CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
"I'm already infected." Julian sobbed. The other guys stood there, dumbfounded.
"W-Wait... How come?!" Jayden asked.
"I don't know..." He cried then he shot his head up, "I don't wanna do the tour first. I just wanna go home now."
"Alright. We'll talk to Dara about that." Zach said.
"And besides, I don't wanna hurt anyone with my condition..." Julian added. Just then, Trent had already put the pieces up together. "Don't tell me that you broke up with Emmarie because of this?" He said and Julian looked at him and nodded.
"WHAT THE FUCK MAN!? YOU COULD'VE JUST TOLD HER!" Trent said.
"I DON'T WANNA SCARE HER! I DON'T WANT HER TO LIVE IN FEAR! I JUST WANT HER TO BE SAFE AND HAPPY, THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T TELL HER!" Julian shot back. "I already know from the start that there is something wrong with me! And I just have this bad feeling in me that there would be a high chance of me hurting her because of my condition!"
And then Trent sighed heavily, "C'mon..." He said as he pulled Julian out of the bathroom and let him sit down on the foot of his bed. "YOU NEED TO TELL EMMARIE ABOUT THIS!"
"No I can't Trent! It's too hard! And do you think she would still listen to me after I've broken her heart and trust?!" Julian said and Trent fell silent. "NO!"
"Jesus Julian!!! Man up!!! You're already eighteen! You're fighting for your love and your life right here!"
"I can't Trent!!! I'm as weak as a baby! I can't do anything! Please... Let's just go back home! I can't do the tour in this condition of mine..."
"JULIAN!!!"
Then Zach put a hand over his shoulder. It was their first time to see Trent so red in anger and fear.
"Let's just respect his decision, Trent. If he doesn't want to tell Emmarie, then let it be that way." Zach said. Trent sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Fine, don't tell her. But don't blame us if one day you'll see her with another man." He said.
Then Zach sat beside Julian, "Jules, care to tell us why is your shirt stained with blood? Also, the corner of your mouth..." Zach said.
Julian closed his eyes, "I don't really remember all of it." He said.
"You don't remember ALL of it but you remember SOME of it."
He bowed down, but Trent lifted his chin up as he crouched down in front of him, "Please Julian, you have to tell us what happened." He said then Julian looked at the concerned faces of Zach, Jayden and William.
"I have this strong headache again and then my eye colour changed... It turned from blue to green. Then I saw that I grew fangs. The next thing I knew was that I was thirsty and I was craving for fresh blood." Julian said. "And the worst part of it is that I tried to kill one of my band mates... I tried to bite Jayden's neck just to quench my thirst for blood but I told myself 'No. I can't. I won't do it. Jayden is my bandmate, brother and my bestfriend.' That's why I went out through the window then as I was walking out on the road, I saw this girl around fifteen years of age and then I don't know what happened next."
"I probably killed her." He added, burying his face in his hands, bursting into tears.
"Oh Jules..." Jayden said and then they all wrapped their arms around him and hugged him tight.
"Julian, take your shirt off." William said suddenly out of nowhere.
"What?" Julian asked.
"Just take it off."
"Why?"
"Are you gonna take your shirt off or do I still have to call Emmarie to take that off for you?"
Julian took his shirt off and then handed it to William. William on the other hand took it from him and then looked something from the cupboard in the bathroom.
"Will, what are you doing?" Trent asked.
"Oh this? I'm helping out." William said as he rubbed the head of the matchstick on to the side of the box, causing for the matchstick to light up. Then he let the fire lick Julian's shirt on the sink.
"But you're burning my thirty-five dollar shirt!" Julian exclaimed.
"Exactly. I'm burning your shirt so the police won't have any idea of who killed that girl. They wouldn't be able to track you down if I destroy this because tell you what... Your blood-stained shirt is the only thing that would lead them to the killer and we don't want you to go to jail." William said.
"Aha! Smart thinking, Will." Jayden said.
"And besides, I'm the only one who's allowed to get tattoos here." William huffed and they all laughed slightly. "Now come on Jules. Take a shower, get changed and we'll meet you at the lobby, okay?" Julian just smiled and nodded.
