#jatp ficlet

[onlygenxhere]

I'm fine - 4

“I’m fine.”

“Then why are you crying?”

Julie gave a little sob and Luke took the last few steps into the kitchen to pull her into a hug.

“Who do I need to kill Jules? I need names.”

She choked on a laugh, “Julie Molina.”

He pulled back enough to frown at her, “Well I’m not killing you, so what happened?”

She sniffed. “I broke my dad’s favorite mug.”

He wiped the tears off her cheeks as they continued to fall, “You afraid to tell him?”

“I already did and he was as understanding as always, hugging me and telling me it was ok.” She choked on another sob. “But mami bought him that mug and now it’s just one more thing she can never buy him again.” Julie buried her face in his chest again and sobbed harder.

Luke stood there and held her as she cried herself out, rubbing her back and whispering it was going to be ok into her curls.

She eventually pushed away and wiped her face giving him a half hearted smile. “Thanks babe. I’m ok now.”

He bit his lip. “Do you still have the pieces?”

Julie frowned but nodded.

Luke shoved his hands in his pockets a little worried he might upset her again with his suggestion but thinking it was a good one. “So, um, I was thinking I could see if I can fix it?”

She gave him a sad smile before opening a drawer near them and pulling out a towel. She opened it on the counter to show him the mug split in four big chunks. Another tear slid down her cheek. “See, even if we fix it he’ll never be able to drink out of it again.”

“Oh, I know that.” He grinned and slid his arm around her waist as they looked down at the broken mug. “Sometimes when you put things back together, they’re not the same but they can still be useful.”

She looked up at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” he let go of her and fit the pieces of the mug together checking out its size. “This is a pretty big mug. Maybe once we glue it back together it can be where your dad keeps his keys since he’s always losing them.”   

Julie looked at him for a long moment. Another tear slid down her cheek despite the smile on her lips. “I love that idea.” She popped up on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek making him blush. “And I love you.”

[invisibleraven]

A firm hand grabbing the other’s elbow to guide them for Sweet Tarts

"Carrie! Carrie!"

The starlet waved at the crowd of screaming fans, smiling brightly at them as she passed. Ignoring those who pleaded for a selfie or an autograph-one too many bad experiences where fans tried to grab her too close, yank at her hair, scratch at her skin. One overzealous fellow even tried to steal a kiss!

So it sucked, and maybe it gave her the reputation of a snob, but it kept her safe, and able to continue making music and movies for them, so the true fans never faltered.

She stopped for the press though-they were the lifeblood of her career as much as her talent, keeping her fresh and relevant even when she felt stalled or less than. Sure they were also her harshest critics, but the supporters always outweighed the dissenters.

But today, maybe it was the questions regarding her latest flop, or low blood sugar, or the pounding in her temples as the hundred flashbulbs popped. Either way her smile faltered, and she went off to the side, out of view just to take a moment.

Carrie loved her life, she really did, but there were times she longed to just be a regular girl with a regular life. A good guy on her arm, dates without the paps scoping it out, a dull job that no one cared about.

Suddenly there was a firm hand on her elbow, and Carrie tried to yank it back only to be met with the stern look of her personal security, Reggie. "We have to keep moving Miss Wilson, it's not secure here."

Carrie nodded, letting him usher inside the venue, and into a private atrium. "You okay?" he asked.

"Got to be a bit too much," Carrie said, sipping from the flute of champagne she had grabbed on the way in. "Needed a sec."

"I get that," Reggie offered her an understanding smile. He had been in the life before, a fairly successful musician who had a bad encounter with a fan and gave it up. Now he strove to keep people safe from similar situations. Sure he didn't look imposing, but Reggie had a surprising amount of muscles under his suit, and knew how to use an impressive array of weaponry.

He even offered to teach Carrie how to use the sai swords-something he picked up due to a love of Ninja Turtles-and she proved to be pretty good with them as well.

However, he cared about her, and she knew he only wanted to keep her safe. Even if she didn't pay him an insane amount of money to do so, Carrie got the feeling he'd do it anyways. Reggie was a good egg.

So much so that she often brought him to events as arm candy, so people wouldn't pick up on her need for a bodyguard, and Reggie played the role happily. To the point where sometimes she questioned how fake it was.

But she couldn't think like that-Reggie was her friend, yes. But he was also her employee, and responsible for keeping her safe. No matter how well he filled out a suit or made her laugh, or understood why she still hadn't made a move to go find her seat.

Oh

Crap.

Carrie looked at Reggie, that same smile still on his face, the warm look in his eyes, and she knew-she was gonna have to hire a different bodyguard.

But maybe Reggie wouldn't mind an upgrade to being her for real boyfriend all that badly.

Turns out? He didn't mind at all.

[daintyduck99]

Silently slipping cold hands in the other's pockets/sweater for Alex&anyone because that hoodie is begging for it

Alex is no stranger to getting hugged from behind by his partners; he can typically tell who it is by their shape and touch alone.

The wiry body that snuggles into his and the hands that nimbly slip into Alex's hoodie pocket, hands that are freezing even through Alex's layers, are Reggie’s.

His arms, now neatly tucked under Alex's, are unusually bare, and Alex sighs softly, knowing that Reggie hears the little smile in it as Alex continues to cook breakfast.

“What happened to your flannel, hon?”

Reggie mumbles into Alex's hoodie, most likely blushing as he says, “Julie fell back asleep on the sofa, and she looked cold.”

Alex shakes his head, still smiling. That's just like Reggie: generous to a fault.

“So you came to leech heat from me instead of curling up with her? I know for a fact that we've got blankets in there.”

Reggie hums, snuggling deeper into Alex, which makes him nearly unintelligible.

