Trigger Warning: This chapter discusses brain tumors and death.
Life and death had always been a strange concept to Julie.
They were two completely different words, two completely different meanings, but were forever associated with each other. One word brought joy and happiness to the world while the other caused pain and suffering. No one thought about living life to the fullest until they were dying, but everyone thought about death, hindering their ability to just live.
But not Rose Molina. Not Julie's mom.
She never took a day for granted, understood how precious life was and how quickly it could be ripped away. She would tell Julie stories of when she was young and free with no one and nothing to care about, traveling the country with her band while next to broke, following where the music led them. How they'd meet and rely on strangers, how strangers would become acquaintances and acquaintances would become friends.
"You've got nothing but living to do," she always said. "So why not just do it?"
Julie always admired her mother's way of life, wished she could replicate it, but was never able to apply it to her own. She valued the concept of control too much to fully immerse herself in her mom's philosophies. Where Rose would stand up and fight back when life threw her curveballs, Julie would retreat to the piano, back to the things she knew would never change, hoping to regain some semblance of control.
Which is why when Rose's brain tumor diagnosis was confirmed, Julie just…shut down.
It happened the summer before her freshman year of high school. Julie and her father noticed that her mom hadn't been herself for a while, enduring raging headaches that had gradually increased in pain and consistency, and feelings of nausea even after quiet days just spent inside their house. But it was when her mother's vision started blurring randomly that her dad finally convinced her to see a doctor.
Julie wouldn't ever forget that day. When her dad kissed her and Carlos goodbye in the morning, assuring them they would be home later. When her mom grabbed her by the shoulders, looked her in the eye, and told her that the chances of her being fine were much greater than the chances of something being wrong before pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead.
Looking back on it, Julie is unsure whether her mother actually believed her own words or if she was just trying to ease Julie's mind. Either way, Julie was glad she said it. Because she believed her. Because she was allowed one last memory of the four of them as a happy, care-free family. A memory where there were no hospitals or doctors or medicines. A memory of the four of them just standing in their doorway, kissing each other goodbye as if it were just another normal day. A memory she'd cherish forever.
When she told Flynn and Carrie, they hugged her and cried with her. Flynn told her that they would be there with her every step of the way.
But a week later, Carrie up and left for a prestigious music camp Trevor had gotten her into and was gone the rest of the summer.
They texted, but it wasn't the same.
"Ahh!" Julie heard a voice cry from behind her, moments after taking her first steps into her new school. It kept getting closer and closer until it was right in her ear, and before Julie could turn around, she felt two hands wrap around her shoulders as someone leapt onto her back, almost causing her knees to buckle.
She laughed as she tried to regain her balance, turning her head to see the culprit still perched on her back, smiling at her excitedly.
"Flynn, you can't just do that!" But she made no effort to shake her friend off her. "I almost ate it, which would have been bad for the both of us."
"But you didn't," Flynn sang before releasing her grip on Julie and jumping down. "Anyways, you ready to slay our first day of freaking high school?"
Julie smiled, shaking her head slightly. "I wouldn't say slay, but I'm ready to get this day over with."
Flynn's shoulders slumped as she pouted. "Come on, Jules! I get that life sucks right now, which is obviously totally warranted, but it's our first day of high school! You deserve to enjoy it!"
"I know, I know," Julie responded, rocking back on the heels of her feet. "I'll try, I promise."
Flynn grinned. "That's all I ask! Now, Carrie gave me her locker number, and we are on a mission to find her! It's been way too long since we've all been together!"
"Carrie!"
The girl was busy decorating her locker, hanging up adornments and pictures she had printed out. As they approached, Julie couldn't help but notice the majority of them were with girls she'd only seen through Carrie's Instagram and Snapchat posts, taken at her music camp the past summer.
"Hey, long time no see!" Carrie greeted.
