a/n: i pretty much set up the first one to have a part 2 so here it is! also sorry i haven’t posted in a while shawties, school just started and i’m taking 17 credits so i’ve been absolutely swamped. i’m going to try my best to post more often!
after julie receives a letter from a classmate concerning her new band mates, she immediately shares the message with them. Luke and the boys are forced to remember their lives before the accident and who they left behind.
Y/d/n wasn’t quite sure why she had to find Julie Molina to give her the note you had given her, but after seeing the way you reacted to her video the day before she wasn’t about to argue. The next day at school, she found Julie and fought through the few people that were crowding around her so that she could fulfill her mother’s request.
“Julie!” She shouts, making the girl stop in her tracks. “My mom wanted me to give this to you, said it was important.”
After she hands Julie the piece of parchment with her mother’s writing on it. The first time Julie read the letter she didn’t know what to think. Someone who knew and loved Luke, Reggie and Alex while they were alive was reaching out to thank her. How could she tell someone who experienced their death that they aren’t alive but they’re here, with us? She read the letter three times before even thinking about bringing it to the garage. Holding the letter in her shaky hands she opens her garage door to see the three boys hanging around the piano.
“Julie Julie Julie!” Reggie repeats himself, making his way over to the girl. “Thank god you’re here.”
Luke turns around with his songbook in hand, face full of promise.
“We just came up with this killer chorus, you’ve got to hear this. It mixes the bands already epic sound with your voice it’ll be perfect!” He starts to get the boys hyped up next to him before seeing the look on Julie’s face. “What’s wrong Julie? Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Reggie immediately snorts a laugh earning an elbow to the rib from Alex. Julie just shakes her head and hands the note to Luke before holding her arms in front of her chest. Luke’s eyes scan over the paper, his mouth widening more and more with each word. Once he’s finished he hands the letter to Reggie without a word, who then hands it to Alex. Julie patiently waits for them to respond but the boys all take a seat on the couch in front of her, all their words being ripped from their vocabulary.
“Julie,” Alex finally speaks up. It seems like he’s struggling to even get a word out, his knuckles turning white in the fists he’s formed. “Where did you get this?”
“A girl from school handed it to me today, said her mom wrote it and that it was important.” Julie explains, still waiting for some sort of reaction out of the boys. All she received was a pale group of teenage boys in front of her, Luke especially so. He looks like he’s going to barf any minute. Reggie has his hand on Luke’s back in support but it doesn’t look like it’s much help. “Luke who is she?”
Luke doesn’t answer, just rises to his feet and begins to pace around the room. He briefly stops, looking like he’s about to say something but then continues to pace around the room. “It can’t be her, do you have a picture of her Julie? Anything?”
Julie frantically shakes her head but pulls out her phone to pull up your daughter’s Instagram.She scrolls until she finds a post she made for your birthday featuring current and old photos of you and turns the phone to Luke. His eyes go wide and he continues to pace around the room. Eventually Alex gets up and starts to talk to him to calm him down but Luke is still panicking. “I want to see her, I need to see her.”
“Luke who is she?”
“Y/n was Luke’s girlfriend, up until we died.” Reggie replies for him. “She was our friend too, she came to all of our shows, every rehearsal. I can’t believe we didn’t ask for her sooner. Oh god she was there that night, guys. She was probably the first person to find out we were dead.”
Luke’s brain is immediately flooded with the last time he saw your angel face. The night at The Orpheum. He remembers thinking how pretty you looked, well you always looked pretty, but especially that night. He remembers how you were tucked into his side up until the very last moment before they left for sound check and pre-show street dogs. His heart aches at the thought of your face when you got the news. How you must have clutched onto Bobby for dear life so you didn’t just hit the floor.
Not only that, but he recalls one of his favorite memories with you. The guilt begins to rise in him as he thinks of one of the most important days in his young life, how that day revolves around you, and now that he’s somehow back on earth he’s yet to ask about you.
April 17, 1995
You’re sat in that dingy garage as the boys strum out melodies around you, hoping one will stick. Reggie, Alex and Bobby are already frustrated with the fact that they can’t seem to write a song as good as their first four. How are they supposed to make it big with only one demo? The three boys eventually become tired of the process, leaving you to listen to Luke persist on his guitar.
“Luke,” You call out with a yawn. You look over to your boyfriends face, eyebrows furrowed, you think of all the wrinkles that will form when he gets older from all the looks of frustration he makes. “Baby, it’s late.”
“I know, I know,” He replies, not bothering to look up from his song book. He suddenly flips back to a page filled with writing and sits back in his chair. “Want to hear something I’ve been working on? A little break from watching me stare at a blank page.”
A smile forms on your face as you nod your head. He begins a chord progression and you sit back and close your eyes. First things first, we start the scene in reverse… It doesn’t take you long to realize he’s writing about his mother. You’ve never pried him on his relationship with her, knowing it’s a touchy subject, but based on his departure from his childhood home you know it’s strained. The more you listen to the words, the sharper the pain in your chest becomes. Luke’s always been stubborn, you’ll be the first to point it out to him, but the way he’s able to say what he’s always meant to say in his songs never fails to amaze you. After your first big fight, he wrote a long beautiful song about how he was sorry, words that don’t come easily from his mouth. His love language is song.
