old fashioned || karl jacobs x reader

5: bad religion

Thanksgiving was only half a week away when he asked me. I don't know why I accepted. I had nothing to wear, I had only known him for a few weeks, and yet I believed it wouldn't be a bad idea to meet his family at Thanksgiving dinner. This was the true trial to see how well we would work together. I liked Jay a lot, I really did, but I wasn't the type of person to meet the parents after only a few weeks. It was for Jay, though, so I allowed it.

His reasoning behind asking me to come was, "they'll hear about you anyways and wonder why you aren't there. They'll call me a bad boyfriend if I don't."

It was only a coincidence that I didn't have anything going on for thanksgiving seeing as my family lived in (home city) which wasn't exactly easy to get to from Greenville. I promised I would go visit in winter, though, so I could spend the holidays with them.

While telling Karl about my plans, an expression of awkwardness drew on his face. I guessed he just didn't care to hear about my relationship seeing as we had only known each other for a month, but I figured that's what roommates talked about. Out of everyone I knew in that city, I had to have been closest to Karl. Once I recognized this tension, I quickly shut my mouth. I didn't know if he had a previous relationship that hadn't gone over well, or if he just didn't care so I just took the safe route and stopped altogether.

As soon as I stopped, Karl told me about how he was probably going to stay home for thanksgiving. Was he trying to make me feel bad for leaving? Surely, that wasn't his intention, but it did sting. I was leaving him to spend time with my boyfriend's family. The part that made me upset was that I was voluntarily leaving him. If he could have given me a good reason, or if he even begged, I would have stayed.

The plan was to drive over to his parents' that afternoon and spend the night so we could spend more time with them. Jay insisted that I got to know them better as if I was going to be spending a lot of time with them. Their house was only 30 minutes away, so I imagined Jay made frequent visits from his apartment in the city.

The car ride was pleasant with Jay. He kept his music low as a background hum whilst he drove, keeping light chatter between us so the 30 minutes weren't so uncomfortable. He was telling me about his parents and what to expect. His mom was the one he really prepared me for because she was very "upfront" and couldn't see boundaries too clearly. It wasn't like there was much for me to hide or to be afraid of, so I wasn't too fearful of how the night would go. His dad, he explained, was pretty quiet but very nice, similar to his mom. Jay assured me that it would be mainly his mom talking.

The house that he parked in front of was very nice. It had two stories and a lit pathway to the front door, which had to have been custom to the house. It possessed details that were far too intricate for a simple cookie-cutter house. I walked up with Jay, letting my hand envelop in his and absorb the warmth it granted me. In my other hand, I fidgeted with a loose string off my flannel shirt, toying with my nerves. His free hand knocked on the door, knuckles creating a nerving echo. I always got nervous about this kind of stuff, but now nothing was soothing me from this anxiety.

But before I could even think about the knock and the pending meeting with his parents, Jay's mother opened the door before us, smiling ear to ear. "Hey, how are you two?" she asked enthusiastically, instantly reaching for a hug from her son.

"Great, Mom," he breathed through the suffocating hold.

She pulled away from Jay and looked at me, watching my almost mortified expression from the nerves. "You must be (Y/n)," she placed a hand on my shoulder, forcing this uncomfortable feeling over me, "I've heard nothing but fantastic things about you."

I felt this heat creep up my neck at her words. Had Jay told her all about me? I was sure he had told her a little about me but I was a little curious about all that he had said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," I nervously replied and let an anxious smile play on my lips.