Your Telephone Calls are my Favorite Place (Karlnap)

Two

"If I did that, then how else would I get the chance to remember the first time you kissed me?" Karl said with a smile forming and blood rushing to his cheeks. Now he was thankful the face cams were off, this way Sapnap wouldn't see Karl's true hidden agenda.

Sapnap's infectious laughter filled their telephone call instantly. 

"Dude... stop.. I'm crying! I'm literally crying!" Sapnap barely managed to get out between laughing fits. "You're too much Karl, ha, I swear you're never going to let me live that one down, are you?"

Truthfully, Karl wasn't ever going to let him live it down. It was the moment Karl realized his feelings for Sapnap, not that he was ready to tell him that. Not now, maybe not ever. Karl was realizing it was harder than ever to keep his feelings at bay when so much of their audience thrives off of their flirting moments. Secretly, Karl did too. Often times, Karl would go through Twitter and Tiktok to see fanart of 'Karlnap'. 

"I swear, if you're going to hold every little dare over me, I won't be a guest in any more Mr. Beast videos with you!" Sapnap said, again with a smile evident on his face. Similar to before, Karl understood this was also just an empty threat and brushed it off, knowing the topic would resurface many more times. 

Several months ago, when Sapnap was visiting Karl in North Carolina, Mr. Beast invited him to be a guest in a challenge video. It seemed like the courteous thing to do considering Karl was Sapnap's host and he would be in the studio all day with the team. In this episode of extreme truth or dare, Chris dared Sapnap to kiss Karl on the mouth. Sapnap adamantly refused until Mr. Beast put a $500 price tag on the dare. Once Sapnap heard how much he could earn, he promptly turned towards Karl. Truthfully, Karl was completely zoned out throughout this entire conversation. He hadn't realized they started filming, so he still had his headphones on listening to music. By the time he zoned back into reality, Sapnap was pulling him in by the collar of his shirt. In an instant, their lips met and all Karl could hear was cheering from the other team members and his Spotify playing Tongue Tied by Grouplove. By the time Karl processed what was happening, he only had a moment to kiss him back before Sapnap pulled away, joining the others in their cheering. Mr. Beast handed Sapnap the $500 and the next dare had begun. Karl sat in the background, speechless, heart racing, and cheeks flushed. That kiss changed something in him forever. 

"Karl? Helloooo?" Sapnap said, elongating his vowels.

Karl was lost in thought, reminiscing about the memory of their kiss.

"Oh, uh, sorry. Zoned out for a sec there. Did you find a ticket?" Karl asked, praying that Sapnap wouldn't ask what he was thinking about.

"Man, you've been out in space for a minute, huh?" Sapnap laughed lightly. "Not only did I find the ticket but I bought it for you. Least I can do to thank you for coming with us so short notice. Check your email for the details!" 

"You didn't have to, really! Let me venmo you for it!" Karl whined. It's obvious that Karl's love language is physical touch. Receiving gifts? Not so much.

"Nope. No way. You'll just have to make it up to me with buying me lots of dinners," Sapnap laughed. 

"Alright, bet!" Karl returned the laugh and the two fell back into silence. This time the silence wasn't awkward, just comfortable silence between two friends. 

As if on cue, Karl received a message in the Mr. Beast groupchat.

Jimmy: Hey all. How would it work for everyone to film the Halloween video this week instead of in two weeks? Some family stuff just came up for the week we were planning on filming originally.

Karl: This week actually works so much better for me too! 

Chris: You mean I can actually spend Halloween with my kid? Of course I'm in 

Chandler: Only if you pay me $100 rn

As messages from other team members continued to flood in, Karl was so relieved to know that that was one less obligation he had to bail on. Sapnap heard the sigh of relief from Karl, figuring he was probably just relieved he had a flight.

Karl felt as though this was all somehow a sign from the universe, urging him and Sapnap to be together. He decided he wanted to press his luck just a bit further.

"Nick?" Karl spoke softly. He rarely called Sapnap by his first name, Nick, specifically saving it for moments he wanted to remember. 

"Yeah?" Sapnap spoke with evident confusion in his tone.

"Your telephone calls are my favorite place." Karl continued softly, anxiously waiting to hear his best friend's reaction.

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(811 words) Chapter two complete!