Chapter Two
Ten minutes later Julian was knocking on her front door. He looked depressed and scared. "Julian, what's wrong?" she asked him, taking him into her arms.
"I have to tell you about my father. I need to tell you."
"What is it Julian?"
"Can we please sit down for this?" he tugged her arm and almost dragged her to the living room, "You can't tell anyone Sydney. You have to promise me."
"I promise," she said. She was worried about him. He had never been like this before. His hands were shaking and his voice was cracking, "Just, please tell me what's going on."
"You know when we first met, I told you that my father shipped me off to America for no reason? Well, there was a reason. He used to beat my mother and I" Sydney gasped and tears flooded her eyes, "He sent me here because he didn't want me to go to the police. He sent me here to shut me up."
"I'm so sorry Julian," Sydney had tears running down her cheeks now, "I had no idea. It's so horrible…" she hugged him tightly, and realized something, "Why are you telling me this now? And why do you suddenly want to stay here tonight?"
"My father called my apartment and left a message. He's coming into town today, for my 18th birthday. I'm sorry to burden you with this Syd, it's just that I'm scared. I'm afraid of what he'll do to me," he was crying now too and Sydney was shaking and crying heavily.
"I'm not going to let him touch you Julian. I love you."
He pulled back in surprise, "What?" he was shocked, "Did you just say that you love me?"
She looked down, "Yes," she said, "I love you."
He smiled and raised her chin with his finger and kissed her lips softly, "I love you too, Sydney," he whispered in her ear.
She giggled, "I almost forgot to wish you a happy birthday" she said softly, "Happy Birthday Julian."
"Thank you Syd," he smiled again, "Being with you makes this day perfect. I'm so glad that it's just you and me… no one else."
Sydney blushed, "Just you and me," she whispered nervously, but he didn't notice.
"When we were on the phone you said that you needed to tell me something important…"
"It was that I love you. Oh, and that my father is blowing me off again because of work. He's going to be back on Thursday. And then he wants to go to dinner. Just the two of us."
"What's bad about that?" Julian asked.
"Nothing. It's just that, well… I wanted to have you meet him. And now you can't."
"Well, maybe you should try to talk to him about that. Tell him about your concerns. I'm sure that he'll listen."
"I guess. Can you wait here? I'm just going to run and call him. I'll be right back."
Sydney ran to her bedroom and called Francie, "Francie, I need you to call everyone who's supposed to come tonight and cancel. Julian just came over and he's having a bad day. It's something to do with his father, and I can't tell you. Just please do this for me?"
"Sure Syd, anything for you. I hope everything's alright."
"Yeah, everything's going to be perfect. I have to tell you something Fran… I told him that I love him."
Francie shrieked over the line, "Oh My God! Syd, this is the best news ever! Did he say it back!"
"Yeah. Fran, I'm so happy!"
"I'm so happy too! You know that we all love Julian. He's the nicest guy ever. So much better than Danny and Noah ever were. You deserve all the happiness in the world Syd."
"Ok, well I've got to run. I have to call my father and get back to Julian."
"Ok, see you later!"
Sydney hung up the phone and picked it up again, dialling her father's number.
"Hello?" her father said.
"Hi dad, it's Sydney. I'm sorry to disturb your business meeting, but it's important. About dinner on Thursday night… Um… would it be alright if I brought someone along? It's this guy from school. We've kind of been dating for a while and I really want you to meet him."
"Sydney? You've been keeping something like this from me?"
"Dad, I'm sorry, you're just never here. And when you are here, you just ignore me," Sydney could feel a headache coming on. She had never been good with talking to her father about this.
"Sweetheart, it's really not the time for this. I have to go. We'll talk about this when I get home. And you can bring your boyfriend to dinner."
She smiled, "Thank you SO much dad. I'm sure you'll like him. And I'll need you to promise not to kill him, alright?"
"Ok, see you later sweetheart."
"Bye."
Sydney hung up the phone and ran to the living room to see Julian asleep on the sofa. He was beautiful, so peaceful. She found a blanket in the room and lay down beside him in his arms. She wrapped the blanket around them, kissed his forehead, and fell asleep.
