Julius X Angela

General/Romance

A is for Acceptance

"Hey!" Angela called as she entered the tailor shop.

"Hello." Candace said, setting down her knitting needles. "I'm sorry, you just missed Kevin."

"I know!" Angela squealed happily. "Congratulations!" She embraced Candace in a hug, nearly suffocating the poor woman.

Finally releasing her, Candace turned to Angela. "Not that I don't enjoy your hugs, Angie, but, why are you congratulating me?" She asked confused.

Angela's face morphed into a look of shock. "What!? I mean-? You said-? Today's the 10th, right!?"

Candace shook her head. "No, sweety, it's only the 9th. Why?"

"Ah….No reason!" Angela said. She dashed out of the shop and ran all the way to Ben's Tree. "Phew!" She said, catching her breath. "Man, I'm such a ditz sometimes." Sighing, she walked back to her farm (which was quite successful, especially since it was only her 4th year). As she approached, her mailbox caught her attention. Smiling, she reached in, already knowing what she'd find.

"Another?" She murmured. She smelled the rose, loving the scent. Tied to it with a purple ribbon was a note, and something more. It was a beautiful bracelet. "Oh my." She said. The silver chain was beautifully crafted with garnet insets. Opening the note, Angela read it aloud to herself.

To my love,

Another rose, and something special for your birthday. I know it's soon. But I must admit, it is getting difficult for me to keep this up. I've decided to reveal myself. Come to Alan's Tree today at 4pm. I'll see you there.

Yours Truly

Blushing madly, Angela checked her watch. It was already 2pm! Gasping, she dashed into her house, quickly changed into cleaner clothes, sprayed a little perfume on herself (another gift from her admirer) and dashed back out the door. Walking there (to avoid becoming sweaty and unappealing) she glanced at her watch once more. 2:30pm.

"Hey Angie!" Owen called as he was coming out of the mine. Her jogged up to her and sniffed the air. "Is that smell coming from you?" He asked, blushing.

"Yeah. I'm meeting someone." She told him, blushing.

Owen stiffened. "You're 'meeting' someone?" Owen said, his brows furrowing. "Why?"

"Well…." Angela said, blushing deeper. "To talk, I guess. I gotta go! Bye!" She ducked around a baffled (and flustered) Owen and jogged all the way to Scouffle Farm. Slowing down to a walk, Angela started to think about who she'd be meeting. Would it be Chase? He was always nice to her. But, then again, Toby always seemed to liven when she was around. And Elli had once said Gill was always mentioning her, too. Oh! All this thinking was making her head hurt. She continued to walk as she entered the Brownie District. Renee could be heard singing from the top of the hill. Angela smiled. She'd taught Renee that song only a few days ago.

"Why Angela, what brings you all the way out here?" Cain (Renee's father) asked.

"Oh, good afternoon, Cain!" Angela said back. The older man smiled warmly at her.

"I hope this pleasant surprise isn't at the expense of a sick animal." He joked, setting down the sacks of chicken feed he was carrying.

"Oh, no!" Angela said frantically. "I'm just here to meet someone."

"Hm, second person today." He commented. "A young man walked by only a couple minutes ago. Now, what was his name…?" Cain pondered.

"Um, I'd better go meet him." Angela said, not wanting to ruin her surprise. "I'll see you around, Cain!" She called as she made her way to Alan's Tree. She stopped as the top of the tree came into view. Nerves were suddenly taking over. What if it was Calvin? Or Jin? She knew Anissa and Phoebe well enough to know they'd already staked their claims on both men. She couldn't return either of those men's feelings. She didn't feel the same, and it would break her friends' hearts. "This is stupid." She told herself. "Just go!" And with her new resolve, she walked (quite proudly) up to the tree.

There was no one there.

Angela let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her knees, feeling suddenly weak, slumped under her wait. She walked over to the shade of the tree and slumped down to the ground, closing her eyes.. "I see I'm late." A voice said. Before she opened her eyes, Angela could smell the rosy perfume emitting from him. She opened her eyes and couldn't stop her jaw from dropping slightly. "Surprised?" Julius asked.

"A little." Angela replied. She thought she should ask him if he was her secret admirer, but something told her he was. She just knew. "But, why me?"

Julius chuckled. "Because, you were the first person to accept me for me. You looked right past my royal demure, and you saw me. No one's ever done that before. Everyone else on the island saw how I dressed and laughed. Well, maybe not to my face, but I knew they were laughing on the inside. Chase, Luke, Owen, they all thought I was a joke. And Luna, Maya, and Kathy? They never saw me a man, just a flamboyant freak. But you," Julius was blushing now, and Angela saw the warmth in his eyes, "saw me as a person. You came and talked to me every time we ran into each other. I've wondered for a long time how you can stand me."

"No no no!" Angela said, shaking her head. "I think you're a wonderful person. You're kind, sweet, funny, and you can always make me smile. The only thing I can't stand is when you but on to much perfume." She giggled.

"Thank you. But, I was nervous. Coming and courting you out in the open? The thought of it threw me into a panic. Me! And I'm one of the most confident people on the island, if I do say so myself. So, I came up with the secret admirer idea. I hope you liked the roses. They're my favorite flower." Julius finished. He walked over to Angela (who had stood up as he was delivering monologue) and wrapped his arms around her. Releasing her, he cleared his throat. "So, um, how do you feel?"

Angela took a deep breath. She was so surprised by all this she had completely forgotten to take her own feelings into account. How did she feel about Julius? They were friends, but she always got tingly when she was in his presence. She liked how he smiled at her. She loved the way he made her smile. With all these thoughts running through her head, she didn't realize she was laughing.

"So, it's a no, then?" Julius said, stepping back.

"No! I mean Yes! I mean no, it's a yes! Yes, Julius! Yes!" She flung her arms around him. "I like the warm feeling I get when I'm around you."

Julius leaned in close to Angela's face. "Good. That makes two of us." And he kissed her.

The next day-

"Candace, will you marry me?" Kevin asked.

"Oh….Yes. Yes!" Candace said, nodding her head wildly. She embraced her new fiancé while their audience of two clapped behind them.

"So," Angela said to her boyfriend, "will you be making my dress? I don't own anything fancy."

Julius chuckled. "Of course, honey." He wrapped his arm around her. "Of course."