Seven

"Helloooo? Earth to Julias Ceasar salad."

I snapped out of my reverie that may or may not have included a hot blonde dude making out with me in a hot, steamy locker room and turned my attention to Tobias.

"What?"

"I said I'm hungry. Can you make me some egg fried rice? I've been craving it ever since I started watching this Asian cooking channel."

I scowled, "Do I look like your gender-stereotype oppressed wife? Do it yourself."

"Come on," he whined, grabbing my forearm, "You're leaving like, tomorrow. God knows when I'll get to taste your cooking again."

"Never, if it were up to me."

"I'll do anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

I chewed on my bottom lip for a few thoughtful seconds.

"Your team captain- What's his name, Ace... Adam..."

"Avery? What about him?"

"Right, Avery," I folded my legs up on the couch, turning my attention to SpongeBob in an effort to look as uninterested as possible. "Nice guy Avery, that one."

"Come to think of it, he asked about you earlier today but I totally forgot."

My heart picked up speed but I tried not to let any excitement show on my face, keeping my attention squarely on Squidward's nose. Mmm, wonder what that reminds me of.

"Really? What'd he say?"

"He asked if you came to school since he didn't see you in class, said you have something of his and you were supposed to return it today."

"What thing-" I stopped myself, realising Avery probably made something up just to not sound suspicious as hell. That's cute, I can imagine him being all flustered while he asks. "Oh, right, the thing. Totally forgot about that thing. Guess he'll have to wait until Monday."

Toby narrowed his eyes at me, "Since when are you two close?"

"We're not close," I said almost defensively, "We just rubbed elbows a couple of times. He seems like a nice guy so I wanted to know more about him."

A small smirk began to form on his lips and he leaned back against the sofa, thinking.

"Let's see... we're not very close, but he's alright I guess. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mom. He seems to be friends with everybody and nobody at the same time. I don't think I've ever seen him with any one friend or group of friends but he's popular with the team and very popular with the ladies. He's single, as far as I can tell, but according to sources he sleeps around, a lot."

"Huh," I said quietly.

"You want his number?"

"No thanks," I scowled. I already have it, and I'm trying my best not to use it. "Guy seems straight as a stripper pole to me."

"But you're interested."

"No I'm not," I outright denied, and Toby immediately gave me a knowing look. "Okay, maybe. He's hot."

"He asked if you were sick today. Even looked a little worried, bless his heart."

Okay, this time I kind of blushed. "Really? And what did you say?"

"The truth, that you're a lazy bum that skips school on a whim when you feel like it."

"Asshole," I tossed a pillow at him, before diverting my attention back to the television.

"Okay, you got your intel, so..."

"So what?"

"There's leftover rice from yesterday..."

I rolled my eyes, standing up and making my way to the kitchen.

_

"That's great to hear! I hope it won't be too busy for you."

"Thanks, dad. I think I'll be able to manage."

"Yo, this fried rice is the shit," Toby whispered next to me, stuffing his face.

"Toby says hi by the way."

"Hey uncle Greg!"

"Tobias, you little punk. When will you come visit us, huh? It's been three years already!"

"I promise I'll come visit you guys this summer. And I'll bring this idiot too."

"I'll hold you to that," that one sounded like it was directed to me as well.

"What? I was literally there last year."

"You only stayed for a week."

"I had things to do! Anyway, how's mum doing?"

There was a short pause from his end, "She's doing fine. She misses you."

I exhaled, getting up from the couch and making my way into Toby's empty room. "Can I talk to her?"

"Yeah, just hold on a second," There was some rustling on the other end of the line. "She can hear you now, Jules."

"H-Hey mom. How have you been? Is dad taking good care of you?"

"Hey! I always have been!" Dad retorted.

I breathed out a laugh. As expected, there wasn't much else heard except for a few shallow breaths and soft whimpers.

"Don't strain yourself. Dad told me you've been doing so well! I'm so proud of you. And look, your useless son has a job now. You guys don't have to worry so much about me anymore, I'll be eating gourmet every weekend! And yes, of course I'll save up too, before you lecture me about it," I chuckled, keeping my tone light and hopeful. "I miss you guys. I'll come see you the moment summer break comes. Until then, you better take care of yourselves."

"We miss you too, sweetheart. And we love you so much."

"Ew, dad. That's gay."

"You're gay."

"I mean... Well I guess that's true."

He chuckled on the other end of the line. "Call me if you ever need anything, okay? And... call more. Your mother's always so happy when she hears your voice."

I swallowed a lump in my throat, "Yeah, of course. Bye dad. Bye mom."

The moment I hung up, the smile on my face instantly fizzled out. I sighed, staring down at my phone absentmindedly. It wasn't until I saw a drop of mysterious liquid fall slowly across the smooth screen that I realized I was crying.

God damn it. Why do we have feelings again?

Resolutely, I stood up, wiping my face and walking back out into the living room. That way I wouldn't give in and bawl my eyes out. I silently sat down next to Toby on the couch.

"Let's actually go this time,' he said quietly, his eyes not leaving the television screen, before shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

"Yeah, let's."

_

I stepped out of Toby's pick up truck, assessing the perimeter. We were stood right in front of a fairly average looking six-storey apartment complex in a fairly average looking neighborhood. It was right at the end of a cul-de-sac, one that distinctly reminded me of GTA San Andreas.