“Gotta spread the love equally, ‘Lex.”

Luke chimes in, then, his footfall and voice still a bit rough and sleep-heavy.

“And Julie doesn't have bacon.”

“Okay,” Alex says through a huffy laugh as Luke piles on too, squishing Reggie between them and making mobility impossible, “I see how it is. But if you don't let go of me, there's a chance I'll burn it.”

They let go like they've been burned, and Alex bites down on his smile before it can become a full blown-grin as they shuffle over to the table. Alex would bet his drum kit that they squeeze into the same chair.

The flannel-covered arms that firmly wind around his waist minutes later are Julie's, and Alex lets her steal a piece of bacon, which immediately makes Luke whine.

“What?” she says teasingly, helping as Alex starts plating things. “I said please.”

Reggie “whispers,” “She definitely didn't.”

Bickering and laughter abound, and in the middle of it all, with the table mostly set, Alex pauses to remove his hoodie and deposit it in Reggie’s lap.

Reggie, just having moved to his own chair, looks up with wide eyes and a slow-spreading smile. “Thank you.”

Alex shrugs, smiling back, and takes the opportunity to ruffle his already-messy hair.

“Gotta spread the love, right?”

“Not like that!” Reggie protests, but it's with a giggle, and the foot that playfully pokes Alex's shin as he sits is definitely his.

[meggie-jolly]

For the ship kiss ask: Willex - 19

Thank you for your prompt, I'm sorry for taking so long, my week was pretty busy. Here is my take on the prompt, I hope you enjoy reading it:

A few months after their fateful Orpheum performance Julie and the Phantoms had scheduled their first actual paid gig. They were the main event, not opening for another band and it wasn't and open mic. They had actually been hired, not as a last minute desperate replacement, but deliberately. There were flyers and posters. It had been announced on the club's website and social media and of course Flynn had posted about it on their own social media multiple times as well. Not that Alex really understood all of that, he mostly didn't care and just nodded along enthusiastically whenever Flynn and Julie got excited about how many likes they got or who shared their posts in a story or something. 

It didn't matter, this was their first real gig as Julie and the Phantoms, it was starting in ten minutes and Alex was a mess. There hadn't been time for stage fright before their Orpheum performance with all the zapping and the being captured by Caleb and it felt like he was getting double the dose this time. Also, this time it wasn’t live or death, so to speak. Oddly, that made him even more nervous. 

Alex was pacing up and down the alley behind the club, unable to go back inside and wait in the green room with Julie, Luke and Reggie. He checked his watch anxiously, he would have to go in soon, if he wanted to go on stage with the others and not be pulled in by Julie's… whatever it was that made them appear when she sang. 

Maybe one mare round of pacing would calm him down. Or practicing the trick where he twirled his drumsticks in the air and caught them just in time for his solo. — Of course he dropped them and just as he was bending down to pick them up, he heard the distinct woosh of a ghost appearing. 

"Sorry, I'll be right in, give me just another min…" he mumbled, expecting it to be Luke or Reggie, but when he looked up, it was Willie. "Oh, it's you. I didn't know you would come."

Willie grinned at him in the calming way he did. "Of course I came. You invited me, didn't you. And I haven't gotten the chance to hear you play yet." 

Alex nervously pushed his hair back behind his ear. "Thank you, but maybe don't expect too much from me this time. I haven't been this nervous before a gig since the early 90s. Do you think it's possible of a ghost to get injured by their should bounded object? Because with my luck I'll manage to poke myself in the eye with a drumstick when attempting to throw them."

He was rambling, he knew that, but at least he wasn’t pacing. 

Willie softly put his hand on his shoulder. 

“You’ll be great. You guys are amazing and bursting with talent.” 

“You haven’t heard us play yet.” 

“You rocked the Orpheum, obviously your guys are good. And Caleb is a terrible person, but he knows his music and would never let anyone play at his club who wasn’t good.”

Alex couldn’t help but laugh at that. 

“Interesting point you make there.” 

He took a deep breath and focused on Willie’s hand on his shoulder. 

“Ok, I think I’m ready to go in. Thanks Willie.”

Willie smiled widely. “Anytime Hotdog. And just in case…,” he leaned forward to press a kiss to Alex lips.

“For luck,” he explained before poofing out and leaving Alex speechless and thoroughly distracted from his stage fright. 

You can find it on AO3.

[merihn]

kiss prompt for willex: "since you're already invading my space, why not escalate to kissing?" (or something like that) <3

Alex groans as his non corporeal form aches and throbs from the fall. Shouldn't one of the benefits of being a ghost be that you can't get hurt anymore?

Willie shifts on top of him, and looks down at him with a sheepish grin. "Oops."

"Oops." Alex says flatly. "Didn't we already do this? You think you would have learned by now."

Willie raises an eyebrow, attempting to look aggrieved, but the corner of his lips twitch with the beginning of a smile. "So this is my fault? Not yours for wandering blindly into my path? At the skate park?"

"Nope," Alex says, much more practiced at holding a stoic expression in the face of the ridiculous, a benefit of being friends with Luke and Reggie since they were kids.

Willie snorts and Alex almost breaks.

Alex feels the ghost of Luke possessing him, stifling a giggle at the utter absurdity of that thought, and lets the words spill out of his mouth anyway.

"Since you're already invading my space, you may as well kiss me." 

Willie, in the middle of levering himself off Alex's sprawled form, freezes. His thighs are spread over Alex's, the heat of him bleeding through their jeans.

A moment more, and Alex begins to shrink in on himself, wishing he'd just let Willie get up. Wishing he hadn't opened his stupid mouth.

He's never letting Luke's ghost possess him ever again.

Or something. 

