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The sun pooled in through the large widows of the living room that Matty was lounging in. There were dust particles that seemed like they were floating towards the light as she stared at it. Matty laid on the cool wooden floor with a couple of pink and light green throw pillows by her head and on her feet. A thin and almost see-through blanket was thrown on her shoulders enough to bring her warmth in the cool room.

It was 11 in the morning and Matty had just finished cleaning the whole house, even the guest room where Karl's staying, of course she'd asked for his permission first before she went and tidied it up because it felt rude to just barge in and fix shit and she might place things differently from how he originally placed it. She'd also finished eating her breakfast and washed the very few dishes that were lying on the sink.

Matty was completely alone in her house that felt bigger for some reason. Karl met up with the people they were doing business with. The real reason why he was even there in the first place. It wasn't like he flew all the way to Florida to meet up with her. She'd let him borrow her car, he refused but she insisted.

Since yesterday's interaction Matty started to feel comfortable around him. He's a likable person. He was kind and funny and he wasn't a bad roommate... He wasn't a bad temporary roommate. He offered to wash the dishes after every meal and even cooked dinner for the both of them last night.

Another fact she was impressed with was that he could actually cook. It wasn't like she was belittling his hidden skills or whatever but she really thought he was the type to just order out due to his occupation of being a streamer. He made some stir-fried beef with broccoli and it tasted amazing.

The house used to be full of life yesterday compared to how it was now. They watched a couple of cartoons on TV and even talked about how streaming changed their lives drastically but in a good way, the positives and the negatives of being known, of having a platform, the struggles they experienced. Basically, Matty had told him too much about herself and vice versa but she didn't feel like it was forced and she didn't feel terrible that she shared what she shared. It was easy with him.

To pass the time, Matty decided to call her friends. They talked about almost everything. From bands they were currently listening to, to work and school works and to Charlie's summer break, which he excitedly bragged about because, "Listen, young people like me live for summer breaks because it means more time to sleep late and sleep in." followed by yells of protests from both Matty and Orson at slyly being called old.

It was just wholesome chatter until they asked Matty to fill them in on what's happening to her life currently and by currently they mean "How are things going with Karl?"

"What time will he come back?"

"He said he might get back at 4pm or something. I'm not too sure, but he'll be back for dinner."

"Hmm, don't sound too bummed about it."

"I'm not."

"Sure." Charlie dragged with a smirk on his face. Ever the teasing one out of the three.

"Orson." Matty complained, seeking back-up from the trustworthy blonde. She was getting tired of his endless teasing for the day and knew that Orson can tone him down a few notches with just a snap of her voice or her rude stare.

"Charlie, stop." Orson commanded but she wasn't really being serious about it. It was always entertaining to see the two bicker like siblings. The most chaotic and emotional but loving siblings.

It reminds her a lot of the old days where she'd literally have to drag Charlie away from Matty before she uppercuts him and sends him to the school clinic or the hospital. Those were the days where Orson fears for Charlie's face and Matty's school records. Everyone in school were so convinced the two were enemies.

Charlie made a face, like he just smelled something horrible. "You fucking traitor! We're literally the president of their fan club and you do this to me?" He accused in a dramatized manner. He shook his head and pursed his lips, forming a fist with his right hand before placing it over his lips, acting like he was trying to stop sobs from escaping his mouth. He rapidly fanned his face afterwards and was practically forcing himself to cry but the tears just won't come out so he made do with his voice, "I can't believe this. I can't believe I'm friends with you both. I literally just breathe and suddenly I'm the bad guy?" He questioned incredulously with a wave of his right hand.

The other two went silent but there were gleaming smiles on their faces. They were used to his theatrics but it didn't mean that the future jokes of his weren't going to be amusing anymore. It was a part of Charlie's charm.

"You know, I don't know why you decided to major in Computer Engineering. You're fit for Theatre or some shit."

Charlie scoffed going back to his normal state, "You flatter me. I can't even breathe nor speak properly when I do class presentations. What will happen if I act in a musical? Faint? No thank you. Anyways this isn't about me, I know how interesting I can be but can we focus on Matty's boyfriend or something."

"Not my boyfriend." Matty reminded.

"Yet."

"I will—"

"Alright. ALRIGHT. You two better stop, I would like to hear about Matty's day with Karl Jacobs." Orson intervened knowing they'll just keep going in circles if she doesn't put an end to it. Matty denies something, Charlie teases her about it, Orson has to stop them before they actually do piss each other off, they stop, and repeat.

