Devil May Love

Jullien sat on the couch, staring at the television screen but not seeing anything. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the arm of the couch, and his leg bounced rapidly. He was waiting. Waiting for... well, he didn't really know. He'd felt apprehensive all day, like something big was going to happen. It was Saturday and Judy had planned a movie night tonight, but since their argument neither had spoken to the other. He had no idea if she would be coming over or not. But that wasn't what he was waiting for. He wished she was there... He could always talk to her... Jullien forced himself to stop the tapping and bouncing and stood up. He paced a few times, then grew annoyed with that too. He flopped hard back down on the couch, sighing.

"I give up," he muttered, reaching for the phone and dialing Judy's cell phone number. It rang four times before she answered it.

"I only took this call because I know you'd just let it ring forever," she greeted. She didn't sound as angry as her words seemed.

Jullien smiled. "You know me too well. Judy, listen... I'm sorry okay? I shouldn't have yelled at you for being worried about me."

Judy sighed. "Yeah, and I shouldn't have gotten so snappy. I probably am just jealous." Another sigh. "So this is behind us now?"

"Yes, thank God, because I need you right now!" Jullien's voice took on a pleading tone and he clutched the phone harder. "I'm a nervous fuckin' wreck."

"Why?"

"I dunno," Jullien whined pitifully. "Come keep me sane?"

Judy laughed. "What would you do without me, huh? Besides go insane, that is. All right, all right... I'll be over in a few minutes. I went out and rented some movies for tonight earlier today. I was planning on coming over and apologizing but you beat me to it."

"Is that why you didn't want to answer the phone?"

"Maaayybe," Judy drawled. "Want me to bring over something to eat? Ma just gave me the money for this week. I was thinking pizza."

"Sounds good to me." Jullien was feeling a little better knowing she wasn't angry and that she was coming over. She always had a way of making him feel better, no matter how low he sank. She would exhaust herself making sure he would be okay. "The door will be open so just come on in."

"M'kay. See ya, Jules!" Judy hung up right away, not giving him time to respond. Smiling and feeling quite a bit better, Jullien replaced the phone on the hook and made his way to his bedroom. He hadn't changed out of his work clothes since he'd gotten home and he really just wanted to lounge around the house in something comfortable. After digging through his dresser he finally pulled out an old pair of gray sweatpants. The drawstring that was supposed to be in them had disappeared, causing the pants to hang low and loose on his hips. Judy quite enjoyed it when he wore those pants, especially considering his dislike for underwear. Discarding his work shirt in the dirty clothes pile in the corner of his room, Jullien began running a brush through his hair. After a quick makeup check, Jullien kissed at his reflection happily. He went into the kitchen next, grabbing a liter bottle of Pepsi and two glasses. He took them into the living room, setting them down on the coffee table.

The magazine there caught his attention. He needed to write on his article soon... Once a month, Jullien wrote an article for a Gay/Lesbian/Transgender magazine based in Boston. He hadn't even started on the new one and it would be due in two weeks. Grabbing the pad of paper and pen he kept stashed in a drawer, Jullien brainstormed topics. He tapped the pen against his chin for a few minutes.

"I did safety in clubs already... and I did coming out last month," Jullien muttered to himself. He hated to admit it, but it was getting harder and harder to come up with ideas each month. While at first he had been bursting with ideas and would debate which to do, he'd seemed to have exhausted his resources.

The door opened and a stack of pizza boxes and bag of DVDs shuffled into the living room, then kicked the door closed. "I got a large pepperoni and ham for you and a large olive and ham for me. Oh, and some cheese sticks too. Told em to give us extra sauce for the sticks so you can dip your pizza in it." The bundle was dropped on the coffee table, and Judy's face finally poked up over it. "Oooooh," she said taking notice of his clothes. "Sizzlin' Jullien." She winked at him, moving quickly around the table and plopping down in his lap.

"Hi, Judy."

"Hi. So, ah, you sure you're still gay?" She slid her arms around his shoulders and hugged him close.

Laughing, Jullien hugged her back. "Yeah, I'm sure. What movies did you bring?"

Judy didn't miss a beat as she hopped back up, grabbing the bag of movies and sitting down beside Jullien. "I picked up Pirates of the Caribbean, The Grudge, Princess Bride, and The Fast and the Furious. Oh, and Blue Crush for me later on." She winked at Jullien, setting the movie aside. He knew she had a huge thing for the actress Michelle Rodriguez. That was one of the main reasons she was so drawn to the rough and tumble bar tender Kitsune. Kitsune even looked a little like Michelle, something that had not slipped Judy's attention. "So, what do you want to watch first?"

Jullien turned, pulling his leg up onto the couch and facing Judy. "Which one's got the cutest guys in it?"

After a quick debate on whether Wesley, Jack Sparrow, or Vin Diesel was hotter, they were sitting back watching Pirates of the Caribbean. Both decided men in eyeliner were by far the hottest. A few hours, two pizzas, and a movie later, Judy was fighting to stay awake, her head resting on Jullien's leg. Jullien himself was starting to drift off when the phone rang.

"Oh my god, its him," Jullien shouted, jumping off the couch without giving Judy time to move. She toppled down to the floor, barely missing the coffee table. Jullien snatched the phone up. "Hello? Gaibriel?"

"Hi, Mr. Landau? This is the Sun Wire Phone company and we would like for you to take a moment of your time to compare long distance services."

Jullien slammed the phone back down angrily, muttering about telemarketers. Noticing Judy still sitting on the floor and glaring daggers, Jullien dashed over to her and helped her up again. "Oh my god, Judy, I'm so sorry," he gushed, brushing invisible dust off her clothes. "I really didn't mean to! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she snapped, pushing his hands away. "You on the other hand need a fucking check up from the neck up. Seriously."

Jullien dropped his head. "I know... I guess I was waiting for him to call, you know? That's prolly why I've been so out of it today. Stupid me, I didn't even realize it."

Judy shook her head. "Do you see now? This is not something you need to be involved in. Do you really expect him to call you?"

Honestly, Jullien didn't know the answer to that. Shrugging, he sat back on the couch. "I don't know... I don't know anything when it comes to this kid until it slaps me in the face."

"Listen, you need to get your mind off all this. Let's go to the club Friday and I'll hook you up with the sweetest piece of ass in there. Okay? And while you're shagging that, I'll try to talk to Kitsune again. Or be watching you guys through a peep hole." She winked at him and nudged him with her elbow. "Come on, just forget it okay? If he calls, then you can stress. Until then, just relax."

Jullien sighed, then turned his head to smile at Judy. "Thanks, hon... You're really a great friend you know that right?"

She returned his smile. "Nah, I'm just a good fag hag. No one likes their gay boy down in the dumps."

Jullien smiled and they returned to watching the end of their last movie. They'd saved The Princess Bride for last, it being an old favorite of both of their's. When it was finally off, Jullien slipped out from under Judy's head. She had been asleep for most of the movie and Jullien didn't have the heart to wake her up. Grabbing a blanket and extra pillow from his room, he lifted her head just enough to slide the pillow under it and laid the blanket across her. Turning the lights and television off, he made his way to his own bed and for the first time in a week, managed to fall asleep with no trouble.

----

His bed dipped softly behind him and a warm body slid under the covers, curling at his back. Still half asleep, Jullien sighed happily and leaned into the warm without question. A slender arm slid under his arm and around his waist, hugging him for a moment, then resting there. He could feel the steady warmth of breath on the back of his neck. It caused goosebumps to raise on his neck, slowly waking him up. He laid like that for a few minutes before his mind starting asking questions. He hadn't went clubbing last night… in fact, it was the middle of the week. He never brought people home during the week.

Jullien jumped out of bed and whirled around. Judy smiled up at him, her eyes sleepy and her hair all over the place. "Juuuudy," he drawled. "What are you doing in my bed? And what time is it?" He yawned, stretched, scratched a little and sat back down on the side of the bed.

Judy was giggling. "I guess all guys scratch their asses when they first wake up," she said. "And its half past eight. I was going to make breakfast but your fridge is empty. So we're going out!" She hopped out of bed. "C'mon and get ready before all the good places stop serving breakfast." Jullien just stared at her, his arms crossed over his chest. Judy smiled sheepishly. "I just wanted to do it once," she said, looking away with embarrassment.

Rolling his eyes and sighing dramatically, Jullien ushered Judy out of the room, giving her a playful slap on the bum. "If we're going anywhere, I need to get dressed first. Shoo."

"But my ex-"

"You can get them after I get into something that won't have you tripping over your own tongue."

They always kept a small stash of Judy's clothes in Jullien's room due to how much time she spent over there on the weekends. It was just easier to keep most of her clubbing clothes at his place instead of going back and forth. Not to mention that her mom was always amazed and fascinated by their clothes and would want to take pictures for ten minutes.

