Hhhhhh I've been working on this for WEEKS - on and off, among a few other pretty long fics - to the point that I'm actually anxious about posting it now lmao. It's definitively done now, though, so it's time to share it with the world. I really, really love this story, and I hope you do too.
A few notes:
1. The working title for this was She's So Gone, but I worried that would give the impression that the fic was Mo-centric, so I opted for a Hayley Kiyoko song title at the last moment.
2. A few of my most-used headcanons make it into here, including 'Wen and Scott were friends as kids.'
3. It was while writing this and another long fic (hopefully also finished soon) that I realised I definitely write Scott the way I need him to be to deserve his second chance with Mo. Like, it's extrapolated from the film of course, but.
And most importantly,
4. This fic comes from a few things. I've always thought that Jules had a lot more depth than we really get to see (especially because of her look of discomfort and guilt when Mo catches her and Scott flirting; also because she gives in and shows she love LM at the end of the movie). The beginnings of this ship hit me during one watch when I noticed the way they looked at each other in the early scene at the assembly, when Jules tells Stella to move and Stella pulls the "why don't you make me." It all snowballed from there, but I've come to really really adore the ship and it's wormed its way into some of my other fics too. (Seeing Kiyoko live in late March definitely added to my motivation.) I want to write more about these two, so if you enjoy it, keep your eyes peeled!
This has been a labour of love for me. Hope someone else out there loves it too. If you have a second to comment, it would make my day. (: And if you ever wanna talk to me about my thoughts on this ship, or the movie in general, feel free to hit me up here or at the same username on Tumblr or Twitter!
Scott fidgeted with the knobs on his guitar, ostensibly tuning the instrument, while he thought. The longer all this went on the more worried he was, but it was hard to know how to approach the situation. There was one obvious person to ask, though it was going to be awkward. But she was right there. No time like the present. He sighed and put his guitar down, crossing the stage to the only other person in the music hall that afternoon.
"Hey, Stella. I have a question," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
She threw down her pencil and paper. She'd been trying to get these lyrics right for a few weeks, but composing took longer for her than it did for Wen or Olivia. "What's up?"
"You're… basically out of the closet, right?" he asked slowly.
Stella raised an eyebrow. "Basically, yeah," she agreed. "I don't, like, advertise it openly, but I don't deny it when asked, either. And like, people know why we agreed to play for that charity event the GSA was holding last spring."
Scott, clearly feeling uncomfortable, leaned against the piano and faced her where she sat on the bench. "So I have a friend who is really, really closeted," he started.
Stella's eyebrow raised even further, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. "A 'friend,' huh?" she teased. "You sure you need to talk to me about this, and not Mo?"
"Yes," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "And she is having a… pretty rough time at the moment. I dunno, exactly. She doesn't talk to me as much as she used to. But she's trying to be in a relationship that's definitely really bad for her, and I'm worried about her. A relationship with a dude, I mean, and not a good one. Getting her out of that is one thing, but then I'm worried she'll keep trying the same thing… trying to push herself so far back into the closet she'll suddenly turn straight."
Stella leaned an elbow against the piano. "That doesn't sound healthy," she said, a little ironically.
"Well, yeah, exactly," he agreed. "That's what worries me. But I'm trying to figure out how to help her accept herself as she is, and you're kind of the only person I know who's been through anything like that."
"I'm definitely not the only person you know," Stella scoffed, a little amused.
Scott frowned, then shook his head. "Whatever. You know what I mean, dude. I'm trying to be a good friend here. I wondered if you had any insight for me."
She hesitated, thinking now. "I dunno, man," she admitted. "It's different for everyone. I mean… what's her family like?"
He bit his lip. "I dunno. Old money, old values. Or that's the impression I've gotten, anyway. I don't really know them. I just know she's not convinced coming out would go over well. But I think she's more worried about, like, social repercussions."
"I mean, if that's something you really care about, it's not easy to get over," Stella admitted. "We both know what a hostile environment high school is."
Scott bent down, arms on top of the piano, to meet Stella's eye better. "Yeah, I know. But the relationship she's in is definitely worse. And…" he glanced away. "I dunno. I thought I was nudging her in the right direction; I thought she might have been headed towards accepting herself and coming out, like, a year ago. But we've grown apart and she's pulled back. I feel bad."
Stella sighed. "How many people is she out to now?"
"Just me, I think," he said quietly, shrugging. "I dunno why. We weren't that tight at first, but I guess she trusted me enough to tell me, for some reason. And I think it was only because I was trying to help her with it that we got as close as we were."
"Damn." She ran a hand back through her hair. "Well, I mean, obviously you can't just like, tell me who it is. But… I dunno, I guess you can tell her that if she wants to talk to someone, I don't mind. I know it's hard to talk about, especially if it's someone who doesn't really know me, but I wouldn't mind helping if she wants it."
Scott sighed again, for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Thanks, Stella," he said.
"Yeah, no problem," she told him. "Listen, even if she doesn't want to talk to me… just, let her know coming out feels better than faking, even if people don't like it. I know it's hard to believe, but being open about it, at least where it's safe to… it makes a big difference. Deciding to be open about it changed a lot of things for me. You can tell her I said so, if you want. And… here." Seemingly as an afterthought, she dug her hand into the pocket of her jeans and gave him all the change she came back out with. "Buy her a lemonade on me."
x
"You know Ray hates that I still talk to you," the blonde said quietly, sitting down and leaning her elbow on the tabletop, chin on her hand. "He'll be so mad if he finds out we're hanging out."
Scott pursed his lips, irritated. "Forget about him for a minute. You told me he's working today, and besides, he and all his remaining cronies are still uselessly boycotting everywhere in town that sells Mel's, so it's not like anyone who cares is going to see us."
"What about Mo? Wouldn't she also hate to hear about us hanging out?" She made a face.
"Mohini trusts me, and she knows you and I are friends." He cracked open the can in his hand and pushed it across the table. "Here. This is from Stella."
She frowned. "What do you mean, it's from Stella?"
"I mean, Jules," he answered, leaning forward, "I was talking to her about a friend of mine yesterday. Asked if she had any advice on what I could do for someone who was trapped in both the closet and a shitty relationship." He raised his eyebrows pointedly. "And she told me what she could, without knowing who I was talking about, and she gave me a few bucks and told me to treat my friend to a lemonade."
Jules glanced down at the table, taking a slow sip of the drink. "Oh," she answered quietly.
"I'm serious," Scott said, firm but gentle. "I mean, I can't tell you what to do with your life, but Ray is like… the last person you should be dating. For a whole bunch of pretty obvious reasons."
"He's not that bad," she answered unconvincingly, twisting the can in her hands.
"Yeah, he is," he answered, laughing incredulously. "I put up with the dude as a so-called best friend for almost four years. I should have ditched him ages ago, but there was the band to keep together, and soccer…"
"Come on, how much have you really gained from breaking it off with him?" Jules asked, trying to sound skeptical, but he could tell she lacked some conviction.
"Really?" he asked, brows raised. She looked down. "All right." He began to count it off on his fingers. "I managed, against the odds, to salvage my relationship with the greatest girl I've ever met. I've reconnected with Wen, who was a good friend of mine when we were kids, and for some reason we grew apart in junior high, but he's still cool as hell. I've made new friendships with some genuinely really caring and talented and close people. I'm in a better band now, which – sure, the Crush won Rising Star, but Ray had to replace me and you know Jack's not as good as I am, plus their record deal sure didn't get them a seven-week summer tour of the country that went to Madison Square Gardens. Not to mention I get to play songs that aren't all about Ray and his ego, which, hey, is another thing I've escaped!"
