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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ sᴛᴀʀʀʏ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ꒱


❝ IT IS NEVER GOOD
TO BRING BAD NEWS ❞

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"'Silas Matthews and Ebenezer Hunter, founding fathers,'" Topanga read the plaque underneath a sepia photo. "I knew I shouldn't have come here. I was supposed to come here with Cory. Everything reminds me of him. Peaches, I miss him."

"Panga, you're going crazy," Juliet told her sympathetically. "You're starting to see our boyfriends everywhere. Let's just see this exhibit you've been waiting forever to see."

"How could he talk to another girl all night?" Topanga demanded for the thousandth time. "How could he kiss her?"

"He told you it didn't mean anything," the redhead said. She mentally sighed as she prepared to have their repetitive discussion.

"How could it not mean anything?" the blonde exclaimed. "He kissed another girl. You don't kiss somebody and have it not mean anything. I don't understand that. I should have left him up on those monkey bars."

Juliet actually sighed this time. "Please not the monkey bars story," she begged. "Anything but the monkey bar story."

"Monkey bars," Topanga repeated wistfully. "I was in the sandbox and I saw the cutest little curly-haired boy on the monkey—" She trailed off as she turned around to see her friend mimicking her story. "Okay, just forget it."

The duo walked up to one of the paintings and stood behind two girls. One looked at her brochure. "'Van Gogh's brush strokes and choice of color emphasize his heightened sense of emotion.'"

"Yeah," the other girl agreed before they went to the net painting.

Topanga and Juliet moved closer to admire it as the redhead's gaze caught sight of a reasonably attractive boy (though he had nothing on Shawn) who was watching them. She nudged Topanga. "I think you have an admirer."

The blonde glanced over at him. "Are you sure he's not looking at you?"

Juliet raised a hand and put up three fingers. She lowered them one by one until she reached zero when the boy approached them to ask, "excuse me, is your name Topanga?"

"Yes, it is," the redhead confirmed for her. "Topanga I'm-Single Lawrence. Her middle name is French."

Her friend rolled her eyes. "Ignore her but yes, my name is Topanga."

"I'm Ricky Ferris," he announced. "I'm sure you don't remember me but I certainly remember you."

"At least he's an attractive creepy stalker."

He chuckled. "I'm not a stalker, I promise." He addressed the blonde: "you changed my life forever when we were about six years old."

"I did?"

"She did?"

"You ended my little league career," Ricky explained. "Hit me with a fast ball so hard right on my left cheek. I think I still have a mark there but you don't want to see that."

"Yes she does." Juliet nudged her friend pointedly.

"You see," he continued, his gaze focused on Topanga, "you were the one who helped me realize that I was more of an artist than an athlete."

"He owes you," the redhead remarked. "There's a lot you can do with that sentiment."

"I'm sorry and I promise never to hit you on the tush with a fast ball ever again," Topanga replied.

"Well, why don't you make it up to me by seeing Van Gogh's exhibit together?"

The blonde hesitated so Juliet helped her out. "Oh, look," she began as she raised her brochure. "They just opened a new exhibit that called 'your best friend doesn't mind if you ditch her for cute boy.'"

The redhead wandered off to let Topanga have alone time with her new "friend." She didn't mind, really, and enjoyed the peace and quiet of looking at the art. As she stood in front of Starry Night, she lingered there longer than the other paintings. It truly was a masterpiece and images of the work didn't do it justice. She could feel the majesty of the scene and the stars swirling high above in the sky.

There were very few paintings that made such a lasting impression but this was one of them. It made her want to do something: to be someone great, to put her heart and soul into something she loved and make her own masterpiece. She couldn't paint to save her life and photography was only a minor hobby. She enjoyed listening to music but could only play one song on the guitar, though she hadn't forgotten how that experience had made her feel.

Truthfully, the feeling that she'd had while making music was reminiscent of staring at this painting. She'd felt powerful, as if she was doing something that mattered. Since that day, Juliet had entertained the idea of learning how to play an instrument but never seemed able to find the time since she wanted to spend it with her friends, family or make sure she was focused on doing well in her senior year. Someday, she promised herself. Someday, she'd learn to play an instrument.