He's never letting Luke's stupid, impulsive behavior infect him ever again. That's it.

Willie laughs, and reaches up to flip his hair to fall over one shoulder, revealing the taut line of his throat, the loose neck of his shirt slipping down his shoulder.

"Might as well invade your mouth while I'm here, huh?"

Alex groans and covers his face with his hands. "That was truly terrible. Offer rescinded."

The ends of Willie's hair tickle Alex's hands as the heat of him covers Alex again, until his shirt brushes Alex's chest. Willie pries his hands away from his face and presses them to the concrete on either side of Alex's head.

Alex can't help but look up at him, at his sparkling dark eyes, narrow with amusement. At the curtain of his hair, lit up by the setting sun behind it, turning it into threads of bronze. At the shape of his mouth as he licks his lips, betraying his nerves.

He tilts his chin up, reluctantly letting Luke's stupid, impulsive behavior influence him again. Willie's lips curl into his beautiful smile, and Alex's breath hitches.

It's simply unfair how beautiful Willie is.

Willie closes the distance between their mouths as if he's been switched to slow motion. Alex's whole body is buzzing with anticipation by the time their mouths meet, and he's ready to leap out of his skin. 

Willie's fingers tighten on his wrists, but the pain grounds him, the rough drag of the concrete settling him.

Willie drops soft, dry kisses to his lips, barely drawing back before pressing another to the corner of Alex's mouth, to his cupid's bow, to the dip below his lower lip.

Then he's back, sliding their mouths together properly; real, sweet, pressure. Alex's lips part on a gasp, and Willie teases the tender flesh just inside with his tongue.

"Willie…" Alex breathes, lips tingling now with the tickle of Willie's wicked tongue.

Willie seals their mouths together again, his tongue pressing insistently inside, deeper, winding teasingly around Alex's.

They kiss until they're breathless, Alex's wrists jerking under Willie's hold as he strives to touch.

"Not very good at defending against invading forces, are you, hotdog?" Willie murmurs, his hot breath setting Alex's lips to tingling again.

"You are truly the worst. Shut up." Alex pushes up and captures Willie's mouth again, muffling his giggles.

[comment-exchange]

313. An Afternoon in the Studio (Julie and the Phantoms)

Title: An Afternoon in the Studio

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41663583

Platform: AO3

Creator: MeggieJolly

Work Type: Fanfic

Fandom: Julie and the Phantoms

Rating: Gen

Pairing: Julie Molina/Luke Paterson

Word count: 669

Warnings: None

Number of comments: 1

Completion Status: complete

Short summary/description: Julie and Luke are hanging out in the studio, playing around with lyric ideas, talking and enjoying that they can touch.Quick, short Julie and the Phantoms ficlet that I wrote as exercise. Prompt: 'Playing with each other’s fingers’

[heademptynothoughts]

the willex reunion i desperately wish we would have gotten

special shout-out to @hummingbooks, i wasn’t sure if i was gonna post this but sharing it with you first gave me confidence <3

[jmrothwell]

Chaos prompts: 42 for Alex, Luke and Reggie?

42. Bad and naughty children get wrapped up in the blanket burrito for their crimes.

Alex took calming breaths. He always expected a little chaos when they decided to crash at the studio. Chaos was a given, an inescapable fact. It didn’t change how overwhelmingly loud it could get though. 

He wasn’t even sure what had triggered the current instance of chaos happening around him. He had allowed himself to be distracted long enough to microwave some bagel bites for dinner and he’d turned back around to find Luke and Reggie dashing around shouting nonsense. With a shake of his head he took his food to the couch. 

Now he found himself in the eye of the hurricane as Reggie had decided to use him as a shield. He didn’t even have time to object, or express concern for his food. Luke lunged, Reggie dodged his knee hitting the plate and Alex watched as his dinner fell to the floor.

Alex’s head fell into his hands, and he counted to five. The idiots kept running and shouting. His food was ruined, and they were still playing cat and mouse. With their next pass, he blindly grabbed and began to wrestle whoever he managed to catch to the ground. 

“Alex dude?” Luke shouted incredulously below him. RIght, what should he do now?

“Reg help me with that blanket, would you?” Alex grunted as he continued to wrestle Luke to the ground. Reggie’s confused pout was on full display but he attempted to hand Alex the blanket anyway. The pout quickly dissolved to a mischievous grin when Alex gestured his head to the ground by Luke.

“Wait, wha?” Luke managed, as he tried to fight Alex-and Reggie now that he’d spread the blanket on the ground-off of him.

“Naughty children get wrapped in the blanket burrito for their crimes.” Alex grit out. Reggie giggled as the two fought to wrap Luke in the blanket.

Luke feebly attempted to kick the two of them off. It was a losing battle when it was two to one. “Why am I getting burritoed? Reggie is the one who knocked your food down.”

“Hey.” Reggie released his grip in order to protest. Which gave Luke a window to kick the not quite tight enough blankets looser.

“Reggie!” Alex snapped and Reggie returned to the task of snugly rolling Luke in the blanket. Alex then chastised Luke, “You’re the ass who decided to chase him around the studio.”

Alex released a heavy sigh as he and Reggie finished wrapping Luke tightly in the blanket. Reggie was kneeling beside him grinning triumphantly through heaving breaths. That was until Alex turned a glare on the boy, “Right, about my bagel bites.”

“Oh shit.” Reggie’s face instantly fell and he tripped over the flannel tied to his waist as he tried to scurry away from Alex. 

“Serves you right, traitor.” Luke called from where he was, cheek pressed to the studio floor, desperately wriggling to get himself free. The screams of Reggie now being chased by Alex through the studio rang in his ears. “Fucking hypocrite.”

