"That blue streak of hair lights up my life, and your eyes are… like… a teeny tiny little yellow bird? Ugh, dang it, Walt!"
Luna crumpled up the song she was working on and pitched it at Walt, who chirped defensively as he flew out of her room. She groaned and slammed her head on her desk. If there was one thing Luna Loud despised more than anything else in the world, it was writer's block. She had been cooped up in her room all day, trying to pen together a simple tune that would express her feelings on the girl of her dreams, Sam Sharp. But no matter how much she poked and prodded her brain, she just couldn't transform those feelings into coherent lyrics.
"C'mon, Lunes. Get it together," she scolded herself, tapping her head smartly. "You can write one little song. It's just a ditty for Sam; how hard can it be?"
She took out a new sheet of paper, taking a deep breath to clear her head. She stared down at the blank page, pen at the ready. It wasn't long before she started tapping her pen against her desk as her mind worked furiously. She soon became lost in the rhythm she created, smiling and bobbing her head along with the beat. After a few seconds, she shook herself.
"Whoa, easy there. You already have the melody. Melody's solid," she reminded herself. "Now you just need to put some words to that tune. Something profound. Something that'll really speak to the soul. But what? Where do I even start? Hmm, let's just try getting something down on paper."
Luna scribbled on the page. Halfway through, she growled and crumpled the paper up, tossing it into the trash. She did the same with her next attempt. And the next one. And the next one, until she had finally reached the last sheet in the ream. Frustrated, she stifled a scream and collapsed onto the floor.
"This is hopeless," she groaned. "I have so much to say to Sam about how she makes me feel, and I can't even get one verse right! What am I doing wrong?"
"Luna."
"Gah~!"
Luna yelped and bolted upright as a familiar spooky voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned her head, and sure enough, there was her little sister Lucy standing in her doorway.
"O-oh, it's you," said Luna, recovering from her surprise. "What's up, Luce?"
"Dad said dinner's going to be a little late," Lucy stated plainly. "Thought you might like to know."
"Ah. Okay, cool," said Luna absently, giving Lucy a thumbs-up. "Thanks for the heads-up."
Lucy nodded and started walking away. Just then, an idea popped into Luna's head, and she turned back to Lucy.
"Hey, actually, you got a minute?" she asked.
Lucy stopped and let out her telltale groan. "Sigh. Before you ask, no, dinner is not late because I used the last of Dad's fancy black pepper for my potions."
Luna blinked. "Ooookay. I wasn't gonna say that," she said. "I need your help with something."
Lucy turned around and tilted her head. "What?"
"I'm trying to write this song for Sam, but I've got major writer's block," Luna explained. "I've been at this all day, and while I've got a sweet melody, I haven't come up with any lyrics."
"Hmm. Isn't Sam that girl you like?" Lucy asked.
"The very same, brah," said Luna with a nod. "And that's what makes this so hard. There's so much I wanna tell her, but I don't even know where to start."
"And you need my help, why?"
Luna sighed. "C'mon, don't act dense, Lucy. You write poetry all the time, doncha? Well, what's a song but poetry set to music?"
Lucy knitted her brow. After a pause, she shrugged.
"Eh, why not? I've got nothing better to do," she said. "Just let me get my poetry journal. It looks like we're going to need more paper."
Luna glanced over at where Lucy was staring, and she noticed the mountain of crumpled-up paper piled in her wastebasket. She chuckled sheepishly.
"Like I said, I've been at this pretty much all day," she said. "Thanks a million, dude."
Lucy simply nodded and departed from Luna's bedroom.
In a matter of minutes, Lucy returned with her poetry journal and pen in hand. Luna was sitting at her desk, tapping out a smooth rhythm with her own pen. Lucy cleared her throat.
"Gah~!"
Once again, Luna jumped in surprise. When she realized who it was, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh. Right. Sorry 'bout that," she said. She then gestured to her beanbag chair. "Please, take a seat."
Lucy nodded and plopped herself down on the beanbag chair. She opened her journal to a blank page.
"So, first thing first. I haven't met Sam, so I'm not really in a position to write about her," she stated plainly. "How about you tell me what she's like? What exactly do you like about her?"