Once he finishes, you open your eyes and just gaze at him in awe. He raises his eyebrows as to signal for you to share your thoughts on the song, but you just make your way over to chair where he’s sitting. You take a seat on his knee with your arms wrapped around his neck. “Luke, that is a really beautiful song.”
“You really think?”
“Of course I do.” You reply, Moving one hand to cup his cheek. “I know you miss her. I’m sorry for the way you left things, but she’s your mom, Luke. She’ll always want you back in her life. I think you need to show her.”
He just shakes his head, dropping his eyes down from yours to his lap. He begins to fidget with his hands like he always does when he’s nervous. “I-I don’t know y/n. I don’t want to go back until we’ve made it big, you know? I want to prove to them that this is all worth it.”
You just smile at him. His eyes still won’t meet yours and his hands continue to move in his lap. You take your index finger and press it under his chin, gently forcing his eyes to meet yours. Your thumb softly runs back and forth over his cheek bone. He gets so anxious, especially when it comes to talking about his parents, but you always make that anxiety melt away.
“You don’t have to go now, Luke, I know how hard this is for you. I’m really proud of you for writing how you feel, even more so for sharing it with me. That’s a huge step.” You coo, trying your best to ease his nerves. “I’ll be here every step of the way. I will never, and I mean never, let you go through this alone.”
A look flashes over Luke’s face, one you’d never seen before. A mix of both relief but more anxiety. His hands move from his lap and reach for yours. He never breaks his eye contact with you, his breath beginning to stagger. You cock your head to the side, shooting him a confused look, just before he clears his throat.
“Y/n, I love you.” He finally says, making your mouth hang open for a second before you begin to process what he’s said. “I know we haven’t said it yet and you don’t have to say it back but I need you to know I do. I couldn’t live this life without you and I love you.”
You’re quiet for a minute, not because you’re scared or angry, because you want to say it back but don’t want him to think you’re only saying it because he just did. You squeeze his hand thats intertwined with yours and give him a soft smile.
“Don’t think I’m only saying this because you just said it, alright?” You begin. He nods in response. “I love you, Luke. With every part of my heart, I love you. In every language I know, I love you.”
His once almost unnoticeable grin turns into his award winning, bright smile which only makes you smile more. He moves his hand from yours and brings it to your cheek. Slowly leaning into you, your lips eventually meet. This kiss feels different than all your others, it sounds cliche, but you feel safer in his arms here than you ever have. He eventually pulls away from you but rests his forehead against yours before repeating, “I love you, I love you, I love you….”
On and on for hours.
Present Day
“Luke did you hear anything we just said?” Reggie asks, waving a hang in his face. “Hello? Earth to Luke?”
He shakes his head before blinking a few times. His head hurts after remembering a moment like that. You have a daughter, you’re probably married now, he thinks. He’s happy you moved on, how could he expect you not to.
“Luke what do you want to do?” Alex asks, bringing him out of his thoughts once again. “She was your girlfriend, man. Your call.”
So many options come to his mind. You were an adult now, a grown woman with a life, with a child. Luke is just the ghost of a teenage boy. Julie could go on pretending they’re just holograms, nothing more, make it easier for you to continue moving on. Selfishly, all Luke wants is to see you, no matter how old you may be, he wants you to know he’s okay. He wants to be able to perform for you again, to hear all about your life without him. He knows full when we he sees you that you’ll be a different person now, but he doesn’t care.
“I want to see her.” He responds, finally done panicking. “I want her to see us.”
Alex gives him a cautious looks. While it was only fair that Luke gets to decide what to do in this situation, he can see how this could turn out pretty bad for all involved. Overwhelming you with the fact that your dead boyfriend now plays with a ghost band, giving Luke a look into the future he never got to have with you. While Reggie is all on board with seeing you again, missing his friend, Alex just can’t wrap his head around it.
But they listen to Luke. You were the closest to him, you meant the most to him, he gets to decide. Julie comes into school the next day and finds your daughter. She tells her that she’d love to talk to you about Sunset Curve and see anything you have saved from the 90s. She extends an invite to you to come over to her studio and talk about the boys. You’re nervous, understandably. You haven’t talked about them in so long, it hurting too much to even think about your friends, but this is for Julie too.
When you get to Julie’s house, you recognize everything. She moved into the studio. Their garage was once the place where you spent hours after school listening to all the songs the boys would come up with and watching movies after shows all snuggled together on Luke’s tiny couch. While your heart is pounding, you force yourself to enter, your box of Sunset Curve memorabilia in hand. You greet Julie, thanking her again for bringing the boys back to life in her music.
