Balloon and Nickel were heading back to camp, not having secured a single item. Neither of them cared. They had already won in their own way. Sure, they hadn't won the challenge, but who cared about that now?

"So... I really am your boyfriend?" Nickel asked, wanting to be sure.

"Yes, Nickel, I've told you five times already," Balloon replied, rolling his eyes. Despite his attitude, Balloon found Nickel's excitement adorable.

"So, I can call you my boyfriend to other people?" Nickel asked, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"Why? Whose face are you planning to rub it in?" Balloon teased.

"Everyone's," Nickel answered honestly. "I'll be like, 'Guys, this is my boyfriend. Isn't he the cutest ever?'" He purred happily.

"Oh god... don't embarrass me!" Balloon laughed.

"Aww... why not, baby?" Nickel cooed flirtatiously.

Balloon's face flushed bright red. He scoffed and crossed his arms at the pet name. "Oh god... don't start with the pet names. We'll be as cringe as Lightbulb and Paintbrush!" he joked playfully.

"Right?" Nickel snickered. "Well, at least Lightbulb and Paintbrush tell each other everything. Fan... yikes, buddy." He gossiped a bit.

"That's what I'm saying! He can't just hide that from his girlfriend... like, dude..." Balloon shook his head. "Then again, you did hide that you were friends with Knife from me, Suitcase, and Baseball..." Balloon pointed out.

Nickel hated every time this was brought up. Was Balloon never going to let him live that down? It wasn't even that big of a deal!

"I get it... I messed up. I won't do it again." Nickel crossed his arms grumpily.

"You promise? Like, you'll tell me things now that we're a couple? No secrets, right?" Balloon asked, wanting to make sure that rule was set in stone.

"Right, no secrets between us. Unless it's your birthday and I'm getting you a gift," Nickel chuckled, smiling contentedly at Balloon.

"Pfft, hehe..." Balloon giggled. "I suppose that's fine." He smiled happily before taking Nickel's hand in his own.

Nickel couldn't pry his eyes away from Balloon. Everything about him was perfect. Nickel was so in love with him, more than Balloon could ever know. He was his reason for everything. He would do anything for him—anything to see his smile, to hear his laugh, to hold him in his arms. Nickel was lovestruck, obsessed, and adored everything about him.

The two of them walked back to camp, hand in hand, chattering along the way and gossiping a bit about the situation with Knife and Fan. They had always been really gossipy with each other, something Balloon had almost forgotten about their friendship with Nickel. It had been so long since they were close that he forgot how much the two of them would talk about others. It felt safe– they knew they could trust each other. They weren't bad people for gossiping between themselves; they wouldn't go around spreading anything they said. It was just their own thoughts and opinions shared in confidence. It felt nice to have that back, to feel like they could talk freely with each other again.

Upon entering camp, they saw Fan sitting with Lifering and Goo, tallying up how many items he had collected. Knife had likely explained to Lifering and Goo why Fan was back so soon—how he got stuck in the woods and how everything became too overwhelming. Fan looked like he had just been rescued from a blizzard, wrapped in a blanket and holding a cup of cocoa. Balloon and Nickel glanced at each other, both wearing frustrated expressions. They were still really angry with Fan. It wasn't fair that he got away with everything, but there wasn't much they could do. They might as well act like everything was fine with Fan since that's what he wanted. Besides, if they wanted Knife to stay away from them, they'd have to keep their mouths shut and pretend everything was the same as before.

The two walked over and sat beside Fan, casually, not saying anything about what had happened. Despite their silence, their annoyance was evident. They both seemed very distant from Fan, silently judging him with their looks.

Lifering noticed they were holding hands and smiled. That was good news to him!

"So, how did you guys do? How many items did you collect?"

Balloon bit his lip nervously and tapped his hand on his knee awkwardly. "None..." he answered hesitantly.

"You didn't participate?" Lifering asked, slightly concerned.

