wait; karl jacobs ✓

eight

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it only took two days for karl to fully bounce back to health after getting sick. but those two days of rest meant two days of not working, so he kicked it into overdrive when he was immediately feeling better, trying to catch up on lost time.

he volunteered to be in every business meeting and video pitch idea session possible, even though jimmy told him it was okay if he needed more rest. he also began tirelessly working on a new streaming schedule for the month, worrying that if each idea wasn't better than the last that he may lose his traction.

and while talia was concerned, she knew it was best for her to offer up help. karl had a flaw of often associating his worth with his products. if the content he made wasn't good, then he wasn't. so she jumped in and did all she could to help him get what he needed done.

"george just texted you back, he said he's good for the stream tuesday." talia said before writing it down on the notepad with the full schedule.

"sweet," karl replied, a bit absent minded. "you don't have to stay and do all this with me. i know it's a lot. you and maxwell probably have plans anyways."

"um, no actually. max has been really busy lately. picking up more shifts at work."

karl looked up to see talia slightly drop her head. she didn't sound like she believed that's what he was really doing. she looked sad. he had noticed recently that she wasn't spending nearly as much time with maxwell. she also didn't bring him up very often.

"tal,"

talia looked up and was met with her best friends gaze. for the first time today his attention was consumed with his work, it was consumed with her.

she was so nervous but didn't know why. as much as she wanted to, she couldn't break the eye contact. he reached over and grabbed her hand in his. her heart was beating so fast at this point.

"are you okay? like seriously. you know you can tell me anything."

"i'm alright." talia responded, swallowing all of the words she really wanted to say.

she knew karl saw right through her, but thankfully timing worked in her favor as she heard karl's phone start ringing.

"sapnap is calling you." she blurted out, passing his phone to him.

he was disappointed.

they always told each other everything. they were each other's closest confidants. karl didn't know why she was being so withholding, and honestly, talia didn't know either.

karl grabbed his phone and left the room to answer.

"hey man." he answered, obviously frustrated.

"woah, woah, woah, what's wrong?" sapnap could instantly tell something was up.

"it's just tal. she still isn't letting me know what's going on and its driving me insane. i'm sorry, i don't wanna dump all of this on you. what did you call for?"

"i was just letting you know that the stream schedule you sent me works good for me. don't stress about that too much. i swear she'll come around. if you push her too much it might push her away. and i really can't have you pushing her away because i wanna meet her when i come visit in a few weeks." he joked.

"okay, you're right. and thanks for letting me know. i'll talk to you later?"

"bye mamas." he shouted before hanging up.

karl walked back into his room where he saw talia packing her backpack. he instantly worried that he had already pushed her too far and thats why she was leaving.

"hey," she moticed he reentered. "would you go to my house with me? i wanna film a cover."

karl sat on talia's desk with his feet in her chair, looking through the camera on the tripod that sat on the floor in front of him. while she was busy making sure her guitar was tuned, he took in his surroundings.

it had been so long since he had been in her home. ever since maxwell moved in karl felt weird coming over and talia felt weird inviting him over. they were currently sat in her recording room, which is the only room that stayed the same. when they entered the house he peaked into her bedroom, and noticed her usual bright orange floral comforter was traded out for a navy one. and in the living room she no longer had the random thrift stores finds sporadically laid about.

"i'm ready when you are." talia said quietly.

"3..2..1.." karl mouthed 'go' to let her know to begin.

she didn't tell him what song she'd be singing, but he instantly recognized it as enough for you by olivia rodrigo when she began picking her guitar strings.

i wore makeup when we dated
'cause i thought you'd like me more
if i looked like the other prom queens
i know that you loved before
tried so hard to be everything that you liked
just for you to say you're not the compliment type

karl watched her so carefully. he never understood how someone could be so talented. she so effortlessly sang while also being her own accompaniment. and while she always put emotion into the way she said, this time felt different. this time felt more real.

you found someone more exciting
the next second, you were gone
and you left me there cryin', wonderin' what i did wrong
and you always say i'm never satisfied
but i don't think that's true
'cause all i ever wanted was to be enough for you
and all i ever wanted was to be enough for you

she closed her eyes, attempting to protect herself from being to vulnerable. every word she sang seemed to hurt her more and more. tears made their way onto her cheeks

don't you think i loved you too much to be used and discarded?
don't you think i loved you too much to think i deserve nothing?
but don't tell me you're sorry, boy
feel sorry for yourself
'cause someday i'll be everything to somebody else
and they'll think i'm so exciting
and you'll be the one who's crying

before she could even finish the last chorus, she clasped a hand over her mouth, letting out a quiet sob. karl instantly knelt down next to her, taking the guitar from her hands, allowing her to bend down and wrap her arms around him. she buried her head into his neck as she continued to cry, bunching up the back of his shirt in his hands. he rubbed her back, consoling her with a quiet 'shh' as he tried to keep her from hyperventilating.

"tal, you have to tell me what's going on. i can't just watch this happen. i wanna help."

she looked at him with sad eyes filled with tears.

"i think max is cheating on me."