The Luna Choosing Game

I set out to show Julian what having a real girlfriend should be like as soon as I could, so early the next morning, I dressed in my cutest sundress and showed up to his door with a basket of fresh bread I plucked straight from

the kitchen. It was still warm.

I knocked on his door. Brian opened it, and his eye twitched in what I assumed was surprise. It was the most emotion I had ever seen out of him.

“Is Julian awake yet?” I asked.

“He’s getting dressed,” Brian said. Before I could ask to come in, Brian

stepped back and let me inside the room.

I stood just inside the door in Julian’s sitting room. Brian glanced at me again, before disappearing into what must have been the bedroom. A moment later, Julian himself came bursting out.

“Piper? To what do I owe the pleasure?” NôvelDrama.Org owns this text.

I held out the basket. “I thought we could spend some time together today.”

He walked closer, glanced into the basket, and then snatched a handful of the bread. He bit into it, chewed, and swallowed.

The show was in two days, and with our final dress–rehearsal tomorrow, Bridget personally requested that everyone take it easy today. It had been some time since we had a day without practice or some other event, so it

seemed the perfect time to have a date with Julian.

“Is this part of your elaborate plan to prove something to me?” Julian

asked.

“Yes,” “I said. There was no reason to hide it. I’d been upfront from the

start. Might as well continue to be, I reasoned.

Julian tilted his head. “You don’t have to do this.”

“No, I’m definitely doing this,” I said. “We’re friends, and I won’t rest until you recognize how important you are and how much you deserve.”

Julian huffed out a laugh as he rolled his eyes. “You are stubborn.”

And just like that he was convinced to spend time with me.

“Let’s take a walk in the garden,” I said. “It’s a beautiful day.”

Since Bridget had been brought into the competition, a lot of the protesting had dwindled. There were still a few hardy regulars, but for the most part, the biggest danger had passed. At least from what I could tell.

I was sure some tension still simmered under the surface, but everyone

seemed distracted now. The competition was once again serving its true purpose, captivating the kingdom.

“Alright,” Julian said. I took his hand in mine. He smirked a little and

squeezed my fingers.

Together, we walked down the hallway to the stairs, then down the stairs to the doorway to the gardens. Since it was our day off, there were other girls out there taking walks, though no one seemed to pay Julian and I any attention. We wouldn’t stand out. After all, we were supposed to be dating.

As we walked, we talked about this and that. Julian and I already got along very well, so it didn’t take much for us to have an enjoyable time in each other’s company.

We stopped to smell some of the flowers. When I leaned closer, I inhaled a nose full of pollen and sneezed so loudly, I drew everyone’s attention from the rest of the garden.

–

Julian tried his hardest not to laugh for all of two seconds. Then he burst out laughing.

Eventually, we stopped at a small rod–iron table to rest. Julian produced a deck of cards. “How about a game?” he asked, and proceeded to try to teach

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me how to play poker.

I started off strong, winning by just sheer luck, yet the longer the game continued, the worse I became. No matter how many tricks Julian showed

me, I still couldn’t make the cards talk like he could. I didn’t have it in me to be embarrassed though, not with the boisterous way Julian was laughing.