#she and Flynn bet on if the boys were dating

[that1fangirrl]

Dancer!Reader Gets Hurt

CW:kinda angsty, some swearing, blind joke, she/her pronouns, kinda scary(idk tbh)

A/N: You guys voted, so here I am delivering. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I feel like Jane Villanueva when I write lol. K bye<3

When you and Matt first met, he made it his mission to protect you at all cost. Whether that be from creepy strangers, the frat boys on campus, or the scary mean girls in your dance class. You had told Matt many horror stories about the “bitches” in your class. They hated you since day one. Something about you being Miss Flynn’s favorite student even though you joined the class later than everyone else. And being the sweet boyfriend he is, he agreed with you. 

During a particular week, Miss Flynn had called out sick with the flu, but encouraged the class to continue using the studio as needed.

You guys were gearing up for a new spring showcase coming up in the next few weeks. You were especially ecstatic about your small classical part in the show. It would be your first time dancing solo. And hopefully the requitors in the audience would ask you to come and dance with them once you graduated. All nerves were out in the open. Most of the girls were super proud of you, knowing it’s a tough position to be in, but knew you could handle it and were definitely gonna kill it. 

Sydney and Madison thought it was stupid. “That bitch came here in sophomore year and thinks she can just kiss ass to the top. I bet she’s sleeping with the choreographer or something.” It was laughable how the two older girls always thought you had to be sleeping with somebody in the arts department to get your solo. Especially because everyone knew you were so obviously dating the sweet blind law student who always sat in the corner of the studio waiting to walk you back to your dorm.

“Yeah. She’s probably cheating on that blind guy. He wouldn’t even be able to see it coming. Poor guy, he’d be better off with someone like me.” Little did they know, Matt was extremely aware of their weird feelings. The two of them would constantly ask him random questions and be in his personal space. As if you weren't a few feet away, practicing with Miss Flynn in the same room. He always chose to just brush them off and go back to whatever it was he was doing before. 

Today was no different. Matt knew your nerves were off the charts, so he volunteered to stay with you the next few days while you practiced extra hours. Unfortunately today, he had been forced to help Foggy study for their upcoming test that was stressing him to hair loss. He sent you a sweet “Sorry about tonight, again. I promise to make it up to you as soon as I can, Rosie. ‘Sad face emoji’ ‘heart emoji’” He was so darn adorable. How could you be mad at him when he acts so sweet? 

Practice went great tonight. You had been there for almost 2 hours working with some of the other girls, too. When it was time to go, you decided to hit up the locker rooms to freshen up before going to your dorm. Thankfully, the room was still clean and empty.

The cool water on your muscles felt like absolute heaven on Earth. Your hands gilded across your body slowly and thoughtfully, massaging every area that had been giving you trouble. Once you were done, you wrapped a towel around yourself and walked back to the locker area. The sound of the door opening and closing took you out of your short daze. “Hello?” You craned your neck around the corner when there was no response. You continued drying off and clothing yourself; taking a seat on the bench. Another loud noise echoed off the walls. This time, you stood up grabbing your things and shoving them in your bag as quickly as possible. Trying your best to be quiet, you headed for the door.

Going down each aisle of lockers, no one was seen. You continued closer to the door, grabbing your phone and earbuds as you reached it. Putting one in and dialing your boyfriend’s number, you stayed cautious. Matt had finally picked up the phone with a cheerful “hello.” “Hey Matty. I’m on my way to your dorm. I think someone’s following me.” He perked up on the other side of the phone, immediately hushing a confused Foggy. “Are you okay? Where are you? I’ll meet you there.” You shook your head, walking down the long hallway. “Um. Arts building by the new locker rooms. The ones on the higher floors.”

You took a quick breath before turning around. Nothing. “I’m really scared, Matty. It’s so fucking dark and quiet over here. I heard someone come into the room, but I couldn’t see anyone.” Matt starts haphazardly putting his shoes on, nerves spiking with yours. “Okay. I’m on my way. Just stay on the phone okay. Foggy and I are coming to get you.”

Another loud bang had you quickening your pace. You started to speed up closer to the stairs, holding your phone and bag close to your body. “Okay. Just hurry cause I think they- ahhhh.” “Y/n. Hello? Y/n”

A/N: Did I spook you guys? Are you guys mad at the cliffhanger? Are you biting your nails off? Well don't! Cause I did write a part 2 that you will be getting soon. hehehehe I deadass was writing this shit like I was A from Pretty Little Liars. Like I literally was giggling my ass off so hard. But I was also low-key scared cause I always put myself in my reader's shoes in my mind(if that makes sense), so I literally was paranoid as hell. Anyways, tell me your guys' thoughts. I hope you liked it

[between-two-fandoms]

Hey! I wanted to ask you a fic Reggie x Luke x Alex (not love but with Ruke implied maybe) where the guys are arguing and Reggie feels bad because you know.. the whole family thing. And they feel bad because when they approach him he gasps. I don't know if you feel comfortable writing it but if so thank you 💞

Thanks so much for this request! The guys are so much fun to write, I did add Julie to this though, I hope that was okay. The fic is under the cut, it got too long otherwise, lmao. :D

Enjoy!

~R

Summary: Caught in the middle of a fight between Alex and Luke, Reggie tries to control his emotions, but he’s quickly reminded of the times when his parents fought.

It was like the guys thought Reggie was dumb, or something… which he knew was further from the truth. But lately… There was this tension in the air during their practices recently, like someone pulled a string connecting his friends and it was pulled as taught as possible. The whole week Alex and Luke had been fighting about something, and their argument had finally hit it’s boiling point. Reggie could only smile apologetically at Julie, who sat at the piano with a confused expression on her face. “Look Alex, all I’m saying is if you played the rhythm differently it’ll make the song sound a million times better!” Luke exclaimed when they stopped the song halfway through for the hundredth time. Alex’s face went red with anger, and Reggie sighed. Sliding his bass off his shoulder he rested it on the stand as he prepared to be the mediator between his two friends for the millionth time. They tried to keep the fighting for when he wasn’t in the room, but Reggie could always tell when people were angry. When he was younger he convinced himself it was a superpower, but it was just a side effect from being cast aside as a kid by his parents when they fought. He was only able to watch helplessly as Alex stuck his tongue out at Luke and shouted,

“Maybe you should try to learn how to play the drums then! See how quickly that ends!” Reggie winced at the loud volume. They weren’t just fighting about music now, something bigger was at hand here… and it wasn’t exactly something Luke was ready to talk to Julie about yet. Reggie poofed across the room to sit next to Julie just as Luke angrily threw something at Alex’s kit. Alex rolled his eyes,

“Oh real mature Luke!” Alex retorted as Luke stared playing his music at one of the loudest volume options. Julie winced at the volume, and Reggie couldn’t help but tense at how angry everyone suddenly got. Everything was just so fucking loud, he couldn’t even focus enough to poof out of the garage. Turning to Julie Reggie admitted,

“You should probably go.” Luke and Alex switched from attempting to out-play each other and reverted back to yelling again. Julie shot a concerned look at Luke, whose face was quickly becoming a deep shade of red.

“Are you sure? Maybe I can help,” Julie offered, god bless her soul. None of them deserved her and they all knew it. She was their saving grace, and she’d do anything for them just as they’d do anything for her. Reggie knew Luke wasn’t out to her yet though, to be honest, he wasn’t out to her yet either. If Luke and Alex were fighting about their past relationship she shouldn’t have to find out about the three of them like this. Shaking his head he said,

“We love you Jules, you know that… this is just…” Reggie trailed off, and the two of them ducked to dodge a binder Alex threw across the studio.

“Personal?” Julie guessed as she and Reggie looked back in time to see Alex walk out from behind his drums, pushing at Luke’s chest. Reggie nodded and she sighed, “alright just…” Julie hesitated then put a hand on Reggie’s shoulder, “just let me know if you need anything alright? I know you told me your parents used to fight…” Reggie gave her a small smile then returned her hug, squeezing her waist. “Everything’s going to be okay, yeah?” Julie asked with a shaky laugh, Reggie nodded, unable to bring himself to say anything. With one last concerned look to Luke Julie backed out of the garage, closing the doors behind her. Reggie inhaled, then realized his right hand was starting to shake, a tell tale sign he was about to have a panic attack.

“Fuck,” Reggie said as his stomach twisted. He knocked himself off the piano bench, landing on the floor with a thunk. “Guys!” Reggie called out, trying to get them to stop fighting. He knew they didn’t hate each other, they would never be able to no matter what they said or how hard they tried. He pawed at Alex’s shirt, which was suddenly closer than Reggie remembered it being. Alex shoved Reggie off though, and he found himself back on the floor, stuck between his family arguing with each other just like his parents used to. He fell back on his old plan for survival when he got caught up in an argument, he tried to run. He regretted sending Julie away, she’d probably do a better job of calming Luke down than he did. Reggie took a shaky breath then curled his right hand into a fist, balling his hand usually helped lessen it’s already very shaky shaky-ness. 

“Why the fuck do you care if I still hang out with Willie?” Alex yelled over Luke’s voice. Reggie watched from the ground as Luke ran a hand through his now very sweaty hair.

“Because he doesn’t deserve you!” Luke roared back, and Reggie curled his legs into his chest,   his pooling tears started to fall down his cheeks. It was just one fight, it wasn't the end of the world. It wasn’t the end of the band, they wouldn’t break up the band over Luke being a petty ex would they? Reggie tried to pull himself to his feet, in a sad attempt at getting between his friends. Alex cackled,

“Oh and you do? What, am I supposed to wait and be your rebound while you’re busy trying to get with Julie?! How do you think Reggie feels huh? You casted us aside the second someone better comes along! Does she even know you’re bisexual yet?!” Luke roared in anger as he pulled back his fist and swung it low. Reggie collapsed as he sprawled across the floor taking the hit meant for Alex, he could feel a bruise starting to form on his cheek.

“Oh shit,” Luke swore as he saw Reggie hit the ground. And just like that the two composed themselves, the tension disappearing. Maybe Reggie should get punched more often… Luke tried to check Reggie’s cheek, but he winced away from his touch. A look of hurt crossed Luke’s face but Reggie didn’t focus on it for too long. “Reg, I’m so sorry,” Luke said as an apology. Alex shoved Luke aside and Reggie let him get close enough to determine he was just bruised, and not concussed. Luke scooted so he was closer to Reggie, and pulled his legs into a criss-crossed position. Their knees were just barely touching. Alex fell to the floor in front of them and exchanged a look with Luke.

“Reggie,” Alex said slowly, like he was afraid of him. “We’re -” Reggie cut them off with a huff,

“ - save it.” He sniffled and wiped the tears falling down his uninjured cheek. “I know…” He took a shaky breath, “I know you guys aren’t angry at me, and I know you aren’t really angry at each other either…” Reggie trailed off and let Luke slowly wrap his arm around Reggie’s shoulders. “I guess it just reminded me of my parents.” Alex fell forward and hugged them both,

“I’m so, so sorry.” He said through his own tears. Luke nodded,

“Me too Reg. We never should have let it get that far. I just… I can’t believe how much the world has changed since we’ve lived in it… how much we’ve changed. You know we love you right?” Luke asked, concern laced in his voice. Reggie nodded as he choked back another round of tears,

“I know, hard to forget if you remind me whenever we see each other.” Alex let out a soft laugh, then ran his hands through Reggie’s hair. Reggie relaxed at the touch and leaned into Luke’s chest, Alex sitting across from them. “We really should probably tell Julie…” Reggie said as he let Luke pull him closer. He closed his eyes as he let Luke run his guitar-calloused fingers through Reggie’s hair. Alex nodded, pressing a soft kiss at the top of Reggie’s head. Reggie hummed appreciatively then pulled him in for a longer, more passionate kiss. When he was done with Alex, he turned around and did Luke the same favor.

“Next time we see her we will,” Luke promised. Just as he said it though, the doors of the garage opened to reveal a very concerned Julie Molina.

“Is everything okay?” Julie asked, walking into the studio without asking for permission. “Did you guys figure it out? Oh my god Reggie! What happened to your face? Do you want ice? Do ghosts even need ice? What about painkillers? I’m pretty sure we still have some Motrin from a few weeks ago when Carlos twisted his ankle.” Reggie glanced at Alex for help. The drummer held up both of his hands to get Julie to stop talking.

“Hold on, too many questions at once. First, Luke punched him… by accident. We were both being petty bitches and needed to get over ourselves. We’re sorry you had to see that.” Luke protested,

“Excuse you Alexander,” he said dropping Alex’s full name. “I am not a petty bitch.” Reggie whacked the back of his head and Luke winced in pain. With a grin Reggie said,

“Yes you are.” He turned to Julie, who at this point, had joined them all on the floor in the middle of the studio. She cupped his cheek, trying to determine if he was okay. Julie frowned when she saw the size of the bruise forming. Reggie stopped her before she could turn to Luke and slap him across the face.

“Hey, I’m fine! Jules, it’s all good, I promise!” Reggie said as Alex caught her arm. Julie seemed to realize he was telling the truth, then she put her arm down.

“What were you guys going to tell me?” Julie asked, curiosity in her voice. Luke hesitated before reaching out for Reggie’s hand, interlocking their fingers. Julie’s right eyebrow rose comically high, and if he wasn’t so stressed Reggie would’ve laughed. Alex cleared his throat and let the pin drop. 

“Julie,” Alex said in a way that told Julie he wasn’t joking, “we’re all together.” Julie’s eyes widened,

“Oh… oh… you know, that actually makes a lot of sense.” To their surprise she punched her fist in the air in victory, “Flynn owes me twenty bucks!” She exclaimed.

“Hold on, you bet on us dating each other?” Reggie asked, honestly surprised. Julie nodded as a grin stretched across her face.

“Of course we did. Anyone with half a brain cell can see how good you three are to each other. Wait, what was that whole Willie thing then?” She asked, the question heavy in the air. Luke spoke up,

“So you aren't…” he hesitated and ran a hand through his hair, obviously hesitant. “You’re not angry at us for keeping it a secret?” Luke asked quietly. Julie gave them all an understanding smile,

“Guys, I don’t know how you haven’t figured it out yet. Flynn and I are dating.” Reggie’s jaw dropped to the floor,

“You’re both what?” He asked, about to ask a million more questions. Julie held up a finger to stop him,

“Let’s get at least one thing straight here alright?” She asked, and suddenly Reggie wanted to hide behind Luke. “If one of you hurts each other in any possible way, I will find out, and I will find a way to kill myself a ghost, is that understood?” Reggie, Alex, and Luke all frantically nodded their heads.

“Yeah Jules, we’d never think about hurting each other!” Reggie exclaimed as Julie launched herself at them. Reggie let out a squawk of surprise as Luke and Alex dog-piled on top of them in fits of laughter.

[websterss]

ALL IN MY HEAD — LUKE PATTERSON

SUMMARY: After your power starts getting out of control, Luke does everything he can to make sure you’re alright, but things don’t go as planned.

WARNING(S): Angst, mentions of getting shot, bleeding out, fluff

WORD COUNT: 6,080

PAIRING: Mutant!Luke Patterson x Muntant!fem!Reader

A/N: Hope you enjoy it! ♡ Feedback is always welcomed!

MASTERLIST

You could no longer keep track of how long you had been pacing amongst the lounge area where you and your fellow classmates were gathered. The constant worry of not knowing where your three friends were. Your fingernails were just about nonexistent the more you bit them. 

“How long till she stops pacing?” Carrie whispered to Julie. 

“My guess, never.” Julie’s eyes swiftly followed your movements. 

“They should be back by now.” You coiled a loose string from your t-shirt around your finger, unraveled it, then did it again. “Why aren’t they back yet?” 

“They’re boys, with the ability to travel certain distances. Did you really expect them to stay put behind the gates of this school?” 

“No, but with Stryker out there I would’ve expected them to be less reckless.” You peaked out the window, moving the curtain out of the way with a brush of your fingers. “Mostly Alex with his anxiety. Alex would have never agreed to leave. My best bet…Luke did it! He’s always looking for trouble. No doubt he dragged Reggie along with him too. God knows what they’re doing? Why can’t they listen? I mean we’ve told them numerous amounts of times that it’s not safe to go out in public. Especially alone. I mean are they even up to date with the news. Hello people! They still fear us. I cannot believe they left. How they managed to do it without me knowing, who knows? I mean it’s crazy enough that-” Everyone around you drowned out your voice as you rambled on. 

“I can easily put her to sleep in an instant, just say the word.” Carrie’s fingers sparked with a zap. A hinted grin plastered on her face. Charles shook his head at her. 

“No it’s best we refrain from knocking her unconscious and putting her to sleep while she’s under stress, Miss Wilson.” Charles gave her a pointed look. “We wouldn’t want another incident like the last time to happen.” 

“You know she didn’t mean it.” Julie pushed away Carrie’s hand. “Flynn’s fine.” 

“I know, but we can never be too careful.” Carrie eyed you as electricity moved between each of her fingers. 

- 

“Tell me why were not safely behind the gates of the school and instead looking for a stupid necklace, again?” Alex’s eyes darted around the roof. His fingers fiddled with his oversized sweater that fell past his hands. 

“It’s not stupid, Alex, we’re looking for Y/n’s necklace.” Luke moved around some rocks. His face scrunched in concentration as he knelt down. “She lost it here a few weeks ago. We had to leave in a hurry though and it must’ve fallen off. I came back a few times, but I wasn’t able to find it then, plus she hasn’t been able to sleep without it. Now shut up and look.” Luke met Alex’s eyes. “I just want to make it easier for her again, okay.” Luke sighed as Alex continued to stare at him. 

“By risking your life?” Alex looked at him bewildered. His hands waving around him crazily. “The risk of being seen has increased, people still fear of us, and not to mention some scary soldier guy is out to get us all. Come on Luke, can’t Y/n just- by a new one.” Alex suggested with a hesitant grin. 

“Geeze you sound like Carrie.” Reggie eyed him. 

“Alex, she made Flynn’s worst fear come true.” Luke’s voice was low and steady.

“Isn’t she scared of drowning?” Reggie tilted his head. 

“Yeah and while Y/n was asleep, she flooded Flynn’s entire room with water that came out of nowhere!” Luke exclaimed. “Remember? Professor X had Jean and Julie help us remove the water. The hallways were wet for days.” 

“I thought there was a pipe burst?” Reggie looked confused. There were now two sides of a story he didn’t know which one to believe. ”I’m so confused…”

“That seems like a long time though…” Alex stuffed his hand into his pockets. “We haven’t had a mishap since, and Y/n’s only done it once. Who’s to say it’ll even happen again?” Alex pointed out. 

“That was three weeks ago, Alex.” Luke frowned. “Professor X said she’s getting worse, and if it comes to it. She could possibly set off her own fear. That’s why I have to find that necklace!” Luke turned around and knelt down again. 

“We’ll help.” 

“Yeah.” Alex nodded, going off to one side to begin looking.

“You guys didn’t need to come, ya know. I would’ve been fine on my own. No need for you two to risk your own lives.” Luke gestured to them as they searched. 

“You’d think we’d let you leave by yourself, hilarious.” Alex mocked with a laugh. His hands getting dirty due to the dirt on the ground. 

“Yeah, nothing like the three amigos, working together.” Reggie jokes. 

“She just had to lose it on a rooftop…covered with rocks.” Alex placed his hands on his hips. They had barely covered half the area. From the wind rustling through their hair, to the busy streets below them. It almost felt too normal. Too calm as three mutants walked around on a rooftop. They hadn’t been disturbed.

“Guys is it just me or are you getting an off feeli-“ 

“Hey I think I found it!” Reggie exclaimed as he ran over to Luke. Luke’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he carefully grabbed the gold chain from Reggie’s palm. It was in fact your necklace. The star shaped pendant was a bit dirty, but nothing seemed to be missing or broken. 

“Atta boy Reg!” Luke slapped the side of Reggie’s shoulder. “Y/n is gonna be so happy to have this back!” 

“Great can we go now?” Alex wrapped his arms around himself, feeling the effects of the cold night. He kept looking around, something felt off to him.

“Yeah we should head back before everyone starts worrying.” Reggie agreed.

“No need to worry guys, Y/n and Professor X will be happy as long as we get back in one pi-“ Luke choked up as he felt something pierce through him. Two bullets going through his shoulder and abdomen. He glanced down at his shirt that was now bleeding through. Luke looked up at Alex and Reggie who looked at him with wide eyes. Alex stumbled back as a bullet lodged itself into his shoulder blade.

“A-Alex…” Luke’s voice trembled as he lost his balance. Alex rushed to catch him before he could hit the ground.

“We got you!” Alex held the boy tightly.

“Y-Y/n-“ Luke sputtered out blood from his mouth. “S-She’s-”

“D-Don’t talk okay we’re heading home- Reggie now!” Alex groaned, clutching his shoulder as he heard another shot go off. Reggie closed his eyes, quickly wrapping his arms around his two friends and teleported them back to the school.

-

“Where could they be, and why didn’t they say anything?” You let your arms drop to your sides. Everyone was noticing your frustrations building up. “Why do they always do this? God they are gonna be in so much trouble when they get here!” You curled your fists. Digging your nails into your palms. You hadn’t realized you had closed your eyes. All your fears and concerns building up like a ticking time bomb.

“Help!” You all turned your heads towards the sound of the yells.

You didn’t wait another second before you sprinted out the lounge and towards the grand foyer entrance.

“Charles!” Reggie rasped as he kept looking over his shoulder. Luke was slipping in and out, while Alex sat on the ground applying pressure to Luke’s wound. “Someone help us!”

“Reggie!” You had barely rounded the corner before you saw the horrifying scene. Alex’s hands were covered in your boyfriend’s blood. “Oh my god…” You gasped, tripping over your own feet as you went to him. “L-Luke?” You didn’t know where to place your hands. “What the hell happened?” You snapped. Reggie flinching back against your harsh stares and teary eyes. “Reggie, what happened?” You rasped out.

“I-I don’t it all happened so fast- I don’t know-“ Reggie sputtered out his eyes glossing over.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” You cooed at him. “Don’t strain yourself.” Reggie nodded keeping pressure on Luke’s wounds. You glanced down at Luke who’s eyes were barely open. You smiled sadly at him caressing his cheek. “Where’d you go, trouble?” You lightly teased. Your pained laugh slipping past your lips. “You’re gonna be fine, okay. You’re home now.” You reassured him. Luke only gave a slight nod.

“Guys what- Oh god, Carrie go get Hank tell him to meet us down in the lab- now!” Julie rounded the corner just then ushering the blonde to go and find him. Everyone soon rounded around the wall. Taking in the blood and Luke laid across in Reggie’s lap.

“Step aside kids, make room, make room!” Charles rolled in. Going over in his chair to where everyone was.

“T-That’s a lot of blood…” Alex trailed off. His eyes rolling to the back of his head. He fell back with a slight thump.

“Alex, oh god!” Julie hovered over him, patting the side of his face. “Hey buddy, come back to us…” Julie nervously chuckled. “Wake up!” Your mouth agape as you watched her slap Alex back to conscious harshly.

“Well that’s one way to do it.” Charles’ face scrunched up.

“Ow!” Alex moaned out, now placing a hand on his cheek.

“Alex what happened out there?” Julie brought his attention onto her. Alex blinked a few times before he spoke.

“I don’t know, t-they just came out of nowhere…the bullets.” Alex clenched his teeth. You caught sight of his shoulder.

“Alex you’re hurt!” You pushed his sweater past his shoulder. Willie came over to comfort his boyfriend.

“Luke was hit first, then more were fired. We got out of there as fast as we could.” Alex moaned as soon as Willie applied pressure to his shoulder.

“Did you see anyone?” Charles asked.

“No…I’m sorry.” Alex’s pained expression made Charles break.

“It’s alright Alex, we’ll talk more later. Let’s worry about those wounds first.”

“We’re wasting time, I’m taking him down to the lab.” Reggie extended his hand out and grabbed Alex’s hand. Willie held onto Alex, then Reggie teleported them all out of the room.

You stayed back staring down at your hands that were now covered in blood. Julie slid over and wrapped her arms around you. Your body heaving as you cried.

“Hey now, it’s okay. He’s gonna be fine. You’ll see.” Julie rubbed your shoulders, talking softly. “Luke’s gonna be fine.”

-

“I knew I shouldn’t have let them out of my sight. They always have to do something stupid and dangerous. God I’m such an idiot“ You cried as you slid down the wall to the ground curling in on yourself.

“No you’re not!” Charles scolded you. “I’m more to blame than you are my darling.” You looked up at him with tears in your eyes.

“What do you mean?” Your voice rasped as asked him.

“Well…” Charles reached into his pocket to get something. “From the looks of it, it appears Luke’s little field trip didn’t seem stupid to him.” He dangled the golden chain in front of you. Your eyes widened as you recognized the pendant from anywhere. You had lost the piece of jewelry a while ago. You gasped as you gently took it from him. Your thumb rubbing over the star. “I knew where he was going…” Charles averted his gaze away from yours guilty. You looked at him in shock. “He told me that he was going to retrieve that pendant…no matter what.”

