Back in the kitchen, the groups were nearly finished cooking. Although Lifering initially noticed that Balloon and Nickel were missing, Lightbulb explained that they had gone to fetch something from the cabin. That was half an hour ago, and he hadn't followed up, so once again, they managed to avoid cooking dinner. The original cooking groups didn't stick together; initially, there were distinct groups, but soon people started switching tasks. Some opted for easier jobs, while others moved around to help with everything. Lifering didn't mind as long as the food was being prepared. Everyone seemed to work well together, so if solid groups weren't necessary, that was fine with him.

It was time to stir the stir-fry in the wok, and Knife took on the task since he didn't mind cooking. He was casually mixing the vegetables, meat, and sauce together, humming to himself and minding his own business, until that annoying red-headed pest showed up.

"Do you need any help?" Fan asked in an overly enthusiastic tone.

"No. Go away," Knife grumbled, placing his hand on Fan's forehead and shoving him away.

Fan whined at being pushed away but quickly moved back beside Knife. He was persistent; Knife had to give him that. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?"

"Maybe try not being so annoying?" Knife snapped at him. What did Fan even want? Why was he being so irritating?

Fan frowned and crossed his arms. Why did Knife have to be such an asshole? He was nice to Balloon! He even flirted with Balloon, but he was so mean to Fan. Why? "Why do you have to be so rude to me?" Fan asked. "You were nice to Balloon!"

Knife stopped stirring for a moment, raising an eyebrow. How would Fan know? He wasn't in their group. He glanced at Fan and then back at the wok. "So, Nickel has been talking shit about me, hm?"

"I... I didn't say that," Fan murmured nervously. He hadn't really thought before speaking, had he?

"Well, you didn't say that, but if you know what happened between Balloon and me earlier, I assume Nickel has been talking about it. What'd that whiny baby say? How I was trying to steal his crush? Pshh..." Knife rolled his eyes, removed the wooden spoon, and put the lid on the pot to let it simmer.

"Well, partially yes, he was upset about you flirting with Balloon. I mean, totally uncool, man! Fine if you didn't know the first time, but to do it a second time to annoy Nickel? That's, like, totally unfair." Fan put his hands on his hips, lecturing Knife.

Knife was unamused by Fan's little lecture. Did he even know who he was talking to? Knife didn't give two shits about how Nickel felt. Knife was a jerk, and he loved being a jerk. Nothing would change that, especially not an annoying, whiny pest who wouldn't leave him alone. The audacity of Fan to lecture him about this was ridiculous. Why did he even get a say? He wasn't there; he heard the drama from a third party and now thought he had some sort of authority? Did he want to start drama? Did he want trouble? Because Knife could give him trouble if that's what he wanted. He let Fan continue rambling about how bad it was to steal other people's crushes, how Knife needed to 'rethink' his life choices, and how Knife's attitude wouldn't work in the real world. Yada yada... boring!

Knife stared down at this rambling, short imbecile before moving his hand above Fan's head, pressing his hand against the wall behind him and backing him into the bench attached to the wall. Fan squeaked and shrunk his shoulders, looking up at Knife with nervousness rushing over him. Initially, Knife did this to frighten and intimidate Fan, but then he noticed how utterly flustered it made him. Interesting... Knife moved his other hand to Fan's face, gently running the back of it down Fan's cheek, causing Fan to shiver. His face was burning hot. Knife never realised how feeble and sensitive Fan was. Sure, he could tell when he used to beat him up, but this was different.

Fan was trembling, trying to steady himself by placing a hand on the bench behind him. His heart was pounding in his chest, adrenaline surging through him. His entire face was flushed pink. He could feel his breath catching in his chest and knew he had to escape the situation before he said or did something stupid. He swallowed shakily and spoke quickly.

"I... I have to go!" Fan squeaked, ducking under Knife's arm and trying to escape. Knife snatched Fan's jacket hood and pulled him back, causing Fan to let out a whine, what did he want? Why couldn't he just let him go?

"Actually, you can help me with something," Knife smirked.

"Oh... heh... I should really get back to Test Tube—" Fan protested, trying his best to get away.

Knife yanked him back harshly, throwing him against the bench and standing over him menacingly. Fan was extremely short compared to Knife, with a skinny and feeble frame that contrasted sharply with Knife's stature. Knife had to admit, he found it rather cute—especially how easily Fan got flustered. He leaned in closely to Fan's face before speaking.

