Chapter 6

Unexpected Circumstances

Eli and Julia got odd glances on the bus after The Dot. They still had the same paint-splattered clothes from the rave. Julia insisted she could get home on her own, but she couldn't get through to the persistent dark-haired boy that was now accompanying her. Mostly she always had to take care of herself, so it was strange to have someone else go out of their way to look out for her. Especially with something so simple as making sure she got home safely.

"You really didn't have to," Julia added once more when they both got a disapproving glance from a middle-aged woman sitting across from them. Eli reached out for her hand and laced his fingers between hers. His hand still had some patches of paint, but they were smooth and warm for the most part.

"I would've preferred to give you a ride home, but Morty's sorta down right now," he admitted. Julia couldn't help but giggle and nod her head in slight disapproval.

"—What?" Eli interrogated, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just—aren't cars supposed to be female like boats or something," she explained, "Morty's a guy's name."

He thought about it for a second, eyebrows furrowed. Finally, he just formed a smirk on his face before he answered, "What can I say—I'm a weird kid. My hearse always reminded me of an old mortician."

They were on the bus for another twenty minutes while Eli told her more backstory on Morty, like where he found it and how he got it. Not once did she take her soft blue eyes off the strange boy, captivated by his words even if she found it a little creepy. When they arrived at the final bus stop, they continued hand in hand to the apartment building she resided in with the rest of her family. Julia wanted to invite him inside but was embarrassed for many different reasons. One, she didn't want him to see her home life, specifically Diane and her drunk episodes. Two, Julia didn't want Eli to compare his living situation with her mediocre one. Their apartment unit wasn't as pleasant as his home. And Three, she was scared her family would divulge more of her past than she wanted him to know.

However, just before she was about to stick the key to the main building door, he pulled her in by her waist to lean down and give her a slow and methodical kiss. It didn't last long but was full of such passion; she almost said screw it in her mind and invited him upstairs to shower with her. Eli pulled away enough that their faces were only a few inches apart.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school," he stated, his warm breath hitting her skin.

It was the mental wake-up Julia needed from being on cloud nine. She just nodded in agreement, not able to get her words out. Eli began to walk away, and Julia was left in awe that this was her life. The teen almost didn't believe he was real. The raven-haired girl stood there a second longer before she heard a honk emanate from the parking lot, reminding Julia that she eventually had to get upstairs. Her parents would be home eventually, which meant she only had so much time alone for herself. The petite girl desperately needed to shower. Walking up the flight of steps to the third floor and down the hallway to door 303, she paused for a moment. Her ears perked up when she heard music coming from inside.

Shit!

Bracing herself, she opened the door and was instantly hit by the scent of something herby, mixed with skunk. The weight was lifted off Julia's shoulders because that meant the only person home taking advantage of the solitude to smoke weed would be her stepbrother. Julia scrunched up her nose in disdain for the drug. She always hated the way it smelled. At that moment, Eli's voice entered her mind from the night before when he asked Jake:

"Do you have any weed on you, man?"

Maybe she shouldn't give up on the drug so easily. Her brother was already proving to be a good asset for her relationship with Eli.

"You're not fooling anyone—I could smell that stuff the moment I came in," Julia complained, entering the bedroom they shared. Gabe was posted by the open window, a lit joint in his hand. He turned the music volume down from his phone when Julia made her presence known.

"You worry too much, Plum—besides, I always blame it on the neighbors. Mom and Scott never question it," he spoke with self-assurance. For a second, neither said anything before they broke out in laughter. Their neighbor is a sixty-two-year-old woman with three cats. The fact that her father and stepmom fell for that just showed how delusional they both can be.

Gabe inhaled some more, expelling the contents after holding it in his lungs for a few seconds. Her stepbrother looked nothing like her stepmom, Diane. The woman was skinny and frail with delicate features and dark brown eyes. Gabe was tall with light brown hair, robust features, and bright hazel eyes. And most importantly, his demeanor was warmer and inviting.

"You want some, Plum?" He offered, motioning the joint towards her as he let out a cough. Julia weighed her options but decided she'd much rather be herself for one night.

"When do I ever say yes," she answered, crossing her arms defensively.

His red eyes were dazed, trying to work his brain to remember, but he took another hit and never answered her. She walked over to the closet and grabbed a new set of clothes to get out of her stupid ballet practice attire. Julia needed a long warm shower after last night's adventure.

"Wooaah—where have you been? You're covered in paint," he asked, speaking each word a little longer than needed.

"I went to a rave," she answered honestly, still working on finding her sweats to lounge around the apartment.

Her stepbrother started laughing, eyeing her skeptically. "Nah, tell me the truth, Plum?

