"So, where are we going?" I asked Julio the moment I saw him hanging around by the school doors. The car I usually used was at home, as I'd gotten a ride out of Chris in the morning.

"Somewhere." He said, almost defensively as he looked at the people around us. They were all staring, gossiping about what was obviously the two of us.

"Do you think they're dating? Because, honestly, that's just weird." I heard one voice over the others and my eyes found the redheaded culprit.

I glared at Chelsea from Physics and she immediately looked down, guilty. She nudged her friend, and gestured in my direction to show that I'd caught on.

Her friend feigned innocence while I rolled my eyes and began walking out the door, Julio right behind me.

His motorcycle was the only one in the lot, and I could register the awe on the faces of the people around me when they saw Julio hand me the helmet.

"Why don't you use it?" I asked, reluctant to take. If there was an accident, how would it be fair if I got out while he was stuck facing the consequences?

"Don't you worry your pretty little head over me, princess." He drawled, sarcasm embroiled in every syllable. "Now, put on the helmet so that we can leave this hellhole." Julio ordered, and I listened to him wordlessly, my hands deftly fastening the helmet on.

"Let's go." I said, holding onto his shoulders. I was more prepared this time, which was why I wasn't going to be putting my arms around his waist and being all weird by feeling him up.

Or, so I thought.

The moment his motorcycle started and he sped off, I let my hands slip from his shoulders and immediately grabbed onto his torso. I felt my cheeks flush as our close proximity allowed for me to hear the chuckle that escaped his lips in a low rumble. I'd never heard him laugh before. It was a deep, husky sound and I was sure he didn't do it very often.

"Shut up!" I said, carefully extracting one hand so I could hit his back in annoyance, but I didn't get a reaction out of Julio.

About ten minutes later, we were in the normal part of town. As in, the part of town that wasn't full of spoiled, rich brats. I mean, I loved Ally and the others but no one could deny that they were privileged.

Then, Julio passed through the ordinary part and went into the more..... unpleasant side of town. I had nothing against it, but I was pretty sure that, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a drug deal going down.

"What are we doing here?" I asked Julio, confused, as he stopped in front of an old warehouse. I felt dread pool in the pit of my stomach, as I took in the sight. It was pretty creepy, with its dark grey, peeling walls and dilapidated exterior.

"You'll see." He said, taking the helmet from me.

"Not to be cliché," I began, crossing my arms over my chest, "But did you bring me here to kill me?"

"Why would I want to kill you?" He asked. "As annoying as you are, you still aren't as annoying as everyone else I know."

"Is that your way of saying we're friends now?" I teased, expecting a rebuttal from him, but instead was pleasantly surprised by a small shrug.

A smile made its way onto my face, and my eyes lit up. He was admitting it. This was a success.

I didn't say anything, though, and just followed him inside. The interiors were just as bad as the exterior, but I didn't say a word. Julio obviously enjoyed being here, judging by the way his posture relaxed, like he felt almost at home.

"What is this place?" I asked, curiously, falling into step beside him, "I know it's a warehouse, but why exactly is there a warehouse here?"

"There used to be some kind of mill or something like that around here." He explained, looking sideways at me, his eyes blank, but not cold. "It's been abandoned for almost a hundred years, I think."

That explained why it looked the way it did.

"That's interesting." I commented and, instead of just nodding along like a normal person, Julio chose to say, blunt as can be, "No, it's not."

A short, surprised laugh escaped me and I nodded, "You're right."

Julio looked at me like I had three heads for laughing at something that wasn't even funny, but I didn't care.

We'd reached a flight of stairs, and he gestured for me to go in front of him. I climbed up until the third floor, before I turned to him, panting, "How much further do we have to go? I'm tired."

My voice was whiny and annoying, and I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd been filled with the sudden urge to smack me. In my defence, though, my daily trips to the gym didn't necessarily mean that I was fit— I mainly just used the elliptical and the bicycle thing.

"Just walk he ordered," and I could hear the frustration in his voice, "It's only another flight anyway."

"Fiiine." I groaned, scrunching my nose up at him.

Finally, once I reached the end of the current flight, there weren't any more, just a door. Before opening it, I decided to wait for Julio. He was right behind me.

He wasn't even slightly out of breath. His jacket was off and it was in his arms, but he hadn't broken a sweat. Then, there was me. I was panting with my hands on my knees like I'd just run a marathon.

Julio held the door open for me, and I went past it, surprised to be met by open air, and not just another room.

"Wow." I said, going near the edge. There weren't any walls, or a railing. I could easily just fall over to my death but, fortunately, I wasn't stupid enough to stand right at the edge. "It's beautiful up here."

"Isn't it?" He asked, almost wistfully as he came to stand beside me. The view overlooked the town and, although that wasn't exactly the prettiest sight, you could just see the sea on the horizon and it just made everything feel like it was almost...... magical.

I was surprised by the height. The warehouse was apparently much taller than I'd noticed earlier as the view was, surprisingly, breathtaking and the fact that we could see so much of the area really did shock me a bit.

"How did you find this place?" I asked, my voice soft, and slightly awed.

"Javier found it. I don't know how, but he just brought me up here one night when m—" He cut himself off abruptly, choosing not to say anything. "Yeah, it doesn't matter."

"Okay." I didn't want to push him. We were just barely friends, so I didn't have the right to butt in on his life. Besides, even if we were close, it would totally be his choice whether he wanted to tell me something or not.

He looked over at me, the wind sweeping through his hair, almost like he was confused that I wasn't asking him all kinds of questions.

"I've never seen a view like this." I commented, changing the subject. The grimy grayness of the part of town that parents warned their children away from contrasted sharply with the pale sand and bright blue of the beach.

"It's unique, that's for sure." He stated, shaking his hair out of his face. It was shaggy, and reached just below his ear in chocolate curls. I was rather sure he could even put it in one of those stupid tiny ponytails that some guys had easily.

We stood in silence for a while, and Julio was more relaxed than I'd ever seen him. His jaw was unclenched, and his hands were in his pockets instead of crossed, his worn, black leather jacket having been slung carelessly over his shoulder.

The view didn't get old. I'd seen vaster ones in the city from buildings much taller, but there was just something about this that made it somehow better and I couldn't really understand it.

"You know," he said, his lips slightly upturned, "I've never met anyone like you, Taylor Channing."

The wind hit his hair in just the right way, blowing it gently across his forehead.

"I'm unique, that's for sure." I breathed out, echoing his words from before.

Then, he smiled. It was the first full, real smile I'd gotten from him and it made my stomach clench. It was breathtaking, merely because it lit up his face.

And, in that moment, I'm not sure what possessed me but I took his hand, his rough, calloused hand, in my own and he didn't pull away. He just held on just as tight.

After that, we watched the view.