Tumgik
#i'm really excited i love my ideas aksdghdfjkghlsdfjghkasdjf
kuiinncedes · 3 years
Text
just the keys to paradise
jatp au - prologue - part 1/15? - 1834 words
relationships: blaine & sam & tina & artie
okkkk we're doing it 🤪 idk how regularly i will update this (omg ongoing fic??? who is she) but i do have like technically a ~few~ chapters i guess done,,, and i am working on the next so . we're gonna try this lol
anyway if it wasn't clear this is an au based on the most amazing tv show ever with only 9 episodes pls watch or rewatch it on netflix the emmy-award winning julie and the phantoms !!! 🤪
that being said if you haven't watched it what are you doing jk i think you can still read this and hopefully it makes sense 😂 feel free to ask me if there's anything that doesn't make sense lol :)
also fyi in case it influences your decision to read: this will be more focused on platonic relationships for a while but will almost certainly have main endgames klaine, quinntina, and samcedes 😋
prologue title and lyrics in this part from "now or never" from the jatp soundtrack
plot and some dialogue from julie and the phantoms so like credit to all those creators and writers 🤪
warnings for this part: car accident, major character deaths (both of these are not actually in writing/"on screen" just implied at the end (especially within the context of this being a jatp au) and nothing really described -- if you want/need more details feel free to ask me)
read on ao3 or under the cut :D
--
1995
“Dudes, we fucking killed that !” Sam cheers when the smoke has cleared, going around and giving each of them something that could be called a high-five, just not to their hands. Tina laughs and cheers too as Sam excitedly taps her feet after she gets out from behind her kit, still elevated on the drum stage. Some of the workers applaud them from the audience space.
“Too bad we wasted that on the soundcheck,” Artie jokes, putting his guitar down and grabbing his water bottle. “That was the tightest we’ve ever played, yo!”
Tina grins and hops down from the drum platform. Sam slings an arm around her shoulders and she grabs his wrist. They’re both sweaty and too warm but she doesn’t mind having Sam’s heat pressed against her right side.
God, she thinks… that really was something else, even though it was just the soundcheck. She looks around at her bandmates’ faces -- shiny with sweat, red with exhilaration and exertion, bright with elation, eyes wide with excitement and --
Wow. They’re playing the Orpheum.
Blaine pats Artie on the back, jostling him enough to spill the water he’s trying to drink down the front of his shirt, but Artie just laughs -- he’s soaked with sweat anyway. They have spare clothes backstage just for this reason.
“Just wait until tonight, guys, when this place is packed with record execs,” Blaine says, looking out wonderingly into the empty (for now) audience. His grin widens almost imperceptibly, which is impressive considering how huge it already is.
“We’re gonna be legends!” the other three of them chorus, before Blaine can, and they laugh when he turns to them, affronted. “That’s my line!”
“It’s what you get for saying it ten times a day for the last month!” Tina teases. Blaine pushes her shoulder playfully, putting his hand within reach for Sam to grab. It’s a strange position considering Sam’s arm is still around Tina’s shoulders, but Tina adds her hand to their hold as Sam beckons Artie over from his side of the stage, barking out his name with joking anger.
Artie puts his water down and walks over to complete the group, placing his hand on top of Tina’s. “Tina, you were smokin’,” he says.
She rolls her eyes a little and grins back. “Pretty sure you’re just talking about the pyro. You guys were the ones on fire,” she says, pointing her drumsticks around at them.
“T, can you just own your awesomeness for once?” Blaine exclaims.
“Queen T!” Sam calls, pulling her closer into his side. She stumbles into him, laughing as the guys all start cheering it after Sam.
“Okay, okay! Thanks, guys, I got it!” she squeals, trying to get them to quiet down although -- they are in the Orpheum, where they’re playing later, it’s not like they have to be quiet -- while Sam leans his weight on her, causing them to stagger into the drum riser. Tina catches herself on it and Sam finally detaches from her and they’re still being loud and raucous and probably somewhat annoying to the staff, but she’s just laughing too hard to care.
“We’ve got an hour ‘til the show; I say we go celebrate before we become legends!” Blaine proclaims, jumping off the stage. The other three follow.
Tina starts, “Celebrate our last night of being -- ”
“Losers?” Artie interjects.
They’ve caught the attention of one of the Orpheum workers -- a woman with brown hair who’s wiping down the tables, smiling at them as Tina catches her eye. “There’s some nice restaurants around here,” she says with a wink. “You guys really killed it, by the way. But it seems like you know that.”
