Tag: 4

Noooope. Lol. 

I like that you mentioned that second meeting, how after realizing that the pretty, sad girl she lowered her guard for was actually one of the mega-rich she was like, oh, that’s over, because she was noticeably aloof when Val popped up again. But of course Val got through to her because she’s very persuasive. 😛

The thing is, this time Juls is staying away not for her own self-preservation but because of Val. And that’s going to make it a lot harder for her to give in. 

Some people act like Juls is some immutable all-knowing character whose inconsistent behavior is a sign of moral failings and not simply a person reacting to new stimuli. She’s learning and experiencing so many things and yes, they’re affecting her. Val’s in a similar position, but not the same.

The way the story was set up, it had to go like this. Val could never have been the one to break up, not when people have spent the whole of their relationship telling both of them Juls wasn’t good enough for Val. Not rich enough, not safe enough, not male enough (there isn’t even a single person on Juls’s side who knows who could make the same argument). If Val had made that decision, the blow to their relationship and to Juls would have been catastrophic. Only one of them is seen as selfish–by herself even–for pursuing the relationship and it’s not Val.

From that second meeting onward, Juls has spent every stage of their relationship, friendship or more, feeling like not enough and ready to bail. When she’s with Val and voices those concerns, on her own behalf, Val addresses them and it works. But even Val can’t argue her out of them when it’s for Val’s own sake. 

It’s not going to be a matter of can Juls stay away from Val, it’s how much will everything around them let them be together and how much can Juls grow to accept she deserves a chance to be with Val.