Chapter Thirteen. Julian #2
Yadriel didn’t just make Rio calmer—he made Julian calmer. Having him around was like turning down the volume on all the noise in his head. Not to mention, Rio actually listened to Yadriel. Trusted him. Sometimes Julian wished that kind of calm could rub off on him like secondhand sainthood.
“I don’t know about all that,” Yadriel said, his ears turning pink.
“Maritza, you in?” Julian asked.
She shook her head, packing up the remnants of her lunch. “Can’t. I have plans.”
Both boys blinked at her.
“What?” she said defensively. “I have friends other than you two, okay?”
“Since when?” Julian asked, genuinely baffled.
“Oh my gods, rude!” Maritza shot back, scowling at him. “Do you think I just sit around waiting for you two knuckleheads to entertain me? I have a life!”
“What, do you go hang out with the stray cats behind your house?” Julian teased with a grin.
“Those cats are cooler than you,” she said, deadpan.
Julian cackled. “Okay, that’s fair.”
“Let her hang out with her cats, Jules,” Yadriel said, giving him a reassuring pat on his arm. “We’ll handle Rio.”
Julian flashed finger guns. “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Maritza groaned. “You two are so cheesy it physically pains me.” She slung her backpack over one shoulder and stood up. “Try not to get grounded for the rest of eternity, Jules. I’d hate to have to visit you at potato camp!”
“It’s not a real thing!” Julian called after her as she walked away, her laughter echoing back to them.
Yadriel smiled at Julian, shaking his head. “You ready to survive the rest of the day?”
Julian grinned back, his earlier worries easing just a little. “With you here? I’ve got a shot.”
After school, Julian and Yadriel walked side by side to the apartment. The Stingray was parked out front, but it wasn’t the car that caught Julian’s attention—it was the figure leaning against the hood.
Angel.
They looked restless, one boot scuffing the asphalt, arms folded too tightly to be casual. Their sharp golden eyes flicked up the moment they spotted Julian and Yadriel.
“Finally,” Angel called, smirking—but the edge was too sharp, like it had been honed over anxiety. They exhaled a nervous laugh. “I was starting to think you ghosted me.”
Julian winced. He hadn’t responded to their last few texts and after the spirit release—after that scream—he hadn’t even checked in. Not because he didn’t want to. Because he didn’t know how.
The image of Angel’s obsidian blade still lived somewhere behind his eyes. That green light. That sound.
And the girl.
Julian forced a smile, the kind that felt too tight in the corners. “Nah. Nothing like that!” he said, trying to keep his tone light. “I like hanging out with you.”
Even if lately, it scared the hell out of him.
Before the moment could spiral, Yadriel stepped in with a quick, reassuring smile. “Julian doesn’t ghost people. He just forgets to text back.”
Angel’s smirk faltered into something almost relieved, then shuttered. Julian couldn’t read them. He wasn’t sure he wanted to try right now.
“Come on,” Yadriel said, leading the way to the stairs. “It’s warmer inside, and Rio probably already burned the spaghetti.”
Angel hummed, falling into step with Yadriel.
Julian followed, guilt needling the back of his throat. He’d asked Angel for help, then vanished the moment things got dicey. And now? He wasn’t even sure what he felt. Angel unsettled him. Angel had helped him. Angel scared him.
And yet, here they were—walking into the warmth of his home like everything was fine.
As they reached the apartment door, Julian paused for a beat.
This wasn’t just about placating Rio or hanging out. It was about showing his friends he hadn’t forgotten them. He’d been messing up, disappearing. But not this night. This night, he was showing up.
He turned to Yadriel, squaring his shoulders a little. “Time to prove I’m not the worst friend in the world,” he said, forcing a grin.
The apartment was chaos, as usual.
Omar lounged in the recliner with an ancient car magazine from the shop, Rocky and Flaca argued over the playlist coming from her phone, and Luca sat cross-legged on the floor, scribbling in his notebook.
The smell of burnt tomato sauce wafted from the kitchen, where Rio stood over the stove. A bag of frozen meatballs lay ripped open on the counter, evidence of Rio’s idea of “homemade.”
“Hey, y’all, I brought guests!” Julian said, plastering on a smile as he kicked off his shoes and gestured for Yadriel and Angel to follow him in.
“Look who decided to grace us with his presence,” Omar said without looking up from his magazine as he angrily flipped a page.
“Miracle, right?” Julian joked.
Rocky glanced up, eyebrows lifting at the sight of Yadriel. “Hey, Yadriel.”
“Hi,” he said politely, offering a small wave before nudging Julian with his elbow. “Looks like a full house.”
