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#jatp luke x reader
heliads · 11 months
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sorry to send in two requests but if you've got the time Luke Patterson x reader where she is his tutor for English or something and he develops a crush, so even when he understands the stuff she's teaching him he pretends to be confused so that the tutoring sessions last longer. And then one day he gets a good grade and she's proud of him but that means the sessions are over so he builds up the courage to ask her out? You can put this at the bottom of the list or not even write it because I know how swamped your requests get, but ily.
do not apologize for two requests!! my blog exists for you!! and jatp s2 may be dead but my feelings for that show are not. xoxo
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Luke Patterson is currently fighting a one-man war against his English class, and he is losing. Badly. This was not supposed to be his problem class, he was thinking the biggest struggle would be math or science, but surprise surprise, there’s no such thing as a class you can just skate through. He tried to skate through English. He tried really, really hard, but instead of Spark Notes-ing his way through whatever classic book they threw his way, Luke’s staring at a bright red D on his latest essay.
This would happen to be the most recent essay they were assigned, the one Luke pushed off until the last minute because he was too invested in getting some good songs down on paper. He hadn’t meant to procrastinate, he never does, it’s just that whenever Luke had a spare hour or two, it’s always far more tempting to head out to the studio and mess around with some chord progressions than to do homework.
This essay had gone just like all the other ones so far this year. The book had been assigned, the essay followed not soon after, and Luke told himself that he was going to start it on time for a change. The only problem was that he came home late that day after a shift at his job, so he couldn’t start it that day, and then he was studying for a test the next day, and after that he was working on songs. Before he knew it, it was the night before and he was speed writing to get everything down in time. Luke doesn’t even think he had time to proofread before turning in that mess.
So yeah, he shouldn’t really be surprised about this grade in particular. Still, he isn’t pleased about it. He doesn’t want to see the look on his parents’ face when he dodges another question about his grades, nor listen to all the other kids in his class talk about how easy that essay prompt was. Everything just makes him feel worse.
And, if Luke’s day couldn’t get any better, his English teacher pulls him aside after class to talk about it.
“I noticed your last few assignments haven’t been going as expected,” she says sympathetically, “is there anything you want to tell me about that?”
There’s a lot Luke wants to tell her, such as the fact that this class is dry as a saltine and twice as bland. They’ve spent the last few classes just going over social hierarchies around the time when the book was written, talk about boring. If Luke wanted to study history, he’d read a textbook.
He can’t say all that without damaging his final grade even more, though, so Luke plasters on a grin and does his best impression of an earnest student who’s just had a bad string of luck. “Not really, I’ve just been so busy recently that I didn’t have enough time to really ponder the prompt, you know?”
Usually, this is Luke’s best strategy for getting out of these kinds of nonsense conferences. He’ll whip out a few key words like ‘time commitments’ and whatnot and his teachers will fall for it every time.
He might have done this too often, though, because his teacher just nods and refuses to let him go. “That makes sense to me. Do you think it would help to spend a little more time exploring the prompt or connecting the book to the essay topics?”
“Sure,” Luke says vaguely. He’s only half paying attention; he just saw Reggie outside the door mouthing the words what did you do?? as dramatically as he could.
The teacher looks pleased by this. “That’s what I thought. I’ve gone ahead and signed you up for some tutoring sessions, you’ll start this afternoon after school.”
Luke blinks. “Wait, what?” Clearly, he hasn’t been paying attention nearly enough. Since when was tutoring on the table?
The teacher spreads her hands. “You need a little more help and organization to stay on track. Tutoring is the perfect answer to this.”
“Is it?” Luke asks feebly.
“Absolutely,” the teacher decides, and that’s that. Luke tries to wheedle his way out of it through repetition of how busy he is, like, all the time, but it doesn’t matter. She’s caught him in a half-lie and there’s nothing he can do to avoid it.
Reggie’s waiting for Luke outside the door when he finally leaves. “What happened in there?”
“Pure misery,” Luke groans, and contemplates giving himself a concussion by ‘accidentally’ falling down the stairs so he can go home without having to go to tutoring.
Unfortunately, Reggie enlists Alex in keeping Luke free of head trauma, and so he finds himself in an empty classroom later that afternoon, mournfully watching all of the other students leave the school with no doubt wonderful plans awaiting them.
Luke’s just starting to wonder if his tutor isn’t going to show up after all (after fifteen minutes, he’s legally allowed to leave, right) when someone slides into the seat in front of him.
“Sorry about being late,” they gasp, “I just found out I was doing this like ten minutes ago.”
Luke breaks his desolate stare out the window to glance at his tutor and instantly, he feels the crushing weight of shame bear down on him tenfold. It would have been one thing to have a total stranger be his tutor, someone Luke could avoid looking at in the hallways and never speak to again, but he knows this girl. More importantly, he’s thought she was cute for at least the last four years.
This is the worst case scenario, then. Y/N L/N is smart, she’s pretty, and judging by the fact that Luke always sees her in a group of friends laughing at her jokes, she’s funny, too. Definitely someone Luke would want to impress through gigs or shows instead of, say, his crumbling English grades.
“I’m Y/N,” she says, and Luke realizes that she’s probably been waiting for him to say something. Great, he can’t even introduce himself properly.
“Luke,” he answers, “but you probably knew that already.”
Y/N laughs, and judging by the slightly manic tone behind it, she’s just about as composed about the whole thing as he is. That makes him settle slightly in his chair, lowering his guard. “I was told that I would be tutoring you when I was trying to leave class. Ms. Brown pulled me aside when the bell rang and told me about it.”
“That makes two of us,” Luke grumbles.
The corners of Y/N’s lips quirk up before she manages to tamp them down again, and if Luke weren’t totally out of his mind, he might even say that Y/N has the same attitude towards their English teacher as he does. That would certainly make this whole tutoring experience a lot more interesting.
“So,” she says, clearing her throat in an attempt to sound official, “you wanted to talk about essay pointers, right?”
Luke starts to say something about how he didn’t want any of this, actually, but Y/N arches a brow and he relents. “Yeah, essay stuff. The last one didn’t go over too hot.”
Y/N tilts her head to the side, contemplating this. “Did you agree with her grading?”
“Yeah,” Luke admits, “she wasn’t wrong to mark me down, I kind of did it the night before in one sitting.”
Y/N frowns. “Really? Why’d you put it off so long? I thought you liked writing. Whenever I see you, you’re always jotting something down in that notebook of yours.”
Luke grins. “You’ve been watching me? That’s creepy, you know.” He’s obviously holding back a laugh, though, so the comment has no trace of a barb.
Y/N rolls her eyes, although her face looks a little hot at the moment. “Just answer the question.”
“Alright,” he says, hands raised in mock surrender, “you’re right, I do like writing.”
“Then why wait until the last minute to do the essay? I mean, I get not having a ton of time to work on assignments, but if you really do enjoy writing, it shouldn’t be all that bad, right?”
Luke groans. “ This is different. It’s not fun writing,” he tries to excuse himself.
It sounds bad even to him. Already, Luke can see how this is going to play out– she’ll laugh at him, maybe, say that someone who just got a grade like him can’t possibly be thinking about writing and fun in any way at all. She doesn’t, though. Instead, she nods and smiles at him. A real smile. Not mocking in any way.
“What is fun writing, then?” She asks.
Luke blinks in surprise. “Well, writing songs is fun, I guess,” he stammers, “stuff that actually matters, you know? All these essays are the exact same, but songs are all different. That’s why I care about them and not some pointless paper.”
Y/N nods. “That makes sense to me. So you release music, right?”
Luke isn’t sure where she’s going with this, but he’s perfectly happy to talk about music instead of that offensive red scribble all over his paper, so he plays along. “Yeah, me and my band. We try to, at least.”
“Have you ever gotten a review that bothered you? Not because they didn’t like it, but because they disliked your songs for the wrong reason? Like you had a whole story in mind for your album but the critics just ignored it?” She prompts him.
“Yeah,” Luke says, eyes widening with irritation, “Man, it’s so annoying. You go to all the trouble of writing out these ideas, and you make them have a really good meaning, too, and then it’s like they never read it at all. It makes me so mad sometimes, I want to write a column or something in response about how they totally missed my point.”
“Like, say, an argumentative essay about the real strengths of your chosen piece of writing?” Y/N says as casually as she can.
Luke’s about to argue and say that’s not like this at all, but on second thought, it is. It totally is. “Wait, you’re right. I never thought about it like that, but you’re right. Y/N L/N,” he decides on the spot, “I really like you.”
She grins back at him. “Luke Patterson, I like you too.”
That settles it for him. Luke had been annoyed at the thought of having to suffer through tutoring beforehand, but maybe he’ll be alright with it now. Y/N isn’t a part of the oppressive legion of teachers all conniving to make his life a living hell because he wants to be a musician instead of a doctor or a banker, she’s on his side. That makes it all better somehow.
And, unsurprisingly, it is better. Luke actually ends up having a really good time in his tutoring sessions with Y/N. They don’t feel like tutoring at all, more like a chance to hang out with a friend. They talk about Jane Austen and tell awesome jokes, read Shakespeare and spend more and more time together. Luke knows this is only a temporary thing until his grades get back up, but it’s too easy to forget that.
Until, one day, it isn’t. His English teacher hands back an essay with a bright red ‘A’ marked on the front, and tells him that she’s proud of all the progress he’s made so quickly. Instead of a sigh of relief, the only thing escaping Luke’s lips is a desolate sigh. After all, if Luke’s improved to this point, that kind of means his tutoring sessions will be over, right?
Y/N doesn’t know that, though. Y/N doesn’t have access to his grades. All she knows is what Luke tells her, and if informing her of his latest essay win means she’ll stop seeing him after school, why should Luke let slip a single syllable?
So, later that day, when Y/N asks him how the latest essay went, Luke shrugs and pretends to be disappointed. “I’d hoped for more,” he says, “she, uh, didn’t like my commentary.”
“Really?” Y/N questions, frowning slightly, “I thought you were really good at that.”
Luke’s eyes widen, caught in a lie. “Who knows with teachers, right?” He laughs weakly.
Y/N pretends to shudder. “I know, right? I feel like half of your grade is literally just how much she likes you. English classes are always so subjective.”
“Subjective?” Luke asks, grinning and propping his chin up on his hand, “Tell me about that.”
Y/N laughs. “Only if you promise we’ll talk Jane Eyre immediately afterwards. Immediately.”
“I so swear,” Luke intones, holding up his right hand with all the solemnity of a president being sworn into office.
Y/N swats him on the shoulder with her notebook, but she obliges, and maybe they don’t talk about Jane immediately. Maybe they laugh a little longer than usual. And maybe, just maybe, Luke thinks that he’s perfectly fine with obscuring the truth if it means he can have more of this when he needs it the most.
The truth, unfortunately, has a habit of making itself heard regardless of who is inclined to hide it. Luke comes into their usual study spot in the library one day to see Y/N waiting for him, not already in her seat like normal but standing tentatively at the side.
He frowns, slinging his backpack down on the ground and pulling up a chair. “Everything alright? You look like you’re about to run. If you’ve got something planned, we can do this another day.”
Y/N shakes her head slightly. “No, I’m free all day.”
Luke gestures towards the table. “Then sit down, my legs are getting tired just looking at you. We’ve got stuff to study, don’t we?”
“Well, that’s what I was going to ask about,” Y/N says, “Ms. Brown stopped me after class today, said she had someone else she wanted me to tutor. I said I was already booked with you and she was confused. Apparently you’ve been doing just fine for quite some time.”
Luke feels his breath catch in his throat. This is not how he’d wanted Y/N to find out. For what must be the hundredth time this year, Luke sends out a silent curse to all meddlesome English teachers.
“Yeah,” he says as carefully as he can, “I have, but only because of your expert tutoring. It’s like antibiotics, you know? You don’t stop taking ‘em when you start feeling better, only when the prescription is over.”
Y/N blinks at him in surprise. “What are you talking about?”
He runs a hand through his hair, trying not to feel like everything is slipping out of control in an instant. “It was a simile, sorry. A bad one. All I mean is that we don’t have to stop this just because I got a good grade or two.”
Y/N almost looks like she’s smiling, but that could just be Luke being delusional. “I thought you didn’t want to do tutoring.”
“I didn’t at the start, but you’re different. We’re cool. We are cool, right?” Luke starts rambling more and more with each passing second, but he can’t help it. He’s overthinking everything. What if he’s literally just been a tutee this whole time, and she doesn’t think they’re friends at all?
Y/N stares at him a second longer, then takes a seat at last. “Luke Patterson, are you telling me that you like my company so much that you’re willing to keep going to extra English practice just to see me?”
Luke can feel his face heating up, but he does his best to ignore it. “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds–” He still has a little bit of self control left, so he cuts himself off before he can make a truly terrible mistake.
Y/N catches him, though. “It sounds like what?”
“It sounds like I like you,” he admits, and Y/N’s smiling at him, so he decides to take the leap of faith and just do what he’s been wanting to do for quite some time. Since the start of this, actually. “And I do like you. I like you a lot. I might not need the tutoring anymore, but that doesn’t mean I want to stop seeing you. So what if we met up sometime soon? Not for English, for us.”
Luke decides that he likes Y/N’s smile more than anything. “Are you asking me out?” She says.
“I am,” he affirms. “Are you saying yes?”
“I am,” she repeats.
Suddenly, Luke feels like the luckiest kid of all. Maybe he does have to throw in a good word or two for meddlesome English teachers after all. Sometimes they have a way of connecting you with the best people in the world.
requested by @thatfangirl42, i hope you enjoy!
jatp tag list: @rogueanschel, @retvenkos, @callsign-scully, @lovesanimals0000, @amortensie
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supercap2319 · 4 months
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"I don't want to have this conversation with you, Luke." Y/N turned away from him as Luke grabbed his arm. "Y/N, we have to talk about this."
"Talk about what, Luke? I don't want to be a ghost! I want to be alive. I want to live. I was supposed to grow up. Decide if I wanted to have kids or not. A lifetime of choices, gone. It's not fair. He began to cry as Alex, Reggie, and Julie gave him sympathetic looks.
Luke's big brown puppy dog eyes were swelled up with emotion. "I know you don't. And I'm sorry this happened to you, but we can't change what happened." He grabbed his hands. "At least I'll get to be with you forever and ever. An eternity."
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mxlti-lover · 10 months
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Missing Touch {L.P.}
Summary: You never wanted the boys finding out about you suffering with severe anxiety, but one night when Luke finds you having an attack alone in your room, it’s the hardest thing he’s had to deal with when it comes to touch.
Warnings: Mentions of anxiety, a couple swear words.
Word Count: 744
You have known the boys for a month now.
It took you a while to process the fact you were seeing 3 ghosts and your twin sister, Julie, was now forming a band with them.
You also couldn’t figure out how only you and Julie could see the boys; especially considering you didn’t really have a reasoning on how you could help the boys out. Julie was always the musician out of the both of you.
You weren’t complaining though. After getting to know the boys and slowly getting closer to them, you were happy to have them in your life. Especially Luke.
When you first met them, it seemed as though you and Luke clicked right away; a spark as some would say. He was the first person to go to when you had a problem you didn’t really want to tell anyone close to you about. And he was always coming to you about any band troubles.
The only thing the boys didn’t really know about you yet is how badly you suffered from anxiety. It’s not that you didn’t not want to tell them, you just didn’t want them worrying about you.
That all changed thought when Luke appeared one day while you were having an attack.
• ~ • ~ •
You knew exactly what had triggered your anxiety attack. The math test handed back to you this morning with the F that mocked back at you. You failed. You couldn’t believe it as you always have straight A’s, a 4.0 GPA and even on the honor roll a few times. AP Algebra has been the one subject that’s been nipping you in the ass. You were trying to hide it from your dad - deleting any emails sent to him right away - along with trying to hide it from your aunt Victoria. Though you knew the school probably talked to her about it already.
The attack came on fast as the feeling of stress soon consumed you, making you feel even more overwhelmed. You closed your eyes as you tried to focus on your breathing, but your chest only tightened on you more and the air escaped from your lungs quickly.
You hadn’t even noticed when Luke popped into your room, excited to tell you about a gig Julie and the phantoms had coming up this weekend.
But as soon as he saw you, the excitement quickly washed away and worry soon etched across his face.
He quickly rushed over to you instinctively, but when he went right through you, he realized the one thing he wanted to do, he couldn’t.
Sadness washed over him as he attempted one more time to pull you to him, knowing it would fail miserably.
He sat down as close to you as possible as he watched you.
“I don’t know what’s going on bug, but I know you’re strong enough to fight through it. Just focus on my voice and please don’t give up on those deep breaths.” He spoke softly catching your attention.
You look up at him as you let out a small gasp as he startled you. You shake your head as you didn’t want him to have to see you like this.
“Please…go.” You spoke out the best you could, another small gasp escaping past your lips.
“I’m not leaving Y/N. You shouldn’t be alone like this.” Luke says moving his hand to place on top of yours, ignoring the fact it didn’t actually touch you.
“I-I’m fine…please. just go.” You mumbled as you looked away from him, moving your knees to be tucked close to your chest.
“You can argue with me all you want, but there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you bug.” Luke spoke to you in a gentle tone and you couldn’t argue with him that just him being there made your stress slowly wash away.
You didn’t want him seeing you like this, but there wasn’t much you couldn’t do about it. It’s not like you could push him out of your room or something.
Luke watched as you struggled to catch your breath, tears trickling down your cheeks. He hated how he couldn’t hold you. That’s all he wanted to do. Hug you and whisper nonsense into your ear until you were okay again.
But he couldn’t. Missing touch was the hardest thing Luke had to come to terms with as a ghost.
…the one thing he missed the most.
•~•~•~
Note: I haven’t wrote a fanfic in a long time, so please be nice.🙃
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fortheloveofowen · 1 year
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I'd Do Anything - Luke Patterson
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Summary: Luke Patterson could finally touch the world around him without it slipping through his grasp. With his new-found ability, Luke can finally tell her how he feels. But, when a sticky situation ends up giving him the perfect opportunity, will Luke be able to get the girl?
Warnings: Underage drinking, PINING, slight angst, physical fighting, fluffy ending
Note: For the story purposes, reader could see Luke before
Hello, hello! First post on this blog! I plan on giving a little introduction to me in a separate post! But, welcome to the jungle!
𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪
Luke's eyes had trailed around the party for 20 minutes, having lost sight of you when you escaped to the kitchen to get a drink. You had walked in together, his arm slung loosely around your shoulder as you strolled over to your friends.
30 minutes, now.
Luke decided he needed to look for you. He strode quickly around the teenage girls dancing on the makeshift dance floor and down the hallway to the kitchen. As soon as he caught glimpse of you his breath hitched. There you were, drink in hand, obviously uncomfortable. The football player had to be easily 6 feet tall.
"What do you say we head out of here? It's boring, right?" The tall boy slurred at you as he leaned over your much shorter stature.
"Sorry... I uh..." You looked around nervously, "I came with my friends... and they're probably looking for me," your uneasiness was obvious to Luke as he stormed his way over.
Now, Luke was never a fighter. Not before he died, and definitely not after. But, when it came to the one girl he needed to protect at all costs, he didn't care. After Caleb's curse had dissipated, Luke ,along with Reggie and Alex, were a little closer to normalcy. They could touch, feel things. Feel a little more alive. And Luke didn't think one of the first things he'd do, now that he could touch things, was punch a jock square in the face.
The initial blow was like a firecracker erupting inside of Luke. Dan (as Luke did lots of yearbook stalking to find his name) was quick to grab his own bruised cheek. Your eyes were gaping as you took in the scene in front of you: Luke angry, and heaving as Dan takes a step toward him. What could you do?
"L-Luke, please stop" You begged, tears threatening to escape as you choked them back.
At this point, the rest of the band had made their way into the kitchen where a large crowd was staring at the two fighting boys. A quick-thinking Alex had managed to peel Luke off of the bleeding teenager as Julie ran over to you.
"C'mon y/n, we gotta go before cops bust this place!" Julie shouted over the commotion as she grabbed you wrist and dragged you outside.
Reggie was quick to follow, not forgetting to grab a drink for the road. Flynn, only recently getting her license, decided to lay back in case they need a designated driver for the night. And, oh boy, did they. Her headlights shone on them as they made their way over to her car, each one of them squeezing in beside each other. Your eyes scanned over the cuts and bruises littered over your best friends knuckles. You weren't afraid of him. But, seeing so much anger in his eyes was new to you. Luke was soft, to put it lightly.
The ride home had been silent, other than Julie recapping the night for Flynn. Originally, you had planned to stay with Julie for the night, but after reliving the night through Julie's words, you decided it was best to just go home. Everyone had said quiet goodbyes to you and letting you know that they were there if you wanted to talk about the events of the night.
Your bed welcomed you with open arms after the long, hot shower you had just taken. A tap on the window had moved you attention away from the re-run that had been playing on your TV. You looked up to see Luke's eye peering through the gap in your curtains. With a sigh, you threw your blankets off your legs and made your way over to the window, careful not to be too loud. You opened it slightly.
"Luke what're you doing here I told-" Your argument was cut-off by him making his way past you and onto your bed.
He had stayed there many nights, glancing over at you from the opposite side of the bed. Of course, when he couldn't touch anything, things seemed simpler. He knew things would never work out between the two of you if you could never touch. So, he had pushed those feelings aside. But, tonight at the party, all he had wanted to do was put his arms around your waist and drunkenly dance.
Your eyes fell onto the blood still speckled across his hands. You audibly sighed and went to the bathroom, grabbing some peroxide and bandaids. If there was one person you'd drop anything for, it'd be Luke.
He winced as the cold liquid came in contact with the open cuts littering his knuckles. You hadn't spoken since he had come into your bedroom unannounced, and this silence was most definitely awkward. You made your way up to the one small wound that cracked his once soft lip, using a cotton ball to wipe off the remaining blood. Luke's eyes darted between yours and your lips, wondering if he should take the chance while he still has it. But, he decided to go with his better judgement on this one.
"Y/n," Luke finally broke the silence, "could I stay here tonight? The boys are all over me with questions and I just need to be away from it and your room is so comfortable and-"
"Luke, you're always welcome to stay, you know that," you paused for a moment, "and, thank you for tonight. I forgot to thank you earlier," you spoke while smiling at him and applying the final bandaid.
