Prologue

"Sorry, Mom," Julianna said, her voice barely above a whisper. She lowered her head in embarrassment, feeling her stomach churn with anxiety.

"Don't you dare roll your eyes at me, young lady," Hanna said, her voice getting louder. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? Do I speak a foreign language or something?"

Hanna's words hit Julianna like a ton of bricks. She felt like she was being choked by her own guilt. Suddenly, everything became too much, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. She rushed upstairs to her room, slamming the door behind her and throwing her bag on the floor.As she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, she wondered why her mother was so angry.

As the next day approached, Julianna felt nervous. The sky looked gloomy, and she realized she had forgotten her umbrella on the bus. She ran through the rain, trying not to be late as she had been all semester.

As she hid under the tree, wondering what to do next.Suddenly,a low, husky voice echoed in the air. "You should've brought an umbrella,dummy, " the voice muttered. She looked up and saw Aiden, grinning and chuckling.

"Yeah, I know. Shut up," she said, furious. "Let's hurry or we'll be late!"

As they ran through the rain, with Aiden holding the umbrella above them, Julianna felt a sense of relief. She didn't have to hide her feelings from Aiden like she did from her mother. They could be themselves around each other."My mom could learn a few or more things from Aiden... ", she thought to herself.Sarcastically, of course.

As they got to school gates, they heard a cat meowing. They went to see where the sad meows were coming from. It was coming from behind the school's pile of trash cans.

"Should we look?" Julianna asked, concerned.Doing the puppy eyes thing as a joke.

" Fine, but I'm allergic to cats. " he grumbled, walking towards the pile.

" No you're not, moron. You're allergic to dogs. " Julianna said, scowling, but she felt a chuckle escaping her lips.

Aiden chuckled. He put his hands in the pockets of his pants and looked at the pile. There, he saw the black cat, scared and soaked from the rain, sitting on top of the trash bag.

" We gotta help her. " Aiden said, picking the cat up.

Julianna smiled at the cat, caressing it like a 5 year old. She couldn't believe how cute the little cat was, and how lucky they were to have found it.

" Hey, I think it's a female. Let's name her. "

" Yeah, what should we name her? "

" How about Luna? It means moon in spanish, and her colours are like the moon.",

" I like it. It suits her. "

" Hey, Luna, will you be my friend? " Julianna asked the cat, smiling.

Luna meowed, rubbing herself against Julianna's hand, purring.

Aiden put the umbrella on the ground, and they took off their socks, wiping Luna's fur, cleaning her from the mud. After finishing taking care of the cat, they went to class.

" The things you make me do... ", aiden thought to himself.

" She's so adorable," Julianna said, stroking Luna's fur. " I can't believe we found her. She deserves to have a good life. I'll take care of her, I promise. "

Aiden nodded, his eyes shining. " I'll help you, Don't worry,even if it has thousand of unknown diseases", he chuckled.

" hey! don't talk about my luna, wuna, muna like that... " she'd hold the cat close to her face, cuddling Luna and keeping her close in an embrace.

" You're being real cringy, dude. Also, I think we should hide her somewhere before the teacher comes through the door ", Aiden sighs.

" Can u stop being so rude for a second? " Julianna glared at Aiden while holding Luna very close.

"Humph, how come that cat gets more attention than me? " He'd scoff, turning his gaze to somewhere else.

" Because you're a brat, that's why. Boo! As if you didn't know. " She rolled her eyes and sighed.

" Hey! Why are you being so mean? " Aiden pouted.

" Shut up, moron. I'm trying to cuddle with Luna. "

" It's as if you're lovesick with that cat! Give me it! "

" no! in my dreams, idiot. "

" Hey, you two. What's going on here?" The teacher's voice boomed from across the room, and Julianna and Aiden quickly snapped out of their little quarrel.

" Nothing, nothing," Aiden replied quickly, trying to sound casual.

" It's nothing, ma'am. Just a... uh, a little disagreement."

Julianna quickly hid Luna under the desk, covering her mouth.

" Hmm. Well, I suggest you focus on your studies, not quarreling. The bell will ring in a few minutes, but until then, I want you to finish the worksheet that's on your desk. "

Aiden nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over him, even as he tried to act unconcerned about the situation. Julianna sat back down at her desk, holding Luna close to her chest.

" Don't you dare give me that look, Aiden," she said, looking at him glaringly. "We should be grateful that she didn't find out about Luna. If we had gotten in trouble, who knows where Luna would be right now?"

Aiden sighed, knowing that she was right. " I guess you're right. We're lucky she didn't find out."

" Yes, we are. So, let's just keep this between us, okay? I promise I'll take good care of her. Luna deserves a good life."

Aiden nodded, feeling a sense of responsibility wash over him. He had never thought that spending time with Julianna would be this... complicated. But deep down, he felt a sense of closeness with her. He couldn't quite explain it, but he knew that he cared about her in a way that he had never cared about anyone before.

" Okay, I'll keep it a secret. But if you need any help taking care of Luna, just let me know. I'm good with animals, you know."

" Thanks, Aiden. I appreciate it. "

" No problem. Let's just finish this worksheet and try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

" Okay. " she sighed.

After a long time, the class has ended, Julianna and Aiden walk out of the school, still carrying the cat. They make their way to the nearest park, eager to have some time to themselves and talk about what happened.

" I can't believe I let you talk me into doing something so reckless," Aiden says as they walk, a hint of a smile on his face. "But I guess it all worked out in the end."

" Hey, I might have taken the lead, but you were no saint either," Julianna retorts. "You were the one who suggested we hide her in the trash can."

" Fair enough. But let's just be glad that the teacher didn't open it up."

" Yeah, that would have been a disaster."

