Hello! My name is Millie Black and I want to thank you for even opening up my story. It's probably my favorite thing I'm working on and I hope that you love it too. I try to have a chapter out every two weeks, but that may not happen all the time. Again thank you for reading!
Julius waited for the boat to pull into the dock so that he could get off as fast as he could. He didn't like boats at all. He had a major illness of seasickness and if he got any vomit on his new outfit he would be so furious. When Julius finally got of the boat he wasn't surprised to see the welcome party there for him. Mira was at the front of it smiling and crying at the same time.
"Welcome home Julius." She opened up her arms and Julius walked into them hugging her back. Everyone else clapped and cheered. Julius was used to all of this excitement. His mother, Mira, was squeezing him so tight Julius felt his outfit start to wrinkle.
"Mom, I understand that you're happy, but you're wrinkling my clothes." Julius made sure to say it softly so that no one else could hear. Mira loosened her grip and pushed Julius back by the shoulders so that she could look at him. She laughed taking in his outfit.
"It suits you Julius. You were always the fashion artist. Actually Candace, Luna and Shelly have returned to the island too. Do you want to go see them later?" Mira's eyes were pleading, but Julius just got back. He didn't think that he could handle those three in his state of exhaustion. Mira seemed to understand. Her hand moved to his back as she started to lead him through the crowd. People in the crowd yelled out greetings and Julius greeted them back. He loved being the center of attention. He recognized everyone in the crowd. At least he thought he did until he saw a girl in the back. She wasn't even paying attention. She was looking at her nails.
"Who is that?" Julius whispered to his mother pointing at the girl. Julius hadn't seen her on the island before. It had been a year and a half since he was last on the island, did someone new come? Mira looked where his finger was pointing and laughed.
"That is Claire. She's quite the bit of a clothes and fashion girl herself. I was surprised to see her out here today. She doesn't really come near the ocean, I don't know why though. I think it has something to do with fear of getting her clothes wet. I'm thankful that she came to see you come home. Candace is with her. They've become friends." Julius watched as Candace, who was standing next to Claire, waved shyly then elbowed Claire next to her. Claire looked at her with surprise in her eyes. Then Candace whispered something to her and Claire turned and met his gaze. Julius was shocked. She had silver eyes. There were few on the island that had unusual eyes. Julius was one of them. He such light amber eyes they almost looked red. Claire, with Candace by her, made her way through the dispersing crowd towards him.
"Hello." Claire greeted when she arrived at his side. She stuck out her hand, which had three bracelets on it. These bracelets complimented her outfit, which it was very hard for Julius not to just stare at all day. Her clothes for today were perfect for each other and each piece of clothing complimented each other. "My name is Claire. Pleased to meet you Julius."
"Pleasures all mine." Julius took her hand and they shook. Claire smiled. Just by the looks of it she was restraining herself on something. Candace smiled at Julius and he sighed. He wasn't planning on talking to Candace just yet, but Candace turned back to Claire.
"You don't have to restrain yourself Claire, just let it all out. Julius won't mind." Candace smiled, while Julius wondered what Claire was restraining herself on. Claire coughed, as if to clear her throat then took a deep breath.
"Your boots are clashing with your jacket, and your earrings don't match your eyes. The green, yellow, and pink highlights in your hair are fading out, but I do have to say that they suit you. I'm finished." Julius took in everything that she said and made a mental note to himself to get his highlights redone. Claire was right. Julius couldn't see his earrings, but he remembered which ones he put on.
"Thanks. I can tell that you have more than an eye of fashion. I'm sorry that I made you bear the pain of seeing my horrible mistakes." Julius was sorry. He hadn't noticed. Maybe it was because his mind was on going home. Claire nodded seeing that he really understood his grave mistake. Candace just sighed. Julius finally noticed that his mother had slipped away. She was always doing that at crucial moments. Claire looked at her watch and whispered something to Candace. She nodded and Claire ran off. "Where is she off to?"
"She has an appointment with Selena. Claire is not only a fashion artist, but she is also a hair stylist. Selena, Kathy, and Luna go to her for haircuts or when they need to talk to someone. Claire is a really good listener." Candace's voice got quieter with each word that she uttered. Julius was used to it so he could still hear her. Candace was probably dwelling on what Julius did to her when he left the last time. Luckily, his love had been short lived, but Julius knew that Candace was going to ask him about it.
"Julius, why did you kiss me before you left?" Candace whispered. He was waiting for that. He knew that as soon as Claire left Candace was going to ask about it. He thought that she would take a little bit more time with it, but he could clearly see that Candace had become more bold, less shy.
