Julius Caesar

The door was then yanked open, revealing Samara with wide eyes.

"Thank God!" She exclaimed, grabbing me inside by my arm as I kicked the door shut behind us. "I don't know what to do! I just opened the windows to let in some fresh air but thought about the neighbours and felt bad. So I closed them but the smoke was too much, it set off my fire alarm. I freaked out and called you! The fire alarm wouldn't stop so I just used a broomstick to hit it. And I think I broke it because it made no more sound-"

"Where is the fire?" I interrupted her for the first time and she took in a deep breath.

"In the kitchen. I told you." She said and I stared at her bemusedly. "Anyway, I was scared the microwave was going to explode, so I got out of the kitchen and closed its door-"

"You set the microwave on fire?" I asked, trying to make sense of the words gushing out of her mouth and her excessive hand movements.

"Yes," she said. "I was just heating some eggs."

"Heating eggs. In the microwave?" I raised my eyebrows as she came to a stop in the middle of the reception.

"Exactly."

"Did you open the microwave's door?" I asked importantly, glancing at the living room where the broken vase was no longer littering the floor. The vase I shot when I was threatening Danielle.

Maybe someone came around to clean.

"No! Was I supposed to? But like how could I? It was like- combusting," she said and I sighed.

"Alright, it's going to be okay. Just relax, for me." I said, locking her bright, blue eyes that were slightly red around the edges (maybe from rubbing them?).

Her nose crinkled. "So are you going in?" She asked cautiously, pointing a hesitant index finger in the kitchen's direction and I smiled.

"Yes, Mara, I will," I said. "Just go and open all the house's windows to let fresh air in. Then switch-" I started instructing her, but I could see the refusal all over her face.

"What if you got caught on fire? Who'll be there to put it off? Who'll be there to save you-" She rambled on and I smiled slightly.

"It's a small fire, I will not catch the fire," I said.

She looked into my eyes and exhaled. "It's just a small fire." She told her panicked self.

"Now go," I told her. "Open all the windows." She nodded. "Then have a warm cup of water. To help you relax." She was starting to frown, but I got ahead of her. "Listen. If it's the first time you encountered a fire, it isn't mine."

"I shouldn't have cooked."

"Yes." I approved. "This shouldn't be the thing people do when they regain their sight."

When the air cleared a bit and I was no longer coughing, I looked for the microwave's plug to pull it out. I glanced inside the microwave to find flames dancing inside and smoke squeezing its way out of the door.

"Should I get you a cup of water?" Samara's voice came, startling me. I turned to her and for the first time, I let my eyes study her.

She wore plain, navy blue pyjamas, and her jet-black hair was pulled in a neat ponytail. I dared smile.

"So, is that a 'yes'?" She asked and I looked up at her face. Her glinting eyes, pink nose tip, and her lips-

"Your bottom lip is bleeding." I found myself telling her.

She looked taken aback by my statement before she raised her index finger and pressed it to her lip. And I had to close my eyes because -oh God- how could she look absolutely lovely doing this?

She then sucked in her lower lip before releasing it, making it pinker than ever. "Is it fine now?" She frowned slightly and I had to shake my head subtly to rid it of all the things I could be doing to her. All the things that would make her mine and mine forever. The kind of things that made me want to-

Calm the hell down- I tried telling myself as my stare lingered on her lips.

"It's fine." My voice came stronger than I intended so I cleared my throat.

"So? Water?" She smiled innocently.

"No."

"Should I make an emergency call?" She asked and I shook my head.

"No need." I turned around and faced the microwave. "We'll just have to wait until the fire exhausts itself."

I felt Samara shuffle behind me before I felt her hand on my arm. And I almost jerked away from the fire her touch generated that reached under my belt.

I cursed under my breath.

"Okay then. I will order something for breakfast-" She said and I, so distracted by my arousal, nodded. "What do you want to eat?"

"You choose," I told her and she chuckled.

"Alright. I'll surprise you." She then let go of me as my mind went to places in her last sentence.

What kind of surprises? Samara? My mouth watered and my breath fastened as I watched her hips sway away from me in slow motion. I was a hungry predator at the wrong time. I wasn't thinking clearly.

Lust and I don't go well together. One has to win. And it couldn't be lust. Not yet.

"Wait!" I called out and Samara stopped to face me with her lips parted in anticipation. "I'll -uh- I'll have my brother bring the food. I wanted you to meet him anyway."

