Julian's POV

I can't remember ever having cycled home from school so fast. When I arrived at our house, I was completely out of breath. While I unlocked the door with trembling fingers and then took two steps at a time, sprinting upwards, I wondered what would await me this time. She had sounded really desperate and anxious on the phone. But my imagination was far from reality when I pushed open my mother's bedroom door and found her lifeless body on the floor. With one glance around, I noticed the half-empty bottles that lay next to her and the tube of pills that was also already half emptied. Pure fear let me hold my breath as I dropped to my knees beside her, groping for her pulse with trembling hands. "Mom! Mom, can you hear me?" I shook her slightly, making sure she was still alive. But she didn't respond to my words. Half blind, because tears were blurring my vision, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I called 9-1-1 and then everything happened quickly. Paramedics and a doctor stormed into our house, laid my mother on a stretcher, and carried her to the ambulance. I was allowed to ride in the back because there was no more space in the front. And as we drove with blue light and sirens to the hospital, I held her hand and prayed that she would survive. While my mother got medical treatment at the hospital, I had to wait outside in the waiting area and suddenly wished that Brooke was here. Although we hadn't known each other for a long time, I knew that I could trust her. But maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part, because I so yearned for someone with whom I could share my worries.

"Julian Norris?"

I looked up as the doctor approached me. "Yes?"

"Your mother is out of danger. We pumped her stomach out and gave her an infusion."

"How... how long will she have to stay in the hospital?" I asked, feeling my heart beat faster with relief.

"Only one day. She's even responsive and assured us that it was not her intention to kill herself, but that she simply underestimated the effect of alcohol together with sleeping pills."

He smiled, and all of a sudden I felt just ice-cold rage. It was so typical of her to downplay her addiction. She urgently needed help. Help that I couldn't give her. "She needs help," I mumbled, surprised that I had actually voiced the words loudly.

"You mean she drinks on occasion?"

I nodded silently because I didn't know what else to say. For years I had watched how she slowly destroyed herself. Here we were at a point where I couldn't and didn't want to bear it anymore.

"Well, in that case, your mother might want to think about therapy."

I rolled my eyes. You could rather teach a horse to fly, than to make my mother accept professional help. It was not like I didn't try. But as long as she didn't accept that she was ill, I couldn't help her.

"You live alone with your mother?"

I looked at the doctor thoughtfully for a moment before I nodded. 'Yes, all my life,' I silently added, though it wasn't quite true. But that's how it felt to me because my dad was married to his job and lived his life far away from ours.

"Your father is still alive?"

I nodded again, though it didn't really matter if he was alive or dead. It made almost no difference, because he was never there anyway and didn't care about us either.

"Then you should let your father know. Maybe he can convince your mother to take therapy."

"I hardly believe that, but... thanks." I got up. "Can I see her?"

The doctor nodded and then took me to the room where my mother was lying. As I pushed the door open and faced her, I felt a stab in my heart. She had been such a wonderful, lovable person before she had succumbed to alcohol. And now she was just a shadow of herself. She just didn't deserve this. With a few steps, I was at her bedside and took her in my arms. "I'm sorry, I wasn't there sooner," I said quietly, burying my face against her shoulder. She held me tight, and I let the tears flow that I had tried to suppress all the time.

Brooke's POV

Three days had passed since I last heard from Julian. And gradually I was really worried. Not only hadn't he called me, he hadn't shown up at school either. Supposedly he was ill, as I learned from one of his classmates. And even if that was a plausible explanation for his absence, I didn't believe it. It was a strange coincidence that he had fallen ill just after our debate. I couldn't hide my distressed mood from Haley when I drove to her for homework the third day of Julian's absence.

"Your concentration is lacking. The sentence you just wrote is full of spelling and grammatical mistakes. What's wrong with you?"

I put my pen aside, sighed, and ran a hand through my hair. "It's about Julian," I said, glaring at Haley as she started to smile. "That's no reason to be happy. I'm really worried. He hasn't been to school for days."

