Fire Meet Gasoline || Karl Jacobs

eleven

Karl pulled up at the warehouse and scrambled to gather his things. He was late; very late.

"Jimmy already said he was fine with you being late, stop being an idiot." Nadia said, taking her time with unbuckling and getting out of the car.

"Doesn't change the fact that he signs my paychecks, lets go." Karl pushed, shoving his belongings into his pocket and rushing inside, Nadia slowly trailing behind him.

"Karl!" Kris yelled, jogging over and hugging Karl almost immediately. Karl stopped his rushing, hugging Kris back like he needed it. Deep down, they both knew good and well he did.

"Glad you could make it, buddy!" Chandler yelled from across the set.

"You can help Tareq film after helping Nadia settle in! You and Kris can show her around!" Jimmy yelled. Karl saluted and pulled back from Kris. She smiled at Karl and Karl smiled back.

"Stop being a perv, Karl." Nadia said, shouldering past him as she started to look around the room. Kris snorted a laugh and Karl deadpanned.

"You're one to talk with your head so far up Alex's ass." Karl muttered with an eye roll before walking off across set to show her around. He didn't say that though, he just walked off.

"Here, we'll follow him. I'm Kris by the way." She said, walking up next to Nadia.

"I'm Nadia. Just to be 100% clear, you go by she/her pronouns?" Nadia asked, smiling softly at Kris. She nodded and they both followed Karl around. Kris talked about everything, introducing every room while Karl just walked and lead them around.

"Karl! Can you get Tareq a water?" Chandler asked as he ran up to them. Karl nodded and jogged off to the kitchen area of the set. He grabbed a few bottles of water and jogged back, handing Tareq a bottle first. He handed the others one before taking over filming for Tareq.

Everyone was engaging in conversation, but Karl was engrossed in his work, completely zoned in. It was like that the entire day. Every task he was assigned, he completely tuned everything else out and zeroed in on doing his best work.

When the day finally came to a close with the moon and stars high in the sky, Nadia and Karl finally went back to his house. As they pulled into the driveway, Karl could feel his exhaustion hit him like a truck going full speed. He got out of the car, grabbing Nadia's bag from the back out of habit from doing it with Nick or his family, and walked up to the front door. He pushed the key into the hole and twisted until the lock clicked. He opened the door and immediately Lana was there.

"I know, I was gone all day." He whispered, dropping down to pick up the cat. She meowed in discontent with his absence as she nuzzled into his neck. Nadia trailed behind awkwardly, looking around the area and taking it in.

"I know, but Nick will be back." Lana meowed again and Karl laughed tiredly. "In the mean time, this is Nadia. She'll be staying for about a week or so. Don't be mean."

Karl set her back on the ground and she hesitantly walked over to Nadia. Lana smelled her shoes first and then her bag, Karl had set down seconds after Lana, before gently rubbing her head against Nadia's ankle.

"Alright she likes you, that's a plus." Karl sighed, setting his keys on the counter. He walked to his fridge and carefully yanked the door open. He grabbed two waters and dumped half of one into a bowl for Lana. He then took the paper label around it off so he could distinguish his from Nadia's easily. He dumped a scoop of dry food into the bowl for Lana and as soon as she heard the metal bowl make noise, she was across the kitchen in no time.

"There is food in the fridge, please help yourself." He spoke, walking to the front door to ensure it was locked. "I have to change the sheets from where Nick was sleeping but once that's all done, the room is all yours. There's a setup in there if you want to stream but Nick usually streams without a camera on when he's here, so I don't even know if the camera works. Theres a half bath connected to the room you'll be staying in and a bathroom both on this floor and one room over from the guest bedroom. There's also one in mine but, i doubt you'd want to use it. Living room is completely up for the taking, if you want to come down here in the middle of the night and watch t.v. be my guest. Mi casa es su casa, basically. Just don't wreck the place and we're good."

Karl gave her a small house tour while Lana was distracted. "Finally, this is my room. If you need anything just ask. My room is more off limits than the rest of the house, but at the end of the day just don't fuck with anything and we'll be fine. You can put your things in here while I go change the sheets. If you want to call Alex, just turn on the pc. Everything is logged in, headphones are on the desk, i'll give you some privacy. I can't close the door all the way since this is where Lana spends most of her time, but no less."

"Okay." Nadia said with a small nod. Karl nodded back and walked out of the room. He changed the sheets in the spare room and sprayed some febreeze so it didn't smell like Nick anymore. Once that was all finished, he plugged in the LED lights around the room and turned them on. He left the remote on the end table and walked back into his room. Nadia and Alex were having a conversation in Spanish, one Karl didn't feel like translating at the moment.

"I'm taking a shower. The room's all made up for you whenever you're ready." Karl shrugged as he grabbed the towel on the back of his bathroom door and walked out of his bedroom door.

"¿Por qué está siendo amable?" Nadia asked. Karl barely heard it and he walked into the bathroom with a sigh.

Why am I being nice?