Chapter Text
Karl wasn’t content to just be another face in the crowd. He never had been really; the was really a people person, simple as that. He knew almost everyone at their whole school if he really thought about it. Karl knew everybody and everybody knew Karl. Didn’t mean they were all friends or that he was popular, he was more like that guy that everyone saw in the hallways and waved to and you wouldn’t really be mad if he was part of your group project.
Karl groaned as his alarm went off. Nonetheless, he dragged himself out of bed for the day, having been awake and on his phone for a bit already. His mind drifted off as he got himself ready for the day. It was his senior year and he’d just swapped around some of his classes a little over a month into school, but he was prepared to take it on with his friends at his side! Karl groaned softly to himself as that particular phrasing crossed his mind. He watched too many cartoons, a sentiment his closest friends would agree wholeheartedly with. He was a big fan of cartoons and anime. Any sort of animation if he was honest. His room was covered in posters, a little square of his wall dedicated to Kingdom Hearts specifically. It wasn’t animation but video games had animation in them, so it counted Karl supposed. He hoped to work in the online content or video games/animation industry once he graduated, wanting to make the type of media that influenced him. His guidance counselor had given him a disappointed sigh when he had a post-graduation talking thing with her about it, everyone wanted to be an influencer but Karl was different. Everyone thought they were different though to be fair to her.
The brunette wandered downstairs to grab his usual school morning breakfast- well it wasn’t what his mom would call breakfast, but she was of the mind that her kids could control their own diets- a monster from the many that sat in the fridge. Karl definitely didn’t have an addiction to the energy drinks. He could stop any time he wanted to. He just didn’t want to right now. Or in the foreseeable future.
“Is that one of my skirts?” Karl jumped, closing the fridge and whirling around to face his adoptive mom. She gave him an amused chuckle before moving to get herself something to eat. His mom had adopted Karl almost 12 years ago now, his younger brother coming a few years later. He didn’t remember much from his time in the system and neither did his brother. They were a tight-knit family and Karl was happy not remembering what came before. He had them.
“I mean it might be? It was in my closet and it works with my sweater.” Karl shrugged as he leaned against the counter. He was in a pretty lavender tennis skirt with a BMO sweater, he thought it was nice together.
“I agree, not asking for it back. Just wondering.” Ms. Jacobs smiled reassuringly “finish getting ready though. Your ride should be by in a few yeah?” Karl looked at a time and jumped to rush back upstairs so he could finish getting ready, knocking on his brother’s door along his way to make sure he was up. His friends driving him- one of them at least- didn’t like getting to school late. Ironic since that specific friend was also the reason they were almost late so much due to him sleeping in or missing his alarm. Karl was finishing up putting on his favorite little frog knee highs as his younger brother Ranboo stumbled in groggily.
“Morning sleepyhead,” Karl replied. Cheery compared to his brother at that moment. None of the Jacobs household were morning people, but they could bring themselves to be awake enough with caffeine. “You’re getting a ride with Tubbo and his brother, right? ”
“Yes Karl, I have my own friends believe it or not. I won’t always have your friends to drive me so I figured I should find someone myself.” Ranboo answered
“I mean Schlatt graduates next year so he won’t last too long either.” Karl teased, spinning to face his sibling. Ranboo yawned back at him before shrugging. Karl started to pull on his shoes, motioning for Ranboo to go through his closet, knowing that was what he was there for. “Thanks for letting me borrow that sweatshirt by the way. I have like nothing neutral colored in there.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to look in there so early.” Ranboo rolled his eyes, emerging with a black and white color block hoodie. “I get like flash banged opening the… open thingy…” he trailed off, still obviously incredibly sleepy. That didn’t last too long thanks to a loud horn sounding off from the driveway.
“HONKIN SHIT-”
“You know cursing kinda negates the point of sayi-”
“Ok love you too, gotta go!” Karl interrupted, grabbing his messenger bag from its spot on the floor on his way out. He hurried back downstairs only pausing to grab his second monster of the day along with his lunch from the fridge and accept a hug from his mom as his friend honked again. “I’M COMING, I'M COMING!” the brunette called. The backseat was already unlocked allowing him to quickly hop into the old blue car and them to speed off.
“Karl man! My little discord kitten! Please tell my stepbrother that he is absolutely whipped for this jock dude?”
“Well good morning to you, Quackity. George and Tina my beloveds” Karl laughed. Typical Quackity. Always straight to the point. He’d always liked that about him. George didn’t seem very amused.
“Karl my beloathed,” he quipped back. The other two had been driving him and his brother enough to have picked up the dumb phrase from Ranboo it seemed. “My dearest idiot driving the car is completely exaggerating the situation.” by the way George slumped down in the front seat and the other person sharing the backseat with him laughed, that was doubtful.
Karl had been driving to school with Quackity and George since middle school. His mom had met their dads Sam and Ponk talking at some school parents event. They’d discovered they lived just down the street from each other and decided to carpool together. The Thompsons had moved a few neighborhoods over since then, but Karl still rode to school with their oldest two. They’d also added someone else to the arrangement. Tina’s family had bought the Thompson’s old house, and the four of their parents arranged a playdate for them with that wrong and annoying parent mentality of kids being the same age meaning they’d get along. It had been accurate in that case, but still.
“So am I getting an explanation about this before I make the call or?”
“We got as far as learning George met this dude over the summer in a coding thing and they got each other's discords and they’ve been talking for a bit now.” Tina piped up from besides Karl.
“He somehow managed to keep it a secret until detective Quackity got on the case!” Quackity said, puffing his chest up a bit at the last part
“More like snoop! You fucking went through my chats!” George protested.
“Well, it’s not my fault you didn’t sign off discord on my laptop!” Quackity defended. “Oh guy with the word blob smiley face discord profile picture, won’t you tell me who you are so I can kiss you!”
George turned red “It was from a flyer at that coffee shop downtown, it means he at least lives in town so I thought we might know him!”
“And kiss him?” Karl added
“Probably.” Tina agreed, nodding sagely.
“I hate you all” George sulked.
“Hmmm, I need more information to make my final ruling on the case of the great George simpening.” Karl decreed. Quackity and Tina seemed amused while George once again was not. They didn’t have time to talk more on the situation as the car pulled into student parking. “Well, time to start today and see if the real high school was the friends we made along the way!”
“Karl, what the hell does that mean?”
“No idea!”