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...
Well what if we... just... made that happen?
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No Matter Where You Are, I Will Find You Masterlist (Series Rewrite)
THIS IS A SERIES
Summery:
PG ~ For all the fluff and cuteness, but a few adult comments…
⚠️ Warning; This story contains themes that may be a little bit triggering to some and we highly recommend that you read at your own will, but please if you get triggered easily please refrain from reading at all.
Full Series Word Count: 96k+
Tell your friends ;) ;)
Series playlist
Read:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9
Listen As You Read: {Coming soon}
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9
Summary: Another camp came and went, what happens now that Charlie and Y/N are living a whole lot closer to each other? will anything happen at all? I guess you're gonna have to read to find out ;)
A/N: I feel like i should start off by apologizing for making you guys wait so long.. life just got crazy busy, so sorry! I would also like to thank @i-thought-i-knew-what-love-was and @julie-thefatones for helping me out with this chapter. <3
Wordcount: 4120
Other Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3/ 4 / 5
Taglist: @happinessinthedarkesttimes , @xsunsetcurve , @ifilwtmfc , @nani-2305 , @wanniiieeee (just message me if you want to be added to the list haha)
So much for your happy ending..
When the bus comes to a halt Charlie is the first one to wake up. “Nugget?” he says almost whispering and I wake up to him softly shaking me. As soon as I open my eyes the realization hits that I’m all cuddled up to him in a bus filled with camp people.. Ohhh this is BAD I think to myself while instantly sitting up straight. “Morning sleepyhead.. this is my stop..” he tells me with a smile that doesn’t fully reach his eyes. “oh.. oh right!” I get up so Charlie can get out of our seats. Before he gets of the bus he wraps me in his arms in a tight hug. “I’m gonna miss you y/n..” “I’m gonna miss you too chewie.” I mumble into his chest and he lets out a laugh. “never really gonna get used to that name I think.” He then lets go of me and continues: “But we're gonna meet up again soon right?” I smile up at him “ Yeah I’d really like that.” We give each other one last hug and then I watch him get off the bus. The second he gets off is the second I start missing him but at least, I now know I wouldn't have to miss him for an entire year.
Only 40 minutes later I find myself at home too, the silence being just as overwhelming as it was last year. The story I get to tell my mom being even better than last year, she can’t help but notice the fact that the stories surrounding Charlie make me smile just that bit bigger. “You really like this guy don’t you?” She at one point interrupts me. I raise an eyebrow at her “Don’t get your hopes up mom, we’re just friends. But you’re right he is very important to me.” She smiles at that answer “If you say so honey.” I roll my eyes at her “I’m serious mom! He has a girlfriend so me and him are just friends.” “Well you know what they say honey. Everything can be broken.” I look at her in genuine shock, did she really just say that? “MOOOM!” she just laughs at me “I’m not saying you should break them up. I’m just saying that the fact he has a girlfriend now doesn’t mean he’ll have that girlfriend for the rest of his life…” I’m still not fully believing my mom is actually saying all of this.. “Oooookay… I think this is my cue to go upstairs and lie down for a bit..” I say while getting up from the couch and making my way upstairs.
I lie down on my bed but before I let myself drift off to sleep I decide to check in on Charlie. “Hey you! How are you holding up? If you ever need me I’m here okay? 😊” I almost instantly get a reaction “Not even passed out as soon as you got home? I’m impressed nugget! Thanks for checking on me though. I’m fine!” i sigh, I’m fine? I hated that I couldn’t see his face right now, his face would have told me if he was actually fine or not. Now I was gonna have to trust him on his word and i'm not sure that i could.. i had no other choice though so i reply : “I mean.. I had a pretty good sleep on the drive home, so you know.. didn’t feel the need to pass out right away! Glad to hear you’re doing okay!” “Yeah I noticed, thanks for drooling all over my shoulder btw 😉!” I felt my eyes grow wide, drooling over his shoulder? I didn’t actually do that right? I don’t think I noticed a wet spot on his shoulder when hugging him goodbye.. “I DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO THAT DID I?” “Haahahhaha, Calm down. You didn’t I’m just messing with ya!” I swear I could hear his laugh in my head when I read that. I knew he liked to mess with me and I kept falling for it.. was I ever gonna learn? Did I even want to learn? If I was being honest I actually kinda liked it when he was messing with me? For some reason I actually thought it was funny instead of annoying.. I had to give it to him this boy really could get away with anything.
