your house?" I spoke quietly as i opened the door.
I got out and turned to him, observing his features against the dark sky and the gentle moonlight shining on them.
He scanned the building, studying it with gleams of pride in his soft eyes.
A few seconds later he turned to me and nodded, hinting a smile.
"Please, follow me." He mumbled, locking the car and slipping towards a big gate he opened and left agape.
Once again i found myself following him without any explanation.
I walked in and closed the gate behind me, but as i turned around to meet his figure the empty building was facing me, his past presence only signaled by the opened front door.
I jogged up to the entrance, shyly peeking from behind it.
It was an exquisite house, luxurious and tidy in its wealth.
The walls were mostly black or with exposed bricks, and the red-ish glass lights drooped like melting candles from the ceiling, lighting the space up perfectly and giving it a warm ambiance.
I entered the house, carefully wiping my feet on the doormat and closing the door.
The walls were decorated by countless clocks of varying materials and shapes, obsessively set one near the other and rarely missing on any surface.
I approached the only one that had still hands, and against the light i could spot an incision that read "El rapids" In a big shaky handwriting that looked like a child's.
On another wall, the biggest ticking clock in the middle had a cracked glass and was framed by a round plate that had "Las nevadas" written in a tidy cursive, and in all caps "Legacy" added next to it.
They all ticked together like an obnoxious metronome, measuring each breath i took and setting a feeling of anguish deep in my stomach, to the point i felt like running away from that space.
But again, something illogically brought me to start walking through that shady hall as my eyes carefully scanned each shelf, some filled with golden cutlery, plates and cups; a few filled with expensive old wines and booze; others with small dainty decorations like eggs made out of different rocks, of which i particularly recall a green one with black dots, a snowy fair one with a brown spot at the top and white one broken in half and held together by a red ribbon. The last one was set on a small red cushion with a golden embroidery that read the name 'Tilin'. All of them, around ten in total, were carefully put in a beautiful silver jewelcase that depicted a dragon in attack, jealously holding the eggs in its shiny body.
"Pretty, aren't they?" He spoke from the living room to my left.
I slightly jumped, then turned around to face him and quietly nodded.
He was pouring some liquor in a glass on a fancy oak table, while the flames behind him crackled in the fireplace.
"How did the white one break?" I asked.
His slight smile turned rigid, and i could see a shadow of annoyance cover his eyes.
"Charlie dropped it." He responded dry.
He then sat down, and after a few seconds he invited me to come to him.
I timidly sat on the red chair next to his, holding the cold glass in both my hands.
"I'm sorry if i act so misterious, but I want to make sure i can trust you if you wanna work with me." He started, poking me with a look as i tried to ignore it and lose my eyes in the folds of my clothes.
"I really liked your work this week, Karl." He said. I finally looked up and smiled, noticing his serene gaze.
"Please, tell me about yourself. Where do you come from? Do you have a girlfriend? A Wife?"
I bit my lip. "I'm from florida." I simply responded.
His eyes squirmed in mine like electric eels, trying to uncover the sheets i hid my head under.
"You like clocks?" I abruptly asked, breaking the uncomfortable layer of silence that fell on us for a few seconds.
"I hate them." He responded, sipping on his glass.
I furrowed my brows and tilted my head to the side slightly. "How come you have so many on your walls then?"
He smiled a weird grin. "I need to keep track."
What?
His words were vague, but each time his tongue clicked against his fair teeth my whole body shivered with curiosity, nourishing on each sound he pronounced, yearning to know more.
What the hell did that mean?
Why did he have to be so secretive, and why did it attract me so much?
I observed the golden watch he held on his wrist, the expensive suit he wore so elegantly and the luxurious furniture around the room.
"Can i ask you something?" I slowly said, my words clinging into his eyes with each breath.
He nodded, taking another sip. After finishing his drink, he grabbed the bottle and started pouring more alcohol in the glass.
"You look so young yet so... experienced." I paused, watching as he turned around and proudly smiled.
"It's like you already know everything about life. And everything here is so opulent and mesmerizing, I truly admire you. " I took a small sip as i felt my face flush with embarassment. I didn't know why, but it felt so intimate, especially since the small acknowledgment of my presence from his part.
"How did you do it? You amaze me." I asked, almost whispering the last part. I felt like a child complimenting his kindergarten crush.
He was now widely grinning, and his eyes shone with pride and joy.
I was amazed how fast his expressions could change and how his austere appearance could melt with just a few kind words.
"I wasn't always like this." He started, leaning back on his armchair and crossing his legs.
"I come from a poor mexican family, but i started working when i was twelve and never stopped. I don't give up easily."
He responded, drinking and observing me with his deep eyes.
He opened his mouth to speak again but he got interrupted by a knock on the door.
He excused himself, quickly getting up and walking into the hallway.
I quietly sipped on my booze and observed the room.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Mr Quackity scoffed. I could barely spot a tall, robust man in front of him.
"Didn't you miss me, mi amor?"
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1876 words.
Ok so
I kind of hate this chapter, but i wanted to add some quackity backstory + this new character (Your guesses of who he might be in the comments!!)
As you may have noticed, my characters have various traits and stories related to the actual dsmp lore, but they don't respect the chronological order and can be slightly changed.
I hope you enjoyed this even if it's a short chapter, next one is gonna be a bit heavy :>.
Love you byebye<3