This Life ? (J.C)

Julian wasn't letting go of his grudge anytime soon. A week had passed and he was still ignoring her. Joy couldn't figure out what she had done—why Jules was so mad at her. Joy loved him... she was in love with him. No matter how much she denied it, Joy was in love with Julian.

She snarled in disgust, watching Julian from across the bar. He was twirling a girl around, dancing awkwardly with a drink in his hand. There were other young women surrounding him, but it was clear he only had eyes for that particular one.

Joy had even done what Jules encouraged; she went out in a short sleeve shirt—an Aerosmith shirt that she wore frequently to bed. She didn't want to admit it, but she had only dressed "normally" to get his attention—to make him comment on her attire—to make him talk to her.

"Hey... what's goin' on; why are you sitting there like that?" Ryan's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Like what?"

"Are you jealous? You've been staring at Jules for the past thirty minutes now. Just go over there and talk to him, shit."

"He hates me. He. Fucking. Hates. Me."

"What makes you think that?" Ryan took a seat next to Joy, causing her to move away. She stood from the bar, leaving her drink behind. She couldn't tell Ryan the truth.

"I'll be back. I gotta pee."

"Don't fall in!" Ryan smirked smugly as Joy made her way to the ladies room.

After alleviating her bladder, she was a little confused to see Ryan had been replaced by an unfamiliar young man. She had mistaken him as Nick for a moment before stepping closer. He was thin with the same colored mousy brown hair—even the same length. It wasn't until he turned to face Joy that she realized it was definitely not Nick. His irises were just as blue, but with facial hair and not-so-kind eyes.

Joy forced a timid smile, reaching across the bar for her drink.

"Hey, have a seat. Don't mind me, I'm just watching the game." The man spoke with a wide smile—it seemed genuine enough. Joy stood conflicted, her eyes trailing back to see Julian with that same girl—her arms wrapped around his neck. She shrugged, sitting next to lanky young man. "I'm David. And you are?"

"Joy." She turned the drink up to her lips, looking up to see that a football game was on the screen mounted on the wall. She had been so consumed by Julian she hadn't even noticed.

"You a packers fan?"

"No, not really. I'm more of an NBA kinda girl. Celtics, Knicks- Boston and New York, you know." Joy was a little annoyed; she didn't really care much for the small talk "Dave" was trying to make.

"Some of The Strokes are here... how crazy's that?" David laughed, glancing to Joy for a moment before looking back the television. "I'm surprised you're not trying to hook up with one of them. Everyone else seems to be."

"I practically live with them, so... they're not as charming as they look, trust me. Especially that one over there. They've all got girlfriends, so that one and that one are kinda barking up the wrong tree." Joy said, pointing to the girls hovering around Nick and Albert. "They're faithful."

Nikolai had recently moved in with his girlfriend; Fab had practically done the same when staying behind in LA with his.

She took another drink, glancing back to see that Julian was no longer there—neither was the girl he had been dancing with.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" David asked.