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“Damnit!” Karl groaned, picking his, now cracked, phone off the ground. He accidentally dropped it while walking out of his house and now it’s practically shattered.
Well, shattered, seemed like a bit overdramatic, but it was definitely cracked nonetheless.
He had already woken up in such a bad mood and now he’s lucky if his phone still worked normally. He had woken up from some stupid nightmare, hardly able to catch his breath. On top of the nightmare, he had barely been able to sleep in the first place.
He would much rather stay home today and allow himself to cool down, but unfortunately for him, that wasn’t a possibility. He had agreed to partake in an upcoming challenge video, and he’d feel bad having to cancel on Jimmy not even an hour before filming starts.
He sighed as he got in his car, using the bit of silence before starting it to think to himself. He would be surprised if his car wouldn’t give him any problems too. He’d been meaning to get a new car or get his fixed, he’s just never really had the time, constantly busy with content creation.
Besides having a horrible start to his day, he was excited for the video. He wasn’t sure what the prize for this video would be, but he knew it was a challenge in which whoever kept their hand on the prize longest, they won. They were always fun, and he loved seeing his friends, especially since that meant Nolan would be there too.
The pair had been going out unbeknownst to the rest of their friends for just under four months now. They made it official after the two decided to have a spontaneous sleepover just for the hell of it. As that night went on, they got to talking and realized there seemed to be more between them than they had been acknowledging.
It’s not as though they didn’t want to tell everyone, it was just somewhat comforting to have something between only the two of them. Karl was sure they would get to that point eventually, but keeping everything on the down-low just sounded like a better situation for right now anyway.
He finally started his car to begin the drive to meet his friends. Well. He tried to anyway. Of course today is the day for his car to die on him.
“Oh, come on!” He sighed. He put his head down against the steering wheel. He honestly felt like just saying fuck it and going back inside.
He got out of his car and shut the door. It took everything inside of him to not slam the door. He pulled his now cracked phone out of his back pocket and opened his contacts. The cracks on the screen made it somewhat hard to see who exactly he was looking for, and it was extremely frustrating.
After pressing the call button on one of his contacts, he held his phone to his ear, praying for an answer.
“Hello?” A voice came through the other end of the phone.
“Nolan, hey, can you come pick me up?” Karl asked, relief practically rang through his voice as he spoke.
“Yeah, are you…okay?” Nolan asked, sounding concerned at why Karl was all panicky sounding.
“Um, yeah, but please, I’ll just explain when I see you,” Karl sighed.
There was a pause before Nolan spoke again, “Okay…um, yeah, I’ll be there in a few.”
Karl thanked him softly before ending the phone call and sitting down on the curb, staring at the ground. He traced circles into the sidewalk while he waited.
This day seriously could not get worse.
Thankfully, it was only a few more minutes til Nolan got there, leaning over and opening the passenger side door from the drivers seat.
Karl got in, not really even saying a word at first. Instead he waited for Nolan to speak first, which he did soon after he started driving again.
“You wanna talk about it?” He asked, offering his hand to Karl, who took it after a moment.
“It’s been such a bad day, Nolan, I just…I woke up from a nightmare this morning, felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I hardly slept either! Oh, and then,” Karl started, pulling his phone from his pocket using his free hand to show Nolan the cracked screen, “I dropped my phone, and then my car died!”
Karl’s voice practically broke when he finished speaking, causing Nolan to squeeze his hand softly in comfort.
“Hey, it’ll be okay, we’re gonna go do this video, have fun, and it’ll take your mind off of everything,” Nolan reassured him.
Karl appreciated the sentiment. Every time he was around Nolan his day seemed to just get better. Even though he was having such a horrible day, it was okay now, right?
Nolan pulled into a parking space near everyone else’s cars, seems as though they were the last to get to their filming location.
“You gonna be okay today?” Nolan asked as he shut his car off without worry that it wouldn’t start up again. Something Karl was jealous of right about now.
Karl had to snap himself out of his thoughts and jealousy before he nodded in response.
Nolan smiled before leaning over and kissing Karl’s cheek.
“C’mon, we should go,” Nolan said, unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car, except he made it a point to hurry over to the other side of the car to get Karl’s door for him.
It was such a small gesture but it was something Karl appreciated greatly, especially after the shit day he had been having.
“Thank you,” Karl said, stepping out of the car. He wanted to take Nolan’s hand again but he could see their friends from here, and he didn’t want to raise any questions.
“Why’re you two so late?” Chandler asked, once they had joined the group.
