2:03 pm - 19th Sunday
It was him, the same guy she had noticed at the party, under his gaze she stilled. Even with no hopes of ever meeting that man again it appears that fate had finally been on her side because the moment he stretched out his hand another Earth shattering smile formed on his face.
"The name's Lucas, I don't believe we've met before," he stated as Juliette shook his hand.
"I'm Juliette, I believe we both go to the drama club together," she smiled before hesitantly adding, "you would know… that is if you had shown up during any of the club meetings."
A shocked laugh escaped his lips as he stared wide-eyed back at her. "Well, yeah, but I've been busy," he claimed, quickly raising his eyebrows before letting them fall back down. It wasn't until then that the pair had realized everyone was watching their conversation. Or if you could even call it that.
Freya and Chiara stopped gaping at them once Juliette had pressed her lips into a firm line, not daring to utter another word. It wasn't unusual for Juliette to back down but at that time with everyone watching it felt like the spotlight was on her and she stood there alone on an empty stage with the entire world looking at her. Her usual self however, is much more loud and outgoing, barely even knowing who Lucas was toning herself down a bit since she was still new to his companionship. Friendship? Already though?
A beat of silence passed before River cleared his throat, an indication that everyone should start moving to the McDonald's nearby. Without another second to waste the girls, Chiara and Freya, zoomed by, opening the doors and heading inside.
"I was going to say something here," River chuckled, "it's best if I don't." He walked past Juliette and Lucas before motioning them inside as well, the others had found themselves walking in after the five of them.
"So," Freya dragged, throwing her arm around Juliette's shoulder. "Should we have our Julie pay today?" Juliette audibly gasped, exchanging a rather nasty look as Freya giggled and took back her words. "I'm kidding, so dramatic."
The group ordered and paid individually as they sat down, the loud voices soon transitioned to hushed whispers with rather ghastly meanings. Juliette watched words spread between everyone as every new piece of information leaves her more surprised than the last. "How on Earth has all of this been going on? We're not halfway through our school year!" She gasped, borderline frantic as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.
"Relax Capulet, it isn't as crazy as it sounds," Lucas grinned, attempting to cover his laugh with a cough. He didn't think that through, he almost choked.
_
Upon reaching the library Juliette had the strongest urge to not study but sit by the many shelves of books, pick one, and start reading. Unfortunately, that urge was squished heavily when she realized just how much studying she actually had to do.
It didn't seem that stressful when she laid everything out, it felt like if she did put her thoughts together and worked it through time efficiently then there wouldn't be much to worry about. And yet it still felt like too much to deal with.
It's Astronomy we're two worlds apart
A sigh escaped her lips as she took out her notebook and math book. "It sucks doesn't it," Lucas asked, his voice hushed almost soft in a way that threw her off. "The math," he replied quickly.
"Oh, yeah, that," a nervous laugh slipped past her mouth as she took out a blue inked pen. "It does." She grumbled, a weak attempt to continue the conversation.
"Luckily, we're good at it," he said, rolling his eyes confidently. From his side of the table a pristine new math book took place along with a worn out almost abused looking notebook with a pencil and eraser.
"Good?" She struggled to believe that after joining high school her grades magically stayed as good as they did during elementary. They in fact did not. "Well, maybe it's easy for you to say but, I don't know," a sense of concern settled between them.
Lucas patted her hand, "you may say that but I know that if you wanted to you would," his words, coined with the internet saying and yet in one way or another he wasn't wrong.
Juliette nodded, the others had walked off into the other group rooms for studying which they had apparently booked beforehand. Freya took one look at Juliette before grabbing Chiara's hand and disappearing shortly after they had walked into the library. Another scheme, yet in that moment Juliette felt oddly comforted by it, even if there was nothing between her and Lucas it felt right to be sitting opposite to him.
Even if the only words they exchanged every now and then were "is this right?" And "How is that even possible?" Lucas' handwriting, unlike the horrid state his notebook was in, was quite beautiful. No, that's pushing it. It was much better than all the other guys' handwriting she's seen over the years. As stereotypical as it sounds it was true.
She slowly began to relax, bringing her chair closer to the joint table, tapping his foot occasionally. Absent minded. Smiling over the little things he did while helping her and cursing at himself when he spoke a word wrong or even fumed over how the questions were phrased.
This wasn't what she usually felt around a guy, the way his brows furrowed at the questions, his expression calculating as he deciphered each step, explaining it to her in a way that she would understand. He put his studying aside and dragged a chair over to her side of the table to help her figure out what she's been doing wrong and how she can improve whenever something like this decides to show up on the finals.
A blooming feeling of happiness spread through her, watching him, admiring him, and smiling with him. This is how she wants to feel around people, around her family, and around him.
Wait.
Around him?