Chapter 65 - Porcupine As The Husband

After Julie stepped inside the Dormitorium, she went straight to her dorm as Melanie was still attending classes where there were two more to go. 

Roman had made her walk all around the forest of Willow Creek, and she was tired. Tired of walking, of having the alien scare her to death and the spider that she had tried to maintain distance from. She was glad that Roman had not insisted on making her hold his beloved pet's child. But then Julie realized it would be unlike him to force her. Sure he liked to elicit reactions from her, but she doubted he ever meant actual harm to her. 

Unlocking the dorm door, she pushed it open, stepping in and closing the door. 

It was very unlike her to skip classes, but it was also very unlike for people to help or be thoughtful about her. She hung the bag at the back of the chair before stretching her hands and body. 

Now that she was alone, she reeled back over what had happened in the forest, the first thing that popped in her mind apart from the crow-like person was Roman's handsome face. Taking a look at her face in the mirror, she patted her cheeks with her hands, "I hope he didn't realize it." The reason behind her red face.

"I wonder what made him pick a spider as a pet," murmured Julie to herself.

There had been rare times like today that Julie had confused Roman's actions, misreading the situation because he liked to bully her. When he got too close to her, her heart raced, and it wasn't his perfume, or maybe it was? Julie questioned thoughtfully, starting to change her clothes and getting on the bed. With no one to disturb her, she decided to take a nap. 

But when Julie fell asleep with her hands and legs sprawled on the bed, she fell deeper into the dreamland. The dream pulled her into the possibility of her subconsciousness, where she now stood on the wide stage of the auditorium. 

The spotlight that fell on her was bright, and for a few seconds, she couldn't see anything because of the blinding light. She turned her head, hearing the music drift around the stage and the large auditorium. It seemed like she was all alone by herself, with not a single soul sitting or standing in the audience. She decided to step down from the stage, but someone held her hand. 

When she turned around, she caught sight of Roman. 

He wasn't wearing his regular clothes of ripped jeans and T-shirt. Instead, he wore an attire that belonged to the seventeenth or eighteenth century. 

"Roman?" Julie's voice held a question in it. "Where are others?" she asked, looking around. Even Ms. Piper was missing. Her voice softly echoed, even though she didn't say it aloud. 

Roman didn't answer her, and instead, he only stared at her. As if he was seeing her after a long time. "Does it matter?" he asked, his words sounding uninterested in finding out about others. "All that matters is that you are here... with me." 

Huh? Julie turned back to look at Roman, who had taken a step forward towards her. 

"I don't think this is in the script," Julie whispered. "Are you mistaking the lines from another play?"

"Have I ever followed things the way they are?" Roman asked her with a serious look in his eyes. Well, Ms. Piper would be very upset that—He put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. Julie's eyes were ready to pop out of her face. "I noticed you have been getting too flustered and maybe it is time to practice our kiss. Don't worry, I will try to be as gentle as I can." 

Julie shook her head in refusal with her lips pressed together. 

Roman's lips started to descend towards her lips, that was parted. 

"I am not ready for it yet! I want it to be special!" said Julie in panic. 

"I will make the kiss memorable, sweetheart," said Roman, in a coaxing voice. S-sweetheart?! This wasn't Roman! 

One second, Roman had leaned his head towards hers, and when she blinked and opened her eyes, instead of Roman, the bird faced person held her. She looked like a struggling duck that was flapping its wings. Before its sharp beak could poke her face, Julie sat upright on the bed, gasping for air. 

Bringing her knees close to her, Julie laid her head on her knees. Seriously, why was the bird haunting her?! She had been kind enough to feed the crows when she was young, and her mother was alive too. 

Back in the past, Julie and her mother often went to take walks in the park in the evenings, where her mother allowed her to feed the crows that gathered around to eat. Thinking about those times when her mother took her for strolls brought a smile to her face. 

Little Julie sat on her heels, watching the birds who had perched around, where some of them ate the grains. She didn't approach them as most of the time, when she got nearer, they flew away. Only one or two birds cawed while the rest were busy eating the grains that she had thrown on the ground.

"Mama, do you think these are the same birds that come here daily?" little Julie turned around to ask her mother, who sat on the bench, where a crow sat next to on the other end of the bench. 