"I want you to tell Nickel to keep his mouth shut about me, or else I'll make his life hell. Got it? Can you do that for me, Fan?" Knife said, moving a hand down Fan's hair and stroking it softly.

Fan shivered helplessly, his shoulders tensing as his head sank down. Knife's touch made him feel weird, and he didn't like it—it felt so wrong. He shook his head, snapping out of it.

"Mhm! Got it! Okay, I should go—bye!" Fan quickly rambled before wrenching himself free from Knife's grasp, hurrying to escape and head towards the bright lights.

Fan felt like he couldn't breathe. His chest was tight, his face flushed bright red. He had no idea what he was feeling right now, but it was definitely not what he should be feeling—it was like a rush of adrenaline. He didn't like Knife, not like that... but come on, someone as hot and popular as Knife, lowkey flirting with him? It did something to you! Fan wasn't straight, even though he was dating his lovely girlfriend Test Tube. He was bisexual, so yeah, a guy as hot as Knife was going to make him flustered! He couldn't help that. At least, that's what he told himself to justify the weird feelings he was experiencing.

Fan quickly raced back to the bright lights, where everyone was simply waiting for the food to be ready to be served. They noticed how nervous he was and immediately turned their attention to him.

"Fan... what did you do?" Test Tube asked, crossing her arms. She knew her boyfriend well enough to recognize when something was wrong, especially something he probably caused.

Fan swallowed and cleared his throat before speaking. "I may... or may not have accidentally told Knife that Nickel was talking about him... b-but it wasn't on purpose! Oh god... Nickel is going to kill me... and then Knife is going to kill Nickel. Oh god, what did I do? What did I do!?" Fan felt like he couldn't breathe for multiple reasons right now.

Test Tube knew she couldn't get mad at him; he was having a mini panic attack, and getting angry would only make him feel worse. So she took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close into a hug. Fan quickly wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her chest. She huffed and moved her hand to the back of his head, stroking his hair.

"Alright... hey, calm down. Nickel isn't going to hurt you. I doubt it greatly. You messed up, and that's okay. Just tell me exactly what Knife said, and we can probably fix this, okay?" Test Tube spoke calmly.

Fan sniffled and moved his face up to look at her. "He said to tell Nickel to keep his mouth shut about him or he'll make his life hell..." Fan looked up at Test Tube with pleading eyes.

Lightbulb and Paintbrush exchanged looks. This was Fan overreacting again. It seemed like Knife was making an empty threat to scare Nickel. If anything, Fan should be more worried about Nickel getting mad at him for telling Knife that Nickel was talking about him behind his back.

"Fanstar! Relax, bud! I doubt Knife will actually do anything to Nickel. Maybe Nickel might be mad at you, but I doubt he'll be mad for long!" Lightbulb assured Fan.

"Yeah, because Balloon will tell him not to, and knowing Nickel, he'll obey anything Balloon tells him to do," Paintbrush snickered softly to themself.

"Speaking of Balloon and Nickel... they aren't back yet," Test Tube realised, feeling a twinge of worry. She knew they'd probably be fine, but she didn't want them to get into trouble for disappearing.

"They're probably making out or something," Paintbrush chuckled, half-joking.

"Ooh, you think!?" Fan exclaimed, far too excitedly.

Test Tube shot Fan a sharp glare before crossing her arms nervously and looking away.

"Someone should go get them," she declared.

"I'll go!" Fan volunteered, far too eagerly.

"You will not," Test Tube snapped, grabbing his arm. "If they are 'making out,' you're probably the last person they want to catch them," she reasoned.

"She has a point, Fanstar. After how you tried to push them together the first time, they probably wouldn't appreciate seeing you there. Plus, you did tell Knife about Nickel talking about him. Sure, Nickel doesn't know yet, but for his safety, you'll eventually have to tell him," Lightbulb added.

Test Tube nodded, feeling that the best choice was for her to go. Balloon already trusted her a lot; she had practically become his personal therapist. They would react better to her catching them making out rather than Fan, who was weirdly obsessive, especially about other people's relationships.

"I'll go. Just... if the teachers ask where I went, tell them I went to the bathroom," Test Tube said with a huff.

"I doubt they'll ask. Silver and Candle are too busy flirting, and no offence to Goo and Lifering, but they are the most absent-minded people I've ever met. They never know what's going on," Paintbrush pointed out.

"Just in case, you know what to say. I'll be back soon." Test Tube quickly left to find Balloon and Nickel.

. . .