"Yeah... Yeah we're downstairs... Okay," Toby hung up his phone and started to pull my (many) suitcases out the back of his truck. "You not gonna help carry your own shit?"

I looked at him thoughtfully and shrugged going back to looking around the neighborhood and enjoying the nice weather. "Nah, you got it."

He rolled his eyes at me, but didn't complain. I knew the guy was gonna miss me so he was trying to be nice. And I, being the Saint that I am, shall take full advantage of that as I rightfully should.

"There's my favourite nephew!" Said a familiar, third voice.

"You mean your only nephew." Toby called out.

Vince walked out of the complex, looking rather comfortable in his shorts, tank and his signature smile.

"Julias, good to finally see you again," he said as he went straight in a for a hug and oh, wasn't expecting that. Everytime he opened his mouth with that damn British accent of his, I was always momentarily floored. It's just so... Exquisite. That's the right word.

I awkwardly patted his back in response. "Guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other."

"Guess so. How have you been?"

I shrugged as we made our way to the back of the pickup truck. "I've been alright. Moving is a pain of course."

"It'll all be over soon. And I'm here to help," he said as he made his way to Toby, grabbing two of my suitcases off the floor.

"O-oh, you don't have to. Toby and I will-"

"Relax, I'm not that old." He chuckled. "Get a move on now, Anya's so excited to see you!"

I grabbed two suitcases and followed him into the building, leaving Toby behind to sort out the rest. I appreciated the huge full-sized mirror right outside the elevator, which was already a huge selling point for me. I love mirrors. Is that narcissistic? I think that's narcissistic.

"When you said close to uni, I didn't realize it was this close. I can finally put my bike to good use now." I said as we stepped into the elevator.

"That's good to hear. I used to love cycling to school, really helps you keep fit, too."

"Yeah I'm not much a fitness guy, but I guess it's a bonus."

"Well, I really hope you can be comfortable here."

"I'm sure I will."

"Julia!" The moment the elevator doors opened, the little rascal- child, ran straight into me and hugged my legs. I resisted the urge to scream ew, get it off of me and forced a smile, lightly tapping her back.

"Good to see you too, Anya."

"Sweetie, we talked about this. His name is Julias."

"But... But he's only one Julia!"

He sighed in exasperation. "I'm sorry. She'll get the hang of it, eventually."

"It's okay, I don't mind it," I forced another smile, reaching down to pat her stupid pink beret. She's still wearing that faux French fashion disaster? Why?! "You can call me whatever you like."

She grinned excitedly, before trying to drag one of my suitcases out of the elevator. How dare she touch my- get it together, Julias. Her dad is right here.

"Whoa, whoa. That's a little too heavy for you sweetheart."

"But I want to help."

"Daddy's got it."

She tightened her fists. "I. Want. To. Help."

"Okay, okay. Go meet Toby downstairs, he'll give you something to carry up."

"Yayyy!" She squealed, ditching the elevator and running down the stairs. Vincent chuckled to himself.

"Come on, my apartment's over here."

The door was already ajar when we walked in. I took a look around the living room, which was spacious yet welcoming with the warmer hues of orange and yellow in the walls and furniture. There was a decently big flat screen TV, family photos on the walls, and the occasional mess of toys on the floor no thanks to the little devil I'm sure. I eyed the open recliner and immediately recognised it to be Vincent's shrine, complete with a coffee in the cup-holder and a laptop with an excel spreadsheet open. Microsoft. He's a real OG.

"You've got a nice place here."

"You mean that? It's a little messy," he laughed softly.

"It's very cozy. Although, I'm not the biggest fan of open-plan kitchens. But I can work with it," I nodded to myself.

"I was worried that'd be a sticking point for a chef like you. Come, let me show you your room."

I followed him into the hall, silently admiring the numerous family pictures on the walls. Clearly they meant a lot to him, since they were literally everywhere.

That must be his late wife.

She was beautiful, with her long brown hair and her kind, affectionate smile. Not gonna lie, judging from those pictures, they made a damn gorgeous couple. Even the demon kid was a testament to that, she might be annoying as fuck but she did hit the genetic jackpot.

"Here it is."

I peeled my eyes away and stepped into the room, which I was pleased to find was squeaky clean, and sufficiently spacious. It was a little smaller than Toby's, but a perfect size for me. Unlike the rest of the house, it was completely undecorated, with only a single bed, a closet and two night stands. And most importantly, a mirror. Vincent clearly took the time to really clean out the place, complete with the anxiety-inducing all-white bedsheets that definitely won't have stains on them in a day. There was also natural light shining in through the window, which I could definitely appreciate. Even my own room back home had a lovely view of the gutter and virtually no Vitamin D.

"I know it's a little plain but that only means you get to make it your own, and you're free decorate it however you like-"

"It's perfect, Vincent. Thank you. I actually can't wait to move in," I smiled at him genuinely, actually feeling optimistic about staying here and somehow, even this wretched babysitting job. It felt like a good change, one that I needed to make.

He blinked a few times, looking stunned for a second but he eventually smiled back at me even wider.

"Great. Let's go get the rest of your things then."