"Okay, yeah, I get it," she cut him off. "Sorry, that was a dumb thing to say."
"Little bit," he answered, tipping his head to one side. They glanced up as a server brought their pitas to the table. Scott nodded his thanks and then turned to face his friend again. "Why're you doing this to yourself, Jules?"
She shrugged, picking at a piece of lettuce hanging out the end of her pita. "He asked. It seemed like a good idea. I mean, same as what I was doing with you when you and Mo were broken up," she said. "I still feel bad for that. Does she totally hate me?"
Scott sighed. "She doesn't hate you. She's probably still a little bit wary of you, but that's only because she doesn't know I was bearding for you, which is so not the same as this." He took a bite of his lunch.
Jules took a bite as well, and then a sip of her drink. Turning the can to stare at the label for a moment, she eventually asked, "What was your conversation with Stella like?"
"Well," he answered, finally opening his own lemonade, "obviously a little vague since I didn't tell her who we were talking about. She told me it's different for everybody, which is obvious I guess. And admitted that high school isn't necessarily a super welcoming environment to come out in, which also makes sense. I think she's personally too strong-minded to let that get to her, but… you know." He paused for another bite of his food. "But she wanted me to let you know that coming out feels a lot better than faking, even if some people don't like it, at least in whatever spaces you have that are safe to. Whether that's just a few friends or eventually the whole world. She said any chance you can get to be open about yourself is really worth taking because it makes a big difference. It made a huge difference for her."
"Kinda vague, yeah," Jules admitted, maybe a little disappointed.
"But," Scott added, "she also told me that if you want someone to talk to, she doesn't mind being that person. She knows it's hard to do, and her being someone you barely know – and frankly aren't on the best terms with, maybe – makes it kind of weird. But, believe me, I don't think she'd hold your connection to Ray against you in these circumstances. She's not as big a loudmouth as she comes across as, either; she'll be cool about it."
She twisted the can in her hands again, clearly nervous. "I don't know. That does feel kind of weird."
"It's up to you," he told her with a sigh. "But, as your friend, I'm going to keep encouraging you not to date Ray, and not to date another dude after him for the same reason, and eventually be yourself. I hate seeing you boxing yourself in like this. We got really tight for a while there and I think real Jules is really cool, but you're working so hard to fit into this mold that doesn't do you any favours." She met his eye, and he reached across the table to touch her hand comfortingly for a moment. "You deserve better than this, and I won't let you forget that. The Jules I was so close to for a bit? I think she's great. I'd love to see her more. You need to make that decision, but I'll be here to help you on the way. And if that means you want to talk to Stella, that's great. I'd even come along if that would make you feel better. Whatever you want, Jules."
"I dunno, Scott," she said quietly, slumping against the table. "That's a lot of thinking to do, I guess."
"So start with eating your lunch and drinking your lemonade," he suggested gently. "And I'll sit with you and do the same. And just remember that I'm on your side, and Ray really isn't."
x
It was almost three weeks later when the band wound down a song in practice and someone glanced up, noticing Jules coming down the auditorium aisle, hands knotted nervously. Charlie caught Scott's eye and pointed to her with one drumstick. The guitarist glanced down and saw the look on her face. Concerned, he exchanged a quick glance with Mo, then removed his guitar, set it on a stand, and jumped down from the stage.
"How about we take a break for a few minutes," Mo suggested, turning to the others. Everyone nodded and put down their assorted instruments and microphones. Olivia went to join Wen on the piano bench, and he greeted her with a smile and a kiss before they started talking about a little piano melody they'd been working on. Mo and Charlie started chatting about something that had happened in their history class that day, and Stella leaned against the back of the piano and tried not to watch Scott and Jules too obviously.
Scott hit the floor and stepped up to Jules, taking her by the shoulder and tugging her a few paces away. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking into her anxious expression.
She didn't answer at first, twisting her hands around the strap of her book bag. "You know," she finally managed, her voice a little strained. "Just… Ray. He's – y'know, he's an asshole," she finally admitted, frowning hard.
Scott immediately looped an arm around her shoulders. "What did he do?"
"Nothing, like, awful," Jules answered. "But he just like – I dunno, he's so pushy, and he's always telling me to do things, but then he's such a jerk even when I – I don't think he really cares about me at all, Scott, I think he just wants someone to make out with him and hang off his arm after shows, and he's almost never actually nice to me–"
"Okay, okay, hang on, breathe for a second," he urged, rubbing her shoulders. "Slow down. Did he do something specific, or…?"
She shook her head. "No, it was just more like – like the straw that broke the camel's back, or whatever, you know… He just got pissed off when I didn't want to make out with him in the open, like, in public, around a ton of people…"
"Okay. Okay. You're all right," he assured her again, still rubbing her shoulders, because it was obvious she was upset.
"I-I've been thinking a lot about what you told me when we went out for lunch," she admitted quietly. "I thought – maybe – I thought I could maybe try talking to Stella? If you really don't think she'll tell anyone?"
Scott shook his head. "She'll keep her mouth shut," he promised.
"Okay," she said, nodding hesitantly. "Okay, then yeah, maybe it wouldn't hurt."
Scott turned to glance at the stage and saw Stella move, looking around, trying suddenly not to look nosy. He would have ribbed her about it under different circumstances, but he ignored it today. "Hey, Stella, c'mere," he called.
Jules looked up, wide-eyed, as Stella nodded and jumped down from the edge of the stage. "I didn't mean right now!" she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt your practice that much! And the others-"
"I'll tell 'em something," Scott said with a shrug. "Don't worry, they know how to mind their own business, they won't make it difficult."
Stella approached with her hands in her pockets. "What's up?" she asked. She'd softened up to Jules and Patty when they admitted they loved Lemonade Mouth, but then gotten cold again when Jules suddenly retreated back to Mudslide Crush. But she seemed to recognise there was something more going on here, and she was more friendly again.
Scott glanced at Jules again. "Jules thought she'd like to talk with you for a little bit, if that's cool," he said. Then, to Jules, he added, "You want me to come along, or no?"
Jules stared at Stella for a second, and got the sense from her eyes that she'd put together the important information. After a brief pause, she said, "No, that's okay."
"Okay." He gave her shoulders one last squeeze before letting her go. As he stepped back, Stella came forward and slung her own arm casually around Jules' shoulders.
"You wanna go find somewhere quiet to sit for a little bit?" she asked, apparently uncaring about cutting off practice. Scott watched them head slowly towards the back of the auditorium for a moment before he turned and headed back to the stage.
"What's going on?" Mo asked, craning her neck to watch Stella and Jules wander away.
Scott shrugged. "Uh, y'know. Jules is having some trouble with Ray, and Stella's always been the best at putting him in his place."
Mo frowned, but she accepted it. Olivia got up from the piano bench and stepped forward. "Is she gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, I hope so," he answered, tossing another quick glance over his shoulder. "In the meantime I guess practice is done for today."
"Cool," Charlie answered, tucking his drumsticks into his backpack and zipping it up. "Anyone wanna get dinner?"
"I could go for pizza," Mo admitted, looking at Scott, who nodded.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
Wen, coming to stand next to Olivia, exchanged a little smile with her and then looked back at the others as he took her hand. "Sorry guys, we got plans," he answered, both of them grinning and blushing slightly.
