Maybe Just a Dash of Cliché

Julian got off his bike and set his helmet on the seat. He faced the girl and looked her over.

"Wow... You changed so much! How are you?" He asked, opening his arms. The girl, Christina, hugged him.

"Good. How are you?" She asked, pulling away from him.

"Okay, I guess." He replied.

"Oh my gosh, Julian!" She suddenly exclaimed. "You're so tall!" She gasped. Julian grinned. "I thought you would never grow." She said, laughing slightly. Julian pouted, his lip ring jutting out. "Hey! You still have the lip ring!" Christina said, pointing at his lip.

Julian stopped pouting and replied. "Of course!"

"Wow, Julian..." Christina said, slowing down her voice.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You got cute..." She pointed at his face, a look of amazement plastered across her face. He shoved her finger away from his face.

"Shut up!" He said, leaning against his motorcycle.

"I mean... You got... hot... How do I explain this?" She said, tapping her finger against her chin. As she was thinking, Julian blushed a slight pink color.

"Okay, Christina, I got it..." He said, growing uncomfortable by each second.

Christina brightened and smiled. "Okay!" She said, shrugging. She then looked behind Julian. "Is that yours?" She asked, referring to the motorcycle. Julian looked at his bike and nodded.

"Yup." He replied, grinning.

"So cool..." She muttered, tracing her fingers over the bike.

"Wanna go for a ride? I have work, but I could call in sick or something." Julian told her. She looked up and smiled brightly at him.

"Really?!"

"Sure."

"Coolio..." Christina said.

"Hold up, just let me call my boss." He said. "Do you have a cell phone I could borrow?"

"Oh sure." She pulled out her cell phone and handed it to Julian.

"Thanks." He said. Christina nodded. He dialed the number and waited as it rung. "Hello? Yeah, I'm sorry, but I can't come in today. Some... things came up." He glanced towards Christina who was looking over his bike. "Ok. Thanks. I'll be in tomorrow for sure. Ok, bye." He hung up the phone and gave it back to Christina. "Thanks again. Ready to go?" Christina nodded.

Julian handed his extra helmet to her. Christina securely put the helmet on. She got on the bike after Julian and held onto his waist. During the ride, he passed by the private school again. He quickly glanced inside. He saw a girl. But he could only see her back. He couldn't see her face. He could only see her dark, almost black hair and a violin case strapped onto her back. He noticed the school uniform. He rolled his eyes and then brought it back onto the road.

Uniform...

He thought, making his way over to a nearby park. He snickered to himself. When they got there, he turned off his motorcycle. Christina got off first and took off the helmet. Julian got off as well, also talking off his helmet. When he turned around to set his helmet on the seat of his bike, Christina wandered over to a bench. When Julian turned back around, he was slightly confused. He then looked around and saw Christina sitting down. He sighed and made his way over to where she was. He sat down next to her.

Christina sighed as Julian sat by her. It was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. She thought back to her times with Julian. It seemed so long ago. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at him. He changed. And what she said earlier was true. He did get cute; too cute...

"Are you really Julian Grant?" Christina asked him suspiciously. Julian chuckled.

"Of course I am." Julian replied. She narrowed her eyes at him. He still had that playful look in his eyes.

"O... k..." She said slowly.

"What do you want to do now? We have a lot of catching up to do." Julian said. Christina shrugged.

"I don't know..." She muttered, facing him. Julian turned to look at her.

"Okay. I guess we just sit here 'til an idea pops into our head." He said, turning back around and leaning his back against the bench. Christina did the same.

"I guess..." She said as she sighed.

Before Lily entered the halls of the school, she heard a motorcycle behind her. She turned around, but it was too late. The bike was already gone. She sighed and turned back around. She walked into the halls, making her way towards her locker. She inwardly grunted when she saw someone else in the halls. It was the most popular guy in school. He always thought he was so cool. He always picked on Lily.

When Lily got to her locker, she heard footsteps behind her. She closed her eyes shut. She then was jerked backwards. She opened her eyes in surprise. She came face-to-face with light blue eyes. Lily leaned back, away from him.

"Oh come on, Lily. You know you want me." He said, his face leaning in closer. When Lily replied, it was just above a whisper.

"P-please, Duncan. Go away." She stuttered. From the corner of her eye, Lily saw him smirk. Duncan took only one step away from her.

