Author's note: This is my first FanFiction! This story is about my favorite couple, Julia and Joel, from the amazing show, Parenthood. It airs on Tuesdays at 10 on NBC. If you don't watch it, you don't know what you're missing. Enjoy! :)
It was a Saturday night, and Joel Graham was sitting at the bar having some drinks with his friends. His final exams were over, and graduation was just a few days away.
And then she walked in. He had never seen her before in his life, but somehow he knew that she was different than anyone else he's met before. His eyes followed her to a table, seating herself between two other girls.
"…Joel? Did you hear anything I just said?" David asked him, soon catching on and following his gaze across the bar.
"Good eye! Dude, that's Julia Braverman. Lawyer-in-training. Amazing, right?" Chris said.
"Wow. She's… perfect." Joel said, still in a trance. He's never seen someone that beautiful in his entire life.
"Go on then! C'mon, I'll help you." Chris dragged Joel off of his bar stool, and over to the table where the girls were chatting and drinking martinis.
"Well good evening ladies, my name is Chris, and this is my friend Joel." Chris said with as much sophistication as possible after having 4 beers that night. He addressed Julia, "You're Julia Braverman, no?"
"Yes, I am." Julia said, straightening her blazer and sitting up in her seat.
"Well Joel here sure fancies you. Why don't I leave you two to talk?" Chris said, patting Joel on the back and walking back to his seat to watch.
He was nervous as hell and wanted to kill Chris for dragging him over there, but he introduced himself anyways. "Umm… Hi. I'm Joel. Joel Graham."
"Julia. This is Lucy and Nicole." The girls waved, eyeing the interaction between Joel and Julia very carefully.
Nicole noticed how even though no more words were exchanged between the two, there was definitely something going on. So she nudged Lucy with her elbow, and they went off to the bar to "get some more drinks."
"…Would you like to sit down?" Julia motioned towards the now empty seats, and Joel sat down. There was something about his baby blue eyes that was so…captivating.
"So," Joel shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Chris said you are studying to be a lawyer?"
"Yeah, I just finished my undergraduate, and I head off to law school in the fall." She smiled at Joel. "How about you?"
Joel looked into her blue eyes. "I umm... just finished school. I'm a... carpenter."
"Oh, okay! You know, my dad thinks he's a carpenter by trying to fix things that don't need much fixing to begin with. In reality, he can barely tell the difference between a flathead and a phillip's head screwdriver." Julia smiled encouragingly. She was obviously not bothered at all in the difference of their career paths, unlike Joel who didn't see getting all A's in his carpentry classes as great achievements anymore.
Joel laughed nervously. "...So... do you live around here?"
"Yeah, my parents live about 45 minutes from here...And all of my siblings live within a 15-mile radius." Julia said the last statement with a roll of the eyes.
"Oh, really? How many siblings do you have?" Joel said, interested. He had no siblings of his own, and he had always wanted a brother.
"Three. There's Adam, Sarah, and Crosby, in that order. I'm the youngest." Julia said proudly.
"Wow. And they all live around here?" Joel asked with interest.
"Yup...Each and every one of them. Adam works at T & S Footwear, and has recently gotten engaged. Sarah flits in and out with her husband, who's in a rock band, and her 2-year-old daughter. She's pregnant again, and is due at the beginning of next year. Crosby works at a music recording company downtown. How about you? Do you have any siblings?" Julia asked, taking a sip of her martini.
"Me? Nope. It's just me, mom, and dad. They live a couple hours away." Joel smiled, becoming more and more comfortable with every second he spent talking to her.
Wow, he's got such an amazing smile. Quiet, but adorable. And he's easy on the eyes. Julia thought, resting her elbows on the table and placing her head on top of her hands.
Joel couldn't stop smiling. I have never met a girl so beautiful, smart, and funny before. Who knew you could be all three? He tried not to get too carried away with his thoughts, focusing on what Julia was saying, not missing a word she said.
"So Julia's really hitting it off with that Joel guy then huh?" Nicole said, watching them attentively.
Lucy took a sip from her drink and smiled, "Looks like it! Think she's even noticed we never came back?"
"Nah, I don't think so."
Across the room Julia laughed, and Joel smiled, not able to take his eyes off of her.
Wow, this girl is amazing. Smart, funny, and incredibly beautiful. I hope she likes me. Joel thought, smiling and laughing, barely even hearing what Julia was saying, completely lost in a trance.
Then, her cell phone rang. "Will you excuse me for a second? It's my brother. I'm so sorry."
"Sure, no problem."
"Thanks. It'll only be a minute. What, Crosby?" Julia barked into her cell phone, eager to hang up with her brother as soon as possible.
After about five minutes, Joel thought it was hopeless. He was about to get up from his seat when he saw her come back in from outside, speed walking towards the table.
"Joel, I'm so sorry, but I'm going to have to get going. My brother's in some sort of weird crisis and for some god forsaken reason, he needs me."
Joel's heart sank. "Yeah that's fine. Is everything okay?"
"It will be. Crosby is… something else. But I really had a great time talking with you." She said, motioning for her friends to get up from the bar so they could leave.
"Same here." He eyed the two girls slowly get up from their bar stools, taking their last-minute sips from their drinks. Now's your chance. Just do it before they get here!
"Julia, would you… umm… like to go… out with me sometime?" Joel asked nervously, his eyes shifting between her and her friends, who were making their way towards the table rather slowly.
She looked taken aback, which he couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. "I… I'd love to Joel."
"Great. So I guess I'll call you later then?" He couldn't tell if Lucy and Nicole were walking slowly towards the table on purpose, or because they drank a little too much.
"Sounds good. See you soon Joel."
"Bye, Julia."
Something tells me I'm into something good.