Chapter 48: You jump I jump, right?

I was just kind of . . . literally hanging at Julian's window. He quickly ran over to me, saying incoherent things in Spanish. Not that I ever heard Spanish clearly anyway.

"Why?" was all he asked.

I didn't have the capacity to explain at the moment. "You're gonna have to pull me up because my upper body strength is about to leave any second," I said as Julian tried to figure out what was going on.

"You never fail to surprise," he commented before grabbing my arms.

I tried to grab onto him, so it would make it easier for him to pull me into the room. However, Julian Aylmer slept without a shirt on. I could only grab onto his skin which probably would only cause him pain than anything else. "You couldn't put a shirt on?" I mumbled.

"Why don't you give me a call next time to be prepared for this, eh?"

Oh there definitely wasn't going to be a next time.

I was still hanging mostly outside. Julian used one of his arms to wrap around under my left arm and around in almost a hug. He pulled me as far up as he could before sliding the other arm around my waist. I didn't even care at this point that my shirt had been riden up, leaving Julian to make direct skin contact. He managed to pull me into his room. I clung to him tightly, for the sake of my life. Unfortunately, in this process, I pulled a shoulder muscle.

"You're heavy," Julian muttered next to my ear. I was still leaning against him, in a hugging position.

"Ow. My shoulder," I said in pain. He let go, pulling back. "Wait, you called me heavy?"

"Cassie, really?" he asked in disbelief. "What's wrong with your shoulder?"

"Nothing. I think I pulled a muscle," I said closing my eyes for a second and taking a deep breathing before releasing it. "Swear ever since that accident, I have been putting pressure on it, unwantingly."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Just forget it. It'll go away," I said trying to ignore it. It hurts less to pretend the pain doesn't exist. "By the way, thanks for saving my life and for calling me fat."

"You're welcome and I did not call you fat. What I implied was that you may have . . . heavy muscles not necessarily the adipose tissue." Oh so fat muscles but not fat tissues?

"Stop with the anatomy stuff. I didn't almost die out on your window for no reason." I was kind of surprised at how easily he had changed the subject along with me.

"Have a seat and do explain," he said and yawned as he started walking towards the closed door.

"Don't turn on the lights!" I said as he reached over and turned the lights on. Immediately, he turned them off.

"I can't even properly see you let alone have a conversation."

"Julian, come on, let's get this over with. I really need to be out of here ASAP," I told him impatiently. He sighed and walked back, and sat on his bed. "Do you wanna put a shirt on?"

"No." He apparently didn't get the message that I wanted him to put a darn shirt on.

"It's just weird--"

"Cassie, sit down and get to the point," he ordered. Grumpy much? I sat down on the edge of his bed with my feet touching the floor. He wrapped his blanket around himself and waited for me. "You know it's really strange seeing someone climbing my window in the middle of the night. There must be an important enough reason behind it."

"Uh huh," I said as I tried to think of a good introduction for this ridiculous plan."I came here to talk to you about a grave situation. You may--no, you did break some promises."

"Sorry?" I didn't really want to look at him as seeing he was half-naked.

"You promised to me, if you remember, that I can call you in the middle of the night in Spain when you are forty and have ten kids."

"Offer still stands."

"But do I have to wait till you are forty?" I asked meeting his eyes. Though it was dark, the open window allowed light from the moon and street lights come in, making it easier to look at each other. "Julian, I don't want to beat around the bush, but I feel that our friendship--I know you said it was on a break--is or has been . . . messed up. I am not happy by the way things are." I waited for him to do some explaining. He was the smarter one in this stuff, normally.

"Cassie, you climbed my window in the middle of the night to talk about how things are going between us?" he asked slowly.

"There are no things going on between us! That's why I came!"

"Wait, you want things going on between us?" The amusement in his voice, tone, and face was evident. I picked up a pillow and hit him with it.

