Borrowed Time Part 2

Chapter 241

Ethan not showing up to rehearsal twice in one week was possibly the best thing that had ever happened to Juliette - she had no idea if Allison had 'benched' him, or if he was just off pouting somewhere, but she really hadn't cared.  Plus, she'd noticed a marked improvement in her sleep and relaxation after not having to see him twice - the first time it had made her uneasy, like he was going to appear behind her at any moment but not having him there again?  Godsend.

She'd slept a full night, and she was ready to take on the world... Or, take on Chemistry class.

Or she would be if Esme would give her hand back, but who was she to take away their canvas, right?

"I did not expect Miss Peterson to jump right back into everything this week, give us a chance to breathe." Esme sighed, turning Juliette's hand over so that they could continue the vine of the flowers that they'd started around over the veins in her wrist. Juliette chuckled, resting her chin on her free hand as she admired Esme's focus and careful movements.

Granted, should they have been focusing more on class and less on drawing on her?

For sure.

But it was cute, so she was going to allow herself the joy of admiring her partner.

"Babe, we've been back in classes for four days... We have to keep learning to graduate." Juliette said, and Esme looked at her, grimacing as they shook their head. She wasn't sure why they did, that wasn't exactly something that they could deny - in order to keep the brain in good health, they needed to keep learning... Or something like that, but that sounded right.

"Do we though?" Yes. "I really don't think I'll ever use Chemistry in my everyday life." They said, and Juliette sighed. They had a point, they wouldn't most likely use a chemical equation any time soon after graduating, but the periodic table and all that shit was actually pretty important - chemicals made up everything around them.

She didn't have to be good at chemistry or particularly interested in it for that to be true.

"Technically you do." Esme's face fell. Aw, pretty boy. "Everything is a chemical." She said, and Esme shrugged, like they had a counter to that... Which would be impressive, considering that was an indisputable fact.

"Not if I don't think about it." Esme said, and Juliette chuckled, shaking her head as she felt Esme trace their fingers over the lines that they'd just drawn, feeling her heart skip in her chest.

She liked how gentle their touch was.

"That... Does not change it being a chemical, if you can believe it or not." She murmured, looking down to watch their hands trace over her skin.  She loved how they looked together, how they complimented each other - her hands a little plush and theirs thin and strong, long fingers that fit perfectly in the slats of hers... It was beautiful, really, how much they fit together.

Esme chuckled, getting her attention, drawing it away from her admiration.

"Seeing is believing, and I do not believe." They said, and she rolled her eyes, chuckling as she did.  She nudged their foot under the table, eager to point out how accidentally ignorant that really sounded.

It made them sound like some anti-science freak, and she knew that wasn't them... But she could still bully them about it.

"So, what I'm hearing is that you're anti-science." She said, and they gasped, looking at her like she'd just called them some kind of slur, like she'd insulted their whole existence.  Damn... This joke better be worth my life, I guess. "Good to know." She kept her voice teasing, and Esme smacked her arm very lightly, shaking their head.