"Uh, yeah... Nickel was having some issues, so I sat down and had a long talk with him. We forgot about the challenge and just came back... sooo..." Balloon shrugged a bit.

Nickel shot a quick glare at Balloon for making him look like he needed coddling. "Oh yeah... sure... it was me that was having issues..." Nickel snarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Balloon glared sharply at him before quickly patting his head. "Aha... don't mind him."

Lifering raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off. "Oh, right! Well, your mental health is important, Nickel. If you ever need to talk, I'm here," he said with a smile before turning back to Goo. The two of them resumed chatting about fishing or something equally mundane.

"Didn't know making out was talking about issues..." Fan muttered.

"What was that?" Balloon asked, frustration flashing in his eyes.

"Nothing," Fan quickly replied, sipping his drink nervously.

"Well, we were talking before that!" Nickel snapped. "Y'know... about Knife, your new best friend." He spoke bitterly. "Where is he, anyway?"

Fan frowned slightly. "He went back to find his friends. And we aren't best friends... I said I was sorry, okay? Can we please move past this?" Fan begged, looking really dishevelled. Exhausted, stressed... worked up. He didn't look great. Sure, a lot of this was his own fault, but Knife did start all of this in the first place.

"You're not sorry. If you were, you wouldn't have defended Knife!" Nickel snapped, his frustration boiling over.

"Calm down... it's fine." Balloon interposed, his hand gently guiding Nickel back.

Nickel shot a glare at Fan but stopped because Balloon said so.

"Look, let's not dwell on this anymore. We've all been caught up in Knife's games... Let's just move past it, okay?" Balloon suggested.

Fan nodded silently, taking a sip of his drink.

Nickel grumbled under his breath but reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Balloon sighed with relief, eager to end the argument and simply enjoy the rest of the camp without Knife's drama. He wearily rested his head on Nickel's shoulder, feeling exhausted. He couldn't wait to sleep tonight, even if they were back in the regular cabin. At least there, he could happily cuddle with his boyfriend.

Nickel smiled faintly as Balloon leaned on him. He turned his head, causing Balloon to shift back slightly. "You okay?" Nickel asked, his hand gently brushing Balloon's cheek.

"Just tired..." Balloon chuckled softly.

"Want to lay on my lap? You can nap while we wait for the others," Nickel offered with a sweet smile.

"I'll be okay, but thank you." Balloon leaned in and kissed Nickel's forehead.

Fan watched quietly, slurping his hot cocoa. He had noticed a change between them recently—how much closer they seemed, and Balloon calling Nickel his boyfriend earlier. Were they official now? If so, they should thank Fan for planting the idea in Balloon's head about Nickel's crush. Otherwise, they might not be together like this. Unable to stop himself, Fan continued to watch them, trying to determine if they were officially a couple. Eventually, he decided to just ask.

"So, uh... are you two officially boyfriends now?" Fan asked curiously.

Balloon turned slightly, ready to answer, but Nickel spoke up first. "Yeah, Balloon and I are together," he declared proudly.

Fan smiled warmly. "Congrats to you both! I always knew that Nickel liked you, Balloon!" he said with a hint of smugness.

Balloon nodded awkwardly, laughing a bit. He could tell that Fan wanted recognition for his role in bringing them together. "I guess it really did all start with you," Balloon admitted with a weak smile.

"Eh, it would've happened anyway," Nickel interjected.

"Would it though?" Fan challenged. "You weren't going to tell Balloon yourself, and Balloon didn't realise until I pointed out how obvious it was. Only then did he see it," Fan pointed out, clearly proud of his matchmaking skills.

Nickel felt a twinge of defensiveness. "I would have told him eventually!" he insisted.

"Would you though?" Fan questioned with a sheepish smile.

"I would!" Nickel protested.

"I'm not so sure, Nickel... You did push me away because you were afraid of your feelings. I doubt you would've confessed if Fan hadn't suggested it," Balloon admitted, feeling a bit conflicted for siding with Fan, but acknowledging the truth in his words.

