Jules was a having bad day.
He had stayed up all night binge-watching the last thirteen episodes of Attack on Titans. So he was asleep for the majority of his Math test. He submitted his sheet, already assured of his big fat F, and if that wasn't bad enough— he lost his phone.
He hadn't noticed when the bulge in his pocket disappeared until just before lunch when he attempted to pull it out and check the time. Safe to say, his heart accelerated before flatlining.
That was his second phone this month. His dad was going to kill him. Yeah, right. He scoffed internally.
All he wanted was to eat his tuna in peace and go home. It turned out he couldn't even do that. Why? It was because someone was sitting on his table. The cafeteria was, thankfully, still empty, so he took five strides to reach his table. He immediately realized it was a girl. Her back was turned to him, but he could see her slender shoulders even through the hoodie she wore.
He cleared his throat loudly and saw the girl's back go rigid. When she didn't turn around, he spoke.
"That's my seat." He tried, but failed, for his voice to not sound menacing. This had been his table for the duration of five months. It hadn't been that difficult to secure it. He was Jules. That was reason enough for people to stay away, so why—
The girl in question heaved a heavy sigh, before turning slowly. Jules tried not to stare, but that was impossible.
Her hood had slipped off her head, revealing her short white, hair that ended in the middle of her neck. Her skin was pale, bright blue eyes and under those eyes— purplish, bruiselike shadows. As if she was suffering from sleepless night. The reason why he couldn't look away wasn't just because she was so devastatingly beautiful. He stared because the eyes that gazed back at him made him feel like he was just hit by a bus. It was a nasty feeling. Painful and bizarre. He hated it; her and the expression she wore told him that the feeling was mutual. Hate at first sight.
Her ruby lips tilted up, and Jules felt like a painful open wound. When he blinked, he didn't open his eyes immediately.
He hadn't always been a sucker for pain.
The opening of the cafeteria doors distracted him a little, and when he looked back the smile was gone.
"Excuse me?" Her voice was small, but hostility was prominent.
Jules cleared his throat again, but more awkwardly this time—so much for being menacing— "you are on my seat."
His voice didn't waver but his heart certainly did. The intensity of her gaze made him want to look away. The last thing he needed was a confrontation with a girl half his size.
She surprised him by standing up. Jules had expected her to put up a fight, so he watched in relief as she packed up her books. His relief was however short-lived because instead of leaving the table altogether. She brushed past him and took a seat at the same table, his fucking table.
She sat down in the seat opposite of the one, she had just vacated pulling out a book again. She opened it and continued reading ignoring Jules completely.
If it were any other day, any other person, Jules would have probably let it go. But it was today and he was having a bad day. It was this girl, who wore a patronizing smile. He was sure that the reason for this smile wasn't because of the book she was reading. Quantum Physics. Instead of retreating, like he would have done normally, he snatched the book right out of her hands.
She was shocked, but then again so was he. Why did he just do that? Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape; her surprise was beginning to bother him. This girl didn't know him. For all she knew, he harassed girls on a daily basis.
Jules watched, albeit, nervously as a thought crossed her mind. Her eyes widened even farther, and she did a double take like she was suddenly seeing him for the first time. His mind went blank. Why was she looking at him like that? He stood there, and shock was still enraptured in her gaze. A hand landed on his shoulder snapping them both out of it.
"What's going on here?" David Bentley asked. Jules shrugged his hand off, just as the girl stood. She snatched her book from his hand and took off. Jules watched her exit the cafeteria without looking back.
━━━━━
Venus Chambers. That was her name.
The first person he asked was the right person to ask. "Venus Chambers," David Bentley said, "she's my sister."
Jules froze. Sister? The Bentley clan were all boys. He was sure he would have noticed a girl suddenly appearing, and not because he and David used to be best friends. It was because Venus was a girl you noticed.
"My stepsister," David continued, "my dad got remarried last summer. They moved all the way from New Jersey. Today is her first day."
Venus. Venus. Venus.
The girl with the pale hair, paler skin and red lips. Venus from New Jersey. Venus the stepsister.
"That's it?" Jules hadn't realized that he had been walking away until David stopped him. "You don't talk to me, for who knows how long, and then you ask about my sister and walk away?"
Jules tried to shrug David's hand off his shoulder, but this time it didn't budge. He cocked his head to the side, "What do you want me to say? That I want to be friends? I want to join the team again? I want to live?" The last word made David flinch and his hand fell away.
Jules turned away, but this time David didn't stop him, "Tell your sister to stay away from my table."
There was no one home when he arrived, but that wasn't new. Since the death of his mother, his father liked to play hide and seek. Jules hated that game. He was tired of always being the seeker.
Sometimes he wanted to hide too.
"I'm home," he said to the empty house, pulling off his shoes and leaving the door unlocked. He warmed up some spam and ate it in his room with the lights off. Sometimes he liked to play pretend. He'd pretend he was blind and flail his arms around his room looking for a book, his duvet or his harmonica.
Today, however, with the lights off and curtains closed. Shrouded by complete darkness, he could see.
He saw Venus Chambers.
The girl with the pale hair, paler skin and red lips.
Venus from New Jersey. Venus the stepsister.
She was looking at him. Almost as if she was saying, 'are you alive or just existing?'
He closed his eyes to get rid the image of Venus, but even with his eyes closed— he could still see her. Engraved on the inside of his eyelids. He buried his face in his pillow and something fell off his bed.
The sound echoed in his empty house, empty room and empty heart.
He buried his face deeper into the pillow, hoping it would suddenly grow hands to hold him and suffocate him.
