Aka. "Destination Anywhere", "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria"... After a very intense year in Würzburg (Germany), I'm back in Salamanca. I probably won't have that many experiences to write, but there's always an excuse to post a new entry!

As I'm even less patient than you, yesterday night I managed to finish writing and translating the first chapter of Inner Desires II. I was planning on including the nice cover picture my friend SharonLiv created, but then I thought it could be spoilery, hehe. Instead, I'll leave you with this song, which could perfectly be the soundtrack to these first few scenes.

In this sequel, we'll meet a few new characters and get to know the older ones a bit better. The story begins two months after where we left off, with Sharon still mourning the loss of Kimberly. In order to try and get over it, she'll need her closest friends' support. As I've just started writing, I can't reveal much of what will happen, but it will probably be more dramatic (and maybe a bit more explicit and sexier ^^) than the previous one. Hope you like it!

1.

The countryside used to be the most peaceful place in the world; a calming, beautiful hide-out from the hectic life in the city, where you could simply enjoy the silence and the intimacy and be in contact with with Mother Nature. Suddenly it became the loneliest corner of the planet. Kilometers separated her from any sign of civilisation or friendly face. The green that surrounded her seemed wild and hostile, and painful memories lurked from every single room of that empty house.
Sharon Jansen was trapped in a cage of solitude and regret. Kimberly had left her two months before, but the sorrow still remained. Rare were the days in which no tears were shed. As a result of the strong depression she had fallen into, her boss had advised her to take some time off the restaurant until she felt better. Now Sharon had nothing to do but torment herself and obsess over her suffering in that cold building that was nowhere close to a home.
All she did was eat, sleep and dwell on her sadness, be it by crying her heart out or writing poems about how she felt. If there weren't more cobwebs or dust, it was because some of her friends had offerred to help her clean. Her mood only seemed to improve when she was with them, and it didn't always work. Anything would easily set her off, and more than once she had kicked some of those closest to her out of her place. Even so, most forgave her and tried to be patient, trusting that sooner or later time would heal her wounds. Others, however, were determined not to let her drown in her own black hole.
There were days in which she would sleep for about twelve hours. While her eyes were closed and she wasn't completely conscious, she couldn't think of her ex-girlfriend and how alone she felt. She could dream herself into another world and escape the boredom. That was one of those. Covering her face with her arm and the bed sheets over her head, she tried to go back to her nap after waking up for a fourth time. Yet destiny seemed to have other plans.
Her telephone rang loudly. Groaning, she rolled over and grabbed it from her nightstand, unable to hide the irritation in her voice.
"Yes?"
"Hey, were you doing something important?" she recognized Johanna's cheerful voice.
"Sleeping... and you?"
"Our lecturer has a conference in a different university, so I have nothing to do in the next two hours... and I'm spending them in the café. Fancy coming?"
"I don't know, Jo..." the Dutch girl started to make up an excuse.
"Come on! I know you've been cooped up in your house all day... why can't you just get out for a little while and see your friend?"
Sharon's lips curved involuntarily into a smile. The tender tone in which Johanna had spoken made it obvious that she was genuinely worried about her. She felt horribly guilty for not appreciating all her ex-flatmate was doing to make her see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Ok. I'll be there soon."
Hanging up, she left the bed with calm and dragged her feet to the wardrobe. She grabbed the first thing she found and threw it on. Without looking in the mirror, she fixed her hair with her hands before locking the door and moving to the car. She didn't even bother putting makeup on. The sooner she left, the sooner she'd be back.
As soon as she spotted Johanna in the café, she regretted the trip. The redhead wasn't alone, but there was some alternative-looking girl sitting next to her. Fearing the worst, she considered turning back. Too late. Her friend was already waving at her with a wide smile, so Sharon put one on and joined them at the table.
"Hey! Have you guys been waiting for long?" she greeted as she sat down.
"No, not really" Johanna smiled "Oh, by the way, this is Deirdre. She's in my Medieval Art class. And Deirdre, this is Sharon, one of my best friends and my former flatmate."
Sharon looked at the new girl reluctantly. With her modern haircut and her nerdy vintage glasses, taking into account that she was studying History of Art, only one word occurred to her to describe that Deirdre chick - hipster. Surely she was not even twenty-five, and still looked like she had come from a pseudo-intellectual videoclip from the 80s.
"Nice to meet you" Sharon greeted inexpressively, forcing a smile.
"Same here" Deirdre responded "Johanna has told me a lot about you."
"Yeah, I thought I should introduce you sometime, as you're both quite into poetry" the auburn-haired girl explained.
"Oh, do you write, too?" Sharon asked her friend's friend.
"No, not myself. In any case, nothing other than haiku, but I am a literary critic."
Fail number one. She loved creative people, but hated those who pretended to know everything about art. Johanna stood up from the table, clapping her hands together once.
"Well, I'm gonna go get something to drink. What do you guys feel like?"
"Tea would be nice" the Dutch girl replied.
"I'm having a tea as well, but ask for a glass with two ice cubes" Deirdre said.
"Wouldn't it be easier to order an ice-tea?"
"Hell, no! Any similarity between industrial ice-tea and real tea with ice is a mere coincidence" she fixed her glasses.
Sharon gave Johanna a meaningful look. The Austrian shrugged, biting her lip as she walked up to the counter.
"So... you study with Johanna?" the brunette tried to make conversation.
"We are in some courses together. She's studying History of Art, while I'm combining it with History of Music."
"Oh, sounds interesting..."
"It is! And what about you, are you studying, too?"
"No" Sharon shook her head.
"Right, she told me you were a bit older" the short-haired girl snapped her fingers "I guess you must be already done."
"Er... actually, I never studied" the Dutch girl admitted.
Disappointment and horror were written all over Deirdre's face. Her look said it all. Sharon tucked some strands of her behind her ear with a shrug.
"Well, it's never too late" the younger woman smiled "Studying is really enriching, one of the most important experiences in life no-one should miss on. In fact, I think I'd like to study something else when I'm finished."
"Studying is... not really for me" the brunette commented "I do like learning new things, but I don't like to be told what I should learn."
Her listener opened her mouth to reply, but the drinks interrupted. Luckily, Johanna arrived just in time to avoid a possible confrontation between the other two.
"There you go, ladies" she laid the cups on the table and sat down "So... what were you guys talking about?"
"Nothing in particular... about university and so on" Deirdre answered, pouring the steaming tea into the glass with ice.
"Did you tell her that you play sax in the university big band?" the redhead asked.
"She didn't" Sharon intervened "Sounds good."
"Yeah, I love playing, even though those guys sometimes lack a lot of creativity. But at least it's a fun thing to do in my free time."
"And a good way to meet people" the Austrian pointed out "You have many friends, don't you?"
"Well, most of them are friends of my ex's" her classmate told her "I actually got into the band thanks to her."
As her former flatmate eyed her with a cheeky grin, the Dutch girl sighed. She knew what it all meant.
"Oh, no! I didn't know you guys had broken up..." Johanna exclaimed exaggeratedly "It must be really hard for you to see her in every rehearsal."
"Actually, it's fine. She decided to change her studies and her university, that's actually why we broke up. So I don't have to see her anymore."
"That's really sad" Sharon said inexpressively "Johanna, can I talk to you for a second... in private?"
"Er... sure."
Both girls exited the café, leaving Deirdre sitting alone at the table with her non-industrial ice tea. They stood in a corner of the hall, where some groups of students were still wandering around to find their classroom in that maze of identical doors with numbers.
"What's wrong?" the redhead wanted to know.
"What did I tell you about setting me up to random girls?" her friend crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"I'm sorry" the younger girl bit her lip "I just... wanted to be helpful."
"Thanks, but stop helping me like this. You clearly have no idea what my type is. You've set me up to three girls so far and each one was worse than the previous one."
"Hey, what's so terrible about Deirdre?"
"Just have a look at her and you'll tell me. What were you thinking hooking me up with that hipster?"
"I know she can be a bit nerdish, but she's a nice girl, really."
"No, she's not a nerd... she's even worse! She's a wannabe-nerd!"
Johanna sighed.
"Well... I don't know many lesbians. All I wanted to do was find you a sweet girl to make you feel better..."
"It doesn't work like this, Jo. You can't come introducing me to any women you know who are into women and expect me to like her right away and magically feel better."
"But... I thought this could help you forget Kimberly..."
Sharon shook her head.
"I can't forget her. I don't think I'll ever get over her."
"You could if you tried" the redhead said weakly as she looked down and started heading back to the café.
Her friend rubbed her forehead before following. She felt sorry for not appreciating how Johanna was trying to help her. Yet the girl didn't seem to have an idea how to do so. The only thing that could bring happiness back would be having Kim by her side again, and that everything was the way it used to be. What was the use in trying to make conversation with that weirdo she didn't even like?
"I... I think I should go" she said as she made it to the table, picking up her bag "My empty life free of culture awaits" she added, glaring at Deirdre.