“You knew this whole time?” You croaked. “You knew the risks-”

“Luke knew just as much as I did how dangerous it was to leave the school grounds.” You looked up at Charles. “He knew what he was doing, Y/n.”

“It was a stupid necklace though, he shouldn’t have gone. God I should’ve known something was up. I could have gone with-”

“Luke thought it’d be best not to tell you. His concern being you would have wanted to tag along.”

“He’s not wrong.” You smiled sadly.

“He planned it all out so you wouldn’t have found out. He cares deeply about you Y/n. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for you.”

“Luke sure has a habit for the theatrics huh?” You laughed as a few tears fell. “When he said he’d take a bullet for me…I didn’t think he actually meant it.” You palmed your face shaking your head. You recalled the time where he snuck you out of your room, for a midnight date in the garden. He said he would have rather died than let anything happen to you. At the time you thought he was being a sap, but turns out this was only the beginning of many bullets he’d take for you, you just didn’t know it. “Why did he leave? Why did any of them leave? Alex surely would have talked some sense into him, right?”

“Y/n…ever since you lost the necklace, you haven’t been sleeping well.” Charles sighed, not wanting to tell you the extremities of what being a psionic resulted in, and the rude awakening of your power. He had no idea how to handle it, handle you. “Three weeks ago, you were asleep, many of your classmates were still awake, however, while you were napping…” He paused.

“What?” You perked up fearing the worst of what you could have done.

“While asleep, you flooded Flynn’s bedroom while she was sleeping. She almost drowned, Y/n.” You stared at him in horror, your hands covered your mouth in shock. “Luke was the one that didn’t want to tell you because he knew how much you were struggling to control your powers already. He didn’t want this to scare you.”

“You said I was getting better…You said, oh god, Flynn.” Your heart rate was picking up. You now understood why she had been acting strange around you for the past weeks. Why your classmates kept spilling their cups of water in front of you causing you to slip. The pool party, the prank in the bathroom. They knew what you did to Flynn, so they mocked you with her own fear. You made her biggest fear come true, and now she was scared of you. “I hurt Flynn, that’s why she won’t talk to me. It’s because she’s scared of me.” You gripped at your hair. Voices and thoughts began clouding up in your head. “You lied…” Your voice grew small. You stood up from the ground. “You lied to me!” You backed up. The fear in your eyes was prominent. Charles had never seen you so scared, scared of yourself for that matter.

“Now Y/n darling please under-” Charles reached a hand out for you.

“I’m a danger to everyone, you said I’d be safe here, but my friends, my classmates, you, Hank, you’re all in danger...because of me!” You kept backing up, shaking your head. You were in denial. You were scared. “I hurt Flynn…I hurt her, I’m the risk, not Stryker and his team.” You whimpered. “I’m a monster.” You pulled at your roots. You closed your eyes, voices rang through your ears causing you to cup them to try and drown them out.

“Watch out the freak has arrived.” An illusion of your classmate Tessa and a few of her friends walking from one wall of the hallway and disappearing into the other side, appeared.

“Don’t get too close.” The illusions continued right between you and Charles. The voices caught the attention of those who lingered in the foyer.

“I recommend any dorm but the ones on the third floor.”

“Don’t tell her your biggest fear, she’ll use it against you.”

“Leave her alone guys!” Luke appeared next in front of you and Charles. “Oops I spilled a bit of water there.” Fake Tessa laughs at you.

“What did I do?” You continued walking backwards. Your ears covered by your hands, your eyes shut. “What did I do?” You whimpered.

Charles grew scared as you kept creating telepathic illusions of everyone who had been mean to you. You weren’t even asleep, which is when your power would be at its full capacity, but here you were, fully awake, which meant you had somehow reached your powers true potential.

He pressed two fingers to his temple grunting at the excruciating pain he was in. “Y/n dear, their words mean nothing. You are not a freak, okay!”

Julie, Carrie and Reggie, along with Willie and a few others lingered behind him watching you break down. Watching fake illusions of Tessa appear in front of their very eyes. You had opened your eyes shrinking into a ball watching the horrid memory play before you.

“This is what you get for what you did!” Fake Tessa had pushed your head in the toilet.

Alex came up the stairs with a sling on. His eyes widened as he took in the scene in front of him. “Professor X how is she doing this?” Alex yelled over the illusions.

“I don’t know Alex. She’s only ever created them asleep!” Charles exclaimed. In the corner of his eyes he caught Tessa looking at you with fear and regret. Everyone got a taste of her harshness and toxic behavior first hand.

Many of your classmates spared her a glance. “Where’s Luke?” Charles looked up at Alex.

“Hank just finished stitching him up…he’s still under.” Just what Charles didn’t want to hear. Luke was your anchor, and in times like this it helped to have him here.

“Y/n you have to stop this!” Charles’ voice was in your head.

“I don’t know how?”

“Yes you do, you’re strong enough!”

Charles was about to encourage you some more until Tessa felt the need to talk. “Y/n stop this!” You flinched as she walked around the illusion to get to you. “Tessa get back!” Charles demanded.

“I can’t!” You yelled, shaking your head no.

“Yes you can. You can do this, you just don’t believe in yourself enough!” She was not helping. “Stop this right now before you hurt everyone here!” Charles thought she was getting through to you until… “Don’t hurt everyone, like you hurt Flynn!” There it was. Tessa made the mistake of putting her hands on your shoulder. Her fear showing itself in your mind. Your eyes shimmered with tears. A whimper leaving your mouth.

“I’m so sorry…” You cried as you looked behind her in fear. Tessa turned around slowly to see what you had been looking at.

Everyone took a step back looking at the man covered in blood. A pick axe lodged into the side of his head.

“No…” Tessa bottom lip quivered as she tried hiding behind you. “Please no, no no no, make it go away. Make it go away!” Tessa pleaded, beating her fists into your back. “Make it stop!” 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” You cried as you tried comforting her. “R-Run Tessa, run!” You sobbed, watching as she let you go and took off down the hallway.

Your classmates began running in a panicked frenzy, their screams overwhelming you, you had accidentally created another one of your classmates’ fears. A creepy clown laughed at you, taking off past you.

Charles, Alex, Reggie, Julie, Carrie, Willie, and surprisingly Flynn stayed behind. Watching you fall to the ground as more of your classmates’ fears conjured out of thin air. The harsh reality, every single illusion was real. They could hurt you, touch you. That was the real curse of your so-called gift, as Charles once put it. The problem wasn’t whether they’d tell you their fears or not. Hell Flynn never told you about her fear, and yet…she almost drowned. They just appeared out of nowhere, and you made them real.

“I’m sorry…” You whimpered as a gigantic spider appeared, crawling away. Charles made sure to hide everyone behind him. You looked up defeated. “I can’t stop this, Charles.”

“Yes you can my dear. You can, it’s all about what’s in here.” He motioned to his temple. “It’s all in here!” You only shook your head. You laid your head in between your knees in the middle of the hallway.

“Alex I need you to take the rest of them and hide.” Charles attempted to whisper to Alex, but you heard them.

“Hide?” You looked up at the group. “You’re all scared…” You slowly stood up from the floor. They all shook their heads. “You are! You don’t have to lie…”

“Alex go please!” Charles ushered him.

“Professor X, I don’t think you’re helping?” Julie hit him in the arm. “She’s scared!”

“Okay but- Luke?” Alex stopped himself as he saw Luke appear in front of them. “Luke, what the hell man, I thought you were still under anesthesia?” Alex took a step towards his best friend, but was stopped by Charles’s hand that extended out. Charles gulped nervously.

“Why are you stopping me?” Alex questioned.

“That’s not Luke…” Charles watched as you stared up at the illusion with fear.

“Not Luke, you sure cause I know what he looks like?” Alex gestured to the body and stood in the middle of the hallway.

“How can you tell it’s not him?” Reggie scratched his neck.

“This one isn’t hurt…” Carrie inspected as she watched this Luke cautiously. 

“If that’s not Luke, then who the hell is that?” Julie exclaimed.

“What me and Luke were trying to prevent from happening?”

“Wait I remember hearing you talking to Luke about how her own fear could hurt her…Is this it? This is her fear? Luke is what she fears?” Willie gestured to you crawling backwards away from the figure in front of you. 

“Why do you look so scared?” Fake Luke tilted his head. He smirked as tears fell from your eyes.

“I-I’m not scared.” Your voice shook. 

“You sure about that?”

“Please.” You whimpered.

“Please what? Please don’t hurt you.” Fake Luke stepped closer. “Don’t say what you don’t want me to say.” He laughed. “You’ll break, right? Four little words and your will to stay alive is gone.” 

“I-I won’t break…”

“You will because without me you’re nothing.” You closed your eyes as he got up in your face. “Look at you…pathetic.” He scoffed. “It’s no wonder I don’t love you.”

I don’t love you. I don’t love you. I don’t love you.

You cried as he began screaming the same four words.

“Stop it please, stop it please!” You covered your ears. He kept repeating it over and over like a mantra. Your heart hurt. You were in pain, not just from not being able to control your powers, but your fear was Luke not loving you anymore. “No no no, stop it. Go away, go away, go away….I said go away!” You screeched. A sudden energy blast flung itself forward causing everyone to stumble back. The force you released ended up throwing you back into the table in the hallway. The back of your head collided with the edge of the table. You were knocked unconscious. The illusion of Luke rejecting you disappeared, and so had every other fear roaming and chasing after your classmates.

“Y/n!” Everyone rushed forward to help aid you. Julie had gotten to you first. Catching a glimpse of blood spilling from behind your head.

“She’s bleeding!” Julie frowned with worry.

“Reggie, get her to Hank now!” Reggie carefully picked you up, Julie, Alex, Carrie, and Flynn placed their hands on his shoulders. Then they were gone.

The rest of the group, including Charles were left undefeated. Not knowing what to do. Charles was left feeling helpless. For once in his life he had no way of knowing what power you truly possessed.

-

“Hank!” Julie announced their presence upon teleporting down to the lab again. “We need help!” The group rushed you over to an empty surgical bed.

Hank placed his glasses on, he was taking a break just now. He had just finished stitching up Luke and took a breather. He bolted up from his chair after they startled him.

“Y-Yeah yeah I’m up.” He rushed over to where they put you down. Hank had begun examining you. “Where’s all these injured kids coming from?” He said. “What- are you guys playing mutant roulette or something?”

“Not the time Hank!” Carrie exclaimed.

“What happened to her?” Hank started examining your bleeding head.

“She’s making people’s nightmares come true, what else is there to say.” Carrie shrugged.

“I know she can make nightmares come true Carrie, what I want to know is why she’s bleeding out on my surgical table?” Hank sassed back at her.

“She hit her head…did you know she could blast energy from her hands?” Julie questioned. “Because I thought she could only create telepathic illusions.”

“I did not, but with Y/n everything is a mystery.” Hank furrowed his brows. His eyes taking in the frown etched onto your unconscious face. “Super energy blast huh?” Hank rubbed your arm. “What else you got up your sleeves, Y/L/N?” Hank asked rhetorically.

Suddenly a scream fell past Flynn’s mouth. The lab suddenly began filling up with water just like it happened in her room.

“N-No no no, not again.” Flynn climbed onto one of the cabinets.

“What the hell?” Julie exclaimed. She looked down at her shoes watching them become soaked. Carried grew worried as the water didn’t stop rising. She looked over at Luke who was still unconscious.

“That’s it, I’m waking him!” Carrie grunted. Her fingers released a zap of energy.

“No you could hurt him?” Julie put her hand out.

“He’s already hurt, we need him right now…unless you wanna let him drown in a couple of minutes?” Carrie raised her brow at Julie. When she got no reply, she stepped closer to Luke, she put her hand out and shot a zap of her power at him. In a few seconds, Luke’s eyes sprung open. He gasped loudly. He grunted as he held his stomach. Carrie helped him sit up.

“What the hell Carrie!” Luke groaned as he looked up at her.

“Welcome back my friend!” Hank slowly patted Luke’s back as he sat up slowly. Grunts of pain slipped past his lips. “Sorry for the interruption, but we have bigger problems.”

“What are you-” Luke’s eyes widened as he saw water reaching up to everyone’s knees now. His eyes found your figure lying unconscious. “Y-Y/n?” Luke finally got off the medal bed, and jumped into the water surrounding them. “S-Shit it’s cold!” He complained as he maneuvered his way over to you. “Y/n, hey.” His hand hovered over your injury. “Why is she bleeding, what the hell happened?”

“She lost control, Luke. She was scared because she found out about flooding Flynn’s room and-” Julie began.

“You guys told her about Flynn’s room?” Luke’s head shot up. “I thought we agreed not to tell her!” 

“Well, regardless if we told her or not, she’s still flooding the lab!” Carrie shot him a glare, gesturing to the water that now reached her hips.

Luke looked around watching the water increase. He looked back at you. “Y/n wake up, I’m right here okay! Wake up!” His face turned serious. His hand patting your cheek gently.

“I can wake her up in seconds!” Carrie focused her eyes on you. Her hand now higher by her face. Luke caught the zap of energy in the corner of his eyes.

“Don’t even think about it!” Luke directed a harsh pointed look at her. “If you haven’t noticed, we’re surrounded by water. One stupid zap from you and we’ll all be electrocuted. Think Carrie!” Luke warned her. “You and water shouldn’t exactly be mixing right now!”

“It woke you up.” She scoffed.

“Okay now is not the time to be arguing!” Julie butt in. “Flynn what do you think we should do…Flynn?” They all turned around and watched as Flynn curled into a ball rocking back and forth on the counters.

“Flynn isn’t exactly comprehensive right now…plan B?” Reggie suggested. 

“We don’t even have a plan A!” Alex frowned.

“Kiss her, Luke. You know, like in those fairytales.” Reggie nudged Luke.

“Reggie.” Luke looked at him.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up!”

“No maybe he’s onto something.” Julie protested. “Seriously?” Luke looked at her.

“Do you have another idea?” She shrugged.

Luke sighed and sloshed across the water now up to his stomach, which now reached you. Luke had to hold you up in his arms so that the water wouldn’t hit your face. “Come on baby, wake up for me. Just like before.” He chuckled nervously. “Come on, I know you’re in there. Just follow the sound of my voice, okay?” Luke shook you slightly.

“Luke!” Julie warned him as she climbed onto the cabinet with Flynn. Alex and Reggie, following her movements. As for Carrie she dove into the water for her phone.

“Carrie!” Alex screamed after her. Without a second thought he jumped into the water.

“Happy thoughts, happy thoughts. It’s just water, a deep pool of water. Nope. Get me out of here!” Flynn screeched as she, Julie, and Reggie now had to stand on the cabinets.

“Luke!” Reggie yelled out to him.

“I’m trying!” Luke looked back to you and then at the water that now reached your chests. He had to resort to holding you up. “Y/n!” He yelled for you as the water leveled at your necks. “Y/n!” He yelled again, which was when you gasped awake.

Your eyes widened. Luke treading the water with you in his arms. Water, that’s when you noticed that the lab was flooded. The fear in your eyes returned. Luke immediately caught on. “Hey, hey, you’re okay, we’re okay.” He groaned as he adjusted his hold on you. “No one’s hurt.” He reassured you.

“I-I did it again.” You closed your eyes, wanting to get out of his hold, but he wouldn’t let up on his grip. You looked over at Flynn, who looked relieved to see you conscious again. On your right, Alex and Carrie resurfaced and gasped for air.

“I got her!” Alex exasperated as his lungs begged for air.

“Let me go, you fool!” Carried swam away from Alex, who splatted the water in annoyance, then swam to the counter. They had startled you a bit. “Hey look at me.” You returned your attention to Luke. “It’s all in your head. Just in your head. The fear doesn’t take over…” He urged you to finish.

“I take over it.” You muttered softly out to him. Tears spilling down your eyes.

“Yeah you do.” Luke leaned forward kissing your temple gently. He pulled back to look in your eyes. “Think about what we’ve been working on. Fear isn’t the only thing you can create.” You nodded remembering the last time you and Luke and Charles practiced more on your powers. Charles had suggested that perhaps if people’s fears could be created, then there was the possibility you could conjure up their dreams and desires too. “Hey, Flynn! What do you wish for more than anything right now?” He called over his shoulder still staring at you with a smile. “How ‘bout being able to see the floor, please.” Luke raised his eyebrows, smirking at Flynn’s request.

“How about it angel?” Luke motioned with his head over at Flynn.

“I-I can…I can try.” You nodded nervously. The only time you made a desire come true was outside, when Luke asked for snow. You made it snow, but everyone had to wear sweaters and scarfs for the next few days. You closed your eyes and imagined the water disappearing and sinking into the ground. You took a deep breath and let your power do its work.

Luke beamed as the water began lowering. Everyone still in the water, now met the ground again. The flood was no more than a small ball of water floating in the air above you guys. 

“Yes!” Julie cheered for you, which took you out of your focus causing the ball to land on Carrie. Who was now soaked even more. You grimaced, apologizing, yet Carrie brushed it off not caring at that point. Just glad to be alive.

“W-Will work on it!” Luke nodded, he laughed nervously. You reciprocated the smile, then wrapped your arms around him. Luke flinching slightly made you pull away.

“Sorry, you okay?” You grew worried.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Hey, where’s Hank?” Julie asked.

You all looked around the room and saw him lying on the floor unconscious. Your eyes widened as you saw him lay there motionless.

“Oh my god!” You gasped, making the move to rush over to him, until Carried stopped you and began walking over to him.

“I got him.” She reached out with her finger and zapped him. That brought him back instantly. “Welcome back...” She gave him a smile then walked away. “I’m gonna go shower, kay!” She called over her shoulder as she pushed her way out the lab. Then she was gone.

“At least no one’s dead.” Alex laughed, a small smile playing at his lips, as he tried to lighten the mood.

“Yeah... I’m confused though.” You furrowed your brows. 

“About what?” Luke questioned.

“Why didn’t you three think about teleporting us all out of here?” You looked at them curiously. Flynn, and Julie turned their heads ever so slowly to glare at them.

“Oh my god…” Flynn stared at them blankly.

“What?” Julie gritted her teeth. “You mean to tell me…we could have been out of here earlier?” The boys flinched as her voice rose a few octaves.

"They’re so dead.” Flynn nodded, pressing her hands together.

“M-Maybe.” Luke laughed nervously. Rubbing his neck. “Possibly… y-yes?” He squeaked. Hiding behind you, yet you pushed the stupid boy away from you. He felt offended by your shove. Julie slowly shortened the space between her and the guys.

“Run.” She warned them slowly.

“Alex and I were shot!” Luke reminded her, pointing at her as he and the guys continued backing away from her.

“You two get a 10 second head start then.” Julie told him.

“S-Seriously?” Luke’s eyes widened, he was getting scared. 

“Seriously…run!”

“Go, go, go, go, go!” Reggie nodded furiously ushering them out of the lab. You wholeheartedly judged the fact that they were running instead of teleporting.

You walked over to Flynn, who stood by the entrance. She somehow found a bag of chips and you stole one from her bag.

“How long do you think it’ll take them to realize they can teleport?” You asked, biting into the chip.

“Julie I’m sorry, okay!” You heard Reggie yelp. Then a thud. 

“After Julie gets to Luke.”

“Ahhhhh!” That was Alex this time, followed by another thud.

“Hmm.” You nodded. 

“These are so good!” You looked at Flynn nodding at the chips. 

“I know right!”

“No, Julie!” 

Yours and Flynn’s eyes widened, hearing a high pitched scream. “Was that Julie?”

“No that was Luke...” You reached for another chip. 

“I didn’t hear him fall?” Flynn looked down the hall.

*Thud, thud, thud*

“There it is/” Flynn smiled gesturing to the sound.

“W-What did I miss?” You both looked behind you to see Hank rubbing his head.

You both remained quiet, until Flynn offered her bag to him. “Cheeto?” She smiled.

“T-Thanks?” He slowly took one and bit into it slowly.

“Ahhh!” You and Flynn remained calm, whereas Hank was heavily startled.

“What was that?”

“Oh just the boys.” You said nonchalantly. 

“Get back here!” You heard Julie growl.

“Julie Molina, stop this instant!” You heard Charles yell after her. 

“S-Should we help them?” Hank suggested.

“They’re fine.” Flynn reassured him.

A thump and the sound of glass breaking followed. Flynn stopped herself then continued. “They’ll be fine.”

“Oh no…” You pouted. “What?”

“We’re out of cheetos.”

“I think I saw some more in the kitchen.” 

“Let’s go, then!”

“Are you coming Hank?” You called over at him.

“Y-Yeah.” He quickly closed the lab door and trailed behind you two.

You and Flynn smiled your way through the broken furniture and broken vases as you walked down the hallways. Hank looked bewildered as he examined the mess he walked past.

[bluefirewrites]

not sure if u are still taking this but, celebrity/fan au for JUKEE 🤭

Okay this one's a little involved but I got you!

Rated T for mentions of sex and maybe some language

SEND ME A SHIP AND A NUMBER AND I’LL WRITE A SHORT FIC

******

Julie tugs against the rather short dress Flynn had squeezed her in, not caring for how much she looks like a glorified candy wrapper in the shimmering gold.

She feels like she's some Ferrer Roche, waiting to be devoured.

Which seems to be her intention for tonight because she's insane, and so is her bestie Flynn, because she's supposed to grab the attention of a certain someone in this club.

Her motives for tonight sound like they come straight out of a Wattpad story, but her boyfriend- or well maybe an ex boyfriend now'- forced her hand.

So a year ago, right around the time they started dating, they both disclosed their 'hall passes'. Just a list of celebrities they were both 'allowed' to cheat on their partners with. It was fun. Just to see who the other person would pick. 

It was harmless because the whole point is that these people are so famous, so far out of reach, that the odds of hooking up with them would be essentially impossible.

Nick's was the lead singer of the world famous pop group Dirty Candi. And Julie remembers drunkenly applauding the choice ("She's pretty! Wowww you like them Bubblegum Pop girls?")

They had a laugh that night and Julie doesn't really consider that hall pass conversation all that much since then-

-Until fast forward to last week when Nick disclosed to her that he ran into Carrie Wilson at an event. And then promptly disclosed to her that he invoked his 'Hall Pass' rights.

His rights?! She had exploded at him, and he claims that its no big deal. That he thought she would understand that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, a crazy set of circumstances, and that- 'Holy shit Jules, she was actually into me. Like what?'

Understandably, Julie stormed out and has been staying with Flynn for the time being. And it must have been the haze of crying and watching a lot of true crime series to cheer herself up that she and Flynn concocted this... plan.

One fueled by spite and pettiness.

Get back at Nick, make him jealous, make him feel how she did- by invoking her own 'Hall Pass' rights- 

-which so happens to be Sunset Curve frontman, Luke Patterson... 

"There he is" Flynn whispers from their corner of the club and Julie gulps.

"I don't think I can do this," Julie hisses at Flynn, when they spot him at the bar, nursing a drink with his bandmates like he usually would (they did their research). 

See, Julie’s been a fan of Luke’s for a long time. Ever since she heard ‘Now or Never’ in freshman year of high school, she’s been hooked onto their music- especially Luke and his voice and playing. 

She had their posters on her bedroom wall and had been that girl who would (when no one’s looking) press her fingers to her lips then press them against Luke’s image before going to bed. 

It was that bad. 

And Julie had probably fantasized on more than one occasion of meeting him and all the other scenarios you would picture in a typical Celeb x Reader scenario. 

And she’d like to think she grew out of it, now she’s in her mid-twenties and just casually listens to Sunset Curve, following up on their careers every now and then. 

But you can never really shake your first major celebrity crush. Hence he had been on her so called ‘Hall Pass’ list. 

(”You into rockstars, Jules?” Nick had teased her that night.)

Seeing him there, in the same place as her, is so surreal, but Flynn’s continued pinches to her arm remind her just how real this is. 

“This is ridiculous,” Julie crosses her arms, ready to bow out because what is she thinking? Why would Luke Patterson pick her up, of all people, at the bar? It’s like a supermodel runway in here, filled with girls more accomplished and famous. Her confidence is shaken a bit and she rethinks everything. 

"Nick didn't seem to have a problem when he did it," Flynn points out, “And girl, you look great. He would be blind to not want you.” 

The mention of Nick still boils her blood, which only reaffirms her plans for revenge. She’s still nervous but they both stand up from their booth and walk over to the bar. 

“You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend,” 

“No. You’re musician extraordinaire, Julie Molina! The world may not have heard about you, but they will one day. I bet that’s something you can talk to him about. Music? Lyrics?” 

Julie could use her songwriting credentials to her advantage, “I mean I guess-” 

“Quick, he’s getting up!” 

“Flynn, wait I’m not-” 

With a forceful push, Flynn sends Julie into the path of Luke Patterson, colliding into him and effectively spilling his drink all over her dress. 

“Oh my god,” Luke gapes at her, “I am so sorry-” 

Julie fans herself, shaking slightly from the fact she’s drenched and also that her freakin’ high school celebrity crush is looking at her, actually talking to her. 

