A/N: I am so grateful for every review and follow and favorite that this story has gotten! Thanks especially to Sally-10718! Your review brightened my day so much! Anyway, this chapter is the halfway point, and I hope you guys keep enjoying it! Lots of love to you all! Also, there are some BIG Emily/Julie feels in this chapter, so prepare yourself! (They're my favorite. I low-key wrote this fic because I had this idea that Emily would pseudo-adopt Julie if she knew what was going on between her and Luke, and then this whole story came into existence.) Have fun!

When Luke woke up on Sunday afternoon, he felt incredible. It was like the high from the show last night never left. He checked his phone and was surprised to see a few messages in the band group text:

The Best Band Ever

Angelic Jules: Guys, that was so fun last night! I love you guys a lot! xo

Angelic Jules: Also, Dad and Tia have formally invited you guys to family lunch next Sunday. No pressure, but you're welcome if you want!

Angelic Jules: Fair warning, my family is crazy.

Reginald: dude! ill be there!

Reginald: do u think ur dad can help me rite a buget?

Angelic Jules: Uh, sure, Reg. lol

Power Alex: Dude, you've been supporting yourself for two years. How do you not have a budget?

Power Alex: Also, Jules, we'll all come! I wanna meet Ray too!

The texts had started half an hour ago, and Luke realized that Julie must've left hours ago. He jumped out of bed and walked to the kitchen to make some coffee, and when he got there, Reggie and Alex were sitting at the table eating lunch.

"Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Alex quipped. "Even Reggie got up before you."

"Hey! I get up before Luke every day!" Reggie countered. Alex met him with a look. "Well, I get up before him like, half the time."

Luke just shrugged. "Greatness just needs a little extra sleep, ya know?" He grabbed a mug and poured himself a cup of cold coffee and stuck it in the microwave.

Alex laughed. "Julie woke up hours ago, dude. Apparently greatness does not need extra sleep."

"Speaking of Julie, what was with her during the show last night?" Reggie asked. "Luke, did you do something? She was avoiding you, man!"

Luke's brow furrowed as he grabbed his coffee from the microwave. "Yeah, I know. But I have no idea what I did."

Alex grinned. "If I had to guess, I'd say she just got a little in her own head. It happens to the best of us. After all, her dad was there. I wouldn't want to flirt with a rockstar on a stage in front of my parents, ya know?"

Luke nearly choked on his first sip. "Too hot," he mumbled, but Alex and Reggie just laughed.

"Luke, you and Jules were totally vibing during 'Bright,' but by 'Edge of Great,' she was avoiding you until those sexy little riffs," Reggie pointed out.

"Yeah, not to mention the super intense gaze during the last lines? That was more than just 'chemistry with everyone you sing with,'" Alex added.

"Dude, you should just tell her you like her. I'm pretty sure she likes you too."

"What? I don't like her! I mean, not like that!" Luke protested.

"Luke Jacob Patterson, we've known you since elementary school. We know you like her. We know you know you like her. You know we know you know you like her. Cut the crap."

"Wait, I'm confused?" Reggie said. "Who knows what?"

Alex sighed and rolled his eyes. "Everyone in this room knows about Luke's feelings. The only person who may not know is Julie. You should tell her."

"Yeah, that's what I said!" Reggie pointed out.

Luke took a deep breath and then a long sip of coffee. Eventually, he conceded. "Okay, I might like Julie a little bit. But that doesn't mean I need to tell her. I'm sure I'll get over it."

He missed the fond but knowingly annoyed faces exchanged between Alex and Reggie.

"Whatever, dude. It's your life."

After family lunch, where Tia Victoria dropped a lot of not-so-subtle hints about how cute that other singer in the band was and Flynn totally egged her on, Julie headed over to Emily's for their weekly baking lesson.

"Hi Emily!"

"Julie! How was the performance last night?" Julie was surprised but really excited by Emily's interest.

"It was great! We crushed it! And a talent scout for this music festival came and got our contact info from the guys while I was with my family. It's not a big break, but it's a cool place to start."

"That's wonderful, dear!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it! And thanks for your text! It meant a lot to me that you were thinking of us!"

"It was kind of exciting, thinking of you kids performing. Not just busking for tips downtown, but really performing somewhere!" Emily said, her eyes shining with excitement.

"It was really fun!"

"Well how do you feel about making some celebratory brownies?"

"That sounds amazing! Let's do it!"

While waiting on the brownies to cool, Emily and Julie were sitting at the kitchen table, each enjoying a cup of tea.

"So Julie, what is it about music that you love so much?"

Julie was a little surprised at Emily's continued willingness to talk about the thing that seemed like a barrier between her and her son, but she happily answered the question regardless. "I love that music can make people feel things, or maybe it just makes them more aware of their feelings. I don't know, but my mom used to write these really beautiful, really encouraging songs, and on bad days, those are the songs I need to hear. The song she wrote for me right before she died is my favorite example of that. It's about not letting tragedy hold you back, or letting obstacles keep you from doing the things you love. And on hard days, that's not an easy thing to do. Music helps."

Emily was quiet. "Why does Luke love music?" she asked after a moment.

Julie paused. "Wouldn't you rather hear that from him rather than me?"