"You two are too cute," Mo laughed. "Go have a nice date, we'll see you tomorrow."
As the band dispersed, Stella led Jules up to the very back row of seats in the music hall. They sat down in the plush red chairs, Jules holding her bag nervously in her lap, Stella throwing her heels up on the back of the seat in front of her and spreading her arms out across the backs to either side, one still loosely around Jules' shoulders.
They were quiet for a second or two, and then Stella broke the silence. "So. Ray's being a dick, huh?" she asked casually.
Jules let out a breath, kind of grateful that Stella hadn't opened with the obvious topic. "Yeah," she said softly, staring at her knees.
"Surprise surprise." Stella was quiet, unusually thoughtful. "He doesn't seem to me like a guy who'd make a good boyfriend. Regardless of whether you actually wanted one or not," she said after a moment.
Jules lifted her head slightly, a little surprised by Stella's uncharacteristic tactfulness. "You might be right," she admitted slowly. Her tone said, you're absolutely right.
Stella took a while again, as if trying to plan out her direction before she spoke. It wasn't something she did often. Eventually she asked, "Do you wanna tell me out loud, just for the sake of trying it out? Or would you rather just go on the knowledge that I've figured it out, and not talk directly about it just yet?"
Jules was still working the fabric of her bag between her hands. Her knee began to bounce. "Maybe… maybe next time," she said after a couple seconds. "I think I need to… uh, psych myself up for it. Or something."
"That's cool," Stella told her. She leaned back comfortably in the chair, looking out over the empty auditorium, keeping the pressure off Jules. "So, what do you want right now? You wanna vent about Ray? I hear I'm great for venting to, and you know I have no love for that guy." She stretched out her hands. "You wanna talk about something else? You wanna listen to me talk? I'm up for whatever. Tell me what you need."
Jules considered that. "Can you," she finally started hesitantly, "tell me more about… about yourself?"
Stella glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. "In general, or with regards to girls?" she asked.
"The… the second one," Jules replied, affording Stella a quick sideways glance of her own.
"Yeah," Stella said, nodding. "Yeah. Okay. Man… girls. I mean, I always knew I didn't like boys. My friends told me about their crushes and I knew I couldn't relate to that," she started. "I think I was eleven the first time I realized that the way I felt about some girls was like that, though."
The two of them sat in the back row for a while. At first Stella talked and Jules just listened. Eventually Stella managed to draw Jules out of her shell a little more, and it became more of a conversation, though Jules still wasn't quite ready to say it out loud. That was okay, Stella told her. Take your time. Do whatever makes you comfortable. Eventually they had to go home, but Stella squeezed Jules' shoulders one more time, comfortingly, and offered her phone number. "Talk to me anytime," she said with a smile. "I'm happy to help. Take care of yourself, okay?"
x
A couple of weeks later, Scott still didn't know exactly what the two girls had talked about, though Jules told him she appreciated it and Stella said she thought Jules was really thinking about things. Nothing seemed to have changed though; Jules and Ray were still an item. Scott didn't like it, but he didn't get a lot of chances to talk to Jules over that stretch, so he didn't really know what was going on.
Until the day, almost three weeks after, that an outburst came from the table where Ray and his friends sat at lunch.
"Would you stop it!" Jules' voice sounded throughout the cafeteria.
Everything went very quiet as everybody in the room turned to look. Scott and Stella exchanged alarmed glances as they turned and saw her stand up. "When I tell you not to touch me I mean don't touch me," Jules was saying, still shouting, though not quite as loudly now.
Those close enough to hear heard Ray answer, at a more normal volume, "What the hell, Jules? You're my girlfriend, I get to-"
But she cut him off. "I am so not!" she snapped. "God, I never wanted to be in the first place!" She grabbed her bag from the floor by her feet and stormed out of the cafeteria. Everything was silent for a moment, and then Scott turned back and sighed heavily, drooping against the table.
"Thank god."
"Should someone go after her?" Olivia asked, glancing back and forth between Scott and Stella. Stella turned to Scott, uncertain.
He shook his head. "I'm pretty sure she'll want a few minutes to herself," he answered.
"Okay," Stella replied, pulling out her phone. "I'm gonna invite her to hang out with us during practice, though, if that's cool with everyone."
The others exchanged glances, curious. "Yeah, it's cool," Charlie answered.
x
"You good?" Scott asked Jules where she sat on a chair on one side of the stage, amongst the music stands.
"Yeah," she answered. "Yeah, I think so. Not… not super excited about how public that was. But maybe he'll learn something from it, I dunno."
"I don't think learning is a thing Ray does much," Stella answered, tuning a new guitar string.
"Yeah," Jules admitted, holding back a smile. "Whatever. It's over with, and I'm glad, and I don't want to think about it any more."
Stella glanced up with a smile. "Hey, what's your favourite Lemonade Mouth song? We'll give you a little private performance before we get into the less interesting practice stuff."
Jules glanced questioningly at Scott, but he grinned and nodded. "Yeah, actually, that's a great idea." Behind him, the others chipped in their agreement.
Jules looked down self-consciously for a second, then answered, "I really like She's So Gone."
Stella looked over at Mo. "Whaddaya say?"
"Absolutely," Mo answered, tossing Jules a grin. "Nothing like sticking it to a shitty boy." She winked at Scott, who put his hands up, laughing. He couldn't deny it.
"Ray might find the Jules he knows is pretty gone, after all," Stella agreed, smiling at Jules, who reddened. And then Charlie counted them in.
x
In the next little while Jules seemed to be around more. With a bit of encouragement, she sat with the band at lunch, and joined them for a few more practices, as well as a couple of nights out for dinner or smoothies. Apparently, her public breakup with Ray was a pretty controversial story around the school. Ray didn't hold half the social power he'd had before Lemonade Mouth any more, but there were still people who stuck to his side, for one reason or another. Jules was particularly upset that Patty seemed so torn, but ultimately seemed to be picking Ray's side, at least for the time being. ("She's dating Ray's drummer, Kurt," Scott had mentioned to the band at some point. "I dunno, he's a decent guy. He's better than Ray, anyway. I never had any beef with him personally. But Ray's probably using that to keep her pinned to his side of the argument.") Wen, Olivia, Charlie, and Mo were slightly thrown off by her sudden appearance at first, but it didn't take them long to get used to it. They'd welcomed Scott into their midst easily enough. Acceptance was, after all, more or less their official credo.
They were aware that Stella and Jules had been hanging out specifically. Besides Scott, they didn't really know why. Mo figured they were bonding over a mutual hatred for Ray (at least to begin with) and the others agreed with her, figuring that sounded like as reasonable an explanation as anything. They weren't out to police who Stella made friends with; they all had friends outside the band. If anything, they were glad for her that she seemed to be enjoying Jules' company so much. The two girls hung out after practices once or twice a week, and sometimes on weekends too. "Man, Jules knows some great places for food," Stella commented in passing one day. "She's shown me a couple of cafés and little indie restaurants I never knew existed, and they're all delicious. And vegetarian-friendly!"
These remarks started cropping up every once in a while. She really did love their outings – they became new bright points in her week, and it was hard not to talk about them sometimes. Early on the two of them had talked about the obvious stuff – about Ray, about figuring themselves out, about coming out of the closet. But before long they branched off into other topics, realizing how much they had in common. Stella was pleasantly surprised to discover that Jules was a wonderfully interesting person, and it was really fun getting to know her.
