Julian Keller

Julian || 20 || former slave || dancer

[mr-croft-blog]

SOS [Jules & Jay]

[mr-croft-blog]

“Well, congrats on the correct assumption. Maybe you have x-ray vision. You saw shit no one else did.” Jayden said, glancing up at the waitress and mumbling thanks as she brought him the coffee. He sat back, turning the handle around. “You did. You should have called. She’s… Living. Adjusting is difficult. She bounces back and forth. I’m trying to train her out of habits.”

[jules-keller]

“Nah, I’m just naive enough to believe everyone’s got some good in them. Sometimes I’m actually right.” He dropped his eyes, not bothering to respond to the didn’t both reproach, he deserved it. His shame wasn’t quite enough though, to stop his sharp look. “Train her? What habits?”

[mr-croft-blog]

SOS [Jules & Jay]

[mr-croft-blog]

“She’s definitely Aliya.” He chuckled, scratching his chin. That was an adjective like no other. Jayden raised a brow. “Believe it. M’Not as much of a dick now. She needs structure and help learning to adjust to the real world.”

[jules-keller]

“I know you’re not,” he said quiet, “Haven’t I been the one telling you all along there was a decent human being hidden in there? I mean,” he gestured to their surroundings, “You’re kinda rescuing me right now, dude.” Refocusing his attention he said, “I fucked up. I’m glad you were there for here. Is she adjusting?”

[mayaxburke-blog]

“I see. Yeah, I understand that.” Maya said with a quick nod before eyeing the boy curiously. “Have you gone on a long vacation trip?” the girl wondered before continuing. “I got offered a scholarship at the local college. It’s a dance program in collaboration with the Ballroom.” she explained, realizing that her reasons to come to the city must have differed from the majority’s.

[jules-keller]

“Not really a vacation, but I was out of town for a while. Family stuff.” He left it at that, not willing to get into the details with a stranger. “Woah, that’s awesome. You dance?” His eyes lit up at the new info, his own dancing might be more ass shaking than skill, but he had an appreciation that bordered on fascination for talented dancers. “What kind of dance do you do?”

[josephine-blake-blog]

Wish You Were Here | Jules & Josephine

[josephine-blake-blog]

After finally having found a box of cereal she wandered back into the bedroom, planning to put on some shitty soap opera before maybe getting a few more hours of sleep. Despite everything that had happened she found it surprisingly easy to sleep lately. Brennan’s scent clung to the sheets which did something to calm her down and keep the nightmares away. And suddenly the realization itself wasn’t as scary anymore as it once used to be. I thought I’d lost you. Josephine swallowed hard as his words echoed in her mind over and over again. They were at another stage in their relationship –if you could even call it that, God knew that neither of them used that word–, one she’d never allowed herself to get to and now she was utterly clueless as to what to do or expect. Very much to her solace Brennan seemed to feel similar though even if he had less difficulties expressing himself as it appeared. Josephine huffed under her breath, annoyed by the constant concerns that kept pestering her until a knock pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked at the door, waiting for it to open, assuming that it was Brennan who just didn’t feel like looking for his key card. But apparently he had forgotten it and after abandoning the blanket she got off the bed again before opening it, not bothering to look through the spyhole even though she probably should have considering recent events. But it wasn’t someone from the House, planning to drag her back. Nor was it Brennan. Instead she was looking at Jules’ very familiar face and yet she couldn’t even recall the last time she had seen him. “You’re back …” she said, most astonished than anything else as she kept staring at him. Truth be told, she hadn’t expected seeing him ever again. And without much of a warning she stepped forward, arms wrapping around him in a tight embrace. She only realized just now how great of a void he had left when he disappeared all of a sudden.

[jules-keller]

He hadn’t been certain what to expect when the door opened but Josie, looking worn down and worse for wear, had definitely not made the list. He didn’t have time to process her presence or her appearance before he was pulled into a tight hug. As he returned the hug he wanted to tell her how much he missed her, to apologize for leaving, to remind her that he’s always come back, but he couldn’t get the words past the lump in his throat. The loneliness and guilt that had been growing since he’d left Sterling came crashing down in full force. He contented himself o just hold her for a few moments as he got himself under control enough to finally whisper, “I’m so sorry I disappeared. Tell me you’re okay?” It seemed pretty obvious that she wasn’t but he hoped his initial assessment had been wrong. Hoped shed just been pulled from bed by his knock and all he’d seen was the fatigued of an early wake-up call, but he didn’t believe it was true. “Tell me everything,” he said, meaning it, “I’m missed you so damn much, Josie.”

[alyssaforsythe-blog]

“Well it depends. Going into work when you’re off the clock is probably a different experience. Really? You don’t like free time? I like it in small quantities…too much just starts to feel like the calm before the storm.”

[jules-keller]

“Free time sucks. I just feel like I’m fucking something up if I’m not doing something productive, you know? Kinda like that, yeah. Calm before the storm, like all hell’s about to break loose but if you were doing something, maybe you coulda prevented it.”

[mr-croft-blog]

SOS [Jules & Jay]

[mr-croft-blog]

“She’s a lot better than she was,” Jayden said, picking up his menu when the waitress dropped them off, and asking for a large coffee. “She lives with me now. She was going into debt paying her rent.” He said, skimming the different burgers available.

[jules-keller]

“Fuck,” Jules said under his breath, dropping his head. “I shoulda been here for her. I planned to be there for her. I know exactly how fucking hard it is when you get out, and Aliya’s... she’s Aliya.” He looked up at Jayden, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad you were there for her..”

[rick-moretti]

“Couple of months, not that long.”

[jules-keller]

“You probably arrived not long after I left. So, what brought you here? Are you here because of, or in spite of The House?” 

[rick-moretti]

“I’m a firefighter.”

