I look down at the guitar in my hands. My axe. My baby. She's always here for me, whenever I need her. But now it's time to let go. I put the guitar in the cardboard box in front of me.
In the box was a few trophies I won in music competitions, all of my instruments, and everything and anything related to Mick Swagger. "Um, what are you doing?" I look up to see Luan standing in the doorway. She looks confused.
"Just throwing some of this junk away." I say quietly as I look at the box. "But Luna… all your music stuff? This isn't junk, this is your life." She says as she comes over and starts taking things out of the box.
"Not anymore", I say as I put the things back into the box. "I'm done with music… for good. It really isn't my thing." I pick up the box and walk out of the room, leaving Luan confused inside.
"Hey Luna, what's up?" Lincoln says as I walk into the kitchen. I had just put the box outside beside the trash. "Nothing much bro. How bout you?" I ask as I take a root beer from the fridge.
"Nothing much… but… um… Luan told me that you're quitting music?" Lincoln asks uncomfortably. I sigh, of course Luan couldn't keep her mouth shut. I was kinda hoping to keep this a secret from the rest of my siblings, but apparently not.
"Yeah…I guess… I'm just not in the music mood anymore", I explain as I walk out of the kitchen. "What do you mean?" Lincoln asks as he follows me. Grrr… I just want to be left alone.
"Listen Linc, music was just a stupid hobby to me. Something I did in my free time. Not to mention, it was Popstar who got me into it", I say quietly, as I twiddle my thumbs. "But Luna –" Lincoln was cut off by Lola screaming "LANA! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!" I walk into the living room to see an angry Lola holding a doll with no head.
Uh oh. Not this again. I turn around to face Lincoln. "Linc I gotta deal with this. We'll talk later okay?" By later I meant never. I walk to Lola and kneel down so I'm looking her right in the eyes. "Lola, I know you're mad, but you know Lana didn't mean it, right?"
"Actually, it was me" we both scream, then to see Lucy standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding the doll's head. "I wanted to have a funeral and Lori said I wasn't allowed to put you guys in coffins anymore", she explains as she hands the head to Lola.
"Will… will you promise to make a good funeral for her?" Lola asks as she cradles the doll in her arms. I could have sworn I saw a small smile on Lucy's face. "I promise", she says as she takes Lola by the hand and takes her upstairs.
Phew. Finally I was alone to relax. I dropped on the couch, and chugged my root beer. Ahhh, this is the life. Just peace, and quiet.
"LUNA!" Lynn screams as she runs into the living room and jumps on top of me. I scream and push her off of me, and she tumbles to the ground. So much for peace and quiet.
"Lynn?! What the hell is your problem?" I growl. "LUNA! LANGUAGE!" Lori screams from upstairs. "HECK! I MEANT TO SAY HECK!" I yell back. "LUNA!" Lynn screams again right in my face. "Girl I am right here no need to yell", I push her away because she was a little too close. So close that I could smell her meatball sub breath. Um, gross.
She rolls her eyes. "How can you not tell me that you used to play soccer?" she asked. It took me a few seconds to actually understand what she said. Then my eyes widened. I grabbed her by the shirt and picked her up, so now we were at the same level.
"Who told you?" I demanded. "Um, Leni did? Then Lori confirmed it, and I looked through some old pictures. You did used to play soccer! Way before you got into music. But why did you stop?" she asked. I sigh as I let go of her shirt and she fell to the ground with a thud.
I collapsed on the couch. "It's true. I, Luna Loud, used to play soccer and I LOVED IT!" I squealed as I grabbed Lynn and pulled her off the ground so she was sitting beside me.
"Long ago, while I was trying to find out who I was, I did lots of things. First aid, dance, art, but my favourite was soccer. I loved to play, and my coach said I was the best on my team. I played since I was 5, and I played until I was 11 and went to the Mick Swagger concert. That's when everything changed and I got into music, and I kinda left all the sports stuff to you." I said.
"Wow Luna, I couldn't believe it when I first heard it myself. I mean, you playing soccer? That was crazy!" she exclaimed. "C'mon, who do you think taught you all the cool moves when you were 3? That 'Lynnsanity Super Power Kick'? It was my move, that I showed you." I said as I nudged her with my shoulder.
"Seriously? I don't remember that! Hey… um… do you think you could help me practice for my big playoff game next week? I could really use some pointers." She asked sheepishly. I smile, and say "You know, I suddenly have a lot of free time on my hands. Why not?" I jump up and she squeals.
Lynn grabs my hand and leads me to the backyard. We practice for at least 40 minutes, with me giving her some tips. We finally take a break, and I wipe the sweat off my forehead.
Oh no. No no no. The box with my music stuff? It's sitting five feet away from us. I prayed Lynn wouldn't see it. "Hey Luna, why is your music stuff next to the trash?" Lynn asks as she notices it.
