(Hi guys! You're probably wondering where I've been! I had covid! I took a few days off from writing due to being really sick. I still had to complete an assessment believe it or not, so I've been away, but finally, after writing bits and pieces here and there while sick, I have finally finished a chapter!)

The next day arrived quickly, with the sun streaming through the cabin windows, signalling it was time to wake up. Balloon and Nickel were still fast asleep, snuggled up together in bed, exhausted from the previous day's events. As usual, Paintbrush was the first to rise. They hopped into the shower before anyone else had a chance and were now fully dressed and ready to start the day.

Fan and Test Tube woke up next, around the same time. The moment Test Tube slipped out of Fan's grasp, Fan complained about being too cold and got up as well. They both waited for Paintbrush to finish in the bathroom before taking their own showers.

Lightbulb remained sound asleep, her arm hanging off the side of the bed as she snored peacefully. Paintbrush sat at the edge of the bed, gently running their hand through Lightbulb's hair, watching her sleep. They loved their girlfriend so much; she brought a sense of brightness to their life. Paintbrush wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. Paintbrush waited a few more minutes before waking their girlfriend up to get ready for the day.

Before long, both Nickel and Balloon stirred awake due to the chatter of the bright lights preparing to leave the cabin for a morning beverage. Nickel sat up first, groaning as he rubbed his eyes. He stretched his arm and looked down at Balloon beside him. The salmon-haired boy blinked his eyes open, adjusting to the sun rays shining directly on their bed. He groaned and sat up next to Nickel.

Nickel painfully slipped out of bed, his ribs aching from Knife's stomp the previous day. He groaned as he stood up but tried to play it off as stretching, not wanting to worry Balloon.

Balloon rubbed his eyes and shifted out of bed as well.

"I'm going to have a shower..." Nickel said as Balloon got up, then leaned down to grab some clothes from his bag.

"Do you want me to wait here for you? I don't mind waiting," Balloon offered, getting some clean clothes out of his own bag.

"Yes, please." Nickel smiled faintly. He felt a bit guilty making Balloon stay, but he didn't want to leave him alone, especially if he encountered Knife again.

"By the way... I brought painkillers," Balloon said, pulling out a packet from his bag. He smiled faintly and handed them to Nickel.

"Thanks..." Nickel chuckled awkwardly, realising his attempt to hide his pain hadn't really worked. Maybe it could fool someone else, but not someone who knew him as well as Balloon did. It was worth a try, though. "I'll be back," he said before heading to the shower.

As Nickel left, Balloon got dressed. He slipped on a pair of blue jeans, a plain white T-shirt, and a red button-up shirt that he left unbuttoned. He put on his red converse and retied his hair, not bothering to tame it since it was too curly to brush and he didn't have the right products to make it sit properly. Once he was fully ready, he sat on the bed and patiently waited for Nickel.

. . .

Outside, the Bright lights gathered around the morning campfire, waiting for the other campers to wake up. Fan was getting really bored, especially since Test Tube and Lightbulb were deep in conversation, making him feel left out. Sure, he could talk to Paintbrush, but they were off doing their own thing.

"I'm going to go to the kitchen and make us coffee. I think I know how to use the coffee machine now," Fan announced as he stood up.

"Alright, hun," Test Tube smiled at him, not seeing an issue with it.

"Oooh, make me a hot chocolate!" Lightbulb giggled.

"If I figure out how, sure," Fan replied with a faint smile before letting the two girls get back to their chat.

He made his way to the kitchen, humming as he walked. It was still pretty early, and the other cabin seemed to be asleep. It looked like the Bright Lights were the first ones up, but it probably wouldn't be long until the others woke up too. The sun was really bright, and Lifering was awake, talking to Goo and the teachers around the campfire, probably about the day's activities.

Fan walked into the kitchen and froze in place when he saw who was at the coffee machine. Knife. He knew he should have turned around and left immediately, but he was paralyzed, all the recent talk about avoiding Knife at all costs running through his mind. It was shocking to see him just standing there after spending an entire night discussing how to avoid him. Now here he was, right in front of him, and they were alone. Fan didn't know how to respond, his brain shutting down as he stood stiff. Knife noticed him almost immediately. Leaning casually against the counter with a coffee mug in his hand, Knife seemed to have woken up before his cabin and grabbed a cup of coffee before everyone started lining up.

