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message 51:
by
Tia
(new)
Feb 14, 2014 05:59PM
Travis clenched his hands onto fists. "One of what guys?" He asked although he thought he already knew. He hated that everyone always assumed things about him. It made it harder to push at the boundries of all of the expectations. He glared down at her waiting for her answer. He felt the stares of the other people in the quad but ignored them not wanting them to see it was him being laughed at by someone who was supposed to be lower than him.
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She shrugged her shoulders, a small smile present on her lips. It was obvious that she was getting on his nerves and she found herself enjoying his raised temper. Leave it to the pariah to unnerve the "most popular" guy at school. She took a teasing sip from her drink, pretending to ignore him momentarily as she placed her closed bottle next to her plate. "Those rich, spoilt, bratty kids that are oh so popular wasting away old Daddy's money who think they have the right to put down someone like me just because I'm not popular." She explained, pouting her lip in fake sympathy.
"You know nothing about me." He said, anger radiating throughout his every word. "No one here know's anything." Yeah he spent his father's money but that was only to take as much away from him while he still could. His sister did the same thing. He couldn't say the same thing for any of his teammates but he didn't like the fact that it was his money that everyone liked and not really him.
She squinted her eyes as if she was truly looking at him for the first time. "Maybe, you should stop acting like that then." Her smile seemed more force, an annoyed glint in her eye. Of course he was just like she had expected. Disappointment struck her though, and she was put off by why she thought anything different would happen. There was truly no hope for their generation. "And then I wouldn't assume these things." She arched her eyebrows mockingly.
"You make it sound so easy." He said snidely. If only she knew. "You shouldn't assume things to being with." He said looking away. "That's why everything is the way it is. Everyone assumes." He mused mostly to himself. If only people truly knew the lives of the popular or even the non popular they wouldn't have the problems in high school that they did.
"So I'm at fault here?" She sent him an accusatory glance. His words were true in a sense though, she had to admit. Highschool would truly be different if people didn't assume things about each others. "I'm sorry for assuming what was true." She tilted her head with raised eyebrows, challenging him. "Things would change if popular people weren't so damn rude to unpopular people."
Things would change if there were no populars and unpopulars, he thought. He didn't say that though. That would be like social suicide. "I never said you were at fault." His eyes narrowed at her next words. "Assuming what's true? How do you know that it's true?" He asked. Only some of the things she had said were true but not the reasons for doing them. "We aren't rude on purpose. Maybe unpopular people take things to heart too much."
She released a groan, rolling her eyes. Were popular people unable to think too? "I guess it just comes natural to you jocks and dumb cheerleaders that it's okay to put down those who are inferior to your high, royal asses." Juliet retorted. She wasn't joking around anymore. Just because her parents had been overprotective, she hadn't been able to make many friends back home. Now, she was in a new city and still she was the social outcast in school.
"Comes natural? No. But it may be genetic." He said thinking of how his father expected their family to act. Him and his sister tried to fight it but sometimes it showed through in the things that they did. "I don't expect you to understand though. No one expects you to act a certain way so you have no obligations to people." He said offhandedly. He didn't care if unpopular people said they had to deal with the same thing. They truly didn't.
"That may be true. But you still have no excuse to act like a jerk to others who are beneath you." She shrugged her shoulders carelessly. Leaning back against the grass and closing her eyes, she tapped her fingers subconsciously on her stomach. "I'm Juliet, by the way." She introduced herself. Why not though? It was fun to argue back and forth with him, but what insults could they trade if they didn't know the others name?
Believe me I know he wanted to say. But again he couldn't. He looked behind him and saw that no one was looking at them anymore. He breathed a sigh of relief. He hated when people did that. Act like his every move was perfection and worth watching. "Travis." He said with a raised eyebrow. Why was she telling him her name? It was't like they would ever be friends. Not with the way she thought of him.
She opened her eyes a minute earlier to catch him glancing around. She shook her head with a roll of her eyes. Good to know that he was embarrassed to be seen with her. "Matches you." Juliet nodded her head in approval. She didn't know why she was complimenting him after throwing a whirlwind of insults at him. She inwardly laughed at herself for changing her mind so quickly about him.
