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NOTE:

Hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to vote, comment, and share. We're nearing the end ( a little title reference sorta to my upcoming book lol).

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2 5 | Until There Was You

The sky was a bit hazy when Jude made it back to Waverly's side of town. Mere streams of light peaked from the clouds, glimmering shades of autumn orange and winter blue. The wind blew delicately, bashing the smoothness of Jude's skin, and somehow, he felt the twisting jubilance of adventure surging through his veins.

He stood outside his car, leaning against the passenger's side of the door, phone caught between his shoulder and ear. His phone rang for a while, whistling cheap orchestras. He wanted to assume that Waverly regretted asking in the first place, that maybe she believed she made a mistake by inviting him along. Had she backed out before she had even given herself a chance? That wasn't Waverly.

One thing was for sure though, Jude wanted to know what triggered this newfound urge to leave as early as her plans were denied. He couldn't ask her now. Not when she'd be so close to discovering the truth about her father and his anonymous disappearance. She'd finally have answers, although Jude's own family was corrupted, seeing Waverly find her roots made it hurt less—seeing her happy did.

He listened to his phone for a few moments, the frenzy and repetition growing more aggravating by the minute. Finally, it faded to a voicemail box that hadn't been set up yet. When Jude's eyes heightened with Waverly's doorstep, she stepped out with a bag full of things—familiar things that looked like those from the store they attended not too long ago. Memories of ice cream and pickles trickled in his mind, the undergrowth of familiarity tightening his heart. What was this feeling? Like the falling of stars, the explosion of a galaxy, or infinite freedom radiating enigmas.

Maybe it had been his desperation for a cure, a lost soul wanting to be found. Maybe, Jude just wanted to be remembered. He wanted to matter and be the sole purpose of someone's universe. To be that extraordinary brightness in a sea of darkness.

"Took you long enough," Waverly said as she trailed toward the passenger's door, a brazen grin toying at the corner of her lips. Jude wanted to stop her, but she continued walking and he just kept his arms at his side.

"I forgot to mention something on the way over," he started but halted when Waverly's eyes followed the ones in the backseat—the very familiar ones—where a smirking Lincoln sat. He was too late.

"Hell no," Waverly seethed. "He is not coming with me to see my dad. Jude, this is...it's personal, okay?"

She released a soft sigh and Jude's heart skipped a beat. The window wasn't soundproof. Jude was sure Lincoln had heard them, he certainly saw them, but didn't wipe that goofy smirk off his face. Waverly's eyes met Jude's, lost and pleading for the first time. He wanted to hold her because it must have been more personal than he suspected. He hated how she was looking at him now.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you just wanted to get me alone," he teased, trying to lessen the situation.

"Oh, fuck off, Lockhart. You know what, never mind. Forget it," she regressed, turning to leave. He knew that must have been hard for her, maybe even challenging to ask him to tag along with her after they had gotten caught with her mom. Of course, it should have been personal, and the fact that Waverly had included Jude on it instead of going alone said a lot. Jude grabbed her wrist softly to stop her, spinning her to face him again. She tried to yank herself out of his grip, glaring at him with that intimidating look that made Jude want to back down. Instead, he tightened it enough where she couldn't—not to the point where it'd hurt her though. Her eyes softened as he stared down into them.

"Wait, okay, fine. He won't come with us if you don't want him to."

And just then the door to Jude's car opened and Lincoln spoke. "You know, I love that you guys are talking about me like I'm not even here. It's almost cute."

Waverly waved up the middle finger when Jude released her from his hold and Jude had to contain his own laughter.

"Ouch," he retorted with a laugh. "I love you too, Waves. This should be fun. A road trip with one of my best friends and his girlfriend."

"Firstly, don't ever call me that. Secondly, who said you were going?" She asked. "And we're not dating."

"Oh. Lockhart, you haven't told her that you like her already?"

"Lincoln, would you shut the hell up?" Jude asked, running a hand over his face. He kept his gaze on the grass, embarrassed of Lincoln's outburst. Clearly, it was hard enough telling her how he felt himself, but hearing Lincoln mention it to her made it all the more humiliating. This wasn't his scene. When he was with Beverly, Bridget was the one who admitted to Jude that Beverly had liked him. Back then it was cute, but now as he looked at it he felt like her in this situation.