“It’s always a full house,” Julian replied, though a genuine warmth crept into his voice. That was just the way he liked it.
Angel lingered near the door, arms still crossed, eyes flicking around as if they were mapping exits. Julian caught it, and so did Yadriel. They exchanged a quick glance.
Now Julian felt like a total asshole for thinking harshly of Angel. Not only were they trying to help Julian, they were on their own and clearly wanted to fit in with this group. If they kept coming back, that meant they cared, right?
Julian inwardly shook his head at himself. Regardless of what might be true or what Maritza suspected, he wasn’t going to give Angel the cold shoulder.
“Wanna play Mario Kart?” Julian asked Angel, jerking his chin to try to coax them inside. If there was one thing that could bring this group together, it was arguing over a video game. He looked around at the others. “Throwdown style?”
Rocky perked up. “Only if you’re ready to get smoked,” she replied with a grin. Save for Julian, she was the most competitive in the group.
Julian clapped once, way too loud. “I’m about to mop the floor with all of you!”
“In your dreams,” Rocky shot back, already grabbing a controller.
“Nightmares, actually,” Omar said, smirking. “For you.”
They all scrambled to the dusty TV stand where the old console sat like a relic from a bygone era. Controllers were seized with the reverence of knights claiming their swords, each one a patchwork of makeshift repairs, electrical tape clinging to life on frayed wires.
“Here! You can take this one,” Julian said, snagging the least-damaged controller for Angel to take.
Angel hesitated momentarily before picking it up, their fingers tracing over the faded buttons as if committing them to memory.
“Man, this is the worst one!” Omar complained, examining the cracked plastic of the controller he got stuck with as if it might bite. “It’s like holding on to a cactus.”
“Adds character, man!” Julian laughed, settling onto the worn couch, knees bouncing with restless energy.
“Character and tetanus,” Omar scoffed, but Julian could tell he was excited to play. Omar loved playing video games, even if he complained.
The group dissolved into more bickering and chatter as they set up the game. Julian turned to find Yadriel grinning at him.
“You care about them a lot, huh?” Yadriel asked quietly.
Julian laughed. “Well, yeah,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Everyone’s at least a little in love with their best friends.”
Yadriel deadpanned, “My best friend is my cousin.”
Julian huffed, rolling his eyes. “You know what I mean!”
“Sure,” Yadriel said, biting back a grin. “Whatever you say, Romeo.”
Luca put down his notebook and took a seat on the floor. “Can we do Rainbow Road?”
“Only if you hate happiness,” Rocky replied, already selecting her kart.
Julian let out a shaky breath, trying to settle into the noise.
Beside him, Yadriel leaned in and bumped his shoulder. “Relax,” he murmured, low enough only Julian could hear.
Angel caught the exchange with an amused smirk and raised a brow. Julian rolled his eyes at them in response.
Rocky clicked her controller impatiently. “Let’s go, Jules! We don’t have all day!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Julian muttered, grabbing his own controller. “I’m about to school you all, just watch.”
“You’re about to get last place again,” Omar teased.
“Not this time!” Julian declared, though his voice lacked some of his usual bravado.
The match started. Familiar music filled the room, and so did laughter. Trash talk bounced between them like a Ping-Pong ball—Rocky yelling about blue shells, Omar calling his controller cursed, Flaca threatening to ban Luca from Rainbow Road forever if he knocked the console loose again.
It felt good. For once, everything felt normal. Like the heaviness of the day, the malignos, and the dark spots hadn’t cracked their way into his life. In this moment, surrounded by laughter, it was easy to pretend everything was fine.
But normal never lasted long.
Yadriel’s phone buzzed, pulling them back into reality. A message from his dad:
Be outside in five minutes.
“Gotta go,” Yadriel announced, pushing off the couch as Angel stood to follow. Julian glanced up, surprised.
“You both heading out?” he asked, grabbing his hoodie from the arm of the couch.
“Yeah,” Angel replied, stuffing their hands into their pockets and shifting their weight like they were trying to look casual. “I’ve got some business to deal with tonight.” They avoided Julian’s gaze, though the tension in their shoulders told him they were anything but relaxed.
Julian frowned slightly but let it slide. “I’ll walk you guys,” he offered.
The air outside was crisp as the three of them made their way down the steps to the mechanic shop. The sky was painted in an orange haze, the last dregs of twilight fading into night.
Yadriel glanced at the road, searching for his dad’s car, while Angel lingered nearby.
“So,” Julian said to Yadriel, rocking back on his heels. “The Chosen One gets a chauffeur tonight, huh? Big-time perks.” He shot his boyfriend a teasing grin, trying to chase away the strange energy lingering around Angel.