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CHAPTER TWO
"the rules of highschool"
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(strike first)

IF THERE WAS ONE rule that Jules wished could be bent when it comes to school, it would definitely be 'no sleeping in class.'

They were a group of twenty to thirty teenagers, stuffed inside of a small, sweaty room for an hour, listening to some dinosaur drone about the particle theory of matter, and they were expected to stay awake for all of it. 

Yeah, Jules didn't really appreciate that rule. 

 She had her head leaned on her desk, doodling flowers on the top of her sheet with a leaky pen as she waited desparately for the bell to ring. She wasn't even entirely sure which class she was in right now, all she knew was that it was taught by Mr. O'Connell, who had the uncanny ability to bore Jules to the point of jumping out of a window. 

 She tilted her head long enough to glance at the seat beside her, where Eli Moskowitz looked just as bored as she felt. He was tapping his fingers against the desk and occasionally stifling a yawn in his fist. He turned so she could catch his eye, miming putting a gun to her head and earning a grin from the boy. 

 Jules has been friends with Eli for a little over a year, although it might as well have been a lifetime. The two bonded over the summer time, spending most of their free time hanging out at a nearby playground and watching reruns of Friends. Now, they were bonding over both looking like they would both rather die than sit through another second of this class. 

 Eli held up two fingers, signifying that there was two minutes left until hell was over, and Jules groaned under her breath, slumping her head into her arms and trying to will the clock to move faster. 

The thing about Eli and Jules is that they are perfect opposites. Eli is shy and reserved, while Jules is loud and exuberant. Their personalities mix like water and oil, which may be what makes them such good friends. Juliana has to admit - out of her two best friends, she may be more comfortable around Demetri; the awkward, nerdy brunet who likes to joke around with her and has a sarcastic remark for pretty much anything. That doesn't mean she loves Eli any less, and she would be willing to kill anyone for either of the boys. 

 The bell rang, and Jules stayed stagnant in her seat as some stupid kids jumped from theirs, only to be reprimanded and delt out a detention by O'Connell, who was really that teacher. She waited a few more seconds, only sliding from her chair at their dismissal. 

 The hallways always seemed impossible crowded during lunch, although the main reason for that was the flood of teenagers all moving in the same direction in hopes of getting to their designated lunch table in time. 

"If we are having a test anytime soon, I am one hundred percent prepared to fail." Jules deadpanned as soon as Eli caught up to her, the two falling into step as they followed the flow of traffic in the direction of the cafeteria. The boy chuckled lightly, ducking his head as Jules shoulder-checked the doors open. 

 The cafeteria was like a battlefield. In Jules's eyes, it was one huge war for popularity, since apparently who you sit with marks just how cool you are. The girl herself was never really on the high-end of the popularity spectrum, but it wasn't something that bugged her. At least, not as much as it bugged her friend. 

 "Thank God you're here! I thought I was going to have to sit alone and become a potential target for-" 

 Jules swung her backpack over the back of the seat, sliding in next to Demetri before he could finish his rant, huffing slightly. "I would rather get beat up than have to listen to another lecture on the particle theory of matter."  

"Speak for yourself," Demetri mumbled, shooting Eli a 'can you believe her?' look. Jules couldn't help the smirk that crept onto her face, as she pursed her lips and leaned over to ruffled Demetri's hair. "It's okay, 'Metri, if any of the scary kids ever give you a hard time, I'll protect you." 

 "Oh wonderful-" the boy swatted her hand away, "then we'd be able to die together." 

 "There is no way that you are going to live longer than me."

"Hey, is it cool if I sit here?"

 The three all turned to look at the newcomer in scarily perfect unison, Jules using the opportunity to reach over and snatch Demetri's pudding cup. She grinned at the familiar latino boy, raising a hand in greeting. Before she could speak, however, Demetri did. 

 "Oh sorry," he shrugged, "The table's really blowing up right now. I can put you on the wait list, but it's probably next semester at the earliest." 

 Miguel blinked once, glancing at Jules as she rolled her eyes in exasperation at her friend. She leaned forward to hit the table with her hand, "ignore him, sit." 

 The boy quickly complied, looking grateful that he wouldn't have to eat in the bathroom or something stereotypical like that as he slid into the spot next to Eli, who bowed his head slightly at the new addition. "I'm Miguel." 

 "Demetri, this is Eli-" the brunet nodded to the boy, who gave an almost nonexistant smile to Miguel. Demetri turned to Jules, reaching out to try and grab his pudding back. "You little shit, that's mine!" 

 A smile tugged at Miguel's lips. "Jules." 

"I'm honored that you remember me." She grinned, tucking her hair behind her ears as she leaned back in her seat. "How's your grandma?" 

 "Oh-" Miguel chuckled, "she's fine. How's your mom?" 

 "Well, she kept me up all night coughing, so I don't really know." 

 Demetri's eyebrows furrowed as he shared a look with Eli, his eyes drifting between Miguel and Jules. "I'm sorry, I am unaware of what's going on right now." 

 Jules shot him a look, "Miguel moved in a few doors down from me. We met last night." 

 "And what, you started talking about his grandma?" 

