singers + lovers to exes to lovers jaith au 🔥🔥🔥 made in collaboration with @im-an-emotea
okay so i got the idea for this au listening to Leonard & Marianne by Bastille on repeat so give that a listen maybe 😇
the song is important for a scene that happens kinda late in the story (also there’s not really a story. i’m not good at this help) AND i also have a playlist for this au 🔥song suggestions are welcome
THIS GOT VERY LONG I DIDNT MEAN FOR IT TO BE SO LONG IM SORRY I UNDERSTAND IF U DONT WANT TO READ ALL THAT 😭🙏
also i’m getting so self conscious now that i’ve written it all out sorry if this sucks :/ this is what’s in my brain i guess…
Keith and James are around 17-18ish, they’re both just starting out their career in music and recently released their first projects with two kinda famous recording companies. As it happens, the media is immediately putting them against each other, comparing their sales, sound, image (idk you get it.) because they both have a young audience, so without even knowing each other there’s this kind of “rivalry” already established between the two for that short period.
James has been studying music for his whole life (singing and piano+guitar), and i think his parents probably are famous musicians (not singers tho) that pushed for him to study music when they noticed he was good. They didn’t really expect him to end up persuing a “pop star” career but they had the connections, they could make it happen. I think his label initially wanted to stick him in a boyband (1D style) but he ended up solo, so they sorted out a Justin Bieber kinda thing for him (sorry Jamie you have a pretty face the pre-teen girls will go crazy for you) [also sorry i was never into boybands or justin bieber and the like so idk if it makes sense i’m working with what i saw online 💀]
Keith of course has his signature raw talent (his voice is insane) that carries him with the minimal training that his agency made him go through while recording and before releasing. His sound is very different from James’ but is still marketed towards a young audience, think more punk/emo [i also don’t know anything about this.]
His parents situation? I think both dad and mom are alive and well (for my sanity) but they have nothing to do with music. They’ve always supported Keith’s passion and got him a guitar and lessons when he was little, he’s been playing and writing on his own since he was a kid, probably put some of his songs on soundcloud as a teen and tiktok too probably, which is how he blew up and got noticed (by shiro of course).
So, when they both release music with their agencies they get interested in the other because of the media pressure and end up thinking “damn, this guy is good.” while their initial assessment was more like “who does he even think he is”, and of course keep in mind they’re both the primary writer and composer for the majority of their songs, which is why they got interested in the first place.
They meet at an award show and basically spend all night talking because, after a rather awkward introduction, they both felt instantly captivated by the other. There’s some teasing but mostly they talk about their connection to music, process, visions, ideas and the like. Not sure if they win anything that night but at some point Keith proposes to ditch and go “have fun” somewhere else and James (reluctantly) agrees, because yk he’s a stickler for the rules and doesn’t want to get yelled at but Keith was much too fascinating to him to end their conversation so soon (and didn’t want Keith to think he was a loser).
So they spend all night together (until dawn) walking around and talking and even end up making out a little… (horny teenagers)
They end up getting together at around 18-19, they write together, release songs together, their fanbases go Crazy for them, they’re an It couple to anyone 20 and under
But their relationship is a little rocky, they’re in love but aren’t the best at communicating, they get jealous, they both have explosive personalities, they argue a lot (but still stay together for years) and don’t really talk about it after, just “forgive” each other and move on.
I know this isn’t the best but yk. When they’re not arguing they’re amazing. That’s what keeps them together. And their music.
They have So Many songs together, and even for their own original projects they help each other out and are credited on a lot of them.
The good parts overshadow the bad ones and so they stay together until they’re 22. Codependency goes brrr.
That’s when worse comes to worst. They have a Big Fight at their apartment one night and go to bed without resolving. Keith decides that night that he’s done and packs up his things while James is asleep. He gets in his car and literally drives away to the other side of the country. No notes, no texts, nothing. Just packs and leaves. Not the ideal way to break up with your boyfriend of 4 years but you know. It was an impulsive decision, and when he really got to think about it with a clear mind he was already hours away, so he decides to stick with it and “move on”. Except he doesn’t, he can’t.
[also. i’m very sorry. idk what the fight is about 💀 worst writer in the world i know. suggestions are welcome from someone with relationship experience (or not)]
James notices Keith’s gone the next morning but doesn’t think too much of it because Keith’s done that before, until he notices that all of his stuff is gone too. So he calls Keith. Over and over again. But he doesn’t pick up. He sends a thousand texts, keeps calling, calls Shiro (he answers, but he has no idea where Keith is either). He gives up that night when Keith finally blocks him.
Cue the bad coping mechanisms. They both disappear from the public scene for a while. They’re both miserable. James smokes way too many cigarettes and Keith ghosts all his friends and spends his days drinking and angrily playing guitar.
The break lasts 3 years, during which they do try to move on but really can’t. They “date” other people - Keith goes out with a lot of guys that resemble James (both physically and personality wise, yes he has a type) but it never works out because they’re either assholes or boring or try to talk shit about James (he can’t stand that, he still loves him), while James doesn’t really stick to the Keith theme and dates just about anyone, but keeps thinking of him and can’t even find anyone who looks/acts like him enough to pretend. Pretty often pics of their dates appear and cause uproar, plus both of them see them and sulk for days (they want to get back together so bad but as time passes they think the other hates them now). Their friends can’t stand them anymore because that’s all they talk about. All their songs are still about each other. The break-up albums go so fucking hard and sell so well. So at least they’re still successful.
(I think James tries therapy to move on, unsure if it helps with moving on but at least he learns that he needs to communicate)(Keith uses song-writing as therapy)
Also, imagine trying to move on from someone who’s constantly trending and charting, on billboards anywhere, on the radio, social media. They never see each other during those years except when they’re at the same events, but they always keep their distance.
This is where the song comes into play!! It’s the scene that inspired the entire au (also maybe it’s really stupid now i’m getting self conscious 😞)
They’re both on tour at this point in time, they have a stop in the same city the same night, which also happens to be the date of their breakup anniversary (really fun)
They both sing a cover of Leonard&Marianne of course thinking of each other, but it wasn’t planned, it was a spontaneous decision to add the song to the set list to “celebrate” their anniversary, which of course only they knew about.
The crowd lowk loses their mind, imagine live-tweeting at a Keith concert that he’s singing that and finding out James is doing the same song in that moment 😭
So yeah the whole thing goes viral, but keith and james have no idea until the show ends, their managers don’t even know if it’s a good idea to tell them, but they find out.
The moment Keith hears he gets in his car to go see James (he finds out what hotel he’s staying at after begging Shiro to ask Adam (i hc he was lowk a mentor to James and they regularly keep in contact)) without even thinking about it, he only realizes he doesn’t know what to say when James opens the door.
All Keith manages to spit out is something along the lines of “what the hell was that shit you just pulled” and James doesn’t know what to say, he just stares at him before realizing that they probably shouldn’t stand in the hallway and pulls him in his room.
So they’re in there just staring at each other, Keith is waiting for an answer, James can’t believe he’s there right before his eyes, but eventually he says “i’ve missed you” with his stupid sad puppy face and keith just wants to kiss him
this is the part i thought less abt so it’s gonna be short, i think they end up hooking up that night, they try not to talk about the elephant in the room, the next morning keith leaves but they promise to talk about it and eventually they do start dating again from the start, going on dates again, getting to know what they did during those 3 years apart etc etc
not very set on the “ending” at all tbh, i’d like to hear some outside perspective on the whole thing
thanks for reading if u did!
here’s the playlist, song suggestions welcome
forgot to add: i hc keith as trans which doesn’t change much of the plot except for this
and, not t related:
