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Layla and Julie were sat on the couch doing some homework. Julie sitting normal with Layla laying upside down with her head hanging off the edge.
They notice Reggie and Alex poof in, but choose to ignore them.
"Hey, you, uh... you got a second ?" Alex asks
Julie sighs as she adjusts her seating.
"Oh my gosh. They can't see us anymore !" Reggie says. Alex gives him a look with his tongue poking his cheek before he takes a seat on the armrest by Layla. "Oh. Right."
"Layla, please." Alex tries
"We already told you that we're done with the band." She says not sparing him a glance while Julie looked up to him.
"Yeah, we know, all right ? But before you decide that forever, we just... We wanted you to know that Luke isn't as selfish as you think."
"Yeah, you've got him all wrong." Reggie says. Julie scoffs shaking her head as she looks back down at her book.
"You remember that song "Emily" ? Can we at least show you who that's actually about ?" Alex says. Julie looks between them before turning to her cousin. The older girl looks to her cousin before she sighs.
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The four teens managed to make it to Luke's childhood home. Each one hiding behind a plant as they look into the open window of the house. They see Luke sitting on the countertop as an older couple moved around the kitchen.
"So, Emily's his mom ?" Julie says
"Yeah. Yeah, Luke comes here a lot." Alex says
"He thinks we don't know, but... we've been following him." Reggie says, "All he does is just hang out like this and watch them. They never really do anything though."
Layla watches as the woman sets a cake on the table.
"They're having cake. That's something." Julie says
"It's a birthday cake." Layla says softly
"For Luke." Reggie nods
"I never knew Luke was hurting this much." Julie says
"Yeah. It's even worse because when he died, he... left on bad terms. You know, his parents didn't want their 17-year-old in a rock band, so... he just left. He never got the chance to make up with them." Alex says
"That's why Luke was so angry." Reggie says, "If Trevor had given Luke credit for writing all the songs, then... his parents would've known his dream was worth chasing."
"They would have been so proud." Layla mutters as Luke sits at the table with his parents. They watch as they sit together and blow out a single candle coming out of the cake.
"We know how bad it hurts whenever someone that should've had your back... completely lets you down. We never meant to make you feel that way." Alex says
"Julie, Layla, we love our band, and Luke does too. Please give us another chance." Reggie says.
The girls look toward each other with sadness in their eyes. They knew that they were going to give them another chance.
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The four were now back in the garage to practice for their gig later that night. Layla sat at the piano with Reggie on the guitar, Alex on the drums, and Julie with her mic in her hand.
"Marching on proud
Turn it up loud
'Cause now we know what we're worth."
They look over as they hear a whoosh. Luke lands in a chair looking around before standing up abruptly.
"Whoa, Layla. Julie." He says
"Grab your guitar. We got work to do." Layla says as Julie smiles.
Luke chuckles as he looks around. He grabs his guitar before walking up to her, "What made you come back ?"
"We realized how important music is to all of us. And we've lost so much already. We can't lose this too."
"Thanks." He nods. Layla gives him a small smile as he looks down. He looks back up at her, "All right, boss. Where we at ?"
"Oh, and by the way, happy birthday." She says before she sits back down. Luke looks taken aback as he looks toward the others. He walks back over to his spot. "Let's go from the pre-chorus."
"One, two, three, four."
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Layla's window was wide open as she sat on the roof. She did this a lot when she needed to clear her head.
Seeing Luke with his mom reminded her a lot of her and her own mother. She remembered she used to be so angry after her dad had passed away. She used to see so many boys and girls at the park playing with their fathers and always wondered why her dad was never around.
She wasn't really old enough to quite remember her dad before he passed, but she knew she missed him. Once she learned that he was gone and wasn't coming back, of course she was upset.
There were so many times when she missed him so much and just wished she could see him again. She barely remembered what he looked like when she learned he was gone and then came the time when she had completely forgotten what he had looked or sounded like. It made her angry and unfortunately, she would take it out on her mom.
She wished she could take those moments back and replace them with happy memories. Maybe it would've felt like she had more time with her mom.
She feels a gust of wind causing her to look over. Luke looks back at her with a small smile on his face.
"I saw you from down there." He says pointing toward the ground, "You looked pretty sad."
Layla chuckles sadly, "It's kind of a normal thing."
"What's got you so upset ?"
"Just missing my parents." She mumbles, but Luke heard her. And he knew exactly how she felt. "I didn't get that much time with them. So, I miss them a lot."
"Did they pass when you were really young ?" He asks softly
"My dad did." She says looking out at the houses, "My mom died four years ago. Julie's mom was the only other person I really had and then.."
Luke watches her carefully as she looks down. She sniffles as she blinks rapidly.
"It still doesn't feel real, but every time I feel myself looking for one of them, I realize they're all gone. My mom always promised that she wouldn't leave me after I found out that my dad wasn't just gone, but dead. Then she got into an accident and my aunt would promise that she wouldn't leave."
"That's why I was so upset whenever you broke your promise at the dance." She says looking toward him before turning away, "Promises were a big thing for me."
Luke feels his heart break at the confession. Now, he felt even worse for what he did.
"I miss them so much." She admits
Luke's eyes soften as she looks toward him. "I'm sure they miss you, too."
Layla's smile is very faint as she looks away. She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. "I wish one of them were here to see Julie and I performing tonight."
"Well, I'm sure they are somehow." He says, "I mean we're here. Anything's possible right ?"
Layla's brows raise for a second before dropping. "I guess so, yeah."
Luke smiles as she nods. She looks over at him again. "Thanks."
"No problem." He says. Layla's eyes search his face as they stare at each other. Her face softens before she looks away.
"Well, I should start getting ready for the show." She says sitting up. She starts to crawl toward her window, stepping in carefully. "I'll see you later ?"
"Of course." He smiles. Layla smiles back before he disappears.
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