Dang it. "I… uhh… spring cleaning?" I say, as I rub the back of my neck. Lynn gives me a look. "Oh! That music stuff! Oh wow, I was looking for that all day. Hehe, silly Luan must've accidently threw it out, or something." I say as I face palm.
"Yeah, just so you know, I'm not buying any of that." Lynn glares at me. "Okay, fine, you got me." I sigh. "I secretly play hide-and-seek with my instruments" I blurt out. "LUNA!" Lynn yells impatiently. I sit down on the porch and sigh. I guess it's time to tell everyone the truth. Lynn sits beside me quietly. I look at her, and she looks concerned. Probably because I'm one step away from crying. "It all started 4 years ago," I started, as I looked up at the sky.
*Flashback*
An 11-year old Luna was sitting on the ground. She winced as she tried to stand up. Nope, too painful. Her ankle looked swollen, and was kind of purple-ish.
"Luna?" she hears, and she looks up to see her dad rushing towards her. He sits down beside her and asks "Are you okay, honey?" She bursts into tears and tells him how she was practicing soccer when she tripped and twisted her ankle.
"I don't wanna play soccer anymore daddy!" she cries into his shoulder. "Luna, honey, why not?" he asks her as he wipes the tears from her face. "I can't… Even Lynn is better than me, and I've been playing longer than her! All I want is to be good at something, something that no one else in the family is. I'm sick of living in everyone's shadows." She crosses her arms over her chest.
"Luna, you're not living in anyone's shadow!" Lynn Sr exclaimed. "Yes I am. Everybody is good at something except me! I'm a failure." She says sadly. "Luna… you're not a failure…" her father tries to console her. He couldn't. Everyone knew that Rita was the best at comforting her kids. Lynn Sr was always terrible at these things.
"Tell you what, I got two tickets to Mick Swagger's concert tonight. I was gonna take your mother and call a babysitter, but she's so hormonal, she just wants to stay home and eat." Lynn tells her. "Right, Mom's having another baby, which means I'll probably be stuck in their shadow as well," she says grumpily.
Lynn rolls his eyes. "How about you come with me? Maybe you'll like music?" he asks. Luna considers this. "Fine, but can we go home so I can ice my ankle? It burns," she winces as Lynn helps her to her feet."
After the concert
"That… was…. AWESOME!" Luna squeals as she and her dad walk inside their house. "Dad, please please please can you buy me some instruments? I wanna play the guitar… no, the piano… or maybe the drums?" she asks as Lynn Sr laughs as his daughter's behavior.
"You really wanna try music?" he asks her as he sits down beside her on the couch. "Yes yes yes! I know that music is gonna be my thing! I'm 100% sure! But… will you like my music?" she asks as she looks up at him with wide eyes.
God, she may be 11 but she still seemed like a little angel to Lynn. He ruffled her hair, and said, "Of course, Luna. I'll be your number one fan, support you no matter what. But don't ever doubt that you're not important in this family, okay? There may be a lot of people here but that doesn't mean you're not as special as everyone else. Just remember, I'll always be here for you. I love you so much Luna." Luna hugs her father tight.
*Back to the present*
I don't dare look at Lynn. Mainly because my eyes are filled with tears and I know if I see her concerned face I will start crying.
"Dad got me into music. He and mom supported me from the start. They always loved to hear me sing. If I do it again… I'll only think about them." I choke out.
Lynn takes my hand, and I turn to look at her. "Luna, I had no idea. I'm so so sorry." She says with tears in her own eyes. We both start to cry.
"I can't do it anymore. I can't do music anymore. Not with them gone. I feel too upset to play music. I'm sorry" I muttered. "No, I'm sorry." Lynn says, as she rubs my back then gets up. She walks into the house silently, wiping her own tears.
I look back up at the sky, where clouds start to come in. "Dad… Please understand, this is what I have to do. I'm sorry." I say to the sky. "I love you so much Luna" my dad's voice echoes in my ears. "I love you too daddy", I say as tears stream down my cheeks.
WOOOHOOOO SECOND TIME THIS WEEK! YAY I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF! I literally started writing this morning but it legit took me 12 hours because I had no idea what to write. But someone left a review and said I should try having the Louds reminisce memories with their parents, so that cleared my writers block. God bless you child, whoever said that (sorry I don't have your name on me at the moment) but sad news…. I don't think I have time to update for a while, so heads up : I will either update by Monday, and if not then you probably won't see me again for another two months lol. BUT I NEED MORE IDEAS IF I HAVE IDEAS THEN I CAN WRITE MORE OFTEN SO PLEASE REVIEWWWWWW AND ENJOYYYYYY ! xoxo, dreamergirl