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Reggie woke to the blaring noise of his phone’s alarm. He rolled over in his bed and reached over to hit the snooze button. Reggie was absolutely exhausted and had no idea why. He fell asleep again within seconds and groaned when his alarm woke him five minutes later. He shut off his alarm and opened his eyes. He was met with blinding morning light that made his head hurt. He squinted and rubbed his eyes until they had adjusted to the brightness of his room. Reggie got out of bed but staggered and leaned on his bed for support when his vision swam and the room spun around him. He closed his eyes until he wasn’t dizzy and could stand up without leaning on something.
But Reggie knew something was up. His head had started throbbing, and he was cold, but when he reached up to touch his forehead he discovered that he was in fact very warm. He might have even had a fever, but Reggie shook his head in hopes of forgetting about it. He had a math test that he’d been preparing for all week, plus he had band practice after school that he couldn’t miss. So Reggie didn’t even bother double checking to make sure he wasn’t sick before he headed downstairs.
On his way out the door, he grabbed a granola bar to eat before school. As he stepped outside, he wrapped his leather jacket tighter around him when he started to shiver from the cold. Reggie patiently waited for the bus to come to his house while he ate his breakfast. It wasn’t much, but that’s how it was at his house. Most days his parents forgot that he even existed, so he had to fend for himself.
When the bus finally arrived, Reggie got on and found an empty seat. He tried to focus on something other than the bounding in his head as the bus made its way to the school, but being on a bus full of teenagers didn’t help. When they pulled up to the school, Reggie quickly got off and made his way to his locker. Luke was already waiting for him when he got there.
“Hey man,” said Luke as he leaned against the lockers. “Hey dude,” said Reggie while he gathered his books from his locker. “Hey, you look a little hot and bothered, you okay?” Reggie should have known that Luke would notice that he was sick. He had cared for Alex and Reggie countless times when they were sick, so of course he would notice when something was wrong. But Reggie plastered on a smile he hoped was convincing enough. “Nah, I’m good, it’s just a little cold outside.”
Luke eyed Reggie for another second before relaxing. “Okay, good. I wrote some sick new lyrics last night, and I can’t wait to show you guys tonight at band practice.” Reggie heard a voice behind him. “Sweet, can’t wait to hear them.” Reggie turned around to see Alex. “Hey ‘Lex,” he said. “Hey man,” said Alex, pulling Reggie into a side hug before continuing. “Just promise me these lyrics aren’t about pizza again?” Reggie snorted as he remembered the last time Luke had hyped them up about a song and it turned out to be about his undying love for pizza.
Luke rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his face. “No you dork. Also, that was one time!” Alex lightly punched Luke on the shoulder. “I’m not the dork.” Luke was about to come back with something when the bell rang.
“Well, guess we better get to class. Catch you guys later!” said Alex as he began to walk to his class. Reggie closed his locker and walked with Luke to their first class of the day. They took their seats next to each other just as the final bell rang.
Their teacher began to drone on about chemical formulas, but Reggie couldn’t focus. His mind started drifting off to other places, and he felt his eyes growing heavier, but he was snapped back to reality when Luke nudged him with his shoulder. “You okay man?” whispered Luke with concern. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Reggie whispered back. Luke didn’t look convinced. “Just… tired. Stayed up late doing homework last night.” But Reggie could tell Luke didn’t completely believe him, and Reggie didn’t blame him. Not once in his life had Reggie stayed up late to do his homework, so he wasn’t even sure why that was the lie he came up with. But luckily for Reggie, Luke didn’t push.
For the rest of the period, Reggie focused on his teacher talking as much as he could as he tried not to fall asleep. Anytime Luke noticed that Reggie was slipping away, Luke gave him a little nudge. Reggie was grateful for this, because if Luke hadn’t been there, he would have fallen asleep a while ago.
When class ended, Reggie stood up and followed Luke to their next class. Reggie and Luke had their first two periods together, and Reggie and Alex had their last period together. Unfortunately, they were all split up for third period, and Reggie didn’t have any other friends in third period either. In fact, Luke and Alex were his only friends at Los Feliz High School, or anywhere else.
As their teacher droned on about who knows what, Luke kept Reggie anchored again. A few times, Luke had to whisper Reggie’s name because he slipped too far away and a nudge to the shoulder wasn’t enough. Reggie was relieved when it was finally time to go to lunch, and he could get out of the classroom.
