#luke and reggie's heart eyes @ him is my favorite thing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jmrothwell · 1 year

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Writer Asks! 11, 15, 30, 49

Thanks agains Ash!! <3 (Long answer is long, so I'll put a read more after the first one. On that note I'll link the question list here: questions for fic writers)

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is?

I am very partial to Reggie (82 of my 99 fics are tagged with him, granted a lot of those are prompts but STILL. Plus I don't know if it's because other picked up on that too or not but like almost every time I open up prompts Reggie is almost always the top requested character)

I adore adorkable, rays of sunshine. Like I have 3 go to charcter types (two personality based ones, and then dark haired/light eyed characters) and like my wife picked up on Reggie being my fav before I even said anything to her, because he fits 2 out of the three.

It's at the point where if Reggie's Jam(or Now or Never) comes on in the car and the GPS interrupts the song, she just automatically restarts it knowing I'm going to anyway because HOW DARE.

He's a Star Wars fan with musical chops, he's a little airheaded bt he's got a heart of gold. And there is so much you COULD theorize and speculate about his character just because of what's been revealed and how he was played and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!

15. What’s your favorite AU that you’ve written?

AAAAAAH! OMG!! but I have so many!!

I love my Supernatural Romance AU's (Feats of Crimson, We Run Together(it may only have the one fic but that is the verse name), Closest to Heaven, and Devil Searching For Redemption)

So those are definitley my top 4 but I don't know if I can rank them beyond that! They're all so good for different reasons!!!

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

Sink Your Teeth was out of my comfort zone regarding the intimacy. I am bad at writing action and being intimate is a type of action I hadn't really attempted before. (In fact prior to Slices of Summer-Fireworks I hadn't written that much in the way of kissing scenes, I think I'd only written one other kiss before then and it practically amounted to 'and they kissed')

I had a similar issue with I Could be the Monster with the Alex POV section because that one had a lot of action (It originally was supposed to have more and be MUCH more detailed but I think it flows fairly well with how it ended up.)

In each of those cases I struggled and wrote and worried and ended up sharing/posting thinking this will surely be hated/flop because all I could see was all the ways I could improve, or how it was envisioned in my head. And every single time the almost exact opposite happened.

Which just keeps reminding me A: to stop doubting myself, B: it's ok to take risks with my writing(I won't improve otherwise), C: Allowed me to sort of mentally give myself to pursue MORE stories like that.

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

Right now I am actively working on a few things atm, The next chapters of While You're in the World, Can't Get You (Out of my Mind), and I'm almost always slowly pecking away at my rulie fake/convenience marriage fic. Here's a few lines from each of those!:

R: luke

R: I’m serious

R: if ur not up I’m leaving ur ass

L: you wouldn’t

L: but don’t worry

L: I’ll be up

Luke was absolutely right, Reggie didn’t leave him behind when he wasn’t awake the next morning. However, the dark haired boy had no qualms against pummeling Luke with a pillow until he did wake up and got dressed.

“That’s a bit of a story.” Luke’s voice sounded over his shoulder, where Julie’s eyes drifted to. Reggie hadn’t thought this part of their plan through. He’d so quickly become accustomed to Luke’s vibrancy he almost entirely forgot he was dead, and very much looked it.

He braced himself as he watched the shock overtake Julie’s face, at this point he had almost been screaming. Reggie’d also forgotten how much Julie liked to unknowingly defy his expectations.

“I’m dreaming,” She exhaled as she turned away from Luke and himself.

WTF!?

JULES IS THIS YOU?!

Julie squints down at her phone, as a tension pulls inside her chest. The thoughts that had been swarming around her head like a beehive clear away only slightly as she tries to piece together what Flynn is going on about. She clicks the link to the video that was sent and immediately her stomach drops to her feet.

It’s not a very long video nor is it very clear, shaky and obviously taken by someone at a bit of a distance. However, she recognizes the building in the shot, the very same chapel she and Reggie had been at earlier that day-yesterday? What time was it?

Julie doesn’t care about the time soon enough as the video zooms in and focuses on Reggie, his broad smile only briefly obscured by what must be the back of her head, her dark braids falling into cascading curls. Julie forgets how to breathe as her chest collapses in on itself.

She remembers this exact moment and watches in a sort of distant horror, nausea building in the pit of her stomach, as Reggie laughs before linking arms with her. There is no denying she and Reggie very clearly, very soberly, very deliberately, walk arm in arm into the chapel.

#ask me things??

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bananakarenina · 1 year

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For the fanfic ask!

our hearts can speak our selves unseen + 3,4,5, and 6

oooooooohhhhhh thank you for asking about this one!!! i'm excited to talk about it bc it's my first collab with @where-you-go and it was unbelievable amounts of fun to write. all of these answers are from my POV obviously; if jay has something to say i'm sure she'll say it XD

our hearts can speak ourselves unseen

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

okay this was hard! it's always hard for me, i love the things i write (and the things that jay writes, lol) so much that it's difficult to choose. but i will try.

from chapter 3--i love this one because of "candle-flame green" honestly, it's so romantic and intense

Luke looked up at him, hoping Reg would approve of his first attempt at directness—and the breath caught in his chest. Reggie was staring right at him with the most serious look Luke had ever seen, eyes candle-flame green and just as heated.

from chapter 5 and i'm pretty sure this one was all jay because the inner monologue is hilarious, she's so good at that. i reread "damn, alex, good for you" just now and still laughed

Alex was standing in the middle of his living room glaring right back at Luke, which would have been more effective if he hadn’t looked so thoroughly ravished. His hair was sticking up at odd angles, his t-shirt was crumpled and askew, and he’d clearly only buttoned his jeans and forgotten the zipper—not that Luke was looking at that particular part of his friend’s anatomy no matter how, um, prominent it was right now.

Luke quickly averted his eyes only to find Alex’s—date? hookup? friend?—hot guy lounging on the couch, watching Luke with playful eyes and an amused smirk. Clearly, he was in less of a rush than Alex, because he hadn’t bothered to do more than tug his jeans up over his hips, and was still lying there shirtless, which—

Damn, Alex, good for you.

also from chapter 5 (these are all from luke chapters which is interesting but also this part has him drawing from reggie's advice and reggie's everything, which i love):

For a second, his mind grasped wildly for the right turn of phrase that he could use to tell Julie just how he was feeling about her, about Reggie—like every puzzle piece in his life had just fallen perfectly into place, all the circuits closing and sending a shower of sparks running through his every nerve ending, lighting up his heart like a million fireworks all going off at once.

And then, cutting through the noise of all his thoughts about imagery and poetry and songs he could write, he heard Reggie’s voice: not everything needs to be a metaphor, Luke.

He could see Reggie’s green eyes, bright and burning in the fading light of evening as he said I want to kiss you.

He wanted to kiss her so badly his chest ached with it.

Sometimes it’s that simple.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

this was incredibly difficult; it's always difficult for me to pick favorite dialogue mostly because that's what i'm trained in so i tend to love what i write, and also the dialogue in this whole fic is fire, like seriously, it's all so good. plus the texting!

i reread the whole damn thing and i still do love the entirety of chapter 2 for its dialogue--the back and forth between reggie & luke was something i had written before we officially started the collab, and the part involving reggie jackson was so silly but made me laugh so it stayed hahaha

also from chapter 2. i specifically love this because it says so much with so little. reggie is trying so hard to be Okay with luke having a crush who's not him, and luke turns it right around on him so casually. you're not allowed to meet her because she'll fall for you so fast, reg, and reg is so poleaxed by that! and it turns out luke was right hahahahahaha

“Bye! Say hi to your friend from work,” Reggie said, and threw Luke a wink.

“No way, man. You’re not allowed to meet her; I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

this is from chapter 5 and it is another jay special, i'm pretty sure. luke is so earnest about 'game respects game' and of course alex is like 'are you kidding'

Luke also had to laugh at that—it was pretty funny, after all, even if he’d never said it. “That sounds like something Reggie would say, that dork. He loves Dolly Parton, which I mean, she’s a pretty rad musician, even if it’s not really my personal style. Game respects game, you know.”

“Oh my god, Luke, your game is nowhere near Dolly Parton’s level of game, you moron,” Alex groaned, but Luke ignored him.

and i would be remiss if i didn't include a text portion; jay and i went back and forth about the formatting so many times to make sure it was readable (which is not going to translate directly here) and then trying to make text sound like texting and not like spoken dialogue--it's a similar thing to write but also completely different, you know? and people have different styles of texting. julie uses capital letters and decent enough grammar, while reggie uses emojis and lowercase all the time and interrupts himself more often with line breaks.

one of my favorite text chains is when luke (and alex and willie) are discovering the backlogged texts. i would copy/paste the entire thing here but this is already so long LMAO. but i love this section because again i love the layers here.

i remember going off of the thought that the recordings we have of the julie & the phantoms soundtrack are just Not It when it comes to bringing out the bassline which i feel is a huge oversight (stand tall especially stands out, like dude wtf who mixed that shit okay i'm turning into my husband help) and so i asked my audio engineer husband about the challenges of recording/mixing a bassline, hahaha. so i love this section because of the character layers and also author layers LOL

AND THEN the last part with the asterisk. that asterisk is extremely very purposeful. "i think i might be" is reggie almost confessing that he's in love at that moment and he swerves at the very last second because holy shit what is he doing he's known her for like a week

he covers but it's very very close lol

....okay clearly this section might be my real favorite, i just wrote a 5-paragraph essay about it:

/@ julie_woken_up: And you not being able to write it

@ julie_woken_up: It’s not that you’re a bad writer at all

@ julie_woken_up: Hm

@ julie_woken_up: It’s like—recording a bass line, right?

go on :eyes emoji:

@ julie_woken_up: lol how did I know you’d respond to a music metaphor

@ julie_woken_up: Okay

@ julie_woken_up: So recording a bass line is hard, right

@ julie_woken_up: Or...mixing one, I guess

@ julie_woken_up: Because the melody takes center stage

@ julie_woken_up: And the drums pierce through

@ julie_woken_up: But like

@ julie_woken_up: With the bassline

@ julie_woken_up: Lower pitches

@ julie_woken_up: You have to make sure you’re hearing it correctly

@ julie_woken_up: Some engineers and producers get lazy

@ julie_woken_up: They don’t pay attention

@ julie_woken_up: They’re too focused on the flashy stuff

@ julie_woken_up: But with bass

@ julie_woken_up: If the bass is off the whole song is off

@ julie_woken_up: So you have to get the mix just right

@ julie_woken_up: I think you’re the kind of person who is trying to get the mix just right

I think I might be*

you might be

too perfect to be real

5: What part was hardest to write?

hilariously enough, i think it was writing the resolution--like we knew julie and luke and reggie would end up together as a triad but we were like "wait, oh shit, of course julie would want an explanation, how do we make what reggie did worth forgiving?"

we touched on it a little bit with willie getting riled up about it in the previous chapter (your friend catfished my friend!) but luke (and alex, more importantly) were like no, that's not reggie, we think we know what happened but there has to be some explanation

and then we were like oh fuck we have to write that explanation

congratulationsyouplayedyourself.gif

in the end reggie explained and said there was no excuse and that he was sorry--the most direct route, which is what he was preaching the entire time hahaha

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

well, it was my first true collaboration, with another writer having Opinions and entire Scenes planned out, so learning both each other's writing styles/editing tendencies/comfort zones/favored phrases was part of writing as much as the actual writing was. like i did not have total control over this fic, you know? that's definitely a learning experience. a great one, because jay is amazing, but certainly something to get used to.

for example, just planning the fic itself, starting the fic was the first decision we had to make. the fic was the two of us discovering we had some overlap in terms of AU ideas--ie a cyrano retelling, though mine was canon-compliant or at least canon adjacent with ghosts still in play, and jay's was the alive!20s!AU you see in the finished fic. hers was way more fleshed out than mine so we started there and retooled my scenes to fit the universe, haha

WHEW okay that....was a lot drink some water kids

ask me things!

