Juliet was your worst enemy.

The statement pained you to say, but it was true. Ever since you had moved to her high school, she was set on making your life a living hell by pushing you to the limit. She constantly teased you just to get a reaction. No matter how much it angered you, you couldn't get away from her—she was a part of your friend group, especially since she was dating Andy Biersack.

And that was exactly what she was doing right now. She twirled a blonde strand around her finger as she looked at you with a smirk. Today, she had decided to mock your voice, using an accent that was so not you.

"I don't talk like that!" you huffed.

Juliet just continued to smile. "Whatever you say, Y/N."

Almost as if on cue, Andy appears at her side, slinking a arm around her waist. "You guys ready for lunch?"

Juliet nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek. You held back a smart remark at the sickeningly sweet display of affection. Andy was the glue to your friend group. With a charming smile and a heart of gold, every girl wanted him. But Juliet was the only one who had caught his attention.

The bell squeals and students pour out into the hallway. Lunch was about to start. You take one final glance at the happy couple and walk outside to the courtyard, seeing your friends already at the table.

"Hey!" Ashley Costello greets with a bright smile. The half-head Goth was your best friend and had been since elementary school.

You sit by her side, in between her and Lzzy Hale. Lzzy was another part of your large friend group. She was loud and had a voice that everyone was envious of. She held a stack of flyers in her hands.

"Are you excited for the battle of the bands?" you asked. Lzzy smiled and nodded, handing out flyers to anyone who walked by your table. Her band, Halestorm, had entered the annual competition. And knowing her competitive nature, she was determined to win.

"I can't wait!" CC, aka Christian Coma, says with a grin. He was a part of Lzzy's band and couldn't be any more excited to perform. He was always so bubbly, with the energy of a Golden Retriever.

It isn't long before the rest of your friend group—Inna Logvin, her boyfriend Jake Pitts, and Jinxx Ferguson are all sitting at the table. Jinxx kept his guitar at his side. He was the quietest of the group and barely spoke. However, you all knew that he was fun to be around.

"Where is Juliet and Andy?" Inna wonders aloud. The beautiful blonde had joined your group not long after you had. She moved from her home country in Ukraine to the United States, and fell hard and fast for the most confident one out of your friend group, Jake.

"They're probably making out in the janitor's closet," Ashley replied, stuffing a fry into her mouth. Everyone shudders at the thought.

"You've been arguing with her more than usual," Lzzy says to you. "Is there any reason why?" She gives you a pointed look.

You stab your fork into your salad. "I don't know. We all know Juliet, she just loves to torture me."

"You're right about that."

Her voice makes you nearly jump out of your skin and you turn to see her standing behind you, hands on her hips and a smile on her face. Andy was at her side, eager to join the group.

"Oh, it's you," you said bitterly. She plops down at your side, shoving Lzzy out of the way before you can even begin to protest. Lzzy rolls her eyes at the blonde.

"You know you're happy to see me, Y/N." Juliet grins.

You roll your eyes and continue to poke your salad. She suddenly grabs your fork from your hand and stabs a large piece of lettuce, stuffing it into her mouth.

"Hey!" you cried. "What was that for?"

Juliet chews loudly before swallowing. "You weren't going to eat that, were you?"

You let out a low growl and grab her bottled water from her hands. Then, you twist off the cap and dump the remaining water onto the concrete below.

"That was my water!" Juliet hissed, venom in her voice.

"Now you know how it feels," you shot back smugly.

Without warning, Juliet grabs your hand and tugs you up from the table, much to the surprise of everyone else. Her grip is tight on your wrist as she pulls you through the courtyard and into the now empty school.

"Ow, you're hurting me," you groaned. She doesn't respond, only opens the door to the janitor's closet and practically throws you in. She shuts the door behind you and locks it.

"Do you want to know why I love to tease you, Y/N?" Juliet hissed, her body dangerously close to yours. You gulp, feeling sudden heat envelop your cheeks. Butterflies erupt in your stomach and you didn't know why.

"Why?" you squeak.

Her sea-green eyes meet yours and she leans in until her lips are inches away from your own. You inhale a sharp breath. All you wanted to do was to kiss her.

Wait, what? You shake away the thought, but can't keep yourself from getting lost in her eyes.

"I love to tease you because...you look hot when you're angry," she said, rather bluntly.

