The Summer Everything Changed

Chapter 5

I walked outside and sat on the porch steps. I thought about walking home now, but Nick would kill me. I wished the boys were all ready to go now. All I wanted was to climb into bed and hide under the covers. Suddenly, I noticed a boy walking towards me. He wore a baseball hat to cover his messy blonde hair.

"Hi"

"Hey"

"Could I, uh, maybe sit next to you?"

"Yeah, sure" I scooched over to make room. He sat down.

"I'm Nate."

"Nice to meet you, Nate. I'm Julianne. Most people call me Julie," I replied.

"Cool. Are you from around here?"

"Actually, no. I only come in the summer with my mom and brother. We stay with family-friends; the Sturniolos."

"Oh yeah. My mom knows their mom, Marylou."

We were quiet for a moment.

"How come you're out here by yourself?" he asked.

"I don't really know anyone here besides them."

"Well, now you know me," he said grinning.

"Yeah, I guess so." I looked back at him. "They're also not too happy that I followed them here. Especially my asshole brother."

"He's probably just trying to look out for you," he suggested.

"Maybe. He's also a control freak."

That comment made Nate laugh. I laughed too because this whole night was unbelievable. I regretted wearing a tank top when I started to shiver.

"You cold?"

"A little."

"Here," he wrapped his sweatshirt around me, "you need this more than I do."

I smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it."

We talked a bit more until we heard yelling from inside. I thought it was Matt and I jumped to my feet. "I'll be right back," I said running into the house.

It was Jason and Mike from earlier.  They were clearly provoking Matt, but I wasn't sure why. Knowing how quick his temper is, I tried pulling Matt away, but he fought against it. He shoved Jason and Jason's drink splashed all over me. 

"Sorry, lil mama."

Matt's face turned bright red. "What did you just call her?"

Before Jason could open his mouth to speak, Matt pounced on him. Chris noticed from the crowd and worked to pull him off. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Matt yelled. Jason punched him square in the face and Matt fell backwards.

"Matt, come on," Chris said, "He's not worth it." Chris tried his best to grab Matt and push him away.

Nate grabbed my hand. "We've got to get out of here."

"But -"

"Now, Julie!" And we ran out the front door with a crowd of people.

We made our way down the street, away from the chaos. I saw Matt's car and stopped in front of it.

"Can we wait here for a minute? I need to make sure they make it to the car alive."

"Yeah, no problem."

A few minutes later, Matt and Chris walked up.

"What the fuck, Matt? You can't just go off on people like that."

"Shut up, Chris."

"Can you even drive home? Your eye is already bruising, dude." Chris tried to get a better look at Matt's right eye.

Matt jolted away. "Yes, I'm fine. No one else can even drive. Just get the fuck in the car." He looked over at me and Nate. "You too, Julie," he said as he got in the driver's seat.

"Um, Nate was actually going to give me a ride."

Matt laughed, but it sounded more like a scoff. "Um, no way. You aren't getting in a car with some random guy you just met."

"Oh, but you can stick your tongue down random girls' throats?", I retaliated. He stared at me blankly.

Chris decided to chime in. "Jules, I'm with Matt on this one. You can't just leave with a stranger."

"Oh um, I'm Nate - Nathan."

"Your name is Nate Nathan?", Chris stupidly asked.

"No, it's just Nate." He looked embarrassed.

"Nate, as in short for 'Nathan', you idiot," I said. "And we met earlier before Matt acted all feral."

"Whatever, you aren't going anywhere with this guy. So get in the car!" Matt said irritated. "No offense."

Nate looked at me shyly. "You should probably just go with them. I can put my number in your phone if you want."

"Yeah." I handed him my phone.

"Fuck," Chris yelled out. "We forgot Nick." He got out of the passenger seat. "Jules, when I get back your ass better be in this car."

Nate handed me my phone back. "Text me?"

I nodded. "Yeah, of course."

He brushed my hair behind my ear and leaned in. I lean in too and our lips meet quickly. I can feel myself blushing. 

Matt cleared his throat, annoyed. Nate opened the back door for me and said goodbye as I got in. I smiled to myself. 

"Guess I'm not the only one kissing random people now, am I?"

Asshole.