A Bit Of Wright

I managed one sip of champagne before Derek swooped in, pressing a sparkling apple juice into my left hand while pulling away the long stemmed glass from my right. I shot him a scowl, but inwardly I came to the conclusion that, like always, he was probably right. With my inconsistent medicinal habits, the last thing I needed was to be more chemically unbalanced.

I scanned the room once more. Derek had mentioned that Julian might make an appearance at the dance, but 'not to get any hopes up'. I hadn't, not until I had seen the monogrammed JL luggage arrive the night before.

Just then I caught sight of a black-tie clad brunet pushing a pair of Ray Bans on his head as he strode through the double doors. Honestly, sunglasses in December...

But the rumors were true, the flighty, elusive actor we'd all come to admire - of course, from a distance - was flashing his famous face on campus yet again.

I don't think anyone realized how much they'd missed him until he was back.

He grinned cheekily at Derek, setting his drink down on the buffet he was leaning against, and pulled the athlete into a lazy hug. Even from across the room I could see how his white teeth burned bright when he smiled. The deep tan he wore clashed wonderfully with his shirt, and his hair was a longer and sun bleached. It would be a few weeks before the glow of Hollywood washed into the gentle colours of Dalton, if he stayed long enough.

I didn't realized I was staring until Ethan tugged on my sleeve. Without his clone by his side he acted almost normal.

"Enjoying your last few moments of anonymity?"

I shrugged, smirking, but honestly said, "I highly doubt Van Kamp or Hummel could take me in a fight, but I wouldn't want to find out by adding even more chaos to our hard-earned Christmas party."

And hard-earned it was. The reconstruction of the downgraded Art Hall had taken almost eight months, and in reward for putting up with the sound of drills at the crack of dawn on school days, the new headmaster allowed for the first school function since Hell Night to take place, a holiday dance involving the Dobry girls. And it certainly was festive, the sheer amount of twinkle lights was turning some of the boys off - namely me.

Before turning away, Ethan said seriously, "He isn't exactly known for his patience, don't make him wait forever."

Derek had mentioned a few weeks back that I was more 'subdued' as of late. No more impromptu serenades and proclamations of love for me. Maybe on the outside I appeared calm, but inside I knew I was tense. Tense in the way that a viper stalks its prey in the tall grass before carefully choosing the perfect moment to strike.

In the back of my mind, I knew exactly what - or rather who - the target was. He may have been out of sight, but he was certainly never far from mind.

The long distance calls and emails sidestepped the subjects really worth talking about. Yet there he was and I still couldn't bring myself to step out of the sanctions of the crowd and join him. I ignored the wild beating of my heart and the way my stomach would dip every time I almost caught his gaze. He was still talking to Derek, but I could see that my name was never far from his lips. He glanced once over the crowd, but I chose that moment to duck my head down and step behind Ethan. If he noticed, he didn't question me. Derek's eyes followed suite, and I could practically feel his anxiety at the idea that I could've skipped the dance as soon as I saw Julian.

I left the ballroom out the back exit, not before dumping my half empty drink in a potted plant and handing the glass to a terrified freshman on my way out.

I hadn't been outside a minute before the door was thrown open again by Ethan Brightman, out of breath and panting as he approached me.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing, you're not leaving are you?"

That was unexpected. It was weird enough to watch the twins try to put some distance between themselves, but to see a Brightman lose control like this shocked me. I suppose I looked like a goldfish with my mouth hanging open, so Ethan continued.

"I don't understand. You haven't seen him in months - the least you could do is say hello and pretend you care about him!"

I'm not sure what came over me, but by some miracle I was able to control myself. Maybe because I didn't want to be expelled before finally talking to Julian. That's not to say that I didn't have to sit with my head between my knees, sucking in huge breaths of air as I attempted not to kill Ethan.

How dare he say something like that to me. Looking back, I can understand where he was coming from. Ethan felt just as guilty as I did about leaving Julian in the Art Hall, and I suppose he felt like he owed him something.

I managed to gasp at Ethan, "I do care about him".

Ethan's voice grew softer, but it didn't lose its edge. "Then prove it. Stop avoiding him, because even I can see that you want to talk to him more than anything." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and loomed rather awkwardly over my sitting form. "Or I can bring him to you".

I shook my head and muttered, "Nah, I'll find him myself".

Ethan nodded once and stepped back into the shadows. I felt like his blue eyes were still piercing me even as he reentered the ballroom. Through the glass walls I could see him slip back easily into the mood of the dance, smirking at his brother as he twirled a girl around. Everyone was moving on but me.

