Fan and Knife walked together through the bushes, the silence between them growing increasingly awkward. Knife felt uncomfortable helping Fan, while Fan found the silence anxiety-inducing. He was a chatterbox by nature, and the quiet made him uneasy. He couldn't stop thinking about Knife's confession—that he had been using Fan all along. Did that mean the compliments Knife had given him weren't genuine? Did Knife not actually find him cute? These questions gnawed at Fan's mind, and he couldn't just let them go. This was Fan, after all. The small, short redhead glanced up at Knife, nervously clearing his throat to break the silence.

"So, uh... when you said you were just using me to get information about Nickel and Balloon... does that mean you don't think I'm cute, or...?" Fan asked, tilting his head.

Knife was baffled. Was Fan serious? Why did he care so much about being called cute? He had a girlfriend, yet here he was, asking a guy if he found him cute. Knife couldn't help but wonder if Test Tube was aware that her boyfriend might not be straight because Fan sure acted like he wasn't.

Did Knife find Fan cute? Initially, he had said so only to manipulate him, but now, thinking about it truthfully, what was his actual opinion? He looked down at Fan, taking in his nerdy appearance—a goofy grin, messy hair, big dorky glasses, and even a bowtie. Yet, there was something about Fan's dorkiness that made him oddly cute.

"I still think you're cute," Knife answered with a shrug.

Fan's smile widened, his face flushing pink as he giggled. He knew he shouldn't be excited about Knife finding him cute, especially since he had a girlfriend, but he couldn't help it. Someone as cool as Knife thinking he was cute made his heart flutter. Fan just loved being called cute; it made him feel good.

Knife raised an eyebrow, convinced Fan had issues. He was unlike anyone Knife had ever met. Still, Knife ignored it. Why should he care? He continued walking, puzzled as to why he was doing this for Fan. He couldn't use him for his own benefit anymore, so why was he helping Fan when he had no use for him? Maybe he really was starting to like the guy. There was an innocence about Fan that Knife would have bullied him for in the past, but now, he couldn't help but smile when Fan acted like himself.

As he watched Fan take out his phone to do a vlog, Knife couldn't help but smile. Seeing the idiot do a vlog in the middle of the woods was amusing. It didn't seem interesting to Knife, but apparently, to Fan, it was worth recording.

They walked a bit further, with Knife allowing Fan to be his usual goofball self, recording a vlog as they navigated through the bushes. Fan acted as if he were on a live chat, even though it was impossible in the middle of nowhere with no signal. Knife found it a bit strange but rolled with it, letting Fan have his fun. There was no harm in it; Fan was just doing something that helped him cope.

Knife understood coping mechanisms all too well. He had been teased in the past for his own ways of coping. For example, he used to bring a doll to sleepovers when he was younger and was relentlessly bullied for it until he eventually stopped. Sure, Knife bullied people all the time, but he never shut down someone's way of coping. Something told him that after this camp, he would find it hard to ever bully Fan again.

They were almost back at camp now. Knife was slightly worried about his friends and whether they had found any items. He really wanted to share a cabin with them. He had no idea how the Bright Lights were doing, nor how much progress Balloon and Nickel had made. He tried to stay calm and hide his paranoia about his friends losing; he wasn't the type to worry excessively.

As they continued walking closer to camp, Fan lagged behind, taking videos and photos of random things. Suddenly, Knife paused, hearing noises coming from behind a bush. He extended his hand in front of Fan, stopping him in his tracks, and put a finger to his lips, signalling for silence.

Behind the bush, Nickel had his arms wrapped around Balloon's neck, their lips melting into one another. This time, Nickel made sure there was no pulling away to stare at each other—he refused to get those weird fuzzy feelings that made him feel weak. They were passionately kissing, with Nickel playing with Balloon's hair while Balloon's hands rested on Nickel's waist. They were so absorbed in each other that they didn't hear the approaching footsteps. It wasn't until a twig snapped nearby that they abruptly pulled apart.

"What was that...?" Balloon asked nervously, worried someone had caught them. Nickel whined in frustration, not wanting to stop. He crossed his arms and grumbled.

"Whoever it is, I'm gonna kick their ass for it..." Nickel snapped, standing up and turning around. His body froze, the colour draining from his face.

