Fire Meet Gasoline || Karl Jacobs

nine

"Can Nadia stay with you for a few days or so?" Alex asked with a genuine tone. Karl froze, unable to properly process the words, because what the fuck.

"Okay, no I'm putting my foot down." Nick spoke up, breaking the silence. "Do you not realize how fucking rude and disrespectful Nadia is to Karl? And you have the audacity to ask him to house her for an unknown amount of time? That's fucked, Alex."

"What? She's just fucking around, she's not being serious." Alex said, nervous laughter sifting through his throat.

"Yeah, Nick, dial it back some." George laughed.

"No." Karl spoke up, finally gathering that Alex was indeed serious.

"Seriously? It'll only be a few days and it's cheaper than getting a hotel."

"Nick's here, my guest room is occupied."

"Her flight's not for another two weeks. Karl pl-"

"No, man, that's final." Karl finalized, cutting the man off and focusing his eyes on the cat purring in his lap.

"Alright." Alex sighed. The room got eerily quiet and Karl knew everyone was trying to understand why he would say no. It's Karl, the guy who does anything for anyone. Well, apparently not anyone.

The sound of a phone ringing scared the fuck out of Nick. He screamed and because he screamed, Lana got up and because Lana got up, Karl death glared him.

Nadia Desmond is calling...

"I'll be back." Karl sighed, standing from his seat and walking out of his room. He walked to the spare room, answering only when the door was closed.

"Happy house pizza, how may I help you?" Karl said, voice lacking any sense of emotion. He flopped down on the bed, bouncing slightly once he landed.

"Do you not have my number saved?" She asked, voice sounding different than usual. She sounded nasally and as if on cue, she sniffled and it became clear that she was crying.

"No, no it is. Are you okay?" Karl asked, sitting up as his heart started racing. His hand clenched and unclenched his jeans, anxiety taking over.

"No." She said, an obvious sob coming through his phone.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Karl asked, eyes glancing around the room as he pondered what to do. What exactly is there to do when someone you hate calls crying?

"I just have to go back home to see my parents. They're so condescending and rude and just, they hate me. Hotels are so expensive and i'm behind on rent because my car's been in and out of the shop and Los Angeles is so fucking expensive."

"Where are you going?" Karl asked, completely forgetting that Alex just asked him to house her for a few days. His mind was focused on solely helping her because that's who he is.

"Winterville, North Carolina." She sniffled.

"You can stay with me, it's only fifteen to twenty minutes. Only if you're comfortable though." Karl offered, his decline to Alex feeling stupid in hindsight.

"Okay thanks! See you then!" Nadia said, voice sounding absolutely, perfectly fine. The line disconnected and Karl felt fucking stupid. He sighed, pulling the phone away from his ear and staring ahead of him. He stood from the bed and walked across the hallway to his bedroom.

"You said yes?" Nick asked, concern pooling in his eyes as he stared at Karl. Karl glanced at the call and saw Nadia smiling proudly.

"Yeah. Just misunderstood Alex." Karl laughed as he sat down in the chair.

"How do you misunderstand that." Clay laughed.

"Because he's fucking stupid." Nadia laughed loudly, everyone laughing with her. Everyone but Nick. Nick muted the mic and turned off the camera in the call in a matter of seconds before turning to face Karl directly.

"What happened?" Nick asked, tone far more serious than Karl had expected.

"She called me absolutely crying her heart out and i offered her a place to stay and as soon as i did she was perfectly fine." Karl explained, wiping his hands down his face as he leaned back in the chair.

"That's fucked." Nick scoffed, dropping the topic before turning on the camera and mic in the call. Karl wasn't sure how Nick flipped on a facade so quickly, but he watched it happen in real time.

"We're going to bed because it's been a long day. I also leave here in a few days and i haven't spent all too much time with Karl alone so we're logging off. Bye!" Nick said, a smile on his face before abruptly leaving the call. Nick's face dropped immediately after he left the call, proving how much of a facade that was. Karl just sat, watching as Nick shut down everything.

"Let's go watch One Piece." Nick said, starting from up and looking down at the brunette.

"We've already finished it though." Karl said, very little emotion seeping through the cracks in his voice.

"Well, we can watch it again, smartass." Nick laughed, grabbing Karl's hand and pulling him up. Karl kept ahold of Nick's hand and let him lead him down the stairs and to the couch.

Nick wasn't one for physical touch often and Karl knew that, but Karl was the exception and he also knew that. So when Nick pulled him down onto the couch and wrapped his arms around him, it came as no surprise to either as they sat in the dark and rewatched the anime they'd already completed several months ago.