After camp Charlie and I soon fell back into our routine of texting all day and Face timing all night until eventually one of us (usually me) would pass out. Weeks passed just like that and all things considered Charlie seemed to be doing okay. He definitely had his down moments and even though he wouldn’t always tell me he was feeling down, I got quite good at noticing when something wasn’t right. Which then led to him being honest with me and in the end thanking me for always listening to him. At this point in time he was actually feeling good about living with his grandma, he of course missed his dad terribly much but had admitted that it was really nice to not live in constant tension anymore. The peace that came with it had been more welcome than he had imagined. And apparently charlie’s mom enjoyed being closer to her own mom too cause they were now looking for their own place around here. Looks like Charlie is here to stay for a while not that we had met up yet like we said we would.. but this was gonna give me the opportunity do so many many times. maybe I should just ask him to hang out sometime? But what if he doesn’t want to? I don’t wanna seem weird or needy? My overthinking is stopped by the buzzing of my phone.
I’m surprised to see Emma’s name on the screen. Emma? I hadn’t spoken to her since the moment she left camp I wonder what she wants? I think to myself as I open her text “Hey Y/N! How are you doing?” Oh so she’s just checking in with me? That’s nice! “Hey Emma! I’m doing pretty good actually, how are you? 😊” “Glad to hear that! I’m not doing to well actually..” “ohh..what’s up ems?” There’s a few minutes of being left on read before I get an answer “I’m thinking about breaking up with Charlie..” That is the last thing I expected her to say and I just sit there in shock for a moment not sure of what to say to her. Should I try and stop her? Save Charlie from heartbreak? Should I encourage her? Should I tell Charlie about this? “Em.. Are you sure about this? What is making you think about doing this?” “Well.. I kind of haven’t been in love with him for about 6 months now… but I he means so much to me I don’t want to lose him.. so I’m thinking of asking him to take a break so I can figure my own feelings out.” 6 MONTHS? SHE HAS NOT LOVED HIM FOR 6 MONTHS? No wonder she was so chill with me and Charlie hanging out at camp.. SHE DIDN’T FREAKING CARE ANYMORE. I feel myself getting mad.. how could she do this to him?! I wanted to yell at her I wanted to call Charlie now and tell him what was going on. But that was not my place.. so I take a deep breath and try to reply as calmly as I can “Ooh..jeesh Emma this is not good… this is not fair to him. you got to talk to him about this he deserves to know the truth..” “No I know y/n.. I’ll talk to him.. Thanks for your advice.. I’ll keep you up to date!” My advice?! All I did was telling her to talk to Charlie about this, she couldn’t have come up with that herself?! Why did she even include me in this? It’s not gonna take long before Charlie starts talking about this to me.. and I’m not even gonna be able to say anything.. I hated it.
I can barely finish that thought before I see Charlies name pop up on my screen and I instantly open his message “Nugget.. help? Emma wants to talk to me.. this can’t be good right?” No Charlie, you're right it is far from good, she's gonna straight up break your heart. is what I wanted to say so desperately but couldn’t.. “Oh eh I don’t know? it could be about anything right? Did she say anything about what or when?” “yeah I guess.. she didn’t say anything about the topic but she wanted to do it later this week. But something is up i cant tell.. so I told her I needed her to talk to me tonight and she eventually agreed..” SHE WAS GONNA MAKE HIM WAIT AS WELL? THIS GIRL… “good that you told her she needed to talk to you today. Whatever it is it’s better to get it out of the way right?.. Keep me up to date okay Chewie?” “Yeah I will.” “Good luck!*hug*”
Poor dude.. he had no clue what was coming for him.. the rest of the day I feel restless, I feel like a horrible person for keeping something so big from Charlie and I can’t help but try to imagine what he must be feeling right now. The silence from his side is way too long and way too loud to my liking.. I'm literally about to fall asleep when my phone buzzes and I see it’s a text from Charlie my heartbeat instantly quickens.. “hey.. you still awake?” “Yeah of course I am Charlie.. You okay?” typing dots appear and they disappear again. That happens a few times and I’m starting to get worried.. “No.. No I’m not. I broke up with her.” That catches me of guard.. He broke up with her? What happened there? “You what? What happened?” “ Well long story short, she basically told me she hadn’t really been in love with me anymore for the past six months, so she asked me to have a little break so she could figure out her feelings? I’m not gonna sit here and wait for her to maybe fall back in love with me y/n. if she was gonna love me again that would have happened already, so I had to end things with her.” before i can say something charlie adds "I'm so mad and heartbroken at the same time.. you know what she meant to me and then she does this.." I wanted nothing more than to wrap him into a hug right now but I couldn’t.. so I did the next best thing I could come up with “ I’m so sorry Charlie, this is not what you deserved at all.. I don’t even really know what to say right now.. I just want to give you a big hug. Do you maybe want to meet up tomorrow? Hang out? Talk about things or distract yourself for a while? If not that’s totally fine too!” All of my doubts form before were out of the window all I knew was that Charlie now needed a friend and I was ready to be that friend if he wanted me to. “I would love that Nugget. I could use a hug from you right now.” “Well hold that thought. Tomorrow I’ll give you all the hugs you need.” Charlie and I text a bit more and then decide on meeting up in a park that’s , by bus, only 15 minutes away from both of our houses.
