#and they would not be jamming out to songs before sessions in the garage

[dutiful-wildcraft]

Task Force 141 Music Headcannons

Price

-He has some significant influences from 70s/80s heavy metal, mostly influenced from his mum who was a rebellious metalhead (and a feral KISS fan) herself, but toned down her partying when John was born. That didn't stop her from showing him the good stuff. 

-John’s earliest memories are of him and his mother going on roadtrips, radio blaring. His mom giving him little music “tests,” urging John to guess the artists of the song before they ended. Being so proud of him when he got them right.  His mom had a huge stereo system, an outrageously pricey thing compared to the rest of their meager home. It could play both CD’s and tapes and it was his mom’s pride and joy. 

-They had “cleaning” days where they would deep clean the house. Taking turns between swapping songs as they danced and dusted. A trend that extended well into his teenage years until he joined up.

-John would later pick up more thrash and progressive metal influences from his older CO’s and later by his own team. John is a radio kind of man, and other than the stuff he got from his mum he doesn't bother much with collecting, but he usually can find a radio station or two that plays what he likes. He still blares music when he cleans or works out.  

-John also dips into a bit of blues, folk and country.  He’s fond of the acoustic elements, it’s easy listening and some of them tell a good story.  

-Absolutely owned a “Frampton Comes Alive” CD. 

-Price was a bit petty about it at first, but the rest of the 141’s music tastes aren’t terrible…he still shoves the foam earplugs in on the truck ride home once Soap gets ahold of the aux cord. Though it gives him one hell of a laugh to see Soap cut a rug.  

-Gaz downloaded a huge playlist for the man and crammed it on his phone. Price was tickled pink over the selections, and now this is the only mix he fusses with, throwing it on shuffle and letting it play while he smokes and does his paperwork. 

-Man actually loves to dance, he doesn't just bop around like Soap does but he will take you by the hand and groove a bit with you. He loves to feel a warm body moving with his, letting the music move them together. This is actually how he woo’s ladies at the bar. A bit of liquid courage, and smooth song. He has someone giggling in his arms in no time. 

Soap

-His library is mostly made up of funk/groove metal, metalcore, pop, disco and electronic. He can party to really anything really, he just loves anything that is fast. Something that has a bounce to it.  There is never a wrong setting for this. Has nearly slipped and busted his head open having a one man mosh in the shower.  

-Used to have several piercings, his tongue and eyebrow namely, as well as a couple more pieces in his ears and nipples. They unfortunately had to go when he joined up. But he will still throw the earrings in when it's time to party. Some thicker captive bead earrings from where he had them stretched just the slightest. 

-He's actually pretty solid with a guitar. Doesn’t talk about it because it makes him feel like a douche. But he and his friends did have shitty garage band as teenagers. (Anyway..here's Wonderwall).

-Tries to keep it heavier when hangin with the boys but don't buy his tough guy bullshit, the next song is Madonna. His shuffle will give you whiplash. 

-He and Gaz vibe the most, both crowding into the front seats to put on a concert the whole ride. Having a jam session while they cook together or having heated arguments on whether something is a cover or not (Gaz is always right). 

Gaz

-The most eclectic out of all of them. Pretty similar to Soap, he tends to gravitate toward alt rock/indie, r&b, pop, and psychedelic. While he enjoys the upbeat electronic stuff that Soap enjoys, he prefers the groove. Something a bit slower and well…sexier.  

-He is actually pretty knowledgeable (special interest you could say) about music. The man is like an encyclopedia for music. Can name songs by the first 2 seconds alone. He is a menace on trivia nights for this reason. 

-Has started collecting records in his free time. He has favorites sure, but sometimes he'll just snag a few with interesting covers and give them a spin. He has found some gems this way…and also some straight *trash*. These songs have turned into memes between he and Soap.

-Makes playlists as a love language.

-Always trusted as the trip DJ, takes his job very seriously and considers all his teams tastes to carefully weave a mix everyone can vibe too. 

-Sung in the church choir as a kid, absolutely hated every minute of it. He was always the star of the christmas cantatas until he quit going as a teen.

-He and his sisters would have knock down drag out fights over the sole CD player they had as kids. Genuinely can't stand boy bands due to his big sisters obsession with them at the time. (The shit was on repeat for months.)

Ghost

-absolutely uses the balaclava to hide a earbud when he's just doing paperwork in his office.

-It's his ritual after an op. Simon pops his earbuds in, leans his head back and rests. You don't talk to Simon during this time. He'll take them out when he's ready to talk. 

-He also keeps one in while on leave, focusing on his music in the grocery or doing mundane errands. But just one earbud, he keeps the other out to listen for anything sus.

-Simon's music is pretty precious to him, and something he's actually pretty protective of. He never listened to his music out loud, even kept it turned down low with his headphones to prevent any accidental overhearing. 

-He picked up a lot from his brother that he used as a springboard after that. Lyrics that gave him goosebumps, words for feelings he could never articulate. To him, there was music for anything. Anger, sadness, elation. 

-Simon Riley who's favorite past time was rooting through old used CD's with his big brother at old video rental shops.

-Tommy who would usher him into the bathroom, putting big clunky headphones over his ears to block the sounds of their father's abuse. Clicking play and mouthing a “Stay here” as he clicked the door shut behind him. 

-Simon Riley who scrawled his favorite lyrics onto the soles of old dingey converse. Colored them into the skin of his forearms in a mock up of the tattoos he would later get.

-And he would, Gaz finds them later, inky poetry weaved into the images along his arms, and on his collar. He subtly looks up the words later. Smiling as lyrics of old grungey 90s songs fill his screen. 

-Tool enjoyer, literally just plays the albums start to finish, he is actually really fond of the instrumentals

BONUS!! Alex

-very similar to Price though he leans away from some of the heavier stuff. He loves the easy yacht rock type vibes with some classic rock. As well as some 90s and outlaw country. 

-He is an absolute crooner when he’s drunk. He actually has a gorgeous singing voice, low and rich, reminiscent of Tracy Lawrence.

-He does know the dance to Copperhead Road, tried to teach Farah who does not have rhythm to save her life. 

Actual Playlists

Price Soap Gaz Ghost Alex

I'll be adding to all these mixes as time passes, I would love to hear what you have in mind too <3

[madiomens]

Just Pretend [n.s.]

Chapter Five

Warning: Spice. Just pure, smutty spice. The summary did say they would just pretend with each other, after all ;)

The rest of the night consisted of many more shots and lots of dancing and singing. Before I knew it, Jolly had put himself to bed and I was laying in the floor with Noah, Folio, and Nicholas with our heads together in a circle singing along to King for a Day by Pierce the Veil. Bryan and Matt were passed out on the couch with trash cans beside them that I dug out of the garage along with bottles of Gatorade. I closed my eyes as I brought my hands up in the air and began playing the air drums. Noah's finger tapped along to the beat against my thigh, sending me into a trance as the lyrics to the song seemed to fade out, along with the sound of Nicholas and Folio singing along. All I could hear was Noah's voice next to my ear singing all of the lyrics, warm breath cascading down my cheek and neck.

My hands slowly dropped from the air as I fell into the trance the man's voice and presence was putting me in. His voice changed form while he sang along, almost as if I could hear the smirk that was on his face. My breathing sped up the longer I listened to him and felt his presence, my body on fire as every inch of me was all too aware of the close proximity between my ear and his mouth. My eyes fluttered open as I slowly turned my head to face him, our noses brushing against each other's. His breath caught in his throat once we made eye contact, his deep brown eyes holding my own hazel ones in place, neither one of us daring to blink or move away. Folio and Nicholas' voices were a mere echo in the back of my mind as the air around us felt too thick to fill my lungs, my chest burning in desire for oxygen and Noah. My lips slightly parted as I took a deep breath before pushing myself off the ground quickly so I was standing. My head spun in circles from a mixture of the liquor and the abrupt change in altitude and I grabbed onto a barstool to balance myself, blinking a couple times to try and clear my vision as much as I could.

"It's bedtime for me." I announced, causing the two oblivious boys to protest.

"But Maddie, the jam session isn't over!" Folio whined.

I chuckled as I tried to avoid the heavy stare coming from Noah as he stayed laying on the ground. "I will be here in spirit. Jetlag really is as bad as they say it is." I said, making up any excuse I could to get myself as far away from Noah as possible without seeming too obvious.

"You're right, you haven't experienced this before." Nicholas said, sitting up as he still played the air guitar to whatever song was on. "Go to bed. We will have many other times to party again while you're with us."

I sent him a soft grin. "Goodnight."

I all but ran to my room, 'goodnight' echoing behind me from the boys as I turned the corner. I rushed into my room and shut the door firmly behind me, leaning my back against it as my head fell backwards and my eyes closed. I took in a long, deep breath and slowly let it out through pursed lips to try and even my heart rate back out.

"Get ahold of yourself." I muttered, picking my head up and pushing off the door.

I walked into the bathroom and flicked the light on before walking to the counter and resting my hands on it, closing my eyes and taking a few more deep breaths. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I sensed a presence watching me, my eyes popping open to land on Noah leaning against the doorway to his room with his arms crossed. His eyes bore into me through the mirror as the oxygen was sucked out of my lungs again. Neither of us said anything. We just stood there staring at each other for what felt like eternity until Noah slowly pushed himself off the door frame and began painstakingly taking the slowest steps towards me. My heart pounded as his face darkened in the mirror once he was beside me, his jaw clenched and causing the tattoo on his neck to flex slightly. My breathing sped up as I watched him slowly turn to face me, looking down on my short frame with hunger in his eyes. I didn't dare turn to face him, still facing the mirror and watching his every move through it. I watched as his jaw clenched harder, his eyes roaming down my body and back up to my face and staring a hole into the side of it. I could all of a sudden feel every piece of clothing that touched my skin. The material of my hoodie to my jeans down to my socks, my skin lit up with a fire that I'd never experienced before.

I clenched my own jaw and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out as I mustered up the courage to turn and face him. I tilted my head all the way back as I looked up at him, our eyes finally connecting and causing my heartbeat to pound in my ears. He held eye contact as he brought a finger up to trace across my cheek, trailing down my jaw, neck, and across my clothed shoulder. I didn't dare blink as my chest heaved while I tried to catch my breath, the silence around us weighing on me like a ton of bricks.

"What is it about you?" He questioned lowly, voice gritty and deep with desire.

I swallowed before replying. "I was wondering the same about you." I rasped out.

His eyes roamed over my face before landing back onto mine. He quickly bent down to hook behind my knees and place me onto the counter, causing a surprised yelp to escape me. The counter was taller than ones I'm used to so we were practically eye to eye with the new height, noses brushing against each other's again with his hands rested on my hips. All the thoughts about why this is a bad idea ran through my head at once;'it could ruin the group', 'I could get fired', 'he could instantly regret it'. One very prominent thought crossed my mind.

  'But I want him so goddamn bad'.

With that thought at the front of my mind I made the very rash, split decision to wrap my hands around the back of his neck and slam my lips onto his without another second to hesitate. His arms wrapped around my back to pull me flush against him as he instantly began to kiss me back. Our lips moved against each other smoothly, igniting a fire in the pit of my belly. He tilted his head to the side to push his tongue into my mouth to begin wrestling with mine. A soft moan escaped me as I pulled him further against me, his body heat radiating onto me while his hands heated up my back where they were firmly placed. He brought a hand up to place on my neck, gripping the side of it and forcing my head to the side as he began to leave a trail of fiery kisses down my neck. My eyes rolled back at the feeling of his soft lips against my skin, gripping his hair in one of my hands and his shoulder with the other hand. He brought his mouth back up to mine and began kissing me with even more heat than before. He wrapped his arms around my back again and pulled me off the counter, causing me to wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck as he carried me to his room. He broke the kiss to set me on the edge of the bed, standing up and looking down at me with hunger on his face as the lamp beside his bed cast shadows across his cheekbones.

"This is probably an awful idea." He said huskily as he slowly knelt down onto his knees so we were face to face again.

My eyes scanned over his face before I gripped the bottom of my hoodie and slid it over my head and off my body, tossing it on the ground beside him. "Fuck it."

He let out a deep growl before slamming his lips onto mine, standing me up with him and pushing me all the way backwards onto the bed to crawl on top of me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he wrapped his hand around my back, picking my body up so I'd move across the bed with him. A thrill shot through my body as he did this- I am not a small girl weight wise, only height wise, so having a man pick me up so much was new territory for me.

He slid his hand up my back to unhook my bra, pulling it off my arms so my breasts were freed. A slight pain went through them as his hand came around to squeeze one, the pain of holding up the weight of the size of them being worked out. He broke our kiss and dropped his mouth to the nipple of my free breast, tongue circling it before his mouth closed around it and began to suck. I arched my back into him and brought a hand up to grip his hair tightly when a moan escaped me at the bolt of electricity that shot through my body from his mouth. He groaned into my breast, grinding his hips into mine. His hard erection pressed against my stomach and I brought a hand down to rub it through his sweatpants, the slight wetness of precum soaking through them. He broke the kiss to pull his hoodie over his head, putting his tattooed torso and arms on full display. I brought my hands out to rub across his body, eyes drinking in the sight of him.

"God bless." I breathed out as I looked over his body.

He smirked at me as he backed off my body to unzip my jeans and pull them down along with my panties. He stood up off the bed to stare down at me, causing my body to ignite even more from the look on his face.

"You are so fucking gorgeous." He said deeply, bending down to rub his hands over my body.

My own arms subconsciously moved across my stomach to hide it from his view but were stopped by him grabbing ahold of them. He pressed my arms against my sides and bent down so he could kiss my stomach and make his way up my body.

"Don't ever fucking cover up your body in front of me. I want to see it all. It's perfect." He said between random kisses as he crawled back on top of me.

He slid his hand up so that it rested on my neck as he leaned back down to place a deep kiss on my lips before standing back up and beginning to pull his pants down. His erection sprung loose and hit his stomach, covering his bellybutton.

"Shit." I said, mouth slightly hanging open at the sight of him.

You know how they say the beanpoles are the most well endowed?

They aren't lying.

He chuckled darkly as he climbed back on top of me, placing his lips on mine. He brought a hand to  my thigh, fingertips ghosting up the inside of it and sending a trail goosebumps behind. He ran a finger up my slit, causing me to arch my back and moan into his mouth. He chuckled into mine as our tongues fought for dominance, collecting my wetness on his fingers before inserting one into me slowly. My pussy throbbed as he curled his finger inside me before taking it out and bringing it up to rub my clit. He rubbed it painstakingly slow and I furrowed my brows at the teasing, grinding my hips against his finger to have some sort of friction.

He pulled away from my lips and looked down at me with a smirk. "What do you need?" I squinted my eyes at him and huffed out a breath, causing him to laugh at me. "Use your words, Maddie."

"Get inside of me." I said, leaning up so my lips moved against his as I talked.

He tilted his head down so he looked up at me through his lashes. "I don't have a condom."

"I'm on the pill so I don't give a fuck if you're clean." I all but whined out, getting impatient as my arousal got worse.

"Bet." He breathed before grabbing his erection and sliding it up and down my slit. I gasped and pinched my brows together, closing my eyes as another jolt of electricity shot through me. He grabbed my jaw with his hand, causing me to open my eyes back up. "Look at me as I slide inside of you."

I nodded at him before he began to slide in, both of our mouths dropping open at the feeling. His own brows pinched together once he was all the way in, letting out a groan that mixed with my moan.

"Fuck, Maddie." He breathed out, leaning in to kiss me. "Feel so fucking good." He said against my lips.

"Show me how good I feel." I said against his.

He growled and pulled his hips back so he almost came out of me before cracking his hips back into mine, entering me fully again. I smacked my hand over my mouth to muffle the loud moan that escaped me at the feeling. He leaned down and latched onto my shoulder, biting and sucking it as he began to move inside of me to drown out his noises. He trailed hot kisses up my neck and nipped my earlobe, hot breath cascading across it. I moaned at the feeling and bit down on my bottom lip as my orgasm began climbing from the action. He began moving inside of me at a steady pace, a hand gripping my tit while it bounced and his other hand holding him up.

"You make it so hard to be quiet." He groaned out, tossing his head backwards towards the ceiling.

I placed my hands on his waist, moving my arms with the motion of his hips. He brought his hand down between us and began rubbing circles on my clit with his finger. I covered my mouth with my hand again as I began to let out more moans, sounds escaping me that never had before.

The pit in my stomach got bigger, tingles of pleasure shooting throughout my entire body and my breath picking up. "Noah, you're going to make me cum." I said against my hand.

He leaned back on his knees as he kept thrusting into me and rubbing my clit, pulling my hand off my mouth with his free hand. "Don't cover your mouth when you do. I want you to look at me and be as loud as you want. Let anyone listening hear how I make you feel."

My moans echoed around the room, the sound of the music still going on in the kitchen slightly drowning them out. My voice picked up pitch as my orgasm neared, whole body throbbing with the need that Noah makes me feel. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." I whined out, keeping eye contact with Noah as best as I could.

"Cum for me, Maddie." He moaned out huskily, eyes watching every facial expression I was making.

That sentence sent me over the edge, my breath catching in my throat as my release took over every feeling I had in my body. I twitched under him as sinful sounds escaped my mouth while Noah rode my orgasm out for me. He paused his thrusting to let me come down from the feeling, waves of pleasure washing over me consistently. The corner of his mouth twitched up and he leaned down to place a sloppy kiss on my lips.

"That's a good girl." He cooed against my lips, beginning to thrust inside of me again.

"Fuck, Noah." I moaned, nails digging into his back.

He hooked his arms under my knees, leaning back to place my legs over his shoulders. He began thrusting into me at lightning speed once he leaned back down over me, slamming his lips back down onto mine and keeping my legs over his shoulders.