"Did anything happen between the two of you?"

"No, not since our last conversation." I was lost in thought for a moment, but couldn't think of a reason why he should avoid me.

"Did you call him?"

I nodded. "At least a dozen times. He doesn't answer my calls. Or better, his mailbox is activated. He turned off his cellphone."

"If you can't reach him by phone, then go to his house."

Yes, that was exactly it! Why didn't I have the idea? I would just ride to his house and convince myself how he was doing. I jumped up from my chair and embraced my friend. "Thanks, Haley! You're the best!" I quickly packed my stuff and put my bag over my shoulder.

"Good luck!"

I heard her words as I was almost out the door. It was a long way from Haley's to Julian's house. And when I finally got there, I was completely out of breath. I parked my bike and walked slowly up the driveway until I came to the steps that led to the house. I hadn't quite reached the door when it was suddenly opened. In the doorway stood Julian's mother, and her look didn't bode well.

"You are not welcome here! I thought I made that clear the last time."

I flinched involuntarily. She had a kind of nature that made me deeply unsure and made me feel small and shabby. "I... I'm just here to find out how... Julian is," I stuttered.

"That's none of your business!"

"Please Mrs. Norris," I pleaded. "I just want to know how he's doing, because he hasn't been to school for so long."

"He's sick."

"Yes, I know." I shifted nervously from one foot to the other and would have liked to storm the house to convince myself of his health. But she stood before me like an avenging angel, ready to throw me into purgatory. "Can you at least tell me what's wrong with him?"

"He has a bronchitis."

I knew that I didn't get any further with this. This woman hated me. That was quite obvious. And she would rather chop off her hand than let me see her son. "Then... then tell him that he should get well soon," I mumbled, turning away to leave. But suddenly something occurred to me. "Please tell him to call me when he's feeling better." I finally turned away from her and noticed her piercing look, like a knife in my back, as I slowly walked down the driveway until I came to the place where my bike was chained up. I took one last look back to the house, got on my bike and drove home.

Julian's POV

Tree Hill High

It took me 10 days to overcome my bronchitis and to go back to school. And then I saw her. She stood in the middle of a group of teenagers and laughed at something that someone had just said. When I heard her laugh, my heart began to ache. How could I explain to her that I couldn't give her tutoring anymore? Or in other words, how could I explain to her that we wouldn't meet again at all? My mother had used the time I had spent in bed to make her own plans. She had contacted my father and told him that she intended to move back to LA. No one had even asked for my opinion. But it has always been like that. I was in the hierarchy of this family, if you could call us that, far below. My opinion didn't count. They just decided over my head. And I had complied because I didn't want to leave her alone. Even though she hoped that we would become a family again, I knew that changing the location wouldn't change our situation. My dad would continue to work and take care of his own life, and we would have to see how we could manage our own. For me, it meant a change of school, which in itself wasn't bad, because I was quite flexible and had no friends here anyway that I would miss. With one exception: Brooke. As if she had guessed my thoughts, she suddenly raised her head and looked in my direction. I tried to smile, but I failed miserably.

"Julian!"

As she ran towards me, I thought for a moment she would fling her arms around my neck, but just before she had reached me, she suddenly stopped.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded because my throat was suddenly tight. Her eyes lit up, and I could see how happy she was to see me again. "Can we talk privately?" I said quietly that no one would hear. She nodded and then smiled at me.

"In the cafeteria?"

I nodded and then went ahead. Arriving in the cafeteria, I sat down at the table where we had last studied together. She was nervous. I could clearly see that because she was constantly running her fingers through her long hair and chewing on her lower lip. It was time to tell her the truth. "Brooke, I... I have something to tell you," I began, meeting her curious gaze. She had sat down opposite me with her elbows propped up on the table.

"What do you want to tell me?"

She looked expectantly at me with her fawn-colored eyes, and I knew that I would extinguish that shine in her eyes. "I can't give you tutoring lessons anymore," I said hastily, because I wanted to get it over with quickly. And I was right. She looked at me with wide eyes and I could see shock and confusion in them.

