Alone, Together - A Julian Casablancas fanfic

Chapter 21 - Heart in a Cage

A/N: I can already see that titlings for this part will be tricky.

Clem and Julian woke up the next morning on the beach in Cape Cod, both still wearing their clothes from the day before. The crashing waves were like a melody in her ears, and so was the sound of Julian's breathing.

She wanted to lay there as long as possible, but her rumbling stomach had other plans. Sleepily, she got up from her sandy spot, popping each joint that was still stiff from sleep, and waltzed over to the van. She rummaged through the cooler of starter food they packed the day before and pulled out two eggs, a bottle of cooking oil, and a pan. She took Julian's lighter that he still had from the days when he still smoked and made a small fire from a few stray wood pieces on the beach. Julian said he loved her cooking, and now he gets to wake up to it.

Clem sat by the fire cooking the eggs. The aroma of the breakfast made its way over to where Julian was sleeping. He crinkled his nose and woke up, seeing that Clem had her back turned to him. He quietly crawled over to her and surprised her with a game of "guess who".

He kissed her on the cheek. "Guess who?"

She smiled at his dorkiness. "You can't fool me, Jules. Who else could be out here?"

"I don't know, maybe someone who lives in a house down the street. Please, Clem, I'm trying to be romantic over here."

She looked over at the spot where they slept the night before and smirked. "Julian, you don't even have to try. It just comes naturally to you."

"Trust me, Clem. If I had never met you, I'd still be the same old grungy rebel I used to be. I guess it's just the woman in you" - he stopped to take a deep breath - "that brings out the man in me!" He was singing Foreigner at the top of his lungs this early in the morning. The last time she saw him right after he woke up... well, you know.

"Okay, Mick Jones. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, ma'am." She emptied out the contents of the pan onto two of the paper plates they stocked up on and they ate together in the sand.

Julian laid back on the sand and put his hands behind his head. "Clementine, that was a pretty good breakfast, if you ask me. How'd you do it?"

"Fire, eggs, and a pan," she answered sarcastically.

"Okay, Mrs. Smarty-Pants, I see how it is. You're asking for a one-way ticket to Tickle Town!" He sat up and grabbed her sides, assuming tickle position. Clem was a ticklish person, so Julian's surprise tickles made her fall over with laughter. Even by Julian's standards, he's never been this playful, especially not this early in the morning. Clem was loving every minute of it.

After breakfast, the pair ran around on the beach barefoot, laughing like kids. Well, they were kids, but I mean younger kids. Like they had no worries in the world. They could just focus on each other and the world around their immediate area, all while Clem took pictures to commemorate the moment. Morgan had always wanted to go to Cape Cod, so she was sure to love these.

They left Cape Cod at noon and headed north to Boston, an hour and a half away. The landscape was a typical New England sight, with maple trees and picturesque small towns all along the way. Suddenly, there was the Boston skyline. There were no warnings and no suburbs, just the city.

Unlike when they were going to Stamford, the skyline seemed to come out of nowhere, and it was much larger than what they were expecting. Not New York City size, but close enough.

"There it is!" Julian cheered. "Are you hungry, Clem?"

She hadn't noticed, but her stomach was rumbling like crazy. "Yeah, maybe a little bit."

"A little bit? I can hear a lot more than that from over here."

"Okay yeah, I'm a lot hungry."

Julian laughed at her snarkiness, then pulled over at a gas station to fuel up and ask for directions. When he finished up there, they went straight to a Boston-style seafood restaurant on the bay to indulge in the local cuisine. They shared a big bowl of clam chowder, a plate of lobster, and some fish and chips.

Sunset was falling soon and both thought a shower would be nice, so they found a relatively inexpensive motel to spend the night across the town. Julian unlocked their room door, and Clem collapsed with exhaustion on the bed.

"I never thought I'd miss seeing a bed so much!" she sighed.

"Had a long day, love?" Julian asked with a smile.

"You would know. You were there."

"I do know, thank you very much." He came over to where she was sitting and gave her a kiss. They took their showers and got relaxed for the night with the radio. They only had a small amount of cash with an account supplied by their parents, so they had to make every dollar count. Clem snuggled up next to Julian and buried her head in his chest, his cycled breathing putting her to sleep.

"Good morning," Julian whispered the next morning, waking Clem from her sleep.

She looked up sleepily and smiled. "But, I was sleeping so well."

"I'm sorry, love. Do you forgive me?" He flashed his big doe eyes and she smiled. How could she possibly say no to those?

"Yes." They got up and dressed for the day, but Clem had a small request. "Hey, can I call home before we leave?" She hadn't spoken to anyone back in Harrison since they left.

"Okay, I have a few quarters you can borrow." Julian pulled out some coins from his pants pocket and Clem ran down the hall to the payphone.

"Hello?" Marlene answered after a few rings.

"Hey, mom," Clem greeted with a smile.

"Clementine! It's so nice to hear from you! Where are you two now? Tell me all about it."

"We stayed at a motel in Boston and we're about to hit the road. It's been great the last few days. We slept on the beach the first night and had a bunch of Boston-style seafood yesterday. Today, I think we're going to see the rest of New England before we head back west, so yeah, we're going to be back in New York in a day or two, but just for a day."

"I understand. It sounds like you're having a great time. Is Julian taking good care of you?"

"You know it!"

"That's nice, Clem. Do you want to speak to your dad before you have to go?"

"Sure." Marlene gave the phone to Simon. "Hey, dad!"

"Well, if it isn't my baby girl! How's it going? Still having fun?"

"Yes sir. I do miss you guys, but it's been a lot of fun."

"Don't focus on us. Just think about Julian and how much fun you're having. We'll be here when you get back, okay?"

"Okay, dad." Suddenly Clem was feeling a little homesick. She couldn't wait to see Morgan and Aleks again. She pushed those feeling to the back of her mind and hung up the phone.

Julian came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she answered, a little choked up.

"Clem, I know you probably miss home, but I'm here to make sure you don't feel lonely, okay?"

She nodded and they left the motel and Boston together, continuing their way north.