Borrowed Time

Chapter 155

The nights when Shelby and Micheal could make it over to the trailer were probably some of the favorite of Juliette's entire life - sure, she loved hanging out with the entire group, but sometimes it was nice for it to just be the four of them - obviously she wasn't going to make Esme leave their own house. Instead, she was leaned against them, her back to their front as she stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the anxiety she had for her audition in two days.

She hadn't tried out for something that wasn't a formality in a very long time, she honestly wasn't sure how she was gonna do with this... She was pretty sure she wouldn't get in, but she might as well try, right?

Shelby cleared her throat, shaking Juliette from her thoughts. Right. Yes. Talking.

"So... What did Carly have to promise you to audition for the musical? Because I tried to get you to do the musical for years since you don't do sports in the spring and I think you'd enjoy it." Shelby said, and Juliette frowned as she tried to think about what was said or done to make her want to do theater, because she was sure that it was something... But she couldn't put her finger on it, so she shrugged. Maybe she'd just... Decided to do it at some point, who knew... Not her.

"Uh... Nothing to my memory, but I'm sure there's a reason for it, right?" She asked, and Shelby let out a low chuckle, shaking her head in a way that made Juliette nervous... She knew that whatever came out of Shelby's mouth next would be a joke, but she was still wildly nervous that she might actually be upset- Shelby was one of the main people in her life that she never wanted to upset because she loved her way too much for that.

"Mmm..." She lifted her head, looking at Juliette with a smile that could either be amused or pissed off... Sometimes Juliette still struggled to know exactly which it was despite knowing Shelby better than she knew herself. "So I ask you and it's 'no, not a chance,' but Carly asks you-." She cut her off with a groan and shook her head... She knew that there was a 99% chance that Shelby was joking, but on the off chance that she wasn't she wanted to smooth it out.

"Don't be like that, come on..." Her tone must've shown her slight panic because Shelby chuckled, pulling her off of Esme's chest and into a side hug, pressing a kiss to the side of her head before she let her go.

Oh. You're not mad. Sick.

"You know I'm kidding." Juliette let out a breath of relief, leaving Shelby just enough time to nudge her lightly with a smirk. "For now." Mmm... Mean. She looked over at her with a pleading look, watching as Shelby laughed at her a bit, shaking her head. "I'm not mad! It was a joke, I'm glad you're getting into a new thing, that's hard for you to do." She said, and Micheal lifted his head up off of where it had been resting on Shelby's lap and nodded, giving Juliette a beaming smile, which made her heart feel warm. Micheal's smiles could light up several football fields and still have light leftover, she was sure of it.

"I'm really proud of you for getting out of your comfort zone like this, J. And I think you're gonna kill it in auditions." Micheal said, and Juliette felt her face flush as she glanced away nervously, rubbing at the back of her neck... She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to do with her hands right now... Or with a compliment about something that she hadn't even done yet, it was always odd to her how much blind faith Micheal had in her. Like, did she have the same blind faith in her mind with Micheal? Of course she did, but that was different.

"I wouldn't go that far." She mumbled, and Micheal cleared his throat so that she'd glance back over to where he was looking at her seriously. Okay, put your eyes away, they're convincing because they're pretty and trusting. I can't say no to you when you look at me, it's like saying no to a puppy.