🌎🌎🌎

As closing time for the museum drew near, Juliet found her friend standing in front of Starry Night with Ricky. With a sly smile, she crept over to the statue in the corner of the room to peer out from behind it through one of the two holes. Eavesdropping, she heard the boy inquire, "so, dinner? We can keep talking about Starry Night or the real stars if you want."

"Ricky, look, I've had a really great time talking to you. I can't believe we talked all day but I don't know. My head's in a funny place right now," Topanga explained.

"Topanga, do you plan on eating dinner tomorrow night?"

"Yes."

"So do I. So how's this? Tomorrow night at eight o'clock, we'll meet at Thibault de Chattelu's," Ricky offered.

"The little French café?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Now here's the thing. We're going to be sitting at the same table and I'm going to be sitting across from you. Now, if you want it to be a date, you look up from your dinner. If you don't want it to be a date, don't look up. But if you do, I'll be looking back at you."

He bid goodbye to the blonde before he headed for the exit. Juliet glanced up at the ceiling and attempted to whistle to imitate nonchalance. Topanga looked over at her and chuckled. "Alright, come out."

Once the redhead had joined her, she spoke casually: "you know, I couldn't help overhearing. . ."

"Should I go out with him or not?"

"Well, he's pretty cute, cultured, doesn't lack brain cells and an artist and he wants to take you to a romantic French restaurant," Juliet stated. "Should you go out with him? Hmm. . ." She pretended to consider it. "Yes!"

"I don't know."

"Panga," she said patiently, "he's a pretty good catch."

"He's not Cory."

Juliet put a comforting hand on her friend's arm. "No, he's not," she agreed. "But he could be just as good."

"If I go out with him then Cory and I are really finished, aren't we?" Topanga wondered quietly.

"He went out with another girl, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to go out with another guy. Besides, people who break up sometimes get back together," she pointed out. "It doesn't have to be the end-all, be-all."

"I don't know what to do," the blonde admitted. "I mean, Ricky and I talked all day. He knew so much about the paintings. That's what makes me want to get to know him better. He's so complex and interesting."

"Do you think Cory is complex and interesting?"

"Yeah, but it's different. Even though I've known Cory all my life, how can I go out with another guy until I know what Cory feels about this painting?"

"Panga, this guy swept you off your feet. I think if you don't give him a chance you may regret it later on. Besides, telling someone you met the person you love in front of a masterpiece instead of the monkey bars is much more impressive." At Topanga's disbelieving expression, Juliet raised her hands. "Hey, I'm just telling it like it is."

"I'm not leaving my feet for anybody until I give Cory a chance," the other girl decided.

"Okay," the redhead agreed. "But don't let Ricky's door close until you know for sure what you want."

Her friend gave her a grateful look and squeezed her hand appreciatively before she dropped it as the two girls left the museum.

🌎🌎🌎

At school the next day, Juliet finished filling Shawn in on what happened at the museum as she shut her locker. He looked like he was having trouble comprehending what she was saying. "How could you let her go out with another guy?"

The redhead crossed her arms. "Topanga's her own person, Shawn. She can do whatever she wants. Besides, she was a pretty good fit for Ricky."

"Okay, time out. Time out, Julie. You and I, we're doing pretty good, right?"

"Uh, yeah?" she confirmed. Her voice raised in question at the end.

"Right, so then we should start to show each other all the different sides of out personalities, right?" Shawn asked. "Just because we've known each other for years doesn't mean you know all of me."

"Right?"

"Okay, good, so then this is me, really, really mad." He raised his voice: "you let her go out with another guy? How does that help them get back together? Now, granted, I may not be the smartest kid in school but I think that's bad!"

"Alright," Juliet responded evenly. "This is me being really, really smart. Cory and Topanga have broken up. Cory went out with Lauren. Topanga went out with Ricky. They're over, Shawn."

"They're not broken up!" he insisted loudly.