Nickel knew deep down that there was no way he would have told Balloon about his feelings. Their lives would probably have just continued as usual. While they had grown closer during camp, he feared things might revert to how they were once it ended. It was unsettling to realise how much Fan, of all people, had played a pivotal role in bringing them together. It made Nickel feel embarrassed—unable to express his emotions directly, relying on someone else to convey his feelings for him seemed ridiculous.

"Whatever..." Nickel grumbled, feeling outnumbered in the conversation.

Balloon could sense his boyfriend's embarrassment over needing help to express his emotions. Not wanting Nickel to feel bad, he scooted closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Who knows... maybe we were destined to be together, and no matter what happened, we'd have found each other," Balloon suggested with a cute grin.

Nickel liked that idea. His face flushed, and his eyes glimmered. Balloon was right; it didn't matter how they came together. It felt right, like it was meant to be. Being with Balloon was exactly what he had been missing.

"You two are so cute together!" Fan giggled with a wide smile. "My new favourite ship!" he exclaimed, kicking his feet happily.

Nickel cringed at Fan, feeling a strong dislike for him but not wanting to voice it. He found Fan almost insufferable.

Balloon smiled faintly, also cringing but not wanting to be rude. "Heh, yeah..." He moved his arm away from Nickel, feeling a bit awkward being romantic around Fan.

Nickel pouted when Balloon moved away. He just wanted to snuggle up close to Balloon without weirdos like Fan watching their every move.

Luckily, they didn't have to deal with Fan for too much longer as the bright lights returned. They couldn't find Fan anywhere, so they assumed he went back to camp. Sure enough, that's where they found him. All three wasted no time running over to check if he was okay, their worry evident.

"Fan! We were looking everywhere for you. Oh, golly, I'm so glad you're okay!" Test Tube exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend and holding him close. She felt awful about what had happened and wanted to make up for it in any way she could.

Lightbulb and Paintbrush stood aside, with Paintbrush nervously crossing their arms. They felt really bad about how they had treated Fan and weren't sure if he would forgive them.

Fan put his mug down and hugged Test Tube back. Guilt filled him, knowing she had no idea about his encounter with Knife. It made him feel sick to his stomach, having to act like everything was okay and that he wasn't lying to his girlfriend. He felt awful about what he had been doing, but he felt he had gone too deep to tell the truth. He couldn't bring himself to tell her; he knew Test Tube would flip if she found out. But did it matter? He could pretend like it never happened. Test Tube was here now, holding him in her arms, and Fan was so glad for it. He could put the whole thing with Knife behind him.

"Are you okay?" Test Tube asked as she pulled back and cupped his cheeks.

"I'm okay. I just found my way back to camp after finding my phone," Fan lied, offering a weak smile.

Paintbrush stood still, unsure when to apologise. Their girlfriend, Lightbulb, nudged them gently, encouraging them to speak up. Paintbrush glanced at Lightbulb, sighed, and nodded before clearing their throat.

"Uh, Fan... I'm sorry for losing it at you. I didn't mean it. I know it's really tough out here for you. I just get worked up easily," Paintbrush apologised, feeling terrible about their behaviour.

Fan turned to face them. Paintbrush was one of his best friends, so of course he would forgive them. "Don't worry about it, Painty. I'm sorry for getting on your nerves," Fan replied with a small smile. "We good?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're good. I'm just glad you're okay," Paintbrush said, smiling. It was true—they were relieved that Fan was safe and sound. They would have felt terrible if anything had happened to him.

Test Tube smiled, glad that everything was cleared up. She hated seeing her friends fight, and she especially hated seeing her boyfriend so down. Fan was a sensitive soul, easily upset, which could be challenging at times, but it was nothing Test Tube couldn't handle. She wrapped her arms around him again, squeezing him tight before planting a flurry of kisses on his face. Fan happily melted into her embrace, loving the affection.

