chapter 21: couldn't pick sides

[ i apologize if there would be any errors ( grammars, spellings and such more ). ]

JULIET'S POINT OF VIEW

"So, that's what happened after I borrowed Travis from you yesterday." I said as I faked a blush.

"I've been waiting for this day for you to tell me you love my brother back!" Lauren squealed then I chuckled.

"Oh no, I can't say I love him back. We are still in level one, and we want to keep things slow between the two of us." I said then I grabbed my cup of coffee and drink it.

"But I'm confused, didn't you said that you like Romeo, and you just thought of my brother of sweet and kind?" She asked as I nervously looked at her.

"Right, but I realized some things between the two of them and figured that I would just choose a guy who loves me for me, and not for a guy who doesn't care of me, and thought of me as a friend." I replied as I sighed and I put the cup of coffee down.

"S-So, right before we went to the cafe, you just think of Romeo a-as a friend?" She asked in confusion.

"Y-Yes, I would've told you during that time but you were so sincere about what you were saying that's why I didn't bother to tell you." I said.

Now I feel really bad for Lauren, like what if she is still in love with Romeo and she just thought of me and our friendship and she had to reject him. Meanwhile, I'm just hiding Romeo and I's secret from her especially of my relationship with Travis.

"This is what I like about you Juliet, you always think of others first. It's hard to find a bestfriend like you these days, the last person who has been this kind to me is Romeo right before we thought that we would be together." She said as she smiled.

"Aww, thank you Laury I would love to say the same thing to you! But may I ask if you still love-" I asked then she cutted me off.

"No, I don't love Romeo anymore. There may be a little feelings left since we just broke up weeks ago, but I am sure that I don't love him as much as I do before." She said.

"Wow, I love how you are handling all of this heartbreaks Lauren. You are so brave and strong, I wish I could learn a lot from you." I said as I smiled.

"Thank you for your kind words, and I'm pretty sure you don't have to learn from me. We are different in many ways, and I, for sure, know that you are brave and strong as well." She said.

I smiled as she begins to eat here slice of bread. I started thinking of am I doing the right thing or not towards to Travis. I have never been lying like this in my whole life, I used to be a shy girl who loves reading novels but everything changed when Travis approached me.

After Lauren and I talked in the cafe for an hour, we decided to go home and have some rest. As I arrived at home, I greeted my mother and went to my room to change my clothes then decided to have a little rest before I eat dinner.

Timeskip after dinner and went back to sleep for a couple of hours, I suddenly woke up because I heard a distinct noise inside my room. I slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes and look around to where the noise is coming from. There, I saw that my window is open as well as my curtains so I stood up and close them both. As I turned around, I saw something glow from the table and I slowly walked towards it.

The glow is from a magical golden butterfly earrings with the Magicia design on it. My eyes are wide open because of the excitement, then I saw a note attached to the earring saying "This is my reward for completing the first task you and Romeo solved. I'm sorry I hadn't have the time to call you anytime yesterday and today to check up on you, but I know you are doing just fine. Use these earrings to communicate with Romeo's bracelet or my crystal ball by pressing the butterfly's stomach. Tell Romeo and the other member the both of you chose, to gather tomorrow at your house to discuss the next task. Love, Aunt Tia".

I grabbed the butterfly earrings and put it on my ears. As it was attached in my ears, I accidentally pressed its stomach then it suddenly spoke.

"Would you like to call Romeo?" A voice from my butterfly earrings asked.

"U-Uhh, yes?" I said then it began ringing from his bracelet.

After 20 seconds, he answered my call from my earrings.

"R-Romeo?" I asked.

"Juliet? Is this you?" Romeo asked.

"Yes, it's me. Aunt Tia gave me my earrings to be able to communicate with you or her." I chuckled.

"Oh, that sounds great Juliet." He said as he faked a chuckle.

"A-Are you okay? You sound very.. different than usual." I said.

"Yes, I'm fine, just dealing with something right now, that's all." He sighed.

"If you don't mind me asking, wh-what happened?" I asked as I walked towards my bed.

"I would love to explain to you, but I would rather talk to you in person right now." He said.

My eyes went suddenly opened as he said that. I began to become nervous.