"Can you be a little more serious?" I asked him. "I also wanted to bring up the fact that you've been slacking with everything?" He gave me a questioning look. "What happened to that deal, huh? Cassie, what if I help you realize love does exist?" I mocked.

"It exists," he said simply. I couldn't help but notice how he had been looking right at me the whole time. This much attention was the most I had received from him the past three weeks almost. It made feel a little weird.

"Family love: maybe. Romantic love: I have no idea. Friendship love, Julian: I don't think it that it exists at all," I responded.

Julian scooted closer and sat right next to me. "Cassie, romantic love isn't something that can easily be . . . demonstrated or seen," he said. "That takes a bit more time. Also, it requires for you to notice some things." He had a weird look on his face before he continued, "Friendship love is . . . well, I don't see why you won't believe in that. You have Piper, Megan, Brandon, Devin kid, and . . ." He didn't finish.

"And?" I prompted.

"Cherry. Your best friend, isn't she?" he teased.

"Shut up. You know, she has actually been nicer to me than you have."

"You still don't appreciate her presence, however." He looked at me challenging as if waiting for me to deny it. He knew I wasn't the one to lie.

"We already talked about this, Julian."

"Ah yes. Miss. Cassandra Evans doesn't like sharing friends, right?" he said. I nodded in response. "In other words, she's jealous."

"In other words, she wants you to actually give her some time out of your busy schedule to just be her friend," I corrected. It felt like a huge relief saying this to him. I wondered whether I was being too frank or too blunt with this. Eh, he should know me by now.

"That's something I can't do," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Do you want me to be honest, Cassie?" His face and tone slightly scared me.

"Am I gonna like it?"

"Probably--most likely not."

"Don't tell me," I said looking away. It was going to be something stupid like he didn't want to waste time on me anymore or something like he liked to give his best friend--Cherry--more time. Nope. I didn't need to hear this.

"Maybe it'll clear things up," he said in a low tone. "Alright, how about I give you a vague idea and you can infer from that?" I looked at him. He really wanted to get something off his chest. If it was going to help him clear up things, then who was I stop?

"Fine."

"Cassie, in all that love deal and all that, I got carried away." He ran a hand through his hair. It seemed like a habit when he wasn't confident. "A couple of weeks ago, I--I believe that I fancied someone." Who? Cheryl? "It didn't work well in my favor. After that, I sort of drifted away from everyone. I didn't want to let my pessimism and depressed mood influencing those who were around me." That did explain some things.

"So, you isolated yourself?"

"Yes."

"Who was that idiot?" I asked. Was it Cheryl or not? I had to clarify. I never liked her in the first place.

"She's my concern, Cassie. Don't worry about it," he said waving it off.

"Seeing that she broke our friendship, I want to know," I told him firmly.

"I broke the friendship, darling. She didn't," he said looking back at me. "It's not her fault anyways. She never fancied me." For once, Julian Aylmer sounded bitter and really down.

"Are you seriously crying over a girl?" I asked. He looked at me with a confused look. "The one who doesn't like you back? Really, Julian? Find someone else. Don't get stuck on one person." Gosh, someone had to be rational for him.

"What a hypocrite you are. Haven't you fancied Lucas all your life? I didn't see you find someone else," he retorted.

"I went--no, I suffered through that. That's why I get to tell you to not do that to yourself," I said calmly. He didn't say anything for a while. "By the way, was it Cheryl?" I wanted to know, now. Who put Julian through this misery?

"No," he shook his head. "Before you begin guessing, I'm letting you know that I won't bring up her name."

"Does she go to our school?"

"Yes. Don't guess, Cassie. Remember, you told me not to say anything you won't like," he said. "If you've changed your mind, then let me know."

"Fine. I'll drop it," I surrendered. Was it someone close to me that he didn't want to acknowledge the name? Who could it possibly be? The only girls--aside from me--I ever noticed him hanging around with were Lucas's sister/Julian's cousins, Piper, Megan, Cheryl, Jenna (weird, I know, but she has Gabe), and this one girl in Forensics. Oh wait, what about Cate? I bet it was Cate.