Her mother, who had been looking at the crow next to her, shifted her eyes to look at Julie. She offered her a warm smile. "They must be," answered her mother, raising her hand, and little Julie quickly stood up, running towards where her mother was sitting. In a hurry, she almost tripped, but her mother caught her. "You have to be more careful, dear. What will you do if you fall?" came her mother's gentle words. 

Little Julie had a thoughtful look on her face before she beamed with a smile and said, "I have you with me."

"That you do," Julie's mother welcomed her into her arms, hugging her, and little Julie heard the crow caw, watching them. The little girl missed the serious look that entered her mother's eyes as she held her closely. 

When the birds started to fly away from there, soaring up in the sky together, it distracted the little girl to watch them fly into the purple and orange hue of the sky, which was going to turn dark soon. 

"Where do they go, mother?" questioned Julie, curiosity in her doe-like eyes. 

"Back to where they came from," answered her mother, turning back to her. 

"Where is that?" little Julie asked in plain curiosity. "The nests?"

Her mother smiled again, running her hand gently over her daughter's hair and said, "Most of them do. Come, dear. Let's head back now. Your papa will be home soon."

The little girl nodded her head, and her mother stood up. Holding hands, they headed back to their house. 

Returning to the present, a soft sigh escaped from Julie's lips. Since her father's arrest, Julie had not visited her mother at the cemetery. Maybe next month's weekend, she would pay a visit with her mother's favourite flowers, thought Julie to herself. 

When it was dinner, Melanie walked next to Julie, making their way towards the lunchroom. Right now, Melanie was laughing as she explained what had happened in the classroom after she had jumped out of the window. 

"You should have seen Gabriella's face. It was definitely worth watching when the teacher called her to the front and told her to explain," Melanie's shoulder shook in humour. "But seriously, I didn't expect you to jump through the window. Is Roman still bullying you?" 

That was a questionable question, thought Julie. Because though there were a few things where he liked to annoy her, on the other side, he had also helped her. 

"No, not much," replied Julie. 

"Did he make you complete his homework?" asked Melanie while looking for Conner when they reached the lunchroom. 

"I think that would be more of a chore for him, because of the difference in our year," replied Julie, a smile forming on her lips. She then asked, "Have you thought about when to speak to Conner?" 

Melanie puffed her cheeks and then shook her head, "Everytime I try to gather my courage to speak about it, something comes in between and it is hard to find the right timing. Until now, our relationship has been nothing but being friends, and I am worried that if I say something, things might change. But I do plan to speak to him later, I mean better now than later, right?"

"You're right," replied Julie, feeling Melanie hook her hand around her arm as they walked past the tables. They walked towards the counter to get their meals. 

While standing near the counter, Julie caught sight of Roman sitting at the table with his friends, where his expression had gone back to being bored and distant. He had his back leaned against the chair, leaving the chair's front legs in midair while balancing the chair. 

Before he would catch her looking his way, Julie turned to look at the counter. The dream she had was still fresh in her mind. She shook her head in the hope to get rid of it. 

Surely she wasn't feeling lustful, was she? Julie asked herself. Then why did she dream about Roman? It wasn't any dream, but where he looked at her with a passionate gaze, something he would never do in reality. Instead, she would receive glares and the look of annoyance. 

Was she attracted to Roman? Julie asked herself, turning back to look at him. As guessed, he now had an annoyed look on his face. And even though annoyed, he looked dangerously handsome. Especially the way he sat, like a person who could turn anyone's life upside down, she thought in her mind. 

"He looks attractive, doesn't he?" questioned Melanie, and Julie nodded her head. 

"He does," agreed Julie. "He smiles very rarely, and when he does, it makes me worried."

"What are you saying? He is always smiling, I wish I could smack it down his face," whispered Melanie, with irritation in her voice. It seemed like her friend had turned suddenly brave and wanted to smack Roman's face. "Do you think he coloured his hair?"

"Coloured?" at Julie's question, Melanie nodded her head. 

"Yeah, it is strikingly red," said Melanie. Ah, she was speaking about Simon, thought Julie to herself. It seemed like Melanie had put Simon on the unlikable list. 