#jesus i didn't even go into the songs #i love the songs especially the country one we wrote for reggie #i was like holy shit this slaps #thank you for letting me go on and on about this #i had such a great time writing it and it was fun to look back #myfic #our hearts can speak ourselves unseen #ourfic #ask games #jmrothwell

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missjoolee · 2 years

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📓📓pleeeeaaase

OMG HI HI HI YOU! My mutual, my guy(gender neutral), my pal :D

You send me two books, you get two three fics with the same au. two Juke and one willex. These came from when I had a mini crisis about first words soulmate aus and how some kid born in the 80s probably has WAZZUP! on their hipbone because there isn't any possible way at least one person didn't have that. but then a lovely(deranged) spiral happened with @preoccupied-educator and these came about.

JUKE- canon adjacent

Julie's soulmate first words are something along the lines of "that's so rad" and it doesn't mean much to her as a kid because she had her parent's explain what it means and is pretty happy that her soulmate will find whatever she's doing super cool. It's when she has a slumber party with flynn and carrie that leaves her scared that her soulmate will be super old because "nobody has used 'rad' since the 90s" (thanks a lot carrie, 🙄)

When she goes into the studio for the first time after her mom dies, she listens to SC's demo and Now or Never inspires her to sit at her mom's piano where she finds Wake Up and she musters the courage to play it. Her singing is what summons the guys and after they get through the screaming exchange, Luke, not having a chill bone in his body when it comes to music, lets her know "that was so rad!"

and Julie, shocked at hearing her words, goes zero brain to mouth filter "oh thank god you're cute and not old". which finally gives context to luke's words and it has alex and reggie in giggle fits as luke stares at her in wonder and awe.

When things calm down, she still has a mini panic attack because wait her soulmate is old? No, he’s actually 17…he’s just been 17 for 25 years, does that make him old?

JUKE - canon adjacent but kinda sad?

Julies words are "my name is luke". Growing up friends with Carrie, she has met the dorky Trevor Wilson, so one day she looks through her parent's Trevor Wilson CDs and as she plays them in her room, lying on her bed looking through the jewel cases her eyes catch on the tracklist for one he put out in 2000.

7. My Name is Luke

She immediately switches the CDs and plays track 7. And she absolutely falls in love. It becomes her favorite song, connecting with the emotions of the lyrics.

in 2020, three ghosts fall into her mom's studio and after the initial shock, the one in the rush shirt introduces himself and her heart flutters as she hears her words. She is realistic though. lots of Luke's could introduce themselves to her so that doesn't mean this one is her soulmate. Luke hears his words but he assumes that since he is dead, they don't matter anymore so he doesn't react.

But as the weeks go by and he helps her find music again, she can tell things are different with him. And then it comes out that Trevor Wilson stole Sunset Curve songs. Stole Luke's songs. And it hits her that the song that she loves so dearly, the song that has become inseparable to her from her words, was written by this boy who has saved her in more ways than one and lafkjl;flkjafgh; Julie's filled with rage that it was stolen. It's basically "luke introduced you to rock" but like 2.0

Willex - primary school au

Alex's words are a source of anxiety for him ever since he was old enough to understand them. "That's not how you dab." Destined. FATE has sentenced him to disappoint his soulmate from the moment they meet. So when, in third grade, dabbing takes the school by storm Alex is determined to learn before he can meet his soulmate.

One day at recess, he sees a kid across the blacktop dabbing and he tries to mimic it to learn. After 2 weeks of watching and trying, alex is approached where he's practicing.

"That's not how you dab." is said with a good natured chuckle.

Alex is so nervous he doesn't reply but his lack of response doesn't offput the boy that he'd been watching from afar. Willie shows him how to dab again and all Alex can do is copy him again. finally with Willie's tutelage, he learns and then kind of runs away because he just met his soulmate! his soulmate was so nice! and then it takes him a week of building up courage to approach willie and say "thanks for showing me how to dab." and those end up being Willie's words and all along he was trying to find his soulmate by dabbing at recess. He turns and shouts across the blacktop

"I TOLD YOU IT'D WORK, AARON!"

(send me a book emoji and I’ll share the plot of a fic i’ll probably never get around to writing. No time frame on this. I will answer any that show up in my inbox so long as i still have ideas!)

#joolee's crack like thoughts #jatp #juke #julie and the phantoms #jukebox #willex #soulmate aus #they are weird #somebody has YOLO on their body in that world #or yeet #or even #bye felicia!

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devilsbrokerank · 4 years

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Alex + dancing | JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS (2020—)

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mrsbrookegillespie · 3 years

Text

=“Do You Like It?” Pt. 2=

Description: Luke finds out the truth about his present.

Warnings: Angst if you squint. Overworking yourself, small argument, and a whole lot of FLOOF.

=“Do You Like It?” Pt. 2=

Band practice. It used to be Y/N’s favorite time of the day--it still is. She loved to watch the passion in Luke’s eyes when he played a killer riff, or hit a note just right. She loved to take notes on the little imperfections, but now… She can’t even write a single word without pain shooting up her arm. Nor can she demonstrate how she thinks it should sound without her legs nearly giving out on her, or her back sending what felt like someone stabbing her a million times. This didn’t go unnoticed by the boys, especially the overprotective, lovable, touchy Luke, known as her boyfriend. “Alright boys…” She lowers her wrist after looking at her watch for the time. “It is time for me to go to work.”

The music dies down, all the boys giving concerned glances to one another. “Again?” Luke asks, carefully, setting down his guitar on the stand. “That’s like the fifth shift this week.” His large, evident frown made Y/N weaken.

“I took up a couple of double shifts is all,” she pauses. “I’m doing it for the band.”

That was always her excuse for overworking herself, it was her version of ‘I’m fine’.

“Y/N, why aren’t you asleep?” The door to her bedroom swings open, exposing both her brother Bobby, and Luke. Tired expressions on their faces.

“Why aren’t you?” she replies, not tearing her gaze away from the piece of paper in front of her.

“We were… Someone woke us up,” Bobby informs, annoyance laced through his voice.

“Bobby!” Luke snarls.

Bobby looked to appear guilty of his tone. He waves it off. “Never mind that, don’t you have a test tomorrow?”

Y/N shrugs. “I do…” she sighs. “But, that doesn’t matter right now.” She moves her attention to them. “I have this great song idea--”

Luke rushes over to her, she flinches slightly, knowing what was coming. “You need to get some rest, it’s three in the morning.” He twirls a piece of her hair, soothingly despite his argumentative words.

“Says teenage boys,” she mutters. “And stop acting like you’ve never done this before.”

“Y/N--”

“It’s for the band!” she whines, cutting him off.

Or that one time…

“Y/N,” her father, Tony, starts. Her, Bobby, Luke, Reggie, and Alex looked up at the tall guy that stood in the doorway of the living room.

“This won’t be good.” Y/N gulps, closing her songbook.

“What is this about you failing three of your classes?!”

Y/N’s eyes squint in embarrassment. “Dad! Not in front of the band,” she whisper-yells.

Luke turns to give Y/N a confused, and almost hurtful expression. “Y/N, you said you didn't need help with your assignments that--”

“You had it ‘under control’,” Alex finishes, leaning forward to fixate on Y/N’s eyes.

“Maybe I fibbed,” she mumbles incoherently.

“You even helped me with my assignments,” Reggie comments. “And yet--”

“You’re not doing your own?” Bobby asks.

Y/N’s eyes widened. “Wow, you guys have been spending way too much time with each other, finishing sentences, that’s crazy, a little weird, and cre--”

“Y/N!” Luke exclaims.

“Luke!” she mimics, teasingly.

“Maybe it’s time for us to help you with school,” Luke suggests, but Y/N dismisses the topic immediately.

“No! You guys need to focus on your music, the band,” she bickers. “That should be your main priority. That’s what it should always be.”

“But, you are the heart of the band, our music. So, focusing on you, helping you, would basically be the same thing as what you’re telling us to do,” Luke signifies.

Y/N left feeling defeated. “You don’t need to worry about me, I’m doing this for the band. Everything I’m doing right now, rather than school, is all for the band.”

Tony crosses his arms. “Then maybe it’s time to take a break from the band.”

“You always say that,” Luke blurts.

“And every time, it’s true,” Y/N responds.

“But, what about me?” Luke asks.

Y/N purses her lips. “What about you?”

“Whoa,” Luke chuckles. “Me. Luke Patterson…” Y/N’s eyes avert to her shoes. “Your boyfriend.” He whistles, waving a hand in front of her face to gain all her attention back. “Hello?”

“I-I don’t see what point you’re trying to make here,” she stammers.

“I rarely see you,” he claims.

“You live in my garage Luke, we always see each other. I’ve been here for an hour, right here, on this couch, watching you.” Her tone started to get short as her exhaustion kicked in.

“I mean seeing you. As in my girlfriend, our friend, all we’ve been seeing is our manager.” Luke picked up on her mood, channeling the same energy.

Y/N gets closer to him. “I’m right here, Luke, what more do you want from me?”

“You’re about to leave.”

“Because I have to!” Y/N shouts.

“We should stop this,” Bobby tells Alex. “It’s scaring Reggie.” He gestures to the boy with his hands covering his ears.

Alex nods in agreement. “Let’s do it.”

Bobby and him take steps towards the pair still arguing. “Guys!” Bobby moves in to separate them. “Let’s just think about this for a second.”

Y/N sighs, exasperated. “I really have to go to work, if I don’t, dad will kill me.”

“What does your dad have to do about this?” Luke questions, even more confused than before. “Is this some kind of punishment for you?”

Bobby slowly backs away. “It’s going to be a bloodbath in here any moment,” he guessed.

“You can say that,” Y/N answers to Luke. “I just may have done something that requires me to… Work a little harder to gain some money… Back…” She was nervous. Fidgeting with her fingers, as her palms grew sweaty. “This is it, this is when he finds out.” She loudly sighs, closing her eyes. “A lot of money.”

“How much?” He glances at Alex, Reggie, and Bobby for any sign of the answer, but they were uselessly just watching this scene play out.

“A thousand,” she squeaks, inaudible.

“What?” He leans in a little closer.

“A thousand,” she repeats at the same level of volume.

“Y/N, you need to speak a little louder.”

She takes a deep breath, holding it. She opens her eyes, gaining the courage to just tell him the truth. “A thousand,” she says, loud, and clear.

“A thousand?!” he chokes out. “What did you do that’d cost a--” he cuts himself off. He glimpsed at the still flawless looking guitar hung on the wall. “Did you--did you buy that on your own?”

She looks away from his gaze, embarrassed. “I have to go.” Y/N leaves before he can reply.

His jaw drops. “Y/N!” he calls out, but she ignores him. He spins on his heels, pacing over to the boy. “Did you guys know?”

Their silence gives him the answer he dreaded. “We tried to convince her to tell you but… She’s very stubborn, as you know,” Bobby explains.

“I just--I wish I knew.” Luke roughly pushes a hand through his hair. “I would’ve…” he pauses. “I should’ve been more appreciative.” He stares at it. “That’s it! I’m taking it back to the shop, and selling it.”

Ignoring his friends, he goes and grabs the guitar. His rush movements, knocking over Y/N’s songbook that laid on the table. Alex is the first to read it, his eyes catching a neatly decorated card that had ‘To Luke Patterson From Y/N’, written boldly on the front. “Luke,” he calls out. Carelessly setting the book back in its spot. “Before you make any hasty decisions, I suggest you read this first.”

Luke narrows his eyes, seeing his name. He sets the guitar down, plucking the card away from Alex’s hands. He frowns. “I’ve never seen this before,” he admits.

“We’ll give you a minute.” Alex grabs Bobby and Reggie by the collars of their shirts, practically dragging them out of the garage.

Luke doesn’t move at first, but rather standing there by the piano. He admired the colors, and designs carefully drawn on the thick paper. She always did like things to be perfect… Especially for him. He sits down on the couch, opening the card.

