#//EVERYONE SHUSH ALEX IS WITH THEIR MOM

[woso-fan13]

Sicktember 2023: 27

Uncooperative Patient

If you had been paying attention, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Alternatively, if the other player had been paying attention, the situation could have been avoided. But, alas, both of you were looking at the ball and not at each other and were unaware of the other’s presence until your heads slammed into each other’s. 

The other player sat up quickly, rubbing her head slightly. She had a bit of a headache and would definitely have a bruise in the morning, but she would be alright. 

You weren’t as lucky, and you remained sprawled on the ground. By the time that Ali and Ash made it across the field to you, they found you unconscious on the ground. 

The two women gently yet efficiently moved Mal and Alex from where they had crouched next to you and replaced them. Ash sits directly behind your head, one hand on either side to keep you still. Ali kneels by your side and uses her fingers to gently tap your cheek in order to rouse you. 

The first sign that you had regained consciousness was a heartbreakingly weak sob. Recognizing this sound, your teammates worked to direct everyone away from you, knowing that you wouldn’t want your opponents and the refs to see you regressed. 

Ali quickly shushes you, using her thumb to gently stroke the lump that was already forming on your face. You whine at the added pressure, trying to wiggle away. Ali immediately apologizes to you as Ash keeps a strong hold on you to keep you in place. 

Ash’s hold becomes pointless though, as your eyes open and you whimper before throwing up. The two women turn you on your side, allowing you to get everything out without choking on it. 

When it appears you finish, Ash decides not to worry about keeping you still and instead pulls you to be cradled in her lap. You cry into your Mommy’s jersey, the mixture of snot, tears, vomit, and blood that cover your face rubbing off onto her. Ali scoots as close as she can in front of you, trying to block you from the cameras. None of you notice how your teammates form a loose circle around the three of you in hopes of doing the same. 

The medics finally make it to you, taking one look at the entire situation before deciding you need to be subbed out.  Trying not to let the entire world know that you were little, the two women wrap your arms around their shoulders and manage to escort you off of the pitch that way. Ali transfers your full weight on to Ash, having accepted that only one of them would be allowed to come off with you. What neither woman had expected is for a clean jersey to be thrown at each of them with instructions to quickly change and get back out there. 

The women were shocked, looking between the field, Coach, and where you were crying and babbling for your moms. Their protests were silenced instantly, and they found themselves scanning the bench for someone that they trusted to take care of you. 

Not waiting for your moms to make a decision, Christen takes the job upon herself and stands up. She walks over, trying to remain calm and collected when she sees the state you’re in. She gives a sad smile to your moms, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you into her side. You stumble slightly before landing against her. 

Christen promises your moms that she’ll get you showered and into pajamas, assuring the worried mothers that she knew where they had put your little bag. 

There wasn’t time for much else, as hundreds of people were shifting, waiting for the two players to return. Your moms watched as Christen leaned down to whisper something in your ear before turning and leading you down towards the tunnel. You’re stumbling, the regression and the head injury making it hard to walk, but Christen keeps her grip tight and matches your pace. 

When you’re far enough into the tunnel that the cameras aren’t able to see you, Christen looks around before scooping you up and resting you on her hip. Your sobs were still very much present, your head resting on her shoulder directing the tears into her warm-up jacket. 

She shushes you, talking quietly in hopes of soothing you as she walks to the locker room. She’s able to move quicker now that she no longer has to wait for you to walk and you reach the room efficiently. 

Christen makes quick work of getting you into the bathroom, grabbing a folding chair with her free hand. She sets that directly under a shower head, setting you on the chair. You whine, sobs increasing, as you try to wiggle off of the chair and back into someone’s arms. Christen catches you before you end up hitting your head again and sets you back in the middle of the chair. 

Keeping one hand on your waist, she tries to pull your shoes off. It’s almost impossible, especially when your crying and squirming increase tenfold. 

Christen looks behind her, breathing a sigh of relief when she sees a slightly flustered Ali. Ali rushes into the room, lifting you off of the chair and settling down with you in her lap. She keeps one arm firmly around you, patting your bum with the other while gently speaking to you. 

The two women work together to get you clean enough, your head injury and regression making you extremely uncooperative. When the women have you wrapped in a big towel and bring you back into the changing room, Christen looks around, surprised not to see all of her other teammates. 

“Where is everyone?” she asks Ali, “I thought the game was over.”

Ali shakes her head, “last I saw, there were about 14 minutes left in regular time. They should be finishing in the next 10 minutes or so.”

“And you’re here?” Christen says, turning the statement into a question. 

Ali nods, “I may have walked off the field and gotten an r-e-d card,” she spells out, knowing you won’t understand. “It’s worth it, I would do it again,” with that, she presses a kiss to the top of your freshly washed hair. 

And, finally, your cries stop. You’re still hiccuping and occasionally whining, but it’s like you knew what your Mama did for you. 

Christen smiles at the two of you, nodding in understanding, “I get it, I’d do the same for Mal. I’d do the same for Y/N too, but I would have to race you to be the first off.”

They continue conversing as they get you dried off and into a clean diaper and footed pajamas. You’re almost fully dressed when your head reminds you of why you were taken off early, the intense pain and movement causing you to throw up again. 

In a streak of luck, the vomit dribbled down your chest only where your pajamas had yet to be zipped. Ali comforts you as you begin crying, Christen taking a handful of baby wipes and cleaning you up. The two women had been team moms for long enough that they had gotten used to all of the not-so-glamorous parts. 

Fully clean (again) and dressed, your eyes begin closing. Ali digs through your little bag, pulling out a pacifier. She rubs it on your lips, getting your attention enough that you open your mouth and allow her to stick it in. You latch naturally, suckling rhythmically. 

Ali pulls your baby blanket out next, balling it up the way you usually do and putting it in your hand. When you grab it, you instinctively go to slam it to your face, the way you always do. Ali intercepts your hand, pulling the blanket away. Before you can fuss too much, she uses the corner of the blanket to trace your nose, brushing it over your eyes and repeating. The movement soothes you, the feeling comforting. 

Your eyes are still closed and sleep is approaching fast. When your Mama and Christen began talking, you knew there was no way to stop yourself from falling asleep, the soft voices and the vibrations of Mama’s chest as she spoke. 

[sirianasims]

Chapter 1

Humble Beginnings and Weirdly Colour-Coordinated Aliens

This is Alexandra Duchelli, or Alex. Welcome to this legacy challenge simlit story, where we try to experience as much as possible. Right, Alex?

“Awesome, legacies are so much fun! Big houses, amazing clothes, great adventures! I can’t wait!”

Uhm, Alex? You’re a founder. You don’t have any money, remember?

“Oh. Crap.”

Yup. So you better start earning some money so you can get a roof over your head as soon as possible.

“I don’t even have a toilet!”

There’s a bush.

“… Right, better get going.”

After Alex grumbles through the first chords, we try the city to see if we can get some tips.

Poor Alex isn’t having much luck, and mostly receives smug looks from stuck-up townies.

Giving up on the tips for now, Alex goes to the karaoke club to brush up on her singing skills as well. You can’t be a singer-songwriter if you can’t sing.

This is also a great time for you to socialise, Alex! You should try meeting some new people.

“Some of these townies are a bit too friendly!”

Oh shush, stop complaining.

“Seriously, can I go home? Everyone in this city is weird!”

Oh come on, you’re just overreacting because you’re embarrassed that someone saw your attempt at swiping a drink. Maybe stay on the right side of the bar next time?

“No, I’m serious. There’s a man and a small girl outside just… staring… at a brick pillar.”

… Fine, you can go home.

“I’m not sure this is better.”

Shush, we need to get enough money that you’re allowed to get a job. And the tips are too slow.

“Isn’t it a bit counter-intuitive that I need to earn money before I can get a job?”

I don’t make the rules, Alex. Besides, I’m busy worrying about the aliens.

“The aliens?”

Yes. Apparently, the aliens are flocking to Oasis Springs, and somehow they mostly manage to be beautifully colour-coordinated. It’s honestly a bit unsettling.

Anyways, we need to find you a husband, This is a legacy, after all. How about this handsome fellow?

“Uhm… he seems a bit bookish. What about that hot guy over there?”

Oh honey. That’s Don Lothario. He’s bad news, you won’t get anywhere with him in a legacy, he’s non-committal. He’d be great as one of those enemies you’re supposed to get, though?

Alex catches up with the neighbours and even scores a dinner invitation to the Caliente house.

Nina: “Oh yeah, Don lives here too. Mom moved him in, she claimed she thought he would be a great fit for me or Dina, but I think she really wants him for herself. Anyways, no one is getting anywhere with him, he’s completely useless.”

“Alright, I’ll give up on Don. I guess I’ll find someone a bit less…occupied.”

Alex, who are you talking to? You should be in bed, or, I mean, tent, those skill points take energy.

