Author's Note:

I sincerely apologize for the lack of updates for this particular story in months! The lack of motivation plus new clients for work as well as collaborating stories with another writer swept me away from my fellow readers here.

But I promise you guys, this story will come to its conclusion, no matter what obstacles come my way.

I also have an announcement to make:

Fellow writer SalohcinSilverwing and I have put together our heads and writing skills to bring more stories of our small Loud House fanon for Luna and Jamie. To read more about this pair, please follow our shared account: Salohcin and Vaverick's!

Without any further ado, please enjoy the latest chapter!

4:15 P.M.

With barely any clouds in sight, the sun set near the horizon for the town of Royal Woods, coloring the sky with the perfect blend of yellow, red and orange before the fall of night. In the Loud's driveway, the last of the band's equipment were hauled up and tied down on top of Chunk's van. With one last tug, the roadie wrapped the excess length of the rope around one end of the rack and looked up at the poorly organized set with a proud smirk, patting himself on the back for a job well done.

The front door opened with Luna, Sam and Tabby stepping out as the rest of the Louds following behind. The bassist and drummer made their way to the van while Luna stayed behind, giving her siblings final instructions of tonight's plan.

"Okay, dudes," she started with a thrilled grin. "remember to be at the restaurant around eight! We'll meet you in the parking lot and then get ready for our big finale!" She pulled them into a big embrace, always able to count on her family for moral support.

"Good luck with the show." Lucy smiled. "We'll be thinking of you."

"Yeah!" Luan added. "We all hope you have a good chime! Hahaha! Get it?"

While the others let out low unimpressed groans, Luna cracked a smirk, rolling her eyes.

"Don't forget these!" Leni slid her way through her siblings, handing Luna three parcels wrapped in brown paper, each one labeled with her and her bandmates' names. "I'm totes excited to see how they look when we perform tonight!"

Before Luna could return a verbal gesture, the revving engine and the blaring horn of Chunk's van turned her head.

"We best get a move on if we wanna set up shop, luv!" The roadie exclaimed, patting the outside of his door. Through the driver's seat window, Sam and Tabby were already in ready to go.

"Hold on tight, brah! I'll be right there!" Luna waved before turning back to her siblings. "Time to get on the road again! See you soon, my homies!" She leaped from the porch and excitedly jogged around the van, jumping into the passenger's seat. All buckled up, she and her band gave the rest of the Louds a last few waves while the van pulled out and rolled its way up the street.

"Our performance may be a few hours away, but we can at least make sure we have everything we need until then." Lincoln remarked, standing boldly with hands at his hips.

"I second it." Lori nodded, starting to make her way back inside. "Lay out your dresses, ladies! We have to look our absolute best!"

"Aww, do we have to?" Lana whined, following the others in.

"Trust me," Lynn answered, patting her little sister's head. "Lori of all people won't let us off the hook so easily."

With a long and heavy sigh, Jamie gradually tied on the second to last accessory to his evening attire: a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt tucked in, a cummerbund around his waist, and a bowtie hugging the collar to his neck. All he was missing was the jacket, being pressed by Rosalita at the moment. He stared at himself long and hard in the full-scale mirror before him. By a glance, one would think he was getting ready for a wedding with the way he was dressed. He wished that were the case; a wedding for a family friend perhaps. That way, he could miss it without facing repercussion and join his friends at Banger's & Mosh…

But that wish would never come true, proving any more wishful thinking to be pointless. With the short time he had, he would soon depart for his true destination: the piano recital. At every passing moment, the weight of his neglect continued to grow, crippling the boy further down into the mud. After tonight, he could never face Luna again. This was it; his one chance to break free from the cage of self-doubt and show the people of Royal Woods what he could do, and he blew it.

"Jameson?"

The call from downstairs was like a sting to both ears. Many times, he asked Rosalita not to call him by his given name. He didn't mind, considering she was only being formal with the young man, but after recent events, it became a painful reminder of the high expectations his parents put in place for him. Despite their acceptance of his love for classic rock, they still had higher standards for him to live up to. He didn't want to go, but what other choice was there? The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint them. Jamie removed his stage glasses from the bridge of his nose and tucked them into his shirt pocket. Before taking his leave from the room, he took one last look in the mirror… and saw nothing; exactly who he was from there on out:

A nobody.

