Jenny blinked once. Twice. Stared. Julian's eyes were pinned to hers. Glowing oddly in the dark with their own brilliant blue light as strange and rare and wonderful as portals to another world. Right now though, this world was overwhelming enough.

"You kissed me," the blonde blurted as soon as she regained her ability to speak, "and I kissed you back. We kissed."

And I liked it! Her mind put in wildly.

"Yes," Julian replied with impossible calm, "we did."

"I need to get out of here," Jenny said. Julian nodded and crooked a finger.

Half-dazed, Jenny followed her friend through a short but twisted maze of black wood barriers, across a red lit path, and out an emergency exit. Now, in the brisk October night, Jenny could breathe. The girl gratefully drew in gulps of smoke-scented air that cleared her throat and cooled her lungs. Once Jenny started feeling better, the madness that had just come to pass hit her full-force.

"We kissed!" She declared again, part amazed and part horrifed.

"You keep saying that," Julian chimed in an almost-sing-song. He was brushing some dust off the sleeve of his costume and trying to hold back the smile that kept twitching up his lips. It was a losing battle.

For a moment, Jenny felt lost. In the strange yellow light that poured unclouded from the full harvest moon, Julian was beautiful beyond reason. His silvery hair was tinted, rendered white gold, and his thick dark lashes were downcast to offer just teasing hints of lapis-lazuli. What's more, his full lips bore a faint, unconscious upward curve, and his entire being seemed to glow with delight. Effervescent.

Nonetheless, Jenny regained her breath and immediately began to reason with herself. "It was just...temporary insanity, right? From Halloween, and the haunted house and my panic attack, and—and that stupid moon—!"

"Jen," Julian caught one of Jenny's wrists, which had been flailing about in her attempts to rationalize the situation. He held the captive wrist gently in his hands, and when he spoke, Jenny had never known his voice could be so soft, "It happened. You can't take it away."

"Well, I know that, but—" Jenny paused, frowned. Before she could continue protesting, Julian stopped her.

"Nothing you could have said or done would've stopped it from happening. Same goes for me. If not tonight, it would've happened sooner or later."

At this, Jenny stilled and asked "Why?"

"Because it was meant to happen," Julian answered, as though all this made perfect sense.

"No," Jenny said, then with more force, "No, it wasn't. It never was."

"Jenny—" Julian began, but Jenny couldn't let her go on; couldn't let him keep talking to her in that strange, tender, mesmerizing voice that made her heart feel like it was melting.

"It shouldn't have happened at all, I mean, I have—" Jenny cut off as the most horrible realization yet struck her, "Tom."

"He's not right for you," Julian said, but Jenny wasn't listening.

"And why are you acting like this is okay?" She demanded, "like you're happy about it?"

"Because I am," Julian stated, and that made Jenny go very quiet.

"You...are?" Jenny asked in a near-whisper, emerald eyes wide with too much shock.

"I—" Julian looked down, uncertain for the first time Jenny had ever known. But then he returned his eyes to the blonde, calm and intense, "I love you, Jenny."

Her mind was already racing over the implications of those words when Jenny muttered numbly, "Well of course I love you too." Julian didn't respond, just waited for Jenny's mouth and brain to catch up with each other. When they did, she gasped, "Oh. Oh. Oh no," Jenny shook her head frantically, "We're friends."

"We're supposed to be more," Julian insisted.

"No," Jenny repeated, as though she could make all this go away with enough vehemence.

"I know it's hard to understand, but Jenny," Julian reached up to touch Jenny's cheek with his fingertips, "I really do love you. I have ever since that summer before second grade."

Jenny shivered, but not from the cold. Julian's lips were softly parted, and his eyes were wider than usual; painfully sincere. He looked wonderstruck, young and vulnerable, and that scared Jenny. When she jerked away from his touch, he couldn't hide the hurt on his face any more than she could hide the goosebumps on her arms from Julian's words and fingers.

"But I have a boyfriend," Jenny protested, wincing at how inelegant a statement that was. Julian stepped back, hand dropping. More hurt in his eyes. Jenny couldn't let him talk again, but she couldn't just say nothing either. The look he was giving her was just so un-Julian that it made Jenny's heart hurt. The next time she spoke, she forced her voice to be as soft and reasonable as possible. "That kiss—it was an accident. A mistake. It was no one's fault, but it doesn't mean anything. And it can't happen again."

Just like some magic trick, all emotion was swept from Julian's face, and a veil of lashes drooped to cover his eyes. "Oh. Right. Absolutely," he murmured tonelessly.

"God, Julian, I'm so sorry," Jenny started, but then Julian was looking at her with eyes as still and inscrutable as ice-covered pools.

He was smiling now—a small, pleasant, distant smile that was as unsettling as it was lovely "No need. I see how it is," Julian said, tone measured and light and somehow mechanical. "A misunderstanding."

"I didn't mean—"

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, but Julian—"

"Good. I'll be going then," he gave a slight, cordial nod before adding icily, "goodnight, Jenny."

And then he disappeared. Simply dematerialized into shadows cast by the ghostly moon. Gone. And all Jenny could do was stare, trembling, at the air where he'd just been.