Alone, Together (julian casablancas fanfiction)

Chapter Two: Perplexed

Nothing beats waking up to a loud, annoying alarm clock on a Monday morning. Gemma doesn't take long to get ready, as she puts very little effort into looking good for school. She thinks half the girls try way too hard anyway and it makes her cringe.

She can't help think about the party and about Julian. She hasn't called him yet but she has the slip of paper, securely sitting on her side table. Gemma feels slightly intimidated to call him and nervous his attitude won't be the same as that night.

Gemma grabs a loose t-shirt with the words 'Van Halen' scribbled across the front, skinny jeans, and her chucks. She throws it all on, brushes her teeth, applies very minimal makeup- and is out her room is less than 10 minutes.

"Don't be late, Gemma." Her mom hands her a banana as she reaches the end of the stairs. Her mom is currently running late herself, trying to get to her publishing office. She's a writer with two published books already under her belt. Gemma hopes one day she can find joy in a profession she loves.

Gemma stares out the window. It was a cloudy day in the city, everything felt gray and gloomy.

Gemma has on and off days with her mother. She has a habit of shutting her out even though her mom is the only person she can trust. Gemma lost her dad when she was seven and ever since she's felt lost. He was her best friend and now that he is gone there is a hole in Gemma's heart. It's easy for her to isolate herself, as she is afraid of losing people she loves.

Gemma says goodbye to her mom, as she leaves her house and begins her journey to school. It was also chilly, so she throws on a brown corduroy jacket she grabbed on the way out.

She unravels her headphones and plugs them in. Music is everything to her. It helps her escape, it helps her feel happy, and it helps her cope.
The walk to school isn't long, two blocks and LES prep is on the left. Gemma comes to a scary realization– Julian just transferred to her school. How did she forget?

She feels anxiety rush through her, but deep down she's excited to his face again. She thinks he's cute in a grunge, messy way. She liked the way he talked and the way he explained things.

She walks inside the school and past the main office, straight to her locker.

"Gemma!" Her best friend comes running over, with a frantic look on her face.
"What's wrong?" Gemma asks. She hates asking because it's usually always gossip and drama, which makes no sense to her.

Ginger grabs her hand and pulls her into the bathroom. Gemma has a confused look on her face. "What?" She asks again.

"Spencer and I fucking broke up." Ginger says, tears streaming down her face. Gemma feels bad, of course, but she can't help notice that they seem to breakup almost every weekend. The relationship seems childish and very toxic. Gemma also feels uneducated on high school relationships because she has never had a serious boyfriend and doesn't plan to. She's a senior now and doesn't know why she would get so invested.

"I'm sorry." Gemma says, leaning her head against the white bathroom brick. Ginger tries to calm herself down, wiping her tears with paper towels.

"It's like, everything's fine and he's all over me, but the next day it's like the opposite." She explains. "Maybe you should find someone who treats you better." Gemma explains.
She wanted to get out of the bathroom, the anticipation of seeing Julian down one of the hallways was growing inside her.

"I know, you're right. I just love him." She says, looking in the mirror and adjusting her makeup. She takes a deep breath.

Ginger finally composes herself enough to leave the bathroom. Gemma gives her a hug, before they part separate ways to class. Gemma knows she will get over it, just like she has the 10 other times it has happened. She wonders if she sounds mean or cynical, but she has no patience for letting people treat her like shit.