Anywhere With You • {J.C.}

||Eleven|The Truth||

"I've got some secrets that'll make you stay."
-Barely Legal

"C'mon, you made it this far." Julian spoke in a strained voice, pulling Harlow's arm. She pried her wrist out of his grasp, only to have him grab the sleeve of her sweater, practically dragging her toward the entrance.

It was Monday—a school night, and Harlow was out with the guys. She couldn't believe Julian had convinced her to go out. It wasn't what she had planned; the idea was to meet Nikolai and give the guys a ride to the bar—that was it. She thought they were going to the same bar they always went to; instead, they were making their way into the Mercy Lounge.

"No! Jules... I-I can't. I can't go in there."

"Why not?"

Harlow ripped her sleeve out of Julian's hand, her oversized sweater hanging past her shoulder, exposing her black bra strap. "Alex works here. I told you- I told you that Alex worked here."

"So?" Nick quipped rhetorically with a shrug, his face twisting in annoyance. She looked to Julian, wondering if he told the guys about her ex-boyfriend and what they had witnessed through the window of that ice cream shop.

"You're gonna have to face him eventually, right? Have you even talked to him yet?" Julian stopped, stuffing his hands in his denim jacket. Fab, Nick and Nikolai had already made it to the entrance of the building, standing there waiting for them. "Well... I guess that's a no, huh." Julian smiled halfheartedly.

If Harlow didn't know any better, she could swear she saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes.

Julian sighed, scratching the nape of his neck before shifting his eyes from the concrete to Harlow once more. "There's jus- there's a lot going on right now. Stuff bigger than Alex keeping his dick wet with some other girl. Plus," Harlow looked to her feet, pinching her bottom lip between her teeth. "I'm not really good at confrontation."

Julian's brows furrowed, closing the space between them. "Are you scared of him?"

"No. I just know it's gonna be a fight. And if he sees me with you... he's gonna think something's going on." Harlow admitted. Something was definitely going on, but what Alex would most likely presume would be that something had always been going on. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of even assuming such a thing had happened before she knew he was sleeping around.

Julian licked his lips, finding himself standing toe to toe with her. His eyes roamed all around her, being sure no one he knew was in listening range. "But... something is goin' on. And who the fuck cares if he thinks that- let him think that. You and I know the truth- we know this didn't start goin' on until after we caught him with Jena Reynolds. The universe knows what happened, we know what happened... your karma won't get fucked. So... just let that asshole think what he wants." Julian stood before her with his hands in his jean pockets now—his stance relaxed and sluggish.

But if Harlow knew Julian at all, she would know that in that moment, Julian was anything but calm and collected.

He was annoyed she cared so much about him—about Alex—considering all the other problems she was facing.

Julian had been awake when Harlow confessed she would have to move; that she would soon be forced to leave behind her childhood home. He was waiting for her to bring it up again. At the time, he couldn't think of a thing to say. He was shit at comforting girls... shit at comforting anyone, really.

"Jules," Harlow's hand went to Julian's cheek. "You don't know Alex like I do. If he sees you with me, he'll wanna fight you. I don't want you getting in any fights-"

"Baby, look at me." Julian pried her palm away from his face. "Look behind me." Her eyes trailed to the entrance of the Mercy Lounge—Fab, Nick and Nikolai waiting at the doors. "We've got plenty of muscle if he starts talkin' shit." He winked playfully, but Harlow didn't find it comical. "Let's just go inside. If... for whatever reason... you find yourself not havin' a good time... you can leave. I'll fucking leave with you, okay?"

Harlow stared up into Julian's innocent round eyes, wanting to believe him. Those brown eyes were trustworthy, that crooked smile, however, was not.

"You gonna be the designated driver?" Harlow narrowed her eyes at him—cryptically establishing some ground rules.

Julian was already ahead of her. "Actually, Nikolai's tonight's D.D." Julian grinned smugly, taking Harlow's wrist in his hand—pulling her toward the entrance.