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𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧

ＣＨＡＰＴＥＲ  ＴＷＥＬＶＥ:
just for a moment

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IT HAD BEEN at least a week since their performance of Finally Free, and it was safe to say that Emilia's life was slowing back down. After Ray had pulled them out of the restaurant, he told Julie he wanted her to focus more on school and that Emilia and Apollo should do the same. The twins' parents had left again the next morning (what a surprise) without even telling them that they were leaving this time. Emilia hoped they had fun at whatever little performance they would see next. She could honestly care less.

Emilia now stood at her locker at school, gathering her books for the next couple of classes. Finally, just as she went to close the door, two hands tickled her sides. Emilia squirmed and turned to see who it was. Of course, it was none other than Luke laughing at her, looking undoubtedly good in his purple corduroy shirt. She rolled her eyes and smacked his shoulder.

"Don't do that, you jerk," Emilia complained, shutting her locker door.

The other people in the hall turned to look at her weirdly. Emilia had completely forgotten that they couldn't see him. She gave them an awkward smile and ducked her head back down, picking at a loose string on her blue sweater.

"Pretend you're on a phone call," Luke told her. "Julie's idea."

Emilia nodded. She pulled her phone from her pocket and raised it to her ear.

"What's up?" Emilia asked, staring up at him.

"I already talked to Julie, but I wanted to confirm it with you, too," Luke began. "For tonight's performance, we were thinking about Edge of Great, yet another Emilia and Luke original."

Tonight's performance. Ray — with the help of Flynn — had set up a garage party where he would tape the band playing and post it on YouTube since he felt guilty for dragging them away from that manager.

Emilia smiled. "Yeah, definitely. I love that song. And you said already talked to Julie? Is she cool with it?"

"I think so, we really didn't get a chance to talk much," Luke revealed. "She was focused on Apollo coming over to her and talking about their dance performance."

Emilia's eyes widened. She peered over Luke's shoulder to see Apollo and Julie standing next to Julie's locker. Both of them had large smiles on their faces and laughed every once in a while. Emilia could feel the sparks radiating off of them from here.

She slapped Luke's arm. "Oh my God, is it gonna happen?"

His eyebrows knit in thought. "Is what gonna happen?"

"The day that I've been waiting for ever since that day at Trevor Wilson's house when I saw them smile all cutesy at each other," Emilia answered. "You know, when they finally admit their feelings? Come on, look at them. You can't tell me they don't have chemistry."

Luke stared down at her. "Um, yeah, I guess."

Emilia rolled her eyes. "You're impossible." She tilted her head to look back up at him. "Is there anything else you wanted to say on this short visit to school?"

Luke gently played with the end of the ponytail that rested over her shoulder. "Skip school and come rehearse."

Emilia sighed, willing herself to not get distracted by the way his fingers were curling around her hair. "You know I can't do that."

"Yes you can," Luke countered, looking down at her with big green eyes. "Come on, Lia, it'll be fun."

Emilia almost gave in for a second, but she shook her head, making his hand drop from her hair. "You know I'd love to, but I can't skip. Both Julie and I promised Ray to put school first. We'll rehearse when school is over, all right? Promise."

"T-There is actually one other thing I wanted to ask you," Luke admitted. "Can I come over to your place later before you go to Julie's?"

"Oh," Emilia replied. "Um, yeah, of course. May I ask why?"

Luke rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I wanted to write with you a little bit. Somehow, you found a way to make my songs better." He looked down at the floor bashfully. "It's one of the reasons why I find you so incredible. Especially since I'm not the easiest person to work with."

Emilia, her cheeks flushing red, gasped playfully. "Really? I didn't notice."

"Emilia," he groaned, dragging out the a in her name.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Emilia laughed slightly and readjusted her backpack on her shoulder. "You make my songs better too, Luke. Oh, and it'll just be me at the house later, though. Apollo has lacrosse."

Luke gave her a cute smile. "Well, I guess you won't seem insane in front of your brother anymore."

Emilia laughed slightly. She turned her head just in time to see Julie and Apollo walking shoulder-to-shoulder in the hallway. Emilia locked eyes with Julie and winked. Julie stuck her tongue out at her and quickly responded to whatever Apollo had said. Emilia looked back to Luke who was watching her intently.

"I'll see you later," Emilia stated. "Gotta get to English."