The movie you had put on was only background noise as the two of you lay silent in your bed. Your body turned away from Luke as you hugged yourself into your blanket, once again recounting every step from the night. You began to let out barely audible sobs, finally letting them fall after hours. Luke had been staring at the back of your head for what seemed like hours, in a daze of his own. But, that daze was quickly broken as he scooted closer to you and leaned over your shoulder.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you okay?" he asked, turning you to face him, concerned riddling his face.
You were fast to cover your face, attempting to suppress the sobs coming out of your mouth. Luke hated to see you in pain, and even more when he was part of the cause.
"Don't cover your face... you're too pretty to cover your face, come here," Luke sighed out, pulling you to his chest and running his fingers through your hair. You had noticed the calluses on his fingers slightly snagging at your hair, but you didn't mind.
If you hadn't been so upset in the moment, Luke would've noticed how his mind began racing and he finally felt whole. He wanted this. Forever. You and him, cuddled up in bed, his hands stroking your hair as you lay awake. And as much as he wanted to focus on that, you needed him more than he needed you right now. He let you cry. Staining his shirt with the remnants of the makeup you haphazardly washed off in the shower.
"Luke, why? Why did you protect me? You wouldn't have gotten hurt if it wasn't for me!" You manage to push out as you pull your head away from his chest to look up at him.
His usually smug and confident smirk was replaced with a nervous smile as he let out a little chuckle.
"I don't think this is funny, Luke!" You huffed out and rolled over again.
"It's not funny, it's just," he paused pulling you back around to face, "are you seriously that oblivious? I thought I've been pretty bold these past few days." You stared at him, confusion plastered on your tear stained face.
"Oh, you really don't know..." his jaw moved slightly before he bit his lip to think, "Look, I have lived every waking second since I somehow ended up in Julie's studio thinking about you. About the next time I'd get to see you, next time you'd come to band practice. I don't know when it started, but I really," you cut Luke off.
"Luke, if this is a pity love confession then you really don't have to. I'm seriously okay," you let out, your heart beginning to race.
"If you'd just let me finish. I had like a whole speech written out," Luke giggled and scratched the back of his neck.
"Anyways... I don't know when I started feeling that way about you, but I know it's real and it hurts like hell. God, not being able to even touch you for months was hell. It was all hell. But, I still wanted it. When Caleb cursed us I promised myself I wouldn't do it anymore. But, I couldn't help it. And," he looked down at you, searching for any reaction in your eyes.
"And?" You questioned, getting anxious by all of his stalling.
"And, I'm pretty sure I don't really know what love is, but if I had to guess, then this is it, right? You asked why I protected you, and I protected you because I love you. And I know this life might not be what you want, but I'd do anything just to have you by my side," Luke continued rambling, spilling his heart out to you, scared you didn't feel the same way.
"Luke, Luke, hey Luke," his mouth closed as you shushed him," Just kiss me you dork."
And he did.
𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪
Thank you so much for reading my first little story! I just love soft Luke omg.
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miguelschamp · 2 months
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bigger than the whole sky
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pairing: luke patterson x fem!reader
summary: you get a haunting call before your boyfriend’s big performance
warnings: pure sadness
a/n: there’s a severe lack of luke imagines here and i’m hoping to change that lmao
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“you’re gonna come see me perform, right ?” luke asks as he laid beside you
you turn to him with a smile, “duh. what kind of girlfriend would i be ?”
“i just wanna make sure.” he chuckles, “it’s the orpheum, baby. it’s a huge deal.”
“i know.” you say sitting up on your arm, leaning over him. “i’m so proud of you.”
instead of responding, he pulls you by your waist to straddle him. you lay your hands on his chest to hold yourself up.
“this is gonna change everything.” he says, “the guys and i are gonna make it big. touring all over the world. it’s gonna be awesome.”
“i hope i’m in there somewhere.” you joke
“of course you are.” he says squeezing your thigh, “i wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”
you giggle, “that’s sweet, but we both know it’s because of how insanely talented you are.”
“i’m serious.” he smiles before his face softens, “you’re the only thing that keeps me going.”
you look between his green eyes before leaning down and planting a soft kiss to his lips. he accepts gratefully before you pull away. you instantly nuzzle your head into his neck. he wraps his arms around your shoulders as you sigh.
“i love you.” you mumble
luke smiles, “i love you more”.
•••
you were getting ready for luke’s performance when you got the call from bobby. he was frantic as he spoke to you. you could barely catch what he said, but what you did know was that something happened to luke, reggie, and alex.
that was enough for you to run out the door and rush to the orpheum. as you pulled up, you could see the haunting red and blue lights. you quickly parked before getting out and rushing over.
you hadn’t even registered the officers standing around. one of them puts their arms out as you walk up.
“i’m sorry, ma’am. you can’t pass.”
“my boyfriend is over there. i need to make sure he’s okay.” you say
“i’m sorry.”
“please.” you try
“y/n !”
you turn to see bobby walking over. you meet him halfway urging him to let you know what happened.
“they went to get some hot dogs and i guess they weren’t good.” he says. you furrows your brows.
“well, are they okay ? they won’t tell me anything.” you ask
bobby’s eyes sadden more if that were even possible, “y/n/n..”
“what ?” you say softly. you turn back toward the ambulance and that’s when your heart drops. you could see EMTs rolling three gurneys over toward three different ambulances. all of them covered with black bags.
“no.” you say, “no. no. no.”
“y/n.” bobby says as you try rushing over again.
“ma’am, you can’t.” the officer says as she puts her hands out.
“my boyfriend was in this accident. i need to know if he’s okay. please tell me that he’s okay.” you plead
the officer’s eyes soften as she watches you. your eyes begin to water as you watch her face. “i’m sorry, ma’am.”
you shake your head, “no. no, please. luke ! luke !” you call out as the officer holds you back. bobby runs over grabbing you and pulling you back. you thrash in his arms as you get further away. “stop. no !”
“y/n/n, please.” bobby says
“no.” you cry, “luke !”
you knees give out under you sending you falling to the ground. bobby bends down beside you as you sob. his arms wrapped around you as you lean forward.
“no !” you scream, “luke !”
tears brim bobby’s eyes as he watches you. trying his best to comfort you seeing as he had also lost three of his best friends.
you felt like you couldn’t breathe. the boy you’ve loved for years is gone. he was just in your arms talking about your future hours before. holding you, kissing you, and looking at you like you were the only person to ever exist.
and now he was gone.
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laviefantasie · 2 months
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It Kinda Makes Sense
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Pairings: Alive!Luke Patterson x Alive!Reader
Summary: Los Feliz High School, the best school for future actors, singers, or any kind of artists. Home to the top couple formed by Luke Patterson, the perfect boy soon-to-be rockstar, and Y/N Y/L/N, troubled goth girl with the voice of an angel. A match make in heaven... or hell.
{ BASED ON VICTORIOUS’ JADE AND BECK }
| MASTERLIST |
If you asked Julie Molina what had been her first thought once she had stepped foot on Los Feliz she would say it had been... confusing.
The school was beautiful, with bright blue lockers decorated in unbelievable ways to adolescents dressed as bright blue bobcats. It was truly a sight.
The other thing that was a sight was the group of students that captured most of the other teenagers’ attention. Especially two teens who happened to be having what appeared to be a screaming battle. Screaming battle that ended once ice e/c eyes found Julie’s across the hallway.
“Lost something, shorty?” The unknown girl snaps, “MIND YOUR BUSINESS!”
Her words had caused the boy she had previously been fighting with to sigh in shame before looking her way.
Julie’s breath got stuck in her throat.
The boy was beautiful. Scratch that, he was handsome. Untaimed brown hair with wild hazel —maybe green— eyes, the boy could be anyone’s dream boy.
“Y/N, could you not?”
Julie’s brown eyes move to the girl glaring daggers at her only to have her heart skip a beat. The girl —Y/N apparently— was breathtakingly beautiful. She had wavy h/c hair with some dark blue streaks that matched her skin color perfectly and powerful e/c eyes.
Said girl rolls her eyes before glaring at Julie once more before focusing once again on the pretty boy besides her.
“Fine. I won’t. But this conversation is over”
“We haven’t even had the conversation!” The boy argues back.
“And it’s over!”
The dark-dressed girl stomps off leaving the boy groaning in frustration. Julie taking that opportunity to check out the rest of the group.
With her back pressed to a locker decorated with different colorful fabrics stood a light brown haired girl —could be dark blonde— with brown eyes dressed in a beautiful pink dress and black heels to match. She seemed to be debating whether to follow her friend or staying still.
Besides her was a dark-haired boy with sky blue eyes standing out thanks to his pale skin. He was wearing a leather jacket on top of a white shirt, with a red flannel tied on his waist, and black jeans. His eyes glued to the floor.
Lastly, there was the blond boy with a pink hoodie and blue —sometimes green— eyes. He seemed to be pretty used to what had just happened.
The blond one is the one who noticed her still staring at them, offering a sweet smile before walking towards her and stretching his hand.
“Hi, I’m Alex. I’ve never seen you before”
She grabs his hand with a small smile, “Julie. I’m new”
Her name seems to snap the leather jacket boy from his trance, his bright blue eyes soon finding hers with a big smile adorning his features.
“You’re the girl that sang for Flynn on the school’s talent show! I’m Reggie”
Julie blushes as soon as he speaks, everyone’s eyes staring at her with realization and a little of awe.
“Flynn is my best friend, I just wanted to help her out”
“Well, it worked for you. You got a scholarship” pretty boy adds, “I’m Luke”
Julie cannot help the way her smile grows as soon as he smirks at her. He seriously had to be the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen.
The pretty light brown haired girl with the pink dress joins her friends in greeting her, Julie blushing under the vibrant smile she gives her.
“Hi! I’m Carrie”
Julie goes to grab her hand but the girl —Carrie— pulls her in for a hug. The gesture has Julie’s shoulders tensing, she hadn’t willingly hug anyone after her mother’s death a few months ago, but she soon forced herself to relax.
This was a new start. No pity stares or whispers directed at her.
“It’s nice to meet you guys”
After that meeting the curly-haired girl became a part of their weird group of friends. Soon learning that the beauty ice queen dressed in all black was Y/N Y/L/N, Los Feliz High School’s prodigy and Luke’s girlfriend.
It was no secret that the girl was talented, but she was as talented as scary. Julie hadn’t listened too much of everyone’s warnings, she was sure it was all because of how she dressed and acted and not at all for the kind of person she truly was.
Boy, was she wrong.
She learned that the hard way after getting a role on a play Y/N wanted. A role that played Luke’s romantic interest.
She had ended up one rehearsal with hot coffee thrown at her and icy e/c eyes glaring daggers at her with a sweet —fake— smile. Luke’s apologies were not enough to calm the humiliation Julie felt.
And even if the brown-haired latina wasn’t fond of vengeance, she couldn’t stop herself. And if she kissed Luke longer than necessary after sending a wink the goth girl’s way, it was a mere coincidence.
A coincidence that resulted in her having to watch her back every time she stepped on school’s property.
But things did get better with time and Julie and Y/N became kinda friends. At least enough for Y/N to tolerate Julie and for Julie to not be afraid to sit close to the scissors fanatic.
They were okay. As okay as someone could be with the girl who kissed the other’s boyfriend. But okay nevertheless.
But the more time she spent at the school and the closer she got to all of them, the more she doubted the health of Luke’s and Y/N’s relationship. Today being one of those days.
“What are you saying?!”
“I’m just saying, what kind of friend sends you eight messages in a lapse of five minutes?!”
As soon as the words leave the screaming girl’s mouth, Luke’s phone rings signaling the arrival of another text message making Y/N’s glare darken.
“Nine” she growls.
“You don’t even know if it’s from her!”
Y/N glares at him in disbelief, “Okay! Then prove me wrong!”
With a scoff, Luke gets his phone out before checking the recipient of the message only to let out a sigh that proves his girlfriend right.
“Nine?”
He nods in defeat, “Nine. B-but this is ridiculous! She is my FRIEND”
“How naive are you?!”
The couple fights for a couple more minutes before Luke’s gaze finds Julie in front of her butterfly and music doodles decorated locker. The rockstar grabbing his girl’s hand before tugging her towards the latina.
“Julie!”
Her brown eyes find the couple, widening when they see the coldness in Y/N’s eyes before trying to make a run for it.
She doesn’t make it far as Luke’s hand grabs a hold of her wrist keeping her in place.
“We need your help”
“No, we don’t” Y/N argues back.
“YES, we do”
Julie looks at her surroundings looking for a way to get out of there but finding nothing. Where was Alex when she needed him?
“Guys, I really don’t want to be in the middle of whatever this is”
She tries to leave but once again Luke pulls her back, “Too late. If you were my girlfriend—”
“HA! What a perfect way to start”
Luke glares at his girlfriend for the interruption before turning towards Julie once again, failing to notice how uncomfortable the situation was making the latina.
Somehow she was once again in between them, although this time it wasn’t her fault.
“If you were my girlfriend” he starts again, “Would it bother you if I was friends with Kayla?”
“Who cares what she thinks?” / “Honestly, it would”
Both girls speak simultaneously. Y/N’ eyes widening as soon as the Latina’s words register, grabbing a hold of the girl’s shoulders to keep her in place.
“I care what she says” Y/N smiles.
“I want to leave” Julie adds before trying to move only for Y/N’s hold to tighten.
“You stay” she barks.
The argument wasn’t unlike many others, Y/N’s temper wasn’t the best and that meant she sometimes got too jealous. It didn’t help that Luke Patterson didn’t know when to say no nor know the difference between friendly and flirty.
It was just another Luke and Y/N argument, nothing to worry about. Except it was different. Julie realized that as soon as Y/N let go of her and started walking away.
“We’re DONE”
The words had everyone in the hallway quiet down and stare at the ‘it’ couple. Eyes settled on Luke’s surprised reaction and Y/N’s tensed body.
“Come on” Luke voices “You’re being ridiculous”
“What do you care?!” She screams back before starting to leave, “You’re not my boyfriend anymore”
Word around the school traveled fast and soon girls were following Luke around begging for his attention, much to his annoyance.
On the other hand, every time a guy tried to get near Y/N she would turn her icy glare at them and have them running away in seconds.
It was a weird and new situation. Especially at lunch. It was weird seeing the former couple sitting on opposite sides of the table instead of at the side of the other with Luke’s arm resting on Y/N’s shoulders.
It was new territory to have Luke inevitably —as a habit— reach for Y/N only to have her snap at him to not touch her, just as she did to everyone else.
But that was what they had to deal with for two weeks.
Two weeks is how long it took for Y/N to ask Luke to take her back only to have him reject her. Two weeks that made Y/N go crying to Julie’s house, the only one of her friends —not really her friend— whose opinion mattered much less than the others.
“What are you doing in my house?” Is the first thing that Julie says as she sees the other girl.
Y/N gets into the house without waiting for an invitation before starting to sob, Julie standing there in panic as she sees the cold hearted teenager break down.
The latina tries to go for a hug only to be pushed back.
“I need your help”
A long talk later, Y/N convinced the Molina girl to help her get Luke back. Somehow, Julie had the fantastic idea that she had to change.
Y/N Y/L/N was a time bomb. Always ready to explode without a care on who she takes down. That had to change.
Julie realized then that the girl was truly in love with Luke. Y/N was letting her —Julie Molina— see her cry her eyes out just to ask for help to get him back. She was letting Julie give her a makeover just to get him back.
She was truly in love.
The next day at school everyone stared wide-eyed at the beauty that was Y/N Y/L/N in a colorful outfit and a wide smile —though it was a fake one—.
Everyone except Luke. The brunette boy stared at his former girlfriend with furrowed eyebrows not liking the change, his expression not changing even when Alex and Reggie complimented her.
He also couldn’t help the glares he sent any boy who came to flirt with her, his glares darkening every time she flirted back. This was not his girl and he knew whose fault it was.
His now dark green eyes find Julie’s proud smile across the hall and soon he stomps towards her, grabbing her by the arm before taking her to the janitor’s closet.
“What did you do to Y/N?”
Julie furrows her eyebrows in confusion as she sees the angry look the guitarist is giving her, but soon smirks as she confuses it with jealousy.
“What? Jealous of the attention she is receiving?”
“Actually, I’m mad that she is receiving the attention for dressing like a Barbie” he argues back, “That is not her, that is not the girl I love”
Julie’s eyes widen after the boy’s words before he storms off, leaving her with an unexpected knowledge.
The latina goes to look for Y/N as soon as she snaps out of her trance only to find said girl in the bathroom back in her black clothes while doing her dark eyeshadow.
“Wha—ho—I’m confused”
“Being nice sucks” she answers as she finishes her makeup, “Thanks for the help but, if I can be honest, I was better without it”
“Bu— and Luke?”
“If he ever wants to get back together it has to be with me, the real me. Not a version of me dressed in awfully ridiculous clothes”
“Those were my clothes”
“Exactly my point”
With that Y/N walks out of the bathroom ignoring the looks that followed her figure, leaving Julie once again at loss of words.
A week after, Luke and Y/N were back together and closer than ever. But the honeymoon phase faded and the fights started once again. But Julie learned to see the beauty in their arguments.
Every argument got Luke out of his perfectly peaceful demeanor and got him to voice his thoughts out more, it helped him stand up more for himself. And every argument showed the depth of Y/N’s feelings for the guitarist, it showed how much she cared.
It’s just that sometimes they didn’t know when to stop arguing.
Of course now Julie wasn’t blind to their little moments. The way Y/N always stopped when Luke asked her to or how Luke always kissed the girl’s temple sweetly.
Or how when Bobby —Sunset Curve’s (which was the boys’ band) rhythm guitarist (who she hadn’t met)— left the boys, it was Y/N who approached the curly-haired girl thinking she was the perfect fit for the remake of the band.
It was Y/N, who barely tolerated her, who adviced them to change the band’s name as they changed their sound slightly. Julie and the Phantoms, had been her idea after the boys ghosted the girls on the group chat.
Julie knew the only reason why Y/N had done that was because she knew how much the band meant to Luke.
She wasn’t blind to how Luke would only ever snap when it was to protect Y/N, even if he knew she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. Or how he always bought a hot chocolate with his coffee for her.
With time, Julie realized it kinda made sense why they were together even when she couldn’t quite completely understand it.
But soon the fights started again, this time worst than ever. It was different because instead of bickering until one gave in, neither seemed interested enough in fighting.
It worried all of them because their fights —as annoying as they sometimes were— showed how much each cared. Now it seemed they didn’t.
To be completely fair, Julie understood if anyone outside their group saw the relationship as toxic. She had seen it as toxic once. But it just made sense in a weird way. It just made sense for the kind of people they were, they complemented one another.
But this time the fights were just too much. That’s why when the traditional friend group game night happen, Y/N and Luke weren’t invited.
Carrie —Y/N’s undoubted best friend— was sick of fainting every time she got stuck in the middle, the innocent and kind girl couldn’t take the stress.
Reggie, the boyish teenager with the purest heart ever, didn’t want to cry anymore. He couldn’t handle the screaming and that’s all the couple did.
Alex, on the other hand, was tired of having to grab his asthma medicine every time they appeared. The fights making him get too anxious which always caused him a panic attack which led to his inability to breathe which led to an asthma attack.
No one could take it anymore.
So they decided to have an evening free of them, one well deserved. But it didn’t work as planned as the couple stormed into Julie’s home half an hour after everyone started playing Monopoly.
“See! Told you they’d be here”
Y/N rolls her eyes, “So? What does it matter if they’re at dumbass’ house?”
Julie rolls her eyes at the insult but nevertheless listens closely to the couple, all her friends groaning in annoyance at the interruption.
“It matters because our friends, our best friends, don’t want to be near us anymore!” He argues “Doesn’t this bother you?”
“Not really” she shrugs, “Should it? Wait... does it bother you?”
“It does! They’re our best friends and they can’t stand us”
Y/N crosses her arms across her chest before turning to glare at their friends, Carrie hiding under the table with a shriek as soon as she sees her best friend gaze at her.
Seeing the icy glare that the girl throws at them, Reggie shakily takes a deep breath before standing up and looking at them with annoyance.
“Yes! We can’t stand either of you!” He shouts, “We wanted a day free of you both because all you ever do is fight! And, somehow, you always seem to drag us to the middle of it. We’re tired!”
As soon as Reggie finishes, the dark-haired boy sits down with a huff. His shoulders feeling less tense as he let out his emotions.
The couple watched their best friends with mixed feelings, neither expecting the outburst and much less from Reggie. Reggie who had always been one to avoid conflict.
“I cannot believe this” Luke sighs “Reggie snapped at us. REGGIE”
“This is you fault!” She accuses “How hard is it to just agree with me?!”
“BUT I DON’T AGREE WITH YOU”
“BECAUSE YOU ARE WRONG”
The four friends sighed in defeat as they listened to the couple bicker once more with one another, how had a fun night turned to a nightmare all of a sudden?
They silently decided to just stay in their seats waiting for the couple to stop the nonsense as they always did.
“WHAT BOTHERS YOU SO MUCH?!”
“THAT I AM NOT HAPPY WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP!”
The words cut through Y/N’s strong façade in a second, the glare faltering as Luke’s eyes widen after realizing what he had said.
No one dared move nor say anything. Everyone had their eyes on the couple that seemed to be coming to terms with how bad the situation had become.
“Fine” she sighs in defeat “You have a choice. I’m walking out that door and counting to ten, if you’re not out before I finish we are DONE”
Luke sighs frustrated as he watches her leave, the door closing with a thud behind her.
“One”
He stays still on his place with his fists clenching as he fights the urge to run to her and scream at her what was the reason for this ultimatum.
“Two”
Luke knows he needs to calm down. He has to. He had to if he wanted to be able to go after her without fighting as soon as he saw her.
“Three”
Y/N counted behind the door, staring at it with nerves as she asks herself how he could take so long to come after her. What was taking him so long to decide that she was worth going after?
“Four”
The four friends behind Luke stare with wide eyes as they try to figure out what is it that the brunette is going to do.
They want him to go after her. Carrie, Reggie, and Alex more than Julie. The three best friends had been there throughout all the relationship. They had seen Luke be the only one brave enough to pursue the cruel beauty. They had seen Y/N being the only one that cared more about Luke’s heart than his looks.
They knew how much this relationship was worth. Even with all the fights, they knew the love the two had for one another was deeper than any outsider could understand at first sight.
He had to go after her.
“Five”
Luke sighs looking towards his friends once before deciding what he wants to do. He can’t lose her, no matter how much they fight.
No one understood him like she did. No one cared enough to tell him when he was wrong or to fight with him until he fought for what he wanted.
