Chapter 2

Fight or Flight

Julia reached for her bra and shirt first, finding them on the ground. She didn't want to be naked a moment longer in front of him. The sex was great, but the pale girl was coming down from her climax high, and they were both going back to being just strangers. The girl didn't know anything about the other person in the room. Her only knowledge was his name and what he looked like without clothes. However, even that was becoming a faint blur.

Eli cleared his throat, "I think I found your skirt." He handed her the clothing item, which she slipped on without hesitation. He was now fully clothed except without his military jacket, which was in his arms. The boy dressed in all black looked away as she finished getting dressed, which Julia found a little comforting.

A gentleman, she thought.

"Umm, so…what school do you go to?" He asked as she slipped on her jacket.

"—You wouldn't know it," she replied quickly, "it's not in the area. " Which wasn't a lie. She cringed at the thought of the arts school and how she left on bad terms.

I guess I don't technically go to that school anymore.

Her eyes started to sting with tears, flashes of the final days at her old school began to replay in her mind. Not giving Eli the heads up, she started kissing him again. His body was stiff at first, but he gave in to her wants. Enthralled with the kiss, he put his hands on her tiny waist to draw the warmth of her body closer. The kiss was slow and methodical, but she was still hungry for more of him. Julia just wanted to give up her mind and body to him so her memories wouldn't go wandering.

They made out a little longer before Eli broke apart first. "Woah," he let out softly, "this has hands down been the best party I've been to in my life…." He paused for a second, not daring to look Julia in the eyes. "I just don't think I can go another round," he finally let out. His cheeks filled with blood, making him look more innocent than the act he just performed on her only minutes ago.

"Another round?" Her eyes tried to search his for any clues, but his embarrassment didn't allow it as he avoided her glance. She didn't know what he was trying to say.

"I don't think I have it—you know—in me," he paused and sighed, looking for some courage as he finally met her gaze again. "For more sex...," he finally finished. Now it was her turn to be embarrassed. He probably thought she was a nympho and that's all she goes around wanting.

"—If it was bad for you, then I'm so sorry. It's been a long crappy day for me and...," he rambled, shifting around in place. Julia shut him up by gently placing a finger on his lips.

"It was perfect," she told him sincerely, "It's just been a long crappy day for me too, and I wanted to forget as much as possible. You've been a really big help." Julia started messing with her bangs, running her fingers through them, scared that she might've divulged a bit too much information. The boy in front of her chuckled to himself and reached out to hold Julia's hand. "I guess I'm glad I could be of assistance then." Using his thumb, he caressed her palm while his other hand reached up to gently touch her face and bring her closer to place a tender kiss on her lips. It didn't last long but made her stomach do somersaults.

When he broke away from her, he spoke above a whisper. "Umm...I think maybe we should leave this poor man's office. We've already defiled it enough with sin." Eli smirked, and Julia just nodded in agreement. He finally put on his military jacket and then grabbed her hand, leading them both out the door and back to the party. The change in the atmosphere hit her like a ton of bricks, forgetting for a moment where she was. The wave of music and drunk people made her take a second to analyze her state of being. Her skin was still buzzing, either from the alcohol or sex, but she wasn't as inebriated as before. They snaked their way through hordes of sweaty teens, still holding hands and trying to avoid bumping into people. The cold air sobered up whatever alcohol was still left in her system when they hit the front porch. The temperature seemed to drop considerably, an involuntary shiver coursing through her.

"Don't worry. My car's not far from here. I just couldn't park it near the party with this sea of cars," Eli explained, leaving Julia to wonder where they were headed to once they reached his vehicle. They walked in silence, still holding hands. Even though it was freezing out, their hands were clammy from sweaty nerves.

"—Okay, I don't want you to get freaked out, but I drive a hearse," the dark-haired boy announced once they got close to the long black vintage car. Eli reached in his pocket and grabbed a set of keys. He let go of her hand while she stood there chewing on her lip, weighing her options about getting into the car. Eli unlocked the driver's side of the door and got in. Reaching over to the passenger side, he rolled down the window, "I swear Morty only looks intimidating, but he's not that bad."

Does the hearse have a name?

The inside of the car was classic and outdated. It had a faint old dusty smell trying hard to be masked by the fresh pine scent dangling from the rearview mirror. The engine was loud; she almost couldn't hear the soft music emanating from the only modern thing in the car: the stereo. Eli didn't say much even after he started driving. They continued down different streets, Julia not knowing where this boy she just met was taking her and not daring to break the silence. Eventually, Eli turned the volume up higher so that Julia could make out the music coming from the local rock station. A song later, he pulled into the parking lot, a coffee shop. It was late, but it was still open, and some people were up and inhabiting the quaint store.

