Ryan

".... Julia!" I call out to her. She's not here. It's only darkness here. My feet ache as I run further into it.

"Julia!" I call out again.

I don't care where I am. I'm not afraid of the dark. But there's something in my head saying Julia is out there. And the quiet sob which follows this thought, proves I'm right.

"Julia?" I call out again, sprinting towards the sound.

It's comes again. But this time, from behind me. Like a mad man, I run towards it again.

"Julia where are you?" I call out to her. No response but just another quiet sob.... from far west of me.

What is this? I think to myself. This isn't right.

"Julia..." I try to say something but only her name comes out.

And then I realise.

This is a dream...

And that's what wakes me up.

I jerk awake, suddenly gone blind because, apparently, I forgot to close the curtains last night. Even the mildest of morning light slipping in from the window can be irritating for me in the morning. I groan and try to turn over, but I'm unable to move because there is someone sprawled over me.

I look down to find Julia, her head right over my heart, her breath on my skin making it hot under my shirt. Her hands are wrapped around my waist, legs tangled with mine. She's asleep so soundly.

I gently lift a hand and touch her rose coloured cheek. It's so soft and smooth.
I move a stray stand of hair from her jaw, and stick it behind her ear. Her hair is like silk on my skin.

I was shocked to see how short she had cut her hair. I remember the way those soft loose curls rested on her shoulders while she worked. And when she would put it in a bun, a few strands would escape. And when she ran in the morning, her curls would bounce on her shoulders. 

I miss her hair— have been missing it ever since I got to know she had them cut.

But last night...

Last night when I saw her, she looked breathtakingly beautiful with those little braids and her chin length hair. It was as if the look was custom made for her. My hand had immediately flown to where my camera was supposed to be, but when I didn't find it, I was disappointed. That moment was so perfect. The sparkle in her eye, the beaming smile on her lips and that top and jeans.

One of the reasons I had locked myself in my room all evening was that I couldn't stand it. If I had been forced to watch her move around other people all dolled up like that, I would've burst.

I caress her cheek and run a thumb over her cheekbone.

Utter perfection. That's what she is.

Last night, when all the guests had left, it had become unbearable not to pull her by the hand and lock her in my room and worship her beauty. But I managed to keep to myself, sending Julia to the kitchen to work with mom, while I worked with dad, Aubrey and Sophie, cleaning up the backyard and the rest of the house.

Mission accomplished, I had thought to myself when finally dad had went to bed. Had successfully kept my hands off my girl, and hadn't let dad even sense what was going on in my head. And so, as my trophy, when Sophie and Aubrey had decided to watch a movie, I did pull Julia by her hand, all the way up to my room. Once inside, I pushed her against the door, and kissed her until she was lightheaded.

"I thought you were mad at me." She had murmured, her head resting on my shoulder as she tried to catch her breath.

I chuckled. I knew she would think that. Even I could see that my reaction to all what happened was not normal.

"I can't ever be mad at you Jules." I whispered to her, leaving a trail of kisses from the base of her neck to her jaw line.

She visibly took a breath of relief, and then pulled back, beaming up at me.

"Thank you Ryan." She had said.

But when I had asked, she just said that she was tired and wanted to sleep.

I curl a strand of her hair around my finger as I wonder what she had thanked me for last night. She sleeps soundly and doesn't answer.

The light from the window makes her skin glow. It's not too much and not to mess and I wonder, what time is it at which the sun has this perfect lighting.

I reach carefully to the night stand to look for my phone. When I finally find it and check the time, I realize that it's only six.

Wow. I'm up early. I think to myself and toss the phone back. And that's where my mistake was.

The sound of the phone landing on the night stand disturbs Julia's sleep. She lifts her head and looks up, confused at the sudden waking up. I take that exact moment to turn us to our sides and pull her head back to my chest, holding her close.

Soon, her muscles relax again as she falls back asleep in my arms.

That was close. I think to myself. She looks to beautiful when she's asleep. I don't want to wake her up.

Julia

"Ryan!!! Wake up!!" I yell at him, shaking his shoulder.

It can't be happening. This is impossible!!

