Chapter Text
“Guys we totally rocked that!” Luke exclaimed walking over to Julie, holding his hand up to her for a high five. She jumped up, slapping his hand enthusiastically and smiled brightly when he held onto her hand for an extra second longer than he needed to.
“We’re definitely going to kill it at the gig this weekend!” Alex said, stepping out from behind his drums, fist bumping with Reggie on his way over to where Julie and Luke stood.
Julie and the Phantoms had a pretty huge gig planned for this upcoming weekend, at a local venue. Sunset Curve had booked the place back in the 90’s and it had changed ownership in the past 25 years, but still frequented many managers and record executives. Ever since their youtube video went viral, and they played the Orpheum, the band was getting a bit of recognition. Rightfully deserved.
Julie walked over to her bag and pulled out a water bottle, unscrewing the cap and basically finishing the entire thing in one fell swoop. For the past couple of days she had been excessively thirsty, her mouth feeling like sandpaper especially after a couple hours of rehearsing pretty tough vocals.
But it was nothing she couldn’t handle.
From across the studio, Luke noticed her complexion getting a little pink. Ever since the situation with Caleb, and the night the boys could actually touch Julie, things changed with their dynamic. He was constantly by her side, small brushes of hands, and a closeness that hadn’t been there before. With this new closeness, he noticed more things about Julie—when a blush would creep across her cheeks when he’d compliment —among other things.
He could also tell when things were different. Like when she was annoyed, or angry at something, or in this case, looking a bit off.
“Yo, Julie, lookin’ a little hot.” Luke said, moving away from Alex and over to where she was now sitting on the couch, her hand placed on her stomach.
Her slightly red face got even redder with Luke’s comment. “Flirt much?” She teased.
Luke shook his head, his own face growing warm. He could feel Alex’s gaze on the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean it like that. You just look a little warm.”
“You do look a little pinker than usual. Oh, uhh, not that you look pink usually.” Reggie added, and Alex just shook his head at his friend.
Suddenly Julie’s hand clenched at her side, and she let out a sharp breath at the feeling. Luke’s eyes grew wide and he rushed over to her instantly, his hands finding her shoulders. “Julie?” He breathed.
She swatted at his hands and smiled, her eyes meeting his directly.
“I’m fine. It was just a cramp. I can’t really control when they happen.” She shrugged, her tone was light heartened. After almost dying a second time at the hands of Caleb, Luke couldn’t bear the idea of losing anyone, and that especially included Julie. Nor did he like seeing her in pain, no matter how small.
Alex and Reggie looked at each other, whispering, “Girl stuff.” Julie shot them a look.
Although it was too early in the month to be getting cramps, she disregarded it when another one didn’t happen again. As for feeling a little warm, it had been an intense practice, and her and Luke had gotten pretty close while singing together at a few points. That never failed to make her face flush a bit.
Luke nodded and pulled her into a side hug, smashing her face into his chest.
“Group hug!” Reggie yelled, before trampling over to the two on the couch, Alex closely behind them.
Julie shouted from the sudden pressure of two more bodies, but broke out into hysterics immediately. That feeling, the one that was pure admiration for her boys, pounded at her chest, and she smiled into where her face was still pressed against Luke.
As they separated moments later, Carlos burst into the studio. The young boy sauntered in, with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised. He eyed the equipment that was still set up from their rehearsal minutes before.
Although Carlos couldn’t see the boys, he knew they existed and walked up to the couch, pointing his fingers in various directions, missing the exact spots the boys were.
He stopped and let his ‘protective man of the house’ facade drop away before smiling at his sister.
“Dad said it’s time for dinner.”
“Okay, I’ll be up in a couple minutes.” Carlos nodded before running out.
Julie pried herself from the squashed spot on the couch, which definitely was tight with four people sitting all together on it.
“I’ll come back when I’m done with dinner and we can go over the set one more time, yeah?” She said. Her ghost band nodded back to her, smiles on their faces, Reggie holding up a ‘thumbs up’ in her direction.
