Tatum had been feeling tense about a lot of things, and though classes were a large part of it, they weren't the worst. She was mostly glad to be off campus and not having to deal with any bullshit from anyone for a few hours. Sera was coming over later and although she didn't know what the younger girl's ulterior motive was yet, she was sure there was one. She would need all of the patience that she could muster for that.

"Isn't it all the same?" she retorted, scrunching up her face at him a bit as she followed him outside to sit down. He was always complaining about over-cooked food everywhere they went. She took the chair across from him, crossing her legs and giving a quick glance around them. There didn't seem to be anybody around except for them and the kid who had taken their order, and upon deciding that she doubted the kid gave a shit, she reached behind her ear and pulled down the little joint tucked there. "Uh, well.. you know, same s-shit really," she replied, grinning weakly back.

"Dad's still pissed about parents weekend, but he's not really taking it out on me so I can't complain?"

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Since finding Astrid and Alain safe and sound last Sunday, Julian had been feeling a lot happier. Eliot had taken on the role of father in this situation and Jules felt that the pressure wasn't really on for him anymore. Which couldn't be said for his classes, but the less said about them the better.

"Oh, yes. It's all the same" Julian said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You're just used to dry meat. One day I will cook you a real meal" he said, scrunching his nose up. "Theoretically, of course." Jules wasn't sure he would be caught dead cooking for someone else.

"Your dad is going to have a heart attack before he is fifty."

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"Yeah, I won't hold my breath for that one," Tatum chimed in, unsurprised when he tacked on the theoretical comment. It made her crack a little smile, taking an inhale and turning her head a bit to make sure they were still alone. She always felt so antsy smoking in public, but sacrifices had to be made.

She snorted a little at his comment about her dad, shaking her head. "Probably.. if he keeps this shit up anyway," she muttered, unable to hide a touch of bitterness. "I'm going to have a heart attack if he keeps this shit up. I mean, not this in particular because like.. it's amazing to see Sera get in trouble, but like.. generally. He's driving me nuts."

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Flicking his ash on the floor, Jules finally tired of Lotte scrabbling around his lap and let her sniff around under the table. The kid brought their food and dumped it on the table, hardly even paying attention to the smell of pot. Jules chucked a few fries on the floor for Lotte and pushed his food away in favour of his cigarette.

"A father's sole purpose is to be an asshole" he pointed out. "Sera is like a perfect child and he still is mad at her. How does that make sense? Not that you deserve to be on the end of his shit every day" Julian corrected himself with a smile.

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Tatum had been attempting to be polite, flicking her ash into the cupped palm of the hand she wasn't using to smoke, but she gave up the facade when Julian did. When the kid appeared with their food, she quickly ducked her hand under the table, but he showed no signs of really caring, as she had predicted. Taking a couple of fries for herself, she stuffed them into her mouth and shook her head.

"I don't know, I mean she.. s-she did say some really disrespectful things," the redhead replied slowly. Never minding, of course, that their father's idea of disrespect could sometimes mean something as simple as looking at him wrong. "But she also wasn't really in the wrong there. Not that he sees it that way.. but that's the thing, he doesn't see anything," she went on, trailing off a bit and taking up another fry.

"I wish I could move away," she lamented, deciding to toss the fry to Lotte instead as she finished up the few Jules had given her. "Somewhere exotic, with lots of colorful birds," she added, offering him out the joint.

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"If he thinks he can raise two daughters with no disrespect then he is deluded" Julian said bluntly. "Frankie is.. was much worse than either of you two, he should consider himself lucky." The thought of any father making his daughter's miserable really riled Julian up. Maybe it was because he knew what the outcome could be.

"Can I come" he asked, taking the joint with a slight pout. "Lots of colourful bikinis" he sighed, puffing.

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"He seems to believe he can," Tatum sighed back. She tensed up a little at the mention of Frankie's name, reaching for one of her burgers and biting that instead, trying to distract herself and act natural. It was still hard to talk about her sometimes. "I think he would have liked Frankie.. like f-from appearances anyway," she murmured, trailing off a bit. "She was much more of a lady.. w-when she wanted to be."

