limerence [justin foley]

chapter 2

juliette's pov

i open the door and walk inside monet's, scanning the room for any sign of clay. i eventually find him at one of the tables next to a window but he isn't alone. he's sitting in front of a girl who i recognize to be the new girl in town, hannah baker. i've only ever talked her twice, once when i went to go visit clay at his job at the crestmont and he introduced me to his coworker which was her, and the second time at kat's going away party which happened to be at hannah's house. that was one wild wild night. aside from these days, i've gotten to know more about her straight from what clay tells me since hannah happens to be one of his favorite topics to talk about.

all the way from here i can see his eyes sparkling happily like they usually do when he's super into something...or someone. i'm stuck in between heading to the table with them or just sitting at one on my own, not wanting to intrude in his moment, yet he beats me to it when he spots me from his table and begins to call my name, gesturing for me to come over. i walk over to them and smile brightly before sitting in the third empty chair.

"hey jules, you remember hannah right?" clay greets and i nod and turn to hannah who delivers a shy smile.

"of course. you ready for the school year?" i ask her and she purses his lips before letting out a light chuckle.

"define ready." she simply answers and i laugh before lifting up the cup of ice water in front of me.

"cheers to that!"

the three of us continue to converse with one another and i can't help but notice how clay's eyes light up whenever hannah speaks. i absolutely love it. if there's one person that deserves endless happiness, it's him. plus, from what i've seen so far, hannah's a great girl. she's beautiful, funny, smart, and has a truly captivating personality so i can already tell we're gonna be great friends. we continue to talk and eat some of the food that we ordered for the following couple of minutes before the restaurant door opens and in walks my brother and a couple of his friends, justin foley included.

"you've gotta be kidding me," i groan in annoyance and plant my head down on the table in between my arms.

"they go to our school, don't they?" hannah questions. "kat introduced me to some of them at her party. she dated, i think his name was, justin foley?" she informs and i lift my head back up.

"she sure did," i scoff under my breath and clay shoots me a look but i shrug it off. "but yeah, they go to our school. you see the tall, olive skinned one taking a selfie with the other dude? that's my brother." i tell her and she nods accordingly while raising her eyebrows at the mention of my brother. as if on cue, jeff spots me from the entrance and advances over to my table.

"jules, you know you're supposed to let me know where you're going whenever you leave the house. why didn't you?" he scolds me and crosses his arms in front of his chest. he gives a small wave to clay and hannah before directing his hard stare back at me.

"i told foley to tell you. bitch probably didn't even feed noob either." i curse and shake my head, remembering how i had asked him to feed my dog. he furrows his brows and uncrosses his arms.

"oh, well, he didn't. and it was his idea to come here, anyway." my brother informs me and i scoff at the newfound fact that justin, of all people, decided to come to the one place he knew i would be at.

"was it? okay well," i stand from my chair, adjusting my jeans as i do so. "i'm actually getting kind of tired so i think i'm gonna-" speak of the devil, i'm cut off by justin popping up beside jeff, slinging his arm across his shoulder.

"how we doing over here?" he plasters a bright smile on his face and winks in my direction. "sup, jules?" he slightly bobs his head towards me then turns to clay and hannah. "clay, new girl."

"hannah." she corrects him with a slight tone of sass and i mentally applaud her.

"right, kat's friend." he snickers smugly at her and she smiles before sticking a strand of hair behind her ear. i roll my eyes at his constant attempt to flirt with any living thing that has a vagina and grab my small purse off of the table.

"i'm gonna head back home, jeff." i give a swift goodbye to clay and to hannah who seems somewhat taken aback at my sudden departure. i then give a quick kiss on the cheek to my brother before walking towards the door before i'm stopped by a tight grasp on my wrist. confused, i turn around and come face to face with those infamous blue eyes i've grown irritated of.

"in case you're wondering, i did feed your dog." he smiles lightly, the blue in his eyes sparkling from the dim moonlight entering through the window.

"thanks." i simply reply and break his hold on my wrist. i unwillingly stare into his piercing eyes one last time before tearing away from his gaze and heading out the door.

i tighten the grip on the red flannel across my waist and continue walking into the parking lot, trying to remember where exactly i had parked my car. i finally spot it and begin walking towards it before i accidentally bump into a hard chest covered by a blue varsity jacket.

"shit, sorry." i apologize and look up into a pair of baby blue eyes. frat boy darth vader himself, bryce walker. "oh hey, bryce." i smile.

"hey hey little j." he pokes my arm with a light smirk and i scoff at the nickname.

"little j? jeff's literally only 10 minutes older than me." i playfully roll my eyes and earn a laugh from him in response. "oh and the guys are all inside if that's who you're looking for."

"great, thanks. why are you leaving so soon, though? come hang out with us." he frowns and takes a step closer to me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. i uncomfortably chuckle and take a step back. from the time that i've known him, bryce has always given me some weird vibes. he can go from being this totally sweet, cool and relaxed guy one minute to being a pervy and narcissistic invader of personal space the next.

"um, thanks, but i'm pretty beat i kinda just wanna head home." i tug up my black tank top, attempting to cover as much of my exposed cleavage as i can.

"aw, come on julie! just for a couple minutes." he clicks his tongue and slowly advances a bit closer to me, lightly clasping my arm with his right hand causing my body to immediately tense up.

"no no i really just want to go home." i gulp and nonchalantly attempt to release myself from his hold but it's no use.

"jules!" i hear an all too familiar voice call my name behind me and sigh in relief at the interruption. i turn around and find justin advancing towards us, his expression hardening once he sees bryce standing with me and holding my arm.

"you left your phone on the table. i told jeff i'd bring it to you." he informs once he reaches us. "hey bryce,"

"sup man." bryce bobs his head towards justin and finally let's go of his hold on my arm. "i'm gonna head inside. goodnight, julie." bryce winks in my direction and sashays towards the entrance of the restaurant. i let out a breath of relief i didn't know i was holding and wipe a bead of unwelcome sweat off my forehead. justin hands me my phone and seems to catch on to my tense posture as he gives me a slightly worried look.

"you okay, jules?" he asks me and i hesitantly nod before taking my phone.

"yeah, why wouldn't i be?" i simply respond and cross my arms in front of me, attempting to regain my strong and confident facade.

"i dunno. i just feel like i've known you long enough to be able to tell when you're okay or not." he sticks his hands into the pockets of his blue letterman jacket and i can't really tell if my heart just slightly fluttered or clenched at his words.

"oh, well, i'm fine. i'm gonna go." i smile at him blankly and for once he delivers a, dare i say, genuine smile back. at last, i turn on my heel and get inside my car, driving myself back home.

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- isa