Him and Luke walked to the lunchroom together and met Alex at the table they always sat at. “Hey guys!” said Alex cheerily. Reggie just smiled at Alex. He felt ready to pass out from exhaustion, but forced himself to sit down and eat his lunch. Once he got some food in him, he should feel better.
“-but Reg kept almost falling asleep.” Reggie looked up and saw that Alex was giving him a concerned look. “Huh?” Reggie asked. “Are you sure you’re okay Reg?” asked Luke. Reggie just shook his head. “I told you, I just stayed up a little late last night, I’m fine.” Alex and Luke shared a look. “I’m fine!”
Alex threw up his hands in defense. “Okay, you’re fine! But why were you up so late?” Reggie threw Luke a glance, but Luke just raised his eyebrows at him. “I just stayed up a little late. I was trying to finish up some homework, and lost track of time, okay?” Reggie saw concern appear in Alex’s expression. “It’s not like we’re going to be mad at you,” he said. Reggie sighed. “Yeah, I know.” Reggie didn’t like lying to his friends like this, but if they knew he was sick they would start worrying about him even more, and he didn’t want to put that on his friends. “Reg-” began Luke, but Reggie cut him off. “Can we just drop it?” he snapped. Luke looked a little surprised. “Okay, dropped,” he said quietly.
The three of them finished their lunch in silence, which was unusual for them. When the bell rang, Luke was the first to gather up his things. “See you guys after school.” “See you,” said Alex. Reggie just gave a little wave, feeling bad for snapping at Luke earlier.
Reggie and Alex gathered up their things and began walking to their classes, which were right next to each other. “Is everything okay? You’re not usually like this,” asked Alex gently. “Yeah, I’m fine, just having a bad day. Sorry.” Alex gave Reggie a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, we all have bad days every once and awhile.” Reggie smiled back at Alex. “See you in gym?” asked Reggie. “Yeah, see you,” said Alex as he headed into his own classroom. Reggie headed into his own classroom and sat down.
His teacher began handing out the math test Reggie had studied for all week. When all the tests were handed out, Reggie flipped over his test and began reading question one. But his mind had trouble making out words on the paper. Reggie closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to try and focus. He opened his eyes and tried to read question one again. He was able to read it, but his brain was foggy and sluggish, so he struggled to do the math. And it didn’t help that he was still trying not to fall asleep.
He put all his energy into his math test, double and triple checking his work until he was sure he knew what was being asked. Reggie wished Luke were here with him, helping to keep him anchored to the world. But Luke wasn’t here, so Reggie had to stay focused so that he wouldn’t drift off.
When Reggie was about halfway through his test, he started feeling hot. He shook it off, thinking the heat must have turned on. But a few minutes later, he started sweating. His skin prickled from the heat as he shrugged off his leather jacket. Reggie tried to convince himself that it was just his body reacting to being nervous about his test, but he knew that wasn’t the case when he began to shiver despite sweating from the heat. He just had to get through the test, then gym, then he could go home. Then Reggie remembered band practice. He silently cursed himself. He had gotten himself into a mess, but he wasn’t about to tell his friends that he could go through all day while being sick, but not band practice. So he had to keep up the charade for a little longer.
“Five minutes left,” said his teacher from the front of the classroom. Reggie began to panic. He had let his thoughts slip away, and now he only had a few minutes to finish a whole half of his test! Reggie scrambled to answer as many questions as he could, but only managed to complete one before his teacher told the class to bring their tests up. The bell rang, and Reggie grabbed his backpack and jacket.
Outside, he met Alex who was waiting for him. “How’d your test go?” asked Alex. Reggie shook his head. “Not great. I couldn’t focus, and ended up only finishing half of it.” Alex frowned. “You sure you’re okay?” Reggie glared at Alex. “Okay, just a bad day, sorry.” Reggie sighed. “Let’s just get to gym class.” The two boys walked in silence to the locker room, and were silent when they changed into their gym clothes.
Alex and Reggie both groaned when they entered the gym, which was set up for dodgeball. “Man, I hate this game,” muttered Alex. Reggie nodded in agreement. “Okay! Two teams, split up!” shouted their teacher. Alex and Reggie both headed to the same side of the gym. Then their teacher blew his whistle, and everyone ran for the middle. Except Alex and Reggie, and a few other kids, who all retreated to the wall.
“What a fun way to spend an entire hour,” said Alex dryly. Reggie laughed, and Alex kept going. “I mean, who even invented this game? You literally chuck a ball at other people as hard as you can. Like, who thought that was a good game to let teenagers play?” Reggie kept laughing, and Alex joined in. But their moment was cut short when their teacher yelled at them to join the game or take a zero for their participation grade for the day. Alex grimaced, but walked out to the middle and started throwing dodgeballs at the other side. Just as Reggie was walking over to rejoin Alex, Alex was hit with a dodgeball.
“No, don’t leave me alone,” whined Reggie as Alex made his way to the sidelines. “Sorry!” said Alex. Reggie made his way to the middle and picked up a dodgeball, but as he was standing up, something slammed into his head and he fell to the ground. His headache was amplified as his head started pounding and the world spun around him. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but it took him a second before he realized that it was Alex.
“Hey, you good?” Reggie blinked a few times before his vision returned to normal. “Y-yeah, I’m okay.” The concerned look hadn’t left Alex’s face yet. “C’mon, let’s get you out of here.” He helped Reggie stand up, but Reggie staggered as everything spun around him again. Alex held Reggie steady until he could stand again, then they walked over to the sidelines. Alex sat Reggie down and looked over him.
“Are you okay? Do you think you have a concussion? Did you break anything? Are-” “‘Lex, deep breaths,” said Reggie. Alex paused, realizing his anxiety was in overdrive mode. He took a deep breath. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s okay. I’m fine though. My head hurts a little, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have a concussion. I mean, it’s a dodgeball.” Alex gave Reggie an amused smile. “You looked a little dazed, that’s the only reason I worried to be honest.” Reggie nodded. “Yeah, it made my headache worse, but that’s all.” Alex frowned. “You’re headache?” Reggie began to stutter. “Uh, y-yeah, I just have a little-”
“Reggie.” Reggie looked up and met Alex’s eyes. “Tell me the truth. Are you okay?” Reggie was about to assure Alex that he was fine, but thought better of it. “No, I’m not feeling too hot today.” “Reg…” Alex began, but Reggie continued. “In my defense, I had an important math test today, and I figured that since it’s Friday, if I just made it through today, I could have the whole weekend to get better.” Alex took a moment to consider this, then nodded. “I guess I can’t get too mad, I probably would have done the same.” Reggie shot Alex a thankful smile. “Just please don’t tell Luke. The last think I need is for him to go super protective mode on me.” Alex nodded. “Okay, I won’t tell him. But only if you promise to tell us next time you aren’t feeling well.” “Deal.”
“Are you still going to go to band practice today?” Reggie paused, but nodded. “Yeah, I’m still coming.” “Okay, but if it gets too much, you can stop.” Reggie gave Alex another nod. “Okay.”
They remained quiet after that until class was over. Then they walked back to the locker room together and got changed. The bell rang shortly after, and they left class together. They went to Alex’s locker first, then Reggie’s, and went to meet Luke at his. The three of them began to walk to the studio, which was luckily less than a mile away. Bobby was already there when the three arrived.
Bobby went to a different school than Alex Luke and Reggie, since he didn’t get into Los Feliz’s music program. Bobby and Luke had known each other from middle school, and had stayed friends even after they were split up for high school. Reggie and Alex had known each other since elementary school, and had quickly become friends with Luke when they first met at Los Feliz. Shortly after becoming friends, Luke had introduced them to Bobby. That day, the four boys had decided to start a band. A legendary band called Sunset Curve.
“Hey boys, how’s it going?” said Bobby as he gave Alex Luke and Reggie side hugs in greeting. “Hey Bobby!” the three said in unison. “Luke texted me earlier and said that he came up with a new killer song called Bright?” asked Bobby.
Luke popped up and grabbed his acoustic guitar. “Yeah! You guys ready to check it out?” The other boys nodded, excited to hear what Luke had come up with. Luke began strumming his guitar, then began to sing.
Sometimes I think I’m fallin down
I wanna cry, I’m calling out
For one more try, to feel alive
And when I feel lost and alone
I know that I can make it home
Fight through the dark, and find the spark
Life is a risk but I will take it, close my eyes and jump
Together I think that we can make it
C’mon let’s run
Luke started strumming his guitar faster.
And rise, through the night
You and I
We will fight to shine together
Bright forever
And rise, through the night
You and I
We will fight to shine together
Bright forever
Luke smiled and bowed as he strummed the final chord. Bobby and Reggie applauded Luke, but Alex stood there at a loss for words. “Is… Is that about us?” whispered Alex. Luke bit his lip and nodded. “D-do you like it?” A huge grin took over Alex’s face. “Dude, it’s awesome!” A relieved smile broke out on Luke’s face. “Sweet! We can alter it so that our instruments work with it. I’ll show you the full thing later Alex.” Alex nodded, but there was still a huge smile on his lips.
“What do you say boys, should we practice an old classic today?” asked Luke. All three of his bandmates knew that he was referring to Now Or Never, the first full length Sunset Curve song. “Yeah man, let’s do it,” said Bobby. Alex and Reggie nodded in agreement. Alex took his place at his drums, Luke went and plugged in his guitar, and so did Bobby. Then Reggie tripped over Bobby’s guitar cord and Bobby had to plug it in again.
When they were all set and ready to go, Luke played the opening riff, and Alex counted them in. “1, 2, 3!” Luke leaned over to his microphone and began to sing.
Take off, blast off
Count down ‘till we blast open the top
Face first, full charge
Electric hammer to the heart
Reggie bounced up and down to the beat, but slowed when he began feeling hot. He tried to shake it off as he joined in with vocals.
Clocks move faster cause it’s all we’re after now, woah
Reggie stopped bouncing and instead focused on playing his bass, but his hands started feeling clammy. But he had to run over and share a mic with Luke for the next part of the song.
Won’t stop climbing cause this is our time yeah
Luke pushed Reggie away from his microphone. Luke never pushed him hard, and they had done it countless times before, but Reggie still stumbled as he tried to make his way back over to his own microphone.
When all the days felt black and white those were the best shades of my life!
Reggie took a deep breath as he started to sweat and could feel his hands slipping on his bass. But he gripped it tighter and joined in for the chorus.
Don’t look down
Cause we’re still rising up right now
And even if we hit the ground
We’re still flying
Dreaming like we’ll live forever
But live it like it’s now or never
Reggie backed up from his microphone and tried to take deep breaths, but he only had a moment before he would have to sing again.
We ain’t searchin for tomorrow
Tomorrow
‘Cause we got all we need today
Today
Livin’ on a feeling that’s been running through our veins
We’re the revolution that’s been singing in the rain
Reggie stepped back and started clapping, but tried to take it slow when he began to feel queasy.
Don’t look down
Cause we’re still rising up right now
Reggie tried to get Alex’s attention, but Alex didn’t look over his way. His vision had started to swim, and he was getting nauseous from how hot he was.
And even if we hit the ground
We’re still flying
Dreaming like we’ll live forever
But live it like it’s now or never
Reggie fumbled his bass part, one that he should have been able to do in his sleep as black dots began to creep in on the edge of his vision.
It’s now or never
Now or never
As the last chords rang out, Reggie struggled to stay on his feet. “Guys that was awesome!” said Luke. “Yeah great job guys!” said Bobby. Alex turned to Reggie to say something, but noticed how pale Reggie looked. “Reg? You feeling okay?” But Reggie didn’t respond. He ran to the bathroom and barely made it before his lunch made a reappearance. Alex and Luke shared a concerned look as they ran after Reggie.
Reggie heaved again as Luke knelt down beside him and rubbed his back. Alex stood awkwardly by the door, unsure of what to do. When Reggie stopped throwing up, he leaned back weakly onto the wall. His hair was plastered to his face which was shock white, and he looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion.
“Why didn’t you tell us you weren’t feeling well?” asked Luke. Reggie shook his head. “I didn’t want you to worry,” he whispered. “I just didn’t want to be a burden,” he said as his eyes pooled with tears. “Hey, you will never be a burden. Ever,” said Luke, giving Reggie a reassuring smile. “Promise?” whispered Reggie as he blinked away his tears. Luke reached up and wiped Reggie’s tears away with his thumb. “Promise.”
“C’mon, let’s get you on the couch,” said Alex. Reggie nodded, and Luke went to pick Reggie up in his arms, but was stopped by Alex. “No offense dude, but I don’t trust you not to drop him.” Reggie was too weak to laugh but he managed an amused smile. Luke crossed his arms and pouted as Alex scooped Reggie up in his arms and carried him to the couch.
