𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐒 𝐍 𝐉𝐄𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐒┃ 𝖨𝗌𝖺𝖺𝖼 𝖦𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗂𝖺 (𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗)

━ 𝟎𝟎𝟔

PEARLS N JEWELS
"He was pearls, she was jewels."

JULIANA AND ISSAC STOOD in front of the cafe called Lark Cafe. Isaac had insisted on taking her there, eager to show her around. Initially skeptical about Isaac's intentions, Juliana found herself surprised that he was serious about seeing her after school. Despite having homework to do, Isaac somehow managed to convince her to join him.

Juliana continued to wonder why Isaac was acting so differently. It both bothered and intrigued her – the abrupt shift from being rude to suddenly saying, "I'll see you after school, Jewels." The inconsistency played on her mind, leaving her with a mix of curiosity and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Isaac viewed it as a chance to explore the small town in Colorado with Juliana. In all honesty, he had never done something like this before. Most of the girls he had been with were already familiar with the town, living there. This newfound experience brought a sense of novelty for Isaac, as he aimed to make the afternoon memorable for both of them.

Juliana looked inside the cafe, noticing the lively atmosphere. "Woah, there's a good amount of people here."

Isaac, also glancing inside, turned to her. "Yeah, Will and Haley know how to make it busy here."

"Oh!" Juliana inquired.

Isaac smiled at Juliana and gestured for her to enter. They both walked in, with Isaac leading her to the front of the counter. Currently, there was no one at the counter, leaving Juliana puzzled. A cafe filled with quite a crowd, and no one at the counter?

Juliana poised to speak, but a breathless girl with luscious, flowing locs rushed in. "Oh my gosh, sorry, guys," she smiled at the two teenagers. She noticed Isaac but didn't immediately recognize Juliana. "Isaac, it's good to see you here!"

Isaac and Haley struck up a conversation, catching up, while Juliana stood there with nothing to say. She didn't know Haley at all; all she knew was that she was Will's fiancée.

Haley turned to Juliana, "And you must be Juliana. I've heard about you and your cousin," she smiled. "And I'm very sorry."

Juliana's smile was tight-lipped, betraying her discomfort as she struggled to find the right words to respond to Haley's offer of comfort. While she appreciated his well-intentioned gesture, the thought of losing her family continued to haunt her, casting a shadow over her life. The grief she felt was a constant reminder that the ones she loved were no longer with her.

Juliana, not wanting to be rude, replied with a simple, "It's okay."

Isaac noticed her sudden mood change. Aware that Haley meant no harm with her condolences, he smoothly switched the topic. "Can I have two pieces of red velvet cake?"

"Oh yeah, of course," Haley said, promptly attending to the request as she walked away from the two teenagers.

Isaac lowered his hand onto Juliana's lower back, guiding her to an empty table. This gesture stirred Juliana's mind into a whirlwind, even if her outward expression remained unreadable.

Juliana grappled with her thoughts, feeling conflicted because she didn't want to admit she enjoyed his touch, even though it had an impact on her.

Juliana and Isaac sat across from each other. Juliana wasted no time in asking the question that had been on her mind, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"What do you mean?" Isaac retorted, the reason behind her question dawning on him. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it messy and unkempt.

Juliana looked at the boy as if he were dumb. "What do you mean, what I mean? Clearly, you're playing some type of game I'm not aware of." Juliana's voice sounded steady yet taken aback at the same time.

"What?" Isaac's laughter was cut short when he noticed she looked serious. His previously nonchalant expression quickly shifted into one of confusion.

Juliana returned the look with a slight tilt of her head, seemingly uncertain of what he was getting at. She didn't believe him either.

Isaac gave her an amused smile, "Are we really not allowed to just 'hangout'?"

Juliana retorted, "I never said that."

Now it was Isaac's turn to talk back, "So, what are you getting at?" Isaac could tell he was pushing her buttons, but he didn't mind. He was enjoying the playful back and forth with Juliana, even though he wasn't supposed to.

Juliana glanced around, checking if anyone was paying attention, but fortunately, everyone seemed engrossed in their own conversations. She sighed, "God, Isaac, we're not about to argue in this cafe."

"We're not arguing. I think it's more of communication," Isaac responded, maintaining a casual tone.

"I think it's arguing because you and I both know that we don't like each other at all," Juliana asserted.

Isaac smirked, "Who said i didn't like you?"

That was the final straw; Juliana started to get up from her chair, causing Isaac's smirk to fade. He quickly leaned forward, grabbing her arm to prevent her from standing up.

This caused Juliana to look up at him immediately, making eye contact; he was already looking into her eyes. "Okay, fine, Juliana, you win," Isaac said, still holding her arm.

It was the first time Isaac had said her name, which had a strange and inexplicable effect on her. She leaned back into her chair, as if drawn by an invisible force. It was as though a spell had been cast upon her, commanding her to sit down and listen to him. Juliana was annoyed by how she became softer when she heard her name on Isaac's tongue.

Isaac slowly let go of her arm, noticing she had sat down completely. He maintained eye contact as he also sat back down on his chair. "I just thought it would be a good way to get on good terms with you, you know, since we're basically gonna be living with each other," he explained.

Juliana sighed, understanding where he was coming from. She thought he had a good point, but she didn't appreciate the teasing. "You know, you could've just said that," she remarked.

Isaac's smile was warm and reassuring, but there was a mischievous glint in his eye that suggested that he was not completely serious. He spoke in a lightened tone as he said, "I have to troll before I get serious ." It seemed like he knew that he was not taking everything seriously, but he was willing to make it up afterwards.

"Are you serious?" Juliana asked bluntly, causing Isaac to widen his eyes a bit. "Do you really want to start this again?" Her questions were direct, leaving Isaac to decide whether to pursue the conversation further.

"Actually, I'm going to check on our cakes," Isaac stated, redirecting the conversation as he got up from his chair.

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AUTHORS NOTE

sorry for the short chapter but i promise you this chapter is important and i think it deserves a separate chapter.

also i have a lee garcia fanfic up. i published it a week ago and yes i will update that one soon trust.

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