The way Mark countered her snide remark only served to increase the glum mood Julie was in and she wrinkled her nose in dismay, sinking further into the couch. The sky offered little distraction by now, and insecurely her gaze darted to her friend and back several times over before finally settling on the subject of her grievances. Well, one of them, anyway. “Fine,” she said moodily. “[i]Fine[/i]. I guess I can't argue with that.” But despite how unhappy she was, with him, with Maria, even moreso with Bryce, there was one thing she was incapable of and that was to get proper angry with Mark. And fair is fair: he had never really given her reason to, either. “But if this is you trying to get back at me for having a boyfriend you don't get along with, then that's just really, really immature and I don't like it.” 

She pulled her legs up on the couch at that and wrapped her arms tightly about her knees, and so failed to avoid the jab between the ribs from Rebecca's elbow. “Stop being a diva” the girl told her patronizingly. “[i]You[/i] don't have to be happy about it, as long as [i]he[/i] is.”

“...I know.” Julie pressed her lips into an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry, you're absolutely right. It's just... No, you're right. Never mind, I'm not going to ruin a perfectly good morning by-”

She didn't really finish her sentence, as she caught sight of the sudden change of expression on Mark's face as he peered down at his phone. Julie wasn't sure what to make of it at first but what a poor friend she would be if she couldn't tell a look of sheer astonishment when she saw one. There was a spark of happiness there too, though, even if it went concealed under a layer of absolute shock and the hungover girl elbowed her way off the couch and was up in a second, darting over to Mark and glancing first over at him, then, perhaps not entirely respectful towards his privacy, looked at the text message displayed on his phone. “Oh,” she uttered uselessly, eliciting a look of surprise from Rebecca. “Oh! That's awesome news!” Julie easily made up for his lack of immediate excitement by wrapping her arms about him, evil high school girls temporarily forgotten, and hugged him tightly. “I [i]told[/i] you you'd get famous now!” she exclaimed perhaps a little too shrill and too close to his ear. “Let me get some drinks – no, coffee,” she insisted and went off towards the kitchen, leaving Mark in the company of Rebecca, who nodded at him with a half-smile. 

“Congrats,” she said airily. “Things might be looking up for you, eh.” 

She paused when from the kitchen she could hear the jingle of Julie's phone; though suppressed by the two-way door that separated this room from the other, there was no wondering who she talking to. Her voice sounded reserved at first and Rebecca silently rooted for the girl, but it was only moments before that usual sweet pitch returned and when she heard the girl chuckle and assure him that 'Yeah, she could go out today', it was all Rebecca could do to roll her eyes and sink back into the couch. 

“That girl's thick as a brick,” she muttered, shaking her head. Sure enough, it was only a moment later that Julie returned, phone still in hand, announcing that she was going for a shower and that they should order take-out tonight to celebrate, before disappearing into the bigger bathroom. She didn't actually say that Bryce would be coming to pick her up, but it was definitely implied. 

“Hand me a Sharpie,” Rebecca demanded. “If she's gonna be a doormat, I should write 'Welcome' on her forehead.” She pretended to get up from her seat before leaning over, elbows leaning lazily on her knees. “That guy walks all over her.” The brunette looked to Mark then, trying to estimate his feelings about the whole ordeal. She wasn't entirely clueless on the negative atmosphere in the apartment, of course, but the extent of the hostility Mark felt towards Bryce was a bit of a grey area to her still. 

“Doesn't that bother you at all? Like, aren't you her best friend? Sometimes I just want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her and...” Rebecca was abruptly cut off by the buzzer, announcing someone was waiting at the entrance downstairs. “Oh Jesus, did he park his car around the corner when he called?” she mumbled irritably. “Doesn't he have a key nowadays anyway?” 

With a look that spoke volumes, Rebecca pushed herself off the couch and in a way suggesting she really rather not wandered over to the intercom, pressing the button while scowling at the thing. “Good thing it doesn't come with a camera, right?” she said airily, then studied it again. “...It doesn't, right?” 

-----

Meanwhile, Julie was rushing to get herself prepared to head out. She was in and out of the shower in a matter of minutes and out her bedroom door whilst still buttoning up her vest. She didn't even realize Maria was just leaving the opposite room at the same time and bumped into the girl unceremoniously, causing them both to yelp before ending up staring each other down in the narrow corridor. 

“Hey,” the dark-haired girl said, making a conscious attempt to break the ensuing -and very awkward – silence.

“....Hey.” 