“Oh, I just met these guys. This is Johnny and Malcolm. Apparently they’re brothers but there’s a lot of drama going on in the family.”

“Eww, can I have something else to eat soon?”

I mean, sure, you can buy all the food you want, but then it’ll just take longer for you to get a job, and thus to get a husband and a roof over your head?

“Dammit!”

As we head to the museum, I wonder. Is throwing up on a canvas art?

We also need those handiness skills, so Alex starts some woodworking.

Meanwhile, I am distracted by the amazing choice of shoes here.

Alex, wasn’t there a vase there, just a second ago?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about”

And so it continues on, with dumpster meals…

… voice training…

… more dumpster meals…

… and more impeccably clad aliens.

next

[nexttrickanvils]

Trick or treat!

Here's a modern!3ADV ficlet featuring the childrens (including my Threepwood sisters.)

---

Despite Eliza’s insistence that she was old enough to be everyone’s “shappyroam,” mom, dad, and all their friends insisted on having a grown-up with them.

Uncle Winslow and Auncle Anemone were busy getting ready for their big trip, Aunt Vee was taking part in some big Escape Room challenge with Kyle and Larry, Mr. Acorn was staying home for his own neighborhood’s trick-or-treaters, none of Mr. Link’s friends were available, and he and Mr. Graham didn’t trust Murray after last year.

Which left…

“Now Whisper, please make sure you watch the kids closely. We don’t want them wandering off and getting separated. Especially both sets of twins.” Said Mr. Graham

“WHISPER CAN DO IT!”

Lucas winced a little. Mr. Whisper is nice but he can be really loud. And Lucas once had a “who can shout catchphrases the loudest” contest with Chuckie one time. (Mom and Eliza weren't happy even though he totally won.)

All the grown-ups gave Mr. Whisper all the trick-or-treating rules and after some "come on, let's go let's go's" from Sora and Rosella, the group were on their way.

Lucas liked to think that his neighborhood had the best decorations.

There was the house with all the space monsters out front, the house with big plants with sharp teeth, and that one house with colorful banners and orange flowers (they were apparently for a different holiday but the owners still gave out candy.)

Of course with so many neighbors, Lucas, his sisters, Rosella and Alex couldn't decide which one to start at.

Eliza wanted to start at the house with all the scary zombie decorations.

Rosella and Alex wanted to go to the house with the voodoo dolls at the window and werewolfs and vampires in the yard.

Sora wanted to go to the house with the cartoon character decorations (which led to a small fight with her and Eliza about her being a baby.)

And Lucas and Abigail… didn't really care which house they started with, they just wanted to trick-or-treat with their sisters and friends.

Mr. Whisper saw everyone starting to fight and stepped in.

"Now now, little ones, WHISPER SHALL DETERMINE OUR ROUTE!"

With that, Mr. Whisper covered up his eyes and started to spin around while singing "Eeny, meeny, miney, moe."

"Wait… is Whisper making it too obvious which house ends up picked? Whisper shall try again!"

So he did try again with an even longer version of the song (which now included mentions of him.)

At that point, Eliza put her arms around Lucas and Sora's shoulders.

"I think Mr. Whisper is gonna be at this for a while. Why don't we just go to the houses we want and meet up at another house?"

"But Mama and Papa said we need a grown-up to be a chappy-room."

Sora said, ""Chap-a-rone," Abbi. Like you're shushing someone. And…"

She looked at Mr. Whisper, still singing and spinning.

"I think Lizzie's got a point."

Rosella and Alex, who knew Mr. Whisper better than they did, nodded.

Abigail still looked unsure but Lucas smiled and held her hand.

"Don't worry, Abbi. I go out with just Chuckie and Dee all the time so I can go with you."

That looked like it made her feel better.

Eliza then puffed up her chest and took charge.

"Okay, everyone, we'll go to the houses we want to start at and then we go to the other houses near them and meet up at that house!"

She pointed to a house that had what looked like a dummy dressed as a burglar and a paper speech bubble taped to its head that said "ow my blood!"

"But where do we go from there?" Asked Alex

"We go down the street! That's where the big houses with the big candy are!"

Big candy!?

Yes! Lizzie can be bossy but sometimes she can be the best big sis ever!

"Okay, are we ready?"

Everyone nodded and immediately ran off, Lucas and Abigail going with Rosella and Alex, who were pointing their "weapons" to their first house.

This was gonna be the Best Halloween Ever!

[little-corritrice]

Light of My Life - Chapter 3

Synopsis - y/n was your ordinary young women, who happened to be the daughter of Christian Horner. She is there every race, and every day, See how she gets along with everyone, including a special someone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After finally making it to my destination, I got out, grabbing the flowers I purchased on the way. I walked into the building, going to her room. I knocked softly before peeking my head in. "Hi, mom." I said, making my way to her bed. She turned towards me, looking at me confused. "I think you got me mixed up with someone else, dear." She said, smiling softly. I set the flowers on her table, giving her a small smile. "Mom, it's me. y/n?" I said, reaching for her hand. She pulled it back however, still staring at me confused. "I don't know anyone named, y/n. I'm sorry." She said. I sighed, looking down. "Mom, please." I pleaded, tears falling now. "Please remember me." I said, grabbing her hand gently.

She stared at me for a little, not recognizing me. She pulled her hand away still. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you. Please leave." She said, her tone stern. I sobbed quietly, resting my head on the bed. Her condition was getting worse, and she couldn't even remember me. I sighed, wiping my tears. "I'm sorry. I'll come visit another time. I love you, mom." I said, picking my stuff up before walking out. I walked out of the hospital to see it raining. It's like the Earth knew my emotions. I looked up, silent tears falling. My clothes were getting soaked, and I was freezing. I stood there, sobbing quietly to the sky. I cried silently, letting the rain wash my tears away.

I was still looking up when something wrapped around me. "It's okay." I heard. I broke into more tears now, holding the person. I cried on their shoulder, my cries of pain falling loosely. They didn't say anything, but just held me. "Why can't I have my happiness?" I said, clutching their shirt in my hands. "Nobody wants pain, but you can't have a rainbow without a little rain." They said softly. I calmed down in their embrace. I pulled away after a little, sniffling quietly. "Thanks Lando." I said, my arms falling to my side. "What happened?" He asked. "She...she doesn't remember me now." I said, about to cry again. "Shh...it will all be okay." He said, rubbing my back. "Let's get you back to the hotel." He said, guiding us to the car. I looked around, noticing we were at my car. "How did you get here?" I asked.

He opened the door for me, closing it after. He got in shortly after, starting the car. "Well, I took the bus." He said, backing out. I sighed, shaking my head. Right as I was about to apologize, he beat me to talking. "Don't even bother apologizing. I wanted to come help you. George wanted to come too, along with the other 3 boys, but I already left. So, they probably will be waiting for you." He said, patting my knee. I nodded, leaning my head on the window. Gradually, my eyes started to close. Lando kept patting me knee softly, prompting me to be sleepier. Eventually, I had to fight sleep. "Just go to sleep, bear." He chuckled, patting my knee still. "But-" I was going to argue, but he shushed me. "No, just go to sleep." He said. I sighed before giving in. I knocked out after a few more minutes of knee patting, and watching the rain drops fall down the window.

Little Time Skip

Something touching me woke me up. I slowly opened my eyes, rubbing them slightly. It took me a minute to realize I was being carried. I looked up, and saw Alex? "Wait..." I said, getting extremely confused. Alex chuckled, still carrying me into the hotel. "Lando is getting your bags. He told me to take you to the room." He explained, making me nod. I tried getting down, but he held me tighter. "Let me walk. I'm fine." I said, trying again. But he held me up still. I sighed, just letting him carry me. I rested my head against his chest as we walked into the elevator. "Thank you." I said, kissing his cheek softly. He smiled brightly, his ears going red. "Oh, someone is flustered." I teased, making him whine. "I'm kidding, but you still owe me a juice box." I said, leaning back down.

We finally reached the floor, and headed to a room. It was George's room, I think. We walked in, Alex carrying me to the bed before dropping me on it. "Hey! That is just rude." I scoffed, turning onto my back. George, Max, Charles, Lando, and Alex all were in the room. I was laid across the bed on my back. George smirked at me, before jumping onto me. I groaned lightly, my face being smooshed by his chest. "Get off me!" I whined, trying to push him off. "I wanna join." Alex said, getting ready to jump on it. "No, no. Please." I begged, already getting smooshed. "Haha, everyone jump on her!" George squealed, holding me down. "No! Please!" I begged, trying to push him off. They all jumped, earning a scream from me.

[meghansworks]

I Love My Mustard-Yellow Room

21 September 2022

Personal Essay done for a portfolio piece in my Creative Writing class.

My new room was god-awful ugly. From its mustard-yellow walls to its cobweb-covered crusty windows, it was ugly all around.