________

Chaos Writing Prompt

JATP Fanfic Masterlist

[erenthegreywolf]

When Luke Patterson wakes up, it's just another normal day. He starts his routine by taking a shower, getting dressed, and brushing his teeth. He goes into the kitchen to eat a bowl of cereal, and then he's off to the studio to workshop a new song he's got in his head. He just has one more block to go when it happens. He hears the loud blaring of a horn and turns just in time to see a bus coming straight for him. It's so sudden that Luke doesn't even register that when he startles awake and opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is his bedroom ceiling. He sits up quickly and that's when he fully realizes that he's back home, in his bed and in the same boxer shorts he woke up in that morning. At first, he's confused and a little taken aback by how real it all felt. But it must have just been a dream, he thinks and decides to just go through his morning routine. Shower, get dressed, brush teeth, eat cereal, and leave. On the way, Luke can't shake how real his dream felt. He stops at the street where he got hit and watches as a bus passes by. A shockingly similar bus to the one in his dream. "What the…" He says quietly to himself. Luke stands there watching it disappear down the road, wondering how a bus like the one that hit him in his dream could randomly be on the same street as well. He's pulled out of his thoughts by people pushing past him to cross the street, so he continues on his way to the studio. But he can't shake his dream and the sight of the bus. It has to be a coincidence... Right?

[forabeatofadrum]

Then maybe time would not erase me

Summary: Luke’s parents find the YouTube video of Julie performing with her band. Her band that includes their dead son.

Notes: I have had this fic in my drafts ever since I first finished the show (back when there was still hope for renewal, Netflix meet me at the parking lot) and I finally finished it. The idea has been stuck with me ever since my first watch.

Enjoy.

AO3

--

Mitch Patterson has never really gotten along with the new technologies. He isn’t as tech savvy as his neighbour Doug. Yet, Mitch knows that the internet is great for finding people.

Julie Molina’s name has never escaped his mind. That girl has done so much for them with one kind gesture. After she handed over the paper, she left and Mitch and Emily resigned themselves to maybe never seeing her again. Their paths have crossed and it has ended, but Emily desperately wants to find her again to thank her properly for what she’s done.

Doug gave Mitch the idea to just use Google.

Mitch types ‘Julie Monila’ in the search bar and he’s not surprised to find out that she has a band. After all, she’s told them that she writes music in the same place that Luke used to write music in. The link to a YouTube video with a couple of million hits catches Mitch’s attention.

He clicks on it. If Julie’s in the band, then that is how he and Emily can support her. He watches as Julie starts to sing and even though Mitch has never really gotten into music, he finds himself nodding along.

And then three boys seem to appear out of thin ice. And Mitch presses the space bar immediately.

That’s his son on guitar.

Mitch sits in silence for a few minutes. His son is in this YouTube video. It’s been 25 years, but that is definitely Luke. He forces himself to watch the video in full and by the end, he’s in tears. 

“Emily, come here!”

--

Google is Mitch’s new best friend. Not only has he found out that Julie and the Phantoms is a ‘hologram’ band, but he’s also found her address. That’s probably how she found his, so he doesn’t feel too bad about the breach of privacy.

He and Emily walk up the driveway, hand in hand. Emily is eerily silent and Mitch can’t blame her. There wasn’t much information about the three boys on the internet, but that guitarist is definitely Luke. Mitch and Emily also recognised the other band members. They’ve only seen the other two boys once, but they were too caught up in their grief to properly look at them. After all, they were called in to identify their dead son.

Mitch and Emily never spoke to their parents, since it became pretty clear that things weren’t perfect. The parents of one of the boys condemned him for living a sinful life and left without sparing their son another look. The other parents were too busy fighting to talk to Mitch and Emily.

They wonder how those parent would feel if they were in this situation. But what situation? How is Luke in the video? How does Julie really know him? 

Luke’s dead. There’s no denying. They buried him in 1995. 

Then why is he now on YouTube?

They ring the bell and a man with a kind face opens the door. “Hello?”

“Hi, we’re looking for Julie?” Mitch says. Emily is still unable to speak.

“And you are?” the man asks.

Emily and Mitch look at each other and Emily nods. Mitch turns back to the man and says: “We’re Luke’s parents.”

The man looks surprised and he shakes both their hands. “Oh, hello, I’m Julie’s father. Nice to meet another parent! Are you all the way from Sweden?”

“S-Sweden? No, we live in the suburbs of LA,” Mitch says, confused. This man knows of Luke, which confirms that the guitarist is Luke. Where does the Sweden come from?

“Huh. Is Luke in school in Sweden, then?”

The story becomes more and more complicated. Julie’s father obviously does not know that Luke is dead, so Mitch quickly plays along: “Oh yes, we’re originally from Sweden. Guten Tag.”

“Neat, I didn’t know they spoke German in Sweden. Let’s go to the garage. Julie’s in there.”

Julie’s father walks them to the garage and Emily shoots Mitch a look that says ‘what are you doing?’, so Mitch just gestures to her to let him handle it. 

Julie’s father knock on the garage door and then he opens it.

“Julie, there are some people for you. Luke’s parents are here.”

Mitch and Emily join them inside and Julie’s eyes widen when she sees them. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Patterson!” she exclaims.

Her father nods. “Yup. Did you know that they speak German in Sweden?”

“Do they?” Julie says with a high-pitched voice.

Julie’s father kisses her on the head and says: “Well, I’ll let you guys be. Your tia is once again coming over with food, so I’ll go back inside. I don’t trust Carlos to be the one to accept it.”

Julie’s father leaves and Emily gets straight to the point. “We saw Luke on YouTube. He’s singing with you.”

