A/N: Sally-10718 and FeathersAndInkwells, you guys are awesome! I'm so grateful for your reviews; they brighten my days so much! I hope you folks enjoy this next chapter! And keep letting me know what you think! I'd love to hear, especially what you think of this chapter! I had a LOT of fun writing it! (I low-key love jealous Luke.) Also, there's a bit of Willex! Anyway, keep reviewing please!
Luke was sitting on the couch with his acoustic, trying to piece together a melody that had been eluding him.
Reggie started cackling in the kitchen and apparently shared the source of his amusement with Alex, who also started snickering. "Dude. You are so not subtle!"
Reggie walked into the room and shoved his phone in Luke's face. "Look what Flynn just sent me!" Apparently she had taken a picture of Luke and Julie sitting next to each other during lunch.
"So Julie and I sat next to each other for like, ten minutes? Why is that photo-worthy?" Luke asked, trying to be chill about the earnestness of his expression in the photo. Had Julie noticed how he was looking at her? Gosh! Had Ray noticed? Or Carlos?
Reggie just cackled while Alex responded, "We're not stupid, and you can't keep anything off your face." He rolled his eyes.
Luke sighed. "Okay, so I'm looking a little intensely at her. Was it really that bad in person?"
"It was worse."
Luke threw a couch cushion at Alex's head for that one.
"The depth of emotion on your face? You were practically shouting that you're in love with her without using any words."
"Seriously, you should just ask her out already!" Reggie commented.
"Guys, you know I can't! The band! Music is everything!"
"Really Luke? Is music more important than me and Reggie?"
"Well, duh, of course not. But you know what I mean. Dating your bandmates never ends well!"
"Except when it does!" Reggie replied in a teasing sing-song tone.
"Yeah, dude. Just think about it, okay? Because you and Julie would be great together," Alex said thoughtfully. "And it would really suck to deny yourself and her something that would make you guys really happy just because you're worried about the what-ifs."
"But I don't know that it would make Julie happy! I don't know if she likes me, and if she doesn't, I really don't want to make things weird! Ya know?"
Alex and Reggie exchanged looks that did not fly over Luke's head. "Guys, seriously. If I thought she might like me back, it would be different. But right now, it's not. So let it be."
"Dude, you're such a disaster," Alex commented, retreating to his room to complete an assignment and prepare for the week ahead.
On Tuesday, since Julie couldn't practice, Luke and Reggie each picked up an extra shift at work. Of course, Luke's ended up being earlier in the morning and Reggie's was later in the afternoon, so after work, Luke offered to come keep him company if things were slow at the coffee shop.
Luke ran home after work to change before heading over to the coffee shop. He pulled on his favorite blink-182 shirt (obviously without sleeves) and a pair of jeans and dug through his drawers, looking for his favorite hoodie: a dark blue Kings of Leon hoodie his mom had bought for him on his 16th birthday. It wasn't in the basket of clean laundry he still hadn't folded. It wasn't in his dirty laundry hamper or anywhere on the floor. In early October, it was starting to get chilly, so he didn't want to walk around without anything on his arms, so he shrugged into his comfortable flannel jacket and hopped in his car.
When he walked up to the coffee shop, he saw Julie through the window, sitting at a table facing away from the door. His heart immediately sped up and he was suddenly in a much better mood. But when he walked through the door, he saw that she was with some goofy-looking blond guy. He felt a little sick. He couldn't believe Julie would skip out on band practice for a date.
He shuffled forward to the counter, all while watching Julie gesture and nod at this other guy. The blond guy said something and grimaced, but he heard Julie's bright laugh across the room. Something in him burst, and he almost turned around and left, but someone said his name.
"Oh, hey Luke!" Luke finally looked away from Julie and saw Willie and Alex sitting together at the table closest to the counter-the table he usually sat at when Reggie was working.
"Hey guys! What's up?" Luke asked, trying to act as normal as possible.
"We decided to grab coffee together before Willie's 4:00 living art seminar."