Balloon and Nickel sat against the riverbank, unmoved from their spot for the past half hour. Nickel had his arms wrapped around Balloon's neck, while Balloon's hands rested on Nickel's waist. Nickel lay back on the grass as Balloon hovered over him, kissing his lips tenderly. They both knew they had overstayed and needed to return to the kitchen for dinner, but neither boy wanted to. Interlocked at the lips, eyes closed, faces flushed red, they lost all concept of time as everything blurred into one. They were no longer just softly kissing; it had escalated to full-blown making out. Desperately, they pressed their lips together, mouths open, wet and sloppy. It wasn't perfect—no one's first time ever was—but despite the imperfections, they were both completely into it.

It was odd, despite Balloon not wanting to at first, he was the one controlling most of it, his tongue desperately swirling in Nickel's mouth, exploring each corner it could, Nickel felt like he was in heaven, experiencing a moment of pure bliss. Everything around him seemed like clouds and mist. He had lost all thoughts of anything else besides Balloon, completely zoned out as saliva dripped down the corner of his lip. As the kiss continued, Nickel couldn't resist playing with Balloon's ribbon, eventually pulling it out and letting Balloon's hair fall onto his shoulders. In that moment, Balloon didn't mind, especially since moments later, Nickel began running his fingers through Balloon's salmon-coloured locks.

The two of them wished they could stay like this forever, without a care in the world, just each other. They both knew that once this moment ended, they'd have to face reality again, along with the conflicting emotions they had never fully explored. Deep down, Balloon wasn't sure if he wanted a relationship. He was undeniably falling in love with Nickel—there was no doubt about it, as he was literally sitting here kissing him—but he was still afraid. He had just regained Nickel after all these years, and he feared that something might come between them and pull them apart again. Balloon worried that if they rushed into a relationship too quickly, it would hurt even more if they had to split. He didn't want to feel that pain or even think about it. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to kiss Nickel, knowing that once he did, there would be no turning back. Yet, his emotions got the best of him. He really wanted to kiss Nickel, even if he wasn't mentally ready for it. Now here they were, making out in the dead of night at a camp they didn't even want to attend. It's strange how things can change.

As for Test Tube, she first checked the cabin to see if they were there, but once she cleared that, she began her walk down to the river. She had a feeling they'd be there—it was the closest place to the camp that was isolated enough for privacy. Test Tube had mentally prepared herself to see anything; she already suspected she might catch them making out, given the tension between them lately. She casually hummed as she strolled down the hill toward the riverbank. It was dark out, and she could barely see, but fortunately, the bright moon above guided her. She stopped when she could clearly see the pair in the distance, doing exactly what she had expected. Rolling her eyes, she called out anyway.

"Hey! You two! You've been gone for almost an hour! If I were you, I'd head back now—dinner is almost done!" she yelled. There was no way she was going down there to get a closer look at them kissing; she knew how awkward that would be. So, she waited on the hill for them to finish and come up.

Balloon let out a squeak upon hearing the call. Nervously, he pulled his lips away from Nickel, the saliva breaking between them. Nickel whined as Balloon moved back, keeping his arms wrapped around Balloon's neck and trying to pull him back, unwilling to leave.

"Looney... come back..." he whined.

Balloon, out of breath from all the kissing, huffed. "We have to go..." he whispered.

Nickel frowned and moved his arms away, crossing them grumpily.

Balloon wiped his lips and stood up, realising his hair was undone. He looked toward Nickel. "Ribbon?" he asked.

Nickel got to his feet and grumbled as he handed the ribbon over, clearly not wanting to stop.

Balloon took the ribbon and tied up his hair before smiling down at the stubborn Nickel.

"You knew we'd have to leave eventually... come on," Balloon chuckled softly as he took Nickel's hand.

"I guess..." Nickel scoffed. Of course, he knew they couldn't kiss forever, but it was just sad that it had to end when it did.

The two of them slowly made their way back up the hill to Test Tube, talking as they walked.

"So... does this mean we're–" Nickel began, but was cut off.

"I'll think about it... I just, I need time, okay?" Balloon huffed.

"Yeah... cool... cool, time! Gotcha, can do!" Nickel smiled a little. He wished to be in a relationship with Balloon, but he understood why Balloon needed time to process everything. A lot had happened that night, and in the past few days as well.

They reached the top of the hill where Test Tube stood with her arms crossed, looking at them with a hint of annoyance.

"Gee... you both got out of cooking again. Good job," Test Tube snickered bitterly. "You both owe me," she warned.

