#i have no idea what reggie's plan to meet julie is | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bex2313 · 1 year

Note

can you please make your cold call drabble a fic?? I need it in my life.

Wow, I never thought that would become as popular as it has? I can't commit to making it a whole fic, but I did write a continuation. Exclusively in text messages. Will I write more? Maybe. It depends on how frustrating the end of the semester gets. But for now, here's another little piece of this story. (And if you want this to make sense, here's part 1)

Tuesday 1:22 pm PST

310-555-4639

Hi Luke, this is Julie Molina!

773-555-4357

doesn’t seem like you had time for more than a quick look at your calendar. sure you’re ready to make plans? 😉

Julie:

Lol yep! I’m free every day next week.

Just let me know what works for you!

Luke:

how about monday night?

instead of coffee we could get ice cream?

Julie:

That sounds perfect! I love ice cream!

Plus there’s a fantastic old-timey ice cream shop near my apartment

Luke:

cool. meet there around 7?

Julie:

Can we say 7:30? Traffic.

Luke:

definitely. 7:30. send me the address?

Julie:

You got it. I can’t wait!!

Wednesday 9:17 am PST

Luke:

so jules

i was thinking about our plans

Julie:

Yeah?

You’re not changing your mind, right?

Luke:

no way!!!

not what i was thinking

actually the opposite

Julie:

The opposite of?

Luke:

opposite of canceling

can i steal 2 nights of your week?

Julie:

Depends. What for?

Luke:

so you can meet the guys

maybe that’s dumb

but they’re my people

i want to meet flynn too

and carlos

and anyone else

since you and i are already friends, our friends should be friends

or something

idk alex worded it better

maybe this is a bad idea

nevermind

Julie:

No, I love it!

I’ve been dying to meet the guys, anyway

So, does this mean they’re getting ice cream with us?

Or is ice cream just us and we’re doing something else with them?

Luke:

how about ice cream just us, then we get drinks as a group another night?

willie’s bartending on wednesday at some underground club in los feliz called jumeluf.

it’s a dumb name but the band is supposed to be excellent

according to willie

Julie:

My brother’s mentioned that place. I’m in!

Luke:

cool i’ll see you then

well, after i see you before

i’ll see you mobfay

**mondst

**MOONDAY

ugh you know what i mean

Julie:

lol yeah I do. I’ll see you Monday!

Thursday 7:52 pm PST

Luke:

so there’s something i didn’t consider

about any outings without lila

i won’t have a car in la

because mine’s in chicago

Julie:

Oh, I didn’t think about that

Do you want me to pick you up? I don’t mind!

You’ll just need to give me your hotel info

Luke:

nah i can borrow reggie’s car

but he said he has to meet you first

because he’s an idiot

is that okay?

Julie:

Sure! I don’t care!

So drinks on Monday? Or ice cream with everyone?

Luke:

drinks monday if that’s cool

flynn can come too

for safety or whatever

although i promise me and the guys are cool

but bobby says his sister would never meet a group of guys without a friend

especially not in a bar

for safety

but also i want to meet her

i can’t remember if she was coming anyway

Julie:

Yeah, I asked her but she was busy on Wednesday.

She’s free Monday, though!

That sounds great!

Will Willie be working?

Luke:

yup!

he’s working mon-thurs at jumeluf, this weird artsy bar

then fri-sat he’s teaching painting with a twist classes

so the only way i’ll get to meet him is if we go to his work

since i’m working during the day while he’s not

tho we did facetime once with alex

Julie:

Cool! Yeah, I wanted to meet him too, so that’s perfect!

And Flynn has just agreed with Bobby’s sister

“No woman with half a brain meets a group of strange guys in a bar they’ve never been to without their best friend sitting two tables away drinking water, carrying binoculars, and armed with pepper spray and/or a knife.”

She will have both, by the way.

A small knife, but a knife.

Luke:

should i be worried for our safety??

Julie:

Definitely not!

Flynn’s protective, but not unnecessarily violent

She won’t hurt you if you’re not a threat

And I’m trusting you not to be

You don’t seem like the type

Luke:

cool

so long as we’re all still alive and not in the er by the end of the night

Julie:

Perf! It’ll be great!

Friday 8:33 pm PST

Luke:

what’s the weather like in la right now

it’s so cold here i’ve forgotten how to dress for warmer temps

Julie:

Oh, it’s a little chilly. Mid 60s mostly this week

I’ve been wearing cardigans over my dresses for a while

Not that I can think of a men’s clothing equivalent to that outfit

But that’s been my solution.

What did the boys say?

Luke:

they rolled their eyes and then ignored me

Julie:

Well, what do you normally wear in LA at this time of year?

I’m sure that would be fine.

Luke:

Luke sent a photo

Julie:

Not sure your boss will want you working in a cutoff band tee

That *is* you middle-left, correct?

Luke:

yup! how’d you know?

Julie:

Lucky guess, mostly. It was the vibe

Plus I saw the blond guy at Eats N Beats, so I assume he’s Alex

Process of elimination from there.

You’ve talked about how in love with his fancy red bass Reggie is

And there’s something in Bobby’s face…

He doesn’t look quite as obsessed with music as you

Still like a nice guy, but not crazed enough to be you

Luke:

ouch

i’m not crazed

but also you are completely right

alex would be laughing at me right now

saying if even the girl i talk to once a month knows, there’s something wrong with me.

Julie:

I guess it’s good they’re ignoring you

But Flynn and I are about to walk into the theater

Talk to you later!

Saturday 10:26 am PST

Luke:

Luke sent a photo

Julie:

You got snow!!!! I’m so jealous!!!

I’ve never seen snow in person before!

Luke:

no way!! snow was such a common part of my childhood

i’ve got so many fun snow day memories

one year, we got out of school for three whole days for snow

reggie stayed with us for a couple days and we built snowmen and a fort and drank cocoa

mom made us matching scarves.

bright red, so we would stand out in the snow

Julie:

Awww, that’s so sweet!

Do you still have it?

And will you build a snowman this morning?

Julie sent a gif

Luke:

lol i’ve never seen frozen, but i’m definitely more anna than elsa

and no, i don’t have time for a snowman today

i’ve gotta take mom’s car to the shop and then pick up some groceries

confirm that mrs. callahan is still coming tuesday morning

run to the pharmacy to refill mom’s prescriptions

and pack for la

but man would i love to build a snowman instead

Julie:

I guess you don’t have time for a snow angel either

Too bad!

I’ve always wanted to make a snow angel

Luke:

snow angels take way less time

i’ll try to fit one in

Julie:

Whether you get a snow angel in or not, make sure you get the essentials done

And then get some rest!

Can’t have you too tired to hang out when you get to town!

Luke:

never

i’ll get everything done and sleep on the plane if i have to

i’m too excited to meet you

Julie:

😊

Same

Saturday 4:32 pm PST

Luke:

Luke sent a photo

Julie:

You did it!!! So fun!!!

I hope you get some good rest now!

And maybe drink some hot cocoa?

Luke:

i went with coffee, actually

but yeah, more fun than I remember

and now i’m resting-ish

Julie:

Ish?

Luke:

i’m resting. and also doing something else

Julie:

Is that something relaxing and restful?

Luke:

i’m working on a song

Julie:

So no.

Luke!

Get your thoughts down and then put the notebook away and watch a movie or something

Luke:

i hear you. but also

i want it to be done so the boys and i can try it out

Julie:

I’m sure they’ll help you write it if you let them!

Just think about it!

Travel is the opposite of restful

So rest while you can!

Luke:

i’ll try

Julie:

That’s all I ask!

Sunday 6:37 am PST

Julie:

Julie sent a photo

I know you’re probably not awake yet, but the sunrise was beautiful this morning

I had to share it with someone, and Flynn is sick of my sunrise obsession

Sunday 8:21 am PST

Luke:

dude that’s stunning

i love that

good morning!

in 12ish hours i’ll be on a plane to la

Julie:

You’re coming in today?

I thought you’ll arrive tomorrow

Luke:

we’re getting in just after midnight.

lila’s big on night travel, apparently

Julie:

Oooh

I never travel at night

You’ll have to let me know how it goes!

Luke:

you got it, boss!

Sunday 7:15 pm PST

Luke:

headed to the airport! be in la in about five hours

773-555-4468:

Thanks for the text. Be safe, Luke!

773-555-4865:

yaass cant wait to see you

i call dibs on picking you up at the airport

773-555-4468:

We’re all picking him up at the airport

619-555-2583:

Actually I cant make it

Dad called a family meeting

In SD

But Ill be back in the morning

Luke:

technically none of you are picking me up at the airport.

lila hired a car service to take us to the hotel

but you can get me from the hotel

Julie:

Have a safe trip, Luke! Can’t wait to see you!

773-555-4865:

…

hi random stranger

773-555-4468:

Reggie! Don’t be rude!

That’s Julie, right? Are you Julie?

Julie:

lol yep, that’s me!

Reggie:

julie are you a serial killer

Luke:

REG

no jules isn’t a serial killer

be chill!

773-555-4468:

Sorry about him. Reggie’s got a good heart. He’s just… Reggie

You’ll understand when you meet him.

I’m Alex

Julie:

No worries hahaha! My best friend would probably react the same way

But more intense, actually

And no, I’m not a serial killer

Reggie:

alex im wounded

dont make me come in there and fight you

619-555-2583:

Noooooooo wait to fight him till I come home

Ive got money on Reg winning but I have to have video proof

Alex:

You bet Reggie would beat me in a fight?!?

Guess he’s not the only one I’ll be fighting this week, Robert

Bobby:

If it makes you feel better Willies got complete confidence in you

Alex:

…

It does, actually. Thank you.

Luke:

we’re boarding in ten minutes

but apparently i have to do work now

so i’m turning off my phone

talk to you later

and please stop blowing up julie’s phone

Reggie:

oh right sorry julie

see you tomorrow

Julie:

No worries!! I’m excited to meet you all!

Monday, 12:32 am PST

Luke:

just got in to lax

we’re at baggage claim and then we’ll head to the hotel

address is 5249 W Century Blvd

its the la quinta

Alex:

Thanks! We’re headed that way now!

Julie:

Glad you made it safe!

Monday, 1:17 am PST

Reggie:

Reggie sent a photo

evidence that I *did* in fact pick up luke at the airport

except we were at the hotel already

but you know what i mean

Bobby:

Duuuudeee some of us are trying to sleep

Reggie:

thats what do not disturb is for

Alex:

I hate to say it, but he’s kind of right.

But also, why are we texting pictures to people who all saw the thing in person??

Reggie:

julie didnt

Bobby:

*cough cough*

Reggie:

neither did bobby

Bobby:

Thanks

Reggie:

Reggie sent a photo

Monday, 1:44 am PST

Reggie:

Reggie sent a photo

Monday, 2:01 am PST

Reggie:

Reggie sent a photo

Monday, 6:13 am PST

Julie:

Looks like you guys had a fun night!

I hope you all got some sleep!

I’m expecting four wide-awake musicians at a bar tonight!

#juke #julie and the phantoms #julie molina #luke patterson #text fic

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1mnobodywhoareyou · 6 months

Note

I’m curious about the football au

- lou-writes-things

Thank you! :D

Ok! This is one I'm excited about but will probably be slow to write for... reasons. It's American (or Canadian, it probably won't much matter) football. College or pro, probably also doesn't matter. I'll be making things up but they're all going to be adults.

I actually wrote out the whole opening for it yesterday morning and realized that it may wind up being a separate one shot if I can't tie it into the main story how I'd like... (I'll put a snippet of it below the cut).

But first, my hopes/dreams/plans...

So, I read another football AU a while back (and loved it) where Julie was the daughter of their coach but I really, REALLY wanted her to be able to be like on the boys' level or higher in football knowledge and expertise but it was taking me forever to figure out how to make that work with ages and everything (original idea was to have her as a coach of some sort). AND THEN I remembered an old Archie comic wherein Betty joins the high school team as a kicker. And now we're here. So that's how Luke and the boys formally meet Julie - as an "interloping girl" on their team and she's INCREDIBLE and carries her own and bada bing bada boom Juke (and everyone else).

Now for sneak peak:

The next time he sees her, he stops short, causing Reggie and Alex to stumble over him.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Alex exclaims.

“I didn’t know we were sharing field time with the girls,” Luke says once he regains his composure.

“We’re not? It’s training camp. Just us.” Reggie reminds him.

“Then why…?” Luke trails off and Alex and Reggie follow his gaze to see what his issue is.

“Ooooooh, is that gym girl?” Reggie asks with a teasing lilt to his voice.

Luke nods and continues moving. “Yeah. But I don’t understand why she’d be here.”

#wip ask game #jatp

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legolasghosty · 2 years

Note

Hey bestie, have a book 📓 tell me your fic ideas 👀

- @michelangelindraws

Hiiiii!!!!

Okay, for you, some cute Willex + Juke + Fake Dating...

So the big rule of fake dating is generally that the two people end up together for real, yeah? Well, I like breaking rules, so I present to you: fake dating where they end up with each other's best friends instead of each other.

I think in this case, Julie and Alex are classmates or something. Maybe have a project together? So they know each other pretty well, but haven't really been around the other's friends. Alex's parents suck of course, and he somehow ends up needing to bring his girlfriend to some family thing. Unfortunately, Alex doesn't have a girlfriend, nor is he interested in one. He'd much rather hang out with the cute guy who works at the coffee shop down the street from his house. The one he never has the guts to talk to.

Julie is still kinda grief stuck and her family is getting pretty worried about it. Like, she hasn't talked to anyone outside of her two best friends and her family in the last year and a half unless she really has to. So when she mentions at dinner one night that she has plans to go over to Alex's house to work on a project... well, her family gets pretty excited.

So when they're working, Alex says something about his situation and Julie says something about hers and... they end up agreeing to fake date for a bit, mostly just to get their respective families off their backs.

But of course, the best friends all have to be consulted. So Alex goes to a movie night to meet Julie's best friends, Flynn and Willie(who is very cute and apparently the barista Alex has been sort of crushing on for a while....). And, after a lot of deliberation and a promise from Alex that he'll get her out if the music hurts too much, Julie goes to a band practice to meet Reggie, Bobby, and Luke(okay, look, it's not a big deal, Flynn. He's just good looking, it doesn't matter... No, what he said has absolutely nothing to do with me playing Wake Up yesterday....).

Chaos ensues. Alex's family is absolutely in love with Julie... until she makes some slightly pointed comments about her ex-girlfriend and being bi or something. She and Alex make some waves and it ends up being the most fun he's ever had at a family event.

Alex ends up going to dinner and meeting Julie's dad and brother as well. I think it probably ends up coming out that they don't actually like each other, and that Alex is gay. But Ray and Carlos are really chill about it, and mostly just glad that Julie made a new friend, so it all ends up being okay.

