Julie's father had offered to let the band play at their house while they live-streamed the performance, and to say that the band was excited was an understatement. Luke and his new lyrical partner and crime were writing as much as they could, trying to find a tune or a melody. Amber helped with the words, but, as always, was hopeless when the music came into play.
"We need a bridge," Julie stated, frustrated that the song hadn't come together as much as she wanted it to.
"I honestly think it's pretty straightforward," Amber laughed. The two of them looked at her, curious of what she had come up with. "The entire song is purposely repetitive, so why not double it up a little bit? Like instead of the bridge just being a single lyric, we can bring the end of the bridge right back to the beginning."
"I like that," Luke cut in, wanting to feel like he was contributing.
"You like anything Amber says," Julie teased, loving how
The Mercer girl's face turned bright red as she glared at Julie, but Luke just looked at the girl he loved in admiration.
"Anyway," Amber continued, wanting to change the subject, "what do you think the purpose of the bridge should be?"
"I want it to have a freeing feel so the audience can just let go for a moment and allow them to get lost in the music." Julie nodded enthusiastically at Luke's idea, writing it down. "I was talking with Alex a few days ago and he was talking about how he and Willie just shouted in a museum to loosen up. That could be fun, for it to be like 'shout, shout, come on and let it out, out...'"
"Don't gotta hide it, let the colors blind your eyes..." Julie continued.
"Be who you are, no compromise," Amber finished. "Then maybe repeat to bring it all back?"
"Shout, shout, come on and let it out, out," Luke sang. "Then maybe one more line?"
"Julie, how does being on stage make you feel?" Amber asked, genuinely curious, wanting to include some of the girl's experiences into a piece that was obviously so close to her heart.
"It makes me feel alive."
"Maybe 'what you survive will make you feel alive?'" Luke suggested.
"Maybe... but at the same time the rhyme seems like a little too much." Ever the expert on English and writing, Amber constantly was changing lyrics to flow better. "What about what doesn't kill you makes you feel alive?"
"I love it," Julie smiled. "Then we go straight back to the chorus."
"And my favorite member of the band gets her much deserved solo," Amber joked, winking at the other girl.
Luke felt his face drop, not understanding that she was joking. "I thought I was always your favorite!"
"Eh, you're alright," Julie joked, loving how wound up the boy was over the fact that Amber liked her better.
"I'm just kidding, I love you all equally," Amber sighed with a smile, forgetting the innocent ignorance of the boy across from her.
Suddenly Flynn burst into Julie's bedroom, panting from running up the stairs. "I need girl time. Pronto." She glanced around, trying to see if there were any ghosts, then motioned for the door just in case. Luke said goodbye and poofed out with a small flash, not wanting to deal with the wrath of the three girls in the room.
"Luke's gone," Julie laughed. "But Amber's here too."
Without warning, Amber willed herself to be seen. Flynn nearly jumped out of her skin at the girl suddenly sitting on the bed, legs crossed and braiding her long brown hair.
"Ugh, I've missed you both," Flynn cried, faceplanting onto the bed with a groan. "My weekend has been terrible."
"What's up?" Amber asked, concerned for the girl, but Julie just laughed.
"She's overdramatic, don't worry."
"True," Flynn said, propping her head on her arm with a smile. "But still, both of you need girl time just as much as me."
"True."
Surprised at Amber's wistful response, the two girls stared at her for a second before looking at each other.
"You having boy problems?" Flynn asked.
"You have no idea," Julie answered, cutting off Amber before she could even start. "She and Luke have been making 'oh my god I love you so much' eyes at each other all morning."
"Not true!"
"Totally true," the two best friends said in synch.
"Yes, Luke and I were together once, but that doesn't mean we have anything now."
"That's BS," Flynn laughed. "I can't always see either of you, but I'm not blind."
Feeling uncomfortable and wanting to take the attention off of herself, Amber did her best to change the subject. "And what about Julie? Isn't there a boy in the picture for you? Nick?"
Flynn giggled as Julie's cheeks turned bright red. "I like him, but he just dumped Carrie... we have a dance project tomorrow and I'm excited because he's so nice and sweet, but at the same time, I can't help but question him. I mean, he dated Carrie of all people. What if I'm just a rebound?"
"I feel that," Flynn responded. "But girl, Nick's a good guy. He wouldn't do that to you."
"Still you want to protect your heart," Amber jumped in. "The last thing you want is to get heartbroken."
"Do you know what that's like?"
"Yeah... I do." The girls wanted to pry but knew that it would be too hard for the girl sitting across from them. However, they were surprised by her continuation. "My whole heart just wants me to run up to Luke and tell him how much I love him, how much I've missed him, but my head reminds me that it's been twenty-five years and I need to move on. There's no way he still loves me, and I'm not that kind of girl who will run back to her first love at the first chance she gets."
Julie and Flynn's hearts broke for the girl but didn't say a word. After all, what else could be said?
(AN: i'm so sorry this has been so long! i've been super busy, but i'm excited to continue :) next chapter will be edge of great and maybe a little bit of a breakthrough with luke and amber hehe or it'll just be a flashback again if i feel like it lol
please let me know which one you want- flashback or edge of great!
love you all so so much, i can't believe that this has almost 6k reads. literally at a loss for words.
thank you so much <3)