you can't help but become the sun / julien baker

chapter nine

The drive to the hotel was a short one, but it felt like an eternity. Magnolia's palms were sweaty, her heart was pounding, and her stomach was in knots. What if this was a mistake?

As she pulled up in front of the hotel, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She glanced at her phone and saw that she had a new message from Julien. Her heart skipped a beat as she read the words: 'I'm excited to see you too.'

Magnolia quickly sent a text back, 'I'm here x,' and then put her phone away. She took another deep breath and got out of her car, leaning up against it. She felt a surge of a million different emotions in one. What if Julien didn't like her? What if she made a fool of herself? What if this was a mistake?

She shook her head and tried to push those thoughts aside. She had to be positive. This was good for her.

When Julien emerged from the hotel, Magnolia's jaw dropped. She had never seen a more perfect person before. The way the light hit her face made her look ethereal, and Magnolia couldn't help but feel grateful that she had an opportunity to go out with such a beautiful person. "You look beautiful," she told her date, pulling her into a hug.

Julien smiled, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "You look beautiful as well, Maggie," she replied, taking a step back to admire her date.

Magnolia felt her cheeks flush with warmth over the compliment. Her anxieties slowly washed away as she ran to open up the passenger side door, starting to realize that she had nothing to be nervous about.

Once they were both settled in the car that was now moving, Julien asked, "So where are you taking me?"

"There's an art museum maybe twenty minutes away from here and right next to it is a bookstore, I thought we could go to both since they are right next to each other."

"That sounds amazing! It's been a solid amount of time since I've been to a museum and I fucking love bookstores," she said, resting her arm next to Magnolia's on the center consul of the car.

Magnolia felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had been so nervous about planning the date, but it seemed like Julien was genuinely excited about it. The car ride was accompanied by whatever rock band a local radio station was overplaying.

"I do apologize, we'll probably hear this song over and over again, I swear they only play the same ten songs," the younger girl apologized for something that was totally out of her control.

"You don't have to apologize! The same thing happens with Tennessee radio stations, that's why I only use aux now when I drive," Julien smiled, that smile made Magnolia fall more and more for the girl.

"I have an aux cord too," she said, "but I wasn't sure what type of music you like."

"I'm not picky, I like pretty much everything. What about you?"

"I'm about the same way, I just don't really care for country music. Unless it's early Taylor Swift," the car filled up with small giggles as they pulled into the parking lot of the art museum.

Magnolia got out of the car and ran around to open Julien's door for her. "Thank you," Julien said, smiling at the younger girl. Both girls felt their hearts flutter as they walked to the ticket window.

The entrance fee was only twenty dollars so Magnolia used the money that Tina gave her to pay.

"You didn't have to pay for me, I could've paid for myself," Julien tried to protest as they walked into the museum.

Magnolia just laughed. "Don't worry about it, I'm the one that asked you out," she said. "Besides, the money was Tina's, she likes making bets that she never wins."

"Then maybe I feel a little less guilty," Julien chuckled.

As they walked through the beautiful museum, Julien couldn't help but to sneak quick glances at Magnolia. She hadn't been on a date for a while but my goodness was she head over heels for the North Carolina native.

Approaching the second exhibit, Magnolia reached out and connected Julien's pinky with hers. They felt like school girls who had never had a crush before, that innocence was something that the two of them hadn't felt in a while.

The museum was absolutely stunning, both girls were truly attentive as they walked through the building. They marveled at the intricate details of the artwork and the fascinating stories behind each piece.

When they reached the end of the exhibit, Magnolia turned to Julien. "The bookstore is right over here!" she said, pointing to the next building over as they approached it.

Julien's eyes lit up, it had been a while since she had been in a bookstore. "This place is huge!"

As they walked into the store, Julien was amazed by the sheer amount of books, especially for the store being a locally owned business and not one that's run by a big company. The shelves were lined with books of every genre, each labeled to make it easier for customers.

"When Chloé's in town, we go up to the top floor and look up there. The first floor is mostly children and teen books," Magnolia explained. Julien nodded eagerly, excited to see what was on the top floor.

As they made their way up the stairs, Magnolia immediately spotted a special edition book of a collection of Emily Dickinson poems. "These are my favorites, when I was in elementary school I used to take this book that I knew had her work in it and I would hide till lunch was over reading them," she said, her thumbs gently running over the cover.

"This cover is beautiful, do you have a favorite poem?" Julien asked, picking up another copy of the same book.

Magnolia smiled, "I always liked 'Hope' Is The Thing With Feathers," she replied, her voice soft as she placed the book back down. "It's such a beautiful poem, and it always reminds me that no matter how dark things may seem, there is always hope."

Julien let out a quiet hum, "Lucy used to read that one to me not too long ago," she put the copy next to where Magnolia had put the other one.

"I have a tattoo of bird silhouettes on the back of my shoulder for it," Magnolia revealed as they walked deeper into the top floor.

"Is that the only tattoo you have?" Julien asked, slipping her hand into her dates.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to get more but I've just never had a chance to get around to it," she chuckled.

The two walked around the store for two hours before deciding to call it a day.