͏͏͏͏b͏͏r͏͏i͏͏g͏͏h͏͏t ͏͏t͏͏o͏͏g͏͏e͏͏t͏͏h͏͏e͏͏r

004. been so long

"I can't believe we're actually going back to high school," Alex said, wide-eyed as Mr. Molina pulled into the school parking lot.

"I know," Reggie said with a whine, whacking his arms on the seat.

Luke blinked, watching a mass of students walk into the building. "Yeah, guys, this is gonna suck. I wish Julie could've at least come with us to show us where everything is."

Alex laughed softly. "Sure, Luke. That's exactly why you wanted her to come with us."

Carlos smiled from the passenger seat. He was skipping class for the day to go with his dad to try to handle the chaos of the boys. "It is, Alex. Why else would Luke want to see Julie?"

"Oh, no, little man," said Alex, "I think you misinterpreted my message."

"I'm sure I did," Carlos said with a sly little smirk.

Ray looked over at his son suspiciously. "I didn't bring you with me to get into trouble with the boys, Carlos. I'll get Tia Victoria to straighten you out."

***

"So, how are the guys?" Flynn asked Julie on the bus ride on their way to school.

"I think Alex and Luke will be okay," said Julie, "but Reggie's always been a little questionable. He sounded pretty anxious when I talked to them last night. Carlos went with my dad to take them, so hopefully they won't cause my dad too much trouble."

"Lucky! He gets to skip school?" asked Flynn.

"Yeah," said Julie, "but it's okay. We get to see the guys at school now which is nice. Seeing them every few hours was nice, but now we can actually plan things out with the band in advance."

Flynn shook her head with a knowing smile. "You're just happy 'cause Luke's gonna be at school. Seriously, are you guys ever gonna confess your feelings for each other?! Now that he's kind of a human again, you guys can totally go out!"

Julie smiled. "I don't know about that. I think my dad is still getting used to them in general, and I don't wanna scare him by dating Luke. I don't think he's really ready for it yet..."

"But you are!" Flynn exclaimed. "Look, I know you don't wanna scare your dad, but if you don't tell him how you feel about Luke and why, you're never even gonna be able to date the guy!"

Julie shook her head with a small smile. "I want to tell him, Flynn, just not yet. Plus Luke's finally able to touch people and people can finally see him. Telling him how I feel right now would be way too much change way too fast."

Flynn leaned back with a relaxed smile. "I just can't wait 'till you guys are dating. Heyyy, I should make a finsta page for you guys!"

Julie shook her head and laughed. "Luke doesn't even know what Instagram is. I don't think he'd want a bunch of pictures of us online for a bunch of people to see whenever they want."

"Oh, no, he would definitely want it. Then maybe Nick will finally leave you alone and finally find someone new," said Flynn.

Julie's face fell. "Oh no," she muttered.

"What?" asked Flynn.

"I forgot to tell you, but, uh, Nick gave me flowers Saturday morning. I'm not so sure he's planning on giving up anytime soon," said Julie.

"What?!" exclaimed Flynn. "How could you forget to tell me?! It's not like he's been obsessing over you or anything!"

Julie shook her head. "I don't even like him like that! You know I don't! I keep telling him I'm not interested, but he's really not picking up on it."

Flynn shrugged. "You should just get Luke to tell him it's never gonna happen."

"Are you insane?" asked Julie. "If I asked Luke to do that, he would totally know something's up, and I told you, it's not good timing to tell him how I feel."

"Fine then," Flynn said with a shrug, "just wait until Nick starts stalking you at night."

Julie smiled, shook her head, and rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't do that."

Another shrug from Flynn. "We'll see."

***

"Julie, hey! How are you?" Nick asked as he walked up to her with a bright-eyed smile. Julie half-smiled back. "Hey, Nick." He cleared his throat and said, "So, uh, I'm having a party on Thursday night, and I was wondering if you would wanna come."

Julie lightly rolled her shoulders. "I'm not so sure. Partying isn't really my thing, and I don't think my dad would be super cool with it. Plus the guys just joined school here, and I don't wanna overwhelm them on their first week. Thanks for the invite though."

Nick's face twisted into an emotionless expression. "Your... band is joining our school? I thought they were just holograms. Are they just joining through online classes?"

"Nope," Julie said, shaking her head. "Their first day is today, actually."

Nick frowned. "Oh. Do you know where they are staying? I would love to take a walk and visit them sometime."

Julie got really weirded out by that comment. "Uh, no. Sorry. I don't think they'd really want someone they don't know super well visiting them anyways."

She then saw her dad, the boys, and her brother walking towards her from across the hall.
Ray was waving at her, Carlos was smiling, Luke had a jealous look on his face, Alex was watching all of the people around him, and Reggie had tears in his eyes.

"Sorry, Nick, I gotta go," said Julie. "I'll see you in class later." Nick gave a quick nod and said, "Uh... see ya."

"Hey, Dad," She said, giving her dad a quick hug. "Thanks for bringing the guys."

"Of course, Julie," Ray said with a kind smile. "Was that the boy who brought you flowers Saturday morning?"

Reggie's eyebrows shot up. "A guy got you flowers?! Awww, Julie! We're so happy for you! What's his name?! Can we meet him?!"

Alex whacked him in the shoulder, trying to make him realize they shouldn't talk about another guy Julie might like in front of Luke.

"What?!" Reggie exclaimed defensively.

"Ew, no! I'm not dating Nick!" Julie expressed. "He likes me, and I definitely don't like him. Besides, I'm too busy with the band and school right now to have time for a relationship."

As soon as Luke heard Julie say she didn't like Nick, his lips curled into a little smile. "So, Jules, you wanna show us around?"

Julie smiled but shook her head. "I have to get to class, but I'll catch up with you guys at lunch. Let me know if you need anything."

"Alright, well, I'm going to leave you guys here, and Carlos and I are going head back to the house. Go find your classes," Ray told the boys.

"Bye, Ray," Reggie said, opening his arms wide for a hug.

Ray shook his head with a light smile "I'll see you all back at the house."