Chapter 77 - Maintain One Foot Distance In Public

When Julie woke up early in the morning, she felt her head lighter than yesterday. She tried to stretch her body, but her movements were restricted. When her eyes opened, she turned to her side to notice Roman's face that was right in front of her. 

Her eyes widened before she looked down to notice one of his legs had locked her lower body, and his hand was around her waist. 

Waking him up would be rude when she was the one who asked him to stay here. She slowly tried to push his hand away from her. Noticing some space on the other side, she decided to slip and roll. 

But when Julie tried to get away, Roman's hand on her waist pulled her right back at him. He pulled her in a way where she now faced him while lying on her side, and she saw his eyes were still closed. 

"Stay still, Winters."

"You are awake," Julie said her thoughts out loud. 

"Hm. Thanks to you moving," he responded as if he was going back to sleep. 

"You want me to stay like this, while I am awake and you go to sleep?" Julie's eyebrows raised. 

"That's exactly what I want. Feel free to fall asleep," said Roman, placing his chin on the top of her head. 

Julie blinked before ducking her head and moving her head back to take a look at his face. "Did you really wake up now?" she asked him.

Roman opened his eyes, his eyes narrowed, and he replied, "No. I have been awake for a while and have been creepily staring at you. And when you opened your eyes, I closed mine."

A small grin appeared on her lips, "You are so weirdly funny sometimes."

"I can tell the same," stated Roman, and he then asked her, "How do you feel today?"

"Much better. Thank you for staying here the entire night with me," said Julie, looking at him. Even though she had made some friends, Roman had been someone whom she felt she could depend on and lean on. And he had let her do that. 

"Anytime," said Roman, watching her clear brown eyes. 

His hand came to caress the side of her face. Julie felt him lean his face towards her, his eyes falling on her lips. Internally alarmed, she placed her hand on his lips. Even though they had kissed before, and they had slept in the same bed, it didn't mean she wasn't shy about such things. 

"I need to brush and floss my teeth until it is shiny and bright," said Julie, noticing Roman's eyes continue to narrow at her with an unamused expression in them. 

Instead of responding to her words, Roman bit her finger, making her yelp in pain. 

She pulled her hand to her chest, her eyes wide, and she said, "If you are hungry I have chips stashed in the drawer."

Roman's lips twisted in amusement, a hint of mischief appeared in his eyes and less than a second, he hovered above her while her back was pressed on the bed. When her hands moved forward, he caught both of them to press them on either side of the bed. 

Julie felt Roman's forehead touch hers, and he said, "Do you remember what I told you before?" his voice held a slight rasp to it. 

Their position seemed something Julie was not expecting, and her head swirled before she answered, "A lot of things?"

Unimpressed with her answer, Roman leaned to the side of her head, whispering in her ear, "Let us see if this helps," and he bit into the top of her ear lobe. 

A gasp escaped Julie's lips, and the way he held her hands, it only aroused her. She felt him nibble and graze his teeth before taking another bite over the tender area, and blood rushed to the lower side of her body. Her toes curled.

"But it is true, we spoke about a lot of things," Julie's words were quick, feeling the line of pleasure and pain mingle with each other. 

"I know you are smart," said Roman, playing with her ear lobe and somewhere, Julie was worried that it would come off her head. "Your inability to answer is going to make me believe that you are enjoying your little punishment. Hm?" 

"Maybe I would be able to think if you would stop biting me now. You don't watch cannibal movies, do you—Ouch!" Julie felt him bite her ear lobe again. Roman needed food to eat! He was definitely hungry.

Even last time he had told her that she had forgotten something and for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it was. 

"Did you think I would leave without taking a bite or taste after you got me to bed?" That was not the right phrasing! "I can see through your little resistance. That what I say and do affects you. Your heart beat is loud."

Julie murmured, "I can hear that too."

When Roman took another bite, she felt his teeth nip, and she closed her eyes. A shudder ran down her body, and soon the little nip was replaced with him sucking on it. 

Her toes had curled, and she felt the sweet agony leave her when Roman pulled himself back to look at her, where her eyes stared back at him, and her chest heaved for air. 

"I told you not to make me chase you," said Roman, his eyes looking darker. His face was too close to her, his lips hovering in front of her lips. 

Julie's eyes fell on his lips, and she said, "I only told you that I needed to brush."

His hands let go of her hands, and one of his hands came to brush the side of her cheek with the back of his hand before tracing it with his finger. His finger didn't stop there and moved to the column of her neck. Staring at her, he said, "Okay. I will take the kiss later." His thumb came to brush her lower lip, her eyes ready to roll back, but Roman took the precise time to pull away from her, and he climbed out of bed. 

Taking a deep breath to calm her raging nerves that Roman had left in an erratic state, Julie sat up on her bed. She caught Roman picking up his shoes and wearing them one after another, tying the lace while elegantly moving his fingers. Once he was done, he stood up and walked towards the door. 

Before turning the knob of the door, Roman turned and said, "Have lunch with me today. I will save you a seat at the table."

"What about my friends?" asked Julie, not wanting to leave them behind, especially Mel. 

"Bring them along," responded Roman.

When he opened the door, the corridor wasn't clear, as Melanie stood in front of the door with her hand raised as if she was about to knock on the door. Julie wanted to hide her face, while Melanie's eyes widened. 

Roman gave a nod to Melanie and stepped out of the dorm, walking out of the girl's Dormitorium. 

"I-uh, came to check if you are alright," said Melanie, taking a step into the room, "I can tell you are doing great," and she laughed. 

Julie awkwardly smiled and then said, "He came to check on me." 

Melanie nodded her head, "I can tell. Anyways, I am going to the common bathroom. Do you want to come along?"

"Let me get my kit," said Julie, getting out of her bed. 

When the two girls reached the common bathroom, the girls turned to look at Julie in silence. Even the girls who were gossiping had stopped talking. 

Julie had sensed the glares last evening when Roman had carried her to her dorm. Awkwardly she moved towards one of the spare basins. The sudden quietness made even the slightest noise loud enough for everyone to hear. When her eyes fell on the mirror, she caught the reflection of the other girls, one of them being Eleanor. Eleanor looked furious, but she didn't dare to come forward and threaten Julie.

One of the girls in there finally asked, "When did you and Roman start going out?" 

"Is it true that you are the one who asked him out?" asked another girl, who was in freshman year. 

"Did he say yes right away? Because I heard he rejected many girls in the past," came another person's words. Of course, thought Julie to herself. In their eyes, Roman wasn't someone who would ask someone like her to date him. 

Though Julie and Roman hadn't explicitly labelled each other, it seemed like after spending the night together, things weren't the same as they once used to be between them. In the past, Julie had believed that when she would be someone's girlfriend, the person would say 'I love you', but instead, she had received a bite on her ear. 

Needless to say, they were both taken by each other. 

To think that Roman Moltenore had turned to be her boyfriend, she needed some more hours to wrap it around her head. Realizing she had been daydreaming in front of everyone, where some of them were waiting for her to answer their burning questions, Julie softly smiled and said, 

"It just happened." Raising her brush, she said, "Excuse me." 

The girls from freshman year couldn't help but start to chatter more about it. While there were a few who didn't bother with the news, Eleanor, who was holding a toothpaste in her hand, squeezed it before storming out of there, closing the door with a loud bang. 

The thud left silence in the common bathroom for two seconds before the girls continued to chatter. 

When the morning classes finished, Julie and her friends went to the lunchroom. On their way, they met Dennis. 

"Hey, man!" Conner greeted Dennis. "Coming to have lunch?" 

Dennis' eyes fell on Julie, who offered him a smile, and he returned it, which didn't reach up to his eyes. He said, "I have something else to do right now. I will catch up with you guys later." 

Melanie waved her hand and turned to look at Julie, and she said to her, "How much do you want to bet that he saw Roman carrying Julie last evening?" 

"Hundred and one percent," said Conner, who walked between Melanie and Reese. "Even if he didn't see it, word has spread to every student who is interested in the latest news of what is going on in Veteris. Poor guy, even though he's my friend, I must accept that he didn't stand a chance in front of Roman."

"He's skipping lunch for that?" asked Julie, her lips set in a thin line. Wasn't he going to be hungry later? 

Melanie patted Julie's back and said, "I am sure he will eat later. Let's go inside," and they headed inside the building. 

Entering the lunchroom through the double doors, Julie's eyes searched the room before it fell on Roman, who was already sitting at the table with his friends. He was in the middle, talking about something when he turned his gaze in the direction of where she stood. Though there wasn't an apparent smile on his lips, she could sense that her presence in the room made a difference to him. 

Melanie, Conner and Reese went ahead to get their meals while Julie walked to the table where Roman was sitting with his friends. 

On her arrival, Roman took his bag from the chair that was next to him. 

"Good afternoon, Julie. I see you have finally come to join us to have a meal together," said Maximus, where he supported his chin with the edge of his palm. 

"I have," Julie nodded her head. "I hope you don't mind."

"No one will," stated Roman, bringing her attention back to him. 

"Rome is right," replied Maximus, "You are now officially part of the group," he grinned.

Olivia offered Julie a smile, which she politely returned. Simon waved at her, while Victoria didn't look at her and stared at the table. 

Roman pulled the chair next to him for Julie and Simon, who was drinking something, started to cough at sight before clearing his throat as the juice he had been drinking had gone in the wrong pipe. Julie's cheeks tinted pink, and she sat down on the chair.

"How were your classes?" inquired Roman, giving all his attention. 

"It was good. How was yours?" 

"I guess it was good. I slept well the entire three clases," responded Roman, his eyes shifting to look at her ear that he had bit this morning. Without hesitation, his hand reached for it, and it startled Julie. "It has turned pink."

Of course, it did! You bit it, said Julie in her mind. She hoped he wouldn't mention too much about it in front of his friends because she doubted she would be able to sit at the table without an embarrassed expression on her face. 

Roman's finger brushed her ear, which was when he heard her intake of breath. His fangs appeared behind his closed mouth. His jaws clenched before he took his hand back to his side. Dropping his hand, he asked, "Have you decided on what you want to eat?" 

"The regular things," and Julie got up, ready to go and get her meal. 

"Let me come with you. I need to get my coke can," said Roman, standing up with her. 

Julie looked at everyone at the table, noticing the meal trays in front of them while they had similar looking cold drinks next to them. So it was just Roman who didn't eat much, she thought in her head. 

When they left, Olivia asked the others in the group, "How long do you think it is going to be until she suspects something to be wrong?"

"Rome is meticulous about those things," hummed Maximus, "So maybe never, which is a good option for her. There are some of our kind who have been in a relationship with humans. But then that was unless they turned into a meal."

"All of you are forgetting something," said Simon, drinking his strawberry milkshake with the straw. "The top most reputation Rome holds highest isn't just getting into fights. But there's something else too." 

"His thirst to consume blood," muttered Olivia. 

Reaching the counter, Julie said the person behind the counter on what she wanted and received her meal. She saw Roman raise his hand, and the man immediately went to one of the fridges and got a coke can for Roman. Considering that he didn't eat anything, it was apparent to the man behind the counter that Roman didn't order anything apart from the coke cans. 

"You aren't going to have yours?" asked Julie, watching him take the can. 

Turning to her, Roman said, "I will eat something later if I am hungry." 

That sounded fair, thought Julie, and they made their way back to the table. When she sat down, placing her meal on the table, she noticed her friends had already joined the table and begun eating. She was glad that even though Roman had pulled the chair for her, he didn't take her tray to hold. He sat next to her, his back leaned against the chair, giving her the space without hovering over her when she was eating. 

"You would think you would be able to trust him with the play, but he's turned us into his little puppets," said Simon with a grim expression. 

"I think we are all happy that we ended up in Piper's play. As strange as her scripts are, at least we don't have to wear heavy wigs. I think compared to anyone, you are enjoying Evans time the most," Olivia took a bite from her bowl of pasta. "To be frank, I cannot wait to see you both on the stage."

Victoria sighed, muttering under her breath, "Don't come. It isn't worth it."

"What are you telling, Tori? I will be your number one supporter, cheering for you from the front side of the crowd," Maximus promised, which ended up with him receiving a glare from the girl. 

Conner said, "That only reminds me that the Fall Annual is less than two weeks away and I haven't finished working on the statue that I am supposed to display." 