"Alright, sorry, sorry."

"I actually like you better drunk," Waverly admitted and Lincoln shrugged, brushing off the words he had already heard before.

"Sometimes I like me better when I'm drunk," he agreed. "So, when are we leaving?"

"You're not going."

"I promise I won't be a cock blocker," he waved around. "If that's what you're worried about."

Waverly rolled her eyes, ignoring him and stalking past Jude toward the car.

"I'll take that as a yes," Lincoln replied. "Works every time."

Jude blinked at the scenario, still pissed at the outburst that would make this car ride hella awkward. Then he finally made his way into the car. Lincoln settled his arms on the back of the driver and passenger seat.

"Road trip, baby!" he exclaimed, and Waverly rolled her eyes as she snapped her seat belt on. Jude, on the other hand, grinned at Lincoln's word choice. In an attempt to lighten the mood Jude put his foot on the gas pedal, almost allowing it to touch the floor while they remained in park. The car roared and Waverly's eyes widened from the sound that woke the Earth, it seemed.

"Jude!" She shrieked over the hisses and zooms of the engine, crackling to life like lighting. Both boys laughed at her sudden surprise, finding solace and humor in the way Jude implanted reckless fear.

"And I thought you were the rebellious one," Lincoln inputted, referring to Waverly.

"You idiots are forgetting we're outside my house," she mentioned. The moment died down at the realization, and Jude had to count how long it would take before Ms. Sials was outside, wondering what the hell was going on outside her home. Jude left before he could even predict what would have happened after that. While on the road reality sunk in, and once at a light Jude couldn't help but ask about their unplanned plans. Lincoln had been in the backseat occupied on his phone and the music was turned down to a hum of sounds.

"What exactly are we going to tell our parents?" Jude mentioned, hoping that his parents would at least notice his absence over the next 48 hours or so. He did that simple gesture where he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel out of simplicity, trepidation written in the lines of his face, it seemed.

"Field trip," was all she gave as an explanation. "We write a professional email to our parents that we're on a senior field trip."

"On a weekend?" Lincoln pointed out. "Yeah, because that's believable."

"Would you shut up?" Waverly snapped, pulling out a phone. "We can't leave yet. We have to do this first. Can you go to the pizzeria?"

"Sure," Jude insisted, taking a sharp right turn and trailing in the direction of the pizzeria.

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The trip to the pizzeria had been exactly how Jude pictured the image: Lincoln constantly ordering pizza, Waverly typing up an explanation on her laptop, and Jude pestering Lincoln on spending money so early and quickly before they had left. Both times, Waverly had to tell them to shut the fuck up so she could concentrate, but all in all, they had been in there longer than they anticipated because of it. They were falling behind in schedule, the plan was to leave ten minutes after entering, but then David had a conversation with them and the next thing they knew it was later than before. About twenty minutes later, Waverly was packing up her laptop and they were going through the exit.

In the car, Jude sat in the driver's seat, imagining what their trip would be like, but finally, he tucked that thought away and started the car.

"You guys ready?" He questioned, but in some ways, he was trying to assure himself.

"Hell yeah," Lincoln answered from the backseats. It was enough confirmation for Jude to finally put his foot on the gas pedal and leave that pizzeria behind with the rest of that town for a while.

For the first hour of their drive, they were rapping along to an old-school rap song. And although it had only been the beginning of a long trip, Jude knew it was the start of a new chapter in his life. So he didn't dismiss that feeling completely. Waverly suggested they pull over at a rest stop because she had to pee. Jude could just tell by the nervous look in her eye that apprehension was welling in the way her mannerisms shifted. Waverly was rarely nervous, so he had learned to detect when something as small as that was off with her sometimes.

"We haven't even driven two hours yet," Jude mentioned but obliged nevertheless because he knew what was behind her certain urge to pull over. Jude collected a parking spot in front of the stop, and just as quickly they exited the car. Jude watched Lincoln walk over to a vending machine, pulling out a few crispy dollar bills, then he saw Waverly jogging in the direction of the bathroom. Jude left his car, juggling his keys in his pocket, standing near the wall where Lincoln had been struggling to pick something out.

