Beautiful Mistakes

Frowning a little, Leigh said, "Hm, that is strange. I'm not sure, maybe just because you're the newest? If you need new hours I'd be happy to talk to him for you."

She didn't know why Leigh's friendly offer rubbed her the wrong way, but instantly Julie felt her mood shift toward grumpy and she forced a smile. "No, thank you anyway, but I… it's not a big deal I guess."

Why did Leigh always take it upon herself to talk to Aaron for Julie? Was Julie incapable of formulating intelligent conversations? Perhaps complex sentences were just slightly beyond her grasp.

Instantly, Julie felt bad for her unkind thoughts, especially since they were completely unfounded.

Shrugging it off, she decided it must be her hormones.

"Hey," Leigh said suddenly. "I just thought of something. Are you doing anything for New Year's Eve?"

Thinking over her options briefly—reading Shakespeare or Brave New World—she came up with, "Nothing very exciting."

"You should come to my New Year's party," Leigh said enthusiastically. "It's not a big party, just a… smallish social gathering. Aaron's coming, and I was just thinking about it. He was probably going to end up staying at my apartment since we'll all be drinking and everything, but if you wanted to come then you guys could even come together and you could drive him home. I don't know how much fun it will be for you to be pregnant," she said sympathetically, "but it could be fun."

Smiling slightly, Julie averted her gaze and said, "I don't really think Aaron would be happy if I went to the same party he was going to."

"Well, Aaron's not sending out the invites, now is he?" Leigh asked with a little wink. "And besides, I'm going to let you in on a little secret—Aaron is friendly when he's drunk."

Thinking back to the one lovely time she had interacted with intoxicated-Aaron, Julie smiled a little fondly in remembrance. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "He's just… cautious," Leigh said carefully.

Thinking that perhaps it was a good opening, Julie glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was approaching, and then she said, "Yeah, I noticed. Does that have anything to do with that Shannon girl that came in here?"

Leigh took a turn glancing to make sure no one was around, then she shot Julie a hooded glance. "Naturally. I figured you would pick up on that. Aaron doesn't like his business being broadcast like that, but… Shannon Hamilton is one person that I just can't control my feelings around. She's such an evil little bitch, I would just love to scratch her eyes out."

Raising her eyebrows, Julie said, "Yes, I noticed. I've never seen you so... hostile."

Leigh's lips curved upwards just slightly, but Julie could tell just speaking of the redhead made Leigh's mood drop. "She certainly brings out the worst in me. I can't help it; I despise that girl with every fiber of my being."

Nodding casually, Julie said, "Did you guys have it out or something?"

Shaking her head, Leigh sighed. "No. Aaron is a class-act, even in the shitty situation she put him in, and he wouldn't even let me say anything to the dumb bitch."

Julie still found herself surprised by the level of loathing Leigh clearly felt toward the girl, and it was so apparent in the way she would swear and glare at the mere thought of her.

"I take it they had a really bad break-up?" Julie asked, curious, but at the same time not wanting to seem too pushy or too interested.

"You could say that." Leigh shook her head in disgust. "I wish that I could explain to you—she's just unbelievable. Take my word for it."

Smiling slightly, Julie said, "I already believe it. I've never met someone that made you swear just thinking of them."

Smiling a little sheepishly, Leigh said, "Yeah, she brings out my worst side."

"So, what is it that she did?" Julie asked, trying to keep only an appropriate level of interest in her tone.

Leigh sighed. "I wish I could tell you, but that's one thing Aaron would actually get mad at me for gossiping about. It's his story to tell." Then, smiling, she said to Julie, "Hey, if you come to my New Year's Party Aaron will be drunk—if you'd like to hear the story… usually he won't talk about her, about the whole situation, but when you get him drunk and ask about her… well, then he'll usually talk about it."

She only had to think about it for a few seconds, because the temptation of not only getting to hang out with Drunk/Nice Aaron again, but possibly solving the mystery of the redhead so she could quit being so curious about him was just too much to resist.

"You know, a party actually sounds like fun," Julie said.

"Great!" Leigh said enthusiastically, taking the container full of rolled sets of silverware and balancing it on her hip. "I'm so glad you're coming. You can use my camera and take a bunch of really bad pictures of all

of us acting silly. When I'm drunk, I tend to sing, so you can't say I didn't warn you."

"I'll have to bring a video camera," Julie said with a smile as she grabbed the coffee pot and prepared to make a round.