"You have a brother?"

"I'm full of surprises." I winked and she raised her eyebrows.

"He's more than welcome." She said sweetly and I grinned nervously. She then left the kitchen and my grin fell as I reached for my phone and called Augustus. It rang almost indefinitely before he picked up.

"Alright. So this is my first night of good quality sleep on my super soft bed after five nights in a haunted amusement park and you have the guts to wake me up at six-thirty in the bloody morning? Julius Caesar Alexander-" He ranted groggily and I smirked.

"It is an emergency," I muttered as I heard him shift around. Maybe get out of bed or snuggle deeper under the covers.

"Does it involve those deeply disturbing French fucks?" He said with a yawn and I chuckled.

"Worse."

"Worse?" He said with a sigh and a pause. "Do you wanna ditch some girl who caught feelings?"

"Actually-" I couldn't believe I was telling him this. "The opposite."

It took Augustus a few moments to think before he burst into laughter.

"What?" I said embarrassedly as I heard him catch his breath.

"Julio. Mate. You have an 'I-Will-Fuck-The-Duck-If-You-Don't-Come' crisis." He said with impossible prosperity and I smiled at the ridiculousness of this.

"How did you know?"

"You're talking to Augusto, mate. You might be older than me. But in the ladies business, I'm much much older. By like decades or something. So-" He started and I shook my head.

"Alright, alright. Just come. I'll -uh- send you the location? Oh and bring breakfast."

"Breakfast?" He groaned and I smiled. "What would you like to eat?"

"Surprise me," I told him bored.

"Okay, okay, just keep it in until I make my delightful arrival." I could hear him smile.

"Yeah sure."

"I mean I wouldn't like to come and find you fucking the poor girl in the kitchen. On the floor. With broken dishes and moa-" He started monotone and I groaned at the thought. "I'm making it worse right? Ah, I'm such a great brother. My speciality." He laughed and I squeezed shut my eyes to stop imagining what he said.

"You are ridiculous," I muttered and he snorted. "I'm sending you the location. Do not be late. And be decent-" He hung up and I raised my eyebrows.

I glanced at the microwave to find no more fire. I opened its door with a sigh and glanced at the black clumps that were supposedly eggs. I managed to throw them away and clean the microwave. I then looked up at the ceiling where the broken fire sensor hung uselessly.

I made it out of the kitchen and headed to the living room. Samara wasn't there. I sat on the couch that faced the door and tapped my feet impatiently.

"How do I look?" Her voice came from behind and I instinctively turned to find her coming down the stairs in a breathtakingly knee-length, peach dress and a navy-blue cardigan.

That is it. She is trying to kill me- was what I thought.

I grabbed a pillow and pressed it to my laps.

And I had to be wearing sweatpants.

"Amazing," I breathed before she finally made her way down. She sat next to me, her arms rubbing against mine. I had to hold my breath and recite the elements of the periodic table.

Hydrogen. Helium. Lithium. Beryllium. What's next? Oh, carbon? No, no, boron, moron.

"So. Who's older?" She asked as I watched her slender fingers flex. She then caught them back in a small fist.

"I am." She smiled and nodded.

A very awkward silence settled between us as I glared at the pillow nested in my laps, hoping it'd magically disappear. I was actually angry. It was a nuisance. A distraction.

Bloody boner.

"The fire," Samara breathed after a few minutes, snapping me out of my inner battle. "Is it out? Yet?"

I dared to glance at her and notice how nervous she was. That oddly satisfied me.

"Yes. You just have to -uh- get someone to fix that fire alarm." I pointed at the ceiling. "Or I can drop by some other time to do it." I shrugged and she nodded, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah." She smiled shyly as my heart and dick did a backflip. I loved that smile on her.

"So," I said, manning up and looking in her eyes. "-how are you?"

She chuckled a bit. "Never been better." Her eyes fluttered and I wondered how great God must be to have been able to create such a beautiful thing.

"You," I said breathlessly and she looked at me with renewed interest. But I stopped not knowing what to say because there were so many things I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her what I was thinking. I wanted her to know me. I wanted to tell her that I wished there could be no barriers between us. Especially a barrier like who I really was.

"I like how you smell," I ended up gawking awkwardly as she crinkled her nose.

"Alright. We're both awful at this." She waved a hand in front of her and I chuckled, warming up at the giddy smile she wore.