With Judy waiting not so patiently outside the door, Jullien grabbed some unobtrusive clothes. He opted for a pair of acid washed jeans with the chains dangling in random places from the waist and a white tank top. When he finally emerged, black boots in hand, Judy whistled. "Looking manly today, Jules." She nodded her approval and slid past him in the room. She dug through her side of the closet, eventually pulling out a pair of white leather pants with pink leopard stripes down the leg and a pink t-shirt. She slipped on her white ankle length platform boots and joined Jullien in the living room.

He was brushing his hair, and passed it over when he finished. While she brushed and styled her own, Jullien slipped into the bathroom to apply a quick line of black eyeliner and some strawberry scented lip gloss. After a quick spritz of cologne, he returned to the living room where Judy was already waiting by the door, her hair up again in the familiar pigtails. "Ready," she asked, his keys in her hand already.

"Let's go." Jullien walked on ahead, taking the stairs. Judy went the opposite direction and got in the elevator. When he reached the car, she already had it cranked and was fiddling with the radio. She stopped on a rock station when he got in. "Where are we headed?"

"Only the best breakfast place in the world… Ihop, of course." She winked. The drive there was pretty much silent, both of them nodding their heads in time with the music. Jullien wasn't a huge fan of rock music, but he could definitely appreciate a good beat. Judy on the other hand loved just about every music style out there. It always made for an interesting car ride when she chose the radio stations.

When they finally arrived, they were seated pretty quickly. Apparently the Sunday church crowds had not gotten out yet. They ordered, Judy getting strawberry pancakes with whipped cream and Jullien getting a Western Omelet and a side of bacon. As they waited for their orders, people were steadily starting to pour in, dressed in their Sunday best.

"Looks like we just did beat the Church Rush," Judy commented in a hushed voice as their section was quickly filled up. Jullien made a gesture for her to hush.

They were just getting into a small debate about the newest DJ at the club, when something caught Jullien's eye. Shoulder length, dark brown hair… and a gray suit. 'He was in gray the first time we met,' Jullien remembered. 'That hoodie with the black designs on it.' Jullien's eyes followed the hair, hoping to get a glimpse of the face. 'He's small and skinny like Gaibriel… And - ow!'

"Ow," Jullien cried aloud, his shin suddenly in pain from Judy's kick under the table.

"What are you staring at?"

Jullien didn't want to answer. "N-nothing. Just, uh, drifted off for a second."

"Liar," Judy said, a devilsh smile grown on her face. "Which of these churchy boys are you gonna corrupt, huh?" She sat up higher in her chair, looking around at the people.

"No one. Judy, stop that!" Jullien chanced another glance while Judy was busy. The boy was no where to be seen. Jullien felt the relief whoosh out of his body in an audible gust.

"I don't see anyone, Jules…" Judy was still trying her best to find a cute guy in the crowd.

Jullien opened his mouth to respond, and ended up sucking all the relief he'd just let out back in. Coming in their section… Right through the doorway, following behind what Jullien assumed was his mother and father… It was undeniable. It was him.

This time, Jullien was the one to kick.

"Ouch! Jules, what- "

"He's here," Jullien interrupted. "Don't look like you're looking, but look over there… It's him, Judy. It's Gaibriel."

Judy quickly glanced around, then looked back to him. "That boy over there by the window," she asked in a hushed tone.

A nod. "Yeah." An attempt to swallow the lump in his throat. A forced swallow of the Pepsi he'd been served. Life was moving one step at a time. Jullien felt like the universe had slowed, dragging out what had turned into one of the most uneasy moments of his life.

"Well, he certainly is a hottie."

The air whooshed out of him again and Jullien felt like he owed Judy the world. She'd seemed to break the spell with her usual unintentional humor. Jullien laughed quietly. "I didn't say he wasn't cute," he said.

Judy pretended to be staring out of the window. Jullien kept his head down. "Not hard to believe he's abused," Judy commented under her breath. "You can see the bruise on his neck from here."

Jullien's fist clenched as he made himself not look over.

"He didn't even order his own food," Judy said, finally looking back at Jullien. "They're not even looking at him. It's like he doesn't even exist."

Jullien nodded shortly. "Doesn't shock me," he said, his voice short and clipped. He couldn't resist any longer. He had to look. "Judy, is he looking this way?"

A few second pause felt like hours. "No. He's staring out the window."

Taking a deep breath, Jullien turned his head in Gaibriel's direction, trying his best to look casual. His gaze was met by large, pretty brown eyes. Gaibriel was looking right back at him. Everything in Jullien told him too look away, but his eyes would not obey. Gaibriel was the first to break the gaze, staring down at the table. Freed, Jullien stood up. "I need to go to the restroom," he said. "Be right back."