A LITTLE LESS SIXTEEN CANDLES; A LITTLE MORE TOUCH ME // Karl Jacobs X Reader

3

You ducked passed the security guard and waved to him as you hurried out into the parking lot, looking for Noah's beat up 2008 Mini Cooper. She usually pulled around to pick you up by the door, as she clocked out a little earlier - 

A horn interrupted your thoughts as she pulled around the corner, windows cracked and pop punk music blaring. You had always thought it was fitting that Noah was the manager at Hot Topic - her life was the brand.

You walked around to get in the passenger side and tossed your bag in the back, settling into the seat and clicking your seatbelt on. "Hey."

"Hey." Noah said, pulling away from the mall as soon as you were buckled in. You relaxed into the seat, letting the warm summer wind breeze over your face. After a long day at work, it felt nice.

As Noah pulled out onto the highway, you pulled out your phone, opening a snap from her that you hadn't looked at yet - it was a picture of you across the way, closing up your store. 

"So." Noah said. "Anything interesting happen in the four hours we were apart?" 

"Oddly enough," You led in. "Yes?"

"Wait, actually?" Noah laughed, glancing over at you as she pulled up to a red light. "Good thing or bad thing?"

"Good thing." You said. "Definitely a good thing." 

"Oho?" Noah sounded intrigued, as she started forward when the light turned green. "Good thing, like a raise, or..?"

"Good thing like this adorable guy walked in." You said. 

"Oooh!" Noah said. "What did he look like? Did you say anything to him? Do you think he'll come back?"

"I hope he comes back." You said, going over his adorable smile in your mind. "He was kind of average height, brown eyes, fluffy brown hair - he was one of those guys that looks like a puppy." 

"Wait, that's adorable." Noah said. "If he comes back, watch out, I might take him."

"Hold on, hold on." You said. "You were hitting on the piercing girl!"

"And what about it?" Noah said. "You know I swing both ways."

"I'm calling dibs on him if he comes back." You said. 

"Not how dibs works." Noah said. 

"Too bad, I've got dibs." You said. "That's not the point anyway, don't you want to hear the rest of the story?"

"Sorry, got sidetracked." Noah said. "Continue, please."

"So he walks in, and I'm not really doing anything, so I'm kind of just watching him for a minute, but he looks really lost." You said. "Adorably lost - literally everything he did was adorable. Anyway, I go over, I'm like 'hi, how can I help?' and he tells me he's looking for candles."

"Not for, like, a gift for his girlfriend or anything right?" Noah asked, slowing down to turn onto a different street. 

"No, that was the best part." You said excitedly. "I asked him the same thing and he said he didn't have a girlfriend."

"Oho!" Noah exclaimed. 

"Yeah... he was completely lost, so he asked for help, and I ended up picking out all his candles for him. He really liked the clean smells and the ocean-y smells, and he ended up buying like eight candles." You said. 

"What did he need that many candles for?" Noah asked. 

"He said gifts, but it felt like something else." You said. "I couldn't really figure out what though."

"Bet that was expensive." Noah scoffed out a laugh. "I mean, those things aren't cheap on their own, but eight? That's a lot."

"I used my employee discount for him." You said. 

Noah's head whipped to the side to look at you, shock written clear across her face. "You don't even use your employee discount when I want candles!"

"He was really cute!" You said. 

"I'm your best friend!" Noah argued. 

"He had fluffy hair!" You defended. 

"Is my hair not fluffy enough for you?" Noah said, shaking her curls. "Is that it?"

"You have great hair Noah." You said, running an affectionate hand through your friend's curls. "It's just that he was a cute boy."

"I'm close enough to a cute boy." Noah grumbled. 

Paying her grumbling no mind, you leaned your head back onto the seat, smiling at the ceiling of the car. "I hope he comes back."

"With the amount of candles he bought, you're not going to see him for another two years." Noah said. "Seriously, eight?"

"I don't know!" You said. "Let the man enjoy his candles!"

"I bet he's doing some kind of witchy thing." Noah said. "I've seen a fair few witches in my day, and they always have loads of candles. I think it sets the mood or something."

"He didn't look like he would be into that." You said.

"What was he wearing?" Noah countered. 

"An oversized jumper and jeans." You said. "Normal stuff."

"Was it a cute jumper?" Noah asked. 

"What, are you putting together an FBI profile for this guy?" You laughed. 

"I'm trying to get the full picture, spare me." Noah said. "Cute jumper or no?"

"It was cute, I guess." You said. "I don't know, I was looking more at his dimples."

"You didn't mention he had dimples!" Noah said. "That is a very important detail that you withheld from me!"

"I kind of forgot!" You laughed.

"You don't forget dimples!" Noah said. She was about to say something else when the song changed and she gasped. "This is a good one!"

You just laughed and slid down in your seat, enjoying Noah's loud and screamy singing as she drove. Outside the window, town rolled by like the early summer breeze. Around this time a few years ago, you had been a fresh high school graduate, heading to the coast for senior week. The smell of the beach always brought you back...

But in this moment, beach scented candles and a soft smile were at the forefront of your mind. 

"Do you think he'll come back?" You asked. 

Noah shrugged. "Who knows, you know?"

"I hope he does." You said, turning to gaze out the window again.