Blaine laughs, a little sheepishly. “Thanks. Uh, I’m Blaine,” he says. “This is -- ”
“Sam, hi!”
“Tina, how’s it going -- ”
“Artie, hey.”
Tina raises her eyebrows and stifles a laugh at Artie as he leans his sweaty arms onto the table that the woman just cleaned.
“We’re Sunset Curve!” Blaine says to complete their introduction.
“Tell your friends!” Sam calls, raising his voice and drawing the other workers’ attention to them. Tina elbows him lightly in the side.
“Nice to meet you,” the stranger says. “I’m Elle. So… what were you guys thinking for this -- what was it -- ‘celebration of your last night as losers’?”
“Well, we really can’t afford any nice places -- ” Sam starts.
“Oh, you know what? We should just go to Tip Top!” Blaine says, clapping his hands together. The others are quick to agree -- it’s the small, cheap diner where they spent the evening after their first “real” gig, and they’ve spent countless hours there since, annoying the staff and depleting their supply of plastic silverware. The employees there have learned to let them take what they legally can (and sometimes what they couldn’t), and the band is friendly with most of them. They haven’t been there in too long, having been working hard to get the Orpheum gig, and then writing and rehearsing like crazy once they got it.
Elle smiles as they excitedly and loudly recount stories of Tip Top to each other -- sentimental memories and the ridiculousness they got up to -- talking over each other and having multiple conversations at once.
“I guess you don’t need my recommendations?” she says lightly.
“Oh! Yeah, sorry, we’re good, thanks so much for offering,” Blaine answers, polite as ever.
“Have fun! Looking forward to seeing you guys perform again tonight.”
“Thank you!” the four of them exclaim as they make their way back to the exit. Tina yanks on the back of Artie’s shirt as he lingers at the table, a dumb look on his face that tells her he’s trying to flirt, or at least, his version of it.
“Tina!” Artie yelps and she laughs at the annoyed look on his face.
“You are not exempt from this last night of loser-dom celebration. You’re telling me you’d rather flirt with a girl than this?”
“Yes,” Artie grumbles. There’s no heat behind it, and Tina playfully pushes him sideways.
“Plus, we need you to drive.”
“You can drive!”
“Technically we all can drive!” Tina laughs at Artie’s horrified expression, probably at the prospect -- and memory -- of the one time Blaine drove them to a gig. “Just not your car!” she calls, jogging to catch up with Blaine and Sam, Artie running after her. “Your car is the fucking worst.”
“Don’t talk about her like that!”
“Blaine and Sam agree!”
That gets their attention and the two guys turn, Blaine asking, “What are we agreeing with?”
“I agree with Tina,” Sam says immediately. Tina nods gratefully at him.
“You don’t even know what we’re talking about!” Artie complains.
They’re at his beat-up car now and they pile in, Tina in the passenger seat laughing as Sam all but tackles Blaine into the backseat when he starts for the driver’s side, jostling her and Artie in the front. They continue shuffling around while Artie attempts to start the car, to many concerning -- but normal for his car -- noises.
“This thing is gonna go down and take us with it, Artie,” Tina mumbles teasingly, absentmindedly twirling a drumstick in her right hand. (She realizes too late that she probably should’ve left them at the Orpheum, but it’s not a big deal -- they’re not her favorite pair which are safe in their studio and she has extras backstage in case something happens to this pair while they’re out.)
The car finally starts with a rumble and Artie lets out a cheer. “We’re fine, T. Let’s go, y’all!”
“Floor it, Artie!” Sam calls from the back. The car accelerates comically slowly even as Artie presumably “floors it,” but they’re going somewhere.
After a few minutes, Tina finds herself unconsciously humming her solo in the bridge of “Now or Never,” only noticing when Sam interjects suddenly with his “Tomorrow!” leaning between the front seats and slightly startling her. She laughs and continues with the words, “‘Cause we got all we need today! ”
“Today!” Artie echoes, miming his guitar playing with one hand on the steering wheel.
“Living on a feeling that’s been running through our veins!” Blaine sings loudly, joining Sam in crowding into the front of the car.
“We’re the revolution that’s been singing in the rain!” It’s Sam’s line, but they all belt it at the top of their lungs together.
