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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚ ▎❛ 𝐒𝐈𝐗 ❜ ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ɢɪʀʟs ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴏᴜᴛ ꒱


❝ A BOX OF SNO-CAPS, PLEASE ❞

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Juliet and Topanga walked down the apartment hallway towards the designated address Angela had given them. They'd recently become friends with her and the trio had decided that a "girls night out" was in order (specifically without the boyfriends in tow.) They'd agreed to split the difference on some concert tickets for the band Mötley Crüe who were performing at The Spectrum.

While heavy metal wasn't normally Juliet's preference, she was willing to at least give it a try; their friend group could always use more female members. She'd asked the Matthews if she could sleep over— thus finding a loophole in their curfew rule— and Mrs. Matthews had allowed it seeing as how the redhead was far more responsible than Shawn had ever been. Now, she and Topanga were heading over to Angela's early to get ready before they headed out. They arrived at the blue door that indicated the girl's apartment and the blonde knocked. 

It opened a moment later to reveal the brunette. "Right on time for our girls night out!"

After exchanging greetings, they followed her to a blue-and-orange bedroom where she sat at an antique-looking vanity. Juliet deposited her backpack on the girl's bed and, after she opened it, handed Topanga the necessary make-up items. "So, this band, is it any good?" Juliet asked conversationally as they began to get ready.

"They're not known as the world's most notorious rock band for being soft," Angela replied matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't have gotten tickets unless they're worth seeing in concert."

"It's not my usual genre," the redhead said apologetically. "I tend to stick to my Walkman or the radio for any music I want to listen to."

"Juliet here isn't used to getting out of her comfort zone," Topanga explained as she sat the girl down on the bed rather forcefully to help her apply her make-up.

"That's not true!" she huffed. "I listened to classical music for the first time and I liked it."

"You like classical music?" Angela asked, looking away from the mirror.

"Yeah, particularly Vivaldi's Four Seasons concerto. I have a CD of it."

"So do I. Not the CD, but I like that particular piece," the brunette agreed in surprise. "That's not something many people our age enjoy."

"My dad introduced it to me," Juliet told her, "otherwise I wouldn't have given it the time of day. It almost makes me want to become a violin player."

"I get that," she nodded in agreement. "There's just something about the movements— particularly spring, I think— that make me feel that way too. I'm not an instrumental person though."

"I've only ever played my uncle's guitar— which reminds me, Panga, your dad actually made it for him," the redhead said. "I thought it was a funny coincidence."

Topanga gave her an amused look as she bent to helpfully apply the girl's mascara. "Blink," she instructed her before she continued: "it's definitely a small world. What's the name of the person who bought it?"

"Taylor— uh, I don't actually know his last name."

Seeing as how that didn't narrow anything down, Angela moved on: "what do you listen to on your Walkman, then?"

"Mostly sixties to eighties music. Sometimes I let Shawn borrow it and he puts in his Counting Crows tapes. I always have to take them out since he forgets," Juliet answered as Topanga stood.

"Shawn's your boyfriend, right?" the brunette asked.

"Only for a few more days," Topanga replied snarkily. "It makes you wish you had more time doesn't it, Peaches?"

The redhead sighed; she'd been right about her friend (friends, since Cory was included) being on them about the rule. "It's what we agreed to. Two weeks and that's it."

"That sounds incredibly stupid," Angela observed. "Who came up with that idea?"

"It's not stupid!" she protested. "And Shawn did."

"It is stupid," the blonde agreed. "Thank you, Angela."

"You're really only getting him as a boyfriend for two weeks and that's it?" the brunette asked. "What happens after?"

"We go back to being best friends."

"And you really think you can do that?" the girl questioned her, obviously not believing her words.

"Yes," Juliet said firmly, though she had the same doubt.

"You know," Angela remarked, "if Shawn Hunter asked me for two weeks, I'd say yes. He's cute."

"Have at it, then," the redhead told her. "He's not going to be my boyfriend in a few days like Panga said so you'd be free to ask him."

Even if that was the last thing she wanted.

Topanga gave her an incredulous look. "You're not going to fight for him?" 

Angela turned to her with a similar expression and said, "I'm not going to be rebound."

"It's what we both agreed to," Juliet answered defensively, "and it wouldn't be rebound, Angela, since he wouldn't be upset about our breakup. He knows its coming."

"It's obvious how much he cares about you, Juliet," the brunette replied. "He's not going to be ready to jump right back in to dating."

The girl's face was disbelieving, though she dropped the subject in favor of a new one: "hey, would I be able to borrow a purse? This skirt doesn't have any pockets and there are some things that I want to bring with me."

"Sure," Angela agreed. She stood and walked over to a freestanding coat rack that held a collection of bags. "You can use this one. I'm borrowing it from a friend but it'll go well with your outfit."

"Thanks," Juliet told her gratefully as she took the leather purse from her. It had a long strap and a flap that closed the top but was otherwise rather plain.

Topanga had finished applying her make-up during the conversation and had started on her own appearance so she was almost ready. After digging through her backpack, she pulled out a few items. Angela watched her curiously. "A guitar pick and book of sonnets?"

"The guitar pick is from my uncle," she explained. "He said guitarists always carry around a lucky pick with them, so I've done it ever since he gave this one to me. I thought that if the concert turned out to not be my thing, I could block it out and read instead. It's Shawn's next Christmas present."

