Love from, Hell

The next morning Julie reluctantly opened her eyes. She was looking at the TV. She recognized the den. Julie blinked and remembered that she'd fallen asleep on Malcolm's chest. A rush of feeling woke her up and then almost instantly plummeted when she realized that she was lying on her side and not on his chest. In the next second, she tried to move and realized there was no room for movement except to fall off the futon. After that moment, Julie realized that her body wasn't perfectly contoured to the back of the futon, since that wasn't possible. Julie quickly twisted her head.

The morning sun glowed on Malcolm's face. Although he was completely still, Julie knew that he was asleep and not dead. He looked like a dark angel. Which is ironic, Julie remembered with a jolt of panic. But the jolt wasn't strong and Julie carefully rotated around in his arms to lay on her other side and look at Malcolm. She breathed contentedly and stared at him. It was overwhelmingly calming to watch Malcolm sleep, like observing a
watercolor painting.

Malcolm was the prince of Hell. And he'd been right, of course. After a full night's rest, her brain was able to think more logically. There was no point in denying that Malcolm being the prince of Hell terrified her. It was the confirmation that there was such a place and that a whole other world of nightmares existed. But Julie also couldn't deny that she was fascinated. It was disgusting and morbid, but still absolutely intriguing. And besides, she reasoned, she wasn't afraid of Malcolm himself per se. In fact, she felt invariably safe with him and was completely and cursedly in love with him.

Julie sighed quietly as her heart swelled. Yes, she was very much in love with Malcolm.

Malcolm opened his eyes then, and blinked once, gazing at Julie. His awakening was much more peaceful than Julie's had been.

"Hello," Julie greeted softly.

"Hello," Malcolm replied quietly. He didn't move at all, he kept his arms around her, and stared at Julie guardedly and she stared back at him.

"Are you alright?" Malcolm finally asked. He was acting as though she'd just woken up from a lengthy coma, caused by a near death experience.

"You were right," Julie replied after a pause. Malcolm's eyes searched her intensely.

"Sleep helped clear my head," Julie explained. Malcolm tensed his jaw and continued to stare at her.

"Are you scared?" Malcolm asked, his voice rough with tension.

"Yes," Julie admitted. Malcolm inhaled sharply and then slowly, almost painfully, released his hold on Julie. Julie gasped in protest and reached for Malcolm's face, stopping him.

"But I love you. Its morning and I'm still in love with you," Julie stressed. Malcolm scrutinized her, his blue eyes seeming to look through her, making Julie want to cringe under the intense stare. But she didn't and waited anxiously.

"Are you sure Julie?" Malcolm checked finally, narrowing his eyes. Julie decided that she'd show him rather than tell him and kissed Malcolm. The warmth swelled in her chest and made her veins turn electric. After a moment, Malcolm was convinced as he moved to let Julie lie flat on her back and he propped himself up on his elbow, his hand holding her face and the other free hand against her waist.

Eventually he drew away and looked at Julie's face. Finally in the light of day Julie could see him look at her like he loved her. It made her forget how to breathe, the way he gazed at her.

"You're beautiful Julie," Malcolm told her. Julie smiled weakly at him.

"Really?" Julie said tilting her head a little and giving him a half smile.

"Yes. Devastatingly," Malcolm said. He carefully brushed her bangs away from her forehead.

"Malcolm?" Julie said.

"Hm?" Malcolm replied, looking at her hair.

"How old are you?" Julie wondered. Malcolm turned his attention back to her.

"What's that?" He clarified.

"How old are you?" Julie asked.

"I'm twenty," Malcolm answered for her. "How old are you?" He asked to continue the conversation and went back to delicately stroking her bangs.

"I'm twenty too," Julie said. Malcolm frowned and looked at her.

"Twenty two the age or twenty also?" He asked, sounding slightly impatient. Julie grinned.

"Twenty also," Julie said. Malcolm's frown disappeared and he smiled back at her.

"When's your birthday?" Julie asked.

"Why?" Malcolm asked curiously. Julie blinked and shrugged.

"Just wondering," Julie said.

"January 12th," Malcolm said. Julie made a face.

"What?" Malcolm said touching her crinkled nose.

"You're still older than me. My birthday is March 2nd," Julie said. Malcolm rolled his eyes at her. Julie stared at his long eyelashes.

"That doesn't matter. We're born in the same year," Malcolm said dismissively. Julie sighed and shrugged.

Just then a raspy meow came from over the side of the futon. Malcolm eyed Bert as he poked his head up over the edge and sniffed at them and then disappeared even though Julie 'tsked' at him encouragingly. When Bert's head was gone, Julie looked at Malcolm.

"You scared him off," Julie accused. Malcolm grinned at her.

"Animals don't like me much," He explained.

