THE PAST
Juliette got woken up by a person who was walking over the mattress by her feet. Her eyes opened, and she saw a shadow walking into the studio flat of Sara. Her heart started to beat faster, who was this? She looked around her, everyone was still lying and sleeping in their bed - she could see that because the first light stripes escaped from under the curtains. Juliette's eyes rounded.
It was Saturday, the day after the sleepover. Juliette looked around her and saw Sara was still asleep; the two girls shared a normal mattress and the boys' air mattress. The four friends decided to lay them all on the ground, 'it looks cosier' were Sara's words.
Juliette sat up and looked in the direction of the shadow. She was way too tired to stay awake, but she didn't like the situation. Her eyes closed again, and she relaxed her shoulders.
"Julie?"
Her eyes flew open, and a shock went through her body. It was just Pierre, not some kind of creep. "What are you doing?" Juliette softly asked. She swore she saw Pierre lying in the air mattress two minutes ago.
"I had to go to the bathroom?" Pierre looked questionable at her, it seemed like Juliette was either still asleep or sleep drunk. "What are you doing?"
A yawn escaped Juliette's lips. "I don't know," she whispered.
"Okay," Pierre smirked. "That's good."
Juliette nodded. "What's the time?"
"Uh..." Pierre looked at the clock at the wall. "Eight o'clock."
"Jeez, it's bloody early," she mumbled and got up. Her eyes closed right away when the pain flowed through her legs. "Bollocks," she pressed the word over her lips and tried to walk over the mattress. It felt like her legs were made of timber, there was almost no movement possible. "Good morning," she sarcastically said when she faced Pierre.
Pierre scanned her face. "You alright?"
"No." Juliette grabbed a glass of water. "Uhm, I don't know if you like croissants and stuff, but the bakeries just opened, and it's quiet now. So I'm gonna get some croissants and baguettes and whatever they have."
"So your question to me is if I want to join you?"
"Precisely." Juliette took a huge sip of the water.
He nodded. "Sure."
"Perfect, give me ten minutes." Juliette grabbed her bag and walked towards the bathroom. When she closed the door behind her, her face straightened and stopped herself from groaning; the muscles in her legs hurt. It wasn't just the usual kind of muscle strain after a good sports session; this was pain, like her muscles were tearing apart. Juliette bit on her lip, placed her hands on the sink and leaned against it.
After a few minutes, Juliette pulled all the strength together and changed. She had packed some basics, so her outfit wasn't something spectacle. She put some makeup on her face and did something to her. If she was honest, she didn't care about how she would look like. As long, the pain in her muscles stopped.
"Ready to go?" Pierre asked softly when Juliette left the bathroom, he was changed as well. She nodded and put her bag on the ground. Pierre's eyes fell on it; Juliette's bag was still opened and...and did he see that right? He spotted a package of cigarettes in her purse. Pierre parted his lips, so it was confirmed that Juliette smoked. Or it had to be someone else's.
"Let's go," Juliette said. "Should we leave a note?"
Pierre looked up from the bag and pressed a smile on his face. "Eh..." He had to act like he didn't see it. "Nah, it doesn't matter," he said and left the studio, following Juliette. "So... Things are good in speed skating?" He finally could use his voice in a normal tone, instead of whispering.
"Meh," Juliette said and shrugged. "It's going fine, nothing special."
"And you're doing okay?"
Juliette looked confused at his. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?" She showed an almost genuine smile, but it wasn't real enough.
"Just asking," Pierre said casually. "Because you were pretty upset last night, when you arrived. Just checking," he talked himself out from it. "But let's be real, Jules. This morning, you scared the bejeezus out of me. You suddenly sat up. I honestly thought you were sleep drunk."
A laugh rolled over her lips. "Sleep drunk?" They walked off the stairs, another huge regret in Juliette's life. Her muscles contracted. "Stop," she said and stopped walking. "This hurts. Why isn't there a single lift in France when you need a lift?"
Pierre turned around on the stairs, and he looked worriedly at Juliette. "What's wrong?"
"Slow down for the grandma," Juliette joked and slowly walked off the stairs. "I basically pushed myself over the limit last training, and I regret it so much," she breathed. "I'm absolutely cancelling today's training. Anyway, you talked about me being sleep drunk?"
Pierre nodded slowly and waited for Juliette until they caught up with him. "You sat in bed, eyes closed, being really confused."
"I was just observing...things," Juliette smirked.
"Things? Right, Jules."
"You scared the bejeezus out of me," she said, with a significant emphasis on 'you'.