Knife spoke up when he realised Fan wasn't going to say anything, stuck in some sort of trance.

"Morning," Knife said casually, taking a sip of his coffee. "Need help with the machine? I could make you a coffee," he offered with a smile.

Why was Knife being oddly nice? Well, why wouldn't he be? He didn't have a problem with Fan. If anything, Fan had been a great help to him so far and had been entertaining to playfully tease. Besides, Knife saw potential in Fan as someone he could manipulate to get what he wanted. He just had to play his cards right to find a way to control him. How hard could it be?

Fan gulped, trying to open his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He felt overwhelmed by Knife's presence, as if it were illegal to even be near him. Test Tube didn't want him anywhere near Knife, and Fan felt like he was doing something wrong, even though it wasn't his fault. He had a few options: he could casually accept Knife's offer, get the help, and leave; he could decline, make his coffee, and leave; or he could leave right now without saying another word. But did he choose any of those options? No, of course not.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you–" Fan blurted out nervously.

Knife tilted his head slightly, chuckling. Though Fan's reaction threw him off a bit, it wasn't surprising, especially since Knife already knew Nickel had been talking about him. He suspected Nickel had spilled the beans about the attack last night.

"Who said?" Knife asked curiously, crossing his arms over his chest.

"My girlfriend," Fan replied, uncomfortably crossing his own arms and averting his eyes. Knife made him feel small, intimidated. He didn't want to feel this way again. Knife seemed to have a hypnotic effect on him, making it hard to concentrate when he was near.

"Test Tube?" Knife questioned. He wasn't expecting that, but then again, it made sense. Test Tube probably noticed Fan's infatuation with Knife and that made her jealous, she also knew Knife was bad news. "It's not like I'm gonna bite..." Knife snickered as he switched on the coffee machine. "What do you want? I'll make it."

Fan awkwardly approached the coffee machine, unsure why he didn't just turn and leave, but he didn't. Instead, he stood next to Knife.

"Cappuccino..." Fan muttered. "Two of them. I need to bring one back to Test Tube—who, by the way, said I shouldn't even be talking to you! So..." Fan recrossed his arms.

"Why's that?" Knife hummed as he casually prepared the coffee machine.

"You know why!" Fan squeaked. "She's worried you're gonna, like, hurt me or something! I mean, you did beat Nickel up! What did he do to deserve that, by the way? Wasn't the threat you made enough?" Fan asked, feeling really guilty about all of this.

"It was," Knife started as he ground the coffee beans. "Until the little prick approached me and started mouthing off. I don't like being spoken down to, and he did, so I taught him a lesson. It was as simple as that."

Fan frowned, fiddling with his thumbs and still trying to avoid eye contact with Knife. "That doesn't mean you had to beat him up... everyone is super mad at you! Wait—why am I even telling you any of this? I shouldn't be talking to you! Stop this! Stop trying to get in my head!" Fan snapped.

"Hm? I'm not... you're willingly telling me everything," Knife shrugged as he walked over to the fridge to get the milk.

"Yeah, but—you're being all smooth and stuff. Making me coffee, speaking so casually, trying to give me a false sense of security that this is okay! That's manipulative! This is exactly what Test Tube was talking about and why she wants me away from you! She knows that—"

"What? That you're the weakest out of all of them? Easily tricked and manipulated? Does she not have faith in you? I mean, it's not my place to say anything, but you should be allowed to speak to anyone you want..." Knife shrugged as he poured the milk into the metal flask.

"It's not like that..." Fan murmured, it made him start to think if this was Test Tube's true intentions... because she didn't trust him to keep his mouth shut, maybe it wasn't actually about his safety after all?

"You sure? You don't sound sure," Knife pointed out as he started to warm the milk.

"I'm sure," Fan snapped. "Stop trying to get inside my head. I know you're trying to get me to turn against my friends, but I won't. I know what you're doing! I'm not an idiot," Fan scoffed.

Knife snickered softly. He moved the hot milk and carefully poured it into the cup, completing the first freshly brewed cappuccino. "I'm not doing anything. You're in your own head, making up stuff. I haven't once asked you to tell me any of this. I offered to make you coffee," Knife stated. He wasn't wrong; Fan was the one willingly spilling all the beans. Knife wasn't forcing him to say anything. Sure, he might have been using a smooth tactic to make Fan nervous, but there was no actual proof he was doing that. He was simply being nice.

