Karl the Great

In late morning, Karl hit the town centre and found Starbucks, that he couldn't remember being there two years ago, when he left. He ordered an espresso and found a comfy spot near window to the street. He carefully took a small sip of hot liquid as he heard a girl's voice calling him by his nickname.

“Spring? Is that you?”

Karl turned to the voice and saw a beautiful girl with slim body and long black hair. Oh, how he would have fucked her right in that Starbucks' bathroom.

“Oh, you probably don't remember me” – girl blushed, getting no response from Karl – “I'm Jessica. Jessica Marshall”

“Jessy?” – Karl's eyes lightened up a bit.

The girl nodded and Karl offered her a seat on the other side of the table. Jessica smiled and sat, then asked:

“So, what's up? What are you doing in Astoria? You haven't been here for like, two years, yeah?”

“Oh, ugh...” – Karl got confused by girl's sudden chatter.

“I-I'm sorry, I'm so stupid, asking you everything like that... Maybe I should just get going.” – Jessica felt ashamed, she hated herself for not being able to hide her crush on Karl that she has had since she was sixteen, so she got up.

“No, it's alright. Lots of girls act like that around me.” – he laughed and stopped Jessica from leaving by putting his hand onto hers. Girl's cheeks turned red and, because she was so excited to see Karl, sat back, while boy continued talking:

“I'm having some time off before summer starts, so I decided to come back.”

“Oh, that's great! Gosh, I wish I got to travel around the world...” – Jessica couldn't hide her excitement of Karl coming back to town, which meant some time for her to wrap the guy around her finger.

“Yeah, it's fucking awesome that I have this chance. But I'd much rather hear about your life than talk about mine, Jessy. I haven't seen you or Sam since I left. How is your big brother, by the way?” – Karl finished his barely hot coffee and by that, all Jessica' excitement faded away along with her smile:

“Sam is dead. Haven't you heard? He died from an overdose only a few days after you went off to New York, Spring.” – she said, clearing her throat and trying to stop the tears from streaming down her face.

“Oh. I-I... Oh, shit!” – Karl gasped. Sam was his best friend back in high school and, though they had stopped talking shortly after graduating, he still couldn't believe the guy was dead.

“It's okay.” – Jessica said, after a long and uncomfortable silence. – “My life is not that bad! Maybe boring, but definitely not bad! I've just finished my first year of college!”

“Yeah? What are you studying?”

“Arts. Oh, and I've started knitting. I probably sound like and old lady for that.” – she giggled.

“No, not at all! Knitting is good. You should knit something for me.” – Karl smirked.

“Sure! But I'm not very good at it yet, so I could make something easy, like a scarf.” – she blushed a bit.

“Scarf is perfect. Make it pink.”

“Pink? Seriously?” – Jessica looked confused.

“Yeah, I love pink!” – he stuck his tongue out.

“Oh, okay... So, how long are you gonna be in town?”

“I don't know. I'm thinking of going somewhere abroad as a traveller, you know, not for work. But I have no idea where to go yet. Where would you go?”

“Tibet! I've dreamed of going there for the last five years or so.” – Jessica almost jumped out of excitement, because she always got chills running down her spine just by thinking about that place.

“What if you came with me?” – Karl said suddenly, not giving it a better thought.

“Wh-wha... Why? I mean, I'd love to, but what makes you to want me to tag along?” – girl couldn't believe her own ears.

“Well, I feel kind of guilty for bringing up Sam and, I don't know... I think we should spend some time together, so we would make up for those years I haven't been home...” – Karl spilled all the lame reasons, that weren't even true. All Karl wanted was to just simply have sex with Jessica.

“Uhm, I would love to! When do you wanna go?” – Jessica still couldn't believe that it was real.

“Today. Now.” – Karl said simply, waiting for Jessica' reaction. He was starting to enjoy messing around. Was she brave enough?