“Long story,” Karl answered, rolling his eyes as he remembered the hell-sent morning he had.
It was then when Karl saw what this video was all about. There was a beautiful, brand new car.
“Is this what we’re competing for?” He asked, admiring the car.
“Yep, this video’s gonna work the same as all the other ‘last to move your hand’ challenges,” Jimmy answered, quickly explaining it to Karl and Nolan since they hadn’t been there for the initial explanation.
After everyone had been set up and ready to go, cameras were on and they were filming. Karl had taken a spot sort of close to Nolan, wanting the company and closeness of his boyfriend, even if nobody else knew that.
Just like that, the challenge began. Karl shifted a little so he could sort of lean against Nolan, making sure his right hand didn’t move from the car whatsoever. Nolan didn’t mind, as it wasn’t particularly odd for the two of them to be sort of clingy in front of cameras anyway, nobody would suspect a thing.
It felt like hours went by, even though it’s only been a half hour at the most. It was getting to be extremely boring, not being able to move his hand. His arm had started falling asleep, and he was pretty sure if he allowed himself to, he could’ve easily started to go to sleep somehow.
He was sitting on the ground, his right hand planted against the front tire. Nolan was next to him, his hand against one of the car doors as Karl leaned back against him.
And he probably would’ve fallen asleep, if it weren’t for Jimmy realizing everyone had gotten probably a tad too comfortable and making them stand up. Karl got up, though his body was tired from the lack of sleep, he was determined to win this car.
It felt like another ten years went by, and Karl didn’t really feel like himself at all. His lack of sleep was definitely catching up to him, and he at first thought he might fall backwards when standing up, which would've been just his luck today. Thankfully, he didn't.
The first of their friends to get out was Kris, who unfortunately moved her hand when trying to get a drink, which just left Chandler, Nolan, and Karl, who was still so determined to get this car. It was a nice car, and it was much more expensive than what he had ever been willing to spend on a car, which just made it all the more desirable.
The next part of the video was of course another challenge set by Jimmy to make time pass a little quicker. Not only did they have to stand, but they had to walk and move around the car, keeping their hand on it at all times.
Lots of laughter and jokes were being made by his friends around him, but Karl was honestly just over today, his head continuously reminding him that he broke his phone today and that he now didn't have his own car.
"You sure you're okay?" Nolan asked him softly as they walked, not wanting to draw attention to the two of them.
"Yeah, nope, I'm good!" Karl said, a faux smile on his face as he forced himself to sound happy.
Luckily, Nolan didn't push further and the video continued, and Karl continued zoning off into his own world.
Chandler was out next after his hand moved ever so slightly from the vehicle, which he didn't really even notice at first.
This left just Nolan and Karl in the challenge together, and for some reason, Karl dreaded that happening.
He tried partaking in jokes and stuff about it, but mentally he was pleading for Nolan to just let him win, even though that wouldn't be fair- nor would it be very entertaining for youtube.
Jimmy intervened with yet another challenge, except this time, it was to determine who wins, in the most annoying way possible.
A coin flip.
"Karl, call it in the air," Jimmy told him as he flipped the coin up.
Karl didn't have time to think and there definitely wasn't a strategy behind winning a coin flip. This was it, win or lose.
"Heads," He said, unsure of his choice as Jimmy caught the coin and revealed it.
Tails.
He lost.
"Sorry, Karl," Jimmy apologized as he laughed and announced Nolan as the winner. Finally, the video ended. Normally Karl would've joked, he would've laughed and celebrated, but today? He was just upset. He tried hiding behind another fake smile, he wasn't sure how believable it was anymore.
Karl excused himself for a moment, needing to just go on a walk or something to clear his mind from this bad day.
He didn't get very far, because Nolan caught up to him soon after, "Where are you going?" He asked, starting to walk with him.
Karl shrugged, "Not sure."
"What's wrong? You've had a bad day, I know, but let me help, talk to me-"
"Nolan, please, I'm not a kid, I don't need babied," Karl defended.
"I'm not babying you, I care about you," Nolan said, stopping in his tracks.
Karl stopped and turned around to look at him, "I'm not in the mood for this, please," He asked. His voice started to just sound so over everything.
Nolan knew this wasn't just over losing a stupid video, it was over his phone, and his car, and everything else that had unfortunately happened all in one day. He felt bad.
"Can I at least give you a ride home?" Nolan asked softly.
"What? In your brand new car?" Karl retorted.
"Not if you don't want to take that car," He replied, "Please just let me give you a ride," He added.
"Fine," Karl gave in.