"Totally." I grinned, pinning the pillow harder to my laps. "We should hang out?"

"Maybe."

"No- I- No. I mean we need to hang out. Go out. On a proper date." I almost whispered the last part as she narrowed her eyes on me.

"Why are you nervous about asking me out now? You weren't before." She said with a smirk. I stared at her, open-mouthed. I resorted to chuckling lightly. Nervously.

Try asking a girl you like out with arousal. In sweatpants. I felt so self-conscious.

"That's not true," I said, frowning playfully as I took her hands in mine. "I will take you out. Just say when. You were the one who needed time."

"Right." She looked at our entangled hands with a small smile. "But you also know that we made a deal, right?"

"A deal?" I said, not getting what she said.

"You promised you'll tell me who killed my dad."

I let go of her hands and blinked at her eager, trustful eyes. I felt sick.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and I didn't hesitate to reach for it. I opened the door to find Augustus blowing a big gum bubble with the food bags in his left hand as the wind sifted through his thick hair that looked almost white in the sun.

He looked decent in the black pants and closed red and blue checkered, crisp coat he wore, topped by a scarlet scarf, and silver sunglasses.

He used his free hand to lower his sunglasses and peek down.

"Sweatpants and boners are a no-no." He started.

Looks can deceive.

"Get in." I glared at him. He smirked, took off his sunglasses which exposed teary, blue eyes, and tucked them in his coat's pocket. He then walked in with one big stride.

Samara was already standing in the middle of the living room with a wide smile, hands linked in front of her.

I shut the door with my foot.

"You're the girl we watched run in the park!" Augustus exclaimed, approaching her and she raised her eyebrows. I wanted to cover my face with my hands but smiled instead.

Samara then stretched her hand for a handshake. "And you're Caesar's brother. You look alike!"

Augustus took her hand with a grin and raised it. He then kissed it instead of shaking it and I rolled my eyes. "Augustus, if you may."

Samara pulled back her hand gently, a bit flustered, as I stood by her side. She glanced at me before looking back at my brother.

"Please," she said sweetly. "-have a seat."

Augustus looked at me bemusedly.

"Aye, thanks." He then thrust the food bags in my arms and headed to the couch where he sat, leg crossed at his knee. He then extended his arms and 'hugged' the couch before glancing around the house with a smirk.

"Wow," he breathed. "I love your house, Sammy." He looked at her. "I appreciate a good taste in interior design and fashion."

I turned to Augustus and narrowed my eyes at him before mouthing 'act decently'. He shrugged with a grin.

"Thank you." She looked down with a smile.

"Yeah. The food," I said, interrupting this 'complimenting' session.

My brother looked at me and smiled widely. "Yup, the food-" He repeated what I said as if it was a dirty word. He even winked. "-is so delicious. Good choice. Very decent even. I'm almost proud."

I glared at him.

"So let's eat it before it goes cold." He added, eyeing me with a smirk.

"It's already cold. Stop it and behave." I said as I watched his eyes trail down my pants.

"Not yet." He said and I looked back at Samara who thankfully looked lost.

She then took a deep breath and smiled. "Okay. Where do you wanna eat?"

"At your house?" Augustus retorted with a foolish smirk.

"You're one smart gentleman," Samara replied and Augustus snorted.

"I'm not a gentleman."

"Try being one?" I intervened and he glanced at me with a smirk. He then looked back at her.

"So, Sammy," Augustus said. "-wanna help me set the food in your dining room?"

Samara and I raised our eyebrows.

"Yeah. Sure," was what she said while glancing at me.

He then got up, headed to me, smiled, and took the food from my hands. 'I'll be decent,' was what he whispered.

"Let's go." He then told Samara and they both turned a corner.

After eating, we were out of the dining room and inside the living room. Augustus wasn't with us though. He went up to Bianca's room to play on her PlayStation or something. He was very excited to leave us alone.

So I sat awkwardly in front of Samara with nothing to talk about. Her eyes studied me carefully before she screwed her face and my heart jumped. I even looked around me for a reason behind the disturbance.

"Is that a gun?" was what she asked and staring was what I did.

"Self-defense," I blurted out the most redundant excuse ever and diverted my gaze to the couch I sat on. And it was one, very nice couch. And I remember that because I stared at it for long enough.

Her face relaxed a bit before she bit her lip gently. "Can I see it?"

I looked at her nervously but blindly reached for the gun to hand it over.

