CHAPTER TWO
"anything could go wrong anywhere."
WHEN TARA HAD initially asked Juliet to accompany her to the house party, she'd said no. She'd said this for many reasons - one of which being the trauma. Anything could go wrong anywhere, but at a house party? Everything would go wrong at a house party.
However, that was only her initial thoughts. A few days later, after the girl had thought it over, she grew overly excited. It was New York, she'd convinced herself parties would slowly become a weekly thing. And so, with a hand over her heart, she made a costume instead of writing an essay. The costume was more interesting anyway.
"Hurry up, Jules! We're leaving," Tara shouted as she thumped on the door to the girl's lonely apartment. The blonde laughed as she ran forward, throwing it open with a grin. Tara's eyes widened. "Oh my god. Juliet, really?"
She span around, arms held wide, as she giggled into the air. "It's funny, right?"
She wore a crimson red robe, crafted with individual strands of woven thread directed by her very own hands. It was old-school, the dress having clearly depicted the look of the olden days, but that's what Juliet appreciated the most. She was worried nobody would know who she was, but her thoughts were disregarded once the name slipped through Tara's plump lips.
"Dressing up as yourself? That depends on who you ask," the shorter girl mumbled, though a smile still graced her lips. Juliet frowned while she turned once more, grabbing her keys off the stand beside the door before dragging it shut behind her.
"I'm not dressing up as myself, I'm just dressing up as someone who . . . has my name," she tried innocently with a shrug. Tara shook her head, stifling a laugh as she jogged down the steps.
"Come on, Capulet. I have shots in my room to start us off," the girl grinned, leading the flustered girl down the stairs to her shared apartment a few floors down.
"Can't we wait until the party?" Juliet pleaded, her voice small.
"Don't be a party-pooper, you sound like Sam. It won't hurt," Tara teased, looking back up at the girl walking down the stairs behind her. She could feel her hesitant hand itching to leave the grip it had in Tara's, but then she remembered, this was New York. Everything was different in New York.
"Okay, fine, why not, right?" The girl laughed humorlessly, Tara ignoring it as she sent her a smile with an excited nod. However, Juliet quickly found out, it would hurt.
She felt tipsy before she even stepped foot into the blaring house, the music guiding the two girls on their way. They bumped into people, apologising with a laugh, before clinging onto each other in order to keep their sanity straight. Anyone walking past the two would think they were losing it.
Juliet lost Tara almost immediately, the amount of people too overwhelming for the two to bear. Their hands were pulled apart as they were dragged into opposite sides of the sea of people, Tara finding the alcohol while Juliet found Mindy and Anika.
"Mindy! Annie! Hi," she laughed bubbly, walking over to the two girls lying on the couch with a wide smile. They looked up, Anika smiling at the girl while Mindy widened her eyes.
"I like what you did to the costume," Anika applauded as she leant forward, Mindy's arm falling from her shoulder to the back of the couch. Juliet smiled with gratitude.
"How much have you had to drink?" Mindy asked, tilting her head as she examined the girl's stance. She forced a laugh with a shake of her head.
"Like . . . nothing," she scoffed, waving her hand towards the two girls. Anika laughed as Mindy quirked a brow; unimpressed. Juliet sighed. "Okay, I might have had like . . . three shots- or four," she winced, watching the girls raise their brows.
"Sweet little Juliet had four shots? Four?" Mindy exasperated, turning to look at Anika in bewilderment. "She had four shots!"
"Unbelievable, Jules," Anika teased with a shake of her head, causing the girl to laugh even more.
"Tara told me to! Blame her, not me," she said, crossing her arms around her chest as she eyed the people dancing around her.
"Chad and Ethan are around the corner, go see them," Mindy said as she nodded in the boys direction. They watched as the girl's eyes instantly lightened up, spinning on her heel as she determinedly pushed through the never-ending crowd of people.
She struggled to move against the surge, desperate to get to the other side. As soon as she did, her smile grew once more, the sight of the cowboy and the cardboard knight enough to brighten her fallen mood.
"Ethan!" She shouted happily, bounding over to the boy with a whimsical grin. The late teen in question turned around at the sound, his eyes widening as they landed on the girl with her eyes half-closed.
"Julie, are you okay?" He asked with concern, trying to ignore the flush of his cheeks as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He shot Chad a look of confusion as he hugged the girl, the boy only laughing as leant back against the wall.
"You, my friend, are drunk," Chad laughed, nodding his head down with a tip of his cowboy hat. Juliet gasped in mock offense as she pulled away from the tall boy.