 Jules couldn't help but laugh at that, leaning her head back and patting Demetri's shoulder. Her shoulders rising with her chuckles, Demetri rolled his eyes as the girl laughed, "I still don't know the answer-" 

  "Oh my God-" Jules perked her head up, slapping Demetri's arm at a familiar sight. It was - as affectionately dubbed by Jules - the 'bitch squad'. Affectionately, because not all of them are actually bitches. Demetri's 'celebrity crush' was really the only bitch out of all of them. Yasmine was the perfect example of your typical high school mean girl. A beautiful, blonde, thin white girl was probably what you pictured whenever you thought of girls in high school, and that was exactly what Yasmine was. Moon, however, was actually a total sweetheart, and she never failed to lend Jules her chemistry notes whenver the girl fell asleep in class. 

 Sam LaRusso was the only one who looked at her as they walked past, a small smile quirking at her lips as she skillfully balanced her tray on one hand to wave at the girl. Jules rose a hand in response, not exactly sure how to respond. 

 Jules had a very complicated friendship with Sam LaRusso. She has known her for years, and the girls have hung out a couple of times, but they have never really been 'friends'... more of, acquaintances. 

"Dude, don't torture yourself." Demetri spoke, jerking Jules back to earth as he caught sight of Miguel's eyes following the group. "Those are the rich girls." 

Miguel blinked once, leaning in closer as Jules began to gradually care less and less about where this conversation was going. "Do you ever talk to them?" 

 "Oh yeah!" Demetri exclaimed, turning to give Jules a 'can you believe this guy?' look. "We hang out after school, make out, give each other hand jobs!" 

 Juliana snorted, but apparently Demetri wasn't finished; "Eli here is the homecoming king! Get's laid more than anybody! Isn't that right, Eli?" 

 The boy smiled sheepishly.

 "Unfortunately for you, these boys aren't exactly the epitome of popularity." The girl drawled, sticking her tongue out at Demetri, turning back to Miguel, who looked like he was unsure where this conversation was going. 

 Her friend gasped. "Oh, and you are? Sorry Miss 'cursed out a teacher in class because he wouldn't let me eat my sandwich'." 

 "I hadn't eaten all day, and was going to pass out!" 

 A small smile quirked at Miguel's lips as he watched Jules flip off Demetri and mutter something in an unknown language under her breath. He noticed how she had multiple different ear-piercings, and mentally thanked the universe that she didn't hang around long enough to witness the incident with Kyler and his squad of assholes the night before... I mean, getting Pepto-Bismol dumped on your head was bad enough, but getting Pepto-Bismol dumped on your head in front of a pretty girl? And a pretty girl who looked like she would fight anyone who dumped Pepto-Bismol on her head nonetheless.... yeah, Miguel was glad that she left when she did. 

 He was even more glad she was here now. Having a friend on the first day wasn't exactly expected. 

 That doesn't mean it wasn't appreciated.

"Oh Yasmine!" Jules mocked in a poor imitation of Demetri's voice, leaning forward to squeeze the boys cheeks. "I love you so much! I promise that I'll hold your purses and polish your heels if you go out with me!" 

 "Oh ha, ha." Demetri rolled his eyes as Eli snorted, ducking his head as a smile spread across his face. "You're hilarious, Juliana Monroe, hilarious." He rose his gaze to look at Miguel, as Jules chewed on the straw of her juicebox with a smirk on her lips. "I don't care if Yasmine's the meanest girl in school, I would kill all three of her just to spit in my face." 

 "Which, funnily enough, shows a lot about his character." 

Miguel laughed at the disgruntled look on Demetri's face, struck by a sudden thought as he straightened his back and turned to the girl. "Hey, is your mom Shira Monroe?"

 "The one and only." 

 "Yeah," the boy grinned. "She was at my house this morning."

Jules's mouth dropped open, her eyebrows shooting up as her cheeks tinged red. "What? What was she doing?" 

 Miguel chuckled again at the look on her face, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, she brought over some food to my mom. She was really nice." 

 Jules grumbled something under her breath, although it was obvious she was fighting a smile off of her face. "The woman says she doesn't feel well enough to make breakfast for me, but makes it for the neighbours, of course." She gave an airy laugh, brushing her hair behind her ear, the metal on her ears catching the light and reflecting a small spot on the table. 

 "Yeah, then she invited us over for dinner." 

 Jules almost choked on her apple juice, coughing once, and then coughing more when Demetri gave her an uneeded smack in the back. "W-What?" 

 Miguel blinked once, not exactly expecting that reaction. His cheeks dusted red, and he swallowed, shooting a glance at Eli, who was so quiet that he honestly forgot the boy was there. "I-I mean she offered to make us dinner."

 Jules didn't know how to react. The girl was naturally very private in general, so knowing that her mother invited a bunch of strangers into her house made goosebumps rise on her arms. She shook it off. Miguel was nice, she had to relax. "She's probably gonna make me cook." 

 "Or she's gonna make me cook." Demetri corrected, Jules bursting into laughter as Eli leaned over to gently punch his arm. Miguel grinned as he watched the three interact, a warm feeling bubbling in his stomach.

 Because, how bad could highschool be if you had friends like this? 

A/N:

GUYS GUYS GUYS I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!! it will feature miguel and jules being adorable, miguel's abuela being iconic, shira monroe being my new crush, and halloween! so it should be pretty long, i hope you guys are excited!

make sure to tell me what you think so far! i love getting feedback on my writing, it really means the world to me! and don't forget to vote and comment <3 seeing votes on this story seriously make me smile every time, i am so happy that you guys like this story so far!

lots of love,