Balloon and Nickel exchanged glances and then nodded at Test Tube.

"Of course, whatever you need. Your wish is our command," Nickel replied with a positive smile.

"Just... one little thing. Could you keep whatever you saw between us three? Please? I know how Fan will react if he finds out, and both Nickel and I... we're still working things out. We really don't need the pressure from others. We'll tell them when we're ready," Balloon asked softly.

"Of course..." Test Tube smiled a bit, feeling a pang of guilt for the trouble her boyfriend had caused. This reminded her that she had some news to break. "About Fan... he, uh... he might have accidentally told Knife that Nickel was talking about him. I have no idea how it happened, I wasn't there, but Fan was really worked up about it. He mentioned something about Knife threatening Nickel," Test Tube nervously explained.

Nickel's eye twitched with obvious anger. Balloon could sense how tense Nickel was, so he gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Hey... don't blame Fan, okay? Knife is the one you should be angry with," Balloon muttered softly to him.

"He could still keep his mouth shut," Nickel grumbled. "Seriously, why does he have to be so obnoxious sometimes?" Nickel spat.

"Hey! Calm down, he didn't mean it, okay?" Test Tube didn't appreciate him talking about her boyfriend like that. "As Balloon said, Knife is the real issue here, not Fan." She added. "Fan was really upset when he told me, so just give him a break, okay? You said you owe me one, right? Then do me a favour and don't get mad at Fan," Test Tube requested.

Nickel grumbled, gritting his teeth. "Fine," he snapped. "I won't get directly mad at him... but he'll still know I'm annoyed with him," Nickel warned.

"As long as you don't take it out on him, I'm fine with that," Test Tube huffed.

Soon enough, the three of them made it back to camp and headed inside the kitchen. The tables were already set, and everyone had already taken their seats. Balloon, Nickel, and Test Tube quickly snuck in and sat at the table with Lightbulb, Fan, and Paintbrush, who had saved their seats and bowls of stir-fry. Each couple sat across from each other, with Balloon, Fan, and Lightbulb on one side and Nickel, Test Tube, and Paintbrush on the other. Once everyone was settled, Paintbrush spoke up to voice their frustration about Nickel and Balloon ditching cooking.

"You two are so lucky the teachers or coordinators didn't notice you were both gone. I can't believe you got out of cooking, again! Seriously... we all had to be stuck here doing something. I don't think it was really fair for you two to sneak away, and then what? We had to cover for you?!" Paintbrush snapped.

"We didn't ask you to cover for us," Nickel scoffed.

"B-But we're glad you did! Thank you..." Balloon quickly added with a faint smile after Nickel's remark.

"You better be thankful..." Paintbrush scoffed as they shoved food into their mouth.

There was a moment of silence at the table before Fan spoke up.

"So, what were you two doing... making out?" Fan asked with a smirk on his lips.

"No–" Balloon quickly interjected.

"Yes–" Nickel cut in.

"Nickel!" Balloon squeaked.

"What! I can't help it! We were making out! Besides, I'd like it to be known that you are clearly seeing someone so the likes of Knife backs off... that jerk thinks he can threaten me... stupid little..." Nickel grumbled before he was cut off.

"Test Tube! You told them!" Fan cried, frowning at his girlfriend.

"I had to, Fan! I knew you weren't going to tell them! And you knew they had to know; you can't keep something like that from them," Test Tube lectured.

"Yeah... about that, what the heck were you thinking?!" Nickel snapped at Fan.

"Nickel! You said you weren't going to yell at him!" Test Tube snapped back at Nickel.

"Well, sorry your boyfriend is so dimwitted!" Nickel retorted.

All this arguing was clearly making Balloon nervous; he played with his food, keeping his head down as everyone around him argued.

Paintbrush hated arguments; their eyes twitched as they clutched their fork in their hand. They had had enough.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP," Paintbrush snapped loudly, slamming their hands on the table, their eyes blazing with anger. "You are all equally in the wrong! Fan, you shouldn't have said anything to Knife. Nickel and Balloon shouldn't have snuck off in the first place. And Test Tube... well, you haven't done anything wrong. But everyone else needs to just relax and stop being jerks to each other. Fan didn't mean it, Nickel, and if you were actually here, maybe that wouldn't have happened, who knows?" Paintbrush took a deep breath and tried to calm down. They were prone to lashing out like this, especially when things got overstimulating. "Just, can we not be mad at each other? We can all equally agree that Knife is an asshole, yes?" Paintbrush asks.

