Inexplicable Dream Team one-shots

Hollow Earth, Full Hearts // KarlNap

5301 words | romantic

Author's note: This is probably one of my dumbest ideas yet, but I had a lot of fun writing it, so please enjoy! :D

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Months ago, Karl visited this university campus for the first time. Usually Karl is too impatient and distrusting to associate kindly with strangers, but on that occasion he was genuinely grateful to the random student - Dream - who led him to his destination. With a backpack and a cheerful smile, Dream noticed Karl glowering at the map located in the center of campus.

"Hey, there!" The university student slowed his pace. Pulling headphones off his ears, he ran fingers through his curly brown hair and joined Karl before the map. Shivering slightly in the frigid air, he asked, "Need any help?"

Instinctively Karl opened his mouth to refuse the stranger's assistance until he decided that he was in too much of a rush to be suspicious of this person's motives. Reluctantly he muttered, "Sure. Do you know where Room 269 is?"

"Of course!" Unfazed by Karl's suspicious glare, the student nodded and pointed in a seemingly random direction. "See that red-brick building over there? That's the library. Just take this sidewalk toward the library, then once you pass it, turn left. Room 269 is in the building directly across from the library, so it'll be on your right. You got that?" With raised eyebrows, he looked at Karl for confirmation.

"I think I've got it." Embarrassed that he could not navigate to Room 269 without help, Karl concluded the interaction with a curt nod. "Thanks. Have a good day."

"You too!" Pleased that his advice was useful, the university student stepped away so Karl could pass him. With the same bright smile, he waved, "Goodbye!"

"Bye." Unnerved by the stranger's eagerness to help, Karl sent a wary glance over his shoulder as he walked away.

Nowadays Karl is relieved that he no longer needs to ask for help to find this room. He is not a student at this university, but with permission from one naive philosophy professor, he hosts a nighttime class here twice per month.

At 6:13pm on a Monday evening, Karl leaves his car in the mostly-abandoned parking lot. Slinging a backpack onto his shoulders, he unlocks the trunk and unloads an armful of presentation supplies: a bulletin board, thumb tacks, red string, photographs, a laser pointer, his laptop bag, and a package of store-bought cookies for the people who will attend the presentation. Karl may despise humanity, but he does not want to discourage a potential audience from attending his presentations just because he does not provide free food.

Poking his head out from behind the armful of supplies, Karl crosses the greasy asphalt parking lot. Sunset-stained skies hover above his head, and a fresh evening breeze fills his lungs. Moths flutter beneath the lamps that line the university's concrete curbs.

Karl navigates through the university toward Room 269, passing the same map in the center of campus where he met that random student Dream. By now, the location's layout is familiar enough that he does not need to depend on the kindness of strangers. Karl never knows who he can trust or how much he can trust them. Maybe this is because Karl innately knows that he is untrustworthy, so he suspects that everyone else is as untrustworthy as he is.

At this time, there are barely any people left on the university campus except for cleaning staff, lone students, and professors locking their own rooms before their departures. Karl is thankful that he will not need to speak to anyone as he reaches Room 269. Grunting under his breath, he shifts the presentation supplies to dangle from under one arm as he twists the door knob and pushes it open with his hip. Karl enters the classroom and closes the door behind himself. Darkness surrounds him. The air is stuffy: much warmer than the cool breeze outside. Relying on his memory, Karl slides his fingers along the wall until they reach the lightswitch. He flicks the switch and squints when a series of overhead lights illuminate the classroom before him. Karl's internal clock announces the time: 6:19pm. He has ten minutes to set up everything before his audience is supposed to arrive.