"I liked you back then, but you don't have to worry about that. My little crush on you was short lived. You can stop dwelling on that now. If you'll excuse me. I have to go." Julius walked off, his boots echoing loudly off the wooden dock planks. He could already tell that Candace was crying. It was either cries of relief or cries of despair. Julius didn't care, he would just have to prepare for a visit from Luna later. Whenever Julius made Candace cry Luna would come and yell at him. Again, Julius didn't care. Now that the hard part was over it was time to take care of the little things.
Julius walked through town and headed up to Maple Lake District. He had heard that Chase had already come back to the island, Gill was still around and so was everybody else. There were more people coming back than going away. If anyone was going away. As far as Julius knew nobody had left the island again. Once in awhile Selena would go visit her parents on Toucan Island, but that was it. Julius laughed at how much the island had improved. He walked up the wooden steps that led up to his and Jin's houses. He stood in front of his house that was left here, a year and a half ago.
Julius opened the door and as soon as he walked in he knocked over a box. It fell to the floor and it sounded like everything inside of the box broke. Julius cringed and closed the door behind him. He picked up the box and set it on the table, which was also cluttered with things. Julius didn't know how much of a messy person he was a year and a half ago. Now he was as clean as the church. He had a lot to do.
Julius sat down on his couch exhausted. He had spent the last three hours going through boxes and putting things back where they were supposed to go. Now his house was clean, and there was a lot to put in the garbage. Julius didn't even remember why he packed everything up in the first place. His mother hadn't come by yet, so he decided to go to her, but there was something he needed to do first.
Julius pulled on his boots was about to walk outside, when there was a knock on his door. Well there was Luna. She sure took her time. Julius opened up the door. It wasn't Luna. It was Claire. What did she want? Well, Julius found out quickly. Claire slapped him across the face. Then she grabbed his collar and brought him close. Her silver eyes were ablaze with fury.
"If you ever hurt Candace again you'll get more than just a slap. I'm not afraid to send people to the hospital." Then Claire released him and started to walk off. Julius brought a hand up to his cheek. It stung. Claire had slapped him hard. Julius didn't have any medical supplies. He could just leave it, but then he would have to deal with the pain. Good thing Julius lived right next to a doctor. Thank goodness it was Monday, Jin's day off.
Julius knocked on Jin's door and it opened, but it wasn't Jin. It was Anissa. Julius felt a bit stupid. He forgot that Jin married Anissa. What kind of friend was he? Anissa just smiled. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she saw his cheek.
"What in the world happened to you Julius?" Anissa asked. "Come on in. I'll get you fixed up." She opened the door wide and Julius came in. Jin was sitting at the table drinking coffee. He looked up and smiled at Julius.
"Still as flashy as ever. How are you doing?" Jin asked. He too saw the slap and frowned. "Already ticking off girls?"
"Accidental. I was expecting Luna to come get in my face, but instead it was Claire. I was really surprised." Julius felt a bit awkward talking to Jin, while Anissa walked around the room looking in cupboards for medical supplies. It was a bit unusual for him. He wasn't really the type that wanted to get married. It just wasn't really in his future. Jin had Julius take a seat while he helped look with Anissa. Julius took a look around. There were very few changes in Jin house. Julius's eyes settled on a little baby crib in the room and he had to smile. They were expecting. So much had changed.
"So we found some…." Jin walked back into the room and caught Julius staring at the crib. Jin was silent. Then he spoke, his voice a whisper. "We haven't told anyone yet. Can you keep it a secret?"
"Yes. Of course." Julius smiled and Jin broke out into grin. Julius looked at the box in Jin's hand. Jin came forward and set the box on the table. He opened it up and pulled out disinfectant and a bandage. Anissa walked back into the room and watched while Jin dabbed disinfectant onto the slapped cheek. Julius wanted to hiss in pain each time the swab hit his cheek. It really stung.
"So why'd Claire come and slap you?" Jin asked.
"I made Candace cry again. Like I said. I was expecting Luna, but Claire came instead. I had met her earlier. She pointed some flaws in my fashion out to me than ran off. I don't think that she likes me too much." Jin stayed quiet. Julius had expected him to laugh and tell him that he was wrong. Instead Jin had a worried look on his face. "What? Ow."
"Sorry. I'm worried about that girl. When she came to the island it was like she appeared out of nowhere. I talked to Pascal and he said that she didn't come on his boat. Mayor Hamilton and Gill know something about it but they won't tell me. For the first 6 months she was here hardly anyone saw her. She kept to herself. Then the tailor shop opened up and she made an appearance in town. I was talking with Yolanda at the time so I didn't get to introduce myself. A couple minutes later Candace came running up to me. Apparently Claire had fainted in front of the tailor shop. I can't say anything else without breaking the rules of my job."
