Theatre Geek - (R.B.) - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

AS EXPECTED the boy was late.
Much to her own annoyance, Julia was practically shoved into the bathroom to get ready after school the following evening against her own will. Her extracurriculars prevented her from being able to see Ricky at all during the school day - much to her quiet relief. So, mustering up all the strength she had within herself, she eventually got dressed in the most girlish clothes she could find in her closet. Which, mind her, wasn't a very easy task.
Ricky had texted Julia that he would pick her up at her house so they could go to the designated location together. However so, that eventually turned into another message stating that he preferred to just meet up with her in the restaurant. Of course, wanting to get the whole commotion over with, Julia agreed happily. Whatever to get that boy off of her back, she'd do whatever.
Ricky was supposed to meet her in the cafe at around 6 in the evening, and being the early bird she was, Julia reached at least thirty minutes before then. It was now nearing 8 O'Clock and he had yet to reach the place.
Sometimes, Julia found herself wondering why she constantly let boys - mostly Ricky - walk all over her. Ever since day one of meeting him, he always gave off those clumsy and inconsiderate vibes to her. He never really took the time to get to know her, and the one day where Julia actually felt like a princess, he had to ruin it all by saying that she meant nothing to him.
Like, if he didn't want to at least try to come on time, why the hell did he think it proper to ask her out in the first place? To consider this meeting as a date was way too normal - not something she was used to. In all honesty, she should've left the cafe a long time ago, but what was she supposed to do? Her very first date with a guy who showed at least a little bit of interest in her, and he decided to leave her hanging. Alone, that's how she is, was, and would continue to be.
So now, it was almost two hours since the time of meeting with absolutely no clarification text or call, Julia truly felt like he had done it.
Ricky Bowen had managed to break Julia Baker.
A stinging sensation caused Julia to look at her phone screen, and to no surprise really, her eyes were filled with tears. The second time she cried over the same boy, same stupid and arrogant boy. He didn't deserve her. No, she didn't deserve him. He would forever just be the stupid Ricky that she had unfortunately found herself fallen in love with.
A tapping on her shoulder caused Julia to look up from her fixated gaze on her cracked phone screen. The tears were long gone by then, she wouldn't let herself cry over him. Not again, at least.
Behind her stood Aaron MacLeod, the senior boys soccer captain. She didn't know him well, in fact, she couldn't recall ever talking with him. He had a soft smile on his lips, but they curled down when he saw the dried-tear stains on Julia's cheeks.
"Uh - hi," he said, almost cautiously.
She didn't respond, just stared at him in utter confusion and worry. Suddenly remembering the embarrassing tear stains on her cheeks, she was quick to wipe them away with her sleeve.
He hesitantly offered out a hand for her to shake. "I'm Aaron. I just came here with my family for dinner," he explained, motioning with his free hand towards a small group of people sitting in a table a few feet from them. "You go to East High, right?"
Julia nodded slowly, afraid she would make a fool of herself by accidentally saying the wrong thing if she spoke up.
"Great, I-" Aaron paused, recollecting his words. "I don't know if you're here waiting for someone, but we've been here for a while and noticed that you were alone..."
Aaron mentally scolded himself. We noticed that you were alone...she probably thought he was some sort of crazy stalker. Nice going, man.
"I'm Julia," she introduced herself finally, shaking his still lent out hand, that he probably didn't notice was still out.
He smiled at her, casually letting go of their intertwined hands. "Would you like to join us?" He quickly stumbled out, "only if you want to, that is."
She furrowed her brows, trying to find the possible intentions behind his odd offer. "Um, are you sure you wouldn't mind? I don't want to impose..." She asked, just above a whisper. She recalled this exact same thing happening with her voice the first time she met Ricky--
No. He wasn't relevant right now.
"'Course not," Aaron laughed, rubbing the back of his neck instinctively. "I think they - my mom, in particular, would like another female during dinner other than herself."
Julia looked at the clearly nervous boy - she could tell by the way his ears were bright red and his nose was starting to get as well. She wondered if it was even okay to leave her supposed date with Ricky. It wasn't like he was going to show up any time soon. If anything, that was likely the least of his worries.
"No, I can't. It'll be rude--"
He gave her a small smile, pausing her declination. "It won't be, promise."
So, choosing to let go of her previous worries, Julia nodded and followed him over to the table. Before they even reached the place, Julia glanced at the family from afar. There was an older woman and man, with a younger teenage boy sitting across from them. She assumed them to be Aaron's parents and his brother.
Much to Julia's overall relief, the dinner went by like a blur. Aaron's parents and brother (her assumption was correct) were oddly welcoming, despite her sudden appearance at the table. Had it been normal circumstances, she would've felt absolute guilt if she just barged into a family dinner, but they --- they treated her as if she was family. A thought that she couldn't quite fathom, but just the way they treated her with such comfort that night, she had no reason to not understand it.
After dinner late that evening, Aaron offered to drop off Julia back to her home. His father decided to take the car to instead take the rest of the family home, so the two resorted to walking back. It wasn't too much of a hassle for Aaron; he lived the next neighborhood away from her, which wasn't very far from her home.
"So, how's your day going?" Aaron asked, glancing back and forth between the sidewalk and Julia who was walking beside him. He couldn't recall when the last time was when he went out of his way to hang out with a girl - let alone invite one to have dinner with him. Perhaps it was the constant busying schedule that he had to deal with because of his role in the soccer team. Or maybe...he never really found someone worth the time.
"It started off pretty badly..." Julia admitted sadly, but laughed the situation off. "And then you invited me to have dinner with you and your family. It was very nice of you, by the way."
"I just...I don't wanna seem nosy or anything, but..." He trailed off, keeping his gaze fixated on the concrete. "When I came to your table earlier...were you crying?"
For a moment she didn't speak, just rubbed at her arm out of nervousness. Figuring her silence as an explanation to stay in his boundaries, Aaron quickly muttered out, "uh, sorry. I just---"
"It's okay," she responded, smiling up at him slightly. "It's nothing important. I was just... remembering something, something that's not special."
He nodded in understanding, sensing that there was probably more to the story than she was letting on. He didn't budge, though, concluding that after all, she just met him. Admittedly, it would be kind of cool to know what was upsetting her, but she was just human after all. Someone had to be pretty open-minded to tell a total stranger their entire life story.
So, with that thought in mind, it startled him that he hadn't noticed that he had reached her house until Julia began to walk up the steps of her door.
He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets awkwardly. "I'm glad you liked it, Lia," he winced and quickly corrected himself. "Julia, I mean. Is it - uh, is it okay if I call you that?"
She smiled. "Yeah, of course." She put her hand on the door handle, secretly glad that she had managed to grab his phone number earlier that night. Sneaking a quick glance his way, she said, "thank you for tonight, Aaron."
He grinned, waving off her thanks with a swift movement of his hand. "No problem," he then said. "Maybe we can do this another time. Without my family, I mean."
When Julia didn't respond right away, Aaron began to internally beat himself up. It was way too early to ask her out, though...was it really asking her out? It could be just as friends, anyway. He never talked to her before that night. Such a foolish move that he did, he just wished he could take it back-
"Yeah, I'd like that."
He bit his lip, smiling to himself. After a couple more moments of complete silence, Aaron dismissed himself, and practically skipped away with glee. A gesture that Julia found to be quite unsually cute.
It was only when she finally entered her house and changed out of her dress clothes, getting comfortable on her bed, did she realize just what she had missed. She completed her homework during her spare block during school so she was just left to her own thoughts.
Her phone buzzed yet again, revealing an unread notification. She tensed up when she realized just who had messaged her, at the most inconvenient time at that.
I'm so sorry, I ran late. You weren't at the restaurant so I just went home. (9:00)
Maybe another time, I guess. You clearly forgot about today LOL. I'm not upset though, don't worry... (9:15)