Some people say that your room reflects you as a person. Well, this room said it all; Used only in the summer by a little old lady who would read all day waiting for her husband to come home after a day-long fishing expedition. The first time I had stepped into that room my first thought had been, man, does it smell like a retirement home!

At the time, it seemed as though I was the only person in my family to have a problem with moving. I had it all back home, a tight-knit friend group basically sitting at the edge of our seats waiting to go to highschool, a new boyfriend, great grades, and an established name for myself. Middle-school me had it all.

As soon as I stepped foot into my new school as a Freshman in Wisconsin I felt so, so little, even though I was only one of about thirty kids in my entire class, I still felt like a nobody. Every day, I had only survived with the thought that being able to call my friends from back home was only a few hours away. In turn, I’d spend all of my afternoons on a six-hour call with my friends. Life seemed slow and dreary for me in Wisconsin, so-much-so, calling them made it easier to pretend like I didn’t live there. Placing my happiness and motivation into the palms of my friends’ hands from back home was not a smart idea. Especially in the hands of my boyfriend from back home.

I can remember the exact moment I started chasing this boy. It was seventh grade, and my study period was at the last of the day. Like usual, I had one earbud in an ear playing a cheesy romance song while I typed away at a computer, when a peer, Alex Marcos, walked in and whispered something in the teacher’s ear, and got up to the front of the classroom to read a poem he had written himself. I had always been super fond of any form of writing so slipped the earbud out and was the first to sit tentative to whatever he was preparing to read. The poem was about his view of life. It was a view that I had never listened to before; one so eye-opening that it shushed the room of about thirty kids. He was quiet, but so loud that everyone wanted to hear what he was laying down.

By the third out of almost fifteen stanzas, I already knew that Alex was exactly the kind of person I wanted to be. From then on, I would spend the majority of my two middle school years thinking about him. Every other conversation I had was about him. Every day, his name would come out of my mouth probably thirty times. I spent my time daydreaming about him and falling asleep to scenarios about him every night. I began drawing doodles of him when I wasn’t paying attention in class and gushing about it to my friends.

And, around the same time, my parents announced that we would be moving.

It had felt as though my world was crumbling to bits; like nicking your mom’s favorite vase with a ball and then your heart just sinks to your stomach. Of course, I didn’t take this well. And soon every waking minute of my life was dedicated to showing my parents just how much I didn’t want to move. I then threw my priorities out the window. I no longer cared to try at the things I loved. I no longer cared to get out of bed early. And, god, I no longer wanted to care for school. I was in a vulnerable place at this point. And the only person to recognise was Alex himself.

He was everything I could ask for during that time: Tentative, poetic, smart, and someone to motivate me. He called me when my friends couldn’t, sent me motivational messages during the school day, and was able to answer my texts at a moment’s notice. But, he did this all under one condition, being that I give up calling my friends altogether.

I didn’t know what the word ‘ultimatum’ was until much later. Looking back on it, that should have been my first instinct to get out of the relationship as fast as possible. But I always reminded myself how he helped me every day; I turned my head away from the option. Along with my old friends, he never approved of my new ones, either. New people trying to enter my life made me feel ashamed so I never ended up keeping them in it. It had even extended to my parents.

Soon that ugly yellow paint on the walls of my room would appear when I closed my eyes. I never left it– even if I hated it so much. I relied only on Alex to make me feel at home, not Wisconsin. I held onto that feeling even if it meant being blind to everything that Alex was subjecting me to. Even with my parent’s concerns and the cliff that my grades had been thrown off of, I still persisted in keeping my attention on him. At that point, it felt like my life was put on pause. It only kept repeating. He continued to hurt me without me flinching or contesting, just leaning my head to the ground. The focus of my life had completely shifted to be around him. So-much-so, he knew the ins’ and outs of my brain. If I had done something wrong, he would insist he needed a break from me. I remember vividly the feeling I would get whenever he texted me during school, insisting that we “needed to talk.” It would leave me to feel like there was a blockage in my lungs for the rest of the day. Sometimes he would say it in the morning so that I’d go through the whole day unable to focus and running to the bathroom to continuously beg him to tell me over the phone. Some days, I wouldn’t even speak because that pit feeling in my stomach threatened to let tears out of my eyes if I did. And he knew exactly how this made me feel. All the while I sat in a pot of boiling water, trying to adjust my temperature to survive just like a boiling frog.

~*~

I was never opposed to the idea of therapy. Growing up, it was rather taboo to partake in, and had a rather bad stigma. It was a common insult to tell your friends they would be “sent to the psych ward” if they attended such a thing. So my first day of it had my stomach in knots.

But, like many things, therapy required practice. Every Tuesday I had an opportunity to practice it, and I found myself becoming better and better at it. And soon it felt like such a relief to go– almost like getting ice cream; eating it everyday would ruin it, but in just the right intervals of time it really felt like something special. It really became something I looked forward to. It was my diazepam.

There were days where he would send me home with “homework.” Just a small task I had to complete sometime during the week. The tasks could be anything from meditation to building a new nighttime routine. Some of these tasks, however, were difficult to tackle. For example, one was turning off Alex’s messages during the school day and to only turn them on when I arrived home. It was difficult for me to adjust to this– I felt like a child holding onto my stuffed animal for dear life as someone tried to wretch it out of my grasp. But, with enough practice, I was able to take control of my curiosity and need to see whatever he was saying and shove it in my closet till later. And it felt amazing to go through my day without worry. I had finally begun opening up to people around the spring of Freshman year, and everyone noticed. But, Alex was still a definite part of my life– a part that I still wasn’t willing to break off. Therapy had just been a candle given to me in a dark room; the way out was left for me to find.

At another one of my sessions, I had been opening up about yet another fight Alex and I were in. With no apprehension in my voice, I said, “I don’t know how much more abuse I can put up with.”

My therapist stopped me before I could say another word. Much to my confusion, he would point out something that truly opened my eyes about my progress: “Meghan, that was the first time you described what Alex is doing as abuse.”

~*~

April 28th, 2021 would mark the exact date Alex’s reign over my life came to an end.

Neither one of us initiated the long-awaited breakup, but the authority. Once I had, apprehensively, told my therapist about an event of a sensitive situation, it was inevitable that Alex was practically dragged out of my life. Although I was freed from the mental prison he kept me in, there was a need to go back. In turn, I regressed quite a bit in my recovery. This time, however, I allowed myself to be uplifted by the people around me. I found solace in new people, and surrounded myself with a new group of friends.

As much as I hated my mustard-colored room, I also hated my entire house. I always expressed this to my parents in the form of endless complaining about the wi-fi connection, cobweb-covered corners and small septic tank. It simply paled– no, was more bleached in comparison to my former house: high ceiling, white walls that made the room seem bigger, lofts leaning down from upstairs, a pool table in the basement, three bathrooms and endless entertainment. I felt like this new house was tedious just to live in. But, as I began widening my social circle it was inevitable that at least one of them would ask to come over. As much as I dreaded the idea, I missed having friends over.

Reluctantly, I finally complied to allowing a friend to have a short visit. After I showed them out the door, I stepped back inside to two tear-filled parents, who I also found out missed the constant chatter and laughter among my friends and I in the house. With this, I invited friends left and right, finally indulging in the typical teenage debauchery; from staining the dining table with nail polish and makeup products to being shushed by my parents at a rough three in the morning.

Entering Sophomore year, I decided to(and not influenced by my therapists’ weekly tasks) challenge myself. With very much reluctance, I scrolled all the way down through my contact list to find the name of one of my best friends from my old town. While it was awkward, at first, I persisted through many stale conversations to provoke the nostalgia of the antics we got into when we were younger. It took just a few weeks, until I found some of my afternoons spent on six-hour calls, raving about small jokes and my mustard-room filled with laughter. It had felt like a part of me had returned.

After that, Sophomore year flew right by. Soon, it was spring once again and I stepped out much more accomplished than the previous year, and, more importantly, a licensed driver. April was a heavy month for me, as the day of the 28th snuck up on me. At nearly ten at night, I checked the date, realized and just froze, staring at the calendar on my phone. What I ended up doing was driving to a nearby grocery -store and picked up one of those small cakes– like everyone does on a whim. I placed it on the dining table, grabbed a recycled candle from the junk drawer, and lit it. The entire house was dark and quiet, as I was the only one awake. I contemplated seeing if my mom was awake to share my reflections on the past year, but figured that I deserved this celebration to myself. Looming over this small cake, the only light originating from the one, half-burned candle squashed into the middle of the icing, I let tears fall. To this day, I cannot decipher if they were ones out of sadness or happiness– but I couldn’t care less. Because, exactly a year from that day, I would have never expected I would have gotten that far. I felt like throwing the door open outside, thrusting a finger up to the night sky with only the statement, I did it.