"You make my mouth water, but don't give me the meal. How cruel Jin." Julius cringed when Jin slapped the band aid onto his face. Anissa giggled. Julius rubbed the band aid and got up. "Thanks Jin. Sorry to bother you. I'll go buy a first aid kit first thing tomorrow."
"You do that. You don't want me to charge you for extra services do you?" Jin followed Julius to the door. Jin opened the door for him and Julius stepped out.
"No, I wouldn't appreciate it. Thank's for you medical attention." Julius walked back to his house and went inside. He would have to go visit his mother later. Julius went into a back room of his and smiled. All of his sewing materials were still there. There was a book on the table and Julius picked it up. It was a sketchbook. Julius flipped through looking at his old designs. The last sketch was Candace in a wedding dress. Julius laughed at his past emotions. He tore out the page and tossed in the garbage. Julius picked up a pencil and started on another sketch. This one wouldn't have any feelings attached to it.
Claire laid in bed staring up at the ceiling. She hated lying to Candace, but she just couldn't stay there any longer. She should've stayed. Candace had told her some of the awful things that Julius would tease her about. Claire was glad that she called right after her fake appointment with Selena. Claire was even more happy that she had gotten the right house. Julius was a jerk. Claire wanted to go over there now and start to punch the light's out of him. It seemed like a slap wasn't enough for him.
Claire got off of her bed and went over to her kitchen. She had an appointment with Kathy. This appointment was real, and not an excuse to get away from that dreadful ocean. Claire got a broom and tried to sweep every corner and inch of the kitchen. She wasn't very good at getting all of the leftover hair in the kitchen so Claire would sweep it again just before another appointment. There was a knock at the door and Claire set the broom aside to go open it.
"Hello Claire." Kathy greeted. Claire smiled. Just as she had requested, Kathy had left her hair down so that it would be easier for Claire.
"Good afternoon Kathy. Please come on in." Claire stepped aside and Kathy walked in. Kathy already knew what to do. She went to go sit in the chair by the sink. Claire started by washing Kathy's hair. Her fingers worked through the tangles until her hair was nice and smooth. Claire then hair dryed her hair, brushed it out, and then went to cutting. Kathy just wanted a trim this time. She also wanted a little curl at the end.
"I had a fight with Owen today." Kathy sighed. Claire frowned. That wasn't good. If Kathy and Owen were fighting then it would take awhile for them to make up. They were just both so stubborn. Although, Owen usually breaks before Kathy does. Claire combed through Kathy's hair while she told her about the fight.
"I think that you should hold your ground on this. Owen needs to learn. Usually I wouldn't take a side, but this is important. Your argument is in your favor." Claire smiled. Kathy laughed. Claire grabbed the curling iron and started to curl the ends of Kathy's hair. "All I can say is that when you come home today with your hair done Owen wouldn't be able to be mad at you anymore. You'll be too beautiful for him to win." Claire let Kathy's hair fall from her fingers. "There. All done."
"Thank you so much." Kathy sat up and Claire took off the caftan. Then she pulled out the mirror. Kathy took it and Claire lifted up her hair so that she could see the curls at the bottom. Kathy sighed in delight and gave Claire the mirror back. Kathy gave Claire $20 and left. Claire put the money in her money jar and took off her apron. She wanted to go talk to Candace, but she still had one more appointment. Claire wondered if Candace was going to be alright. As much as that jerk Julius had hurt her, along the way Candace had fallen in love with him. Now that love was being crushed. Claire clenched her fist just thinking about him.
She had to admit, his sense in fashion was admirable. He just didn't know how to piece everything together. His eyes. She had always been told that her eyes were gorgeous, but his stole her breath away. She had never seen such eyes. They were almost red. Chase had nice amethyst eyes, but they were nothing compared to Julius's eyes. They held knowledge, and humor. She could see so much in his eyes. They reminded her of her mothe- Claire's stomach lurched. She was going to puke. She quickly dashed to the bathroom and let it all out.
Claire collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. The tiled floor was nice and cool on her feverish body. Claire breathed in and out until she was feeling better. That hadn't happened in a while. There was a knock at the door and Claire checked the clock. It was time for her next appointment. She got up and left the bathroom. She couldn't let a guest see her in this state. Claire opened the door and smiled.
"Thank you for coming!"