Our Connection • • Julie and The Phantoms

Chapter 13: "Confidence"

I decide to spend the night with Julie after our failed date. The boys as if we could stay in the studio. It was cute how close they'd grown to us. I sit beside Reggie on the couch. "Could you teach me to play the bass?" I ask him, his face immediately lighting up. He runs over to grab it before bringing it back over. I smile at how excited he is.

"Okay, than you place your fingers right here.." He shows me. I nod and listen to him before he plays it a little. He passes it over to me. I place my fingers where he showed me. "More like.." Luke reaches his hand over to grab mine gently and moves it further to the left. I look up at him. He smiles softly at me. My face turns red and I look away from him. Reggie directs me a little more before I start playing the notes he showed me. "Perfect!" He claps his hands together which makes me laugh softly.

"Next is Luke's acoustic guitar." I say, looking at Luke. He motions his hand as if to tell me to come over to him. I give him a confused look before walking over. "Sit here." He scoots back and gives me on a tiny bit of room on the couch between his legs. "Uh, I don't know." I scratch the back of my neck. He gives me a little pout before I give in and sit down. Luke wraps his arms around me as an acoustic guitar appears in his hands. I jump a little, not expecting it. He chuckles softly in my ear which sends a small shiver down my spine. He takes my hands and places them where they belong. "There we go." He says quietly. I get more comfortable and lean my back against his chest. He smiles more. Luke explains how easy it is to play, using his hands to guide mine to play a soft tune. I couldn't believe I was actually doing it. It was mainly Luke but it was still fun. He starts to sing softly and soon after I join in with him. We continue to play and hadn't realized Julie, Alex, and Reggie had stopped what they were doing to watch us. Julie smiles as she knows music is how we both bond closer.

"Told you they like each other." Alex says quietly to Reggie. "I told you that." Reggie says, looking up at him. "No you didn't." Alex shakes his head at him. "What're you guys talking about?" Luke asks, sitting up a bit. I move slightly in his arms. "Nothing." They both say at the same time. Luke glares at them a little. "Fine, Alex says you guys like each other and I was trying to prove I said it first." Reggie explains, nodding his head. My face heats up more than it ever could. I knew Luke was blushing as well. Alex face palms and Julie laughs softly. "If you two would grow some confidence and admit it, we wouldn't be having this conversation." She says, giving us a look. I hide my face from them and move to stand up. "Y/n, they're joking." Luke says and looks up at me. I walk over to the window and look outside. He sets his guitar down before walking over to me.

"But they're right." I look at him. He gives me a confused look. "Luke, I like you. A lot." I say quietly and play with my fingers. "You do?" He stares at me in a bit of disbelief. I nod and smile a little. He quickly wraps his arms around me to pick me up and spin me around. I giggle softly and hold onto him. "I like you too. You wouldn't believe how much I like you." Luke says quickly once he sets me down. I laugh at him more and nod. I cup his face gently. "I'm glad." I tell him. He smiles and leans into my touch.

"The movie is starting lovebirds." Alex says and grins at us. I smile and take Luke's hand, walking to sit on the couch. He removes his flannel and places it around my shoulders. I smile and cuddle into his side. Mamma Mia begins to play on the tv screen. Alex, Julie and Reggie sit on the floor and sing the songs loudly together. Luke and I lay on the couch. His arm stays protectively around me before I slowly fall asleep. He notices and smiles a little. Luke couldn't believe it. The girl of his dreams was in his arms at this very moment. He felt giddy and happy. He had everything he could ever want. His bestfriends, his band, music, and his girl. His bestfriends were happy. He was actually making wonderful music with Julie and performing them even better with his band. His eyes felt tired as he continued to think about happy he was. He finally falls asleep.

Julie wakes me up the next morning. Luke was gone but so were the other boys. "They went to explore uptown." She tells me. I smile and sit up, Luke's flannel still around me. I couldn't tell if it or the way Luke held me last night made me warmer. Julie and I walk inside her house for breakfast. "Have a good sleepover?" Mr. Ray asks. "Of course." Julie says, smiling at me. I smile softly and nods as he hands us our plates.