"How do you take your coffee?" he asked.

"I'll just have black coffee. Three Splendas, please." Fewer calories.

He shut the door to the hearse behind him and entered the shop independently, leaving her to ponder more about him and his odd choice in car. Shifting around in her seat to get more comfortable, she heard something crack by her feet. "Shit," she breathed. Taking a better look, she found a couple of CD cases.

Who still owns CDs?

She picked up a few and recognized Dead Hand, Metallica, and Linkin Park in the now broken CD case. Julias taste in music was all over the place, but she was glad she at least had similar tastes in music with the cute boy getting her coffee. Eli didn't take too long and came back with two cups in hand. He got in and handed her her coffee.

"Thanks," she muttered, "you didn't have to."

"I wanted to…" his voice trailed and turned on the hearse again. He drove on but not for too long when he parked in front of an eerily lonely park. It was too cold and late to have anyone doing anything. The windows were quickly fogging up from the heater and the hot coffee in their hands. She didn't know why they were there but was nonetheless grateful it could buy her some time before she had to go home.

"I'm sorry I murdered your Linkin Park CD," she confessed, picking up the evidence for the boy next to her to see.

"Oof—it's okay. I should learn to be cleaner," he said, taking a sip of his coffee, "at least it wasn't Dead Hand. Then I'd be offended."

"They're a pretty cool band," she stated, picking up and eyeing over the case for the tracklist, "I only know a handful of songs, but still."

"A girl with taste—where'd you come from again?" Grinning from his compliment, she couldn't deny that it felt good to be wanted and praised by a boy as cute as him. Eli reached out for the stereo and fiddled with the dial to find something new to help fill the silence between them. A local radio station came on that she recognized.

"—Just remember to be kind to one another. This is Bullfrog signing off for the rest of the night, but I got one more song to play for some of you younger listeners out there. Remember to keep your head up and stay strong during hard times..." The radio host cut off and came on a familiar song. It was The Beatles, Let It Be. The slow piano tempo started before Eli automatically turned off the music entirely, and his face became rigid, along with his body. The almost split-second change in mood concerned her, making Julia try to catch his eye. He kept his face turned in the opposite direction so that she couldn't read him. She wanted so badly to ask about his change in demeanor, but she also didn't want to poke around.

"Are you okay?" she reached out her hand to his shoulder to comfort him, only to have him recoil, almost as if on fire. She retracted her hand back as if burned from his hostility. Shifting around in her seat, she sipped on the dark liquid in her hands as a distraction from the apparent rejection, the small interaction stinging and weighing down heavy on her. A second passed before her mind wandered to all the events of her day, replaying like a movie reel. A build-up of pressure started to swell in her chest, causing her hands to get a little shaky. The unwanted energy gave her the fuel to speak up again.

"You can talk to me if you want—"

"Look—I'm not in the mood to talk," he stated harshly. His words stung, each one a little deeper.

"Why'd you even bring me here then?" She snapped quickly, "So what! I fucked you—it's not like I asked to hang out, let alone go on a sad pity date or something." Julia huffed, trying to relieve some of the pressure from her chest. Her eyes started to sting with fresh tears.

No! I don't want to cry! She screamed internally, Not now!

Frustrated as well, Eli turned to face her directly. "I didn't hear you speak up before we left—plus I'm not going to be that asshole that hooks up with random girls at parties. I don't go looking for that—"

"—If this is some sad way to make you and your conscience feel better for having sex with your local slut?"

Eli stayed silent and gave her an are you kidding me right now look. Instead, Julia took his silence as confirmation to her question.

"Fucking asshole," she stated fiercely, "I really don't need this right now!" Anger coursed through her as she scrambled for the door handle, swinging it wide open and greeting the night air once again. With the newfound energy running through her veins, she chucked the coffee in her hand as hard as she could towards the park, "I don't need your stupid pity..."

Fuck this guy. Fuck Madame Delphine and my stepmom. Fuck everyone!

Julia let out a loud and aggravated noise, not caring who would hear it. Eli stepped out of his hearse and walked around the front of it to follow her, "that's not what I meant, and you know it. You're acting irrationally!"

She scoffed again. "I'm so tired of people telling me what I am, or what I'm being, or what I need to be. Just shut up and leave me alone, you...you freak!"

Her name-calling had to have hit a nerve because he seemed genuinely taken aback by her statement. He took a second to run his hands across his face to attempt to calm himself. "Fine—whatever! I don't need this, of all days," Eli exclaimed, tossing his hands back down to his side in defeat, "just let me take you home, so I don't feel responsible if something bad happens to you tonight."

