"Jules!"
She kept walking, her pace getting brisk. July pull her hair down to cover her tear-stained face. She knew who was calling her but she had to pretend like she didn't hear him.
"Jules!" The voice called a little louder, but still distant.
July gritted her teeth in anger and embarrassment. She couldn't believe she hadn't calculated the possibilities that the person she crushed on might actually had a girlfriend. Even remembering what happened made her cringed so hard, she wanted desperately to avoid him - maybe for the rest of her lives.
She stood by the spot where they normally hung out during break time, waiting in nervous anticipation at how to address the things she wanted to say to him. "Keep calm, Jules, you got this. He's been your bestfriend since forever! You cannot let this confession intimidate you." She muttered to herself in an attempt to distract the nerves dancing in her veins.
It was almost working - that was, until she saw him come around the corner.
It was as if she had forgotten how to breathe as her thoughts ceased thinking except for one thing: This was it.
She was going to have to tell him how she feel before they both part their own ways to different colleges.
August, or Gus as he liked her to call him made his way to where she was, smiling that confident grin he always wore most of the times since she knew him. Her stomach fluttered before her heart thumped erratically as she realized she couldn't back out from doing this.
"Jules. What's up?" His smooth boyish voice said. He raised an eyebrow a little when he said with a teasing grin, "This is new, calling me out of the club meeting. You alright?" Despite the light tone, she thought he sounded concern somehow.
She let out a nervous laugh before forcing herself to meet his concerned green eyes. " O-oh, well ofcourse I am!" Her tone pitched higher at that before she cleared her throat a couple of times. 'Just get to it, July!' her mind scolded her.
"You sure?" He proceeded to put his hand on her forehead, taking her by complete surprise and made her take a step back. Still, she couldn't help but feel pleasant when his warm, big hand touched her forehead. She wouldn't be surprised if she'd gotten a fever just then.
She brushed his hand off lightly before taking a deep breath, letting out a few nervous chuckles while doing so. Her light brown eyes captured his curious green ones, and thinking once again that there was no going back from this, she rushed out the words that weighed on her heart.
"Gus, I like you."
She held her breath but kept her gaze on him, searching for anything - something - that could make her exhale in relief.
But he didn't seem to be responding to what she said. His body seemed to froze in time as his eyes stayed fixed on her and there were no words from him. Did he get what I said just now? She thought to herself with growing anxiety. Figuring that she had probably whispered that in a rush, she thought to repeat the words again.
She opened her mouth but she was cut off by another voice, effectively snapping them both from their current situation.
"August!" A feminine voice called from a short distance.
She glanced to where the voice were and paled a little when she realized it was April, the surprisingly nice head cheerleader waving at him.
Although the girl wasn't mean, that didn't mean that she had to like her, especially when she had been hanging out with her crush almost all the time, leaving no room for July to even squeeze between August and spend some time with him. Asking him to meet her here was the only solution since April wasn't in the school's editorial club. Still, somehow April managed to smell that he was out here.
The girl's gaze was solely directed on her crush as she made her way towards them.
"Hey, July." She greeted her in a friendly manner before clinging onto August's arm, looking up at him with sweet, loving eyes. "Hey, didn't you hear me just now?" She asked playfully.
July immediately looked away and cast her gaze to the ground. She peeked a glance at him and saw that he was smiling and saying something to April. July felt like a third wheeler somehow - it was like she was being replaced quickly and she didn't get the memo of it to prepare herself in advance.
Worse, she suddenly realized, April had been hanging with August, her and their friends quite frequently lately. She cussed herself for not seeing the signs. The friendly banter, the little touchy gesture she made on August, July should have known that August and April were a thing. She could feel herself crumble and that prompt her to think fast.
She couldn't bear to stand there anymore with the couple, so adjusting her bag on her shoulder, she turned around and walked away from them, grateful for her long legs as she stride quickly along the pavement.
A hand clamped down on her shoulder, snapping her from her thoughts as well as stopping her. But she was also startled. The possibility that it might be August escaped her as she swiftly brought her bag to her chest before hitting whoever it was who stopped her.
"Ju-ow! Jules!" She had been screaming in fear and hitting him repeatedly with her heavy bag, so she hadn't heard him.
"Dammit! JULY!" The voice yelled before pulling her into his arms.
July stopped struggling. The familiar smell of a deodorant mixed with a little odour of sweat had her look up in surprise.
"August?" She asked in a whisper. She barely realized what he was doing when he nodded and smiled softly at her.
His arms tightened around her shoulders, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, her arms though hesitant at first, let themselves mould around his waist.
"Why did you run off like that?" He murmured against her hair.
She frowned a little before remembering why she had done so. The fact that he wasn't hers but were already someone else's made her break off the gentle contact. She looked up at him.
"Well...I mean, I was telling you what I...and then she came...you-you have a girlfriend!" She spluttered.
He raised an eyebrow at her - one that showed how ridiculous that sounded as well amused - before saying, "And who says that?" He asked her softly.
She pushed himself away from her and cast an irritated look. "No one had to say it! I saw it myself. You and April looked so cosy earlier." She hated how bitter she sounded but she just couldn't help it.
He was quiet for a moment. Just when it was getting too awkward to stand there in the silence, she heard him spoke. "April is not my girlfriend."
July could only stare at him blankly, clearly not believing that.
As if he knew what she was thinking, he nodded firmly this time and looked her straight in the eye. "I'm not lying, Jules. She's not my girlfriend."
She stared at him, desperately wanting to believe that. She knew August wasn't someone who would hook up with random girls - only if he had feelings or like them - and being his bestfriend for six years, she knew that there were only four times that happened.
She also knew how he looked like when he was speaking the truth and July found herself having trouble to form words. 'He doesn't have a girlfriend. He's not with April!' Her mind cheered. 'But wait, what does he feel for me then?'
"Did you get what I said earlier?" She asked quietly, afraid to even voice it out loud, lest she felt disappointed with his answer. She could almost feel it coming...
"Yes." his reply was confident.
Her cheeks became flushed and her eyes widened, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Then, wanting to just get over the prolonged torture, she blurted out almost helplessly, "Well? What do you have to say to that?"
She gripped the hem of her hoodie in her hands, twisting it around until he would give her an answer. She told herself it would be okay if he didn't have the same feelings for her - she would just go home, watch some movies and eat ice cream; crying while doing so. Losing a crush would not be worth it than losing a bestfriend, or so she told herself that as well.
"Well there's only one answer that I could think of for that..." he said, trailing off as if on purpose.
Her breath hitched in her throat, her chest rising up and down in anticipation.
"I like you too, Jules." He broke into a wide grin. She felt herself exhale in relief and almost want to pinch him for putting her through the ordeal.
As if she couldn't believe what was happening, her breath came out shaky as she asked, "Do you really?"
"Yes, I really do."
She let out a breath of relief before hugging him tightly and kissed his cheek. Her smile was bashful even when he slowly brought his head down to meet her lips.
"Thank you." she said before they shared a sweet kiss.
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