Karl returned to a more enthusiastic approach towards Nick. He would randomly show up to give him something or go grocery shopping with him as if nothing had happened. He would drop off boxes of donuts or some baked goods from work constantly. Sometimes he would "accidentally" leave his tote bags, which quickly replaced the plastic grocery bags in their household. Jacobs was already a regular at most game nights, and nobody was surprised anymore when Nick said he was inviting him, and they would end up arguing over whether Karl cheated in Monopoly or not at three in the morning, being menaces to their neighbours.

Three weeks of peace, and Nick tried to convince himself that even if Karl wanted to lean in and kiss him, he wouldn't allow him to. He had to be stronger to save this friendship.

"Is it because I said I love you?" Karl asked one time when Nick withdrew while they were sitting in the living room late at night, watching Euphoria in the empty apartment.

"No," Nick answered softly. "Just watch. You chose this."

Karl sighed dramatically but let it go for a moment. "So, am I completely banned from touching you now?" he asked.

"Let's just watch," Nick muttered, a little unhappy.

"But I'm asking about something," Karl sighed.

"We're friends, Karl," Sapnap reminded him.

"Yeah, friends can still kiss," he decided, unhappy. "It wasn't a problem before."

"Okay, then kiss me and let me watch the show, please," Nick sighed. "Or wait until it's over, and then we can kiss as much as you want."

"Oh," Karl smiled. "Then let's keep watching."

After the episode ended, Nick pretended he didn't remember anything he said and suggested they should end their movie night as soon as possible.

Karl insisted on giving him a goodnight kiss before leaving the boys' apartment anyway. He didn't leave until he got what he wanted.

Nick might have had a very explicit dream about those lips that same night.

It was all like tilting at windmills for Nick, as Karl had him in his grasp like no one else ever had. He still couldn't shake off the fascination with his body and the way he could kiss him to extract all the thoughts from him. Nick was a weak person, and Karl knew how to use it, wrapping him around his little finger. And because of that they still found themselves innocently texting each other late at night, and it would end up with Karl sending some explicit picture or calling Nick, saying he missed his hands on him. Sapnap was on his mental knees for him, wanting to go back to that night when Karl let him kiss and nip his thighs or that one time when Nick sat between them, wanting to show Karl something on his laptop, and he said in a very suggestive way: 'I like it when you're between my thighs'. Nick made sure that such situations didn't happen anymore.

And then the day, when Nick went to a college party with his friends, came. And as it often happened at parties such as this one, Nick quickly found his companion in Karla, who took him to get stoned together.

What no one really expected was that Karl of all people would be at this. Clay was the first one to bump into him.

"Oh hey, what are you doing here?" he exclaimed cheerfully.

"My friends dragged me out. What a coincidence," Karl chuckled, completely unaware of what he would soon see. "And are you with George or your rommie squad?"

"Oh, we're all here," Clay said, feeling George clinging to him.

"Karl! We didn't know you were here," Davidson admitted. "Hey."

"Hey," Karl said, amused. "So if everyone is here, where's Nick?"

Karl's question hung in the air, causing a sudden lull in the cheerful conversation. Davidson and Clay exchanged a look, and George shifted uncomfortably. Nick had gone missing for a while, they didn't exactly know where he was, but they knew with whom he got lost.

"You know... he went somewhere, he's probably around here somewhere, you know how it is at parties" George muttered uncertainly. "I think he's getting high as always, you know him."

"Oh yeah, sounds like Nick," Karl confirmed with a bright smile and then he got completely absorbed in the conversation with the two when his attention was finally drawn to a girl who pulled someone onto one of the sofas and exhaled smoke from her mouth into the air in a very cool way. Jacobs felt a sudden acceleration of his heartbeat because she was holding Nick's hand. His Nick. And as he sank down beside her, he hugged her, pulling her a little closer.

The sudden stop mid-sentence in Karl's story caused Clay and George to turn and look in the direction where the curly-haired man had focused his gaze. The scene playing out before their eyes was extremely telling. Nick took a drag of his joint and shamelessly shared the smoke with a brunette, who joined their lips in a slow, tender kiss.

Karl's heart sank as he watched Nick kiss the girl. He felt a sudden wave of jealousy mixed with hurt and confusion. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of it all.

