#like julie molina first rest of humanity second

[lydias--stiles]

Juke kisses!

33. An unexpected kiss that shocks the one receiving it.

33. An unexpected kiss that shocks the one receiving it

(all human, high school au)

Luke Patterson has crushed on Julie Molina for the past year now. It was hard not to. She was incredibly pretty, and kind, and talented — her voice... he'd never get over it — and no one ever uttered a bad word about her. She was a year under him, her a sophomore and him a junior, but shared music classes and have spoken a handful of times.

She probably thought nothing of it, he presumed, but he laid thinking of every interaction at night when he couldn't sleep; when even music couldn't satiate his circling thoughts.

A crush was so stupid. He couldn't do anything with it! It pestered his mind and distracted him and he rather suffered through AP Calc than untangle his emotions each time Julie smiled at him.

Alex has suggested to 'just ask her out', but it seemed... impossible. Julie was like the freaking sun, while he was a punk-rock dude trying to get his band off the ground. Reggie believed girls liked guys in rock bands, but Julie sang pop and jazz songs. She didn't even follow Sunset Curve's Instagram.

(Yeah, he checked. Like a fucking idiot.)

She did follow Alex' personal account though, since he was friends with Carrie and Carrie was friends with Julie. But she didn't post that much. The last an exasperated Alex reported was an Instagram Story of Flynn Taylor and her at a coffee shop.

Sitting at the back of the music class, jiggling his leg, he watched the back of Julie's head as she stood up and went to the piano for her assignment. They all had to compose compose a song of thirty seconds and create accompanying lyrics. He'd gone and shredded his guitar to pieces, singing a snippet from 'Now or Never' — he was still working on it — but he was more excited about Julie's act.

Miss Harrison nodded encouragingly, and Julie began.

His entire body stilled when the first lyrics left her mouth. God, she was amazing. She sounded otherworldly, her voice technically strong yet tender and vulnerable enough to touch anyone. Jazz wasn't his preferred genre, but he liked when Julie sang it. Moving to the edge of his seat, he intently watched the way her dark curls danced as she shook her head. It felt like she experienced each of the lyrics as new.

When she finished, he noticed her shaky hands and how quickly they jerked to her sides. Was she nervous? Did she have stage-fright? Luke couldn't imagine that.

When she walked back to her seat, her eyes moved up and met his gaze. With a stuttering heart at the sudden contact, he shot her a smile and thumbs up. Like a loser. She sent a weak smile back and sat down.

Luke closed his eyes with a pained sigh. A thumbs up? What the fuck? He didn't dare looking in her direction for the rest of class.

After the bell rang and they all filed out of the classroom, he noted a flyer taped to the wall. His eager eyes zeroed in on the chunky font. There was an open mic night happening at the Eats & Beats in a couple weeks! Luke straightened up in excitement and took a photo of the flyer, sending it to the group chat with the boys.

Reggie replied immediately with a bunch of emojis and a resounding: YES! Alex replied with the idea to go there after school and already sign up.

What Luke hadn't expected in a million years though, wouldn't even conjure in his dreams, was to find Julie there, leaning over the sign-up sheet with an E&B pen. Flynn leaned against the bar beside her, chattering away.

Reggie bumped into Luke when he'd stopped in the threshold, frozen. "Whoa!"

"Sorry," Luke muttered, moving aside and patting Reggie on the shoulder. "I, uh, got-"

"Distracted," Alex grinned, nodding at the two girls.

Reggie perked up. "Ooh! This is good! This is your shot!"

HIs voice, loud and boisterous, captured the attention of the girls and they looked their way, surprised. Shit. He could kill Reg right now.

"Hey, guys," Flynn exclaimed, waving at them. "Are you signing up for the Open Mic as well?"

Reggie stepped towards her first, all enthusiasm and swagger, followed by a bemused Alex and ending with an awkward Luke. Damn, normally he oozed confidence and had no issue taking the lead, but with her around...

"Yeah!" Reggie said. "Los Feliz is ready for Sunset Curve! Tell you friends!"

"Sure."

Julie handed Alex the pen. "Here. There's one slot left."

"Thank God," the drummer exhaled, quickly jotting the band's name down. "I told you guys we had to leave immediately!"

Somehow, the conversation developed into the five of them sitting at one of the booths and ordering milkshakes, chatting about music and lamenting about school. Luke never hung out with anyone but the boys, so it felt like an out of body experience having Julie sit opposite of him, laughing and talking and chilling with him, holy fucking shit.

Julie was the first to leave when she received a text from her aunt asking about her whereabouts. A sheepish — cute — expression covered her face as she explained the situation and bid them goodbye. Luke watched her go.

Flynn sipped on her shake and eyed him eying her. "You're not subtle, Patterson."

His neck jerked back, gawking at Flynn. "Huh?"

The girl raised a brow, unimpressed, and nodded at the door which Julie left from. "She's, like, super into Nick Dawson."

Oh. Nick Dawson. Of course. He hadn't spoken to the guy, but he knew the sophomore played lacrosse and was decent on the electric guitar. Of course, Julie liked someone from her year: they probably spoke often. Luke knew he had no shot, but having it confirmed... damn. It hurt.

Alex seemed stunned. "Wow. Plot twist."

Reggie pouted. "I'm not sure I like this plot twist."

Flynn shrugged. "Truth hurts."

That evening, he used the shock of Flynn's words to tinker on the lyrics to Now Or Never and reworked a verse. Any strong emotion always helped him write.

Hear the noise, in my head/It's calling out like a voice I can't forget/One life, no regrets/Catch up, got no time to catch my breath

In the weeks leading up to the Open Mic, the band, Julie and Flynn spent more time together. The first time after Flynn's revelation, however, he still acted awkward until an annoyed Alex took charge.

"Stop putting her on a pedastal and talk to her," Alex hissed, before pushing his shoulder and towards Julie.

She watched him stagger and raised her brows, amused. They rented a practice room at school and she was currently sorting through her sheet music. "Are you okay, Luke?" Her voice rolled with ease, like the waves of the ocean, and he had a hard time acting normal about it.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Do you, uh, do you know what you're gonna do?"

"Just a song I've been working on," she shrugged. "It still needs something, but maybe performing it will help me figure it out. What about you guys?"

"The full version of the song I played in class last week," he said. Nerves cracked and began to splinter away. Alex was right. Julie was a fellow musician and he shouldn't act like she was this deity. She was just a girl. He could talk to her. "I'm still working on it, too."

She perked up, intrigued. "Can I read what you have? Maybe I can give some feedback?"

"Uh," he trailed, rubbing the back of his neck, "it's a punk-rock song."

"So?"

"No offense, Julie, but you're a jazz-pop singer."

She frowned. "Just because we don't sing the same, doesn't mean I can't help." Holding out her hand, she beckoned the black notebook clutched in his grip. Another trait he could add to the never-ending list of qualities about her: strong-willed.

And she did help. With a sparkly pencil, she annotated in the margins of his book with her loopy, elegant handwriting. A stark contrast to his chicken scratch. It was honestly impressive she could read it at all.

It was easy working with her, too. Sitting side by side, they didn't always agree with each other, but it never felt like an argument that needed to be won. It was rather like how he talked with the boys: an honest, impassioned discussion about music. And he loved it.

Ever since, him and Julie were actual friends. Luke couldn't fucking believe it. He still liked her, a lot, and it worsened each time they hung out. But he reminded himself Julie liked someone else. He has always valued friendship above all else, even music, and that wouldn't change now.

Reggie was upset by that development when he asked Luke about it. "Aw, what? I'm still hashtag team Juke though."

"Shut up, dork."

Luke reveled in Julie's attention. She really listened to what he wanted to achieve with his songs and had an extensive music history knowledge.

"You should see my dad's office," she joked, "it's just full of music books and nothing else."

Her favourite colour was purple, she made her own friendship bracelets, she enjoyed PB&J sandwiches as a midnight snack, she doodled on her shoes and books and clothes, she loved dahlias, and she smelled like flowers, too. She drank coffee with loads of milk and sugar. She whined the most about science class, but adored her English teacher. Dionne Warwick was her go-to when she felt uninspired. Bit by bit, day by day, Luke began to understand Julie on a deeper level.

On the final evening before the open mic, the two were the last ones in the practice room at school. The lights were already off in the hallway and any moment, the janitor would come by and tell them to pack it up.

"What if I change the ending to this—" Julie played a sequence on the piano. "Instead of the other thing?"

A pensive Luke mulled it over. "Both are awesome, Julie."

"But...?"

"I don't know." Scratching his neck, he placed his guitar down and sat beside her on the piano bench, their legs pressed together. If she heard his hammering heart, then so be it. "Maybe, what if you blend the two together. The first part of the first sequence with the last notes of the other one."

Her head tilted, amused, and handed him her pencil. "Show me, because I don't always speak Luke-lingo, you know."

With a roll of the eye, he tsked. "Luke-lingo. To me, that just means I have my own style."

"Sure," she giggled. That giggle. Why did she have to be so cute?!

Ignoring the warmth filling in his chest and neck, he wrote the alternative ending in the margin and tapped the pencil against it. "Like this."

Julie peered at it. He knew she wore glasses, but she never wore them to school. He bet she looked cute like that, too. "Hmm..." Her hands hovered above the keys, and then, just like that, she played what he wrote with ease. The combined melody sounded like magic, twin smiles blooming on their faces in satisfaction.

When she finished, Julie grinned and squeezed his arm. "Thanks, Luke. It's perfect this way."

The boy chuckled, a little breathy at the contact, but before he could say something (do something), the janitor appeared in the treshold.

"C'mon, lovebirds," he grumbled. "Out."

Red-faced and flustered at the comment, the two left the music room faster than before, until they shared a look and burst out in laughter. It didn't hurt, somehow, to laugh about it. Maybe he was finally getting over it, this silly crush.

"How are you getting home?" Luke asked once outside.

Julie waved her phone around, the light illuminating her face. "My dad's picking me up. You have your bike?"

He nodded, the bike rack a couple feet away with his janky bike waiting on him. That thing has survived many crashes into the Los Feliz bushes.

"Okay," she smiled. It had a glimmer of nervousness to it. Luke suddenly realised how close they stood, just like how they sat at the piano moments ago, and a shortness of breath overtook him. "Goodnight, Luke."

"Night, Julie," he smiled, faint. "We're gonna rock it tomorrow."

"Yeah," she whispered. And then, before he knew it, Julie stretched on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Luke froze.

Holy. Shit.

A car rolled into the parking lot and a flushed Julie waved at him. "Bye!"

