Chapter Seven 

I tapped my foot on the concrete floor nervously, looking around, when I finally caught a glimpse of that mess of blonde hair I had fallen so easily in love with. Without even thinking, I ran as fast as I could over to him, dropping my bag in the process, only to came in contact with his sturdy chest. I hugged him as if it was the last time I would ever see him again. He sqeezed me tightly back. We didn’t say a word.

      Lifting my head, I kissed him right on the lips. I didn’t care if he wasn’t expecting it, because I knew that he wanted to kiss me. I slid my tongue into his mouth, and then, as if waiting for permission, he did the same. He was the same boy who taught me the meaning of the word love. As we kissed I felt a tear drip down the side of my cheek. I had missed him so much.

      “Ah, yes! Young love! You two kids are so adorable!” Adam exclaimed, completely ruining the moment.

      I pulled away regretfully, “Shut up, Adam! Go wait in the freaking car!”

      “Whatever. Hope you two don’t get carded when you try something you’ll regret,” he said, walking off, laughing to himself. Adam was the one with the car and the license, so he was the one who had to drive me here, to the airport, to pick up Josh.

      “You’re here!” I said, embracing the boy before me once more.

      “I’m here!” he smiled widely.

      “I’ve missed your face so much!” I laughed, burying my face in his chest.

      “And I’ve missed yours!” 

      “So, are we going to go get your luggage, or what?” I questioned, reluctantly pulling away from him.

      “Nah!”

      “Aw! That wasn’t a question, we’re getting your luggage because there is no way in hell that you’re wearing your current clothes for the next fourteen or whatever days,” I said strongly.

      “Whatever you say, Jules.” Before I knew what was happening, he had picked my up in his arms, and was carrying me over to baggage claim.

      “Have a nice flight?” I asked, kissing his tanned cheek.

      “I guess,” he shrugged.

      “Good. Now, put me down,” I demanded.

      “I haven’t done this in, like, two months, no way!” he laughed, defying me.

      “Josh put me the heck down now!” I squealed.

      “No.”

      “Josh!”

      “Fine,” he said, gently releasing me, so I slid out of his arms, and my feet firmly planted on the ground.

      “Is that your flight?” I asked, as I spotted “L.A.” in big letters on a screen above the conveyor belt of endless baggage.

      “Yup.”

      “Are the pink suitcases yours?” I teased, seeing two bright pink bags move past.

      “Yes, actually, they are,” he said, kissing my cheek.

      “Well, then you should go get them,” I grinned.

      “Or I could go get those very nice black ones that happen to belong to me,” he suggested.

      “That could work too.” I watched as he heaved the two masses off the conveyor belt, and started to drag them both behind him. Nope.

      “Give me one,” I demanded.

      “No way, babe.”

      “Josh! Don’t you dare try to act all macho around me, especially when there’s no one else to impress!” I whined.

      “Fine,” he smirked. He gave in, and stopped wheeling one. I went over and started to drag it. It weighed more than me. Jerk.

      “Asshole!” I said.

      “You said you wanted to carry one!” he defended.

      “I did! The lighter one!”

      “But then you would have accused me of patronizing you because of your gender,” he reasoned.

      “So true. You know me so well. Now, take this one.” We switched suitcases, and made our way out of the airport.

      “Is Adam going to be happy to see me?” he asked, as I spotted Adam asleep in the driver’s seat of his car.

      “Who wouldn’t be happy to see you?” I rolled my eyes.

      “True.”

      “We’re going to go tap on the window to try and wake this idiot up,” I determined.

      “Fun,” Josh commented.

      “Yeah, come on.” I went around to the other side of the car, and loudly pounded my fist on the glass. Adam jolted up, completely disoriented.

      “Score!” Josh said, high-fiving me.

      “No, it was a fail,” Adam said, getting out of the car and taking both the suitcases to the trunk. “How was the flight?” 

      “Fine,” Josh answered casually.

      “Okay. How’s Santa Monica?” Adam continued to speak.

      “Boring.”

      “So, the same?”

      “Yeah.”

      “Cool. I missed you, little bro,” Adam said, giving him a one armed hug. I slid into the back seat with Josh, and then came the talking. Josh told us all about what was happening back in Santa Monica, and how my friends miss me like hell. Then I filled in the blanks for him about the people he’d meet.

