Fighting for Your Love (Fire and Ice)
Summary: Some say the world will end in fire; Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire. I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that, for destruction, ice is also great and would suffice. ~Robert Frost
Chapter Three: The Support of a Friend
"…Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them..."
― Veronica Roth, Divergent
Beau continued to sit at his table, long after the bell rang, staring at the door that Edith had practically sprinted to get away from him.
He felt mortified. He blew his chances with his dream girl in less than an hour and he didn't even have to talk to her to do it.
"Class is over," the baby-faced girl from lunch said, and Beau tried to shrug off what happened.
"Mckayla, right?" he asked, hoping he hadn't messed up and she smiled at him.
"Yeah, do you need any help finding your next class?" she offered, helpfully, and Beau shook his head.
"I'm headed to the gym. I think I can find it on my own," Beau stated, gathering his stuff, thinking the conversation was over.
He wasn't in the mood for company at the moment.
"That's my next class, too," Mckayla exclaimed, happily and Beau frowned.
Of course, it was.
As they walked gym together, Beau tried to use Mckayla's chatter as to draw attention away from his earlier humiliation. He tried not to say much, knowing he was bad at conversation, which is why he usually used Julie as a buffer between him and other people. Luckily, Mckayla didn't need much to keep a conversation going.
"So, you're from Phoenix, right?" she asked, and Beau nodded.
"Yes," he said, simply.
"That's cool. I used to live in California,"
"Interesting,"
"Yeah, we lived there until I was ten then we moved here." She continued, and Beau stayed silent, "So, I get it if you miss the sunshine. But Forks has a lot of great things to like…"
Beau noticed Julie waiting outside of the gym for him and smiled. Hair pulled back in a loose bun, a few wild strands twisting around her face, and she was wearing her gym clothes with pride.
Beau was about to go talk to her when Mckayla reminded him of what he'd been trying so hard to forget.
"So, why did Edith look like you stabbed her with a pencil? I've never seen her act like that?" she questioned and Beau tensed.
"I don't know. I barely said two words to her," he stated, trying to keep his face blank, just as Julie finally noticed him.
"She's weird," Mckayla said, lingering by his side, "If you sat next to me, I would have talked to you,"
Beau gave her an obligatory smile.
"Um, I have to talk to Julie about something, so…" he trailed off, expectantly, and Mckayla nodded.
"Alright," she said, heading to the girl's locker room, "We'll talk later,"
Julie finally reached him, with an expectant look.
"So, how did it go?" Julie asked, and Beau forced a smile onto his face.
"Great," he lied.
Julie stared at him for a moment, her happy expression fading.
"Edith?" she questioned, her tone going soft, enthusiasm gone, something akin to pity in her eyes.
Beau nodded, just a brief dip of his head.
"Oh," she said, and Beau sighed.
"Yeah," Beau replied, shoulders slumping.
He waited for Julie to say something, but she didn't. Instead, she placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him that look that made Beau think of being a little kid again when his biggest problem was bullies on the playground.
"I don't want to talk about it," Beau finally said, and Julie nodded, walking away without comment.
Beau watched her go, before heading over to talk to the coach.
Later, they were in the gym, and Julie was bouncing a volleyball like it was a basketball, ignoring the other volleyball games being played by the others. Mckayla had tried to invite them to join her team but Julie had informed her that Beau didn't play sports.
"He's athletically handicapped," she said, which was true, but Beau didn't need her telling everybody. "It would be a danger to him…and everyone else…if you put a ball in his hands,"
"Really?" Mckayla asked, looking at him for confirmation.
Beau remembered all the injuries he had attained and inflicted-playing volleyball and, grudgingly, nodded.
"I'm not really into sports anyway," he said, defensively, and Mckayla left them alone.
As soon as Mckayla was gone, Beau looked at Julie, who smiled at him.
"I got your back, Jack," she joked, and Beau groaned, giving up.
"I just don't understand women." Beau complained, "I swear, they should give you a manual for them or something,"
"What happened?" Julie asked, and Beau shrugged.
"I don't know. She hated me from the moment I walked into the room," Beau frowned, "Then she ran out of class like I was trying to kill her or something,"
Julie laughed quietly and Beau glared at her.
"It's not funny," he growled, throwing a ball at her and Julie caught it.
"Come on, you can't get discouraged. Think of it as the beginning of a romantic comedy," Julie said and tossed the volleyball in the basketball hoop. "Nothing but net!" she called out, a bit too loud.
"Quit messing around!" the coach yelled, blowing her whistle, making them cringe.
"Sorry," they said in unison, and Julie went to get the ball.
