Julian's POV
The sound of an alarm clock woke me up immediately. I was a little dazed. This definitely wasn't my room. But I felt soft skin underneath my arm and noticed Eden snuggled into my chest. I was confused. We didn't last night, did we? I lifted the blanket a bit and noticed her shorts. Well, that clears up some things. The alarm clock was still blaring but I couldn't reach it without waking Eden, who was somehow still sound asleep. I nudged her arm.
"Eden," I whispered. She began stirring slightly. I shook her arm gently and said her name again.
"Mhhm?" She responded, her eyes still closed.
"It's 7:00," I whispered. Her long eye lashes batted open and her big hazel eyes met mine. A slight smile stretched across her flushed cheeks.
"Oh," she said. But she didn't move. She stayed in my embrace for a few seconds longer. Then, she lifted herself slowly and stretched. She got up from the bed and began walking to her dresser, looking at me, still on the bed.
"Well, do you go to school?" She asked while taking her clothes out of the drawers.
"Occasionally," I responded, lifting myself up. She blushed again as I sat up. I had no clue where my shirt was, but I should probably find it.
"Do you plan on going today?" She asked jokingly.
"Do you?"
"What'd you mean?"
"I mean, are you going to school?" I responded.
"Well, do I even have a choice?" She asked.
"Yes," I said, "but I doubt you're the type to use that choice." She looked at me with a cute look on her face, like she was offended.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, her brows furrowed.
"You don't seem like you would go around skipping school," I responded truthfully. Her mouth was slightly open and she still had that cute, offended look on her face.
"And how exactly would you know that?" She questioned, hands on her hips.
"I can just tell," I replied, pulling myself up from the bed. She looked at me intensely, eye to eye.
"Wait here," she said, and walked down stairs. I walked towards the stairs and listened.
"Good morning, sweetie," a voice said, probably her mother.
"Morning, mom," she responded.
"Am I allowed to ask why the couch is set up like this?" Her mom asked suspiciously.
"It was too hot in my room, so I decided I'd just sleep on the couch," Eden responded smoothly.
"Ugh, the AC upstairs keeps doing that up there. I need to call them, again," she said, opening what sounded like the fridge.
"Yeah, that'd be great. Can you grab me an apple?" She asked.
"Sure, I'm taking your sister to school today," her mother said, "Can you put these blankets back before you leave?"
"Sure," she replied.
"Callie!" Her mother yelled.
"Wait one second, mom," another voice yelled, a bit muffled.
"Sweetie, we're gonna be late. Hurry up, I've got an apple for you to eat in the car," her mother responded. A few seconds later, a door opened and I'm guessing her sister had come out.
"Here, grab your backpack," her mother said, opening the front door. I heard scuffling as the sister made her way out of the house.
"Have a good day sweetie," her mother said, "I'll be home by 7:00."
"Ok, mom," Eden replied, "I love you." The door closed.
"You can come down now," Eden said. I'm guessing she must've been talking to me, since, I'm kinda the only one in the house. I walked down and saw her standing by the couch. She leaned down and pulled my backpack out from underneath the coffee table.
"I didn't want any questions," she explained, handing it to me. I nodded and looked around the house. With light, it wasn't as sad as it had seemed the night before. It was small and a bit cramped, but that made it kind of cozy. And it definitely best the mess that always littered my house.
"So," she said, turning towards me, "what would you like to do today?"
***
Our fingers intertwined as we walked through the mall. It was a weird feeling. Not that I didn't like it, but I wasn't really familiar with it. I was surprised Eden chose the mall, of all places. She hadn't even looked at any of the stores. I must say, she got pretty excited once that Auntie Anne's Pretzels came into view. That was probably the highlight of her day. She got a pack of those tiny, cinnamon pretzels and we sat down comfortably on the fountain ledge.
"You want some?" She asked, noticing me looking at her.
"No, it's fine."
"No, really. You should try one," she took one and held it next to my mouth, waiting for me to open like I was a child. I grinned and then bit slightly into it, making eye contact with the beautiful girl feeding me. I held the stare for a few seconds, the half-eaten pretzel still between her small fingers. She eventually smiled and looked down, a warm blush spreading across her cheeks. I took the opportunity to lean in. I held her chin up lightly with my fingers. Before she knew it, my lips were on hers, tasting every bit. I dipped my tongue in slightly. I remember us being together by that fountain for about ten minutes. Just in that embrace, lips together, everything perfect. She pulled away and looked deep into my eyes.
