Chapter 39 - Don't Go Anywhere

Seeing Roman crush the can, some of the students near the counter were quick to walk in the other direction, while his friends and the person, who stood behind the counter, turned to look at him. 

"What?" questioned Roman with his raised eyebrows, and they went back to what they were earlier doing. 

He watched Julie laughing at something that Dennis said to her. His lips twisted while he quietly glared. He had suggested replacing her to act in the play so that she wouldn't gain unnecessary attention. But this idiot had decided to jump right into the burning fire, thought Roman, and the nerve on his forehead popped. 

A few days had passed since he realized that Julie couldn't be compelled, and he wasn't sure what to do with it. He had withheld the information and not informed Dante or any other night creatures. 

By doing this, he wasn't only prolonging the girl's death, but at the same time, he knew it was also going to put him in trouble. One word about the ineffectiveness to compel her was enough for the other vampires to snap her neck without blinking their eyes. 

If she wanted to jump into the fire, then fine, thought Roman. 

Throwing the can into the dustbin, he walked back to where Simon and Olivia stood. 

"What do you think, Rome?" asked Simon, gaining Roman's attention.

"About what?" questioned Roman casually, pulling out another can's ring, and he took a sip of blood from it. 

"Do you think Piper will agree if we ask her to switch us from the play we are in to yours?" asked the ginger-haired boy, his eyes bright with excitement. 

"She would never agree," stated Olivia shaking her head. "She didn't agree when Roman told to replace Julianne from the female lead."

Simon turned to look at Roman with a smile on his lips, "You did that? Poor thing must be hurt," and he jerked his head in the direction where Julie was sitting with her friends. 

"She'll be fine," Roman's words were nonchalant, and he didn't bother to turn to look in Julie's direction. 

Simon turned, puzzled at Roman's disinterest in the girl, not to mention she was sitting in the lunchroom with her friends. Did his friend already lose interest in the human girl? 

Looking at Julie, he said, "Maybe we should invite them over to eat. Bonfire was fun, wasn't it?"

Olivia turned her head to look in the direction where Simon was looking, "They are already eating. It is rude to make them shift tables."

"Then let's join them. You don't mind, do you, Rome?" On Simon's question, Roman glared at him. "Ahaha, I was just suggesting."

"Don't stir unnecessary trouble," warned Roman, and Simon crossed his heart, which was already a lie when he did that because he didn't have a beating heart, as he was a completely turned vampire. 

Roman was still annoyed by Julie's actions in the practice room and now even more annoyed by seeing the person sitting beside her. 

"Alright, let me just go and say hi and come back," said Simon.

"Whatever," Roman said, disinterested with whatever his friend wanted to do. Simon walked away from there, heading where Julie was sitting at one of the tables near the backside, near the wall. 

Julie was talking to Dennis when she felt someone come to stand next to their table. Looking up, she saw it was Simon, and he had a polite smile on his face. "Hello there, I saw my favourite juniors sitting here and thought to come and greet," said Simon, looking at everyone at the table. When his eyes came to settle on Julie, he said, "Congratulations on getting to play one of the main leads."

"Thank you," Julie thanked him. "Did you end up in another play?" she curiously asked. 

"Victoria and I did. You should get into another detention and maybe then you will get a role in our play?" suggested Simon with a straight face. Julie didn't know if the senior was joking or being serious about it. He then smiled to let her know he was joking. 

"What is your play about?" asked Julie, being polite. 

The boy gave a thoughtful look before he said, "It was about a King who is obsessed with a woman and has many screws loose in his head. It is an interesting piece," said Simon, and Julie nodded. 

"Anyways, I should get back to my friends and get my meal."

Hearing the word 'friends', Julie's eyes tore away from Simon to find Roman, who talked to Olivia. Remembering Roman's words in the practice room, she pursed her lips. She didn't want to feel bothered by his words, but his comment did affect her. When he turned his head in her direction, their eyes met. To Julie, he seemed like a block of ice, and she was the first one to look away. 

Julie nodded her head and offered Simon a smile, and he waved at everyone before leaving the table's side. Dennis, who hadn't bothered to smile at the person, turned to Julie and asked, 

"You are friends with everyone in the group?"

"I wouldn't use the word friends, but we are fairly familiar with them," replied Julie, and continued to eat, but the boy next to her seemed bothered by the very idea of it. 

"We have spoken to them occasionally, and also spent our last bonfire with them. They seemed okay," commented Conner and took a bite from his food. 

