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Once Julie sat she couldn’t help but notice the twinkle in Luke’s eye. “What's got you so happy?”

“Nothing,” Luke chuckled as he looked away. “I'm just really excited to show you what I came up with,” he said with a shrug. Julie smiled to herself and looked down, trying to avoid his gaze. She awkwardly played with her hands while Luke got out his journal and opened it to the most recent page. When he propped it up on the piano stand, Julie couldn’t help but notice the title in bold letters. Perfect Harmony.

Luke noticed her staring at the journal and spoke up. “I-I came up with it today while I was thinking about you. I mean n-not that im like some weirdo who just sits around all day thinking about his pretty bandmate. I mean!-”

“Luke! Just tell me your idea. That is why I came here right?”

“Oh, yea. Well um, when I was thinking about you I started thinking about what a good voice you have a-and then I wrote those lines. But we can scrap it if you want it's ok.”

Julie looked at the journal again and read the lines to herself. Shook me to the core; Voice like an angel; I've never heard before. She felt his eyes on her and looked away. It was like her mind was playing tricks on her, but he looked enchanted. Julie subconsciously moved closer to him and placed her hands on the piano keys. She closed her eyes and imagined Luke singing those lyrics, trying to envision what keys would match. When she opened her eyes again she saw Luke scribbling something down in his journal. He saw her glance over at him so he turned his shoulder to block Julie’s view. Out of curiosity she craned her neck to try and see what he was writing but was only able to see a couple of words.

Bittersweet... girl… love…

Julie quickly turned back to face the piano and pretended she didn’t see what he was writing. She started imagining the chord progression, which caught Luke’s attention. He observed her facial expression while her eyes were closed, a small smile playing at his lips. The soft glow of the sun setting behind them lit up her features and made his heart pound. Luke loved watching Julie when she wasn’t paying attention. He noticed the way Julie’s eyebrows furrowed with passion as she tried to find the right notes. He noticed the way her eyes lit up after performing for a crowd of people, soaking up the applause. He noticed the way Julie’s lips frowned slightly when she got upset. Shaking his head of his thoughts, Luke hovered his hands over the keys and waited for her to find her rhythm. Once he felt she was ready, he played the harmony to her chords. Julie opened her eyes and looked down at his hands.

Luke looked away from the piano to distract himself and said, “Ok um, I think we got the notes down l-lets start working on the lyrics.” Julie nodded and took out pen and paper from her bag.

“So, is this song basically about our friendship?” Julie asked as she quirked her brow in confusion.

Luke looked down at his hands with panic in his eyes and took a shaky breath. “Uh well I was kinda hoping we could, yknow, write about the way we make each other feel.”

This time when Luke looked over at her she didn’t look away. Julie smiled, picking up her pen and writing on the piece of paper with confidence.

Here in front of me; he shines so much brighter; than I have ever seen.

Luke looked over at what she wrote and gave her a toothy grin. He glanced back at his own journal and added his verse to her paper, waiting for her reaction.

As Julie read over the beginning of their song, she realized what he was trying to say. She scratched out “he shines” and replaced it with “they’re shining” hoping he noticed its meaning. Luke’s grin got even wider when he read the annotated line. He placed his hands on the keys trying to calm his nerves as he plays the song for the first time.

Step into my world

Bittersweet love story 'bout a girl

As he sang this line he glanced over at Julie with such adoration written on his face that Julie couldn’t suppress the giggle that formed in her throat.

Shook me to the core

Voice like an angel

I've never heard before

Just as he finishes his verse, Julie jumps in to sing her part. She stares at him as she does so, signaling to him just how true these lyrics are.

Here in front of me

They're shining so much brighter

Than I have ever seen

Life can be so mean

But when he goes, I know he doesn't leave

Luke shifts impossibly closer to her once she finishes her verse so he could reach the pen and paper. Luke felt his heart beating out of his chest so hard that he swore Julie heard it. Trying to focus on finishing the song, he clears his throat and straightens his posture. Julie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and let the lyrics flow out of her with ease. Luke watched her as she wrote, her brown eyes glimmering in the faint sunlight that poured in from behind. She bit her lip in concentration as she wrote the chorus of the song, scribbling across lines that she felt didn’t fit. Once she felt content with what she had, her focus shifted and she looked up at Luke expectantly.

“How come this is so natural to you?” Luke questioned, warmth radiating off his face. “I mean you sat here for like, what, five minutes and you already have a chorus? You’re amazing!”

Julie’s eyes crinkle as she smiles up at him, making eye contact. “Luke, without you I probably wouldn't be sitting here at the piano creating something so real. You pushed me to new limits when we first met and for that I am so grateful.”

She put her hand on her heart and whispered, “You make me a better writer, Luke.”

All Luke could do was stare in complete awe of Julie.

Grinning from ear to ear he breathed, “We make each other better.” They sat like that for what felt like forever, staring at each other in the gentle glow of sunlight until one of them broke the spell.

Julie took a short breath and said, “We should, um, practice the song. Y'know just to make sure it’s perfect.”

“Uh, y-yeah, you’re right. From the top?” Julie smiled at him and nodded, hovering her hands over the keys ready to play. Once she played the first set of chords, they were hypnotized. They belted each lyric while they gazed at each other, such intimacy oozing from one another. When they finally finished the song, both breathless and proud of what they accomplished, they sat in silence immersed in the moment.

Luke finally broke the silence saying, “That was, wow.”