- Chapter Four -
First Outing

Julia’s Point of View:

Several days later Dr. Kris had informed both me and my parents that my lab and test results had come in.  I was relieved that despite my sensitive condition, things were looking pretty good.  My mom was especially relieved to hear the news.  I guess over the years she had grown accustomed to bad news.  It was nice knowing I was also capable of presenting good news as well.  To celebrate, my parents got permission from the doctor to take me out for ice cream.  I thought about Yi Xing and decided to work my magic on my parents.

“Can my new friend Yi Xing come?” I asked with puppy dog eyes.

Yi Xing’s head snapped up in disbelief.  My mom turned to look at him, and he flashed what I had now secretly dubbed, “The Dimpled-Lady-Killer-Smile”.  Not surprisingly, it won her over in a heartbeat.

“Well… only if it’s okay with his doctor,” stated my mother bashfully.

“Really?!” he and I both exclaimed at the same time.

His brother, Dr. Kris, had been reluctant to let him go at first.  However, after a ten minute long lecture about proper behavior, he finally gave his consent.  I was so excited that I could barely contain it, but hid it skillfully from my parents.  If they saw me get too riled up, they wouldn’t let me go for fear of overstressing my heart.

Yi Xing and I had worked out our living arrangements quite well.  I always changed in the bathroom while he drew the curtain and changed next to his bed.  In that aspect he was forever the gentleman.  Once we were both dressed and ready to go, we met my parents outside.  My mom and dad struck up casual conversation with Yi Xing.  I was surprised at how easily he could chat with them after only the first meeting.  In truth, I was somewhat jealous.  I had never been outgoing.  It seemed as though with each passing day, I discovered more qualities about him that I admired.

We arrived at the ice cream place in no time flat.  As soon as we walked through the door, my mouth watered at the sweet flavor hanging in the air.  Thankfully, it wasn’t very busy today and we ordered our sugary poison right away.  I had two huge scoops of vanilla ice cream on a cone that had been dipped in chocolate, while Yi Xing had opted for a continental-sized banana split.  My eyes widened at the mere sight of it.

“Good god!  Are you seriously going to eat all that?!” I exclaimed in mock horror.

“Yep,” he replied as he inhaled a huge helping of it.

I laughed at the childish look on his face.  Apparently, he loved ice cream as much as I did.  Since it was another beautiful day outside, Yi Xing and I decided to sit at one of the tables outside.  My parents sat inside next to the window.  I thought it was kind of weird that they were observing so intently, but it was only because they were watching out for us.

Some of my ice cream started to melt, dripping down my hands and onto the table.  I scowled at the wasted goodness and quickly the cone clean.  Yi Xing smiled at me in a peculiar way.  There was an emotion in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before, and for some reason it made me a little bit nervous.

“Mind if I have a bite?” he asked.

I tilted my ice cream towards him and he a large portion off of the top, nearly demolishing the entire first scoop.

“Hey!  That was way more than just a bite!” I complained.

He smirked at my reaction.  As a peace offering, he fed me a heaping spoonful of his banana split.

“Good isn’t it?”

I nodded in agreement.  It was good alright… and had sugar coma written all over it.

Yi Xing’s Point of View:

Jewel’s parents were really nice people and her mom was a really pretty lady.  I could see where Jewels got her good looks from.  Her dad was an intelligent man and you could tell he was extremely proud of his family.  I was sort of jealous.  All I had was Kris.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great brother, but sometimes I wished my parents would show a little more concern for their not-so-healthy son.  They are always too busy managing the family business or taking extravagant trips.  Even so, I called them as much as possible.  At times like now, I missed them the most.  On the bright side though, Jewel’s parents were so warm and welcoming, that I almost felt like I was a part of their family.

“Julia, if you and your friend are feeling up to it… would you like to come home for a little while?” asked her dad.

Jewels flashed me a “what do you think” look and I nodded enthusiastically.  I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see where she lives.  It would give me the chance to learn more about her.

“Okay, dad!” she exclaimed.

