Episode Nine *COMPLETED*

Chapter 8: The Aftermath

We had to wake up early the next morning to get back to set to film our musical finale of the season. It was going to be a very physically and emotionally demanding day.

Charlie woke up before I did and reluctantly detangled himself from me on the couch as Owen ordered him to help him with breakfast. I was awoken by Owen snapping orders at Charlie who was fumbling to try and help him cook. I yawned and stretched as I sat up.

"There she is!" Owen announced with a smile, wearing a cupcake apron that Jeremy had bought him as a joke.

"Good morning sleepy head." Charlie teased as he walked over to me and ruffled my already unruly curls.

I groaned sleepily as I rubbed my eyes.

"I got the cutest picture of you and Charlie this morning, I sent it in the group chat. Kenny said he's going to get it framed." Owen informed me with a laugh.

I picked up my phone that I had left on the table next to the couch. I saw that our cast group chat had over twenty messages this morning. I opened the messages to see the picture that Owen had taken this morning.

Charlie and I were cuddled up together on the couch, my back pressed to Charlie's chest as his larger form enveloped my own. His arm draped lazily over my waist and his other arm acted as a pillow for my head. Both of my hands were holding onto the arm underneath my head and nuzzling into it as if it were a teddy bear. We looked so peaceful. Owen was right, we looked adorable.

Owen had captioned our photo "look at these two" and Jeremy responded in all caps "JUKE IS REAL". Kenny loved the image and texted "I'm getting that framed!", Savannah sent heart eyes, and Jadah messaged "#teamjuke".

I couldn't help but chuckle at their reactions, shaking my head as I placed my phone in my back pocket and headed over to the kitchen counter.

They had three barstools lining the counter and I took a seat on the one furthest away from the popping grease of the bacon Owen was currently cooking. 

"Sleep well?" Charlie asked, but I could see the hints of a smirk on his lips and I rolled my eyes.

"According to the photo of us, we both slept like rocks." I retorted, and then I turned my attention to Owen.

"Thanks for taking a photo, that was really cute." I smiled at him and he nodded.

Charlie dramatically made his way over to me, wrapping his arms around me in a hug and squeezing me tightly.

"We're just too cute!" He bragged jokingly, and I struggled to get out of his crushing embrace.

I eventually managed to push him off me, both of us laughing.

"Correction, Madison is cute. You, sir, look and smell like a wet rat." Owen jabbed and Charlie's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Hey!" Charlie pouted as I laughed.

"We've got to keep him humble." Owen winked at me as he handed me my breakfast.

I nodded in agreement before diving into my food.

"Not you too, Mads!" Charlie exasperated but I was too focused on eating to pay mind to his drama.

Once we finished our breakfast, we stopped back at my apartment so I could change into new clothes before we headed to set. I just threw on some sweats and a baggy t-shirt since I knew we would be wearing our performance attire for most of the day.

We went straight to hair and make up when we got there, and the crew quickly got to work. My hair was pulled back into a high ponytail that turned into a braid, and they placed various beads and glittery extensions in my hair to add to the look.

The makeup team gave me a smoky purple eyeshadow look, adding rhinestones at the corners of my eyes right above my cheekbones. After mascara and eyeliner, they finished off with a neutral lipgloss.

I peered back at myself in the mirror impressed at their work. The look was very Julie, yet also more grown up which was fitting. I then made my way to the wardrobe department where they dressed me in a black dress with purple and blue accents. It reminded me of Lady Gaga's style because there were pieces of the dress purposefully sticking out towards my right shoulder and then at my left hip.

Once I was all dressed and ready to go, I made my way to the stage where we were going to perform. The boys arrived shortly after, Jeremy dressed in a purple button down shirt with leather pants and Owen was wearing a white shirt and navy bow tie with dark purple jeans.

Charlie was dressed in black jeans, a white shirt that looked like it had been splattered with blue and purple paint, and then a long black leather coat with blue accents. In true Luke fashion, the coat was (of course) sleeveless.

We all looked at one another in awe, admiring our characters looks in the final performance of the season. Kenny approached us excitedly, and gave us the run down for filming the performance. We had practiced it almost a thousand times by that point, so all that was left was to film it while going all out.

And we did exactly that. We sang our hearts out, feeding off the energy of the crowd and each other. I was bouncing around the stage, and then the song was drawing to a close.

Luke approached Julie, singing the last few lines as he entered her space. The intensity and purpose of his gaze burned through her, the mic serving as the only barrier between their lips.

Julie could feel her heart beat quicken, electricity coursing through her veins as she batted her eyes at him, welcoming him.

His eyes fell on her lips, and he lowered the mic as they leaned impossibly closer to one another. Just another inch and they would be kissing, and Julie's eyes fluttered shut in anticipation.

Suddenly the crowd erupted, and the two froze, remembering that they were in front of an audience.

Luke backed away carefully, flashing a bashful smile and looking at Julie as if she were the only person in the world. Julie just beamed back at him as they linked hands with the rest of the band and bowed.

"Annnnd CUT!" Kenny called and we all snapped back into reality.

We all rushed into a group hug, proud of our performance and cherishing the feeling of playing together on set. We weren't sure if there would be another tour for this season, so we treated each performance together like our last.

I went around giving high fives to all the boys, but when I reached Charlie I could sense that something was off.

"Everything okay?" I asked him discretely, not wanting to cause widespread alarm.

He was still smiling but I could tell that he was deep in thought.

"Can we talk later?" He asked.

I nodded, worried that I had somehow done something to upset him during our performance.

"Yeah, of course!" I replied and he let out a breath.

"Cool. I'll-uh... swing by after I get out of all this and shower and stuff. Shouldn't take me long." He told me and I nodded as my worry grew.

"Okay, I'll see you soon." We then parted ways as we headed back to our trailers.

What had I done?