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

chapter two

Magnolia's excitement was radiating as she woke up early on the day of the acoustic gig. She knew that there was no reason to wake up so early, but she wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. Her once quiet and disorganized room was now filled with music, as she danced around trying to find the perfect outfit.

"Why is it that every time something important happens, I can never find an outfit?" Magnolia muttered to herself as she rummaged through her closet. She tried on a few different outfits before finally settling on one that she felt good in.

As she was trying to decide whether or not to wear makeup, there was a loud knock at her bedroom door. "It's 8 a.m.! Why the hell are you up?" Tina rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she entered Magnolia's room.

She turned to face her friend, a huge grin on her face. "You know how I get when an event comes up. From 8 to 9, I get ready. I have to be at the shop by 10 because that's when Josiah gets there. Knowing you and Chloé, you both will get there at 10:30. The band shows up at 11, the store opens up at 11:20, and the set starts at 11:30! Now, do I wear makeup or not?"

Tina laughed at her roommate's enthusiasm, "You should just put that silver glitter stuff on your eyes, maybe some white eyeliner on your waterline?"

Magnolia nodded, sitting down at her dark gray vanity, surrounded by a sea of makeup products. She started putting white eyeliner on her waterline before she realized she didn't have her jewelry on. "Can you find my ring and necklace?" she asked her friend, her voice laced with a hint of anxiety.

Tina looked around the room, her eyes landing on a small silver ring with little diamonds and a silver cross necklace. She picked them up and handed them to Magnolia, who breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much, Tina. I don't know what I would do without you," she said, slipping on the ring and putting on the necklace, then started putting on the silver glitter all over her eyelid.

Tina smiled at her friend, "You'd probably die, love. I'm going to get ready, you gotta leave soon. Josiah will probably be there at least 10 minutes early."

Magnolia chuckled, "You're right, you're right. Will you be there with Chlo at 10:30?" she asked, chewing on her nails.

"I'll make it 9:59, I'll bet you twenty dollars," Tina leaned against Magnolia's door frame, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

The younger girl grinned, "Is that a Boygenius reference?"

"Jesus, how long did you and Julien talk last night?" Tina looked her roommate up and down.

"That's none of your business, go get ready!" Magnolia got up, gently pushed her friend out of the doorway, and shut the door in her face.

The faux redhead grabbed her car keys and was out the door by 9:30. She plugged her phone into the aux cord, turned on "The Record" and felt comfort in Julien's voice as $20 started playing through the speakers of the car. Was it cheesy? Maybe, but she wanted to at least be aware of the music before she saw them live.

During the drive down to "Lovers Records," the record store where she works, she got to listen to about half of the album. She was pleasantly surprised with how much she truly enjoyed the music. Maybe it was time to start the whole dating thing again.