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||꒰𝒋𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂꒱||
It took me an awfully great amount of courage to tell Bryce why I was upset. Truthfully, I believed that I was overreacting. It's my uncle who's getting worse and my parents that have to take care of him, but I'm the one who feels bad? Somehow, though, Bryce was capable of lifting my spirit a bit. Or more than just a bit.
And then, when he told me that he would always be there for me, I decided to believe him. The tree, the bike rides, all of it made me genuinely feel as though he cared for me. I felt his arm hesitantly move its way around my shoulders. Inching closer to him, we began to walk inside like that.
People seemed to enjoy teasing us, to Bryce's unavailing retorts. I, though, paid no mind to them. This moment, the touching contact between us two, was all I had ever dreamed of. Sure, I wasn't officially his girlfriend. Who cares? That's just a title anyways.
I seated myself in class as Darla came running over to me. "I told you so!" she sang with glee.
"Shut up," I replied with a smile. "He hasn't asked me if I want to make it serious yet."
Darla performed a very dramatic eye roll. "I'd bet you anything that he will soon. Don't look now, but he's staring at you with a dreamy glaze over his eyes."
"Wait, what?" I whipped my head around, surprised. Bryce was, indeed, staring at me and attempted to cover it up after we made a moment of eye contact. "Okay, fine, maybe you're right."
"I bet he's gonna ask you out soon!"
"Darla, Juli, please take your seats," the teacher called out. Darla sighed and walked to the other side of the room.
He was staring at me.. could Darla possibly be right? Would he ask me to be his girlfriend? Or maybe even to the not-so-faraway grad dance?
I tried to pay attention during the lesson, but my thoughts kept diverting to Bryce. He had proven to me twice now that he just might be more than the sum of his parts. Besides, I already knew how to find the average number in a set. It's not like I fell behind.
•••
When math ended, I was going to wait for Bryce but noticed that he was going to the teacher. If he needs help with something, he could just ask me. I made a mental note to tell him that later.
In the cafeteria, I saved Bryce a seat, but Garrett sat by me without asking.
"So Juli," he began in a voice that seemed forcibly deeper. "I heard about you and Bryce this morning. You two dating now?"
Why did he care? "Well, no, he hasn't-"
"Oh, great, then I have a question for you," Garrett interjected. Rude!
"Wait, I wasn't finished-"
"Since you aren't Bryce's girlfriend, will you go to the grad dance with me?"
Was this some sort of sick prank? Why would I ever want to go to the grad dance with someone as boisterous and self-centered as Garrett? Plus, he called me and my uncle retards and never apologized. At least Bryce did that!
"Absolutely not," I replied.
He seemed frustrated. "Why not? If you aren't Bryce's girlfriend-"
My turn to cut him off. "First of all, you're a total jerk. Remember what you said about my uncle? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree? Sure, but yours sure hit the ground hard. And Bryce didn't ask me to be his girlfriend, but he asked me to the dance," I fibbed, picking up my lunch and storming off to another table. Bryce followed and sat down across from me.
I could hear his laughter. "It was a dare, anyways!" Garrett called.
"So, I asked you to the grad dance?" Bryce joked, ignoring the commotion behind me.
Unable to withhold a giggle a replied, "Yeah, sorry about that, I just wanted to get out of that situation." Surely he'd understand.
Smiling back at me he replied, "But in all seriousness, are we going to the grad dance together?"
"Oh, well, only if you want to..." I knew I did, and I was fairly certain he would too.
"Of course I do! I just saw wasn't sure that you wanted to," Bryce said, clearly attempting to cover his grin.
I shook my head. "No, I'm going to turn down the person I've liked for six years."
We shared a laugh and I stared into those dazzling blue eyes. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Maybe, just maybe, things were changing for the better. I had Darla and lots of the girls as my friends now, and I had Bryce. My Bryce. The Bryce who planted a tree in my front yard because he felt that bad. The Bryce that ended a friendship because his friend made fun of me. God, why did I ever doubt that he truly cared for me?