Balloon quickly stood up, his eyes widening.

"Fan?!" Balloon exclaimed, more shocked to see Knife with Fan than to see Knife at all.

"We're not here to cause trouble," Knife said, raising his hands defensively. Fan nervously hid behind Knife, knowing he was in trouble now. He thought nobody would have found them. Why did Nickel and Balloon have to be making out? Couldn't they be actually doing the challenge?

Nickel clenched his fists, furious to see Knife. Everything Balloon had told him earlier flooded back. He wanted to punch Knife in the face. How dare Knife follow Balloon into the kitchen and then talk shit about him, trying to turn Balloon against him? Whatever Knife's goal was, Nickel didn't care—he wanted revenge. He was about to lash out, scream at Knife, and confront him for what he did, when a squeaky voice from behind interrupted.

"What the hell are you doing with Knife?! What do you think Test Tube will think when she finds out about this? She told you to stay away from him!" Balloon yelled. "You didn't tell her about running into him in the kitchen, and now you probably won't tell her about this? What, do you just keep sneaking off to be with him? What is your problem?!" Balloon was really disappointed with Fan. Hasn't Knife caused enough issues? Why did Fan want him to cause more relationship problems?

Knife felt a surge of anger. He glanced down at Fan, who was speechless and trembling, looking like he was about to break down and cry. This wasn't his fault, and it wasn't what Balloon thought at all. Balloon had no right to yell at Fan. If anything, he should be yelling at Knife for everything he had done, not Fan.

"Whoa, whoa, hold it. Fan has done nothing wrong! You're just assuming he ran off to see me like this is some sort of forbidden love story. I assure you, that's not what's happening! Fan had a fight with his friends, Paintbrush or someone, threw his phone, and he got lost. I'm only helping him get back to camp, that's it. Maybe you should think before you accuse," Knife snapped at Balloon.

Nickel frowned and stood in front of Balloon. "Hey, don't speak to him like that! He has every right to accuse. Fan has been weird about you all camp! And why wouldn't he be upset? You cornered them both in the kitchen earlier. Not to mention you had to bring up stuff between us," Nickel said, crossing his arms.

"Aww, were you not gonna tell him?" Knife taunted. "You were going to lie to him forever? Hide the fact that you got Pickle expelled? He was bound to find out eventually." Knife scoffed.

"You know I didn't mean to do that!" Nickel shouted. "I wasn't trying to get Pickle expelled. I had no idea he already had three suspensions! I was trying to protect my friends, Knife. You would've done the same if you were in my position. I brought my friends into my mess, and it wasn't fair that they were punished for my stupidity. I never meant to hurt you." Nickel realised this was the first time he was actually apologising, though it sounded more like making excuses for his actions.

"I understand all that, but you didn't even tell us. You blindsided us, went behind our backs, snitched on us without warning. We could've done something to help Pickle, but you didn't trust us enough to include us. And on top of that, you never apologised or spoke to us directly. Instead, you messaged Microphone with some lame excuse because you were too much of a coward to face us," Knife snapped.

Nickel crossed his arms, remaining silent.

There was a tense moment of silence as everyone processed the exchange.

"I swear what Knife said is true..." Fan spoke up nervously. "Paintbrush got mad at me for annoying them, took my phone, and threw it. I stormed off to find it and got lost. Knife found me unintentionally. And I know Test Tube doesn't want me around Knife, okay? That's why we were trying to avoid being seen together by walking through here!"

"So what? You're just going to keep lying to her? Not tell her you ran into Knife again?" Balloon crossed his arms, looking sceptical.

Fan remained silent. His plan was to continue lying and not tell Test Tube about running into Knife again. He couldn't bear the thought of her reaction; losing Test Tube would be devastating. Sure, Fan found Knife attractive, enjoyed his company, and thought he was cool, but Knife was no Test Tube. Fan loved his girlfriend more than anything, despite sometimes making poor decisions.

"Knife isn't as bad as everyone thinks... I mean, think about it. Nickel didn't seem to think he was that bad since he hung out with him! Everyone just assumes Knife is the bad guy because of his history with Nickel!" Fan protested, though defending Knife was probably a bad idea.