      “And then there’s Chase,” I said, once I had finished giving a quick synopsis of Izzy, Kim, Mia, Owen, Logan, and Aiden.

      “I don’t like that name,” Josh said.

      “Well, good, because you’re going to hate this kid,” I shook my head, visualizing an interaction between the two. They were relatively alike from a personality standpoint, but practically opposites when it came to looks. 

      “Well, with a name like that how can I not hate him?” he said as if it were perfect logic. “Is he a jock? Has he been hitting on you?”

      “Yup,” I nodded to both queries.

      “What sport?”

      “Football, he’s the quarterback,” I laughed.

      “Wow. The quarterback, his name is Chase, and he’s been screwing with you. Can’t wait to meet this guy!” he said sarcastically.

      “Tomorrow, after school, you will,” I said after thinking about it.

      “I get to meet the guy?”

      “Yup.”

      We eventually reached my house, and as we entered Josh was assaulted by hugs from my parents. Everyone loved Josh—you had to be crazy not to. We got him all set up in the guestroom, and then we went into my room, and just lay on my bed together, talking …and making out a few times. I missed Josh so much.

I woke up the next morning in my clothes from the day before to the most beautiful sight I had ever woken up to: Josh. We had fallen asleep talking. Josh was a pretty hard sleeper, so, chances were, I wouldn’t be seeing him in the morning, but that was what the afternoon was for.

      I changed out of my clothes from yesterday, and jumped my way into a pair of light washed skinny jeans. Throwing on a black cropped top, I opened my closet to find the perfect pair of shoes to put with the simple ensemble. I scanned the many rows of shoes that presented themselves before me, when my eyes gravitated to this pair of neon pink Converse. Pink wasn’t really my color, but I didn’t hate it. I put them on, grabbed my bag, and, just as I was exiting my room, I heard a faint, “You look pretty, Jules,” from a weary Josh.

      “I know,” I kissed him lightly on the cheek, and ran downstairs.

      “ADAM!” I yelled.

      “Shit! I know! I’m coming!” he called back. In a flash he was sprinting down the stairs, and out the door. I followed him outside, and got into his car.

      When we got to school, my mind was totally not there. I was thinking about Josh. In gym, we were playing basketball, and I couldn’t even shoot straight! My concentration was absolutely nowhere to be found.

      “Jules, what’s up with you today?” Kim asked, in the middle of English.

      “Nothing,” I sighed.

      “No, seriously. What’s up?” she pressed, keeping her voice at a whisper so that the teacher didn’t hear.

      “My boyfriend’s in from Santa Monica,” I said, instantly regretting telling her.

      Her face grew confused as she began to question me. “You have a boy—”

      “Yes, I do. Didn’t need drama, didn’t tell anyone,” I cut her off.

      “Is he cute?”

      “Do you think I would honestly go out with someone not?” I snorted.

      “Got a point there,” she smirked.

      “But, yeah, he’s my everything. I know it sounds dumb to say, but it’s true.” As mushy and gross as it was, Josh was my everything. My world wouldn’t be complete without him.

      “That’s so sweet!” she said with a sincere smile. “You two should come over to my house later; I’m having a smallish party.”

      “Sounds fun. Who’s going?” I inquired.

      “Well, Izzy, Mia, Owen, and Logan, obviously. And then a few more people we know,” she listed. “So, do you want to come?”

      “We’ll be there,” I smiled.

      “Okay, great! Come over my house around seven! Can’t wait to meet him!” she grinned. If Josh didn’t want to go, that was his issue because he really didn’t choice.

      The remaining two hours of school trudged through my mind in a blur. As the last bell rang, indicating school was finally over, I got out of the building as fast as I could. I waited anxiously in front of the building with the mass of students eager to jump into one of the many SUVs pulling up, and leave. I looked around for Adam, and didn’t see him—he was probably still inside talking to his friends or something. It was Friday, so I knew he didn’t have football practice.

      “Boo!” someone said, wrapping their arms around me from behind. I didn’t need to get all defensive, and try to kill them, because I immediately knew who it was.

      “JOSH!” screamed. “How did you—”

      “Your mom dropped me off here earlier, so I’ve been waiting out here for you for, like, an hour,” he explained.

      “Aw! How many girls came up to you?” my jealous side won over my romantic one.