Jessica was speechless. She looked Karl in the eye carefully, as if she was trying to read his mind. Was he being serious or just joking? If so, not very smoothly, Jessica thought. But even if Karl was being serious and wanted to take Jessica to Tibet – her dreamland – she was scared to take that offer. As far as Jessica could remember, she always had a crush on Karl. However, as Karl became this international super model and left the town, they have driven apart and, if telling the truth, Jessica seriously thought she was over the guy, even though she still tracked everything he did on the Net, the TV and continued collecting magazines with the boy in it. But now, when she was sitting in front of him and he was asking her to make her dream come true with him, Jessica was certain that she still was head over heels in love with damn Karl Kim. And yet, even after having feelings for him for such a long time, she was afraid to confess. But what scared Jessica more, was the fact that she might get too excited and tell it to Karl, when they were in Tibet and it could ruin their friendship.

“Fuck it.”– she finally said, then added – “Let's do this! Let's go!”

Karl's face changed as soon as he heard what Jessica said and the girl could clearly see that he was not expecting her to accept an impulsive invitation.

“Uhm, you don't look very happy about it...” – Jessica stated.

“Oh no. I was just surprised. Didn't think you were brave enough.” – he smirked.

“And why would I need to be brave to go on adventure with you?” – Jessica laughed.

“Well, sometimes I can be quite... irresistible.” – Karl winked.

“Oh, I take the challenge!” – Jessica winked back and laughed again.

They arranged to meet up at the airport in three hours and fly straight to Tibet. It didn't take long for Karl to get ready and pack his bags, so soon after he splat up with Jessica, he was already waiting for her in the airport. He knew nothing about Tibet, only that it had beautiful landscapes and oh man, how he got caught up in a wish to get inside Jessica, while she would be facing window, looking at massive mountain ranges!

While still being in his own dirty fantasy world, Karl got as comfy as he could on one of blue airport chairs. He looked around but all he saw was only a massive crowd of people, who were the same bags of organs. After wandering through similar people with his eyes, guy finally got his attention caught. Tight black clothes, covering slim body, that Karl knew too well. He looked up and saw a girl with long blond hair.

“Zoe?” – Karl gasped silently.

He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them the girl was already gone.

“I'm just hallucinating.” – he shook his head.

Karl then checked what time it was and looked around once more. He saw Jessica, coming towards him, with a wide but anxious smile upon her face. When she finally approached Karl, she pulled a pink scarf out of her backpack and wrapped it around his neck.

“Oh, you already did it? Thanks, baby girl” – Karl honestly couldn't hide his amusement.

“It was nothing” – Jessica replied and shrugged carelessly.

To tell the truth, the scarf was poorly made, some eyes were missing and it really didn't fit with Karl's black jeans and white t-shirt with Kanye West's face on it. However, Karl kept it on himself all the way to Tibet, where it was simply too hot to carry a scarf around his neck.

As soon as they walked into the hotel room, Karl threw his bag onto bed and turned to Jessica:

“You can take a shower first, I'll go later.”

He knew very well that there was nothing better than a refreshing shower after a long flight. Jessica tried to joke around and suggested to shower together but Karl just shook his head. He laid down on the bed, crossed his legs and pulled out his phone. He found an old photo of him and Zoe. It was taken at Dirty Duck about three years ago. Karl was smiling. Zoe was smiling. He was not able to take his eyes off those smiles. After coming back to Astoria, he met Zoe. She claimed that she has changed and later on Karl understood what she had in mind. Zoe was not a little innocent girl, he left in a small town. Now Zoe was a school drop-out and a drug-addict, who rapped her heart out at Dirty Duck and acted like a slut. Karl couldn't understand how he managed to fuck up her life so much. Lost in his thoughts, Karl didn't notice how quickly it got dark outside and he fell asleep before Jessica would come out of the shower.

Next morning Karl got up early. He took a shower, changed his clothes and left the room. Karl had never been to Tibet before but he wasn't very excited about this trip either. It was another country, another place, another hotel. Karl went to cafeteria and ordered a cup of black coffee. While taking small sips of hot drink, he looked around, where mostly were just mountains. He tried to figure out what made Jessica so attracted to this place, but it was pointless. After finishing his coffee, Karl went back to the room. Jessica was already up and was standing near the window. He went up to her, laid his left arm on her shoulder and asked:

“Ready for adventure, honey?”

Jessica lifted her hand, crossing it over her chest to rest it on top of Karl's.

