old fashioned || karl jacobs x reader

1: think i'll stay

I wasted no time letting my apartment complex know I was leaving after Karl and I worked out the details. I couldn't wait to leave, so I had spent all Thursday afternoon packing my things to leave Friday morning. Karl, too, was excited—I knew this because while we were talking Wednesday afternoon he never stopped smiling. Occasionally, he would bite his lip so he wouldn't express too much excitement, but I wish he would've just expressed it. Karl was obviously a very expressive guy, I couldn't tell why he was so shielded upon meeting me. It was the same thing with letting me know what his occupation was like he was afraid he would scare me away. I wish I could've told him that it'll take a lot more to get rid of me.

That Thursday night, sleepless with delighted anxiety, I stared at my phone while laying in my bed. Imagining tomorrow, I was scrolling through the texts I shared with Karl. He was funny with how he didn't use emojis but instead used emoticons.

Me
how does 10 sound??

Karl
see u then :]

But as I stared at the screen, I realized it would be weird if I moved in with him and didn't even follow his socials. I mean, he said he was a YouTuber (or whatever), so he couldn't be hard to find. I immediately took to Twitter to find him. Typing in just Karl, he was the second result, which daunted me briefly. I pressed on his profile curiously, immediately drawn back with wide eyes at his follower count. Over a million followers. How had I never heard of this guy before?

I hit the follow button and scrolled through, reading his eccentric tweets and still amazed at the overwhelming amount of attention he got from his followers. Karl posted a lot of pictures of himself, lots of selfies of him with friends or just of him. I saw his fashion sense held up outside of meeting a new person, always wearing a unique sweatshirt that was definitely thrifted.

The account just kept surprising me when I found out he played Minecraft, some game from 2009 that I was sure had died off awhile ago. Yet, Karl was one of the most popular Minecraft players in this community amongst other onscreen names. I found out more, like how he also used this streaming platform, Twitch, and that he had a second Twitter account. This one he was far more active on and posted even more selfies, most of which he posed with a peace sign, and some more personal tweets.

I paused once I came across a tweet featuring a name I definitely knew: Mr. Beast. This guy, this random-ass guy I had met through a mutual was best friends with Mr. fucking Beast. My jaw dropped as I suddenly found myself on Mr. Beast's YouTube and finding countless videos featuring Karl. He wasn't some guy that Mr. Beast had met just once, Karl was in almost every recent challenge. Watching these videos, though, I saw more of Karl's eccentric and open personality. He was goofy, something I could see him hiding the entire time we were together on Wednesday, but it wasn't obnoxious or anything. I really think he was trying to make a good impression that afternoon.

After falling down this pit of trying to find everything Karl existed on, I found myself following his Instagram and onto his YouTube page. He posted sparsely on his YouTube and was fairly inactive, but the videos he did post were Minecraft. I couldn't bring myself to watch the 20 minute long videos across his page, so I took the word of the millions of views that they were good.

I suddenly felt small, though. Why was he looking for a roommate if he was this famous? I mean, what contribution did I provide to him? Maybe it was late and I was overthinking it, but it didn't rid me of the curious feeling. I figured I should quit thinking about it and finally get some rest. I would need it tomorrow so I could settle in properly.

Somehow, I managed to fall asleep but was rudely woken by my alarm that morning. I hit snooze and groggily rolled out of bed to shower so I could be somewhat presentable for my roommate. It was my last moment in my apartment, I should probably relish it. I didn't, though, instead, once I finished showering, I hastily got ready so I could walk down the street and grab some breakfast. My decision for that morning was McDonald's, seeing as they were cheapest and closest to me. I ate on my way back to the apartment, going through my phone while mindlessly walking. The last thing I had opened was Karl's Instagram.