Chapter 2, Back again.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A tired groan escaped from beneath a pile of pink blankets. Julie barely stirred, only pulling her pillow over her head in protest.

Beep! Beep! Bee—

"Oh my gosh, Juls! Do you want to break our ears?!"

Zane stormed into her room in his pyjamas, his brown hair an absolute mess. Without hesitation, he slammed his hand down on the alarm clock, silencing the obnoxious beeping.

Julie barely peeked from under her pillow. "Mmm… okay… can you make me some eggs…?" she mumbled, voice thick with sleep as she lazily rolled over.

"Your mom already made breakfast and packed your lunch, PRINCESS," Zane sarcastically scoffed, nudging her leg with his foot. "But if you don't get up now, you're walking to school ALL ALONE… with NO BREAKFAST…NO ONE to walk with—"

A pillow flew straight into his face.

"Okay! Okay! I get it, dude!" Julie groaned, finally sitting up. "Now hurry up and wake Julius, shoo!" She waved him off like an annoying mosquito.

Zane muttered something under his breath but left, his grumbling fading down the hallway.

. . .

Julie adjusted her white uniform shirt, tucking it neatly into her black skirt before rummaging through her drawer.

'Where is my ribbon?'

She pulled out a tie instead.

Julie blinked. 'This is for the boys… ' She continued digging, finally fishing out her ribbon from the depths of the drawer. She quickly tied it onto her collar before brushing her hair and pulling it up into a ponytail.

Grabbing her beige bag, she hooked a few cute keychains onto the zipper before stuffing in her notebooks and frog pencil case. Just as she was about to leave, she hesitated—then grabbed the tie too, hurrying downstairs.

Zane stood at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. "You. Are. Late."

Julie barely spared him a glance. "Oh, c'mon—" Her gaze flickered to his uniform.

"Ooo, the new boys' uniform actually looks pretty good." She grinned, nudging him aside as she passed. "By the way, this yours?" She held up the tie.

Zane's eyes widened. "No wonder I couldn't find my tie!" He snatched it from her, sighing dramatically. "Ugh. Buying a new uniform is such a bother. They should've just stuck to the old one."

Julie laughed, walking toward the kitchen. "Mom, what's for breakfast?"

Her mom barely turned from the stove, shaking her head. "At this rate? Only egg rolls dear. You barely have time, especially when your brother refuses to wake up!"

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, he's 16 now. If he's late, it's not my problem."

Julie quickly grabbed a few egg rolls from the counter and stuffed them into her mouth before sprinting upstairs.

BANG!

"JULIUS, WAKE UP!"

She practically kicked his door open, only to freeze.

Julius was already dressed, leaning against his desk with his bag slung over his shoulder. He raised a lazy brow. "What's with the noise? I was ready when Zane FIRST called me." He stretched his arms. "Just didn't feel like answering."

Julie scowled. "You really let Mom go on a rant for nothing?"

Julius only smirked in response.

"Ugh, whatever." Julie spun on her heel, jogging back down to the living room, where Zane was slipping on his socks.

"We done now?" Zane asked, glancing at the clock.

"Almost."

Their mom walked over, to Julius holding out a lunch bag with three lunchbox inside. "Here, take these with you. I won't have time to make lunch after today, so buy your meals at school, okay?"

Julius took it with a smile. "Thanks, Mom."

Her mom sighed, running a gentle hand over Zane's hair. "And you—since you're living with us until you finish high school, why don't you start calling me mom again? Like when you where little? I'm your aunt!"

Zane's face instantly turned red as he remembered his past.

"G-g-got it, m-mom Jane!" he stammered before bolting for the door. "Bye! We're heading out!"

Julie laughed before giving her mom a quick peck on the cheek. "Bye, Mom! Love you!"

…

The morning rush filled the school hallways, students weaving through each other as they hurried to their classrooms. The air buzzed with chatter, laughter, and the occasional shuffle of textbooks being stuffed into lockers.

Julie clutched the strap of her bag, walking at a steady pace behind Zane.