"I'm not going to last much longer. Your sounds are so pretty." He growled against my lips, thrusts getting sloppier.

"Cum for me, then." I said against his before kissing him and shoving my tongue into his mouth. He moaned against my mouth and thrusted a few more times before quickly pulling out and cumming on my stomach, moans leaving him. "There it is. Good boy." I praised breathlessly, watching his muscles twitch as he finished on me.

He gave his erection a few more pumps before he let go of it and collapsed on top of me with one more moan, head on my chest. "Goddamn." He said as he panted, our sweaty bodies intertwined.

I tiredly chuckled and brought a hand up to run through his hair, tracing my fingernails of my other hand on his back. "You're getting yourself sticky." I whispered against his head, scratching his scalp lightly.

"Don't care. So good." He said as he tried to catch his breath, his voice sounding sleepy and husky.

I chuckled as I kept scratching his head and back while he caught his breath and came down from his own high. After a few minutes he picked his head up to place a kiss on my lips and push off the bed with a groan. He walked into the bathroom and emerged with a towel, the light behind him making him look like an angel- or demon - walking back towards me. I went to grab the towel from his grip when he yanked his hand backwards, sending me a stern look.

"I'm cleaning you." He said.

I squinted my eyes at him and relaxed against the bed as he gently wiped me off with the towel, cleaning up the mess between my legs as well. My body jerked from the tenderness and he chuckled, causing me to smack his head and making him laugh louder. He tossed the towel onto the ground and collapsed onto the bed beside me, tossing an arm across my midsection and placing kisses onto my neck. I sighed contentedly, causing him to pick his head up to look at me.

"You good?" He questioned with a smirk.

I close lipped smiled and closed my eyes before holding up a thumbs up. "Perfect." I said, a sleep wave hitting me. "I have to go pee."

He stood up and scooped me off the bed, causing me to squeal and wrap my arms tightly around him. "Noah, put me down." I said through my laughter.

"Nope." He said simply, walking me into the bathroom and setting me onto the toilet. "After care."

[killa-trav]

do you ever think about how seb came as close to retiring as possible in 2020 but then lewis wrote him a letter and that basically talked seb out of leaving f1

[holdin-out-for-a-hero]

Kevin Levin dating HC’s

A/N: To those of you waiting for Creep Ch.16 and the finale, its coming along. Anyways, I’ve had a huge crush on Kevin Levin from Ben 10 and there are zero fanfics for him, so I had to take matters into my own hands. He’s got some one-shots coming along too.

So Gwen and Kevin didn't work out, but they still have so much love for each other and are practically inseparable. There is no bad blood between them, they just weren't meant to be. Dating Kevin means being fine with him and his ex being platonic soulmates.

It also means you're part of the team so you and Gwen are super tight too. You were there to witness the rise and fall of Gwevin and even though you had a crush on him, you ignored it and instead chose to be happy for your friends.

But of course Gwevin didn't last. After many months of avoiding your feelings with him, Gwen confronted you about it. You thought she'd be angry, but she wasn't. She even gave you her blessing and encouraged you to pursue him. At first you thought she was just being nice, but as time went on and you and Kevin got a little closer, you realized she was serious. That gave you the courage to make a move.

When you did make a move, he was actually receptive to it. You half thought he'd get angry because "the man has to make the first move." But apparently, Gwen had fixed some of his sexist ideals while they were dating. You'd have to thank her for that.

He's very protective during battles, always placing himself in front of you if you're in a pinch. If you get hurt, or are in danger, he's by your side in an instant. But don't think he underestimates you. He definitely doesn't, especially after all the times you've saved his butt.

When you are on dates (with or without Ben and Gwen) he's prone to do stupid things to make you laugh.  Such as: sticking chopsticks up his nose, seeing how many marshmellows he can fit into his mouth... as well as some more dangerous, and even more stupid things. He'd really do anything to see you laugh.

"Hey Y/N, you think I can catch a seagull?"

Thank God for his powers or else this boy would be dead for sure.

Car rides with alone with Kevin usually includes listening to some classic rock on the radio. He knows all the classics and swears up and down that music hasn't been the same since the 80's.

If you know those songs too, he's totally down for a jam session in the car (Just don't tell anybody! you can't ruin his cool guy exterior.)

About those jam sessions... poor boy can't sing. Like, at all. Lets hope you can handle listening to his off-key singing, because that's all he knows how to do.

Another thing about this relationship- your dates usually include Ben and Gwen. There aren't very many times that they don't end up tagging along, but when you two are alone, you see a different side of him. Deep down, he's a really sensitive dude. It took a long time for him to open up to you like that, and he still puts up a façade sometimes.

He never really talks about his feelings but you can tell when he's upset. He either gets angry or really quiet, that's when you know.

Sometimes he just needs space. Other times playing with his hair while he rests his head in your lap coaxes him to talk. So do shoulder rubs and kisses all over the face.

He's big on keeping his bad-ass exterior, so only you know how needy he can sometimes be. It took a long time for him to feel comfortable voicing that he wants attention, but once he did, there was no going back.

He can really catch on to when you're in upset... sometimes. It astonishes you how he can be so intuitive to your feelings sometimes and oblivious the next. So sometimes he's pulling you into a hug and asking you what's wrong before you even realize something's wrong, and other times he's a little oblivious and you have to let him know you're upset. Either way, he knows just how to make you feel better. He listens to your problems, gets you food, and cuddles with you.

When you're studying, he likes to take naps on your bed. The snoring may impede your studying, which usually makes you give up and join him for a nap. He's always happy about that.

Same thing happens when he's working on his car. You nap or work on the couch in his garage and when he's done he joins you. Since the couch is so small and he's so big you usually end up laying on his chest but you don't mind and neither does he.

He's the big spoon 90% of the time because he wants to feel like the protector. Sometimes, though, he feels vulnerable and he needs to feel safe himself, so he throws hints that he wants to be the little spoon. He'd never openly ask for it, and you'd better not tell anybody about it.

The backseat of his can would definitely be the home of most of your make out sessions, but it would also be where you talk about life and everything and nothing. Just like the hood and the top of his car. The both of you would lay there and watch the stars and just enjoy eachother's presence.

Dating Kevin Levin would be full of adventures, danger, dumb jokes, and awful sing-alongs but it would be still so, so worth it.

[ofbooksandaesthetics]

Battle of the Bands

Attack on Titan/ Shingeki no Kyojin 

Levi/Reader

Modern Band AU

Summary: As the guitarist of The 104th, you are invited to play with your favourite band The Scouts. 

Warnings: slight profanity but not much 

Author’s note: I listened to Queen of White Lies by Orion Experience 10 times in one bus journey and couldn’t help but imagine Jean singing it about Mikasa. And voila! This imagine was born :) 

From a young age, you’d always been obsessed with music. From your dad playing jazz on a lazy Sunday afternoon to your mum playing R&B as she cleaned, you had always been surrounded by it. It followed you everywhere so it was no surprise when you were gifted a guitar for your 9th birthday. 

You spent hours each day practising fingerpicking, then moving onto chords and then fully-fledged songs. As you grew so did tastes - and your guitar collection. 

Before moving into the 6th grade, your family moved for a new job, leaving you without friends and having to start a new life in the city of Trost. The one thing that was ever consistent was the strings of your guitar and the beats from the speakers, which became your solace in the coming weeks. And said beats caught the attention of your new next-door neighbour. 

Jean Kirstein was also massively into music, and when he walked past your house he could hear the amp blaring from your open window. He became enthralled and would often leave his window open to catch even just a few notes. 

The Saturday before school started, Jean was forced by his mother to introduce himself to you (she said you had to have at least one friend before starting school) and by doing so Mrs Kirstein caused a life long friendship to bloom. He was forced into your house by your mother and lead upstairs to your room. He was greeted by band posters, from MCR to The Beatles, and an acoustic and electric guitar hanging on the wall side by side. But what caught his gaze was the massive “SCOUTS” poster above your bed. 

“WOW! That’s so cool, you like The Scouts!” He exclaimed as he entered your room, causing you to jump from your magazine and stare at the brown-haired boy invading your space.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” You shouted, giving your mum a quizzical glare as she smiled at the boy's excitement. Your voice seemed to pull the boy out of his oasis and he met your eyes with a blush and a shrug.

“I’m Jean. My mum sent me, we live next door.” Before you could introduce yourself, he had already started to speak again “I’ve heard you playing your guitar. You’re really good!” 

At this your mum left the two of you two it, only returning 3 hours later to find you both on the floor, with you playing whilst Jean sang along. Noticing the time, Jean jumped up remembering his mum warning to be back by dinnertime. 

“It’s been great meeting you! If you want I can meet you outside on Monday and I’ll introduce you to my friends. They’d love to hear you play too! Connie’s really into the drums and Marco has been learning bass.”

Hearing this your eyes lit up and your mum’s heart warmed at the idea of you finally enjoying your new life.

“That sounds great, I’ll see you then!” You called as your mum lead him out.

                                         4 YEARS LATER

The years passed quickly and it didn’t take you long to forget the pain of your old life and become enamoured with your new friends. Jean did indeed introduce to his friends Connie, Sasha and Marco, and it didn’t take long for you to become the best of friends. The five of you would all meet Connie’s garage, sometimes just chatting but more often than not bringing along your instruments for a jam session. Four years went by of you playing lead guitar, Marco jamming on bass, Connie smashing on percussion and Jean accompanying with his gruff drawl, whilst Sasha sat atop of the counter, sadly not having any musical talents other than occasional tamborining. And the four years went by easily until Sasha let out a suggestion.

“You guys should start a band. Like a proper one, with gigs and shit” She declared, soon after stuffing her mouth with a cake Mrs Springer had brought in. 

“See at least someone appreciates my musical talents” quipped Jean with a quirk of his eyebrows, causing you all to laugh. 

“I’ve got to admit, I’m down! We’ve been playing for years, we even played at last years prom.” Seeing no reason against the idea, you voiced your opinion. 

“Yeah but that was prom. We know all of them anyway, if we did gigs it would be to strangers and critics and stuff” Huffed Connie. 

“Yeah, and potential talent scouts! Imagine if we got signed! What do you think Marco?” Jean turned to face he freckled boy awaiting his response. 

“I guess it could be fun.” He said, tilting his head to the side and turning to Connie. “I think we should” 

With a consensus of four out of five, all eyes were set on Connie, pleading him to agree. He spluttered, not expecting you all to be serious. After a moment of staring at you all incredulously, he finally gave in.

“Fine! But if we got told we’re shit it’s on you guys” He sighed, but was drowned out by all your cheers. 

                       2 YEARS LATER

After that day, you had all put in the effort to perfecting your craft and coming up with your own songs. You and Jean would have weekly sleepovers, pulling all-nighters to get the perfect verses. And it wasn’t long until you booked your first gig, which was a success. Nearly the whole grade had turned up to support you, and you soon became a local legend. And in honour of them, you had named your band The 104th, due to being the 104th grade since your school was founded. 

Your increased fame, got you gigs outside of Trost, on larger stages than the small bars you were used to. You had released your first album and we’re having a small jam session, when Sasha’s, who had taken up the role as manager, phone rang. You all carried on with your conversation until Sasha quickly stood up and ran across the room, her voice getting slightly louder, causing you all to stare at her.

“OMG! That sounds great, we can be there for the soundcheck in less than an hour. Thank you so much, for this opportunity. We appreciate it! Thank you, bye!” She exclaimed with wide eyes as her smile grew and grew. After ending the call she whipped around, before letting out a screech 

“OI, OI! What’s going on?” Asked Connie, as he walked up to Sasha flicking her forehead as she squealed again. 

“GUESS WHO’S OPENING FOR THE SCOUTS?!” She all but screamed whilst running to the front of the garage and throwing your jackets at you all. Realising what she meant you stood in a state of shock before opening your mouth. 

“What do you mean? Opening for The Scouts. As in THE SCOUTS? They’re playing tonight, we can’t open for them.” You justified, meeting Jean’s stunned gaze. 

You two had always imagined what it would be like to meet your legends, let alone open for them. After your initial meeting, the two of you had gone on for hours about your favourite songs by the band and sang along to them. You had even let him in on your crush on the lead guitarist, Levi Ackerman, for heaven’s sake. As good as an opportunity this was, you were a nervous wreck. It was one thing to play on the same stage that your favourite band had stepped on, but to play with them and meet them. That was a thing of its own. 

You were knocked from your thoughts by a shoe to your head, and as you focused back in you watched Connie running around like a headless chicken. Attempting to back up his drum kit, he panicked until Sasha assured him there’d be one there for him. The rest of you seemed to kick into action and you ran about gathering your equipment before rushing home to grab gig-worthy clothes. You all met up back at Connie’s house before all piling into Jean’s minivan. Connie and Sasha were as loud as always but you, Jean and Marco seemed to still be too shocked to talk.

As you rolled up to the venue, you saw a queue of about 20 Scout super fans lined up three hours before the gig even started. You wondered how many were your fans, as Sasha had sent out announcements on every social media site possible after you guys left. You hauled your guitar case out of the van before following behind Sasha into the main doors of the venue. The crew were rushing about everywhere, and if you weren’t already used to the atmosphere you were sure you’d pass out. As you walked into the main hall, your eyes fell to the band on top of the stage. All five of you froze, in the realisation that you were in the same room as your childhood heroes. Putting your kit down, you watched as Hange Zoe lazily sat on her drum set, tapping out a quiet beat, as the lead singer Erwin, counted in the beat. Miche Zacharias swayed his hips as he set out the bassline, and Levi almost languidly strummed his electric guitar. 

The five of you were pulled behind the stage before you could watch their practice start but you could still hear it as they performed their soundcheck. Experienced in the world of gigs, the four of you prepped your instruments, tuning them in case they had been messed up in the hurry of your departure. And by the time you’d finished the Scouts were walking towards you. Hange greeted you first. 

“HI! OMG, we’ve heard so much about you guys. You guys are practically famous around here!” She blurted out, her excitement surprising you all. Connie seemed to be frozen as his inspiration complimented you guys. Miche let out a greeting and moved on to sit down. Leaving Erwin and Levi in front of you. Erwin stepped forward and placed out his hand, shaking and greeting you all individually. Now there was just Levi left. 

Your eyes met his and you couldn’t help but blush, as he gave a small nod. Appreciative of the small gesture, you calmed slightly until Jean ruined it

“HI! We love you guys so much. Y/N even has a crush on Levi!” He blurted, his face turning bright red after realising what he had said. You gasped and without thinking smacked him across the head. 

“WHAT THE HELL’S WRONG WITH YOU? WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?” But before you could apologise and defend yourself to Levi and Erwin, you were escorted to the stage for your own soundcheck. Glaring at Jean, you got in position, and were done in half an hour. 

After the soundcheck, you were given time to rest, giving you all time to calm down, after the more than lively introduction. You eventually forgave Jean for his outburst but not without consequences. He would be carrying your gear for the next year’s worth of gigs.

You hadn't yet gained back the confidence to talk Levi but had spoken to the other members of The Scouts. Miche and Erwin told you about how their touring band had ditched them last minute and how they needed another opening band pronto. You were astonished to find out that Hange herself had requested you guys, but it filled your heart with warmth knowing someone as famous as her held your small-town band in high regards. 

Everyone could sense your apprehension to talking to Levi but we’re all shocked when the quiet man joined you whilst getting a drink. You almost blushed when you noticed him next to you but pushed the feeling down and smiled at him. Although Jean had embarrassed you beyond belief, there was no reason to push away your childhood dream and miss the opportunity to talk to him. 

“You know you we’re what inspired me to start learning the guitar?” You said. Levi didn’t reply but you decided his silence wasn’t in annoyance. “My parents were always super into music anyway but when I heard your guys' debut album it pushed me towards the guitar.” You watched him finish making his tea and leave but before he sat down, he turned his head over his shoulder. 

“I’m glad to hear it” He replied, turning again and leaving. You smiled, happy that he didn’t think you were a complete freak. 

                      2 HOURS LATER 

The time had finally arrived. From the side of the stage, you could see a sea of people filling the venue and could hear the symphony of chatter. The boys were stood next to you, panting with nerves. You had never performed to such a large crowd before. You took a sharp breath before turning to them. 

“Come on boys! We’ve done this before and we’ll do it again. This is just another small step before we get our own main stage like this!” Your small pep talk seemed to calm the boys and caught the attention of Erwin and Levi who were waiting to watch your performance from the side-lines. You smiled at the two but we’re now filled with dread as you realised they would be watching. You threw that fear away and gave Marco a side hug as you fixed your strap, and then followed Jean to the stage. 

The lights blinded you but once your vision cleared you all but gasped at the sheer amount of sweaty bodies in front of you. You beamed brightly and gave a wink to a figure in the balcony. At least you could seem confident even if you were dying inside.  

The beat of the drum surrounded you and Marco’s strumming blared out from the amps. You started plucking at your guitar and forgot about the crowd. Jean’s gravely word floated out into the dark room, and it was easy to forget you were on a stage and instead it felt like you were back in Connie’s house. As the song reached the chorus, you and Marco joined in, accompanying Jean. Eventually, you loosened up to a point where all three of you were able to dance slightly to the beat during the bridge. This seemed to get the crowd going even more and you let out a laugh, completely forgetting your inhibitions. [I imagined them performing Queen of White Lies]

Once the song finished, Jean introduced himself, and you prepared yourself for another half an hour of playing and dancing. But it passed quickly and before you knew it you we’re all sat on the sofa. Connie was still flushed chugging on his 3rd bottle of water whilst the rest of you leant back with smiles upon your faces. Your attention was piqued as The Scouts took the stage and you all shouted words of encouragement to them. This brought a smile to their faces, including a small smirk on Levi’s. You all rushed to the sidelines to watch and we’re in awe as you saw the four of them play as if they were reading each other's minds. It was as if they were symbiotic, each knowing what to do without even the slightest hesitation. 

