Borrowed Time

Chapter Fourteen

The fall festival was probably the most disappointing event that happened every year, but Juliette couldn't stop herself from coming every single year. It was windy tonight, the rides were always run by teenagers, and nothing looked even slightly sanitary... she trusted none of the food vendors and now that she was older there was just... Nothing left to do for fun. But, she liked the excuse to walk around with Micheal and Shelby and make fun of random things in a way that wouldn't make her sound like a dick.

"Well, they truly went... half assed with the festival this year." Juliette sighed, and Shelby nodded, linking her arm with hers as they continued to walk... She wasn't wrong, nothing about the festival had been interesting in years, it was just something that had become a habit of theirs.

"It wouldn't be the fall festival if it were ever full-assed." Hm, she didn't like that phrasing... something about it was just pretty weird.

"Full-assed..." Micheal murmured, and Shelby gave him a sideways glance. No, he was right, that was a really weird thing to say.

"What?" Shelby asked, and Micheal shrugged, giving her a small smile as they laced their fingers together, swinging their arms between them. Disgusting.

"I just... I know what you mean, but it sounds weird." He said, and Shelby chuckled, knocking into his shoulder as they walked... Yeah. She didn't feel like she was intruding at all, she still felt like she was part of the group.

"That's the point, babe. Confusion." Shelby said, and Micheal furrowed his brows, glancing around Shelby to look at Juliette with a smile. She shrugged... it made a certain amount of sense.

"Alright..." He sighed, and after they'd walked a bit longer, Shelby elbowed her and she winced. How did she always manage to get right between the ribs? If it was purposeful, it was probably the least enjoyable way to get her attention because it was always the same spot.

"Where's Esme?" She asked, and Juliette shrugged, looking down at her phone. She hadn't gotten a response yet, so maybe they weren't around quite yet.

"I don't know, I haven't heard from her yet, I've been waiting on a text-." Something jumped onto her back, and Juliette panicked, thinking of all the different way she could shake a man off of her, but then she heard oddly familiar laughter... Right. Probably Tegan.

"Juliette Smith!" She waited until Tegan slid off her back, wincing when she did. God, she might be light but she could be dense when she was flying through the air.

"Oh my god..." Juliette groaned, turning around as she rubbed her lower back, wincing. "Ow, Tegan." She sighed, and Tegan grinned, taking a couple steps back.

"Sorry! I'm just excited to see you again." She raised an eyebrow. Why? They hardly knew each other, that didn't make much sense at all... Well, they were pretty cool people and yeah, Juliette was excited to see them too, to bond, but also... Just a little weird.

"You barely know me." Juliette said, and Penny sighed, wrapping an arm around Tegan's shoulders with a smile. Juliette's mouth got dry as she took a step back... No, it was fucking unfair how good all three of them looked, they were showing her up in her own town.

"Yes, but Tegan is obsessed with forming relationships, she likes to study them." Penny said, and Tegan gave her a look, shaking her off as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"No, I like having friends, I do like to study other kinds of relationships though, that's not a lie." She took a step forward, scanning her eyes over Juliette's outfit before letting out a whistle with an approving nod. Okay, it was no less embarrassing when someone other than Shelby did that, good to know. "You look cute tonight... all this for Esme?" She asked, and behind her, Shelby snorted.