Julius had already went to his classroom upstairs which leaves the both of us..

As they approached their classroom, Julie's gaze drifted to the side, her steps slowing ever so slightly.

It was the guy from the store.. he was there.

He stood near the door of class 9A, his tall frame leaning against the wall, looking like he was waiting for someone, he had one hand casually resting in his pocket. His posture was relaxed, indifferent even, but his dark eyes flickered toward her the moment she came into view.

For a second—just a second—the world seemed to quiet.

Julie didn't know why she looked at him. Or why he looked back.

Her fingers instinctively curled tighter around her bag strap.

Then, as if remembering where she was, she quickly averted her gaze and kept walking.

Their classrooms were right next to each other.

But just as she turned into class 9B, something told her that when she glanced away—His gaze remained.

"Why? Mesmerised with my best bud?" Zane whispered in a low voice, a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

Julie blinked, snapping out of her trance. "W-what? No!" She elbowed him lightly, hoping the warmth rushing to her cheeks wasn't too obvious.

Zane chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. "Sure, sure. Your face says otherwise."

Julie rolled her eyes, about to retort, but then she noticed him.

Leaning casually against the doorframe of class 9A, arms crossed, was the store guy... His gaze was steady, calm—like he had all the time in the world. But Julie could tell… he was waiting for someone

The guy's eyes flickered to Zane, then back to her for just a second.

A second thats too long…

Julie swallowed, gripping the strap of her bag a little tighter. Was she imagining things?

Before she could figure it out, Zane clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, dreamer. I gotta go before my seat gets stolen."

Julie let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. She forced herself to move, walking past the guy without another glance.

But as she entered class 9B, she couldn't shake off the feeling how good-looking he is.

Julie walked into the classroom, scanning the rows of seats before choosing one near the window. She slid into her chair, adjusting her bag on the desk before pulling out her notebook and frog pencil case. As she flipped through the pages absentmindedly, a few students chatted around her, she randomly thought she'd join in but that would be weird..

She exhaled softly, resting her chin on her hand. First day of school…

Then—

The door banged open.

"Ughhh! I can't believe him!"

Julie barely had time to react before Tiffany stormed in, her uniform slightly messy from rushing.

Julie blinked. "...Good morning to you too..Tiff."

Tiffany plopped into the seat next to her, angrily dropping her bag onto the desk.

"No, Juls. Don't 'good morning' me. You know what Marcus did?" She turned, eyes blazing. "He didn't wake me up! Me! His own sister!"

"And when I asked why, he said—guess what?—'Ohhh looks like the games from yesterday affected my brain'" Tiffany mocked him, "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! HE IS MAD AT ME JUST FOR BEATING HIM AT MARIO KART!"

Julie chuckled. "I mean…all brothers are like that, right?"

"Well yeah!" Tiffany groaned, collapsing onto her desk. "My first morning in this school and I almost got detention! All because of him." Tiffany sighed, "Is this favouritism? The prefects didn't budge when my brother was late."

Julie shook her head, amused. "Well, at least you made it."

"Class! Attention! We have new students." The teacher walked in and called out,

"Please stand up." She made her way to the teacher's desk, her gaze landing on Julie and Tiffany.

Julie pushed her chair back and stood up, bowing slightly. "Hi, my name is Julie! Hope we can get along well."

Tiffany followed, offering a bright smile. "Hello, my name is Tiffany." She kept it simple yet cheerful, radiating confidence.

"Good. You may take your seats now. Before we start, I would like to announce that each and every one of you is required to join a club. For those who didn't last year—no more self-study periods. You must apply to at least one club." The teacher's words caused an immediate reaction from the class.

Groans, sighs, and murmurs filled the room.

Thud!

"Quiet!" The teacher slammed her hand against the desk, and the class instantly fell silent.

Tiffany leaned toward Julie, whispering, "Hey… why don't we ask Marcus and Julius about the clubs? Maybe they know which ones are fun."

Julie stifled a giggle. "I doubt they know much. Pretty sure they skipped out last year and just used the self-study period to fool around."

