Rooming With The Criminal | ✓

18 | the criminal meets

18

the criminal meets

AKARI'S EYES SHIFTED behind her closed eyelids, indicating that she's awake. She yawned slowly, trying to squeeze her right cheek into the warm blankets but only felt skin. She tried moving her hand, thinking it was her hand that she was sleeping on but it was also touching skin. Akari frowned, slowly opening her eyes to see that she was lying on top of Julian Jones who was currently fast asleep.

She took a few seconds to recall the previous night and then took a few more seconds to admire the sleeping form of Julian Jones. He seemed peaceful. She felt an arm around her back, strong and warm, belonging to him. She glanced at the wall clock to see she had only a few more minutes before she had to get up and go to University.

Julian's chest rose up and down and Akari couldn't help but just stare at him. She was still very much in a sleepy daze and it was amplifying her emotions as well as her actions. She felt the warmth of his chest radiating to her right cheek and smiled.

This was nice.

Akari let out a small sigh before slowly trying to get up and away from him. The warmth on her cheek was gradually decreasing and she felt the morning chill inside the room. It took effort for her to get ready to go to University. She occasionally glanced to see if Julian had woken at any point before she left silently, leaving a plate of bread and jam on the bedside table for him. She had several classes to attend that day.

While back in the apartment, Julian woke up to the morning sunlight beaming through the curtains in an empty room. Glancing at the clock, he sighed and rubbed his eyes, counting down the hours before he gets to see Akari again. He had her schedule memorised by now. As usual, he laid in bed for about thirty minutes, just blindly thinking about life and stuff before doing his quotidian morning routine. After about an hour, he was back to being bored.

He did the usual- watching Netflix on the old phone until he gets bored of it and takes a nap. But, today, he didn't feel like binge-watching some latest fantasy series but instead wanted to read a book. So when he neared the shelves stacked with tons of books, he picked a random one, falling back on the bed with a light plop.

He indulged himself in the book, 'Fault in Our Stars,' and was partly glad that Akari was somewhat omnilegent- having lots of books in her shelves that kept him going about the day. He was thankful for her, he didn't know if anyone would have taken him in and healed him the way Akari did. His thoughts scrambled to that night when he saw Akari looking at him with pure concern in his eyes before he had let himself pass out against the door.

Even before that, Julian never knew he would end up on Akari's doorstep when he had stumbled and walked down the alleyway and streets trying to stay as invisible as possible in his state. His mind and feet were working by themselves and while he was trying hard to stay awake.

Julian sighed at the trip down memory lane and pressed his lips into a thin line. It was twelve and Akari would return in an hour. Just then, he heard the slight rummaging of the front door. Akari must have skipped a class.

Julian sat up straight, the book in his hand and ready to greet Akari once she enters the room. Footsteps walked down into the living room and he saw her shadow behind the door. He heard a bag being plopped down and then slightly frowned. Why would Akari place her bag in the living room and not in her room?

He waited silently for her to come in but he heard the footsteps stay there, walking here and there before going to the bathroom. That's when it clicked- Ha-eun has returned from her trip. Julian smiled a bit, wanting to see Akari's reaction when she comes home to her best friend in the house. He could tell that she had missed Ha-eun a lot.