#does anyone write dcom fics?????
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Zero Time Dilemma Rewrite
ever been so disappointed with the final entry in a video game series that you build a whole au version of it even though you won’t ever write it into a full fic? because i sure have
timeline details: the zip file includes a word doc to accompany the flow chart, as well as png files of the above images
further changes to details that i didn’t state in the timeline but would come up during the story below
C-team
Carlos: a firefighter and disaster rescue
Akane Kurashiki: leader of Crash Keys, see canon
Vera: she claims to be an astronaut but is actually a transwoman Left clone
Q-team
Q: Zero, his real name is Light Klim, but he is most commonly known as Brother of Free the Soul
Junpei Tenmyouji: see canon
Phi: see canon
Sean: see canon
D-team
Diana: a nurse, see canon
Light Field: also known as Snake in 999, now a member of SOIS
Sigma Klim: see canon
Esper Rules
SHIFT
Partial SHIFT only gets some memories —> not a true shift, memories sent into morphogenetic field and received in other history
Full SHIFT gets all memories —> consciousness actually sent through morphogenetic field to another history
Shifting does not automatically swap consciousness
Could SHIFT to history where other has shifted away
Could merge consciousnesses, still remember memories of destination timeline —> common to partial SHIFT, rare for full SHIFT
Could simply overwrite consciousness in destination timeline —> common to full SHIFT
Body in start timeline becomes catatonic if not filled be another shifted consciousness —> another cause of Reverie Syndrome
Mind Hack
Harder to Mind Hack other espers —> more mental defences
Stronger espers are harder
Thoughts near surface are always easier to read
Unconscious people easier to control, cannot read minds
Other types of espers exist, but are unknown to our cast at this point
Possibly some sort of physical powers (Phi can drop kick anyone regardless of how much gravity there)
DCOM
Experiment not open to anyone
Akane, Phi, Sigma —> as per canon, Crash Keys, explicitly states Aoi, hacked to add them to list
Junpei —> as per canon, detective agency got info that Akane had joined and used “force and coercion”
Delta Light, Right —> Free the Soul’s funding came with caveat that these two would join, Right’s cover as Vera, an astronaut, is an acceptable volunteer
Carlos, Diana, Light —> firefighter, nurse, and government officer are acceptable volunteers
Location picked by Free the Soul funders to be on top of the underground shelter
Less money offered to volunteers (still some) bc NASA chronically underfunded
Delta Light and Free The Soul
True name is Light Klim after Light Field (who dies in incinerator)
Gordain was founder of Free The Soul, Delta Light quickly rose to prominence and took control after Gordain’s death
Radical-6 was a failed attempt to separate human souls from physical forms
Some success: slowed time perspectives, desire to commit suicide is a desire to escape
Delta Light did not intend to unleash it, but kept some vials —> might find a use
Learns that an outbreak did happen and Sigma and Phi plan to stop it the moment they show up at DCOM
Delta Light believed AB project was more direct move against Brother and Free the Soul, made him willing to make use of Radical-6
As humanity dwindles in VLR timeline, still able to make Myrmidons and feels his ‘victory’ is at hand
Myrmidons, while having physical bodies find no identity in physical form, focus on the mind and soul
Decision Game created as an experiment to separate souls from physical dimensions —> esp. time
Because of memory loss drugs and separation, theory that each fragment could be reached regardless of decisions (Schrödinger's box not opened)
Free the Soul provided funding to the DCOM experiment to facilitate an opportunity for their actual experiment
Delta feigns disabilities to keep himself separate while observing
Delta’s sadistic nature added the violent aspects
“I find human decisions fascinating.”
Delta Light is aware he has a twin (older version of Phi that raised our version) but they don’t get along and haven’t been in contact in decades
* They were adopted separately and by time found each other, too different
Old Phi knows more about where they came from due to actually researching transporter pods (instead of starting a cult)
Old Phi successfully kept younger Phi’s existence from Delta Light, but he is intrigue by this strong esper who shares her name
Delta Light isn’t 100% sure about his parentage pre-DCOM, but combination of Old Phi’s resemblance to Diana and Sigma’s last name with his knowledge of Transporter he suspects
Knew about Sigma before, found the name generations back and tracked family
Right
Replaces Mira, does not have free movement
Trans woman clone of Left
Goes by Vera during Decision Game
As Vera, claims to be an astronaut
Poor standing with Free the Soul due to her physical transition
Why she was chosen to help Delta within the Decision Game as he was willing to risk her life and she wanted to prove herself
In True End breaks away from Free the Soul, starts going by Right and helps Crash Keys stop remaining Free the Soul
Light Field
Replaces Eric (not in relationship with Mira’s replacement)
Placed here by SOIS after disappearance of Clover and Alice
Can still sense Clover, knows she’s not dead
Bracelet is on opposite arm —> his real one, not prosthetic
Phi, Sigma, and Akane
Phi jumped back further than Sigma
Is responsible for contacting Akane and Crash Keys
Organizes kidnapping of Alice, Clover, and young Sigma for VLR
Less open than canon about coming calamity to other participants to not look/sound crazy, but noted to be on edge
Largely mistrusting of others involved
Phi and Sigma trust Junpei less than Akane bc VLR Tenmyouji told them he was not part of DCOM experiment
Because on thoughts of all three, Delta Light finds out Radical-6 could come close to his victory
Delta Light purposefully separates the three to prevent their collaboration
VLR diagram of SHIFT loops
Always a switch SHIFT because of of desire of the powered older Sigma and Phi
Sigma’s switch helped by the knockout gas creating a crisis on both ends
Phi is naturally a stronger SHIFTer (for same reasons that Delta Light is strong esper) —> didn’t need the knockout gas
Carlos
Does many studies like this to save money to help sister Maria
Shows up to help survivors escape in all timelines
???? Can’t rescue Sigma and Diana in D-end 2
Junpei, Diana, Sean
Pretty much canon
The Snail Causality
During a storm (tornado or hurricane or similar), the stress causes Maria to partially access morphogenetic field and fall into state of reverie syndrome
Kurashiki parents, driving to get away from the storm, swerve to avoid young girl (Maria) standing in the street, causing an accident and killing them
Maria survives, but injured and still with reverie syndrome
Accident piles up, including Light, causing him to lose his arm and blinding him
Dr. Kurashiki was a doctor who was supposed to be going to hospital to treat OG Sean (or make him safe for travel away from hospital and storm), but without her Sean dies
Delta Argument: life is unfair, one storm caused hospitalization of young girl, blinding of another child, death of three people, orphaning two children, later death of six billion because lead to Radical-6. What caused storm? Could be any small shift of winds or temperature, uncontrolled and random with major consequences
Kyle, Clover, and Alice
Kyle reaches 2029 by Sigma SHIFTing with him, Sigma not wanting to abandon him for a better timeline, two Sigmas in post VLR timeline (one young and one old)
Only seen in Earned epilogue
Akane and Sigma didn’t know exactly who/what ? was, thought Kyle would come with Sigma and Phi
Sigma worried when Kyle wasn’t with them, figures out how to get him here in epilogue
Clover and Alice find the transporter and use it, but misfire landing them in 1912
(Transporter being kept in Greenland)
Clover mistaken for Titanic survivor
Alice lands unconscious and mistaken for All-Ice (true All-Ice sank with Titanic), kept by Gordain near mandrake root, keeping her unconscious
Clover able to retrieve Alice during first of Gordain’s Nonary Games
Aged somewhat, creating first CAS to then freeze themselves and thaw in set number of years to reach their own time again
Their pods stacked and attached into one, Alice on top and visible
Found by Delta Light before timer releases
Does not know who they are, but kept them in underground bunker
Believed he may have found All-Ice
Found by Carlos in D-Team execution timeline after first escape room, Akane thinks he’s found All-Ice
Transporter Pods
Transporter Pods look futuristic rather than alien/organic, imply somehow come from ?’s world
Maybe typewriter look (fiction writers could place a character where/when they want)
Different art style maybe (see Into the Spiderverse)
Somehow damaged/don’t work properly
Some info can be lost in copy —> how Sigma loses his arms
Lounge Anagrams
Q-Team: Let’s inhibit the virus/The truth is invisible
Delta Light knows Phi (and Akane and Sigma) are there to stop Radical-6
Q team choices about Radical-6
Hint to player about non visible character who is true Zero
C-Team: When a curious hate oozes calamity/What you choose can materialize us
A choice by C team determines whether or not Diana and Sigma end up stuck in bunker
Delta knows through older Phi that they were born in future, doesn’t know when but worldview says that choice here could lead to the circumstances
transporter should be here for the right date
Sigma has right last name, Diana has physical resemblance to older Phi
D-Team: Let the game enter with tight woe/Together with me, Light, we are ten
Hint for the real number of players and Zero being Delta Light
Red herring that Light Field might be Zero
? (The player)
During executions, team leader will always have a line saying “I’m sorry”
Maybe a reason relating to info gained on specific timelines
Info shared between teams, when leader has info another team gained or solves a puzzle without the clue they’ll mention a thought popped into their mind, (perhaps heard unknown voice)
Plays into option of making choices other than what Delta Light intended —> ? Not written by a game program
Both Sigma and Junpei will sometimes push towards not playing along with Delta Light due to their former contact with ?
