So the previous post which I will link here was another character profile for a potential spin off and now I have a preview chapter for it too!
Lucie doesn't know if she will be doing this for definite but this is a bit of a taster and if she does do it, it's likely it will be on wattpad and not here.
ENJOY!!
***
“When do you finish?” Juliet asked as Sophie rushed around
trying to find everything she needed for the day.
“Um… I’m in uni until one but then I have work until seven.”
Sophie responded while she was still distracted by her bag in front of her.
She was piling in all her books and folders while also
trying to squeeze her laptop in too, it was obvious it was a hopeless fit but
she was still persevering.
“And then are you coming straight home?”
There was no answer from Sophie while she still concentrated
on the task at hand however, Juliet was hovering by the door awaiting an
answer. She should have left for school ten minutes ago but until her sister
confirmed her plans, Juliet did not plan on leaving.
“Soph?”
“Yeah?” She turned around to look at her sister; finally
giving her the attention Juliet had been looking for.
“Are you coming straight home after that?”
Sophie had to think about it for a moment while she glimpsed
down at her phone screen, as though it was going to shout out her plans.
“Please say you are because I don’t want to be here alone.”
“I’m going to see Aaron after but I won’t be long, I
promise.”
“Soph… please.” Juliet’s face suddenly dropped as that sad
expression which got to Sophie every time appeared on her face.
“Can you not go to Bella’s just for a few hours? I’ll pick
you up on my way home.”
Juliet had been spending quite a lot of time at her friend
Bella’s house in the evening due to Sophie’s work or other commitments and she
wasn’t keen on doing it once again. She understood that her sister was busy and
her work schedule was what was keeping this roof over their head but she couldn’t
help but feel a little neglected.
“I’m always there Sophie! I may as well be homeless.”
Juliet regretted her words the moment she spoke them but it
was way too late to take them back. Sophie’s face suddenly changed from pure
empathy to frustration and this was turning out to be a bad start to their
Monday morning.
“If you want to blame anyone for how messed up everything
is, blame our shitty parents. They are the ones who need a lesson in how to
care for children; they are the ones who left. I’m doing the best I can.”
Sophie and Juliet’s parents had always been very career
focused and even though they would always try and conceal the truth, they
tended to favour their work over their children. That was made even more obvious
when big opportunities caused them to travel back and forth to New York,
leaving both girls to look after themselves. This obviously caused huge
arguments but it didn’t stop there. It was made even worse when the couple
decided they wanted to remain in New York permanently and when the girls refused
to get up and move so suddenly, they were basically disowned.
Sophie had been left to juggle University alongside working
a part time job to pay for rent and food while Juliet was left to experience
her teenage years with no parental guidance. It was hard work and although both
girls tried their hardest, it was never plain sailing.
“I’m sorry… I know you are.” Juliet apologised as the guilt
filled her. “It’s just you haven’t been here for a few nights now.”
Pulling her keys from her bag, Sophie then looked over to
Juliet before nodding her head.
“Yeah, you’re right, I’m sorry. I’ll come straight home
after work.”
*
“Is she coming tonight?” Aaron asked as he threw a ball back
and forth against the wall.
He was waiting for his best friend to get ready for their
long day at uni and in true style; he already knew that they were going to be
late.
There were always perks of living with your best friends
while studying but there were downsides too and this was one of them. The endless
parties that seemed to be thrown at their place meant there was no excuse not
to join in. In turn, that would lead to early mornings being impossible and
getting ready for uni, a much longer process.
“Who, Jess?” Jack shouted from the kitchen where he was
trying to pull together a breakfast with whatever was left in date.
“Yeah.”
“I think so, she hasn’t said she isn’t.”
As Jack walked back into the living room, Aaron stopped his one-man
game and looked at him with an expression his friend could easily read.
“You like her.” Aaron smirked as he aimed the ball at Jack, which
was quickly avoided.
“As much as I’ve liked every other girl I’ve been with,
yeah.” Jack causally nodded as he sat down on their sofa, which was covered in
so much junk that it was pretty much impossible to get comfortable.
“So is it official?”
There was silence while Jack chewed on the cereals he had
just put into his mouth, before he looked to his best friend with a frowning
expression.
“What is with all the questions Harris?”
“I’m just curious.” Aaron laughed. “It’s not like you can fuck
her over so easily, she’s friends with Soph.”
“Why does that mean anything?”
Aaron was clearly not expecting that answer from Jack, as he
was cut short and unsure of what to say. Jack had a bad reputation of messing
with girls and then throwing them to the side when he got bored however, due to
the fact that Jess was basically classed as a friend of theirs, Aaron expected
it would be different this time.
However, now he couldn’t work out if Jack still truly didn’t
care or if he was just putting on an act as his ego was too precious to ruin.
“I’m sure Sophie would kill you.”
“We’ve only been seeing each other for a few weeks, man. I’m
not committing to anything yet.”
*
“Jess!” Sophie called out as she caught sight of her rushing
past in the hallway.
Sophie was already pushing for time to get to her first
lecture on time and it seemed like Jess was also in a rush for a 9am Monday
morning. However, this did not stop the pair stopping to quickly talk.
“I didn’t know you were in today.”
Standing off to the side so they didn’t cause disruption for
everyone passing by, Jess laughed.
“No, I’m not supposed to be but I signed up for some volunteering
event which I completely forgot about until ten minutes before I had to leave.”
This was typical Jess; always signing herself up for a huge
amount of things which she ended up not being able to keep on top of.
“You willingly signed up for something that starts at 9am?
Are you crazy?” Sophie teased as Jess grinned in response.
“At the time it seemed like a good idea. Do you have a
lecture?”
Nodding, Sophie readjusted the bag on her shoulder that was
causing her body to fall lopsided. This was one of the disadvantages of doing a
fashion course as she always found herself carrying 101 things to classes.
“I’m already late so I should go but are you going to Jack
and Aaron’s tonight?”
“Yeah, I think so! Jack told me about it but hasn’t really
said much else since…” Jess began before she caught sight of that recognisable
figure entering the building.
It was difficult not to notice him as he managed to cause a
scene wherever he went. It was either due to the many faces turning to admire him as he walked by or those looking in pure disgust if they had been
one of the many females he had screwed over in the past.
“Ay fancy seeing you two here!” Jack made himself present
between both Sophie and Jess, as his arm fell over Jess’ shoulder. “Shouldn’t
you be in class or am I actually early for once?”
“You’re never going to be early, Jack Lawrence. Did you
really have to ask?” Jess looked at him with raised eyebrows as he began
chuckling.
“Touché babe. I should go then but I’ll see you both
tonight.” Jack looked between them before pressing his lips to Jess’.
She didn’t even get much time to react as within seconds he
turned around and began heading down the hall to wherever he needed to be.
Jack Lawrence was a character that Jess would never fully
understand nor would she understand why she was spending her time with him. On
the outside he was everything she would usually avoid and all the stories she
had previously heard made it near impossible to trust him. However, once you
got to know him that little bit better a slightly different side to him seemed
to appear. He still acted like a complete and utter idiot sometimes but with a
small amount of softness occasionally shining through.
Jess didn’t know how long it would last or which side of
Jack was the true side but she wasn’t going to step away too easily just yet. Instead,
she was going to try and hold the upper hand for as long as possible and not
give in to his desires as immediately as every other girl seemed to.
***
