Sapnap woke up at home.

Ow

It was no wonder his head hurt since he was halfway through the window. He was resting upside-down on the ground with his head on the carpet, his butt against the wall and his sneakers still dangling outside.

Ow

He groaned and pulled his legs inside, then just curled up on the floor and tried to go back to sleep.

At least he got in this time and didn't wake up in the tree.

Sapnap's room was on the second floor so whenever he was sneaking back to his house he had to climb a specific tree in his backyard and make a small jump to his window. Not dangerous at all for a blackout drunk, but he hadn't fallen so far.

He usually got to his bed but sometimes he woke up in the branches.

OW

Sapnap was a hard partier.

Owwwww the sun hurtssss ehhhhhhhhh-

He didn't have energy to close the window at the moment but he heaved himself up and flopped on his bed, groaning.

It was really bright in his room for Sapnap so he buried his face in a pillow. After a few minutes his dry mouth made him wearily open an eye for a glass of water.

None, there was usually one by his bed but he must've forgotten yesterday.

Sink then.

Sapnap wasn't sleeping anyway so he forced himself up to go drink from the faucet. He splashed his face as well and then looked in the mirror, trying to pull something out of the black hole that was his memory.

Party... drinking... I remember everything till Flip Cup but after that it gets kinda blurry. Did I jump off a balcony? Yeah, probably, I've done that before... I ate some cheese puffs... I went under a bed? I remember seeing shoes...

There was something else but it slipped away. The next thing was waking up. Actually...

He walked back into his bedroom and looked at the clock. 2pm.

He frowned.

The water helped a little but he really needed aspirin or something. Coffee would be nice but he would have to go downstairs for that and plus it made his hangovers worse.

He picked his phone up off the floor and flopped back on his bed.

168 messages, 3 missed calls

The texts were mostly from group chats and he ignored them for now, there was one call from Wilbur and two from Clay.

That's weird. Clay never calls me.

He started to read through the messages from Wilbur:

~~~

hey Sapynapy

ur probably still hungover

make it to the bed this time?

I didn't see u for like the last two hours of the party

did u hear about what happened

I bet ur asleep

it's noon dude

~~~

Then the picture of Wilbur smiling with his yellow beanie filled up the screen as he called Sapnap and his phone played "Highway to Hell", breaking his ears.

He slid the button across and answered tiredly, "hello?"

"There he his, our hardcore party-man! How's the hangover?"

"Can you talk quieter please? You're yelling."

"That's just your ears buddy, don't worry, it was a bad morning for me too. You must have just gotten up." His voice sounded kind of weird, Sapnap couldn't figure out why at the moment.

"Yeah I did..."

"2 in the afternoon! Is that a new record?" There was a kind of fake-cheeriness in his voice.

"No, remember the Magnamera's? I was passed out for like a whole day."

"Oh yeah," Wilbur laughed, "you might have a problem."

"Nah that was because I pulled two all-nighters before that for exams."

"Yeah, I did not do well on those."

"Guess how I did."

"I imagine not very well either," Sapnap could hear Wilbur's smile.

"Not at all," Sapnap answered.

There was a brief pause. Sapnap wondered about the texts and Wilbur's voice. The pause stretched out.

He decided to just ask, "Are you ok?"

"What, yeah, I'm fine, of course I'm fine."

You don't sound fine.

You sound like you've been crying.

"You sure?"

Wilbur sighed.

"A lot happened last night. I had a fight with Techno."

"Oh."

"Yeah...

...I don't think we're friends anymore."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah."

Sapnap didn't know what to say.

"Are you ok?" He's obviously not ok.

Wilbur was quiet for a while.

Eventually he said, "It's not important, I'd rather talk about something else."

"Ok."

"Did you hear what happened with George and Clay?"

Sapnap's heart caught in his chest. Oh no-

He swallowed, "No, what?"