It was another few weeks after the breakup when everybody was spending a Friday evening at Scott's place while his parents were out. Olivia and Wen were wedged together into an oversized armchair, her sitting across his lap; Mo was on the couch between Charlie and Scott while the two boys duked it out on Rock Band. Between songs, they were interrupted by the arrival of Stella and Jules. Olivia waved to them as they came down the stairs into the basement rec room, and the others looked up as well.
"There you guys are!" Mo said with a smile. "Now the party can really start."
"Actually," Stella said, "We were wondering if we could have everyone's attention for a few minutes." She looked at Jules for a second, who smiled uncertainly, and they walked further into the room, standing in front of the TV. "Jules has something to tell the world, but she's going to start with us. We'll be her test group, so to speak. So she can try it out on a small audience and see how people react."
Scott and Charlie put their game controllers down respectfully, and Wen leaned around Olivia so he could see a little better. Jules bit her lip, glancing at Scott first, and he nodded and smiled encouragingly. She hesitated for a long moment.
"Okay, guys, um, I…" Jules paused again, then took another deep breath. "I actually like girls," she finally said in a single rush, squeezing her eyes shut. "And not boys. Like, at all. I'm gay. Oh my god, I'm super gay."
"There we go. Remember to breathe," Stella said softly, putting an arm around the other girl's shoulders and smiling gently. Jules finally opened her eyes and glanced around to gauge the response. Scott was grinning proudly at her; Charlie was smiling kindly, apparently unperturbed. Mo, Olivia, and Wen all had expressions of dawning understanding. Then, startling her, Olivia jumped to her feet and threw her arms around Jules' shoulders, Stella laughing as she pulled out of the way. It took a moment for Jules to hug her back.
"What was that for?" she asked, puzzled, as Olivia pulled away.
"You looked like you needed it," Olivia answered with a smile. "Listen, I think I speak for all of us when I say I've really enjoyed getting to know you better lately. Bygones are bygones; the real you is really sweet. This doesn't change anything." The others were quick to agree: "Yeah, Jules, you're actually really nice." "I like having you around." "Olivia's absolutely right."
"Oh," Jules answered in surprise. Then she wiped a suddenly-wet eye and repeated, "Oh."
"See?" Stella said, putting a hand on Jules' back as Olivia went back to her spot on Wen's lap. "I told you this was a good place to start. How do you feel?"
"Better," Jules answered, taking another deep breath. "Actually, yeah, really good."
"I'm proud of you, Jules," Scott told her, getting up to give her a quick hug himself.
"Thanks, Scott," she responded, sighing heavily. "For everything. Without you I'd still be trying to date Ray."
"So you knew?" Mo couldn't help asking Scott as he sat down again and tossed an arm loosely around her shoulders.
"Yeah," he said. "I knew. I'd been trying to convince her to break it off with Ray since day one."
"So what about when…?" She glanced up at Jules, who cringed.
"I'm so sorry, Mo," she said immediately. "I felt so, so bad. You have to understand, Scott was the only person I ever felt safe telling. I'm sure you get it – he's so goodhearted. Even when he was friends with Ray he was still the nicest person in the group by, like, miles. And he always did so much to try to help me. But I didn't mean for you to see… I was never trying to take him from you, Mo."
Mo looked to Scott again, understanding on her face a second time. "You were…?"
"Bearding for her, yeah," he answered with a little smile. "We flirted in front of people when you weren't around. It sounds stupid in retrospect, but it made Jules feel better. I'm sorry you saw it. And then when you broke up with me I went out with her a couple times to kind of… cement the thing, I guess. I feel bad for making you think I wasn't serious about you. I was only trying to help."
"God. I mean, we all know it was fully Ray's intention for me to see that and dump you," Mo muttered, rolling her eyes.
"I'm really sorry," Jules repeated. "I felt terrible when you saw that. I knew how much you meant to him, and honestly I thought you two were such a great pair, and I was certain you'd hate me forever…"
"Oh, sweetie," Mo said, getting to her feet and taking Jules' hands. "Like Olivia said, it was in the past, and now it's extra in the past. Don't even worry about it."
"Thank you," Jules answered earnestly. Then she sniffed. "Damn it, Stella, you didn't warn me I'd cry," she half-laughed, and everybody chuckled.
"Oh, yeah, sorry," Stella answered with a grin. "I mean, I was thinking it's different for everybody, and I forgot to account for the fact that everyone in this band is unbearably sweet and good at emotional bonding."
Wen raised his hand from behind Olivia, grinning. "I think that means me and Charlie still need to take turns," he said. "Jules, I barely knew you before a month ago, but I…"
"Oh my god, stop, I can't take any more!" she cut him off, laughing, and his grin grew.
"Okay, maybe later," he teased.
"Now I think we need to tackle that pool table," Stella suggested, pointing behind the couch. "How 'bout it, Pickett?"
"Sounds like a plan," Scott answered, jumping up. "We only have four cues though, so first come first serve." And suddenly everyone was scrambling from their seats.
Not an hour later Olivia leaned against Wen's side as they watched Scott and Charlie playing against Stella and Jules. Olivia narrowed her eyes for a moment as she watched the way the two girls at the table smiled at each other while Stella helped Jules, the far less experienced player, line up her shot. Then her eyes met Mo's across the table and the two girls realized they were each thinking the exact same thing. Kissing Wen's cheek, Olivia navigated around the table to her best friend's side.
"Do you see what I see?" she asked in the quietest voice she could manage.
"Absolutely," Mo answered with a grin.
Olivia smiled broadly. "It's cute."
"So cute," Mo agreed.
x
Jules spent lunches sandwiched between Scott and Stella, and started sitting with Olivia in anthropology and Mo and Charlie in history. Since her confession to the band her place among them seemed to have been cemented, and she finally seemed to be fully comfortable with everyone. The more she was around the more they learned about her: she was smart as a whip when it came to good comebacks – sometimes even quicker than Stella – and she loved animals; when Wen said she had to come visit the horses sometime she was incredibly excited at the prospect. Her parents had money, but they were a lot more interested in a pretty home and expensive clothes and cars than animals, she said, and she'd never been allowed a pet, unless you counted the decorative tropical fish tank that was cared for a few times a week by a man her mother had hired. She had a brother about Tommy's age, and a sister another year or so older; they had always been closer with each other than her, though she got along with them fine. Her grades were great and she was impressively studious, with a memory like a steel trap. She loved cheerleading and dance and running, and as it turned out she could easily outpace any member of the band ("I told you guys this would happen," Scott had laughed as they all stood panting on the sidewalk, Jules still running in place, teasing them for getting tired). Perhaps most surprisingly of all was that she had a job in a downtown consignment store and was hoping to pay her own way through college, without help from her parents, if she could pull it off. She was already doing scholarship research.
Now that she was spending so much of her time around them, Jules was starting to get to know the other people who were around them a lot. With a little encouragement from the band, especially Stella and Scott, she started coming out to more people, when she felt more comfortable with them. Lyle was the first, since as Lemonade Mouth's official tech he was around all the time; he shook her hand, told her he was fully asexual, and then rolled his eyes good-naturedly and explained when Charlie asked what that meant. Jules tested the waters when it came to various ways to tell people; sometimes she made a formal event of saying it outright, and other times she found ways to work it more casually into conversation. To her pleasant surprise, the arts kids that made up most of the band's friend circle were considerably more casual about sexuality than anyone in her previous social circle had been, and with every positive and supportive response Jules' confidence was boosted a little bit. Pavel, the burly Russian boy from the ballet club, told her confidently that he'd knock over anyone who gave her trouble for it, and she turned to Stella and said, "I don't think I knew it was possible to feel this cared about, or have this many positive relationships with this many people."
