#sprkbright

               HE’D BEEN WRITING all day. He wasn’t in a hurry, per se, but he also hadn’t had much of anything else to do. Julie had been at school, Luke had been haunting his parents — and each time he did, he came back a little fuller, a little better; Reggie couldn’t fault him for that — and Alex had been secreting himself away to see Willie, to try to help him out after the debacle that had left them all in Caleb’s crosshairs. Ray had worked in the office instead of at home that day, needing to take a couple of meetings with some clients, and Carlos had had a half-day at school, but that meant he was spending the night at Tia Victoria’s, forcing her to watch some movie with bright lights and way too much action, probably.

All that had left him alone, but not necessarily lonely. He just didn’t have plans like everyone else did. 

So when Julie got home before anyone else did, Reggie looked up and grinned, patting the spot next to him on the piano bench where he’d been working. Around him was a small orchestra of instruments he’d called out of the void or wherever it was his instruments lived when he wasn’t using them. 

@sprkbright​   asked:        "       💬      ”

❝        ⸺        what   do   you   remember   about   your   mother ?      ❞  

IF  JULIE  IS  BEING  HONEST  , about  half  of  the  things  that  come  out  of  luke’s  mouth  are  met  with  her  sarcasm.  call  it  a  defense  mechanism,  or  maybe  just  a  way  to  keep  from  seeming  so  EAGER  all  the  time.  (  it  had  worked  with  nick,  hadn’t  it?  the  moment  she  was  unavailable,  he  seemed  INTERESTED.  )  regardless,  it  was  a  comfortable  means  of  communication  between  them.  trading  quips  back  and  forth  that  put  them  into  a  careful  dance,  never  too  close,  but  always  within  striking  range.  even  at  her  most  vulnerable,  there  was  the  safety  of  being  able  to  laugh  it  all  off,  turn  away,  go  back  inside.

until  he  looks  at  her  like  that,  and  julie  feels  the  air  knocked  out  of  her  lungs.  so  sincere  that  she  almost  thinks  he’s  still  joking.  but  he  isn’t  laughing.  maybe  the  joke  is  on  her,  then. julie  imagines  the  options  above  her  head  like  a  character  in  carlos’s  video  games: run  away  and  ask  more.  she  knows  which  one  she  wants  to  choose,  but  the  choice  betrays  her  as  she  opens  her  mouth.

“ what  are  you  so  afraid  of  saying? ”

          Luke had been been spending the entirety of his post-mortem existence hiding from his feelings. At first, it was intentional. At first, he was mostly just confused, scared, and miserable. How was he supposed to cope with his band missing their shot at the big time? How was he supposed to processes the fact that his mom would never be able to hear his songs on the radio? To forgive him? To forgive herself? At first, it was just dark. It was just nothingness. Nothingness with the accompaniment of the desperate sobs of one of his closest friends. He didn’t have a choice but to hide from it all.

          But then, suddenly, out of the nothingness came a somethingness. There was light, and sound, and air, and gravity, and a voice -- a scream! And before he knew it, he had his music back. They all had their music back -- and, yeah. Things were still terrifying. Things were still confusing. Shadows of that nothingness from before still loomed over him, threatening to engulf him if he turned back to face them. So hiding became a habit. Burrowing himself in his music like he had when he was alive. Making it the only thing he’d admit to caring about.

          Then he realized he couldn’t just keep telling himself he wasn’t afraid. He couldn’t shut his fear out without shutting all his other feelings out with it. Because with his fear came love. The fear of losing something he loved. The fear of losing her.

                    “  oh  ...  ”  she’s  not  sure  if  julie  actually  means  what  she’s  saying,  or  if  it’s  some  offhand  little  comment.  amber  eyes  flicker  up  to  scan  julie’s  face,  because  even  if  they  drifted  apart  over  time,  (more  like  carrie  threw  julie  out  of  her  life,  which  she  regrets  now  because  she  misses  her  best  friend)  she  could  still  tell  how  julie  was  feeling  based  on  the  look  on  her  face.  the  other  girl  had  always  been  so  easy  to  read,  a  type  of  almost  innocence  that  carrie  had  wanted  to  protect  from  the  start.

                    when  julie  was  ten,  that  was  before  her  mother  had  passed  away,  which  definitely  hit  a  little  too  close  to  home  for  carrie’s  liking.  her  expression  softened,  walls  slowly  falling  down,  because  julie  had  always  been  able  to  do  that.  when  julie  was  ten,  carrie  and  her  were  still  friends.  and  oh,  carrie  missed  that.  

                    she  clears  her  throat,  fingers  going  to  fidget  with  the  soft  hem  of  her  skirt.  “  well,  uh,  me  too.  ”