Goodbye For Now
Request: Don't worry about falling asleep!! Sleep is necessary, girl! Anyway my idea was: what if Y/N and Luke (or Reggie, whoever you wanna write about) dated and were best friends back in the 90s when Sunset Curve died. And Y/N stays in contact with the family of their love interest for all those years. And Y/N is shocked when she sees their love interest in the band with Julie again, they can't believe their eyes! Anyway, you don't have to write this, but it popped up in my head and I love your writing❤
Word Count: 3.6K
~Master~
A/N: I hope I did this justice! Thank you so much for requesting it and letting me give it a go. Please please please let me know what you think!
***
1995
“Give me a kiss.” Luke mumbled against your lips as you smiled and pulled away slightly, enough to see his eyes as he opened them wide, giving you his beautiful puppy dog eyes. “Please?”
You giggled, feeling his hand thread with yours as you sat on his lap. “Only because you so asked so politely.” You whispered to him before meeting his lips briefly, pulling away at the sound of someone clearing their throat. You pulled away, looking behind you at Alex, Bobby, and Reggie watching you. “Rehearsal?” Bobby asked as you nodded, about to get up before Alex put his hand out.
“But look at them.” He started, smiling at you and your boyfriend. “They’re adorable. Just give them a moment.” You smiled at Alex, silently thanking him before you turned back to Luke. Luke’s smile was just as wide and you started to lean in to kiss him, only to hear Alex speak. “Moment’s up!” The drummer yelled as you groaned, letting your head fall on Luke’s shoulder instead. He chuckled underneath you and you smiled at the smile, giving his hand a squeeze. Getting up off his lap, you stretched a hand out to help Luke up, but as you were doing so, the boy moved quickly, placing a gentle kiss on your lips before moving past you to his guitar.
You shook your head lovingly and fell back into the spot Luke was sitting at, feeling his eyes on you until you met his. He winked at you and started playing with the rest of the band joining in as you sat back and enjoyed the music.
2020
“Mom, have you seen my backpack?” You heard shouted from somewhere in your house as you pulled the toast out of the toaster, tossing the slices on two plates.
“Have you looked under your bed?” There was a pause after your answer before a thank you was shouted back and you shook your head fondly. A few bouncing steps on from the stairs caused you to turn around, just in time to see your daughter sit down on the other side of the counter. You slid her breakfast to her along with a glass of orange juice and joined her. “Eat up, you’re gonna be late to school.”
As soon as the words crossed your mouth, you heard the bus outside, your daughter frozen in place as you looked at her with a raised brow. “Oopsies?” She said, pretending to be innocent, although you knew better.
“Emily! What did I say about missing the bus?”
“That next time I’d have to walk?” She knew that was the answer, she just didn’t like it. You nodded, trying to enforce your rules but when Emily looked at you, you knew you were going to crack. “But there’s an assembly today! I can’t be late.”
You stayed strong for a minute before giving in. “I’ll get my keys.” You mumbled and stood up. Emily cheered, thanking you and saying she loved you before you pointed at her. “You finish eating. The last thing I need to hear is you harping about stopping for food.” She nodded swiftly and bit into her toast, making a noise to show you how good it was as you chuckled at her and moved to get ready.
Once Emily was at school, you went for a drive, taking your time until you pulled up to a house not far from your own. Giving yourself a minute to breathe, you played with the guitar pick that hung low off your neck. It was Luke’s. Something you managed to find in your room almost a year after your best friends died. 25 years later and you kept it, a reminder of what it felt like to be loved unconditionally. Sure, you moved on, even married and had Emily, but that only ended in divorce and you receiving full custody of your daughter. You kept afloat, relying on other’s support as you worked through life.
The car door slammed behind you when you got out and walked up to the little old house in front of you. After knocking, you waited, hearing a sweet voice tell you she’s coming before the door opened wide.
“Hi Mrs. Patterson.” You smiled, seeing her mirror your emotions.
“Y/N dear, how are you? Come inside!” She beckoned and you listened pushing past her. “And how many times have I told you to call me-“
“Emily.” You laughed as you said her name at the same time, seeing her grin wide as she pulled you in for a hug. You reciprocated, hugging Luke’s mother tightly before pulling away. “And I’m great, thank you for asking.”
“And your little one? How’s Emily doing?” Your face softened at the mention of your daughter, aptly named Emily after her of course, the woman who you’d grown closer too since the death of her son. Your main source of support for longer than you deserved.