"Romantic comedy?" Beau questioned, and Julie nodded.
"Or like Pride and Prejudice," Julie added, "I sometimes forget that you prefer books to movies,"
Beau felt uncomfortable in the borrowed gym shorts they were forcing him to wear, until he brought a pair of his own, and kept glancing around the room, and tugging at the bottom of them.
"I just don't get why she'd act like that," Beau grumbled, "She smiled at me in the lunchroom. I know she did. I don't think I was giving off the vibes of a creeper, do you?"
Julie looked like she was about to make another joke but the look on his face must have stopped her.
"Well, it's her loss." Julie said softly, leaning towards him as she cupped his cheek, with her free hand, and Beau just swallowed hard, "I mean it. If she can't see what a great guy you are, then she's an idiot,"
Beau shook his head, making her hand fall.
"No, she's not." Beau said, defensively, "She perfect,"
"You don't know anything about her," Julie snorted, amused when the last bell rang.
"Loving someone doesn't need a reason. If you can explain why you love someone, it's not called Love," Beau quoted, and Julie rolled her eyes.
"That's sweet, Romeo. But how can you love someone you don't even know?" Julie asked, making Beau go silent, throwing the ball back in the bin with the others, "Anyway, you have a lot of time to change her opinion of you."
"What do you mean?" Beau asked, and Julie grinned.
"You'll be sitting next to her for an hour, five days a week." Julie reminded him as they made their way to the locker room to change, "More than enough time to change her mind,"
"I'll probably just continue to make a fool of myself and make her hate me more," Beau, ever the pessimist, retorted.
"Come on," Julie said, wiping sweat from her brow, "I'm sure you're not that bad,"
Beau opened his mouth to tell her just how bad he really was when the last bell rang and interrupted him. Julie suddenly walked away from him and threw the ball back in the bin with the others. He watched as she also went up to a guy with a big gym bag and started talking.
Beau shuffled his feet and fought the urge to glare at the back of the guy's head. Julie came back with two bottles of water and a smug look.
"I got us water," Julie said, proudly, tossing Beau a bottle.
Beau took the bottle, glancing at the blonde boy who was giving him an evil look.
"Who's that?" Beau asked, and Julie grinned.
"That's Zack," she said, simply, "he always has water,"
"Oh," Beau muttered, keeping the lecture about taking drinks from strange guys to himself.
"Don't worry, I always make sure the cap seal hasn't been tampered with before I drink it," Julie said, in response to what he didn't say, "Anyway, Zack's a friend,"
"Alright," Beau said, shrugging off his discomfort and opening his bottle.
"It's fine," Julie said, taking a sip, "See?"
Beau took a sip of his water, only to choke, as Julie tipped her head back for a deeper drink, lips opening to let more of the bottle's neck between them.
Beau's didn't even realize he was staring until Julie's eyes met his and she raised an eyebrow, crushing the empty bottle in her hand.
"Enjoying the show?" she asked, licking the excess water from her mouth, and Beau flushed, "Don't worry about it?" she added,
Julie threw her bottle in the trash and went into the girl's locker room without a word. Beau quickly downed his water, the hall was too hot, and his shorts were uncomfortably tight.
Beau threw away his bottle and headed to the locker room. He needed to get control of himself. He bit his tongue, the pain thankfully shrinking his problem so he could change in peace.
He hoped he hadn't been as obvious when he was looking at Edith.
That was probably why she was mad at him. Guys must gawk at her all the time and she must have assumed he was a pig just like the others.
When Beau came out of the locker room, with his own clothes back on, Julie was leaning against the wall, waiting for him.
"What took you so long?" she asked, a knowing look on her face and Beau glared at her, until she laughed, and playfully punched him in the stomach.
"Let's go take your paperwork to the office and you can tell me more about your future girlfriend," Julie said.
"So, you really think I have a shot?" Beau asked, and Julie nodded.
"Course I do," Julie grinned, grabbing his hand, "After all, who could resist that pretty face?"
"Seriously, it's not a compliment for a man to be called 'Pretty' or Beautiful," Beau stated, giving her a look, and Julie giggled, swinging their joined hands.
"M'kay, Sexy," Julie gave him a wink and Beau stuck out his tongue.
"Better but I was going for handsome," Beau replied, as he held open the office door for Julie to go in first.
"Okay, my handsomely, pretty, beautiful boy," Julie said, heading inside and Beau made a face.
"Too many adjectives," he complained, and Julie laughed.
"Too many adjectives," Julie mocked, "Who says things like that?"
"I say things like…" Beau trailed off, finally noticing who was in the office.
Edith Cullen stood at the office desk, arguing with the secretary about trading sixth-hour biology to another time.