Player unlocks possibilities for options the characters wouldn’t always think of
Decisions with Another Option:
Heads or Tails: refuse to play
No timer appears on screen, but choice can be waited out
Executions: refuse to play
No timer appears on screen, but choice can be waited out
Dream or Reality: attack Q
Gun vs Incinerator: Diana shoots but places herself between gun and Sigma
More time until incinerator activates
Camera is movable while making decision, position self to view gun barrel before shooting to interfere
The Three Dice: rules never say only role each die once
30sec timer appears from start
If roll comes up failed, tapping dice will reroll, can try until time runs out
Who To Wear Gas Mask: share
Click both Vera and Akane simultaneously to share the mask
Who Killed Akane & Clover?
Typed in responses or run out timer
Type in box initially only has 6 spaces, but will expand if more typed in
Delta Light believes experiment was a success, although not how he expected —> an unknown entity was able to influence all of them with no physical body in this world
Questionable morals —> player might purposefully get bad ends/game overs for completion but this hurts characters
Endings, save file shows 10 endings
True Endings (can only get one in single save file)
What We Earned
What We Chose
C-Endings
And The Motive?
When You Try Your Best
Q-Endings
Apocalypse
Royal Tasters
Is That Your Final Answer?
D-Endings
Social Contract
The Hope of Two
0-Endings
Circle of Fate
Real Zero
Other Endings (not shown in save file)
Zeroth Law
Not Quite Virtue’s Last Reward
Remove Deus Ex
Zero Lost
Chose Epilogue
Some choice for Diana that ? doesn’t get to influence
Sean could not escape explosion, keeping door open and his brain still in QCD
Everyone severely injured, Rescue!Carlos has to rush to get them medical care
Sigma loses arms and right eye
Other injuries
Sigma, Phi, and Diana
Sigma attempts to SHIFT with Kyle, but can’t (b/c does in Earned)
Sigma stays in this timeline in his younger body, Phi makes all of the old man jokes
Sigma and Diana together, Phi part of family
Sigma attempts to salvage computer from bunker, he wants to try and save Sean
Junpei and Akane
Akane tries to give control of Crash Keys to Aoi due to injuries, but he won’t have it without her
Give their information on Free The Soul to SOIS
Both Alices work to convince Aoi to join SOIS, eventually successful
Light, Clover1, Alice1, Clover2, Alice2 (1 is pre VLR, 2 is post VLR)
Light, Clover1, and Alice1 are very confused by Clover2 and Alice2, but accepting (Light says he just has an older sister now as well as a younger sister)
Clover1 and Alice1 continue to actively work with SOIS
Clover2 and Alice2’s injuries relegate them to informants and advisors for SOIS
Light chooses to go back to working as a harpist, although he’ll still help SOIS if either of his sisters ask
Right
Breaks away from Myrmidons, starts using the name Right
Gets new job with NASA, although can’t become astronaut bc of injuries
Carlos and Rescue!Carlos
_________
Earned Epilogue
No hints to whether Carlos killed Delta Light or not —> decision free from ?’s influence
Sigma and Kyle
Sigma SHIFTs with Kyle to not leave Kyle behind for a better future
Wants to have done right by at least one of his children
Phi annoyed at Sigma but understands (Phi glad she has one brother who isn’t Delta)
Junpei and Akane
dating (not yet married)
Sean lives with Akane, bond over their weird relationships to humanity
Before jumping away, Sigma makes some plans for them to give Sean a head that looks human
Aoi close with his sister, warns Junpei not to hurt his sister but they grow to like each other over time
Carlos and Rescue!Carlos
Able to reunite with Maria
Future less bleak without Radical-6 and Carlos reached her in morphogenetic field
Two Carloses exist due to use of Transporter
Phi, Diana, and Kyle (in Sigma’s body)
live as family
Diana returns to nursing, more outgoing, less positive but more effort to creating happiness
Crash Keys helps fake ids and degrees for Kyle, he works in public sector though
Phi goes on to study history and archeology
Light, Clover1, Alice1, Clover2, Alice2 (1 is pre VLR, 2 is post VLR)
Free the Soul removes Alice2 and Clover2’s pod when stripping bunker
Delta Light knows who is in pod now but doesn’t know password
Timer may still release them soon
Akane releases Alice1 and Clover1 from the treatment pods
Light tells Clover1 and Alice1 about the doubles
They plan to rescue them if they don’t escape on own
The three continue to work with SOIS, hope to rescue Clover2 and Alice2 from Free The Soul
Player never gets to see if Clover2 and Alice2 are rescued
Right
finds her own sense of identity, starts using the name Right (Vera was always an alias)
Joins Crash Keys due to bonding with Akane during Decision Game
Wants to use her insider knowledge of Free the Soul to stop them from doing more harm
On her own, studies to actually become an astronaut
Minor Details/Quirks/Changes
Early timeline, Sigma often stumbles over Diana’s name, about to call her Luna
Sigma knew Luna first, then makes Luna, then meets Diana. Luna was never based on Diana from Sigma’s perspective
Diana doesn’t know about Transported Sigma and Akane
Worked as nurse throughout outbreak
Diana meets Akane at some point after contracting Radical-6 but before mental capacity completely lost —> trigger for Akane to add Diana-Model to Luna’s ID in memory
Phi and Sigma usually refers to Junpei as Tenmyouji even when he tells her she can use his given name (Sigma does in canon, but I don’t think we ever see Phi do so)
Phi and Sigma are often devastated and much less helpful when the other dies
Older Phi kept her natural red hair
Delta ruined his own experiment by observing it —> meant someone did know linear order of time
Akane doesn’t pass out during half the decisions
Junpei does not have a ring for Akane
Delta’s name is actually be Light (since Light Field dies in the incinerator)
Teams aren’t given time to monologue in First Come, First Saved
In First Come, First Saved player characters do not actively advocate for pressing button, more silent —> brought in as a tie breaker by others
Lines/Scenes
After Study escape room, upon finding Alice and Clover
Akane: “I think we’ve found All-Ice!”
Right: “Alice?”
Akane: “No, she’s … she’s somewhere else.”
Clover to Gordain during nonary game (prob not seen but I like it)
“I have survived more complex nonary games than you will ever run.”
Before vote in Execution: Q
Junpei: “You know you don’t need to call me Tenmyouji. I’m fine with Junpei.” Phi: “Junpei...... no, that feels weird.”
#zero time dilemma#ztd#au#mine#shoutout to the zero escape wikia for being an incredibly detailed godsend#i didn't fill out every detail because i don't have good answers for some of them#so you'll find some blanks#but thats fine bc i say so#hopefully this has come out somewhat coherently#zero escape#games
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troy bolton dating hcs
oh yeah wildcats it’s finally happening
Borderline himbo jock man with an artistic heart of gold
Yk those posts where it’s like really cool ingenuitive jewelry or a present or smth with the caption “guys get so creative when they’re in love”
That’s Troy
Similar to Peter Kavinsky in the sense that he’s really social and popular and seamlessly makes you feel comfortable around his friends
Like he doesn’t let you feel left out or out of place
He’s very good at making people feel included
If you don’t know anything about basketball
You’ll probs pick some of it up soon
Even if you don’t
You listen to him talk about statistics and plays and drills bc he’s so cute and so excited and seeing him happy and passionate makes you happy
Can you tell I know jack shit about basketball
He realizes you know jack shit about basketball and that you still listen enthusiastically every time he brings it up
It really means something to him
Oh and since the only info we have on his birthday is that he was born in july there’s maybe a ⅔ chance he’s a cancer
Idk I don’t know how math works
But knowing what he’s like
I can virtually guarantee he’s a cancer
Maybe a cancer leo cusp
But honestly that tracks
He’s very a very emotional person
But like
In a good way
Literally the most loyal son of a bitch in existence
Real shit for a minute
If there were any other movie where a pretty popular rich girl so influential that boys literally almost pass out when she gets too close to them looking at you zeke was constantly throwing herself at a cool jock guy, he would be
At the VERY LEAST
Hooking up with her cause she’s hot and leading her on
Or like
Flirting with her or something
And YET
Troy “Respecting Women Is In My Blood” Bolton
Has never had a thought towards Sharpay other than “she’s kind of mean but I know she likes me so I try to avoid her respectfully cause she’s still our class mate and a fellow wildcat”
WHO COULD EVER
Like even in the second movie he could have manipulated Sharpay with very little effort
They could have come up with a whole scheme where he pretends to like Sharpay and gets her to pull strings for them
and he didn’t
That wasn’t even an option
He had the courage to stand up to her and say “I feel like you’re a bad influence on me so I don’t want to be around you”
WHO COULD EVER
When I say he’s the most respectful I fuckin mean it dude
Especially when it comes to like
Physical intimacy
He’s so wrapped up in the moment of being with you that escalating things doesn’t even cross his mind
Real shit
You’ll have to instigate a lot of physical contact
He’ll hold your hand and maybe kiss your cheek
But like have you seen how long he gazes into Gabriella’s eyes before he kisses her?????