Lightbulb and Paintbrush smiled, relieved that everything was okay. Lightbulb was especially glad her friends weren't fighting anymore. It always made her uncomfortable when they argued, as she usually stayed out of it or ended up stuck in the middle. She was happy it was over.

Nickel and Balloon exchanged looks of exasperation. Knowing what Fan had done and seeing him not confess to his loving and supportive girlfriend really annoyed them. But they couldn't say anything because of their deal with Knife. They had to prioritise their own relationship and keep Knife away. If that meant staying quiet about Fan's lie, then so be it.

"Oh! Oh! Guys, guess what!" Fan suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

"What is it?" Test Tube smiled at her ecstatic boyfriend.

"Balloon and Nickel are dating!" he cheered happily. Despite everything, he was still their number one supporter.

"Golly! That's amazing!" Test Tube beamed at them.

"YAY!" Lightbulb cheered, hugging them both from behind.

Paintbrush gave a thumbs-up.

"Haha... yep! Nickel and I are together," Balloon smiled awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Nickel was a little annoyed that Fan got to break the news instead of himself, but he let it slide. "That's right! Balloon and I are together," Nickel said smugly. "My beautiful boyfriend~" he teased, purring the words and making Balloon blush.

"Nickel... stop," Balloon chuckled shyly, his cheeks flushing.

"I am so happy for you both!" Test Tube smiled warmly, proud of how far they had come. "I'm going to go tell Lifering that we only got two items." She chuckled awkwardly as she tried to pull away from her boyfriend. Fan clung to her arms, refusing to let go.

"Make someone else do it..." he whined, holding onto Test Tube.

Test Tube huffed and put her hand on Fan's head, running her fingers through his hair. "Fine. Painty?" she asked, smiling up at them.

"Yep," Paintbrush replied, already heading toward Lifering.

"You guys only got two items?" Nickel asked with a raised brow. Sure, he and Balloon got none, but knowing the Bright Lights, they could be competitive, especially since they really liked the luxury cabin.

Test Tube huffed and nodded. "Yeah, but it's okay! We were looking for Fan, which is worth a loss. We had to make sure he was okay," she smiled before turning to her overly clingy boyfriend, who seemed clingier than usual.

Nickel and Balloon exchanged worried looks. They both were thinking the same thing: how unfair it was that Fan was getting away with this. The Bright Lights lost because they were looking for Fan, but Fan was fine—Knife had found him. The others didn't know this yet, but the truth always comes out eventually.

Soon enough, Knife and his friends came back from the woods. They were all talking again, so that was good. Trophy was bragging about how he found three items, wow, how amazing. Apparently Taco and Microphone found one each, it seemed like everyone really flunked this challenge, it was either they were all way too distracted or somehow Lifering and Goo made it difficult, Knife decided not to tell his friends about his 11 items as he was still annoyed that they didn't help him. He kept them all to himself, he allowed Trophy to ramble about how amazing he was, nodding along smugly. Knife assumed that one of the bright lights would've surely got more than 3 items, he was trying to work out in his head who the hell he'd have to share a cabin with tonight, but he couldn't really work it out... he felt like he was forgetting someone.

Nickel immediately snuggled up to Balloon when he saw Knife, wrapping his arm around Balloon's and pulling him close, as if to say, 'He is mine.' Balloon chuckled softly at Nickel, placing his hand on top of Nickel's head. Knife rolled his eyes at Nickel's petty behaviour and walked past them toward Lifering to show him how many items he and his friends had collected.

Trophy was dumbfounded when he realised that Knife somehow got eleven items! How?!

"No way!" Trophy complained.

"I warned you." Knife shrugged.

"I didn't realise you had that many!" Trophy crossed his arms.

Knife simply shrugged and walked off to sit by the campfire. Taco and Microphone already knew they had lost; they were a little upset about not getting the luxury cabin but found it amusing that Trophy was acting prissy because Knife got eleven items. Knife had warned them, so they couldn't really complain.

