Chapter 47: Chapter 47

I turned my head quickly and saw an older man smoking a cigarette with three other people while leaning against a wall. "Hey, honey, come over here and we'll show you how three real men treat a beautiful woman like you!" I roll my eyes, but before I can take a step, my roommates come back and surround me.

"Get lost, man!" Kyle yells.

"What gives you pleasure, pervert, when you hit on women younger than you?" Mark yells. Kent doesn't even say anything; he just puts his hand on my shoulder to keep me away from them.

"Look, you guys, it's fine." I grumble. "Just take it easy." I finally sigh when I find my chapstick. Even though it wasn't right, it wasn't anything new. I knew he wouldn't try anything when I was with three other guys.

"Guys like that make the rest of us look fucked up." Mark tells me and I snort.

"Don't take it too much to heart." I remind him, and Kent lets go of my arm. I didn't want him to touch me, and I didn't want his problems to be near me.

I put the cap on the chapstick, but then I drop it and it rolls down the street. This isn't my night at all. When someone I know picks it up for me, I groan and run toward it.

"Hey Julianna." Chase says as he gives it to me again, and I smile.

"Hey, I'm glad you made it." When I tell him, he gives me a weird hug. He's too far into it for me to pull away without making it clear that I didn't want to hug him. So I sigh and quickly give him a hug.

"Julianna!" Abby squeals and pulls him away from me, and I just smile and hug her. "Oh I haven't seen you all week! Where were you last night?

I take a moment to think, ignoring the first thing that comes to mind, which is "kissing Kent," and coming up with another answer.

"J-just getting some rest and taking care of myself." She agrees with what I say. "This week was hard."

"Yes, I did hear. I'm so sorry." She sighs and hugs me again.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She got better, and I took care of it. Now I'm ready to just have fun." I tell her that, and she eagerly nods.

"I'm glad." I smile when she says it. "You look so cute, your top is my favorite thing about you." I smile when she tells me.

"I love your pants too." Since she's wearing leather high-waisted ones, I tell her. "I see them every day-"

"You should get two of them." She encourages. "I bet you'd look so cute."

"I'd worry that they wouldn't stretch far enough."

"It depends where you get them." She smiles, and I just shrug and look up the line.

"How long have you been standing around?"

"Not too long," he said. She tells me that. "The line has been moving fairly well."

"Good, the weather is getting colder." I know I should have picked a warmer jacket, and I own up to that. "So, how was your week? What were you doing-"

"What's up?" We hear Piper and her family get out of an Uber-X next to us, and I see them.

"No." Abby laughs when I whisper. All of them looked like an L. A nightclub, with big waves in the hair and tight dresses with sparkles.

"Hi Kent!" Piper says, cutting in line, and he moves out of the way.

"Do you know what I learned?" I whisper, and her eyebrows go up. "They've never slept together in real life."

"Really?" Abby snarls, and I just nod. "Wow, it just seemed like that because of how awkward everything was. You know the rumors that go around about him."

"Well, I trust him, not what people are saying." I give a shrug, and Abby smiles and raises her eyebrows while crossing her arms. "What?"

"Wow, you changed your mind so quickly!" She pokes me in the ribs as a joke. "You like him-"

"No, I don't." I laugh and shake my head.

"Oh, come on, he's hot, even though he's a brooding jerk." I roll my eyes when she whispers. "I knew it would be too hard to live next to-"

"Abby." When I huff, she puts her hands up. "Stop talking before anyone hears you." I beg, and she agrees and gives me a hug to say she's sorry.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry." She is happy.

"Hey ladies! Who's next? You're keeping everyone else waiting!" When the doorman calls to us, I turn my head. Chase, Darren, and Ellis had already gone through the line, so it was our turn.

"Oh, no." When Abby smiles and winks at him, his whole face softens. I wish I had more people skills like that.

After that, I give him my ID, which he looks at carefully. "What are all of your names?" When he asks, I sigh.

"Julianna Macey." I tell him, getting angry.

I need to take my license test again because my face has changed a lot since I lost weight. People always thought I was using my older sister's ID or a fake because I'd lost weight, which was much more annoying.

"Birthday?"

"February 20th, the year 2000." I tell him, and he carefully nods his head.

"Zip code?"

"Seriously?" I ask, and his eyebrows go up. "ZB4 3.5C."

"Do you have another?" He asks.

"Dude, she's fucking twenty-one years old! Now, with this crap, you're holding up the line!" Mark yells, and he doesn't back down. I had to look through my bag to find my wallet.

"Here are my credit card, my Medicaid card, and my student ID. They all have the same stuff on them. I've just lost weight and let my hair grow out." I huff, and he looks at all of them quickly.

"Okay, next." He says something, and I bite the inside of my cheek because I'm mad. I feel angry as I put the cards back where they belong in my wallet. Like he had just wasted my time.

What a piece of crap.

When we get inside, the guys set up a table for our pretty big group. I sit down in the middle of one side with Abby and take off my coat, still annoyed by the bouncer.

Then I see Kent almost have to climb over the table to get to the seat next to mine. Weird.

"Kent! Sit down with me, you fool!" Piper tells him across the table, and he quickly moves over to sit next to me. Mark sits on the other side of him, and Chase is right next to me.

"Make a deal with me." Abby laughs when I beg her.

She says, "Nope," with a mean smile.

I wish she knew why I didn't want to be in his presence. She thinks it's funny to put us in the same room, but I can't stand it.

"Hey, Julianna, when is your presentation of your thesis again?" Chase asks, and I smile, glad to have a break.

"Why is it Monday afternoon?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could maybe come see it?" I raise my eyebrows when he shrugs.

"Um, it's just a meeting with the board. There are no guests or anything, and even if there were, I'd be too nervous with you there." I tell him in a quiet voice, and he nods and smiles.

"That's pretty cool. I get it." When he tells me, Kent's jaw gets tight. This guy is so strange and sad. "You'll have to let me know what happens."

"Sure, why not?" I promise him. "Perhaps at the study group on Tuesday?"

"Or I could pick you up after the speech? We could celebrate?" At this point, everyone at the table is looking at us and watching how awkwardly we are talking to each other. I don't like him that way, and I don't want anyone to think that I do.

"Oh my god, drool Chase?" Piper asks, and for the first time in my life I can say, "Thank you, Piper," with confidence. "If you're going to flirt with Julianna like this in front of everyone, at least get some game."

"I'm not interested in Julianna, I'm just being friendly." He tells her and I feel relieved.

Okay, maybe I'm crazy to think that he likes me. Maybe I've made too much of his kindness.

"About something you wouldn't know anything." He adds, and everyone at the table laughs.

Chase now seems to talk to Darren next to him instead, probably because he doesn't want to be hurt any more. "How long have you and Chase been friends?" Kent mumbles. "Why do you care now?" I retorted. "Chase and I have been friends for a long time."

"Well, I don't think Piper is wrong this time," I said. I roll my eyes when he whispers.

"I don't care at all." I look at him for the first time since we sat down and tell him. His face is full of surprise. "You don't have any say in any of this, not after" I keep my voice low, and it doesn't seem like we're getting anyone's attention. "It's true."

"What, Julianna?" He whispers and chills run up my spine. I hated when he'd whisper like that, it wasn't fair. "After what?"

"Leave me alone." I huff. "Abby, come get a drink and let's dance." I announce, turning away from him.

"Yes! Let's do it!" She exclaims, jumping up from the table with me.

This is going to be one interesting night.