𝘚𝘖𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙 ⁽ʲ ᵐᵒˡⁱⁿᵃ⁾

𝘍𝘐𝘍𝘛𝘌𝘌𝘕

so apparently my mom has read this fic. if she reads this chapter i. will. off. myself.

also, no this chapter is not "spicy" that is misinformation ik some of y'all on my board were e x p e c t i n g that. it is just tangy. stop it.

anways

Things weren’t exactly going as Elise had hoped, and she hated to admit the fact that it was becoming increasingly harder to find a bright side. Two days after she’d informed of Ray’s decision to take Julie’s phone and the two still had yet to cross paths since.

She told herself day after day that she would see the girl that made her heart stop in just another day, and three times now she was wrong. On day two, Elise found Payton crouched over the toilet as a result of food poisoning. Being the amazing (and incredibly humble) friend she was, Elise drove them home in their car and cared for them the rest of the afternoon. The next day on her way to lunch, the Wilson girl made the unwise choice to forgo her usual path – which ventured past one of her afternoon classes that she missed the day before – and was roped into a make up quiz she’d previously had no intention of ever taking. That made two more days without any way to see Julie.

What also didn't help with this situation, was the growing anxiety that she was constantly about to experience another blindingly painful jolt to the heart. After the first she only felt one more  the next day. Other than that, the static pain laid dormant. With each one, she couldn't help but picture the figure of the peculiar man she'd had the displeasure of encountering the other day. But there was no way to be certain it was his doing; her lack of information meant that there was also not much she could do to fix it. Against her better judgement, she opted not to tell anyone about this experience. The last thing she wanted was for the others to worry about her. If worse came to worse, however, she would have to go to a doctor just in case her heart was giving out or she had cancer, or any other terrifying diagnosis that flew through her mind. Though something told her that this was not the right thing to do in such a situation as this.

Regardless, she had high hopes about today. I mean, if the two were still forced apart at this point than the universe was set on destroying her. And who was she to argue with the universe? She didn't have that kind of energy.

She dialed the combination on her locker extra slow, ears exploring the crowded hallway with extra care today. Most of the surrounding students fled quickly to the lunchroom, or whatever classrooms were expecting them. Her heart sank just a little further with every passing second. She tapped her foot impatiently, head turning to survey every noise to echo through the school. Minutes passed.

Julie should be here by now. Maybe she just wasn’t coming; maybe the two were just formulating excuses to keep as much distance between them as possible. Elise was a self-proclaimed expert in the art of avoidance.

She deflated, pressing her backpack into her locker and resting her weight on the wall behind her. She knew it was for the best that she pick herself up and move on with her day, but she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from the end of the hallway.

Footsteps pounded, heavy breathing grew closer, and soon the only person Elise wanted to see appeared around the corner. Julie took her panicked jog to a walk at the sight of the guitarist, the smile on her face seemed involuntary. The girl was flustered, when she stopped moving, she took a silent moment to catch her breath and fix the frizzy frenzy of hair that she donned.

“You’re still here. Good.”

“Someone’s excited to see me.” Elise laughed to fill the tense air between them.

“Always.” As she said it, Julie immediately moved her gaze to capture the way she played with her fingers. Elise was glad she didn’t see the way her cheeks flushed with just the one simple word. “Look, El, I’ve been thinking. We need to talk.”