Reconnected//Julie And The Phantoms

Chapter One

1995 A Week Before Playing at the Orpheum in the garage.

"I still can't believe we are playing the Orpheum in a week. A week!" Skylar squealed to her bandmates. "I know right, it's totally insane." Luke responded, just as excited as Skylar was. "This will change our lives forever. We're gonna be legends." He continued.

This thought sat in their minds for a couple minutes while the room was quiet. We're gonna be legends, repeated in their heads as the room remained silent.

Bobby was starting to get antsy and kept checking his watch. Everyone knew what it meant. "Hey, I hate to ruin the moment and all, but I have to go. I got a date," Bobby said snapping everyone out of their thoughts, and before anyone could say anything, he was gone.

He always seemed to leave practice early or show up late.

"He always bails on us," Alex said under his breath in disappointment. He was hoping no one heard him, but he knew they all did.

"Even when our most important gig ever is just a week away," Luke continued Alex's thought as he unplugged his guitar from the amp to sit on the couch.

One after the rest, they got up and made themselves more comfortable.  Alex made his way onto the couch, sitting down a bit away from Luke. Reggie ended up in the chair while Skylar was the last one, still sitting at her keyboard.

"Sky, what are you thinking about?" Luke asked as she was clearly distracted by something going on in her head.

She looked up at him and repeated, "We're going to be legends." A smile grew on all their faces as they looked at one another, soaking in the feeling. Luke stood up and walked over to Skylar. She was giving him a confused look when all of a sudden, he picked her up by her waist and threw her over his shoulder. He walked over to the couch and put her down in the middle and plopped down next to her.

"I hate to leave too, but I should probably get home." Alex said as he hugged Skylar goodbye and then said goodbye to the remaining guys.

After Alex left, Skylar realized that Reggie still hadn't said a word since before Bobby had left. She slid to the opposite side of the couch and looked at Reggie.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked in a quiet tone. "Yeah, just you know a little in shock." Reggie replied knowing his life was about to change. "I know it's insane right? We're about to play the Orpheum," Skylar said as she couldn't wait to play there.

"I think I'm going to take a walk to let it all settle in," Reggie said to his sister. "I'll meet you back home in a half-hour?" She nodded in response as he grabbed his backpack and left.

"Are you at all nervous?" Skylar asked Luke since they were the last two in the studio. "Terrified," he responded looking at her. "You?" "A little but I think more excited, you know," As Skylar looked at Luke, she could tell how tired he was.

She continued the conversation because she wanted to know one last thing, "Do your parents know that you are playing at the Orpheum?"

"No," he replied looking down at his hands, fidgeting with his rings. "I know I should but it's too hard. They never believed this could happen and now that it is, it's like if I tell them it might go away. I know it sounds stupid, it just feels that way."

Skylar saw the tears forming in his eyes as the thought of his parents made him miss them more and more. She scooted closer to him and opened her arms as Luke fell into her embrace. Slowly, his tears soaked into her shirt as his breathes were ragged.

After a couple minutes of sitting in their comfortable silence, Luke's breathing evened out and he loosened his grip on Skylar. She let go and looked at him with a reassuring smile.

"I'm sorry, I got your shirt wet," Luke said with a laugh. "It's okay, it'll dry. And if it means you feel better, it's worth it." Skylar enjoyed seeing him happy again.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Luke asked as it had been about a half-hour since Reggie left.

"Sure, if you don't mind." Skylar didn't want to walk home alone, and hoped Luke would offer. "Yeah anytime," he said softly.

She began to get up and got her things together. She put on her jacket and grabbed her backpack.

They began walking when Skylar asked, "Have you talked to your parents since you moved into the studio?"

This question made Luke stop dead in his tracks with Skylar doing the same thing. "Yeah, once I guess," he began as all the emotion from before seemed to make its way back to his face.

"I wrote them a letter telling them that I was okay and was staying in the studio. I told them I was safe, had food and enough clothes, and that I loved them." He then wiped a tear away that threatened to fall down his face.

"They wrote back once, just saying they're sorry and that they loved me too." Skylar knew she couldn't change what happened between Luke and his parents about seven months ago, but knew another hug would help.

She pulled him into the hug, but he wasn't expecting the gesture so he hesitated. After he had come to his senses, he lifted his arms and tightly wrapped them around her waist, nestling his face into the crook of her neck.

"Thank you Sky," Luke whispered in her ear. She just nodded in return, knowing she didn't have to say anything.