#juke #jatp fics #jatp #julie and the phantoms

[thedeathdeelers]

habits

luke wouldn’t necessarily say he was a particularly observant person, his mind constantly full of sound and accompanying lyrics that refused to quiet down. it wasn’t that he ever did it on purpose — he knew he probably should pay more attention sometimes, be more aware of those around him, but just like it always has, music somehow nudges its way to the forefront, capturing his attention and making it impossible for him to notice the details.

but ever since he met one julie molina, things seem to have….shifted. he’d surprise himself by recognising the mood she was in simply by noticing the twitch of her fingers, the curve of her lips or the light in her eyes. he could tell you what kind of day she was having just by the tone of her voice, or the speed with which she spoke.

her mannerisms told him everything he needed to know, and it felt so…strange. he remembered a time where everything he said or did somehow tumbled into a frown or a misunderstanding, his mind too loud for him to slow down and see what he was doing wrong. but something changed, something shifted. the loud music in his mind dimmed to a soothing melody every time she walked in, every time his eyes seeked hers.

he thinks it’s the only reason he started to notice a new particular habit of hers, ever since they started transitioning back to the human world.

the land of the living.

they were both still frustratingly dancing around the inevitable, though they knew they were headed in the right direction. but even with the shy smiles, blushing cheeks and subtle touches, julie never seemed to pass up on a chance to cuddle with her favourite guitarist (luke on his part always tried to linger when he saw she was getting drowsy, tired. he thought he was being subtle; the shared looks between alex and reggie told him otherwise).

the cuddling wasn’t new, they had all been openly physically affectionate with each other the second the boys were corporeal, but the way julie would fall asleep, was.

the first time it had happened, luke was certain she had been awake.

she had positioned herself on his chest, her head snuggling into its usual spot below his shoulder while her arm lay thrown across his waist, legs tangled with his. luke watched her fall asleep, marvelling yet again at this new reality he got to live, while slowly letting unconsciousness pull him in.

but just as he was about to fall asleep, he felt julie’s hand shift on his chest, moving as it tracked across the expanse of his chest, as if she were pulling it towards her. his eyes followed her movements, slowly drifting closed to the sound of her even breathing — only to snap back open. sucking in a breath of surprise at the feel of julie’s fingers on his skin, his eyes flickered down to find that her hand had dipped underneath the ripped edge of his non-existent sleeve, and was slowly making its way back across his chest. goosebumps erupted all across his body, a shiver coursing through him as her hand brushed against his skin, not stopping until she reached the spot right below his left pectoral.

right above where his newly beating heart was trying to hammer its way out of her chest.

he turned his gaze back towards julie at the sound of a sigh escaping her, her hand no longer moving from its spot.

he waited for a while for something else to happen, for her to peek up at him from under her eyelashes — and yet, nothing. she was still fast asleep, the palm of her hand resting above his stuttering heart.

his heart eventually calmed down to a more normal rhythm, finally allowing him to fall asleep with julie tucked into his embrace.

he doesn’t question her, doesn’t even acknowledge it when it seemed like she didn’t even remember ever doing it once she was finally awake.

but it kept happening, especially on days when he knew she had a difficult or particularly long day, one where she was looking for comfort.

and it was always the same: she would fall asleep with her arm lying across on chest, sometimes a slight frown forming on her face. but then the second she was asleep, her hand would move, dipping under his shirt and making its way to its spot above his heart.

and without fail, his eyes would track back to her face as he watched her frown disappear and a small sigh escape her.

she was pulling comfort from the steady beat of his heart; her subconscious mind not letting her rest until she searched for it and felt it beat against the palm of her hand.

luke wouldn’t necessarily say he was a particularly observant person, but it was hard to miss the person his world revolved around; the person who was responsible for the beating in his chest.

it was safe to say that it didn’t take luke long after that to finally confess his feelings for her.

#bro idk i had a scene in my mind and for some reason this became this. the tenses are all over the place but that’s just life yknow #jatp #juke #julie and the phantoms #my fics #jatp fics

[theobligatedklutz]

COUNTLESS GIFS of JULIE MOLINA (2/?):

“I just like to doodle on them sometimes.”

#countless gifs of julie molina #julie molina #miss me with the white boys #like julie molina first rest of humanity second #juliemolinaedit #julieandthephantomsedit #jatpedit #julie and the phantoms netflix #julie and the phantoms #jatp netflix #jatp #jatpsource #jatpdaily #latineheroes #dailywoc #dailypoc #dailynetflix #netflix #wonderwoc #molinasjulie #mygifs #myjatpposts

[ohwarnette]

julie molina 💗💘💕💕💓💞💘💗

#stan julie molina for clear skin #that’s julie’s effect #she’s the cutest #like julie molina first rest of humanity second #julie molina #julie and the phantoms #jatp #sara.chats

[organic-guacamole]

showtime

episode 211 let's go

ok first of all, this is the second to last episode guys... I don't even wanna think about how much pain I'll be in after next week's episode

mr mazzara doing the recap-

this is so weird to me and I don't know why

WHY DIDN'T YALL JUST ASK BENJAMIN FOR HELP, THATS LITERALLY HIS THING

is Nini giving out the cards a callback to season 1 when Natalie Bagley said that Nini gave her a card or something on opening night of another musical?

STEPHY AS THE ENCHANTRESS OMG YES

Ricky in the crown gives me Harry styles in that photoshoot vibes

he's so pretty.

ok but why did we never see Ricky and Ashlyn interact before? it's been like 5 seconds and I already love how they bounce off each other and it's just so natural

OH THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY UNDERSTUDIES-

well that explains a lot...

so Ricky fell on top of Ashlyn and all that broke for both of them was their wrist-

insert Jake Peralta *coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool no doubt no doubt no doubt*

of course howie was amazing as the beast, were we expecting anything less??

Ricky is so beautiful and I will not shut up about it....

let me enjoy this before the makeup crew slaps mud on his face.

Nini and Ricky talking to eachother? in a civil manner? wasn't she avoiding him just in the last episode? hm ok

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH THEY CANT EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS JUST LIKE ME HAHAHAHAHA THIS IS HILARIOUS, WHATS NEXT? THEY CUT EVERYONE OFF CUZ THEY CANT HANDLE EMOTIONS? ...ha

yes Kaden and Rico, my favourite east high boys 🥰

I mean....where's EJ?

THERE HE IS

EJ AND GINA IN THE BACKGROUND... doing something idek

KOURTNEY'S MOM IS BACK YAY

Howie is a shining star, ofc ofc

the smallest fOrk

can't wait to see the fork burst into song about how she deserves more than to be used to eat salad😌

the duster and the bluster.... ok😃

hi Gina!

hi- oh wow I didn't know Robbie Rotten was in this show!!!!!

the portwell look.

that my friends, is a married couple's look✋

GOSH EJ WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

aww Gina's so excited for this

D word?

Die?

Delicious?

Dom Toretto?

"good, clean fun all alone with someone I dig...a lot"

sir that does not sound very clean to me

SEBLOS

Seb looks so cute standing there next to pope Carlos

DID THEYEY REALLY LIGHT ANTOINE ON FIRE-

I NEED TO SEE THAT

Seb's reading Carlos better than big red read the script in episode 102, this is great development after the "fight"

Kourtney really just made the best outfit for herself and let the rest of them suffer

the way Gina immediately goes to hold on to EJ after the announcement

"tonight we're going to put the U in UTAH"

...

"hey where are you from?"

"TAH"

SEB'S SINGULAR CLAP KILLED ME-

he's officially salt lake city's resident thanos

just wity clapping because for some reason I have a feeling he doesn't know how to snap his fingers...don't ask why

Ms Jenn do you mind encouraging your leads before the show? idk just an idea

pepto bismol product placement smhsmh

those flowers are bigger that big red himself-

*bops along to the opening theme*

that whistle at the end slaps everytime

WHY IS THE AUDIENCE SO MASSIVE

I guess they're all here to see Ms Jenn go on as a fork after Nini decides to *go her own way*

wow i am so funny

so they couldn't do many group scenes cuz of covid, but this 300 person crowd is cool? nice

OO THE VIOLIN GIRL FROM EPISODE 6 IS IN THE ORCHESTRA

HOWIEEEEEE

"Mr Caswell", he said, in the loudest voice possible while backstage at a show that's about to start.

Mazzara what are you trying to pull-

I usually like Benjamin but I don't like his tone

"iS yOuR wHoLe FaMiLy HeRe?" LIKE YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW THATS A SOFT SPOT FOR EJ

"we've had some good conversations these past few weeks"

right so what's going to happen after you graduate?

what does he think of you not going to Duke?

what did he say about you giving the sweatshirt that's been in the family for 3 generations to a girl you're not even dating?

good old Mr. M

therapist Mr. Mazzara, they all need it.

start with Ricky though.

"Michael Bowen"

dude why did you shave, now you look less like "hot lumberjack" and more "creep at the gas station"

OH-

does she not like Mike anymore?

why does it sound like jennzzara started dating and now they just sit back and talk smack about everyone in their freetime

break the fourth wall-

uhhhh im scared

why am I scared

he's scary

hehe flowers for Ricky, obviously for Ricky, ObViOuSLY

oh boy poor Michael

this man is in love, rip

why does Ms Jenn always look at people with her eyes open so wide

LILYYYY

I'm only excited because I really like the idea of lily and Ricky being friends, nothing more.

ha this guy's got jokes

a MOAT AROUND THE SCHOOL

wheeze

also he's very pretty.

"the wolves and very talented humans"

how dare he forget to mention the very talented wolves and normal humans, smh erasure

"being nice, what a concept" ted talk by Lily who still doesn't have a last name

did she just say lol out loud

same with the hug emoji last episode-

go touch some grass babes

the way he didn't say no, but said he didn't know how the east high kids would react-

not saying he does want to date her but that's an interesting thing to think about, also another thing to write an essay analysis on just to leave it in my drafts for a few months

awww lily genuinely trying to help him

sorry guys, I've been taken by the Lily charm (didn't know it existed until now but oh well)

REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I'LL NEVER SHIP PORTWELL?

just look at me now

the Lily wink I can't she's so cute-

HELP ME I'M BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY LIL-

David Attenborough?

oh nvm it's Benjamin narrating the show in a really weird British accent for some reason.

STEPHY GOT MORE LINES YAY GOOD FOR HER

also is this to show that Nini doesn't care about being the star of the show anymore? the way she's supporting everyone else even though she's a fork?

I would pay for a special of the full musical ngl

OOO THE TRANSFORMATION WAS SMOOTH

shockingly

yo where did the makeup come from

man I wish I was a theatre kid

THIS IS STEPHY'S EPISODE NOW IDC✋

my girl is starring

"needs an X-factor"

Simon Cowbell creeps in

"it's a yes from me"

and them boom, he takes Nini and mistreats her horribly and then she comes back to theatre after deciding music isn't for her👍

"I thought she just hog-tied him?"

don't ask sebby, it's better if you don't know.

imagine they spotlight the wrong person and this dude is just some random person that likes writing down stuff during shows.

Ms Jenn just let them do what they rehearsed (at some point we never saw) or else this is gonna end horribly wrong

"help"

same Carlos, same

I love how seb is just his translator rn

I thought he said "great displeasure" instead of "greatest pleasure"....help?

big red coming out from throwing up to see his girlfriend star is the cutest thing in this show.