Dennis knitted his eyebrows and said, "You shouldn't associate yourselves with those kinds of people who break the rules and get into trouble too often. The more time you spend with those folks, the more you spend your time in the detention room. Of course it is good that you got the main lead to play, but visiting the detention room is not good," he advised before his eyes fell on Julie. 

Julie smiled at Dennis' words, and she said, "Not everyone who ends up in detention is bad."

"Yes, but haven't you heard that people drag others along with them?" said Dennis in a low voice, looking at her through his glasses. "I am sure you have had a clean record until now. I am speaking about them."

Julie waved her fork in the air and said, "Actually, since I started getting tutored, my grades in one of the subjects has comparatively improved. You shouldn't worry, it doesn't look as bad as it looks," she chuckled. Though Dennis looked like he wanted to say something, he decided to drop the subject, and he smiled. 

"If you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask. I can always spare time to teach you and even you both can join it," said Dennis looking at Melanie and Conner. They nodded their heads before sharing a look at each other. 

Julie wondered why it felt now as if Dennis had only meant to invite her but had invited her friends only because they were sitting with them. As grateful as she was at his offer, she could feel the awkwardness grow. 

The next moment, Julie's thoughts were interrupted with a loud thud when someone placed the coke can next to her on the table. 

Julie's eyes fell on the fingers that were wrapped around the can, which had inked words on each of the back of the finger. Each of them had a different word that together read as 'Death'. Her brown eyes trailed upwards from the hand to meet its owner. 

Roman said, "You people don't mind if we join you for dinner, do you?" and he pulled a chair to sit next to her while Melanie and Conner shook their heads. 

Julie stared at Roman, with a hint of confusion in her eyes, wondering why he had decided to come and sit here when other empty tables were available in the lunchroom. Soon his friends arrived. Simon got Melanie to shift so that he could sit next to her. Right now, it felt like an invasion, Julie thought in her mind. 

Maximus came to stand near Julie and Dennis, and the spiky black-haired boy said, "Would you kindly please scooch over?"

More than Julie or her friends, Dennis looked utterly confused as to what was happening. The pleasant and disciplined dinner had been disrupted like a bomb thrown at their table. But if there was anyone to blame, it was Dennis, who had run his mouth by bad mouthing about the clique that the famous clique had heard. 

Dennis looked to his right side where there was space and said, "There are seats here."

"Yes, that is why I asked you to scooch over," said Maximus and Dennis clenched his jaws. Unable to refuse one more time as it would only look childish, he smiled back with a polite expression. 

"Let us give them some space, Julianne," said Dennis, and he pulled his chair to the right. 

When Julie was about to scooch along with her chair, it didn't move an inch as if her chair had suddenly glued itself to the floor. Bending to her left side, she noticed the hand that held her chair. Her eyes moved to look at Roman, who held his coke in his left hand, and he let go of the chair. 

But by then, in the space that had formed thanks to Dennis, Maximus pulled a chair and sat while Olivia and Victoria took to sit next to Conner and Dennis, respectively, where Dennis turned sour as if he had been tricked. 

"Maybe we should have added one more table as it's cramped," commented Maximus before saying, "As most of us are casted in the same play, we thought it would be better to get to know each other so that there will be less awkwardness at the stage." What kind of reasoning was that? Thought Julie in her mind. She then heard him say, "You are my sister-in-law," he grinned at Julie, the corner of his lips pulling wider as if he was teasing her about something she didn't know about. 

But Maximus' words flew right past Julie, and she politely smiled. She said, "Yes, you are my brother-in-law. You all must be talented when it comes to acting in these plays."

If the play was held every year, and with the clique's record here when it came to receiving detention, it was possible that some of them at this table had ended up as one of the cast members in Ms. Piper's play, thought Julie.

"We are?" asked Maximus. And then, in realization, he laughed, "Don't go by only Rome's performance. He likes to give his best, you know how he ranks first in our year. I often forget my lines and the same goes to Olivia."

Julie was somewhere relieved to hear that there were imperfect people like her in the play. She didn't turn to look at Roman directly, but while she ate, her eyes fell on his forearms that were resting not too far away from her on the table. Her eyes then moved slightly up to see him running his long finger around the coke can. 

Her eyes had been fixed on his hand, that when he raised to his face, her eyes met his. She was caught staring, and now it was hard to look away. 

Julie asked in a low voice, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" 

Her hand reached out for the chair before she let it go. Roman used his two fingers to indicate her to come nearer to him. Leaning forward, she waited for him to give his reason, but instead, he pulled her chair nearer again, and her face turned red again. 

