Left and Right in the Dark - A Julian Casablancas fanfic

Chapter 3: Oh Dear, Is It Really All True?

Sophie's POV:

I wake up with a massive headache. I tilt my head around as I take in my surroundings.

Wait... where am I? Who took me here? And more importantly, who's bed did I sleep in?

I push the cozy, soft comforter down and slowly rub my eyes as a stream of sunlight manages to escape through some navy blue curtains, casting down on my face and body.

Still in last night's clothes.

I glance over at an alarm clock on the mahogany side table.

"8:30 AM".

Whatever happened last night?

It must have been the alcohol.

I notice my suitcase, purse, and shoes in one corner of the room. I get up to the door and slowly open it. Half of the puzzle is completed in my mind when I see Julian lying on a black leather couch.

I tiptoe out of the bedroom into the living room, trying not to wake him up as I observe the magnificence of his apartment. "Wow, this is Julian's apartment?! It's so beautiful!"

I first take a look at the living room area. There are guitars mounted on the wallpapered wall. The 6-beam ceiling has a simple fan hanging from it. Besides the couch and TV, there are custom-shaped windows on the side with a bench area to sit, and through the windows, I can see a different apartment building across the street. I continue to tiptoe and start to explore the different areas. When you enter the apartment, the kitchen is to the right of the front door, and the dining area is to the left. There is a wonderful small breakfast nook in the kitchen area with some nice bar stools. I enjoy the cold feeling as I touch the glossy marble countertops in the kitchen.

After looking around, I realize that this is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment.

I give a half-smile, as I think in relief yet surprise: "If this is his apartment... I must have slept in his bed then."

After a short while, I come back to the living room, staying close to the couch that Julian is sleeping on.

He looks so peaceful...

I continue to walk as I gaze through the window, but I am caught off guard as I feel a grasp onto my hand.

"Like what you see?" Jules mumbles with a smile.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." I feel my face start to warm up.

"That's ok. I woke up while you were 'exploring.'"

I give a small chuckle.

"Sleep well last night?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Your bed is really comfy by the way. No creepiness intended."

Julian smiles and replies with something simple, but witty: "All good. Hospitality is nothing without comfort. Just a small act of kindness."

"What about you? Sleep well?"

He looks a bit hesitant for a moment before responding, "Um... yeah. A good amount of hours." He scoots over on the couch to give me some room.

"God, what happened yesterday?" I sigh as I sit down next to him.

"Do you really wanna know?" he turns to me and smirks.

"Why, was it that bad?"

"Well, for starters, you puked twice out on the streets while we were walking back to my apartment."

"Oh, goddd," I groan out while covering up my face with my palms.

"And then you screamed at a group of fans: 'Yeah, that's fucking right! I spent the day with my boyfriend and now he's taking me to his apartment! Suck on that!'" Julian mimicks in a high voice, waving his hands up in the air.

"What the hell?" I laugh.

"And after we got to my apartment... you told me that you're in love with me," Julian says in a lower voice.

"OH MY GOD! I'm so sorry! That must have been really awkward," I gasp, with a mixture of shock and total embarrassment.

"Nah, don't mention it," he smiles back with a playful nudge.

I give a half-smile.

"But, I do want to ask you something," he starts with a little hesitation.

Oh, no.

"Soph, was any of that stuff true? Like, do you actually love me?"

I feel my face heating up again, but I try to cover it up as best as I can and just shake that question off. "Well, I guess it's just one of those celebrity crush things. Like I said yesterday, it's extremely surreal to know that I'm hanging out with you now. So maybe that's the reason," I reply, being extremely vague and unclear.

The truth, however, is that I am falling for him, which terrifies me as much as it excites me. My mind and my heart are playing an incredibly strong game of tug of war.

He's so famous... and I'm just a random fan from Quebec who's stuck in New York. And as for the age difference... I don't know how I feel about that.

Is this a good thing? No idea. But I do know one thing for sure: my life has now gone in a completely different direction.

After a moment of silence, I decide to change the topic: "Um, so what are we gonna do today?"

"Well, it's your call. We can go to some more tourist attractions and things like that."

"Yeah, sure."

A sudden thought jumps into his mind. "Hey, why don't I take you to the Statue Of Liberty today?"

"Oh, I've heard about that! It seems cool."

"Alright, then it's settled."

"Well then, I should probably get ready. I brought all of my brushes and soaps and all that with me, so don't worry," I answer before he asks me.

I give a quick wave before going to my suitcase and start taking out the things I need. I check the time of my watch again: "8:45 AM".

Huh, it's only been 10 minutes? It seemed like 20.

I can already tell that today is going to be a very long day.

Julian's POV:

A million thoughts and questions are floating through my mind as I lie back against the couch.

So, what does she mean? Does she actually love me? No damn clue. And the worst thing is I can't ask again; it will put a risk at... whatever this is. The worse thing that could happen at this point is that I could hurt her feelings in some way, which I really don't want to happen because she is an amazingly sweet girl.

I just can't bring myself to tell her how I feel about her; my thinking isn't straight. I can't even tell her right now that I'm confused about what this relationship is.

God, why wasn't I honest with her? I just lied to her about one of the stupidest things.

I told her that I slept a long amount of hours... when I really stayed awake all night thinking about only her.

Title Credit: What Ever Happened? - The Strokes (Album: Room On Fire)