Even though you tried to focus on all of them, your focus always came back to Levi. You watched how his brow rested into a scowl as he neared a faster part of the song and how he threw his head back when lost in the moment. Your eyes widened when he took his shirt off after four songs, which Jean noticed, and started to nudge you for. Time seemed to go by so quickly that you barely noticed them finish their final song. They waved to the crowd as they left but stayed in the wings as the crowd screamed for an encore. Erwin still seemed to smile and nudged Levi towards the five of you. 

“Do you guys want to join us for the encore?” He asked gruffly, his eyes set on you. You looked at the rest of the band and you all nodded before you verbally replied. 

“Of course! What song are you thinking?” 

“Nirvana - Love Buzz? You guys know it?” Miche asked, wiping some water from his chin. You all nodded in unison and before you know it you were all kitted up and back on stage. 

The crowd went wild seeing both The Scouts and The 104th back on stage and you couldn’t help but smile as you found Levi stood next to you. You guys let loose on the song and you even attempted to have a little contest with Levi during the guitar solo for dominance. This gained a smile for the man, and you guys finished the song in no time. 

Leaving the stage for the last time, you gave out a clumsy bow before running off stage. You guys went to get changed and pack up your gear but before you could get in the van the Scouts we’re back in front of you. Erwin took the lead yet again. 

“We loved having you guys on stage with us! And after some thinking, we’d love it if you replaced our old band with us on the rest of the tour.” 

At this Jean slammed the van door and stared at Erwin in shock. The five of you looked at each other in shock. The silence was eventually broken by Connie, who let out a scream as he ran around the van, followed by Sasha letting out profanities. The rest of you gushed and thanked the other band profusely not knowing how to appropriately respond. After formally Sasha accepted the other, Hange launched into giving out hugs, whilst Miche and Erwin gave out handshakes. Levi ignored the rest of your bandmates and made his way to you.

“I look forward to more guitar battles.” Levi remarked as dryly as ever but with a small smirk playing on his lips. Luckily this time, the others were too distracted and you were able to reply with some confidence. 

“You mean to look forward to losing right?” you quipped, knowing this would be the start of something great. 

[missmitchieg]

Reggie being So Nice to Julie (and the family)

*not even mad at Julie for attacking them with a cross, introduces himself with a smile*

*is the first one to stop playing because Julie asked them to*

*is nice to Julie's dad who can't see or hear him*

*almost immediately after Julie literally kicks him out* Julie seems nice!

*not even offended by Julie telling them to go to an old mansion* I've always wanted to go to Pasadena!

*smiles really big and is genuinely happy to see her, is the first to stop moving when Julie shrieks in surprise during dinner, whispers* We should've called first! *pushes the other two out because Julie gave him a look*

*to Alex* That doesn't answer [Julie's] question.

*asks Julie if she plays piano too to get to know her better*

*genuinely appreciates her letting them stay in the garage*

*after hearing her sing for the first time* [Julie's] legit! I got ghost bumps!

*worries about Julie's crying friend who he doesn't even know, eavesdrops because he cares* Don't worry, we weren't listening!

*is still nice to Julie's dad who still can't see or hear him, cries because Julie dad is sad*

*immediately jumps off Julie's bed because she asked him to and said 'please'*

*is smug about correctly guessing what's in Julie's dream box because it means he knows her pretty well already*

*gets excited to show Julie a cool ghost trick he learned*

*stays silent when Julie's dad comes in so Julie doesn't look like she's talking to air in her room*

*is still super nice to Julie's dad*

Yes, ma'am! We are out of here! *leaves Julie's room because she told him to*

*doing his best to support Julie before her ambush at the rally* What are you waiting for? This is your time!

*poofs on stage to be a good emotional support ghost for Julie*

*tries to be funny and goofy to make Julie laugh in the hallway after the ambush*

*is worried about Julie because she looks bummed*

*is the only one to say 'Later, Julie'*

*is all for Julie joining the band*

*about Julie* With a new lead singer, this band would be Legendary! That girl has the voice of an angel!

*composes music with Luke to a poem Julie wrote about Julie's best friend to help her apologize*

*is super excited asking her to join the band*

*asks questions about the poem to understand Julie better*

*happily sings back up to Julie's apology song, is super happy the girls are besties again*

*is super chill with Julie's best friend*

*is super hyped to play at Julie's school dance*

*is confident they'll release a bunch of hit albums, including a country album that does surprisingly well*

*fist bumps Julie for deciding to learn the fiddle after bragging that he shreds on banjo*

*waves at Julie's friend*

*instantly nicknames Julie's brother Little Dude*

*tries to explain to Caleb that they need to leave for the gig at Julie's school*

*calls Julie's best friend 'super cool'*

*genuinely excited to make it up to Julie for being late to the dance* Julie, we are READY TO ROCK... This dance...

*genuinely remorseful for missing the dance*

*does Luke's cute little barber shop quartet apology in hopes of Julie forgiving them and coming back*

*assumes Julie genuinely can't see or hear them anymore before assuming she would ever be mean enough to ignore them just because she was angry*

*gently explains to Julie about Luke's parental issues with help from Alex*

*happily rehearses their new song with Julie*

*knocks on Julie's bedroom door to be respectful, polite and classy because she doesn't like them just barging in*

*rocks the stage with Julie like a good emotional support ghost again*

*is super supportive of her 'strange little relationship' with his best friend*

*after Flynn says Julie was incredible* YEAH, WE WERE!

*helps Julie's little brother get their aunt to believe there's ghosts in the house*

*has a cute little jam session with Julie's dad, is super nice to him*

*calls Julie's dad 'Best Dad Ever' twice*

*to Julie's dad* Have a good day at work, Ray!

*tries to talk Luke into telling Julie how he feels because he wants them to be happy together*

*rocks the party with Julie and is #1 Jukebox stan with Alex*

*wants to be honest with Julie the second he finds out about the stamps because friends don't lie or keep secrets like that*

*compliments Julie's dad's photography skills*

*calls Julie's brother Little man*

*genuinely appreciates Julie's dad liking their music*

*genuinely interested in Julie's brother's ghostly findings*

*about Julie and her family* I'm gonna miss them.

*is super excited to tell Julie they got The Orpheum gig and celebrate with her*

*smiles really cute at Julie when they make it to The Orpheum stage and rocks the show*

*politely says 'you're welcome' when Julie thanks them*

*is super happy he gets to stay with Julie after her Magic Hug*

[hadtochangemyurlquick]

do you have any headcanons for the unsinkable 8?

sure do!

dot gets a “world’s best dad” mug as a joke gift from the gang on her birthday and she immediately gets into dad jokes. one of her fave is pronouncing kind like the kind in “goodkind” whenever she’s talking to Shelby, and to sneak it into the conversation as much as possible. it is quite literally sooooooo dumb.

Dot: it takes all kinds, thank you kindly, that is so kind of you, ect.

Shelby: get a hobby

Nora doesn’t stop counting days. she keeps track of them in a notebook and has a “days since the island” count that the girl’s periodically ask her about. but she also has a “days since I’ve last been kissed” and a “days since leah got out of rehab” and a “days since toni’s mom last used” and a “days since fatin played the cello” and a “days since Dot had a panic attack” and a “days since Rachel had a bad food day” and too many others to name. most of the ones the girls know about but sometimes in conversation they’ll offhandedly mention something and Nora will input a highly specific number that makes everyone realize how tight she’s keeping track of things

Rachel has perfect pitch. she doesn’t realize she does, doesn’t really care that she does, but Fatin finds out and starts demanding she help with the cello which is when they learn Rachel can sing. like, sing intensely amazingly. she doesn’t really care enough to pursue a music career but sometimes she’ll post a jam session with shelby or something on insta, and get tons of support. there’s a running gag that they should release an ep and while everyone in the eight is very musical and artistic, it’s all in entirely different ways. Fatin really is classically trained, Shelby is partial to country, Toni loves rap while Dot loves heavy metal. Martha and Rachel both love pop but have wildly different opinions regarding it and Nora listens to a ton of indie by artists no one has heard of before. once they tried to put a song together just for shits and giggles and it entirely collapsed within five minutes

Shelby and Toni don’t want to settle down and they don’t want to conform to capitalism and while the island sucked in every way it sucked they also don’t want to live as separated from nature as Shelby was forced to for most of her life. they end up buying a van and living out of their car, just driving around Texas. they visit the girls a lot, but they enjoy the freedom of not having to go anywhere or do anything but having the only responsibility be to themselves. Toni gets pretty into nature photography, which brings in some income, and Shelby starts learning other instruments just for fun: guitar, flute, violin, sort of whatever she happens to run into. she asks Fatin to teach her the cello and gets a flat and very understandable “no way in hell i’d rather get trapped on an island again” in response

Martha starts a little animal rescue and falls in love with the the boy who runs the cafe across the street and it’s like a gross rom com. he’s stupid, though not a himbo bc he’s kinda mean at first, more of a womanizer than anything. it’s this frustrating enemies to lovers where Martha cannot stand him and his perfect abs and his passion for cooking and his attention to detail. whenever there’s a new development the entire gang has to hear about it individually on a phone call from her. his meanness comes from a place of insecurity, pushing her away so that he never has to put himself out there bc he doesn’t think he’s good enough bc he’s mean bc the insecurity (vicious cycle, you get it), and once he’s kinda forced to bc c’mon, it’s Martha, if any of us met her we’d all instantly fall in love, he transforms into a himbo, stupid pretty and also stupid. they adopt four dogs, six cats, three guinea pigs, a chinchilla, two hamsters, an aquarium filled with fish, five birds, and so on and so on. once Martha asked Toni to pet sit and Toni faked her death for seven weeks. they also end up having like a stupid amount of kids. like so many kids. it’s a zoo it really is. and they still have that animal rescue and cafe right across from one another. sometimes they’ll send their employees to pass notes to each other and when Rachel found out she stopped talking to Martha for nine days bc it was soooo gross.

Fatin’s approach to life is very very strange. she makes a decision and she goes for it. like once she decided she was gonna summit Mount Kilimanjaro, and she trained for it and did it and then was like “okay great never climbing a mountain again, i no longer care.” she got elected to congress and she stayed there for a single term, she got a doctorate in musical theory then gave up music, got a million subscribers on youtube then gave up social media, just running through things like she’s running through a bucket list. she learned to speak five languages, (one of those martha’s language, can’t remember the name of it, typing too quick to look it up) then stopped. successfully campaigned for an area to be named a natural park so it would stay protected and gave up activism. like, she just runs around on side quests doing shit. she got her boating license, her pilots license, a real estate license, a license to practice law, and a license to kill. sometimes one of the girls would come with her on her grand crusade (Dot climbed the mountain with her, Toni and Shelby learned the language with her, Rachel helped her in her music classes, Leah helped with the activism) but like sometimes she’d just be doing stuff on her own. and she was learning to be okay with that.

Leah starts collecting really old books. and it’s not really a big deal at first it’s just her at a garage sale or a used book store picking up a title that feels nice against her fingers or that she recognizes the author of, until suddenly it is a big deal. until she has people calling her asking her to pick up a box or else they’ll get thrown away. entirely on accident she becomes well versed in book preservation and restoration, building a library and releasing it to the public, keeping copies of books that went out of print ages ago with signatures by authors who’s hands have rotted away in their graves. it’s a lot of little work, a lot of careful focused work so her brain can’t run away from her, and a lot of isolated work too. some days she wakes up and realizes she hasn’t talked to the other girls for weeks and it’s tangible, the missing them. the books stack up higher and higher in her shelves. when she’s dead and gone someone will write a biography describing all of the incredible work she did for the preservation of history and writing. the island will be a footnote.

[bluefirewrites]

Hc - Luke gets in trouble at school and forced to join the drama club latest production and try out , where he ends up getting the lead along with Julie (who they know of each other through there moms friendship. But the more they spend time together even outside school the more they fall for each other. And finally get together (sorry for the rambling sometimes have trouble writing what i want to say )

I had this whole response typed out before my computer crashed and it got lost in the void. 

I’m gonna mince some details just in case it happens again, but I love this concept. 

Luke’s a bad boy on campus. It’s hard to get him engaged in anything school-related, but the teachers just know that he’s got untapped potential, especially Ms. Harrison, the theater teacher. 

The band is on Luke’s mind all day every day. And he gets in trouble at school a lot because of it- borrowing the instruments from the music room for a quick jam session, pasting their gig posters over Carrie Wilson’s student body president ones, parking their band van in the teacher’s lot (it’s a lot closer!). 

But Luke’s latest scheme lands him in hot water with the principal. 

He thought it was a great idea to hijack lunchtime and turn it into an impromptu Sunset Curve concert. He and the boys hid on the stage over looking the cafeteria and they even bribed the sound tech to help them out. 

And in the middle of lunch, they burst through the curtains and started jamming out for everyone. 

And Luke may have gotten carried away. 

He may have jumped onto the nearest lunch table, treating it like his own personal runway, hopping and skipping over people’s lunches.

He may have miscalculated the space and so when he slid into a power stance, he may have spilled orange juice onto some poor girl’s homework.

He didn’t have time to apologize to the fuming girl before he’s up and running, inciting the now crowd of students into a riot with his music. 

Let’s just say that tables were tipped over, food was everywhere, and Principal Lessa was not happy. 

It was a success in Luke’s eyes. 

But then Lessa pulls him into the office and oddly enough, for Luke, Ms. Harrison is present. That’s where they give him the ultimatum: they suspend him and the boys for their little stunt, or they have to audition/ partake in Ms. Harrison’s spring musical. 

And Luke bawks at the idea. Because they’re a rock band! They don’t do show tunes!

But he takes the deal, mainly so his parents don’t get any more pissed at him. 

The boys all show up to auditions, and apart from Alex, the rest of them aren’t super into it. 

He sits down in the auditorium, waiting of his turn, when he notices the next person up for audition- Julie Molina.

He sorta knows her. Their moms are in book club together. When she auditions, Luke notices two things- 1) her voice is killer and 2) the script she’s holding is stained with orange juice. 

Whoops. 

She hops down the stage and catches his eye and she glares at him. And given the round of applause and Ms. Harrisons’s praise- Julie Molina seems to be the queen of the theater department. And Luke managed to have pissed her off. 

Great...

Then he goes up to audition, all ready to half-ass it because really doesn’t want to be a part of the play. So when it’s his turn, Luke doesn’t take it seriously- he purposefully flubs the words, he doesn’t act from the script- instead reciting a monologue from the Simpsons that made everyone, but Julie, laugh. 

Ms. Harrison only nods, and notifies him that the cast list would be put up at the end of the day. 

Luke, thinking he tanked it, doesn’t bother to stop in front of the cast list posted like everyone else does at the end of the school day. But when he tries to pass, everyone’s eyes are on him, including his friends’. 

“Um... Luke,” Alex says from his spot in front of the bulletin board, “You might wanna see this,” 

He pushes past the crowd until he can read the cast list. 

Oh no. 

He made the lead. 

Luke’s confused. He thought he put on the worst audition ever?

“Congratulations,” he hears from beside him and he sees Julie, arms crossed, not the least bit happy. 

And that’s when he reads the rest of the cast list- Julie’s the other lead. 

They’re going to be love interests. 

When it’s time for rehearsals, it’s an utter disaster. Luke’s never been in any production ever, so being part of a team, that’s not just him and the boys, is throwing him off. 

He can sing yeah- but he dancing? Acting? Not his forte. And Julie knows this, and gets so frustrated with him whenever they rehearse a scene together. 

But when it comes time to the duet- oddly enough, they sound great together. Amazing even. Luke wants to say that ever since hearing how their voices complimented each other’s, Julie eases up on him a little. 

Some weeks go by, and slowly but surely, Luke and the boys are warming up to theater culture. Alex, Reggie, and Bobby seem to be having a good time learning their parts and making new friends with the cast and crew, and pretty soon Luke and Julie form a tentative truce. 

One day, Luke closes his locker and gets spooked by Julie leaning beside him. 

“Hey,” 

“Hi?” They don’t talk during school. Only at rehearsal. So this is new. 

“How much of the songs have you memorized?” Okay, right down to it, Luke thinks. But it’s Julie- theater is her life. 

“All of them, don’t worry,” 

“And your lines?” 

“...” 

“I thought so. You called my character by Kayla’s character’s name. Do you even know what this play is about?” 

“Of course I do,” 

“We’ll see about that,” Julie then scribbles something on a piece of paper and hands it to him, “My place. After school. We will be running lines,” 

Luke starts going to Julie’s almost every other day to go through lines, and also because he needs all the help he can get when it comes to acting. 

Some days are good, others- well, are left to be desired, but Luke tries to get Julie to loosen up and he coaxes her into taking breaks and going out to eat during their one-on-one sessions. And he starts to find himself actually enjoying her company, and she with him- even if she’s reluctant to admit it. 

But over time, Luke starts to get a schedule down, now invested in the musical, he makes sure he gets to school on time, gets through his classes, rehearse, and days when he’s not rehearsing- he’s with Julie, working on their stuff. 

Luke’s mom notices a change in him, and even though it’s more music stuff that he seems to be getting up to, she doesn’t mind. And when Luke sees that his mom smiles every time he mentions that he’s off to see Julie, he knows their moms have definitely been talking to each other. 

When he would get to the Molina’s, he would pass Rose, greet her, and say that he’s going to be running lines with Julie. 

“Right,” 

“We are,” he insists, one time, after catching Rose smirking. 

