Lady Midnight

Chapter 16

Jules POV

The sun coming in through the window of Julian's bedroom was brighter than usual. He couldn't sleep that night. He didn't know if it was thinking about the kiss or thinking about Emma. Maybe it was both.

The Clave meeting was suppose to be today. Uncle Arthur had told him to dress in something that didn't have paint splattered on it. He put on some black jeans and a simple gray t-shirt, nothing too fancy.

Jules didn't pay that much attention to the Clave meeting. He would get Uncle Arthur to fill him in later. His thoughts were on whether or not he should ask Ciara out. There were no rules against dating her and she was really cute. 

After the meeting, Jules knocked on Ciara's bedroom door. He waited for a few seconds and was about to knock again, when she opened the door. She smiled,"sorry. I was trying to brush some tangles out of my hair." 

Julian's mind went to how Emma's hair got so tangled he had to brush out the strands at the back of her head. Now she just puts it into a braid so it wouldn't get tangled.

Julian scolded himself for thinking about Emma. He asked," would you like to go out with me?" Ciara smiled," I thought you would never ask. Of course. I would love to go out with you." " Great. I'll be at your door at 7, is that okay?"asked Jules. 

"That's perfect," Ciara said as she closed her door. Julian let out a sigh of relief. He had finally done it. He had asked out a girl. Emma would be so proud of him. No. No thinking about Emma. You're going out with Ciara now. 

That evening, he knocked on Ciara's door. She swung it open. She looked at the basket and blanket in his hand," a picnic. I love picnics." They walked to a park close by. Julian spread the blanket out underneath a tree. The wind rustled the leaves around them. They talked about stories about their childhood. Ciara was really funny. 

She loved adventures. When she was young, there was a forest behind her house. She would run in their and pretend she was a monkey. She'd take all of the bananas in the house and leave trails of the peels. She loved climbing trees and swinging on the branches. Her parents would constantly have to follow the banana peel trail to find her. She'd sometimes jump off of a branch above them and try to scare them. They were always expecting her to do it though.

When he told her about when he and Emma dyed the Blackthorn cat, Oscar, bright blue, she fell into hysterics. 

She breathed between laughs," who...whose idea...was that? That's...genius!" People walking around them looked at them like they were lunatics. She looked around and said," I mean poor, poor kitty."

Julian looked at the sunset,"I wish I had my paints and a canvas here right now. The sunset is beautiful here. I've painted countless sunsets, but they were all from the roof of the institute in Los Angeles." Ciara looked at him," I never knew you painted." 

Jules nodded," I also draw. It's a hobby of mine. You know, something normal to do with my free time." He had a sudden thought," I could draw a picture of you I you want." She smiled," I would love that."

They walked back to the institute holding hands. He led her into his room. He pulled out his sketchpad and pencils. Ciara sat on his bed smiling. Julian's hands flew across the page smudging and shading to make it as accurate as possible.

 He even tried to get the exact placement of the freckles that were scattered across her nose. Her curly hair was dark and curly. He somehow captured the smile in her eyes.

After he finished, he handed Ciara the picture. She gasped," it's so life-like. It's beautiful." Julian said," you are beautiful." Ciara hugged him. 

She handed him back the picture. Just as he was about to tell her to keep it she said," you keep the picture. When you go back to Los Angeles, you'll always have a piece of me."

She leaned up and kissed him. She whispered in his ear," this was the best date I've ever had. Goodnight." He breathed," Goodnight." She got up and went to her own room. Julian sat on his bed, as still as a statue. 

The picture lay in his lap. A beautiful girl with a look of pure happiness on her face. Ciara was sweet and caring, but Jules still believed his heart belonged to an angel on the other side of the world. He shook his head. 

No. Emma is your Parabatai. You will never be allowed to love her that way. 

No matter how hard Jules tried, he couldn't accept the fact that he was not allowed to love her that way.