“Six”
Y/N feels her eyes widen as she realizes how much time he is taking. It should’ve been easy, he shouldn’t have even let her count to three.
He should’ve opened the door the second she closed it.
“Seven”
Sighing, Luke starts slowly making his way towards the door. His best friends sighing in relief as they see him do it.
Julie, though, watches closely as the boy’s shoulders tense the closer he gets.
“Eight”
Carrie furrows her eyebrows once she sees Luke starting to halt in his steps. She knew Y/N better than anyone, Y/N had been the only one willing to take the ‘obnoxious naive superstar’s daughter’ under her wing and be completely honest with her.
She knows better than anyone that if Luke lets her walk away just like her father let her mother walk away with her, that’ll break her.
“Nine”
Luke grabs a hold of the handle but for some reason he can’t bring himself to turn it and open the door.
Something feels wrong about opening it, almost as wrong as it feels to not open it.
He is scared of what it means if he opens it, or how easily he gives in. Something had to change. Maybe he needed to let her walk away, Y/N always came back. She would go to his house in the middle of the night and they would fix everything.
It would be okay, they would be okay. They always were. This was no difference, they just needed some time to think, to breathe.
So he doesn’t turn the knob.
“Ten”
Y/N feels her heart stop the moment she screams the last number. She feels her heart sink to her stomach as a feeling of abandonment settles in her.
She feels her skin pale and soon reaches for the knob, but she doesn’t allow herself to touch it. He made his choice.
So with every ounce of strength she could find within her, Y/N turns around and makes her way to her car knowing that he could catch a ride with Alex. The tears started accumulating in her e/c eyes but she didn’t let them fall.
Y/N Y/L/N didn’t cry. She wasn’t about to start... at least not in a place where someone could see her.
Inside the Molina’s household, the best friends stare at Luke in disbelief, neither knowing what to say or do now. The Patterson boy makes the decision for them.
“Let’s play some Monopoly”
The statement has everyone else following his movements in silence, knowing better than to act against him.
Carrie, though, is the one that finally breaks the silence as she lets out a quiet sob. She was angry, mainly at herself for not being able to go after her best friend. But she knew better. Y/N was a person who protected her feelings more than anything else, she was in pain and she wouldn’t let it out if someone was watching her. So Carrie had to stay on her seat even if she wanted to run after her.
“You hurt her” whispered the sweet teenager, “I trusted you, she trusted you, with her heart and you hurt it”
It was at that moment, with Carrie’s pretty brown eyes filled with tears as she glared at him with all her willpower, that Luke realized how wrong he had been. He thought it would be okay but Carrie’s reaction proved him wrong.
Carrie showed him that this time was different from the others. If the sweet girl willingly glared at him with so much betrayal than it meant that Y/N wasn’t gonna go to his house at midnight.
It meant he had lost her.
Still, as Luke realized that, he stayed on his seat staring intently at the fake money in his hands. He couldn’t change what he had done.
“Let’s start”
The following weeks were a pain for the group of friends. The group had to divide their time between the former couple and it was exhausting.
But things got better and after a couple of months Y/N and Luke started sitting at the same table with their friends once again. It brought some relief to the group.
The hurt from the breakup still pained them though. Y/N was not used to watching so many girls flirt with Luke and watching him flirt back, and Luke was not used to Y/N moving away from his touch while also enjoying the way some guys’ eyes linger on her figure.
Things had changed and it pained them both, but they were finally okay. As okay as they could be at least.
They still loved each other, but they became good at pretending. Soon three months became five and five became seven. And things were okay, they were friends again without any awkwardness surrounding the group.
Still, Julie was sure she wasn’t the only one who noticed the love they still had for the other. It was the little things. The way their eyes lingered on the other when they thought no one was looking, the smiles they faked to play the part; all signs of how much they still loved the other. Even after everything.
So it did come as a surprised when Y/N announced she had a date.
Apparently some senior that participated on the play with her had the balls to ask her out. And she said yes.
While everyone congratulated the mean girl, Luke made some excuse to leave the table while everyone tried to stop themselves from asking the questions that they new neither of the former couple wanted to answer.
‘Are you okay?’ ‘Do you still love her/him?’
Neither wanted to be asked that because the answers broke them. They weren’t okay. They still were in love with one another.
They were afraid they would never stop being in love with the other.
But neither had to say it. All their friends knew it, because they knew them. That’s why no one was surprised when Julie and the Phantoms was saved by Y/N on their concert at a cafe the night of her date.
The girl had screamed at them for keeping the presentation a secret, the band excusing themselves with the thought of not wanting her to miss her date —although they didn’t want to give her the opportunity to bring her date with her to their concert since that would break Luke.
Either way, they boys’ amps had stopped working and in a panic Julie had texted Carrie. Carrie had been helping Y/N get ready and said girl had grabbed her amps and drove them both to the small cafe.
Date completely forgotten without a care.
“You didn’t have to miss your date for this” Luke tells her softly.
She looks at him as if he had lost his mind, “This is your band, Patterson”
Luke’s heart feels heavy in his chest as he realizes the depth behind her words. This was his band and that meant it meant something to her. It meant as much to her as it did to him because it was his.
The brunette boy feels a smile overtake his features along with a small blush, wanting nothing more than to kiss her right there.
But he didn’t. Instead he kissed her cheek.
Y/N’s eyes widened in surprise and soon her perfect skin started acquiring a deep scarlet, which she hid by hurrying Carrie to go find some seats.
If that night Luke sang looking at her too often, then damn him. Who could blame him? Y/N had just giving him more reasons to love her.
After that neither tried to date again. They were silently pining after one another, too afraid to make a move considering the way things ended between them.
But Julie grew tired of it and soon started bugging them to date other people if they weren’t going to date one another.
That’s why when Luke was rejecting Kayla’s date, Julie intervened.
“Sorry, Kayla” he apologizes, “I have rehearsal with the band”
“No, we don’t” Julie smiles “Actually, why don’t you guys come to the concert the school is holding together?”
Luke glared at the talented singer before fake smiling towards the Hawaiian beauty who agreed instantly.
Though once Kayla is out sight, Luke grabs Julie’s arm and pulls her towards the janitor’s closet where he glares at her with dark green eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“You need to date! Get out there, mingle a little”
He shakes his head, “When Y/N finds out about this she’ll despise me”
Julie frowns with confusion, “No, she won’t. She has moved on, you should too”
Luke shakes his head in disbelief making Julie scoff before getting her phone out.
“What are you doing?”
She shushes him before putting her phone on speaker, making Luke’s eyes widen once he sees the called ID being the one of his ex.
He would never voice out loud the way his heart skipped a beat.
“I’m blocking you”, came her cold voice as soon as the call is picked up.
“Wait—Y/N! Don’t hang up!”
A groan is heard making Luke involuntarily smile.
“You have five seconds to tell me what the heck you want before I block you”
“Okay, look, I’m here with Beck—“
“Julie, don’t”
“He’s going with Kayla to the school’s concert, as a date” Julie continues “Just wanted to make sure that’s okay with you”
There’s a ten seconds silence through the line. Ten seconds in which Julie realizes that maybe she was wrong, that maybe she should’ve minded her own business. For so long she had found annoyance in the ways she always ended up in the middle of their problems and here she was, butting in herself.
Ten seconds in which Luke panics. Realizing that he is also awaiting the answer anxiously. There are two ways this could go: Y/N could snap, voicing loudly how she didn’t give a damn, or she could scream asking for answers to questions she shouldn’t have and bad-mouthing Kayla. Both were common in their past. It was a way to showed she cared, that she was jealous and that she wasn’t ready to let him go yet. Both answers would give him the last drop of hope he needed to do something about what he felt towards her.
But when the ten seconds came to an end, neither got an answer they expected from the impulsive ice queen.
“We’re not dating” she reminded them in a voice too soft to be recognized as hers, “We haven’t been for a long time. You don’t have to make sure if it’s okay with me”
“What?”, Luke asks softly, “Y/N, I…”
“I’m being serious right now, Luke”, she continues, “I do appreciate your concern but it’s none of my business who you date”
Silence. Neither Julie nor Luke know what to say or do next. Neither expected the mature response from the H/C haired beauty. Neither knew if they liked it.
“Well, if that was all, don’t call me again”
And she hung up.
Julie stared at her phone in disbelief, but what did she expect? Was she secretly hoping that Y/N would finally snap and this agonizing secret mutual pining they were all forced to endure would finally end? What exactly had she expected to achieve from this?
Definitely not the way Luke was looking right now.
The guitarist looked completely heartbroken and hopeless. The fire that normally resided in his eyes had ceased to exist. And as he looked at one of his best friends while holding tightly onto his backpack’s strap, all that could shine through his eyes was a deep feeling of betrayal.
“I…”
“You should’ve stayed out of it”, he voiced numbly “She doesn’t despise me. It’s worst, she doesn’t care at all”
“Luke…”
“I’ll go on that stupid date, just bug out, will you?”
The days before the concert were painful for every single one of them on their friend group. It was definitely a weird sight to see Luke look so out of it and Y/N so unbothered by it. It was the first time since their break up that their friends doubted the possibility of them ever finding their way back to each other.
When they finally had the courage to ask Luke what was going on, the guitarist told them he had a date with his eyes glued to Y/N body. He was waiting for a reaction, no matter how small it was. Anything really.
But she gave nothing away.
All she did to answer their friends’ curious and astonished gazes was shrug her shoulders and voice she was just trying to finish her song for the school’s concert.
The unbothered air that surrounded her was heartbreaking for everyone around her. It was as if she was truly okay either letting go of Luke and their history. As if she had already given up on them. They couldn’t blame her, it had been a long time since they last were together, but that didn’t change the fact that they all truly believed they were meant to be together and that it was unsettling to see it come to a real end.
Especially by the look on Luke’s eyes. His face may have remained neutral and unfaltering but his eyes could never deceive from his true feelings. He was hurt.
And being hurt but not wanting to show it meant he tried to keep himself as busy as he could until the school’s concert, avoiding all his friends and Y/N especially. And when the time to meet up with Kayla came, Luke had to pretend to be invested in everything she told him; even if most things were just compliments to suck up to him, agreeing to every little thing he said. He didn’t even know if anything that she actually told him was her actual real opinion or if she was just trying that hard to agree with everything he said to be reciprocated.
He didn’t even know anything about who she was and they had been talking for the hour that concert had already been going on.
Favorite song? She would ask his first before saying how much she also loved it. Methods of acting that they found more suitable? She would giggle and twirl her hair waiting for him to answer before giving what she would fake is her own opinion.
It was tiring.
Where was her own fire? Why didn’t she fight back when he disagreed with something she said? Why didn’t she try to show him why she was passionate about it instead of just nodding and giving in?
Why was she making it so easy?
He didn’t like it. He was hating it actually. So he took the first chance he could, excusing himself by saying he needed to refill his drink, to run for it.
That’s how Julie found him after helping the boys set up the instruments for Y/N’s set, which was up next.
“Ooohh, hello, loverboy” she teased him, “Where is your lovely lady of the night?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care”
Julie blinks, surprised by his answer, before grabbing a cup and filling it with the first soda she saw.
“Date not going well?”
“It’s a disaster” he scoffs, “She’s just agreeing with everything I say”
Julie nods, “Isn’t that a good thing, though? Means you have things in common”
“Not really. Not if I don’t know if that is truly what she thinks” he shakes his head “Feels like she’s just trying to agree to everything I say”
“Well, it’s the first date, you know” she sighs, “She probably doesn’t want to fight you on it. Next one will be better”
He shakes his head, “There won’t be a next one”
“WHAT?!”
Luke drinks from his cup while Julie starts stumbling upon her words after what he said. She couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t even gonna give it a chance? The date wasn’t even over yet.
“I think I learned something about myself”
Julie scoffs, “That you’re ungrateful to your friend who tried to help you by fixing you up with a cute girl?!”
“No, I just…” he sighs “I think I kind of like to date a girl who, you know… fights back”
Julie looks at him dumbfounded, not understanding his point.
“I mean a girl who has strong opinions” he continues, “you know? A big mouth”
“Why?”
He shrugs his shoulders, “Cause it’s not easy. Easy is boring”
Julie stares for a good minute before sighing. It kinda made sense. At the end of the day, love was all about growth. Growth didn’t exist without different opinions and dialogues that fought each ideal. It was all about pushing each other to become your very best. How could you do that without bumps along the way?
“Okay…” she sighs, taking a sip of her drink, “Then, who’s not boring?”
Their conversation is cut short by Reggie’s voice on the stage, he had been assigned as the concert’s host and had been doing a magnificent job all night.
“Okay, people! Let’s hear things up with F/N L/N! Let’s go!”
Reggie soon goes to grab the bass as Alex appears behind the drums. Other two students grabbing the guitar and keyboard left.
Luke and Julie take a step closer, that way they have a better view of the stage.
The guitar starts playing the intro as Y/N walks into stage in a cute short black goth dress with fisher nets and combat boots, her hair’s normal blue streaks a dark purple this night. Shortly after she makes her way to the microphone stand the drums join the melody.
And soon her melodious and angelic raspy voice sounds through the place.
“You think you know me
But you don't know me
You think you own me
But you can't control me”
As if it was destined to be, the lyrics bring light to the situation at hand.
There was a reason why Luke and Y/N always ended up gravitating towards one another despite all the horrible fights they endured with each other.
“You look at me and there's just one thing that you see
So listen to me
Listen to me”
Julie feels like smacking herself across the face. The truth was so obvious that she feels dumb to have been so oblivious to it.
“You push me back
I push you back
Harder, harder
You scream at me
I scream at you
Louder, L-L-L-L-Louder”
Luke Patterson was probably one of the most carefree and easy going people she had ever met. He was always carrying this certain peaceful atmosphere around him. He needed someone or something to push him to thrive, to become better than he already was. To fight for his ideals and his dreams. It wasn’t enough to just want them to happen, he had to make them happen and his calm self usually hid from conflict.
F/N L/N was probably the most loud and impulsive person Julie had ever met. Never once had she silenced her opinions, always speaking the truth no matter how cruel it could be. She wasn’t someone who hid from a fight and whenever she wanted something she never stopped until she got it. She needed someone who could stop her when she was going to far, someone to calm the fire that never cease to light up inside of her.
“I'm dangerous so I'm warning you
But you're not afraid of me
And I can't convince you
You don't know me”
There was not one person in the whole world that was meant to be with the other but themselves. They pushed each other, for better and worst. They had the possibility of being the best and the worst thing that could happen to the other.
And as the song keeps going, the truth becomes blinding.
“And the longer that you stay, the ice is melting
And the pain feels okay, it feels okay (hey)”
Luke’s eyes never once stray away from the powerful force that is Y/N as she sings. Her voice loud and powerful as raspy and angelic. His heart beats to the song’s rhythm, unveiling a silent truth that he had been trying so hard to push to the bottom of his being, to afraid of what it truly meant. To afraid of it being to late to mean it.
“You push me back
I push you back
You scream at me
I scream at you
Louder”
Her e/c cold gaze meets his green eyes and suddenly it seems all the iciness in it melts away. As if only his gaze could have that power over her. As if only he was allowed to see the true kind soul hidden behind the cold walls she had taken so long to build around herself.
“You push me back
I push you back
Harder harder
You scream at me
I scream at you
Louder, L-L-L-L-Louder”
And he knows right there and then, as does Julie and his friends, that it is her. It has always been her. It will always be her.
It is Y/N who pushes him until he finally snaps. It is Y/N who fights for him whenever he doesn’t find the will to do so. It is Y/N who loves him so much that she fights to control her impulses whenever he asks her to.
It had always been her and he had been a fool to ever let her walk away without giving a fight. Especially when she had never stopped fighting.
“I'm dangerous so I'm warning you
But you're not afraid of me
And I can't convince you
And I don't have to I think you know me”
Their relationship was flawed. Maybe even toxic. But it was magical. It was powerful and passionate. And it was real.
Never had they ever been afraid to voice their opinions to the other, even fighting back when they disagreed; yet never settling. Never had they ever been afraid to be vulnerable by showing each other how much they truly cared for one another. Never had they ever stopped loving each other.
The applause make Luke blink out of his daze and realize all this time he had been staring right at Y/N. And she had been staring back.
She offers him a soft smile that to anyone else would look like her usual smirk, but he knew better. He had always known better. And that’s how he knows she is fighting, one last time, for him. She has ignited the flame and it is leaving it to him to turn it off once and for all or help it grow as fierce and wild as it can.
Julie smiles softly, “So, Luke… who’s not boring?”
And he smiles.
Step by step he gets closer to the stage where Y/N is still on, nodding at the standing ovation that is applauding her. Only taking her eyes her eyes off the public once he makes it right at her side.
Everyone’s eyes are on them. Silence.
They stand there for a minute just staring at each other. Y/N with her hand folded in front of her and Luke with both his hands buried in his jean’s pockets.
“I’ve missed you” he finally voices.
She shrugs, acting indifferent, “So what are you gonna do about it?”
Two seconds of silence follow in which Luke pauses to admire her challenging e/c gaze, before taking enough steps to be face-to-face with her. His hand leave the safety of his pockets and find their way to the warm of her cheeks before pulling her towards him, lips meeting anxiously.
And it was like a weight was lifted of their chests, letting them finally breathe without struggle.
No matter the fights, the misunderstandings, disagreements or the toxicity. They would always find their way back to each other because of the truth and purity of their love, which was real. Love was never meant to be perfect but it is meant to keep the other grounded, to push the other to grow.
And that’s what always brought Luke and Y/N back. It’s what always would bring them back.
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borntobewondering · 6 months
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'til your ghost is gone
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Luke Patterson x Female!Reader (8k) It all starts because of a fucking TikTok.
Warnings: A curse word or two (what can i say? I'm foul mouthed). Ghosty supernatural shit. Grief. Mentions of death. Depictions of death. Mourning. Heartbreak. angst
Author's Note: I watched the entirety of Julie and the Phantoms in less than a week, even though I knew it was a bad idea to watch this show knowing it only got one season. (which is bullshit by the way, but I'm digressing.) And I immediately smelled a potential for angst. So, of course, I had to write something. This was a lot of fun for me (if you consider sobbing fun), hopefully it's at least somewhat fun for you
Also, I feel obligated to tell you from the jump that this fic does not have a happy ending. There is bittersweet closure, but no happy ending. Figured I should give you a heads up. Enjoy!!
The title comes from "Ghost is Gone" by Harper Grae (this time around I beg that you actually listen to the song while you read. it encapsulates them perfectly.)
(divider by @silkholland)
Note: My work is not to be posted anywhere else on any other platforms (aside from my ao3 account).
Masterlist
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It all starts because of a fucking TikTok. 
It comes in the form of a link that is sent to you by an old friend you haven’t spoken to in ages, really. Some band performing at some sort of school event at a high school in California. They’re good, you can admit it. The girl has quite the voice. It isn’t until you watch a little more closely that you see the reason this video has made its way into your life. 
You notice Alex first. Your attention is drawn to the drum kit near immediately. And can anyone really blame you for the way your phone falls out of your hand and meets the kitchen counter? 
And then you listen a little closer. You listen to the guitar, you let yourself focus on it. You get lost in the specifics, in the familiarity of it. You squeeze your eyes shut, partially to hold back the tears that are fighting for their time to shine, and just listen. You listen as it keeps going. As the lead girl absolutely fucking kills it.
A song that you’d read the lyrics to ages ago. One that never got its turn to be loved, at least not until right now. And then, as if the universe knows exactly what you need right now, the song builds through to the second verse. And a new voice shines through. A familiar voice. Your favorite voice. 
You force yourself to open your eyes. Because there’s no way this is real. Logically, you know it can’t be real. It’s some kind of twisted trick. Or maybe you’re dreaming. It’s not like you haven’t had a dream like this before. Well, you know, the details are obviously a little different. But the dream that Luke didn’t die, oh you’ve had that dream a million times.
You watch the video more times than you can count. And you’re suddenly thankful for the fact that smartphones are an inescapable part of life, and that kids are never far from their phones. You’re grateful that someone captured this.
Even if it’s going to drive you crazy.
Because, yes, all of this is set in motion by one TikTok. But it started, and ended, a very long time ago. 
It started in the 90s. When you were both high school kids. And Luke Patterson was crazy. He was the most passionate boy you’ve ever met, with more self confidence than you knew someone could have.
Sunset Curve was his everything, anyone within ear shot would know that. He wasn’t exactly shy. If something mattered to him, he gave it his all. Music was first and foremost at the top of his list. But you were a very close second. 
High school love doesn’t typically last, in most cases. There are a few rare exceptions. And you really thought the two of you would be one of those exceptions. 
The universe had other plans. 
The universe had rancid hot dogs and unhappy endings. It had everything you hoped it’d never find. Everything you never imagined it could offer.
And it chose to enact its twisted humor on what was supposed to be the greatest night of all of your young lives. It was the fucking Orpheum for God’s sake. The start of everything. The ticket to every single one of Luke’s dreams.
You were all on the cusp of cloud nine. It figures the universe would feel the need to knock you down a peg.
And, of course, you ended up being too late.
They’d just finished sound check. And they were amazing, by the way. The best thing you’d ever seen. And then they came down from the stage. And they were all bright grins and infectious energy. They were filled to the brim with an indomitable kind of hope that can only be described as a byproduct of youth. 
You’d told them they were amazing. That they were gonna kill it tonight. You’d playfully dodged Luke’s first attempt to kiss you. But then he fixed you with that pleading, soft-hearted look of his and you were giving in in a second. He claimed he needed your kiss for luck. And, well, who were you to deny the boy luck on the biggest night of his life?
You didn’t stick around much longer.
You’d brought your Polaroid camera for the show. Wanting to document everything, you figured they’d want the memories. But you’d just used your last bit of film. You had to run to the store a few blocks over to get some more before the show.
When you were leaving the boys, and by the boys you mean Alex, Luke, and Reggie, were picking on Bobby as he flirted with the cool waitress. When you got back the boys were gone.
Only Bobby was still around and he told you where the boys had gone. You rolled your eyes because you’d told them time and time again that street dogs are a very bad idea. But they’re seventeen. And when you’re seventeen you think you’re going to live forever. You’re indestructible when you’re seventeenth.
And there was no one more indestructible than Luke Patterson. Or so you thought.
You heard the sirens the minute you set foot on the sidewalk outside the venue. Your heart dropped, you just knew that something was wrong. Which, yes, obviously an ambulance means an emergency. But somehow, you just knew that this was your emergency.
