Julian 1.1

I caught a glimpse of the infamous beamer from the school lobby. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off. I rushed to the car only to witness the most sickening conversation I could ever encounter.

Stella had found her way out of the snake lair and into my driver's convertible. The way she acted so innocent and fragile was almost as convincing as her fake tan.

Julian rested his arm on the rolled down window with his sunglasses covering his hazel eyes that were squinting from the bright sky.

"Ready?" I opened the car door and buckled the seatbelt on the passenger seat.

"Oh, you're finally done. This beautiful friend of yours was kind enough to keep me company while I waited for you in the parking lot. Someone seemed to drop and forgot their phone in the car," he turned to face me.

"I was just telling Julian about my new haircut," she blinked flirtatiously.

"Yeah! I just remembered that he's into girls with short hair," I whisper-shouted, "we should get going now. I need to prepare for the chemistry exam tomorrow. Bye Stella."

Julian gave me a confused look and politely bid our intruder goodbye before driving home. His dog was comfortably curled up on the backseat. The sun was blaring through the tinted car window. It seemed that the prolonged rain had brought with it a side effect.

"You look good in that shirt," he said without looking away from the road.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for lending it to me. Really saved my life today," I looked up at him, "I'll wash it and give it back to you tomorrow."

"No, keep it. It suits you better," he smiled.

"Thanks, I really do appreciate it. You can keep that shirt too if it's not too small for you."

"Sure, I'll take a good care of it."

"Here, let me treat you to some bubble tea. I couldn't thank you enough. I could've failed that exam if it wasn't for you."

"Hey, it's all good. My pleasure."

"No, I wanted to. I have some extra cash with me too. C'mon… Pleaseeee," I begged him.

"Okay, fine. Only coz I'm feeling nice. You're not allowed to pay for anything else from this moment onward."

"I have money."

"So do I," he put his shades on my head.

We ordered some drinks and takeaway a cup for Jake. The drive home was quiet. We sipped on our sugary drinks and I mostly stared at the blue sky above. Chemistry might be the hardest subject that I had picked. Many thoughts passed through my mind at the same time.

How much would I make tomorrow for selling my answers? Would I be risking myself if I do it tomorrow? Was there any truth in Rachel's word? What if he did have some feelings for me? But he had no problem flirting with other girls.

If I was reading into it this much, did that mean I was the one who had feelings for him? Would that equate to him not having any feelings for me? Maybe he was just a pleasant human being.

I couldn't shake it off my chest. Why did it bother me so much? I needed to focus on my exams and my exams only. Jake never involve himself with any female and he turned out fine. Right? I didn't know what else to think. I pulled out my phone from the cup holder and texted Rachel.

Jaded_orcas:

Can u come over ltr? Pls? ☹

Rachelxoxo214:

Sry, boo. Rick wants me @ his basketball practice til 9. Wht's wrong? Isn't Mr. Heartthrob gonna be there?

Jaded_orcas:

Don't call him tht. I'm just gonna lock myself up n die

Rachelxoxo214:

Awww… I'm sure u'll be fine. Txt me if u need anything else. Xoxo <3

Jaded_orcas:

K. Bye.

When he parked in the garage, I excused myself to my room with Nancy following behind me. I didn't know why it stressed me out so much to be around Julian. I started to notice every single thing and read too much into it.

It felt so normal yesterday before Rachel mentioned those theories of hers. I even promised myself to not get carried away. This was just like any other transactions. All I could do was to study hard for my exam and go to college so that Jake and I could finally move out.

I finished studying in my room at about 10pm. Nancy had fallen asleep on my lap as I repeated my notes verbally to get it to stick in my brain. I could hear chatters and music playing in Jake's studio. I was half expecting him or Julian to pop in and check on me, maybe even offer me food or a cigarette break.

But it was a relatively lonely evening. I decided to end my study session and put on my headphones before going into the kitchen to grab some juice. The reviewing had me craving for some passionfruit tea or an apple juice.

The lights were off, I grabbed a glass of passionfruit tea and went out to the garden to let Nancy roam around while I take cigarette break. A large shadow sat on one of the garden benches. The dog must've picked up the scent and leapt on its lap.

"Hey, girly," his soft voice muttered.

"Trouble sleeping?" I asked as I approached them.

"Kinda. Was just pondering about stuff. What about you? What have brought you here?" he joked.

"Just finished reviewing. Needed some boost."

"Let's go for a walk," he stood up.

"This late? I have– "

"An exam tomorrow, yes. And you don't worry about muggers. I'll drop kick anyone that tries to touch you," he offered his hand.

"Fine, no more than an hour though."

"Sure, Nancy will protect you from bad guys too, won't you?" he baby-talked to her.

"She can barely swim and almost drowned me."

"Hey, she's learning. Slowly," he smiled and walked towards the front door.

"Why are we doing this again? Did you mistaken Nancy's routine with mine or did Jake tell you to walk me twice a day too?" I looked down at my wrist, "aren't you supposed to be holding the dog and not me?"

"Try to cheer up a bit. You're making me feel bad. Anyway, who knows how long we could be enjoying each other's company," he sounded sad.