You didn’t know, well actually you couldn’t see, that the boys are there. They watch as you come in and take a seat on the couch where you made hundreds of memories with them. You look tired, they all see it. You don’t look much different than you did when you knew them, just like a seventeen year old you had that aged twenty five years. You’re wearing a ring, Luke comments on it and Alex and Reggie don’t say anything about it. You show Julie all your t shirts and polaroid pictures, explaining the story behind every single one. Alex and Reggie laugh when you get to the photo of the three of you. You’re in the middle, Reggie’s cheek is smushed against yours as Alex has his lips pressed to your other cheek. Yours and Reggie’s eyes are closed with the biggest, cheesiest smiles on your faces, the picture oozing pure joy. Alex and Reggie just look at each other and Alex places his hand on Reggie’s shoulder.
“This is one of my favorites,” You say referring to the photo. Holding it out for Julie to take. “They were the best, I wish you could’ve met them. Reggie was just the goofiest, most energetic person I think I’ll ever meet. If I was sad I always knew where to come, he could have me smiling in thirty seconds tops. And Alex, gosh my sweet Alex. He was like the backbone of that band. He knew exactly what to do and say whenever we had an issue, I went to him with my problems more times than I could count. I would give just about anything to hold them like this again.”
You pull out the next one which was of Luke. He had on a backwards hat with a huge piece cotton candy in front of his mouth, one eye closed as he was posing for a bite. Your first date. You went to a carnival together and you couldn’t pass up taking a photo of him with such a comically large food in his hands. You smile down at it, Luke is smiling too.
“Luke and I hated each other at first,” You tell Julie, but the boys lightly chuckle, remembering how you two would argue for hours on end before you realized you both liked each other. “I was friends with Alex first, Reggie not too long after I started hanging out with the band, but Luke was always so opposed to having me around. We would fight about the stupidest things. God, he was so stubborn but I think that’s what made him so strong willed, you know? There was nothing else he wanted in this world more than seeing Sunset Curve succeed. I think their success was partially due to the fact that Luke wouldn’t take no for an answer from anyone. We got over hating each other, I was actually dating him until, well you know.”
Your chest aches to think of seventeen year old you having your heart torn out of your chest and torn into a million pieces with Luke’s death. Luke can see the tears form in your eyes, wanting so badly to hold you and tell you that he’s okay.
“Mrs. Y/l/n-” Julie begins but you cut her off.
“Please, call me Y/n.” You beg. “You’ve done a lot for me Julie, with your holograms and everything, I think I owe you more than forcing you to call me Mrs.”
Julie smiles, her hands beginning to shake as she’s about to reveal the truth to you. It felt so much easier when she had to show Flynn, but this is different. It feels like there is more riding on this moment than when she showed her best friend. “Right, Y/n. There’s something I need to tell you. They’re, well they’re not really holograms.”
“What are you saying Julie?”
“This was my Mom’s studio. She passed away a while ago and when I was cleaning it out I played a CD that she had and…” She stops herself, she doesn’t want to sound crazy or seem like she’s being insensitive. You were the one that lost them all those years ago, she wants to respect that. “Out of nowhere these three boys just showed up, said they died the night before but I found out they died twenty five years ago. You can’t see them but they’re here. You can’t see them but you can hear them when they play, but when we play together for some reason they become visible. I know it sounds crazy but look around, there’s nothing that to project them in here, let me show you.”
You’re speechless. Part of you thinks she may be messing with you, but the other parts of you are praying that you may be able to see them play again. You start to look around the room, wondering if she’s right, that they’re actually here. Luke can see the emotions running through your face as your breath begins to quicken. He reaches for your hand but forgets that you can’t see or feel him. Julie gets behind her piano and begins to play. It’s been so long since you’ve heard music in this studio. You brace yourself for whatever will come next, not even know if you can handle a joke like this.
Out of nowhere, three boys seem to appear out of thin air, instruments in hand. Your mouth drops open as you see the faces of the three boys you lost in 1995. They look so real, they smile at you while they sing but you shake your head, thinking this is just some kind of dream. You went to every one of their performances, have seen them play hundreds of times but never this song, this can’t be a recording. Julie reaches out for your hand to pull you closer to the boys. Luke’s eyes haven’t left your face, wondering what could possibly be going on in your head. Tears start to fall down your cheeks as you watch them play, something you begged for in the months following their passing. You walk closer to Alex as Julie stops singing but they don’t stop playing.
“Alex…” You trails off, not being able to comprehend what is happening.
“Hi Y/n,” He replies with a smile, catching you off guard. You gasp as you reach for his shoulder but your hand moves right through him. “No holograms here, we’re ghosts now. Pretty weird right.”
“I just, I don’t understand.” You stutter on your words. You turn your head toward Reggie. “Why can I see you now?”
“We don’t know either,” Reggie replied, shrugging his shoulder. You just want to hug him like you used to but after your experience of shoving your hand through Alex’s body you stay away. “It’s good to see you, Y/n, you’ve grown up.”
You smile, tears still pouring down your cheeks as Reggie smiles right back at you. You take a deep breathe before turning around to Luke who is still strumming on his electric guitar. You hold your arms close to your chest and let out a quiet sob when you see his face.
“Hi Luke.”