~*~

Later in that year, my parents surprised me with an entirely new bedroom set– Humorously, titled ‘The Meghan’ in the furniture store; it was the perfect one for me. It was ergonomic, painted a simple white, with subtle accents that really complimented my yellow walls. When I walked into the newly-furnished room one day after school, it felt like an entirely different place. Sure, it still had the same gross carpeting, asymmetrical windows, small closet, and that god-awful mustard color, but it felt so refreshing stepping into a room I was proud of.

My mom, standing beside me, asked, “Since your stuff’s not in the room yet, we have the time to paint your walls. What color do you want them?”

I did not even have to think when I answered, “No thanks, mom. I like the yellow.”

[guaxinimraccoon]

jesus christ why-

oh mY DEAR GOD-

FIRST OF ALL I'm SO sorry for taking so damn long to answer those, I've been really really busy and I'm very sorry, I'm doing my best to answer everybody ; o ;

BUT FINALLY let's talk about our big last Euphoria reveal (about four months ago but ok-), where I showed you guys that Alex is Brad's father and Elisa is Toby's mom.

"BUT GUAX WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??? HOW?? WHEN??? WHERE??"

SHUSH , CALM YOUR TITS DOWN and let me explain:

Ok, so I'll be putting some links here and there because yes, Alex and Elisa's story is very, VERY connected to Brad and Toby's. 

And get ready for a veeeeeeeeeeeeery long post. You were warned.

As you all already know, Alex and Elisa had a troublesome meeting, but eventually got closer to each other, they fell in love yadda yadda yadda BUT their will to get closer to each other, in other words, their relationship brought HUGE consequences.

Yes, they did manage to build a healthy relationship, they were happy, they were fine.

But they were also adults, adults that wanted something serious and concrete, they couldn't spend the rest of their lives as forbbiden lovers.

So Elisa did something literally illegal. She did a potion that was forbidden by the Colony authorities - a shrunken potion - to get closer to Alex.

Those potions were never developed, they're rustic and really antique, so they could do more harm than good or not work at all.

But Alex didn't care, he took the risk and drank the potion to get closer to his girl, the woman that was the love of his life.

The effect of the potion is temporary, so Alex would drink them from time to time whenever he had the opportunity to visit the Colony, spend some time with Elisa and, of course, be a part of her life.

He wasn't just trying to "be like her", he was also trying to be a part of her home. He made friends with her friends, he met her family, he met new imps, new fairies, all of it under his "imp disguise". He even fought for the Colony at it's war times (that is lasting till the current story time). He EVEN presented himself with a more “impish name” - Turk - to make sure people wouldn’t suspect anything.

Of course, people eventually started to ask why didn’t he live in the Colony with Elisa, why did he only showed up from time to time. Alex and Elisa lied, obviously, they told everyone that Alex belonged to a secluded imp tribe that lived walking around the forest as nomads, which made sense since those types of imp communities do exist.

ANYWAY THE POINT IS Alex grew affectioned of those people and with their lifestyle. He started to feel like he was one of them. 

And, of course, he was now closer than he ever was to Elisa.

Since they were different species, they never worried about having kids. I’ve never said this before but Alex is a doctor, he knows about this stuff, so he always made sure to reassure Elisa that "they were their own condon" and, as sad as it may sound, they couldn't have kids.

... Or so Alex thought.

You know how tigers and lions can have offspring together? Yeah, it's the same thing.

It's very hard to happen, but they spent YEARS together if you know what I mean so yeah

That's how Alex and Elisa gave birth to their first child: Tobias, the only one of a specie that is a mix between human and imp.

His parents were really worried at first, afterall, they new NOTHING about Toby's condition. They didn't know if he was going to grow as large as a human or if he'd assume imp proportions forever. After some research with his son's blood, Alex found out that Toby was indeed half human and half imp, but he was predominantly physically an imp. That means his biological features are, mostly, imp like: he'd hardly grow as large as a human through his life's course and could live as a normal imp in the Colony. The fact that he showed talent for magic (once he was old enough to do so) and was able to do it just like any other imp in the Colony also made things easier.

Elisa and Alex chose to raise Toby in the Colony, they believed it’d be healthier and safer for him (especially after some events that I’ll be talking about in other posts), although it hurt Alex to pretend that he was an imp to his son and that he couldn’t see him everyday. 

Even if they couldn’t see each other everyday, Alex and Toby were very close. Toby loved his daddy very much and was very attached to him.

After five years after Toby was born, Elisa got pregnant again and gave birth to their second child: Bernardo (that’d eventually be nicknamed as “Brad”), one of the two only beings of the specie Alex and Elisa accidently created together.

For preucation, Alex took a bit of Brad’s blood and made some research, just like he did to Toby.

And what he found out wasn’t exactly... relieving.

Brad, just like Toby, was half human and half imp, but he had expressed mostly human features in his physical body. He was as small as a baby imp now, but it was a matter of time until he started to grow very VERY large.

Unlike Toby, Brad couldn’t live as an imp in the Colony and things got very complicated for them.

Alex wanted to leave. He told Elisa the Colony’s community would NEVER accept their youngest, they would never accept Alex and probably wouldn’t accept Toby either. They had to leave that place before they couldn’t hide the truth anymore, even if it cost revealing Toby, a five year old child, that most of his life was a lie.

But Elisa was hesitant. She didn’t want to leave her home, her parents, her friends. She knew Alex was right, they couldn’t stand that play for too long, but how to leave everything she had built behind? How to leave everything she knew as home behind? It wasn’t that easy.

Until something very bad happened.

Remember I said Alex made a few friends in the Colony? So, one of them was Stefan, a experienced fairy soldier that had known Elisa for as long as she was alive. He was pretty much her best friend (even if he was old enough to be her father) and now he was also great friends with Alex.

Stefan is important here. He has a very tragic backstory involving humans. He lost pretty much everything to them: his whole family and his wings, something that meant more than just flying to him.

So, as expected, he hates humans and truly believes that they are nothing more than monsters that try to manipulate you and to get advantage from imp’s and fairy’s magic. 

After some years, he started to get very suspicious over Alex. Some things weren’t making any sense anymore and that “nomad imp community” was starting to sound way more like an excuse than the actual truth. He simply didn’t understand what was stopping him to live with Elisa and his sons for once.

So he did some investigation. One day, he followed Alex (that he knew as Turk) out of the Colony, in one of the days he had only come to visit his family. Alex had said earlier that he had to “go back to his own society”. Yeah, right. Stefan was hiding the whole time and followed Alex till a good distane from the Colony’s limits. 

And he didn’t get exaclty happy to see his best friend growing impossibly huge out of nowhere.

Stefan now knew the truth: Alex was pretending to be an imp using shrinking potions. He didn’t belong to any nomad imp group, he was a human that lived in his own house and was coming to the Colony to play family with them.

Of course, he didn’t only felt betrayed, but pissed as fuck. Stefan didn’t waste any time: as soon as Alex came back to the Colony he confronted him. Alex tried to explain himself, but they only argued and ended up having a pretty bad fight.

In anger, Stefan didn’t want to hear no more explanations, so he told some of the Colony’s high authorities about Alex’s lies and that they had to do something about it. 

The Colony’s Council decided to call Elisa and solve things between imps and fairies only. But they showed her no mercy.

They basically gave her two options: or she’d prove her loyalty to the Colony and would kill her husband and her human son, or the Colony would sentence all of them to death penalty, including Toby and Brad, children that they claimed should have never been born. 

Elisa was in shatters. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t kill the man she loved and her baby child, she just couldn’t. She was about to accept the second option, rathering die with her family than killing them, but Stefan decided to help her out.

He wasn’t expecting the Council to be so cruel and he started to regret his decisions the moment he saw how Elisa was worried about her family and how much she loved them, even if they were human. He hated Alex and Brad, but seeing Elisa in excruciating pain over them was impossible for him, so he made up a plan with her to save everybody.

It cost Elisa to trust Stefan, he had told their secrets to the worst people possible, but she had no option aside from accepting his help and following his plan.

The plan was simple: Elisa would tell the Council she’d kill Alex and Brad and would tell Alex that she had changed her mind and that they should leave the Colony as soon as possible now that Stefan knew the truth.

Alex believed her and, after Stefan’s confirmation, so the Council did. The next step was to take Alex and Brad to the Colony’s limits, pretending they were about to leave. 

Then it happened.

Elisa made, with Stefan’s help, a huge barrier on the Colony’s frontier that didn’t allowed humans to cross it. It was basically a security method that they never thought it’d be necessary.

But now it was and it wasn’t meant to protect the ones inside the Colony...

Of course, Alex didn’t understand SHIT.

He spent MONTHS returning to the Colony in his shrinking form, trying to find a way to cross the barrier and to get Toby back. 

Or to talk to Elisa.

Or to understand.

Or anything.

