STARDUST ⭑ LUKE PATTERSON

ten and a half

EMMY COULD HEAR HER PARENTS SHOUTING as she lightly closed the front door. She stalks away, one foot in front of the other, focusing on that and only that. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.

    She exhales shakily, clutching the straps of her backpack. By the time she walked to the studio, Emmy had recollected herself. "Hey losers!" she shouts, turning the corner and entering the garage. She pauses, only seeing Bobby on the couch. "Where are the other losers?"

    Bobby shrugs, lazily plucking at his guitar. "They're booking us a gig at that venue downtown. I didn't feel like eating those street dogs after, so I stayed here. I'm a vegetarian now."

    "Bobby, you had a hamburger just yesterday."

    "Hot dogs from the hood of a car shouldn't fall under meat anyways. It should be its own category of radiation."

    She laughs, plopping down on the couch with him. "For once, I agree with you."

    "Hey," he starts. He nudges her with his foot and she swats at him. "Any new songs?"

    "Luke and I were supposed to write one...right now." Emmy looks at the time, rolling her eyes at his punctuality. "I'm gonna beat him up."

    "Like bruise his lips with your lips?"

    Her neck snaps in his direction, brown eyes morphing to daggers when they meet his smirk. "Why? Just why."

    "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," he laughs. She smacks him with her notebook of songs. "Ow!" he cries out, attempting to push her over with the tip of his shoe again. "I'm simply stating the truth, you monster."

    "Bite your tongue!"

    "Bite Luke's--OW!"

    Emmy stands up from the couch furiously, marching over to another chair across the room.

    "You know," Bobby calls out. "It's not a bad thing to have feelings for him."

    "You don't know what you're talking about."

    "I mean he hasn't told me, but I thought it was pretty obvious that he's into you."

    Emmy stops, sitting up a bit straighter in her seat. "W-What?"

    Bobby looks at her, studying her carefully. Then, he lets out boisterous laughter. Emmy realizes he had been messing with her this entire time. In a flash of fury, she's clutching a pillow in her hand and launching herself at him.

    Their screams echo around the room as Emmy climbed on top of him and beat him brutally with the force of a thousand barbarians.

    "What is going on here?"

    Bobby, clutching his sides in laughter, peers over Emmy to see Alex and the rest of Sunset Curve standing at the door with bewildered expressions. "Domestic abuse," he calls out. Emmy slams the pillow over his head one more time before getting off of him.

    "He's bullying me," she seethes.

    Luke looks between the two suspiciously, chewing on the inside of his mouth. Reggie smirks at this, hand patting Luke on the back.

    "I'm leaving," Bobby announces. "I gotta get out of here before I'm maimed and murdered." He ruffles Emmy's black hair before shouting he was going to get some chicken nuggets.