The group sat by the campfire, assuming everyone was present and it was almost time to announce the winners. Knife was sure that one of the Bright Lights had to have collected more items than him or at least more than Trophy. Little did he know, they each only had two items. This put Knife in the lead, with Fan in second place thanks to the four items Knife gave him, and then Trophy.

Suddenly emerging from the woods were YinYang, Silver Spoon, and Candle. How could everyone forget about YinYang?

Silver and Candle walked hand in hand, their smugness evident, as they escorted YinYang to the front where Lifering and Goo stood. They proudly displayed his haul: fifteen items. How had he managed to collect so many? Well, having Silver and Candle helping him the entire time certainly didn't hurt.

"Wow! 15 items! I think we already have a winner!" Lifering announced with a bright smile.

Suddenly, everyone realised how unfair that was. YinYang had both teachers helping him collect all the items! While they all worked in groups, everyone had sort of forgotten about YinYang during the challenge. Silver and Candle weren't participating—they could give every single item they found to YinYang. How was that fair? Of course, many people wanted to complain about the unfairness, but it was YinYang. They were only fourteen. They shouldn't even have been sent here, and they didn't have any other friends. Everyone had forgotten about them; if anything, they deserved to win!

However, not everyone saw it that way.

"You're kidding! How the hell is that fair? YinYang cheated!" Trophy yelled across the fire, hands on his hips.

YinYang frowned.

"We did not cheat!"

"YEAH!"

"Yeah, you did! You had to get your mommy and daddy to help you," Trophy taunted angrily, clearly upset that this put a damper on his chances of winning. "How is that fair, Lifering? Both the teachers helped them win! We didn't get any help like that!" Trophy persisted.

"Well... to be fair, Trophy, everyone forgot about YinYang. What if they had gotten lost? We were just making sure they were safe," Candle reasoned calmly.

"Don't be a sore loser now," Silver Spoon retorted sassily.

"I am NOT a sore loser! This is clearly favouritism! You see how they are with YinYang, Lifering! This has to be cheating!" Trophy continued to argue.

Lifering crossed his arms, displeased with Trophy's accusations of cheating. YinYang was just a kid; did it really matter if they won the luxury cabin? Lifering didn't think it was a big issue. Besides, Trophy was currently in fourth place, and Lifering could have informed him of that if he had let him continue speaking.

"I don't see this as cheating. YinYang found fifteen items, so they get to stay in the cabin," Lifering began. "Plus, if you had let me finish, you would have known you're in fourth place. But since I have a policy against sore losers, I might consider giving your spot to someone else."

"What!?" Trophy exclaimed. "How is that fair? I earned my spot fair and square! This is ridiculous!" Trophy shouted, visibly agitated.

"It's fair because it's teaching you a life lesson: winning isn't everything, and it's not okay to lash out when you don't win," Lifering said firmly, crossing his arms.

"Oh, whatever! This camp is a load of bullshit anyway!" Trophy snapped, crossing his arms and sitting back down. Knife glanced at him with a slight smirk, finding it amusing that Trophy's sore loser attitude had cost him his spot in the cabin.

"So, what's the score now?" Knife asked curiously.

Lifering glanced down at his paper and then back up at everyone. "Funny you asked, Knife! In second place, with eleven points, is you! Congrats! You'll be joining YinYang in the cabin!"

"Cool," Knife replied with a smile.

"YES! ALL BOYS CLUB!" Yang cheered.

"Yang, there is still one more person." Candle told him with a soft chuckle, not wanting him to get his hopes up on an all boys club.

"Well, in third place is Fan with four items!" Lifering announced loudly, drawing everyone's attention.

Test Tube shifted slightly away from Fan, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. How did he manage to find four items when he was supposedly just looking for his phone and leaving the woods? Was it plausible that he stumbled upon four items in that time? Test Tube needed to hear his explanation directly. Paintbrush felt a twinge of jealousy, silently crossing their arms in frustration at how unfair it seemed. Lightbulb, on the other hand, beamed with pride for Fan's accomplishment.

Yet none of them noticed the main issue.