You bring yourself out of your trance, your mouth agape. "What?"

"Does that surprise you?" Juliet asks. Her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip, and all you can think about is how hot she looks. She was a few inches taller than you and with her arms crossed over her chest, you can't help but shrink back.

"Yes." You shake your head, unable to process her words. "But I thought—"

"Me and Andy?" Juliet snorts. "We broke up."

"Why?" you gasped.

"Someone...else caught my attention." Her fingertips trace along your jawline and you hold in a sigh. You were completely and utterly confused. What was going on?

Was this really happening?

Your already pink cheeks turn crimson when her lips brush against your ear. "Wh—who's the lucky person?" you breathe, attempting to make a joke.

"Take a guess," Juliet purrs.

You break away from her touch. She steps back, her body leaning against the door. You couldn't believe this. Juliet tormented you, had made your life a living hell...all because she liked you? It sounded like something out of a cheesy rom-com movie.

You couldn't help but freak out. You shove her out of the way, and don't hesitate to burst through the door, leaving her behind. Your shoes slap against the tile floor as you bolt to the restroom.

The door bangs shut behind you and you stare into the mirror, your hands gripping the tile counter with so much force you thought it would shatter beneath your touch. You wanted nothing more than to bash your head against the mirror, to cut all of your hair off, anything to distract yourself from the truth. Juliet liked you, had a crush on you.

"Why?" you find yourself whispering.  Your reflection looks back at you with wild eyes. You turn away from the mirror. Her revelation had shocked you so much that you didn't even give her a proper response. You curse at yourself. Juliet was never vulnerable with anyone, let alone you, and you had ruined any chance of a friendship or something mired all because you were scared.

You turn back to the sink and splash your face with cold water. Then, you sigh, closing your eyes and gritting your teeth. You were in disbelief.

"Y/N?"

Juliet's concerned voice makes your blood run cold. You turn and face the door, preparing to slam your body against it and hold it shut, but instead you watch as it slowly swings open. You bolt into the handicapped stall and slam the door shut behind you, locking it.

Juliet sighs, and you hear her heels click on the tile as she makes her away over to the stall you were currently occupying. Her knuckles rap against it once. When you don't respond, she does it twice.

"Y/N, please talk to me." Her voice was strained. Had she been crying?

You continue to sit on the toilet, crossing your legs in front of you. You put your chin in your hands. You didn't know how to respond.

You hear shuffling and look down with wide eyes to see that she's crawling underneath the stall door. Wow, Juliet was determined.

She climbs to her feet, smoothing her blonde hair out of her face and kneels in front of you. You don't dare meet her eyes. Why was she chasing after you? You blew any chance you had of being together.

"Look, Y/N, I know my confession probably shocked you, but...I've felt this way about you for a long time. I couldn't hide it anymore."

Your gaze meets hers, and you're almost immediately lost in her eyes. "But...you and Andy..." you struggle to form a proper sentence. "How long?"

Juliet shrugged her shoulders. "We've been broken up for about two weeks now. We just pretended to be together, for my sake. I told him how I felt about you and he was very understanding. He told me there was no use in keeping it in. He was the one who encouraged me to tell you."

"But..." you trail off. You swallow hard. "Why me?"

Juliet places her hand on your thigh. "Y/N, you're sweet, and the most kind person I've ever known. No matter how much I tried to keep you from being my friend, you were persistent. You never once gave up. And even though you tried to kiss one of my friends on your first day at school..."

You giggle at the memory. In drama class, you were pulled onstage to do a scene with Lonny Eagleton, someone else from your friend group. It was a romantic scene, so of course, when the kiss happened, Juliet got every upset. She didn't want you to create tension in the group, that was obvious now.

"...I still found myself completely enamored by you," Juliet finished. "I couldn't help but like you. I tried so hard to hide my feelings for you, but I couldn't push away the butterflies. I tried everything to get you out of my head and nothing worked. At the end of the day, I still found myself thinking about you. And—and I know treating you badly wasn't the way to show my emotions, I see that now. But I'm willing to say I'm sorry for everything I ever did, because now I want nothing more than your forgiveness. I like you. A lot. And I hope you feel the same way."

She digs in her satchel and takes out a folded piece of notebook paper. "I wrote a song for you," she says.