"We should probably stay back in the evening and finish it," suggested Reese, and Conner nodded at her in agreement. 

From what Julie had heard before, the Fall Annual celebration of Veteris would be held for four days which would start from Monday and come to an end on Thursday night. In those four days, two groups of the theatrical play were scheduled to showcase on the first day, and the other two groups would occupy the next evening. On the third day, the football match between the Hawks and the Ravens. And on the last day, they would have a music festival. 

Apart from the main events, there were smaller events where the students of different majors would be bringing their work forward. While also showing hobbies. Not to mention, Julie was looking forward to the horror house that was right now under preparation. 

Once she was done having her meal and it was time to return to the classes, Julie turned to Roman and asked him, 

"Are you going to attend the next classes?" It was because there was only ten minutes left and all his friends seemed to not be in the mood to get up and continued to sit at the table.

"I have something else to do," Roman let her know, watching her brown eyes staring at him. Unable to help himself, his hand went to place on the side of her head, gently patting it, and he said, "I will see you in the evening."

Julie was not used to Roman's display of affections in public. The cold and distant person had turned warm, and she didn't know how to react to it, especially when many people were looking at them. She gave a nod to him. 

"Okay. I will see you in the evening," replied Julie. 

"One moment," said Roman. Before she would get up from her seat, he leaned forward. With his hand still on her head, he pressed his lips on her cheek. 

And at that moment, everything faded, and all she felt was him. When she inhaled the air so that she didn't panic with the many eyes, who caught what Roman did, she inhaled the scent of his cologne. As he pulled away from her, Julie felt his sinful lips smile. He whispered, 

"I did tell I would take it later. Go to your class, lest you want to skip it."

Julie didn't look at anyone at the table or in the lunchroom. Picking up her bag, she quickly scurried away from there, where her friends quickly followed her as they had to attend classes too. 

In the evening, when Julie met Roman to practice Ms. Piper's play, she kept one foot distance between them, and Roman raised his eyebrows, "What is with this ridiculous space?"

"It is precaution so that you don't try to kiss me in front of everyone," said Julie in a low voice, looking down at her manuscript. 

"You do know if I want to kiss you, I would find a way for it to happen," commented Roman, looking at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Did it surprise you this afternoon?"

"It gave me a heart attack," muttered Julie, lifting her gaze from the manuscript, she looked at Roman, who stared at her. "I thought we agreed that we would take it slow. If you make such surprising attacks, it's going to make me want to run away."

"Don't worry. I will catch you in no time and bring you back to me," said Roman, chewing his gum. A subtle smirk appeared on his lips when Julie brought the papers in front of her to hide her face. 

The rehearsals for the play went smoothly, and it was after a very long time, people did not make fun of her or bother her. Earlier that day, even the students from her class or here in this room had left her alone since they had heard about her being with Roman. 

When the rehearsals were finished, Julie stood outside the room, talking to one of the female students about the scenes they had enacted, when she heard a whisper of chanting reaching her ears. With a small frown, she turned back to see where it was coming from.

"That's so strange, who is chanting at this hour of the time," asked Julie, turning back to look at the girl, who looked behind her. 

"What?" the girl in front of her asked, unable to hear what Julie heard. She then said, "I will see you in the next rehearsal, Julianne," and excused herself to go from there. 

The whispering continued, and unable to ignore it, Julie left the front side of the rehearsal room and started to walk, following the whispers in a language that she didn't know of. She walked through the corridors, stepping outside, her feet headed in the direction of where the library was located. When she stepped closer to the building, the paint on the building seemed different. Even the atmosphere seemed to have changed, and it made her doubt if she was dreaming. 

Julie stepped in front of the building's entrance, where the doors were wide open on the side she stood and the one on the opposite side of the floor, which was supposed to be nothing but a wall from what she remembered. There were no racks, no books, no students or desks in there.

Instead, she was greeted by people who wore long black cloaks. There were at least nine of them, and the whispering in the air continued—a person lying on the floor, surrounded by the cloaked people. She couldn't see the face, but she noticed blood. 

"Kill him," ordered one of the people, and Julie's eyes widened in shock. 

