Part 4:

Julian walked from Jenny's house, thinking about what to do. One part of him wanted desperately to rush up to Jenny, sweep her off of her feet (after giving Tommyboy a sound thrashing) and keep her with him forever and always.

His common sense, however, rules against this. The reason that he didn't have her before was because he had rushed the process. What he wanted more than anything was just to see if, even if it were only like he had watched for so many years. He could never touch…

Only once had he touched, and it had been a mistake. It had been the time that he decided that Tommy would have to go.

Memory swept over him.

Set when Jenny was 15

Julian saw the sweet girl, his Jenny, walking with the boy. It was night time, and he could feel it deep inside… something awful was going to happen.

Jenny was very comfortable with her boyfriend, but she didn't want the relationship to move as fast as this hormone struck boy did. When Tommy got a little 'friendly', she jerked back from him.

"Tommy," She said sweetly, "aren't you taking this just a little far."

"Now, now Jen." His voice was cajoling… convincing. "I'll call the shots. When I'm going to fast, I'll tell you." Julian's eyes narrowed as Tommy pinned Jenny against the wall. "See?" He grinned.

"Tommy, stop!" She gave a cry as he tugged at her clothes, trying to glimpse something beneath. She began to cry in full; Julian snapped. He couldn't save her, he couldn't come into her world… not without being called.

"Help!" She finally screamed out, seemingly looking right at Julian. "Help!" She cried again and again. "Please…" She whispered softly as Tom kissed her neck.

The final, defeated cry was too much for Julian, and he took it to heart. He convinced himself that the cry was meant for him, and passed between the worlds in a torrent of anger.

He threw Tommy, very roughly, to the ground, knocking him out.

"Jenny?" He said questioningly to the frightened girl who was flattened against the wall.

"Who are you?" She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. His heart ached with the knowledge that he could not tell… it wasn't time yet.

"I'm just a shadow Jenny… I was never here. You're dreaming, go on back to sleep." He put his arms around her and picked her up.

"Sleep…" She murmured, snuggling tightly against his chest.

His heart ached with the knowledge that he would have to erase this from her memory. It hurt him so bad to know that she couldn't remember this moment. He threw one look back at Tom, banishing the thought from his mind as well before vanishing. He appeared in Jenny's room, still holding her tightly to his chest.

"I can't believe that Tommy tried to-" Julian cut her off with one slender finger pressed softly to her lips.

"I wont let him hurt you ever again… I promise you that. If nothing else, you will be safe from him. Now go back to sleep and forget all of this. Forget tonight… forget Tommy's actions. Forget—" He took a deep breath, forcing himself to continue. "Forget me."

"I could never forget you." Her breathing had already slowed, and her eyes fluttered in sleep.

Yes, Julan thought, being jerked back into reality, you will.

Back to Normal Time Now!

Julian had always disliked Tommy before that point, but he could put up with him simply because he made Jenny happy. Now… now he couldn't even think about the boy without wanting to kill him. He banished the thought from his mind, returning the apartment that was obviously his residence.

The real question was… what was he going to do about Jenny?

He could always… No… he couldn't possibly…

And yet the idea appealed to him… he could go to school with her. He could become her friend, and then let her know exactly how he felt. Once she knew… once she knew, he could have her.

A smile crept across his face… Maybe then I can do something about Tommyboy.