electric touch // luke patterson

fearless - taylor swift

GRACIE SAT IN HER MOTHER'S STORE - tonia's treats - and procrastinated her homework by attempting to come up with a new song. it was around eight and only an old woman was sitting by, reading a novel as she drank tea. tonia was in the back, packing up for the day since the shop would only be open for another hour.

her pencil tapped on her lips while gracie stared at her notebook, trying to combine her ideas and half-made poems she'd scribble in class. a poof made her jump and see luke with a shit-eating grin.

"hello? how'd you know i'd be here?" she asked softly, placing her headphones on so the woman wouldn't find her crazy. luke slid into the booth opposite of her and put his hands on the table like he was about to lay down serious data.

"gracie." he started, his face fumbling for a moment like he didn't mean to say her name. she smiled slightly.

"luke." she returned, closing her book to copy his position.

he watched her adjust before saying, "i need you to sing with julie."

she furrowed her brows, not at all expecting that to be his demand, "what? why?"

"because she needs you - she's gonna sing one of my songs - sunset curve's songs tomorrow."

"tomorrow? when? why?" she asked, forgetting to whisper. she looked over quickly, but the woman was sipping her tea casually.

"during the spirit rally. she needs to get back into the program." he explained like it was obvious.

she paused, her mouth open slightly, "hold on - why do you care?"

luke shrugged, "she has talent. you heard her sing this morning. she shouldn't be wasting it, it's an insult."

gracie nodded slowly. she agreed, of course, but how would she come into play? she frowned, "why do i have to sing? i-i can't sing."

luke's eyebrows softened, "sure you can - everyone can. besides, you're into music. flynn said you're in the music program at your school and i saw the way you were reading the lyrics earlier. it's obvious you like it - and, besides, it'll build character." he swallowed, thinking back to earlier that day.

gracie scoffed, "luke," he smiled, "i'm failing my music program because i can't sing on stage. i don't - if i even think about it i feel like i'm gonna throw up. for all you know, i could be a horrible singer."

"but you're not."

"how do you know? you've never heard me." she countered. his face froze for a second before he nodded, looking away.

he shrugged, "true, but you seem to be selling yourself short. listen, if you sing and play with julie tomorrow, i promise you that your teacher will raise your grade. and... even if you are a really bad singer, you're pretty so it's okay."

she blushed, "you saying i have pretty privilege?"

he grinned, "i'm saying that you should perform with julie tomorrow. i can teach you the song all night if you want."

"how am i supposed to play if i don't get any sleep?" she asked.

"how are you supposed to sleep if you don't get any practice?" he rebuked. she stuck her tongue against her teeth, sighing softly. while she thought, his eyes drifted to a small plate where a chocolate croissant sat with a bite taken out of it.

he sighed deeply, "man, that looks amazing."

her eyes went down to the food before she met his gaze. her face dropped, "im sorry. i can't imagine how hard it must be to watch everyone do everything that you feel like you did just a couple days ago, and... just have to watch." his face softened. luke hadn't spoken much about the shock his death gave him, but he also knew that alex was already anxious about it and reggie preferred to keep it to himself. he didn't want to stress anyone out or make them upset... but her words hit his chest like a knife.

"gracie. who are you talking to?" the blonde snapped her head up, cheeks reddening at her mother's look.

she scrambled for her phone, showing how her headphones were connected to it, "i'm - im on call with uh, dylan. he's helping me with fre- english."

"doesn't sound like you're getting much done. what are you working on." her mom asked, walking over. gracie's face panicked for a split second before she slapped a soft hand on her closed journal.

"you know... macbeth. we're writing summaries of the chapters." she lied, eyes moving to luke who watched the interaction with a small smile.

"macbeth's a play, doesn't have chapters." tonia corrected, tucking the girl's hair behind her ear.

with red cheeks, gracie mumbled, "acts."

"atta girl." tonia chuckled, greeting a customer when he walked in with his kids - around preschool age.

gracie smiled at them, getting momentarily distracted from the ghost watching her. that is, until he asked, "who's dylan? the guy who gave you a ride this morning?"

he tried to seem like he didn't care, but he was glancing up at her reaction one too many times to just be curious. a fizzling feeling filled her stomach as she shook her head with a soft laugh, "my friend and neighbor."

his eyebrows shot up for a second, waiting for more. she simply grinned behind her hand, trying to make it seem casual for her to be staring at the "cushions".

"right. anyways - bright. that's the song." gracie sighed, her smile slipping from her face. he frowned softly but continued, "you can play piano, right? there are chords for that - well, keyboard. and -"

"i dont... only play piano. i can play rhythm guitar - and all the others. that's just the one i do most often. except for acoustic, of course. that's different though - if we're talking genres," she bit her cheek, thinking, "i don't know, i guess i listen to a lot of pop and rock, but i think i play a lot of sad indie stuff. i only write about my life, and sometimes it's rocky poppy sorta but-" she cut herself off when she caught luke's eye. she hadn't realized she was talking in circles, straying from the original thought. she somehow felt her face burn hotter and looked down at her phone to swipe around aimlessly. anything to avoid looking at his unreadable expression.

"rhythm guitar?" his voice came out airy. she clicked her phone off, stretching. he swallowed, trying to avoid looking down when her baby tee came up to reveal a sliver of her stomach.

"yep." she popped the 'p', tilting her head 15 degrees after she saw his face, "what?"

he was almost... admiring her. his eyes flickered across her entire face, unable to resist the opportunity to drink every piece of her in while she was right in front of him. his soft brown eyes jumped from her full brows to her jutted chin to her cheekbone freckles to her lashes and green eyes and to her cupids bow. he almost forgot why he got lost in thought in the first place. he blinked, scratching his head.

"rhythm guitars good - perfect, actually, for the song. it was written for it. i'll come over later."

"wait, you don't know where i live." she stopped him when he stood, forgetting how she may appear to the other people in the bakery speaking to thin air.

the grin she's come to know flickered onto his face quickly, "see you around, princess." with that, he poofed away into nothing. gracie stared at where he stood before slumping in her seat and yanking her headphones off.

the last thing she wanted to do was perform on stage the next day.

but the only thing she could get her mind to focus on was that luke would be coming over soon to teach her the song.