Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Full Moon

Luke was a lot happier in Inmarcesible. He looked a lot happier, too, he knew. It was just easier to wake up in the mornings and look in the mirror knowing he was going to see his friends and Julie. He never planned to let them go.Three months into life in the kingdom flew by, and he spent them all surrounded by people he loved.

He called his parents a couple of times a week, always catching them up, and always avoiding his mom's questions of a marriage proposal. He would laugh nervously and tell her it'd be a while before they got to that point. He just knew for a fact Julie was it for him, and he made sure Julie knew.

"There's no one else but you for me, you know that right?" Luke whispered in her ear one night on her balcony. He stood behind her and pulled her back into his chest by the waist. Julie turned her head to the side, Luke pressing his lips on her cheek. He could feel her face move into a smile.

"Is that so?" Julie said to him. She spun into his arms, looking up to give him one of those flirty grins that were only for him. He could stare at her face all day. He put his fingers on her chin to tilt her head up and leaned into to give her a small kiss.

"I swear it," he said to her. "On everything."

Luke had gone to the castle one late afternoon for dinner with Julie and her family. He still couldn't believe Carlos was an inch taller than him, and it made Julie burst out laughing when they first noticed. Of course, she didn't think it was too funny when she saw how small she seemed in a photo between them.

They ate in the smaller dining table in the kitchen where the chairs had dahlias carved in. Luke became more familiar with the room as he ate there with them, the King making it rule to ditch shop talk. He felt like a part of their family. Eating in the same room where Julie's mom did, where she built a space for her family to forget about the glamour on the outside.

"You know," Ray said to Luke. He had a small grin on his face as if he didn't know if he should say what he wanted to say. Julie and Carlos watched him carefully, raising their eyebrow in the same form. They both scoffed when Luke pointed out similarities between each other. "I didn't want you to be her knight for this exact reason."

Luke looked down at his hand on the table and noticed that Julie was playing with the watch around his wrist. Her hand froze when she realized her dad was watching her, too. Julie pulled it away.

"I'm not mad about it," Ray laughed when he noticed how Julie folded her hands together, away from Luke. She was not one for PDA. Luke assumed it was a combination of a princess thing and a personality thing. But her hands always found their way to him, and it was a game he liked to play where he timed how long it took for her to notice it just wasn't them two alone. She always got flustered and if it was bad in front of their friends, it was worse in front of her dad.

Carlos asked, "Were you mad before?"

"I had bigger things to worry about," Ray said. "But sometimes when I had time, it did weigh heavy on my head that my teenage daughter was being followed by a teenage boy all the time. Just a dad thing. Nothing more."

"Wow," Carlos said. He looked at Julie and smiled before telling their dad, "You must've felt horrendous when they were alone in the safe house." The king laughed, almost nervous, as Julie leaned over to pinch Carlos' nose.

"You're terrible," Julie told her brother as he laughed at her.

-

Luke and Julie went to their spot off the cliff. It was night, but it was a full moon. They were sharing a blanket between them, Luke wrapping his arms around Julie and leaning his head on her shoulder. It was their default way to be.