Knife glanced down at Fan, perplexed. Why was Fan defending him? After everything, Fan had a chance to apologise, admit he was wrong, and move on, yet here he was defending Knife. It baffled Knife, especially after he had admitted to using Fan for his own ends.

"Don't try to blame Nickel for this. We both know Test Tube doesn't like Knife, and for good reason—HE BULLIED YOU. She has every right to dislike him for hurting her boyfriend, and now you're defending him?!" Balloon snapped, his anger escalating as Fan tried to shift blame onto Nickel.

Nickel couldn't help but smirk slightly as Balloon defended him, arms crossed with a smug expression as he stood beside his almost-boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, okay? I swear, there's nothing between me and Knife... I love Test Tube more than anything. Please, Balloon, don't tell her. I don't want to lose her!" Fan pleaded desperately.

Balloon shifted uncomfortably, torn between honesty and loyalty. He didn't want to lie or keep secrets from Test Tube, especially after all she had done for him. Yet, he couldn't ignore that Knife had been the one approaching Fan, harassing him, and manipulating his emotions. It wasn't fair that Knife could potentially ruin another relationship. However, Fan needed to learn about loyalty and keeping promises. Even though Fan hadn't intentionally betrayed Test Tube, he hadn't been forthright with her either, unlike Balloon who had informed Nickel about the encounter with Knife.

Pausing to think, a compromise started to form in Balloon's mind.

"Alright, I won't say anything," Balloon declared firmly.

"Really?" Fan sniffled, his eyes wide with hope.

"IF Knife leaves Nickel and me alone for the rest of camp. I want to enjoy the remainder of this camp without constantly worrying about my boyfriend getting hurt. Whatever issues you both have, you can work them out after camp. Only then will I keep this from Test Tube. Do we have a deal? Because I doubt Knife will—" Balloon started to say.

"Sure. Sounds fair," Knife interjected, crossing his arms as he stared down at Balloon.

"Wait, what—" Balloon stumbled, taken aback.

"I said, it sounds fair. I won't approach either of you if you keep your mouth shut about this," Knife said, a sharp smile on his face. "We have a deal. Don't we?" He smirked confidently.

"I... I guess?" Balloon responded, clearly caught off guard by Knife's unexpected acceptance. This had been Balloon's attempt to get Fan to stop defending Knife and admit his mistake, but it seemed Knife had turned the tables on him instead.

Fan glanced up at Knife, smiling a little. It felt strangely nice to see that Knife cared about him.

"No way he's keeping that promise for Fan!" Nickel interjected, his face flushed. He was still processing Balloon calling him his boyfriend, but that was a discussion for later.

"Why's that? I would've done the same for you, since, y'know, you were my friend," Knife shrugged. "But I guess you didn't see it that way." He gently took Fan's wrist. "Now, if you don't mind, we'll be leaving," Knife confirmed abruptly.

Balloon stood stunned, completely speechless. He couldn't believe Knife was actually doing this for Fan. Wasn't Knife supposed to hate Fan? He used to bully him constantly, and now he was acting like Fan was his best friend? What had changed? Balloon couldn't think of any logical explanation other than maybe they really did have something going on, because why else would Knife agree to that—for Fan?

"Whatever, you're only doing this to prove Balloon wrong, asshole," Nickel snapped at Knife.

Knife rolled his eyes and kept walking, gently pulling Fan along with him. He wasn't entirely sure why he had agreed to Balloon's conditions either. Maybe it was partly to wipe the smug look off Nickel and Balloon's faces, or perhaps it felt surprisingly good to have someone defend him for once. He also felt a twinge of guilt for involving Fan in all of this; Fan didn't deserve to have his relationship ruined because of Knife's actions.

Truth be told, there was something Nickel didn't know. Knife had been dating Pickle until Pickle was expelled. They hadn't been very public about it since they weren't openly romantic types, but they were together nonetheless. When Pickle's parents found out about the expulsion, they forced him to break up with Knife, blaming Knife as a bad influence. This experience explained why Knife had been so determined to disrupt Nickel's relationship—because he had his own relationship torn apart unfairly. Now, seeing how much Fan cared about him, Knife couldn't bring himself to do the same to Fan. At first, he didn't care about Fan, but now he couldn't bear to see him hurt.

