#it took until the bright performance for me to look at luke and be like "oh

[gloryofluv]

Situations that end with MC Walking Away Brothers and Datables (-Luke)

This is supposed to be funny, humorous, fluffy, and teasing. Obviously, insinuations are there.

I didn't do Luke because you shouldn't walk away from children or dogs. Haha! No, really, I just didn't want to do one for him so apologies.

Lucifer-

MC walked into the library to see Lucifer. He hadn’t seen them as he turned over several books on random shelves. He also took books from one shelf and placed them on other shelves. MC watched for two minutes before clearing their throat.

“What are you doing?” MC asked.

Lucifer jumped and turned around with an eyebrow raised. “Nothing, and if I were you, I’d keep this to yourself.”

MC shakes their head and leaves. So Satan was right. Lucifer goes out of his way to fuck with him.

Mammon-

MC was walking by the bathroom and stopped at the door after hearing someone wailing.

Wait… that was Mammon singing that song they played for him. Treasure by Bruno Mars. How fucking cute! MC ducks closer to the door and smiles brightly. Damn, he was cute. Was he singing about them?

MC sneakily opens the door to see Mammon in the bathtub. He was holding up Goldie and singing. Ugh.

MC moves to shut the door, but he sees. “MC, wait! It’s not what it looks like!”

Moving down the hallway as fast as they can, Mammon was trying to hold up his towel. “Wait! MC! Come on!”

Leviathan-

Leviathan showed MC his recent picture compilations he was creating for TSL and Rui-chan on his editing software. It was impressive.

Levi gets up to retrieve a figure he modeled one of the frames out of when MC clicks the other project he had minimized. Oh, boy, they shouldn’t have done that.

“MC, I have the,” he stopped dead.

The project was massively just about MC. Quite a few of the shots were of them together. He even had little hearts littering the frames.

“Levi, I love you, but I have to go,” MC murmured with the brightest blush and left the room.

Satan-

MC and Satan decide to go to the cat shelter. They were petting all the cats and feeding them treats. It was all in all a great day.

However, when MC glances over at Satan, where he’s ducked down to a pair of kittens, he was holding up his hand, and their little paws would touch his palm.

“Good, one more time,” Satan said.

“W-what are you doing?” MC asked.

Satan glanced over with wide eyes. “Teaching them to high five…” he trailed off.

MC put their hands on their cheeks and walked out of the room. All of this to hide the incredible blush and giddy laughter they were suppressing.

Asmo-

MC was skipping up to Asmo’s room to tell him about this sale. It was awesome, and he was going to obsess.

However, when they opened the door, they regretted it. Asmo was making out pretty hardcore with Solomon on the bed. Appalled? Shocked? MC didn’t know which.

“There’s always room for my other human!” Asmo giggled when he caught sight of MC.

Solomon covered his face. “Asmodeus, really.”

MC clapped a hand over their mouth and turned in a mechanical fashion before retreating.

“I’m never opposed to a humane threesome!” Asmo called after them.

Beel-

MC was working out with Beel. Well, more that he was working out, and they were putting chips in his mouth. It was a very gratifying experience. Both would laugh and enjoy this ridiculous routine.

It was all going like a well-oiled machine. Well… until Beel bit MC’s finger. Now it wasn’t that hard, but hard enough to make them jerk backward.

“Oh, MC, I’m sorry!” Beel puffed as he stopped his pushups.

MC took their finger to their mouth and grumbled. “That hurt, but I’m okay. You won't hurt me again, Beel.”

“Did Beel try to eat you like in your dream? I was hoping for screams and not whimpers,” Belphie murmured with a smirk as he turned over on his bed.

MC turned beyond what was considered red on the color spectrum. “I gotta go,” they rushed out and climbed off the floor.

“Wait, MC, I promise I won’t eat you!” Beel shouted as he rushed after them.

“Or he’ll try lower!” Belphie snickered.

Belphie-

MC was relaxing with Belphie in the sitting room. He was resting against their shoulder, and MC’s legs were over his lap. It was a typical evening of lazy bones being lazy cuddle buddies.

Asmo scrunched his nose while walking into the room. “It’s really unfair,” he started.

MC glanced over. “What?”

“Why is Belphie always getting to sleep with you! You never sleep with me!” He cried while crossing his arms.

“Because I do it better, Asmo. MC likes to be on top,” Belphie murmured through sleep.

MC’s eyes grew as Asmo rolled his. “Yeah, sure, like anyone would believe you fuck better than me.”

“What do you think the pillow is for? Muffled cries,” Belphie smiled over at Asmo.

MC puffed and stood up, nearly toppling over the table. Their hands landed on it for balance.

“Thank you for assuming the position, MC,” Belphie chuckled.

Needless to say, MC bolted from the room with bright mortification.

Solomon-

Magic. Always magic and human experiences. Today was no exception while they were practicing in the sitting room at Purgatory Hall.

They were working on transformative magic. Advanced and complicated.

“Now, watch, the strings will change to bracelets,” Solomon declared as he performed the spell.

MC bobbed their head as the white string did change into silver bracelets. “Cool.”

Simeon glanced over from his book. “Always talented, Solomon.”

Luke looked up from his phone and seemed wholly unamused by the situation.

“Now, it’s your turn.”

MC made the gesture and sputtered on the words. Instead of the string on their wrists turning into bracelets, they coiled around their hands and connected in a binding. MC gasped and struggled as they tried to climb off the ground.

“I didn’t realize you liked being tied up. I would have offered in private,” Solomon teased.

MC’s cheeks filled with blood and tripped as they moved toward the exit of the room.

“Solomon!” Simeon groaned.

Solomon was laughing. “I didn’t mean it. Well, maybe just a little, MC.”

They didn’t give him the chance to tease them anymore. MC struggled with the front door and began to march down the path.

“MC, you look like a demon meal like that! Come back,” Solomon called out, trying to catch them scurrying off. He laughed while following them all the way back to House of Lamentation.

Barbatos-

They were cooking together because he offered lessons. MC was always happy to help and learn to perfect a skill.

“Very good,” Barbatos nodded at MC finishing the sauce.

“Thanks, Barbatos. You’re going to get me cooking well enough to put any human to shame,” MC laughed.

“Maybe, but you were a proficient cook beforehand,” Barbatos said.

“I’ll have to cook for you sometime. Just tell me what you’d like to eat,” MC smiled.

Barbatos blushed and cleared his throat. “Anything you would like to make, MC. It isn’t often someone would like to return the favor for me.”

MC glanced over to see Barbatos had turned to the large pot on the stove. “I mean it. Whatever you want, Barbatos. I’d like to do something nice for you.”

“Why don’t you go see if we have any fresh greens?” He murmured.

MC scowled at the demon but agreed. They walked to the other side of the kitchen and went into the fridge. Glancing at the side, MC could see Barbatos subtly wiping his eyes through the reflection.

“Hey, Barbatos, I’m going to run to the restroom. I’ll be right back,” MC said and left the kitchen.

“Thank you,” Barbatos murmured as they left.

Diavolo-

Diavolo and MC were walking together through RAD as Barbatos trailed. They were on the way to a meeting, and MC was headed to lunch. This was usual, rare, but something not out of the norm. He would get his human questions in during these moments.

“MC, I heard the oddest thing from Asmodeus the other day,” Diavolo declared.

“What did he say now?” MC questioned with suspicion.

“There’s this game that you and he play. It has to do with figures of some sort,” Diavolo hummed.

“Figures?” MC asked.

Diavolo tapped his chin and glanced back. “Barbatos, what was it called again?”

“Daddy or Uncle energy, I believe, my lord,” Barbatos said while stifling a smile.

“Ah, yes, that one. Is this one of those parental human games?” Diavolo inquired while staring at MC.

Ded. one hundred percent. “No, um, Lord Diavolo, I gotta go,” MC puffed and tried to gesture toward the cafeteria.

“Wait, but he said you saw me as a father type? That’s very sweet,” Diavolo beamed with the smallest hint of mischief.

“Bye, Lord Diavolo! Bye, Barbatos!” MC rushed out and sprinted toward the cafeteria.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Diavolo called after them with a bout of laughter.

Asmo was killed later that night. (Not really, but it could happen…)

Simeon-

Simeon and MC were in the kitchen of Purgatory Hall, baking. They had just finished the batter for the fingerprint cookies with a celestial recipe. Simeon was his usual serene self.

“Simeon, how long are these going to take?” MC questioned with the timer in hand.

“Put the timer on for fifteen minutes, and we’ll check then. I still am not confident that Solomon doesn’t tinker with the oven for experiments,” Simeon laughed.

MC set the timer and grinned. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“He is a very unique human,” Simeon noted with a smile.

MC laughed while picking up the towel on the counter. “Here, let me help you clean up. You have some flour on your face.”

Simeon bent enough so that MC could clear his features of the flour, all the while beaming. It was a very cozy experience to bake with the angel. He took the towel from MC’s hand and nodded.

“Let me assist. You have some as well,” he noted and wiped their cheeks with soft swipes.

Simeon’s eyes were focused on the task.

“Simeon! Solomon took my hat for a spell again!” Luke yelled as he walked into the room.

MC jumped and accidentally pressed their lips to the space just next to Simeon’s mouth. “Oh, my God!” MC puffed and bounced back.

That just made it even worse. MC clapped a hand over their mouth and rushed from the room. Fire was cooler than their face. How were they ever going to explain that?

[intoanothermind]

Flying Solo - Reggie

Word Count: 2.1k

- Reggie x reader

Synopsis: ever since you died, all you do is walk around the city and watch people going through their lives in restaurants, pubs and other establishments. That is until you meet another ghost in one of these places.

Masterlist

(This is based on a request I asked a few days ago. I’ve tried putting a gif instead of a picture, but tumblr doesn’t let me do it, but I’ll keep tryind. Don’t forget to check out my other Reggie fic and the one I wrote for Luke!)

Stand Tall - Reggie // Akai Ito - Reggie (soulmate au) // Bright - Luke

—

Since I died, I have enjoyed spending time watching the lifers. I walked the streets of Los Angeles and spent hours and hours sitting in restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and other establishments. Many people spent their time on their cell phones or typing on their laptops, but I liked to watch other people interact. I would like it even more if I could eat, but the smell of coffee and pie always calmed me down. And sometimes I would discover some other ghost in those places.

Especially if he moved a customer's food and the person looked around confusedly. I paid more attention when the woman took her eyes off her cell phone, picked up her plate and changed tables, without noticing the two boys sitting at the table. A third boy, who had previously been in front of the counter, sat in the empty seat. They talked for a while - unfortunately I couldn't hear from where I was several tables behind - before the blonde walked out the door and the third boy shortly after. I got up quickly before the cute boy who was making a prank on the client disappeared too.

"Hi." I said, taking the vacant seat for the blonde. "What's your name?"

His blue eyes widened and looked back before turning back to me and pointing at his chest.

"Me?" he asked, confused, and he just seemed even cuter.

"Yes, you." I laughed. "My name is Y/N, what’s yours?"

“Reggie. I'm Reggie.” he smiled and shifted in his chair, looking excited. "How can you see me?"

I shook my head, still smiling. He clearly didn't understand.

"I'm a ghost too." I replied, extending my hand to the side just as a girl passed and my arm went through her.

His smile widened even further, making his eyes narrow.

"Cool!" he opened his eyes wide. "I mean, it's not cool that you died, or anything..."

But my smile has not diminished.

"It’s okay, I had a year to get used to it."

"What did you die of?"

“Car accident last year. I was with my mom coming back from a performance. She crossed over to the other side, I didn't.” my smile became a little sad. "But what about you? How long have you been a ghost?”

"Well..." he made a funny face. "About 25 years ago we ate some bad hot dogs."

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. "Really?"

"I know." he made a face of suffering. "It was not our best moment."

"Our?"

"Me and my bandmates."

"Those who were here with you."

"Yes! Luke and Alex. We died together.”

"So you must have seen a lot of things together in the past 25 years." I commented excitedly, leaning on the table.

"Not exactly." he made another funny face. "After we left the ambulance, we were in this dark room where Alex was crying and the next thing we remember is falling into a girl's garage a few days ago."

"So that means I have more ghost time than you do!"

“Oh, but we’ve already discovered some really cool things! We managed to play in front of people when we played with Julie!”

My heart sank when I heard that name and I opened my mouth to comment, but I felt a shiver go through my body when someone sat in the chair where I was. I got up quickly, because the worse thing than passing through people was staying in the exact spot where she was. I looked at Reggie and he too had stood up when another girl sat down where he was.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

"For sure." said Reggie, holding my hand and whooshing us to a beach where I have never been.

It was not as crowded as the most famous beaches in Los Angeles, but it had some movement.

"Where are we?" I asked when I noticed Reggie kicking some sand and sitting with his back to the sea and facing a bike shack.

"I used to live here." he replied while I sat next to him. “This bike shack used to be my home. Every now and then I come here and wonder what happened to my parents. ”

"I'm sorry." I murmured, lying my head on his shoulder and just watching the movement in the store.

"Okay. I'm sorry I spoiled the mood.”

"It's all right. I think about my family as well.”

"But you've only been a ghost for a year." he said, turning his head slightly towards me. "Didn't you ever see how they're doing?"

"Once, two weeks after we died." I whispered. “My family was destroyed. I couldn't see them like that without being able to do anything, so I only come back once every few months to see if they were okay.”

"I'm sorry." he murmured, resting his head on mine.

We stayed there for a few minutes in that position, not saying anything, just watching people coming and going in front of the store that used to be his home.

"Did they really kill Han Solo?" the question was asked so unexpectedly, I could only lift my head from his shoulder and look at him a little confused.

"What?"

"Do you know Star Wars?" he said quickly. "We went to a club the other day and Luke and I were trying to catch up on what we missed and a couple of the living told us that they made about eight more Star Wars movies and that they killed Han Solo!"

"Whoa, easy!" I laughed. "I do know the movies. And yes, they did. His son killed him.”

"What?!" he looked shocked at me. "I think I would rather never know about the continuation of the series."

"I’m sorry." I said, but I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face. “It certainly wasn't the best moments in the saga. This latest trilogy disappointed a little.”

"I was hoping you would tell me it was a lie." he grimaced before letting out a breath and getting up. “Y/N, I need to go. We have a band rehearsal. We are playing tonight at the pub we met, you should go.”

I stood up as well and smiled at him a little, but I denied it.

“Sorry, Reg. I had a really big connection to music and my family when I was alive. It still hurts to think about it, so I always avoid it. But I promise that one day I will see you playing. ”

"Okay." he gave a big smile. "See you around then."

And disappeared.

   ~*~

  As the days went by, Reggie and I got closer and closer. We met several times and went to different places. Especially places where I could update him on the things he lost in the last 25 years. But then he stopped appearing beside me with that wide smile and dork way. For several days I didn’t see him, wondering if anything had happened. I heard stories about ghosts who were trapped by contracts, others who ceased to exist, and I was afraid that he had crossed over or was in trouble - and I couldn't do anything to help.

The next time he showed up I was on the beach again, in front of the bike shack, waiting for him to show up at some point. When he appeared, I barely gave him time to pull himself together before jumping into his arms and hugging him tight.

“Reggie! What happened? You went MIA, are you okay? I got worried!"

He didn't answer, just pulled away from the hug, held my face in his hands and kissed me. I reacted instantly, kissing him back in the same intensity.

"It hurt to think that maybe I didn't have the opportunity to do that." he murmured when we leaned away.

"What do you mean by that?"

He then set out to tell me about the Hollywood Ghost Club, the stamp, the shocks, the threats, the Orpheum show and how they managed to touch Julie afterwards.

"Julie?" I asked, feeling my throat tighten. “The girl who can see you and make you visible? Is her name Julie Molina? ”

"How did you know?" he asked, confused, and I had to take a deep breath to keep from crying.

"She is my little sister."

Reggie's eyes widened in surprise. "You are the Y/N who died with Julie's mother."

I just nodded.

“So did she play again? Is she fine?"

He gave me a knowing smile.

“Why don't we go back to the house and you can see for yourself? I think you've gone too long without seeing her. ”

I agreed, still a little stunned.

"Hey Hey." he caught my eye until I looked him straight in the eye. He stroked one of my cheeks and smiled when I blushed. "It's gonna be okay. I was really going to invite you to meet the band. ”

"So let's go." I smiled at his excitement.

He hugged me around the waist and we teleported directly to mom’s studio. It was different from how I remembered. The piano was uncovered, the lights were on, and instruments were scattered on the other side. I think they were the instruments that the boys used. But they were not there.

"Yeah, I think the boys haven't arrived yet." Reggie commented, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's all right." I mumbled, moving towards the piano and sitting on the stool.

Reggie sat next to me.

"Do you play?"

"I used to play with mom and Julie." I said, concentrating my energy on my fingers and starting to strum one of mom's favourite songs. I looked at Reggie and he was smiling at me. I continued to play, feeling the music flowing through me like when I was alive. It was great to know that I could play even now.

"Boys, I already said that you can't play while I'm not ... here."

I stopped playing abruptly when I looked at the garage door and Julie was there looking at me as if she had seen a ghost. Well, had had. I got up from the stool quickly and went towards my sister.

"Julie..." I sobbed, trying to reach her at the same time as she held her hand out to me. But my hand went through hers and I started to cry.

"Y/N." she was crying too. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Jules." I laughed.

"I thought you crossed over, I never saw you here."

“I came here a few times, but you never saw me. I couldn't stand to stay long. I spent most of my time walking around the city. ”

"What about mom?" she asked hopefully.

I shook my head. “I never saw her. She crossed right away.”

Julie tried to dry the tears, but they just kept coming down.

"Please, don’t go." she pleaded in a voice so low it broke my heart. “You can stay here with the boys. Just please don't go.”

I looked at Reggie in exasperation, but he came over to me and rested a hand on my back and I managed to take a deep breath.

"Okay." I smiled at my younger sister. "I’ll stay here."

"Yes!" I heard Reggie murmuring and Julie and I laughed, slowly composing ourselves.

“Julie? Is everything alright here?" I heard a third voice and turned to see the two boys who were in the pub with Reggie when I met him.

"Alex, Luke, this is Y/N, my sister."

Luke, the one with the brown hair, raised his eyebrows in surprise. "The sister you said that died?"

Julie made a face, but I just laughed and confirmed it.

Alex, the blonde, observed my closeness to Reggie and smirked. "I imagine this is also the same Y/N that Reggie kept talking about."

"Eh... Well... It wasn't like that..." Reggie gasped trying to brush it off, but I just laughed as I grabbed his chin and pulled him in for a quick kiss.

I barely noticed the boys' laughter and Julie's comment on how weird it was to see her sister kissing someone. I was too busy drinking on Reggie's expression, who had his eyes closed and an ecstatic smile on his lips.

[mell-bell]

Running from the Past - Part I

Luke Patterson x Reader

Words: 1982

Series Summary: You and Luke became close friends months before he played the Orpheum with Sunset Curve....will he meet you again?

Chapter: 1/?

Part I / Part II  / Part III

TW: Mentions of abuse

Author’s notes: Ngl Julie and the Phantoms is the cutest show ever and I just want all the boys to be happy okay - next part will be post-hotdogs aka time jump

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You had met your fair share of bands. Rock stars. Up-and-coming singers. Women who claimed they would make it big. Boys who wanted to be the next big boy band.