But she recovers quickly, and she speaks, “It’s fine. Really. I guess I’m just... clumsy.” She shoots a glare at Flynn, who merely winks and retreats to their booth. 

Luke grimaces and takes her by the hand, leading her somewhere, napkins in his other hand, “Here, let’s get you cleaned up. Again, I’m sorry. Hate to ruin a pretty... dress.”

It’s the way he eyes her that catches Julie off guard. He’s... not talking about the dress, is he? 

Julie reels it back in tries her hand at a joke, “I wouldn’t call this a dress. I feel like fancy leftovers in this thing.” 

Luke stifles a laugh, “Okay, I mean I wasn’t gonna say anything but yeah. I guess it’s a bit tin foil-y.”

“Not your style?”

His gaze drifts over to her one last time, “Well, any way to take a meal back home is fine by me. I mean-” Luke scrunches his nose, wincing, “I didn’t- I didn’t mean it like that. Shit. That was too... much. Are we-” he laughs nervously, “Are we still... talking about food?”

“Unless you just called me a meal. Then no.” 

The look in his eyes say that he’s absolutely mortified, “...yeah. I think I did. I was hoping that was a nightmare.” 

“Nope, it definitely happened,” 

“Feel free to slap me,” 

Julie giggles, somewhat delirious because she hasn’t tried to flirt with him but here Luke is, flirting with her. Or trying. And failing. Like a far cry from the suave rockstar she had pictured him to be. 

“No need. Just, can you-?” she points to the napkins he’s holding hostage. 

“Oh yeah. Here,” They stop in front of the coat check, and he hands her the napkins so she could try herself off with the best she can.

Suddenly, a weight falls onto her shoulders, she looks up and sees Luke draping a jacket over her- his presumably. 

“You looked cold,”

Julie wraps the jacket tight against her, relishing in the warmth, “Wow, thanks.”

Luke smiled and stepped back, “Just so you know, if I made you feel weird in any way, I’d like to throw out my third ‘sorry’ of the night. Nothing has to happen though. So, just say the word and I’ll leave you alone.”

Whew. Um, okay. Julie stands there, faced with this decision. 

The compliments aside (she will revisit those later), Luke’s giving her an out. Any reservations she has about moving forward with this plan, this is her chance to leave. 

She could just treasure these amazing few minutes for the rest of her life. This could be a story to tell friends at a dinner party, about the time a rockstar lent her his jacket. Would be up there with the time Jack Black passed her on the street and said “Nice hat!”. 

But-

Maybe she wants to see where this goes. 

“All this talk about food is making me hungry though...” she says and Luke lights up, “I could go for a bite to eat.” 

Luke snaps his fingers, “I know just the place.” 

*******

Half an hour later, Julie and Flynn are in a smelly alleyway with the guys from Sunset Curve, in line for a street dog cart just a couple blocks away. 

“An Oldsmobile?” Julie gawked after hearing Luke and the guys describe the delicacy, “Are you trying to poison me?”

“I swear by it,” Luke insists, taking her hand and moving them up in the line. Flynn sees this and doesn’t comment, but Julie’s starting to get used to Luke doing that, “You have to try!”  

Julie doesn't know when she got over her initial starstruck, but by now its so easy to treat Luke like a regular person.

Well, celebrities are all regular people in the end, but more so now that he and his friends, have their sleeves rolled up, smiles wide, ready to dig into what may be the most disgusting hot dog she has ever seen.

Julie takes a bite out of hers and her eyes widen. Wow. It's not terrible.

"Ayy! We got another one, boys" Reggie laughs, noting her reaction.

"Told ya" Luke needles her sides and she giggles, ticklish. Her knee jerk reaction is to playfully shove him, but in the process accidentally smeared some mustard onto his face.

Luke goes to lick it off with his tongue, making funny faces as he did which amused Julie even more.

"Here," she takes a napkin and wipes at his cheek, "Now we're even."

The whole group gets to talking over by the couches, while Flynn chats up the other boys, Julie and Luke are sequestered in their own corner, and yes, eventually the topic switches to music.

"Wait, so you know Rose and the Petal Pushers?" Luke chokes out, "Like everyone I talk to hasn't heard of them!"

"Yup. Have their record actually" Julie beams proudly, censoring out the part that its her mom's band and hence she has one of the few records ever released.

Luke is floored by that and continues to poke her brain for music and Julie finds that their spiels go on naturally, that she could probably talk with Luke for hours and hours.

Which ends up happening. Flynn had already made her escape, having texted her to come home safely, the boys had gone too, leaving them in the nearly empty lot.

When the food truck closes down for the night, they end up taking a stroll down the streets of L.A, talking and getting to know each other.

Julie learns so much about Luke, things she's never heard about from the press- like his songwriting practice, that he cries at Finding Nemo, and that he can do a cartwheel only when drunk.

And in return Julie shares with him her crazy college stories, how she misses her mom sometimes, and that she is encyclopedia of commercial jingles (a fact Luke exploits by rapidly quizzing her at random moments)

Somehow they end up near the beach, with Julie pointing out the different stars she could see, but finds that Luke isn't looking at the sky.

"Hey, Julie..." He gets her attention, "I had a really good time tonight."

"Me too"

"So... would it be alright, if I kiss you?"

Julie's mouth parts, speechless. It happened. Holy shit it happened or... is happening. She has Luke exactly where she wants him.

She could only nod and Luke takes it as the sign to lean in, but just as his lips is about to brush against hers, she freaks-

"Wait" she steps back. Luke opens his mouth, "No. No more 'sorry's from you. This one's one me. I'm sorry but... this- this" She sighs, "I have to be honest with you."

Then she tells Luke everything- Nick, The Hall Pass, her plans for tonight- basically admitting to using him.

When she's done, she expects for Luke to get angry, to leave in a huff and never want to see her again.

That's not what happens.

"This Nick guy sounds like a piece of work" he says.

Julie nods slowly, "Yeah... I guess he was. So maybe that's why I did it. But I don't think I could have gone through with it. Like I don't think we're together, me and Nick but-"

"You wouldn't want to do what he did. Because you don't want to hurt people," Luke surmises, understanding, "And by doing that, that means you're a better person than he is."

"I guess"

"No Julie, you're a good person" Luke insists, "Man, I think that makes me like you even more."

Julie laughs, "God, if my high school self could see me now..."

"You were a big fan?"

"I'm not having this conversation right now with you,"

"Okay cuz now you got me curious-"

Julie swats his shoulder but it doesn't deter the guy from snickering.

On a more serious note though-

"I think..." Julie hums, "I think this means that I got some stuff to work through. Before I could start considering... this."

"I understand"

"But thank you... Luke. For tonight"

"It's been real, Julie,"Luke smiles and pulls her in for a half hug, "And you should keep the jacket. Looks better on you anyway."

****

Julie goes back to Flynn's that night and her bestie's still awake, wanting all the deets. But there's not much to tell. Nothing happened.

She shrugs off the jacket and resigns to the couch, not caring that her makeup is still on. She's about ready to pass out.

Her phone dings.

She pulls it out and sees two notifications.

luke_patterson is now following you

luke_patterson is requesting to message you.

Curious, she accepts the request.

'here if you want to talk, Tin Foil :P'

Julie rolls her eyes and collapses onto the couch, sleeping with a smile on her face.

She doesn't know it now, but the oncoming years would be filled with more messages back and forth, meetups with their friends for more shady street food, building a solid foundation of friendship and eventually, when Luke asks again if he could kiss her, Julie would eagerly prop herself on her toes to close the gap.

Yeah, Julie's high school self would definitely be screaming...

[sunjaesol]

♡ IT HAD TO BE YOU, WONDERFUL YOU ♡

canon compliant juke valentine’s day fic ♡ for all you sweethearts in the fandom

Before hopeless romantic Julie Molina fell in love with Luke Patterson, she always felt glum on Valentine’s Day. She tortured herself with romcoms leading up to the holiday, went into the “couples goals” tag on Pinterest, pouted when her crushes she never talked to dated other people (read: Nick) and felt all around envious of those having a lover to spend the day with. Her mother dying, she who held the biggest heart of all, also didn’t help her mood.   

But that was before Luke blasted himself into her life. Sure, their romance was a little unorthodox, but predictability was overrated anyway.

They got together last summer, when the band played an amazing gig at a tiki bar on the beach and they were drunk on the heat, pink lemonade and each other’s adoring gazes. Dancing on the beach with him and the boys, Luke had grabbed her in his embrace and whispered lyrics at her she’s never heard before. His fingers grazed her jaw when he said it was a love letter - “For you, Jules.” She didn’t have to go far to reach his lips, both eager and giddy to finally come home.

(Weeks later, the love letter was transposed to music and performed for an audience. It was full circle moment. He loved music and her and now it was all connected. Luke had been dazed, but Julie was quick to kiss the stupor away. They could do that now. It was insane.) 

All week, Julie had been working on a secret gift. She scoured her room was scraps and pictures and notes; reminders of Luke hidden in every corner without realising it. A purple pick was found under her bed, a song in her dream box they never got to finish, a seashell he plucked from the beach, a row of pictures from a photo booth, love notes. Julie would lie if she said she didn���t find it adorable how his only reference of romance were the 80s flicks, as it gave her a heartthrob of a boyfriend that didn’t back down from cute gestures like those notes. It left her heart racing and brought a blush on her cheekbones. the sun’s jealous of that smile jules

It was only natural she made him a collage. 

They had an unspoken agreement to never involve money. Though they were in a band together, all the money they made directly went to Julie. She invested it back in their life passion, obviously, but the fact remained that Luke couldn’t take her on typical dates or buy her the typical gifts. Until American Ghost Dollars got invented, they had to be creative. 

Going to the movies were movie nights in the studio with a projector and cookies they made together. A love song instead of dinner. Dancing in her bedroom with AirPods instead of partying.     

And it was enough. It was more than enough. She loved him so much that each second spend together was perfect as is. 

The collage was small enough that he could easily tuck it away. Pictures overlapped, a dozen Mini Luke’s and Mini Julie’s staring at the camera or each other, from before and after they started dating. 

A photo Flynn took of Luke peppering her temple with kisses backstage. A polaroid of when she snuck up on him and smacked a kiss on his cheek, his teeth flashing white from the beam on his face. A Snapchat of when she showed him the filters and he kissed her instead. Multiple pictures of them snuggling on the studio couch, supposed ‘blackmail’ for Alex, but Julie cherished them. If she closed her eyes, she could feel his arms wrap around her back as she’s sprawled on top of him.

The pretty shell didn’t fit on the collage, so she decided to make a bracelet as well. A thick band made from orange, red and yellow string, the shell as its penchant. 

That morning, she pulled on her most Valentine’s day inspired outfit and rushed to the studio. Her gifts were still in her room, out of sight and kept for later, now she just wanted to see her boyfriend. 

Her smile, painted in cherry lipgloss, stretched wider when she slid the doors open and saw that no one was inside. Just last night had he kissed her a little longer after rehearsal, wiggling his brows like he knew something she didn’t. Luke was terrible at keeping secrets. She wasn’t surprised to find it empty, unless…

Luke poofed in front of her with a warrior cry and hoisted her up in one fluid motion. Julie yelled in delight, gripping onto him as he spun them around. For the occasion, he swapped his regular orange beanie for a red one. (One day, her heart was going to explode from all the silly stuff he did.) Matching her expression, his hands steadied her as she wrapped her legs around his waist.    

An index finger flicked his chin playfully. “How long did it take you to plan this?”

He gasped, faux-offended. “Julie! I’m spontaneous as shit.”

“Mh-hm,” she hummed, leaning in to kiss his lips. His frown melted away, the languid kiss flickering with the hint of passion it usually held. Slowly, he set her down, her staying locked between his arms. When she pulled back, he chased after her and pecked the side of her mouth - once, twice.    

“I’m gonna smother you with so much kisses that you’re gonna get sick of me,” he declared, as if the threat of loving her was scary. 

She pressed her forehead against his with a grin. “I look forward to it.”

Instantly keeping up his promise, he nuzzled against her cheek. “What’d you wanna do?”

“Well, we’re ending the day in the hammock.”

“Duh.”

“And,” she sneakily added, “we can be really cheesy and watch ‘Valentine’s Day’.”

He made a face, both remembering their divided opinion on the movie. “If we’re seeing it again, then I’m choosing all the snacks.”

“Deal.”

“Nice,” he breathed, raising his fist between their torsos so she could bump it with her own. Her cheeks were already aching from smiling so much, giddy to spend the entire day with her boyfriend undisturbed by the boys or family or school. 

Her fingers scratched into his plaid jacket. “You know what I’m also looking forward to?” His eyes narrowed at her lilting voice. “Giving you your present.”

His jaw fell slack. “Jules, now I’m gonna be thinking about it all day.” But then she saw the devilish glint in the green of his irises as he uttered: “Guess you’ll have to wait on your present too.”

“You-” That was unexpected. “You have a present?”

Luke bit down on his lip, watching her surprise. “I was waiting for that reaction. Sweet. Okay, I’m saying we dip everything in chocolate. Fruit, popcorn-”

“I’m willing to try one of those crazy combinations you love so much,” she proposed. The excited smooch she got afterwards was worth it.

The couple claimed the kitchen for an hour as they made their snacks, most of which being the typical chocolate covered strawberries both liked a lot, and then nestled themselves in her room. Curled into his warm body, they shared earphones as they watched ‘Valentine’s Day’. Though she asked to watch it, all her attention went to his hands continuously caressing her waist and thigh. It lulled her into a blissful trance. Sometimes he would make a joke (“We’re way cooler than Taylor and Taylor!”) and she’d chuckle and hum and rub his chest. By the time Jessica Biel was smashing the piñata, she was placing soft kisses on his neck and he had to pause the movie. 

Hovering over her with a wolfish grin, he pecked her nose. “I thought you wanted to watch.”

“And I thought you were going to smother me with kisses,” she bounced back with a quirked brow. For a beat, they shared an amused look. 

Then Luke laughed, diving for her lips and doing just that. That rushing feeling coursed through her veins, a pure shot of adoration and attraction with each warm, open-mouthed kiss. He tasted like chocolate, skin sticky from fruit, and smelled in that perfectly boyish way. Julie sighed into the kiss. No cheesy movie or love song could compete with the sensation of slipping her fingers in his hair and having his arms tighten like he never wanted her to stop. Her bedroom was heaven on earth.   

(Perhaps that was silly. She was only seventeen after all. How much did she actually know about the world to accurately make that statement? But did it even matter if right now, right here, she felt like the luckiest girl in the universe? The cynics could bite her.) 

She didn’t know how long they let their lips and hands wander. It was hard to care about time when his mouth was on her ear and her nails drew shapes on his back. 

“I bet,” he whispered, “Taylor and Taylor never felt like this.”

She giggled. “You’re just jealous of the big teddy bear.”

His smile pressed on her cheek. “Maybe.”

When Luke and her first got together, they were scared to touch. Sure, they had their moment on the beach and previously, they found plenty of opportunities to be in contact. But after they made if official and there was nothing to hide behind anymore, it got scary. They yearned for affection, but what if Luke disappeared one day without meaning to and then they’d both ache for each other’s comfort? They got over it eventually and now it was only natural to feel his smile on her skin.

It was hard to imagine kissing anyone but Luke, unfathomable having a different boy hug her from behind at school and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. Only Luke could write her love notes. Only she was allowed to write him ones as well, or leave cute post-it’s on his guitar to cheer him up when he had a bad day. It was just them.

Her mind going haywire over such a simple touch jolted her memory, Julie abruptly sitting up and bringing Luke with her. His brows raised in surprise. She pecked the pout away, brushing her nose against his. 

“Can I give you your present?”

A breathy smile tugged on his cheeks. “Yeah, I’m curious.”

Julie untangled herself from their embrace and reached inside her wardrobe for the gift. Sitting cross-legged in front of him, she gave him his present with barely-concealed anticipation. Hopefully he loved it as much as she loved making it! 

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she sang, watching him pull the tissue paper out the small bag and unearthing the collage and bracelet. 

Speechless, he gawked at the collection of pictures. Eyes flitted past each quickly, like he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. Crawling over to sit beside him, she placed her head on his shoulder. “You like it?”

He sniffled. Julie looked up and was shocked to note his eyes were shiny. “Aw, babe!”

His gaze caught hers, distraught. “You’re not supposed to make me horny and then emotional!”

She laughed and pressed a kiss on his cheek. His cute reaction made her heart lurch with fondness. “It wasn’t supposed to make you cry.”

Luke sighed, hand guiding her face to place a proper kiss on her lips. It was short, but just as electric as all the ones before. He kissed like he played guitar - always intentional and one hundred percent. 

“I love it,” he muttered. “Thank you. And I love the bracelet too.”

“I made sure it matches your others.”

He captured her lips again. “Yeah… Thanks, Jules.” His nose scrunched, arrogance dripping from his voice as he tucked a curl behind her ear. “My present is better though.”

Her arms crossed, challenged. “Oh really?”

“Hell yeah, it is. Gonna knock it out of the park.” With a snap of his finger, he conjured his songbook and stuck the collage between two fresh pages. He clicked his tongue with the typical bravado he exuded onstage. “Who knows, Jules, you might even get a crush on me.”

Just as she was about to retort with a tease of her own, her eyes caught a fluttering page with words she didn’t recognise. Pointing at it, she asked: “What’s that?”

Luke frowned, thumbing to the right side and rolling his eyes. “Some lyrics that got stuck in my head a few nights ago. It doesn’t work though.”

“Maybe not. I kind of like that part.” She tapped on the line ‘so deep, your DNA's being messed with my touch’ with a pensive wrinkle knitted in her forehead. Ideas began to brew, throwaway pieces from other discarded songs coming back to her and meshing well with what he’s already composed. “Yeah, this is good, Luke. Do you want to work on it?”

He hesitated for a beat, stare trailing from her to the half-eaten plate of snacks. “Do you want to?”

“Of course,” she smiled. They were Luke and Julie - did either of them really think they could go a day without music? Even if she hadn’t discovered this diamond in the rough, he’d inevitably spring upright to write down a riff or her fingers would tingle to try out a melody. Songwriting was perhaps the best date of all, showing that work and play could successfully be mixed together. 

He sighed in relief. “Good. Okay, so I was thinking…”

Hours went by tinkering on the song, the afternoon drifting by and them having moved to the hammock in the garden. It was a spot Luke rediscovered and she all too willingly found a place next to him. They cherished the quietude and warmth even before they were dating. The page was now littered with flowing, strung-together verses and a half-done chorus. Instrumentals were for tomorrow when they were all together. In the back of her head lingered the thought that he still hasn’t given his supposed homerun of a present, but Julie reminded herself then that it didn’t even matter. This was enough. He was enough. Who knew, maybe he was just talking smack! The doubts vanished as Luke drummed his fingers on her stomach, humming a beat.      

“And you thought it wouldn’t work!”, she teased. 

He puffed. “Cause it didn’t! It needed the Molina Touch!”

A brow quirked, amused. “The Molina Touch?”

“Yes,” he grinned and tapped her chest. “The Touch.”

“I don’t have the Force, Luke.” When his face fell flat, she decided to play along and mimicked his motion. Her fingers circled his sternum as she said: “Well, I look forward to the Patterson Energy bringing it alive onstage.”

The boy rolled on his side, she following suit. The hammock bended to the movement, pushing them closer together. The couple snickered, noses nudging and locked in the other’s arms. Above, the sky was coloured like Monet, purples and blues and pinks as the sun dropped below the trees. Julie stared at the way he craned his neck, green eyes blown wide while marvelling at the sweeping atmosphere. He was the most beautiful person she’s ever encountered. She was probably a little obsessed with him, never bored of looking at him, of finding new freckles, moles and spots. 

Her reverie snapped like a bubble as he said something. 

“What?”

He repeated himself. “Wanna get waffles?”

She blinked. “Waffles?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “V-Day waffles. I bet they have red velvet ones.” His face twisted, like he was in on an inside joke, and murmured against her lips: “Whipped cream, Jules. Can’t resist that.”

Damn. He knew her too well. “Reggie’s going to be mad we went without him.”

“Then he should get himself a ghost lover,” he joked. Slapping her hip, the exclaim was resolute. “Let’s go!”

The drive was short, an surprising amount of waffle places scattered around Los Feliz. The cityscape was painted red for the day. Heart-shaped wreaths adorned the doors of stores, bars promoted special cocktails with pink hues, boutiques displaying date night dresses on mannequins in the windows. At the end of a large strip of food joints, a waffle house joining in with a red banner hung across the frontage. RED VELVET WAFFLES! ONLY TODAY!

Julie shot him a suspicious look. “You knew?”

He shrugged, smirking. “A good guess.”

They were lucky. The parking lot was pretty much abandoned, no onlookers to see her joking around with air. He stayed in the car as she got the treats.

As she queued, her aimless thoughts found Luke as a focal point. It was hard not to. Maybe the best thing of all for a hopeless romantic like her, was that she found someone who was an even bigger dreamer than she was. If she jumped for the stars, he rocketed himself into space and hoped for the best. It made days like Valentine’s special, but it also felt like another regular Saturday. He didn’t kiss her differently, looked at her more intently - it was always like this. The red velvet waffles was just… extra. A cherry on an already perfect milkshake. Luke and Julie never needed fireworks to make the other feel remarkable. 

Dropping back in the driver’s seta with a sigh, she propped the waffles on the dashboard. “I’m not sure if it’s going to taste right, they look kind of mushy, but I’m sure the whipped cream-” The words died in her throat as she looked at Luke, a timid smile on his lips as his present laid flat in his hands. A mixtape. 

Her eyes tracked the CD for a beat (jules <3 written in sharpie with his infamous scrawl) and then flicked up to his face. That was most spectacular of all: the nervous twitch in his eye, the breathy smile. Luke was flustered.       

Gingerly, she took it from his grasp. “How did you make this?”, she whispered. 

The palpable energy didn’t waver. “Carlos. He lend me his computer and explained how to burn CD’s.” His chuckle was awkward. “Had to get you in the car somehow.”

A smile bloomed on her lips. Her heart was truly going to explode; the gesture so thoughtful and sweet. (Shit. He did knock it out of the park. How will his ego cope?!) Reaching over the middle console, she chastely kissed him. “I already love it.”

He shook his head with a grin, shoulders loosening a bit. “You haven’t listened to it yet. C’mon, play it.” He shot her a cocky nod. “You know how to use a CD-player?”

“Very funny,” she quipped. Cautiously, she took the CD out of its case and slipped it into the player. It whirred for a beat, her upping the volume, and just as she thought she’d hear some 90s rock band, something unexpected happened. 

hey jules

She froze, staring at Luke’s feverishly excited face, as his crackling voice came through the speakers.  

i finally learned about technology! you happy? anyway, you know i love you. i love everything about you, i think… i think that’s kinda why i’m here to begin with.

Tears lodged itself in her chest, ready to spill. Love was going to make her go mad one day. She loved this boy so much that it was insurmountable by anything else.

that’s not- it’s not what this cd is about. His tone brightened. what i love most about you, julie molina, is how fucking in love you are with music. so what better thing to give you, is more music? these are ten songs that remind me of you… happy valentine’s day, baby. 

It clicked off. Quietly, slowly, a melodious piano variation flowed in. Her breath hitched as she recognised it. Frank Sinatra’s ‘It Had To Be You’ reminded Luke of her? Her hands were shaking. His calloused ones grabbed them, pads of his fingers caressing the skin. A pout jutted from her lips, her eyes shimmering with emotion. It wasn’t fair. Boys weren’t supposed to be this romantic. 

His smile could light up the entire state, touch trailing across her arm up to her cheek, grazing the lone tear that she wasn’t even aware of. “Don’t cry,” he chuckled. “I can be the only sap.”

Shaking her head, she pushed herself over the console and placed herself on his lap. The divide of a stick shift was a plain crime. Circling her arms around his neck, Julie kissed him in the way she thought the song felt. Warm and languid and timeless and wholly, utterly loving. Depthless and infinite. The thrill of his bass voice melted them together, no space between them with his hands wrapped around her lower back. 

For nobody else gave me a thrill With all your faults, I love you still It had to be you, wonderful you It had to be you

“I love you,” she sighed into his mouth. “It’s not enough. It’s not…”

He kissed the lament away. “I know. That’s why music works.” Sinatra sang a line and then he grinned. “Gotta express ourselves somehow.”

Though that was true, though they had music to shape their thoughts into the most beautiful declarations of love, all she wished to have was a word. A simple word that perfectly encapsulated what she felt. Love felt too small. Too simple. But until she found it, she’d keep saying it.

And so she did. “I love you, Luke.” 

His eyes shut in delight. “I love you too, Julie.”

They wouldn’t leave for a long time. Locked in each other’s loving embrace, they listened to every song on the mixtape. And when it ended, they looped it.

Time and space wasn’t really important to them anyway.     