The next day I wake up bright and early, I can’t help but feel a bit nervous about meeting Charlie today. We’ve had spend plenty of time together on camp and it had been just the two of us plenty of times then. But now outside of camp and in those circumstances of him being heartbroken but also single for the first time.. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just knew I was gonna be a friend to him, setting all my own feelings aside and focusing on his. Making sure he was okay cause after all that’s all I really cared about. I’m about to get out of my bed when my phone buzzes it’s a message from Charlie saying that he can’t wait to hug me in a few hours. I tell him I can’t wait to give him all the hugs either and then decide on taking a shower.
Even though he has literally seen me at worst, in my grossest clothing and even though I know he wouldn’t care what I showed up in I decide on making an effort. Curling my hair, putting on the tiniest bit of make-up, wearing my new Linkin park shirt with a cute flannel on top.. it may not sound like much but for someone who usually doesn’t put in any effort this was quite something, maybe deep down I hoped he would be slightly impressed or at least would like the way I looked.. I go downstairs to have some breakfast and then leave the house on my way to the park. Lucky for us it’s a nice day out not too hot and not too cold, the sun was out a perfect day to chill outside really. Before I know it I’m standing at the bus stop right in front of the park waiting for Charlie to arrive. His bus arrives only 5 minutes later, but those 5 minutes felt like the longest 5 minutes of my life. Just seeing that bus and knowing he was in there made my heartbeat speed up and as soon as I first see him my heart skips a beat. All I wanna do is run up to him and fly around his neck and never let go but I contain myself not knowing what he needs or wants right now I was gonna have to let him take the lead and let me know what I could do for him right now.
As soon as it’s safe Charlie runs onto the street towards me, in pure instinct I open my arms for him and he runs into them picking me up and spinning me around before putting me down again but not letting go of me. I had gotten a lot of hugs from him and they always had been tight but this might have been the tightest one yet he clearly wasn’t lying when he told me he needed this. “hey” is all I can get myself to say while being wrapped up in his hug, there’s no reply coming from him and for a second I’m not sure what to do or say next so I just hold him. “wanna.. maybe take a walk?” I ask him after something that felt like 30 minutes but was probably more like a minute. I can feel him nod and then he slowly lets go of me.
We make our way into the park and just start wandering around. I want to ask him how he's doing i wanna know if he's okay, but that feels like a stupid thing to ask cause he clearly isn't doing okay right now. But then what do you ask or say to someone who had just gotten his heartbroken? should i maybe say something completely random? get his mind away from where ever it was at? I was desperately trying to come up with something but nothing seemed good enough so we just walked in silence for a good while. Then out of no where Charlie takes my hand in his. "can we sit down for a second?" he asks me while pointing towards a bench up ahead. i give his hand a light squeeze "Yeah, of course. we'll do whatever you want Charlie." He leads me to the bench and then sits down, still holding his hand i sit down next to him as i wait for him to say something.
I can see him taking a big breath in before finally saying something. "She really meant the world to me you know.." i was not gonna lie. He had mentioned before that she was so important to him but in the times i saw them together had never really seen or understood why.. as if he was reading my mind he continued "probably didn't always look like that huh? I know you mainly saw things not going as smooth between me and her. i know you heard me complain about her.. but she really did make me happy.." I give his hand a squeeze "It doesn't matter what i saw or heard Char, she made you happy i believe you..I.." He shakes his head "I don't need you to believe me Y/n, i need you to understand.." "Okaay, talk to me then.."