Turning her back, and grabbing her bookbag, she made her way out of the studio and heard Luke call behind her.
“See ya later, Boss!” Her smile only grew.
—
Julie found herself pushing her dinner around on the plate and not really eating any of it. Her period must have really been starting early, because usually after a long practice she was starving, but for some reason tonight she just felt a little queasy.
“¿Mija, estás bien ?” Ray asked, noticing his daughter barely had touched anything but a couple potatoes that were on her plate.
Shaking her head, she smiled across the table at her dad. “I’m okay, not really hungry Papa.”
“You look a little red. Are you sure you’re not feeling sick?” Julie hadn’t been sick for months. Not since she met the guys. After her mom had died she would sometimes lose her appetite and stay in bed for too long, but that was more because she was sad and missing her mother.
Tonight she couldn’t chase the feeling of an upset stomach, like it was gnawing at her insides. It could have been something she had eaten in the cafeteria that made her feel a little sick. Flynn had said her sandwich she had bought tasted a little weird. Plus she didn't want any reason to make her dad worry about her and she had to get back to practice with the boys. They would be waiting for her.
“I’m okay.” She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince her dad that, or herself. Julie rested her elbow on the table and pressed her face against the palm of her hand, which felt surprisingly cool. Either that, or her face had just gotten very hot.
Julie closed her eyes for what she thought was not even a second, keeping them open was getting a little difficult, when she suddenly felt her dads hands on her back, shaking her gently awake, her head slipping off of it’s place on her hand.
“Julie, you’re falling asleep at the dinner table, and you’re burning up. What’s going on?” Her dad rubbed comforting circles on her back, and suddenly she felt her stomach clench again, in the same spot it had when it cramped up in the garage.
Without even thinking about it, her chair skidded back, pushing her dad back, and she ran to the bathroom off of her kitchen, barely making it to the toilet, before the bit of contents in her stomach made its way into the bowl
When she was done retching, she flushed the toilet and pushed her hair dark curls, which were basically plastered to her head, away from her face. She spit up what was left in her mouth and slumped against the toilet.
“Oh baby…” Her dad appeared behind her and rubbed her back again, like he had at the dinner table. “Let’s get you to bed.” Ray lifted his daughter up gently from her place on the tiled bathroom floor, and put an arm around her waist for support.
“Carlos!” Ray shouted from beside her, and the young boy appeared in the doorway to the bathroom almost immediately, glancing at his sister who’s eyes were screwed shut, her weight resting against her dad’s frame. “Ayudame. Get Julie a glass of water and the bucket from the closet and bring it up to her bedroom.” Carlos scurried away quickly, carrying out his father’s request.
“C’mon Mija, lets get you to your bed.” Julie nodded, any energy she once had was now flushed down the toilet with the food she had eaten today.
Once she was in her room, her dad helped her slip into her bed, and the sheets felt incredibly cold against her heated, sticky skin. Ray brushed his daughters hair out of her face, her curls cascading down against her pillow. Carlos walked behind his dad with the glass of water clutched in one hand and a plastic bucket in the other.
Carlos looked at Julie then back to his dad, worry set across his small face.
“Julie is going to be fine Carlos. She just ate something bad. Go back downstairs and start helping put some of the dinner away.” Carlos grumbled a little bit because of the tasks he was being assigned. “Ahora mismo, Mijo.” Ray told Julie he would be right back, and would get her some medicine for her stomach, and disappeared into the hallway. A sudden sharp pain stabbed at her stomach as her dad left the room and Julie clutched her right side, her eyes shooting open, and her body contorting into pain. Nausea flooded her system again and she peeled back her sheets, reaching quickly for the bucket Carlos had put next to her bed. The rest of the food that had been in her system from that day, came back up, and she coughed, her head still in the bucket.
At that moment Luke poofed into the room.
“Yo you coming back…shit, Julie!”