“She’s doing just fine. Almost late to school today, but then again, you know how normal that is for her.” Emily laughed at your exasperated face, putting a hand on your arm.
“Well, she does take after her mother.” She told you, reminding you of when Luke and you were younger and you’d always show up almost an hour after the time you’d agreed upon. Luke often had to lie about the times just to get you places on time. Emily and you spent the next few hours catching up, it had been a few weeks since you’d stopped by.
Your smile turned sad as you caught a glance at a picture of Luke on the table next to the couch and your thoughts drifted to him again. It might’ve been 25 years, but Luke and you grew up together. Every memory you had of your childhood was with Luke by your side. “I miss him, too.” Emily whispered, catching the distant look on your face. You looked up at her, seeing her wipe away a tear on her face. “Sometimes, I think about what his life would’ve been like if he hadn’t-“ She stopped herself, swallowing quickly as you grabbed her hand to comfort her. She thanked you silently and kept on with her thoughts. “You and him surely would’ve gotten married. Emily would’ve been his and I’d have a granddaughter.” Her words were whispers as your eyes watered up, letting yourself get lost momentarily in your head.
What a dream that would’ve been.
“Well, look at the time.” Emily said, bringing you out of your thoughts as you glanced to the clock on the wall, surprised to see it was almost time to pick your daughter up for school. You quickly wiped your tears, laughing at yourself for letting yourself cry in front of Emily. She didn’t mind, having been crying as well. You said your goodbyes to her, sharing more hugs before you were off.
Emily was bouncing on her heels as you arrived at school, talking with her best friend when you pulled up. “Hey Em!” You shouted out the window to get her attention. She looked at you, saying goodbye before getting into the car.
“How was school?” You asked, trying to get a conversation going but she wasn’t focused on you, instead on her phone.
“It was fine.”
You raised a brow, looking at her out of the corner of your eye. “Fine?” you asked, seeing her nod. You didn’t ask more, letting her continue texting whoever it was she was texting. She even started humming under her breath. You found the tune familiar, but you couldn’t place it. You shook it off, focusing back on the road until she started singing.
“And rise through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together, bright forever” You stopped the car immediately, hands gripping the wheel tightly as Emily grabbed her seatbelt, glancing back and making sure there were no cars behind you guys as she looked at you. “Mom, what are you doing?” she asked quickly, grabbing onto your arm. You stared right out of the front window.
That couldn’t have been possible. She couldn’t have been singing- “Where’d you learn that song?” you tried to ask calmly.
Emily just furrowed her brows. “What? What are you-“
“The song, Em.” You looked at her, seeing confusion written on her face.
“Some girl, um Julie Molina, sang it at school today with her band.” She said, not at all knowing what you were getting at. “Why?”
“No reason.” You mumbled, looking back at the road. Emily glanced to you when you didn’t drive, not until a car appeared behind you and you remembered. You didn’t know what to think. Only a few people knew that song. The song that Luke and you wrote together. It wasn’t even recorded, your friends died before it could’ve been. You were silent the rest of the ride back, even staying in the car as Emily got out, asking if you were coming but you told her to go ahead inside. She questioned it, but didn’t press you much.
You knew Julie Molina. She was friend’s with Bobby’s daughter when they were younger. Bobby and you kept in touch for years after everything. Until he changed his name to Trever Wilson and stole Luke’s songs. That was when the two of you fell out of touch, when he wouldn’t listen to you about how horrible of a person he’d become, letting the fame go to his head.
You pulled out of your driveway, driving down the streets much faster than you’d like before arriving at the Molina residence. Heart racing, you slowly made your way up to the house. You needed answers.
“Hello?” Julie’s father, Ray asked as the door opened.
“Hi.” You said, not having anything to say planned. “Um, I’m sorry is your daughter home?” You asked him, seeing his brows furrow at the obvious weirdness of a middle-aged woman asking for his daughter.
“She might be. May I ask how you know her?”
You chuckled slightly, not knowing how to answer. “My name’s Y/N Y/L/N. I have a daughter who goes to her school and told me about her playing today. I was hoping to ask her a few questions?”
Ray paused for a minute before glancing up the stairs. “Hey Julie!” He shouted. “Someone’s at the door for you!”
