||꒰𝒃𝒓𝒚𝒄𝒆꒱||
It was the last day of eighth grade. The day of the grad dance. My mom had gotten me a light purple tie, to Mrs. Baker's advice. I wondered what Juli's dress looked like. It didn't matter what she wore, though. She'd look stunning.
"Come here Bryce, let's get a photo before we leave to get Juli!" My mother grinned brightly at me. I decided it was best to just do it. Protesting wouldn't get me anywhere.
So I stood in front of the staircase while she grabbed the camera. "Say cheese!" I plastered a smile on my face. The camera shutter clicked. I'm certain I looked incredibly nervous in the picture. Like, terrified. "Okay, I'll go get in the car if you want to walk over to Juli's house and knock on the door."
And I walked across the street in my suit and tie. I had barely tapped my knuckles to the door when Juli swung it open. She wore a mid-length lilac dress that was the same color as my tie. It was silky and fit her well, making her look even prettier than usual. Her white shoes matched with her earrings and necklace. Curled pieces of hair framed her face like a halo.
"Holy... woah," I mumbled, now incapable of forming a full sentence. She looked perfect.
"Um, hi," she replied, furrowing her brow. "Are you okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just... you're..."
"I knew it! I look stupid, don't I?"
"... pulchritudinous," I said because it was the biggest word I knew and I couldn't stress how beautiful she looked.
Juli seemed very confused. "What language are you speaking?" We laughed.
"Sorry, it's just that I couldn't find a word long enough to explain how pretty you look," I replied bashfully.
"Where did you even learn that one?" She smiled, and I was glad she was no longer underestimating her own elegance.
Well, I couldn't tell her that I was reading a thesaurus to find a word that would impress her and also describe how I had predicted she would look. Somehow, she was still dreamier than I had imagined.
I bit my lip. Play it cool, Bryce. "I, uh, picked it up from a book I was reading." Technically not a lie.
"Oh," she responded with a shrug. "Cool."
Then I remembered why I was here. "Right, uh, my mom's got the car ready, since you're riding with us."
"Gimme a second," she answered, "I've gotta go say bye to my parents."
She disappeared and I heard someone, probably one of her brothers, yell from inside the house. "You better treat her well or you won't live to see the light of day!" Great. No pressure at all.
"Sorry about them," Juli apologized when she came back. "They're overprotective."
"I can tell," I reacted with a laugh. "We should get going."
Picking up a small handbag, she followed me out the door and across the street.
Remembering every little thing my sister had complained that Skyler didn't do, I rushed to open the car door. "Thank you," Juli said as she stepped in. "Good evening Mrs. Loski, how are you?" Her politeness never failed to show.
"I'm good, thank you for asking. And you?" At least they got along. I sat down next to Juli and closed the door.
"Oh, same as usual," replied Juli. "Always busy with something."
"I know what you mean," my mom said as she backed out of the driveway. "I'm picking you two up at nine, right?"
"Yup," I answered, hoping that Juli would talk to my mom and not me.
She pushed a spiral lock of hair behind her ear. "So Darla and her date asked us to meet them at one of the tables so we'll have somewhere to sit if we aren't dancing. I think she'll be there early because her mom is volunteering, so she's saving us seats."
Planning ahead seemed to be something Juli did. I can't say I hated it, though. "Okay, that'll be fun."
"Yeah, and we can show Garrett that you're better off without him," she said with a laugh. It's very true. Garrett was, to put it in a word, toxic. But my mom didn't know what happened.
"What about Garrett?" she asked, just as I expected.
I tried to think of a good explanation that didn't say too much. "Oh yeah, mom, I forgot to tell you that Garrett and I had a little, um, argument."
"Do I need to call his mother and tell her that Garrett was being rude? Or was it you?"
"No! No, it was just over, um, an, uh, a little thing, it's no big deal," I said hurriedly.
"I was just joking, anyways," Juli intervened, saving me from making this issue worse than it needed to be. "Garrett was just upset that Bryce got a date to the dance and he didn't." How did Juli always know what to say?
"Ah."
•••
The school's gymnasium was decorated with purple and yellow banners and balloons. Intertwining my fingers with Juli's, we walked over to where Darla was waving from.
"You two look adorable together!" Darla squealed. Girls. Well, most girls. I'd never heard Juli sound like a mouse.
I just smiled. "You look great too, Darla," Juli replied. Darla wore a yellow dress with white lace.
"I think I'll go get us something to drink," I told Juli. "Do you want some punch?"
"Yes, thank you," she replied politely.
Walking over to the tables at the back of the room, I spotted Garrett talking with some other boys. When I neared the punch, he approached me.
"So, you came with your little girlfriend, I see."
"Yup," I said plainly. "And I see that no girl agrees to come with you."
"Hey, I'm not the one who's had a girl kissing up to him since second grade. It's not shocking you had to go with her," Garrett spat with a smirk.
Of course he was acting like this; he was jealous. "Okay, let me know when a girl who cares about more than her hair and clothes likes you. Heck, let me know when any girl likes you!"
He scowled at me and walked away. At least he admitted defeat. I poured two cups of punch and walked back to the table. Darla was walking away with her date, leaving Juli alone.
"Here's your punch," I said as I handed her a cup.
She smiled gratefully. "Thanks." I sipped from mine. It was fruity and somewhat sweet.
"Do you wanna go dance?" I asked, hoping to make this less awkward.
She swallowed her drink. "Yeah, sure."
The floor was covered in people. Conversation was loud but didn't drown out the music, blasting from the speakers.
After some time of jumping and belting the lyrics to our favorite pop songs, a slow tune began to play. My eyes met with Juli's, and we naturally assumed the slow dance position. Resting one hand on her shoulder and another on her waist, we began to sway in sync with the melody.
Side to side, back and forth. It was repetitive but oddly soothing. I think it was something about being there with her.
Another passive piece began to fill our ears. Juli had pulled me closer; we were practically hugging. Her head rested on my shoulder and I felt peaceful. Pressing my lips to her hair, we stayed there and moved slowly with the music. I wrapped my arms tighter around Juli. My Juli.