Julia was starting to get annoyed by his line of questioning. "That is the truth," she huffed, "and stop calling me Plum. I don't do ballet anymore." Gabe's been calling her Plum ever since he watched her dance the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker when she was little at a dance recital. It never bothered her until now.

"Oh, shit—yeah. I heard mom being a bitch to you about it the other day."

There was a pause. No one said anything, and all you could hear was the clinking of clothes hangers.

"Just don't listen to any asshole that puts you down about your craft—especially not my mom. You got talent, and that's something my mom can't take from you even though she wishes she could…" Gabe dragged on, but Julia wasn't paying attention anymore. All she could hear was her ballet instructor and those last words she spoke to her playing in her mind.

It was Julia's second day back at Degrassi. She kept an eye out for Eli by the school's steps. There was a sea of faces—a lot of which she didn't recognize, except for the one face she did. A light bulb went off when she sees the tall jock with the black and red letterman jacket. For some odd reason, her face forms an automatic smile when he seems to recognize her as well. He struts up the steps of Degrassi with other guys dressed in the same uniform. Veering away from them, he walks right up to Julia instead.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"I think you're the guy that saved me from drowning in vodka without a chaser," she states matter of factly. "I'm Julia."

"I remember." He seemed pleased with himself, gripping his backpack tighter. "Wait, so do you go here now? I know for a fact I've never seen a girl like you at this school before," he stated, clearly flirting.

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, her face getting a little flustered. "I—uh—just transferred here," Julia explained.

"Then I hope to see you around Degrassi more often. Things just got a little brighter," he said before eyeing Julia's all-black wardrobe, "or I mean—so to speak."

"I'll see you around then," Julia replied, chewing on her bottom lip. He glanced at her one more time before going into the halls of the community high school. As soon as he got away, she replayed the whole conversation in her mind again. As she analyzed it over, she couldn't help but compare Eli and Luke. The dark-haired boy is all-around cuter and more pleasant to be around, but her confidence seemed to peak higher when the jock showed interest in her as well. And being a dancer, she understood the physical intensity he puts in his sport, just like she used to do with ballet. Eli probably couldn't ever relate on the same level.

Ring! Ring! The first class bell went off.

Maybe Eli is running late today; she thought as she made her way to her first class.

Julia went through the first three periods wanting to smack herself with her textbooks expecting Eli to walk around a corner during passing periods or randomly enter a class of hers. She found herself daydreaming or jumping at the sound of the door opening, expecting it to be him. Mentally she needed to get a grip.

You've had sex with him twice. Get a hold of yourself.

Julia never acted this way at her old school for anyone she hooked up with. But then again, there was always a tremendous busy passion keeping her from getting too attached to any boy. Ballet had been her buffer and her obsession. She didn't have that anymore.

By fourth period she tried to ease up a bit, remembering this was the class with the girl with the similar hairstyle, Katie. For the majority of the period, Mr. Armstrong lectured, but Julia was grateful that towards the last few minutes of class, he gave them time to work out the material they learned in class on their own. That allows her to talk to her dark-haired look alike.

Julia didn't even get a chance to get the first word out when Katie spoke up first. "Second day at Degrassi and already skipping new girl," Katie taunted playfully.

Her mind goes immediately to Eli but shoos him away and thinks about Jake Martin instead. "Did Jake skip yesterday too?"

Katie was taken aback by her question, eyebrows furrowed but reverted to a calm demeanor. "No, I could've sworn I saw him here yesterday. What does he have to do with anything?"

"He was at this rave I went to the night before—" Julia started to get out before being cut off.

"—If you're about to tell me you hooked up with Jake Martin, then I don't want to hear it. He can do whatever he wants," Katie whispered quickly. Her position in her chair was starting to turn away from Julia, which was the opposite of what she wanted.

"No," the petite girl protested, "I was going to say that he's not over you. It's clear as day." Julia didn't officially know if they'd dated, but it was clear to anyone that there were still definite feelings involved between the two.

Katie eased up a bit, perking up in her seat to the news of the tall lumberjack teen. "Did he say something about me?"

Julia chewed on the inside of her mouth and nodded her head no. The other girl didn't say anything for a few seconds. Finally, she took a deep breath. "I did something bad that I shouldn't have done to him, and he can't seem to forgive me," Katie spoke in a weary tone. Julia could see the distress in Katie's face, so she instinctively reached across her desk to place a comforting hand on her arm. "I know he's hurt," Katie added, not daring to peer over at Julia.

"He still has feelings for you. Time will make him come around and forgive you. He just needs a big gesture to reassure him about you guys again."

After their conversation, both girls walked almost shoulder to shoulder outside Armstrong's class for their lunch break. Now that she brought up Jake to her, she was confident in asking Katie for more information about a certain boy. Julia's been dying to tell someone about the odd teen. If someone knew anything about Eli, it would be a student from Degrassi like Katie. The petite girl was about to ask about him when Marisol sneaked up on them.