A deserter.

A coward.

Rosalita waited by the opened front door in her formal apparel: a beige dress skirt that sat just above her knees with a matching jacket, a collared blouse tucked under and black open toed shoes. Her brown hair was tied back into a small bun, and for the finishing touch: a beige cloche hat with embellished flowers on the side. Hanging over her arm was Jamie's dress jacket, dusted and ironed.

The young man finally appeared before the stairs above. A frown settled upon Rosalita's face all afternoon, wearing it still just as she glanced up towards Jamie climbing down the steps. Although his appearance was neat and well-groomed, his descent was sluggish. She wanted no part in the preservation of the boy's turmoil, but she was his only escort to the recital, and his parents were expecting them both. With worry still lingering in her eyes, she presented him his jacket.

"We should be going soon…" she said with no eager in her tone. Noticing the unhinging defeat in his eyes and giving her a nod in agreement, her heart split in two.

Jamie stepped forward, slipping an arm into the jacket sleeve and the other in the next. He turned around with his back facing Rosalita as she helped him put the jacket on entirely, feeling her hands slide down his back, ridding any possible wrinkles.

"Let's just get this over with…"

A shroud of dismay hung over the maid's face. She kept her distance while locking the door, allowing Jamie to reach the car first and climb into the backseats. Rosalita casually climbed into the driver's seat and carefully backed out of the driveway. With a switch of the gears and a slow turn, she steered onto the main street, cruising the car up to the main gates. Every few seconds, she peeked into the rear-view mirror to check on the boy. In her glances, Jamie sat on one side of the back row, leaning his elbow into the door's interior and looking out the window, watching the houses, street lights, and other vehicles pass him by.

He was a mockingbird topped in the feathers of a club-winged manakin, trapped in his cage with no space to spread his wings, yearning for freedom. To this distressed bird, the sedan was a box with poked holes, carrying him from one cage to another.

While Rosalita kept her focus mainly on the road, conflict ensued within her conscience. She couldn't help but feel partly responsible for Jamie's hardship; playing a role in her employers' plan that could determine the boy's future. Fully aware that the recital was the upmost importance, would the surprise Alan and Marie had for him fill the emptiness in his heart and bring life back into his eyes? The maid shook her head, gripping the steering wheel firmly, refusing to be held accountable for the young man's pursuing anguish that could leave a scar and therefore, affect his future goals.

She adjusted the rear-view mirror slightly, confident Jamie wasn't looking her way. With one more tweak, she caught glimpse of the front right pocket of his dress jacket. While she did some last-minute cleaning of the missing piece to his attire earlier, she took a seam ripper and delicately removed the stitches that kept his pocket shut.

A slight grin curled up from one side of her lips, taking one last look at Jamie just before pulling into the parking lot of the Royal Woods Community College.

4:59 P.M.

Friday nights were the busiest for Banger's & Mosh. It was the start of the weekend; the best time for Royal Woods' natives to come flooding in for the delightful and old-fashioned taste of English cuisine and to enjoy the blasting and nostalgia of vintage classic rock. For tonight, the incoming guests were in for a special treat of live music provided by one of the loudest teen rock musicians in town.

The band was set to perform, taking their places at their arranged spots: from a patron's view, Tabby and her percussions were displayed on the drum rise behind the lounge's grand piano; the stage centerpiece. The guitarists stood apart from both sides of the piano with Luna standing stage right while Sam took her position stage left.

Luna couldn't help but bring out an elated grin to the extent of touching her freckles, gazing upon a full house within the main lounge of the restaurant. Teens, adults, families and all came this night to take in the comforts of food, drink, and music. With the clamoring of at least ten dozen voices overlaying one another throughout the two floors of the establishment, it was just like a rock concert, even if the place wasn't as big as the high school's auditorium or a stadium.

The band made it to this moment after a month of hard work, dedication, and the will to push through. The idea to even perform was off the table the second Jamie caved in and abandoned their special cause. Luna's wounded heart throbbed, still feeling the knife stuck within, but thanks to Leni's kind words and the family to catch her fall, its cold rusty blade wasn't as deep as it was previously. It was, however, going to take more than words to dislodge this knife.

