Heartache on The Big Screen

~Eighteen~

[Listen to the Song while reading this chapter]

"Michael's POV"

Lilah and I set out our mission to find Luke. I drove because she couldn't stop shaking long enough to even put the key in the ignition. She was a wreck. Mentally and physically. She hardly slept, or ate. Luke being missing was tearing her apart and ashton was only a temporary glue hardly holding her together.

I'd never tell her, but when she was with him, her smiles were forced, her laughs were half hearted. She wasn't happy. She wasn't the DeLilah I was used too. She wasn't herself because she didn't have Luke. She didn't have the one person who'd kept her together for so long, and it was killing me to see her worry like this.

We drove to the bar where I last saw Luke, I never told Lilah about seeing him because I felt like that would make things worse for her. Him ignoring her calls but agreeing to speak to me, it just didn't seem like a good idea.

"Are you sure there's a chance he's in there?" She asked me. Hopeful, but not to much.
"I think so Li." I told her, placing my hand on her shoulder and giving it a little squeeze.
"Alright, let's go in then." She said unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of my car. I did the same and locked the doors behind me.

We walked into the dark, cigarette smoke ridded bar side by side. Looking around the room for a blonde haired boy hunched over a glass of liquor. And to my surprise I didn't see him.
"He's not here." She said quietly, I could nearly hear her heart breaking.

"And next on stage, Luke Hemmings!" Screamed the announcer on the tiny little stage in the back of the room. It was some sort of open mike night and I guess Luke saw his chance to do what he really loves.

"Mike he's going to preform." Lilah said excitedly. She loved hearing Luke sing.

He came one stage, looking so much better than he did the other day when I saw him.
"Umm hi, I'm Luke, some of you may know me from some of my movies, but that's not why I'm here tonight. I wrote a song about my career and the girl I love, so I hope you guys like it." He told the small drunken crowd. Still unaware that Lilah and I were present.

He pulled out his old second hand guitar and began strumming.
"Started out like in the movies.
But it ended like a bad dream.
Curtain opened, heard the crowd roar
This one's a repeat, seen it before
Rewind to the start before it all went wrong
What's going on?
Fast forward to the end, after everyone's gone home
And they've forgotten it all
This ain't a movie that I wanna see
A tragic story, starring you and me
Yell "cut", we're stuck inside this scene
This is heartache on the big screen
The clock is ticking, and I'm out of time
The camera's rolling, and I forgot my lines
My script is ripped and now I see
This is heartache on the big screen
Curtain closes on this cliché
A good story of a bad day
Back to square one, where I started
As I stand here, broken-hearted
Fast forward to the end, after everyone's gone home
And they have forgotten it all
This ain't a movie that I wanna see
A tragic story, starring you and me
Yell "cut", we're stuck inside this scene
This is heartache on the big screen
The clock is ticking, and I'm out of time
The camera's rolling, and I forgot my lines
My script is ripped and now I see
This is heartache on the big screen
If Hollywood could see me now
I'd get the starring role
But they won't so I'll just keep on acting a fool
This ain't a movie that I wanna see
A tragic story, starring you and me
Yell "cut", we're stuck inside this scene
The clock is ticking, and I'm out of time
The camera's rolling, and I forgot my lines
My script is ripped and now I see
This is heartache on the big screen"

Luke sang the words perfectly, as if he'd been rehearsing for months for this tiny little gig. His first time performing for a crowd, actually getting to be himself for once. And I don't think I've ever seen the kid look happier than when the small crowd cheered for him. He came off the stage with a sense of pride that radiated off of him.

Lilah and I walked towards him cautiously as he sat down by the bar. She sat on one side of him and and I the other. He ordered his drink. And we both ordered ours. He didn't look at us.
"I think it's time I come home now."
He said quietly. Lilah turned to him and pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back and they both began to cry.

And in this moment, I knew things would turn out all right. And I knew we had our best friend back.