Theatre Geek - (R.B.) - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

SOON AFTER the day of the homecoming dance came. Julia reached home late the night before, but her tiredness didn't stop her from preparing an outfit beforehand. While scrolling through her wardrobe, she wondered why of all people -- Ricky would be interested enough to ask her to go with him.
He had so many other choices. Being a popular student amongst the girls, he could've easily scored any date. And it would be wrong for her not to assume that Gina asked him out a couple of times before.
Julia didn't think she was anything special, admittedly. In fact, she had a lot of trouble communicating her thoughts, that's why she came across as rather blunt and dull. For herself, she was just an ordinary teenage girl who had a lot on her plate.
The evening after, Ricky picked Julia up from her house so they could head to the dance together. He convinced his dad to allow him to borrow the car for the night, so it made the way there all the better.
Students were jumbled around the dance floor and the disco ball was streaming out neon colors from the ceiling. They filled the floor with fancy gowns of all shapes, and the boys were mostly wearing tuxedos and dress-shirts. Except for a few odd-balls, the place was crowded.
There were some staff members around the ends of the gymnasium, watching for any suspecting students who were a little closer than deemed appropriate for a school-funded event.
Julia especially was having a wonderful time: sure, she volunteered for school events all the time, but she never really attended one. She didn't see the need to, anyway. It was almost always her and a few other students behind the front desk selling tickets and escorting attendees to the podium.
Ricky was dressed in a tuxedo, which looked very different from his usual attire. He was enjoying the dance and was glad to let loose after a tiring couple weeks of classes. He didn't tell her, but Julia looked beautiful that day. Sure, when he came to her door earlier that evening, he complimented her, but that comment was nothing compared to how he actually felt she looked like.
A pink-laced dress that reached her knees, matched up with a silver necklace and some flat shoes. It was a look he could get used to because it made him feel all jittery inside.
Despite the sheer amount of happiness we have feeling, he still felt a little upset; they'd been at the dance for well over an hour, but there was no sign of the girl he couldn't wait to see: Nini.
He turned to Julia, his date, who was smiling was speaking with some of her friends. "I will go get us some drinks," Ricky began. "Any preferences?"
She pursed her lips for a brief second, contemplating her choices. "Some water please," Julia chose.
Nodding in return, Ricky hurried off to the snack booth and filled one solo-cup with cold water and the other with some fruit punch. He secretly hoped no weird student added alcohol or some intoxication medicine into the bowl because he remembered the disaster that happened back in middle school when someone sneaked some in once.
He never drank alcohol before, but it would be a clear lie if he said he didn't want to try some one day -- maybe in two years when he's at least legal age.
"Hi Ricky!" He recognized the voice being Gina's and quickly turned to face her direction, his juice cups in hand. "Who're you here with?"
"No one special," he chuckled in return. "And you?"
Julia took a seat in a chair of one of the empty tables, waiting for Ricky to return with their drinks. She fiddled with her fingers, a blush appearing on her cheeks as she pondered about what else was in store for her for the night.
She was interrupted from her thoughts when a deep voice called out her name. Looking up, it surprised her -- and mildly made her uncomfortable that EJ was the one who did so. He took a seat in the chair beside her.
Wearing a blue suit with his hair slicked back, she felt bad for thinking he looked handsome.
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry," he admitted, earning a look of confusion from the shorter girl. "For what I did all those weeks ago, I mean."
Oh, she thought. Julia had completely forgotten about that incident. It seemed like such a normal thing to do, to want to protect the one you're in a relationship with.
"I'm not upset, EJ," Julia cleared up. "I understand, though. It was probably just your emotions getting the best of you. Happens to the best of us."
EJ smiled brightly, glad to have cleared up that small misunderstanding. "Thanks, Julia. You're—cool."
The next few minutes were shared quietly. Julia almost forgot that she was waiting for Ricky to come back from the snack booth, which, mind her, was just some seconds away from where she was standing. EJ was a much nicer guy than she initially thought; finding out that he came with Gina because his girlfriend didn't come and learning about his hobbies.
"It's kind of funny, isn't it?" EJ asked, but it was more of a rhetorical question.
"What?"
"That Ricky only really bought you to make Nini jealous," he continued. That was, unfortunately, when everything came crashing down. Seeing the tears enveloped in her eyes, EJ immediately regretted his words.
Finally, on his way back to his date, when Ricky saw that Julia practically rushed out of the gymnasium with her hands covering her face, he immediately placed the cups down and went after her, hoping and praying that she was all right.
The wind was pouring against his curly hair, making the rain feel like ice as it fell down upon his head. Checking around the parking lot, he freaked out, wondering where she may have gone to in such a hurry.
Was she may be upset that he brought the drinks so late?
Seeing Julia huddled beside a blue Chevrolet, he walked up to her, his eyebrows furrowed in distress.
The girl looked up; she was crying, that was obvious. It pooled her mascara down her eyes, her hair a breezy mess, and her cheeks were red from emotion. "Are you okay, Jules?" He wearily asked, nervous that if he raised his voice even more, she would fall apart completely.
"Why should you care?" Ouch, he cringed.
"Look, you can tell me. Is something wrong?" He repeated, inching a little closer to her fragile body.
"Get away, Ricky." She raised her voice, emphasizing each word. "Leave."
"Why?" He defensibly asked in confusion. "Please, if it's something I did—"
"It's always something you did!" Julia didn't look like the same girl anymore. The girl he saw just some twenty-minutes ago was not the same person. This girl wasn't naïve. There was a fire in her eyes, one that warned him to stay away before further damage. "I-I know why you brought me to the dance!"
"Because I like you? Because you're my friend?" Ricky said, trying to come to terms with the very pointless argument that was stirring up. "Is that why you—"
"Please stop," her voice was just above a whisper, so delicate and fragile. "I know you don't like me more than as a friend. I'm okay with that. But didn't it ever occur to you how I would feel once I found out you were using me to get back with your ex-girlfriend?"
Julia refused to look away, even as her lips trembled and her shoulders heaved with emotion, unwilling to back down. Her dark lashes brimmed heavy with tears; hands clenched into shaking fists, in a desperate battle against the grief. A lone tear traced down her cheek, and just like that, the floodgates opened. She wept, tears streaming from her deep blue eyes, loud, heaving sobs tearing from her throat, and still she did not look away. Not until the sobs drove her to her knees did her determined gaze fall.
"Nothing can happen between us, Julia," Ricky said, his eyes now on the starless sky that was giving no light, just darkness and a lot of rain. "You and me? We're two different people with so many different interests. We don't belong with each other. It can't work, I'm sorry."
Julia weakly smiled, nodding, her head swooped down. Realizing that she had no reason to be there anymore, she stood up quietly, making sure he didn't see her. He was too focused on the sky to even hear her make a move.
She walked under the night sky, her arms crossed to produce warmth, but much to her dismay, didn't even grant her that one wish. Walking along the sidewalks to a never-ending journey, she stumbled upon the empty roads, content to just be with herself.
Julia knew she would faint when her stomach gave out. It felt like her innards were being replaced by some kind of black hole. Then nausea crept from her abdomen to her head and the world went black.