THE JULIES
Chapter one: Starry High Hallway.
Juliana Pov
"Hey, babe," I say into the phone. I can already imagine Juliet giving me that famous dead stare.
I overslept. After staying up late rehearsing my performance, I crashed hard, and Mom didn't bother waking me up—said I needed the rest. She's not wrong.
"I'm here already," I say quickly as the car pulls to a stop.
"Well, I can't see you," Juliet replies flatly. Yup, definitely checking her watch right now.
"I'm sure she's almost here," I hear Julius's voice in the background.
"She better be. She has a performance to prepare for," Juliet mutters, not-so-quietly.
That makes me smile. She's pretending to be mad, but I know she's just worried. They're both waiting by the school gate—not too far now.
I wave as I rush toward them.
Juliet greets me with a glare. "I was going to leave if you didn't show up in the next minute."
"I know you love me." I throw my arms around her in a hug, grinning.
She doesn't hug me back, but I know she won't leave. She just likes to threaten me.
"Your alarm didn't wake you up?" Julius asks as we start walking.
"I was too tired to hear it. And Mom didn't either."
"That looks heavy." He reaches for my bag—the one stuffed with dresses and makeup for the performance.
"Thanks," I say, grateful.
As we head into the compound, the sound of chatter and excitement fills the air. It's buzzing with energy.
"It's Senior Juliet!"
"Oh my God, it's Julius!"
Cue the screaming.
Every single time we walk down the hall with Julius, this happens. The girls practically lose their minds. I just roll my eyes.
"Senior Julius, please never have a girlfriend—I can't share you with anyone!"
I glance at Juliet, and we both burst into laughter.
Girls are so cliché. God.
"Julius, marry me!" another girl screams.
"You're going to have baby mamas soon, I swear," I tease.
"Jul, stop," he mutters, but I can see the small smile on his face.
I won't lie—Julius is handsome, athletic, and smart. I can't exactly blame them.
"Senior Juliana! She looks so beautiful today!"
"And that long hair—she's giving queen energy!"
"Senior Juliet is just the best—brains and beauty!"
"The Julies forever!"
They're not wrong. Juliet really is the best—smart, stunning, and unbothered. Quiet, but firm. You'll see.
As for me? Hmm... you'll have to find out.
I look up and freeze slightly.
Jane.
The so-called queen bee of the school. Gorgeous, loud, and unfortunately obsessed with Julius.
God, help me ignore her today.
Juliet catches my eye and just gives me a small, knowing smile.
I step aside as she and her cheerleader minions strut past.
She walks by me and Juliet with that signature glare, and we respond with matching deadpan expressions.
"Such hostility," Juliet mutters, teasing me.
"Hi, Julius," Jane purrs, raising her manicured finger to touch his chest.
Julius catches her hand mid-air, lowers it gently, and flashes the widest smile I've ever seen.
It's so weird, I nearly choke from holding back laughter. That smile is too polite to be real.
We head to Juliet's locker, and she drops her bag. Just then, the basketball team strolls by, all tall and glowing with overconfidence.
"Hey, JJ," one of them calls.
"Hi, guys," Juliet replies calmly.
"Isn't this the wolf pack?" I say with a grin.
That's what we call our school basketball team—the White Wolves.
"And isn't this the fairest of them all?" Daren says with a playful smirk.
"You're making me shy," I reply with mock modesty.
"You? Shy? Never," he teases. "I can't wait for your performance today."
"Thanks," I say, smiling.
"Where's Julius?" Austin asks, scanning the area.
I tilt my head toward the chaos. "Your man is right there."
They all turn to where Julius is still stuck with Jane, who's laughing, talking, and touching like she's at a meet-and-greet with her celebrity crush. Julius, for his part, is maintaining that same tight, awkward smile.
Did I mention Julius flirts sometimes? Not in a gross way—but enough to leave a trail of broken hearts.
Even he looks uncomfortable right now with Jane's full-body cling-on routine.
"Okay, guys," Juliet says with a little wave as the team walks off.
I sigh. "I need my bag from Julius, but he's clearly not escaping anytime soon. His whole team is there—they'll probably start a cheerleaders-and-basketball-party any minute now."
"Juliet, can you please—"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get your bag," she cuts in with a smirk.
"My sugar pie," I coo, playfully tapping her chin.
"Don't 'pie' me," she snaps. "I'm only helping because I know you're avoiding Jane."
She walks off toward the growing circle around Julius.
But she's taking too long. I start heading that way, slow at first.
Then, out of nowhere, Jane shoves her.
My pace quickens instantly.
Julius steps in, pulling Juliet behind him.
"Jane. WTF?!"
Julius – POV
Juliet walks up just as Jane is practically glued to my side. Her minions are distracted, fawning over the basketball team.
I try to slip away—no luck. Jane blocks every exit with a hair flip or some fake laugh.
Guess I'm stuck till reinforcements arrive.
"Julius," Juliet calls.