Now, Julie knew this was a completely normal thing to say. To anyone else, Carrie probably sounded happy and excited. Carefree, even. But Julie knew her well enough by then to hear the strained tinge to her voice. To see the way her smile didn't reach her eyes. Something was wrong. Which is how the three friends found themselves staring politely but awkwardly at each other, searching for what to say. Gone were the days of zero hesitation before pulling one another in for a hug. It was new and confusing, but the disconnect was palpable.
"So, uh, how was music camp?" Flynn tried, attempting to break the tension.
It seemed to do the trick because Carrie's face immediately lit up. "It was amazing! I got to work with the best choreographers and vocal coaches, and I formed a new group with some other girls that go to Los Feliz-"
"Dirty Candy, yeah we know," Julie interrupted. "We saw your Instagram posts."
"Right."
And the tension was back. Was she not even going to ask? Not even going to address the elephant in the room?
"I'm doing fine, by the way." Julie continued. "Mom is hanging in there."
Carrie's eyes softened a bit, guilt flashing through her brown irises. "I was going to ask-"
"Well, now you don't have to," Julie stopped her again, smile tight-lipped and strained. "I'm headed to class. I'll see you two later."
And then she walked away without another word.
Lunch wasn't much better. The three girls met outside the cafeteria, ready to take on their first high school lunch together as they had always planned, but when they walked in Carrie was immediately called away by a group of girls who were beautiful and well-put together and, well, exactly like her.
"Those are the other Dirty Candy members," Carrie explained awkwardly. "I think- I think I'm going to sit with them."
Flynn looked at her like she barely recognized her. "Seriously? On our first day of high school?"
Carrie glanced at them, eyes apologetic but jaw clenched in annoyance. "There's some group stuff I want to talk to them about. Sorry. Tomorrow, maybe."
Then she just left.
Flynn turned to Julie. "What the hell is happening?"
"I have no idea, but I don't like it," she answered, shaking her head. "Come on, this table over here is open."
As they sat down, Julie scanned the lunchroom, looking for other familiar faces. Her eyes locked with Bobby's, who was sitting with the boys on the other side of the cafeteria. He shot her a confused look, eyes flitting over to where Carrie was sitting and then back to Julie, silently asking her what was up.
Julie just shrugged and shook her head. She scanned over Reggie and Alex and smiled slightly at the sight of them talking and messing with each other. At least the boys hadn't changed. She had hung out with them a few times this summer, and they had been a huge support system with her mom, able to pull her out of sour moods with Reggie's bad jokes, Alex's sensibility, and Bobby's sarcasm.
Then her eyes caught Luke's. For a moment, all she could do was stare. His eyes were holding hers captive, appearing brown from so far away, but Julie knew better by now. He looked exactly the same and completely different all at once. He was more filled out in his chest and arms, full biceps on display in one of his infamous sleeveless shirts, and his jawline was sharper, any trace of a leftover baby-faced middle schooler gone. He shot her a smirk, arrogant and taunting and charming. Julie gulped. Heart thumping in her chest, rollercoaster in her stomach, she mustered up the most convincing glare she could throw at him.
It was Flynn who broke their little staring contest, nudging Julie's side.
"Jules? Hello? What are you staring at?" Her eyes followed Julie's line of sight to Luke, who's attention had shifted back to the rest of the boys.
"Oh, I see," Flynn teased, turning back to Julie. She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Biceps came in full force this year."
Julie shrugged, attempting to feign nonchalance. "Didn't notice."
"Right," her friend rolled her eyes at her.
Julie just went back to eating her sandwich.
"You know, Sunset Curve is actually starting to gain some traction. They played a few small venues this summer and they're pretty good."
"Yeah, that's what Alex was telling me."
"Maybe we could go to one of their gigs sometime."
Julie shot her a look. "Really?"
Flynn sighed tiredly. "Come on, Jules. You're friends with three out of the four of them. That should outweigh the one. Plus, we're in high school now. Maybe the two of you can learn to be cordial, or maybe even friends."
Julie just laughed. There was no way that was going to happen. "Luke Patterson and I were not meant to be friends, Flynn. I know he's yours and you hate hearing that, but that's just how it is."
Thankfully, Flynn let it go after that.
