Chapter Text
“Good night, mija.”
Julie paused on the stairs and sent her dad a nervous smile over her shoulder. All through dinner her foot had been tapping an anxious rhythm beneath the table and she’d been sure he would notice and grill her for it, but he never did. Then, when they were doing the dishes with Carlos just a few minutes ago, she’d nearly broken a plate, simply let it slip through her trembling fingers. Thankfully, she’d been holding it over the sink full of soapy water, so it hadn’t actually shattered, but she was still surprised her dad didn’t seem to suspect anything.
“Night, Papi,” she said.
He smiled softly, accentuating the lines around his tired eyes – Julie felt her heart spasm; the last year had been hard on all of them, but her father was beginning to wear the weight of his grief. There was a quiet sigh as he sank into the couch cushions. Julie hesitated, considering for a moment texting Flynn and bailing, joining her dad in front of the TV and curling up against his side like she used to when she was younger, sandwiched between her parents. But it couldn’t be that way anymore. She could barely handle her own pain; she didn’t think she could share in his.
She turned and fled up the stairs. Carlos came out of the bathroom in his bright green dinosaur pajamas. He watched her as she passed, and she saw the way his eyes narrowed suspiciously as she closed her bedroom door behind her. Her little brother was way more observant than their father these days.
Heart pounding, she leaned against the door and exhaled sharply. Was she really about to do this?
Her phone chimed quietly in her pocket. She knew it was Flynn before she even reached for it.
FlynniethePooh: Ready for the best night of your life, Jules?
A soft whoosh and a second message popped up.
FlynniethePooh: I’m outside, by the way.
She took a deep breath and let her head fall back against the door. Her eye caught a flash of color from the trunk of her mom’s things she’d finally gone through that afternoon. The turquoise leather dress called to her as strongly as it had the first time she’d seen it. Then there was the picture she’d found buried at the bottom. Her mother had worn this dress on stage during a performance with her band. Julie wondered how many times her mom had broken the rules, but she knew she couldn’t ask her father.
With a quick, decisive nod, she looked back down at the phone in her hand, and her fingers flew across the screen.
Jewels: Give me fifteen minutes.
She walked to the trunk and reached out almost reverently to pull the leather dress out. She was really going to do this. She was really going to sneak out of her house.
Julie changed into the dress quickly and paired it with a black leather vest with a lot of fringe and did a quick cat eye. Thankfully, her hair still looked decent from this morning – they’d watched a movie in gym this afternoon instead of dressing out.
The window was wide and opened quietly, swinging out so that she could easily step out onto the narrow overhang above the back porch. She hadn’t ever snuck out before, but it seemed simple enough to just reach out and hook her hand around the low-hanging tree branch. It would only be about a three foot drop if she simply dangled there for a second. The thing was, when she’d been plotting this in her mind she hadn’t factored in the tight, restricting dress, or considered how she would manage to snack back in later. She sure couldn’t climb back up the damn tree.
Her only hope was that her dad would be sound asleep when she got back and she could creep in through the kitchen door. He really should be. It would be well after midnight, after all.
“When one door closes,” she whispered, remembering something Flynn had told her once, “you bust through the window.”
She took a deep breath and reached for the tree branch.
Flynn was pacing, dancing really, at the end of her neighbor’s driveway when Julie ran, hunched over, heart racing, to the street. Flynn squealed quietly and gripped Julie’s hands tight in her own, pulling her giggling under the streetlight a few houses down.
“Jules, you look amazing!” Flynn said.
“So do you!” Julie said emphatically. It was true. Flynn was wearing a camo print Sherpa jacket over a yellow and green top with black high-waisted athletic pants and bright sneakers. On anyone else, it may not have been a very cohesive outfit, but Flynn had a way of making anything look effortlessly cool.
Flynn beamed at her, and then pulled her into a hug. “I’m so glad you decided to come! Battle of the Bands is going to be so great.”
Julie smiled into Flynn’s braids. “Too bad Double Trouble couldn’t compete.”
Flynn gasped and flew back, holding Julie’s shoulders at arm’s length. “Did you just… finally approve our band name?”
Shaking her head, Julie rolled her eyes fondly. She and Flynn weren’t really in a band – Flynn was more of a planner than a performer, and Julie… well, Julie wasn’t really much of anything anymore – but they had always talked about themselves as if they actually were a musical duo.
“Come on. We’re going to be late.”