Let me heal your heart with blue

Chapter 3

"Tttt-tell me yo-yo-yo-your name ffff-first." she demanded.

"Julian Kayama, and yours?" he let his guard down, his burning hazel eyes calming down, lighting up with awe instead and his lips twitching in a silly smile.

"Jess." Jessica just answered shortly and handed Julian the can with still warm tea.

"Wha-wha-wha-www-what are you-you-you do-do-do-doing in this fo-fo-fo-for-forest a... anyway?"she asked and fixed her glasses, as he blew on now his tea.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later. I live in a tent nearby." Julian stopped blowing for a moment to look at Jessica and answer. A tent? The guy probably hadn't seen scrambled eggs in an eternity.

"We-we-wewe-we can, uhh, go-go-go to my-my-my-my place, and ha-ha-hahahave brekky..." Jessica suggested.

"Oh, come on. We just met and I'll surely be a bother to you and your parents." Julian sighed and sipped his tea.

"No-no-no-not al all!" she shook her head nervously.

"Are you sure, Jess?" he asked, secretly hoping she'll say yes. Julian almost sighed happily, when Jessica nodded.

"Le-le-lelele-let's go the-the-then," she waved in her house's direction.

Joseph must be up already. He's usually not all grumpy about guests, not even if they're boys. He didn't care if someone is running around the frontyard and caring for flowers with Rosa, or if someone is taking guitar lessons from Erica. The girls didn't have too many friends and never took home bad people, so he pretty much knew them all and knew they wouldn't do anything bad.

Jessica unlocked and opened the front door of their house, immediatelly noticing her father in the living room. He wasn't surprised, he knew about her little walks.

"Welcome home, Jessie... Where's your tea?" Joseph asked. She usually came home holding the tea can.

"I-iii-it's..." Jessica suddenly became nervous for some reason. Julian noticed and finished his tea really quickly.

"Here you go, thanks a lot," he handed her the bottle.

"Who's that with you?" Joseph stood up and came closer, ready to welcome whoever this kid was. All that came out from Jessica's mouth was "aaa, mmm, ehhh", so Julian answered for her.

"My name's Julian Kayama. We met in the forest recently and Jessie invited me to talk or something..." Julian reached out his hand for Joseph to shake it and smiled.

As soon as Joseph accepted Julian's hand and took a look at him, he realised one thing. That nose, that eye colour, that way of speaking... He knew it way too well to not recognise it all. But it might as well be a coincidence, right?

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Julian." he spoke and smiled too. "You can call me Joseph."

"Sasa-sarah ca-ca-calls him Pepe." Jessica grinned.

"Please, don't call me Pepe..." Joseph glared at Jessica, but she knew not to take it seriously, he meant it as a joke anyways. Julian nodded and giggled.

"So, whh-why-why, ehh, are you lilili-li-living in a-a-ah-a tent?" Jessica asked as they both sat on the couch.

"Promise not to take me to the police or something?" Julian said slowly, with begging eyes.

"I-I-I-I... I would ne-ne-never!" she waved with one hand and frowned, somehow reassuringly. Julian blinked and smiled.

"So, uhh... I grew up alone with my dad. We didn't talk about my mum at all, but once I asked him, he just said they broke up. But I want to meet her! So I hitchhiked all the way here and now I'm trying to find her." it seemed like he finished, but he actually didn't.

"My dad told me how beautiful and tall she was and that she had vitiligo too, that I didn't get. I mean, it isn't really hard to spot a tall, good-looking black woman with light splashes all over her skin, is it?" this time, Julian finished for sure. Jessica thought for a second and then just nodded.

"Y'know, Jules, you remind me of someone I knew before..." Joseph spoke from the kitchen. He was listening all along.

"Who do I remind you of?" the boy seemed intrigued.

Joseph sighed sadly and glanced at a hankerchief glued to his fridge with a plain black magnet.

"A man I knew a long, long time ago. Back when I just turned 18." he explained, and looked at sizzling vegetables and eggs in the pan.

"Y-y-you-you never tototo-told us a-a-a-bout him..." Jessica complained.

"I mean, you don't need to know." he chuckled, still keeping control of the food.

"You will never become less important to me, than you are now. And you mean the world to me. No matter how many years pass, you will still be the first person I call for when I'll be dying, and that will never change."

Funny enough, it's been decades now and I haven't heard from you. It's like you're dead, but I never heard you call for me.

"I promise I will never put you second. Not even if I get a girlfriend, which I probably won't. You're my best friend, and you can't even imagine how much I value that."

Bullshit.

"You'll always be my friend, right...?" was probably the only thing Joseph said at that moment.

"Right. Now, wipe the tears off that beautiful face of yours and give me a hug."

Fucking bullshit, that's what.