Anywhere With You • {J.C.}

||Forty-Seven|Sorry||

Not only had Tyler left, he had changed his shift to be away from Harlow. She carried on as if nothing was wrong, but she was sure her co-workers knew what had happened.

So when the bell chimed at the front of Caverns, Harlow's forced greeting smile fell—it was Julian.

It had been a week since she'd left his apartment—since Tyler walked out and made living arrangements with a friend. And in that week, Julian was still wearing the same clothes he had worn when she last saw him.

Harlow glanced back at the bar, hoping someone from the staff would have him seated. Instead, the two young women Harlow barely knew as Tiffany and Amber stood like stone—their eyes wide, gawking at the tall slender guy making his way into the bar and grill. It was clear they knew who he was; everyone in the city recognized the guys—they were the biggest thing to come out of the New York music scene.

Julian's eyes grew wide when they fell on Harlow. She seemed fine. There wasn't a lurking doom hanging over her like a cloud—her hair was shiny, her face clean and bright. She seemed to not be suffering at all—completely opposite of how Julian appeared.

He couldn't remember the last time he showered; he thought he showered sometime after Harlow left, but he wasn't too sure. That had been nearly a week ago. He hadn't even bothered to change his clothes, still sporting the same button-up collared shirt and faded black pants.

"What are you doing here?" Harlow asked in a whisper, glancing behind her to make sure no one could hear their conversation.

"I just wanna talk."

"You sure you didn't come here to do me in the men's room?" Harlow spat; it seemed to be all he wanted her for.

"I mean... I'm down if you are. Didn't really freshen up for it, but... if you don't mind, I don't-"

"Enough, I was being sarcastic." Harlow released a heavy breath, folding her arms before peeking around the room again. Tiffany and Amber stood in awe behind the bar—their eyes glued to the dirty thin rocker with greasy black hair.

"So can we talk?" Julian pressed. She could smell the alcohol on him through the musky scent of his clothes.

"What do you wanna say?"

"I'm sorry. I'm... I'm really sorry. I just... I got it in my head that you came over to work things out. Then when you told me you had a boyfriend... how's that goin' by the way?" Julian smirked, jutting his hip out subtly.

"Not well. He left." Harlow admitted.

"You... you told him?" Julian groaned, burying his face in his hands. With his palms still on his cheeks, he spoke muffled. "Why would you do that? You shouldn't have done that."

"I made a mistake, and I owned up to it-"

"Yeah, but... that was stupid. You shouldn't have told him what happened between us. That is, unless... you wanted him to leave you so you could be with me."

Harlow scoffed. "You wish."

"A man can dream, right?" Julian smirked, letting his hands fall to his sides with a thud.

"What do you want, Jules? What are you doing here... really?"

His smirk quickly faded, and for the first time since they had begun their conversation, Harlow could see that he was indeed, drunk. The twinge of cigarette smoke and musk masked just how intoxicated Julian truly was.

"I just wanted to see you. I just... I'm leaving soon. I won't be back home for a while and... I just wanted to see you. I miss you. The other night was... well, it was fucking amazing, so... I'm sorry." His heavy eyes and slurred speech weren't all Harlow noticed, he was also swaying.

She swallowed hard, closing the space between them before glancing over her shoulder to see the girls continuing to stare. "Are you drunk right now?" Harlow whispered, watching his eyes remain closed a little longer than they should've.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "What gave it away?"

"When's the last time you bathed... huh?"

Julian inhaled deeply, holding the chestful of air in his lungs for a moment too long as he seemed to think. "I don't know. Can't remember. Doesn't matter- I ain't trying to impress anyone."

"Yeah, I can see that." Harlow's lips pursed as her brows raised.

"Can you- can you see how fucking desperate I am?"

"I think pathetic is the word you're looking for."

"Jus- just come to the show tonight... please. I just wanna spend some time with you before I have to... go off to the seventh circle of hell, alright?"

"No." Harlow stated flatly. "I'm done, Jules. It's over. This... is over. We're no longer friends, we're no longer fuck buddies, okay? As far as I'm concerned, we're not even acquaintances." She turned, marching back toward the bar. The plan was to send over Tiffany or Amber—to distract Julian with another set of tits.

But Julian had sprinted ahead of her, stopping in front of her with a slight stagger. "If there was ever a time that you loved me, you'll be at the show tonight."

She was trying to pry her eyes away from the drunken mess before her, but his dark gaze held her in place. She wasn't sure she could ever stop loving Julian—she always had. But during those years of his absence, she had never been happier. It was difficult to accept that the person she was in love with wasn't right for her.

"That's not fair." She mumbled, finally able to peel her eyes away.

"I don't wanna leave like this. Please... just come to the fucking show tonight. It's all I want."

Harlow noticed several onlookers. Some seemed to be fascinated with the scene taking place, while others seemingly annoyed. She was sure they could smell the alcohol on him—the way he could barely hold his eyes open as he spoke.

"Fine... anything to get you to leave."

Julian smiled, flashing a toothy grin. "Can I kiss you?"

"Get out." Harlow rolled her eyes, stepping around Julian while making her way toward the bar again.

"C'mon, baby... don't be like that." He was following her—trailing behind her with heavy feet. He managed to stagger into a table, halfheartedly apologizing to the man and woman eating their lunch.

"Jules, please... you need to leave."

He sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "You're really not gonna kiss me?" He asked, watching Harlow shake her head disapprovingly. "Why?"

"You're drunk." She whispered, knowing Tiffany and Amber had heard—the childlike giggles gave it away.

"That didn't stop you from kissing me the other night-"

"You stink." Harlow spat, this time without bothering to keep her voice down.

"Are you sure? I don't think you've been close enough to smell me." Julian chuckled on his own behalf.

"I don't need to, I can smell you from here."

"Just kiss me, and I'll leave." Julian leaned into the bar—his inebriated eyes narrowing in slits with a smug smile.

"Gah, just do it already. If you won't, I will." Tiffany giggled again.

"Would you look at that, I gotta taker." Julian's words rambled together, inching further into the bar protruding his cheek out toward the delightful young blonde.

"He's all yours." Harlow muttered, making her way to another customer entering the bar.