Still Friends, Not Lovers - Karlity

Chapter 1 - Betrayal

Alex became engulfed in a familiar lavender scent... it was Karl; Alex had been holding back his feelings for years and was finally going to tell him, but before he could say a word, Nick pinned Karl to the wall and kissed him.

The three of them had been having sleepovers quite frequently for the past 4 years. Everything was going well until Nick started to show an interest in Karl about 2 years ago. Of course, Karl had been too blind to notice. Karls back hit the posters of his favourite bands that were scattered across the room.

He acted as if he didn't care, and he tried his best not to stare. But Alex was failing...greatly. Karl and Nick thought Alex was too busy on his phone to pay attention, but they were so wrong. Alex liked Karl a lot. Alex hadn't realized how much he wanted Karl until he felt the extreme sadness and jealousy he was feeling right now. He loved every little thing about Karl. From the little giggles, Karl would have every time they prank called someone during their sleepovers to how passionately he would talk about his favourite bands.

Alex knew he couldn't continue watching the two without them noticing how distraught he was. Alex noticed the tears that were threatening to leave his eyes and quickly left the room. He just hoped neither of them noticed the tears as he headed to the washroom.

Karl's family sat in the living room, watching a movie together, but luckily none of them noticed Alex treading past them. Alex entered the bathroom and locked the door. As soon as he heard the lock clicker, he pressed his back against the door and slid down. He hadn't felt this sad in so long. He repeated the same words over and over. Karl doesn't like you. Karl likes Nick.

He doesn't like you.

"Why doesn't he like me?" Alex whispered to himself. He genuinely thought he had a chance. Alex sadly chuckled at himself.

"Why would he like you," he whispered again. Finally, he couldn't hold his tears back any longer. The bathroom was filled with Alex's quiet sobs and sniffling.

"Alex?" he heard a knock on the door followed by Karl's voice. Alex immediately started to panic. "What if he heard me crying? What if he's worried?" he thought to himself. 

"I'm busy," Alex responded, trying not to sound like he had been crying. "Are you ok?" Karl says, distressed.

"I SAID I'M BUSY!" Alex shouted, trying so hard to prevent his voice from cracking. But, he heard Karl's footsteps getting quieter as he walked away. 

The tears started streaming down Quackity's face. He couldn't stand seeing Karl's face at the time. He stayed in that washroom for about 30 minutes until he finally had the courage to go back to Karl's room.  He washed his face so he didn't look as though he was crying and peeked out the door. After confirming no one was around, he exited the bathroom.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the room was Karl's face lighting up at the sight of him. It was safe to assume Karl was quite worried about Alex, especially considering it was unusual for Alex to act like this. Nick sent him a smirk, which surprised Alex at first. Alex then realized that Nick knows he has a crush on Karl.

"Why were you in the bathroom for so long?" Karl questioned, his head tilting slightly as he spoke. Alex panicked and tried to come up with an answer. Lucky for him, Nick spoke.

"Must have taken a massive shit." Nick's gaze left Alex and focused on the movie playing on Karl's tv. Alex then noticed that the two of them sat on Karl's bed very closely. Too close for Alex's liking. Alex hated how Nick's arm was holding Karl right beside him. And what Alex hated the most was how unbothered Karl was by this. 

Karl stared at Alex with a smile and patted the seat beside him. Without hesitation, Alex sat beside Karl and tried to pay attention to Harry Potter, playing on Karl's tv. Alex was struggling immensely; his eyes stayed on Karl's face. He noticed how the fluorescent lights illuminated Karl's face. Alex also noticed the dark spots on Karl's neck. Alex wanted to kill Nick. Karl's head turned towards Alex, and Alex moved his gaze to the tv as quickly as possible.

"Everything alright?" Karl asked. This also gained Nick's attention, and they both stared at Alex.

"Yep. Everything is fine," this was the quickest answer Alex could think of.

"I'm just a bit tired." Karl hummed in response. They continued to watch for another 30 minutes until Alex's attention was taken away from the movie. A head rested on his right shoulder. Karls head, to be specific. He stared at Karl's face, and Alex's cheeks flushed pink. He also noticed that Nick's hand still rested on Karl's waist, hugging him tightly to his side. He looked up at Nick, who was already staring daggers at him.

"Quit the act, Alex." Nick sneered

"I don't know what you mean, Nick..." Alex responded quickly.

"I know you like Karl," Nick continued.

"But Karl and I are practically dating at this point. So I'd suggest you stop trying." Nick spat at Alex. Alex had never heard Nick talk like this. Nick's words surprisingly hurt him.

"I still don't know what you're talking about." Alex continued to act clueless and trailed his eyes back to the tv, although his attention was still on Nick.

"Oh, come on, now," Nick replied, annoyance visible in his tone. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the night.