OJ bashed on the closet door. “Knife, let us out now! This isn’t funny!”
“Why are you even doing this?” Paper asked, feeling claustrophobic in the cramped closet.
“You know exactly why I’m doing this!” Knife exclaimed, holding a key in his left hand. “You two have been hiding something from each other and it’s been driving everyone crazy! Just get on with it already and I’ll unlock the door.”
“Don’t you think this is a little overkill?” Pickle whispered to Knife.
“All they do is make googly-eyes with each other and be all-around awkward every time they’re in the same room,” Knife whispered back. “Once they confess their feelings to each other, things can be…. normal, I guess. This is for the best.”
OJ continued to slam his fist against the door, but after receiving no response from Knife, he stopped and turned to Paper. “Well… we might be in here for a while.”
“Maybe…” Paper sensitively held his hands in front of himself. “Wh… what do you think Knife meant when he said we were hiding something from each other. Are you keeping a secret from me, OJ?”
OJ froze. “I… no, nothing. It’s not important.”
Paper frowned. “It… could be important to me.” He took a deep breath. “If it makes it easier for you… I’ve been hiding something from you, too.”
OJ gave Paper a questioning look. “You have? … Well, I’ll tell you my secret if you tell me yours.”
Paper stared down at the ground. “Well… we’ve been spending a lot of time together, just the two of us. And I’ve been really enjoying it. I like it when it’s just the two of us.” He paused, then looked up at OJ. “I… I don’t know if you feel the same way, and it’s okay if you don’t, but… I think I see you as more than a friend, OJ. Much more.”
OJ took a deep breath, then smiled. He let out an awkward chuckle before saying, “That… makes things easy for me, then. My secret is actually the same.”
“Wait, really?” Paper asked.
“Yeah.” OJ rubbed the back of his glass. “The reason why I spend so much time with you, Paper is because I like you so much. I like your company. Ever since the end of season 1 of II… I’ve just been wanting to express these feelings, but I couldn’t. I guess that makes me super lame, huh?”
“I’ve been just as bad. I’m… I’m just glad that we figured this out before I dragged this out even longer.” Paper rested himself against OJ’s glass. “Are we boyfriends then?”
OJ smiled and wrapped his arm around the back of Paper. “Yeah… I’d like that.” He closed his eyes and leaned back, pulling Paper back with him. Only a moment later, he heard the door make a soft clicking noise before quickly swinging open.
“Now was that so hard?” Knife asked. “Can we all please be in the same room with both of you without it being weird?”
“You really are a big softie, aren’t you?” Pickle asked.
“Sh-shut up.”
“Can you two just, you know… give us a moment?! I know you’re proud of yourselves, but Paper and I want to be alone.”
Knife rolled his eyes. “I would’ve preferred a thank you, but whatever.”