Bert suddenly jumped up on the end of the futon. He strutted over Malcolm's legs and ducked around to sniff Julie's face. Malcolm growled quietly under his breath as Bert's tail lightly flicked him in the face. Julie giggled and scratched her cat's neck. He purred loudly.

"Get out of it," Malcolm grumbled and pushed the cat off the futon with the back of his hand.

"Hey! Be nice to my cat," Julie scolded, pretending to be angry, but contradicted her words by lightly touching Malcolm's cheek. Malcolm glared at her.

"I'll be nice to it if it's nice to me," Malcolm said vindictively. Julie rolled her eyes.

"Well maybe you could be the bigger person and be nice to him first," Julie said sarcastically while she gently stroked Malcolm's cheek. She grinned at her calling Malcolm the bigger person.

"Very funny Julie. I'll be a bigger person than a cat. I don't see why I should be nice to him. I was here first," Malcolm said. Julie tutted at him.

"Well I was. I'm the human, he's the pet. He should recognize the alpha enemy and not cop such attitude," Malcolm continued. Julie frowned at him.

"Bert's a cat, Malcolm," She said, giggling.

"Regardless," Malcolm grumbled. Julie held his face, turning him to face her again.

"You should be nice to him because he's my cat," Julie tried, hoping he'd pick up on the 'my'. Malcolm's expression softened.

"…fine," Malcolm relented. Julie smiled in triumph and started to lift her neck to kiss him, but Malcolm beat her to it by bending his head to kiss her. It was a long, verging on fire kiss and was distracting Julie completely. Malcolm drew back.

"Hmm," He said.

Malcolm bent his head down and brushed his lips against Julie's neck. Julie's eyes fluttered shut and this time she wrapped her arms lightly around Malcolm's shoulders. Malcolm continued running his lips along Julie's neck, parting them now and then and sending shivers down Julie's spine.

Malcolm sighed suddenly and wrapped his arms around Julie, hugging her to his chest. Julie turned and kissed Malcolm's neck. Malcolm sat up, suddenly, and brought Julie up with him, pulling her into his lap. Julie leaned against his shoulder and stretched her legs out on to the coffee table.

"Julie?" Malcolm began quietly.

"Mhm?" She hummed peacefully.

"Have you ever been to Paris?" He asked curiously, out of the blue.

"No. I've heard it's beautiful though," Julie said.

"So you'd like to go?" Malcolm deduced.

"Yeah, of course, one day…" Julie trailed off, looking down at Malcolm's hands around her waist. They were pale and strong, with long, refined fingers.

"We'll go. Pack quickly," Malcolm said with a shrug, releasing his hold on her. Julie frowned, sitting up and turning to look at him.

"What?" Julie said. Malcolm raised his eyebrows at her. His blue eyes were shining.

"Go pack. Just the essentials. I can buy you dresses there," Malcolm said simply. He smiled encouragingly at her. Julie blinked, her heart pounding a little faster. He was so handsome.

"… Are you serious?" Julie asked.

"Of course. You want to go to this place, I have the means to take you there, I'm taking you there," Malcolm said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But it costs so much money. And trips like that take planning," Julie said. Malcolm rolled his ice blue eyes.

"Julie, don't even think twice about the money," He commanded. Julie sighed and touched her mouth.

"Would you want to go with me, Julie?" Malcolm asked suddenly, frowning in thought. Julie rolled her eyes this time.

"Of course I want to go with you," She laughed at him, looking away. Julie pulled her braid over her shoulder and combed the end of the braid with her fingers. Malcolm slid closer to Julie and she looked at him, her skin tingling while he gazed at her.

"Come on. Go pack. You have to go back to school in a week, so we shouldn't waste any time," Malcolm persuaded. He was close enough that Julie could hear the musical undertone hum deeply in his voice. She could smell his warm, edged scent. He was winning her over far too easily.

"Alright," Julie smiled, knowing full well how unfairly bewitching he was. Malcolm grinned, shocking her with his beautiful, happy face. Julie blinked, taking deep breaths and grinning back at him. Malcolm kissed her quickly.

"Put some things in a carry-on. I'll wait for you," He told her softly, but his voice was excited. Julie smiled.

"Ok," She said and stood up. She darted up the stairs and into her bedroom.

This was crazy. Julie grabbed a canvas tote from the bottom of her closet. She tossed underwear and a brush and deodorant in it. Her parents... well she was an adult and she didn't need her parents' permission. What was so crazy about it, really? Just because it was impulsive and unplanned didn't make it wrong. And besides, Europe with Malcolm sounded pretty close to Heaven, no matter what he might think.

Julie went into the bathroom and put a toothbrush in her bag. She went back in her room and took her passport and wallet out of her purse. Julie bit her lip. She didn't have much money in her bank account, but there was enough to make her feel a little better about this trip. Although Malcolm seemed genuinely cavalier about financing their trip, Julie felt guilty when she thought about it. She stowed her wallet in her bag, just to give her peace of mind.