“Hi Y/n,” He replies. He refrains from calling you any of his many pet names he had for you years ago, knowing too much time has passed for him to ever expect you to react well to one of them. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, hot shot.” You tell him, wiping a tear from your cheek. It feels odd, talking to the boy in front of you, unaged for twenty five years. “I missed all of you. You have no idea how hard it was to lose you.”
“I’m sorry,” Alex speaks up. “I’m sorry we left, you shouldn’t have had to go through that alone.”
Before you can respond, Reggie butts in to say, “You may not be able to always see us, but we’re here. We’ll always be here.”
“See you real soon, y/n.” Luke says as their music starts to fade out. The suddenly evaporate just as quickly as they appeared. You clutch at your chest, unsure of how to feel after this. You look over to Julie who has a sympathetic look on her face.
“How did that — What just — Did you”
“I was confused too, I still am,” Julie stops you, noticing the distraught and twisted look of your face. “You’re welcome to come back any time you like, I’m sure they’d love to see you — oh, yep they just told you to come back.”
As you leave the garage that you spend most of your formative years in, your heart and your heart cannot stop racing. Seeing Alex, Reggie and Luke, frozen in time, exactly where you left them that night at The Orpheum was something you can’t fathom. It all feels too weird, they were too real. It all feels like you’re wrapped in a dream that you cannot wake up from, one that started the day you buried your boys. While Julie had just told you to come back, to see them whenever you wished, that idea didn’t stay long in your thoughts. He isn’t the Luke you could love now, he is a 17 year old trapped in limbo. While you aged, he stayed the same, he is someone you uncomfortably recognize. You were supposed to grow old with him, but he was left behind. You don’t return to the garage, it hurts too much to see them like that again, so close to you. However, you watch their sets, you see them finally play The Orpheum like they had dreamed of 25 years ago and smile, your heart filled with pride.
They see you in the crowd but they don’t make any attempt to reach you. They understand, they know how overwhelming it must be to watch you supposedly dead friends speaking to you, playing shows, just existing. It took you a long time to process their death, but as weird and uncomfortable as it was to see them again in their 17 year old bodies, it gave you the sense of closure were never able to receive in the past 25 years. Knowing they weren’t in pain, watching them fulfill their dreams, it all mended your heart a little more every time you say them trending on YouTube or on the local news. All you needed was to watch them from afar, the ghost of them, to finally be able to heal.
a/n pt.2: this was a lot harder to write than i imagined. i’m so used to writing ~love stories~ and i can’t just have a 40 year old woman smooching a 17 year old ghost so i did the best i could sorry yall
a/n: I’m really taking the multifandom thing to the extreme huh? Well this is my #first julie and the phantoms imagine because that show is so gas. Also ghost of you by 5sos is also gas and it made me cry to think of this song and the boys so i just had to do something.
25 years ago, y/n was dating the frontman of the band Sunset Curve, Luke Patterson. Now, a quarter of a century after his untimely death, she sees what she can only assume to be his ghost in a new band and is reminded of the days when she loved him and how she processed his death at only seventeen.
y/d/n = your daughter’s name
Warnings: death, depression
_____________________
It’s a Saturday morning when your daughter comes running in to show you some YouTube video on her iPad. You can’t really understand what she’s saying, just things like holograph,hot boyandband.When she finally calms down and presses play on the video you see a young girl, no older than fifteen, singing with a beautiful voice. Your daughter has never really been one to show you random videos, not that this girl wasn’t a good singer, but you’re confused as to why she would have taken the time to run from her room to show you this video.
Then you see it. Just as the chorus of the song begins to play, a band appears around her, full equipment flashes in completely out of nowhere. There he is. You can’t believe your eyes. As your daughter begins to point out the boy wish the shaggy brown hair and glowing smile and how ‘hot he is’ you feel nauseous. Luke Patterson, front man of Sunset Curve and your deceased boyfriend.
“Turn that off, y/d/n.” You say sternly as your mind begins to cloud. This had to be some sort of dream, or nightmare. Seeing Luke’s face after so long, feeling like you had been transported right back to 1995, it was all too much. You had tried so hard to move on, to heal from the sudden loss of him, but seeing him like this brought back the hurt all over again.
“Mom? Are you alright?” Your daughter asks, still not pausing the video. “It’s just a video, I don’t understand.”
“I said turn it off!” You never meant to sound so harsh, but the queesy feeling in your stomach only worsens the more you hear the rasp in his voice, so clear compared to the only CDs you’d kept throughout the years. “I need to go lay down.”
July 30, 1995
This worst day of your life, standing next to your parents and his as you struggle for a breath. Only eight days have past since the fateful night that was supposed to be your boyfriends big break but ended up taking his life. Your arms are folded tightly in front of you as you attempt to stop the endless stream of sobs rolling from your lips. Staring at his casket, side by side with Alex and Reggie’s, made you feel sicker than any flu you’d every caught. The pastor walks ahead of the crowd in front of the three wooden boxes that held your very best friends.
