Chapter 35

Pov: Nathan

It's past midnight, and the dorm is quiet. I should be sleeping, but my mind won't shut up. Too much has happened, and I don't know what the hell to do with half of it.

Across the room, Jules is lying on her bed, completely still, but I know she's awake. She's been quiet all night, and that's not normal for her.

I don't know why, but the silence makes me restless. I hate when she's like this—like she's fading into the background again. Like she's slipping away into a place I can't reach.

I should leave her alone. But instead, the words slip out before I can stop them. "You hungry?"

Jules doesn't move. "Not really."

I let out a short laugh. "Bullshit. You're always hungry."

That gets her attention. She turns her head, narrowing her eyes at me in the dim light. "Rude."

I smirk. "Rudely accurate."

She rolls onto her side, resting her head on her arm, watching me for a second. I don't ask.

The silence settles again, stretching longer than before. When Jules is quiet, it's because she's scheming or . But tonight, she just looks... lost.

I grab my phone. "Alright, what do you want?"

Jules shrugs. "Something good."

I raise an eyebrow. "That's not an answer, Wilder."

She rolls her eyes. "Fine. Pepperoni with olives."

Who actually likes olives? But alright, olives it is.

I put in the order, then lean back against the headboard. "You ever think about how weird this is?"

Jules, raising an eyebrow. "What? Ordering pizza at 2 AM?"

I smirk. "No, I mean... us. This whole situation. You being my roommate, us sitting here, acting normal when neither of us has had anything close to normal in a long time."

She exhales, staring at the ceiling. "Yeah. But maybe that's why it works."

I don't hate that answer. In fact, I think I like it a little too much.

She shifts, pulling her blanket tighter around her. "You ever think about just... not dealing with any of it? Pretending none of it exists?"

I glance at her. "Yeah."

She nods, like she expected that answer, like she gets it.

Twenty minutes later, there's a knock on the door. I grab the pizza and drop the box between us on my bed.

Jules sits up, yawning as she reaches for a slice.

Right as I grab the biggest piece, she snatches it before I can.

I freeze. "Did you just steal my slice?"

She smirks. "Should've been quicker, Nate."

I pause, mid-reach. Nate?

I raise an eyebrow. "Did you just call me Nate?"

Jules blinks, realizing what she said. "...No?"

I smirk. "You did."

Jules groans, covering her face. "Shut up."

I lean forward slightly, still grinning. "I dunno. I kinda like it."

Jules glares at me. "I take it back."

I laugh. "Too late. It's official now."

She shakes her head but doesn't argue. And maybe I don't want her to.

The pizza disappears between us, our conversation jumping between meaningless things—bad movies, Finn's terrible taste in music, how ridiculous the dorm rules are.

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Jules sighs, looking down at her pizza. "This is nice."

I watch her carefully. "What? Eating pizza?"

Jules shrugs. "Yeah. Just... this. No expectations, no pressure. Just pizza at 2 AM."

I smirk. "You say that like pizza isn't the cure to most of life's problems."

Jules snorts. "I wouldn't go that far."

I shake my head. "That's because you've never had a New York slice. This is barely pizza."

Jules gasps dramatically. "Excuse me? Are you insulting my pizza choice?"

I raise an eyebrow. "It has olives on it, Jules. That's a crime against nature."

She grins, taking another bite just to spite me. "You're so dramatic. It's a perfect combination."

I shake my head, watching her. "It's wrong. And I'm genuinely questioning your judgment right now."

Jules laughs, completely unbothered. "Guess you'll just have to live with it."

The teasing lingers, but the mood starts to shift—comfortable, but a little deeper.

I glance at her again, watching the way she leans into the pillow, how she looks more relaxed than she has in days.

Neither of us is thinking about our parents. Or our past. Or anything that came before this moment.

I lean back against the headboard, chewing slowly. The room is quiet.

"What was your life like before Evergreen?" I ask, not really sure why. Maybe because she looks comfortable, like she might actually answer.

Jules hesitates, then answers honestly. "Lonely."

I glance at her, surprised by how easily she says it. Most people would try to cover that up, make it sound better than it was. She doesn't.

She picks at the crust of her pizza, not looking at me. "I had friends once. Only a few. Then one day, I was alone. No fight. No explanation. Just... gone."

I don't say anything, just listen.

"I kept trying to fix it," she continues, voice quieter now. "Like if I just figured out what I did wrong, things would go back to normal. But after a while, you stop trying."

I nod, pushing the pizza box aside. "People are shit."

Jules chuckles, but there's no real amusement in it. "Yeah. Pretty much."

She looks at me then, her expression unreadable. "What was your life like?"

I hesitate, fingers tapping against my knee. I could brush it off, make a joke, change the subject. But for some reason, I don't.

"I've been here since freshman year," I say. "I stopped expecting people to stay a long time ago. I have Finn, and that's enough."

Jules tilts her head. "That's... kinda sad."

I shrug. "It's just life."

She frowns. "You say that like it doesn't bother you."

I exhale. "I guess I got used to it. People come and go. You stop trying after a while."

Jules studies me for a moment. Then she nudges the pizza box toward me. "You still try, though."

I give her a look. "What do you mean?"

She smirks slightly. "You overthink snack choices. You check on people even when you pretend you don't care. You try, even if you don't admit it."

Only for you, Jules.

I roll my eyes but don't deny it. "You analyze people too much."

Jules shrugs. "And you deflect too much."

She hesitates, then picks at the pizza box, her voice quieter. "You already know about Katie, don't you?"

I don't answer right away, but yeah. I do.

"I know you used to be best friends," I say. "And that she screwed you over."

