CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"Julian!" Zach, William, Trent, and Jayden all said as they tried to wake Julian up. They were worried about him. Well, who wouldn't worry about their bandmate if they found him or her on the doorstep, half-naked.
"Julian!!! Wake the hell up!" William said.
Zach, being the prankster in the group, he walked off to the toilet to fetch some bucket and then he filled it up with the freezing cold water. He came back with a full bucket of water.
"Wait, you're not thinking of pouring that over him, right?" William said.
Zach just smirked and then he poured the freezing cold water over Julian and miraculously, he woke up from his deep slumber.
"Morning sleeping beauty!" Zach said, chucking the bucket away.
"Yo mate! What happened to you? Why did we find you out there, lying in the ground? And most of all... WHY ARE YOU SHIRTLESS?" Jayden asked then he sniffed him and then crinkled his nose. "And you smell like... Shit?"
"Look, we'll just talk about this later, okay? We have some other things to do." Trent said. "Jules, go take a shower and then get change. Then pack your stuff up."
"Why?" Julian asked.
"Have you forgotten? We have a show at Cairns, remember? And then we're heading to Perth." He said.
"Oh yeah... Okay. Just wait for me. I'll be quick." He said and then went into his room to prepare himself.
"I hate it when you guys have your tour while I'm at school!" Luke pouted. "I wish it's school holidays!"
"You'll get to tour with us some other time." Trent assured him as he ruffled his hair.
"Julian, hurry up!!!" Jayden nagged.
"Alright! Alright! I'm coming! I'm coming! Calm your tits Jaydo!" Julian said as he came out of his room and slung his back pack over his shoulder.
**
Along the way, they talked about their setup just to get their mind off of what happened a while ago. "So I'm gonna stay at your parents house, Uncle Will?" Luke asked.
"Yes. Don't worry; either mom or Chloe would pick you up." William said while they were in their black limousine.
"For how long?" he asked.
"Until we come back. So you better behave yourself there Luke." Trent said.
"This really sucks Trent. Why can't I just come with you all? I mean, I can do all my school stuff after I get back with you guys from your tour."
"Your education is more important. If you won't try your hardest at school then you won't be able to get high grades... You won't be able to go into uni. And I don't want you to be just taking vocational courses out there. You're smart and you deserve the best."
"Wow, you sound like you're his father." Zach said.
"Well, I am now." Trent shot back.
"Trent, stop pressuring the kid. We all know that Luke is a smart kid. He's got good grades at school so you don't have anything to worry about." William said.
"Yeah Trent. Loosen up on him a little bit, am I right Luke?" Jayden said and Luke smiled cheekily as he nodded and he ruffled his hair. Meanwhile, Trent noticed that Julian grew more quiet than ever.
He pulled out his phone and then texted Julian:
"Care to tell me what happened to you?" --T.
"How am I supposed to tell u if I don't know it myself?" --J.
"Well, maybe start telling me what you remembered last?" --T.
"It doesn't really matter Trent." --J.
"Julian, u r my bandmate and my brother. I am always here 4 u. WE are all here 4 u. Just please... Tell me what happened." --T.
"LIKE I SAID, I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T FUCKIN' REMEMBER A THING. NOW, LEAVE ME ALONE! PLEASE!!!" --J.
And then from the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Julian wincing because of his left wrist but he convinced himself that maybe he was just mistaken.
**
"Have a good day at school Luke!" William said.
"I hope." Luke answered. "Jarrod and Kyle are still here to bully me."
"They won't be able to bully you because you're stronger than them in every little way." Zach said.
"Luke, remember what I told you about your powers." Trent said.
"Yup. I know, I know." He said then hopped off the car and started walking to the entrance. As he approached his locker, he already knew that Jarrod and Kyle were behind him.
"What do you two want from me?" Luke asked them without facing them.
"We want you out of this school." Jarrod said.
"Yeah! No one likes you weirdo!" Kyle added.
They continued to insult him but Luke wasn't listening and instead, he opened his locker, only to be welcomed by a yellow goo squirting right across his face and then to his uniform.
Then he heard Jarrod and Kyle laughed from behind and then he slammed his locker door shut and faced them. He grabbed them both by their collar and smashed them onto his locker door.
"Ooh... Someone's mad right here." Jarrod said with a mocking tone on his voice.
"What did I ever do to the two of you to make you do this to me?!" Luke said.
"Ha! And you really have to ask that? Just look at what you did to Alexander!" Kyle said and Luke's eyes were filled with anger. "Yes. We are just doing a revenge for him."
