Corrupted

just one yesterday ; julian

#convo: austin #para: just one yesterday #honestly koal i have no idea we are cursed forever with long replies it just happens #looks at you anyway #but omg same i love this and missed them and just yes #also they are both crazy poor kai good luck #couldnt really find a gif that fit so here have this

austinrickards:

Austin feigned a frown of worry as his eyes turned back towards the baby he cradled in his arms. He bounced the kid gently to keep him from causing a fuss and every so often his tiny feet would kick out or his hands would curl and uncurl. “Well,” he made a tutting noise before he glanced back in Julian’s direction, “I’m on the side with the kid so. What’s that mean?” He knew what it meant. Or, what it would have meant if he had actually taken some kid, but he wasn’t about to give up the game just yet. He had a stubborn streak a mile long and that wasn’t about to change then. He just hoped that that side of him wouldn’t pass on to the little one in his arms when he was older and developed a personality of his own. Austin was forced to abandon that train of thought when he heard Julian’s next words. He pulled a face and poked out his tongue in distaste. “Thanks for your vote of confidence, babe. I think I can go on and conquer all the world now, including the prison world.” He deadpanned. Though, he really didn’t blame Julian for the comment. He might know how to fight thanks to his boxing training, but he was too scrawny to really be able to take down a bunch of guys at once on his own.

A grin returned to his features at Julian’s confirmation to his earlier words. “Of course,” he gave a small nod of his head, “I’ve known you for a year so I was bound to pick up some of your habits eventually. Your laziness is just one of many.” He watched as Julian moved around the room, moving things around. If it weren’t for the baby still resting in his arms, he would have helped or told him not to worry about it, but just as he opened his mouth Kai let out a squeal of a noise and reached his small hand out to beat against his chest once. “Ow,” he mock groaned before mumbling a quick, “uncle abuse.” He was still trying to rock the child back into an easy going mood when Julian tossed the new question his way. Austin lifted his gaze and looked around the room, his eyes immediately locking on the cause for concern that was resting on a pillow. “Er, not that we’re aware of.” He tried to think of anything that might come up, even if it were a small chance before he gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Even if he does, I don’t think pets will be an issue. No one on either side of his family has allergic reactions to animal fur or dandruff. Plus, I’ve got a dog and he hasn’t had an attack while he’s been with me so I think he’ll be alright.” He supposed they were a bit lucky on that front. Kai hadn’t shown of being unhealthy in some way yet, but then he was still so young. It was only a matter of time before something happened.

Austin couldn’t help the laugh that left him this time. The sound startled Kai, causing his eyes to open wide for a moment before he wriggled around a bit and then settled back down. “Alright, then I guess I’ll stay,” Austin said, his voice lowered a fraction so as not to disturb the child again, “But, you know, just so we can be sure the cops aren’t looking for me.” He was still grinning despite everything. If Julian had told him to take a hike he would have, but he had missed the other male. That was why he had come back to begin with. “Exactly like the lion off the movie.” He answered, a grin appearing on his face once again when Julian caught the reference, “I figure it’s best to boost his ego as early as possible. That way he’ll be as confident as me and cause my brother all kinds of trouble.” At the last question, Austin gave a shrug of his shoulders. There hadn’t been any pressing reason to come back. He had just wanted to see his brother again, dote on his nephew a little, and maybe hang out with a few other people, but that was about it. “No reason really. Just figured this place missed my face.” He tossed out with a shake of his head. Despite the fact that Julian had moved to lie back on the bed, Austin couldn’t help but to hold out the child towards him. “Wanna hold him?” he asked in his best sing-songy voice. It was a small attempt to get the focus back off of him because it still wasn’t something he was too comfortable with, but of course, he’d deny ever saying it like that in the future, but for now it was alright.

“It means.” Julian said as he stopped what he was doing and glanced over at the child who was still held by his crazy best friend. It took him a moment to compose himself, briefly unable to respond to the question. Julian was no drama kid, that’s for sure. “Well, I guess it depends how you look at it, Austin. You can look at it like you’ve won and you get to have your prize, or you can look at it the other way and realise you probably have a lot of work ahead of you with him around” he said, shaking his head as a laugh escaped him. Julian went over to the two of them and patted Austin’s shoulder, as if wishing him good luck, before returning to what he was previously doing. Julian looked back at Austin just in time to see him stick out his tongue, and in response Julian simply stuck out his own tongue for a moment. “No problem, that’s what I’m here for” he said, running his hand through his hair as he attempted to imagine Austin in the “prison world”. The image really only consisted of Austin whining and being sarcastic to the wrong people. A smile of amusement appeared on his face at the thought, and he probably looked some-what crazy in that moment. “That’s the spirit” he eventually said to Austin, though he eyes flickered back down to the child. “Is that on your to do list after kidnap a child, or do I have time to worry about that crazy antic later?”

Julian gave Austin a look of playful annoyance. “Bugger off” he said with a wave of his hand, the closest thing he’d say to fuck you while the child was in ears drop. Although it wasn’t that Austin was wrong, because he was quite right about the fact that Julian had always been lazy. Hell, how many classes had he spent just lazing around and writing only snippets of what the teacher said? there was no way he could’ve kept count. Julian stopped what he was doing at the sound of the child's squeal, about to let out a laugh when he heard uncle abuse. Aha, it must’ve been his older brothers kid, well, he was pretty damn certain it wasn’t Cassandra’s child. The clarity of knowing was reassuring. He had almost forgotten what he had asked Austin, so he stayed silent until Austin spoke again and he realised that he was talking about allergies. “That’s good then. But you should keep him away from Jojo just in case, I don’t know how she’d react to a baby” he said, glancing over at Jojo to give her a look of warning, even though she wouldn’t of understood it. Besides, she was too busy napping to notice any one of the new people in the room. It seems like she’d learnt the art of being a lazy ass from her owner. Go figure.