Dear Luke,

You have always been my sunshine. You illuminated everything around me when things were dark and grey. We’ve had our ups and downs, but in the end we were together. That night you knocked on my window, soaking wet from the rain, and crying. It was the first time I saw my sunshine blocked by clouds. Hey, look at me, I guess you do learn things from book club after all. I missed it, I missed my sunshine and seeing you smile, because I love your smile. You have the prettiest smile that you can’t help but smile at. I wanted to take your pain away, just like how you take away mine. Which is why I got you the thing you’ve wanted since you told me. And please, don’t worry about paying me back. Your happiness is the best payment I can ask for… I hope you know that I’d do everything for you without needing anything in return. So, go be my rockstar with your new guitar.

Love Y/N.

Luke stares at the words, blankly.

“Luke?” the boys call when he stumbles out of the garage.

“You guys have to help me.”

Y/N was miserable at work. Stress drowning every ounce of ability to actually do her job. “I’m so sorry!” she says when she runs into someone, having leftover drinks spill all on them. “I’m…” Her voice fades, when she sees her boss with his arms crossed.

Another worker comes over to take care of the mess, and the customer. Her boss gestures to her to come to his office. “Sit,” he orders.

“I don’t want to sit if you’re going to end up firing me,” she simply establishes. “Easier exit strategy.” He doesn’t say anything, but just holds out his hand. “No,” she whines. “You don’t understand I need this job. I’m literally taking double shifts right now. I’m good with people, and I just…” She groans. “If my dad finds out I was fired he’ll kill me. And how am I supposed to help my brother, and my boyfriend’s band without a job. I’m their manager, you know,” she rambles, but the man pays no close attention to what she’s saying.

“If you are doing your job as manager right, then you should have no problem making money.”

Y/N’s jaw drops a little. She sniffles with a nod, untying her apron. “Fine,” she whispers, handing the apron to him. “But, if you don’t say the words it doesn’t count, so let me do it for you… I’m quitting.” She turns on her heels, but stops. “I’ll be back Friday for my last paycheck.”

Glares were sent her way when leaving the restaurant. When she gets outside she allows her tears to fall. Stepping into the driver's seat in her car, she breaks down. Sobs escape from her mouth. “Why me?” she cries.

Once settled down a little, she begins to drive back to the house.

She slams her car door, confused to hear music coming from the garage. Not the band’s music, but… “Surprise!”

The boys pop out, with huge smiles on their faces.

Y/N’s eyes wander around to the fairy lights, the snacks and drinks on a portable table, and all the blankets and pillows outside with the projector set up. “What--what is this?” she asks in shock, yet happiness radiates from her.

“Do you like it?” Luke hugs her from behind.

“I love it,” she replies. “But, why? It’s not a special date… Is it?” She raises an eyebrow in curiosity.

Luke doesn’t move, allowing Bobby to take over. “We rarely appreciate how much you do for us, and we thought maybe it’s time to let you know just what you mean to the band, and to us… Our family.”

“You work so hard for what we do,” Alex continues.

“You deserve a lot more credit than we give you,” Reggie adds.

“It’s true,” Luke chimes, softly, into Y/N’s ear. “We all agree that… You truly are the rock of this band.”

Y/N nods, biting her lip. “Thank you… I just feel like I’m not good enough to manage you guys,” she confesses.

Luke frowns, spinning her around to face him. “Don’t ever say that. Who else would buy me a thousand dollar guitar?”

“Who else would laugh at my jokes the way you do?” Reggie accounts.

“Who else would give me free therapy sessions?” Alex appeals.

“And what better person to handle our craziness than my own twin sister?” Bobby emphasizes, gesturing to Y/N.

Y/N shrugs. She looks at the dark, cloudy sky, hoping she won’t cry anymore than she has. “I don’t know,” she whispers.

“Y/N?” She looks at Bobby’s, mentally noting his tense tone. “Why are you home so early?”

All eyes were on her now. She holds onto Luke’s hands to keep her from drowning in anxiety. “I--I got fired--quit,” she corrects quickly. “I quit.”

“Y/N--”

“It’s… It’s for the band,” Y/N cuts off Luke, calmly. “Now!” She claps, replacing her frown with a smile. “What movie do you have planned for our night?” She changes the subject.

Luke shakes his head. “Your night…” He pushes a piece of hair back behind her ear. “Your night, your choice.”

Y/N’s eyes avert to all the boys before landing on Reggie. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Reggie grins widely. “Does it start with S and end with S?”

“Wha--No!” Alex groans.

“Star Wars!” Y/N and Reggie squeal, running off to retrieve the disks for the marathon.

Bobby lands himself beside Luke. “Think she’ll be alright?” He wishes he could read his twin sister a little better than he can presently, but that’s why he had Luke there to help.

Luke not paying attention just responds with a hum. “She has the prettiest smile.”

Taglist (Please let me know if you want to be added, or remind me if you’ve already asked):

@lovesanimals @charliegillespiewife

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sunset-bobby · 2 years

Text

JATP Characters As:

Harry Styles Songs

I don’t take Opinions on this I am right

Julie- Only Angel

The song starts off with this angelic choir build up and then hits u in the face with a rock ballad…and if that doesn’t scream Julie Molina to you then idk what will.

Luke- Sweet Creature

Hot take I know but the lyrics scream Luke writing style and the acoustic guitar is *chefs kiss* and while I know the song may be abt a lover there are some lines that remind me of unsaid emily. Specifically “ it’s hard when we argue, we’re both stubborn I know”

Alex- Lights Up

I could write the whole song out and let u figure out why it’s Alex but like I mean come on “step into the light, it’s so bright sometimes, i’m not ever going back” or even “ All the lights couldn't put out the dark running through my heart. lights up and they know who you are. Know who you are. Do you know who you are?” Enough said

Reggie- Treat People With Kindness

Enough Said. Originally i was thinking bobby cause the line “if our friends all pass away” but like come on it’s just like ugh and the dance break like we stan.

Flynn- Adore You

Three things. The vibes, The trumpets, and The lyrics. This is a Flynn song through and through…also if I said watermelon sugar it would be outta pocket…ifykyk. “Brown skin and lemon over ice.”

Willie- She

I feel like She is a statement of like coming to terms with your feminine side, which is one of the reasons I think of Willie when I hear it “She lives in daydreams with me, She.” also guitar break Mitch put his whole ass into that solo. Thank you.

Carrie- Woman

I like to think Carrie is the one Woman is abt…Like idk i feel like she’s the girl u get hooked on which is why she and Nick are on again off again…that and convince. tbh Woman screams Flarrie and Carrie is just that Bitch. Another answer would be Carolina.

Nick-Golden

this was hard. like none of the songs really scream Nick but I didn’t want to leave him out. I think Golden is about someone who reminds u of the sun and like Julie said Nick is a sweetheart.

Bobby- As It Was

To me As it Was felt like post death Bobby, especially the second verse. Because it isn’t the same as it was before the boys died and he’s gonna feel that. The only part i don’t think relates is the second half of the bridge.

Ray- Canyon Moon

Favorite song for my favorite dad (don’t tell trevor). Like I just think the song is abt remembrance. Another one would be Sunflower Vol. 6 I just think it’s just Ray and they make me happy.

Trevor- Falling

Look me dead in my eye and say falling isn’t a rayvorose song fic right now. Like there’s so many things I think relate but “i get the feeling that you’ll never need me again” hits dif in this context.

Caleb- Meet Me in The Hallway

Caleb was complicated, but meet me in the hallway won for many reasons. One of them being the vibe. I just think the song feels ominous… also if Caleb told half of y’all to meet u in the hallway u would be running

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #julie molina #luke patterson #alex mercer #reggie peters #flynn jatp #willie jatp #carrie wilson #nick jatp #trevor wilson #ray molina #bobby wilson #bobby jatp #bobby shaw #caleb covington #harry styles #fine line #harry’s house

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dream-a-little-bigger-x · 3 years

Text

You’re The Reason | Eric Matthews

Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist!

Requested: Yes/No

A/N: My first Boy Meets World fic! Gah! I hope you like this! Couldn’t stay away from the JATP boys though, so it’s kinda like a JATP x BMW crossover... Lemme know what you think!

Pairing: Eric x Fem!Reader

Song(s) used: none

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, party

Words: 4,028

Eric Matthews. The goofy, charming oldest boy of Alan and Amy. My best friend since forever. Our parents always told us the story about how we met in the sandbox in Kindergarten. I was building sandcastles when Jason, Eric’s first best friend, came to ruin them. Eric, being the charmer he always had been, told Jason off and pushed him out of the sandbox before helping me rebuild my sand castle. Ever since that day, the two of us had been the best of friends.

We did everything together. Everything from play dates to eating ice cream to going to middle school and eventually high school. Though we never graduated together as my parents had to move when I was 16. We moved to Los Angeles and never returned to Philadelphia. Eric and I were so torn. We had promised we would keep in contact and the first few months were hard, but we eventually found a rhythm in our long-distance friendship.

Every evening, we would call each other except for the weekends as those were date-weekends where both of us went out on dates. But come Sunday evening, we’d both be on the phone, telling the other what had happened during said dates.

During summer vacation, Eric would come to L.A. to visit me or I’d go back to Philly, just so we could hang out together for a few days. Those had always been my favorite days. We’d reconnect and find that spark again we always used to have, which, in its turn, brought us closer and made the next few months a little less hard when all we could hear was each other’s voice.

Last summer, however, I realized that I’d rather kiss those beautiful pink lips than stare at them as he talked about yet another girl he took out over the weekend and made out with. It stung, to say the least, but I couldn’t tell him how I felt. We were miles apart from one another, it would just hurt more.

Though what hurt even worse was when Eric called me one time in the middle of the night, crying. Confused and worried, I listened to him as he let everything he was feeling out of his system.

“Mister Feeny is retiring, Cory’s going to college and eloped with Topanga tonight and I just– everything’s changing and I don’t know what to do about it. I wanna stop time and just go back to the way things were. All of us in high school, Cory and Topanga fighting over God-knows-what or Shawn and Cory getting into even more trouble. And you… Not miles away from me…”

I choked back tears as I listened to him. He sounded so broken, so lost. I wished I could just hold him and let him cry as he spoke about how he felt. I wished I was in Philadelphia instead of Los Feliz, a place I didn’t quite belong.

“I’m sorry, Eric, I wish I could make things better for you…” I said, my voice just above a whisper, afraid I would cry if I spoke any louder.

Eric sighed on the other side of the line. “Why don’t you just– come home? Study at Pennbrook with me?” I stuttered and stumbled over my words, unsure what to say to him.

It wasn’t like I thought about it. I’m an adult, I could change my whole life around and move back to Philadelphia. Back to Eric. But while that sounded all beautiful and wonderful and like a dream come true, I couldn’t just drop everything here. I had my new friends, a college degree I needed to finish.

“Come on, babe. You know you want to…” Eric pleaded, knowing all-too-well what was going on in my mind right now even though he couldn’t see me. “I know I want you to.”

I heaved in a deep breath. “I can’t, Eric… I gotta finish my degree here. I gotta–” Just as I wanted to continue summing up reasons as to why I wouldn’t be able to go back to him, four guys I knew like the back of my hand entered my dorm and jumped onto my bed. I didn’t even need to see who it was to know who it was. “Guys– I’m on the phone here,” I scolded them as the floppy-haired guy gave me his best smoulder. “Lukas, no.”

“It’s alright, y/n,” I heard Eric say, though I could tell it wasn’t actually okay. “You go back to your friends. You stay put. Okay? Whatever makes you happiest.”

“But you make me h–” Before I could even finish my sentence, Eric had hung up the phone. “Happiest…” I mumbled before placing the horn back on the receiver.

“You okay?” the blonde guy I knew best as Alex Mercer asked me solemnly.

I pressed my lips together. “No– not really…”

Luke wrapped his arms around my waist and snuggled into my neck while Reggie sat on the end of my bed with his legs crossed. “I think you ought to go visit him,” he said.

“What?”

“No, seriously. You miss him, he misses you and you clearly need each other right now. Go back to Philly, y/n. Even if it’s just for the weekend.” For once, Reggie actually spoke some sense.