Beau tried to convince himself that it wasn't because of him but it was kind of hard to ignore that memory of her hate filled eyes and how she'd run out of biology to get away from him.
The door opened again, behind him, and a breeze blew through the room, waving through his hair, and Edith stiffened.
She turned to glare at him, and Beau got distracted by how beautiful she was. Even when it seemed like she was trying to kill him with her eyes.
Julie stepped in front of him, protectively, and Edith's eyes flickered to her before she turned back to the secretary.
"Never mind, then," she said, quickly, her voice like silk. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help,"
Then she walked out of the door without another look in their direction. Beau stood there for a moment turning pale, then turned to Julie who was staring after Edith with a look of pure confusion.
"Okay, maybe you killed her in a past life," Julie muttered, squeezing his hand but he pulled away and walked over to the desk to hand the secretary his signed slip.
"How did your first day go?" The secretary asked, and Beau shrugged.
"Great," he lied, keeping his face blank.
Julie placed a hand on his shoulder, and Beau shrugged her off.
"Can we work on the project tomorrow?" he asked, not meeting her eyes. "I just want to go home,"
"Look, you can't let one person ruin your whole day," Julie said, and Beau didn't respond, "I mean it, Beaufort,"
"Whatever," Beau retorted, heading to his truck. "And don't call me that,"
Julie trailed after him, silently, knowing that nothing she would say would reach him when he got like this.
Beau got in his car and stared blankly out the windshield. Julie let him sit for a moment before clearing her throat.
"How about instead of worrying about the project, we go back to my house, watch a movie, and pig out on junk food?" she suggested. "It's been forever since we did that,"
Beau shrugged, and turned the key, so the engine roared to life, and headed back to Charlie's house, trying to think of nothing at all.
"Do you remember when you called me because Kate Helen found out you had a crush on her and made a point to tell you that you weren't her type?" Julie asked, and Beau nodded, frowning.
Kate Helen. That was like Fourth grade? She pulled him aside during lunch and told him flat-out, that it wasn't going to happen. He wasn't her type, he was weird, she had a crush on Jesse, another guy in the class, etc.
He'd been so humiliated.
"I remember how you moped around for days and wanted to quit school. Do you remember what I said?" Julie questioned, and Beau's brows furrowed.
"No," Beau admitted, and Julie blew out an annoyed breath.
"I said that there were other girls who were probably interested in you," Julie said, rolling her eyes, "But you always go for the really pretty but unavailable type,"
"What?" Beau said, offended, "Name one time,"
"I just did," Julie smirked, meeting his eyes for a long moment, since they were at a stop light, until he looked away and sighed.
"I know you're trying, Julie. But I just want to go home right now," Beau said, and Julie nodded.
"That's fine," she said, "I'll call Harry to come pick me up,"
"I can drive you home," Beau said, and Julie shook her head.
"It's fine," Julie grinned, "I'll get started on our project and we'll work on it tomorrow, right?"
"I can start. I'll write for Ophelia and you write for Hamlet since it's reverse gendered," Beau stated, looking to Julie for agreement.
Julie nodded, not looking at him, and started digging through her backpack.
"Please don't be mad at me, Jules,", Beau said, as the silence stretched on.
"I'm not mad at you, Beau." She said, honestly.
Beau relaxed, but then Julie continued.
"I know moving here was tough and that you had a bad day, but I…I just want you to be happy. It's been three years since the last time you came to Forks. You've barely been here two days and already you're miserable," Her face fell and she turned away from him to look out the window.
Beau felt horrible, which he guessed was the opposite of what Julie wanted.
Julie was a naturally happy person. He had a hard time coming up with memories of her being unhappy. The only times he could remember were when her mom died...and the day before he had to go back to Phoenix.
Those moments never really lasted long and Beau usually said something nerdy to cheer her up or read to her while she laid her head on his shoulder. Julie would laugh and hug him afterward and things would go back to normal.
Beau ran a hand through his hair, to push it out of his face, before putting it back on the steering wheel and sighed.
"Ah Sunflower," Beau said, softly, catching Julie's attention, "weary of time, who countess steps of the sun: Seeking after that sweet golden clime, where the traveler's journey is done: where the Youth pined away with desire,"
Julie looked at him, a small smile starting to appear.
"And the pale virgin shrouded in snow," Beau continued, remembering reading it in one of his mother's poetry books, "Arise from their graves, and aspire, where my sunflower wishes to go,"
"That was pretty," Julie said, her eyes shining, "Who wrote that?"
"William Blake," Beau said, glad to see that she didn't look sad anymore.
