sweet tooth - karl jacobs

chapter 12- simp

karl and i are in the middle of painting wall decorations when jimmy announces over a loudspeaker that it's time to break for lunch. we drop our crafts immediately, and rush to a cafeteria area.

"after you," karl says, opening the door for me and ushering me in.

"gracias," i reply after walking in. the cafeteria isn't extravagant, it just looks like a regular school cafeteria. but that's fine with me, because i was frankly starting to feel a bit out of place in this grand studio.

the two of us get in the back of the line, behind kris, chandler, and nolan.

"hey guys," nolan says when we get in line. "how's your first day of work, haven?"

"not too bad, honestly. we just filled up a pool with skittles and started painting random stuff," i answer. nolan nods.

"sounds about right."

we get to the front of the line, and a chef hands me a plate.

they have a CHEF? for THIS?

why does this shock me?

the table is full of assorted chinese food, ranging from orange chicken, to chow mein, to spring rolls, to rice, and even more. it all looks so appetizing, too.

"i'm assuming this isn't panda express?" i ask chandler, who's standing in front of me. he laughs and shakes his head.

"some of jimmy's chefs cooked this while we were working," he tells me. my eyes widen and i scoff in both disbelief and awe.

SOME? this man has multiple?!

"that's so cool..." i say, my voice trailing off at the end.

"better get used to it if you're going to come around often."

"oh, i don't know about that-"

i'm cut short by karl ushering me towards a round table, where kris and nolan are already sitting. i take a seat next to nolan, and karl sits on my other side.

"you're going to love the chow mein," kris says to me. "it's my favorite."

"my favorite, too!" karl says. the two do some little handshake, and i decide to try the chow mein first.

"oh god," i say after swallowing whatever piece of heaven i just tasted. "this puts panda express to SHAME. and i love panda express." the four laugh, and jimmy approaches and sits on karl's other side.

"hey guys, hey haven," jimmy says when he sits. we all greet him back. he then turns to me. "i'm hoping you're not hating your time here?"

"definitely not!" i answer quickly. "it's actually pretty fun. karl is entertaining me."

karl's cheeks turn bright pink and nolan, kris, and chandler all start whispering and giggling before jimmy tells them to shush.

"i'm glad! are you gonna be here tomorrow, too?"

"please tell me you are!" chandler pleads.

"yeah! come tomorrow!" nolan joins. kris nods with a smile and karl turns towards me.

"you'll come, right blondie?" karl asks. i smile lightly. i've always been pretty reserved growing up, so all the sudden attention and outpouring of kindness is slightly throwing me off guard.

i can't say i don't like it, though.

"it'd be a shame to do all this work and not see the finished result, right?" i offer. everyone claps their hands together and cheers.

"you'll have so much fun," kris says.

"recording is a lot more enjoyable than setting up," karl adds, lightly grabbing my arm out of excitement. "i can pick you up again, too!"

"simp!" nolan shouts. jimmy, kris, and chandler all join in calling him a simp, and karl turns into a sputtering mess.

i can't help but feel my cheeks grow warm.

which makes my eyes widen and my heart pound.

no. stop it, haven. you can't. you promised yourself this would never happen again. if you knew what was good for you, you'd keep that promise.

the heat in my cheeks quickly dies down, but i can't help but consistently think back to when it was there.

surely i was just embarrassed because the boys were calling karl a simp for me. and karl was embarrassed about it, so i got second hand embarrassment. double the embarrassment. which is why my face got hot and such.

right?

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"so, when's your birthday?" karl asks after lunch. we had already returned to where we were originally, painting little wall decorations for the next room.

"may 4th. why?" i reply.

"so you're a taurus..." he trails off slightly with a smirk on his face.

"you're into astrology?" i stop painting to look up at him. karl notices me staring and looks at me, still with that smile on his face.

"of course i am."

"what's your sign, then?"

"cancer. july 19th."

"i should've known. you fit being a cancer to a T," i say with a snort.

"hey! what's that supposed to mean? are you insulting me?" karl narrow his eyes at me.

"not at all. cancers are kind, caring, gentle, nurturing, affectionate... i haven't known you very long, but i've spoken to you enough to know that you possess all of these qualities."

karl's smile widens as he nods.

"something i know about tauruses is they take a while to open up to people, especially people they've just met. and they're pretty stubborn."

my mouth forms into a straight line.

"well, they got that right," i say as i go back to painting.

"you wanna know what else i've heard though?" karl asks.

"what?"

"that tauruses are loyal, sweet, and hardworking. and i'm sure you fit all of those characteristics. it'll just take a while for you to let me see that side of you."

i sigh quietly.

"we'll see about that."

"one more thing, then i'll let you switch the topic."

"alright..."

karl smirks subtly and makes eye contact with me.

"tauruses and cancers are considered one of the best zodiac matches."

(A/N AAAAAAH FLIRTY KARL?!??!!?! hehe this chapter was fun to write :D qotd because why not: what zodiac sign are you?? i'm a libra >:) lmk if we're compatible wink wink. OK ANYWAY ILYSM please vote, comment, share, and add this to your reading lists or else. jk. i would just really appreciate it <3 KISS!!!)