"Good. Now, for the deal, I don't honestly know. I don't know how I can show you that friendship love exists," he told me.

"How about we go back to being the same way we were?"

"Cassie, that really isn't possible. As much as I love y--to be around you, I don't think it's a good idea," he said quickly. I tried not to give any significance to his fumble. Maybe he was really sleepy.

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Because you have a boyfriend. You need to be more around him and give him more importance," he said again not meeting my eyes. Why was he doing this?

"You're irritating me beyond measure right now," I said frustrated. "Do you hate my presence, Julian? Tell me now. Because that would make more sense than me having a boyfriend. Don't drag me being with Lucas into taking this damn friendship break!"

"Cassie, you don't underst--"

"Tell me, Julian," I interjected, "would you take a friendship break if you found yourself a girlfriend?"

He was quiet. He didn't argue. He just sat. "I'm sorry," he said after a while. "I'm having a hard time leaving my . . . more or less crush."

"I can help you with that. Just stay away from her and hang out with me. It'll all work out," I said trying to make it easier. Somehow, I felt like it wasn't going that way.

Julian chuckled. "If only. Cassie, if you insist, I am willing to try to be back to my . . . normal self. I don't think you are happy being deprived of my frienship love," he teased. That earned him another hit from the pillow in my hand.

"Don't be such a brat. What exactly was your friendship love?" I asked. "Explain to me."

"The thing that made you come all the way up to my room in the middle of the night," he smiled. "The thing that has been bothering you for the past three weeks. The thing that you are fighting and arguing with me for. The thing--"

"I get it. Now, are we on better terms? No more ignoring," I asked for clarification. "Please."

"Yes." That one word brought a big smile to my face. "Haven't seen you smile in a while," he said nudging me.

"Miracles happen."

"That is one miracle I love to see a lot." I looked at him surprised, not knowing how to respond. He had been acting a little weird, today with all this teasing and now complimenting. Julian gave me a light smile, showing one dimple under the moonlight. His smiles were miracles as well, after seeing him so glum for the past couple of weeks. I reached up and poked his dimple. His hand immediately went to his right cheek and he gave me a questioning look.

"I can't believe you are the one saying you like my smile. I don't even have any dimples!" All my childhood, I had wanted dimples. So did Brandon. We used to poke our cheeks for a while all the time to make the depressions. Never worked out.

He rolled his eyes. "Because having dimples is a huge genetic benefit." Of course it was. "Wait, are you complimenting my smile?" Was I?

"I don't know, am I?" It was a serious question.

"Only you can answer that, darling."

"Dah-ling," I mimicked.

"Cassie, you really--" he stopped himself as he examined his hands. Then he put away the blanket he had on and turned to look at my arms.

"What?"

"You're scratched," he said as he grabbed my left arm and examined it. I hadn't even noticed. "Wait here, I'll go grab the first aid kit from downstairs," he said standing up. I grabbed his forearm and pulled him back down next to me.

"No. I'm not getting caught. This is nothing. I should probably leave, now," I told him and stood up. He raised a finger to his lips for me to be quiet. Both of us fell silent, picking up sounds of footsteps. My face paled. Damn. Someone was coming.

"Julian!" There was a knock. Julian and I looked at each other with wide eyes. I looked around for somewhere to hide.

"In the bathroom!" he whispered, pushing me towards the second door in the room. I ran over there quickly and hid behind the bathroom door. Julian turned on the lights and I heard the door opening. From the bathroom mirror, I could see Lucas standing in the doorway.

"I heard some noises from your room," Lucas said. He was holding a huge chocolate bar in his hand. Do I even want to know?

"I was talking to Laura on speaker phone," Julian lied smoothly. "I'm sorry if it woke you up."

"No, no. I was just getting myself a midnight snack when I heard it. Goodnight," said Lucas and turned to go. I backed up immediately, hitting my head against the wall in process. Ow. From the mirror, I saw that both Lucas and Julian heard it. "What was that?"

