???? // ???? ?????? ? ??????

"Remember the lemonade? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked Karl. He shrugged with a light smirk.

"Remember the lemonade." He simply stated.

"Well yeah of course I remember it. It was our first da- first time hanging out." I internally screamed at my mistake but kept talking. "What's does that mean though? Like do we have to go back to that Starbucks?"

Karl raised an eyebrows and his grin grew wider, meaning I made the right choice.

"Alright, let's go then. I can't be wasting time."

We entered the limo once more and I checked the time. We started filming at like 12:30 and now it was almost 4:00. This times ride was going to be a little longer since Starbucks was all the way across town.

I bounced my leg up and down nervously. I couldn't stop thinking about what the other girls were up to, and the amount of money I'd loose if I didn't win.

——————

Before I knew it, we arrived and Karl opened the door and held his hand towards me to help me out. I accepted and didn't let go once we were outside. He squeezed my hand three times and we ran up to the Starbucks.

We were getting quite a few weird looks since we were literally sprinting out of a limousine with a cameraman following. Karl threw open the door for me and we raced to the counter. I didn't even notice how no one was inside.

"Two lemonades please!" I practically shouted at the cashier.

"Two lemonades ready over here," called a woman behind the counter. I guessed they were prepared for us to come, given that the lady handed me the drinks seconds after we ordered them.

Karl slapped down a twenty and yelled "Keep the change!" As we rushed back outside.

"They didn't even ask for our names!" I pointed out, and searched the side of my cup for Y/N. Instead, I found another clue. "Karl look! I found another one! This has to be the last one right?"

Go to the park.

This wasn't much of a clue. More of a statement, or an order. It didn't matter much, since I could sense we were close to the end of the hunt. I started walking towards the limousine, but Karl grabbed my arm and shook his head lightly.

"The park is right up here, it won't be much of a time difference if we walk."

I nodded but still walked fast, pulling Karl behind me. I sipped at my lemonade during the short walk and nearly lost my footing a few times. We were approaching the park quickly and with each step Karl seemed so slow me down a bit.

We were right next to the park, with only one more corner to turn until we arrived. Karl stopped suddenly and I looked back at him. He was breathing hard and slow and I could see some sort of fear in his eyes. What did he have to be afraid of? We were just going to a park.

"Karl we're almost there, but are you okay? You really don't look too good right now."

I noticed he was shaking and he gave a halfhearted laugh. I walked back to him in concern and put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He flinched a little bit then straightened his back until he was standing more confidently. Karl took a few deep breaths and reached for my hand.

"Yeah I'm...good. Can we just get to the park?"

I nodded wearily, still a little confused and concerned but I kept walking. I noticed that Tareq was no where to be seen with the camera, but I didn't question it. Whatever was holding Karl up, I didn't want to linger around it.

We turned a corner past a large bushy tree. The play structure came into view, as well as something else. As Karl and I approached, I noticed more and more things that made me even more bewildered. Karl's hand started shaking again in mine.

Jimmy was standing around a picnic table with Chandler and Chris next to him. Hannah and Cassidy were also there, but something told me they hadn't won. Everyone had large grins on their face, except for Karl who was burying his face in his hands.

"What's going on?" I questioned. "Did I win?"

Jimmy shuffled closer to me. "Not yet. You still have one more clue, but I think it's more important for Karl to give it to you." Jimmy reached into his pocket and pulled out the final piece of paper. He handed it to Karl, who looked nothing short of terrified.

"Here we go," I heard Karl whisper to himself. He extended his hand towards mine, shakily grasping the paper. I looked down, ready to find my clue.

Instead, I found something much more amusing.

Scribbled in Karl's messy handwriting was something that made my heart scream.

Will you be my girlfriend? (Please say yes)

I moved my eyes back up to Karl with a huge smile soon overtaking my face. I was at such a loss of words that the only thing I could do was nod and quite literally throw myself into Karl's arms, burying my face into his neck.

The people around us cheered and I felt my heart rapidly pound in my chest. Karl wrapped his arms around my waist and we broke away from the hug to address everyone else.

"Okay so I have... a few questions. First of all how why what and everything in between?" The beam on my face would not go away, and I basked in the overwhelming joy.

Jimmy laughed and started to explain. "Karl asked to do this, so credits to him for the idea. Everyone here helped with the execution though. This isn't going to be an actual video, so don't worry about you're relationship being public. You guys can deal with all of that. We just wanted to create the idea we were filming so you wouldn't be suspicious."

"Mhm, and Cassidy and Hannah... they weren't actually competing right?"

"No no no, they were just kinda like distractions. That would've been awkward if they were also competing for Karl's love."

I chuckled at this and Karl clutched me tighter. I still had one last question though. "And how did you all know? Like... about Karl and I?"

This is where Chris piped in. "You really think I kept it a secret when I caught you guys kissing? Also the camera caught some... footage of you guys on the Ferris wheel."

My eyes widened and I looked at Karl. He gave a little shrug and then pulled me in for a long, unexpected kiss. It was the first time this felt allowed, so I melted into it, running my hands through his hair.

There's two definitions to the word dare. One means a challenge, just like the ones I preformed with Karl the first day I met him. The second meaning is to have the courage to do something, just as I did when I walked into the filming studio for the first time. Both resulted with new friends, a boyfriend and endless happiness.

1197 words
*sobs*
I'm still gonna make an epilogue and maybe a few one shots...
Please click the star to vote if you enjoyed, it literally does nothing for you but helps me soooo much!
I posting this tonight bc I'm impatient and I'm starting a new book👀
That was my first time writing like anything that's not for English class so I hope it was semi- okay
Please drink and eat thank you for 73 k reads <3