“Yeah, I mean, you clearly miss each other and you need each other right now. And maybe, whilst you��re there, you can figure out whether you’d wanna move back to Philly or come back to us,” Alex added.

I had met Luke, Reggie, Alex and Bobby during orientation day, along with Rose, my roommate. There hadn’t been a day where we didn’t spend time together. All six of us were sewn to the hip. Wherever one went, the others went too. A lot of people called Rose and I their groupies as the four of them had started a band way back in high school. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say those four were actually married to one another.

But to be fair, Alex and Reggie were speaking some truth now. I did miss Eric. I missed him tremendously. And maybe, once there, I could see that Los Angeles was truly where I belonged or if I should stay in Philadelphia with Eric… It was the ultimate life test.

I heaved in a deep breath before lifting my hand to ring the doorbell at apartment 3E. Nerves bunched in the pit of my stomach and my hands were getting clammy. I wasn’t even sure if Eric was home. I wasn’t even sure if coming over was such a splendid idea. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

Even less so when a tall fiery red-haired girl opened up the door. My throat dried up for a second. Did I get the wrong apartment? Eric hadn’t told me about a girl roommate or anything. All I knew was that he lived with Jack and Shawn. Though I figured since Shawn had gotten into Pennbrook too, he might’ve moved into a dorm with Cory.

“Hi, can I–” the girl stopped in her tracks as she let her eyes glide over me. “You’re y/n, aren’t you?” Her lips curled up into a smile. “Eric has told me so much about you!”

The nerves in my stomach made room for fluttery butterflies. Eric talked about me. Even to girls as pretty as this one. Knowing Eric the way I do, I didn’t think he ever would. ‘Girl repellant’ he’d call it.

“Uhm… Yeah… I wanted to surprise him… Is he here?”

The girl chuckled. “Believe it or not, but he’s actually in class right now.”

“Eric? In class?”

She nodded her head, her lips curling up into a smirk. “I’m heading to campus now, you wanna come? His class is almost over.”

It definitely beat sitting here, waiting for him.

“Sure,” I replied and the girl quickly went to grab her stuff before walking out and guiding me towards the elevator again.

“I’m Rachel, by the way. I just moved in a couple days ago,” she said while pushing the button to call the elevator.

Rachel. Roommate Rachel. She was definitely Eric’s type… A girl.

“Eric hasn’t told me about you yet. For a second, I thought I was at the wrong apartment,” I said, chuckling a little.

Rachel and I got into the elevator and she told me about how she wound up living with Jack and Eric. I had to admit to myself that I was only slightly jealous of the moves the two boys had made on her. Not that I cared about Jack hitting on Rachel, but I did care about Eric doing it.

The red-haired fury led me towards campus and we talked all the way there. Mostly about Eric. She asked me questions about our childhood and I told her every single story about him. It wasn’t hard talking about Eric. Everything we went through together flowed out of me like a waterfall. A waterfall of Eric-filled stories.

“Oh, look. He’s at the Student Union, as predicted,” Rachel said, pointing towards where Eric, Jack, Shawn and Cory were seated on the sofas, sipping coffee.

A smile involuntarily crept its way up to my face. Eric Matthews. Seeing him now made my heart beat faster and my stomach fill up with all sorts of butterflies. My LA boys were right. I did miss him tremendously.

“Come on, let’s go say hi!” Rachel urged, pulling me along by my wrist.

“Don’t you have a class to go to?”

She shook her red mane. “I’d rather see this beautiful reunion,” she said.

Cory was the first one who met my eyes. His laughter made room for confusion to then turn into delight. “Y/N?” he exclaimed, causing everyone’s head to turn my way before he got up to embrace me. Jack and Shawn hugged me next and when I turned to Eric, he was still seated on the couch with his cup of coffee halfway to his lips.

“What are you doing here?” he finally asked.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear nervously. “What? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

His wide eyes turned back to normal and as he put his cup on the coffee table in front of him, he blabbed while getting up to hug me. “Wha– of course I’m happy to see you, y/n. I just didn’t expect you to come? Don’t you have classes and stuff?”

I inhaled the familiar scent of Eric Matthews. As my senses filled up with him, my nerves finally calmed down. I was home.

“I wanted to surprise you…”

His hands cupped my face as he regarded me. He inspected every inch of my face as if to see if I was complete and really there. “And surprised I am,” he whispered.

Shawn handed me a cup of coffee as we all settled back onto the couch. They asked me questions about LA and about college in LA, and I answered each and every one of them. It felt good being with this gang again. It was like coming back home.

Eric took me everywhere that weekend. Friday night, we went to Chubbie’s. On Saturday, he took me back home where I reacquainted with Alan and Amy, and we spent some time with Morgan.

Now it was Saturday night and we were all at the club for a good party. I was three drinks in and chatting with Rachel at the bar. I had grown close to her over the two days I had been here. Just like Rose, she always knew exactly what to say. And she listened. She listened to all my sorrows and worries. She really listened.

“I think you’re in love with Eric,” she stated before taking a swig of her beer.

“What? No! I–” She raised an eyebrow at me. “I am in love with Eric…”

She let out a cackle. “Ha! I knew it!”

“I can’t act up on my feelings though, Rachel. We live miles apart. Being friends is already hard enough, I don’t even wanna know what being a couple would do to us. If Eric would reciprocate my feelings, that is.”

“Would you believe me if I told you Eric is in love with you too?”

“No.”

“Well, he is! The way his eyes light up when he talks about you… It’s pure love. Sure, he can be a bit daft and he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but when he talks about you, he almost becomes poetic.”

“You’re ridiculous,” I said and sipped from my beer again.

Rachel shook her head at me. “See for yourself.” She pointed somewhere behind me and the second I turned around, Eric was in front of me with those big, sparkly eyes of his and that goofy smile I’d come to love.

“Dance with me, baby!” he shouted and pulled me along to the dance floor. As I looked back at Rachel, she gave me a knowing look. She wasn’t right. She couldn’t be.

“I need you to stay,” he slurred, clearly having drank one too many beers. “Please, can’t you stay?”

“Eric,” I sighed, “You know I can’t. I’ve got –”

“A degree to finish and friends to go back to, I know, I know…”

I pressed my lips together in a thin line as I watched him. He was still moving, swaying from side to side to the music, but there was a lot less enthusiasm behind than before we started talking.

“Hey,” I started and placed my hands on his shoulders. “You know I would stay if I could, right? I just – I can’t, Eric.”

“Yes, you can, y/n. You can stay here, transfer to Pennbrook, live with me and Jack and Rachel. Be here. With me.”

His offer sounded alluring. A little too alluring. The alcohol coursing in my veins almost made me say ‘yes’, but the sober part of me knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. “I need a better reason than that, Eric.”

“I’ve got more reasons for you to stay.”

“Gimme one.”

Before I could properly process what was happening, Eric grabbed my face and pressed his lips to mine in a deep kiss. As we pulled apart for a moment, I had to take a breather and process what had just happened.

“That’s a good reason,” I whispered before kissing him again.

I didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the fact that we’d actually wanted to do that for a long time, but the rest of the night we spent together, making out in a corner of the club until Rachel and Jack pulled us apart and brought us back to the apartment. Eric and I fell asleep together on the couch, cuddled up. The place where I’d wanted to fall asleep for months now. The place where I belonged.

It felt weird waking up in his arms. Not that we hadn’t done that before, but the events that preceded it were new. I hadn’t ever been kissed the way Eric had kissed me last night. It was with so much passion and love that filled up all my senses, that sobered me up almost straight away.

Though, when he woke, it was like nothing happened.

He didn’t speak about it, and changed the subject whenever I tried to. I didn’t know what had gone wrong. It was probably a mistake on his part. He probably didn’t want to kiss me. It was probably the alcohol speaking and not his heart. He didn’t love me the same way I loved him.

It was all a mistake.

“How was your night?” Alan asked playfully when we entered the Matthews’ kitchen for lunch on Sunday.

“Good! We had fun,” I replied and glanced over at Eric. He had jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he moved over towards the fridge.

“It was okay,” he spoke and shoved a knife right through my chest.

I had no clue what I had done wrong or what had gone wrong. All I knew was that Eric was giving me the cold shoulder. The kiss must’ve been a mistake. It must’ve been something he didn’t even want to do and it was just the alcohol taking over. And now it had ruined our entire friendship.

“When’s your flight back home?” Amy queried.

I placed my knife and fork down as I had just finished the delicious lunch Amy had made all of us. “Tonight at eight,” I responded with a nervous smile. My stomach churned when I felt Eric tense up next to me.

“Back to Northridge then, huh? Must be a big change going from cold Philadelphia back to warm and sunny LA,” Alan said with a smile and I nodded my head.

“It’s gonna be quite the di–” before I could finish my sentence, Eric had shoved his chair back and without uttering a word, he stormed out of the kitchen. I could feel my heart break in my chest. He seemed angry. Frustrated. All of the things I didn’t want him to be before I went back to LA.

“I’ll go check on him,” I said and carefully slid my chair back before following Eric outside.

He sat on the cushioned bench where we have had many a talk before as the sun set and the stars appeared into the sky. Though right now, it seemed awfully dark and gloomy. Nothing like what it used to feel like.

“Eric, are you okay?” I plopped down next to him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

He scoffed. “No, I’m not okay. You know, I didn’t ask you to come here. I didn’t ask you to visit me. I didn’t ask and so I couldn’t prepare for you to leave… Again.”

“Eric, I’m sorry. I thought it would be nice to surprise you. I–” I stopped talking as soon as he shot up from the bench and took a few steps away from me. He looked angry and sad at the same time and it broke my heart even further.

“Don’t you know how much it kills me to see you go every time? But at least in the summer, I can prep myself for the goodbye that’s about to follow. I can prep myself for the heartache and now that I didn’t see it coming, I’m not ready for you to go.”

I opened my mouth to say something else, but before I could, he gave me another glare and then stormed off to God-knows-where. I couldn’t move. I was frozen to the bench. My best friend just yelled at me and ran off. I didn’t even say goodbye to him.

“Miss y/l/n, what a surprise,” a familiar voice sounded, causing me to snap my head towards the older man that stood in the next-door garden on the other side of the white fence.

I smiled at him, but I knew it wasn’t genuine and I knew he knew it wasn’t. “Hey Mister Feeny.”

“Are you okay?” he asked and opened the small gate. He made a beeline towards me and sat down on the bench next to me.

I heaved in a deep breath, breathing in the familiarity of my old teacher. “No, I –” I mulled over my words. “I missed Eric, so I came to surprise him but I think it might’ve not been such a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause now he’s mad at me because he couldn’t prepare himself for me leaving…” I mumbled, focusing on the rings on my fingers as I twisted them around and around. “I don’t know what to do, Mister Feeny. I wanna stay with Eric, but I’ve got a life in LA. I’ve got friends and I’ve got Northridge and my family still lives there too…”

I looked up to see my favorite teacher regard me with such a tender and familiar look. He felt sorry for me and I also knew there was a pep-talk coming in a few seconds. Though at that moment, I wasn’t sure if I was in the mood for that pep-talk.

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Miss Lawrence when she came to me with her dilemma,” he started wistfully, the only way Mister Feeny ever spoke. “You stay at Northridge unless you have a good reason not to.”

My mind immediately went to last night’s events when Eric kissed me after he told me he had reasons for me to stay. If I had a reason, it would be Eric. Eric would be the one and only reason for me to move back to Philadelphia and I couldn’t lie when I said Eric weighs out every other reason I had for going back to LA.

“I think you know what to do, Miss y/l/n,” he said before placing a comforting hand on my shoulder and getting up again.

“Hey, Mister Feeny,” he stopped halfway to his house. “You’re a good teacher, you know that?” The genuine and heartwarming smile that curled Feeny’s lips upwards made me feel nostalgic. I had missed that man.

“Thank you, Miss y/l/n. And you’re a good student.”

