STARDUST ⭑ LUKE PATTERSON

twelve and a half

"WHAT'S UP WITH YOU?" Reggie mutters, watching Luke furiously put on his jacket, shoving his hood over his head of sweaty hair. Reggie, Alex, and Bobby were lounging on stage, tuning their instruments as they waited for Luke and Emmy.

    When Luke storms onto the stage, aggressively mumbling words to himself, and also without Emmy, they are suspicious.

    "Nothing," Luke snaps. "What's up with you?"

    Reggie raises his arms in surrender, not wanting to poke at a sleeping bear.

    "Where's Emmy?" Bobby asks while he places his guitar on its stand.

    "Wouldn't you like to know."

    Bobby scoffs, muttering something about getting street dogs without him. As he stalks off stage, Luke leans down to tie his shoes. Alex and Reggie instantly look over their shorter friend, eyes wide with absolute panic.

    "Are you okay?" Alex asks. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

    "There's nothing to talk about."

    "Do you want us to get Emmy-"

    "No!" Luke shouts, causing Reggie to flinch. His eyes soften, shaking his head in apology and ruffling his own hair messily. "Sorry," he says quieter. "I just..." Luke trails off, wiping his sweating palms on his jeans.

    "Did you and Emmy fight?" Reggie asks, voice laced with panic. His parents fought a lot. Luke and Emmy arguing would feel just the same.

    "Yes. No. I don't know." Luke throws his head back in a groan, asking them if they could just go eat so they're back in time for their set. Alex and Reggie, although worried about Emmy, nod in understanding, grabbing their jackets.

    On their way out, they spot a girl no younger than them working at a table, wiping it down. Her black hair was tattered, like it was once done, but ruined with stress and frustration.

    Bobby was talking to her, the three flocking to him before making an exit. She smiles tiredly at them, eyes rimmed with red. "You guys are really good," she compliments.

    All the boys introduce themselves, Reggie handing over their demo and a t-shirt. She, Rose, thanks them, but her smile doesn't meet her eyes. With a salutation, the meat eaters of the band leave the building, passing the fans queued up for their set.

    "She reeked of tequila," Alex says, Reggie agreeing.

    "She was nice though," Reggie adds.

    Luke walks past them a little too quickly, leaving the other two behind, more confused than ever. Despite his mood swings, they continued their conversation. Luke huffs and puffs. By the time they were eating, he was slapping on his condiments with such force, the relish splattered against the car battery.

    "Dude," Alex gawks at him.

    Luke rolls his eyes, nodding towards a couch in the alley.

    The three of them take a seat, Luke leaning his head on the back of the coach with a tired sigh. "Are you mad at Emmy or something?" Reggie inquires.

    Luke squeezes his eyes shut. "No," he admits, head coming back up. "I'm mad at myself."

    "I'm sure if you and Emmy just talk about it-"

    "No. There's no way I deserve a second chance after...yeah. I don't want to think about it. I want to talk about how our lives are gonna change tonight," Luke redirects.

    Alex and Reggie share a worried look, but both nod to one another in understanding. Emmy is a touchy subject. Luke's not going to budge.

    "Yeah it is!" one of them agrees, allowing Luke to take his mind off of whatever happened in that dressing room.

    "With this performance, we're gonna be touring the world. Just us boys."

    Once again Alex and Reggie look to each other.

 "Eat up, guys," Luke forces a smile. "We got years of success in front of us."