For nobody else gave me a thrill With all your faults, I love you still It had to be you, wonderful you It had to be you

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

@blush-and-books​ @bluefirewrites​ @ourstarscollided​​ @alexjulies​ @unsaid-emily​ @willexx​

[nicknellie]

Anonymous requested: Julie and the Phantoms are on tour and Juke are dating, one stop on tour Luke gets sick  (woke up with fever, swollen glands, sore throat etc) and the doctor diagnoses him with strep and an ear infection and Julie takes care his stubborn butt back to the hotel because he doesn't like to let down the fans since they have to cancel few shows.

Anonymous requested: alive guys, out of school in the real world, now all living in an apartment together. The 5 Times Luke Was Sick, and The 5 Times Julie Cured Him and maybe add in the 1 time Luke returns the favour of taking care of Julie.

Anonymous requested: Luke and Julie are married and have a daughter (Rose, 3). Rose and Luke end up waking up sick with the flu and Julie takes care of them, and she gets worn down from doing everything and caring for them. And even with him being sick in bed he lays with Rose when Julie’s beat and cuddles her when she feels sick even though he feels the same. Cute family fluff basically.

We Will Fight To Shine Together

The entire week had been hectic. Julie – along with her boys, Luke, Alex, and Reggie – had finally got the keys to their new apartment and had spent the whole of the previous two days hauling their belongings there from their respective homes. Ray Molina, protective as always, had been breathing down their necks in a frantic and worried attempt to help them out, the presence of Willie and Flynn had resulted in less unpacking and more Cardboard Box Wars, and most of their things were strewn about in unlikely places after the chaos of unpacking; just that morning Julie had found Alex’s drumsticks in the fridge.

But they were finally there, they were finally home, and there was nothing to worry about. Everything in the apartment seemed to be in order, they weren’t set to go on tour for another six months so the stress of that was still a way off, and the band’s new-found sense of freedom and independence hung over them like a rainbow. There was nothing that could have gone wrong. Nothing except–

“Dude, you look sick! And not in the good way.”

Julie had been sat atop the kitchen counter, watching Alex prepare their breakfast, but she looked towards the door when she heard Reggie’s exclamation. Stood in the doorway, bundled in about four hoodies, his eyes bloodshot and his nose running, was Luke. Reggie was right – he looked as if he were about to keel over and die. His puppy dog eyes were wide and watery and he looked utterly dreadful.

“Luke,” Julie said, hopping off the counter and heading over to him. “Are you feeling alright?”

He shook his head and sniffled pathetically. “I’m sick,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, you look it,” Julie said. She took his hand and gently led him towards a kitchen chair. He collapsed into it with a relieved sigh as if he couldn’t have bared standing any longer.

To Julie’s surprise (and slight annoyance) Alex and Reggie were laughing.

“You must have the weakest immune system known to man,” Alex joked as he put the group’s breakfast onto plates.

“On the bright side, Willie owes me ten dollars,” Reggie said with a beam. “I bet him you wouldn’t last two weeks before getting sick.”

Julie put her hands on her hips and glared at the two boys who immediately ceased their laughter. She knew she could be quite terrifying when she wanted to and she didn’t like abusing that power too much, but this was a situation she felt called for it.

“You two are seriously lacking compassion,” she scolded, pointing to and from Alex and Reggie. “Your friend is ill and all you can do is laugh at him. It’s mean – he has it difficult enough right now.”

Luke, pouting pathetically, nodded in agreement.

Alex and Reggie, both looking suitably chastised, muttered, “Sorry Julie.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t apologise to me.”

“Sorry Luke.”

“That’s better,” she said. Julie took herself out of Mother Mode and returned to Supportive Girlfriend. She gently ran her fingers through Luke’s hair – he relaxed a little as her touch. “I’m going to take you back to bed, you’re going to get some rest while I look up your symptoms, and then I’m going to take care of you.”

Luke’s eyes widened. “It’s probably just a cold. You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t, but I’m going to. Come on.”

Julie sent one more cutting glare to Reggie and Alex before helping Luke stand and leading him back through their little apartment to their shared bedroom. She eased him back into the bed, helped him make a half-nest-half-fort with the pillows and duvet, then grabbed her laptop and set up YouTube for him. Then, she pulled up a tab on her phone and sat beside him on the bed.

“Do you feel like you’re going to be sick?” she asked.

Luke shook his head.

“Are you feeling dizzy at all?”

“A little bit,” he croaked.

She smiled knowingly. “Sore throat too?”

He closed his eyes and nodded.

Julie asked him more questions, then determined that because of the stress of moving his immune system had utterly crashed and some nasty bug had seized the opportunity. According to the internet, he needed plenty of bed rest, he should have been kept warm, he needed a lot of water, and most of all he simply needed to not do anything for a while.

“But we’re supposed to go to the studio tomorrow to record a bunch of songs,” Luke protested when Julie told him. He sat up abruptly, but eased himself back down, a hand rested against his forehead, wincing.

“You’re not going anywhere like that,” Julie told him. “I’ll call the studio and let them know we’ll have to record your parts a different time. Don’t say anything,” she commanded as he opened his mouth to argue again. “I’m not changing my mind.”

He grumbled something she couldn’t quite hear but assumed was something childishly rude – it had certainly sounded as if he’d been mocking her voice. She ignored him and instead headed back out to the kitchen. Julie grabbed painkillers and a large glass of water and took them back to Luke who had started a long YouTube playlist of Bondi Rescue videos.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be sitting in front of a screen if you’re dizzy,” Julie contemplated, handing him the tablets and the drink. Luke looked up at her with a mixture of sadness and fury in his eyes.

“I’ve already lost my health, I can’t lose Bondi Rescue too,” he said.

She breathed a laugh and sat back down beside him. He immediately melted into her side, his head rested against her abdomen. She stroked her fingers through his hair and felt him sigh at the touch.

He was asleep within minutes.

*

Julie and the Phantoms were on tour. It was a moment they had all been anticipating ever since they’d inducted Julie into the band. The four of them had saved up enough money to buy their own tour bus emblazoned with their faces and the band’s logo and were spending nine months driving across the United States and Canada to perform their show to sold-out crowds. Julie could hardly believe it was happening.

Right that moment, part of her wished it weren’t happening.

Julie had been led to understand that before she joined the band and became the responsible one, Alex was the ‘parental figure’ who had kept Luke and Reggie (both far more boisterous by nature) in check. If anyone had told her that on the second leg of their tour, she would not have believed it for a moment. Alex was sat in the passenger seat beside her, but was leaning over the back of it to swat at Reggie who was kicking the back of his seat. Both were calling each other childish names and their hands were flapping about like they were having a catfight. Julie had given up trying to stop them about two hundred miles ago.

Looking after them sometimes felt like having a pair of toddlers. Though more often it was like having three toddlers because Luke would find a way to join in on the shenanigans. But right then, in the backseat beside Reggie, he was oddly quiet.

“Luke,” Julie called over Alex and Reggie’s squabbling, readjusting the mirror so she could see Luke behind her. “You okay?”

Luke nodded then tried to clear his throat. “Yeah,” he said, voice gravelly. “Sore throat, that’s all.”

Julie frowned. “Are you sure? You don’t sound good. Will you be able to sing for tomorrow’s show?”

His eyes widened frantically at the mention of the performance. “Of course! I’ll be fine, it’s just a sore throat.”

It was, unfortunately, very clearly not just a sore throat.

Julie pulled the tour bus into the parking lot of their hotel and the gang all headed to their rooms. Julie and Luke were sharing, partially to save money and partially because they wanted to. Before they went to sleep, Julie checked again with Luke to see if he was alright and again he told her in that rough voice that he was fine.

However, when they woke up Luke seemed distinctly worse for wear. He was radiating heat like the sun but shivering as if he were in the arctic, he was complaining of pain in his right ear, and when Julie looked down his throat she saw that his tonsils were swollen and covered in white spots.

“You’re not going on stage like this,” she said, shaking her head. “No way. I’m calling a doctor.”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Luke insisted, attempting to hoist himself into a sitting position but giving up quickly. “It’s just a sore throat.”

“You can try telling me that again when you can swallow more than a drop of water,” Julie said before picking up her phone and calling the nearest doctor.

Luckily, the doctor was able to come out to the hotel so Luke didn’t have to even get out of bed. The doctor took one look at his symptoms, then turned to Julie.

“Looks like strep throat,” they said, snapping their latex gloves off. “The pain in the ear is because of an ear infection that came after the bacteria travelled from the throat to the middle ear. I’m going to prescribe him a course of antibiotics, he’ll need to take them all otherwise the infection will come back stronger. I recommend he doesn’t perform for at least another month to give the infection ample time to heal.”

“A month?” Luke tried to yell, but it came out as an outraged breathy whisper.

“Yes,” the doctor said, looking down at him over their glasses. “Your infection is particularly severe, Mr Patterson, and if you want to finish your tour then I suggest you take my advice.”

“We can’t cancel shows,” Luke protested weakly. “Think of how excited everyone’s been…”

Julie smiled to the doctor and saw them out of the room. “Thank you very much,” she said. “I’ll make sure he gets those antibiotics and plenty of rest.”

Once the doctor was gone, Julie called Flynn, the official manager for Julie and the Phantoms and Julie’s lifelong best friend. “Cancel every show for the next month,” she instructed. “Doctor’s orders.”

“Are you alright, Jules?” Flynn said, immediately sounding concerned. “I can come over and take care of you, whatever you need, I’ll book a flight right now–”

“I’m fine, Flynn,” Julie assured her. “It’s Luke. He’s got strep.”

“Oh no.” Flynn’s worry morphed into something akin to disappointment. “He’s literally the worst one of you guys to get ill right now.”

“Tell me about it. He’s furious that we’ve even suggested cancelling the shows.”

“He gets it’s for his own good, right?” Flynn asked.

Julie shook her head even though Flynn couldn’t see her. “He knows that but he doesn’t want to let everyone down. He’s been more excited for the tour than the fans have – he doesn’t want any of it to go wrong and this is about as wrong as it could go.”

“I’m sure he’ll get over it once the ‘get well soon’ messages start arriving,” Flynn said.

“I think that’ll just make it worse,” Julie countered. “Anyway, it’s fine. There’s nothing we can do. Just make sure everyone knows the next shows are cancelled.”

“You got it, boss. Good luck with Luke.”

“I’ll need it.”

Julie hung up on Flynn and headed back towards Luke. He was still sat up in the bed, looking very sorry for himself as he pouted with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Hey,” she said softly, crouching down next to his side of the bed. “I’m going to make you some hot honey and lemon water – my mom always made it for me when I got a sore throat. It’ll help, I promise. Is there anything else you want?”

“I want to do the shows,” he said petulantly.

Julie shook her head firmly. “You heard the doctor – none of us are going on any stage for another month. Flynn’s cancelling the shows as we speak.”

Luke looked aghast. “No!”

“Yes. You’re sick, Luke. And think about it; if this were me or Alex or Reggie in your position, what would you say to do?”

“I’d say we should cancel the shows until you got better,” he said as if the answer were obvious, then he seemed to hear his own words and deflated a little. “Fine. I suppose this is for the best. I… I just feel like I’m letting everyone down.”

Julie intertwined their fingers and held his hand tightly. She gave him a soft, reassuring smile. “You aren’t letting anybody down, Luke. It’s not your fault that you’re sick and there’s nothing any of us can do about it now. All that can be done is for you to rest and take your meds so that the next shows we do are as good as they can be. Okay?”

He rolled his eyes sighed, but there was the tiniest smile playing about his lips. “Okay.”

*

Julie had said it was a bad idea from the very beginning, but the boys had insisted that they’d done it before and it was perfectly safe.

It felt good to be proven right, but less good to be vomited on.

The first problem was that there was definitely not enough room anywhere in their tiny apartment for three grown men to attempt the famous lift from Dirty Dancing. Julie had pointed that out. She had pointed it out almost a dozen times. Every time, Reggie had told her that they didn’t actually need a lot of space, trust me.

The second problem was that their heights simply didn’t add up to a safe lift. Luke and Reggie were of a similar build, but Alex was much taller and there wasn’t really anywhere for him to go – if he held up one of the guys, they’d be held at an angle; if he were the one on top, he would likely crush the other two.

The third and final problem was that none of the boys were dancers and had no training or experience, therefore none of them knew how to do the lift properly and safely. Julie had stretched this argument to its breaking point but the three idiots had not heeded her warning.

And so they had done the lift.

It had started out strong. They had decided that Alex would be the one in the air, so Luke and Reggie had got into position with their hands outstretched and Alex had taken a great running start and leapt at them. To their credit, the boys held Alex in the air for a solid three seconds before Reggie lost his balance and Luke’s grip slipped, and the three of them went tumbling to the ground.

Julie watched in unsurprised horror as Alex fell flat on top of Reggie and scrambled to get off him, while Luke dropped far too close to the dining table and whacked his head on its corner with a grotesque thud.

He was out cold.

Julie muttered a curse and hurried towards him. Alex and Reggie gathered around slowly too, warily looking down at Luke, clearly feeling guilty.

“Luke?” Julie said to the unconscious lump in her lap. He was heavier than he looked – she privately understood why they had decided to lift Alex instead. “Can you hear me, sweetie?”

After a few more minutes, Luke came to, groaning and cradling his head.

“Hey,” Alex said, smiling brightly. “You’re awake! Sorry about that, we–”

Alex didn’t get to finish his sentence because Luke interrupted him by loudly and violently throwing up on Alex’s shoes. A little bit hit Julie’s dress and she quickly yanked the fabric out of the way.

Alex looked at his shoes disappointedly. After a long while he said, “I am going to the bathroom. Either to shower or be sick, I’m not sure yet,” and then disappeared.

Reggie was a deathly shade of green, staring at Luke and the vomit.

“If you don’t like it you can go, Reggie,” Julie said. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Reggie nodded and followed Alex out of the room, wide-eyed.

“Let’s get you to bed, huh?” Julie said. Luke nodded vaguely, his eyes far away, and she led him through the apartment to their bedroom. She only just managed to get him into bed before he started slipping into unconsciousness again.

It was plain as day that Luke had a nasty concussion. Julie tucked him into bed, then switched off the lights and drew the curtains so that it was almost pitch black. She got him an enormous glass of water and readied all the painkillers she could find, as well as grabbing a large bowl so that he didn’t have to run to the bathroom if he needed to be sick again. Then she looked up concussion on her phone – it said that if he’d woken up after being knocked out then he needed to go to hospital; she wasn’t sure how she was meant to get him there now that he was unconscious again.

Julie decided to wait until he woke up again. She laid down beside him on the bed and pressed the gentlest of kisses to his forehead.

“You’re such an idiot,” she whispered. “I love you.”

*

Julie loved her boys usually, but sometimes she really believed they lacked the common sense necessary for general survival.

“You did what?!”

Luke, Alex, and Reggie looked between each other frantically, stuttering for excuses.

“Uuuuhhhh…”

“Nothing really out of the ordinary, I don’t think.”

“Pretty sure it was actually you who did something they shouldn’t have.”

Julie raised her hands and the boys silenced. She glared at them, half furious and half exasperated.

“Are you seriously telling me – or rather not telling me – that after all the times I specifically told you it would be a bad idea, you went and got hotdogs that were being sold out of the back of an Oldsmobile?”

“In our defence,” Reggie piped up, raising his hand like a kid answering a question in class, “they smelled really good.”

“Wish they’d tasted as good as they smelled,” Luke grumbled. Alex hit him.

“I have never met anyone with less common sense!” Julie yelled, waving her arms. “What is wrong with you? What made you think it’d be a good idea? How did you not think that it was the dodgiest set up for any fast food ever?”

“Relax,” Reggie said, “street dogs haven’t killed us yet.”

The highly questionable hotdogs did not, in fact, kill them. However, the next day all three boys were overcome with food poisoning so horrible that Julie simply could not take care of them all by herself.

That morning she sent a quick text to Willie to offload Alex to him: Come and get your dumb boyfriend, he and his idiot friends ate bad hotdogs and got sick, you can take one. Twenty minutes later, Willie showed up to take Alex back to his apartment, an ungodly amount of blankets in his hands when he arrived at the apartment.

Reggie was the least ill – he could pretty much take care of himself and at the very least he wasn’t throwing up everywhere. He stayed on the couch, watching some cartoon on repeat. Julie let him be.

Luke, on the other hand, was quite the task. He was feeling and looking absolutely dreadful, unable to move himself from his bed and being sick whenever he tried to do so much as drink a glass of water. Julie truly had her hands full trying to take care of him.

Despite his protests, she called the studio and cancelled their appointment with Luke today. He was in no fit state to record any hit songs right then; he could hardly even open his mouth without sick coming out of it.

Feeling particularly frazzled, Julie finally allowed herself a little break from rushing around after Luke to relax, just for a moment. She settled herself comfortably onto the bed beside Luke once his sickness had calmed down a bit and fired up Netflix. She could feel his doleful eyes on her as she selected a movie and let it play.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked.

“Are you apologising for being sick or for eating those hotdogs even though I told you not to?” she questioned.

Luke had the good grace to look a little ashamed. “Both.”

Julie shifted a little to wrap her arms around Luke’s midriff. “Don’t apologise for being sick. It is your fault, but don’t say sorry for it. I will accept your apology for disobeying me though.”

Luke rested his head against Julie’s shoulders, shuffling further into the covers. “We should have listened to you, I know. But if you could have just smelled those hotdogs…”

“Yeah, I’m sure they smelled great mingling with the stench of petrol,” Julie deadpanned. “I’m starting to think you three need constant adult supervision.”

“We are adults.”

“That’s why I’m so worried.”

Luke huffed a laugh, but then frowned. “I feel bad. You’re always the one taking care of me. Just once I want to take care of you.”

Julie raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you want me to get sick?”

“No, no, I didn’t mean that,” he said hurriedly, even though Julie had been joking. “I just meant that you do such a good job with this every time. I want to give you a break.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Julie assured him. “But… if I ever do get sick, I’ll make sure to come straight to you and you can take care of me. Deal?”

“Deal,” Luke said with a soft smile.

*

It had been many years since Luke had been really sick. Julie had naively thought that maybe they’d get lucky and he’d never be sick again. Maybe his laughable immune system had finally caught up and had strengthened itself against what most people could avoid easily.

Wishful thinking.

Flu season was set to ruin Julie’s life. She had woken up one Monday morning and followed her usual routine, heading to her daughter’s bedroom to wake her up for preschool. She had shaken little Rose awake, but the three-year-old had been extremely hot.

“Oh, sweetie,” Julie had said gently. “Are you feeling sick?”

Rose, rubbing her teary tired eyes, had nodded and cried very quietly.

Julie had pulled her into a hug. “Okay, honey. You go back to sleep. It’s alright.”

She laid Rose back down, tucked her back in, and encouraged her to sleep. It took a long time and a lot of tears from Rose, but eventually the little girl drifted back into a fitful slumber. Feeling like all she wanted to do was go to sleep herself, Julie headed back to her own bedroom and shook Luke awake.

“Luke,” she whispered. “Rose is sick. I’m going to call the preschool and tell them she won’t be in, but then I’ve got to get to the studio. You think you can take care of her today?”

Luke sleepily opened his eyes and groaned as he shifted into a sitting position. He held a hand to his head – it looked far too similar to him steadying his balance for Julie’s liking.

She sighed. “Please don’t tell me you’re sick as well?”

Luke tried for a smile. “No, no, I’m alright. I’ll take care of Rose, don’t worry.”

He tried to swing himself out of bed, but Julie didn’t miss the way that the sudden movement made him wince. That and the fact that he clapped a hand to his mouth, the other held over his stomach. Unsteadily, he got to his feet and headed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came back to the bedroom looking sheepish.

“I’m sick too,” he said quietly.

Julie sighed haggardly and looked to the alarm clock on her bedside table. She needed to be at the studio to start her recording session in half an hour, but no part of her was willing to leave her husband and daughter alone while both of them were seeming awfully ill. She quickly made her decision.

“You get back to bed,” she said gently to Luke, taking his hand and leading him back to the bed.

“No, I need to get Rose,” he said, but he grudgingly followed her.

“I’m going to get Rose,” Julie told him as she sat him down and tucked him in. “I’ll bring her here and you can stay snuggled up together. I’ll call the preschool, run some errands, and I’ll check on you both later, okay?”

Luke nodded and lifted Julie’s hand to his lips as if to kiss it, then seemed to think better of it and dropped it. “Okay. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Julie went back to Rose’s room. The little girl was fast asleep, wriggling around a little as she dreamt, her black curls that were the same as her mother’s spread out over her pillow. Gently, Julie picked her up and held her tightly to her chest, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head as she carried her to her own bedroom.

Luke smiled as Julie entered the room with Rose cradled in her arms. He lifted up the duvet so that Julie could lay Rose down beside him. As she put Rose down, the little girl woke up. She looked around, seeming surprised to have been moved. Then she began to cry very, very quietly.

“Dada,” she wailed, tiny fists clutching at Luke’s pyjama top. “Mama!”

Julie was exhausted. She could see a long day ahead of her, looking after both of the most important people in her life as they battled this disgusting illness. But as she looked at them – tearful little Rose snuggled up with Luke, who had his arms around her tightly, stroking her back soothingly as he whispered shushes – she felt a little bit of that exhaustion melt away, replaced with love.

She perched herself on the bed. “Rosie,” she whispered, tucking one of Rose’s stray hairs behind her ear. “If you quiet down, Mama will sing you a lullaby.”

Luke’s eyes widened. Behind the bloodshot sickness, Julie could see the love and admiration he had for her in them. She beamed at him, and he smiled back as if in awe of her. She felt her heart swell with love.

Rose hushed a little and Julie began the lullaby that her own mother had sung to her when she was little. It was a traditional little rhyme, simple and easy, but the beautiful melismatic notes strung together like bunting made the rising melodies sound ethereally pretty. It had always been one of Julie’s favourite songs.

Rose fell back asleep, huddled in Luke’s arms. Luke reached his hand out of took Julie’s hand.

“You’re perfect,” he mouthed, trying not to wake Rose.

Julie smiled, gently kissed his hand, and finally got up to phone the preschool.

*

Julie never got sick. It wasn’t in her nature. It just didn’t happen.

Except for that one time.

Julie woke up with the highest temperature the thermometer had ever recorded, her head was spinning like she was on a rollercoaster, and her muscles felt so fatigued that she couldn’t get out of bed.

And yet, she said to Luke, “I swear I’m fine.”

Luke, in a rare moment of knowledge and common sense, didn’t take her word for it. He seemed almost excited for her sickness – Julie wasn’t sure how to feel about that – and he pulled her into a tight hug.

“No,” he said firmly, “you’re sick. I’m going to take care of you.”

And he did. The very next thing Luke did was make Julie up a hot water bottle and bring it to her to help combat her chills, then he brought her three boxes of paracetamol and an entire pitcher of water. He called the doctor’s office for advice, then dragged the entire television set up to his and Julie’s room from downstairs. He got Rose ready for school and before he left the house he assured Julie that he would be back soon and she didn’t need to worry and, “If you need anything, just call me and I’ll come straight back.”

Julie couldn’t help but smile despite her tiredness and awful feeling. “I’ll be fine, Luke. Get Rose to school before she’s late.”

“I love you,” Luke said.

Rose, stood at the end of Julie’s bed, said, “Love you, Mama!”

“I love you, Rosie. Have a good day.”

Julie watched the love of her life and her perfect daughter leave the room and listened to their footsteps heading downstairs. Maybe she felt absolutely terrible and perhaps like she was going to be sick, but when she had someone like Luke looking after her it didn’t feel quite so dreadful.

[x-starshines-x]

Second Chances- for @unbeknownsttotheworld

1700 words

K+

ships: luke x reggie, julie x flynn (mentioned)

tw: they’re dead??

 They were warming up to rehearse with Julie, and Reggie smiled at him from across the garage. He wasn’t sure how it happened, but the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He loved Reggie.

He’s always been an affectionate person. At any given time he could be found sprawled across his friends’ laps or draped over their shoulders. It was just natural for him to be physically close with his friends, but it was different with Reggie. With Reggie, it was hands cupping faces, hugs that lasted just barely too long to be casual, and lingering glances at lips when the other wasn’t looking. It was clear blue eyes, crooked teeth smiling at him, sitting close enough to knock shoulders and knees, and lyrics that were far too personal to leave his songbook. He’d written countless songs about Reggie. It was expected, he wrote about whatever he was feeling. There were songs about his dreams, his home, hell - there were even a few about his short-lived relationship with Alex, but most of the songs he’s written in the past three months have been about Reggie. When he’d presented the lyrics to “Crooked Teeth” to the band, Alex gave him a sly smile, and Bobby nodded at him. Reggie, however, clapped Alex on the shoulder and teased them about how cute it was of Luke to write a song about him. He really was in love with an idiot.

Even after 25 years, he still felt the same about Reggie, which made sense because it only felt like they’d been dead a few months. With their less than stellar home lives, it had always been an inside joke between him, Reggie, and Alex that if they had to die they’d do it together, but none of them had ever actually expected it to happen like that. How they died didn’t even matter now that they had a second chance. They could play music together, and do what they couldn’t do when they were alive. Alex had genuine love with Willie, which is something that seemed out of his depth in the ’90s, and Luke still had Reggie. He’d taken his feelings to the grave, but now that they were back, he was not about to let that opportunity go so soon.

_______________________________________________

He told Alex first, the next day. It was only fair after he’d been dealing with Luke’s pining for over 25 years. He found him in the garage, looking over some sheet music at the piano.

“I’m in love with Reggie.”

Alex looks at him with a flat expression. “Figured that one out, have ya, Lucas?”

“Oh, c’mon Alex, you could at least pretend to be surprised.”

“Nope, not after putting up with both of your shit for so long,” he responded, smiling. “Anyway, why are you finally talking about it now? Not that it’s not a welcome change from your normal ‘staring-at-him-till-he-looks-at-you-then-looking-away’ thing.”

“First of all, I don’t do that-”

“Yes you do.” he interrupted.

“-Second of all,” he resumed, ignoring Alex. “I just realized that we died, and I never told him how I feel. I literally took my feelings to the grave, and now we have a second chance, so I’m not gonna waste it, ya know?” he explains, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand and sitting down on the piano stool.

“That’s surprisingly smart of you,” Alex smirks. “But really, I’m glad that you’re finally doing something about this. If not for your own happiness, then for my patience.”

“That’s sort of my issue though, I don’t really know how to tell him.”

“Why don’t you just- and I’m just throwing out wild ideas here- talk to him?”

“It’s not that simple, Alex! It has to be perfect. He’s too important for me to screw this up by tripping over my words and looking like a dumbass.”

“But you are a dumbass.”

“Alex!”

“Okay, okay. But to be fair so is Reggie,” he relents.

He lets out an overdramatic puff of air and lays his forehead on top of the piano. “He is! But I love him, and that’s why it has to be perfect,” he mumbles.

Alex reaches over and runs his fingers through Luke’s hair, smiling at his friend’s dramatics. It’s then that Julie walks in, finally home from her date with Flynn, looking over her shoulder at the house and shaking her head.

“Reggie’s messing around in Carlos’s room and I can’t tell him to stop without looking insane,” she says, grabbing her phone from her backpack. When she finally looks up and sees the scene playing out at the piano, she stops.

“What’s going on here?” she motions at Luke.

Luke lifts his head and nods once at Alex’s questioning glance.

“He’s in love with Reggie.”

“Oh my gosh, finally!! I didn’t wanna say anything in case you thought it was weird but you guys are so cute!”

Luke’s head shoots up from the piano, looking between Julie and Alex, his own bewildered expression matching Alex’s.

“You knew?” they ask in stereo.

“Uh, duh. It’s so obvious when you guys play together, and not even a blind person could miss the way you both stare at each other when you think the other’s not looking.”

Alex is nodding at her points, but Luke himself still hasn’t processed the fact that she knew.

“So what’s the problem then? You figured out how you feel, now all you have to do is tell him!” she continues.

“Apparently, that’s exactly what his problem is,” Alex answers, “He doesn’t know how to tell him.”

Julie gives them a confused look and fixes her gaze on Luke. “Why don’t you just play one of your songs for him? I’m willing to bet that you have at least 7 about him in your songbook.” she offers like it’s obvious.

“Are you crazy!? None of those songs even begin to explain how I actually feel about Reggie.”

“Then just write a new one,” she says, once again as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

“It’s not that easy!” Luke responds for what feels like the hundredth time.

“But it can be that easy if you stop overcomplicating it,” Alex adds.

Julie nods, “Exactly! All you have to do is put your feelings for him into a song, and we already know you’re great at that.”

“Maybe I can make that work,” he pauses to think, feeling his confidence rising, “Okay, yeah. I can totally work with that! Thank you guys!” he grins at his friends, standing to pull them both into a big hug.

When they finally pull apart, Alex poofs into the house, offering to keep Reggie distracted so Luke can write in peace. Julie starts grabbing her stuff to head inside, but is stopped by Luke.

“Actually, do you think you can stay and help me with this? Um, if you’re not busy or anything.” he asks.

“Of course! Where do we start?”

_______________________________________________

“It’s perfect, thank you so much Julie,” Luke says sincerely.

In the end they finished the song in just a few hours, repurposing lyrics and melodies and lyrics from songs Luke wrote about Reggie in the ‘90s, adding modern touches and lyrics where they were needed. If he was being honest with himself, it was probably one of the best songs he’d ever written, on par with “Unsaid Emily” and “Stand Tall”._ “Second Chances” _took everything he loved about his relationship with Reggie and put it into words.

“I’m happy to help.” she responded sincerely, “Now I’m gonna go find Alex and tell him to send your boy in. Good luck, Luke.”

He felt the nerves begin to set in as she left, this was really it. He was gonna tell Reggie how he felt or die (ha) trying. He didn’t have to wait long before Reggie was warping into the garage.

“Hey, man! What’s up? Alex says you have something to show me.” he says cheerily, smiling in that way that makes his eyes crinkle around the corners, and Luke’s heart is beating in his throat.

“Uh, yeah,” he swallows, “Come sit here for a sec,” he says, patting his hand on the sofa.

Reggie makes his way to the sofa, sitting casually. He spots Luke’s guitar resting behind where Luke himself is sitting on the stool.

“Oooh! Are you playing a new song for me?” he asks excitedly.

“Yeah, I just finished it, it’s called_ ‘Second Chances’._” he answers, picking up his guitar and settling into his natural position, feeling it’s familiar weight.

He closes his eyes and starts playing the intro of the song, it’s soft but full of energy, and he feels his nerves melt away as he starts the first verse. He gets all the way to the pre-chorus before opening his eyes, but still doesn’t look up at Reggie.

His confidence builds as the music swells leading up to the chorus, and when it hits, he finally looks up at Reggie, locking their eyes and singing directly to him.

“In the whole world of missed opportunities, you’re my second chance.”

He continues singing and playing, but gets up to sway with the music, Reggie following his lead. After another minute, they’re dancing around the studio and around each other. The energy in the room is electric and they’re suffocating and breathing more clearly than they ever have at the same time. The song eventually comes to an end with Luke strumming the final chord and letting it ring, and breathing deeply. Before Luke can move his guitar, Reggie is pulling him in for an uncomfortable, clumsy kiss and it’s perfect. Luke’s guitar is still between them, it’s teeth clashing and sweaty skin, and they’re both out of breath from dancing around, but it’s perfect.

“I’m guessing you didn’t hate the song, then.”

“Are you kidding me? I loved it, Luke.” is Reggie’s response, burying his face in the crook of Luke’s neck.

Luke pulls away to set his guitar down, and grabs Reggie by the back of his neck pulling him in for a much better kiss this time.

“Hey Reg,”

“Yeah Luke?”

“Spend your afterlife with me?”

“Of course, dumbass.”

[defultuser]

Britverse fic

Inspired by this post. Thanks to @theladyfae and the whole britgate team for your help 

As the bell rings Julie looks round her music class. Luke is diligently scribbling in his notebook, she thinks music is the only class where he’s not racing to leave as soon as it's possible for him to do so. While the rest of the class leave Julie silently motions to Mrs Harrison, a request for her and her friends to stay in her class during lunch. After receiving confirmation and watching Harrison leave Julie pulls out her phone to see a text from Flynn in the group chat, an offer to get food from the cafeteria for anyone that wants; Julie replies with a thumbs up and sandwich emoji before letting them know to come music once they have food. 

Turning back round she sees the class is empty but herself, Luke and Carrie; who pulls out her salad before throwing her pen at Luke’s head effectively waking him from his musical coma. With Luke’s attention back on them Julie asks, “Did you want to practice for the performance Saturday while we wait for the others?”

It's a pretty certain bet Luke will do just about anything with the promise of music so it comes as no surprise when in place of an answer he stands and grabs his guitar. The pair begin to sing through the song while Carrie eats and watches, preparing feedback. 

“That song is fit my g’s” 

No matter how many years Julie has lived in the UK she will never understand a word that comes out of Reggie Peter’s mouth. Just last week he called her pencil case, phone, and both her parents peng, apparently it's a compliment. Putting down his guitar Luke walks over to his friends and begins a handshake far too complex for people that ‘don’t care for all that stupid friendship stuff’. Willie joins her and they take their seats on the tables with their feet on the chairs.

“How was media? Miss like your homework?” She turns and asks the guys. 

“Her lessons are so dead man, Miss Ellis is so dry” Reggie answers she gives Bobby a confused look, 

“Bad, he’s saying that it was boring, as always.” He translates as he pulls Reggie into his lap where he’s sitting in Harrison's chair. Cause yeah that's a thing now. Despite spending most of year 9 fighting and most of year 10 deep into school conspiracies, they both accidentally came out just before the start of year 11 and they've been sort of romantic ever since; by romantic she means they go Mcdonalds as a pair and have been caught on one too many occasions making out in various classrooms. But they seem happy enough so none of the group questions it.

Julie's internal monologue is cut short by the arrival of Flynn and therefore food. 

“Food!’ Julie screams as if announcing it to the group, as she heads over to Flynn to collect her lunch, an unappealing pasta and bottle of water. Nick sets about handing out food for the rest of the group that asked for some. 

“Hotdog” Willie calls as Alex makes his way over to him and takes Julie's spot, with a kiss on the cheek Willie asks, “How was class?”

“Not too bad, we had a test but it was on what I revised last night.”

“Lucky bitch!” Flynn calls from where they're sitting, feet half in Carrie’s lap “some of us had netball so didn't study.”

“Probably should have studied, would have been better than your help at the game.” Carrie argues which sets off a chain reaction. 

“What are you trying to suggest? At least I didn't spend 45 minutes making sure my tracksuit looked good. A tracksuit you only wore on the bus”

“Yeah 45 minutes you could have revised cause you sure as hell were not making yourself look good.”

“Yeah i’m naturally this fit,” 

It's at this point Julie steps in “Girls enough!”

“No at least let them trade blows next time,'' Bobby complains, earning him a middle figure from both netball girls. 

At this moment Kayla, late from her film studies lesson enters. In place of a hello she greets the group with “Fuck me french film is pretentious,” she gives Carrie a hug and collects her lunch from Flynn. 

“That bad?” Willie questions and Kayla heads over to Harrison's desk to eat, in place of an answer she groans earning a laugh from the group. 

The group drifts off into the kind of comfortable silence you can only get around your friends. Willie and Alex chat amongst themselves, while Luke and Nick discuss his latest song, occasionally strumming a chord or two, Carrie is deeply engrossed in her instagram feed. With the rest working on homework over at Harrison’s desk Julie pulls her folder out of her bag and joins the study sesh. Every now and again someone will address the room and sometimes a lasting conversation will form, such as “Did you see Ms Mathew’s computer? Her background, it's her and Harrison on a beach.” It would seem Bobby isn't quite out of his conspiracy theory phase just yet, this was one of their favorites, are Mrs Harrison and Ms Mathew dating? As Julie has already tried to explain, they've been married for years now but that seems like too easy of an answer for walking conspiracy podcast Bobby Wilson. It's not long until silence falls over the room again. 

Luke suddenly jumps up guitar in hand. As if taunting him the rest pay him no attention. “Guys!” he screams.

“What ?” Julie rolls her eyes.

“I got it, the melody, listen” he begins to play, Julie recognises some of the chords and lyrics from earlier in lunch, she’ll admit it's a good song, incomplete but good. Before he’s able to finish Mr Davids walks into the room, looking as sour faced as ever. 

“Um folks, what are we doing here?” He calls in that voice all teachers can do “It's lunchtime … What are we doing in this classroom? You know you’re not allowed in here without a teacher.” 

Reggie clearly with more confidence than the rest goes to answer before getting cut off by Davids. 

“No Mr Peters, don't answer me back.”

Not shaken Luke cuts in “Mrs Harrison let us stay here,”  

“Mrs Harrison said you could be in here, well is this Mrs Harrison’s room? er i didn’t think so,” Davids is so quick to tell them off he doesn't listen to Carrie’s protest that it is Harrison’s room “All of you out!” Figuring it's easier to leave than argue they start collecting their things, “Go outside, eat, be sociable.”

“We were just practising” Luke grumbles catching Davids attention 

“You’re practising? Really, Mr Patterson for what? Last I checked only yourself Miss Wilson and Miss Molina were music students” 

“A gig” Luke mumbles Davids is clearly not a fan of this answer,

“For a gig, umm is that a school event... it isn’t?” again Davids doesn't even wait for a reply “Right. Well then I suggest you practice outside of school. You’re here to learn not trash a classroom… out!” 

In perhaps what might be the only time they've ever been grateful for the far too short lunch break at this school, they don't find themselves classroom-less for long; almost as soon as Davids shuts the door on the music room, locking them out, the bell rings and they're sent off the afternoon form. Both couples share a kiss before separating for class. Luke and Alex leave first in what can only be described as a sprint, after all their form is unfairly far away from everyone else’s. And Carrie drags a begrudging Reggie away to their shared form. The rest offer a series of “see you in class” and “meet me at the shop after school”s before Julie leaves with Willie and Kayla following as they cut through the drama studio and into the art department. 

Once the register is called Julie is free to work on her homework, although songwriting isn't strictly homework. She finds herself drawn to the lyrics Luke had been working on earlier; perhaps she could finish it for him and they could play it at the Hollywood Ghost Pub’s open mic night. Already imagining how it'll go: the surprise and excitement on Luke's face as she presents it to him, the perfect song to play with the boys, the amazing performance as they give it their all, she smiles losing herself in the daydream.

[amythecinnabunny]

71 and 100 Julie and Luke

71. Twenty-Four Hours to Live  

100. Accidentally Saving the Day   

You really would like to kill the fandom and me wouldn't you???? I tried so hard to make it jukebox specific but the whole band + Willie are so closely entwined with each other its nearly impossible akxbjsbsbs

So I'm thinking canon-verse? But a year later or less. I think more than a year would get a little awkward as Julie would surpass 17 in a year's time.

All our current problems and issues are resolved by this point. Ray, Carlos and Tia Victoria have met the band. Possibly Carrie too. The Bobby/Trevor debacle is dealt with. Caleb is deslth with (he's not dead(er) he's just keeping to the HGC). Julie and Carrie have since mended their friendship. Jukebox and Williex are official now. Possibly Flarrie too, maybe Kaylie. Maybe Nick/Flynn. Maybe Carricklynn. Maybe Nick/Reggie. Who knows, anything is possible. Julie can see but not touch Willie -- but he others can't see him at all.

The band has made it big by now. They're the latest and greatest. Almost everyone is talking about Julie and the Phantoms. By now, articles and posts refer to them as legends.

Julie's looking at colleges now and it's kinda settling in that Julie's growing up. In a year, she'll be done with high school and going off to college, something the boys never even had the change to do. So that angsty conversation's gonna happen.

But then things start to get weird. Sometimes, Julie will pass through the boys but they won't immediately notice. Or they'll be talking to someone other that Julie and they'll sort of flicker. Not physically or anything its just that to the other person, they're flickering.

Oh yeah, for this, I'm gonna go with the more they play with Julie, the more human-like they get and by the end of the year gap, they're visible full-time, just not always tangible to people other than Julie. They can still do their gimmick cause the whole visible thing is on command. So you can bet your ass Luke vanished on the spot when Ray asked about jukebox.

The strange thing is . . . It's happening with Willie too. Sometimes Willie's hand will go right through Alex's. Sometimes he and Reggie are playing video games with Carlos and then both of them see Reggie flickering and Reggie, of course, doesn't notice

One evening, after a late night gig, Julie and the boys gather on one couch to watch the local 24/7 news together and see them hit the highlights on a recap. The newscaster??? newsreader??? wtf do you call em? anyway the presenter brings them up near midnight and calls them Los Angeles' most beloved legends.

Midnight on the dot, the boys get these circles on their wrists. Like tattoos. A stamp. Just a thick black ring. They're all confused about it and they check Julie's wrist for a ring -- maybe it's a magic band thing? -- but Julie's wrists are free of any black circles.

They're so confused, they spend all night thinking about it. Julie doesn't even sleep. She calls Flynn about it. She calls Carrie about it. She even talks to Carlos until he gets tired. Alex brings Willie over to talk about it. They're all so baffled that they don't notice it changing until dawn-ish.

Willie's the one to notice Alex's. A quarter of the ring is missing. Julie grabs Luke's wrist and compares it to Reggie's before scrambling over each other to put their wrists next to Alex's. All still identical, with about a quarter of it missing.

"It looks like a countdown."

"What happens when it counts down to the end?"

Silence

Willie says he'll ask around the HGC. Yes, Caleb is safe to visit. His ass has been kicked and it's mostly embarrassment that keeps him holed up when he's not performing or practicing.

Reggie shrugs it off, saying he and Carlos have a date with Destiny. Destiny 2, to be specific. Alex also shrugs it aside, he has a Dirty Candy rehearsal to crash and he's not about to miss it. (The running lie is that the boys visit Julie after every gig. Maybe Kayla knows the truth too. Idk it's small details, up to the author that would like to decimate me by writing this)

That leaves Luke and Julie alone together. Julie can't get it out of her mind. If it's a countdown, what's it counting down to? What happens at the end?

Luke tries to take her mind off it with some songwriting after she gets breakfast, maybe practicing a little together. They even write a little bit of a duet together. Luke keeps Julie entertained for a full four hours, amid which Alex returned and chose to go and watch Reggie and Carlos completely lose track of time.

Julie takes an hour-long nap, leaving Luke to stare at the ring on his wrist and wonder why it's nearly a half circle now.

Willie pops into the studio in a frenzied panic, Reggie and Alex in tow. Luke is so startled, he nearly drops the acoustic. The clatter wakes Julie. Willie looks almost apologetic when he notices her.

Julie asks him what he found out as Luke sits next to her and helps her move her hair from her face. Willie struggles to explain. He's half hoping that maybe, if he doesn't say it aloud, it won't be true. He says it's a clock. It's twenty four hours.

Reggie is the one who asks what happens at the final hour. Willie doesn't answer for a long while. He just holds Alex's hand tight.

At the same time, Willie's hand drops as if he hadn't been holding on to anything and Luke's arm passes right through Julie. The boys flicker before Julie and Willie and it lasts nearly ten seconds.

It slowly dawns on them. No one wants to say it.

"They cross over," Julie whispers when the silence gets heavier than the revelation. Willie only nods. The silence in the garage weighs on them almost visibly.

They look at their wrists, almost half circles.

"So we have about twelve hours left," Alex says. "Maybe we can figure out a way to stop it."

Willie reaches for Alex's hand again. "I asked. There's no way to stop it. Once your unfinished business is complete, you have twenty four hours before you're gone from here. Gone for good."

Luke is adamant there's a way to stop it. His arm tightens around Julie, like she's the one leaving. He hates the defeated look in Willie's eyes. He hates that even in the back of his own mind, there's a voice telling him to get his affairs in order before he dies for the second time.

By the time Reggie determinedly states that there has to be a way to stop it and that they will figure it out, the marks have become perfect half-circles. There are only twelve hours left.

I don't wanna think too hard about it because I don't need to cry at 10pm, but there will be a lot of sad but sweet jukebox moments in between it all.

By the time there's only a third of the ring left, they've started losing hope. They haven't found a single ghost who has any idea how to help. The internet has been very unhelpful. There was a group of wiccans who tried to help but they suggested a spell that didn't look very authentic and it also involved sacrificing a goat at midnight and well, they didn't have until midnight. Still, the wiccans were very sympathetic and wished them well.

They didn't know how to tell the rest about this and they didn't have any idea how to say goodbye to each other. It felt like they were trying to say goodbye to a piece of themselves, the the most important part of themselves.

At the three-quarter mark, Reggie quietly tells Alex and Luke that they ought to spend some time alone with Willie and Julie. If Reggie/Nick or Reggie/Flynn is a thing for this, then Reggie would spend some time alone with them. If not, probably Ray and Carlos.

Cue the most heartwrenching conversation you have ever read in your life, ending with the worlds most grief-filled kiss. I'd get into it but like I said up there, I cannot afford to start crying now.

It's a thin black strip when they get together in the studio. Reggie's partner would be there too if he has one. If not, it's just the band + Willie.

Willie hasn't let go of Alex for over an hour, but now, when the mark is a nearly invisible line, he nudges Alex forward, towards Julie and Luke.

"Band circle?" Luke tries to joke. It only makes their tears fall faster.

Reminiscent of the hug they shared when Caleb's stamp lifted, the four of them try as hard as they can to hug each other as tightly as possible. Willie thinks to himself that he feels strange not being the last person to hold Alex, but it feels like for his band to be the last people to hold him.

None of them are very co-ordinated outside of music related things and just like the night a year ago, they tumble to the ground when someone stands on someone's foot and someone leans a little too much in one direction.

Willie can't help the laugh. It's just so them to be so undignified even in their last moments. He can't even see any of their marks anymore. The only reason he knows it must still be there is because the boys are this there. They knock the radio down and it starts playing the last inserted CD. Willie joins them on the ground and lays his head on Alex's chest as Now or Never fills the studio. --like we'll live forever, but live it like it's now or never

Julie, from between Luke and Reggie, reaches over to grab Alex's hoodie, just so she can be holding on to all of them when it happens. "I love you guys so much."

Luke kisses her forehead. There is a chorus of, "I love you too, Julie." Willie and Alex quietly share another set of "I love you"s.

Julie has long since gotten used to laying her head on Luke's chest and hearing nothing, but the silence behind the old song is nearly deafening. It just serves as a reminder than this is the last time she will ever see or touch Luke or Alex or Reggie again. She wraps her other arm around Reggie. It's uncomfortable and is probably bruising some part of her body, but she needs to be able to hold them all before they go.

Julie shuts her eyes and holds tightly to her boys, wishing with all her heart that there was some way to save her boys again. Some way to bring them back properly this time, so they could grow up with her. Some way to make sure Alex and Willie could stay together, that one of then won't ever have to say goodbye.

It only registers that something feels a little strange after the song abruptly cuts. The CD scratches, trying to play the rest of it but there's just a steady clicking sound. It clicks on a steady count. Like a steady drum beat. In time to a pulsing beat.

Like startled stoats, Willie and Julie shoot up and lock eyes over Alex and Luke.

The boys are, rightfully, confused.

Julie and Willie spiderman-meme point at each other, sputtering like an old car on a frozen winter morning.

Still confused and expecting to be long gone, they boys sit up and search their wrists for any traces of the mark, even the thinnest of lines.

Finally, Julie gets a coherent word out. "Heartbeat!"

"Heartbeat!" Willie echoes, nodding vigorously.

They're still jabbing their fingers at each other, having a full conversation with their sputtering sounds.

"Heartbeat?" Reggie echoes, baffled.

Julie and Willie yell at Luke and Alex, "Heartbeat!" It seems to be the only word they can get out. Clicking her tongue, Julie grabs Luke's hand and presses it to his own chest.

Reggie screams suddenly. He's standing suddenly and he's got his fingers at his neck. "P-p-p-pulse!"

He looks at Julie and Willie. "Heartbeat," he says slowly, understanding.

Alex screams. Willie only realises Alex had been holding his wrist when he lets go.

"What?"

Alex reaches out for Willie, as if to cue his face, but instead places his fingers just under Willie's jaw. He screams again, startling Willie, who never expected his boyfriend to look him in the eye and shout like he'd seen a demon. So Willie screams. Which startles Alex. Who screams again.

Luke finally registers what's going on. He screams. Right in Julie's ear. She gets startled. She screams. Startling Luke. Who screams again.

Reggie is still screaming with each place he puts his fingers and feels a steady beat.

There is so much screaming going on in the studio that Ray and Carlos make their way down too. Carri and Flynn, who wanted to be there for Julie after, come barreling in after. The four of them stand there, perplexed, as Julie, Alex, Reggie, Willie and Luke, all standing now, point at each other and scream.

Its pandemonium, honestly. A miracle none of the neighbors have come over to check.

And Julie drops her first curse in front of her dad as she stares at Luke, Reggie and Alex. "WHAT THE FUCK, YOU GUYS????"

Willie, who's never had any qualms cursing when no living adult could ever hear him, stares at Juliie like she's grown a second head. "NO! NO NO NO! NOT THEM WHAT THE FUCK! ME WHAT THE FUCK!!! ME!!!!"

Julie squints at Willie. "What??"

Alex holds up Willie's wrist. "PULSE!!"

Julie's eyebrows shoot up. "PULSE???? WHAT DO YOU MEAN PULSE?!"

"I mean pulse! What do you think??"

"What the hell is going on in here?" Carrie finally mutters.

As one, they all turn to the perplexed group in the doorway. Julie grabs Luke and drags him up to Carrie. She almost throws him at Carrie with the amount of force she uses to thrust his arm at her. "Pulse," she says, pointing to Luke's wrist.

Carrie sighs. "You know you're the only one that can--" Carrie screams when Julie slaps her arm with Luke's hand. Carrie screaming startles Flynn, who let's out a short screech.

"NO MORE SCREAMING!" Ray yells. In the silence, the clicking radio seems to get louder. Not trusting any of the screaming teenagers, Ray turns to his son. "Carlos, can you turn that off, please?"