**
They left the hotel and Trent already talked to their manager that they have to stop their tour first because of Julian's "eye-infection" and that he's also not feeling well. Julian played along with Trent's lie that he even wore a pair of sunglasses at twelve midnight.
When they reached the airport, the girls were there too for their flight. "Are you girls following us or is it just that we have the same time for our flight?" William asked as he dropped his backpack and walked towards Katelyn and hugged her tight.
"Just the same time, I guess." Katelyn said while smiling cleverly then gave him a peck on the lips.
"Hey Rebecca." Trent greeted his girlfriend as he gave her a big strong hug then kissed her cheek.
"Ara!!!" Jayden said happily as he ran over to Ara and then he lifted her by her waist and spun her around. Ara laughed then when he put her down, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
Meanwhile, Emmarie and Julian.... Well, they seemed to be very awkward with each other. And Emmarie was wondering to herself why is he wearing sunglasses at exactly 12. 25 a.m.
"Um... Hey." Julian greeted her.
"Hey." Emmarie greeted back.
And the awkward atmosphere continued to settle among them.
"Mind if I ask why you're wearing sunglasses at this time?" She asked.
"I... I've got an eye infection." He lied.
"Oh. That sucks."
"Yeah but nothing would more suck when I lose you."
"Julian, stop playing games with me."
"I'm not. I really don't wanna lose you."
"But you already did. You broke up with me already, right? So what are you whinning there about?"
"I'm sorry Emmarie."
"Are you really sorry Julian?"
"Emmarie..."
Then she held out her hands in front of her. "No. Don't Julian. Don't talk to me." She said then sat on one of the benches behind her and then she got her iPod out and shoved the headphones in both of her ears.
Julian sighed and then William patted his shoulder sympathetically. "It's okay Jules. We'll help you with her." He said.
"'We'?" he asked.
"Yeah. Trent, Zach, Jayden, Ara, Rebecca, Katelyn and I would be helping you with her, alright? So don't stress." William said.
A little while later, their flight number was called and as soon as they started to board in their planes, they went off seating with anyone who they like. Unfortunately, or maybe not... Emmarie found herself seating beside Julian.
"William, can Katelyn sit beside me?" Emmarie said.
"I'm sorry but she can't. She's fully mine for the rest of this trip." William said and he even put his arm around Katelyn's shoulder.
"Fine." She said then she turned to Rebecca and Trent. "Trent, can Rebecca sit with me?"
"Nope." Trent responded.
"Why not?"
"She's mine for the rest of this trip."
"Please?"
"Why don't you just sit with Julian so that the issue would be off?"
Emmarie rolled her eyes and then turned to Ara and Jayden but they were snuggled up close with each other that they looked like they've been joined by a super glue. She sighed and then looked at Zach.
"Zach?"
"Nope. My bag's sitting here with me." Zach said.
"Please Zach?"
"No. Seriously, why don't you just sit where you are right now? You're making it difficult for yourself." He said.
Emmarie rolled her eyes again and got no choice but to sit beside Julian. Just then, William kicked the back of Julian's chair, resulting him earning a glare from him through his cool eyeglasses.
"You really do hate me, don't you?" Julian said, turning to Emmarie who was looking away from him.
"Any girl would get mad at what you did, Julian." Emmarie said.
**
"Do you think this plan would work?" Katelyn asked William.
"Well... It's just up to them if they still want each other back." William said. "Anyway, let's just stop worrying about them, okay?" Then he interlocked his hands with hers then looked into her eyes deeply. "What we should pay attention to is about... Us."
"Katelyn, I have never been so in love like this before." He continued, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her palm. "And... To be honest, whenever I'm away from you, my heart is being torn into pieces. I can't help myself but to think of you every time... And whenever I'm with you, the time just goes slowly and I don't wanna end that moment with you."
He looked down on their intertwined hands, searching for other words in his head but nothing would come out of his mouth. "What I'm trying to say is..." He said but Katelyn cut him off by kissing him on the lips.
"I get it Will." Katelyn said softly. "Me too. I feel so lonely, so crushed whenever I'm not with you. I miss your kisses, your hugs, your warm lips, your wamr skin against mine when you're away. And I also lost track of time whenever I'm with you and you know what? I treasure every moment that I get to spend with you." Then tears started to come out of her eyes. "I'm thankful that I found you."