"William Blake," Julie repeated, "What does it mean?"
Beau looked a little sheepish.
"I don't know," he admitted, "I just remembered it from one of my mother's books. I never actually looked up the meaning,"
"Oh," Julie said, tilting her head and studying him. "You know, you're really sexy when you recite poetry,"
"What?" Beau choked, and Julie grinned mischievously, turning on the radio, letting classical music float through the car.
"You really think I'm sexy?" Beau asked, and Julie grinned instead of answering.
She took his free hand in her own, stringing her fingers through his. He looked down at their intertwined hands, lips lifting, into the barest hint of a smile, before glancing back at her to say something.
But Julie had her eyes closed, tapping her fingers on her leg, and Beau turned back to the road, glad that they hadn't crashed into anything yet.
"What song is this?" Julie asked, without opening her eyes.
"Holberg Suite by Grieg. It was originally composed for piano but Grieg adapted it for string orchestra." Beau informed her.
"Interesting," Julie said, nodding her head absent-mindedly.
Beau knew that she wasn't going to remember the information. Classical music wasn't really Julie's thing, just like cars weren't his.
He wondered if Edith enjoyed classical music.
"You're thinking about her again," Julie said, under her breath and Beau rolled his eyes.
"How could you possibly know that?" Beau asked, and Julie smirked.
"Your eyes soften, you let out a longing sigh, and you get this dopey smile on your face. I'm going to call it your love-sick look," Julie shrugged, as Beau stopped at a red light.
"How could you possibly see that? You had your eyes closed," Beau questioned, and Julie opened one.
"I don't need to open my eyes to see you," Julie said, and Beau blew out a frustrated breath because that didn't make any sense.
"Seriously?" Beau asked, and Julie nodded, "Well, I…" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and tried to think of something to say in response.
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and tried to think of something to say in response.
"You have a crush," Julie finished, and Beau blushed.
"It's more than that, I think," he said, thinking about the moment he laid eyes on Edith. "Do you think I'm a loser?"
He regretted the question instantly because Julie slipped her hand out of his and just looked at him.
Beau sighed and braced himself; he'd walked right into it, but he'd really wanted to know.
Julie tilted her head to one side. "You really think that Edith ran away from you because she thinks you're a loser? You think she's that shallow?"
"No…Yes," Beau grumbled. "Forget it. I just…you know-"
"No, I don't think you're a loser," Julie said, firmly, "Your problem is your terrible taste in women,"
"I don't have terrible taste in women," Beau argued.
"Yes, you do!" Julie exclaimed, "I don't know how someone so smart can be so stupid!"
"I'm not stupid," Beau growled.
"No, you're not and you're not a loser either. So, cut it out!"
"Never mind," Beau rolled his eyes, "Can we just not talk about it anymore?"
Julie huffed, folding her arms and Beau tried to concentrate on the road, but he could feel Julie glaring at the side of his head.
They were going to fight. They'd never really fought before, arguing over superficial things aside, and the thought of fighting with Julie really made him sick.
"I'm not really in the mood to watch movies, right now," Beau admitted, then added, "How about we go back to your house, you work on the rabbit, while I sit I read for a bit,"
Julie beamed, anger fading instantly.
"We can do both, Beautiful," she said, happily, and turned the station to something she could sing to, "We can hang out in my garage until you're done brooding and then go in the house to watch movies!"
"Okay, Jules," Beau replied.
"Hey, turn left here," Julie said, "There's a burger shack up ahead,"
"Not hungry," Beau muttered, making the turn anyway, "What do you want?"
Julie leaned over him, to make the order herself.
"Hi! I'll take two cheeseburgers, deluxe, one with no onions, the other with extra ketchup and only three pickles." Julie chirped, "I'll also have two large orders of curly fries, a strawberry milkshake, and a vanilla milkshake,"
"I said I wasn't hungry," Beau said, and Julie rolled her eyes.
"I didn't say it was for you," Julie said as she paid for the food.
"You ordered my favorite food," Beau pointed out, "And you ordered two of everything,"
"Maybe I just want some variety," Julie joked, just as the guy at the window handed over their food, "Thanks,"
Julie put a straw in the vanilla shake, pausing for a moment before she sighed.
"Beau, hey," Julie mumbled, and Beau glanced over at her, "I'm sorry. I know you're having a bad day,"
"It's okay, I shouldn't have asked you something like that," Beau said, and Julie shook her head.
"No, you know you can talk to me about anything," Julie said, holding up the cup so he could take a sip, "And I'd rather you tell me when you have thoughts like that so that I can tell you what an idiot you're being,"
"I'm not an idiot," Beau stated, swallowing, and Julie pulled the cup away.