He rose his eyebrows, and a cheeky smile curved on his lips. "I scared the bejeezus out of you?" They arrived at the small lobby. Pierre opened the door and let Juliette leave the place first. "Why is that so?"
"You walked over my mattress, and I was highly convinced you were still asleep, so I was like: is there a killer in the house? But you took way to long to show up, so I just closed my eyes when I waited to see you," Juliette simply told and gave Pierre a forced smile.
Pierre burst into laughter. "I..." He was shaking his head. "You were highly convinced I was some kind of killer, so you just sit in bed and close your eyes because I was taking too long?" He locked his eyes with Juliette's eyes. "You watch way too many films."
"What?" Juliette giggled. "You never know."
"What if I was a real killer?" Pierre curiously asked. "What would you do then? Still sitting in bed?"
"I don't know."
"Small reminder, Jules, if there was an actual serial killer, the killer wouldn't wait the whole night to do something. He or she would attack you before you notice or have the chance to anything about it," Pierre acknowledged. "Remember that."
An embarrassed smile came on her face. "I know, but still."
"There's no way the killer would wait all night to kill someone. Unless he or she likes to watch you all night, which is crazy," he said, confused, almost disgusted. "Ew, psychopath."
"Don't even start it, I can't stop thinking about it now," Juliette said dramatically.
"I'm sorry," Pierre softly chuckled. "It's funny we both come from Rouen and we both go to the same school," he brought up; he was thinking about it quite a lot.
Juliette raised her eyebrows and cheekily smiled. "Coincidence."
"Anyway, what do you want, and what shall we get for the others?"
She stopped in front of the bakery and looked inside. "One baguette, four croissants and four pains au chocolat?"
"Sure."
"Alright, I will get some fresh jus d'orange from the cafe," Juliette said and pointed at the cafe across from the street.
Pierre satisfied smiled. "Go big or go home. Let's meet here in five."
"That's the spirit," she nodded and walked away from Pierre.
It came to Pierre's attention Juliette was having difficulties while walking. It could be liked to the muscle strain she experienced, but he didn't think it would be this extreme. Juliette said it was a muscle strain, so it must be the muscle strain. Pierre entered the bakery and ordered the pastries.
On the way back to Sara's flat, Juliette and Pierre talked about nonsense; homework, annoying things about their class, the upcoming exams, Pierre's career. It was a pleasant morning. The sun was shining briefly, but enough to make the cold disappear for a little bit. They entered the staircase. Juliette didn't want to look like a whining person, so she kept her mouth shut, but she was dying on the inside.
"Are you okay, grandma?" Pierre teased when he looked behind him
Juliette said, not so amused. "Fuck off, Pierre." She sighed. "Who in the heck thought it would be a great idea to invent stairs?" She finally arrived at the first level, there were four more levels to go.
"The tough life," Pierre said and pressed his lips into a thin line. "If you will hold this, you can jump on my back." He gave the paper bag to Juliette. "Go on, I don't have all day."
Juliette jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, you're such a sweetheart," she thankfully said.
A soft smile grew on his face. "No problem," he said and walked up the stairs. "I hate it when I see you struggle by the pain."
"Am I not too heavy? I can walk if that's better." Those thoughts made Juliette insecure, what if she was heavy and what if he would think she's too heavy?
Pierre was shaking his head. "No, Jules. You're not heavy," he said.
"Oh, okay," she whispered shyly.
They arrived at the right flat, and Pierre put Juliette back on the ground. Pierre opened the door, he had grabbed the keys from Sara before they left.
"Thanks again," Juliette said and gave him a wide smile. "Not gonna lie, my legs are tingling now, like they're asleep and weak."
"Make sure you don't fall for me," Pierre cheekily replied and winked.
The facial expression on Juliette's face straightened. "Shut up," she said and gave him a soft push.
Sara put both of her hands on her hips and looked not so happy at Juliette and Pierre, who were entering her studio. She cleared her throat, and the happy looks on their faces disappeared. "You both got me worried, my goodness. Where were you?"
"Making love!" Anthoine shouted from his bed. "Obviously."
"Mate," Juliette sneered. "No, we were not. We got breakfast, but I'm happy to un-share it with you. Less for you, more for me."
Pierre frowned. "The heck... No, Anthoine. You're talking bull crap."
Anthoine sat up. "Uhu, why is Lulu blushing then?" He amusingly looked at Juliette.
"How adorable," Sara cried.
"Because you make me feel awkward... I'm not even explaining this because I know you," Juliette sighed and put the bags on the table.
"Breakfast," Pierre annoyedly said and pointed at the table.