"Fine." Matty grumbled under her breath, pouting like she was just asked to throw away a full cup of good-tasting coffee down the sink. She wanted to make a bomb-ass comeback but of course... some things don't go exactly as planned.

"Fine!" Charlie said dejectedly. "So, how was the first day with him?"

Matty sighed and felt the same warm feeling in her chest that she's been feeling the first day, "It was alright. We watched some films. Did you know that he also likes The 1975? I'll say that's a win. He's also really nice. He— He knows how to cook and I also cooked for him and he said it was, and I quote, amazing!" She gushed as she recalled how Karl actually enjoyed the meal she made. He was the first one to ever compliment it. She doesn't know exactly know if she became fond of the man because he liked her cooking or if he was just difficult to not like.

Charlie groaned, "Oh my god, that under-seasoned shit?"

Orson chortled in the background followed by a loud, "Charlie!" that made their ears ring for a couple of seconds. She's the human version of a megaphone.

"You're rude. He said he liked it." Matty said with a pout. She knew he was kidding but damn, was her cooking really that bad? "You're just mad I didn't cook for you when you visited."

"True. I wanted some of that unseasoned lasagna you made last Christmas."

Matty yelled in disagreement, "You say that when you had three servings!"

"I was up for some UNDER-SEASONED LASAGNA. IT'S EDIBLE IF YOU BELIEVE IT IS."

"IF IT'S EDIBLE, THEN WHY DO YOU KEEP ON MAKING FUN OF MY GODDAMN FOOD. SHUT YOUR MOUTH."

"BECAUSE."

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Karl Jacobs was never late. He knew how to keep track and follow through schedules. He was the definition of organized. But today, today of all fucking days, the man was in shambles.

Karl arrived with a paper bag and inside it was an assortment of sushi. He remembered having a somewhat deep conversation with Matty where they talked about what their favorites are.

The reason for this purchase of his and why he felt the need to buy a platter for them to share was because... he wanted to apologize.

Apologize for what though? Well... the man himself got back late. Like it's 'hey, you can hear crickets bustling around and screaming bloody murder' time. Yeah, that late.

He didn't truly realize how late it was until the meeting ended and they all left the place. Karl felt the fatigue slamming towards him like a bus going 90 miles per hour in a 50 and all be wanted was to go sleep. But sleep went away as quick as it came as he stood there in disbelief as he took in the view of darkened skies with little to no stars decorating it greeted him as soon as he walked out of the glass doors.

He admits that he'd gotten kind of... well.. too immersed in sharing future ideas and making deals with Jimmy's possible sponsors and he kind of got sidetracked. He lost track of time and completely forgot that he told Matty he was going to come back at exactly or maybe a bit later than 4:00 pm.

And to top it all off, like how everything goes when you're already late, the world suddenly decided to mess with Karl. His phone had a mind of its own and chose to die in the middle of trying to call her to say he was sorry for forgetting. Curse Apple and its sensitive phone battery.

It was already 8pm and Karl felt really shitty as he came back to a quiet house. Call him dramatic but he didn't really like breaking promises nor not following through plans. His full stomach from being treated some take-out, curtesy of their crew's new sponsors, felt heavier, plus the guilt? Man, he just felt bad bad. He's not feeling like the 'baddest but in a good way dude in the entire world' right now.

Karl slowly jammed the key in as quiet as possible to not wake up Matty and make her go into alert mode in case she'd forgotten that she handed him a spare key before he left.

Maybe she felt that he was going to be late hence the spare key. Like she'd expected him to bail on her. His eyebrows furrowed into confusion because who on god's slowly-losing-its-green-Earth made Matty Simons this way?

Maybe he was reading into it too much. It was just a simple act of giving him a spare key for when he comes back and she isn't home yet. His brain just decided to go all Sherlock Holmes.

He pushed the door open, relieved that there was no loud creak from the door to make his presence known. He's not afraid of being confronted though, he just wants to have a clear dialogue in his mind for when he's asked questions so he doesn't start to stutter. And what better place and time let's him collect his thoughts and act like he's being interviewed? The shower!

"I will just sprint like super fast enough she won't see me. It'd be easy." He muttered under his breath. He stepped inside and CREAK!

The floorboards whined under the weight of his foot leaning on it. So much for being stealthy. Karl muttered a curse word under his breath, peering inside. The only light that was on was in the living room. There were soft hushes and animated laughter coming from whatever show was on the TV and the light flickered with every switch of the scenes.