"Am not!" She shot back, brows drawing in as she stuck out her tongue. It was then that Ethan finally laughed, having been holding it back as he watched the girl converse.
She looked over at the sound, eyes widening as they raked down his costume. "Why are you dressed in cardboard?" She asked with confusion, her finger pressing into the material covering his chest with furrowed brows.
"I'm a knight! Don't I look like a knight?" He asked with bright eyes, stepping away from the girl to gesture down at his costume. She gasped, hands finding her mouth, as she brightly smiled in the darkness of the room.
"In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo dresses up as a knight! I'm Juliet-" she shouted cheerfully, grabbing onto his shoulders as he raised his brows "-so you can be Romeo! This is so cool!"
She threw her arms around his shoulders once more, closing her eyes as she felt his arms slither back around her waist. "So cool," he breathed out, eyes trailing from the space in front of him to the boy in the cowboy hat still standing beside them. Chad threw him a thumbs up with a smirk as he started to back away, only getting interrupted in the process as his sister's girlfriend approached him.
"Hey, big guy. You're needed," she mumbled with a tap on his arm, causing the two to the right of him to part. Anika looked over with widened eyes before she glanced away, dragging the three towards the staircase in the middle of the house.
"Tara!" Juliet cheered as she caught sight of the girl's back, moving forward with her arms in the air. Only did she stop when she realised the girl was hand-in-hand with Frankie - the man Juliet could whole-heartedly say she hated. "Hey, Tara! Come back down here with me, let's dance!"
Juliet stood on the first step, Ethan hovering worriedly behind her, as Tara turned around with furrowed brows. "Hey, partner! Tara's good down here," Chad added alongside the blonde, nodding towards the girl further up the staircase.
"Sorry, bro. I didn't catch that," Frankie mumbled sarcastically, barely sparing the friends on the bottom floor a glance before he looked back towards the girl by his side.
"Yeah, you did," Chad retorted humourlessly, rolling his eyes as Ethan sent him a wary look.
Tara stumbled down the steps, one hand finding Juliet's elbow while the other found Chad's chest. "No, guys, it's fine. I want to."
"Tara, babe, trust me. You don't," Juliet whispered with a shake of her head, catching the girl's eye with her own nervous spark. Somehow, Frankie had heard her, causing him to scowl. Ethan saw it but made no attempt at moving forward, his arm only inches away from the girl's back already.
"No, babe-" Frankie mocked as he stepped further down, his eyes glaring into Juliet's. That was when Ethan finally raised his guard up, his feet inching closer to the next step up. "-she wants to."
The man, in one swift motion, grabbed Tara's arm while pushing Juliet's away. Due to the suddenness of his actions, the two girls were caught off guard, leading to Tara wincing as she fell backwards on the steps and Juliet flinching as her body was sent falling into the wooden railing.
"Hey! Don't fucking touch her," Ethan shouted angrily as he pushed himself in front of her, his hand holding her waist in order to keep her steady. However, Chad reached the man before he did, his hand enclosing around a fistful of his shirt as he flung him off the steps and into the wall. "Asshole," the boy with curly-hair mumbled beneath his breath, eyes glaring into the back of Frankie's shirt.
Ethan looked back at the girl rubbing her spine, eyes sparking with worry as he stepped closer to her. "Are you okay?" He asked, watching the girl tilt her head up with a forced smile and a nod.
"Is Tara?" She asked, trying to peer over his shoulder covered in cardboard. However, they grew distracted by the fight ensuing before them.
"Chad, let it go, stop," Juliet said, moving past Ethan to hold the boy back, but he wouldn't let her. He kept his arm firm by her waist as his other held her arm, causing her to look back at him with wide, innocent eyes. He merely shook his head, signalling to the girl to not move.
"Hi, yeah, sorry to interrupt. I'm just gonna tase you in the balls, real quick," Sam said, pressing the taser into the quickly screaming man. Juliet widened her eyes, her hand moving to lie on top of Ethan's. He quickly looked down, eyes focusing on the hand above his, while all she could do was watch her friend's sister with a proud smile. "Don't ever put your hands on my sister again."
"Sam, are you fucking kidding me? You're stalking me now?" Tara seethed, eyeing her sister with anger before storming away. Their friends all shared nervous and confused looks while Frankie groaned on the floor between them, the group deciding between their eyes to follow the dark-haired girl out. They left him lying in pain on the floor.