He just wanted his family.

Eventually, his potions ended and he was left to raise Brad on his own and to never see his wife and oldest son again.

Since then, he hates Elisa. Or at least thinks he does. He’s just deeply mad at her, he doesn’t understand why she left them. 

He did everything for her. Denyed his own race, submitted himself to the dangerous effects of a extremely nocive potion which he faces the consequences till this day, did his fucking best to be the best father and husband his family could have-

All this love, all this effort, all this sweat and blood

Wasted.

It took years for him to fully recover. Aside from the health problems the abusive use of the shrinking potions brought, he also became alcohoolic. Because he wasn’t mentally estable enough, neither to take care of himself and of his very very small son, he went to live in his parents house. His family knew about Elisa and the children they had together, his folks actually liked her a lot so it saddened them as well that she simply abandoned Alex and Brad and that they would never see Toby again.

His family didn’t had to worry about Brad’s very little size for too long though, before he was one year old he had already reached his human size.

Anyway, Alex’s family gave him a huge help until he was healthy enough to take care of Brad, the only one left from the family he built.

Back to Elisa, she didn’t told Alex her plan because she KNEW he wouldn’t want to do it. She simply knew Alex would be too stubborn. He’d have wanted to try to escape or to face the Council. Both alternatives would get them all killed.

Toby didn’t understand why his mother did what she did. He was forced to go back home with her, screaming the whole time, saying that they left his father and brother behind while Elisa was crying endelessly.

Stefan came to them eventually and calmed Toby down. His heart broke when he saw Elisa. She was... not okay.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to assist her. He immediatly went to a representent of the Council and took them to Elisa and to the Colony’s frontier to prove that she had done it and did even more than she was suppose to. Of course, not without consequences to her sanity, she had just killed her husband and baby, of course she was in pain.

Nevertheless, the Council confirmed Elisa had done her part and left to leave her alone with the child they let live.

After that, Toby spent weeks returning to that spot of the frontier to look for his dad and brother. No sucess.

As time went by, he eventually forgot about Brad, he was very young when they tore apart and Elisa and Stefan never talked about him nor Alex. All he can remember is that there was a baby in the middle of that mess, but he can’t relate to it.

He kept the memories of his father though, who was closer to him, and till this day he believes he’s alive somewhere and that he can be found. But he has no idea he’s a human and has no idea of his own true nature.

Elisa and Alex miss their respective sons deeply and think about them everyday. They also miss each other very much and the first months after the incident were terribly agonizing for the both of them.

They kept going for the child that had remained for the both of them and raised them apart from each other. Alex never told Brad what happened and so Elisa did to Toby. Like that, none of the brothers knew about the existence of each other.

Until the day Toby was sent, coincidentally, to his “little” brother’s house

And none of them has no idea of this fucking long backstory I just spent four months writing :)

enjoy

[supercorpkid]

Back from the future.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader, Sam Arias x Goddaughter!Reader, Alex Danvers x Niece!Reader, Kelly Olsen x Reader.

Word Count: 3340

“It’s time to talk about your life. Your real life.”

You know all about your life. You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about in this hologram form. You don’t see a way your life could have changed that much.

“Let’s talk about things that I don’t think you’ve messed with. Rao, I hope you haven’t.”

Rao. You’re such a Kara wannabe.

“Kara is your momma, Lena is your mom. They got married like, ages ago, and had you right after Aunt Alex and Aunt Kelly had Jamie.” You shrug. Your life is still the same. “So that’s your family. Here. Have a picture.”

Wait. Where’s Sam and Ruby? They are your family too.

“You have a girlfriend, by the way. If you messed this up, GO BACK AND FIX IT, because she is perfect! Here’s a picture of the two of you.” You show the picture, and your mouth comically drops. “Her name is Maya.”

Wait, wait, wait. You and Maya? You actually used to date Maya Rose?

“You don’t go to school anymore, because of-well-a bunch of things. But mainly because everyone hates you there.”

Everyone hates you? What the fuck is hologram-you even talking about?

“You’re thinking about going to college, but you’re also terrified of leaving Kara and Lena right now. So yeah. I guess that’s it. Oh! And you have a good relationship with Lillian.”

Lillian Luthor? Now that’s somehow even more weird than all the other information you just told yourself.

Hologram-you didn’t even mention your godmother. Where did she and Ruby even fit in your life before?

Oh.

Oh no.

Sam changed the past, didn’t she?

Oh my GOD!

Your moms changed the past too! Everyone hated you, you even left school and was considering college, but they went back in time with you and now you’re loved. The one rule. Never tell anyone you’re a Luthor. That’s what they changed, right?

You run upstairs, almost bumping in a few people on the way. Your heart is beating fast, you can feel it slamming against your ribcage. All the sounds become loud. Too loud. You hear Lena on the phone, and Sam typing. You hear Kara pitching an idea for a piece. You hear little Davey crying and Ruby shushing him. Jamie’s laugh. You hear your own heart.

You try to silence the noises, making your way to Sam’s office door and knocking on it. You go inside when you hear her calling you in.

“Oh hey, munchkin. What do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“I just- I have a question.” You say and Sam points at the chair before her. You sit and breathe deep a couple of times, before going on. “About you and Aunt Alex. I never quite understood what happened between the two of you. I mean, when I was 5 she was married to Kelly and then when I was 6 she was married to you.”

“Oh, well, Alex and I always wondered what our lives would be like if we got together and then one day we decided to try. And I’m happy that we did because it was the best decision I’ve ever made.” She smiles. You agree with your head, you know she is telling the truth. But you also know it’s not the whole truth.

You place the bracelet you made for the time warp on top of her table. She looks at it for a few seconds, in silence. You know she’s not going to be the first one to speak.

“You went to the past to undo a mistake.” You raise an eyebrow at her, and she lets out a sigh. Like she didn’t expect to be confronted about it.

“The day before you and Jamie started in kindergarten…” Sam starts, looking too lost inside her own mind. “Alex went to Metropolis. She and Kelly were in some sort of marital crisis, and apparently part of it was because she wondered what could’ve happened with me if we had gotten the timing right. You know, when I was in National City I was a freaking world killer. When the whole Reign thing ended, me and Rubes just wanted to get as far away from here as possible.”

You shake your head, agreeing. You heard some of this story before, but not from her, so you want to hear her version of things.

“So she went to Metropolis, asked me if we could ever become a thing and I said no. Told her she had a daughter and she was just facing some problems in her marriage and that’s why she was coming after me. But that’s not how I was feeling at all. I-I wanted to say yes, but I was scared.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t know. I kept telling myself the timing wasn’t right, saying if we were to be together then we would’ve found that perfect window and jumped right to it. But that’s-” She breathes deep, some tears pooling on her eyes. Sam gives you a soft smile. “That’s not how life works. You can’t think everything has to be right for you to do something. Sometimes, you gotta jump without the window and hope for the best. So when we went to the past, I went in and told her the truth. That I was scared, but I didn’t want to make the mistake of never trying and she-well, she chose the rest by herself, really. She broke up with Kelly, so I moved back here. I’m sure you remember the rest.”

You agree again, but you can’t help but feel robbed.

“You changed everyone’s life. Did you ever think of that? You-you changed Aunt Alex’s life. She could’ve been with Kelly; they would have made it work, and you know it. How-why-why would you be so selfish?”

“Hey, hey.” Sam’s hand goes in front of her face as a defense move. “You can’t say that. I know I changed people’s lives, but I didn’t do it alone. I didn’t make Alex try things with me, she wanted that just as much.”

“What about Jamie?”

“What about her? Jamie is happy, healthy. Jamie has three moms that love her to death and would do anything for her. She has a sister she admires and that loves her as well. She has a nephew whom she can’t stop talking about.”

“She was happy and healthy before.”

“Exactly! I didn’t make her life worse.”

“What about Kelly? Huh? She lost her family! She had it all. A wife and a kid. And you just went back in time and took it from her.”

“Ok, listen, I don’t know about Kelly. I don’t know if she is happy or not. All I know is, Alex could’ve made a different decision back then.” Sam picks her bracelet from one of her drawers and puts it next to yours. “I went in to tell her the truth. That’s all. Yes, I hoped it would work. I hoped the future would change, but I didn’t make it change. I don’t think you understand that.”

“You damn right I don’t!” You cross your arms upset. “You knew damn well what you were doing. You were so selfish!”

“Listen, I’m still your godmother. In the past, present and future, so you have to be more respectful.” You roll your eyes getting up from the chair.

“We have to undo this.”

“What? No, we don’t! What if they are happier now?”

“Is there a way to measure it? No, right? You can’t know for sure if you made things better. Sure, their lives are good. Because it’s all they know now. But I know better, and you know better and how can you sleep at night knowing you’re living a lie?”