And like... If Luke talks Julie into helping him out with a new song and Willie invites Alex to this cool art exhibit at their school.... well, all's well that ends well, right?

Yeah, I have no clue how that would actually play out... but it seems like it would be kinda fun. Anyways, I'm gonna stop talking too much now, lol! Hope you enjoyed. Love you!

#julie and the phantoms #julie molina #alex mercer #julie and luke #luke patterson #willie jatp #willex #reggie peters #flynn taylor #bobby shaw #legolas ask #legolas tag #fake dating #jatp fanfic

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jatp-spinsb · 2 years

Note

WIP ask, number 12, how many tropes. What genre is that and how many tropes have you got? What is your fav trope?

Ah, yes, "how many tropes can I fit in one fic." If there was ever a fic where I had no idea where it was going, it would be this one.

Alive!AU where they all go to high school together. Many tropes were planned. Enemies to lovers (Juke). OT3 (Peterpatterlina). And there was only one bed. Found family (this one is my favorite!).

Here's a little taste of Julie meeting Reggie:

"Julie realizes that she kinda-almost recognizes him. "Oh! You're... Peter, right?"

His smile doesn't even dim. "Close! Peters is my last name. I'm Reggie!""

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #jatp fic #my post #my writing #wip ask game

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all-for-geek · 9 months

Text

Unfinished Business - Love, Family, and Possession Chapter 4: Crooked Teeth

Chapter 3

Chapter 5

Fandom: Julie and the Phantoms

Word Count: 3,510

TW: depictions of anxiety, an abusive nonromantic relationship (Willie and Caleb), and manipulation

Summary: As Willie begins his plan to rescue Nick, Julie is getting psyched out by her meeting with Andi Parker later that day. Meanwhile, Reggie introduces Luke and Alex to Alice. Can she be trusted?

One of the songs I used for this chapter is actually a fan-made song based off of the in-universe Sunset Curve/Trevor Wilson song by HwaYoun. Link to it

Willie read the address over and over. He had to make sure that he could recite it without a thought. Poofing somewhere you had never seen was hard enough, and he doubted that Caleb would let them leave without a fight.

Caleb’s power painfully pulsed through him at the thought of his upcoming betrayal. He briefly reconsidered the plan. Maybe this was a bad idea. If you could keep your head down and behave, Caleb was a forgiving person. He could play it safe and maybe-

Another jolt shocked Willie to his senses. This would never go away, not completely. Not as long as Caleb still owned his soul. He ripped up the address and threw it in a nearby dumpster before poofing back to Nick’s house.

Nick bolted up when he arrived. Willie couldn’t help the look of pity on his face. The lifer had been doing the bare minimum to keep himself alive, and it was starting to take a toll on him. The bad news that Willie had wouldn’t help.

“Are we ready?” Nick asked. The light in his eyes reignited for the first time in days.

“I’m really sorry, Nick,” Willie admitted, “We’ll have to wait until tonight.”

The light was extinguished once again. “What? Why?”

“Look, Caleb is going to be back any minute,” Willie explained, “If you want a chance of out running him, we’re going to need as big of a headstart as we can get. We’ll do it tonight after he goes back to the club.”

Nick nodded. As if on cue, Caleb poofed in with his usual dramatic flair. His eyes fell on Willie’s hand on Nick’s shoulder.

“Well, it’s nice to see that you two are getting along,” he said with a hollow smile, “Are you ready for the day Nick?”

“Why are you asking like I have a choice?!” Nick asked, throwing his arms up in the air.

Caleb chuckled. “Good. You’re learning.”

He approached and regained control of the boy. Caleb flexed as he readjusted to a living body. He smoothed down Nick’s hair.

“Any problem’s last night William?” Caleb asked.

“No,” Willie answered perhaps too quickly, “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Excellent.” Caleb gave his signature smile. “I’m glad that I was able to trust you with this job. After your recent betrayal…” Caleb trailed off as a mini-jolt caused Willie to twitch. “I’m just glad that we can put the past behind us.”

“Thank you, sir,” Willie said, his eyes never leaving the floor.

“You're welcome.” Caleb made his way to the front door before turning to Willie one last time. “I would hate to drag this out longer than it has to. I never enjoy having to be the bad guy.”

Willie exhaled once the door was shut. This was a horrible idea. How did the kid convince him to do this? Alex’s face popped into Willie’s mind. He steeled himself and went over the address again. He just prayed that this worked.

Julie and Flynn coasted through the halls of Los Feliz High School. Thankfully, the mania from a couple of days ago had settled down. The occasional student would approach Julie in the hallway, but at least now she wasn’t being bombarded.

Julie had finished explaining last night’s dinner. While Julie was trying to remain calm, Flynn made no such attempt. She had been bouncing off the lockers since Julie mentioned Destiny Management.

“Dude! They are huge! You know they’re meeting to give you a record deal,” Flynn stated.

“Maybe, but it can’t be that easy,” Julie pointed out, “We’ve barely been a band for a month. Companies like destiny don’t just hand out deals to up-and-comers.”

“They do if the band has a super-awesome-talent lead singer.” Flynn rebutted, causing Julie to laugh. “Besides, you managed to play at the Orpheum in that time.”

Before Julie retorted, Flynn grabbed her arm and dragged her into the left-hand hallway. For a moment, Julie was confused, they’re first class was the other way, until she turned around to see Carrie laughing with her back-up dancers.

Julie hadn’t spoken to Carrie since her invitation a couple days ago. It was weird how fast Carrie had gone from hating Julie’s guts to being all buddy buddy again. Julie wanted Carrie’s about face to be genuine. As much as Flynn rolled her eyes when Julie brought it up, Julie did miss their friendship. But she wasn’t going to let go of the year of bullying that easily. Especially when Carrie is conveniently nice once Julie starts getting popular.

“Thanks,” Julie mentioned before continuing their conversation, “We got the Orpheum because the guys did some ghost stuff to make it happen. This is different. We’ll know after tonight.”

“What’s happening tonight?” Caleb appeared by Julie’s side out of nowhere. It had shocked Julie, but Flynn was undeterred.

“Julie and the Phantoms have a meeting with a record exec from Destiny Management tonight,” Flynn announced.

“Really?” Caleb turned his gaze onto Julie. “That’s a pretty big deal.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Julie replied, visibly more nervous.

Caleb could have spotted his opportunity from a mile away. “Hey, you got this. With your band backing you up, I’m sure it will go great.”

“Um, actually they can’t be there. They’re still across the world and wouldn’t be able to make it in time,” Julie lied. Of course, the boys were going to be there. They wouldn’t miss this for the world, but no one else was going to know that.

“Oh,” Caleb’s face dropped perfectly, “You think the company is going to take well to them not showing up?”

Julie’s face paled. It was something that she had even considered. “I mean…I’m sure they will. It’s pretty common knowledge that they aren’t local.”

“Still,” Caleb rebutted, drinking in the girl’s increasing anxiety, “To not even appear over video chat…” Caleb paused long enough for Julie to spiral further before changing tactics. “But I’m sure you will do great! An impeccably talented girl like you has what it takes to go far. Good luck Julie.”

Caleb turned and walked away. He tried to hide his smirk as he heard Julie’s anxiety filled worries behind him. Sometimes, this was just too easy.

“Flynn I'm going to get laughed out of that room,” Julie ranted. “They’re gonna not see the boys and they’re gonna be insulted that the whole band wasn’t there and we’ll be blacklisted and then the band will break up again and-”

“Hey, Julie, look at me,” Flynn gently grabbed Julie’s shoulders, “Breath in…and out.” Julie did as Flynn instructed. “It’s going to be okay, girl. Destiny knew that it was only going to be you when the meeting was set up. If it was gonna be a problem, we would already know. And you are going to kill that meeting!”

Julie closed her eyes while internalizing everything Flynn was saying. “Thanks, Flynn.”

“Anything for my bestie. Now come on, it’s time to be bored to death.”

The two laughed as they continued to class.

Luke, Alex, and Reggie hadn’t been to the Orange Grove in decades. The park had always been a haven for the many struggling artists in LA. Musicians, painters, sculptors, and even a few filmmakers could always be found sharing art and giving feedback. The three and Bobby had played there even before they became Sunset Curve. After they decided to go legit, they moved over to the pier so they could try making money. As they grew, they had less and less time to return to the Grove, but it always held a fond place in their hearts.

The three were thrilled that the place had barely changed. Artists of varying types were still sprawled over, some working independently and others huddled under the trees discussing their works. All that had really changed was the updated technology and the occasional dance move that the boys didn’t recognize.

It took them a while to find her amongst all the people. Perched atop a low hanging branch was Reggie’s mystery girl: Alice. She had traded out her spray cans for a traditional artbook but the clothes and swagger hadn’t changed. Like when Reggie had first seen her, she was busy listening to her walkman, muttering the words:

I can't remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride

But something touched me deep inside

The day the music died

“Um…Alice?” Reggie gave a small wave in her direction.

Alice looked up to see the same puppy-faced boy from the beach. She rested her headphones around her neck and quickly shoved her artbook into the inside pocket of her jacket before poofing down from the tree.

“Hey! Reggie, right?” Reggie quickly nodded, earning him a stifled laugh from Alex. “These your bandmates?”

“Yeah. Hey, I’m Luke,” Luke said, raising his hand. Alex did likewise when introducing himself.

“So, what brings all of you to my humble stomping grounds?”

“We were-” Alex started.

“We just wanted to come and meet you,” Luke interrupted. Alex was a very direct person. Luke knew that Alex was about to blurt out their suspicions, and he wanted to give Reggie a chance with this girl. So far, she seemed cool. “We haven’t gotten the chance to meet many other ghosts, so we thought we’d tag along.”

“Questions about the afterlife I’m assuming?” Alice asked. By the look on her face, this was a common occurrence.

“Well, actually-” Alex perked up before being interrupted again, this time by Reggie.

“Nope, no questions. Just kinda vibing with the afterlife.” He paused before asking Alice, “Did I use that right?”

Alice ignored him and focused on Alex. “They speak over you often?”

Alex was taken aback. “I wouldn’t say often…”

“You gotta speak for yourself, man,” Alice told him. “Come on. What’s on your mind?”

Alex stood there for a moment, flustered both from the attention and from the question he was about to ask. “Well, I was just wondering, you haven’t seen a ghost named Willie have you?”

Reggie immediately felt bad. He thought that Alex was going to ask Alice about Caleb point blank.

Alice stared off as she thought. “I don’t think so. I could ask around though.”

“Nah. It’s fine. Just figured I’d ask.” Alex quickly brushed it off, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment from his friends.

“So,” Alice continued, “You’re a band right? You guys any good?”

“Good? Dude, we were great!” Luke corrected. “We were top billing at the Orpheum before, well…” He gestured to the three ghosts.

Alice nodded. “That must have been rough. At least you still get to play. Reggie mentioned that your band is still active.”

The three boys stared at each other, mentally discussing what to do. They had agreed to not mention Julie, but they were getting dangerously close to a point where they couldn’t do that without lying. Luckily, they were saved when Alice changed the subject.

“You guys got a demo or something? I could always use new music.”

Reggie’s face lit up. “We can do you one better.” Reggie’s bass poofed into his hands. “You’re own personal Sunset Curve concert!”

Alex and Luke’s instruments poofed into their hands as well. Whether it was for a crowd of thousands or a crowd of one, they never passed up a chance to perform.

While the boys decided what song to sing, Alice looked on curiously. She could have sworn that Reggie had told her a different band name yesterday, and there was clearly something that they were trying to hide. For now, she was going to let it slide. Everyone had their secrets. Besides, they seemed like sweet boys.

Luke turned to Alice with a giant grin plastered over his face. “Alright, we’re ready!”

“I would like the record to show that I was against this song, but I was out voted,” Reggie piped in.

“Come on, man, it’s the one about you.” Luke gently punched Reggie on the shoulder with a wink. Reggie rolled his eyes, but his goofy smile betrayed him.

As the music roared, the three fell into an all familiar rhythm. They hadn’t played just the three of them since that day on the beach right after they discovered they were ghosts, but no one would have been able to tell.

Crooked teeth behind a sideways smile

Can’t disguise those feelings, I know

Tell your friends that your confident

And you play it cool for the show

It wasn’t until the beginning of the chorus that they felt something missing. Normally, Bobby’s would have riffed them into it, but the silence caused them to hiccup in the song for a split second. It was another painful reminder of the friend that they had lost.

Alice bobbed her head to music. She couldn’t deny that they were good. The song felt vaguely familiar, but she could quite put her finger on it.

To Alice’s surprise, she wasn’t the only one who found the song familiar. The lifers around them began to bop to music as well. At first, Alice wrote it off as a coincidence. If Reggie was telling the truth, they shouldn’t have been around long enough to interact with the living. Even if it was just music, it would take most ghosts years to have their presence felt beyond a slight chill in the air or moving furniture. She got her confirmation when a few began to sing along:

Crooked teeth and your rockstar hair

And your classic style and sideways smile

Cover the scars and run from the demons

But I still see where they are

The boys were relishing in their impromptu concert. Even if the lifers could only hear their music and knew the song for all the wrong reasons, it was still a thrill for them to recognize their music. That connection that could only be gotten through the power of song. The every thrill that caused them to create a band in the first place.

As Reggie’s riff completed the song, an echo of cheers and applause rang through the little corner of the grove. The boys took a moment to bask in it before turning to Alice. She was clapping as well.

“You weren’t kidding about being great,” she said.

“I told ya,” Luke said cockilly.

“Hey if you’re ever looking for an audience,” Alice offered, “I help run a hangout spot for ghosts. We do open-mic nights on occasion. You should come check it out.”

The ghosts froze and stared between each other. The chilling, familiar invitation sent them all spiraling into worse case scenarios. Surely, she wasn’t talking about the Hollywood Ghost Club. Even Alex, who often took pride in getting to prove himself right, desperately clung to the hope that she meant something else. It’s why he was the one to speak up.

“What…uh…what’s the name of this hangout?”

“Oh, there’s not really a name for it,” Alice replied, causing all three to relax, “We just pick a run-down building every decade or so and call it home.”

“Oh, phew. I was starting to get a little worried that you worked for Caleb,” Reggie blurted out. Luke smacked his hand over Reggie’s mouth a second too late.

Alice chuckled with no sense of comedy behind it. “I take it you’ve already been introduced to the Ghost Club, then.” The boys nodded. “Look, a little word of advice: don’t trust a word that that snake says. I’ve seen too many good people fall under his charm and lose everything because of it.”

“Oh, believe us. We know,” Luke said.

“Good.” Alice’s smile didn’t fully reach the coldness in her eyes. “The hangout right now is at the Roxie if you ever wanna stop by.” Alice poofed away.