      “Do numbers really matter?” he sighed.

      “No, but I still want to know.”

      “Fine. In the past ten minutes, as you guys were let out, I’d say it’s been around five, maybe?” he offered up.

      “Anyone catch your eye?”

      “Only the one I’m holding right now,” he kissed the top of my head.

      “Good answer,” I grinned.

      “I know,” he smiled, “but there was this one girl—I think I’ve seen her in a few of your pictures.”

      “What’d she look like?” I asked, suddenly growing very concerned.

      “Strawberry blonde hair, skinny, slutty, would be pretty is she wiped off all the makeup,” he said, tightening his grip on me.

      “Was she with another trashy girl?”

      “With blonde hair, yeah,” he nodded.

      “Could she have mentioned that her name was Emily?” I winced.

      “That may just have been her.”

      “And they may just have been the two girls who created the monster known as Julia Tylers.” They talked to Josh. Well, at least I had a decent taste in guys, right? 

      “They were the two?” I mutely answered with a nod. “Wow, I really did save you, didn’t I?”

      “Yes you did.” I stood on my tippy toes, and pecked his lips lightly.

      “Oh, come on! No way! Jules, seriously? You’ll make out with some random dude, but, when I offer, you’re all, ‘No thanks.’ Are you serious right now?” the very aggravating voice of Chase Ryan said, interrupting my moment of affection with my boyfriend.

      “He’s not some random dude,” I said, glaring at Chase.

      “Are you trying to make me jealous?” he smirked.

      “Why the heck would I want to make you jealous? Just listen to yourself, Chase,” I rolled my eyes.

      “This is that Chase kid you were telling me about?” Josh asked, raising an eyebrow.

      “Yup,” I confirmed.

      “Come on, Adam’s already in the car making out with some girl,” he grabbed my hand, completely blowing off Chase, as we skipped through the parking lot in search of Adam’s black Escalade. We came across the car, and being the gentleman that he was, Josh opened the door for me. I slid into the car to a very nauseating sight. Adam was, indeed, kissing Talia.

      “GROSS!” I screamed, covering my eyes with my hand.

      “I’m going to say that the next time you and Josh kiss,” Adam smirked.

      “Hey, Jules!” Talia said cheerfully.

      “Hi,” I returned.

      “Sorry about this, I can totally see how this is weird to you, I actually have two older brothers, and a younger one, and whenever I see them making out with girls, I want to hurl!” she laughed, turning to face me.

      “Oh! By the way, Josh this is Talia, Adam’s girlfriend..? And Talia this is Josh, my boyfriend,” I introduced the two.

      “Hey,” Josh said, shooting her one of his drop dead gorgeous smiles.

      “Hi!” she waved.

      “Okay, everyone knows everyone, so, let’s go,” Adam said, backing out of the parking space. As he sharply and quickly turned to exit the parking lot, I collided into Josh.

      “Adam, you kind of suck at driving,” Josh said.

      “No, he doesn’t ‘kind of’ suck at driving. He does suck at driving,” I corrected, as Josh stopped me from moving back over to my side of the car, by putting his arms around me.

      “Watch it, Jules! Especially when I’m the one behind the wheel!” Adam cautioned.

      “That’s right, never distract a maniac when they’re driving,” Talia mocked. I officially loved this girl.

      “But T., you’re not driving,” Adam said innocently, speeding up even more.

      “So, that was the Chase kid you were telling me about?” Josh asked.

      “Yeah.”

      “Okay, cool. What about that other dude?”

      “Logan?”

      “Sure.”

      “Look, babe, I know you’re just being overly protective and jealous, which I happen to think is adorable, but I’m a good girl, and I’d never let anything happen between me and another dude,” I said genuinely, for it was the truth.

      “Okay. I trust you.”

      That was such powerful word: trust. It meant that confidence and belief was instilled in another. The fact that Josh trusted me, and that I trusted him, was something so incredible. Trust was one of the easiest things to lose, and the hardest to gain. When I moved out to California, I didn’t trust anyone—I couldn’t. How did you trust someone that you barely knew? How did you expect them to guard your secrets? You didn’t. Well, at least, I didn’t. Then, when I met Josh, I felt like I could tell him anything. It was your average romance story—we became the best of friends, and then discovered we shared similar feelings for each other. He taught me one of the most important things in life: how to trust …and, as Lil Wayne would say, how to love.