Luna let out a whimsical sigh. "Oh man, where to start?" she said. Her eyes drifted out the window. "Sam Sharp is just… a rock 'n roll angel. She's gorgeous, she's funny, she's—"
"What about her is gorgeous?" Lucy interrupted.
Luna blinked for a moment before her cheeks turned a bit red. "I, uh… I mean, there's her hair. She just rocks those blue highlights; it really speaks to the rebellious rocker she is. And her eyes, boy. I could stare into those beautiful baby blues all day long. And that's not to mention her great b—"
She stopped short, remembering that she was discussing this with an eight-year-old girl. Luna's blush spread from her cheeks to the rest of her face.
"W-well, you'll know about that part when you're older," she said sheepishly.
If Lucy was concerned about this, she didn't show it. "Right," she said, scribbling in her journal. "Don't worry about holding back, Luna. If this truly is a song for the woman you love, it has to come from the heart."
"Trust me, that's not the issue, sis," said Luna nervously. She then cleared her throat. "'Sides, I haven't talked about the best part yet."
"Oh?"
Luna sighed again and stared dreamily out the window. "Her voice. If you thought I had talent, wait until you hear Sam Sharp. When she sings, it's like listening to a Siren's call. It just… gives your heart a big ol' hug and refuses to let go. Whenever I hear her take a solo, I get this case of the warm fuzzies. Everything in my body just goes… numb. Like she's got me under her spell or something, but not in a bad way. Y'know how some shrinks hypnotize their patients in order to help them relax?"
Lucy shrugged. "I do now, I guess."
"It's kinda like that. I hear her sing, and it feels like everything is right in the world. And part of me just wants to make that solo a duet."
Luna's heavenly smile slowly faded, and she let out a heavy sigh. "But sometimes, I wonder if that could really happen."
Lucy stopped writing in her journal and looked up. "What do you mean?"
Luna turned to face Lucy and rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I know Mom took a chance with Dad, and that led to them having us. And I know I said I was willing to take that chance with Sam. I still am, absolutely. But… there's always this nagging feeling in the back of my mind, and I end up worrying about all the ways this could go totally wrong."
"Like what, for instance?"
Luna rubbed her arm and averted her gaze. After a pause, she sighed. "Okay, look. I never told this to anyone else before, and honestly, I don't really know how to feel about it. Just… for now, promise me you'll keep this on the down-low, a'ight?" She extended her pinkie finger to Lucy. "Pinkie swear?"
Lucy looked a Luna for a moment before shrugging. "Very well. Pinkie swear."
The two of them clasped pinkies. Once the promise was official, Luna cleared her throat.
"Well, it's like this," she said. "I don't really get this from my friends, but sometimes at school, I hear all these people singing my praises and stuff. Some days, I'll just be walking down the hall, and I'll hear; 'Oh Luna, you're so talented,' or 'Oh Luna, you're such a nice person. I bet everyone in your family looks up to you.'"
Lucy stared at Luna, though like always, her reaction was hard to read. Luna sighed.
"Look, their words, not mine," she insisted. "And y'know, it's cool to hear that kind of stuff from time to time. Nice to have a good rep and all. But, that gets me to thinking about something."
"About what?"
Luna averted her gaze again. "What if I start dating Sam, and she has all of these super-high expectations of me? Because let's be real here: I'm not gonna meet them. It just ain't gonna happen, Luce. I mean, you know me. You know I try my best, but I'm not perfect. I can be thoughtless, I've lost my temper over stupid stuff, and if I'm being completely honest here, I have a feeling that every noise complaint we've ever gotten is because of me. And if I can't get Sam to like me despite all that…"
Luna paused for a moment as she let out a deep sigh, slumping over in her seat and staring at the floor. "…what chance do I have of getting anyone to like me?"
She let out a sniffle and shook her head, losing herself to her insecurities for a brief moment. It wasn't long before she realized that Lucy was still in the room. Hastily, she sat upright and brushed a tear from her eye.
"Heh, sorry 'bout that, brah," she said weakly. "Didn't mean to drop that whole teenage angst bomb on ya."
Lucy shook her head. "It's okay. I told you not to hold anything back." She then averted her own gaze. "Besides, I know how it feels."