Carlos rights the radio and presses the pause button. He presses it again. Sunset Curve fills the studio for a second -- dreaming like we'll live forever -- before Carlos manages to get it off.

Later, after they've explained everything and are still trying to wrap their heads around it, Julie crawls onto the couch beside Luke and lays her head on his chest. It's incredibly strange to hear a steady beat where there was once nothing but she can't deny that she loves the sound of it.

"That demo has more magic in it than the entire Hollywood Ghost Club," Alex mutters from the armchair he and Willie are squished into.

"I wonder what'll happen if I listen to any of the other tracks on the demo," Julie jokes.

"We'll probably grow wings," Reggie mutters from under Carlos, who had been so thrilled that Reggie wasn't leaving anytime soon, he had fallen asleep hugging Reggie.

Alex and Luke laugh, sharing an inside joke.

"You think you guys would still be here if Reggie didn't knock the radio over?" Willie asks.

"All hail, my mighty inability to watch where I'm going."

This time, Julie and Willie laugh too.

Julie curls up against Luke and sighs contentedly, listening to Luke's heart pound against his ribcage. In that moment, she can't think if anywhere else she'd rather be, anything else she'd rather listen to.

For the first time since they died, when Julie finally falls asleep, they doze off too.

Willie feels strange. When he yawns, he realizes he hasn't been tired since he first woke up as a ghost. It's nightly inconvenient and annoying, but he hasn't felt this alive since Alex first kissed him. As Willie dozes off, he makes a mental reminder to figure out what included him in the whole thing. He'll forget when he wakes up and they spend the day celebrating their mere alive-ness.

Things get even more interesting when Julie and the Phantoms perform again and Jullie accidentally walks through Luke, but that's a whole other story.

[missorgana]

and they were roommates

pairing: alex/willie, background julie/luke

fandom: julie and the phantoms

rating: general

word count: 2383

warning: swearing

summary: Luke and Reggie make a bet about who can set up their dumbass, pining friends, Alex and Willie, first. What could possibly go wrong? (everyone lives au, matchmaking friends)

(my 12 days of fanfiction event is back with another willex fic for the gays! thank you to my babe @georgiawarrs for the prompt, really hope you enjoy this 💖 uwuuu. and don’t forget, you can still send me prompts if you haven’t already!)

read on ao3

“So it’s a deal, then.”

“Bring it on, dude. I’m so gonna win.”

“Not in a million years, Reg!”

…

In short, Luke and Reggie’s bet is about who can set up their shy, stubborn best friend Alex with his roommate, who he’s been crushing on for God knows how long, first.

Not as simple as it sounds.

Before you ask, no, this is not something they usually do. Or they’ve ever done before.

But honestly, Luke’s had quite enough of the blonde dancing around Willie, previously mentioned roommate, when he’s voiced his feelings for the other boy to his friends multiple times.

Their friend’s only argument when they bring it up is, “No way he’d ever date me. I’m way out of his league.”

And best friends just can’t let each other talk like that about themselves, can they?

Also, having met Willie a handful of times, it’s clear to Luke, Reggie and their moms, probably, that he’s head over heels about Alex.

Even the time Luke met him alone in the cafeteria, all he talked about was Alex. It’s honestly adorable. 

And annoyingly stupid.

So, the mission’s clear: get the two dumbasses on a date, ASAP. And since Reggie insisted he could do it more effectively than Luke, they decided a bet didn’t hurt, not when they were helping their friend out.

What could possibly go wrong?

…

Reggie’s first move happened to be during the boys’ usual lunch plans, and obviously, Luke ain’t gonna miss it.

Sometimes Julie and Flynn join them, but she texted him they were late for band practice, sadly so. He totally didn’t mope about it. But Reg’s right he’ll see her after class, anyway.

Just, that’s a long time, you know? Flynn’s told them they’re too codependent on each other, but he just thinks she’s joking, truth be told.

Anyway, the boys are currently seated on the grass, giving them a perfect view of the football practice, not that they were into that sort of thing. They had to discuss the next Sunset Curve gig, which is fucking huge, and Luke can’t wait.

Julie’s written another perfect song. All her songs are perfect. Just trust him, okay?

But just as Alex’s phone pings with a text, “Hold on, it’s Willie.”, he casually throws the statement out, and Reggie looks at Luke with a spark in his eyes.

Perfect opportunity, he gotta give him that.

“Y’know, Alex,” he starts, trying painfully hard to not be suspicious, “Why aren’t you having lunch with Willie?”

The blonde discards the phone in his hoodie and blinks at his friends.

“We always have lunch together.” he answers, varily, oh God, Alex almost looks disappointed.

Thankfully, Reggie picks it up just as quick as himself, shaking his head, “I know! I know, just… uh, I mean, you’re roommates. Would be weird if you never spent time with him.”

Then he nods. Winks in Luke’s direction. That boy is the least smooth person he’s ever met.

And Alex frowns, “We did homework together last night.”

Oh, yes, the study dates. Emphasis on study, not dates.

The blonde always seems perpetually nervous when he’s brought them up in the past, which was another reason why Luke was sick of him not making a move. Although, he hasn’t talked about them for a while, surprisingly.

He steps in, Reggie should be thankful, “I just think, Reg too, you could invite him to lunch tomorrow.”

“Really?” Alex asks, looking a mixture of shocked and excited. 

“Yeah, man. Julie eats with us all the time, why not?”

Reggie’s quick to add, “And Flynn!” and Luke nods eagerly in agreement.

And although their friend seems convinced, shyly smiling, picking up the phone again, he still continues the questioning, “Well, they’re in the band.”

Ugh, he’s impossible.

“But they’re also our friends, and-”

“Hey, and my girlfriend!”

“Yes, yes, dude, we know.” Reggie draws out the last syllable and pats his shoulder, “And Luke’s girlfriend. But your friends are our friends, Alex.”

Subtle argument, he likes it. Well, it’s a start.

And the blonde finally shrugs, so he thinks they’ve won him over, “Alright. Thanks guys.”

Good thing he’s texting again, not catching the two boys’ smug eye contact.

Luke knows this is Reggie’s victory, but hey, same end goal, right?

…

Two days later, Luke’s prepared to start his own plan.

In case you’re wondering, Willie was supposed to have lunch with the gang on Tuesday, however, Alex let them know he had to help out his dad and cover a waiter’s shift at the café. The blonde’s disappointment about the situation was obvious.

So it’s Thursday, and when Luke spots Willie on the way to campus, on his skateboard, alone, most importantly, he decided to act quickly.

“Willie!”, it’s hard to yell when he’s running, because, damn, he really should do something to better his shape, at least so he’s not dying after a few minutes of jogging. Luckily, the other boy hears him and slows down.

He chuckles and pats his back, not funny, “Hey, man. You okay there?”

Luke’s totally fine, of course. Just hopes he’s not totally red in the face, is all. If that’s the case, Willie’s got heart enough to not mention it.

“Definitely. Ya mind if I walk with you?”

The shorter boy looks surprised. Fair enough, he supposes, Luke always picks up Julie on the way here normally, but she’s got early classes today, so. A bit rude of the school planning, or whatever, honestly.

Maybe he misses her, which doesn’t make him cheesy, okay? It’s only been two days, but like, even when he has a bad day, when he plays wrong, or his parents argue with him, she smiles at him like it’s all gonna be okay.

Luke can’t think about her without getting sappy, so he’s gotta focus on the mission, for now, and Willie’s nodded in response, casually rolling down the sidewalk so he’ll catch up.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” he tries as casually as possible, keep it cool Luke, don’t give away your true motive, “You like Alex, right?”

The other boy jumps down from the rail he used as a ramp, landing with the same surprised face as before. He also does this thing where kicks the skateboard up and catches it under his arm.

It possibly confuses the hell out of Luke, to be honest, then again, one might feel the same about him playing the guitar, or, you know, any skill you don’t have. Too much thinking.

“Of course I do.” the skater tells him simply, and confidently so.

In his mind, he can easily picture himself winning this. Huge applause, cake, the lot.

“Good! I know, but you know, you should totally invite him to one of your skating…” he pauses, because Luke’s honestly sure where he’s going with the sentence, regardless, when nothing else works, freestyle, “Gigs?”

Willie looks at him with a weird expression, then laughs heartily, turning his eyes to the ground. He hopes that’s a good sign.

“Competitions?” the shorter boy helps, to which Luke nods, but the other keeps going, “He’s come by in the park sometimes, but you might have a point with that. You think he’ll like it?”

“Uh, duh.” he says with a click of his tongue, “Not that he’ll admit it, but trust me.”

And although it sounds settled and set in stone, the skater gives him another weird look. Luke brushes it off, because really, getting dating advice from your crushes’ friend is a bit ridiculous. What’s he supposed to do when they’re so stupidly stubborn, though?

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”

…

Guess what? Luke’s earned himself a point ahead of Reggie, due to the brilliant idea he voiced to Willie last week. Yes, brilliant, obviously!

“We’re in a tie, you know that right?” Reg tells him, which isn’t true at all, because his lunch proposal only half worked, and that’s exactly what he tells his friend.

The boy rolls his eyes. “Not fair”, his ass!

Anyway, Alex was excited going to his crush’s skating show on Friday, and they both consider that a win regardless. The blonde’s raving about it over band practice, well, less the show, more how pretty Willie looked when he tied his hair up in a bun.

Needless to say, they both find their friend adorable, almost can’t contain some self-satisfied smiles. So far, so good.

Their nosy attempts at figuring out if Alex then got himself together and made a move crashed devastatingly, however.

“Couldn’t talk long after, curfew.” he told them, and damn, he looked like a puppy kicked to the curb. 

So goddamn annoying, but alright, this time around it was out of their power.

Luckily, it’s Sunset Curve’s next gig in two days, and Reggie’s got the perfect countermove, Luke’s gonna give it to him. This move being inviting Willie to previously mentioned concert, and since it’s the first round of Battle of the Bands, tension’s high.

Their best friend pales when they announce the exciting news.

“This is a good thing, dude! He’ll love seeing you play!”

“And us- Ow!”

“You deserve it.” Luke simply tells Reggie, crossing his arms.

“Guys!” the blonde interrupts, fiddling with the drumsticks and looking like he just saw a ghost, “I can’t just play knowing Willie’s there! What if I fuck up?”

And so Luke has to shake his head at his dear, overthinking boy. Not that Luke’s haven’t had that consideration before, hell, his mom and dad hearing their tape terrified the shit out of him, but that fear’s getting in the way of the matchmaking.

Besides, those two are meant to be. Seriously, he knows they’re barely halfway in their young lives, all of them, but they’re perfect!

Smiling at each other all the time like idiots. Luke’s got a feeling he does that with Julie, too.

“You won’t,” Reggie interrupts his own train of thought, “You never do, Alex.”

“Besides, he looked thrilled, man! We’ll leave you alone after the show.”

“Promise!” Reg chimes in, and they wink in semi-unison, just to get the point across. It’s almost worrying when Alex sighs, but he shrugs nonetheless.

“If you say so.”

…

So although the gig went fantastic, and Alex and Willie were annoyingly cute but even more so awkward as hell around each other after, Luke’s maybe going a bit crazy.

Okay, alright, it’s only the third week, but neither of the boys seem to be giving clues that they’re finally realising how stupid they are.

Maybe Luke doesn’t know, explicitly, if Willie crushes on Alex too, but it’s obvious! 99.9 percent!

It’s ridiculous how much their best friend’s pining leads up to nothing, and both of them start to understand some of those slow burn fanfictions out there. Which Reggie made him read, by the way. If anyone asks Reg, he’ll blame it on Julie, probably.

Thankfully, an opportunity presents itself on a silver platter, when Carrie Wilson throws her over the top birthday party.

To be honest, Luke’s not sure how to feel about her, given the past long feud, even though Julie’s assured him she’s changed. He’d trust her with anything, so it’s fine. And seriously, he swears he overheard Flynn asking Carrie on a date, but their friend denied it straight up to his face.

Regardless, since guests (meaning, the entire school) are usually allowed a plus one, Reggie and himself figured it was their job to arrange Alex bringing Willie along.

One weird detail to it all, before they could even bring it up, Alex chimed in, during what feels like their 500th Star Wars marathon night, “You guys… you- uh, you think I should invite Willie to Carrie’s party?”

Did the universe just thank them for their service, or something?

Of course, both boys eagerly nodded, practically jumping in their bean bags, while simultaneously making a little of a deal of it as possible.

Literally proof that soulmates exist, Luke thinks. Yes, that is melodramatic, but he doesn’t give a shit, frankly.

Only problem?

They’re at the very party, the center of the mission now, and Alex and Willie are acting just as shy as usual. The blonde’s even fiddling anxiously, like he always does around his crush, and given that they haven’t lost sight of either of them yet, Reggie voices another sigh to him.

Maybe this is a sign from the universe to not intervene, then, he supposes.

They’re at the ping pong table, the two boys, who apparently are determined to remain clueless for eternity, left for the kitchen to get more snacks.

Seems like Julie’s noticed his own beated demeanor, cause she appears at his side, leaning her head on his shoulder. He can’t not smile, just a little bit.

“What’s got you two losers down?” Flynn asks, suddenly in front of them, and Reg will probably mopily deny he jumped.

“Ugh,” is all Luke says.

“Alex and Willie are impossible.” Reggie adds, nodding in agreement, and instead of the expected understanding, Julie frowns up at him.

“What do you mean?”

Maybe Luke’s sort of embarrassed admitting the plan to her, sensing she’ll find it silly, but really, he can’t hide anything from her, and they’ve given up by now, anyway, “We’ve been trying to get them to admit their feelings for each other.”

Flynn’s frowning now, too.

“We actually had a bet-”

“Yeah, but! Like we love Alex, and he’s so lost on him. But we’ve tried everything.”

“They’re too annoying.” adds Reggie for good measure.

And all of a sudden, Julie’s giggling. Her best friend too, and judging by the look Reg’s giving him, he’s just as confused as himself. She’s so cute when she’s laughing, though, despite this boggling his mind.

“How do you guys not know this?!” Flynn’s saying, and when they’re only scratching their heads, because how do they expect them to understand that, Julie smiles her sunshine smile and pokes Luke’s chin, “They’re roommates, you know.”

That doesn’t make any sense. Whatsoever.

Not until Alex and Willie return with a bucket of popcorn, the skater hanging on to their friend’s hoodie sleeve. Of course, he makes his leave for the bathroom, kissing the blonde’s nose on the way.

Reggie looks at Luke. Oh my god, they’re roommates.

[beware-of-you-98]

soft jemily halloween hc's? 🥺🎃🍂🏚️👻

:)

Okay Halloween is hands down their favorite holiday (Christmas has its charm, but Halloween beats it out easily in their opinion)

They are that cringey couple that coordinate their costumes to match

They always come up with the best ones too

The first year everyone walks into the office during Halloween, they’re all shocked to see Emily Prentiss, normally stoic and serious “chief in charge”, dressed up as Flynn Rider from Tangled

Exact outfit, exact boots, exact hairstyle

She even went as far as to complete the look by using makeup to replicate his beard and sideburns on her own face

Like seriously, even Penelope and Spencer are like “????!?!?! What?!????!!!”because they haven’t seen this side of Emily ever

JJ then walks by the group, dressed up as Repunzel (complete with a long flowing wig) with an innocent shrug

“What can I say? I’m very convincing.” She tells the group with a smirk before she leans up and kisses Emily’s cheek before heading back to work

[No one has to know that the costumes were really Emily’s idea all along]

After that year, no one bats an eye when the two come in dawned in their spectacular cordinated costumes

Penelope is always so impressed by them (ok, she might internally fangirl a bit over them because she’s definitely Emily and JJ’s number one “shipper”)

Spencer always innocently pitches new ideas for them to try for the next year (he has no idea that they already have the next year’s costumes planned out, but his contributions are sweet and well thought out anyway)

Tara is 100% their hype woman when it comes to seeing and complimenting their costumes (they’re too cute or perfectly planned out to not)

Luke tried to out do their costumes every year and it becomes a friendly competition of sorts to see who can come up with the best ideas

(He eventually convinces Spencer that they should wear the costumes he always suggests for Emily and JJ)

Matt and Rossi always sit back at watch the madness unfold each year (Matt for the entertainment and Rossi because he’s a proud dad to a group of a bunch of chaotic, competitive gays)

Emily and JJ stay at their house to hand out candy because Spencer and Penelope always take the boys trick-or-treating

(Luke comes along when he and Spencer start dating)

Michael and Henry always have the best costumes, not only because of their moms, but because Auntie Pen and Uncle Spence are cosplay professionals

They’ve been going to cons together for years, they definitely have friends and contacts that can make the best, most accurate costumes for the kids

Michael always wants to go as random things

One year, he goes as a washing machine [don’t ask]

You bet your ass, JJ, Emily, Spencer and Penelope worked their asses off to make sure little Michael was the cutest damn washing machine the neighborhood had ever seen

Henry’s costumes depend on his latest obsession

He went as Dipper Pines and had a Journal #3 that Emily had gotten him for his birthday

(He only discovers later that night when he comes back from trick or treating that the journal is signed by the Alex Hirsch and, wow, he’s so hype by it)

Anyway

Emily and JJ’s house is the best on the block because, not only do they always hand out full sized candy bars, but they give out multiple king sized candy bars and glow sticks

Their house is always decorated to the max

They have pumpkins littered in the yard, fake cobwebs in the bushes, inflatables in the yard

They have a fog machine to add some creepy ambiance

And a strobe light that makes the fog and the pumpkin’s mouths glow different colors

Their decorations are never gory or too scary

The most they do is put up fake skeletons and dress them up in generic costumes

They have a Bluetooth speaker that plays songs from a Halloween playlist JJ has on her phone

Emily finds a laser that they can set up so it flashes in time with the music and they have a mini laser light show flashing on their garage all night for everyone to watch

(They both end up with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” stuck in their head by the end of the night)

They sit by each other the whole night in two folding lawn chairs, each with a mug of steaming cider

They sneak a few pieces of candy throughout the designated trick or treating hours

Emily sets aside a few Take 5 bars for JJ

JJ sets aside a few Twix bars for Emily

When the boys get home with pillow cases full of candy, it’s tradition for everyone to come inside Emily and JJ’s house to sort through it while a Halloween themed movie plays in the background

The boys [yes, including Luke and Spencer] end up watching the movie more than sorting through the candy

But, hey, they don’t catch the girls sneaking pieces of candy for themselves (it’s an unspoken rule that Penelope gets all the cherry twizzlers, so she ends up with a generous pile of them by the end of the night)

The boys each get one piece of candy—Henry gets the Reeces and Michael gets the SweetTarts

The girls separate the boys candy into two bowls, chocolates in one and “fruity” and other candies in another

After the movie and candy sorting, the godparents leave

Emily and JJ both help the boys get ready for bed

Emily reads them a bedtime story, but both boys are out before she’s even halfway done reading

But it’s okay because after the boys are asleep, it’s adult™️ time

That “adult time” being they both cuddle on the couch in their pjs with a glass of wine and watch their own Halloween movie pick

It’s almost always a horror movie

JJ’s favorite is The Conjouring

Emily’s is The Ring

JJ hates jump scares and will always bury her head in Emily’s neck when one is coming up

Emily’s hand is always tightly gripped in JJ’s during the scenes with the most tension

After the movie, they’ll sit and just cuddle with each other, share soft kisses every so often until one of them finally decides that they need to go to sleep

(It’s usually JJ)

She’ll carry Emily up to bed (shut up, Emily loves when JJ carries her)

They’ll cuddle up with each other in the sheets, pressed together so that there’s no space between them

And fall asleep in each other’s arms :)

[swearwolf-writes]

Sunset Curve not Sunset Straight (pt. 8)

It’s been a long day. Halloween is almost here and Flynn is raving.

“So we gotta get our costumes, matching, obviously. Oooh, maybe the boys can come as ghosts-!” She jumps up and down on Julie’s bed, it’s owner shaking her head. “They’re supposed to be from Sweden, remember?” “Oh, right.” She sat still, playing with Julie’s mic. “Your doodles are awesome - do the boys draw too?” Julie raises her eyebrows at her best friend, “Do you have a crush on them?” “Les-be honest,” Flynn wiggles her eyebrows, “you’re the only one with a crush on any of em.” Flynn still doesn’t know about Julie and Luke, Julie still trying to figure out how to tell her bestfriend that she’s dating a ghost.

“Julie has a crush?” Reggie saunters into the room and flops onto the bed next to them. “Do tell.” “I don’t have a crush!” She lightly pushes his shoulder, Flynn looking confused. “Which one-?” “Reggie’s here.” She points to the seemingly empty space on her bed, Reggie waving goodnaturedly despite the fact that Flynn still can’t see him. “He’s waving.” She grins and waves at thin air. The bassist turns back to Julie. “So what’s going on?” “Flynn here,” she gives the girl a pointed look, “thinks I have a crush on one of you guys. I told her I don’t-” Reggie and Flynn share a knowing look despite her not being able to see him. “-I mean isn’t there some sort of unofficial rule about bandmates dating?” “Boy, I hope not-” Julie blinks at him, slightly shocked. “Wait, did any of you guys date-?” He sits up, glancing between the girls suspiciously. “Are you winding me up or did you really not know?” “Know what?” “That they used to date.” Julie slowly moves her gaze over to Flynn. “Apparently Luke and Alex used to date?” Julie fills her in, the lesbian punching the air. “I called it!”

“Wait, you said used to? Why did they break up?” The girls stare at him expectantly, the boy raising his hands in defence of himself. “That is their business whether they tell you or not. But,” he jumps off the bed and moves towards the door, “I do have a bunch of polaroids from when they were dating.” She follows suit, grabbing Flynn’s hand and dragging her with them. “Lead the way!” “The way to where?” “Memory lane.” Julie grins and squeezes her hand, the girl not understanding her but going along with it anyways.

“Ta-da~!” Reggie brings the old box, down from the loft, setting it on their old table. Flynn creates a groove in the dust and wipes her dirty finger down in disgust. “This seems cool but my mom needed me home an hour ago. And remember, we’re matching this Halloween, alright? I’m thinking the creepy twins from The Shining. Or maybe we’ll be Ghost Busters.” “Hey!” Reggie complains to deaf ears as she smirks and walks out, waving goodbye. “I’ll think about it.”

She turns back to the pouting ghost and pats his knee. “We won’t bust you guys.” “I know, I know.” He shakes his head and turns back to the box, blowing the dust away as best as he can while Julie coughs in the background. “Pros of being dead: we don’t actually need to breathe so dust doesn’t make us cough either.” She continues coughing and glares at him, the boy quickly avoiding her gazing and opening the box.

“Aww, check these out.” He picks up some old pictures, smiling nostalgently. He shows them to Julie, watching as she smiles at the boys’ goofing off. “This is you guys and Trevor- Bobby?” “Yeah, Christmas, 1994.”

“All I want for Christmas is you~” Bobby sang along cheerfully to the song on the radio, taping mistletoe to the strings criss-crossed across the studio. The plant was all over the room, inescapable.

“Seriously, dude?” Luke walked into the studio, Alex and Reggie close on his heels. “If you’re gonna live in my garage, I get to decorate.” Alex groaned as Reggie whooped quietly, grabbing their camera and taking pictures of the bizarre décor. Bobby stopped the other boys in their tracks, pointing up above their heads. Mistletoe. “Seriously-” Alex stared at the rhythm guitarist with disbelief, only to be met with complete seriousness. The boys blushed as they met in a sweet kiss, Luke’s hand on Alex’s jaw, the taller boy resting his hand on the shorter’s waist. Bobby and Reggie cheered teasingly, the bassist capturing the moment in a picture.

“They were, like, together-together, huh?” “Bobby and I had a bet that they’d be engaged before they were 20.” Julie raises her eyebrows, cooing quietly. “And then you didn’t even live till 20.” Reggie side-eyes Julie goodnaturedly, gasping in mock-offence. “We died, Julie- that’s not something you joke about-” She raises her hands in defence, checking out the other pictures.

“Hey, you guys looked cute here.” She shows him a picture, the boys sat on Luke’s couch, Reggie taking a selfie with the four of them. They were grinning widely, Julie chuckling as she finds its sequel.

“Alright, I’m taking another-!” Reggie warned the band as he raised the polaroid camera. Bobby swung an arm over Alex’s shoulders, the quartet smiling brightly. “Say cheese!” Reggie took the picture, blushing brightly as Luke pressed a kiss to his cheek, the image holding that memory firmly.

Reggie flushes brightly as he spots the second image in Julie’s hand. He reaches over to try and take the picture from her hand, Julie jumping out of the way as she watches his reactions.

“Oh my God-!” “What?” “You have a crush on Luke!”  The boy babbles unintelligibly as his cheeks grow hotter. “No, you have a crush on Luke!” He pulls an Uno reverse card from his pocket, Julie bursting out into laughter as she sees the card. “I mean, we’re dating so I guess you’re right - but I don’t deny it - unlike you.” He relents with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the nape of his neck. “So maybe I have a small crush on Luke-” Julie bounces on the balls of her feet, slapping his shoulder wildly. “Awesome!”