      We got to our house, and as Talia and Adam crept upstairs to his room, Josh and I stayed outside, and decided to take a quick walk around the neighborhood. Then, I decided to spring it on him, “Oh, by the way, babe, we’re going over a friend’s tonight.”

      “We’re what?” he blinked, processing my words.

      “Going over to a friend’s house,” I repeated.

      “Whose?”

      “Kim, one of the girls I was telling you about.”

      “Okay… Is that Chase kid going to be there?”

      “Probably not.”

      “Okay, cool. I’m in.”

      “You didn’t really have an option.”

      “Yeah, but at least now I’m consensually going,” he smirked.

      “If that’s what you want to think,” I laughed, shaking my head.

      We walked for a little while longer, until my legs started hurting, so I made Josh carry me back to my house. When we got back it was already 6:00, so I just changed into a nicer top, black leggings, and the cutest pair of neon yellow pumps. I forced Josh to change into a pair of dark, straight legged jeans and a polo. He had been wearing a T-shirt and basketball shorts all day, which I thought were a bit on the underdressed side. We found Adam and Talia wrestling on Adam’s floor—a very disturbing sight for me—but, considering he was the one with that wonderful driver’s license, I didn’t say anything too harsh about it.

      “Adam, you’re taking us over to a friend’s house,” I said.

      “What about me?” Adam asked, looking up.

      “Get up, you’re taking Josh and I too a friend’s house,” I told him.

      “Can I?” Talia surprisingly requested.

      “What do you want to do, T.?” Adam piped up.

      She rolled her eyes at his listening skills. “Can I drive them there?”

      “In my car?”

      “Yeah. I’m a better driver than you, so I’m not going to crash your baby.”

      “Why?”

      “I want to spend some good old quality time one-on-two talking to them,” she explained.

      “Fine.” He threw her the keys to his beloved car.

      “Good boy,” she pat him on the head. “Okay, children, lez go!”

      When we got to the car Talia made Josh sit in the back so she could talk to me—which was exactly what she did. She wouldn’t shut up, but she was really funny and nice, so I didn’t mind. Josh was being quiet, but I think that was just because he didn’t know who Talia was. She was actually really good at driving. She actually went below the speed the limit—something Adam would never have even dared to do. When we got to Kim’s house, she smoothly pulled up into the driveway, and shoved us out.

      “Bye, guys!” she called, out the window, as we waved back.

      “She seemed… normal?” Josh said, his tone inquisitive, as he wrapped his hand around mine.

      “I guess,” I shrugged.

      “Does Adam like her?”

      “I think so.”

      “How soon do you think she’ll be gone?”

      “I’m guessing she’s got at least another week.” Adam went through girls like they were pieces of gum. He would take one out of the pack, use it, and then spit right out. Unfortunate as it was, my brother happened to be a player. 

      “Jules! Hey, I am so glad that you could make it!” Kim said, coming to greet us before we even stepped foot in the house.

      “Yeah,” I smiled. “This is my boyfriend, Josh.”

      “Hi,” Josh said quietly.

      “H-hi! I’m Kim. Wow. Okay, so now this makes sense—you not being interested in the countless guys who’ve pretty much thrown themselves at you!” she giggled, as bubbly as ever.

      “Countless?” Josh questioned sharply.

      “Trust, remember,” I reminded him.

      “Right.”

      “I mean, if Logan wanted to go out with me, I would say yes in the blink of an eye!” she blabbered on.

      “Logan never asked me out,” I said, confused.

      “No, but he likes you,” she winked.

      “We’ll deal with that later,” I sighed, silently wondering how drama always was able to encompass its way around my life.

      “You two should probably come in! We were just about to start a game of FMK!” she grabbed our hands and led us inside to her front room, where a crowd of familiar faces sat.

      “FMK?” Josh whispered to me.

      “No idea,” I said, scanning the faces. Immediately, I saw Izzy, Mia, Owen, and Logan situated comfortably, laughing and talking.

      “Jules! Awesome that you c—” Izzy stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Josh standing beside me.

      “Oh, right. Izzy, this is Josh, my boyfriend. Josh, this is Izzy,” I made a quickened introduction.

      “Hi!” she said, “I did not know that you had a boyfriend.”

      “Yeah, I didn’t really feel the need to share, but he’s visiting from Santa Monica, so why not introduce him to you guys?” I said meekly.

      “Well, alrighty then! We’re playing FMK right now!” she shared energetically.

      “Just quickly, refresh my memory, what is it?” I asked.

      “Fuck one, marry one, kill one,” she explained, sitting back down on the chair she had been sharing with Mia. I looked over at Mia, and smiled—what was the harm in trying to be nice? Apparently, a hateful glare, because that was exactly what Mia gave me. Bitch.

      “Oh, Jules, you’re here with your make out friend,” Chase said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I brushed it off.

      “Boyfriend,” I corrected him, “and why are you even here?”

      “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Since when do you have boyfriend?” he laughed as if it was the joke of the decade.

      “Since he asked me out,” I said through gritted teeth.

      Chase then did something I never thought he would have the ability to do: he apologized to Josh “Oh, man! I totally crossed a line! Sorry for breaking the bro code, dude!”

      “I would say it’s cool, but it’s not. But thanks for recognizing it,” Josh said, straightening his torso so he appeared taller.

      “Chase, why are you here?” I asked again.

      “Logan invited me.”

      “Okay, you two sit down, we’re starting,” Kim said, oddly sitting on Logan’s lap. I didn’t think anything was going on between them. It was probably nothing, but, as the small gesture of placing herself on top of Logan, I did notice Mia make a fist, and clench her jaw. Looked like Mia was certainly displaying some jealousy.

      Josh sat on the floor, and I sat on top of him.

      “Okay, Charlotte, you go first!” Izzy said to the very pale girl beside me. This chick looked like a porcelain doll! She had copper tinted hair, which contrasted her light skin, and looked good on her. Her lips were tinted with a bright red shade, and she looked pure. She was wearing a short-sleeved dress in a light blue, which kind of confused me, considering it was just a small get together. But overall, I liked her look—it was different.

      “Um… okay? Well, Robert Pat—” Well, someone clearly liked Twilight ...and most likely reading. Probably on the nerdy side.

      “Char! It has to be someone you know! From our school!” Mia scolded.

      “Okay, fine. Well for the first one, no one, because that’s just gross!” the girl shuddered.

      “Fine. Who would you marry?” Izzy prompted.

      “Owen,” she said, as her cheeks burst with redness. So, she was Owen’s friend! It made sense. Out of all the people in that room, Owen was by far the quietest. This kid barely talked. But when he did, he was always nice and straight to the point.

      “And kill?” Logan asked.

      “That’s just plain mean! No one deserves to die, no matter how mean they are!” Oh god. The next thing she was going do to was start praying or something...

      “It’s just a game, answer the freaking question!” Mia said.

      “Don’t swear. And, again, no one.”

      “Okay. That was a waste. Mia, your turn,” Kim said.

      “Okay,” Mia said, accepting the challenge, “Ummm… Hunter Wade! He’s so hot!” The name sounded familiar.

      “He really is. Sucks that he’s a senior,” Izzy said, shaking her head. So, he was a senior. He was probably just one of my brother’s friends.

      “Kill?”

      “The list’s too long,” she said, looking straight at me. I smiled back, and waved, not allowing her inference to even remotely faze me. 

      “And marry?” Kim questioned.

      “I’m going to have to say… Logan,” she smiled devilishly. Logan’s jaw dropped, and he looked as though a pile of bricks had just hit him.

      “Okay… how about you, Jules!” Izzy said.

      “Oh, umm… mine’s the same for all three,” I said, biting the edge of my lip.

      “Okay, who is it?” Kim prompted.

      “Josh,” I said.

      “You would kill me?” he asked, pouting.

      “If it’s one of those days when you’re being annoying, then yes, I would kill you,” I laughed.

      “As long as you have a good reason that sounds believable, so you’ll win in court, I give you full permission to kill me,” he said, kissing the back of my neck.

      “That’s cheating! You have to choose someone different for each, and the who the hell are you anyways?” Mia asked.

      “I can answer however I want, rules don’t really apply to me. And let’s clear this up, so we don’t have to keep repeating ourselves. Everyone, this is Josh. He’s my boyfriend,” I said, causing the entire room to freeze as a cloud of silence met my ears.