“It needs more skulls, really.” 

Suzie grinned broadly, a mischievous look on her face as she studied the considerably sized embellishment to Julie's side and midriff. It earned her a scowl from her bigger sister and Julie, for the so manieth time, cast a somewhat insecure glance in the mirror, studying the, admittedly beautiful, image Riley had drawn above her hip. The red had mostly vanished and although the healing would take at least two weeks, the image already looked as spectacular as it had done in her mind before it had even been inked into her skin. It carried that famous shine right now that surfaced a few days after the tattoo had been applied, making all the colours seem all the more vivid. 

“Well, I like it,” she pouted, then lowered her shirt carefully over her abdomen. 

“I never said I didn't!” protested her baby sister. “It suits you. You know, some of you anyway.” The girl gave her two thumbs up as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “Pretty cool, sis.” 

Julie shook her head and smiled, trying to adjust her top to fully cover the markings on her body. The two were hiding in Susannah's bedroom, awaiting the arrival of most of the guests that would attend Mark's family's garden party. From the window they could look into the backyard, and visitors were steadily trickling in, gathering around the pool with drinks in their hand. The smell of grilled meat reached the open window, and Julie felt her stomach rumble. Skipping breakfast had definitely been a bad idea. 

“So are we gonna go soon? Mark's already there, you know.” Suzie was leaning precariously over the window sill, trying to look at the visitors leaning against the outer wall of their neighbour's house. “Say, do you think mom will let me have a tattoo now as well?” 

“Not on your life,” Julie replied, tugging the girl back by the collar of her shirt. Suzie was barely an inch shorter than her, but she still had that teenage lankiness that emphasized the difference in age between the two siblings. 

“Aw, you could put in a good word for me! Mom thinks you're so perfect, convincing her that tattoos are the proper thing to do now should be easy for you!” She turned to Julie, prodding her upper arm. “Nice bruise by the way, did you try skateboarding again?” 

Julie rubbed her upper arm, covering the mark. “Nah, just body combat at the gym,” she remarked airily, then made a final attempt, to no avail, to get the bottom hem of her shirt to reach to the faded blue denim skirt underneath. Her outfit was particularly casual – not trashy, mind, but judging by who the party had been organised for, it seemed silly to head over while dressed in a cocktail dress or her usual primp cardigan and skirt ensemble. “Suzie, do you have something that'll fit me?” she inquired aggravatedly. 

“Probably not,” her sister grinned. “You look like you put on weight. Lay off the doritos, fatty.” She narrowly avoided a pillow aimed at her head, but then obediently dove into her wardrobe in search of something that wouldn't look even shorter on her older sister. Ultimately she retrieved a long-sleeve-over-short-sleeve top in pink and black that fit Julie almost perfectly. “Mom told me to buy it a size bigger so I'll grow into it,” Suzie complained. “Clearly she still thinks I'm six years old.” It wasn't something Julie could usually be found wearing, but it made her feel strangely happy to put it on. Suzie had, two years ago, drastically changed her taste in clothing in favour of the skater look, and whilst mommy Lancaster had optimistically called it 'just a phase', by now it had become very clear that it was a bit more peristent than that. Even now the girl was dressed in loose combats and army boots, with an AC/DC top to complete it. She was likely one of the few girls to wear a shirt like that and actually know their songs; more than that, Suzie had most of their albums, and not even on itunes but on proper cd's which she treated with all the reverence of a boyband groupie – just significantly cooler. 

“You didn't tell me Bryce was coming too.” The teen had already ventured back to the window and was leaning even further out of it now. The comment surprised Julie, and curiously she joined Susannah in staring down at the people below. Sure enough, she could see him heading into the garden as if he'd been a longterm member of the neighbourhood. People generally approved of his presence but none so much as her mother Mariska, who idolized him in a way that bordered on the awkward and was treating him to the warmest of hugs. “Did you know he was gonna be here?” her little sister inquired curiously. Julie shook her head. 

