Left and Right in the Dark - A Julian Casablancas fanfic

Chapter 6: I'm Not Your Friend, I Never Was

(A/N: Hope you guys are enjoying this story so far! In case you are wondering, the rest of The Strokes will make their debut in the next chapter. Have fun reading!)

Julian's POV:

Today was quite the journey. We took a taxi to get to the Financial District, and from there, we took a ferry to get to the Statue of Liberty. There was a lot of walking involved, which I wasn't really a fan of, but for some funny reason, Sophie loved it.

We took many pictures together on her camera, mainly of her, and we spent a good 6 hours there. After the tour was done, we left the island and went to a nice pizza place for dinner. Then she wanted something sweet, so I took her to the Magnolia Bakery. She bought herself a mini Caramel Pecan cheesecake and bought me a mini Vanilla & Chocolate Swirl cheesecake. We sat together and talked about our childhood memories.

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We get to the entrance of the apartment building. The elevator ride is, once again, silent. We soon get to my floor, and I give her my keys while secretly contemplating whether or not I should tell her.

Questions are coming at me like a freight train.

What should I do? Should I just tell her how I feel?

What if she doesn't feel the same way? I mean, there's something in my gut that tells me that she does...

Is it even right to be thinking about this?

Fuck, I'm confused. But I finally decide to push all of that aside and go for it.

She opens the apartment door as I ask, "Hey Soph?"

She turns as she hands the key back to me and opens the door. "Yeah?"

"Actually, can we not go inside for a second?" I ask as I start to close the door again, leaving it ajar.

"Sure, what is it?"

I let out a somewhat forceful exhale and say, "This isn't really easy for me to say, but I've got to get it off of my chest."

"Jules-" she starts, with a slightly confused look on her face.

"It's just been in my head for a while now, and I'm not exactly sure if this is right."

"What's the matter-"

"And if you think I'm insane after this, I completely understand," I take a step closer towards her, hesitating a little.

"Okay, you're getting me worried now-"

"Sophie, I'm in love with you," I confess, quickly but confidently. There is a brief moment of silence after that.

The head of her eyebrows raise a little bit, looking surprised.

"Julian," she softly whispers.

I nod a little before reinforcing, "I'm in love with you, Soph. I always have been. From the moment I first saw you."

She looks down and gives a nervous and somewhat stuttered exhale. "Remember what you asked me this morning?"

"What?" I ask, a little confused, as the question is rather vague.

"You talked about how last night I was drunk out of my mind and we got to your apartment, and when you said 'goodnight' I told you that I was in love with you, and then this morning you asked if that was true," she recaps.

"Oh yeah," I reply, a little puzzled and anxious about what she is going to say.

"Well," she looks in another direction before sighing, "That was true."

She looks back at me, pursing her lips in nervousness. I smile and sigh in relief.

"I could never bring it up to you because I thought it would be way too awkward, like with, y-you know, a celebrity and a fan, and that too the age difference. I didn't know h-how you would take it, a-and if you were just gonna leave me-" she starts looking different directions, nervously rambling. I can see a light pink tinge start to appear on her cheeks.

"Soph," I stop her in a calm voice and caress her cheek with my left hand. "Even if I didn't feel the same, that wouldn't have happened. I care about you. I saw you in a confused and worried mental state and I wanted to help you out."

She starts to smile again, still keeping her lips slightly pursed. "I'm just glad we feel the same way."

"Then... why don't you say it to me?" I ask, moving in a little closer so that we are just a few inches away from each other.

"I love you," she smiles in a soft whisper. She gazes into my eyes; I can see her eyes glistening a little.

"I love you too," I smile back.

"Then show it to me," she whispers, glancing at my lips before slowly closing her eyes.

Sophie's POV:

He gently presses his soft lips against mine, wrapping his right arm around my waist, pulling me closer towards him. I slowly wrap my arms around his neck, standing on my toes a little, feeling the wave of sensation and happiness build up inside me. It's slow, soft, and warm. I inhale deeply as he kisses me with need and passion.

My heartbeat gets faster as I feel more and more excited. I soon disconnect with my forehead pressed against Julian's, and our bodies still close to each other. We slowly open our eyes and back away slightly.

Holy shit.

One of my wildest dreams just came true...

Julian's POV:

We pull away from each other completely. I can see her eyes clouded with desire.

"So, what is this then? What are we?" she asks.

"Well, what do you want us to be?"

Her eyes look down before looking back up at me and shrugging her shoulders. "I don't wanna be just friends."

"Me neither... so let's make it official. Sophie Martin, will you be my girlfriend?" I ask with a hopeful tone.

I see an excited expression immediately bloom from her face.

"Of course!" she happily laughs, gripping me in a tight hug.

(A/N: So yeah they're officially a couple now! This is probably one of my favorite chapters so far.)

Title Credit: Automatic Stop - The Strokes (Album: Room On Fire)