Chapter Text
It’s been a week since the high schools’ music competition. That Monday had not been fun for Drew. Having to be in the same class as Jake and the others was already difficult enough, and it was even worse that Jake was his seatmate in most of their classes. They couldn't switch seats since they were assigned at the beginning of the year, and they don't switch until the next semester. Drew couldn’t help but think about how stupid that is instead of copying down the notes during science. He was forced to work with Jake, while Hailey was at the next table. It was ridiculous. Now they were finally at the end of the day, where they had scheduled a soccer scrimmage.
Through all the chaos of the past few days, Drew had completely forgotten who would be there. He would later regret this fact. But it's not like hindsight ever helped anyone. He’d finished lacing up his shoes for the scrimmage when he looked up and saw two of the faces he had hoped he wouldn't see for a while. He internally groaned in protest as he saw Jake and Luke also getting ready, setting up in the bleachers. Drew debated just walking out of this whole thing. It was the easy way out of course, but he didn't mind. Because if those two are here, the rest of the music club would follow shortly. Dammit . He looks back and Luke happened to catch his eye first. Drew caught him looking over and raised an eyebrow towards him. He glared for an added "Screw you, stay away" vibe.
Luke blinked as Drew shot him a glare from the other side of the field. What did he do to deserve that look-? Luke finished setting up quickly and headed out to the field, trying to avoid Jake’s old friends. It wasn’t the time to focus on old issues, right now they have a game to play.
Drew watched the brunette walk away. He planned to crush this freak in the scrimmage. He swore on it. As Luke walked over to his team, Drew walked over to his own. It consisted of Liam, Henry and a few others. He chanced a glance over at the bleachers and saw a few others. He could've sworn he saw Lia and Zoey, but it could have been the glare of the sun messing with his vision. “ Oh this is just peachy,” he thought to himself, sighing.
Drew’s team tried coming up with a game plan, matching players to players to try and keep the other team from getting anywhere. Unfortunately, this led Drew to be assigned either Jake or Luke. Thankfully, the death glare sent towards everyone else's way when they suggested Jake made the choice easy. Luke it is. They knew it was probably all going to fall apart once they got on the field, but it was good to know who was covering whom at first. It kept them organized at least.
Meanwhile, Luke’s team quickly came up with a strategy, and while they also believed it would probably all go to chaos on the field, they all agreed to try their best to keep organized.
With all the players covered, goalie set, and the rest of the offensive and defensive positions set, it’s go time. Drew and his team walk out onto the field, Drew taking the position for center offense. As always. "I'm going to make them wish they didn't challenge us." Although it’s whispered under his breath, Drew put all the malice he can muster into those words. So what if he uses this match as an outlet for all the shit recently? He planned to play aggressively .
Once the game starts, Luke couldn’t help but notice that Drew seemed to be playing extremely aggressively, especially when it comes to making sure Luke doesn't get far. Luke couldn’t understand what the heck Drew seemed to have against him that would cause him to have this amount of aggression. He couldn’t help but wonder. Due to Drew being so aggressive, Luke tried to match the aggression, though even then he barely got past Drew if at all. In the end, he mostly tried to keep the ball until he could pass it to a nearby teammate.
Ugh. He's got the ball, again...
Drew sprinted towards Luke and the ball, hoping that would at least slightly intimidate him. I mean, who runs directly at a person at full sprint? Luckily, the plan works, and Luke startled away from the sudden aggression. At the last second, Drew snagged the ball from Luke and started running it the other way towards their goal. "Nothin' personal freak!" Drew called out behind him, but after a moment, "On second thought, it is personal." Without giving Luke any time to catch back up, Drew kept running the ball down the side of the field. He tried passing it to Liam, but the defense on Luke's team intercepted it. "Dammit!" It wasn't loud enough to ring out across the field, but the players surrounding Drew heard enough to grow slightly concerned for their fellow player. He wasn't normally this vocal or aggressive in scrimmages. This was normally reserved for actual games against other schools.