You ran as fast as your legs could carry you in the direction of the sirens. They cut the sirens after a few minutes, but you kept running. You were out of breath when you made it to the spot, you almost wish you hadn’t.
You wish you’d been two minutes later. You wish you didn’t have to see what you saw. You wish they had been utterly and completely gone.
You wish you didn’t have to watch as they zipped them up in those black bags and loaded them into the ambulance.
You wish you didn’t have to step forward as the paramedic had the zipper halfway up Luke’s and ask that he just waited a second. You wish you didn’t have to reach out and close Luke’s eyes the rest of the way because you couldn’t bear looking at them and not seeking the energy, the life, the love, that they held not even an hour prior.
The last thing you want to be able to remember is the feel of his clammy skin beneath your fingertips as you pressed them to his pulse point. Hoping and praying with everything you had that you’d feel something. The slightest hint of a heartbeat. The smallest shred of a reason for the paramedics to fight for him.
But the heartbeat never came.
So you brushed some of his hair back and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. His hand clasped in yours. You gave it a small squeeze, him  not squeezing back was the moment your heart well and truly broke.
You put his hand down gently before you took a few steps back. Distance felt necessary for this part even though you knew he was already so far away. You nodded, a signal for the medic to finish his job. You kept your gaze focused on where the zipper rested above the middle of Luke’s torso.
There was no movement for a few seconds. Each one felt like an hour. So you lifted your head to meet the medic’s eyes, and he watched you with a greater hesitation than you’d ever seen before. A kind of hesitation you haven’t seen since.
You nodded once more, because what else could you really do? There was no saving the boys now. You were too late.
The medic nodded back, a slow and solemn thing. You’re sure they thought the three of them were these idiot kids because they willingly ate hot dogs out of a car. They should’ve known better. What did they think would happen?
You think maybe this changed their minds a little bit. Not that you wanted to do that. You didn’t give a shit about anybody’s opinion. You just wanted them back. But you couldn’t do that. No one could. 
You watched with singular focus as the zipper completed its journey. And you kept your gaze fixed on the bag on the gurney as they loaded it into the ambulance. The doors closing sealed your fate. The show was supposed to start in a little over an hour, but the band wasn’t going to be able to make it.
You had to go tell Bobby. You had to go talk to the promoter. God, you had to get to Luke’s parents. Even though you knew the cops would probably beat you to it, even though they really didn’t know Luke anymore, you still felt that they shouldn’t be alone in all of this.
For the rest of that night, and for several nights after, you spent your time trying to focus on getting through the next simple thing. Simple is actually really fucking hard, as it turns out.
But no one ever told you that. You’re not sure anybody realizes how difficult simple can be until it’s their turn to walk a mile in those shoes.
It’s been twenty-five years and you wish you couldn’t remember everything about that night in such painstaking detail.
But it’s ever present. You haven’t been able to catch a break from the reality of that situation. You haven’t been able to escape Sunset Curve. Despite their absence, they’ve always been with you.
And now they’re back, in a somewhat real way. And you don’t understand it yet, but you will soon.
— — —
Okay, so you obsessed over the TikTok a little ( read as a lot ).
You’ve lost track of how many times you’ve watched it. Whatever teeny bopper hit post on that clip has probably made bank off your latest habit. You’ve tried to figure out the truth behind it. You’ve tried to figure out how it’s possible to pull off something like that.
You saw the poster in the comments saying it’s some kind of hologram band. But you know better. You know Sunset Curve when you see them, and there is nothing scientific or technical about any of this. It’s strictly supernatural.
You’ve always believed in ghosts, that part isn’t strange. It’s just everything else. Why are they back now? Is there some kind of strange ticking clock to ghosthood? You’re not really sure. You don’t know the logistics of haunting. You just know that they were on that stage. They’re perpetually on your screen.
They’re back. They’re real.
And you have the good sense to not tell anybody about it. Mostly because they’d think you’re crazy. But also because they’d give you that sad look. The one that screams, “Come on, it’s been 25 years, shouldn’t you be over this by now? Shouldn’t you have moved on by now?”
And, for what it’s worth, not that you need to prove anything to anyone, you have moved on to the best of your ability. Time and time again, actually. You just so happen to have a few serious partnerships and a divorce under your belt. Thank you very much!
Now those relationships all went up in flames, of course. Because they all felt like they were playing second fiddle to a dead guy. And you really couldn’t blame them. But you also couldn’t snap yourself out of it. You couldn’t shift your brain, or your heart, into a different gear and force it to keep driving down the road when it was on its last legs.
You’ve tried every trick in the book. Visited so many therapists that you’ve lost count of them. But it never worked. Not in the way it’s supposed to. And people think that you’re just stubborn. Unwilling to get on with your life. They believe you shouldn’t let yourself be so stuck in the past. You have to kick your heart out of high school at some point. 
And, yes, there is truth to that. But you also think that those people most know what it’s like to love someone so much that you wish they’d haunt you. That you wish you could feel them in places that they aren’t. In places that you know they’ll never be. 
You find Luke everywhere, in everything. It isn’t hard. It doesn’t take any real effort. He’s in every song you hear. Every band you’ve ever seen play live. He’s at the beach. He’s in the passenger seat of your car. The car that you refuse to give up because apparently CD players aren’t useful anymore. And you can’t drive a car that doesn’t have a CD player, because you refuse to be the one that makes the call on when you have your last listen to the Sunset Curve demo CD.
You find Reggie in every Star Wars poster. You’ve never really cared for those movies, but you saw every single one of them when they hit theaters just to feel closer to your old friend. Reggie’s in every bad joke you overhear.
You find Alex in every bout of joy you witness in a random person when you’re people watching. You even find Alex in your anxieties. He was always the most neurotic of the bunch.
Luke is every star filled sky you ever bear witness to. And it brings you back to nights when Luke was crashing in Bobby’s garage. And the two of you would stay up for hours. Your head on his chest, and he’d dream about the future. He’d paint the most vivid picture of it. Sold out shows, number one albums, Grammys. A million screaming girls, but he promised, crossed his heart and hoped to die, that you would always be his favorite groupie. 
You always rolled your eyes at that part. You weren’t jealous, you had no reason to be. You knew exactly where Luke’s heart found a home. There wasn’t another pair of arms that he was yearning to run off into. He liked being exactly where he was. With you.
You know that everything feels larger than your life when you’re a teenager. Every high is so high, and every low, every bump in the road, feels like the end of the world. The sky is constantly falling. 
You know that’s the typicality of being a teenager. You know everyone writes off teenager’s and their feelings because teenagers are so dramatic and they make a big deal out of everything.
But this was different. You and Luke were a big deal. It was a monumental love. The kind of love that, if you’re coming by it honestly, only happens once in a lifetime. He was it. He was everything. He was the one.
He was the future. He was supposed to be the rest of your life. And then he was just gone. In the blink of an eye your entire world view shifted. Your life flipped upside down, nothing was ever going to be the same. That beautiful life he’d painted, the kind of art that could rival DaVinci’s work, would never see the light of day.
He left, and you had to pick up the pieces. You’ve just never been able to put them back in the way they were before. There’s always going to be a few pieces missing. Three to be exact, but who’s counting?
You have a feeling people aren’t supposed to get their world rocked like that at such a young age. It’s not easy to move on from something like that. It’s hard to let go of the loss of one’s dearest friends, and the love of one’s life all in one fell swoop. 
But no one ever seemed to really understand that. They gave you a couple month grace period, because that's customary, right? And who really bothers to care beyond the accepted customs?
Twenty-five years is a long grieving period, even you can admit that. But you also have the feeling that grief never truly goes away. It just gets quieter, until it decides to get loud again. It ebbs and flows. It’s a marathon, never a sprint. No, it could never be that easy.
That TikTok makes it a little easier. Well, it hadn’t at first. At first it sent you into taking a few days off work. Trying to grasp onto your last few shreds of sanity. But you eventually got your shit together. Which is honestly easier said than done, okay?
You went back to work, to both of your jobs, and you decided that you weren’t going to fuck around with this ghost shit. Despite your endless stream of thoughts about the Orpheum, sold out shows that never got to be played, and the strange nature of second chances. Despite the fact that you think this is finally your chance to see everything he ever wanted come to fruition, even if it’s different from what you two always talked about.
You’ve decided that you’re not going to seek the band out. If they’re meant to find you, then they’ll find you. This is all being controlled by something far greater than you, if it decides you’re part of the journey then so be it. That’s as trusting as you know how to be in this situation.
You just kinda figured that the paths would never actually cross. But, well, the universe had its plan. And who were you to argue when you’ve already decided to put your fate in its hands?
You also figured it wouldn’t happen so soon.
You work nights at Eats&Beats because, let’s face it, your day job really is not enough to pay the bills. Which is unfortunate, but not entirely unwelcome. This cafe, despite its slightly pretentious nature and hipster clientele, is kind of like your perfect place. 
You’ve practically begged the manager to schedule you for their equivalent of open mic nights. Because music is, once again, another way that you feel like the boys are still there. When you overhear a particularly good act, you can’t help but think of how much they’d love whatever group or artist is performing.
Tonight really isn’t one of those nights. Not with Dirty Candy currently taking the stage. God, you kinda hate that kid. Not because of anything she ever actually did to you. It’s just, well, you have a bit of long standing beef with her dad. 
Because Bobby’s an asshole who decided that his old friends don’t mean shit and don’t deserve to be properly remembered. You’d pitched a fit when Bobby started dropping music under the name Trevor Wilson.
Well, you didn’t pitch the fit right out the gate. Your fit came when you heard his first single. And you recognized those lyrics. That melody. You were the first person Luke played it for. Before he even started to workshop it with the boys.
Luke wrote that song, and you were willing to let one song go. Until you saw the tracklist for his debut album and you recognized every title. And yet, there was one name missing from the song writing credits for the project.
Bobby had been stupid enough to invite you to his release party. But it made it incredibly convenient for you to give him a piece of your mind. Even if that piece ended with you in a holding cell for a few hours with some bruised knuckles.
Heh, good times.
So, yeah, you have no problem with this Carrie girl herself. She just reminds you of all of your failed attempts to try and get Luke’s name in the credits of that album. You asked Bobby yourself, you tried to appeal to the fact that he was Luke’s friend. And that Luke never got the chance to have this dream himself, so the least Bobby could do is just give up the credit for the songs.
Writing your own songs wasn’t even that much of a big deal back then, everybody cut songs they didn’t write. It was commonplace. There wasn’t as much pressure and stress put on who wrote a song back in the 90s. But Bobby refused. And then he made a pass at you. Which, uh, explains the bruised knuckles.
And then the officer had the nerve to tell you that should be grateful that Mr. Wilson wasn’t pressing charges. He can take that gratitude and shove it up his ass as far as you’re concerned.
You’d even tried getting a lawyer to fight the case. But they claimed you didn’t have a case. Sure, you had Luke’s notebook. But there’s no proof that it was actually Luke’s or that it was Luke’s handwriting. You could’ve fabricated that to try and get a payout.
But it wasn’t about the money, which made the lawyers even less interested. It was about the principle of the thing. Luke wrote those songs, it’s the one thing he wanted in this life. He deserves the credit for his incredible work. For his unimaginable, hit making talent. 
But he never got it. And you’re still mad about that to this day. You think you’ll always be mad about it. 
So you’re white knuckling your way through Carrie’s vapid, pop princess performance. Trying to just make it through to the point where an artist who actually gives a flying fuck about music has the opportunity to take the stage, when something catches your eye. 
A blonde boy, appearing in the middle of the stage. Making a bit of a mockery out of her already unimpressive dance routine. And it takes you about thirty seconds to realize you know that blonde. The blonde who just poofed into existence seemingly out of nowhere. The blonde that no one else seems to notice despite him being in the middle of the whole thing.
Alex Mercer. 
You lean up a little further against the counter, trying to get the best peek you can. You fight back a laugh as you watch him. God, you missed that kid. More than you will ever be able to actually articulate. 
And then he’s gone. Poofing off the stage, and out of your periphery you notice him poofing up down and to the left of the stage. And it doesn’t take long for you to figure out who’s standing with him.
“Luke.” The name falls from your lips so quietly. It’s barely even a whisper, it’s so quiet that it can’t even qualify as one. But it’s there. It hangs in the air, just like the rest of your life feels like in the balance.
You scramble for the sign up sheet for tonight’s show, and you find one band scribbled down at the bottom of the sheet in the most god awful chicken scratch handwriting. Luke’s god awful chicken scratch handwriting. Julie and the Phantoms. Good name.
You look back up just in time to catch Alex poofing in for the tail end of Carrie’s performance. And, well, it’s definitely made the show infinitely better. You feel bad that not everyone gets to bear witness to this added bonus of a dance solo. 
And then stage clears, the announcer steps in to be the center of attention, and he butchers the hell out of their band name. God, Luke’s horrible handwriting strikes again.
You stifle a laugh as the girl, who you’re assuming is Julie, takes the stage. The boys poof onto the stage too, standing there at the ready as Julia leads them through the first verse and the pre chorus. And then, when the chorus kicks in, so does the full band. And the crowd comes alive.
And you swear that you’re seventeen again in this moment. You’re right back at the Orpheum. At sound check. Seeing all three of them so clearly in their element, getting to share their talents with an audience again, is the greatest blast from the past that you could ever receive.
And, well, it does your heart good to see Luke performing again. Because he’s still Luke. Still the same boy you fell in love with all those years ago. And getting to hear his voice again, on new lyrics and new melodies, is a gift beyond comprehension. 
You can’t keep your eyes off him. He’s sleeveless, which is probably the least surprising thing about this entire show. He’s still him. Still talented, still amazing. Still great at soaking up the attention and adoration from a crowd.
He looks alive. They all do. And it’s trippy, if you’re being honest. Because there’s this strange dissonance. The same boys from 1995, the same talent. The same everything. Except for you. You’re not the same, there’s no way you could be. Not after twenty-five years.
This is everything you wanted. Everything you’ve been dreaming of for decades. And now it’s here, and it’s too late. It’s too impossible. 
It was better when you could stick to figuring out the simple things. Measly distractions that could occupy your mind for long enough that you didn’t have to dwell on the loss of Sunset Curve for every second of every day. 
But those simple things are powerless now, how could that be anything but in the face of this? So, yeah, the universe had a plan. It just chose to build unkindness into the very fabric of the blueprint. And it shouldn’t be a surprise because the universe has never been kind to you. 
The boys may finally be free, but you’re starting to think you never will be.
— — —
The cafe crowd trickles out after Julie and her phantoms bring the house down. You saw more phones, you think it’s safe to say they’re bound to be a viral sensation. You come out from behind the counter, a bottle of disinfectant spray in one hand and a rag in the other as the agent approaches Julie and the boys.
You hang back a little, especially as Julie’s dad comes up and interrupts everything. Because you just have to talk to the boys. You really can’t help yourself. The universe put them in your path, in your place of work. You can’t just let it pass you by.
You watch as Julie leaves with her dead, and the woman watches as she goes with a slightly unfortunate expression. But she doesn’t stick around long, she’s grabbing her things and leaving not soon after.
The boys are still off in the corner, talking slightly about the trouble Julie is definitely going to be in. And the opportunity that just walked right out the door. You shake your head with a slight smirk, same old Sunset Curve. 
You chance a glance up to see that the cafe is damn near empty at this point, and you figure now is as good a time as any.
“You boys did pretty good up there.” You say, spritzing down the table and wiping it off with a rag. People really do not care when they spill coffee all over these tables. You catch the boys freeze, their heads slowly turn in your direction.
“Do you think she’s talking about us?” It’s Reggie who asks, and you have to bite back a laugh. 
“That’s impossible.” Alex cuts in, shaking his head, “That would mean she-”
“Can see you?” You finish for him, a smirk on your lips as a quiet falls over the group. You wipe down another table, the only sound among you is the spray leaving the nozzle on the bottle.
They just watch you. Wondering where this is going. Assuming you’re not a ghost, probably. Otherwise they probably wouldn’t be that surprised. They’re waiting for you to lead them through to whatever the answer is.
“Yeah.” You say, standing up and turning away from the table you were cleaning. “I can see you.”
They just stare at you. Clearly trying to put some sort of puzzle together. And you know you look different. Twenty-five years does that to a person. They may be the same by virtue of their ghostly nature, but you can’t say the same. 
You’re neither offended nor surprised by the fact that can’t place you on the spot. You shake your head with a humored smirk, they’re still at a loss. 
“You know, I think I’d know you guys anywhere.” You say, watching them as you lean against the table. “Nice dance moves, by the way.”
You direct that last comment at Alex directly, and he seems to blush at the compliment. But also the strangeness of what’s going on. Because you know that this feels familiar to you, and for good reason. But you wonder if it has any feel of familiarity to the boys. Or if it’s just eerie. If you’re nothing but some strange threat in the form of a human who can see them. 
“You know, Sunset Curve was like my favorite band when I was in high school.” You say, chuckling slightly under your breath. You pick at what’s left of the nail polish on your nails. You’d only painted them a few days ago, but you have a tendency to pick away at the polish until it only remains in little flashes. 
That seems to have them interested. It has them gravitating in closer towards you. Because you can place them as the people that they were. And they’ve yet to have that experience. Which makes you interesting. Small miracles, you suppose.
“I was your number one fan, scout’s honor.” You say, chuckling slightly and nearly hating yourself for this last part. Because you absolutely refuse to take on this title, but maybe it’ll be enough to have it finally sink in. 
Besides, you think you’re already halfway there. Because Alex and Reggie let themselves gravitate towards you. But Luke didn’t. Luke hung back. Watching you with this look in his eyes. One that you don’t remember ever having seen before. You think it’s almost close to hope, but not a happy kind. You’re not sure if that even exists, but it’s the only way you can think to describe. Like he thinks he knows who you are, but he’s kind of hoping he’s wrong. 
And that right there is probably the most painful thing to come of everything you’ve been through with these boys.
“I was like your most dedicated groupie.” His favorite groupie. You let yourself actually look at him. You commit every last detail of him to memory, as if you hadn’t already been doing that for the last several years. As if you hadn’t done it that night in the alley in front of the open doors of an ambulance.
He’s still looking at you like that. Like he hopes he’s wrong. But it’s shifted slightly. He knows, he’s sure. You’re sure of it. And you don’t know why that hurts so bad. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that in every iteration of this dream that you’ve had over the years, he’s always happy to see. Despite the complications and everything else. He’s happy to see you.
But that’s not reality. Dreams never quite come to fruition in the same way you thought they would. You’re learning that lesson. You seem to keep learning that lesson. Over and over again.
And you’re not an idiot. Obviously you know that this story is going to be Shakespearean at best, no matter how you slice it. Because he’s not human, he’s not physical. You can’t have him, it can’t just be the way you were when you were seventeen. And, besides, you watched him on that stage with Julie. You caught the way he looked at her. The way he used to look at you. 
This is not some magical happily ever after at the end of a fairytale. It doesn’t work like that. But you thought he might at least be kind of happy to get to talk to you again. To give you the chance to say any of the shit that you’ve been wanting to say to him for years. Because you really never got the chance to say goodbye to him properly. 
His eyes drop, his gaze being torn from yours almost immediately after you meet his. And you let out a sorry sigh, one that’s just bordering on a scoff. Because you should’ve known better. You know Luke, better than you’ve ever known anyone. You should’ve known he wasn’t going to react well. But you had hope, because you’re human. Because you just can’t help it. 
But you’re not going to sit here and endure Luke not even being able to look at you. You shake your head, pushing off the table and fixing the boys, and by the boys you mean Alex and Reggie, with a kind smile.
“Well, it’s nice to see you boys playing again.” You say, trying to pretend that it doesn’t feel like you’re dying right now. “Tell that lead singer of yours that she is out of this world talented.”
You look up, and there are tears shining in your eyes. You’re sure of it. You manage to meet Reggie’s eye, and you kind of want to sink into a hole in the floor. Because Reggie’s a little on the dim witted side, but he’s not that dumb. He’d know his friend anywhere. He’d know you anywhere.
You try to send him a small smile, one that doesn’t look like your heart just disintegrated in your chest. You’re not sure you manage it, if the look on his face is any indication.
You sigh, walking away and back towards the counter. Because that feels like the safest option. If the boys have any decency they’ll poof out before you even make it back to the bar. Because having to see Luke again when you turn around might actually put you in an early grave.
“Wait!” You stop in your tracks at the sound of his voice. You turn over your shoulder slightly and you find Luke standing in front of the boys now. His expression is more open than it had been before. "Can we talk?"
The boys are watching the two of you intently. Their eyes bouncing between the two of you like the crowd at a tennis match. And then, as if he can sense the inability his friends have for playing it cool, he adds:
“In private?”
You take a look around at the cafe. Noting how most of the chairs are now up and the sign in the door has been flipped to tell the general public that this establishment is closed for the night.
It’s not like they really need you here anymore. So you nod your head, putting the bottle under the counter and tossing the rag into one of the baskets on the bottom shelf. 
“Yeah, we can talk.” You say, grabbing your jacket from where you stored it on the shelf beneath the register. “I just have to clock out. I’ll meet you outside.”
He nods, looking the least bit hopeful as you’re heading into the back room to swipe your time card. You hear the boys poof out before you’ve even turned the corner.
— — —
The talk happens on your drive home. Because you figure you’ll look less crazy talking to thin air if you’re in your car. Maybe you’re taking a Bluetooth call. Or, maybe, no one gives a single fuck about what you’re doing in the confines of your own car so long as it doesn’t end up endangering somebody else.
You’re, thankfully, at a stop light when he poofs into the passenger seat. Neither one of you says anything for a few seconds. You’re not sure either of you really knows where to start. It’s not like anyone really has a guide for this.
There’s no real set of rules for what you’re supposed to do when your boyfriend is suddenly a ghost. When there’s unfinished business between the two of you that will never actually be finished no matter the circumstances. No matter what gets said.
This will always be unfinished because it never will be the way you both dreamed it would be. That’s something that is always going to be hanging over your head. You and Luke Patterson will always be unfinished, that’s something you know for sure.
“Are you married?” He asks, like he’s loathing the answer. Because, clearly, the answer is going to be yes right? He loved you so wholeheartedly, knew you were the one, the absolute perfect girl, so the odds are someone else realized that after he didn’t get the chance to lock it down. And a few people have tried, hell, one succeeded in getting you down the aisle, but it never lasted. It was never right.
And you know you’re to blame for a good part of that. For most of it, really. 
“I was.” You admit, your expression twisting into something a little unpleasant. “A few years back.”
