Glee: To the Next Level (the second book in the Glee series)

Chapter 33: New Information

"Hey!" said Sam as he followed after Julie in the parking lot. 

"Hi," Julie said, her face blank of any expression.

"Uh, so, like, are you okay?" he asked her. "That was pretty rough back there."

To Sam's surprise, Julie smiled at him. "I appreciate your concern," she told him, "but I think I find it just a little offensive that any time a guy seemingly breaks my heart I'm expected to just break down. I'm a lot stronger than that and honestly, like... I have had and will continue to have, bigger issues than just boys and crushes."

"Well I'm glad you feel that way," he said putting his hands in his pocket and rocking in place. "About being strong that is... Because there's actually something I want to talk to you about."

***

"So then I only need to wait like two or three months and they'll just start rolling in," John was saying.

"That's exciting," Kitty said with a smile. "I know Joe only applied to, like, two schools and Sugar doesn't plan on college, so I'm glad one of our seniors will be showing off."

"That's assuming I get into those schools," said John. "I've never really been the school type."

"You've made it this far, babe," said Kitty, looking out into the parking lot for her car. There she spotted Julie and Sam having what seemed to be a pretty intense conversation.

"Thanks to Julie," said John. "She's the book smart one. I'm the rockstar." He followed Kitty's silent gaze and spotted his best friend, shivering in place and continuously moving her wind-blowed hair out of her face.

"What do you think they're talking about?" asked Kitty. 

"I don't know," shrugged John. "Doesn't look good. She looks pretty annoyed. But we're her best friends so I'm sure one of us will hear about it as soon as she has time to tell a soul."

"You're probably right," said Kitty. "Let's go back to talking about your college plans!"

***

"He's dating someone?" asked Jake. "Really?"

"Really," said Julie, an amused smile on her face. She poured Jake a glass of iced tea and grabbed a soda can out of the fridge for herself. As soon as she'd ended her conversation with Sam, she'd called Jake and asked him to come over. Not only did she need someone to talk to, but she also didn't want any chance of her mother ambushing her again, especially since her dad was working later nights now and she hadn't exactly told anyone about last week's visit.

"Why aren't you upset about this?" he asked her, confused.

"Because," said Julie, smiling more. "I asked him to do this. Well, not to date some girl but to try to move on with his life and chase something that isn't me. And that's exactly what he's doing."

"And that doesn't bother you?" he asked.

Julie shrugged. "I mean, in a way yeah, sure," she said. "The thought of him with another girl is, well, eww." Jake smiled, finding her description to be one of the cutest things she'd ever said. "But at the same time, I'm really thrilled for him to get out of the me bubble. And also, from what he told me about her--"

"He told you about her?" he exclaimed, starting to find this entertaining. "Wow. He must really want you to know he's moving on."

Julie nodded. "She's blonde," she said. "Her family's from Kentucky but she lives in New York and she's a business major at Barnard."

"A business major," Jake repeated.

"Yup!" Julie giggled. "It's ridiculous! She has a minor in dance and PR or something and wants to be a model. I don't see it going anywhere so I think it's perfectly healthy for him to have fun with this girl."