"Nice, that sounds fun. I think I'm gonna head home. See you guys later…" Luke said awkwardly.
Alex gave him a slightly pitying look. "You saw Julie, huh?"
Luke shrugged. "She's allowed to do whatever she wants." Luke watched his best friend have a silent conversation with his new boyfriend. Finally, Alex looked back at Luke.
"Grab a drink and come sit with us. Let's hang a little, all three of us. You don't really know Willie, but that should change."
He sighed internally. "Yeah, okay." He stepped up to the counter and rang the bell. Reggie stepped out from the kitchen a moment later.
"Oh, hey dude! The whole band is here!"
"Yeah, I noticed," Luke said sullenly.
"Ah. You saw Julie with her ex. Sorry dude. But if it makes you feel any better, I don't think he has nearly as much chemistry with her as you do."
"That guy's her ex?" Luke asked, his stomach sinking even more.
"Nick. They dated when they were like, seventeen."
"Dang."
"Dude, no one died. And I don't think it's even a date," Reggie tried to reassure him, but Luke wasn't having it.
"Can I just get a London Fog please? Apparently I've been invited to crash Willie and Alex's date."
"Cool! Now it won't be weird for me to hang with you guys too!" Reggie said with a smile. "That'll be three bucks."
Luke swiped his card and waited while Reggie steamed the milk for his drink. When Reggie handed it to him, he grabbed it quickly and returned to Alex and Reggie's table. Someone had moved the open chair so that it faced away from Julie, and Luke internally rolled his eyes. He could handle seeing Julie on a date with someone else. Probably. He grimaced as he glanced over in their direction. Okay, maybe not. He sat down in the open seat.
"So Luke, Alex tells me starting Sunset Curve was your idea. What made you want to start a rock band?"
Luke smiled at his best friend before answering Willie's question. "My mom agreed to buy me a guitar and let me take some lessons if I got straight As my first semester of 6th grade. Alex already played drums by then, and I was obsessed with music. It just made sense. Reggie saved up his allowance for like, two years to buy his first bass, and Bobby just asked his dad." Luke shook his head, remembering the early days fondly. "I can't believe you guys followed me in my crazy pursuits so often back then. Do you remember when we all tried out for the football team because I suggested it?"
Alex laughed. "You always were our ring leader. We would have followed you anywhere."
Willie chuckled. "I can't imagine you playing football, Alex."
"Yeah, that's 'cause I didn't. I went to tryouts and got pushed down during a drill and broke my arm. Not only did I decide I wouldn't play sports anymore, I also couldn't play drums for what felt like forever. I was pretty upset for a while there."
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I remember that," he said absently, before turning around to look over his shoulder at Julie and her ex.
Alex sighed. "Dude, don't. Don't freak out, don't obsess. In fact, let's just leave."
"Yeah. Actually, I have this big showcase for my art midterm. I'd love to show you the pieces I'm displaying. Let's check out the exhibit," Willie said, grabbing his backpack.
"Guys, I'm fine. Really."
Reggie popped up over the counter. "You guys should probably just go. He's gonna obsess."
"Have you been listening this whole time? Even before Luke showed up?" Alex asked, mildly annoyed.
"I can always hear what people say at that table, even from the kitchen. I have overheard lots of first dates, lots of break ups, lots of really ugly fights. I try to make lots of noise in the kitchen when that happens, but I can't seem to drown them out." He rolled his eyes. "Nothing like working in a coffee shop to make you believe that everyone needs therapy."
Luke chuckled.
"Well, let's head out. I wanna see your work!" Alex said excitedly.
Luke picked up his drink that he'd barely touched. "Reg, can you pour this in a to go cup for me?"
Reggie tossed him a paper cup. "Here ya go!"
