Alright, here's the next one, guys! Enjoy!
Julie walked into the studio and collapsed onto the couch with a huff. Luke, who had already been sitting there, looked at her with concern. Alex and Reggie were nowhere to be seen. "Jules? You okay?"
"I hate my stupid music theory class!" He seemed a bit taken aback by the volume of her voice, so she quietened a bit. "Sorry, I just - it was a really frustrating day."
Luke set his notebook down on the coffee table and put his arm around her shoulders, rubbing up and down her forearm as some comfort. "Alright, tell me what's wrong."
She rested her head against his shoulder and let out a soft sigh. "Nothing, I - I failed my music theory quiz, and I'm upset 'cause I knew all the right answers, I just didn't . . ."
He shrugged and pulled her a little closer. "Eh, it's okay. Everyone fails a quiz every now and then. Besides, who needs theory when you can write and play music for real?"
Julie frowned. "Yeah, I guess. And then my dance class was horrible. We were learning something new and I couldn't get any of the moves right. And my calculus teacher gave us 50 questions to do before Monday. Oh, and Mrs. Harrison totally ruined my weekend!"
"Woah, back up a second. All of the other stuff I get, but Mrs. Harrison? That's your favorite class! What happened that was so bad?"
"She gave us an assignment to write a song."
"What's the problem, we write songs all the time, we're working on one now. Just use Edge of Great or Stand Tall or something-"
Julie placed her hand on Luke's chest to stop his rant. "No, Luke. First of all, I didn't write those songs, we did. Second of all, it's not just any song. We have to write a ballad."
Luke raised his eyebrow at her, clearly still confused. "A slow, romantic song. That's not my style. I like to write upbeat bops." Technically it was true, slow songs weren't her style . . . but she had dreamed up one ballad before, about the brown haired hazel eyed guitarist sitting right next to her. But she couldn't exactly tell him that, could she?
"Jules, come on! You're crazy talented. I'm sure you could figure something out. You have the whole weekend. You'll figure it out. I'll help you."
Julie stepped outside after dinner to get some air. The sky was surprisingly filled with stars that night. She and Luke had worked for hours earlier to try and write a ballad, but nothing had worked and they'd just ended up goofing off and jamming to their band songs.
Even though they hadn't accomplished what they set out to do, the evening she spent with Luke had made her feel so much better. Julie still marveled at how he managed to brighten her spirit with just a small smile. He just radiated joy every second, and it was so contagious. No wonder Caleb had wanted complete control over him. He was just so full of energy, and it seemed to be his life's goal to make her happy. She couldn't even think about him without her heart bursting into flutters. He understood her so well, and he was just so . . . perfect, in every way.
God, Flynn was right. She was so gone for this boy.
Julie glanced back up at the dark veil of sky filled with glittering orbs of light. Suddenly, inspiration struck her like an arrow. She sprinted to the studio, not wanting to waste a second.
On Monday before school, Julie sat down at the piano for one more quick run through of her song. It had taken her until three in the morning on Friday, but she'd finished it, and she was pretty proud of it too. It needed some polishing, but all in all it was pretty good.
She placed the sheet music she'd written out on the stand and set her foot on the leftmost pedal, the one that would muffle the notes slightly. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to play. The tune flowed out of her so naturally, it was everything she needed to say in one song.
Seeing how close we are, seems you might have a chance,
And here we go again, saying we're just friends.
Wasting all this time, when it's clear you should be mine,
Should be mine, should be mine.
Step closer, don't back out now.
Looking at the stars, this moment is ours, ours.
Step closer, don't back out now.
This moment is ours, look at the stars, look at the stars.
Step closer, don't back out now.
Looking at the stars, this moment is ours, ours.
Step closer, don't back out now.
This moment is ours, look at the stars, look at the stars.
All this manifesting got me feeling restless.
'Cause I'm tryna make you mine but you wasting our timе
Baby, can't you catch the vibe, 'cause you know you're feeling it, right, right?
Our destinies been written, you can feel it
I know that you feel it, feel it, feel it
It's no longer "Me", just "Us" and "We"
"Us" and "We", "Us" and "We", we, we
Julie was so into her song now that she didn't even realize when Luke came to stand in the doorway with a loving smile on his face, leaning against the frame and crossing his arms.
Step closer, don't back out now
Looking at the stars, this moment is ours
Step closer, don't back out now
This moment is ours, look at the stars, look at the stars
Luke began to walk towards her when he realized she didn't know he was there.
I would travel all the galaxy for you
Down in every star but no one shines as bright as you
And I see it, yeah, I'm seeing from your point of view
Wonder if you know you love to
We feel the pull, you see our fate, constellations, bae
We feel the pull, you see our fate, constellations, bae
Just as Julie hit the high note on the last word, she felt a shoulder brush up against her own. She whipped her head around to see none other than Luke sitting next to her on the piano bench and reading her sheet music intently. He tentatively began to sing the last chorus and Julie jumped to join in when she almost missed her cue.
Step closer, don't back out now
Looking at the stars, this moment is ours
Step closer, don't back out now
This moment is ours, look at the stars, look at the stars
Julie had sung the last section in her head voice to reach the next octave for the cannon harmony, while Luke had sung the melody. It wasn't unusual, they did it in a lot of songs, but this time it took her breath away. Probably because of how close to her Luke was. She swallowed and turned, studying his face that was still focused on the piano keys. He didn't even so much as glance at her for a good minute, and it drove her crazy. Eventually, she had to ask, "So?"
"Hmm? What?" He replied, directing his attention towards her for the first time.
Julie let out a cry of frustration."What did you think? Of the song?"
Luke spun around and tossed his leg over the bench, so he was straddling it and directly faced her. He reached out and grabbed her hand, which was still resting on the notes she'd last played. "Jules, that has to be one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard."
The corners of her mouth turned up in a small smile. "Really? You think so?"
He nodded and scooted closer, pulling their hands into his chest and holding them there. "Yeah, really. That was amazing. How'd you come up with it so fast?"
Julie bit her bottom lip and shifted her gaze to her feet. "I just wrote down what I was feeling." Luke frowned a little at that and moved even closer to her, enough that their faces were centimetres apart.
"Who was it about?" Julie looked up at the question and met his gaze, which was filled with curiosity and . . . hope. She saw his eyes flicker down to her lips for half a second, and she couldn't help but do the same.
They slowly gravitated closer and closer to one another until Julie could feel Luke's breath on her cheek. His fingers brushed a strand of loose hair off of her forehead and came around to cup her face. His eyes asked a silent question and she answered with a hushed whisper, "It was about you."
Suddenly, loud clapping came from outside of the studio, and they sprung apart, blushing madly. "Wow! That was great, Julie!"
"Reggie!"