Downstairs, Malcolm was standing patiently at the window, his hands in his jeans' pockets. Julie smiled, hiking her tote up on her shoulder. He turned when she was finished descending the stairs and he smiled at her.

"I'm going to write a note for my parents," Julie said walking over to him. Malcolm put a hand on her waist.

"Ok," He said. Julie went into the kitchen and grabbed a note pad from a drawer. She leaned on the counter and spun her pencil in her fingers a couple times, then started writing.

"What will you tell them?" Malcolm suddenly asked near her ear. Julie inhaled, her heart pounding once from the surprise. She smiled and looked at Malcolm.

"Malcolm's taking me down to Tijuana to meet up with the girls for the rest of spring break. I want to thank them so much for having me, and for having you, and I love them a whole lot. And mom don't worry, I will call you when we reach," Julie said. Malcolm hummed and touched his lips to her ear gently. Then he stood up straight.

"Why not tell them the truth?" Malcolm said.

"I will… one day. It's hard to explain," Julie said, signing the note.

"I don't like lying to your parents. I have a lot of respect for them," Malcolm said sounding a little surprised with his words. He was looking at a decorative plate Heather had hung on the wall.

"Don't worry. I'll tell them one day. It's just… they're my parents, they don't actually want to know about the adult things I do," Julie said, tearing off the note and leaving it on the counter.

"Which adult things?" Malcolm asked with a crooked smile and looked at Julie. She put the notepad and the pencil away. She cleared her throat.

"You ready?" Julie asked, ignoring his question. Malcolm smiled.

"Yes. Are you?" Malcolm asked, walking closer to her. Julie nodded, holding the strap of her tote bag. She smiled when Malcolm stood in front of her and put his hand on her waist.

"Don't you need to take anything with you?" Julie demanded of his nature.

"I have everything I need," He said with a shrug and then kissed her. Julie smiled at him, lowering her eyelids. Malcolm took her hand and they walked out of the house.

Malcolm didn't ask Julie where the nearest airport was and just starting speeding on his way.

"I think we should go to Monaco for a couple days. Would you like to stay on the beach?" This was an actual question that Malcolm posed, unsure if Julie would like to stay on a beach in Monaco.

"That… sounds amazing," Julie laughed at him.

Malcolm pulled took a ticket from the gate tender and drove into an underground parking lot. He parked his car and put the ticket on the dash.

"How did you know where the airport was?" Julie had to know. Malcolm looked at her, surprised.

"I studied a map before I came here," He said. Julie blinked, even though that answer made more sense than "I just knew", which was what she expected him to say. Malcolm took her hand and they walked into the airport. Malcolm paused, looking around.

"Hmm," He hummed with casual contemplation. Julie rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand. She was about to point out the sign that said 'International' but Malcolm started walking before she could say anything. He put a hand around her waist. They walked up to a line of people waiting to get their tickets and stood at the end. Julie leaned her forehead against Malcolm's arm lightly, inhaling his scent.

Malcolm sighed impatiently.

"Come on," He said and then grinned impishly.

"What-?" Julie protested, but followed Malcolm has he cut in front of all the people. They looked at Malcolm, too stunned to say anything. Julie averted her eyes and swallowed. Malcolm walked up to the nearest teller.

"We need two tickets to Paris on the next flight," Malcolm told the woman. She looked up at Malcolm, blinked three times, and then started typing in the computer.

"Which-which class?" She asked.

"… first," Malcolm said obviously, his voice questioning her mental competence. Julie pinched his arm, hiding her smile. Malcolm turned his head and smiled at her, looking too good, and then looked back at the woman.

"Passports?" She requested. Julie pulled hers out of her tote and handed it to the lady. She took down Julie's information, typing it into the computer. She handed back Julie her passport and then looked at Malcolm.

"Sir?" She asked. Malcolm smiled one of his micro-smiles at her and then handed her a passport. Julie looked from him to the passport suspiciously. She was fairly confident that Malcolm could forge, buy, or charm his way through anything, but as a rule-abiding person, she was a little nervous.

"Perfect," The woman said and handed Malcolm back his passport. Malcolm slid his passport back in his pocket and looked at Julie. She smiled at him, at first condescendingly, and then her heart kept pounding and her smile turned to loving. Malcolm's sway over her was dangerous. Malcolm gazed back at her.

"Would you prefer the salmon, steak, or vegetarian meal?" The woman asked Malcolm. Malcolm just kept looking at Julie.

"Oh, um, the salmon please," Julie spoke up.

"I'll have the same," Malcolm said, sparing the woman a glance and then looking at Julie again.

"Ok, that'll come to-" She began but Malcolm was already handing her the credit card with strange colors. She swiped it, Malcolm signed the receipt with a little finesse and then they were handed their tickets.

