Nothing to Lose | Luke Patterson

Chapter Twenty-one

"Charlie!" Julie exclaimed, almost sounding relieved to see me poof in next to her, "You're here."

"Charlie's here?" Flynn asked her friend, waving slightly at me. "Are the guy's here?"

"Not yet," Julie answered, "but they will be; they know how important this is to us," Julie said, gesturing over to me, even though Flynn couldn't see me. I nod in agreement; sure, Luke and Reggie weren't the most reliable, but I knew my brother; he always kept his word, especially when it was towards me.

20 minutes later

Twenty minutes had passed since I arrived at the school dance, and the boys had yet me make an appearance; I sat on a nearby bench, watching Julie as she set up the fake projector.

"Is everybody fired up for Julie and the Phantoms?" Flynn yells into her mic; Julie looks up to me, her face scrunched up in confusion; I just shrug my shoulders in response; this was the first I was hearing of our new band name. "Great! Keep that fire 'cause that's later. we're a bit behind schedule, but don't worry, just enjoy these mind-blowing beats." Flynn ran off the stage, smiling proudly at her best friend.

"Julie and the Phantoms?" Julie asked; I stood up from the bench, going to stand near the two girls.

"I had some free time in French class," Flynn shrugs nonchalantly, "you better like it because I registered it on Insta, Snapchat, Twitter..." Flynn rambled. "Charlie, I'm tried adding your name into the title, but it was kinda long, so I hope you understand."

"Can you tell her I like it," I tell Julie, shaking my head at her friends overdramatic rambling.

"Charlie likes it, so do I." Julie reassured her friend, "but we'd love it even more if the rest of the Phantoms were here." Before Flynn can respond to her friend, she points behind us, and I turn to see a blonde boy in a fedora walking backstage.

"Nick!" Julie exclaims; I glance between the two of them, chuckling at Julie's awkward greeting. "Look, Flynn; it's Nick." Julie turns to speak to Flynn, but she is already back on stage.

"Thanks for the introduction," He says; I cringe lightly, is this how people flirt in 2020?

"So, you made it." Julie points out.

"Wow," I mumble, causing Julie to glance over at me slightly, "I couldn't tell."

"Wouldn't miss it," Nick smiled. "The truth is, I can't wait to see you play again."

"Ooh, does someone have a crush on Julie?" I tease her; Julie glared at me, her way of telling me to stop teasing.

"Your song has been stuck in my head for weeks." The boy continues.

"Well, someone should let it out." Julie joked, her eyes widening slightly when she realized her joke was more awkward than funny; Nick just looked at her, confused, "I don't know what that meant either."

"This is a train wreck," I mumble quietly, running my fingers through my hair.

"I like your shoes," Nick compliments, changing the subject; I nod in approval, complimenting her when things get awkward, smart move.

"Thanks, I just like to doodle on them sometimes," Both of them take steps, standing closer to one another.

"I can't tell if the crowd is getting restless or bored," The blonde girl that I had learned was named Carrie walked backstage, breaking up the moment between Julie and Nick. "Never a good sign."

"If I could touch people, the first thing I'd do is hit her," I say to Julie, glaring at the annoying blonde girl.

"Oh, hi, Julie!" The blonde girl greeted, pretending she hadn't seen Julie in the first place, "Got a new bag?"