You helped your uncle manage the bands that played in his night club. And tonight, the club had booked a new up-and-coming band that had been making the rounds around town. But the lead singer was nowhere to be found. Your uncle sent you to hunt him down, which was why you were running around backstage breaking through door after door trying to find some wanna-be rock star teenager.

“Luke!” You yelled as you slammed yet another door open. A woman in the far back of the room glared at you as she wiped a makeup smear off a young lady’s face.

You mumbled your apologies, slowly pulling the door shut behind you, before taking off down the hall once again. As you rounded the corner, you ran headfirst into someone, both of you shrieking as you slammed to the ground in a jumble of limbs.

“Woah!” The shaggy hair boy in front of you exclaimed as he pulled away from you, stumbling ungracefully to his feet.

He offered you his hand, but you ignored him as you stood slowly.

You squinted your eyes as you looked him up and down. A smirk formed on his face as he watched you look him over. Just as he opened his mouth, probably to say something smart, you shoved a finger in his face and the smirk slipped off his face.

“Luke?”

The boy’s eyes widened and he nodded.

Without wasting another second, you grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him down the hall. The boy stumbled over his feet as you pulled him along behind you.

“Where are we going? Damn your grip is hella tight. Could you maybe let up?” He stopped as you threw him another glare, “....no? Okay.”

He managed to remain silent as you continued down the hall until you both passed by a grinning Alex, who had just stepped out of your uncle’s office. Luke reached out to him for help, but the blonde boy just held up his hands as you passed.

“Not cool, Alex!” Luke yelled. Alex’s laughter echoing behind you.

You finally made it through the door of your uncle’s office and shoved Luke right in front of your uncle’s desk.

“Oh, you found him! You can go help the stagehands set up now!”

You sighed, your head and feet throbbing from searching for rock star for the past two hours. Turning on your heel, you started out the door but skidded to a halt when Luke stepped right in front of you.  

“Wait, can I get your name?” He said, offering you a lopsided smile.

“Y/N.”

“Y/N.” He said slowly, “That’s pretty- I...wait!” He stammered as you walked right around him and out the door.  

He stuck his head out the door of your uncle’s office, “I’ll see you around!”

“No, you won’t!” You yelled back.

“Yes, I will!”

You smiled as you rounded the corner. Maybe one day you would see him again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two months passed and you arrived at your uncle’s club earlier than normal. It was too early to set up the stage, so you wandered around aimlessly backstage. As you rounded the corner, you tripped over something, slamming hard to the ground.

“Crap sorry!” The man scrambled to his feet and helped you up, “Y/N?”

Your eyes widened as you met Luke’s green eyes, “Larry?”

He rolled his eyes and held out his hand, “Luke.”

“Nah, I like Larry better.” You shook his hand quickly before taking a step back and running a hand through your hair nervously, “You playing here again?”

The boy nodded, a grin lighting up his whole face. He looked at you as if waiting for you to say something.

You stumbled over your words, “Um - well I should....” You pointed behind you and started to slowly back away.

“Wait! Keep me company until the rest of my band gets here?” He begged, pouting his lip out.

A smile pulled at the corner of your mouth, and with the roll of your eyes you motioned for him to sit back on the ground. He did. You plopped down next to him, settling yourself up against the wall.

“So you work here?”

You shook your head, “I help my uncle, I don’t really like staying at home, so he allows me to help out around here.”

Luke’s eyes grew darker as he nodded knowingly.  

You both continued to talk and before long you were laughing as he stood in front of you, guitar in hand, trying to write a song that rhymed with your name.

“It’s not going to work.” You chuckled.

“It will. It will. Hold on I’ll get it.” He strummed the guitar again, his mouth wide open, but no words came out, “Okay, maybe not.”

“Y/N!” A voice echoed down the hall, “Your uncle needs you.”

Sighing, you stood up, brushing off your jeans. You hesitated for a second, turning to face Luke, “I’ll see you around?”

Luke smiled as you walked away and just before you rounded the corner he called out, “Hey if you ever need a place to stay that’s not here, we have a pretty comfortable couch in our studio.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A month passed and you saw Luke more than you thought you would.

You were friendly, but you tried to keep your distance. There was a reason you didn’t have many friends. And you didn’t want to drag Luke into your family drama.

When you heard footsteps around the corner, you curled in on yourself hoping whoever it was would ignore you. Your pencil continued to scratch lightly over the paper as you continued to sketch.

When the footsteps sounded closer, your shoulders stiffened as you saw Luke step up beside you.

You shot to your feet and darted away. But he followed after you, his puppy dog eyes wide as he tried to get your attention. When he lightly grabbed your arm, you turned your eyes flashing at him.

He took a step back.

You sighed, “Sorry.”

“No,” He stepped back a little more, “I’m sorry.”

You closed your eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall, “It’s just...”

“You don’t have to tell me.” His voice was soft.

You sank to the ground, burying your face in your hands as you took deep breath after deep breath. A few seconds later you felt him settle beside you.

Luke began to speak, probably to apologize when you abruptly look up straight into his eyes, “I don’t have the best home life I mentioned before. It’s gotten worse and I don’t....”

He grimaced as your once bright eyes began to darken as bad memories were pulled to the surface. Your eyes glazed over as you turned to stare at the wall opposite you.

Luke was quiet for a few minutes before moving closer to you. He gently took the sketch pad that you held tightly to your chest.  

He began to speak, softly and slowly about how he ran away from home because he and his mom had a horrible fight. And he wanted to go back because he missed her and didn’t want to disappoint her, but he needed to prove to her that music was his thing. As he continued speaking, you began to relax in his presence. Everything he spoke of was in a way similar to what you were going through.

As the weeks passed, you both grew closer and you began to trust him more and more, telling him more about yourself and your family. He was easy to talk to and you felt safe telling him your secrets because he had secrets of his own. He listened without judgment and offered support without forcing it on you.

You didn’t know how different everything would be after this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You walked up to the garage hesitantly. Alex’s parents had explained where the studio was in the back of the house, and that you should just follow the sound of the music.

You gripped the strap of your bag tighter and raised your hand to knock on the door. But you froze. Sighing you turned. But before you could walk away, the door creaked open behind you.

“Y/N?”

You froze and turned around slowly, refusing to meet the boy’s eyes.

Luke was looking at you confused, his eyes darting to the packed duffel bag on your shoulder, to your downcast face.

“I...um.” You swallowed hard, still looking at the ground. You took a hesitant step back.

But before you could run, Luke stepped up to you, his hand raising, gently lifting your chin. Your eyes darted to the side, so they didn’t meet his.

His own eyes darkened when he saw the bruise on your cheek but knew better than to breach the topic.

“Can I stay here for a few days?” You said faintly.

Luke’s eyes roved your face, and for a moment you thought he would refuse. But then he pulled the bag from your shoulder, slinging it over his own. His other arm lifted to wrap around your shoulder as he led you into the studio.

“Boys! We have a guest!”

Alex and Reggie looked up, both smiling widely when they saw you. They ran over, about to pull you into a group hug, when Luke raised his hand causing them to skid to a halt. They both froze at the sight of your bruised face.

You cringed, waiting for the bombardment of question. But instead, they led you over to the couch and Reggie began a long rant about the new Star Wars that was supposed to come out in a few years, until you were giggling on the couch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You snuggled into the couch, wearing one of Luke’s sweaters you had “confiscated” a few months ago. It was big on you and hung down below your knees. You had the sleeves rolled numerous times yet they were still long enough to fall over your hands.

“Y/N? I need opinions on what to wear for our Orpheum performance tomorrow night and- is that my sweater?”

You didn’t bother looking up as you continued sketching a new Sunset Curve Album cover, “That it is.”

When Luke didn’t say anything, you raised your head to look at him, your brows furrowing, “Are those my slippers?”

“Yes. Can I ask why you’re wearing it?” He said softly.

You tilted your head, confused at his statement, “What?”

“The sweater. My sweater. Why are you wearing it?”

You definitely blame your sleepy brain for your next response, “It makes me feel safe.”

After a beat of silence and a slight quirk of Luke’s mouth, you realized what you had said. Stumbling over your words you frantically spit out, “Nope, I didn’t say that. Ignore that.”

Luke’s smile took up his whole face. He looked you up and down before his eyes widened, “Wait.  Isn’t that the sweater I was looking for months ago?”

“Well…”

“Y/N!” Luke exclaimed, “I asked you for weeks what happened to it! I can’t believe you had it all this time. Have you taken anything else I’ve been looking for?!”

You scoffed, lightly blushing, “What no of course not why would I ever do that….?”

Lies. You always wore his clothes. His shirts to bed. His pants during cold days. His sweatshirts. You loved his shirts and sweaters the best. They smelled like him. They made you feel safe. You loved being able to cuddle up at night tucked in something that reminded you of him. You loved falling asleep surrounded by his scent. Especially if you were feeling particularly down or sad, his scent would wrap you in a cocoon of safety until you relaxed.

[mouse-fantoms]

An Analysis of Edge of Great

Remember when Julie shares with Flynn the songs her and Luke wrote over the weekend? She sings a part of Great and Stand Tall. I was just under the impression that those were songs that her mom had wrote and they finished them. But Julie says that her and Luke wrote Great together. (I’m so annoyed it took my (5th) rewatch to notice that)

I think it took me longer to realize that was the case because when they perform Bright and Finally Free those were Suncet Curve songs (ones that Luke thought would be perfect for her range) and Stand Tall is the one that they finished writing together. All the other songs we’ve seen them perform as a band were already written before they all had met.

Edge of Great is different.

It’s a song that Julie and Luke wrote together. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the lyrics:

Running from the past

Obviously referring to both of their stories. Julie is now working through the grief of her mother’s death (the past). Luke literally ran from the constant fighting that was between him and his parents.

Tripping on the now

What is lost can be found

It’s obvious

Tripping as in it being an accident, like the fact that they accidentally came into each other’s lives. Luke didn’t know that he was going to die that night, Julie didn’t know she’d get three ghost boys when she played her mom’s CD. “What is lost can be found, it’s obvious” Both of them were “lost” because of them running from their past’s until they “found” each other.

Like a rubber ball we come bouncing back

We all got a second act inside of us

“Come bouncing back” they eventually ‘came back’ to themselves from their past’s. “Second act” Luke (Alex and Reggie)’s legitimate second chance at life, Julie’schance to allow herself to move passed her mom’s passing.

The chorus is legit just about how as a band they’re (all of them not just Juke) going to do wonders as a group:

I believe that we're just one dream

Away from who we're meant to be

It’s their dream to make it as a band. They’re meant to be this band because they all can feel it because of their connection with each other.

That we're standing on the edge of

Something big, something crazy

Our best days are yet unknown

Big meaning making it as a band. I think being in a band with dead dudes qualifies as crazy. Their best days with each other, they don’t know what they’ll be because they haven’t reached those yet.

That this moment is ours to own

'Cause we're standing on the edge of great

This is time to really shine. Really show what they can do because they do have something great. They have them.

We all make mistakes

But they're just stepping stones

To take us where we wanna go

It's never straight, no

This one is obvious. Luke is just saying how mistakes don’t hold you down and they shouldn’t.

Sometimes we gotta lean

Lean on someone else

To get a little help

Until we find our way

*ahem* like when you’re writing a song together until you both can ‘find your way’

Shout, shout

C'mon and let it out, out

Don't gotta hide it

Let your colors blind their eyes

Be who you are no compromise

Just shout, shout

C'mon and let it out, out

What doesn't kill you makes you feel alive

I think Luke came up with this bridge specifically to remind Julie of how talented she is. Telling her to not hide her talent, be who she is which is Julie fricken Molina. And repeating the fact how music makes them both feel alive.

Even though I already went over the lyrics... but this is where the mic share moment happens between them:

Running from the past

As they look into each other’s eyes they reflect on each other’s past’s.

Tripping on the now

Telling each other how it was accident they came into each other’s lives but they’re adjusting to that (the now).

What is lost can be found, it's obvious

Eyes flicker between the other’s eyes and lips, how they both were personally lost in life but then they found each other. It’s obvious that they would find each other at some point.

In conclusion, Edge of Great has Juke undertones to it and it makes kinda more sense why Luke is all sad that Julie is avoiding him throughout it. We know she’s avoiding him because of Perfect Harmony and that whole thing, but he doesn’t know that. When they last performed during Finally Free they were making eyes at each other, being carefree the whole time and then now she’s suddenly avoiding him. They wrote Great together with her avoiding him it’s like the lyrics they wrote together mean nothing. Until he does the little riff and that’s when he’s like “Oh, alright, back to normal now.”

Edge of Great Juke supremacy please and thank you

[ionianstar]

Imagine Luke and his classmates performing Oh Happy Day from Sister Act 2.

And Luke is equally as talented and equally as afraid.

xxxxxx

He and his classmates had been rehearsing for weeks, building up the courage to believe in themselves and to perform. MC is an older angel who had agreed to supervise the rehearsals and direct the performance.

They readied themselves on the morning of the performance. It was to be performed at assembly on Monday morning, in front of the entire student body.

Their hands were all clammy as they clasped eaxh others' arms and laced pinkies and leaned heads on shoulders while standing in an empty classroom waiting to be called up.

MC was sitting on the teacher's desk as they all stood around her, nervous and excited. She made sure to meet each of their faces and give them a bright smile.

"You will be fine. You are all so talented and so dedicated. And I'll be right up there with you. I am so proud of all of you." Some of them started sniffling and MC tutted and opened her arms. The young angels all rushed forward, throwing their arms around her and each other.

"Oh my loves, don't cry too much. You'll sound like little frogs up there." She spoke into the mass of white and gold and teal around her. Some of them chuckled and cleared their throats. They finally relented and broke away.

"Now, final warm up. We need those throats nice and warm so we give our best." She stood and they all elegantly scrambled to form a neat circle. Luke slid next to her and sbe felt his small, sweaty fingers interlace with her own. She squeezed his hand and continued.

"Vowels."

A soft chorus of voices rose into the air and MC closed her eyes, smiling. As they practiced, she felt Luke's grip loosen gradually until his hand fell away entirely and his voice rose clear and strong beside her.

As their voices faded out, a knock sounded at rhe door and MC opened her eyes to see Simeon, beautifully clad in his uniform, leaning against the door frame.

Tiny gasps echoed in the room and she swore she heard Anna in particular say "Oh sweet Father", followed by the sound of a smack. She swallowed her own giggle even as the rest of the students didn't.

"You all sound more and more beautiful everytime I hear you. I don't know how you keep doing it. That hall will be a sight and sound to rival even the seraphim." He praised the young angels as he walked into the room. They shuffled around and made space for him next to her.

Luke's hand grabbed at yours again and you glanced at him, his head bowed for some reason.

"I actually came to tell you they'll be ready in about 5 minutes so we can start filing out." Simeon's voice caused her to take in all their bright faces again.

"Luke, would you do us the honor of saying a prayer before we go?" MC turned to the young boy and he nodded. They all held hands again and bowed their heads.

"Dear Father, thank you for allowing us to perform and giving us these talents to use for Your worship. Guide us, keep us, grant us the courage and confidence to perform well. In Your name, Amen"

A chorus of "amens" and shaky exhales.

"I know you will all do wonderfully." Simeon looked around at all of them and they returned his smile

"Let's go rattle Heaven." MC winked and they visibly relaxed. They formed a line and filed out of the classroom. Luke took up the rear and MC didn't miss the affectionate squeeze Simeon gave him.

MC and Simeon followed behind them as the neat line of white hats and shirts walked up to the stage and took up their positions. She walked to the center of the stage and Simeon sat on her far right at the piano.

She glimpsed some clasped hands and smiled at them all. "Focus on me and Simeon. That's all."

Simeon began playing and she saw a few visibly tense, notably Luke as he began.

The chorus came out softer than normal and huskier than they robably intended. She motioned for Luke to step forward even as she swayed. He continued singing and stepped forward out of formation and began their practice vocalizations.

They followed along and tension melted away as their voices gained strength.

"Relax, Luke." MC whispered and Luke's lips pulled up into a smile and he opened his mouth to sing again.

Oh, he was clear as daylight.

Even the chorus swelled behind him and they stepped and swayed. Here were the beautiful cherubs of the Celestial Realm. Here were her little angels.

Another vocalization adlib and their voices soared in the hall.

She stepped and swayed with them as they clapped and Luke belted behind her. She could see Simeon swaying in his seat and she beamed at them all. As she mouthed the words, the skin on her arms raised and she felt a shudder run through her and she reveled in it. They were all smiling so widely and confidently she almost cried.

These cherubs worked so hard and Luke the hardest of all, spending countless hours perfecting his pitch and rhythm with Simeon and herself. He was so afraid at first but he pushed through. Him and Anna working especially late nights to choreograph movements and formation. It was truly a class effort and MC was so proud of them.

Luke's voice rang out behind her and she was about to look around at him when he released a falsetto. MC whipped around and the hall erupted into cheers around them. She collected herself and turned back to the group who were all staring wide-eyed but still singing. Their final exclamation seemed to shake the very ground they stood on and they were almost drowned out by applause and cheering.

MC turned on the spot, flashed a smile and bowed. She knew the students on stage and Simeon mimicked the action and by the time they all exited the stage, the cheering hadn't stoped.

She was doubly impressed by their neat and orderly trek back to the classroom. Simeon had the good sense to shut the door behind them.

At the click of the lock, they all erupted into laughter and exclamations. The students all crowded around Luke, who seemed to still be in a daze, hugging and smiling at and with him.

MC caught his eye and he walked over to her and stood in front of her for a few moments. She understood the high after performing and put her arms around him.

"I'm very proud of you, Luke. You were beautiful out there." She spoke into his cap and his smaller arms wrapped around her torso.

"You all were. I don't think any cherub class has ever evoked such a response in the student body. I am proud of you all." Simeon added and in an instant, several smaller figures rushed to hug him. Sniffles were heard and MC could make out Simeon's quiet cooing to the young angels. Luke finally released her and she smiled down at him, even as a watery smile graced his face. She brushed his hair away from his forehead and pressed a kiss there.

"I had fun. Being on stage with all my friends was easier than I thought." Luke looked around at his classmates and they sent him smiles and thumbs-up signs. Simeon came over, after soothing many a young angel, and Luke threw his arms around Simeon's waist and Simeon huffed a laugh.

"I am so proud of you, my little one. You were spectacular." Simeon plucked off Luke's hat and ran a hand through his blonde hair. Luke gave another watery laugh.

"Ya know," Anna began, standing next to MC, "you guys are kinda like our parents. Which means you're also kinda married." MC gawked at Anna as the younger angel simply smiled knowingly and looked between her and Simeon.

"So that'd mean you kinda have a crush on your dad." MC smirked down at Anna as a horrified expression crossed her face.

"On second thought, you're my big sister." Anna nodded to herself and left MC's side as Luke joined their group of friends.

Simeon came to rest against the teacher's desk with her and she allowed herself to lean her head on his arm.

"You did well, MC." Simeon spoke very softly and MC smiled tiredly.

"So did you, Simeon. We all did well." She patted his leg and he chuckled.

