Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Blue

Julie and Luke walked over to meet Nick after dinner. The petition failed miserably and was voted out in less than a minute. Julie saw Nick standing outside the sunroom in his usual post, telling Luke to stay inside as she went to talk to him. She took the necklace out of her pocket and held it in her hands. They were almost shaky, but she froze herself over like she did at events when she was younger. She walked outside and caught his attention. He bowed, but she wasn't sure if he meant it.

"Hey, Jules," he said to her, standing up straight again. "I heard the petition didn't pass." He sounded disappointed, like Luke guessed he would.

"Yeah, me, too," she said. She watched him shift between his feet. It probably wasn't comfortable to stand in one spot for hours.

"I was really looking forward to being your guard," he admitted to her, crossing his arms and looking down at the dirt. She couldn't lie and say that she did too.

"Hey, Nick," she said to him, making him look up. "Did you get me this necklace?" she held it out to him, gently placing it on his palm. "And put it my room?" Nick looked up at her with a confused face.

"I mean, I sort of got it for you, but I didn't go into your room. I asked Carlos to give it to you."

"Sort of?" Julie raised an eyebrow. What was going on?

"Yeah," Nick said, putting the necklace back in her palm, closing her fingers over it with his hand. "My mom got all the workers to pitch in and get you something nice. I did, too." Julie didn't a powerful urge to cry could hit her so fast. She hadn't gotten a gift in a while that came from people who loved her. It felt like when her mom gifted her things from her teenage years.

"Oh wow," Julie said, staring down at Nick's hand that was still on hers. He didn't pull away, and his hands were cold and haunting. "I didn't know. There wasn't a note or anything, and I didn't even see the necklace until last night."

"We did leave a note. You might have to ask Carlos for help on that one," he said, finally letting go of her hand. "Also, going into your room. I wouldn't do that." Julie knew the Nick she grew up with wouldn't do that, but she wasn't sure about Nick she hadn't talked to in a while since he left for the academy, who she hadn't seen in so long since her mom died.

"I know." Julie forced herself to give him a smile. "I was just checking." She let herself relax in that moment, exhaling what she had been holding in since the night before. No romance there. "Thank you for the necklace. I love it."

"I'm glad," he smiled at her. She said goodbye to him before walking back into the sunroom where Luke was watering a plant. He looked at her innocently and put the watering can back down.

"It felt a little dry," he said, pointing at the dirt. Julie smiled at him before starting to walk out, Luke catching up and walking next to her. It could be the largest hallway in the world, and they'd find a way for their shoulders to bump into each other. "So?" he asked.

"The necklace was from him and the workers. His mom and them."

"Really?" he asked. He sounded surprised.

"Yeah. And he didn't go into my room. He asked Carlos to leave it."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Julie and Luke walked upstairs to their shared hallway where Reggie was keeping post outside. He was playing a game on his phone when he saw Julie and bowed to her. "You don't have to bow to me," Julie said to him.

Reggie put his phone away and said, "Sorry. Force of habit."

"It's fine," Julie smiled at him. "I'm going in to see Carlos." Reggie nodded and moved out of her way. Julie knocked on the door, and she heard Carlos scream some words she couldn't make out. She walked in and found him playing a game on his laptop.

"What's up?" he asked her, not looking away from his game. She walked over to his bed, not realizing Luke and Reggie were following her until she noticed their shadows on the floor. She guessed they'd be listening in now.

"Did Nick ask you to give me this necklace?" she asked, holding the necklace up. Carlos carried a huge smirk on his face the moment she said Nick's name.

"Yeah. I played a little Cupid."

"Well, it was from all the workers, not just him," she said. "Where's the note that came with it?" she asked. Carlos pointed at his dresser for a second before continuing to click away at his game. She rolled her eyes and walked over, wondering how it was that his life was so easy compared to hers. "Why didn't you just hand these to me like a regular person?" She put the note in her pocket for later. It was sealed in a blue envelope and For the Princess was written on front.

"To mess with you," Carlos shrugged. He was still a little brother. Julie walked over and messed up his hair, making him laugh and push her hand away. "Do you want to go to my baseball game next Saturday?" he asked her, smiling. Julie could not stay mad at someone who seemed so small and looked so much like their mom. Carlos seemed to be the reason she was able to forgive people so easily.

She asked, "What time is it at?"

"Does it matter?" he asked. "You don't do anything all day."

Reggie asked from the back, "Do you guys not go to school?"

"No," Carlos said. "We can't read."

Julie rolled her eyes and looked at Reggie. "Yes, but they put a halt to our studies because... everything," Julie said, glancing at Carlos. He went back to smashing keyboard. "Tell me what time your baseball game is so I can leave."

"Two," he told her.

"Okay, we'll be there," Julie said, including Luke in the mix. Not like she had a choice not to. She walked out of the room, Luke following her across the hallway and stopping at her door. Before she closed it, she motioned him to walk in with her hands, and he did. She wondered how much trouble they'd both get in for him being in her room so often now. She felt bad leaving him alone, especially now that they were friends.

She sat down on her couch, Luke sitting down at the opposite end. She took out the letter and held it in her hands, staring at the handwriting. She knew it was Nick's mom who wrote it. She let herself cry, Luke standing up in panic. "Princess," he said, looking around the room with his head making sharp turns. "What's wrong?" He ran towards a table where she had a tissue box and ran back with it to her. He held it out at arm's length, making her laugh. She took one and wiped her eyes.

"I'm fine," she said. "It's just nice to know they love me so much. I love them and everyone in this kingdom so much. I don't want to lose them."

Luke stayed quiet for a moment. He sat next to her and patted her softly on the back and said, "You won't." Julie wanted to believe him more than anything in the world.

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A/N: Back to shorter chapters! Not my favorite one but it kind of closes this awful necklace plot that was supposed to be 60x worse before I rewrote it. See you all Monday! Thank you for reading and for your comments <3