He might set up a kiss
But before he can even actually kiss you
He gets so lost in your eyes
He’s so distracted by you that when you actually kiss him it’s almost a surprise
The dates that he sets up for you
Ohhhh mygod they’re so cute
I gotta say
He’s a big fan of romantic picnics
Tree house picnics
Park picnics
Rooftop picnics
A lot of other really cute dates including but not limited to
Stargazing
Midnight swim
Cooking and or baking together
Absolutely has set up a trampoline fort sleepover at least once
His parents fucking adore you
Truly you are always a welcome presence at the Bolton house
He has a little bit of
Not quite toxic masculinity
But just old definitions of masculinity deep down that he’s working through
That’s why he feels like he can’t talk to Chad or his father about more artistic stuff
He feels too vulnerable
Like sports and arts are equally hard work
But arts directly involve putting in your own feelings and a piece of yourself into what you’re doing
Sports are just as emotional but way less vulnerable bc it’s not your raw soul juice you’re spilling yk
So he’s still working through that
Any gentle encouragement you provide always makes a big impact
Whether it’s just singing along to the car radio, or helping Kelsi work out harmonies
It’s all little baby steps towards embracing what makes him happy
Oh if I didn’t mention yet
He is so so so supportive of any hobbies or extracurriculars you do
Literal hype man
He brags to the team all the goddamn time
They know almost as much about you as your friends do
Vicariously through Troy
He likes dancing with you too
Sometimes it’s recycled choreo from old shows
Sometimes it’s just goofing off together
Any excuse he can find to hold you close
He will take it
I really don’t even know how to describe that like
That one specific Quality he has
He’s really such a hopeless romantic
Like
“Gazing into your eyes makes this moment our infinity” kinda romantic
Doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about apartments and life together with you bc the future scares him
All he knows about his future is he wants you in it
You can bet on that
#disney channel#dcom#hsm#troy bolton#troy bolton x reader#high school musical#hsm x reader#disney channel x reader#dcom x reader#troy bolton headcanons#high school musical headcanons#hsm headcanons#dcom headcanons#does anyone write dcom fics?????#pls tell me if they do#bc I don't think I've seen any
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Hero | Luke Patterson
Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist!
Song Fic February Week 4: Musicals
Inspiration: StarStruck (DCOM)
Requested: Yes/No
A/N: Anon suggested doing something with the Starstruck soundtrack, so I’m writing a whole-ass series. This is based off the plot of Starstruck but the reader was a fan of JATP until she met Luke... Basically crush to enemies to lovers! Also a modern!au.
The third installment of the StarStruck series!
StarStruck
Something About The Sunshine
Hero
What You Mean To Me
Pairing: Luke x Fem!reader
Song(s) used: Hero - Christopher Wilde (StarStruck ST)
Warnings: few swear words, mention of car accidents, mention of child abuse, mention of postnatal depression, tiny bit of angst
Words: 8.6K
I’m almost nervous to see him again. There’s a nervous flutter erupting from the pit of my stomach and I feel hot and sweaty when it’s not even that warm out. The boy didn’t have that effect on me just a day ago and now he suddenly does? I hate this.
“Morning,” I greet when I find Luke standing outside the coffee shop with his hood pulled far over his head and sunglasses covering his beautiful eyes. He shoots me a smile, but I don’t think he actually looks at me. Right, the whole “I can’t be seen with you”-thing.
“Want to go grab some coffee before we go?” I ask instead, pointing at the shop.
Luke nods his head and follows me inside where we wait in line together. The silence that hangs over us is uncomfortable for the first time. I don’t know why but his mysterious, secretive antics are making me nervous.
“Next!” the barista calls and the two of us step forward. The twenty-something woman shoots the both of us a polite smile, not even acknowledging that Luke’s keeping his head low. This is L.A., she’s probably used to it by now. “What can I get for ya?”
“An iced vanilla latte for me, please,” I say and then glance down at Luke.
He coughs. “Iced caramel macchiato.” His voice is low, just above a whisper, as though he’s telling the barista and me a secret. I’m glad we’re going to be out of the city soon, so Luke can go back to his regular self. Or to the singing-on-top-of-a-car-in-the-middle-of-nowhere self.
“What’s your name, please?”
“Y/N…” My eyes land on Luke for a split second, and I’m pretty sure he’s not even going to answer. Luke’s a pretty generic name, I’m sure people won’t even bother to look up. “Put my name on both, please.”
The barista smiles and then dashes off after I paid to start making our coffees while we shuffle towards the end of the counter, ready to take our drinks when they’re ready. Luke keeps his head down. He doesn’t even look up at me and the awkward silence doesn’t eb away.
“You’re not gonna talk to me yet, are you?” I ask him as I hand him one of the two straws I picked up. He shakes his head. I try my hardest not to groan and instead, hand him the keys to my car. “Here, get yourself settled in my car, I’ll handle this.”
His eyes peer over the rim of his sunglasses, flickering with uncertainty and gratefulness at the same time. I shoot him a smile, urging him to get out of here, which he does with a quick flash of his teeth.
The awkwardness quickly washes off me when he’s left the coffee shop and I’m all alone, hoping everything would change once we’re all alone, away from the prying eyes of Los Angeles’ residents.
“Iced vanilla latte and iced caramel macchiato for y/n,” the barista calls and places the cups on the counter in front of me.
I smile at her, say, “Thank you! Bye!” and then dart out of the coffee shop as fast as I could. I weave my way through hasty people and slacking tourists towards my Toyota Yaris where a hooded boy sits in my passenger seat. He still has his hood pulled up and his sunglasses balancing on the bridge of his nose. He almost looks sad, which makes me a little sad too. I wish I could do more than let him wait in my car.
“Here you go,” I say and hand him his coffee when I’ve settled into my seat.
“Thank you,” he mutters, and I’m pretty sure it’s not just for the beverage.
A smile etches its way to my cheeks as I regard him. “You’re welcome,” I say and then start the engine. As I pull out of the parking lot, Luke finally sparks up a conversation. I’m almost relieved to hear his voice again for more than two words.
“Where’re we going?” he asks.
I debate telling him but then decide I’d do it anyway. I’ve been researching a lot last night and have found the greatest secluded spots and the time slots when they’re mostly deserted or have the least visitors. The one I wanted to take him to today was a lot closer than the other ones, so I figured we could start with that.
“The Old L.A. Zoo. It’s less crowded before 9am, so I figured we could go explore it a bit until too many people arrive?” The statement comes out of my mouth as a question since I’m unsure whether or not he’d like that.
“Cool,” he replies, and he sounds honest, too. “I don’t think I’ve ever been there.”
It surprises me a little, but I go with it anyway. “Really? I’ve been there plenty of times! It’s really cool! Kinda spooky.” Luke lets out an airy laugh at that and it makes my heart flutter a little.
Within ten minutes, we arrive at the old zoo. Ten minutes had gone by and yet it felt like a split second. The conversation ran fluently on our way there and Luke told me things about the band and his childhood that not even the biggest fangirl on earth could possibly know. I love talking to Luke about those seemingly uninteresting, small things.
The rest of the morning, too, goes by as if there’s no concept of time whatsoever. The two of us walk through the old, abandoned zoo and explore every single old habitat. I even find a website that tells us the entire history of each section of the zoo and as I read it, Luke listens and adds in his own commentary. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this much in just a few hours. This guy is genuinely funny and I just adore talking to him. Our conversations go from the ridiculous to the serious, and every subject in between.
It’s just the perfect day that I wish would never end, but inevitably, Luke has his own responsibilities and has to go by lunch time.
“Hey, why don’t you come with me to the studio?” he asks with a smile as we’re making our way back to the car. “I’m in there all by myself, aside from our producer, and I’m recording a few songs.”
I open and close my mouth a few times, letting incomprehensible sounds roll out. It makes me look like a dumbfounded fish, I’m sure, but I don’t care. My brain is dysfunctioning for a moment. Luke Patterson is asking me to come to the studio with him. To watch him record some songs. Songs that are going to be on the album.
Luke’s laugh makes the gears in my brain fall back into place. “Is that a yes?” he asks.
A heat rises up to my cheeks. “Yeah,” I finally manage.
“Cool,” he says and then gets into the car.
The ride to the studio is filled with smooth conversation. We never miss a beat, there’s never an awkward silence between the two of us. Only when we arrive at the recording studio and we’re met with a huddle of paparazzi outside the door.
“Fuck,” he mutters and ducks down. I do the same, knowing he doesn’t want me to be seen with him either. “Drive around back,” he orders before fumbling into the glove compartment of my car. He retrieves a pair of sunglasses I kept there, along with a shawl of my mother’s that I didn’t know was still in there. “Put this on.”
“No,” I reply sternly, pushing his hand with the shawl away. I do take the sunglasses from his hand though, and push them onto my nose. “Put that shawl away,” I bark. The boy obeys and stuffs the piece of cursed fabric back where it came from.
Mental note: throw that out.
When we finally do get into the recording studio, as soon as I’m on Luke’s side, he grabs my hand and drags me into the building before anyone could ever spot us. I nearly stumble on my own feet, but quickly pick myself back up before I faceplant the floor.
Luke huffs. “Phew, that was close.”
He looks at me, and for a second, I think he might bring up the shawl again, but he doesn’t and instead turns to his producer, who had gotten up from his swivel chair the second we burst in.
“Connor!” Luke greets excitedly and shakes the man’s hand.
He looks near his thirties, strong built with flawless dark skin and a full head of afro hair. Combined with his extremely savvy outfit, I find him really cool-looking. He’s the kind of guy that would get all the girls in high school while still being a sweetheart.
“You brought some new flesh, I see,” Connor says to me and outstretches his hand for me to shake. I do so with a wide smile on my face while pretending not to be completely nervous about being in a recording studio for the first time.
“Y/N,” I introduce myself.
“Welcome to our little slice of heaven on earth, y/n.” My eyes flick to Luke, who’s giving me that look again, so I quickly turn back to Connor. “Any knowledge of recording studios, y/n?” he asks.
“Never been in one, but my friend is a producer and he did teach me some things.”
I hear Luke huff beside me. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, there’s a lot you don’t know.” I shoot him a wink as Connor beckons me towards his deck. For a while, Connor guides me through his paces while Luke gives the best of himself on this song.
After a few takes, Luke comes out of the booth and joins me and Connor to listen to what we’d recorded thus far. “What if –” I pause, debating my thoughts. “What if we go in with some soft backing vocals on here?” I click the part of the chorus we’d recorded and sing along with recorded Luke.
“'Cause I
I can be everything you need
If you're the one for me
Like gravity
I'll be unstoppable
I, yeah, I believe in destiny
I may be an ordinary guy
With heart and soul
But if your the one for me
Then I'll be your hero”
“I think if you put Julie on those backings, it could give that duet-vibe you guys are so good at.” I notice Connor and Luke glance at each other, soft smiles playing on both their lips.
“Why don’t you show us?” Connor asks as Luke already grabs my hand.
“What?! Me? No! Julie.”
Luke chuckles and drags me into the booth with him. “Yeah, but we’re gonna need a demo, don’t we?” He delicately places a set of headphones on my head before placing one on his own. He signals to Connor and no later than 2 seconds, the instrumental version of the song blasts through the headphones.
Gazing at me, Luke starts singing the first verse of the song, and I let him. It almost feels like he’s serenading me. Almost. All that’s missing is a guitar or a boombox over his head.
“I'm no superman
I can't take your hand
And fly you anywhere you want to go
Yeah
I can't read your mind
Like a billboard sign
And tell you everything you want to hear
But I'll be your hero”
From the chorus onwards, I jump in with backing vocals wherever I feel like it’s acceptable without taking my eyes off of Luke.
“I
I can be everything you need
If you're the one for me
Like gravity
I'll be unstoppable
I, yeah, I believe in destiny
I may be an ordinary guy
With heart and soul
But if you're the one for me
Then I'll be your hero”
“Could you be the one
Could you be the one for me”
“Oh
I'll be your hero”
“Could you be the one
Could you be the one for me”
“Yeah
I'll be your hero”
“So incredible
Some kind of miracle
That's what it's meant to be
I'll become a hero
So I wait, wait, wait, wait for you”
We keep our eyes locked at the high note too, smiles plastered on our faces from ear to ear. Singing with Luke gives me some kinda rush. A feeling I can’t quite describe but it’s a feeling I want to feel more often.
“Yeah, I'll be your hero
Yeah”
“Cause I
I can be everything you need
If you're the one for me
Like gravity
I'll be unstoppable
I, Yeah, I believe in destiny
I may be an ordinary guy with and soul
But if you're the one for me
I'll be your hero”
“Yeah, I'll be your hero”
“Could you be the one
Could you be the one for me”
“Yeah
I'll be your hero”
The music fades out in our headphones, and soon, Connor’s applause sounds through it instead. I’m snapped back into reality, away from cloud 9, away from the pure bliss that’s singing with Luke and gazing into his eyes.
“That was amazing! Good job, guys!” Connor says, beaming.
Luke and I remove our headphones and he grabs my hand to lead me back to the decks where Connor welcomes us with open arms and a wide smile.
“I thought you and Julie were the most watchable duetters, but I’ve been proven wrong.”
I feel the heat rise to my cheeks before Luke snaps me out of it again.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Con. Can you send the finished product to the band and our manager? I’m sure they’d like to hear this. Don’t tell them who’s on backing vocals, though. They don’t need to know that.”
I swallow a lump in my throat and try to convince myself it’s probably not that deep. Luke doesn’t want to be seen with me. Not even by his band mates. It’s fine. It’s totally fine.
We wrap up the recording session and I drive Luke back to the coffee shop where he looks behind him and out of every single one of the windows, just to be sure the coast is clear of paparazzi.
“Thanks for the day, y/n. I really enjoyed spending time with you again.”
I force a smile. Ever since his statement to Connor about not wanting the band to know about me, I’ve been going over everything in my mind and it has caused me to fold in on myself.
“Yeah, it was fun.”
He gazes at me for a moment, inspecting every inch of my face as if detecting the lie from my eyes. When I think he’s just going to bid his goodbyes and get out, he doesn’t. Instead, he turns his body to me and reaches for his phone. I watch as he unlocks it and taps away on it before turning the device towards me. There’s a new contact form open on his screen.
“Gimme your number. I’d love to do this again some day.”
I furrow my brow while taking the phone in my hands. “Do you even have time to spend days with a nobody like me?” I don’t dare look at him and keep my eyes on the screen as I type my name and number.
He doesn’t say anything either until I finally cave and look up when giving his phone back. There’s a crease in his forehead as his eyebrows are knitted together in confusion.
“You’re not a nobody, y/n. I’d gladly make time for you. I told you, I loved spending days away from reality. Especially with you.” Fangirl Me is jumping out of my skin while Present Me tries to keep her cool and ignore all of the butterflies that erupt in her stomach.
“Cool,” Present Me says out loud while Fangirl Me is scolding her so hard.
Cool? Cool?! Seriously? Dude.
“I’ll text you, yeah?”
I nod my head in response and watch as he gets out of my car. Before I can even place my foot on the gas or shift out of park, my phone beeps in the pocket of my sweater. For the first time in forever, I smile when seeing an unknown number on my screen.
As I look out of my window, I find Luke looking at me with his hood pulled over his head again. He shoots me a quick smile and a wave before I turn to my phone again and type a reply.
I whip my head up to see his reaction. His jaw drops before his face turns into a scowl as he glares at me. Giggling and satisfied with the reaction, I place my phone on the passenger’s seat where Luke was sitting before and then pull out of the parking spot.
That night, I save Luke’s number to my phone. I go between “Luke P.”, “Patterson” and “Luke ❤️” but eventually decide on the funnier option and save him as “Poo Musician 💩”.
I stand in line at the coffee shop before 8:30 that morning and I’m a little nervous. Last night when I returned from my day with Luke, the two of us had been texting back and forth. I felt like a sixteen year old again. One of those giggly teenagers that’s texting their crush. Which is what I was, but it’s been a while since I felt like it.
Once I have an iced vanilla latte and an iced caramel macchiato, I head outside where I find a boy waiting by my car. He’s wearing a sleeveless shirt paired with a bright blue sleeveless sweater, his hood pulled far over his head so his face is hidden from prying eyes.
I don’t need to see his face to know it’s Luke. I’d recognize those muscles from a mile away. The way he’s leaning against the hood of my car and the way he’s holding his phone is a dead giveaway too.
“Your coffee, sir,” I say in a serious, deep voice.
Luke’s head snaps up, eyes wide. He looks like a deer caught in headlights until he notices it’s just me and relaxes. A smile etches onto his face as he tucks his phone into the pocket of his jeans whilst taking the coffee I ordered for him with his other hand.
He takes a cautious sip from the beverage. “Hm, Caramel Macchiato, someone’s been stalking me.” I know he’s just teasing, I can tell by the way one corner of his mouth curls up and his eyes have that childlike glint in them.
Making my way to the driver’s side of my car, I smile and say, “Contrary to popular belief, Patterson, I’m not a stalker. I just remembered your order from yesterday.”
Luke’s smile tells me something I’d rather not think about. It’s like he’s saying “You remembered my order” in that flirty way only he knows how to. I simply shrug before opening my door and getting in with Luke following my example. Without missing a beat, he fishes my phone from between my fingers and grabs my free hand to use my thumb to unlock my phone. This time, I don’t object and let him. I know that it’s just to get to my music app anyway.
While Journey’s Anyway You Want It plays through the car’s speakers, I pull out of the parking spot in front of the coffee shop and start driving to the next location I’d found during my research the other night.
“Where’re we going?” he asks, and I flashback to yesterday when he asked me the exact same question in that exact same way.
I smile as I place my cup in the cupholder between the two of us. “You’ll see.” I glance over, finding him tilting his head slightly and giving me that ‘Really?’ look. “I promise it’s very secluded and not a lot of people will be there.”
“Cool,” he says and sips. “Is this where you’re going to kidnap me and hold me for ransom? I bet you could get a lot of money for a Julie and The Phantoms band member.”
I snort at his remark. “How much do you think I could get for you?”
He scrunches up his nose in thought, which I catch as I take a quick glance at him again. As I face the road again, I reach for my coffee and take a quick sip, awaiting Luke’s response to my question.
“Like 10k?”
I nearly spit out my coffee. “10k?!” I screech, and his laugh thunders through my car. “Careful or I’ll actually kidnap you and hold you for ransom if I’m gonna earn that much.”
The laughter dies down and after a few moments of silence lingering in the air, Luke says, “How much do you think I’m worth?”
Without missing a beat, I respond to his question, dead serious. “Not even a dollar.”
Luke gasps, his mouth dropping in absolute disbelief while I can’t help but cackle loudly. Judging from this conversation alone, I’m positive today will be a good day. A good, fun day.
“I’m worth more than a dollar, right?”