Luke saw them in his periphery and smiled to himself. If this was the catalyst to get those two to finally confess, he'd happily sing on stage until it happened.

xxxxxx

[vanillann]

the 1994 battle of the performers (luke patterson x f.reader)

word count: 2.0k

the 1994 battle of the performers masterlist

Chapter 3: The Cool Kids Table

“Look who it is!”

I jumped when I realized how close the voice was, looking over my shoulder at a smiling Alex and Luke. I tried to see if I saw Reggie or Bobby but Alex caught on to my weird glares.

“They had to stay after class a few extra minutes, got in trouble for distraction yesterday,” Alex shrugged, speaking as if it was a casual thing but really thinking about it, it was very possible.

“Oh?” I was still slightly confused why they were at my locker, we weren’t really friends I suppose. Just five teen’s who had dreams and were doing the other a favor.

“Oh? Where is your excitement?” Luke bounced on his heel, the wild smile never left his lips as he looked at me. I said nothing, reaching for the books in my locker for the next period.

“Who has excitement during school?”

“Who wouldn’t when it’s time for lunch,” I rolled my eyes with a smile sneaking its way on my lips at the excitement that followed the group.

They truly did try to make the best out of everything.

“Nothing ever happens at lunch,” I shut my locker, turning around and letting my backrest on the cool metal that sent a shiver through me.

“Cause you’re sitting at the wrong table,” Alex smiling was changeling Luke’s, which felt like a greater competition than the Battle of the Performers.

“I sit with some old dancers, they don’t talk much.”

The dancer team was nice enough to still speak to me after the spilt, but that didn’t make it easier to watch the people I considered my friends talk about the thing you loved most without you. It wasn’t going to get easier but I couldn’t let myself dig too deep in my own head.

“Not anymore,” Luke skipped backward, letting his back hit the handle of the cafeteria door and holding his hand out for Alex and me to follow me.

“Did they say something to you?”

Easy breathing, you didn’t do anything wrong. They kicked you off the team so you found otherways to dance with.

“No, we just thought you should sit with us,” Alex wrapped a light arm around my shoulder and guided me around the different table until we spotted the one in the very corner. It was one of the smaller tables within the room, definitely pushed to the corner on accident but nobody cared enough to move it.

“Sit with you?”

“Say it nicer why don’t you,” Alex glared at me, a hit of a joke behind his eyes as I looked between him and the table.

Milo’s and dinner was one thing, but this felt like a friendship level up. The school was a harsh place where you were grouped together with the people you hung out with, not that Sunset Curve was the worst people to be grouped with. It was just a lot, my last two years in this place I would be seen as one of them or seen as the girl who was kicked from the dance team than Sunset Curve because after this battle I would be a faint history to them.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep,” Luke popped the “p”, already sitting at the table with his leg bouncing from either nerves or excitement, the two things Luke Patterson ran off of.

I didn’t even get to place my books down before he was standing up and taking them from my hand, placing them out of reach on the bench with a little smirk.

“I need to start on the Economics homework,” I tried to reach over the table but his hand rested on the top of my books, pushing them farther from my grasp.

“Lunch isn’t for homework,” his smirk was almost enchanted to watch, but my homework under his rough finger was way more important at the moment.

“You aren’t going to get those books back, I would know,” Alex spoke up from behind me, leaving a seat beside him open for me with his feet swing back and front under the table. I said nothing, giving up and taking a seat, resting my chin in my palm while looking at both boys.

“Do you not bring food to lunch?” I reached into the tote bag on my shoulder, letting the cool bottle of water freeze my warm hands.

“We got through the line but Bobby would kill us if we went without him,” Luke watched me, waiting for me to say something interested as the other two members of the band were still not here.

“What?”

“You didn’t scream last night,” Luke spoke, his eyes glaring under the harsh light of the cafeteria as if he was out of an old movie.

“Cause I didn’t fall?”

He didn’t think I would actually fall, did he? I had been walking fine for a month or so now, it was the most active work like dancing and running that still gave me scares.

“(Y/N)’s sitting with us?”

I looked over my shoulder, both Reggie and Bobby stood behind me with smiles as they took their regular seats, or what I assumed, around the table. Once Reggie sat down, he held his hand out for a high five. I smiled and returned it, turning to Bobby when he sat beside me while clapping a hand on my shoulder.

“Yep, they dragged me here,” my chin pointed to Luke then Alex, earning a pout from Luke and Alex bumping his shoulder with my own.

“They aren’t house trained, sorry,” Bobby joked, earning a few stray napkins to be thrown at him from Luke.

“I am house trained, thank you very much,” he pronounced every word with sass, his pout still painted on his lips as he looked to Alex who was laughing at him.

“Let’s get in line,” Alex started to hand, pushing off the table and turning once he stood all the way. Everyone but Luke stood up, him holding his finger in the air while looking at the other members.

“I’ll sit with (Y/N) so people don’t think she’s lame with no friends,” I felt my jaw go slack, my hand feeling around for one of the napkins he had thrown at Bobby. Once I felt my finger brush one, I picked it up and threw it in his face, it going directly in his open mouth.

I covered my mouth, in shock at how perfectly it had made it in. Luke looked about as shocked as I felt, looking at me with wide eyes while removing the napkin from his mouth.

“You-” his smile was slowly forming as he held his finger out at me, pocking my hands that still covered my mouth.

“I didn’t mean to,” my words barely made it from his lips as I tried to hold my giggles back. I probably looked crazy to an outsider, watching him with a shocked smile and he scolded me.

“I thought we were friends,” he crossed his arms on the table, letting his chin rest on top of them as he looked up at through his eyelashes.

“I don’t remember signing a contract for that,” I tapped my chin, raising one eyebrow and I jokily thought over the process.

“My printer broke, I’ll get it to you next Monday.”

I rolled my eyes, resting my chin back in the palm of my hand as I watched him stare at me.

“Why did you invite me to sit here?”

I definitely was the best at ruining moments, I should do it as a career at this point.

“Cause?”

He shook his head as if the answer was obvious, but that was the exact problem. It was apparently noticeable to everyone but me where I stood with the group but myself. As far as I knew we would be friends until the competition and then I’d be back to the few girls at the lunch table and they wouldn’t have to worry about my knee anymore.

“Look at this piece of chicken,” Reggie’s voice tore me from my thought, looking up at the almost black chicken tender Reggie held in-between his finger with a broken frown.

“That has to be against guidelines,” I reached out, taking the tender to look at for myself.

“Don’t say that too loud, Bobby said something similar and was threatened with detention,” Alex spoke up from beside me. His chicken was definitely in better shape but still incredibly over-cooked. I simply took the chicken and wrapped it in one of the napkins from the little argument earlier.

Reggie held out his hand, taking the trash and reaching over to make it in the trash can. He made the shot, his hands above his head and he looked back to the table with a proud smile.

“He’d made up for hitting Henderson with a paper ball yesterday,” I smile, remembering the encounter from the last period of the day, the only period I shared with any of the members of Sunset Curve besides lunch and study hall with Alex and Bobby.

“You what?”

Alex dropped his fork back on his cheap plate, looking up at Reggie with a slacked jaw.

“I didn’t mean to!”

I laughed, leaning back on the bench slightly was I wasn’t sitting so proper, something I still didn’t use to. WIth dancer become a secondary part of my life I was losing the posture I once had, cause some small back pain but nothing serious.

“How do you even do that?” Luke reached over and took an apple slice off Bobby’s plate, that’s when I noticed each boy had each of the options for the school menu. The thought alone that they formed their own little sharing system was adorable to me, my eyes jumping to each plate.

“What one?”

I looked up, Alex holding up a grape in-between his finger as he watched Luke and Reggie’s conversation unfold. I said nothing, picking the grape from in-between his finger and popping it in the air, leaning my head back and catching it with my mouth.

“Whoa!”

Bobby hit my shoulder when he saw the trick, smiling as he pointed to me with a giant smile on his face.

“Wait I missed it,” Luke leaned on his arms again, watching me closely with his bright green eyes. I said nothing, asking Alex for another grape but he was already holding one out for me. I did the same trick, moving slightly into Bobby’s side as the grape moved but still caught it easily.

“Wait I wanna try,” both Reggie and Luke reached for the grape at the same thing, silently fighting over the fruit.

“This will keep you entertained,” Alex whispered in my ear, pointing his chin at the two and they disused who got the grape, Alex hiding the bag with the rest under the table with a little smirk. I reached over, taking one for myself and slipping it in my mouth without the two notices.

“Is it like this all the time?” I asked both Alex and Bobby, laughing when Luke said he should get it causes he’s the lead singer.

“You’ll see,” Bobby spoke, laughing when Reggie flicked Luke in the forehead and snatched the grape from his fingers. He didn’t waste time, trying to flick it but instead started to fall on the other side of the table. I stood up slightly, moving over Alex slightly with my mouth open, once I felt the fruit hit my tongue I showed the fruit in my mouth to the table.

“How did you do that?” Reggie and Luke both sat up straighter, waiting for me to explain the trick.

“A magician never shared his tricks,” I smirked, taking a bite of the grape with a smile.

“I thought you were a dancer, oh-” Reggie stopped halfway through, pointing at me with a little smile.

“You can’t be cooler than me sorry,” Luke tilted his head at me, us all standing up with her heard the school bell ring throughout the walls.

“But I am, sorry.”

the 1994 battle of the performers taglist

@gia-kerks @notwonder-woman @poisoned-girl @phantompogues @dovesgrangers

[rhys-writes-sometimes]

Music Worth Making Part 1: Bright Forever

Requested: nope!

Warnings: abuse, child neglect, shitty parents, death, food, terrible writing

Series Summery: When the reader’s life is ripped away from them, they’re distraught. But with her two best friends and three certain ghosts, maybe the afterlife isn’t so bad after all. 

Chapter Summery: The band Sunset Curve was about to have a life-changing concert when they ate some bad hotdogs and died. 25 years later, you’re best friends with the girl who discovers them. 

Words: 3,026 

A/N: This is pretty much just introducing the characters and their relationships to one another. Things will get more interesting in the next few chapters.Also, the reader is non-binary! <3 lyrics are italicized Part 2 ______________________________________________________

Hollywood 1995

“Don’t look down, ‘cause we’re still rising up right now, and even if we hit the ground we’ll still fly, keep dreaming like we’ll live forever, but live it like it’s now or never.”

The teenaged boys finished their soundcheck, earning scattered applause and even a “whoo!” from the employees working at The Orpheum that night. The band didn’t try to hide their smiles as they took a bow. 

“Thank you, we’re Sunset Curve!” one called out.

“Tell your friends!” another added. 

“Too bad we wasted the tightest we’ve ever played on a soundcheck,” one said as they set down their instruments. 

“Wait until tonight man, when this place gets packed with record execs.”

The boys all nodded, thinking of all the chances of fame they would have after that night.

“Okay, well, I’m thinking we fuel up before the show. I’m thinking street dogs?”

Two of the other boys liked that idea, but the other one had other plans.

Jumping off the stage, he started to make his way over to a young woman who was wiping down tables.

“Hey Bobby, where you going?” the one who had suggested they go get street dogs called out.

“I’m good!” he called out to his bandmates, then said to the girl: “Vegetarian. I could never hurt an animal.” 

“You guys are really good,” she said with a smile as the other three guys joined their band member at her table. “I see a lot of bands. Been in a couple myself. I was really feeling it.”

The guys all smiled. 

“That’s what we do this for,” one of them said. The tips of his chestnut colored hair almost reached the top of his shirt with cut off sleeves. “I’m Luke, by the way.”

“Hi, I’m Reggie.” Reggie had black hair and was wearing a leather jacket with a red flannel tied around his waist. An interesting combination, but somehow the outfit worked. 

“Alex.” A boy with blond hair spoke up from where he was hovering just to the side of the group, wearing a pale pink t-shirt.

“Bobby.” The boy who had first walked over to the girl had brown hair and a sleeveless jacket over a t-shirt. 

“Nice meeting you guys. I’m Rose.” The girl smiled at all of them again as Luke licked his finger and stuck it in Bobby’s ear. 

“Oh uh, here’s our demo, and a t-shirt, size beautiful.” Reggie handed Rose a CD and a t-shirt, earning a small groan from Alex. 

“Thanks. I’ll make sure not to wipe the tables down with this one.” 

“Oh, good call. Whenever they get wet, they just kinda fall apart in your hands,” Alex informed her.

“Don’t you guys have to go get hot dogs?” Bobby asked, clearly wanting to talk to Rose without the other three around. 

“Yeah.” Luke leaned closer to Rose, as if to tell her a secret. “He had a hamburger for lunch.”

-----

“Man, I can’t wait until we eat someplace where the condiments aren’t served out of the back of an Oldsmobile,” Alex grumbled as he put a pickle on his hot dog. “Hey, sorry, I got some pickle juice on your battery cables.”

“No problem. It’ll help with the rust,” the man cooking hot dogs said with a slight chuckle.

“That can’t….okay.”

The three made their way over to a couch to eat. Before they could dig in, however, Luke started speaking. 

“This is awesome, you guys. We’re playing The Orpheum! I can’t even count how many bands have played here and then ended up being huge,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Eat up, boys. ‘Cause after tonight, everything changes.”

They all bit down hungerly into their street dogs.

Alex was the first to notice that something was off. “That’s a new flavor,” he said, a small amount of worry creeping into his tone.

“Chill man. Street dogs haven’t killed us yet.” Reggie tried to calm down his friend.

Luke hesitated for a moment, then took another huge bite.

-----

Los Angeles 2020

You made your way through the hallway, walking fast, faces pass, weaving around people as you tried to reach your locker. You smiled as you saw your two best friends waiting for you.

“Hey, underacheiver,” Flynn said in greeting.

“Hey, disappointments,” you joked back to them. “Okay, Julie, I know you don’t want me to ask, but have you figured out what you’re gonna do today?”

“I’ll know in the moment.” The frizzy-haired girl fiddled with her bracelets as she spoke, the only clue that she was nervous for her proformance later.

“Really, Jules? That’s all your giving us? Mrs. Harrison said-” Flynn was cut off from scolding one of her best friends.

“This is my last chance, I know, I was there,” Julie finished. Flynn smiled softly for a moment, but it turned to a grimace of disgust as she noticed a girl handing out flyers. 

“Ugh, what is she handing out?” she questioned.

“Desperation?” you said, only half joking. Julie and Flynn snickered. 

However, you put on a smile as the girl walked up to the three of you. 

“Here you go. My group’s performing at the spirit rally tomorrow. I’m sure you guys have nothing better to do,” she said, her eyes sweeping over you critically as she handed the flyer to Flynn. 

Flynn put on a bright, sarcastic smile. “Oh my gosh, Carrie, thanks!”

“Oh my gosh, Flynn, don’t bother coming!”

The three of you rolled your eyes at Carries retreating back. However, someone else caught Julie’s eye. 

“Nick?” you asked, looking between Julie and the blond-haired boy she was staring at.

“Still?” Flynn asked. “You know they’re gonna get married and have a bunch of unholy babies.”

“Nick’s a sweetheart.”

“Yeah, you’d actually have to talk to him to know that,” Flynn said with a small smile. “And only one of them has to be a demon to make a demon baby.” 

You nodded your approval of this statement as Flynn called out “Demon!” in Carrie’s direction.

The three of you turned towards the lockers and laughed quietly. 

“There’s that smile,” Flynn said, lightly poking both you and Julie’s face. “Now come on, let’s go prove everybody wrong.”

You flinched slightly as she put her arm around you, but tried not to show it.

-----

“Okay, we have one last proformance,” Mrs. Harrison called out. “Julie.”

You squeezed her hand slightly as she stood up and walked over to the piano. 

She sat in silence for a moment, before saying “I’m sorry,” and running out of the room, with you and Flynn not far behind. 

-----

“I’ll be back to pick you up at 5:30. Have fun at practice, Danny!” you called out after your little brother as he ran to join the baseball team. This was a daily routine for you; drop Danny off at practice, go to Julie’s to study and eat, pick up Danny, go home and endure torture. 

You let your mind wander as you walked to Julie’s house, which luckily wasn’t very far from the sports fields. Walking through the front door, you let your bag fall to the ground as you went to go get something to eat. 

-----

A few hours later, you were walking back to the sports fields. 

“Hey, Danny,” you said once you saw him, ruffling the boy’s hair. “How was practice?”

You paid attention as best you could as he rambled on about what had happened that day, but if you were honest, you didn’t understand a thing about sports. You were just glad your brother had found something that made him happy.

You closed the front door as quietly as you could, not wanting to wake your father. You tip-toed into the kitchen to start making dinner, as you did every night.

“Olivia, is that you?” you mother asked. You winced. 

“Yes, mother,” you sighed slightly, afraid to tell her that you had changed your name to Y/N.

“Hurry up and get dinner started. My feet are tired from cleaning all day.”

You wanted to roll your eyes at the excuse that was very obviously a lie, your house was a mess and you knew you would be expected to clean it later, but you didn’t want to get in trouble. So you fell into a robotic sort-of motion that you had developed as a way of hiding your emotions and thoughts from your parents. 

Thirty minutes and one burnt fingertip later, dinner was ready and waiting on the table. 

“Wake up, Harold, dinner is ready.” Your mother shook your father awake. You knew if you tried that, you would be slapped across the face. By both of them. 

However, your father just sat up sleepily and lumbered over to the table. You stood over to the side as your family ate, not being allowed to join them. 

“Goddamned roast beef is overcooked again,” he grumbled. You blinked back tears. Such a small thing shouldn’t upset you, you knew, but it did. 

You endured the criticism on the meal you had worked hard to make from your mother and father for the next half-hour. Your father declared himself full and snapped his fingers at you. You whisked his plate away before taking your mother’s, too. She never ate after he finished. You took Danny’s too, but only because you knew that your parents disapproved of him still eating. 

“Hey,” your father said, his voice already low and dangerous. “Give your brother back his plate. He wasn’t finished yet.”

You set the plate back down, nodding and shaking slightly. “My apologies, father.”

“Don’t appologize to your father, appologize to your brother!” your mother exclaimed, grabbing Danny’s hand from across the table and giving it a squeeze. 

“It’s okay, really, I was done,” he hurried to say.

Your mother frowned at him. “Are you sure, darling?”

He nodded. 

“Well, okay then…” she said, still frowning slightly. “You may be excused.” 

He ran off to his room. You took his plate. 

Heading back to the kitchen with a small sigh, you started making a meal for yourself out of what was left, leaving enough so that your family would have leftovers. 

You ate silently, thinking about how nice it would be to have a caring family. Of course, Danny cared, but he was too young to stand up to your parents, and you never wanted him to have to. You would protect that boy at all costs.

Holding in a sigh, you cleaned up from dinner, and then pulled out the duster to start to clean the house. You were stopped, however, by your mother. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I- I’m cleaning the house…”

“Didn’t you hear me say earlier that I cleaned it? Are you insulting my cleaning job?”

“N-no, I-”

“You what?” Without waiting for an answer, she slapped you across the face. You struggled to remain emotionless; your face stung. 

You thought it was over, but then your father joined in.

“What’s this Jennifer? Is Olivia insulting your hard work?”

“It’s Y/N…” you muttered quietly. Your father overheard and put his face uncomfortably close to yours.

“As long as you’re living under my roof it will always be Olivia. And even if you could change your name, that doesn’t change your gender, freak,” he spat. 

