When Bryce found her, Julie was looking a little flustered, mostly due to the fact that she'd had to crawl all the way to the lower back of the hallway closet to find one of the few vases that hid inside the apartment. She'd encountered a horrid brown spider during her efforts and whilst normally, she'd gladly shriek and demand that either Mark or Bryce – in spider related emergencies she wasn't picky – remove the creature before she'd even set foot anywhere near the cupboard, right now she rather face the arachnid than head back into the living room where the atmosphere would be an almost familiar sort of tense. The poor thing had been more afraid of her than she was of it (which was impressive, really) but had in its panic decided that the best course of action was to rush right toward the girl. So now Julie had a sore spot on the back of her head from bumping it against the lower shelf and a dusty vase clutched in her right arm and was silently vowing never to go back in there again no matter how direly she would need the vacuum cleaner or Christmas decorations. The moment she realized Bryce was behind her, Julie began to struggle back up again. In turn, he immediately leaned over, extending a hand in offer of support. She gladly accepted it and allowed Bryce to pull her to her feet. “Thanks,” she said bashfully, and Julie tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. It was a gesture that betrayed when she was nervous, something she'd been doing since she was little and that Mark would without fail pick up on. Bryce looked her over, gesturing briefly at her shoulder. “Your shirt has dust all over it,” he pointed out, and the girl blushed. “I'll change,” she replied, which would be the third time that day. “Just let me take care of these flowers first.” They had been lying rather carelessly on the carpet and Julie hurried to pick them up, draping them over her lower arm with an apologetic smile. “I'll uh---” She looked towards the living room door, but heading into the kitchen seemed like an unwise decision and so she ended up heading towards the restroom to fill the slender glass canister under the tiny tap. She could just about feel Bryce's eyes bore into her, but Julie bravely ignored it and soon turned around, placing the vase on the shelf under the mirror that filled half the length of the corridor's right wall. As she began tucking the long-stemmed roses inside, one by one, her gaze seemed to wander. Inadvertently she caught sight of her own reflection; the smudge on her sleeve was barely the size of a marble and had Bryce not pointed it out, than she likely would have not even bothered to clean it at all. The urge to take her top off, throw on an old sweatshirt on instead and pig out on the couch for the rest of the day was creeping up on her and Julie had to shrug off the thought; one glance at Bryce made it blatantly clear that what he had in mind demanded Abercrombie dresses and high heel sandals, not faded hoodies and sweatpants. “So where are we going?” she chimed, her voice light in an effort to raise her spirits. Julie's gaze wouldn't quite focus and she cast down her gaze, lost in thought as she took in the blurred contours of the pale flowers. When Bryce wrapped his arms around her from behind she froze, but not a moment later leaned into him instead, a soft smile appearing on her lips. “I was planning to take you to the harbour,” he confided, and Julie giggled as he dipped his head and pressed a trail of playful kisses down the side of her neck. “Take you to that quaint little French place for lunch, walk the pier, maybe head back here afterwards...” Bryce ran his fingers through her long hair, leaving little to wonder as to what that would entail. “I'd like that,” Julie replied, absently plucking at the petals to the point where she was tearing the frail leaves off altogether. “Although... I'd like to be able to meet Mark for dinner.” That comment took more courage than she thought it would, and Julie found herself holding her breath. Bryce froze in his movements, and as he withdrew she was already thinking up apologies in her head to defend herself. As it turned out though, they were redundant. “All right,” he nodded pensively, and Julie finally looked up to make eye contact with him via the mirror, surprise evident in her facial expression. “I guess this meeting of him and his band is a pretty big deal and you'll want to be there for him if it doesn't turn out the way he hoped.” “Or celebrate when it [i]does[/i],” Julie protested. “Or that.” Bryce tightened his embrace on her, leaning his chin lightly on her shoulder as he continued to gaze at her reflection. “You know I just want you to be happy,” he told her. “If you want to celebrate with your friend then I'm fine with that. If you want, I can tag along too, so you don't feel like a third wheel.” “Third wheel?” The comment incited a feeling of suspicion within the girl. “The guys in the band never let me feel left out.” “I know, I know,” he rushed to soothe her, “But things aren't exactly the same now, are they? If he's bringing that girl he's seeing, you gotta admit, you'll be the odd one out.” The look on Julie's face soured immediately. She'd never been one to conceal her emotions very well and it was all too clear that she didn't like what Bryce was insinuating. “He's not – they're not a thing, she's just a girl he brought home after a drunk night out. It's nothing.” The words were far too defensive and they both knew it, but where Julie was already bracing herself for an outburst from her significant other, Bryce looked nothing if not supportive. “You know him better than I do,” he replied simply, then planted a kiss on her cheek, never quite breaking eye contact. “Now if you'll just throw on something nice for me, we'll be at the [i]Beaujolais[/i] an hour from now.” ---- When Julie returned from yet another trip to her bedroom not five minutes later, she ventured purposely into the living room first to say goodbye to her friends. Rebecca was on the couch still, although she seemed to have found her coat in Julie's absence. “Don't much feel like hanging out here on my own,” she remarked, which was a thinly veiled accusation, albeit without the underlying negativity Julie was rather accustomed to. Still, it elicited a look of apology from the girl, and as Becky got up from her seat she was quick to give her a hug. “Thank you so much being there for me,” Julie whispered, still annoyingly aware of Maria's presence in the apartment. She was doing her best to ignore the girl altogether, and in both their best interests; she wasn't capable of feigning friendliness right now, no matter [i]how[/i] much she trusted Mark's judgement. “Don't sweat it kiddo,” grimaced Rebecca. “I'll walk down with you and Frat Boy in a sec, just lemme grab my bag from your room.” The nickname made Bryce sound like a dubious sort of superhero sidekick, but Julie gladly let it slide; she owed her friend – big time. But after Rebecca had exited the room it was significantly more difficult to ignore Maria, and reluctantly Julie acknowledged the girl with a poorly feigned smile. “Maybe I'll see you around again,” she said with strained politeness, not really giving the girl the opportunity to reply. Instead, she turned to Mark, but where it had always been such a natural thing for her to give him a hug or burst into unbridled excitement like she was prone to, the presence of both Maria and Bryce – even if he was still lingering in the hallway – was putting a damper on her spontaneity, keeping her from acting in her usual bubbly way. She still put a hand on his arm though, the minimal physical contact enough to at least somewhat convey her support. “I [i]know[/i] it's gonna be good news,” she told him sincerely. “Just please call me when you know more, okay? Promise? [i]Promise.[/i]” Julie squeezed his arm urgently, her nails digging slightly into his skin. “I'll be free all evening if, you know, you want to go eat somewhere or hang out...or....” She wasn't really sure where she was going with it; Julie wasn't the type of person to force her presence on other people. But this was something Mark had been working so hard to achieve and she really, [i]really[/i] wanted to be a part of it, because if it meant so much to him, it meant the world to her as well.