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~

The ratio between shipping costs and the price of the actual product was, as usual, highly disappointing to Juelz. Outside, people were laughing and talking as if they owned the world, a sawing machine ringing from further in the distance. Birds fluttered and crickets chirped, the world was in full swing. But in Juelz's room, it was peaceful. The melancholic melodies of Dare by Gorillaz filled up the otherwise quiet place, releasing sparks of color onto the gray walls. 

Sighing, Juelz clicked the checkout button at the right corner of his laptop. He didn't normally order stuff online, but with Romeo's birthday coming up and a lack of social battery to go out and buy something, he was left with no choice. 

Lola jumped onto the bed, purring loudly as she shoved her ass in between Juelz's face and the laptop. As Juelz shut his laptop, chuckling, Lola injected her sharp nails through the thin fabric of Juelz's black cargo's, kneading his thighs as if he was made out of dough.

"Jesus, are you trying to make me hate you?" Juelz muttered, swatting Lola's paws away with a groan.

But Lola didn't seem to care, her minty green eyes sparkling with innocence. She blinked up at Juelz with a tiny smile -or so he liked to believe- and then hopped from the bed onto the windowsill, graciously curling her tail around her little front paws. 

Juelz smiled, crawling up from underneath the covers. He placed his arms on the windowsill, resting his head on them. The big window next to Juelz's bed looked out onto the unkept side of the front porch, big plants growing into one another through chaotic patterns. If you squinted your eyes, you could see a vague haze of the red-dusted road that connected the entire neighborhood. He enjoyed drawing the view.

Mindlessly stroking Lola's back, Juelz sighed again, his cheeks pressed against his arm. "I don't know why you wanted to go out there... It kinda sucks," he mumbled, watching a little bird pick insects off of a bush.

Lola bopped her head against Juelz's in response, almost as if urging him to go. She sprang up onto two paws, repeatedly hitting the window in an attempt to catch a fly on the other side. Juelz chuckled before dropping himself backward into his bed, sending a few pillows flying. Lola followed after him, jumping right onto Juelz's stomach. He had to suppress a moan through gritted teeth.

She jumped off the bed and made her way to her water bowl, knocking over a pile of comics with her tail in the process. Great. Juelz glanced around his room, watching everything from his upside-down perspective. The gray carpet was freckled with random stains and dirty clothes he had yet to throw in the laundry basket, a few fading posters scattered across the lighter gray wall. Because of the singular window, hidden behind the untamed greenery, it was always a little dark in Juelz's room, even during the midst of the day. 

Shifting his position a bit, Juelz's eyes fell on the wall above his bed. A faded warm-white canvas hung in the middle, portraying the explosive pastel colors of a hand-painted moon jellyfish he had spent hours on. Two vinyls hung above one another on the left side of the canvas, one from Gorillaz, and one from Arctic Monkeys. Around it, he'd stuck dozens of little photos and mini-drawings of jellyfish, sharks, even whales and starfish, and polaroids of him and Romeo, all in corresponding colors. Within those little pictures, you could find a few quoted ones as well. A dark blue, slightly faded, 'I blame society', was his favorite. A little further to the other side, a Melatonin Dreams poster stuck to the wall, his favorite BoyWithUke album.

Juelz shuffled around once more, now glancing at the closed door, separating his quiet safe space from the rest of the buzzing world. Lola caught his gaze, staring at him with curious eyes. She meowed, quietly tripping over to the door before connecting her gaze with Juelz again.

With a deep sigh, Juelz crawled off his bed. He snatched his headphones from the white dresser in the corner of his room and made his way to the door, opening it for Lola. She happily passed through, walking in a circle before glancing back up at Juelz, licking her nose. She meowed again. 

"I don't feel like going outside, Lola," Juelz said, leaning against the door. 

Just then, his dad appeared in the hallway, shooting Juelz a curt nod as he petted Lola on her head. She meowed in response before jumping off the stair railing and hopping down the stairs. His dad turned to Juelz again. "You goin' out, son?"

Juelz shrugged, fidgeting with his silver necklace. He often thought about how little he and his dad had in common. They looked nothing like each other. His dad was tall, with scruffy blond hair and almond-shaped blue eyes, his skin almost as pale as the white dress shirt he liked to wear. A man of little words, something Juelz was grateful for. But he would never forget the spiteful looks they'd receive whenever Juelz's dad dropped him off at school, or the whispers following him as he'd walk through the corridors. He still remembered some kid asking him if he was kidnapped as a baby and why his eyes were 'stretched out'. After that day, he vowed to never speak again. He glanced back up at his dad.

His dad smiled, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "The sun's out nice, ya know. We could go to the mall out right outta town, get a birthday gift for Romeo?"

Juelz bit his lip. "I'm okay," he mumbled. When he saw the disappointment on his dad's face, he quickly added, "I already bought something online."

"I see," his dad grunted as he checked his watch, mumbling something to himself. He walked over to Juelz, ruffling his hair with a content smile. "At least try to get some fresh air, yeah?"