“My friends, we are gathered here today for a number reasons. First, we are here to pay our tribute to three young men, all full of talent and promise, who have been taken from this earth far too soon. Reginald Peters, Luke Patterson, and Alexander Mercer.” When he calls the names of the boys, you only cry harder into your fathers shoulder. Only seventeen years old and you had already suffered the worst loss you could ever imagine. “We are also here to comfort the families of these boys along with their loved ones. Not only have we sensed our own personal feelings of loss over Reggie, Luke, and Alex’s passing, but our hearts have been drawn toward them, and will continue to be with them. We are here to seek comfort, as our hearts ache over this inconceivable loss, and we hope that these young men will find eternal rest, wherever they may be.”
With your heart heavy, so say your final goodbye to the boy you love most in this world. Placing a hand on his casket, the tears do not stop rolling down your cheeks. You feel a hand grip your shoulder and turn to see Mrs. Patterson, her eyes red and heavy like yours. You embrace the woman and cry into each other for a while, unable to break from the closest person to Luke. You hold her hand, his father on the other side of her, as they lower him into the ground. You replay the last moment you spent with him in your mind, wishing him luck before they went for those stupid fucking hotdogs before the show, telling him you’d be cheering him on from the wings. The Orpheum was their dream and they never got to play it.
You couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of loss, not that you were expected to. The weeks you spent laying in your bed, staring at the Sunset Curve posters and polaroids from concerts and rehearsals on your walls, turned to months. You didn’t cry, there were no more tears left in your body. Those photos are all you have left of him, that and their CD that played on repeat all day and night. Your parents were probably sick of it by now but they didn’t dare come in to tell you to turn it off. They did come in to tell you when dinner was ready and ask if you wanted to see any of the countless friends that came to comfort you. They would sit on your bed, listening to the voice of your now dead boyfriend and cry with you. They try to get you to leave the house, come with them on a walk or get breakfast at your favorite diner but it was no use. Any place you go will bring up a memory you have when Luke was there with you, smiling that bright shiny smile of his.
You eventually did go outside, having to start and finish out your senior year without him. No homecoming, no prom, no graduation. The school held memorials for the boys, they hung portraits and painted murals but it just made you more numb to the feelinh when you saw his face. Nothing made you happy anymore, you put on a face to keep your friends, parents and newly appointed grief counsellor from forcing any pills down your throat to fix the chemical imbalance that came from losing the only light on your life. They called it complicated grief, it was persistent and crippling, but you refused to take any pharmaceuticals. You feel semi-responsible for not being there to tell him hotdogs from the back of a car was a bad idea, you feel like you have to sit with this ever present sinking feeling. You spend Luke’s birthday with his parents every year, remembering the last birthday you spent with him and trying your hardest to smile at the memory of the boys smashing his cake into his face at some random stop on tour, but you can’t.
Present Day
You find the video that your daughter showed you earlier today, Julie and the Phantoms they were called. You had pulled the shoe box out of your closet, the one filled with concert t-shirts, polaroid’s and posters from the best days of your life and went through them for the first time in a long time. Your husband knew Luke, he went to your high school and then college. He knew what his death did to you and he understood that Luke Patterson will always have a piece of your heart. He doesn’t mind, he supports you on the hard days, his birthday and the anniversary of his death, and he pushes you to grow and heal from the pain. You needed someone like him in your life, he was good.
“We buried you.” You whisper as your finger comes into contact with the screen, staring at the face of the seventeen year old boy you lost in 1995. Your daughter explained it was a hologram, that the girl who was singing had programmed them into her stage, but you watched every single Sunset Curve performance and it looked nothing like any one you ever saw. You were staring at the ghost of him. Your hand reached for your favorite polaroid picture of him, all sweaty and gross after a show with the biggest smile on his face. “We buried you, Luke.”
Your husband had already seen the video by the time he came home from work. He held you while you cried, swearing he was a ghost. He told you over and over again that he was just a hologram, and you eventually stopped fighting him. Your daughter was confused, you never told her about Luke or the boys, it was just too hard. In the morning you went through the box again, this time stopping on a disposable camera photo of the two of you holding each other backstage just before a show. When you looked closer at the photo he was wearing the same blue hoodie he was wearing that night.
July 22, 1995
Sound check is only a few minutes away and you sat on a big red couch in the backstage area of The Orpheum with the boys. You were cuddled into Luke’s side, hearing his heartbeat racing at the thought of getting on stage in less than an hour.
“I can’t believe we made it,” Alex muses, fiddling with his drum sticks. “Sunset Curve, playing at the Orpheum.”
“Tell your friends.” Reggie adds, making the group laugh. “I can’t believe it either. This is going to change everything.”
Bobby nodded with the boys, so did Luke. You looked up toward him, in awe of how far they’ve come. “Hey, I’m really proud of you.”
He looks down to you and pulls you tighter into him before pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Wouldn’t be here without you.”
“As if,” You roll your eyes. “I just told you Sunset Curve sounded better than Sunset Curb, and Alex was already pushing against curb.”