"Ghost," Julian said flatly. "Kidding, give me a second to check." Julian came over, inside the bathroom and threw me a tight look. I wondered how he was going to explain this. In the mirror, I saw Lucas coming over as well. I looked at Julian with wide eyes. So dead. We're so dead. Even though I was still behind the ajar bathroom door, I could easily be caught.

"What is it?" Lucas asked as he dangerously paced closer. Julian seemed to be in a panic as well as he stood half in front of me.

"Oh nothing. It's the . . . it's probably the water pipes. You know how the water pressure is sometimes," lied Julian. It was a pretty legit lie. Julian moved out and blocked the door.

"Oh okay," Lucas said as he took a bite out of the huge KitKat bar. That thing had like ten sticks. So unfair.

Julian managed to drag Lucas away and out. While they did that, I checked for all the scratches I had gotten. Some on my arms, but most were around my stomach. I tried to wipe blood off with my shirt. Stupid idea but I wasn't really a fan of the shirt.

"Cassie, he's gone--oh." I had my shirt lifted up enough to only reveal my scratched up stomach. I had expected more of a warning from Julian than him sneaking up. Julian immediately turned around. Quickly, I pushed the shirt back down over my stomach. I should have just waited till later. "Are you sure you don't need the first aid kit?" Julian asked in a whisper. Damn, he saw the scratches.

"I'm fine," I whispered back and walked out of the bathroom. He had forgotten to turn the lights off, so I did that for him. "I should probably leave, now that we have everything cleared up. No more ignoring, Julian Aylmer."

"Of course not. Can't deprive you of my friendship, could I?" He grinned. "You don't want to wait till I'm forty."

"How old are you now?" I asked curious.

"Eighteen."

"Really?" I said in surprise. I expected him to be around mine and Lucas's age.

"Why do you think I could drink? I am of age." I tried my best to hold back laughter. Julian seemed pretty serious about this. He was still stuck on the drinking age back in England or Spain, I guess.

"Europeans," I mumbled as I headed over to the window.

"Americans," retorted Julian. He walked over next to me, still shirtless.

"You can hate on Americans later," I told him. "Right now, we need to figure out how I'm getting out of here. The ladder is a little short."

"Why don't you climb over and then I can help you go down until your feet hit the last step of the ladder?"

I sighed tired. This much excercise at one in the morning was too much for me. It would be so much easier to be a superhero and just jump out of the window and land on the grand, unharmed. "What if I just jumped out of the window?" I asked Julian. I was just joking around.

He rolled his eyes and then grinned. "'You jump, I jump,' right?"

"Wow." I rolled my eyes and began climbing over. "Never took you as the Titanic type."

"You watched that movie?" he asked surprised.

"I'm friends with Piper. What's your excuse?"

"I have a sister. My excuse for everything," he said grinning. I rolled my eyes and started to climb his window. "Wait!" I gave him a confused look and stood up straight. "Thank you." He didn't give me a warning before he wrapped his arms around me.

"For what?" I was still in surprise as I got hugged by a shirtless guy.

"For making an effort with me," he replied. "For climbing here in the middle of the night because I honestly wouldn't have talked to you in school. Thank you for being . . . here."

I slapped his side lightly. "Stop acting like an emotional fool. Let me go home, would you?" The side of my face was pressed against a part of his neck and chest. I didn't want to wrap my arms around him. Weird. His hug was actually not as uncomfortable as I assumed it to be.

"Seeing as I won't receive this opportunity again, I'm going to make you wait," he said not letting go.

"Julian, come on." I was getting weird sensations throughtout my body that scared me. Julian let go slowly, mumbling how I was such a stubborn brat. Technically he just said, "So stubborn." But I knew he was just being polite.

I proceeded to climb the window. Julian took my forearms and helped me. My feet were now over and I started to lower myself with his help.