“Good” he said, not fazed by Austin’s laughter as he looked over at the other male. He pulled a face at Austin’s whispered words and he let out a snort. “Right, if you want to put it like that then fine” he said, feigning sadness as he put a hand over his chest. He nodded his head at Austin, playing with the bottom of his own shirt as he thought about the movie it was from. Narnia, or whatever the title of the movie actually was. He had watched it once or twice, it was interesting enough. He didn’t mind fantasy movies all that much, although his favourites were definitely action movies. What could he say, he liked a thrill. “Ah, I see. He’ll kind of be like your little child prodigy. I guess he’s got to learn it from somewhere” he said, looking at both Kai and Austin before looking up at the ceiling. “Mhm” he said, smiling up at the ceiling as he wondered how many people had in fact missed his face. He’d guess quite a few, really, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Austin. He didn’t need an ego boost at that moment. He only returned his attention back to the two at the sound of Austin’s question, his blue eyes slightly widening as he stared at the outstretched child. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea” he said, staring at the baby before flickering his eyes up to Austin. He slowly reached out to touch the child’s small hand, but didn’t make any move to actually hold him. “The closest thing I’ve held to a child is Jojo, and I mainly only do that when I’m trying to get her in the bath, and that never ends well for me”

Safe In Your Hands || Claire x Julian

#tHEY'RE KISSING #THEY'RE OFFICIALLY TOGETHER #I CANNOT BELIEVEEVEVEVE #THE LOVES OF MY LIFE #MY SUNSHINES #MY FAVOURITES #MY/CHIDLREN/#I CANNOT #also i got sappy ok blame school for sucking the life out of me and my romantic side coming ok with them ok #hahahahah this may also be a bad reply given the time but its them lindsay love me #if you need more hit me up #only gif i found that i somewhat liked #so here more dylan haha

claire-carter:

The smile on her face slowly faded with the unsureness in Julian’s voice. It reminded her of the insecurity she often felt and the thing she hoped no one else had to suffer, though she knew they did, and often. She lifted up on her arms so her eyes could meet his before placing a small kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” She whispered before settling back into her former position. And she could have said so much more. She could have said how she could never imagine being safer under her bed than in his arms. Or how the storm was still raging on and she no longer thought about it while his fingers held hers or his voice calmed her heartbeat. Or how she felt like she could stay here forever even if it meant giving up everything else. Or even that she felt like she could almost say those three words even though he was not hers and maybe she could have told him that she felt like his and that made her really happy. She hummed softly as his fingers raked through her hair and she could almost feel herself drifting back into sleep, but she tried hard to fight it, not wanting to stop talking to Julian and learning all she could about him. What he was like before they ever met, what his favorite things were, what made him happiest. Anything. She wanted to know it all. “Hmm?” She hummed, almost missing the question that left his lips, but she caught it before it disappeared completely. “I don’t know…” Claire said softly, barely audible before continuing, “I guess…You just…You have to see the good in the bad, because it’s always there. Even if it’s really small. Otherwise the darkness wins. And once it wins, it’s really hard to find the light again. So you can’t let it. You can’t let it take your light away…” And she meant it. More than anything. Because she had seen them both and she didn’t want to go back.

“No, I’m-I’m sorry…I didn’t…” Claire settled into the new position, hiding her face from Julian’s, “…realize.” This time she was wondering how he did it. She had heard rumors of his relationships and they were never anything like this. Was she annoying him? He didn’t act like she was…but maybe he was just being nice. Maybe he did want more. She felt sick thinking about it. But truly she knew he wasn’t like that…not with her. He couldn’t be. Not when his words were so sweet and he cared about so much that he tried to hide, but he told her. That had to mean something, right? “Never,” She whispered back, the thought of the two of them always being there for each other bringing the smile back to her face. She wondered how it was possible that he had become so much to her in such a short period of time. She wanted to tell him everything and yet she still found the words stuck in her throat, unable to be let out. Even when she finally found something seemingly simple to tell him, she still couldn’t tell him the whole truth. She was afraid. Afraid that everything she had finally moved on from would come back if she said the wrong thing and this time even his words couldn’t comfort her. “Yeah…I just really want to experience it all. All the cultures and everything…bu-“ She’s caught off guard when he shifts to place a kiss to her cheek and she can’t help the blush that is left in his lips place. But he’s gone too soon as he sinks back into the bed. And she prepares herself for his next confession. But the next words cause her breath to hitch in her throat. He didn’t…Did she hear him right? Did he really just – Surely she was dreaming. Maybe she hadn’t really been woken up by the storm. Maybe it wasn’t really storming at all. Or maybe she had fallen asleep the moment Julian had wrapped his arms around her. But every time she closed her eyes she was right back there and she could hear Julian’s heartbeat in anticipation of her answer. The simple answer would be yes. She was screaming it in her head, but it didn’t seem sufficient enough. He just admitted he liked her. And I mean, yes, she already kind of knew that. His words were true…friends didn’t kiss like they did, though she also couldn’t help herself even though they hadn’t been together. But now? Claire’s perhaps quiet for too long, trying to find the right response as she bites her lip and sits up on the bed, letting Julian’s fingers slip from her own. And perhaps it’s even longer before she finally turns back to him, her bottom lip still tucked under her teeth as she moves over him, placing both her hands on either side of his head . “And so much more,” Claire whispers before pressing her lips against the male’s and kissing him. Really kissing him.