Julie and Ray Molina stepped into the building of Destiny Management with their mouths agape. The lobby was covered with memorabilia of all the greats and most of them were signed. Nearly every name had multiple chart topping hits and platinums under their belt. Their music played softly through the speakers. It was like a mini Music Hall of Fame.

“Woah,” said the ghosts standing behind them. Julie did her best to ignore the three, but she agreed wholeheartedly.

The receptionist gave them a bright, fake smile. “Welcome! Do you have an appointment today?”

“Yeah, I…” Julie tried to answer, but found her words drying up. Despite Flynn's encouragement, Julie hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what “Nick” said earlier, and the intimidating decor was sending her over the edge.

“We have a meeting with Andi Parker at 3:30,” Ray answered. He gave Julie’s shoulder a light squeeze. “Should be under the name Molina.”

The receptionist’s fingers clicked away on the computer. When she found what she was looking for, she handed them two red lanyards that read “Visiting”.

“Ms. Parker’s office is in suite 504 on the 5th floor,” she responded. “The elevator is just down the hall to the left.”

“Thank you,” Ray answered as he guided Julie down the hall.

“You got this, Mariposa,” he whispered as they entered the elevator.

“Yeah, Julie, you got this,” Luke added, placing his hand on her other shoulder. Julie smiled as a familiar warmth flowed through her body. She stilled her shaking hand and walked out of the elevator.

An assistant waited outside of suite 504. After confirming the meeting once again, they shuffled into the office. The Molinas heard whispers on the other side of the door. It took the boys all of their willpower to not poof into the room. They would discover what was being said soon enough.

The assistant stepped back out and held the door for them as they entered. Andi Parker was sitting behind a dark wood desk covered in paperwork and the occasional gift from a grateful client. She smiled warmly and beckoned the Molinas to sit in the cushioned chairs in front of them.

“Julie, it’s great to see you again,” Ms. Parker greeted, “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Julie responded meekly.

“I’m sure that you are curious as to why that is, so I will cut to the chase.” Ms. Parker straightened her suit jacket before leaning in. “Destiny Management is attempting a new kind of talent drive. A musical competition between promising acts chosen by our talent agents and execs. The winner of the competition will be given the chance to sign with Destiny. I wish to formally invite Julie and the Phantoms to join.”

The boys were cheering behind Julie, and it took all of her willpower not to join them. She put that energy into nodding her head vigorously. “Yes! We would love to.”

“I’m glad to hear it. The first round of the competition is this Friday evening. Each group will perform one original song that they wrote.”

Julie’s face paled. Today was Wednesday. That only gave them a day to prepare. Andi gave a comforting smile. “I know it might seem last minute, but it’s not the worst turnaround that your band has had to do. You had a full set prepared for your show at the Orpheum the same day. Congratulations on that by the way.”

“Thank you,” was all Julie could manage to get out. She shook the record exec’s hand and followed her dad back down to the elevator.

The butterflies in Julie’s stomach exploded into fireworks. The boys excitedly poofed away chatting and discussing what song they should perform at the audition. Julie couldn’t wait until she got back to the studio to join them.

“Oh hey Julie!” A voice called out as Julie stepped off the elevator. A familiar voice that Julie had been avoiding for the past couple days. Carrie Wilson was walking past the reception desk right towards her.

“Hey Carrie,” Julie replied through gritted teeth.

“Well, well, well, what brings you to Destiny Management?” Carrie didn’t wait for a response. “Wait, let me guess: you’re in the competition aren’t you?”

Something sank in Julie’s stomach. “How’d you guess?”

“Oh come on, don’t sell yourself short. We may be competing, but even I’m not surprised you got invited.”

“You’re in the talent drive too?”

“Of course! Dirty Candi had a spot reserved weeks ago.” Carrie’s bubbly demeanor faded slightly as she started choking on her words. “You know, this competition is going to be tough. Destiny Management is only choosing the best of the best. If you rethought my offer-”

“It’s not happenin’ Carrie,” Julie interrupted. Julie suppressed the lump growing in her throat. The Carrie she was talking to was so close yet so far from the one that she called a friend.

Carrie’s face slipped before her cheerful mask was put back in place. “Suite yourself. It was good seeing you Mr. Molina.” Ray gave a curt nod. He hadn’t forgotten what Carrie had done to his precious girl, but he wasn’t about to make a scene with a child in public.

“Good luck, Julie. May the best band win.”

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #jatp season 2 #julie monlina #luke patterson #alex mercer #flynn taylor #willex #caleb covington #possessed nick #my works #love family and possession #unfinised business

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daintyduck99 · 11 months

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For the Fic Asks: 14, 18, 22, 23 :D

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

I think one more try (to feel alive) could be a really cute comic/art piece, since it's just a (mostly) fluffy little story where Reggie meets ghost!Julie in the studio and they play the piano together. Honestly, I would pay someone to make that a reality.

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

This one from I Don't Want You Like A Best Friend came to mind:

She wants the thorny version of Carrie that most people see and the rosier one that they don’t; she wants to live in Carrie’s blouse pockets, a front-row seat to her heart.

22. Do you know how your fic will end before you start writing?

If it's a complex idea--yes! I have to have at least a vague outline for those kinds of stories, and I can't start them until it's planned. But if I'm just writing a spontaneous little slice of life scene--often not. Usually, I see where the scene takes me.

23. How do you choose where to end a chapter?

My writing rarely gets long enough to separate into chapters, but when it does, the chapters tend to be...very long scenes? That amount to 15k or so in total, so I'd rather break them up than post a one-shot that long. So I guess I just write and then break up any long sections that feel finished/sort of self-contained, if that makes sense.

#fanfic asks #about ash's fics #thanks for asking! ❤️

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heliads · 2 years

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Ello! Sorry to bother but are you planning on doing a part 2 of The Ex Friend Luke Patterson x reader? The story plot is so good and feels good to continue

Luke Patterson isn’t used to any part of life as a ghost, let alone trying to figure out the drama between Julie and Carrie’s friends. However, he has a feeling that there’s more to Y/N L/N, Julie’s old friend, than meets the eye.

hi! omg i was JUST thinking about luke patterson, your timing is excellent

part one / masterlist / part three

Luke has never been more excited to go to a gig in his life. He’s been to his fair share of them, too- as a band just starting out, Sunset Curve attended high school band contests and jazz club open shows, watched guys performing in subway stations and stared at taped recordings of classic tours. Anything to learn something that might help them get ahead.

This time, though, Luke isn’t turning up to the jazz club down the street to help him get through yet another impossibly closed door, but to learn more about a girl he met a few days ago, Y/N L/N. A girl that, by some twist of fate, can see him even though he’s a ghost.

Luke doesn’t even know what to think. He’s excited, sure, and he’s talked over the whole thing with Reggie, Alex, and literally anyone within hearing distance just to get his thoughts in order. Is this a musician thing? A ghost thing? Could Y/N be interested in Luke for Luke, or because he’s her link to making things better with Julie?

Needless to say, he’s been stuck in his head for a while now. Luke’s mind feels like one key pressed down on the old electric keyboard that’s probably still tucked away in the back of the studio somewhere, playing the same whole note over and over again. His thoughts are looped around her name, never seeming to deviate for longer than a second.

It’s time to go now. Even though Luke can technically poof into the center of the club without a second thought, he takes the time to walk in through the doors and mingle with the crowd, almost as if he’s a normal person. If Luke is going to let himself pretend that he’s just a boy stuck tripping over a girl a ways out of his league, he can pretend he’s not a ghost, too. Anything to make this feel right.

Luke looks up at the stage area expectantly. A microphone stands by itself, and a faint light is directed towards it as if everything in this room, people and equipment alike, hover in place just waiting for Y/N to begin.

A matter of minutes later, she does. Y/N steps out amidst a wave of applause, and even though the club is packed full of people, her eyes seem to find Luke almost instantly. When she smiles, her entire face lights up and he is hooked on the sight.

Then she’s moving towards the microphone, and when their gazes are no longer locked Luke finds he can breathe a little easier, like his heart has finally been coaxed out of his throat. Y/N grabs a guitar from a stand, and after addressing the crowd, begins to sing.

If Luke thought he was lost on her before, he’s practically done for now. Luke has long argued that music is one of the best kinds of art, that even if he’s not a master painter or has his work hung up in a museum, he can still make people feel things.

Y/N is the best example of this that he’s ever seen. It’s not just the fact that her voice is superb (which it is) or that her guitar seems to sing with the voice of the angels (which it does), the thing that captivates Luke most of all is the words.

Luke can tell immediately that she’s singing from the heart, which is so hard to do in front of a crowd of strangers that he finds himself leaning forward as if drawn to her confidence alone. This is a girl who has held loss and love in the palm of her hand, cared for both, and watched them leave her equally in tatters. This is a girl that Luke could love, and he realizes that he might just manage it.

Luke has no idea how long Y/N’s gig lasts. It could have been ten minutes, it could have been ten hours. All he knows is standing there, listening to her sing. This is why he wants to dedicate his life to music, he thinks, so he can live in a moment like this forever.

He finds her afterward, stepping outside the back door of the club to get a breath of fresh air. At first, Luke rushes towards her, head still spinning with everything he wants to say, but they clog up in his throat and he finds he can’t manage a single word. It wouldn’t be as good as what he just saw, anyway, nothing could be as light or as pure.

Instead, he opens and closes his mouth before trying again. “You were really good out there.”

Yeah, not quite on the same level as those lyrics. Well, he tried.

To his credit, Y/N smiles anyway. “Thanks for coming. I was glad to see you.”

“I was glad to be here. I mean, I knew you could sing, but wow.”

Y/N raises an eyebrow. “Wow?”

Luke rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

Y/N grins again. “Maybe I like seeing you try and defend yourself.”

Luke signs theatrically. “Maybe I like being seen in general. How is it that the only other live person who can actually see me just uses their ability to make fun of me?”

Y/N laughs. “I’m not the only one. Julie can see you, can’t she?”

There’s a faint unhappiness in her eyes when she says Julie’s name, one that leaves Luke stumbling. “You really don’t see Julie that often, huh?”

Y/N sighs. “I wish I could. She’s a good person, and I miss hearing her play. I’m glad that you’ve been able to convince her to take up music again.”

Luke nods slowly. “We’ve got another show coming up soon, you know. Maybe you could come visit me this time.”

Y/N’s smile is electrifying. “I’d love to come. I’ll see you soon, then.”

Someone from the jazz club calls Y/N to come help pack up the show, and after a few final goodbyes, she disappears back into the club. Luke is left watching her go, wondering how long he’s going to be stuck on her and why he doesn’t seem to mind it, not at all.

He especially doesn’t mind it when Y/N shows up to their next show. Even though she was able to talk to Julie for a while, the second she saw Luke after their performance her eyes lit up and she hurried over to him to talk about how much she enjoyed their show. It makes him feel good to think that she might have been watching him perform with the same level of thrill that Luke has with her.

Thus starts a chain of trade-offs, of switching out shows and audiences and always meeting up to talk afterwards. Luke grows used to searching for Y/N in the crowds, and racing backstage after her performances to talk for as long as he can before people start wondering why Y/N seems as if she’s talking to an empty room.

It’s good, honestly, probably better than he deserves. This is his second shot, after all, but instead of focusing on how to find out his unfinished business Luke really just wants to spend more time with Y/N, messing around to write new songs and talking about everything that has ever crossed their minds.

Once, he asked how it was possible that she could see him, why the only other person able to see ghosts is Julie, who only found out about them after her mother died. Although Y/N and Luke have never had trouble sharing secrets, Y/N grows oddly silent at this, and quickly changes the subject. Luke doesn’t bring it up again, but he can’t help but wonder what she’s keeping to herself.

It’s not like he doesn’t trust her. In the time he’s gotten to know Y/N, Luke can easily say that she’s a good person. Sometimes secrets are meant to be kept to yourself, especially if they’re of hurtful memories, and that’s alright. Luke is just happy to have her around.

They’re sitting on the roof one day when Luke realizes that he knows this for certain. They finished one of Julie and the Phantoms’ performances about half an hour ago, but Luke and Y/N are still up here, talking. Some guy left a ladder up to the jazz club roof leaning against a wall and, well, the views were too good to let an opportunity like that pass them by.

Sitting up here, the moonlight making rivers of light bend and flow around the two of them, Luke doesn’t think he ever wants to leave this moment.

The words come out of his mouth before he can pull them back. “I really like you, you know.”

Y/N smiles, by now used to his random exclamations. “I really like you too.”

Luke sighs, shakes his head. “No, not like that. As more than a friend. I like you so much that sometimes I don’t even know what to do with myself.”

Y/N’s eyes are bright now, not for moonlight but the happiness stirring behind them. “I thought you were never going to say it. Took you long enough.”

Luke gapes at her. “You’re not- you-”

Y/N rolls her eyes, but the gesture doesn’t feel sarcastic. “Yeah, I like you too. Don’t overthink it.”

Luke grins. “Don’t overthink it? I’m going to overthink it even harder now.”

He screws up his face like he’s having a migraine, and Y/N leans back, laughing. The strange thing is that she reaches over by habit, and when her hand connects with his, he feels it. He feels it even though he’s a ghost and she’s not, and Luke doesn’t know how Y/N manages to keep surprising him but he’s not sure that he minds it like this.

The sight still exists before him, proving that it’s not a dream: their hands, gently touching. Luke stares at Y/N in shock. “How is that possible? Have you always been able to do that?”

Y/N shakes her head slowly. “I knew I could see ghosts, but I didn’t know about that. I never got the chance to check.”

She hesitates a moment longer before continuing. “I never told you about how I could see ghosts because it isn’t the greatest memory. Someone from my family died, but they left behind a ton of trouble for the rest of us. Part of their unfinished business was getting the rest of us to forgive them. I could see them to help out with that, but I never checked on the touch thing because I never really wanted to see if it would work. I was furious with them.”

Y/N looks away, and at last Luke gets it. No wonder she didn’t want to talk about her past- it obviously hurt her.

He still can’t bear to see the pained look on her face, though, so he squeezes her hand, just to prove that he can. “All the same, I’m glad it works.”

A quiet smile returns to Y/N’s face. “So am I. It means I get to do this.”

Before Luke can ask what she’s talking about, Y/N leans over and kisses him. He kisses her back almost immediately, of course, but when they finally break away the first thing he says is:

“I meant to do that first.”

Y/N laughs. “Maybe you should have done it, then. Don’t blame me for hurrying things along.”

Luke spreads his hands. “I was trying, but I didn’t realize that I could actually touch you until about five seconds ago.”

Y/N’s laughing at him, but Luke manages to put a stop to it by kissing her again. He thinks that he might be content to stay here forever, on the rooftop with the moonlight weaving them both together. In fact, he intends on remaining here at least a little longer, just because he can.

jatp tag list: @rogueanschel, @lxncelot, @caswinchester2000, @lovesanimals0000

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invisibleraven · 10 months

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5 for Peterpatterlina?