"Come on, Lily. I know you want to get a piece of this." With his hands, he referred to his body.

Lily prevented herself from scoffing. Before she could say anything else to him, the bell rang. Lily breathed out a sigh of relief. She glanced at Duncan and saw him grunt out in frustration. She looked down, hiding a small smile on her lips. She was so happy the bell rang. She quickly stepped away from him and walked into the crowd of people now entering the halls.

When Lily got to her next class, she seemed more relaxed than when the day started. She knew that in a few class periods, the school day would be over. She looked forward to that. At that exact moment, Julian and his old friend, Christina, were still trying to figure out what to do with their free time.

"Ok. I give up. I have no idea what to do." Christina said, slouching slightly in her seat. Julian nodded in agreement.

"Me too." He replied. "Hmm... Wait... Wanna go to a bar?"

"It's 2 in the afternoon, Julian!" Christina exclaimed.

"I mean to hang out and play pool." Julian explained.

"Oh. Ok then."

They both got up and made their way to Julian's bike. After a few minutes, they arrived at the same pool hall Julian had met Lily.

When the school day was over, Lily made her way to the music room. As she entered the room, a few of the remaining students from the class before glared at her. Lily ignored that and smiled sweetly at them. They grunted towards her. When they left, Lily was left alone in the music room with the teacher.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Wilder." Lily said politely.

"Good afternoon, Lily. How was your day?"

"It was fine. And you?"

"Wonderful. Thank you for asking."

"You're welcome." Lily replied.

"Shall we begin?" Mrs. Wilder asked her. Lily nodded. She opened her violin case and gently took out her violin. She still took violin classes with her music teacher to improve on some things she needed practice on. As the lesson dragged on, Lily made a few mistakes on the notes. "Lily, you missed a note." Mrs. Wilder commented.

"Oh? Did I?" Lily asked, setting her violin down.

"Yes, you did."

"Oh... I'm so sorry! I've been really... distracted lately." Lily explained.

"Okay. Well, remember to practice regularly. In two months, the recital is going to take place. The piece you are doing has to be perfected by then. There is going to be a lot of people there. And if you do well, you just might get spotted. And do what you always wanted to do."

"To become a famous violin player..." Lily finished.

"Yes. So you should practice everyday to get to your goal." Lily nodded in agreement. "Okay. I think that's it for today. Practice this tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." Mrs. Wilder said.

Lily nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Wilder. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" Lily exclaimed, leaving the classroom.

"Bye!" Mrs. Wilder replied.

When Lily exited the school doors, she saw Evan waiting by the car. She smiled at him as she walked towards him. Evan opened the door for her and closed it once she was inside. He quickly got into his seat and started the car. Soon after, Evan drove off.

Lily sat in the backseat of the car, humming to herself. She tapped her fingers against her violin case, going along with the beat she was humming. She stared out the window as the scenery passed by. Lily sighed as she passed by the bar where she first saw Julian. She blushed at the thought of him; the thought of her arms around his waist when he gave her a ride on his motorcycle. Her blush darkened.

Just as the car Lily was in drove by the bar, on the way to her house, a motorcycle was parked in the bar parking lot. Lily didn't even notice this.

As Julian and Christina enjoyed playing a good game of pool, Julian didn’t even know that just outside, Lily passed by the bar in her car.

Lily sighed as the car pulled into her driveway. To her much surprise, she saw Greg standing on her porch. He faced the door, obviously waiting for the front door to be opened. He didn't notice that a car pulled up behind him 'til he heard a door slam shut. He turned around and saw Lily standing by the car, bag and violin in hand. She had a look of confusion and surprise etched on her face.

"Greg?" Lily asked, stepping forward. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh... I thought that if you aren't busy, then we could go out for coffee or something..." Greg said nervously. Lily glanced at Evan then looked back to Greg.

"Sure. Just let me get changed." Greg nodded as they both entered her house. Evan went to park the car.

Lily quickly went up the stairs and entered her room. She closed the door behind her. She walked to her closet and looked through her clothes. She chose on wearing a simple light green tank top and knee-length white skirt. She changed out of her uniform and changed into said clothes. When Lily walked back downstairs, she saw Greg wasn't alone.

"Great..." Lily muttered under her breath as she saw her father talking to Greg in the foyer. "Ugh..." She grunted before she made it to the last step of the stairs.