Reggie was wrapped in a blanket, sitting in the booth next to Alex who was patting him on the back. "You have to stop doing things like this just because you like attention," Alex told him gently. Luke brought over an apple juice box and put it in front of Reggie who looked at him with sparkling eyes.
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to hold it up for you," Luke told him. Reggie pouted, but he reached over and started sipping on the juice. Luke looked at Princess Julie who had a content smile on her face. It wasn't a wide smile, but she seemed to be having as good of a time as she did when she went bird watching. He debated for a few seconds before sitting next to her in the booth, many inches away. He remembered her telling him that she wouldn't bite, but he knew that he did.
"Where is Willie?" Alex asked, looking around the club.
"Mopping," Luke told him. Alex scrunched up his face, understanding. He looked at Reggie across from him and tapped your nose. "Your girl left. I don't think she'll text back after this." Reggie rolled his eyes, but he knew Luke was right. She got a few chunks of vomit in her hair.
Julie asked Reggie, "Are you going to be okay?" Reggie nodded, still sipping on the juice. Luke knew that when he pulled the straw away, it would be completely chewed up.
"He's done this before and ran miles the next morning," Luke assured her. "He'll be okay in an hour. He'll probably still play tonight." Princess Julie perked up, and her glow made Luke want to shrink back into the old booth.
"You guys are playing tonight?"
Alex said without much though, "You should play with us, Princess."
"I don't know any songs you guys would have," Princess Julie said.
"Would sheet music help you?" Alex asked. Luke's heart was already beating out of his chest. He was put under a spell when he saw her play from a small distance, and he couldn't imagine him making it through the night alive if he was on the same stage as her. He didn't know when his feelings got so out of control.
Princess Julie nodded. "It would, actually." Alex clapped his hands in excitement and stood up on the booth, jumped over, going to find their binder they kept in the club's cabinets. Luke forced himself to not turn to look at Julie, her eyes always innocent and bright. He stared at Reggie who was done with his child sized apple juice and sure enough, the straw was chewed up at the edge.
"I feel better," Reggie told them.
"Fake," Luke reached over to flick him on the nose. Reggie slapped his hand away, accidentally hitting his own chin in the process. Luke laughed out loud and realized the Princess had chuckled right next to him. It was strange to laugh with her as if they had been friends all along, all their lives. He almost turned to look at her, but he forced his head to look for Alex who had stopped to talk to Willie and a few other people.
"Princess," Reggie asked her, "did you see that video?"
"I did," she nodded. "You guys are great." Amazing she had said earlier to him. Luke tried to look at her through the corner of his eyes, but when she turned her entire head to look at him, he turned the other direction again.
"It got taken down," Reggie frowned. They didn't know Luke and Bobby were behind its removal. Bobby alone, was capable of making them all miserable, even Alex who was family friends with him. Luke didn't intend to hurt people he loved. But it was for the best, even though Luke knew it probably would've been a nice fantasy for them to cling onto in the midst of war. The only other thing Bobby told him about the video after its removal was to avoid getting posted online. It had been a rule for while. Luke's social media pages were blank, but he had them either way to interact with people in the academy. Reggie once said he was a ghost on social media.
"I noticed," Princess Julie said, this time with a frown. "I wonder why."
"Haters," Reggie sighed. He wasn't far off.
Alex came back with Willie, the binder in hand and passed it over to Julie. He slid in next to Reggie and Willie sat next to Luke who had to scoot close to the Princess, their elbows touching for the second time that night. He tried to keep close to himself, but it was impossible. Princess Julie went through the binder, scanning the songs with a grin on her face.
"Who wrote these?" she asked.
"All of us," Luke answered her.
"Mostly Luke," Alex butted in. Luke glared at him but before he could deny the claim, Julie looked at him and he instinctively looked at her.
"You're amazing," she said to him, before looking back down. Luke wished he hadn't changed the lightbulbs in the club weeks before because he knew he was blushing, and he knew at least one of the boys was going to notice. He covered his face, pretending to be leaning his head on his hand to look over at the binder.
After looking for a few minutes, Julie held up the pages to "Edge of Great" to them. "That's a good one," Reggie said, standing up. Alex pulled him back down.
"Rest," Alex said to him. "Willie can play bass." Reggie sighed, but he didn't argue back. Luke knew he'd be asleep when he came back no matter how loud the music was. The three of them had to carry him back to the academy once, and their superiors thought he was drunk until they smelled the throw up.
They stood up and Luke patted Reggie's head, Alex leading Julie over to the stage by the hand. It was strange how fast Alex connected with her, but they were both more level-headed people which made sense. They both grew up with wealthy backgrounds with stricter expectations. There was an unspoken understanding between them like there was with him and Reggie.
People started getting closer as they started getting the instruments ready, Julie setting out the music in front of the keyboard they had at hand. Luke spoke into the microphone, "No recording please!" People started putting their phones away, respecting their wishes.
The princess played a few notes, getting a random woo in the back. She giggled, and Luke knew he'd dream about it later that week. Luke got the club guitar and started playing the same tune, Princess Julie looking at him and smiling. He couldn't help but smile back, looking her in eyes. She looked down at the music sheet and started playing the music, singing. Luke held his breath.