Julie walks around the borders of the dance, taking it all in; the flash of every colourful dress, the shine of shoes and hair gel in the overly bright fluorescents of the gym. The band playing overtime as the song reaches a fever pitch.

Honestly she had wanted to be out on the dance floor, letting the music take her, but Nick isn't a dancer, and after one too many times of him stepping on her feet she had begged off. It's not like she can dance with anyone else, not with the Sharks watching her like hawks.

Maybe when they go talk with the Jets about this stupid rumble they're planning she can go sneak in a few dances. Enjoy herself for once without all the stupid rules that restrict her thanks to some stupid turf war.

Then a slow song comes on, and she evades Nick's hopeful eyes, escapes to behind the bleachers and lets herself dance with an invisible partner. Much better company.

Only then a hand slips into hers, and she startles, opening her eyes to see two smiles directed at her. She doesn't know either of these boys, meaning they're most likely Jets. But they're awful cute in their own ways. One with slicked back black hair and a crooked grin that makes her stomach flutter. The other with artfully distress brown hair and eyes that spell mischief.

"Seems a shame for you to be dancing here on your own darlin'," the black haired one said.

"Figured we'd offer our services," the other adds in. "I'm Luke, this is Reggie."

"Julie," she says, giving a shy little curtsey. "And I shouldn't-my cousin he'll-well he wouldn't like it."

"Because of who we are?" Reggie asks, taking her hand and giving her a twirl.

"Or because there's two of us?" Luke questions, catching her in his strong arms.

Julie giggles. "Both." But she lets them dance with her, back and forth until she's just swaying between them, a boy to her front and back as the music slows and dies.

"Julie!"

Shit, that's Flynn, and while Julie knows her friend is understanding, she'd never let Julie live this down. Would ask her what about Nick. Nice, boring, Bernardo approved Nick.

"I have to go," she apologizes.

"Can we see you again?" Reggie asks, kissing her knuckles.

"Maybe take you out?" Luke adds, hopeful.

Every bit of Julie wants to say yes, but she can hear Flynn calling her name even louder, and she can't risk getting found hiding with two Jet boys, so she shakes her head with apology and dashes off. Thinking that this one memory is all she'll have of them.

Only they find her house, somehow. Climb the trellis to see her once more, perched on her roof and whisper how much fun they had. How much they want to see her again. And Julie can't deny she wants the same. They make plans to meet in the city the next day, take in a museum uptown where no one will know them.

And they do.

It's bliss to walk hand in hand in hand with them, and though a few people do double takes at the three of them, most everyone goes on about their day. Luke and Reggie are happy to walk her through each exhibit, one of them always having something to say about a piece, but happy enough to let Julie wax poetic about the ones she likes.

They share their first kisses in an empty room full of stained glass, reflections and refractions of rainbow staining them. Bringing out the green in Reggie's eyes and the pink of his blush. Mimicking the multi-faceted nature of Luke's eyes, unable to settle, just like the man himself.

From there they check out a concert in the park one day, take out a rowboat the next. Always in a part of town far from the Sharks and Jets, away from the prejudice and silly fighting based on some asinine ideas over who owns the small strip of land they both reside in.

"The rumble is tomorrow," Reggie said quietly as they picnic under the shade of a tree.

"Please tell me you're not really going," Julie begs.

"We have to boss. If only to let cooler heads prevail, maybe find a way to end this," Luke replies. "So the three of us can stop sneaking around."

Julie worries her bottom lip, clutching their hands in hers. She's hated all the sneaking around they have to do. The lies to her friends and family about where she disappears to. Weeks and weeks of falsehoods and lies so she can have her bit of paradise, her slice of happily ever after.

She wonders if the truth come out would the fighting stop, or would it just make it worse. "I just wish there was a place for us. A chance that we could be together, happily with no worries about gangs or hatred, or anything," she finally whispered.

"Us too," Reggie whines, pulling her close, pulling Luke in too. They clutch and cling to one another, as if this will be their last moment together.

"Maybe... maybe we just run away," Luke proposes. "No matter which way the rumble goes. We can go find our place out in the world. The three of us."

"No more hiding?" Reggie asks.

"No more hiding," Julie repeats with a nod.

They make plans, and finally part with fevered kisses and promises to see one another on the other side. Julie packs her bag, and writes a note. She hates to leave her family, but she can't live like this any longer. This stifled partitioned existence that makes the two people she loves most in the world a secret to the rest of it.

She waits at the bus stop, clinging to her valise, even as the big clock at the station clicks past midnight. Prays and thumbs at her rosary that her boys are safe.

Luke appears first, a small bag slung over his back. His lip is swollen and there's a bruise forming at his jaw. A small trickle of blood escapes his nose, and his knuckles look pretty worse for the wear. But he's there, swinging her around, then pulling her into a kiss, assuring her that Reggie is coming.

Reggie appears almost an hour later, and Julie gasps when she seems him. His eye is black and shut tight, he's limping, and covered in small cuts and scratches. Even worse is that Luke mutters a curse, saying most of that isn't from the rumble. Reggie has a suitcase and a blinding smile as he rushes too them, promising he's okay.

"Ready to go find our place?" he asks.

"Always," Luke replies.

Julie takes one small glance back at the town. The place she grew up, that nurtured her, that helped her find her voice, and she bids it a bittersweet farewell. Maybe one day the three of them will come back here. Find it changed or not, for better or worse.

But then Julie turns and sees her future, the two hands held out to her, and she smiles, taking them and letting her boys escort her to the world. And from then on, she never looks back.

#filled prompts #ficlet #rukebox #peterpatterlina #julie and the phantoms

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jmrothwell · 8 months

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⭐

Hey there!! Thanks for the ask!! ^_^

Since a fic wasn't specified I am gonna go nostalgic and talk about Slices of Summer

Gives me a chance to reread this early bit of writing I did.

So to start with, as I just said this was one of the earliest bits of writing I did. I didn’t have an AO3 account. I was still partially in denial about how much fanfiction writing I was going to do. Which quickly changed as I wrote 17 parts of this, quickly surpassing the record of the most I had written for any project ever up until that point. (the previous record was something like 14,000(guesstimate and probably overestimating) for an original piece of fiction I doubt I will ever finish).

What had happened was I found a summer prompt list with like 20 prompts for summer, and I decided as like a personal treat/challenge during some time off work I would see how many of them I could get through. I went in with very little plan, and no idea how connected I’d make each prompt.

When I say little plan I mean, I skimmed the list saw sunburn, and was like well, that’ gotta be Reggie. But how does Reggie get sunburned?? Because I still wanted to include Julie. . .so I went and found a few that made sense as sort of precursors, and Just started writing.

I knew I wanted sunburn to be Reggie’s POV, and I was at the time fairly comfortable writing Alex POV. Then my brain got weird and was like well we gotta include Julie and Luke POV’s as well even though I feel I am weakest with those. Especially Luke POV’s.

Which is part of why Luke ended up with the only “unprompted” portions of the series. Because they were bits of story and conversation I felt needed to happen but didn’t really fit well with any of the provided prompts and well, in the line up and divvying things up it worked out that in my attempt to keep the POV’s relatively even Luke ended up with those.

I do provide a lot of additional commentary in the author’s notes on AO3 if I remember correctly.

I did say in one of them that I had never written a kiss before, which upon rereading some older older stuff I’d written is not entirely true. I have written at least one kiss before but it literally amounted to: “and he kissed her”

Now here’s where things are gonna get really lengthy. Because I am like 90% sure I am never going to return to finish this fic. So here is a list of the remaining prompts, and wha(if anything) I had planned.

17- Stargazing-Reggie POV: The guys can’t immediately find Luke after Carrie’s visit. Eventually when they do find him, turns out he went to Trevor’s and was extremely close to confronting him but opted not to.

18- House Party - ?? POV: The Wilson House Party. Awkward as hell, the girl’s try to give Carrie a chance, Carrie has no idea how to act, Trevor is acting extremely weird. The boys are worse than Carrie in the “how do we act normal” department. Other guests gossip.

??) Vacation/Trip - No Plan

??) Beach Umbrella - No Plan

??) Beach Towel - No Plan

??) At a public pool - No Plan

FInale - Barbecue - The Molina family have a barbecue, this is either where the guy’s meet Ray and Victoria or where Ray and Victoria learn they are ghosts.

#ask game #thanks for the ask!#Slices of Summer

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pink-flame · 2 years

Note

weeknds are made for fluffy juke drabbles i think! gonna go with 28 from the soft-ish list! (“Look, it’s not my fault we got distracted.” “No? Then whose is it?”)💜

Weekends are made for fluffy juke drabbles, you're so right. 💜

"Look, it's not my fault we got distracted."

Julie surveyed the damage incredulously, the stepladder toppled on its side, the crumpled tarp flung several feet from where it should be protecting the floor and a toppled paint can, its contents now a pool of dusty pink.

By the time her gaze made it to Luke he had somehow managed to get the paint not only splattered across his face and torso but into his hair, giving him a partial pink halo as paint dripped from the flipped up edges.

"No?" She asked, throwing her hands up in complete bafflement at how they had ended up in this disastrous situation. "Then whose is it?"

She didn't wait for an answer before kneeling and doing her best to try to sop up the worst of the paint though it seemed to be a losing battle.

They had decided as a band a few weeks ago that it was time they gave the studio a bit of a makeover, now that the boys were no longer ghosts and were staying for the long haul it felt safe to make plans, to set down roots. The garage had once been decorated to suit the tastes of Sunset Curve, their banner, and a Nirvana poster, and probably a lot of mess and clutter they hadn't bothered to tell her about. It had also of course been decorated to reflect her mom's vision, the warm lamps, and the throw pillows, the assortment of plants and the chairs hanging from the ceiling (though that had been partially child Julie's idea).

All of those memories meant a lot to them, even if all of them would always be tinged with different kinds of grief, but the studio didn't belong to Sunset Curve or to Julie's mom any more.

It belonged to Julie and her former phantoms.

It was time to create something new together.

So they had meticulously chosen the colors together, deciding on the relatively subtle shade of pink (suggested by Alex of course) as a base with Reggie agreeing to paint their new logo over top. Julie had been so excited she hadn't wanted to wait to get started even though both Alex and Reggie had plans (she was still getting used to them having plans since being alive was kind of a requirement) so she had convinced Luke to help her anyway.

A decision she was starting to slightly regret.

"Well," Luke said, kneeling next to her and passing her another paper towel which instantly soaked through uselessly. "You were holding the ladder..."

"Um hm," Julie agreed distractedly, reaching for an old rag to see if it would fare any better.

"And I was up there painting," He continued.

"Right," She said, sighing as she noticed that her hand was now entirely pink.

"And then I looked down at you and you were looking so focused...and then you asked me what I was looking at and then I said you and winked...and you let go of the ladder and..." He waved his hand at the mess surrounding them.

"I know," Julie rolled her eyes and attacked the remnants of the paint with renewed effort. "So your fault."

"Nah, you're not listening," Luke insisted. "It's yours for being so cute."

Julie gave up on her task and looked up to meet her boyfriend's eyes, her expression a mixture of exasperation and affection.

"Wow," She said flatly. "My apologies."

Luke just grinned, reaching out with one hand to leave a swipe of paint on the tip of her nose.

"Apology accepted."

Julie retaliated with a swipe across his cheek while he lunged to grab the rag she had abandoned and toss it in her direction. Before long they were engaged in a full on paint battle, the two shouting and laughing as they grew more and more covered in pink. Finally Luke caught Julie around the waist just as she was moving towards his abandoned paintbrush with the intention of tossing it at him. She gave up on that plan though as she acknowledged how good it felt to be in his arms, even messy as they were, the sensation still novel and treasured.

"Truce?" He asked, his chin coming up to hook over her shoulder, probably getting paint in her hair despite the fact that it was pulled back, something that would be an absolute nightmare to deal with later.

She didn't care at all.

"Truce." She agreed, leaning back against him more firmly.

They stayed like that for a long moment, just because they could.

Finally Julie glanced down at the floor and the now mostly dry pink paint that remained there.

"Not exactly the look we were going for," She observed wryly.

"Reggie will paint something over it," Luke assured her, turning his head so he could press a kiss to her cheek.

He pulled back almost immediately, his face when she turned to see it scrunched up in disgust.

"I got paint in my mouth," He explained with a shudder. "Sometimes being able to taste again sucks."

Julie laughed and shook her head, reaching out to take his hand and pull him towards the garage doors.

"Come on, let's go get cleaned up and then you can explain to Alex what happened to his paint."

"No fair," Luke protested teasingly as he let himself be led toward the house. "When it wasn't even my fault..."

#answered asks #ask game #juke #jatp

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fanficimagery · 3 years

Text

They’re So Not Holograms.

Imagine being expelled from school so your uncle Ray offers to take you in and offers you a chance to start over. You accept and you're in for one heck of a story when you realize you're not the only occupant of the Molina garage.

Words: 10K Warnings: This is my first work for JatP, so I apologize in advance for the OOCness of them all. I had no idea what was going to make the final edit, so yeah.. this is not my best work. Be warned that there's mention of an incident that involves a straight guy not taking no for an answer from a lesbian girl. I won't go into detail of that particular scene since it happened before Y/N shows up on the Molina's front doorstep, but it is mentioned which is why I'm warning you now.

Staring up at the large two story home you usually visit every summer and every spring break, you can't help but sigh and wish you were visiting rather than moving in. You love your uncle and your cousins, but you were forced to leave a lot behind in order for your parents to keep their jobs and their mostly in-tact reputations after your little incident.

The front door opens, the shortest and youngest of the bunch jogging straight for you. You drop your duffel bag and prep yourself for Carlos throwing his weight at you, and you catch him with a laugh as you spin from the momentum. "Carlos! Dang, little man, you're growing fast." Julie walks up soon after, shaking her head in amusement at the two of you as you settle her little brother back on the ground and then ruffle his hair. He swats at your hand before you give Julie your attention then. "Hey, superstar. How's it hanging?"

"Hey, Y/N," she muses, "was the drive okay?"

"Eh. I angry karaoke'd all the way here." You shrug. "So where's uncle Ray?"

"Upstairs trying to figure out how to divide Julie's room for the two of you," Carlos says.

Your smile falls and you look at Julie. "What? He's making us share?"

"Yeah. It's totally fine though," she says when she notices your expression.

"No way, Jules! I can't put you out like that. That's not fair."

"It's fine, Y/N. Really."

"Julie, we're both teenage girls. I love you, but you know our hormones will eventually make us clash."

"And on that note, I'm going back inside."

