Nothing to Lose | Luke Patterson

Chapter Seven

"I vote we head back to the studio," I announce, taking note of the sun beginning to peek through the clouds; we had spent basically the entire night checking out venues and clubs. All three of the boys nodded, and we poofed away to the studio; when we got there, I expected it to be empty, but instead, we were met with Julie standing at the piano in front of us; I instantly recognized the song she was singing as the one I read last night.

"Wake your dream, and make it true," Julie sang passionately; I gasped quietly at how powerful her voice is and looked over at my brother in awe; this girl could sing. Julie finished off the song and grabbed the music off the top of the piano; she hugged it close to her chest and could hear her sniffling; she was crying. Alex reached forward, ready to comfort the sad girl in front of us. Luke and I both pulled him back simultaneously; Luke gestured for us to poof out of the room.

"Why'd you stop me?" Alex asks once we land outside the studio, "Julie needs a hug."

"Bro, a ghost hug isn't the feel-good moment you think it is," Luke informs my brother.

"Luke's right; what Julie needs right now is some privacy," I advise the boys, agreeing with what Luke is saying.

"You know what? I think you poofed us out because both of you can't handle when other people cry." Alex accused Luke and I, "I should know; I cried in a room for 25 years, and I didn't get a hug from any of you." Alex exclaims dramatically, pointing at the three of us.

"To be fair, I was asleep for majority of the time." I remind my brother, holding my hands up in defense.

"All right," Reggie holds his arms open, moving towards my brother, "Bring it in."

"Don't touch me," Alex snaps, holding his hand up for Reggie to stop.

"This is why no one hugs you," Reggie whispers; I giggle quietly at him, stopping when Alex shoots us a glare.

"Okay, so, I think the first thing we should do, once we get the courage to go in there, is ask Julie why she lied about playing the piano?" Luke proposes; Alex and I share a glance, both shaking our heads in disagreement.

"Yeah, you know, maybe tell her how amazing she is," I add in; Alex nods in agreement, "Guys, clearly, her mom was into music; it's probably really hard for her to play."

"Oh true," Luke mumbles, eyes wide in realization.

"Well, she's legit," Reggie concluded, holding his arm up, "I got ghost bumps." I stare at Reggie weirdly; sometimes I wonder what goes on in his head; before we can say anything else, a girl rushes down the stairs, quietly sobbing as she enters the studio.

"Oh my gosh." Alex gasps quietly, "was she crying too?"

"Yes!" Luke exclaims; I roll my eyes at how dramatic he's acting, "and the only thing scarier than one girl crying is two girls crying."

"Sexist much?" I ask, slapping his arm playfully; Luke's eyes widen, and he rubs the spot where I hit him.

"I wasn't talking about you," Luke holds his hands up defensively, "You're not like other girls; you're different." I nod, unsure of whether me being different is a good or bad thing.

"He is right, though; we definitely can't go in there," Alex admits to me; I raise my eyebrow at him, and Alex moves back, scared I'll hit him like I hit Luke.

"But we can listen," Reggie suggests with wide eyes, all three of the boys shuffle over to peer in the window, and I huff in annoyance.

"Seriously, guys?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest, "that is such an invasion of privacy." I sighed and walked over, trying to peer in the windows but ultimately failing because of my height.

"Thought this was an invasion of privacy?" Luke smirks down at me, noticing my obvious struggling.

"It is, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna watch too," I reply; I stretch on my tiptoes, but every time I can see through the window, I lose my balance.

"Here," Luke steadies me, securely wrapping his arm around my waist, "That better?"

"Uh, yeah," I mumble; A warm blush takes over my face, and I'm thankful Luke is too busy watching the studio to notice, "thanks."

"We should probably duck, or Julie will see us," Alex suggested; Julie looked up from her piano, and the four of us ducked down quickly. Luke released his grip on my waist, and I frowned slightly; I usually didn't like people touching me, but Luke was different; his touch didn't make me feel uncomfortable or anxious; it made me feel safe, not that I'd ever admit that to him. The four of us stood in silence for the next few minutes, listening to Julie's friend rant about her leaving the program, and then listening to Julie announce she had sung again.

"My girls back, Double Trouble lives again!" I could hear her friend exclaim excitedly.

"Not our band name," Julie reminds her; their voices grow closer, meaning they were exiting the studio.

"I gave you a T-shirt in the 7th grade that says otherwise," The girl reminds her best friend; they were both exiting the studio now, and the boys scrambled into awkward poses. Luke leaned his arm on my shoulder, resting the other one on his hip.

"Not suspicious at all," I mumble, glancing up at Luke; He smiles cheekily at me and shrugs.

"Oh, hey!" Julie greets us; I cringe at her slip up and gesture to her friend, who's looking at her, weirdly, "Let's hustle!" Julie exclaims, hurrying over to the other girl. Julie looks back at us and waves, and I sigh, so close.

"Don't worry, we weren't listening," Reggie assures the young girl; I glare down at him and watch Luke kick him lightly.

"Oh, um," Julie stutters to her friend, after being caught waving, "There was a bee." Julie swats the air a few more times for good measure, and her friend nods. "It's gone now; let's go." Julie pushes her friend forward, leaving just the boys and me alone.