See The Light 💜✨

xv.

A couple weeks later, Melody convinced me to be on the planning committee for the Lateran Festival. She said it was because there were limited people this year, but after I got to the venue (a room in the nearly abandoned side of the main Auradon Prep building), I saw that there was more than enough people and I was pretty sure she just wanted me to get out more.

As soon as the entered the room, I noticed everything was collecting dust, Laddie was not here, and Alex was looking as glorious as ever. A good start to a good day, it seemed.

I gravitated towards Alex, whom was sitting on a chair backwards with his arms up on the back of the chair and laying his cheek on his arm while talking to Lucius and Regulus. He seemed to be glowing, but when did he not?

"Jay!" Melody suddenly appeared beside me, putting an arm around my shoulder (she had to step on her tiptoes for it, making me almost laugh but I subsided),"I didn't think you were coming."

"Me? Nah, I definitely wanted to come to this.." I looked around at all the bored-looking people, noticing an unimpressed blonde girl sitting across from Alex who looked quite similar to him,"..fun, festival planning event."

"There's going to be a lot more until the actual event so don't worry, you'll make friends in no time," she tapped my shoulder in a comforting way, backing up a few feet,"Not that I don't like being friends with you..but it's sad how Xander and I are the only ones you hang out with."

"What? I hang out with a lot of people.."

Even though most of them being VKs that I've barely known for a few months...

"Hanging out with childhood friends doesn't count when you're in a new environment!" She points to a couple of people, spouting names that I don't retain before pointing to the blonde girl,"Well..I'd introduce you to Angelica but.."

"But?" Curiosity got the best of me as I noticed her talking to Lonnie and Jane, two girls I had become acquainted with awhile ago.

"She's Xander's sister."

Surprise painted my face despite noticing she looked like him earlier,"Oh?"

"Yeah and I don't think you need more friends attached to us," she shrugged but pointed to a guy I recognized from my first day here,"What about Doug?"

"So, why isn't Laddie here?" I diverted the subject, not wanting to socialize with other people just because Melody wanted me to,"I would think he'd take any opportunity to beat me up at any place, any time."

Melody didn't laugh, she looked solemn and almost sad,"He said that he didn't want to cause anything so he didn't come."

My face fell.

"To be honest.." she sighed, looking over at the laughing Alex as he looked like he was having the time of his life,"I know you don't want to hear this, but Laddie has this idea in his head that he's going to ruin Xander and I's lives, one way or another. He says that he ruins everyone's lives so he just..keeps his distance sometimes."

I almost felt bad for the guy, distancing himself from his best friends even though I knew there was no possibility they wouldn't forgive him for anything. Melody and Alex were ride-or-die for Laddie, it was almost hard to imagine that he could do something so unforgivable that it could ruin their lives.

"Today is one of those days. He hasn't even come out of his dorm for classes, he says he's writing lyrics but I know that he just cries most of the day."

I wasn't sure why Melody was telling me this. To make me like him more? To understand him more? To get why he was such a jerk all the time?

But then I remembered when he told me a couple weeks ago that he wouldn't cause anymore fights, he wouldn't hurt me anymore because it would hurt Alex.

"I won't fight you anymore like before but, just know, I will be your living nightmare because I will protect him and Melody with my life."

I shivered. Melody raised an eyebrow.

"Alrighty, everyone," Melody and I both turned to Jane, whom had stood up to announce something,"I think we should start the first meeting for this year's Lantern Festival."

As the meeting went on, I decided to sit next to some random kid I had never met before and pretend I was listening to canoe colors but, in reality, I just stared at Alex as much as I could without getting caught.

•

After the meeting, Alex, Melody, and I headed to the room where the band practiced. Melody had mentioned that Laddie wouldn't be at this practice when we had left the committee, saying he was having one of his bad days. I didn't feel bad for feeling relieved that he wouldn't be there despite Melody explaining why he was having a bad day.

But, to our surprise, when we opened the doors to the practice room, we saw Laddie setting up his bass guitar to the right of Alex's drum set.

"Laddie?" Melody almost screeched.

He looked up, dark, puffy eyes that had shown he had been crying most of the day hidden behind a fake smile,"Hey, Mellie."

"I thought you weren't coming," Alex went up to his drums, picking up a drumstick and twirling it in his slender fingers gracefully.

"Well, I wasn't," Laddie didn't even look over in my direction..and, surprisingly, not acting like he usually does with engines on full blast and heat blaring,"But, as I was...writing lyrics-"

Melody subtlety rolled her eyes.

"-I actually wrote a song. And wrote the sheet music."

Laddie went to his bag, plucking out papers and handing Alex and Melody one. Then he walked over to me, surprisingly, a pep in his step as he handed me a paper as well. I gave him a quizzical look but he turned away before I could see his reaction.

I looked down at the paper, reading the song title and getting more confused.

Stella.

I started reading the lyrics and I was almost impressed. Laddie was a great songwriter, making syllables and rhymes that wouldn't normally go good together absolutely breathtaking.

Once we all finished reading it, Alex looked up and said,"Let's do it."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Laddie put the guitar strap around his shoulder.

"Laddie, how did you come up with this?" Melody looked like she was more concerned over the fact he had written something so complex and beautiful than the fact he didn't just cry all day like she said he would.

Laddie shrugged, looking smug as he smirked,"I'm just good like that."

They all got into position and it wasn't too long before Alex goes,"One! Two! Three!" and they're off.

Laddie had given himself a generous amount of lyrics, singing most of the song with his husky, raspy singing voice that normally didn't go well with the style of their songs..but it fit perfectly for this one.

But, as I listened, it made me realize that the song was about more than just the stars above, universes where soulmates exist, pretty girls and even prettier boys..it was about Laddie. The song had so many algorithms for self destruction, chaos, ruin, and the possibility of becoming someone that he wants to be.

Of being someone that somebody could love.

Once the song ended, I saw Laddie glance at Alex, hope filling his eyes. But, all Alex did was give Laddie a thumbs up and smiled like it was nothing new.

Then Alex looked over at me in a completely different way; eyes shining, teeth glinting, and dimples showing.

That's when I knew that Alex was going to like me in a way that he would never like Laddie, one day. That Laddie's dream of Alex falling for him was the slimmest it had ever looked.

And I had never felt so alive than the moment Alex and I's eyes connected and his were glowing like neon.