“I had no idea,” she replied, her eyebrows raised. 

“Does he know about the tattoo?” 

A subdued sigh. “Yeah.... He knows.”

Julie caught herself staring and she shook her head, turning away from the sight of party-goers. She briefly wondered if she should change, but neither this shirt or her original top would really suffice, and she figured that Bryce would be happier to see her in something that covered up what he had referred to as her being [i]forever mutilated[/i], or something along those lines. [i]“What will people think, Julianne?” [/i] he'd asked accusingly, [i]”I can't believe you'd do this to me when I'm about to hit a major promotion.”[/i] Not that that promotion was ever out of the question anyway; every step on the career ladder for Bryce was assured by his dad who was always on the lookout for opportunities for his prodigal son. But she supposed that he was right; the wife of a successful businessman did not typically wear ink, that was Mark's world, not hers. In hindsight she wasn't really sure what she'd been thinking; perhaps she'd been trying to make her best friend happy. Maybe she'd tried to linger in a dream that wasn't part of her current life anymore or maybe she actually did something [i]she[/i] wanted without considering the opinion of others... whatever the case, it was too late for regrets. This was permanent and although Julie wished she had the courage not to hide it, she at least enjoyed the fact that she'd [i]dared[/i] to do this. 

---------------

Bryce met her downstairs with a somewhat cool greeting. Julie, as if to compensate for the lack of affection he showed, subconsciously made an effort to get in his good graces again. It had been made abundantly clear that he disapproved of her recent lifestyle choice and it wasn't like Julie hadn't known beforehand that he would disapprove of her getting a tattoo. He'd blamed her for not discussing it with her beforehand (which she knew would have resulted in a resounding [i]no[/i] – Mark had probably known it, too, which was likely why he'd sprung it on her as a surprise) and not thinking of his future. Safe to say the evening had ended with a lot of arguing. Julie detested arguments; she had this desperate need to be liked by everyone she knew and to feel that her own boyfriend was upset with her was something that sat like a stone in her stomach. Which is why, when she headed outside to greet him, her actions were overly affectionate. She wrapped her arms about him, pressed a kiss to his lips and whispered a “Hey, hun,” in his ear before drawing back far enough to look him in the eyes. Or shades, as it were, resulting in her watching her own reflection more than anything. He cast her a faint smile in return, and soon raised his chin to look at the other visitors. He seemed to be searching for people, and Julie assumed he wanted to offer Mark his congratulations. 
“I think he's in the back of the yard,” she said helpfully, “I didn't know Mark had invited you. Why didn't you tell me?” 

Bryce didn't respond to that, nor did he make any effort to venture to the poolside of the garden. His arm was wrapped about Julie's shoulders and almost possessively so. Scouting the surroundings once more, Julie wondered what he was doing, though in silence. She didn't recall Bryce knowing all that many people here, although all of her family was present. Of course he knew Mark but even Julie was aware that litte affection existed between the two, so it seemed unlikely that he was that desperate to find him. And it wasn't long before he abandoned his abject staring and focused on his girl again. “Let's go say hi to your family,” he suggested, ushering her towards Julie's merry looking parents. 

The party was a cozy and entertaining one, though definitely tame by Mark's standards. Julie had ventured over to him and his mother a few times to chat, but Bryce had quietly lingered near her parents, not even heading over once just out of politeness. It was getting on her nerves, and although she was tiptoeing around Bryce just out of concern that she'd add even more to the growing pile of things-that-he-thought-were-wrong, she was getting ready to mention it. But just then someone carted in a rather massive looking cake with the band logo and Mark's name on it. People cheered and applauded and sang "For he's a jolly good fellow", you know, all the cringe-worthy things you'd expect at a party where most the attendees were well into their fifties. Julie grinned at the sight of it, easily imagining Mark's discomfort; this wasn't quite the type of attention he enjoyed. He'd have to suffer through it, though, and she could almost feel his relief when some uncle or neighbor or whatnot ended his congratulatory speech and stepped back into the crowd. People moved in to cut the cake into pieces, ready to dig in - now imagine the utter look of surprise on Julie's face when at that moment, Bryce firmly took hold of her hand and drew her into the clearing that had not yet been filled. 