You grin at Carlos' hasty escape, but then quickly refocus on the situation at hand. "God Jules, I'm so sorry. I thought uncle Ray would put me in the spare room or on the living room couch or something."

"Well the spare room was originally the plan," she says, "but then we remembered all of mom's stuff was in there." You cringe, but she assures you it's okay. "And you're going to be here for a while. You are not sleeping on the couch."

You sigh and offer her a faint smile. "I'm sorry to be an even bigger pain in the butt, but I'm not staying in your room either."

"It's either my room or Carlos' room. I suggest you choose wisely, cousin."

"I-"

"Y/N!" Your uncle Ray suddenly appears in the doorway, walking down the sidewalk towards you. "Carlos told me you had gotten in. How are you doing, mija?" He wraps you in a brief hug, kissing your forehead in greeting.

"Hey, uncle Ray. I'm doing good. How are you?"

"I'd be better if I knew where you were gonna sleep." He sighs. "Carlos also told me we have a bedroom dilemma as you refuse to share with Julie."

"I'm really sorry." You frown. "If I were only staying here for a few weeks, I'd be stoked to share with Julie. But it's not a couple of weeks, uncle Ray."

"I know and I'm sorry for trying to shove two teenage girls into one space." You smile sheepishly at him as he seems to understand your reasoning as well. "But the only other space I can think of is the studio garage out back." You seem to perk up a bit, attention solely focused on your uncle that you don't notice Julie's eyes widening. "Julie uses it to practice with her band, but there's a loft that we've recently cleaned out. There's a bathroom in there already, so all I'd need to do is drag a mattress up there. That is if you don't mind all the musical racket."

"Y-yeah. Of course! I don't mind at all." You say, feeling just an ounce of excitement of having your own space.

"What? No," Julie laughs nervously. "I'm sure Y/N doesn't want to live in our garage all on her own. Right?"

"What? Are you kidding me?" You huff. "It'd be like having my own mini apartment, only my favorite cousin in the entire world gets to visit everyday!"

Julie looks like she wants to object some more, which is surprising, but she eventually slumps and shakes her head. "Okay. Just as long as you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure."

"Then I'll go move stuff around. Give me your duffel bag," she holds her hand out for you to pick up your bag and hand it over, "and I'll take it out back. You go inside and help dad bring the mattress out."

"Sounds like a plan." Feeling better about your situation now, you quickly hand your cousin your duffel bag and then follow after your uncle Ray inside their home.

Julie sighs, shaking her head in amusement as she catches the pep in Y/N's step. As soon as the front door is shut, she quickly runs around the house, down the stone steps, and into the studio garage where the boys are chilling. They, however, jump up to their feet upon seeing Julie's hasty entrance.

"Okay so we have a problem."

"What? What is it? Did your not dad not take the ghost secret well?" Reggie asks, whining. "Aw man. I knew we should have waited. Does he hate us now? He hates me. Right?"

Julie's eyes, having widened at Reggie's rapid fire questions, blink owlishly at him. "One, slow down. And two, no I haven't told my dad. I can't seem to find the right time."

"Okay then," Luke drawls. "So what's the problem?"

"My cousin got expelled from her school so my dad offered to let her move in and she's going to be living in the loft. In here. With you guys."

Alex slowly leans atop the piano, clearly intrigued. "Whoa. What'd she do?"

Julie opens her mouth to answer, but then closes it and settles for a shrug. "I'm not sure. Dad wouldn't tell us when we asked. He just said there was an incident and if Y/N didn't move in with us, then her parents would have to relocate and she already had a rocky relationship with them so.." she says, smiling fondly. "She's better suited for our family anyway. She's more like a sister to me than a cousin."

Reggie raises his hand as if he needs to, to ask a simple question. "Is this cousin of yours hot?" Alex is immediate to reach over and smack his friend. "Ow! What?" He wonders as he rubs his arm. "I'm just asking what me and Luke are thinking."

"Hey, bro, do not bring me into this!" Luke quickly defends himself. He then glances at Julie, lips stretching into a small smile. "You gonna tell her about us?"

"I'm going to have to, aren't I? I can't exactly leave her in the dark while you three are lurking about. I don't want her to do something she doesn't want anyone else to see."

Reggie nods, smiling. "Like getting naked."

Alex moves to hit his friend again, but then realizes Reggie is right. If he were in Julie's cousin's shoes, he wouldn't want to strip while three ghosts watched on unknowingly. Instead he sighs and Julie nods in agreement. "Exactly. I'm going to tell her. I just- I'm not sure when. So until I do, you three need to be on your best behavior."

"Jules," Luke feigns being hurt as he clutches at his chest, "it's us you're talking about. When have we ever misbehaved?" Julie huffs, crosses her arms over her chest, and raises an eyebrow at Luke. His façade cracks as he laughs. "Fine. We'll be on our best behavior until you tell her about her roommates."

"Thank you." She rolls her eyes, but before she can say any more Carlos is jogging into the room.

"Okay so Y/N and dad are almost here. Tell your ghostly dude-bros to chillax and not scare her like Reggie did tía Victoria."

Reggie squawks. "You scare an adult one time and he never lets you forget it."

Julie chuckles at her ghostly friend while her brother glances around in hopes of seeing them. Ever since Julie freed them from Caleb Covington's curse and was able to finally touch them, they had the choice of turning visible whenever they felt like it. But for some reason, they were more comfortable as ghosts and only turned solid when they got the desire to eat food.

The garage door suddenly opens wide and Ray walks in, one end of the mattress settled on the back of his neck. Y/N is on the other end, struggling slightly with the mattress in her hands.

"I am not meant for physical activity."

Carlos giggles at his cousin's words, jogging over to help her. But when they get to the steep stairs, both Y/N and Carlos leave it up to Ray to figure out how he's going to get the mattress up into the loft. He does, eventually, and then Ray drags Carlos back towards the house with him to retrieve sheets, pillows, and a blanket.

"Oh my god. She is cute!" Reggie muses.

Alex chuckles, but Luke is caught staring at Y/N with awe etched into his features. Alex nudges Reggie and gestures to their friend, and Julie tries her best to fight off a grin. Oh to be able to tease him right about now on having a crush on Y/N as he did to her with Nick that one time while she was in school.

"Listen," Y/N says as she nears Julie. "I know this was tía Rose's place and I know how much it means to you." Julie smiles sadly as Y/N starts to walk around, eyeing the piano, drums, bass, and guitar appreciatively. The boys make sure to stay out of her way as they watch her every move. "I promise to keep my place nice and tidy, and to not mess with anything down here." She goes to touch the drum set, but thinks better of it and pulls her hand back as she smiles sheepishly.

Alex is quick to point it out. "I like her! She knows boundaries."

"Just say the word and I'll be out of your way when you're here with the band."

"It's no problem. Really," Julie assures you. "I, uh, I already called the boys to let them know. They're excited to meet you."

You pause and meet your cousin's eyes. "Really? I-I mean cool."

Julie's eyes narrow at your reaction and the way you can't seem to meet her eyes. "You think they're cute, don't you?"

You cave with a relieved sigh of her automatically knowing. "So cute." Alex rolls his eyes with an amused smile as Reggie and Luke high five, chuckling at their good fortune. "But boundaries! They are your bandmates and I won't interfere other than offering my friendship. Heck I won't even let it be known that I find them cute."

Julie chuckles, angling her head down as she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "It's a little too late for that."

"Hmm? What did you say?"

Her head snaps up. "Nothing! Nothing," her chuckles now sound a little nervous. "So, uh, is there anything else we need to get from your car?"

"Oh yeah! I have some stuff that needs to come in." As Julie joins her cousin's side, Y/N asks, "Is there any place I can set up my laptop and printer?"

"Of course. Come on. Let's get you set up. I'm sure you're ready to get some sleep."

"So ready," you groan. "I don't have much to unpack, but I want to settle in before I start school on Monday."

As the two girl cousins walk out of the studio, the three ghostly boys watch them leave.

"Oh yeah. She's definitely hot."

"Hey. Come on, dude." Luke softly swats at Reggie. "That's Julie's cousin you're talking about."

"What? I'm just stating facts," Reggie says. "And besides it's you we should be worried about." He steps towards Luke, reaching for his face. "I think I still see a bit of drool. You might wanna wipe that off."

Alex laughs as Luke rolls his eyes. "Whatever. We're ghosts anyway. It's not like anything can happen between us."

"Can't it?" Alex muses, shoving his hands deep into his front pockets. "I mean we can turn solid now. If you want something to happen, it can definitely happen." Reggie smirks as Luke takes a moment to process his friend's words. "And while you think on that, I'm gonna go see what Willie's up to. See you later!"

Alex poofs out of the room, leaving Reggie and Luke. Reggie laughs at his friend's sudden ghostly crisis, stepping closer to him and clasping his shoulder in hand. "Dude, we're ghosts. If something happens, it happens. Just don't get attached." And with that, Reggie poofs out too.

Luke hears Julie and her cousin's laughter ring out, the two girls already coming back. His eyes widen and he poofs out as well. The girl was cute, he will admit that, but he needed to get his head on straight before he became a pining ghost.

You spend the weekend with Julie, surprising her best friend Flynn with your new living situation and then driving them around since neither of them had their driving permit. The girls had kept you busy at the beach and showing you their favorite food places. Sometimes you would catch your cousin mumbling to thin air, but Flynn was quick to distract you and you ended up forgetting Julie's weird behavior minutes later.

Monday morning rolls around and, after taking your time to get ready, you grab your backpack and exit the studio to head inside the house. Uncle Ray has cooked up a breakfast feast, and Julie and Carlos are just coming down the stairs as you're taking a seat at the table.

You smile through a yawn as a plate is placed in front of you. "Whoa. That was a big one," uncle Ray says. "Did you sleep well?"

"Sorry. And yeah," you say. "I love it out there, although it is a bit colder than I expected."

Julie freezes as Carlos snorts. "Sorry about that. It's just our resident ghosts. Ow!"

You frown as he glares at his sister, said sister laughing nervously as she glances between you and Carlos. "Don't listen to him. Ghosts? Pft. What ghosts?"

Ray chuckles as Carlos rolls his eyes, the young boy digging into his eggs and sausage as Julie quickly casts him a brief glare.

You glance between the siblings suspiciously, but don't give it much thought and start in on your own breakfast. "Well if you need a portable heater, we can get you one."

Carlos opens his mouth to retort, but upon seeing his sister's stare he thinks better about it. You fight off a smile, shaking your head at your uncle. "It's fine. I usually kick my blanket off in the middle of the night which is why I get cold when a gust of cool air hits me. I just need to learn not to kick off the blankets. I'll be fine."

"Alright. Well eat up, guys. I need to head into the office as soon as I drop you off."

Carlos nods, but you and Julie frown at him. She looks at you and you look at her, and then you look at your uncle. "Um, uncle Ray, did you forget I drive? I can take Carlos with Julie and I. We were going to pick up Flynn as well."

"Huh. I forgot you drove." You grin up at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. From what I saw, Carlos' school campus is on our way to the high school. It'll be fine."

Uncle Ray seems to sag with relief. "Thanks so much, mija. I can actually head in early today then." Carlos cheers about riding with his cousin instead of being dropped off by his dad. "Well if you're all set, I'll see you guys after school. We'll go out for burgers tonight."

This time it's your turn to cheer. "Yes!"

- - - - - - - - - -

The first day of school went about as expected. Everyone was drawn to you as the new girl and Flynn thrived under the attention, but you mostly kept to yourself unless Julie introduced you to someone. You met Nick and thought he was okay, and then hid your amusement when Flynn would tease Julie about him breaking up with his girlfriend Carrie for her.

Of course not everyone was a fan of your cousin and you met the one person who seemed to dislike her the most. You knew Carrie from previous summers, but she and Julie had a falling out and no one would mention why. Not even Flynn. So figuring it was none of your business, you let it go but ended up staring Carrie down when she tried to intimidate you. Needless to say, the junior had nothing on you and didn't seem keen to start anything with a senior after your feathers didn't ruffle as easily as she thought.

Julie had more homework than you, so while she focused inside the house at the kitchen table, you went to the studio and up into your loft. The second you plop down onto the bed, a cold gust of wind sweeps up your back. You shiver, frowning, but then move on with a shake of your head.

From your backpack you pull out your Algebra II and History textbooks. You immediately start working on history, reading the assigned passages and answering the questions that follow. It takes you half an hour to complete it and before you move on to Math you reach over and grab your laptop from the bedside table. However when you open it up, your laptop automatically comes to life and you're left frowning at the YouTube page it's been left on.

"What the.. this is weird," you mumble. You briefly glance at the top Rock songs from the last decade before exiting out of YouTube and bringing up iTunes, choosing your Math Blows playlist and closing your eyes in brief bliss as Queen starts to play.

But the moment Bohemian Rhapsody ends and Aerosmith's Dude (Looks Like a Lady) begins, you get started on Math. It takes you a little bit longer to complete the assignment than History took you, but by the time you're done Julie has yet to find you. So after putting everything back into your backpack and setting it aside, you roll across your bed and reach into a hard plastic tote that holds some of your belongings. You pull out your drawing tablet and a stack of stickers, and then head on downstairs to the couch.

Drawing caricatures was a hobby of yours and you just so happened to have a friend who would take your edits and turn them into stickers. For now you have about five stickers of each member of your cousin's band- caricature style- and the name of whatever instrument they played curved underneath their faces. Lately you've been working on a sticker that said 'Julie and the Phantoms', but you couldn't get the font or coloring quite right.

You've just settled on coloring Julie's name in a purple that transitions into blue from one end to the other when said girl walks in, sodas in hand. "Finally," she sighs. "I didn't think I'd ever finish that homework. What are you doing?" She then asks as she hands over a Coke.

"I'm just messing around," you tell her as you show her what's on the tablet. "There's a small stack of stickers for you and the boys right there."

Julie glances at the table where you've gestured to and she walks over to pick up the stickers. She sets her soda down and skims through each sticker, a smile blossoming. "Did you- did you make these?"

You shrug. "I drew them, but my friend printed them. As soon as I finish this one I'm working on right now, I'm gonna email it to him so he'll make them into stickers as well."

Your cousin is so in awe that she's not paying you any attention, but you catch her murmuring beneath her breath and nodding along as if she were agreeing with something being said. She eventually looks up, chuckling. "These are sick. The boys are going to love them."

You smile. "I hope so. If you want more, just let me know. They're pretty cheap to make so I don't mind getting them for you guys."

"Can I- can I make a suggestion to the one you're working on now?"

"Oh. Yeah! Of course. What'd you have in mind?"

"Under the band name or wherever you think is good, can you add the words 'tell your friends!'?" She asks. "It's just something silly Reggie says every time the band is introduced."