"You've got to be kidding me" Karl said, expressing his complete outrage aloud.

"Uhm... well, that's awkward," George coughed and then procced to exchange a concerned glance with his boyfriend. They both knew how much Nick meant to him. But Karl was unable to look away, his eyes fixed on Nick as he shared the joint and the kiss with the girl.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," Karl said honestly because just under 24 hours ago, Nick had been telling him how hot he looked in the photos he had sent, and now he was allowing someone else to kiss his lips? Sharing smoke with her even though he had promised to do it with him someday?

Meanwhile, Nick was completely oblivious to Karl's presence and was lost in the moment with the girl. The girl, who had long brown hair and glistening eyes, pulled away from Nick's lips and whispered something in his ear, making him laugh. Jacobs felt a pang of jealousy, wishing he were the one to make Sapnap laugh like that.

Karl didn't know what to do, he felt paralyzed for a moment.

But Karl had also no intention of letting this go without comment. George watched in horror as Karl walked determinedly toward the couch.

"Oh my god, this is going to be a massacre," George said.

"Meeting of the fucking century" Clay muttered with a slight grimace because he knew Karl wouldn't let this pass. "Let's pry they won't be at each other's throats in a minute."

Karl's steps were heavy and slow, his expression unreadable as he approached the couple on the couch. His friends could see the tension in his jaw and the way his fists clenched at his sides. It was clear that he was angry and hurt, but he was also trying to keep his cool.

Nick and the girl were so lost in each other that they didn't even notice Karl's approach until he sat down next to the kissing pair and coughed loudly, drawing their attention.

When Sapnap's eyes focused on the person that interrupted, he looked like deer caught in headlights.

Nick jerked away from the girl as if he had been burned. He looked at Karl, his eyes widening in surprise and fear. "Oh fucking shit," he said in horror, feeling his stomach sink because how on earth was Karl looking at him with raised eyebrows and how was Karla sitting on the other side, frowning at the guy who had sat down beside them without asking.

Karl's gaze was fixed on Nick, his expression unreadable as he took in the sight of him sitting so intimately with the brunette. Sapnap felt a wave of shame wash over him.

"Am I disturbing something?" Karl asked with his tone deceptively calm as he was staring hard at Nick before shifting his gaze to the girl. Nick immediately took his hand off her skirt and straightened up a bit awkwardly.

"Who are you?" the displeased girl asked, side-eyeing Jacobs. "And yes, you're disturbing."

Karl's eyes narrowed at the girl's rude tone, but he kept his composure.

George was about to intervene as Nick looked pale as if he was about to puke from nerves.

"Nick, why don't you introduce us? Don't be rude," Karl said slowly, but Nick still did nothing, completely frozen. "Okay, so I'm Karl. And you are...?"

The tension in the air was palpable.

George and Clay exchanged worried glances, realizing that this situation was quickly spiraling out of control. They knew Karl could be confrontational and it looked like both Karla and he weren't willing to back down from the situation anytime soon.

"Karla," she answered, furrowing her brow even more.

"I don't recall," Karl said. "I don't think Nick mentioned you to me."

Sapnap felt his throat dry and his palms sweat. He wanted to disappear from the scene, but his legs refused to move. He knew he had to say something, but he wasn't sure what.

"I'm his girlfriend, what do you want?" she asked.

Jacobs' eyes widened for a moment at Karla's response. "What!" he almost exclaimed, looking shocked at Nick with hopes that it was a fucking misunderstanding. Sapnap however, was looking at the girl with equal bewilderment.

"Uh, more like a friend that is a girl" Nick corrected. "I don't think we-"

"What are you even saying?" the girl asked, her own confusion evident on her face. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Sapnap questioningly.

Jacobs couldn't help but feel like he had walked into a minefield. But at the same time he still felt rush of content that Nick was not on board with the whole 'girlfriend' thing.

"Yikes, I think you had too high expectations," Karl said, feeling somewhat better. "I'm his best friend, and I've never heard of you in my life."

"I haven't heard of you either, and I know all his friends," the girl said, outraged. "Nick, tell him."