He looks at her strangely. “You’re not mad?” “Why would I be?” “You got there first?” She shakes her head and flops, graceful as always, next to him. “You got there in 1994 or 95 - you just didn’t know it.” Reggie opens his mouth to protest but quickly closes it as he realises he has nothing to say to that. “That…. is true. Fair enough.”

They sit in silence, flicking through photos, Julie glancing back up at her bandmate every now and again. “You gonna tell him?” He splutters and sets the pictures down, mussing his hair. “Absolutely not.” “Why not?” She crosses her arms, setting the old polaroids on the table. “Because he likes you.” “He’s poly-” “Which doesn’t necessarily mean he likes me.”, he pointed out. “But it means he might.” She pokes his stomach, Reggie snorting and paling suddenly.

Julie looks back at where he’s staring, spotting Luke standing by the door, Julie’s old ipod still playing music from the earphones dangling in his hand.

“Luke! Look, Julie, it’s Luke. Lukester, Lukiepoo, Luke-a-” Reggie’s impromptu rambling is cut off by Julie, her hand plastered over his mouth. “Been there, done that - not fun.” She mumbles at him, smiling widely at the singer. “Hey, Luke!” “Hey.” He walks into the garage and spots the pictures, grinning brightly. “Oh hey, it’s Christmas!” Reggie moves Julie’s hand from his mouth. “Uh, yeah, I might have told Julie that you and Alex used to date and showed her the polaroids.” “She already knew, dude.” He kneels on the floor and looks between the old pictures, smiling sadly at the pictures of the four boys. “No, I didn’t.” Luke looks up in surprise at the girl. “I swear I told you-” She shakes her head, avoiding the urge to smile. “Oh- well, Alex and I used to date.” She shares a look with Reggie, their affection for the ghost clear in their eyes. “Who’d’ve guessed?”

She reaches towards the table and knocks some of the pictures off. “Oops- Reggie, help me pick these up.” She sends a sweet smile Luke’s way, her heart fluttering when he sends one back, and pulls Reggie down by the elbow. Luke raises an eyebrow, one earphone in as he hums and keeps rifling through the images.

“Ow-!” He hisses quietly as he hits said elbow on the table. The pair face each other, confusion all over the poor boy’s face. “Sorry-” She winces and shakes her head, slowly picking the pictures. “You gotta tell him-” She whispers, the boy frantically shaking his head. “I can’t-” “What’s the worst that could happen?” “Easy for you to say - you know he likes you.” He looks around, seeing Luke’s jean-cladded knees shuffle around he continues, seemingly unaware of their conversation. “I can’t ruin things between us. We’re family and I can’t-” “You won’t lose him,” she puts a hand on his knee, looking up at him, “he used to date Alex, right?” The boy nods, busying himself with the fallen polaroids. “And they’re still good, right?” “That doesn’t mean they didn’t hurt each other-” He sighs as he picks up the last picture. It was one of Luke with his family, taken only a few weeks before he ran away.

He was kneeling with his dog, Zeppelin, his parents smiling brightly as he tried to get the dog to stay still. “Stay.” The dog behaved himself, Luke swinging one arm over his back. “Good boy.” “Smile!” Reggie lifted the camera, snapping the picture just as the dog gets excited and jumps up, knocking Luke over and licking his face. The teenager yelped in surprise, laughing as he tried to shift the large animal. Reggie took another two pictures of this scene, the first image probably coming out blurry.

He’d kept the blurred image, one of the non-blurry pictures given to Luke’s parents and the other to Luke. He could still hear the scene in his head. “Luke’s been through enough. I don’t wanna hurt him-”

“You wouldn’t hurt me.” The pair jump up from under the table, Reggie this time hitting his head, the rest of the pictures falling off the table. “Fuck-!” He groans loudly, pressing his hand against his head. “I get that we’re sorta tangible now but that doesn’t mean I have to keep hurting myself!” He yells at no one in particular. Luke moves next to the whining boy, looking at his head. “You’re fine. And, y’know, not hurt.” He whips his head, ignoring the mild pain in his head as his cheeks flare bright red. “Did you just call me fine-?” “Yup.” He grins and picks up Julie’s black cat, making soft soothing noises and stoking her soft fur. “Even Melody agrees, Reggie’s pretty fine.” Said ghost looks between Luke, Julie and the cat wondering if they were playing an elaborate prank on him.

“What…. is going on?” He tilts his head, setting the pictures on the table and moving to pick the rest of the pictures. The singer looks at Julie as he tries to come up with an explanation, scratching lightly behind Melody’s ears. “I might have been eavesdropping?” Reggie groans and covers his face, shuffling the images in his hands nervously. “How much did you hear-?” “Like all of it-” “God-” He puts the pictures down on the table, looking up at Luke who gave the cat to Julie.

“Look-” Reggie starts only to have Luke cut him off. “Can I actually go first-?” Reggie bites his lip anxiously, looking over to Julie who gives him a thumbs up. He smiles and nods at him, Luke sitting in front of him, their legs crossed.

“I like you. Have since ‘93 - I didn’t realise till I was dating Alex and so tried to push it out of mind. I didn’t know poly was a thing till now and I know now that I like my very awesome girlfriend,” he smiles shyly as he thinks of her, “and I like our very awesome bassist.” Reggie blinks at him in disbelief. Luke frowns and looks back at Julie who shrugs. He waves a hand in front of his face, Reggie jerking back instinctually. “You good, dude?” He just gapes, red spreading further over his ears. “My crush of two years just said he’s liked me for 3- This-”, he gestures vaguely at the group, “this isn’t possible-” “Is it really that hard to believe?” Julie raises her eyebrows at him from the couch. “That Luke Patterson has a crush on me? Yes.” “Why? You’re hot, you play at least three instruments and can read Shakespeare off the top of your head.” Reggie freezes. “You called me hot-” “Yes, Reggie. Y’see, I have these things called eyes- I get that yours don’t work as well as most people’s-” “Oh, come on; I haven’t worn glasses since I was like 15-” “That doesn’t mean you don’t need them-” “We’re dead, man. I’m pretty sure I don’t need them- or do I-?” They sit in silence as they ponder their afterlife, Julie watching her dummies.

She coughs, drawing their attention towards her. She motions towards the two of them, the pair blushing as they remember their conversation. Julie sighs and lets Melody go, marching towards them with her hands on her hips. The boys lean back, slightly intimidated. “Luke, you like Reggie?” “Yes.” “And Reggie, you like Luke?” “Yeah.” “Luke, do you wanna date Reggie?” The latter looks up at her in surprise. “Definitely.” Reggie stares at the ghost, pleasantly surprised. “Reggie, d’you wanna date Luke?” “Yes?” “Good - you are now dating. Congratulations.”

Reggie stares blankly at the girl. “Wait, what-?” “What what?” “That’s that? We’re suddenly dating now?” “Pretty much.” She nods and smiles happily, chuckling at Luke’s excited grin. “I have a girlfriend and boyfriend- awesome!” He gazes at the pair of them softly, Reggie giggling happily. “I have a boyfriend-” The pair beam at him. “My first boyfriend. Wicked!” He smiles brightly as Alex and Willie walk in.

“Finally!” Alex stuffs his hands in his hoodie pockets, shaking his head at them. “I’ve been watching you two pine over each other for years.” “I wouldn’t say years-” Reggie attempts to defend them. “I would.”

Willie sits next to Julie and watches the exchange, taking his notebook out and tapping the table to let her know he’s there. “Hey Willie.” “Hey Jules.”, he says, writing it onto the pad, adding a smiley face.

“And we weren’t ‘pining’.” Luke backs up his boyfriend, Reggie nodding in support. “Are you kidding me- You look at each other like that cat from Shrek-” Melody hisses at the word cat before returning to grooming herself on top of Julie’s piano. Alex narrows his eyes at the cat. “Gremlin-” “Don’t be mean to my baby-” She tosses one of Luke’s shirts at him, the boy just watching as it passes through him. “Your ‘baby’ is mean-” He grumbles, sitting next to Willie.

“So how was your date?” Willie smiles brightly, lightly nudging the blond with his shoulder. “We went to the old Ghost Club and smoked weed mostly - no clue why but eating and stuff, still possible there, even without Caleb.” Willie talks and writes for Julie, Alex hiding his face in his cap. “There may have been some graffiti involved-” “Alex? Our straight-laced, trustworthy Alex broke the law?” Luke looks between the two ghosts, impressed but in complete disbelief. “Technically, the law doesn’t actually apply to us anymore. So, no, he did not.” “Alright, Alex! Welcome to the dark side; we break the rules and look good doing it.” Reggie pats his knee, groans escaping from behind the hat. He sweeps his hair back and puts the cap on, Willie staring at him with adoration in his eyes. “What-” “You’re cute.” “I’m-” The flustered boy takes a, technically unnecessary, breath. “Okay-” Willie giggles quietly at the pink flourishing across his boyfriend’s face, Luke, Reggie and Julie sharing a look.

Luke nods towards the door and the trio leave the couple to themselves. “So, they’re adorable.” Reggie remarks as soon as they’re out of earshot. “Right?” Luke walks backwards, his hands tucked into the pockets of his sleeveless hoodie. “Like, I can’t even see Willie and I can still tell they’re meant for each other.” Julie tucks a curl behind her ear, talking animatedly with Reggie, Luke watching them with a soft grin on his face. ‘My girlfriend and boyfriend - awesome!’ 

[nooneactuallyasked]

Diner Gal - Reggie x Reader Part 8

Requested: It’s a series, there are no requests here!

Word count: 2,560

Warnings: Cursing

Summary: Julie and the Phantoms ( + Flynn ) go to a musical diner/café/restaurant for inspiration and hopefully a future gig but they end up meeting a very special waitress.

Note: This one is really long- the next part will be out tomorrow so be ready for that! Enjoy!

Edit: I FORGOT THE TAGLIST I’M SO SORRYYYYY!!!!!!

Part 1 here   Part 2 here   Part 3 here

Part 4 here   Part 5 here   Part 6 here

Part 6.5 here   Part 7 here

---

“Hey, Diner Gal.”

Y/N smiled at the floor before turning around to face her surprise visitor, “How’s it hanging, Leather Boy?”  She probably wouldn’t admit it out loud but Reggie’s random visits were probably the main reason why Y/N had been arriving at work extra early and leaving extra late. “Alright, Julie is kinda freaking out and getting Flynn to help her pick an outfit and then Flynn freaks out and gets Julie to help her decide on a theme for the marketing stuff. You?” Y/N shrugged, “The usual.”

“So, what can I do you for?” Reggie looked down, a red flush covering his cheeks and the tips of his ears, “Well, I kinda wanted to just hang out because Julie and Luke are “writing some songs” but we all know it’s just a date and Alex is with Willie and I’m willing to bet my left sock that they’re on a date too and I didn’t wanna be alone so I thought that you’re really nice so I came here.” A smile danced on Y/N’s lips and her gaze softened, he was too sweet and just hearing his voice made her cheeks heat up slightly. Reggie’s eyes widened and he met her gaze, a horrified expression painting his face, “Unless you’re busy, sorry, I’ll- I’ll just go-“

“Woah, Reg, chill out. I’ve just got to plan out the way we’re gonna decorate the room on Friday. Plus, I like having you around, it makes my job a lot less boring.” Y/N smiled before grabbing a black notebook an opening it to a new page, she scribbled down a title so she’d remember what it was for before bullet pointing her ideas. “You know, I just realised, how much work do you do? I mean, you’re around the same age as us, you have a job and you basically co-manage this place whilst also working here as an entertainer. Do you even go to school?”

Y/N chuckled and turned to face him, “This is a part-time job but I do usually sneak in extra hours just to help out Cal, he can’t do everything by himself and there isn’t anyone else to help him, plus he’s a family friend and basically my uncle at this point. As for school, I do online school which I pay for with this job, and it all comes full circle.” Reggie frowned, “Still, it sounds like a lot. You should come to Julie’s sometime during practice and just hang out. No folders, no notes, no work, just hanging out and having a good time! And  promise me you’ll start taking it easy”

“Alright, Leather Boy, I promise and maybe I’ll take you up on that someday. But for now, just focus on your gig that’s coming up in two days, not including today of course. Speaking of, do you mind helping me out with this, I get the impression you have a lot of ideas locked up in that brain of yours.” Reggie looked at her in surprise, “You really want my help? I mean, you could ask anyone for help, why me?” Y/N stared at Reggie, her brows furrowing as a  worried expression crossed her face, “Why wouldn’t I? Reggie you’re amazing and I wouldn’t want anyone else to help me.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

---

“Finish up these papers for me, I’m going out.”

“Cal, I’m already doing more than I should, I have to finish off an essay and send it in before lunch. You haven’t even started your time listings for today yet.” Y/N blew at a piece of hair that kept falling into her eyes and glared up at Cal.

“I said finish them, I’m going out.” Cal slammed the papers onto her desk and walked out of the office. “Cal, what the fuck!” Y/N stood up, her chair slamming into the wall behind her as she ran after him, papers in hand, “Where the hell are you going?” “Out.”

Cal shot her a cold glare that made her freeze in place before walking out. Y/N groaned in frustration, throwing the papers to the floor, “Shit, fuck, kill me.” Sighing, she knelt on the floor and gathered the papers back up. “Fucking asshole, but he might have something important to do and he’s just stressed about it. Calm down, Y/N.” She kept muttering reassurance to herself so as not to lose her temper once again.

Y/N glanced down at the paper, it was her schedule for the note giving out extravaganza. Oh fuckerooney, she was meant to do that now and she was already late. Y/N ran into the office and stuffed all the notes into a bag which she slung onto her shoulder before sprinting out into the street and making her way to her first stop: Firecracker’s house.

---

“Y/N? You look like you ran all the way here…don’t tell me, you did, didn’t you.”

“Perhaps.”

Julie rolled her eyes despite the grin growing on her face, “You’re an idiot, you know that, right? And your face is really red.” Y/N gasped dramatically, bringing her hands to her cheeks in comical shock, “You don’t say?”

“Julie! Who’s at the door? Tell them to go away, we need to practice!” Both girls stared at each other for a second in slight shock before bursting into laughter, Y/N cleared her throat before turning to Julie, “You might want to cover your ears.” Julie raised a brow but complied as Y/N took a deep breath, “Oi, dunderheads! I thought you wanted your notes but I guess not!” Silence followed and it everything in her to not burst out laughing or snort. “And go…” Julie furrowed her eyebrows and the snickered at the sounds of scraping and scrambling that came from inside the garage.

“No! Please, give us the cheat sheet so we can win!”

“Not a cheat sheet and it’s not a competition but yes, please ignore him! We need your help!”

“Wait there’s a cheat sheet? No one said anything about a test!”

“Okay, boys, chill out and let her breath before she joins you in the afterlife.” Y/N sent Julie a grateful smile before setting the notes down on the coffee table and quickly stepping back as the boys (specifically Luke) dived for them. “So, as per mandatory instructions I need to explain the notes and help you use them to your advantage but I also took on all of Cal’s work until the weekend alongside my own so I hope you don’t mind me checking the finance’s, writing setlists and my essay and other work stuff. I promise you will still get the full explanation for each and every note!”

“You took on more? You already have so much, you promised that you’d take it easy!” Y/N rubbed her knuckles, “I know but Cal walked out on me earlier and hasn’t been himself lately so I needed to pick up where he left off. Plus, all the other workers need a manager and so that’s what I’ll become.” Julie sighed, stroking her finger along the piano keys as she sat down, “As longs as you’re sure it’s okay.” Reggie furrowed his brow but picked up his bass and slung it over his shoulder nonetheless, his concern and probable disappointment made the nasty, sinking feeling of guilt weigh down on Y/N. She didn’t like letting people down but she needed to do this, for her family, for Cal, for herself.

“So let’s do this, you can read through it and then I’ll walk you through it all.”

.

.

.

“Oh! Julie, can you call Flynn? I’d like to see what she’s got before putting everything out there.” Julie frowned, “Are you sure, you’re already doing so much, I don’t wanna-“ “Julie, it’ll be fine just call her up, I’d rather get this done, it’s now or never.” Luke snorted, Alex rolled his eyes but smiled and Reggie choked causing Y/N to raise a brow before shrugging it off, she just needed to see this through and then maybe Cal would be okay again.

A small smile made its way onto her face when she saw Julie and Luke link pinkies behind the piano, she didn’t that was possible but they were cute so you didn’t particularly us. And hey, she got Luke’s nickname spot on, so there’s also that.

“Okay, if you’re sure then I’m sure Flynn will be delighted.” Y/N grinned, “Sweetness, let me know when she’ll get here so I can prepare a space the printer in our office back at the diner.” Reggie furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head, kinda like a confused puppy, “How do you prepare it? Are you leaving already?” Y/N chuckled and shook her head, “No, the printer is wireless and connects to all of the staff’s phones and laptops. Since I only have my phone on me I’ll be using that.”

“Ohhhh! That makes sense!”

“Yeah, Willie said something like that when we went sightseeing and we say printings being put out without anyone nearby.”

“That’s stupid, just draw them or something, what if the wireless breaks?”

“You’re talking loud for someone with bad handwriting.”

---

“Hey everybody, your favourite manager has arrived!”

“Thanks for coming, Flynn. Y/N is just setting up the wireless connection back to her office, have you got a copy of the flyer or something?” Flynn grinned, “You know I do, and can I just say that I really appreciate me and my talents and you should too. You’re welcome.” Julie chuckled and led Flynn over to Y/N who looked up at them with a smile. “Hey, Flynn, it’s really great to see you again. Sorry about the short notice.” Y/N picked at the tips of her nails, a bashful smile making its way onto her face, “No problem, since Julie ditched me for her invisible boyfriend and his band geek friends I haven’t had much chance to hang around, now you’re my excuse.” Julie rolled her eyes as Flynn stuck her tongue out in her direction.

Y/N chuckled and put her phone down beside her, “Well, I’m glad to be of service. So, may I see your masterpiece?” Flynn grinned and pulled her phone out of a pocket, “I thought you’d never ask.”

---

“Thanks so much, Flynn. Your flyer’s amazing, we might have to hire you properly.” Y/N winked, a bright smile on her face, “Really? I mean, these guys really need my talents but if I find some time away I might drop by.” The two girls laughed and then a thought popped into Y/N’s head. She rummaged through her bag and brought out her notebook; she ripped out a page and wrote her number onto it. “Here, Julie already has pretty much all of my contact info but I just remembered you don’t, so here’s my number.” Flynn smiled, “Thanks, I’ll put it in my phone when I get home.”

“Y/N! Do your job and help us now!” She rolled her eyes and stood up, “Once again, thanks.” Flynn sent her finger guns in return. She walked over to where the ‘band geeks’ were congregated around the piano.

“Okay, so it says ‘Remember to interact with audience members’ and ‘Move around when possible’. What does that mean?” Y/N smiled and leant against the piano, “The first one is simple, Cal really liked how you guys react with each other but since we are a performing diner the audience want to be included as well, so interact with them, send them smiles, wave at specific people, pick people out of the crows, that sort of stuff.” She shifted her body to a more comfortable position, “As for moving around, again, we’re a performing diner, everyone will have a mic pack, since you can pick up, hold and wear physical things I’m gonna assume you can wear mic packs too. I don’t know how your amps work though so just move as much as possible, Julie if you can do the most moving around that would be great, we’ll have some performers dancing and working around you but you guys are our main attraction when you’re performing. Just do what you can to the best of your ability, that's all we ask.”

“Well, I’m sure we can do that, right, boys?”

“Obviously, have you not heard us rehearse this week? We’re going blow everyone’s socks off!”

“I have a feeling anything could go badly though, what if the mic packs don’t work or one of us doesn’t appear when we start playing, or- “

“Alex, chill out, this isn’t a second hotdog, and if it is we’ll eat it so it knows who’s boss!”

“Uh, Reggie, that’s how we died, I’m pretty sure the hotdog won.”

“Huh, yeah, that checks out.”

Julie and Y/N caught each other’s eyes and burst out laughing, “Can you guys stop having your little ghostie jokes, I’m trying to boast that I’m well on my way to being a famous manager to the She-Devil herself!”

“Well, now I’ve fulfilled my part of this mission I have to head off to my next mission, Agent Y/N is officially signing out.” Julie smiles and Flynn walks up, “It was great to have you on this mission, we wish you luck in your next. Stay safe Agent, we hope to see you again.” The three girls saluted each other before snickering while the boys stared at them in confusion. Y/N walked over to her bag and slung it over her shoulder, “I’ll see you guys later.” She pushed open the garage doors, waving goodbye one last time before walking out.

Y/N started walking down the path before a loud smashing sound caught her by surprise, “Wait!” A weird sensation spread over her hand, it was warm but cold and it made her skin tingle before she felt pressure replace the weird feeling and fingers curl around her hand. “How can I help you?” Y/N turned around, plastering her customer service smile onto her face.

“Leather Boy?”

She turned to see Reggie standing there completely frozen, holding onto her hand as though it were a lifeline. “Reggie? You okay?” Reggie shook his head slightly and smiled before looking down, a sheepish expression crossing his face, “Can I hug you? Please?” Y/N’s softened and smiled brightly, “Of course, Reg. Come here.” She reached up and looped her arms around his neck as he buried his face into her shoulder, “I don’t get many hugs, the guys don’t like them and I feel like it would be weird to ask Julie.”

“Well, you can hug me anytime…that sounds really weird.” Y/N chuckles as Reggie gazes at her in admiration, “So what did scream at me and- break a plant pot for?” Y/N peers behind Reggie and finds the origin of the smashing sound. “Uh, well I was going to just say goodbye but since we’re here would you mind if I came by the diner later?” Y/N smirked, “Can’t get enough of me?” Reggie grew flustered and turned his gaze to the floor, “Well- I like looking at the food but you being there is definitely a positive.” Y/N blinked, now it was her turn to be flustered, she didn’t expect him to just come out and say something like that.

“Right, yes, well, I’ll see you there then. Um, bye.”

“Yeah, yeah, goodbye.”

---

Taglist:

@hereforthejatp

@slutforjjmaybank​   @morganayennefertyrell​

@dxestars​   @dcnerd98​

@ultraworthlessbitch​   @revolutionary-werewolf-ghosts

@underc0vercryptid-reads​   @miisacore​

[adamofhephaestus]

+ adam

[SHAWN MENDES, CIS-MALE]｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ whoa, that’s [ADAM FLYNN], [CHILD] of [HEPHAESTUS] isn’t it? i’ve heard all about [HIM], the [21]-year-old [SOPHOMORE] is known to be [METICULOUS] and [TRUSTWORTHY], but i heard [HE] can be [REACTIONARY] and [ANXIOUS], too. last i heard, [HE] [IS] at fates university studying [ENGINEERING] and living at [TRITON TOWERS]. may the fates smile down upon them! {annie, 23, she/her, est}

here’s child #3 because i have no chill. he’s a sweetheart, actually, and just likes to build furniture and eat oatmeal and he has a cat that’s his absolute pride and joy. more below!

wanted connections here!

GENERAL

born: adam michael flynn birthday: march 23 age: 21 hometown: cape may, nj siblings: n/a mortal parent: tilly flynn godly parent: hephaestus sexuality: straight star sign: aries moon sign: scorpio alignment: neutral good myers-briggs: infp height: 6'0 hair: brown eyes: brown scars: one on his cheek from stray scrapnel tattoos: this on his left forearm major/minor: engineering/computer science weapon of choice: celestian bronze axe, that attaches to a necklace chain

BIO

tilly flynn, the only child of two artists, was born creative. growing up to become a prop master for theaters around the east coast, it would only make sense that those she gravitated toward were those who liked to create and make something out of nothing. never the type to settle down, she became pregnant after a few days with someone she’s only been on a few dates with, and dropped contact. nine months later, adam was born, to her absolute delight. tilly was a great mom, her and her boy against the world.

adam knew his parental situation - the pg version, at least, being told his mom went through a sperm bank - and didn’t figure out the truth until he was 8 years old, when a siren tried to lure him out into the ocean. not long after that, he was faced with the glowing hephaestus symbol above his head, with a visit from the god himself, instructing them to bring adam to camp.

adam thrived at camp - he liked building weaponry and he was always an athletic kid. he spent his summers at camp, not wanting to completely abandon his friends and schooling, though he would visit on the weekends, or when his mom needed to be in the new york theater scene. he wasn’t the best student, the half-blood double whammy of adhd and dyslexia affecting him greatly, but he played football and volunteered for the theater department, helping with props and set pieces. 

he was always a little bit lonely though? adam always had a hard time making “permanent” friends, the older he got. he wanted to play football and be in school with the other more “normal” kids, but he’d always get so sad leaving camp behind after the summer was over. he always felt he was caught somewhere in between, and sort of just floated between identities for a bit until graduation.

after he graduated high school, he thought his best bet was to continue all through fates university. he always wanted to be a half-blood that saved the day on a big quest, but he was never chosen on anything and he didn’t think he was ready to give up the safety and protection university would bring. 

