Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Smitten

Reggie was wrapped in a blanket, sitting in the booth next to Alex who was patting him on the back. "You have to stop doing things like this just because you like attention," Alex told him gently. Luke brought over an apple juice box and put it in front of Reggie who looked at him with sparkling eyes.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to hold it up for you," Luke told him. Reggie pouted, but he reached over and started sipping on the juice. Luke looked at Princess Julie who had a content smile on her face. It wasn't a wide smile, but she seemed to be having as good of a time as she did when she went bird watching. He debated for a few seconds before sitting next to her in the booth, many inches away. He remembered her telling him that she wouldn't bite, but he knew that he did.

"Where is Willie?" Alex asked, looking around the club.

"Mopping," Luke told him. Alex scrunched up his face, understanding. He looked at Reggie across from him and tapped your nose. "Your girl left. I don't think she'll text back after this." Reggie rolled his eyes, but he knew Luke was right. She got a few chunks of vomit in her hair.

Julie asked Reggie, "Are you going to be okay?" Reggie nodded, still sipping on the juice. Luke knew that when he pulled the straw away, it would be completely chewed up.

"He's done this before and ran miles the next morning," Luke assured her. "He'll be okay in an hour. He'll probably still play tonight." Princess Julie perked up, and her glow made Luke want to shrink back into the old booth.

"You guys are playing tonight?"

Alex said without much though, "You should play with us, Princess."

"I don't know any songs you guys would have," Princess Julie said.

"Would sheet music help you?" Alex asked. Luke's heart was already beating out of his chest. He was put under a spell when he saw her play from a small distance, and he couldn't imagine him making it through the night alive if he was on the same stage as her. He didn't know when his feelings got so out of control.

Princess Julie nodded. "It would, actually." Alex clapped his hands in excitement and stood up on the booth, jumped over, going to find their binder they kept in the club's cabinets. Luke forced himself to not turn to look at Julie, her eyes always innocent and bright. He stared at Reggie who was done with his child sized apple juice and sure enough, the straw was chewed up at the edge.

"I feel better," Reggie told them.

"Fake," Luke reached over to flick him on the nose. Reggie slapped his hand away, accidentally hitting his own chin in the process. Luke laughed out loud and realized the Princess had chuckled right next to him. It was strange to laugh with her as if they had been friends all along, all their lives. He almost turned to look at her, but he forced his head to look for Alex who had stopped to talk to Willie and a few other people.

"Princess," Reggie asked her, "did you see that video?"

"I did," she nodded. "You guys are great." Amazing she had said earlier to him. Luke tried to look at her through the corner of his eyes, but when she turned her entire head to look at him, he turned the other direction again.

"It got taken down," Reggie frowned. They didn't know Luke and Bobby were behind its removal. Bobby alone, was capable of making them all miserable, even Alex who was family friends with him. Luke didn't intend to hurt people he loved. But it was for the best, even though Luke knew it probably would've been a nice fantasy for them to cling onto in the midst of war. The only other thing Bobby told him about the video after its removal was to avoid getting posted online. It had been a rule for while. Luke's social media pages were blank, but he had them either way to interact with people in the academy. Reggie once said he was a ghost on social media.