Charlie takes another deep breath "alright, so uuhh.. i met her almost 4 years ago but 4 years ago i wasn't the person that i am now. 4 years ago i was at a very low point in life, my parents had just started getting into bigger and more intense fights. i had to go to a new school cause that whole thing wasn't going well, which apparently also ment losing some of my best friends, i really liked this girl but she ended up being the worst, she played me and stole from me. people at my new school really had it out for me and took every opportunity they could find to bring me down.. it's not that i hated myself during that time but i did hate life, i felt like i was going through everything all alone, felt like no one cared or understood, felt like i didn't even care about anything anymore. I was lonely, scared, lost in life and that's when i met Emma. She was nice to me, she was willing to hang out with me, she loved the same music, we had fun, she introduced me to her friends, she dragged me along to things she went to.. She gave me back an actual life, with her i had a place where i belonged, where i felt home and safe. She pulled me out of the depression i was in.. If there's a God i was convinced she was a gift from him to me.." "i.. Charlie i had no idea.. i'm so sorry" he gives me a small smile "it's okay, you couldn't.. most people have no idea. clearly things changed a bit during our relationship though, she turned into this insecure person, she started claiming me, she didn't want me to hang out with other girls even if she knew they were just friends, she mostly wanted to do things with just me.. but through it all she was still that girl who made me feel the things she had been making me feel from the beginning, she was worth it. i gladly gave up half of my life for her cause i loved her.. i still do.. i was really trying to make her happy, to keep her happy to make her truly believe she was the only one for me, to let her know how grateful i was to have her in my life. I tried so hard y/n.. just not hard enough apparently.." My heart is breaking all over again for him, i let go of his hand and wrap my arm around his shoulder sort of hugging him closer to me. "Please don't think like that. You can't blame yourself for this.." a soft, low 'hmm' is all i get as a response. "Charlie. look at me.." he doesn't.. and i sigh, removing my arm from around his shoulder taking his face in my hands forcing him to look at me. "You can't blame yourself for this. you did EVERYTHING for her Charlie. She should be the grateful one, she should have been honest with you months ago.. she wasnt fair to you, yet you gave her everything. She was so lucky to have you. ANYONE would be so lucky to have you. HECK IM SO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU IN MY LIFE. i will not let you put yourself down because of this Gillespie. I will not let you do that you hear me?"
Charlie just looks at me for a bit while i'm still holding his face and then he laughs, catching me of guard. "i hear you loud and clear.. and i see you very clearly too nugget" i instantly let go of his face "right.. sorry about that i eh.. i don't know why i.. eh.. I just had to make sure i was getting through to you." he smiles at me "Don't worry about it. You did get through to me. You're an amazing person y/n.. you know that right? You're the only one that offered to meet up with me today. Thank you.."
"Hey, no need to thank me. I know you would have done the same for me. This is what we do right? This is what our friendship is. We're here for each other in the good and the bad times." Charlie nods in agreement "true! hey uh.. speaking of good times.. i was supposed to go to this linkin park concert in two weeks.. i was gonna bring Emma with me as a surprise.. do you.. do you maybe wanna go with me?" was he kidding me? A Linkin park concert.. with him? If we didn't just have this deep conversation i would swear this was just a very nice dream.. "I.. YES! i uh.. i mean.. are you sure you want to bring me?" a look of confusion shoots across his face "Why wouldn't i want to bring you? are you kidding me? This friendship basically started with us singing Linkin park. What better way to thank you for everything and celebrate this friendship than going to a concert of the band that started it all?" i throw my arms around charlie pulling in him for the biggest hug "Yes. Yeesss i would love to come with you! Thank you!" i let go of him before continuing "i just.. i thought maybe you would want to bring one of your other friends. Let me know how much the ticket was? i'll repay you!" Charlie shakes his head at me. "nope. I bought it as a gift, it will stay a gift. This is gonna be my first time seeing them live. I'm looking forward to sharing that moment with a best friend like you nugget!" i knew fighting him on this wasn't gonna make a difference, i knew him long enough to know that if he had an idea in mind no one was gonna get it out of there.. we spend the rest of the afternoon just talking and actually end up having a really good time in the park. Sure there were times where Emma came back up and that's okay, this day was all about Charlie and making sure he got had the chance to let it all out, trying to make him feel better. If the amount of times we laughed said something i would say today did him a whole lot of good. We end the afternoon with a very long and tight hug agreeing to meet up again next week to do something fun.
As i'm in the bus on my way home i'm getting lost in my own thoughts.. Would this finally be the start of finally seeing Charlie more often? I for one would not be mad about that, I loved spending time with this boy. I loved this boy, but there's no room for those feelings yet.. I guess only time would tell what was actually gonna happen there.. I at least knew for sure i had the concert to look forward to.. even though i was kinda nervous about that too.. Charlie once mentioned mosh pits and how he thought those were fun.. to me they just seemed scary and i already felt myself getting anxious about possibly getting pulled into one.. HOW WAS I GONNA SURVIVE THAT? I take a deep breath trying to calm myself down, telling myself it will be fun and Charlie would never do that to me.. or maybe i was just hoping really hard he would never do that to me cause what did i know about concert Charlie? i had never gone anywhere with him before.. this was gonna be interesting.
Series Summery: When the reader’s life is ripped away from them, they’re distraught. But with her two best friends and three certain ghosts, maybe the afterlife isn’t so bad after all.
Chapter Summery: The band Sunset Curve was about to have a life-changing concert when they ate some bad hotdogs and died. 25 years later, you’re best friends with the girl who discovers them.
Words: 3,026
A/N: This is pretty much just introducing the characters and their relationships to one another. Things will get more interesting in the next few chapters.Also, the reader is non-binary! <3
lyrics are italicized
Part 2
______________________________________________________
Hollywood 1995
“Don’t look down, ‘cause we’re still rising up right now, and even if we hit the ground we’ll still fly, keep dreaming like we’ll live forever, but live it like it’s now or never.”
The teenaged boys finished their soundcheck, earning scattered applause and even a “whoo!” from the employees working at The Orpheum that night. The band didn’t try to hide their smiles as they took a bow.
“Thank you, we’re Sunset Curve!” one called out.
“Tell your friends!” another added.
“Too bad we wasted the tightest we’ve ever played on a soundcheck,” one said as they set down their instruments.
“Wait until tonight man, when this place gets packed with record execs.”
The boys all nodded, thinking of all the chances of fame they would have after that night.
“Okay, well, I’m thinking we fuel up before the show. I’m thinking street dogs?”
Two of the other boys liked that idea, but the other one had other plans.
Jumping off the stage, he started to make his way over to a young woman who was wiping down tables.
“Hey Bobby, where you going?” the one who had suggested they go get street dogs called out.
“I’m good!” he called out to his bandmates, then said to the girl: “Vegetarian. I could never hurt an animal.”
“You guys are really good,” she said with a smile as the other three guys joined their band member at her table. “I see a lot of bands. Been in a couple myself. I was really feeling it.”
The guys all smiled.
“That’s what we do this for,” one of them said. The tips of his chestnut colored hair almost reached the top of his shirt with cut off sleeves. “I’m Luke, by the way.”
“Hi, I’m Reggie.” Reggie had black hair and was wearing a leather jacket with a red flannel tied around his waist. An interesting combination, but somehow the outfit worked.
“Alex.” A boy with blond hair spoke up from where he was hovering just to the side of the group, wearing a pale pink t-shirt.
“Bobby.” The boy who had first walked over to the girl had brown hair and a sleeveless jacket over a t-shirt.
“Nice meeting you guys. I’m Rose.” The girl smiled at all of them again as Luke licked his finger and stuck it in Bobby’s ear.
“Oh uh, here’s our demo, and a t-shirt, size beautiful.” Reggie handed Rose a CD and a t-shirt, earning a small groan from Alex.
“Thanks. I’ll make sure not to wipe the tables down with this one.”
“Oh, good call. Whenever they get wet, they just kinda fall apart in your hands,” Alex informed her.
“Don’t you guys have to go get hot dogs?” Bobby asked, clearly wanting to talk to Rose without the other three around.
“Yeah.” Luke leaned closer to Rose, as if to tell her a secret. “He had a hamburger for lunch.”
-----
“Man, I can’t wait until we eat someplace where the condiments aren’t served out of the back of an Oldsmobile,” Alex grumbled as he put a pickle on his hot dog. “Hey, sorry, I got some pickle juice on your battery cables.”
“No problem. It’ll help with the rust,” the man cooking hot dogs said with a slight chuckle.
“That can’t….okay.”
The three made their way over to a couch to eat. Before they could dig in, however, Luke started speaking.
“This is awesome, you guys. We’re playing The Orpheum! I can’t even count how many bands have played here and then ended up being huge,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Eat up, boys. ‘Cause after tonight, everything changes.”
They all bit down hungerly into their street dogs.
Alex was the first to notice that something was off. “That’s a new flavor,” he said, a small amount of worry creeping into his tone.
“Chill man. Street dogs haven’t killed us yet.” Reggie tried to calm down his friend.
Luke hesitated for a moment, then took another huge bite.
-----
Los Angeles 2020
You made your way through the hallway, walking fast, faces pass, weaving around people as you tried to reach your locker. You smiled as you saw your two best friends waiting for you.
“Hey, underacheiver,” Flynn said in greeting.
“Hey, disappointments,” you joked back to them. “Okay, Julie, I know you don’t want me to ask, but have you figured out what you’re gonna do today?”
“I’ll know in the moment.” The frizzy-haired girl fiddled with her bracelets as she spoke, the only clue that she was nervous for her proformance later.
“Really, Jules? That’s all your giving us? Mrs. Harrison said-” Flynn was cut off from scolding one of her best friends.
“This is my last chance, I know, I was there,” Julie finished. Flynn smiled softly for a moment, but it turned to a grimace of disgust as she noticed a girl handing out flyers.
“Ugh, what is she handing out?” she questioned.
“Desperation?” you said, only half joking. Julie and Flynn snickered.
However, you put on a smile as the girl walked up to the three of you.
“Here you go. My group’s performing at the spirit rally tomorrow. I’m sure you guys have nothing better to do,” she said, her eyes sweeping over you critically as she handed the flyer to Flynn.
Flynn put on a bright, sarcastic smile. “Oh my gosh, Carrie, thanks!”
“Oh my gosh, Flynn, don’t bother coming!”
The three of you rolled your eyes at Carries retreating back. However, someone else caught Julie’s eye.
“Nick?” you asked, looking between Julie and the blond-haired boy she was staring at.
“Still?” Flynn asked. “You know they’re gonna get married and have a bunch of unholy babies.”
“Nick’s a sweetheart.”
“Yeah, you’d actually have to talk to him to know that,” Flynn said with a small smile. “And only one of them has to be a demon to make a demon baby.”
You nodded your approval of this statement as Flynn called out “Demon!” in Carrie’s direction.
The three of you turned towards the lockers and laughed quietly.
“There’s that smile,” Flynn said, lightly poking both you and Julie’s face. “Now come on, let’s go prove everybody wrong.”
You flinched slightly as she put her arm around you, but tried not to show it.
-----
“Okay, we have one last proformance,” Mrs. Harrison called out. “Julie.”
You squeezed her hand slightly as she stood up and walked over to the piano.
She sat in silence for a moment, before saying “I’m sorry,” and running out of the room, with you and Flynn not far behind.
-----
“I’ll be back to pick you up at 5:30. Have fun at practice, Danny!” you called out after your little brother as he ran to join the baseball team. This was a daily routine for you; drop Danny off at practice, go to Julie’s to study and eat, pick up Danny, go home and endure torture.
You let your mind wander as you walked to Julie’s house, which luckily wasn’t very far from the sports fields. Walking through the front door, you let your bag fall to the ground as you went to go get something to eat.
-----
A few hours later, you were walking back to the sports fields.
“Hey, Danny,” you said once you saw him, ruffling the boy’s hair. “How was practice?”
You paid attention as best you could as he rambled on about what had happened that day, but if you were honest, you didn’t understand a thing about sports. You were just glad your brother had found something that made him happy.
You closed the front door as quietly as you could, not wanting to wake your father. You tip-toed into the kitchen to start making dinner, as you did every night.
“Olivia, is that you?” you mother asked. You winced.
“Yes, mother,” you sighed slightly, afraid to tell her that you had changed your name to Y/N.
“Hurry up and get dinner started. My feet are tired from cleaning all day.”
You wanted to roll your eyes at the excuse that was very obviously a lie, your house was a mess and you knew you would be expected to clean it later, but you didn’t want to get in trouble. So you fell into a robotic sort-of motion that you had developed as a way of hiding your emotions and thoughts from your parents.
Thirty minutes and one burnt fingertip later, dinner was ready and waiting on the table.
“Wake up, Harold, dinner is ready.” Your mother shook your father awake. You knew if you tried that, you would be slapped across the face. By both of them.
However, your father just sat up sleepily and lumbered over to the table. You stood over to the side as your family ate, not being allowed to join them.
“Goddamned roast beef is overcooked again,” he grumbled. You blinked back tears. Such a small thing shouldn’t upset you, you knew, but it did.
You endured the criticism on the meal you had worked hard to make from your mother and father for the next half-hour. Your father declared himself full and snapped his fingers at you. You whisked his plate away before taking your mother’s, too. She never ate after he finished. You took Danny’s too, but only because you knew that your parents disapproved of him still eating.
“Hey,” your father said, his voice already low and dangerous. “Give your brother back his plate. He wasn’t finished yet.”
You set the plate back down, nodding and shaking slightly. “My apologies, father.”
“Don’t appologize to your father, appologize to your brother!” your mother exclaimed, grabbing Danny’s hand from across the table and giving it a squeeze.
“It’s okay, really, I was done,” he hurried to say.
Your mother frowned at him. “Are you sure, darling?”
He nodded.
“Well, okay then…” she said, still frowning slightly. “You may be excused.”
He ran off to his room. You took his plate.
Heading back to the kitchen with a small sigh, you started making a meal for yourself out of what was left, leaving enough so that your family would have leftovers.
You ate silently, thinking about how nice it would be to have a caring family. Of course, Danny cared, but he was too young to stand up to your parents, and you never wanted him to have to. You would protect that boy at all costs.
Holding in a sigh, you cleaned up from dinner, and then pulled out the duster to start to clean the house. You were stopped, however, by your mother.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I- I’m cleaning the house…”
“Didn’t you hear me say earlier that I cleaned it? Are you insulting my cleaning job?”
“N-no, I-”
“You what?” Without waiting for an answer, she slapped you across the face. You struggled to remain emotionless; your face stung.
You thought it was over, but then your father joined in.
“What’s this Jennifer? Is Olivia insulting your hard work?”
“It’s Y/N…” you muttered quietly. Your father overheard and put his face uncomfortably close to yours.
“As long as you’re living under my roof it will always be Olivia. And even if you could change your name, that doesn’t change your gender, freak,” he spat.
“I know,” you whispered.
He slapped you.
“Don’t talk back to me.”
Blinking back tears, you stood still as they walked away. Eventually, you remembered the duster in your hand. Placing it back on the shelf, you walked back up to your room, hoping you would be able to escape them for the rest of the night.
-----
The next morning as you and Danny were walking to Julie’s house to go to school, you heard something you hadn’t heard in a long time: music. Julie was singing.
“Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do, look out, look inside of you, it’s not what you lost, it’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain.” You smiled. It had been so long since you last heard her voice, and her music was a gift to the world.
You walked into the studio alone, Danny having gone to talk to Carlos. Julie looked up with small tears in her eyes, seeing you standing there, smiling. She smiled back.
“It’s so nice to hear you play again.”
Julie smiled wider. “Thanks.”
Just then, Flynn burst in.
“Carlos told me you’d be out here. We need to talk.” She crossed the room to where the two of you stood by the piano.
“Are you okay?” you asked, noticing the tears running down her face.
“No, I’m not okay! One of my best friends just got kicked out of music! I’ve been up all night thinking about what I was gonna say. Might’ve drank seven sodas, but I need to get this out.”
“Wait, I have something to tell you-”
“No. It’s my turn to talk.” Flynn took a deep breath. “You can’t give up music. You’re music’s like a gift, that would be a tragedy. So you’re basically, like, cancelling Christmas, and I love Christmas!”
“Flynn-” you started to say, but she cut you off.
“Uh-uh! I don’t know why you’re siding with her, Y/N. I know you like hearing her play.”
You knew Flynn didn’t mean to hurt you, but her words stung a little. You nodded once and retreated back into yourself slightly. Flynn was too emotional (and sleep deprived) to notice.
“When we were six, we promised to be in a band together. Double Trouble!”
“I never agreed to that name,” Julie said, laughing slightly.
“That’s not the point. Jules, if you leave the music program, we’ll be apart forever. That’s just what happens. Sure, we’ll see each other in the hall sometimes, but we’ll have different lives, make new friends…” Flynn said the last part quieter. You could tell she hated the thought of losing one of her best friends.
“That’s not true,” Julie reassured her, but Flynn wasn’t finished.
“You’re right. I won’t be making any new friends. I’ll only have Y/N, and they’re amazing but I’d miss you Jules! And the only time we’ll contact each other is when we’re liking each other’s posts on Instagram. Every time I’ll be hitting that little heart, my heart will be breaking because one of my best friend’s left me, and… do you have any soda? My head hurts.”
“Can I talk now?” Julie asked tentatively.
“Fine.”
“I just played the piano and sang again. Y/N can confirm it.” You nodded when Flynn looked at you excitedly.
“What? Why didn’t you just say so?” She asked, practically bouncing with joy.
“She was trying to, but then your seven soda’s kicked in,” you answered with a small laugh.
Flynn was grinning from ear to ear now. “I’m so happy for you! And me! And Y/N!”
You all hugged, but Flynn pulled away quickly, gasping. “We need to tell Mrs. Harrison that you can play so you can stay in school and my life won’t be that sad picture I just painted for you!”
You giggled as Flynn put her arms around both of you. “Y/N, our girl’s back. Double Trouble lives again!”
“Still not our band name,” giggled Julie.
-----
“Did you end up getting back into the music program?” you asked Julie at the end of your study session for the day. She looked down at her shoes, and you knew what the answer would be before she said it:
“No. No I didn’t.”
You tried not to look too disappointed for her sake. “Oh. I’m really sorry, Jules.”
“It’s…” she sighed. “It’s okay. I can reapply next semester.”
You hugged her.
“Oh hey, I almost forgot to tell you,” she said right as you were about to walk out of the door. “We decided not to move.”
Despite the news that one of your best friends was no longer in the music program, a smile lit up your face. “That’s great!” you said, pulling her in for another quick hug. Then you walked out the door, not wanting to be late to pick up Danny.
-----
“Check it out, yeah we make ‘em say Wow!” Carrie bowed as her band, Dirty Candi, finished their dance number. You were at the spirit rally, saving a seat for Julie and Flynn, who were nowhere to be found.
Suddenly Flynn plopped down beside you.
“Oh hey, where were you?” you asked the girl.
She tried to blow a piece of hair out of her face, frowning slightly when it wouldn’t move. “I was in the band room. I wasn’t feeling very… spirt-y.” You both chuckled slightly.
“Where’s Jules?” You looked around for the other girl, but couldn’t see her.
As if in response to your question, music filled the gym as someone started to play the piano on the stage. You looked up to see Julie, alone on stage, with a spotlight on her.
“Sometime’s I think I’m falling down, I wanna cry, I’m calling out, for one more try, to feel alive,” she sang, her voice echoing slightly as it filled the room. You smiled, happy she was singing again.
Then suddenly, there were three boys on stage with her.
“Whoa!” Flynn exclaimed.
“Where did those boys come from?” you asked in amazement. Julie seemed a little shocked that they were there too. One of them, the lead guitarist you guessed, started singing the second verse.
“In times that I doubted myself, I felt like I needed some help,” he sang.
“Whoa, he has a really good voice,” you said, your mouth hanging open slightly.
You found yourself staring at him as the song went on. You could tell that he really enjoyed playing, and found yourself getting caught up in the music.
“And rise, through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together, bright forever!” Julie harmonized with the boys, finishing the song. You started clapping with the rest of the crowd that had gathered to watch, proud of your friend.
Then, as suddenly as they appeared, the boys were gone.
Luke has always been an anchor to Reggie, keeping him safe even when the seas got rough and thunderclouds drew in. It’s been the same throughout this whole ghost experience. When nothing seems steady and nothing makes sense, Luke is still there like a beacon of light. So really, how could Reggie not be totally in love with him? Feeling a little miserable and sorry for himself, Reggie is sitting atop the Hollywood sign in the rain, as he reflects on all the little moments, all the opportunities he could’ve taken, all the what ifs that could’ve come from them if he’d only been a little braver.
hey yall, happy Big Bang! This is the are I made for @you-are-constance 's amazing fic, "If I Still Exist Tomorrow" (go team 1!!!) It the cover of an imaginary intern's magazine for Hollywood Ghost Club, so if you would be interested in reading that, go read the fic here!! It's really good and I would recommend if I didn't even know Constance!
s/o to our cheerleader @localspacelesbian ur the best babe
Hi! This is my contribution to the JATP gift exchange @jatp-gift-exchange (and also to the takeover today lmao). This is for @molinashimbos, I hope you enjoy!!
(I also tagged people on my taglist for fics on my writing account, rhys-writes-sometimes. I hope that's okay)
Words: 281
Summery: Julie had a bad day, but the boys are there to comfort her
“Hey, dad,” Julie sighed as she walked into her house.
“Hi, mija.” Ray frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Bad day.”
Ray sat at the table, facing his daughter. “Do you wanna…?” He gestured to the chair across from him.
“Not really,” Julie sighed again. “I’m just gonna go start on my homework.”
Ray nodded and stood up, watching Julie walk up the stairs.
Julie flopped down on her bed and stared at her ceiling. Before she could start on her homework, however, she heard a knock on her door.
“Come in,” she called, not having the energy to sit up.
She heard the woosh of three ghosts walking through her door and her bed shift as they sat down beside her.
“...Julie?” Luke asked hesitantly.
“Hi guys,” she muttered dejectedly.
Reggie poked her leg. Luke shook his head at him.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked.
“I had a bad day,” she said, finally sitting up.
“Oh,” Reggie muttered. He moved in to hug her, but stopped himself first. “Is- is it okay if I hug you?”
The girl turned to him with a small smile and nodded. Reggie smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her, leaning his head on her shoulder. Luke hugged her from the other side, buring his face in her hair. Alex leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her as best he could given the two boys on either side of her.
“Thanks guys,” she murmured.
Luke moved so his mouth was right next to her ear.
“It’ll be okay, mariposa,” he whispered so only she could hear. “You’ve got the music inside of you.” She could almost hear the grin in his voice. “Plus, you’ve got us.”