“No, you’re right, I’d probably ask like a million and then no one will pay the ransom and you’ll have to stay with me for the rest of your life.”
I let out my best maniacal laughter as I feel him watch me. I know the exact look he’s giving me. The look. The one with the glistening eyes and the slightly turned up lips. The one all girls and gays swoon for. The one I would swoon for if I’d turn my head right now. But I don’t. For once in my life, I’m smart and keep my eyes on the road.
“You like me,” he states proudly.
“Slightly less strong dislike.” I’m lying through my teeth, but I’m hoping Luke won’t notice. Or at least not acknowledge it because I can already feel the heat rising to my cheeks.
“I’ll take it.”
He reaches forward and turns the volume up as Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” floats through the speakers. Very loudly, and very obnoxiously, the boy begins to sing along. If it wasn’t for the velvet smooth voice, I would’ve scolded at him to keep it down. But the sound actually makes my toes curl and my stomach flutter. For a verse, I let him sing by himself while I enjoy his performance but by the chorus, I can’t withhold myself and sing along with him.
The rest of the ride is filled with belting of the road trip tunes, laced with patches of small talk. It’s the perfect car ride, and before we know it, we’ve arrived at our destination. Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area. The parking lot is practically empty, aside from two cars, which I’m assuming are the staff’s. It’s the perfect indication that I picked the right spot to go to, and I can tell Luke knows it too.
He’s bouncing in his seat, either from excitement or the amount of sugar that was in his iced coffee, and when I turn off the ignition and turn to him, he looks at me with the widest smile plastered on his face. He almost looks like an excited toddler on Christmas morning, ready to open his presents.
“I came here once with my parents when I was younger,” he tells me, “I love this place.”
His confession makes me smile. “Good because I’ve been scouring the internet for the perfect place.” He shoots me the look again. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re going to kiss me.”
He shrugs, “Maybe I want to.”
“So you want me to slap you?”
His smile fades away immediately. “Let’s go,” he grumbles and quickly gets out.
I heave in a deep breath, recollecting myself before getting out too and retrieving the backpack I brought, filled with stuff for today. Including my itinerary – or just a notebook filled with some ideas I had.
“How about we start with a bike ride across the park?” I suggest, pointing at the bike rental shop I found on Google the other night.
We walk into the rental place, expecting there to be bikes upon bikes but instead, we’re met with kayaks, pedal boats and go-karts. My eyebrows furrow, creasing my forehead as I look around the space. Why’s this called a bike rental when there are technically no bikes to rent? No actual bikes.
“I thought we were going for a bike ride?” Luke says, teasingly. I look up at him, and I think my face tells him enough about my knowledge about this place. My research clearly wasn’t sufficient.
Deciding to just roll with the circumstances, I roll my shoulders back and put a smile on my face. “Yeah, we’re going on a bike ride with one of these!” I say and point to the large, green go-kart. One of those that look like an old-school car at the front and have children’s seats in front of the terribly cushioned seats for adults. The ones with the small plastic wheel and bike pedals for two adults. I remember going on one of those big ones for six people with my family.
“You’re serious?” Luke asks, his eyes wide.
Instead of answering, I shoot him a smile before stepping forwards towards the staff member at the counter. The woman behind the counter looks no older than 45 and has long, billowing blonde locks that cascade down her shoulders. Her bright blue piercing eyes glisten as they land on the two of us, clearly glad she sees some customers so early in the day.
“Good morning,” she greets with a smile, “We open in half an hour.”
“Oh…” My research has been poor.
Before I can possibly think of an answer, Luke steps forward and flashes the woman a smile. I’m not sure if he’s going to use his manly charms or if he’s going to pull the “Don’t you know who I am?” card.
“Can’t you… make an exception for us?” he asks, leaning his elbow on the counter as he looks at the woman through his lashes. The woman looks up at Luke, her face like stone. She doesn’t recognize him and doesn’t fall for his charms either.
Shaking my head, I spring into action. I quickly change the ring on my index finger to my ring finger and wrap my arm around Luke’s bicep while the other rests on his chest, making sure the ring is as visible as can be. As I flutter my eyelashes at the woman, I let the words tumble out of my mouth.
“Please, ma’am? It’s our one year engagement anniversary and he was going to take me on this romantic bike ride….” I then lean forward over the counter. “He’s not very good at researching our dates, but he tries.”
The woman’s eyebrows knit together as her eyes dart from me to Luke and back.
“Aren’t you guys a little young to be engaged?”
Luke jumps into the improvisation spot. “We’ve been told that a lot but we’ve been best friends for years and there’s no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.” He looks down at me and when I glance up, too, he kisses the tip of my nose, which I then scrunch.
I ignore the flutters in my stomach and face the woman again. She seems to have softened, her eyes less icy than it was before. Then, she turns to her computer and clicks through a few browsers before facing us again.
“What do you guys want? The Surrey?” She points to the green bike-thing at the front of the shop. I nod my head in response. “Okay. You’ve got it for two hours for the price of one hour.”
A smile etches its way to my face. “That’s perfect, thank you.”
Luke pays the woman the rental fee and then she helps us get Surrey out of the garage. After bidding our goodbyes, Luke and I pedal off on the bike.
“One year engagement, really?” Luke asks me when we’re far enough from the rental and I switch my rings back around.
“Well, whatever you were doing didn’t work.”
He scoffs. “It was working.”
We pedal down the winding road with the wind blowing through our hair. I love how warm the breeze is and how the birds are chirping in the trees around us. This is the perfect day to go out and do this.
“What exactly were you planning to do?” I ask him, glancing up at him. He’s focusing on the road ahead of us, a comfortable smile resting on his lips while his eyes flick from one side to another, taking everything in.
He glances down at me, the smile turning into a smirk. “I was going to charm her with my manly wiles.”
“And how was that working for ya?”
For a second, we lock eyes. Luke has an annoyed look on his face while I can’t help but have my lips curl up on one side into a smirk. When he whips his head forward again, I notice the slight tint of pink covering his cheeks.
Did I just make Luke Patterson blush?
“So,” he coughs. “Whatcha wanna do?”
I shrug. “We could play twenty questions? Get to know each other better.”
He nods his head in response. “You wanna start?”
“That’s your first question?”
“That’s yours?”
I press my lips together, shutting myself up for just a moment before recomposing myself. I’m not going to lie, I totally Googled some questions to ask in a game of 20 questions. So, I’m prepared.
“If you had to be trapped on a deserted island with one of your friends, who would you pick and why?” Luke’s eyes widen at the question a little.
“Woah, straight in! I thought you were gonna start with ‘favorite color’ or something.” He chuckles lightly, and so do I. “Uhm… Not Alex, he’d probably be super anxious and pace all the way across the island and make me nervous. Not Reggie either, he’d be singing country songs the entire time, though he is a great cuddler. Maybe Julie? Though she’s gonna be miserable without Flynn….”
With every thought he says out loud, my smile grows bigger and bigger.
“You?” My heart leaps in my chest at his answer. “Yeah, I like spending time with you and what better place to get away from real life than a deserted island, right?”
Without missing a beat, the next words pour out of my mouth. “It’s cute how you think we’re friends now.” I surprise myself with the words I speak. We are friends, but I like winding him up into thinking we’re not.
“Friends who wanna kiss each other.”
Ignoring the heat rising to my cheeks, I reply, “You mean kill?”
Luke shakes his head, an amused smile on his face. “When are you going to admit that you like me?”
“Never – Next question.”
“Uhm… What was the last thing you stole or shoplifted?” he asks and I’m glad he doesn’t push any further on the fact I basically admitted that I like him.
“Oh! A magnet in a tourist shop in Lanzarote,” I reply, giggling a little at the memory. “I was there with a couple of friends during Spring Break and those magnets cost way too much for what they are and there was like a rack outside the shop. So, I shoplifted an overpriced Lanzarote magnet.”
Luke throws his head back as he laughs, nearly steering us into the bushes. “That’s amazing,” he cackles.
We cruise through the entire park for two entire hours, asking each other questions, and after returning the Surrey, we walk towards the lake where we settle down onto the blanket I brought for some food. I’d prepared an entire picnic basket for us to enjoy during our lunch.
“I find it very cute that you made an entire picnic basket for our first date.”
I smile. “I find it very cute that you think this is a date.”
He gives me the look again, but I ignore it and get every piece of food out of my backpack, sprawling it out around us. Sandwiches, chopped up vegetables and fruits, muffins,... All the delicious foods you’d find in a picnic.
“Tell me more about your childhood,” Luke then says as he takes a chicken sandwich and takes a bite. “You don’t talk about it much.”
My heart drops into my stomach. I wish he wouldn’t ask about that. Talking about my childhood means talking about my mother and I’ve been trying to avoid that for the past years. Not that many of my friends even know about that.
“I told you plenty.”
“You talked about your teenage years, but never about your childhood.”
I take a deep breath. He’s not going to shut up about this until I tell him. It’s not that I don’t trust him, it’s just that I don’t love talking about what happened with my mother. It’s something I’d much rather forget.
“There’s a reason for that,” I reply pointedly and then shut myself up by taking a sip from the box of orange juice. I’d packed one for the both of us, but I’m the only one who’s opened it already as Luke had gone straight in with the sandwiches.
Luke stares at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. His eyes pierce through my soul and give me a sense of comfort. They lift a weight of my shoulders and chest that I hadn’t even noticed were there. His eyes feel like coming home. Comfortable. A place to relax. A place to be me, be myself.
I heave in a deep breath and place my juice box on my nervously bouncing knee, holding it with my hand. It doesn’t stop the bouncing, so now my whole body is practically shaking along with the movement.
“I–” I stop myself, reconsidering my words. “My childhood wasn’t the sunshine and roses it’s supposed to be.” I chuckle nervously and when I meet Luke’s eyes again, they’re looking at me with such intent that I almost launch forward and kiss him. But I don’t.
“Mom was… difficult to live with…” I start cautiously, not even daring to look at Luke as I speak and keep my eyes on the still lake in front of us. “She uhm… After I was born, she kinda went into postnatal depression. She didn’t take care of me, she barely even looked at me… At one point, it went so far that she got into an accident, on purpose, with me in the back. She did it a few times, even, to the point where dad just had to report it. She was admitted to the psych ward and that was that... I was ten at the time.” I swallow to hold back the tears that are pricking behind my eyes.
Feeling a soft brush of the hand on my knee, I glance up, meeting Luke’s eyes. They give me that sense of comfort again, that sense of home, the reassurance that I’m okay.
“We haven’t really seen her since. She’s out of our lives…” I sniffle and place my hand over Luke’s, giving it a thankful squeeze. “I don’t like talking about it.”
Luke carefully laces his fingers through mine, his cold rings cooling my warm hand. “I’m sorry I brought it up.” I shrug dismissively. “But thank you for telling me.”
“So, tell me,” I lift our entwined hands for a second as though pulling us back into reality. “How did Sunset Curve-slash-Julie and The Phantoms came to be?”
Luke chuckles before engulfing our locked hands with his other and tumbling into the origin story of the bands he was in. He talks about meeting Reggie and Alex in primary school, and then meeting Bobby in middle school. He explains how they started the band in music class and then continued playing together until Bobby moved away from Los Angeles. The story then lapses into giggles and chuckles about all the things they tried to keep Sunset Curve alive, but terribly failed.
“But then we met Julie in high school and – the rest is history.”
We’re clearing up our mess before making our way back towards the car. I love hearing Luke talk, especially about the band. It makes his eyes light up and he gets all bouncy and enthusiastic. It’s the cutest side of Luke I ever did see in the past few days of hanging out with him.
I take one last look at the lake where tiny dots of humans are floating along on the lake in their tiny boats. There are just a few, so nothing to worry about, but it does make me want to go kayaking too. Mostly because I don’t want the day to end.
“Wanna go kayaking?” I ask Luke, pulling him to a halt by tugging at our still intertwined hands. His eyes dart from mine to the lake and back. I can tell he’s debating it, but then he nods and a smile appears on his face.
With our hands intertwined, we go back to the rental place and ask the woman for a double kayak. We pay, put on the safety vests she’s given us and then proceed onto the water. As we pedal along, Luke tells me about all the adventures he’s been on with his friends and how he used to do this all the time before his schedule got so crazy.
Every now and again, he stops and pretends to tip the kayak, making me squeal each and every time whilst he laughs his most maniacal laugh.
The wall I’d built around my heart was slowly crumbling. Every laugh, every touch, every glance took away a small part of the brick wall. I’m falling in love with the boy I’d had a crush on and then strongly disliked for a good five-ish days.
Getting distracted was not a good idea as I’m not prepared for what follows next. Luke pretends to tip it over again, but this time, he wobbles too hard and actually makes the boat topple overhead. I squeal, but quickly shut my mouth as I tumble into the water, making sure not too much of the lake’s contents gets into my body.
“Patterson!” I scowl as I crash the surface again and find Luke laughing a few feet away. His brown, shaggy hair sticks to his head, dripping small drops of water onto his face. If I wasn’t so angry at him, I would definitely kiss him right here, right now.
“I hate you!” I splash some water at him as the words roll off my lips. Luke’s laughter abruptly stops and he stares at me. His once glistening eyes dull down while his mouth falters into a frown.
“You do?”
My face softens as I watch him. He looks so beautiful with his hair all dishevelled and the reflection of the sun on the water mirroring onto his face. I want to kiss him. I want to kiss him so bad.
I swim closer towards him and stroke his wet hair out of his face. My breath hitches in my throat at how close we are but I try to play it off by keeping my hands on his face and my eyes locked with his. I notice his eyes flicking down to my lips a few times, telling me he wants to kiss me as much as I want to kiss him.
Should I? Full throttle? Or step on the brakes?
I don’t even get the time to think about it as Luke presses his lips to mine. Now I don’t hesitate a single moment and immediately kiss him back. Sliding my hands into his wet locks and pressing my body as close as I can, I melt entirely into him. The same sense of bliss I have when singing with Luke washes over me and I find myself on cloud 9 again.
We pull back after a moment to catch our breath. The glint in his eyes is back and his mouth, though a little swollen and red, curls up into a smile. He presses one more kiss to my nose before helping me towards the shore. We climb out of the water and bring the boat back to the rental place, along with our safety vests.
Grabbing my backpack I had left with the woman for safekeeping, Luke and I bid our goodbyes and leave the rental, intertwining our hands again. The feeling his hand in mine gives me will never get old.
As we get to the car again, I yawn, feeling a sense of exhaustion wash over me. Luke smiles upon noticing this and takes the keys from my hand. Wordlessly, he presses a kiss to my forehead and then leads me to the passenger side. He opens the door and lets me get in before shutting the door and jogging to the other side.
The car is filled with a comfortable silence, just the crackling of a song playing on the radio filling out the quietness. I rest my head against the headrest and glance at Luke every now and again as he drives Sabrina. He has that one-hand feel on the steering wheel and the other rest comfortably in mine on the gearshift.
“I had a lot of fun today,” I mumble, unable to speak any louder.
A smile etches its way to Luke’s face. “Me too.” He takes a quick glance at me and then lifts our hands to plant a kiss on my knuckles. “Our band’s house is closer, you want to stop there and get us dry before you go home?”
I hum softly, letting my eyes fall shut for a moment. Luke’s thumb grazing the back of my hand almost lulls me to sleep until he curses before the car comes to a halt. He pulls his hand away from mine and when I look up, the driveway and street in front of the enormous white-brick house is filled with dozens of cars.
“Fuck, I forgot about the album wrap party,” he grumbles and then looks over at me. I’m shivering from the cold and exhaustion. “I can’t let you drive home like that.”
I’m unsure if he’s talking to me or pondering out loud, but I shake my head instead. “It’s fine,” I say. “My house isn’t that far away… I think…”
“No, y/n. I’m not letting you drive home exhausted and cold.” His voice is stern, yet laced with a bit of worry. “You’re gonna come in and I’m– I’m gonna bring you up to my room. You can dry off there and maybe take a nap or something. Yeah! Yeah, that’s it!” He sounds way too excited about something so banal.
He hops out of the car and quickly jogs over to my side whilst I’m already opening the door. Before I could react, he tugs me towards the house. I can barely get my bearings or take the time to look where I’m going before I’m pulled into a room.
“There are shirts and joggers in the dresser over there, pick out whichever you like and then take a nap or something. I’ll be back before you know it.” He kisses my cheek and then dashes towards the door.
“You’re just gonna leave me here?”
He lets go of the door handle and slowly turns towards me. His eyes are laced with regret as he takes in the sight in front of him. I must look ridiculous with my hair and clothes wet and bags under my eyes.
“Please, y/n? I can’t have people know about us, okay? I just – can’t…”
Turning on his heel, he opens the door and leaves me in his bedroom all alone. I take a minute to let the information process in my brain before turning around and taking in the room I’m in.
The walls are painted white, except for the one wall behind his bed that’s a muted dark blue. His bed is king size and on either side is a nightstand. I inch closer to the one that’s actually filled with stuff, which I’m assuming is the one he uses most. Nightstand contents often tell a lot about a person. His contains the band’s autobiography, “Bruce Springsteen: All The Songs” and “Beach Read” by Emily Henry, the book I started the other week and shared on Instagram Stories.
Would he have seen that and decided to read it too?
Shaking the ridiculous thought out of my head, I move over to his dresser and take out a pair of joggers and his Rush muscle tank I’ve seen him in many a time during gigs. I peel my drenched clothes off my body and get into Luke’s freshly washed ones. They smell of his laundry products. It’s a fresh and calming scent.
For a while, I look around his room. The books on the shelves and the pictures on the walls, most of which of the band and some of him and Carrie Wilson. There had been a rumor about him dating the Instagram Influencer, but I’d never believed it until I saw her face pop up in some of the framed photos in his room.
I decide to go and venture about the house since all the commotion seems to be outside in the garden. I weave through hallway upon hallway, finding more photos and more things that belong to the band. The living room walls are adorned with platinum records and other awards they’d won over the two years they’d been active in the music industry. I can’t help but feel a sense of pride rush over me. That’s my favorite band right there. That’s the boy I’ve fallen in love with.
“Excuse me – Who are you?”
The voice makes me jump out of my skin. I thought everyone was outside. When I look up, I find the perfectly flawless face of Carrie Wilson. Her long, blonde hair cascades into curls down her shoulders and back while her round, brown eyes stare at me with intent and curiosity.
“Oh, sorry. I’m y/n. I–” I stop myself, remembering Luke didn’t want anyone to know about us. That includes his girlfriend – or ex-girlfriend.