Honestly, romance is a lost cause for you at this point. Your parents have grown to accept it. Your friends know attempting blind dates is a waste of time. You’ve tried over and over again, and you’ve always managed to strike out in one way or another in the end.
You see him nod beside you, and you press your foot on the gas as the light changes to green. You briefly think about how your life could be so different if the boys had just listened to your advice and sworn off street dogs. It sounds so incredibly ridiculous, you do realize that.
You wonder it’d be like to just be driving Luke around. To be driving Luke home. You didn’t even have your license back in ‘95. You’d been too scared to even take the lessons. Everyone drives in LA, you know that. It’s just that it’s terrifying, at least it was when you were seventeen. 
“Any kids?” He asks, and you’re briefly brought back to one of those late nights where you’d plan out your perfect future.
Family is a touchy subject for Luke, you know that. Sunset Curve is his family, and he never got the chance to fix things with his parents. He had fears that he would make a bad dad. He worried his issues with his parents would bleed into his relationship with his own children, and he didn’t want that. He’d have to put in the work to make sure that didn’t happen in case kids ever did end up coming into the picture.
But he wanted kids with you, he’d told you as much. He wanted more of you in the world. And he wanted to be a part of that. The two of you could do anything together. If you were there it wasn’t as scary. 
You’d never been able to get that thought of your head. Every relationship you’d been in you couldn’t shake the idea of that. Did you really want to put more of those people in the world? But, really, did you want to put more of yourself into the world? Luke might’ve thought it was a great idea, but times have changed. You have changed.
And you didn’t have the heart to put new life into the world. It just seemed ill advised given the state of the world and the state of yourself. 
“Oh yeah.” You say, smiling despite yourself as you turn onto a new street. “Tons of them.”
“Tons?” He asks, but he doesn't seem impressed or amused. He actually seems a little concerned. Maybe even a smidge jealous. 
“Yeah, like twenty.” You say, and you spare a glance in his direction because you just can’t afford to miss the slack jawed expression on his face. It’s only a few seconds before you’re letting your laughter get the better of you. 
His brows pull together as he watches you. Clearly this isn’t all that funny to him.
“It’s not funny.” He says, pouting slightly as he sinks back into his chair.
“I’m sorry.” You say, stifling your laughter so you can clarify what you meant by that. “I’m a music teacher, Luke.”
You’d always been musically inclined, your ability to relate to that love was part of had Luke interested in you in the first place. You’d been taking piano lessons since you were four, your parents insisted on it. And then, through Luke, you learned to play the guitar.
Once he walked in on you in Bobby’s garage with his guitar in your lap as you sat criss-cross applesauce on the couch. He freaked, but only slightly. Something about how he loves you, but his guitar is his baby and people need to be very careful with it.
And then he promised that if you wanted to learn to play, that he’d teach you. But you can’t be touching his guitar unsupervised. And you agreed. And, by the time of the Orpheum show, you were about half as good as Luke was.
Your guitar skills are still fairly basic, you never went to find a formal teacher after Luke’s passing. You didn’t want to learn guitar from anybody else, so you never did. 
“And to answer your question for real,” You start, shaking your head with the briefest flash of a smile on your face, “No, I don’t have kids.” 
The silence settles over the both of you, but it’s not as heavy this time. It’s comfortable. Feels like twenty-five years ago. 
“I’m sorry.” He says, “For the way I acted back there.”
You’re not going to interrupt him. Because you know if you do he won’t actually get to his specific point. 
“I just.” He sighs, shaking his head as he focuses on the road in front of you. “I looked for you. When I got back, I looked for you and I couldn’t find you. I hoped you left. That you went somewhere else and that you’re happy.”
Because the last thing he’d ever want for you is misery. The idea of happy without him still kind of twists a knife in his stomach, but happy with him really wasn’t an option. So happy in general is good. That’s all he wants to hear. He wants you to be happy, that’s it. Then he’ll be okay.
“Sorry to disappoint.” You mutter, tapping your finger against the steering wheel in time with the click of the turn signal as you wait for the light to turn green.
Happy is relative, you think. And it can be hard to come by. You’ve been happy at points of your life, with and without Luke. Luke isn’t the key to happiness. You’re sure it sounds like your life has just been one blanket of misery without Luke. But it’s not the case. You’ve been happy. You’ve been really happy.
It just doesn’t always last. And even though things end, it doesn’t mean that they didn’t have good parts. You hold onto those good parts, no matter how it all actually ended. 
Happiness is not unattainable without Luke. You know that. Are you happy right now? In this particular phase of your life? Well, that bit is a little unclear. You’re not sure, you haven’t really stopped to think about it.
You haven’t really given yourself the time to stop and think about it. You’ve kept yourself so focused on everything else so that you don’t really have to focus on yourself. It’s worked pretty well so far, but you know it isn’t the right answer. It’s not the right way to be doing this whole life thing.
“Are you?” He asks after a few minutes of silence that felt like the scratch of a wool sweater, “Happy?”
The air conditioning fills the silence as you stare down the traffic light. Because you can’t bear to even chance the slightest of glances in his direction. 
Then the light turns green, you press on the gas, and you say:
“I don’t know.”
— — —
A few weeks go by before your next Sunset Curve encounter. And you don’t even see this one happen. It’s during a rush at Eats & Beats, where the orders seem to be nonstop. And you honestly kinda wanna tear your hair out because of how crazy it is. 
The customers are ungrateful and impatient. Honestly, you’d quit here and now if you didn’t love this place so much on a typical day. You’re handing off a cappuccino, one that’s had to be remade twice to be this person’s exact liking, when a small breeze causes a napkin to float into your eye line.
There’s a message scrawled on the napkin, in god awful chicken scratch. And a smile pulls at your lips despite the craziness of the caffeine addiction induced rush. The note reads:
Playing the Orpheum tonight. Got you on the list. See you there! - Luke
And, suddenly, you find yourself excited for the rest of the day that lies ahead. Even the rush, and the shithead customers that come with it, can’t bring you down. Here you are again, right on the cusp of cloud nine.
Everything’s different and everything’s the same.
You don’t really know how to feel. You just know that you arrive at the venue early, and they give you one of those VIP badge things. Which, admittedly, makes you feel very cool. And you just sit and wait. You wait for Julie to take the stage. You wait for what is certain to be an amazing night. And an even better show. 
And you certainly aren’t disappointed. Julie is amazing on her own, but then the boys start coming through. Alex and then Reggie. And then, then it’s Luke.
And he glitches, that’s the only word you can think of to describe what happens to him. You didn’t know ghosts could glitch. You note the slight concern on Julie’s face, and you think that this wasn’t planned. That this is not some part of the show, a way to enrich the schtick. There’s something wrong with Luke.
But then he comes through, just in time. Right on time to sing and grace the place with his beautiful voice and his immense talent. Just like he should’ve all those years ago. And they’re fantastic. The best thing you’ve ever seen. 
You’re whistling as they bow because you just can’t help it. You catch Luke’s eye briefly before they go to bow, and smile at him. You don’t dare acknowledge the tears on your cheeks in that moment. It’s all just a little overwhelming. The Orpheum, after all this time. Him on that stage. Him and Alex and Reggie, doing what they always should’ve had the chance to do.
They’ve lucked into a second life. One where they get a real chance at the things they lost out on the first time around. Luke gets to be happy like this. He gets to have a good life and a fully realized dream. And that’s all you could ever really want. Even if you don’t get to be a part of it. 
And then the boys poof out and Julie leaves the stage. And you leave the venue. Because, honestly, you don’t give a shit about anybody but Julie and the Phantoms. 
The walk to your car goes a little slower tonight. This place, one that you haven’t been back to since that night, is different now. Rectified. And it feels good. It feels so amazing to have this place restored to its former glory in your mind. 
And you think about Luke and Alex and Reggie. You think about their second chance. At their talent and their happiness and the absolutely epic joy that had been radiating off them when they were playing.
Are you happy? That’s what he’d wanted to know. Are you?
You haven’t been. Not in the way you should be. Happy can pass you by if you let it. If you don’t try to find the happy in all of the shit that life throws your way. And you're tired of being passed by. Of letting the good things slip through your fingers just because the future can’t be what you once wanted it to be. 
So you aren’t going to let it pass you by anymore. 
Are you happy? 
No. You’re not. 
But you will be.
91 notes · View notes
kodiakwhiskey · 1 year
Text
We're Not Friends
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Pairing: Alive!Luke Patterson x Fem!Peters!Reader
Friends don't look at each other the way I look at you
CW: implied smut, food descriptions, jealous Julie, College apps, music, movie mention (deep impact and dante's peak)
Dividers from @firefly-graphics
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Luke looked at the feast she had put together for their movie night.
Popcorn, candy, loaded nachos, samosas, pizza, there was a pack of soda under the coffee table. He was just waiting for her to come downstairs. 
They got lucky their parents didn't care about these sleepovers. Luke's parents loved you, and your parents loved Luke. It helps that you grew up next to him and was his best friend’s sister. It was a tradition since they were kids where they'd pull a random movie out of the movie hat, though over the years it's changed into Genres so she could keep the boys over longer. Eventually when they'd met Julie and Flynn the girls would come over too, but tonight, it had just been the two of them. Not that either of them minded. They were best friends for a reason.
"Okay so tonight's roster is…." She dug around in the old top hat, pulling out a slip of paper. "Disaster movies!" She put the hat under the coffee table, and walked over to the DVD rack. "We have twister, twister two. Dante's peak, the day after tomorrow, 2012, Armageddon, the core, and deep impact."
"I don't think we've seen Dante's Peak or Deep impact." 
She slipped one of the DVDs into the player, sitting down on the couch, pulling her blanket on her, scooching just a smidgen closer to Luke. The two of them were quietly watching, passing snacks back and for, occasionally making jokes about something happening in the movie
It's coffee time! Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee! Cappuccino, java, YES!
He heard her giggle knowing her obsession with coffee already.
At some point she ended up curled into his side, his arm around her. Neither of them had second thoughts about it, the feeling being natural.
As the credits started rolling Luke looked down to see her sleeping lightly. His face flushed but he dared not move. Her long hair had been pulled until a messy top knot, and now a few of her white streaks hung in her face, a tiny bit of drool in the corner of her mouth. They had eaten a fair amount of the food, the samosas being the first to go as they were her favorite. 
He heard the basement door open and Reggie came downstairs. 
"Did sis fall asleep again?" Luke just nodded and Reggie stood in front of them, hoisting her over his shoulder. Luke started cleaning up the basement as Reggie took her to her bedroom.
Alex came down shortly after, followed by Flynn and Julie.
“Looks like we missed the party.”
“She fell asleep, but I’m sure Reg wouldn’t mind if we stayed and watched another movie. Flynn was already plopping on the couch as the next dvd started, her favorite move starting.
“What even is this?”
“Deep Impact! It’s her favorite movie and we pulled the disaster genre today.” Luke smiled to himself as he picked the cases up. She had been obsessed with it ever since she saw it, always watching Storm Chasers. She had wanted to be a meteorologist when they were little, but it’s been a while since they had that kind of talk. He noticed the room go quiet and looked up from the dvd case to see the four of them, Reggie having made it back down, staring at him.
“What?!”
“Dude, just ask her out already.” Luke sputtered a bit at Alex’s blunt statement. 
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s my best friend.”
“You have my blessing if that's what you need bro.” Reggie made his way over to the couch. “She totally likes you too in case it wasn’t obvious.” Julie paid them no mind and scrolled through her phone. It was the truth, but it still hurt. She could tell when they’d all first met, but regardless she caught feelings.
While everyone found spots around the basement, Julie and Flynn taking the guest room, Reggie went upstairs to his room.
Luke couldn't sleep. No matter how hard he tried, how many sheep he counted. He kept thinking about her.  Maybe it was those thoughts that compelled him to sneak his way upstairs to her room. 
He knocked quietly before slipping in through the door,  his feet finding its way through the dark to her, the layout of her room memorized.  He slips in under the covers facing her. When her eyes open slightly he puts his hand on her cheek. "It's just me, Elm." She smiles at his voice, nuzzling into his palm slightly and moving closer to him. Luke lets out a soft chuckle, gladly pulling her into him and smelling her pomegranate shampoo. He wanted to believe she stuck with it because he liked the smell, but he knew deep down it was only because it smelled like her. 
"Skyguy?" He tilted his head down at her. "Can you take me flying again tonight?"
"Whatever you want, Elm." She settles back into him, falling again into her deep slumber.
Luke still had problems falling asleep, but when he focused on her breathing he found himself pulled quickly to sleep.
When they first met, it had been nothing but talks of star wars. She turned towards him with those big green eyes, they were 8 that year, and very simply said "You're going to take me flying someday." 
He made it a vow then.
'Cause sometimes I look in her eyes
And that's where I find a glimpse of us
And I try to fall for her touch
He has this dream often. The two of them racing towards the edge of the world. Jumping off the ledge and soaring through the skys
But I'm thinking of the way it was
Said I'm fine and said I moved on
Her standing front row of his front row show
I'm only here passing time in her arms
Hoping I'll find
A glimpse of us
His home, her family, Alex, they were all his home
Luke awoke in the morning grabbing one of her notebooks from her night stand, and scribbling away some lyrics. Something to save for later so he doesn't forget. 
He peeked over at her, still asleep, her white strands hanging in her face. He thought back to the nickname, refusing to see him as the Skywalker he'd been named after "You're way too dramatic to be Luke. Your dad should have named you Anakin."
He smiled and tucked around her again.
She had woken up to find Luke still wrapped around her, their legs and arms a tangled mess. She should just tell him. Ask him to stay like this with her, just the two of them. But instead she carefully untangled herself and padded downstairs. Their parents left a note, officially designating their much needed vacation. The Peters siblings had the house for the next 4 days. She smiled softly and heard Reggie pad down the stairs, immediately pulling out breakfast. 
"Do you think pancakes or French toast?" He pondered his option when you put the bread back in the fridge. 
"French toast calls for the special bread from Madame Alexandra's. Do pancakes today." She smiled and walked outside into the back, unlocking the shed their dad let her and Reggie use for a music room. 
Alex, Julie, and Flynn awoke to the smell of breakfast, the three of them migrating upstairs where Reggie had almost finished.
“Welcome! Julie and Flynn this is your first annual Vacation weekend at the Peters House!” He was putting massive plates of food on the table, and Alex started grabbing drinks from the fridge. “Typically the guys stay over all weekend, but it’s totally optional, my parents are out of town until Tuesday for their yearly ‘Alone Time’.” 
Luke rolled out of her bed, his face hitting the floor. Groaning, he sat up, giving himself a minute to wake up. He peeked over, saw your side of the bed empty and peeked out of your window, noticing the door to the music shed open. He walked down to the kitchen, everyone else already getting seated at the table. “Hey Luke, can you go get Y/N? I think she was practicing out back.”
“Already on it. Save me one of those weird bubbly juices your mom gets?” Reggie threw a cheesy grin and grabbed their normal breakfast drinks.
“I’m sorry, bubbly juice?” Flynn was curiously eyeing the can put down in front of her. “Why have I never seen this before?”
“My mom has Champagne taste on a beer budget is what my dad always says.” Reggie sits down at the end of the table his dad usually sits, scrolling through his phone. “It’s just carbonated juice though. My mom buys in bulk.”
“Hey, speaking of which, we should go get food for the weekend.” Alex pulled out a pen and notepad from one of the drawers. “Can we take your sister's car?”
Reggie feigned offense at this comment, scoffing at his suggestion.
“Yeah we can take my car, but I have to drop my audition tape off while we’re out.” She sat down in her normal spot at the end of the table after setting the case down on the counter, Luke sitting next to her.
“Audition tape?” Julie didn’t realize she was in music, but she also went to a different school than the rest of them. There was a lot she realized she didn’t know about her.  
“Yeah um… Itsmyjulliardapplication.” she flushed and hid behind her hair, mumbling to herself before grabbing food from the table. Luke smiled at her, his heart fluttering. 
After breakfast the 6 of them piled into her blue SUV, Alex confirming everything on the way to Wholesale Sam’s.
She dropped the four of them off, and the two of them went to the post office down the street.
“Are you excited”
“A bit. I’m also a bit nervous and a bit scared and worried and…” She trailed off when Luke put his hand over hers. “It’s a lot to take in… I doubt I’ll make it in, I don’t go to a music prestigious high school like you guys.”
“Okay true, but you’re amazing. I’ve never met anyone who would beatbox and play an instrument, let alone write the way you do.” She smiled slightly at his words, a pink heat dusting her cheeks. He held her hand the whole time as she dropped off the parcel, and the entire way back to the store. 
“Luke?” He turned towards her as they parked, his bright eyes gleaming.
“Thank you. I’m really glad to have you as a friend.” The words stung both of them, but he smiled, and just walked with her into the store, meeting up with the rest of their friends.
It was really like any wholesale store, and soon they found themselves heading towards the back of the store where the freezer section was, forgetting that Luke was holding her hand.
Reggie nudged Alex when they approached, but no one said anything out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until she surged forward towards a bin of giant Stuffies that Luke realized he had been holding her hand the whole time. It felt empty and cold, and his face fell slightly at the absence, but seeing her stand there with a giant round penguin-looking thing made him smile. “Look, it's a penguin! But also a mango!” She dropped it by the bin and dug through it again, producing a watermelon with a pugs face on it. “We can be matching!” He never saw her get so excited over squishies before but before he knew it she had dug up a stuffed Plague Doctor and Nurse B, almost as big as her. Luke had no idea where he’d put it in his room, but the smile on her face convinced him he’d do anything to keep it there.
“Sis those are pretty big, You wouldn’t have room for it.” She seemed to ponder this for a moment before putting all the giant stuffies back and producing two smaller keychain stuffies of the same pair. 
“I can settle for this then.” She put them in the cart, and the 6 of them continued shopping.
The trip ended with a stop at Her favorite bakery, getting the special french toast bread she loved so much, but also treating everyone else.
“Julie, do you want something?” Her question caught Julie off guard who just nodded, and Flynn pulled her over to the case. 
The rest of the day everyone spent hanging around the house. She excused herself upstairs during their game tournament, padding up to her room. Truth be told she felt too anxious to be around people, and she had hoped the olive branch of food would be enough to show Julie she wanted to be friends. She didn’t notice she had been crying until she heard a soft knock on her door. She quickly wiped her tears and opened the door to a concerned Luke. She moved aside slightly for him to come in, and he wrapped his arms around her. 
“Are you okay?” She nodded and felt his lips against her forehead.
“I’m just a little overwhelmed lately.” He nodded and pulled away looking down slightly at her face. He couldn’t help but look at her lips, his concern still festering seeing them chewed up. He hadn’t realized she’d been doing it all day. “Luke…”
“I’m sorry… I should go back downstairs.”
“No wait…” Her hand was warm against his arm, and he faced her again.
“Be honest. Are we friends?”
“Of course we are.” He almost scoffed at her question. “You’re my best friend…”
“Am I? Cause there are times when I think… no I want-”
“-to be more…” His eyes fell to her lips again as he finished her sentence for her. 
“Luke I-” She’s cut off by his lips on hers, his hands on her cheeks. He pulls away slightly, kicking the door closed and walks to the bed with her. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“I want to.” He kisses her again, hungrier, and faster “I’ve wanted this for so long. I’ve wanted you for so long.” 
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3 months later
“Oh my god.” Luke hears the ripping of an envelope, and all 6 of them jump up. “Oh god I can’t read it. I can’t face this rejection.” She hands the letter to Reggie, who rips it out of the envelope and hungrily reads the words. 
“Dear Miss Y/N Peters, We are pleased to announce that your application has been accepted and you will be attending Julliard for the next Fall semester!” She screams in excitement and the group rushes to hug her.
She cries while muttering about how she couldn’t believe she was accepted. The group celebrates later that evening with the rest of their families.
And amidst the crowd she finds herself and Luke alone in her bedroom. “So… New York huh?” A sad smile washes over her face, and the tears she was holding back came through. “Hey don’t cry babe you got in! That’s good isn’t it?” He moves so he’s sitting on the floor beside her. He wraps his arms around her, and she nestled into his side, the two of them leaning against the wall. 
“Luke I… Reggie and I have never been separated. I haven’t been without you for more than a few weeks since you became friends with him too and…”
“Hey…” He pulls her face up to meet him. “I never said you’d be going alone.” Her eyes widened a bit at his statement. “Besides, New York sounds fun. And if you decide we don’t like it there we can always come back home.”
“Luke Patterson, you are my home.” 
“And I’d follow you anywhere.”
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websterss · 1 year
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𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 — 𝐋𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍
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𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓: Hi!! So I've seen your account recently and I really would like you to write jatp luke Patterson x reader, when the Reader is always so goofy and childish. So they are sick like they have a very bad fever, and they are very weak and Luke takes care of them, and maybe sings a lullaby to help them sleep by singing to them and rocking them please. 
𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆(𝐒): um cussing mostly, and fluff
𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 985
𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Luke Patterson x fem!Reader    
𝐀/𝐍: Hope you enjoy it! This is my shortest story omg. I am fully recovered from having the flu this past week, so I’m trying to get back into my writing, but it’s still a slow process for me, because I was really drained of energy for a week, so be patience with me lovelies. ♡
𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
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“Y/n, I know you’re in there!” Rapid thuds against your window can be heard. The loudness that vibrates through the window shook through your body. You pull the duvet over your head to hopefully muffle the sounds of your annoying friend.
“Come on, let me in!”
“Goaway.” You muffle yelled. Though to your annoyance, it simply slipped your mind that Luke has the ability to poof in and out of places. Perks of being a ghost. “No. I wanna be at peace!” You whine as you sense his presence before you.
“Hello to you too, sunshine.”
“Goaway.” Your voice muffled under your blanket.
“Can’t do that. Julie specifically told me to come and help you around the house since she’s at school.”
“Why!” You kick out the duvet off you. Moving around frantically, part tantrum. “I don’t need a ghost. I need a goddamn miracle-“ You stop feeling clogged up air in your chest causing you to cough. “God I hate being sick.”
“Do you need anything?” Luke walked over, pressing the back of his hand against your warm tempered forehead. “No fever.”
“I just wanna sleep honestly.” You sigh heavily. Turning your head to meet his eyes. “I have this massive migraine that I’ve been trying to cure with ibuprofen for the last couple days, but I stopped because I’m scared of growing an addiction.” You muster a grin, finding the bit hilarious. “Then there’s my congested nose, trying to breathe has been a bitch. I keep waking up in the middle of the night in coughing fits because my lungs can’t get any air.”