[jules-keller]

“Of course you are. You been in Sterling long?”

[mr-croft-blog]

SOS [Jules & Jay]

[mr-croft-blog]

Jayden rolled his eyes. The first exit road he saw, Jayden took, driving up to a gas station with a diner attached. This was the food he was used to, not the fancy shit you could get in Sterling. He pulled up in the parking lot, putting on his sunglasses, before getting out and leading Jules into the diner. He looked around, sliding into a booth, tossing his sunglasses and keys on the table. “We’ll have to go to the gas station, see if they have Miami key rings or some shit. Aliya would want one.”

[jules-keller]

Jules slumped into the booth, a brief grin flashing across his face at the mention of Aliya. “How’s she doing?” he asked, “I feel like shit for ditching her, I didn’t think I’d be gone this long. Things just got out of control.” He wanted to know what was up between Jayden and Aliya, but Jayden’s weird concern still had him thrown off. He figure it’d come out soon enough, and if not, well then he’d pry.

[little-aliyacollins]

Aliya squealed in excitement, hopping up and down in front of him and grabbing his hands to swing them with her so he could share in her excitement.  “Chocolate on a cone?  With sprinkles?”

[jules-keller]

Jules couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm, he hadn’t seen much of that lately and it was a nice change. “Sure thing, chocolate on a cone with sprinkles it is.” He lead her toward the ice cream place, his voice going soft as he said, “I’m sorry for taking off, I didn’t expect to be gone more than a weekend. You doin’ okay?”

[rick-moretti]

“What is it that you do?”

[jules-keller]

“I dance at the The Chateau, but I’ve been away. What is it that you do?”

[little-aliyacollins]

Aliya skips around him, humming a song that’s stuck in her head.  She stops suddenly with a giant grin on her face.  “We can go get ice cream!”

[jules-keller]

Jules grins, mentally counting up what’s left of the small stash of emergency cash he’d had stashed in his freezer when he returned. “Ice cream sounds great, my treat. And then you can fill me in on how you’ve been, yeah?”

[mr-croft-blog]

SOS [Jules & Jay]

[mr-croft-blog]

“So he was the reason you went. You okay?” Jayden checked, eyeing him before looking back at the road. “Fuck that, I can handle shouting you a burger. Tips come easy when they aren’t being shoved down the straps of your thong.” Jayden teased, giving a smirk as he drove down the highway, lounging in his seat.

[jules-keller]

“I’m peachy,” he lied, pulling his features into what he hoped was a convincing grin. He hated taking anything, even a burger, but he was hungry and Jayden needed to eat too, so there wasn’t much he could do about it in the moment other than plan to pay him back at some point in the future. “Thanks he said before grinning wickedly and changing the subject, “Sounds like a challenge, you know I can pull more tips than you without even trying.”

[rick-moretti]

“Spend the day making a bucket list then. It gives you goals and ambition.”

[jules-keller]

“My need for food and shelter pretty much have me covered in the goals and ambitions category at the moment.”

[josephine-blake-blog]

Wish You Were Here | Jules & Josephine

When Brennan had finally left –for what she assumed to only be for a short while given the concerned looks he had given her– Josephine went on her way, rummaging through the hotel suite to find something to eat. The girl wore a sweater which was far too big and sweat pants, both of which belonged to him, while also being wrapped in the blanket she had brought from his bedroom. She was feeling restless and yet she knew that for the time being she really had nowhere else to go. And it was probably that and the knowledge that only a few days ago Brennan had hated her guts that made her want to run all the more.

@jules-keller

[jules-keller]

He’d half expected to find Josie had taken over his apartment in his absence, but there was a healthy layer of dust and no sign anyone had been there since he left. Telling himself she’d just lost her key had done nothing to calm his worry. When he couldn’t find her at the house his worry spiked into something he couldn’t ignore, no matter how many ways he tried to justify her absence. After scouring every likely place she might be he finally turned up at Brennan’s door. Surely, at the very least, he’d know something. His stomach tight with worry he planned an array of colorful threats (none of which he realistically expected to ever deliver) and knocked rapidly on the door.

[mr-croft-blog]

SOS [Jules & Jay]

[mr-croft-blog]

“But why Miami? Are your kids alright?” Jayden asked, not quite remembering that when Jules left, Jayden had been an insufferable asshole who didn’t have a shred of compassion. Jayden had learned in leaps and bounds since Jules left. The ex trainer pulled onto the highway, looking across at Jules. “You hungry? We can stop in on a diner. Aliya won’t let me have a cheeseburger, and I fucking need one.”

[jules-keller]

Jules usually said whatever he thought and held nothing back, but this time he managed to hold back the snarky comment about Jayden caring, because Jayden cared. It wasn’t like he didn’t know Jayden had a good person buried underneath everything, he’d be saying that all along, but for him to open express concern? Jules wasn’t going to make fun of that. “They’r’e okay, thanks. My father not so much. Or he wasn’t. I fixed it,” A brief flash of frustrated hurt crossed his face before he pushed it away. “Food’d be great, but I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I’m flat broke.” Figuring out what was going on with Aliya could wait until they had food.

[mayaxburke-blog]

“I wouldn’t say it sucks.” she laughed but knew where he was coming from. “But I guess it kinda does when you’re spending it bored out of your mind.” she added then before tilting her head in curiosity. He danced, now that certainly piqued her interest. Maya smiled warmly, eyeing the boy. “I arrived here a few months ago. How about you?”

[jules-keller]

“Nah, not bored, just... You know, I don’t know what to call it, but not bored. Restless, maybe.” He frowned at the question, trying to remember exactly when he’d ended up in the city. That period was a blur and he finally gave up with a shrug, “Couple of years, but I was away for a bit, just got back. What brought you here? Everyone’s got a story.”