I had a speech planned out. I would smoothly approach my best friend (were we still friends anymore?) and charm him with my smooth moves and good looks. And hopefully, by the end of it all, he'd be just as hung up on me as I was on him.

Of course, life doesn't work that way at the best of times, let alone the worst.

He looked up mid-laugh, his sepia eyes still sparkling as they met mine, effectively cutting off my grand entrance.

I couldn't break his gaze, and I felt my feet tangling beneath me, all fancy Warbler moves escaping me in the moment. My stumble turned what should have been a casual one-armed hug into me throwing myself into Julian's embrace. I felt his arms circle my waist, and I breathed softly into his hair, "I missed you so much".

Still, his body was too stiff and he stepped back too quickly. All the reasons why we shouldn't have been hugging came flooding back to me, and I jumped backwards as though I'd been burned.

Derek snickered as my body hit the buffet a little too forcefully, which turned into full laughter as I felt the table give away. Punch splashed onto my shirt, and one of the ice sculptures Van Kamp had ordered smashed onto the marble floor, sending shards flying in all directions.

My face burned as red as the punch on my white shirt when the crowd turned to stare - and in some cases, laugh - at me.

Julian was laughing too, though less harshly. I hadn't seen him smile in a long time. That was something I could get used to.

I was still sprawled out on the floor as he said over me, though giggles, "You - Logan... you've quite literally - just broken the ice!", before dissolving into fresh laughter. Yes, Julian had always been great with puns.

But I suppose I had. Seeing Julian this happy made anger a non-option, so I took the high road and got to my feet.

I was trying to think of an excuse to go change my shirt when Derek coughed. He muttered, "I'll go take Casey for this dance", as the song changed.

So we were alone. I didn't trust myself to say something that wouldn't embarrass me further, so I tugged on his sleeve until we were both walking towards the adjacent Warblers' Hall.

Julian crossed his arms and looked pointedly out a window as I hastily unbuttoned my shirt before unlocking the door - I couldn't stand another second in that punch-soaked cloth.

So there we were in the abandoned Warblers' Hall. Julian's tie was loosened and his glasses were perched on his hair, looking exactly like the movie star that he was. I stood shirtless and ridiculous, having ditched the punch-shirt. I tried to cover my abs with my arms. I mean, I knew I was hot, but who knew what model-types Julian had been hanging around with in Hollywood to compare me to?

I found myself repeating the words I'd already said to him, "I missed you so much".

He just nodded, strangely mute, and motioned for me to sit next to him on the piano bench. I accepted his invitation graciously, well aware that he might not be willing to give me much more.

When I had settled beside him, he looked me straight in the eye and said, "For the record, Lo, I missed you too". Then he was talking about Hollywood. Stories of runaway trailers and forgotten lines. I could only focus on how happy he looked. California was just what he had needed.

He paused and looked at me expectantly. Had he asked a question? I didn't know, so I breathed the only response I knew. "I'm so sorry I didn't call more."

Julian shook that off with a wave of his hand. "Lo, I know we were both really busy -"

"- No, that's no excuse. I just didn't know what to say." I scooted closer to him and continued. "But I know what to say now." I spoke softly even though I knew the door was locked. This moment was ours. He had to know that I meant this.

"Jules, you've got to know that if I could go back to that night I would." I didn't have to explain for him to know that I meant Hell Night. "I can't let you live thinking that you're worth being left alone to die in a burning building - I just can't."

My voice dropped to below a whisper and I could see his eyes well up with tears. "If I could go back, it would've been me left behind, not you. Never you."

Julian's voice cracked, but he managed to say brokenly, "Thanks Logan, it really means a lot to finally hear that".

"Don't forget it Jules, I love you. I need you to know that I do. You're one of the most important people in my life."

He wiped the tears off his face and nodded. "You too Lo."

"Come to dinner with me tomorrow, it's our last Saturday before the break."

Julian looked distracted, "I dunno Lo, Derek said he had hockey tryouts, so he'll be -"

"- Not with Derek." A slow smile spread across my face. "Just me and you - you know, a date."

He only blushed, so I continued. "I want to start this year off right, Jules." Then I said what was possibly the cheesiest pickup line he'd ever heard. "And I think you need a bit of Wright too."

Julian rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide the wide smile that graced his face. Pulling me back to the ballroom, he said, "If you say so, Loverboy. But first you owe me a dance". Then he looked back at me and smirked. "And an apology to Reed for breaking his ice sculpture and adding unnecessary partial nudity to his dance." I ignored the jab and let his hand slip into mine.

It may not have been the most graceful approach, but I look back on it as the day my life finally fell back together again.