Julian was silent for a moment. He stared up at the ceiling as he spoke, only returning his eyes to hers when he was done. “You’re very brave, Claire Carter” he said, but really, brave was such an understatement. She was brave, she was strong, she was everything that he wanted to be and more. Julian could think of many words that described Claire, but brave was the only one he voiced. He blushed a little at his thoughts, wondering when exactly she had managed to turn him into a blubbering idiot. Though unlike Claire, he had never managed to hold onto the light in the dark. It always had a way to slip from his grip, no matter how hard he thought he was holding onto it. And sometimes it just wasn’t there at all, the darkness all around him would blind him from it until it couldn’t do a thing even if it was in his reach. He shook his head roughly, focusing back on Claire. The light. Even if she didn’t know it yet.

Julian laughed in the newly founded awkwardness between the two, scratching at his neck as he looked away from her. “It’s fine” he said, tightly shutting his eyes as he went quiet. He hadn’t wanted to make it awkward between them, or to make her feel guilty about any of her actions. Or, lack of action in this case. Once he began dating Mia he couldn’t help but notice the whispers, although it wasn’t that he kept his sexual tendencies all that private previously, it was just that being with Mia made the actions of it so much more public. It wasn’t all that hard for people to talk about their obvious sexual life together, and while Julian wasn’t ashamed of it, it bugged him that people seemed to know so much about it. He assumed that Claire knew some things, he just hoped they weren’t bad things. He never forced anyone into anything, and he hoped he made it obvious that Claire was so much more than someone he wanted to sleep with. She made him feel happy, and he was not about to ruin what was happening between them.

While Julian normally loved silence, the one that grew between him and Claire was unbearable. He couldn’t make out what she was thinking, the darkness didn’t help as he attempted to search her face for answers. He could feel his heart beat aching with the anticipation, his hands growing warmer as the seconds ticked on. He blinked. Maybe he had been foolish in admitting his feelings. Maybe he’d made a mistake. Her pulling away from him certainly didn’t help, and all he wanted to do was grab her hand back and turn back time so he didn’t- it was suddenly brought to his attention that Claire was turning. She looked at him, and he stared back, flickering his eyes from her lips to her eyes. And before he could even process what was happening she was moving closer to him, until she was right in front of him as he silently listened to her words. And so much more. Relief crashed over him like a wave, and he wanted to let out a sigh of relief. But Claire’s lips were suddenly on his and before he knew it his eyes were closed and he was pulling her closer, as close to him as he possibly could. He kissed her until he felt dizzy, until every other thought disappeared and it was only them. No worries, no big storm. Them, together, in that moment. He kissed her in the dark room that was suddenly so filled with light.

just one yesterday ; julian

#convo: austin #para: just one yesterday #you know i didnt think i'd actually end up finishing this reply but here i am #and i love them so much as always bye

austinrickards:

If it weren’t for the fact that Austin didn’t want to startle the child in his arms, he’d have probably wouldn’t have bothered to swallow the laughter that he felt coming on because of the look on Julian’s face. Well, that and he was still determined to keep up the charade he had started the second Julian had opened the door and saw the kid in his arms. “Took him,” he said in his most serious tone, “Why? Is that a bad thing? Should I have not done that? Because – I’m not entirely sure I remember where he came from so I don’t know if I can return it.” His attention shifted back to the child for a moment. The sudden movement from him entering the room had disturbed him for a moment before he settled back down and rested his head against Austin’s chest, eyes already beginning to droop from exhaustion. “No, of course not! Do you see me? I wouldn’t last a day in prison. I’m too pretty.” He whispered in mock horror. His gaze followed Julian’s, back to the books he had noticed a few moments ago. “Lazy.” Austin said in his best sing-song voice. Though, he’d be the first to admit he was rather happy with that decision. It meant he didn’t have to leave or stick around while Julian studied for some test or another. Moving over to the bed, he sat down and raised a brow at Julian’s next words. “Are you trying to tell me I shouldn’t leave your room?” Which, probably wasn’t something he should be hinting at, but he had a hard time keeping his mouth shut on a good day. Julian forced his attention back on the child a second later. He contemplated giving him a name he made up on the spot for a moment as he stared down into the blank face of the kid, but what would be the point of that? However, dropping the charade he had built up wasn’t an option he wanted to go with either. “I think I heard the mom call him Kai before I took off with him, but I’m not too sure. Maybe that’s just a nickname.” He shrugged, a playful smirk appearing on his face, “I’ve taken to calling him Aslan, though. I mean – he’s totally going to be a king when he grows up.”

Julian decided that he’d play Austin’s game, when had he ever not? It amused him too much to go against it. “Mmm, I guess it depends on which side you are on” he said, folding his arms out in front of him as he continued to look across at Austin. Sometimes Julian questioned why Austin didn’t get himself into the performing arts, what with his acting skills and all. Julian looked at the child again, giving it another long look before shaking his head at the words that left Austin’s mouth. Honestly, he felt sorry for the poor kid, how long had he been strapped to this insane human for? Probably a bit too long, given his current facial expression. “Right, they’d want to roughen you up in all types of way” he said with a laugh, although purposely avoiding the s word in front of the child. It would make him uncomfortable saying something like that in front of the baby, even if it didn’t know what the word meant. Julian returned back to cleaning up his bedroom as Austin judged him, forcing him to look up at him and send a wink his way. “You know it” he said before turning back and resuming his quick cleaning. Text books, the occasion rubbish and stray clothing. That’s when he noticed Jojo sleeping on her favourite pillow and found himself frowning for a moment, moving back to stand up properly and glance at Austin and the child. “Wait, he isn’t...allergic to anything, is he?” he asked, motioning towards his cat in caution. He didn’t want anything to happen to the child, although, surely Austin wouldn’t of brought him here if he was so he probably didn’t have anything to worry about. Still, there was no harm in Julian asking, just in case. Julian thought that it would be better to be safe than sorry.