"Look, I do not want to hurt Alexander but he left me with no choice... So don't make me get crossed with the two of you if you both don't want me to do what I did with him!" Luke said and then he felt his eyes stinging but this time, he loved the feeling and right at that moment, all he could just think was burning their bodies into ashes.
Jarrod and Kyle were startled when they saw Luke's eye colour changed from icy blue to fiery red. "You bullies don't deserve to be here." Luke hissed and as he felt the burning feeling in his eyes start to come out, he suddenly heard Trent's voice in his head.
"Whatever you are or whatever you have... For me, you are still that Luke Hopkins, my nephew. You're still that cheeky, funny, and loving little kid that I took care."
"We love you."
Then, he finally calmed down and his eye colour was back to being icy blue and then he released both of them and made his way to the toilet. When he was in the toilet, he washed his face and then his polo and blazer. He still was thankful that his powers didn't go off at Jarrod and Kyle a while ago or else, he would've killed them both and the other people around him would see it and his whole secret is revealed.
However, he was near to doing it and he needed to think of some way of how to control it.
**
The day already ended and Luke went to his locker when suddenly, someone approached him. "Luke Hopkins, right?" A little yet cunning voice spoke behind him and he turned around and saw the same kid that Alexander, Jarrod and Kyle were bullying weeks ago.
"Yes. Do you need anything?" Luke asked.
"I just want to thank you for saving me from Lex, Jarrod and Kyle weeks ago." He said.
Luke smiled, "That's nothing." He said.
"And also, I would like to apologize as well because you got suspended for doing the right thing. I guess having your father as the head of the school is really a big thing." He added and then he held out his hand to him, "Paolo Blakemore."
"Nice to meet you Paolo." Luke said.
"So wanna hang out at my house tomorrow after school?" he asked.
"I want to but I'm not sure though. But I'll try, okay?"
"Yeah. Sure. That's fine."
Then they both went out to the parking area, "I'll see you tomorrow Luke." Paolo said as he waved then hopped into his glossy gray Mercedes Benz. Just then, a blue Ford car came and stopped by Luke and realized that it was Chloe, William's sister.
"Hey Luke. Hop in!" Chloe said cheerfully and so he did. "Wanna grab a bite on the way home?"
"Yeah. That sounds good." Luke said.
"Say why don't we stop at Subway to get sandwiches and then at Baskin Robins for some ice cream?" She suggested.
"Let's just go. I'm hungry. I don't care." He said grumpily.
"Okaaaay."
They drove to subway and got a sandwich for each of them. "Do you want anything else?" Chloe asked.
"Nah. This is enough." Luke replied then he stared at his Subway and suddenly remembered Trent, William, Jayden, Julian and Zach.
"You miss them, don't you?"
"Yeah. I think it's unfair that Trent didn't let me go with them... I wanted to. I want to see them perform again."
Then a smile formed on Chloe's lips, "Do you want to be like your Uncle Trent someday?" she asked.
"To be honest, yes. I wanna be like him. Well, maybe not exactly like him. Anything. As long as it's related to music, you know." He answered.
"Aw... I wish your Uncle Trent could hear you right now."
**
In another life...
Another life...
Maybe, maybe in another life...
Maybe in another life...
And then the crowd went wild once again after that powerful and passionate performance. "Thank you so much!!!" Jayden said through his microphone and they blew them with flying kisses.
"I LOVE YOU TRENT!!!" The girls at the back shouted.
Trent chuckled, "I LOVE YOU TOO!!!" He exclaimed and the girls squirmed even more like little fairies. "We would all like to thank you lovely Collectors for coming today and for supporting us from Xfactor until now... You guys are just priceless." William said.
"And to make this day worthy enough, we will be having a meet and greet after this shortly." Jayden said.
"Again, WE LOVE YA COLLECTORS!" Julian said and then they all got off and went backstage, changing into more comfortable clothes.
"Guys, you will be out there in a few minutes, okay?" Dara, their manager said.
"Yup." They all answered and then Trent sat beside Julian.
"Looks like someone is thinking of something very deeply." Trent said, breaking the ice. "Wanna tell me what happened to you?"
"Trent, like I said a while ago at the text, I don't remember a single thing." Julian said.
"Are you sure?"
"Well... Before I became unconscious, I remember having a strong headache and then..."
"Then what?"
"Then that's it."
"Guys, out now!" Dara called us and Jayden, William and Zach went out of backstage.