He just smiles, and rests his head on top of your. “We have to go soon. We’ll probably get something to eat beforehand, so I’ll see you after the show. I love you.”
“I love you more, hot shot.” You reply, lifting your head to leave a soft kiss on his lips. The boys let out a collective ew to which you respond with your middle finger, no words. “Go kill it, you know where I’ll be.”
“Don’t move!” Reggie shouts as Luke is about to get off the couch. He pulls out a camera from his backpack and brings it to his eye. “You’ll want this for the slideshow when I make my speech at your wedding.”
You and Luke roll your eyes before he brings you closer into his side, flashing his award winning smile. You hold him tight and stare up at his beautiful face when the flash of the camera goes off. He plants one more kiss on your temple before getting up.
The four boys filed out of the backstage area and onto their respective spots on stage, Luke turning around to send you one last wink before grabbing his guitar. Not even an hour later, the sound of sirens bring you the worst news you could ever fathom. They were dead, the three of them were dead and you never even got to say goodbye. You and Bobby stand shocked while the officers explain what happened, your first thought being this is some huge prank they’re playing to get their nerves out before the show. But it wasn’t. They really died that night and you’re left wondering what you could’ve done different so he would still be here. So Reggie could have actually made a speech at your wedding, what you could have done to build a life with him instead of losing him at seventeen.
Present Day
You spend a long time deciding what will make you feel okay after this. You had spent years avoiding every aspect of life that would remind you of your lost love, but now his ghost, or hologram, is an internet sensation. While it broke your heart to see him again, doing the thing he loved most in this world, it forced you to look back on your time with him, to look through all the memories you made with him and you were grateful for that. You find that the young girl, Julie, goes to school with your daughter. You decide that direct contact between a fifteen year old and a forty-two year old stranger would be far out of your comfort zone. Settling on a letter that your daughter will pass along to her, you sit down to write.
Dear Julie,
My name is Y/n, I’m y/d/n’s mom. This may seem a little odd that your classmate’s mother is writing you a note, but I have to thank you for something. In 1995, I lost someone very special to me, a few people actually. They were in a band called Sunset Curve, maybe you’ve heard of them. Y/d/n showed me your performance, all I can say is wow. You are an extraordinarily talented girl, not only musically but your holograms are awe-striking. When I saw the figure of my late friends come on to screen, you have no idea what kind of joy that brought me, to watch them perform again. I was with them that night, the night of The Orpheum. They were one step closer to stardom before it all ended, if they were able to see that your music was bringing them back to life I’m sure they would be shouting and carrying on like they always did. You allowed me to get one last chance to see them perform, something I always wished I could see. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I’m not sure how you managed to create them and bring them into your show, but however you did it you brought some peace back into my life. After watching your video, I was finally able to face the past, something I have been struggling with for years. If you ever had any questions about the boys or want to see some memorabilia I’ve kept all these years, feel free to reach out. Again Julie, you don’t know what your video gave me, I am forever grateful for you and your technological skills. I hope success finds you, thats all Sunset Curve could have ever dreamed of.
Policemen Swear To God (Love’s Seeping From The Guns)
Chapter 2 is live kids
It was like the world had gone silent.
No one moved, no one said anything. No one had processed what had just happened. Julie was still caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn’t even noticed Willie hit the floor.
Policemen Swear To God (Love’s Seeping From the Guns)
“I know but it… it just feels weird. Ya know? What am I supposed to say?” He put on his best robot voice and stiffened his arms, “Lukas Alexander Patterson, my best friend since childhood that I help kill people.”
its heeeerrrrrrreeee
The fruits of mine, @aroallosupremacyand@russsianspy’s labor have finally paid off and the first chapter of the Bodyguard!Juke AU that spiraled out of control is finally posted
Cannot believe I just wrote almost 2000 words of Boggie fluff with barely any actual plot points just them being cute and cuddling. Also the softboggiesoftboggiesoftboggie wip on my WIP tag game over on my main @beethovensbitxh
—-
None of the boys had really objected to the idea of movie nights when Reggie innocently suggested it one night. He’d been having kind of a hard time, and Bobby didn’t have the heart to admit that no we don’t have a spare TV just lying around. The three of them had loaded into Alex’s shitty hand-me-down station wagon to go find one after that.
Now, I’m not saying it became tradition after that. But it totally became tradition.
Every Friday night at a quarter to 10, the four boys would pull the couch out into a bed and plug in the TV they’d found tucked away in a Goodwill. It was in almost working condition, it just had a few bruises on the screen. Reggie didn’t mind though, ‘cause at least his boys actually wanted to watch something with him.
“We watched this two weeks ago!” Alex had protested one too many times, throwing a handful of popcorn at the screen and then throwing himself back against the cushions. “Oh c’mon ‘Lex! Don’t be such a- a debbie downer!” Luke would always laugh and reach over to slap his shoulder.
It didn’t matter when Alex fell asleep halfway through what was supposed to be the most exciting part.
It didn’t matter when Luke got distracted at the 45 minute mark and scribbled something in his notebook down and then stared into space for another 10 minutes.
