actions speak louder than words {karlnap}

chapter 5

(Karl POV)

Nick has decided that we're going on our last date before I leave in a week and a half. It's so weird to think that I'll be leaving for four months in 10 days. I haven't even started packing yet, which is probably a bad thing. 

I don't want to think about it now.

Nick isn't telling me where we're going, so I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. I'm just keeping it casual -- jeans and a hoodie, Nick's of course. My phone buzzes with a text as I'm pulling on my shoes. 

Nick: hey i'm back

Nick: i'm outside if youre ready

Me: ok be out in a sec

I click the door shut behind me and skip down the walk. The sky is a beautiful mix of purple and yellow and orange and pink as the sun begins to dip behind the skyline. Nick smiles at me as I open the passenger door and slip in the car.

"You look cute," he says, leaning over to kiss my cheek. 

My cheeks turn pink and I smile. "Thanks," I whisper. I personally don't think I do, but my opinion doesn't matter right now I guess. I dunno.

He grins and turns on the radio. He pulls away from the sidewalk and starts driving. I feel his hand brush my thigh, and I hold out my hand for him. He links our fingers together, and tosses me a big smile. "Excited?"

I shrug. "I don't know what we're doing yet."

"You'll see." He smiles mysteriously.

I lean against the window and watch as palm trees and houses fly by. It's a peaceful evening -- not too many cars, but still lots of people out and about, walking dogs or sitting in parks or walking down main street, bags slung over their wrists. There are still kids in the community pool, enjoying the last hour or so of sun.

"We're almost there," he says, smiling at me. We're at the beach, but I still don't know what we'll be doing. I sure hope it won't be swimming. 

We park and get out. He grabs a backpack from the trunk and takes my hand again. Despite the fact that the sun is setting, it's still hot, and I regret wearing a hoodie. 

He leads me down the beach until we find a wooden table. It overlooks a small dip in the sand, almost like a cliff. Beyond that is the ocean, shining a deep blue in the purple sun.

I let go of Nick's hand and slowly approach the cliff. I hear him set the bag on the table as I disappear over the edge, sinking to the ground next to the water. The tide has gone down significantly, so I assume that usually this is underwater. 

The water laps against rocks a few feet down the beach from me, and I look down at the sand. Something pokes prom the sand, and I lift it out. It's a perfectly round sand dollar, no breaks or anything. I feel bad for killing it for a second before remembering it was already dead. That's why it's here. I wash it off and pocket it. 

(Nick POV)

"Karl!" I call. "Karl?" 

He pokes his head up over the side of a little cliff, almost like a groundhog. I burst out laughing as he scurries over to me, grinning. "Hi," he says, wrapping his arms around me and burying his head in the crook of my neck. 

"Hey," I say, hugging him back. "Ready for food?"

He giggles. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," he says, rapid and stitched together. 

We pull away and walk to the table, which I've draped with a gingham blanket and laid with food I bought from Safeway 'cause I can't cook. He smiles and raises an eyebrow, but still walks over and sits down in front of a meal I bought at random. He waits patiently as I sit across from him and pull out two cans of Monster. His eyes widen and he grins. I giggle and hand it to him. He immediately pops it open and takes a drink. 

"Sorry if the food's cold, by the way," I say, opening my own food. 

"It should be fine," he says, opening his. 

I pull out my phone as we dig in. I take a selfie of us as the sun sets behind us, casting pink and purple rays of light on the ocean. Karl smiles widely and holds up a peace sign -- a true stereotypical bisexual. I just grin into the camera, unsure what else to do even though I initiated the picture. 

"This is cute!" I exclaim, opening the picture. I show him the picture and he smiles bigger than he did in the picture.

"I love it!" he says. 

"I love you," I say teasingly. 

He giggles and rests his chin in his hand. "Is that so?"

I nod matter-of-factly. "What, you don't?"

He smiles and leans across the table. I meet him halfway. He reaches up to run his fingers along my jawline until he reaches my chin. I feel shivers run down my spine, to which he pulls back and giggles, only to reconnect our lips again, only briefly this time.

"I love you too, and you know it," he says. "Thank you for doing this."

"Of course," I say, smiling. 

~~

"Let's go," he says, pulling off his shoes.

"Where?"

"Just trust me," he says. 

So we take off our socks and shoes and roll up our pants. We run towards the ocean, hand in hand and giggling. The water is cold against our bare feet as we run farther into the waves. He jumps onto my back, almost taking us both down. I yelp, catching us just in time. He laughs, wrapping his arms tightly around me. 

I run through the waves, leading us deeper in, until the water dampens the edge of my jeans. Karl jumps off and we stand side-by-side, watching the colors of the sky change. Karl's hand slips into mine. He rests his head on my shoulder as we stand there, silent expect for the waves and the gulls. 

"We should go soon," I murmur. "It's gonna get dark fast."

"Yeah."

Neither of us move. 

I look at Karl, and he looks at me. Since we met way back when in December, he's grown a couple inches, and now he's staring me dead in the eyes. 

"I don't wanna leave," he whispers. 

"I know," I reply, whispering as well, as if we don't want to disturb the silence. "I don't want you to either."

He shifts, and wraps his arms around my middle, resting his head on my shoulder once more to watch the sky. My arms snake around his shoulders, and my chin rests on his head. For now, at least, we can enjoy our time together. We can wish and hope all we want, but he's leaving. But for now, he's here. That's all that matters.

Word Count 1140

~A/N~

:(

this chapter wasn't my idea -- it was suggested/requested by BluTheBloop, so big round of applause for them! thanks for the idea, i loved it :D

it probably wasnt exactly what they had in mind, and it wasnt my first idea, but i still like it. hopefully you guys do too ;-;

we're boutta get real angsty soon. you have been warned.

(okay probably not REAL angsty, but reasonably angsty. just so ya know)

eat something healthy and drink some water if you havent been. love you guys <3