Ash and Gina dancing is so fun

I'm imagining them practicing at night at their home, watching the movie for the 100th time and making sure their one dance together is perfect

KOURTNEY YES

HOWIE IS IN LOVE AHHHH

I LOVE HOWIE SO MUCH

SEBBY

THIS SCENE HAS SO MUCH GOING ON I CAN'T KEEP UP

THIS IS SO GOOD

HOW???

no because I'm actually crying

I'm dead serious.

we need this musical released as a special

big red is so proud and I love to see it

Natalie: "if you do not by at least 20 dollars in concessions, you do not support art"

rando in the audience: "but I pay for ad free Spotify"

Mr Mazzara clapping in the distance

Gigi, the guy you like is talking to you, complimenting you and hyping you up

YOU LUCKY LITTLE FEATHER DUSTER

aw EJ teasing her about the chocolates in a way that doesn't make her feel bad? take notes Richard

JORDAN FISHER

there is no rest of the show idc Jordan is it for me

THE WIG CAP ON RICKY OMG

they look like they're high and having "deep" conversations on the floor

THE MEAN GIRL WITH THE EYES-

@sunshine-julie-molina YOU HEAR THAT

Natalie really just be coming for them all

Howie what is happening rn

I'm scared

"did you enjoy it"

"very much"

dude wants a kiss so bad

ASHLYN OMG

NO DON'T DO IT BECAUSE OF LILY, PUT YOUR OWN TWIST ON IT

I want a Jordan autograph please

just keep swim- oh pushing...

Gina is literally a giant next to him and I live for it

am I about to cry for the 3rd time in this episode?

yes.

Ricky's leg kicks under the table makes me so happy aw

the portwell glances will kill me.

ah yes, mashed potato snow

Mr. M.... I'm not a theatre kid but even I know you can't have your phone on backstage.

Howie please just do it

CHIP'S BIG LINE I CANT

I LITERALLY HAD TO PAUSE IT AMD SCREAM INTO MY MASK FOR A SOLID 2 MINUTES (I'm not at home rn) HES SO CUTE

oh ok bye Jordan

oo tea

NOT HIM BEING STARSTRUCK BECAUSE HE'S MEETING HIS FUTURE BROTHER IN LAW-

"we're all just glad Gigi has a big brother figure in her life"

excuse me for a few thousand hours while I laugh hysterically

THE CAMERA ZOOM ON EJS FACE AND EVERYTHING-

STOP EJ LOOKS LIKE HE'S GONNA CRY BUT I CAN'T TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY WITH THE STAGE MAKE-UP

someone else said this already but I think it's hilarious that they had to bring in 2 guest characters to create some portwell angst

omg this really is Cici's episode, found family is their thing

elevator music lol

I'm gonna bet that big red took the harness for his surprise for Ashlyn without realising what it was

did Ms. Jenn just....tell her most mentally unstable student....to commit suicide....on a disney show...was that....I'm very....well....what the actual-

oh and there she goes running off instead of trying to make it right

oh wow Nini's the hero, she's gonna save the show 🤩

😐

the judge is doing a sudoku

honestly if I went to the hsm show as well, I'd come prepared for this one too

Lily why are you looking like that-

I WAS JUST STARTING TO LIKE YOU DON'T MESS THIS UP

wow ok, there goes that.

omg

what if Howie was acting weird because he knew what Lily did and wanted to tell Kourtbut Lily threatened him so he was scared to-

anyways see y'all clowns next week when we all simultaneously lose all motivation for the week without Fridays to look forward to.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #hsmtmts season 2 #hsmtmts spoilers #ej caswell #gina porter #ricky bowen #nini salazar roberts #seb mathew smith #carlos rodriguez #big red #ashlyn caswell #kourtney greene #howie my pizza king #lily hsmtmts

[blueskiesandstarrynights]

Whatever Happens I'ma Stand Tall- Jatp time loop au, Chapter 1: Loop 1

And here we go! This is an idea I've had brewing for a while and I'm finally starting it! Part of this chapter does come from the episode Stand Tall as set up for the story. Some chapters will have multiple loops and some will have one. Also, just a quick warning the guys do get jolted out of existence/die but it's temporary and the premise of the story. Since this will be multi chaptered, anyone who wants to be a part of a tag list can just send me an ask and I'll add you for next chapter.

Word Count: 1511

Masterpost of chapters (x)

Looks like today is gonna be another sunny day, with temperatures in the low to mid eighties.

Julie goes to shut off her radio alarm and takes a deep breath. Today was the day. If everything went well, they were going to play the Orpheum, her phantoms would cross over, and they wouldn’t be destroyed by those horrible jolts.

It was fine.

She was fine.

She got dressed, took a deep breath, and went out to face the day.

The rest of the day passed in what felt like a blur, one thing quickly happening after another; the guys securing their performance, the exciting phone call she got when they got back, rushing to her dad to tell him about the gig they she secured, the band hug in the studio, the nervous car ride to the Orpheum, the anxious waiting, the breakdown in the alley realizing they weren’t coming, the exhilarating performance when they did, it’s a wonder she didn’t fall asleep on the car ride home.

After making an excuse to her father and brother, she made her way to the studio. She needed to say one final good-bye.

She opened the doors and stared into the dark room that had held so much life these past couple weeks. A room that once held the smiles and songs of her mother, but now held the smiles and songs of her new family. In the darkened room she could still see Luke's beanie thrown on the couch, Alex’s drums shining in the moonlight, and the floating chairs her mom had hung up with Julie one afternoon that Reggie had pointed out on his first day here.

She took a deep breath before saying, “I-I know I already said this, but, uh, thank you guys.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was a collective sigh followed by, “Dude”

Julie dashed over to the light, hoping the voices she just heard weren’t hallucinations made out of hope, but there they were. Collapsed on the floor coughing, looking exhausted and in pain, and very much not crossed over.

She stared at them for a few seconds in shock before stammering out, “W-why are you guys here? I-I thought-” She didn’t even get a chance to finish her sentence before another jolt rocked the collapsed figures followed by another round of coughing and groaning. “I thought you crossed over, why didn’t you cross over?”

“I guess playing the Orpheum wasn’t our unfinished business.” Alex groans as he and Luke and Reggie try hauling themselves up from their collapsed ghost pile.

“Point Caleb,” Reggie added sadly, leaning against a chair for support.

“We wanted you to think we crossed over so we came here,” Luke contributed. “We just-” he paused. “We had nowhere else to go.”

“We thought you’d just go straight to bed,” Reggie explained.

“Yeah, well, I knew she was gonna come out here, but nobody ever listens to-” Alex is cut off by yet another jolt that rocks all three ghosts.

This seems to break whatever trance that had been holding Julie to stand there and stare at her collapsing bandmates, and she tearfully cried out, “You have to save yourselves right now! Go join Caleb’s club, please, it’s better than not existing at all! Go, poof out, just go, do something, do it for me please!”

Reggie simply shook his head, “We’re not going back there”

Luke staggered towards her and looked Julie in the eyes before saying, “No music is worth making, Julie, if we’re not making it with you. No regrets.”

They both give a sniffle before Julie launches herself forward towards Luke to give him a hug and-

She stumbles from the momentum and passes through him. She’s not sure why she did that, she wasn’t exactly expecting anything different, he is a ghost after all.

The guys are jolted once more and are forced to the floor again, but this time they have less strength to get back up. They had just started sitting back up when they were forced back down once more by another painful jolt. They seemed to be getting more frequent and more painful with each one that came. Everyone in the studio knew this was the end, and each second that passed brought them closer to their inevitable doom.

Julie’s eyes were so blurred with tears that she almost didn’t notice that the guys were now fading. She could now sort of see through them and see the furniture behind them, and for the first time since she met them, they actually looked like how she expected ghosts to look.

Luke seemed to notice too and he turned to Julie and said, “Hey, Julie I want you to promise us something, ok? Don’t stop playing music. You just got it back in your life, your mom wouldn’t want you to drop it, and neither do we. Keep smiling, keep making music, and keep showing the world the human wrecking ball that is Julie Molina.”

Julie nodded to him, too choked up to say anything before turning to Reggie who had tried to sit up but only succeeded in hurting himself more. He repositioned himself to lean against a chair before saying, “Take care of Ray and Carlos for me ok? And-and if Carlos ever figures us out, tell him I miss him, ok?”

Julie sniffled, “I will, I promise, I’ll tell him all about you guys.”

Alex looks like he’s about to say something when a jolt once again hits them, and Julie worries this could be it when they briefly flicker out of existence entirely, but they do come back to her, albeit still faded. Alex must’ve realized how little time they had left, and he started to speak faster to get his last request out.

“Julie, promise me if you ever run into Willie, tell you’ll him that I miss him, and to not blame himself for this happening, ‘cuz he’s gonna do that, and-” he pauses, as if he’s scared to say this next part. “And tell him that I love him.”

Julie agreed, “I’ll find him and tell him, he’ll know how much you cared for him.”

Julie looked down at her boys and tried to memorize every detail about them. Alex’s hair that always seemed to fall in his face, Reggie’s smile that wasn’t here right now, but always seemed to light up a room, and Luke’s voice that always seemed to fill a room, whether he was singing or shouting words of encouragement her way. She had to memorize them, since there were no pictures of them to hold whenever she’d get sad, unlike her mom.

Sure, there was the Edge of Great video, but it was a performance. Something rehearsed. She wished she had more time with them for so many reasons, but she wanted more time to create memories, more time to just do normal things and find a way to record them.

Luke looked up at his defeated bandmates and got their attention by announcing, “Hey guys, band circle.”

The guys couldn’t really move all that well through the pain, but they all stuck their fists together in a circle.”We may not have made it into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, but we still played the Orpheum and that’s pretty rad.” Luke then turned to Julie and said, “And, when you win your first Grammy and make it big-hey, we know you will, don’t try to deny it-remember us, ok? And, a little shout out wouldn’t hurt either.” Luke tried to give her a wink at that statement, but it just came out as more of a grimace, but Julie tried to give him a smile regardless.

“Alright legends on three ok?” The band nodded.

“One,” Reggie started.

“Two,” Alex added.

But before Julie could finish, there was one final jolt that coursed through the ghosts’ non-existent bodies, and they disappeared for good before they even hit the floor.

There was absolute silence in the studio as Julie whispered out a quiet, “Three,” her fist still reached out in a non existent circle. She dropped her hand to her side before her whole body dropped to the floor, her whole body wracked with sobs as she sat in the dimly lit, empty studio.

She sat there in the studio and just mourned for a while. Or at least, she thinks it’s a while. She doesn’t know how long she sits there, whether it’s been minutes or hours, she doesn’t know, all she knows is she doesn’t know how she’s going to face her family like this. She’s not sure how she could explain this to her father without looking crazy, and she really didn’t know if she could pretend like everything’s ok, when it’s not, it’s not even close to ok.

So consumed in her grief and tears, she almost doesn’t notice the bright white light enveloping her, growing brighter by the second until-

Silence.

Then-

Looks like today is gonna be another sunny day, with temperatures in the low to mid eighties.

#mine #my writing #jatp time loop au #julie and ​the phantoms #jatp #alex mercer #julie molina #luke patterson #reggie peters

[ruzek-halstead]

midnight troubles

part one

pairing: luke patterson x julie molina

a fic all about luke and julie taking on their biggest challenge yet: parenting a baby simulator.

high school au

"we are not naming our daughter after those two doofuses."

part two || masterlist || ao3

"Time to hand out your new babies!"

Luke's face paled.

