Theatre Geek - (R.B.) - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

JULIA WAS hanging around outside of the school building during her spare block. The sounds of birds flying, wind howling and the hoots of other students did nothing to dissuade her from the cellphone in her hand. Her gaze scanned the words intently as she reread the last part of the message for the umpteenth time, her eyebrows furrowed.
When she reached the end of the text from her mom, she found herself wondering what the heck she'd ever done to upset them.
She read it again twice more, just to be sure, but the same words glared up at her, messily typed up in her mother's familiar grammar. At the bottom of the lengthy message, there were a few hastily written sentences.
Julia clutched her phone tighter in her hand, sighing. She couldn't believe it. They'd been serious about not being back for Christmas. They basically didn't want to see her, and they couldn't care less about how she felt. Apparently, she would get in the way of their business.
Truth be told, she'd never really had a great relationship with her parents anyway. Sure, they were a peaceful family with hardly any problems, but it was still there, that small, unspoken gap between them. To make matters worse, when they had moved their business abroad, she'd only kept drifting further away from them. Whenever they were home, conversions during dinner were shorter and more polite, while smiles were more strained.
Rubbing her temples wearily, she tried to keep the scowl off of her face. She simply couldn't be bothered to try anymore. Besides, now, they weren't even going to be home for Christmas now. Instead, she'd be spending it alone at home, as her aunt always had hospital shifts on the day of.
Uncrossing her stiff legs, she stretched slightly, yawning. She could feel her eyelids drifting shut, and her shoulders felt heavy, like she was carrying the earth on them. Her previous semi-good mood had vanished, and now, all she felt like doing was getting the heck away from school and sinking down in her bed for eternity.
"Julia, hey!"
A familiar, loud voice had startled her out of her sleepy stupor, and she looked up to see Aaron approaching her with the usual grin on his face. She hadn't expected anyone to find her, that too since she was behind a large tree. But then again, Aaron always managed to do the unexpected.
"Hey," she mumbled, giving him a slight nod. Her heart jumped a little, but she quickly looked away. She'd been absolutely dreading seeing him since the evening episode of last month. It had probably been the second time she'd accidentally fallen asleep on him, and somehow... unusually she'd always end up in her own bed.
Unfazed by her curtness, Aaron dropped down next to her, stretching his long legs out in front of him lazily as he sighed. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" It was obvious that he'd either just woken up (somehow while at school) or he was speaking after a while. His reading glasses were missing, his hair was sticking out more than usual, and his voice was deep and scratchy.
He really is handsome, she thought to herself absentmindedly as she discreetly admired his face. All hard lines and chiselled features.
Shrugging, she glanced around her, as the sun was slightly covered by the tree above her. "I guess so. I didn't really pay attention."
"Perfect day to go outside and kick some soccer balls, but school's in the way," he grinned. "So, what're you doing up here, Lia?"
"Partying around during my spare block." Her voice oozed sarcasm as she playfully rolled her eyes, gesturing to the cellphone in her hand. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
Aaron squinted, studying the pale shadows under her eyes and her tear-stained cheeks, and immediately knew something was up. "You look upset. What's wrong?" He asked with concern, and Julia was surprised by the sincere gentleness in his voice.
"Nothing."
He wasn't convinced. "Actually, what's up? Did something happen?"
She shook her head again, waving her hand dismissively. "It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it. I should head back inside for class change." She was about to get up, but he stopped her by taking a hold of her wrist.
His gaze drifted to the cracked phone that she was clutching in her hands. "Can I see that?"
Julia hesitated, but reluctantly handed it over. There wasn't really anything to hide anyways.
Aaron took a few moments to scan the text message, his expression unreadable, and when he was done, he looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Your parents aren't coming home for Christmas?"
She shook her head slowly. "Guess not."
"But...didn't they say they'd be back before then?"
"Yeah," she glanced down at the floor, then back at him. "I don't want to talk about it."
He seemed to understand. Instead of pestering her about it like he probably would, he merely nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he tilted his gaze at her. "So, you'll be staying at your home? Alone?"
"Yeah," she confirmed. "Since my aunt will be gone for another shift that day, I'll probably just catch up on my homework and stuff, maybe clean the house."
Aaron shook his head in disbelief. "No, that's unacceptable. It's Christmas. I'm definitely not letting you stay at home all day and get bored out of your mind."
"It's not like I have a choice. Plus, it doesn't sound too bad." She didn't sound as convincing as she'd hoped to.
Being the stubborn idiot he was, he didn't give up so easily. "What about Roberts? Or Renèe? Can't you stay with them?"
"They have to spend time with their families as well, I wouldn't want to intrude," Julia pointed out, shrugging. "It's okay. Really."
He still didn't look satisfied. "But it's Christmas," he repeated, looking crestfallen. She had to admit, it was sweet that he cared so much.
All of a sudden, his expression changed almost instantly. His eyes lit up excitedly, like he'd just gotten a brilliant idea. The look on his face was starting to worry and confuse her at the same time. In the short time that she'd known him, she noticed that he only ever got that look on his face when he was planning something.
And she knew, once Aaron made up his mind, there was no getting him to change it.
"W-What're you thinking?" She asked wearily, raising an eyebrow while he just smirked.
"I have the perfect solution."
"And that is?"
