A/N- Oh My God. We are almost at 150 votes. I cannot believe this. I am so proud of how far Julian and Wynter's story has come.

I started writing this book thinking that I will probably stop as soon as I realise that people are not reading. There were tons of stories that I had left incomplete and given up on.

But I have been receiving unimaginable love from my readers and loads of encouragement.

So I guess I'll finish writing this book, huh?

Anyway, here's today's chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

Julian hated this. He hated pretending like it had been a joke. One thing he didn't understand was that if Wynter really thought he was joking or if he just let him down easy. Either way, he couldn't stop overthinking. It went to such an extent that he started getting lost in his head, constantly earning smacks on the back of his head from Ren or Reagan and sometimes even his mother. Wynter on the other hand didn't have the chance of facing a zoned out Julian, because every time the green eyed boy was around him his whole concentration was focused on Wynter.

Julian always made sure to look deep into his eyes, letting the other boy know that he had his attention. He always listened to every word he said and laughed at every joke he cracked. He smiled every time Wynter would smile and frowned every time they argued.

And it confused Wynter. From what Ren said, Julian had been zoning out a lot lately but with him Julian seemed as if he was high on caffeine and he'd never even go to sleep. Wynter didn't know if he should be flattered or worried. Worse, Julian always threw an arm over his shoulders and Wynter didn't like how he liked the way his body leaned into the other boy automatically. It was a reflex...he kept telling himself despite knowing the true answer.

Having a crush is fucking difficult to deal with. It's this torrent of emotions that you don't know how to react to. Sometimes you just pause in the middle of something your doing just because something about the other person rushes into your thoughts and you're just standing there thinking about how they had smiled or what they had said.

It was Saturday, the day of Rebecca's party. Wynter couldn't believe that he was going. He hadn't wanted to go but when Ren told him that Julian might hook up with Alex Wells he had a sudden change of mind. It wasn't that he hoped to stop Julian but rather that he wanted Julian's attention on only him. Not Alex, not Ryan and not Brendan. It was selfish and Wynter knew he was going crazy but he couldn't do anything to stop himself. It was like no matter what he did, Julian was always plastered in his mind.

Even if Julian did hook up with someone, Wynter wouldn't do or say anything. He knew he didn't have the right to dictate the other boy's life choices.

Wynter ruffled his hair and stepped under the shower. The day had been sunny and hot. One of his coworkers, Leah had lended him sunscreen and he wanted to wash it off. He rubbed his palms to his face and then let himself fall forward against the wall suddenly, leaning his forehead on the cool tiles. He ignored the voices and yells coming from other men fooling around in the shower room and concentrated on a memory.

About two weeks ago, Julian had come to pick him up from work because he wanted to take him to a new diner that had opened up just outside town. The green eyed boy had whistled in appreciation when he looked at a shirtless Wynter.

" All that swimming payed off, huh?" Julian had grinned, punching him in the chest gently.

Wynter had only scowled—

" Dude! You done yet?" Brad knocked on the door, snapping Wynter out of his thoughts.

" What do you want?" Wynter yelled in reply, hoping his voice had reached the boy on the other side. The voices of other people mingling with the noise of the showers was too loud.

" This dude called Ren is asking for you. Says he's here to pick you up for a party...do parties at your school usually start at four in the evening? Man, you guys are weird as fuck" Brad let out a laugh, amusing himself while insulting a rival high school.

" I'll be out in five minutes...is there someone else with him? A guy with green eyes—"

" Nah, he's with a girl" Brad answered, slapping the door once to let Wynter know that he was off to somewhere else.

When a few minutes later Wynter walked out of the showers, he was met with a scene of Ren and Reagan making out. He cringed a little and then cleared his throat " Guys?"

They pulled away immediately. Ren laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair hoping to make it better, but it only made it worse.

" Hey Wynter...we were just...uh...we were just—"

" Making out. Yeah. Why are you here? Where's Julian?"

Ren shrugged in reply " I think he's with Adam...something about a college application. They're going to the same college."

" Adam as in Adam Kipling?" Wynter frowned, remembering Julian tell him about their kiss.

" Yeah," Ren said, " His parents divorced like an year ago...he lives with his dad so I think you didn't see him around a lot. He's a nice kid. Anyway we've got to dress you up for the party. Let's go"

" It's not a costume party...why—"

" Shush," Reagan interrupted, " Don't question the decisions of the almighty—"

"—thanks babe..." Ren started to grin.

