Anywhere With You • {J.C.}

||Forty-Three|Kryptonite||

The more Harlow thought about Julian, the more she realized never wanting to see him again was a lie—as big of a lie as the others.

She loved Tyler, and knew that he'd understand if she told him that she needed to say goodbye to an old friend. But, she wasn't sure Tyler would be so understanding if he knew exactly what old friend she was needing to say goodbye to.

And so, she lied.

Harlow canceled their plans for the night, claiming she wanted to see her mother—it had been nearly a month since the last time she'd seen her. Tyler, decided not to let the evening go to waste and play poker with his buddies. From what he told Harlow, they had been trying to get Tyler to play for quite sometime. It had been the first real lie she had ever told Tyler. Sure, there had been a few fibs here and there, but never anything of this magnitude.

Standing in front of Julian's apartment, Harlow questioned her decision. It wasn't too late to make her lie a truth. She could walk away right now and drive to her mother and stepfather's house—she could abandon her plans of telling Julian goodbye and never see him again.

But for whatever reason, Harlow's finger went to the buzzer of the complex to be let in. She stood at the door, internally panicking. Her heart was pounding and her head felt light. She thought about sprinting to her car, but wasn't sure if her feet could move. She was frozen in place by fear and apprehension—regretting her lie to Tyler.

"What the fuck am I doing?... what the fuck are you doing?" Harlow whispered aloud, slowly backing away from the door. She turned, starting down the steps.

When her foot touched the second block of the sidewalk, she stopped at the sound of his voice.

"Hey, don't leave... Please?"

Her eyes closed involuntarily, pressing her lips together. When they opened, it was like she had stepped through time—the past. Just the sound of his voice alone made all of her fears disperse, but not her apprehension.

She turned, looking to Julian from the sidewalk. He was standing in the doorway, his face visibly slimmer than the last time she'd seen him. His hair was black, cut in layers tapered around his face.

Harlow cleared her throat, making her way back to the apartment. She kept her eyes on her feet before reaching the stoop—then finally, she looked up at Julian.

"I just came by say, that... I'm alright. And... you can put the song on the record, but don't put me in the credits, or thank you's, or whatever." She was cringing; she had prepared that speech during the drive over, but it sounded nothing like she had planned. It came out choppy and unsure.

"You wanna come in?" Julian asked, his lips pursing—his doe eyes went sad.

Harlow's mouth fell agape and the most strangest thing came out. "Okay."

Although, her feet didn't move—she was too caught up in his eyes, the way he seemed to have stay the same, and yet, different.

"Wanna beer?" Julian asked as she finally regained mobility. She should've told him no—she should've left as soon as she said what she had to say.

"Yeah." She said. As she walked past him, she noticed a drink already in his hand. She just needed something to take the edge off—two beers, that was all.

"Sorry about the mess. I would've picked up a little if I'd known you were comin'." Julian closed the door behind Harlow, keeping his head down—embarrassed by the mess. The coffee table was littered in beer bottles and cans, with clothes scattered all over the floor. There was a Bob Marley poster that had been torn on the wall, ripped right down the center.