Karl didn't know why he was being so unreasonably mean right now, Nolan hadn't done anything wrong.
Nolan led the two of them back to his car and once again, opened Karl's door for him. He wouldn't admit it, but it made Karl smile a little at how unbothered Nolan seemed by the rudeness.
Both of them got in the car and started the drive back to Karl's house. It was quiet, which was abnormal for the two of them. They were almost always talking and laughing with each other, but now they sat in almost complete silence.
When Nolan pulled into Karl's driveway, he looked over at him, waiting for one of them to speak first.
"Do you want to come in?" Karl asked after a second.
"You don't wanna be alone?" Nolan asked, a little confused because Karl had seemed to push so hard to just be alone earlier.
"No, I changed my mind," He admitted softly.
Nolan smiled a little bit before shutting his car off, both of them leaving the vehicle and walking to the front door, entering the house.
He stopped Karl from walking very far by pulling him into a hug from behind.
"I'm sorry today hasn't been very good to you, let me make it up to you," Nolan said softly, apologizing for things that were completely out of his control, yet still wanting to make up for it.
"You don't have anything to make up for," Karl said, turning around in Nolan's arms to face him. They were still standing so close to each other, which was something they had both always enjoyed.
Nolan's hands made their way down to rest at Karl's waist.
"I want you to have at least some good to your day," He said, leaning down, almost burying his face in Karl's neck, pressing soft kisses to wherever his lips could reach.
"Nolan..." Karl sighed.
"C'mon, let's go up to your room, okay?" Nolan suggested, speaking softly against Karl's neck.
The feeling gave Karl a chill, and suddenly he was extremely okay with whatever Nolan had planned.
"Okay," He smiled softly, as Nolan pressed one more kiss against his neck.
He moved to make eye contact with Karl again, smiling a little back at him, "Yeah?" He asked wanting a confirmation.
Karl confirmed his answer by nodding softly, then leaned up a little, kissing Nolan gently. Nolan returned the kiss, continuing to hold Karl close to him.
It was those moments that it was nice knowing this was just between the two of them. It made it so much more special in Karl's opinion.
When Nolan pulled away, he took Karl's hand and led him upstairs to his bedroom, shutting the door behind both of them. He pulled Karl over to the bed and pushed him down, Karl laughing a little as he allowed himself to fall backwards onto the mattress.
"I like seeing you actually happy," Nolan said, taking his shirt off and discarding it to the floor somewhere before getting on the bed as well.
“You make me happy,” Karl replied, pulling Nolan down into another kiss.
Nolan kissed back, deepening it. One hand was against the mattress beside Karl, the other found it’s way to Karl’s waist again, slipping up under his shirt ever so slightly. He swiped his tongue across Karl’s lips.
Karl practically surrendered all power to Nolan, which is how it usually went, and it felt so perfect every single time.
The kiss became somewhat messy, Nolan finally pulling away to let both of them breathe for a second. Their bodies pressed close against each other, Karl’s arms around Nolan as their lips met again.
Nolan rocked his hips slightly against Karl, causing the other to whine at the friction.
“Nolan please,” Karl mumbled, bucking his hips up slightly to try to get more friction than what he had been teased with.
Nolan responded to this plea by sitting up and helping Karl remove his shirt. Karl worked to unbutton Nolan’s jeans, then undoing his own.
After the two were able to shuffle the rest of their clothes off, leaving both of them in their boxers, Nolan leaned down and kissed Karl’s neck again. He adored the little noises that would escape the other’s lips when he would gently nip at certain spots he seemed to have memorized.
Karl bucked up against Nolan again in an attempt to grind against him to gain some sort of relief.
Nolan let out a shaky breath at this movement, gliding his hand down Karl’s body and starting to palm him through the light fabric of his boxers.
“Shit- Nolan, God…” Karl said under his breath, unable to hold back the small smile that formed on his lips afterwards.
“I’ll give you whatever you want, this is about you, Karl,” Nolan said softly, slipping his fingers underneath the waistband of Karl’s boxers, dangerously close but not close enough to where Karl desperately wanted him to be.
“Touch me, please, Nol, need it so bad,” Karl begged, his voice sounded so broken yet Nolan had hardly done anything. He adored the amount of attention Nolan paid to him, now, and all the time.
“All you gotta do is say so,” Nolan reiterated, pushing Karl’s boxers down.
Karl swore under his breath at the relief he got from the movement.
His cock was painfully hard under Nolan’s touch as he felt him start to stroke the length at a mostly slow but absolutely perfect pace. Karl bit his lip to suppress any noises from escaping his throat.