“I know,” you whispered. 

He slapped you.

“Don’t talk back to me.”

Blinking back tears, you stood still as they walked away. Eventually, you remembered the duster in your hand. Placing it back on the shelf, you walked back up to your room, hoping you would be able to escape them for the rest of the night.

-----

The next morning as you and Danny were walking to Julie’s house to go to school, you heard something you hadn’t heard in a long time: music. Julie was singing. 

“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 to the rain.” You smiled. It had been so long since you last heard her voice, and her music was a gift to the world. 

You walked into the studio alone, Danny having gone to talk to Carlos. Julie looked up with small tears in her eyes, seeing you standing there, smiling. She smiled back. 

“It’s so nice to hear you play again.”

Julie smiled wider. “Thanks.”

Just then, Flynn burst in. 

“Carlos told me you’d be out here. We need to talk.” She crossed the room to where the two of you stood by the piano. 

“Are you okay?” you asked, noticing the tears running down her face. 

“No, I’m not okay! One of my best friends just got kicked out of music! I’ve been up all night thinking about what I was gonna say. Might’ve drank seven sodas, but I need to get this out.”

“Wait, I have something to tell you-”

“No. It’s my turn to talk.” Flynn took a deep breath. “You can’t give up music. You’re music’s like a gift, that would be a tragedy. So you’re basically, like, cancelling Christmas, and I love Christmas!”

“Flynn-” you started to say, but she cut you off. 

“Uh-uh! I don’t know why you’re siding with her, Y/N. I know you like hearing her play.”

You knew Flynn didn’t mean to hurt you, but her words stung a little. You nodded once and retreated back into yourself slightly. Flynn was too emotional (and sleep deprived) to notice. 

“When we were six, we promised to be in a band together. Double Trouble!”

“I never agreed to that name,” Julie said, laughing slightly.

“That’s not the point. Jules, if you leave the music program, we’ll be apart forever. That’s just what happens. Sure, we’ll see each other in the hall sometimes, but we’ll have different lives, make new friends…” Flynn said the last part quieter. You could tell she hated the thought of losing one of her best friends.

“That’s not true,” Julie reassured her, but Flynn wasn’t finished.

“You’re right. I won’t be making any new friends. I’ll only have Y/N, and they’re amazing but I’d miss you Jules! And the only time we’ll contact each other is when we’re liking each other’s posts on Instagram. Every time I’ll be hitting that little heart, my heart will be breaking because one of my best friend’s left me, and… do you have any soda? My head hurts.” 

“Can I talk now?” Julie asked tentatively. 

“Fine.”

“I just played the piano and sang again. Y/N can confirm it.” You nodded when Flynn looked at you excitedly. 

“What? Why didn’t you just say so?” She asked, practically bouncing with joy. 

“She was trying to, but then your seven soda’s kicked in,” you answered with a small laugh. 

Flynn was grinning from ear to ear now. “I’m so happy for you! And me! And Y/N!”

You all hugged, but Flynn pulled away quickly, gasping. “We need to tell Mrs. Harrison that you can play so you can stay in school and my life won’t be that sad picture I just painted for you!”

You giggled as Flynn put her arms around both of you. “Y/N, our girl’s back. Double Trouble lives again!”

“Still not our band name,” giggled Julie. 

-----

“Did you end up getting back into the music program?” you asked Julie at the end of your study session for the day. She looked down at her shoes, and you knew what the answer would be before she said it:

“No. No I didn’t.”

You tried not to look too disappointed for her sake. “Oh. I’m really sorry, Jules.”

“It’s…” she sighed. “It’s okay. I can reapply next semester.”

You hugged her. 

“Oh hey, I almost forgot to tell you,” she said right as you were about to walk out of the door. “We decided not to move.”

Despite the news that one of your best friends was no longer in the music program, a smile lit up your face. “That’s great!” you said, pulling her in for another quick hug. Then you walked out the door, not wanting to be late to pick up Danny. 

-----

“Check it out, yeah we make ‘em say Wow!” Carrie bowed as her band, Dirty Candi, finished their dance number. You were at the spirit rally, saving a seat for Julie and Flynn, who were nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly Flynn plopped down beside you. 

“Oh hey, where were you?” you asked the girl.

She tried to blow a piece of hair out of her face, frowning slightly when it wouldn’t move. “I was in the band room. I wasn’t feeling very… spirt-y.” You both chuckled slightly. 

“Where’s Jules?” You looked around for the other girl, but couldn’t see her. 

As if in response to your question, music filled the gym as someone started to play the piano on the stage. You looked up to see Julie, alone on stage, with a spotlight on her. 

“Sometime’s I think I’m falling down, I wanna cry, I’m calling out, for one more try, to feel alive,” she sang, her voice echoing slightly as it filled the room. You smiled, happy she was singing again. 

Then suddenly, there were three boys on stage with her. 

“Whoa!” Flynn exclaimed.

“Where did those boys come from?” you asked in amazement. Julie seemed a little shocked that they were there too. One of them, the lead guitarist you guessed, started singing the second verse. 

“In times that I doubted myself, I felt like I needed some help,” he sang. 

“Whoa, he has a really good voice,” you said, your mouth hanging open slightly. 

You found yourself staring at him as the song went on. You could tell that he really enjoyed playing, and found yourself getting caught up in the music. 

“And rise, through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together, bright forever!” Julie harmonized with the boys, finishing the song. You started clapping with the rest of the crowd that had gathered to watch, proud of your friend.

Then, as suddenly as they appeared, the boys were gone.  

[raiseyourvoicetotherain]

Happy Anniversary -- A jatp fic

Here’s my first Julie and the Phantoms fic, inspired by this post. I hope you enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Maybe we need to put ourselves in danger?” Reggie said, breaking the silence that had lingered over the studio for longer than he was comfortable. “Last time, Julie thought we were all going to disappear forever. Maybe if she thinks that again, she can figure out how she did it before.”

Alex broke out of his blank stare to turn his head to Reggie. He stared at the bass player just long enough to give him time to really think about what he’d just said. When Reggie didn’t seem to get it, Alex said, “Seriously? We’ll just go back to the Hollywood Ghost Club and ask Caleb for another stamp, then, shall we?”

“Yeah, let’s not do that,” Reggie responded quietly, sagging back into his chair. He put a hand to his chest and started to rub it a little, remembering the pain of the jolts the stamp had caused. “But maybe there’s some other way to put us in danger.”

Then Alex turned his head to Julie and gave a look like he couldn’t answer another silly question and he needed her to take this one.

“You want to put a ghost in danger?” Julie asked Reggie skeptically.

Reggie went quiet when he saw her point.

Flynn looked between Julie and the seemingly empty chair she was talking to. “What’s going on?” she asked her best friend.

“Nothing helpful,” Luke said with a roll of his eyes.

Knowing Flynn hadn’t heard that, Julie—less sarcastically—answered, “Nothing that’s going to work.”

Julie and Luke had spent the last hour trying to get their hands to touch, but every time their hands got close, every time they thought, maybe this time, their hands passed right through each other and the two would sigh. Julie could see Luke get more frustrated each time.

Ever since the night of The Orpheum show, the band had spent a lot of downtime trying to work out how to repeat whatever magic is was that had made Julie able to touch the boys, and Flynn able to see them.

Flynn hadn’t originally gone back to Julie’s after the show, but when she’d gotten home, she realized that Julie had seemed fine at the show, but there was no way she was going to be okay when she got home to the studio. So Flynn had gone straight down to the garage when she got to Julie’s and the first thing she noticed was how bright the room was. Then she saw Julie wasn’t alone, she could see the boys with her in a group hug.

“Oh, my god,” Flynn almost screamed when she realized what was happening. But no sooner had she spoken the words and Julie turned around, that the boys vanished.

Ever since that night, Julie had been trying to figure out how to make the boys visible when they weren’t playing—so far, she had only managed slight flickers as her hands passed through Luke’s. She hadn’t been able to touch him since.

Julie looked at Luke now, knowing he wanted just as bad as she did to recreate that magic. He wanted to hold her hand, feel her arms around him like he had that night.

He reached out again for her hand, only for his to slip right through it again. He gave a frustrated groan and turned away from her. He didn’t usually get like this—he actually hadn’t felt like this since he’d found out Bobby had stolen his music—but right now he wanted to hit something. He couldn’t remember being more frustrated with himself in all his life and afterlife.

Not sure what else to do, Luke stormed out through the garage door. Julie tried to call his name, but he kept going until he was outside.

Alex came and stood behind Julie, both looking at where the guitarist had walked out. After a quiet moment, Alex sighed. “So, do you wanna . . .?”

Snapping out of her own frustration, Julie said, “Yeah, yeah I got it.”

Julie walked outside to talk to Luke, and Alex was relieved he didn’t have to go. He’d been trying to support Luke through this, but he never seemed to know the right thing to say. Alex hated it, he was usually the one to know what to say to make things better, but he didn’t now. He didn’t understand what Luke was going through. He was still sneaking around with Willie, trying to work out how to free him from Caleb, but at least when Alex was able to steal a moment away with his dream boy, he could hold Willie in his arms.

Outside, Julie closed the garage door behind her. “Hey, you okay?”

Luke, who had begun throwing stones into the garden, frustrated, sighed and turned to look at her. “You know I want to be able to do this right?”

“Of course, so do I,” Julie said softly. “But even if we don’t figure it out, it doesn’t change . . .”

“Change what?” Luke encouraged when she paused.

With a sigh, Julie only answered, “Nothing.”

Then Luke looked frustrated again. “Nothing,” he repeated. “Right.”

“No, Luke, that’s not what I—” but he poofed out before she could finish.

Reggie stuck his head through the garage door. “Where’s he going? We’ve got practice.”

He was yanked back inside by Alex. “We weren’t listening,” Alex lied after sticking his head through where Reggie’s had just been.

“It’s okay,” Julie answered. Still facing away from the boys, she wiped a tear from her face. “I think I know where he’s going.”

 -

Emily was in the kitchen when Luke poofed in. She was drying the clean dishes to be put away and her hair was pulled back.

The first time Luke had seen her after coming back as a ghost, he was shocked by her now completely grey hair, but what hurt him the most was the look in her eyes. They were as sad as when he used to sneak by the house before he died, but they had an added layer of looking lost.

Now she looked . . . not happier, but definitely not as lost. Luke knew it was Julie who had done that. Bringing his mother that song had changed the whole mood in the house. A huge amount of his guilt had been lifted when Julie had come by, and now it seemed some of Emily’s had been, too.

“Good afternoon, my beautiful wife,” Mitch said, walking into the kitchen. Luke saw he was holding something behind his back and when Emily turned around to greet her husband, he pulled out the fresh bunch of dahlias. “Happy anniversary.”

“Oh, darling they’re beautiful,” Emily said, taking the bouquet from him. “Happy anniversary.”

They shared an affectionate kiss and Luke smiled—forty-five years and despite all their tragedy, they were still so in love. Emily put the flowers in a vase with water and Mitch went to change from his golf clothes. Luke didn’t know, but their anniversary had been such a non-event since he’d died. But with new life in the house since Julie’s visit, Mitch felt compelled to acknowledge the day once again.

As he watched his mom continue to put away dishes, Luke looked past her to the window sill, and saw a folded up piece of paper tucked in the window tracks. She took that bit of paper everywhere with her now.

“I could really use some mom advice right now,” Luke said, sitting on the kitchen bench, leaning his back to the wall. “Julie is . . . incredible. She’s insanely talented, and caring. I don’t have to tell you that you’d like her. I love her, Mom, but I don’t know if I should tell her. I can’t touch her, I can’t hold her—or kiss her. I think she feels the same way I do, but is it fair to ask her for something so complicated? Should I encourage her to go for something normal and just let her be happy with Nick instead?” he said the name with spited jealously. “I don’t know if I could stick around for that.”

Emily continued to clean the kitchen and he wished so badly that she would respond and help him decide what to do. But after a moment, he knew he didn’t need her to.

“I know what you’d say,” Luke spoke with a little smile and shake of his head. “You’d ask me if writing and playing music with her was worth it. That if nothing ever changed, could I be happy with things the way they are?” After a quiet moment, he looked over at his mom. “And the answer is yes, it will always be yes. I’d go the rest of eternity never getting to hold her again, as long as I still got to write music and perform with her.”

Emily finished putting the dishes away and grabbed the coffee pot to fill with water.

“If you could only know, I never let you go,” he sang quietly to her. But as he sang, he realized something new—his mother was singing along with him. Luke sat up straighter, thinking he must have imagined what he heard.

He tried again to be sure. “If I could take us back, if I could just do that.” He wasn’t going crazy, she was singing the tune. Not only was she singing it to the right melody—a melody she’d never heard—but she was singing in time to him. When he stopped singing, she stopped and looked up, surprised to catch herself singing at all.

“And write in every empty space, the words I love you in replace,” Luke kept going, hopping off the bench and walking up behind her as she put a now full pot of coffee on to brew.

She continued to sing with him and he looked at the piece of paper in the window sill with the Unsaid Emily lyrics written on it, still in the same spot. He continued to sing with his mom as he reached over to grab the paper.

“And the words I most regret are the ones I never meant to leave.” Her back was still turned when he tapped the paper out of its place and onto the bench.

Emily turned around to the light noise the bit of paper made when it landed. When she walked over to pick it up, Luke let out a breath, causing the paper to drop to the floor. Emily pulled her hand back, shocked. After she bent down to pick it up, she started to turn it in her hands, looking at it in curiosity.

Luke wasn’t really sure how, but he knew that his mother knew he was there. He reached up a hand and brushed his fingertips on her cheek. Emily gasped lightly, and brought her hand to her cheek.

Her eyes lit up with a joy he hadn’t seen before. Her hand went straight through his now, but for a moment, she could feel his touch.

 -

Luke poofed back into the studio to find it was only the boys. “Where’s Julie?” he asked immediately.

“In her room, why?”

Without answering, Luke poofed into Julie’s room. She was on her bed studying and almost jumped off in fright.

“Jeez, Luke,” she cried. “What are you doing? I could have been getting changed!”

He ignored her anger. “Julie, listen, the coolest thing just happened.”

Whatever happened at his parents’ house, he was so excited about it that Julie realized she couldn’t stay mad at him with that cute, eager look on his face. “Okay, what’s so important?”

Then there was a knock on the door and Julie’s dad interrupted them.

“You okay, honey? Thought I heard a scream?” Ray asked, leaning through the doorway.

“Oh, that,” Julie panicked for an answer. “Just homework frustration, you know? High school.”

Luke stood around impatiently, thinking Ray would leave after that, but then he walked into the room completely and sat on the chair across from Julie’s bed. Why did Ray have to choose this of all moments to have a catch up, bonding session?

When Ray finally walked out of the room what felt like an eternity later, Luke sat on Julie’s bed, ignoring the books and school work she had to move before he sat on them.

“Okay, so I went to my mom and dad’s,” Luke began.

Julie smiled sadly at him. “I figured as much.”

“No, listen, while I was there, I—” Before Luke could continue, they were interrupted again by Reggie and Alex poofing in.

“You guys need to come outside, right now,” Reggie said.

Luke waved them off in annoyance. “Not now, guys, okay?”

“No, really, dude,” Alex said more seriously. “There’s someone here, you need to come out to the studio.”

Alex’s tone stopped Luke short of telling him off again. Who could be here that was so important? Julie got up off her bed and walked downstairs. The boys all followed her instead of poofing out.

When they got to the studio, Luke couldn’t believe his eyes.

 -

Emily had caught herself singing all afternoon and wondered how she knew the music. After the folded up paper with her son’s handwriting all over it had fallen to the floor, she thought of Julie—the precious little girl who had brought her son back to her with that piece of paper.

The first time Emily had read the lyrics, she realized that she hadn’t lost her son like she thought she had. She thought she’d lost him long before that devastating night the police lights had lit up her living room. But with Julie’s actions, she now knew that if not for the tragedy, she might one day have had him back, and that meant the world to her.

Now she was singing to the lyrics she had only ever read. Maybe she’d heard the tune somewhere before. Then she got thinking about it. Perhaps Julie had performed the song before she knew what it was—or she might have even performed some of Luke’s other songs. After making herself a fresh coffee, Emily went to sit at the computer and searched for Julie.

It took less than a minute for Emily to find the girl—once Emily found the right keywords, Julie and the Phantoms was the first hit.

“Stand Tall at the Orpheum,” Emily muttered to herself. “Impressive.” Emily didn’t have to be a musician to know that a performance at the Orpheum was a pretty important event.

“Hey, Mitch, honey,” she called to her husband. He came into the room with his own fresh cup of coffee.

“Everything alright?” he asked.

“Julie played the Orpheum a few weeks ago—I thought you might watch it with me.”

Emily didn’t have to say anything else—they were both thinking the same thing. They were going to support Julie as best they could, to make up for not supporting Luke when they had the chance.

As they both watched the video start, Emily admired Julie’s beautiful speech. The young girl hadn’t mentioned that her mom had passed away, but Emily could tell now, by the way she spoke about her mom on stage, that Julie had suffered that same dreadful loss.

When Julie started performing, Emily and Mitch both began to smile. She was so talented, just like Luke. Definitely not for the first time, Emily wished more than anything that she’d had the opportunity to see Luke perform. If he’d had half the spark and talent that Julie showed, she would have loved to watch him.

Suddenly, Julie wasn’t alone on stage, a drummer and his kit seemed to flash in out of nowhere.

Emily looked at Mitch in surprise. “That’s very fancy,” he noted. But then his eyebrows creased together as he looked closer at the monitor.

Emily looked back herself and saw right away what her husband had. That drummer looked an awful lot like—

Another flash and another performer appeared on stage. “It can’t be,” Emily said.

Mitch and Emily looked at each other, shocked, but also realizing the same thing—if that was Alex and Reggie, did that mean their son would be there too?

Both of them turned back to the monitor, their eyes glued as they watched another figure flash in and out. Emily couldn’t believe it, she must have imagined it. Then the figure flashed in again, still too quick to be sure, but enough that it gave her hope.

Emily’s heart raced and Mitch put an arm around her—his heart had almost stopped.

“I’m going out of my mind!”

There he was.

They watched the rest of the performance, completely speechless. Every second the camera showed Luke on screen, Emily’s heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t even questioning the how or the why, she was just so happy to see her son again.

At the end of the video, Alex, Reggie and Luke flashed off screen the same way they’d flashed in and Mitch looked at his wife, who was still staring at the screen. She had tears in her eyes and he watched them start to roll down her cheek, then she looked at him.

Without a word, Mitch went to grab his car keys and Emily followed him out to the car. Almost fifty years of loving her and she still didn’t have to say a word for him to know what she needed.

They drove in silence as Mitch tried to remember where he was going. It had been over twenty-five years since he’d taken Luke to band practice, but he was sure he still remembered the way.

When they arrived at the house they hadn’t seen in years, Mitch pulled up to curb out front and turned the car off. Emily didn’t move for a few moments.

“Do you really think he’s here?” Emily asked, staring down where she could just see the roof of the garage. “What if . . .”

Mitch took her hand. “There’s only one way to know.”

They got out of the car and walked down the drive.

The large white garage doors were closed, but Emily knew if the boys were anywhere, it was in there. So Mitch opened the door.