You smiled, thanking him as Julie’s footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. She stood in front of you, not recognizing you as Ray left you both. “Can I help you?”
“Hi, this might sound a little weird, but my name’s Y/N and I have a daughter who goes to your school, Emily. She saw your performance today at the assembly and when she got in the car, she started singing it.” Julie nodded, not quite understanding where you were going with this. “How did you know the song?”
Her mouth opened, trying to figure out what to say. “I’m sorry?” She said, putting on a smile.
You took a deep breath, playing with the guitar pick again. “The song you sang, it’s called Bright”
“I uh,” She began, glancing behind her briefly before stepping outside with you and closing the door. “How do you know the song?" Julie asked you, not understanding how you knew a song that Sunset Curve never got to record. A song that Luke had just given her yesterday.
“I wrote it 25 years ago.”
That took Julie for a shock. She just stared at you, not knowing what to say. “Will you excuse me?” She said quickly before rushing past you. You watched her leave, racing the garage before you realized something important.
It was the studio. The band’s old studio. You smacked yourself for not realizing sooner and followed after her. Your heart skipped a beat as you pulled open the door, stepping inside after almost 25 years.
“She said she wrote it!” you heard Julie yell as your eyes found her immediately.
“That’s impossible! I wrote it!”
Your eyes watered at the sight. There, right in front of you, was your boys, the best friends you ever had and the certain one you fell in love with. “Luke?” You gasped out, seeing four heads turn your way. His eyes found yours and you knew he didn’t recognize you, but you didn’t care. “How are you-“ your words died on your tongue as your eyes started watering, your throat closing to keep your emotions at bay.
Luke just stared at you, firstly shocked that you could see him, but then it hit him. “Y/N.”
Everyone stayed quiet, including Julie who was left in the dark completely. He took a step towards you, his eyes watering as well before you were both rushing to each other. Luke caught you in his arms, holding you like his life depended on it and you did as well.
With that thought you pulled back and looked at him. “How are you here? How are you… You look….” You were tripping over your words, too many thoughts running through your head that you tried to push out. “I thought you died.”
“I did.” He said, bringing a hand up to wipe your tears away, but it didn’t matter as more fell. Luke, however caught up in the moment, paused and looked at his hand, dragging it across your cheek again and again and again before looking into your eyes. “I can touch you.” He whispered.
You furrowed your brows, grabbing his hand and holding it tight. “What?”
“I can touch you.” He repeated, looking back at Alex, Reggie, and Julie. You followed suit, seeing them all confused. Reggie stepped forwards slowly, reaching a hand out to you and you slowly tried to take it, but your hand went right through his as you gasped and stepped back.
You started to put it together. They looked 17 again, people can’t normally see them, your hands went right through them- well, through Reggie, and lastly, they died. “You’re ghosts.” Luke nodded, reaching for your hand again but you pulled it away. “I’m dreaming.” You concluded. “I must be.” You were starting to spiral, beginning to pace back and forth before stopping and turning to the four of them. “I should- I have to go.” You stammered out and headed out the door, ignoring Luke calling out your name.
“Luke.” Reggie said, getting his friend’s attention. Luke turned around with tears in his eyes but he was walking backwards to the door.
“I have to follow her.” He told them and immediately Reggie and Alex nodded, ushering him to go after you.
Julie stood there confused. “What just happened? Who was that?” She asked, looking to Alex and Reggie for answers as Luke left the Studio.
Reggie and Alex shared a glance, trying to decide who should tell her. Alex took one for the team. “That was Y/N.” He begun, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Luke and Y/N, back when we were alive, they were… you know-“
“In love.” Reggie interrupted, receiving a nod from Alex. Julie’s mouth dropped open.
“Wow.” She muttered, remembering the look on your face when you saw him again. “I didn’t know Luke had a girlfriend.”
“It was more than that.”
“Yeah,” Reggie went on. “They grew up together. Best friends.”
They kept answering her questions about you, finding this whole thing so bizarre, but the one thing they didn’t have answers for was how you touched Luke. They blamed it on your connection to him. It had always been so strong, of course it would’ve carried to the afterlife.
---
“Y/N!” Luke called after you as you headed to your car, refusing to look back until he put his hand on your shoulder. “Y/N, please.”
You stopped, letting your eyes close as you turned around to face him. “I can’t, Luke.” Your voice broke. “You died.”
“I know.” His voice wavered as you leaned against your car, crying again more. “But I’m here now.”