"Is it loaded?" She asked, studying the gun with her fingers.

"It is."

I was being so stupidly vulnerable.

"I want to learn how to use it." She said steadily, looking into my eyes. My breath hitched as I narrowed my eyes on her, waiting for an explanation. "For self-defence."

And she was lying. And I remember why I knew she was. She wiggled her toes as her fingers moved on their own accord. But I shrugged it off.

"You want me to-" I looked at her curiously and swallowed. "-teach you?"

She looked at me with the gun cradled in both her hands between her legs. She pursed her lips, studied me more, and sighed. Her shoulders slumped.

"I want to learn so that I can kill Dad's murderer-" She stopped to look at me cautiously. "But that would make me one too. And now, I don't know what you think of me for such disgusting-"

"Hey-" I said, catching her wandering eyes. "-I understand. It's only natural-"

She then leaned in and handed me the gun, shutting me up. I looked down at the gun and sighed. I then frowned.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," I said solidly. "I really am. No one should deal with a killed father," I croaked, looking guiltily in her bright eyes. They were shining too bright, I looked away, my heart dying a bit. "You can't blame yourself for wanting revenge."

And I know. Yes. I know, I was no better than trash, sitting there and knowing that I'd break both of our hearts one day. How dare I sat there, stared in her eyes, and gave her all that forbidden hope?

"But you know," I continued, clearing my throat. "-guns are interesting."

She opened her mouth, closed it, then smirked. "They are. They're dangerous too." She eyed my gun.

"Yeah-" I pursed my lips.

"I never saw a gun in real life."

"Well," I smiled and raised my gun a bit. "-now you have."

She nodded slowly and I just sighed. I hated what I was doing to her, yet I couldn't help it. I couldn't help loving the shelter she gave me from the world. I couldn't help loving the feeling of safety I felt when I was with her. This rare vulnerability.

And I remember hating all the barriers between us. Hating everything that separated us. Even that damn coffee table and those bloody inches of air that kept us apart. I wanted to feel her in my hands. Next to me. By my side.

"Can you sit next to me? Please?" I blurted, looking straight in her eyes. They were so beautifully transparent to the extent that her dark pupils' constriction and dilation were amazingly noticeable.

I think I held my breath.

Her rosy, parted lips met each other, making me jealous that I wasn't there too at the meeting to tell them how much I missed them. She then shuffled to sit next to me.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my left arm around her. My heart was beating fast, but it started slowing down when I pulled her closer to my chest. I didn't want to think of anything. I didn't want to remember who I was. I just really wanted to be with her, to believe in this. This touch.

I let my fingers travel in her soft hair and through her tangles. She was simply lovely.

I breathed her in and put my chin atop of her head. And -my- wasn't I going to die when she wrapped an arm around my torso? Die in the most enchanting way.

"You're so warm." She purred and I grinned.

I planted my lips in her soft hair, brushed them against it, and smiled. "And you are so magical," I murmured.

"And you're ridiculous." Her muffled voice came after a pause.

"Only around you."

"You're being ridiculous again."

"I like it. Samara."

And then we both shut up. The silence was no longer awkward. It was warm and charged with lots of energy. And it was also broken by the occasional noise of gunshots and 'HOLY-SHIT's from Bianca's room.

"I wanna teach you how to use a gun," I said suddenly. "In case you'd ever need to protect yourself."

She didn't say anything for a while. "Okay. But I'm pretty sure that I won't need to as long as you're there. With me." She tightened her arm around me and I smiled.

"Now who's being 'ridiculous'?" I murmured, reaching for her hand. She chuckled lightly and I landed a kissed on her head as our fingers intertwined.

"Alright," I said energetically, pulling myself away from her. She twisted her back, pouted, and looked at me longingly. I grinned. "Lemme teach you how to shoot."

She tilted her head with a lopsided smile. "Okay."

I then leaned in and planted a kiss on her nose tip making her squeal. I then got up and put out my hand. She took it and stood up.

I then remembered Augustus.

"GUSTUS!" I yelled.

"YES?" came his muffled reply from Bianca's room.

"WE'RE HEADING TO THE WOODS-"

There was a short pause. "OKAY! I'LL BE HERE! PLAYING. ON THE PLAYSTATION. SHIT'S LEGIT!"

I grinned then looked back at Samara.

"Ready?"

"More than ever." She beamed, her eyes dancing in happiness.