Stella grinned. "The level of solidarity between everyone who's not in athletics at this school is through the roof. Extends way past just our interests. It kind of rules." She shot finger guns at Pavel, and he winked.
In December the band played the winter formal, Brenigan having long since given up on enforcing his no-Lemonade-Mouth-at-school rule. (Ray nearly turned down opening for them out of pride, but someone convinced him; he was fuming at the middling enthusiasm from the crowd by the time he got off stage.) Partway through Lemonade Mouth's set, Stella took the mic to introduce the next song.
"Folks, next we have a song I think you'll all recognize. Our own Mohini Banjaree's She's So Gone – going out tonight to a friend of ours." She winked at Jules in the front of the audience, and Mo and Olivia shared a grin before Mo stepped forward.
"I think this one speaks for itself," Mo said before she started. "But just in case it doesn't… remember that you define yourself. No one else gets to tell you what you are. You're so much more than anyone else knows."
After the set they enjoyed the rest of the dance with all of their friends. By now the band was on good terms with what seemed like half the school; it had started with all the arts and sciences kids from the Underground and spread from there. At some point Olivia and Mo extricated themselves from Wen and Scott's arms and went to get drinks. By the refreshments they stood for a few minutes and surveyed the crowd.
"Look!" Olivia pointed out excitedly. "Lyle and Alex are dancing! Do you think he finally asked her out?"
Mo put a hand to her cheek, smiling. "I hope so! He's been tripping all over himself around her since September."
"They make such a good pair," the blonde said happily. "And we have another good pair over there…"
Mo looked where Olivia was pointing and then nodded, grinning. Stella and Jules were dancing together, casually enough to be taken for friends by anyone who didn't know any better, but Mo and Olivia had been watching the two for weeks now. "How long, do you think, before something happens?"
"Can't be long, can it?" Olivia answered with a smile. "Stella's not usually one to keep her feelings a secret."
"That's true," Mo admitted, taking a sip of her water. "She is a bit of a perfectionist sometimes though. I wouldn't be surprised if she's trying to come up with just the right way to do it."
Olivia laughed. "You might be right." She smiled at the pair. "I'd be so happy for them."
Wen and Scott finally came looking for the two of them. "What're you two grinnin' about?" Wen asked around a mouthful of cupcake.
"Just look," Mo answered, pointing.
Scott looked over and grinned. "You think so, too? I'd been wondering about them."
"Oh, definitely," Wen agreed, swallowing. "You see that body language? It's all over them."
"Oh really?" Scott asked with a chuckle, raising an eyebrow.
The redhead nodded. "It took me over a year to ask Olivia out despite all the obvious signs, bro. I'm the king of unrequited feelings." The other three laughed, and Olivia grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to kiss his cheek.
"Mo and I have been talking about it for weeks," she said. "We're just wondering when something's finally going to come of it."
Scott put his hands in his pockets, smiling. "It occurred to me when I finally got Jules to talk to Stella that this could happen. I knew they had pretty compatible personalities. Once they were on the same side of things, I figured they might start to like each other a little more."
Mo looked at him delightedly. "Were you matchmaking, Scott?"
"What? No!" He laughed. "No, I honestly just wanted Jules to talk to someone who could help her. I swear."
"Whatever you say," she answered with a knowing smile.
x
In their time together, December had become an eventful month for the band. Stella's birthday was late November and Charlie's just shy of a month later, so they had taken to holding a joint birthday party somewhere in the middle. It was about a week after the winter formal, and school was finally out for the holiday – everyone was in their best mood. The party was being held at Charlie's; his parents were away for the night, but his mother agreed to the party on the condition that Tommy, already home from his autumn semester, stick around and make sure that everything stayed under control. This seemed agreeable to everyone; Tommy came down every hour or two to check in, then disappeared back to his bedroom if hanging out with a bunch of kids three or four years his junior didn't quite catch his attention.
The turnout was good; a lot of people showed. Stella and Charlie had fun going all-out on this party – they had invited damn near everyone from what was known as the Old Underground, now that more of the arts and sciences clubs had been moved upstairs in the school again. Charlie, Lyle, Alex and a handful of other A/V and robotics clubs members were clustered around the big TV playing video games, Scott and a guy from the art club were engaged in an intense game of what was undeniably just beer pong with lemonade instead (and an enthusiastic audience), and a large group of people were clustered around two couches and the floor space between, chatting and listening to Stella strum casually on her acoustic guitar. Jules sat on her right, leaning against Olivia's legs where she was parked on one sofa between Wen and Charlie's golden retriever.
Stella was toying with a melody she'd been working on for a while, asking people for feedback, though she mostly seemed to be paying attention to Jules. Olivia smiled down at their heads for a minute before turning to kiss Wen and murmur something in his ear that made him grin, unseen by the girls on the floor in front of them. The quiet moment was interrupted when the retriever, Carsen, suddenly leapt to his feet and went sailing over Stella's head, causing everyone to shout. He darted for the basement stairs, where Tommy, Victoria, and a girl from the Shakespeare society were coming down bearing an enormous slab cake covered in candles. Wen and Olivia started the song, and before long the entire basement was filled with a rousing round of 'Happy Birthday.' Stella and Charlie were pushed by the crowd over to the table, where they counted down and blew out the candles together to raucous applause.
"It's time for presents!" Mo announced as soon as it seemed like everyone had a slice of cake. Excitedly she scooped an armful of bags from beneath the table, directing Stella and Charlie to sit down in the middle of one couch (Carsen planted happily between them) and beginning to distribute the gifts between the pair. It was a gifts-optional kind of party, so they weren't buried in them, but they were feeling pretty spoiled just looking at the pile.
They took turns opening. There were portraits of each of them from various art club members, and silly poems composed by Shakespeare society kids. Charlie got a stack of video games and albums he'd been after, and Stella received a vegetarian cookbook, three seasons of her favourite television show, and new headphones to replace the ones she'd been complaining recently about wearing out. There were mixed CDs from Wen, some really nice new clothes from Mo and Scott, and long, sweet letters from Olivia, along with little scrapbooks that she had put together with help from the rest of the band. Stella had gotten Charlie an enormous bag of his favourite candy, and he'd gotten her a t-shirt with her face printed on it, since he knew it would make her laugh after all the times she had made fun of the one Ray had with his own face on the front. (He was right; Stella nearly busted a gut over the thing, and vowed to wear it for their next gig.) Jules had bought Charlie a jacket she'd caught him admiring in the store where she worked once when a few of them visited her there, and for Stella she'd found something really interesting – a box of vintage photographs she later explained she'd found in a flea market. Old photos were one of those things that didn't necessarily match Stella's established aesthetic, but that she absolutely adored anyway – she had been proudly showing off a pile of old black-and-whites of her paternal grandparents to the others only a few weeks back.
Stella opened the box with a big smile and found a birthday card in the top. Opening it curiously, she took a moment to read it, and then abruptly she lowered it to stare at Jules where she sat on the floor directly in front of the birthday girl. "What!" she squawked incredulously; Jules only grinned, cheeks tinged pink. "No way! I had a plan!" Stella complained.