To Julie's relief, the majority of the day flew by and before she knew it, it was her last class and the only one she truly cared about.
Music.
She'd been looking forward to joining Los Feliz' music program ever since she'd learned what it was from Carrie in third grade. Julie had practically run from her last class to get to where she assumed would be her home for the next four years of her life. Luck was on her side, and she was the first student to enter the classroom, so she was able to introduce herself and chat briefly with her new music teacher, Mrs. Harrison. Within seconds Julie already knew she was going to love her.
As more students started filing in, Julie took a seat front and center and retrieved a pencil and her notebook from her bag, opening it to a blank page.
"We haven't even started our first class and you're already an overachiever," a familiar voice said in her ear, cool breath tickling her neck.
Luke.
Julie turned, tongue already quipped with a comeback, when she realized that he was so close to her all she could see of him were his eyes, pools of brown, green and grey swirling around. Her retort forgotten, she felt her breath hitch. Luke pulled back, eyes widening slightly as he seemed to realize their proximity as well.
The moment they were a comfortable distance from each other, his arrogant smirk returned. "Been a while, Juliet."
"I know, we were doing so well," she tutted sarcastically before her face twisted into a scowl. "Now go away, Patterson. Some of us can actually admit we don't know everything and want to learn."
He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Flynn and the rest of the boys approaching.
"Hey, you two!" Bobby scolded. "Either knock it off or get a room. You can practically feel the tension the second you walk through the door."
Julie gaped at him, trying but failing to form a coherent sentence. "That's not–we don't–no."
Oh god, she sounded like Alex.
Luke just scoffed, sinking back into a chair in the row behind Julie. The rest of the boys sat with him while Flynn took a seat next to a still flustered Julie, sending her an amused look.
Then Carrie walked through the door with her new Dirty Candy posse, distracting Julie from all of Bobby's teasing comments. Julie saw her hesitate for a moment before she made her way over to them, sitting on the other side of Flynn.
In all honesty, Julie was shocked she even decided to sit with them. After lunch, she spent the rest of the day ignoring them, even opting to sit with her new friend Kayla in the English class she shared with Julie.
"Hey," she greeted them coolly.
Flynn and Julie muttered out a greeting, but none of them bothered to keep a conversation going after that. She didn't want to talk to them? Fine. They could play at that game, too.
Even so, the whole situation was upsetting to Julie. Carrie had been one of her best friends for years. She had assumed she would always be one. Was one summer apart all it took for their friendship to implode?
"Hey, is it alright if I sit here?" someone said, interrupting Julie's thoughts. She looked up to see a boy standing over her, a shy but friendly smile pasted on his face.
"Nick," Julie greeted warmly. "Yeah, of course. How've you been?"
She had known Nick since elementary school, and they'd always been friendly, but never friends. They were the type of people who would wave at each other in the hallway or smile in acknowledgement if they shared a class, but besides that Julie never thought twice about him.
But he looked different now. He'd grown out his hair, and the longer style seemed to suit him. And he had definitely filled out more over the summer, even if he wasn't up to par with some others quite yet. And his eyes. His eyes were blue. Just blue. No mystery to solve there. He was cute.
Nick sat down, and Julie turned to face him.
"Not too bad. Y'know, glad to be done with middle school."
Julie smiled at him, a tiny fluttery feeling making its way into her stomach. She took a deep breath, willing her stomach to calm itself, and was pleasantly surprised when it did. This. This she could control. Blue eyes and a tiny flutter.
The pair continued to talk until Mrs. Harrison finally started class. When she turned away from Nick to pay attention to their teacher, she could see Carrie in her peripheral, glaring at her.
Oh. That's right.
Carrie had liked Nick since the sixth grade.
That probably wasn't going to help their already crumbling friendship.
Julie pushed the main doors to the school open, immediately feeling the warm, fresh September air wash over her. She'd done it. She'd survived her first day of high school. Not without a few bumps and bruises, but survived, nonetheless.