“Ladies, gentlemen,” he said, raising his voice, that signature smile revealing his bleached white teeth plastered on his face. People halted and turned to look at him, his voice carrying across the entirety of the garden.  Bryce raised his glass, eliciting a look of eyebrow-raised confusion from his significant other, who would have gladly slunk away at that point. She couldn't fathom what he wanted, but as it turned out, Bryce had an unexpected desire to praise Mark for his efforts in a public sort of way. He nodded amicably at the very reason all these people had gathered before turning towards his audience. He'd always been grateful to be the centre of attention and Julie couldn't but feel a little embarrassed for the over-the-top speech. People were eyeing him with interest and, by proxy, her as well. Bryce relished the attention; Julie wanted to shrink and hide. 

“You all know why we're here – our friend, relative and long-time procrastinator Mark here,” a wink at the subject that Julie noticed wasn't too well-received, “Has decided to take some major steps up the career ladder, joining the rest of us in the big leagues! It won't be long before you and your band 's name will be on the cover of all the fanzines and money will come pouring in. The days of cold pizza and Walmart jeans are of the past, my friend!” Some people laughed heartily; they were Bryce's type of people, neighbours from around the block who shared his rather materialistic view on the world. Meanwhile, Julie felt increasingly uncomfortable, and to convey her sentiments she tugged gently at her boyfriend's arm, which, unfortunately, had the complete opposite effect. 

“[i]But[/i]! I'd like to take this opportunity to make a beautiful day even more special. As most of you already know I have been so lucky to get this wonderful creature to fall in love with me," - a brief squeeze of her hand, and Bryce pulled her a little closer. "My sweet Julianne and I have been together for just over two years, and I can tell you, they've been the two happiest years of my life. I can't even begin to imagine life without her, and you know what, I don't want to! So without to further ado I want to announce the engagement of me and my dearest Julie, who I love more than I do my family's Maui holiday condo,” There were some scattered laughs at that, but the general feel of the audience was that of revered silence. Julie felt much like her heart stopped beating, and when Bryce turned fully towards her, getting down on one knee she forgot to breathe altogether. “That is, if she'll have me,” he grinned, and from his pocket removed a box which, without having to even look closely, revealed one of the most stunning diamond rings the girl had ever seen in her life. “Julianne Marie Lancaster,” Bryce proclaimed formally. “Would you make me the happiest man in the entire world and be my wife?” 

A sudden silence stretched on, and although a few bystanders already opted to cheer prematurely, most watched with bated breath, waiting for that moment of release where Julie would utter a teary-eyed [i]Yes[/i] and fall into her lover's arms. Instead she stood there, staring catatonically at the man in front of her, then at the people around her. She caught glimpses of her parents - her mother already reduceded to emotional tears - of Suzie and Eric, of Anna and ultimately of Mark, on who her eyes lingered for a few long moments. There was a plea hidden in the look even if she didn't know what she was asking of him, but her attention was drawn back to Bryce when he urged her in a whisper to "Come on, Julie, don't leave me hanging." The pressure was getting to her, the people around her making her more than a little nervous. She couldn't even quite process the gravity of the situation - she just wanted people to stop staring. 

And Bryce, he looked so hopeful. No, that wasn't the right word; expectant seemed more appropriate. He'd removed his shades and the look in his eyes was tugging at her heartstrings. She'd never been able to refuse him, and although he should have known better than to put her on the spot like that, she knew that inside he had meant well. A frail smile crept up on the girl as she quietly nodded. "Okay..." she whispered feebly, then gladly hid against her now fiancé as he eagerly embraced her, showing to all the world just how intensely [i]happy[/i] he was that she would be his.