"Can you loosen your grip? You are stopping the blood circulation in my arms." He was holding me as if I was going to fall any second.

"I don't want you getting any more scratches. Ones on your stomach looked awful." Julian loosened his grip, nevertheless.

"Sometimes, I feel that we're a little too frank or blunt with each other," I said casually. My feet hit the ladder and I sighed in relief.

"Is that a problem?"

My feet hit the ladder. "Yes!" I sighed in relief. But then I realized what Julian inferred from that. "I mean I got to the ladder. As for the answer to your question, I don't really care. I was just stating things, ya know?"

"Okay. Is your shoulder fine, by the way?" he asked, still not letting go. He had my hands in his after all that lowering me. I had completely forgotten about my shoulder but I guess he hadn't.

"Yeah. It's fine, now. I guess I just had a bad injury and too many stitches. You had some on your forehead. Is yours okay?" I couldn't see much in the dark as he stood right above me. With that new haircut and those hair falling across his forehead, I couldn't see much anyways.

"I'm absolutely fine. More concerned about yours. I don't want you getting hurt while you're escaping from here," he said. I guess he was fine.

"I'll be fine, though I'm not gonna be able to get away any time soon," I told him. He gave me a confused look. "Someone doesn't want to let go of my hands." He immediately let go, startling me. I almost lost balance if he hadn't grabbed me again. "Trying to kill me?"

"Sorry, Cassie. I'll let go slowly, okay?" he said. I nodded as he slowly let one hand go which I used to grab the ladder. Same process went with the other one. "Be careful."

"I will I will. I just wish you had a balcony," I said as I went down a step.

"Playing Romeo, are you?"

"Yeah sure. You want to be Juliet, Julian?"

"Are you trying to get in both friendship and romantic love in one night?" Now, I looked up at him. He was still leaning over his window, staring straight back at me. "Not that I'm complaining or anything." I wasn't sure if he was joking around or not.

"I see you're moving on from that girl already," I finally said. "Was it Jenna? Megan? Piper? Cate? Someone--"

"Cassie, go home." He withdrew himself and now stood back. He was really having mood swings.

"Goodnight," I muttered.

"Goodnight. Message me or call me once you're home. I want to make sure you got home safely." I smiled to myself. He cared.

"Aye aye Captain."

I quickly hurried down the ladder down to where Piper sat snoring off to the side. She was clutching onto her phone when I shook her. Startled, she sat up. "What the heck?"

"Piper, we need to leave!" I said looking around.

She yawned. "Let me put this ladder back. Can you find a tree that we can climb while I do that?" I nodded. She hurried and took the ladder away. I went to the edges of the proper and looked for any signs of trees inside here. There was one big one.

"Piper!" I whisper yelled and waved when I saw her looking for me. She instantly spotted me and ran over. "This tree," I said pointing to the thick branched tree standing in front of us.

"It touches the fence, though," said Piper. I climbed over and stood on one of the branches. "Signs outside say that the fence has an automatic alarm when touched or put pressure upon."

"Just be careful. And I doubt that's the case," I said as I helped her get up. "I mean they just put signs to scare away people." We slowly went branch to branch and got ready to jump outside. "Nothing is gonna happen," I said as I took a step on the branch that was touching the fence.

A loud siren screamed. Piper and I looked at each other horrified.

"Jump!" I said as both of us took another step and jumped.

After that, it was straight up running.

With guards chasing behind us.

¤》¤《¤

Author's note

How was the chapter? Julian was somewhat honest. A hug? You're welcome. A kiss between them? I refuse to answer that. (My plans are plausible, so anything I think fits will happen).
Any changes of mind of anyone?

Anyways, I wanted to clear up all that Zayn drama. I don't frankly care about what he does. Not my problem. I wasn't trying to insult any of you who adore him and his music. All i was saying was that people are going overboard with his departure. HE IS GOING SOLO. Its not like he is leaving the music world. Sheesh.

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