“That’s my line!” Sam exclaims at the same time that Blaine cheers, “My favorite line!” Tina continues to clap the beat for the next part of the song, Artie hitting the steering wheel in rhythm with her. Her face hurts from smiling.
“Artie, dude, where’d you go?” Blaine asks suddenly. Tina looks around at their slowly darkening surroundings that are completely unfamiliar. Slight panic rises in her stomach but she swallows it down; she’s with her boys, they’re safe, just a little lost.
Sam bursts out in uproarious laughter as Artie complains, “You guys distracted me!”
“Told you I should’ve driven!” Blaine says. He leans forward again and Sam follows. Tina stays quiet, pressing herself against the door a little to make room; her boys aren’t that much better but she’s always been completely hopeless with navigation and directions.
“You would’ve gotten even more distracted from singing and veered us right into a fucking building,” Artie grumbles, but he obeys as Blaine directs him to turn left and chooses to ignore his comment.
“Safe driving, am I right, dudes?” Sam cackles as he returns to the backseat, and Tina can’t help but laugh with him. “We’re gonna miss our gig, that’s how we’ll be legends!”
“‘Sunset Curve Skips Orpheum Showcase For No Reason’?” Tina suggests, turning around in her seat to face Sam.
He points at her. “Exactly. Or, 'Sunset Curve Skips Orpheum Showcase Because They Don't Know How To Drive.' The end of a promising career,” he jokes somberly. “No one would ever book them again.”
They fall silent and only the mutters of Blaine and Artie fill the car, along with the loud engine.
“Still haven’t figured it out yet?” Sam groans loudly, laying on his back across the backseats as Blaine is leaning awkwardly out of his seat to help Artie navigate.
“Not like you’re helping!” Artie says.
“That’s the street!” Blaine exclaims, pointing ahead. “The next intersection.”
“Give it up for Mr. Blaine Anderson, everyone,” Artie drawls, speeding up the car a little bit. “Perhaps not able to drive, but navigator extraordinaire.”
“You chose the wrong career path, dude,” Sam says, propping himself up on one elbow to clap Blaine’s shoulder. “Like, songwriting?”
Blaine looks down at him, raising an eyebrow. “Songwriting?” He gestures for Sam to continue.
Sam shrugs, sitting up finally. “Just, you know, songwriting, bro…" His gaze suddenly shifts and fixes at a point beyond Tina. "What th-- that car Artie!”
Tina snaps her gaze away from Sam just in time to see him yank Blaine down into his seat and the set of blinding headlights through the car windows in her periphery.
---
as a final note, i'm not sure if it can be seen this way but i'm not trying to erase artie's disability or anything and i believe i'm not doing that; as you might be able to guess, the car accident at the end of this is what paralyzes him, like in glee canon but just several years later (in his life not in actual time). please let me know if any aspect of this is disrespectful or anything <3
#i guess the warnings do kinda spoil it but it is the main point of the show lol#bye i'm stressed alksdhfgkajdhkkdsjf#kurt and the phantoms#i'm making a fucking tag for this yeahhh#will probably go back and tag some things where i shared lines or whatever lol bc i couldn't shut up about this 😂#this will be following the songs on the soundtrack... all of them not just the ones that are episode titles 👀#i'm really excited i love my ideas aksdghdfjkghlsdfjghkasdjf#so i hope i can do them well haha and i hope posting will help me keep motivated#but also i'm just really excited about it and want to share#and kinda reminding myself how i'm fine with wips being not updated for a long time or abandoned like it's not too big of a deal#so if that happens with this the person i'll be disappointing most is myself 😂#omg now or never came on shuffle while i'm putting it on ao3 a sure sign i should post lmao#what the fuck is ao3 doing putting spaces after italicized words excuse me???? kldhgklsdjfgh#AHHHH ok shit here we go????#dude editing this took way too long and it was just removing fucking spaces before and after italicized words after copying and pasting#from docs to ao3 and then from ao3 to tumblr???? why ??????#so i have forgotten anything else i wanted to say lol i will also put other tags in a second#ahhhjkdgfhkjlsdfgkahd;lkjadfghsdljighaksfd#glee#glee fic#jatp#julie and the phantoms#blaine anderson#tina cohen chang#sam evans#artie abrams#glee fanfiction#my ficsssss#ALSO this is why i've been on some blamtina bullshit lately lol 🤪 we got some blamtina comingggggg#and kurt of course ahhhh :DDD
24 notes · View notes