As Mister Feeny returned to his home, I couldn’t help but think everything over. Every thought, every moment of the past weekend seeped back into my mind. There was only one way to stop my thoughts and I knew exactly what it was.

“Y/N?” His voice caused me to snap out of my thoughts. There he was. Finally. “What are you still doing here?” he asked, visibly getting nervous. “I thought you’d gone home?”

I patted the spot next to me on the cushioned bench. Eric hesitantly took the spot, but I could tell he was tense and didn’t quite know what to do. He didn’t look at me and his hands fiddled around in his lap.

“I am home.”

Now he looked up at me. Confusion was written all over his face, a look I had seen on him before. The reminder of everything I ever told him that confused him made me giggle a little.

“What do you mean? Don’t you have to get back to LA? Back home?” He turned his face back to the sky. It was starting to get dark out and the stars above us were starting to make an appearance, along with the bright moon.

“I talked to Feeny and he told me that I should go back to Northridge…” I watched Eric’s jaw clench. “Unless I had a good reason not to.”

He turned his head to face me again. “Is there a good reason?”

I sighed. “I thought about it. I’ve got reasons to go back. Like my degree and my friends out there, my family…” Eric slowly nodded his head and I knew his mind was already preparing him for me to say I was going to go back. “But there’s one reason that makes me wanna stay here. One reason that outweighs all the other reasons.”

“And what’s that?”

A soft smile befell my lips as I leaned in and cautiously pressed my lips to his. Last night’s memories seeped back into my mind.

“You’re the reason, Eric Matthews.”

He smiled as his eyes darted from mine to my lips and back before he fully kissed me on the lips. I couldn’t help but giggle before melting completely into the kiss, into him. After years of being best friends and months of pining for him, I was finally kissing my best friend. I had finally given into my feelings.

And I was making the right decision. I knew that now. I knew that moving back to Philadelphia would be the right choice. I would be moving back home. Back with Eric. Close to Cory and Shawn and Jack and Topanga. All of my friends from when we were younger. Home.

The only thing left to do now was break the news to my friends in LA…

But that was a problem for later.

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Boy Meets World Taglist: @90ssunsetcurve

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TAGLIST | MASTERLIST

#boy meets world #eric matthews #eric matthews x reader #eric matthews x fem!reader #eric matthews fic #jatp x bmw #jatp x bmw crossover #cw: alcohol #cw: party

511 notes · View notes

pink-flame · 2 years

Note

👀 4 & 27 from soft-ish prompts 👀

Of course you would pick my favorite one from that list! Hope you like it. 🥰

Julie knows that she can't stop the passing of time through sheer force of will but that doesn't stop her from trying, wrapping her arms even more tightly around Luke's newly solid form and hanging on for dear life.

Life.

The one thing she can't give him, even after signs, and magical hugs, and clouds of mysterious sparkles.

Luke doesn't comment on her actions, just answers with a gentle squeeze, his hands that had been nervous and unsure a few hours ago now settling confidently against her waist and back.

What had started as the two talking in the garage after Alex and Reggie left, eager to finish their unfinished business while they had the chance, had evolved into she and Luke taking advantage of the unexpected turn of events in their own way.

Nobody knew how long they had with the guys firm, and touchable and real. It could be forever or another five minutes. They could be there to stay or they could be on the brink of crossing over. They...he...could disappear any minute.

Julie leans forward until her forehead makes contact with his chest, her lips as ghost like as he used to be as they brush against that ridiculous, sleeveless vest of his.

"I don't want you to go," She admits, now that he can't see her face.

He shifts until his chin bumps against the top of her head, his voice traveling through her to reach her ears.

"Then I won't."

Despite all of the impossible things she has experienced recently, Julie is still a realist at heart, too cynical to believe his words are anything more than a prayer to delay the inevitable.

But she chooses to accept his promise anyway, to hold him...to hold the universe to it anyway.

She burrows closer to him still, almost imagining there is warmth seeping between them, that his breath is puffing against her hairline, that his heart is thudding steadily under her hand that has come up to rest over the spot where it should be.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Julie freezes, the rhythm under her fingertips too real to be dismissed.

"Luke...is...is that..."

She has barely drawn her head back seeking out his face before his eyes meet hers, wide and wild as his hand comes up to rest over hers, pressing their joined fingers to his chest.

"I think..." He frowns, drops his gaze to the spot where their hands lie, then jerks his head back up. "My heart's beating."

Julie finds herself incapable of doing anything but repeating his words back to him while she tries to make sense of them.

"Your heart's beating."

"Julie," He says, a slow grin spreading across his face even as tears appear suddenly to sparkle at the corners of his eyes. "My heart is beating."

And he's right, somehow against the odds, against logic, against her entire understanding of life and death and ghosts and magic...his heart is beating.

She had thought that "the band is back" and a long overdue hug would be the extent of the miracles she was owed in her lifetime, after all wasn't it more than she ever could have expected?

Wasn't it everything?

"No," Julie thinks as she finds herself instinctively leaning closer to Luke, her head tilting up in silent, expectant, hopeful invitation. "It wasn't everything."

When their lips meet she swears she sees sparks again even though her eyes have drifted shut without her permission.

"This," She thinks, as their lips meet, and sparks fly, and music erupts in her soul. "This is everything."

Years later Luke will tease her for the way she can't sleep if she doesn't have her hand pressed against his chest, searching, confirming, at the way if they have to be apart she insists he press his phone to his heart and let her hear it.

"Your heartbeat is my favorite sound," She says each time, a shrug accompanying her words and allowing her to save a little face with false casualness.

But he knows.

And he understands.

After all, it was his miracle too.

So he just presses a kiss to her forehead, and holds her hand to his chest, and...

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"I don't want you to go," She still says to him from time to time, when she feels him slipping out of bed to scribble out a lyric he just thought of or to try to surprise her with a mostly edible breakfast.

She knows he's not going far, knows they can't always be within arm's reach of each other, knows that she is a strong, independent woman who doesn't need to be tethered to the man she loves at every moment.

Still.

Old habits die hard.

So he slips back into bed, soothes her long ago fears, and whispers back.

"Then I won't."

#answered asks #juke #jatp #ask game #present tense isn't my thing but I tried #THEM

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daintyduck99 · 1 year

Note

"I love that I can be myself around you." for any part of the Greater Polyphantoms Polycule

Julie giggles as Reggie rushes by, leaving a trail of paper hearts in his wake. In addition to the porch, aka the area he's supposed to be decorating, he's managed to stick one to Alex's fanny pack, Flynn’s jacket, and yup—the strap of Julie's overalls. He's a regular cupid, dashing around with flushed cheeks and overflowing with hearts. The only thing he's missing is a bow. Maybe a skirt.

There's a muffled yelp that sounds suspiciously like Luke as Reggie leaps off of the porch and rounds the corner. Julie shares a dubious look and a smile with Flynn, shaking her head, and Alex just lets out a little, inexplicably fond okay, righting the banner that's been knocked out of place for the millionth time.

Scratch that. Reggie puts the sweet in sweetheart, but he also puts the A-H in lethal. No bow and arrows for him.

The skirt, though—

Alex touches her shoulder, yanking her out of her rapidly derailing train of thought.

"Could you make sure that the backyard isn't on fire? I'm going to keep watch while Flynn checks on the cookies."

"I have the fire department on speed dial," she says semi-jokingly. She could easily cue them up in her contacts. "Sure thing."

He pulls her in for a quick hug, resting his chin on top of her head. "Thanks, Julie. I don't know what we'd do without you."

"Without us!" Flynn calls through the screen door, having already slipped inside. "And the answer is arson, probably!"

"Alright, nope, no more of that," Alex mutters as he releases her, "we are not manifesting this on Carrie's favorite holiday, she will literally murder us. Go team."

Julie's still giggling when she enters the backyard, only to gasp as she looks up.

Willie outdid himself with the lights. It's as if fairies float from every tree, bobbing in the breeze in pink and white pairs, perfectly spaced and utterly mesmerizing.

He swings down right in front of her, dangling upside down from the nearest tree, and she nearly screams. He grins delightedly.

"Jellybean! What do you think?"

She softens at the nickname, though she crosses her arms all the same. A small smile tugs at her lips.

"I think that it's Valentine's Day, not Halloween. When it comes to decor, Carrie's going to love it, though. Maybe just don't try that on her. She'll judo flip you before she recognizes you, and Reggie will cry if you break another bone."

"We can't have that," he agrees jovially, but she knows he's serious about it. He's just such a happy person. His eyes shine, and her heart warms with love for him.

"Wills!" Reggie comes barreling over, abandoning Luke by the half-covered tables and the mound of tablecloths. "We should totally do the Spiderman kiss! I've always wanted to do that!"

Willie quirks an eyebrow at him, which makes him laugh even when Willie's right-side up. This time doesn't disappoint.

"Well? What are you waiting for, Cherry?"

They always kiss with so much boundless energy. It's like watching cars crash into each other willingly at a demo derby, reckless and wild and vaguely hypnotic.

Reggie pins a little heart that will be flipped when Willie rights himself to Willie's chest in the process, snickering as he pulls away, though he also takes the time to press a smiling kiss to Julie's lips when she tilts her face towards his. He then runs back to Luke, who's pouting, although he's most likely received more than his fair share of kisses today.

Willie wiggles his eyebrows at her. She has no idea how he's still hanging like that.

"Where's my kiss from you, Jellybean?"

She huffs a laugh. "You're all terrible flirts."

"Isn't it justified today?"

"Maybe," she allows. She cups his face and kisses his hot cheek. "I wouldn't change anything about you, though. You can flirt with me terribly any day."

His grin widens, pulling his cheeks taut under her hands. "I love that I can be myself around you."

"Ditto." She presses another kiss to the slope of his chin, which makes him giggle. "Now get down from there before Alex really makes me call the fire department."

Thankfully, they all make it through the evening unscathed, save for more hearts, some mussed clothes, and a few lipstick prints.

#the greater polyphantoms polycule #julie & willie #probably qpr julie & willie #one hundred compliments #ficlets with ash #my shorthand for this just said willie to julie while upside down in tree lol #julie and the phantoms

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story-courty · 10 months

Note

1, 18, 29. 💜

K! Thank you for the ask!

Share a song that makes you think of [fic title]

I'll go with Midnights, since I JUST had two ideas for songs that go with that Luke and that Julie.

For MaM!Luke, a song I canNOT get out of my head is 100% "My Escape" by Ravenscode. GORGEOUS gorgeous song.

As for MaM!Julie, "Trust Me" by Crystal Lewis is pretty much everything she's thinking about Luke in that story.

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

I answered that one here, but another section (because who can pick just one line?) I love is from the end of Every Moment, Just for this Moment, my JatP/Wicked songfic based on "Just for This Moment" from the musical.

The night disappeared, neither of them aware of anything but the other. What happened to them after this would matter later. If they continued to fight alone, they’d eventually be caught. If they were caught, they’d be thrown into the deepest hole the Emerald City had and left to rot. Or they’d be executed. Probably executed. But Julie wanted one moment, just one moment, where this man could love her and she could love him back. And as unwise and selfish as that probably was, she was going to take it. And if that made her evil then so be it. Wait… No… Not evil… She gasped and pulled her lips away from Luke, squeezing her eyes shut against another power wave blasting through her heart. Luke searched her gaze, worry and confusion furrowing his eyebrows. “Julie, are you alright? What is it?” She took a few deep breaths. “I’m okay, I promise. It’s just…” A small, breathy laugh escaped her lips. “For the first time I… I feel…” She slid her fingers from his hair, cradling his cheeks in her hands. She leaned forward and let her lips touch his again, a grin slowly lighting up her eyes. And then she finally accepted who and what she was. “Wicked...”

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

I answered this one here too, but here's a little more from that fic!