“Are you?” you looked at him as you let your tears fall freely, not bothering to hide them. “You’re a ghost, Luke. How is this possible?”
“We don’t know.” He admitted, refusing to look away from you. He moved closer to you, slowly testing the waters until he could hug you again. You collapsed against him, crying into his shoulder. Luke’s arms hugged you tightly, sure it was different than hugging the younger you, obviously you were taller and your figure had changed since, but it was still you.
“I don’t care.” You whispered. “I don’t care that you’re a ghost. I’m just-“ you paused, blinking away your tears as you pulled away. “I’m just really happy to see you again.”
“It’s been years for you, I guess.” He said, not sure how to address the fact you’re now 42.
You chuckled at him, feeling a little less like crying as you nodded. “25 years. It’s been 25 years.” You saw his eyes flicker to your hand as you brought it up to wipe your tears, and it took you a second to realize what he was looking for.
“I’m not married, Luke. Not anymore.” You told him, seeing the way he started getting embarrassed at you catching on.
“I’m sorry.” He said, not missing the second part of your statement.
You shook your head. “Don’t be. We didn’t work out. The only good thing about that marriage was having my-“ you stopped yourself. Luke’s mother’s words from earlier echoing in your brain. The dream you weren’t sure you should’ve thought about. Luke motioned for you to continue, not knowing what was happening in your head. You sighed, looking to the ground. “Having my… daughter.”
Luke just stared at you. Did he hear you right? You had a daughter? You, who he imagined always a future with, had a kid. “Wow.” He said, hiding the pain in his chest. “A daughter.” He cursed himself in his head. Of course, you had a daughter. It’s been years and he died. Of course, you moved on. He cleared his throat. “What’s her name?”
You smiled to yourself, finding he courage to look up at him again. “Emily.” You told him and immediately Luke gasped. “I named her after your mother.” Luke was taken back, not knowing what to say. His eyes darted between yours. “She misses you, Luke.” You told him, knowing how many times Emily and you had spoken about Luke, every time making you smile despite the pain in your heart. “We all do.”
“I missed you too.” He said quickly. The one thing he’d always missed now playing with the boys and Julie was your smile as he played, or your cheers afterwards, pretending you were a screaming fan in an audience. “I tried to find you, but I couldn’t.” He began to explain, and you understood. Times had changed, homes, names, people. You weren’t shocked he couldn’t find you.
You were about to speak before your phone rang, knocking you out of the bubble you and Luke created. You pulled out your phone, seeing a picture of Emily on your phone, smiling as you kissed her cheek. Luke looked down at the phone, seeing your daughter and he smiled. “She has your eyes.” He said, amazed by the similarity of you both.
“That’s not all of me she has.” You smiled. You didn’t want to say goodbye to him just yet, but Emily kept calling. “I have to go, she’s probably getting worried.” You whispered sadly.
Luke understood, nodding as he reached for your hand again. You let him take it, threading your fingers together as he wiped one last tear off your face. “It’s okay. I understand.” He assured you.
You held onto his hand tightly. “I don’t wanna say goodbye forever again.” You admitted, feeling guilty, but you didn’t care. You couldn’t lose him again.
“Then don’t.” You tilted your head, questioning him. “Don’t say goodbye forever. Not this time.” He smiled at you. “Right now, I’m not going anywhere. This is just goodbye for now.”
Your smile slowly grew and you dried your face. “Okay.” You whispered. “Goodbye for now.” You agreed moments before Luke pulled you into a last bone crushing hug that you reciprocated.
Luke pulled away, catching sight of the guitar pick on your neck as he smiled at it before his eyes met yours again. “Goodbye for now.” He repeated before letting go, slowly stepping back towards the garage as he watched you climb into your cars, but of you going your separate ways.
You were barely down the streets from the Molina’s before your phone rang again and Emily’s contact popped up. You quickly answered it, putting it on speaker. “Hey Emily.”
“Mom!” She shouted and you could hear the relief in her voice over the call. “I’ve called you 3 times, where were you?”
“I’m sorry honey, I was just…” you paused, trying to not say you were just seeing your deceased ex-boyfriend who died 25 years ago, “I was just visiting an old friend.”
There was a silence on the line before Emily spoke again. “Are you okay? You sound upset.” You took a second. Were you okay? Luke was back, he was really here. He was a ghost, but he was here. Things would never be the same again, but at least you could say goodbye for real. “Mom? Are you okay?” You let a smile creep on your face.