When I woke up in the morning, it wasn't like this. Everything was so peaceful. There was bright light coming through the window and Ryan had his face covered with his arm to avoid waking up. I chuckled and got out of bed very very carefully.

"Mission accomplished.." I murmured to myself, once I was off the bed. But the very next moment, I almost slipped over Ryan's discarded shirt.

"Said too soon" I shook my head at my self and proceeded on to the bathroom, grabbing my bag on the way.

Half an hour later, I stepped out of the bathroom, bathed and fresh, to find Ryan sprawled our on the bed, a foot dangling over the edge, and lightly snoring.

I giggled at the view and took a picture of him in my phone so that I can paint it later on a canvas.

I cleaned up a bit of mess from the room as quietly as possible. And when I was done with the cleaning, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I put it to my ear without checking the caller ID.

"Julia? Where are you?"

Doomed! Was my first thought. It was dad. And if he was asking where I am, that could only mean one thing.

"I'm out with friends." I told him. It was not a lie.

"Which friends?" He asked. And I swear my palms where sweating.

"With my friends." I told him. I was definitely not about to tell him that I was with Ryan.

"Your friends Simon and Josh are standing right here in front of me." Dad said. I could imagine him standing with his arms crossed and face set in a frown. "And they say the Hunt boy went home for the weekend."

I nudged Ryan with my free hand, trying to wake him up.

He didn't even move.

"I didn't say I was with them." I told dad, shaking Ryan's foot harder.

"Whereever you are," Dad said, a threat audible in his tone, "I want to see you at home this afternoon. At lunch."

"Yes Dad." I said but the call had already been cancelled.

Dad wants to see me at two in the afternoon!!

I look down at my phone.

It's already nine and Ryan is snoring!!!

"Ryan!!!" I almost yell again and shake his shoulder.

"What?" He wakes up, but he looks around disorientated.

"Dad wants to see me at home!" I tell him, completely freaked out. My hands are visibly shaking and I have no control over my volume. I just hope nobody heard me.

"What???" Ryan bolts upright and grabs his phone.

For a moment, I forget whatever crisis we are in and just stare at him. He looks so darn cute with that half-asleep-half-shocked look on his face. His hair is everywhere and there's a glistening trail from his mouth to his cheek from where he must've been drooling.

"It's already nine!" He says and jumps out of bed, falling over his own feet and right on top of me.

Thank goodness I don't fall.

"Sorry." He says and straightens himself, shaking his head to clear it and then throwing open his closet and looking for a change of cloths.

"When did he tell you that?" He asks over his shoulder.

I grab my bag and check if I still have everything in it.

"Over a phone call just now."

"Oh Lord." He runs a hand through his hair and sighs.

"That's not the problem." I tell him and he turns back.

"What is?" He raises his eyebrow at me.

"He knows I'm not at the campus. And I think he thinks I'm with you." I explain to him.

His jaw clenches. There is a long stretching second where he just looks at me and the another stretching second follows where he closes his eyes.

"Jules." He, he releases a breath as comes closer to me to wraps me in his arms.

He places his chin on top of my head and hold me flush against him. To comfort himself more than me.

I can feel the anger rushing through his veins. His heart is beating fast, almost sounding like a bullet.

But the feeling of his arms wrapped around me, his scent...

Again, I forget whatever crisis we're in and get lost in his strong scent.

Home. He feels like home.

And I don't want to leave home.

"You were shaking Julia." He whispers in my hair and gently strokes my head.

"I'm nervous." I mumble into his chest and close my eyes. I was nervous, I correct my self in my head.

"It's ok." He kisses the top of my head. "We'll make it."

I hope we do. I hug him hard.

Please don't mess this day.

Ryan

Day 1 here, Dad glared at Julia.

Day 2, I scared her because I was shocked.

Day 3, this happens.

What a pleasant surprise, Mr Garfield. I think, hoping he's hearing me. What a perfect way of telling your daughter that you're happy she finally has a boyfriend.

I honk loudly at the slow moving car in front of me.

Why is he so slow? I curse him mentally. And when he doesn't move, I overtake him quite harshly.

No mercy!

"Ryan calm down." Julia, clutching the seatbelt with one hand, places her other hand on my shoulder.