As for Nickel, he couldn't bring himself to apologise after everything that had transpired. Instead, he clung to his pride with a smug smirk. He could hide behind his boyfriend all he wanted, but once this camp was over, Knife would exact his revenge, whether Nickel liked it or not.

"Thanks for... uh, y'know." Fan muttered.

"Whatever." Knife grumbled, uncomfortably crossing his arms. He hated that he had a soft spot for this stupid vermin... but it was nice to have someone who cared about him.

. . .

Back with Nickel and Balloon, Balloon remained stunned, trying to process what had just transpired. Now, he was reluctantly committed to keeping this entire incident hidden from Test Tube, and it ate away at him. She deserved to know the truth, and not telling her was tearing him apart. He couldn't fathom why Fan had agreed to such a compromise—it infuriated him just as much as it did Nickel. Both of them speculated that Fan had only done it to wipe the smug expressions off their faces.

Nickel noticed Balloon deep in thought, visibly stressed. He moved closer and took Balloon's hand in his own.

"Look on the bright side, Knife won't bother us for the rest of camp. And as for Fan... who cares? After this camp, we probably won't have anything to do with their friend group again," Nickel shrugged nonchalantly.

"Maybe you won't! But I actually enjoy hanging out with the Bright Lights," Balloon retorted, pulling his hand away and crossing his arms.

"Oh... uh, what about Baseball, Suitcase, and Bot?" Nickel asked tentatively, sensing Balloon's tension.

"People can have more than one friend group, Nickel. It's just better if you actually tell your friends about your other friend group..." Balloon snapped bitterly, taking a jab at Nickel's friendship with Knife. "Seemed like Knife really saw you as a friend..." he added pointedly.

Nickel frowned, caught off guard. "Whoa... why are you getting mad at me?" he asked defensively, confused by Balloon's sudden hostility.

Balloon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. "I'm just... on edge. You do remember that Test Tube is Bot's sister, right? And... Test Tube has been incredibly supportive of us. I can't imagine how hurt she'd be if she found out what Fan did. I know Fan means well and loves Test Tube, but he's making all the wrong choices," Balloon lamented. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, Nickel... I just wish none of this was happening." He sighed, feeling drained from the ordeal.

"Sorry," Nickel murmured quietly.

"You should've said that to Knife. Maybe this would be over," Balloon grumbled as he started walking.

Nickel let those words sink in for a moment. He knew Balloon was right. He should have apologised, but he didn't—even when he had the chance today, he still couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I know. Okay? I know I should've just apologised. But after everything Knife has put me through, us through, he doesn't deserve an apology!" Nickel complained. "I agree I should've said sorry from the start, but now it's too late." He grumpily crossed his arms.

"I know," Balloon sighed heavily. "I'm sorry—I don't mean to take this out on you..." He turned around, looking visibly exhausted.

Nickel sighed and wrapped his arms around Balloon, pulling him into a hug. Balloon sighed in return, leaning his head against Nickel's.

"We totally lost the challenge, y'know?" Balloon chuckled softly.

"I didn't care about it anyway," Nickel smirked. "Doesn't matter as long as I'm with you." He purred.

"Pfft... gay," Balloon giggled.

"You're the one who called me your boyfriend," Nickel teased playfully.

Balloon pulled away, his face flushing bright pink. "Oh... heh, I guess I did." He almost forgot about that.

There was a moment of silence between them...

"So uh... does that mean you want to be my boyfriend?" Nickel nervously asked.

Balloon smiled shyly, his gaze turning to the ground, nervous to meet Nickel's eyes. "Do you?" he asked quietly, his voice tinged with nervousness.

Nickel's face flushed bright red, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. Was this finally happening?

"Of course I do!" Nickel blurted out eagerly, unable to contain his excitement.

Balloon lifted his eyes to meet Nickel's, a nervous grin spreading across his face. "Well... ask the question," he teased, biting his lip and unable to hide his growing smile, despite the blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Balloon, do you want to be my boyfriend?" Nickel asked formally.

Balloon stepped forward, placing his hands on Nickel's hips and pulling him close. "I would love to be your boyfriend," he said gently before closing the gap between them.

Once again, they kissed, but this time, it was official—they were a couple.