I really picture the guy as 5SOS
most of the songs from now on that
Luke "supposedly," wrote is gonna be
5SOS or 1D songs and one or other original
from me
Also, listen to the song when the guys start
performing really important
F O U R T E E N
Hold you tight straight through the daylight,
I'm right here when you gonna realize
that I'm your cure, heartbreak girl
"IF I COULD MAKE LOVE TO AN OBJECT, IT WOULD BE THAT," said Luke as he stared at the Battle of the Bands' prize.
"Sweet Lord Jesus, it's so beautiful," mumbled Alex.
"Can I touch it?" Asked Reggie extending his arm, but Luke hit him before he could.
"You are going to leave Cheeto stains all over her," he told him seriously, making, Ella, Julie and Peyton chuckle.
"Her? You think the recording set is a woman?" Questioned Peyton who was standing next to him.
"It's not just her," whispered Alex, "it's a queen her."
"And what's her name?" Interrogated Julie as she looked at her bandmates.
"Phoebe," answered Alex.
"Phoebe," repeated Luke and Reggie with a hypnotized tone.
"I need to get that recording set," ended up saying Luke, placing his hand on Reggie's shoulder. "It is beautiful."
"Well, then you should be prepared. Look who just came in."
Everyone turned around to look at the other popular band there was at school: Sin & Tragedy.
"Look who it is!" Exclaimed the bassist Mike as he and his three bandmates walked in into the gym. "What's up Sunset Swerve!?"
"Sunset Curve!" Yelled the four members of the band, making their rivals laugh.
"Why do you need the Battle of the Bands anyways? Don't you have so many labels after you guys?" Questioned the drummer Sean with a smirk. "Did they reject you?"
"We just wanted to rock your heads off before we become famous while you still play at school dances," replied Reggie.
The lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac stepped forward with a mocking smile, looking at them.
"I found out you aren't the lead singer of your own band anymore, Patterson. What happened? Did you finally realized you aren't good?"
"Did you finally stop sampling songs and started writing your own or did you realized you don't have enough talent to do it, Evans?"
Isaac chuckled before turning around to look at Peyton. "Pey, always good to see you." He winked at her before turning around, walking towards his bandmates. "Let's go guys. Why waste our time?" He quickly looked to the band one more time, walking backwards. "Hope you enjoy our performance, Swerves!"
"How could I enjoy something so terri— and he can't hear me," realized Alex. "Why am I always so slow for these things?" Julie comforted him rubbing his back.
"I really hate those guys," whispered Reggie to himself. "Can't wait to smash their heads off with our music."
Luke turned around to look at the guys and so did Peyton. "We can't let them get into our heads. Let's go backstage and prep so we can blow their minds off, okay?" The guys nodded, starting to walk towards the prep room. Luke exhaled before looking at Peyton. "I'll see you from the stage."
"Break a leg," she told him before he left bouncing, joining the guys.
Ella and Peyton were left alone, watching how people started arriving at the gym.
"So who is the guy from that other band that flirted with you?"
"Oh, Isaac Evans. He doesn't like me he just does it to piss off Luke."
"Well, it works." Peyton rolled her eyes. "He was jealous," told her Ella. "I'm gonna get us some popcorn."
And with that, Ella left her sister in the middle of the gym alone.
This was going to be a long night.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Luke was revising the lyrics for their new song. Nobody besides the band knew which song they were playing, he wanted it to be a surprise.
"Hey, Patterson." He rolled his eyes when he heard Isaac's voice. "Is Peyton single?"
Alex was the only one from the band who realized what was happening and he slowly walked towards where Luke and Isaac were.
"Why do you care?"
"Just making sure I don't sing to someone's girlfriend tonight." He chuckled. "I should've imagined she was single. I've known you for four years and you haven't made a single move."
He quickly stood up. "We are dating."
Alex felt like hitting his forehead with his palm in that second.
"Oh, you are? How long you've been dating?"
"None of your business," he said with a serious face.
"Well, I'm happy for you guys. It took a whole lifetime for her to finally go with the safe choice." Luke was getting angrier. "See you on stage when we get that recording machine."