"Then—then why are you being so nice to me? You're doing this on purpose to make me comfortable with you! Why else would you suddenly want to talk to me? You know I'm the weak one, and you know you can use me like some kind of pawn, so you're being extra nice to me to get me to say stuff to you! I know exactly what you're doing! I've seen it all before, but guess what, buddy? I'm not falling for it!" Fan snapped, taking the first coffee and having a sip. It tasted really good, but he wasn't going to admit that.

Knife started on the second coffee, allowing Fan to go off on his little tantrum. Rolling his eyes, he turned to face him as the coffee was being ground.

"Maybe I just want to be your friend," Knife shrugged.

"Why would you want to be my friend? You used to bully me!" Fan exclaimed.

"Yeah, and maybe I think you're cool now," Knife hummed as he repeated the process with the coffee machine.

"You...? Think I'm cool? Heh—no... you're the cool one. Why would you think I'm cool? Now I know you're lying!" Fan was starting to get nervous again; compliments made him feel weird, especially coming from someone like Knife.

"Aw... you think I'm cool? That's cute." Knife smiled charmingly, leaning against the bench as he stared down at Fan, who was starting to become a nervous wreck.

"Stop," Fan warned.

"Stop what?" Knife questioned, smirking a bit. He found this really fun.

"Looking at me like that... it's making me nervous," Fan admitted, looking away. He grabbed his mug and took another nervous sip, trying to avoid looking back at Knife.

Knife chuckled softly, finding it amusing how nervous Fan got just from his presence. It was entertaining, and Knife was definitely going to use it to his advantage. He finished making the second coffee and set it aside for Fan to take back to Test Tube. Watching Fan quickly grab the cup and prepare to make his escape, Knife couldn't help but enjoy the moment.

"Not gonna say thank you?" Knife asked, brushing a hand against Fan's hair.

Fan shivered, jolting slightly at the contact. His cheeks flushed brightly as he stared at Knife. Any touch from Knife always made him feel fuzzy... and he hated it. He hated the effect Knife had on him. Fan opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He felt overwhelmed by everything: Knife beating up Nickel, Test Tube forbidding him from speaking to Knife, bumping into Knife this morning—no, not just bumping into him, but having him make the coffee he was going to give to Test Tube! And of course, Knife's smooth talk and flirty tones were making him feel a certain way. It wasn't fair. Fan just stood there, eyes wide, pupils dilating, breath caught in his throat, struggling to say anything. He slowly nodded, never taking his eyes off Knife.

"You know... you really shouldn't let your friends cloud your judgement about me," Knife cooed, stroking Fan's hair. "I can tell you like having me around~. You should have a say in this. Fine, they don't have to talk to me... I don't like those losers anyway. But you? I don't have a problem with you~" Knife leaned in closer.

He watched as Fan's face grew redder and redder, his shoulders sinking and his breath catching in his throat. Fan couldn't even look away; like a stunned deer, he stared, too fearful to flee. He just nodded again in response.

"Look... if you're really worried about what they'll do if they find out you're still talking to me, there's a solution! Don't tell them. We can always talk in private. I mean... I like being alone with you. It's fun~" Knife continued, trying everything he could to get Fan on his side. He knew he could manipulate him; it wasn't hard since Fan was so easily convinced.

Fan just slowly nodded. He didn't want to lie to Test Tube or any of his other friends—they really didn't want him talking to Knife. And quite frankly, he didn't want to either. Knife made him feel weird, and he hated that. He couldn't let Knife confuse his mind like this! He wanted to run, to pretend Knife wasn't there, but he couldn't. He felt trapped. If he said no, if he decided to run and tell Test Tube, what would Knife do? Would he do what he did to Nickel? Would he hurt him?

Fan had been bullied by Knife all the time, but now, one of the coolest people Fan knew thought he was cool? That he actually wanted him around and wanted to talk to him? Part of Fan knew this was manipulation. He knew! But it felt so nice to be liked by someone other than his friends. It felt so nice to feel like he could fit in. There were too many factors convincing him to agree with Knife, to stay his friend and lie to his real friends. He was so conflicted, and he hated it.

