Jay took heavy breaths as the band finished performing. He stepped to the side next to Julie as the audience gave them a standing ovation, the widest smile on his face as he bowed. He heard the gasps in the audience as the phantoms disappeared and chuckled along with Julie, still riding the adrenaline high of the performance as everyone erupted in applause.
"Thank you," Julie said into her mic. "We're Julie and The Phantoms-"
"Tell your friends," Jay into the same mic, stealing Reggie's signature line.
Jay slung an arm around Julie's shoulders and the two of them ran offstage. Julie had gone to where Flynn and the ghosts were waiting for them by the bar while Jay stayed back to unplug his guitar from the amp and pack up his gig bag. From the corner of his eye, he could see Flynn squeal and giggle as Julie enveloped her in a quick hug.
"You were incredible!" Flynn said as Jay walked up to the group, gig bag over his shoulder.
"Yeah, we were!" Reggie said from behind her, looking proudly at Julie and Jay, the latter currently enveloped in a hug from Flynn.
"Jay, you absolutely rocked it up there!" Luke said excitedly.
"Me? We were all rocking it!" Jay said, pulling away from the hug and turning to Alex. "Alex, that drumline was perfect!"
"Nah, that was simple, you guys were the ones killing it," Alex said, waving off the compliment.
"Dude," Jay scoffed. "Just accept your awesomeness for a moment. That was probably the best we've ever performed together!"
Jay ran a hand through his hair, the excitement of the night still pounding in his ears. He missed the knowing look that Alex and Luke gave to Reggie and instead focused on Flynn's next words.
"Jay, your voice!" she said. "Boy, you need to sing some more for me, that was amazing!"
"I promise I'll sing at your wedding, Flynn," Jay said jokingly.
Well, he was only half-joking.
Jay ran his hand through his hair again, not missing the way Luke stared at him as he did. Jay bit his lip and looked away quickly, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He puffed his shirt, creating quick bursts of cool air that hit the sweat on his torso.
Jay could feel the chemistry between him and Luke on the stage. He could feel the connection between the two of them, a connection that grew with every song they made together. Julie and Flynn were right, Jay had a bad crush on Luke. It was much more than just a crush considering Luke had quite literally changed his life, along with Reggie and Alex, of course.
"Hey, hey!" Luke said suddenly, looking over Jay's shoulder. "Whoever Carrie was trying to impress is coming this way."
Jay whirled around to see a lady in a white suit walking towards them.
"She looks all business," Alex said from behind him.
"Wait, who should do the talking?" Reggie asked, earning a look from Jay and Julie. "Right, you two. Yeah."
"You got this," Luke said reassuringly.
Jay really needed that in the moment. He remembered that they had mentioned Eat & Beats being a hotspot for managers and recruiters, but he didn't think something like this would happen so soon.
"Hi, I'm Andi Parker," the lady introduced, holding out a hand to Julie. Julie quickly took her hand and shook it. Andi Parker then turned to Jay and shook his hand as well. "I would like to talk-"
"Julie."
The entire group looked up at Ray Molina's irritated face. Jay quickly dropped his hand and looked down at Julie, who was looking at her father as if she didn't expect to see him here. Which, to be fair, Jay was sure none of them were expecting to see Ray at a music cafe.
"It's time to go."
"I'm sorry Ms. Parker, we'll need to get going," Jay said and the women nodded, walking away after giving a cautionary glance to Ray.
"Jay, your uncle is in the car," Ray said as he walked up to the group.
"You told his uncle?" Julie asked incredulously.
Whatever conversation ensued afterward didn't register in Jay's head. The moment he heard the words spill from Ray's mouth, Jay's face immediately drained of color.
"Julie," Flynn spoke up. "You should take Jay's guitar with you."
Jay nodded absentmindedly, taking the gig bag off of his shoulder and handing it to Julie.
"I'm sorry," Julie said in a whisper to Jay. Jay gave a thin-lipped smile, incredibly forced, as Julie took the bag and left with her dad.