Jules was wide awake.He pulled an all-nighter just like last night, rewatching his favorite scenes from Attack on Titans.He was in his Math class just like yesterday, but this time he was wide awake. Why?Venus Chambers.She was three rows beside him, with her legs on her table and her chair tilting back. Mrs. Rinehart was talking but her words washed over him like water. Why?Venus Chambers.She was three rows beside him, three different bodies blocked her from him but he could still see her. Hear her."Petunia?" Venus was speaking. Even though he wasn't looking, he knew. Even though she had only just said two words to him the other day, the second she spoke he knew it was her.Her voice wasn't loud but the class immediately shushed."Who's Petunia?"Jules heard from behind him. Then, absentmindedly, he thought to himself, who was Petunia?"Yes, V
Jules hated Saturdays.It used to be his favourite day of the week. No school, no teachers, he got to watch anime, play games without his mom giving him the stink eye, heck he loved being home with his family. Saturdays were the best.Then his family broke.Then he broke.Saturdays were the worst. The house was so quiet he could hear everything...and that included the noises coming from downstairs.Was it a thief? Had Jared the mailman, finally made good on his threat of coming to rob him if he didn't start locking his door?Jules mulled it over in his head as he stared at the darkness. He didn't want to leave his room, leave his bed.He listened harder. How far would they go? What would they take? Even as he thought it over he didn't care as long as they didn't come to his room he didn't care. They could rob him clean if they liked. He'll just send the bill to
Wait, what?It had been a long time since he had been the butt of a joke, but it still stung. Damn, it stung really bad. He sat up abruptly, angry, sad, fucking heartbroken—Warm small hands were pulling him back down.I don't want to fall Venus. Fuck, please don't make me fall.He let her pull him back down. "You don't believe me. That's okay, I'll prove it.""Mrs. Johnson," she began. "Your neighbor, full name Karen Paulina Johnson, age 53, family; late husband, four kids, ten grandkids, her middle son, Jeremy is serving his eight months before parole, the only people who know this other than Karen and her family, is you and your dad, Jeremy's lawyer."It was the longest thing he heard her say, her voice, drove him wild. She was still sprouting other things he ignored the words turning instead to watch her mouth move.Beautiful.Her words didn't matter. He believ
Jules was tired.He woke up tired and went through all his classes tired. He had called his dad five times last night and then on the fi fth time his dad didn't even bother letting it go to voicemail instead declined the call on the second ring. He was tired to his bones then he looked at Venus. She was sitting opposite him in the cafeteria eating a bag of potato chips with chopsticks while reading some maths textbook.The sight made him feel light because Venus was the type of girl that ate potato chips with chopsticks and read math textbooks in her leisure time. She caught him staring and gave him a funny look. "You want some chips?" She asked waving the bag at him. When he reached over however she snatched the bag away before he could indulge."I-I didn't think you were actually going to accept my offer." She mumbled.Jules raised his eyebrows. "So you offered expecting me to say, no?"She nodded sheepishly and Jul
Jules knocked really hard on the wooden door, and the sound resonated in his heart. His hand fell to his side where they stayed bawled up and stiff. He thought about the reason he was knocking on the door of the Beckett house while he waited for the door to open."Come over to my house tomorrow." Venus had looked at him over the book she was holding. It sounded like a weird mixture between a question and a command. Her eyes never left him even when he looked away, he could still feel her stare.Like waves crashing violently upon the cliff.After an incident as a kid when he nearly drowned, Jules has had an unreasonable fear of water. He hated the sea and everything that had to do with it. Nothing reminded him of the sea more than Venus's eyes so why didn't he feel like running away? He hated it but he wouldn't mind drowning in them."Why? You said you liked hanging out at mine because it
Jules didn'tknow what to think.It had been a week and a few days sinceJules and Venushappened—that's exactly what people were calling it— and while Jules expected for a major change in his life as he knew it.The last thing he expected was the masses to be just as aware of the change in his life as he was."What's Venus thinking? Jules, really? I wonder what that freak must have done to get her attached to his hip."Jules the freak, had just exited his English class and was heading for Calculus when the voices stopped his descent down the stairs. Two girls were in front of the water fountain which just happened to be next to the stairs."I know right, I mean it's bad enough that that weirdo Venus is the shiny new thing that everyone's obsessed with. Now she's hanging with Jules?! Did you know she blew me off forhim."Girl number one replied. "She blew you o
Venus fell ungracefully on top of her bed with a sigh and Jules watched her awkwardly by the door as she stared at the ceiling. She looked like a teenager, an angry angst teen and although it shouldn't, it made him want to smile. She motioned him forward without looking at him, he approached her bed slowly.He had only intended to sit at the edge but immediately he made contact with the bed she pulled him down so he fell unceremoniously beside her.He got a strange sense of déjà vu.Her eyes were still trained to the ceiling, Jules turned his head and stared at the side of her face. "Do you enjoy making me fall for you?"Her only reaction was a blink and Jules sighed looking away from her to the ceiling. It was like every other ceiling, there wasn't much to look at but she was still staring—like there were words written only she could see. It made him notice the tiny plethora of fractures that were
Venus traced Jules's lips with her fingers and although they were cold it left a trail of fire against his skin.He thought of nothing, then everything as he held her. He thought of how clouds of gas and dust collapse into itself to form galaxies, he thought of how she was a star that had a person's name. Vee-nuhs. He thought of Venus.When he closed his eyes he could still see her engraved on the back of his eyelids asking the same question she asked the day they met. Are you alive or just existing?He opened his eyes finally ready to answer. "I'm alive."She smiled like she knew what he was talking about but she probably didn't—since it all happened in his goddamn head, after all—or maybe she did, maybe she was lying when she said she couldn't read his mind.He looked at her. Can you hear me, Venus? If you can I just wann