i'm a bad man.

PARTIES IN NEW YORK were always fun --- especially when everyone around you already had a good time. unfortunately for julian, it seemed like he would need a little more than alcohol to get in a better mood tonight, so he observed the guests and finally spotted a promising face. there were countless rumors about thomas and his hobbies, so julian decided to take his chances and walked up to him, raising his glass to greet him. ❛ i’m sorry to interrupt, but... something tells me you know how to have a good party. is there any chance you know where they serve the good stuff tonight? ❜ bad idea. it was always a bad idea to consume things in public, but he didn’t care about being caught. his family was rich enough for his last name to make up for any trashy reputation anyway.

WOULD THERE EVER BE A TIME he would not crave sport in the morning? julian’s days had to start early as hell, now that his mother forced him to work as a college professor ( at least until he inherited his father’s company and fortune ), but there was no way on earth that he would ever skip his routine. to his surprise, julian wasn’t the only early bird today and he grinned in amusement after he watched some of the other guy’s moves. ❛ not bad. ❜ he praised, failing to recognize just who he was. social media was a big thorn in his eye and he tried to use it for nothing other than private matters, so it wasn’t rare for him to be a bit oblivious. was that strange? was he the only person that wasn’t addicted to gossip girl and her blasts? ❛ are you doing that for a living or are you just that dedicated? ❜

IT WAS ODD HOW popular people could get with the smallest of things these days. instagram models made hundreds of dollars with a picture of their god damn food, not to mention how many teenagers they influenced with any picture they posted. the entire thing seemed so absurd to him that he rarely ever used social media --- but even julian recognized the blonde when he spotted her at a party. ❛ georgina van buren. ❜ he spoke the name in complete amusement while his lips curled into a smirk. ❛ so you are real. i was starting to think that you are some evil invention that was created to make my job harder. ❜ so many girls longed to be like her, so many boys longed to be with her. the drama didn’t even seem to stop in their college years, at least not entirely. ❛ having a good time? ❜

PEOPLE SAY THAT vacations are good for the soul, but julian was happy to return to new york --- even though he could not say the same thing about returning to work. it was not like being a professor was the worst thing in the world, but he couldn’t help but think there had to be more out there. maybe that was why he liked to spend his nights at bars, instead of preparing college things, but even then work seemed to follow him around ; tonight it happened in the form of a columbia drop out. giulia greco. it would’ve been smart to change his direction before she spotted him, but the alcohol in his bloodstream told him to do something else and he ended up approaching her with a smirk on his lips. ❛ fancy meeting you here, miss greco. it has been a while. what are you up to these days? ❜

HIS TRIP HAD BEEN REFRESHING, but things went back to normal as soon as he returned to new york and julian was desperate for a distraction. he hated his current situation and it seemed like drugs and alcohol were the best way to cope with that, even if he was cautious to consume anything in public. well, usually. tonight would be an exception and he believed that it would be fine, especially without any company to draw attention to him --- but that part changed when the female took a seat next to him and mentioned something about a hit. the male laughed under his breath while he played with his glass, swirling the ice from side to side. ❛ i’d offer to help you out, but... i suppose that would be bad. ❜

WHAT WAS IT about her and calling it fancy? julian laughed at her remark, but he shook his head at her anyway. ❛ i could think of much fancier things than working as a professor. ❜ the only benefits were the time off and the payment. ❛ i do trust you --- so let’s see what you got. ❜ he gave her a grin, but truth be told... he didn’t doubt that she could make tonight worthwhile. she always did. ❛ hm. if i can’t make it your best night, here’s to hoping it will be one of the best. but you know me. i don’t give up so easily. ❜ the male joked back and mirrored her actions, downing the next pill with a shot.  ❛ do you happen to have any music in here? ❜

SO IT WASN’T planned and that was an interesting fact, but he still gave her an amused look before he replied. ❛ i don’t know what to think. we don’t talk that much, do we? ❜ it was not an accusation, or anything of the likes. julian believed that both of them were fine with the way things were, or else they would simply handle things differently. ❛ you will make sure that tonight’s the best night of my life? ❜ he repeated and he laughed under his breath while he reached for the next pill, keeping it equal. ❛ don’t get my hopes up. ❜ the male joked and downed another shot before he cleared his throat. it wouldn’t even be that hard to make it the best night he had this year --- and that was sad enough. ❛ what about your night though? any chance we can make it one of the better ones for you as well? ❜

