to you, 2000 days ago

4

Josh dipped a perfectly curled and crispy french fry from their red basket lined with checkered red parchment paper.

"Hey, where'd all of our ketchup go?" he asked, eyes flickering from their empty ketchup container to Juliette, who was dabbing the corners of her mouth with a paper napkin.

She smiled sheepishly, setting the napkin on the table. "Sorry, I can get us some more."

"Oh--no that's alright it's okay," he insisted.

They were sitting at the outdoor food court at the mall. Saturday, perfectly clear skies, and a bright sun. After a chaotic day of running around to a handful of stores and spending most of their time in the new arcade, they were sitting down for a very well-needed lunch. There was no better comfort food than burgers and fries--or on Josh's insistence, curly fries.

"Seriously, Josh, I insist--"

"And I insist that you sit down," he said, popping a plain fry in his mouth.

"I'm sat."

He swallowed before speaking again. "If you must know, I actually like mayo over ketchup."

"You're joking!"

"I'm not," he said, looking up through his eyelashes. The look caught her off-guard, but so did the whole situation, really. Not to mention the fact that he had really long eyelashes for a guy--but it was also odd to see him trade his usual school uniform for a plaid flannel and dark wash jeans.

Juliette only raised a brow. Her dark hair was left down in her natural waves. She kept it casual, with beige cargo pants and a white lace top. Grateful for the warmer August weather, because it meant she could finally wear all her summer clothes.

He was studying her as well, while they sat in comfortable silence embracing the sunshine.

"Do you want the last fry?" he offered.

Juliette shook her head, her gold hoops shaking with the movement. "Nah, I'm good. You can take it," she said, taking a sip of her sprite instead.

There's a lot that you can tell about a person just by going out to eat. First of all, she realized that while she always ordered a drink of some sort, Josh always ordered water at restaurants. And while she usually skipped appetizers and went straight for the main course, Josh preferred ordering several appetizers.

Turns out they were more opposite than they really thought.

"I'm thinking about getting a haircut," she said out of the blue.

Josh raised a brow, pausing while taking a sip of his drink. "Well, what do you have in mind?"

"I don't know--I just wanted a change," she said, playing with the ends of a strand of her hair.

"Well I'm sure that whatever you do decide on, you'd look pretty either way."

A smile danced across her lips, her heart speeding up. "Thanks," she said, before shoving her phone inside her purse. "Shall we?"

He nodded, putting their trays away.

"Hurry up! I wanna go get my haircut!" she said, taking his hand and tugging on it.

He chuckled. "Right now?"

"Yes, right now! I'm feeling adventurous."

***

"So, what brought you here to the salon today?" her hairdresser asked, taking a small section of her hair and gently snipping her ends. Juliette watched her do her magic through the huge mirror in front of her, wondering how her hairdresser ended up with the perfect shade of burgundy red hair.

"Me? I just wanted a spontaneous haircut," Juliette explained, now thinking about dying her hair too.

"And what about your boyfriend?" she asked, taking a pair of thinning shears and crimping down on sections of her hair.

This time, Josh replied. "Oh--we're not--"

Her hairdresser's eyes widened. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Juliette focused her eyes on her lap, twiddling her thumbs.

"That's alright. Juliette wanted to get her hair done so I figured I would join too."

"Well, that's very sweet of you."

Josh's hair was nearly done, his hairdresser just blow drying the ends.

When Juliette's hair was finished, she was grinning ear to ear, turning her head at different angles to see the dramatic layers, all blow dried and curled to perfection. With her round face, she figured that face framing layers was the best way to go about doing her hair.

At the cash register, Juliette passed her sister's credit card. "For both of us," she said, with a smile. In exchange for using her sister's card, Juliette had agreed to do her chores for the weekend.

Her sister was probably going to make her do the chores for a week now; but it was all worth it. 

"Wait--I can pay for my own--" Josh protested. 

The cashier nervously eyed the pair, unsure of what to do with the card.

"Go ahead," Juliette said with a small smile. "I was the one that dragged him here."

"Seriously, Juliette. I insist."

"And I insist that you sit down," she replied, repeating what he said to her earlier. The cashier handed the card back to her, and Juliette signed on the tablet in front of her.

He said nothing, leaning against the desk of the cash register, watching her as she pocketed the card in her purse and took the receipt. She met his eyes, not realizing what a difference his styled hair made.

His warm brown hair fell into place like dominos, brushing the top of his forehead and gently tapering to the side.

Tearing her eyes away from him, they bid the cashier goodbye, leaving the salon and stopping on the sidewalk outside.

"Thank you," he said.

They were standing so close side by side that their knuckles brushed against each other. She could hardly focus from the slightest of physical touch.

"You're welcome," she said, smiling up at him. The sunlight shined on his eyes at the perfect angle, his eyes and hair now the same shade of perfect brown. If there was one word that she would use to describe him, it would be perfect.

He was perfect.

They stood outside, Josh insisting that he wait for Juliette's sister to come pick her up, to make sure that she made it home safely.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked out of the blue.

Her head was tilted towards the sky, watching the birds fly across in perfect formation.

"Sure."

"I hope we're stand partners," he said. "You know, after the auditions."

She grinned up at him. "Me too."

***

guys ive literally never been on a date before idk wtf im doing here 💀🙏

next chapter is hazel and juliette debrief and AUDITIONSSSS so im soso excited

(word count: 1087) (yes ik its shorter than usual im sorry 😭)