She put them in the bag and added in her kiwi-mango lip gloss as Angela gave her a skeptical look. "You're going to read at a live concert?"

"Don't doubt Juliet's power, Angela," Topanga said as she leaned towards the mirror, "if she wants to read, nothing will stop her."

🌎🌎🌎

The concert was as loud and raucous as Juliet had thought it would be, though she didn't hate every single song that was played. Some of her favorites included I Want You to Want Me and If You Want My Love which were played towards the end, though both were by the band Cheap Trick rather than Mötley Crüe.

It was nearly midnight when the event ended and the girls stood by the curb waiting to hail a taxi. They'd gotten along extremely well during the entire time and Juliet actually wanted to stay out later. "So, what do you guys want to do now?"

"Do now?" Angela repeated incredulously. "Girl, we just went to a two hour concert!"

"Let's stay out all night," the redhead said with a grin. "I've never done that before and I got out of curfew for a reason."

The two girls exchanged amused looks at her eagerness. "Alright, what did you have in mind?" Topanga asked.

"How about a movie?" Juliet suggested. "It's a bit more tame, though I suppose it depends on what we choose."

"Sounds good to me, but you're paying," Angela agreed. "I might've gotten a discount on those tickets but they weren't cheap."

"I've got it," the blonde announced immediately, ignoring the other girl's eyeroll.

While Juliet wouldn't have been able to help out in the past, she now had access to her father's money. Although she never wanted to turn into a "spoiled little rich girl" she didn't mind paying for things, especially when it was just movie tickets— though she did appreciate her friend's cover.

They caught a taxi a few moments later and twenty minutes after that, they arrived in front of the theater. Once they paid the fare, the girls exited the car and made their way to the entrance. The interior was surprisingly small and cozy, though since the theater wasn't attached to a mall, they really should have expected it to be different. There was a very vintage theme about the lobby with red being the most predominant color in the decorations.

As Angela and Topanga made their way to the counter to see what was playing, a green display that stood out from its surroundings caught Juliet's attention. She made her way over to the booth and was surprised to see that it was a Greenpeace advertisement table. There was no one manning it at midnight, of course, but there were pamphlets and informational brochures arranged in neat displays. She supposed that someone was there during normal hours as a chair sat behind the table.

The redhead picked up a flier that read We Can't do it Without You. Inside was the typical environmental statistics and explanations of why it was important to contribute to the greenness of the Earth. She set it back down and examined the other leaflets as the other two girls argued between seeing a Van Damme action movie or a romcom. A roll of paper caught her eye that was placed on the back left corner of the plastic table and she reached over, picking up the coil. It turned out to be a spool of stickers with a green-colored Earth surrounded by three green arrows and the word Greenpeace was written on one of them.

Wanting a memento of their night out, Juliet tore off one of the stickers (though she supposed they were meant for children) and stuck it in her borrowed purse. She headed over to where the two girls had made their decision. (Angela had won in a game of rock-paper-scissors, best two out of three.) "So, what are we seeing?"

"Where have you been?" Topanga demanded. "Never mind. Angela won, we're seeing a Van Damme movie."

"Aw man, really?" she complained. "Panga, you know I'll fall asleep, right?"

"That's what I tried to say but she wouldn't believe me," the blonde huffed. "If you'd been here I might've won!"

"Fine," Juliet grumbled. "It's not like she's even paying for the tickets anyway."

"If I had known that someone could fall asleep in an action movie I might've changed my mind," the brunette admitted. "How about I pay for your snack instead?"

"I suppose that's acceptable," the redhead conceded. "Come on."

As Topanga bought the tickets, Angela and Juliet walked up to the counter to purchase their snacks. One of the good things about going to the theater so late was that almost no one was there.

"A box of Sno-Caps, please," Juliet said to the tired cashier. The woman behind the counter nodded and bent to slide the glass panel to pick out the requested candy from the display.

"That's not a bad choice," the brunette agreed. "I'll have one, too."

They chose traditional popcorn for Topanga and after paying, they rejoined their friend at the ticket booth. The employee returned the stubs to the girls (which also went into Juliet's purse as she slid them between two random pages of Shakespeare's sonnets) the girls headed into their designated theater.

The redhead immediately began eating her treat once they got to their seats as she knew she wouldn't be able to finish once the movie started. True to form, she was asleep by the end of the first scene. Giving her friend an amused, fond look, Topanga reached over and carefully closed the box of Sno-Caps and put those in her purse as well.

🌎🌎🌎

The trio returned to Angela's apartment in the early hours of the morning and crashed there until they woke up at a more decent hour. As Topanga and Juliet gathered their things to head back to their respective homes, the redhead began to empty the light brown bag but the brunette stopped her. "You can just return it to me at school on Monday," she offered, "and I wouldn't mind seeing that Vivaldi CD you have. I don't own a physical recording of his concerto."

"Sure," Juliet agreed, "thanks."

The girls said their goodbyes and left the apartment, promising to have another fun outing soon.

Upon returning to the Matthews' house, the redhead made sure to put the Vivaldi recording into the purse before she put it near her backpack for the school on Monday. (Un)fortunately, she forgot to empty the rest of her belongings from it when she entered Mr. Feeny's class on the first day of the week. 

[written apr. 2021]
[edited may 2022]