The Other Side of Hollywood | Luke Patterson

TWENTY-NINE✨

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.