i had time to think it all over (and all i can say is come closer)
“Luke’s eyes trail between the blushes on his friends’ faces—the outward evidence that they’re flirting, right in front of him—and, even though he was the one to suggest it, to witness it with his own two eyes, suddenly he feels his own face flush red, for a different reason.
Unexplainable anger coils its way up his spine as his body stiffens, almost as if he’s preparing for a fight. Preparing to lash out — but at what? Why does he feel angry?"
Or: three times a member of sunset curve thought their bandmates were dating, and the one time they were right.
A joint submission from me and @molinapattersons for @secretlovesongsfest ! Link in reblogs <3
buckle up for some angst (lol get it?) alrighty, so this would also take place in a universe where the boys weren't saved/crossed over somehow and it would have happened before Julie's 16th birthday (which holy shit means she had like no time with them and NOW I'M SAD) but it's Julie's 16th birthday, and she goes to get her drivers license. she passes it on the first test because our girl is a boss, and Ray lets her drive home. they pull up in front of the house and SURPRISE! Tía and Carlos are out front with a familiar car that has a bow on top. it's Rose's car, which Julie thought her dad had maybe sold, but nope it's been in storage at Tía's garage and now it belongs to Julie. there's hugs and kisses and then Ray tosses her the keys and says "why don't you take it for a spin? maybe go grab Flynn and get some celebratory ice cream" and Julie gets in the car and starts driving, only to find herself somehow ending up outside of the Patterson household. it hits her then, she and Luke had always talked about how when she got her license he was gonna burn a mixed CD of the best road trip playlist ever and they were gonna drive around for hours, singing at the top of their lungs and reveling in Julie's newfound freedom. Luke was always so excited for it too, he never got his license because he ran away from home and he knew any car Julie drove would be a lot cleaner than Bobby's band van and he had a whole list of spots he wanted them to go together, all his favorite places in LA. she can feel herself getting emotional so she tries to turn the radio on, only to find that at some point Luke did make the road trip playlist and then used some kind of ghost magic to put it in the car's CD player (she's not sure how he knew she would end up with Rose's car, or even where to find it, but she's not surprised because Luke was just *like that* and that breaks her heart even more). she goes on a solo trip, driving to all the places he had told her about, playing their music, alternating between singing and crying her eyes out and sometimes both. on her way home she passes by his house again, and for a split second she thinks she can hear him laughing, but no, it's just the end of the CD where he has apparently recorded one final message: the only thing sweeter than 16 is you, happy birthday Julie. I love you. she can't bring herself to drive down his street or past his places ever again.
#37: jealousy, jealousy by olivia rodrigo
ooo this is a fun one! I would write it as a two-parter with part one being Julie's POV and part two being Carrie's POV. Julie's POV would be from before the boys show up, the time right after she lost Carrie as a friend and then everything else went to shit right along with it. different moments where Julie feels like she's lost everything and then whomp there's Carrie in the background living the dream. she's got a pretty face, pretty boyfriend too and Julie hates how jealous she is of everything Carrie seems to be. then it switches to Carrie's POV, which takes place after the boys show up, and it's basically paralleled moments from Julie's part but this time Carrie is the one feeling like everything is falling apart while Julie is thriving. Carrie can't get over it, can't stop thinking all I see is what I should be, happier, prettier and the very end would be the moment at the Orpheum where all the sudden, the jealousy cracks, and she realizes that's Julie up there. her childhood best friend, the girl she once saw as a sister, the same girl she's watched shrink smaller and smaller without her mom and for once, Carrie isn't jealous. instead, she's happy. so incredibly happy that Julie has made it this far, despite all of her losses, despite Carrie's vitriol, despite everything, she made it and she's shining, and the show comes to and end and slowly, Carrie stands and applauds because it's exactly what Julie deserves.
#81: baby by jack rabbit
this song lives on my juke playlist and my god if I could do this fic justice I would write it in a heartbeat. it would be pure, unadulterated juke fluff. the boys would be alive (maybe they've always been alive, maybe they came back to life, either one works) and Julie and Luke are in their mid-late 20s, settled and happy in both the band and their relationship. the kind of settled that feels like everything has finally aligned, and the days feel long and light, and even the hardships don't feel so hard because at the end of every day they crawl into bed with each other and the world rights itself by morning. there would be big moments (like first grammy win, Willie and Alex getting married, moving in together, Luke proposing, their wedding) and all of them would be underscored by smaller moments shared just between the two of them (like when Luke pulls her close on stage at the grammy's and whispers "we did it, boss. don't forget to thank Principal Lessa", when they're watching Alex and Willie have their first dance and Luke's hand finds Julie's beneath the table and they look at each other with the kind of knowing glint that they'll be next, when they're exhausted and surrounded by cardboard boxes and empty beer bottles after moving sprawled out on an air mattress and smiling like fools because they won't ever have to spend a single night apart again, the way Luke's eyes practically drown Julie with love and adoration as he drops to one knee, the feeling of waking up together for the first time as husband and wife, hungover and happier than they've ever been before). because if they have each other, they have everything they need. it's that kind of bone deep feeling of rightness, that feeling of coming home and just kind of knowing, they were always meant to be.
Send me a number 1-100 and I’ll say which song it corresponds with on my top 100 playlist, and what kind of fic I would write if the song name was a fic title.
“I need a hug. A six hour one.” (I just sat here for far too long trying to pick a ship, so you pick! But put Reggie in it 💕)
you’re simply the best
2500+ words / read on ao3!
Reggie in the loft isn’t a surprise. Even Reggie pouting isn’t a surprise, because sometimes even Reggies have bad days.
A shoe sailing straight for his head, however, is a surprise.
“Yo!” Bobby hits the ground to avoid getting hit. The sneaker bounces harmlessly next to him, with a dull thud that might’ve been Bobby’s skull. Reggie’s already shrinking back, not bothering to see if his projectile hit its target. “Hey, asshole,” Bobby shouts, “what was that for?”
“You know what!”
Bobby goes over the past twenty-four hours, feeling out anything that might’ve made Reggie that mad. “No, I really don’t,” he says. “What’d I do?”
32. Summary of Snap, one of my most popular fics on Tumblr: Alex breaks his arm and Willie is there to help.
34. This excerpt is one of my favourites from Silent Days (@ace-bookworm mostly because this scene led to Flarrie Village):
Carrie brought them to a halt, counted down from three, and then took her hands away from Flynn’s eyes. Flynn took in the scene and felt her jaw hit the floor in astonishment. Directly ahead of her was what looked to be a temporary ice rink, ringed by a flimsy-looking wooden fence. It was big, large enough for a hundred people, and there were children, adults, and even elderly people skating around on its surface. Wooden stalls had been erected all around it, decorated with glowing yellow fairy-lights and strung with wintery blue bunting. Some sold food, some sold drinks, and one was handing out ice skates. There were picnic benches and tables where resting families were sat, plus a firepit in the middle of the eating area, and the whole thing gave off a comfortable, cosy vibe.
Flynn turned to Carrie, wide-eyed, amazed. “This is what you had in mind?” Carrie nodded, hope in her eyes. “This is insane! It’s beautiful!”
Carrie gave an audible sigh of relief. “For a moment there I thought you were going to say you hated it.”
Flynn raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding? How could I hate this? Look at it!”
“My dad and I come here every year,” Carrie said, smiling reminiscently. “We have done for as long as I can remember. It’s my favourite place in the whole world, while it’s here. It’s the opening night tonight, so when you said I should pick the date, this was the first thing that came to mind. You… you don’t think it’s silly, do you?”
There was some fragile worry in Carrie’s eyes, something that showed Flynn just how desperate she was to have got this right. Flynn grabbed her hand and smiled brightly.
“It’s not silly at all,” she assured her. “But I’m warning you, I’m going to look silly. I’ve never skated before in my life.”
Carrie tugged her hand, leading her over to the skate vendor and joining the queue. “I was hoping you would say that. Now I can teach you.”
Flynn felt her heart flutter and suppressed a wider smile. “I hope you’re prepared to be patient with me.”
“I’ll try,” Carrie agreed. “But you know me. It won’t last long.”
OKAY I’m annoying lol but 1 & 11 for peterpatter please 💕
it took me a hot second but i DID IT <33
1. "You're cold." "Am not." 11. "Come to bed."
Luke Patterson was not known for impulse control. He was reckless, he was stubborn, he was far too passionate for his own good. He was the kind of person to take off running before his brain could even register that he was in motion, leaving life to catch up with him instead of the other way around. It was what had him forming a band, had him quitting school, had him running away from home, because, at his core, it was always music, wasn’t it? Music was what drove his rash decisions, second only to thoughts of his friends, but with his only friends being the band, it was really still music behind it all. Sometimes, he wonders what a life without it would even look like. Where would he possibly be if he removed that lens, picked away at its hold on him little by little. Would he go to college? Would he have stayed at home? Would he even have met Reggie, Bobby, and Alex?
