Chapter Two.

"Can this please be the last shop we go to; my feet are killing me." I plead. I was rudely awoken this morning by the sound of continuous knocking on my front door. My mam wasn't incredibly happy with the fact that Aiden had called around at nine in the morning but she let him in because she has a soft spot for him. He was quick to rush to my room and repeatedly hit me with one of my many pillows until I got my ass out of bed.

"Why the fuck are you here so early? we're not supposed to be meeting for another two hours." I groaned.

He said that he wanted to make sure I was up, dressed, and ready to leave for 10:30 a.m. His chipper mood that early in the morning just annoyed me, I can understand he was happy but please do not try to spread your joy when I just wake up. 

"I have one more shop I want to go to after this. Shopping isn't that bad Jules." He says as he searches through the clothing racks looking for the right size. 

"I like shopping once it's online and I can do it from the comfort of my house at whatever time I wish. I just don't see the excitement in going from shop to shop just to try on hundreds of clothes and working up a sweat or searching for hours just to find out they never had your size in the first place."

He just laughs at my complaints.

"Also have you ever noticed how judgmental the cashiers are. They always pull a face at each piece of clothing that they pull from your basket. Then they expect me to hand them my money after they silently judged my entire wardrobe." I toss my hands in the air dramatically as I look at the jewellery stands.

"Has anyone ever told you how dramatic you are?" He says, pulling the clothing from the rack and showing as victorious smile as he managed to find the right size. "Yes, you tell me at least once a day. I've learned to take it as a compliment." I say holding a necklace up towards my neck and looking in the mirror. 

"You should buy it. It would look good on you and besides, you haven't bought yourself a single thing since we got here." He suggests.

"Well, I'm supposed to be buying presents for other people, not myself. It's also a little more than I would like to spend on myself anyway." I respond, shrugging my shoulders.

"Ok if you say so but it looks good on you. Oh, look Katie and Erin found us, I'm going to pay for these and then we can go to the last shop. I promise." He says before making his way to the cashier.

I look at the dainty necklace in my hand one more time. It's really pretty. There's a small clear cube at the end of the chain that shifts the light into different colours depending on how you position it. Attached to the cube is a small butterfly wing which is what drew we towards it in the first place. I kind of have a thing with butterflies, well my family does and I've just always believed it. We think that white butterflies are a sign of good luck and that they're past loved ones watching over us. 

Whenever I'm dealing with something major that I think I can't handle, I always see one and it just makes me feel a little better to think that even if I am alone that someone might be looking out for me. I consider ignoring the price and buying the necklace before I'm approached by Katie and Erin.

"You guys just keep running off on us." Katie declares.

"Well, you guys were that ones that-" is all I manage to say before being cut off by Erin.

"Are you buying that?" She says in what I can hear to be a slightly judgmental tone.

"I was thinking about it but I don't know," I answer now feeling more hesitant to buy it than I did a few minutes ago.

"It's a bit out of your price range isn't it?" Katie adds and Erin agrees.

I glance over at Aiden who is currently developing an impatient expression as he waits for the cashier to scan through his large pile of clothes. Remembering what he said about treating myself but I suppose the girls are right.

"Yeah I guess you're right, I don't really need it anyway." I agree as I put the necklace back. 

"It's not even that pretty so you would just be wasting your money." Erin decides to mention, not that she needed to but her opinion always has to be heard. Although I appreciate the opinions of others, some things are simply better left unsaid.

Refraining from provoking the situation, I plaster a tight smile on my face a remain silent instead as I have learned that it's probably the best way to be with people like this. Thankfully before either of them can say anything else, Aiden has appeared in front of us.

"Not getting the necklace Jules?" He questions

I just shake my head and look down at my hands, playing with the ring on my right hand.

"Ok, well Jules and I were going to head to one last shop and then we can grab some food and I think Connor is going to meet us there," Aiden mentions and I can feel Erin's excitement from here. Aiden and Connor have been close friends for a few years now, he's in the year above us but he's a nice guy. He and Aiden come around together sometimes and we've gotten pretty close. 