"Yeah, so did I," Jules answered, smile growing. "And this was it. Haha, beat you."
"But it was such a good plan," Stella insisted. "You would have been blown away."
"I kind of think that makes this even better," Jules said.
"Okay, what's all this even about…" Wen wondered, moving closer from his spot behind the couch and leaning down over Stella's shoulder to skim the contents of the card. Then he grinned too. "Uh, am I allowed to share this with everybody?" he asked, glancing first at Stella and then at Jules. Jules nodded, and Wen looked up at the roomful of curious faces. "Jules asked Stella out before Stella could beat her to the punch."
At that every face in the room went from puzzled to delighted, and all eyes went to Stella.
"Well, obviously I'm saying yes," she answered the hopeful crowd, looking down at Jules with a grin. Everyone erupted into cheers, overjoyed with this turn of events. Mo and Olivia turned and threw their arms around each other; Charlie clapped Stella on the back. Stella leaned forward as Jules rose up on her knees until their faces were close together. "Hey," Stella said flirtatiously, just loudly enough for Jules to hear her over the din.
"Hey," Jules answered, raising her eyebrows and putting her arms over Stella's shoulders. Then they kissed and somebody whooped.
When the chaos died down a little, Jules glanced around the room, blushing a bit. "By the way, for anyone here who hasn't gotten the memo yet, Ray's an ass, I like girls, and we all have Scott and Stella to thank for convincing me to get rid of that stick up my butt." Everybody laughed.
x
Stella and Jules were both pretty happy to finally be an item. They had already been spending a lot of time together before it happened, but now they seemed to be together every day. They tended to hang out at Stella's house – her family was quite welcoming, while Jules hadn't quite worked up the courage to come out to hers yet. Stella's mom came to her in concern on the 20th, grilling her about Jules' interests when she realized that Christmas was only five days away and she didn't know her daughter's girlfriend well enough to buy her a gift yet. Laughing, Stella eventually agreed to go with her mom to the mall and help her find something. Timmy and Andy seemed not to care; Stella had had a girlfriend once before – back in Rhode Island – and it really didn't make much difference to them. Jules was just another teenager who hung out at the house sometimes and made a good new target for distressingly well-thought-out pranks, which the other members of Lemonade Mouth had learned by now to watch out for. As for Stella's dad, he was won over the moment Jules asked him about his work, explaining that she was considering going into a medical field, and he was even more impressed when she seemed to follow what he said about his research. After she left he clapped Stella on the shoulder and commended her on her judgement.
It had been less than two weeks by the time New Years' rolled around. The band – and Jules – talked back and forth about what they wanted to do; last year they'd had a small party, just the six of them, but this year a friend of Scott's was throwing a big party at his enormous house and had asked them to play. Talking out the details with Stella and Wen, he readily agreed to pay them a pretty reasonable amount for a house party, and after discussing it, they all agreed it would be fun to try. If it turned out not to be their speed, they'd go back to their small parties next year. But a lot of people they knew were planning to go – the host was one of those friends-with-everyone sorts and had invited just about everyone at school, it seemed – so they thought they'd probably have a good time.
Stella and Jules talked about how they'd handle the big group, too. So far Jules was still only out to the fifty or so people who'd been in Charlie's basement a couple weeks earlier, and since they hadn't been back to school yet, she wasn't sure how she felt about being public with things just yet. Understanding, Stella suggested that she'd just take all her cues from Jules; if Jules didn't feel comfortable, they could act like friends and Stella would play along, and if Jules decided she felt confident about it, they'd be a little more open. Jules agreed, kissing her and thanking her for her patience.
The night of the party, the seven of them arrived together, split between Mr. Gifford's truck and Mrs. Pickett's station wagon. They marvelled for a moment at the size of the house in front of them – most of their families had money, but this was the biggest house anyone other than Jules had ever been to. Their host, Lee, came jogging outside with Lyle and a couple other guys to help cart the band's instruments inside, particularly Charlie's drums out of the bed of Mr. Gifford's pickup.
There was lots of time for setup and mingling; it was only eight now, and Lee had asked the band if they'd play a bit earlier in the evening and then a half hour up until midnight. Lyle started muttering to Wen while they were sorting cables about Lee's budget; more money had gone into setting up this party than Lyle had ever seen in his life, he figured. "I guess I don't mind," he admitted with a shrug. "I mean, he's paying me two hundred bucks just to do what I do with you guys all the time. But still, it's insane."
"Something tells me the Kwans like to spend extravagantly," Wen answered with a chuckle. "I mean, I have my own horse, man, I have no illusions about how much money my dad and my grandparents have. But they're not quite this showy."
Lyle made a face. "My mom's an English professor without tenure and my dad's a nurse. I don't know how I fell in with all you rich people."
Olivia leaned over from where she was assembling rented mic stands a few feet away. "Don't worry, Lyle, I'm with you on this one. These people are nuts." Wen laughed.
The party was in full swing by nine, with a couple hundred guests – Lee charged a door fee, though not a high one – and an impressive amount of food. Lemonade Mouth played a handful of songs then to a fairly enthusiastic response, and they had a pretty great time. They hadn't known what to expect from what was essentially a house party, but it was fun. A section of the enormous living room was taped off to serve as the stage, and Lyle was able to run the show from a table off to one side, with help from one of the more competent A/V club members. Lee had spared no expense on the rented equipment, and they both looked and sounded fantastic while they performed. The rest of the living room, sparse furniture pushed to the walls, served as a dance floor, and the performance went over well. Mostly they played older music, familiar to their audience, going all the way back to their first few songs.
Afterwards they spread out to visit with friends and get food. Wen slung an arm around Olivia's shoulders while they grabbed something to drink and chatted with a handful of fans they didn't know as well; he still got just a little protective of her around enthusiastic male fans, especially when they were a year older and all jocks of some description. Scott and Mo went to chat with Lee and his swim team friends, and Charlie tried to be as friendly as possible when he found himself mobbed by a bunch of freshman girls. Stella and Jules ended up in a big mixed group, some of whom knew about their relationship and others who had no clue. Over the next hour or two they searched for just the right balance, going from friendly to a little more than that; they hung close together, not quite holding hands, paying a little more attention to each other than anyone else. As the night went on Jules found herself growing more comfortable, letting herself lean closer to Stella's side than would have fully made sense for just-friends.
At some point the band (plus Jules and Lyle) converged and travelled together for a while, exchanging thoughts on the experience. Scott and Jules, who were both very social by nature and also had some history with parties like this, were both having a great time; Wen, Stella, and Mo were enjoying themselves as well. Olivia was feeling a little overwhelmed by the size of the crowd but managed to keep it together so long as she was sticking close to at least one of the others, usually Wen. Charlie found the whole thing pretty novel, still never used to receiving so much attention, but admitted he didn't think he'd want to do this kind of thing that often; it was pretty chaotic and he found himself a little bit overstimulated. Lyle agreed, saying that it was the same kind of fun that school dances could be, and he was glad he knew a lot of people there, but overall it wasn't quite his speed.
"How're you two feeling about the crowd?" Scott asked, glancing at Stella and Jules. Jules had her arms wrapped around Stella's in a way that wasn't explicitly romantic, but neither was it quite platonic.
Stella glanced at Jules, who smiled a bit. "I'm adjusting," Jules said with a shrug. "No one has given us any dirty looks or accused me of anything yet, so that's good. I'm feeling pretty okay."
