"Thank you, thank you," Caleb took a bow, waving to people in the audience; we'd been playing for what felt like an eternity, the entire time I watched the clock; we were supposed to be on at the Orpheum by now. "We're gonna take a quick break, and we'll be right back." As soon as he said that, the boys and I were poofed backstage, our hands finally getting a break from playing the instruments. "Now, wasn't that fantastic; why would you want to cross over, when you can do this, forever." I shook my head, stepping forward to argue with the man, but before I could say anything, Alex grabbed my arm, pulling me back.
"He's right," Alex agreed; I wasn't the only one shocked by my brother's agreeance; Luke and Reggie's eyes widened slightly in confusion too.
"Bro," Luke began, shaking his head, "You can't be- "
"Just go with it," Alex whispered in my ear; I let out a breath; of course, Alex didn't actually agree with Caleb; he had a plan.
"I agree with Alex," I cut Luke off, "We don't know if playing the Orpheum is our unfinished business; being here is better than losing you completely and being alone."
"Yes," Caleb clapped his hands together, "if you won't listen to me, then listen to your friends," Luke and Reggie looked at Alex and me with concern; I just nodded for them to say yes, hoping the two of them would trust us.
"Okay," Luke sighed, reluctantly agreeing with us, "we'll stay." Reggie nodded in agreement.
"Oh, how exciting," Caleb clapped again, "You've made the right decision; take five, you deserve it." Caleb poofed away, but I didn't care where; all I knew was we needed to get out of here, and we need to do it fast.
"We need to go," Alex said, glancing around the backstage area, "before he gets back."
"How, man?" Luke asked, "Caleb has control over us; there's no way we can poof out." I sigh, shaking my head; Caleb only wanted us because we were powerful, we intimidated him; maybe we were strong enough to break out of this place.
"We have to try," I tell them, interlocking my fingers through Luke's, squeezing his hand reassuringly, "just think about it; how badly we need to be there, to be with Julie." The boys nodded in agreeance, all of us standing in a circle, our hands interlocked.
"If this works," Alex starts, his voice cracking slightly, "I just want you to know, I love you guys." I smiled lightly, squeezing his hand.
"I love you guys too," Reggie added, tears brimming his eyes, "You're my family, forever." I smiled, nodding in agreement; I lean up, placing a swift kiss on Luke's cheek, before closing my eyes and focusing on where I wanted to be.
"Whatever happens even if I'm the last standing, Imma stand tall," I heard Julie sing as I poofed in behind her; I smiled proudly at her; when we met, she was timid and scared to sing music, but now here she is, singing even though she thinks she just lost her band.
"Mind if I cut in?" I ask, moving to stand next to where she was playing the keys; Julie's eyes widen excitedly, and she nods.
"I gotta keep on dreaming, cause I gotta catch that feeling," Julie grabs her mic off the stand, and I take over the keys, causing the audience to gasp when I appear in front of them. I can't help but worry when I notice none of the boys have appeared yet; what if Caleb got to them after I left? I shouldn't have gone first. My worries fade slightly when I hear the beat of a drum coming from behind me. I sigh, turning to face my brother, who sits at the drums smiling down at Julie and me. Seconds later, Reggie appears, and the audience gasps, erupting into applause, all anticipating the final arrival, Luke.
"C'mon Luke," I mutter to myself, my eyes fixated on the other side of the stage where he should have appeared by now; As Julie starts the pre-chorus, the sound of an electric guitar joins in, Luke flickering in and out with it. I take a breath, and my hands begin to tremble as I watch him; if he doesn't regain control soon, he's going to flicker out completely. Julie continues singing, her eyes on Luke the whole time, pleading him to stay.
"Light a fire in my eyes," Julie sang; I close my eyes; I couldn't bear to see him flicker anymore; this can't be it.
"I'm going out of my mind," Luke's voice projects across the venue; I let out the breath I'd been holding, opening my eyes to see Luke on the stage fully, no longer glitching as he had been moments ago. Reggie comes over to me a few seconds later, swiftly placing his mic in the stand attached to my keys; I smile gratefully at him; the two of us jamming out; Luke and Julie doing the same on the other side of the stage. I don't feel the familiar pit in my stomach that I usually do when Julie and Luke perform together. Instead, I feel pure joy; these people are everything to me.
"Like I'm glowing in the dark," Julie begins to sing the bridge, strutting down the small strip attached to the stage; Reggie follows, and the two of them stand back to back, her singing while he plays the bass. While she does that, I nod for Luke to come over; and he obliges, practically running to the side of the stage where I stood; He leans into the mic attached to the keys, and I follow, the two of us quietly harmonizing along with Julie.
"Whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, Imma stand, Imma stand tall," Alex and I harmonize; he stands up from his drums, both of us smiling at one another.
"Whatever happens even if I'm the last standing, Imma stand tall," Reggie sings with me this time, "Imma stand tall."
"Stand tall," Julie repeats, hitting the high note flawlessly.
"Stand tall," Luke harmonizes, leaning into the mic at my key. The five of us begin singing the final chorus together; As the chorus comes to an end, Luke gestures for me to leave my keys; I grab the mic off the stand, the two of us moving to the center of the stage where Julie is. I gesture for Alex and Reggie to follow, and all of us make our way to the end of the stage, singing the final part of the chorus together.
"Imma stand tall," We all sang, finishing the song; I grabbed Luke and Alex's hands on either side of me, all of us soaking in the crowd's applause.
"I'll see you on the other side," I whisper to Luke as the crowd cheers; He lifts our intertwined hands, placing a soft kiss onto my knuckles; this wasn't what I wanted, but at least we were together.
"I love you," He whispers; before I can react to his confession, he lifts our hands, Alex lifting the one one he held; all of us bowing. The audience cheers loudly, and I close my eyes; this is it; we're about to cross over. I felt Alex and Luke's hands leave mine; the crowd gasped; when I opened my eyes and came up, only Julie stood there, her brows furrowed in confusion; the boys had crossed over, why hadn't I?
🤍
Same outfit as last chapter, just imagine it shorter☺️
Ahhh we're almost finished🥺
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Nothing to Lose | Luke Patterson
FanfictionCharlie's band sunset curve was gonna be legends, that was until they ate some bad hotdogs and ended up dying; now it's 25 years in the future, and somehow a girl named Julie can see them. Their band has a second chance, and nothing can stop them, o...
