Getting Set Straight (TF)

Back at the Clark house, Sydney and Juliet had remained bundled up on the couch in the living room, the television was now on their third move of the night, and each girl had a spoon and pint of ice cream in their hands. Since Kenny and Claire had left, Juliet's demeanor had finally started to soften again. For the first time since coming to visit, Sydney was starting to see glimpses of her real baby cousin and not whoever was running the show recently.

That being said, Juliet still wasn't being her genuine self, and Sydney knew it. All their conversations were surface level; Juliet didn't want to gossip or tell her any long-awaited stories; the brunette only seemed to be asking Sydney questions about college. It might have slipped past Sydney for a little bit longer if Kenny already hadn't given the warning that Juliet was hiding something. And with everyone but them out of the house and Julie a lot more relaxed, Sydney figured it was high time to learn what that was.

"Okay," Sydney nudged Juliet's leg with her foot.

Juliet looked over, cleaning her spoonful of ice cream, "Okay, what?"

"I've waited long enough. It's time to talk; you had to know this was coming." Juliet's face tightened, and she scooted back to the end of the couch, "What? I know you want to talk about Kenny and Claire."

"No, I don't." Juliet sternly retorted, returning her attention back to their movie, "I don't have anything else to say about it."

Sydney set down her ice cream and sat up, leaning against the armrest of the couch, "Oh, that's such a lie. You were blowing up my phone nonstop this last week, and I promised we'd talk when I came by. Now I'm here, and you suddenly don't care? I'm not buying it." Juliet pursed her lips, treating Sydney to a nice dose of the silent treatment. Sydney, however, wasn't letting that phase her, "Hey, grumpy!" She gave her younger cousin another nudge with her foot, "What's wrong with you? You're not being Juliet right now."

Juliet set her ice cream down. Sydney felt a cold glare follow, "There is no point fucking talking about it because I already know what you're going to say!" Juliet exclaimed, taking Sydney by surprise with her viscerally defensive response, "You're going to take his fucking side and tell me I'm wrong, and I'll be mad! I don't want to be mad tonight; I just want to be happy for once this damn month, so drop it, Sydney, please!"

Sydney's relaxed demeanor melted away, and a trail of goosebumps ran up Juliet's arms when she heard the tone in the brunette's voice. "What is the matter with you? This isn't Juliet; this isn't my cousin. She never came to me to be told she was right; she came to me to make sure she was in the first place. All I'm hearing right now is Ava and how she loves to bark at the world."

Juliet's eyes flared, "That's so not fucking cool, Sydney!"

"No, it's not!" Sydney fired back, "So why don't you prove me wrong? Stop acting so stuck-up and fucking talk to me!" Juliet recoiled at the shout, and at once, the brunette's defenses were stripped away. Her pursed lips slightly trembled, and shame overtook her face, "Julie...talk to me." Sydney insisted, her town softening once more.

"You already met Claire, so you're not going to care what I have to say. I'll just look like some unreasonable bitch," Juliet's voice cracked.

"Now, when have I ever said that to you?" Sydney crawled forward, settling in next to Juliet and putting an arm around her, "I'll always hear you out." Juliet hung her head, but her body leaned into Sydney's. "Let's start from the top; what's going on that's got you so mad?"

"Kenny is dating Claire." Juliet instantly retorted.

"And that bugs you."

"Of course it does! Kenny might as well be my fucking brother, and he's dating one of my closest friends, and he did it without even asking me! I feel so insulted!"

"Hon, you do realize Kenny isn't doing this to get at you for anything. He doesn't decide who he likes any more than Claire decides to like him back. You don't get to police who can be together. That's not how it works."

"But Claire isn't even good enough for him! She's like the biggest slut in school, she's been with everyone, and she dumps everyone! Kenny's going to end up with his heart broken in less than a month, but he refuses to listen to me!"

"That's his choice, Julie. I don't want to see my little brother hurt any more than you do, but we can't make him listen to what we think is best for him. And with Claire, Julie, you should know that there are no limits on people. Sure, Claire might be loose and hops between guys, but that doesn't mean she'll do it this time."

"See? I knew you would disagree with me. You're on his side, and now I look like a bitch."

"You're not a bitch for being protective; what's making you that way is your attitude. You're being so angry and resentful, especially to Kenny, because he's trying to give his relationship a shot. You can't do that."

"I'm not angry at him -- I mean, I am, but -- I'm just angry, okay?! I'm angry at fucking everything Sydney!"

"Why?" Juliet turned her head, "Julie, what aren't you telling me? What's really bothering you?" The younger brunette stayed silent. "You know you can trust me. I'd never tell anyone."

Juliet pressed herself back against the couch, exhaling loudly while throwing her head back. "I'm mad at myself!" It was like an anvil finally lifted off Juliet's chest, and she took a long breath of relief, "I'm...I'm really mad at myself."

"Okay...and why are you mad at yourself?"

"Because I'm so stupid!" Juliet groaned, cupping her hands over her face, "And...A-And I'm confused, Syd. Nothing is making sense in my head right now."

"How about, instead of sitting here all night and beating yourself up, you tell me what happened to cause all this?"

Juliet cringed, but Sydney's expectant eyes never shifted away. "God dammit it..." Juliet shook her head and sat up, "Okay...it's...ugh, God. It's Brian White."

"Brian?" Sydney couldn't help but be visibly surprised by the answer, "You've had issues with him for a long time now. What's got you so worked up about him?"

"Remember that stupid part?" Juliet all but winced, "Graduation night...I don't know how it happened...it must have been the drinks, but we..."

"Slept together?" Juliet flinched, and her entire face tightened, "Julie, honey, we've all made a mistake before. We're human."

"N-Not done." Juliet's head swayed back and forth, struggling to fight her way to the words, "See, during the whole thing, I sorta...told Brian I wanted it, but the next morning when I realized what I did? I kinda -- I wasn't nice, Syd."

"So you're feeling guilty?"

"Yes!"

Sydney let out a soft giggle, "That's not a bad thing Julie, damn. It just means you have a conscious! You were mean to a guy who didn't deserve it, and you feel bad."

"But I shouldn't! Brian White is a douchebag! He...He probably tricked me somehow just to get me into bed finally! I shouldn't feel bad for smacking him and calling him a shithead. He finished inside Syd, like -- Ugh, why do I feel bad for that prick?!"

Sydney cleared her throat, "O-Oh, um...well, did he do that without asking?" Juliet pressed her lips together, and her eyes absently darted around while shrugging. Sydney crossed her arms, "Julie," She dismissively retorted, "You can't be mad at him if you told him to do it."

"Yes, I can be."

"Stop being a brat. What this sounds like is you had sex with him because you wanted to at the moment, but after you finished, you were embarrassed. You slept with someone you think you're supposed to look down on, and you want to make it his fault."

"No..."

"Yes..."

"W-Well, so what! Like you said, a girl can make a mistake!"

"You can! You absolutely can make a mistake, Julie, but you put the guy over the coals for something that you started. What you need to do is go apologize to him." Juliet's head snapped over, staring at Sydney in fearful surprise, "In Person, Juliet."

"What? No. Why? I don't want to do that, Syd."

"Yeah, you do, and honestly, you were just waiting for someone like me to tell you to do it." Sydney confidently replied, "You're a good person Julie, and if you don't do this, it'll just keep eating you up inside. And worse, eventually, you get bitter and resentful, then before you know it....You're the spitting image of your moth --"

"Stop!" Juliet sprang to her feet, "I'm going, I'm going! Don't finish that!" Juliet rushed out of the living room.

Sydney stretched herself out on the couch with a grin, "That's my girl."