How did he manage to get himself into this situation? He deliberately missed a health credit, hoping his extracurricular activities such as sports (and singlehandedly putting together a legendary band at seventeen) would be enough. But clearly, he wasn't that lucky after being pulled into his guidance counsellor's office and being told his only other option was to take a health class specifically focused on parenting. At such late notice, it was the only class with an open spot that could count towards his requirements.

It was mostly fine.

Julie happened to be in that class and he was able to half-ass through it because his best friend (and incredible lead singer of his band) is ridiculously smart. She'd only huff when he inched over to peek at her notes but even she couldn't resist his cheeky grin.

However, this was an assignment where he couldn't use his excellent level of bullshit. It was the final project of the semester and worth 30% of their final grade. In pairs of two, they were to care for a fake baby, who in reality, acted just like a real baby. It recorded everything and if you took too long to respond to its crying, or held its neck the wrong way, it docked marks. 

Luckily for Luke, Julie agreed to be his partner, because he genuinely believed he would fail without her. Unfortunately, her genius brain alone was not enough to help them excel in this project. 

"Patterson, girl or boy?"

Oh, and the best part about this course? They had been short on teachers at the beginning of the school year, so somehow, Luke's lacrosse coach (who hates everything and everyone) was convinced to teach the course. 

Luke looked over at Julie in a panic, unsure of his answer. "Uh — I don't know?"

"That's not an answer, Patterson!" Coach Jacobs yelled before throwing a baby simulator, dressed in a light pink onesie, in Luke's direction. Luke fumbled a little but managed to catch it. Julie cringed when she saw his hands wrap around the baby's neck. The whole classes' eyes flickered back to Coach Jacobs. "That doesn't count," he muttered before continuing to hand out the babies in a more civilized manner. 

Assuming that the simulators hadn't been turned on yet due to the way it made no noise whatsoever after being chucked halfway across the room, Luke gently placed it back on his desk. "It's a girl," Julie said softly, staring at her in admiration from her desk beside Luke. 

Luke found himself staring at Julie, his heart fluttering. The way Julie was smiling at the baby, as if it was—and god forbid where his mind was dragging him, but as if it was theirs—was making his heart do all sort of weird things in his chest. Luke and Julie had always been friends, but ever since they started the band together and started senior year, he'd started to feel things.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, shooting her a nervous grin when her brown eyes moved up to his face. "What are we naming her?" Before Julie could chime in, he continued, "I promised the boys I'd consider their names as options."

"We are not naming our daughter after those two doofuses," she deadpanned with the utmost seriousness, but Luke was too busy avoiding an aneurysm at hearing 'our daughter' to focus on anything else.

"Regex?" He choked out, because when in doubt, always make a joke.

Julie shook her head. "Over my dead body."

"I've always liked the name Sophia," Luke shrugged, catching her eye to gauge her reaction.

She sent him a soft smile. "I really like that. Let's do it."

The sweet moment was cut short when Coach Jacobs clicked a few buttons on his computer with a smirk. "Alright suckers, get ready for the worst weekend of your lives!"

His statement was proven when half the babies in the room started screaming.

x

"Let me see it!" 

"Reggie, it's a her! And I'm the godfather, I get first look."

Julie flinched as the two boys crowded around her. She had just arrived in the cafeteria where she was meeting the boys for lunch, like she always did. Today, she had a new addition and the boys were beyond ecstatic.

"Oh my god, she's adorable," Alex cooed, his eyes sparkling. "I know she's fake but wow, my heart is bursting right now."

Julie laughed. "Her name is Sophia."

Reggie instantly smirked, elbowing Alex whose face was etched in a frown. "I have literally the most common unisex name ever and you didn't name her after me?"

"Trust me," Luke chimed in, appearing out of nowhere and wrapping his arm around Julie's shoulders. "We don't need two Alex's."

"I second that!" Reggie added excitedly. 

Alex rolled his eyes, angrily taking a bite from his apple. "Don't worry. I'll remember this; karma is a bitch."

"Dramatic," Reggie sang under his breath. He narrowly missed getting hit with Alex's apple. 

"How was she?" Luke asked with a smile, avoiding his friend's antics. Luke and Julie had opposite classes for the rest of the day and decided they would meet in between and alternate. 

Julie smiled proudly. "Not a peep. My girl knows Mr. Sanders is terrifyingly scary."

"Great," Luke groaned, "that just means I'm going to get all the action."

Julie patted his shoulder with a smirk. "I really hope so."

"Jules!" Luke whined. "You're not be a very supportive partner, you know."

The brunette rolled her eyes at his guilt tripping antics. "I'm too smart for your games, Patterson. Plus, I'm getting her for all of tonight, so this is the least you can do."

"I know," he grumbled in response, "it's just scary. She's like a tiny human. What if I break her?"

Before Julie could reply, Alex jumped back into the conversation (he had a sort of sixth sense for opportunities to tease and or make fun of Luke). "Well, in the real world, you'd probably get arrested for murder. But she's a tiny robot; I think you'll be just fine."

"Hey, why don't we leave the baby with Alex and go bowling or something?" Luke teased. 

Alex frowned. "What — no —" 

"Great idea, Luke!" Julie cut Alex off with a smirk. "You want to come, Reg? Alex is on baby duty!"

"I don't like this!" Alex whined. 

Reggie smiled excitedly. "We're going bowling? That's when you throw the ball down the side thingies, right?"

Alex paused, patting Reggie's back with a bright smile on his lips. "Never mind. All of that was worth it for this very moment."

x

It was somehow decided that Julie would take baby Sophia for the first night (because she's more likely to not completely destroy the simulator than Luke), then she would make her way over to Luke's house on Saturday.

That was the plan. However, plans always change.

The first few hours went great. The baby cried but was easily soothed with a diaper change or a quick bottle. Julie was able to get the baby to sleep around 9:30 and ended up falling asleep herself after watching a movie on Netflix.

She was woken up at two in the morning with soft cries, so she blearily picked up baby Sophia and chimed her with her bracelet. She tried giving her a bottle which didn't quiet her down and neither did a diaper change. She tried cuddling her and rocking her but to no avail; Julie pulled on her curls, wondering if the cries she was hearing were hers or the baby's. 

"Baby, please go back to sleep," Julie begged.

After another fifteen minutes of incessant crying, Julie decided to call in reinforcements. She shouldn't be the only one losing sleep and suffering. 

She quickly dialled Luke's number and prayed he wasn't in a deep sleep where he wouldn't hear his phone. If that was the case, she had half a mind to drive over and stick him with baby Sophia so she could finally sleep for a bit. Luckily, he picked up after a few rings.

"Hello?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Lucas Patterson!" Julie hissed over the phone, so sharply that he scrambled to sit upright in his bed and hold the phone tight to his ear. "You better get your ass over here before I murder you! I am dying here!"

Luke rubbed the sleep out of his eyes; he could hear the faint crying of Sophia and sighed. "My name isn't Lucas," he muttered, "and come on Jules, it can't be that bad."

He could picture the absolutely furious and incredulous expression on her face.

"Are you kidding me, Luke? How about I abandon you with this child, and then we'll see what isn't that bad?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, nearly dozing off again.

Julie knew him too well.

"Luke!" She snapped and he flinched awake again. "I better see your face in ten minutes or you're taking care of Sophia the rest of the weekend by yourself!"

"Shit, okay," he grumbled, grabbing a random sweatshirt and joggers. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"It's been over half an hour of this, you have ten!"

Luke groaned as he hung up the phone and rand a hair through his brown hair. By the tone of Julie's voice, he knew better than to make her wait any longer. Luke arrived at Julie's house with one minute to spare and grabbed the key lodged under a rock in the garden. As soon as he walked in the door, he could hear faint cries.

At this point, he wasn't sure if the cries were baby Sophia's or Julie's. 

He had barely gotten through the threshold of her bedroom before his baby was shoved into his arms. "Oh okay," he mumbled, stumbling on his feet. Julie's brown curls were tied back into a messy bun and her eyes were rimmed red.

"Thank god you're here," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. She was undoubtedly making them even more irritated. "She hasn't stopped crying, I've honestly done everything. I don't know what she—" Julie's words abruptly stopped because for the first time in over an hour, all she heard was silence. "What the hell?"

Luke looked just as confused as she did because it literally only took a few seconds before the baby quieted down once settled in his arms. Julie looked exasperated.

"You're never leaving," she replied quickly, staring at him in awe. "You can't leave me alone with her again. I think she hates me."

Luke leaned against her desk, shooting her a disgruntled look. "Relax, I'm sure that's not true. Plus, she's basically a robot. Do they even feel?"

"She definitely makes me feel," Julie huffed, sitting down on her bed. "You can probably put her back now. I think she's cried enough for the night." Luke slowly placed her back in her car seat. "Can you imagine having a baby at this age? God, I couldn't do it."

She could barely make it through an entire night with a fake baby, much less a real one.

Luke took a seat beside her, a generous amount of space between them. "I can't imagine having a baby, no. I think it's physically impossible, but I could be wrong."

Julie laughed, hitting his shoulder in response. Her action brought her a little closer to him. "Shut up. I'm still mad at you for abandoning me."

"Sorry," he smirked in response, even though this was technically the agreed upon deal. "I promise I'll spend the rest of this weekend attached at your hip. I think that's only fair after the night you've already had. 

Julie sighed happily. "You always know what to say, don't you, Patterson?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders and felt his cheeks heat up slightly. "I wouldn't say that."

Julie wasn't sure what was bringing it on, but she felt the sudden need to let him know just how much she appreciated him. He was always ready to help out, regardless of the obstacles. He always seemed to know just what to say to make her feel better, and even if it didn't, he would always be the one to tell her exactly what she needed to hear. He was her biggest fan when it came to her music, and she couldn't picture anyone else by her side on the piano bench.

Luke had the biggest heart of anyone she'd ever known (except Reggie, maybe) and he needed to know that.

"Hey, I'm serious," she said softly, ducking her head down to catch his hazel eyes. "I appreciate you."

Luke chuckled nervously and before he knew it, his fingers were ringing together because he didn't know what to do with his hands. His nervousness only got worse when Julie tangled her hand into his on his lap.

"I think you're more tired than you thought," Luke responses softly. His gaze focused on their hands. There had always been a connection between them; everyone else could see it, even Luke could see it, especially when they wrote music together.

Julie smiled. "Yeah, I think I am," she leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "We should probably get some sleep bef—"

Sophia's loud cries cut her off before she could finish and Julie groaned, burying her head into his shoulder.

"Don't worry Jules, I've got you."

x

this is a little something i had saved from another fandom & decided to give it a shot for jatp!!

originally written for teen wolf’s stiles and lydia. and the coach was based off coach finstock from teen wolf as well, quite arguably the best character of the show lmao (can yall tell i love teen wolf and am very salty it ended and stiles wasn't even in the last two seasons) 

shameless promotion - anyway go watch teen wolf & thanks for reading!!

stay safe everyone! x

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #jatp au #jatp fic #jatp fanfic #jatp fanfiction #juke #juke au #juke fic #juke fanfic #juke fanfiction #luke x julie #julie x luke #palina #julie molina #luke patterson #alex jatp #jatp alex #jatp reggie #reggie jatp #fics

[lukepattrsn]

netflix and the chilling art of ghost cuddling

Also on AO3.