Now wasn't the time to look back; only to what was in front of her. The rocker girl stood tall with her chin up, grabbed the mic before her and raised a fist high and proud.

"Evening, dudes and dudettes!" Luna exclaimed enthusiastically into the microphone, receiving a few cheers and applause. "We wanna thank you all for coming in on such a chill and groovy night to enjoy some sweet rock n' roll! We also wanna thank the management for hooking us up with this gig!" She raised horns towards the manager's way, who raised horns back and gave Chunk a bro-fist bump. "But enough talkin'! It's time for rockin' from yours truly- Uhhh…"

The lavender lassie stammered, her tongue tied in a knot and the gears in her head stalled, realizing she had forgotten one small detail amidst the weeks of rehearsing: the name of their group. Despite the trio jamming together on the weekends for fun, they never played together as a legit band until tonight.

The small crowd fell into whispers, flexing their brows towards the lead guitarist, puzzled by her sudden hesitation.

Blushing by some of these reactions, Luna jerked her head to her bandmates. "Oi, did we ever come up with a name for our band…?!" she whispered loudly.

Sam and Tabby looked to each other, reading off of each other's confused glances. In unison, they looked back to Luna, shrugging in reply.

Luna let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose firmly. She cleared her throat, turning back to her fellow viewers.

"Sorry about that, folks." she chuckled nervous. "Just a slight miscommunication. Now then… let's get this weekend started!"

With one swing of her arm with a pick in hand, the main lounge was pounded with the opening power chords of Luna's main axe, quickly shifting into the repeating riffs. Following this was the accompaniment by another electric guitar strummed fiercely by Sam as well as the single strike of a ride cymbal and the rising drumroll of a single rack tom from the percussions.

Luna let her bold and raspy vocals run wild into the microphone, establishing the show with a song from her own original playlist.

"Droppin' records on a weekly basis!" she sang, joining Sam in a harmonic riff during the short break. With the first verse executed, Tabby kept the percussions on a steady and fast beat, flicking the knobbed ends of the sticks only on the tom and the high-hat. "Playin' shows in exotic places!"

Patrons who weren't eating rose from their tables and rushed onto the small dance floor, swinging their hips and air-guitaring in place by themselves or with partners. Those who stayed behind tapped their feet and fingers to the heated beats, watching the performance from a distance.

"Rockin' out to a cheerin' crowd!" The rocker girl banged her head to the echoing beats and rings of the tom and high-hat, spinning the axe in her hands. "Hear them screamin' 'Luna Loud'!" She and Sam side-stepped towards each other in stylish struts until they were back to back. Their fingers crawled up and down the necks of their guitars like spiders under the music's spell, while their picks strummed the strong and flawless riffs continuously over the bridges. "My favorite colors are platinum and gold! Bein' a Rockstar never gets old!"

"My life is a dream;" the trio's voices joined together for the end of the first chorus, letting the guitar chords and the crash of a cymbal fade. The tempo settled with a single beat of the drum for a bar and was brought back up, followed by the return of the hi-hat and the vibrating strings. "A crazy Rock n' Roll dream!"

Luna wouldn't let the heartaches and dilemmas of the past keep from moving forward and continue down a path doing what she loved most. As contenting as she believed herself to be, the real challenge had only begun.

The next couple hours passed slower for the young distressed Maverick, as if time itself was torturing him with full intention.

Upon early arrival at the college for the recital meeting, the director passed around copies of the program, listing the order the kids would be performing. A small flicker of hope filled the hole in Jamie's heart. If he was placed somewhere in the first half of the list, perhaps he would be able to leave early and join the Louds in performing for their parents. He kept a hopeful smile once he received a copy and passed down the rest, taking in a breath and stared down at the program as if this was a last chance to find a golden ticket inside. His hand trembled as he took hold of the thin front cover, then in one swift movement, he flipped it open and ran a finger down the page…