"Yeah." You glance down at the tablet, trying to figure out the best placement. But then you look up, brow furrowed in thought. "Is this something only Reggie says?"

"Uh yeah. I guess so," she says, shaking her head at something off to her side.

You grin. "I have an idea. Let me try something out and see if you like it. Give me like ten minutes."

Julie sets the stickers back down, picking up her soda and cracking it open. You crack open yours as well, taking a sip before getting down to work. You make the sticker you originally had a little bit smaller, adding in a caricature of a waving Reggie from the waist up peeking out from behind the font. You add a speech bubble, filling it in with the requested 'Tell your friends!'.

When Julie sees it she can't help but laugh. "That's perfect. I'm sure he's gonna be stoked."

"Speaking of, when do I get to meet these hot friends of yours?"

Julie groans and you laugh as you finish coloring and resizing the sticker before sending it off to your friend to print. Closing your tablet, you give her your full attention as she's now sitting next to you on the couch. "Soon," she promises.

"Alright. So what are we doing until your dad gets home? You gonna sing for me, Jules? Give me my own private concert?"

She laughs. "No way. Just watch the Youtube videos. I'm sure Carlos posted every performance."

"Oh he did. And believe me when I say I've watched them. Repeatedly. That guitarist of yours has got some arms that are just- mmm." Julie groans some more, hiding her face in a pillow, and you laugh. "What? I need to get it out of my system before I meet them."

Julie lets the pillow fall into her lap, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth. "All I'm gonna say is don't be surprised if they know what you've said. They kind of have a sixth sense about these things."

"It's all good." You laugh some more.

You go to ask her if she wants to torment her little brother with you, but you see her amusement slowly die and you keep yourself from saying anything. "Hey Y/N, can I ask you something? You totally don't have to answer, but I'm really curious about it."

"Oh. Uh, sure."

"What happened at your old school that ended with you being expelled?"

Your smile falls. "Uncle Ray didn't tell you?"

"Not really. He just said there was a disagreement and a.. protest?"

You snort. It takes you a moment to collect your thoughts, but when you do you end up telling her exactly what happened. "I had this friend back at my old school. She's gay, but only those close to her knew. What it boiled down to was that some asshole found out and outed her to our entire school. Then this boy took things too far by, in his words, giving her what she was missing out on and trying to turn her straight." You roll your eyes, not noticing Julie smiling sympathetically off to the side. "He shoved his tongue down her throat, she tried to push him off of her, but he wouldn't budge. So I beat the shit out of him."

Julie chokes on her own saliva. "W-what?" And then she laughs.

"Well I hit him across the back of the head with one of those hard plastic lunch trays. And then when that broke I used the heaviest textbook I could get my hands on and hit him a few more times."

"Oh my god," she grins. "You're such a badass."

You laugh at your cousin's look of awe. "There was like a week of back and forth between the school and that douchebag's parents, and it made everyone at school show their true colors. I was disgusted that the guy practically got off with a slap on the wrist for assaulting my friend, so I contacted a few friends to make some signs for a mini-protest in front of the school and it kind of got out of control. A few friends turned into thirty and I think there were even a few drag queens in there. They had signs and Pride flags and it- it got pretty scary for a second when a fight almost broke out."

"I repeat," Julie smirks, "you're a badass."

"I was expelled because my protest drew in adult strangers to where many minor children attend school, but the expulsion wouldn't have mattered anyway because I had a restraining order slapped against me by that douchebag's parents and would have had to leave anyway."

"Screw them," Julie says. "That's so messed up."

"It is, but it worked out in my favor. I got out of my parents house and now get to spend the rest of my last year of high school with you."

"And your 18th birthday. You can't forget that," she muses. "It's only a few months away."

Your nose wrinkles. "No parties."

"But it's New Year's! Of course we're having a party," she gushes. "Your birthday is a rare one. Instead of blowing out a candle at midnight, you get to make out with someone."

Laughing, you reach over to nudge her. "You're something else, Jules. I don't know how you have your dad fooled about being so sweet and innocent." She giggles, batting her eyelashes at you. "Now come on. Lets go torment Carlos. It's been about a year since I've sat on him and made him listen to Barbie Girl on a loop."

You stand up, Julie laughing as you offer her a hand and pull her up off the couch.

By the end of your first week with the Molinas, you've settled into a routine that you're comfortable with. You had noticed Julie got a little squirrely whenever you mentioned the boys, so you dropped the subject of meeting them and figured it'd happen when the timing was right. Julie's tía Victoria was happy to have you around the family, she noticing a lightness around the house that she hadn't seen since her sister had passed.

Life with your cousins was going spectacularly well, so of course there had to be a bump in the road. And a major one at that.

You're sleeping when cold air suddenly seeps into your back, making you shiver and wake up briefly. You find your blanket and pull up over your shoulders, turning around in the process and.. rolling into something- er, someone solid. You're fully awake now.

"Ahh!" You scream.

The figure in bed with you jolts, screaming as well. "Ahh!"

"Who the hell are you?!" You move to punch at them, only for them to disappear right before your very eyes. You freeze as your heart drops into your stomach, your eyes blowing wide when he reappears at the foot of your bed. "What the- how did-"

Another figure pops in, grabbing the first by his ear. "Dude, not cool!"

Your sudden fear has you frozen and only capable of glancing between the two figures. Semi-slicked hair, leather jacket, flannel wrapped around his waist.. "R-Reggie?" You wonder aloud in confusion.

Both boys glance at you, the shaggy hair and killer arms in a cut off tee letting you know exactly who he was. You hold your blanket tighter to you, heart thumping wildly. Reggie grimaces in pain as he finally pulls free from Luke's hold. "Hiya. Sorry about waking you and all that. I totally should have asked before taking up the other side of your bed."

Luke shakes his head. "When Jules finds out she's going to kick your butt, man. We were supposed to ease her into the whole ghost business."

"G-ghost?"

Another figure pops in, the blonde sighing and shaking his head in disappointment at his friends. Alex. "I woke Julie. She'll be down here soon." Then he glances at you, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about all this. Reggie and Luke are idiots."

"Can you blame me?" Reggie whines. "Y/N's bed is really comfortable. And I actually thought she'd just roll through me. I didn't know I'd gone solid. It was unintentional."

"Um," you gulp. "H-how would you know my bed was comfortable?" Reggie freezes and then suddenly looks very interested in the ceiling, and your eyes narrow at him. You sit up a little straighter, staring at Luke, but he too averts his gaze when he notices you're staring at him.

Alex is the only one amused and he meets your gaze with a smile. "These two idiots like to nap in your bed when you're in school."

"WHAT!?" The two guilty ghosts poof out, making you flinch as you suddenly remember they're not exactly normal boys.

"I told them it was going to bite them in the butts. I guess they hadn't counted on it being so soon." You blink owlishly at him, unsure of what to say now. After all, HE'S A GHOST! Alex notices your stare and sighs. "Well if you'd like to get dressed or whatever, Julie should be here any second now. We'll explain things then."

Alex poofs out and you're left staring at nothing but air. Your heart is still wildly thumping and there are only three words running through your mind: what.. the.. fuck.

After what seems like several long minutes, but really it was only about a minute after the boys had left you alone, the studio door opens and a frantic Julie rushes in. At the sound of her panicked voice, you throw off your blanket and scramble down the stairs.

Julie stares at you in shock, still in her own pajamas, before her gaze falls towards your legs and then back up to your own gaze. "Uh, Y/N? You forgetting something?" You glance down, frowning and wondering what she's talking about. "Pants, loser. You forgot pants."

"Yeah? And you forgot to tell me that ghosts are real!" She sighs as you stare her down, but then you subtly glance around for a pair of pants or shorts or something. Black sweats hit your shoulder and you meet Alex's sheepish gaze. Hesitantly smiling at him, you quickly step into them and drag them up your legs. "If they've been in here this whole time it's nothing they haven't seen before."

Reggie giggles and Alex shakes his head at friend. Luke, however, can't seem to look in your direction and there's a telltale flush on his cheeks. Huh, that's odd.

"I'm really sorry," Julie says. "I was going to tell you, but it was never the right time."

"Jules, the right time would have been when uncle Ray gave me permission to sleep out here."

She frowns guiltily at you and you know you're not really upset with her. The adrenaline of bumping into someone in your bed was still rushing through your veins which is why you seem a bit cranky. "If it'll help we can explain everything now?"

"Might as well," you sigh. "I don't think I'll be able to fall back asleep." You shuffle over towards the couch, eyeing each boy on the way. Sitting down, you drag a pillow into your lap and hug it. "So.. what the hell is going on?"

Your cousin and the boys glance at one another, Reggie and Luke subtly shaking their heads. Alex rolls his eyes and steps forward to stand with Julie. It looked like they were going to be the ones to explain.

"Okay, so," Alex says. "Luke, Reggie, and I died twenty five years ago."

Immediately your hand raises and Alex falls silent. "Quick question. If you guys are supposedly ghosts, then why was I able to actually feel Reggie?"

"That part comes in later. Just please listen," Julie pleads.

You nod, gesturing for them to continue then. Alex flashes you a small smile. "So we died-"

"Death by hotdog," Reggie sadly muses.

Luke nods along. "I'll never look at another hotdog the same way again."

You can't help but snort, especially when Alex and Julie roll their eyes at the interruption. "Anyway, as I was saying," Alex says, raising his voice a little higher, "we died. We ended up in this dark room for what felt like an hour and then got spit out here in Julie's garage when she played one of our demo CD's."

"Only it wasn't an hour later," Julie says next. "It was twenty five years later." You shake your head in utter amazement. "At first I was the only one able to see them. Then when I had a performance at school and the boys performed behind me in solidarity, they could- they could be seen! The entire school could see them, but then as soon as the performance was over they poofed out."

"Hence the phantom part of the band name," you mumble.

"We let everyone believe we're holograms," Alex says. "Anyway, we used to be a band of four before we died. Sunset Curve. The only one to survive went on and skyrocketed to fame with songs that Luke wrote."

"He didn't!?" Your eyes widen. You glance at Luke to see him frowning. "What a dick thing to do."

The boys all snort, but a moment later Alex continues to tell their story. "We were pissed and ended up being introduced to this ghost who was supposed to help us get revenge on our ex-band mate. Only this ghost was old and powerful and wanted us to join his ghostly club house band."

"And when he noticed we weren't going to join him, he stamped us with a curse," Luke finally speaks up. "The longer we were away from his club, we got hit with these painful jolts. They started to become more frequent and would have eventually destroyed our souls."

"But our girl Julie," Reggie muses, "cried her big heart out and, we're not sure exactly how, was able to touch us. Her touch made us feel stronger, warmer, and it disappeared the stamps off our wrists."

"And now I have three ghostly brothers who can go corporeal whenever they feel like it," Julie says as she hooks her arm through Alex's. You grin at her. "I really am sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

You wave her off. "At least the truth came out before I was in a rush to go somewhere and whipped off my shirt. I'd have hated to traumatize the boys."

"Oh please traumatize me." The words are mumbled, but still heard by everyone. Every gaze darts to, surprisingly, Luke and his eyes widen as cheeks redden. "Did I- did I say that out loud?"

Reggie snorts. "You did."

"Well I- I didn't mean-" Luke rubs at the back of his neck, falling silent and then poofing out.

The second Luke is gone, everyone bursts into laughter. You laugh so much that tears gather in the corner of your eyes and Julie is hanging off of Alex's arm. Reggie is the first to recover and mentions going to check on his boy, and then it was just Alex with you and Julie.

You eventually stand up, intent on doing something now that you've had this big secret dropped into your lap, when Alex takes a step in your direction. He pauses and you quirk an eyebrow at him. "Can I just say thanks for being so cool about this? I mean you could have ran inside the house and alerted everyone like Julie first did-"

"Hey! Not cool." Said girl pouts, swatting Alex with the back of her hand.

"-but you didn't. Sure you freaked, but I would too if I woke up next to Reggie."

You chuckle softly. "You guys are just lucky I hate physical activity and loathe running." Alex grins at you. "Plus I guess your secret is pretty cool. I'm okay living with ghosts so long as no ghosts occupy my bed while I'm still in it."

"Noted. I'll be sure to let the boys know."

"Thanks." As soon as Alex poofs out, your chill façade drops. "Oh my god, Julie!" You hiss. "They're ghosts!"

Her smile falters. "Uh, yeah."

"They're ghosts who heard me talking about how cute they were and about Luke's arms!"

"Oh yeah." She chuckles. "Well if it's any consolation, Luke is clearly into you. He totally wants you to traumatize him with your boobs."

"It's not funny!"

She fights to contain her amusement. "It kind of is."

"Ugh. Julie," you groan. "This is so embarrassing."

"Relax. They'll probably poke fun for a few days before letting it slide. Just give them a chance, Y/N. They're really cool guys."

"God I hope you're right."

Now that the secret is out, the boys are corporeal more often than not inside the studio. Reggie and Luke take pleasure in teasing you, the two of them bringing up stuff you said about them when they were invisible or drawing attention to Luke's arms or Luke somehow suddenly needing to change to his shirt while in your presence. You made promises to get him back- to which Alex couldn't wait for to see what you came up with- but you've yet to fulfill that promise because there were more pressing matters at hand.

You're more than okay with keeping their secret, but it's only a matter of time before uncle Ray catches them. They like interacting with you, Flynn, and Carlos so they're visible quite a lot, but anytime uncle Ray nears it's a race to clean up any evidence of their presence and then poof out. You manage to convince Julie to tell her dad with promises that you'd be by her side the entire time, so she does. It had seemed uncle Ray was moments away from asking if she needed to see her therapist again when Reggie poofed in, followed by the other two boys who slapped him upside the head for doing so. Needless to say, Ray was shocked to his core but accepted the boys after seeing them interact with his two children and yourself. However, it was agreed by all that tía Victoria could not know the secret.

One day you had gone shopping for a couple new outfits with the girls and figured it was now or never to get Luke back. Sure they had seen you in an overly large shirt and boy short underwear, but they'd never seen you in proper lingerie. And when Flynn and Julie had caught on, they helped you choose the most daring piece of underwear to stun the ghost boy from the 90's.

When you get back to the studio, Julie pokes her head in first since she was the only one capable of seeing them when they were invisible. "Alex, where's Luke and Reggie?"

"They mentioned going down to the beach. Why?"

You and Flynn stumble in then, giggling. "It's payback time, my favorite ghostie. Your boy is not gonna know what hit him."

Alex's eyes light up. "Yes. What did you have in mind?"

"Two words," Flynn says. "Victoria's Secret."

"Oh no. You're gonna kill him all over again."

You mockingly glare at him. "He caught me ogling his v-line, Alex! He deserves to see exactly what I'm working with and not be able to touch."

He grins. "Can I see what you chose?"

"Duh. I need you to choose which set is going to make him lose his mind."