He was not known for his impulse control, or his rational thoughts, which had led him here to the garage in the first place—not just weeks ago when he got on his bike and didn’t look back, but now, sitting in the driveway in an old flannel and scratching out lyrics by the dim light of the wall sconce and half a moon. It was well past midnight. Hell, probably closer to dawn than anything, but he hadn’t been able to sleep with the melodies wrapping around his brain. It was funny to think he could ever even try to fathom a life without music, not when it followed him even to sleep—er, lack thereof.
“And rise through the night, You and I will shine together… No…” Luke muttered the words in rhythm, frowning as they didn’t fit like he had hoped. It was missing something, but what? His fingers tapped impatiently against his leg, matching the cadence of footsteps on pavement that he had yet to notice. A weight settled at his side, instinctively shivering as they pressed against his arm. Luke looked away from his notebook, finding Reggie’s clear green eyes staring back at him.
“H- Hey,” he muttered, blinking rapidly as if to make sure it wasn’t a hallucination or a dream. “What’re you doin’ here?”
Reggie shrugged against him, head falling onto his shoulder. “Bad night, had to get out.”
Luke raised a brow, taking in Reggie’s flushed cheeks and rumpled fleece pajama pants. He didn’t see his bike anywhere, meaning he had most likely ran here, which was not a very easy feat from his house. “At… ass o’ clock in the morning? They were that bad tonight?”
“Yeah it’s just Fridays, y’know?”
Luke shut his notebook fully, reaching behind to pull Reggie closer to him. Of course he had forgotten about Fridays: the days when Reggie’s dad got too drunk to walk and stayed up far later than usual, which earned quite a bit of yelling from Reggie’s mom about his habits and what example he was setting. Luke remembered being younger and spending the night at the Peters’ house, hearing these arguments for himself over the movie they had tried to drown it out with. Apparently, they hadn’t stopped, but Reggie hadn’t had to flee the house from it in a long while, so Luke thought maybe, at least, they were improving. How foolish of him.
Reggie melted further into his side, letting out a small hum into Luke’s neck that had another instinctive shiver rocketing down his spine. Reggie laughed, looking at him with a quirked brow. “You’re cold.”
“Am not,” Luke countered, a flush burning across his cheeks. It was true—that wasn’t why he had shivered at all. He was perfectly cozy in his flannel, in fact. It was Reggie that was the problem, as he buried his face back into Luke’s shoulder, nose brushing his collarbone where the flannel fell away. They’d danced around it all: the touching, the teasing, the feelings. They were the two most tactile of the group, so it only made sense that they were consistently draped against each other in some way, holding hands or idly tracing shapes on whatever sliver of skin they could find. It had always been a comfort more than a problem.
Now, it was a problem. Now, it made Luke’s heart beat a little too fast, his cheeks turn a little too pink. And worse, Reggie seemed to notice it. He delighted far too much in pulling those reactions from Luke, being much bolder in his affections. It wasn’t like, flirting. They weren’t attracted to each other or anything. Reggie was just a bastard sometimes, who liked to watch Luke squirm, only, Luke wasn’t too sure why he got so flustered anymore.
Reggie seemed to notice that he was to blame for Luke’s reactions, and his grin only grew. “Yeah?” He leaned back into where he had settled on his shoulder, breath ghosting across Luke’s throat. It took all of Luke’s self control to not shake again, his lip tugging between his teeth. “Sure you’re not cold?” Reggie whispered.
“If anyone’s cold, it’s gonna be you,” he argued, digging his fingers a little tighter into Reggie’s bare arm.
“You could keep me warm?”
Luke’s nose crinkled as he laughed, staring down at Reggie who was biting back a laugh of his own. “Stop that.”
“Stop what?” Reggie teased, poking at Luke’s blushing cheeks.
“You know wha– Just stop. Shut up, come on.” Luke stammered, pulling his arm away and standing up. Reggie looked crestfallen for a moment, until Luke reached out a hand. With a bubbling laugh, Reggie took it and let himself be pulled to his feet.
Their hands stayed linked as Luke pulled open the garage door, his notebook getting tossed unceremoniously onto the table as Reggie surged ahead of him. With a huff, Reggie tugged towards the couch, but Luke stayed where he was, shaking his head with a soft smile. “Chill, bro. You’re so impatient.”
Reggie’s pout deepened, his hand dropping from Luke’s as he flopped onto the couch. Luke rolled his eyes, grabbing his book and heading for the loft. He shrugged off his flannel and dug through the garbage bag that contained most of his earthly belongings for a cleaner cut-off and some shorts. He very pointedly ignored Reggie’s wolf whistle as he changed, sending a middle finger somewhere over the railing. Judged by the cackle in response, he had found his mark.