Erin has had a massive crush on him for about a month but he's a very shy and reserved guy so he hasn't really tried to make any sort of move. Even though Erin has made it quite clear that she likes him. If I'm being honest, she only really likes him because of his looks. He's a good-looking guy but she knows nothing more about him other than his name and age but I guess a lot of crushes start off based on looks. Personally, I think she would be a bit...much for him but hey it's not my business.

One thing is for sure and it's that since she found out that he comes around with Aiden sometimes, she has been a lot keener on trying to date him. I already told her I didn't have plans on taking him, "girl code" and all that and considering I was just out of a breakup, dating isn't exactly a priority of mine right now.

"Why didn't you tell me that Connor was coming?" Erin whines, probably thinking she doesn't look great but she always does. 

Aiden is barely paying attention, looking down at his phone responding to a text. "If I told you then you would've been late because you would've spent hours trying to look good for him but you look fine so let's go." He says, eyes still glued to his phone, probably texting Sarah.

Erin turns to Katie in a state of panic. "What do I say when I see him? I haven't seen him since Tuesday." 

"Well, I can think of a few things you shouldn't say," I mutter under my breath. 

"What was that Julia?" Erin's head turns to face me, her eyes narrowing.

I look up and my eyes meet hers, "I said I'm sure you'll know exactly what to say." 

"Whatever, Katie we need to go to the bathroom so that I can fix my hair." She says already pulling Katie out of the shop. I roll my eyes and pull out my phone to text my mam letting her know I'll be eating while I'm here. She doesn't have an issue and just tells me to have fun.

"You ready to go to our final stop?" Aiden asks, patiently waiting for me to respond. 

"Yes, please I just want some food," I reply.

He chuckles lightly as we leave the shop and I follow him to the last one he wants to go to.

"So, are you really not going to buy the necklace?" He asks me from outside the changing room. It turns out that a dress managed to catch my eye and the price was reasonable so I decided it wouldn't hurt to try it on. Aiden was fine with waiting; probably happy I found a little bit enjoyment in what has been a painfully slow day.

It's more of a form-fitting dress, nothing I would normally buy but I've gotten a lot more comfortable with my body lately. I'm five foot four in height and my chest definitely isn't as developed as most girls my age but I'm not exactly flat either. My waist is quite small and my hips are full. My stomach, however, has been a part of my body that has always been hard for me to accept, as I'm sure it is for a lot of people.

I have tried abs workouts repeatedly but there always seems to be this part on my lower stomach I just can't get rid of. It's why I tend to stick to high waisted jeans or flared out dresses and skirts rather than fitted ones but I actually feel surprisingly good in this dress.

"No, I'm not buying the necklace, I guess it just wasn't my style," I say while I try to zip up the back of the dress.

"Not your style? Jules, it was simple and elegant but also had a butterfly on it and a pretty cube thing. It's like it was made for you." He says confused.

"I don't know, I guess I just had a change of heart." I'm having no hope with this zip so I pull back the curtain. "Hey, can you help me zip this up?" 

"Sure thing." He says before looking up from his phone but takes a moment for his eyes to look me up and down. His mouth gapes open slightly and his hesitation makes me anxious.

"It looks bad doesn't it, I don't normally wear body-con dresses but I guess I just really liked the pattern and I don't own many dresses and I wanted to try-" I feel both his hands grab my shoulders and it stops my rambling.

"Jules you look amazing." He turns me around and zips it up the rest of the way. He takes a step back to allow me to properly look in the mirror and I do a little spin.

"So, it doesn't look bad?" I ask again just for some extra reassurance.

"No, you look beautiful, please tell me you're going to buy it?" He questions.

I take one more look at myself in the mirror and admire the reflection. The pattern is a light grey plaid and fits in the right places. It's soft and stretchy which I always admire in any type of clothing because that means there's room for food.

"Yeah, I think I will buy it," I say with a smile on my face, happy with my decision. Aiden's smile makes me feel even more confident in my decision.

"Great, now you can just take it off and give me the money for it, I'll pay for my stuff and this while you get dressed and I'll meet you at the door." 

"Sounds good to me," I say closing the curtain and slipping the dress off to hand to him along with my money.

~ ~ ~

By the time we meet up at the food court, Erin has already glued herself to Connors side and Katie is on the phone with who I'm assuming is her boyfriend. Katie and her boyfriend have a complicated relationship, what started out as something platonic while she was dating her ex, slowly turned into something more so she broke up with her long-distance ex of two years.

