Back in the Saddle

Patching Things Up

Nick's POV:

I have a boyfriend. And my boyfriend is the cutest human being on planet earth. I don't think I can ever be happier than I am at this moment. When I got home last night after going over to his place, the first thing I did was tell my moms, and they were very happy for me. I then texted Clay, and he was happy for me too.

I didn't want to leave, but Karl said he was terrified that Wilbur would see them kissing and flip out, so he made me leave so he could break the news to everyone. I called him about an hour after getting home to see how it went, and he said overall it went pretty great, aside from the fact that Wilbur was very taken aback that we got together. It took a little bit of persuading, but eventually Karl was able to convince him that our being together is a good thing.

We were on call for three hours last night, just talking about anything that came to mind. We talked about what we think our futures are going to look like, and where we see ourselves in five years. Surprisingly, they're somewhat aligned: living in a decent apartment or small house somewhere up north with a couple dogs and a steady job. Not necessarily the best life imaginable, but a comfortable living arrangement for the time.

I asked him if he ever wants to go back to college, and he said he might, depending on the major/job and how expensive tuition is. Because he would prefer to not be in college debt for the rest of his life, which I completely get.

The last thing we talked about is our dream date. Like, if there was ever a date that is just perfect, what would it be? Well, he said it would start off by going to a semi-fancy restaurant, then walking around downtown while it's snowing--in other words, he wants it to be winter--and getting hot chocolate, and it would end with going back to his place and cozying up together while watching a cheesy Hallmark movie or something. Whatever I said doesn't matter, because that is way better than anything I could've come up with.

Though it isn't Christmas and it is Texas so it never gets cold and I can't fulfill half of the things he said, I still want to take him out on a first date sometime. I'm thinking about asking him at work today and going tomorrow night. I think he'll say yes, but wish me luck anyways!

===

"Of course! That sounds amazing!" Karl says happily, a large smile on his face. "What were you thinking?"

"Oh, I don't know. Probably something chill, as long as that's cool with you?" I respond. I'm lying: there's nothing chill about what I have in mind.

"Yeah, that's alright with me," he says, but I can't help but notice his smile falters just a little bit.

Does he really have that little faith in me? He honestly believes I'm going to do something chill for a first date. Really, after the conversation we had last night? Well, it doesn't really matter, because I have the whole night planned, and I know that he is going to absolutely love it.

"What's going on, guys?" Clay asks, walking up to us where we're standing outside of the concession stand.

"We're making first date preparations," Karl answers.

"Ohhhh, I see. Congratulations. What were you thinking of doing? For our first date, I took George to his favorite restaurant and told them it was his birthday so he got a free cupcake. But, it wasn't very good, so I took him out for gelato afterwards, and it started raining so we went to a playground and just messed around all night."

"When did you have the time to do all that in the midst of everything that's been going on?" Karl asks, mouth agape.

"I could tell you our secrets, but then I'd have to kill you."

"Quit telling Karl about your amazing first date, idiot. Or you're gonna make him think that my idea is lame," I say, trying to make it seem like I'm joking, but I'm actually entirely serious.

The two of them laugh and I join for a second, but I stop as soon as I see the person who's walking up to us. He doesn't look upset like I would expect him to; he honestly looks relieved and excited.

"Hey, guys," Alex says quietly, almost nervously.

Our laughing ceases and Clay's smile drops. Karl doesn't look mad, but he looks very hesitant to talk to Alex, mostly because he knows what subject will most likely come up if he does. I stand awkwardly, silently praying that my talk with Alex will have made him realize that he doesn't actually want Karl like that and he can move on from this without being bitter.

"Hi," Karl greets, grinning a little, but it doesn't reach his eyes; Clay remains silent.

"Um, I know I don't really have a right to ask this, but can I talk to you, Karl?"

"I suppose so," he whispers, throwing quick glances at the two of us before following Alex to a little bench on the other side of the main area.

"Are you really just going to let them go? After what he did?" Clay asks.

"I already told you how I feel about the whole Alex situation. Besides, Karl is his own person, fully capable of making his own decisions. If he didn't want to talk to Alex, he would've said no." I pause for a moment before adding onto the end: "And if Alex does anything else to him that he doesn't like or didn't specifically ask for, I'll kill him myself."

===

Karl's POV:

"Karl, I am so sorry for everything I did the night of the party," Alex says, staring deep into my eyes.

His eyes are such a dark brown that I swear I can almost see my reflection in them. I want to look away so badly, to pull away from the raw confrontation that they're pulling out of me, but they're so striking that I can't bring myself to do it. I'm forced to watch myself stare at him as he begs for my forgiveness with all the remorse in the whole world.

"Alex, I already forgave you for that. Truth be told, I was never really mad: I just absolutely hate confrontation."

"Wait, really? You forgive me that easily? After what I did?"

"You didn't really do anything-"

"Are you serious? I kissed you. And tried to guilt trip you into admitting feelings that you didn't want to talk about, or that might not have even existed. In front of all of those people, too. I would definitely call that something. Thank god Nick was there to bring me to my senses and Wil was able to get you out of there."

"Regardless of what happened, it doesn't really matter anymore, because I got over it. Now, what we should probably talk about, is what happened with Nick and I last night..."

"You got together. It's alright, I don't mind."

"Wait, you- you don't? But, I thought-"

"The other night, Nick helped me realize something. It's that I love women, and I'm pretty sure I'm straight, and I only thought I liked you in that way. Don't get me wrong, you're an amazing guy and a great friend and anyone would be lucky to have you, but I was putting pressure on myself to like you when I don't. We're friends, and I am perfectly fine with that."

"Really? That's great! Honestly you have no idea how relieved that makes me," I laugh, letting out an exhale of breath that I've had stuck in my chest for a while now.

"I'm relieved, too. Ever since I came to that conclusion, it feels like this weight has been lifted off my back, and I don't feel so stressed anymore. I'm also quite happy that you forgive me and now we can hopefully go on as though that horrid party never happened."

"Deal. I'd suggest you take a break on those for a while... and maybe drinking, too."

"Fair enough," he laughs.

Word Count- 1352

a/n- theyre officially dating and everyone made up with everyone! finally. sidenote, rn im on heartstopper tiktok and i love it but dear god are some of the edits sad-