And felt the last of his hopes ripped from his heart like a stubborn band aid…

Out of the twenty-five kids, his name was placed nineteenth. The Queen fanatic also took notice of the music pieces each kid would be performing. He easily recognized most of them and knew on the spot that they were compositions lasting almost ten minutes long. The boy screamed internally, like he wasn't upset enough! The director could've at least limited the pieces to five minutes tops, but sadly, Jamie and the attendees would have to sit through songs with too many notes, like Emperor Joseph watching Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Now Jamie sat in silent anguish in the choir room near the auditorium where the recital was taking place. He distanced himself from the five teens who had yet to perform, settled in a chair up in the highest and furthest row of the choir risers. He kept his face away from peering eyes, hiding the stigma as he stared out the window towards the glimmering lights of Downtown Royal Woods. Jamie attempted to locate Banger's & Mosh among the windowed cityscape, but the venue's distance kept any signs of the restaurant's presence, including the people in it, far beyond arm's reach. While the other young pianists waited for their turn to perform, one decided to give a last practice run with her piece. Jamie pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a low and pained groan as the room suffused with the melancholic melody of Beethoven's first movement of Moonlight Sonata.

Wonderful timing… He thought, gunning a discreet glare towards the girl at the grand instrument.

"Jamie Maverick?" the director called, poking her head out from the door, catching the boy's attention. "You're on in five minutes."

Within those said minutes, the last month of hard work and dedication would be all for nothing. The friendship he built with Luna and her family would be reduced to a cursed memory and leave him scarred with the guilt that could never be overturned. Once he stepped foot on that stage, he would be bound and burned by the chains of isolation, forever to wallow in his self-inflicted misery.

The boy rose from his seat and slithered his hands down to his coat pockets, proving to be no avail… but wait...

His eyes darted to the pocket on the right, finding the seams on the flap taken out. He always knew the pockets on dress jackets were sewn shut; a stupid thing to do, Jamie believed. What was the purpose of putting pockets on a coat if they wouldn't be used? Expecting to feel nothing but the bottom of an empty pouch, he was taken aback by the slight touch and crumble of…

Paper?

A light smack of bewilderment came into contact with his face just as he brought a neatly folded and colored parcel before his eyes, dulling the pain of his present turmoil for a short time. With the final minutes he had left before his recital, he would may as well find out what this piece of paper was, if it had anything worth to read. Four moves were all it took unfold it, resulting in a soft gasp from the Queen fanatic:

It was a note from his housekeeper.

Whenever he came home from school if Rosalita wasn't around, she would always leave a note on the counter for him with either reminders, assistance with chores, or where she was. The fine handwriting, the use of a pen with red ink, and the floral pattern of the paper was all her.

The first thing to catch his eye was how she addressed him in the beginning of the letter: 'Jamie.' In the years she had spent as housekeeper, Rosalita had always referred to him by his more formal full name of Jameson. Seeing her refer to him by the name he always preferred to be called by brought a quiet, choked up gasp to the boy's throat.

Dear Jamie,

I've watched you grow up to become the fine, handsome young man you are today. You've spent countless hours before that piano, and I know you believe me when I say that I'm so proud to see you come this far. You've earned it all through your passion and determination. But all that time, you were missing something; something that you desired so much, it pained me to see you be denied such a precious gift: friends.

What brightened my day, every day for the last month, was your smile with that new girl. She, her friends and family, have made you happier than I could ever hope for. Someone like this young lady isn't worth losing over a recital.

Your parents gave you a map at birth, and I know they await great things from you under their eyes and expectations, but your feelings, your words, are just as important as theirs. If you're not happy with anything that comes your way, there's no shame in saying so.

This night may determine your future, but it's up to you to decide how tonight plays out; not me, not your parents; you. You choose who you want to be and what you want to do.

I wish you all the luck, sweetheart, whatever decision you make~

By the time he finished reading, two small rivers ran down his cheeks with droplets falling onto the note in quiet pitters. Jamie raised his head up towards the illuminated ceiling, wearing a trembling, stupefied grin.

Looking back, Rosalita was right: Luna was the one person who truly made him happy and feel he was worth something.

Being one of those kids who stood or wandered in the background in the daily high school life, he always admired her from afar; envious of her enthusiastic and outgoing personality, not letting anyone tell her otherwise and shoot for her passions and dreams.