Julian found himself pulled away from his worried thoughts by the words that left Austin’s mouth. He began to smirk. He hadn’t meant to imply anything, but both he and Austin had a knack of sending implications each others way, it was just how they spoke together. Most people assumed they were just flirting all of the time, and maybe they were a bit, but for the most part it was simply how they talked to each other. It was normal for them, and their friendship to involve jokes and flirtatious words. “For the time being, no, you shouldn’t” he said, because Julian had missed his best friend being around and he wasn’t going to say otherwise. He’d drop anything if it meant he’d get to spend some time with Austin, he was going to spend as much time with the male as he possibly could. He sat down onto his bed and continued to watch the kid as he waited for Austin to tell him the child's name. He then nodded his head once Austin had told him his name. Kai was a nice name, it suited the kid nicely. Although Aslan was a pretty cool name, too. “Like, the lion off that movie?” he said, looking away from Aslan to look up at Austin’s smirking face. He smiled at his friend before returning his attention to Aslan. “Oh definitely, it’s written all over his face. He’ll be the best king that ever lived” he said. He moved away from his friend and Aslan so that he could spread out on his bed, though he tried his best to leave some space for the other two. “So, what brings you back to Rose Valley, Austin? You surely aren’t just here to see my face”

just one yesterday ; julian

#omg koal julian will go along with anything :P #SAME SAME I MISSED THEM SO MUCH WHICH IS WHY I HAD TO REPLY TO THEM TONIGHT #BECAUSE JUST FIXED MY TUMBLR SO I COULD REPLY TO THINGS #LIFE IS GOOD #but omg okay if you're sure c:#convo: austin #para: just one yesterday

austinrickards:

Austin busied himself with the child in his arms while he waited for his friend to open the door. His hands moved As’ around and he made faces at him, sticking his tongue out and scrunching up his nose until a look of slight amusement happened to find its way onto Aslan’s face. It was the last thing he expected to be doing at this age, messing around with even more kids, but he can’t exactly help something like that when everyone in his life decided to throw them his way. He was still in the middle of doing all of that when the door swung open and he could hear the sound of one of his best friend’s voices carry out of the room. His gaze followed the path of Julian’s wide eyed look to stare down at the kid in his arms. He looked shocked for all of two seconds before he put up his hand and pointed at Aslan. “Who this?” he asked, “Nah, I picked this kid up off the side of the street. His parents weren’t around and me, being the kind hearted soul I am, decided to take him in. Now, let me in before the cops find me and decide to arrest me for something as silly as kidnapping.” With that, one would think he’d actually wait for the invitation to be allowed inside the room, but all he did was side step Julian and enter the room. Rude, yes, but he imagined Julian expected nothing less from him by then. He had never been good at waiting, not even when he was a kid. Austin took the time to glance around the room, taking in the books and everything else, before he let his gaze settle back on Julian. “Did I interrupt something important by showing up pretty much unannounced?” The question of whether or not it was ok that he was there, hidden in a different one that didn’t make him sound like an insecure lunatic.

Julian couldn’t help but continue to stare at the child that was in his best friends hands. It wasn’t that he didn’t like children, because he was actually quite found of them for the most part, it was just more so the fact that he hadn’t ever seen Austin with this child. So he was a bit confused, especially given the words that left Austin’s mouth next. “You- what?” he said, momentarily actually believing that Austin had taken some random child. But, he realised how crazy that sounded and kind of figured that a child wouldn’t be that calm with a complete stranger. But in true Austin and Julian style he didn’t comment on it, he simply went along with it. “Of course, we wouldn’t want something like that happening to little old you” he said with a laugh, not even minding the fact that Austin didn’t even bother to wait before he went into the room with the child. Julian shook his head a little, but followed the other boy into the room nevertheless. He’d gotten used to that a long time ago. His hands found his way to his pockets as he watched the other guy look around his room, though his own eyes were still mainly focused on the child. He couldn’t help but wonder who’s it was and why Austin had him. He was deep in thought when Austin began to speak to him and almost missed the question that left his mouth. But at Austin’s words he looked at the books that were left on his bed, silent for a moment before shaking his head. “Nah, I was done with that a long time ago” he said, shrugging his shoulders effortlessly and waving his hand in the air. “Beside, catching up with that is easy because it never leaves my bedroom. A person who lives somewhere else, however, not so much” he said with a smile, before walking over to the books and beginning to pick them all up in an attempt to make his room at least a tiny bit more decent. Whether that worked or not was questionable. “So, did you at least find out the kids name before you took him?”

sapphireanastasia

say it ain’t so

It was nice to be in Rose Valley again. She missed it - the trees, the small grocery shop, the dimly lit laundry room, and the busy halls of Rose Valley High School. More importantly, she missed all of her friends and the people that she cared about. Sure, she had kept in touch with most of them, but even those who she kept in touch with didn’t really know what she had been up to in Washington D.C., Julian being one of them. That being the reason that her feet were currently carrying her into the boys dormitory, accompanied by a small bag with his name on it.