“It’s just, I’ve been in theater myself when I was younger. I know what ‘running lines’ mean,” 

And to say that Luke shows up blushing to the garage where Julie was waiting was an understatement. 

But as much as Luke and Julie are killing it in their performances, there’s one part that trips Luke up. 

There’s a scene where their two characters confess their love for each other, following a group musical number, but Luke can’t get into it. 

He throws the script in frustration at the couch, “This is hopeless.”

“No, you’re doing good. It’s just missing something,” Julie says, pulling him closer to her, “You’re reading the lines. You’re not saying them,” 

“What does that mean?” 

“You need to channel the character. His thoughts and feelings in the moment, and you embody that. You show the audience that,” 

“So what do I need to do?” 

“You need to look like you’re in love with me, okay?” 

“Okay,” 

They run it a couple of times before they do it at rehearsal the next day. And after he and Julie go over their love confession, Luke inwardly curses himself because he couldn’t focus and he was worried he messed up in front of everyone during such an intimate scene. 

But once he concluded, Julie is looking up at him with an expression he’s never seen before, in surprised awe, and he could see a faint blush on her cheeks. And she ends up stammering into her part- something the Julie Molina never did. 

Everyone in the production applauds them- Reggie, Alex, and Bobby look at Luke, wide-eyed. 

Flynn comes up to them to show them the footage she captured of their rehearsal and Luke is stunned to see that his acting isn’t as terrible as he thought. In that moment, he really looked like he was in love with Julie as he said his lines. 

And then it hit him. 

The reason he couldn’t focus is because he had been too busy staring into Julie’s beautiful brown eyes, relishing the touch of her warm hand in his- and he didn’t even try to act, he said the lines as he normally would if he was talking. 

He didn’t look like he was in love with Julie. 

He was in love with Julie. 

It gets awkward between them since then, and they haven’t been able to recapture that same spark as their previous performance. And now that they have gotten their parts down, there’s no need for Luke to keep visiting Julie any more, and they only see each other at rehearsals. 

And then it comes- opening night. 

They run through it without a hitch earlier before and everyone’s all excited for how it’s gonna play out. 

Luke sees his parents out in the audience, chilling with the Molinas, and he stomachs his nerves before walking out and to perform. 

The production is successful, only minor mishaps occur (aka Reggie’s props keep falling apart, so he had to make due with invisible ones for the time being). 

And then it comes to the finale, the big scene. Luke goes in and delivers his lines, staring into Julie’s eyes and tries to channel the same feelings as before.

But when it’s Julie’s turn, she starts ad-libbing. She says her lines, but then she’s throwing in references that certainly aren’t relevant within the time period in which the musical takes place (”when you gave me your last strawberry for my frozen yogurt... I knew... I knew you were the one for me”), it makes the audience laugh but the heart was still there. 

Luke’s confused until he realizes. It’s not Julie’s character confessing her feelings for Luke’s anymore. 

It’s Julie confessing her feelings for Luke. Right there on stage. In front of everyone. 

She went off-script for him...

After curtain call, and everyone is riding that post-opening night high, Luke catches Julie before she could go meet her family out in the hallway. 

“Hey,” 

“Hi,” 

Luke pulls out his script, “Run it with me one last time?” 

“Luke, what-”

“Humor me, please,” 

Julie scans the script he hands to her. He’s circled their love confession scene, and when she reaches the bottom of the page, her eye catches a new, messily scribbled in stage direction. 

“’And they kiss...” Julie reads, a smile slowly growing on her face, “...hopefully??”

They both laugh at the latter words, and Luke looks at her sheepishly. 

“I mean... if it’s in the script, we gotta do it, right?” 

“You’re such a dork,” Julie says before pulling him in for a kiss. 

They pull away, and Luke has the audacity to smirk, “I believe this is what you call a ‘showmance’,” 

Julie quirks an eyebrow at the new vocabulary, “Someone’s been paying attention.” 

“I’ve learned a few things,” He nuzzles her nose against hers, “I had a pretty good teacher.” 

“I have plenty more to teach you,” 

“Oh really?”

“Like, for instance, how the warp party at Denny’s is a must,” She takes him by the hand and leads him out of the theater, giggling “Come on!” 

They dash through the hallways until they come up on their friends and family, who were proud of their performances. Luke looks up from hugging his mom in time to see Ms. Harrison grinning at him and giving him a thumbs up. 

‘Thank you,’ he mouths to the teacher. 

Maybe theater wasn’t that bad of an idea after all...

[museswithinx]

"Never, I'm too entertaining," she replied with a grin, "he asked me to impress him when we first met, and I've just continued to do so. He couldn't live without me if he tried." She winked playfully, even if she meant every word. Neither were the type to settle down, and she'd never have done it with anyone else. Lowering her voice in case her dear husband was nearby, she cheekily replied, "well, we know the charm's all me." Sometimes she wished people would see Deniz for more of what he truly was than by their actions, but she never regretted for a second that he was so much like them. He was theirs, and everyone else could think what they wanted about it.

It was hard not to sit here and see a high chair sometimes. All she'd done was blink, and he was grown. "That would pay for your garage in less than a month," she retorted with a light, airy laugh. They were a team, and as such, she'd throw Kol under the bus. "Your father did." Still, her lips curled in an amused smile, but she wouldn't ask where it'd gone. She knew, and she knew he knew she knew. "Not Ricky, well, let's keep that between the two of us." There was something a little extra in his smirk as he remembered his time with this girl today, and she loved seeing it. "Very. Judgmental, hypocritical bunch. What's she like?"

"He'd undoubtedly be lost with you," he agrees with a grin. Deniz remembered them telling him the story of when they first met. Father had let her do her siren song on him and she'd certainly impressed him enough to eventually marry her. A move that undoubtedly shocked the entire family. Laughing, he leaned in lowering his own voice, "I've always known. It'll be our little secret."

He had so many fond memories with his mother in this kitchen. Even though he was all grown up now, he knew he'd still always be her baby. That would never change. "That'd pay for it in a single day," he retorts with a chuckle. "Of course he did." The account was shared among the entire family, so he supposed it wasn't surprising. He'd just thought everyone else's ridiculous purchases would drown out his rather generous withdrawal. However, she didn't ask and he didn't expand on that further. "It's for the best. Father would never forgive such a sin." Even if Ruth was completely wrong, as per usual, about Ricky not being the greatest musician who ever lived, she'd still joined in on the jam session. Her spirit and sense of fun matched his quite nicely. "Very much so," he agrees, feeling a tad annoyed as he thought about it before his mother asked about Ruth again. "She tends to march to the beat of her own drum. Doesn't really let the opinions of others influence her or what she does. She's smart, has a good sense of humor, and she's honest. We get along quite well."

[song-tam]

Tam, Keefe, Fitz, and Dex Being in a Band

A/N: This is just me being an absolute simp and coming up with the idea of the keeper boys being in a band... an idea that I absolutely cannot get out of my head haha... anyway it’s finally finished so um, enjoy! (Also this is like a human high school AU, who knows maybe I’ll make a fic out of this idea in the future)

Word Count: 781

So Keefe was the one who first came up with the idea

He barged into Tam’s room one day

Fitz and Dex were there too because it was a study session

Keefe just blurted it out

“We should start a band.”

They all kinda stared at him like he was talking nonsense

In a way he was

All of them sang/played instruments

But that was just for themselves

Not to perform for anyone

Keefe still pushed for it though

“Come on guys, it’ll be fun.”

Tam just rolled his eyes

“You and I have very different ideas of fun.”

Fitz was pretty reluctant about it too

But Dex was kind of interested

He wanted to do something new for a change

“I’m in.”

That was all the confirmation Keefe needed to go ahead with the idea

He and Dex started nagging the other two to join

Fitz caved after a couple of days

“I mean, I guess it could be fun.”

The only one left to convince was Tam

He was being stubborn af about it

Which irritated Keefe to no end

But he was never discouraged

And sure enough, after a couple weeks his efforts payed off

The four of them were in Dex’s garage at their first rehearsal

Tam was on drums

Dex on lead guitar

Keefe had wanted to be the lead singer at first

But he eventually decided he’d be better off on bass and backup vocals

And Fitz was the lead vocalist and played rhythm guitar

The first few rehearsals were a bit of a wreck

Fitz and Keefe were both kind of control freaks

Arguing a bit over songs

Dex was always trying to calm both of them down

And Tam would be by his drums with his head in his hands

Eventually, though, the guys got everything sorted out

They started being incredibly productive during rehearsals

Practicing covers for some of their favorite bands at first

But they started doing their own songs later on

Tam was an amazing songwriter

Like, when his words made his way to paper, they were nothing short of poetic genius

And paired with Fitz’s voice singing the lyrics and all of them jamming out to the songs

The four of them had the ability to move people

Biana and Linh was their first ever audience

Fitz and Tam decided their sisters would be as good an audience as any

And they played for the girls

All of them were nervous they didn’t sound as good as they’d thought

And people would hate their music

Tam especially, that was the song he’d written they’d played

But Biana and Linh oved it

Linh dragged along her girlfriends Sophie and Marella to the next rehearsal

Sophie was kind of crying by the end

And Marella was just highkey vibing to the music

Marella was also the one who pointed out a fact the boys had overlooked

They didn’t have a band name

Keefe panicked at that

“Guys how the hell are we supposed to book a gig without a name?”

“Calm down Keefe, we’ll figure it out.”

Dex was the one who came up with the final name

Crystal Gambit (yes I know it’s a terrible band name but just roll with it)

None of them really knew what it meant but it sounded okay (well not really I’m not good with names) so they went with it

They landed their first gig shortly afterwards

They were playing at their high school for some weird festival thing going on

The four of them really didn’t pay too much attention to the details

But it seemed like a big deal with most of the other students

So they figured it’d be a good event as any to debut

They weren’t trying to become a professional band or anything

All of them had agreed they weren’t really too interested in that

Dex kind of got jittery before they performed

“Ohhh, I feel like I’m about to throw up.”

Tam calmed hin down though while Keefe panicked like crazy

“Deep breaths, dude, you got this, we can do this.”

He was really good at keeping his cool

Dex and Keefe soon cooled down

They went on stage and performed without a hitch

Seriously the audience loved them

Tam approached Keefe after their performance, when everyone was congratulating them

“You know… this actually was a pretty good idea.”

Keefe got so smug about the fact that Tam agreed with him

But he was also really pleased because inside Tam’s opinion mattered ro him

He didn’t tell him that though

Keefe was just cocky 

“You should have learned by now that I’m a bit of a genius, Bangs Boy.”

Taglist: @stardustanddaffodils @dreaminq-out-loud @sunset-telepath @summer-waves9764 @thoserainyrainboots @jenniecrushed @jaxtheshade @beautifuldaysahead @bloodred-roses @bianavacker-is-bi-as-hell @real-smooth @scribblesnsketches05 @the-sky-isnt-blueee @spreadyourwingsandfly @cadence-talle @linhamon2 @luminousrunes @xonar-verse @an-absolute-travesty @hershis-kotlc @turquoise-skyyyy @blxckh0les42 @completekeefitztrash @honorablescythe-faraday @honeymoon-fading-with-you @gay-paladin-of-etheria @falling-drops-of-rain 

[granvarones]

Sometimes we are late to the BBQ right? Well in the case of Ultra Naté (pronounced Na-Tay), I didn’t arrive at the BBQ til 1998. I was 15 years old and my teenage icon Filipinx Freestyle/Dance Diva Jocelyn Enriquez was sprinkled with Disco fairy dust along with dance divas Amber and Ultra Naté under the moniker Stars On 54. They revamped the 1971 folk classic “If You Could Read My Mind” by Gordon Lightfoot into one the most fascinating covers I’ve ever heard (just listen back to back and gag). This collaboration introduced me to Ms. Naté and piqued my curiosity.

Eight years into her career, Ultra Naté had landed five singles into Top 10 on the Billboard Dance Chart by the time I bought the single to her hit single “Free” at Tower Records (I miss you so much). As soon as I heard that guitar riff in the intro followed by those chords and 4/4 I was hooketh. I immediately grabbed a copy of the Situation: Critical album. I stared at the artwork fascinated by its silvery gloss and the acupuncture needles in her face. It was futuristic as fuck! The album’s photography was shot by the legendary Eric Johson who is known for iconic photos of Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Aaliyah, and Biggie. I wasn’t totally sold on the album at first because as a teenager I was infatuated with Freestyle music and this was out of my teenage comfort. However, the album grew on me and eventually I connected to each song on a personal level. At the time I was struggling with my budding sexuality, lack of interest in education, and a toxic-ass family dynamic. This album would eventually become my personal teenage bible.

“Somehow things must change, and it’s got to be for the better” the lyrics from the albums intro track “Situation: Critical” pierced my young gay soul. When my being sexually molested was brought to the light my parents were so wounded by life; none of them had the capacity to support me. My father was strung out on drugs, my mother’s mental health was dwindling, and my step mother struggled to keep a roof over our heads. I felt so fucking hurt by their neglect that all I thought of was escaping at 18. My then therapist Judy had a huge black and white picture of New York City and one day I declared “I’m going to live there!” Until then I endlessly played this album on my discman throughout my teens to keep my ass sane.

There was a rage building inside me and “Found A Cure” was that song that embodied what I felt. Lines like “Feels like I’m going crazy, feels like I’m going insane” were my everyday life and I wanted out but I was still underaged. “How many times have you been left alone and you feel confused?” solidified my connection to Ultra. This was the second single from the album which hit #1 on Billboard Club Songs. The music video was directed by Charles Stone III who would years later direct the epic CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story. Larry Flick of Billboard wrote “Naté fearlessly faces the challenge with a jam that smartly doesn’t aim to duplicate the tone of her now-classic hit…The diva is in fine voice here and is matched by a muscular bassline and keyboard/guitar interplay that oozes with funk flavor…Miss Nate proves there’s more than Free in her locker with a pure floorfiller. A Gloria Gaynor for the Millennium.” Mic drop.

“A New Kind of Medicine,” the album’s second track, and third single, lightened the mood after the dark yet realist ‘Situation’. During this era in House music Disco samples were a huge commodity. While this was purely an original song the Disco influence is prevalent. The single had some heavy hitters on the remixes and the first two being producers in Freestyle: Albert Cabrera, David Morales, and Danny Tenaglia. The Morales mix is quite festive especially at the 5:20 mark when you get that tidbit of Inner City’s “Big Fun” followed by a lyric not in the original: “Stop taking me down.”

My favorite track on the album was the last single released from the album, the Al Mack produced “Release The Pressure.” How can you not feel like you’re transpired into a film where the woman is struggling, breaking shit, cursing bitches out, lights a joint, a sip of wine, puts on her favorite 12” and gets her damn life. The production on this track has so many beautiful layers from the piano, to the horns, and guitars. It always felt like time froze whenever this track came on. The song was also featured on the soundtrack The 24 Hour Woman starring Rosie Perez. This is one of my forever tracks because it always remains true to this day: “You get up, It knocks you back down, Release the pressure, Let it out.”

The album itself pays homage to the 70’s and 80’s influence of staples in Disco, Funk and House which are very evident in: “Any Ole Love” (Indeep’s “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”) and “Love You Can’t Deny” (Royal House “Can You Party”). The mellower affairs “It’s Crying Time” and “Every Now and Then” were so damn pretty that they seduced my young self who was anti anything slow.  The last original track on the album “Divine Love,” produced by the duo Masters At Work, transports you to Sunday mass everytime. That 5 minute mark is pure gospel ear candy with those luscious rhodes and ab libs take you on a journey to the ether. This felt like the sequel to “Rejoicing (I’ll Never Forget)” from her first album Blue Notes In The Basement. At this point in time I was severely struggling with my belief in God however this song just anoints you, especially the 9 minute MAW Version.

This album took me on a musical journey. It became my bible, my salvation, my healing. In the spring of 2001 my life took a huge turn. I had fallen in the love with a man in NYC whom I thought I’d be with forever. After a huge argument with my parents I finally said “fuck this shit I’m out!” Ultra’s lyrics rang in my head “Now I know you’re no good for me, Now I got to find a remedy,” my remedy: move to NYC. After settling into my then boyfriend’s apartment I would blast this album on volume 5000 and the whole damn planet would shake. I didn’t give a fuck about the neighbor downstairs because I was ‘Free’ and living my damn best gay life. I didn’t leave my heart in San Francisco that’s for damn sure!

In 2012, I had a full circle moment when I was hired by Naté’s management, Peace Bisquit. It was completely surreal to be in direct communication with her, and an honor working under the brilliance of Bill Coleman (remember Deee-Lite? “Groove Is In The Heart”? Nuff said.). I was bestowed the task of managing the execution of the Hero Worship album to digital platforms. Miss Naté was the most humble artist I ever worked with. A memory I will always hold dear is a tender moment we shared at  the Paradise Garage Reunion Party in 2014. The DJ began to play “The Whistle Song” in honor of the iconic Frankie Knuckles who had passed just months earlier. As the song played, Ultra began to cry. I put my arm around her and consoled her. The same way her music had done for me in all the years before.

Thank you for never giving up on your music Ultra because this album saved me!

“You might save someone’s life.” – Ultra Naté “Situation: Critical”

If you are experiencing or have experienced sexual abuse please call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline 800.656.HOPE (4673)

Giorgio Alxndr (He/Him) is into music, modeling, activism, and plant fathering. He creates beats and playlists in his free time. Loves deep conversations and therapy sessions. Professionally he’s always in the mix between music and technology.