I look over at her. She still has this panicked look in her face. The look which says what if something goes wrong.

But she's still trying to soothe me. As if nothing is wrong and I'm just over-reacting.

I don't like it. I want to see her smile. A genuine smile.

"If you want both breakfast and to get back on time," I tell her, calmly, pressing the accelerator. "This is the only way."

We're on our way back to the university campus in a frenzy and on empty stomaches.

We had packed as fast as we could and when we had left the house no one was up. I told Julia to take my phone and text Sophie that we're leaving because I have to finish an assignment.

Indeed. I have to finish planing murder.

"We'll make it." She repeats my words from earlier and pats my shoulder gently.

"Yup." I nod. "We will."

And we do. Fifteen minutes later, we enter a little restaurant on the highway called 'Bread and Breakfast'. It's not much. Clean and tiled floor, lamps hanging from the ceiling. A dozen or so tables.

Julia looks at me, and I think she's thinking Ryan we don't have time for this.

But I'm not letting her go like that.

Her old man can't keep me away from me. She's mine.

Julia is mine!

An elderly lady greats us from behind the cash counter and nods in greeting. I nod back as I recognise her from the times I've eaten here before, but I don't really remember her name.

Margret? Martha? What ever.

This place has the second best breakfast, after mum's friends place, and that's enough for me.

"Have a seat." I pull a chair from a table in a corner, and gesture Julia to sit down.

She smiles and sits down.  I push her chair in, and sit across from her. She's trying to act normal. I'll help her.

A teenager wearing an apron appears and offers us menus but I turn the offer down and order my usual.

"This is nice." Julia says, looking around, after the boy leaves.

"Yup." I nod, reaching across the table to hold her hand. "I found this place last year. Have been coming here ever since."

"So that means they have good food." She smiles.

"They have fantastic food." I tell her, making circles on the back of her hand with my thumb.

While we eat, we can linger. That's the best part about this moment. Julia feels it too, as her shoulders relax and she turns her phone over.

"No looking at time." She tells her self more then myself and smiles at me.

"No looking at time." I nod back, and bring her hand forward, rising a little from my chair and kissing her knuckles.

She giggles and blushes.

This can be our second breakfast date. I think to myself.

Julie's Dad: 1

Ryan: 2!

Beat that old man!

"I hate my Dad." Julia sighs a little. But before I can say anything, she adds "I'm glad you're here Ryan. You make everything better."

"I'm glad I do." I bow my slightly. "You do the very same for me, dove."

Oops. A slip of tongue. But being Ryan Hunt, I don't correct it.

"Dove?" Julia raises her eyebrow at me. A smirk forms on her lips.

"Yup. Dove." I tangle my fingers with her.

She only looks at me like would you care to explain?

I chuckle and think about what I've said. Then it hits me.

"Darling and love." I tell her. "Dove."

She blushes deep at my words, and then looks anywhere but at me.

"What?" I tug at her hand for her attention. But just as she opens her mouth to say something, the waiter boy appears again with our food.

Ah man! I think and immediately pull my hand back. It suddenly feels quite empty.

I'm not eating in quick service restaurants ever again.

The food's arrival gives Julia opportunity to not reply to me, and then she doesn't reply me while eating, while we make our way back to the car, and while we drive all the way back to the university campus.

But all the way back, she's visibly relaxed than before. She makes small conversations about her art and what new ideas she has. And about the party last night. But above all... She's smiling, and her cheeks are pink all the way as she hums with the songs she plays from her phone.

That's my girl.

When we finally arrive at the Uni Campus, I drop Julia off at the main entrance and then proceed to the student-parking lot so that we're not spotted together, not that it matters anymore. Because if her Dad knows we were together, then I'm not interested in hiding it anymore.

Julia just didn't want to take chances.

After parking my car, I get out and double check the lock on all doors. Then I proceed to the Shack as Julia had instructed me to do.

When I reach it, there aren't much students around. It's round about lunch time on a sunny Sunday morning, so all of them a hopefully in the cafeteria. Those who are around aren't looking at the casual Ryan Hunt walking up the his Girlfriend's bedroom window looking like he does it every day.

I double tap on the window pane to find it already left ajar for me.

I love this girl. I grin to my self and grab the frame on both side to pull my self up.

Soon, with quite minimal effort, I'm up and in Julia's room. But turns out, she isn't here.

"—And she will drop me off?" I hear her voice coming from the living room.

Who's she talking to? I think to myself.

I carefully make my way across the room as there are three canvases, probably left to dry on the floor but they're covered with cloth right now. There are paint tubes and palates scattered around the canvases which make it a tad bit more difficult to cross.

I don't want to mess Julia's things.

"Yup." Comes Simon's voice and I picture him nod. "And meanwhile I'll finish the work. How does that sound?"

"Impossible." Comes a female voice and I pause in my steps.

Who's this?

Then I recognise her. It's the blondie— Elowen, or as Simon likes to call her—

"Oh come on Winnie!" I imagine him pout. It's quite hilarious. "Trust me. I'll be done before you come back"

There's a moments pause, during which I finally succeed at crossing the room and twist the door knob.

Phew. That was... well, less difficult than letting Julia go like this.

I come out into the living room to find josh snoring on the couch, Julia leaning against the far wall by the kitchenette, and Si and his girl sitting side by side on the rug by the coffee table, their laptops and other papers scattered all around them.

Julia has this pained look her face again, which crushes my heart. I can't see her like this. So I decide to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Party with out me?" I grin at Simon, and he shakes his head at me.

"No party without you, man" Simon greets me with a salute and I smirk back at him.

"Great—"

"But you went ahead and partied without your Bros" he adds before I can complete what I was about to say.

Wow. I have great friends.

Note the sarcasm.

"Dude—"

"Later." He cuts me again. Julia notices this and giggles.

I pout at her. He's scolding me and you're laughing.

She just shakes her head. Stop pouting like a kid!

"Right now we gotta get Jules back." He says.

"And Winnie is gonna do that?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

The girl throws me a death glare at calling her that, to which I just smirk.

"According to Si," Julia explains. "Dad knows Si and Josh weren't with me. And you—" she points at me "—can definitely not be with me. So Elowen here, is the last option."

"Right." I nod.

"Left." Says Simon.

I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Julia's Dad," He continues. "Left an hour ago. And so we gotta get her back in like half hour—"

"And that would be if we leave now." Elowen cuts him. "According to what Julia told me, the way is long."

Julia's face suddenly falls and she purses her lips.

She looks at me and sighs just a little. As if trying to say this is it.

I nod back to her. This is it.

This is Romeo's exile.

Julia leaves now and I wonder if her dad will let her come and live in campus again or not.

But then, I remember something.

Juliette didn't leave....

....Romeo did.

And that means....

"Not that long." I tell Elowen. "I've been there...."

I explain her a shortcut I noticed on my way back from Julia's place— Julia's palace actually, and then excuse myself.

"Now that you have ten minutes to spare, I'd like a word with Julia. "

I gesture my hand back to her room. Would you please?

She raises an eyebrow at me. Why? But still she complies, and follows me back in.

The instant she's in, I close the door behind her, and push her against it, burring my face in her neck, taking a deep breath.

Julia's scent is so good.

"Ryan—"

"I'll be there." I tell her. It's a spur of a moment decision, but I think it's time she realises that I'm not just Romeo here. I'm Ryan Hunt.

"I've done this many times before," I continue, nuzzling her skin with me nose "I'll do it again. I'll be there tonight. Just keep the door opened."

"Ryan." She pulls back, just enough to look up at me. "He'll hurt you."

"He won't know." I press a kiss to her forehead and pull her back to myself, hugging her hard enough for her to be pressed flush against me.

"Don't get hurt." Her voice comes out muffled. I nod back to her.

"I won't." I tell her.

And I'm sure I won't. I've been doing all Romeo until now. This time, I'll do it like Ryan.

This exile.... it's Romeo's exile. But not mine.

—————

A/n:

Ryan: I sound quite dramatic in the end. No Dove?

Julia: when do you not?

Author: *tries not to burst out laughing* Okay okay. Here ya'll go.

Hope you all liked.

Vote and comment and lemme know what you think.

Enjoy :)