Julie looks like a deer caught in headlines. Mitch wanted to bring the news more gently and he wanted to emphasise on the fact that they’re still grateful, but he can’t blame his wife for wanting answers. Ever since they saw that video, their thoughts have been scattered.

Julie looks to the side and then nods.

“Julie, are you- are you talking to our son?” Mitch asks.

Julie looks to the side again and suddenly, they hear singing.

“Can you/Can you hear us?” an unfamiliar voice comes from out of nowhere. Mitch and Emily look around in shock.

“Loud and clear!” three voices yell.

“What- what was that?” Emily asks.

Julie nods and then says: “That was your son and his friends.”

Emily loses her balance and Julie and Mitch both rush to her to steady her. Mitch has trouble standing as well. “How?”

Julie shakes her head. “I have no clue. We have no clue, but your son and his friends- I can see them. I can hear them. They’re ghosts and only I can communicate with them. We think it’s because of our music.”

“Luke... he is here?” Emily reaches out in thin air.

Julie grabs some air before moving towards Emily. “He’s now holding your hand.”

Mitch puts his hand on Emily’s, but he can’t feel anything.

“He’s only corporeal to me. You won’t be able to feel him, but trust me. He’s here and- and he’s crying. He is happy to see you.”

Emily sobs and she tries to cup Luke’s face. Mitch grabs Luke’s arm. They both feel nothing, but Julie doesn’t correct them. They’re holding their son in the first time in 25 years.

“Can he- can he come back with us?” Mitch asks. Julie looks into space again, which probably means that she’s looking at Luke’s ghost. Mitch can’t fully wrap his head around it.

Julie shakes his head. “He’s dead. All three of them are dead. But he wants you to know that he’s been visiting you in the past few weeks. He’s only been a ghost for a short time.”

Emily sobs even harder. “How? Just... how?”

“Again, we have no idea. According to Luke, Reggie and Alex, they died and their ghosts floated out of the ambulance and then they got stuck in a dark room for an hour and then they arrived in my garage. Only they hadn’t been gone for an hour, but for 25 years.”

Julie looks into space again and she nods a couple of times. “Oh, you’re right, Reggie!”

Mitch wants to ask what is going on, but then he hears: “Can you/Can you hear us?” with that same unfamiliar voice.

“Yes, yes we can! Luke?” Emily cries out.

“Loud and clear!” three voices yell again, although the voice of one cracks. It’s Luke’s.

“We also don’t understand how and why, but the boys can be heard when they make music. If Luke sings, he might be able to talk to you,” Julie says.

Mitch and Emily thought that they had heard Luke sing Unsaid Emily when Julie gave them the piece of paper. They’d talked about that, but they both thought that it was because they wanted to hear their son, so it was in their heads.

But... he was there? 

Mitch asks Julie if Luke were with her that day and Julie nods. A tear rolls down her cheek. “Yeah. He rang the bell and he was next to me the entire time. And yes, he sang.”

Emily cries again and Mitch also lets out a sob.

Julie nods again. It’s weird to see a one-sided conversation. “We should leave you guys alone. If it’s not working, then Luke can come and get me. I’d be happy to act as some kind of medium, but I can imagine that you want some time alone.”

“... Thank you.”

“Let’s go, boys, let’s leave them to it.”

--

Mitch and Emily are staring into space, or so it seems. They can’t see it, but Luke is probably looking back at them. He’s probably still in front of them and Mitch desperately tries to tighten his grip, as if that’s suddenly going to make his son corporeal. 

“Luke?” he cries.

“Mom, oh mom, mom/I am glad you got to hear that song,” they hear.

Emily drops her hand. She looks around, trying to find the source of the voice, and her tears keep flowing down her face. Mitch wraps his arms around his wife.

“Dad, oh dad, dad/I hope you will no longer be sad.”

“I will always be sad, Luke,” Mitch says sadly, “But this has soften the hurt.”

“How?” Emily cries out again. It’s all she can say.

“Parents, I really do not know/But at least in a way, I now get to grow/Up.”

Mitch wipes away his tears, but it is no use. The tears keep coming. Luke is right, in a way. He died at seventeen and he looked like seventeen on that YouTube video. Mitch has no idea how ghosts work. In fact, he didn’t even fully believe in them until a few minutes ago. Still, he’s certain that Luke will forever be seventeen.

“You get to make music,” Emily says. It’s the first full sentence she’s said. She bursts into a fresh round of tears. “I am so sorry for our fight. I am so- so sorry!”

“I know, and so was I/But at least we now get by/You heard my song, Unsaid Emily/Now we can finally be free.”

Emily nods her head.

“I was gone for 25 years/To you, those were filled with tears/But please tell me more about that/They cannot be all bad.”

Emily is still a bit unable to speak, so Mitch tells Luke what’s happened in the past 25 years. Their shared life isn’t very exciting. The death of a child changes people. Some people completely reinvent themselves, but Mitch and Emily never did. They stayed in the same place for the past 25 years.

They were never able to move on.

Luke is right, though. It wasn’t all bad. But the death of their son was too apparent.

“I still don’t understand,” Emily interrupts Mitch while he’s talking about their trip to Italy of 2003. 

“Understand what?” Mitch asks.

“This!” Emily yells through her tears. She gestures towards seemingly the empty space in front of them. 

There’s silence. 

After a while, the garage door opens and Julie pokes her head inside. “Hi, Luke, you called?”

Silence. Well, there’s silence for Mitch and Emily. Julie seems to listen to Luke talk. She nods a couple of times.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“Do what?” Emily asks. 

“Luke asked me to explain what we know. It’s, uhm, less personal, so he’s fine with me being here,” Julie tells them, “Also, we don’t really understand it either, but you can ask Luke questions and I’ll tell you his answer.”