[tommystummy]

The First

2020

Julie is in the studio, flipping through Luke’s song notebook, looking for something to catch her eye. She’s seen a couple songs she’s heard before. A couple she’s sung herself. She pauses to try to parse an early, scratched out version of Unsaid Emily a rough draft that seems angrier but still remorseful when Luke appears poofing in from who knows where with an immediate “Hi Julie” and a big grin.

“Hey Luke,” she responds. “Just looking for a song that fits the band. You wrote a lot of great songs in here. Like this one.” She flips backwards to a scribbled half-finished song “Hand in Hand / Hope in hope / I’ll see us through the storm / I’ll get us through, you have my word …or you’ll keep us warm” Julie flips the notebook around to point out the brainstorm of better rhymes in the margins. Luke’s smile drops. “I think it’s supposed to be a duet.” She gets up from the bench of her mother’s grand piano and walks to Luke “It’s not something we’ve done before but… I think it’d be kinda cool.”

“Uh. Julie.”

“We could… finish it if you want” Julie says stepping closer and reaching a steady, unsure hand towards Luke, unsure if she would even connect to him.

“Julie.” Luke says firmly, managing to grab her wrists. “We can write a duet, any duet you want but it can’t be that one.”

Julie pulls back confused. “Wh- why not?” maybe pulling things from the notebook was a bad idea, it brought out the past too harshly.

“Just promise me we won’t use any part of that for the new duet ok?”

“I’ll promise if you tell me why you’re being so weird!”

Luke looks hurt by her demands but sighs defeated. “I wrote that song… for someone else.”

“Well I figured that much it’s clearly from ‘95. You reference Hocus Pocus in it.”

“No, like- like someone you know.”

A moment of tense silence passes

“Luke… is this song about my mom?” Julie asks. She still hasn’t pieced together how exactly her mother knew the boys and ‘Luke’s tragically widowed girlfriend’ was one of her and Flynn’s more plausible theories.

“What? No! Julie, I’m not even sure who your mom is!”

“Oh she’s-”

“-The song is about Alex.” Luke’s brow furrows and he’s suddenly in full puppy dog eyes mode “I wrote it for us”

“You wrote the song, for Alex” Julie repeated flatly. “Like for you and Alex”

“I dated Alex.” Luke says abruptly, still extremely tense. “It was like a year- I mean 26 years ago.”

Meanwhile

“Wait you dated LUKE?!”

“You’re lucky you can play bass.” Alex responds, trying to pick at the bark of a palm tree only to have his hand phase through. He sighed. Making himself corporeal was hard and he and Reggie had been messing with stuff at the beach outside in front of where Reggie used to live for so long Luke had gotten bored and left. Had it not been for his comment about dramatic exits when he was dating him, they still would be trying to kick sand or move a volleyball.

“No dude you can’t just drop that on me! What does that mean?”

“It means we dated! You know… like people date.”

“How did I not know about this though?!”

“You can be kind of oblivious sometimes.”

“What do you mean?!” Reggie asks as a seagull swoops through him.

“Look it was a long time and a long, long cry ago but…”

1994

“Oooh boys I got Pizzaaaaaa” Reggie says swinging closed the front door to Bobby’s Garage AKA The Studio.

A crash comes from the loft where Luke slept. “uh yeah ok Reggie!” His head pops up from behind the clutter that leans against the railing  “Bobby’s in the house and um, Alex isn’t here yet! Why don’t you go get Bobby and we can be ready to chow down when he gets here?!

“On it, Frontman!” Reggie says turning around an nearly running head long into the doors he just shut.

Alex’s head pops up beside him. “You think he saw me?”

“I think he would have said something if he did. Here’s your shirt.”

“Thanks,” Alex says slipping it on, “have you seen my hoodie?

“Think its down on the couch.” Luke hurries him down the ladder. “You know this wouldn’t be such a hassle if we just told the guys”

“I still don’t think they’d take it well.”

“Noted” This was the 5th? 6th? time they’d had this same conversation and it was starting to grate on Luke.

“I just, you remember how my parents reacted.”

“Yeah..” Luke sighed hesitantly “yeah I remember. I was there.” 

“It’s just one thing to know I’m gay in theory but to know it in practice? and with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Luke asks cheekily

“What, no! Nothing’s wrong with you. You’re sweet, a great singer, your arms are like, amazing, and your smile is so cute and-”

“Alright,” Luke put a hand up “alright Alex,” As much as Alex’s praise made him swoon, Luke was desperate not to have to go through the inevitable end of this conversation. He understood what Alex meant but he just wished they could be their authentic selves with the guys if no one else in the world. He wanted to be able to kiss Alex in front of Reg and Bobby. He wanted to look in Alex’s eyes as he sang without it being weird. He wanted to end a jam session by just cuddle with him on the couch as the band just talked but sometimes it felt like Alex was too scared of that. “Just… just get your hoodie okay? You need to be out of sight before Reggie gets back.”

As if on cue, as Alex adjusted his hoodie, Reggie popped back into the garage with Bobby in tow. “Alright three down one to go-OH Hey Alex! guess everybody’s here then! Time for some ‘za dudes!”

2020

“No way that happened.”

“It did Reg. You actually caught us on the couch once but we were fully clothed and I managed to jump off Luke before you got the door open.”

“OK, now you’re just messing with me.”

“No Reg I think I actually flew.”

“Shut up!”

[snowdice]

Finding the Time to Study Fic 2 [Day 18]

Here is my starting post for today’s study break stories session. See this post for more details and feel free to send me asks to keep me going! It’s been a lot of fun so far! I will reblog this post with the story as I write them today. I’ll be constantly looking for ideas of times and places for Janus to have missions, so feel free to send in any you can think of at any point!

If you are a new follower or just don’t want all of these posts clogging your dash, please feel free to block the tag “study break stories” as all posts and voting about it will go there. You can still see the finished product of the story even if you are blocking that tag as I will not tag the edited chapters with “study break stories” but with the tag “folds in paper.” See edited chapters below. Chapters 3-8 and what I have of Chapter 9 are under the cut.

My Masterpost Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

I also have a playlist on youtube (because Spotify didn’t have one of the songs I wanted). It’s short, and not really for serious listening, but I had fun with it.

I have homework due tomorrow, so let’s go.

Arc I: Finding Cinderella

Chapter 4

Janus was frozen in surprise for a few long moments after Pat disappeared. Which had been, admittedly, his mistake, because, while their window had technically been until 11:17pm and it was only 11:10, the loud crack that whatever Pat had been using for time travel made, garnered the attention of someone else.

“Uh oh,” Remus said, likely hearing footsteps. “Hide.”

That snapped Janus into action, but instead of hiding immediately like a sensible human being, he chose to go for the only link to the man who’d just stolen time travel tech and waltzed away, the mask.

Which was why he ended up getting arrested.

 Remy tsked the moment they were all alone in the police car having come to ‘transfer Lee to another facility.’ Remus was already waiting in the front seat, and flashed Janus a smug smile. If Janus wasn’t still handcuffed, he’d slap him.

“Well,” Remy said. “At least you didn’t shoot anybody like I asked. I was joking by the way. I didn’t really want to pick you up from a 1920s police station period.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“Mmm, nah, ‘cause Remus managed to not get arrested this time, so you defiantly screwed something up.”

“Oh, he defiantly wanted to screw something all right,” Remus said joyfully.

 “Remus,” Janus hissed.

“What?” he asked. “I’m not the horny one for once. Well, no, that’s a lie, but it didn’t affect the job this time.”

Janus groaned and leaned his head back against the seat.

Remy pulled into a seemingly random garage around 20 minutes later. “Alright,” he said. “Here we are.” He got out of the car and then helped Janus out before uncuffing him. “Here’s your ‘watch,’” Remy handed him the timepiece that had been confiscated when he’d been arrested.

Janus put it on and activated it. “Shit,” he said.

“What?” Remus asked.

“An appointment with cultural outreach has already been downloaded to my calendar for once we get out of decon.”

 “Oof. Going to baby jail,” Remy laughed. Remus was cackling.

“This,” Janus said, “was not a cultural faux pas. I did nothing that indicated that I was not from this time. I am not some rookie.”

“Don’t forget cell phones don’t exist in the 1920s,” Remus sang.

“The real question is whether or not my foot exists in your…” Remus disappeared before he could finish, a smirk on his face. Janus growled. “By Remy,” he gritted out. He selected the decontamination chamber from his queue, ignoring the appointment that came after it for now.

He knew exactly where Remus would be standing when he landed, which was why he stepped forward on reentry to ram into him.

 He yelped in surprise. “Sorry,” Janus said pleasantly. “I must have also forgotten landing procedures.

Remus laughed good naturally. “Aw, come on Jay,” he said, bumping Janus back, albeit much gentler than Janus had been. “It’s not a big deal. You just go talk with some crusty old college professor who is far too interested in spoons and then everything’s fine.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” he growled. “They’re treating me like I’m an idiot who accidently invented disco in the 1920s when I was conned by some free agent time traveler.”

“‘Conned,’ Remus said. Is that what they’re calling it now?”

 “I know where and when you live Remus,” Janus said.

Remus gave him a dopey smile as the decontamination cycle finished and the door unlocked. Janus’s wrist buzzed telling him that the coordinates to the cultural outreach office were now unlocked. Instead of pulling them up, Janus walked to the door.

“Um,” Remus said, following him. “Aren’t you supposed to be going to your appointment?” Janus just kept walking towards their office. “Uh… Jan?”

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that I have to go to cultural outreach,” Janus said. “In fact, no one can make me. If they want me to go have a discussion about the definition of ‘bushwa,’ they’re going to have to have me dragged there.”

 “Mmm, I feel like The Boss won’t be too happy about that, and I have a feeling she’d be 100% down to dragging you there herself.”

“Well, then, let her,” Janus said, stalking through the door to his office. “I’m not going to…”

“Ah, Agent Picani,” the woman standing next to his desk, clearly waiting for him, said when he came through the door. “Dr. Picani was informed that there were complications with your last mission and wishes to have a conversation with you and asks that you meet him in his office at the AMO.”

“Oh, um,” Janus said, stumbling a bit before plastering on a regretful half smile. “Unfortunately, I actually have an appointment right now at Cultural Outreach. It’s mandatory and very important, and I have to go now. So, I’ll have to take a raincheck on that.”

 “But-” she started, frowning.

“Remus, work on the report!” Janus said quickly as he waved his hand to bring up his timepiece display and jammed his finger at the glowing appointment card in his queue. A few moments later, Janus was at Cultural Outreach.

Cultural Outreach was not part of the TPI, though it often worked very closely with them. It was a collaboration between the government and multiple universities to help government workers, politicians, and other citizens understand and bridge cultural gaps. It had existed before time travel was invented but had expanded to also teach people who needed to time travel how to behave in unfamiliar times and cultures.

 After it had to be expanded to provide for the TPI, it had been moved to Silver Mountains University. The building had once just been a museum, but it had been thoroughly renovated and there had been add-ons for office space and some classrooms. It was still a museum, however, its purpose had expanded greatly and there were many areas that were off limits to the general public.

One of these areas was the fourth floor, where Janus’s timepiece had dumped him. This was the floor that was almost exclusively for TPI agents and staff of Cultural Outreach who worked with them.

 He immediately turned away from the reception area, hoping that he could escape and go sit on the university’s quad or something of the like for the next hour or so in hopes the woman his brother sent to fetch him would give up and go back to the AMO. Yet, the receptionist apparently saw him.

“Janus Picani?” he asked.

Janus grimaced and turned back towards him. “Yes,” he said.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “You’re 5 minutes late for your appointment and seem disoriented.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Is your timepiece malfunctioning?”

“No.”

“Uh… okay. Well, if you sign in here, I can take you to your appointment.”

“…Fine.”

 He begrudgingly stepped forward and touched the screen he’d gestured to sign with his fingerprint, and then let the man lead him down the hall.

The door they stopped at was propped open slightly, but he still paused and knocked. “Professor Eran? Your 2:30 is here.”

Janus had just a moment upon hearing the name to think that maybe there was actually some sort of intelligent design of the universe and whatever being of ultimate power had crafted it was a dick.

The door opened and Virgil Eran’s eyes immediately narrowed on him. “Janus.”

“Virgil.”

“I see you’re still late for everything.”

“I see you’re still a bastard.”

 Janus saw the receptionist slowly back away in the direction they’d come.

“Why don’t you come in?” Virgil said faux pleasantly.

Janus did, because he really didn’t have much of a choice at this point unless he wanted to jump out of a window… or push someone out of a window.

Virgil turned back into his office and took a seat behind his desk. Janus unhappily followed him in and sat across from him.

He took his time pulling up whatever the TPI sent him and reading it over. “So, I see you failed your recovery mission and were arrested in 1923.”

 “It wasn’t like that,” Janus said. “I shouldn’t be here.”

Virgil gave him that same suspicious look he used to give Janus whenever Janus claimed to have not eaten his hot pockets out of the freezer in the middle of the night. He’d only been lying 80% of the time. Virgil had a tendency to forget what he’d eaten in a half-conscious state at 3 o’clock in the morning.

“I shouldn’t,” Janus snapped defensively. “Nothing went wrong with anyone from the time period. An illegal time traveler screwed up the mission details.”

“Well, it is still protocol to make sure nothing slipped when agents go off script. You weren’t prepared to be in a jail cell, and it is possible that you screwed something up.”

 “I didn’t screw anything up,” Janus growled.

“Alright,” Virgil said pulling up a document on his desk. “The mission started on July 27th, 1923 at 9:58pm, correct?”

“Oh, god, we’re not really going to fill out a time sheet. I don’t have time for that today.”

“It is protocol and best that the information is documented when it is still fresh in your mind. Besides, your schedule has been cleared for the rest of the workday.” The bastard was enjoying this. He knew how much Janus hated this stuff.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Janus said, “it was the damned illicit time traveler.”

“And I will be the judge of that,” Virgil said. Janus should have just bit the bullet and had coffee with his brother. “If you truly did nothing wrong, your supervisor will see that when I send this to her.”

 Yet, despite the fact that Virgil clearly relished in his suffering, he was charitable enough to do most of the actual filling out of the forms. He’d read out the questions and write down what Janus said instead of making him do it himself. Janus really only had to do a quick quality check and sign it at the end.

He still was an asshole about the details, but really he’d been like that about stupid thing like the settings for the dish washer and how the pantry was organized during their college days before they’d had their falling out, so Janus wasn’t particularly surprised. When they were finally done, Virgil sent it off to get filed by the TPI.

 Then, they were left staring at each other with nothing between them but almost a decade of radio silence and a whole lot of awkwardness.

“I should go,” Janus finally said, standing up.

Virgil tilted his head slightly to the side and gave him a half smile. “Don’t lock the door behind you,” he said. “Not that I’d expect you too.”

Janus took it for the clear attempt at a joke it was intended to be and puffed out a breath of amusement with a head shake. “No risk of that,” he said. Then, he turned and walked out of the office.

 Chapter 5

Janus stepped back into the reception area and booted up his time piece. Instinct said to go back to the office despite the fact that it was late enough that most people had gone home, but he hesitated. Surely Emile had given up by now, but considering he’d sent someone to ambush him in his office, Janus wasn’t sure if he should trust that. He could just go home, but he already knew his mind was racing too much to sleep tonight so he’d probably just end up staring at the lake for the next 6 hours. So, he decided on the only other legitimate option he had. He pulled up Remus’s home coordinates and selected.

 The home that Remus had chosen (after his long line of rejected requests) managed to somehow make no and absolute sense simultaneously to anyone who knew him. It was a small farm in the United States just west of the Mississippi in 1842 in what would be ratified as the state of Iowa in a few years. When asked why he would choose that time and place, Remus always responded with “I thought it was funny,” whatever that meant.

Unlike most time agents who simply used the identities assigned to them by the AMO as a cover, Remus actually lived his part time.

 Janus was… fairly certain he was cheating a bit to get everything done, but he maintained his small farm all on his own, growing most of his own food. The neighbors he had lived very far away, but he still spoke with them far more than Janus did his own.

Janus appeared inside the small home, his eyes already shut. “Are you hear and dressed?” Janus called. Something bumped lightly into his legs.

“I’m in the kitchen!”

Janus peaked his eyes open and squatted to pet the cat at his feet. “That doesn’t answer my question!” he called back to Remus.

 “It’s a surprise!” Remus said.

“Remus.” Diesel Fuel the cat flopped to her side on the ground as Janus continued to pet her ears. He heard Remus’s footsteps, and saw cloth covering his legs, so risked looking up. He was currently not only dressed, but wearing an apron that Janus was fairly sure was not time appropriate judging by the fabric and cat pawprint design. He had a bit of flour on his hands, and it may have been a bit too white for the time and place, but Janus couldn’t be completely sure.

“What’re you doing here?” Remus asked.

 “My day has been an endless series of frustrations,” Janus said. “So, I have come to see the only tolerable being in the history of the universe.”

Remus snorted. “Since I know that isn’t me, I’ll assume you’re talking about the cat.”

“I still don’t understand why you tolerate this creature,” Janus addressed Diesel Fuel. She blinked slowly up at him. “To be fair, he was assigned as my partner. I didn’t have much of a choice in it. You could go always run away and become feral in the woods if you’d like.”

“So could you, technically,” Remus pointed out.

“I’m thinking about it after today.”

 “Would you like some bread?” Remus asked. “That’s all I’ve been making this afternoon. Some fresh should be coming out of the oven in a few minutes.”

“Do you have anything stronger made out of wheat?”

“Ew, no, but I do have vodka.”

“Vodka works.”

“Want me to mix it with something?”

“No.”

“One of those night then,” Remus said, easily. “Let me finish up the bread, so I don’t burn the kitchen down. You can go get the alcohol from the cellar while you wait if you want, or you can just flop down on the couch.”

He was going to just flop down on the couch.