“Yeah, honey. I’m going to be fine.”
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Luke introduced you to rock
Hello! This line is my favorite, so I wrote a little one-shot into how Julie may have reacted and worked through this new piece of info!
On ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26617882
Yeah, Luke introduced you to rock
The words lingered heavily on Julie’s mind for a few days after that. It was more than just the hurt and anger for the boys who dreamed so big to have it stolen from them so thoroughly. Their music was everything and to have a couple of bad hotdogs not only destroy their lives, but their legacy. She hated that their music was just as much a ghost, just as lost to the universe as they were until she came along.
Julie carried that bitterness, but also the gratitude for whatever forces had brought them together, allowed her to help bring not only them but their music back to life.
As she thought it through once more, moving through the same paths and feelings as she had for days, she knew it was more than just the bitterness and gratitude that kept the words so close to her heart.
Trevor Wilson’s, or rather Luke’s and Sunset Curve’s music, had been her and her mother’s favorite. It was their go-to pump up jam when they needed to get psyched before Carlos’ games. It was the music they sang loudly in the car on hot summer days wishing just for a moment that it could last forever. The music was their solace when everything went down between her and Carrie. Her mother had turned the music on softly, pulled Julie into her lap, and let her sob until she was ready to try smiling again. It was the music she turned to when her mom-
Those songs meant everything to them, and her brain was grappling with the new information that Luke, that her Ghostie Boys were somehow involved with it.
---------
After getting home from school, she turned her mind to Alex’s words once more. She knew she wouldn’t get any work done until she investigated it more, so she plugged in her headphones and turned the volume all the way up. Turning on Trever Wilson’s greatest hits, she laid back in her bed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to drown in the music.
She’d been working with the boys for long enough, that after the first go-through she could clearly tell that they’d been telling the truth. Not that she’d doubted them, but she could hear their fingerprints all over the music.
The drummer wasn’t nearly as good as Alex, but she could tell that it’d been a reasonable imitation. It lacked that edge though that came from when Alex poured everything he had into his sticks as if he could beat out all the anxiety and denial in his life.
The bass player played perfectly, she couldn’t fault the technical skills of whoever Trevor had gotten to play with him, but it certainly wasn’t Reggie. His heart was the biggest of all of them and it showed when he played. It was as if the bass was an echo of his own heartbeat and it pulled the audience into the performance, blending a cacophony of voices and people into one audience.
After spending a weekend writing music with Luke, she could definitely say she had a rare insight into how his mind worked. How he came up with music and worked with words. It was like he could feel the song, hear it long before it was on paper. All of his music, even the songs written with her, were like a big red glaring sign, they were so uniquely his. All of his passion shone through, and the songs that had been stolen from them were no different.
Suddenly, her mind was replacing the sound of Trevor’s voice and his band with hers. She could hear her boys as sunset curve rocking out to this music. How beautiful and perfect it was, hit her deep in the chest and the impact of everything the boys had lost brought tears to her eyes.
-------
After the third or fourth go-through, the memories came rushing through her. Except this time, the boys were there in every scene.
On the sunny afternoons, the boys were singing aloud with her and her mom in the car, Alex using the seats around him as drums.
On the rainy quiet mornings, they were curled up nearby on couches and tucked under blankets while her and her mom drank tea and read their favorite book.
They were dancing around the kitchen with her during late night ice cream dance parties, they were comforting her when she cried, they were holding tightly to her hands after her mom’s funeral.
In a way, they’d been there for every major high and pitfall of her life. Breathing life into her with the music that kept her going on the days she’d wanted to stop and give up. The thought made her glow with warmth, like the universe had gifted her with the secret that truly, they’d always been hers. Fate had always meant for them to be there for her and her for them. No bad hot dogs could take that away.
Yes, they may have been connected to her mom or to Carrie’s dad, but know she knew. She knew. That the most important piece, was that they were connected to her.
She opened her eyes, feeling at least a little, that she’d reclaimed their music from Trevor Wilson. Somehow though, she wasn’t surprised that upon opening her eyes she found three phantoms sitting around her room watching her with mild concern.
She smiled at them and voiced the lyrics which suddenly felt more important, more true than ever and watched the smiles spread across their faces.
And you’re a part of me, now till eternity.
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