"Me too Katelyn..." He said then he suddenly burst into a song: "I'm overwhelmed with gratitude... My baby I'm so thankful I found you." Then he wiped her tears away and kissed her lips.
"I love you Katelyn Jones." He said.
"I love you too William Anthony Singe." She answered.
William kissed her hands then hugged her tight. Along the trip, Katelyn fell asleep and William let her head rest on his chest then put his jacket on her to keep her warm then secured her with his strong arms and eventually, he too fell asleep beside the girl of his dreams.
**
"I wonder what would happen to Julian and Emmarie." Rebecca said while her head was resting on Trent's shoulder.
"They would get back together with each other after this trip. I'm pretty sure of it." Trent said.
"How come?"
"It's obvious that they are perfectly made for each other... Like us."
Then Rebecca looked up at him and found his brown comforting eyes looking down at her. "We are perfect for each other." He said. "And I am willing to fight for our love no matter how the situation may be."
"You're the other half of my heart, Rebecca." He added then he leaned in and kissed her passionately.
They both pulled away, "I promise you, I would never ever leave you." He continued.
"Don't make promises on me Trent."
"Why not?"
"Because promises are meant to be broken. What I want you to do is that you prove to me that you would stay on my side forever."
"I would definitely do that Rebecca. I would stay by your side. FOREVER."
**
Ara found Jayden staring at her for a moment. "Is there a dirt on my face, Jayden?" She asked.
"No." He said.
"Then why are you staring at me?"
"I just wanna familiarize myself on how you look so that whenever I'm away from you, doing tours across the nation, I would still have the memory of your face in my head."
"Aw Jayden..."
"I'm serious Ara. And one day..." He picked up her left hand. "One day... This left hand. Its left fourth finger would wear that certain ring that every girl would love to receive from the man that she loves."
"Jayden, why are you saying all of these things? I mean, we're still young to plan all of these."
"Well, I just wanna get things sorted out right away, you know. I wanted things to be organized.".
She chuckled, "Wow. Says the one whose messy and disorganized when it comes to his things and his room."
His face dropped then he pouted and that made her laugh even more, "You're so cute when you pout!" She said as she pinched his cheeks then leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips.
"Kidding aside, Ara, you're the only girl that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with." He said as he held both of her soft hands. "No one else but you." And Ara could see it in his eyes that he means it.
She smiled charmingly, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you too." She stated.
**
"Emmarie, try to talk to me." Julian said.
"Why would I? You fuckin' broke my trust Julian. I loved you. I let you into my life because you said that you'll always be here for me." Emmarie said, preventing the tears from coming out of her eyes again. "And then... And then you were suddenly breaking up with me. What kind of a human are you!?"
"Emmarie, you don't understand!"
"THEN MAKE ME UNDERSTAND JULIAN! Tell me why you broke up with me!"
Julian fell silent and bit his lip. "See? You can't even tell me the reason why you broke up with me in the first place!" She said. "'There are some aspects of myself that I seemed to not know'! Ha! BULLSHIT!"
"Emmarie..."
Emmarie sighed then she looked at him, "Just tell me the reason why you broke up with me." She said. Julian took a deep breath and said, "Can you wait 'til we get back in Sydney?"
"Okay. Fine." She said and then leaned back on her seat, her heart racing due to two things: her anger for Julian and the fact that he is sitting beside her.
**
--Sydney Airport--
They were already at the airport and William's dad and Luke picked them up the next day. The girls decided to stay over the boys' for that day only so that they could relax with them. Julian hasn't told Emmarie yet about his condition and he admitted to himself that he doesn't even know how would he break it to her.
"What's wrong with Uncle Julian?" Luke asked Trent who was then cooking their lunch that late afternoon.
"He broke up with Emmarie." He said.
"Why?"
"Luke, your Uncle Julian is infected."
"By what?"
"Probably by meteor rocks. What else?"
Then Luke stared intently at Julian until his vision turned into a x-ray vision. As he was scanning through his body, he saw green remnants in him. More like started from his back and it continues to flow through his bloodstream. He was shocked that he dropped the glass of milk that he was drinking.