She put her phone back in her pocket. Emilia brushed past him and walked down the hallway with a wide smile on her face. Little did she know that Luke had the exact same expression.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙 ♔ 𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

EMILIA SAT AT the keyboard in her room. One of Apollo's lacrosse sweatshirts covered her body and her hair was hastily thrown into a messy bun. Her songbook was open on her keyboard, and she was constantly adding new words, erasing them, or scribbling them out. The song she was writing was almost finished, yet no matter what she wrote for the ending, it didn't seem to satisfy her. She sighed and placed her chin in the palm of her hand as she tapped the page with the end of her pencil.

Luke suddenly appeared in the room. "Hey, Lia."

"Hey," Emilia replied absentmindedly.

He slid next to her on the bench. "What are you working on?"

"A new song," she answered. "Julie sent me a beat for it and wanted me to write the lyrics. It's called Just For a Moment. I'm not finished with it, though."

"Maybe I can help?" Luke suggested. "I mean, I did tell you earlier I wanted to write with you."

Emilia let out a breath of relief. "That would be great, thanks. It's driving me crazy."

"Okay, how about we see what you've got so far and go from there."

"I wrote it as a duet, so . . ." Emilia trailed off.

Luke shrugged. "Then I'll sing with you."

"Oh." Emilia blinked. "All right. You start."

She pressed play on her phone to the beat Julie had sent her. Emilia then placed her fingers on the keyboard keys and played the first couple of chords to the song.

"I fell in love," Luke sang, reading off the pages of her songbook. "With the only girl who knows what I'm about."

Emilia went next. "I fell in love with a boy and I can't tell if I fell out. After all is said and done, I just can't pretend I'm moving on."

With chilling realization, Emilia knew who she had written this song about. At first she thought it was just random words that seeped into her brain to create a song. But no, these words reflected her entire feelings about Luke himself. And here she was, basically spilling her guts out to him next to her.

"Is it just a part we're playing, 'cause it don't feel like we're faking?" Luke voiced.

He seemed to realize it, too. Even though she was only wearing a sweatshirt with a messy bun, Luke was positive that Emilia Carpenter was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Luke couldn't deny that the boys were right: just like Julie and Apollo, him and Emilia had absolute chemistry. They did since the moment they met. Both of them felt it and both of them knew it.

Emilia joined back in to harmonize with him on the chorus. "When we're underneath the lights, my heart's no longer broken, for a moment, just for a moment. When we're singing side by side, there's so much left unspoken, for a moment, just for a moment. A moment in love, a moment in love."

"But is a moment enough?" Emilia finished.

"Way, way back then, always dreamed it's you and me until the end," Luke sang.

Emilia glanced at him for a moment before looking back at her songbook. "Now, we can't play pretend, and I'm scared to talk to my best friend. Should I stay or let you go, will you love me when the curtains close?"

"Is it just a part we're playing, 'cause it don't feel like we're faking?"

"When we're underneath the lights, my heart's no longer broken, for a moment, just for a moment," the two continued. "When we're singing side by side, there's so much left unspoken, for a moment, just for a moment. A moment in love, a moment in love."

"But is a moment enough?" Luke stated.

"Maybe," Emilia sang alone, closing her eyes as she immersed herself in her own lyrics. "Your heart still stops when you see me. Maybe it's worth another try, better place, better time."

"When we're underneath the lights, my heart's no longer broken, for a moment, just for a moment. When we're singing side by side, there's so much left unspoken, for a moment, just for a moment. A moment in love, a moment in love. But is a moment enough?"

Their voices died out as the words on the page ended. Emilia quickly paused the beat on her phone and lowered her hands from the piano keys to clasp them in front of her. An air of tension, one that wasn't there before, hung over them like a cloud. Emilia was suddenly very aware of the way Luke's shoulder was pressed up against hers and that their legs were touching. Neither of them said anything for a long couple of seconds.

"It's an amazing song, Lia," Luke finally admitted. "You're incredibly talented."

Emilia scoffed and picked up her pencil. "Apparently not talented enough to finish it. No matter what new lyrics I try, it doesn't fit."

"Hey, don't talk like that." He poked her side, and Emilia let out a slight yelp, making him smile. Luke then gestured to her songbook. "Can I see this just for a moment?"

Emilia rolled her eyes playfully at his pun and handed the songbook to him. Luke's eyes scanned over the page for a couple of seconds.