As they walk along, the discussion turns to the topic of who will take care of Luna, the cat.

Aiden speaks up first, " Look, I know you want to take care of her, but... I think you should just give her to me."

" What? Are you serious?"

" Yes. I mean, you were already struggling to take care of yourself. Do you really think you can take care of an animal too?"

" I can handle it, thank you very much," Julianna says, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Aiden a stern look.

" Fine, whatever. But if you can't handle it, just give her to me, okay?"

" Alright, alright. But I'm taking her for now. We'll see how it goes."

As they continue their bickering, it becomes clear that they both care about Luna, even if their methods of caring are somewhat different.

Both of the morons rushed back in school after leaving Luna with an trustworthy adult close to the school that Aiden knows.His aunt, Marie Luravil.

Julianna and Aiden sat in the back of the classroom.

Julianna leaned over to Aiden, a playful glint in her eyes.

" Hey, is it true that you're the teacher's pet?" she asked, her voice tinged with a sarcastic smile.

Aiden furrowed his brows and rolled his eyes. "What? No. What kind of idiot even asks that?"

"Oh, come on. Everyone knows you're the teacher's pet," Julianna teased, nudging Aiden's shoulder. "I mean, you're always volunteering to help her with stuff, even when you don't have to."

Aiden's cheeks went a shade of red, and he glared at Julianna defensively. "I'm not a teacher's pet. I just like to help out and make sure everything is going smoothly."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Aiden," Julianna snickered, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed. "Just don't forget who your real friends are, okay?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course I won't," Aiden retorted, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "I just like to help out where I can, that's all."

"Uh-huh," Julianna smirked, her expression still mischievous. "Well, you're a bigger nerd than I thought then."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Aiden scoffed, shooting Julianna a mock wink. "After all, at least I'm not a trouble-maker like you. Now, get out of here before the teacher comes back and catches us chatting."

"Fine, fine. But I'm not done teasing you yet, nerd," Julianna said with a smirk.

The sudden and loud shout that echoed through the empty classroom sent chills down Julianna's spine. She had recognized the voice immediately as the kid who had held a grudge against her for beating him up on the soccer field the other day. Seeing her class was already empty, Julianna quickly grabbed her things and made a mad dash for the exit.She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, ignoring the heavy breathing and the pounding of her heart. As she burst through the door of her classroom, Julianna panted heavily, relieved to have escaped the kid who held a grudge against her.

But her relief was short-lived as she heard the kid's voice echo throughout the hallway, calling out for her. Glancing around frantically, Julianna could see that the kid had followed her and was running down the hallway towards her.

Cursing her luck, Julianna took off again, this time running as fast as she could towards the next exit. She could hear the kid gaining on her and felt a rush of adrenaline course through her veins as she ran with all her might.

Finally, Julianna burst through the door of the exit, slamming it shut behind her and running down the flight of stairs outside. She looked back to see if the kid was following her, but he had disappeared. Taking a deep breath, Julianna leaned against the wall, relieved to have escaped the situation.

" There you are, July."

Startled, Julianna whirled around, her face flushing with embarrassment as she realized it was only Diane, her childhood friend. "Oh my god, Diane, you gave me such a scare," she laughed, trying to brush the incident off.

Diane had a mischievous glint in her eye, sensing an opportunity to poke fun at Julianna. "Oh, come on, don't be such a wimp," she teased. "I thought you were supposed to be tough."

Julianna rolled her eyes, but a smile was creeping at the corners of her lips. "Oh, shut up, Diane," she said, giving her friend a light shove. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be afraid of me," Diane said, her voice taking on a mock-serious tone. "I'm the big bad Diane!"

Julianna giggled along with her friend, but the sound was cut short when an announcement came over the loudspeaker. "Attention, students. All students are to proceed to the gymnasium immediately for a special assembly," the voice said.

Diane's eyes widened. "Oh my god, what's going on?"

Without waiting for an answer, she took off down the hallway, Julianna close behind. The gymnasium was buzzing with activity as students and teachers alike scrambled to find their seats. There was an air of excitement and apprehension in the room, with many students wondering what was going on.

As they made their way to their seats, Diane turned to Julianna and whispered," I hope it's not some commercial or something."

Julianna had been feeling extremely annoyed with Diane all through the morning and was done with her jokes and banter. "Shut the up, Diane," Julianna muttered through gritted teeth, rolling her eyes.

Diane didn't seem to be offended by Julianna's outburst though, she found it hilarious. A big smile spread across her face and she let out a fit of giggles that almost made her fall to the floor. "Shut the up?" Diane repeated, her voice cracking with laughter. "That's hilarious."

Julianna let out a sarcastic sound in response. "Get a joke, girl." She muttered, her tone still irritated.

But Diane didn't take the hint, she continued to cackle and laugh, barely able to contain herself. Julianna rolled her eyes again, irritated at her friend's constant need to joke around, and turned away to look for Aiden, hoping to avoid any more of Diane's comedic attempts.

Julianna and Diane sat in the gymnasium hall, waiting for the assembly to begin. Julianna was deep in thought, her mind wandering to the math problem that she couldn't solve the other day. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her jump.

"Aah! Aiden, you scared me!" Julianna exclaimed as she turned to face her friend, scolding him for sneaking up on her like that. But Aiden just laughed, not looking the least bit remorseful for his actions.

The principal then took to the podium and addressed the assembled students. "I apologize for the sudden announcement," the principal said with a warm smile. "But I want to thank you all for being patient and waiting here for the assembly to begin. Today, we have a very special guest who will be joining us to talk about the importance of creativity."

The students groaned and booed.Obviously furious about needing to get dragged all the way there just for some talk about the importance of creativity.

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