“Can you come back?” Emily immediately says. 

She sounds hysterical, but that’s understandable. Mitch is constantly on the verge of hysterics as well. He tries to be calm in order to ground her, but it’s getting more and more difficult.

Julie shakes her head. “He’s dead, ma’am. In fact, it looks like he’ll disappear forever one day.”

“What?” Mitch says loudly, losing his composure. They really just got their son back. Are they going to lose him again?

Julie messages her temples. “Yeah, okay Reggie, I will,” she mutters.

Mitch so desperately wishes he could hear the voices of his son and his friends. Listening to only Julie is confusing.

“It looks like the boys are stuck in the living realm, but as ghosts,” Julie tries to explain, “They have to find a way to ‘cross over’. It’s like those ghost movies where the ghosts need peace or something. They don’t know what waits ahead, but they haven’t gotten there yet. Reggie insists on me mentioning that Alex has a crush on the ghost who told them that.”

Silence, but Julie smirks towards the air.

Mitch waves to get her attention.

“Oh, sorry!” Julie says to him and Emily, “Alex is turning as red as a beet.”

“I- I remember Alex,” Emily chokes out, “And Reggie. By name. We didn’t meet them, because of the music thing, but I’m- I’m glad the three of them are together.”

Julie nods.

“Reggie says: ‘Best friends for the rest of their lives. Literally. And their deaths’. We’re pretty sure they’ll ascend together.”

“When will you… ascend?” Mitch manages to say.

He also doesn’t want to think about losing his son again, but he’s seen ghost movies. It brought him some comfort after Luke’s death, even though he never expected those stories to be real. But because of that, he knows that ascension or moving on is a good thing. The thought of not being able to talk to Luke anymore is devastating, but in the same vein, the thought of his son being completely happy and content with life makes his heart soar.

“They don’t know that either,” Julie says, “We were certain they’d move on after the concert, but we’ve been stuck on this issue ever since. Although it did make them corporeal to me.”

“That’s… enough,” Mitch eventually says, especially since he notices that Emily wants to ask something.

He knows his wife.

He knows she wants to ask Julie if Luke can become corporeal to them too, but Mitch already knows that the answer is no. It might be better to cut Emily off before she can get the answer she doesn’t really want to hear.

“That’s enough,” Mitch confirms, sounding more sure now, “Luke is here. It’s better than I could’ve ever hoped for.”

Emily still looks a bit conflicted, but then she nods.

Beggars can’t be choosers. The fact that they are able to talk to their deceased son through Julie is already a gift. First, Julie brings the song, then Julie brings Luke in the best of her ability.

Their moment is interrupted by Julie’s dad, who tells Julie that her aunt has arrived. He goes back to the main house when Julie asks him for a few more minutes.

“Luke would love to see you again,” she says and Emily breaks out in a new round of tears, but now they’re tears of happiness, or gratitude, or relief, or all three of them. Julie talks about how they can make this a regular occurrence and how she can also visit them at their home.

Emily and Mitch agree without a moment of hesitation.

“I mean, until he moves on of course,” Julie adds nervously.

But Mitch and Emily look at each other and they come to an easy understanding. It will definitely hurt when Luke finally crosses over or whatever ghosts do, but at least they are warned this time. And any second with him is worth it.

“Yes, yes, we’d love to,” Emily says.

Emily and Mitch say their goodbyes, but it isn’t heartbreaking, because they know they’ll be back and their son will be there waiting for them.

[onlygenxhere]

Sorry isn’t going to bring back the last slice of cheesecake. / Reggie/Carrie

“I’m so sorry darlin’.” Reggie looked down at the floor where Carrie had just dropped her desert plate. It had shattered into several big chunks ruining both the food and the plate.

“Sorry isn’t going to bring back the last slice of cheesecake.” She shook her head and kept her eyes down, getting stupidly emotional about fucking cheesecake.

“Hey,” Reggie stepped over the mess and wrapped her up in a hug which set off the tears she’d been trying to hold back. “It’s ok, sweetie. I’ll run out and get another as soon as I clean this up.”

She sniffed and pulled away wiping her face angrily.

She hated crying but she hated it pointed out even more. Reggie had picked up on that in their first six months of dating.

They’d been married two years now.

He usually knew exactly how to handle her.

But things were different now.

She barely knew how to handle herself.

“It’s fine. It can wait till tomorrow. I made the mess.” She looked up at him daring him to contradict her. “I should clean it up.”

“Carrie please,” he sighed. “Let me help.” He reached foreword and placed his hand on her very pregnant belly. “You’re already doing so much.”

She rolled her eyes. “All I’ve done is sit on my ever expanding ass all day with my feet up because my ankles have decided to compete with the size of my calves.”

“That’s not true,” he shook his head and grinned taking a step toward her and sliding his arms around her back. “You spent the day making a human… probably grew a pancreas today.” 

She rolled her eyes but it was getting harder to keep the smile off her face now. He always had this effect on her. It was why she’d married him.

Reggie took another step and they were as close as they could be with their baby growing in her belly between them. He slid his hands down to her butt and gave it a squeeze and she giggled when he winked at her. “You need to stop being so mean to my wife lady. She’s the love of my life.”

“You’re ridiculous,” she laughed.

He shook his head and grinned, “And I think my wife is still the sexiest woman in the world even if you think her ankles and butt are too big.” He leaned in and gave her a soft peck on the lips.

He started to pull away and she pulled him back in wrapping her arms around his neck and sliding her hands up into his hair deepening the kiss.

Reggie smiled against her lips as they finally separated. “Why don’t you go get comfortable again and I’ll bring you that cheesecake in bed.”

