CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

HYMN FOR THE WEEKEND — COLDPLAY
Oh, angels sent from up above
You know you make my world light up

REGGIE PETERS HAD many talents. He could play bass like no one's business, make the crankiest person smile even on their worst day, and juggle like he had just run away from the circus. But one talent he kept hidden away was his affinity for art. Ever since he was a kid, he was interested in creating art. As he grew older, he graduated from scribbling on walls to playing bass guitar, but the love he had for visual arts never faded. So in his free time, when he wasn't with his friends or his parents were fighting and he needed a distraction, he took it upon himself to create the new logo for Sunset Curve. It had taken him a few tries, having restarted whenever he felt like it wasn't perfect, but after a while, he finally decided on one that he liked enough to show someone.

"This is really good, Reg," Olivia praised, looking up at him as they walked through the hallways of their school. The final bell had just rung and the halls were full of people. She struggled to stay beside him due to the influx of teenagers rushing to get home, but managed to give him a reassuring look.

The paper in her hand had Sunset Curve written on it in a ragged font. There was a sun drawn above the word 'sunset' and the E of 'curve' mimicked the road the band was named after. It was simple enough to be easily replicated, but unique enough to stand out. It was way better than the cover art CJ came up with. "I love it."

Reggie's eyebrows raised in surprise. He had never shown anyone his art before and while the logo was one of the simpler things he's come up with, he was still nervous about her opinion. "Really?"

"Really." Olivia chuckled and nodded her head. "I think it's perfect."

As they turned the corner and approached the trio standing in front of locker 754, she put the paper in her pocket for safe keeping.

"Oh look, it's my favourite loiterers." Olivia gave Alex, Luke, and Bobby a teasing smile as they moved out of her way. "You know you don't have to wait for me at my locker right? I can meet you at the car."

Luke playfully rolled his eyes, wincing slightly due to his black eye that has yet to heal, and watched as she shoved her books into her backpack. "So we like spending time with you, sue us."

While this was true, this wasn't the reason they waited for her at her locker everyday. Ever since the incident with Jason earlier that week, the boys were worried that he would try and approach her when she was alone. So their simple solution was to keep her within their sights at all time.

Olivia shook her head and shut her locker door. The five teenagers walked side by side down the now empty hallway and made their way to Bobby's car. Today was the last day they would spend painting Sylvia's bakery. The task took longer than they originally anticipated, resulting in multiple trips to the shop after school. But after today, they'd be done and they'd finally get to move their instruments into Olivia's garage.

The ride to the bakery felt shorter than it actually was. The band spent the whole time listening to Bobby and Alex debate whether hot dogs were the better street food than pizza. Their discussion lasted long after they entered the shop and before they knew it, the bakery walls had been finished.

As Bobby, Alex, and now Luke, argued over which food was better, Olivia headed into the back room where the phone was to call her mom. Sylvia was very excited to hear that the walls were done and declared that she was going to come down to see it.

As Olivia walked back to the front of the shop, her eyes landed on a small can of black paint sitting on the counter. An idea sprung into her mind and she took a hold of it. Bobby, Alex, and Luke were too busy bickering to notice her and Reggie walk over to the biggest wall and crouch down with mischievous smiles on their faces.

Their paint brushes dipped into the dark paint and they signed their names in the corner where the front counter met the wall.

Olivia dug into her back pocket and pulled out the piece of paper Reggie had given her a few hours earlier. She handed it to him, only to be met with a look of confusion. She nodded at the wall and encouraged him to paint their band logo above their names.

Olivia and Reggie's silence caught the attention of their band mates and the three boys walked over to see what they were doing. Reggie was finishing up the E in 'curve' when Luke spoke up.

"Damn," Luke whistled, impressed by what he was seeing, "that's way better than the logo CJ came up with."

Bobby nodded. "Wayyy better."

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "This one doesn't look like a five year old drew it."

Reggie looked at them over his shoulder and grinned. "Thanks, I had a lot of time and I figured we needed a new logo anyways, so."

"Looks good, Reg."

Olivia, who was leaning against the wall facing them, held her paint brush out for one of the boys to take. "Your turn to sign your names."

Luke took the brush from her hand and started to write his name right beside hers.

As the beanie clad boy finished, Bobby let out a laugh. "Dude," he said, staring at the monstrosity that was Luke's signature. "You have the worst handwriting I've ever seen on a grown man."

Taking no offence, Luke placed a hand over his heart and tilted his head to the side. "Aw, you think I'm grown?"

"I don't know, Luke," Olivia started, looking at his name on the wall. "Judging from your handwriting, I'd say you were still a toddler."

"Ouch. You know your words hurt, Liv."

"My eyes hurt after trying to read that," Alex added on, taking the brush from him so he could write on the wall. "How do you expect to give autographs when your handwriting looks like that?"

Luke rolled his eyes as Alex handed the paint brush to Bobby. "Can you guys stop bullying me and sign the wall before Liv's mom gets here?"

Almost as if were planned, the front door opened and Sylvia walked in, just catching the end of Luke's question. "Before who gets here?" She asked, giving the five teens a look.

The group looked at each other a moved to cover Bobby who was now signing his name on the wall. "No one!"

They smiled as innocently as they could, but Sylvia saw right through them. Her hand lifted and she wordlessly told them to step aside.

They did as they were told and offered her sheepish smiles as their new band logo and signatures were revealed to her.

They expected the woman to tell them to paint over it, but instead, she placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side. "Aren't you too old to be scribbling on the walls?"

Luke gave her a charming smile and shrugged. "We're still kids at heart."

"Mhm," Sylvia mused, pursing her lips. Her eyes flickered over to her daughter who looked like she was trying very hard to suppress a smile. Her hand fell from her hip and she sighed. "Well, since you painted the place, I guess we can keep it up."

Olivia smiled brightly as the boys high-fived each other. "Nice!"

"A little legacy left behind for when we're rich and famous."

"Very nice, very nice."

Olivia laughed at her friends before turning to her mother. She pointed at their artwork. "You can expect adoring fans to come and take pictures with that wall in a few years, Mom."

Sylvia had no doubt about it, but rolled her eyes playfully as if her daughter's head as in the clouds. She shooed the teenagers away with the wave of her hand. "Yeah, yeah, get out of my shop, the display cases are being delivered in an hour."

The band of five laughed as they headed towards the door. Excitement started to brew once they realized they could start moving into their new practice space.

"Alright," Olivia said, clapping her hands together and rubbing them, "what's the game plan?"

Since Bobby was the one driving, everyone looked to him. He thought about it for a moment. "We'll get all the amps and guitars first, drive them back to Liv's place, then head to Alex's for his drums. Sound good?"

"Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

An hour later, Olivia found herself sitting on the edge of Luke's bed, watching him as he moved around his room collecting various items. They had just finished getting all of Reggie's things and while he didn't need any help carrying his stuff out to the car, Luke certainly did.

Luke's bedroom was the epitome of teenage boy. There were posters of rock bands lining his wall and clothes strewn about the floor. He almost didn't let Olivia come in due to his sheepish embarrassment about the clutter, but she just rolled her eyes and pushed past him, placing herself on the bed and reassuring him that her brother's room was far worse.

She had to admit, the room was very Luke. It was no secret that the boy's thoughts moved faster than his ability to speak, which was probably why he wrote songs like crazy. Her mom always told her 'messy bed, messy head'. Although, that was probably a way of telling her to clean her own room, the saying held true for Luke. One look at the room and you could tell that he wrote more than any poet to walk the earth, the shelf overflowing with journals and his wall covered in scribbled on scrap paper could attest to that.

A small pile of guitar cords started to build on the bed beside her, growing every time Luke tossed one over, and just as Olivia was about to ask why he had to many, the door opened.

"Luke, what did I tell you about putting your coloured hats in with your laundry? Now the whole load is tie-dyed! Oh— Olivia! I didn't know you were here." Emily Patterson stood in the doorway with a laundry basket balanced on her hip and a fond smile on her face.

Olivia gave her a friendly wave. "Hi, Mrs. Patterson," she greeted happily, "I'm just helping Luke grab a few things. We're moving the band into my garage today."

Emily moved further into the room and placed the basket of folded clothes on the opposite end of the bed. She gave the younger girl a look as she turned to her. "Sweetheart, I told you to call me Emily."

"Right." Olivia nodded with a slight laugh. "Sorry."

The older woman placed her hand on Olivia's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "Well, I'll leave you two to it. Maybe while you're doing this, Luke, you can clean up a little?" She shot her son a warning look as she passed him. He waved her off with a promise to do it later. "Just make sure to leave the door open—Oh!" She turned back to Olivia. "Before I forget, you're still coming tomorrow right?"

Confusion spread across Olivia's face. "Tomorrow?"

"Luke asked you about it, didn't he?" Emily looked to her son. "Didn't you?"

Luke, who was rummaging through the bottom drawer of his dresser, gave his mom a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "I was going to ask her later."

Emily's eyebrows raised. "You told me you already asked!"

"Trouble," Luke sang, slightly amused by his mom's exasperation. "Would you like to come over for lunch tomorrow?"

"I'd love to."

Luke gave his mother a look. He knew Olivia's answer would be yes. "See? She'd love to."

"Mhm." Emily pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. Her gaze flickered over to the younger girl and any semblance of false annoyance faded away, only to be replaced by a smile. "See you tomorrow, Olivia."

When Emily left and was down the hall, Luke leaned closer to the open door and shouted, "I love you!"

His shout was only returned by Emily shouting back in a firm tone only a mother could master, "I love you too, stop putting your hats in with your whites!"

Olivia grabbed the pile of coiled cords and pushed off of the bed, grinning at her friend's relationship with his mom. "Come on, headache." She bumped shoulders with him as he zipped up his guitar bag. "The guys are waiting."

The two teens left Luke's house, carrying his instruments and all the accessories needed for it. When they left the house, they were met with Bobby leaning against his open trunk.

"Took you guys long enough," Alex said, leaning out of his open car window.

Bobby took the cables and acoustic guitar bag out of Olivia's hands. "What'd you do?" He carefully placed it in the trunk and pointed to where Luke could put his stuff. "Write a whole album before coming out?"

Olivia walked past him and opened the back door. She shot him a teasing look. "Wouldn't you like to know."

RAE SPEAKS !
Luke @ everyone when they make fun of his handwriting: