Borrowed Time

Chapter 142

Juliette was honestly pretty happy with the turnout, she had expected quite a few people, but this was... Way more. Or maybe it wasn't, she knew that Shelby was fairly popular, she was involved in a lot of sports and activities, and there was also just the normal crowd that Emma's parties tended to attract, but it was nice to see her being celebrated like this, she more than deserved it...

It was also loud and crowded as hell, so Juliette had resigned herself to a dark little corner of the couch where she could watch the party go down from the comfort of a seat and with Tegan's headphones on her ears to block out the noise. Initially, she'd tried to mingle and she'd been trying to be social for Shelby's sake, but she kept wincing from the noise, so it was actually Shelby who had encouraged her to sit and take a breath - she was always looking out for her, it was very sweet... Esme was too.

Granted, she was being social right now, but Juliette wasn't complaining about getting to see them smile and laugh as they talked to people, seeming more outgoing with their own classmates than Juliette had ever seen... It was deeply refreshing. Plus, it helped that they kept looking over and giving her a smile that she knew was reserved just for her... It made her heart warm instantly.

My girl. They gave Juliette a little wave, and she waved back, sighing as she leaned forward with her chin on her hand... She'd never watched Esme interact with a lot of people outside of their friend group, and she'd thought that Khloe Kelli was an odd choice, but she understood - Khloe might have been a bit dumb sometimes, but she was never cruel, she was actually achingly sweet, she was one of the few people in Katherine's friend group that Juliette could stomach... Was she a terrible fucking cheerleader? Yes, but she always apologized when she dropped her, so Juliette was okay with that.

She looked over too, giving Juliette an enthusiastic wave, which she returned... Okay... Cool... The couch beside her dipped and she froze, preparing herself to tell someone to fuck off, to leave her alone... But she relaxed when she realized that it was only Becky, who looked just as worn out by the social gathering as she was as she rested her head on Juliette's shoulder.

"Why am I dating an extrovert?" She asked with a sigh, and Juliette chuckled, resting her head against Becky's... Dude...

"Because you're achingly in love with her and cannot imagine your life if you were with anyone else right now." She responded, making Becky let out a tired chuckle as she nodded against her leaning closer.

"You're right a lot of the time, Smith... It's kind of annoying." Becky sighed, making Juliette chuckle as she nodded, bringing the headphones down around her ears as she winced in anticipation... But it wasn't that bad right now... Plus, having someone that she considered to be a grounding presence nearby really helped.

Her friends helped her more than they would ever know - she was less reactive, less scared, less angry... Less vengeful. She liked that about herself now. Sure, she still had her thoughts, but those couldn't be avoided... Her friends were there to make sure that they stayed just that: Thoughts. Thoughts could exist if they weren't acted on...

Not the point.

"Yeah, that's me." She fiddled with her fingers. "Kind of annoying."

"But in a fun way." Becky insisted, and Juliette raised an eyebrow... She really didn't know how she was supposed to take that statement.

"I can't tell if that's a compliment." Juliette said, leaning her head against the back of the couch as she turned to look at Becky, who was giving her a soft, kind look as she nodded, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"It is. I promise." Oh. Nice. New compliment.

"Oh. Cool, thanks." They sat in silence for a long moment, just existing in each other's space until she heard someone clear her throat and looked over to Shelby, who was standing and looking down at them with an almost nervous smile. Why are you standing like that? What's going on?