Looking out at the parking lot, she noted that her dad hadn't arrived to pick her up yet, so she settled down at the base of a tree on the school lawns to wait. She didn't have much homework; most of her teachers just went over their syllabi, but she pulled out her Biology textbook anyways, figuring a head start on the reading could never hurt.
"Don't you ever do anything fun, Molina?"
Julie snapped her book shut, leaning her head back against the tree as she sighed in exasperation.
"Don't you ever get tired of being an asshole, Patterson?"
She heard him chuckle as he plopped himself down next to her on the grass.
"What are you doing?" Julie asked, eyeing him suspiciously. There was no way they were about to hang out. He made the choice to ignore her the first time they met, and never made an effort with her since. Why now?
Luke looked at her like she was stupid. "Uh, sitting?"
Julie rolled her eyes. How could one person get under her skin so easily without saying more than two sentences?
"Why are you doing this? I'm sure there are plenty of other people you'd rather be talking to and frankly, you're the last person I want to see."
Luke's eyes gleamed mischievously as his lips curled up into a teasing smirk. An uneasy feeling fell over Julie. What was he up to? He leaned back, propping himself up on his forearms, legs stretched out in front of him. She hated how casual he could look talking with her, when his presence alone immediately put her on edge. To an onlooker, they probably just seemed like two friends hanging out. That couldn't be farther from the truth.
"Oh, I think we all know who you wish was with you right now. Don't think anyone missed the way you were looking at Nick today."
Julie's jaw dropped, blood immediately rushing to her face. "Not that it's even remotely any of your business, but I was not looking at Nick in any way that you're suggesting."
He ignored her, continuing his tangent. "I mean it makes sense. You always did have an affinity for those epic love stories. Right, Juliet?Gotta find your Romeo at some point."
She glared at him, biting the inside of her cheek in an effort to rein in the anger piling inside of her. "I think the fact that you've been using the same joke since seventh grade says a lot about your mental capabilities."
He stared at her, a full-blown smile lighting up his entire face. The kind of smile he'd give his friends, or a girl if he was in need of his ego being stroked. A stark contrast to the arrogant smirk she had grown accustomed to seeing. She felt the rollercoaster start up again in her stomach, climbing to the top and then the swoosh as it started its descent. Unlike the fluttery feelings she had with Nick, this one she couldn't control. She never could.
"There she is," he said, eyes bright and wide. That deer-in-headlights look she hadn't seen from him in years.
Julie blinked rapidly, taken aback. Why was he looking at her like that? That wasn't how he was supposed to look at her. She needed to see the challenge in his eyes, the anger when they started to push things a bit too far. That she could deal with. That was what she knew.
"There who is?" She asked, thankful that her voice sounded steadier than the thoughts in her head.
He shrugged, tearing his eyes away from her as he ripped blades of grass from the ground. "The real Julie. Haven't seen that fire in your eyes lately. Kinda missed it."
It wasn't often Julie Molina was able to be rendered speechless. Her mother had passed her sharp tongue onto her daughter, but in that moment all Julie could do was stare at him. She figured he knew about her mom, that the boys had told him. But she hadn't expected him to care, let alone address it, albeit in a roundabout way. Luckily, she was spared having to respond when she saw her father pulling up in front of the school. She cleared her throat awkwardly, packing up her things as she stood, towering over him.
"You're crazy," she finally said, one last ditch attempt to settle back into the banter she was used to with him.
"We're all a little crazy," he retorted, looking up at her again.
She narrowed her eyes, willing him to stop looking at her with those stupid big orbs. When he didn't get her message, she scoffed, turning away from him to make her way to her dad.
"I hate you," she called out from over her shoulder.
"Tell me something I don't know, Molina," he responded.
She didn't turn back again. And on the car ride home, she tried not to dwell on the fact that she did feel more like herself than she had in months, and that all it took was a five minute conversation with Luke Patterson to get there.
"Mija, I have an idea I want us to try," her mother said to Julie one night, sitting in the studio.
Julie looked up from her book, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she smiled at her mom.