“Ok fine.” She kissed his cheek and took a step back. “You’re the best.”

He shook his head as he bent down to clean up the mess on the floor. “Go get in the bed wife so I can go get your cheesecake.”

“I’m going, I’m going.” She turned carefully making sure not to bump into the counter. That had been happening more and more lately and she still had three weeks left of this.

She hated all this sitting around and waiting and all these cravings for sweets. This kid definitely had Reggie’s appetite. “Oh and can you bring me some chocolate milk too?”

“Sure thing darlin’.” He dropped all the mess in the trashcan and then grabbed a sponge to finish wiping up the floor.

“I love you Reggie Wilson.” She called back at him as she waddled down the hall.

She heard him running up behind her before she could even turn around. He kissed her quickly on the cheek. “And I love you Carrie Wilson.” And then he was gone back down the hall and she heard the front door open and close before she was even through their bedroom door.

Carrie sighed as she finally sat down on the bed scooting herself back till her feet were up and she was as comfortable as she was going to get.

“You are going to be one lucky little girl with a daddy like that.” She said patting her belly and closing her eyes. She’d just take a little nap till he got back. Reggie wasn’t wrong.

It was hard work making a human.

[daintyduck99]

You like me because I'm a scoundrel for the Reggie pairing of your choice because I honestly couldn't choose between Sweet Tarts and Rulie.

Also tagging @jmrothwell, who requested this prompt for Sweet Tarts!

He isn't nearly as subtle as he thinks he is.

Carrie bites down on a smile. She continues to ice her latest batch of cookies without even glancing over her shoulder.

“Put it back.”

The rustling stops. She huffs a laugh.

“Scoundrel.”

Reggie wraps his arms around her waist. He presses a kiss to the nape of her neck.

“You like me because I'm a scoundrel.”

She hums. “True, but I doubt that line will work on Julie when we show up at her party with only half our share of cookies.”

He smears his pout into the crook of her neck, mumbling, “I'd help you make more.”

Carrie shivers. She dabs a little bit of icing on his nose in retaliation. “Liar. Scoundrel.”

He laughs a little, releasing her, presumably to rub the icing off of his face.

A gentle tug tells her that he's playing with the hair that's escaped from her bun.

“You say the sweetest things, blossom.”

She shrugs. “I do when you deserve it.”

He drops to his knees, hugging her legs.

“Dearest, you wound me—”

She picks the least perfect cookie of all those that she's just iced and holds it out.

Reggie’s up in an instant. He kisses her cheek, plucking the cookie from her hand.

“You're welcome,” she says. “Now shoo.”

He hums. “I guess I can make myself scarce. But if you need anything—”

“I'll let you lick the icing bowl, don't worry.”

“Yes!” he cheers. “You know me so well.”

Carrie shakes her head as she laughs.

“Of course I do. Scoundrel fiance of mine.”

And she'll admit it. She isn't subtle, either.

In the end, as usual, she makes extras.

[lauradwrites]

Oh my goodness. Just got another fic idea. Along the same lines/theme of my WIP...

Damn it, now I gotta write this one, too!

Never gonna be done writing!!!

[meggie-jolly]

Another quick fillet based on a prompt from this list, but this time it's Julie and the Phantoms.

Trigger warning for slight mentions of blood.

Playing with each other's fingers - Julie Molina/Luke Patterson

It had been a few weeks, but they were still in awe that they could actually touch Julie now. It was as if the three boys constantly had to touch Julie in small ways, just to make sure they still could, but Julie and Luke touched the most. 

Right now for example, they were hanging out in the studio, sprawled on the couch, half on top of each other and lazily tossing random lyric and melody ideas back and forth. They weren’t actually writing, the notebook was laying abandoned on the couch table, where they could reach it if they came up with something really promising, but there was no expectation or pressure behind what they were doing. 

Julie was playing out the bit of melody she was humming on an imaginary piano in front of her when Luke caught her hand. “I love watching you play. The way your fingers dance across the keys so elegantly.” 

Julie blushed and watched him play with her fingers, the contrast between their hands evident like this. Her hand was smaller, his was paler. Her fingers were soft and smooth while his fingertips had the typical calluses of a guitar player. She shivered slightly when he softly brushed along the inside of her wrist with one of his calloused fingers. 

“I love watching you play too, I can just imagine how you used to play until your fingers were bloody before you developed the calluses. I can practically see the bandaids.” 

Luke laughed softly. “They never lasted long. I couldn’t practice well with bandaids on my fingers, so I always took them off too soon. It drove my mom mad when I left bloody fingerprints anywhere.” 

Julie ran her finger soothingly over one of the calluses as if to take away the pain from 30 years ago. 

“Bobby, Reggie and I used to compare our fingers every morning at school while Alex complained about blisters and splinters from his drumsticks, but all of us just wanted to brag, to be honest.” 

Julie smiled softly and interlocked their fingers. She could imagine the four of them in the hallway between classes or sneaking into the music room to practice. Her image of Bobby was vague, because she still couldn’t match up Trevor Wilson with the fourth boy from the Sunset Curve album cover, but Alex, Reggie and Luke were clear as day. 

“Do you miss that? Going to high school, hanging out with your friends, being seen by everyone, not having to worry about evil ghost club owners?”

Luke shrugged. “I don’t have to miss hanging out with my friends, I get to hang out with Alex and Reggie more now. I was never really a fan of school anyway, sure I miss food and I miss my parents when they weren’t judging my life choices, but I still get to make music and I got to meet you.” He gave her his big, patented Luke smile that released a hoard of butterflies in her stomach, “That’s more than worth worrying about Caleb.” 

