Anywhere With You • {J.C.}

||Nine|Between You And I||

"The things we did, the things you hide
but for the record, it's between you and I."
-Barely Legal

A set of persistent knocks caused some drunkards to stir in the living room. Julian had passed out on the couch, carrying on the party after Harlow had fled the embarrassing scene that took place in his bedroom. He couldn't tell what time it was, but judging by the sight of his passed out friends, it had to be early.

"Oh, fuck." Julian scrambled from the couch, tripping over Fab who had passed out in a beanbag chair Julian had brought down from his bedroom.

"What the fuck?!" Fab yelled, shaking the hand Julian had stepped on before turning over to fall back asleep.

"Sorry... sorry." Julian staggered toward the door, praying to an unseen entity that it wasn't his parents. They weren't supposed to be back until Thursday night—he could swear it was only Sunday, but couldn't be for certain. He glanced back at the mess around the room; the red solo cups scattered all across the floor, and random beer cans he couldn't be sure where they had come from.

It was quite the scene—his mother would be furious, his stepdad disappointed. He groaned, rubbing his face in dread before opening the door. His face fell when seeing who it was that stood on the other side.

"Harlow... wha- what are you doin' here?"

Her brows furrowed, peaking around Julian to see several people asleep in odd positions. She spotted Nick and Fab almost immediately, the others just familiar faces she'd seen a time or two.

"You know it's three in the afternoon, right?" Harlow smirked, watching Julian rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Does it look like I know what time it is?" He returned the smile, opening the door as wide as it would go, gesturing for Harlow to come inside. "So what's goin' on?"

"Ah, nothing... really, just... I wanted to see if you wanted to go somewhere. You know, get out, do some stuff." Harlow closed the door, her timid eyes wavering to Julian apprehensively.

The truth was, she just wanted him to make her forget again. Even if that meant standing awkwardly at a record store for two hours. Her life was falling apart—everything she had ever known was about to be changed and she didn't know how to cope. She just needed a friend—someone to make her forget everything.

"Lo, I really don't wanna go anywhere. I'm still half drunk, I haven't had a shower yet... I gotta get this place cleaned up-"

"I'll help." Harlow chipped. She didn't care to clean; it meant she'd be doing something—her mind would be occupied.

"Well, I'm not gonna clean right now." Julian laughed in a huff.

She suddenly got the feeling that she wasn't welcome. Harlow nodded, turning back toward the door to leave. Surely she could find something to do to keep from thinking about the inevitable. She could go back to the pizzeria, get her old job back and then stop at Cavern's Bar and Grill to get that job back as well. Perhaps she could go to the record store by herself, try to figure out what Julian found so fascinating about it.

"Hey," Julian reached for Harlow's wrist, gently pulling her away from the door. "I said I didn't wanna go anywhere, that doesn't mean you gotta leave."

"You sure?" Harlow asked, her voice small. Julian nodded, letting go of her wrist with a weak smile. She glanced down at his pants to see they were unbuttoned, the band of his underwear visible. She wondered if they had been like that all night—after they had done what she hoped he didn't regret. Or if Julian had gone to the bathroom and forgotten to button them up.

"Wanna go upstairs?" Julian asked, running his hand through his hair. Harlow nodded, following Julian up the staircase, glancing over her shoulder at the sleeping bodies scattered all over the living room.

Julian closed the door behind them, his eyes at the floor. "So, about last night... that why you came by?"

Harlow started to speak, but no words were coming out. She was taken aback by how quickly Julian had brought it up. As a matter of fact, that was not why she was there.

"No... why would you think that?"

"I mean, I jus- I thought maybe, you know... you wanted to talk it. That's what girls like to do." Julian mumbled the last part, making his way to the bed. He sat on the edge with a slouch, his face showing signs of defeat. If it wasn't for that look, Harlow would've taken offense to what he had murmured.

"What's that supposed to mean? Girls like to talk... that's a bit sexist."

"Sorry, it's... more like an observation." He shrugged with a smirk.

"I told you I'd see you tomorrow... today's tomorrow."

"And already back for round two?" Julian's eyes wavered to Harlow playfully. She sat next to him, elbowing him in the side.

"Asshole. There's jus- a lot going on right now. Wanted to take my mind off of it. And since, you know, you said you were my friend, I figured I'd just... hang out with you for a while... if that's okay." She stared at him for a moment, watching his eyes move all around her face.

She knew it was coming—Julian was about to ask her what was wrong. She didn't want to speak of it; she didn't want to tell him that the house she grew up in—the house that her father had once lived in—was about to be taken away from her and that there was nothing she could do about it.

He started to speak, his lips parting slightly. But all Julian could manage to get out was a hum before Harlow's lips touched his.

Julian started to pull away, but Harlow followed his head, making sure to keep their mouths connected. She needed to distract him—she needed him to make her forget.

"Whoa, wait." Julian mumbled against her lips, turning his head away. "What was that for?"

"Just felt like kissing you... I don't know."

Julian looked to the door, nervous of what to say and how to say it. He didn't want to say the wrong thing—he didn't want Harlow taking it the wrong way. "What we did... it's gotta stay between us. Are you okay with that?"

Harlow nodded, slipping her small hand around the side of his neck. She stared at his puffy lips, wanting to kiss them again. "I thought we had a deal."

"So this is about Alex. Did you talk to him—didn't like what he had to say?"

"No. No, Alex has nothing to do with this."

"But that was the deal." Julian smirked, the corner of his mouth turning up, reaching his eyes.

"I don't wanna talk about it. That's for friend time, this is sex time." Harlow smiled, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous that sounded. "Does it feel wrong yet? If it feels wrong, then we won't-"

He lunged, quietening her words with his mouth, hovering over her. Her hands went to the sides of his neck, feeling the length of his hair tapering around his face. "Nothing about this feels wrong. That's... that's what I'm worried about."

Harlow wasn't sure what that meant, or if it meant anything at all. But hearing him say that made her heart seem to leap—her stomach fell and a wave of warmth washed over her, right down to her toes.

"Then fuck me."