I changed out of my Julie attire and took a quick shower. Even though the hair team had tried to get all of the glitter out of my hair, I had a feeling I would be finding specs glitter on my pillows for months. I braided my wet hair into French braids on either side of my head and changed back into my sweats and t-shirt.

As if on cue, I heard a knock at my trailer door. My stomach dropped as I remembered that Charlie wanted to talk, and my worry retuned as I searched my memory for anything that could have upset him.

I opened the door to see Charlie, standing with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a muscle tee and joggers and his wet hair has held back by a red headband. Despite his smile and looking relatively calm, I could tell that he was nervous. I knew by the way he was rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Hey, come on in!" I said as I motioned for him to enter. I went over to my purple beanbag chair and plopped down onto it. Charlie took a seat on a white fluffy stool I used as a chair for my desk when working on schoolwork. He brought the stool over so that it was right next to where I was.

"What's up Charlie?" I finally asked, realizing that he hadn't said a word yet which was very unlike him.

I was about to panic when he finally cleared his throat.

"So I was thinking... Today when we were singing together at the end of the performance, things between Luke and Julie got a bit... Intense." He said, as he shifted in his seat.

I nodded, watching him intently and trying to determine what was going on.

"Well, it made me realize that our kiss scene tomorrow will probably be more intense." He continued, and I was at a loss.

"Yeah, I know." I said, confusion all over my face as he paused to find the right words.

"But that means that the kiss will be a bit different than the one we had last night..." He explained and I tilted my head slightly.

"What do you mean different?" I asked as I took note of his bouncing leg.

"I mean- it's going to be more passionate, ya know? And I wanted to talk to you about it first so that it doesn't freak you out." He revealed and it finally made sense.

Our kiss the night before was short and sweet. After all the seasons of pent up tension, I would imagine that Julie and Luke would really go at it when they kissed. I didn't know how to "go at it" but I was sure I'd figure it out.

"So I wanted to see if you wanted to practice staging the kiss for tomorrow? Like as Julie and Luke, so that we know what to expect." He explained and I knew he was doing this more for my sake than his own.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." I nodded, my initial fear of kissing gone, but the idea of doing it in front of the whole cast and crew still spiked my nerves.

He suddenly stood up and and I looked at him in question.

"Julie and Luke are standing when they kiss." He laughed and I rose to stand.

"Oh yeah, right." I said awkwardly.

Despite having kissed him before, the kiss we shared was simple and platonic. A kiss between Julie and Luke would be passionate and intense. I didn't know if I was ready for that.

He took a deep breath.

"Okay, so it'll help if we act through this. You need to be Julie and think of me as Luke." He instructed me and I nodded.

"I'm Julie, you're Luke." I repeated, and then the look in his eyes changed and I could tell he had made the switch.

"Julie..." Luke breathed, taking a step closer to close the distance between them.

Julie looked up at him, his adoration reflected in her own eyes. Her hands rose to rest on his chest as they slowly inched closer to one another.

"Luke..." she whispered, her eyes falling to his lips.

She could feel the heat radiating between them.

It felt as if there was a string drawn tight, ready to snap. They'd spent years dancing around their relationship. After many misunderstandings and fights. Every performance they shared led to this moment between them.

Without warning Luke crashed his lips to Julie's, his hands cupping her face. Julie was surprised momentarily, but then kissed him back just as feverishly. Her hands moved from gripping his arms to tangling in his hair.

Luke's hands were secure on her jaw, leading the kiss as he tilted her head back for better access. Julie made a small squeak at the adjustment, relishing in the bliss that was kissing Luke Patterson.

Then he pulled away all too soon, both of them breathing heavily as their eyes reflected all of the emotions they had just revealed.

Charlie looked away momentarily and cleared his throat again. I was brought back to reality, still trying to get my breathing under control and still dazed from the kiss.

"Yep. That was it." Charlie said with a laugh, breaking any awkward tension that threatened to rise in the room.

I laughed in response.

"Yeah, it was." I nodded, as my eyes drifted to my feet.

That was a lot to take in. Being kissed like that was intense, and especially when viewing it from Julie's perspective. It felt as if Luke's waves of emotions had crashed into her own, threatening to drown her.

I paused.

That's it!

"I think I just figured out the chorus to our song!" I suddenly announced and his eyes widened, as did his smile.

"Seriously?" He asked excitedly and I nodded.

He quickly grabbed his guitar and we spent the rest of the night finalizing our song. It was perfect timing considering we needed to pitch it to Kenny in the next couple of days if we wanted it to be a bonus track on the third album. I felt giddy with excitement by the time we were done, and I knew that the fans were going to love it.

-

The cameras were on us and the set lights were shinning hot above us. It was time to film the very last scene of season 3, and I felt myself already getting emotional about the sentiment of it.

It was just Charlie and I, we had already had our last scene as a group earlier that day which ended in a pile of sobbing actors. Everyone was feeling sad that the season was practically over, that the fun and craziness of filming was coming to a close. There was always the possibility that we wouldn't be renewed for another season, so we had to assume each time that this could be the last time we get to do this.

I could tell Charlie was feeling the same way as I was by the way he swallowed hard, trying to keep his emotions at bay. I gave him a tight hug, hoping to boost his spirits. He sighed and hugged me back.

"I know." I voiced.

"Yeah." He said sadly.

"Okay everyone, are we ready to film the final scene of season 3 of Julie and the Phantoms?" Kenny announced and everyone cheered.

I pulled away from Charlie and gave him a thumbs up as we both took our places in the scene.

I took a deep breath, all of my previous fears gone and replaced with confidence and gratitude.

I would nail my first on screen kiss. Charlie was here with me, and that's all I needed.

"ACTION!"

"Julie, I know this could never work... I know that I'm dead and that you deserve better," Luke started his speech, Charlie having altered the script in the moment.

He took Julie's hands in his own, his eyes never leaving her face as she looked from their joined hands up to him.

"But Jules, you've made me feel more alive than I ever felt when I was actually living. No music compares to how I feel about you." He gave her hands a gentle squeeze as her eyes filled with tears.

"I love you, Julie..." he declared, tears brimming in his own eyes.

Julie could feel tears streaming down her face, her heart swelling at his words. Luke reached out a hand and gently wiped away a tear. Her own hands reached out to touch his face, as tears spilled out onto his own cheeks.

There was so much love and hope in Luke's eyes, and Julie held back a sob as she inched closer.

"Luke, I love you-" Julie was cut off as Luke brought her into a bruising kiss.

They poured all of their emotions into this kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck as his hands found her waist. His grip on her tightened as she pulled him closer, clutching the collar of his flannel.

They were always in rhythm. Push and pull, give and take. Just like when they sang together, and wrote music together. Julie and Luke were connected by their very souls and they finally gave into that.

By the time they pulled away they were both smiling like idiots, laughing lightly as they wiped the others tears.

Luke held his hand out to her, and she gladly placed her hand in his. They walked together, happiness radiating off of them like the sun as they went to join the others.

"Aaannd CUT!" Kenny yelled and we broke character.

Charlie pulled me in for another hug as the tears returned.

We did it.

-

Heyyyooooo! We made it to the final chapter 🎉 I had so much fun writing this and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thank you all for reading and support this story and stay tuned for more JATP content! 💕

- m