You Are The Music In Me

Chapter 25

Luke couldn't stop smiling. And he might have gotten a few more tips because girls (and let's be honest, grown women) thought he was smiling at them. But really, his smile was all for Julie. He couldn't believe it. The girl he had come to love was at least willing to kiss him. True, she might have done that just so he would stop talking, but no, she said she liked him too.

Olivia kept on poking fun at him, but he really didn't care. Nothing could bring his mood down.

He watched Carrie walk through the front door and head straight for him. Scratch that, she headed straight to Liv. Luke didn't realize they knew each other.

Or more than knew each other? Luke watched the two kiss and abruptly turned around. He didn't care about their preferences, but it was still weird to see his former best friend turned backstabbing enemy's daughter, who also used to be Julie's best friend turned enemy - somewhere there was a parallel there – who was once again a friend mack on his new friend slash boss. Just thinking about it was giving him a headache.

Carrie eventually sat down at her table, and Luke brought her drink over to her. "Sooooooo you and Liv?" Carrie bit back the snarky comment in her mind. She was really trying to get over the whole mean girl attitude she had developed.

"Yeah, she's cool."

"Cool." Neither said anything else. Julie was definitely the glue that kept the conversations going. "Right. So I'm going to go back to the bar now. Bye."

***

The café was slow this afternoon. Liv had gone to sit with Carrie a while ago, and Luke was cleaning the counter when he heard the front door open. He looked up ready to be a good employee and give a friendly greeting, but the ever-present-Julie-smile dropped when he saw that it was Nick. Remembering that Julie was maybe sort of his girlfriend maybe possibly hopefully, Luke tried to push his jealousy away and gave a forced smile

"Hey Rick," Okay – Luke couldn't help it.

"That's not my name." Nick replied without a smile. Luke was caught off guard by his brash reply.

"Uh right. Sorry Nick. So, what can I get for you?" Luke felt on edge. Why was Nick being such a weirdo. Julie made him sound like he was a good guy, but that was definitely not the vibe he was putting out right now.

"Oh nothing. I came to see you."

So Alex would be the first to point out that Luke had no sense of 'gaydar'. He was so caught off guard by Carrie and Liv, that now he was wondering if Julie never really had a chance with Nick. Like Nick practically just confessed his love for Luke, right?

a/n Luke's obliviousness clearly works both ways. With people who actually love him, he doesn't notice. And with people who don't care for him at all, he thinks they're clearly in love with him.

"Oh um... okay?" Dang. How would he get out of this without making it even more uncomfortable?

"Yes. I figured we could commiserate together over the fact that Julie is dating another boy and she spurred our advances. I know you cared deeply for her. I presume your band will need some time apart, and I thought perhaps we could become companions." Nick held out his hand for Luke to shake.

This kid was weird. Luke stared at Nick's hand having a weird sense of déjà vu. Even though he and Julie had not discussed it, Luke didn't want Nick getting any ideas. "Oh, uh actually that was a miscommunication. Julie isn't with Jax, she's um with me now. So the band is stronger than ever."

Nick's eyes flashed angrily. He retracted his hand and flexed his fingers before tightening them into a fist. "Well then, I suppose congratulations are in order." He once again went to thrust his hand out, but seemed to think better of it. "I hope to see you again soon."

"I hope to see the back of you soon," Luke mumbled to himself as Nick left the café.

"Was that supposed to be a comeback?" Carrie had overheard Luke's retort after saying goodnight to Olivia.

"Whatever Carrie. It sounded better in my head, okay? And seriously – what is that guy's issue? Was he this much of a dweeb when you dated him?"

Luke's question made Carrie feel uneasy. She had pretty much been avoiding Nick, and he seemed to be doing the same to her. But what she had seen just now was definitely not the Nick she knew. Her Nick was sweet and considerate, although not quick to forgive. It was one of the reasons why they broke up so many times. This Nick though... he was like someone completely different.

"No. No he was definitely not like this. Maybe his jealousy is just coming out if an off-putting way?" Luke continued to stare at the door that Nick had just walked out of, practically ignoring Carrie's response. "Luke, I wouldn't worry about it. Though I would deny telling you this, Julie really likes you. I wouldn't worry about Nick. Trust me, it's not Nick that she spends all her time thinking about." And with that, Carrie headed home.

***

Luke drove back home after closing the café. It had been a long weird shift, but he was excited to get home and see Julie. Maybe they could watch a movie or go for a walk or plan their weddi-date. Plan their date.

Luke entered through the front door, hoping to see Julie but instead saw Reggie and Alex comforting her on the couch. He walked over and all his joy disappeared as he saw her tear streaked face.

"Jules, what's wrong?" Julie didn't reply. Her shoulders were shuddering and her breath was ragged. Luke looked at Alex and Reggie, waiting for one of them to say something.

Alex looked over at Reggie and mouthed to him "You good?" When Reggie nodded, Alex pried himself from Julie's arms and stood up. Julie cuddled up into Reggie, and Luke had to fight the pang of jealousy that shot through him. That should have been him holding her tight.

Alex motioned his head for Luke to follow him into the kitchen. "Okay Alex, what is going on? When I left a few hours ago, everything seemed okay. Better thank okay. Jules and I were going to plan our date, and well, you know, we kissed." Luke's cheeks went warm just thinking about how perfect their first... and second... kisses were.

Alex took a deep breath. "Luke, just, I need you to be calm okay? You know that Reggie can be fragile, and I'm trying to not freak out myself. So I won't be able to handle it if you start getting upset."

"This is not helping me to be calm. Alex. Tell. Me. What. Happened."

Another deep breath from Alex. "Right, okay. Just remember – calm. So essentially Carlos didn't come home after school. Julie covered for him, and so Ray left the house for the night. But the thing is, we can't find Carlos anywhere. Julie has checked in with friends, the parks, school, the mall, literally any place she can think of. I mean it. At one point, she started asking us to check all the bathroom stalls."

"Kay well obviously that is bad, but why would I need to stay calm. I mean, I lo-like Jules a lot, and Carlos has become like a little brother, but you were making it seem a lot worse."

"Yeah... um I'm not done."

That was not what Luke wanted to hear.