"You're not a loser either," Julie pointed out, "Look, how about tomorrow, before school, we work on a game plan for the next time you talk to Edith?"
Beau shook his head and Julie sat his shake in the cup holder, next to hers.
"It's hopeless. She already hates me," Beau shrugged, and Julie patted his stomach.
"No one could hate you forever," Julie claimed as she pulled a burger out of the to-go bag he brought along, "You're like, the easiest person to love, ever."
"Have you met me?" Beau question, his brows furrowing, "Almost everyone I've ever met hates me!"
"Oh, shut up," Julie rolling her eyes as she dug into her burger, "You know you're beautiful."
"Not a compliment," Beau muttered, fighting a smile, "Hand over the burger,"
"I thought you weren't hungry," Julie said, sarcastically, but still took the time to unwrap his burger for him, "Here you go,"
"Thanks," Beau said, taking a bite, "This is delicious!"
"I know," Julie grinned, putting her arm around Beau's shoulders, "I'd buy you a hundred burgers if it makes you happy,"
"I wouldn't be happy," Beau snorted, taking another bite of his burger, "I'd be dead…and probably fat,"
"More of you to love," Julie said, looking blissfully happy, her brown eyes twinkling, "And, you know, Edith likes fat guys,"
"Really?" Beau choked, and Julie laughed, slipping her arm from around him.
"I don't know," she shrugged, and Beau glared at her, "You really think you love her, huh?"
Beau nodded.
"I'm sure," Beau said, and Julie looked a little skeptical.
"Even though you just met her today and you've never even had a real conversation with her?" Julie questioned, reaching for her shake.
"Love doesn't need words; you know?" Beau said, and Julie smiled, softly.
"That I do, Beautiful." Julie winked, before sighing. "She's really pretty, isn't she?"
Beau thought of Edith.
She was perfect and it made his heart race just thinking about her. She had the perfect smile and even when she was glaring at him she was beautiful.
Flawless. Interesting. Unique
"Prettiest girl I've ever seen," Beau said, a goofy smile on his face.
Julie kinked an eyebrow and Beau hurried to defend himself.
"Present company excluded of course," Beau added, and Julie slapped his shoulder.
"Wow, you've got it bad," Julie sucked on her straw, swallowing, "I'll call Erica and see what she can tell me about her and then we can find out if you two have anything in common to talk about,"
"Isn't that cheating?" Beau asked, confused, "I mean, won't it be creepy if I know stuff about her before even talking to her,"
"Well, maybe a little," Julie conceded, "But you're working with a handicap. She's already decided to hate you without talking to you. You need something to even the field,"
Beau rolled his eyes.
"Okay, Sherlock," Beau said, carelessly. "It won't do any good anyway,"
"Stop being such a downer," she said, ruffling his hair, and Beau gave her an annoyed look.
"Really?" he said, dryly, and Julie smirked, before poking him hard in the side.
"I'm trying to make you feel better, Jerk?" Julie asked, crossing her arms, as they pulled into her driveway.
Beau chuckled, and Julie handed him his shake before they both got out of the truck. They headed into Julie's garage and Beau sat down on a crate, pulling 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck, from his bag.
"Always have a book on you, huh?" Julie said, getting her tool box, and Beau shrugged.
"I like to be prepared," he stated.
Beau read, while Julie worked, listening as she went on; talking animatedly about the rabbit, what she was doing, and what happened in school while he wasn't with her, pausing only to eat some of her fries and take sips of her shake. She didn't need any prompts from Beau. She would talk all day about cars alone if she could. Beau didn't mind. He was used to listening to Julie talk and it was interesting to watch someone be that expressive.
Beau knew he was kind of a closed off person, but Julie wore her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see. He watched the way her eyes lit up and her hands flapped around enthusiastically. Seeing her being so passionate made Beau feel a wave of affection.
She hadn't changed at all.
After a while, Julie got really into what she was doing, going quiet enough for him to read peacefully, humming songs while she worked.
"Are you ready to go inside yet?" Julie asked eventually, pulling him out of his book, and Beau frowned, glancing back down at his book.
He was still a little upset about what happened earlier, but he knew he couldn't stay mope forever.
"Yeah," Beau sighed, bookmarking his page, and putting it back in his bag, "What are you going to make me watch?"
"I'm not going to make you watch anything," Julie said, and Beau gave her look, "Let's go Disney style,"
Beau rolled his eyes.
"Seriously?" he asked, and Julie nodded.
"You can never go wrong with the classics," she stated, "But I also have a few movies with real people so it'll balance out,"
"We should work on our homework too," he suggested, putting his bag on his shoulder.