"Good, I'm glad," Scott answered with a grin.
Stella was beaming. "I'd call it a resounding success so far, honestly," she said. "Absolutely no complaints here."
At half past eleven it was time for the band's second set; they picked up their instruments and started in with an energetic new piece that Olivia, Wen, and Scott had just finished writing a few weeks earlier. The countdown to midnight was projected on the wall behind them, and as the clock ticked down, the guests who had spread throughout the house and backyard all packed into the living room. The second set was all newer stuff, including a few songs they hadn't formally performed yet; all of it was high-energy, amping the audience up for midnight. It was three minutes to midnight when they finished their last song, Lee jumping up to the microphone to encourage a final round of applause for the band. While they put down their instruments, he took a moment to thank everyone for coming and for making the year so good. A few people trickled out of the front rows toward the band as the last minute arrived; Alex rolled her chair over to Lyle's table, smiling, and Jules stepped up to join Stella.
"Okay, folks," Lee was saying into the mic. "Time to grab your favourite people and ring in the New Year with whoever you're planning to spend it with – we've got thirty seconds left." He left the mic and threw his arms around the necks of a few of his swim team buddies, grinning, as the crowd started to count down.
"How do you feel about a New Year's Kiss?" Jules asked as she took Stella's hands.
"If you're feeling good about it, I'm feeling very good about it," Stella answered with a broad smile. They looked up at the countdown on the wall and joined the count.
"Three… two… one… Happy New Year!" sounded over two hundred voices in unison. On the band's left, Lyle leaned down against the arms of Alex's chair and kissed her with a smile; a few feet away, Scott and Mo shared a kiss of their own. Wen scooped his arms around Olivia's lower back and picked her up off her feet as he kissed her, making her laugh. And Stella and Jules leaned into each other, smiling hugely, to share a kiss as well. Charlie, despite his many admirers, leaned unkissed against an amp, beaming at the happiness of all of his friends. Once each couple parted, he stood and stepped into the enormous group hug that inevitably came next.
"Happy New Year, guys," he added to the friendly ruckus. On either side of him Scott and Olivia squeezed harder. The hug finally broke apart again, and Mo and Olivia ran across the makeshift stage and around Lyle's table to throw their arms around him and remind him how much they appreciated all his hard work, much to his embarrassment and Alex's amusement. He hated to be made a fuss of.
Lee had extricated himself from the swim team to approach Stella and Jules. "Hey, are you guys a thing now? I had no idea, that's so great!" he congratulated them, smiling.
"Thanks man," Stella answered, offering him a fist bump as Jules hid her embarrassed smile in Stella's neck.
The positive moment was interrupted by a familiar voice coming up from behind Lee. "Jules, what the hell?"
Lee turned and then looked back to Stella and Jules, frowning. "I specifically did not invite him," he informed them as Ray shoved his way through the crowd.
The band, attention grabbed by the disturbance, came and stood behind Jules and Stella as Ray got up in their faces. "I can't believe this," he was saying angrily. "Did you break up with me for Yamada?" Lee tried to get in between them and tell Ray to leave, but Ray pushed him aside.
"Go home, Ray," Scott said, irritated. "Not worth it, man."
"Shut up, Pickett," Ray snapped. He turned to Stella. "Yamada, what's your game?"
Stella stepped forward. "Isn't 'I'm about to steal your girlfriend' literally a Mudslide Crush lyric?" she challenged him. "Wouldn't it help if you could hold one down in the first place, Beech?"
"This is bullshit," he spat, turning to Jules again. She took a step back, though she looked more angry than worried. "Everyone knows about Yamada, but I don't know what's going on with you. Hardly pegged you for a –"
Whatever he was going to call her was cut off by a fist connecting with his cheekbone. The fist, as it turned out, belonged to Mo, who had lost her patience and stepped in front of the others. Ray stumbled backwards, but someone caught him. It was Pavel – the moment he heard Ray shouting he'd made a beeline through the quieting crowd towards the front. Everyone around them watched in stunned silence as Pavel set Ray on his feet again, keeping him in place with an enormous hand on each shoulder, and Mo shook out her hand.
"Anyone else?" Pavel asked. Ray looked dazed, like he was still trying to process what had just happened.
"Nope," Stella said after a moment, tipping her head to one side, looking pleasantly surprised. "Somehow, watching Mo do it was the most satisfying thing I've ever seen." She glanced at Jules, who frowned and shook her head.
"I'm not touching him," she said derisively.
Mo cracked her knuckles. "Go home, Ray," she said, echoing her boyfriend as she stared Ray in the face. "And don't mess with my friends again. We're pretty tired of you."
"I've never been more in love," Scott said in a low voice, almost more like he was thinking aloud than actually speaking to anyone, and the admiration in his eyes as he gazed at his girlfriend suggested it was true.
Pavel turned to Lee, who was still staring. "Can I remove him for you?" the dancer asked politely.
"For sure," Lee answered, raising his eyebrows.
Pavel smiled mildly. Easily a foot and a half taller than Ray, and twice as wide, he turned the obnoxious jock around to face him and picked him up. "If you ever use the word I suspect you were about to use," he said conversationally, "or any other one like it, you will be hit with a much larger fist than Mohini's." Ray's face registered mild alarm, and Pavel tossed him over his shoulder and headed for the front door. The crowd parted to make way for him, still quiet.
As people started to return to their senses, Lee glanced at Stella and Jules, who stood holding hands and watching Pavel leave. "I am so sorry," he said earnestly. "I don't like Ray, he wasn't supposed to be here at all. I don't even know how he got in. That shouldn't have happened."
Jules glanced over at him. "Actually," she said slowly, "I think this is the best New Years' I've ever had."
At first he only blinked, taken aback, and then he started to laugh. Stella was grinning too. "It definitely ranks," she agreed.
Mo turned back to the band, smiling. "I feel great."
x
It was time to go back to school only a few days later. After the party, news of Jules and Stella's relationship got around pretty quickly – even the people who hadn't been there heard about it soon, because the story of Ray's outburst and Mo's incredible sucker punch was too good not to pass around. Jules was a little nervous, knowing that this was all public knowledge now and out of her control, but she had a tight support network now and was confident that she'd be safe even if some people weren't taking it well.
She was taken aback when she arrived to school the first morning back and Patty jumped towards her and hugged her hard. "I'm so sorry," the redhead apologized profusely. "I didn't know. I didn't understand why you left and that's no excuse but I'm sorry and Ray's the worst and I don't care if he's mean to me because I love you."
Jules leaned into Patty's shoulder, hugging her back. "Whatever," she said after a moment, voice a little thick. "I don't care. Ray brings out the worst in all of us. I'm glad I have my friend back."
They were just pulling apart when Stella came in the door behind them. "Morning babe," she greeted Jules with a grin. Then, politely, "Hi Pat-"
Patty, apparently overcome with emotion, threw her arms around Stella now too. "I'm so sorry I was mean," she cried. "I was oblivious and I feel awful and thank you for taking care of Jules."
"Uh." Stella laughed awkwardly, patting Patty's back. "You're welcome, Patty."
The redhead pulled back and looked back and forth between the two other girls as Jules reached down and loosely took Stella's hand. "Oh, my gosh, you two make such a beautiful couple," she said, almost in distress. She seemed genuinely very upset over having given Jules the cold shoulder for the last few months. "I'm so sorry if I made you think I wouldn't be okay with this. Jules, you deserve to be with someone who makes you happy, I don't care who it is."