He held up his coffee cup so she could see the side. Kayla’s bubbly handwriting decorated the side with her name, number, and Call me! “Wanna explain this?” Julie almost choked on her bite of croissant. “That, I think, is why we got four extra croissants in our order.” “The barista?” Julie nodded. “Seems someone’s got himself a not-so-secret admirer.” Reggie took another look at his cup, then sighed and took a long swig. “Poor thing. I’ll have to find a way to let her know my heart belongs to another.” “Speaking of your mystery girl, are you ever going to tell me who she is?” Reggie hit the blinker and turned into the park’s entrance. “I can’t tell you who she is until she knows who she is. That just wouldn’t be fair, now would it?”

Ask me things from THIS list!

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crybabyddl · 3 years

Text

I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO REITERATE SOMETHING

Yes, let’s circle back to the beautiful performance of Edge of Great. More specifically the BODY LANGUAGE, particularly Julie and Luke’s, which I will be analyzing with gifs.

Exhibit A

Jealous Luke looks over at Julie and Reggie vibing

Julie is aware that she’s avoiding Luke, which she is doing so bc she realized her feelings for him thanks to Flynn earlier in the episode.

Since Julie has put the task of ignoring Luke upon herself even though she has no obligation to, she ends up failing her own mission. She sees Luke’s reaction to the lack of her attention.

She literally FREEZES. She’s emotionally worried to confront what she’s feeling and it’s beginning to manifest physically.

Exhibit B

It gets better y’all. After Luke finally has even a crumb of Julie’s attention, he beckons her over with his signature head tilt. This is important bc he did this with his longtime bandmate during the soundcheck of what would’ve been their biggest performance. If he feels comfortable enough using that body language with a girl he’s only known for, what, a week and a half(?) then you know this puppy boy’s got it BAD.

Julie is well aware that Luke is getting jealous. But in classic Julie fashion, she will try to tune it out instead of addressing it. Our wicked beauty doesn’t like confrontation and would rather just deny and avoid than potentially make things awkward, especially when she knows Luke would ask her about it at a later time.

The look on Julie’s face. Her eyes widen and the classic tight-lipped awkward smile is present. She’s literally saying “ok enough of that let’s get back to work doo doo doo” with her face. The way her body SWINGS back into performance mode as she faces the audience again. It may have been a split second, but when you’re deliberately trying to avoid looking into the dreamy (dead) eyes of someone you shouldn’t be crushing on, any amount of time feels too long. Plus, she knows Flynn is watching and doesn’t want her to lecture her (but she does anyway bc Flynn is observant and knows her bestie too well to let any action slip past her).

Exhibit C

Keep in mind; NONE OF THE GUYS KNOW WHY JULIE IS AVOIDING LUKE. Flynn, Alex, and Reggie have noticed the Juke chemistry, but it’s still too soon for them to get past the “we like each other but we’re too clueless to notice that we reciprocate” phase, so even though their respective besties know, they are still denying. Besides, Reg, Alex, and Flynn know better than to keep pestering if they want to keep their kneecaps. In reality they’re both smart enough to tell by this point, but for the sake of the plot and to make everything more adorably frustrating, Flynn has the collective brain cell under lock and key, leaving Juke to be like *dog tilting its head and making that “a-roo?” noise*

Anyway, Reggie notices Luke being snubbed after realizing that his extra dose of Julie time was slightly out of the ordinary. Luke is clearly concerned (look at his eyebrows and how his eyes travel from Reggie, to Julie, then to the audience to trying and get his mind off it and bring his focus back to the main goal; the performance.) If he can’t have the moment of connection with Julie that he so desperately craves, he’s gonna fill that void as best he can by connecting with the audience. >:’)

But Reggie’s trying to help Luke brush it off by conveying his reaction as ‘look at julie coming into her own! i told you she was a star! and you thought you were the lead singer? think again buddy this girl’s got you beat!’

But since Reggie isnt a master at hiding his feelings yet, especially around Luke, —who was able to get under his skin earlier (“girls, am i right?”)—Luke was easily able to see through that and interpreted what Reggie was saying as “look at julie go, she all in the zone. you’re literally making heart eyes at her get a grip you’re slacking lmao” (hence luke’s right eyebrow quirking at reggie like ‘dude seriously gimme a break u know i need attention like tinkerbell’) even though Reggie’s true message was a bit less harsh and more lovingly teasing, but it’s Luke, he sees things through his eyes and at his intensity, regardless of who it’s coming from. (This is one of the reasons why Luke comes off as selfish at times.)

Exhibit D

Poor Lukey boi can’t seem to catch a break today! Not only does Julie ignore him, then has a cute lil (platonic but it’s luke so it still makes him jealous >:P) moment, but now she has the AUDACITY to interact with Alex? The guy who was out learning Ghost 101 with this Willie guy instead of rehearsing with the band? What gives?! What’s he got that your moody ghost bf doesn’t? >:’(

He literally just watches, and even glances back in a way that, to me, screams ‘did i see that right? did i just see what i just saw with my own dreamy (but dead) eyes? say sike rn.’ \_(*_*)_/

Meanwhile, Alex pays no mind. I like to think that Alex is fully aware that Luke is an angry boy rn, but has learned to ignore it, especially this bc literally NOTHING happened. Either that or Alex has no clue and just truly thinks nothing of it and is having too much fun to think about Luke’s moody and childish behavior. Either way, Alex is just straight chilling and we love to see it *^_^*

Notice how Reggie is right there vibing with Julie and Alex. Luke feels a bit betrayed like ‘not you too! i know you were the first to turn on me but i figured since you’re such a golden retriever you’d be loyal and come back to my side!😠🥲’

Also; Luke approaches the rest of the group, wanting to be included in at least SOME of the vibing, but when Julie starts dancing and smiling with her buddy Alex, he backs up like

“you know what? nope. nevermind. not doin’ it.”

and the group’s like “i mean hey it’s your loss, but luke we want you to-”

“no, bc you chose to piss me off right in front of my face so no luke time for any of you! no cuddles, no hugs, no nothing! you made your bed, now lie in it and perish.”

Exhibit E & F: This is where it gets a bit interesting and theorized hehe...

Now we all know that this moment is just fucking ICONIC

WEOWH NEOW NEOW!!! WEOW NEHR NEHR NER-NER-NER NEHR NEHR NEOWHR!!! (wer nehr-nehr-ner-ner-nehr-nehr!!) WUEHNER-NEUHNER-NEHR-NEEOW-NEOWH! DLOOLOODDUH-DOODLAH-HOOBLUEH-NEOWHR-NEUEHR-NEEEEEEUOWRH!!!!

But hear me out– HEAR ME OUT!

What if... now don’t shoot the messenger who just so happens to also be the theorist... but what if...

WHAT IF!!! Luke didn’t!! plan this?!!!

Listen i know you’re probably thinking:

“Well uh Nicole, isn’t that kinda the whole point? It literally wasn’t planned until Charlie realized Madi was gonna be standing on the piano so he suggested the idea for the guitar solo to Kenny.”

And you’re right! But here’s the kicker:

What if Luke THE CHARACTER, just decided to do this as an “Alright that’s it! You wanna be like that? Well what if I just hit you with my super awesome radical totally cool wowza guitar skills & make a moment between us? Huh? What do you think about that? Hmm? HMMM???!!!”

He licks his lips & that to me read** like he was nervous (**read rhyming with bed just to clarify) so that means it could’ve been a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment thing.

In the second gif, you can see that Julie’s head is tilted, as if she’s a bit confused, but she’s also delightfully surprised.

Julie is quick to smile and scrunch her nose at Luke, something she does often. It tells Luke his impulsive action garnered a positive response from his favorite girl. Julie also starts to shake her head, but doesn’t go through the motion in full, which means she’s still a bit nervous to let her guard down. This is probably because she doesn’t know what he’s thinking or what he will do next. The lopsided smile mixed with the suave, gliding steps towards her probably brought her back to her daydream lol.

Luke’s happy bc Julie’s no longer ignoring him. He smiles like a GOOBER bc this chump is simping HARD for our Julie. So cute! :’)

Exhibit G

And hear me when I offer this:

What if Luke poofed the guys out???

I know, I know. It’s a bold claim to make. But the boys are special, considering they are a threat to Caleb (3 gay-variant himbos vs. a gay magician that could’ve been on broadway but decided to make some sort of deal with a devil so he just entertains capitalists who most likely sold their souls to get into the hgc which i will probably elaborate on in a future theory so dont do that bc im gonna lmao idc we all have big brains) So it’s not too crazy to think that they could share some ghost powers.

We know Caleb transported the guys during You Got Nothing to Lose. And the guys have left a place at the exact same time on more than one occasion.

And you may be thinking “well what if the guys poofed out to give juke a moment alone together?” And to that I say...

Look at Reggie. He isn’t looking back at Alex like “dude let’s give them some space.”

The timing of him turning around, at least to me, makes me think Reggie was surprised by Luke approaching the piano. (But also he lowkey was waiting for Luke to prove him wrong by doing something to get Julie’s attention so Reggie isn’t mad. Neither is Alex but he doesn’t like being told how or WHEN to ghost) Luke doesn’t even give his bandmates a warning eyebrow quirk, a hand signal, nothing. Reggie turns to Alex like ‘dude what is he DOING?’ And before he can even really convey that, they go *POOF*

This man had a plan and he was gonna do it, so he did. Whether it’s the power of love, they stopped performing, or Reggie and Alex actually poofed out, the odds worked in Luke’s favor so he and Julie could have a super special moment, a moment special enough to make an actual living person (Nick) wonder if a “hologram” has a better chance at connecting with Julie than he does.

Again, regardless of who made them poof or how they poofed, they mf poofed so Luke’s a happy hamster. (Idk it just sounded fitting instead of happy camper lol wait what if someone had 3 pet hamsters and named them alex reggie and luke🥺 someone buy some hamsters and let me be their godmother or their aunt and i’ll love them from afar.) Anyway, Luke’s thriving, flourishing, his crops are going to grow in time for the harvest.

You can see Julie lean back as she turns to see Luke. It’s... almost as if... She. Wasn’t. Expecting. Him. To. Be. There..??

Honey badger Luke bc he DGAF <|:) Bitch, it’s Luke mf Patterson and he’s gonna,, GET! IN! YOUR! FAAAACE!!!

You CANNOT tell me he’s not doing the absolute MOST to try and seduce Miss Juliana Mariposa Rose Molina.

Yes I’m making a headcanon that Julie has TWO middle names and that one of them is the spanish word for butterfly and that the other is her mother’s name. Also yes, I believe (i believe that we’re just one dream away from who we’re– oh, that’s not what we’re doing? okay, sorry!) that Juliana is Julie’s full name.

In this house we love and respect Juliana Mariposa (Dahlia)** Rose Molina

**I’m just putting Dahlia there for fun bc I can. :) Whether I’d consider it a possible middle name of hers depends. Anyway I just thought it was a cute thing to add bc it goes along with the other middle names I gave her *^_^* Also, I feel like I made a post giving a bunch of the characters middle names lemme see if I can find it later)

Ok i’m done this took me basically all day from like 10am until 4:08. I obviously took breaks in between, but not long ones...😶

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missmitchieg · 3 years

Text

Hey, Don't Die

It started out as a joke.

It was always supposed to be a joke.

The boys weren't supposed to die on him. But he forgot to say it. It wasn't his fault! He got distracted by the pretty girl in front of him and their favorite little inside joke just slipped his mind. So he didn't say it, and now the boys were gone.

Or maybe it was his fault they were gone. Sure, maybe it was a coincidence that every time he did say it, they didn't die on him and the one time he didn't say it, they went and died. Or maybe it was some weird fortune or good luck charm.

Whatever it was, Bobby didn't think he would ever be able to escape that positively heart wrenching, soul crushing guilt of how he should have said it, or how he should have been there to run and call for an ambulance.

The first time he said it was to Luke. It was a joke. It was funny. Luke made a comment at the end of the day that he was going to his parents' house to sleep because his bed didn't give him that neck crick that his couch did.

With a laugh, Bobby patted Luke's shoulder and gave a little squeeze. "Alright. Don't die out there, though."

Luke cackled at that and shook his head, giving him a half hug. "I'll try, buddy. Love you."

