That Night

Chapter Seven

The girly pink bag was burning a hole in my hand as I walked down the hall. I felt nervous, more nervous than I'd felt in a long time. I didn't usually get this anxious about anything, so it seemed ridiculous that my stomach would be churning over something as little as returning a pencil case.

Juliet was sitting in front of her locker, hopelessly shoving books around and emptying pockets in her backpack. She was looking for her pencil case. I didn't even have to ask to know it. I had waited a day to give it back, though it was selfish and unnecessary. Now she was frantically trying to find it among her textbooks, which she had probably already done when she got home the day before and realized it was missing.

She still hadn't seen me yet, now that I was standing right behind her, gripping the pencil case tightly. I cleared my throat to get her attention, feeling guilty and scared for her reaction.

Juliet, a little startled, turned and looked up at me from her seat on the floor. Her eyes flickered up to mine, but her annoyance turned to relief when she saw her bag in my hand. Quickly, Juliet scrambled to her feet, confusion brewing in her bright blue eyes.

"I, uh, found it," I mumbled, handing over the stolen pouch. "It was under your chair in History yesterday."

I didn't want to lie to her, but I couldn't admit that I had taken it purposely just to get the chance to talk to her. She would take it as another reason to hate me, and I wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Oh," she murmured, her frustration slowly fizzling out as she looked down at her pencil pouch. Juliet then zipped it open and peered inside, thumbing through its contents as if taking inventory.

"I didn't take anything, if that's what you're thinking," I told her with a soft chuckle, hoping to evoke a smile.

And she did smile, though transiently. Still, it was better than nothing.

"Um, well, thank you for returning it," she said, briefly meeting my eyes before looking back down. "I was, uh, looking for it." She gestured down to the mess of books and papers scattered about her feet.

"Yeah, I figured," I replied, grinning. "Do you need help cleaning up?"

Juliet looked shocked that I would offer to help her, even though we had been friends only three months ago. Her wide blue eyes stared up at me curiously. Without waiting for an answer, I crouched down, all the while keeping eye contact, and began to gather her papers into a neat stack.

"Okay," breathed Juliet as she, too, knelt on the floor.

I peeked up at her as she focused on her task. A few strands of hair fell into her face, and I almost laughed watching her struggle to keep them tucked behind her ears as she leaned over.

Once I had stacked all the papers, I gave them over to her, saying, "Is there anything else I can do?" I wasn't asking about cleaning up her mess, and I could tell by the expression on her face that she knew it.

"No-o," she croaked. After piling everything back into her locker, Juliet jumped up, hastily yanking on her backpack. "I have to go," she muttered, swiveling around as she slammed her locker shut.

"Juliet," I called after her, easily gaining on her as she sped down the hall. "Come on, Juliet. You can't do this forever."

"Do what," she said, not even bothering to form a question because she already knew the answer.

"Please," I begged, my voice barely above a whisper. I sounded pathetic, but I didn't care. I'd never had to hide my true feelings – with one exception – from her, and I wasn't about to start.