LOVE LOCKDOWN (dnf + karlnap)

7: Meant To Be Yours, chapter three

FEBRUARY

February arrived, and once again Karl found himself running around the school with a basket. Only this time it was stocked with vibrantly red roses, not candy canes.

The day had gone smoothly so far. There wasn't the same amount of excited chatter or gossiping whispers. Instead, there were more tense silences and nervous glances. Valentine's day was different from Christmas; because while you would send your friends a candy cane, most people wouldn't send their friend's roses. So... if you got a rose that meant you were special.

Or at least that's how most people at their school saw it.

Karl didn't. He sent his friends both roses and candy canes, simply because he knew that would make them happy. The way George smiled slyly as he accepted the rose from a secret admirer that they both knew was Karl. The way Niki stood up, hugged him and whispered a quiet 'thank you' into his ear. It made Karl's day.

He was, through and through, a giver and a people pleaser. It was like his main goal in life was just to make other people happy. And perhaps sometimes it went a little too far.

Just like Karl had told Dream he would, he got Nick a rose. He wanted to give it to him when Nick was alone, just so they could talk for a while. But the day was nearing its end and Karl hadn't found an opportunity yet. So, when he spotted Nick standing by his locker talking to Dream and Quackity, he steeled himself and walked over.

"Hello," Karl said, smiling a little. "I have a rose for you, Nick."

"Oh?" Quackity said, smirking. Karl had given him three roses earlier that day.

"How nice," Dream hummed. Karl had given him 22.

Nick turned to Karl with a small frown. "You sure it's for me?"

Karl nodded, picking one out of his basket and handing it over. "Nick Lawson, yeah?"

"Yeah..." Nick replied quietly, looking at the rose now in his hand.

"There's no note," Alex pointed out.

Next to him, Dream shrugged. "Perhaps it got lost. Right, Karl?"

"Uh, yeah," Karl replied, suddenly nervous. "Okay. Well. Happy Valentine's Day! See you later!"

He turned around, ready to flee the scene. If Nick somehow found out what Karl was doing... God, Karl would feel like a piece of shit and Nick's confidence would probably be ruined.

"Jacobs- Karl. Wait a second," Nick said, following Karl down the hallway. "Can I- Wait, please?"

How could Karl say no?

He stopped and turned to Nick who just stood there, a forlorn expression on his face and the rose tightly clutched in one hand. Absentmindedly, Karl wondered in someone had snapped the thorns off the roses.

"Did... Dream make you give me a rose? Is Dream the one who sent it? And the candy cane?" Nick asked, voice quiet.

"W-what? No!" Karl said quickly. At least that was true.

"Then who sent it? 'Cause I know there's not a single girl in this school who wants me."

Karl laughed breathlessly. "I find that very hard to believe."

Nick frowned at him. "Why?"

"Well- You. Um. I mean, you're a football player, right? Girls like that!"

The other boy scoffed, averting his gaze. "Yeah. That's fun for twenty minutes until they've taken a picture in my letterman for their fucking Snapchat story."