As if sensing someone's gaze on him, Roman shifted his eyes to look at the counter, where Melanie had turned back to pick up the tray of food. When Julie's eyes met his, she looked away with her back facing him. 

To Julie, meeting his eyes gave her fresh flashbacks of her dream, and she didn't want to ponder on it. Her mind was making up things, and she decided it would be better to not look at him to fuel her thoughts. She reminded herself, she was here to study. She had to get high grades and then get a job. Focus, Julie, focus, she chanted in her mind.

That night, she slept with a torch in her hand, just to be prepared if she would see the bird person.

The next day, during the break between classes, Julie was walking back to her classroom in the corridor when she caught sight of Roman standing near the stairs and leaning against the railings. He had placed one leg on one of the grills, with his hands resting back on the top of the railing for support as he spoke to Simon. 

A sliver of turmoil appeared in her chest, and she tried to push it away. 

Last night, there hadn't been any exchange of letters on both sides, nor in the morning as she was busy studying. She tried to walk as quickly as she could to get to her classroom, but Simon stopped her,

"Julie, hi," said the red-headed senior with a charming smile on his lips. "Going to your classroom?"

There was nowhere else to go but the class. Where else would she go? Asked Julie in her mind. Not looking at Roman, while feeling his gaze on her, she nodded to Simon. 

"You are alone. Where is your friend?" asked Simon, looking around her and then in the direction of her classroom. 

"She's in the classroom," Julie's eyes fell on Simon's hand, who held a paper glass with a straw in it. Was he not worried that he was going to end up in detention? But then the whole clique didn't care about detention. It was more like an extracurricular class for them, and she internally nodded her head. 

With Julie, who kept her eyes on Simon without looking left or right, she felt Roman's eyes on her turn heavy. 

Simon asked her, "How was the rest of your weekend?" A curious look in his eyes as if he knew something and was waiting for her to speak on it. 

"It was good. How about yourself?" she returned the question.

"Wonderful time with many surprises. You must have had a wonderful time too," smiled Simon. For a moment, her eyes shifted to look at the dark-haired senior and she noticed him playing with a toothpick, holding it between his teeth while he stared at her. 

When silence fell between them, Julie said, 

"I should get going," and she returned to her class. 

"Did you torture her yesterday?" asked Simon with a grin, noticing how Julie looked a little jittery and had scurried from there as fast as she could. 

"Barely," remarked Roman with his eyes narrowed. He wondered what was up with her. 

Hours passed, and when it was time for Ms. Piper's rehearsals for the play, Julie picked to stand near the wall in the room. The students who had to get on the stage were already up and delivering their dialogues. She was going through her lines when Caleb came to stand next to her. 

His bloodied nose had gotten better, but it had left a small scar that marked the day he had decided to pick a fight with Roman on the stage. 

"My dear wife, we haven't practised our lines," said Caleb, leaning against the wall and putting a hand in his pocket. 

"I am not your on stage wife anymore," reminded Julie, as the day Caleb had broken his nose, Ms. Piper had decided to interchange Caleb and Mateo's roles. 

The freshman looked sour. He couldn't believe Ms. Piper could do this to him. Julie, in the meantime, read the sheets of paper that she held in her hand. Like Caleb, even Julie couldn't believe her luck. As annoying as Caleb was, she prefered him over Porcupine on the stage with her.

"That's alright. Did you know that girls like to play hard to get, because it looks attractive," stated Caleb looking at her. She wondered if the boy had nothing better to do but bother her. If only her head was as strong as Roman's, she would have turned into a goat and rammed her head into Caleb's head. 

Julie raised her eyes to look at him, "What are you trying to do, Caleb?" she asked him directly so that he could leave her alone. 

For a freshman, he tried to act as if he was in his senior year, thought Julie to herself. Caleb gave his perfect smile, showing his pearly white teeth, "What does it look like?" He flirted with her. 

"Like you are wasting my time," said Julie with a small frown. 

Caleb laughed, "Okay, I see what you are doing here. You want to hear words. Be my girlfriend."

Eleanor and her friend, who stood not too far from them, heard Caleb's words and laughed. "It looks like the on stage couple is going to be a real couple," said Eleanor's friend. 

