Lola jumped when she heard her phone buzz for the fifth time that night. Things had gone awry when Nalini spotted someone watching them from across the street. Lola had gazed at the car for over an hour until it finally drove off, disappearing into the night.
It was a plain dark Toyota, with tinted windows that hid its occupants from her prying eyes. Such a common car, there was no telling who it belonged to. She felt sick, literally sick to her stomach that someone knew where she lived and had been here on the exact night Julian was supposed to come over.
She grabbed her phone and saw the text from Nalini, stating that they were coming back from wherever they drove off to.
Lola sat down on her bed and fiddled with her phone after replying that the coast was now clear.
She couldn't understand what this meant. Was that person idling on the street some random coincidence?
Or was it someone interested in Julian's whereabouts?
But how could they have known that she was helping him out? All her years in school had been spent under the radar, safe for the times Nalini fought with Eva. Lola raked her brain for a reason someone could be spying on her but she couldn't come up with one.
She had been so careful, hadn't she?
She spotted Damien's familiar jeep approaching the shadowed area, hidden by the huge tree across from her house. Lola's heart leaped to her chest as she quietly made her way down the stairs and crept out of her house to meet Julian and the others.
Nalini stepped out first, her eyes large and worried. She hugged Lola tightly, her fingernails digging into her friend's back.
"Lola, I'm so worried," She whispered and Lola rubbed her hand down her back to calm her.
"We should do this quickly." The usually chirpy Damien was dead serious in the quiet of the night. He cast cautious glances down both sides of the street before opening the back door to his car.
Lola heard the sound of someone groaning softly and then she spotted a tuft of familiar black hair that shone under the streetlights. Julian straightened up and his eyes immediately fell on her.
Lola couldn't explain the way his gaze enveloped her in the most distractive way, like a lens that focused solely on her, blocking out everything else until the dark ocean blue became her entire world. She gulped as he rushed to her.
His fingers wrapped around her wrist gently and she felt a million tingles of electricity travel up her spine.
"We should head inside." His was a voice of reason while she only nodded in response. She caught Nalini staring at her with narrowed eyes but ignored her.
She ignored it all, focusing on heading inside safely before casting a small wave in her friend's direction as they drove off into the night. They snuck up the stairs quietly and Lola released a breath once the door was shut, leaving the two of them in the darkness of her room.
She was about to speak when Julian did the most unexpected thing. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and she could feel the toned muscles of his chest pressed up against her and the sound of his heart beating frantically against hers.
Lola froze, she didn't know what to say or do but the warmth from his body comforted her in a way she had never felt before. It wasn't the kind of warmth she'd received from the sun or from something hot and comforting like hot cocoa.
No, this was the kind of warmth that seeped into her blood, burying itself in her bones. It came entirely from him and in that moment she knew, Tyler would have never made her feel this way.
This wasn't just excitement, it was familiarity, it was trust, it was longing and she'd never felt this with anyone else before. Her entire body came to life, nerves tingling from her tippy toes all the way up to her face. She could feel her cheeks burning up and was utterly grateful for the darkness surrounding them.
Julian finally broke away, although Lola wanted to stay that way for much longer. She hated to admit it, she knew Nalini would give her an earful for it, but she was falling for him and she was falling hard.
"I'm so happy you're, okay," He murmured, running a hand through his ruffled hair as he looked down at her. His eyes were filled with concern, it made Lola's heart dance in her chest.
"I'm happy you're okay, too," She whispered, still breathless from the unexpected hug.
"You must be so tired," He stared at her face, scrutinising every little micro expression, his handsome face now scrunched up in guilt.
"I so wired. I don't think I'd be able to sleep anytime soon," She said as he lifted his face slightly, the angles of his jaw catching in the moonlight.
She cleared her throat before he caught her admiring him too much and gestured to the makeshift bed she'd prepared for him on the floor. "You must be exhausted as well."
"I don't think I'd be able to sleep anytime soon either," He muttered. "My mind is all over the place. Who the hell was that in the car? And why was he on your street? Lola, I'm so worried. I can't believe I've put you in danger."
"Let's not jump to conclusions." She waved him off and walked over to her bed as a flurry of emotions swirled in her chest.
There had been someone watching them tonight. If it was because of Julian then this was definitely bad news.
But then Julian had held her hand and hugged her!
"So you don't think they were here for me?" He tilted his head to the side, eyeing Lola skeptically and it was only then that she realised she had been smiling to herself.
She shook her head. Trying to get a hold of her facial expressions. Priorities girl, priorities!
"We don't know anything for certain. Whats the point of worrying?"