"How?" He didn't like his name. Most people associated his name with the kinds of people that were always a jackass. He didn't want to be that guy. "Juliet makes you sound like you're from a Shakespearean time period." He said stuffing his hands in his pockets. He didn't mean it in a bad way. Most people from that time period were a lot nicer than the people from this era.
"Did you know Travis means crossing or crossroads? That can have several symbolic meanings." She turned over on her stomach and raised her eyebrows at him. He was still standing in front of her while she lay sprawled on the ground before him. She didn't expect him to sit down next to her of course. "While as my name, Juliet, comes from a famous Shakespearean play where the heroine and hero both die." She chuckled with a shake of her head.
Trav raised his eyebrows in surprise. "And how did you know that?" He asked. He hadn't even know what his name meant. Why would someone who didn't know him at all know that. "But they did have an epic love story." He countered. Romeo and Juliet had a tragic ending but they had such an epic romance that most people focused on that aspect of the play.
"Well my parents name me after a Shakespearean play. They both come from families full of English professors." She started with a sheepish smile. "My uncle's name is Travis and he's big on all that symbolic meaning crap since he is an English professor..." She knew it was incredibly disturbing to spout nonsense to a complete stranger whom she had spouted insults at first. "My name means young..."
Travis nodded his head in understanding. His father was a major business man and he expected one of his sons, preferably Travis, to follow in his footsteps. He was getting tired of looking down at her so he removed his hands from his pockets and sat down next to her. "Young? I never knew that." He said. He thought it would be cool to learn things like that without having to search for them.
She rolled over as he seated himself next to her in a more appropriate position. Folding her hands in her lap, she craned her neck to meet his eyes. "Yeah, it's not..." She shrugged her shoulders, leaning her chin on her knees. It didn't seem fair to her that she was given such a name titled to a young, beautiful woman in a play and that she was nothing compared to the fair maiden. They both seemed to forget how they had encountered each other, and she was satisfied that it was behind them.
Travis rested his forearms on his knees. "It's not what?" He thought that the name suited her now that she had shared it's meaning. He didn't agree with her assessment of his own name. How could he represent crossroads? There was no way. The quad was starting to empty and he realized that lunch was almost over. He didn't want to go to class. He wanted to learn more.
She ran a hand through her hair, releasing a sigh. He seemed interested now in what she had to say. Feeling no longer inferior to him, she relaxed next to him and tore of bits of her unfinished meal. "It doesn't work. How does Juliet match with me?" She questioned, cupping her chin in the palm of her hand. "You could be at crossroads. Difficult decisions in your life. Or in the future perhaps you could make a choice that your social group doesn't approve of."
Travis was surprised that she thought her name didn't fit her. "You think my name, which means crossroads, fits me but you can't see how your name fits you? I find that hard to believe." He said. It was weird. Once they got past the rudeness of their conversation it seemed easier. Maybe that's how it would always be with different social classes. "That's true but that doesn't symbolize me. Anyone could have that decision."
She sent him a strange look, her lips pursed in thought. "Young...does that make me innocent or something? Because I'm not innocent." She shook her head in denial. To some it was a compliment to be called innocent but to her, not. "But you're right. Anyone can have a major decision they have to make. I don't know, you just look like a Travis." Juliet smiled, her features softening as she joked around with him. She found him much more likable now that they had put their social classes behind them.
Travis shook his head. "No one is innocent. And young doesn't always have to mean innocent or pure I guess it could just mean..." He grasped for words. "Beautiful? Kind? There's many interpretations of a word and you just have to choose the one that you think best fits you." He said shrugging. He gave her and easy smile. "I just look like a Travis?" He shook his head a laugh escaping him. "I'm sure many people will agree with that statement but not in the way you're meaning." He said
She tilted her head slightly as she examined his face. He seemed genuine enough but she didn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. "Well, I'm not kind. Not beautiful. Not innocent. So you see, it doesn't fit." She twisted away from him, glancing around at the near vacant quad. Classes were going to resume soon but she found herself stuck to the grass, not wanting to attend. It wouldn't be the first time though. "And what is my meaning?" She arched an eyebrow curiously, wondering what his perspective of her words were.
Travis turned and looked at her in surprise. Was she serious? He took in her medium length brown wavy hair and dark piercing eyes. If she didn't look so intimidating all the time he knew that all of the guys would notice her more. Even him. He shook his head and decided not to say anything about her comment. Travis shrugged. "Well you did tell me the meaning of my name. Isn't that what you were talking about?"