"Why, what have I done?" she asked alarmed.

Why did she think she had done something? "Nothing," I hurried to say quickly. "You didn't do anything. It's not you. I would love to continue tutoring you, but I... " I stopped because my throat was suddenly constricted. It had been so easy when I had practiced it in front of the bathroom mirror. But to see her now face to face was something completely different. "Brooke, I'm going to leave Tree Hill," I confessed to her softly. "I'm going back to Los Angeles with my mom."

When her eyes filled with tears, I wanted to take my words back. But I also knew that I couldn't. It was like a patch. You had to tear it down quickly so it wouldn't hurt so much.

"When?"

"In two weeks. We still have some things to do before we can move to L.A."

"In two weeks..."

I nodded, and then I remembered. "Your big math test is in two weeks," I said, looking at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Brooke. I would have liked to help you. But maybe you can find someone else who can give you private lessons." It was not what she had expected, because suddenly she jumped up from her chair without a warning and ran away. Confused, I followed her with my eyes. What had I said that she just ran away? And while I mulled it over, the gong sounded, signaling that the next lesson had started.

Brooke's POV

I heard the gong, but I didn't care. I couldn't go to class now. As the other students scrambled into the classes, I made my way through them and ran to the girls' restroom. Luckily, no one else was there except me. I entered one of the cabins, locked up behind me and slowly slipped to the floor, tears streaming down my cheeks. I had waited so long for the moment to see Julian again. I had wanted to tell him that I felt more for him than just friendship. I had wanted to ask him if we could meet for a real date. My diary was full of entries about Julian and what I hoped for us in the future. I had written his name with hearts around it. And now I was sitting here on the cold, dirty floor in the girls' restroom, crying my heart out. There would be no future for us because he would go to L.A, a city thousands of miles away from me. He would meet another girl there, fall in love, get married, have children with her... Suddenly the door opened and someone came in.

"Brooke? Are you there?"

I scrambled to my feet, put the latch back and flung my arms around her neck. "Haley," I sobbed on her shoulder and closed my eyes as she stroked my hair. "He's leaving Tree Hill. He's going to Los Angeles." I didn't need to say much, because I knew Haley understood. It took a while for her to let go of me when she noticed that my sobs were getting fewer.

"When you didn't turn up to class, I asked if I could look for you. I knew where you were right away. You always go there when you feel miserable."

I nodded and gratefully accepted the handkerchief that Haley handed me. "That's true," I admitted. "But this time it's worse." When she chuckled, I frowned. "What's so amusing about it?"

"Nothing, only that I knew it all the time. You really fell in love with him, right?"

I nodded and felt tears in my eyes again. "But that doesn't matter now because he's leaving Tree Hill in two weeks."

"You should tell him anyway."

"That I have feelings for him?" I shook my head. "I'd only make a fool of myself. He believes that I'm only interested in tutoring."

"You just want to let him go like that?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" I exclaimed desperately. "He's going to L.A. in two weeks and maybe I'll never see him again."

"At least you have two weeks left. You should use that. Why don't you ask him for a date?"

Yes, why not? Haley was right. Either I gave up on Julian right away, or I tried to make the best of the situation in the remaining two weeks. "Okay," I agreed. "I'll call him and ask him for a date."

"Great. Then that's settled and we can finally go back to class."

I smiled involuntarily when I saw Haley rolling her eyes. Yes, sometimes she didn't have an easy time with me. I had to admit that. But what are friends for?

"Clean up your face. No need that the others see you were crying."

I went to the sink, put my hand under the soap dispenser and pressed the button. My eyes started to burn as I rubbed my face with soap, but at least I was freed from tears and make-up afterwards. "Am I presentable enough?" I asked Haley after washing my face with clear water and then drying it off.

"Perfect. Now let's go."

I took one last look in the mirror and then left with Haley to attend the rest of the lesson.