Jules smiled at the floor. "Thanks, Patty."
Patty glanced at her phone for the time and grimaced. "I have to get to class because I have a presentation today, but I just really wanted to see you first. Can we talk more later?"
"Of course," Jules told her. "Good luck with your project."
"Thank you." Patty reached forward and hugged her once more, quickly this time. "I'll come find you later, Jules."
As Patty ran off, Jules turned to Stella and made a face. "It's gonna be a weird day, isn't it," she half-asked.
"Probably," Stella admitted, tipping her head to one side. "You ready for it?"
Jules squared her shoulders. "As ready as I'm gonna be," she said with a nod. "Bring it on."
"You're gonna come out on top," Stella promised her. "And no matter how it goes, you'll have me, and that's what really counts." She grinned and wagged her eyebrows. "Can I kiss you?"
Jules smiled; Stella's straightforward flirtation was hard to resist. "Yeah."
Stella leaned in and kissed Jules soundly, still holding her hand. They smiled into each other, lingering a second. Then Stella pulled back and gave Jules' hand a squeeze. "Okay, I better split. Mo always chews me out when I'm late for English. See you at break?"
"You bet," Jules said with another nod. As Stella tried to let go of her hand, Jules thought again and pulled her back in, kissing her cheek. "Have a good morning," she added, smiling broadly at Stella's slightly enchanted expression before finally letting her go.
As it turned out, Jules had a good day. No one gave her any trouble, a few people congratulated her, and best of all, she didn't see Ray even once – or, for that matter, any of his friends. Patty joined Jules and the band at lunch and told them that Ray and his buddies were hiding out in the weight room after Ray had tried to act his usual arrogant self and been met with a fair amount of scorn. "No one's putting up with him today," she reported with a trace of a smile. She held up her phone. "According to Kurt he's insufferable today. Even the people who weren't mad at him in the first place are annoyed now because he's in a bad mood and being a jerk. I keep trying to tell Kurt to just leave… I dunno, I might convince him."
"Kurt's loyal to a fault," Scott agreed, taking a bite of his apple.
Jules leaned her shoulder against Stella's. "This is going better than I thought it would," she said quietly, smiling.
"We win again," Stella said with a grin, planting a kiss on Jules' head.
"If anyone does give you any trouble," Mo piped up, "Just let me know. Me 'n Pavel'll tag-team them." Everyone laughed.
"I'll keep that in mind," Jules answered, grinning.
x
A couple weeks into the term Jules and Stella had met with few issues at the school. Ray and his small handful of friends skulked around the place, keeping their mouths shut and mostly staying out of the way. Patty joined them sometimes, just because she hadn't yet quite persuaded Kurt to leave, but she also stuck with Jules a lot of the time. Jules was more than grateful to have one of her closest friends back.
"You sure I don't have any competition?" Stella teased her one day, after watching Jules and Patty lean into each other, giggling over a dumb old in-joke.
Jules rolled her eyes and kissed her. "I'm sure," she said. "Contrary to popular stereotypes, I've never been in love with my best friend."
"Yeah, me neither," Stella answered, scrunching up her nose. "Mo and Olivia are both wonderful and gorgeous, but who am I to intrude on their lovely relationships? And the rest of my best friends are boys."
Jules sat in on practices once in a while, and more often she joined them for pizza or other hangouts. One evening the seven of them were leaving Dante's and headed their separate ways – Olivia and Wen in Mr. Gifford's truck, Charlie by bike, Scott and Mo in the car he borrowed from his mother, and Stella and Jules on foot, headed towards Jules' house.
"So," Stella started casually, swinging their clasped hands. "I don't know if you're the sort of person who keeps track of dates, but it's been a month, which I think is cool."
Jules smiled, glancing down at the sidewalk. "Yeah, it had crossed my mind," she chuckled.
"I didn't, like, get you anything," Stella admitted. "I feel like if you try to do gifts for every anniversary it's… hard to know which ones you celebrate and which ones you don't?" She shrugged. "But I thought I'd mention it. And say, you know, thanks and everything. It's been a really good month."
"Yeah," Jules agreed, squeezing Stella's hand quickly. "One of my best. I hope there are a lot more."
"Me too," Stella said, nodding. "Yeah, that sounds good."
"Stella…" Jules slowed, swinging around to stand in front of Stella. They stopped on the sidewalk. "I wanna tell you something," she said, a smile at one corner of her mouth.
"Shoot," Stella said with a nod.
Jules just looked at Stella's face for a moment, a soft and contented expression on her face as she really took Stella in. With her free hand she reached up and touched Stella's cheek gently. Finally, she licked her lips slightly and asked, "Can I tell you I love you?"
An enormous smile broke across Stella's face. "Hell yeah you can," she answered.
Jules couldn't help it; she laughed. Pulling Stella forward by the cheek, she kissed her gently, both of them smiling. "I love you too, by the way," Stella murmured as they parted.
Jules bit down on her smile, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead into Stella's. "I like this," she said softly after a couple seconds.
"Yeah, me too," Stella answered, her hands on Jules' hips.
They stayed there for a few minutes before they started walking again, at a relaxed pace. They were in no rush, even though it was getting darker. The air was nice and they felt good holding each other's hands.
As they turned the corner onto Jules' block and her house came into view, the blonde glanced down at her feet. "I told my sister about us the other day," she said. "Over Skype."
"How'd that go?" Stella asked carefully, watching her girlfriend out of the corner of her eye.
"Pretty well, actually," Jules replied, running a hand back through her hair. "She was… surprised. Definitely surprised. But she was cool with it, she said. And even though she's a state away, she said she'd have my back if mom and dad were difficult."
"That's good," Stella said with a nod. "That's really good. I'm glad for you. Especially since I know you weren't sure how that would go."
"Mhm." Jules looked out into the distance. "My brother's home this weekend," she added abruptly.
"Okay," Stella answered, starting to wonder if she knew where this was going.
"So I was thinking… of talking to him and my parents all at once, and getting it out of the way," Jules explained. She was clearly still adjusting to the idea. Stella was quiet for a second, waiting to see if there was a second half to the thought. There was. Jules took a deep breath and looked over at her. "Do you, uh, do you wanna come in and meet them? And just, uh, be there when I talk to them?"
Stella smiled gently, nodding. "Yeah, babe, of course."
"I don't think they're gonna like, kick me out or anything," Jules said in a rush, anxious now. "But they're almost definitely gonna be… weird about it. I just think they won't understand. No one in our family ever defies expectations, you know? So, I just think, it might… take them a while to adjust?" She fixed her hair again, fidgety. "I'd just, feel better if you were there with me."
"I'll come," Stella said again. "I'm with you all the way."
"Okay," Jules said, nodding. "Okay. Yeah." They reached her driveway and glanced up at the stately house. "All right. You wanna do this?"
"Only if you do, babe," Stella reassured her.
"I do," Jules said, a little more resolutely.
"Awesome." Stella reached up and kissed her, then stood back a little and fixed the collar of Jules' blouse for her. "Now, remember, I'm very respectable. My dad is a leading national cancer researcher, my mom is in cutting-edge bioplastics, and I already have an established career. I'm like, wife material." She cracked a grin, and Jules laughed.
"Yeah. You're right." She leaned down and kissed Stella one more time. "Thank you."
"You ready, love?" Stella asked, smiling.
"Yeah." Jules nodded and took Stella's hand again, leading her up the driveway.