"Juliana's ba—"
"Oh, don't tell me you missed him that much that you came running," Jane interrupts with a syrupy tone. "Or is it Juliana who sent you running?"
What is wrong with this girl?
Thank God it's Juliet she's talking to.
Juliet pauses, eyes locked on Jane.
Then—boom.
"No, darling. That's your role. I'm just here to take something that's definitely not yours."
She flashes her sweetest smile.
I blink. Did Juliet just drop a Juliana-level burn? With that innocent face?
Even Jane looks shook. Her expression tightens.
"Julius, Juliana's bag—" Juliet starts again.
But Jane cuts her off, lashing out.
"You're nothing but Juliana's puppet. Nerdy and ugly as hell. How is Julius even friends with you?"
Her minions cackle like backup dancers in a bad teen movie.
If only she knew the irony. Juliet is far from ugly—and way smarter than she'll ever be.
I glance up and spot Juliana approaching, her steps quickening.
Daren's smirking like he knows what's about to go down. I better stop this.
"Jane, can you sto—"
Juliet cuts me off, voice calm but sharp as a blade.
"And he doesn't want to be friends with you, and you don't even realize it because you're dumb and clueless."
Now Daren and Austin are laughing outright. They get it.
Jane, not so much. Her face twists in pure rage—and she shoves Juliet.
I don't hesitate. I step in, yanking Juliet behind me, shielding her.
"Jane—"
"WTF?!"
Juliana's voice slices through the noise.
And just like that…
Yeah—trouble just clocked in.
Juliana – POV
Avoid Jane? My foot.
I can't avoid her stupidity unless I leave this school, and I'm not giving her the satisfaction.
"Jane, I'm so going to break your hands."
I'm walking full-speed now, and nothing's going to slow me down.
Daren and Austin are making their way toward me, but I'm not stopping.
"Jul, it's alright. Let it go," Austin says, stretching his hand to block me.
I yank his hand off with a quick motion. Daren tries the same thing, but I shoot him a cold stare. He raises his hand in surrender.
"Jane, you got a problem? Why don't I help you solve it?"
I'm already loosening the buttons on my long sleeve shirt, rolling the sleeves up to my elbows.
"What you gonna do?" Jane sneers from over Austin's shoulder.
Julius steps in front of me, his body blocking mine.
Daren stays by the unbothered Juliet's side, and Austin is busy trying to stop Jane. Her three minions are crowding in behind her.
"Come find out, baby. Come find out."
I'm ready to mop the hallway of Starry High with Jane's face.
"You think I'm scared of you? You're nothing but loud bark and no bite."
Jane's voice grates on my nerves.
I laugh, escaping Julius's grip.
"They didn't tell you I have rabies? If I pounce on you, you'll die from madness."
The audience is starting to react to our little interaction.
"So you really are a b*tch?"
Jane's words are like fuel to a fire I'm about to set.
"Yeah, that's it. You wanna die?"
I shove Julius aside and charge toward Jane, full speed ahead.
Julius catches up to me, lifting me off my feet from behind. He's not letting me go anywhere.
Austin pushes Jane back, talking to her, "Do you want to die, or do you have a death wish? You haven't seen her fight with boys before, I guess. Don't even try it."
Juliet leaves Daren's side, picking up my bag from the ground and walking up to Julius and me.
She starts pulling my sleeve down.
"I'm okay, Jul. She's not worth it. Let it go."
With a heavy sigh, I nod.
We start walking away, Julius giving the guys a quick sign that he'll see them later. I glance back—Jane's still glaring, but I'm done. She's not worth it.
Juliet – POV
As the commotion continues, Austin is talking to Jane, holding her back.
"Have you seen her fight with boys before? You haven't, I guess…"
He should probably just let her go.
Let Juliana weave their hair together.
Daren leans toward me and whispers, "She wants to braid Jane and her minions into one."
I shoot him a look. He's such an actor. He was ready to jump in and stop Juliana five seconds ago.
I crouch down and pick up Juliana's bag from the floor—but I pause for a second, holding it tightly, my eyes still on Jane.
This... isn't just about Jane pushing me.
It's two years' worth of disrespect.
Two years of Juliana holding back while Jane ran her mouth, clung to attention, and spread drama like perfume.
Juliana has always been a spotlight—effortless, magnetic.
Jane is a moth desperate to steal the flame, and every time she fails, she burns a little more.
And me? I've always been out of bounds. Juliana's never let anyone mess with me.
She's got that lioness instinct, especially when it comes to protecting her own.
I know why.
And Jane just crossed that invisible line.
"If Juliana's ever going to go to jail," I say coolly to Daren, "it should be for something legendary… like serial killing. Not for someone as basic as Jane."
Daren stares at me for a second, his smirk slowly returning.
"You're dangerous."
I glance up, watching Julius still holding Juliana back as she's fuming in his arms.
I walk up to them calmly, holding out her bag like I'm handing a sword back to its warrior.
"She's not worth it. Let's go."
And just like that, we walk away—three against the world, and the world can keep trying.