And with that, Isaac left. Luke watched him as he walked away, holding his anger.
Until Alex hit him on the arm. "Why would you tell him that!?"
"I panicked! I didn't want him singing to her! Do you think he believed me?"
"I'm definitely sure he didn't believe you." Luke sighed, hiding his face on his palms. "What are you gonna do?"
Luke glanced around before looking at her songbook, an idea popping into his brain.
"Let's do this one." Alex opened his eyes as he saw what song Luke was pointing to.
"You mean the song we are supposed to perform in the Fonda Theatre!? The song..." Alex looked around. "The song about... you know..."
"I know about whom is the song, Alex, I wrote it!" He quickly interrupted the blond.
Luke had a planned. It wasn't a brilliant plan but it was a plan.
Over the weekend, he wrote a song. A love song. About Peyton. He was going to sing it to her at the Fonda Theatre next week so he could tell her how she felt. But this little white lie got into his plans. If Isaac tells Peyton about their supposed relationship, his chances with Peyton were doomed and his credibility and dignity would be ruined by Isaac.
He couldn't let that happened. He was going to sing to her on that stage.
"Are you sure, Luke? This song is really important to you and you had everything planned."
"Things always turn out better when I improvise. This is my first... actual love song, okay? And... I've been dying to sing it to her the moment I started writing it. Maybe I imagined it in other circumstances, without Evans bugging me all the damn time... but I've been holding these feelings my whole life. It's time to tell her." Alex was shocked. "Besides, the Fonda Theatre isn't romantic at all, it actually is very unromantic. It's impressive.
"Let's just tell the guys. I hope you are doing this for the right reasons and not to piss off Isaac."
Luke nodded as they both walked towards the guys, letting them know about the setlist change.
This was the day.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"That was Fantasy Lights, an applause!" Yelled Flynn through the mic and the audience cheered.
Peyton was joined in the crowd by Ella, Willie and Carrie, the group watching as bands continued to perform.
"Let me say hi to the woman from Columbia, be right back." Told Peyton to her friends as she walked towards the lady, who was joined by a young man. "Hi, Fallon? I'm Peyton Swan, Sunset Curve's manager. We spoke on the phone."
The woman smiled, remembering the little chat she had with the guitarist the other week. "Peyton, a pleasure to finally meet you. Woah, it is true, you do have a beautiful smile."
"Uhm... thank you, I guess?" She said confused. "How are you enjoying the performances?"
"Oh, it's fantastic. When are the guys going to perform?"
"Really soon, I think they may be next." She nodded. "It was a pleasure meeting you in person."
"Same thing, Peyton."
The girl smiled at the lady one more time before walking towards the Atlantic Records people and then to the Sony managers, just to be interrupted by Flynn's voice as she announced the band.
"Give it up for the band of the moment, the incredibly talented, Sunset Curve!" Exclaimed Flynn, walking downstage.
The band entered the stage and everyone received them with cheers. They were the band everyone was waiting for.
"I'm so excited, they said it was a new song," told Peyton to Ella as they both clapped.
"Hello everyone. I hope you are having a great time," said Luke with a smile to the mic as he put the strap of his guitar around his shoulder. "We are now going to perform a new song... which is really special to me."
Luke's eyes met Peyton's. She noticed how nervous she was. Why would he be nervous? It was just a Battle of Bands.
"This is Heartbreak Girl." Everyone clapped as he finished saying, his eyes not leaving Peyton's.
He started playing the guitar, being followed after a few moments by the drums and the bass, later Julie's piano entering.
"You call me up, it's like a broken record. Saying that your heart hurts. That you never get over him getting over you. And you end up crying. And I end up lying,
'Cause I'm just a sucker for anything that you do."
His sight wasn't leaving Peyton's at any second. He was just looking at her, trying to express through his eyes everything he's been holding.
"And when the phone call finally ends, you say, "Thanks for being a friend." And we're going in circles again and again"
The song was upbeat. Everyone was dancing with the music, except Peyton. Peyton was listening to the lyrics.
