It was a mistake. Kartein knew from the beginning that the both of you should never have crossed that line in your relationship. Just one night between close friends had ended up impacting your entire friendship. He worried that you didn't really like him that way, that you would just leave him because of the awkwardness or something. It wasn't like him to be worried about something like this. But you've been his closest friend for years.

Some part of him wished that you could just go back to being friends. Like normal. But he knew it was futile to wish for something like that. Friends didn't kiss, they didn't touch each other that way, they weren't intimate like that. Even now, he felt awkward sitting next to you. After that night, he felt the urge to reach out and pull you closer.

Kartein had been doing the opposite though, keeping you at a distance to shield his heart from the inevitable. He glanced at you every so often, lip twitching as he tried not to visibly frown. After a while, he sighs, "Can we talk about the other night?"