Jules exhales, shaking her head. "That's one way to put it."

I lean forward slightly. "You don't have to tell me what happened. But I know it wasn't just some petty high school drama. Whatever she did... it messed you up."

Jules presses her lips together, staring down at her hands. "It's not just that she left. It's how she did it. Like I was disposable. Like I didn't even matter."

I clench my jaw, something sharp twisting in my chest. I hate that someone made her feel like that.

"She made sure everyone turned on you, didn't she?" I say, more of a statement than a question. "Made you think it was your fault."

Jules doesn't answer for a second, then nods. "Yeah. She did. And the worst part is... I believed it for a long time."

I let out a breath, rubbing my hands together. "People are shit."

Jules huffs a laugh, but it's empty. "Yeah. Pretty much."

I glance at her again, watching the way she leans into the pillow, how she looks relaxed.

"That's not gonna happen here," I say, surprising even myself.

She lifts her gaze. "What?"

"People turning on you. Making you feel like that again. Not while I'm around."

Her brows furrow, like she's not sure what to do with that. Like she wasn't expecting it. "Why?"

I shrug. "Because I know what it's like."

Something unreadable flickers in her eyes, but she doesn't push.

And once again we sit in a comfortable silence while finishing our pizza.

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I smirk, shifting the mood back. "You wanna make this night interesting?"

Jules eyes me warily, like I've just proposed something outrageous. "Define interesting."

Stretching my legs out, I feign nonchalance, giving her a teasing grin. "Bet you fall asleep before me."

She shakes her head, a hint of determination flickering across her face. "Nope. I could totally stay up all night."

I raise an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly. "Is that a challenge?"

Her arms cross over her chest, her eyes narrowing. "Maybe."

The way she's looking at me, like she's daring me to underestimate her, pulls a laugh from my throat. I lean back, stretching as if to say she doesn't have a chance. "Alright. If you fall asleep first, you have to go to the bonfire with me on Friday."

Her brows knit together in confusion. "Bonfire?"

I shrug, keeping my tone casual. "Yeah, it's kinda a big thing. Figured you could come."

She narrows her eyes, her gaze flicking over me like she's trying to read between the lines. "And if you fall asleep first?"

I smirk, watching her curiosity turn to amusement. "I'll buy you coffee every morning for a week."

Her head tilts as she considers the stakes, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "So either way, I win?"

Scoffing, I shake my head. "Only if you actually stay awake."

She grins, the challenge lighting up her expression in a way that makes it impossible to look away. "Game on."

We settle into our own beds. Determined to outlast each other, neither of us speaks for a while.

Ten minutes in, Jules stretches her legs out, shifting like she's trying to find the perfect position. Her hair falls across her face as she turns, and for a moment, she looks completely at ease—a rare sight.

I smirk, breaking the silence. "Getting cozy already? Thought you said you had endurance."

She scoffs, rolling onto her side to face me. "I'm just getting comfortable. Doesn't mean I'm losing."

Twenty minutes in, her blinks grow slower, the fight to stay awake written all over her face. She's stubborn, I'll give her that.

Thirty minutes in, her voice is barely above a mumble. "Still awake."

I chuckle under my breath, shaking my head. "Sure you are, Wilder."

The warmth of the room and the late hour start to get to me too. My own eyelids feel heavy, and I decide to get up, stretching as I head toward the bathroom. The cool tiles under my feet are a welcome contrast to the soft glow of our dorm.

Splashing cold water on my face, I grip the sink edges and stare at my reflection. My mind feels clearer in the quiet of the bathroom, away from the subtle pull of Jules' presence. This is getting dangerous—whatever this thing is between us. I tell myself it's nothing, just the exhaustion, the late hour messing with my head. But the way she looks at me sometimes... It's enough to make me question everything I've built around myself. She's breaking down my walls.

I let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of my neck before finally heading back to the dorm.

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When I get back to our dorm, I stop. Jules is curled up on her bed, completely still—fast asleep.

The sight stops me in my tracks. Her hand is tucked under her cheek, her features softened in a way that makes her look... peaceful. Vulnerable. Beautiful. The stubborn determination that's always in her eyes is gone, replaced by something almost delicate.

I exhale through my nose, shaking my head as I step closer. "Told you so, Wilder," I mutter under my breath.

I should just go back to my own bed. I should just throw out the pizza box and let her be.

But I don't.

Instead, I find myself standing over her, staring like a creep. The soft rise and fall of her breathing tugs at something in my chest that I can't explain. She looks safe like this. Like she trusts me, even when she shouldn't.

A strand of hair falls across her face, and before I can stop myself, I reach down, brushing it away. Her skin is warm against my fingertips, impossibly soft. My fingers linger for a second longer than they should, and I curse myself for whatever this is.

What the hell am I doing?

I clear my throat, stepping back like I just touched something dangerous. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I glance at the blanket at the end of her bed. It's a reflex more than anything else when I grab it and pull it over her, tucking the edges around her shoulders.

I hesitate for one last second, watching the slow rise and fall of her breathing.

She looks safe. I don't know why that matters so much to me, but it does.

Turning away, I head back to my own bed, muttering under my breath as I settle under the covers. "Night, Jules."

From across the room, she stirs slightly, her voice barely audible as she mumbles something incoherent in response.

I exhale, staring at the ceiling, the silence settling over the room again. My thoughts swirl around about one girl. Jules Wilder

I'm so screwed.

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A/N

Just like a promised... A LONGER CHAPTER.

About how long do you guys like chapters to be? This one is almost 2100 words... crazy

btw thankyou so much for 4,5K reads, actually insane how many people have been reading my story. I'm so greatfull! I LOVE YOU ALL <3

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