When the ball gets passed to Luke, he quickly puts on a sprint and kicks the ball into the goal while avoiding Drew. Luke was more determined than ever to win that game, even if it was just a scrimmage.
Drew had been sprinting back down the field after the ball had been passed to Luke. It's like the entire team's game plan was "Oh pass it to Luke!" It was really grating on his nerves. Then again, anything to do with the music club grated on his nerves ever since last Friday. Oh well. His anger only grew as he watched the opposing team score on their goal, again. They were losing and it was infuriating. Finally, the whistle rang out for half-time from the volunteer referee. Honestly, they were just keeping time for them, not really being a referee.
Drew walked across the field, sulking--however he wouldn't admit it. He could tell his anger was starting to best him. He wasn't making good calls. He wasn't being aware of his surroundings. He was honestly lucky he hadn't run into someone or some thing . He sat down on the bench with his other teammates and listened to them talk about another possible strategy they could use to bring the game back in their favor, but Drew didn't have anything to contribute. He sat there with his water for a bit, starting to lose himself to his thoughts. He hadn't really seen Jake yet. At least not enough to be notable.
Thankfully, while Drew was playing and getting into the competitive spirit, he could forget about his worries and troubles. at least for a little while. It's why he played sports, and it's why he played multiplayer video games. It just let him draw his attention away. So, during this game at least he could start to level his head. With the first half over, and during break, Drew was finally back to his level-headed self, but he didn't know if there would be enough time to really bring the score back to their favor. They were losing by a lot. He decided to clarify some parts of their team's new strategy while they all waited for the second half to be called.
—
When the break was called, Luke sighed in relief. He had been passed the ball a lot more than expected, but luckily he didn’t lose it much, especially on the chance that Drew wasn’t practically on top of him. Luke guessed that his team gave someone to every person, so his team decided to go in pairs. It just so happened he was with Jake, which would probably really piss Drew off. It was time for the second half, and the team got ready to start moving again. They were in the lead, but that didn’t mean they were going to get egotistical about it and start slacking
The whistle rang again, signaling that half time was over. Drew wasn't fuming with anger this time, so he hoped that this half would go better. Until he watched the other team start to set up in unusual starting positions. His stomach dropped when he noticed Jake and Luke hovering near each other.
Ah... they're pairing up, aren't they?
Unfortunately, they didn't change the people they were covering, and they had some other rando on Jake, so Drew wasn't going to have as much mental support for that... Oh, how he wished that either Liam or Henry had been pitted against Jake. The ball went through the normal passing to start the second half. This time it was Drew's team to kick it off since Luke's had scored the most recently. Henry had kicked it off to Drew, and he immediately started sprinting up the sideline with it.
He saw Jake running after him out of the corner of his eye with an... interesting expression... but he couldn't try to discern it right now. Right now, was the time for them to try and put their new strategy into play. And since Drew was finally in a better head space, he was able to notice the set up. One of the others on his team was running up the middle towards the last defender, and Drew made a beeline towards them, passing it off successfully. The teammate ran the ball past the last defender, towards the goal and shot it to one of the corners, giving the goalie no time to dive for it. Drew looked towards Jake, and smirked at him. He chose his side, and now he'll regret it . The score was up, 5-2. They were still losing, but not for long.
Luke watched in slight horror as the scores kept going up 5-3…6-3…6-4 Apparently he was pretty alone with the “non-egotistical” idea of how to win, since a lot of his team had started slacking after they were winning by multiple points. He and Jake tried to strategize, but clearly the other team was leveling up their gameplay. Especially Drew, who seemed more focused and less so angry about literally everything. 6-5 The scores were getting really close…
The other team had only gained one point since the start of this half, while they had brought their score up by four. All they had to do now was tie it before the game was called so they would go into overtime and have a chance. Drew was ecstatic about this, as was the rest of the team. It was really starting to get to everyone about how poorly they did in the first half, and this definitely helped. Drew couldn't tell how much time they all had left, and the other team had seemingly switched from being cocky, to panicky while they changed their plans to essentially stay on the defensive to keep the score where it was at.
