"Hey, Ivy," Juliet began as she stood before their usual table. Only Mark, Eric, and Ivy were there already.

"Yeah?" Ivy looked up at her best friend.

"Can you give this to Cameron for me?" Julie asked holding out a note.

"Why can't you do it?" Ivy asked.

"I, uh, don't want to talk about it here." Julie said. Ivy rolled her eyes, stood up, grabbed her best friend's hand, and dragged her away from the table.

"Girl's bathroom now." Ivy said as she dragged her.

"What? Ivy!" Julie objected but she followed the redhead anyway.

The girl's bathroom was well known for being where girls went when they needed to talk in private. Usually the rule was that if someone else accidentally overheard something than they kept the secret too. Most girls respected the rule: What happens in the bathroom, stays in the bathroom, but when someone didn't respect the rule that was when gossip was spread.

The bathroom was nearly empty besides Emily who was checking her hair and a sophomore girl by the name of Zoe who was doing her makeup.

"Okay, spill. You and Cameron nearly kissed. Is that it?" Ivy asked as she crossed her arms sternly. Emily froze. She had heard everything. She walked over to them.

"You and Romeo nearly kissed?" She whispered. Julie nodded.

"Yes, and I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone." Julie whispered. Emily nodded. She wasn't a huge gossip. She pretended to zip her lips.

"Got it. My lips are sealed."

"So what happened, Jules?" Ivy asked. Her and Emily waited patiently to hear what the girl had to say. Julie looked down at her feet.

"We were dancing and I got caught up in the music and I leaned in to kiss him. He lingered, after seeing my scar." She brushed her hair out of her face, making it visible for the others. "I ran out, he followed, and I told him about my dad." Julie sighed. Ivy gaped.

"You really did tell him about your dad? I thought you weren't going to ever do that, Jules?"

"I wasn't planning to! It just sort of... Happened." Julie explained nervously. "And then yesterday he sent me a lily for Valentine's Day! Ugh, he's too sweet." Julie groaned.

"Hunter, what does the note say?" Ivy asked, sternly. Julie handed it over. Ivy and Emily read it silently to themselves.

Romeo,

Thank you for the lily. It is my favorite type of flower. I appreciated it. I'm sorry about the dance. I think I need some time to think things over.

                                         Sincerely,
Juliet

Ivy and Emily both gaped and stared at Juliet.

"You like him, don't you?" The way Ivy said it it sounded almost more like a statement than a question.

"What? Pfft, no!" Julie scoffed. "He's so annoying and childish and sappy." Neither Ivy or Emily believed her. They both raised their eyebrows in disbelief. "Okay I might have some slight feelings toward him, but I'm going to fix it."

Ivy smiled and Emily squealed with delight.

"I knew it."

"I knew it!" Both of them said in unison in different tones. Emily exclaimed it and Ivy said it coolly. The sophomore exited the bathroom.

"Julie, maybe it's time to let yourself fall in love." Ivy said honestly.

"Love? I'm not in love. I've just... Had a malfunction in the feelings department." Julie stated.

"Jules, you're not a machine." Ivy sighed.

"Julie, it's perfectly normal to have feelings. Maybe it's time to let yourself have them." Emily advised. Ivy nodded.

"Hah, normal! What would I know about normal? My dad's in jail, my best friend is a pyromaniac, and I don't believe in love. Does that seem normal to you?" Julie scoffed. Emily and Ivy looked at each other.

"Well, I guess it's not the most common thing, but..." Emily trailed off, not quite sure how to continue her sentence.

"Jules, you're too stubborn for your own good." Ivy shook her head in defeat. "I'm starting to think you're a lost cause when it comes to this stuff."

Julie held her head high and straightened herself up. "Or maybe I'm right."

"Yeah, maybe..." Ivy mumbled, not believing her friend. Even she disagreed with Julie about this subject and she was not a touchy-feely type of person. "Just don't break his his heart, Jules. Cameron is honestly one of the few genuinely nice guys out there. He doesn't deserve the heartbreak. Neither do you."

"Can we just forget that this discussion ever happened?" Julie pleaded. Emily and Ivy sighed and shared a look. Julie needed to stop running away from reality, even Emily could sense that.

"Jules, let's just see where today takes us, okay?" Ivy said. They all left the bathroom.

They instantly realized that they should have been more careful about their conversation as soon as they stepped out. The school was full of gossip and whispers, whispers about Juliet Hunter.

"Juliet Hunter has a thing for Romeo, did you hear?" One girl whispered to her friend.

"Everyone knows he likes her, but I had no clue she liked him back! Omg do you think that they are going to get together?"

"They would be so cute together!"

"Romeo and Juliet, hah!"

"They nearly kissed at the dance!"

"He sent her a flower yesterday, I heard."

"Dang, I can't believe he's going to be off the market."

Julie's eyes went wide as she heard the whispers. Once more the entire's school's attention was on her. Everyone glanced at her as she walked by. Emily and Ivy tried to block her from the view of others, but it didn't help much. Julie's face went as red as it could go and she kept her head down as she walked by.

"It's not even first period and the gossip is starting." Julie groaned.

"It was probably that sophomore." Ivy remarked. Emily nodded in agreement.

"Sorry, Julie, but it looks like you're going to be the topic of gossip for the week probably." Emily said honestly. They made it back to their usual table.

"Hey, what were you guys talking about?" Eric asked. Emily gave him a peck on the cheek. He blushed.

"Girl stuff. See you later, Eric." Emily said as she walked away to find her best friend.

Eric shrugged off Emily's answer. He definitely did not care to know about girl stuff.

"Did I tell you that Emily and I are officially dating?" Eric said excitedly. "That's right! I win!"

"You win?" Julie and Mark asked in unison.

"Yep, it's apparently apart of the bro code or something. If you date a cheerleader that means you win." Ivy explained.

"Oh, yeah I forgot she's on the cheer team." Julie mumbled, happy to be distracted from the gossip.

"Hey, where's Cameron and Russo?" Ivy asked curiously. Class was going to start any minute now. They were usually here before first period.

"Oh yeah, Anthony texted me. He's sick apparently. I have no clue about Romeo, maybe he caught whatever Anthony has." Mark suggested.

"That's fantastic!" Julie exclaimed in realization that neither of them would be at school that day so neither would hear the gossip.

"Um they're supposed to be our friends, Julie! You want them to be sick?" Eric questioned, concerned.