In Another Life ▻ Fiona Gallagher

05. chapter five

Ten o'clock came around sooner than Julian thought it would, and just as he said he would, he returned to Patsy's to pick Fiona up. He walked into the diner just as she was getting ready to walk out and waited near the door. As Fiona looked up and saw him, she smiled, and Julian could have sworn that his heart did a flip in his chest.

Other than earlier that day, he hadn't seen her in years, but his body still seemed to react to her just the same way as it had when they were kids. They may have not been each other's firsts on everything, but when recounting his past relationships, Julian definitely counted Fiona as his first love. They had been young, sure, but the south side girl had been everything to him.

Once she'd finished up her last tasks, Fiona walked over to Julian, grinning up at him, "So, you came back.. it's really good to see you," she spoke. She hesitated for a second, but then opened her arms to him and moved in for a hug.

When the hug was offered, Julian took it instantly, arms wrapping around Fiona's slender frame and holding her close to him. "It's good to see you too, Fi," he replied softly, hands rubbing gently over her back as he savored the moment until he felt her start to pull away. Stepping back from her a bit, "Do you want to head straight home, or hang out somewhere?" he asked.

Fiona bit down on the inside of her cheek, considering her options briefly. She was just recently released from house arrest, and while she didn't have a curfew anymore, it didn't seem like a good idea to push things too far. "Bring me home, but you can stay for a bit and hang out. There's.." she paused with a little chuckle, "there's a lot for you to catch up on."

Julian nodded to agree, leading the way to his vehicle, opening the passenger door once they reached it to let her in. "Well, where should we start? How long has it been? Five years, maybe more?" he asked. He wasn't sure just how long it had been since they'd truly spent time together, all that he knew was that it was way too long in his opinion.

"Longer than that if you don't count the chance meetings," Fiona nodded, getting into the car and waiting as he shut the door for her and walked around to get in himself before speaking again. "What have you been up to? You left for school, right? Did you end up getting a football scholarship?"

"I did," he started, "but, I got hurt in my last year, wasn't able to play anymore. I hadn't intended to make a career out of it, but it didn't make it suck any less, you know?" he shrugged, starting the car and merging onto the road when it was clear. "Do you still live in the same place?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," Fiona nodded. "And I'm sorry, that's tough. So, what do you do for work?" She looked over at him as he drove, truly taking the time to take him all in. He'd always been gorgeous, and sure, he'd aged a bit, but so had she. It didn't take away the fact that he was still incredibly good looking.

Julian glanced over at her after a minute, giving her a little smile to acknowledge her apology, "It's okay. That's life, right? And I'm a night club co-owner and manager. There are two locations back in Columbus, Ohio. That's where I went to school, and I started off as a door guy, then worked my way up to bartending, and so on. I made manager at the first location, then that owner told me about their plan to open another, and I went in half on it."

Fiona's brow arched and her eyes widened as he talked about what he did for work. She knew it wasn't likely that he'd be stuck in some low-level job, but she was still impressed to see him doing so well for himself. It made her feel a sense of pride in him.

"Wow," she replied. "So, what brings you back to Chicago, then?"

Julian stole another look at her, noticing that she was impressed with him, and he felt proud to be able to do that again. Fiona's approval was always something that he admired. She had a way of always pushing him to do his best in the past, and he still felt the remnants of that now, which is why what he was about to admit was something that he found himself nervous about.

"Well.. I'm actually planning a move back to Chicago, and in doing so, I'm scouting for a location to open a club location here. Once it got up and running, I'd let my co-owner in Columbus buy me out and I'd be here full time," he answered.

It wasn't a bad thing, necessarily. In fact, it was good for the neighborhood for everyone to have more places to go. Still, it fell under the category of gentrification, which Julian knew that many south siders, including Fiona, weren't a fan of. While it made the neighborhoods nicer, it tended to force more of the lower-income families out of their homes, which was something that he himself didn't agree with.

Fiona stared straight ahead, pressing her lips firmly together for a moment before letting out a little breath, "I see." She nodded slowly, processing the information he'd given her. "So, this club, how far from the neighborhood would it be? Because you know, there's already been a handful of people going around trying to buy people out of their homes to flip them into something else. You know I hate that," she spoke.

"Not that it matters what I think," Fiona added after a moment. "You can do what you want, obviously. I'm just curious what I should expect."

Julian shook his head, "It's not near the neighborhoods. It will be far enough out to give the entertainment value, but not interfere with the quality of the neighborhood in any way," he assured her.

Fiona took that information in quietly, considering it as it came. Julian wouldn't lie to her, that much she knew. Though they hadn't seen each other in years, she knew that about him for sure. "So, when you move back, where are you planning to buy?" she questioned.

"I haven't decided that yet. I want to get everything that I can to all come together before I make any big final decisions," he shrugged.

Fiona nodded once more, acknowledging his answer. She knew that soon enough, he'd ask her about what had been going on in her life, and how could she admit all that had gone wrong? He deserved the truth, but how could she be honest when everything in her life had been turned on its head in the blink of an eye?

How could she go about telling him all of the things that she'd done, and all of the trouble that she had gotten herself into since he'd been gone? She knew that as soon as she told him all that had happened, he'd see her differently. Everyone did, even her own siblings, who had always looked up to her.

Still, she didn't want to lie to him. She had made mistakes, and she was going to regret them every day for the rest of her life, especially her more recent ones. She had never thought that she would end up in jail, especially due to her own negligence of her siblings. She'd always cared for them and taken care of each of them like they were her own, and in just one moment, it had been thrown away. One lapse in judgment, and everything had changed. She couldn't take it back, but she'd spend the rest of her days trying to make it right.

The car slowed as they reached Fiona's house, and as Julian pulled to the curb to park, she wondered if she should just say it. The last thing that she wanted was for him to come inside, the two of them spend more time together, and then him rush out once he found out what had happened.

No, she should just get it all out in the open.

The car came to a stop, and as the two of them sat for a minute in silence, Fiona looked over at him, trying to read his expression and see just how he'd react when she finally spoke up.

"I went to jail."

// author's note:

another short chapter, but it almost meets my normal chapter length, and i like to build the suspense