She saw one of the members step forward, raising a hand that held a knife. When the knife neared the person, Julie tried to scream to stop them, but right at that moment, someone put their hand over her mouth. She saw one of the cloaked people look in the direction where she stood. 

"Shh, it's okay. You are safe," said Roman, bringing her near him while noticing the way Julie's heart rapidly beating in fear. 

Julie's vision turned back to normal, and she saw students. Students walked in and out of the building. Roman caught Julie's hand and pulled her away from there to walk to a quieter place. And the only quiet place was the forest. They walked past the trees while Julie tried to comprehend what she saw. 

When they reached an isolated place, Julie clutched the sides of her sweater, "I am seeing and dreaming things. Strange things," a frown on her face. "Do you think I should visit the counsellor?"

"Tell me what you saw," said Roman, noticing her biting her inner cheek in worry. 

"You will think I am going crazy," replied Julie, feeling a little jittery. 

"We are all, half or fully insane in Veteris. I promise to not judge you," he gave his word to her, the look in his eyes serious. 

Julie looked around the place, where they were surrounded by nothing but quietness. The image of the creepy people in the library flashed in front of her. Roman watched her, giving her the time she needed to process what she saw. 

After a few seconds she turned to look at him, and said,

"I don't think I fell sick yesterday because of my wet hair. I think I unconsciously travelled to some place very very cold in my dream. I saw the bridge in Willow Creek, the one that showed up that day. I tried to walk across it, but I fell," she wrung her hand, trying to make sure it made sense. Without looking at Roman, she then said, "And… this isn't the first time I have seen something in the library. The first month I was here, I saw something similar, and today seemed to be a continuation of it."

"What was it about?" questioned Roman, his eyes narrowed because he had his own doubts about what she saw. 

"They were people in cloaks. Black cloaks and I heard these whisperings, but I didn't see their lips move. Didn't see their face as it was covered from the top," explained Julie, worry marred on her face. "I think they were trying to kill someone. Or killed."

Roman's eyes narrowed even further, staring at Julie. 

Before Roman or Julie could say something, they heard a snap in the tree, and someone fell on the ground. Julie looked up and down, watching the boy stand straight, and when she saw the face, her eyes widened.

"Caleb?" Julie whispered. What was he doing in the tree?

Instead of looking hurt, Caleb stared at Julie with joy. He turned to look at Roman and said, "Looks like we hit gold, buddy. Let's share the news together."

Roman's hand clenched. It seemed like he had missed to notice certain people in Veteris. For Caleb to sit on the tree and speak about informing Dante or others about Julie, it only confirmed that he was a morm. A morm was a vampire without fangs and features like regular vampires and had the strength of humans. This did not look good. 

Julie looked confused. Slightly alarmed, she asked, "What news?" Was he planning to tell everyone that she was crazy and needed to be admitted to the hospital?!

Roman's eyes hardened at the boy's words. Caleb could open his mouth with the thought that there was nothing to lose because Julie would be handed to the people who managed Veteris. 

Roman turned to look at Julie and asked her, "Do you want everyone to know about it?" 

Caleb turned to look at both of them suspiciously. He then said, 

"Oh, no no! Just because something is going on between you two doesn't mean, you can keep it a secret and I can't get the fruits from it. It is time for me to shine," laughed Caleb, and he started to run from there. 

Roman tilted his head, waiting for Julie, and she said, "I don't." 

He offered her an assuring smile and said, "Give me a moment. I will be back." 

The morm creature continued to run, nearing the edge of the forest and seeing light, he smiled. But the smile was short lived when a hand pulled him back by holding the back collar of Caleb's shirt. 

"We could have sat down and calmly discussed this," remarked Roman, not letting go of Caleb, who struggled to escape. 

"Fucker! You and calm, don't exist together!" snapped Caleb. "You are fucking screwed this time! Get off of me." 

"Good luck with that," stated Roman, turning Caleb to face him, "You must have forgotten that I am a vampire, while you are a morm. Nothing less to a silly human."

Caleb's eyes widened, realizing he had failed to take note of it in his excitement. Roman raised his hand, and punched square into the boy's face, and Caleb passed out on the forest ground. 

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Next chapter is available for read~