Carrie’s mouth curls up into an amused, curious smile, catching onto what’s happening. “You’re Luke’s new adventure, aren’t you?” I huff out the breath I was holding. It’s a telling huff, I’m sure. “You are…” She trails off and inspects me for a second before continuing. “Just so you know, it’s not going to work. Luke’s too infatuated with this lifestyle of his. He loves his job, he loves his stardom. He loves it too much to ever focus on a partner. Believe me, we tried.”
I exhale at the use of her past tense, but then all the other information downs on me. Luke’s life is so much different from mine. While I work several jobs to pay for college and still live with my dad, he lives by himself and tours the world. He’s too busy to start anything serious with me. Whatever happened in the last few days was just temporary.
“You seem sweet, y/n, so I’m going to be frank. Get out before it’s too late. You’re only gonna get hurt if you’re gonna stay.” As she passes me, she places a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
If my brain wasn’t going a mile a second about everything she’s telling me, I would be caught off guard by how sweet Carrie Wilson is. She’s always portrayed as this complete ego-centric bitch who used people to her advantage.
The exhaustion taking over, I shuffle back upstairs and sit down on Luke’s bed but when I hear the commotion outside die down and guitar strums float through the air into the house, I grow curious. I get up from the bed and make a beeline towards the ceiling-to-floor glass doors that give out onto a balcony. I carefully open the door and step out, the summer breeze tickling my skin while Luke’s voice reaches my ears.
The balcony looks out onto the garden, it’s just out of sight from where everyone’s huddled up around the band. I lean my elbows on the bannister and watch on as Luke’s voice floated through the air.
“I'm no superman
I can take your hand
And fly you anywhere you wanna go, yeah
I can read your mind
Like a billboard sign
And tell you everything you wanna hear, but I'll be your hero”
I smile at the memory of us in the studio yesterday. The last few days have been perfect. Just… Perfect. And now this girl has to come and ruin it by pulling me back into reality.
“Cause I, I can be everything you need
If you're the one for me, like gravity, I'll be unstoppable
I, yeah I believe in destiny
I may be an ordinary guy without his soul
But if you're the one for me
Then I'll be a hero
Oh, I'll be a hero, yeah
I'll be a hero”
It’s not that Carrie isn’t right. She is. Luke is way too busy with the band and his fame and everything around it. He doesn’t have time or room between those things for me. Not for an ordinary girl. Not for anyone.
“So incredible
Some kinda miracle
That when it's meant to be, I'll become a hero, oh
So I'll wait, wait, wait, wait for you”
Luke’s eyes meet mine as he hits that high note and his mouth curls up into that beautiful smile I’ve come to love. Once again, I’ve fallen in love with someone who would never reciprocate those feelings. If I don’t get out now, I’m going to get hurt.
“Yeah I'll be a hero
Cause I, I can be everything you need
If you're the one for me, like gravity, I'll be unstoppable
I, yeah I believe in destiny
I may be an ordinary guy without his soul
But if you're the one for me
I'll be a hero
Yeah, yeah I'll be a hero, yeah
I'll be a hero
Hero”
As the last notes of his song ring out into the night, I grab my still wet clothes and my keys Luke left on the dresser, and then leave the house. My heart breaks with every step I take, but I know it’s what’s best for me. It’s what’s best for both of us. There’s no room for me in his life. Like he said, he’s no superman, he can’t handle this many things at once. Not even a hero would be able to.
Everything taglist:
@wanniiieeee @phantompogues
JATP taglist:
@hannahhistorian92 @marinettepotterandplagg @thequirkybookaholic @bookdealer5 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @hemmingsness @iainttakingshitfromnobody @ifilwtmfc @angryknightstatesmantrash @kiss-themoongoodbye @charliesmountains @thedarkqueenofavalon @calamitykaty @caitsymichelle13 @wiselight @kcd15 @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic @stars-soph @kinda-really-lost @notasofti @stellasmusa @n0wornever @kaitieskidmore1 @tefilovesreading @pxperphxntom @crybabyddl @crybabyddl @headheartbellarke @authentic-gillespie @happinessinthedarkesttimes @bright-molina @rangerelik @cordeliascrown @willex-owns-my-heart @fangirlangioma @frickin-bats @flower-name @jaskiers-sweetkiss @jandthephantoms @kelpwithawhy @the-hufflepuff-hunter @lookingthroughmirrors @buckybarnesishot310 @echocharm17618 @littlemissaddict @mystic-writings @joynerxmercer @brooke0297 @magicalxdaydream @musicianspiritsblog @bexxy @ruvaitkevicius @whitetigerlover17 @stressyanddepressysimp @talk-on-the-street @theolivekiddo @sunsetcurvej @teti-menchon0604 @candycornmgg @gray_jato
Charlie/Luke taglist:
@lukeys-giggle @gingerxarmy @lovesanimals @lolychu @perfectlywrongformend3s @luckylouiebug @camiladelrio98 @myfriendscallmebeans @rachmmb @whitemanshoe19 @killerqueenfan
TAGLIST | MASTERLIST
#jatp#julie and the phantoms#jatpsongficfeb#luke patterson#luke patterson x reader#luke patterson fic#luke jatp#luke patterson x fem!reader#modern!au#StarStruck
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yknow what they’re just piling up in my notes, so here are some atla fics i want to write so bad it hurts:
(if anyone likes any of them and wants to write it or wants to write it with me i would very much like that and you should totally absolutely talk to me about it)
yueki au with yue as a ballet dancer and suki as a skater (projecting my ballet dancing and my skating onto both of them)
zukka au based off of honey girl by morgan rogers
zukka au based off of the movie stardust
YUEKI au based off of the movie stardust
zukka princess and the frog au WHEN (i’ve made a post about it alreadddyyyyy but it’s still there in my brainnnb)
mailee song fic based off of marceline by willow
maisuki fic where after the war the kyoshi warriors go train with the yuyan archers and mai is uh. part of the yuyan archers and and you get the picture?
yueki song fic based off of space girl by frances forever
BAND AU i want the gaang in a band
jinzula fic where jin is a social worker. that’s super important and i have no plot for it
into the spider verse au okay i just have the vibes for it with like maybe sokka as miles and piandao as peter b parker
yuetara as ladybug and chat noir (katara as ladybug and yue as chat)
ZUKKA as ladybug and chat noir (sokka as chat and zuko as ladybug)
mailee song fic based off of two slow dancers by mitski (actually this one is in le progress)
a rival sports team au somehow it will work okay
zukka and kataang au based off of the dcom lemonade mouth (i actually already started this one and it’s at like 5k words and i have soooo many thoughts about it i am exploding)
aang’s birthday is in spring. his birthday is in spring but he doesn’t want to celebrate it, he doesn’t want to think about it at all (sooooo many thoughts about this one and air nomad traditions and aang’s friends and memories and spring is my favourite season and i will project so much when i inevitably write this)
gaang road trip
au where zukka fake date to get yue and suki together (it is a dumb plan)
suki fic where she gets a pet
mako fic about his hair (it is so important to me i am. head empty only thoughts on mako’s hair and how it represents him. also he does not become a cop)
bolin and mako sibling relationship fic plus trans and autistic bolin (my friend and i found soooo much proof that he’s autistic) and how mako took care of bolin
mako and sokka parallel fic
kyoshi fic where rangi has died and kyoshi is trying to stay strong and having flashbacks to kuruk’s time when ummi died
songtara (is that their ship name) fic where they meet after the war and teach each other the healing things they know
sokka helps mai make her own knife (they carve the handle with pretty designs)
frozen au with zuko as elsa and azula as anna and jin as kristoff (also maybe a frozen 2 au with sokka as honeymaren and katara as ryder)
#i might add more#okie sorrey i needed to write them down somewhere else to leT it oUt#atla#au idea#min.txt#wait i wanna pin this so i can add sooo many more and then maybe finally totally write one#bye trans edric post. you’re still trans#📍
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z2 thoughts
i wasn't able to watch it live and got distracted on friday night when i tried catching up after the fact so i just compiled all my thoughts into one list rather than a bunch of live blogging posts.. enjoy!
bucky's still anti-zombie, huh? at least there are some zombies on the cheer squad now (including bonzo!!! good for him!!!)
ohhh they got some good choreo over on z-team at cheer camp!
the zombietown theater's main showing is a werewolf movie…. i smell foreshadowing!
