A/N: Wow, it's nice to rewrite a fresh ShunXJulie fanfic. This story was originally by impractibility, but alas, a severe case of writer's block took over for this story. So I'm reintroducing this story and finishing where she left off. I am co-owner, but she is the original author. This story is semi-AU, and takes place after the first season of Bakugan so New Vestroia hasn't occured yet. Forgive me if I mess up certain facts because I mostly watched Bakugan for the pairings. For example, I have no clue when Shun's birthday is, but I decided that it will be the beginning of July.

Pairings: ShunXJulie

Warnings: Slight OOC, mild sexual references

It was a quiet, cloudy Saturday afternoon. It was drizzling lightly outside, and the air was still and humid with the scent of rain. Julie Makimoto, age 15, lay sprawed on her bed, half asleep as her eyes scanned the notebook page she clutched in her hand.

Yawning, she murmured to herself, "Okay, so a difference of squares factors into two identical binomals...wait, that doesn't sound right, identical binomals are perfect squares, right? Or...ARGH!" She crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it at her window. It bounced off of the glass and dropped into her heart designed trash bin. Smiling contently, Julie rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. "I hate summer homework," she whined sleepily. "Life is so boring since the Bakugan left."

It was true. Things had slowed down alot ever since the Bakugan had returned to Vestroia three years ago. Julie missed them terribly, especially her Gorem. She was still her usual peppy self on the inside, but on the inside she felt like a part of her was missing. Over the years, she had matured greatly, emotionally and physically. She just wasn't the same girl she used to be without Gorem. She was still a fashionista freak and worried greatly about her appearance, but she wasn't as ditsy. She sighed, blowing out a long, soft breath.

Her loneliness could be accounted for by her return to Bakugan Valley. She hadn't seen any of her friends for years, minus Billy. But Billy had changed drastically in 3 years. He was no longer the cocky kid who was her first boyfriend, but now a much more responsible teenager that had started to take his life more seriously. He still played baseball, and he was good...good enough to consider it as his future career. He practiced every day. He was probably even out there now, in the rain.

She and Billy were no longer dating, but they remained best friends. It had been a mutual breakup and neither of them were bitter about it. The memories of holding hands with him, walking with him, talking with him, even kissing him...they had all faded with time, but they were memories Julie would cherish, in retrospect, she had always known their relationship would escalade someday, albeit temperary. she had known him all her life, and at that curious preteen age it was no shock that they had come to look at each other in a romantic light. Sometimes she wished that their brief dating period had been more genuine. Now, however, they were both happy, and Julie supposed that was all that mattered.

Julie had gotten over her silly crush on Dan, too. She hadn't admitted that to anyone yet, because it was just so much fun to see Runo's furious expression and Alice's worried glances every time she flirted with him, or threw herself at him. And she liked hugging Dan anyway. He smelled nice, like cinnamon. Plus, he always felt warm. Julie remembered that clearly, even if she hadn't hugged Dan in a long time. Or any of the boys for that matter. She supposed the next time she had the chance, she would tell him that she didn't like him anymore. But not without her fair share of teasing.

She had always loved to cuddle Marucho, he was just so cute and even though he was only eleven when they first met their Bakugan, he had seemed much younger on account of his dwarflike height.

Now 14, he had experienced a major growth spurt, and was almost Dan's height. He wasn't that different now than he had been 3 years ago; he loved science and technology and despite his cushioned lifestyle, he was very down-to-earth and helpful. In physical appearance, he had shoulder length choppy blonde hair and he wore smaller glasses. His body hadn't changed much except that he was thin and tall, with hardly any muscle. He still lacked confidence, though, and very akward around girls.

Julie would deny this for the rest of her life, but she also missed the loudmouth, Runo. Sometime on their journey into Vestroia, she had taken a liking to the aquamarine-eyed girl. Runo had spunk, and Julie admired her burning desire to protect the ones she loved. Also, it was quite entertaining to argue with her. Julie could be sadistic when she so chose, just like the third girl in their group, Alice.

Yes, Alice was terribly sweet but even without Masquerade, she had a bit of a devilish side. While in her younger years she had always played the role of a scapegoat, her new 17-year old self, 'Didn't take shit from anyone,' as Julie liked to say. Unprovoked she was very kind and polite, but she had learned to stand up for herself. Although Julie suspected that there were a lot of things bothering Alice that she didn't want to talk about.

Most of their problems seemed to involve the last member of the group, Shun. Julie hadn't spoken to Shun in what felt like forever. The 16-year old had remained very distant, retreating to his dojo after the Bakugan's departure and cutting off his ties with the rest of the group. Poor Alice had tried to get throught to him (among the others she had always been the best at that), but he refused to talk to even her. Since Alice was the big sister figure in the group, she had clearly taken his reclusion the hardest. Julie had always suspected that there was something going on between the two, but apparently she was mistaken.