"—Reagan McAuley" She finished, making Ren pout sadly.

Two hours later when Wynter was at his house, staring at himself in the mirror he had the sudden urge to hug Reagan to death.

He looked better. Better than the boy who drowned himself just to make himself feel alive. Better than the boy who cried himself to sleep. Better than the boy who didn't know how to save himself. For once, his lifeless hair shined and bounced. His eyes were bright and his clothes didn't look like he had stolen them from a person who was twice his size.

" I know. I'm fabulous" Reagan grinned at him in the mirror. He smiled back a little and she squealed, attacking him with a large hug.

" You finally smiled at me!" Reagan giggled into his back before perching her chin on his shoulder to look into the mirror with him.

" Reagan, I'm sorry. About before. I was a jerk to you. I'm sorry"

Reagan tilted her head to the side and shrugged a little " It's alright. You were just jealous...that I was spending a lot of time with Julian. He's gay, you know? I don't stand a chance."

" I wasn't jealous—" Wynter sputtered, feeling a blush spreading out on his cheeks. Seeing as how the red-haired girl was now giving him a flat look, she knew that he was spouting total bullshit.

" Don't lie to me Wyn"
" Who's Wyn?"
" You"
" No...you're not gonna call me Wyn. I wanna cringe so hard. No. Nah.Nope"

" Too bad Wyn. Don't put up a fight. Jules tried and failed. Also, did you ever think why he wouldn't let you call him Jules?" Reagan asked, plopping herself on his bed and casually going through a random book.

All The Light We Cannot See. Reagan stared at the title while waiting for Wynter to answer. Reagan was a pessimist. She found the most negative things in the most positive things. It bothered people but she didn't care. She believed in truth. The universal truth. She didn't believe in YOLO. Reagan believed in a cycle of life and death. And to escape it was her goal. To become one with the universe. To realise that you're body is just matter and molecules. It will die eventually but your soul is eternal. Your soul cannot be touched by fire or land. Air will pass through it and bullets won't damage it. It is when you realise that you are just one tiny molecule of water in the vast ocean of existence is when you can escape the cycle of life and death. Moksha...is what the Hindus call it.

" I haven't really thought about it...." Wynter admitted shamefully.

Reagan smiled at him " It's because he likes it when you say his name. It's so obvious. When you say it, it reminds him of how important it is"

Wynter rolled his eyes " That didn't make sense"

She tilted her head to the side indifferently " Neither does your fashion sense. You don't see anyone complaining"

" That's because my fashion sense is perfectly fine" Wynter told her, unplugging his phone charger before pushing his phone into his pocket.

Before she could reply there was loud squeal and pattering footsteps. And then Hayden's giggles echoed around the house. Wynter's breaths suddenly went erratic and shaky. Julian was here. There was no other explanation to why Hayden would stop playing chess with Ren and run off to greet someone.

Julian smiled down widely at Hayden. She held up her arms and he picked her up, planting her on his waist. Hayden giggled and hugged him around his neck " Did you bring me ice cream?"

" Of course Wynter wouldn't tell you.... Let's have some." Julian told her, bumping his fist to Ren's before sliding past him to get to the kitchen.

He pulled open the door to the freezer and grabbed an ice cream tub before reaching into a drawer to take two spoons. Sitting the little girl down on the counter he handed her a spoon with a mischievous grin.

" Don't tell Wynter" Julian whispered, stuffing a spoon into his mouth.

Hayden giggled and nodded, scooping up a bit of ice cream into her spoon.

" Sorry to ruin your secret mission" A voice said, making Julian swivel around with the spoon still in his mouth. His jaw dropped open and the spoon fell out of his mouth, hitting the floor with a clang.

Wynter raised an eyebrow at him " What?"

Julian inhaled sharply and shook his head. Every inch of him was itching to charge forward and crash their mouths together. The dark-haired boy was gorgeous. He always had been, but right now he looked better than ever. Julian could for once see Wynter's eyebrows clearly, without his dark hair hanging over his eyes. His skin was glowing and his cheeks were flushed. He wasn't wearing a sweatshirt but rather a loose-fitting, grey V-neck with full sleeves and black jeans.