"Luke, you alright?" Trent asked.
"Uncle Trent, he really IS infected." Luke said with concern in his eyes. "We've got to do something."
**
Nighttime came and Julian hasn't still spoken to Emmarie. He's still finding the right timing and eventually, he did. He found her sitting nearby the pool.
"Emmarie?" Julian said.
"Have you decided to tell me?" Emmarie asked in return.
"I actually have but I don't know where or how to start so please bear with me."
"I'm listening."
Julian took a step forward when suddenly, he felt again the same painful sensation in his head. "Julian? Are you alright?" Emmarie asked. He didn't answer and instead, he collapsed on the ground while holding his head. "JULIAN!!!"
"It hurts! My head hurts!!!" Julian said in pain. Emmarie removed his glasses and was shocked to see that his eyes were already glowing bright green.
"Oh my god... Your eyes are green..." She said in shock.
And for a moment, Julian's eyes widened in horror as for he knew that he's about to transform into that killer vampire in any second now. "Emmarie, get back inside! NOW!"
"BUT JULIAN--!"
"PLEASE EMMARIE! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!!!" In an instant, Julian's fangs stick out of his gums.
"Julian!!!"
He turned around, sweating and panting, "GET INSIDE EMMARIE!!!" He yelled and so she did. She ran back in and the others saw her.
"What's wrong?" Zach asked.
"Julian..." She cried. "Something's up with Julian!" The other boys look at each other.
"Where is he?" Trent asked firmly, trying to hide the panic in his voice.
"Outside."
They all went outside and saw that Julian was gone.
"Oh god no... NO! WE'VE GOT TO GO AFTER HIM!" Trent said. "All of you, get in the car!!!"
"Uncle Trent, I'll look for him using my own powers." Luke said.
"Okay. Take care Luke." Then he gave him a hug and with a strong gust of wind, he's already gone.
**
Luke ran and ran, scanning his surroundings and listening to every sound around him. He knew that Julian wouldn't get that far even though he's become a meteor freak now.
And right in front of him, was Julian, currently finishing off sucking his victim's blood.
"UNCLE JULIAN!!!" He shouted.
Julian stopped and dropped the girl's dead body on the ground and faced him. His eyes pure of intimidation, and there was blood all over his mouth and shirt.
"Uncle Julian! Stop this! I know you can hear me! I know that you're a fighter so please! Fight that whatever is inside of you!" Luke said.
Julian walked hastily to him and punched him on his face and stomach. "Uncle Julian!!!" But he didn't hear him and continued to bash him up.
"Julian!!!" Emmarie and the others shouted. Trent, Jayden, William, and Zach all teamed up and charged against him to get him off of Luke and they managed to.
"Julian, I know you could hear us! Please! Stop this! Wake up! Fight it Julian!" Trent said. Emmarie tried to run to Julian but Rebecca pulled her back, "Where are you going?! You can't just join in there! Julian could kill you!" She said.
"I'd rather die in his arms than to see him suffering like this!" Emmarie said then she pushed her and ran towards Julian and wrapped her arms around him.
"Julian! Please! Stop this!!!" Emmarie cried. "This isn't you! Fight it! I know you can overcome it! You're a strong man, I know!" And then instantly, she felt his fangs sink in on her neck.
"EMMARIE!!!" Trent, Jayden, Zach, William, Ara, and Rebecca all shouted in shock and fear.
"It's alright guys! I got this!" She said to them then she buried her face on the crook of his neck. "Julian, you are sick. You need to fight this..."
"EMMARIE!!! GET AWAY FROM HIM NOW!!! HE'S GONNA KILL YOU!!!" Jayden said.
"Julian, I believe in you... Please. I need you to believe in yourself as well. Fight this whatever's inside of you." She said weakly. "I know you can... You can..."
"Shit! She won't fuckin' pull away from him!!!" Trent cussed. "Luke, hit him with your laser!"
"No! Don't!" Emmarie said in a panic tone.
"DO IT! NOW! LUKE!!!" Trent ordered.
And with that, Luke gathered up all his anger and he felt the stingy sensation in his eyes and directed his gaze to Julian's back and with a blink of an eye, a pair of red light came off from his eyes hitting Julian's back.