"I dedicate this song to you, the one who never sees the truth. That I can take away your hurt, Heartbreak girl. Hold you tight straight through the daylight. I'm right here, when are you gonna realize that I'm your cure? Heartbreak girl."
Peyton raised her eyebrows, placing her hand on her chest.
"I bite my tongue but I wanna scream out. You could be with me now. But I end up telling you what you wanna hear."
"Is that song for you?" Asked Ella, but Peyton didn't reply.
"But you're not ready and it's so frustrating. He treats you so bad and I'm so good to you it's not fair."
Luke closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of his guitar, how the drums, the piano and the bass joined him as his voice started being raspier and filled with passion.
"And when the phone call finally ends you say, "I'll call you tomorrow at 10." And I'm stuck in the friend zone again and again"
He entered the chorus aggressively, opening his eyes again as he stared at her again.
"I dedicate this song to you, the one who never sees the truth. That I can take away your hurt, Heartbreak girl. Hold you tight straight through the daylight. I'm right here, when are you gonna realize that I'm your cure? Heartbreak girl"
The group had stopped dancing and now they were only staring between Luke and Peyton. What was happening?
"I know someday it's gonna happen, and you'll finally forget the day you met him. Sometimes I'm so close to confession. I gotta get it through your head
That you belong with me instead."
As the bridge ended he played a small guitar riff, now looking at his bandmates for the first time during the song, just later to reach the mic with Reggie.
"I dedicate this song to you, the one who never sees the truth. That I can take away your hurt, Heartbreak girl. Hold you tight straight through the daylight. I'm right here, when are you gonna realize that I'm your cure? Heartbreak girl"
Reggie stepped away from Luke's microphone as he sang the last chorus, now looking at Peyton again.
"I dedicate this song to you, the one who never sees the truth. That I can take away your hurt, Heartbreak girl. Hold you tight straight through the daylight. I'm right here, when are you gonna realize that I'm your cure?
Heartbreak girl"
The song arrived at its end after Luke stepped back from the mic, standing next to the guys. Everyone was cheering and yelling the band's name on repeat.
Sunset Curve! Sunset Curve! Sunset Curve!
After the bow, his eyes looked for Peyton in the crowd again.
But she wasn't there.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
After a few minutes, the band got out of the backstage and walked towards their group of friends, celebrating the success of their performance.
"How are you doing simple mortals?" Asked Reggie to the group as he hugged Ella by the shoulders. "Did you see our supernatural performance?"
"It was so good," Carrie finally said, while everyone was staring at Luke. "You guys... left your heart on stage."
"Where's Peyton?" Asked Luke not wanting to give it more turns to the topic.
"Oh, she had to leave," said Ella. "Mom called."
"Is everything okay?" He questioned with a worried tone.
"Everything is fine. She told me to remember you guys that you need to talk to the label people."
"Please give it up for Sin & Tragedy!"
As soon as the guys head Flynn, they all seemed disgusted. "I think it would be better to do it now," mumbled Alex under his breath.
"Yeah, not listening to those jerks," said Reggie as the guys split up to talk to the label people, while Julie staid behind.
As soon as the boys left, the group started quickly asking Julie questions.
"What was that?"
"Is Luke mentally okay!?"
"What did he plan on achieving with that!?"
"Ok, ok guys, let me explain," interrupted Julie. "Isaac was bothering Luke about Peyton, as usual, and Luke lied and told Isaac Peyton and him were dating."
"Why would he do that!?" Yelled Ella.
"I really can't even start to comprehend how Luke's brain works, the point is that he's been planning to perform that song to her for a long time now, and maybe he felt the need to tell Peyton how he felt today."
"Well. He screwed up," mumbled Ella. "I've never seen Peyton ran away so fast in my entire life."
While they discussed, Luke was having a conversation with Fallon from Columbia Music Records.
"So my Fender guitar would be blue with a guitar pick holder on the side. I tend to place them on my mic but I always break them, you know? I just rock to hard. Oh, and my best friend Peyton likes stars so I would make my sign golden with little stars on the side and since it is blue it would look like the sky. You see where I'm going with this?"
"Not really," she admitted. "So, about the song, you just performed."
