𝕊𝕦𝕘𝕒𝕣 ℍ𝕚𝕘𝕙 • 𝕂𝕒𝕣𝕝ℕ𝕒𝕡

Chapter 21: Jolly Ranchers + Jealousy

The next day was interesting. Karl had gotten scolded by his mother for skipping yesterday when Nick finally brought him home at one in the morning, (their linked hands and lingering touch didn't go unnoticed by the woman). He was ushered upstairs to bed so he could actually go to school tomorrow. Sleeping without Nick next to him was strange but he managed to finally drift off knowing he would get to see his now boyfriend tomorrow at school.

The alarm clock tore through the peaceful silence of Karl's bedroom and for once, the noise was welcomed. Karl stepped out of bed, no asking for five more minutes and no loud groaning. He waltzed to his mini fridge and cracked open a can of Monster like normal. He grabbed a bright red button up and layered a vibrant blue sweater on top of it. He grabbed a pair of deep red jeans and pulled his checkered vans onto his feet. He stared in the mirror and smiled, his new permanent hand puppet saying good morning to him.

He skipped to the bathroom and dragged his hair brush through his hair a bit. He applied a generous amount of toothpaste to his toothbrush and brushed his teeth before taking the stairs two at a time down to the kitchen. He almost tripped as he slid against the vinyl floors.

"Morning Karl," Sapnap sat comfortably at the kitchen table, wavy black hair pulled back in its usual bandana.

"M-Morning Nick," Karl's voice cracked slightly, "I wasn't expecting to see you yet." Karl shuffled awkwardly as he noticed his parents giggling to themselves from the stove.

"I didn't want to wait until school to see you," Sapnap stood up and walked over to Karl, wrapping his arms around him and spinning them slightly.

A small giggle escaped Karl's lips as he hugged his boyfriend back. When they stopped spinning Karl looked at his parents, arms still linked around Nick.

"It is obvious, right?" He asked as Nick pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek pulling another giggle from Karl's lips.

"Oh we've known since Sunday even if it wasn't official," Karl's mom said as she sipped her coffee. "Now come one you have school, shoo shoo out you go!"

The two boys waved and hand in hand left the house to Nicks truck. The raven hair boy opened the passenger door for his boyfriend. The truck hummed to life as Nick sat down in his seat, right hand snaking to find Karl's again. The radio hummed quietly as the boys drove down the dim lit street to the school.

"Oh I grabbed these for you," Nick grabbed a bag of caramel m&m's from the back and tossed them to Karl at the red light.

"Oh thank you!" Karl licked his lips at the vivid blue packaging before stuffing it in his sweets pocket with the rest of his stash in his bag.

They pulled into the school parking lot and sat in the car for a moment as Karl finished his first can of monster for the day. "So because you're not totally out, do you wanna make P.D.A a no go?"

Nick smiled and squeezed Karl's hand. "Gotta tell people some how and this," his eyes flicked down to their hands, "this seems easier than words." His eyes were so gentle and his smile was pure. Karl could've sworn he fell in love all over again just like the first time he saw him in the candy shop.

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Karl was nervous, the stares from last week were back accompanied by the low drone of whispering. Karl had really thought that walking down the hallways in Nicks hoodie was the most attention he would ever get at school, but apparently holding hands with one of the most popular boys in school can really top that amount of attention. All of the dirty looks seemed dirtier, the judging looks more judgemental. Karl wanted to run to a bathroom and cry. It was getting to be too much for him. He wasn't embarrassed to be seen holding hands with Nick, he didn't even want to let go, but he was scared of what people would do. However he wasn't going to loosen his grip no matter how uncomfortable he was because the large warm hand that was intertwined with his is what was keeping him grounded, was the only thing making hin feel safe. If he let go of Nick the tears might start pouring, the stares might burn him alive and words might drown him in terror.