The studio had definitely changed since he’d last seen it. A fresh coat of paint and a grand piano he was sure hadn’t been there the last time he’d dropped Luke off were the most notable changes. Mitch remembered the fights he’d gotten into with Luke every time he had come to pick his son up. That boy never wanted to leave.

When Luke had first started practicing with his band, his parents never thought he would want to drop out of school to pursue music. They thought it would just be a high school hobby, and had always treated it as such. Mitch had thought many times over the years how different things might have been if they’d taken it half as seriously as Luke did.

Alex and Reggie sat up, stiff as boards when they saw who had walked into the garage. They looked at each other, staying completely quiet, as if Emily and Mitch could hear them anyway. Not sure what else to do, they poofed up to Julie’s room.

There was no one in the garage when they walked in, but that didn’t stop Emily from saying through tears, “Luke?”

When nothing happened, Emily thought about going up to the house to look for Julie. Then she heard someone walk in and turned around.

Alex and Reggie stayed just outside when Julie walked in with Luke at her heels — they both froze at the sight of his parents.

Luke took a step and stood directly beside Julie. They instinctively grabbed hands, so caught up in the shock of who was in front of them, they didn’t even notice that they were actually holding hands.

“Mom?” Luke said, tears in his eyes.

Emily gasped and put a hand to her mouth. She was looking at him—at him. “Luke?” she said with a sob.

Luke and Julie looked at her in shock, then down at their interlocked hands, then back to Emily.

Family, Julie realized. That feeling of family was all she was thinking of in that moment. How much her family—including her found one—meant to her, how much she loved them, how much Luke loved his.

Emily walked over towards her son, tears streaming. She still didn’t care how—she just wanted to know it was real. She reached out and touched his arm, and she could feel it. He really was there.

“Mom, I—”

Luke was cut off when his mother wrapped her arms around him, crying with overwhelming emotion. He wrapped his other arm around her, not daring to let go of Julie’s hand in case the magic went away. Julie wiped away tears and Emily pulled her in as well. Mitch walked over and wrapped himself around all of them. Emily’s legs gave out then as all her energy had been taken by her tears. Luke carried her down until they were on their knees.

Then he felt Alex and Reggie join them. Emily looked at them, so happy to see her son’s chosen family here as well.

My beautiful boy, Emily thought. Oh, how I’ve missed you.

Even if the magic never worked again, Luke would never be able to repay Julie for this moment. She was his shining star, his savior—and he would love her forever. In that moment, surrounded by all of his family, Luke had never felt so at peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope this was alright, please let me know, maybe share it if you enjoyed it? I really liked writing it. If you want to see more stuff, drop me some ideas, and definitely check out my pinned post for more stuff by me. You can also bookmark this story on ao3 here. Thanks for reading x

[bluefirewrites]

Headcannon.

Julie’s grown up with the boys around her and now it’s her time to leave the world. When she does, the firstvpeople she sees are the boys and her mum waiting for her - Rose is holding hands with Ray.

STAHP. 

Crossing over stories get me worked up!!!!! 

Like I had to save this for today because by the time I got to this ask, it was really late and I just couldn’t get INTO it. 

As much I love the idea of the boys greeting her when she crosses over, I’d like to pitch the idea that the boys stay until Julie crosses over. 

So the band would go on for a couple of years. They would become pretty successful and it marked the some of the best years of their lives (and afterlives). 

But then they realize they couldn’t keep up with the hologram shtick anymore, not when their never changing appearance starts to come into question. 

And when Julie started getting some offers to go solo, the boys, although it hurt, they encouraged her to take it. 

She didn’t want to, but the last thing the boys wanted to do is to keep Julie from pursuing her dreams. 

And so she did. But not without a last ditch effort for closure. She gets the band to perform at the Orpheum before the deal was done, a farewell performance. 

She thinks this is it, but she’s surprised to see the boys in the green room afterwards, pulling her into a group hug, albeit sad about the disbandment but still excited to see where she goes with her solo career. 

Julie is confused. And some years go by- she gets more famous, her songs are reaching everyone internationally. She still writes with Luke, the boys help with roughs for her songs before she sends them to her label. 

They’re always around. Not like they used to. 

They all end up running the Hollywood Ghost Club with Willie once Caleb had been ousted so they have their hands full, taking in ghosts, letting ghost musicians and bands play- basically turning into some sort of Afterlife Orpheum. 

They greet each other like old friends every time Julie manages to come home. 

Some more years pass, Julie gets married, has kids, who in some way shape or form remind her of her ghosts. They help teach her music, family, and friendship, acting like their invisible uncles. 

And as time goes on, things change, loved ones pass and there’s no way of stopping it. There are some ups and downs, but ultimately, Julie could safely say that she’s lived one helluva of life. 

I could see it playing out like this: 

An elder Julie Molina, having been living in her childhood home for the past few years, wakes up one morning and has a feeling that it’s almost time. 

The first thing she does is call the club and ask for the boys. 

They poof in her room, their energies buzzing from whatever high-octane performance they had the pleasure of witnessing. 

They swarm Julie on her bed, their voices overlapping in excited chatter, trying to catch Julie up to speed on everything since they last saw her because it’s been a minute. 

Alex is the first to notice something is up. Then Reggie. And pretty soon Luke’s the only still speaking. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Julie smiles at the three of them, “It’s time.” 

“T-time?” Luke studies her expression, “What do you mean?” 

Alex sighs, “Luke, it means she doesn’t have long. Don’t you, Julie?” 

She nods.

“Like how soon?” Reggie asks. 

“Soon,” 

“Oh,” Luke looks down, “I mean, this is good, right? On the bright side, once you ghost up-” 

“Luke, I’m not turning into a ghost,” 

“Of course you will, that’s what happens when you die.” 

“No, that’s what happens if I have unfinished business. And I don’t. Not really. Not after the kind of life I lived, the love I received. I’m good.” 

It’s quiet in the room. Alex paces around, as he did, Reggie’s squeezing Julie’s hand tight, and Luke- Luke is in denial. He keeps poofing in and out, as if the problem would magically solves itself by the time he gets back. 

“Luke, come here,” 

He hesitantly steps forward, kneeling in front of the girl- now old woman, that he loves so much, “Does it really need to happen?” 

“Yes,” Somehow when she says it this time, the finality hits all of them. 

Luke doesn’t argue anymore. He sniffles, standing back up, taking the initiative. 

“Okay, boss, how’s this going down?” 

She hold out her hand and he immediately helps her up, with Alex and Reggie flanking her sides. 

Julie leads them down the stairs, stumbling slightly at the high steps. Reggie catches her every time. Alex opens the doors for her and making sure she doesn’t bump into any furniture. She jokes about not being so frail, but these are her boys, they wanted to take care of her regardless. 

They leave the house and they’re outside now. Luke’s grip on her hand is gentle as he helps her down the garden steps. They stand in front of the garage, their old studio space. It feels like coming home again. 

Julie pulls away from them to open the doors. She gestures for them to come inside and once they see where she’s going, they assisted her to the piano. Reggie hurriedly gets rid of the dust cover, Alex opens the lid, and Luke ransacks the bench to find the sheet music. 

Luke sets it up for her and she settles onto the seat. The boys stand back and watch as Julie slowly works the keys. 

Everyone’s emotional as her voice rings out, singing ‘Wake Up’ for the last time. 

Julie finishes, stands, and closes the piano, looking up. She smiles. 

She asks the boys to help her return to her room. This time, on the way back, the boys couldn’t keep it together, crying as they bring her upstairs and tuck her into bed. 

She says her final goodbyes, taking the time to talk to each of her boys. Hers to Alex is soothing and she watches his shoulders relax, hers to Reggie’s has him giggling through his tears, and for Luke- whose hold on her presence to this earth is tight and unrelenting- she kisses his forehead. 

“No regrets,” 

Luke nods, “No regrets,” 

Then Julie cocks her head, and her eyes snap to the ceiling. She could hear the piano playing softly, echoing her notes from earlier, a voice, aptly described as angelic, starts to sing. 

“Julie, what is it?” 

“Don’t you hear it?” she asks. 

“Hear what?” 

“Mom,” 

Julie could feel her eyes closing, something else other than sleep taking over her. She calls out one last goodbye to the boys as she drifts. 

And she passes. 

All Julie could remember is closing her eyes and the next moment, she wakes up to her mother’s face. 

She jumps into her arms, and then her dad appears beside her, and then Tia Victoria, and her husband too. 

Wherever she ends up, it’s beautiful. And much like home. She spends eternity with her loved ones, and eventually more loved ones come up to join her. When she finally reunites with Flynn, it’s magic. Carlos makes it one day. And her children following much later. 

They’re all in the studio, or what greatly resembles it, singing, laughing, dancing, enjoying each other’s company. She’s about to pull her daughter Alexandra into another round of spins and twirls when she hears knocking from the door. 

She walks towards the entrance and opens the door. 

And a familiar flash of pink, red, and blue barrel into her. She’s grinning and crying, holding onto her boys so tight. 

“Now what took you so long?” 

[onetoomanyfilms]

My Heart’s Always Yours - Part One

Luke Patterson x FemaleOC!Character - Soulmate AU

Hi everyone! Here is Part One of my Luke Patterson story! Thank you so much for the love on the taster...this part is focused in on Luke’s POV. This is quite long so, I hope you enjoy!

Mya lives in a world in which everyone has a soulmate: they share a song. However, finding the person who shares a singular tune with them is near, nigh impossible, so hardly anyone finds them. Mya’s 17, she thinks she knows better than to believe in soulmates. Until three ghosts pop into her best friend’s life and she has to rethink what she thought she knew for certain.

Songs included: 

‘Wow’ - Savannah Lee May, JATP Cast

‘Bright’ - Madison Reyes, Charlie Gillespie, Owen Patrick Joyner, Jeremy Shada, JATP Cast

‘IDK You Yet’ - Alexander 23

Teaser  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five  Masterlist

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today was the day they’d get Julie back into the program. Whether Julie was fully on board with it or not. They’d rehearsed it with her time and time again last night, the boys knew she was going to kill it. So Luke was confused when she looked annoyed. 

They’d decided to come support her. Alex and Reggie had been pacing the garage waiting for any news of how it was going. Luke took charge and, taking them each by the hand, zapped them over to what seemed to be a school hall. He didn’t know how he got here, he just felt this sense of searching for Julie and he found her.

“Yeah we make them say wow!”

A lot of colours flooded Luke’s peripheral vision. He turned his head to see a group of girls in vibrant clothes, performing amazingly he wasn’t ashamed to say. They were good. But the glare he felt on the side of his face from Julie snapped him out of it, the slight bobbing he was doing to the beat coming to a halt. Then he followed Julie’s gaze to Alex, who seemed like he was having the time of his life. With little slap of his arm, Luke told him to cut it out; no words needed. 

As the song came to an end, Luke began to see why Julie was so aggravated as the one in the bright pink took centre stage, standing directly in front of the other band members in a line. “WE LOVE YOU CARRIE!” Luke zoned out for a minute. What about the others? “… make sure to check out my new music video!” And with that they sauntered off, swaying their hips as they went. Together they had such presence on stage, why didn’t she share the glory?

“Now’s your chance, go talk to her.” Luke turned his head to see the girl from Julie’s house earlier walking away from them towards the seating area. “What are you waiting for?”

“Yeah, I mean you look nervous. Like yack in a bowl nervous.”

Julie looked up at Luke. There was this sparkle in her eyes trying to break through the utter terror she felt. “I wouldn’t have given you the song if I didn’t think you were gonna rock it.” He tried to be energetic, hoping the positivity would build her up. It may not have been a lot but hopefully, it was enough to get her on that stage. “Now there’s a piano on that stage with your name on it.” She took off towards backstage.

Approaching the keyboard, Luke started to feel nervous himself. There were butterflies in his stomach. He knew how much this meant to her and all he wanted was for her to rock it. She tried to play a chord but they all knew it was the wrong one. Looking out at the hall, she looked like she could’ve bolted at any minute.

“You got this!” 

Of course, there was a part of Luke that thought that maybe, just maybe, they could’ve been soulmates but there was this part of him telling him: this wasn’t it. He remembered back to the night before. Reggie lounging on the sofa after taking a shower. He couldn’t really get the hang of it so far but he was a determined little fella. He’d get that shower at some point, Luke knew that much. The leather jacketed boy asked “do you think we still have soulmates?” Luke hadn’t paid much attention to that thought before. But now, he couldn’t get it out of his head. 

“Sometimes I think I’m falling down.”

Luke mimed along to the words, urging her to keep going. She was insane. The talent she had, he couldn’t imagine meeting anyone like her. 

“Life is a risk, but I will take it…”

It was building up to the chorus. He felt the chords vibrating through his body. His hands making the chords and strumming on an invisible guitar. He looked over at the boys. He could see they felt the same. They wanted to be on that stage.

And the next minute, they were. 

“And rise, through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together.”

Smiling at Julie, the joy he felt was indescribable. He almost felt complete at that moment. It was then he noticed the audience. They were looking at him. Actually looking at him. This couldn’t be happening, but he loved it. 

“Uh, is this really happening?” Julie had moved next to him, looking completely confused. He couldn’t stop smiling. “Just go with it.” He took the mic, taking the next verse. Julie riled up the audience whilst the other boys were in their element. The rest of the song went by in a flash. They soaked up the applause until they literally flashed away, appearing again at the side of the stage by the audience. 

What just happened?

———————————————————————————————————

The boys were still reeling off of what had happened. They were seen by the whole school whilst they were singing with Julie. It was amazing and none of them could contain their excitement. After leaving Julie talking to her friend, they decided to let off some steam by running around the corridors. Honestly, it felt freeing. He had never liked school much when he was alive but sprinting through the halls of a place he hated, made him feel alive. 

It wasn’t until they heard a faint sound of strumming that they stopped. “What do you think that is?” Reggie was always curious. “I don’t know.” Alex always preferred a certain answer. “Let’s go find out.” Luke wanted to explore. Even though they didn’t have to be quiet, they found themselves tiptoeing towards a room past two large doors. A piano sat to the left, chairs scattered throughout the middle and a girl and her guitar sitting in the corner. Her eyes red, puffy. He could tell she had been crying, a twang ricocheting in his own heart. He’d been there before too. 

But he didn’t realise just how similar it was until he heard the lyrics. Alex had already picked up on it. His gaze lingering on Luke as he waited for him to react. Reggie was still smiling, living off the high of performing again. Then he looked at Alex and felt that he was missing something.

“How can you miss someone you’ve never met. Cause I need you now but I don’t know you yet. But can you find me soon because I’m in my head? Yeah…”

“I need you now but I don’t know you yet.” Luke whispered the words to himself. They were the same words he had written 25 years ago in his bedroom. Who knew he would hear them again here. He began to approach her, Alex’s hand only grazing his arm in an attempt to stop him. Luke was never the best at first impressions. “You’re singing my song.” It came out harsher than he meant it. But he figured she wouldn’t hear him anyway. That’s the upside of being a ghost, no awkward first…

“Excuse me?” She’d heard him. She was looking at him. Right in the eyes. There was a wave of disbelief clouding her eyes, but that seemed to only be there to disguise the nervous tones underneath.  He broke eye contact to glance at Alex and Reggie. They seemed just as surprised. He took in a deep breath, attempting to build up some courage after the seemingly stand-offish introduction he just made. “That song I wrote it.”At that moment, her face fell slightly. 

“Oh.”

[hologramband]

Hollywood Ghost Club p3

(my gif) 

Luke x Reader

Word Count: 2.4k 

A/N: eek! This marks halfway! After this I have 2… maybe 3 depending on the length of the last few parts… until the conclusion! Lmk what you think!!

Caleb marking the boys was a game changer, it would be at least 24 hours before the shock started, she just needed to work quickly on making a plan to be able to help them. 

On top of that, you also woke up with a killer headache, the pain was manageable, but you had no idea what could be causing a ghost to have this type of pain. 

Since it was a weekday, there were no new incoming members to the club, so you basically had the day off.

Not knowing what else to do, you poofed into the hallway right outside of Lucy’s door, deciding to take her out for the day, show her what she could do as a ghost, maybe even take her to see the boys, if they weren't busy. 

You knocked on the door, but after not hearing a response, you walked in and noticed the room was empty. 

Deciding she had probably gone looking for Kendra you poofed around the building, looking for anywhere they might be. 

It was when you were in the hallway that connected yours and Caleb dressing rooms that you felt the unease wash over you, there was a whimpering coming from down the hall, towards Caleb's office. 

“Just show me what you showed her,” You heard muttering from inside of the room you were standing outside. 

Not thinking twice you gave the door a sharp knock before busting in without waiting for a response, repulsed by what you saw. 

Lucy was sitting in the middle of the room, on a stool, with tears budding in her eyes. 

Caleb wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her, he had that much decency about him, but causing the young girl to feel unsafe and scared was enough to send you into overdrive. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” You gasped, walking towards Lucy, her eyes locking instantly with the girls. 

“(Y/n), I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” Caleb walked in your path, putting a hand out to hold you in place, but you poofed to behind him, holding Lucy’s hand before he got the chance to stop you. 

“No, Caleb, I'm gonna have to ask you where you found the nerve. She is a CHILD.” You’re not sure where the sudden attitude came from, ever since last night you didn’t have the same fear of Caleb from before. 

“Fine, if she wont answer me, then you will, (y/n), what exactly did little Lucy show you last night?” He spoke with a snarl, fists balling at his sides. 

“Lucy, honey,” You whispered in her ear, “go find Kendra and Willey, okay?” You smiled at the girl, but her face hardened. 

She shook her head no in response, glancing between Caleb and you, not wanting to leave you alone with him. 

“It’s okay, i’ll join you in a little bit!” You smiled at the girl again, trying to put a convincing smile on your face. 

Lucy looked back at Caleb, then to you, before squeezing your hand and leaving the room.

Once she was gone, you hardened your expression and made eye contact with Caleb again.

“She just showed me a memory I had, she was trying to make me feel better.” You kept your response short, twisting your words so it wasn’t a lie, but also wasn’t the full truth. 

“The way you care for the girl is cute, but I can’t have you standing in my way, I brought her to my club for a reason.” Caleb took a step closer, you doing the same, meeting him halfway. 

“Caleb, I say this with absolutely no respect at all, if you ever think of getting to her again, you’ll have to go through me first.” You felt a fire behind your eyes, not a sliver of anxiousness in your body. 

“Bold statement, little bird. What makes you think I can’t ‘go through you’? Hm?” His frown turned to a smile as your wrist started to burn, and a fire started in your abdomen, a few shocks running through your system, somehow not as bad as they usually are. 

You gritted your teeth and closed your eyes, trying not to show your pain. 

When you opened them again, Caleb was staring back at you with confusion, then momentarily at his hands before returning his gaze to your face. 

“You know what, I’ve had enough of your deviance for today,” He looked you up and down before turning around and walking behind his desk. 

Taking that as a cue to leave, you focussed on Lucy's energy and poofed into the cafeteria, seeing her at a table with both Willey and Kendra.  

As soon as she saw you appear she shot from her seat and ran to you, grabbing your hand again, this time you felt what she was doing.

