Evol

chapter thirty

Thursday 20th June, 2019

Brooke.

His mouth was hot on mine.

It was so sudden, my body all but burst into flames. I could feel the hard lines of his body on mine, pressing hard. My lips moved on their own account, pushing against his.

I'd only ever been kissed once - by Julian, in the diner bathroom. Now, I tried to match his pace; fast. His large hand dragged down my back, resting just above my hips, gripping hard. I squeaked into his mouth.

The sound was met with a low growl at the back of Julian's throat. Without taking his mouth off mine, he pushed me into the car again.

Julian's lips weren't soft today; they were hard, wild, sliding over mine. I couldn't feel anything but him, his strong arms around me, curls tickling my forehead.

When I needed air, I broke away, panting. His chest heaved against mine; I kept my eyes on that instead of looking at his face.

"Too fast?" His breath stirred my hair.

I nodded, catching my breath. My hands had somehow landed on his shoulders, gripping, and I quickly took them down.

"Don't," Julian said, and grabbed my hands, placing them back on his shoulders.

I took a small step back, and looked up at his face. One eye was covered with curls, the other was dark and round, watching me. His mouth was parted, lips slightly swollen.

It made me blush. "W-what are you doing, Julian?"

"Kissing you." He said simply.

I took my hands off his shoulders, but he made no move to stop me this time. "Why?" I asked.

His brows furrowed. "Why?" Julian shifted, hands loosening on my waist.

"Why are you kissing me?"

The whole situation was unbelievable. With his strong scent in my nose, and his hands on my body, I wasn't able to comprehend that Julian was this close, touching me. That it wasn't a dream.

Realisation made his eyes wide, before he closed them. A moment later, Julian's hands dropped and he stepped away. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

Julian had his back to me, black t-shirt dark in the night. "God. . ." He gasped. "I don't know."

"What?"

Julian tugged at his hair, "I don't know what I'm doing!"

I watched, wide-eyed, as he whipped around. "I'm being the monster I am," his voice was deadly quiet.

"What? Julian--" I took a step forward, but he moved back.

"You're right!" A manic laugh burst from his lips, the kind you'd hear down psych ward halls. "Why am I kissing you? What's wrong with me? Why would you want anything to do with a fucking. . ." Julian's dark eyes met mine, and they were wild. "Vampyre."

I was at a loss for words. Still, as much as I wanted to run over and hold him and tell him he did nothing wrong, Julian Jones was unpredictable.

Instead, I called over from where I stood. "Why are you drawing conclusions like a madman?"

His hands dropped from his hair. "Aren't I right?"

"No."

"No?"

I beckoned him over with one finger, feeling brave. "Come here."

Julian's eyes narrowed, before he walked back to me slowly, a foot between us.

I resisted the urge to close it and watched him closely, warily.

His eyes were still crazed, but a frown danced on his lips. "Aren't I right?"

I shook my head, and gave him a small smile.

"But. . ." Julian's eyebrows furrowed. "But I just killed someone, Brooke. You just found out I'm a vampyre! I'm half-dead!"

I didn't even blink. Because as the wind blew black curls around his head, and I followed the tense line of his shoulders with my eyes, all I could feel was warmth. An urge to hold him, to push back his hair. A disbelief that someone like him could possibly want someone like me.

Stepping forward, I watched his eyes grow wide as I wrapped both arms around his neck. "It doesn't matter," I said, feeling so much better now I was close to him.

"What?"

"It doesn't matter."

Julian's eyes were trained on mine, looking at me like he'd never seen me before this. Like I was different, new. Like he never wanted to look away. "Why?" It was a whisper.

I stared him dead in the eye, and moved one hand up to brush the curls out of his eyes. They were soft in my fingers. "Because I love you," I told him.

Julian froze. His eyes went round, mouth dropping open. Fear shot through me; had I made a mistake?

But his strong arms snaked around my waist; no matter how self-conscious I was about my less-than-perfect body, I would never pull away from him. I couldn't.

"What?" He gasped, the electric blue sign behind him throwing bright shadows across his cheekbones.

I smiled at him. "I'm in love with you, Julian."

A second later, his face was split in the widest grin I'd ever seen on him. His eyes creased, shining. I only had a moment to enjoy it before my back hit the car door, and his mouth came down on mine again.

+++

Friday 21st June, 2019

I pulled into school the next morning with a stupid smile on my face.

Killing the engine, I leant out of the car window and checked my skin was okay, hair was okay as it could be, and got out with my backpack slung over one shoulder.

My heart leaped as I found him; Julian was leaning on his car bonnet, smoking with his friends. I frowned at the sight of the cigarette burning in his mouth; did he have to do that?

I'd lain in bed the night before, telling myself not to get too caught up. Being the paranoid person I was, I'd wondered if it had been a bad idea to tell him how I felt. But what had been the alternative - let it eat me alive?

Instead of regretting, I'd told myself to keep on guard, wary. Julian was still a dangerous, half-dead boy, no matter how much I loved him.

As I remembered my promise to keep some guards up around him, I looked over to see Julian staring at me, eyes brown from across the lot.

He winked at me, grinning.

I shook my head at him, and fast-walked to school with a smile on my face.

I collapsed into my assembly seat, ready to sit through an entire assembly of things I didn't believe in. A strange feeling came over me at the thought of prayer time, when, apparently, everyone's minds became walnuts. Cracked open by vampyres.

It made me slightly uncomfortable.

Just then, Brendan slid into the seat next to me. I turned, a smile on my face, "hi, Brend--"

I stopped short at the look on his face. Jaw clenched, his long blond hair fell into narrowed eyes, trained to the front. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly, aware of listening ears all around us.

Brendan's lips barely moved as he spoke. "Are you okay?" He mocked. I frowned, confused at his icy tone. When he faced me, I blinked, stunned at the accusation in his eyes. "What about you? Are you okay? Is there something wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'll have to assume there is." He said, "why else would you be dating Julian fucking Jones?"