Julia scoffed audibly. "You already had sex with her, so we can't have that on your precious conscience too," she argued, "bite me! I can take care of myself." Her heartbeat was so loud with adrenaline that she could hear it pulsing in her ears. Julia started to walk away from the parking lot in the direction of the park, not knowing where she was located or in which direction her house was. She just wanted to get away from him.

"I'll be in the hearse when you're ready to go home…" he said, his voice trailing off as she got further away from him. The cold Canadian temperature was a lot starker than when she'd first left her apartment complex. Goosebumps were rising once again on her pale legs that she could visibly see. Up ahead, she found a park bench and sat down to figure out her exact location. Julia had to take two unfamiliar buses and a bit of a walk to get to tonight's party, so she wasn't knowledgeable about the neighborhood she was currently stuck in. The anxious girl pulled her phone from her jacket pocket, drawing her eyes immediately to the red battery symbol.

"Shit," she muttered, putting her phone down on the flat surface of the bench table and rubbing both hands together to warm them. Julia didn't dare allow herself to look back to see if the boy pulled out of the lot or not. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she needed him even though the pale girl was starting to plan every possible scenario on how she would conceivably get herself home. Quickly, Julia opened her google maps app to get an idea of her location to find familiar neighborhoods and bus routes. Only managing to scroll around a little bit, the phone company logo popped up, followed by nothing, marking the end of her screen time on the device.

Out of nowhere, a bright flash of light blinded her sight. Julia held her hands up to her face to block her eyes to see what was going on.

"—What the hell?"

"Young lady, do you know what time it is," an accusing voice spoke. The pale girl heard a click followed by the flood of light shutting off. It was an officer.

Shit! Curfew!

"Officer, I was just coming to pick up my sister," the familiar voice of Eli spoke behind her. Julia rolled her eyes but decided it was probably better to go along with whatever he had planned seeing as she had no identification on her.

"Then I'll ask both of you what you're doing at this park in the middle of the night? This is a high drug use area during these hours."

"I—I swear I didn't know that officer. W-we're not doing any drugs," Julia stuttered, lifting her hands in defense to show she had nothing on her, "We're not even from around here. I went to a party, got lost, and asked my brother Eli to pick me up. My phone died just as you both got here." She lifted her phone and tapped the dark screen as evidence to show she wasn't lying.

The cop eased up slightly, but he still didn't look convinced. "Mhm…and what school do you go to?"

Eli answered immediately before Julia could even get a word out, "Degrassi, sir."

The cop's face became solemn. He took a deep sigh before speaking up again. "I was going to write you both up for curfew violations, but I know you've had a tough day over there, so I'll let you off with a one-time warning. Go straight home, and I don't want to catch either of you out here during these hours again," he said sternly.

"Thanks, officer. Have a good night," Julia added, trying to hide her confusion as she got up from the bench and walked by Eli's side back to the hearse, neither of them saying another word. That was the second time tonight someone alluded to something terrible surrounding this boy. First on the radio, then with his cold reaction, and now with the cop. Julia wasn't stupid. Eyeing the dark-haired boy, she knew he knew. However, although Julias wanted to ask, the girl still didn't want to pry. It's not like she wanted anyone to snoop on the shitty day she had today, either.

"Thanks for saving my ass," she added instead when they got back to his car.

"I guess I'll take you home now...," he suggested. The raven-haired girl nodded her head in agreement, and they both got into the warmer space of Morty.

"I'm sorry for your day," Julia let out.

Eli did not respond right away. He took a moment before he added, "I'm sorry for your day too." They looked at each other, and both found a mutual understanding without having to say anything else for the rest of the car ride. This time Julia turned on the radio but wasted no time changing the station immediately to something less triggering. They let the random music fill the space between them while she added instructions here and there on how to get to her place. About twenty minutes later, they got to the other side of Toronto and pulled up to a large, run-down apartment complex. Julia's hands started to shake at the thought of walking into the mess that was her family, so she chewed on the inside of her cheek to help mask her anxiety better.

"You okay?" Eli asked, a hint of concern in his voice. Julia didn't answer, fearing her voice might break, so she reached for the door handle and forced herself out of the car. She pinched her skin to brace herself for what was to come, but not before turning back to knock on Eli's passenger window. He leaned over and rolled it down for her.

"Thanks again…for everything," she stated with as much sincerity as possible.

Eli gave her a nod. "I'll see you around..." His voice drifted at the end between a statement and a question. Julia couldn't tell.

"Sure." She smiled one last time at the strange boy dressed in all black. Julia could still hear the roar of the engine behind her as she walked into the old building.