silence speaks in volumes {karlnap}

chapter 10

TW: violence, blood, injuries

(Nick POV)

I throw another punch, probably the fifth in a row. I hope I'm making him feel even a fraction of what Karl has felt over the years. 

Someone grabs my arms and pulls me off Keith. Oh, nuts, it's definitely a teacher. You know what, I don't care.

I rip my arm out of their clutches and start forward, but they grab me again and start dragging me away again. I try to get away from them, but I'm pulled harshly and their warm breath touches my ear. 

"Nick, please."

It's the way he says my name. It's so gentle, so earnest, so affectionate. I let him drag me away. 

Karl leads me through the jocks. I keep my eyes closed. His hand is wrapped gently around my wrist, tight enough that my hand won't slip through his, but loose enough that I could pull my hand back without even trying.

I can hear the footsteps and the hushed whispers of our friends behind me as a door swings open. I slide down a wall to sit on the floor and focus on the sounds around me. 

Whispers. Footsteps. Paper towel dispenser. Running water. 

A damp paper towel presses gently against my right eye, which is sore and probably a black eye now. At least Karl and I will match. 

I open my left eye. My good eye. Karl is crouching in front of me, his face twisted with focus and worry. 

"How's it goin'?" I ask. He frowns at me. "C'mon, I know you can't stay mad at me forever." His gaze flicks back to my injuries. 

One of his hands is pressed gently over my eye, the other is supporting my head. I put one of my hands over the hand on my eye. He looks back at me. 

"I'm sorry," I whisper. 

"I know," he whispers, so quiet I almost missed it. 

I smile. "Two word sentences only, huh?" I joke quietly. His brow furrows, but he's smiling too.

"You shouldn't have done that, Nick." Skeppy says, lowering himself next to Karl. He dabs at a cut I have on my cheek with a dry paper towel. "You're lucky you didn't get that hurt."

"What, you think I can't take him?" I ask.

"Yeah! He's, like, 250 pounds of muscle."

Karl rolls his eyes. He makes eye contact with me and shakes his head. "I doubt it," I say. 

"Even if he isn't, you still shouldn't have done that," George mutters, waving Skeppy off. He runs a wet paper towel over the cut gently. I wince a bit. 

"He's hurt Karl," I say. 

"Didn't you once do it too?" Dream asks, an eyebrow raised. George whips his head around, hopefully giving Dream the stink eye. I try to do it too. but it's not easy with only one eye. 

"I never did," I say. But I still cast an unsure glance at Karl and he nods. "Yeah. I tried to stand up for him, but then they made fun of me." 

"Dickheads," Skeppy mutters, standing up. He tosses the balled up paper in the trash. 

"Hey. Watch your mouth," Bad warns. He checks a bruise that's forming on my jawline. "Or at least use different language."

"Têtes de bite," Skeppy says in a French accent. 

"What?" Dream asks, giggling. 

"D-heads in French." 

We all start laughing - even Karl. It's a quiet laugh, but I can hear it. It's soft and gentle, just like his voice. 

His voice.

It's something just for me.

(Karl POV)

"I hope you're ready to get suspended, Nick," George says. I turn around to look at him. Right.

"Oh yeah. That was the plan all along," Nick says confidently. I turn back around to glare at him. He grins at me. I roll my eyes. 

"We should get to class. The bell rang a few minutes ago," Dream says. Bad and Skeppy left when the bell rang, but Dream and George stayed to help a bit more. 

I gently take the paper towel off Nick's eye. It's dark and puffy and I almost cringe. "That bad, huh?" Nick mutters. I grin and shake my head. He raises an eyebrow. 

This guy can be such a pain.

I'm not even going to say sometimes. Because it's all the time. 

I stand up and toss the paper in the trash. I hold out my hand, which Nick takes. I pull him up, surprisingly. Not the strongest person in the world. I guess Nick isn't the heaviest person, though. It's actually pretty easy to pull him up.

It surprises me so much, we end up with less than two inches of space between us when he stands up. My eyes widen as we don't move. We just stand there, staring at each other, for what feels like an hour. 

I guess it's really only a few seconds. "Let's go!" George exclaims, throwing open the door so it bangs against the wall. I flinch and drop Nick's hand. 

"You. Go to the nurse's office," Dream instructs Nick as he follows George out of the bathroom. We watch the door for another few seconds. 

"I want to skip school so bad," Nick mutters. I roll my eyes and grab his hand once more. I lead him towards the nurse's office and push him in. I give him an indignant look and mouth 'library at lunch' before waving and walking off.

~~

The rest of the day goes by without a hitch. All the jocks steer clear of me, even when my friends are nowhere near me. I still hunch down and try to stay invisible, though. It's become a routine. I guess everyone got the hint that Nick will beat up anyone who hurts me. 

I push open the library doors and walk towards the Haven. It's eerily quiet today. I guess Mr Rigo isn't here for lunch. I push through the bookshelves, making sure not to tip my tray. I don't think Nick is here yet, so I can maybe draw for a bi-

I look up and gasp. Nick is standing in the middle of the Haven, but that's not what surprised me. Faerie lights are strung around the room, hanging from the top of the bookshelves. My normally messy and unorganized books and supplies are in a purple box under the Art and Literature books that aren't supposed to be in here, along with a few of my favourite novels. There's two beanbag chairs, one purple and one orange, sitting in two different corners with a little table in between them.

"Surprise!" Nick says, doing jazz hands. 

I pull out a small slip of paper and scribble Did you do this? on it.

"Of course I did this. You said that the 'Haven' was your getaway, your safespace. So, with Mr Rigo's permission, I decorated!" he says happily. I smile and close the distance between us, throwing my arms around his neck. 

"Thank you," I whisper. 

"You're welcome, Karl," Nick says quietly, wrapping his arms around my waist. 

Word Count 1190

~A/N~

i swear im getting to the good stuff

also, SECOND UPLOAD WITHIN A DAY BECAUSE ITS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY AND IM FEELING LIKE IT :D so yw now im gonna go get ice cream cya later nerds

edit (08/22/22): well, it's been a year since this chapter came out... i feel old.