Karl doesn't know if she's even awake. If she is awake, he's just booking it. Slipping on the floor and getting a concussion be damned. He isn't going to interact with her while harboring germs from the outside. It's best to be cautious than not.

He quietly closed the front door and locked it out of habit before he walked forward to peer inside the living room, noticing a small lump on the couch. It was slightly snoring. He guessed it was Matty unless a goblin decided to make its home be the couch which was unlikely.

He sighed and went towards the kitchen to set the bag down before going upstairs to take a much needed bath. This time he was able to maneuver around the house soundlessly. Karl Jacobs = 1, Annoying Creaks = 1.

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Now that he was fresh and clean, Karl trudged back down the stairs, his curly hair slightly damp from his shower. He still remained quiet with his movements because he didn't want to rudely awaken Matty from her sleep. He walked back into the kitchen to prepare the sushi and place them on a plate before bringing it towards the living room.

He placed it on the coffee table that was placed in front of the sofa. It had a couple of papers strewn across it with the remote resting next to it. The TV was placed on a long-bookshelf filled with different colorful books and some stray vases with little plants that was in need of repotting.

Karl sat on the single couch that was a few steps away from Matty. He probably looked dumb and should've woken her up before bringing the plate. What if she wasn't in the mood for sushi?

"Damnit." Karl muttered. slapping his forehead and wincing at the loud sound of the impact.

"Karl?"

Something Karl didn't know was that Matty was kind of a light-sleeper so she had been slightly awake ever since he'd arrived.

Matty sat up, the blanket covering her head and her shoulders. The light from the television glowed and flickered on her skin, making it look like was glowing in the dark too. She blinked sleepily towards him and god damnit did his heart jump. "How was the meeting? Have you eaten dinner?" She began asking as she reached for the remote to completely mute the sound coming from the show she didn't bother finishing. It was boring and she practically knew how it would end. There was no element of surprise.

"The meeting went well. It's actually the last day we're meeting up, I don't know why Jimmy decided to give me two weeks off." He said whilst fiddling with the thin golden band on his left wrist.

"Oh—"

"I'm really sorry for being late by the way. I... It slipped my mind."

Matty chuckled and waved her hand as if she was brushing off his apology and Karl furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He slightly tilted his head, waiting for her to say something.

"It's alright, Karl. Don't think too much about it. Work is work! I'm just glad you're back home safe. I had to ask Sapnap for Chandler and Chris' phone number in case they could reach you. I thought you got jumped or something."

Karl grimaced and offered a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry... I- I brought a peace offering." He mumbled and motioned towards the platter of sushi that was undistinguishable under the low lighting.

He watched as Matty scrunched her nose up and inspected it closely. He worried that maybe he bought the worst kind of sushi and she didn't like it until her eyes lit up and widened, "Man, you didn't have to!" She grinned before springing up from the couch to open the lights. She eyed the plate again to see it completely filled to the edge. "Oh wow. Did you buy the whole restaurant for this?" She joked before sitting back on her place in the couch.

Karl felt his ears go hot, "I didn't know what you liked the most so I just..."

"This is very nice of you, Karl. Thank you but you do know that I'll have to treat you out or something right now, right?"

"You don't have to! It's alright."

Matty scoffed and ripped the casing of the wooden chopsticks and handed him the other pair, "Oh I will. We're going exploring, Jacobs."

"I... I can't win with you, can I?" Karl said in amusement.

Matty shook her head, "Well, we'll never know. Maybe I'll let you win in the future but for now, we're eating this good-looking sushi and watch some...?"

"Steven Universe?" Karl suggested as he sat next to Matty as she gestured for him to come closer.

They were close enough that their knees were almost touching. He decided to ignore the beating of his heart as he sat next to her and hoped he doesn't do anything dumb that'll make her realize that the man she'd let in her house was actually a massive simp for her. He focused his attention in preventing his legs from jumping out of nervousness. If she strained her ears she would be able to hear the loud thumps of his heart and he didn't want that.

"Heck yeah."

writer's block decided to pay me a lovely visit and it's so bad, it doesn't want to leave. it's like i have an idea for a chapter but i don't know how to put it into words because my mind decided to say "alright we're going to forget words and their meanings, coffee!" and the dialogues and scenarios, MAN, its difficult. pls send help.

anyways, hope you're doing well friends! stay cool, stay hydrated. u are loved mwa

[ EDIT,, lord LORD. THERE ARE SO MANY TYPOS and the grammar oof. my embarrassment is THROUGH THE ROOFS, everybody look away. ]