“You gotta tell your lungs to work man!”
“I’m trying!” You laugh, heaving a slight bit then feeling the urge to cough again. “This sucks. I don’t even know how I got sick. It’s like all my energy just got drained right out of me. It’s ruined my whole week.” You let your arms fall in defeat by your sides. “I’m sorry, Luke. I know I said I’d be there for the band’s rehearsals but— I barely have the energy to get out of bed these days.” A faint smile paints your face.
“Hey, don’t sweat it okay. Rehearsals will still be there for you to watch after you get better alright? Besides, we can always record what you’ve missed.” Luke sat on the edge next to you. His comfort dissolves the aches and pain that run through your entire system. The mere thought of knowing someone wanting to look after you, gave you hope for a full recovery sooner rather than later. “Though you’re not missing much honestly.”
“Only my social life.” You dismissed passively. “Can’t believe I’m stuck here and you guys are making music. Unfair.”
“Well, if it makes you feel better-” He pointed at your side, activating your flight or fight response. You laughed moving away from his hands, never one to enjoy being tickled. “We’re not really having much luck with coming up with new songs.”
“Now that I found it hard to believe.”
“No seriously, it’s like we ran out of inspiration.”
“Oh come on! You guys seriously haven’t written anything while I’ve been at home sick?”
Luke shrugged. “We’re all missing our muse…” He reached forward to boop you on the nose.
“Please, I’m no muse.” You half heartedly laugh.
“Maybe not the guys, but definitely mine.” He nodded surely.
“Well then, I’m honored.” You reach forward and take a hold of his hand. Twiddling with his fingers. Intertwining and untwining your hand with his. “Any chance I can hear something?” You batted your eyes playfully. A pout full on display. “Would you sing for a poor sick girl?” You force a cough out of your mouth. “A sneak peek of what’s to come?”
“You sure know how to persuade a guy.” Luke smirked.
“What can I say–“ You cough again. “I’m pretty convincing.” Your eyes crinkle, a sleepy haze falls over your tired form.
“Alright sleepy head, I’ll give you something.” He brought his hand up to lightly brush away some flyaway hairs from your eyes. His touch softly lingering. Soothing the slight ache that didn’t want to go away.
“What’s it–“ You yawn big. “called?”
“Well, Julie, the guys, and I haven’t really settled on a name yet, but I think we’re inching closer with Those Eyes.”
“It sounds nice…” You adjust yourself into the bed. Bring the covers up to your chest. The thing about having the flu was that you had the tendency to get shivers here and there, other times hot spells causing you to kick off the covers. A continuous back and forth situation. Right now you were just simply feeling cold. 
“It does. It’s a little slower than any of our other songs, but I think it’ll be a nice touch to the album.”
“Let’s hear it, rockstar.” You hummed. Placing your hands flat over your covered stomach.
“Give me a second.” Luke scoffed humorously. He began making a rhythmic beat on his jean clad thigh, head slowly bobbing as he tried to find his pitch. He took a deep breath and began singing.
“Cause all of the small…things that you do…are what remind me why I fell for you...” His smile grew seeing you start to slip into a deep slumber. Your breathing evening out and becoming slower. He leaned forward, letting his hands caress the side of your cheek gently. His heart fluttering as you subconsciously leaned into his touch. “and when we're apart, and I'm missing you. I close my eyes and all I see is you...and the small things you do.” He leaned back and watched you sleep. His favorite pastime, knowing you were getting rest, and at peace in the comfort of your bedroom. “Sweet dreams, peaches.” Then he was gone in a poof. Silence filling the space, and your sleep unbothered.
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cantstoptheimagines · 2 years
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Eat Your Heart Out (Luke Patterson | Julie and the Phantoms)
Summary — You want Luke to ask you out, so a plan is set into motion.
Warnings & Other Tags ➳ Mostly fluff with potential for angst; mentions of jealousy and possessiveness; Alex and Reggie being wingmen; Reader can see the Phantoms.
Notes ➳ Word Count is 649. ➳ Reader is gender neutral (they/them).
FAQ | Masterlist | Fandoms | Requests | Coming Soon | Schedule 
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It was obvious that Luke liked you. He made his feelings very well known. From flirtatious comments to gentle touches, he’d do anything to get your attention. He was all about you.
And you reveled in it.
How could you not have feelings for Luke? He was one of the nicest guys you had ever met. Not to mention, he was beautiful with his soft brown hair and hazel eyes that sparkled in the sunlight.
But, for whatever reason, he still hadn’t asked you out, despite being rather open about his crush on you. Alex had told you that his friend was still working up the courage, but you refuted that. You had never known Luke Patterson, of all people, to be nervous in any sense of the word.
“Ya know... if you really want him to ask you out...” 
Your focus was now solely on a smirking Alex. He was sitting next to you, watching a movie with his arms crossed over his chest. His voice had trailed off, but you had recognized the mischievous tone, along with the playful glint in his eyes. 
Your eyebrows furrowed as you asked, “What are you planning in that pretty blond head of yours, Mercer?”
Alex’s grin only widened. Slowly, he turned to look at you and raised his eyebrows. With a tilt of his head, he asked, “Besides Luke, who’s the hottest guy you know? One who could really get Luke in his feelings?”
You thought for a moment before the answer hit you. Revealing your choice to Alex, he bit his lower lip in a failed effort to conceal an excited smile.
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Reggie was laying it on thick.
Despite his initial fears that Luke might tear him apart for flirting with you, he agreed after you and Alex had offered some reassurance. In fact, he seemed to be having fun with your sly plan.
As you smiled at Reggie’s endless stream of compliments, you could practically feel Luke’s gaze burning into you. Alex sat only a few feet away, next to Luke on a couch in Julie’s living room, trying his best not to laugh as he observed the scene.
But then, Reggie reached out to trail his fingertips along your arm. His eyes flickered over your shoulder before widening in excitement. Apparently, that touch had been the last straw for Luke.
You heard the rustle of movement from your spot with Reggie in the kitchen. A presence loomed over you. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Luke’s hand resting next to yours on the counter.
“I think Julie needed to talk to you about something, Reg,” his voice muttered, tense and filled with annoyance, “now.”
Reggie nodded and then returned his attention to you. With a wink, he grinned, “See ya later, sweetheart.”
Oh…
Oh, yes…
Reggie had done it now. As he and Alex left for the garage, Luke moved to stand before you. He watched Reggie’s every move until he finally disappeared through the front door.
“‘See ya later, sweetheart,’” mocked Luke, rolling his eyes. “Well, he’s just too cute, isn’t he?”
You tried to conceal your smile, staring down at your shoes. Luke continued to complain and you soon found yourself caged between his arms. His hands rested against the counter on either side of you.
“Can’t believe he had the guts to do that,” muttered Luke, “especially when he knows you’re mine.”
You could’ve sworn that your heart stopped. Slowly, you met his eyes. Luke stared back at you, seemingly unaware of his own words.
“Yours?”
“Obviously.”
He stepped closer. His chest was almost flush against yours. His hands shifted, linking together behind your back. There was no escape, not that you wanted to. In fact, you were quite content with your situation as Luke slowly began to lean in.
You had finally gotten him to eat his heart out.
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Imagine Luke's reaction when you go on a date
"Okay, but how do you know that he's an okay guy?" Luke asked you as he watched you stand in front of your bathroom sink getting ready for a date from his place on the edge of your bathtub. Crossing his arms across his chest, the grumpy look on his face was clear as day though you didn't notice it as you focused on the mirror before you.
"You've met him before, Luke." Opening up the mirror, you looked through the shelves for something that would help you tame your hair. You rummage through the supplies, moving them from the shelves to the counter to get a better view of what is inside. "We shared like three classes last year and he helped us pass that one test. You said he was cool."
There's a pause as Luke thinks about what he could say, silently cursing inside his mind. He does remember the guy clearly and he does recall saying that but he never thought his words would be used against him. He knows the guy and though the two of them were not close, he does know he's a good person but that doesn't mean he wanted you to date him. Though Luke knew he held feelings for you, he never acted on them. The two of you had always been thick as thieves, one never being far from the other and it was that closeness that made him believe that you would always be by his side. You were always there to lend a helping hand to him or the band, whether it be someone for him to bounce lyrics off of or helping them load up the van for their newest gig, you were right there and he had taken that for granted.
If he had noticed all of those qualities about you, why didn't he realize that other people would too? Even if this date didn't work out, there would be more in the future and those could work out. As those thoughts entered his mind, his heart began to ache; his chest felt uncomfortably tight.
"What if you didn't go out with him?" The sentence came out before he realized out. But when it did, he didn't mind out.
"First, I think it's a bit too late to cancel as it's close to the meeting time, and second, what would I do instead." Closing the mirror, you met his gaze through it.
"You could go out with me instead."
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heliads · 1 year
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sorry sorry, I'm spamming but I had this idea ages ago for a Luke Patterson x reader where the reader is an artist that does cover art for sunset curve promo.
Hear me out on this one; Luke tries to teach the reader how to play guitar and the reader tries to teach Luke how to draw. It doesn't end well, the reader is embarrassed that they can not play an instrument to save their life and Luke is embarrassed that he can't draw something as simple as a dog. But it's that thing where Luke finds it cute that the reader can't play even though they're trying hard and the reader finds it cute that Luke can't draw even though they are trying hard. And it just ends up all cute and mushy and ilysm I'm gonna marry you someday vibes.
i am once again reminding you that i miss jatp with every fiber of my being
masterlist
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You are absolutely hopeless. It was one thing to sign up for this sort of job– artist by hour, some sort of after school nonsense that you were fitting in around your courseload so you could try and make at least a little bit of money– but it’s something entirely different to get involved in it like this.
Looking back, there was no reason for you to ever start feeling this way. When Sunset Curve first reached out to you over the opportunity to do the official art for their demo album, you were thrilled. They already had a decent sized following despite just having started, and you’d never created anything half so important as this. That’s how it felt, at least, like you were on the cusp of something new, something brighter than you’d ever experienced before. If only you knew how right you truly were.
It wasn’t just the job that was special, though, it was the people. Sunset Curve is made up of the four funniest, kindest, most amazing boys to ever walk the earth. You’re definitely not biased in that regard, not in the slightest. Reggie Peters cares more than anyone you’ve met before. Alex Mercer looks out for you every single minute of every single day. Bobby Shaw recognizes the potential in everyone who crosses his path.
And Luke? Luke Patterson, who greeted you with the widest smile you’ve ever seen the second he met you? Luke, who really should just be a friend? You couldn’t pin him down to one specific phrase if you tried. Luke is everything– creative, bold, bright, you name it. More importantly, he’s everything to you, but that’s because you happen to harbor a crush on him.
You couldn’t shake the aforementioned crush if you tried, but oh, how you wish you could. It does not do to spend every afternoon over there in Sunset Curve’s studio, pretending you’re sketching new designs for them or doing your homework when in reality you’re just wishing Luke might finally look up from his guitar and finally notice you as something other than a background character to his stellar world.
It’s not like Luke’s an asshole about it, it’s just true. Luke Patterson is so out of your league it’s crazy. Why would he ever look at you as something other than a friend or glorified coworker? Reggie and Alex have teased him enough times about flirting with anything that breathes that you know better than to overthink so much as a smile from him. Just because you happen to think the world of Luke doesn’t mean that he has to do the same thing about you.
That doesn’t stop you from almost losing your mind every time you hang out with the boy, though. In fact, you’re alone with Luke right now, and even though it’s pretty obvious Luke doesn’t take this to be anything other than a chance to spend time with a friend, you’re one accidental brush of hands away from screaming.
You had headed over to the boys’ studio early so you could think about some new designs for their albums, both the demo one and potential future numbers. You were given a key to the place a long time ago; the members of Sunset Curve accepted you with open arms and open doors back when you first started drawing for the band. 
Apparently they like having someone else there to force them to actually be productive and make music, but you’re not too sure about that. You swear that you end up talking to the boys for even longer than they manage to distract themselves, although that’s more fun than anything in your book. 
So, although you didn’t expect anyone to have issues with you showing up to the studio unannounced, you also weren’t expecting Luke to be there alone. You stand there for a moment, hovering over the threshold, wondering if you should leave or take this as your chance to finally get closer to him. 
Luke sees you and spares you from the indecision. “Come on in, Y/N. I’m not doing a whole lot, just practicing.”
You smile at him and step inside. “Technically, if you’re practicing that’s something. I just don’t want to bother you if you’re in a songwriting mood.”
Luke makes a face. “I would love to be in a songwriting mood, but the lyrics just don’t want to come. Please tell me you’re here as a distraction.”
You laugh. “I can be an excellent distraction when I wish, but I’m not all that interesting today. Just trying to get some ideas for a potential album cover.”
Luke watches you excitedly as you reach inside your bag for your sketchbook and some drawing supplies. “Are you kidding? That’s super interesting to me. Tell me, what direction is your grand artistic vision pulling you in now?”
You swat him lightly with your sketchbook. “There’s nothing grand about it, trust me. I’m here because I’m just as stuck as you are. Are you sure your next album can’t just have a completely blank design? Maybe one solid square of color? It would make it a lot easier on me.”
“Absolutely not,” Luke declares, “you’re already robbing us of our hard-earned cash, we at least deserve some designs in the bargain.”
The easy grin on his face tells you that he doesn’t mean a word of it. Luke and the other members of Sunset Curve have made it quite clear that they value your presence, both in art and in friendship. Besides, you have discounts when it comes to people you care about, and the members of this band are certainly that indeed.
“Well,” you smile, “if that’s the case, I’d better get on it.”
Luke watches as you do some thumbnail sketches for potential designs. His eyes never seem to leave your pencil as you shade in piano keys or trace the outline of a guitar.
At last, he breaks his meditative silence to pose a question. “How are you doing that?” He asks plaintively, “Every time I try to draw something, it takes me forever and ends up being a big eraser smudge. When you do it, though, you take two seconds and have a masterpiece.”
“I’ve been doing this for a lot longer than you have,” you remind him, “practice makes perfect, trust me on that. My first so-called masterpieces were just as full of eraser marks as yours.”
Luke harrumphs. “You’re just saying that. Embrace the fact that you’re extremely cool.”
“You’re just as cool as I am,” you counter, “you may be in awe of my art skills, but I think your music is way more impressive.”
Luke’s jaw drops. “No way. Half the time you’re in here, I’m messing up my chords.”
You grin. “That’s not true, and even if it was, that still makes you better than I am. I can’t even remember what a chord is, let alone how to play it right even half the time.”
Luke sits up straight, an idea occurring to him. “You know what? We can fix that. Let’s have a skills session. You teach me art and I’ll teach you music.”
“Just like that?” You ask, doubtful but smiling nonetheless.
“Just like that,” Luke confirms, and after that it’s decided.
Luke reaches over to grab his guitar. He places it on your lap, moving close to you so he can help guide your hands into position. You think your breathing might stop entirely from how it feels to have Luke’s breath hot on your cheek, his fingers wrapped around yours as he teaches you a chord. If you look up slightly, you can see how his face, no, his entire being is angled towards you. It is the most marvelous sight you have ever experienced.
Despite the beauty of the boy teaching you, your own mastery is far less substantial than you’d like. You can feel the shame of it heating up your cheeks as Luke reminds you of what you’re supposed to be learning for the umpteenth time. Watching Sunset Curve practice, you’d always wondered why you never picked up an instrument. This is reminding you of that reason:  you’re absolutely awful at it.
Eventually, your desire to seem at least somewhat capable in front of Luke wins out over your need to be so close to him and you carefully put the guitar in his lap.
“I think that’s enough for now,” you whisper, glancing away, “at this point, teaching me music is a lost cause.”
Luke shakes his head. “Hey, don’t feel too discouraged. It took me forever to learn. You wouldn’t believe how awful my fingerpicking was when I first started. You’re blowing my first attempts out of the water by a long shot, trust me.”
You laugh. “Somehow I find that hard to believe.”
Luke’s eyes are wide and earnest. “No, it’s true. Besides, I see this as an absolute win. If you can’t play the guitar, it means you need me around more often.”
Smiling, you ask:  “And is that a good thing?”
“Most certainly,” Luke breathes, and you think you might die just there, watching him look at you like you were worth so much more than you ever thought.
Luke comes to reality first, and looks away quickly, a faint pink blossoming over his cheeks. “If we’re trying to learn how bad we are at each other’s habits, though, I think it’s my turn to fail. It’s time for art lessons.”
You flip to a fresh page in your sketchbook and pass it over. Luke holds the thing reverently, and only through severe coaching do you manage to convince him to actually grip it tight enough to keep the paper steady. He keeps claiming that he doesn’t want to hurt such precious contents, but you think it might also just be a ploy to keep you laughing even just a little longer.
As much as you hate to admit it, Luke’s fears about not being able to pick up drawing might be true. You swear you give him easy subjects to start off, and despite an abundance of furrowed brows and studious expressions, Luke and art do not mix. 
At last, he looks up at you desolately and holds up graphite stained hands for you to witness. “See? It’s a losing battle, I swear.”
You bite back a smile. “It’s just like you told me about guitar, isn’t it? All you need is practice.”
You think you wouldn’t mind being there for a few more art practice sessions, either. Something about the way Luke is so devoted to trying to get this right, and all the while watching you draw out examples like you’re a living saint, makes your chest feel so tight that it might burst. You would gladly sink the rest of your afternoons and sunsets into these sorts of moments, walled up in the studio with Luke, losing track of time until you have no idea where your days begin and his end.
Luke must be feeling the same way, because he leans a little closer to you. “I’m not sure I believe it, but I wouldn’t mind more practice sessions with you. We wouldn’t even have to draw or play guitar if you didn’t want to. If you’re alright with that, of course. We could just, you know, hang out.”
The hope in his eyes is only matched by the delight in yours. “I think that sounds great,” you say.
Luke’s face brightens. “Really? I mean, yeah, it would be fun. Maybe we could go get ice cream soon.”
“Tell me a date, I’ll make time,” you reply. You’ll clear your entire schedule if that’s what it takes. This is something that you didn’t see happening in your wildest dreams, and now that it’s real, you don’t plan on giving it up for anything.
Luke lifts a shoulder. “How about Saturday afternoon? We can go anywhere.”
You could gladly spend the rest of the day just talking over the prospect of this date with Luke, but a sound from outside the studio makes you bite your tongue. You can see Alex, Reggie, and Bobby approaching the door– it must be time for the band to have practice.
Luke groans. “They have terrible timing.”
You laugh. “They didn’t know anything was happening, that’s their fault. I know everything I want, though.”
You don’t think Luke’s smiles have ever been brighter than the one he shoots you now. For once, you realize a most welcome truth:  all this time that you’ve been pining over Luke, he’s been feeling the exact same way. At last, the two of you have been able to get together, and you couldn’t be happier about it.
requested by @thatfangirl42, i hope you enjoy!
jatp tag list: @rogueanschel, @retvenkos, @caswinchester2000, @lovesanimals0000, @amortensie
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supercap2319 · 3 months
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"I think we should set some ground rules. First of all: this is my studio. Which means you three will show it and myself some respect. Secondly: no more of this ghosting stuff that you guys do." Y/N said.
"Ghosting stuff?" Reggie raised an eyebrow.
"You guys take my stuff, and pop-up in embarrassing situations."
"Oh, really? Name one time that's happened." Alex said.
"Oh, how bout when you ate all my cereal, Alex? How does that even work? How do ghosts even eat? Then there's Reggie, who steals the plushies from my bedroom, and drools all over them when he sleeps."
"I don't drool." Reggie said.
"You also snore." Luke adds.
"And you, Luke. You pop-up when I'm taking a shower. Or changing. Or masturbating and it's really embarrassing to do those things with a ghostly audience."
"Dude, you watch him jerk off?" Alex asked.
"Not cool, dude." Reggie said.
Luke blushed.
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ashleycatchemm · 3 months
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1-24: Finally Free
Part 24 of??
Pairing: Reggie x Reader, Luke x Julie, Alex x Willie
Summary: (Y/n) (L/n) has been able to see and feel ghosts ever since she was little, which made it hard to tell the ghosts from the humans. Everyone has always thought she was a bit crazy, even her best friends, Julie and Flynn. But when three ghosts with a love for music appear in Julie's garage, suddenly (Y/n) doesn't seem so crazy anymore.
Song: Finally Free (Julie and the phantoms)
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Pulling into my driveway I parked the truck and hopped out, leaving the door open for Arius to come out behind me. Once the black cat jumped out of the blue truck I shut the door behind him, a banging noise catching my attention from across the street. Looking over, at the big blue house across the street that's been for sale ever since I remember, no one has wanted to buy it, and when they do, something always seems to cause them to back out.
People have been saying that it's haunted, but I've lived here all my life, and I haven't seen or heard a single ghost from over there. My eyes drifted down to the man hammering in a new sign, only this one was different, it had the word 'Sold' written on it in big bold letters. "Hey Arius?" I didn't bother looking back at the black cat, eyes trained on the sign across the street.
A hum in response gave me the okay to ask my question. "Do you think there are ghosts in that house?" Nodding my head over to the house across the street, watching the man start to pick up the sign he pulled out before replacing it with the other. "I doubt it." Looking back at the cat, I noticed he disappeared, (e/c) eyes glanced around to catch any sign of the demonic cat, only to see him sitting next to me. Blue eyes glued to the house in front of us, tail moving in an annoyed way.
"Your grandmother cleared out that house ages ago."
My brows furrowed in confusion, "So then how did it not sell for years?" I shoved my hands in my pockets "If it's been cleared out for ages, how is it just now getting sold?" Arius didn't give much of a helpful response "I don't know." he turned around and started making his way towards the front door. "Wait." I stated, quickly following after him "What do you mean 'I don't know'? Aren't you supposed to know everything about my grandmother?" Sitting by the door, he growled out a response "I don't know, because I wasn't there."  Arius' temper seemed to flare up at the subject and that's when I felt it. The pang of emotional hurt, it wasn't big enough to get a reaction from me, but I knew one thing. It wasn't my emotion I was feeling.
No.
It was the demonic cat in front of me.
Arius' ears were drooped downward a little, tail wrapped close around him, the end being curled between his front paws. Sitting down on the steps of my front porch, I asked the question on my mind, not knowing if he'd answer me or just yell at me and go back to being closed off, either way, I need to know. "Why weren't you there?" He was silent for a second, tail whipping back and fourth in an agitated manor. After a minute or two, he finally spoke up "Once witches and warlocks get older, they start settling down. Having kids. Getting married. That sort of thing." I stayed quiet, not wanting to jump in.