"I thought you didn't want to?" Julie questioned and Beau shrugged.
"I can't let my grades drop because of a little heartbreak," he stated, sardonically.
"That's the spirit!" Julie cheered, slapping his shoulder, "Just for that, I'll let you pick the next movie we watch,"
Once inside, Beau looked through her movies, frowning. She owned; Mean Girls, 13 Going on Thirty, A Cinderella Story, Little Mermaid, Lion King, Lion King 2, Snow White, Mulan, the first 3 Harry Potter movies, Beauty and the Beast, and Hunchback of Notre Dame.
"This is really all you have?" Beau questioned, and Julie shrugged, "Nothing else?"
Julie eventually gave in and handed over the rest of her movies for him to look through.
"It's Meatball Monday," Julie said, over her shoulder, as she headed for the kitchen to make popcorn, "So, we won't be able to watch all of them,"
Beau put the Hunchback in the DVD player, heading into the kitchen to get a soda. Julie sprinkled sugar into the bag of popcorn, before shaking it up, and pouring it in a large bowl.
"So, you still like sugar in your popcorn?" Beau asked, raising an eyebrow and Julie nodded, heartily.
"Are you kidding? Sugar and extra butter popcorn is the best," she said, grabbing a fistful of popcorn and popping it in her mouth. "All that's missing is some chocolate,"
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Beau remarked, before grabbing a handful of popcorn and shoving it in his mouth too.
Julie opened her mouth wide and chewed loudly, making Beau's face twist in disgust.
"Childish," he muttered, and Julie swallowed.
"Killjoy," she teased, grabbing some more and tossing it in the air to catch in her mouth, and Beau tilted his head to the side, "What? You're just jealous that you can't do it,"
"I could catch popcorn in my mouth if I wanted to," Beau grumbled, and Julie let out an amused snort.
"Sure, you could," Julie giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Didn't you just eat?" Beau pointed out, and Julie answered by shoving more popcorn into her mouth.
They watched the Hunchback, Julie curled into Beau's side, resting her head on Beau's shoulder, his arm around Julie's waist, they pressed together easily, taking up most of the couch. Just like when they were kids.
"You know, I'm surprised this movie isn't more popular," Julie said, as they watched Frollo sing his dark song about his lust for Esmeralda.
"It's probably for the best," Beau replied, "I don't think I could deal with kids singing 'Destroy Esmeralda and let her taste the fires of hell,"
Julie pictured it in her head, and laughed, her head thrown back.
"Yeah, that would be weird," she said, "So, do you feel better?"
"Yeah, this is nice," Beau said, "Besides, you were right, I have the rest of the semester to change her mind about me and I don't think Edith would be interested in a dumb dullard,"
"Good point," Julie said, her grin growing wider. "So, are you going to write her some poems and shove them into her locker?"
"Nope," Beau replied, throwing popcorn at her.
"Then what are you going to do?" Julie asked, and Beau shrugged.
"I'll think of something." He promised and Julie smirked.
"Of course, you will, Romeo," Julie said and wrapped her arm around him in a half hug, "Maybe you'll stand outside her balcony and read a sonnet,"
"Shut up," Beau shoved her away, playfully. "That's plan C,"
Julie laughed and reached for the movies on the table.
"Why are you stopping it?" Beau asked, and Julie pouted.
"I don't like the ending," she complained, "Quasimodo obviously deserved Esmeralda and that she ended up with that blonde guy really pisses me off,"
"Come on, Jules, Phoebus wasn't so bad," Beau said, and Julie's head snapped up, eyes blazing. "And they made up for it in the sequel,"
"Just because he got another girl in the next movie doesn't make it okay. He saved Esmeralda's life, more than once. But no, let's go for the pretty Blonde guy!" Julie growled.
"But Phoebus saved her life too, twice. And he wasn't a bad guy. He didn't burn up that family, did he?" Beau protested.
"So, because he didn't burn down a house he deserves to get the girl? Quasimodo didn't burn down any houses either, so by that right, he should have gotten the girl as well,"
"Esmeralda didn't see Quasimodo-like that, though. She treated him like a little brother. Besides, Esmeralda and Phoebus challenge each other and," Beau paused, realizing that he was arguing about a movie that he really didn't care that much about. "You know what? Never mind,"
But Julie wasn't ready to let it go.
"So, you were okay with Quasimodo ending up alone, after being forced to watch the first girl he ever had feelings for make out with a handsome blonde in his bed and making Quasi rip his heart in half?" she asked, looking at him like he told her that he kicked puppies for fun.