"Hey Julia," the girl announced.

"Oh—Hey Mar!" Katie's eyes brightened at the sight of her real best friend. Suddenly, Julia knew she was the third wheel. How could she ever intrude on years of friendship when she only just got there. And it's not like she felt comfortable dropping Eli's name with Marisol around. She hardly knew the girl.

"I think there are some things you probably need to share with Marisol—I'll see you later, guys. I need to grab something from my locker," Julie lied and excused herself from the two girls. She didn't have to go to her locker but decided it was something to do. Grasping onto her book bag, Julia took her time getting to her destination as most students were headed in the opposite direction to the cafeteria for food. She was about to turn down a different hallway when she finally spotted him, making her stop right in her tracks. It was the odd boy she's been searching for at Degrassi. He was seated by a desk in the student council room.

However, something was off about the guy she was growing to know and like. Eli's eyes were wide-eyed and full of tears, the corners of his mouth were turned downward, and his body language was in utter distress. Julia wanted to run over to him immediately but was stuck in place when he started yelling.

I've never seen this side of him.

He was raising his voice at someone or something, but she couldn't make out what. A little fear crept up behind her at the thought of that being her. Suddenly, Eli grasped the monitor in front of him and hurled it down hard onto the floor. Julia didn't hesitate this time as she frantically ran into the student council room. The teen girl expected to find it empty and bare, so she was shocked when she noticed Fiona and Imogen. Julia recognized them as the two girls that greeted her on her first day.

Without warning, Imogen let her body fly when she landed on the ground with a harsh thud. Eli brought his hands to his head, overwhelmed at everything occurring before him.

"Imogen, what are you—," Fiona exclaimed, her voice in distress.

The funky girl emerged from the ground with a bleeding nose. "I'm helping him," she answered the curly-haired beauty in desperation, "You have to get out of here, Eli!" The tan girl ordered while cradling her bloody nose. Fiona rushed over to assist her and stop the bleeding.

"Eli," Julia whispered. His body jumped, clearly not expecting her at all.

"Julia," he breathed, his eyes still full of tears. She wanted nothing more than to hold him and shield him. The second best thing the teen girl could do was reach out for his hand. When he accepted her touch, she grasped his whole hand. "We have to get out of here before a teacher comes," she commanded barely above a whisper.

He nodded his head in agreement, but his eyes were still glued on the monitor that was smashed on the ground. Julia tugged on his hand to get him to move. After her second tug, he followed her out of the student council room.

"I-I have to—I have to get out of here." Eli explained, forcing every word to come out.

"Where do you want to go?" Her mind was racing, and she didn't even know why.

"Let's get out of here." Eli's green eyes were locked onto Julias. The girl reached up to his face with her other hand. His cheeks were rosy and warm.

"Wherever you want to go," Julia reassured him, "no one's at my place right now."

Both teens ditched Degrassi during their lunch break. Eli had apparently fixed Morty because it was waiting for them in the parking lot. As soon as they got in the car, Julia wanted to talk but was immediately drowned out by heavy metal she didn't recognize. He was doing the same thing from the night they met, and she knew she had to give him space.

When they arrived at the parking lot to the apartment building, the music and roaring engine played in unison. The dark-haired girl decided to take the reins since the situation needed it. So she reached over and turned the ignition off, taking his keys and placing them in her book bag for safekeeping.

"Let's go upstairs," she spoke softly.

Julia knew no one would be home, not even her brother, and she was grateful. She still didn't want Eli to see her house, but this was more of a controlled environment without her family there. They didn't say a word the entire way up, and the silence was starting to weigh on her. But that vanished when they entered the apartment. Julia noticed every dirty nook and cranny, distressed piece of furniture, and overall suffering state of her home as if with a fresh set of eyes.

"I'm sorry this place is a mess."

Eli didn't seem to care or hear her when he b-lined it right for the couch, where he hunched over, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Julia rushed to kneel next to him, concern replacing her shallow thoughts.

"Eli, you have to talk to me! I don't like seeing you like this," she urged, noticing his hands shaking.

The boy dressed in all black mumbled something inaudible that Julia couldn't make out.

"I don't know what you're saying—"

"—I DON'T WANT TO TALK!" the teen boy yelled, "I just need everything to stop for a second!" The volume of his voice startled her so much that she jumped a bit in place. Her piercing blue eyes could only glance down at the floor instead with unease. Even in Diane's drunken state, she never got that loud. Julia couldn't recall when she had a voice raised at her to that degree.

Eli seemed to notice his effects on her because his tone dramatically shifted to a softer one. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry—I just can't seem to get my thoughts under control."