"I want to know what you think of it." She retorted plainly with a shrug of her shoulders. She found herself enjoying his company but knew it wouldn't last. The whole reason they met was because she was mocking his social class. He would probably crawl back to those "above" her and forget about the weird girl who knew what his name meant. "Are you making some difficult decision?" Juliet inquired. With his place in the social ladder, what could he possibly be having difficulty with?
Travis thought about his encounter with Bridget at the library and his conversation with Jen and now with Juliet. None of them were apart of his "social class" and would never be accepted by his friends. So why was he even bothering. For awhile now he had felt unsettled by his behavior and couldn't help but feel that he was turning into his father more and more with each passing day. He turned and looked down at Juliet, his face carefully blank. "Yeah I think I am facing a decision."
She nodded her head, staring at his face for any signs she could recognize. Alas, she could not read his emotions. He probably wouldn't tell her his issues anyway and what did she expect coming from it? If he told her what he was facing, would he suddenly drop his hold with his friends to be friends with her? It was an idea she might have fancied in the future, but it was incredulous to even think about it. "So, there you go." Juliet released a soft sigh.
"I just...don't know how to make it. How would I make a decision that could change everything?" He asked looking away from her. His decision would either change everyone's views on the social classes or make him a social outcast. How could he live with being a social outcast when he was the teams best quarterback? "How do you do it?" He asked. "How do you live with the solitude?"
He seemed really worried about this decision, which concerned her. He was one of the top, most popular guy at school. If this decision worried him, it was definitely affect her later in the future. "I was raised that way. My parents were overprotective." She shrugged her shoulders. Overprotective was one word for it. She didn't have any friends at school at her old town because her parents never let her out of the house. "You get used to having no friends." It was blunt and bitter but the truth.
"How can you get used to it? I would go crazy." Travis said jumping when the warning bell rang. He had been so focused on their conversation that he hasn't realized that the lunch hour was over. He didn't move though. If she wanted to leave and go to class that was fine but he needed time to think. Time that he had been searching for for awhile now.
She blinked, contemplating over his words. Why hadn't she gone crazy over having no friends? It was more of an accepted rule that she had to follow in her house, because of some crazy incident when she was twelve. She couldn't remember what had happened but ever since then, she hadn't cared about what others thought of her or who she was friends with. "I guess, I just...didn't have friends in the first place." As she thought about it, she found that she couldn't remember any of her friends from seventh grade and lower.
Travis furrowed his brow. How could no one have friends ever? "Didn't you ever play those games in kindergarten or even in new classes where you have to talk to people and get to know them?" He asked. That's how he had met most of his friends. That and football. He refused to think that any of the guys were friends with him because of the amount of money he had. Most of them had money too but he didn't want to think that that was the only thing that kept them together:
"Those stupid get-to-know-you games?" She raised her eyebrows skeptically. She always hated introducing herself in games like those. What's your name? Where are you from? She didn't give a damn of where her classmates came from. "Worst part of school. The first day. My first day here wasn't any different then kindergarten." Juliet shook her head with a sour expression. She had made "friends" but she'd like to speak of them as more as acquaintances instead.
Travis chuckled. "I think we've found something in common." He said. "I hate those games too." He may have met some of his best friends doing those games but he didn't get the point of doing them over and over again when most everyone knew everyone already. It was just a stupid way to waste time on the first day of every new school year. "You said you moved here. Where are you originally from?" He asked.
She chuckled in agreement, relaxing in the grass. It seemed like he was going to skip classes with her then. She didn't know how it happened, but he seemed to enjoy conversing with her. What was she to chase him away for speaking to her? "So are we playing the game then?" A teasing laugh escaped her lips as she returned her attention to him. "I from New Orleans. Down in Louisiana." Her hometown was nothing compared to LA and she found herself liking her new home.
Travis laughed. "I guess we are." He smiled slightly and pulled up a handful of grass. "New Orleans? Damn that's a huge jump." He said looking over at her surprised. "Where do you like it more? Here or there?" He asked. It was strange going from bickering to actually having a conversation but he found that he enjoyed it. Maybe this was what he was lacking with his regular friends. New things to talk about.
