Call it Fate, Call it Karma

Still with no shoes on, I ran out the door and down the hallway. Just before I could start hurdling down the stairs, I turned a corner and ran into someone, instantly falling onto my ass and almost blacking out from the force.

"Holy fuck, Jade!" Albert gasped, helping me up. "Are you okay?" I was glad to see it was Albert, but I was still too frantic to truly acknowledge him just yet.

"I fucked up!" I shrieked, holding my head as I waited for the dizziness to pass.

"Is that why I saw Julian storming off?"

"Where did he go?!"

"I dunno, he pretty much ignored me when I asked." He took my hand in his, noticing I was incredibly stressed. "Let's get you back inside."

"I need to talk to him!" I began to hyperventilate as he lead me back inside. "Fuck!"

"What the fuck happened?" Nick asked, rubbing the spot of his head that he'd hit on the table when I pushed him.

"You know damn well what fucking happened, Nicholas!"

Fab hung up the phone and looked over at us confusedly. "What'd I miss?"

"Yeah, what even happened?" asked Albert. He sat me down beside Nick and I dug my nails into the palms of my hands.

I figured just telling everyone about the last 10 minutes wouldn't be enough, so I filled them in on pretty much everything, from Julian acting not himself, to the arguments.

"...and Nick fell on top of me and Julian was just...there." I explained, my voice shaky. "I get what it could've looked like to him, but nothing happened!"

Albert rubbed my back as I rested my head on his shoulder. He probably thought I going to cry, and I really wanted to, but I knew I had to be mature about it all. "Do you think one of you could go find him for me? I'm sure he doesn't wanna see me."

"I doubt he'd wanna see me either." Nick said, shaking his head.

"I'll go." said Fab.

"Me too." Albert nodded, gently pushing me onto Nick.

I groaned and sat up straight. "Just tell him it wasn't what it looked like and I absolutely need to talk to him." I told them. "And hurry up, before he does something stupid!"

The two nodded and ran out the door together, leaving Nick and I in silence.

"I'm really sorry, Jade." Nick said after a minute.

"It's not your fault." I said. "Things are just weird between Jules and I right now."

"I think...I think maybe we should go after them."

I shook my head. "I don't want Julian freaking out."

"Yeah, but like...if you're sending others to get him then he might take that as a sign of you not caring enough, don't you think?"

"Woah, Nick," I turned to him with a soft smile. "...I think you're right. Let's see if we can catch up."

We jogged quite fast down the street for a bit until we saw Fab and Albert crouched over someone sitting on the front stairs of a brownstone apartment building. We approached slowly, and to silence a gasp, I clapped a hand over my mouth at the sight of Julian with his knees hugged to his chest, his face planted on his knees as he was blatantly ignoring the two guys who were constantly asking if he was okay.

I was about to lunge forward to run over to him, but Nick grabbed my waist and held me back. We were quite a few feet away, so no one knew we were there yet.

"Let me go, Nick!" I harshly whispered.

"Just wait! They might be handling it okay." he replied.

"They clearly aren't! He's ignoring them!" I retorted. "I need to see if he's okay!" I pried myself from his grip and jogged over. "Julian!"

Albert and Fab stepped back and caught sight of Nick, who called them over.

"Jules..?" I gingerly stepped over to sit beside him. He continued to ignore me until I slowly put an arm around him. "Julian, it wasn't what it looked like. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Do what to me?" he said as he lifted his head, his voice cracking. "It's not like we're together or anything. You're free to fuck whoever you want."

"Fuck? What the hell, Julian?!" I pulled away from him and crossed my arms. "I would never have sex with Nick and you should fucking know that! He's like a brother to me."

"Does he know that?" he snapped. "I saw the way he was looking at you! And what about Fab? Wasn't he like a brother to you too?" I couldn't believe he was trying to rehash something that happened so long ago.

"Can you just forget about that absolute bullshit for a second and tell me what's really the matter? You're acting like a fucking child!"

He sniffled, wiping his face with his sleeve as he stood up. "I need a drink." he mumbled, then beginning to walk down the street. "Maybe something else."

"Over my dead body, jerk!" I screeched, hurdling over and jumping onto his back. I wrapped my arms tight around his chest as he tried to shake me off.

He grabbed my hands, trying to pull them off. "What the fuck, Jade?! Get off!"

"Not until you agree to come back home and tell me what's really going in with you!"

"Get off!"

Laughter could be heard from Nick, Fab and Albert. As serious as the situation really was, I don't blame them for laughing. "I think she's got this under control. Let's go." said Albert.

"Julian, you turn around right now!" I yelped in his ear, squeezing him tighter. "Now!"

"Fine!" he growled, turning around to follow the guys back. "Could you get off me?"

"Nope." I replied, popping the 'p'. I wrapped my legs around his waist for more support and he pretty much piggybacked me all the way home with a scowl on his face. Sure, I took a pretty childish approach, but it worked and that's all that matters.