"You guys should go," Jay forced out, his chest incredibly tight.
"But-"
"Go," Jay cut Reggie off, not looking at any of the boys.
He had to hold himself together. At least until the boys left. Jay repeated that to himself, his heart having plummeted to his stomach. The boys understood his plea and warped away, Reggie patting Jay's shoulder before he left. Of course, the contact didn't register with Jay. As soon as he heard them warp, Jay took a ragged breath as he fell backward onto the bar seat behind him.
"He's going to kill me," Jay whispered, fear apparent in his voice.
"No," Flynn said, holding Jay's face gingerly in her hands. "No no no, he won't do anything to you."
"He will," Jay said, his breathing becoming irregular as he brought his hands to Flynn's wrists. "He'll kill me, he'll kill me..."
Jay's mind began to create scenarios in his head, scenarios that he could vividly see in front of him. His uncle hitting him across the face, his uncle smashing his head with another wine bottle, his uncle yelling at him, his uncle his uncle his uncle-
"Jay, listen to me," Flynn said gently, but her voice sounded distant. "Can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"
Jay nodded rapidly, his hands gripping tightly onto Flynn's wrists. He wasn't home right now, he was at Eat & Beats.
"Okay," Flynn said, her voice almost a whisper. Jay could see her, but at the same time he saw his room, he saw his uncle's enraged face, he was there.
"Jay, name five things you can see," Flynn's voice said.
"Um," Jay's voice cracked as he forced himself to focus on what was actually in front of him. He wasn't at his house, he was at Eat & Beats. "You, people, lights-stage-"
"Breathe," Flynn ordered gently. "Try going slower."
Jay nodded and took a deep breath before he began listing what he could see again.
"You," Jay began slowly. "The stage, the lights, people, the beanbag over there."
At Jay's words, Flynn turned over her shoulder and chuckled at the sight of the beanbag chair.
"What kind of pub..." Flynn trailed off, turning back to Jay and moving her hands to his shoulders. "Okay, you know what's next. Four things you can feel."
"You, my clothes, sweat, barstool," Jay listed, his hands now resting in his lap.
"Boy you are sweaty," Flynn joked, sniffing loudly. "Did you wear deodorant?"
"I think so," Jay muttered, feeling his heart beating again as it returned to his heart.
"You better have," Flynn scolded mockingly, moving her hands to Jay's biceps. "Three things you can hear?"
"You, me, people," Jay listed, his rapid breathing now having slowed to something he considered close to normal.
"Two you can smell?"
"Alcohol and..." Jay trailed off, focusing on the scents in his nose. "Coffee."
"Something you can taste?"
"Blood."
Jay had answered before he could really think about his words. He wasn't sure when, but at some point during his panic, he had bitten his tongue hard enough to draw blood. He could see Flynn's face flash with concern before she sighed, bringing her hands down to meet his own.
"You're going to be okay," Flynn said reassuringly, squeezing Jay's hands. "I'll bring my parents over to your place tonight, I won't let anything happen to you."
Jay smiled at the girl in front of him, squeezing her hands gratefully.
"How did I get so lucky to meet you?" he whispered, looking down at their hands.
"You can thank me later," Flynn smiled. "Now come on."
Flynn tugged on Jay's hands and Jay forced himself to stand, sensation slowly returning to his legs. He was wobbly at first but quickly stabilized himself as he and Flynn dropped their hands to their sides.
"Jay."
Both of their heads whirled to see Jay's uncle, standing with his hands in his pockets, anger apparent on his face.
"Right," Jay nodded to himself, beginning to walk towards his uncle when Flynn wrapped her arms around Jay's waist in another hug.
"You're going to be fine," she said in a low voice.
"I know," Jay said back, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
The truth was that he didn't know. Jay didn't know for sure what waited for him once he had arrived back at his house, even though he had a clear idea of what would happen. He put on a strong facade for Flynn, but he knew that even if she did bring her parents to his house, the damage would already be done. A feeling of dread filled him as he pulled away from Flynn's hug and left with his uncle.