When she reached his door, she knocked lightly, waiting patiently for the brunette with an alluring smirk and brooding manner to answer. She was excited to see him, yess, though less excited to tell him exactly what happened. The more she thought of it, the more she figured she might just lie. Though that option might not have been a very good one, considering Julian always seemed to make a rather good human lie detector. A sigh escaped her lips and she rocked on her toes, studying the golden letters nailed to the door.

#oh look I'm doing things yay #convo: sapphire #para: say it aint so

Julian hummed to himself as he walked down the corridor, pretending he still had drum sticks in his hands as he pretended he was at the drum kit hitting away. He was just coming back from the music room after having a little jam out session with a friend of his, and he couldn’t get the beat out of his mind. Boom tap, boom tap, boom tap. It echoed in his mind even as he got further and further away from the room and he honestly couldn’t give a damn about who saw him imagining he was performing.

He was just finishing his drum solo when he rounded the corner and made his way down the corridor where his room was, and only stopped when he noticed a figure standing in his way. “Dude, I’d suggest you move out of my way before I-” he looked up at the person and was about to give them a signature glare when he realised who exactly it was he was speaking to. At the sight of one of his best friends, Sapphire, a smile formed on his face and he completely forgot what he was previously doing. “Sapph? What the hell, what are you doing here?” he said in both surprise and shock, quickly making his way towards her before embracing her in a massive hug. It was good to see her, beyond good, but she had some explaining to do.

Safe In Your Hands || Claire x Julian

The assertiveness of Julian’s voice caught Claire off guard, but even still she found comfort in the words he spoke. “No?” She smiled into his chest, trying to hide the growing grin on her face and the laugh that tried to bubble out of her lips. Claire was happy, truly happy, for the first time in a while she didn’t feel like her world was going to crumble beneath her feet with one bat of an eyelash. She found herself safe with Julian despite how they might have met, how their relationship could have become something so different if it wasn’t for that terrifying night in February. She buried her face deeper into the male’s chest in an attempt to forget the thoughts and focus on his own story of his childhood. “That’s beautifully tragic…but it explains why the world gets so dark when it rains. I guess everything has its breaking point…” Claire felt herself slipping again, like the tears she rid herself of would come trembling back and she wanted nothing less than that. “But they could be happy tears too. It rains when it’s sunny sometimes and when it does it makes rainbows. So it can’t be all bad.” Or maybe it could and she was just as childish as she always had been, wanting to believe that every bad thing in the universe had a good side, it just took the right thing to pull it out. An optimist, as they’d say. Claire’s smile returned as Julian took her hand and she gladly let him, folding her fingers around his much larger ones as if they were meant to stay like that forever. And admittedly she’d be okay with that. She only allowed a small nod in response to his words, not wanting to push him into answering why if he didn’t want to.

Claire felt Julian stiffen under her touch, heard his heartbeat quicken where her head rested against his chest, but she didn’t know why. She looked up at him with confused eyes until he took her other hand and she suddenly understood, a blush taking over her cheeks. As he spoke, she maneuvered so her back was against him instead, taking his arm to wrap it around her so she could still play with his fingers. “No, that’s not lame. I get it. I don’t think I do either…I don’t think I could.” Claire grasped his hand tighter, like it was the only thing holding her together anymore…and maybe it was…as her mind wondered to think of what to tell him first. There were so many things she could…she could finally tell him about the homeschooling, the reason behind it, everything that had led up to the moment she returned to regular school and met him. But her voice got caught in her throat before any of those stories could leave her mouth. “Right…my turn…” Stalling. It was her idea to play so she couldn’t just skip or back out now pretending she had never brought it up, but the things she felt comfortable sharing was limited. “Um…I want to see the world. And not like in pictures or on the t.v. or any of that. I really want to see it. I want to see everything I can…” But I’m too scared to leave Rose Valley, Claire continued in her mind, not daring to say the words out loud, not wanting to seem so terrified of something so simple. People left every day. People left without ever looking back. But Claire didn’t think she could do that. Rose Valley was the place that everything changed for the better. She was safe here. Out there? She couldn’t be so sure.

#BLUR THIS IS ALL A BLUR SAPPY JULIAN IS BEING SAPPY GOODBYE B Y E

“No” he repeated, again nodding firmly. Then he paused for a moment, thinking about his words. “I mean, if you want to then go ahead. But...I’ll be here so that you don't have to do it, if you don’t want to. I don’t bloody know” Julian tried his best to seem casual when he was serious about things, so that the person believed that it didn’t mean a thing to him. Although it did, but it was easier for him to mask himself when he cared about things. But he didn’t believe that Claire would think he didn’t care, she seemed to see through his bullshit, or simply ignored it. He smiled sadly at the words that left her mouth, playing with her hair as she cuddled close to him. She kept him warm, in more ways than a blanket could. He was so curious about her, how her mind worked and what it was really like. What she thought, how she felt, he wanted to learn all about her as the rain continued outside and they pressed close together, almost clinging together like they both depended on it. And perhaps they did. “How do you do it, Claire?” he thought out loud, and while it wasn’t the first time he had thought this question it was in fact the first time he had asked it out loud to her. What he meant by that was how could she think that way, how could she look at something so dark and manage to find light in it. It was beautiful, that someone could have so much faith, think so happily that they could find something good out of anything. Perhaps people might find her stupid, or naive for thinking that she could believe that anything could get better. But Julian thought it was beautiful, and he hoped that maybe he could learn and somehow grasp onto this hope, too.