….

DING~ DING~

Class ended, signalling the start of a 30-minute free period before lunch.

What the hell just happened…? Julie blinked. She had understood absolutely nothing from that math lesson. Just like in her old school.

Tiffany nudged her, snapping her out of her daze. "Juls! Let's go explore other classes before lunch starts."

"Sure! Maybe even check out a few guys while we're at it." Julie whispered, linking her arm with Tiffany's as they walked out of the classroom.

The two strolled down the corridor, glancing into different classrooms with curiosity.

"Yo."

A deep voice suddenly whispered right in their ears.

"AH—!" Julie and Tiffany jumped, turning to find Zane smirking behind them.

"What are you guys up to?" He crossed his arms. "Checking out some guys?" His tone was teasing.

Julie flinched at his words. "Not really… we were just… exploring." Her voice trailed off when her gaze shifted to the person beside Zane.

It's him…

The guy from the convenience store.

"So it really is you…" Julie muttered, tilting her head slightly. "Good to meet you. I'm Julie."

The guy simply gave a small nod. "Mmhm… I'm Noel." His voice was deep and quiet. He casually slid his hands into his pockets, exuding effortless coolness.

Julie blinked, staring at him for a second longer than necessary. Noel… huh.

"Juls!"

Julie turned to see Julius approaching. As expected, some of the girls nearby gasped, swooning over him. He's so overrated… He looks like a monkey to me.

"Oh, hey Tiff… and Noel." Julius greeted them, then dug into his bag, pulling out a lunch bag.

Noel gave a small smirk in response but quickly turned away when he realised Julie was watching him. He covered his mouth slightly, acting like he was hiding something.

'Was that… a smile?' Julie tilted her head.

"Here." Julius handed them their lunchboxes. "It's not as warm, but I kinda borrowed the microwave from the teachers' lounge…" he whispered.

"Borrow?" Julie raised an eyebrow, opening her lunchbox. "You mean stole?"

Julius waved her off.

Zane let out a chuckle as he took his lunchbox. "Let me guess… you made Marcus help you in exchange for letting him come to game night?"

"You know me too well." Julius sighed dramatically. "I didn't want him to come over! But he INSISTED."

"Game night? When?" Tiffany asked, tilting her head.

"Tomorrow night," Zane and Julius answered at the same time.

"Ooh! Who's gonna be there?" Julie asked, taking a bite of her food.

"Me, Marcus, Zane, and Julius."

The response didn't come from any of them.

It came from Noel.

Julie's eyes widened slightly, glancing at him. "You're… coming?"

Noel froze for a second.

Then, ever so slightly, he nodded, his head still turned away.

Before Julie could process it, Tiffany spoke. "Speaking of Marcus… where is he?"

"Getting scolded by the teacher for using the teachers' lounge microwave," Julius sniggered.

"So you used him as your pawn, huh?" Zane raised an eyebrow.

"Duh! It's revenge!" Julius cackled evilly.

Julie giggled at their antics before turning to Tiffany. "Hey, why don't we have a sleepover on game night?" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Either way, your brother's probably staying over."

"Good idea! EEEK! I'll plan what we'll do!!" Tiffany giggled, already brainstorming

DING~ DING~

"Lunch time. Why don't we all eat together?" Zane asked with a smile.

"WAIT!"

Marcus called out, panting from running.

"Awww..how did everything goo…?" Julius leaned in with a smirk.

"Whatever! Let's just go now that I'm here."

…

The six of them made their way to the school garden, finding an empty bench under the shade of a tall tree. The sun was warm, but the gentle breeze made the afternoon feel just right.

Julie plopped down beside Tiffany, setting her lunchbox on her lap. "Ahhh, this spot is perfect," she sighed happily.

"Unlike Marcus's situation right now," Julius snickered as he opened his lunch.

Marcus groaned, taking a seat across from him. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"So basically, he got a whole lecture about 'respecting school facilities' just because Julius wanted warm food," Zane smirked, shaking his head.

