Allie and the Phantoms

Chapter 7: Late Night Conversations

Allie's POV:

I stay up playing my guitar and writing for a while. At some point I head down to grab a water and my dad has me go through pictures he has for the real estate website. They were good, but something doesn't sit right with me.

"Dad, if we're still moving just because of me, then we don't have to. I mean, if Carlos, Julie, and you don't want to move then we don't have to." I tell them. "I vote for staying." Carlos says automatically. "Me too." Chimes in Julie from the kitchen.

"Are you sure about this Allie?" He asks. I nod. "Yeah. I am." "Great! That's awesome." I grab at everyone and head back up stairs. I end up playing pretty late. When I check the time my eyes widen. I haven't eaten. I quickly put my guitar away and close my journal chest.

I take my beanie off and pony tail out, running my hands through my hair. I head to the bathroom and quickly shower and change into a sweater and leggings. I blow dry my hair like I do every night before heading downstairs to make something to eat.

"Ah!" I yell, clutching my at my heart. Luke is standing in front of our open fridge, staring at the food inside. I smile and walk over to him. I grab the jelly from the door. "Do you guys even eat?" I ask. He shakes his head. "I just wanna see whatcha got." He says.

I roll my eye and turn away, closing the door as I walk towards the I counter. I grab the peanut butter and bread as Luke walks over to me. "Hey! Do you know how long it took me to open that?" He asks.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe in wasting power." I say, starting to make my sandwich. "Good, because that's what I wanted to talk to you about." He says. I look up at him confused. "Our power usage?" I ask. "No. The power that you have." I still don't get it.

"Your voice. Your piano playing. I'm betting you're a fantastic guitar player as well. Dude, you're like a human wrecking ball." He says. I blush and look down. "Is this supposed to be a pep talk?" I ask him. I look back up at him.

"What I'm saying is, you have the power to move people. To knock them off their feet. There is no way your teachers wouldn't let you back into school if they heard you play like that." He says. I shake my head and go back to making my sandwich.

"I asked her, and she said I have to wait for next semester." I say. "That's your first mistake. Asking." He says, leaping up and sitting on the counter top. What else does he expect me to do? Just force myself into class?

"Sunset Curve booked gigs by doing. We went into ambush mode. We played in front of clubs. We played in back of clubs. We even played book clubs." I look over at him. "Book clubs?" "Yeah, we didn't get many gigs out of that, but they did have some pretty gnarly snacks." He explains.

I smile a little and roll my eyes. "I'm just saying, don't ask for permission. Swing that wrecking ball of talent you have at your teacher's head and smash those stupid rules right outta their brain." He says. I give him an amused look.

"This isn't a club, this is a school. Also, your plan sounds violent." I say, going over to the cabinet next to him. "It's a closed door." He says. I open the cabinet, blocking him, but he sticks his head through. "And you gotta but it open." I grab my glass and close the cabinet.

I place it next to my sandwich and go back to the fridge. Luke hops off the counter and follows me. "Sorry, once I start with the metaphors, I can't stop. I learned that in book club." He says as I grab some juice and turn around, closing this door.

Unfortunately, this means I walk right through his. I shiver and walk back to my sandwich and glass. "They're not just gonna let me back in." I say, turning to look at him. "If getting back into music is what you want, then you gotta go for it." He says.

I roll my eyes and grab my sandwich, going to take a bite. "Learn from me. Your tainted hotdog could be right around the corner." He mutters. I look down at the sandwich I'm about to take a bite of and put it down.

"Look, I appreciate the pep talk, really, but I don't even have a song prepared." I say. "I thought you'd say that." He says, pulling out a piece of paper and unfolding it. I look over the song. I like the lyrics already from reading the first line.

"It's called 'Bright'. It's a Sunset Curve song I wrote that we never got to record. But it's perfect for your range, ok. Just check out the chorus for a second. If you add a little bit of piano, I'm telling you..."

Luke

And rise, through the night
You and I
We will to shine together

Bright forever

Both

And rise, through the night
You and I
We will fight to shine together

"Go high." He tells me. I do.

Bright forever

I smile up at him. He's smile down at me. "Thank you." I mutter. "Yeah, of course." He says, continuing to smile. We stand there like that for a second before I look away. "I'm, uh, gonna go look this over and then get some sleep. Goodnight." I tell him. "Night."

With that I head back upstairs. As I go over the song in my head I can't help but blush and then smile at how good we sounded together and how close we stood. Sure Luke is attractive, but he's also more than that. He's encouraging and nice and a great person to talk to.

'Snap out of it Allie, focus on tomorrow and we'll go from there.' I tell myself. With that I place the lyric sheet on my nightstand and lay my head on my pillow, falling asleep instantly.