Everyone stayed silent through Paintbrush's lash out, nobody was really expecting it to happen. They all looked down at their food nervously, there were no more arguments as Paintbrush had all valid points that they could not argue against. They were in the wrong and they had to accept that and not put the blame on each other.

"Soo... I was thinking we could play a few games back at the cabin tonight... I mean why not, right?" Lightbulb spoke up, trying to lighten the mood to the best of her ability.

"Sure, Lightbulb... that sounds fun." Balloon spoke up with a faint smile.

Nickel couldn't shake off what Knife had done. It wasn't just the threat; he could handle that. Knife threatened plenty of people. But now, it was sinking in how aggressively he had acted today. Knife was deliberately trying to take Balloon away from him, and he wasn't even bothering to hide it! What's to say he won't try again? Nickel felt an urge to take action, to confront Knife and make him back off. The anger was boiling inside him, and if he didn't do something about it, he felt like he would explode. Deep down, he knew that approaching Knife would only escalate things, but he couldn't help it. When angry, you don't think straight, and he wasn't. He wanted to "protect" Balloon and their relationship, the only way he knew how.

"Hey, uh... I'll be back," Nickel excused himself from the table.

"Where are you going...?" Balloon asked nervously.

"Bathroom... I'll only be a second!" he lied.

Nickel headed straight to Knife's table on the other side of the room. He interrupted Knife, who was talking with Microphone.

"Can we speak for a moment, in private?" Nickel snapped at Knife.

Knife looked up from his friends towards Nickel. "Huh... alright." He excused himself from his friends, and the two of them headed out the back door, outside the kitchen.

"Let me guess, you're here about the threat?" Knife asked with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up," Nickel snapped at him, surprising Knife slightly. He didn't think Nickel had it in him. "This isn't about that stupid threat. This is about you and Balloon. How dare you try to steal him from me! I told you that I liked him, yet you still tried to pursue him, and you even proceeded to call him names! Well, guess what, Balloon and I got to second base, we made out! So yeah! He isn't such a baby after all!" Nickel snapped at Knife.

To Knife, this whole encounter was laughable. He had to hold back his laughs at how pathetic Nickel was being right now. Seriously, he was coming at him to basically 'threaten' him to stay away from Balloon, like a protective little boyfriend... aw, how cute. Knife smirked down at the little worm. Did he think he was so much better than Knife? Didn't he realise Knife could crush him in a second?

"Oh, whoopdeedoo... You made out with him. Do you want a medal?" Knife scoffed as he laughed. "You're so pathetic, you know that? Does your little boyfriend even know you're out here? What would he say if he knew you were here trying to square up to me?" Knife asked with a wide smile. "Y'know, I was going to back away from Balloon. I just didn't want you talking smack about me when you didn't have the right to... but now? Heh... you're finished. I am going to make Balloon wish he never fucking met you." Knife spat violently. "Then, I'm going to make him MY bitch, and kiss him right in front of you. You like that?" Knife snarled.

Nickel was shaking in his spot, his hands clenched to his sides. He wanted to punch Knife right in the face and beat him to the ground. He was furious, more than furious—he was outraged. How dare he! Did he realise how hard Nickel had worked to finally get to where he was with Balloon, and now he wanted to take that away from him too?

"Fuck you! You're not going near him! He won't trust you, or believe anything you say! He hates you as much as I hate you! So if you really think that will work, go for it, but it won't, you'll just make yourself look like an idiot trying!" Nickel snapped back.

Knife simply smirked down at Nickel for a moment, watching him blow up as if he were an angry mouse. Once Nickel finished speaking, Knife grabbed him by his jacket harshly and threw him onto the dirty ground. He then proceeded to stomp on his side.

"Don't speak to me like that, you little worm!" he spat, kicking him one last time before spitting on the ground beside him.

"I will do whatever I want, and there is nothing you can do about it," Knife said finally before turning around and heading back inside.

Nickel groaned, rolling around on the ground in pain, clenching his side as he coughed. He pushed himself up against the wall as tears welled up in his eyes. He was in so much pain; he was definitely going to bruise up now. But he couldn't let Balloon know he was out here with Knife, couldn't let him know that he got beaten up by him. He couldn't make him worry; he just couldn't. Especially, he couldn't let Balloon go after Knife because of this. So Nickel sat there, in pain, breathing through it. He closed his eyes and took a moment to endure the pain.

God, he hoped Knife was just bluffing.