"T-The coffees getting cold... I should go–" Fan managed to stutter out.

"Alright, just think about what I said, hm? You deserve to make your own choice. Your opinion matters, Fan." Knife gave a faint smile before walking past him. He felt he had played it pretty smooth and that it might have been enough to convince Fan that this was the right decision. Knife tried to paint himself as the bigger man in the situation, suggesting that Fan's friends weren't considering him at all, but Knife was. He wanted to make it seem like this wasn't his fault and that the others had some random issue with him. He wanted to appear as the saint to Fan and turn him against his friends.

Once Knife had left, Fan quickly followed, not wanting to walk out at the same time in case anyone saw. As he exited the kitchen, he glanced over at the campfire where people were starting to gather, including Knife and his friends, of course on the opposite side from Fan's friends. He watched as his three best friends eyed Knife down as he sat by the camp before continuing to talk among themselves. Fan took a deep, shaky breath and tried to put on a fake facade. He decided he wouldn't tell anyone about the encounter with Knife; he would keep this to himself, not because Knife told him to, but because it shouldn't be anyone else's business. It's not like Knife approached him—he was already in the kitchen—and he wasn't in any kind of danger, so why did they need to know?

As for his decision on whether or not to befriend Knife... he was still thinking about it. He was confused by his feelings and wasn't sure how to actually feel about it all. He needed time to think it over; hence, the others couldn't know. He couldn't have anyone else influencing his decision, like Knife said. This was his choice, not theirs. He got a say in this.

Fan approached the camp and sat down beside Test Tube, trying to appear as calm and unsuspecting as possible. He handed her the coffee and sipped his own. Test Tube was too busy talking to Lightbulb and Paintbrush to notice Fan's change in behaviour. Fan kept to himself, sipping his coffee as he zoned out. The ramblings of his girlfriend and friends became a blur. His eyes drifted off into the distance, staring at Knife, who was talking with his own friends. He couldn't seem to look away. Was he afraid of Knife or drawn to him? He wasn't sure, but he couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. It made him feel unsettled.

. . .

Back in the cabin, Nickel had finished his shower and got fully dressed for the day. He walked out, his hair still dripping wet. He walked over and sat beside Balloon on the bed, who was writing poems in his little notebook. Nickel grabs his shoes and socks and slips them on, humming casually.

"Whatcha writing?" Nickel asked curiously.

"Poems," Balloon answered with a faint smile, closing his book and putting it away. "There's no internet here, can't scroll through social media... So why not write?"

"Yeah... it's weird. We haven't spoken to Baseball or Suitcase in five days," Nickel chuckled awkwardly.

They both went silent for a moment, the thought that Baseball and Suitcase had no idea what had happened over the last five days weighing on them.

"The last message I managed to send... I think I mentioned that I had a good feeling about this camp and us," Balloon said as he slipped off the bed. "But I don't think she would've ever thought... all this would happen." He took Nickel's hand and pulled him up.

"I doubt she did," Nickel chuckled a little.

There was another moment of silence before Nickel spoke again.

"Do you think they'll be okay with everything that's happened between us? I mean, they're not homophobic, obviously, but wouldn't it be weird for them to see us like this? And... didn't..." Nickel paused, lowering his voice. "Didn't Suitcase like me?" He felt weird saying it out loud. It had come as a shock when Baseball and Balloon told him about Suitcase's feelings, especially since he was gay and didn't feel the same way... it killed him.

"It might be... and it might take her a moment to deal with the change, but I'm sure she'll still be happy for us," Balloon assured Nickel, though he wasn't too sure himself. "But what about Baseball? What if he starts to feel left out? We're his only real guy friends... and if we start dating, wouldn't that make it weird for him?"

Nickel shrugged. He hadn't really thought about what his friends would think, mostly because he was worried about it and tried to push the thought away.

"I think it'll be okay, Balloon. We have a week before we have to confront that. Let's just enjoy ourselves. When we update them, we'll be ready, and... it will be okay," Nickel tried to sound positive, for Balloon's sake.

"Okay, you're right. We shouldn't worry," Balloon smiled faintly. "Should we go?"

"Yeah, the others are probably waiting for us," Nickel agreed.