Juliette

nine

ᴛᴡᴇʟғᴛʜ ᴏғ ᴀᴘʀɪʟ | ᴛᴇɴ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-sɪx ᴘᴍ

William have never seen eyes so blue they were sparkling.

Having been engaged in a staring contest with Juliette for the last fifteen minutes or so, he found that he could win simply by losing himself in the depths of her orbs and seeking all the secrets they hold. But since her eyes were shuttered and he could practically see the blinds drawn all the way down from behind her lids, he opted to startle her, raising one eyebrow after another.

Juliette smirked. "Are you trying to distract me?"

William grinned, mischievously. "I don't know, are you distracted enough?"

"Nope," Juliette replied, smiling. "Gotta try harder than that Alex. Or should I say William?"

For a moment, William thought he was going to lose. A guilty look, almost like he was a kid caught with his hand inside the cookie jar, seemed to mask his face, rendering it open for Juliette's scrutiny. But then he realised that with Jase and Dexter shouting his first name on the phone, he couldn't really be surprised with this accusation.

"Alex, actually," he said, lips still quirked up in a grin. "I'm known by the name William only to family and close friends. And seeing as you're neither, I don't see any reason for you to be calling me William."

Juliette refrained from rolling her eyes. "Well, Alex... since we're talking about nicknames, why don't you start calling me Eleanor? That's what no one calls me, ever. And seeing as you're no one, I'm sure it must be fitting."

William saw the blue in her eyes flare.

"Why does your name sound so pretentious? Juliette? Eleanor? The next thing you're going to tell me your last name is Austen." William retorted.

Again, Juliette resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This man was infuriating. "And what do you call yours? William? Alex? I wouldn't be surprised if your second name was merely the shortened version of Alexander." William pulled back a little and Juliette's smirk widened. "It is Alexander. Now, who's being pretentious?"

William stuck his tongue out, childishly. "At least, I don't dye my hair white for God knows what reason." Really, William? That was the best you could do?

Juliette snorted. "Number one, I'm an atheist and I don't believe in God. Number two, I have a sensible reason for dyeing my hair white, and number three, white is actually my favourite colour, thank you."

William could see that it suddenly made sense why white was her favourite colour. Fits perfectly with the blue eyes. "You're an atheist?"

"Yup," she answered. "Been so since I was ten years old. Didn't think there existed a God if he was willing to let children suffer in the hands of their own parents."

Alas, William couldn't withstand it any longer. He reared back and blinked, wildly. "What?" He watched as Juliette smirked, obviously basking in the glory of having won their staring contest; but in his mind, her words replayed again and again. "Was that a joke?"

Juliette's smirk faltered. "No."