3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Julian
“Mom, can you try to hurry up? Pleeeeease!” I’m not usually so impatient, but I’ve been looking forward to today all week.
Zander is coming for a sleepover, it’s the first time he will actually stay overnight, and I want everything to be perfect.
I’ve been up since before the sun, making sure my room was tidy and setting up the blow-up bed beside mine.
I chose the best pillows and even put my blanket on his bed; it’s Charizard, so I know he’s going to love it.
“Julian, we’re picking him up at ten; it’s now nine-fifteen. He only lives five minutes away, so I think I can have my coffee and still make it on time.”
“Bu-but what if there’s traffic?”
“It’s Saturday, honey. Most people will still be at home,” she says as she blows the steam across the top of her cup.
“Well, what if… What if the car doesn’t start?” I think I’m starting to annoy my Mom, but I like to be prepared. If the car doesn’t start, the five-minute drive will turn into a twenty-five-minute walk.
“When has the car ever not started?” She raises her eyebrow at me over the top of her glasses.
“Well… never, I s’pose.” She got me there.
I guess I’ll get my shoes on whilst she finishes her drink, that way, we can get straight in the car and pick up Zander.
I’m bursting with excitement at the idea of spending the whole day and night together.
It won’t be like it is at school, where people constantly watch us or interrupt our games.
We can just do whatever we want, however we want.
I grab my shoes from the cupboard and sit on the bottom step.
Our house isn’t big, by any means. It’s a simple ‘two-up-two-down.’ Mom always says it’s plenty big enough for us, though.
I agree. I kind of like knowing that she’s only on the other side of the paper-thin walls, especially when I have a bad dream.
I slide my foot into one shoe, then pause to look at the other. They’re completely different from each other; the reason makes me smile.
“Right, are we re–” Mom stops mid-sentence when she notices the shoe in my hand. “Where’d that come from?”
“It’s Zander’s, he swapped a shoe with me when I couldn’t keep up with the rest of the class in P.E.
He said it wasn’t because I was slow, it was because of the shoes I was wearing.
So he told me to swap one of mine for one of his, that way we would both run as fast as each other.
” And he was right; for the rest of the run, he was by my side.
Mom smiles, and it makes me like Zander even more, knowing that he can make my Mom just as happy as I can.
“Ok, let’s go pick him up; it doesn’t matter if we’re a little bit early, I suppose,” She winks and turns to grab her keys from the tray. Before she has the chance to turn back around, I’m already outside and tugging on the handle of the car.
Mom waits at the end of the drive. She said I could go and knock on the door to let him know we were here. I made sure to knock really loudly, because I didn’t want Zander to think we forgot about him.
“Pssst!” The noise is coming from the sky, but it doesn’t sound like a bird. Weird.
“Up here!” I look up, trying to find where the voice is coming from, when I see Zander hanging his upper body out of the upstairs window.
“What are you doing?! You’re going to fall!” My voice is wobbly and high-pitched at the thought of my best friend falling from the second floor.
“I’ll be down in a sec, I just need to find the keys first. Go wait in the car for me,” he says, calmly.
“Wait, where’s your–” I was about to ask where his dad was, but he was already gone. I do as he told me to and make my way back to the car, feeling worried, but I don’t understand why.
“Hey, where’s Zander?” Mom asks as I slide into the back seat, alone.
“He’ll be out in a sec, he said he just needs to find the key,” I’m speaking to her, but watching for movement at the door.
“Hm. Is his dad not home?”
“I dunno, he didn’t say.” Just as she opens her mouth to reply, the car door opens and Zander slides in. He’s out of breath but wearing my favourite smile.
“Hey, Miss James. Thanks for picking me up.”
“No problem, honey. Julian said you needed to find the key. Is your dad not home?” Mom replies, moving the car away from the curb, but eyeing him through the mirror.
“Oh, yeah, he’s home. He’s still asleep, though. I don’t think he’s feeling too well, flu or somethin’,” Zander shrugs it off.
“Have you had any breakfast?”
“Umm, n-no. But it’s okay, I’m not that hungry.”
“Nonsense, breakfast is the most important meal of the day for young men like you two. What do you say we go to the cafe, Jules?” Her use of my nickname makes me cringe. I was hoping she wouldn’t call me it in front of him; it sounds so girly and silly.
“Yeah, sounds good.” I keep my eyes down, but I can feel Zander staring straight at me.
There's a tug on the sleeve of my jacket, then another. Don’t look at him.
He pulls harder this time, and before I have a chance to pull my arm back, he grabs my hand, entwining his fingers with mine.
My eyes instantly find his across the car, and I’m met with the gentle smile I’ve never seen him use with anyone else.
“Better?” He asks, quietly. I don’t answer; I just look at where our hands lie on the seat between us and smile.
We ordered a selection of everything from the breakfast menu at the cafe.
Zander wouldn’t admit he was hungry, even though we could all hear his tummy gurgling at the smell of freshly cooked bacon.
We talked about school as we dug into the feast in front of us.
We all used our fingers to pick up bits of food, even Mom; it was the best morning ever.
We scooted out of the little booth, ready to leave, when Mom looked down at Zander’s shoes– He was wearing the same as me, one of his, and one of mine.
“Jules told me that you gave him one of your shoes so he could run as fast as you. You’re such a smart and kind young man.
