Alex and Luke; A 'Julie and the Phantoms' AU

Part 7: Make It Up To You

6:04 p.m. Sunday evening

Just passed 6 o'clock, 2 hours since Luke and Alex came fumbling back into the studio. As they finish the song they were playing. Alex looks at the clock, "Guys, I think that's time for me. I really gotta get back." he says with a heavy heart. The guys all nod, understanding, but a little sad they can't have more time. Reggie and Bobby begin packing up their things. Luke turns and looks at Alex who is sitting behind his drum kit, sulking for himself.

"Hey," Luke speaks up in Alex's direction, "I'll take you back on my bike." Alex silently nods. Alex stays sitting on his drums while Luke, Reggie, and Bobby grab the last of their things. They all head out the doors, Luke locking them behind them all. They say their goodnights and Reggie and Bobby start to walk down the drive to their bus stop together.

Luke grabs his bike, turns it around, and sits down. "You... you ready?" he asks Alex. There is no response, so Luke turns his head. Alex is leaning back against the closed garage doors, staring up at the world above them. It's stopped raining. There is now a huge rainbow among the dissipating clouds, the sun is just beginning to set, and the sky has a slight yellow hue. Luke sets his bike back down, walks next to Alex and leans against the doors with him, staring at the array of colors above them.

"I don't want to go home." Alex admits flatly. Both boys let the statement hang there, neither of them needing any further explanation for it. Luke tries to reason, "Alex... your parents will-" he says, but Alex cuts him off. "I don't care about my parents. They don't care about how I feel, why should I care about how they feel." Alex is clearly adamant about this, so Luke doesn't try again to change his mind. He turns to look at Alex, leaning his shoulder on the garage door. "You wanna go back inside? We can hang out in the loft. Spend the night there." he offers. Alex thinks for a second, but gets a better idea. One he feels will make both of them happier.

"Let's go to the beach." Alex insists. Luke is a little shocked at this, "What?" he asks. Alex straightens his posture and turns to look at Luke. "Let's go to the beach. We can just... sit in the sand and... talk and..." he points to the sky in front of them, "ignore everything around us for an hour while we watch the sunset." He finishes, giving Luke a hopeful look.

Luke is apprehensive, not wanting to get Alex in more trouble than he may already be in. "I don't know..." he starts to say, rubbing the back of his neck. Before he can continue, Alex jumps in saying exactly what is necessary to get Luke to agree.

"C'mon, please? Look, I... I asked to go home before we could watch the sunset on the beach during our first, uhm... date... and I... I didn't wanna say anything but I was afraid that things might start to feel too romantic because that wasn't the point of the fake date so I backed out and pretended to be tired and I've felt really bad ever since because we were having such a good time and I just... just, let me make this up to you? Please?" Alex pleads, feeling nervous but not as heavy having told Luke the truth.

Luke's eyes are a little wide. He wasn't expecting to have Alex confess that to him. He looks at the sky, back at Alex, then walks over to his bike and gets on. "Let's go." is all he says. Alex smiles and wastes no time standing on the back pegs, holding on to Luke as they head for the beach.

They spend the whole bike ride quiet, Alex watching the rainbow above them fade into the clouds in time. As they arrive at the beach, the sky is now at peak sunset. They ride right up to the sand and find a spot where no one is around so they can be secluded. Alex hops off the bike and walks down onto the sand. Luke drops the bike, following closely behind the boy. They stand there for a few minutes taking in the vibrant purple, pink, orange, and yellow sight while the sound of the waves surrounds them.

Alex lays down in the sand on his back, closing his eyes. A small smile forms on his face as he feels relaxed, the world around him not mattering so much.