Work Text:
Sitting in the garage after school, Julie started absentmindedly playing the melody to 'Perfect Harmony'. Her mind was elsewhere but like all of her music until it was a fully realized song it wouldn't leave her head. She was keeping this song in particular to herself because that was wayyyyy too personal to share with the band.
The band, or at least Luke, chose that moment to pop back in. He poofed behind her at the piano almost like the first time he heard her play. He always loved her song ideas and music but this song sounded slower and more like a love song than their usual rock anthems. They could use some variety in their line up so he found himself especially intrigued. Though as much as he might wish otherwise, he was pretty sure this song was about lover boy from school. He quickly shook off the brief moment of longing and slid onto the bench beside her.
“Ahh, I told you to stop doing that! Can you get a bell or something? I need some warning.” This was a frequent argument and now a running joke so there was little to no heat in her tone. He smiled and bumped her with his shoulder because hey, he can do that now!
“So that sounds like a killer love song you have going on there,” he hedged, trying to prompt her to explain and maybe play more of the song. Instead, Julie's cheeks grew flushed an embarrassed pink and she mumbled something about how she was just playing around with a tune.
“It's not a big deal if it's about what's-his-name from school. If it makes for good music, it doesn't matter who the inspiration is.” He mostly meant it too; if it makes good music then where it came from isn't a big deal. The issue was his and Julie's completely impossible thing, or what he thought was a thing. Guess it was all in his head and their musical chemistry in the studio and on stage seemed like more than it was.
“It's weird to talk about. Can we work on a different song?” Julie seemed pretty intent on changing the subject but the music was what mattered and Luke with a song idea was pretty impossible to deter.
“It doesn't have to be weird. We're friends, right?” Luke asked, trying to use puppy dog eyes to get her to laugh and talk with him but for once she didn't seemed amused or fondly exasperated, she just seemed determined.
“Yea, we're friends but we're not talk about who I like friends. Drop it.” Julie said the last bit firmly enough for Luke to let it go. For now.
The rest of the band showed up not long after and they started rehearsing a set list for an upcoming gig. It wasn't the Orpheum but hey, as he had said you get a fan base from all sorts of places. The music was flowing as freely and naturally as ever but it seemed Julie was doing the thing again where she tried to avoid eye contact with him as much as she could without it being super obvious and hurtful. As much as he didn't want to make a big deal of it, their performances were just better when he and Julie were vibing.
Once sound check was over, Luke told the guys to go ahead and pop on over to the venue and he would be over shortly. He stalled awkwardly for a second until he realized her dad would be here soon to take her to the show.
“Ok so we gotta talk about this,” he started.
“No, we don't. I told you to drop it. We're fine. I didn't ask you to tell me more about Emily when I found your song so it's not any of your business who I'm writing songs about.” Julie had the tilt to her chin that said she was serious and going to be stubborn and normally he would find it cute but right now he was trying to have a conversation for the sake of the band. None of this should have been an issue in his eyes. Sure, it was awkward but they'd gotten through worse.
“No, you didn't ask me about Emily. Instead you showed up to my house and gave her the lyrics I wrote. I appreciated it after the fact but yea you definitely got involved in my songs before. I just want to hear this one when you get a chance. I don't think that's really asking too much.” He hadn't meant for this to turn into an argument but this just seemed hypocritical. He knew they were friends before anything else and just thought they should be able to talk about whatever was bothering them.
“You're right, I did get involved in your songs before. It won't happen again.” Julie turned and walked out of the studio to meet her dad. Luke knew he could follow her and still talk to her but decided to give her time to cool off and just meet her at the show.
He popped over to the venue to meet the guys and saw the look they shared between them. They had been around each other enough to know the looks they sent between themselves. This one said 'uh-oh something went down and this could be bad'. Luke rolled his eyes and turned the conversation to the set list, the crowd, the venue or literally anything else besides the issue at hand.
Once Julie got there, the concert went as planned but the tension meant the chemistry wasn't flowing between them like it usually did. He hated that he had messed that up by pushing but he just wanted her to talk to him and share her music with him. While it was a good performance, it was nowhere near their best. When they were done, the band took their bows and poofed back to the studio.
“So what was that?” Alex asked. He was definitely the more observant of the two band mates so there wasn't really a chance that he had missed the tension.