Walking over towards Alex, you set the bags down and sit on the couch beside him. Julie and Flynn sit on the armrests, eagerly waiting for you to dig out your purchases. And when you do, Alex's eyes widen before he bursts into laughter.

There are three identical sets of bras, panties, and garter belts in the colors of black, navy blue, and emerald green. You giggle as Alex takes choosing seriously, he picking up an article in each color and holding it to your arm. He hums in thought.

"In my opinion the blue suits your skin tone best, but I'd still go with the green."

You take it, carefully cutting tags off. "And this is why I love you. You're the best."

"Mhm. So how do you plan to have him see you in this?"

"I actually have an interview with the people uncle Ray works with in two days. I might not be able to take pictures, but I am good with all the technology stuff," you say. "I can pretend the straps to the belt are aggravating me and walk out to ask for your help."

Alex giggles. "You're evil."

"He started it." You shrug. "And besides, lingerie is such a confidence booster. You guys have no idea," you chuckle.

And then two days later you finally put your plan into motion. Flynn was bummed she couldn't be there, but Julie managed to be in the studio for your surprise after having pulled Luke into an impromptu writing session. Reggie, after having been given permission to use your laptop whenever he wanted, was watching Youtube videos, and Alex was flipping through a magazine not too far from his friend where he constantly glanced at the bathroom door rather anxiously.

Not too long after you enter the bathroom in a rush, you having screeched about being behind schedule for your meeting on the way in there, you start making a racket and cursing just loud enough to be heard outside the door. Outside, Alex does his best to fight off a grin.

Inside the bathroom, you've slipped into the emerald green lingerie, black garter belt, and black stockings. Both bra and panties are lace, giving the illusion of being sheer, but your important bits are still covered which is why you're more than okay walking out in this particular set. You spritz some body spray over your cleavage and abdomen, grinning when you see yourself sparkling as you move, and then quickly clip your garter belt to the tops of your stockings. However, for the clips in the back, you purposely twist the straps when you clip them on.

You curse some more to make everyone outside believe you're having some sort of problem, groaning for good measure, and then crack open the bathroom door to stick your head out. "Hey Jules, can you give me a hand?" You ask, already knowing what she's going to say.

"Mmm," she mumbles distractedly, writing in her notebook.

Luke glances between you and Julie, Reggie has clearly paused his video to see what's going on, and Alex takes his cue. "I can help," he calls out as he tosses his magazine aside. "What do you need?"

You frown at your cousin when she purposely doesn't look at you before looking at Alex, inhaling deeply before you straighten up and open the door wider. Given his position, Reggie is the first to take notice of your outfit and whimpers. Audibly. Julie and Luke look up then, Julie hiding her smile and Luke's eyes widening as his jaw drops open in shock.

"I'll do it! I can help you," Reggie blurts, cheeks red. He gulps. "What exactly is it you need help with?"

Walking towards Alex, you mockingly glare at Reggie and then ruffle his hair on your way to his blonde friend. You stop in front of him, turning around and then glancing over your shoulder at him. "The garter belt," you say. "I keep getting the straps twisted."

"On it." You see a smile threatening to break free as he immediately takes hold of the clasps and rights the wrong, and you turn around so you don't lose it yourself.

Only when you face forward, you can't help but snort at Reggie's awestruck expression and the fact that Luke is faring no better. But Luke is the one who seems to know almost immediately what you're playing at and his eyes narrow when his gaze finally meets your own. However, before he can call you out on your act, there's a distinct snap!, a brief stinging pain on the back of your thigh, and you whirl around on Alex.

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry," he laughs, immediately sitting back and out of range of your swatting swing. "I couldn't help myself."

You shake your head in amusement before making sure the strap isn't twisted anymore and then make your way back towards the bathroom. It's oddly quiet as you finish getting dressed behind the bathroom door, and then exit in a cream-colored blouse tucked inside a black pencil skirt. Julie wolf whistles when you exit and you wrinkle your nose at her as you head towards your heels to slip your feet into.

Once your heels are on and you run your fingers through your hair to give it a very stylish, mussed look, you can't help but meet Luke's gaze. When you notice his slackened expression, you wink and finally allow yourself to laugh.

Red rushes to his cheeks as he narrows his eyes at you. "You're the devil."

"And don't you forget it," you immediately retort. "Keep it up, Patterson. I won't play fair and I promise my next look will drive you to take a cold shower." Alex finally loses the battle with his laughter, as does Julie, and Luke frowns at you. "Now that I've pranced around half naked, it's time I get to my interview. Wish me luck?"

"Luck!" Julie immediately shouts. As soon as Y/N disappears, there's a telltale beep and Julie lowers her phone. She glances between Luke and Reggie, shaking her head and chuckling. "God you straight boys are so easily distracted. Flynn's going to be so mad she missed this."

Luke points to where Y/N disappeared, stammering over his words before he finally gets proper hold of his thoughts. "She doesn't play fair!"

After what you would have called a successful interview, you went back to the studio where you found Luke all alone. You ended up calling a truce with him, but that ended up being a terrible decision on your part. Because interacting with a Luke who was as genuine as can be without the flirtatious behavior or teasing, well it turned out you found yourself liking the boy a little more than you should.

When Halloween came you found yourself dressing up alongside Flynn and Julie. Normally you'd have gone for something sexy, but after parading around half naked and knowing uncle Ray would not appreciate his underage daughter showing off too much skin, you settled for something that would make everyone laugh. You, Julie, and Flynn agreed to dress up as the boys, but you couldn't take their clothes until the day of. So when Halloween morning rolled around, Carlos and uncle Ray kept the boys busy while you and the girls raided their stash of clothes in the studio.

Julie took Alex's pink Champion hoodie and a snapback to shove down backwards atop her curls, Flynn wore Reggie's leather jacket atop a plain tee and wrapped a red flannel around her waist, and you took Luke's white Rush shirt with its cut off sleeves and a blue hoodie that also had it's sleeves cut off. You had giggled with each other when you all saw the final outcome and even took a few pictures to post to your personal Instagrams.

Then when the boys finally came in, it took them a moment to realize what they were seeing and it only clicked when you stepped forward and said, "Hey! We're Sunset Curve."

And then Flynn stepped forward, shooting finger guns at the boys. "Tell your friends."

Julie snorted and the boys burst into laughter, and then you took even more pictures with the boys- only when they were posted online you captioned them that you were the Phantoms from Julie and the Phantoms. Then when all was said and done, the six of you took Carlos trick-or-treating around the neighborhood while uncle Ray and tía Victoria cooked up a Halloween feast.

Thanksgiving and Christmas were emotional holidays for quite a few of you. The boys for obvious reasons- they being dead and not able to spend time with their loved ones- and you because while your parents could be more decent, you loved them all the same and wished the circumstances between you were different. But uncle Ray was understanding and made sure everyone had more than enough food and presents, and the night ended with everyone under the age of twenty falling asleep in the living room after admiring all their new belongings.

New Year's Eve rolls around and you're excited for two reasons- one being because of the fireworks that will no doubt go off at midnight and because at that exact same moment you'll be turning 18. Everyone expected you wanted a big party, but you surprised them all when you said all you wanted invited was everyone in the Molina household + studio, Flynn, and tía Victoria. You just wanted to have karaoke and a jam session, and some fireworks. You didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

The morning of New Year's Eve, you're woken up by Reggie bouncing on your mattress. But instead of being grouchy about it, you laugh and then yelp when Luke and Alex poof in to pop confetti poppers above you. You sit up, keeping the blanket across your lap as you shake your hair free of the shimmering mess.

"Happy birthday," Alex says, sitting down beside you and hugging you. "Ray said to be inside in twenty minutes. He's got a whole breakfast spread planned."

"Technically it's not my birthday yet, but thank you very much. I'll be inside as soon as possible."

Alex beams before Reggie takes his place, he leaning in and kissing your cheek with a loud smack. You giggle and accept his hug. "Happy birthday, my beautiful living friend. You don't look a day over 30."

You snort and then shove at his shoulder. "Shut up and get out. You don't get to be mean to the birthday girl."

"I thought it technically wasn't your birthday?" He winks at you. "Now hurry up. We can't eat until you do." And then with one last grin, Reggie poofs out.

Sighing happily, you stare up at Luke then. He grins as he readily lowers himself onto your mattress, laying on his stomach and keeping his expression directed at you. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"Am I ready to be a year older? Not really," you say. "But I am ready for some sparklers."

He chuckles. "Age is just a number, Y/N."

"Says the ghost who's forever 17," you mumble.

"Do you want me to find you a rancid hotdog? Because I will. Then the two of us will forever be 17."

"You're such an idiot." You can't stop grinning, especially when he mentions the way he died. It was terrible they died, but absolutely hilarious that it was death by hotdog for them. "I still don't understand how you didn't notice the weenie was bad. Rancid meat smells disgusting and you ate it!"

"In our defense we thought the smell was coming from the trash in the alley." You can only shake your head at him. "And we were still riding the rush of sound check inside the Orpheum."

"Your idiocy amazes me," you deadpan. "Now go on. I need to put on pants and brush my teeth. I'll meet you inside."

"Oh now you want to be all shy about walking around in your underwear." Luke playfully rolls his eyes. "Okay."

"You know what? I was being considerate so my near nudity didn't turn you into a stammering fool, but now I think I'll just do it." You grab your blanket to throw it off of you, but Luke quickly scrambles up and off your bed.

"Okay. Okay! I'll see you inside."

As soon as Luke poofs out, you grin to yourself like an idiot. The tension between the two of you was obvious from the beginning and it's still there even after you called a truce. You giddily get up and head on downstairs, making your way towards the bathroom to freshen up before heading inside. But as you're brushing your teeth, you realize you can't stop thinking about Luke. Which is kind of a bad thing. For you.

Everyone who has eyes can see the way Luke looks at you and the way you look at him, but given he's a ghost and you're very much alive you've agreed that nothing can happen between the two of you. Not just because of his ghostly status, but because of his status as Julie's bandmate- which is another problem they need a solution for but they won't worry about it until they have a record deal in their clutches. After then, they'll worry about revisiting the boys' family they had left behind when they died.

Quickly fixing your hair, you pull on a pair of leggings afterward and start making your way out of the studio. You sigh and come to the conclusion that for now you'd just enjoy the company of a cute ghost. You can totally get over the silly crush in no time.

- - - - - - - - - -

As you're getting ready for the night, you're surprised there's a knock on the floor of the loft right before Luke's head pops up by the stairs. "Is it okay if I come on up?"

"Yeah. Of course," you say. You grab your boots before sitting on the edge of your mattress, slipping your feet inside of them and start lacing up. Luke stands off to the side, a little sheepishly, and you grin at him. "Something up? You're too quiet."

"Yeah. No, I'm good." He chuckles a little nervously and then finally moves to take a seat next to you. When he's seated, you nudge him with your shoulder to get him to lighten up. "I just- we got you a present and I've been nominated to hand it over."

"A present? From who?"

"Well it was originally from Ray, Jules, and Carlos," he says, "but when us ghosties wanted to get you something too, it kind of turned into a joint gift from all of us." Luke reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box. You quirk an eyebrow at him as he hands the it over and immediately lift the lid. You coo at the silver charm bracelet inside and then lift it to examine the charms. "Ray, Julie, and Carlos had the laptop, dahlia, and lightning bolt charms already on there, but then we went back to the mall and had a microphone, a guitar, a bass, and drum sticks added to it."

"This is perfect. Help me put it on?"

You manage to unclasp the bracelet to slip it onto your right wrist and then Luke is scooting even closer to you so he can clasp it correctly. When he does, you twist your wrist back and forth so the charms jingle and fall correctly in place. Then you glance up at the same time Luke does, noses inches apart, and it's like both your breathing ceases.

Both your gazes seem to dart down to each other's lips and then you're jerking back while shakily inhaling. "You're trouble, Luke Patterson."

He smirks. "Fun trouble. You should try me sometime."

You can't believe the nerve of this ghost, so you roll your eyes, grin, and then climb to your feet. "Whatever you say, ghost boy. Now let's go. Tía Victoria was making me menudo for my birthday dinner."

Everyone at the Molina household is exactly who you wanted there and you get a kick out of watching the ghost boys attempt the menudo, watching the way they freeze when it's explained what exactly is in the menudo. Alex and Luke had slowly swallowed what was in their mouth before proclaiming they were full, but Reggie shrugged it off and kept on eating.

Outside uncle Ray grilled up some burgers and hotdogs for those who weren't fans of the menudo, and Julie had brought out bags of sparklers. You, Flynn, and Alex wasted no time in sparking some sparklers up while Reggie, Luke, and Carlos grabbed ahold of some small cannons to shoot off into the quickly darkening sky.

Many laughs are had, running amok in the streets with sparklers, and many pictures are taken. Your favorite, by far, had to have been when Carlos accidentally caught Reggie's flannel on fire and he stopped, dropped, and rolled in the street. You, Flynn, and Julie were never going to let him forget that terrified expression of his.

But then there's only five minutes to midnight, uncle Ray and Carlos are carrying several large firework boxes into the middle of the street and hurriedly untangling some wires, and a birthday sash is being draped over your head by Julie.

Seeing your uncle Ray and Carlos space out large boxes have drawn some of the neighbors to see what no doubt is going to a firework display, and you excitedly wait several feet away from the impending commotion.

Suddenly tía Victoria starts a countdown from twenty, Flynn hands out party horns, and everyone excitedly joins in.

"FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE. HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

You blow your party horn, laughing when you spot Reggie jumping on Alex and Luke's backs in excitement. Uncle Ray hits a button in hand and the first box shoots off it's first firework. The explosions of white, gold, pink, blue, purple, and green has everyone making happy remarks, and you watch on, not noticing everyone pairing off to watch the show (Alex and Reggie, tía Victoria and Carlos, and Julie and Flynn).

You're smiling up at an explosion of white crackles that chase each other across the sky when two arms wrap around your neck from behind and a body presses up close behind yours. You chuckle as your hands come up to grab onto a forearm and you briefly glance over your shoulder. It's Luke.

As you go back to watching your uncle put on a spectacular firework display, you feel warm breath fan across your ear. "Happy birthday, Y/N," Luke murmurs.

"Thank you." You smile brightly even though he can't see it and then glance over your shoulder once more, holding his gaze as your faces are literally an inch apart. "Happy New Year, Luke."

He beams at you and against your will your gaze darts to his lips. Your mind is whirling and you know everything about you and Luke is a bad idea, but you just can't help yourself. And apparently neither can he.

Luke is the one to close the distance, softly pressing his lips to yours. You smile against his lips, giggling some before adding a little bit more pressure so he doesn't think you're laughing at him. The entire situation is just a little bit hilarious to you.