She leaned on her elbows, glancing around the perimeter of the quad. There wasn't anything special back home except for the fact that she was born and raised there. But here, perhaps she could make a different life from her middle school years. "This place is definitely interesting. I haven't run into any celebrities, so I can't promise anything yet." Juliet laughed. She wasn't really interesting in all the fame that grew up in the city but it would be cool to see a famous person around the city.
Travis shrugged. Him living here his whole life it had never had that appeal that seemed to bring everyone here. "Celebrities are just people like us." He said. His father conversed with so many famous people and their agents that it was normal for Travis. But he guessed that if he had never met one he would be a little starstruck himself. "LA is a little overreacted in my opinion. We're all the same as people in other states."
She raised her eyebrows at his opinion but did not question it. "So, if I ran into...Justin Bieber randomly on the streets, it would be completely normal for me to throw a drink and a plate of nachos at him?" She asked, her eyes squinting as she imagined it. "Not that I would be so rude to an immigrant." She nearly sneered as she mentioned it. It was girls who liked people like him that got on her nerves.
Travis chuckled. "No it wouldn't be normal but it's just because they get publicity tht people hold them on a pedestal." He said worrying a piece of grass between his fingers. People treated his father the same way just because he was a wealthy business man. They all saw him as infallible but in reality he was a grade a jackass. "You just have to look past the surface." He said quietly.
"Hmmm...wise words." She sent him a strange look, scanning him with a different perspective. She could see why girls might be attracted to him with his perfect hair and bright pools of blue. She herself had to admit that she might have been with the group of girls fawning over him if it wasn't for her stubborn personality. "Think you can live up to them?" Juliet challenged with a wide smirk.
Travis ran a hand through his hair. Could he live up to their views? He didn't think so. He was already breaking under the pressure even though no one could tell. "I can only try." Is what he said. He was bending over backwards for everyone so no one would realize he was different. It was getting harder and harder to pretend that he was the same old Travis. He had come so close to telling Crew and Kegan his thoughts before he would stop and scold himself.
"Well, I think you're doing an okay job so far." She smiled softly, looking down at the grass. Her hands slipped out of her lap and tumbled to the ground, stroking the blades in between her grass. It felt new and natural, giving a soft touch. "I mean you're looking past the surface with me. I'm below you, remember?" Her hands moved, quoting the word. She could assume what his difficult decision was, but it wasn't her place to ask the stranger what it might be.
Travis snorted. "Oh yeah I'm doing wonderful." He said srcastically. If he was handling everything as well as she said he would have already manned up and told his friends everything. They didn't know about any of his encounters with the girls. Kegan was too busy with his Lily drama and Crew was out with his sister all the time. That still had his blood boiling but he knew he really had no say in their relationship. He rolled his eyes. "I thought we were past that."
She stifled a laugh as she leaned back against the grass. "I like to hold grudges." She joked, her eyes dancing playfully across his face. She rolled her shoulder as she grew comfortable in her position with the blades of grass sticking to her shirt as she relaxed. "Besides, it's not like we're friends, right?" Her teasing tone didn't stop as they continued speaking. She was amused by their conversation and hoped it would continue despite their differences.
Travis rolled his eyes. "Then you will get no where in life." He told her in mock seriousness. He though about her comment and couldn't help but hate his social standing even more. "What if I said I wanted to be?" He asked casually, like it wasn't a major don't at their high school. He was already semi friends with Bridget so why not Juliet too? It would be a step in the direction that he wanted to take.
She raised her eyebrows, shaking her head in laughter. He was quite amusing for the type of people she had previously pegged him as. "Hmm...I'm not sure that would sit rather well with your friends." Juliet smirked, wondering where he was going with it. She wasn't sure if he was actually serious or just joking for the benefit of conversation.
Travis shrugged. "And if I said I didn't care?" He wasn't sure that was true but if he was going to make the decision he had been contemplating for the past couple weeks he might as well start here. "You said my name means crossroads right? Well maybe this is a decision I need to choose between." He said staring at his hands. He ran them over the soft blades of grass before finally looked at her again.
She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what was sincere and what wasn't. Was he actually trying to be her friend or what is just some big joke. "Me in general or my kind? Do you want to be friends with me, or all the nerdy anti-social children at this school?" Juliet raised her eyebrows in challenge. It wasn't a very difficult question as she knew she would rather only have one weird kid as her friend instead of being friends with a bunch of freaks.