"You can come and stay at my place," he informed cheerfully, with the air and demeanor of someone who was announcing some sort of great news. His hazel eyes were bright with anticipation.
Julia stared at him for a moment, processing his words before shaking her head quickly. "I don't think that's a very good--"
"Oh, come on, Lia, it'll be fun. You've already met my parents, plus, Fabian and Alec will be there too!"
"But I can't just--"
"Yes, you can," he said stubbornly, even though he hadn't let her finish her sentence. He was just so determined to get her to agree. "It's a great plan, admit it. And we're hosting an annual Christmas Eve party at my home, too!"
Julia gave him an exasperated look, still fairly uncertain. "But this is your house. Which I'll be staying in. For a few days. With four teenage boys."
"You make that sound like it's a bad thing," he said, smiling teasingly. "Come on, it's way better than being stuck at home alone for a whole week, isn't it?" He slightly pouted his lips. "Please?"
She mentally hit her forehead. Whenever - and rarely he did - he gave her that look, she couldn't help but want to comply with whatever it was that he would be asking. The situation was no more different this time around.
She bit her lip unsurely as she thought about it. Honestly, it didn't sound so bad. "Won't...won't your parents mind?"
"Nah. They've already met you at the restaurant that day, remember?" He grinned, cocking his head to one side. "Also, I may have mentioned you a few times..."
Julia was still hesitant. "You really think this is a good idea?"
"Definitely."
She tried to imagine herself living in Aaron's house with the other boys for Christmas. How strange it would be. She'd be lying if she said a small part of her didn't want to agree. Finally, after a few more moments of silent debating with herself, she reluctantly nodded, and the grin of Aaron's face was so wide, she swore it could've split his face into two.
"Really?"
"Yeah, yeah."
He looked like he'd just won the lottery. "Fuck yes! It'll be great, I promise."
"I hope you're not lying."
Aaron chuckled, shaking his head light-heartedly. "You know, when I first asked, I expected you to throw a chair at me, or something."
Her lips formed a teasing smile. "Well, you thought wrong. This doesn't still mean that I still don't think you're extremely annoying."
"I think persuasive is the term you're looking for," he corrected. "I'll tell my mom when I go home later, she'll be excited. She's always complaining about how she's the only woman in the house."
For a brief moment, Julia wondered what Aaron's parents were like. She didn't know much about them, even after sharing a dinner night with them some months ago. They were probably the sweetest people in the world, with the misfortune of having him for an oldest son.
"Alright then. I'll let my parents know about it too, and my aunt -- well, she'll probably just be happy that I'm going out for a change," she explained, standing up and wiping her jeans of any grass.
He scrambled to his feet. "Can I walk to lunch with you?"
She sighed, knowing that he wouldn't have left even if she protested. That was just like Aaron, she noted. He'd never really take no for an answer. "Sure."
As they headed down the halls together, Julia kept her gaze down at the floor, not really knowing what to say. She could feel his arm occasionally brush against hers, and it was unusually driving her a bit crazy. She was stuck somewhere between wanting to push him to the other side of the hallway and wanting to move closer because he just smelt so good.
She was just starting to distract herself when his voice disrupted her train of thought. "So, Lia, can I ask you something?"
Glancing up to see him, she saw him giving her a curious look. "Yeah, go ahead."
Aaron nodded, burying his hands deeper into his pockets as he tried to regain his breath. "Er...Nini told me that you've got a crush on someone at our school."
Oh god, Nini!
Julia blinked in surprise, taken aback. She hadn't been expecting that. How the heck was she supposed to get out of this now. She definitely needed to have a serious talk with her best friend later about keeping her mouth shut.
"Maybe," she admitted, while his expression seemed to stiffen.
"Oh. Okay."
She tried to keep her face impassive, but on the inside she was mentally praying, 'don't ask, don't ask, don't--'
"So...who's the guy?"
She shook her head, sighing. "It's a secret."
He frowned. "Awe, come on! Of course I need to know. What if he's messed up? I should know so I can mess him up instead."
Julia's cheeks went bright scarlet. "Oh, you don't want that. Trust me, it'll be awkward for the both of us."
"Why's that? Do I know him or something?"
"Er...you could say that."
He thought about if for a moment and then he paled. "Wait, don't tell me. Is it one of the guys? Fabian? Alec?"
At his words, Julia nearly choked. "What? No, of course not!"
Aaron looked weirdly relieved. He then furrowed his eyebrows in frustration, trying not to look too desperate. "Then...who?"
"It's just someone."
Noticing that they'd reached the cafeteria, she stopped and turned to face him, looking apologetic. "Well, this was a nice chat and all, Aaron, but I should probably go and find the girls."
"Right. See you later?"
"Mhm."
She started to walk away, but after a few steps, she turned and lifted her hand to wave at him. His heart contracted and did a little somersault as she smiled at him, and he almost forgot to smile back.
The things she does to me.
Once she was gone, he leaned against the wall and sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had to accept what he probably already knew; the undeniable, indisputable reality was that he--
"Dude." Fabian nudged Aaron out of his thoughts, a tired smirk on his face as he rolled his eyes. "We have soccer practice in a couple. You coming?"
Aaron nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. I don't think you guys are allowed to start until I arrive anyway."
Without further ado, the two boys sauntered off in the direction of the gymnasium, while Fabian wrapped an arm around his best friend, not so prepared for another tiresome practice on the field.