Sweet-tooth ~{Karlnap romance AU}~

Lies and Licorice

-

Rushing to meet up for lunch, Karl chose his outfit. He picked some darker brown khakis, with a black turtle neck and a red short-sleeve button-up on top, both tucked in. He slipped on his shoes and grabbed his unfinished monster and rushed downstairs to meet his friends who were also dressed and ready to go. Nick was driving, so he flipped the keys in his hands and lead them out to his car. They all climbed into the car and George put on a random playlist. They sang along with the few songs that they knew and vibed with the rest until the song from the first dream played.

I don't want to see the world, on, fire,

I just want to start, a flame in your heart.

In my heart, I have but one, desire,

The rest of the car bobbed their heads and hummed along to the song but Karl sat almost frozen the front passenger seat. He stared ahead of himself at the road blankly as the song continued to play.

And, that one is you,

No other will do.

I've lost all ambition,

All wordly acclaim,

Karl began to think about Nick's golden-brown eyes, and how they shown into his own. He dreamt of those eyes staring at him, and only him, Nick's attention perfectly captivated.

I just want to be the one you love,

That line in the song made his thoughts freeze. He didn't love Nick, and he didn't want Nick to love him. That, he felt sure of. He repeated that to himself, ignoring the obvious when they finally parked at the restaurant. Karl was completely and entirely zoned out. He hardly remembered when they walked to the table, what he ordered, or even when it arrived, but he ate his food anyway.

He noticed Nick slightly watching him concerned while the rest of the group talked.

"What?" he asked laughing

"You're on another planet dude," he responded, giving him a slight punch. He zoned out again and didn't realize when Jimmy had shown up. He was sitting at the table with them and placed his own order, but Karl couldn't actually greet him for a few minutes as he grounded himself. Quackity and Jimmy we're getting along really well, that was one thing he did remember before they started to go home.

The whole trip was a complete blur to him. All he knew when he got home was that he had some leftovers, and Jimmy was finally there. He finally started to become grounded when Jimmy started to record a video with them. It was a gaming video, so they just had a small competition in Minecraft together. He enjoyed running around and being loud again.

He ended up losing in second place again like he usually does and Jimmy ended his recording. Because they were playing from different laptops and taking turns on Karl's PC, they collected in the living room again after everyone was finished. They agreed on another show to turn on after ordering food, and Nick and Karl got close on the couch. Karl pretended not to notice every time Nick pulled him slightly closer and tried to be subtle each time he shifted his weight further onto the larger boy.

Luckily he didn't fall asleep again, but they did end up completely cuddling comfortably, Nick's arms and legs holding tightly onto Karl. It was a relaxing evening for everyone. They enjoyed being in each other's company without the pressure of constantly being funny, so they just enjoyed the presence of everyone for a bit. However, eventually, people split up and made their way to their respective rooms once again.

-

Karl found himself awake again. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't sleep. He simply only sat there, soaking in the spring morning air. But this time, he was thinking about something different. He was thinking about Valentine's day. It was the coming up, the day after tomorrow. He had somewhat of a plan, he wanted to take everyone on a group picnic, which he was excited about, but he didn't want to have to deal with Dream and George being lovey-dovey. He was plenty jealous of them being able to find each other so easily.

He wanted to find someone like that. He wanted him to find him like that. No, he shook his head and dropped the thought. He didn't have feelings for Nick, and Nick didn't have any for him. Just like the previous night, he tip-toed downstairs and took another piece of cake, being extra quiet this time, as to not wake Jimmy. He sat on the counter again trying to relax when he once again saw Nick in the hall.

He laughed that they had the same thought, and Karl smiled at him, inviting him over. Nick grabbed his own slice and joined the older boy on the counter to enjoy in silence. They both took a pause from eating every once and a while to stare for a moment and eventually got caught in each other's eyes. They stared back and forth, admiring the adoration they saw for each other hidden within.

Karl cleared his throat and looked down at his cake again. Nick had finished his, so he walked back over to the sink to rinse the plate, and turned around to face Karl, catching his eyes again. Karl watched as the magic brown orbs bounced as they stared at him, barely illuminated by the dim kitchen light. He set his plate to the side and Nick took that as an invitation to get closer. He slowly pushed his way up to Karl, looking up at Karl as he sat above with pure adoration. He paused for a second staring some more before continuing, and he reached his hand up to cup Karl's jaw. As he did, Karl cleared his throat.

"Nick," Hearing his name he paused, starting to panic, knowing he overstepped.

"Nick I- I don't like you like that," he said softly, refusing to let himself succumb, still filled with fear from his dream.

"Like what?" He asked pulling back.

"Like this!" he snapped, referring to how Nick was standing between his thighs, ready to kiss him at any moment.

"I -I'm sorry, I- just can't do that to you," Karl stuttered.

"Do what to me Karl," Nick asked flatly, stepping away from him.

"I don't want to lead you on, I- I can't stop thinking about you, but I don't have feelings, I just feel lonely, and I don't want to use you to fix that," He admitted. Nick looked away embarrassed.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come onto you like that. Uh- g'night I guess," He apologized softly and turned to go back upstairs before Karl could stop him. All Karl could do was sigh, disappointed in himself for turning him down. He felt guilty for how he rejected him, and light tears filled his eyes, hoping to wash away his shame. He cried silently on the counter for a few more minutes before making his way upstairs to sob in his bedroom.

-

Nick felt like a complete fool as he went back to hide in the room he was staying in. As he made his way over to the mattress, he accidentally stirred Alex.

"Bro, why are you up?" he asked drowsily.

"Welp, I found out how Karl feels," He sighed to him. Alex sleepily raised an eyebrow at his to ask for more details, and Nick just shook his head in response, laying back in the bed.

Edited
1273 Words

A/N

Prepare for angst