You Are The Music In Me

Chapter 14

Julie felt good. And she knew she looked good. Flynn did good.

Flynn had to head home, so Julie made her way to the café on her own. She was mentally running over what to say in her had to Luke, but so far she hadn't come up with anything that didn't make her sound like a scared little kid. It wasn't exactly the image she wanted to go for. She hoped that in the moment, the right words would come out, and everything would go back to normal... or you know, more than before? Normal was becoming a relative term.

Julie gave herself a quick mental pep talk, and then opened the door to the café. She took a quick look around the room and smiled when she saw the guys sitting up front near the stage. She went to grab a drink before heading over, and was met with a perky blonde at the register. She was tall, gorgeous, and really should be wearing a burlap sack or something because it just wasn't fair.

"Hey I love your outfit!" Great. She was friendly too.

"Thannnnnks. It's just something I threw together." Thankfully Flynn wasn't there to kill her for taking credit. "Can I get a large mocha with extra whip?"

"You got it hun. It'll be ready for you down at the end."

Julie paid, said thanks, and went to pick up her drink. She made her way over to the guys, suddenly feeling anxious. What would happen if Luke didn't forgive her? It's not like she had said anything bad or hurtful, but she knew Luke felt responsible for how she had acted.

Reggie was the first one to see her, calling out her name while running to her and spinning her around. Reggie was excited about butter apparently? Julie didn't really get it, but she knew Reggie could be quirky so she didn't try to understand. Alex gave Julie a big hug, explaining how Butter was their new dog, and he and Reggie had just conveniently finished their drinks and we're going to go get another. Reggie tried to point out his still half full mug was on the table, but Alex dragged him away.

Luke hadn't looked at Julie yet, keeping his eyes on the table where he destroyed a straw wrapper. Julie placed a hand on his shoulder and he finally raised his eyes to meet hers. It did take a little while to reach her face though as he seemed to be studying every inch of her body in her dress. Julie felt a blush rising from her neck.

"Um Luke do you think we could talk? I want to explain what happened last night,"

"Julie I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry. Let's just pretend it didn't happen, okay?"

"I don't want to pretend." Julie quietly said under her breath.

Alex and Reggie returned to the table at that moment. Reggie was complaining again about how Alex was flirting with Olivia – that must be the girl at the register – even though he was gay so why was he even flirting with her?

"Reg! For the last time! I WASN'T FLIRTING WITH HER! I said I thought her braid looked nice. I'm sure she could tell I wasn't flirting with her."

"Yeah, plus Olivia trained me today and she's super cool. I'm sure she didn't think anything about it." Julie ignored the heat in her stomach. So what if Luke worked closely with Olivia the model? Before she could say another word, the lights dimmed and a spot light appeared on the stage. "Oh guys, I heard this guy rehearsing earlier, he was really good! That's why I wanted us to get such a good table. I thought maybe we could start thinking of other acts to open for us, or you know, maybe set up a summer concert or something?" You could tell he was really excited and everyone turned eagerly to the stage.

As the performer came out onto the stage, Alex and Reggie's jaws dropped.

"What's wrong?" Luke whispered.

"He's hot." Alex said not taking his eyes away from the stage.

"Yeah. Like really hot. No offense Luke." Reggie breathed out.

"First off, why would I be offended?" Reggie rolled his eyes in response – everyone knew that Luke thought he was 'the hot one'. "And he's not that hot. Right Julie?"

But Julie didn't respond. Her eyes were shimmering. Meanwhile Luke's lovely hazel eyes were turning green with jealousy. Julie normally looked at Luke that way. Why was this bozo getting her all goo-goo eyed? He looked up and saw the singer smiling right at Julie. His Julie. Luke looked at his three friends suddenly feeling annoyed.

"He's not that hot, right? Alex?" Luke tried again to get a response.

Alex looked over at Luke, then over at Julie practically drooling over this new guy, and then back at Luke. "Nah, buddy. He's like a 6 at best."

"Maybe if you add another bajillion," Reggie added. Apparently the lights were too dim for Reggie to see the daggers that Alex was shooting him.

***

After the singer had finished his set, Luke felt a sense of relief. Finally. However it was a short lived moment, as the singer came over to their table.

"Julie?"

"Jax?"

"It is you!" He spun her around in a hug, settled her back on the floor, and placed a long kiss on her forehead. "I've missed you so much!" His eyes turned sad, "I heard about your mom. I'm so sorry Jules."

EXCUSE ME? Did he just call her Jules? Luke was not having this.

"Hey man. Nice to meet you. I'm Luke, and this is Reggie and Alex. How do you know Julie?" While the words themselves sounded harmless, coming from Luke, they sounded like a thinly veiled threat.

Jax looked over at Julie. "Do you want to?" he asked.

"No no, you go ahead. Man I can't believe you're really here JJ." Julie smiled looking up at this handsome man.

"It's not that exciting of a story really. Julie and I used to hang out a lot as kids. We went to camp together and got pretty close. My family didn't live too far away, so we were always around each other. Even started a band together before Julie here got too cool for me. In fact, I think you're still technically my wife – we never broke up after we got married when you were 4," He nudged her should gently. Everyone seemed to be loving this story... well mostly everyone. "And then my family moved to the east coast, and we lost touch. When I turned 18 though, I moved back here. I always wondered when we would see each other again. Jules pass me your phone. We gotta get together to catch up. Wanna go out tomorrow night?"

Julie didn't hesitate for a second. "Of course JJ!" She gave him a big bear hug and made him promise to text her when he got home.

"Julie Molina. Honestly, what are the odds?"

"Yeah. Seriously." Luke mumbled. Julie shot him a funny look but didn't say anything.

"Kay Jules, I'll see you tomorrow! Alex, Reggie, great to meet you. And you too Lou. Hope to see you around."

Luke was red. Did this guy really just call him the wrong name? Was this how Nick felt? Yes – Luke knew his name was really Nick, but still? Though Luke never really did call Nick by the wrong name to his face. This Jax guy was something else.

"That Jax guy is something else." Really Reggie?

***

brb. don't mind me freaking out that there are 1000 views in one week. no biggie. totally playing it cool over here.

But for reals though. Thanks guys.