Quentin was 8 the first time they kissed. It was hard and fast, over before he even knew what was happening. One minute he was grumbling about how he was the last boy in their class to be kissed by a girl, and the next Julia was asking him if they could go back to playing now. She acted like it was nothing, so Quentin did as well.
The second time they were 13 and James dared Quentin to kiss Julia on the lips for three seconds. When Julia pulled away from Quentin he thought that he saw a sparkle in her eyes that matched the burning embers in the pit of his stomach before she turned away and feigned disgust. The rest of the room laughed as he could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He brushed a lock of his hair out of his face as the game went on around them.
The day he finally got up the courage to ask Julia out, her 16th birthday, Julia burst into his bedroom, pure joy shinning on her face as she babbled on about a date with James she was going on. Quentin managed to force some sort of excited smile to his face and pretended to listen while his heart cracked beneath his chest.
That was the day Quentin truly became the third wheel.
For the next 6 years, Quentin pined. Then, on the same day that his fragile cracked heart finally shattered when Julia and James got engaged, Brakebills picked up the pieces and shoved them back together again.
He was in a graduate school for the magically adept.
Julia was in a graduate school for the magically adept.
Excitement and hope surged through Quentin’s veins, giving him a renewed outlook on life. He made new friends. Julia cast circles around him, both literally and figuratively. For the first time in 10 years, they were happy together again.
Then the Beast struck. No one was hurt, but everyone was shook up. Campus security measures were doubled, and all communications with the outside world were cut off.
Quentin was making his way up to Julia’s loft above the library to study when he heard her crying outside her bedroom door. His books hit the floor in a crash as he stumbled through the door fearing the worst. Julia jumped up from her bed, her hands beginning to cast a protection spell before she had even registered that it was Quentin.
“Julia is everything okay?” Quentin asked, raising his hands in surrender and slowly making his way toward her.
“Q…” Julia ran into his arms, crushing her body against his and nearly knocking him to the floor.
“What’s wrong?” He murmured against her head while stroking her hair soothingly.
“James… we broke up.” She choked out between sobs.
“You’re not sorry.” She lifted her head off of his shoulder so that she could look him in the eye. “I’m not sorry, so you shouldn’t be. I’m scared Quentin. After what happened with the Beast… James was safe. I don’t want safe. I want you.”
The third time Quentin kissed Julia felt like coming home.
It was soft at first; barely a brushing of the lips. Quentin felt like he had lost control of his body as his hand cupped the back of her head and pulled her in for a deeper kiss.
He had other girlfriends, but none of them ever compared to Julia. Every curve of her body fit perfectly in his, and her hands lit a fire on his skin where they trailed underneath his shirt. Julia was nostalgic and as innocent to Quentin as childhood itself.
They began tearing clothes off of one another as a fire spread through their skin. Julia backed up until they fell into her bed in a tangled pile of arms and legs. Quentin felt as though his soul was being mended touch by touch, and when Julia fell asleep with her head on his chest he felt more at peace than he ever had in his lifetime.
The next morning the sun streaming through the partially cracked window caused Quentin to open his eyes. Julia was still asleep beside him, so he shook her shoulder gently to wake her so they wouldn’t miss class. When Julia didn’t stir Quentin shook her harder, causing her to roll limply on to her back.
Her face was pale. Her skin was cool to the touch, and a moth fluttered down and landed on her still chest. The breath left Quentin’s lungs in a single burning gasp, and as he turned his head he saw the Beast sitting in the corner of the room, an evil grin barely visible through the moths surrounding his face. Quentin reached for Julia’s hand and gasped it as hard as possible as he struggled to draw breath back into his lungs.
The last thing he heard before the darkness in the corners of his vision took over was the Beast’s voice.
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