“I’m not living a lie! This is my life!” Sam picks up a picture frame on her desk and turns it to you. “This is my family. And I love them, and they love me. Please. Please kid, try and understand. If you undo this, I’ll lose the love of my life and Alex will lose hers.”

“I-I don’t know.” You stand up, making your way to the door. “I have to think about it.”

You get out of Sam’s office, still confused. This conversation didn’t help much. You don’t know what you were expecting. It was obvious that she went back in time to tell Alex how she really felt and damn it, she was right! She didn’t force Alex to get a divorce. She went to the DEO with 55 minutes counting back on her watch, poured her heart out to her, and what happened next was everyone’s decision.

You bump into someone, and you finally look up.

“Hey, baby.” Lena holds your arm, before you keep walking. “What’s going on?”

“We went to the past.” You tell her with blunt honesty. “What did you change there?”

“Come on. Let’s not talk about this here.” Lena shows you, you’re in the middle of L Corp and anyone can hear the conversation. She guides you to an empty meeting room. “How do you know I changed something?”

“Because Sam did.” You shrug. “First day of kindergarten, you and momma tried to put a tracker on me.” You show behind your ear. “I didn’t let you, but that wasn’t the only change, was it?”

“No.” Lena admits, not meeting your eyes. It takes her a few seconds before she speaks again. “We changed your name on the school record. We took the Luthor out.”

“Because…?”

“Because having the Luthor name was a catastrophe. You didn’t make any friends, you hated school, you were always so good at everything but so afraid to even speak. There were bullies, there were depressive episodes. Baby, your life was a living hell. But look at you now. You love school, you have friends, you’re happy.”

“All of that because no one knows my full name is Luthor-Danvers?” You ask in shock and Lena agrees with her head.

“I’m not sorry, because you deserve it. You deserve to be loved despite the horrible name I gave you. So,” Lena comes closer, and touches your face. “I went to the past so I could give you a better chance. And I did. And if I had to do that again 100 times, I would.”

You lower your head. Words faltering in your mouth. You love her and appreciate what she did, still you feel robbed again.

What the fuck were you thinking it would happen if you went to the past? You thought nothing would change? What if all these changes are, in fact, excellent ones? What if everyone is happier now? How can you even begin to measure it?

But what about Kelly? Was this change excellent for her too? And Maya? She used to be your girlfriend and now, now she is basically the only person in that school that doesn’t seem to like you.

You untangle yourself from Lena, going to the door. “Hey, where are you going?”

“I don’t know.” You shrug. “I-I have some thinking to do.”

“Baby, you know we only did that because we love you, right?” Lena’s eyes are pleading you to understand. And you do. Of course you do.

“I love you too.” You give her a side smile, and leave L Corp. You don’t know exactly where you are flying to. But it doesn’t surprise you at all, when you stop at a building, and look inside one apartment to see Kelly there.

You come close to the window, watching her. She is busy making something in the kitchen, so she doesn’t notice you. You tap on the window slowly, and she raises her gaze to meet yours.

“Hey!” Kelly smiles, opening the window so you can fly in. “I haven’t seen you in a while! How are you, Superkid?” She says playfully.

“Hm… I’m good.” But you don’t look good. Kelly furrows her brows.

“Did something happen? Is everything ok?” You hear her heart picking up the pace and you know her mind immediately went to Jamie.

“Everything is fine! Jamie is fine.” You say, before she even asks. Her eyebrows soften a little, and she lets out a little breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just- I needed to talk, and you’re a psychologist, so I thought you could help.”

“Oh,” She relaxes even more. “I’ll be happy to help. Come on, I’m making dinner. Join me?”

“Sure.” You make your way to her kitchen, sitting on the table while she goes back to what she was doing. “So, hm, you know…”

“Breathe and speak, honey. You’re in a safe space and have all my attention.”

“If you could go back to the past to change something. What would you change?” You blurt out and she only furrows her brows at that. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what changes I could do to my past and stuff, but I-I don’t know if it’s fair, you know? What if I end up changing people’s lives?”

“I’m guessing you’re asking because you’ve figured out a way to go back in time?” Kelly gives you a little smile and you agree with your head. “Of course you have.” She chuckles. “Care to be more specific with the situation?”

“Oh. Ummm, ok.” You think about it. “I think I made a mistake. With this girl. She said she wanted something, and I said the timing wasn’t right. But now I see how stupid that was. And yeah, I’m considering going back in time but that would change her life as well, and who she is with right now.”

“I see.”

“It’s wrong, right? Changing things because I didn’t have the courage when I should’ve had?”

“I don’t know.” Kelly finally finishes the food and comes closer. “What does your heart say?”

“I don’t know. It’s all really confusing right now. Just-What if it was you? Would you go back in time to like, maybe, never divorce Aunt Alex?”

“Oh. You know, kid, I never allowed myself to think about things that way. I don’t think I would’ve changed anything if I went to the past.”

“Really?”

“Alex wanted to be in a relationship with someone else. How could I have stopped it?”

You breathe out. You can’t tell her what happened, can you?

“Are you happy now?” You try, instead.

“Yes.” She smiles softly, reaching for your pulse. She gives it a gentle squeeze. “Lucky for us, we can find happiness everywhere and not just in people. So yeah, I’m happy. Sometimes static, sometimes a little sad even. But that’s life, isn’t it?” Kelly asks and you agree with your head. “Is this girl worth travelling back in time for?”

“I don’t know, but you helped a lot. Thanks Aunt Kelly.”

You fly to Jamie’s house. She is watching baby Davey sleep while Ruby takes a little nap, as well.

“I’m babysitting!” She is so excited about it, you almost wonder whether you have to ask her about going back in time. I mean, just look at her!

“Hey, random question.” You start and she looks up to you. “Do you sometimes wish Alex and Kelly had never split up?”

“Yeah, duh.” Jamie laughs like the question is absurd. “Of course I do, every child from divorced parents wished for that at least once in their lives.”

“Would you go back in time to fix that, if you could?”

“To get them back together?” She asks and you agree with your head. “God, no. Look at Davey. If my moms were still together, mom Sam wouldn’t be in my life. And Ruby and now even Davey. I would lose so much.”

“But Kelly…”

“I still see mami all the time. Every weekend, actually. She always comes to my games and I’m pretty sure if I text her right now, she’ll be here in ten minutes.” Jamie looks at you, investigating you further, like she knows. “Don’t mess with things, ok?”

“I-I won’t.” She furrows her brows not believing in you.

“Please. I’m happy. I want things to stay like this.” She makes sure and you agree with your head. You look at Sam opening the front door, with grocery bags.

“I brought dinner!” She yells from the front door, and you sink deeper on the couch, watching Jamie getting up and running towards her to help her. “Where’s Rubes?”

“Taking a nap. I’m babysitting.” Jamie smiles, from ear to ear. “Well, he’s been asleep ever since, but I’m keeping an eye on him.”

“Such a great aunt.” Sam cups her chin with her free hand. “But you did your homework, right?”

“I was babysitting!” Jamie huffs.

“Homework, go!” Sam says, finally making her way to the kitchen and she finally notices you. “Hey, are you staying for dinner?”

“No.”

“Feeling better about what we talked about earlier?” Sam asks and you finally get up from the couch and make your way to where she is.

“I like having you in my life. It seems that Jamie is also a fan, and Lena is over the moon that you guys are working together.” You hug her, and her hand goes to your hair.

“I like having you in my life as well.” She raises your head, making you look at her. “So you’re not going to change this?”

You shake your head in denial. “No. Not this. I know divorce sucks, but sometimes things need to fall apart to make way for better things.” You give her a side smile.

“You think I’m better?” She crinkles her nose looking excited.

“Ok, I’m leaving.” You joke. You’re almost out the door when you look back at her with a smile. “I love you, godmother.”

“I love you, munchkin.”

But just because you said you won’t mess with their lives, it doesn’t mean that you’re not considering going back in time and changing your life back to how it was. Yeah, your mom said it was awful, and honestly, your own hologram looked very sad when you said everyone hated you. But you also said to go back and fix the future if you messed up your relationship with Maya. So you have to do it.

You fly back to L Corp, going inside your lab and seeing hologram-you start over.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’m going back, geez! You’re insistent!” You start reorganizing things to go back in time. Well, if no one comes to the future to tell you how bad an idea this is, then it can’t be that bad, right? Ok, yeah, sure.

“STOP!” You hear a voice behind you and you roll your eyes. You literally asked for it. You turn around and see a boy, he looks like a twelve year-old.

“And you are...?” You raise an eyebrow.

“From the future.” You and your damn mouth. “And if you go back and unfix what Kara and Lena did, your future won’t be as nice.”

“And you know that because you are…?” You try again.

“Your son.” He says and you are not even surprised by it. Just look at him, he looks exactly like you. “When they went to the past they gave you a better future. And if you go back now, I won’t exist.” He looks down on his bracelet. It looks like the one you made, but more tecnologic, for sure. “We won’t exist.”

