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

16

"Did you just hear that?" Karl whispered. 

You could hear footsteps coming into the house, and muffled speaking. Jimmy and Chandler were here then.

"They're here." You whispered, your heart pounding for an entirely different reason now. Even though it was just a game, the anxiety of being caught was still real. 

Behind you, Karl's grip around your middle tightened slightly. "Okay. Remember the plan?"

You nodded. "If it looks like they're going to find us, one of us gives it up so the other can win... hopefully."

Downstairs, you could hear Jimmy and Chandler moving around; shouting every few seconds, either for the cameras or to try and scare hiders out. You rapidly thought back to when you and Karl had stumbled into the house - had you left anything astray that would give away that there were people hidden here?

"This is actually kind of scary." You whispered. 

"Yeah, it kind of is." Karl giggled nervously. 

As they got closer to the stairs, you could start to make out what they were saying.

"...got to be someone here..."

"...only a few people left, if we knock out a few more, we win..."

You closed your eyes (even though it was pitch black inside the wardrobe anyway) and took a deep breath, calming the rapid beating in your chest. It was just a game. A hundred thousand dollar game, but a game nonetheless. 

Behind you, Karl squeezed your hip nervously. 

In that instant, you made up your mind. When they found you - because they would - you would be the one to leave the wardrobe and give yourself up. Noah would be mad that you didn't win the money, but at this point, the money didn't matter. 

You just wanted Karl to win. 

They were moving around downstairs - they were by the bottom of the stairs now. You tilted your head back so that it was resting on Karl's shoulder. You could feel his heart rate speed up - whether from the growing danger of being caught or the fact that you had pressed yourself closer to him, you didn't know.

"Karl..." You said. "When they get close I'm going to walk out."

"Wait, Y/N, I want you to win, I'll do it-"

You stifled a laugh. "No, but I wanted you to win-"

"Wait, listen, listen." Karl said. "I'll sacrifice myself, and we'll split the money when you win. That way we both get a cut of the prize."

"How about I sacrifice myself and we split it." You said. 

"Y/N, no, the whole point was so that you could win-"

You heard the creak of the stairs, and the voices got louder. They were getting closer, and they would find you faster if you kept talking.

You slid a hand over Karl's mouth. "I'm going to do it." You breathed. 

He huffed angrily, but didn't say anything when you took your hand away. 

They were at the top of the stairs now, and you could hear them clearly. 

"There has to be somebody up here." Jimmy said. "If there's not, there's definitely someone in the basement."

"I don't know." Chandler said. "That basement smelled kind of rank, I wouldn't want to hide down there."

Behind you, Karl shifted, bringing his other arm to wrap around your middle as well. You could feel his shortened breath and rapidly beating heart, and you were sure he could feel it from you as well - knowing they were merely feet away made the whole thing terrifying. 

"Here, you check on that side of the room, and I'll go for the other." Jimmy said. 

There was some more footsteps, and then you could hear them starting to rummage around - looking in all the viable hiding places. You took some calming breaths, reminding yourself that there was really no reason to have this much adrenaline pumping through you. You had a plan and everything. 

Maybe you just didn't want to admit that most of the nerves were for another reason...

Karl sucked in a nervous breath as Chandler shouted. 

"Someone's definitely here!" He said. "Look, there's a bunch of these boxes moved around, like they were looking for a hiding spot. They've got to be up here."

Karl's hands worried into the hem of your shirt, gripping the fabric. You could feel him holding back nervous giggles. 

"Keep looking." Jimmy said. "We've got to be close."

The rummaging continued, and you could hear them getting closer to the wardrobe. Every noise, every creak of their feet on the floor, every scrape of another box against the walls, sent your heart into a flutter. 

But you would wait a little longer. If you gave yourself up now, it would be suspicious, and they would find Karl.

"I think we checked all the boxes that would be big enough for a person..." Jimmy said. "Where else could they be?"

"Dude, wait, look." Chandler said. "There's a closet thing over there - how did we not see that?"

You inhaled sharply. 

Karl squeezed you again. 

One of them was walking over to the wardrobe, footsteps inching closer. You felt Karl move to slip around you, but you pressed a hand to his chest and pushed him back into the wall. You opened the wardrobe door and stepped out, closing it behind you.

Jimmy was looking at you, amused. "Giving up?"

"You were going to find me anyway." You said. "And it was kind of cramped in there anyway."

Jimmy clapped a hand on your shoulder, spinning you both to face the cameras. "Good game anyway Y/N, you lasted pretty long for your first time playing. We just have Chris and Karl to find."

You smiled, waving for the cameras.  

"Everyone else that already got found is back where we all met up in the beginning." Jimmy said.

"Alright." You said, heading down the stairs. 

"Nice try!" Chandler called to you as you walked back into the first floor of the house.

You left through the front door and found yourself back on the street. The sun was shining brighter than it had this morning, and the world around you was quiet.

You glanced back up at the bungalow, hoping they wouldn't think to check again.