“I can’t do this anymore.” 

Julie Molina’s neck was bent to an inhuman angle. She had been laying in between Luke and Reggie, at the top of her bed, for over four hours. 

It was during times like these that she remembered her mom most clearly: she had always been the one to bug Julie about the lack of headboard where her bedroom furniture was concerned. She had been particularly vocal about Julie’s request—back when they were remodeling the house—for an extra wide window sill, so she could house her smaller plants where sunlight was most abundant. 

Julie knew her strong personality came off as petulance sometimes, and she was sure her mom had thought as much when she insisted that she direct her incessant nagging over to her tio Joaquin, when time came to finish the trimming for her room. Although Julie’s ego was well fed when her uncle adhered to her specifications, she was faintly aware that the pain she currently felt could very well be, in some form or another, her mother coming to collect for having been right all those years back and still swallowing all of her child’s dissent. 

So, yeah. Julie’s plants were hydrated and healthy, and had a lovely sunlit home above her sea of pillows—but her neck was absolutely destroyed. No amount of cushioning could do away with the protruding casing of the massive window behind her bed. 

The entire situation was weird, too. The boys were still ghosts in that they were still invisible to others aside from when they were on stage with Julie, but they had since gained the ability to become corporeal; so she could see them, and feel them, and hug them. And while their current reality was optimal for Julie’s sanity—being able to smack Reggie now and again had proven itself a hidden blessing—the air around them hung heavy with dread. 

If they were still invisible to others, they still had unfinished business to tend to. And it was hard to think about that part; that every happy moment with them, every performance, was really just another step taking them closer to crossing over. Julie suspected that there wasn’t much personal choice involved in fulfilling the very purpose of one’s afterlife, and that the boys would probably disappear off to wherever it was that her mom went, becoming ultimately separated from her. That thought alone filled her with an overwhelming sense of urgency, a need to exhaust absolutely every last shred of creativity among the four of them, before they were gone from her completely.

For this reason it was more than a little nerve wracking that they chose to remain nestled atop Julie’s full mattress, all sprawled in an asynchronous pile, nearing the tail end of Return of the Jedi, and readying for their first viewing of The Phantom Menace—they would do Star Wars in release order, of course, because it was very important to Reggie to experience these movies like everybody else. She only felt a little traitorous in wishing they could be writing, or at least doing something to help their doomed situation. 

Not to mention it was getting a little warm in the room, too. She wanted her fuzzy socks off so badly, but knew cuddling etiquette couldn’t possibly encompass that possibility. A little antsy, Julie shifted down slightly, so that her head would rest on a pillow edged in between herself and Luke’s chest, instead of continuing propped against the hardwood of her window sill. That caused a stir in Reggie, to her left, whose hand had become entwined with hers halfway through the first film due to equal parts sheepish excitement and a need to feel ‘human warmth’— his words. 

“Seriously, Julie, hang in there. This is 25 years in the making.” 

Reggie’s grip on her hand tightened slightly. From the floor cushions to the right of her bed, Julie could hear an amused laugh escape Alex. She considered the risks of peering over Luke’s mountainous arms to where her blondest friend resided, last she saw he was still all luscious pale hair and pink sweatshirts; but that felt too intrusive now. At some point in the night Julie suspected Willie had joined them. She had heard some rustling, had noticed a certain look exchanged between Luke and Reggie, and then again between the two and Alex; but it was only when they started waving to a spot in the room that looked totally empty to her that her suspicions were confirmed. 

She knew now how Flynn must feel around the boys. Sort of. The band, at least, materialized on stage. Willie was still entirely elusive to Julie. 

Once, after the ordeal with Caleb had settled and they had been able to reconnect, she had asked Luke to describe him to her, but all he had said was “he skates,” and that she would “totally know the type.” Completely useless. Since then she had been able to compile some additional information from the boys that allowed a more conclusive picture to form in her head—Willie wore cool cropped tees which Reggie was envious of, was all sharp angles, golden skin and cascading black hair (that one came from Alex), and he giggled, a lot. It was all very endearing, if not for the fact that every time Willie came around Julie felt a tiny pang of resentment for the fact that the boys had almost been taken from her because of Alex’s involvement with him. She was working hard to do away with those feelings, because Willie made Alex happy, but not being able to address it directly, because she couldn’t see or hear him, made the situation all the more difficult. It made her feel a little vulnerable, too, to be seen but not be able to see him. 

But that was just where things were right now, and she had to deal with it. 

“Fine,” she grumbled, shifting her weight slightly.

Two seconds later she felt a solid thump against her head. 

Startled, Julie looked toward the direction it came from, only to be faced with an open-mouthed Luke, seemingly significantly less interested in the Star Wars universe and suddenly very obviously asleep. He could do that now? Sleep? The rules of their existence were both unclear and inconsistent to Julie. She turned toward Luke a little more, making sure not to disturb Reggie’s grasp on her left hand, and took a short moment of her time to study the stillness of his features. Stoic brows, shaggy brown hair, perfectly curved lips. If he were drooling a little she would have to overlook it. He had shifted to match her earlier movements, and his right hand had fallen from where it rested behind his head, directly dropping onto Julie’s. They were in an impossible position now, and the slightest maneuver from Julie only served to nestle his fingers further into her hair. She was effectively being cupped by his right arm; her chin gently nudged in the space between his right bicep and forearm. She was pretty close to nuzzling the inner part of his elbow, and it felt really weird, but also sort of nice. After they played the Orpheum, she had been sure the boys were lost to her forever. Finding them in her garage, somehow nourishing their livelihoods, was nothing short of a miracle. Since then she vowed to relish in any form of touch she could get from them. From Luke. Any way to connect with him and to legitimize his role in her life felt very valid and very important, so she let herself freeze in that position. 

And while to Julie this whole movie marathon idea had originally felt like a waste of their time and resources, the scene unfolding in her bedroom made it much easier to understand the necessity behind this moment of serenity shared between herself and the boys, especially for them. Her boys—who loved music so much they came back to life. If being a present and willing fountain of warmth and friendship for them was what they needed, and if doing so landed her in Luke’s arms every now and again, she could hardly take issue with it.

#julie x luke #willie x alex #alex x willie #luke x julie #julie and the fat ones #julie and the phantoms #julie and the himbos #jatp netflix #jatp #jatp au #fanfic #oneshot #ao3 #juke #willex #reggie #mine #charlie gillespie #madison reyes #juke au

[daisiesforlacey]

clouds - chapter 3 : stratus

Pair : Julie x Alive!Luke

Summary : After her mother’s death, Julie Molina moved away from Hollywood, across the country, to Ithaca, New York. She’s left behind her two loves in life: her best friend, Luke, and her music. There, she finds new friends and enemies, new experiences and joys, she might even find herself. Every night, Luke calls Julie to talk about the clouds. But what if Luke is hiding something?

Word Count : 5,061

Warnings : mild swearing

Notes : Ok so chapters will be around 3k to 5k words, the first one was just an outlier lol. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please please comment and like; feedback means the world to me

Masterlist

Taglist

---

Julie had been finishing up her toast and orange juice with her brother, bleary eyed and barely functional, when Flynn strutted herself into her house with a shout. She dropped her backpack on the ground unceremoniously by the doorway. 

“Good morning Molina household!” She called, “I’m here to kidnap one of you!” Flynn walked into the kitchen before sliding into the bar stool between Julie and Carlos and taking a piece of toast for herself. She shoved it down her throat with remarkable speed before turning Julie’s brother. 

“I was over here in 43 seconds, a new record.”

Carlos nodded his head, impressed, “What was your time to beat, 55 seconds?” 

“Yep. Next time, I just have to remember not to take the stairs so fast.” She rubbed her knee with a grimace.

Julie got up to put her now empty glass in the sink with a clink, “I don’t understand how you two get up in the morning all happy and stuff. There must be something wrong, because it’s not genetic.”

Flynn had now stolen what was left of Carlos’ breakfast, her mouth full while she talked, “Cheer up, we have at least 20 minutes before we have to leave, so you have plenty of time to become a functional human being.” 

“She’s never a functional human being,” Carlos retorted. Flynn smirked as Julie shot a glare at the two of them, now leaning on the counter

“You’re not allowed to be on his side. It’s against the rules.”

Flynn only shrugged, “Rules were meant to be broken.”

Julie crossed her arms, but she was smiling, “Says who?”

“Says me, the rule maker supreme. My word is law. Right, Carlos?” Flynn didn’t even have to look at him as they fist bumped. 

“Right.”

Julie groaned and pushed herself off of the counter top, “Ignoring the heartbreaking betrayal that just went down, Flynn do you remember when I told you I had something to show you?”

Flynn nodded passively. 

“Well I think it was in the garage.” Julie grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the back door, “Carlos, can you finish cleaning up? This is super important.”

Julie heard her brother grumble about stupid sisters and their secrets before getting up to put the rest of the dishes in the sink. 

Julie had texted Flynn after last night’s conversation with Luke to come over a little earlier than normal. She had said that she found something in the garage last night; she didn’t know yet if she would be able to play her piano, so she didn’t want to get anyone's hopes up. 

They walked on the stone path to the disconnected garage to the left of her house before standing in front of the two double doors. Julie pulled them open to reveal a spacious, relatively empty, blank slate. Inside to the right was an old red couch, a lone chair, and a few old band posters, to the left lay a rug, but with enough room to fit at least four chairs and a table. There was a loft overhead, which Julie and her father had spent their first weekend moving boxes into. 

And finally stood a dusty baby grand piano at the back. It had been her mother’s and she and Julie would spend hours at it. No one had played it since they moved. 

Julie turned to Flynn as they stood at the entrance, “Okay, so maybe I didn’t find anything per se, but I sort of did.” She led the other girl to stand in front of the piano before she sat down on the dusty bench, her hands in her lap

“Julie-” Flynn started.

“I was talking with Luke, and he had written a song and we got talking and,” Julie paused, looking at the keys, “He brought up my mom’s song. We had worked on it before she passed.”

Julie looked up to see her friend with a hopeful smile on her face, “I can’t let myself be kicked out of the music program, and I-I think that if I can play this song, I might be able to play again.”

Julie pulled a folded piece of paper out from her pocket and set it atop the piano. Flynn had pulled up a chair next to her and looked at the girl expectantly. 

Julie took a few deep breaths; in and out, in and out, she repeated. She could do this. She could set her hands on the ivory and play her mother's song. All it was was a few notes and lines on a page. She raised her hands to play. It was so simple.

Except, it wasn’t.

She quickly pulled her hands back into her lap, and started toying with her sleeve. If she played her mother’s song, she wouldn’t have anything left of her. This was her mother’s last creation, the last thing she would ever do; if Julie played it, she'd be accepting that. She’d be letting go over her mother and her legacy. 

Flynn must have seen her unease, because she placed a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to push yourself.”

Julie shook her head, “No, I have to get over it eventually, I can’t not play.” But she didn’t make a move. She was frozen to the seat, stuck in limbo. 