A month before all of this started, even the mere thought of showing off his voice was out of the question. Years of social rejection and the humiliation of a broken voice beforehand crumbled his confidence and self-esteem, rendering him to a quiet and awkwardly timid teenager. The only thing keeping him from falling off that edge was the remarkable and gifted finesse on the ivory keys.

He never once thought that someone of Luna's amplified stature and popularity would mingle with someone as soft-spoken and quiet as him. That was, until she came across his Queen-like voice by accident.

She went great lengths to pull him out from the dark pit that was his self-doubt, wiping away the anxiety from his shaken mindset. Her family; her siblings and friends, all welcomed him with open arms and pushed him further to sing. They were his first audience, and every face amongst it were painted with pure elation and bliss the moment their ears heard his voice, even singing along with him.

If the exhilaration of thirteen charmed people was enough to drive him to perform before a bigger audience, he could only imagine what kind of euphoria that would give, not to mention it could completely break him out of the restless cycle of vocal stage fright.

The young musician wouldn't have made it this far to show off his singing without her, realizing he needed her in his life as his muse, his guide to find the courage he lost so long ago. However, tonight's show was more than about sharing his voice; this was about being there for the rocker girl.

He needed her; but right now, she needed him.

With the conclusion of this epiphany, Jamie glanced over at the clock above the door: fifteen to eight, it said. If he was going to make the final move in the game of life, it would be now…

"… Screw it."

The boy rose from his chair with eyes filled with a newly lit flame, taking one last glance of the windowed cityscape to set his sights on his new destination. Without a word, he marched down the choir riser as he slipped Rosalita's note back in his jacket pocket. The remaining performers watched him in silent puzzlement while he made his way passed them, along with the director who had just stepped in to bring him backstage, only to for him to slip by her like she wasn't there.

"Uh, Jamie? Where are you going?" she asked in a dazed shock. "Backstage is this way!" She pointed in the direction opposite of where he was going, but that wasn't the last door he would push his way through: his eyes were set on the nearest exit. The director continued to call out his name, but with no avail. Jamie kept going with no intention of turning back, ignoring her words like he was wearing sound suppressing ear buds.

He pulled out his phone and extended a finger to the Uber app. Luckily, the app's map showed a few available drivers near the area to pick him up and take him downtown. He could only hope to get to Banger's & Mosh in time.

A few final and dramatic chords struck the grand instrument's keys by the lone pianist, accomplishing her take on Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. The young blonde clad in a long black dress stood from the bench to bow before the applauding audience, quickly taking her leave from the stage with a proud grin.

As impressive as it was to watch the girl's fingers jump all over the long row of keys like they were crickets leaping in a field, the Mavericks couldn't let themselves be swayed. They had long waited for their son to come up and play for them, especially for their special guest.

"We really appreciate you coming to see Jamie, Mrs. Duffleworth." whispered Marie.

Sitting between her and Rosalita was a short older woman with curly red hair streaked in grey within her locks, wearing a pair of rectangular lensed spectacles. For evening attire, she had on a formal sky-blue long-sleeved dress printed with a summer floral pattern trimmed around the hems and yoke, stockings and ivory high-heeled shoes.

"It certainly is a pleasure to watch young ladies and gentlemen bloom into such talented artists." replied the woman, holding a notepad and pen at the ready. "The school, however, is looking for more than just talent and high steady grades from potential students. We would very much like to see them with the love and passion for music too. From the video samples you emailed me, your son looks like he has all of that. All I need now is an up close performance, and if I'm pleased with what I see, then he'll make a perfect candidate for enrollment."

"He knows how important this recital is, and he'll be in for this surprise when we tell him." Alan smiled, excitement and confidence bubbling within him. "I can assure you that he'll pass this audition with flying colors."

Rosalita sat quietly as Mrs. Duffleworth and her employers exchanged in whispers. She would pitch in on how amazing Jamie was at the ivory keys, but the unsettling twist in her stomach kept her from speaking. Her thoughts were strictly clouded with worry for the boy's well-being now that it was about his turn to come out on stage, at least according to the recital's program.