If there are warlocks out there, then I wonder just how many more people there are like me..
"Eventually, there is a point in our lives where we feel we aren't needed anymore to our masters, so we would leave. No goodbyes, or farewells. Since demons get attached to their witch or warlock, we feel it's easier on us to leave without goodbyes. Breaks the bond faster."
I watched as the cat next to me looked up at the sky his blue eyes shining with an emotion I've never seen on him before, admiration? Maybe even love. His mouth opened a little, as if trying to smile, pointed teeth visible for all to see. "Your grandmother was different than the other witches and warlocks in your family. She could tell I was going to leave. She knew that something was off when she talked to me that night. She sensed it." Arius looked out in front of him at the house across the street, the same house that started this conversation.
"(G/n) engulfed me in the biggest hug, and begged me to stay with her. And so I did, because she was my weakness. Anything she asked of me I would do, all to make her happy."
Arius' expression seemed to falter "But then, it all turned to shit." His teeth bared in anger, claws gripping onto the front porch. "One of her sons got themselves into deep shit. And so your grandmother sent me away in order to protect her family from the ministry." His expression shifted into a scowl as he laid down, front paws hanging a little off the end of the porch. "I'm not mad at her for what she did. I know that they could've easily tracked me and then her family would've been in danger. I just... I wish there could've been another way. 36 years I spent with (G/n), and yet it still wasn't enough. I wanted a little more time with her." The black cat grew silent, not wanting to say anything else as he rested his head on his front legs.
I stared at Arius, having another aching feeling in my chest, it was the same as the last one, having not been my own emotions. Raising my hand up, I brought it over so that it was hovering over the demonic cat's head. I kept it there for a second or two, debating my choices, He'll probably swat at me. But in that moment I decided that I didn't care, because I felt like I should give him some kind of comfort, even if he does swat me away. Bringing my hand down, I gently rubbed his head, cautious of his movements, not wanting to get hit.
To my surprise, he didn't fight back, closing his eyes, Arius let out a small sigh in content. This bond has to start somewhere. Looking up at the clear blue sky a small smile crossed my lips, feeling good that I finally did something to help someone I'm glad it's starting here. And talking about Grandma no less. Looking back down at the black cat, he let out a small huff before shaking my hand off of him and sitting back up.
"So I don't know what (G/n) did to that house. She probably put a spell on it to keep the ministry from finding her. Or from finding her sons. Everything she did was to protect the people she cared about."
"Before she sent me away, she told me to look after you if something were to ever happen to her. Your mother was pregnant with you at the time. And, well, I could feel it. The bond. Before you were even born. I sensed that you would be a powerful witch and I could tell that (G/n) sensed it too. So now I'm going to train you the best I can, and look after you. But I can only do so much."
I nodded my head, understanding what he was saying. I can't keep running away from what I am. That means I'm gonna have to start cooperating with Arius. The black cat looked over at me, his usual bland stare on his face. I opened my mouth to say something but the noise of a ghost appearing caught my attention. "Hey (N/n)!" The boy clad in his leather jacket was quick to state, walking forward a little he pointed back and forth from me to the cat sitting next to me.
"Is this a bad time?"
I shook my head a little, a smile gracing my lips at just the sight of the ghost in front of me. "No. Not at all." Feeling the pull at my chest, causing me to stand up and walk towards Reggie. "Why?" The bassist in front of me radiated happiness as he met me halfway and grabbed ahold of my hand "We got to practice! Our first gig is tonight!" Dragging me down my driveway "Woah, Woah, Woah, Tonight?" I was quick to stop in place at the end of my driveway, causing Reggie to come to a halt as I pulled back on his hand.
The dark haired bassist in front of me tilted his head a little as if confused as to why I stopped him "And I thought Julie was all done with the band? She told me herself that-" Reggie jumped in, successfully cutting me off to answer my questions. "We all made up. But we have to hurry and practice because our gig is in a couple of hours." He pulled me a little bit along the side walk, only for me to quickly come to a stop once again. Still not processing the information.
"Wait Julie forgave you? When? And when did we get a gig?" Reggie rolled his eyes in amusement "What even-"
I was cut off once again, as Reggie pulled me toward him and wrapped a hand around my mouth. Faces inches apart, his award winning smile sitting on his face "I'll fill you in on all the details later. Right now we need to go, okay?" His arm sat wrapped around my waist, I felt my cheeks grow warm from the close proximity. I nodded my head in response, that being the only thing I could do, even if his hand wasn't covering my mouth, I don't think I would've been able to muster a single word.
Well, At least non that would make sense...
His hand left my mouth, finding my own once again. Gripping it tight, he pulled me along to go to Julie's. Looking back I caught sight of the black cat following close behind me.
I don't think he's gonna leave my side anytime soon.
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"Okay. What's with the cat?"
Alex had his eyes trained on Arius sitting on the couch, as Julie walked over to him. "I think it's cute" reaching her arm out to pet him, I was quick to jump in "Uh, Julie, I wouldn't..." the black cat was quick to jump up from his position on the couch. Hissing at Julie, his fur standing up, back arched, ears pulled back to show his agitation. The curly haired singer pulled her hand away in surprise, Arius was quick to make his way towards the other end of the couch, settling down. His eyes glanced at Julie, sending her one more growl before looking back at me.
"What's its problem?"
Alex questioned, seeing as how Arius almost hurt one of his friends. Picking up my rhythm guitar, I put the strap over my shoulder while speaking on the cats behalf. "He just isn't fond of most people. So don't try to force it." Arius growled briefly as I spoke, causing me to send him a look as if to say 'Behave' the black cat huffed while whipping his tail back and forth in aggravation, but overall growing silent. "Well, now that the cat conversation is out of the way..." Reggie grabbed everyone's attention as he walked over next to me, swinging his bass strap over his shoulder.
"Let's get started."
Julie nodded her head in agreement as her and Alex made their way over to their instruments.
"Right."
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All four of us were playing the cords to Finally Free as Julie sang "Marching on proud, Turn it up loud, cause now we know what we're worth." Luke suddenly appears in the chair by the coffee table, causing the four of us to stop playing. Letting out a small "woah" he noticed the four of us by our instruments. Standing up out of the chair "Julie." He stated, surprised to see her by the piano.
"Grab your guitar. We got work to do."
Luke started at her for a moment, mouth agape, only to let out a small chuckle as he grabbed his guitar, which stood by me. Walking over to Julie he asked "What made you come back?" Julie stood up from her seat "I realized how important music is for all of us. And we've lost so much already. We can't lose this too." Luke nodded his head a little "Thanks." He responded, only to ask "All right boss. Where we at?" In order to lighten the mood a little, letting out a small chuckle at his own question.
"Oh, and by the way, happy birthday."
Julie sat back down in her seat in front of the piano, a small chuckle passing her lips, again Luke stared at her in disbelief. Glancing over at the guys as if they would tell him how she knew, looking back at Julie a smile crossed his lips before making his way across the room.
"Let's take it from the pre-chorus." Julie stated
Alex banged his sticks together "One, Two, Three, Four." And with that the five of us started singing and playing, in order to practice for tonight.
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"You can't come with me Arius. We've already discussed this."
The black cat sat on my bed as I proceeded to do my make up for the gig. "I'll go in my human form."
"What about if Julie and Flynn see you?"
"I'll make up an excuse as to why I'm there."
Putting the mascara down, I turned around to face the black cat on my bed, the two of us stared the other down as if trying to silently win the argument. Letting out a sigh, I pinched the fridge of my nose all while stating "Fine. You can go" The demon determined to be by my side every second of everyday let out a small cheer before getting cut off by me "But..." his cat like eyes seemed to narrow in aggravation as I told him the terms of the agreement. "...You have to stay outside of the coffee shop, in your cat form the entire time. Got it?" My eyes narrowed back at him as if daring him to challenge my decision.
A huff of defeat passed through the black cats nose "Fine. As long as I'm there, I really don't care." The sound of a ghost warping could be heard, grabbing the attention of both me and the demon across from me. "Hey (N/n), you ready to go?" Near the door stood the boy that made my heart practically jump for joy, just from the sound of his voice. Reggie stood clad in his black tank top, biceps clearly being shown which caused my eyes to drift a little to look at them.
My bottom lip found its way between my teeth, all while my thoughts started to get impure. "(Y/n)?" The bassist's voice brought me back to reality, I was quick to let go of my lip as my eyes darted back up to his own. "You okay?" He continued, raising his brows as if to question my behavior. Shaking my head a little to bring myself back to my senses I sent him a small smile "I'm fine. We should get going." all while making my way towards my bedroom door, Arius hopping off my bed and following close behind.
Reggie followed me out the door to my room "The place isn't to far from here is you want to walk together." I started to walk down the steps as I explained "Reggie, if I walked down the street with you, people would think I'm a crazy person talking to herself." The sound of a ghost warping could be heard behind me, only for the dark haired boy to reappear right in front of me at the bottom of the stairs. This surprised me causing me to almost fall back, only for him to grab my arms and hold me steady, our noses inches apart. I felt my face grow warm at the proximity, feeling that tug from my chest, the urge to just lean over and capture his lips in my own.
"We don't even have to talk, just walk and hold hands or something."
Reggie's eyes went wide as he let go of me and took a couple steps back "I-I mean..." I could tell that he was frantically trying to come up with an excuse, but I didn't care at that moment. "not hold hands, but ya know..." because when I looked from his eyes to his hands, I realized how much I wanted to hold it in my own. "I just-" reaching over I snatched his hand in mine, effectively cutting off the dark haired bassist
"Let's go." I stated, all while dragging him towards the door.
Getting a small response of "Okay" from Reggie as Arius followed the two of us out the door.
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Once we got to the coffee shop, I was quick to try to let go of Reggie's hand, only for him to tighten his grip and pull on it a little, refusing to let go. Looking back at the golden retriever boy behind me, my eyes narrowed as if to tell him to let go. "I know. But, just let me hold your hand a little longer...Please?" I was confused, I didn't know why Reggie was acting like this, but tonight feels different with Reggie. I couldn't place my finger on the reason why.
Looking around at the people walking in, I noticed a lot of them eyeing me and whispering to their friends. Looking back at Reggie I leaned over a little to whisper "Reggie. People are staring." It felt suffocating to be standing there with him at the moment, knowing that what everyone was seeing, was that my hand was out in the air holding onto nothing, and I was talking to no one.
Reggie's eyes held an emotion I couldn't quite place, maybe desperation? "I don't care if they stare." The dark haired bassist took a step forward, bringing our interlaced hands up to his chest, eyes begging me to just hold his hand a little longer. "Please (Y/n). I just want your touch right now." I didn't know what to do, I took another glance around at the people and noticed more staring and pointing fingers. I looked down at Arius as if to ask him for some kind of help, only for him to hop on a trashcan and say one thing.
"He's a ghost. So be careful how you handle this. I will explain to you want is happening later. But for now, focus on taking care of this."
My eyes landed back on Reggie's, not knowing what to do or say, I just shook my head all while saying a quick apology "I'm sorry." Pulling my hand away, I walked off into the bustling coffee shop.
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"Hey did I miss anything?"
I asked Julie and Flynn as soon as I got over to them. "Nothing exciting, that's for sure." Flynn stated, directing my attention to the stage. There clad in all pink to perform with her dancing divas was the queen bee herself, Carrie Wilson. "Hope you all came to have a great time!" Carrie's obnoxious giggle left her lips as the crowd clapped. An annoyed growl left my lips from her appearance to ruin my night "Dirty Candy?" Julie asked only for me to jump in "How did she get on the list?" Flynn gave both of us a look, as if we should already know the answer.
"Her daddy made a call"
Crossing my arms across my chest, I stared daggers at the girl on the stage all while Flynn commented on Julie's outfit.
"Whenever I walk in the room, All the focus on me"
Carrie walked forward on stage, her girls joining behind her "The way I talk, the way I move, they all want on my team." I rolled my eyes at her cheap dance moves, not wanting to sit through this what so ever. "Not trying to brag, brag, but I'm flawless. I'm taking over your playlist. Ain't perfect but I can't miss. Yeah" looking back at the boys who suddenly appeared behind us, I noticed Luke smiling and enjoying the performance, Alex looked a bit antsy, and Reggie held a pensive look on his face, not seeming to interested in the girls dancing in front of him. Almost as if he was lost in his own thoughts.
He's probably just as confused about what happened as I was.
Looking back on stage I noticed Alex appear behind Carrie who was now on the floor, I covered my mouth as a laugh almost slipped past my lips. Julie seemed confused, looking back at the boys to see why he did that but Reggie just shrugged in response. Alex seemed lost  for a moment, only for the girls to stand back up as he started dancing with all of them, causing a small giggle in amusement to escape my lips.
When he was done he appeared back next to me, I sent him a smile and shook my head at his funny antics while Julie commented "You having fun out there?" Alex cleared his throat before coming up with an excuse "It's not my fault, it's my um..." he paused "It's my feet" I just shook my head while saying "Yeah, okay."
"Put me back in coach."
And with that Alex was gone, back to dancing on stage with Carrie and her crew. I felt a tap on my shoulder from behind as Reggie took Alex's spot beside me. "Can we talk?" I shook my head in response "not here Reggie." I glanced over at the boy next to me only to see his eyes narrowed in aggravation. "I don't care. We need to talk about this. Because what happened earlier was weird, you must have noticed that much. I don't know what's going on with me and, and  I'm confused-" I kept facing forward as to not draw attention I whisper yelled at him "Reggie!" Successfully cutting him off I stated "Not. Here." Saying it firmly worked to an extent. An angry scoff left his lips as he crossed his arms and went back to standing next to Luke.
The song was soon to end as Alex took in all the praises. Before warping back next to me a giant smile on his face "I uh... I was just... doing that for you guys" Reggie nodded his head "Mhm. yeah. You can stop smiling now." Alex chuckled at Reggie's comment. Julie grabbed our attention "Not gonna lie. That was... kind of good." Flynn nodded her head in agreement "Yeah. I forgot why I hate her so much." I scoffed while saying "I didn't forget my reason for hating her." I noticed her making her way over to us.
"Speak of the devil."
I stated all while receiving a glare from the bitch in response, I sent her a sarcastic smile all while flipping her off. Carrie ignore my actions and turned her attention towards Flynn and Julie "Hi girls. Um, isn't it past your bedtime?" Flynn looked between Julie and I "Now I remember." Before looking back over at Carrie. "If you're looking for Nick, he didn't come." Flynn and I both scoffed in response to her statement, knowing she was just trying to take a jab at Julie.
Stepping towards Carrie, Julie was quick to stick up for herself "That's not why I'm here." The sound of the microphone was quick to grab everyone's attention.
"Ok, it looks like we're closing the night out with one more group, Julie, (Y/n), and the fat ones"
The four of us turned towards Luke in annoyance while the girls in front of us laughed. "Really?" Alex asked.
"Yeah man, my Handwriting sucks."
The four of us rolled our eyes as Julie and I went to walk on stage, but not before I angrily bumped my shoulder into Carries.
Julie was quick to make her way to the piano, as I grabbed the rhythm guitar "Hi, it's actually Julie,(Y/n) and the phantoms" looking around she noticed no one was really paying attention, taking a glance over at me I motioned for her to continue. "Okay." She stated into the mic and started to play the piano. "Hearts on fire, we're no liars, so we say what we wanna say." I played my rhythm guitar as I continued the next line of the song "I'm awaken, no more takin' so we push all our fears away." The two of us started singing together "don't know if we'll make it cause we're falling down under, close my eyes and feel my chest beating like thunder." Julie now sang alone.
"I wanna fly, come alive, watch me shine"
The boys appeared playing their instruments as Julie got up, bringing the microphone with her, I stood in the back behind Luke as the two of them sang. "I got a spark in me, hands up if you can see, and you're a part of me, hands up if you're with me, now till eternity hands up if you believe, been so long and now we're finally free." Julie started singing by herself while she hit a tambourine on her hip.
"We're all bright now, what a sight now coming out like we're fireworks"
I sang the next part alone "Marching on proud, turn it up loud, cause now we know what we're worth"
Julie and Luke sang the next part together as I went back near Reggie "We know we can make it when we're not fallin' down under, close my eyes and feel my chest beating like thunder." All while Julie and Luke stared contently at each other "I wanna fly, come alive, watch me shine" Reggie and I leaned into our mics as we sang "ooooh" while Julie and Luke sang the Chorus "I got a spark in me, hands up if you can see, and your a part of me, hands up if you're with me, now till eternity, hands up if you believe, been so long and now we're finally free"
Reggie suddenly jumped over to Luke's Microphone and sang with him, I felt a jolt of pain corse through my chest for a second as I watched Reggie's every move, I could feel the pull on my chest getting stronger and stronger with each passing day, and it doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon, considering the effect it's starting to have on Reggie. That's the only explanation for his behavior earlier, but the only way to be sure is to ask Arius.
"I got a spark in me, hands up if you can see, and you're a part of me, hands up if you're with me, now till eternity, hands up if you believe, been so long and now we're finally free"
Julie and Luke now sang alone, meeting halfway Julie sang "I got a spark in me" she leaned the mic over to Luke as he echoed "I got a spark in me" the way Julie and Luke were staring at each other made me look back at Alex and Reggie for answers "And you're a part of me" Alex just shrugged with a small smile "And you're a part of me"as Reggie shook his head a little as if to say that he didn't know either.
"Now till eternity"
"Now till eternity"
"Been so long and now we're finally free"
We all started playing our instruments again as Reggie, Luke and I all sang the chorus while Julie sang in the background "I've got a spark in me, hands up if you can see, and you're a part of me, hands up if you're with me" Julie sang "Yeah" as the rest of us continued "now till eternity, hands up if you believe, been so long and now we're finally free."
Reggie, Luke, Alex and I went back to doing the "oooh" as Julie sang "Finally free, yeah" Luke and I jumped in at the end "Been so long and now we're finally free" everyone stopped playing as Julie let me have the last note.
"Finally free, yeah..."
The crowd went nuts as they all cheered and applauded, the five of us took a bow as the boys disappeared. The crowd continued to cheer as walked over next to Julie she stated "Thank you, we're Julie, (Y/n) and the Phantoms." I was quick to grab the mic from her and state "Tell your friends." Before walking off stage with Julie.
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Once we got off stage Julie ran over to Flynn excitedly, engulfing her in a hug as the two of them giggled and squealed in excitement. I leisurely made my way over to them, only to get dragged into the hug as well. Once we all let go Flynn stated "You two were incredible!" To which Reggie smugly replied "Yeah we were." While looking back at Alex and Luke who were currently sitting on the bar.
"Hey, Hey! Whoever Carrie was trying to impress is headed our way!"
Luke was quick to call out to Julie and I, as the two of us turned around to see a women in a pants suit headed in our direction. "She looks all business" Alex commented and Reggie started to panic, asking "Wait. Who should do the talking?" Then once realizing what he said he quickly fixed it "Right, Julie and (Y/n)." Julie glanced back at Luke for support, only for him to say "You got this." The women was quick to grab ahold of my hand to introduce herself.
"Hi I'm Andi Parker, and I would-"
"Julie."
Our attention went from Andi to the man that said Julie's name, which just so happened to be her father. Andi looked back at the man behind her "Dad." Julie stated, not sounding to happy.
"It's time to go."
Ray didn't sound to happy but I couldn't let us loose this, it could be our big break and Reggie would be upset if I didn't try. "Mr.Molina, if we could just have 5 minutes to-" he cut me off, not wanting to hear anything I have to say. "No. Julie is going home. And I'm calling your uncle." I scoffed and shook my head "seriously? What did I even do?" Andi finally spoke up deciding that this was a bad moment. "This seems like a bad time, so I'm gonna take off, wonderful performance, the both of you." She stated, looking from Julie to me before taking her leave.
"No! Wait!"
Luke yelled but of course she didn't hear him. She couldn't. Luke went to go chafe after her, but let out an exasperated sigh after realizing it wasn't gonna work.
"What did you do? You brought my daughter out here on a school night, to entertain your band fantasies."
"Dad!"
Julie said and was quick to speak up before things go south "She didn't drag me out here, I left by myself." Ray shook his head in disappointment "we'll talk about your punishment later. For now I have to get you both home." Turning towards me he stated "And don't think you're off the hook yet missy. Just because you live in that house by yourself doesn't mean you get to go home scott free. I was told to look after you and that's exactly what I'm doing by giving your uncle a call." I felt trapped in a hole, unable to climb out. I hated my uncle. And I hated that I could loose the freedom that I currently had.
He's definitely going to come down here now, and when he does I'm screwed.
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fortheloveofowen · 11 months
Text
Dating Luke Patterson Would Include...
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Summary: Basically just some super fluffy dating Luke content. This is post Caleb's curse being lifted because my love language is touch lol
Warnings: None just pure fluff :)
Note: I'm a hoe for the plot that y/n could see the boys just like Julie so I'm sticking w/ it
Just a cute little short thing for ya! Happy belated 4/20 if you celebrated (I sure did lol)!
𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪
Luke had known very quickly that he was in love with you
The way your smile seemed to brighten up the room and the way you absentmindedly combed out his hair when his head had landed in your lap as you sat on the couch
He watched the clock ticking on the wall of Julie's studio diligently as he waited for you to make your entrance, having never missed a practice
Usually, he would smoothly lean back in his seat, keeping that same cocky smirk on his face that he had always given you
But today Luke knew he needed to finally come to terms with his feelings for you
You quickly made your way through the doorframe, walking over to the beat up couch where you had spent countless nights
After practice, Luke had pulled you aside, his anxiety visible trough his reddened cheeks
"Hey, can we uhm talk in the loft... privately..."
The climb up to the loft seemed to have taken 25 years as you both nervously reached the platform
Both of you threw your legs over the wooden railing as your three friends exited the studio
His left hand lazily played with the silver rings on his right hand as he opened his mouth to speak, but not finding the right words to say
"Everything alright, Luke?" y/n slid their hand into Luke's still fidgeting one
"I'm just gonna come out and say it, I am so damn in love with you and have been for such a long time. And if you find this weird th-th-then we can just forget all about it, yeah?"