And it definitely, totally, didn’t matter, didn’t even affect him, when Bobby leaned his head against Reggies shoulder and moved closer than they’d previously been and Reggie could feel Bobby’s ribs moving so slowly with each careful breath, he was afraid to move and break the fragile thing on top of him.
Bobby had never been the most affectionate physically. He was always the last to join the band hugs, and the only person that really touched him all that often was Luke because he had strangely smooth skin for some reason. It’s not that Reggie didn’t want to touch Bobby. He just wanted to respect his boundaries.
Unfortunately for him, it didn’t seem like sleepy Reggie really understood those boundaries.
They woke up the next morning, alone on the pullout surrounded by pillows and drifting beams of sunlight. Yet someone had been thoughtful enough to close the blinds, blocking out most of it.
Bobby’s head was buried in Reggie’s chest, and Reggie had been rubbing unconscious circles along his shoulder blade, scrunching up the grey shirt Bobby had been wearing. He felt Bobby’s hand tighten on his own shirt when he stopped, and he figured that he hadn’t been the first awake. Each time his chest rose, Reggie could feel Bobby’s nose press into his ribs and he’d press his hand into Bobby’s back only slightly, giving him that comforting feeling he’d craved for so long.
Yet they stayed, holding onto each other as if Luke and Alex didn’t exist and weren’t waiting for them to wake up so they could busk down by the pier. The hum and the glow of the TV had shut off some time before, as if someone had turned it off halfway through the night and left them to themselves.
They didn’t talk about it much after that, but on the nights where Bobby just really needed the smell of laundry detergent and a warm body, he’d scoot closer to Reggie, who’d immediately get the hint and lift his arm to let him in.
And Reggie still called him Bop-it and tried not to make things weird, so he kept his distance and as unattached as he could.
Bobby thought that whatever had been happening between them was mutual, at least it felt like it had been, but he chose not to say anything.
Maybe he’d taken it the wrong way and the other wasn’t actually into him like that. Maybe friends really do just hold onto each other like they’re the world and shits falling apart around them but at least they have each other and that’s okay. Maybe he’d just let his emotions get the better of him.
It wasn’t until Bobby nearly pinned him against the wall after a very successful shot at winning a wrestling championship that they shared anything more than those Friday nights turned Saturday mornings. Reggie could taste the caramel dip he’d had that morning and feel the sweat as he ran a hand through Bobby’s hair, but he honest to God didn’t care about anything–anyone–else.
He could only hear the fluorescent gymnasium lights buzzing like a fly in his ear, and the cheers of the crowd faded into background noise. It was slow and fast and so very quiet but he wanted to switch his ears off and focus on just kissing Bobby. That single moment turned into hours in the front seat of Bobby’s car in Griffith park, watching the lights behind the Hollywood sign and just being there. Together.
At one point Bobby switched off the radio and turned to look at Reggie, who hadn’t even really processed why they were out there, and he just smiled. “What’re you doin’ Bobbers?” Reggie had asked, turning to look at Bobby, wanting to study every little detail of his lips.
“I’m just…” Bobby trailed off, glancing back towards the windshield. “Can I kiss you again?” his voice was sweet and Reggie had barely even said “yes” when Bobby was pressing a kiss into his lips, one that Reggie so eagerly returned. He raked his hand through the other boys hair and he could tell that it’d all be okay.
The next day they had goofy grins over their faces, and Bobby was more touchy with Reggie than he’d ever been with Luke but Luke didn’t really seem to notice because he was wrapped in staring at Julie from across the hall and coming up with the best way to ask his own girlfriend to the prom. At some point or another Bobby had grabbed onto Reggies hand to pull him out of the way of a crowd of confused freshmen, and then he never really let go.
“Regsticle, c’mere…” he’d pulled his counterpart into an empty stairwell and held his face as if it was the most precious thing on Earth. His laugh was almost infectious as he pressed quick kisses onto Reggie’s face and both almost collapsed in a fit of giggles.
“Lucky to have you Reg…” Bobby had finally said once they’d regained their composure, and Reggie took in a deep breath. “I know…”
“Did you just fucking Han Solo me?” Bobby asked before they fell back into another laughing fit.
Thisthing had attracted the attention of everyone, even Bobby’s cousin. Carrie was interning at a gossip column and wanted to know every little thing going on in the school. “Oh come on! Just tell me! I won’t tell dad!”
“All you have to do is come to one of our practices” Luke had told her as they walked down the halls, Carrie hot on their heels with her phone recording in one hand. Julie just chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, breaking off back towards her friend.
They hadn’t exactly put a label on it yet, and Bobby was okay with that. To be fair, he did want to scream “look at my boyfriend!” at the top of his lungs to anyone that would listen, but they still hadn’t talked about it yet and it would still be fine if they never did.
But the lingering gazes across the room at each other and the heat burning at Reggies cheeks always left a mischievous glint in Bobby’s eyes.
But sometimes he’d get so caught up in the beauty of that boy that he wouldn’t even notice Reggie staring back at him. And they’d get caught in an endless gaze when tunnel vision set in and the world around them fell away.