"Well George got really drunk and said he was in love with Clay but Clay rejected him-"

"HE DID WHAT?! I WILL BEAT HIS ASS-"

"Wait wait wait- you knew George liked him?"

Sapnap was silent. He wasn't supposed to give away George's secret but apparently George did it himself.

Wilbur took his silence as a 'yes'.

"Well apparently he said he was in love with him and then just passed out, I didn't hear anything else"

"Wait a second, you just heard all this? Were you there for it or not?"

"Um, no, no I was there earlier but when they started playing Truth or Dare I left for a while because I hate that game and then the place like blew up when he fainted so I came back."

"Wait who else knows?"

"The whole school knows. He said it in front of everyone."

Jesus Christ George why.

"What did Clay say exactly?"

"I don't know exactly but he definitely doesn't like him back. I dunno if he's even gay."

"He's never had a girlfriend."

Wilbur scoffed. "Well there aren't many girls."

"Yeah but still, they swoon over him. He could have any one he wanted."

Sapnap was more than a little jealous of this fact.

"Are you trying to make a case for him being gay?"

"No- I don't know- but wait what about George, like what happened next?"

"Clay took him upstairs, I don't know anything else."

"Why would he take him upstairs if he just rejected him?"

"I don't know, maybe he felt guilty."

"Hold on- he's calling me-"

"Clay is?"

"Yeah- Imma hang up-"

"Wait tell me what he says-"

"K"

Sapnap hung up on Wilbur and answered Clay.

"What the hell man?!"

"Nick, listen- wait what?"

"I can't believe you just dumped George like that in front of everyone! What the hell kind of person does that?!"

Clay paused.

"What are you talking about?"

He sounded entirely confused.

Is he lying?

Now Sapnap was confused.

"At the party. He said he liked you and you rejected him."

"What- no I didn't I- I just- I didn't even say anything-" He sounded genuinely upset. "Who told you that?"

"That's what everyone thinks! I don't know-"

Clay went silent.

Sapnap couldn't see him but the next thing he said sounded like he was choking back tears.

"Is- is that what George thinks?"

"You don't know what he thinks?"

"No I-" Clay started sobbing, "I never got to talk to him- he didn't wake up and then- he wasn't there and Skeppy said his friends left with him but I didn't see them and-"

The rest was too jumbled for him to understand.

"Whoa ok, take a deep breath, just breathe for a second," Sapnap said.

My brain can't do this in the morning, wait- fuck it's not the morning. Just fuck this situation in general.

He listened to Clay cry on the other end and try to pull himself together.

"What about this morning?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you-" Clay let out a short half-breath- "I called him and texted him and tried to talk to him-"

"Maybe he doesn't want to talk to you, I can call him-"

"But Nick- I waited and waited for hours and he didn't answer and I was worried so I went to his house and his mom said he wasn't there and he never came home."

That doesn't sound like him.

"Maybe he just wandered around drunk, sometimes I don't come home after a party for like the whole night. Maybe he stayed with someone else," Sapnap offered.

"But he doesn't have any friends besides... well one time he was having lunch with those two guys... maybe..."

"He probably just stayed with someone so his parents didn't see him drunk and then they're taking him home later. I bet he forgot what happened or something and you can drop by tomorrow, he'll be there."

"You think?" Clay still sounded really sad and disbelieving.

"Yeah, totally. Did you worry his mom?"

"I mean, I wasn't trying to-"

"Rookie mistake dude, never tell the parents the details."

"I didn't tell her what happened it was probably just because I came in and I was worried and she was suspicious about me but then I just left 'cause I didn't know what to say..."

"Oh damn, yeah I bet she's worried now. I hope George has a good lie ready for when he gets back."

"You're sure he's fine?" Clay sounded doubtful.

"Yeah yeah. Just chill for today and I'll call him and you can see him tomorrow and talk it out. Imma go get lunch but I'll see you at school." He hung up.

(1.5k words)