“Are-are you restoring my power?” The energy was rushing through your body, making you feel back to full capacity, not feeling the aftershocks of Caleb's attacks in the slightest. 

“(Y/n)!” Kendra and Willey were at your side now as well.

“What happened? Lucy came in and looked all anxious, but we couldn’t figure out what was going on.” Kendra spoke, looking down at the girl. 

“I found her in Caleb’s office this morning, he was trying to get her to tell him what she showed me last night.” You went to continue when you saw the confused looks on both Willey and Kendra’s face. 

“Is that what happened when you got all glowy last night?” Willey looked down at the child then back up to you. 

“Yeah, she unlocked some sort of memory I think, but, I don't know, it was weird. It seemed to take place in a different time, like before I died maybe?” You spoke, but Lucy was pulling on your arm shaking her head no, pulling you to her level like she did last night, placing her hands in the same spots. 

You knew what was going to happen this time. 

You were back in your dressing room again, but a boy was with the other you this time. 

“(Y/n), I know you think he’s a good guy, but I really think there’s something off about him.” The boy spoke, grabbing your shoulder and turning you to him. 

“Dan, I’m sorry. I-I just… why would Caleb threaten anyone?” the other you shook her head, clearly there was something going on. 

“C’mon (y/n), you’re my sister, you should believe me when I say I feel something’s off. I told you the same thing before we died, that driver wasn’t good to drive.” The boy, Dan, spoke. 

Two things spun you for a loop, 1, you had never known how you died, and 2, Dan called himself your brother. 

Your vision appeared back to normal, and you noticed the headache from this morning was gone. 

Lucy was looking at you expectantly, her hands coming off from your face, returning to its spot in your hand. 

“It happened again, you got all bright and glowy,” Willey poked at your shoulder, “are you like, radioactive, or… something?” 

You shook your head and looked up at him. 

The memory Lucy just showed you, along with the one you saw last night, you came to the realization, not wanting to voice it out loud. 

Caleb erased your memories. Both from before you died, and some after.

You looked between the three people in front of you, not wanting to scare Willey and Kendra, so you offered half the truth.

“She’s showing me memories I didn’t know I had, Willey, I always felt like I was missing a part of myself, and then I met you. Things started to feel right, like-” Willey cut you off with a cough. 

“Um, (y/n), before you confess your love for me, you know I’m, like, gay right?” Willey raised his eyebrows and Kendra choked back a laugh. 

“Willey, you idiot,” you rubbed your temples, “yes, I know you’re gay.” You laughed and continued with what you were previously saying. 

“In one of the memories Lucy showed me, I had a brother. I think we died together, or at least at the same time.” 

“Ohhhh, so you’re just saying you love me as a brother, I think i’m the one guy you can say that too and not get hurt or offended.” Willey laughed, trying to downplay the news, easing the nerves that had arisen in you, and you would always be grateful for him being able to do that. 

Lucy smiled up at you, and you realized why Caleb wanted her so bad, she had powers that could ruin his whole operation, in the last 24 hours alone she’s given you back memories and power that Caleb has stolen from you, who knew what else she was capable of. 

“Hey, do you guys wanna go on a little trip with Lucy and I? We’re gonna go see the friends we made yesterday.” When you mentioned the boys her eyes lit up.

“Nice,” she smiled again. 

Willey nodded and Kendra smiled at Lucy.

“You think Reggie will be there?” Kendra looked at you and you smiled.

“Probably, does someone have a crush?” You smiled at the blush that was rising to her friend's cheeks. 

“Oh, noooo,” she wrung her hands together, “okay, I’m a sucker for a guy that’s good with children.” 

You laughed at her and shook your head. 

“Alrighty, well then let's get going!” You held Lucy’s hand and Willey poofed you all in front of the garage that the boys practice and live in. 

As you walked in the door the boys all assembled and started to sing the words to ‘i'm sorry’, but stopped when they realized you weren’t the suspected guest. 

“Oh! (Y/n)! Hi,” Luke smiled at you. 

“Hey! Sorry to drop by unannounced, but Lucy wanted to see her new friends.” You smiled, and as if on cue, Lucy ran out from behind you and jumped into Reggies arms. 

“Aha! There's my favorite dance partner.” Reggie smiled at her before picking her up in his arms and spinning her around. 

“You know,” Kendra started, “they say kids are really good judges of character.” She made eye contact with Reggie and he froze for a second, trying to figure out if this was real or not, if the cute girl from the performance last night was in front of him or not. Lucy wiggling from his grasp while he was distracted.  

In an effort to save everyone from an uncomfortable silence, you spoke up.

“You guys are the only one she’ll talk about,” You smile and Lucy looks back at you then to the boys. 

“Nice,” she nodded her head at them and giggled as Alex started to chase her around, Reggie joining soon after. 

“So Luke, what was the ‘I’m sorry’ song for?” You turned to him, on the arm of the couch that sat in the room. 

“You know the girl that can see us? We ended up missing the gig with her last night, she wants to quit the band.” he sits on the couch and looks down at his feet, twiddling his thumbs together. 

Not knowing how else to help, you move to sit beside him, placing a hand on his. 

“I’m sure she’ll come around Luke, from what I’ve heard you guys are supposed to be really good, no one would want to be the cause of a good thing ending.” You smile at him as he meets your gaze. 

“Yeah I guess, she just seemed so serious, we really hurt her.”

Before you could respond Lucy ran back into the room and grabbed your hand, smiling and brought you to the piano in the center. 

“Lucy, I don’t know how to play.” You look at the girl and she smiles up at you, this time just laying a hand on your shoulder and she put your hand on the keys, making a sound come from one. 

The sound felt familiar, and you hit another key, then followed with a song, it was like muscle memory. This time, you saw the glow. 

Your hands were hitting the keys and making a melody you have never heard before, but it carried the tune of an upbeat happy song, the glow of your hands growing with each note you hit. 

You didn’t remember knowing how to play the piano, but the glow made you think this was another hidden memory that Lucy helped you uncover. 

You reached a point in the melody where it seemed to die out, making you think you reached the end of the song, the lack of glow confirming the thought. 

“Wow, (Y/n), that was amazing, I didn’t know you could play.” Alex spoke first. 

“I SOOO want to learn how to do the glowy thing.” Reggie followed. 

You chuckled and smiled at Lucy, whispering a ‘Thank you’ as she hopped off the bench and went to sit in Luke's arms this time.

The afternoon continued on a lot like this, everyone hanging out, Lucy running around playing with everyone, when you started to feel a pull, looking up you could see that Willey and Kendra felt it too, meaning you needed to get back to the club. 

“Alright, I think it’s time we head back to the club, we all have some things to do before tonight’s act.” You stood up and held your hand out for Lucy to take, but she shook her head.

“It’s okay Lucy, (y/n) will bring you back,” Luke looked up at you, “won’t you?” He pulled some puppy dog eyes, the rest of the boys following suit. 

“Yes,” you laughed at their faces, “we’ll definitely be back, you can’t get rid of us.” 

“I wouldn’t want to.” Luke kept eye contact and smiled at the blush he caused on your cheeks. 

Lucy hugged each boy goodbye, then took your hand, satisfied with the promise of returning. 

“I hope all goes well with Julie! You can’t let things end before I’ve seen a show.” You smiled at the boys and waved, Luke sending a wink your way before you all poofed and arrived back at the club. 

“And you wanna talk about my crush,” Kenda nudged you and giggled. 

You rolled your eyes, because maybe, maybe, you did have a small crush. But where's the harm in that? 

----

Part 4 coming soon…

Tag List!

@perfectlywrongformend3s @bathtimejish @lovesanimals @oswin05 @ashleyleblancx @losers-club6 @parkeret @lukeys-giggle @simplysanha @perfectlywrongformend3s @bathtimejish @lia-faerie-queen @morgandamrose @crybabyddl @caitsymichelle13 @simp4reggie @sunsetcurvenotsunsetswerve @lolychu  @simplysanha @-episkey- @kristencoontz @ifilwtmfc @sarcasticsagittarius1998​

[babygurlkamya]

Can’t Get You Get Out Of My Head Part 5

Warning: Slight Cussing, More love of Harry Styles.

Word count:2451

Here’s my Masterlist!!

A/N: Also this will in included so gifs in here. Also thank you for the love and support!!

——————𖠄———————

Julie and Anastasia walked down the steps of Julie’s house laughing. Anastasia and Julie were busy studying for hours and both were hungry so they decided to take a break. Julie had turned the corner but immediately let out a small shriek after seeing the slight of Luke staring into Julie’s fridge.  

“We’re never gonna get used to that.” Said Julie. Anastasia nodded her head agreeing with Julie. 

“Do you guys even eat?” Asked Julie.

Luke shook his head. “I just wanna see what’cha got.”

“Not gonna lie, you like a lost puppy staring at the food.” Said Anastasia. Luke looked at her for a second smiling before looking back at the food in the fridge.

Julie grabbed the jelly and shut the fridge door passing right through Luke’s body.

“Hey!” Luke protested. “You know how long it took me to open that?”

“I would say twenty-five years,” Anastasia said looking at Luke. Julie chuckled. 

“Sorry, I don’t believe in wasting power,” Julie told Luke. Anastasia moved to the right side of Julie and sat on the counter.

“Good, because that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about,” Luke revealed, walked over to the girls standing in between Julie and Anastasia.

“Her power usage?” Anastasia questioned.

“No. The power that she has.” Julie gave him a confused look, so he continued. “Your voice. Your piano playing. Dude, you’re like a human wrecking ball. I’m pretty sure you too.” Luke said pointing at Asia. “If we heard you sing again and not dancing around your kitchen. It would be amazing.” 

Julie looked at Luke and Asia. “What’s he talking about?”

“He caught me singing and dancing to Harry Styles in my kitchen, like a creep.” Anastasia glared at Luke.

“You have amazing taste, Asia. Harry Styles is one gorgeous man.”

Anastasia looked up shaking her head. “He truly is but back to what Luke was saying.”

“What’s that supposed to be some kind of pep talk or?” Asked Julie making Anastasia’s sandwich.

“What I’m saying is that you have to power to move people. To knock them off their feet. And there is no way your teachers wouldn’t let you back into school if they heard you play like that.”

“Well, we asked her and she said Julie has to wait until next semester.” 

“That was your first mistake,”  Luke scoffed in disgust. “Asking.”

“You do know that asking is the polite thing to do, right? Or did you not have manners back in your day?” Anastasia said.

Luke rolled his eyes at Anastasia's comment as he sat on top of the counter across from Anastasia. “That’s not what I mean, Asia. Sunset Curve booked gigs by doing. We went into ambush mode. We played in front of clubs, we played in back of clubs, we even played book club.”

“Book club? You have to be joking with me.” Said Anastasia grabbing her sandwich and then taking a bite out of it.

Luke smirked at her. “Yeah. We didn’t get many gigs out of that one but they did have pretty gnarly snacks.”

“Can we go back on topic?” Julie asked.

Luke looked at Julie. “I’m just saying, don’t ask for permission.” He kicked his legs in a circle as they went through Anastasia. “Swing that wrecking ball of talent at your teacher’s head and smash those stupid rules right outta their brains.”

“I’m always down for violence but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Anastasia commented.

“And this is a school, not a club.”

“It’s a closed door and you gotta bust it open.” Julie had walked over to the cabinet to get a glass and Luke popped his head through the door. He followed her over to the fridge as Julie grabbed the orange juice out of her fridge. “Sorry. Once I start with the metaphors, I can’t stop. I learned that in book club.”

“They’re not just gonna let me back in,” Julie said pausing for a moment as she walked straight through Luke. 

“If getting back into music is what you want, then you gotta go for it. Learn from me. Your tainted hot dog could be right around the corner.”

Julie lowered her peanut butter and jelly sandwich from her mouth just as she was about to take a bite. “I don’t even have anything prepared.”

“Thought you’d say that.” Luke pulled a folded up piece of paper from his pocket. “It’s called “Bright.” It’s a Sunset Curve song I wrote that we never got to record, but it’s perfect for your and Anastasia ranges.”

“Wait, did you figure out my range when I was singing in Harry Styles in my kitchen?” Anastasia asked.

“Yes and No. When you were bringing groceries I may have looked on your computer and found your old singing videos.”

“If I could punch you I would.” Anastasia glared at Luke. 

Luke sent a wink back at her. “Unfortunately you can’t sweetheart.” Anastasia felt her heart skip a beat after Luke called her sweetheart. “ Check out the chorus for a second. If you add a little bit of piano, I’m telling you… And rise through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together.” 

Julie picked up the page and flipped it over as Anastasia hopped off the counter. They read more of the lyrics as they joined into Luke’s singing. “And rise through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together.”

“Go up high,” Luke instructed.

All three of them raised their voice an octave a little higher. “Bright forever.”

“Yes!” Luke chuckled.

“We could do try this tomorrow, Asia.”

“Julie, I would love to but I’m performing with Carrie tomorrow.”

“Please, Anastasia” Julie pleaded, giving her puppy eyes.

“Fine, I’ll see what I can do.” Asia gave Julie a slight smile before looking at Luke. “Thanks, Luke. We really appreciate it.”

Luke tugged his bottom lip in between his teeth and giving her a cut smile in return. Which causes Anastasia to slightly blush. She quickly looked down back at the paper and read the lyrics.

——————𖠄———————

Anastasia was standing next to the girls of Dirty Candy waiting for them to be announced. Their music teacher announced the group as they walked to the middle of the auditorium. They got into their positions. The song had started and all the girls started to dance. On the side of her eyes she could she Julie and Flynn walk into the auditorium. Flynn didn’t seem pleased at Anastasia she was dancing but Asia had ignored her. Julie had given her a slight smile and she had smiled back as Carrie started to sing. After she had done her spin she had noticed that the boys had poofed next to Julie. 

“We wanna see you stick it to the man,” said Luke clearly being loud as he can since only Julie and Asia could him. “Isn’t that right, boys?”

“Man, I miss high school,” Reggie said causing the boys to look towards the performance.

“Wait, is that Anastasia?” Asked Alex. 

“Yes, that’s her,” said Julie.

“Made moves, On the rise now, Run stuff, get a piece of that pie now, We're the best, no doubt, Check it out, yeah, we make em say "wow", All the girls started to dance on the floor., Come follow me, we goin' make history, Cause we are the champions like Freddy Mercury, Yeah, we gonna rock you, never gonna not too, Always making headlines, yeah, we're the hot news”

Anastasia and Kayla helped Carrie get off the floor. Anastasia noticed Reggie and Luke were just staring at her so she decides to shoot them a wink.

“Made moves, On the rise now, Run stuff, get a piece of that pie now, We're the best, no doubt, Check it out, yeah, we make em say "wow", Wow... wow!, Wow... wow!, Wow... wow!”

Alex was copying the girls dancing and accidentally bumped into Luke, making him snap out of his trance and signal to Alex to stop.

“Wow..., Check it out, yeah, we make em say "wow"

The whole school cheered for Dirty Candy. “Thank You,” Carrie said. A girl screamed, “We love you, Carrie!” 

“Oh, I love you too!” Carrie said waving back at them. “Make sure to check out my new Youtube video and Oh, go Bobcats.” The crowd cheered for the girls as they walked off. Anastasia quickly ran over to Julie, Flynn, and the boys.

“Reggie, can you close your mouth, please?” Asia said quietly.

Reggie closed his mouth. “Oh.. Oh.. Yeah. Sorry,” Reggie said awkwardly.

“Nice moves, Alex.”

“You saw that... I-”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain it.” Asia smiled at Alex.

“I hoped you enjoyed yourself,” said Flynn glaring at Asia.

Anastasia rolled her eyes and turned to Julie. “You good?” Julie nodded.

The Principal along with Ms. Harrison walked into the spotlight. “Thank you, Dirty Candy.”

“Now’s your chance, go talk to her.” Flynn smiled at Julie. “I’ll see you in music class!” Flynn 

walked off to find a seat.

“That was sweet!” Principal Lessa joked. She gave a few more announcements.

“What are you waiting for this is your time?” Reggie asked, pointing to the stage.

“Yeah. I mean, you look really nervous. Like yack in a bowl nervous.” Alex said giving her a look of concern. 

Julie frowned “I just don’t think we’ve had enough time to work on the song.”

“Julie, I wouldn’t have you two the song if I didn’t think you weren’t gonna rock it! Now there’s a piano on that stage with your name on it.”

“Julie, you got this,” said Anastasia gave Julie a big smile.

“Are you coming up with me?”

“About that....” Anastasia trails off pulling Julie aside away for the boys. “Julie, you know better than anyone. I can’t go up there looking like this and on top of that this is your moment. I don’t want to risk that for you. I know you can do this without me. If you get scared just look at me.”

Julie sighed. “I guess, Asia.” Julie walked off and went up to the stage. She slowly sat down at the piano with a microphone. Asia walked back over to the boys as the crowd began to leave the auditorium. Julie played a chord on the piano before stopping. She looked back up at Asia and the three boys next to her.

“You got this,” Luke encouraged.

Julie continued to play the intro of Bright on the piano, quickly a spotlight suddenly shined over her as Julie began to sing. “Sometimes I think I'm falling down, I wanna cry, I'm calling out, For one more try to feel alive”

“And when I feel lost and alone, I know that I can make it home, Fight through the dark and find the spark” The crowd had stopped walking out as they heard Julie sing. Asia, Reggie, and Alex looked at Luke as he was singing the lyrics along with Julie. “Life is a risk, but I will take it, Close my eyes and jump, Together, I think that we can make it, C'mon let's run”

Suddenly, the boys with their instruments and Anastasia appeared on the stage. Julie looked at the boys and then at Anastasia as she wasn’t in her dirty candy outfit. Anastasia was in black ripped jeans and a white top.  Anastasia's eyes widened as she looked at her clothes and the guys. Julie motioned for Asia to sing with her. Anastasia pulled the mic up to her mouth and began to sing with Julie.

“And rise through the night, you and I”

We will fight to shine together, bright forever”

Julie got up from the piano bench and moved over to Anastasia who was in the middle of the stage while the students gathered around on the floor. The girls looked over to the boys as they were shocked about the situation.

“And rise through the night, you and I, We will fight to shine together, bright forever”

Anastasia locked eyes with Luke. He was completely shocked that the crowd could see him. She slightly smiled and walked over to him.

“They can see us,” Luke breathed out. “Ana, They can see us.”

Anastasia bit her lip. “A little crazy right.” Luke smiled at her comment before rushing up to his microphone to sing his part. “In times that I doubted myself, I felt like I needed somе help, Stuck in my head with nothing left.”

Julie danced with Reggie and Anastasia dancing towards Alex as they were both smiling at each other with pure excitement.

“I feel somеthing around me now, So unclear, lifting me out, I found the ground I'm marching on”

Reggie walked over to Luke and shared a mic with him as they sang the pre-chorus together.

“Life is a risk, but we will take it., Close my eyes and jump, Together, I think that we can make it, C'mon let's run”

Anastasia quickly ran over to Julie. As both of them sang the chorus along with Luke. “And rise through the night, you and I, We will fight to shine together, bright forever, And rise through the night, you and I, We will fight to shine together, bright forever”

“In times that I doubted myself” Luke sang. Anastasia walked over to Luke and held the microphone up to his face, with a smile on her face as they walked back to the middle of the stage. “I felt like I needed some help, Stuck in my head with nothing left”

“And when I feel lost and alone, I know that I can make it home, Fight through the dark” Anastasia pointed the microphone back towards her as Luke played next to her.