"She didn't say that!" Marco gasped.
Johanna collapsed on the couch, sighing loudly.
"Well, she did. I guess it was my fault for organizing a surprise blind date that was absolutely destined to fail."
The other flatmate frowned. He sat down next to her, rubbing her arm.
"You were just trying to be helpful. Maybe it wasn't the right way, but at least you had good intentions."
She nodded, frustrated. Resting her elbows on the coffee table, she buried her face in her hands.
"I just find it really sad" she said "It feels like she didn't want to get over that skank. And it's already been two months! She shouldn't be locked in that house all alone crying because of her..."
"We all know she shouldn't. But you know how stubborn she can be at times. It's impossible to make her feel better if she doesn't want to."
"And that's exactly what pisses me off. She claims that she can't forget Kim and everything... but she doesn't even give herself the chance to! If you had seen her, Marco... It's as though she didn't want to be her pretty self in case someone notices her. I don't think she had even combed her hair and was wearing that horrible grey dress again."
"Oh, man! It's probably the only thing that still fits her. She's let herself go so bad... You might have a point that it's like she didn't want to be attractive though. I guess she's scared of getting attention and ending up broken-hearted again."
"Perhaps... or just the lack of will and energy to do anything."
"In any case, that Deirdre gal didn't sound much like her type" Marco pointed out.
"Ok, I won't deny she's a bit strange, but she's nice to talk to and a good friend, seriously. They're both kind of alternative, so I thought they could hit it off."
The big blond man shook his head.
"All we can do is trust and hope that she'll one day see the light... or that some knight in a shining armour will come and save her."