"I love you, too."

They kept that joke going for a couple of weeks.

The next one he made the joke to was Alex. It was still a joke. It was still funny. Alex was just going to make a quick pizza run and come back.

"Be quick. Don't die." Bobby told him.

Alex smiled and ruffled Bobby's hair the way he knew he hated, waving as he walked out. "I won't, bro."

"You better not. Love you."

"Love you."

Then came Reggie. It was still a joke. It was still funny. They were on a 'friend date', as Reggie called it, to the aquarium. Bobby, Luke and Alex all wanted to watch the great whites in the shark tunnel, but Reggie wanted to go look at the jellyfish in the opposite direction of the sharks.

"Alright. We'll meet back up by the clown fish, then. Don't die alone in there." Bobby smiled and patted Reggie's cheek.

"I won't, Bobins." Reggie chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, giving his best friend a sweet smile. "Love you."

"I love you, too."

It had sort of become their thing after a while. One or two or all of them would go off somewhere without 'their Bobble' and Bobby would always, always tell them, whether it was with a smile or a faux serious look on his face. "Don't die."

Then came that day. July twenty second, nineteen ninety five. Bobby had been distracted by a very pretty girl with curly hair and sparkly eyes and had just forgotten to tell his boys his usual comment of "Hey. Don't die out there. I love you.", so he hadn't said it. And then he got a call. A call to tell him that his band, his best friends, his boys, were gone forever.

He was horrified when he realized what had happened.

What he didn't say.

What he didn't do.

He had broken down about it to his parents, who promptly suggested that he go to therapy about it. Something about how it wasn't healthy to think this way and he did nothing wrong and he couldn't have known what would happen and he needed to talk to someone about it. So he did. He went and he talked about the boys and how it hurt that they were gone and they were never coming back. But he never told his therapist about their thing, about what he would say to them when they left his sight.

He had also managed to become a rock star by means of some sleazy contract he hadn't been given the chance to read properly giving ownership of Luke's music to some company and Bobby had been forced to record the songs and pass them off as his own and keep the true writer a secret.

It was fine. Luke was gone. He wasn't ever going to find out what the contract had roped Bobby into. So he did it. Just not without a few breakdowns in between song recordings and e-mails to his therapist about emergency sessions. But it was fine.

So he went on like that, taking his boys' music and recording it in between breakdowns and therapy sessions and becoming a mega famous rock star, just like he had managed to convince himself his boys would want him to.

He grew up and had a kid. A little girl named Carrie, who was his absolute little pride and joy. A little girl who was never going to live in a garage, or eat out of the back of a beat up car, or get food poisoning, or anything that could harm her. She was going to have only the best health care and knowledge he could buy and teach her and she wasn't going to die.

The first time he had told her the thing, she was a little toddler, going to day care for the first time. She had been excited to go to day care and meet new friends to play with and he had been a wreck thinking of all the things that could happen if he didn't remember to tell her. So he made a mental note to not forget before he walked out the door to go to work.

He had walked inside with a little curly haired toddler on his hip and, with a smile, said to his little girl: "Carrie, love, daddy's gonna go to work now. You're gonna stay here a while and I'll pick you up when I'm done working. I love you. Don't die here."

Carrie had giggled at that and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Love you, daddy!" She said before he let her down and she ran off to bang on a brightly colored toy drum.

Bobby winced as he felt his heart clench in his chest at the sight of his little girl playing a drum, just like his old best friend. He bit his lip as he clenched and unclenched his fists and walked out to the car to go to the studio, where he would try and write a song as good as Luke's old music again.

No matter how hard he tried to channel the guitarist, he just couldn't. He couldn't write like Luke, because he wasn't Luke. And Luke wasn't there to help him. Wasn't there to chuckle and suggest a clever slant rhyme, or a metaphor that would work, or a cool melody that sounded like something Luke would write, but also that Bobby, no, that Trevor could play in his sleep.

He groaned in frustration as he and his team of four other writers just couldn't come to an agreement about which rhyme scheme to use for this song, and kept glancing at the clock until it was the time to go and pick up his baby from day care.

He walked inside and looked around for Carrie, hoping, praying that saying the thing worked, that he hadn't lost his little girl like he lost his boys. "Care-bear? Baby?"

"Daddy!" Carrie giggled and got up from where she was sitting on the floor watching a little curly haired girl slam her fingers against toy piano keys, running up to him. "Hi, daddy!"

Oh, thank God. "Carrie, there you are! My little girl! Oh!" He cooed as he scooped her up into his arms and hugged her tightly to his chest, pressing kisses to the top of her tiny, giggling head.

"Aww!"

"That's so sweet."

"Oh, what a good daddy!"

Trevor looked up and chuckled, shaking his head. "I just love my little girl so much. Come on, baby. Let's go home. We're having that yummy pasta you like for dinner."

"Yay!"

After that, saying the thing became his and Carrie's thing, just like it was his and his boys' thing. He would drop Carrie off somewhere or Carrie would be on her way to the bus stop to go to school, and Trevor would send her off with an "I love you. Don't die.", and his daughter would smile and salute.

"Daddy, I'm going to my friend, Julie's!"

"Ok! Have fun and don't die! Love you!"

"Dad, I'm going to school!"

"Don't die at school! Love you!"

"Dad, can I go to Flynn and Julie's sleepover on Saturday?"

"Sure, just don't die."

And they went on like that for years.

Carrie always thought it was 'just one of dad's funny quirks'. An 'overprotective dad' thing. Sort of like Marlin from that cute kids movie, Finding Nemo. Carrie would go somewhere without him for a period of time, and Trevor would worry endlessly until she came back, completely unharmed. Then came the hugs and kisses and comments of "There's my favorite girl!" from him.

Little did she know just how much her father was suffering. Little did she know just how worried he was when she would leave, how relieved he was when it sank in that she was fine, that it had worked again, just like it always did.

So sure, maybe it wasn't necessarily 'normal' to say that every time his daughter was out of his sight for any amount of time. Maybe he was still a little traumatized. Maybe he should bring it up to his therapist. But he was fine. He was fine, as long as she was fine.

He ended up admitting it to his therapist mid-session. "So I do this thing with my daughter." He started. "Whenever she goes somewhere without me, I always tell her, 'don't die, I love you'. It's-" He coughed and cleared his throat taking a sip of water to will the sudden lump in his throat away. "It's... Something I used to say to my friends before they died."

Dr. Born nodded and wrote something down quickly, gesturing for him to go on.

"I always tell her. I never forget to. Because the one time I did forget... Well." Trevor made a kind of 'you know, I just told you' gesture and shifted, pushing his hair out of his eyes like his Reggie used to.

"I see."

"I guess I think... If I don't tell her, something will happen. Something will hurt her, a-and she'll disappear like my boys did."

"That sounds quite stressful." Dr. Born had said, in his non judgemental, caring therapist voice.

"It is." Trevor admitted, a familiar anxiety bubbling up in his chest. "Because what if I forget one day? What if I forget one day-"

"Trevor." Dr. Born said, sensing an unhelpful anxiety spiral coming on.

"-and Carrie gets hurt? What if I forget to say it to her just one time and-"

"Trevor."

"that's the last time I ever see my little girl, just because I forgot to tell her not to die-"

"Trevor!"

Trevor winced at that and stopped fidgeting with the toy Dr. Born had advised him to buy for his anxiety years ago now, looking up at him. "Sorry."

"Clearly, you were very affected by the death of your dear friends." Dr. Born noted. "But, why didn't you mention saying that to your friends or your daughter before?"

Trevor frowned at the question and looked down, wringing his hands. "I... Don't know. I guess that part hurt too much to talk about, or think about." He said with a tilt of his head.

Dr. Horn hummed at that and nodded his understanding, taking another note.

"My parents told me to go to therapy to talk about losing the boys, and how much that was affecting me." Trevor started. "I didn't have the capacity, I guess, to talk about that, so I stuck to the boys."

Dr. Horn nodded again, still giving him the most understanding, non judgemental look.

"And I-I guess I just convinced myself telling Carrie that was normal. That worrying if I didn't tell her that, I would end up losing her like my boys, was normal." Trevor continued. "That saying it or not saying it was sort of like a telling of what was to come. Because until now, it has been." He explained. "Because every time I said it, the boys lived. The one time I didn't, they ended up in an ambulance. Every time I say it to Carrie, she comes home safe. What if it happens again?"

Dr. Horn nodded again and hummed, looking for the best way to reply to Trevor. "I won't lie and say that's a normal train of thought, or necessarily true."

Trevor sighed but nodded. "Fair enough."

"But I also know it would negatively affect you to just stop saying it cold turkey."

Trevor nodded again.

"I think, whenever you decide you're ready, and you don't have to be ready the exact next time that Carrie goes somewhere, you should try texting it to her when she's already out the door. And eventually stop saying it altogether."

Trevor considered the thought and nodded slowly, wringing the toy in his hands. "I- Should I tell my daughter what I'm doing? It might be weird for her to be so used to hearing that every time she leaves to suddenly not hearing it."

"Oh, good thinking. I think you should tell her. Though, I'll warn you, she might ask about why you're suddenly cutting out a tradition between the two of you."

Trevor nodded, scratching his neck. "What will she think of me when I tell her about it?"

"You'll never know until you tell her."

So he did. Six months after the fact. He sat Carrie down and explained to her that their 'fun dad joke' was going to change a little soon. He explained why he would always say it and about the boys. He explained that it was going to stop.

Carrie sat and listened intently as she processed what her father was telling her, giving him the tightest hug she ever had after he had finished, both of them in tears. She couldn't believe that her father had just been living with that pain for years, and mentally preparing himself for it to stop for months. Knowing all of this, Carrie Wilson was the most confident she had ever been that her father was the strongest man she ever knew.

So she walked out one day, just to get some fro-yo with the girls, and waited for a text from her father when she didn't hear their thing said out loud. It came when she was two steps out the door.

The next time came just the next day, when Carrie was on her way to school. Carrie didn't hear it out loud, so she waited for a text. It came five steps out the door.

The next time came when Carrie had a performance that Trevor couldn't be at. It was in the same direction as the studio, so he drove her to the venue, and Carrie felt a sad smile stretch onto her face as she heard him say, "I love you. Don't die."

Two weeks later, Carrie was going to a sleepover at Julie's for the first time in a long time. She smiled as this time, she made it all the way to the car before she got a text saying their thing.

Almost a month later, Carrie grinned as she walked out to go to school and didn't hear it, and never got a text. She came home that day, no feeling of sickness coming on or bruise in sight. She was fine.

And he was fine, too.

#julie and the phantoms #bobby trevor wilson #luke patterson #alex molina #reggie molina #carrie wilson #jatp fanfic #someone asked for a read more thing

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yourlocalfictionalenthusiast · 3 years

Text

IN LIFE, IN DEATH...

PART THREE

Part One, Part Two

Warnings: just some swearing

May 1995

“We’re totally gonna get a record deal!”

Luke said for the tenth time in the past hour as he bounced in his seat.

It was Friday night and normally, you would all be messing around at the park, the beach, or just watching a movie in the studio. But when your phone rang and it was the booking manager for the Orpheum telling you that Sunset Curve is officially the new opener next month, the boys insisted on being there the second your shift at the diner was over.

So instead of arguing about having another Star Wars marathon or playing at the pier, you were all packed in your regular booth at Cece’s for celebratory milkshakes. You sat on the very edge of the booth, practically falling asleep on Alex. Ever since you got the call that morning, every cell in your body felt supercharged with excitement.

But now that the day was coming to an end, you could hardly stay awake enough to pay attention to the conversation.

Bobby, who was in your usual spot, pinched Luke’s arm. “Don’t jinx it, dude.”

“It’s not jinxing if you know for sure.” Luke said. “I mean, we’re awesome! And we’ve worked so hard to get to this point. It’s all gonna pay off.”

As much as you wanted to believe him, you were still nervous. There was nothing you were prouder of than your music, and you knew that a crowd that big would be good for gaining a lot of new fans. But the idea of that many people seeing you perform and hearing your lyrics was nerve-wracking.

