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

9

Ten minutes had never seemed longer in your life. Every other day, this wait would fly by like nothing. You would get the food and take you and Noah's usual table and before you knew it, she would be there. But today, it seemed like ten hours. 

Every few seconds you would glance up and scan the crowd coming into the food court, checking for wild pink hair. You were abuzz with excitement and you needed to tell Noah everything.

You kept checking your phone as well, for new texts from unknown numbers. Every time you looked though, it was only an email or a notification from Instagram or something equally disappointing.

You were hoping that he saw the receipt. There was no guarantee that he would reach out to you, but it seemed like he would. After today, you were fairly confident that it was a mutual sort of passing crush, and you were eager to see where it would go, given the chance. You knew barely anything about this boy, but that was exciting. 

It could also mean he could turn out to be a total creep, but you were willing to take that chance. He had fluffy hair, he couldn't be all that bad.  

You were on your phone when Noah sat down across from you and stole one of your fries. 

"Heyo." She said, grinning. "How was your morning?"

"Amazing." You said. An understatement, but you couldn't think of anything that would accurately describe the buzz hovering around you from the encounter. 

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Amazing, huh?" There was a teasing edge to her voice, like she didn't entirely believe you.

You bit your lip. "Cute candle boy came back." You said, your voice barley above an excited whisper. 

"Wait, he did?" Noah asked, her eyes widening slightly. 

You nodded, a wide grin stretching over your face. "And I might have written my number on the receipt too." Just thinking about it made your stomach flutter excitedly.

Noah, who had been taking a sip of the drink you had gotten her, almost spit it out, but at the last minute slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself. You burst out laughing at the display, watching as Noah straightened herself out. 

"Is it really that surprising?" You asked. "You were the one who told me to do it! Remember be bold?"

"Hey, it's not my fault, I was expecting you to wuss out again!" Noah said, wiping off her chin with a napkin. "You have no game, I was just expecting that-"

Reaching across the table, you shoved Noah's shoulder playfully pouting. "You're so mean to me! I was all excited to tell you what happened, but now I don't know, if you're just going to make fun of me."

Noah snickered, raising her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I won't say anything anymore. Please, continue telling me about cute candle boy."

"I called him cute candle boy to his face." You said. "And I think he liked it? He got kind of blushy about it."

Noah grinned, leaning forward and popping another fry into her mouth. "And?"

"And I have his name now." You said. "Just his first name, but an actual name now!"

Noah applauded jokingly, but there was still a smile on her face. "What's his name?"

"Karl, with a K instead of a C." You said. 

Noah frowned in thought. "Odd, but alright."

"I think it suits him." You said. 

"You're biased." Noah dismissed your comment. "That's insane though dude, has he texted you yet?"

You turned your phone in your hand, glancing over the screen. "Not yet." You said. "You don't think he would just throw out the reciept without looking at it, would you?" You asked. 

Noah shrugged. "Does he look like the kind of guy who keeps his receipts?" 

You took a bite of your lunch pensively. "What does that even look like?"

"It's just a vibe you get from some people, you know?" Noah said. "Like, that guy over there." She pointed to an old man slowly making his way to one of the trashcans. There was a certain neatness and old-fashioned sense about him that just made sense to you - he did look like he kept his receipts. 

"Okay, yeah." You agreed. "Candle boy Karl doesn't look quiet like that, but... I'm really hoping he sees it."

"If you were worried about him seeing it, you could have always handed him the receipt." Noah said. 

"Yeah right." You laughed. "I was kind of freaking out doing it discreetly, no way."

"Hey, I'm still proud of you for actually growing some balls and doing it." Noah said. "Now, the hard part is over, and you can just enjoy the ride. Maybe literally, who knows-"

"Dude!" You laughed, throwing a fry so that it hit Noah in the face and she shut up. "Why am I even friends with you, you're so vulgar."

Noah ate the fry you had thrown at her and grinned. "It's part of my boyish charm."

You rolled your eyes, even though there was a smile still on your face. "Sure."

"Seriously though." Noah said. "I'm proud of you for actually taking it into your own hands." 

"I was kind of freaking out the whole time." You confessed, resting your elbows on the table and taking a sip of your drink. "I don't know how people do this all the time, that was very emotionally taxing."

It was Noah's turn to roll her eyes. "Emotionally stunted looking ass."

You threw another fry at her, and she caught it between her teeth, grinning at you and waggling her eyebrows. You laughed and checked your phone again. Nothing yet. He had to have looked at the bag by now, right? Maybe he had already tossed the receipt and it was over before it had even started... just the thought of it made your heart sink. 

"He'll text you." Noah assured you.

"You sound so certain." You said, looking up from the screen to make eye contact with her. 

She shrugged. "Because I am. He'll text you."