GOING TO ITALY AND DUBAI definitely seemed like a perfect vacation, julian had to admit that. ❛ sorry. it wasn’t planned, just a spontaneous thing, or else i would have told you. ❜ it was half a joke --- though having hannah with him definitely would’ve been more than just endurable. ❛ i’ll let you know next time. or you tell me when you want to go and we’ll just go. ❜ to be honest, he always thought that he would take over his father’s company too. it was supposed to happen that way, but he could not exactly tell hannah that those plans had to be delayed because he put his father in jail. he would take over someday, but right now he was not exactly in his father’s good graces and he refused to sign it over. ❛ yeah. yeah, we’ll forget it all. ❜ the male agreed before he scoffed at her comment. ❛ come on, hannah. i can’t possibly be the only one, but i’ll selfishly accept it for tonight. ❜ he laughed in disbelief when she started to split the night ; her night had to be at least as bad as his own and maybe he should have urged her to tell him about it, but he meant what he said. he trusted her judgement and if she wanted to talk she’d talk. if she wanted to take half of the pills he brought she’d do that. they were both grown ups, they could do whatever they wanted, right? ❛ alright ❜ it was his turn to refill their glasses before he reached for one of the pills and brought it to his lips. ❛ here’s to a fun night. ❜

HE SHRUGGED HIS SHOULDERS --- it was nothing special, after all. ❛ i had some alone time in dubai. i guess i just needed a break from the entire upper east side. ❜ and hannah’s words made it sound like he wasn’t the only one. her next remark made him join in on her laughter, but he lowered his gaze and thought about the best way to respond to that. ❛ to let you in on a secret, i would prefer to stop being the real deal. ❜ but quitting wasn’t an option. not with his father’s absence and his mother’s lifestyle. he needed to maintain a picture perfect image, which was why he was glad that hannah invited him over to her place, instead of meeting him in public. ❛ oh, you are the most impatient person i ever met. ❜ he agreed with a playful roll of his eyes. ❛ but that’s the hannah we all enjoy, right? you are welcome, but... the rest is all yours, so i’ll let you choose. i am in the mood for all of that tonight. ❜ anything, as long as it would ease his mind for a couple of hours. ❛ go ahead. pick our poison. i trust your judgment. ❜ he winked at her before he tossed the second shot straight back.

THAT DIDN’T SOUND very convincing, but julian would not hold it against her if she lied. that was the beauty of this ‘friendship’, wasn’t it? there was no pressure. there was no need for honesty when the two of them were so very talented at playing pretend --- with the help of the right liquor, pills and powders, that was. ❛ well, in that case i’m happy to help. ❜ he told her while he watched her pour the shots. ❛ it was nice to get out of new york for a bit. being an adult is... not exactly my thing. ❜ he downed the shot with no hesitation: it was too tempting to forget how badly he failed at doing the right, mature things. he only spent a few months at columbia and he already had an affair with one of his nineteen year old students. the fact that it ended didn’t change how wrong it was. it only made it harder. hannah’s next remark made him laugh and he faked a sigh as he shook his head at her. ❛ so impatient, but you do know me well. ❜ he reached inside of the pocket of his leather jacket and placed a small bag on the counter. ❛ everything you could possibly ask for should be in there. ❜ fortunately for him, his mother never discovered his father’s private stash, so it was very easy to get his hands on all sorts of things. ❛ let’s call that a belated christmas gift, hm? ❜

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A LIE if he claimed to be upset about missing out on the new year’s party. he heard all about it ( checking gossip girl’s blog could make his job that much easier, after all ) and it was no surprise that some of the tension continued to linger in the air. not that he knew that the party was the reason for hannah’s somewhat unexpected call. he didn’t know that she tried to shut herself off either --- he simply thought that she wanted to have a good time, as always. it was just so much easier to allow yourself to get lost with someone by your side, no? and all of them needed and deserved a break from reality sometimes. ❛ that sounds dramatic. are you alright? ❜ the grin stayed on his lips and made his words seem like a joke, but there were faint traces of real concern when he noticed that look in her eyes. at the end of the day, julian would never push her into opening up. he refused to do the same thing time and time again, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t listen to her if she decided that it would help her more than his ‘gifts’... although the ones in his pocket would definitely make her forget all about her problems. ❛ thanks. ❜ he handed her the bottles once she returned with the shot glasses. ❛ it’s good to be back here. did you enjoy the holidays? ❜