"So, what else do you want to do today?" She asked.
"Hmmm...You ever seen Ferris Bueller?" She laughed and looked at me like I was crazy.
"Who hasn't?"
"Well," I began, "I was thinking maybe a ride into the city would be a fun way to spend our day." She smiled as if I'd just came up with the idea of a century. Ferris Bueller is one of the few non-action packed movies I'd ever enjoyed. It just seemed like a perfect day. A perfect day you could experience in the city. Where we lived, of course, was not in the city. It was in Chicago, but it was more of a town within a city. My neighborhood was in Melrose Park. It was one of those towns that you only live in if you have no choice. I mean, our neighborhood was the nicest one there, and it wasn't nice at all. The closest high school used to be Melrose Park High, but that got shut down. Went bankrupt since the city wouldn't pay for it anymore. It had pretty much the worst pass rate in the state of Illinois. The closest high school after that was Tuley High: named after the infamous Martin Tuley, although no one knows what he did. All the houses in Melrose Park got zoned there after MPHS closed down. All the wealthier kids from the next town got to mix in a way they'd never before once we started going to their school. Fun for them.
"What about the car?" She asked, a worried look overcoming her face. I looked down. I hadn't thought of that. I sure don't have a Ferrari, and I doubt Eden did.
"Wait a second," she said, pulling out her phone. She opened it and dialed in a number. She then held it up to her ear and waited for an answer, tapping her foot on the ground.
"Ray?" I heard mumbling in the phone.
"I don't care if you're in gym class. I need to ask you a favor," she said anxiously. More mumbling in the phone.
"We need you to pick us up in your dad's car."
"Just a friend," she said, looking at me sneakily.
"Oh, come on. You can get the car back. He doesn't come home from work until like 9:00. He won't even notice it missing!" Louder mumbling came from the phone.
"Please?" Eden begged.
"Just bring that guy! Or someone! Come on!"
"Yes! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!"
"At the mall. Yeah, I'll see you soon!" She closed her phone and looked at me excited.
"You ready, Ferris?"
***
I think I'm in love. The beautiful, red, sleek Porsche convertible pulled up gracefully. It's shiny surface gleamed and I swear, it touched my heart. In the front seat, a girl with long, black hair sat, huge sunglasses covering her eyes. She looked over at us standing on the sidewalk and pulled her glasses down slightly. The blonde guy in the passenger seat hadn't even budged.
"Damn," the girl said, looking at me top to bottom, "you left out some details, didn't you?" I felt awkward with her checking me out with Eden right next to me. Eden rolled her eyes and pulled my arm.
"Come on," she said as she jumped into the car, literally. Right over the door. I followed her and jumped right over, just like in the movies. We seated ourselves comfortably in the back seat. I noticed Ray constantly looking at me through the rear view mirror. I just looked away. She started driving and Eden's long curls began blowing in the wind. Once we got on the highway, they were everywhere. She kept trying to pull them back, but they just whipped around her hands. I smiled and put my arm around her shoulder, stopping her attempts to calm her hair down. I gave her a quick kiss on the lips and she returned it gratefully.
"So," started Ray, loudly over the wind, "is there a story to this?"
"No, not really," Eden said, still looking into my eyes. I kissed her again.
"Cute," she said with a laugh, "so does the mister have a name?"
"Julian," Eden answered. Ray nodded and looked at me again through the rear view mirror. I wish I'd worn something other than the white tank top that fit a bit too tightly to my skin. Maybe something classier. But this is all I had in my bag, so I'd just have to deal with it.
"So are you two a thing?" She asked, disregarding that guys attempts to get into her pants. She slapped his hand as it crept toward her thigh. Eden looked at me, unsure of the answer. She opened her mouth to say something.