We rode in the car for another twenty minutes or so since they lived outside of town.  Eventually, we pulled into a cozy neighborhood and stopped in front of a quaint little house.  I held the car door open for her and followed her parents to the front door.  Once inside, I couldn’t help but smile.  The walls were covered in lots of pictures; most of them were of Jewels.  She pulled at my sleeve to try and distract me.  Her embarrassment was far too amusing.

“It doesn’t matter what you do, I’m still going to be nosy and look at all of your baby pictures,” I teased before turning back to the wall.

I didn’t understand what she found so embarrassing about them all.  Each picture was perfect.  Despite her obstacles, it appeared she had experienced a happy childhood because in every picture, she was smiling.  Her mom appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to divulge all of Jewel’s funny childhood stories.

“No!  No!  No!  Come on Yi Xing!  I’ll show you my room!” she squeaked before dragging me away.

I laughed at her actions.  Seriously… could she be any cuter?  When we entered her room I felt sort of odd.  Nervous maybe?  I wasn’t exactly sure.

“So this is your room,” I lamely stated the obvious.

I mentally face-palmed myself.  Okay that was stupid.

“Yeah.  It’s not much since most of the time I’m not here.”

I nodded absentmindedly as I took in my surroundings.  The walls were a pastel purple color and carpet a really light gray.  There was only one window and it was covered by a beaded curtain.  Across from it was a large shelf full of books.  The girl really liked to read.

“I like it,” I said simply.

She smiled at me as she sat on her bed cross-legged.  I took it as a sign that she was feeling fairly comfortable, despite the fact that a guy was in her sanctuary.  I settled myself next to her, lied on my back, grabbed one of her pillows, and tossed it into the air casually.  Out of nowhere, a question flew out of my mouth before I had the chance to bite my tongue.

“So how many guys have you brought home?”

If there was ever a time that I actually wanted to die, it would be right now.  I inwardly cringed, waiting for her reaction.

“N-None,” she mumbled while picking at the blanket.

None?!  It didn’t seem possible.  That couldn’t be right.  She was a beautiful girl and also very smart.  How come no one else had noticed it?

“Why’s that?” I tried to sound casual and indifferent.

“I-I don’t know.  I guess I’ve never found anyone I’ve liked enough for that.”

I missed catching the pillow and it smacked me in the face.  Wait a second… was she saying that she liked me in a round-about way or was I just looking into it too much?  I covered up my misplaced epiphany with humor like I usually do.

“So what am I… like your new crush or something?”

She shot me an unexpected smirk.

“What makes you think that you qualify?” she quipped.

“Oh-ho-ho!  Did hell just freeze over or did you just diss me?” I asked while sitting up so I could be eye-level with her.

She shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s been known to happen.  I have my moments from time-to-time,” she replied.

Another discovery to file into my Julia Vault.  She does possess the ability to be sarcastic.  I couldn’t pinpoint why but I found myself growing soft all of a sudden.  I didn’t realize it until she said something, but I had been staring at her for a while.

“What is it?  Do I have leftover ice cream on my face?” she asked while rubbing away imaginary blotches of ice cream.

I smiled gently before ruffling her hair.

“No Jewels.  There isn’t any ice cream on your face.  I was just thinking.”

“Oh.  About what?”

Of course she would ask that.

“Nothing.  It’s not important,” I quickly brushed it off.

Just then, Jewel’s mother knocked on the door and told us it was time to go back to the hospital.  I really didn’t want to leave, especially when I was getting to know her better, but I remembered my promise to my brother to be on my best behavior.  On the way back, I stared out the window, lost in thought.  In the back of my mind, I was slowly piecing the puzzle together, and in the center of it all was Julia.  Little by little, that girl was weaseling her way into my heart.

A/N:  I hope nobody got too confused when Chapter Two got deleted.  I'm not sure how it happened, but it's fixed now.  So sorry about that!  I was really upset when it happened too because I really wanted things to flow well with this story!  Anyways... comments are appreciated!  Also thanks to everyone who has subscribed!!!  :D