This was all still very new to Julian. This love before lust, and not because he was used to having sex. No, it was more so the fact that he was loving instead of lusting, learning that there is more to someone than the sexual encounters you had with them. And perhaps he had always known that but this was the first time he could fully get to know it. “Sorry” he said with a laugh as he held onto her hand, noticing the blush that appeared on her face. God, she was so cute, so innocent. He watched as she began to turn, and let her guide him as she took his hands with her. He moved closer to her and rested his head against her, listening to her speak about his words and reassure him that it wasn’t lame. That made him sigh in relief. “I’m glad to know I’m not alone, then” he whispered to her as she held his hands tighter, he squeezed back lightly in reply, to remind her that he was there and to show that he was thankful for her being there. Julian found it amusing that despite seeming to be so open, he really didn’t know all that much about Claire. Well he did, but not much of the deep stuff, the stuff that really told you what a person was all about. So he waited in anticipation for what she would say, even if she took the same route he did and started slowly. “Correct” he said as he snuggled into her more, waiting for her to begin. He squeezed her hand again, this time in reassurance of the fact that she could take her time. “You aren’t going to be judged, I promise” he said, and he truly meant it. If she didn’t judge him on what he said then he wouldn’t for what she said. Besides, he wouldn’t judge her like that. Not anymore. He listened to what she said and took it all in. Travelling. He liked the thought of that. He couldn’t help but imagine them doing it together, and that put a smile on his face. Or even the thought of Claire experiencing it all and telling him the stories she created, that sounded great too. “That’s great” he said, and he found himself lifting up a tad and softly planting a kiss on her cheek. He lingered for a moment, really taking a moment to look at her. He smiled, then moved back so that she couldn’t see him anymore. “Okay, my turn again. Firstly, I couldn’t hold myself back anymore and had to kiss you...even if it was only on the cheek. Secondly, I’ve been thinking and I really like this, Claire. Well, I really like you and I thought that maybe you’d want to...date me? I mean, friends don’t kiss and cuddle and mean this much to each other, right? because you mean a whole fucking lot to me, Claire Carter. And...I was just wondering if I did for you, too?”

just one yesterday ; julian

Walking down the school halls with a child seated in a carrier strapped to his chest was not how Austin imagined he would return to his high school, but then he never really thought he’d return at all so it didn’t really matter how he did it. The problem with that thought, however, was that a lot of his friends were still there. Stuck there as they rushed through senior year. In other words, he shouldn’t be shocked, and he wasn’t for the most part. He just wished they were all out of there so he didn’t have to stroll the halls while he focused all of his attention on the kid in his arms to avoid making eye contact with anyone that would force him to stop and talk until he reached the room he needed. Julian’s. It had been a while since he had last talked to the younger boy because of his busy schedule. He had only bothered to send Julian a small text before he showed up at the school and when he reached the other’s room he raised a hand to rap twice upon the wood before shouting loud enough to be heard through it, “It’s not nice to keep your queen waiting.” Aslan fussed in his arms for a moment afterwards, forcing his attention back to the child rather than the door.

#convo: austin #para: just one yesterday #INTERNET FINALLY LET ME DO THE THING HOORAY #im so excited??#it's almost been a month since you posted that though I'm a shaME

Julian had decided a while ago that school wasn’t as much of a bore as he had originally thought it was. That was most likely because he was actually trying for once in his life, and given the fact that he had barely even managed to get to class meant that anything he did involving school was a pretty big improvement. But right now, as he was sprawled out on his bed with a book laying on his chest, he was questioning whether he had made the right decision. He had stopped trying to study half an hour ago, and slowly he could feel the guilt start to rise in him. You’re going to regret it...a voice inside him whispered, but despite knowing it was right he pushed it to the back of his mind and sat up, grabbing his phone. He needed a distraction, and fast. One that was preferably legal. Maybe Claire? No, she was probably studying or doing something important. He didn’t want to interrupt or anything. No, his distraction came in the form of a text message, one that he was surprised to see as it wasn’t expected. Austin, his friend that had already managed to study his way out of Rose Valley. Lucky bastard. At the sound of the knocks coming from the door Julian sprang off the bed, practically running toward the door. He was grinning by the time Austin had finished speaking and quickly opened the door to welcome his friend. “I guess you could say the kings getting a bit rusty, if only his queen visited every once in a f-” Boy was he glad he looked up before he continued that sentence. He blinked, his blue eyes meeting the eyes of the child being held by Austin. He looked up at Austin slowly, before cocking his head to the side curiously. “Gee, you certainly get around to a lot when you don’t see your king”

Safe In Your Hands || Claire x Julian

“Don’t be silly,” Claire whispers in the dark like it’s some big secret and saying it too loudly will break the darkness and the stillness of that moment in between the roars of the storm. But it must have not been said soft enough for the next crack made even Julian wrap his arms tighter around her, not that she minded. She always felt a bit safer in his arms than anywhere else. And the thought that maybe he was a little scared to comforted her more than it probably should have. At least Claire didn’t feel so hopeless for that second. “You know…when I was little I always hid under my bed during storms. My mom always praised me for not being one of those kids that pushes everything they own under there, but really I didn’t do it because of those moments.” Claire hid her face behind the pillow in her arms, only her eyes peeking over the item. She never liked talking about her childhood, never liked letting the past back into her life no matter if the memory was good or bad. It all seemed to spill back when she did. But Julian was different. He wouldn’t judge her for who she used to be…would he?

