Seize Control

"Julie, come down here!" her mother shouted up the stairs.

She groaned as she pushed the two books and notebook off her lap and got up from her bed, taking two stairs at a time to reach her mother at the bottom. "Yeah?"

"You've got a guest," she said, nodding her head toward the front living room.

Juliette turned her head to look and see the boy standing in the doorway. She knew him because they went to school together, but they had never spoken to each other. He was still wearing his lacrosse uniform and his blonde hair was still damp which was she guessed because he had just come from practice. He crossed his arms over his chest and Juliette sighed, turning her head back to look at her mother. She nodded once and Gemma gave her a look before disappearing into the dining room.

Juliette turned back to the boy in her foyer, pulling her pajama shorts farther down her legs then crossing her arms over her chest to match his stance. "What are you doing in my house, Roman?"

"We need to talk."

"What could you and I possibly have to talk about?"

"Silas."

She opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it back when she realized she didn't know what to say.

"Whatever happened between you guys, you have to fix it."

"Whatever happened between us is none of your business."

"It is my business. His playing is shit right now. My team is going to lose because he isn't focused on the game."

"That's not my problem," she scowled stubbornly.

"He has to get over whatever it is, Jules. If he doesn't, the whole team suffers."

"You're his captain. Why don't you just go tell him to snap out of it?"

"Just go talk to him."

"No. He was the one being an asshole. None of this is my fault and I'm not going to go pretend like it is just because your team sucks."

"Jules-"

"No!"

His arms dropped to his sides and he sighed heavily. "He likes you, you know. I don't know if that's what this whole thing with you two is about, but he does."

She shook her head. "That's impossible. He's like my only friend."

"Which is probably why he was scared to tell you."

"That can't be what this is. It's just not-.....possible."

"See, this is why you need to talk to him."

She frowned. "I told you I'm not doing it. If he wants to come talk to me, great. But I'm not going to be the one to apologize when I didn't do anything."

"Fine. I'll talk to him."

"Good."

They stared each other down for a few moments before he finally shook his head and walked to the door. He grabbed the doorknob then stopped to look back at her. "You're can be kind of a bitch sometimes, you know."

"Yeah. My mother would be so proud." Without another word, he opened the door and stepped out, jogging down the steps back to his car, which was parked right next to hers. "Hey, Roman?"

He looked up from the keys in his hand. "What?"

"You shouldn't come back here."

With that, she shut the door on him and leaned against it, sighing heavily. Gemma appeared around the corner almost immediately, giving her daughter a look. "What?" she asked, annoyed.

The corners of Gemma's mouth twitched upward into a smirk. "Nothing, baby."

Juliette shook her head, ignoring her mother's proud look and ascended the stairs to go back to her bedroom. She curled up on her bed, picking up her book and she tried to finish reading the chapter she had been in the middle of. After reading the same sentence six times and still not being able to focus on the material, she groaned and got up from her bed, letting the book fall to the floor as she went over to her dresser. She grabbed a pair of running shorts and an old black tank top and pulled them on then dug around in her closet for her neon green running shoes.

As soon as she finished tying the laces, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and headed out for a run, not even bothering to inform her mother of where she was going. Running usually helped her clear her mind but she didn't get to do it often because of the "safety risks" her family said it posed.

She had already reached the town park before she slowed her pace to a slow walk to rest a little. She walked the path that led around the outside of the park as children played on the swings and parents looked on from the park benches. Even after an hour, her mind still wasn't able to forget what she had been told earlier. She sighed in defeat and changed her direction to walk back home.

As she passed through the parking lot, she noticed a young blonde man kneeling over looking at a white motorcycle and shaking his head, cursing under his breath. He wasn't wearing a cut and he didn't seem particularly menacing so she slowly approached him. "This is impossible," he groaned to himself as he ran his hands down his face, frustrated.

"That's a Dyna right?"

His head snapped up and he took in the sight of the girl in front of him. "Yeah. Do I know you?"

She shook her head and held out her hand. "I'm Julie."

"Kip," he replied, rising to his feet to shake her hand.

"So what's wrong with your bike, Kip?"

He scratched the back of his neck, once again turning his eyes to the bike next to him. "I don't really know. The battery keeps dying but I don't know what's causing it."

"Have you checked the voltage regulator for oil?"

"Why would the voltage regulator have oil in it?"

"It could've come up from the stator and shorted out the plug."

His brow furrowed but he bent down next to his bike again. Juliette patiently waited as he took her suggestion and checked the part she mentioned. When he finally stood to his feet again, his hands were covered in the stickly black oil. "Well, well. Looks like you were right. How did you know that?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I've been reading some books."

He looked at her confused but then he shook his head. "Well, thanks for the help."

"No problem."

"Hey, are you, uh, busy now?"

"Not at all. Why?"

"I was thinking maybe we could grab some food or something," he shrugged nonchalantly.

She smiled but then took a look down at herself. "I have a better idea. How about you go home and wash off the grease, I'll go home and wash off the sweat, and we'll meet back here at, say, 7?"

He nodded. "Sure, but at least let me take you home."

"How are you going to do that?" she chuckled.

His gaze shifted from her to his currently undriveable bike. "Oh. Shit."

She laughed again. "How are you going to get that thing home?"

"Uh....tow?"

"Good idea. I know a guy," she replied, trying to hide her smile. She recited the Teller-Morrow number to him and he dialed the number, then talked briefly to someone on the phone. When he hung up, he turned back to her. "They should be here within ten."

She nodded with a smile. "Good. Well, I should get going then."

"Wait, you don't want a ride?"

"I'll be fine. It's just a short jog home for me." She did not want to be there when whoever it was (probably Bobby or Piney) showed up to tow Kip's bike.

"Okay," he agreed. "Well, I'll see you at 7."

"Yes, you will," she replied. With that, she took off in the direction of her house, starting with just a slow walk but then beginning to jog when she was out of his line of vision.

As soon as she returned home, she hurried upstairs to her bathroom to take a shower. She pulled on some jeans and a green tank top, then pulled on her black boots before braiding her hair to the side and applying some light makeup. After a once over in the mirror, she grabbed her black leather jacket and headed out of the house.

This night would definitely help her clear her mind.