"This isn't fair." Julie groaned. "You're going too fast."
"You said you learn fast," I reminded, placing my last card onto the stack. I won. "Speed."
Julie let her head flop down to the bed and had her arms spread beside her, the huff she let out made the frown she probably had on her face obvious. The cards moved a bit from the movement and a few dropped to the ground. I couldn't help but smile at this.
Julie so far only seems to lose in every game we play.
"I dun' wanna play anymore," she grumbled. She rolled over to face the wall and somehow stuck her arms back into her blanket cocoon. She looked like a worm.
I sighed and put the cards back in the package they came in, shuffling on my knees to my night stand to put them back in the drawer. I then decided to just sit next to the night stand, leaning back onto my bed and stretching my legs out.
"Gen?" Julie said, her voice small and muffled from the direction she spoke and the blanket. "Can you cuddle me?"
I didn't answer for a few seconds because the sheer randomness of the question shocked me. Not only that but what she had asked. Julie just asked me to cuddle her. Who asks that?
"No," I finally said.
"You took a while to answer," she said. "That means you thought about accepting right?"
"Means I thought about throwing you out but decided against it and answered."
Julie flopped over to face me now, a pout on her face. God, she's too cute.
"But I didn't do anything wrong."
"You say weird things."
"How was it weird?"
I placed my hand on my forehead and sighed. Either this is just her act or she genuinely thinks that it's completely normal to say many of the things she says. I really think that it's the latter most times.
"Who asks that?"
She grinned, almost in a shy and child-like way. "Me."
"Of course," I breathed. "So damn weird."
"But you love it." She smiled bigger. "I feel loved."
I narrowed my eyes. She's so... I can't ever describe her in these moments. I never can. "Who said I even liked you?"
She flopped over to face the ceiling, feigning a hurt expression. Which looked funny because she didn't have her arms to express it right.
"I can't believe you'd say that..." She made her voice shaky, faking a sniffle. "I thought we had a connection."
I laughed and shook my head. "Do you have any other friends other than me?"
She flopped back over to face me and I'm wondering how the blankets are still wrapped around her so well. "Why do you ask?"
"People like people like you don't they?"
"I talk to some other people," she admitted but then she smiled real sweetly. "None as important as you."
"Back with the sappy shit," I mumbled.
"And you love it."
"I love everything about you in your perspective don't I?" I smiled, amused by this as always.
"Of course," she told me. She then bit her lip shyly with the fondest look on her face. "And I love everything about you too."
I think I'll just shut down now.
I turned away from her, tucking my knees to my chest and resting my head there, crossing my arms to cover most of my face.
"Gen?" She called. I didn't respond. "I'm sorry," she said. "We're still friends right?"
Of course, I'm not telling her that but I think I died.
Fuck, the way she said what she said sent me to damn Heaven.
_____
"Remember when we made cookies?"
I nodded, finally, I had booted back up. I remember that day, I'm pretty sure Julie ate most of those cookies too.
"You said I had the strength to move mountains."
"I got to hug you too." Julie grins. "You were blushing and everything," she gushed.
"It was a surprise attack," I said. "I didn't have my guard up."
"We should make cookies again."
"I don't have the ingredients."
"So you would if we had the stuff for it?"
I shrug, looking at the drawer. "Maybe."
I heard the sheets rustle and the bed creak, Julie suddenly appeared beside me. "We should go get the ingredients then."
"Does it look like I have a car?"
"Walking?"
"You want to walk that far?"
Julie tapped her chin like she was thinking of a solution. "That rhymed..."
That wasn't a solution.
"If you really want cookies we can walk to the convenience store and get you a small pack."
I look at her to see her response, but all she's doing is making a face.
"It's not just about the cookies..." Julie said as she slouched in a way that her elbows touched her thighs.
"Then what?" I asked with a sigh.
"It's about bonding." Julie planted her loose fists to the ground, looking at me with a pout.
"We've bonded enough," I told her. Crossing my arms like the defiant bad ass I am.
"No we haven't, I have to be the closest one to you," she said, determination in her eyes like she was going to save the world.
"But you are," I tell her, gesturing to everything around us. "You're in my room, seated right next to me," I continue with an amused grin. "I think that's closer than anyone could ever get to me."
Julie huffed, turning away for a moment, like she was trying to figure something out. "What about Alice? You two seem kind of close."
There goes my mood. "We're not close at all."
Julie lowers her eyebrows, more serious than playful at this moment. Why? I'm still yet to find out. "Who is she to you?"
I narrow my eyes. "Why do you want to know?"
Julie shrugs a little, seemingly uncomfortable. "I'm curious."
Still this nagging feeling that Alice may have said more to Julie than I was told.
"A bitch," I mutter. "That's who she is to me."
"Why?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Because she was being a bitch."
The look Julie gives me tells me that the answer didn't really satisfy her.
"You're supposed to tell me everything," she crossed her arms her playful pout coming back. "We're best friends."
"And who said that?"
"Remember the first time I came over?"
"I was about to throw you out the house."
"But we've bonded, and now we are best friends," she explained. "So I want to know why Alice is a B word."
"Why can't you just say bitch?"
She frowned, still a little childish. "Don't switch the subject."
"Okay, we were close friends but she hurt me," I lied. Or at least, a half lie. We were close friends at one point, she did hurt me. She was a bitch in the end.
Julie looked at me with unconvinced eyes.
"Why does it look like you don't believe me?"
"'Cause I don't."
"How would you even know if I were lying?"
Julie bit her lip, and shrugged, that same uncomfortable look on her face. She's bad at hiding things.
Whatever Alice said to her I want to know, but I doubt Julie would really spit it out. I really hope she wasn't being a bitch to Julie too.
As much as I used to say she was annoying and all, even then I wouldn't have felt that she needed to be told whatever Alice told her. I don't want Julie to worry.
It's better when she's smiling.
"You know what, I'm not going to ask more on this okay?" I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. "And I'll text James to get the stuff to make cookies when he comes home from work." I gave her a warm smile. "We'll make cookies tomorrow, right after school."
Julie seemed to brightened up to my words. She smiled right back. "Okay."
She moved a little, wrapping her arms around me and burying her head in my shoulder, murmuring a muffled, "thank you."
I didn't feel the need to really resist her affections today.
A/N: Hey people! Another chapter, how nice.
Anyways, I got a question. Would anyone want another story to read while this is in progress? I can publish a couple chapters of it and I'm just wondering if anyone would even read it. I mean, I would publish it one day anyway, but it'd be sooner if people wanted to see it.
It's basically about a slightly awkward girl and her trying to figure shit out between three other girls.
So yeah, that's it. This note is getting a little long so, bye now.