 He did just that as Remus disappeared back into his kitchen. The cat hopped onto his stomach, proceeding to purr loudly and kneed at chest. Janus petted the cat and listened to the noise of Remus moving around in the other room, letting his mind drift. His mind drifted to Virgil for a bit and he steadfastly did not allow it to drift to his brother. Yet, the thing that most was on his mind was the strange man who had flirted and charmed Janus all night before mercilessly screwing him over. ‘Pat’ he’d said his name was, but surely that was not his real name.

 Janus sighed and scratched the cat’s ear. “He certainly wasn’t an amateur,” Janus mused to the cat. “With that amount of precision to get in before we did, he must have someone not on the ground feeding him information. Perhaps more than one.” He was part of a group of time traveling thieves perhaps or something worse. “I didn’t get a good look at his face since he was wearing a mask,” Janus said, “but I spent a lot of time with him, and I’m sure Remy swiped the mask from the police since it had been on me when I was arrested. It’s a good lead.”

 He continued to pet Diesel Fuel. Eventually, Remus came back in, noticed Janus hadn’t bothered to get the alcohol and went outside to the cellar. “I’m going to find him,” Janus told Diesel Fuel. “I’ll stop whatever it is he’s doing, and I’ll bring him in.” Diesel Fuel mewed her support, and Janus patted her on top of the head.

Remus came back in with the bottle of vodka and handed it to him without a word. He sat down on the couch near Janus’s feet and patted his lap so Diesel Fuel would come over to him and allow Janus to sit up.

 The bastard waited until he was approximately 3 shots in (he didn’t have a shot glass and was just taking drinks from the bottle) to ask the questions Janus really didn’t want to answer. “Are you mad at Emile?” Remus asked.

Janus groaned, trying to wash out the bitter taste of shame and grief with the sharp sting of vodka. It didn’t work. “No,” he said to Remus.

“Then why have you been avoiding him?”

“Shit, I’m here because I didn’t want to think about it. Can’t we just not.”

“Don’t want to think about what?

“It’s none of your business, Remus.”

 He could feel Remus frowning at him, but Janus stared resolutely ahead. At least, he did until a foot poked his face. He slapped it away, but it did the job of getting Janus to look at Remus.

“It is my business,” Remus said, foot still in the air. “I’m your partner and your friend.”

“If I’m your friend, you’ll drop it.”

“So, you’re not mad at Emile,” Remus continued, contemplatively. “Did you do something to him, then?” Janus bit his lip and looked away. “What?” Remus asked. Janus didn’t respond. “Look, I’m sure he’ll forgive you for whatever it is. He’s a good guy. Just talk to him about it.”

 “I can’t,” Janus said.

“Whatever it is, it’s probably been long enough that he forgives you. You literally just have to have a conversation, say you’re sorry, and everything will be A-OK.”

“I can’t,” Janus repeated.

“Why not?”

“He doesn’t know about it.”

Remus paused. “So, as far as he knows, you just cut contact with him all of a sudden for no reason and have been avoiding him ever since?”

Janus looked at his shoes. “Yeah.”

“That…” Remus said, “is not fucking fair Janus.”

“I know.”

“Then why the hell are you doing that to him? He’s like… soft and feeling-y. He’s probably really upset.”

 “I know, Remus.”

“Tell him. Whatever it is.”

“I can’t.”

“Look,” Remus said. “You tell him and he either forgives you or he doesn’t. If he does, everything’s fine. If he doesn’t… well, it’s not like it would be any different from you two never being in the same room the last few years. Either way, you can’t just do this to him. He’ll probably forgive you. He’s your brother. Brothers don’t… brothers would forgive each other.”

Janus laughed softly and met Remus’s eyes. “That’s the problem,” he said. “He’d definitely forgive me.” He turned away and opened the vodka bottle again. “Now, if you’ll shut up for a few minutes, I’m going to drink until I black out.”

 Chapter 6

“Really, Khalid,” Janus said, storming into his boss’s office. “A yellow?” It had been about a week since the 1920s incident, and his incident report had finally been cleared. Sure, it wasn’t a red or a black and he wasn’t facing any reprimand, but it should have been a green.

She looked up at him, clearly unconcerned. “There was an incident,” she said. “You handled it well, but there was one. Therefore, yellow.”

“It wasn’t a time travel incident! It was a rouge time traveler.”

“Janus, you helped me make these rules,” she said impatiently.

“Which is why I know this is bullshit,” he snapped.

 She rolled her eyes. “If it was anyone else, you would agree with me. While you didn’t go against protocol and had no time related incidents, the fact of the matter is, you were still distracted by this ‘rouge time traveler,’ didn’t complete your mission, and were arrested.”

“He was good,” Janus said. “You can’t fault me for that. He also could be dangerous and you’re busy handing out yellows instead of working to track him down.”

She raised an eyebrow. “We are working on tracking him down,” she said. “We have done an analysis on the mask and found fibers dating to the 2010s and some DNA. Though it isn’t exactly a high priority.”

 “We have no idea who he is or what he’s planning to do. Why is that not a high priority thing?”

“At the moment?” she asked. “Because we have reports of a time bomb being activated.”

“What?” Janus asked sitting up. “When?”

“New Years Eve going into the year 3,000 in Brazil,” she said. “Which you’d know about if you’d bothered to check your integration port this morning before storming into my office.”

“It’s my mission?” Janus asked.

“The incident investigation is over and your active again despite the dreaded yellow,” she said, clearly making fun of him a bit. “So, yes, and it’s a high priority mission, so I’ll be running it.”

 “Who all is going?” he asked.

“Other than the two of us, Remus, Lena, and Fred,” she told him. “We leave in three hours, so, you might want to run off to Rhi before Fred gets to her and ties her up for an hour on details.”

Janus nodded and got to his feet. He turned back at the door. “I still don’t deserve the yellow,” he hissed.

She waved him off. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Picani.”

He ground his teeth a bit about the dismissal of his worries, but his resentment was slightly soothed by the fact that she’d assigned him to go on such a high priority mission and with only senior agents.

 He took the advice and grabbed Remus from the office, noting Lena hadn’t been able to wrangle Fred yet as she was still at her desk, and they both headed off to see Rhi.

A few hours later, they were all in decontamination together, decked out in truly god-awful costumes. The turn of the third millennia had been a wild event, and the best way to fit in was to look like you’d grabbed something from every century in recorded human history, dyed it in neon paint, and rolled around in a vat of glitter.

Remus had opted to stick his head in a vat of glow in the dark green paint that costuming had offered them, and it wasn’t even going to be slightly disruptive to their covertness.

 In fact, costuming had frowned when Janus had insisted he not get his hair dyed and instead wore a bowler hat. They had required him to have flowers made out of glitter on it.

There were five people waiting for them when they landed 6 hours before the turn of the millennia. Three were touchdown agents, including Remy, and two were on location tech support. Usually it would be overkill to have that many people there just for support even with five agents in the field, but today the TPI needed to be cautious because they were planning on instituting a time lock.

Time bombs were dangerous things that would ripple through time if not contained. Even if it did end up going off (killing everyone in its reach), the time lock would serve to prevent most damage outside of the city and, more importantly, the year it was planted.

 Janus had only been in two time locks before, and he was one of the most senior agents in the TPI, outranked only by the founder: Lia Khalid. Time locks were designed to keep all time linear in a certain fixed time and geographical area as well as prevent any time travel in and out. Once it was engaged, all forms of time travel would not work for the duration, bar the pin device. Khalid was already switching out her regular timepiece with the slightly bigger one that was designed to support the time lock.

There was a failsafe back at the TPI that could be engaged in an emergency, which was why tech support was here, but other than that, the only thing that could break the time lock was that timepiece, and it would break the moment the time lock ended.

 As soon as it was on Khalid’s wrist, she looked up at them all. “Our information says the time bomb was planted in the costume of one of the ‘Millennium Birds’ who are the organizers of the different events,” she said. Janus had seen a photo of the identical costumes in the mission details. They were all robe like garments with giant fans of feathers coming from the neck that coalesced in a peak a foot above their head to hold a fake bird egg. At least they’d be easy to find. “There are 25 of them throughout the city. We need to find each of them. So, we don’t double count, you’ll need to subtly,” her eyes touched on Remus, “scan each one you find for the bomb and tag them with a tracker if it’s not on them. You can view the already tagged ones, as well as the rest of us on your timepiece even once the time lock is engaged. When you find the bomb, call it in.”

 They all nodded, and Khalid looked over at one of the techies. She nodded at her and then the techie flipped a couple of switches. “Three, two, one,” the techie said. There was a slight shift in the air that most people would disregard, but Janus as a seasoned time traveler could feel the change even before his wrist buzzed. He glanced at his timepiece to see it had a big red ‘X’ across its display. He tapped it and was still able to bring up the map of the city with 10 green dots on it all clustered together in their current location.

 After that, he tested the scanner on his timepiece that he would use to search for the bomb, just to make sure the time lock hadn’t messed anything up with his equipment. He glanced up to see everyone else was doing the same.

“Keep in contact,” Khalid said before everyone split up. Janus and Remus started by going North while Fredrick and Darlene were to go South. Khalid was a floater who would tag any Birds she saw but was mostly there for backup and orders.

Janus and Remus stepped into the chaos of New Years Eve before the turn of the third millennia. The streets were already swamped with people and it would only be getting worse the later it go.

“Where should we start?” Remus asked.

 “Let’s go all the way North to the games area,” Janus said. “We can work our way back here.”

“Okay!” Remus said. “I wonder if they have those fun little genetically modified goldfish as prizes. I’ve always wanted to eat one and see if I end up getting whatever design was on the fish on my body.”

Janus gave him a disgusted look.

“What?! People eat fish all the time!”

Janus shook his head. “We’re not playing the games anyway. We have work to do. Important work.”

“Boo,” Remus replied. Janus chose to ignore him as he spotted one of the Millenia Birds letting people into the gaming area.

 They walked over towards the entrance. Janus got in range first and moved to subtly scan the Millenia Bird, Remus doing the same the next moment. After a second, Janus’s timepiece buzzed and lit up red, meaning the bomb was within range. “Well, that was easy,” he said. “It was on the first one we found.”

“Uh…” Remus said. “Jan.” When Janus looked, he was holding up his wrist to show his green lit time piece.

“What?” Janus asked. He quickly moved to rescan the Millenia Bird, and his timepiece came up green as well. Which, meant the bomb was not in range, even though the Millenia Bird had not moved. “But…” He and Remus’s eyes met, and they quickly both started turning in a circle to look at the crowd around him. No one looked like they’d just stolen a time bomb off the Millennial Bird, but then Janus’s eyes caught on a man. He blended in perfectly to his surroundings. He was wearing the disgusting garb of the times, a large light blue piece that bubbled near his hips, and had most of his skin covered in rainbow neon paints. Yet, something about him, the curl of his hair or the way he moved, drew Janus’s eyes to him. He recognized the man immediately even in a completely different dressing style. Yet, what cinched it was the moment Janus’s eyes met his and they seemed to sparkle slightly in the afternoon sun. The next moment, the person Janus knew as Pat, turned to disappear into the crowd.

 Chapter 7

“Him,” was the only thing Janus said before taking off after the figure who had just disappeared into the game area.

“What?” Remus’s voice followed after him. “Janus! What?!”

Janus did not pause, just continuing to run after Pat, hopping over two barricades as a shortcut. Janus cursed when he lost sight of the man for just a moment near the prize table filled with colorful goldfish, but he was able to spot him once again walking into one of the tents. Janus blasted into the tent. It was a game where they raced rats, and when Janus entered, Pat was cooing at one of them.

 “Who’s a tiny little squishy precious baby?” he was asking one of them, wiggling his pointer finger at it.

“You,” Janus growled stepping up to him.

He turned and tilted his head at Janus with a frown. “Um, me?” he asked, pointing to his chest, all sorts of innocent, but Janus could see a spot of hidden amusement in his eyes.

“Where is it?”

His eyebrows drew together, but it was an act. It was clearly an act! “Where is what?”

“The…” he glanced around them at the people surrounding them. “Thing you just took.”

“I didn’t take anything,” Pat said with a frown.

 “Oh, no,” Janus said. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fooling me twice is not an option.”

“I’m sorry sir,” Pat said. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bull. Shit.”

Just then, Remus jogged into the tent. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“It’s him,” Janus said pointing. “He took it. He has it.”

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about,” Patton said. He looked over to Remus with a confused frown.

Remus looked at Janus. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Janus said. “It’s him. It has to be him. He’s the mask guy.”

Remus squinted at Pat. “He is?”

“Whoever you think I am, I’m not. I haven’t worn a mask all night. I just did the face paint,” he pointed to his cheeks.

 Remus raised his wrist and his timepiece lit up green. He looked at Janus.

“I lost sight of him for five seconds. He must have stashed it somewhere,” Janus said. He turned on Pat. “Where did you put it?”

“…Are you,” Pat asked, his eyes going back and forth between Janus and Remus, “… the police?”

“We are, actually,” Khalid said as she stepped into the tent. Remus must have called her. She inserted herself between Janus and Pat. “Agent Khalid,” she said, offering a hand with a smile. Pat looked at it in surprise and then smiled back hesitantly as he took it. “Apologizes, one of the big game prizes was stolen by someone matching your description. Would you mind coming down to security for questioning? Just to clear it up.”

 “Oh,” Patton said, hesitant. Janus expected him to refuse outright, but then he said. “Uh, sure.”

“Thank you very much, Mr…”

“Jonas,” Pat told her earnestly. “Do I need to be handcuffed?”

“No,” Khalid said. Janus frowned at her, but she ignored him. “It’s just a talk for now.” She gestured to the tent entrance. “Come with us.”

He did without argument, and Remus and Janus followed behind the both of them. Khalid did not lead them back to the base, but to a little spot that said “security” near the center of the event. Remy was already there waiting for them at a desk.

 “Remy, would you please take Mr. Jonas to go sit down?” she asked.

“Sure, boss,” Remy said, standing up. He led Pat away.

Khalid turned to Janus and Remus once they were out of earshot. “What is going on?”

“It’s the mask man,” Janus said, “the one from 1923, and my scanner said the time bomb was on the Millenia Bird outside the games entrance, but then it was gone the next second, and I saw him, and then he ran away.”

“So, does he have it on him?”

“No. I lost sight of him, and he must have stored it somewhere, but I know he took it.”

10264

“He’s the man from 1923?” she asked.

“Yes! Remus, that’s him, right? You recognize him.”

“Well,” Remus said thoughtfully. “He was in a mask, and it was dark in the room with the necklace. Other than that, I only really saw his back, and he was wearing pants. Mr. Jonas is wearing a dress, so I can’t really tell if their asses match.”

“Okay, but I was with him for hours. I swear it’s him, and I swear he took it,” Janus just about shouted.

“We’ll question him,” Khalid placated, “and Fred and Lena will keep looking in the meantime.”

 “He knows where it is,” Janus insisted. “I swear.”

“Okay,” Khalid said, before leaving to follow where Remy and Pat had gone. She stopped Janus with a hand on his shoulder. “I think Remus and I will do the interrogation.” He opened his mouth to argue. “You know the most about him, so observe from the sidelines and see if he makes any mistakes that indicate you’re right.”

“That’s just to placate me and you know it.”

“Observation’s over there,” she said pointing.

He got a thumbs up from Remus as he walked by, and Janus glared at his back before walking off to the indicated location.

 He watched as Remus and Khalid entered the room, and Remy left it. Remy joined him in the observation room after leaving and leaned against the wall.

Pat was sitting at a table and watched Remus and Khalid with that same rubbish placid confusion that he had before. “So,” Khalid said, “Mr. Jonas.”

“You can call me Nick,” Pat interrupted.

“Lia,” Khalid replied. He smiled at her happily. “So, are you enjoying your day?” she asked.

“I am!” he replied. “It’s a big day. You only get to see the turn of a millennia once in your life.”

“Ah, yes,” Khalid said. “Doing anything special for it?”

 “Um, not really,” he said. “Other than the party. I’m going to meet up with my roommates after dinner. Kevin doesn’t like this sort of thing, and Joe couldn’t come.”

“Your roommates,” Khalid said, considering him. “Do you live around here?”

“Uh huh,” Pat replied.

“Do you have any ID?”

“I do, want me to get it?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

Pat unzipped one of the bubbles on his waist and handed her a chip. “Remus, would you mind going out and getting the ID scanner?” she asked, even though her timepiece would be able to read it.

“Ah, shit,” Remy said. “Props. What do those things even look like?”

 As Remy scrambled to find something that would pass for an ID reader so “Nick” didn’t get suspicious of Khalid using her timepiece, Janus watched the two alone in the room like a hawk.

“I see you’re wearing a dress inspired by the 2770s,” Khalid noted, as Remus came to stand next to him.

“Yeah!” Pat replied. “Joe made it for me. He’s really good at fashion design!”

“Can I see?” she asked.

With a happy smile, he reached over the table to let her get a look of the sleeves. Janus saw her subtly scan the fabric, probably to make sure it was from the 2990s and not actually from the 2770s. Considering she didn’t mention it, Janus assumed it checked out.

 Remy came back with some sort of device then and handed it to Remus who saluted and wandered back into the interrogation room. Khalid pretended to scan the ID in her hand. She handed it back to him without comment. “So, you said you live with your roommates: Joe and Kevin?” she asked.

“Yep!” he replied. “We’re practically like brothers.”

“Would you mind calling them?”

“Erm,” he titled his head like he was confused by the question. “Well, like I said, Joe is a bit busy, but I could definitely call Kevin.

“Here,” Khalid said, “use my phone.”

“I have my own,” he said with a frown.

“Humor me,” she requested.