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Another month passed and nothing had changed. Julian and Sydney were still madly in love. They were inseparable still. One morning they were sitting by their tree in front of the school, Sydney was in Julian's arms and their fingers were interlocked. "You know, I think there's one thing I've never asked you yet, love," he asked her. She turned her head to look at him, "Where are you planning on going to University?"
"I'm planning on staying here. What about you?"
He frowned, "I'm probably going back to England."
Sydney frowned, "Oh," she whispered, "That's far away."
"You know, we can make this work Syd. We can do a long-distance relationship if you want."
"We don't know what's going to happen. We should decide later, alright?"
"Of course," he kissed her softly, "So, tonight is your big night. You're 18 today, my love."
"I think you're right! I almost forgot! How could I forget something like that?"
"I'm not sure, love, but I'm sure that your father is going to kill me for planning a party in your honour."
"Hey, my father likes you. Don't you remember the night you met him?"
Flashback
Sydney and Julian walked to the table, which was already seating one, hand-in-hand. Jack stood from his chair and hugged Sydney when they got there. He glared at Julian and then shook his hand, "Dad, this is Julian. Julian this is my father, Jack Bristow."
Julian nodded nervously at Jack and then they took their seats. "It's nice to meet you Mr Bristow. Sydney's told me much about you."
"Sydney hasn't told me anything about you Julian."
"Dad, please…" Sydney pleaded, "Don't do this."
"How long have you been seeing him Sydney?" he asked.
"Two months."
"And you never told me about this Sydney? Why didn't you tell me?"
"You're never home dad. It's not like you really care about anything that goes on in my life."
"Sydney, can we do this at home, later?"
"No dad, you started this, we can do it here," people in the restaurant began to stare at the three people in the centre of the room. Sydney had tears in her eyes and her jaw was clenched, Julian stroked her hand to try and comfort her. "You can't tell me what to do. I'm not a little girl anymore."
"Sydney, I'm your father, I care about you."
"If you cared so much, then you'd try and spend more time here, rather than on business trips."
Sydney had tears running down her face now and Julian had had enough of this. "Sir, I think we should stop talking about this, it's upsetting everyone here."
"Who are you to tell me what to do? You've known my daughter for two months, I've known her since she was born!"
"Excuse me sir, but I am the man who loves her with all of his heart. And she doesn't need to take this from you!"
Sydney stood, still crying and excused herself from the table, she went outside to get some air. Jack and Julian sat at the table, glaring at each other for a full five minutes until Sydney came back. "I'm going home. Can you drive me Julian?" Sydney asked.
"Sydney, please just let me drive you home?" her father asked.
"Dad, no. I just want to be with Julian right now, alright?"
"Are you going to come home?" he asked sadly.
"Yeah, but not right now."
"Sydney, has Julian stayed over?" he asked quietly.
"What! How dare you! How could you ask such a thing!" Sydney screamed.
"I'm your father, I'm supposed to protect you! I deserve to know!"
"Yes!" her father looked at her shocked, "He has spent the night!"
"When did this happen?" he said softly.
"A few nights ago. He stayed in the guest room, dad. It was because his father was in town," she looked down, "And if you want to know why he didn't want to see his father, you should ask him."
Sydney walked outside and left her father with Julian standing in front of him. "Sir," Julian said, "I want you to understand that I would never do anything to disrespect your daughter, or you. But, you have hurt her today, and I don't want that to happen again."
Julian turned and left the restaurant, leaving behind an embarrassed Jack Bristow.
End Flashback
"He gained respect for you that night. I don't think he'd kill you now, seeing how happy you make me."
"Hey, tomorrow, I want you to come over. We can celebrate your birthday together!"
"I actually forgot about that, you know? I forgot that I'm 18 tomorrow."
"Well, I want to warn you. Jessica has taken it upon herself to plan a party for you… I know you didn't get off to a great start, but she really likes you."
"She's not that bad. I can tolerate her now."
"I know, and I'm very proud of you!" he said and kissed her passionately. They were lying together on the sofa and kissing passionately. They rolled over and fell onto the floor. Sydney laughed and they got back onto the sofa and continued where they left off.