She stopped singing to let Julie have her big moment. “And find the spark!” 

While Julie held the note Anastasia and the boys joined together for the chorus again while Alex sang to echoes. “And rise (rise) through the night (throught the night), you and I (you and I), We will fight to shine together (we will shine together) bright forever (bright forever), And rise (rise) through the night (throught the night), you and I (you and I), We will fight to shine together (we will shine together), bright forever.” 

Julie and Anastasia held the last note out together. When they finished the crowd began cheering. Anastasia, Julie, and the boys bowed. As they finished bowing the crowd gasped and the two girls turned around and noticed that the boys disappeared from the stage. Julie looked at her with a confused look on her face. They’re gonna have a lot of trouble trying to explain this.

——————𖠄———————

A/N:I hope you guys in enjoyed this part it did take my a while but im hoping that next part won’t take me so long to do.

@lovepizza-cake11​ @tuttigunner​ @oi-itsemily​ @spoiler-alert-im-not-straight​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @taehyungsrealgucciwife​ @sarahslaseman121600​ @thesweetestsinner​

[littlemissaddict]

Perfect Harmony 2.0

Summary: Luke dreams of the perfect harmony scene and decides to play the song when Julie walks into find him. The last thing she expects him to be playing is perfect harmony and she finally confesses what happened the day of the dance performance with Nick.

Word Count: 1482

Written for @snowmione18, I hope you like it .

We create a perfect harmony

Luke’s mind was foggy as he pulled himself from his slumber. He didn’t even know ghosts could sleep although he guessed that for him it had something to do with what had happened that night after the Orpheum, just another little change for him to get used to. He pushed himself up from where he was laid on the couch as his mind drifted back to his dream and the melody that was still playing in his mind. The dream had felt so real like he was reliving a moment that he had no knowledge of actually happening and he was sure he would have remembered it if it had happened because it involved Julie. Anything that involved Julie he was sure to remember as she just had this energy about her, she drew people's attention even when she wasn’t trying, it was like she was a beacon of light shining through the darkness.

You are my brightest burning star

The words appeared in his mind as if he were recalling lyrics to a song he’d already written and before Luke could stop himself he was up off the couch and searching for his journal, determined to write the lyrics down while he had the chance. Letting out a small whoop of excitement when he found it, he bounced back to the couch with his journal in hand ready to start writing. As soon as the pen touched the page the lyrics just seemed to flow and his hand seemed to fly across the page making his already bad handwriting almost unintelligible but at least he had the song written down. 

Once he was done he let his mind wander back to the dream as he wonders how he had managed to come up with a song like this. It was so unlike anything he had written before and the whole dream where he had been dancing with Julie was so out of character for him but he could deny how happy the whole thing made him. 

He reaches for his guitar and lets his fingers glide over the strings, strumming as he does until it starts to sound like the melody he heard in his dream while humming along to it. He can’t believe how much better it sounds playing it out loud than in his head or how it would sound even better when Julie adds her voice to the music.

He’s so caught up in the song he doesn’t realise that Julie is now in the studio watching him with a panicked look on her face until she calls out his name, “Oh hey Julie, this sounds pretty good right?” he smiles widely until he sees the look on her face. “What’s up? Do you not like it?” he asks, his smile faltering.

“Where-where did you find it?” she stutters and Luke doesn’t think he’s seen Julie this panicked before, “Have you been through my dream box again” she accuses him 

“Funny story I actually dreamt i-” he starts to say and Julie’s stance relaxes slightly until Luke fully registers what she had said “wait why would I have found it in your dream box” he asks confused as he gets up to put the guitar back on it’s stand.

He looks at her to see that she has tensed up again, her arms lifted to wrap around herself, a gesture he recognises from Alex who sometimes does it to comfort himself when his anxiety gets too much. He softly calls her name before he approaches her so not to startle her, he stands in front of her not saying anything just watching as her expression changes and it seems like she’s having an internal debate with herself whether or not to tell him. Luke doesn’t push her to answer instead opting to just wait patiently for her to tell him in her own time. He watches as she opens and closes her mouth a few times as if she was going to say something but then decided against it last minute until finally she speaks.

“It’s-I-well I came up with the song a few weeks ago” she sighs looking up at Luke who gives her a puzzled look, he was sure that she hadn’t mentioned the song to him but then that made sense if it was in her dream box then it was generally off limits but then that still didn’t explain how he dreamt the song. “That day of the dance performance while I was dancing with Nick I was so lost in the music I guess that it just came to me only it wasn’t Nick I was thinking about” she explains a blush now forming on her cheeks and Luke understands what she means as the continue to stare at each other until a thought pops into his head.

“So that’s where the dance sequence came from” he states and Julie’s eyes widen, clearly she wasn’t expecting him to have had the dance dream as well, he thinks reaching for his guitar again “So do you want to give it a try?” he asks, not giving her a chance to answer as he begins strumming the guitar.

Step into my world

He takes a step towards her as he sings, just like in the dream, his eyes not leaving hers but she still seems uncertain as if she’s not sure whether this is another daydream or not. However, Luke doesn’t let up; he keeps singing until he gets to the end of his part and looks expectantly at Julie, hoping that she’ll join him. When she does, Luke’s face lights up with a bright smile and he can’t believe how much better it sounds in reality than it did in the dream. He’s also reminded of how much he loves hearing Julie sing, how hearing her put her whole heart and soul into what she’s singing about makes it sound so much better and he can’t help the warm feeling that spreads through him when he remembers that it’s directed to him, she’s singing about him.

The truth is finally breaking through

He joins her singing now, their voices fitting together so effortlessly and Luke can’t stop himself from wondering if this is how it was always meant to be, him and Julie together, he tries to put those feelings into his lyrics, trying to convey to Julie just how much she means to him. He’s not scared to show her, now that he knows she feels the same.

As they come to the end of the song Luke realises just how close he and Julie have gotten, the only thing stopping them from getting any closer is the guitar in his hands which he’s quick to place back on its stand when they finish. When he turns back to her, he’s already reaching up to cup her face in his hands just like he had done the night after the Orpheum, the night she saved him and the boys with her love. It was something he’d always be grateful for and he knew he’d never be able to thank her properly for it but that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

“Julie I-I love you” he says, his gaze locked on hers as he feels her shift beneath his hands and he begins to worry that he’s said the wrong thing until he feels her coming closer and pushing up on her toes so that she can kiss him. He was surprised to say the least as he was not expecting her to be so forward but he recovers quickly letting his lips slide against hers totally lost in the feel of it that they miss the tell tale noise of someone poofing into the studio.

“Well it took you long enough” Alex says causing the two of them to pull apart with wide eyes before they start laughing as it was bound to happen that either Alex or Reggie would poof in on them, Luke’s just happy that neither Ray or Carlos walked in on them as that would of been awkward for Julie to explain. He presses another quick kiss to Julie’s lips before he moves away to put his journal away not wanting to share the song with the other boys just yet but a groan from Alex stops him before he gets very far. “Okay I’m happy for you both but can you keep that to a minimum when others are present” he says causing Luke to roll his eyes.

“Come on Alex, like we haven’t had to witness you and Willie” Luke teases as Alex lets out a gasp and blushes slightly at the mention of his boyfriend. Julie chuckles as she leans into Luke’s side, they had a lot to talk about but at least they didn’t have to hide their feelings anymore.

[bjeanesthings]

The Night That Changed Your Life (jatp)

Julie and the Phantoms x reader

Warnings: mentions of character death and ghosts

You were one of Julie’s best friends, second only to Flynn. So when Julie joined a mysterious hologram band, you were the second person to know what was really going on. Truth be told, you might not have found if you hadn’t caught Julie talking to herself in the hallway that day.

You were a year older than the two best friends, but had connected with them through your shared music class. Before Julie’s mother passed away, you spend a lot of time at their house where Julie’s mom taught you how to play the piano. Personally, you thought you were never going to get it, but Julie’s mom had some kind of magic in her that made you become proficient.

After her mother passed away, you only saw Julie and Flynn during the monthly movie nights (that was if Julie didn’t cancel), in the hallways or your music class. And when Julie was kicked out of the music program, that fell away too. So when she got back in, you were ecstatic. Not questioning the sudden appearance of her hologram band, you went to congratulate her. Only to find her talking to… the air?

“Jules?” You questioned after a moment of her talking to the empty air like it was talking back to her.

She spun around quickly to face you. “Y/N. Hi. Hi there. You.”

You frowned at her strange behavior. “Hey. Were you talking to someone?”

“What? No. No just… talking to myself.” She shrugged, laughing uncomfortably.

“Sure…” You said, not quite comforted by the fact she had been talking to herself. “I just wanted to congratulate you. On the performance, and getting back in the program.”

“Oh thanks.” She smiled. “Did you uhm… Did you see Flynn?” You shook your head. “Okay, I should probably go find her. I’ll see you later, okay?” With that Julie left.

It was definitely the weirdest interaction with Julie that you had ever had. And after a moment of doubting whether it was a good idea, you got out your phone and texted Flynn that you needed to talk to her. Julie’s dad had told the both of you to let him know if you were worried about Julie, but you didn’t want to tell on Julie for nothing. So you decided to check how Flynn felt about the situation before you did anything.

----------------------------------------

Flynn let you know that she was going to see Julie that evening, and told you to show up half an hour after her, so you could figure this all out with Julie.

When you showed up to the house, you could hear music from the garage. So instead of going to the front door you went there, like you were used to before Julie’s mom passed away. The music stopped before you got to the garage. You knocked and called out for your friends. You could hear Flynn’s voice on the other side before the door opened. The two girls greeted you with odd smiles.

“Hey…” You said, looking between the two. “Everything alright here?”

“Yeah, yeah. Perfect.” They said unsynchronized.

You nodded. “Okay. So, can I come in?” The two exchanged looks before letting you in. You sat down on the couch while Julie and Flynn had a hushed argument near the door. Deciding to let them figure out whatever they didn’t want you to overhear, you looked around the room. Nothing seemed very odd. Until you saw something that couldn’t be right. “Uh… Jules? Why is your notebook floating?” Both girls immediately looked around at you and then at the notebook that immediately dropped to the ground. “Is this another one of your hologram tricks?” You asked, confused.

The girls shared a silent argument as they looked at each other, before Flynn, apparently, won. “Actually, they’re not holograms.” She said as she sat down next to you on the couch.

You frowned, looking from her to Julie. “So what are they?”

“They’re ghosts.” Julie finally explained.

They proceeded to explain the situation to you. The band even played some music to prove the point to you. It was the wildest night of your life, but by the end, you were sure that they were indeed ghosts.

----------------------------------------

The performance at the dance was the brilliant idea of both Flynn and you. While Flynn took on most of the marketing, you ended up doing most of the planning and actual setting up. Far too many balloons were blown up that night, but it was all worth it to see Julie happy again.

So it crushed you when the band didn’t show up. It crushed you to see Julie soo disappointed. And it angered you that the boys would just stand her up like that. After Flynn suggested an ice cream night at her place, you were all in for a bit of unwinding. You had to head home first though. So you left early, telling the girls you would meet them at Julie’s house. Your house was just two streets away from Julie’s house, and Flynn’s was a little ways further. So you usually met up at Julie’s to go to Flynn’s together.

When you arrived at Julie’s you heard noise coming from the garage. If Flynn and Julie were already  there, they had been fast. Going into the garage you left the door open behind you.

The source of the noise became apparent. The band was there. “Here you idiots are.” You scoffed at them. All three turned around to look at you. “You were supposed to be at the dance! How could you just stand Julie up like that?” You shook your head. “I just can’t believe you. That girl had the courage to perform again after a year and you completely bailed on her. The whole school was…”

“Wait.” Luke finally interrupted you. “You can see us?” From his flabbergasted face, you could tell he was clearly not getting how angry you were at them.

“Are you even listening to me?” You huffed.

There was a noise behind you, Flynn and Julie had arrived. “Y/N? What are you doing?” Julie asked.

You pointed at the band. “I’m scolding the boys for what they did to you.” You clarified.

After a moment of silence, during which Julie frowned deeply, she asked: “You can see them?”

Luke motioned his hand. “That’s what I asked.”

“Yeah.” You said, still unaware.

“But we’re not making any music…” Reggie mumbled.

Alex looked right at you. “You shouldn’t be able to see us if we’re not making music with Julie.”

The room was silent for a moment as everyone processed the facts. You hadn’t been able to see the boys when they weren’t making music before. So what had changed?

Slowly a heavy sense of realization sunk in your chest. “Oh no…”

----------

Trigger warnings apply past this point.

Everyone was still looking at you as you turned on your heels and bolted out of the garage.

“Y/N!” Julie called after you, but you wouldn’t stop.

You ran as fast as your feet would carry you. Running down Julie’s street and then down the street that seperated her street from yours. The asphalt was wet from the rain previously that evening, but it didn’t bother you.

As you turned into your own street, you immediately slowed down as you saw the lights. Blue and red. Bright flashing lights. Cars blocking the street halfway down. The sound was insistent, but it fell on deaf ears to you as you looked on.

The others caught up to you as you stood there, staring motionless.

“Y/N.” Julie attempted to put her hand on your shoulder. 

Your worst suspicions were confirmed when her hand went right through. 

“Y/N?” Julie’s voice was full of disbelief.

You closed your eyes and sank to your knees on the wet asphalt.

There was a car that had nearly hit you as you’d made your way across the street from your house. It was going way too fast in the wet weather and you had cursed at the driver, which you had presumed was probably drunk, as you hurried further to Julie’s house.

Only the car hadn’t missed you.

As Alex, Reggie and Luke sank down on their knees beside you and put their arms around you, effectively hugging you, there was no more doubt. 

You were a ghost now.

@lolychu

[the-edge-of-great]

I'm jittery on coffee, lack of food, and I had a stressful day, so here’s some angst. 1700 words of pure angst. enjoy :)))

-------------

As a teenager, it was an alliance between friends. Brothers.

Protect Luke, they thought. Keep his location a secret. His parents are being unreasonable. This is what he’s born to do.

But in secret, they knew. They shared looks over his shoulders, silent concern that they never spoke on. Never discussed because they took an oath. They took Luke’s side, always.

Bobby thought he’d get over it. He thought they’d make up eventually; they just needed a few weeks to cool off.

But then weeks turned into months. 

Luke stopped going to school.

And the Missing Person posters began showing up.

And then a year had passed. Luke stopped talking about them. The guys didn’t bring it up.

Bobby’s own parents never caught on to the extra person living in the garage. Luke slept on the couch, but when Bobby’s parents came over, he hid in the loft. Bobby snuck food out to him. They spent long nights in the studio on the floor, backs against the couch as they listened to Bobby’s CD collection. So many almost-normal nights with his heart heavy with guilt eventually turned into a new normal. He shoved the guilt away and locked it up until it simmered into numbness he could ignore.

After they died, Bobby learned to block everything out. He liked to think he forgot; that’s what he told his therapist. His wife. His daughter. Maybe if he said it enough, it would actually happen.

The Pattersons invite him in with a smile. They’re warm, kind, exactly how he remembers. He wishes he could remember how to smile back at them.

Their house looks the same as it did when he was sixteen, celebrating Luke’s birthday in their living room. They didn’t stay long that day; Luke’s relationship with his parents was just beginning to crumble. He and the guys left quickly after cake because they had to practice. His parents weren’t happy. Luke didn’t care.

“How have you been, Bobby?” Mitch asks. He takes a seat next to Emily. She reaches for his hand; they smile at each other. Trevor’s heart hurts. “Sorry, you go by Trevor these days don’t you?”

Trevor nods stiffly. “I do. Yeah, um, I’ve been good. Things are good.”

“Working hard on your next album, I assume?” Emily says with a smile. “We have all of your CDs, you know.”

He swallows thickly. “That’s… actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I have something for you.”

The envelope is numb in his fingers as he hands it over. Emily’s warm smile never falters, though her eyebrows scrunch together in confusion as she grabs it. While she tears it open, Mitch asks, “What’s this?”

“Compensation.” Twenty-five years too late.

“Oh my,” she gasps, sliding the check out of the envelope. “Bobby—Trevor—”

“I couldn’t track down Alex and Reggie’s parents,” he explains quickly, wiping his palms against his pants. “So, you’re getting all of it.”

Emily shakes her head. “I don’t understand. Why would you—”

And—how do you tell a secret you’ve kept for twenty-five years? How do you rip a bandage off that you yourself cemented into place years ago?

He was only sixteen when Luke ran away from home. Couldn’t tell anyone: not his parents or Reggie’s or Alex’s. It weighed on him like lead. He resented Luke for a long time. How selfish could he be to ask his friends to lie to their parents? To the police when they questioned Luke’s disappearance? They were teenagers. Kids.

He was only seventeen when his best friends died. For a long time, he replayed that night in his head. He should’ve warned them about those street hotdogs. Should’ve tried harder to make them consider a diet change—he didn’t trust that street vendor; never did. But they loved that place, so maybe that’s where his first lie came from. His band was so supportive of everything, even his sudden decision to swear off meat. Maybe he should’ve gone with them, could’ve been the one to steer them away when the dogs tasted funny or called an ambulance to get them help faster. Maybe he could’ve saved them.

“I stole Luke’s music.”

He doesn’t hear himself speak. Did he finally say it?

Emily’s face crumbles. Mitch’s twists into anger.

Yeah, he said it.

“You what?” Mitch says. His voice is controlled; he’s never been the emotional one.

Trevor continues with a dry mouth because he has to; there’s no going back now: “My parents found his notebook in my garage after he died. I was afraid of what they’d do if they found out I’d been hiding Luke there, so I said it was mine. Then they read through the songs, and they thought I needed to share them. My dad knew a guy, they got me in a studio, and then—”

And then.

“—before I knew it… They were my songs. At least, that’s what LA thought. Then the entire US. Then Canada, England… It all happened so fast,” he added quickly, trying to explain better because they were getting angry.

“You never credited him,” Mitch accuses. “Any of them. They were your friends—!”

Emily’s seconds away from breaking. She’s quiet when she speaks, soft as ever: “Luke was with you.”

“I’m sorry,” he says. His own eyes are filled with tears. “I’m sorry. He told me—told us to keep quiet. We promised, made an oath—”

“We told the police,” she continues, as if she can’t even hear him. Maybe she can’t. Maybe she’s as numb as he is now. “We bothered them for months after Luke’s disappearance, called every other week for updates. We covered the city in posters with his face on it. I just wanted to know that he was okay. That he wasn’t on the street somewhere—” Tears spill over her cheeks. She doesn’t wipe them away; her gaze is fixed on the check. “I drove down dozens of streets, checked every corner I knew of that had street performers usually, hoping I’d see him. Hoping I could… convince him to come home…

“And he was just—” Her smile is watery, broken. She finally looks at him. He wants to puke. “He was safe.”