“It’s just, this is the last thing my mom and I ever did, the last memory I have of us playing. If I play it, I’ll be letting go of her. I don’t think I’m ready to do that. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to do that.” Julie shook her head and placed her head in her hands, “I really wish I could. I wish I could just play the damn piano! Every time I try I just get looks of pity or-or like people are annoyed with me. I wish it was that simple, just sit down and play, and not worry and come to terms with my own mother dying, but I just can’t! I have no idea what will happen when I do!”

She took a stuttering breath in her eyes watering, “I wish that I could be like Dad and accept that she was gone. I wish that I could be like Carlos and just distract myself from it, thinking that ghosts are real just to wrap my head around the concept of death. But I’m not. I’m just Julie. And the one thing that makes me me, I can’t do.” She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, “I’m sorry, that was a lot to unload on you.”

But Flynn pulled her into a bone crushing hug. They stayed like that until Flynn pulled back and held her at arm's length, looking her in the eyes, “I have absolutely no idea what you are going through, and it is completely unfair to ask a person to go through something like this. But please don’t ever feel like you can’t tell me things; that’s what friends are for, especially awesome best friends like me.” She chuckled.

“I never knew Rose, but I do know what it is like to lose someone. You wish you could have known that every moment you had with them was precious, and you wish you could hold on to them forever, and you wish that they just hadn’t left in the first place. And I know that everyday without them feels like a day wasted, and you feel so hopeless when the one person you need isn’t there. And that sucks. But you don’t have to go through it alone; you have me and your dad and Carlos, and L.A boy. You have so many people that love you and will help you through this. I promise.”

“If you can’t play your piano today, that’s completely fine. It may not be tomorrow, or next week, or even a year from now. But one day, you will. And in that moment you’ll realize that you’re not forgetting your mother or letting go of her: you’re moving on. You’re saying, ‘You made me who I am and I love you and I miss you and I think about you every day, but I can’t let this stop me from growing.’ You’re honoring your mother's life by doing what she knew you were born to do: sing and play. All she ever wanted was for you to be happy.” Flynn pulled her into a hug again, “And who knows, maybe Carlos is right, and she’s standing right in this room cheering you on.”

Julie laughed into her friend’s shoulder, sniffling with damp eyes, “You’re the best.”

Flynn shrugged and patted her back, “I know.”

---

After flipping a coin, Julie had agreed to pay for lunch that day in the cafeteria. She stood in the lunch line examining the room as she waited. Another cougar had been painted by the microwaves and a yellow border ran around the ceiling. Tiles in their school colors were scattered across the floor and the room held about 25 round black tables. 

As she finished in the lunch line and walked toward her and Flynn’s table near the entrance, she overheard a conversation.

“So if Dirty Candi wants to perform at the dance, we need to tighten up our routine. Kayla, that means you need to get it together near the chorus.” Carrie Wilson wagged ketchup covered french fry in her friend's direction, “But I really do think we’ll nail it.”

“I know you will!” Nick was sitting next to her, his arm around her waist.

Julie didn’t particularly like Carrie but she had to give it to her; her songs were catchy and her choreography was always immaculate. They had worked hard for every gig they got, and made it look effortless. 

Only a few seconds later, she arrived at her table. She handed Flynn her lunch tray, distracting her from her Pre-Calc homework, then sat down.

She grimaced, “Carrots and peas again? You’d think they’d run out of slop to feed us but nope! It just keeps coming.”

Julie rolled her eyes, “You could always just pack your lunch.”

Flynn gave her a deadpan look and gestured to her spread of papers, “I have more important things to attend to.” She went back to tapping on her calculator.

Julie scrolled through her phone, shoveling her food in her mouth, before she came to one of Carrie’s posts. It showed her and the Dirty Candi girls after a performance, striking the last pose. The caption read ‘couldn’t ask for a better group.’ 

Julie turned to Flynn, “Weren’t you and Carrie really close way back when?”

The girls head shot up, “If by ‘way back when’ you mean two years ago, then yeah, you could say that.”

Julie didn’t want to prod, but she was innately curious. She also figured that they were close enough to tell each other most things. If Flynn shut it down, then she wouldn’t ask again. 

“What happened?”

Flynn looked down at her carrots and peas, she pushed them around with the plastic fork. “We were really close, our parents were friends. You’ve seen her house, they don’t live too far from us, so I used to bike there after school. We’d hang out every day and we did everything together: school chorus, swim team, dance team, literally everything. On Wednesday’s--”

“We wear pink?” Julie snorted.

“Yes, because that’s exactly what I was going to say.” She gave her a flat look, “No, on Wednesdays we’d go over to her McMansion and have dinner. But I guess something happened because she dropped me like that.” Flynn snapped her fingers. “I never found out why, but she moved on and formed Dirty Candi and now I have you. So all’s well that ends well.”

Julie nodded, “Thanks for telling me.”

“Yeah, of course,” Flynn softly smiled, then looked down at her homework, “But could you seriously help me with this, I’m so confused.”

---

“‘We’re the revolution that’s been singing in the rain!’ That is genius!” Reggie held the crumpled paper in front of his face, spinning around. He then plunked on the bright blue couch.

“That’s what I was saying!” Luke laughed. 

Luke, Alex, and Reggie, were in Alex’s garage yet again, but this time, with a finished song. The day was just as hot as the previous one, so they had all of the doors and windows open. They had moved the blue couch, a desk chair, a couple lawn chairs, and their band equipment around to form sort of a homey interior. Alex thought it was more trashy, but Reggie had insisted that cozy was the right word. 

Alex was sprawled out on the desk chair, one leg over each arm, seeming to not know how to sit, as Luke had pulled up a lawn chair around the center table.

“You said Julie Molina helped you finish it? The girl that moved away?” Alex asked. “The one you talk to everyday?”

“Yeah, yeah, we talk sometimes. And she came up with this awesome line.” Luke snatched the paper from Reggie’s hands and waved the paper like Reggie had. 

“Cool, cool. That’s not the point though. You guys talk everyday and you haven’t told her about us?” Alex was now upside down in the chair, his hair brushing the ground.

“I mean she knows about you guys! We were all in music together last year! She just doesn’t know we're in a band.” Luke didn't really mean to not tell Julie, it just, hadn’t come up. Or at least that’s what he told himself.

“Okay we’re not a band: one,” Alex held up a finger, “We only have three songs, and two,” he held up another, “We don’t have a band name.” 

“Oh! We are Whisper Cats, tell your friends!” Reggie waved his hand with a giddy smile, as if it was spelled out in blinding lights.

Alex whipped his head, “We are not using that name.”

Luke shrugged and mumbled, “I kinda liked it.”

“Again, not the point,” Alex sighed and ran his hand over his face, “Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one with a brain cell. Why haven’t you told her about our music? I’m sure she’d be happy to know that you have other friends that aren’t 3000 miles away.”

“2,789 miles away--”

“And how many minutes is that?”

“About 7 hours, 15 minutes, by plane, give or take.”

Alex groaned, “Exactly. If you know that much about her, she should at least know about your favorite people in the world.”

Reggie stuck his bottom lip out and made puppy eyes, “We’re your favorite people? Aww, Luke!”

Luke opened his mouth to say something, but Alex shot him a look.

“I just don’t want her to feel replaced. She hasn’t played her piano in months and suddenly I join a makeshift band with my ‘new’ best friends? We used to write songs together, that was our thing, and now I write them with you guys? Yeah, that will totally blow over well.” Luke looked down, a frown etched its way onto his face. 

“I mean if she’s your friend she’ll be happy for you. Music is a big part of your life, and it seems like it’s a big part of hers. You’re also totally not replacing her, obviously Alex and I look nothing like her. And it's not as if  you can, like, monopolize writing music, I don’t think that’s how that works.” Reggie said, looking between Alex and Luke.

Alex pointed at Reggie, “For once, you made some good points.”

He looked mildly offended, “I always make good points, what are you talking about?” 

Alex ignored him, “Just make sure you’re not taking Julie for granted. One way or another, she’ll find out about our band.”

Yeah, Luke totally wasn’t going to mention that he didn’t tell her about his family situation now. 

“Yes, alright, can we get back to practicing?” Luke pushed himself off of the chair, bouncing on the balls of his feet, and reached for his blue guitar, swinging it around him. He plugged in his amp, setting the volume levels as he played a couple chords. He adjusted the mic stand up, before switching the mic on. 

“Bet. I can’t wait to play Now or Never all the way through.” Reggie scrambled to get his bass and followed suit. Alex rolled his eyes.

He slowly moved right side up in his chair so as to not get a headache then set up behind his drum kit. He nodded to Luke before clicking his sticks, “From the top. One, two, three!”

“‘Take off, last stop, countdown ‘til we blast open the top’,” Luke sang into his mic, bouncing around, “‘Face first, full charge, electric hammer to the heart’.” 

He beamed at Reggie who plucked his bass in turn. This was the first time they had been able to come together and have the full fledged song. 

“‘Clocks move forward, but we don’t get older, no. Keep on climbing, till our stars collide’,” Luke continued, feeling the energy grow as the chorus built, “And all the times we fell behind, were just the keys to paradise!”

He stomped his foot down into a power stance as Alex’s driving beat filled his soul. It seemed so natural as electricity seemed to flow through them all. They were enveloped in the music and drowned out the world around them.

“‘Don’t look down! Cause we’re still rising up right now! And even if we hit the ground, we’ll still fly!’” Luke’s voice danced over the chorus when he closed his eyes, “‘Dreaming like we’ll live forever, but living like it’s now or never!’”

“‘Hear the noise, in my head, it’s calling out like a voice I can’t forget. One life, no regrets, catch up, got no time to catch my breath’,” Luke’s words came alive and transformed with the music. “‘Clocks move faster, cause it’s all we’re after.’”

Luke nodded Reggie over to share his mic, their energy seemed to fuel each other when they harmonized, “‘Won’t stop climbing, cause this is our time yeah,” Luke pushed him back playfully and turned to look at an imaginary audience, “‘When all the days felt black and white, those were the best shade of my life’.”

Alex nodded along as the second chorus came around and Reggie and Alex joined Luke with his vocals. Alex had an ear splitting grin as he sang with his best friends. He knew that this was what he wanted to do; he didn’t want to go to college or a trade school, he wanted to be on stage and learn the ropes of performing. Luke wanted to go city to city and eat bad hot dogs and be too tired to walk, and just play. He knew that was where he belonged.

“‘We ain't searching for tomorrow’,” Alex sang as Reggie echoed. The finished bridge was great, “‘Cause we got all we need today’.”

Reggie glanced at Luke nervously, “Living on a feeling that’s been running through our veins.”

Reggie beamed and swooped a hand through his hair when he sang Julie’s line. It was perfect, “‘We’re the revolution that’s been singing in the rain.’”

The boys looked back and forth when singing the next chorus in gang vocals, clapping along with Alex’s clicking drum sticks. Luke, ever the dramatic, swung his guitar over his shoulder “‘Don’t look down, cause we’re still rising up right now.”

On the last beat, Reggie and Luke struck their power chords. “And even if we hit the ground, we’ll still fly. Keep dreaming like we’ll live forever, but living like it’s now or never.”

The song was coming to an end as Reggie and Alex sang backup to Luke, “It’s now or never!”

The last sounds rang around the garage and Luke could already hear the crowd cheering. His chest heaved and he could feel the back of his sleeveless shirt stick to his skin. 

