Forgotten ~ Gilmore Girls

22

ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ʜᴏᴍᴇ

"Juliana! Open the door!" Theo shouted for what felt like the millionth time, banging on the front
door of the Hayden's house.

They've been calling her phone nonstop and have been banging on the door for what has felt like three hours, but in all honesty was all of 15 minutes.

"Christopher? Are you home?" Aubrey screamed up hoping someone would hear. But no luck.

They prepared to leave, knowing their next stop was Francine and Straub's home. But as they turned their backs they heard the lock of the door flip, pulling their attention back to the door.

As the door pulled open, their hearts dropped seeing Leslie's face, "I'm sorry kids, you just missed her."

Aubrey's heart dropped, in disbelief that she missed her, "But she wasn't supposed to leave until 2. It's 1:30."

A small smile formed on Leslie's face as she watched the two kids in pain, "They left at one to see Straub and Francine before the flight. I'm sorry."

Theo wrapped his arm around the girl, her red hair pulled back in a clip, allowing her full face to be seen and every emotion she felt able to be read easily, especially by the boy who knows every meaning to each of her micro-expressions.

"Hey, hey. It's okay, she's okay," Theo had to console the girl, although he was the one who needed it.

He lost both of his best friends within a year. Everyone keeps leaving him. Every piece of him is screaming at him, that he needs to hold onto this girl in front of him before she leaves him too.

"I can't believe she just left," Aubrey said staring at the now closed front door, hoping that Juliana would come out laughing at the fact that they fell for such an easy joke.

Theo sighed, "She didn't 'just leave'. We had a week of her straight. Our Monday to Thursday sleepover, and the 3 AM ice-cream trip." He reminded her of two of the many things they've done with Juliana over the past week. The large group of them barely leaving each others sides.

"I guess."

"Julie is a strong amazing girl, we both know she'll be fine," Theo felt as if he was trying to reassure himself more than the girl.

"She was made for New York anyway. And Jess is there," Aubrey joked, trying to not feel too down and lighten the situation a bit, not just for herself but for her boyfriend, who she knew although wasn't showing it, was feeling worse about the situation than she was.

As the two stood in front of the house, a car pulled up quickly. The car barely stopping as they jumped out with speed.

"Please tell me we didn't miss her," Madeline pleaded as she saw the couple's expression.

They both frowned at the group of girls, whose hearts felt as if they shattered. "I'm sorry Mads."

Louise and Madeline accepted the arms Aubrey stuck out, taking a step away from her boyfriend to console the girls.

"I told you, we should've gotten here sooner. Then we could've seen Julie before she left," Paris started to argue with the two girls, "I can't believe you made me miss her."

"Stop being so bitchy Paris," Louise complained, "Just be sad like a normal person."

Paris rolled her eyes, masking her true feelings with anger and irritation. "I'm just saying, if we didn't have to chose between the pink or the pink we could've said bye to Juliana."

"It'll be okay Paris, she's not too far away," Theo tried to comfort the girl with a hand on her shoulder, but she was having trouble accepting it.

Paris took a step forward closer to the girls who were just standing embracing the silence, all in their own thoughts, "I'll be waiting in the car since there's no sense in just staying here. She went to a boarding school, hence she will be boarding in school and not coming back here."

With that, Paris stomped the few steps towards the car and placed herself into the backseat, unable to deal with all the emotions of her friends. Crossing her arms and leaning back, every memory of Juliana and her growing up flashing through her head. From the countless projects for their college applications, to their small rivalry in school, every laugh and word spoken filled Paris with this feeling that she hated.

The feeling everyone had. An emptiness. A missing spot without the girl.

But they knew this move for her is the best thing for her. She'll be back in no time, this is her home, and these are her people.