"Chips or candy?" He wondered, one of his hands rubbing at his chin in contemplation. His head was leaned against the wall, waiting for Waverly to leave the bathroom. Then his eyes averted toward the building where tourists and visitors retrieved maps and handbooks off shelves. Jude deliberated on this idea but finalized it as pointless in the end.

"Jude, you're not really helping," Lincoln mentioned, passing an assuring look that made Jude roll his eyes. "Fuck it, I'll get both."

And then Waverly walked out. He hadn't really talked to her alone since last night. He jogged and caught up to her, his heart thumping in his chest and his hands becoming more sweaty than usual. If he could, he would have stopped the way he had been feeling, like a horny teenager—all nervous and tempting. Sadly, there was no off switch when it came to those kinds of things. He couldn't control how he felt around her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, walking alongside her to his car.

"I'm fine, Lockhart."

"Are we okay?"

"We?" She laughed. Jude's stomach tied itself into a knot and he looked off to avoid eye contact. "Yeah, we're fine."

"So there is a we?" he repeated. Waverly rolled her eyes and climbed inside the car.

"Never said that."

"You kinda did. You implied it, actually."

Their conversation was cut off by Lincoln entering the scene, clutching in his hands a bag of hot Cheetos and a pack of skittles. He opened the pack of skittles first, gathering a handful in his mouth and sucking on them.

"Who's ready to go?" He indicated as he settled himself into the backseats. Jude stared at him, almost with annoyance, and something inside him knew that this trip would be harder to endure than he anticipated when he agreed. Ten minutes later, they were on the road again. Waverly was on her phone, staring at the GPS inserted in it, and Lincoln was telling a story about that time he and some other guys on the football team drove all the way to the beach last summer. Jude remembered it because he was there after all. And so was Seth. And so was Beverly. And so was Bridget.

He smiled to himself, releasing a quiet laugh. He remembered how just a few months ago he had been heartbroken in his room over his ex-girlfriend and his best friend, scrolling through pictures on Instagram. He remembered when he thought he was going to be a dad and believed it was the only thing good going for him.

"Reminds you of now, doesn't it?" Jude assumed, referring to Lincoln's recall.

"Seems like ages ago," Lincoln answered.

"It does," Lincoln agreed. "Hey, Waverly, I don't think you've told me why you won't date my friend yet. You see, Jude here has every good characteristic in a guy."

"Can you please stop playing matchmaker, Lincoln?" Jude suggested. In his head, there was panic and embarrassment battling each other.

"Actually, it's fine. Lockhart, you think you can elaborate a little on what Lincoln said when we were at my house?" She asked, a wicked grin creeping up at the corners of her lips. Jude's face heated a bright rose color, moreover, his cheeks had, and he couldn't hide it no matter how hard he tried. There was no backing out of this one.

"What are you talking about?" He questioned, feigning forgetfulness.

"Alright, when—"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You want to torture me, don't you? The both of you do."

"Just trying to be a good sport," Lincoln admitted.

"Maybe," Waverly answered, agreeing with Lincoln it seemed, gazing at Jude from the spot where her head had been pressed against the window, one of her eyebrows raised as well. And it was as if Lincoln wasn't there anymore. For a second, it felt like the two of them and Jude had wondered if this had been Lincoln's intention.

"Are you really bringing this up now?"

"Are you going to ask me to be your girlfriend or what?"

Jude nearly choked on his own saliva, or maybe it was the air. Was it getting hot all of a sudden?

"I can't tell if you're joking or not," Jude admitted.

"You would know if I was."

Jude almost lost his concentration on the road, a blurry moment scurrying into his mind. The sunlight danced against his window like a perfect spark, rippling its sweet, rosy-gold rays into warmth against Jude's skin. A garden of colors subdued into a whim of bliss. Everything about that moment was bittersweet and sober, a nostalgic lick of happiness. His lips had twitched into a boyish smile, laughter cracking all over his face except his lips. A desperate intensity worked its way to his features after a moment.

