* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Juliana, are you even listening to me?" Mel asks, nudging her arm.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm listening," she replies, blinking rapidly before focusing on her friend again.

Every time Juliana looks at her friend, she wonders why she couldn't have been lucky enough to be born with wavy auburn hair and a perfect smile. To her, Mel is the epitome of perfection. She's got a nice laugh, beautiful skin, and a striking personality. Juliana feels robbed in comparison, and she doesn't feel like going into detail as to why.

"Anyways, I was just telling you that my parents keep telling me that they have a giant surprise for me for my birthday. It's got to be that purse I wanted, right?"

"Yeah, it must be."

Mel's shoulders fall, and she bits on her lower lip. "What's up with you, Jules? Why aren't you your happy, cheery self?"

Juliana sighs. "I don't know, I think I'm just hungry, I guess. And hot. This stupid school is always so hot!"

Mel laughs, slinging her arm around her friend as they walk down the crowded hallway. "I love you so much, Julie-Jules. You're the only person I know who gets angrier about food than failing a test."

"And don't forget it," Juliana replies, lighting up a bit. Mel really isn't that bad of a friend to her, and she needs to keep reminding herself that there is nothing to be jealous of.

The pair parts ways at the staircase on the far side of the school building. Juliana heads to alone to chemistry as the crowd of teenagers jostle her left and right. There is nothing quite like being shoved in a stuffy building with a bunch of strangers that care more about their posts online than their grades in school.

Juliana really shouldn't be one to talk, though. She'd take a piece of pizza over an "A" in statistics in a heartbeat.

Walking into the chemistry lab, Juliana takes a seat at a wobby desk in the middle of the classroom. Reading the long list of directions on the board, she realizes that her class will be performing a lab experiment today.

"Hey, Juju," Carlos greets as he sits down next to her.

"That is literally the fourth nickname someone gave me today," Juliana says, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, maybe, but I always call you that. Do you prefer 'four eyes' instead?" he jokes, laughing hysterically.

"Okay, dude, seriously, that's not even that funny."

"But do I at least get an 'A' for effort?"

Juliana rolls her eyes. "Sure, what every makes you happy, dreamer boy."

* * * *

When Juliana arrives home, she heads upstairs and flops onto her bed. It's only November, and she's tired of doing school work. Though it's getting chillier out, she yearns for some freak snowstorm to coat her town with a foot of snow. Nothing would excite her more than to be trapped inside with her laptop and a cup of hot chocolate.

"Julie!" Paige yells, poking her head into the room. "Mom said you have to do the dishes tonight."

"But I did them yesterday, it's your turn," she tells her annoying younger sister.

"Too bad," she teases, sticking her tongue out at her. "I'm going outside to ride my scooter. If you need me, just yell."

"I won't need you, trust me," Juliana replies after she leaves, opening her laptop. She's more concerned with posting on Tumblr than spending time outside.

Suddenly, Juliana hears a loud bang across the street. Thinking it must have been the trash truck, she heads right downstairs again and out the front door to collect the trash can. When she reaches the street and starts to roll the trash can, she realizes that it's quite heavy. Peeking inside, she notices that there's still garbage in the bin.

The bang sounds again, and Juliana's eyes flash across the street where two mover trucks are parked against the curb. She assumes that the sounds are from the movers banging the rolling doors on the rear of the trucks.

"Hey, Julie, watch me go!" Paige yells, barreling down the driveway on her scooter. She circles around in the middle of the street, laughing to herself.

"Watch where you're going!" Juliana yells. Her sister acts so ditsy sometimes and forgets to focus on what's in front of her.

As if jinxing the entire situation, Paige rolls into a flattened mound of pebbles along the gutter of the street. The momentum she gained from riding down the hilly driveway throws her over her handlebars and skidding across the ground.

Paige starts to cry the moment she makes contact with the pavement. Sighing to cover up the panic rising in her heart, she runs to help her sister up. However, it seems as though one of the neighbors moving in across the street beat her there.

"Are you alright, little darling? That was one big fall," a brown-haired, hazel-eyed boy says to her, helping her to her feet.

Juliana shouldn't have been so surprised to hear a voice infused with a southern drawl. After all, the boy is wearing a cowboy hat and a pair of muddy boots. She should have figured that he wasn't from around here, but that's, understandably, the least of her worries right now.

"What hurts, Paige?" Juliana asks, brushing out the pebbles from her bloody knees with the edge of her t-shirt.

"My knees and my elbows," she whines, tearing trickling down her face.

"Okay, I'll take you inside. Mom will know what to do with you."

"I'll carry her for you," the boy says. Before Juliana can even object, he picks her up in one swift moment and walks towards her front door. Surprised yet concerned, Juliana follows him, wheeling Paige's scooter behind them.

As Juliana opens the front door for them, she watches the cowboy with curiosity. She likes the way he took charge of the situation even though he doesn't know her family personally. Although this isn't the best time to be fawning over a boy, Juliana silently admires his chiseled jawline and broad shoulders as he directs him to the living room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *