Nothing to Lose | Luke Patterson

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I wandered around Julie's school for a little while, having no luck finding the Hispanic girl; I almost give up until I hear music coming from the gymnasium. I poof in, finding a group of students dancing, all dressed in black. I spot Julie and Flynn instantly, both dancing with their partners. Nick stares at Julie in awe, while she just smiles uncomfortably, clearly wanting nothing more than to finish their routine; I squint slightly in confusion; last time we spoke about it, Julie liked Nick, had she finally realized he wasn't that great?

"Wow," I could hear Nick exclaim loudly, once their performance was over, "we killed that partner." He held his hand out to Julie, and she awkwardly high-fived him. I chuckled lightly, poofing next to the duo.

"Hi Jules," I greet her; she jumps slightly, not expecting me to show up in her dance class.

"That was great," She tells Nick unenthusiastically, "will you excuse me?" before Nick has the chance to respond, Julie walks away, gesturing for me to follow. Her best friend notices Julie walking out and follows as well, thinking Julie was gesturing to her; Julie leads us into an empty rehearsal room, shutting the door behind us. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Flynn asks, glancing around the room, "you gestured for me to follow."

"Not you," Julie shakes her head, "Charlie."

"Charlie's here," Flynn exclaims; Julie nods, pointing to the spot next to Flynn, "Hi!"

"I wanted to ask you something," I inform Julie; she nods, gesturing for me to continue, "Do you like Luke?" I blurt out, wanting to get it over with; Julie bursts out laughing, clutching her stomach.

"What'd she say?" Flynn asks, wanting to be a part of our conversation.

"She asked if I like Luke," Julie informs her friend, "I don't, by the way." She says, turning to me; I let out a breath, nodding in response.

"Why'd she think that?" Flynn asks; Julie stares at me, waiting for an answer

"I was just curious," I shrug; Julie stares at me unconvinced, "You seemed really close during our performance last night."

"Oh," Julie nods, her eyes wide in realization, "Charlie, Luke and I are just friends." She reassures me; I glance down at my hands, having a hard time believing her, "I mean it."

"Wait," Flynn gasps, "does Charlie have a crush on Luke?"

"She does," Julie answers her friend, "and she thinks I like Luke, but I promise you, I do not. I only shared the mic with him last night because I knew managers would love it, but I should have thought how it'd make you feel."

"She doesn't like him," Flynn reassured her, "I would know if she did." Julie chuckles, nodding in agreement. "You should tell him how you feel?" Now it's my turn to laugh; that sounds like a terrible plan; I'm awful at sharing my feelings.

"Why not?" Julie frowned, crossing her arms.

"Luke doesn't see me that way," I inform her, "I don't dress cute or act like most girls; to Luke, I am one of the guys."

"What'd she say?" Flynn asks her best friend.

"She said that Luke doesn't see her like that," She repeats what I said, "He treats her like one of the guys."

"Oof," Flynn cringes, "that's tough." I chuckle lightly, nodding, even though she can't see me; I had never admitted to anyone that I felt this way, "but maybe there's something we can do about it." Flynn smirks mischievously, causing Julie and I to share a worried glance, "You don't wanna be treated as one of the guys anymore, right?"

"What are you thinking, Flynn?" Julie asks on both of our behalfs.

"Well," Flynn starts, "what if we give Charlie a makeover?" Julie glances at me, "I already love your style, but maybe it'll get Luke's attention?" Both of them stay quiet, waiting for me to respond.

"I don't know," I tell Julie; sure, I wanted to be noticed, but was changing everything about me really the way to do it.

"She doesn't know," Julie repeats to Flynn.

"C'mon Charlie?" Flynn pouts pleadingly, "if you don't like it, you can change back, but don't you wanna test your theory, see if dressing differently will help him notice you?" I stay quiet, thinking over the younger girls offer; I found it wrong changing everything about me to impress a guy, but I was also curious, would dressing girlier make Luke see me differently?

"I'm in," I sigh, giving in to the girl's idea; sure, it was crazy, but I've got nothing to lose.

"She's in," Julie translates to her best friend; Flynn squeals excitedly, jumping up and down. "Are you sure, Charlie?" Julie asks me; I nod, shrugging my shoulder. Julie smiles in response, clapping her hands together excitedly, "okay, come to my room when I get home from school, we'll tell you what to do for hair and makeup, and you can borrow something of mine."

"This is gonna be so fun," Flynn exclaimed; I chuckled lightly, nodding in agreement.

"and I promise if Luke comes over to me to share a mic or sing with me," Julie continues, looking at me seriously, "I'll ignore him."

"You don't have to do that," I reassure her; sure, I was a little jealous, but I wasn't going to force her away from Luke because of that.

"How about I don't initiate anything, deal?" Julie asks; I nod in agreeance. I'm glad I came and talked to Julie; I should have assumed she only shared the mic with him last night to catch the manager's attention, but I couldn't really think straight last night. "We should probably get back to class," Julie said, nodding to the clock behind us.

"I'll see you later, tell Flynn I said bye," I inform the girl, poofing out of the room; once I get back to the studio, there's only one thing on my mind, I can't believe I'm letting the two of them give me a makeover.

Things are about to get interesting...🙈