Reggie threw his hands in the air, “We’re Whisper Cats, tell your friends!”

Alex threw a drumstick at him. 

--

Flynn and Julie walked home as usual and they looked at the clouds together. The weather had warmed up as the day progressed, but it was still cold enough to warrant a jacket. The leaves were just hanging onto their branches by a thread, and the sky, a perfect, ideal blue, was almost clear.

Julie had thought about Luke and Flynn’s words and she had made an executive decision: she was going to play her mother’s song. Not because anyone was forcing her, but because she knew she was holding herself back. She knew that it was time for her to move on.

After finishing her homework, she rushed to the garage and sat at the piano, the warm golden light of sunset illuminating her. She had placed the music on top of the mirrored surface and took a deep breath. She placed her hands on the keys. She knew that the second she started, memories of her mother would come flooding back.

And she was ready.

She pressed the ivory keys, reading along to her mother’s notation. The notes filled the space, the melody feeling like coming home. 

“‘Here’s the one thing I want you to know, you got some place to go.’” She sang, “Life’s a test, yes, but you go toe-to-toe. You don’t give up, no, you grow.’”

She could feel her voice wobble as her eyes started to water. She was overwhelmed by her mother’s lyrics, knowing they were written just for her, just for this moment.

She continued, “‘And use your pain, cause it makes you you, though I wish I could hold you through it. I know it’s not the same,’” Julie gasped, “‘You got living to do, and I just want you to do it.’”

“‘So get up, get out, relight that spark, you know the rest by heart.’” She remembered her mother’s last Christmas where they made too many cookies to ever eat. She remembered all of the walks where her mother would point out every little thing, from the leaves, to squirrels and spiderwebs. 

“‘Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do. Look out, look inside of you. It’s not what you lost, it’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain.’” As Julie crescendoed she remembered her mother’s warm all encompassing hugs, and her sharp tongue when Julie would talk back to her.

She could feel the music flow through her bones and every atom of her body as she finished out the chorus. The setting sun was warm on her back.

“‘Better wake those demons, just look them in the eye, no reason not to try. Life can be a mess; I won’t let it cloud my mind, I’ll let my fingers fly.’” She threw her head back as she riffed on her mother's words. She could feel a tear run down her cheek.

“‘And use the pain ‘cause it’s part of me, and I’m ready to power through it. Gonna find the strength, find the melody, ‘cause you showed me how to do it. Get up, get out, relight that spark, you know the rest by heart.’” She wondered why she had waited so long to play, her mother had written these lyrics just for her; something that would last forever. 

“‘Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do. Look out, look inside of you. It’s not what you lost, it’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain.’” Julie thought of every family dinner and every grocery run, just for the simple things. 

“‘Wake up your dream and make it true, look out, look inside of you. It’s not what you lost, relight that spark, time to come out of the dark,’” She thought of her mom’s burning bravery, her fearless want for adventure, and fierce love for her family. “‘Wake up, wake up.’”

Julie stood up, fully in tears as she looked up to the sky, “‘So wake that spirit, spirit. I wanna hear it, hear it. No need to fear it, you’re not alone. You’re going to find your way!”

She pulled her hands up from the keys and stretched them out before crashing them back down, “‘Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do. Look out, look inside of you. It’s not what you lost, it’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain. Wake up your dream and make it true, look out, look inside of you. When you feel lost, relight that spark, time to come out of the dark.’” She smiled out as she sang. She wasn’t letting go over her mother, she was honoring her. She was the closest she had been to her mother since she had passed.

Julie sat back down on the stool, “Wake up, mmm, wake up.�� She closed her eyes and played the final notes of the song. 

She had done it. 

She found her music.

Suddenly Flynn burst into the garage, followed quickly by her father and Carlos. They tackled her in a group hug. “I would promise you we weren’t listening, but with a voice like that how could you not!” She said. 

“Mija, I’m so proud of you!” Her father chuckled, but she could hear that his voice was choked. 

“Julie, that was amazing! Better than anything you’ve ever sung!” Carlos said.

Julie was stunned for a second as they all held onto her, before they let go and let her breathe. She wiped her tears on her sweater sleeve as she stood up, “Thank you. That was mom’s song.”

Her dad slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug, “We all knew you could do it, I just didn’t think it would be so soon. Your mother would be so proud of you, I know we all are.”

--

Luke had remembered to bring his acoustic guitar back to his house after practice. Luckily, he had made it home before dinner, although the meal they did share was filled with tense words and silence. His mother had stabbed her potatoes with her fork after she had heard that Luke was trying to book gigs. He was sure he had done the same when she asked about his science fair project.

He had run to his room the second he finished eating. His room was small, but appropriate; it was covered floor to ceiling in band posters and written scraps of lyrics. He had his guitars propped in one corner, next to his messy desk. Clothes were haphazardly strewn around his laundry basket, from where he hadn’t bothered to try and aim accurately. 

But now Luke was talking to Julie.

“-and it was amazing, Luke! My fingers flew across the keys and I sang and it was beautiful! I swear I could feel my mom looking over me!” Julie sighed, talking a million words a minute.

“That’s awesome! I told you you could do it! Julie Molina pianist extraordinaire is back in business. Oh my god, we can write songs again, just like last year!” Luke had her on speaker phone and was playing around with some chords and riffs. He was elated that she had played her mom’s song; he knew how much her death had affected Julie and how much of a mountain playing her song was to climb. He was proud of her. “Speaking of songs: I finished Now or Never, thanks to you, and it’s a banger. I can already hear the bass and drums and the crowd chanting our names!”

Julie laughed, “You’re really working on that whole rockstar thing, huh?”

“Of course, they always told us to chase our dreams in school, didn’t they? I’m just going on more of an… unconventional route.”

“By yourself? A one man band? Doesn’t sound very rockstar-ish to me.” Julie retorted. Luke knew he hadn’t really told Julie about his friends. But he also knew that this was her way of prodding him to tell her. Luke supposed that it has been a long time coming. 

“Do you remember Alex and Reggie? From music class?”

Julie hummed as she thought, as if she hadn't prodded Luke “Oh! The blond one with the fanny pack and the one in the leather jacket? Them right?”

Luke nodded before he realized that she couldn’t see him, “Yeah, them. I’ve become closer with them, mostly hanging out in Alex’s garage.” He was careful to omit any mention of their instruments, music, or any tell that might give him away. Julie could catch him red handed in a lie, no matter the distance, so he...didn’t lie. He just didn’t say the full truth.

“Really? I never would have guessed.” He heard her sit in what he thought was a chair, judging by the slight squeak. “It’s a good thing you’ve made friends that aren’t so far away.” He laughed as she unknowingly parroted Alex’s words. 

She continued, “Yeah now that I can play again, I can stay in music class. I just need a song by Friday, which isn’t too hard to do -- write a song in 3 days -- it’s just kind of a lot to ask right now. I was going to ask if I could just turn one of Flynn’s raps into a song with a simple 1, 5 , 4, progression.”

“Actually I wrote another song that would be perfect for your range,” He moved his guitar off of his lap, opened his song book, took a picture and sent it to Julie. “I just sent it, if you want to use that.”

Julie checked her phone, “Are you sure? I’d be playing it in front of my whole class.”

Luke smiled, he had intended to show Alex and Reggie the song, but he figured Julie would get more use out of it, “Yeah totally, it can be a thank you for helping me figure out that lyric in Now or Never.”

Luke could hear Julie’s smile, “Thank you so much, oh my god. You’re the best!” He heard her get up from her squeaky chair, “I have to go, but I’ll send you a video of when I play it; I’ll make Flynn record it.”

He chuckled, “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

---

Taglist : @siennanoelle01​, @roses-and-ponds-and-bowties​ 

#Julie and the phantoms #juke #Julie and the himbos #Jukebox #jatp julie #julie molina #julie x luke #Jatp luke #Luke patterson #Luke Patterson imagine #Luke Patterson au #jatp #Jatp reggie #jatp flynn #Jatp alex #jatp carlos #jatp carrie #carrie wilson #ray molina #Willex #willie jatp

[authorpendragging]

Gone in the Night: Chapter 2

Willie has never met Julie. Reggie Luke and Alex sing her praises every chance they get, but he’d never actually met her. He really does want to though. She brought Alex and the guys back. He really wants to meet her. He really didn’t want it to happen like this.

He may have never seen Julie before, but he knows Caleb. The way that he grins down at the unconscious- please please please be just unconscious- girl in his arms means it has to be her. Caleb doesn’t like when people oppose him.

He’s about to poof out and find Alex and the guys when Caleb catches sight of him. His tilts his head in summons and Willie has no choice but to obey.

“Willie! Just the ghost I wanted to see! I need a favor.”

Caleb’s favors could not be refused and Willie nodded sullenly in response.

“This,” he shakes the unconscious girl in his arms. “Is our little trouble maker, Julie. I need you to watch her for the night while I take care of things. Someone else will watch her come sunrise so you’ll be free to go rolling around the city.”

His plan to warn the boys tonight goes out the window; He’ll just have to tell them first thing tomorrow.

“What did she do? What are you going to do with her?” Willie questions hesitantly.

“She somehow got the stamp off my band. I don’t know how, but I’m going to find out! To answer your second question, I’m going to get her out of the way. If there’s no one to make Sunset Curve visible, and no girl for them to be loyal to, they have no reason to object to working for me.”

Yah except the fact that you’re super evil, tried to force them to work for you, and will have killed their friend. Oh No, he’s going to kill her. Why hadn’t he already?

“You’re going to kill her?”

Caleb scoffs and rolls his eyes like he’s having to explain something simple to an even simpler child.

“Yes, of course.”

“Why haven’t you already?”

“Because it’s not that simple! Ghosts can’t just go around killing whoever they want. I also don’t want her to be able to come back and bother me as a ghost; If she can make people see them and remove my stamp she’d be too powerful as a ghost. There has to be certain circumstances for a host to kill a human. Full moon and all that jazz. Also, I want her to pay before she dies. I want her to know her band will be mine and there’s nothing she can do to stop it this time.”

Caleb’s grin leaves Willie feeling sick and horrified. He’s planning on killing an innocent girl. A girl who’s only crime would be saving her friends.

“If everything goes to plan, Julie Molina will be dead and Sunset Curve will be in my clutches in just three days time!”

With that declaration Caleb uncaringly tosses Julie into Willie’s arms and strides off. Willie situates Julie into his -somehow solid- arms in as comfy as a position for her as he can. Once satisfied that he isn’t hurting her, he cradles her to his chest and walks slowly to his room in the basement of the club. Once he gets there, he sets her softly on his bed and tucks her in. His bed usually feels taunting, a reminder of a rest he’ll never get, but he’s thankful for its presence now.

He sits in his chair and stairs at the girl on his bed in wonder. She’s even more amazing than the guys said! She brought the guys back, can make people see them, and she removed Caleb’s stamp. She defied Caleb!

All she did was save her friends and now she’s going to be killed. He couldn’t let that happen.