Claire smiled at his words, scrunching her nose as if she didn’t believe him, but she did. If he hadn’t meant them, he would have easily thrown her out or not have even bothered to open the door in the first place. She was still there and he was pulling her closer to him, so the latter couldn’t have been true. Claire snuggled into his side, wrapping an arm around his stomach to be even closer to him, the fingers in her hair providing her such a comfort that she almost forgot about the storm. Or maybe it was beginning to die down, she wasn’t sure. “You were? But I thought storms didn’t bother you.” She leaned up slightly so her eyes could try to find his, but he seemed distant so she wouldn’t push him. Though the question of why ringed in her ears. Claire let her head fall back onto Julian’s chest, letting the sound of his heart soothe her further until when he spoke she could only give him a small mumble of a yes. And she knew the longer she staid like this, the quicker she would fall back into sleep, but she didn’t want that. Not yet. Despite how tired she was, she wanted nothing more than to talk to Julian until the day broke.

“Hey Julian? Can we play a game?” Claire breathed against his chest, barely audible with sleep evident in her voice as her fingers traced absentmindedly against his hip. “Something like twenty questions? Or maybe we could just say one thing about ourselves, the first thing that comes to our minds. Or…um…I don’t know. If you don’t want to that’s okay, we can just go back to sleep.” She was unsure of herself, refusing to look up in case judgmental eyes stared back at her. Even if she knew that wouldn’t be the case at all.

#c: claire #i did the thing i did the thing

Julian was curious about the time before they knew each other, tried to imagine a smaller, doe eyed Claire that went along with her story. It was sometimes hard to imagine such a time existed. But he couldn't help but think that he wished that something had brought them together earlier, so that she wasn't alone when she hid under her bed."Well you don't have to do that ever again, okay?" he told her firmly. Unlike Claire, Julian didn't have any fear to do with the weather, if anything he liked it when the rain outside was loud enough to drown out his own thoughts. Especially when he was little. "I remember thinking that the rain was everyones tears, that they somehow drifted up and stayed in the clouds until the clouds, like people, couldn't take it anymore and just cried too" he said this while looking across the room, too embarrassed to look at Claire when he admitted this. He thought some crazy things when he was little, and it definitely didn't help that there weren't many people to tell him the truth. But he felt the need to tell her this, to give her a tiny insight of what his own past was like, that the information could possibly make her feel better. That children did all sorts of things. Julian leaned closer to her as she rested against him, watching as she placed her arm around him. He smiled at that, craning his neck down as he looked at her curled up against him and how tiny she was compared to him. He then begun to move his hand to one of hers, entwining them as he listened to her question. "They don't...I just happened to already be awake" he said, while he was not exactly lying he was not exactly telling the full truth either. He felt her eyes watching him carefully, but couldn't get himself to look back as the fear of embarrassment again washed over him. He knew that Claire would never intentionally laugh at him, but he still didn't like looking foolish in front of anyone, even her. A peaceful silence grew between them, and Julian found himself dozing off until Claire broke the silence, and he lifted his head a little and blink rapidly. "Hm, Claire?" he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes as he listened to her speak. At the soft touch of her hand against his hip he stiffened, his breath getting caught in his throat. If he wasn't wide awake before, her actions definitely made him so now. He cleared his throat before answering her. "Okay, one thing about ourselves, let's play. I'll go first" he said, trailing off as he reached down to take the hand that was touching his hip and lifting it to hold since he definitely wouldn't be able to concentrate if she continued. "Alright. It's a bit lame but I don't ever want to live alone" Julian decided to go with something simple, slowly working himself up to something somewhat interesting or informative. And that's something that he frequently thought about. The fact that he wouldn't handle living alone, having spent so many horrible years by himself in the orphanage, although he was never really alone, he didn't think he'd be able to cope with it again. He'd get too lonely. "Your turn" he whispered to her softly, leaning his head against her head as he waited for her confession, having a feeling that this would be a long night filled with getting to know each other better, and despite the fact that he could be sleeping, he would much rather prefer this.

Safe In Your Hands || Claire x Julian

Just the sound of Julian’s voice through the door brought a sense of relief to Claire, however short-lived it may have been as the storm raged on. But he didn’t sound happy, not that she would be all that thrilled if someone came knocking on her door at this hour either, and that thought brought a frown to her pale lips. She should have stayed in her own dorm and waited it out or called someone she knew would be up or even as scared as she was. Claire was almost sure now that Becca would have been awake with the sounds of thunder coursing through her home, but she was at home and Claire didn’t want to bother her. Maybe Julian would mind so much once he realized it was her standing on the other side of her door. But God, she felt so bothersome and almost felt the need to turn away, and if it wasn’t for the fact she already bothered him by knocking, she just might have done that.

Claire’s eyes were still shut tight when Julian finally answered the door in what seemed like ages to the girl holding her annoyed cat. And once Nugget realized where they were, he jumped out of her arms to find the other cat hiding inside the room. “I’m sorry,” Claire whispered, almost throwing herself into Julian’s arms. “I was just so scared.” She tried to listen to his words, focus on the small circles he drew on her arm, even trying to meet his eyes with strong ones of her own, but she failed with every passing shake that came. Claire couldn’t help it. She never liked storms even when her father was there to coax her down from her worries; it never seemed to be enough. And as the years went on it only seemed to get worse instead of better. She felt so helpless, so vulnerable during storms like if she did one thing wrong she would get hurt and even though she knew that wasn’t exactly true, she still couldn’t help her mind from wondering to that conclusion. Claire hated it. Especially now as she folded into Julian’s arms as if he was meant to protect her from everything, and how easy it would be with his tall frame, but he always saw her like this, like some hopeless child that couldn’t do anything for herself. She wanted to be strong, she did.