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Sydney and Julian stood in front of his door, they were kissing passionately until the door opened. "SURPRISE!" was screamed from inside. They broke apart, both blushing, and the crowd inside began to giggle. Jessica just looked furious. She didn't understand why Julian wanted to be with Sydney, and not her.
Sydney laughed, "Wow," she breathed out, "Thank you!"
Sark whispered in her ear, "I love you Sydney."
She smiled and they walked inside. Will and Francie were there, holding hands, just like normal. They smiled and hugged Sydney, wishing her a happy birthday.
"Thanks for coming guys. I'm so happy you're here."
"We wouldn't miss it for the world! Jessica didn't invite us, but I guess Julian was expecting that, so he called us."
Sydney sighed, "That's such as Jessica thing to do. But I'm glad Julian called you," she turned and looked at him, "Isn't he perfect?"
Francie laughed, "Yeah, you've got a good one. He loves you Syd."
She smiled, "I know," she nodded at Will, "You've got a good one too Fran."
Francie tilted her head and kissed him, "I know."
Julian walked to Sydney from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing the top of her head. She smiled and turned, kissing him, "Hey. Thanks for inviting them."
"It was not a problem," he frowned.
"What is it? What's wrong, Julian?"
He smiled sadly, "I just realized that we don't have much time left. The year is almost over."
"We have all the time in the world. As long as we work at it, it'll never end."
"I love your optimism," she laughed at him, "I'm a pessimist."
"I love you."
He sighed, "Let's mingle."
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Sydney ran to the mailbox after school with Julian one afternoon in June, there was a large envelope in the box. When Sydney took it out, she looked at the address and froze. She paled and Julian was suddenly right by her side, taking her hand in his. "Let's go inside and open it," he suggested.
He took her keys from her hand and took her inside. Sydney sat down at the table and stared at the envelope. "My entire future is decided by what's in this envelope," she said evenly.
"You should open it, Syd."
"I can't. You have to do it. Can you please open it for me?"
"Of course," he took the envelope from her stubborn hands and began to slowly tear at the paper. He took out the contents and began to read in his head. When he finished, Sydney was looking at him nervously, he sighed.
"What is it?" she looked down, "I didn't get in, did I?"
"No," Sydney's eyes began to tear, "You did, get in."
Sydney's gaze went back up to his eyes, where she saw tears. He flashed her a quick, sad smile. She couldn't figure out why he was sad until she finally found the reason. "Oh," she whispered, a tear ran down her cheek, "You know, I'm never going to forget you right?"
"I know," he whispered, "It's just… I'm going to miss you so much. I don't know how to live without you anymore."
"Me too."
"This is all becoming so real now. It's been a week since I got the acceptance letter from Oxford, and now you from UCLA… it's just… I don't want to leave any more."
"I don't want you to leave either, but you have to."
"I know."
"You're going to do so well. They'll be so lucky to have you."
"UCLA is lucky too."
"I love you so much Julian," she kissed him furiously, letter forgotten on the table, "I love you so much."
They stood, in each other's arms, kissing passionately, "I love you so much, Syd, I'll never forget you," he whispered between kisses.
They leaned against whatever was stable, tearing at each other's clothing. Somehow they reached Sydney's bedroom, and fell onto the bed. Julian was on top of Sydney, she was tugging at the waistband of his pants when he stopped her, "Syd, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"I'm sure," she breathed.
Sydney was wearing her pants and a bra, Julian was wearing his pants, and they were both trying to get the remaining clothing off of each other. Finally, Julian was standing off the bed, looking at Sydney with intensity. "You're so beautiful," he whispered as he lowered his body onto hers.
She reached out and grasped his erection and moved her hand along it. It twitched at her touch, "Sydney, you're killing me," he groaned.
"I'm sorry," she looked at him, "I've never done this before."
He kissed her, "Neither have I," he whispered.
She looked at him surprised, and kissed him roughly. She took his erection in her hand again and guided him to her centre. They paused as the tip of his cock rubbed against her wet core. Sydney bit down on her lip as he entered her slowly.
"I love you Sydney," he whispered, "I love you."
Sydney gasped when he pulled out and entered her again. They began to move together slowly, gaining speed as their need for one another grew. Their pace grew and grew as the feelings inside they were so great that the world exploded around them.
