Hopelessly Devoted ☆ Pierre Gasly

X

THE PAST

Five more minutes until the next class began. Five more minutes before everyone had to swap classes. Five more minutes of being absent for the first class of the day.

Juliette sat on the stair of the enormous hallway in the school. She was late for the first class and didn't bother to show up because she was absent anyway. And the first class wasn't essential in her eyes; maths. Juliette didn't want to show off, but maths was like a piece of cake to her.

She was plucking her nails and looked around; it was like she sat in an abandoned building. It was silence, nobody walked around, there was just no one to be found. Meanwhile, in less than five minutes, it would be chaotic. Juliette took a deep breath, but stopped herself from doing that when the pain started to develop in her ribs. Her eyes closed, and she groaned. The closer we are getting, the worse it is getting.

When it was about time, Juliette got up and walked towards the class she was supposed to have. The bell rang, and the first students opened the doors of the classrooms and left them. It was the perfect timing, Juliette could join with the students, and nobody would know she didn't show up at the first period. Her jaw tightened, and she bumped into a few classmates. It was like she perfectly planned this whole skipping-the-first-hour situation. This was a perfect James Bond action, it made Juliette proud.

Like everybody in her class, Juliette entered the English class and sat down on her spot at her class's back.

Pierre, Anthoine and Sara entered the classroom and were slightly perplexed to see Juliette settling her stuff. Because she wasn't in the first period, they assumed she was ill.

"Good morning, madame," Sara said and took place next to Juliette at the table. "You are pretty late. Where were you?"

Before Juliette had the chance to reply, she got interrupted by Sara.

"Do you smoke?" The smell of cigarettes mixed with perfume filled Sara's nostrils. Sara squeezed her eyebrows together.

Juliette's eyes slightly widened, but she was shaking her head. "No, why should I?" She looked away and bit on the inside of her cheek.

"Because you smell like cigarettes," Sara said in an obvious tone. "It's not good for you, Jules. You're an athlete."

"I don't smoke," Juliette shot back, and she rolled her eyes.

Sara sighed. "Sure."

"Did I miss anything at maths?" Juliette yawned, but it again caused pain in her chest. She squeezed her eyebrows together, trying not to react to it.

Anthoine rose his eyebrows. "Are you alright?" He sat down at the table in front of Sara and Juliette. He pointed at Juliette's ribs.

"Yeah, don't worry," she softly said and pressed her lips into a thin line. "I'm all fine. I just fell on the ice yesterday. The stupid blocks on the ice."

"Ow... That's painful," Pierre painfully said. "Anyway, you didn't miss much. We discussed the homework and made a practice test for the upcoming exam. I saved you a copy," he said and gave her the test.

The look on Juliette's face softened. "Thank you so much," she smiled and looked at the test. "You didn't have to do that."

"No problem," he replied with a smile on his face.

"Ladies and gentleman in the back! Can I have your attention, please?" The teacher looked uninterested and annoyed at the group of four friends. "Thank you."

"Yes, sir," Juliette mumbled under her breath and looked outside. It was about to be a long day...

☐

It was kinda a miracle to have a wonderful day at the beginning of autumn in France. It was around fifteen degrees Celsius, and the sun was out. Everyone enjoyed the pleasant day; parks were filled with people, people were walking around, had a drink outside or were chilling in the sun at the canals.

Juliette and Pierre were one of those people who enjoyed the last 'good' day. They went to the supermarket to get something to eat after school, and sat down at the canal - squeezed between other people.

"Do you do this often?" Pierre asked curiously.

"Sitting here or eating tiramisu after school?"

A laugh rolled over Pierre's lips. "Eating tiramisu after school, but sitting here as well."

Juliette opened the plastic container from the cheap tiramisu from the store. "I eat tiramisu and other desserts whenever I am able to eat it," she explained. "Because we all need a cheat day. And being healthy doesn't mean you have to eat healthy all the time, as long it's consistent."

"Completely true," he replied and nodded. "But why were you late this morning?"

Juliette shrugged and began to eat the tiramisu with a plastic spoon from the store. "Didn't feel like getting up this morning."

"You're the first one to skip in our class, to be honest. Nobody does it in our class," Pierre said and opened the sandwich package.

"Really?" She rose her eyebrows. "Good students, I'm impressed. I guess I'm special then," she smirked. "I usually don't skip, only when I really have to."

Pierre's eyes were resting on the tiramisu. It made him regret picking something healthy instead of a treat.

"Do you want a bite?" Juliette asked when she noticed the look. "Here." She passed the spoon and the tiramisu.

The corners of his mouth curled up. "Thanks," he said and got a scoop of tiramisu on the spoon. "I don't understand why I keep buying something healthy and then regretting it." He ate a spoon of tiramisu. "It's really good, actually." He took another bite.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I eat it," she smiled and looked at him. "I literally can eat this whole thing on my own."

"For real?" Pierre's eyes rounded.

"A film, or tv show, tiramisu, and you have me," she proudly said. "Sometimes, you just have to do it. The tiramisu in Italy, bloody brilliant. Eccellente!"

Pierre's eyes found Juliette's eyes, and the smile grew more prominent on his face. "We have to make it ourselves next time. It's even better. Deal?"

"Deal!" Juliette blurted. "I can't wait for it already." She looked around. "It's sad this is the last good day. Now we're approaching the cold weather," she sighed. "Rain, cold, probably snow and ice."

"Are you a fan of the winter?"

"Nope, not at all."

"Oh, really? But speed skating is on ice and means it's in the winter," Pierre said, it was a bit odd...

Juliette slowly nodded. "I know, I just don't like it. It's fun for a few days, but I prefer the summer much more. The sun, ice cream, happy people, summer vacation... You name it."

"I agree, and there's F1, I get to race," Pierre continued. "It's just weird because you are a speed skater, but it makes sense."

"Life's full of surprises," she smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. It was like she was hiding something. "But Pierre, are you really eating my tiramisu?" Juliette looked offended at him.

Pierre looked at the tiramisu and found out he had been eating it the entire time. His lips parted, and she looked innocently at Juliette. "I'm sorry..."

"No, no, just messing." A smile grew on Juliette's face. "Enjoy it. But can I have your sandwich then?"

"You don't mind?"

"No, it's fine. Sometimes you need to enjoy the small things in life, this time, it is tiramisu. I can see you find it delicious, I will get one myself another time."