"But what?" Sapnap asked, bewildered. He was caught in a cleft stick. Quite literally.

"I don't know, Nick, tell me something," Karl replied, almost reveling in his advantage and smiled contentedly.

"Why are you even interrupting us?" she asked again seeming more and more irritated.

"I just wanted to introduce myself," he said innocently and offered her a shit-eating grin. "And see what Nick does when he thinks no one is watching."

"Great, you can leave now," she decided seriously, to which Karl looked at her with a judgmental gaze.

"Yeah, I can do that" confirmed Karl, then looked at Nick still with slightly laser-like eyes. "I should leave you two love birds alone, shouldn't I?"

"Uhm" muttered Nick awkwardly, not being able to even maintain longer eye contact with the older man.

Karl's expression was tight-lipped, and his eyes narrowed as he scanned the room with a critical eye. "Nice party I suppose," said Jacobs dissatisfied, his tone flat and looked at Sapnap intensely. "Hope you make it to your own bed" he paused, eying Nick and the girl on the couch. "And not to interfere, but I suggest you figure out whether this relationship here exists or not. Have a good time."

After that, Karl stood up, throwing one last harsh glance in Nick's direction, walking away from the horrible sight.

"You don't consider me your girlfriend?" Karla asked, looking questioningly at Nick. "What the fuck Nick?"

"Should I?" he asked her, feeling dumb as fuck. "Because I thought for you it was more of a smoking and sex transaction."

"You took me on dates," she pointed out. "And I thought it was obvious we wanted the same thing. I wanted to bring you as my plus one to my cousin's wedding. I thought we were building something real."

"That doesn't equal a relationship. We never said anything official," Nick panicked a little. "And you never said we were going on dates. I thought you just wanted to be friends. You're clearly out of my league."

Karla's eyes widened in disbelief as she listened to Nick's words. She couldn't believe he was so clueless about their relationship. She had thought that they were on the same page, that they were more than just friends with benefits but now it seemed like they were reading different books altogether.

"Oh my god Nick," she sighed. "You're the only guy in my life."

"Seriously?" he asked incredulously. He was a little scared of where this was going.

"Yeah, I thought it was obvious," she replied amused. "And that guy...what was that all about? He acted like you were his property."

As soon as the girl spoke, Nick's defensive mode kicked in. He straightened his posture and stood up for Jacobs. "Stop, he's my best friend," he said, his tone defensive. "He didn't mean anything bad by it."

The girl scoffed disapprovingly at Nick's words. "Not at all," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's weird for a friend to act so jealous. Maybe you should reconsider that friendship."

"Right now, I'm considering this" he said, gesturing between them with his finger.

"What is there to consider? I think it's pretty obvious," she said confidently.

"Um, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves" Nick said, backing away slightly. "I'm still at the stage where I thought it was just sex."

Karla's eyebrows furrowed as she struggled to process what Nick was saying. She had been under the impression that their relationship was more than just a casual fling

"So, you don't want to be with me?" she asked, her tone laced with a tinge of sadness.

Nick could feel the tension between them rising, and it was making him more uncomfortable. "I didn't say that. Maybe let's not throw words around. Can't we take this slowly and step by step?"

"You know what?" she suddenly snapped at him. "Go take small steps toward that guy over there. Maybe he'll give you a goodnight kiss."

After that, Karla left Nick on the couch in complete shock. Sapnap sat there for a while, lost in thought, trying to process everything that had just happened.

It wasn't long before his friends sat on either side of him.

"To put it mildly man... shit hit the fan," Clay said, patting Nick on the knee.

"I guess the meeting of your two admirers didn't go well," George said carefully.

"Don't even mention it," Nick muttered dejectedly. "It was so fucking bad."

"It'll be okay," Davidson reassured him, patting him supportively on the back.

It wasn't. Because Karl was still lurking in the corner of the room, smiling victoriously at Nick, who finally caught his gaze and finally decided to approach him again.

"Did your girlfriend leave?" he said provocatively, sitting down with a big smile of satisfaction on George's side, who opened his eyes wider at the sound of his confident voice with just a slightly pinch of bitterness.

"You're messed up," Nick said to him. "Literally... What the fuck Karl?"