You believe him. You breathe out, agreeing with your head. “So that’s it? I have to give up on Maya?”

He smiles softly at you, and you smile back, not even sure why. “Never, ever give up on Maya. If you do, I won’t exist as well.” He winks at you, and you smile harder. “See you in a couple of decades, supermama.”

He disappears into a time warp, and you blush furiously. You like the sound of that.

[yourlocalfictionalenthusiast]

IN LIFE, IN DEATH...

PART TEN

:Masterlist:

A/N: And that’s a wrap! Ahh, writing this series has been so fun and I’m so glad that so many of you have liked it so much. Thank you guys for staying until the end and hopefully for upcoming stuff 👀 I hope you enjoy the finale of In Life, In Death... <3

(Also the song mentioned in part six and this part is ‘She Is Love’ by Parachute) <3

-

December 1994

Luke groaned as he woke up, squinting hard to try and adjust his eyes to the amount of light in the room.

Even before he could see clearly, he knew he must've fallen asleep in the studio judging by the soreness in his back and neck that he always got when he slept on the old couch. It couldn't have been more than six in the morning, and Luke could still feel the tiredness in his bones. So he tried to turn away from the light and hopefully fall back asleep, but there was something keeping him firmly in place.

His heart skipped when he looked down and saw that you were laying right next to him with your head on his chest and an arm thrown across his stomach. When he realized that his own arms were wrapped around you, his heart broke out into a full-on tap dance.

Waves of confusion ran through his still-foggy brain until he saw his guitar case propped up against the piano and his backpack on the floor with his clothes spilling out of it.

Then the events of last night quickly came back to him.

How he had gotten home late from rehearsal and his mom was waiting in the kitchen with his latest report card and her signature lecture at the ready. One minute he was standing there yelling, packing all he could fit into his bag, and the next, he was halfway to the studio with the rain soaking him head to toe.

He had expected it to be empty when he finally got there, but he was flooded with relief when he saw you. All the frustration slowly melted out of him the longer he laid there with you, leaving him feeling exhausted and shivering despite how warm he felt.

The last thing he wanted to do was talk about any of it, but when you asked, the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

He remembered rambling and crying again, the sound of your voice and the feeling of your fingers in his hair warming him up even more. Then finally, he remembered falling asleep with his chin tucked on top of your head, the smell of your shampoo filling his senses.

Without thinking, Luke reached down and carefully pushed a piece of hair away from your face, tucking it behind your ear and smiling to himself when you shifted into his touch. Then taking in a sharp breath as the realization ran through him all the way down to his toes.

You were his best friend.

The person he wanted to see at the end of a long day. Whenever he was full of anger or lost in confusion, all he had to do was look at you and everything suddenly made sense again. With your pretty smile and laugh, and your way of flipping that little switch inside him that made his head all fuzzy and the ground start spinning under his feet.

You were his best friend, and he was in love with you.

-

2020

All you felt was a mixture of anxiety and nausea as you stood on the Orpheum's street corner, biting the tips of your fingernails.

The entire plan hinged on Willie and Teddy getting everything done in time, and considering that they had betrayed you all before, you couldn’t help but expect the worst.

“Look, don’t worry. Willie said he’ll get us on that marquee.” Alex said nervously as he kicked pebbles across the sidewalk.

“This is going to work, right?” Reggie asked.

“It has to.” Luke mumbled, wincing seconds later when another shock hit them.

Two sharp pops cut through the air behind you and you all whipped around to see Willie and Teddy standing just a few feet away. Willie was watching you all carefully with concern written all over his face, his eyes lingering on Alex longer than anyone else. Teddy stood at the edge of the group, practically burning a hole in your face with his guilty stare.

“Are you guys okay?” Willie asked.

“Yeah, nothing we haven’t felt before.” Alex laughed awkwardly. “How’d it go?”

“Well, when the opening band wakes up, they’ll find their bus two hundred miles out of Vegas.” Willie said with a proud smile as he did a spin, showing off his stolen jacket with the band’s name across the back.

“With absolutely no chance of getting back in time.” Teddy added.

Luke gave Willie a fistbump and pointed up to the office above the Orpheum. “That means there’s probably a promoter up there freaking out right now.”

Willie grinned, sarcasm laced in his tone. “Nah, man. This is Hollywood. I’m sure he’s being very professional.”

You laughed and then Alex slowly inched forward, clearly struggling for the right words to say to Willie. You gave his arm a quick squeeze before following Reggie and Luke down the street to give them space. Before you even got halfway down the sidewalk, Teddy poofed next to you.

“You know, If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you don’t want to talk to me.” He joked.

“Teddy-”

"I just-I didn't want to leave things the way we did." He rambled. "I'm sorry, I should've told you everything that night in the diner-"

"Teddy, It's okay." You said. "You told me before Caleb could put the stamp on me, and you didn't know the details about the plan until after it was too late to help my friends. Plus, I know how much you're risking helping us now."

As soon as the words left your mouth, you felt some of the weight fall off your shoulders. You weren't sure why since the situation was still a little painful and awkward. But being around Teddy always made you feel a little like that kid who started working at the diner with Cece all those years ago. Besides, they were so alike that you found it hard to stay mad at him.

You held out your hand for Teddy to shake. "Despite everything, I'm glad we met."

“Likewise, Gorgeous,” Teddy said with a relieved smile as he grasped your hand. With a subtle wink, he nodded over towards where Luke was standing at the end of the street. “He’s a lucky guy.”

"What? How did you?-" You sputtered as he stepped away. You never told Teddy about Luke, or at least you didn't think you did.

Teddy just smirked in response before disappearing into the air. At the same time, you saw Willie skate away out of the corner of your eye, leaving Alex alone on the sidewalk.

You all phased next to him and Luke squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah. I'm good." Alex smiled slyly as he gestured to the office. "Looks like this show needs a new opening act though."

You grinned. "Let's go see if we can help with that."

-

When you got back to the studio, you found Julie pacing back and forth in the middle of the room as she wrung her hands together.

When you all poofed in, she immediately jumped into a load of questions, losing her breath halfway through and flailing her arms around.

"Whoa, just sit down," You laughed excitedly. "We'll tell you everything."

Julie took a gasping breath and plopped backwards onto the couch then stared at you all with expectant eyes. "Well?"

"It worked!" You announced. "Everything's fine."

"You should be getting the call...now!" Alex pointed to Julie’s phone on the table just as it started buzzing. You all cheered and Julie shushed you as she answered the call.

You heard a woman's voice say something through the phone and Julie gave a thumbs-up as she started jumping on the couch. You watched in amusement and mild horror as Luke and Reggie lifted Alex up into the air and spun him around.

Once he was back on the ground, Luke and Reggie made a beeline for you, each of them grabbed one of your arms and flipped you upside down over their shoulders.

You all spent the next twenty minutes laughing and screaming and Alex even got a little teary-eyed but you pretended not to notice. Then Julie called Flynn and ran off excitedly to decide her outfit for the night, leaving the four of you alone to plan out the setlist.

“Okay, so I’m thinking we start with Stand Tall.” Luke said excitedly as he wrote the words down in his songbook.

“Sounds good.” Reggie said, suddenly quiet.

“’Sounds good’? Guys, I wanna hear ‘That sounds awesome!” Luke reached out and nudged Reggie’s shoulder. “I know this isn’t the way we imagined any of this. But we need to be all in tonight. This is our second chance to play the Orpheum!”

“I get it.” Reggie sputtered. “But it’s hard. Do we even know what’s on the other side when we cross over? Do we still get to hang out together?”

You shifted your weight as the happy little bubble surrounding you popped. You had been so wrapped up in the excitement of finally playing the Orpheum that you almost forgot what tonight was really about.

“You guys are the only family I have.” Reggie’s eyes were glued to the piano as he played with his fingers. You reached out and locked his arm with yours in an attempt to comfort him.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen either. But it’s not like we have a choice.” Alex said.

Suddenly, Reggie’s arm fell out of yours as all three boys fell back, clutching their sides.

“I’m pretty sure we do.” Reggie groaned. “And it rhymes with ‘Hollywood Ghost Club’.”

The garage doors creaked open and Julie appeared with a bright smile and a blue garment bag in her hand. When she saw your expressions, her smile fell. “What’s wrong?”

“We just got hit pretty hard by one of those jolts.” Alex said. “But we’re fine.”

“Oh, good.” She nodded, though she still looked on edge. “I’m nervous.”

“That makes two of us.” You said. “But we made it this far for a reason. We got this.”

“Can you ride there with me? I'm gonna need more pep-talk material for the drive there cause I still think I might puke.” Julie tucked her hair behind her ears.

“Of course, and don't worry, we’ll leave the windows open.” You joked, making everyone laugh.

