Dandelions | Julie Molina [JATP]

XI. PERFECT HARMONY

As Skyler thought about it, that party could be the perfect time to tell Julie how he feels. He had been practicing the song for the past whole week to get it perfect and he was waiting for the opportunity to tell her.

"Hey, I was thinking if I could... sing a song that I wrote for the party tonight?" Skyler admitted nervously. "You know, as a solo?"

Julie smiles excitedly. She knew that he was an amazing songwriter, but he always thought that his songs weren't good enough. "Of course you can! I think you'll be amazing. I can't wait to see it."

"Thanks," Skyler said with a smile. "Also, um, another thing that I wanna say is that, um..." He chuckles slightly and rubs the back his neck nervously. "I know that I don't express myself with words very often, but I think you make me a better performer," he tells her. "Whether it's on stage or not, I feel like I can be myself when I'm around you. And, um, because of you, I want to do better."

Julie looks at him with surprise. She feels her face starting to heat up and she tried her best to ignore the butterflies swarming in her stomach. "I think we make each other better," she says softly and the Korean's smile grows slightly.

"Hey Julie!" Nick called, surprising Julie as he approached from behind her. Skyler's smile dropped when he saw him.

"Hey. Nick!" Julie turned around to greet him with a giddy smile.

"And I guess that's my cue to leave," Skyler says awkwardly before he turns around and begins to walk away to give the two some privacy.

Skyler opened his locker and grabs the notebooks he needed for his next class. He couldn't help but peer over to Julie and Nick as they engage. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but he can hear Julie laugh from the distance, which made him grip the locker handle with anger.

"Honestly, what does Julie even see in that guy anyway? He's not even half that interesting," Skyler mumbled in Korean.

"Hey." Luke appeared next to Skyler as he slams the locker door, making him let out a yelp, followed by a sigh of relief. He was lucky that Luke doesn't understand Korean, or else he wouldn't have heard the end of Luke's teasing.

"Normal people don't do that and ghosts definitely shouldn't," Skyler informs him quietly as he crossed his arms. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"We need to talk about what song we're gonna play tonight," Luke says. "I was thinking... "Great"?" He suggests.

A few girls walk by, smiling and waving at Skyler. Skyler waved back awkwardly. "Hold on a second." He pulled his phone out and puts it next to her ear.

"You're just gonna take a phone call while we're talking?" Luke questions. "Do you know how rude that is?"

"Hey, thanks for calling back," Skyler spoke into the phone. "Otherwise, people might think I'm talking to myself."

"Right. Nice!"

"No, but yeah. I think "Great" is a... great choice," Skyler nods, before immediately cringing at the joke he just said.

"Sweet!" Luke smiles slightly.

Skyler heard Nick Julie laugh again as she was still talking to Nick, making him frown. Luke's attention was turned to Julie and Nick as well. "Who's Julie talking to?" Luke asked, pointing behind him.

"Nick. Julie's crush," Skyler mumbled.

Luke gasped loudly as he finally puzzled something. "You like Julie!" He grins.

"Shh! Don't shout it out loud, you idiot!" Skyler tells him sternly. "Do you want me to kill you or something?"

"Well, I'm dead, so you can't," Luke responded and Skyler shakes his head.