"Ooo, a new song idea?"
She smiled softly, tired eyes crinkling at the corners as she nodded. It pained Julie to think about how quickly her mother had deteriorated since her diagnosis, and then again since she'd started chemotherapy. The way her cheeks had hollowed from the weight loss, the silk headscarf she wore every day now to hide the fact that she no longer had her signature black curls. It all made her look years older than she was. Julie used to love that her mother had passed her hair along to her. It was one of the many ways she was a part of her. Now it was just a bitter reminder that followed her around of what her mom used to be.
"Yeah, it made me think of you."
"Well let's hear it!" Julie said eagerly, English homework forgotten.
Her mother started playing, Julie bobbing her head along to the rhythm at first. But when she started to sing, voice soft and weak but still beautiful, Julie froze.
Whatever happens
Even if I'm the last standing
I'ma stand tall
I'ma stand tall
Whatever happens
Even when everything's down
I'ma stand tall
I'ma stand tall
"What are you trying to say?"
Julie could feel the tears burning behind her eyes, on the verge of falling. If she were being honest with herself, she already knew. It was the same thought that had been on her entire family's mind for months, none of them having the courage to voice it because that made it real.
Rose Molina wasn't going to survive this. She was going to die.
Her mother sighed as she stood up from the piano to join Julie on the couch. She attempted to pull her into her embrace, but Julie retreated, shaking her head.
"Mom," her voice quivered. "Stop it. Y-you can't-that's not-"
She couldn't find the words.
Her mom reached out to her again, this time grabbing her hands.
"Julie," she said gently. "I know this is not what you want to hear. That it's the last thing you want to talk about. But it's important we do."
Julie stayed silent, staring down at their intertwined hands, loosening her grip slightly when she saw her mother's knuckles turning white.
"You and Carlos and your dad are the most precious things in the world to me. If the day comes when I'm not around anymore, the only thing I care about is whether or not the three of you are okay."
And then the first tear fell. And she couldn't stop the rest from following as they left hot trails down Julie's cheeks.
"How can you say something like that?" She whispered, finally looking up at her mom. Her mom, who had passed along her love of music to her. Her mom, who knew what she was thinking sometimes before Julie even knew. Her mom, who was her writing partner, her rock, her favorite person.
Her mother's eyebrows and mouth twitched, and Julie knew that was only something they did when she was trying not to cry.
"Mija-"
But now Julie was angry. She stood up from the couch and began to pace back and forth. This was it? She was just going to give up? Leave her and Carlos and her dad? Julie asked her such.
"No," she shook her head firmly. "I'm not giving up, okay? I will fight with everything in me to stay with the three of you for as long as I can. But mija, the reality-"
"I don't want to hear about the reality!" Julie cried. "That's not- you're going to get better! Mom, you have to get better!"
Julie looked at her mom, hoping to see the bright optimism she was so famous for. When she couldn't find it, she choked back a sob as she ran out of the studio and through the house into her room. Slamming the door, she threw herself on her bed.
A while later (she had no idea how long), her mom came to drop off her school things she had left in the studio. Julie took one look at her before launching herself at her, holding her as tight as she could because she was there. She didn't know what would happen the next day, or a week or a month from then. But in that moment she was there, and that was all Julie cared about.
Little did Julie know, in three weeks' time, she wouldn't be there ever again.
The funeral was less of a funeral and more of a celebration, filled with music and dancing and funny anecdotes about her mom.
"A Celebration of Life," she had said before she passed. "Because I don't want people to be sad that I died. I want people to be happy I lived."
It was easy to forget, when her mom's favorite songs would play, or her best friends did their funny Zumba dance class routine in her honor, or her ex-bandmates told the story of the time she got them all stranded in Arizona with nothing but a single shoe, water bottle and a guitar. Yeah, that stuff made it easy to forget.
But then she would catch herself searching the room, her eyes subconsciously looking for her mom to sing with or laugh with, or just share a look that only the two of them would understand. Then she would remember. Then she couldn't help but be sad.