Alex laid him down, then Luke and Alex worked together to make sure he was as comfortable as possible. When they were sure he was comfortable, they sat down beside him. Reggie snuggled up close to Alex who was on his right. Alex smiled and hugged Reggie close to him. “Should we turn on some Star Wars?” asked Luke. Reggie nodded, fighting to stay awake. Luke got up and turned on Reggie’s favorite Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back. Reggie struggled to keep his eyes open, the day finally taking its toll on him. Luke must have noticed this. “It’s okay Reg, you can go to sleep.” Reggie smiled at Luke in thanks as he closed his eyes and drifted off.
----------------------
At some point, Reggie’s peaceful sleep shifted into a nightmare. Reggie was at home, and he was in his living room with his parents. They were arguing, but Reggie couldn’t hear what they were arguing about. All he knew was that it was making him extremely uncomfortable. “Guys, can you please stop?” whispered Reggie to his parents, but they didn’t acknowledge Reggie. They continued to argue, their voices getting louder and louder. Reggie tried again. “Please stop…” But it didn’t work again.
His parents were now on their feet, yelling in each other’s faces. Reggie still couldn’t make out what they were fighting about, but he couldn’t handle it anymore. “Stop!” shouted Reggie at his parents as he stood up. He was so angry at them, it was like nothing he’d ever felt before. But he couldn’t handle them fighting like cats and dogs for another second. “Can’t you two just love each other like normal people do?” asked Reggie angrily.
Their argument forgotten, his parents turned to face Reggie. “Why can’t you be the son we wanted?” snapped his dad. Reggie flinched. He hadn’t expected his dad to turn on him like that. “Why can’t you get good grades? Why can’t you do something that would make us proud? Maybe if you stopped being so useless we might actually love you.”
Those words stung Reggie. “I…” began Reggie, but he fell short when hot tears started running down his face. “Have you ever considered that it might be your fault that we’re so unhappy? If you just took the time to think about it, that’s exactly what you would discover. You’re the source of all our problems.” Reggie didn’t say anything this time. He just backed away from his parents as they began walking towards him. “You can’t do a single thing right,” said his dad as he jabbed Reggie in the shoulder with his hand. Reggie stumbled and fell to the ground. Then his mom and dad started lashing out at Reggie, physically and with insults.
Back in the garage, Alex felt Reggie curl in on himself in his sleep. He had started sweating a lot, and was moving around like he was having a nightmare. Luke noticed this too after Reggie let out a little whimper in his sleep. Luke gently shook Reggie’s shoulder. “Reggie, wake up,” he whispered.
Reggie shot up, a panicked look in his eyes. His eyes darted around the room before they rested on Luke. “Hey, you’re okay, you were just having a nightmare,” said Luke reassuringly. Reggie’s expression fell as his eyes pooled with tears. “Reg? What’s wrong?” asked Alex. Reggie drew his knees to his chest. “I dreamed that my parents were yelling at me. But they were telling me how awful I am, and how I’m a problem, and that they don’t love me.”
Luke’s heart broke. Reggie’s parents must be horrible people in real life for Reggie to dream about that. Reggie had started full on crying now, and was grateful for Alex when he pulled Reggie into a tight hug. “None of that is true, I can guarantee it,” said Alex as he rubbed Reggie’s shoulder.
“No you can’t,” whispered Reggie as more tears spilled down his face. “Reg, of course I can. You are the sweetest, kindest, and most awesome person I know, there’s no way you’re an awful person. There’s also no way you’re a problem for them, first of all because you’re almost never home, but mostly because you are perfect. And lastly, of course they love you.” Reggie looked up and met Alex’s gaze. “They may not always show it, but they’re your parents, of course they love you. Who wouldn’t love you? I know that I do, and I know that Luke does, and Bobby does too. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you aren’t loved, because it simply isn’t true.”
Reggie gave Alex a watery smile as he wiped away his tears. “Thanks Alex,” he whispered as he curled up closer to Alex. “Can you guys stay here tonight?” asked Reggie. “Yeah man, of course we’ll stay,” said Luke. “All night,” said Alex. “You guys are the best, mumbled Reggie as he felt himself grow tired again. He buried his face in Alex’s hoodie, and slowly drifted off with his friends holding him close in their arms.