"Did you like it? I went for a more rock band style like our first music. Not so much like I Don't Want to Be but I tried to mix our current style with our old one. Do I talk too much? Sorry, I'm just so excited. I feel like Joe Strummer or Mick Jagger. I should really talk to Peyton."
"I think that you guys should play more love songs," finished saying Fallon, making Luke raise his eyebrows. "You guys have a lot of talent. And your lyrics are amazing, Luke, especially when you write them from the heart."
"Well... thank you for that I guess. We have a lot of great songs," he said, loosen up. He could never stay still. "You are going to listen to all of them next Friday. An hour of Sunset Curve's music. Some might call it magical, I call it a blessing." He looked at his Red Power Ranger watch before looking at her. "See, I would love to stay here and talk to you about my ideas for our merch, but I gotta check if Peyton is alright. She just evaporated, like... Samantha Stephens."
"Aren't you too young to know who Samantha Stephens is?" Asked the male companion of the woman with curiosity.
"You are never too young to know about Samantha's magical abilities. So, it was a pleasure talking to you, bye, and if I don't see you, good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night," he said before stepping out of the gym, running towards the parking lot.
"Luke! They are going to announce the winner! You can't leave!"
"I'll see it through streaming!" He replied to Carrie before busting open the exit doors.
What was he going to say to her? Was he going to apologize for writing her a song? But he didn't feel sorry about it. What was he going to do?
He thought he'll figure it out on their way there. He started his truck and got out of the school's parking lot, but mid-road, his car stopped.
"Not now, Elaine!" Yelled Luke as he stepped out of the truck and started pushing it. "You don't understand! I have to be at... at Peyton's house!"
He kept pushing his car all the way towards his house. He left it outside, running up to the big tree that was in between their bedroom windows. He climbed it up, holding on tight until he reached the top, jumping towards the half roof in front of Peyton's window and opening it.
The girl quickly stood up from her bed as she saw her best friend enter her room, as tired as he could be, all sweaty and exhausted.
"The streaming," was the thing he said before she turned the screen of the computer to his direction. He looked at it, trying to catch his breath.
"And the winner Los Feliz High School's Battle of Bands is... Sunset Curve!"
As soon as Flynn said it, he jumped, extending his arms up in the air with a smile.
"Yes! Yes!" He yelled. "I thought I was going to miss it..."
Peyton looked at him for a few seconds in silence before sitting down on her chair.
"Did you talk to the label people?"
"Yeah, well kinda. I only talk to the Columbia lady before I came here. My truck stopped in the middle and I have to push it to my driveway, then climb my tree and jump to your window." He chuckled a little. "I wanted to talk to you, Tay."
"What is there to talk about?" She asked him.
"Well... the... the song?"
"Oh right... I liked it," she said and he smiled. "It's a good song."
"Right," he whispered with a short laugh at the end. "So..."
"So what?" She stood up, walking towards her closet, getting each time more far away from him.
"Well... what do you think?"
"I already told you. I liked it, it is a good song. As a manager, I tell you that the audience seem to like when you sing, but remember that Julie is now—"
"Why are you avoiding the topic?" He interrupted her, making her stay in silence. "I like you, Peyton."
He couldn't hold it any longer, huh?
POP CULTURE REFERENCES
chapter fourteen
"Phoebe," answered Alex
The guys named the recording machine as the 80s actress Phoebe Cates, which was famous for being incredibly beautiful. She's known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and Gremlins (1984)
"I feel like Joe Strummer"
Joe Strummer was a british musician, singer and songwriter, between others, who was best known for being the lead vocalist of the punk rock band The Clash. He was included into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"She just evaporated like... Samantha Stephens."
"Aren't you too young to know who Samantha Stephens is?"
Samantha Stephens is a fictional main character from the tv show Bewitched. She is a witch and has several magic powers.
"and if I don't see you, good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night"
This phrase is famous because it was featured in the movie The Truman Show, said by Jim Carrey as Truman, whose entire life was a reality show and he had no idea it was.
"Not now Elaine!"
Luke's truck is named after Julia Louis-Dreyfus character in the American sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998) which was named Elaine. Luke has a crush on her.