𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐒 𝐍 𝐉𝐄𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐒┃ 𝖨𝗌𝖺𝖺𝖼 𝖦𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗂𝖺 (𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗)

━ 𝟎𝟎𝟕

Juliana's eyes were drawn immediately to Isaac's vibrant orange shirt, standing out against the backdrop of the field. As he dashed across the grass, his hair danced in the wind, adding to the picture of effortless athleticism. With practiced ease, he reached out, snatching the football from the air before Parker, his height giving him a distinct advantage.

Juliana found herself unable to tear her gaze away from Isaac, whether it was because he was engrossed in the game or simply because she found him attractive, she couldn't be sure. Not wanting to dwell on the reason, she forced herself to look away, determined to focus on something else.

After ten minutes of fruitless pondering, Juliana conceded defeat. With school looming on the horizon, she realized it was time to call it quits. Closing her textbook, she gathered up her unfinished homework and stowed it away in her bag. Though the unanswered question nagged at her, she resolved to tackle it later, choosing to focus on the tasks ahead for now.

Juliana's attention was suddenly drawn to a faint knock against her door, prompting her to turn around and find Isaac standing there with a smile. However, her confusion caused his smile to falter slightly, leaving her wondering what brought him to her door.

"What's up with you?" Isaac broke the silence, his book bag slung over one shoulder as he leaned against the doorframe, his smile replaced by a look of concern.

"Nothing," Juliana replied curtly as she grabbed her bag.

Isaac's eyebrows raised at her response. "Well, hurry up, we're almost leaving," he said, his tone brisk.

Juliana shot him a pointed look. "Since when did you care?" she retorted, her voice tinged with bitterness. "Last time I checked, you left me and Jackie at school."

Juliana began to walk towards the door, but Isaac stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Standing directly in front of her, he tilted his head slightly downwards to meet her gaze, their height difference evident.

"You're acting like it's my fault. I wasn't the one driving," Isaac stated firmly, though he tempered his words with a hint of concern. He didn't want to sound rude, especially seeing how tired Juliana looked already.

"Yeah, sorry," Juliana conceded, realizing that Isaac had a valid point. She wasn't offended; he was just stating the facts.

Isaac stood there, his gaze lingering on Juliana for a moment longer before she walked past him without a word. Juliana noticed his stare but chose not to question it, simply leaving him in the room as she made her way out.

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JULIANA SAT IN the kitchen with her cousin, Jackie, waiting for Grace and Skylar to arrive to work on their Homecoming sign. Although Juliana wasn't particularly keen on getting involved, she knew that participating would look great on her transcript.

School passed by uneventfully for Juliana, just like any other regular day. She attended her classes quietly, not interacting much with anyone besides her cousin, Jackie. When Jackie invited her to join in the activity, Juliana agreed, figuring she had nothing else planned.

"How are we doing this?" Juliana inquired, observing her cousin's work on the posters.

"Most of the posters are done, we just have to finish painting," Jackie replied, her focus still on the posters. "Luckily, we have Grace and Skylar coming over to help."

Juliana nodded in understanding and rose from her seat, reaching for one of the posters ready to paint. However, Jackie looked up and swiftly took the poster from Juliana's hands.

Juliana looked at her cousin with a puzzled expression. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just wait," Jackie replied cryptically.

"Wait for what exactly?" Juliana questioned, her confusion deepening.

"Are you guys finally fighting?" Isaac chimed in, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. The Hispanic boy strolled over to the fridge, casually opening it and grabbing a water bottle.

"No one is fighting," Juliana defended, shooting Isaac a pointed look.

Isaac walked over to the two girls, his gaze fixed solely on Juliana. "Whatever makes you sleep at night," he retorted with a playful smirk before taking a sip from his water bottle.

Jackie sighed, addressing Isaac directly, "Isaac, can you please leave us to do what we need to do?" With a shrug, Isaac complied, walking away and heading outside.

Juliana turned to her cousin, impressed. "How'd you do that?" she asked, curious about Jackie's ability to persuade Isaac to leave without much fuss.

"Do what?"

Juliana gestured towards where Isaac had just been standing. "That," she clarified, referring to Jackie's successful request for Isaac to leave them alone.

"I just asked him to leave, Juliana," Jackie explained, noticing her cousin's puzzled expression. "Do you not do that every time he bothers you?"

Juliana paused, considering Jackie's words. She realized that while she often showed she didn't want to be bothered, she rarely explicitly stated it. "You know what, never mind," she said, shaking her head.

"Okay, anyways, let's just go upstairs to our room and finish," Jackie suggested, grabbing the posters and heading towards the stairs. Juliana nodded in agreement, following closely behind her cousin as they made their way upstairs to complete their task.

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AUTHORS NOTE:

HEYY😣 sorry for disappearing for like a month but i'm back w a short chapter mb

and for anyone who is wondering i don't think i'm going to update that Lee book in a while so bare w me.

also if you see mistakes pls tell me 🤪

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