"What's the point-" Julian shakes his head in disbelief and sits down next to her on the bed, he doesn't seem to care about proximity tonight but she notices everything.
Like the way his knees touched hers and his arms grazed her shoulders when he moved. Not to mention their faces were so close, all it would take was someone leaning forward and then...
"Are you listening to me!" He holds her arm in exasperation and Lola's eyes focus on the worry in his face.
"Yes, I am," She lied even though she'd barely heard a word he said.
"I can't do this to you anymore," He sighed and this finally caught her attention.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I should have never come here. Gotten you involved. Gotten everyone involved. I've placed you all in danger," Julian mumbled, his lips trembled, eyes filled with regret and for some reason it made Lola's freeze with fear.
Every bit of warmth from the hug before, slowly leached out of her as she saw the resignation and defeat on his face. He stared at her window and it looked like he was about to do something stupid, like jump out and run away.
She clutched his hands without thinking, startling them both. "I chose to help you. To let you stay."
"Yeah, but.." Julian trailed off and she noticed his hands tighten around hers. Something about it just felt so right, the familiar warmth now creeping up her arms and neck.
"Stop. Just stop worrying for now. Edward is working on the tapes, I'm working on Tyler. We've got it all covered. All you need to do is lay low for now," She told him in reassurance.
"That's exactly what I don't want. I don't want you anywhere near Tyler. I hate the very thought of it." He frowns so deeply, it momentarily mars his almost perfect features.
"Why?"
Julian stiffened at her question, caught off guard. It's as if he didn't know the answer either. After a long pause he forced a shrug. "I just don't trust him."
Lola all but rolls her eyes. He's been fixated on him ever since he found out about Lola's stupid crush. The problem is Lola didn't like Tyler as much as she thought she would.
Definitely not as much as she liked Julian, that was for sure. They stayed there in silence, their fingers still entwined before Julian cleared his throat. "You should get some sleep. I'll be here the whole day anyway. I can always catch a nap once your parents have left the house."
His words reassured her and she released him so he could wash up before bed. He came out of her bathroom wearing a plain white shirt and shorts and although it was almost five thirty, she could barely feel the fatigue, not when he was so close, the hug still fresh on her mind.
"I can't sleep. You want to watch something first?" She suggested.
Julian nodded and after a few minutes, they found themselves lying next to each other on her bed. She didn't know if it was intentional but he was so close. She could feel his soft steady breaths kiss the back of her neck. She tucked her hand under her cheek, trying to concentrate on the tv in front of her instead of the boy lying behind her.
But it was proving to be impossible, especially since her shoulder just touched his chest.
"Do you really like him?" He asked after a while and she turned around to face him. She stared at the small black mole under his left eye, something she'd never noticed before. It only made him more beautiful than he already was.
"The main lead? Of course, Kim So Hyun is gorgeous."
Julian smiled, it reached his eyes and Lola's breath hitched at the sight. He shook his head, not minding their proximity one bit. "I meant Tyler?"
This time she shook her head, admitting the truth. "No, I don't think so. Not anymore."
His smile widened. "Good."
"Why?" She asked, her heart in her throat.
Julian tucked his hand under his cheek as well, his gaze unrelenting. "Because I like you, Lola. I like you so much that I want to erase the word Tyler from your mind forever. I want to be able to go on a gazillion dates with you, protect you, keep you safe but I can't do any of those things and it's killing me right now."
His words shocked Lola. Her eyes widened in disbelief but then the fireworks began exploding in her chest. Julian like her too!
Nalini was so wrong. She could suck it.
"I think I like you too," She admitted in a small voice and her cheeks heated up when he pressed his face into the pillow, repeating how lucky he was.
His arm coiled around her, pulling her closer until her face was lying against his chest. They lay like that, their hearts beating in tandem to one another. Lola couldn't describe how euphoric this feeling was, to be lying in the arms of the person who occupied every corner of her mind.
"I like this," She admitted, snuggling closer. She wrapped her arms around his waist just as his arms tightened around her.
"I like this too," He murmured, his voice now sleepy.
Lola felt it too, the exhaustion slowly kicked in and before she knew it she was walking up to the sun shining across her room. She heard her mother calling her from downstairs but last night's events were still fresh on her mind.
Smiling, she turned to the side but was met with an empty bed. She jumped up and stared at the makeshift bed on the floor which was also empty. Lola's heart ran a marathon against her ribcage as she ran around the room, checking in the most ridiculous places like her closet and under the bed.
He wasn't there. He wasn't in the bathroom, he wasn't hiding in some random inconspicuous place either.
Julian was gone.