𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄 - 𝐡𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐦𝐭𝐬 (𝐢𝐢) | ✔

eight

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eight: happy Valentine's day
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      Juliette's mind was a maze without exit. This was her first Valentine's Day with a boyfriend and to say that she was freaked out would be an understatement. She had absolutely no idea what to gift him and, even if Ricky had said that he did not want any present and that he just wanted to spend the day with his girlfriend, Juliette wanted to get him something truly special. Since she could not think of anything, she resorted to her friends.

     "What about a skateboard?" Ashlyn suggested on the other line. She was looking for an outfit for her Valentine's Day with Big Red so the call was just a back-and-forth of tips.

     "I gifted him that for Christmas."

     "And what about a drawing?" Kourtney's time.

     "I have that already," the girl sighed, taking out a pencil drawing of one of their pictures, "but that is not enough. I've given him countless drawings already. And everytime he comes home, he takes one. It is not special."

     "And if you write him a song!?" Nini suddenly snapped, lifting the head from her homework and scaring everyone in the call. It was honestly a great idea but there was only one problem:

     "I cannot write songs, Nini. I don't have that kind of talent," she shyly replied. She had alresady tried to write a song, especially since Ricky gifted her one for Christmas but she had been unable to. Suddenly, it was as if she did not know a single word of English.

     "We can help you," Ashlyn put down the dress she was putting over her pyjamas, running towards her phone, "do you have an instrument?"

     "I have my mother's old ukelele," she replied, taking it down from a shelf. It had been ages since she had last played that ukelele, she had it there because it was her mother's but maybe it was time to take the dust off of it.

     And so the girls spent half a night composing a song so the girl could sing it to Ricky the next day. Once it was all set, written down and rehearsed, Juliette promised to invite all of them to dinner once Nini was back and went to sleep, her mind racing the lyrics and chords all night.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

     However, the next morning Juliette discover that the gift was not her only problem, now she needed to figure out what to wear. In search for a Valentine's Day's appropriate outfit, she had spent two hours in her room, in front of her closet and changing clothes over and over again. 

     "This does not look good either!" she exclaimed exasperated and threw her dress to the bed, where her sisters were sitting under a giant pile of clothes.

     "You have tried literally your whole closet," Ava observed, "is everything okay?"

     "I just have nothing to wear for today."

     "Ricky would like you with a monkey costume on, you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

     "You don't get it. Nothing looks good at all. I don't even know what to wear to school, let alone our date."

     "Wear your favourite jeans, it's been some weeks since you last wore them," Lisa advised, but Juliette only shook her head, claiming that she did not like them anymore. Ultimately, she ended up choosing a red skirt, just to fit into the Valentine's Day vibe, with her coat over it. It was freezing cold in Salt Like at that time of the year and she dreaded her outfit choice as soon as she stepped on the street and the cold air hit her legs.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

     "Happy Valentine's Day!" she exclaimed from behind Ricky, scaring him, "sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

     "Happy Valentine's Day, babe," the boy answered, kissing her cheek sweetly, careful not to smudge the two hearts the girl had painted on, "drop by my appartment later?" 

     When Mike Bowen had told Ricky that they would be moving to a smaller and cheaper house, Ricky had been so mad that he had spent all night skating, not even dropping by Juliette's house. But he had no choice but to adapt now and Juliette was helping him to make the best out of it. 

    "I very much am," she replied smiling and taking a flower from behind her back, "we had some spare ones from today's event so here you go. A pretty flower for an even prettier human."

     "You are literally the sweetest," he smiled back, taking some candy hearts out of his locker, "and here you go."

     "Stop it already, I'm going to get diabetes," Big Red interrupted, making both of them laugh. 

     "I have one for you too, Red," the girl took out another flower, handing it to the boy, "you can give it to Ashlyn if you want."

     "Oh, I have a big plan for her today, but thanks. Happy Valentine's Day, Juliette," the male redhead hugged the pettite girl, making her laugh. 

     "I'll see you later, I have duty to fulfill," and with that, after pecking Ricky on the lips one last time, she parted towards the art room, ready to spread love all throughout the school. 

     Each year, the art department organized a beautiful event in which students could buy flowers for their loved ones, who received them during class. Juliette was part of the group in charge of delivering that year, alongside Leon, Sophia and Sarah, meaning that, not only could they skip classes but also had to interrupt others. Her eyes lit up as she saw hugs, smiles and kisses through the many classrooms of East High, making her even more excited for what she had planned for Ricky.

     "Any plans for today?" Leon asked, while they walked to the other end of the long hallway.

     "I'm spending it with my girlfriend," Sarah smiled sheepishly, while Sophia replied that she was going to meet up with her friends.

      "I have plans with Ricky," Juliette told him.

     "I figured," Leon replied, "you two are attached by the hip. Who would have thought?"

     "Yeah, I always thought Ricky would end up with someone..." Sophia began, interrupting herself before continuing.

     "Someone like what?" Juliette prompted her to continue speaking, her heart beating faster.

     "You know, someone like Nini," she finally admitted, "but you two make a beautiful couple."

     Juliette did not speak anymore, considering that they had arrived at the next classroom. But Sophia's words resonated in her ears, even as she wished a happy Valentine's Day to every student in the robotics class.

     "Happy Valentine's Mr Mazzara," she smiled to the teacher that had helped them so much during these months, "this flower is for you."