Your eyes widen in surprise. You knew Juliet was in a band with her older brother, Tommy—they had even performed at the talent show. You still didn't know what to think of her confession. Yet, seeing the paper in her hands made you realize that she meant every word.

She clears her throat, unfolding the paper. Was she about to sing for you?

You answer your own question when Juliet opens her mouth and begins to sing. Her voice was soft and beautiful, unlike anything you had heard before. And the bathroom somehow had incredible acoustics.

Put your swords away, I'm already down
The higher we both climb, the further we fall
Now we're under looking up into the floor
And burn each other though we're dying for more
We're stuck on this disfunction
We love it to our death
We celebrate destruction by lighting up this bed
You can take your love away
But don't you ever leave me alone
Burn the ghosts we've carried home
Come on, touch me, show me you're imperfect too
These broken lights, they shine on us tonight
We don't talk much when there's so much to say
We don't listen, but we try anyway
My stomach feels sick, bitter, and open
Reveries of helplessness have left me all but hopin'
We strip each other's beauty
We push it to the end
We face each other smiling
And leave it all unsaid
You can take your love away
But don't you ever leave me alone
Burn the ghosts we've carried home
Come on, touch me, show me you're imperfect too
These broken lights, they shine on us tonight
We kiss till we bleed
We fight till we're free
We cry till we see
We're healing at three
We dance inside this tragedy
We dance inside this tragedy
You can take your love away
But don't you ever leave me alone
Burn the ghosts we've carried home
Come on, touch me, show me you're imperfect too
These broken lights, they shine on us tonight

When she finishes, her eyes bore into yours, waiting on an answer. You feel your heart hammer in your chest. Did you feel the same way? Maybe. That would certainly explain the butterflies that had been blooming in your stomach for weeks now, and the unexplainable urge to be by her side at every moment.

As you stare into her eyes, you knew what you wanted. You wanted to call Juliet yours. Even if it would take time to get used to the thought, you knew in your heart that that was the truth.

"Yes," you breathe. That was the only thing she needed to hear. Juliet smiles widely, and smashes her lips against yours. Her fingers tangle into your hair and you sigh, kissing back with just as much force. The kiss grows more heated until it's nothing more than gnashing teeth and colliding tongues, and just as your lips move down to her neck she breaks away, breathing heavily.

She climbs to her feet, and holds out a hand, helping you stand. Your knees shake a little, as they fell asleep from sitting on that stupid toilet for so long, but Juliet helps you regain your balance. Then, she pulls you into a hug.

"Trust me, this is new for me too," she giggled. She pulls away, meeting your eyes. She gazed at you with pure love and adoration, something you weren't used to seeing from her. The look was comforting, and it makes your heart soar.

Juliet's fingers intertwine with yours. She smiles, and you smile back. "Come on. Our friends are probably wondering where we've been."

"I wonder what they'll think about us," you say. You can't help but let worry lace your voice.

Juliet surprises you by pressing a kiss to your cheek. "They'll be happy to see us together. I know it."

You nod, and hold your chin high as you and Juliet walk out of the restroom, hand in hand. When you spot your friends, they're all gathered around your locker, obviously looking for you and Juliet.

They see your hand in Juliet's and all exchange shocked glances. Andy was the only one that smiled.

"So I guess all of that sexual tension finally hit a head, huh?" Ashley said with a smirk. You blush at your best friend's words.

Their response is something unexpected—your friends are all happy for you, especially Inna. She wanted to know every detail.

The bell sounds once again, reminding you of the class change. Inna pouts but allows Jake to drag her along. Everyone else parts ways, heading to their designated classes. That leaves you, Andy and Juliet alone in the hallway.

To your surprise, Andy pulls Juliet into a tight hug. "I'm happy for you, Ju-Ju."

She smiles up at him. "Thank you, Andy."

He waves and walks away, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. You and Juliet were completely alone.

Juliet meets your eyes, unable to hide her smile. She kissed your forehead, grabbing your wrist. This time, her grip was much softer. "Let's go, Y/N," she said. "We don't want to be late for class."

You nod and lean your head against your girlfriend's shoulder as she leads you along. Despite everything that had happened between you and Juliet, this, being by her side, felt so right.

This time, you're not ashamed to feel butterflies. They explode in your tummy, fluttering and threatening to break free, but you welcome the feeling.

Because now, everything was okay.