Drew's own team was starting to get worried that they wouldn't even tie it before time was called. It was honestly beginning to be nerve-wracking. Fortunately, Drew had the ball at that moment. He had just run towards the center with it and was moving towards the goal, he was already past the last defender, but they were catching up to him. He had to shoot the ball soon, or at least pass it back before the other team took it. Thankfully, the goalie was at the side of the goal, frantically trying to get back to the center to more accurately block his attempt.
Drew took the chance he could, he aimed for the top far corner and sent it.
The whistle rang signaling the end of the second half.
He watched as the ball sailed towards the goal.
Flying over the goalie's head.
…
And bounce off the corner of the goal.
It rolled to a stop next to Drew's feet. He stared at it for a while. He walked back off to their team's benches before he started thinking violent thoughts towards the people around him.
See, competition helped calm Drew's head of any worries or troubles, but he was very competitive. So much so that loss felt like a stab at him. Sometimes his self-worth was even brought into it.
Not this time. No, this time, the reaction was rage. Pure rage. And he didn't even know who to direct it at. The anger bounced from being directed at himself, to Jake, to Luke, then back at himself. He sat down on the ground next to the bench with his water. And fumed. The game ended... 6-5.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Luke entered the locker room, a wave of sympathy washing over him at how clearly frustrated Drew was. The shot had been so close…Luke has had shots miss like that before. They’re some of the most frustrating things he knows.
After a bit, Drew got up from the bench and made his way to the locker room to change and head home. He'd probably sit in his room, staring at the ceiling and hope for... for what? Probably something where this all didn't suck so bad. As he walked into the locker room though, he caught sight of Luke at his locker. At first, Drew wasn't going to do anything. But then his anger fired back up and he wanted an outlet. Honestly, anything would do. Except for Jake. That thought infuriated him even more. He started walking towards Luke. He wanted someone to feel the same anger he was feeling. He wanted to see someone lose it because Drew was this close to driving his fist into something. So, he did what he did best. Be an asshole.
Luke’s sympathy is slightly washed away as he closes his locker door only to see Drew heading straight towards him, the expression on his face one of fury. Luke immediately turns and tries to hurry off, wanting to avoid conflict. However, he isn’t so lucky.
As soon as Drew got to the locker that Luke was using, he slammed his hand on the door, the noise ringing out across the room. Everyone in the room turned towards the two. "Hey, freak." Starting off kinda generic but whatever. He continued in a mocking sing-song voice to see if the same trick that worked on Zander would work on him. "Are you trying to impress your little boyfriend or something? Because honestly, what else are you good for? I don't see you doing anything worthwhile around here in the first place." He didn't know what he was saying. He just wanted it to hurt.
Luke narrowed his eyes at Drew’s remark. He hadn’t been trying to impress anyone. And besides, anyone with sense would know that Zander reads during that time, barely even paying attention. The other remarks did hurt a little, but Luke tried not to be too bothered by them “Drew, what’s your problem today? Just leave me alone…” Luke said coldly, trying to pass Drew to exit the area only to be blocked.
Drew looked at him for a second. He wasn’t about to just let Luke brush him off like that. He saw Luke trying to leave, but he stopped him by grabbing his forearm. He let go once he stopped moving. "No. You're not going anywhere. I want to know what the hell is so great about you freaks that caused Jake to abandon us."
He tried to speak with as much venom in his tone as he could, but he was also starting to realize the futility of his attempts and comments. Drew was just done. Mentally and emotionally done. He just wanted everything to go back to the way it was before Jake joined the damn music freaks. He tried to keep his face as angered as possible, but knew it was for nothing. He felt the anger melt away, replaced with the sadness of feeling like he wasn't good enough for his friends to stay. First Zoey, now Jake. Who knows when Liam and Henry will decide they've had enough of him. He tried to turn away back towards his locker. He should've just left the drummer alone. It's not like he could do anything anyway.
