I knew after talking to the boys; I should have headed back to the club for the night; Maya and Willie both deserve an update, and who knows if Caleb is suspicious or not. But it wasn't until really late that Julie left the studio, so I figured I might as well stay the night; Alex and Reggie both told me not to worry; Alex had made plans to see Willie tonight anyway, so he'll let him know everything now. It also meant Luke, and I got some rare time to ourselves, so we layed on the small couch together, my head rested on his chest, his arms wrapped around me securely.

"Do you think the plan is going to work," Luke whispered; neither of us had spoken since the other boys had left; as much as we didn't want to admit it, we knew these were some of our last moments together, we wanted to cherish them, "Do you really think we'll be able to play The Orpheum?"

"I do," I say, running the material of his shirt between my fingers as my hand layed on his chest, "Willie and Maya will be able to get the other band out of the way," Our plan is to get them to open for the band playing tomorrow if we can get the openers out of the way, and then show the people running the venue Julie and The Phantoms, there is no way they'll say no.

"Isn't Caleb going to get suspicious if you're all gone?" He asked, his fingers playing with the end of my hair.

"Hopefully not," I answer; Caleb can be unpredictable, though, and with the boys joining the club at stake. he's been a little extra strict over our whereabouts, "the club doesn't open until evening, so if we get everything done in the afternoon, he shouldn't notice we're gone."

"I wish you could come," Luke mumbled sadly; I hummed in response, I did too, but if I left the club, Caleb would stamp me, and I have zero clues what my unfinished business is; all this time, I thought it was Luke, but we're together now, so it's clearly not him.

"Maybe one day," I say, but I don't really believe it, I think I'll be doomed to spend the rest of my eternity at the club, which didn't always sound bad, but now that I've experienced freedom, I never want to go back.

"What do you think it's like up there?" He asked, to most, he would just sound curious, but I knew Luke well enough to know he was a little bit nervous.

"No one really knows," I say, leaning up, so my hands are resting on his chest, our eyes connected, faces inches away from one another, "but I've always heard there's lots of music," I tell him, Luke smiles at this, "and there are these mansions, with streets paved with gold. It's almost like our world here, but it's always good; no more sadness." I promised; Luke adamantly shook his head, though.

"There has to be a little bit of sadness though," He explained; I furrowed my brows, "you're not there." I'm not too sure how to respond to that, so I don't; instead, I lean in, placing a soft and gentle kiss against his lips.

"That was extremely cheesy," I whisper once we pull apart, a giggle escaping my lips; Luke laughs too, and soon, we're both in fits of laughter, unable to stop ourselves. We spent the rest of the night like this, even when Reggie and Alex got back, I stayed in Luke's arms, and we all talked; about memories from the past, the antics they'd gotten up to before we were reunited, and the positives of the club for me, Maya and Willie. None of us talked about the fact that after tonight, I'd be going back to prison (the club), and they'd be gone, forever.

The Next Morning

"Look, don't worry guys," Alex reassures us as we walk to The Orpheum; I never ended up going back last night; it was my last night with Luke and the boys after all, "Willie and Maya said they'd help get us on that Marquee," I couldn't help but smile at Alex's confidence in my other best friends.

"This is gonna work right," Reggie asked, a nervous expression etched on his face.

"It has to," Luke shrugged, equally as nervous; I squeezed his hand reassuringly, turning to face Reggie.

"It's going to be okay-"I began reassuring him, but before I could finish, the three of them got struck by jolts, causing them to hunch over in pain. My hand instantly makes its way to Luke's back, where I begin rubbing comforting circles. They'd gotten jolted a few times last night, each more painful than the last. It was pure torture watching them go through this; I just wish I could take it all away.

"Hey," Maya's voice called out from behind, "you good?"

"Are you guys okay?" Willie asked; the four of us turned around, the boys wincing in the process.

"Yeah, it's nothing we haven't felt before," Alex replied, rubbing his side; Maya and I share a glance; no one should be used to this kind of pain, "How'd it go?"

"Well, when that opening band wakes up, they're gonna find their bus 200 miles outside of Vegas, with no chance of getting back in time," Willie smirks proudly, fist-pumping Luke's outstretched hand.

"And, I got a new jacket," Maya sang, dramatically turning around; she wore an oversized jacket, with the band logo on it; we all laughed, shaking our heads in amusement, "Which isn't as important, but still very important, in my opinion."

"I agree," Reggie piped in; he hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she's gotten here.

"This means there's probably a promoter upstairs right about now freaking out," Luke informed us, an adorable knowing expression on his face.

"About the jacket?" Reggie asked, furrowing his brows together; all of us stared of us shook our heads, "Oh, about the opener being gone," Reggie nodded understandingly seconds later, "gotcha."

"Nah, this is Hollywood, man." Willie answered Luke, shaking his head, "I'm sure he's being very professional."

"I doubt it," I chimed in, leaning my head on Luke's shoulder playfully, "my bet is he's freaking out, probably crying."

"I'd love to see that," Maya muttered dreamily, shooting me a smile; while we were joking around, Alex and Willie were both sharing a glance, they wanted a moment alone, but both were too awkward to ask.

"Why don't we give Willie and Alex a minute to talk," I suggest, nodding for Maya to come over here; I lead Luke and Reggie a few feet away.

"Don't look," Maya smacked Reggie's arm playfully, "give them some privacy."

"I don't think Luke and Reggie know what that means," I inform her, somewhat teasing but mainly being serious. Luke fakes hurt, holding his hand to his heart, "You're such a dork," I shake my head in amusement; I glance over at Maya to see her peeking over her shoulder, but now with tears brimming her eyes, "You okay Maya?"

"Pfft, me?" She asks, turning to face me, "of course I am," She scoffed, wiping the tear away nonchalantly. I quirk a brow at her; Maya never cried, "They're just so cute, okay? Am I not allowed to tear up at my best friend and the guy he likes being cute?" She asks in an accusing manner; we all laughed at Maya's response, throwing giving them privacy out the window. Alex and Willie held onto one another for a second longer before they pulled apart, Willie saluting him as he skated away.

"Alex, you alright, man?" Reggie asked, the four of us walking over to him.

"Yeah," Alex reassures, turning to face us, "I'm okay."

"Well, thanks to Willie and Maya, panic at the disco needs an opening band," Luke smirks, changing the subject.

"And this is where we leave you," I frown, squeezing Luke's hand; I need to get back to the club; Caleb is going to get suspicious.

"He's on high alert," Maya groaned, rolling her eyes, "we'll just make up some lie that you're considering the club."

"I'll see you tonight, though," I reassure Luke, "I'm not gonna miss your big performance." I pull Luke in for a sudden hug, but he doesn't complain; I just need to feel his arms wrapped around me one last time.

"I probably won't be there," Maya nods awkwardly, allowing the two of us to have our moment, "but good luck," She places a swift kiss on Reggie's cheek before poofing away. All of our eyes widen in shock; not only did a girl kiss Reggie's cheek, but Maya, who claims having feelings was for suckers, was the one to do it.

"Woah," Reggie mumbled, placing his hand on his cheek, "did you guys see that?"

"We did," I laugh, pulling away from Luke, "I'll see you later, okay?" I said; all three of them nodded; and I placed a kiss on Luke's cheek, before poofing back into the club.

"Harper," I cringed at Caleb's voice, he was in my dressing room, I don't want to turn, but when I hear muffled voices, I have no choice; Maya and Willie are both on chairs, tied up, their mouths taped shut, "Nice of you to finally join us."
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^^ Harpers outfit

🤍
This is one of my favourite chapters...
hope y'all enjoyed☺️