𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫

𝒱𝑜𝓁𝓊𝓂𝑒 𝒪𝓃𝑒 | ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟹

ᴊᴜʟɪᴀɴᴀ ɴɢᴜʏᴇɴ

THIS SATURDAY EVENING, Juliana found herself in the coffee shop near her house, it was called Rosie's. She often comes here with her friends, but today she was alone, simply because she concentrates better this way.

Juliana gets distracted really easily when Harper and Aria, her other best friend, are with her. But it does get annoying sometimes because she just wants to listen to music and draw, that seems more like her vibe, especially with it's raining, it's not though.

The music she was playing was in low volume so that she can hear her name being called from the woman working in the café, who also the owner. Juliana ordered a cappuccino and a slice of strawberry cheesecake, this is her usual order.

When she entered the coffee shop, the woman knew exactly what Juliana wanted. Her name's Vanessa, she's really nice and beautiful, though, Juliana often notices bruises on her skin, but she never asked about, fearing it would cause a problem.

Vanessa had a son named Alejandro, he also works here and is the same age as Juliana. In her opinion, he is quite attractive. Alejandro's hair is a dark brown, messy, but styled in a messy yet attractive way.

His eyes are dark brown, they held the same darkness. His skin is slightly tan, which suits him well, making him look more attractive. His eyelashes are dark, and his lips are plump.

But all his good looks are usually with his personality is ass. Every time Juliana greeted him, he would just ignore her, it's quite rude if you ask her. He could've at least wave at her, or maybe give her a nod of acknowledgment, that would've been nice.

Thankfully she only sees him here, and not in school, because he doesn't go. In Farley, there's only one high school, which is the one she goes to. But the thing is that to attend it, parents have to pay for the tuition, she won't lie, it is pretty pricy.

That's why Juliana does work hard to get amazing grades and everything. If she didn't, then her parents would be paying the school for her education for nothing, she doesn't want that, it's unfair them.

Juliana was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard her nickname being called out by Vanessa. She pulled down her headphones to her slender neck and placed the pencil in her hands down.

She stood up and walked up to the counter with a slight smile, dimples appearing on both her cheeks. Juliana said hi to her, and Vanessa doing the same.

"Sorry for taking a bit long, I had to attend other customers." The older woman apologized, even though she was only doing her job.

"Oh, no, it's fine." Juliana giggled, waving her off to signal that it's not a big deal as she grabbed the hot drink. "I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere."

"So..." Vanessa trailed off, leaning forward to try and peek at the drawing Juliana has been doing for the last ten minutes. "What are you drawing?"

"My mom." Juliana replied with no hesitation, taking a sip of the steaming, hot coffee. "It's her birthday next week, and I'm planning on giving it to her as a gift. Just don't tell her, though, I want it to be a surprise."

"Don't worry." Vanessa laughs, pressing her index finger on her own lips. "My mouth is a grave, nothing is going to come out from it, I promise." She said, cutting a slice of cheesecake, placing it on a small plate and pushed it towards Juliana.

The teenage girl thanked her and took a hold of the plate. Just then, the bell from above the door jingled, making it known that a new customer had arrived.

"Enjoy." Vanessa told her, and Juliana nods, stepping away from the counter, making space for the man that has entered the small coffeehouse.

As she went back to her table, Juliana sat down, placing the plate with the cheesecake and the cappuccino on the table. She pulled up her headphones to continue listening to the music she was listening.

Juliana picked up her pencil, resuming to draw a portrait of her mother. She took sips of her coffee every once in a while as she added more details, working on her mother's hair.

As she got focused on not messing anything up, Juliana didn't notice that someone was approaching her table. The presence of someone sitting in the chair across her made Juliana look up, lifting her head from the paper she was focused on.

Her emerald green pair of doe eyes was met with a pair of blue eyes, it was a boy, but not just any boy, it was someone she had a crush since forever, Asher.

Juliana's lips parted as she stared at him for a few seconds, surprised to see him here. She then took out her headphones and placed it on the table. "Hi." She said softly, greeting him before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Hey," He leaned back against the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I heard what happened yesterday, are you okay?" He asked, his eyes flickered down to her arm, which was slightly red.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Juliana reassured him, waving it off and rubbed her arm where the redness was. "Cassidy just kept pinching me, but it's okay though, it's going away."

He hummed and stayed silent, Asher just kept staying at her. "So..." Asher began, resting his arms on the table. "You have anything planned for tonight?"

"Nah," She shook her head, taking a bit of the food in front of her. "I was gonna go roller skating with Harper, but after what happened with Lillian, I doubt her parents would let her go, to be honest."

"Yeah, that sucks," He sighed and leaned back against the chair. "Are you still planning on going?" He asked, shifting his position to get comfortable.

Juliana shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head up and down. "I don't know, depends on my mood later." She said, sipping the last drop of her coffee from the mug. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Asher said and shrugged his shoulders. Silence fell between the two of them. Juliana was waiting to see what he had to say next, but judging on his facial expression, it seemed like something was on his mind, but the only problem is he wasn't saying it out loud.

Juliana's doe eyes were fixated on Asher, as he stayed quiet for a couple more seconds. She quickly finished her cheesecake and shove her sketchbook and pencil in her bag, her headphones being placed around her neck.

"Anyway, I'm sure you only came here to talk to Alejandro so see you later, okay?" She stood up, hooking the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "Besides, I need to give Max his notebook."

Asher's expression changed at her words, he tilted his head a bit, watching her carefully. "Max?" He couldn't help himself but ask.

Juliana paused and glanced back at him, nodding. "Yeah, Max." She said nonchalantly which didn't go unnoticed by Asher. "I promised to give him his notebook." She began to walk away but he reached out and gently gripped her wrist, stopping her.

She flinched at the sudden contact and turned to face him, looking down at where he was keeping a light grip on her wrist. She then looked up and met his eyes, tilting her head to the side. "What?"

Asher looked up at her as he kept his grip on her wrist, he then let out a sigh. "Nevermind, just go." He said, a hint of irritation could be heard in his voice as he let go of her wrist.

At the sound of his irritated voice, Juliana raised a questioning eyebrow but didn't say anything. She simply turned around and left, walking away.

However, she couldn't help but feel confused on why he had reacted like that when she mentioned Max's name.

ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪғᴜʟʟʏ ɢɪɴɢᴇʀ
╰ ᵃᶻʸᵃᵐˢ