Putting down the burger, and taking back the joint from him, she nodded. "Of course you can come! It's not like I'm going to bring Sera or something," she assured him, smiling a little. She wanted to make a comment about the bikinis, but bit her tongue instead.

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Julian swallowed hard. After months of refusing to acknowledge Frankie's existence he was still surprised when she popped up in conversation. It happened a lot, she had been popular, or at least notorious enough to have a few stories around her. "Yeah, she was a real lady. On the outside, at least. Inside was a different story. Everyone liked her though. At first, at least." He grabbed his burger and shoved half of it in his mouth in one go.

"That settles it. I'll build us a tree house to live in and train a monkey to roll your joints" he joked.

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While smoking a good joint usually made her just about ravenous, Tatum was feeling like she had less and less of an appetite. Tossing more fries to Lotte, probably spoiling her just a bit, the redhead sighed. "I liked her," she said finally. It was almost automatic to add not like that, but she didn't. Julian wouldn't say something rude like Mack or Sera. She had a feeling he understood.

"I'd like that too," she added, lifting her head a bit and giving him a little smile. "I'm afraid of heights though, so I'm going to need like.. a tree elevator up to your treehouse. I don't climb like, no rope ladders."

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Julian just nodded in agreement. Their conversations about Frankie nearly always ended that way, and now a year on he was thankful he didn't get choked up anymore.

"Well I will build it on the ground" he offered, as if it was obvious.

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"That sounds like a much better alternative," she agreed, glad to have the distraction. Talking and joking about silly things was easier than having deep conversations about Frankie. Lifting up her burger with her free hand, she gave it another bite, looking slightly thoughtful.

"Can I ask you for some like.. brotherly-esque advice?" she asked suddenly, putting the food down and returning to hitting the joint.

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Julian alternated between smoking and eating and pulled a face as Tatum asked him that question. "I guess so" he said apprehensively, leaning back and taking off his sunglasses seriously.

"Shoot."

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"D-Don't give me that look," Tatum replied quickly, feeling a little bit embarrassed about asking now. But if she couldn't ask Julian, she'd need to ask someone closer to the situation. "You just know a lot about gi-- fucking around with.. people."

Trailing off for a moment, the redhead exhaled gently. "S-Say a girl liked you but you weren't really into her, how would you get rid of her? If being rude already wasn't working?"

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Julian grinned slightly, looking bemused. "Why would I ever not be into a girl?" Deciding Tatum probably wouldn't appreciate him joking around, she was pretty touchy about this subject, he thought long and hard.

"I usually just tell them I'm not into it. And suffer the slaps. Why wouldn't being rude work?"

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It was hard to explain the situation without letting out too many details that she didn't want to mention, and so Tatum simply chewed her lip a little instead. "It's a long story, she just-- the p-person is question is just.. very pigheaded, n-not my type," the redhead tried to express, as if she wasn't being equally pig-headed.

"It doesn't matter, I-I guess. It'll pass."

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Julian shifted a little uncomfortably and let out a perplexed noise. "You could always try violence? She- They wont expect that."

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"No, that's p-probably true," she agreed slowly. She took a moment to think on it before frowning again. "I don't know if it would work though, I-- I-I never really hit somebody before.."

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Jules couldn't understand never hitting someone before. The whole concept was alien to him, it was in his nature. "What do you mean you've never hit anyone? In junior year I hit my roommate so hard he swallowed a tooth! It took the nurse three hours to find it in his belly. And that was just because he touched my guitar.." He frowned and shook his head.

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Tatum stared blankly at the older boy, slowly raising one of her eyebrows. "N-Never hit anyone as in.. never hit anyone? I mean, like.. Sera, but that doesn't r-really count. I've never fought somebody," she explained, getting a bit flustered even at the thought. She had been bullied a fair bit over the years, but fighting back was never really her instinct.

"P-Playing dead is more my style?"

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