You could tell the others felt the same way. Bobby was biting his nails, Alex was bouncing his leg so hard it almost hit the table and Reggie was slumped against the wall. Luke just stared at all of you, his bright smile never fading.

He snapped his fingers so loud that you jumped at the noise, then he started digging in his pockets. “I know what’ll cheer you guys up.”

Luke pulled out a safety pin, then brought its point down into the table, his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in concentration. After a few minutes, he brushed off the table and presented his design proudly. It was four words in huge slanted letters.

‘SUNSET CURVE WAS HERE’

“Seriously, Luke?” Alex said, his eyes wide. “Cece’s gonna kill you!”

Luke just smirked and handed him the pin, gesturing to the space under the words. “‘C’mon, man. You’re up first.”

It took a lot of convincing, but Alex eventually gave in, and one by one, you all signed your names.

‘Alex,

Bobby

Reggie

Luke

(Y/N)’

You heard the sound of Cece’s heels hitting the floor as she exited the kitchen. Panicking, you shoved the pin in your pocket just in time as she came up to the table.

Before she could even see that anything was different, Reggie pointed at Luke.

“He did it!”

Cece frowned before inspecting the table, letting out a deep sigh and putting her hands on her hips.

“Are you vandalizing my diner, Patterson?”

Luke paled. “It was a group effort.”

“But it was your idea,” Alex said with a smirk, no doubt trying to pin the blame on Luke to keep his spot as Cece’s favorite. You had to bury your head into his shoulder to contain your laughter.

You could tell from the way that she was struggling to keep a straight face that Cece wasn’t actually mad but you weren’t gonna tell Luke that. He tried to kick Alex’s leg under the table but he hit yours instead. You hissed in pain and Luke paled even further.

“Shit, sorry, (Y/n).”

“And abusing my staff?” Cece joked, shaking her head.

Luke flashed her a charming smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, Cece. Just got a little excited.”

“I can see that.” She laughed then turned to you. “Hey. Get up. I got you something.”

You looked up at her in confusion but she didn’t offer you any answer as you dragged yourself up. Cece pulled a small blue box out from behind her back and handed it to you. “What’s the occasion?”

Cece rolled her eyes. “Just open it.”

The first thing you saw was a folded piece of paper with your name on it, under it was a silver key. You picked it up and held it in between your fingers as you carefully unfolded the paper to see three words in Cece’s careful handwriting.

just in case

You looked up at her, eyebrows knitted together. “Cece?”

She just winked as she put her hand on your cheek. “Honey, you know that I couldn’t have more faith in you and your rockstar dreams. But just in case things don’t work out...well, I couldn’t imagine giving this place to anyone else.”

You flew into her arms and hugged her so tight it was a little painful. Of course, all you wanted was for Sunset Curve to get signed to a label and take over the world. But this place was like home to you and the idea of owning it some day made your heart swell. “Thank you!”

The booth erupted in cheers and Cece playfully glared at them as she tucked you under her arm. “But you have to promise you’ll keep these boys of yours from doing any more damage to the property.”

Bobby scoffed. “Hey, we’re not-”

You slapped your hand over his mouth before nodding at Cece. “I’ll try my best.”

The bell on the door jingled to announce the arrival of another customer, and Cece left to greet them. You twirled the key around in your hand and looked at the boys' smiling faces, unable to hide your own.

As you settled back in the booth and took a sip of your milkshake, you couldn’t help but feel like everything was coming together.

2020

L.A was somehow so different, yet exactly the way you remembered.

The way the bright lights flooded the streets, to the way that every surface you see was decorated with a piece of art, made you anxious to re-explore the city you loved so much.

You couldn’t help but stare through your swinging legs at the crowds walking around below, listening to the soft buzzing of the Orpheum’s sign above your head.

An hour ago when Luke had suggested walking around the city, you figured you would end up here eventually. But now that you were actually here, you couldn’t help the hollow feeling that settled in your stomach.

It must’ve shown on your face because Luke launched into one of his motivational speeches. “C’mon, guys. I know being dead wasn’t our first choice. But you gotta admit, it is easier to get around.”

Reggie pouted. “Easy for you maybe. I lost my shirt on that one.”

You hadn’t even noticed that he was shirtless until it reappeared in a flash and he sighed in relief.

“So, why did you bring us here?” Alex asked Luke. “Just another painful reminder of where we never got to play?”

You smiled sarcastically. “Yeah, thanks, Luke.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Because, we’re not done yet!”

He slung his arm around Alex’s shoulder, and gripped yours as he poofed you all down to the sidewalk, pulling away from you as fast as possible once your feet were back on the ground.

“I’m telling you.” Luke said. “We’ve been given a second chance. Let’s go see how many clubs we can hit before sunrise!”

He started walking down the street and Reggie was quick to follow, leaving you and Alex behind. As you watched them skip down the sidewalk, Alex let out a sharp ‘hey!’ and you whipped around to see him rubbing his shoulder.

A man in a long black suit stared straight into your eyes before tipping his hat to Alex and disappearing down the street. Every hair on your body stood on end as you stared at the spot where he was just standing.

“That was weird.” You said, turning to Alex. “You okay?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m good.”

You could hear Luke and Reggie’s excited shouting as they ran down the street, but you and Alex kept your distance. He reached his arm out to you and you took it automatically.

Over the last six months, Alex had become your best friend. You had always been close but last summer when things got bad with his parents, he turned to you.

And when things started to get weird between you and Luke or you had a fight with your mom, Alex was the only one you wanted to talk to.

“Alright.” Alex sighed. “Out with it.”

“Out with what?”

“I know you’re dying to talk about Luke.”

“I am not!”

Alex raised his eyebrows, clearly not convinced.

“Besides, there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Nothing-” He took in a sharp breath. “(Y/n), for someone so smart, you’re acting like a dumbass.”

You put a hand on your chest, dramatically gasping. “Alexander Mercer! I had no idea you were capable of using that kind of language.”

He flashed you his middle finger before unlocking his arm from yours and pulling you into his side. “Seriously though. What’s rolling around up there?”

You were quiet for a few minutes as you rested your head on his shoulder. “I just want to know what I did, you know?”

Alex nodded, but didn’t say anything, as he knew that you were just getting started.

“I mean, he’s always been there. He's always been my person. The one who I could count on for anything. Then that night in the studio, I thought…”

You trailed off and Alex held you a little tighter. Even though he wasn’t there, he could probably describe that night in exact detail from the amount of times you had told him about it. “I just miss him."

“Yeah, I know.” Alex said, his eyes glued to Luke’s back. “But, hey, you know that he loves you, and that didn’t change because of one night.”

He started to say something else but cut himself off as he saw Reggie and Luke approaching, both with big, goofy smiles. Reggie took your arm that wasn’t around Alex’s back and locked it in his.

“What are you guys talking about?” He asked.

“Nothing!” You said way too fast, cringing to yourself as you dragged Reggie down the sidewalk. “Come on, Reg. Let’s go see if that old comic book shop is still around.”

As the night wore on, you became more and more thankful that you weren’t able to get tired.

You spent the whole night sneaking into concert venues, clubs, and pretty much any place you wanted now that there was no chance of getting caught. It wasn’t until you passed a small street-side café that you let yourself think about the one place you hadn’t been yet.

Cece’s Diner.

When Julie told you it had been 25 years, you assumed that it had closed down. That Cece had moved away. Maybe even reconnected with her son and lived out her life. It seemed like such a perfect thought that you didn’t want to ruin it with reality.

But now that you had seen the way things had changed in the time you had been gone, you were now filled with a sense of urgency. You launched up the sidewalk until you were in front of the boys.

“Hey, guys?” You asked. They all stared at you curiously as a smile slowly spread across your face. “Anyone up for milkshakes?”

When you walked up to the diner - for only an instant - it was as if no time had passed. You felt the urge to run inside, throw your hair up in a ponytail, and make a beeline for the kitchen before you got in trouble for being late for your shift.

Only as you got closer, you realized how much had changed. The building, which had always been a little ordinary and worn like a well-loved home, now felt about twenty stories tall. You dragged yourself forward toward the door, unable to look away.

The boys lingered behind you, but no one said a word.

Your hand reached for the doorknob before you remembered that you wouldn’t actually be able to touch it.

I really gotta get used to that, you mumbled to yourself as you walked through the door.

It looked so different that you almost didn’t recognize it.

The bright blue paint had been replaced with brown on every wall, bookshelves lined the corners of the room, and long leather couches had replaced the booths and tables. The old jukebox had disappeared, and some old jazz song was playing over speakers over your head.

“Can I help you?”

A voice asked from behind the counter. It was a boy that looked a little older than you, messy black hair and an uninterested smile. He dragged a blue pen across the margins of a book as he waited for your answer.

“You can see us?” Alex asked, to which the boy rolled his eyes.

“I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” He said, raising his eyebrows when you all failed to answer either of his questions.

“My, my. Aren’t we chatty.”

“Who are you, exactly?” You said, trying to mask your annoyance with a smile.

“Teddy.” He said, pushing himself off the counter and making his way around until he stopped just a few feet ahead of you. “And you’re (Y/n).”

A shiver ran down your spine. “How do you know that?”

“You were a friend of my grandma’s.”

Before you could ask what the hell he meant by that, a man came walking out of the kitchen. He looked so much like Cece that it made your stomach flip. It was her son.

And as you looked back at Teddy, your mind slowly connected the dots. “You’re Cece’s grandson?”

He nodded.

“Okay, this is just too weird.” You said as you rubbed your temples. There was no way that this was actually happening, right? Maybe you somehow fell asleep and are having some weird ghost dream.

“Okay, well I definitely feel old.” Alex sighed.

Your head was spinning. “What is even happening right now.”

Teddy smiled. “Well, it’s too bad we’re dead or else I would buy you coffee and explain it to you.”

You internally cringed at his pick-up line but you couldn’t help but laugh a little. Normally, random guys flirting with you made you uncomfortable but behind his cocky attitude, he seemed like a genuine guy.

Maybe it was the way that he twirled his pen between his fingers the way that Cece used to, but something told you that there was more to him than meets the eye.

Before you could answer, Luke spoke up. “Well, it was nice meeting you. But we really should be getting back home.”

You could see that he was right as the pale light came in through the windows as the sky started to lighten.

But you couldn’t help but notice that this was the first time he had interjected in the conversation since you got there, and a small part of you wondered if that had anything to do with the way that Teddy was staring at you.

You shook those thoughts from your head, giving Teddy a soft smile.

“Maybe next time.”

Though you weren’t capable of getting cold, you still shivered a little as you walked through the door and back out onto the street. You could feel Luke’s eyes on the side of your face, flickering down to the sidewalk when he saw you looking.

You gave him a light nudge on the shoulder, and he gave you a soft smile that you couldn’t quite decipher the meaning behind.

That was pretty much all you got from Luke these days.

“So,” Luke said, his enthusiasm returning in full force as he threw his arms over Alex and Reggie’s shoulders. “I think it’s safe to say we’re officially back in business.”

The second that you landed in the studio, your jaw dropped.

Julie was sitting at the piano, her voice shaky but full of passion as she belted out the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard. Her fingers hit the keys expertly and you smiled.

You closed your eyes, listening to her voice echo through the room and getting lost in the warm feeling the lyrics filled you with. It wasn’t until she stopped singing and sniffled quietly that your heart dropped.

Both you and Alex surged forward to comfort her but Luke shook his head and swirled his finger, signaling to meet up outside. You wanted to protest. To stay and comfort your new friend.

But Julie sniffled again and you thought that maybe it would be a good idea to give her space. You made a mental note to talk to her later and poofed out of the garage.

In Life, In Death Taglist:

@ifilwtmfc @instabull @wanniiieeee @tenaciousperfectionunknown

JATP Taglist:

@caitsymichelle13

Let me know if you want to be added!

#luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson imagine #julie molina #Reggie Peters #Alex Mercer #jatp fanfic

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