Luke felt a hint of sympathy after seeing Drew’s slightly sad expression. He had no right targeting Luke, but it also wasn’t for a stupid reason. “Look, Drew, I’m sorry about what happened with Jake,” Luke sighs. “If you really want him back, maybe try being less of a jerk?” Luke winced after saying this, realizing too late that it was probably the wrong thing to say
Drew scoffed at that. Be less of a jerk. Every time he tries, that advice just backfires. He walked off back to his locker, grabbed his things, and without bothering to change back to his street clothes, left. He didn't want to be there any longer, and he certainly didn't want to be there long enough to run into Jake. He started walking in the direction of the bus station with his bag. He was ready to be done. He wanted to go play video games, or just lay on his bed watching the ceiling. He didn't really want to do anything else.
Luke watched Drew leave, regretting what he had said. After getting changed, he headed to the bus stop to go home since Zander and Hailey had to pick up Bethany today.
Drew sat down on the bench since the bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until about 5pm. It was roughly 4:35 pm though, so he'd have a bit of time. He put his earbuds in his ears and played some music while he waited. He could get behind why people liked music so much. It helped calm him down surprisingly. It was only a few minutes later that Drew caught movement to the side he had walked in from. He looked up from his phone and saw a slightly familiar red sweater. You have got to be kidding me.
Luke’s surprised to see that he shares a bus stop with a certain magenta-haired boy. He looked at Drew for a second, before directing his eyes to the ground, not really knowing how to- or if he should- start a conversation. Eventually, he took out his phone to text Zander and see if he’s doing well, before looking at Drew again, wondering what music he’s listening to. Shortly after, however, Luke quickly trained his eyes back to his phone.
Drew watched Luke sit down on the other end of the bench. He pulled out his phone and glanced Luke’s way. He raised an eyebrow at him in question.
"The hell are you doing here?" The other wasn't normally at this bus stop. In fact, Drew couldn't remember a time where Luke ever was at this bus stop. This is how Drew's gotten home most of his high school life. Typically, no one else used the bus from the school either, so it was incredibly strange to see someone else in this normally lonely bus stop.
“Oh- uhm, Hailey and Zander were busy, so I decided to take the bus home,” Luke said, glancing at the path he usually took with Zander and Hailey and half-hoping that he could turn back time and take that path instead.
"You always go with them then? Because I've literally never seen you here." He noticed the glance towards the path through the park. Of course. Luke didn't want to be here. Who would? Drew was someone that people generally avoided for his personality, and he had also just insulted the guy not even 20 minutes ago.
“Ah, yeah, I do. Gives me a break before I go home…” Luke replied.
A few moments passed in silence. “So…what music are you listening to?” Luke asked, not being able to stop his curiosity.
"Hm? Oh... why am I not surprised a music freak asked me what music I'm listening to? Anyway, it's just something Lia sent me. She didn't give me a name for the song or the band, but it's cool." He wasn't lying, it was a really cool sounding duet. He'd have to ask Lia to send him the name so he could add it to his Spotify playlist. He was somewhat surprised that Luke had started a conversation with him of all people.
“It sounds like a cool song! What’s it called?” Luke liked to share music with the club, and hey- if Drew liked it as well as the club, maybe they could somehow make peace with each other? Luke doubted it, but it was worth a shot.
"I don't actually know what it's called, but the male singer reminds me of someone. I don't know, it reminds me of just, happier things. You could actually help me put a name to it if you want?" Drew couldn't really believe that these words were leaving his own mouth, but he was too tired to care. He wouldn't lie, the two singers sounded familiar, however, he couldn't place it.
It felt... better than normal to not respond with anger for once. He hoped no one was watching them though. His reputation would be ruined. Drew felt his face slip into a slightly upset expression before he returned it back to his normal stoic one.
“Oh-! Sure, I can try,” Luke said, curious to see if he could recognize it. After all, he knew a lot of songs from different genres mostly thanks to Milly and Zander’s different tastes.
"Alright..." Drew got his phone out again and opened the audio. Quickly disconnecting his earbuds from the phone, he hit play on the file. The song Drew had just been listening to started to sound from the speakers.