Your father must be so proud of you.” She gave the top of his arm a gentle and reassuring squeeze, and I could swear I saw something like pain flash across his face.
But as quickly as it came, it was gone again; maybe I imagined it.
Zander didn’t say anything in return; he just gave her a small smile, nodded his head, and looked at his feet.
“I only have one rule for you two, but it’s very important, so I want you to listen carefully, okay?” We skid to a stop in the hallway, our socks sliding along the hardwood floor, and our arms waving for balance.
“I promise we won’t be too loud–” I say, turning toward the stairs again.
“Ah! That’s not what I was going to say.” Come onnnnn, I wanna show Zander my room!
“Mommm,” I whine. She laughs and shakes her head, crouching so she’s now shorter than both of us.
“Okay, are your ears open?” She looks at me, then at Zander, waiting for a sign that we heard her. My body is bouncing on the spot, needing her to speed it along.
“Yes, Miss James,” Zander replies politely.
“Yes, Mom,” I tell myself not to roll my eyes, because I know it’s really rude.
“Right then. The rule I have is extremely important. If you don’t obey the rule, then I’m afraid there can be no more sleepovers…” Oh, this is serious.
“My one and only rule is… You have to have the most fun you can!” I can’t help but throw my arms around her neck and squeeze tight, as we tumble to the floor laughing. She’s the best Mom in the whole world, and suddenly, the nickname doesn’t matter anymore.
“Your Mom is the coolest, like, ever,” Zander says, as we reach my bedroom.
“Yeah, she is. She thinks you’re cool, too.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“Why would she think I’m cool?” He asks in a way that tells me he thinks he’s anything but.
“Well, probably because I always tell her about you, well… I mean us, obviously. She knows how much you make me laugh, and when you hold my hand, it makes me feel better.” My cheeks are burning.
I feel silly admitting all of that to him, but he just tilts his head to the side, listening like he’s learning something new and interesting with every word.
We spent the entire day watching cartoons, building blanket forts, and playing with all the toys from my toy box.
“Are these walkie-talkies?!” Zander’s face lights up with excitement as he twists dials and pushes buttons. “Hello? 1...2…Over.” The radio in his other hand echoes his words as he jumps to his feet. “Do you know what this means?!”
“Umm…” He puts them down and grabs me by the shoulders; his eyes are wide and wild, full of wonder.
“It means we can talk to each other even when we aren’t together.” This might just be the best day of my life.
Mom comes in and tells us it’s time to brush our teeth and change into our pyjamas. If she notices the mess in my room, she doesn’t say anything; she just offers us both a little gift bag. It’s not my birthday, and it’s definitely not Christmas, but I’ll never turn down a gift.
“I hope you’ve both had an amazing day. I’m so glad you have each other.
Sweet dreams and sleep well.” We both say goodnight and give her our best smiles as she leaves the room, closing the door behind her.
Zander is staring down at the bag in his hands, the sadness in his eyes confuses me.
Gifts usually make everyone happy, right?
He looks over at the bag in my hands, waiting for me to open mine first.
“Let’s open them together?” He gulps loudly, like he’s nervous about what’s inside, but nods his head anyway. “1…2…3…OPEN!”
We pull apart the bags at the same time and peek inside.
Folded neatly, there’s a set of new pyjamas, matching, with Snorlax, the sleepy Pokémon on the front.
Zander snorts out a laugh and holds them against his body when something drops to the floor.
I unfold my own, feeling something hard in the middle.
“No… Way…” He says, picking up a foil package from the floor.
I shake my own pj’s to free the bundle nestled inside.
I almost squeal with joy at the sight of the newest set of Pokémon cards Mom had hidden inside.
Zander grabs my hand and pulls us both down onto the air-bed, bouncing a few times as we land. She definitely is the coolest ever.
After tearing through our packs, we strip out of our day clothes, eager to get into our matching sleepwear, when I notice something dark wrapping around Zander’s upper arm. At first, it looks like shadows, until I see more and more scattered down his side and across his stomach.
“Why have you got bruises, like, everywhere?” I ask, my stomach tightening while I wait for his answer. The excitement falls from his face instantly, his body freezing at my words. “What happened?”
“What? Nothing happened. It’s from the other day, y’know, with Harry.” He’s lying. Harry didn’t get the chance to put a single finger on him, a fact I remember because of how proud I was to have such a badass best friend.
“But–”
“It’s nothing, they don’t hurt, so let’s just forget about it… Please?” I don’t know how he expects me to forget it, but for tonight, I’ll try. I don’t want him to leave. I never want him to leave.
Zander goes quiet and settles into the makeshift bed, thumbing through his cards over and over. He studies each one in awe, before starting back at the beginning.
“Night, Zander,” I force myself to say something, but that's all I’ve got at the moment.
“Night, Jules.” I flick off the lamp and settle on my back, but I know I won’t sleep easily tonight.
I toss and turn for what feels like forever, listening to the quiet of the room.
The feeling of something warm slides across my palm and between my fingers.
I instantly recognise it as the comfort of my best friend’s hand resting in mine.
“I’m okay, Jules. This has been the best day of my life,” he whispers, giving one gentle squeeze. I squeeze back, swallowing down the tears, as the images of his bruised body rise to the surface.
“You’re my best friend, Zan.”
He responds with a simple, yet meaningful – “Always.”