“So, what are the odds I'd run into you and Mark, huh.” Maria looked every bit as unhappy to be there as Julie, but she was making an effort at least. That wasn't what Julie wanted to hear in the slightest though, and with a subtle unimpressed look Jules leaned against the closed door. 

“Yeah, what [i]are[/i] the odds you'd go after the one person you didn't try to turn against me back in high school.” A grim look darkened her face. “Didn't you do enough?” 

Maria looked sincerely apologetic at that. “It's not like that, Mark and I just happened to run into one another after his gig. We hit it off and one thing lead to another---” 

“Please, don't.” Julie wasn't good at hiding her emotions and the look of repulsion spoke volumes. 

“Sorry.” 

“I really doubt you mean that.” Julie narrowed her eyes; this was feeling uncomfortably familiar and she didn't like it at all. 

“Come on Julie, we were teenagers. I'll admit I was a bitch at the time, but I've grown up since. Can't you believe that I've changed?”

That was a low blow – Julie couldn't very well throw a girly fit if Maria was going to act all mature about it. She wasn't sure what she believed though; people changed, but the whole apparent coincidence of it all kept a lingering suspicion in her mind. 

“...I believe that Mark is old enough to decide for himself who he does or doesn't sleep with,” she said diplomatically.  It was the best Maria would get right now, and she seemed to know it too. Slowly she nodded. 

“Well, maybe we can talk some more next time.” 

“Next time? There's going to be a next time?” 

Maria shrugged. “I don't know,” she said, glancing towards the living room. “Who knows what'll happen,  he's a pretty awesome guy.” 

Julie averted her gaze; she didn't like any of this at all. But she knew all too well that she had no right to act like a spoilt little princess throwing a fit because she didn't like Mark's new... well, whatever this was. “He is,” she admitted. The buzzer managed to save them both from another snide remark and Julie felt and looked positively relieved. “That's Bryce, he's picking me up to get lunch.” 

The arched eyebrow she received for that made an actual question redundant. 

“My boyfriend,” she explained, surely making Maria rethink her previous assumption. Julie didn't linger to hear what she had to say about that and quickly hurried towards the front door, passing Rebecca on the way. There was something about the way her friend eyed her that didn't sit entirely well with the girl but she ignored it for now; as far as Bryce was concerned, Rebecca was more on the same page with Mark than anyone else. It was all right though, she didn't expect either of them to understand.... their lives were so vastly different from her and Bryce's.

Julie had opened the door well before Bryce actually arrived on her doorstep. As always, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him; his dark hair was flawless, his shirt and casual suit immaculate and free of any creases. He was still wearing his shades but purposely took them off as he got close to her, flashing a winning smile that immediately won her over. “Let's not fight again, Jules,” he told her, which was more a statement than a suggestion. He magicked an expensive bouquet of roses from behind his back, handing it over to her in a graceful gesture. It was as much of an apology as she would get and Julie couldn't help herself; within moments she was smiling, smelling the lovely fragrance of the flowers and ultimately hiding into a snug embrace. 

“Let's not,” she hummed contently, then got out of the way, letting him inside. As she closed the door he already paced into the living room; Julie couldn't help but feel nervous on his behalf – she knew how poorly him and Mark got on – but if Bryce at all cared about Mark's disapproval of his presence then he did a great job of hiding it. 

“Hey Becky,” he greeted the girl on the couch, then plopped down on the modern armchair to the side of it. “Mark,” he nodded quickly, crossing one leg leisurely over the other, his foot resting on his knee. “Julianne tells me you're meeting with a record company today. Would be great if you guys got a contract,” he grinned. Julie, who'd only just followed into the room, tentatively put the flowers on the dresser, tersely listening to the conversation. She quietly braced herself for a derogatory remark; Bryce didn't hide the fact that he thought little of Mark and his aspirations to become a famous musician. 

She wasn't mistaken. 

“Maybe you'll actually be able to pay your half of the rent now, eh. I'm sure Julie will appreciate not having to worry about the bills any more.” He gave her a quick wink as if he were doing a favour; Julie shrank a little, then even more as he addressed her again. “Jules, why don't you put those flowers in a vase. They're gonna wither if you leave them lying around like that.” 

Julie swallowed the words on her lips, wanting to tell him to not be condescending towards her friend, and quietly nodded. She made off into the kitchen, only just catching a shred of Bryce informing Mark that hopefully he'd be able to pay the full rent soon. [i]You know, if she and Bryce were going to move in together after graduation. [/i]