Barely Legal

Disgusting

Everyone's passed out except me. Albert is laying with his head on the armrest of the sofa, Nick is folded up in an armchair and who the hell knows where Fab and Niko are?! Julian never came back. I haven't waited up for him or anything, I just didn't drink as much as everyone else and I'm not very tired yet...or so I thought.

I open my eyes several minutes later to the opening and closing of the front door.

It feels as if my whole world pauses for minute as Julian walks into the room. His tired, sad-looking eyes tell me he's not exactly sober. His hair is a little longer and more shaggier than the last time I saw him, and his hands subtly shake as he holds a half-empty bottle of beer.

I stay silent, waiting for him to notice me...but he doesn't. He just opens a door--to which I'm assuming is a bedroom--and disappears inside.

I think about what has just happened for a while until a sudden rage builds up inside me, making me stand up and take a deep breath as I approach the door. How dare he not acknowledge my existence?! I push it open and snarl at Julian, whose sat on the end of the bed with his face in his hands.

He slowly looks up at me, his eyes red rimmed and his eyelids droopy. Has he been crying?

All my anger disappears and I start to feel sorry for him. "J-Julian? Are...are you okay?"

He opens his mouth to say something, but closes it again and looks away.

"Jules..?" Not gonna lie, this is scaring me a little. "It's me...Jade." I say, not exactly sure if he's all there or not. Who knows what drugs he's been taking since I left.

He looks up at me again and sniffles. "I'm just not quite myself anymore." he mutters, his voice incredibly hoarse.

I gingerly walk over and sit beside him. He flinches as I gently touch his arm.

"Why is that?" I whisper.

He says nothing and just shrugs, removing his denim jacket and throwing it on the floor, all while kicking off his shoes.

"Jules, I missed you." I say. "So much."

I wait for a response, but he says nothing once again and lays down with his back to me.

Realising I won't be getting through to him tonight, I stand up and walk over to the door. "I'll leave you alone then."

~~~

The next morning, Julian acts as if nothing happened, says good morning to the guys who are awake, and leaves through the front door after ignoring me once again.

"Damn." I sigh, biting into a waffle that Nikolai had made for me.

Fab yawns loudly, making me laugh as he walks into the living area and plops down beside me.

"Morning." I greet him with a smile.

He kisses me on the cheek. "Good morning." 

"Woah, what the hell was that?" Nikolai points a fork at us from the kitchen.

"They're dating now." Albert shakes his head. "Have you been living under a rock?!"

Nikolai laughs heartily. "That's probably why Julian's been so grumpy!"

"Fuck, that makes sense." Albert agrees.

"What the hell, guys?" I death stare them both, handing my half-eaten waffle to Fab. "Isn't he dating that Samara chick?"

"I think he's just sleeping with her." says Nikolai. "I haven't heart about anything being official yet."

"Disgusting." I internally shudder. "Is she nice? Do you guys like her?"

"Nope." replies Nick, popping the 'p'. "She's a fuckin' bitch."

I nod a little. "How so?"

"Just invites herself over all the time and never let's us hang out with Jules." Nikolai tells me.

"And she's always got a really shitty attitude." says Albert, lighting a cigarette. "Such a drag, man."

"She must be a good fuck though if Jules is puttin' up with her." Fab bites into my waffle.

Nick nods. "Must be."

"Let's move onto a nicer topic." Fab says, noticing my discomfort. "Jade, you gonna rejoin that weird punk band?"

I think about it for a second. "Nah...I think I'll leave the whole band thing to you guys." Being content with my answer, I smile. "Show me some of those T-Shirts you were telling me about a while back?"

"Oh, shit yeah!" Fab jumps up and runs over to a box in the corner of the room. He pulls out a black shirt with 'The Strokes' written in blue, formed into some sort of circular symbol.

"That's so cool!" I grin waving an arm in the air. "Gimme one!"