It was almost depressing, a word that had no place in Julie's vocabulary. Unlike Dan, Runo and Marucho, she couldn't spend a day with a friend whenever she wanted. Unlike Alice, she didn't live in a busy city where she knew many people. Unlike Shun, she couldn't stand locking herself indoors.

Julie supposed that it was time for her to get a new crush, because maybe it wouldn't be as boring. Julie sighed as the rain began to fall faster outside, trying to clear her head of stressful thoughts. Listening to the peaceful tapping of raindrops on her roof, she allowed herself to drift off to a light sleep.

She awoke several hours later to a strange beeping sound originating from her computer. Groaning, she squinted her eyes at the digital clock on her nightstand. It was 9:52 p.m. and pitch black outside. The rain had stopped and all was silent. Sometime during her nap, her mother (or her sister) had thrown a soft cotton blanket over her, and all the lights were off.

"Mom and Daisy must be asleep," she mumbled, dragging her self out of bed. She switched her bedside lamp on and stumbled over to the computer, smoothing out the uncomfortable wrinkles in her clothes. Quickly shaking the mouse to activate the moniter, she saw that she had a video chat request from Dan. Smiling, she accepted the request and sat down, but not before fixing her hair.

Dan's face flashed onto the screen, but he wasn't wearing his regular happy go lucky expression. In fact, he was making a slightly desperate face. "Dan, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Dan sighed, running a hand through his tousled brown hair. "Julie, do you know what day it is today?" he asked.

"Um, July 1st? Why do you ask?" she said, her face contorting to confusion. "Well do you know what tomorrow is?" he asked, smiling slightly. "July 2nd? Oh! Oh!!" she exclaimed, realization dawning on her. "Yeah, exactly. His birthday," Dan said, leaning back in his chair, his face turning back to its nervous state. Julie knew the significance of the second of July all to well. It was Shun's birthday. "But I thought we agreed not to bring up his birthday anymore? Remember what happened last year when we called him to show up to his own party and he refused?" she said, a little annoyed at the thought. "That's why I'm calling you. He just called me, inviting us all to his place tomorrow," Dan said. "What?!!" Julie screeched in shock, before clapping a hand over her mouth. It wouldn't do to have her sleep-deprived mother on her case.

Almost immediately after her slip-up, she heard a knock at her door. Julie held up a finger to her lips, shushing Dan and called out, "Come in." Daisy walked in, wearing her blue silk tank top and matching pajama pants. "What are you doing, Julie?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. Julie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Dan told me that Shun invited everyone to his dojo for his birthday," she said simply. Daisy's eyes widened a bit and she bent in front of the screen. "Is that true, Dan?" she asked. Dan scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, yeah," he said. Daisy was quiet for moment. Then she said, "Do you think he would let me tag along?" Dan was a little taken-aback, but said, "Nah, I don't think so, I mean, you're our friend, too. So I'll tell him that you're coming Daisy." Daisy smiled warmly and said, "Thank you, Dan. I'm going to head off to bed and Julie, don't stay up too late, am I clear?"

Julie nodded and said, "Promise." Daisy said, "Good," and walked back to her room.

Julie shook her head and said, "I still can't believe Shun called you." Dan said, "Yeah, well, me either. Anyway, it's short notice, so I've been stressing big time." Julie smiled and said, "Yeah I can see. have you told anyone else?" Dan said, "Nope. Only you. I mean, you're the best at that kind of stuff. Planning parties, I mean..." Julie said, "So you're actually gonna go?" Dan said, "Well, yeah. Shun was...is my best friend. And I think it's great he's making an effort to talk to us again." Julie said, "Well, I'm in. I'm always up for a good party."

Dan grinned in relief. "Good, we can all go tomorrow. I'm going to call the others and see if they can make it. Thanks so much, Jules. Just get the OK from your mom and I'll have Marucho pick everyone up in his parent's private plane tomorrow morning," he said. Then he added, "Oh and bring some cash so we can all put our money together and get him something before we meet up with him." "What are we getting him?" Julie asked curiously. "I dunno," Dan said with a laugh. He seemed to have ridden himself of a huge burden. "I'll think of something. See you tomorrow," he said. Julie giggled and said, "Bye, Dan." He waved goodbye before signing off.

Julie shook her head, a smile spreading across her delicate face, while reaching down to unplug her computer. She changed into a pink silk pajama tank and matching shorts, and turned off her lamp, stumbling into bed, pulling the soft blanket up to her chin. She didn't catch a wink of sleep for the rest of the night, thinking about how great it was that she would get to see her friends sooner than she thought.

End of chapter 1. Please review, because I will be updating soon and I need at least 3 reviews. Ja ne.