I wonder if he found the note…? she thought as she bit her bottom lip, grasping the hem of her skirt. Soon enough, she got her answer:

Coming to center stage and taking his place on the piano was another boy, who began performing Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G Minor.

This took the Mavericks and Mrs. Duffleworth by some surprise and bewilderment, not yet realizing the tenacity of this inconvenience.

"Wasn't Jamie supposed to be next, dear?" Marie asked her husband.

"He should've been." Alan replied, opening his program and finding their son's name. "Perhaps there were some last-minute rearrangements for the order."

Rosalita glanced over at her employers' puzzlement of the situation, having her own suspicion of what really happened with the boy. To confirm this was an audible vibration coming from Marie's purse.

The Maverick matriarch reached for her phone, believing it to be a text from either one of her friends or from work. That assupmtion, however, was shot down the moment she opened up her message board, letting out a quick dismayed gasp.

"H-honey…!" she whispered frantically to her husband, rapidly tapping his shoulder. She handed her phone to him, showing a long text from their son sent no later than ten seconds. Marie could only watch as Alan's expression turned from confused to bitterly provoked upon reading what Jamie wrote.

( Mom, Dad - I'm really sorry to do this, but I

can't go through with the recital, and I will

accept whatever punishment you give me later.

But right now, there's someone who needs

me more than ever, and I refuse to lose her.

I know you expect me to uphold your standards

and be the very best, but I have to take control

of my own future in the way I see fit at some times.

And that's not the only reason: there's something

I've been keeping from everyone for a couple years;

a secret I once thought to be a tool to pursue my

hidden misery, but thanks to Luna, I can finally share

it with you. You deserve to know. If you're not too

upset, please come to Banger's & Mosh asap,

and you will see what I can really do. )

Alan could only stare at the phone while the shock of Jamie's desertion kept its hold. His son had done the unthinkable. Upon months of practice and perfecting techniques to get ready for this life-changing night, Jamie casted it aside like it was nothing, just so he could play a show with his friends, not realizing the consequences of his reckless decision. He made a promise to his parents to be at this recital, and he broke it.

His father couldn't even finish reading the entire text as the infuriation bubbled inside. After blowing this secret audition and ruining his chances of getting into a great school, Jamie would indeed be punished for his actions against his parents' wishes and his broken commitment.

"Come along, everyone…!" the man said in an unpleasant growl. "We're going...!" He took his wife's hand, pulling her up from her seat as he scooted through the occupied row. Still with Marie's phone in his hand, he attempted to call his son.

Without a word or question, Mrs. Duffleworth and Rosalita followed suit, expressing their apologies to the other patrons as they made their way through and followed the couple out of the auditorium.

"May I ask what's going on here?" asked Mrs. Duffleworth, growing more confused by the second with their sudden leave.

Alan's call immediately went to Jamie's voicemail.

"Hey, this is Jamie. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but if yo-"

The automatic reply was cut off as Alan hung up, letting out a heavy irritated huff. "He's not answering. He must've turned his phone off."

Marie squeezed her husband's hand in hopes to calm him down, but facing the reality of what happened, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. As uncomfortable as she was to seeing him furious, she also felt the discomfort of their guest's disappointment after months of arranging her visit and the audition in advance; a rare opportunity to come by.

"We sincerely apologize for this, ma'am… but it looks like Jamie up and left the recital…"

"I can't believe he actually did it!" Alan exclaimed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And for what? To perform a show at a restaurant for his friend's parents of all things; and on this night!" Wasting no more time, he rushed to the parking lot to find his car and start it up.

Unable to give Mrs. Duffleworth a proper and brief explanation for Jamie's sudden disappearance, Marie asked Rosalita to follow her and her husband to Banger's & Mosh before jumping in with him.

Rosalita respected her employer's wishes and escorted their guest, still perplexed by this sudden turn of events, to her car.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll explain everything on the way."

With her passenger taking a spot in the backseat, the housekeeper started up her car and followed the Mavericks out from the parking lot and onto the dark but illuminated streets. There they drove their way to downtown Royal Woods where the English establishment resided. While Alan and Marie were bent on confronting their son for his defiance, Rosalita felt a soothing content within her conscience, knowing that Jamie, at least in her opinion, made the right decision.