✸ ANYONE ELSE
chapter three ━━ the kitchen workers

JULIE WOULDN'T EXACTLY consider herself a drinker. Sure, she sometimes liked to let loose and have fun with her friends, and she drank at least two beers the night before, but she wasn't even seventeen yet. If it hadn't been for the trip to Europe she had with her mother (where she met fourteen- and fifteen-year-old's who drank more than her), she probably would have been a sober-until-I'm-legal kinda girl.

Therefore, her mind had still been completely clear when the police had shown up at the beach, ready to break apart the party.

Her first though had been to find Jeremiah, but Steven had been one step ahead of her, and already got the younger boy in the back of the car. Her next though had been Isabel, but she had once again been overtaken as an unknown boy with dark, curly hair had his hand intertwined with the younger girl as she led them towards the car.

They hadn't been quick enough, though, because the five teens found themselves escorted home by the police, where a fuming Laurel awaited them.

After being sent to bed, Julie, despite being exhausted from the day, twisted and turned in her bed. She groaned when she once again got the urge to switch from her side to her stomach, and instead decided to leave the bed.

The floorboards creaked beneath her sock clad feet as she quietly made her way down the rounded stairs.

At the bottom, she turned around to the door leading outside, and slowly pushed it open, walking down the stone stairs. The only light illuminating her path was the moonlight shining above, but the blonde still gracefully pulled her socks off her feet and slipped them into the cold water of the dark pool. The water in the pool almost mirrored the sky above her, but she didn't mind the dark.

A creaking on the terrace behind her made her turn around, spotting the silhouette of her older brother crouching down beside her.

"Hey," he smiled softly at her tired eyes.

"Hi," came back her reply, voice hoarse from to lack of use.

"Couldn't sleep?" He smiled softly.

When she shook her head in reply, he slowly sat himself next to her, careful of not getting wet by the dark pool water.

"Me neither," he whispered, studying his sister as they both took in the quietness of the night.

Her hair was a mess after pulling her hand through it—a nervous habit of hers—and the circles under her eyes testified the fact that she needed sleep.

"You should go to bed." His comment was as quiet as his last statement, but she heard him nonetheless, shaking her head in reply.

"So should you," she refused to meet his eyes, staring out in the dark.

He smiled fondly at her reply, humming in agreement as he stood up from his spot. He had planned on spending some time outside, but if going inside meant keeping her warm, he would gladly do so.

"Let's go in together,"

She murmured a reply as he pulled her to her feet, carefully placing his arm around her shoulders as he let her inside.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

JULIE'S IDEAL SUMMER didn't include a terrible job at the local pool where she spent two hours a day peeling potatoes. She hadn't had any intentions whatsoever on working that summer, but somehow, she had been leered into working alongside Steven.

Maybe alongside was a bit of a stretch—she needed to talk to her mother about bending the truth—because he was in the front, taking orders, while she was stuck in a smelling kitchen during her summer holiday.

The only upside to the gloomy job was the newly employed boy, James, who was in the kitchen with her.

She had seen the dark haired boy around many times before, as his family owned a house not too far from theirs, and they both spent all their summers in the coastal town, but this was the first time she really talked to him.

His brown eyes and crooked smile brightened her shifts, and she soon found herself enjoying the hours spent working at the bar.

They'd take turns washing the dishes and doing the other tasks that they hated, chatting away about everything on their minds while doing so. When they had breaks, they'd go outside to the pool and sit by the water, sometimes Julie would go up to talk to Steven, but her interaction with the brunet at their workplace was most days minimal, as James claimed that they had more fun without the older boy.

At first, Steven didn't know why his heart clenched every time he saw the blonde girl talking to the younger boy, but he wasn't stupid, so he soon realised why he smiled extra broadly when she laughed at his jokes and felt happy just at the thought of her smile.

He had felt that way in a while, really, but seeing her with another boy—something that was a new sight to the boy was used to her avoiding any male—really made him realise that he was trapped under her spell.

When he one day offered to drive her home, he wasn't completely aware of why he did it. He just wanted her to spend time with him like they used to do.

They hadn't even entered the car when he blurted out the question that he already knew the answer to: "Who's the boy you've been spending so much time with?"

As she settled into the passenger seat of his mother's vehicle, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander over him, curious to his sudden interest in her life.

"He works with me in the kitchen. His name is James, and he's really nice," she smiled up at him, trying to read his mind when his expression changed.

"Oh," the boy started up the car. He already knew who the boy was. They had played basketball together when they were younger. "So you're just friends?"

Against his will, he could feel his heart racing inside his chest as he awaited her answer.

"Yeah, we're just friends," she nibbled on the skin of her finger as she pondered on her next words, "at least that's what I think. I really like him, though,"

— NOTE 🫶
new chapter!
do you think the story is rushed? i don't really know tbh.

sorry it's a little late.
i wanted to update earlier, but i fainted this morning, and i didn't have the energy.

shoutout to @tasm_peterparker for coming with ideas for a ship name.
what do you guys like the most?
juven or stulie?

thank you for reading, i love you! ❤️

✸ edited ✸
the next couple of chapters probably won't make sense before i edit them, i'm sorry!