"You're the worst," Marcus grumbled. "I was out there fighting for my life while you were probably laughing in the hallway."

"I was." Julius grinned.

"Couldn't be me," Noel added, nonchalantly picking at his food.

Zane scoffed. "Bro, you wouldn't even be there. You'd just dip before anyone notices."

"Exactly." Noel nodded.

Julie, who had been quietly watching their conversation, chuckled. She wasn't used to seeing Noel talk much, but with Zane, he seemed a little more open

.

"Zane and Noel are like a duo, huh?" Tiffany whispered to Julie.

"Yeah… It's kinda cute," Julie whispered back with a teasing smile.

"Mhm.." Tiffany agreed and stared at Julius, but she snapped out of it and turned to look at others.

Zane, overhearing, raised a brow. "You two gossiping about us or something?"

"Nope!" Julie and Tiffany said in unison, taking big bites of their food to avoid answering.

Noel glanced at Julie for a second before looking back down at his lunch, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

The conversation continued as they ate, filled with playful banter, teasing, and complaints about the morning classes.

"Tiff, you hate tomatoes in your sandwich, right?" Julie pointed her fork at Tiffany's plate, eyes locked on the small sandwich.

"Yeah..? You want 'em?" Tiffany asked, already reaching to take the tomatoes out.

Before she could, Julie snatched the whole sandwich and stuffed it into her mouth in one go.

"H—HEY! I said the tomatoes, not the entire sandwich!!" Tiffany gasped, her jaw dropping.

"Mmmph—too late," Julie mumbled through a full mouth, looking completely unbothered.

"You thief!! Give it back!!" Tiffany shook Julie by the shoulders dramatically, making Julie nearly choke on her food.

"It's just a sandwich!" Julie rolled her eyes, swallowing.

"You still have food on your plate!!" Tiffany huffed, crossing her arms. "I'll sue you for this. UGH!!"

The sounds of their bickering filled the air, a mix of giggles and complaints.

Noel, who had been silently chewing his food, watched the scene unfold. His gaze lingered—not on the chaos, not on Tiffany's exaggerated reactions—just on Julie.


Always on Julie.

"You two argue like kids," Zane sighed. "At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you joined the daycare club instead of an actual one."

"Speaking of clubs," Julius cut in, "we actually need to pick one."

"Oh yeah," Marcus groaned. "I forgot the teacher said self-study was canceled."

"What if we all just join the same club?" Tiffany suggested, resting her chin on her palm.

"Depends," Julie said. "Which club?"

A short silence fell between them.

"…I dunno," Zane admitted. "Cooking and baking, maybe? It sounds chill."

"Chill?" Noel, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke. "You mean burning down the kitchen?"

"C'mon, how hard can it be?" Zane shrugged.

"You? Cooking?" Julius smirked. "You don't even know how to boil water."

"Oh, please. I know how to make instant ramen—"

"With the wrong measurements," Noel muttered, shaking his head.

Marcus chuckled. "Honestly, it's not a bad idea. At least we won't have to run laps or get hit by dodgeballs."

Tiffany clapped her hands together. "Yay! This is gonna be so fun!"

But Julie stayed quiet.

Cooking… and baking? She shifted uncomfortably, poking at the food on her plate. Out of all the things she could do, cooking was definitely not one of them. She'd never really tried before—unless nearly setting the stove on fire while making eggs counted.

"I don't know…" she mumbled. "I kinda suck at cooking."

"So does Zane," Noel said nonchalantly, taking a sip of his drink.

"HEY." Zane shouted out loud.

Marcus laughed. "Honestly, none of us are chefs or anything, but that's the fun of it."

"Yeah!" Tiffany nodded eagerly. "We'll learn together. And if we mess up, at least we'll have a good laugh about it."

Julie looked around at her friends, seeing their excitement. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"…Fine," she sighed, a small smile tugging at her lips. "But if I burn something, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Oh, trust me," Julius smirked. "We're expecting it."

Julie shot him a glare while the rest of the group laughed.

Little did they know, the chaos awaiting them in the kitchen would prove otherwise..