"Buzzy, I didn't know you're married," Julie said excitedly, following him to his car. Buzzy just grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah, we met in high school. She lived in another town and we met when our hockey team played their team. Her name is Gayle. We got married this past spring," he said proudly.
"Aw," Julie smiled. "That's so sweet."
"She was at the game Saturday. She'll come to most of our games in Minnesota. If I'm still on the team she'll be in Lake Placid."
"You're still gonna be on the team, Buzzy," Julie rolled her eyes. "I'll have to find her at the next game."
When they made it to the car, Jimmy and Rizzo got in the front seat, Jack, Julie, and Rob sliding into the backseat. On the drive there, Julie asked Buzzy about a million questions about his wife.
"What is wrong with you? They're married, Jules. What's the big deal?" Rob laughed after Julie asked what Gayle's favorite color was.
"I just think it's cute that Buzzy's married! Like none of you are bringing around any girls for me to hang out with. Get on that."
"What about you? Shouldn't you be dating some rocker or some actor or something?" Rizzo spoke up.
"Married to the music, baby," she sighed dramatically. The boys just chuckled as Buzzy parked the car in the record shop parking lot. They got out quickly, walking towards the quiet shop. The sign on the door said they didn't close until 10 pm, but the store was empty as they entered. A little bell rang above them, and a young guy behind the counter looked up at them. He had hair past his shoulders, wavy and a golden blonde shade. He was tall and lean, but not too skinny. Julie could tell from across the shop how blue his eyes were.
"Welcome to Grooves," he said to them, but his eyes were only on Julie. She smiled at him, awkwardly stopping, causing Rob to bump into her.
"Chill out," Rob snickered in her ear, obviously aware of her being distracted by the boy. She quickly snapped out of it, going over to the first rack of records she saw. She pretended to look through the jazz records as the boys all split up, looking at different records. She could feel the guy behind the counter watching her, and she tried not to blush at the thought. She saw him move in her peripheral vision, and then heard a door shut. He must've gone into some back room.
"Jules," Jack called, and she turned around to see him holding both of her albums in his hand with an overly-eager look on his face. She just laughed, shaking her head at him.
"Yeah, OC. I helped make those," she laughed, walking towards him. "Are you gonna buy them?"
Jack looked at her, trying not to smile. He looked down, and Julie thought he looked almost bashful.
"I already have them," he admitted. Julie couldn't help but beam at him. She really was glad that the boys seemed to like the music her band had made. Jack put the records back.
"If you're nice, I'll sign them," she winked at him. He just shoved her playfully. "See, now that's not nice."
"Do you need help finding anything?"
Julie turned around quickly, seeing the beautiful blonde boy behind her.
"Oh, we're just waiting on our friend," she gestured over to Buzzy who was in the pop section. "But thank you."
"Anytime," he grinned, causing Julie to smile back at him.
"Movie starts in 30 minutes," Jack reminded everyone, his voice resonating in the record store.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm ready," Buzzy said, walking towards the register with the ABBA record in hand. The mystery man moved back behind the counter, quickly checking Buzzy out. Julie tried not to stare, but knew she was failing miserably when she felt Rob gently elbow her side. She looked up at her friend, blushing under his knowing grin. When Buzzy was finished, they all began to follow him out of the store.
"Bye," Julie called to the boy, smiling over her shoulder at him.
"Enjoy your movie," he responded with a wink. The not-so-subtle flirtation caused Julie's heart to skip a beat, and her foot to miss a step. She tripped over the threshold, barely catching herself on the door frame, much to the boys' amusement. They were all still laughing at her as they loaded in Buzzy's car.
"Oh, my God, Jules, could you have been any more obvious?" Rizzo laughed at her.
"I was scared you were gonna start undressing right there," Robby smirked.
"Shut up," she grumbled, still annoyed with having embarrassed herself in front of the cute boy. The boys teased her all the way back to the dorms, finally stopping when they got inside. The clock in the kitchen read 8:57 as Julie, Jack, Rob, Rizzo, and Jimmy made their way to the living room. A few of the other boys ended up joining them once they heard of their plans. Taking a spot on the couch between Jack and Rizzo, Julie settled in to watch the movie.
"We need a blanket to hide behind when it gets scary," Julie told Rizzo as the movie began. He nodded quickly, hopping up to go off to what Julie could only assume was his room.
"Did you just say you need a blanket to hide behind?" Jack clarified, his nose scrunched up in disbelief.
"Yes," she glared at him.
"Haven't you seen this before?"
"Yes."
"And you're still scared?"
"Yes!"
"You're a baby."
"Give it a rest, you two," Rizzo told them as he returned with a blanket from his room. He tossed it over Julie, sitting beside her and pulling some of the blanket onto his lap.
"Well, give me some," Jack said, taking part of the blanket.
"What about me?" Rob spoke up from the other side of Jack, pulling the blanket over him.
"You guys are babies," Julie rolled her eyes, prompting Jack to nudge her with his shoulder and shush her. Despite this, they managed to all four share the blanket as they watched the movie. Throughout the movie Rizzo and Julie leaned close together, blanket pulled up to their eyes.
"Ew," Julie groaned, watching the demon throw up on the priest.
"I didn't know the two of you were such scaredy-cats," Silky chuckled, looking to Rizzo and Julie who were both curled up with their legs to their chest, ready to cover their eyes at any moment.
"Hey, I was raised not to mess with demons. My Nonna Eruzione would be livid if she even knew I was watching this," Rizzo defended. They both jumped when the demon started screaming again.
"Why did you want to watch this?" Jack asked Julie, clearly trying not to crack a grin at her. "You're nearly shaking, Jules."
"She's always done this," Rob laughed, shaking his head. "She acts like she's not scared and then she ends up being miserable."
"Leave me alone," she grumbled, hiding her face behind Rizzo's shoulder. She stayed like that through the climax of the movie, only uncovering her eyes at the very end.
"That was fun," she said as she stretched her arms and legs. The boys just gave her a funny look, but chose not to comment. "I guess I should call Herb for a ride home. It's nearly midnight. He might kill me."
"I'll run you home," Jack told her, standing up off the couch.
"Are you sure?" Julie asked, though she was seriously hoping he meant it, as she hated the idea of calling Herb so late when she knew they had practice the next morning. If he was still awake, he was deeply enraptured by game footage.
"Of course."
"Bye, Jules," Rob said, getting up to hug his friend goodbye. "It'll all be okay, I promise."
"Thanks, Mackey. I'll let you know how everything goes."
She told the rest of the boys goodnight, before following Jack outside
"Are you gonna be able to sleep tonight after that scary movie?" Jack asked with a cocky grin as he lead her to his car, unlocking it and getting in the driver's side.
"I'll be just fine, thank you," she rolled her eyes, getting into the passenger's side of the bench seat.
"Is Herb gonna kill me for getting you home so late?"
"No, if he kills anyone it will be me," she shrugged.
"Oh, that's fine then," Jack nodded, making Julie laugh. "You might have to remind me how to get there. I've only been there the one time Jimmy picked you up," Jack told her as he pulled out of their parking lot.
"Jack, you were there when Mac took me home after dinner on Saturday."
"Well, yeah, but I couldn't watch out the window. Your big head was blocking it."
"You mean you were distracted because you had a pretty girl in your lap."
"Not very humble of you, Julia."
Julia just laughed at him, reaching over to mess with his radio. Settling on a Journey song, Julie sat back in her seat. She sang along quietly to Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin', giving Jack directions every so often.
"Are you going to D.C. with us tomorrow?" Jack asked. The boys had a game against the Washington Capitals in two nights, but they were leaving tomorrow after practice due to the long drive.
"Yeah. I think Herb is at the point where he trusts you guys to keep an eye on me. He says it's easier to know that I'm with you guys, and likely behaving, than having to worry about me back home. He's right, though. If I was home alone and bored, who knows what would happen."
"If I had known being on this team would mean babysitting a rockstar, I would've just stayed home," he teased her.
"I think I've been very well behaved," Julia argued, her voice going up the way it always did when he teased her.
"I guess you're not so bad," he relented, watching the road with a ghost of a smile on his face.
Okay, I'm sorry for the double post, but there wasn't a great way for me to split this up. I apologize for a really long chapter, followed by the really short one. But I'd like to thank everyone that reads, votes, and comments! Hope you're all staying safe!