imaginary | karlnap

eight

the dinner was filled with small talk between the adults while karl played around with his food. he talked with nick who was sitting in the chair next to him across from the two men. karl was giggling while his mother played it off as a joke.

"kids are gonna be kids, imagining things," she said while clay and george nodded, not fully believing her after the encounter earlier.

nick had been lightly kicking his foot back and forth when he accidentally made contact with clay's leg under the table. he expected the male to not have a reaction, but he was surprised when he saw the male bend down to rub his leg as he let out a soft wince.

"karl, did you kick me on accident?" he asked, causing karl to look at him in confusion.

"no? sapnap did you kick him?"

nick only nodded yes as an answer before saying that he was sorry and didn't mean it.

"he says he did on accident and that he was sorry," karl simply said before going back to eating his food.

– ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ –

after dinner was over, clay and george had gotten ready to leave. the evening was eventful enough for them as karl and his mom walked them to the door. nick had positioned himself leaning against it as he watched the small group of people make last-minute small talk before they had to depart.

"thanks for inviting us over," clay told the older lady with a smile as george nodded in agreement.

"anytime boys," she replied as karl latched himself to george's leg with a pout on his face. the brit looked down at him as a small smile made its way onto his face.

"do you really have to go?" the boy whined as nick let out a small laugh from where he was standing.

"yes we do, but maybe you can come and spend the night with us sometime," george said with a small chuckle as the boy looked up at him with big puppy eyes, "you can bring along your friend too."

"okay, you pinky promise right?" karl asked, holding his pinky up for one of the older males to wrap their own around. clay hooked his pinky around karl's with a grin.

"pinky promise."

– ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ –

after they left, karl had escaped up to his room calling out for nick to follow. the other male made his way up after the boy, not asking any questions. the sky had grown to a navy blue, almost black as stars began to light up the sky, casting weak white light into the windows of the home.

golden light flooded karl's room as he turned on his overhead light so that they'd be able to see correctly. the boy was currently sitting on his bed, kicking his legs back and forth, just barely hitting his legs back against his mattress. nick stepped into the room before sitting on the floor next to him bed.

"did you like meeting my uncles?" karl asked suddenly, his curious eyes peering down to look at nick.

"huh? oh yeah, i did. they seem like nice people," nick replied with a smile on his face. it was bright and genuine as he looked up to meet the boy's eyes.

they settled into a comfortable silence as karl messed with a dog plush on his bed. he hugged it to his chest, letting out a soft hum, before leaning back on his bed.

"hey sapnap," karl started again as he glanced out his window at the thin sliver of moon that was out for all to see.

"yeah karl?"

"can we be friends forever?" his voice was quiet, almost sad as he let his eyes flick over the male in question.

"sure buddy, that sounds perfect."

– ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ –

i have another karlnap book in the works, which i'm excited for. i'm working on a few chapters to have before i publish it to give myself a head start on it. as for this book, my goal is to have it completed by the end of this year.

hope you guys are enjoying it so far :)