“Uh, okay,” Pat agreed. He took the offered 2999 phone and dialed a number on it. Khalid reached over to put it on speaker.

“Hello?” a voice asked after a few seconds.

“Um, hey Kevin, it’s Nick.”

There was a sigh on the other end. “Hello Nick, is something wrong? Why are you calling me from someone else’s phone?”

“I’m fine, I think.” He looked up at Khalid. “Why am I calling him exactly?”

“Hello, I’m Officer Khalid,” Khalid said. “I just wanted to confirm that you are Nick Jonas’s roommate, and he does live in Manaus.”

“Yes, we live together with our other roommate,” the man replied flippantly. “Officer? Is something wrong?”

“I believe there was just a case of mistaken identity,” Khalid said.

“Bullshit there was!” Janus hissed, though she could not hear him.

“No need to worry,” Khalid continued.

“I’m good Kevin,” Pat said.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Kevin asked.

“Don’t be Paranoid, Kevin. I’ll see you Tonight for the New Years Celebration. You know I Live to Party.”

“I am hanging up now,” Kevin said.

“No! Comeback.” The line went dead. Pat handed the device back to Khalid.

She took it and smiled at him. “Give us just a couple of minutes,” she requested. He nodded easily, and she and Remus exited the interrogation room. “I… think we’re done here,” Khalid said.

“No, he’s lying,” Janus insisted, and got a dubious look in return. “I know he is! Remus!”

“The alibi is pretty solid…” Remus said, “and he doesn’t have the bomb on him.”

“Oh, come on,” Janus said. “You can’t say there is nothing fishy going on here.”

Khalid and Remus shared a look. “Janus,” Khalid said. “I respect your intuition. It is usually very good, but you have been a bit intense about the man from the 1920s, and I think that may be blinding you a bit...”

“I am not imagining this!” Janus said. “That’s him and he took it.”

“You only met him once while he was wearing a mask,” Khalid pointed out with a frown, “and you didn’t see him take the bomb, did you?”

“No, but he looked at me and I knew,” Janus argued. They both gave him a skeptical look. “Oh, come on!”

“You know that’s a little weak, Jan,” Remus said.

“Let me talk to him,” Janus requested. “Just give me five minutes to talk with him.”

Khalid raised one eyebrow. “Fine,” she agreed. “You have five minutes, but after that, you have to let it go. We can’t waste any more time.”

 Chapter 8

Pat looked up as Janus stepped into the interrogation room. “Hi,” he said with an innocent smile that could cut steal.

Janus didn’t say a word as he took a seat; he just watched him intently. He leaned slightly over the table and steepled his fingers in front of his chin. “So, your name is Nick this time?” Janus asked.

“Nicholas Jonas,” he said. “Always has been.”

“Stop it,” Janus said.

“Stop what?”

“Cut the crap. I know.”

Pat leaned forward, mirroring Janus as he leaned closer, interlocking his fingers and laying his chin on top of his knuckles. “What did you say your name was again?” he asked, pleasantly.

 “Janus,” Janus replied.

“No, I’m Jonas,” he said, pointing to his chest.

“Not Jonas,” Janus spat. “Janus.”

“Um,” Pat said, eyes alight with amusement. The bastard. “Those are the same words.”

“No, they’re not. It’s Janus. J-A-N-U.-S.”

“Well, that’s confusing,” Pat said with a frown, but his nose was crinkling. “It’s close to my name. You should go by a nickname instead.”

“What?” Janus said. “No.”

Pat hummed. “How about Love Bug?”

“What! No!” Janus sputtered, almost flipping the table, as Pat winked at him.

“BB Good?”

“What does that even mean?!”

“Mandy.”

“No!”

“Okay, okay, how about Macy Misa.”

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Janus stared at him for a moment. “Fine. Whatever. What was I even talking about?”

“Hmm. I Believe we were talking about my name and how you think it’s not my name.”

“Right,” Janus said. “So, Nick. That was your roommate, Kevin on the phone, right? He seemed a bit unhappy with you. Any reason?”

“Nah, we’re Cool” said Pat. “That’s Just the Way We Roll.”

“Not because you’re messing up a mission right now?”

Pat’s eyes crinkled together. “A mission?” he parroted. “I’m not messing up a mission.”

“Oh, really?” Janus growled. “Because you’ve been captured by the TPI, and I know who you are and what you’ve been doing.”

“I have no idea what the TPI is,” he claimed.

“Yes, you do!” Janus said, standing up. “You obviously do! Or you wouldn’t be playing this game!”

 “Game?” Pat asked. “Macy I ask you what you’re talking about.”

“This is all just a game to you isn’t it!” Janus said, slamming his hands down on the table in front of them.

“Whoa,” Pat said, putting his hands up. “Calm down. Your face is getting all red. You must be Burnin’ Up.”

“I’m not sure what, but something about what you just said pisses me off.”

“And that is five minutes,” Khalid said, bursting into the room. He felt a tug on the back of his shirt and glared back at Remus who was putting his own body between Janus and Pat.

 “There was no way that was five minutes,” Janus growled.

“It was five minutes,” Khalid gritted out. “Remus, get him out of here.”

“Come on Jay,” Remus said, dragging him back towards the door.

“Remus, I swear to god.”

“Just chill, Janus,” Remus said, slamming the door closed behind them.

Janus shrugged him off. “You chill!” he snapped. “He’s playing you all for the fool.”

“Wow, Macy,” Remy drawled like an asshole. “I’ve never seen you so fired up.”

“Oh, my gosh. No one is going to believe me, and he’s going to get away with this.”

“You’re not really helping your case, babe,” Remy said.

 Remus grabbed him by the shoulders again. “Here, let’s go get some water.”

“I don’t want water,” he said even as he let Remus lead him to another room to get a glass of water.

“Look,” Remus said. “I know the Mask Guy thing really sucked, but you have to look at the facts.

“I am looking at the facts,” Janus insisted, “and the facts are, he’s fucking with me.”

“You don’t know what mask guy looks like,” Remus said. “You didn’t see Nick take the time bomb, he has an ID from this time period and a roommate in this time he called on the phone, and he legitimately seems to not know what any of us are talking about.”

 “Did you even listen to our conversation?” Janus asked. “He was screwing with me the entire time!”

“Janus…” Remus said.

“What?” Janus said, narrowing his eyes at Remus’s tone.

“I know you recently had a bad experience, but not everyone who flirts with you is doing it out of evil.”

Janus’s mouth hung open for a few seconds. “That’s what you got out of our conversation?”

“He called you Love Bug.”

Janus felt his face heat a bit at the reminder. “That’s not… I. I’m stealing your cat and then never speaking to you again.”

Remus laughed. “Ah,” he said. “Young lust.”

Janus elbowed him roughly in the side. “No!”

“Yes!” he crooned, pleased.

 “You are the worst partner,” Janus hissed. “When I’m right you owe me 10 loafs of your fresh bread.”

“Branching out from poptarts?” Remus asked.

Janus shook his head. He still wasn’t happy about the state of things, but he could feel himself cooling down a bit.

Khalid came out of the integration room after a few minutes, leaving Pat with Remy. “What was that?” she asked him.

“He got under my skin,” Janus said.

“We’ll talk about it later,” she said. “For now, we’re letting him go and then going back to looking for the bomb like we’re meant to be.”

 “Fine,” Janus relented. “Just do me the favor of tagging him before he leaves. Just that. I beg of you.”

“Sure,” she agreed. “If it will calm you down.”

He nodded.

“Then, let’s go,” she said. When they met back up with Remy and Pat, he saw Khalid make the subtle gesture that would tag Pat like they would have for the Millennium Birds. Pat sent him what could pass as a sweet smile if Janus didn’t know better. Then, they walked him outside, leaving Remy on clean-up duty for the make-shift security office.

“So, I’m free to go?” Pat asked. His bemused expression edged far too much on the side of amused verses confused for Janus’s taste.

 “You are,” Khalid said. “Have fun at the festivities.”

His hands went flapping about. “Oh, you too!” he said. “Well, I guess you’re working, but you can have fun anyway, I’m sure.”

“We’ll do our best,” she said.

He gave her a blinding smile and reached forward to shake her hand enthusiastically. Janus rolled his eyes and looked up at the heavens. “It was nice to meet you!” he said, “and you too, Remus!” He turned to meet Janus’s eyes. “Macy Misa.”

Janus pressed his lips together.

Then, Pat turned and walked away.

“Well, now that we’re done with that,” Khalid said, turning to them. “We have only a few more hours before midnight and we really need to find the time bomb.

 “Oh,” Pat called. He’d paused a few yards away and turned back to them. “Thanks for letting me go so easily by the way,” he said, “and just in the Nick,” he winked, “of time too.” Janus narrowed his eyes at him. He smiled back. “Wrist check,” he said holding up his arm to show off the timepiece there. Khalid immediately looked down at her own wrist just to see that the one timepiece that could move through the time lock was no longer there. Pat made a gesture and disappeared.

All three of them stared at the spot he’d been for a long moment.

Janus was the one to speak first. “I want. The yellow. To be erased. From my record.”

 Chapter 9

Khalid immediately called everyone back to base.

“What happened?” asked Fred when he and Lena arrived. The tech people were already scrambling to get through to the TPI and get the time lock broken from the outside.

“Remus, Remy, and Khalid got played by Pat or whatever his name is. It certainly isn’t Nick. He was just setting up a joke,” Janus told him.

“Stop being smug,” Remy said. “It’s not a good look for you.”

“Pat is…?” Lena asked.

“They guy who fucked me over in 1923,” Janus said, “and is currently in the middle of fucking us all over because he stole the pin timepiece, and by extrapolation, probably the time bomb too.”

 “It will be fine,” said Khalid, “because what he doesn’t know is that timepiece has a tracker on it. Wherever and whenever he went, we’ll have his coordinates.”

“Speaking of,” one of the techies said. “It’s about to break. You might want to hold onto something.” Janus grabbed for a support beam next to him as the techie put a device on the ground in the center of the base. It blinked once, twice, and on the third blink the ground rumbled. There were sounds of panicked yelps outside. The fail safe for the time lock was not nearly as gentle as ending it correctly.

 Everything settled after a few moments, and they all straightened themselves out. Janus’s timepiece buzzed to indicate it was now functioning normally. Khalid had returned her usual timepiece to her wrist and now used it to open a display they could all see. “The pin timepiece’s closest time/space coordinates are…” she trailed off. “Right outside?” She frowned. “That’s strange. Why would he still be here?” She turned to march outside, following the coordinates to a trash can. She pulled the pin timepiece out and stared at it. “Fuck,” she said.

“What just happened?” Remy asked.

“He ticked us,” Janus said. “Again.”

 “He was stuck in the time lock,” Khalid said. “That’s why he got our attention. He couldn’t leave with the time bomb unless he had the pin timepiece or we broke the time lock. Apparently, he’s smart enough to know that if he took the pin timepiece away from here, we’d probably be able to find him, but he knew we’d break the lock as soon as the pin went missing. So, he must have stashed his own timepiece and went back in time within the time lock to grab it while we were distracted with the past version of him. As soon as the time lock went down, I imagine he left.”

 “Probably with the time bomb,” Janus said.

“Probably with the time bomb,” she confirmed.

And everyone knew the only thing worse than a time bomb was a time bomb you didn’t know the location of.

They evacuated after that, of course, and time locked the location once they were out just in case they were wrong, but midnight 3000 struck without thousands of people dying in Brazil, so the time bomb had defiantly been removed from then.

The, they initiated a time travel lockdown for all nonessentials, not willing to let random history students get caught up in an explosion if Pat decided to set the thing off somewhere.

 Then, it was a matter of figuring out everything they could about ‘Pat.’ First, they checked the tracker data as Khalid had tagged him with one of the Millennium Bird trackers. It wouldn’t work outside of the zone they’d set up that day, but the record would show his behavior during the time lock after he’d escaped with the pin timepiece.

There had been many little green dots on the map that day as Fred and Lena had actually been doing the job they’d set out to do, but most of those were running around in the south. There had been one green dot, however, that appeared suddenly in the game area about 10 minutes before the time bomb had been stolen.

 They could see Janus’s yellow dot almost brush his when he’d been chasing the earlier Pat down, around when he’d lost him briefly. The earlier Pat must have all but handed it off to his future self.

“He doubled back,” Remus commented when they watched the recorded data. It was a ballsy move and one that most people balked at, because there were inherent dangers any time you interacted with yourself from a different point in the timestream. It was ripe for paradoxes. It made everyone at the agency even more worried, because if he was willing to risk that, then what else was he willing to do?

 Because of the lockdown of all nonessential time travel, people working for the TPI were not allowed to go home for the night. They were allowed to pick up anyone or anything dependent on them for care like kids and pets if there wasn’t someone in their home time to care for them, but other than that, they were unfortunately all sleeping in their offices for the foreseeable future.

“You are the only tolerable one,” Janus told the cat who upon being let loose in the office by Remus, immediately jumped on Janus’s lap.

“I have literally done nothing to you,” Lena said, but then added. “Yet.”

 “You exist. In my space.”

“Can’t we just all get along?” asked Fred. “It’s only been an hour past when we’d usually go home. I went and grabbed milk and I have my giant thing of different flavored hot chocolate under my desk. We can try them all and vote on which is better.”

“Fuck your hot chocolate, Fred,” Janus growled, having been one of the three who had chipped in to buy it for him on his last birthday.

“Don’t go after Fred, jackass,” Lena spat.

“He’s just testy because his boyfriend escaped,” Remus contributed.

Janus’s lips turned down into a frown and he cupped Diesel Fuel’s face. “We agree we’re eating him first, right?” he asked her.

 She purred her agreement.

“I’d have it no other way,” Remus replied.

“There is plenty of food,” Fred said, sounding stressed. “In fact, I was thinking we should all chip in on ordering take-out soon. “What does everyone like on pizza?”

“This is not a slumber party, Fred,” Janus pointed out.

“Shut it,” Lena snapped and turned to Fred. “I’m fine with almost everything, except…”

“Bananas and tuna salad!” Remus interrupted.

“…whatever Remus is about to say.”

Janus rolled his eyes as that started a debate about whether or not fruit and/or fish belonged on pizza. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, which was when there was a knock on the door.

 He froze when he heard the familiar voice. “Hello, hello,” said Emile, cheerfully. Janus looked up to see Emile standing at the open office door. Shit. Apparently, the man had decided to give up on sending lackeys to come fetch him and had decided to track him down himself when Janus couldn’t even escape without breaking a time lockdown. They met eyes briefly and Janus could see irritation if not anger in his eyes despite his otherwise cheerful expression and tone.

“Janus,” he said when he’d gotten their attention. “I’d like to have dinner with you.” The word choice told Janus everything he needed to know. Usually Emile was careful with how he said things to make sure people knew they had a choice. Typically he’d say something like, “I was wondering if you’d have time to have dinner with me tonight,” or “I’m about to go get food, would you like to come?” Today, there was no choice in the statement.

 Janus still dried to dodge anyway. “Uh,” he said. “We were actually about to order pizza.”

“Go ahead,” said Fred kindly. Janus wanted to strangle him. “We can order pizza with olives if you’re not here.”

“I…” said Janus. “Guess, I’ll be going with you.”

“Great!” Emile said. “Let’s go.”

“Oh,” Janus said. “Uh, now?”

“Now,” Emile said a bit of uncharacteristic steel to his tone.

 Well, Janus was screwed. He swallowed his nervousness and got to his feet, taking Diesel Fuel with him. He turned to hand her off to Remus with a plea in his eye, but he just got an eyebrow raise in return. Traitor.

Then, he followed Emile out of the office door. “What would you like to eat?” asked Emile.

“Uh,” Janus said. “I don’t know. You asked me to eat, don’t you have any ideas?”

“I don’t actually,” Emile replied. Right.

“…Noddle Bar?” Janus threw out the nearest restaurant he knew.

“The one noodle restaurant? Sure,” Emile answered simply. They walked side by side out of the front doors of the TPI building. Janus actually couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken these stairs. He usually used his timepiece to get in and out.

 The noodle bar was only moderately busy at this time. They were quickly able to find a table near the back and Emile pulled his menu up in front of him. Emile hummed as he flipped through the different displays. “What are you having?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Janus said, only then pulling up the menu himself, but still not quite looking at it.

“What about the fortune noodles,” Emile suggested.

Janus shook his head. “I don’t like those,” he said.

Emile glanced at him through the menu displays. “You used to.” Fortune noodles were a bit cheekily named. They didn’t actually indicate anything about your future. They were just supposed to taste like what you wanted from your future. A grad student might experience a feeling like they’d just aced a paper. A child that they got to stay up an hour later that night. Janus had liked the experience when he was younger, but in recent years, he’d begun to taste the underlying chemicals in the dish until that’s all he could.

 “Well,” Emile said lightly, eyes on his menu. “That makes me even more worried for your mental health than I already was because of the almost three years of you avoiding talking to me.”

“No small talk, huh?” Janus asked.

“Forgive me,” Emile said, eyes now focused on Janus, and tone much darker. “How has your life been since I last saw your face 5 months ago during a business meeting and you refused to look me in the eye? Anything interesting happen? Shave your head and let it all regrow? Develop an allergy to peanuts? Join a convent and take an oath of silence that you only just broke today?”

“No,” said Janus quietly into the table.

 “Great,” Emile said clipped. “Small talk over. Order your food.” Janus reached up blindly to select the first thing that came up on the food and drink menu as Emile punched something into his own and both menu displays disappeared, meaning there was nothing between their faces anymore. “You know, I was willing to give you a year,” Emile said. “I was willing to let you deal with it on your own because I thought eventually, you’d come talk to me about it, but apparently I was mistaken. The next year, I thought maybe you thought I didn’t want to talk to you, so I subtly made myself available, and you never took me up on the offer. I thought maybe I was just not being clear, and I should make my desire to talk to you more explicit, but as you have been routinely, clearly avoiding me at every single turn, I’ve decided I’ve had enough. So, let’s lay it all on the table. Is it me or do you need help?”

