Nicole stayed quiet as she listened, something tugging at her thoughts.
Kelly nudged her lightly, making her look up. She met Kelly's furrowed brows before her gaze dropped back to the photo she was holding.
Then her eyes lifted—and met her older brother Jonathan's.
"You don't remember?" Jonathan said gently. "You were still a child back then."
Nicole blinked, stunned.
Did Julie and I really know each other before? But… where? she wondered.
Jonathan sighed and shook his head.
"Julie," Kelly asked suddenly, "did you have a friend back then?"
Julie looked surprised, then nodded with a soft smile.
"Dad enrolled me in a dance class during summer vacation," she said. "That's also when I met Veronica again." She paused, then added quietly, "I met a little girl there—she became my friend. But… it was only for a short while."
"Do you remember her name?" Cielo asked gently.
Julie thought for a moment. "I think… she had the same name as Nicole. I used to call her Nicky." Her eyes slowly lifted—locking onto Nicole.
Nicole's breath caught.
"Nicky?" Melissa echoed. "Wait—Nicole, didn't you enroll in a summer dance class before?"
"I—I don't remember clearly," Nicole said shakily. "But… I did have a friend there. She was always alone."
Fragments of memory began surfacing.
"Nicky," Jonathan said, scratching his head, "remember when you couldn't join our summer dance class because it was already full? Dad enrolled you in another school's dance lesson instead."
Nicole froze.
"You were about to enter first grade," Jonathan continued. "You came home happy every day, always talking about a girl you befriended. You even mentioned her name—but since you couldn't pronounce it well, you called her Marie."
Marie.
"Julie Marie—that's your full name, right?" Jonathan asked.
Julie nodded, speechless.
"You even had her picture," Jonathan added. "You treasured it."
"W–We have a picture?" Nicole whispered.
Jonathan handed it to her. "I found it recently. I didn't realize why it felt important—until now."
Nicole stared at the photograph.
There she was—a younger version of herself—hugging a chubby girl with twin pigtails, both smiling shyly at the camera.
"T–That's me…" Julie whispered. "That was my first summer dance lesson."
"Marie…" Nicole breathed. "You're the girl they bullied back then."
Julie looked at her, eyes filling. "Y–You're Nicky… my first friend. You never judged me."
Memories flooded Nicole's mind.
She remembered sitting alone in that dance room, watching others pair up. The instructor hadn't arrived yet when she noticed giggles—mocking ones.
A group of girls were picking on another child.
That girl wiped her tears and quietly sat at the back.
She's fluffy and cute, Nicole remembered thinking. I want to be her friend.
When the instructor asked them to choose partners, the girl didn't move.
Nicole swallowed, then walked over.
"H–Hi."
"H–Hello," the girl replied shyly.
"D–Do you want to be my partner?" Nicole asked nervously.
The girl hesitated. "I–I might be a burden…"
Nicole grabbed her hand without thinking.
"I'm Nicole," she said quickly. "You can call me Nicky."
"J–Julie Marie," the girl replied.
"Can I call you Marie?"
Julie had nodded.
From that day on, they stayed together.
Whenever whispers came, Nicole would wrap an arm around her."We're here to learn. Don't mind them."
Marie was never a burden. She learned fast. And when she laughed—even softly—Nicole felt happy.
But one month passed too quickly.
Back in the present, Julie wiped her tears, smiling.
"Nicky… I was really happy back then. You made me love dancing for a while."
Nicole cried openly now. "I looked for you. I wondered where you went."
"I dropped out after that summer," Julie said softly. "After that… things went back to how they were."
Melissa hugged them both.
"So you're the girl she used to talk about," Kelly said gently.
"That was when you started hating dancing, wasn't it?" Kevin asked.
Julie nodded. "That was also when Dad made a surprise visit to my school—and saw everything."
"That's when he transferred her," Chris added. "When the school failed to act."
"That's when I met Julia and Caden," Julie said. "They became my friends. And after that… I never saw them again."
Caden sighed. "She was fragile then. But now…" he smiled. "She's strong."
Raymond slung an arm around Julie. "You survived all that."
Julie laughed softly. "I'm really happy now."
"Pop Princess," someone teased.
Nicole hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry I forgot."
"Nicky," Julie whispered, hugging back, "you were my sunlight."
Nicole couldn't reply. She only held her tighter—while Joel watched quietly, smiling.