(i'm worried) it will always be you

Chapter 5 - Petrichor and old beginnings

Saturday, March 17th 2018.

The groups last full day in Mexico for spring break.

Things had gotten... complicated.

For starters, Sapnap and Cleo had hardly spoken since their arrival. It wasn't official whether or not they were broken up, but that didn't seem to stop her from doing whatever she wanted.

Fortunately, there was a spare bed in the girls room, which Hannah and Sylvee begrudgingly said she could use until she and Sapnap 'worked things out'. Needless to say, when they agreed to let her stay, they didn't think things would stay bad for this long.

They also didn't think she'd be bringing home guests.

For the first time, Sapnap truly couldn't care less about what she did- who she did.

Why would he waste his energy on getting worked up over something as stupid as her pity 'revenge' when he was in Mexico, staying in a beautiful house for free, all his best friends surrounding him, and Karl closer than ever.

Sapnap's walls felt a little less guarded around Karl. He didn't need to be head-in-the-toilet drunk to find himself sitting too close to Karl at the bar. They could whisper jokes that no one else understood, laughing to their hearts' content, without Sapnap feeling the need to hide them away in a repulsive bathroom.

Sapnap had discovered that Karl was even prettier with enough alcohol to lower his inhibitions, but not enough to blur his vision.

While Cleo was miserable and doing anything in her power to get Sapnap's attention, he found himself smitten with the boy who had the prettiest eyes and warmest hands he'd ever known.

"Karl, I already told you I'm not drinking tonight." Sapnap laughed, walking past Karl, who was sprawled across Sapnap's bed.

"But it's our last night, come on! You haven't even gotten that drunk all week. Like, you've only puked twice. That's nothing." Karl tried to reason, but it just made Sapnap laugh a little more.

"Twice is two times too many. Plus, I'm not tryna be hungover on our flight." Sapnap shrugged.

"That's stupid. You're stupid." Karl groaned dramatically. Sapnap gave him a pointed look over his shoulder and Karl rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, you're not stupid." Karl relented.

"Thanks for stating... the... obvious." Sapnap trailed off at the end, watching Karl's attention be pulled to his phone.

There was always a brief pained look on Karl's face when his phone would go off, which was a telltale sign of who was trying to get in touch with him.

Josh.

Sapnap had been cheated on enough times to know the warning signs- suddenly hiding their phone, a shift in mood whenever a new message or call would come through, overcompensating when they redirected their attention back to him- it was like Karl had pulled a page directly out of Cleo's handbook.

What sucked the most about the situation was Karl had started responding.

At first, it was just a furrowed brow and maybe even a scoff under his breath whenever a text would come in. Things had started to change. Karl would actively turn his phone screen away from Sapnap whenever it vibrated, he never left his phone unattended anymore, and worst of all-

This time he smiled.

Karl wasn't cheating on him, so Sapnap knew he had no place to ask questions. If Karl wanted to entertain Josh after everything he put him through, well, Sapnap would just be a hypocrite if he tried to convince Karl otherwise.