𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 | 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬

𝟏𝟓 | 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Later that evening, when we were lazing around in the studio, Alex informed us that Julie didn't get back into her music program.

"No way, she rocked!" Luke exclaimed as he shot up from the sofa.

"I know," Alex tucked his hands into his pockets as he shrugged. "It sucks."

"But why not?" I asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know," Alex sighed. "She didn't wanna talk about it."

"There is no way her teachers heard her perform and wouldn't let her back in," Luke reasoned.

"Julie hadn't played in a whole year," I explained. "What we heard this morning was her first time performing in a while."

"You're saying she didn't even play for them?" Luke turned to face me.

"When would she have?" I shrugged. "Look, I don't know, but you said it yourself, there is no way her teachers wouldn't have let her back in if they heard her."

"You're not supposed to ask, you're supposed to do," Luke turned to the guys. "Right boys?"

"That's how we did it," Reggie agreed.

"Exactly," Luke said. "We should go talk to her."

"You should go talk to her," I suggested. "The four of us appearing in her house didn't go so well last time."

"You're right," Luke said as he turned and headed out the door.

"Oh, and Luke?"

Luke peered around the corner. "Yeah?"

"At least make it look like you're trying to find the kitchen this time."

———

By some miracle, Luke managed to convince Julie to perform for, not only her music teacher, but the whole school. When I asked how he managed to convince her to take such a big step, he humbly shrugged and said, "I didn't tell her anything she didn't already know." I loved that about Luke ; he had this way of making people feel ... seen.

When we arrived at Julie's school, there was already a performance taking place. I was almost blinded by the bright colours and sequins. Dirty Candy was the name of the band according to a handmade sign one of the students in the bleachers was holding up. From what I could see, they weren't bad. I quickly changed my mind when I saw the look on Julie's face as she watched them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Julie hissed.

"We wanna see you stick it to the man!" Luke responded. "Isn't that right, boys - and girl?"

"Man, I miss high school," Reggie sighed.

We all watched the remaining moments of Dirty Candy's performance, taken aback by how good they were. Alex had even started dancing along, only to be stopped by Luke, who had also noticed Julie's resistance towards the band.

After the band had moved out of the spotlight, the principal made some announcements.

"What are you waiting for?" Reggie asked Julie. "This is your time!"

"Yeah, I mean," Alex began. "You look really nervous - like yack in a bowl nervous."

"I just don't think I had enough time to work on the song," Julie admitted.

"I wouldn't have given you the song if I didn't think you were gonna rock it," Luke beamed encouragingly.

The way Luke looked at Julie made my stomach, if I even had one, drop. I was snapped back into reality as Julie walked right through me on her way to the stage.

"Sorry!"

I suppose she expected me to step back just as the guys did, but my mind had wandered elsewhere.

"Hey, are you okay?" Luke asked. "You look a little out of it."

"Yeah," I lied. "I'm good."

Luke didn't seem too convinced, but before he could question me any further, Julie began to play the piano.

I looked around to see curious students had formed a crowd around the stage. Just like her mother, she knew how to draw in an audience. Not to mention, she was killing it. It was in her blood.

Just as Julie began to sing the chorus, the guys disappeared from beside me and reappeared onstage with Julie. The students gasped at the sight of them. Did that mean they could see them?

I watched in awe as they seamlessly performed together. Seeing each of their faces as they realised people could see them was priceless. But of course the question remained ; How?

I found it hard to focus on the reality of the situation as I watched the performance before me. It was like I was in a trance. Rose was right ; they were insanely good, and with Julie, they were even better.

I was snapped out of the trance when Julie approached Luke with her microphone. The crowd cheered as Luke followed her as she held out her microphone to him. Something inside me dragged me away before I could watch anymore.