"They do look good together," said Eleanor, trying to pair Julie so that it would clear her way when it came to Roman. "We should all celebrate." 

Caleb turned around to look at Eleanor and turned back to Julie, "Everybody already thinks we look cute together."

She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and then said, "I will pass." And Caleb's mouth fell open while Julie walked to the front so that he wouldn't bother her. 

When she turned to look on the other side of the room, her eyes met Roman's eyes. After a second, his eyes shifted, and Julie released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She felt much better than yesterday, and the little stir in her mind had calmed down as if the dream was just an exaggeration of her mind. 

After some time, Ms. Piper called, "Julie and Mateo, you are up next on stage. Be prepared with your lines." 

Taking a deep breath, Julie readied herself while mentally going through the beginning lines so that she wouldn't have a starting problem. Thanks to Melanie, she had already rehearsed her lines. They got on the stage. 

Ms. Piper reminded both the students, "Now don't forget that Blake is furious on finding out that Iris likes Atlas, and she has been spending time with him. While Iris is scared. This is an important scene and you will have to nail it."

Julie nodded her head, while Mateo didn't bother to respond to the teacher and took his position in front of her. 

"Ms. Piper, I will be a better Blake than him," Caleb voiced his thoughts, and Ms. Piper stared at him. 

"Next time you will remember to not go and start stirring trouble," stated Ms. Piper, as if she knew Caleb was the one to instigate the fight. She then said, "Cue music!" 

Julie adjusted the side of her sweater near her neck and cleared her throat. She had her back against where Roman was standing, making it difficult for him to see her expression and only the back of her frame. 

The porcupine stood tall in front of Julie, his usual angry face warped in more anger, and he asked, "How could you do this to me?! All I hear is that my wife looks at another man!"

Julie raised her hand with an unsure look on her face, "I didn't look at anyone-"

"Lies!" The porcupine raised his eyes, and Julie took a step back. "I love you, sheltered you, gave you a home and this is how you repay me?" 

In the back of her mind, Julie wanted to squint her eyes for the words that came from Mateo Jackson's mouth. No, the right thing to do was to clean her ears. Some of the students who stood below the stage enjoyed the scene as they had never seen Jackson in this kind of scenario. 

Everyone could tell that he was trying hard to not cringe at the dialogues he had to say. Also because this was the third time Ms. Piper was making them rehearse the scene after the first time Mateo spoke like a robot. 

"I want to see more emotions. Pour yourself into the character!" instructed Ms. Piper. 

Julie spoke to her character, Iris' words full of emotions, "I didn't mean to hurt you, Blake. I still love you and not him. It was just a moment and nothing more than that. I never meant to dis-"

"Silence!" Mateo stepped in front of Julie, gripping both her arms and shaking her lightly. And though the shake was light, she felt his nails digging into her arms. "I cannot bear to hear another word come from your mouth. How much do you love him? Did you miss your past?!" 

Julie wasn't sure if Mateo had gotten too into the role, but she tried to hold back the pain that was building up. Her hands had started to feel numb. "I did not," her voice came out to be in pain, that the other students presumed it to be her acting skills. She tried to step backwards, but the boy held her in place. 

"Then why is it that someone saw you and him in the same shop, this noon?" he demanded and before Julie could push him away, he let her go.

When their scene was over, some of the students, along with Ms. Piper, clapped their hands. The woman said, "This was much better than the last time. Let's call it a day. I will see you all in the next rehearsal or in detention depending on how you behave." 

Julie felt Mateo's eyes on her, where he smirked at her before walking down the stage, and she got off the stage too. 

Roman, who had been quietly watching the performance, caught Julie rubbing her arms before Ms. Piper called her to speak about her costume. His eyes then fell on Jackson, grinning over something as he walked out of the practice room. 

After speaking to Ms. Piper, Julie headed back to her dorm. 

She rubbed her neck, a yawn escaping her lips and wondering if she should do her homework tomorrow. She then started to change her clothes, walking around the room to pick the clothes while removing her sweater. She paused when walking by the mirror, and her eyes fell on her arms above her elbows. 

There were fingerprints where her skin had discoloured because of the way the porcupine had gripped earlier.