"I suppose so… It's difficult talking to him about music. Sometimes it feels like-well, it's silly." There were tears in Emily's eyes, and Julie reached over and held her hand.

"If it's what you feel, it's not silly, I promise. Although you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Emily sighed. "Sometimes it feels like he loves music more than he'll ever love us."

Julie squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry you feel that way. It's not silly. It's also not true, though."

Emily smiled as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek, but she didn't respond. So they sat together in silence for a few minutes, until Emily was ready to move on.

And eventually she did. "Please don't say anything to Luke about this…" she whispered.

"Never," Julie promised.

"Well, I suppose we should start packing up those brownies. I know you have that big Poetry test this week, and I don't want you to lose any time studying."

"Thanks Emily. I, uh, I haven't said this, but I'm really grateful for the way you look after me. I always feel very cared for with you."

"Oh Julie," Emily pulled her into a hug. "I feel the same way. I'm glad you girls moved in next door."

On Monday afternoon, Julie was supposed to meet up with Willie to work on their first major essay of the semester, but Alex texted her, panicked about how his song for comp was coming along. So she texted Willie.

Julie: Willie, I'm so sorry! Alex just texted. Apparently he needs some help with our latest comp assignment. Do you mind if A.) he joins our study sesh and B.) we change locations? We might need a piano.

Willie: No problem, Julie! You know I'm down to hang with Alex! Just tell me where to go!

Julie: Willie, you're a saint! I just reserved practice room 225 in the Hall Music building. I'll meet you there in fifteen!

Then, having squared that away, she texted Alex:

Julie: I'm studying with Willie, but he said you could join! We're meeting in Hall's-PR 225, just for you!

Alex: Julie! I can't work on my music with WILLIE there!

Julie: Alex. Calm down. He's not gonna judge your song.

Alex: …

Julie: I know you like him. But he's chill. Besides, we're meeting because he needs help with our Shakespeare paper.

Alex: Okay. Thanks for changing your plans for me.

Julie: Duh! You're one of my best friends! There's not a lot I wouldn't do for you! xo

Alex: See you in ten!

Ten minutes later, Alex walked into the agreed upon practice room, but Julie was nowhere in sight, which was surprising for someone as prompt as her. But he just walked in and made himself comfortable on the floor, pulling out his song book.

He started tapping out the beat for his current work-in-progress and was mentally playing it, when the door opened.

"Hey Alex, how's it going, man?" Willie asked, walking over to sit next to him, leaning against the wall. "Is that the song that's giving you trouble?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I'm a drummer, so I don't really work with melody and harmony much. Melodies don't really cross my mind that often. At least the way they do for Julie. They just come to her. "

"Dude, I heard you singing this weekend. Melody and harmony may not be where your primary focus is, but you crushed it. You clearly have a good grasp on it. And your ear is great."

"Thanks Willie." Alex smiled at the guy beside him. After a moment of silence, Alex cleared his throat. "Uh, I wonder where Julie is. She's usually pretty punctual."

Willie chuckled. "You're wired a little tight, huh?"

Alex shrugged. "I've got anxiety. It's not so bad these days, but I've always kind of been a stress-head about some things. Like following the rules. Doing well in school. Being on time. You know."

"Is that why you started playing drums?"

"Yeah, I mean, what better way is there to work through your feelings than wailing on some drums?"

"I get that. Oh, look, Julie texted." Willie picked up his phone.

"Yeah, me too," Alex nodded, opening the app. And there was a message from Julie to him and a number he didn't know.

Julie: Guys, I'm so sorry! My bag broke and dropped my stuff everywhere! I'm gonna run to a campus convenience store and see if I can get a reusable grocery bag to stuff everything in. I'll get there as soon as I can! I promise!

Unknown: no big jules. alex and i will be fine. hope nothing important was damaged

"It looks like she texted us both," Alex said.

"Cool, now I have your number!" Willie said, apparently saving it in his phone.

Alex: Jules! That sucks! But yeah, we're fine! No rush

After sending his own response, Alex tried to calmly save Willie's contact in his own phone.

Julie: Oh my gosh, you guys. The convenience store had *nothing* so I'm gonna have to go to the bookstore to get something. *eye roll* So expensive! But close to the music building! I'll be there soon!

Willie: cool see you in a few

Willie pulled out his laptop. "I guess I should be working on this paper. I just feel like I still know nothing about Shakespeare's plays. Like, I get that Hamlet was depressed, but why did that translate to killing Polonius?"

Alex shrugged. "I have no idea. I gave up on Shakespeare when I read Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade. They killed themselves over a misunderstanding. I was over it. Not to mention it's super difficult to tell what's going on. I swear some of what he wrote isn't even English anymore!"

Willie laughed. "Yeah, taking a course in Shakespeare was probably not my smartest move since I can barely understand the guy."

"You're lucky Julie's in that class with you. She actually likes Shakespeare."

"Meeting Julie has definitely had some major advantages on top of just how awesome she is!"

Alex was pretty sure Willie was looking at him in this meaningful way, but he couldn't process it at the moment, so he just wished Julie would show so she could help him with his song. "Yeah, same," he said as he started tapping out the beat of his song.

Willie let out a breathy laugh and started typing. "I hope she gets here soon."