Claire snapped out of her thoughts as she was spoken to once more and she realized he had brought her into his room. “No,” She shook her head roughly. “You sleep in your bed.” But as another crack of thunder resounded through the room, she knew she wouldn’t find comfort sleeping elsewhere, no matter how much she didn’t want to impose. Claire took his hand in her own, dragging him to his bed before lightly pushing him to sit down and she crawled onto the bed beside him, curling up with a pillow that smelled strongly of Julian. It made a smile appear on her face for the first time that night. “Thank you…for letting me in,” She said even though she knew him well enough to now to know that he wasn’t one to slam the door in another’s face…even if he might have when they had first met. She hated thinking about that. “Did I wake you?” Her smile faded slightly at the thought, her eyes raising to search for his blue ones in the dark, but she could only find them with the light of the storm and somehow that brought her a little comfort despite the feeling of dread that still coursed through her body. Those eyes always seemed out of place to her before she met Julian – so innocent and comforting, a drastic opposite to the unapproachable façade he seemed to ooze with every ounce of his being. But now? Now they seemed to be the only thing that made sense. No, he wasn’t innocent – far from it, actually – but he was caring; he was comforting; he had protected her so many times and continued to despite how many times she seemed to ask for his saving. And how quickly she found her heart fluttering at the mere mention of his name.

#-loves you forever-#c: claire

Julian was always shocked by the fact that even when she was afraid she was willing to care for others before herself, maybe that was why he made sure to give her a lot of affection and let her know that he was there for her, but no matter how many times she did it he was still blown away all the same. Julian frowned in the dark, shaking his head despite the fact that it would've been hard for Claire to see it. "No, you need it more than I do. It's okay, really" Julian was perfectly fine with sleeping somewhere else, he'd take the floor if it meant that Claire would feel safe and comfortable. He would've taken the other bed, but he had pushed it next to his own so that he would have more space. At the sound of thunder Julian himself jumped a little and held Claire closer to him protectively. He could understand how Claire was so scared of it, it did get frightening, especially if you were on your own. Julian didn't say anything as Claire took his hand, only watched and followed as she made her way to his bed and lightly pushed him on it. He cracked a smile, knowing full well that Claire hadn't intended that to be anything but innocent, but hoping that one day it would be something beyond that. He was willing to wait for that day, though. He sat against the wall and watched as she picked up one of his pillows- luckily one that did not have his saliva on it- and cuddled it. She looked adorable, as always. At her words he shook his head. "Don't thank me, honestly, you can come here whenever you want" he meant that, too. He'd accept her presence any time, even if it was at an ungodly hour when he could be sleeping. He moved closer to her, taking the pillow away from her before wrapping his arms around her as he fell back against his bed. He began to play with her hair as he settled into it and listened to her speak. "Nah, I was already awake" he said as he saw her eyes wander to his in the darkness. He attempted to give her a reassuring smile, and hoped that she wouldn't ask why he had already been awake. He didn't want to embarrass himself and tell her that he had a nightmare about her. So he left it at that, continuing to play with her brown hair as the storm raged on outside. Sometimes he couldn't help but think how strange it was, ending up friends with Claire, then ending up as something more then friends with her. It certainly wasn't bad, Julian had never been this happy with Violet or Mia or any of the other girls he had pursued in his past, but it was just strange because he had never thought it would happen. In the beginning he never saw Claire in that way, but now, all he could think was how right it felt being with her in this way. "You feeling better, Claire?"

Safe In Your Hands || Claire x Julian

The rain was falling hard now, banging against the windowpane in an attempt to get inside and hide from itself. The rain was soothing though. It was the screams of the thunder that forced Claire under her blankets, holding onto Nugget tighter than the cat liked and the meows in protest told her that, but she couldn’t let him go. Every crack of thunder accompanied a blinding flash of lightning that shone even through her blanket and her tightly closed eyes. The stories her father had once told her about how storms were only the gods bowling wasn’t helping. Her normal attempts of distracting herself – watching movies loud enough to drown it all out, crawling into her roommates bed and talking about anything and everything, reading until her mind was in a different world and drowned out the storm – none of it was an option or it hadn’t worked either. Her roommate was home for the weekend and the power had been out for an hour now, or maybe it hadn’t been that long, but it felt that way.

Claire’s phone sat in her lap with Julian’s name highlighted and a blank message flashing at her, but she couldn’t bring herself to bother him for something as stupid as her not being able to sleep because of a storm. Besides, he was probably fast asleep. But as another crack of lightning shook her bed, her reasoning was beginning to loosen until her fingers glided across her screen and the message ‘Are you awake? I’m scared.’ was typed into that blank box. Her thumb hovered over the send button for a second more before she finally hit it, but with it came what she could only assume was a tree crashing under a strike of lightning, causing her to shriek and her eyes to cloud over with unspilled tears. That was it.

In a moment of courage, Claire threw her covers off her, increasing the hold on Nugget and jumped out of her bed. She didn’t bother grabbing anything else before she was out the door and down the hall, her eyes trained on the familiar number on the door, almost praying that Julian would open it and she wouldn’t just be bothering him. No such luck. She closed her eyes once more, shifting Nugget in her arms and bringing her hand up to rap her knuckles against the door. ‘Please be awake, please be awake,’ Claire repeated over and over in her head, trying to ignore the echoing thunder that resonated in the hallway and focus on anything else. And when that didn’t work she tried to count the seconds between the thunder and a flash of lightning like her dad had taught her to figure out how far away the storm was, but that didn’t help either and she only wanted to be in Julian’s arms and to feel safe. “Julian, please,” She mumbles out loud, lightly knocking against the door once more.