"R-Right now? But it's in the middle of the night, Romeo." I said.

"I know, but I might not have the chance to talk to you tomorrow, because I'm sure Travis won't allow us especially when it's just the two of us." He sighed.

"Alright, where are you now?" I asked as I grab a jacket to wear.

"I'm outside from your window." He said then I started to panicked as I walked towards the window and saw him waving at me.

"How did you get here so fast?" I panickedly asked.

"I ran out of the house and was walking through the streets, waiting for a sign to have someone in a moment." He replied.

"Oh, but like how could I go down there? The front and back doors are locked." I asked.

"I see a ladder from my left, I will just grab it for you so that you can come down." He said.

"I swear I've never come down through the ladder in my entire life." I nervously said.

"Well, now's your chance." He said as he chuckled.

"You can do it Juliet, I have trust in you." He continued as he smiled.

"Okay, I'll end the call so that I won't feel very nervous." I said then he nodded.

I ended the call and let out a deep sigh. I slowly opened the window and went down using the ladder.

"And you call that first time?" He whispered as he chuckled.

"I would take that as a compliment." I whispered as I rolled my eyes then he chuckled.

"Let's go, I know somewhere we can stay." He said as he grabbed my hand then we started walking out from my house.

At first, I thought that this would be a bad thing, especially when I am basically in love with Travis. But I had no choice but to be with the person I've fallen in love with since I was 7. It's crazy to think that I am sneaking out with him, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Maybe he would still think of me as his friend after all.

We finally arrived at our destination, it is a playground that I used to play with other kids when I was younger. Romeo brings out his picnic cloth and put it down onto the ground.

"Come on, let's sit." Romeo said then I nodded and sat down with him.

"So, why did you brought me here in the first place?" I asked as I looked at him.

"This has been my comfort place as long as I can remember. It's where I used to stay when I have bad times and many thoughts to think of that I just want to be in peace for awhile." He explained.

"But, do you ever snuck out this late?" I asked in confusion.

"Apparently yes, but I just started to really snuck out in the middle of the night last week. And if you think I am a bad guy because of this, you are wrong because I, for sure, know that sneaking out is bad, but I just wanted peace, that's all." He said as he looked back at me.

"I've never thought of you as a bad guy to be honest. I've thought that you are one of the shy students like me." I chuckled.

"Actually I really was one, but when I met Travis in middle school, I came out from my shell." He chuckled back then I smiled.

"Anyways, the reason why I wanted to talk to you in person is because I've been dealing with something." He said as he sighed.

"What is it about?" I asked in confusion.

"It's about Lauren, since you basically know that we broke up weeks ago, I've been trying my best to get back together with her. We talked for awhile right after school, and she said that she wanted me to stop waiting for her and focus on the person infront of me or who is there for me." He explained.

"D-Did you ask 'why'?" I nervously asked.

"I did, but she kept telling me that I would find out soon. I even asked if I could kiss her for the last time, then I could let her go but she rejected me, and said that she can't do it especially to someone who she cherishes the most with." He replied then I looked down.

It's sad to think that Lauren is my bestfriend at the same time Romeo as my friend. I couldn't pick sides or even stand up for one and let the other down. Especially when I could see on how sincere Romeo is to her, I started to feel a pain deep inside of me. Even I knew that he would still thought of me as a friend, I didn't expected for him to still love someone who doesn't care anymore about him.

"I am not very good at advices Romeo, but I know that what Lauren wants is for you to move on from her and focus on yourself first. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want you to be in pain just because of her. Besides, everything happens for a reason, it might won't reveal the 'why' now but it will be soon." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"You are very lucky because you expressed your honest feelings to Lauren, while I am still lying to Travis on how I feel. I am not saying that you should end up like me by lying to another person, but I want you to focus and wait for the right person to come. I am not saying that I am in yours or Lauren's side because I am a f-friend of the both of you, I wanted to show my care for you the same way I care for Lauren." I said as I smiled.

"I am not wrong with the saying I said before that you are a wisdom of words." He said then the both of us laughed.

"But seriously, thank you for the comfort Juliet. I really needed that." He continued.

"Anything, for my friend." I said as I faked a chuckle then he chuckled back.

~ mj <3