Her father was busy for the majority of the day, coordinating everything with Victoria and conversing with friends and family as they offered condolences. Carlos spent most of his time with their little cousins. He was old enough to be upset, grasping the fact that he would never see his mother again, but young enough to where he didn't quite know how to act or express himself.
Julie wasn't alone, though. Flynn, Reggie, Alex and Bobby hadn't left her side all day. (Carrie didn't show. Julie figured there wasn't much more to question about their friendship after that.)
She was grateful for her friends. Really, she was. They were loyal, and they were sweet, and they were helpful. But they had been tiptoeing around her for days now, afraid that if they said one wrong thing, she would break. She knew they meant well, that there was no rulebook for how to deal with grieving friends and they were trying their best, but it was suffocating. Everything she did reminded her that her mother was no longer with her, and every time her friends treated her like glass it was just another reminder. And that was the last thing she needed from her friends.
The five of them were engaged in quiet small talk when something, or someone caught Julie's eye.
She blinked a few times, wondering if she was seeing things, but when she looked again, Luke Patterson was still there, standing awkwardly between a man and a woman who she assumed was his parents. She took in his appearance, black slacks, and black button down a stark contrast to the punk rock look she was used to from him.
"Um, guys, I'll be right back," Julie said, her eyes not once wavering from Luke.
Her friends followed her gaze and based on their silence Julie knew they were just as surprised as she was that he was there.
"Do you want me to go?" Alex offered softly. "I can tell him to leave."
Julie shook her head, already starting in Luke's direction. "No, I got it."
When she was about halfway there, Luke noticed her, their gazes locking in on one another. His eyes widened in panic as she approached.
"You must be Julie," the man standing next to him said, forcing Julie to tear her gaze away from Luke. "I'm Mitch Patterson, this is my wife Emily, and I believe you know our son."
Julie allowed a small smile to grace her lips, almost robotic at this point, as her eyes flickered between Emily and Mitch. "Hi, nice to meet you."
"Rose and I were a part of the same book club," Emily offered.
Julie drew in a breath, nodding her head. "Now that you mention it, I do remember her talking about an Emily. It's good to put a face to the name."
The older woman smiled sadly. "We're so sorry, Julie. I can't even imagine."
Julie pasted on her smile once again, repeating the same lines she'd said about a hundred times that day. "Thank you, we appreciate it. And thank you for coming, as well."
The couple asked her where they could find her father, and after she had pointed them in his direction, she turned her attention back to Luke, who had been uncharacteristically silent the entire time.
Luke opened and closed his mouth, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head.
"I'm sorry," he finally decided on. "My mom hosts book club at our house sometimes, so I had met Rose a few times. I didn't know she was your mom. Looking back, I probably should have put two and two together but uh, I didn't. Obviously. If I would have known, I wouldn't have come."
Julie swallowed, shaking her head. "No, it's okay. Really. If I knew my mom at all, I know that she'd be happy you're here."
"Right," he said awkwardly, rocking back on his heels, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
There was an awkward silence, neither of them knowing how to navigate a conversation with each other without fighting or teasing.
"Julie-"
"Can I ask you something?" she interrupted him.
Surprise washed over his features before he started nodding his head. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Anything."
"Can you please not treat me differently? Because everyone has been walking on eggshells around me for the last week like I'm not even me anymore and if one more person does, I think I'm going to scream." She took a deep breath, trying to keep her emotions at bay. "So please, let's just not do this whole 'feeling sorry for me' thing. I need some sort of normalcy in my life."
She thought back to that moment under the tree after their first day of school. How Luke had teased her about Nick to make her angry enough to get out of her own head, and how it made her feel like herself again. How he didn't care about the anger, just the fact that he got some kind of emotion out of her. He didn't treat her like glass. He wouldn't treat her like glass.
Luke furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips as Julie studied his face for some kind of answer. Finally, he nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."
And almost immediately, Julie felt some of the tension leave her body.
"Okay," she nodded. "Good."
She hesitated for a moment before turning to walk back toward their friends, who were shamelessly watching their entire exchange from afar.