After a few seconds you pull apart and the two of you end up laughing before you go back to watching the fireworks. Fortunately no one had been paying you any attention, so you and Luke can keep the kiss between the two of you.

You know for sure nothing can actually come out of whatever is going on between the two of you, but for now you're willing to take it one day at a time and come up with official rules later on the down the line.

#julie and the phantoms imagine #julie and the phantoms x reader #jatp x reader #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson #julie molina #ray molina #reggie peters #alex mercer #carlos molina #julie and the phantoms

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collecting-stories · 3 years

Text

Jealous - Luke Patterson

Summary: You bring a friend to a concert with you and Luke gets the wrong idea.

A/N: this it like, alive!Luke, it’s also like 3k long 😭😭

Julie and the Phantoms Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Luke pouted, leg twitching as he looked around the small venue that Alex had booked them that night. The doors had only just opened and people were beginning to stream in. They’d played shows before but Luke was still surprised watching people come through the doors. He honestly couldn’t believe anyone had bought tickets. There was no doubt in Luke’s mind that they were the greatest band ever but seeing other people agree with that sentiment always made him feel like he was on cloud nine. Hanging a little over the second-floor balcony of the venue, watching every person that walked through the door, he wanted to be excited but his nerves had nothing to do with the show tonight.

“Would you chill man?” Alex chided, tapping Luke’s arm with a bottle of water. “She’ll be here.”

“She hasn’t missed a performance yet.” Reggie pointed out, spinning on a stool that he’d nabbed from the bar.

“Yeah, I know that.” Luke insisted, standing up but glancing back over his shoulder, “she said she’d make it before doors though...”

Ever since Julie had started playing with the guys, you had started hanging around more. You were embarrassed to say but you and Julie had been little more than friendly neighbors before she’d starting renting out her garage for band practice. The first time you’d heard the loud music coming from the Molina’s yard you’d gone to inspect and found the doors open and a band rehearsing inside. Needless to say, it was that first meeting that had cemented yours and Luke’s relationship. Not exactly more than friends but certainly not just friends. The more you came around the more the two of you danced around your feelings for each other and the more you neglected your other friends.

“Just, don’t say anything to the guys-”

“You mean, don’t say anything to Luke.” Julie countered, standing at her locker with you in between classes. Tonight, was the show at the Voltage Lounge and they’d been stoked about it since they got the gig. You would’ve been equally stoked, and you were, until you realized it was also your best friend’s birthday and you had promised to get dinner together.

“Look, I’ll be there, before doors, I promise. But I’ve kinda been ditching my other friends lately and I promised Mikey that we’d get dinner for his birthday.” You replied, shutting your locker and walking with Julie toward the music room.

“Don’t you think not telling Luke you’re going out with another guy would be worse than saying you’re gonna be a little late to the show?” Julie countered. She grabbed a seat by Flynn and you sat on the other side, leaning forward to keep the conversation going.

“I just don’t want him thinking I’m ditching the performance okay, me and Mikey are just friends...as are me and Luke.” You replied, though even saying it sounded like a lie. You knew as well as Julie and Flynn that you were avoiding mentioning the dinner because you didn’t want Luke to get the wrong idea.

“You tell yourself that.” Flynn chided, pulling a face at you, clearly not believing you at all.

“We are.”

“Yeah, and anytime he sings anything even slightly romantic he looks right at you.”

“It’s true,” Julie piped up, “he’s been coming up with a lot more love songs recently. Whenever I ask him about it he just says he wants us to have a balanced song pool or something.”

“We’re not a thing.” You insisted. “I’m going to dinner and then I’ll be at the show...simple as that. Just, don’t say anything.”

Julie agreed, throwing out some lame excuse about you having to go over your grandparents’ house before the show as a reason that you weren’t going to the venue with them like you usually did. Getting booked somewhere as a headliner was still fairly new to them and you always liked to be there in the moments before the show started, an extra person to reassure them that they completely and totally deserved all of this.

While you didn’t think your absence would be felt too exponentially, it definitely was. Luke had been unusually antsy since they’d gotten there. He was always eager to get onstage but this was different, he kept looking over the railing as if he was going to hurl and rush out of the venue. Reggie tried reassuring him that everything was fine but nothing seemed to calm his nerves.

“Hey, ten minutes alright, start getting ready,” one of the crew said, scribbling something on his clipboard.

“Okay, thanks.” Julie nodded, looking back over the railing as he left, the calm she was trying to portray immediately washing away when she saw you walk into the venue. Any other time she would’ve been jumping for joy but you weren’t alone and she could only assume that the guy with you was the Mikey you had mentioned earlier in the day. “So we should-” as she turned to address them, hopefully distract Luke, Reggie caught sight of you in the crowd.

“Look!” He nudged Luke’s arm, pointing you out, “she made it.”

Julie grimaced as Luke looked over the balcony and down into the crowd. It took him a moment to find you but Julie and Alex could pinpoint the exact moment that he did. A flicker of happiness at the sight of you, quickly washed away and turned into, first confusion, and then something akin to anger. He frowned, eyebrows furrowing as he watched you get a spot on his side, talking the whole time to the guy with you.

“Who the fuck is that?” He asked.

You had told Julie that your plan was to go, get through dinner with Mikey, and then come straight to the venue for the show. A simple enough evening, and you’d expected it to go off without a hitch except Mikey got curious about who you were texting and guilted you into inviting him along.

“So, this band?” Mikey asked, looking around the small venue, “how’d you become a groupie?”

“I’m not a groupie. Julie and I are friends.” You stressed, scrunching your nose up as the lights dimmed and the people around you screamed in excitement.

The anticipation was palpable and, truthfully, you were right there with the other concert goers around you, excited by the prospect of seeing Julie and the Phantoms perform live. It wasn’t something that was new for you, a front row seat to all their rehearsals was part of your everyday life and yet, something about seeing them perform live like this, with a crowd that so responsive to them, only added to the adrenaline coursing through you.

As the guys ran out on stage, Alex, then Reggie, then Luke, and finally Julie, the noise level around you seemed to pick up. But there was something off, something that didn’t quite sync with you that settled as the first chords sounded. You frowned, realizing, as Luke purposely missed you when he scanned the crowd, exactly what it was that you were feeling. It wasn’t accidental in the slightest, Julie met your gaze more than once and so did Reggie and Alex but Luke was ignoring you. He was very intentionally ignoring you standing there in the very front row, pressed against the barricade in front of him.

It was as if someone had knocked all the air out of your chest. Somehow that loud, crowded venue where you could feel the bass pounding in your stomach, felt empty. You felt small and invisible and even when Mikey shouted in your ear that they were actually an awesome band you lacked the excitement to tell him that they were the best band ever. You just nodded. And as much as you wanted to look away from Luke, a silent “two can play at this game”, you didn’t. Instead, you just kept watching him, waiting for him to look your way and somehow explain what was going on that had him acting like you didn’t exist.

The encore ended, the boys each running off the stage before Julie, Luke standing at the side waiting for her as she waved one last time to the crowd before setting the mic back in its stand and running off. The mass of people who had been screaming lulled into a buzz, some of them leaving as others lingered, waiting for the band to come back out to sign autographs and take pictures.

You walked Mikey to the merch table while other people hung around chatting with each other, the house lights up so that you could actually see as you walked. Flynn stood behind the table and she waved when she saw you.

“I’ll catch you later, thanks for letting me tag along.” He said, hanging at the door for a minute.

“Yeah totally, thanks for coming. Happy birthday,” you hugged him and then circled back to Flynn, stepping behind the table and sitting down on the stool.

“Girl, you do not seem happy.” Flynn commented as she grabbed a sweatshirt from one of the boxes and handed it across the table to a fan.

“I’m just...” you shrugged, looking back down toward the stage, “confused?”

“Did something happen with Mikey?” She asked.

You handed a shirt from one of the bins to her as she rung up a sale, jumping in to ask a few people what they needed as she waited on a group of girls. When they had all finally dispersed, the line lulling for a moment, you turned back to Flynn, “no...I mean other than him inviting himself along. No, it was Luke...he was like, it sounds dumb to say it but, it was like he was ignoring me.”

“Maybe he didn’t see you?” She suggested, attempting to be reassuring.

“He saw me. Then he just, acted like he didn’t the whole rest of the night.” You replied, “I don’t know...it felt shitty.”

“You know who you should tell that to?”

“Luke?” You asked, already knowing her answer. Flynn was the queen of confrontation.

“Exactly.”

You frowned, the last thing you wanted to do was talk to Luke. If he was going to ignore you the way he had on stage, Flynn had been trying to make you feel better but you knew he was avoiding you for some reason. He always made it a point to find you in the crowd but tonight he had looked anywhere but you.

A few straggling fans shouted excitedly and you looked passed the table to see that the guys and Julie had come out from backstage for meet and greets. As they spread out to talk to people, Reggie moved toward the merch stand, parking himself close enough to you that he could chat with you without drawing too much attention. You knew it was on purpose, that was usually Luke’s spot but tonight he stayed all the way down by the stage, almost reluctant to be out on the floor.

“Hey, great job.” You mentioned, grabbing a water bottle from under the table and handing it to Reggie. He took it gratefully, taking a sip before setting it on the floor beside him and beginning to greet the group of fans that had hung back to say hello to him.

When there was a spare minute between signing and taking pictures, he moved down the table, closer to you then before, leaning against a bare patch of wood where Flynn had already cleared away shirts. “Who was that guy you came with?” Reggie asked, looking back at you as you took one of the larger hoodies out of a box and pulled it on. Without the people, the venue had started to get cold.

“My friend Mikey, it was his birthday and he’s been bugging me to hang out. He tagged along really and I didn’t wanna ditch him...” you replied, coming around the side of the table, “I didn’t really think it’d be an issue.”

“Oh, it's not with me. We need all the fans we can get right?” Reggie joked, “did he like our music?”

“Yeah, totally loved it.”

The last of the concert goers finally made it to the door, waving to Reggie one last time as they walked passed the closed down merch stand. He waved back and you turned to watch them leave, back to the stage.

“Hey, can we talk?” Luke’s voice came from behind you and you looked over your shoulder to him, standing there with his plaid jacket over a black band tee. His hair was pushed off his forehead from sweat and he was frowning already, not exactly the version of him you wanted to talk to. You couldn’t help that longing feeling for the Luke that would come off stage and wrap you in a sweaty hug guaranteed to piss of fans.

“Uh yeah, of course...I need to talk to you too.” You replied, turning fully toward him as Reggie stood up, grabbing his water and heading back down toward the stage. Flynn came around the merch stand, following after him, leaving you and Luke alone.

A beat passed between you and he ran his hand through his hair, trying and failing to fix the sweaty mess. Unable to stand the silence, you started talking, “you guys were awesome...as usual.”

“Yeah, thanks.” He had asked to talk to you but he wasn’t really sure how to start the conversation he wanted to have and he couldn’t bring himself to really meet your eyes, his gaze flickering passed you every few seconds.

“Would’ve been even better if you weren’t ignoring me all night,” you blurted.

That seemed to be the push he needed to react, “yeah well, you brought some date with you? After the other night...” he trailed off for a moment, meeting your eyes finally, “I mean, that wasn’t nothing.”

Band practice had ended earlier than usual and, while you sat on the couch trying to win a particularly difficult level of candy crush on Luke’s phone, everybody else discussed a pizza run for dinner. You raised your hand to vote for extra cheese but didn’t look up when Julie left to go and Reggie and Alex walked out onto the driveway to play basketball. You didn’t look up until Luke dropped down on the couch next to you, putting his chin on your shoulder.

“How’s it going?” He asked, keeping his eyes on his phone screen as you turned your head, so close that your nose almost brushed his cheek.

“Good?” You said, drawing the word out as you looked at him skeptically, “can I ask why you’re so close to me?”

“So, you can bask in my awesomeness?” Luke teased, wrapping his arm around your waist.

“I think the only thing I’m basking in is your post-rehearsal sweat.” You joked, shifting a little so that his chin fell off your shoulder and you were facing him. You set his phone down on the coffee table, giving your whole attention to Luke.

He smiled at you, eyes searching yours. There was no denying that very specific look that Luke seemed to get, one you could never quite name but always recognized. He would smile, a soft sort of piercing look that you couldn’t look away from on his face. And you were always hypnotized by it, feeling like maybe you should distract yourself from it but never really wanting to.

“What are we doing?” You chanced asking, meeting his gaze and holding it.

“What’da ya mean?” He asked, grin still on his face and you felt like he’d gotten closer but you didn’t move.

“You’re staring at me.”

“You’re staring at me.” He echoed.

“Luke.” You wanted to roll your eyes but you also didn’t want to look away, even for a split second.

He leaned closer, the joking air that had been dissipating completely gone now. You licked your lips, trying to keep yourself calm as Luke moved in. One second, he was looking at you and the next your eyes were closing, his lips pressed against yours and his grip on your waist tightening.

The kiss didn’t last long. The doors to the garage creaked open and you both pulled away, looking anywhere but at each other as Julie walked in with pizza. Alex and Reggie came in behind her and Luke stood up, grabbing a stack of magazines off the coffee table and moving them out of the way. You picked up his phone, unlocking it and opening candy crush again to distract yourself.

Neither of you had discussed the kiss, mostly because you were too afraid that if you brought it up he would tell you that it was just a mistake. Some spur of the moment thing that happened but that he didn’t really mean. You hadn’t even told Julie or Flynn about it.

But now you were standing at the empty merch table with him and he was acting like you had purposely tried to hurt him. A ‘date’ he had called it and all at once you realized exactly what he thought had happened.

“No, no,” you shook your head, “Mikey wasn’t a date.”

“You didn’t say you were bringing Mikey with you to our show.” Luke replied, your best friend’s name rolling off his tongue like a curse.

“He was bugging me about not hanging out recently and it’s his birthday so we were supposed to go out for dinner but I kept mentioning you…the band…and he wanted to come to the show.” You tried to explain.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” It was stupid to ask, technically you didn’t owe him any explanation at all. You could bring whoever you wanted but he couldn’t help feeling affronted by it.

“I didn’t want you to think I was gonna ditch the show. And…I didn’t want you to think it was a date.” You replied. “The kiss wasn’t nothing and I should’ve talked to you about it sooner cause…I really like you and it felt really shitty to be ignored tonight.”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m sorry, I was just pissed when I saw you with some other guy.”

“Mikey’s just a friend.” You replied, “I like you Luke, I like when you pretend to play the guitar badly to make me laugh and I like when we hang out without everyone else and just do nothing or go to the beach and I like going out with you at midnight to get ice cream cause neither of us can sleep and I don’t want to date anyone else…I want you.”

“I want you too.” Luke said, stepping closer to you. When he reached for your hands, you laced your fingers with his. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against yours again, the salty taste of sweat from playing a show still there on his mouth as you kissed him back.

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