"i've decided to be school president" can like zed run just so bucky loses the election
WHO IS IN THE SHRIMP COSTUME, it's bothering me… can it get a luke benward cameo
AW SOFT BOY BONZO I LOVE YOU (also if he wrote her name, does this mean he's learning english? or is there just no zombie version of "bree")
"i thought werewolves were just myths" "yeah like cavities" WHY ARE THESE MOVIES SO FUNNY
"i'm always looking like a snack" god
zed getting down on one knee to ask addison to prawn is so pure
also addison rejecting the promposal… the rapunzel/eugene energy is off the charts
i like that the football coach has a little more to do in this movie, even if he's comic relief
IS THAT WYATT IN THE PUBLIC WORKS UNIFORM???? IS HE UNDERCOVER OR SOMETHING??? HIDING OUT AMONGST HUMANS???
why did i lowkey predict that
i was honestly just wondering why this seemingly bg character suddenly got more screentime
are these werewolves ever gonna go full wolf or is this it
ohhh so they just think addison is the alpha… it's probably gonna be a mistake
yo why does this wolf song slap
wow i also called zed running against bucky… huh. does this violate any monster laws?
it's crazy how easily they agreed to let werewolves in the school
OH THIS SONG ALSO SLAPS, kinds gives me "chillin like a villain" vibes
baby ariel (is she wynter in this movie?) is kind of adorable. reminds me of… brena, is it? jane from descendants. where is the crossover fic where they're girlfriends
(on the subject of crossover ships… carlos/wyatt please. it'd be cool for his dog fear to result in him getting beastie bfs)
pls tell me they actually got new choreographers for this film bc the choreo is so fucking good
(not that it was inherently bad in z1 but i feel like all the non-"BAMM" numbers were meh in terms of choreo, this movie is like that quality choreo but for EVERY NUMBER!!! and we love to see it)
wynter on the football team pls and thank you
i thought bonzo spoke english for a moment ajfhshd, pls let him learn some english, he clearly understands it but why tf can't he speak it
bonzo is taller than zed, pass it on
the aspect ratio is so jarring considering this is a made for TV movie
i recognize that "fired up" music!!!
also bonzo in pink is so good, i have to say
fine smelling wyatt?????? what????? how does he smell good he's half dog??????
bucky is still a prejudice SoB huh
if addison is actually a wolf i'll scream, it doesn't make sense
also can we stop having dcom couples break up in every movie, it's so tired. give us healthy relationships 2k20
"says the girl who wore a wig her whole life" ZED NO
is this actually the same school as the last film, like the gym looks the same but we're suddenly seeing a lot more hallways???? guess they got a bigger budget to build more sets
there are tears in zed's eyes… milo manheim oscar when
why is it bothering me that zed's jacket has one long sleeve and one short
everyone in the bg has pastel clothes but the cheer costumes have hot pink in them… hmm. interesting choice
gotta go my own way has been found dead in 2007 (in other words this duet slaps)
"WE BELONG TOGETHER", i'm gonna cry
are those pink marshmallows in her hot cocoa
wynter is baby
do the werewolves actually just… live in the middle of the woods? they're not actually animals… (or will they actually go full wolf?)
okay how does bree understand bonzo when he speaks zombie
why is the score so intense, i know it's a dramatic scene but it's like theater level intense
they have different connotations of howls……. okay. do the writers realize wolves can communicate other ways, right? growls, hisses, barks?
i guess addison could be a werewolf if her parents adopted her but why would they knowingly raise a werewolf as human if that were the case????
yo this song slaps too
descendants soundtracks found dead in a ditch
this song sounds so summer-y, it's hard to explain. like such a good beach song
wyatt/addison……… cute. can she have two monster boyfriends?
(yes and then wyatt gets dp'd by her and zed during his heats)
i hate addison's alpha look though i have to admit, let her be a cute baby, she ain't no fierce alpha
full zombie zed…… Hot
throw me onto the bed like that bby
we do deserve explanation for the white hair but werewolf just doesn't seen like it, there has to be another explanation
did the wolves always exist while zombies were just created? this universe is wack
this is why you need to plan your trilogies out instead of throwing darts at a board and seeing what sticks
"you like sunsets too, that doesn't mean you're a vampire" DO VAMPIRES EXIST HERE TOO?!
if vamps exist and we get z3 can they cast thomas doherty as one of said vamps for irony
or luke newton so i can write the fanfic where ben and sean are vampire bfs
(anyone else watch the lodge?)
if she's not a werewolf, will that necklace just kill her?
"stay out of our amazing hair" you can't just have a line like that in a dramatic moment
oh zed stole the necklace… Good
a rapping debate… second time disney tries ripping off hamilton. ironic now that they own hamilton.
bucky can't even rap, he automatically loses my vote
"dude, you eat brains" "if i did, you don't have one, so you'd be safe" OHHHHHHHHH
bucky = republicans, zed = democrats
zed's dancing making me nostalgic for milo's dwts season… take me back 😭
OH NO THE MOON STONE FUCKED WITH THE ZBAND
this is like the best dcoms wow
i mean sans the wolf addison thing
it feels more like a cw show than a disney movie and for that reason, i fucking love this
this is also the best dcom soundtrack since lemonade mouth, 0 cringe songs so far
saw this comment on twitter but yeah what is the point of the water here, are they just trying to copy d2?
you know this is also a really well-timed movie considering how a bunch of teens are standing up to the adults bc the teens know better… hopefully this is foreshadowing for the election to come later this year
"flesh and bone" is also 100% the best song in the movie, i might have chills
ngl i expected addison's dad to override zed's dad's order but i guess there isn't enough time for more drama in this movie
i lied there is time for more drama lol
explosions in a dcom, that's new
BONZO AND BREE ARE HOLDING HANDS
are bucky and the aceys all each other's prom dates??? is disney saying poly rights???
A SOMEDAY REPRISE????
the only valid reprise in dcom history
what's with the earthquake?
THE GROUND IS BREAKING??? WTF
oh the moon stone is underground
"you said that perfectly" WYATT/BONZO CRUMBS GOD BLESS
okay now this end number sounds like a fun halloween bop 😅
bucky really wasn't redeemed do the writers realize this
ZEDDISON KISS HELL YEAH
there's still 5 mins left on the dvr… wait
ALIENS?!?!?!?!
ADDISON'S AN ALIEN?!?!?!
#zombies 2#originally this was a bulleted list but tumblr messed up when i copied it over from google so#maybe i'll fix it when i get on desktop tomorrow but i'll probably forget
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Welcome, everyone to our very first Jayvie week!
Jayvie Week is a week long event dedicated to the relationship of Evie and Jay from DCOM Descendants (and subsequent web series/books).
This is our first annual Jayvie Week! We’ve discussed this plenty and each of the three mods picked seven prompts that we then voted for our favorites. We hope they bring out some new lovely creations. We’re super excited to bring this to you!
Please enjoy yourselves and we hope you will join us in the celebration of our favorite Princess and Thief.
For our first Jayvie week we unconsciously ended up with an AU theme (seriously we all came up with AU prompts it is pretty funny).
Running December 10th to 16th 2018 || Prompts for Days
Day 1 (Dec 10th): Missing Scene/Rotten to the Core AU (the Core Four or simply Evie & Jay stayed on the Isle while other Villain Kids went to Auradon)
Day 2 (Dec 11th): DCOM Crossover
Day 3 (Dec 12th): Song Fic
Day 4 (Dec 13th): Soulmates AU
Day 5 (Dec 14th): RomCom AU
Day 6 (Dec 15th): Fantasy AU
Day 7 (Dec 16th): Superheroes AU
Replacement Options: Kidfic or College Life
We had a 4 way tie for some prompts. So we decided to give you the option to replace any of the above prompt days with one of the two replacement options.
For example, if you aren’t inspired to do anything for Day 5, which is a RomCom au, but Kidfic gives you ideas you can use Kidfic as your prompt for that day and still tag it for day 5. However, you can not replace any of the days for each other. So you can’t do Superheroes for day 1 and Rotten to the Core au for day 7.
Please use the tag #jayvieweek2018 when posting your works. Remember to use the tag as one of the first five tags of your post to help us easily find your work. Please also reblog and help us spread the word as much as possible.
For rules and such, please continue reading…
You are free to interpret the prompts in whatever way you see fit. You do not have to create content for each day. If only one prompt gives you inspiration then do that day and that’s perfectly fine! If you get inspired by all of them go for it! Go with what inspires you most. Remember all prompts are a suggestion and not mandatory! Just have fun and be creative!
Does your content have to be shippy? Nope. You can totally write platonic Jayvie if that’s what makes you happy! If you do go the platonic route we do just ask that Evie and Jay not be in a relationship with anyone, we are a Jayvie blog after all. Evie and Jay’s relationship (romantic or platonic) must be the focal point of the story.
Now some rules:
1. Do not post art or edits/graphics that are not yours, we will not accept them.
2. Do not use another artist’s art as a base or trace it. Please be respectful of other people.
3. We will accept NSFW content. Should you do something NSFW please put it under a cut/read more and remember to tag it appropriately! Descendants is loved by fans of all ages and it is mainly targeted for a younger generation, so I can not stress tagging things appropriately enough. People may find certain things uncomfortable with certain content so all NSFW content and triggers NEED TO BE TAGGED.
4. Please do not post a prompt before its due date. This is just so we can keep everything in order and reblog on the appropriate dates. Posting after a due date is fine though!
What is accepted:
Art
Fics
Headcanons
Graphics
Gifs
Playlists
MVs
Aesthetics
Whatever inspires your creativity
Don’t forget to tag ‘jayvieweek’ or ‘jayvieweek2018’ within the first five tag so we can find your entry.
Don’t worry about being late. So long as you’ve tagged it late entries will be accepted and we’ll still happily reblog it!
Feel like doing a prompt more than once? Go for it. Want to write a fic AND make a graphic it? Do it! Just remember to tag all entries so we can find them!
If you’re unsure about anything or have any questions please send us an ask, anonymous or not! You can also contact one of the mods directly if you’d like.
#descendants#disney descendants#evie grimhilde#jay x evie#jayvie#jay descendants#jevie#jayvieweek#jayvieweek2018#type: announcement#even if you can't participate please reblog the post so as many people as possible can see it!
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