"Hey, Molina," she heard him call out. She stopped, turning back around to see Luke staring at her, a small smirk on his face. "I hate you."
She bit her lip to try and hide the small grin on her face, but she didn't think it really did anything.
"I hate you more."
It wouldn't be until she got home that she realized Luke was able to pull the only genuine smile from her that day.
It was crazy how much things could change in just one year.
Julie, figuring out how to navigate through not just the rest of her freshman year, but the rest of her life without her mother. Her person. How music could go from being the only thing she'd ever wanted to do to not being able to sing even a single note, no matter how much she missed it. No matter how much she still loved it.
How Carrie could go from someone Julie could always count on no matter what, to a stranger who would glare at her in the hallway, draping herself over Nick as if to gloat that he was hers, that she had won.
How Bobby could fall out of love with music, quitting the music program and Sunset Curve as he decided it was more of a hobby than a passion and career choice.
(They stayed friends with him, though. It was different, not seeing him in music class every day, having to make more of an effort to hang out with him, but they made it work.)
Julie was quickly learning that sometimes, going down the rabbit hole of change wasn't a choice, but rather inevitable. She endured it, but she didn't like it.
But what didn't change through everything was Luke. After their small blip at her mom's funeral, they fell right back into the teasing and taunting, so much so Julie had pretty much forgotten about the conversation they'd had. And yeah, maybe it was a bit unhealthy and a bit sadistic, but Julie was thankful for him, in a strange sort of way. He got under her skin like no one else could, but he was a Constant and exactly what she needed.
"Julie, I need to speak with you, please," Mrs. Harrison said one day after class. Julie was immersed in a conversation with Flynn, ready to finally be done with the day and go back to the comfort of her own home.
Flynn looked at her. "That's never a good thing."
Julie rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the boost of confidence."
She told Flynn she'd catch her later before making her way back toward Mrs. Harrison's desk.
"What's up?" She asked, biting her lip nervously.
Mrs. Harrison just gave her a knowing look. "You know what this is about."
Julie looked down at the ground, unable to meet her favorite teacher's eyes. She couldn't stand seeing Mrs. Harrison disappointed in her, and she'd seen it too many times throughout the past year.
"Julie," her teacher said, her tone gentler this time. "It's been over a year since you've last performed something. I'm doing all I can to help you out because I do think that you have the talent to be great, but Principal Lessa has made it very clear to me. If you don't perform something at the Fall Semester Performance, you can't be in the music program anymore."
Julie closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. She didn't want that. That was the last thing she wanted. But she also couldn't see a world in which she would be ready by the end of the semester to start up music again, let alone perform in front of her entire class.
"Mr. Patterson," Mrs. Harrison's voice rang throughout the empty classroom.
Julie's eyes sprung open as her head whipped to the door and, lo and behold, there was Luke, standing frozen with his mouth agape and eyes wide, looking on guiltily like he'd been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. His gaze flitted between her and their teacher.
Of course. Of all people to overhear this conversation, it had to be him.
"You can wait in the hall," Mrs. Harrison continued. "I'll come get you when we're done."
Luke hesitated for a moment, looking as if he was weighing his options. And Julie saw the exact moment he made his decision. He straightened his posture, adjusted his backpack further up on his back, and put on that perfect, charming smile he saved for special occasions when he wanted something. Then he practically bounced as he made his way across the room until he was standing directly next to Julie.
"Actually, Mrs. Harrison, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I know we've been brainstorming where to take Sunset Curve now that Bobby's out, and, well. This is it."
Mrs. Harrison tilted her head curiously.
"What is it?"
Luke patted Julie on the shoulder awkwardly. In any other circumstance, she would have shoved him away and told him off, but she was too shocked and confused.
What was he doing?
"Julie," he elaborated. "Julie's gonna play with us at the Fall SP."
She was going to what now?!
Songs/Other References:
-Already Gone, Kelly Clarkson (Sleeping At Last version) (Chapter Title)
-Stand Tall