Julian 0.8

It had been a long time since I had some fun someone older than me. Jake had been busy with college and he rarely played any video games with me anymore. My parents were always busy with work. My only other friend had a boyfriend. None of my family members live in the same state. Being a senior in high school meant your only option for an older friend were the staffs. That's gonna be a big no from me.

His hair was surprisingly soft for a wavy lock. It reflected the light off from my ceiling as I brushed through his hair with my fingers. It felt like I knew what I was doing.

"Now I know why girls love to get their hair done. This feels damn good. I feel so pampered," he closed his eyes and laid his head back on my lap.

His cheeks were blushing from the hot shower. He wore Jake's white Supreme hoodie and a basketball short. He looked better than he did when I first saw him earlier today.

Maybe it was the lighting in my room or the way he was looked so serene. I must have zoned out and pointed the hairdryer at his face because he let out a small groan and sit up straight.

"You're good to go," I came back to my senses.

"What about you?" he looked at my wet hair.

"I'll dry it. You can wait downstairs with Jake and the rest."

"The party's over. Jake's in a bad mood. Ya' know with Paul almost drowning you and Nancy in front of his own eyes in his own house."

"Yeah, I get it," I cut him off.

"Let me do it for you!" he took the hairdryer off my hand.

"What?"

"C'mon! When else am I gonna get the opportunity to act like a hairdresser."

Probably never again, with what you were about to do to me, I said in my head. I complied and sat facing away from him. He was doing a decent job at drying my hair, but it was an understatement to say he was good at imitating a hairdresser. It was on point; by far the best impersonation of a person I had ever witnessed.

"So, what are we looking for today?" he said in a sassy voice.

"Just a blowout, please," I tried to hold my laughter.

"That's it? But you have such a gorgeous hair, honey," he tussled my hair to one side.

"Mhm.'

"You'll be so good with a long bob and some ashy cold-toned highlights, duh-ling," he brushed the hair off my face.

"No thanks."

"If we just snip it here, it will accentuate your jawline. You see?"

I finally burst out laughing at how convincing he was, "How do you know all that?"

"I overheard it when my mom's hairdresser would come over for her monthly appointments. Honestly, I've no clue what any of that meant. I hope I didn't ruin your hair."

"What would you name your sassy hair-savvy alter ego?"

"Jerome!" he said with the thickest French accent.

We giggled about it for a few minutes before I unpacked my notes and prepared to review for my exam. Julian laid on my bed with Nancy on his side while he listened to music with his headphone.

I studied for a couple of hours and asked for Julian's opinion on some of the character or scene analysis. I found out that he was immaculately talented at acting out parts and conveyed accurate feeling of the play. It helped me understand and memorize quotes better.

"I'm getting hungry. Should we take a break?" I stood up from my desk.

"Sure, no food for you though, Nancy."

Every light in the house was off as Jake went to his room at the opposite end of the hall from mine. The kitchen was unusually cold and still. We snooped around and searched the cabinets and the fridge for food.

"Kimchi ramen, boiled egg, and donut for dessert?" I collected the ingredients.

"Sounds good to me," he agreed as he sat on the floor to cuddle Nancy.

I started to boil a pot of water on the stove and defrosted two glazed donuts from the freezer and set it aside on the counter. My pack of cigarette was lying next to the sink. I took one but couldn't be bothered to take my lighter from the room. I used the fire from the stove to light my cigarette and opened both kitchen windows.

"Can I take one?" he asked.

I nodded and offered him to light his with mine. The grandfather clock chimed to signify midnight. I looked over to reassure myself of the time.

"Sh*t, don't you have to go home? Won't your grandma and dad look for you?" I panicked.

"No, I asked Jake if it was okay for me to stay over until your parents are back. My dad doesn't give a single fuck as long as I pay rent for staying in his house. And my grandma doesn't remember me at all. She saw me out the lawn and asked if I was the gardener," he took a long puff.

"What did you say?" I awkwardly stirred the noodle and prepared the eggs.

"I told her yes and cussed her fluently in French. Still didn't ring any bells though," he turned to his dog.

"Oh, sorry," I proceeded to mix the seasonings in the pot.

"It's fine, I left for anatomy class and drove to pick you up."

"Let's eat," I tried to change the subject.

"Today was fun," he said quietly and took a bite of noodle from the pot.

I didn't know what to say or if I should comfort him. So, I kept eating and stayed silent throughout our meal. Nancy tried to beg for food, and it was so hard to reject such a pleading face. But it would probably had done her more harm than good to consume instant noodle.

"I haven't had this in years," he said as he cleared the counter and washed the dirty dishes.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I ate a noodle in the kitchen at night. Usually I'd do it alone."

"Sorry I invaded your private time," he teased.

"I-I didn't mean it like that. You were a fine company. Want some donut?" I blabbered.

"Sure, you can feed me," he looked at me and opened his mouth.

My mind went blank for a split second. I don't usually find it hard to accept or reject people bluntly. And it was a weird feeling to have someone that genuinely wanted to befriend me. It had always been just Jake and Rachel.

Everyone else were just using me or they would bore me with their mundane interests. I couldn't tell if Julian was being nice because he was forced to or if maybe he was just friendly with everyone.

He flirted with that fast food clerk with no hesitation. When I snapped back to reality, I took the plate of donuts and sat on the counter next to the sink to feed him.