Karl shrugged, seemingly unfazed by Nick's disapproval. "What? How was I supposed to know you have a girlfriend?" he replied nonchalantly.

George, who had been listening to their conversation, was surprised. "You have a girlfriend? Is it official?" he asked, looking between Nick and Karl.

"Oh, so everyone knows her except me, I see," Karl said distinctly and earned a confused look from Nick.

"Why would you even need to know her?" the younger one asked.

"I don't know, to see who I'm competing with," he replied confidently, smirking. "But I think I won before I even started."

Nick looked at Karl in disbelief as he spoke with conviction.

"We need to have a serious talk about how you fucking behave," Nick finally decided and got up from the sofa abruptly. "Come on, let's go."

"Okay," Karl said, looking at him still feeling like he had the upper hand and let him lead the way towards the door leading to the garden, where there were decidedly fewer people.

Nick's face was stern as he led Karl out of the crowded room and into the garden, his anger simmering beneath the surface. Karl followed him, feeling a sense of smugness at the thought that he had gotten under Sapnap's skin. As they walked further away from the party, the sound of music and chatter started fading into the background.

George and Clay looked at each other, anticipating that their friend would give Karl a piece of his mind for whatever he said to Karla.

As they stepped outside, Nick made a beeline towards a quiet corner, away from the throngs of people to have as much privacy as possible.

"What?" Karl asked. "Are you seriously mad at me for introducing myself? As if I was some dirty secret of yours."

"No. Just- you didn't have to cause a fucking scene" he answered with a sigh. "And she's not my girlfriend, for the record."

"She said otherwise," Jacobs reminded him. "So maybe you should first figure out who she is to you, and then ask for my photos in the middle of the night."

"She's not my girlfriend," the boy said seriously.

"Good, because I wouldn't want to be a jerk who steals someone's boyfriend" he replied fiery. "Because I would totally be a better boyfriend than her. Nicky, I really don't understand how you can even consider such an obvious thing. You know that I would be better... if I wasn't, you wouldn't have even thought about me twice. Did she ever make you fall apart in her hands like you have with me? Because I think I can guess. I'm sure she's nice, but she's not right for you. I, on the other hand, am a very good choice. You should be kissing me, not her. You should take me home. And since we're both your special friends-"

"She's not like you," Nick interrupted him. "It's different with you, okay? I want to take you home, but I don't want it to turn out like last time."

"Nicky" Karl sighed sounding exhausted by this shitty situation. He grabbed Sapnap's neck with his hands. "You can always take me home without consequences."

So Nick leaned in to kiss him, but Jacobs pulled away before their lips could even meet.

Nick felt the air escape him as Jacobs pulled away from the almost-kiss.

"No. You just kissed her," Karl said seriously. "I'm angry with you right now. I thought something was really moving forward between us, and you... apparently you're moving forward just not with me."

"I just wanted to sleep with someone," Nick muttered. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he sighed once again, his voice tinted with sadness. "You're just a lot sometimes and I forget that you're not mine like I'm yours. So let's just go our separate ways today, okay?" He looked away, avoiding Nick's gaze as he continued. "I don't want to kiss you after her. Maybe I would do stupid things for you, and I don't care if you break my heart, but I won't be your second choice." His words were filled with raw emotion, and he spoke with a trembling voice. "Because I know that I'm just someone you call when you're lonely because I've been always available when you needed. Someone you can use, but never keep for too long because I'm just too inconvenient. But I never gave up, because I know I can give you everything you want, the sun and the stars, but it probably still won't be enough for you. I just wanted you to look at me with love in your eyes for once, like you're sure I'm the one you won't tell it's time to go home. But I've come to terms with the fact that I won't change your mind so easily." He paused for a moment before continuing, his voice barely above a whisper. "But... if you really, and I mean really don't see any chance for us, then please, you have to tell me, because I won't be able to leave on my own. I don't think I can ever leave you. And this – whatever it is – between us is making me so tired Nick. I mean- if you're still unsure, I'll stay, but if you know it won't go anywhere, I'll really get off your back."

Nick's heart sunk that night and he could only wonder if that was the exact moment where everything would finally fall apart.

Everything was about to change and Sapnap wasn't really sure if it will be for the better.