He has already hurt the boys once, he won’t do it again. There’s also no ghosting way he’s going to let this wonderful and spectacular girl be murdered. He’s already on thin ice with Caleb, but he had to do this. No matter what, he would keep her safe. He just need to figure how in the world he was going to get her out. Caleb would know if he tried to leave and then he’d just get someone else to watch her. A smile crossed his face as plan began to formulate in his mind.

—————————————————

The clock on Willie’s wall read 5:30 when Julie began to stir. Willie’s head shot up and he froze in nervous anticipation. Julie groaned as her eyes fluttered. After a minute or two her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright. She scanned the room before her glaze landed on Willie and she whimpered.

Willie’s non-beating heart broke at the sound. He didn’t know what the boys had told her about him, but he hoped he could convince her not to fear him.

“Hi, Julie. My name is Willie. I’m so sorry this is happening to you.”

Julie’s eyes widened in recognition and she relaxed minutely.

“Where am I? Why am I here?”

Her voice is timid, so unlike the confident figure the guys had described.

“Caleb is mad that you defied him and removed the stamps.”

“What is he going to do to me?”

Willie didn’t have the heart to tell her that Caleb wanted her dead.

“You’re going to be fine. I’m going to get the guys and get you out of here.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped in horror and she launched at him. She knelt before him and grabbed his still solid hands. (The warmth and life of her hands felt so nice.)

“No you can’t!” She cried. “You can’t bring them back here! Caleb can’t get them back in his clutches! I won’t let that happen! Promise me you won’t bring them back! Promise me!”

Willie looked into her tear filled and terrified eyes and, knowing he couldn’t keep it, said,

“I promise.”

Julie’s whole body relaxed and she slumped to the floor in relief. How could she be so selfless? She’s an evil madman’s prisoner and she’s worried about her friends. She goes and sits back on the bed. She pulls her knees up to her chest, wraps her arms around them, and buries her face in her knees. Quiet sobs wrack her shoulders.

Willie can’t stand it for one more second. He uses his current solidness and wraps her in a hug. She leans into him and continues to cry for several minutes.

After a little while, she sits up and dries her face with her shirt and smile at him.

“You’re nice. I can see why the guys like you so much. Thank you for wanting to save me, but you need to stay out of it. I know you you’re not in Caleb’s good graces at the moment.”

She even cares about him. The guy who’s keeping her locked in a room and helped to betray her friends. Any doubts about saving her disappears from his mind. He’s about to respond when Caleb and Max poof into the room.

“Willie! Did you have a good night? Good job at watching the prisoner!”

Julie shivers and scoots as far away from Caleb as she can. Caleb rolls his eyes and snaps his fingers and Julie falls unconscious again. Willie throws himself towards her to catch her before she falls off the bed.

“You’ll be replaced in a couple of hours, Max. Willie, you’re free to go.”

With that he poofs out of the room.

“You heard him. You’re free to go pretty boy. So scram.”

The look Max gives Julie fills Willie with anger. If he wasn’t already dead he would kill him. He wants to kill Julie and Willie is once again happy that ghosts can’t kill humans. At least for three more days.

Willie poofs out before he gives anything away. If they know he cares about her they’ll be watching him. He needs to find the guys. Julie might hate him, but he’ll hate himself if anything happens to her.

He’s going to save her if it’s the last he ever does; And If Caleb finds out, it probably will be.

#julie and the phantoms #ray jatp #carlos jatp #caleb jatp #caleb covington #julie molina #jatp julie #alex jatp #reggie jatp #luke patterson #jatp luke #jatp fanfiction #Julie and the Phantoms fanfiction #chapter 2

[theobligatedklutz]

There's just something so utterly charming about Julie. She'll walk into a room and effortlessly catch everyone's eyes yet she's so grounded that you'll never be uncomfortable around her. People talk about her like she is this infectious warmth, they can't stop talking about her brimming talent. I mean Luke pretty much fanboys about her, Reggie thinks she is this angelic entity, Alex gets starry-eyed about how amazing she is. Flynn does everything to encourage Julie to pursue music again because she has too much talent not to. So does Ray to the point where he looks for schools outside the country and allows a house party. She makes people around her feel like their interests mean something. She writes songs with Luke, she could "learn how to fiddle" for Reggie and she makes an effort to interact with Alex on stage. She tells Flynn she loves her in every way possible "if somebody hurts you, I'm gonna get hurt too." She doesn't make one snide comment about Carlos' ghost hunting endeavor, she tells her dad he takes beautiful photographs. This woman is just...she is just sensational.

#julie and the phantoms netflix #julie molina #julie and the phantoms #jatp #jatp netflix #julie molina is absolutely amazing #like julie molina first rest of humanity second #luke patterson #alex jatp #reggie jatp #flynn jatp #ray molina #carlos molina #myjatpposts #my jatp analysis #julie molina appreciation

[theobligatedklutz]

Who's gonna tell Julie Molina she brightens every room she walks into?

#like julie molina first rest of humanity second #julie molina #julie is so cute #julie and the phantoms netflix #julie and the phantoms #jatp netflix #jatp #julie molina appreciation #myjatpposts

[theobligatedklutz]

Julie Molina's Curls. That's it. That's the tweet.

#julie is so cute #like julie molina first rest of humanity second #julie molina #julie and the phantoms #julie and the phantoms netflix #myjatpposts #julie molina appreciation

[theobligatedklutz]

some hcs for julie pls 🙏🏻

Every May the Molina family go to the annual spring street market and Julie always always ends up collecting butterfly centric trinkets. That's where she got the butterfly earrings (in Edge of Great) and the butterfly hair clips (Bright) and the decorations in her locker. Ray and Carlos don't even question her, they know how obsessed Rose used to be with them too. Like mother like daughter.

She takes the boys to the market too and gets Alex a beaded pride bracelet, Luke a music note pendant and Reggie a cowboy hat. The men of the house once again refuse to question her.

She writes Flynn "Flying Solo" a couple months after her mother passes away. It is one of those especially grueling days and she has had enough, tears back in her eyes, tiredness in her bones and Flynn asks her how she's doing, "are you okay?" and Julie just answers a quiet "no." Flynn wastes no time bringing her into a hug, holds Julie in her arms for fifteen minutes straight. Flying Solo spills out of Julie, brimming and all at once, once she gets home. Ray finds her sleeping soundly, tear tracks on her cheeks, hugging the sheet of paper to her chest when he comes to say good night. He tucks a blanket over her and kisses her forehead.

Julie collects sketch books and notebooks but never uses half of them because she doesn't want to ruin the crisp white pages until she has something important to write. Her mother gives her (use to give her) one every birthday just to fuel her obsession. 

Rose also gives her the dream box where she keeps all of her music. “When I was little, I had one to keep all of my music in one place and now I’m giving one to you. Hope it brings you the same creativity the one I had brought me.” And for some reason, as if the box is magic, Julie has newfound creativity the minute her palms touch the surface of the box.

Even when Luke - the little privacy invading rat- touches the box to see what kind of songs Julie has written, he finds himself filled with new passion to create kickass music with Julie. That’s what gets him and Reggie excited to develop the instrumentals for “Flying Solo.”

Trevor has a huge soft spot for Julie. Ray, Rose, Trevor and his wife, Ashlyn, used to have whole picnics when the girls were little. That’s when Carrie and Julie got super close. Trevor taught Julie how to play a riff on the guitar when she was in middle school. But she never got to learn more...

She played trombone all of grade 6 and middle school and she is fantastic at it. (Yes, this is me projecting). She can also play the tambourine, triangle, ukulele, clarinet and of course, the traditional piano and keyboard. But her biggest and brightest instrument is her voice. When Carlos was a (fussy) baby, she sang for him and he would quieten immediately. Mrs. Molina always said that one day, Julie would sing into a microphone and everything would shift right into place. She was right.

She's learning the violin from Patty, one of the violinists from Music class, because she promised Reggie she would learn how to fiddle for their one-off country album.

Julie glows sometimes. Like glows. During band practice but none of the boys know how to approach the topic. Like what do they say? "Julie, good practice, but hey, you were glowing around the edges like a whole freaking sun during the chorus. Didn't want to bring it up during practice and don't know if thats normal b- but good practice!"

Julie has shoelaces of almost every colour and loves making lace patterns on her shoes. She's getting really good at the checkerboard pattern and even teaches Alex how to do them on his shoes when she sees him going through his bout of anxiety one day. Willie catches Alex's shoelaces when they are hanging out together and begs him to teach him. Basically, by the end, everyone has cool shoelace patterns.

Julie doesn't notice it right away but after the initial grief of her mother passing, she swears she sees dahlias everywhere. It almost feels like they are taunting her, haunting her but after a little while, she searches for them herself. She realizes whenever she has to make a big decision or can't seem to answer the questions that plaque her, dahlias seem to somehow appear out of nowhere and give her her answers. She is convinced her mother is sending them her way.

She and her mother wrote a total of 22 songs together. About half of them are about getting up and raising your voice (to the rain) anthems and she feels so proud when Luke can't stop talking about how incredibly talented both Mrs. Molina and Julie are because how? How??? Did you even??? Come up with that line?? And rhyme it like that??

The little moon crescent necklace Julie always has on is a gift from Flynn. In fact, every one of the necklaces she has on was given to her by someone she loves dearly (the cursive Julie one was a gift from her mom, the circular pendant was a gift from her dad) and she always has them on because she likes to carry the people she loves with her.

Julie has known Flynn and Carrie for as long as she could remember. They use to live in the same neighborhood (until Carrie moved further away as Trevor got more famous). Julie taught them how to draw frogs in grade 1 and to this day, Carrie, even though no longer Julie's friend, still draws them the same messy abstract way when the circumstance calls for it. She always finds herself smiling when she draws the small tongue sticking out of the frog's mouth just the way Julie taught her.

Julie's middle school selected her to do a mural on the side of the school building. (It was one of the winning aspects of her application to Los Feliz High School). The mural of the curly haired woman flying over the sun still sits on the wall looking as if freshly painted. The painted woman looks like the spitting image of Rose Molina and whenever Ray drives by the school, he's hit with so much love for her daughter and wife.

When Julie was little, she was convinced that one day she was going to be a famous ballerina. She even went to five ballet classes before she fell in love with the next thing. None of her hobbies stuck until she learned how to play the piano.

#these are not coherent but thank you anon these made me very happy to write #julie molina #julie is so cute #like julie molina first rest of humanity second #julie and the phantoms netflix #julie and the phantoms #myhcs #myjatpposts #hilow answers #julie hcs

[theobligatedklutz]

Listen if someone asked me to give up one thing: julie's little surprise laugh in Bright when the boys pop in for the first time or the world. I would give up the world in a heartbeat.

#julie molina #julie and the phantoms #jatp #jatp netflix #like julie molina first rest of humanity second #myjatpposts

[theobligatedklutz]

I’m thinking Luke, Reggie and Alex can’t cross over until Julie does. I’m thinking Julie is the sole reason they are still even here because she is the glue, she is the tether and when she finally kicks the bucket one day at age 185, they’ll go with her. They are that kinda soulmates.

#julie and the phantoms #julie and the phantoms netflix #jatp netflix #jatp #julie molina #luke patterson #reggie jatp #alex jatp #chaos trio #sunset curve #like julie molina first rest of humanity second #myjatpposts #myhcs #julie hcs #jatp hcs