“Yeah.” – she said, laughing a little – “So much. Jesus, Spring, I’ve always wanted to do this, you have no idea.”

She then turned, leaning back against the window sill, not letting go if Karl's hand. Despite her excitement and the rushing sense of “yes finally this is what I want to do”, Jessica wasn’t stupid.

“I can't tell you how much I want to thank you… I know this probably isn't your first spot for a vacation destination, and there's a million things I want to do, but if there's anything, anything you want just tell me, okay?”

Jessica slid her fingers between Karl's, holding their hands up together, and the boy held his breath. He was so devastated by the thoughts about Zoe from another day, that he suddenly didn't want to roll Jessica over his hotel bed anymore. By looking into Karl's eyes, the girl could remember, instantly all the things she liked about Karl, the jet-set life, his carefree attitude, the way he made her laugh and feel like she was actually someone special in the world. It was harder to see that Karl now, though. Something was holding him back, and Jessica wanted to know what it was.

”I... uhm. There's a temple outside of town, it's a bit of hike, but the walk is gorgeous, and there is this waterfall… We could bring lunch?” – she suggested, tone tentative. She was certain that a good four miles of hiking should loosen Karl up for some more personal chatter.

“Sure, Jessy, we could start with that if that's what you want. But I can't promise to make it all the way up without complaining” – he replied to girl's thoughts of going for a four-mile walk and laughed raffishly, finally pulling his hand out of Jessica'.

As he did so, Jessica quickly grabbed at the hem of her shirt to keep her fingers busy. In the end, she was still just the same stupid sixteen year old around Karl, overexcited by the tiniest things. Jessica was sure that Karl thought she was so lame.

“Ah, I guess I can put up with your bitching for a bit.” – she grinned, shrugging a shoulder like a kid, then added – “But I need to change first”

“Oh yeah, sure. I'll wait outside” – Karl said and left the room soon after.

As he reached the hotel door and took a breath of fresh morning air, the guy pulled out of his pocket a pack of cigarettes and lit one of them. He tried to smoke his cigarette as quick as he could, because he knew how Jessica was crazy about living a healthy life-style. Unfortunately, Karl didn't succeed, because Jessica was already walking through the door, when only half of Karl's cigarette had been finished.

“I see you're preparing for the hike” – she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him. – “Just for that you lose some of your bitching privileges”

Karl pulled out a grimase, but Jessica didn't say more. She waited for Karl to finish the cancer stick before stepping away from the hotel, heading for the shopping area she'd spied by the hotel window. The streets were crowded, and after nearly getting separated, Jessica reached back and grabbed Karl by the hand. She held onto him as they navigated the various stalls and carts set up. Jessica recognized only about half the things for sale, grinning all the while as she inspected the various foods carefully. The air was filled with the sounds of people yelling in foreign languages, shouting out about their wares, haggling for better prices. Everything smelled spicy and exotic, and standing in the middle of the crowded square Jessica gave Karl's hand a happy squeeze. This was what she loved most, the exotic places, the idea of being somewhere new. And nothing close to that could have been said about Karl. He felt uncomfortable being dragged through an unknown and extremely over-crowded street.

Jessica bought enough familiar food for the both of them to share, and then spent a little extra on a little collection of things she'd never even seen before, happily packaging them all up, handing half the bundle to Karl to carry. He couldn't keep his worry about all that strange food from his face. Karl tried to look confident and not amused at all, he repeated “Nothing can scare me” a thousand times in his head. He got distracted by a vibration in his pocket and pulled out his phone. The screen showed that he had one new message and wondered who it might have been from but nothing crossed his mind. As Karl read the message, he thought he was going to die right there, in the middle of some street in Tibet, holding Jessica's hand. The text was from Zoe, it was her cry for Karl's help. He quickly put his phone back, when Jessica turned to him, wanting to say something.

“We'll walk for awhile, then stop to eat, if that works for you?” – she asked, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice, pointing towards a dirty road leading out of town, and the mountain beyond it.

“Yeah yeah, as you say” – Karl said coldly, he was too busy with making up a plan how to go back to Astoria, but leave Jessica in Tibet safe.