"Will do," Juelz replied with a small smile, reluctantly walking over to the staircase before trudging down towards the front door. 

As the sun slapped him in the face, Juelz caught Lola innocently staring at him from behind the window in the living room, a silent meow escaping her mouth. Juelz chuckled to himself. "Weird bitch."

~

The cold metal of the fence cooled Juelz's skin as he leaned his arms on it, watching the cattle graze around the meadow in the bright sun. Ginormous maroon mountains shielded Sedona away from the rest of the world in a permanent red hue, strokes of sunlight burning fire upon everything it touched. Juelz was grateful for the massive tree beside him, shadowing him from the dangerous temperatures ruling the air that day.

Artificial, sugary strawberry filled Juelz's mouth as he sucked on a lollipop, the slowed-down melodies of Freaks by Surf Curse flowing around in his headphones. The calm wind blew through his hair, fluttering at the fabric of his black t-shirt. Everything was peaceful and serene. All nice and quie— What was that? Juelz furrowed his brows, turning down the volume of his headphones to figure out where that sound came from. To his dismay, however, the sound turned out to be a voice, and it only got louder. 

"Juelz? Oh hey, Juelz! How are you doing?" Ella called out as she ran over to him, her beige Dr. Martens thumping over the grass. 

Juelz chewed at his cheek, forcing an annoyed smile with gritted teeth. "I'm fine." He paused his music, pulling his headphones down to his shoulders.

Ella rested her arms against the fence in the same way Juelz had done, smiling widely at him. "I was actually hoping to run into you know. I was—"

"Why?" Juelz cut her off, shrugging a lock of black hair out of his face.

Ella froze for a second, looking slightly taken aback before regaining her smile. "Well, I just got back from the mall, you know, to get a gift for Romeo and all. Well anyway, I had a few coins left, and they had these little vending machines and uh—" she rummaged through the pockets of her pink sundress, a white t-shirt underneath. "Here!" She handed Juelz a blue, glittering, adorable-looking jellyfish keychain, smiling profoundly. 

What the fuck-? Juelz sniffed, knitting his brows together in confusion. "Why would you give that to me? Vending machines are fucking expensive."

Ella shrugged, urging Juelz to take the goddamn thing. "Just take it! It doesn't match the colors of my keychains anyway."

Juelz returned his attention to the landscape in front of him. "Give it to your cousin, then."

Ella huffed, copying Juelz's actions. The keychain dangled over the fence, casting a tiny shadow on the grass. "Why do you hate me?"

Juelz glanced up at Ella, his face expressionless. He shrugged. "I don't."

"Then what is—

"When are you gonna ask Romeo out?" Juelz immediately regretted his words, but there was no turning back now. He just had to know. 

Ella gasped, seemingly too shocked to speak. A red color stained her cheeks as she averted her gaze with a tiny smile. "Soon, I think. I don't know. What if he thinks I'm stupid? Oh god, what if he sees me as a little sister—

"Stop talking," Juelz groaned, narrowing his eyes at a shimmery green bug adventuring across the metal bar of the fence. "You're only a year younger."

Ella sighed, turning to look at Juelz. "Maybe I'll never tell him. I think that'd be better," she decided, giving Juelz a weirdly sympathetic smile. Huh?

"What kind of logic is that," Juelz snorted, growing more uncomfortable by the second when he realized his rings were starting to feel sweaty.

Stretching her arms out over the fence, Ella stared off into the distance with narrowed eyes. "Cause it's useless. You and him are meant to be, don't you see that?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Juelz snapped his head to Ella, anger boiling in his system. Was she making fun of him?!

Ella staggered back, her perfectly brown eyes widening. "Jesus! I was— I was just saying, that maybe you should be honest about your own feelings for once, instead of hating on the people who reflect them. That make sense?"

Juelz swallowed. What was she, some sort of psychologist? Her words rang through his head, loud and throbbing. "Yeah...makes sense." It made more than sense. 

Shooting Juelz a smile, Ella dropped the keychain on the fence. "I gotta go. Please just keep it, okay? ¡Hasta luego!" And before Juelz could protest, she ran off.

Juelz sighed, fidgeting with the keychain in his hand. What should your name be, hm?

~

"Where did you get that?" Juelz's mom asked in her thick, Korean accent, pointing her gaze at the keychain in Juelz's hands. She placed a tray with a teapot and two cups on the table before sitting down on the carpeted floor. 

"Vending machine," Juelz half-lied, not feeling like sitting through another conversation of him explaining how being gay meant he didn't like girls, even if they were pretty. He scratched a piece of chipped black paint off the table, gaining a glare from his mom.  "I named him Sol, it's uhm— it's Spanish."

"Tell me the meaning, then," she said, reaching over to 'fix' Juelz's hair. 

Juelz swatted her hand away, grumbling. He remained quiet for a bit, looking down at Sol. "It means sunshine."

~

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I want Juelz's room😭

What do you think, is Ella right?

Don't forget to leave a vote<3