"I think we should keep it simple and sing the first part of the chorus again," Luke announced. "Instead of adding new lyrics, just keep with the theme."

"Oh, like when we're underneath the lights, my heart's no longer broken," Emilia suggested.

Luke nodded in agreement. "And then for a moment."

"Just for a moment," they finished together.

Emilia let out a laugh of amazement. "I seriously wasn't lying earlier when I said you made me a better writer as well. Thing song wouldn't have gotten done if it wasn't for you."

He nudged her shoulder with his. "Hey, the only reason that I was able to finish it was because this song already flowed well together. You just needed a little push."

Luke held out her songbook to her. Emilia grasped it in her hand, but involuntarily, she looked up into his eyes again. Both of their smiles slowly slipped off of their faces as they sat there, holding onto opposite sides of Emilia's songbook and gazing into each other's eyes. Nothing else mattered in that moment besides the electricity that was sparking inside of them. Luke's fingers slowly went limp on the songbook and Emilia absentmindedly set it down on the keyboard. Her heart began to race rapidly as Luke's eyes slowly trailed across her face.

"Lia . . ." Luke trailed off, his voice barely a whisper.

"Yeah?" Emilia asked quietly.

Luke physically couldn't take it anymore. Emilia's dark brown eyes were gleaming, a dangerous feature that was driving him crazy. Her question slowly died in the electric air between them, and Luke didn't say anything else. All he did was immediately lean forwards and press his lips to Emilia's. It was quick and short, but it made Emilia's head spin nonetheless. Her eyes momentarily widened and she felt herself go stiff. The only thought running through her brain was oh my God, Luke, a dead ghost that I can somehow touch, is really kissing me right now.

Luke pulled away the second he felt her freeze, his eyes widening in panic. "I — I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have—"

As impulsive as he was just a few moments before, Emilia cut him off by taking his face in between her hands and kissing him again. Her mind was screaming at her that Luke was a ghost, but in her heart, it felt so right. Therefore, literally all of the rational thoughts flew out the window. Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him on the keyboard bench. Close enough that their bodies were completely pressed up against one another's. Tingles spread throughout Emilia's entire body and she felt sparks fly between them. It may sound cliché, but it was completely true. There was no one that made her feel more electric than Luke.

"Em?" the voice of Apollo called out. "Hey, I'm home!"

Emilia jumped away from Luke, her face burning red as she shrieked and slapped a hand to her mouth from Apollo scaring her. Luke laughed at her, and her face became even redder as she picked up her songbook and whacked his arm with it.

"Shut up," she muttered. Emilia then turned to the door. "I'm up here, Apollo!"

Footsteps padded up the stairs, and Apollo opened the door to Emilia's room. He peeked his head inside and immediately frowned.

"Why do you look so flustered?" Apollo asked.

"Yeah, why do you look so flustered, Lia?" Luke teased, a smirk on his lips.

Emilia ignored him, using all of her strength to not let her face turn more red than it already was. "Oh, um . . . no reason."

Apollo looked at her weirdly. "Uh, okay. I'm catching a ride with Nick to your performance, so you can take the car."

"Awesome, thank you," Emilia breathed out.

Apollo nodded and shut her door. Emilia turned to Luke and immediately tapped him on the head with her songbook again.

"You know why I was flustered," Emilia argued. "Don't call me out like that."

Luke chuckled. "All right, all right, I'm sorry." He pointed at her. "I'll see you tonight?"

Emilia smiled. "Definitely."

He smiled at her again. With a snap of his fingers, Luke disappeared out of her room. Emilia turned back to the keyboard, letting out a breathy laugh to herself. Did that really just happen? She couldn't believe it.

She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth in effort to stop herself from smiling so much. Emilia then got up from the bench, determined to find a perfect outfit for her performance tonight.

-ˋˏ ༻ ☁︎ ༺ ˎˊ-

IT HAPPENED IT HAPPENED EVERYONE STAY CALM

ok luke and em obviously have a deeper connection than just wanting to kiss each other but she can touch them so I saw a perfect opportunity and SNATCHED IT UP

I literally wrote three different versions of this chapter of them writing either perfect harmony, you are the music in me, or just for a moment. I was gonna publish the you are the music in me one but I feel like just for a moment flowed better, plus it's a reference to the name of this book so <3