Summary: Luke Patterson likes to hyperfixate on writing songs, and so does Luke Hemmings.
Word Count: almost 900 (minus lyrics)
Warnings/Includes: one curse word, mentions of overworking
A/N: this is for @jatpx5sos week day 2! the prompt is parallels, so i paralleled two things- the lukeâs and everything i didnât say/unsaid emily (everythingâs lyrics a bolded, unsaidâs are bold and italised)
Mandatory Thanking of the Betas: thank you guys so so much, the amount of typos this would have is insane omg
AO3 link here (itâll be up eventually, sorry bout that!)
Please donât repost my work without my permission, in part or whole. My work can also be found on AO3 under the same username. Thank you!
I should have turned around
Pieces of a clock that lies broken
âPatterson! Whatâs in the head of yours?â Bobby asked as he walked by the boy. Luke lazily strummed his guitar, just staring at the lyrics on the page.
âLuke?â Reggie asked, waving his hands in front of Lukeâs face. âWhatâs wrong?â
As he looked up, Reggie and Bobby could see the tears in Lukeâs eyes. âI-â He let out a soft hiccup. âI never got to say goodbye, I just left! I should have said sorry,â And if it was possible, he hung his head lower, and mumbled something.
âWhat?â Bobby asked, lowering himself to the brunette's height.
âI should have put her first. I put me first, and that was selfish,â He said, finally bringing his eyes to Bobbyâs.
âOkay, no moping,â Alex said, finally entering the garage. âLetâs practice, and then mope. Cause in case youâve forgotten, our gig at the speakeasy is in a week. There will be a lot of important people there, youâve been getting on us about that Luke.â
âIâm sorry,â Luke said, rising from his chair.
âI get it, man,â Alex said, and the pair had a brief unspoken conversation. Bobby cleared his throat and the two looked away.
âLetâs practice!â Reggie said, breaking the uneasy silence as he picked up his guitar.
I wish that I'd put you first
I was wrong I admit, numb from your kiss
While you were slipping through my fingertips
âSlipping through my, what was that stupid lyric I came up with earlier?â Luke whispered to himself. A line that had flowed so easily when he hadnât had a pen and paper to write it down with was now gone, lost, to wherever lost thoughts go.
âYou are obsessed with this song!â Micheal shouted across the living room. He wasnât wrong, Luke had been working on this song for almost a week now, and nothing else.
âYou get obsessed with everything you write Mike, thatâs almost a compliment,â Luke retorted and Mike scoffed.
âHeâs got a point Luke,â Ashton said, coming beside Luke. Always the voice of reason, that was Ashton. âEver since-â Luke cleared his throat and looked away. It hurt to talk about that night. âMy point is, you have to eat and sleep, and maybe take a walk. This isnât good for you.â He got up and started to walk to the kitchen. âBesides, didnât she break up with you?â
âIt was my fault, I should have put her first instead of the band. We arenât gonna get anywhere anyways.â
âStop thinking like that!â Calum said, entering the room at last. âWeâve got a gig coming up!â Luke playfully punched him.
âAre you dumb? Itâs a book club!â He said, standing up and walking away.
âWhere are you going dude?â Micheal hollered after him.
âIâm gonna go on a walk and clear my head.â Luke paused, looking down at his fingers. âWell, that was stupid.â He muttered at last.
And write in every empty space
The words I love you in replace
Then maybe time would not erase me
âLuke what do you think about taking a break? Weâve been practicing for two hours,â Bobby pointed out. Luke looked at his watch and sighed.
âOrder pizza and keep working till it gets here?â He suggested, looking to the boys with hopeful faces. The three shared a look.
They knew he was overworking himself. Drilling this song until it was perfect, staying up late, and not focusing on himself. It had taken a toll, a clear and obvious one. But the pain of his choice, his decisions, and the event of an argument that none of them were all to sure of.
âOkay,â Alex said at last.
âIâll go talk to Rose, and Iâm sure she can lend us some money until our next gig,â Reggie said, ducking out of the garage leaving Alex, Bobby, and Luke sitting in silence.
Alex cleared his throat and the others turned to him. âIâve gotta- uh, I need to let my mom know that Iâll be staying late. She asked me to start calling,â Alex dropped his drumsticks noisily and scrambled to pick them up. âS-sorry,â He said, retreating out slowly.
With all of the mistakes I've made
From all the letters that I've saved
This is everything I didn't say
I wish I could've made you stay
The tension could have been cut with a knife.
âWhat was up with that look you guys just shared?â Luke asked, looking over to Ashton.
He released a sigh, âThe boys and I have been talking-â
âYou havenât been doing any talking! Unless youâve learned how to do sign language with your eyes,â Luke retorted, getting closed to Ashton with every step. âWhat is it Ash? What have you been âtalkingâ about?â
âSit down,â Ashton said calmly, pointing to the chair behind Luke.
âWhat- Ash, Iâm not a child,â Luke pleaded, preparing himself for the storm that was coming.
âSit. The Fuck. Down.â Ashton said, with the force of a shout.
Luke sat down slowly, and Ashton sat with him.
âIâm sorry,â He whispered. Luke didn't say anything, he just placed his hand on Ashtonâs back.
âWhat have your silent conversations been about?â Luke finally asked.
And that's just where they're gonna stay forever
âYou need to perform this for her,â Bobby said. Lukeâs had swiftly moved away from him.
âWhy, Luke?â Bobby asked, confused at his friend's hesitancy. âYouâve been working on it for two months now and it sounds great. This is your chance to tell her everything!â
âNot yet,â Luke said again.
âLuke⊠You gotta tell her-â
âNot yet.â Luke said, standing up abruptly. âYou canât tell me to do anything.â
âIâm just trying to make it perfect, okay? Get off my case!â Luke said, slamming the garage door behind him.
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