Running from the past
Tripping on the now
What is lost can be found, it's obvious
"Get it, Princess!" someone yelled from the audience. Julie smiled the same way she smiled in the family portrait Luke once stared at.
And like a rubber ball
We come bouncing back
We all got a second act, inside of us
Princess Julie pulled off her microphone, the entire club cheering for her. She came up to Luke, and they started singing to each other. He didn't look away from her eyes for a single moment. With music, it was easy. This was Julie.
I believe
I believe that we're just one dream
Away from who we're meant to be
That we're standing on the edge of
Something big, something crazy
Our best days are yet unknown
That this moment is ours to own
'Cause we're standing on the edge of great
Luke watched Julie hug Alex and Willie goodbye outside of the club. It was midnight before they knew it, and Luke encouraged the Princess to wrap it up. Reggie called him a party pooper, but Luke just hit his forehead with the palm of his hand, and he stayed quiet. Reggie stood next to Luke a few feet away as the Princess said her final goodbyes to other people coming out of the club.
"So," Reggie said to him, bumping his shoulder into his. "You think she's cute?" Luke bumped him back harder.
"No," Luke said. "We just both like music."
"You and I both like music and you never want to kiss me."
"I'll kiss you right now, right now."
"No thank you," Reggie said, taking a step away from him. "But seriously. She makes you blush." Luke run his hands through his own hair, trying to think of something to say. He knew someone was going to see it, but he didn't think it would be Reggie who was supposed to be passed out.
"Just do me a favor and drop it, dude," Luke said, starting to whisper as the Princess approached him. "It's nothing." Reggie didn't say anything, but he had a smirk on his face. Princess Julie smiled as she stood in front of them. "Ready?" Luke asked her.
"Yeah," she said, putting her hands in her pocket. He looked down at her, her face shining under the moon. She had a post-show glow, and he knew that despite everything, he was going to be completely smitten by her.
As they started walking towards the cemetery, Willie called out, "Goodbye, future wife!" Princess Julie started laughing and turned around to wave.
"Bye future king!" Princess Julie called to him. Luke raised an eyebrow at Reggie who shrugged, still dizzy from his one-person vomit party earlier. They walked in the same form as before, the Princess in between them and occasionally bumping elbows with Luke. He wondered what went through her head as she walked, humming songs under her breath. What she really thought about him. It was starting to drive him crazy not being able to read someone so easily as he read everyone in the academy. Princess Julie was a walking dictionary definition of anonymity.
But the Julie on stage? He could see right through her. He's known her his whole life and maybe in the past ones. And that gave him a sense of comfort he hadn't had in ages.
They snuck back into the castle, Luke holding his breath until the made it into the hallway.
"First sleep," Reggie called, crashing into their room door, and disappearing in.
"I'm setting a timer," Luke called to him. He wouldn't, though. He'd let Reggie get another two hours because Luke knew he'd just thrash back and forth in the bed, unable to sleep. The Princess' guard friend came down the hall, the Princess walking up to him to say thank you. Luke watched him carefully. How leaned into her and gave her a quick hug that left her paralyzed for a second before she returned it. He looked away, trying to find something in the dark hallway to distract him in those five seconds.
"Goodnight, Julie," Nick said to her, kissing her hand. Julie said goodnight after pulling away her hand. Nick nodded his head at Luke who ignored him as he walked past him and left them alone in the dark. Luke watched the Princess rub the back of her hand where Nick kissed it, seeming stunned with the action. He wondered, but he wouldn't ask. He'd burry it. He walked towards her again, and they walked together.
He walked the Princess to her door, and she opened it. She turned to look at him, and she said, "Thank you. I know you didn't really want to take me."
"I'm glad I did, Princess," he said. He couldn't help but smile, and it made her grin. They stared at each other for a few moments, Luke looking at the ceiling for a second and then back at her, her eyes still on him.
"Goodnight," she finally said.
"Goodnight."
Luke and Reggie were eating breakfast in the grand dining room the next morning. Luke had relaxed, feeling like they got away with it. But after a single bite of a pancake, he looked up and saw King Ray and Princess Julie walking in together. The King was furious, a deep frown on his face decorated next to deep forehead lines.
Luke and Reggie rushed to stand up, Luke accidentally knocking over a glass of orange juice. He didn't know whether to pick it up or get on his knee but since Reggie was down already, he shakily got down himself. The King spoke, "I am not happy with what happened last night."
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A/N: I believe (!) that this is my longest chapter yet with 2k words but don't get used to it lol. I'm a few chapters ahead, and they're already all shorter. I just really liked writing in that environment with all of them together. It felt really cute. I'm also a big fan of Luke being the dad friend taking care of everyone, especially Reggie who is just pure toddler aged chaos and very similar to me. It would feel like Alex would be that friend, but I feel like he's also just a baby squish sometimes.
Either way, thank you guys for reading <3 Stay safe and I'll update soon :) Thank you for the comments and voting!