He allowed his eyes to close as Nolan sped up ever so slightly, whining when his boyfriend would move his wrist in just the right way or when his thumb would graze over his tip, using the precum that had formed as lube. Karl gripped onto the pillow behind his head as he opened his eyes to look at Nolan. God why did he always know what to do?
“You don’t gotta hide your pretty noises from me, Karl,” Nolan praised, continuing to stroke Karl’s dick while he leaned down and pressed more kisses to his neck, chest, and anywhere else he could reach.
“Mm, Nolan, need you so bad…” Karl whimpered out.
It didn’t take much for Karl to become completely undone and submissive in bed, but God was it fun to be the reason. Nolan practically thrived knowing he was able to make Karl such a mess without hardly touching him.
Karl was a whining mess within the next few seconds, and Nolan could tell he was getting close, “Please, want you to fuck me so bad…” he groaned. Nolan could tell Karl was getting closer and closer to his release, so he slowed his previous movements down to a stop, moving his hand from Karl’s dick.
Karl looked like he could’ve cried right then and there at the loss of friction, though he knew he was in for something better.
Nolan pushed his boxers off, where they were then thrown to the floor to join the rest of their clothes. He reached over to Karl’s bedside table to grab the lube that he knew was there.
He repositioned Karl slightly, just to allow himself better access.
He squirted some lube out of the bottle and onto his fingers, using his hands to warm it up some.
“You’re still okay, right?” Nolan asked, wanting a final confirmation before going any further.
“Nolan, I am so okay right now,” Karl said, adding a small laugh towards the end of his sentence.
Nolan lined his index finger to Karl’s hole and pushed it in, slowly. He watched how Karl got used to the feeling, already letting out more soft noises.
He started to push his finger in and out, listening to Karl whine at even the smallest movements.
By the time Nolan introduced a second finger, Karl had been gripping onto the bedsheets, or anything he could hold onto, really. He felt so desperate with the way Nolan’s fingers just barely reached where he needed them to the most.
“Oh my God, need more, please, Nolan,” Karl whimpered again, “need you.”
Nolan pulled his fingers out of Karl once he felt as though the other was ready, squirting a little more lube onto his hand and spreading it onto his own cock, groaning a little at the sudden attention to his dick. He lined himself up with Karl’s hole and pushed into him slowly.
It was enough for Karl’s eyes to roll back some as Nolan began to move, grabbing onto Karl’s legs to help build a bit of a steady pace.
The only sound falling from Karl’s mouth was Nolan’s name.
He sounded so pretty.
Nolan fucked into him a little harder, causing Karl to get louder.
“Fuck, Nolan, can I touch myself?” He asked through an almost broken voice.
“You don’t gotta ask,” Nolan reminded him, wanting Karl to enjoy himself however he wanted to.
Karl’s hand moved to his dick and started to pump himself at the same pace Nolan had been fucking him at. He was getting so close to his climax, craving his release so badly.
Nolan was getting close too, his breathing hitching as he sped up his thrusts some more.
“Close, ‘m so close,” Karl panted.
When Nolan hit Karl’s prostate, time after time, Karl’s words became less and less coherent.
“Nolan, shit, I’m cumming- ah…” Karl whined as he finally let go, cum spilling out of his cock while Nolan fucked him through his orgasm, Nolan cumming inside soon after.
Once both of them had calmed down, Nolan pulled out and collapsed on the bed beside him.
“Shit, Karl,” Nolan said through heavy breaths, laughing a little.
Karl smiled softly, feeling too tired and fucked out to even wanna talk right now. He cuddled up against Nolan while Nolan grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and cleaned them up.
He threw a blanket over both of them and kissed Karl’s forehead.
“I love you,” Karl whispered a little. It was the first time either of them had ever said it romantically, and as much as it caught Nolan off guard, it made him smile.
“I love you too,” He replied, continuing to just hold Karl as they laid together.
“I’m glad you won that video today, sorry I got so upset,” Karl apologized, kind of embarrassed for how he’d acted.
“No don’t apologize. I was actually gonna give the car to you anyway…” Nolan admitted, causing Karl to look over at him.
“You were gonna give the car to me?” He asked, kind of surprised.
“Well I mean yeah. I know you need a new car and well…It’s yours if you still want it,” Nolan explained.
“You’re sure?” Karl asked, wanting confirmation.
“Karl just accept the stupid car,” Nolan laughed.
Karl smiled over at him, “Thank you.”
With that, their conversations slowed to a stop, and they both fell asleep together.
Not all bad days have to continue to be bad.
