Karl Jacobs-Disability/Neurodivergent ONE SHOTS💖

My favorite person (Autism)

Karl had been Kris's favorite person since the second she met him. The way his smile and laugh filled the room, along with his jokes he did so freely. They had instantly taken a bond. But with the time they spent together the more Kris learned about the boy.

The first thing she learned was he was incredibly stubborn when it came to putting himself first. It became a battle when anyone asked how he himself was doing.

Second, he was a very touchy person. He loved wrapping his arms around others and ranting about his passions.

Three he got easily overwhelmed and often got violent towards himself when he was. The first real time she experienced it was at an amusement park. They had been there for about an hour and she could tell something was wrong. He had been fidgeting with his bracelet nonstop and only talked when being asked a direct question. She didn't ask if anything was wrong because she knew he would just say 'no'. That was until they entered a new area of the park. Kris cringed at the loudness of the speakers but was quickly re-tasked with Karl's groaning. He was covering his ears with his hands as hard as he could, eyes squinting. "Karl bud, you alright?" She didn't get an answer and instead moved her hand to his arm trying to get him to respond. He instantly flinched away from the contact groaning once more. His hands turned into fists onto his head. Kris was too stunned to do anything for a moment until taking note of the loudspeakers and placing her hands on top of his ears making his fists hit hers. She waited, looking at his distressed face. She had never seen him so...so....distraught.

She noticed other people staring and cringed at the situation, sighing in relief when Karl stopped hitting and simply clinged onto Kris's hands, face still full of discomfort. Kris managed to guide him to a quieter area and sit. Karl ended up resting his head on Kris's shoulder while she rubbed his arm up and down. It hurt Kris so immensely to she her favorite person hurt like that...her Karl hurt like that. The usual bubbly and energetic smile turned upside down in discomfort. So she opted herself to sit for the 2 hours it took Karl to calm down.

"I'm sorry." She heard from the younger boy beside her. She had been playing with his curly uncut hair that she was constantly jealous of. "Sorry for what? Getting overwhelmed like that isn't your fault...I should have asked when I knew something was wrong."

"No, I— I should have told you something was wrong, I just." His voice had swallowed. "I was scared if I told you guys you would see me differently. See me as a baby."

"For what?" She scoffed. "Getting overwhelmed?"

"For being Autistic."

The words flooded her ears in a way that put together a missing piece from a puzzle. His hyperactivity and 'happy hands,' the extreme hyperfixations, the random funny noises, the sensory issues relating to food, his inability to sit still, his problems with volume control...the way he carried out jokes and repeated what others said.

"Oh..." She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to do what he feared and treat him differently. "Why—why would you keep that a secret from me?"

He shuffled uncomfortably. Like he was scared whether to move off my shoulder or not. "I don't know, I didn't want you to see me differently and treat me like I'm fragile...I just get meltdowns sometimes."

"Is that what that was? A meltdown." Kris felt a slight nod on her shoulder.

"Karl," she sighed. "You don't need to keep stuff like that from me. If you told me sooner I could have helped." After a pause she felt another nod. "I don't see you as a baby Karl...I see you as Karl, the goofy and energized guy who is my best friend. Autism is a part of you I won't look down upon." She heard a sniffle. "Thank you Kris...you're my best friend too."

Years later she kept her word. Her favorite person was a giggly sight. Even more so when he worked up the courage to tell the rest of the crew who loved him even more for being so open. Along with the added security everyone felt around him. He was clearly more freely himself and didn't try to hide any of it. Kris kept a pair of noise canceling headphones in her car for emergency occasions which after a while of convincing that it wasn't an inconvenience to have a little accomodation worked like a charm. Karl was and would always be Kris's favorite person.