It took her a moment, but she was able to scan his shimmering green eyes once more. Julia didn't know what to do to make him feel better except offer him the only two things that worked for her when she wanted to forget: sex or drugs. Julia stored the leftover ecstasy in her sock drawer but calculated that probably wasn't the drug of choice at the moment. That's when a light bulb went off in her brain.

"Do you think weed would help you out right now?" she asked genuinely.

It didn't take her long to find her brother's weed stash under his mattress. She left behind twenty bucks, hoping it would cover the cost and then some for the rolled-up ready joint she took from Gabe. In a few minutes, both teens were red-eyed and giggling on her twin bed, positioned on opposite ends. Her body felt like it could just melt into her bed, finding a new sense of appreciation in the rickety old thing.

"Hey, Julia?" Eli finally spoke again, laughter escaping from his lips.

"Yeah…"

"What do you think happens when you lose a thought? Where does it go?" He asked in a daze.

Julia remained silent for a moment, his words making her think more profoundly about the question to the point where she forgot what she was thinking about to begin with. She laughed out loud at the notion. Julia was so high; she couldn't think straight.

"I have no idea what's going on," Julia admitted, stifling a laugh.

Eli sat up from his side of the bed and crawled up to Julia, so they were both facing each other. She let out an audible sigh, realizing the change in atmosphere. His glossy and red eyes scanned her, placing his finger on her cheek. Compared to when they ditched Degrassi, his demeanor was no longer tense. Instead, she was met with the tender boy she's been growing to like more and more. From her cheek, he traced her jaw while guiding Julia's face closer to his until their noses touched. Angling her face so that their lips met, she opened her mouth and kissed him longingly. It was most likely the drug, but embarrassing enough, she lets out an audible moan in response. Either he didn't care, or he didn't notice, but went ahead and placed his hand behind her neck. He held her in place and allowed his tongue to slip in and dance along with hers. When their lips finally parted, they were both gasping for breath. Eli took the opportunity to remove his shirt and expose his naked torso. They studied each with the same glazed-over look, and a split second later, they were kissing again. He was holding Julia closer, pressing her small frame against his chest and allowing his other hand to explore her body.

Without any warning, the door to her room flung open, causing the teens to pull apart in fear. "What the fuck is going on here," Diane shrieked while swaying in the doorway. The frail woman was still in her white button-up office shirt and khaki work pants.

Julia's heart was pounding a mile a minute, the sound radiating in her head. "W-why are you here—you should be at work?" Julia interrogated as Eli hunted for his shirt in a frenzy. Her stepmom's demeanor wasn't sober. She'd been around the woman long enough to know when Diane was fully intoxicated.

"You good for nothing, little tramp," she spoke, slurring her words, "you're a talentless little whore."

Julia knew to ignore and stay out of sight of the middle-aged woman during her drunk episodes. However, she was high and with nowhere to go. Eli got himself off the bed, his black t-shirt back on his body. "Ma'am, please don't blame Julia. It was all my fault!" he pleaded, "she's done nothing wrong."

The chaotic scene with her belligerent stepmom was quickly turning into Julia's worst nightmare. This was precisely what she was trying to avoid and keep Eli from as she got up from the bed.

"Shut up before I call the cops on both of you for breaking in—"

"—You can't do that! I live here!" Julia argued, her blood starting to boil.

"Not anymore! You turned eighteen last month, and legally," she paused, balancing herself on the door, "legally we can kick you out." Diane staggered right for Julia's closet. The feeble woman started tearing down every clothing item Julia owned onto the ground.

Eli didn't know what to do in that situation, his feet glued to the floor and eyes transfixed on the dramatic scenario happening before him. Having the dark-haired boy witness a slice of her daily life was embarrassing enough; it caused fresh tears to emerge from Julia's eyes.

"Stop! My dad would never kick me out!" the teen girl yelled back, hoping her father had a shred of backbone left to stand up to his wife.

Diane threw a black shirt at her face. "He's the one that suggested his good for nothing druggy daughter get out or start looking for a job to help pitch in around here." Julia's face fell even more. She didn't want to believe it, but at the same time, the girl couldn't deny that she didn't know her father anymore. Eli closed the gap between them and reached out for her hand.

"Julia, we have to go," he ordered softly, waiting for her to grasp his hand. When she did, Eli spoke again but with more conviction in his voice towards Diane. "We're leaving—now. We'll be back to pick up her stuff once you've calmed down."

The middle-aged woman was slightly taken aback, but in her drunken state, she started hurling insults at Eli as well. Julia drowned everything out, letting the boy dressed in all black lead the way out of the apartment. For the second time this year, she felt lost and alone. That's not a feeling she was hoping to experience so soon again.