Once everyone was aboard the luxury private jet they soon rearranged themselves according to their preferred social groups, the parents sat in one cluster, males in one corner, females in another, Zoe and Athena sat by themselves in the back where they had their noses buried in their phone screens, occasionally Zoe would make some snarky remark and Athena would laugh, Karyn and Jon were sitting next to each other when Moose came over.
"Hey guys,um, would it be OK if I hung with you guys, there's no one else my age on this trip"
"No problem Moose, take a seat" said Jon, gesturing to the seat opposite them.
"Thanks Jon, oh and it's Mike - I don't really like being called Moose , that's just a dumb nickname that ass Biff stuck me with in 5th Grade and I've not been able to shake it since"
"You surprise me ...Mike, I thought you and Biff were tight" said a puzzled Karyn
"Oh no Karyn, Biff is kind of a jerk but he's captain of the Football team and so I gotta make nice with him so's I can play, truth be told I plan on using my football scholarship to get into what I really want to do" The big guy sat down, he had a wistful expression on his face.
"And what's that Mike?"
"You'll probably laugh at me Jon but I want to be a forest ranger, I love being outdoors and Nature and all that stuff, thing is, I'm dyslexic so I don't do so good on academic stuff so Football is my ticket to Oregon U , they got a great program plus they got good support for students with special needs. (Author's note, I have no idea if this is true, I just thought Oregon was sufficiently Woodsy to have a degree program for would be Forest Rangers)"
Jon didn't laugh, in fact he was impressed, he hadn't realised that the big lug had such hidden depths
"Hey Mike, that's great, you should definitely follow your dream ya know" said Karyn with an enthusiastic grin
"Thanks guys, that means a lot, the other guys just laugh at me and make Yogi Bear jokes, it's kinda annoying ya know? Say, Jon, you couldn't maybe do me a big favour could you?"
Jon wasn't sure but he asked anyway "Maybe, what is it?"
"Well...see, I was wondering if you could maybe talk to your sister , kinda feel out the lay of the land..."
From Mike's blushing and the way he had kept on glancing over towards Zoe and her friend during their conversation Jon began to get a bad feeling about the direction this was taking.
"Uh Mike, I am not sure I'm comfortable setting you up with my little sister, she's only fifteen man"
"Oh! No, I mean, not that there's anything wrong with Zoe but, no, I meant that sexy Morticia Addams lookalike friend of hers, she's so smart and pretty and elegant, I ..I'm just , enthralled by her"
Mike whispered this blushing furiously.
Athena was a little older than Zoe at 16 she was technically just a year younger than Mike, due to her being a December baby she had started school a little older than the other kids, and she had always had this air about her of being a bit more mature and sophisticated than the rest, obviously Mike was drawn to this vibe.
"Look, Mike, I mean I can ask but isn't that a little bit roundabout? I get the feeling a girl like Athena prefers the direct approach, well at the very least ask her out yourself" said Jon.
"I would but she's l always surrounded by that gang of hers and I get all tongue tied and embarrassed when asking a girl out with all those people around, you could ask Zoe to pass on a note from me ask her to read it when she's alone , you know? Or maybe get Athena's number from her so I can call her? yeah that would be a better idea, I don't write so good, please Jon, I really like her, she's like my thing you know?"
"Well, I'm not sure it will work but maybe this vacation will give you an opportunity? If it doesn't I'll try my best but be prepared for her maybe not being interested, I mean, Goths and Jocks don't usually mix that well you know? It might be that dating her would cause you both stress from your respective cliques"
"I don't care, I've been in love with Athena De Vries for three years, I just love how mysterious she is, plus she's tall, do you have any idea how hard it is for guys like me? Most girls are like little girls to us!"
After this their conversation turned to other things, it turned out that Mike was a closet comic Book nerd, he really liked characters like The Incredible Hulk and The Thing, identifying with big guys that everyone thought of as monsters, he was also a big fan of classic horror movies, again identifying with Frankenstein's monster, to Karyn and Jon's surprise Mike turned out to be a person with hidden depths, none more so when he suddenly said,
"Say Jon, how long have you and Karyn been dating, you seem so comfortable with each other, like you've been with each other for years"
The sudden silence that greeted that statement clued Mike into his having made a huge social faux pas. Karyn looked to Jon, Jon looked back at Karym, his face glowing red from embarrassment.
"Yes Jonny dear, how long have we been dating now" she asked in a teasing tone
"Ummm...well... uh...that is... ummm...Actually we aren't, we 're just good friends"
Mike was incredulous.
"Really! But the way you look at each other, well , I'm sorry, I guess I got it wrong, sorry you guys. I feel really dumb now..." Mike looked sad
Karyn looked at Jon, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"You know Jon, Mike makes a good point, I mean, we have known each other for a long time, neither of us are dating and I do like you as a friend...what do you think? Want to give it a try?"
She had a strangely hopeful expression on her face, Jon was in a whirlwind of emotion, on one hand he was terrified of ruining the special friendship they both had, he had also been sure that Karyn was gay, but on the other, he couldn't think of any other girl he would rather be with, he decided that now was the time to be bold.
"I would, Karyn, I've always known you were the girl for me, I just didn't know if I was the guy for you, you never gave me any sign of being interested before"
"never gave you a sign?! What about that Valentines Card I gave you? I mean come on, surely the clues were obvious, when you didn't respond I just thought maybe you didn't like me that way..." she looked sad and angry, Jon just looked confused , then he remembered one Valentines Day a couple of years back, his little brother had been clutching a card and looking mischievous, Jon had been half asleep so he hadn't given it any thought but now he had a sudden suspicion,
"Mikey! That little prick! I'm sorry Karyn, I think Mikey must have found it before me and stole it for a prank, he probably hid it somewhere and forgot about it, now I remember, you seemed kind of weird that day, I'm so sorry I would have definitely asked you out if I had any idea that you were interested, forgive me?"
Karyn didn't speak she just reached over and gave Jon a big kiss on the lips, after smooching for what seemed like a blissful eternity Karyn pulled back and rewarded him with her brilliant smile.
"That answer your question Jon-Boy?"
In answer Jon pulled her to him and gave her a passionate kiss back, after that Jon and Karyn cuddled up together , holding hands and occasionally stealing kisses from each other, they each looked happy and contented, from the back of the plane a snarky teenage female voice called out "About damned time!"
The rest of the trip was spent talking amongst themselves and with the two new lovers enjoying their new status, Jon couldn't remember ever being so happy before, as Karyn rested her head on his shoulder her full head of blonde hair was in his face and he could smell her fruity shampoo, Jon was in Heaven, and soon he and his beloved would be in a tropical paradise together, he promised himself he would do his best to help Mike find the same happiness he now had, he owed the big guy that much.