“I think I ticked Julie off. Guess I got too personal or something? Who knows.” Luke sighed and plopped onto the couch. “It didn't seem like a big deal. I asked her about a song and she got all defensive and told me to butt out.”
Alex and Reggie shared another of those looks that said more than words would have. Alex shook his head and left him with the advice to talk to her but don't push before he took off to see Willie. Reggie just agreed and then left to do whatever it was Reggie did when he wasn't around them. Follow around Julie's dad maybe?
After another deep sigh, Luke hauled himself off the couch and picked up his guitar. He found himself tinkering with a guitar part to the melody Julie had played on the piano. Unfinished songs drove him crazy and for all he knew this one was finished and just as amazing as the rest of her songs. If she would just share it with him, they could work through whatever.
While he was playing and thinking, he lost track of time. He seemed to be especially prone to doing so since time didn't really hold a lot of meaning to him any more which meant he was still strumming on his guitar to the snippet of song Julie had played when she walked back in. After a show, she was always an odd mixture of elated and exhausted. Right now, she was leaning more towards exhausted and laid herself out on the couch.
“Really? You're not going to drop it, are you?” She didn't sound mad any more, just resigned. Luke took it as a sign it was safe to approach so he knelt down on the ground beside the couch.
“Sorry.” He actually did mean it too. He didn't want her to stay upset at him but he really wanted to hear the song. She turned to look him in the eyes to see whether he meant it and whatever she saw there was enough to convince her.
“Fine. Move and I'll play it.” She sat up and gently pushed his shoulder to knock him back a little. At least she was back to touching him so that was an improvement. She went to sit at the piano and he sat with her. She glanced shyly in his direction before focusing and starting to play.
Step into my world,
bittersweet love story about a girl.
Shook me to the core,
Voice like an angel I've never heard before.
As she continued, he started to see why she hesitated to share the song. It was one of the more personal songs they had sang, excluding Unsaid Emily. When she was done, he founded himself staring in awe at her talent and how sincere the lyrics she sang had been.
If he was being honest with himself, there was also a healthy dose of jealousy and longing thrown into the emotions those lyrics stirred but he could only hope those stayed off his face. More than anything though, he was just stunned by the talent this beautiful girl had.
When she finally brought herself to meet his eyes again, he smiled to let her know he had enjoyed the song. She shook her head ruefully. “You really don't get it, do you?”
His eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Get what?”
She gave a half laugh of disbelief. “This song is about, how did you phrase it? 'This strange little relationship we have' I believe was the phrase. I imagined this song while dancing with Nick. Wishing the whole time that I was dancing with you, singing with you, being with you.”
He caught himself staring open mouthed as she spoke but as he processed it, a slow smile spread across his face. “I was right though. It is a killer song. I bet it would make for a great duet.”
She grinned, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “That was how I imagined it, yea.”
He leaned his forehead against hers as they both smiled and let themselves feel a moment of relief they felt the same way and it was finally out in the open. They both knew there were obstacles, possibly insurmountable ones, but for a moment they let themselves be happy. When they both opened their eyes and met the others, the same spark of chemistry they shared during their performances came rushing back.
Luke raised his hand to bring it to her cheek and leaned back so he could see her clearly before asking tentatively, “Can I kiss you?”
Instead of answering, Julie leaned forward and let their lips briefly touch. She leaned back and met his eyes again before they both leaned together. All of the feelings they had been holding back were poured into their next kiss and when they finally pulled away, they were both breathing hard but grinning. Luke brought their foreheads back together and they closed their eyes, just enjoying this one moment of happiness before the rest of the world rushed back in. He felt her hand reach for his and twined their fingers together.
When they leaned back away from each other on the bench still smiling and hands still clasped, the two remaining band mates chose that moment to pop back in. Reggie and Alex looked between the two of them then at each other. Alex pumped his fist in the air and Reggie groaned.
“What is that all about?” Luke asked laughing.
“We had a bet as to when you two would figure it out. Reggie thought it would take another week. I win!” Alex pumped his fist again and Reggie mock glared at all of them.
“Great, thanks guys. Well now that we're all here, we have a new song to learn. Julie, care to share with everyone?” They shared one last smile before Luke got up and grabbed his guitar. He couldn't wait to see where this went but in the mean time he and his band had a new song to learn. He just couldn't wait to finally perform it on stage with Julie knowing what it meant to them. Maybe the afterlife wouldn't be so bad after all.