Julie smiled back just as widely and leaned further into his side. Luke put his free arm around her while his other hand was still interlocked with hers, softly stroking her fingers. 

That’s how they stayed until Alex came back from an afternoon with Willie, smiling from ear to ear and sitting down in front of the couch, leaning against Julie’s and Luke’s legs. Then Reggie poofed in, telling them how he had gone with Ray to Carlos’ baseball game and how he had tied together the shoelaces of some kid who had mocked Carlos for a throw that hadn’t gone very far. He plopped down on Luke’s other side and laid his head on Luke’s lap, grinning up at Julie, who smiled back and then leaned her head against Luke, softly nudged Alex with her foot and started playing with Reggie’s hair. She was so glad to have met them and was incredibly happy that they were still here. 

@creativepromptfills

[missjoolee]

20 questions writer meme!

Tagged by @onlygenxhere, Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 15 (I keep meaning to move tumblr fic over though)

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 62,690

3. What fandoms do you write for? Julie and the Phantoms like half Nancy Drew CW (it was a crossover)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A JatP Untitled Goose Fic 🦢⚠

I Hit Back a Little Louder

Oh My God, They Were Gymmates

A Kitty on My Foot and I Want to Touch It

Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy-Up

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Ehhhhhh unreliably. I want to but get anxiety. I've been working on it and have done a lot better on more recent fic than older ones.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Me? Angst? Psh. girl please. i only tease the angst at friends via ps i love you au (😘) but like. maybe ch 2 of Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy-Up or i've had some semi angst adjacent drabbles on tumblr. I guess. I'm not about that life.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most are fairly open-ended but headed towards HEA. But i feel like maybe Live It Like It's Meow or Never because Reggie gets to be a cat and take a nap in the sun!

8. Do you get hate on fics? Nope.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do not. I'm just starting to get comfortable writing slightly heated kissing 😅 (comfortable she says! HA! she had a mini panic attack writing the kiss in Justice, Over Easy)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Remember that half Nancy Drew CW fandom i mentioned earlier? I did a JATPxND ficlet that went over surprisingly well.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? nope

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? nope. i currently have a hard enough time writing with myself lol

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? i'm assuming this means to write since it's a writers ask game. Juke, but if i bring alex into it much, willie is bound to follow (him anywhere)

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I had a really intense juke dream about a month ago... 2 months ago. that i started writing a scene from because honestly it was a pretty cool premise. but the further i get away from that night, the more other wips are being prioritized. maybe i will just share the morning text ramble of it i did in the group chat because i really do want to share something. I just don't think it will be a written out ficlet.

16. What are your writing strengths? IDEAS. I can see a thing happen and be like "BUT WHAT IF JUKE" for days on end. in apparently very strange places too. I feel like i have rather unusual premise for what i end up writing sometimes.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? despite knowing what a good narrative can look like, i immediately cannot recall it once writing. It's not like it's bad but i feel like it lacks a bit and reflects my short time since starting to write. Also, if i write it the simple dumb way to get it out of my brain. Chances are, it will take me 4 months to go from reading it and saying "well i wrote the thought out. it's there. it's done" unable to write it any different or better, to my editor brain kicking in and figuring out how to really say it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Um. If it's necessary within the realms of the plot and characters it's fine? I'm not multilingual so anything i did would be google translated or asking a friend that speaks it, so i don't really mess around with it. as a reader, if a fic on ao3 says it's in english, i normally don't want half a chapter to be in another language even if it is a native tongue to multiple characters since I don't know what they are saying without using a translator or scrolling to the bottom a/n so /shrug. take that as you will.

19. First fandom you wrote for? jatp. no other fandom i've been a part of has made me go quite this feral.

20. Favorite fic you've written? Picking a favorite is impossible. But I'd say i'm probably currently most proud of Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy Up as it was the first (and only) chaptered fic that i've finished and i challenged myself with each chapter. But honestly, i add new elements to each fic i post, whether its learning new html, learning how skins work on ao3, making a gif/picture to go with it, or just challenging myself within the writing like getting more confident with intimacy.

I think I'm supposed to tag people so, @tangledstarlight @story-courty @writerownstory no pressure though!

[quickspinner]

Weekly Lukanette Link Roundup

What is the Weekly Roundup? | Previous Weekly Roundups

Note: I’ve mentioned this a couple of times on my blog but just to reiterate it one more time, Tumblr has changed up some things in the tag search on mobile, which is primarily how I find fics for this roundup, and I’m afraid of missing stuff. If you are left off, I promise it’s not because I hate you or your work, I just didn’t see it or I messed up when putting the list together (I have been known to forget my own fics from time to time). If you want to be on the roundup, I want you on it. Please feel free to DM me or put a link in my ask box if you want to be sure I haven’t missed your work. If you have a question about what qualifies, check out the ‘for creators’ section on the ‘what is the weekly roundup’ link above.

From me: Live With It Part 2 (Complete)

From @airi-p4: JATP AU: Everlasting musical connection Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Epilogue (complete! Congrats on finishing!)

From @alwaysawkwardd: Broken Melody Ch 20

From @ladylookslikeadude1: Ficlet part 1 | Ficlet part 2

If I missed something that should be included, reblog, reply, DM, or drop the link in my asks and I’ll make sure it goes on next week’s roundup! If you prefer not to be included in these roundups for any reason please drop me a message, or if you post something that you would like to be sure I include, please drop a link in my asks and I’ll make sure it gets listed (Lukanette endgame only please - see what is the weekly roundup for more details). If you want to be sure I’ve flagged your work for inclusion you can check the quickroundup tag on my blog to see what I’ve got in the queue for this week.

If you find something you like please like/reblog the original post to let the author know you enjoyed their work!