Fan would be sharing a cabin with Knife.

"How the hell did that twerp get more items than me? There's no way!" Trophy erupted in frustration.

Knife struggled to contain his amusement, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle a laugh.

Nickel and Balloon exchanged knowing glances but kept silent. Nickel remained nestled against Balloon's chest, while Balloon gently ran his fingers through Nickel's hair, avoiding eye contact to avoid betraying their secret.

"Yeah, how did you manage to find that many items?" Test Tube crossed her arms, eyeing Fan suspiciously.

Fan felt a nervous sweat trickling down his forehead. He swallowed hard, struggling to come up with a plausible explanation to appease Test Tube without revealing the truth. Before he could respond, Paintbrush interjected from behind them.

"Wait, does that mean Fan will be sharing a cabin with Knife?!"

Test Tube's eyes widened in realisation. She shook her head vehemently. "No way. I am not letting you share a cabin with him," she declared firmly, crossing her arms in defiance.

Lifering cleared his throat loudly, gaining everyone's attention. He disliked the bickering and wanted to continue smoothly.

"I wasn't finished," Lifering continued. "Since Trophy is disqualified for poor sportsmanship, I will allow one of the three winners to pick another person to join them. Considering YinYang had a slight advantage, Knife will choose the fourth person for the cabin, but it cannot be Trophy, as he needs to learn from this."

Trophy scoffed loudly. "Oh, now you talk about unfair advantages. Real nice," he remarked sarcastically.

Knife scanned the crowd, his eyes settling on Fan and Test Tube. He watched as Test Tube lectured Fan, clearly upset and making it known she didn't trust Knife around him. Knife rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, contemplating his decision. He couldn't choose Balloon due to their agreement to stay away, and picking either Taco or Microphone would leave the other disappointed. Paintbrush seemed to harbour animosity towards him for some unknown reason, and Lightbulb he didn't really know well. After a brief moment of consideration, the choice became clear.

"Sure, Test Tube," Knife said casually, as if it were no big deal.

"And you expect me to believe that Knife would actually leave you alo—wait, what?!" Test Tube interrupted her own lecture, utterly shocked.

"TEST TUBE?!" Trophy, Microphone, and Taco exclaimed simultaneously, their disbelief palpable.

"Yeah, so?" Knife retorted, nonchalant.

Even Fan was in disbelief. He was speechless and frozen with fear. Oh god, this was not good. Knife and Test Tube in the same room? She would find out... she would find out about his lies. Was Knife planning on telling her? Why on earth did she pick Test Tube? Fan couldn't comprehend it, but it sent him into a panic.

Paintbrush and Lightbulb were equally stunned, their eyes wide with surprise, yet they remained silent, unable to process Knife's unexpected choice.

Nickel and Balloon immediately snapped to attention upon hearing this, no longer able to ignore what was happening.

Test Tube stood there, mouth agape, struggling to comprehend why Knife would select her. It didn't make sense to her at all.

Everyone stared at Knife, waiting for an explanation. Knife, annoyed by their reactions, snapped back defensively.

"What?" Knife snapped. "She was complaining! Clearly, she doesn't want her boyfriend alone with me, so I fixed it. She can come too," he explained curtly. "It's not that hard to figure out." He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Still, the decision baffled everyone. Throughout their time at camp, Knife had been trying to get Fan alone so he could use him for whatever weird infatuation he had with ruining Nickel and Balloon's relationship. Why was he suddenly acting so nice? One would expect Knife to choose someone else to spite Test Tube, considering he was trying to steal her boyfriend. Plus the idea of Knife, YinYang, Fan, and Test Tube sharing a cabin did not seem like a great match at all. Would Knife even want to share a cabin with them?

"Wait– does this mean no boys club?" Yang pouted.

"Yes Yang, that means no boys club." Silver put a hand on his head.

"DANG IT!" Yang stomped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms.

Test Tube didn't understand this one bit... but she was going to get to the bottom of it. There was no way Knife picked her for no reason.