“Come to bed,” Reggie whined, rolling up on his elbows to watch as Luke came back down the ladder.
“And if I say no?” Luke made no advance towards the couch or Reggie’s reaching hands, cursing how breathless the question came out, how his heart pounded in his chest.
Reggie seemed to ponder it a moment before falling back to the couch with a sigh. “Then I’ll just cry.”
“Well we don’t want that, do we?” Reggie turned his head, the dramatic melancholy on his face dropping as Luke dropped onto him. “Scoot over.”
There was not very much room on the couch, so even as Reggie scooted further against the back cushions, Luke was still half on top of him, arms wrapped snugly around his waist. Reggie let out a content hum and buried his face into Luke’s chest. “Thank you,” he murmured, lifting up to press a kiss to his jaw that had him letting out a shaky breath.
“Yeah, anytime, you know that.” He returned the favor as Reggie’s head dipped back down, plopping a kiss into his hair. “Though if I fall off this couch tonight, you’re never sleeping here again.”
2. "Please?" "Those eyes won't work on me this time."
Alex blinked and squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden bright flash of light, letting out an instinctive groan. He reached out, hands shoving aside layers of blankets and sheets, but it proved fruitless. Willie's side of the bed was empty. He groaned again, his eyes cracking open. When he turned his head to the source of the light, he finally found him. Willie was standing in front of the window, grinning fondly at where Alex was burrowed into the covers. "Morning, angel."
Alex frowned, glaring at the rising sun and the forest beyond it. "Why. Why do you hate me?"
Willie quirked a brow, and when they tucked their hair behind their ear, Alex caught the glint of the gold band on their finger. "Sure about that one?"
"Yes," Alex continued to pout. "You must hate me. Why else would you be waking me up so early, if you didn't hate me?"
"Because I love you, and if you slept in you would hate yourself?"
"Stop being right and come back to bed." Alex reached out, making a grabbing motion. Willie only laughed, stepping towards the bed and tangling their hands together, but he didn't make any further move to get back in bed.
"Up," they said, trying to pull Alex up from the covers.
"Down," Alex countered, pulling back. Willie stumbled a little, shaking his head with fond exasperation.
"Babe, we have to get going. We still have to check out and catch our flight." Willie squeezed his hands and tried to walk away, but Alex pulled again.
"Please?" He blinked up at Willie with exaggerated puppy eyes.
"Those eyes won't work on me this time."
"Ah, so you admit they normally work?" Alex grinned, giving one last tug that almost had Willie falling back against him. Almost, but not quite.
"I plead the fifth," Willie hummed, leaning down for a quick kiss. Alex arched up into him, smiling contentedly at his victory. While he was distracted, Willie pulled away, escaping his reaching hands. "Now, let's go. As much as I would love to stay on our honeymoon forever, I do not thing the resort would be too happy with us."
"Ugh, fine," Alex huffed, pushing back the blankets and sitting up. When his feet were firmly on the floor, he reached out again. "One more kiss at least, for my effort?"
"Yes, so proud of you," Willie hummed, pulling Alex in for a softer kiss. His hands settled on Alex's hips, thumb brushing across the sliver of skin exposed by his shirt. Alex shivered, melting against him and twisting his fingers into their hoodie.
"Love you," Alex whispered when they finally pulled away, his lips twitching up into a smirk, "Mr. Mercer."
"Love you too, Mr. Ortega."
Alex's nose crinkled. "I did not agree to that in our vows. Or on our certificate."
man i SO wish i had chaos_elmo for this. our boys !!!
from this prompt list
17. “I’m fine, honest.” “Let me see.” // 43. “I’ve never met a more stubborn person in my life.” “You like it.” “Do I?” //48. “Don’t lie to me. I’m like a bloodhound. But for lies.” (CW for blood mentions bc luke's a klutz)
"What did you two do?"
Both Luke and Willie froze where they were crowded against the sink, Luke's leg inside the basin while Willie all but held him up, the water splashing a suspiciously red color. "Nothing!" Luke chimed immediately, wrenching the water shut and scrambling off of the counter. His haste set Willie off balance, their hands still held tight to Luke's waist, and for a moment it looked like they were both going to hit the tile. Bobby was there in an instant, eyes flashing wide as they set Luke's feet firmly on the floor, and he tried not to fret too hard about how Luke winced while putting pressure on his leg.
"What. Did you do?" Bobby asked again, arms crossed as he stared his partners down.
"Nothing," Luke tried again, but Bobby cut him off.