"… Luggage?" She asked when Malcolm started to guide Julie away.

"No thank you," Malcolm said to her with a grin, making the woman blush and blink at Malcolm. Julie laughed and smacked Malcolm's arm.

They went through security. Julie went through easily, but the metal detector beeped for Malcolm. Julie's heart pounded while the man waved the wand over Malcolm. Malcolm rolled his eyes at Julie. The man called over another worker to pat down and wave the wand over Malcolm. Malcolm impatiently put up with it and said nothing. Eventually, the men had to let him pass since Malcolm didn't have anything on him. They looked like they wanted to perform a full search on him, probably because Malcolm sort of looked like the ultimate dark and handsome villain. But they let him go.

Malcolm touched Julie's back and kissed her and they went up to the lady receiving the tickets. She told them their seats and wished them a safe flight, giving Malcolm an extra wide grin. He ignored her.

"Have you been on a plane before?" Julie whispered to Malcolm as they walked along the hallway to the plane. He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

"No. Are you nervous about flying?" Malcolm asked, concerned.

"Just a little," Julie admitted. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. Julie wanted to wrap her arms around him and curl up in his lap, but fought down the strong urge.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," He assured her confidently. Julie made a face. Malcolm guided her to the front of the plane into the first class section.

"I feel a little better," Julie understated as they settled into leather recliners. Malcolm smiled and took Julie's hand. A gorgeous blond stewardess came over to them and smiled flirtatiously at Malcolm.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked him.

"Champagne. In an ice bucket please," He said to her.

"Anything else?" She asked quietly to him. Malcolm brought his and Julie's hands to his face and kissed the back of her hand.

"No. That's all," Malcolm said dismissively. Julie bit back a smile, her heart pounding once a little anxiously. A strange mixture of feelings tumbled through her: Malcolm's words didn't come off as rude per se, he just sounded so… prince-like, in undeniable, subtle ways. It was attractive, frightening, impressive, and intimidating all at the same time.

The stewardess left obediently, stricken silent from Malcolm's attitude. Malcolm touched his mouth to the back of Julie's hand and looked at her. He blinked at her expression.

"Are you alright?" He asked immediately, his brow furrowing with concern.

"Nothing, nothing. You just… kind of leave me speechless," Julie said. Malcolm smiled hesitantly.

"In a good way," She assured him quickly, lowering their twined hands to the arm rest. "… mostly. In many good ways," She amended, not wanting to be foolish and hide the fact that she was intimidated by him.

"… I scare you," Malcolm whispered, staring at her.

"I don't want to lie, Malcolm," Julie whispered back.

"Good. Don't hide how you feel with me. You just need to say one word and I'll take you home and… stop scaring you," Malcolm said.

"No," Julie protested immediately. Malcolm paused and then smiled at her.

"I don't want to leave you. The only way I would is if you asked me to leave," Malcolm promised. Julie rolled her eyes and looked down at their hands.

"Don't hold your breath," She sighed a half smile and looked at Malcolm, her smile still crooked. Her breath caught at the way he was looking at her, the intense gaze.

"You kind of leave me speechless," Malcolm quoted her words back to her. Julie laughed at him, the unsure slang "kind of" sounding ridiculous in his exquisite voice.

"I'm not going anywhere, Julie," Malcolm warned her, making her heart flutter with happiness at the committed words from him. He looked away, to the front.

"I'm rather swim through a Lake of fire- oh wait," Malcolm joked darkly, making a Hell reference. Julie's heart momentarily stopped beating. Malcolm looked at her.

"Funny," She smiled, shakily and raising her eyebrows.

"… I'm sorry," Malcolm apologized, taking back his comment. Julie just shook her head slightly and leaned closer to kiss him. Malcolm's lips were soft and moved very gently with hers.

"Your champagne," The stewardess reluctantly interrupted. Malcolm took the ice bucket from her and nodded for her to leave. She blinked and left. Julie scratched her neck, bemused by Malcolm's reflexive behavior.

He popped the champagne bottle's cork and poured the two crystal glasses full. He handed one to Julie and lifted his, using the elbow on the air rest as a fulcrum. Julie turned in her seat to face him.

"To…" Malcolm began, and then trailed off.

"Out of speeches, your highness?" Julie teased quietly. Malcolm looked at her.

"Please… don't call me that," Malcolm asked suddenly, slipping momentarily behind his wall devoid of emotion.

"I'm sorry," Julie apologized, grabbing his free hand with hers, pulling him back to her. Malcolm smiled and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I love you," Malcolm said quietly, looking at their hands. Julie looked at him, wondering what was going on in his head. Scared of what was going on in his head.

"To adventure," Julie toasted suddenly. Malcolm looked up at her and his eyes shone again. He clicked his champagne glass against hers and they drank.