"Julian, I'm always here if you wanted to talk. WE are all here for you." Trent said then he patted his shoulder. "Now, let's give some love to our Collectors." They laughed and then went to their meet and greet spot.
After a while of taking pictures and signing, they decided to call it a day.
"I was wondering if you could sign this album of yours that I bought a few minutes ago." A familiar voice said and Trent looked up and saw Rebecca, smiling down at him.
"Rebecca!" Trent said in joy and then he jumped over the desk and flinged his arms around her waist. "You're here!!!" And then he kissed her.
"Yes. And so are Emmarie, Katelyn and Ara. We wanted to surprise all of you." She said.
"Well, here you go! You all surprised us. But most of all, I'm touched because you took the time to come here and see me..."
"Aw... My T-Bell was touched. Love ya babe."
"Love you too."
Then he gave her a bear hug and then kissed her forehead. "Hey guys, Katelyn and I are heading out to eat. Wanna come with us?" William asked them.
"Yeah. Sure." They all answered him and then they went to a restaurant and had a happy and lovely dinner altogether.
"I'm getting a drink." Zach said and then he went to the counter and got an iced tea for himself. When he had paid and finally got his order, he walked back to their table however, on his way there, he accidentally bumped into someone. A girl, to be more precise.
"What the hell!?" The girl said.
"I-I'm so sorry miss!" Zach said as he got out his hanky.
"You are so stupid! Jeez! Get your eyes checked, mate!" She said.
"I'm so sorry..." Then he handed his hanky to her and then she stared at it.
"What do you want me to do with that?" She asked.
"Well, I was thinking that you could use it to wipe off that stain on your dress?"
She smirked, "Thank you but NO thank you. I won't let a cheap handkerchief ruin the quality of my expensive dress." She said as she slung her handbag on her wrist.
"Um... Zach Russell." Zach said then he handed his hand out to her but she didn't took it.
"Rachael Evans." The girl replied.
"So Rachael... Wanna go out tomorrow?"
She smiled, "Look, you're good-looking but maybe you should get your eyes checked first because I don't want to bathe in iced tea on my first date." She said and then walked off. Meanwhile, the others were laughing and whistling at him.
**
"Are you okay? You've been silent for the whole time." Emmarie said and it's true that Julian had been quiet ever since and that is because he knew that there's something wrong with him and he couldn't risk his relationship for it. Also, he knew that there are some dangerous things that he could do to her and to the other people and he seriously doesn't want that.
"Emmarie..." He started off as he turned to face her, meeting her cheerful and lovely eyes and that even broke his heart even more.
**
"Where are we going Jayden?" Ara asked Jayden as they continued to walk over to a riverbank and sat there, snuggled up with each other.
"Ara, do you ever think of me as the person that you're going to spend the rest of your life with?" Jayden asked. "Because I do."
She smiled, "Yeah I do... And realizing how much I love you just brings this warm feeling in me and thinking of you just makes me feel safe and secured." She said. "It's like... Nothing in the world can hurt me or take me away from you."
"I'm glad that I can make you feel that way." He said.
"What about me? Do I ever make you feel that way?"
"More than you could ever think of." Then he intertwined his hands with hers.
**
"Emmarie, you know that I love you right?" Julian said.
"Yes." Emmarie said.
"Emmarie, I'm breaking up with you."
"Say what?!"
"I'm breaking up with you..."
Then hot tears started to flow out of her eyes as she let go of his hands. "Emmarie, there are some aspects of myself that... I seemed to not know." He added.
"THIS IS BULLSHIT JULIAN!"
"Emmarie, please listen... Look, I don't wanna hurt you, okay?"
"And do you think that you're not hurting me right now?!"
"Emmarie..."
"I trusted you Julian! I gave my heart to you! I gave all my love to you! I let you in because you said that you'll always be here for me and then here you go... Saying all these stuff to me... That you're breaking up with me!?"
"I'm so sorry Emmarie."
"Yeah. You better be sorry!" And then she slapped him and then walked off.
**
"Did you enjoy tonight?" William asked Katelyn.
"Yeah. It was fun." Katelyn replied and then the wind blew gently, making her hair cover up a part of her face and then William brushed her hair off her face with his hands.
"I'm glad that you did." He said then he kissed her forehead and then pulled her closer to him.
Then they saw Emmarie walked off while crying and then they went to Julian and asked him what happened. And like her, he was in tears as well.
"It's over Will." Julian said. "It's over..."