Luke turned to look at Julie and her ex one more time as he and the guys started leaving. She looked comfortable, but not dressed very nice. Maybe Reg was right and it wasn't a date. She just had on cute leggings and an oversized blue hoodie. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she had turned just enough that he could tell she was wearing her glasses instead of contacts. Of course, Luke still thought she looked adorable, but it didn't look like she was trying very hard. But, he reminded himself, if this guy was an old boyfriend, he'd probably already seen her even more casual than this. Ugh. There was clearly a lot of history there. They seemed very close-"LUKE!" He looked up to see Alex beckoning for him to come. Apparently he'd been staring for longer than he'd realized.
But apparently Julie heard Alex, too. Even though he wasn't looking at her anymore, he heard her voice. "Oh my gosh! Guys!" He turned around and she was walking towards them, looking surprised but not upset. She got to Luke first and gave him a quick hug before walking around the table to hug Alex and Willie too. "What're y'all doing here?" she asked. "Hey! Come meet Nick! I think you'll really like him!" Luke grimaced, even as Julie pulled him and Alex by the arm over to her table. When they got to the table, the blond goofus stood up. "Nick, these are my other band mates! This is Luke, lead guitar and my main co-songwriter, and this is Alex, our badass drummer and his… boyfriend? Willie."
Willie nodded. "Yep, bonafide boyfriend of the hottest member of the band. No offence, Jules!" He held out his hand to Nick. "Nice to meet you!"
Nick smiled and shook the proffered hand. "Nice to meet you too! I'm Nick. Julie and I went to high school together. We were pretty good friends back in the day. We killed it in the music program together! Oh, and remember that time the lacrosse coach made us merge with the dance team for a month? You totally carried me through that whole fiasco! I swear he would have cut me from the team without you!"
Luke was starting to get a little warm and his stomach was churning. He did not want to listen to them rehash the good old days.
"Nick goes to Vandy; he gave up music completely for the sake of engineering," Julie said with a grin. "He went to the dark side, clearly."
Alex grinned right back. "So, you guys hang out a lot?" he asked casually.
"Not really. He just wanted a little… advice on something personal, and I naturally suggested the best coffee shop in Nashville to catch up at."
"Yeah, I owe you big time, Molina!" Nick said with a grin, gently nudging Julie with his elbow.
"Luke, are you okay? You're pretty quiet, and your face is kinda red," Julie asked, a look of warm concern in her eyes.
"Oh, uh, yeah. Just… long day. I'm pretty beat. I think I'll head out." Luke attempted a smile that definitely came out as a grimace. "See you later!" He waved awkwardly as he walked away, mentally kicking himself for being so weird.
"Yeah, I think Willie and I are gonna go make sure he's okay," Luke heard Alex say. "It was great to meet you, Nick! And I'll see you in class tomorrow, Julie!"
"Yeah, of course! Text me if it turns out Luke is sick and he needs anything, okay?"
By then, Luke had made it out the door and couldn't hear the rest of their conversation. He stopped when he got out the door. Gosh, why was he such a disaster?
Alex and Willie arrived a moment later. "You okay dude?" Alex asked.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just a total mess and super into a girl who is clearly into someone else. It's fine." The guys started walking toward the art building.
Alex caught him with a look of disbelief. "You really think she was into Nick? He's… goofy. And awkward. Cute, but not Julie's type, I don't think."
Willie nodded. "I didn't get the vibe that they were on a date. I really think it was nothing. Honestly."
"Reggie said they were high school sweethearts or something. They have history. If they're back in touch, it's probably only a matter of time before they get back together." Luke looked dejectedly at his feet. "It's just as well. Bandmates shouldn't date. It gets messy."
Willie sighed and mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "straight people" before giving Luke a pep talk. "Dude. There was no chemistry there. And she decided to take him where one of her best friends works. A guy best friend. She wouldn't have done that if she was trying to rekindle something. Guy best friends are apparently a huge mess when introducing them to straight boyfriends."
"Where in the world did you hear that?" Alex asked.
"I have sisters. They've had a lot of boyfriends between them. It seems to be a universal issue, at least early in relationships. I guess straight guys get jealous of straight best friends."