Luna tilted her head quizzically. "How what feels?"
"Worrying that someone doesn't like you, even though you like them," muttered Lucy, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Remember me and Rocky?"
Luna let out a chuckle despite herself. "Oh yeah. Right. That whole thing."
Lucy nodded. After a moment of awkward silence, she looked back at Luna. "Tell me, Luna. Does Sam like you now?"
Luna blinked. "Huh? Well, I mean, yeah. We're pretty good friends. I hang with her all the time."
"Well then, what're you so worried about?" Lucy inquired. "She already knows you better than a bunch of strangers who only see you in passing. If you're already friends, that's most of the work done for you."
Luna knitted her brow and stroked her chin, pondering this for a moment. "Hmm. I'm pickin' up what you're layin' down, sis. But that's not the only thing," she said. "I mean, maybe she's just not into me. Maybe she's only attracted to guys. Which, y'know, is fine, obviously. Love shouldn't have rules. But if she's not into girls, that doesn't do me any favors, know what I mean? And I'm sorry, I'm not gonna live in some fantasy world where I somehow convince her to change who she is. You just don't do that."
"Sigh," Lucy mumbled. "I'm afraid I can't help you there, Luna. Unless, of course, you want to try one of the potions I made with Dad's fancy black pepper."
"I don't," said Luna flatly. "If you force someone to love you, then it ain't real love."
Lucy simply nodded and jotted something down in her journal. Once she was done, she got up from her seat and ventured to Luna's side, placing a hand on her knee.
"I don't know what the future holds for you and Sam, Luna. I wish I did, but even I can't predict everything," she said. "But I do know this."
"What?" asked Luna.
Lucy smiled. "That no matter what happens, you'll always have us."
Luna felt her eyes sting as they welled up with tears, and she snickered. "Geez, Luce. Who knew you could be so sappy?"
"I only say it because it's true," said Lucy simply. She then looked over her work in her journal. "Okay, I think I have something solid to work with. Mind playing the melody for me?"
"Huh wha? Oh, sure thing, dude."
Luna took a moment to collect herself before picking up her guitar. She launched right into a tune with a moderate tempo. The melody itself was a strange mixture of somber and lively, to the point where Lucy couldn't really decide what to call it. Whatever it was, it managed to get her head bobbing to the beat. As Luna played, Lucy wrote in her journal, trying her best to keep pace. When the melody had concluded, Lucy took a moment to look over what she had written. A ghost of a smile crossed her face.
"I think you're going to like this," she said, handing the journal to Luna.
Curious, Luna looked over what Lucy wrote. Slowly, her contemplative expression melted away. Her lip quivered; her eyes watered; she placed a hand to her mouth. She let out a soft laugh and shook her head before turning to Lucy.
"Lucy, this is… this is beautiful," she said. "You really think Sam will get it?"
Lucy shrugged. "How should I know? All I did was write down your feelings."
Luna let out another laugh. "Good point." She then knelt down and gave Lucy a hug. "Thanks for this. I seriously owe you one."
"Don't worry about it," said Lucy, returning the embrace. The two sisters remained there for a while before Lucy squirmed out of her older sister's grip.
"Hey, why don't you try it out before we head down for dinner?" she suggested.
Luna smirked. "Sounds like a plan." She readied her guitar. "One two three four…"
When I hear your Siren song,
It's hard for me to keep myself at bay,
But then I think that something's wrong,
I look at you, not knowing what to say.
Sometimes I just cry, thinking of you,
I soar right through the sky, thinking of you,
And every night I sigh, thinking of you,
You and me, are we meant to be?
People say I'm the best of all,
But do they truly know about me?
I lose count of all the times I fall,
Despite that, I hope you get to see.
Sometimes I just cry, thinking of you,
I soar right through the sky, thinking of you,
And every night I sigh, thinking of you,
You and me, are we meant to be?
And if you don't feel the same,
I'm telling you that's fine,
Your happiness is more important
Than making sure you're mine.
But if you're willing to try,
Then baby, I am too,
Let's see what's in store
For me and you~!
Sometimes I just cry, thinking of you,
I soar right through the sky, thinking of you
And every night I sigh, thinking of you,
You and me, are we meant to be?
I hope so~!