Trevor’s shoulders tremble with the dam that finally breaks. “I’m so sorry,” he sobs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know any better. I was—we were kids. He was a kid. He missed you every day. Never stopped thinking about you, even if he never said anything. I wanted to say something. I know Alex and Reggie did too. I think we just… we just…” He sniffs, wipes his eyes, rubs his hands over his face. “We thought you guys would make up. We thought everything would work out in the end. And it would’ve! I know it would’ve, if he hadn’t…”

For a long moment, they don’t talk. Nobody does; they can’t find enough strength between the sobs wrecking their bodies, making their throats raw. Emily cries into the safety of Mitch’s arms. Trevor’s fingers wrap around his own arms. He wipes his nose with the back of his hand, focuses on the window, on the bright sun pouring in. The curtain moves, he swears, but he doesn’t think anything of it. Even though he can’t feel the air, he tells himself that’s what it is.

“We were supposed to play the Orpheum,” he whispers, and his voice crumbles and gives on the last syllable. His head falls to his hands. The Orpheum. He was supposed to play the Orpheum with his best friends. They were about to make it.

Emily sniffs. She gently tears away from her husband, wipes her eyes, and stands. “Thank you for the offer, but we don’t want your money.” She leans over the coffee table to offer the check. “We don’t need it.”

It slips between one trembling hand to another. He stares at it: Five hundred thousand dollars. Should be more. Even if they don’t want it, it should be more. Five million. Ten. They deserve so much more.

“I’m sorry,” he says again, even though that carries no weight. No amount of apologies will bring Luke back. Or Reggie. Or Alex. He can’t fix anything. Actually, he’s probably done the most damage. Twenty-five years of lies.

The sun is too bright outside. He stumbles through the yard, check clenched so tightly in his hand that the edges are cutting into his skin. The lights on his car flash like he’s just unlocked it. Or, maybe he locked it again. Doesn’t know; can’t hear. Can’t focus on anything except his band. His best friends. His brothers. They left him, but what did he do?

He stole their lives. Their dream.

Trevor stumbles into the door. His crying is louder inside, clogs his eardrums and rattles through his body painfully. Everything is so painful. He clutches at his heart.

The air conditioning is on full blast—the coldest it can go—when he turns it on. His windows fog up; he doesn’t notice.

Not until—something squeaks in his ear. He jolts in surprise, head whipping around in a blur.

There are letters, but they’re backward. There are also voices—he swears he can hear voices. Arguing, critiquing that sounds too much like—and then a word. A backward word. And when his breath catches in his throat and his body freezes over all over again, he knows he’s not as numb as he thought because he can see it. And he knows—he knows. It’s them. They’re there. Were there. Still are? Whatever it is, he bursts into tears again. Happy tears. Sad tears. So many emotional tears that his head is spinning.

But his chest—his chest is loosening. There’s a weight disappearing. He feels like he can breathe for the first time in twenty-five years.

Bobby

As the letters begin to bleed, a new spot of fog forms on the window. He watches in amazement as someone spells three more words. It’s Alex, he thinks. Has to be. After all these years, he still recognizes that handwriting—Alex has always had the best handwriting out of their group.

Once the last word is finished, they’re gone. He doesn’t know how he knows, he just does. And in their place, they leave reassurance. They leave peace:

We forgive you

[ruzek-halstead]

🌺 challenge accepted 🌺 chapter two 🌺

pairing: luke patterson x julie molina

luke and julie go to rival high schools, but come together at a party after their latest ‘friendly’ match. luke starts off on the wrong foot but redeems himself by the end of the night, by inadvertently becoming julie’s knight in shining armour.

“save it for your groupies, patterson.”

high school au

series masterlist || masterlist || ao3

prev. chapter one

warnings: swearing, fluffery

Having a best friend has many benefits.

They’re always present to listen and support you and help you with things you don’t think you can do yourself. They’re always there even when you think you don’t need them. They’re necessary to carry on in life, and Julie agrees with that; she loves her best friend. But there are instances where she would prefer to smother her with a pillow.

This was one of those times.

Alex’s face lit up when he spotted Julie and all her curly-haired glory. She could feel herself blushing and she honestly wanted nothing more than to slide underneath the table and hide.

“Julie, hey!” He greeted her excitedly. Willie followed behind him with a polite smile. “It’s nice to see you again,” he turned to face Carrie, “I’m Alex, this is my boyfriend Willie.” The brunet beside him waved.

Carrie was much too excited to meet them. “I’m Carrie, Julie’s bestie!”

“It’s nice to see you guys again,” Julie replied politely. She wasn’t sure what they knew, if Luke had even mentioned anything, so she wasn’t sure how to act around them. “Did you guys have fun at the party?”

Willie nodded his head excitedly. “Yeah! We hit up the karaoke machine; we were awful but it was hilarious.”

“Yeah, I heard it was quite an interesting night,” Alex remarked, shooting Julie a smirk. She paled; now she really wanted to hide underneath the table. “How about you, Julie? Fun night?”

Julie narrowed her eyes at the blond; she could see right through him. “I’m onto you, Alex,” she replied sassily, “I’m betting you know exactly how my night went.”

“I do,” he admitted, shrugging, “but I wanted to hear it from you.”

“Yeah, tough luck,” she snorted in response. He shot her a smile and Julie’s insides fluttered. There was something about making a new friend (and knowing that he was Luke’s best friend) that made her inherently happy inside. Plus, the best friendships always include sarcasm and sassiness, where both sides can dish it out and take it in stride. She feels like friendship with Alex will be exactly just that.

Willie chuckled, his eyes flickering between the two. “Hey, you should invite them to the show tonight.”

Alex’s face lit up once again. “Oh my god, yes!”

Carrie shot Julie an excited eyebrow waggle.

“Luke told you we’re in a band, right?”

Julie couldn’t help herself; she smirked before saying, “Sunset Swerve, right?”

Willie choked on his own spit, while Carrie simply looked confused. Alex’s eyes narrowed and a frown marred his face.

“I know you said that on purpose, so I’m going to ignore it and extend a gracious invitation for you both to come to our gig tonight at King’s.”

Julie blinked. “Oh, you’re playing a show tonight?”

“Yeah,” Alex replied, “are you interested?”

Carrie instantly jumped in with a squeal and large smile. “Yes, we’re interested!”

“Uh, well —” Julie stuttered, avoiding eye contact with all of them. It was one thing to be waiting for a message from Luke; it was a whole other thing to simply show up at his show, not invited by him directly. “I’m not entirely sure that’s the best idea. Luke—”

“Luke will love to see you!” Alex interrupted. “Trust me, I’ve known that dumbass for way too long. He’s probably sitting by his phone thinking of different pick-up lines to text you, because, like I said, he’s a dumbass.”

If Julie wasn’t embarrassed before, she definitely was now.

“Seriously Julie, he’s probably just too nervous to invite you,” Willie added, and she was surprised he was jumping into that part of the conversation. Alex sent him a fond smile. “I think it’ll be a nice surprise for him.”

“I agree!” Carrie exclaimed. “Plus, I need to meet this Luke. So, we’re going.”

Alex smirked in Carrie’s direction. “I like her. I’m counting on you guys tonight. I’ll leave your name with Flynn; she’s our good friend and social media coordinator. She’ll meet you guys at the door.”

Julie could feel her milkshake bubbling inside her stomach; she felt like she was going to throw up. Surprises? Definitely not her thing.

“And no backing out!” He added with a trained gaze on Julie. She sputtered in denial. “I can see it all over your face. Carrie, you’ll make sure she’s there, right?”

“Even if I have to chloroform her,” she replied with an even expression.

The boys laughed and Alex continued speaking, completely oblivious to the utter horror on Julie’s face. “Oh, and bring Nick! Luke will be on his best behaviour, I promise.”

“So will Nick,” Carrie winked.

“Great!” Alex clapped his hands. “Well, we’re going to go get some milkshakes but I’ll see you all tonight!”

Alex made sure to squeeze Julie’s shoulders as he walked by and Willie shook his head, laughing at his boyfriends antics. “I’ll see you girls later; I’ll save some seats,” he added before he left.

“Oh my god.”

The words flew out of Julie’s mouth before she could even stop them.

“Oh god, I am so excited,” Carrie laughed at Julie’s misery. “Jules, we have to go right now. We have to make sure you look amazing for tonight!”

Julie groaned, but there was no stopping a determined Carrie when she set her mind on something.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

When Julie found herself outside of King’s that same night, her nerves had calmed down slightly, and she was actually looking forward to their show.

She was absolutely freaking out as Carrie dragged her home, but the blonde easily talked her down and convinced her on how fun the night will be. She was also looking forward to seeing Luke again, even though she still hadn’t heard from him. She believed Alex when he said Luke was probably nervous to reach out to her, because here she was, almost throwing up at the prospect of seeing him again. So, she tried to not let that bother her.

Carrie had spent hours looking through outfits for Julie. The brunette thought it was pointless, but Carrie was so excited, she just let her be. The two of them decided on a simple, yet stylish outfit; a pair of black ripped jeans, a white short-sleeve crop top and a jean jacket. She added a pair of white converse to tie the outfit together and left her curls down and natural.

Julie was surprised to see there was a bit of a lineup outside King’s. She could tell Carrie looked impressed as well, but Nick on the other hand, just looked straight up miserable.

“Babe, can you at least try to look like you want to be here?” Carrie whispered to him, trying to hide it from Julie.

Nick rolled his eyes grumpily. “Yes, okay, sorry.”

When they got to the front of the line, Carrie smiled politely to the bulky bouncer. She fluttered her eyelashes and said, “I believe we’re on the list? Julie and friends?”

“Hold up, Jason! I’m comin’!”

They heard a powerful voice, but couldn’t see anything behind the bouncer. A second later a girl dressed in a colourful outfit popped up from behind the bouncer. She was sporting a bright smile and didn’t hesitate to nudge the bouncer (with her whole body weight, to which he didn’t even budge).

“They’re with me, Jason! Let them through!”

With an excited grin in their direction, the girl Julie could only assume was Flynn, led them deeper into King’s. King’s was known for their live performances and chill vibes. The lights were dimmed and music filled the room; Julie was immediately in love with the atmosphere.

“I’m Flynn,” she introduced herself excitedly, while making her way to one of the front tables. “I’ve known the guys forever, but I mostly thought they were idiots. It wasn’t until they started their band that I realized ‘wow, this could be something!’”

Flynn took a seat and waited until they followed suit to continue. “Now, I’m their social media coordinator and baby-sitter by default.”

“Sounds like a lot of work,” Julie giggled.

“Girl, you have no idea!” Flynn laughed. She paused and took a long look at Julie. “I like you. I think we’re going to be great friends.” Julie smiled, ignoring the blood rushing into her cheeks. “Also, my boy Luke, cannot stop talking about you!”

Julie’s face immediately dropped in mortification. “Oh my god, tell me more!” Carrie gushed, moving in closer.

“Oh my god, tell me never!” Nick mocked, rolling his eyes.

Flynn immediately smirked, noting Julie rolling her eyes and Carrie smacking his bicep. “Oh, hold on. Are you Nick? Captain of Illyria Nick?”

“The one,” Nick replied with a small smile.

“I’ve definitely heard a lot about you,” she laughed, but it faded quickly, “I probably shouldn’t repeat it though…” To that, Nick actually cracked a laugh.

They were interrupted when a pair of hands landed on Julie’s shoulders, to which she jumped. For a moment, her heart leapt into her throat, thinking it was Luke, but she quickly discovered it was Willie, with an infectious smile. “Hey guys! Nice to see you all again,” he nodded to Nick, who he hadn’t officially met except on the field; Nick nodded back (men… honestly.) “Get ready! The guys are about to go on!”

For the first time since she’d gotten there, she noticed the drum set on the stage and realized she didn’t actually know what instruments the guys all played. It’d be a nice surprise, she guessed. With a quick introduction from an unknown speaker, the lights dimmed completely except for the show lights. She watched as Alex made his way behind the drums (she should’ve guessed that), beginning a drum solo and shooting a large smile in their direction. She didn’t miss the wink in her direction once he noticed she didn’t skip out on the event.

She noticed Reggie and Luke at the same time, as they both came onto the stage at the same time from different sides. It was a different feeling watching Luke from the crowd; he was so in his element, a bright smile on his face as he looked over the clapping figures. It didn’t take long for his eyes to scan over her table, as he was expecting to see Willie and Flynn. He definitely wasn’t expecting to see Julie, and his expression showed as much. His smile dropped momentarily and he looked a little stunned; she noticed he dropped the guitar pick in his hand, but he was too busy looking at her. Alex made a comment into the mic about their first song, and she noticed him staring into Luke’s back, almost as if that was supposed to be Luke’s line.

Quickly, Luke snapped out of his fugue state, grabbed a new guitar pick taped to his microphone stand and began strumming his guitar to the beat of their first song. Before he forgot, he dropped his right eyelid in a wink, shooting a cheeky smirk in Julie’s direction. Of course, he was stunned when he saw her; he wasn’t expecting to see her at all (he wanted to invite her tonight, but he couldn’t figure out what should be his first text to her). And he definitely wasn’t prepared to see her looking so damn good. He was smitten.

1, 2, 3!

Alex counted them off before Luke took it away. Julie was nervous to hear them. What if they were absolutely terrible and then they asked for her opinion? She couldn’t lie; oh god, what if they really were bad?

Take off, last stop

Countdown till we blast open the top

Face first, full charge

Electric hammer to the heart

Julie’s jaw literally dropped open.

Holy shit, they were good. Luke was amazing!

The butterflies she felt in her stomach earlier came back full force. She was falling for an adorable rockstar and she had no intentions of stopping herself.

Clocks move forward

But we don’t get older, no

Kept on climbing

Till our stars collided

And all the times we fell behind

Were just the keys to paradise

Julie could do nothing more than stare in amazement. Her whole table (and the whole club) was up on their feet cheering on the band. She, however, could not bring her limbs to move because she was just so enthralled by their energetic performance. She longed to feel what they felt; to be able to get up on stage and perform so seamlessly. But that was a story for another day.

Don’t look down

‘Cause we’re still rising Up right now

And even if we hit the ground

We’ll still fly

Keep dreaming like we’ll live forever

But live it like it’s now or never

By the time the chorus came around, her whole table was fist pumping and head banging. To her surprise, even Nick seemed to be enjoying himself (although, she’s sure he’ll deny it to the death). As the song continued, Julie couldn’t help but dance in tune to the song. In fact, Julie was on her feet for the entire set, and by the end, she was even more hooked than she was before. There was something about watching Luke sing and play his guitar (without sleeves of course). This just meant his biceps were on full display and of course, he was all sweaty and by the end, Julie couldn’t look him in the eye without her breath catching in her throat.

“We’re Sunset Curve! Thank you very much, and have a good night!”

The boys all dipped in a bow before running off the stage, smiles and all.

“Oh my god,” Carrie murmured, turning to Julie; she definitely didn’t want Nick listening to her next words. “Julie, he is perfect for you. I haven’t even properly met him, but he is so perfect for you! That was so amazing!”

Julie appreciated her enthusiasm, but it only made her more nervous. “This honestly just made it even more painfully obvious that he is way out of my league.”

“Excuse me?” Carrie hissed. “Where is the badass girl who told him off on that soccer field? I need her back because there is no one out of your league. You’re Julie; you’re amazing and I need you to know that.”

Julie was blushing again. “Carrie…” she groaned.

“Nope, I don’t want to hear it!” Carrie cut her off with a sharp tone. “And if it helps, there was dozens of people in this room, and he only seemed to have eyes for you.”

If she wasn’t blushing then, she definitely was now. And it certainly didn’t help when she saw Luke and the guys exiting backstage and making their way over in all their sweaty glory.

“That was awesome!” Willie was the first one to break the silence, jumping up and giving Alex a hug and a sweet kiss. God, they were so adorable.

Flynn immediately jumped into work mode. “That was killer, you guys! I’ll edit this video tomorrow and we can post it to your YouTube channel,” her eyes flickered over to Carrie with a shocked expression. “Speaking of, how could I forget? Tell me more about Dirty Candy!”

Carrie’s face lit up. “Oh my god, you know about that?”

“Know about it? Girl, Alex and I dance to your routines all the time!” Flynn exclaimed excitedly. “How the hell did he not make the connection when he met you earlier? Tell me more!”

Julie quickly tuned them out; it’s not that she didn’t like Dirty Candy, she was just so distracted with Luke and everything about him. He was currently chugging a water bottle and Julie’s focus was lost once again. She didn’t realize he was speaking to her until he was right beside her.

“Julie? You okay?” He asked with a concerned expression.

“What?” She blurted, blinking rapidly. A slow smile spread across his lips and she nearly fainted. “Sorry, I was just in my head — Luke, that was amazing. You definitely underplayed the whole band thing. You guys could really be something.”

Luke’s eyes softened and for a moment, she was the only person in the room. It was the sweetest thing she could say and she didn’t even know it. “Hey, you want to take a walk real quick? I just need some air.”

“Yeah,” Julie nodded, biting her lip. She whispered where she was going into Carrie’s ear and pointedly ignored her smirk. She also avoided looking at Nick, but noticed Luke sending him a nod (seriously, what was it with these guys and nodding?).

Luke led her out back, into an old but spacious alley; they walked side by side, silently. “I didn’t know you were coming today,” he told her, but then cringed at how bad it sounded. “Not that I didn’t want you here! I — I did, I just didn’t know how to —”

“It’s okay, Luke,” she giggled, “I happened to see Alex today at Mel’s and he invited Carrie and me. I was a little nervous though, because I hadn’t heard from you since.”

Luke cringed again. “And I’m sorry about that. I’ve been wanting to message you, but I didn’t want to mess it up or say something stupid. I’m really good at that.”

“I’ve noticed,” Julie teased and he sent her an affronted look. “It’s okay, Alex explained that too.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Stupid Alex,” he muttered under his breath. “I’m really glad you came though.”

Julie made the mistake of sparing a glance in his direction and she caught his intense gaze; it was captivating. “Me too,” she replied honestly, “you guys were so amazing. I was so nervous it was going to suck and I’d have to lie to your face.”

She literally couldn’t believe she said that out loud.

But Luke was laughing and she couldn’t help but laugh along with him. “Well, I’m glad we don’t suck that bad.”

“Are you kidding me? You don’t suck at all; that was — wow, I can’t even form words.”

They found themselves heading back in the direction of King’s, and Luke knew he was running out of time with Julie.

“Uh, Julie — I know we haven’t known each other for long, and I’ve been kind of terrible at keeping in touch, but uh —” He was growing more nervous by the second, but Julie looked at him with soft features. “Would you like to go out on a date with me?”

Julie knew they had chemistry; she knew there was something there. And as much as she was hoping for it, she was still floored when he actually asked. It was a pleasant surprise though; she found herself smiling before she could even form words.

“Yeah, Luke, I would love it.”

The grin he sent her in response made her heart flutter. When he gently grabbed her hand to walk the rest of the way back, she welcomed it with an open palm. It was peaceful and quiet and she loved every minute of it.

When Luke opened the back door and waited for her to file in before him, he couldn’t help but lean in close and whisper into her ear, “by the way, you look absolutely stunning tonight.”

She squeaked in response, to which he only laughed and led them back to their friends. They quickly bid each other goodnight (but not before exchanging numbers — Flynn was adamant), and Julie sported a smile the entire way home.

🌺

oh my god, i loved how adorable this was.. i was literally melting when i was writing the end

i hope you all liked it!!! next chapter is their date!!!

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