Juno let out a small giggle as she raised her beer bottle to clink longnecks with Darcy and Viv. The three women had decided to meet at Gino's for lunch, gorging themselves on deep dish pizza and beers while they tried to figure out a life plan for Juno.

God knew she needed some guidance right now, Juno thought, smiling at her friends gratefully.

"So." Viv said, blowing on her hot slice of pizza before taking a bite. "Tell us what happened."

Juno let out a groan and picked up her own slice of pizza. "Which terrible story do you want first?"

Darcy and Viv exchanged glances. "There's more than one?" Darcy asked, her face etched with concern.

Juno nodded. "Oh yeah. There's my eviction notice, my bank account with eighteen dollars in it, my latest job assignment falling through and oh yeah… my parents are getting a divorce."

Darcy and Viv listened open mouthed as Juno spoke nonstop for the next fifteen minutes, describing everything that had crossed Juno's path in the time since they had returned home. They occasionally asked questions or wanted clarification, but for the most part they just let her ramble on and on until she'd gotten everything off her chest.

"Jesus." Darcy breathed. "No wonder you needed pizza and beer so badly."

Juno nodded and gave them a small, brave smile. "It hasn't been the greatest week, no."

"You poor thing." Viv said, taking Juno's hand and giving it a squeeze. "I don't even know what to say to try and make this better."

"I'm not sure anything can." Juno said. "I'm just trying not to crawl into a hole and stay there, no matter how tempting that thought is. All things considered, though, I probably wouldn’t be able to afford the rent on a hole."

"Have you found a place to live yet?" Darcy asked with concern.

Juno shook her head. "I have a couple of leads on some apartments, but nothing spectacular yet. If worst comes to worst, I'll just pick one of the apartments I went and looked at and move, but for now, I'm still hoping to find something better."

"Honey, you know you're always welcome to crash at my place for a while." Viv said with a warm smile. "It can be like college all over again."

"Oh gosh, Viv, I don't want to do that." Juno said quickly, her heart swelling at her friend’s offer. "But I really appreciate the offer."

"Well, it's always open." Viv replied. "We don't want you living on the streets or anything."

"I'm hoping to avoid that myself." Juno said with a small grin. "Though I bet I could make more panhandling than I could writing at this point."

"I'm still stunned about your parents splitting up." Darcy said, leaning back in her chair and taking a long drink from her beer bottle. "And at how calm your mom was telling you all about it."

Juno rolled her eyes slightly. "It was by far the weirdest, most awkward conversation I think Mom and I have ever had. Except maybe for the time she caught me sneaking in past curfew in high school, and had to have the big 'birds and the bees' talk." Juno shuddered involuntarily at the memory.

“Ew.” Darcy agreed with a laugh.

“What aren’t you telling us, Juno?” Viv said after studying Juno’s face for a long moment. “I mean, I know your world is falling apart and everything, and we’re totally here for you, but there’s something else.” Juno lowered her head and Viv nodded to Darcy in confirmation. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with a nice guy by the name of Jamie, would it?”

Juno finally looked up and met the eyes of her friends sheepishly. “That obvious, huh?”

Darcy pinched her fingers together a few times. “Just a little.”

Juno laughed halfheartedly and grabbed her beer bottle to take a long drink. “There’s something wrong with me. I can’t stop thinking about him. I mean, it’s all the time.”

“Thinking what?” Viv asked, her tone serious but her eyes dancing with hidden teasing.

“Mostly about him naked.” Juno joked, making both girls laugh. “And tied to the bed, but that’s your fault.” She teased, pointing an accusatory finger at Darcy and laughing.

Darcy grinned and Viv laughed, both quieting down when Juno began speaking again after a beat. “I miss him all the time. I mean, I’m a reasonably intelligent, reasonably stable adult, but those two days turned my world upside down. I mean it, it’s like I met…” She shrugged and trailed off, unable to complete her thought out loud to her two closest friends. It all just sounded too hokey for words, Juno thought dryly, berating herself for feeling like she got caught up in some stupid romance novel plot.

“Your soul mate?” Darcy asked, her voice soft.

“That sounds insane, doesn’t it?” Juno asked harshly, resting her forehead in her hand and groaning.

“Sounds like something to envy, actually.” Darcy replied, making Juno quickly look up at her with a look of confusion. “What?” Darcy interjected, her voice sounding hurt. “I know you think I’m this big woman about town, ruthlessly tearing my way through men, and I won’t deny that that’s usually the case for me, but you know, I want the fairy tale as much as the next girl. And June, honey, I think you’ve got the fairy tale thing going on, big time.”

“Do I?” Juno asked. “Can you really fall this hard for someone you’ve known for a cumulative, like, forty nine hours?” Juno sighed heavily. “I’ve never bought into the whole ‘love at first sight’ thing, but this is just…” She uselessly waved her hands in the air, trying to find the words. “This feels like the real deal. But I’m not an expert.”

“No one is an expert at love, honey.” Viv said in her reassuring voice. “The only way to get better is to dive right in and live it. And I think it’s time you stopped living so safely and started taking a risk or two, having an adventure or two.”

“Yeah.” Darcy agreed enthusiastically. “Think of what happened the last time you had an adventure. You found Jamie Frasier.” She grinned and Juno was unable to resist grinning in return.

“He is delicious, isn’t he?” Juno asked with a sly grin.

“Yummy enough to eat with a spoon.” Viv agreed with a grin. “Not that I was checking him out or anything.”

“Liar!” Darcy shrieked. “You were panting over him as much as I was! Hussy!”

“You were the one throwing your boobs in his face!” Viv shot back. “Who’s the hussy now, hrm?”

“God.” Darcy breathed, looking at Juno. “No wonder you were so pissed. We were totally mackin’ on your man.”

“I wasn’t pissed.” Juno said tentatively.

“Yeah. Right.” Viv and Darcy said in unison, heavy on the sarcasm. “If a man like that was totally drooling over me, I never would have let you guys near him.” Viv smiled. “I probably would have, you know, kept him…”

“Tied to the bed?” Darcy and Juno said in tandem with a laugh.

“Something like that.” Viv smiled. All three girls were silent for a long moment, each contemplating what direction Juno should take to mend her broken heart.

“So what do I do about it?” Juno asked plaintively after a long pause, wanting someone to just tell her what to do, just so that she wouldn’t have to agonize over it any more.

Viv cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “You let your fairy godmothers step in for a little assistance on this matter.”

“Meaning?” Juno asked suspiciously.

Juno leaned back in her chair and listened intently as Viv laid out the entire battle plan.

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before . after