"Don't lie to me. I'm like a bloodhound. But for lies."
"Apparently for blood too," Willie added with a grin far too easy while gathering toilet paper to hold against the steady stream coming from Luke's shin.
Luke scowled at the contact, but let Willie clean it up as much as they could. "Willie was teaching me to skate. I uh, didn't do that good. Well, I was doing good, until somebody got a little too eager."
"What can I say? You looked hot on my board," Willie said with a grin, dodging Luke's swatting hands and going to throw out the soiled tissues.
Bobby rolled his eyes, reaching for the fresh wad of tissue Willie was gathering. Luke tried to lean away from it, protesting, "I'm fine, honest."
"Let me see, Luke."
"Bobby," he whined, trying to skirt away again but running right into Willie, who wrapped their arms around his waist again and held him in place. "You both suck."
Bobby pressed the tissue to his shin, wiping up the last of the blood. "I have never met a more stubborn person in my life"
"You like it," Willie teased, pressing a kiss to Luke's cheek and watching the blush spread across it.
"Do I?" Bobby tossed the toilet paper in the basket with a sigh, letting Willie tug him in for a kiss too. "Luke is banned from skateboarding."
Luke sputtered, face falling in exaggerated outrage. "It wasn't even my fault!"
"Well, I can't ban you from being attractive, now can I?"
Willie cackled at that, and Luke's blush only deepened, along with his pout. "He's got you there, songbird."
"I will ban you from kissing me, then. This is your fault!"
"You wouldn't."
"Don't test me."
"Bobby, tell him he can't do that!"
Bobby just sighed as they squabbled, shaking his head with a fond smile. They were idiots, that was an undeniable fact, but they were his idiots, and yeah, he liked it.
omg RIP me this is the hardest question to answer! I really liked writing the stargazing-at-the-track scenes in lookin' for a sign. Julie and Luke are so soft in that AU and their banter was so fun. I also loved the 'locker scene' in that fic, specifically this part:
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she slammed her locker door shut only to find Luke propped up against the wall behind it.
“Boo,” he said with that same flirty little half-smirk she was coming to know all-too-well. He looked entirely too pleased with himself as she startled, leaning forward and crowding her space in a way that made her heart skip a beat.
“What are you doing here?”
He laid a hand against his chest, leaning back slightly and raising his brow.
“Who, me? Nothing, just looking for this wicked beauty I ran into over the weekend. She’s super smart and pretty funny once you get past the whole city slicker vibe. About yay high,” he held his hand up to Julie’s exact height, grinning wickedly at the blush that she could feel crawling up her cheeks, “have you seen her?”
Julie hugged her backpack to her chest and tried to remember how to breathe. She had thought the vulnerable version of Luke that haunted the track with an air of sadness was disarming, but seeing him in all his confident, golden boy glory was something else entirely. For a moment, she felt off balance as she tried to reconcile the two different versions into one. Heat flashed in her chest, and Julie wasn’t sure if it was because of the sudden crushing realization that she really liked him or because she wasn’t sure if Luke was being serious right now. He certainly hadn’t been quite this bold when they were alone in the middle of the night. She forced some steel into her spine and slid one leg off to the side a bit so she could cock her hip as she studied him.
“Luke Patterson, are you trying to flirt with me?”
Julie mentally high-fived herself when her voice came out smooth and even, not a single sign of her mild distress. Luke’s cheeks turned a very faint pink, some of his bounce mellowing out as his smile turned soft.
“Only if it’s working,” he admitted sheepishly as he raised one hand to grip his neck, ducking his head slightly, and there was the boy Julie recognized. The one that wasn’t quite as sure of himself as he would lead everyone else to believe, the boy who picked at his own scabs to make her feel less alone with her still-healing wounds.
14. a fic you didn't expect to write
100% champagne problems. when I wrote it I was struggling with really intense imposter syndrome and had basically decided I wasn't going to post my fics any more and maybe would stop writing altogether for a while. I absolutely did not expect it to get as much love as it has and I'm really grateful that you and Kira convinced me to post it💜
19. any new fics to start next year
I don't know! I'm trying to write less for others and more for myself and I'm also trying not to worry about actually finishing things or posting them. kind of just trying to go with inspiration as it comes, so hopefully something will inspire me next year and also hopefully I'll be able to finish some of my WIPs!
23. fics you wanted to write but didn't
I had a lot of ideas that ultimately didn't make it past the brainstorming stage lol memorably, both of our co-authored fics😂 but I also had thought about doing an Uglies AU or an Inkheart AU. ultimately both of those ideas would have required extensive plot planning and we both know that is not my forte
