Luke's P.O.V.

Despite what happened last night, I still had vocal training. The breeze coming through the window was as soothing as the dim lights shining on me. Alex was standing in the corner. His spiky haired pointed down along with his mouth. He wasn't in the best of moods. 

"Luke, what do you want me to do?" He looked past me. "I can't just snap my fingers and bring Maddy back."

Jackson stepped into the small booth, throwing his bag over an old stool. 

"Let's get this cracking!"

"Alright, come on." I grabbed the nearest headphones and stood near the microphone. 

Music fills the air without effort, like the waves filling holes in beach sand; the sound rushing in and around every person in the room. Alex reacts to the beat, swaying back and forth to the rhythm, but always keeping the beats in check. A lively tempo can lift us up, elevates the spirit, we all move to dance, whilst a slow one can relax the mood. Before the notes filled the air every person was an island, with all the same tidal flows and washing up against the shore like a beast. This is what it means to make music. 

Alex started clapping all of a sudden. "Okay, that's a wrap. We should be having rehearsals like this more often."

Jackson and I agreed, nodding.

♪♪♪

Jackson and I decided to leave Alex with any issues that needed to be fixed This included the situation with the new album. Lunch seemed to be calling us for now. Seafood was on our menu. 

Once we were seated in the small Italian restaurant, my mouth began to water. The decorations weren't all that good, but I could literally smell the food from here. 

A waitress sauntered into my line of vision. Her glasses were clouded, making it hard to look directly at her. Jackson ordered for me while I leaned in my chair. After about twenty minutes, our food came. 

I licked his fleshy lips and grabbed a handful of oily h’ors devoures. They were little shrimps, fried to a crisp. I placed a pile of shrimp on his plate and drenched them in creamy, sweet sauce.  My  hand clenched the oil soaked shrimp as I stuffed them into my mouth. I licked his fingers, smeared with cream and oil. I crunched another handful of crispy shrimp and snatched a large chicken leg and a large steak. I saturated them in the rich, sweet sauce and popped a large chunk of steak into my mouth. The steak was too thick to chew with my mouth closed, not that concerned me. Once I finished,  I dabbed my mouth with the napkin before speaking. 

"Ya' know, I don't think Maddy's going to stay with us for long." My eyebrows furrowed. "I apologized..." 

Jackson shook his head, dropping his fork. "Luke, you fucked up this time and you know it. Some half-assed apology isn't going to fix it." His eyes seemed to be focused on something else. "He has this messed up disease that makes it hard for him to get better. He talks like my Pops. It's disgusting" Jackson bit his lip, making a face. "ST3LLAR is going to end because of you."