"Okay, Phoebus sucked," Beau conceded, holding his hands up in a defensive gesture when Julie glared at him.
"Thank you," Julie said, satisfied. "Maybe we should put on Lion king. It might inspire us,"
"I thought you said that I got to pick the next one?" Beau reminded her and Julie gestured at the table, towards the movies.
"Take your pick," she said, and Beau picked up the Princess Bride, "Really?"
"Shut up," Beau said, "It's a good movie,"
"Hmm," Julie smirked, and Beau met her gaze.
"Would you prefer to watch Harry Potter?" Beau suggested, and Julie squealed.
"I love those movies! Did you ever read the books I sent you?" Julie asked as Beau headed to the DVD player, the Princess Bride in his hand.
"Yep," Beau said, over his shoulder, as he put the movie in the DVD player, "They were okay,"
"They were magical!" Julie disagreed, then snickered, "Get it? Magical?"
"Child," Beau muttered, trying not to laugh. "We're watching the Princess Bride,"
"As you wish, Beaufort," Julie said, doing her best Westley impression, "Now, let's work on Hamlet and Ophelia or should I say Hamletta and Phil?"
"I think Hester and Othello would be better," Beau said, "And I really don't think that much of the story would change, even if Hamlet was a Woman and Ophelia was a man,"
"So, you still think that Othello would be the same as Ophelia?" Julie asked, raising an eyebrow. "In the 1600's? Part of the reason Ophelia was the way she was, is because she was a woman being forced to live under the conditions of a man's world. Now that she's a guy that means that the characters are mostly female this time. Won't that effect affect Hester too?"
"Good point," Beau accepted, "When did you get so smart?"
"I was always smart," Julie huffed, "You were just too dumb to see my brilliance,"
"I'm sure that's it," Beau rolled his eyes, smiling, "Let's get back to work,"
They worked, side by side, trying to keep the story basically the same, but trying to account for the year and how that would affect the way the characters behaved.
"I need a break," Beau muttered, as the movie was concluding.
Picking up the empty popcorn bowl, he headed to the kitchen to put it in the sink. He took the time to rinse the bowl, even finish up the rest of the dishes in the sink and put them back in the cabinet.
"Maybe we should have picked different partners. I'm having a hard time concentrating," Julie complained when he came back.
"You always have trouble concentrating," Beau pointed out, sitting down beside her, "Unless it has to do with cars,"
"True," Julie laughed, unpausing the movie.
They as much work as they could do before Julie decided that she couldn't stand another moment of working on Hamlet.
"We can do the rest tomorrow," she said, firmly, when Beau started to protest, "Besides, we need to head over to Sue's for dinner,"
Beau wasn't feeling up to being the center of attention today and Sue probably had something to say about the three years he didn't come to Forks.
"Um, I-" he started, and Julie sighed.
"You're not coming to dinner, are you?" Julie questioned, but it sounded more like a statement.
"I'll come to the next one," he promised and glanced around Julie's house. "Is your dad coming home?"
"Yeah, Dad's probably at Sue's already," Julie shrugged, "Pick me up for school tomorrow?"
"Sure," Beau replied, "I'll be out here by 7:30 so we can make it to school on time,"
"M'kay," Julie said, "We should go see a movie this weekend. Lemony Snicket's series of unfortunate events came out last month. We should go see that,"
"Maybe, I mean the books were alright, I guess," Beau said, trying to remember.
"Just alright? They were brilliant!" Julie disagreed.
"You like reading children's books but I'm the nerd," Beau muttered, his blue eyes lighting up.
"Like I said, we all have a little nerd in us," Julie said, with a wink, "Maybe Edith's a little a nerd too,"
"Not possible," Beau objected, quickly.
"Nothing's impossible, Beautiful," Julie said, in a quiet, affectionate way that made Beau feel warm inside.
"So, you really think I have a shot?" Beau asked,
"Sure, sure," Julie replied, waving a hand, "Only a fool wouldn't love you,"
Beau's heart throbbed, and he felt his face heat up before he quickly looked away.
That's who Julie was; someone who would fight pick a fight with four boys because they pushed you in the dirt. She was the kind of person that would answer the phone at whatever hour and listen to you complain about your eccentric mom or a test that you got an A- on when you deserved an A. She was a great person and an even better friend.
"Thank you, Jules," Beau said with a shy smile, "I'll be sure to invite you to the wedding…You can be my best man,"
"You don't believe in marriage," Julie reminded him, "Also, I'm already your best woman,"
Beau chuckled.
"Whatever, Jules," Beau said. "I'll see you tomorrow,"
"Sure thing, Beaufort," Julie said, closing the door behind him as he left.
Beau drove home, thinking about Edith and what he was going to say to her tomorrow. He hoped Julie came up with a good idea because you only get one love of your life.
He just hoped he hadn't ruined his chances with her.
June 25, 1996, Forks, Washington - Summer
Her Dad was taking everyone to the park. Julie couldn't wait to introduce Beaufort to her friends.
She saw Embry and Quil playing in the sandbox.
"Hey guys!" she called, and Beaufort squeezed her hand tightly, as the two boy's heads turned in their direction.
"Hi, Jules!" Quil shouted back, waving them over, "Who's your friend?"
"This is Beaufort," Jules said, smiling, "He's my best friend!"
Quil frowned.
"I thought I was your best friend!" he exclaimed, hurt.
Jules shook her head.
"You're my cousin," she corrected, and Quil pouted.
"Beau-fort? What kind of name is that?" Quil asked, venom in his voice, and Beaufort's face fell.
"It's his name," Julie snapped, defensively. "and I think it's cool,"
Quil took a step back, in the face of her anger.
"Okay. Whatever, I guess it's kind of cool." He said, with a shrug.
"Hi," Embry said, shyly. "I'm Embry,"
"Hi," Beaufort mumbled quietly, "I'm Beaufort,"
"I'm Quil," Quil said, bouncing back from his bad mood.
Jules sat down on the edge of the sandbox and Beaufort sat next to her, shivering slightly. He was always shivering, like he was cold, even when he was wearing a jacket. Jules wrapped her arm around his shoulders to keep him from getting cold.
Beaufort gave her a small smile, his pretty blue eyes shining, and Jules smiled brighter.
Quil showed off the Toy Story Band-Aid on his knee.
"Where did you get that?" Jules asked, jealous.
Quil smirked.
"My grandpa gave it to me after I fell out of the tree in my yard," he explained.
Beaufort looked at him puzzled.
"Why were you climbing a tree?" Beaufort asked.
"Because I wanted to see if I could touch the sky from the top," he said, with a shrug.
"Did you?" Julie asked voice drenched with excitement.
Quil shook his head.
"Not tall enough," he pouted, "So, next time, I'll have to climb an even taller tree!"
"I want to touch the sky!" Julie exclaimed, practically bouncing where she sat.
"You can't touch the sky by climbing a tree," Beaufort stated, and Julie glared at him.
"Are you telling your bestest friend that she can't do something?" she asked, and Beaufort frowned.
"You could get hurt." He mumbled, "What if you fall?"
Jules tilted her head to the side and thought about it.
"Then I could get one of those cool Toy Story Band-Aids!" she cheered, and Beaufort looked down at his feet nervously.
"That's not what I meant," he whispered, and Jules glanced at him.
"Okay," she said, laying her head on his shoulder, "I won't climb any trees,"
Beaufort let out a relieved sigh, laying his head on top of hers.
Quil and Embry watched them with wide eyes before looking at each other and shrugging.
"I won't climb any trees either," Quil said, laying his head on Embry's shoulder.
"Me either," Embry said, copying Beaufort, and laying his head on top of Quil's.
"Copycats," Julie giggled and stuck her tongue out at them.
"Okay, let's go play!" Quil yells, jumping away from Embry.
Quil runs for the slide, dragging Embry behind him and Julie runs too.
"Come on, Beau!" she exclaims, giving her friend a nickname without a second of thought, excited to show off how awesome her best friend is to everyone.
Beaufort tries to follow and trips over a forgotten toy. He falls into the dirt and Julie hurries over to his side.
"Are you ok?" Julie asks, and Beau lifts his head, dirt sticking to his nose.
"M' fine," he muttered, and Julie hears Quil's laughter from some paces behind her, and Beau's face goes red, in embarrassment.
He covered his face with his hands and laid back down on the ground. Julie turned to Quil and glared at him.
"Stop laughing!" she shouted, angrily, "Before I tell everyone about the time you wet yourself because you were scared of Goofy!"
Quil stopped laughing instantly.
Julie turns back to Beau and reaches out a hand and to pulls him up. He looks up at her with surprised blue eyes and Julie smiles.
"Thanks, Jules," he says, shyly, brushing the dirt off his shorts.
"No problem, Beautiful," Julie replied, before reaching out to wipe the dirt of his nose, then she pecks him on the tip of his nose and Beau's cheeks heat up again.
He smiles back, his blue eyes growing soft and Julie takes his hand in hers.
"Let's go swing instead," she suggests, and Beau nods.
"Okay,"
Julie leads him, hand in hand, grinning to herself, and he lets her go first, while he pushes.
Definitely a Prince in Disguise.