" You look great" Julian blurted out.

" Thank me for that!" Reagan announced, " I had to force him to sit still while I put the face mask on him. You should've seen the way he was cursing at me. You really need to take care of yourself Wyn"

Wynter rolled his eyes again " Don't call me that. It sounds horrible"

Julian bent down to pick up the spoon, shooting a glance at Reagan " You gave Wynter a nickname? Seriously?"

" I give nicknames to everyone" She reminded and leaned back into Ren's arms. He smiled a little and kissed her head with a slight laugh " You're perfect" he whispered.

Julian smiled at the both of them. Ren was happy. Like really happy. And it made Julian happy.

Wynter stared at Julian for a few seconds. The green eyed boy looked at him and smiled. Wynter didn't smile back and so Julian frowned. He tried to remember if he had said something that could have pissed off the dark haired boy. But he didn't know that the reason the other boy wasn't smiling back was because Wynter was too busy wondering if Julian would ditch him to hook up with someone. Wynter couldn't blame then other boy. He deserved to have some fun once in a while. And hanging out with someone like him wasn't exactly fun.

"Hayden...you ready to go?" the voice of a little boy floated into the house.

"Xavian!" Hayden yelled, holding out her arms for Julian to pick her off the kitchen counter and put her on the ground.

She raced towards the front door and started jumping up and down, waiting for Julian to open the door. When he did, she ran forward and threw her arms around a little boy with cocoa skin. He giggled and hugged her back.

" I told you...I ship it" Ren whispered into Julian's ear. The green eyed boy just shook his head and crossed his arms, resting his chin on Wynter's shoulder.

Wynter stiffened when Julian's arms hugged him from behind. He ignored the urge to lean back into his warmth and continued talking with Xavian's brother. Warning him about what would happen if there was even one hair missing on Hayden's head.

" C'mon man. She gon' be safe. Ain't like you sending her to war" Zach Hudson threw his arms up in the air impatiently.

Wynter heard Julian chuckle. The green eyed boy looked into Zach's eyes with a large grin and a shrug " He's super protective that way. Don't worry about it. Just make sure she's happy and safe okay? We'll see you later Zach"

" So... what? You both are best friends now?" Zach was grinning, genuinely happy for Wynter. All the times he had seen the dark haired boy, he had been expressionless and cold. Now he was arguing with Julian and simultaneously smiling.

" Something like that" Julian smiled, kissing Wynter's cheek impulsively.

" Something like that...huh?" Ren yelled from deep inside the house.

" Shut your face Ren!" Julian yelled back, stepping away from the dark haired boy with reluctance that was evident on his face. Julian wanted to keep on holding Wynter but he didn't know if Wynter wanted to be held by him. And if Wynter somehow got to know about his large crush on him then Julian would be utterly screwed.

A few minutes later when Hayden was gone, Wynter was still thinking about Julian's lips on his skin. The feelings they awakened inside of him and the warmth they stirred in his chest. He wondered if Julian had felt the same way or if everything was...false. If Julian just thought he was being helpful and friendly to him.

No, he realized with a sudden start. Julian probably liked him back. No one would kiss someone's cheek and then look at them with the cautiousness that was currently filled up in Julian's gazes.

Ren and Reagan were smirking now and Wynter had the feeling that next time he was alone with either of them...he would be bombarded with hundreds of I told you so's.

" Julian..." Wynter started to say.

And a thousand thoughts and scenarios rushed into Julian's mind. He smiled widely and threw an arm over the other boy's shoulder. On the inside he was shivering. Before Wynter could say anything, Julian started speaking " Yeah, let's go. I think the party has already started. Rebecca'll kill me if we're late. Reagan you done touching up your make up? Great! Let's go!"

Ren face palmed and followed them outside. This would be one hell of a love story.

"Julian is dumb as hell. How do you bear with him?" Reagan whispered into Wynter's ear curiously as if she wanted to learn from him.

" I ask that to myself everyday" Wynter answered before allowing Julian to throw an arm over his shoulder again.

A/N-

That's right! 2500 words! I skipped my online class for this so...yep.

Anywho...IF YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER PLEASE VOTE.SHARE.COMMENT.FOLLOW.

Love you all!

keep on livingxx

ps-I wrote this on my laptop...just a funfact.