"Yeah," I answered. Eden's eyes widened when I said it, and a smile crept to her face. If you know me, then you would've been sure I was on something. But I'm not. Usually I don't title anything. I've had one girlfriend and even that was just us hooking up a lot and being seen together as a "couple" in public. I kinda hated that girls guts. Other than that, it's all one night stands and every so often hook ups. I wouldn't title any of those things. As soon as it happens more than once, the girl wants it to be something. That's why I try for once and once only. One babysitter tried to get me to come over every time she babysat my brother. I honestly didn't want to. A few times, I came over. We fucked, all was done and did. But she persisted and I eventually had to tell my mom, just so we'd get a new one. That's what I do. Now, Eden and I hadn't done anything and I was willing to call us a "thing". I'm pretty sure my guys would kill me if they heard about it. That, or die laughing.
"The man speaks," Ray said, slapping the guy's hand away again. "How come I've never heard of you before?" I looked at Eden, not sure how to answer it.
"It happened rather recently," she answered. "So, is this the guy you wear telling me about?"
"Oh, don't even talk to me about him," Ray said, annoyed.
"Already?" Eden asked with a laugh.
"Whatever," Ray rolled her eyes, "Anyways, this is Tyler. Tyler say hi," she said as if addressing a dog to do a trick.
"Hey," Tyler said, moving in to kiss her neck.
"Honestly, Tyler! I'm driving!" He sat back in his seat and crossed his arms, obviously unsatisfied.
"Hey," Eden began, "you guys could come back here if you want. We can drive." Tyler looked at Ray in desire.
"What? No! You don't even have your license. You're not touching this wheel," Ray responded.
"Well, Julian does," she said, looking at me in hope that she's right.
"Yeah, I do," I agreed.
"Come on, babe," Tyler said.
"Ugh, fine," Ray said, pulling over. "You even dent this car, I will kill you." She obviously directed the threat to me.
"Won't be a single dent," I replied, jumping out of the back. Eden moved into the passenger seat and I sat down in the driver's seat. My hands delicately touched the wheel. I had two beauties with me. Eden and the beautiful Porsche.
"Go ahead," Eden said with a grin. I looked at her and then took a deep breath, never having driven a car this nice in my life. I'd stolen a car before when I was a kid, but that was a shitty old Honda. Nothing exciting about it. Now this...this was a once in a lifetime thing. I stroked the wheel gently, and then ended my trance, revving the engine a bit and going on my way. I kept trying not to look in the rear view mirror since, well, there was stuff happening in the backseat. Eden just faced forward without a glance to the side or back. Her hair was blowing everywhere, I could see how big hair isn't too useful in this situation.
"So, where are we going today, ma'am?" I said in a British accent, breaking a smile onto Eden's face.
"Wherever you take me," she answered slyly.
"Let's see. What would Ferris do?"
"Sear's Tower?" She suggested.
"Yeah, if you're willing to wait in that line," I remarked, knowing the movie doesn't exactly represent the amount of crowds and lines there are in the famous building.
"So, you said we were a 'thing'?" She brought up randomly. I turned my head towards her and smiled.
"Unless you have a problem with it being a 'thing'," I answered. She tried not to smile but, although her mouth remained closed, I could see a curve.
"I have no problem with a 'thing.' It was just unexpected, you know? I met you, what, three days ago?"
"A lot has happened in three days," I said putting my hand on hers, where it lay on the arm rest. She looked at me with her huge eyes and then looked down, blushing. I kept my eye on the road, trying not to be killed by the girl in the backseat. Tyler stuck his head between the seats.
"Hey, man. Could you put some music on?"
"Sure," I said. He went back to the seat and I turned on a random station. As perfect as it was, Back in Black by AC/DC bursted from the stereo. I could only imagine myself as Tony Stark, rocking out in a HumV to the opening song of Iron Man. Hey, why can't a teenage boy sometimes imagine himself as a superhero? Besides, he gets girls like crazy. Not that I need that, but...you know. He's pretty awesome. Cars beside us started looking. Luckily, the "lovers" in the back seat were low enough to be unseen. That would've been awkward. I guess the real stares come from the wondering of why a bunch of teenagers were driving a Porsche convertible. We finally reached the part that was high in traffic, ready to enter the city. Eden was rocking out in her own way, foot tapping the floor, head bobbing up and down. She looked at me with a grin on her face. Wouldn't have placed her as a rock'n'roll girl, but whatever. Just another thing to love about her. She leaned in and kissed me fiercely. She pulled back slightly, hands still holding my face.
"This is gonna be a long day, Ferris," she said, and came back in. I couldn't help but agree.