-und, it's weighing me down
The fearless aren’t always brave, even though I'm still afraid
I was never meant for starlight, what if I tried
I'll shatter the stratosphere
Nothing can stop me now, I'll ride on wild horses
There's nowhere too far away, in outer space
Nothing can stop me now
I'll break the chains that kept me on the floor
I'll walk away, won't hold back anymore
A grand escape I'll make from myself and I, fro-
He hit pause and looked towards Luke to see if he recognized the chorus or the bridge.
Luke blinked, face slightly heating up as he realized what the song was. He was slightly off guard, confused, and proud all in one. “O-oh…it’s called Starlight…you like it?” Luke asked, before slightly laughing. “Well, this is ironic.”
Drew grew very confused watching the heat rise on his face. The hell? As the song progressed, he watched Luke's face morph from confusion to something more positive? Was that pride? Why would Luke be proud? Is it because he knew what the song was called?
"Yeah... Thanks for the name." He looked on even more incredulously as Luke started laughing. "What do you mean 'this is ironic'?" He was getting slightly angered since he didn't know what the other was laughing about, but he hoped he would find out soon.
“Uhm…well..maybe try looking up more information about the song,” Luke suggested, smiling at Drew. “I think you’d be a little surprised with what you find.”
To be honest, Luke found it kind of funny that Drew ended up liking their song after all the pain he had given them all, especially Hailey and Zander, over the past few years.
"Huh??" Drew whipped out his phone and looked up the song name.
oh.
Oh.
OH!
Sure enough, there it was. The first result that came up. Starlight, by the Rose Meadow High Music Club Debuted During this Region's Music Competition .
Oh no. Drew actually face palmed at reading this. Oh, how would they react to this? He imagined Zander being smug, or something along those lines. He didn't even know what Jake would do. The fact that Luke just laughed at him though was surprising. After all the shit he put them through, he was surprised that he would react in good humor. Drew felt heat rising up his face in slight embarrassment.
Damn you Lia.
“So…I’m guessing we did pretty well if you liked the song,” Luke said, not being able to help but tease Drew a little bit. “Well, I’m glad. I’m sure the rest of the club would love to hear your review on it.”
Obviously, this wasn’t entirely true. Sure, they’d probably get a bit of a kick out of Drew’s enjoyment of the song for a club he seems to hate, but at least Zander would definitely use this as blackmail. Luke sighed when he realized this.
“If you don’t want to though, I won’t tell the club. I know my boyfriend, he would definitely use that against you. I am curious though. If you like the music, why do you hate everyone in the club so much?” Luke knew this was a risky question, but decided to ask it. After all, he was a pacifist, and wanted to see if there was a way to get the Jomies and the music club to get along.
"Oh screw off... I don't really want to tell them anything right now. They'd probably yell at me to leave them anyway." Drew was well aware that the club was not going to be all optimistic about it. This was definitely something blackmail worthy for someone in Drew's position.
Why do I hate the music club?
It started back in middle school, or maybe even further than that, so it was hard to pinpoint why it started. It's just been so long of doing the same thing that he didn't really seem to remember at first. He realized he didn't know why he kept bullying them, if only for the sake of normalcy. They had their passion for creating music, while he had his passion for playing video games and sports. Drew remembered that one time from eighth grade where someone tried singing in the talent show, just to get booed at. He guessed he must have started associating musical performers with bad connotations.
He was alarmed by this fact. He usually had a reason for everything he did, as absurd as it might be. But he had absolutely nothing for why he bullied them before Jake joined. Ever since Jake joined, he could've pinned it on jealousy for starting to take up Jake's time more than him and the others. He could tell that was starting to grate on Lia's, Henry's, and Liam's nerves as well.
"I... don't have a good explanation for you. I'm actually a bit ashamed of that, not going to lie." He just felt less than in that moment. On top of all the other negative emotions swirling around in Drew's head, it sucked.
Luke was both surprised and almost happy at Drew’s answer. Of course, it wasn’t good to hurt someone for no reason, but…if there was no reason, and he felt ashamed, maybe it wouldn’t be too hard for them all to get along eventually.
Luke suddenly did something even he didn’t plan. His body just sort of- moved, even though it probably wasn’t the right decision with someone like Drew. He hugged him
“I- uhm, maybe come in for a rehearsal?” Luke suggested. “Or try to talk it out with some of us who are calmer, like Sean and maybe even Hailey…” Luke then realized he’s still hugging Drew and quickly lets go, looking away in embarrassment. “Ah- sorry, I don’t really know why I did that…”
Eh?? Luke was hugging Drew... Why? While Luke hugged him, Drew just sat there, with his arms stuck to his sides like a stick. He didn't do anything to try and reciprocate the hug since it really wasn't anything he'd experienced before.
"I... I really don't think that's a good idea. I mean, what if they just completely shut me down? I'd rather not be told to shut up by them. It isn't just a music fre- club thing that I'd snap at, you know?" On one hand, he wanted to see what made the group something that Jake would abandon him for, but on the other, he just didn't want to know what would happen. He was content just stopping all contact with the music club. But something stopped him from doing that.
"Uh... fine. I'll... I'll go to a rehearsal." As an added thought, "Only, if you get them to not yell at me and berate me!" He got that enough elsewhere. He was working on not immediately snapping at people who yelled at him, but it was hard dammit.
To be honest, Luke was really proud of Drew. Not something he’d ever expect to feel. “Of course I’ll make sure they leave you be,” Luke reassured. “I’m sure they’ll be glad to see you in the rehearsal room- we aren’t that bad once you get to know us.”
Ughh what did I just get myself into? "Yeah... ok." Drew realized something then.
"When would I be going to the music club though? I don't exactly know the rehearsal schedule. I also don't know when I'd be welcome..." It was a valid concern! He didn't want to just show up unannounced and cause unnecessary fights. Since that is exactly what would happen if the rest of that club just saw Drew walk in.
“Ummm…how about the day after tomorrow? That gives me time to tell the club and for everyone to register the whole situation. Rehearsals are at lunchtime,” Luke said. “But- maybe watch when literally anyone but Jake gets up and starts heading over? He’s usually late…” Luke had already started planning a way to tell the club, though it would definitely take some time with people like Zander and Jake.
Drew could feel the anxiety start to rise at that comment against his will. Luke had already promised that he would get the club to not immediately start yelling, but it still felt like he was walking straight into the lion's den. "Yeah alright, that works."
"Wouldn't he be sitting with you guys though? He used to sit with us for lunch. I doubt he'd do that now." It was a fair point. After calling Jake a freak, he highly doubted that he'd want anything to do with Drew.
“Ah…that’s- probably true,” Luke said, then sighed. “Look…I only heard the end of the fight, so I don’t really know what happened, but…I don’t fully think you were in the wrong…I mean- not really that either of you guys were in the right either, more like you both were in the wrong. I…hope you guys can talk things out.” As much as Luke hated to admit it, Drew didn’t seem like such a bad person, not after really talking to him.
“For rehearsal, I can just come and get you on the way to the club room,” Luke offered. “Unless you don’t want Henry or Liam to see, in which case I can maybe text you? If you’re willing to give me your number…”
He just sat there for a second after Luke finished his spiel. Drew guessed he was right about that. Drew had been pretty pushy towards Jake about leaving the club. But Jake had also been spending more time with the club than his old friends. If he really thought about it, he could understand what Jake was talking about, but it still felt hopeless. He didn't have any idea what to expect entering that club room.
And then came the problem of Henry and Liam. Those two idiots stuck to him like glue half the time. The only real way to go to the club room without Liam or Henry tagging along was to not even go to the lunchroom in the first place. Either that, or they weren't in the lunchroom either for whatever reason.
"Eh, they'll think what they want. If they have questions about it later, I'll entertain them. Unfortunately. But I won't guarantee that they won't want to follow me." His voice had thankfully gone back to its normal tone, finally. So it sounded from any outsider that Liam and Henry weren't the most welcome. However, that was far from the truth. Sure, they were idiots, but they were the good kind of idiots.
“Ah- I would invite them, but…it’s probably a bit much,” Luke admitted. He didn’t want too much chaos to break out, especially when he didn’t know where Henry and Liam stood on the scale of hating the music club versus liking them.
"I figured. They're even too much for their friends half the time. Wouldn't want them to cause more problems." Honestly, they would just want to go mess around with the instruments. Probably not the best idea.
“Well, I hope you like the rehearsal,” Luke said. “And hey- maybe we can be friends someday.”
"Ah, yeah. Maybe-" He was cut off by the screech of the bus coming to a halt. Huh. He checked his phone and sure enough, it was 5pm. Wow, first time this thing's been on time. "Maybe we can... Anyway, I'm headed on the bus. Follow or don't." Drew got up from his seat on the bench and sat down in the closest available seat, which just so happened to be an entirely vacant window seat. Score!
Luke climbed on the bus, not really wanting to due to the loudness of a lot of kids but also not wanting to seem like he was ditching Drew. He looked for an empty seat, but only saw 2. One being right next to Drew, the other being across the aisle. He decided to sit across the aisle, giving Drew room and himself a window if they decided not to talk. He sighed to himself, not wanting to go home yet.
Drew looked over when he saw Luke sit down. The usually happy, or genuinely not negative brunette had a rather upset look on his face. "What are you doing over there? Come on, even I can see something’s wrong."
He appreciated the gesture of Luke trying to give him space, but he also wasn't about to force him to sit somewhere else if something was on his mind. "I'm not yelling across the aisle." He had no idea what was up with him, and he was a tad curious about what could bring his mood down that quickly.
“Ah- sorry,” Luke quickly stood up and moved to the seat next to Drew before the bus started moving. “I’m just…not too excited to be heading home I guess,” Luke sighs. “I’d rather go to the park or something, but my parents would be even worse if I did that…” Luke didn’t really notice that he had said “even worse” instead of “bad” due to being a bit caught up in the moment with the stress of the teasing and going home in his mind, as well as the not-so stressful thought of making a new…friend? Maybe?
Drew started paying just that much more attention to the "even worse" comment. That didn't sound good. He'd seen a few bad days between Henry, Liam, and even himself for the similar reason of problematic parental issues.
"Ah... family problems?" He tried to remain as gentle with his wording as possible. Drew knew it could be a touchy subject with some. "I know we just got on... decent… ish terms, but do you want to talk about it?" He honestly didn't know where Drew and Luke sat right now. They obviously weren't "hate each other's guts" anymore--or even in the first place,--so for now Drew will settle for "acquaintances". It seemed the safest bet.
Luke sighed. “I dunno…it’s not really a big deal, I know a lot of people have it worse. It’s just my parents are super religious, so they don’t really support…you know,” Luke said, looking away. He didn’t really know why he was telling this to Drew of all people, but for some reason he seemed to trust him. He didn’t really think Drew was the type of person to go and tell the whole school about this.
“Sorry- you probably weren’t expecting to deal with that sort of thing today, like I said, it’s nothing,” Luke quickly said, not wanting to make Drew have to waste his time on Luke just to play therapist.
"Hmm." Drew hadn't dealt with anyone super religious to the point of hating another group of people, but he knew now probably wasn't the time to talk about it anyway. He remembered something he used to do with Jake whenever they told each other something they'd rather keep quiet. "Oh right, my lips are sealed, no worries."
"How did you guys even come up with Starlight in the first place?" He was curious about it. Now that he knew who was singing the lyrics, he suspected there might be some meaning to it.
Luke felt a little surprised at Drew not really prying, but not in a bad way. Apparently that was something Drew was a bit better at than the rest of the club.
“Oh- it’s kinda a long story,” Luke started. “Let’s see…it all really happened as we started getting to know each other…”
For the rest of the ride, Luke and Drew talked, exchanging stories and enjoying each other’s company. When Luke had to get off the bus, he arrived home feeling a bit better than he usually did. Not, of course, because he was home, but because he was able to get to know Drew a bit better. Maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult for everyone to get along.