Those Lovely Children Of Lys

Chapter Seven ~Julian, Josh and Darby~

Blythe pushed open a door, and looked around. 'It's all right!' she said, and nodded at Rosemary. Rosemary followed her, and I shut the door behind me as I emerged on the other side. The walls were turquoise, and gold starfish bordered the walls. It was pretty, but at the same time devoid of warmth. 'Leta, shush,' Rosemary said, rolling her eyes. I nodded, trying to not be loud or sullen or whatever it is they didn't want. 

'Julian? Josh?' Blythe looked around, her voice echoing across the deserted common room. All the chairs and beanbags looked as though nobody had ever sat on them, and the whole place was absolutely quiet. We were undeniably in the Boy's Dormitory. 

A door creaked open, and a flash of brown disappeared inside the room. 'I'm coming,' came a muffled male voice. 'Julian,' Rosemary said with a shrug. The door opened, and a guy with thick brown hair and an ingratiating smile came to me with extended arms. 'C'mere!' He grabbed me into a hug. I coughed and spluttered, and backed away as soon as he came apart. 'Uh...hi? I'm Leta.' He nodded, green eyes sparkling, 'Good to meet you, Leta. I'm Julian, and it's great to see another member of the gang being a girl. Baretta hardly ever comes, and these two are buzzkill.' 

I laughed. I'd never seen anyone ever being at such ease. Or putting me at such ease. 'Julian's a joke,' Rosemary said, 'Where's Josh? His girlfriend's peeing herself with worry.'Blythe  hit Rosemary's behind. 'Cheeky bit of thrash, aren't you?' Julian laughed, and knocked on a hazel door. 'They don't have flower names?' I whispered questioningly to Rosemary. 'They'd rip the signs apart if they even did.' 

I laughed lowly. I looked at Blythe, who was looking at the hazel door with reverence bordering the religious. 'Oi, Josh! Fine kind of boyfriend and gangmate you are! New girl's in here and Blythe's looking as though she might faint. Out you come.' 

He smiled, and met my eyes. I looked down. I'd seen so many guys like him-- this drill was almost sickening. 'Chill out, Leta. I am not going to flirt with you,' he said with a jaunty smile and a knowing voice. I looked up at such rapidity, all of them laughed. 'Julian's gay,' Rosemary said, a laugh etched on her voice. 'I am not,' he said, 'I don't mind gay people, but I am not gay, is all I'm saying. Unlike Rosemary, I'm not hopelessly waiting for puberty.' 

Blythe laughed the loudest at that, plopping down on a bean bag and clutching her sides. Rosemary went and kicked his shin, and he mocked pain. The hazelwood door swung open, and Josh stood there, in all his glory. 

For a minute, even I was speechless. He had thick, wavy blond hair, and a jawline that could cut butter. His eyes were ash-colored, and his features were acquiline and beautiful. His lips were set in a perfect Cupid's Bow, and they were thinly smiling. He was wearing a loose T-Shirt, one that was open at the chest. I looked away. I had never seen such English boys. He looked like an actor on an American movie poster. 

He went to Blythe and french-kissed her, much to Rosemary's mimed vomiting and Julian's hooting and clapping. When they came apart, Blythe looked dazed and breathtaken. Couldn't blame her.  'Sorry, babe.' He told her. 'Apology accepted,' she said with a slight smile. 

And I thought I would be going to a run-down orphanage where girls wore pinafore and curtsied and dreamed of marriage or whatever. 

'Hi, I'm Josh.' He said, taking my hand and shaking it. I nodded at him, and smiled in a helpless sort of way hoping I didn't look loopy or dazed or whatever I felt. 'Leta,' I said, and feeling it inadequate, added, 'is my name. I mean, I know you understood, but I...felt like completing it?' 

He laughed, and said 'This one's funny. We won't be missing Barreta, then.' Blythe laughed thinly. 'So, this is the gang?' 'Well, not exactly.' Julian said, and yelled, 'Oi, Darby! Fancy getting your arse here?' 

Darby turned out to be a thin, black-haired, brown-eyed guy who had a musical voice. He smiled at me, and shook my hand. 'Great to meet you, Leta.' He said, eyes scanning me. He made me feel...belonging somehow. Like a sibling would. 

'So...what now?' I asked. Everyone looked around, and laughed. 'We thought it would be obvious,' Julian said, sitting on a bean bag and pulling me next to him, 'You tell us your story.' 

My story. 

The thought made me want to swallow a piece of bone, choke on it, and die. 

'Ummm...' I looked at the floor, and then at their faces. All of them had taken their seats. I swallowed, and began. 

There isn't much to say, really. Ever since I've been small, all the stories I've heard are about this place. Ghost stories. Stories describing legends of Briarwood Town. Stories describing the people who lived here,and the people my mum lived with at Briarwood. The stories would chill my blood, enthrall my senses, and leave me begging for more. Never in my wildest imagination had I foreseen myself actually being here. 

And now...well, my mother is dead. She never told me who my father was. They found her dead on the street, and nobody told me what killed her. They found this old record, and decided the best thing to do would be to send me here. And...I'm here. 

I looked up. They looked immersed in my story. 'Isn't that a story,' Rosemary said. Julian shook his head,  and exhaled. Had my story filled them with such intensity? Blythe took my palm, and squeezed it. 'You will never be alone again,' she told me, looking into my eyes. 

Julian put an arm around me. 'Never realized you could have gone through so much, Leta. From today, consider me your best friend, brother, whatever, okay? I will always be there for you. Always and forever. It's a promise.' He pulled me in to a bear hug, and against my will, I broke into a sob. Darby leaned in, and now he was in the hug as well. 

I felt another pair of arms join the hug, and I realized Blythe was hugging and weeping too. Great! In all my life, I had never imagined a situation like this. 'Ya'll are going to make me cry,' Rosemary said, whine in her voice. Josh was sitting in the corner. He was probably the stoic, unemotional type. 

I closed my eyes, and immersed myself in the hug, wondering if I was not alone after all.