"W-what are you doing?" asked Julie, and the back of her hair on her neck raised. When his eyes fell on her neck, she felt her heart skip a beat. 

"It is so that you don't catch stupidity. It is infectious," deadpanned Roman.

What kind of reason was that! 

Julie pulled her chair away from his chair and softly glared before making sure no one had noticed it. 

"Don't worry. No one saw that," Roman addressed the concern on her face, and she turned back to look at him, where she looked red like a cheery. The girl was indeed amusing. "It is easier to keep you away from flies."

"Flies?" she questioned with a frown while calming her heart that had picked up its pace. She didn't understand him. One minute he behaved as if they didn't know each other, and the next moment, he was pulling her chair. "Don't do that!" she said in a hushed tone. 

"Already flustered like a child," taunted Roman, a look of challenge in his eyes, and Julie returned his stare. "Your reaction only proves that your role in the play is going to be hard for you. Did you forget the scenes Atlas and Iris share in the middle of the play?" he reminded her. "Ms. Piper won't be happy if you faint."

"I won't faint. The least you can do is support me rather than be intimidated about the scene. Maybe if you told me which part I don't fit in, I will try to work on it," said Julie.

"Are you asking me for lessons on how to not turn flustered?" questioned Roman, raising one of his eyebrows. "I don't think it is going to make any difference," he muttered under his breath before finishing the entire can that was in front of him. As if that wasn't enough to prove his point, he ran his tongue over his lips once he finished the can.

Her eyes subtly widened at his action, and she turned to look at her friends, where Melanie and Conner were talking to Maximus and Olivia. 

Looking back at Roman, who wore a smirk on his lips, Julie said, "I won't faint, I will show you on the stage."

The corner of his lips pulled up, and he said, "I look forward to it, Winters." Challenge accepted! 

The clique left after they were done eating. Even Dennis left the lunchroom, and after spending some more time, Julie finally returned to her dorm, which had turned into a safe place. A place which was only hers for the next years in Veteris. Changing her clothes, she climbed on her bed and picked up the letter that wasn't there before she left the dorm. Opening it, she read—

'Must be exciting to get the main role in the play, Troublemaker. Didn't know you were keen on acting, especially considering how bad of a liar you are. Now that I know, I am looking forward to some special mummy performance by you. 

What am I doing?'

In her morning letter, Julie had asked her letter thief what he was doing for the annual day, if he was taking part in something. 

'We are going to have a football match on the last day of the annual day. I am waiting to kick some of them. Now don't go looking for the names, because you won't find them. Do you have plans to visit your relatives at the end of the month? Stealing university letters must be the most rules you have broken.'

Starting to write back to him, Julie wrote—

'Aha! So you are that bully jock! I wasn't planning to look for you… I worry if I do, I will end up in detention again >.<

It isn't as exciting as it sounds. For one, I have never tried acting. And two, people are rude! I know you might agree with the rest of them and maybe even laugh >.>, but there were some who wanted to replace my character of Iris. Because they think I won't be good enough… 

Today felt like I was back in my old school. But this time, I don't want to run, and I want to believe in myself. I am going to stay back here for the weekends.

What are your plans over the weekend holiday?'

Folding the letter, Julie placed it next to the window. 

As hours passed, she fell asleep, and the letter that she had written for the letter thief was picked up. Far away from the girl's Dormitorium, Roman sat on the branch of the tree with Julie's letter in his hand, which he had already read. He stared at the sky full of stars. 

"I knew I would find you here," said Maximus, walking towards the tree and looking up at Roman. "Reading letter from Julie?" He had a wide grin on his face. 

If it weren't for the day when Julie had been caught by Evans, Maximus wouldn't have figured out what Roman was usually doing with folded papers in his hand or pocket. Instead of replying, he only stared at Maximus with an expressionless face. 

"What is it?" questioned Roman. 

"Piper said she can arrange switching students for the role, if you still want to do it," informed Maximus while jumping up on one of the branches and balancing himself. 

Roman looked at the letter in his hand. Before Julie's letter, he had decided to switch her role in the play while also planning to step out of the theatre play as it was a drag to act on the stage.

But she wanted to prove, not others but herself said Roman in his mind. And he knew what it meant to start from the bottom and move up. 

Folding the paper and putting it in his pocket, Roman said, "I changed my mind. Let things stay as they have been."

Hearing Roman's reply, the smile that had disappeared appeared on Maximus' face again and he jumped back down on the ground. 

"Yours too?"

"Yes. Mine too."

Because it was better for him than someone else to steal the girl's heart on the stage, thought Roman with a crooked smile on his lips.