Borrowed Time Part 2

Chapter 261

She felt like she was living in a fucking fishbowl, or like a damn spectacle at the zoo.

All of rehearsal had been people staring, whispering, saying shit that she knew wasn't true but she also knew had no point in being corrected... They wouldn't care about the truth, they never fucking did.

She turned to Becky, a nervous feeling practically penetrating her bones.  She'd been one of very few people not to look at her sideways... Just her, Carly, Peyton, and Yvonne... She knew Marley and Talia would've been fine too, but she didn't see them... Hell, even Jackson had been acting a little off.

It was fucking terrifying.

"I feel like everyone's looking at me weird, I fucking hate this." Juliette murmured, glancing around nervously as she all but clung to Becky's side - she was like a beacon in the night, the one person that Juliette was 100% sure was on her side, and she didn't want to lose sight of her because Becky was also the only person who was keeping her any level of sane right now.

She knew that the first few rehearsals after Ethan actually got kicked out was going to be a rough one, she had no doubt in her mind about that but that didn't make it any less awkward. Ethan had a lot of friends here, and she was still new - to them, she was an outsider infiltrating their shit, and she'd gotten a good guy punished. She couldn't change their minds if she wanted to.

Becky grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight and giving Juliette a little smile.

"They're not, I promise." She said, and Juliette raised an eyebrow - maybe most of them weren't, but at least a few of them had given her looks that were anything but kind and complimentary. She let Becky keep talking to her, respecting her attempt to take her mind off of it and calm her down. She would've done the same thing if the roles were flipped. "I get that concern, I had the same fear when I finally told someone the truth about what happened with Colton and he got benched during the basketball season, but no one was. And if anyone is, they're stupid." She said, and Juliette grimaced, scanning the room until she fell on the person who was staring through her.

Iris. Of course it was fucking Iris, of course on top of having terrible takes about everything else in the world, she also supported a predator. Why had she even pretended that that would be shocking? That was the most normal thing to happen in a very long time.

Trash supporting trash. Villain supporting villain.

"Iris is glaring at me." She said, and Becky followed her gaze and then rolled her eyes, returning Iris's look right back until she finally looked away. She saw the satisfied smirk on Becky's face as she relaxed a bit.

Damn. Okay, Aladori.

"Isn't she always?" She asked, and Iris was back to staring daggers at her before she could even speak... It wasn't her normal disgust or envy, there was actual anger behind this, some kind of rage that felt entirely unearned because it was there in support of a man who was a fucking monster.

She'd tell Iris.

She'd tell her if she asked, but people like her never did, they just made the assumption that they knew what was going on, and that made it worse for everyone involved. It made it damn near impossible.

"This is a different kind... There's like... Venom behind her eyes." Juliette mumbled, not willing to look away from her... It was the very same feeling she used to get with Samantha, where if she took her eyes off of her, she felt like some harm would occur. Iris let out a huff, frown deepening as she clenched her fists at her sides and started her walk across the room, feet stomping with each step. "And... She's coming over here." She sighed, watching Becky lift her head with alarm, a calm and calculated look coming across her face a moment later as she gently rested her hand on Juliette's arm.