A/N: Just to warn you, things may get a little steamy in this chapter. If you are uncomfortable with that sort of thing, please don't read it. On another note, here is an update finally! I am doing a show right now and it has been consuming my life. haha

Juli POV

It didn't take long for the news to spread around school. After Juli told her best friend that she was finally Bryce Loski's girlfriend, Dana made sure to pass along the message to practically everyone they knew. Juli understood this was because Dana was exploding with happiness for her best friend, and she simply couldn't contain the exciting news to herself. Consequently, the entire school was aware that Juli was now Bryce's girlfriend and Bryce was her boyfriend.

Bryce Loski is my boyfriend. A big smile appeared on her lips as she laid in her bed that night and snuggled into the covers. The concept of calling him her "boyfriend" was still somewhat new to her, but it was a good kind of new. And after a few weeks dating him, she didn't mind it one bit. In fact, it just made her extremely happy. Bryce made her extremely happy. A knock on the door took her away from her thoughts.

"Juli, honey. You have someone here to see you," her mother called from the hallway in their home. "It's Bryce."

Juli jumped out of her bed faster than a lightning bolt. "Umm… one second!" she said nervously, putting on a robe over her pajamas, which barely could be considered "clothes". She was practically naked before throwing the robe on. She began running her fingers wildly through her hair, hoping it wasn't too messy. She sighed. The robe was a little shorter than what she would normally wear to school, but at least she wasn't naked anymore, right? Oh well. This will have to do.

"Juli?" her mother asked again, waiting for the door to open.

"Coming!" Juli beamed, as she ran to open the door. She was already excited about the thought of seeing Bryce. As she opened the door, she noted, he wasn't even in his pajamas. She felt herself turn a little red from the embarrassment. Here she was practically wearing nothing at all and here he was fully clothed. Totally unfair. "Hi, Bryce."

"Hi, Juli." But as he came closer into view, she noticed his eyes looked red and sad, as if he had been crying. His eyes seemed to be searching her eyes for help, or an answer. Those dazzling eyes… she hated seeing them in pain.

Juli's mother seemed to sense something was wrong. Normally, she wouldn't allow Juli alone in her room with a boy at this time of night, but she would make an exception this once. "No more than ten minutes. I'll be back to check on you then." Mrs. Baker closed the door shut.

The second the door shut, the pain Bryce had internalized and that Juli saw so clearly in his eyes seemed to gush out without control. He covered his face as tears fell down his cheeks and he attempted to hold them back.

Juli gently pulled his hands away from his face and hugged him tightly. He sobbed into her shoulder, unable to communicate what was wrong through his tears.

She couldn't take seeing him so hurt, crying limp in her arms. Her heart ached because she had no idea what was going on or where to even begin to try to help. "Bryce, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Why is everything so fucked up, Juli?" he finally managed to ask with an extreme amount of hurt, anger, and a hint of hatred in his voice. He separated himself from the embrace and began pacing a bit, as if he needed some space.

Juli had never seen this side of Bryce. In fact, she didn't even know how to respond to this question. What could possibly be eating at him so much for him to act like this? She could now tell he had been drinking before coming over to see her. He stumbled a bit to maintain balance as he paced and kept her gaze with so much pain in his eyes. Juli felt helpless. What could she do to help him? "Bryce, please just talk to me. What is going on?"

"Grandpa just had a stroke." Silence.

Juli felt her heart sink. She let the horrible news settle in for a moment. "Bryce, I'm… I'm so sorry."

"He was standing up for my mom. Grandpa was trying to help. My dad came over extremely drunk, what a big surprise, trying to convince my mom to take him back. When she said "no", he went completely ape shit. He cheated on her, and when she says "no", he goes crazy and wants to hit her. Can you believe what an asshole he is? He was going to hit my mom. Then grandpa got in the middle of it to protect her, but dad wouldn't stop or leave. Grandpa got really upset until the argument was getting out of control, and then he had stroke. And then dad just left like the coward he is and didn't even bother staying to see if he was ok. Grandpa is at the hospital in a critical condition, my parents are getting a divorce, Lynetta detests Dad with everything she has, and to drown all this shit away and numb everything, I choose to drink, possibly following the same footsteps and becoming just like my dad. My family is crumbling apart. And me… I don't know… I'm just, falling to pieces. Everything is shit, but the only good thing I have is you, Juli."

Juli knew he had let this build up inside of him for a long time now. She was glad he let it out though, even if it did kill her to see him like this. "Well I'm here and I'm not going anywhere, Bryce. I'll always be here for you."

"I love you, Juli."

"I love you too, Bryce."

Bryce paused and looked at her from across her bedroom. He hadn't seemed to notice she was not in anything but a robe until now. He crossed the room, looking deeply into her eyes, standing inches away from her now. He slowly unfastened the tie keeping her robe on. His hands gently slid the robe off her shoulder, letting it fall to the ground so that she was now only wearing her pajamas. Juli felt a shiver down her spine as the robe fell to the floor. She was wearing a lacey, somewhat sheer night gown that fell just above her knees. It was like he wanted to completely take in her sight and not miss anything. She could see his eyes trail from her head to her toes, not blinking once. Suddenly it felt extremely hot inside her room. She didn't know what was happening. But it felt scary and exciting.

"I just want to forget everything right now. I just want to be with you." With that Bryce pulled her close and began intensely kissing her. Juli put her arms around his neck deepening the kiss, asking for more with each kiss. Bryce gently led her to the floor, both of them on their knees, not breaking the passionate kiss. Bryce's hands began exploring Juli's body slowly, trailing from her thighs and working his way upwards. She couldn't help the sensation of excitement and wanting him to continue. They surrendered completely, transitioning all the way to the floor with Bryce of top of Juli. He began to kiss her neck gently, meanwhile she caressed his back, encouraging him with every kiss and touch of his hands.

"Bryce, don't stop. Please, keep going." Juli felt herself in complete bliss, until Bryce stood up quickly, leaving her feeling thoroughly confused.

"I'm so sorry, Juli. I shouldn't have done that. It shouldn't be like this. Look, I should go. I'm too messed up right now and we're both feeling vulnerable. Please, just know I love you. I have to go…" He quickly planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and tried to walk out without stumbling and making it apparent he was drunk to the Bakers.

Juli sat on the floor of her bedroom unsure of what had just happened. She had experienced feelings and something extremely in a foreign area for her. She was still concerned about Chet and his condition. It would be too late to go to the hospital though. Her parents would not allow it. Bryce seemed like he needed some distance tonight to clear his head. She would have to wait till tomorrow to talk to him. She was scared of what might happen: to Chet, to Bryce's parents, to Bryce, and to their relationship. She knew what had just happened would change things, and change was scary.

A/N: This was a little shorter than my usual chapters, but maybe if I try this method, I'll update more often. Plus, tech week is done and now I only have shows on weekends. So hopefully that means posting at least one chapter per week! Thanks to the new subscribers to favorites/story alerts and the kind reviews! You're all awesome.