Nothing to Lose | Luke Patterson

Chapter Eleven

"Whatcha writing?" Reggie sang, plopping down into the spot on the couch next to me; I sighed, shutting my journal closed.

"Just random ideas, it's nothing," I brushed off.

"C'mon Charlie," Alex said, moving to sit where Reggie and I were, "You're the best songwriter I know; it's definitely not nothing." I stayed quiet; being complimented always made me feel uncomfortable, "so, how'd you pick that up anyway?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly, "Everything else is still hard, but my journal is like my keyboard; I can pick it up super easily." The boys nodded, and a comfortable silence came over us; I opened my book again, turning it away slightly so Reggie couldn't peer over at the lyrics.

"You're seriously not going to tell us what you're writing," Reggie groaned after a couple of moments of silence.

"Seriously, it's a work in progress," I tell him, "I promise when it's finished, you guys will be the first people I show." Reggie smiled and nodded, satisfied with my answer. I sighed and began flipping through the pages of my journal; I couldn't write with Alex and Reggie practically watching me. I continued flipping, stopping when I noticed one of my songs had been torn out.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked; he must have noticed my confused expression; both he and Reggie leaned in to look at my journal. "Who would do that?"

"I don't know," I mumble.

"Do you know what song it is?" Reggie asks; I flip through the book once more, trying to decipher which one of my songs was missing.

"Bright," I answer after a couple of moments, "It's one Luke and I wrote together for the band, but we never got to record it." I stare down at the page sadly; I remember the day Luke and I wrote this song; it was the day we booked our gig at the Orpheum.

"Maybe Luke has it?" Alex suggests, smiling down at me, hopefully.

"Yeah," Reggie agreed, "why don't you ask him?"

"You're right," I told them, standing up from my seat on the couch, "Where is he anyway?"

"He said something about going to the kitchen," Alex shrugged; I rolled my eyes in response, typical Luke when he sets his mind on something he has to do it, even if it's something as small as finding the kitchen.

"Why am I not surprised," I mumbled, poofing into the kitchen; When I got there, I expected to see Luke by himself. Instead, I see Julie and Luke standing by the counter singing together.

"And rise through the night; you and I, we will fight to shine together," Both of them sang; Luke smiled down at her happily, and I felt my heart sink into my stomach; they were singing Bright.

"Go up high," He instructs, gesturing up with his hands.

"Bright forever," They harmonize together, both of their voices blending perfectly.

"Thanks," Julie smiles up at Luke; he bites his bottom lip, smiling down at the girl. I feel a wave of emotions come over me; I don't know whether to be upset or annoyed; walking in on your long time crush singing with another girl is hard enough, but them singing a song you wrote together; now that's a whole new level of pain. "Charlie, hey!" Julie spots me before I can poof away.

"Hey," I greet the two of them awkwardly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Oh, no, you're not interrupting," Julie reassured me, "Luke was just showing me this song he wrote," I nodded my head, stepping closer to the pair.

"Charlie actually helped write it," Luke informed Julie, smiling over at me; I stared blankly at him in return. "She wrote almost all of sunset curves songs."

"Wow, you're really talented," Julie complimented; I smiled appreciatively at her in return; I wanted to be upset with Julie, but she was making it difficult, and besides, it's not like she knew about my crush on Luke or that he showed her our song without my permission.

"Julie's gonna sing this for her teacher tomorrow," Luke told me; My heart dropped slightly; she was going to sing our song.

"Well, your teacher would be crazy not to let you back in," I told her honestly; Julie smiled at me appreciatively. "Well, I should probably head back to the studio," I told them both, "goodnight Julie." I poofed back into the studio before either of them could reply.

"Did Luke know where you're song was?" Alex asked me; I nodded my head, sitting back down on the couch. "Okay, and..."

"He gave it to Julie," I shrug my shoulders, trying to act as if it doesn't faze me.

"Charlie," Alex mumbled sadly, reaching forward to touch my hand comfortingly.

"I'm fine," I tell, pulling my hand back; Alex and Reggie share a worried glance, both unsure of what I'm saying, "Seriously, it's just a song." Reggie nodded, believing my lie. While Alex just stared at me with a concerned expression.

"You would tell us if it bothered you, right?" Alex asked; I sighed at how persistent he was.

"Of course," I said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible; Alex nodded and smiled warmly at me, finally believing me. The thing is, it did bother me, but I knew if I told them, it'd become a whole thing. So, I did what I usually do, bury my feelings, and get over it.

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Bit of a shorter chapter today, but I hope you're all enjoying Nothing to Lose so far!