Sweetie You Had Me

“Well, Darling, I must say I’m very glad you have stopped pretending that you are brave,” William mocked, as he heard Julie’s fearful silence.

Julie was frozen in her place, William’s smirk not fading as he saw her fear. His face was hidden in the shadows, but his sick grin seemed to only make those shadows seem darker. Julie backed away from the alley slowly, making sure she was in the sunlight, where William could not reach her. She was nearly shaking with fear. She stared at William in pure horror, not caring any longer if he knew she was afraid.

“W-well, would you look at the time? I should probably be on my way…now!” she stuttered out nervously. She turned on her heel to walk the other way, but as she turned away from the other alley, William appeared in the one across the way. Gasping backed up with her eyes wide. She decided that now would be a perfect time to run. Turning in a different direction she started to sprint away from the alley. She heard a devious chuckle escape William’s throat and it only made her run faster, but even as she ran farther and farther away, she thought she could still hear is maniacal laughing right in her ear.

Julie finally made it back to Jon’s apartment, after running for her life for probably the fifth time in a couple short months. She breathed heavily as she leaned her back against the beautiful blue door. She closed her eyes with relief as she stood there, knowing she was safe. Her heart was beating so fast she couldn’t check her pulse. She wasn’t even sure if that was healthy. She tried to regain her composure before stumbling into the apartment, but it obviously didn’t work very well. Jon was sitting on the couch watching a movie. Less then three seconds after Julie walked in, Jon jumped up from the couch and asked, “What happened?!”

Julie looked at him with wide eyes in shock from his reaction, but then went running up to him, squeezing him in a hug. She tried to hold back her inevitable tears, but they had already started to come. She shook from fear as she thought about that horrible face, that sickening smile. He was her worst nightmare, a demon sent to destroy her. . He sighed and wrapped his own arms around her as she clung to him tightly. “H-h-h-ee’s after me, Jon.” She sobbed into he’s shirt. He just shushed her and rubbed her back comfortingly.

“Everything is going to be okay,” he whispered, patting her back. Julie furiously shook her head. She looked up at him, wit her eyes red and puffy.

“No, everything is horrible,” she whispered, “Everything is terrible. I’ve put so many lives in danger, including my own…and I’m scared, Jon.” She let out another sob, “Really, really scared.” She buried her head back into Jon’s shirt and cried a little more, William’s face lingering in every single corner of her mind. She just wished he would disappear. She wished him to be dead.

Jon led her over to the couch, and sat her down, placing himself next to her. He wiped her cheek as another tear fell and rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. “Come on now, Jules,” he started, “You don’t want Bren to see you like this.” Julie slowly lifted her head to look at him.

“B-brendon’s coming?” she asked, surprised as she wiped another tear from her cheek. Jon bit his lip and nodded.

“Didn’t I tell you that?” he asked. Julie shook her head. “Oh, sorry Jules.” Jon scratched the back of his head nervously. Julie just shrugged.

“It’s alright.” Julie said with a long sigh. There was silence for a moment as the two starred at the paused movie that was on the screen. Neither of the two spoke for a few minutes, until Jon decided to open is mouth.

“So, uh, you wanna talk about it?” Jon asked nervously.

“Not really.” Julie answered in monotone.

“You, uh, wanna watch the movie with me?” Julie shrugged, not really wanting to do anything besides mope. Jon smiled and held up the dvd case, “Come on, It’s The Wizard of Oz!” he said with a dorky smile. This got Julie to smile ever the slightest, and as soon as Jon saw the corners of her mouth move, he cheered and plopped back down on the couch, hitting the play button.

Julie tried to focus on the movie. She really did. She curled herself up into a ball as she hugged her knees, placing her eyes on the screen, even though she wasn’t really watching. Julie could barely focus on breathing, much less watching. She hoped she would be alright, like Jon had said. William did sound pretty determined when he told her he was going to kill her. Well, if you want to get technical, he didn’t actually say he was going to kill her, but it was implied. Besides, William didn’t seem like the type of person who would want someone dead and then wait around for someone to kill them. Julie was pretty sure he was a “I’ll do it myself!” kind of guy. She was nervous. She probably wouldn’t get a wink of sleep that night. But before she could continue on with her thoughts, there was a knock on the door. Julie jumped and squeezed her legs even tighter, a squeak released from her mouth. She looked over at Jon with wide eyes as he waved her off with his hand.

“Relax,” he calmly scolded her, “It’s probably Bren.” Yes, That’s what she was afraid of. She was worried about Brendon, and Ryan, and Jon as well. She was putting their lives in danger too. Oh, goodness. She felt so useless and weak. She just wished it would all go away, the worry and the fear. She was tired of running for her life. She was tired of worrying about her friends.

Jon stood from the couch and walked over to the door, pulling it open. He smiled as he saw Brendon and Ryan standing there. He hoped this would Brighten Julie’s mood. “Hey you guys!” he exclaimed, pulling each one into a man hug.

“Hey Jon!” Ryan said, smiling himself.

Brendon waved to Jon, before peeking past him towards Julie, who was looking at him, Ryan, and Jon’s backside from where she sat on the couch. Her face was hidden by her knees, as she looked at him blankly, unsure if she should feel joy or grief. Nevertheless she started to smile as he walked over towards her wearing a joyful grin. She stood and he wrapped her in a cool hug. “Jules,” he breathed, squeezing her lightly. He was so happy to see her alive and well. The two pulled away slightly. Julie smiled lightly at him.

“Bren,” she said, forcing a smile. She was so nervous that he was here. She wished he wouldn’t have come, but at the same time she was so happy to hear his voice.

Brendon’s smile started to fade when he saw the sadness in her eyes. “Julie, what’s wrong?” he asked, pure concern in his voice. Was she not as happy to see him as he was? He was so glad to finally see her after so long.

Julie shook her head as Jon left the room, still putting on that fake smile. “Nothing’s the matter,” she lied through her teeth. She hated lying. She hated it all around, but she especially hated lying to Brendon. She pulled away from Brendon and walked over to Ryan and to give him a hug as well. “Julie!” he squealed as he picked her up and spun her around in the air. She smiled at him and hugged him as well. Ryan put his arm around her shoulders as he led the two of them over to the couch. “How have you been, Doll face?” he asked. Julie mentally bit her lip.

“Oh, you know, same old, same old,” she said, with a wave of her hand. That wasn’t a lie, was it? No. That just wasn’t the truth. Ryan raised an eyebrow at her and Brendon looked at her strangely.

“Who wants to play Monopoly!?” Jon shouted, as he came back into the living room with the board game. Julie smiled. Note to self: give Jon a giant hug when Brendon and Ryan leave.