- Chapter 14 - (Finale)

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Last chapter, guys. Let's do this.

It's Time by Imagine Dragons

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● Juliet Saunders ●

Though I was having a really great time with my friends, I couldn't keep Austin from lingering in the back of my mind. No matter how badly I wanted him out, he just wouldn't go. He was stuck there.

He hadn't been around us all night. As a matter of fact, he hadn't been around us much since vacation. He was so distant, spacey, and he just gave an overall odd vibe. It was obvious that he wasn't being himself and as much as I hated to admit it, it was my fault. I ruined his senior year because of my stupid plan for revenge. I should've known that fighting fire with fire only made things worse. It didn't fix anything. Not even what it was intended to fix-- myself.

Are you happy now? I thought. Now he has a taste of how you felt a few years ago. Does it really feel that rewarding? Does it?

No. Not even a little.

Everyone was by each other except for Austin and the Alex, who had left for a reason that I wasn't sure of. It wasn't affecting me to a great extent, but it tugged at my mind a few times. Austin was at the table by himself, but disappeared along with Alex the next time I looked back. And as the minutes passed, I just thought to myself.

I thought about what life would have been like if my dad never got that phone call telling him about the promotion in Florida. I thought about what it would have been like if I never had the motive to transform myself. I thought about what it would have been like if I never had the idea of getting revenge on Austin.

As for the first two, I didn't know what life would be like. But for the last one, I knew both he and I might be happy. He would never feel as low as he did and I wouldn't feel guilty for causing it.

I'm so stupid.

"Juliet!" a voice called. Stopping, I looked around at my friends to see who was calling me, but no one had their attention on me. So, I looked around a little more but saw nothing.

"Juliet!" it called again. This time, people quieted down and started murmuring things to their friends. More and more people silenced and more eyes found me until all were on me. I just stood still, completely unaware of what I should do. I didn't even know who was calling my name. 

"Cut the music!" the voice said. It was an all too familiar sound but I just couldn't point out its owner. The music ceased and the only sound in the room were people's whispers and confused tones. I was just as confused as they were, if not, more.

"Juliet! Juliet!" they continued calling, people in the crowd dispersing and moving to allow the person through. My heart thudded in my chest and my palms began sweating, hating all of the perplexed eyes on me. It made me very uncomfortable.

Soon enough, the person came through the large mass of people and stopped right before me, flustered and breathing heavily. It was Austin.

My face dropped and my nerves kicked in even more.

What the hell is he doing?

"Juliet, why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his eyes boring into mine from feet away. His words worried me because I didn't know what he was talking about, but I knew it wasn't good.

Shaking my head, I crossed my arms over my stomach and felt myself become insecure with everyone's attention on me. This was a different kind of attention from when I first came back to school. This wasn't positive attention, it was the kind of attention that kids at school preyed on. It was something for them to make a huge spectacle about for the rest of the year. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about what you told Alex a couple of months ago. Think. What did you tell him?" he declared knowingly.

My eyes trailing up to the ceiling, I thought really hard about what he was referring to. Was it about how I never wanted to talk to him again? Or how I never was going to be with him?

Or that you love him, a voice in my head tested.

No, no it can't be that. He couldn't know. There was no way he knew.

Moving my concentration back to him, I shook my head again acting as if I really had no idea at all. "I-- I don't know."

"Come on," he pleaded, stepping closer to me in the process until he was inches away. "What did yo tell him at the beach house before you and I decided not to talk anymore?"

My heart fell to the floor. He really was talking about what I thought he was. I didn't know how he knew, but that wasn't really important by that point because he just knew. That was a problem in itself.

"Juliet, you could've said something," he breathed, his eyes sparkling more than ever.

"No, I couldn't have. It doesn't matter anymore anyways. And I'm not talking about this. Especially not here," I spat, moving around him to get away. All I wanted was to get out of there. I didn't want to be near him after that. It wasn't worth stressing over by that point.

Who are you kidding? I thought. You're not over him. You never will be. It doesn't matter how much you try because in the end, you can't forget about how he made you feel when you were friends. The way he made you feel a few years ago doesn't matter. It's over and done with.

"But, Juliet, I love you, too!" his voice called from behind, causing me to stop dead in my tracks. If I thought my heart fell to the floor before, it really was there when he said that. Gulping, I slowly turned on my heels and looked at him, shock covering my face. I heard many gasps and startled whispers considering no one expected Austin Mahone, one of the biggest players in school, to say something like that to anyone. Especially me. "Remember when we were friends in middle school and I would make you laugh all the time? Well, I didn't realize it before, but I did it because I loved your laugh. The sound of it drove me crazy. And it still does. I think about your smile and your eyes all the time and I can't get myself to stop. But the things I did to you afterward, I-- I should've never done them. They were horrible and wrong and stupid and childish and there's no way I can ever make it up to you."

I stood completely put, my eyes beginning to water. My stomach did a flip and my head was pounding. I didn't know what to say. He began stepping closer, a soft smile on his lips. I didn't move a muscle.

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