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||꒰𝒋𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂꒱||
When I left the house for school, Bryce was already waiting outside for me. I didn't know what to say, so I just thanked him for the lovely sycamore tree and tried to dodge him.
"Hey Juli, how've you been?" Bryce asked.
"I'm fine. And you?" Dang it, why'd I have to engage in conversation?!
We rode and talked and I got progressively more emotional until I reached breaking point. I don't even remember what I said, but he sincerely apologized. With that, I was burnt out and just stopped talking altogether.
I walked into the hall to be immediately greeted by Shelly Stalls.
"Hey! Tell me exactly why you were riding bikes with Bryce," she said angrily.
Rolling my eyes I replied, "We're neighbors, Einstein. What do you think?"
She scoffed and tossed her stupidly big hair. "Back off."
"Whatever," I muttered as I continued to my locker.
I met up with my closest friend, Darla, who seemed awfully charismatic. "I told you that Bryce has a big crush on you!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure you did, but this doesn't make us a couple," I said quietly as Darla gave me a 'seriously?' look. "Does it?"
"Come on! Did Bryce wait to ride here with you?"
"...yes?"
"See! First, he chooses to ride his bike and not the bus, then he rides with you. He obviously wanted to spend time with you, Juli!" She looked so certain, and I couldn't help but feel a couple of lone butterflies flitting around my stomach.
"Well... maybe..."
"More like: well, definitely!" Darla shot back. "You've got yourself a keeper, that's for sure."
"How do you even know?"
She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Okay, look, even after you rejected him, he still cares about you, and he wants so badly for you to forgive him."
"Oh."
•••
When we were paired up in science, I was glad to be with Darla but disappointed that Shelly was with Bryce. It seemed that she always got what she wanted, and if he was as naïve as I prayed he wasn't, Bryce would fall into her traps again.
"Juli!" Darla snapped. "Wake up!"
"What?" I shot up, not realizing I had zoned out.
"You were just staring at..." she leaned close to my ear, "Bryce," she leaned out. "And you weren't responding."
"No, no I wasn't... was I?"
"Yes Juli, you were. Maybe you still have feelings for him," Darla said sympathetically.
"I guess I should talk to him then," I decided.
Darla nods. "Yeah, you should. You two will be so cute together!" She giggled again
I groaned. "Thanks," I replied dryly.
•••
The bell rang loudly and I made my way to the cafeteria, looking around for Bryce. Finally, I spotted him, sitting at a corner table all by himself. Poor thing.
As I walked over to where he sat, he seemed to tense up as I neared him.
"Can I sit here?"
He wiped the crumbs off of his lip. "Hm? Oh! Yeah, yeah, you can sit here."
I took out my lunch slowly, watching Bryce out of the corner of my eye. "Sorry for being so cold this morning. I was just... angry for no reason."
"It's okay," he peeped quietly.
"Is something wrong? I'm sorry if it's because of me."
"No," he said, louder this time. "It's just that... that... oh, never mind."
"Hey, you can talk to me," I said in my best sympathetic voice.
He sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway. I was just... thinking."
"Oh, okay," I replied, not fully believing him. "Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that.. if you want, we can be friends."
Bryce gave me a small smile. "I'd like that."
I felt a sudden burst of confidence. "Okay, great! Are you gonna keep riding your bike to school, or take the bus?"
"I think I'll be riding my bike. Less drama and I get to avoid Garrett," he explained.
"You know, you really should apologize to him. I'd hate to be the reason your friendship ends."
Shaking his head, Bryce seemed firm in his decision. "Garrett wasn't a very good friend anyways. You heard what he said about you! I should've punched him anyways! Right in the nose!"
I giggled. "Nah, then you would've gotten in more trouble. Though he does deserve it. So do you," I teased.
As Bryce smiled at me, I couldn't help but feel those dang flutters again. But this time I wasn't as mad because I knew he meant well. And I was just a little bit proud that he was happy because of me.
"Will you ride your bike with me to school tomorrow?"
Although I should've seen it coming, I was still a bit shocked to hear Bryce say those words. "If you want me to, then sure!"