“What?” Reggie asked one day after he’d felt Bobby’s eyes trained on him. Bobby just shook his head and let a smile creep up on him. “Nothin’. You’re jus’-” He trailed off, his eyes meeting Reggies lip and he took in a sharp breath.
“Hm? The… hottest person you’ve ever met?” Reggie smirked, pushing a strand of hair out of his face. Bobby’s breath hitched and he had to cough to get himself to snap out of whatever trance he’d accidentally stuck
There was a groan from behind Reggie. Luke had hung his head, “You two are so gross”. Reggie giggled and Bobby fell even more into whatever feeling he was getting at that moment.
.Movie nights happened a lot more, except sometimes there was no movie. Sometimes it was just them. Bobby and Reggie. Reggie’s arm draped over Bobby’s shoulder, rubbing those same circles into his back and his other arm underneath his head. Bobby holding onto Reggie’s shirt with one hand, face buried in his chest. And sometimes they didn’t even sleep, or at least Bobby did. The small massage put him straight to sleep most nights. Yet Reggie would lay awake and question how he got so damn lucky as he pressed delicate kisses to his boys temple.Reggie was alright with it.
Other nights they fell asleep back to back, and Bobby could feel Reggies shoulder blade but it was strangely comforting and he didn’t fully understand why but he didn’t really care. Their body heat blending together under the comforter and creating a blanket of warmth wrapped around them. And sometimes Bobby would reach his hand back and find Reggies waiting, and wrap them together just as Reggie was falling asleep.
“You’re an idiot” Bobby joked as he pushed Reggie away. He’d been trying to read and Reggie would not take no for an answer when asking the question “wanna cuddle?”
“Yeah whatever! You love me!” Reggie stuck his tongue out, trying to fight off Bobby’s hardcover book being batted at him. Bobby finally threw his book to the side and rolled to hold himself over the boy in his bed, running his hand along Reggies temple and smiling. “I do… love you…”
It was the first time either of them had dared mutter it, but Reggie smiled so wide and flung himself up to wrap his arms around Bobbys neck to kiss him so hard Bobby almost fell down.
“So you love me?” Reggie chuckled once they’d pulled apart. Bobby looked away and nodded slowly, “Ye-yeah. Yeah I do. I love you Reg…” he said because he did. He loved Reggie Peters and really didn’t care if anyone knew.
Luke and Julie, star-crossed lovers from different houses, find themselves fighting for love in a time of sorrow and epic heroism aided by their friends and companions.
Or
Romeo and Juliet AU
This fic is split into 3 Acts instead of the usual 5 for the play. I’ve spent over a month writing and editing this, and nearly all the dialogue was translated or rewritten from the original text.
The last piece I made for @jatpzine! A Sunset Curve print. Everytime someone posted a story with their bundle and I saw this print among the merch, it made my heart grow three sizes bigger
90SJATP | Part III: You Get What You Give / I Got The Music (2/6) Part I: 1|2|3|4|5 Part II: 1|2|3|4|5 Part III: 1
After their recent discovery, the boys realize they have a second shot. The problem is: are they all willing to put up with the new terms? And are they all sure they want to go back under the spotlight?
I have so many things to say about my view of Alex’s character in this AU… but the next two installments are gonna do the talk for me. For now, enjoy some funny angst.
90SJATP | Part III: You Get What You Give / I Got The Music (1/6) Part I: 1|2|3|4|5 Part II: 1|2|3|4 |5
Fridays are for comebacks and unrequested additions to preexisting mythologies.
(As I imagined, I won’t be able to draw all five intended parts of this AU, what with real life happening and interests changing. But I wanted to at least complete this 6-part section of the story, which has been so important to me for many reasons. If you’re still keeping up with this, I hope you’ll like it as much as I do.)
My piece for the @jatpzine, the first @julieandthephantoms fanzine! I got to draw a small piece of our beloved characters in a 90s Movie AU, and I couldn’t help but choose the iconic Romeo+Juliet by Baz Luhrmann. Featuring:
One of the commissions I did in 2021! This was for @darthmaultoast who asked for a cute Alex/Reggie interaction, with the same vibes of a Willex fanart I previously posted! I came up with two concepts and we eventually went with the one of them attending a Britney concert, because you can pry Britney fanboy!Alex headcanon from my cold dead hands, and Reggie listens to basically every music genre that ever existed so of course they go, of course.
If you’re curious about other commissioned pieces, I collected them all in the dedicated highlight commissions✨
let your colors blind their eyes, be who you are, no compromises
here’s julie and the phantoms performing at la pride!! i had the idea for this piece back in december or january and i’m so so happy that it’s finally done! i love seeing everyone’s interpretations on the characters, so i’ve included some of my own headcanons. being a part of the lgbt+ community is very important to me, and i love how wonderful and accepting this fandom is!! and on top of that, the representation in this show means a lot to me. i hope you’ve all had a great pride month, and keep marching on proud! ☺️️️⚧️
