actions speak louder than words {karlnap}

chapter 21

CW// slight angst

(Karl POV)

I get back to my dorm at just before 1 am. I haven't practiced what I'm going to say to Alex, if he's even awake or in our room still, and it's making me nervous. I almost had a panic attack on the plane when I got on, but thankfully a British man -- maybe in his thirties -- and his American wife started talking to me and managed to calm me down. I guess they could tell. And I wondered if they had kids. 

I hurry into the building and call the elevator. I swear I can hear my blood rushing in my ears as the elevator climbs higher and higher, towards my floor. The second the doors open, I slip out and run down the hall to my room, trying desperatley to stay quiet.

My keys fail me. They make a whole bunch of noise, and I realise it probably doesn't matter if I'm quiet or not; it's college. Either people are awake becase they're partying or clubbing or whatever, or they're awake because they're studying. But still, I try to be quiet, because my hallways is quieter than a graveyard. It's kind of eerie, actually.

Finally, I swing my door open, to find Alex typing angrily on his phone. When he sees me, he stands up. "Jesus, Karl where were you?" he asks. 

I close the door behind me. "I went to go tell my boyfriend, like you told me to."

He scoffs. "Well you could've warned me," he says. "I didn't think you actually would. I've called you a dozen times; I thought you'd been abducted!" 

I pull out my phone and click the power button a couple times. Dead.

"If I had been, would you have cared?" I ask. It comes out harsher than I expected, laced with venom. 

"Is that a serious question?" Alex asks snippily, crossing his arms over his chest. "Of course I would've cared, Karl!"

I frown. "Really? Didn't seem like that two days ago."

"Oh, fuck you," he spits. "I was pissed off. And I had the right to be." He scoffs. "Bet your boyfriend was real pleased, huh? Are you still together? You know what, doesn't matter. I'm probably not going to be in this room much longer anways."

My shoulders sink. "Alex-"

"You can't get mad at me, Karl!" he exclaims. "You broke my trust. You broke your boyfriend's trust!"

"But-"

He laughs like when he mentioned the Wilbur guy; humourless. "I don't even really have to argue with you. If anything, this is your fault."

"Alex-"

"All you had to do was tell me! And you couldn't even do that! And now you have two boys who liked you, hurti-"

"For fuck's sake, let me talk!" I snap. He flinches and tries to protest, but I give him a glare. He sits down, fuming. 

I take a deep breath. "I went home," I say. "I told my boyfriend. I was fully prepared to come back, freshly single, and with no friends. But I didn't."

"Wait, he didn't break up with you?" Alex asks. 

I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow. "Did you want him to?"

He shrugs. He totally did. 

"Anways," I mutter, rolling my eyes. "I guess he could tell that I liked you too. He didn't really care. Obviously he was a bit upset, as expected, but overall... he was fine... mostly."

Alex frowns, confused. "Fine?" he echoes. "How could he be fine with it?"

I shrug. "Ever heard of polyamoury?"