Her current boyfriend still doesn't live close and he lives a busy life. Because of this, they only text or call about three times a week and replies are quite slow. So, if she ever gets the chance to talk to him then she immediately drops everything to do just that.

Connor distances himself from Erin when he spots Aiden and I making our way towards them. He does a little handshake with Aiden and greets me with a hug which I end quickly when I spot a very disapproving look from Erin. We all agree to grab some fast food because after spending all of our money on Christmas shopping, it's all we can manage to afford right now.

I give Aiden some more money to get my order while I offer to find us some seats. I'm only scrolling through my phone for about five minutes when Connor is the first to sit in front of me. 

"Can I ask you something?" He asks, taking a sip of his drink.

I nod "Sure, go ahead."

"What's up with Erin?" 

I almost choke on the air because I honestly thought it was pretty obvious. "Can you really not tell?" I ask once I catch my breath.

"I know that she likes me, she's not subtle about it. To be honest I like her too but that was only because I thought she was a lot more laid back but now she's all clingy and being weird around me." He responds.

Erin? Laidback? I refrain from laughing but with the image of Erin being relaxed and not the high maintenance girl that she is in my head, makes it exceedingly difficult.

"Look if I'm being honest. Erin has never liked a guy this much before. She an incredibly beautiful girl and guys normally just gravitate towards her and she doesn't have to be the one to make all the first moves. As much as I'm kind of enjoying watching her having to put herself forward like that, you're really not making it easy for her."  I say and there's a moment of hesitation from him.

"Look my advice would be to ask her out if you like her. I'm sure the same laid-back Erin that you like will return once you do."

He smiles "Thanks, Julia."

Before anything else is said, Aiden seats himself beside me, handing me my food. I can hear my stomach begging the same way it has been all day. Erin and Katie follow shortly after but before Erin takes a seat, I stand up and pull her aside.

"Don't sit next to Connor," I tell her.

She gives me a very confused and frustrated look. "Why so you can sit there? I'll sit wherever I want to thank you very much." She turns on her heel to walk away out I pull her back.

"Oh my god, Erin just get your head out of your ass for two minutes. I don't like Connor, we are friends. I would never do that to you and I'm trying to help you. Connor told me he likes you but he's weirded out by you being all clingy. Sit beside me or Katie, I know you like him but chill for a bit. You don't need to be trying so hard and you would know that yourself." This girl just needs to stop thinking that I'm out to get her. It will ruin our friendship if it continues.

"He really said that?"

"Yes, and I promise you that if you just lay off a little bit then things will work out."

She glances back at the table and looks in Connors direction who is fully engaged in a conversation with Aiden about some new Xbox game.

She sighs. "I just really like him."

I nod in understanding, "I know you do, that's why I'm trying to help you."

"Thanks, Julia." Is all she says before walking back to the table and taking a seat beside Katie instead. I take my seat and dig into my food and as I glance up, I notice that Connor and Erin are actually having a pretty relaxed conversation.

~ ~ ~

Aiden walks me home from the bus stop and as I hug him goodbye, he places something into my bag. When he pulls away, I reach in to see what it was and that's when I pull out the necklace. My heart melts a little bit and smile spreads across my face.

"How did you?" 

"I have my ways." He says and shrugs his shoulders with a smile forming on his lips.

"Aiden you didn't have too. I know how much it cost." I say feeling slightly guilty that he would spend so much on me.

"Consider it an early Christmas present." He responds and I pull him in for another hug. It's the little things about Aiden that I like. He didn't have too but he wanted too because he knew it would make me happy.

"Thank you," I say and I feel him squeeze me a little tighter.

"It's no problem, it's the least I could do for dragging you around all day and waking you up so early. Have a good night Jules." He calls as he walks out of my garden and in the direction of his house which is about ten minutes down the road.

"You too, text me when you get home," I call back 

"I always do." He replies and he does.

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Thank you for reading the second chapter of "All I Knew was you" I hope you enjoyed and continue to read. Please feel free to vote, comment and share if you did enjoy as it would be a major help and mean a lot to me.

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Thank you all for reading, you will hear from me in the next chapter.