 Janus closed his eyes. “It’s not you.”

“Then you need help,” Emile concluded.

Janus shook his head.

“Yes,” Emile snapped. “Whatever this is has gone on far too long.”

Janus stood up and slammed his hand down on the table. “And it’s going to keep going on!” he said. The food popped up at that moment. It appeared Janus had ordered lasagna and bubble tea, and Emile had ordered something with spaghetti and a fizzy drink.

“So, you’re just planning to go on being miserable then?” Emile asked, and Janus wasn’t sure if it was worse or better that he didn’t sound angry anymore.

14656

Janus slapped his hand down on the “To Go” button and his dinner was insta-wrapped by the table. “Yes,” he said.

“What exactly do you think you’re paying penance for, Janus?” Emile asked.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Janus said, paying for both of their meals with his fingerprint.

“That’s a cop out and you know it,” Emile said. “All you’d have to do is talk to me. Or even just talk to someone else. Please.”

“Just…” Janus said, grabbing his bag of food to avoid looking at him. “Just, leave me be.” He walked out of the noodle shop without another word.

 Chapter 10

“And I thought Remus was going to be the most disgusting roommate in this equation,” Lena grumbled. Janus and Lena were apparently the earlier risers in the group as Fred was still curled up around a pillow and Remus was sprawled out under his desk.

Janus flipped her off.

“Protein infused Poptarts and caffeinated orange juice for breakfast?” she asked. “Just eat an energy bar and have a cup of coffee like a normal person.”

He took another pointed bite of his Poptart.

“You’re a horrible roommate. This is why they gave us different partners.”

“Yeah, well you snore, asshole,” Janus said after finishing off his meal.

 “I’d tell you to go eat shit, but you already did that once this morning.”

A pillow flew across the room and somehow managed to hit the both of them. “S’op fighting,” Fred mumbled. “It’s sleep time.”

“It’s morning Fred,” Lena said.

“No,” Fred mumbled.

Janus ignored them, turning back to his integration port to continue to keep plugging in phrases of interest, but he kept getting nothing.

“What are you doing?” Lena asked after a few moments of him huffing at his screen reader.

“Trying to do anything that may change our current living arrangements.”

She puffed out an amused breath. “Can I help?”

 “Can you see any connection between these words and phrases?” he asked, pulling away his screen reader and tapping at the words he’d typed out.

“Paranoid, tonight, I live to party, comeback, love Bug, BB good, Mandy, Macy Misa, I believe, cool, that’s just the way we roll, burnin’ up,” she said. “What are these?”

“They’re things Pat said when we interrogated that struck me funny,” Janus explained. “I feel like he was saying something more than what he said.”

“Hmm,” she said. “PTI for the first three?”

“Maybe,” Janus agreed, “but what about the rest of it? I feel like I’m missing something.”

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“Millennia,” Remus mumbled from under his desk. Janus hadn’t been aware he was awake. “He said something something about it being the only time he could see the change of the millennia.” He turned his head to look at Janus. “Considering he’s a time traveler, that’s definitely a weird thing to say.”

“Millennia,” Janus contemplated. “A different turn of the millennia. Oh no.”

“What?” Lena asked.

Janus sighed, and rubbed his temple. “I know someone who studied the 1700-2200s.”

“Isn’t that good?”

“No,” Janus groaned, “because now I have to go talk to him.” He stood with a sigh and then paused. “How do I even get to Silver Mountains University without my timepiece?”

[gloomyhearts]

Always by your side || Luke Patterson

Chapter eight~ they can hear us?

people grow together through darkness. does this band will make it without their most important human being.

After years will everything keep the same?

Luke patterson x oc

2020

Alex was back in the studio as Luke and Reggie set their old instruments back on the ground floor.

"What are you doing?" His voice interrupted the movements the others did, they turned and analyzed his features. His reddish eyes and cheeks. Even his nose was colored in a light red.

"Did you cry, again?" Reggie requests.

"No..no, I was just walking around and and then all in a sudden I was hit by this ball," his hands formed to ball as he gestures the scene.

"That's a no. You did" Luke argued.

"It doesn't matter" he shrugged his shoulders and sat down.

They began to pay a few chords.

"The whole neighborhood could hear you. I thought I told you to leave" their jam session was interrupted by Julie.

"Wait, people can hear us play?"

"Yes! and so did my dad and my brother!"

"W-w-wait.." Alex stutters.

"So, only you can see us, but everyone can hear us?" He continues.

"I mean what kind of ghost are we?" He requests.

I have to tell Will about this. But no I can't she lied to me.

"Who cares, man? People can hear us" Luke repeats.

"We might be dead but our music isn't" the boyband fist pumps each other.

Then an older man enters the garage.

"Dad," she exclaims.

"Hey. Just making sure you're okay," he remarks.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just had to turn off the CD player."

"Wait that's the junk that was in the loft?" He points towards the instruments.

"Junk?" Luke questions. The man walked over to Alex drums and his palms meeting it.

"Some of this stuff's in pretty good shape," he tinkles the cymbals.

"Hey, maybe we can make a couple bucks."

"What? Yo, stop touching my drums. Tell him to stop touching my drums" Alex tells her but she shrugged her shoulders.

"I liked that song you had on,"

"Sweet. We're sunset curve"

"Tell your friends"

"It's just an old CD I found," she remarks.

"Well, still it's nice that you're playing again," her father said.

"Out here you can play whatever you want, whenever you want," he raises his hands which float right through Reggie and Luke.

"Oh! That's nice!" Reggie

"Stay out of this," she hissed.

"I..I'm sorry honey. I didn't," he stutters. She tries to deny it stumbling over words. She pulled the older man to the door and they talked under four eyes.

"He likes our song," Luke states as they were alone again.

"Oh yeah he doesn't count. He's a dad," Alex insisted.

"Why can't you guys be normal ghost?"

"My sis.." Alex whispers and stops mid sentences.

"Hang out in old mansions. I hear Pasadena's fine." She storms out.

"I think she's warming up to us,"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to go to Pasadena," Reggie.

Luke left the two boys and made his way to the young girl. Alex and Reggie followed shortly after, eavesdropping their conversation, saying their sorry when she mentioned the passing of her mother.

"I'm sorry. I.. I lost my sister just months before I died,"

"Oh okay, but it's all right"

"You guys haven't seen her anywhere, have you?" Alex couldn't move his breath trapped in his lungs.

"Um I.. I didn't seen her but it.. it was dark around. No.. no I mean you're kind of the the first person we've seen," he catches the right thought.

"Yeah, but she's not dead, so it doesn't answer her question," Reggie argues.

"Yeah. I think she knows what we mean," Alex shoot back.

"I'm sorry for your loss"

"Thanks."

"Sorry I got mad. You guys are kinda good" she continues after a moment.

"Kinda?" Luke's right eyebrow raises up.

"Y-y-you know that's like 25 years of rust just getting dusted off," he explains.

"Yeah. Do you play the piano too?" Reggie asks. The memories of Sabrina sitting at the piano float to their minds.

"No. No, I don't play. That was my mom's stuff in there"

"No way. She's an amazing songwriter," just like Brina used to be, he compliments.

"She was," the girl agreed.

"Wait, how would you know?"

"There's a song on the piano. If it's hers.."

"Your mom was really talented," he went on.

Silence fell over the group and before Julie walked back in she turned around.

"I guess.. if you need a place to stay, you can stay in there. There's a bathroom in the back and a couch that's turns into a bed if you still use any of that stuff," she explains.

"Dibs on the shower!" Reggie shouts.

"I just really like showers and sometimes the occasional bath," he continues.

"This.. this is just too weird. Yeah," without another word she left.

Alex began to squeal as she was out of reach and they began to chuckle.

The boys sat under the sign of the Orpheum as Sabrina rushed on the streets to find a place to stay. Their graze was directed in her direction but they didn't seem to notice her. The next second the group was on the sidewalk as well.

A tall person walked through her but bummed into Alex.

That's weird. How's that possible?

[riderunlove]

Part 12

A happy moment

The bright sunshine woke her earlier than she’d planned. She’d gotten so used to the windowless dorms on base that she’d forgotten to pull the curtains. If she got up to do it now she’d never go back to sleep. Nothing for it, gotta get up. She told herself. She crept downstairs carefully, needing coffee before she made any plans for the day. There was something almost magical in this quiet morning. She wanted to bask in it for a little bit. The previous night had been so wonderful. She’d brought her boys home with her. University was in the middle of a session so Carlos wasn’t home, but it had felt important to bring her two families together. Her Dad had been so worried when she decided to join AI. He feared she would get hurt, but even more he worried she would regret giving up her music dreams to chase bad guys around the world and that the decision was based only in her grief and anger over her Mom’s death. That was the impetus that tipped the scale, but Julie had been thinking about joining the agency for some time. It was the family business after all. 

They had all stayed up late, playing board games and watching movies. Reggie was obsessed with the game of Life because the whole concept was so weird to him. He’d never had that normalcy. His enthusiasm made it hard to resist. Luke and Alex had gotten into an extremely heated game of Battleship that Ray ended up having to mediate as they both cheated furiously. Her dad had ordered all of them to bed around 2, like they were a bunch of unruly teenagers. The guys had hugged her goodnight and a sleepy Luke had pressed a quick kiss to her forehead as well. The sweet moment had filled her stomach with butterflies and her dad’s knowing look had her blushing bright red. 

She paused at the base of the stairs, feeling her dad’s gaze on her back, “Mija, I don't know why you worried. They helped you find yourself again.”

“They are ridiculous though,” she joked. 

He’d snorted and raised an eyebrow, she had rolled her eyes and gone to bed. 

In the peaceful morning, she felt the music spark in her soul. It’s warmth flooded her chest and she realized she was ready. Her mom’s  studio was still set up, and it was time. 

//

Luke woke up earlier than planned. Something just whispered he needed to be awake. He threw on pants and wandered downstairs. Surely no one else was up so he wouldn’t have to hear about his old Green Day cut off.  He was not too old to dress this way thank you very much Alex. nothing downstairs so why? Then he heard it. Piano. It was soft, almost timid. He followed the sound like a moth drawn to a flame. Down the driveway to the garage. That wasn’t a garage. The volume had picked up a little, whoever was playing was gaining confidence. Just as he slipped into the garage, ready to discover the mysterious musician, they started singing. He knew instantly that it was Julie. She was incredible. Angelic, powerful like a wrecking ball. He was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open and he didn’t dare breathe. He could listen to her sing forever. 

And you use your pain 

‘Cause it makes you you

Though I wish I could hold you through it

I know it's not the same

You got living to do

And I just want you to do it

So get up, get out, relight that spark

You know the rest by heart

Wake up, wake up if it's all you do

Look out, look inside of you

It's not what you lost

It's what you'll gain raising your voice in the rain

Wake up your dream and make it true

Look out, look inside of you

It's not what you lost

Relight that spark, time to come out of the dark

When she finished she hugged the sheet music to her chest, and he realized her mom must have written it. Julie had told him once that her mom was a musician. It had been late at night after a bad op and he’d been toying with a song in the music room. She had come to hang out with him. Julie hadn’t mentioned she was a musician as well, an insanely talented one at that. As she pushed away from the piano and stood she saw him and froze, tears still tracing down her cheeks. His fingers twitched with the urge to trace their path and wipe them away. He willed his arm to stay still and tried to rearrange his face into a normal expression. He wasn’t sure he succeeded. 

“I-” they both started at the same time. She nodded for him to speak. 

“I didn’t mean to intrude. You’re incredible, by the way.” 

“Thanks. That’s the, umm, first time I’ve played in awhile,” she sounded so hesitant. 

“No one would know that. No rust. I’m impressed,” he kept it light, unsure how much pressure she could take. 

She giggled a little. 

“Also, now instead of just hanging out when we jam, you will be participating.” he winked. 

“You are not the boss,” she snarked back, rolling her eyes. 

“I’m well aware of that, but I need you,” he pouted. 

“Fine. I will deign to elevate your garage band.” 

He didn’t bother to try hiding his huge grin, he couldn’t even if he wanted to.

* yes i cheated and Julie is playing wake up. It is the only choice really.

[invisibleraven]

Ride Or Die Till The End

Day Six: Lost

Definite allusions to Reggie suffering abuse and the Pattersons not being great parents in this chapter

I'll be with you through it all <-AO3 link

Luke scowled as he ripped down yet another missing person poster with his face on it. He wasn't missing, he wasn't lost, he had run away. If his parents had really cared, they could have looked for him at any of the numerous gigs Sunset Curve had booked since he left home. Hell they knew the Wilson's, all they had to do was ask them where he was, since they knew he was squatting in their garage.

Then again, maybe Emily did think of him as lost, lost to his obsession, as she would call it, with music. She had said a few times she felt she had lost her son to chords and harmonies, it came before everything else, and she just wanted him back. He had tried, really he had, but what use was algebra when his band was gonna become legends as soon as they played that life changing gig at the Orpheum. Why should he waste his time discussing Salinger and Shelley when his head was swimming with lyrics?

Bobby had understood, his parents weren't big fans of his plan to ditch college to play on a rock band, but they still offered up their garage. He told Luke he was welcome to stay as long as he wanted, and let him know if there was anything he needed. They exchanged fist bumps, and then went back to working out the notes for their latest song. Neither boy was big on emotion, but they were always there for each other when it counted.

Alex worried, but that was a near constant state for him. He worried about Luke getting the right food, and often snuck him leftovers from home that he could warm up at the studio. His parents were awful, frosting him out after he told them he was gay, but he was still living at home, and had no plans to leave until after they graduated. Alex kept everyone in line, functioning as the band mom half the time, and always offered support, even if he didn't agree with Luke living in a garage or dropping out of school.

"At least get your GED man, some labels may not want to sign us if they find out you're a runaway dropout. I'll help you study." Alex offered. Luke relented, as he had made a good point. He didn't want something as small as a high school education to get in the way of them making it big. Between the four of them he could manage to scrape by with a passing grade.

Reggie… well Reggie understood better than anyone. Reggie’s parents were probably the worst, and Luke was convinced if he ever went to jail it would be for murdering the Peters’. There had been too many clues of them hurting Reggie for Luke to ignore. The way he flinched at every raised voice, jumped at every bang, crash and broken item. The many layers Reggie wore, and his refusal to change in front of them, as if he was hiding a myriad of bruises all over his skin. Luke just wanted to grab his best friend by the shoulders some days and shake him, tell him to get out of that house, move into the garage with him, or find someplace they could escape their parents together. He had suggested it offhandedly once, but Reggie shrugged it off, claiming he was fine, and he didn’t want to leave home just yet.

“Maybe when we’re eighteen. Or not forced into slumming it in the studio. Our gigs don’t pay enough for a place yet.”

“Not after we play the Orpheum man! It’ll happen some day, I’m telling you!” Luke said, always confident in the band, that they would make it big, that he would be able to connect with everyone through their music.

Reggie beamed at him, nodding. “Of course, then we can land a manager and eventually take the world by storm!” They exchanged a high five, and decided an impromptu jam session was called for, even with just the two of them. It ended up with them writing a good chunk of a new song that Luke was debating calling Lost In Your Starlight.

But then, the Orpheum became less of a dream and more of a reality, as their years of trying finally paid off in landing a showcase at the famous theatre. Luke wanted to rush home and tell his mom, rub it in her face that as lost as she thought he was, he had finally found himself, and now he’d have the chance to share that self, that gift that she rejected, with the world. But… when he crept home, sneaking to look in their window, he saw his parents there, sitting as they always were, looking no different than when he had left all those months ago. They weren’t still distraught, or worried. Hell, they weren’t even out looking for him, or making frantic phone calls to the cops asking for leads. Didn’t they care that he was still out there?

He had hoped to come home once they made it, show them that his dreams weren’t a waste, that he could actually make it as a musician. But he wondered if they’d even accept it then, always claiming that fame was fickle and fleeting. That he should have something to fall back on for when he fails. Not if, when. He never had their support, and he finally gets it, by running away, he didn’t just lose his home, he’d well and truly lost his parents. He looks at the flyer he had planned to leave announcing the band’s showcase, but instead shoves it into his pocket. They would never understand, never accept him or his dreams. He didn’t need them, he didn’t need to 'grow up'. He’d be Peter Pan, living in his own Never Never Land forever if it meant he got to do what he loved.

That didn’t stop him from writing his mother a song, lamenting everything unsaid between them, breaking down into tears when he first played it with the guys. The three of them hugged him tight, wiped away his tears, and promised that the song stayed between them.

“How about we do Now or Never at the showcase instead?” Reggie suggested.

Luke sniffled and nodded, snuggling further into his embrace even after Alex and Bobby had let go. He and Reggie, there was always something more between them, some spark that Luke had never wanted to define. But it was there, simmering under the surface, and maybe once they made it big, he would be open to exploring that. Given how many times he had caught Reggie staring at him with heart eyes or glancing quickly away from his lips when they shared a mic, Luke figured Reggie would be okay with them being more… someday.

The night of their showcase found Alex and Reggie on either side of Luke on a ratty couch in an alleyway. Bobby had stayed behind to flirt with the cute waitress, but she seemed way more interested in talking about their music than giving Bobby her number when they had left. They were smiling, finally ready to wow the world with their sound, and become legends.

Luke held his street dog up in a toast “Eat up boys. ‘Cause after tonight, everything changes.”