"Aww, that's cute," Lincoln pointed out and a delicate quiet soothed over them with the twist of the sky, caving in with obsidian and bright, burning diamonds. The lamp post scattered the roadsides and the traffic slowed to a minimum.

"Do you want to?" He asked.

"Do you want me to?" she retorted, then cracked a smile that Jude saw from his peripheral vision.

He was trapped. Every corner. Wall. Space. There was nowhere to hide.

"Yeah, I do," he finally admitted. "But only if you want to."

Lincoln punched his shoulder softly and Jude knew what that action meant. It would have saved him the embarrassment if he had left that part out. The rest of the drive lasted for another hour and a half until Jude's limbs had started to stiffen and everyone else in the car started to doze off. Jude took the nearest exit, searching for a motel and renting out a room with two bedrooms. He tapped Waverly on her shoulder softly, trying to shake her awake.

"We're here," he told her, trying to get her to budge.

"We're at my dad's house?" She questioned through tired eyes, rubbing at them and sitting up.

"No, we're at the motel. It was late, so I pulled over," he informed, and although it was a short delay—a major delay—it was better to be safe than sorry. "Linc, we're here."

Lincoln stirred a bit before he clambered out of the backseats and Jude took them to the room he had rented out for the night. The plan was to leave first thing in the morning, around 5:45 when the sun was still rising and time was still fresh. When he opened the door Lincoln found the closest bed and toppled onto the mattress, mumbling into the covers and sheets. Jude let out a tired laugh and watched as Waverly made her way to the opposite one.

"Where are you sleeping, Lockhart?" Waverly asked and Jude's hand made its way to the nape of his neck, his grey orbs crawling to the ground.

"On the floor," he insisted and he caught the way Waverly rolled her eyes. Then she made her way toward Jude and pulled him toward the bed she had been claiming. He gazed at her fingers around his wrist and swallowed because maybe it would have been best for everyone if he had slept on the floor.

"You're probably the most complicated boy I have ever met," she pointed out. "Do I make you nervous or something?"

Her voice had somehow softened, and Jude's voice caught in his throat, but he didn't let her hear it. He tried to keep his cool but knew it was inevitable when he spoke again and his voice wavered a bit.

"Too often," he replied. "You're a very intimidating person."

"Good to know. I like to think I am," she added with a melodic laugh and then spoke again. Her eyes were cast on the ceiling in that weird way it did when she was thinking really hard about something, Jude swore he saw those crinkling lines on her forehead, but maybe he had imagined it. A beat passed. "I hope we didn't come all this way just to turn back. What if he hates me? What if he doesn't even recognize me? What if he's disappointed?"

"He won't be. You're an amazing person and if he doesn't see that, fuck him to the moon and back."

"I don't know if I could take it."

"You're one of the strongest people I know."

"But how are you certain, Lockhart?"

There was a certain pull to her voice, some clinging hope that Jude wanted to cling onto too. The look in her eyes, a galactic swarm of sweetness, had said everything she was holding back. Tonight she was vulnerable—an open book in some ways.

"That's the thing, I'm not. There is no certain thing in life, Waverly."

Her name felt like fire and ice on his tongue, a violent delight of clarity. He swallowed and glared at the curtains that covered the window behind Lincoln, where the stars shone and the moonlight trickled near the flickering lamp post. The entire scene had been beautiful, a lush visual that Jude had the pleasure of watching with his favorite people alongside him.

"When did you become so philosophical?" She questioned and Jude cracked a smile, shaking his head a bit. It was moments like those when Jude realized those things applied in life in general. The truth of the matter was that Jude knew there was nothing truly certain other than change. Life itself was unpredictable and Jude realized that now. It wasn't planned. He knew that he and Waverly weren't certain, and they probably never would be, but for tonight he let himself pretend that they were. That their entire existence meant forever. He convinced himself that they were the one thing that was certain.

"I don't know. I guess you just grew on me," he concluded and didn't say anything for a while, not even goodnight after the soothing silence signified. When he finally had, it was too late. Too late for her to hear him, and too late for him to realize that he had been falling in love with Waverly Clarke. Over and over and over again.

Shit.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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