Book 1; Guns, Love, Roses

Chapter 6 - Coffee and Catch up

"So how was it?"

"Parkville?" I asked. Julie and I met up for Pho at downtown Chinatown. It was a really nice day, not a cloud in sight and I finally got to meet up with the girl I've been crushing on for a while now. The last we spoke, was when we had that altercation at Springvale festival between YKB and SB. I just recently got out from Parkville and wanted to meet up with nobody else but Julie being locked up gives you a lot of time to daydream and reflect on anything that may help my chances with her.

"The place was strict, but I got an invitation to join another gang." I began, her eyes lighting up.

"No way, really?" She said cheerily.

"Yeah. There's only three of them and I'll be the fourth to make up for the last member of the squad."

"A gang comprised of only four kids? Sounds like a picnic if you ask me." She blushed, almost like the idea of a picnic enticed her.

"You good Allie?" I asked, Allie shaking her head as it morphed back into Julie, the sight not bothering me as I was too tired to complain or even worry about whether or not what I was witnessing was real or not.

"Allie? Did you mean to say your sister Annie?" Julie asked me, her face transfiguring inside out as her skin began boiling, pus forming from every crevasse of her chin as she began scratching on her skin as if she was drowning in her own misfortune. It was a sight to behold, and I couldn't help but slap her out of it.

"Get your grubby hands off me you filthy animal!" She said as she began violently writing down her number on a piece of cloth.

———-

"Did you get roughened up?" She laughed. I scoffed, then shook my head.

"I got lucky, I met the right people inside who looked after me." I smiled.

"So, I'm praying that being locked up gave you enough time to think about your future, and hope you experienced enough hardship to make more positive changes in your life." I pursed my lips, scratching my head as if to say I learnt my lesson, but maybe not to her standards. The conversation between each other from here on out will prove if I met those expectations.

"Okay, here's a positive change I'm willing to make." I said, taking a deep breath before continuing. Julie looked slightly concerned, as if I was about to surprise her with the most unhinged statement she'd ever heard in her life.

"Should I be worried?" She asked, her eyes widened in fear of the anticipation.

"For once in my life, I'm willing to drop my pride for an apology towards someone you care about."

"Oh, so you're willing to own up to the mess you created?" Julie looked slightly surprised, as if this was the first time I had ever admitted I was wrong towards anyone; which was true- but I wasn't going to tell her that and feed her ego.

"I believe this is the first step to creating change, and this urgent apology to Wilson is the stepping stone to better things to come." I smiled, satisfied with my answer.

"That's so refreshing to hear coming from you Jordan." She said cheerily as she clapped her hands in excitement.

"I know I shouldn't have done it, and I also admit I shouldn't have treated you like you were inferior, because you're not. It wasn't very gentlemanly of me, I suppose." I scrunched my face embarrassingly, trying to hide my facial expression that had shame written all over it.

"I guess no one is perfect, myself included." I continued, gritting my teeth at that comment knowing my pride was taking a hit but I was willing to take a few blows to see if she was able to understand my flaws, using only her emotions and her facial reactions as an indication on whether or not the century long battle within me was well received and translated- instead of being scrutinised and judged. I needed to be careful, as revealing all my demons in one go could scare her away or even worse; come to a realisation that I may be too far gone. I scoffed at the thought, as I was willing to make such risks to see if she could handle even a fraction of my imperfections, because if she proved to me that she is the only thing I need in this life, I would put everything behind me and move mountains for her within seconds.