Alex laughed for a moment. "I mean, it makes sense to me. After all, didn't you tell me you thought there was something weird going on between Reg and Jules the night you met him?"
Willie smirked. "Yeah. But she explained that it was just Reggie being Reggie. I get it now. But in the moment, it seemed like Reggie was jealous of me. Imagine knowingly introducing a guy you liked to someone like that on your first date. It's a terrible idea."
"I agree. It was nothing, I'm sure of it." Alex nodded. "Besides, wasn't she wearing your Kings of Leon hoodie she borrowed after our gig?"
Luke stopped in his tracks. "Oh my gosh! You're right! I was just looking for that thing! I can't believe I didn't notice!"
Alex snickered. "It's your favorite hoodie. How did you not notice?"
Luke shoved him in retaliation, but he suddenly felt a bit lighter. "She wouldn't wear another guy's clothes on a first date," he said, a realization dawning in his mind. "So it probably wasn't a date!"
Alex actually face palmed, and Willie just laughed. "Exactly, dude. Now come on, there's the art building."
Even though he had been reassured in the moment, Luke was flooded with doubts when he left Alex and Willie to finish their date in peace. Maybe it wasn't really his sweatshirt. Maybe she hadn't realized when she put it on. Maybe she thought Nick wasn't the type to care or that it would make him jealous (not that Julie was the type to play games like that, but?). Maybe, even though it hadn't been a date, it would still rekindle old feelings. So naturally he rushed home to work things out through his music.
When he got back to the house, he immediately grabbed his guitar and his song book and decided to write things out. But as he sat there, he felt like he was drawing a blank. He couldn't come up with anything. No words. No melody. No song. He just scribbled on the page with his pen. He couldn't put words together to express his feelings. So he ripped the page out of the book and started playing an old familiar.
"Though I've tried before to tell her
Of the feelings I have for her in my heart
Every time that I come near her
I just lose my nerve as I've done from the start
Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on…"
He felt a little ridiculous, but using music to process his feelings helped a lot. But still, it wouldn't do for the guys to come home to him playing a song about unrequited love. So when he finished playing "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," he put his guitar away and plugged in his headphones, choosing after a bit of deliberation to listen to this band that Julie had recommended. They had formed at Belmont apparently. Judah and the Lion. He found them on Spotify and hit shuffle, and somehow the first song that came up was about being rejected by a girl in high school. He groaned and immediately skipped to the next song, called "Dance With Ya." It was a sort of love song too, about a couple working through their problems. He liked it a lot more than he expected, but didn't really want to listen to a love song. So he skipped again, and apparently this one wasn't a love song. Finally. So he settled into the vibe of the music as he decided to finally fold his clean laundry. Maybe he'd even pick up all his dirty clothes off the floor. Maybe.
Julie hugged Nick goodbye and then immediately texted Alex.
Jules: Hey! Is Luke okay? I was kinda worried about him!
Alex the best drummer: Yeah. You know Luke. Nothing keeps him down for long! Not even that one time we had bad street dogs!
Jules: Oh good! I'm glad! Also, please tell me you've given up on street dogs after that!
Alex the best drummer: Do you want me to lie?
Jules: *facepalm* I worry so much about you guys already. Didn't need to add that to the list.
Jules: Anyway, I have a favor to ask of you…
Alex the best drummer: Whaddya need?
Jules: You know how we have to perform our latest compositions for midterms after Fall Break because Prof. Johnson is cruel and wants us to spend our whole break stressing?
Alex the best drummer: Yeah…
Jules: I submitted a love song.
Jules: That's also a duet.
Jules: Will you perform it with me? Please?
Alex the best drummer: There's not someone else you can ask?
Jules: I mean, if I *have* to, I can adapt it to be a solo. But I'm so proud of it as it is, and I don't want to change it
Alex the best drummer: I better be your absolute favorite of all time.
Alex the best drummer: Email me the music for it and I'll be ready.
Jules: Oh my gosh I love you! You're the best! xoxo
Jules: I'm emailing you now!