They lay together for many minutes until their breathing was regular again, Julian on top of Sydney. When he pulled himself off of her, she rested her head on his chest, "I love you," she whispered groggily, "That was the best night of my life Julian."
He kissed her head, "It was perfect," he noticed her breathing slow, "I love you Sydney," she groaned in response and fell asleep. He fell asleep a few moments later.
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"Sydney?" she heard from the living room. She gasped and jumped out of bed. Her father was home early. She turned and saw Julian sleeping in the bed where she had just been and smiled.
"Dad?" she cried.
"I'm home early, I thought we could do something today. It's your birthday after all."
Julian stirred and turned over. Noticing that Sydney was missing, he woke up. He saw Sydney frantically trying to find some clothing on the floor, "Were you sneaking out on me?" he teased.
She looked at him worriedly, "My father's home early!" she panicked.
"Shit!" he cursed and joined her in the frantic clothing search. "You know, if he finds me here, I'm dead."
"I know!" she whispered. "I love you. I have to go downstairs now, I'll see you later," she kissed his cheek and smiled, "Last night was unforgettable."
"I know. I love you too," he kissed her forehead and opened the window, climbing out.
Sydney ran out of her room into the kitchen where her dad was leaning against the kitchen counter, "Hey dad, you're home early!"
He hugged her and kissed her forehead, "Happy Birthday sweetheart," he looked over her, "You look so grown up, so… different."
Sydney blushed, she was sure that he could see what she had done last night, "Thanks…"
"So, how do you want to celebrate this momentous occasion?" he asked.
"Do you want to go to the pier? It's a gorgeous day."
"Sure, that would be nice. Just you and me today, alright?"
"Of course dad. But tonight I have to go to Julian's house. Francie has planned a party for me."
He sighed, "No alcohol right?"
"None"
"Okay then," he kissed her forehead, "I can't believe you're growing up."
"Dad, how have you not noticed that I'm older?"
"I'm a horrible father, I'm never home…"
Sydney hugged her father, "You're not a horrible father. You're just a little too involved in your work."
"That's why I cancelled the rest of my trip. I got someone to cover for me, I'm not about to miss my only daughter's 18th birthday."
"I love you dad."
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Graduation Ceremony
They were wearing their caps and gowns, waiting for their names to be called off-stage. It was the most bittersweet day of Sydney's life. She was graduating, finally going off to University, where she could finally become a teacher, but Julian was going to be on the other side of the world. She was going to miss him, to no end. Ever since her birthday, they had spent more time together than anyone at school could have thought possible. At their senior prom Jessica had tried something to break them apart, and it had worked for a moment, but they came together again, stronger than before.
Flashback
"Only three more weeks of school left," Sydney said to Francie the morning of the prom.
"Yeah, but hey! At least we'll be together, right?"
"I guess. I'm just going to miss Julian more than anything."
"I know sweetie."
Sydney smiled weakly and sighed, "Well, how about we start getting ready for tonight?"
"Sure!" Francie said excitedly.
A few hours later, the girls had their hair done and were painting their nails, "Syd, can I ask you a personal question? And feel free to slap me, call me a bitch and kick me out of your house for asking this," Sydney laughed.
"You can ask me anything Fran," Sydney replied.
"Have you and Julian… had… sex?"
Sydney gasped, then blushed, "Um…"
"Wait, you don't have to answer that. I was just curious. I mean… I'm thinking about going to the next level with Will and… well… I was curious to know what it was like."
"Why would you think that I've done that?"
"Well, you and Julian are so in love. You're the perfect couple."
Sydney smiled, "Yeah… we have."
Francie giggled, "I knew it!" she squealed, "What was it like? Was it nice? Awkward? Was he a perfect gentleman?"
Sydney was glowing, "It was perfect. Not awkward at all, and he was so nice about it. I love him so much Francie."
"It was your first time, right?"
"Yeah, it was. His too," she added.
"Really? I would have expected him to have done that already."
"He said that he was waiting for me. Isn't that sappy and romantic?"
"Yeah, but you two are just that."
She giggled, "I know."
"Syd, do you mind me asking you if it hurt?"
"No. It didn't hurt. He was so careful and loving and tender. It was the best night of my life."
