Remember//(Karlnap)

KARL

Nick and the boy stared at each other for a long moment, both debating what to do and refusing to be the first one to say something. Finally, the boy lifted his hands out in front of him as he backed away from the door and cowered against the wall.

"Please," he mumbled, "don't hurt me." His voice was quivering, similar to the rest of his body.

His hands were shaky as he held them out in front of him, whether in defense or to show he wasn't a threat, Nick didn't know. Though he already could tell he was no threat. He was skinny, a few inches shorter than the ravenette, and had hardly any muscle on his body. But, his hands were veiny, his nails were painted (weird) and he had several rings on his fingers.

Nick found that odd, being that the only jewelry people wore was their wedding rings, and they were never flashy. They only wore them on the ring finger of their left hand and they were simple, this boy seemed to have one on every finger but that one, and they were big and blingy. He also had a necklace, a silver chain. Nick had never seen anything of the sort, only women wore necklaces and they were usually tiny jewels and gems.

He began looking at the rest of his body, suddenly his curiosity was sparked for this strange boy. His clothing was slightly different, he wore a baggy purple collared shirt, which wouldn't have been too out of the ordinary if not for the fact that he had several of the buttons undone, exposing part of his chest and stomach. Half of said shirt was tucked into his tight, ripped black jeans. Why this boy had jeans that were ripped, Nick had no idea. Could he not buy more? Finally, he wore some different looking boots. They were white, going to about ankle height with a slightly raised sole. They didn't look very comfortable.

Lastly, he looked to the boy's face. He had long, wavy brown hair that got in his eyes, along with a slight scruff, making it look like he hadn't got the chance to shave in a while. He had a slightly fuller bottom lip than the top, and a reasonably sized nose. His eyebrows were bushy but in a good way, and they complimented his eyes nicely. His eyes were quite pretty, a dull bluish color, almost gray. Nick found a familiar aspect to them, but he couldn't place his finger on why. They were screaming at Nick, innocence and fear pooling in the depths of the irises. Looking at those eyes was all it took for Nick to make his decision.

He squatted ever so slightly, holding his hands out in front of him similar to how the boy was standing now, and took a hesitant step forward. The boy retreated further into the wall, if that was possible, and Nick took a deep breath.

"I'm Nick, I'm not gonna hurt you, but I need you to help me if I'm gonna help you," Nick whispered softly, trying to sound as genuine as he could. The boy took this into consideration and relaxed marginally.

"I-I'm Karl," he breathed back, lowering his hands to his side. He looked defeated and exhausted.

"Okay Karl, can you please-"

Another message sounded through the house, just as loud as it had been outside. This time, the message was, Attention again, citizens. Sorry for the false alarm, but we still have not caught this person, and we would like to ask you something different now. If everyone would please exit their homes and allow us to do a search and make sure the target in question didn't manage to slip in, we would very much appreciate it. That'll be all, thank you.

Something about the tone, though it was an automated message like the first, made it seem like they weren't offering. He looked back to Karl who'd begun breathing excessively.

"Hey, hey," Nick said. "Look I'm gonna get you out of this, follow me."

He walked away, knowing that Karl was trailing behind, and went into the kitchen. He grabbed a knife from the knife block, ignoring the sound of Karl's breath catching, and knelt down. He stuck the knife into the crack between the floorboards, pulling back so one of them popped out of place. After he had that one out and he had easy access to the others, he pulled out three more.

"Okay, get down there," Nick said, looking back at Karl.

"You've gotta be joking," Karl said, looking even more terrified.

"I'm afraid not, now go." Karl didn't move a muscle and Nick sighed. "Listen, I know you have absolutely no reason to trust me, but I'm your only chance at getting out of this. I promise, you won't regret trusting me." Karl and him stared into each other's eyes before Karl gave a stiff nod and began to crawl underneath the floorboards.

Once he was far enough under, Nick set the boards back in place, praying that they wouldn't notice they were a little loose, and slid the knife back into its place before venturing outside. His neighbors all stood on the side of the street, those who were friends talking anxiously and glancing around like they would be attacked at any minute. Nick desperately wished Clay were there, he missed the company and he was freaking out.

"Hey, do you have any idea what's going on?" the black haired boy asked one of his neighbors who he believed was named Cara.

"Nope, I'm just as clueless as you," she answered, scratching her head through her thick, curly hair.

"Darn, lemme know if you hear anything?" Nick asked, waiting for her nod before wandering back towards his house. He sat on the porch steps, knee bouncing due to nerves. He could see the people searching through houses a few doors down and he prayed that they wouldn't find Karl.

They finally got to his house, and he let them in, though he wanted so badly not to. But why? He trusted these people, and they claimed Karl was dangerous, but he still helped him. Not just that, he was harboring him, and he didn't tell the guards what he knew. And he wasn't gonna. For whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell them Karl's whereabouts, and he decided he didn't care enough to ask why. He lived his life by strict rules, he didn't even go against it for Clay, his best friend, so this must be important.

He let out his breath, which he hadn't realized he'd been holding, when they came out of his house without Karl. He wanted to run in then and get him out of that dark hidey hole, but he couldn't yet. It took about another hour, but then he heard the voice again, and his blood ran cold at the words. Great news, townspeople! We have caught this person, and have them in custody now! Thanks so much for all the patience, you may now reenter your homes and go about your business.

Had Karl left without him knowing? Did they catch him? Nick ran inside, ignoring the judgemental stares of his neighbors, and grabbed the knife, using it to pry back the floorboard once more. When he had enough off, he ducked his head in, searching the dark with squinted eyes for the brunet before he spotted him leaning against the inner wall of the house.

"Karl! It's okay now, you can come out," Nick whispered, not wanting to scare him again. Karl's head shot up at his words but still looked hesitant and frightened, so Nick gave him his hand. Karl took it and Nick helped him out of the hole.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"Sure. But now, I need you to do something for me."

-

Word count: 1,296

A/N: i am currently balling my eyes out because my smart ass thought it would be a good idea to read a sad fic at 8 am. 'it will feel nice' i said 'everyone likes to cry sometimes.' i really shouldn't have listened. anyways, here's to the birth of some karlnap!