AESTHETIC

sawdust in the air, the whirring of a power drill, oil slicked hands, smell of rubber tires, popping popcorn, clicking of game controllers, the smell of peppers cooking on a grill, pencil smudges and eraser shavings, clanking of a hammer on metal, the whoosh of a blowtorch, a flickering copper lightbulb, fresh oatmeal in the morning, denim on bare legs, campfire smoke against the night sky, splashing to loud music in the summer rain, grease fingerprints, coffee brewed at 4am

TRIVIA

drives a 90s maroon jeep with christmas lights on the inside, massage chairs as seats, and surround sound speakers

played football most of his life

takes medication for anxiety

really bad at spelling, super dyslexic

has a three legged cat named tripod

favorite food is peanut butter, loves anything peanut butter

his mom collects typewriters, so his apartment has some of the stragglers around the place to feel more at home

folk music is his favorite kind of music

dream job would be opening up his own mechanics shop, or making wood furniture

collects vintage video games and video game systems, repairs them in the months when it’s too cold to be working in open air garages

always runs really warm, he’s like a human heater

loves sci-fi movies

HUGE health nut, he calls himself a borderline vegetarian - his mom’s a vegetarian, so he doesn’t not eat meat, he just generally gravitates away from it

in the same vein, he’s at the gym probably 6/7 days of the week, the arena too

likes that he’s an even six foot, he uses himself as a unit of measurement

helps build sets for the theater productions

[popculturebuffet]

Simpsons Review: Simpsons Comics #102 “Uncle Burn$” or Homercore Nudity!

Whelp out of all the commissions Kev has thrown me this one’s kind of a curveball. I mean it makes sense why cover it: It’s a pastiche of Donald Duck Comics done in the pages of the Simpsons long running comics. I cover duck stuff on here, and not only do I love the Simpsons but I tend to reference it for jokes a LOT. I just genuinely never thought of reviewing it till now, likely because earlier on in my new career of reviewing animated shows, I wasn’t really convinced I could do pure comedies. With my regular reviews of Darkwing Duck and as it comes out coverage of the Loud House (I still need to get around to Band Together), that’s no longer a real issue and I should consider doing the show in the future, especially since I have an unabashed love for the first 10 seasons and a few episodes beyond that. 

As you can tell, I love the Simpsons. While I do genuinely wish it would end and have no real intrest in the current seasons, though if you’d like me to take a look i’d be willing to. The show in it’s prime was funny, witty and each episode was crammed with jokes. And refreshingly for an adult cartoon show of it’s time,  the show genuinely wasn’t afraid to mix things up: Milhouse’s parents divorced and stayed that way for so long that them apparently getting back together decades later is itself a huge status quo shake up.  Lisa went Vegetarian which stuck thanks to sir paul mcartney, and then went Buddhist, both of which have never wavered since and both fit her well. Skinner and Krabbable started dating. Barney went sober for a few seasons. Apu got married. These are minor changes but the show does have things happen occasionally and doesn’t just snap everything back and it adds genuine tension to plots knowing they might stay the status quo They usually don’t but the occasional change gives things stakes. I could go on for days, but I couldn’t go on for 8 weeks, point is the Simpsons are awesome, and deserve the praise they get early on I just wish they’d stop as by this point people really have stopped carring and it’s time to pass the torch and Let Bob’s burgers be the wholesome family comedy that runs forever.. and even then that one should stop at 10 seasons. Or if not at least let the kids age dammit.  But that aside, while many of you simpsons fans looking at this probably have at least seen the comics, or a collection of them over the decades, many of you like me are wondering what the hell Bongo Comics is and how they managed to last so long. Bongo was founded by Simpsons Creator Matt Groening in 1993. Matt Groening had noticed that at the time there just weren’t any funny books on the shelves, funny books being comedy based comics primarily targeted for kids, with Archie and Disney being really the only ones left at the time. So he founded Bongo to rectify that, and given Fox naturally liked the sound of more merchandising dollars, the publisher was primarily used to produce simpsons comics, though looking at wikipedia there were one or two that weren’t including, of all things, a Coldplay comic tying into their album. Why did Coldplay publish a comic book at a primarily simpsons comic book company?

Though most series seem to be either short lived or one shots, there were a few exceptions: Naturally the company put out an annual Treehouse of Horror issue, there was a Bart Simpson ongoing focusing on him and the other kids of Springfield, I had a trade for that one once, and once Futurama premiered it too got a comic book that held through both cancelations. But standing above them all was Simpsons Comics, a 245 issue long runner that ran all the way up to the company’s closing, likely due to a combination of a lack of profits and the then upcoming Disney-Fox merger depriving them of the very heart and soul of the company. 

Naturally being a Simpsons fan I have a connection to these comics having gotten the trades out of the library multiple times as well as the collection of Bartman’s solo series, which was my favorite and I might cover some day. In addition to the Free Comic Book Day issues i also picked up scattered issues over my life since, much like Archie, Simpsons comics were a mainstay of bookstores and super markets and the decline of both comic markets is likely why the Simpsons comics started to peter out in the first place. The quality and memorability of the stories varied but they were a fun thing to have around and it’s sad to see them go, as well as see Disney not even make a remote attempt to bring them back or at the very least republish the vast library they now have access to. Also finally if your wondering yes, there indeed was a Simpsons/Futurama crossover. And no I have not read it.  So with that history, most of which I just learned some of which I already knew, in mind, it is very fitting the comic’s did a tribute to the Uncle Scrooge comics. Though it does feel very weird that I have yet to cover any Donald Duck or Scrooge comics.. yet i’ve already covered one of the Ducktales tie in comics and a Simpsons homage to it. I’m going to have to correct that but until then, join me under the cut as I dive into adventure with the Simpsons. 

This issue was written by Ian Boothby and drawn by John Delaney, I feel mentiong the writers and artists should be important in comic reviews and I kick myself for not having done that or gone into them as much before. Boothby was apparently the Ian Flynn of these comics, writing more simpsons comics than any other writer according to wikipedia and winning an Eisner for his work on the comic if sadly not this issue. He was nominated for an outstanding Canadian Writer award for it though so that’s good. Point is the guy is a decorated vetran of this series and it shows in how good this issue is and I felt he deserved some recognition as most Comic Book Readers, myself included up till now, likely weren’t aware he even existed nor took over the comic in the 2000′s. 

We open with Burns getting attacked by a mummy! Gotta say wasn’t expecting this as where we started out but the simpsons have started with wonkier premises to end up somewhere. I mean there was the time a bag boy strike ended up with them in Africa. Also i’d say Burns should call the police, being the kind of privileged white guy they actually care about protecting and all, but frankly the Springfield Cops don’t have the best track records with Mummies:

But no it’s just Smithers, who dove in heroically to save the company 15 dollars after Homer took a bet to see how many fire crackers he could jam in his computer’s disk drive. Lenny said 20 but he proved him wrong. And yes those are all actual jokes from the comic, this issue is very funny and feels very much like a Golden Age Simpsons episode. They also all gather to sign Smither’s cast.. which naturally is a legally binding contract.  Burns takes his loyal minion to get some quality medical care only to find an arcade because he traded the Medical Bay in for one during an outbreak of Pac Man Fever... again I really can’t top that and there may be a good reason why I haven’t covered the Simpsons till now. But yeah as Buns gives Smithers a roll of Pennies, he wonders who to have replace Smither’s on their annual summer treasure hunt.. which would come out of nowhere but we genuinely don’t know what they do most summers. I assumed Burns just road Smithers like a horse to play cricket while Smithers enjoyed it way too much. But a stray comment from Homer getting a Krusty Doll from a crane machine about being king of the treasure hunters leads to this. 

I mean it’s an easy joke but damn if it didn’t get a laugh out of me. So later at the old Simpsons place, because this comic is fantastic, Marge and Homer talk things over, but Homer insists Burns said he’d split the treasure, and Lisa wishes she could come along. And Marge says he should, especially for his own saftey.. and when Bart complains, says all the kids should go, she already packed their bags, she’s heading to Rancho Relaxo byyyyeeeeeee. Once again, this comic is amazing, and I would say this is out of character for Marge, but frankly that’s the whole point. Plus it really isn’t when she has to deal with 4 children on a regular basis, and her sisters, and a town gone mad.. yeah can’t blame her here. 

The next day at Burns Office, Homer is wearing his navy outfit.. or rather Donald’s Navy outfit. But given I did a quick google and found him having at least 4 different outfits during his time in the Naval Reserves, it’s not a stretch to assume the Simpsons Version of the Navy gave these out too. Seriously Ian Boothby has put more thought into continuity than most writers on the show proper. Also Simpsons Tide, season 9 episode, still very memorable and hilarious and not due to childhood nostalgia. Just looking up this bit had me laughing hard. 

I now  want to watch that episode sometime soon so thanks Kev. Anyway Homer seems to have misplaced his plants. Now I could spare you the image since I don’t do things panel by panel anymore and only use panels from a comic when relevant. Buttttt

This traumatizing of my audience brings me to a point about this issue and why it works. While there are tons of nods to the Donald Duck comics and what their homaging is very clear, the issue doesn’t REQUIRE you know them to enjoy it.  Knowing them I obviously enjoy it more, but most of the jokes aren’t reliant on you knowing anything about the barks comics and even someone with a passing knowledge of  the Original Ducktales can still get the reference if not why Donald is here. It helps this is less of a parody, with the exception of some jokes, and more of an homage, using stylistic elements of those comics while telling i’ts own story as a loving tribute to it’s predecessors. Speaking of one of those jokes poking fun at the source material, Burns is delighted Homer brought child labor, which kept me laughing for a good minute, and when the kids introduce themselves we get this bit. 

Not only am I 100% sure every version of Donald or Della did this to make sure they could tell them apart, very much including the reboot with Donald, but it’s a genuine hilarious bit. Donald’s response as they head off is “there’s somehting hooey Dewey and screwy about this. “ Also I will criticize the fact Bart isn’t the one wearing a blue outfit. For those wondering why, after all Maggie wears blue shouldn’t she get it, who haven’t seen this a LOT of merchandise early on had Bart in a blue shirt, due to early Merch being rushed out pre-show and since he wore one in some earlier concept art, he got to wear blue. He also wore it late into the 90′s. 

Sidebar: I just found this and while it isn’t a bad joke given his character it is  questionable to have a fourth grade boy tell you to buy him. Just saying. But the reason I bring it up is partly because the show itself referenced it at one point. 

As well as it’s sister show Futurama

And you remeber that Bart Simpson solo I mentioned? That one frequently, both in and out of story, had Blue Shirt bart show up for some variety. 

Also why yes each issue does have it’s own fun “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Oleson” Esque subtitle. And I love it so. Point is Blue Bart is part of the series legacy and this very comic company, so it’s VERY weird to not have that here. That being said there were  a few Green Shirt barts apparently as a printing error, so he could just as easily be 80 steps ahead of me. I just don’t know. 

Back at the plot Burns and the Simpsons show up at Frink’s lab, Frink rather obviously filling in for Gyro, with his own version of little bulb named F.L.O. who gladly shakes Lisa’s hand.. and releases a Pterodactyl but hey you can’t win em all. It’s a nice nod, though one only fans of the source matieral will really get, but the pterodactyl bit right after helps distract from it. Frink slotts into the roll well, as Frink has no reall affiliation with anyone and is basically, much like Gyro, there for various characters to go too when the story or joke needs him. Frink has two gadgets for them: Some Scuba suits that can go to any depth and a grappling claw that accidently gets him gripped to the pterodactyl. Also homer accidently switches suits with maggie, so we get an adorable shot of her serenely sleeping in a diving helmet while her daddy chokes to death. 

So the next day it’s out to the open seas where The Simpsons are doing all the work while Burns lounges.. which yeah this is a typical uncle scrooge adventure all right. While the man unlike Burns does work hard and do things for himself, he spent most voyages talking about the destination while putting all the hard work on Donald, in case you thought there was at least one universe where Donald isn’t miserable most of the time. Lisa wonders what he’s doing and we get this lovely bit. 

I just.. can’t stop finding that hilarious or a nice way to get the Uncle Scrooge bit in there while still fitting the Simpsons, and it at least explains what happened to Herb, whose been mentioned all of once in the 30 seasons since he last showed up. I checked. And yes for those unaware, which is fair, or who just now remembered Homer does indeed have a brother, one his dad had out of an affair who showed up twice, once with Homer unintentionally, and largely due to Herb’s own foolishness, ruining his life, the other time with Maggie helping him get back on top and him and Homer reconciling. He’s also voiced by comedic legend and your friend and mine, Danny Devito, whose still making us all laugh to this day and is a wonderful person from all accounts. Rock on Danny, here’s the only way I can think to honor you. 

But yeah it’s a good gag. Burns claims to be watching for a Giant Squid.. and turns out to be right. So it’s up to the simpsons to fight the giant squid, a sentence I genuinely didn’t expect.. I thought like the Griffins they’d just ignore it. 

I miss that show.. oh i’m aware Family Guy is still running but much like the Simpsons the show it USED to be is long gone. Anyways Bart tells a worried homer octopus suck out the innards and drink it first quipping “It’s not like you haven’t been drunk in the morning before homer. Homer chokes bart only for the squid to choke him which is easily the second best “Homer getting choked after Choking bart” gag i’ve seen.. the best being this one I found on youtube. 

Though personally my faviorite part of that whole bit is Bart’s proud “THAT’S BECAUSE I SOAKED HIM IN SLIME!” Anyways Lisa figures out a way to beat the squid, painting the likeness of each of them on it’s tentacles and letting the thing devour itself. Lisa lampshades it making no sense PHysics wise but with that she reluctantly accepts calling Mr. Burns, Uncle Burns and we’re off to our next location.  Next up is Mt. Donrosa, a very clear nod to Uncle Scrooge maestro Keno “Don” Rosa, an avid fan of Barks work who expanded on it and turned it into a solid continuity, most famously, and what got me into the ducks in the first place, with the epic “Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck” which I proudly own and.. well I did say watch this space didn’t I?  Enough hinting at the future as the Simpsons scale the mountain with Homer carrying burns up on a rickshaw. Burns however looses his lucky #1 penny, SUBTLE, and cuts Bart down to get it. We then get the best line of the issue:

Bart thankfully survives and we find out the Penny, much like Scrooge’s Dime is how Burns started his fortune.. for this issue and nowhere else but that’s standard for the Simpsons. Specifically loading it into a gun and threatning to kill Jasper’s grandfather with it during the gold rush, a nice twist. At the top of the mountain they find the fabled key of Strobl, which comes from the Taliaferro tribe.. more refrenes this time though I didn’t know them and had to google. Tony Strobl was an artist on the Duck Comics at one ponit  and Al Taliforino id forgotten about. He did the Donald Duck comic strip which I had heard of and weirdly hasn’t been collected yet despite Fantagraphics covering mickey, as well as reprinting barks and rosa’s respective works. 

The key is suspended in the air by what Lisa suspects to be magnetics, and while Burns plan is naturally “Have Bart swim in it and see if he surivives”, Bart, still pissed from the penny and not wanting to die today, grabs the Penny and uses his slingshot to fire it at the Key. The bad luck from the penny casues an erruption, but Bart once again saves the day and has them surf down, with naturally tons more great jokes.  The family enjoys some steamed Seafood, except Lisa whose eating Seaweed, while Homer enjoys a sting ray “It tastes as good as it stings, Ow, Ow.” ON to Goddfrodson Trench, an odd choice given Floyd Goddfrodson was barks equivalent for the Mickey Mouse Comics and not really a duck writer, but he still deserves the honor regardless.  Under the Sea, no accusations just friendly crustaceans here.. our heroes are close to the treasure but loose the map to the Jailbird Boys, aka Snake and his cousins, who found out due to Lisa’s blog. She didn’t want to loose any more readers to Sheri and Teri’s Olson Twin’s Fan Page.. which.. it’s 2004.. weren’t they dead by this point? Nope still alive? Still are today in fact? Alrighty then. Also this bit, and some of the other references are a bit heavy handed, I will admit that, but the jokes are high quality enough otherwise that it just comes off as a bit of an adorable wink more than laziness. 

Snake and co cut their air with Starfish used as throwing stars. 

The gang tie their air suplies to avoid dying, and Maggie, in a clever bit, talks with the starfish, since they communicate via sucking, to attack the Jailbird Boys. Again.. 

I genuinely don’t know, but our heroes find the fabled vault of Barks Billion.. named after Bark Barks, that polar bear from the sonic games.. no of course it’s named after Disney Duck God Carl Barks, who created the Duck’s share of Donald and Scrooge’s supporting cast: Uncle Scrooge himself, Daisy Duck, a fact I just learned but given he created her first short “Mr Duck Steps Out, shouldn’t of surprised me, The Beagle Boys, Magica DeSpell, Goldie O Gilt, Flintheart Glomgold, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander, The Junior Woodchucks as a whole, Neighbor Jones, John D. Rockerduck, The Number One Dime, Gus Goose, April, May, June and Whitewater Duck. Just the sheer impact he’s had on the comics on all continents cannot be overstated. He is also the one who refined Huey Dewey and Louie from hellraising little shits to the good little boys they are today.. well okay they were, thankfully the reboot has created much better versions. Point is what a man, what a man what a mighty good man, he is truly missed.  We get two great homer gags in the same page, one where somehow he’s put the giant key on a key ring and still can’t find it.. with Bart helpfully taking it from him, and then we get this, which I missed on my first read through. 

Naturally Burns betrays them, using a Gold Magnet, kay, to suck up all the gold and naturally planning to leave the Simpsons for dead to no one’s surprise. But thanks to Bart teaching Maggie how to use the spittoons, Homer gets one stuck on his head.. and starts getting sucked up with the Simpsons using them to escape. Naturally Lisa’s first instinct is obvious. 

But Burns weasels his way out by promising them free gold after their free lunch. Naturally the next day this turns out ot be a trick as their lunch came from frinks and thus, for now, their weightless.. but Karma gets Burns when he tries swimming in his new gold vault... only for the natural result of what happens when am an who never exercises and who doctors once described as having so many diseases packed into his body at once they tripped each other off and that a strong wind could kill him, trying to do with a similarly aged but still physically fit and well trained at swimming in money man does on a daily basis. 

We then close on a quick gag of weightless homer getting caught on fire and we’re out. 

Final Thoughts:  This was a really excellent comic. It captured the tone of the Simpsons at their best and while stiff in a place here or there, it’s mostly just really funny, entertaining and a nice and warm tribute to Donald and Scrooge’s long comics history, not really mocking it but instead just homaging it, while still throughly feeling like the Simpsons. It honestly feels like the Treehouse of Horor Segement on the shining, a bit that parodies something, but for the most part the jokes still feel firmly rooted in the simpsons and their cast. This was a treat to review and i’m glad Kev comissoned it and I may take a look at more Simpsons in the future. If you guys like this review, you can follow me on patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet, or if  there’s a specific simpsons or ducktales episode or a specific comic you want me to review, you can comission your own review for just five bucks. Just send me a direct message on here through Tumblr, or take a look at my ask box or submit. However you want to do it. I take payments through paypal and until next time: Happy Days are Here Again. 

[itisannak]

I took NyQuil instead of DayQuil on accident and now I'm about to pass out. W/ Ashton

Summary: After a scare, (Y/N) ends up home, cuddling with her two favorite guys. Based on Sleep Prompt #11: "I took NyQuil instead of DayQuil on accident and now I am about to pass out."(Requested) (Words: 1.2k)

"Ash... Ash... Wake up... Baby, please." I shake Ashton awake with one hand as I bounce our son on my hip, who currently finds my blouse yummy.Ashton stirs a little, groaning before he rubs his eyes and sits up, yawning still."What time is it?" He asks, blinking a couple of times as he stretches his neck."It's 8:30. Baby, can you take Flynn to daycare? I have a meeting at 9:15 and I need to change into something less saliva-drenched." I plead, trying to get my shirt out of the toddler's mouth."Give me my bubba. I'll drop him off on my way to practice." He reaches for Flynn, making him coo at his father."Hey, chipmunk... Mmm, you smell like soap." He squishes the baby to his chest, kissing his squishy cheeks as I smile at my men."I'll go change. Remember to pack extra diapers. One of the carers left a note." I state as I walk to the closet to find something to change into."I got this. Go get ready." Ashton sings; I hear him coo and baby-talk to our son, making my heart flutter. Who would have told me when I first started dating Ashton, the tough-looking rocker guy, he would be turning into the softest guy on earth?

"I gotta go, my loves... I will be seeing you two in the afternoon." I lean in to place a kiss on Flynn's head before I bring my lips to Ashton's."Babe, can you feel my forehead?" Ashton groans, taking my hand and pressing in on his forehead. I pull my hand away and lean in to press my lips to his forehead to feel his temperature."You are very warm, bub." I pout at him."My head hurts too." He groans and I chuckle over what a big drama queen he is."You are going to be fine, bub. It's probably a head cold. Take a Dayquil and a multivitamin and you'll feel better, I promise." I leave a kiss on his forehead as I stroke our son's cheek."Ok, mama. See you in the afternoon." Ashton mumbles, taking Flynn's arm in his hand to wave me off.

My line beeps, causing me to stop working on my report before I pick up my phone."(Y/N) Irwin's office. Can I help you? I ask, waiting for the person on the other end of the line to respond."Mrs. Irwin. This is Ms. Jessica, Flynn's daycare teacher." The lady says, making me knit my eyebrows."Hello, Ms. Jessica. Is Flynn alright?" I ask her; Flynn has been going on the daycare for months now, and this is the first time I get a call from them during school hours."Mrs. Irwin, Flynn is absent today. I was hoping you could explain why. Were you not aware of that?" She asks me, making my heartbeat echo in my ears."I... I don't understand. My husband... he was supposed to drop him off..." I utter, feeling unable to get air through my lungs; my mind just thinks of the inexplicable."Mrs. Irwin, Flynn was not dropped off this morning. I am sure there is an explanation." She tries to assure me, but my stomach is already knotted."I have to hang up... I will call my husband and call you when I have news." I rush to end the call before I pick up my cellphone and scroll down to find Ashton's contact.

The phone rings, and with every ring that I hear instead of Ashton's voice, I feel my life becoming 5 years shorter.No one picks up, the line sending me straight to voice mail. I blink a couple of times to stop myself from crying in the office, while I try to catch my breath enough to get up and walk out."I am leaving. There is an emergency at home. Cancel my appointments." I task my assistant; I don't even stay enough to hear him respond. Instead, I run for the elevator, feeling the knot from my stomach shooting up to my throat.

I decide to drive back home first, the last ounce of hope overcoming all the panic that has been poking at my brain.I find Ashton's car in the driveway, and for the moment I can take a deep breath.I rush inside, hoping to find them well; the nasty thoughts just won't leave my mind until I lay my eyes on them both and realize they are as healthy as I left them."Ash?" I shout as I enter our house, looking around me for any sign of them. The living room looks exactly as it did when I left a few hours ago, Flynn's toys all over the crawling matt."Ash?" I shout again, climbing up the stairs and heading to the nursery. What is chilling at the moment, is the silence in the house. I am so used to the house being filled by Flynn's giggles or crying, that the silence feels unfamiliar.

I enter the bedroom, finding Ashton asleep on the bed, with Flynn laying on his chest. My heart goes back to its place, softening at the sight of them so peaceful."Ashton Fletcher Irwin..." I shake him until he opens his eyes, gasping at me as I pick up Flynn."I asked you to take our son to the daycare." I whisper-shout, glaring at him."I... I took NyQuil instead of DayQuil on accident and I'm about to pass out. I didn't trust myself driving..." He groans, sounding drowsy. I pity the poor guy, but the fact that my heart hasn't found its rhythm since the moment the teacher called me doesn't really allow me to forgive him. "You have to be kidding me..." I shake my head, holding my son a bit better."They were side by side, I got confused..." He mumbles as he hugs the pillow closely."I swear to God, Ashton Fletcher Irwin, you are going to be the death of me." I sigh and he smiles. "Relax, baby. We are all fine, everyone's fine. Come on, mama. Come join your boys. You are home either way..." He reaches out to pick our son, making me roll my eyes as I hand him carefully."Come on... Your boys need you." He pleads, making room for me.

I kick off my heels and strip off my pants and blouse, being left in only my underwear."You look so sexy, mama..." Ashton groans as I take off my bra to slip in my sleep shirt."I bet you say that to all your baby mamas." I say playfully, slipping in between Ashton and Flynn, with Ashton's arms wrapping around my waist instantly. He presses his lips on the back of my neck, humming sleepily."Isn't this better than whatever boring thing you were doing in the office?" He asks while I stare at Flynn who has already fallen asleep."It is." I admit, placing my hand on top of his."I want more..." Ashton whispers, making me furrow my eyebrows together."More what?" I ask him, turning my head a little."More babies with you, more time with you, more moments with you. I want more of everything we are having right now." He moans and I smile to myself."Ok, buddy... Go to sleep now... Your battery is dying." I take his hand in mine, pressing my body more to his."I love you... And our baby." He reminds me, kissing my shoulder blade."We love you too." I assure him, closing my eyes.

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