Francie hugged her, "I think I'm ready to have sex with Will. I want to be with him."
Sydney squealed, "I'm so happy for you guys, it's so obvious how he feels about you."
Sydney and Francie were finishing with their make-up when the doorbell rang. "They're here," they said to each other and went to the door. Sydney opened the door and someone she had not been expecting entered her home. "Danny?" she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"You know how Jessica is totally in love with Julian right?"
Sydney nodded, "Francie, why don't you finish getting ready," she suggested and watched Francie leave the room, "What is this about, Danny?"
"I see you and Julian every day, Syd, and I can see how much you care about him. I overhead her talking to one of her other friends about tonight. She said that she is going to have sex with him after the prom."
"What?" Sydney whispered, "Have you told this to Julian?" she asked.
"I thought that I should tell you. You can't let her get away with this Syd. I don't want to see you hurt again."
Sydney sighed, "Thanks Danny."
"I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you Syd," he kissed her cheek, "You look beautiful tonight."
"Thank you. You look great too. Melena is lucky to be going with you."
"See you later," he said as he left the house.
Francie came down the stairs when she heard Danny leave, "What was that all about?" she asked.
"Just our plot twist of the evening."
Suddenly, Sydney's father came through the front door, "Sydney! I'm glad I didn't miss you!" he stood and looked her over, "You look beautiful."
Ever since the first time he had met Julian, he had been around a lot more. It was making Sydney feel much better about their relationship. It also seemed that he approved of Julian, which was a nice devopment.
"Julian should be here any minute."
"I didn't want to miss this night. It's very important. I'm going to be one of those annoying parents who takes many pictures of his daughter on her prom night."
Sydney laughed, "Well, I'm glad you got here in time," she said when the doorbell rang. Jack went to it and opened the door to see Julian and Will standing on the front porch, each wearing a black tux, holding their corsages for their dates.
"Come in," he said, "Julian, Sydney doesn't have a curfew tonight, but I expect you to take good care of her, not to corrupt her and to have her home at a reasonable time."
He nodded, "Of course, sir."
He could finally see Sydney standing behind the wall in the living room, and stopped in his tracks when he absorbed her attire. She was wearing a burgundy floor-length dress which was so unbelievably gorgeous that it took his breath away. Sydney smiled and blushed when she realized that he was admiring her outfit. "Hey," she breathed.
"You are so beautiful, my love," he said when he got hold of his emotions.
"Thanks, you look amazing," she walked to him and kissed him softly, "I wish my father wasn't here," she whispered.
He coughed and blushed, "This is for you," he handed her the corsage.
"Thanks," she replied.
"Shall we?" he put his arm out for her.
"Oh, yeah. Just one thing first…" she paused, "Please try and stay away from Jessica. Danny just came by to tell me that she's planning on seducing you tonight."
"It'll never work. I'm totally in love with you."
End Flashback
"Sydney Bristow" she heard from the stage, she walked across, shook her principal's hand and walked to the other end of the stage. A few minutes later she heard Julian's name being called. When he got to the other end of the stage they embraced and Sydney's eyes filled with tears, "Two more weeks," she whispered.
He looked at her with tears in his own eyes and nodded, "I know."
"This can't end now, Julian. I can't live without you. I don't know how, anymore."
"I'm going to see you again Sydney. I'm going to find you again."
"I know," she kissed him again, and the crowd of people began to scream and applaud. Graduation was over. "We still have time, though."
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It was time. Two weeks had passed and now, they were trying to say goodbye at the airport. Sydney was crying and Julian had tears in his eyes. Neither of them wanted to be away from the other.
Their foreheads were pressed together, "I'm going to love you forever Syd. Don't forget me."
"I never could," she sobbed, "I'm going to miss you."
"I'll be back visiting you before you know it. I've already booked my flight for the week before you go to school."
She nodded and wiped her tears away. His flight was called and he reluctantly left. Sydney stayed and watched his plane take off, then went back to her car with Francie, who had waited in the parking lot for her.
This is going to be a tough four years, Sydney thought to herself when she returned home. We'll find each other again. We'll be together again.
She knew he was right. Everything would be okay, and they would be together again.