"They're broken up!" she retorted.

"They're taking a break!"

"They're broken up!"

"They're—"

"Broken up!" Juliet interrupted him. "Going out with other people is what people do when they're not together anymore!"

"Okay, and if I went out with another girl tonight that wouldn't mean that we'd be broken up tomorrow," Shawn tried to argue.

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "If you do that, more than just us will be 'broken up.'"

A faint smile appeared on the boy's face and she relented, dropping her arms to her sides to step closer to him and take his hands. She closed her eyes as she lifted up on her toes to kiss him, opening them as she dropped back down. He looked down at her, his expression almost sad. "They've been together for fifteen years, Julie."

Her lips curled into a grin. "Yeah? Well, so have we."

The dark-haired boy chuckled slightly. "Yeah, but we're different. These love rules don't apply to them."

"Look, Shawnie," Juliet continued, her tone softer than it had been before. "They're stuck. I'd rather them be happy apart than miserable together. I don't want that for my friends."

"I don't want that for them either," he conceded.

The bell rang to signal the start of class. Shawn kept his hand clasped around hers as he led his girlfriend to the classroom and they only separated when they had to. As Juliet sat down in her usual seat, Topanga ran up to her and grabbed her arm. "Peaches, I have to talk to you. Something happened."

"Good or bad?" the redhead questioned her instantly.

"Amazing," she announced. "Absolutely wonderful. I've never had a kiss that meant more to me in my life."

Juliet turned to her boyfriend. "I'm sorry, Shawn, it's over."

Mr. Feeny entered the classroom, capturing everyone's attention as he greeted them: "good afternoon, I hope everyone enjoyed their last Shakespeare play while in high school." He paused as everyone cheered. "Hey, I didn't know you felt that way about it. Okay, we'll do one more." He wore a faintly amused expression as everyone groaned. "Sike! Mr. Hunter, perhaps you'll share with us a passage from Antony and Cleopatra. Maybe something that was meaningful for you."

Shawn flipped through the book before he found what he was looking for: "'though it be honest, it is never good to bring bad news.' Act two, scene five."

"Interesting passage. Why did you choose that?"

"Because I want everyone to understand how important it is not to kill the messenger," he explained as his eyes met Cory's.

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After class, Topanga pulled Juliet over to the couch in the hallway. As they sat, the redhead gave her a curious look. "So, you like this guy, huh?"

"I'm in love with him. I knew it the minute I kissed him," she replied.

Juliet gave her friend a wary glance. "Panga, I know your mind's in a funny place right now but this really doesn't sound like you. I know I was all for you giving Ricky a chance but you're coming on a little strong. Are you sure you only kissed him?"

"That's all it took," Topanga said happily. "Do you know what I felt when he kissed me?"

She thought of how she felt when Shawn kissed her. "Yeah, I probably do."

"Nothing."

"What?"

"I called him today to let him know I can't ever see him again."

"You did?" the redhead wondered, still finding it hard to believe that Topanga had felt nothing.

"Because I'm in love, Peaches. I don't mean high school 'I love you, I love you too.' I mean, I am in love with Cory Matthews, and I want to be. There's nobody else in the world for me and there never will be. I'm taken," she announced.

Juliet beamed brightly at her friend and leaned forward to hug her. "I'm so happy for you, Panga."

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet slid her hand into Shawn's as they looked at one of the paintings on display in the museum. "Okay, what does this one make you think of?"

Predictably (as this was not the first time she'd asked the question during this visit) he turned to her and placed his free hand on her shoulder to draw her closer. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips that easily made the blush return to her face. She tugged him over to the next one and he turned to look at her. "And, um, what does this make you think of?"

The redhead smiled up at him and grasped the front of his jacket to pull him into a passionate kiss that left him breathless. The next painting was Starry Night and they paused in front of it. "And what about this?"

The dark-haired boy didn't answer. Instead, he chose to wrap an arm around her shoulders as she leaned against his side, both of them understanding the awe the painting inspired.  

[written may 2021]
[edited jun. 2022]