Luke had expected a kiss that night, but Reggie's clumsy eavesdropping skills caused the three of them to crash through the door only moments after the confession
Your first kiss would be after a show only a few days later, his sweaty body plopping itself next to you on the couch
"Ew get off of me, you stink!" You squealed as Luke pressed his sweaty hair into the side of your neck
"Mmmm but I'm so sleepy, baby..." he mumbled into your neck in a groggy tone, his breath sending shivers down your spine every time he'd finish a sentence
Luke leaned up and kissed your cheek, making sure the sweat that had collected on his upper lip spread across your flushed face before pushing you down against the couch
Your voices were a mix of laughter and arguments as Luke pressed his fingers into your ribs, tickling you with no mercy
"Stop, stop! Luke!" You cackled out before he leaned forward and once again placed his face in the crook of your neck
"Y/n, I really wanna kiss you right now..." He mumbled lifting his face to hover closely over your face
You nodded before reaching up to pull him into the most butterfly-inducing kiss either of you had experience
All of the members love the fact that you both have each other
We all know how reserved Luke can be with serious issues in his life, but he will always run to you first
Alex and Reggie look at you as family and you honestly could not ask for more. Alex is your go-to when Luke is riding his high horse and needs to be knocked back a couple of levels. And Reggie is always there when you have those days when talking isn't required, building you pillows forts and watching your favorite movies
You had been friends with Julie long before you had even met the boys, having known both you and Flynn for about the same amount of time. You had always preferred the more "artistic" stuff, which was perfect when Flynn asked for your help upping their stage design.
Get used to having countless songs written about you
"Hey babe! Listen to this?" "Baby, I wrote this for you..."
Constant reassurance
This man will never let you be insecure. He could never imagine a single flaw, so how could you? Lots of time spent in front of the mirror after showering together where he points out everything he loves about you
Overall just the most vomit-inducingly sweet relationship you've ever seen. Luke loves you with his whole heart and there is no way he will ever let you go.
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loveelle · 1 year
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Thank you, Jerry~ Part 5
Luke Patterson x Alive!Reader Series
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Summary: After getting an afternoon free from the band, Luke decides to see his parents, only to find out something he wasn’t expecting.
A/N: Alright, I’m tired of editing this part and changing how this was going to go, so I’m gonna bite the bullet and post it. Enjoy. Hopefully it won’t have too many more parts to it, so it won’t take me forever, but please, for the love of my sanity, don’t just demand part 6 now. Tell me what you like. Please?
WC: 4.4K
SERIES MASTER
Part 5: Is this an interrogation?
---
Luke was most assuredly not fine.
At first, the rest of his bandmates wanted to ignore him being late to rehearsal, or how he always seems to have somewhere to be that isn’t with the rest of them, or how something has made him bury his nose and scribble in his song book more often than his friends have ever seen, alive or dead. Between Julie, Reggie, and Alex, none of them could figure out what was wrong with their friend.
“Do you think he got himself roped into something like the club again?” Julie asks as the three of them await Luke’s return and sit around the couch in the studio, Alex’s drumming on the coffee table in front of him kept the room from being silent in between the ideas being thrown around.
“He wouldn’t do that.” Reggie tells her and she nods, knowing how absurd the idea was in the first place. “Do you think he’s in another band?”
“He wouldn’t do that.” Alex says and Reggie lets out a deep breath of relief. Getting nowhere with figuring out what was up with his best friend, Alex lets his mind wander. Not so surprisingly, his mind wanders to Willie and he smiles unconsciously for a moment before a thought strikes him and his drumsticks slowly come to a stop. “Do you think he met someone?”
For the first time all afternoon, no one denies that idea could happen.
“What are you all sitting around for?” The three of them scramble off the couch at the sudden voice in the studio and relief floods through them all when they realize it was only Flynn and not Luke.
“We think Luke met someone.” Reggie tells her as Flynn plops next to her best friend on the couch, her mouth immediately falling open in shock.
“Like another ghost?”
Julie, Reggie, and Alex all look between each other and shrug. “We don’t know.” Alex tells her.
“Wow.” Flynn lets out a long breath. “Well, good for him.”
“Yeah.” Julie agrees, throwing her arm around her best friend. “Good for him.” Alex and Reggie nod and yet something deep in Julie’s gut tells her there might be something more to the situation. Something she can’t see just yet, or can’t make sense of, but something was going on more than Luke just causally meeting someone.
And Julie was determined to figure out exactly what was going on with Luke.
---
“Um, 536?” You tap your pen against your lip before sighing and falling back on your bed.
Wrong. You can almost imagine Jerry saying as the index card having been floating in the air in front of you slowly drops to the bed and out of the corner of your eyes, you can barely read the number 579 scribbled down in just barely legible chicken scratch.
“It’s your fault.” You grumble, shoving a pillow in your face until you hear the sound of a whiteboard pen squeaking against a little whiteboard, your newest gift to Jerry. You smile to yourself before taking a glance, only to see the word ‘how’ scribbled on it. “Well, I could barely read it!” You defend yourself but you know the excuse was weak, you were just priding Jerry this morning on how better his writing has been since the two of you had been talking. The whiteboard slaps against your arm gently as you let out a small laugh, rubbing the spot before continuing to lay down. “Let’s take a break for a bit.” You tell Jerry and immediately see the cards you’ve been using to study for the last hour tossed onto your desk and your pillows next to you shift a bit, letting you know Jerry was laying down next to you.
Luke didn’t think hard about offering to help you when he popped into your room earlier and saw you studying for your math test the next day. Your brows were scrunched and your pen had bite marks from how hard you were chewing in concentration. It was one of those moments where Luke wished he had a phone to take a picture. It was also followed by a quick smile when he flicked your lamp on a few times to get your attention. That’s what led him here, laying on his side on your bed and staring at the side of your face as he hugs your pillow tightly. You were looking up at the ceiling instead of him, but in your defense, last time you both laid on your bed like this, you tried looking at him and both of you found it too weird. You would focus on something behind him and Luke would have to scooch down in his position just so his eyes would meet yours. This, staring at the ceiling, was more preferable.
“So, how was your day?” You ask Jerry, knowing you were just with him this morning.
Luke chuckles to himself before grabbing the whiteboard and scribbling down a quick ‘good :) how was yours?’.
You sigh and shrug. “It was fine.” You say but Luke knows you well enough to know there was more to the story.
‘Still not a lot from Kendall?’ He scribbles, having to write your old friend’s name more than once as he sees you struggle to understand what he wrote. When you do understand you let out a dry chuckle before shaking your head. Luke feels awful for you, he’s seen you try and text her over the last few weeks, but you never said anything about her responding more than a text or two every once in a while. Mentally slapping himself, he wants to cheer up a little. ‘How about your new friends?’
Reading Jerry’s new question, you don’t hold back the smile on your face, something Luke loves to see. “They are amazing.” You tell him, hugging a pillow close to your chest. “I loved my old friends, but Flynn, Julie, and her band just make me feel-” you cut yourself off, unsure what you’re going to say but knowing nothing you could say could make Jerry fully understand how much you love them.
Luke can’t help himself as he scribbles a quick, “And your crush?” He knows he shouldn’t ask, especially since he is more than certain you were talking about him, despite you never actually saying his name during the talks.
Your eyes tight and look away for a moment, not wanting Jerry to see the no doubt embarrassed look on your face thinking about Luke. “Yeah, he’s pretty good too.” You finally say before looking back up at the ceiling, unaware of the beaming smile and small blush creeping up Luke’s cheeks. You’re quiet for a moment before laughing to yourself. “And there’s you.” You roll your eyes at yourself and Luke finds himself completely red in just a few moments at the prospect of what you are going to say. “You know you’re my best friend, right?” You’ve said it to Julie and Flynn on your first girls’ day a few weeks ago, but you weren’t sure if you ever told Jerry.
Not seeing Jerry pick up the whiteboard, your heart quickens. “Obviously, you don’t have to say that back, especially since I know you have other best friends, like the ones you died with- I just wanted to say that, you know, b-because you’re like my best fri- best ghost friend-”
You were rambling and Luke wasn’t a genius but he didn’t need to be one to know that you would probably keep going unless he stopped you. You keep talking as he quickly scribbles on the whiteboard, holding it in front of your face in order for you to see it.
“You’re one of my bestest friends.”
Your whole body relaxes into the bed as you read his words and you can’t help yourself as you whisper, “That’s not a really word, but I’ll take it.”
Luke rolls his eyes and uses the pillow he’s leaning on to gently hit your face. He rolls off the bed to the sound of your loud laughs, accidently hitting the desk chair next to him.
“Grab the cards while you’re up.” You point to the pile and groan as you sit up ready to start another round of studying with Jerry.
---
Luke arrives back in the studio later that night. His goofy smile at spending the afternoon with you was barely hidden before he hears his name called, his friends all gathered around the piano without him. He doesn’t think anything about it at first as he jumps on over, tossing his arms around Alex and Reggie once he’s there. “What’s going on?” He asks, unable to stop his smile from making another appearance.
The rest of the band stays quiet, looking about each other before Alex clears his throat. “Why don’t you tell us?”
Luke’s smile slowly leaves as he furrows his brows. “Is something… wrong?” He looks to Reggie but the boy can’t make eye contact, then he looks to Julie, who’s eyes are wide and also locked onto the piano in front of her. “Julie?”
She finally looks up at him and takes a shaky breath. “We just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Okay?” Luke’s arms fall from his best friends as he takes a step back. “Is this an interrogation or something?” He jokes, hoping his friends will stop acting weird.
“What is going on with you?” Reggie speaks, keeping his head low and playing with his fingers. “These last few months, I mean, it’s like you’re not even here, and when you are, it’s like you’re not even yourself.” He finally meets Luke’s eyes. “You’ve missed rehearsals, dude. Rehearsals. You didn’t even miss those when we were still kicking!”
As his stomach twists with worry, he shrugs. “So?”
It was Alex’s turn. “You’ve been keeping secrets from us, bailing when we have plans, a-and writing love songs?” He pulls out Luke’s song book that Luke didn’t even know he left laying about.
“You went through my songbook?”
Alex shakes his head, hoping his best friend would know he’d violate that rule. “I didn’t! You just- you left it open on the table the other day and this song was on top of the pile and it’s a love song.” Alex hands the book back to Luke who takes it quickly, tucking the page back into the book. Alex rocks on his heels, unsure what the three of them should say next to Luke, possibly an apology, but Alex can’t help himself but ask, “Sunflowers?”
Luke closes his eyes tight, wishing he hadn’t left his book on the table so carelessly when he went to visit you the other night before you went to sleep. He was about to defend himself before he sees Julie’s head snap to Alex’s.
“Wait, what did you say?” She asks and for a moment, Luke gets worried. She wouldn’t make the connection between sunflowers and you… would she?
Alex furrows his brows. “Sunflowers? It’s the name of his song.” He looks from the girl to Luke before taking a step forward. “Which by the way rocks, and if it wasn’t totally a secret love song, I’d totally suggest we preform it.”
Luke only nods his head gently at Alex’s words as he focuses on Julie, whose eyes were darting back and forth in front of her before finally settling on Luke.
“Is this about Y/N?”
“What?!” Alex and Reggie gasp at the same time, their jaws practically hitting the floor at the question.
Julie doesn’t acknowledge their shock as she puts together the pieces of Luke’s mystery. “This all started when she moved here, when she moved into your house!” She was starting to get excited, her voice rising as she claps her hands together. “When she moved into your house, with a ghost in it!” At that last realization, her stomach falls and she meets Luke’s eyes, brown, depressed, and boring into her own. “Oh, Luke,” her voice was soft now, “please tell me you didn’t.”
Luke remains silent.
“You’re Jerry?” Luke doesn’t know what else to say as he grips his book tight, seeing the page titled ‘Sunflowers’ sticking out, a small flower scribbled on the top, crumpled corner.
He can barely nod before his friends watch him disappear.
---
The next day after your math test leads to you skipping the rest of the day, opting for a walk along the beach instead. One thing about moving to LA is definitely the ocean air to cheer you up. You’ve been wandering for almost a half an hour, wiping under your eyes and trying your best not to sniffle.
You considered heading back to your house and enjoying the time without your dad home or even heading back to school for the final classes, but before you could make your decision, you see Luke, sitting on the edge of the boardwalk and kicking his legs out in the air with a frown on his face.
Seeing him here made you feel a little better, even if it was just for a moment. Hyping up your courage, you make your way over to him and take a seat next to him. “Hey, you.”
Luke looks up instinctively when he hears someone talk but he almost goes straight back to his previous position before he sees you staring directly at him as you sit down. He didn’t even realize he was visible at the moment; he was too far focused on his thoughts. “Hey,” he says finally, scooching over so you had more room next to him. The two of you are quiet for a moment before Luke turns and looks at you, his already sad expression becomes worse. “Are you crying?”
You let out a huff, forcing a smile to your face and quickly wipe your cheeks. “No, I was just uh,” You don’t know how you were going to finish the sentence as you meet Luke’s eyes. “It’s stupid.” You tell him but he offers you his ear to listen. “I just failed my math test.” You shrug, watching your feet as you kick out in front of you.
Luke feels awful. He knew last night how worried you were about this exam and a large part of him regrets distracting you as much as he had, especially when he convinced you to take music break and sing to all your favorite songs, which accidentally lasted an hour long since you wanted to play some songs and bands that Luke knew as well.
“Sorry that happened.” He says and you can’t help but smile at him, feeling a little better.
“It’s okay.” You whisper. “There’s always another test.” You lean back on your hands and look at Luke, watching his smile grow a little when he meets your gaze. “What about you? You alright? Kinda look like you’ve been crying too.”
Luke has to laugh at that. He hasn’t been crying, or at least that’s what he has told himself, but since he left Julie’s place and all of his friends last night, he’s been bouncing between places to be alone, wondering what on earth he was going to do about this whole situation. “I’m okay.” He lies and your eyes narrow, knowing he’s not saying the truth.
“You know, I’m really good at keeping secrets.” Luke’s shoulders relax as he leans back on his hands too. One corner of his lips quirks up when his shoulder brushes with yours.
No matter how many times Luke and you have talked since that first night you stayed at Julie’s, there was always a moment, that first moment after talking to you so long as Jerry where he touches you and it feels like he has come alive again. Where he’s just him, and you’re just you, and he can touch you, he can feel you, and he loves it. You and him, it’s just feels natural, no matter who he is in your life.
Luke sighs, pleading with himself to look away from you, but he couldn’t do it. “What would you do if you found out someone was lying to you?”
His question causes you to inhale sharply. Your next laugh comes out short. “Um, I guess it depends on who it is, you know?” You weren’t really sure what Luke was asking.
“What if it was your best friend?” Luke plays with fingers, unsure himself where he was going with his questions.
You’re quiet a bit too long for his liking, but in truth, you’ve been worried about the prospect of Jerry lying to you for far too long. You’d like to think at this point you knew Jerry, but of course, since you’re unable to actually see him or talk to him, you’ve never truly known if it was the truth. Before you could answer, Luke shakes his head. “Sorry,” he begins, “You don’t have to answer that. “
Luke wasn’t sure if he wanted the truth or not. He knows what he’s doing as Jerry and yet, stopping those visits with you was so far from what he wanted to do, he just wasn’t sure if he could tell you… everything.
“Happy talk?” You ask Luke and he is quick to nod and the two of you shift in your seats to look at each other, glad to move on from the sad talks. “So, tell me about Sweden.”
Suddenly this happy talk wasn’t as easy as Luke thought it would be. “Sweden? You, uh, you don’t really wanna know about Sweden, right?”
“Come on!” You nudge his leg with yours, keeping your leg pressed against his when you were done. “I wanna know about where you’re from.”
Luke takes a deep breath and tries to figure out how to get out of this situation. “Well, I didn’t live there long.” He lies and immediately his stomach starts to turn. “It’s um, it’s very big.”
You wait for him to say more but he just nods his head and you raise your brows. “It’s big?” Luke nods. “Okay, um, is that all?”
Luke was beginning to think that he should’ve learned more about Sweden when Julie told everyone they were from Sweden, especially since you were bound to have asked him about it at some point, he knew you well enough that he should’ve assumed that. Instead, he could only sit there and say, “yep.”
Luke was being weird, he’s been like this before when you’ve mentioned Sweden, so figuring he’s just homesick or something, you drop the question. “Dogs or cats?”
Luke’s brow arch and he stares at you through his lashes, as if your simple question was a trick and he was supposed to figure the right answer. “What?”
You smirk, leaning forward and inadvertently getting closer to him. “Dogs or cats, it’s an easy question.
Luke leans forward as well, his eyes narrowing and he’s quiet for a moment before quickly saying, “Dogs.”
“Really?” you ask him, a little surprised by his response. Luke chuckles softly at your expression.
“Yes, really, why? What’s yours?”
“Both.”
“Both?”
“Yup.”
“I didn’t know we could say both! I thought that was against the rules.”
You click your tongue. “I make the rules, so I say both.”
“Fine, I say both too.”
“Fine with me.” It was clear, after a single conversation were neither felt upset or like you were lying, that your spirits had lifted. Just like the first night you had met Luke, the conversation only flowed from there. You talked about anything and everything you could think of. Luke had to admit that he heard quite a few of the stories for the second time since some were stories you told Jerry, but he didn’t care. He’d listen to the stories a thousand times if it meant he could see you smile and laugh your way through them.
As the sky started to darken, the two of you realized just how long you’ve been captivated by the other. Luke was certain his friends were going to be looking for him eventually as it’s been almost a whole day since he left the studio. 
“I should probably get home.” You told him, rubbing your arms as the ocean causes the air to prickle your skin. Luke nods and stands up, stretching his limbs out and reaching down to offer you a hand getting up. You happily take it, slipping your hand into Luke’s and neither of you let go when you were on your feet.
Perfectly timed with your stretching, your phone goes off and you look to see your dad’s contact on the screen along with an angry text about why you skipped school today. “Oooh, someone’s in trouble.” Luke teases you as he bumps his shoulder against yours. You chuckle at his actions before reading.
“He wants me to clean out the attic as punishment.” You sigh, shoving your phone back into your pocket.
Luke’s face scrunches. “The attic? Who does he think you are, Cinderella?”
You laugh again and shrug. “When we were moving, I didn’t feel like going through all of the boxes, so I may have shoved quite a bit of boxes up there so my dad didn’t see them. Unfortunately, that lasted about a week, but I don’t know why he’s making me clean it now, he must need something in there.”
Luke nods, looking down at your entwined hands before smiling softly. “Walk you home?” He offers. The smile on your face was all Luke needed to know you’d say yes.
Your house was barely a half an hour walk from the beach and to be honest, you’ve barely remembered the walk, only keeping Luke’s hand in yours and talking the whole time. You didn’t realize you were in front of your house until Luke stops walking, squeezing your hand tight.
“Good luck with the attic.” He tells you and you roll your eyes. “I’d offer to help but-”
“But you know I wouldn’t let you?” Luke nods at your comment before you both laugh, accidentally coming close together. Your chest was almost pressing against his as your gazes meet one another and you stay in your close bubble for just a moment longer before you clear your throat and take a step back, slowly dropping Luke’s hand at the same time. “Goodnight.” You whisper to him and Luke can’t say anything or do anything except nod. His cheeks were no doubt pink and he hoped the sky was dark enough so you wouldn’t see it. You smile at him, coursing a smile of his own to appear because how could he not smile at you. It was you.
He watches you disappear through your front door before he jumps and spins with excitement. God, it really was one thing to be able to talk to you instead of just writing things down, but when you touched him, it was like electricity. It felt like the stamps from the Hollywood Ghost Club except there was no pain. There was happiness, and warmth, and what Luke was beginning to believe can only be described as love.
---
The attic wasn’t as clean as you had remembered it being. A few of the boxes you had shoved up there had toppled over, sending a few things flying out of the boxes themselves and a layer of dust covered almost the entire room. You sent your dad a text, asking if he needed something up here or if he wants you to pull all the boxes out. Turns out you were right and he just wanted a pair of shoes you threw up here. Luckily for you, you knew exactly where they were and within 10 minutes, you were ready to get out of this dusty place. You were just about to leave before a box topples over from you shifting them around to get through. You sigh heavily, thinking about just leaving until next time someone comes up here, but you knew it would be yourself and you couldn’t do that to yourself.
So, you trudged your way back to the box, finding it easily and shoving the belongings back inside. It only took you a minute to realize none of the things in the box were yours or your dads.
They must be the old owners, you think to yourself. You knew there was probably a box or two that was forgotten was the old owners moved out, but you hadn’t seen them before when you were putting boxes up here, but you weren’t really paying attention. You thought against snooping, letting the older couple have their privacy and see if there was a way you could contact them and send them their boxes, but you couldn’t help yourself. Especially not after you see a pamphlet for an old band laying out on the ground.
The band name sounded familiar but you couldn’t remember listening to anything from a ‘Sunset Curve’. Judging by the band name and song names and the date listing the ablum in the mid-90s, it didn’t seem like the sort band a pair of grown adults would listen to. They must have had a kid or someone who was interested in this sort of music.
You almost tossed it aside. You almost shoved it back into the box without another thought to it and kept the box up here in the attic and never thought about it again. That was, until you remembered something a certain someone said to you the night you first met.
My friends and I, we had a band called Sunset Curve.
It must have been a coincidence that Luke’s band before Julie was named Sunset Curve. Maybe they just copied it right from this band, it’s been done before. But something was telling you that wasn’t the case.
You’ve never pulled out your phone faster, thumbs hitting every wrong spot on the screen until you finally pull up the internet and manage to type ‘Sunset Curve’. There were surprisingly quite a few websites that popped up and you click on the first one.
Sunset Curve: A Hollywood Tragedy
You don’t read the article yet. How could you when the picture of Luke, Alex, and Reggie along with a fourth boy were staring you in the face? You tell yourself again that it’s a coincidence, that this is taking about another Sunset Curve, that they used the wrong picture or something, that this band wasn’t a Hollywood tragedy in the 90s because your friends were barely older than 18, that this is all one big misunderstanding.
And then you read the article.
They died 26 years ago. They died 26 years ago when they were 17 years old. They died 26 years ago, when they were 17 years old, after eating hotdogs and getting food poisoning. They died 26 years ago, when they were 17 years old, after eating hotdogs and getting food poisoning together as friends.
You’ve heard this story before. You’ve cried over this story before. At first, all you thought you had to deal with was Luke, Reggie, and Alex being dead, being ghosts.
Julie and the Phantoms. That’s starting to make sense to you right about now.
Then the other pieces start to slowly slip together. Each passing second only leads you to one almost undeniable fact.
Either Luke, Reggie, or Alex is Jerry.
And you had a pretty good guess which one it was.
.
.
.
.
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