The sound of a car horn cut through the air and Julie looked outside. "That's my dad. Are you ready, (Y/n)?"

You nodded. "Yeah, uh, give me a second. I'll meet you in the car."

As Julie disappeared behind the doors, you turned to the boys and sighed as you tried to soak up this moment. For all you knew, this could be the last little window of time you had alone with them before tonight.

Julie was a huge part of the band of course, but these were your boys. The ones who you started this all with, who had been by your side for everything.

From the look on all their faces, you could see that they were thinking the same thing.

Without saying a word, you launched yourself at Alex. He made a surprised noise but recovered quickly, throwing his arms around you and holding you tight.

"And I'm the emotional one?" He jokingly muttered in your ear and you pinched his side, making him jump back. "Rude."

As soon as your arms were open, Reggie stepped forward and hugged you so tightly that you were thankful to not need oxygen anymore because he was definitely crushing several vital organs.

You laughed and gave him one last squeeze before pulling away, locking eyes with Luke instantly.

Alex cleared his throat awkwardly and grabbed Reggie's shoulder, steering him over to Luke's songbook to 'check out the setlist again'.

"And then there were two." Luke joked.

You laughed and stepped into his waiting arms, making him laugh. You soaked up the feeling of comfort and familiarity for a minute before pulling away.

"This, uh, is for you," Luke said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. You knitted your eyebrows together in confusion as he handed it over. "I wanted you to have it in case...well, you know. If tonight doesn't work."

"It will." You said, trying to ignore the fact that it very well could happen. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Patterson."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He quipped back, his voice sounding softer and less teasing than you would've expected. You pulled back from him and because you didn't know if you would ever get another chance, you stood on your tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek.

You moved away too fast to see his reaction but the gesture made the other two boys smirk at you as you dashed out of the doors, making a beeline for the car pulling out of the driveway.

-

The back rooms of the Orpheum were a maze.

You had left for a few minutes to walk around the venue and clear your head, trying to wring out the last of your nerves.

By the time you found your way back, you expected to find the rest of the band rushing to get ready in the dressing room. But all you saw was Julie anxiously pacing as she had been earlier, a habit she seemed to have inherited from both you and Alex.

“You okay?”

She snapped her head up towards you and sighed. “Yeah, just a little worried. The guys aren’t here yet.”

You looked around the room and then at the clock, frowning. The show was in less than half an hour and that was already cutting it close. Part of you wanted to go check on them but Julie seemed to need you more at the moment.

“Okay, well, give them another ten minutes. I'm sure they'll be here. They wouldn’t miss this…again.”

You ran your palm across the front of your pocket, feeling Luke's note next to your parent’s photo, and hoped you were right.

But then more and more time passed until the stage manager came to escort Julie to the stage.

"Just a second!" She calls out and then turns to you. "(Y/n), something's wrong. They were getting those jolts pretty hard before we left. They must've run out of time."

You shut your eyes tight as the words sunk in. All you could bring yourself now was, ‘This isn't what was supposed to happen.’

The world fell out from under your feet and you had trouble even standing up straight as you imagined what must've happened to them. Your best friends, your brothers, your family was gone and there wasn't anything you could do about it.

The guy knocked again, this time a little harder and with a nervous tone. Julie chewed her lip as she looked between you and the door and you could almost see the cloud of grief settling over her.

As hard as it was, you tried your best to shove your feelings down and marched up to Julie. There would be time to fall apart later, but you knew that this what they would want you to do. "Let's go do this for them, okay?"

She took a deep, shaky breath before hesitantly nodding. You followed closely behind her as she walked out the door though the halls until she reached the stage. You waited beside Flynn in the wing as Julie settled behind her microphone and addressed the crowd.

There were scattered claps from around the venue and then she took a deep breath before singing the opening.

After the first few lines, you took your cue and materialized at the center of the stage. The crowd gasped and cheered the way they always did, but you kept your eyes shut tight and focused on the music.

Just as the song started picking up, you heard a familiar pop in the air and then the sound of drumming. You whirled around to see Alex mounted onto a drum set at the back of the stage, twirling his drumsticks around and smiling like he had never been gone at all.

Once you got over the initial shock, you wanted to cry with relief. They were okay, they were here. Alex winked at you goofily, and you ran towards Julie’s keyboard.

She had started bouncing on the balls of her feet, both of you finally getting into the song now that they were coming back. You followed suit, dancing around the base of the drum set as yours and Julie’s voices came together.

Then Reggie appeared on the other side of Julie and you ran to his side. You bumped his shoulder with yours and he grinned, moving to stand back to back.

The song was ramping up to the chorus when a staticky noise cut through the air, not loud enough for the crowd to hear but enough to make you all look over to the other end of the stage.

You could see Luke's form fading in and out, a look of anguish on his face, and the pit in your stomach opened up again. The crowd was on the edge of their seats as Alex's drumming paused and Luke finally materialized to sing the opening of the chorus.

You didn't even know you were moving until you suddenly found yourself across the stage next to Luke, unable to stop smiling as you sang.

Julie joined you, throwing her arms up in the air happily and jumping around. Reggie appeared by her side, flashing the crowd a winning smile.

Alex stood up and gripped his mic as he sang this solo. You looked back at him and flashed him a proud smile, then whooping loudly when Reggie sang his lines.

You all went down the line hitting your notes until the chorus kicked in again and your heart felt so full you almost couldn't stand it. This was what you were so close to achieving before you died, it was all you had wanted for years, and you knew that if you hadn't died, that night would've changed your life. But this night was something even more special. Because you were all here, all together.

Even if it was just for one last song.

Julie caught your attention and nodded towards the platform that spread out into the crowd. You followed her to the center and stood back to back as everyone cheered.

The guys joined in on either side of you, Alex grabbing one of your hands and Luke holding the other. You all bowed to the audience before taking your cue and vanishing, leaving only Julie on stage.

You landed in the wing, feeling a little lightheaded and overwhelmed from all the emotions you had experienced in the last five minutes. The elated smile fading from your face when all three boys poofed by your side only to fall to the floor instantly.

“It didn’t work.” You said miserably as Julie emerged into the backstage area. She grabbed Flynn and whispered something to her, pointing in the direction of her family. Flynn nodded and disappeared into the crowd while Julie ran to your side.

You hauled Alex onto his feet, letting him lean on you to stay upright while Luke and Reggie trailed behind Julie as she led the group back to the dressing room. Once everyone was inside, they collapsed on the couch or the floor, loudly groaning in pain.

“What happened? Why didn’t it work?” Julie asked tearfully.

“I guess playing here wasn’t our unfinished business.” Alex said hollowly.

“Point Caleb.” Reggie muttered as he clung to the side of an armchair.

You stood frozen next to Julie as panic spread through your whole body, both of you flinching in sympathy as the shocks continued.

“You have to save yourselves right now.” Julie begged. “Join Caleb’s club. It’s better than not existing at all!”

“She’s right.” You managed to say, your voice shaky and almost giving out. Your stomach flipped at the thought of them having to work for an evil club owner forever, but the alternative was worse. “You guys need to go now! For me. For us.”

“We’re not going back there.” Reggie shook his head.

Luke pulled himself up and stumbled forward a little so that he was right in front of you. “No music is worth making if we’re not all making it together.”

You sighed sadly, thinking back to your conversation yesterday. “So no more regrets?”

Luke let out a deep sigh and then reached up and cupped your cheek with his right hand. “Just one.”

You furrowed your eyebrows in response and Luke blinked hard as if he was trying to find the words. "I never told you why I left that night."

"Luke, don't." You gave him a weak smile. "I get it."

"You do?" He asked.

You struggled to get the words out. "Yeah, I mean it was bound to happen eventually. We just got too close and it was weird for you. I understand t-”

"What?" Luke asked, cutting you off with a confused look. "No, no, that's not it at all. Read the-"

Before he could finish, you heard Julie gasp loudly from a few feet away. You looked over to see her stepping back from Alex with an awestruck look on her face as she gripped his forearms.

Wait, what?

Before you could even begin to process what you were seeing, Reggie was reaching out to Julie, who grabbed his wrist and hauled him up to his feet. The three of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Julie turned to you and Luke.

“Guys, come here.”

Alex reached out and pulled you into his side while Luke threw an arm around Reggie’s back and Julie brought you all in closer to her. At first, nothing happened. But then there was a faint buzzing sound and the boys lifted their wrist towards the ceiling and you all watched in awe as the stamp floated away in the blink of an eye.

“Whoa.” Reggie said, his eyes still glued to the ceiling. “I don’t feel as weak anymore.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Alex agreed. “Not that I ever was that weak in the first place.”

You rolled your eyes and let your head fall over on his shoulder. “What do you think that means?”

Luke smiled. “I think it means the band is back.”

It was quiet for a second before Alex looked at you all shyly. “You guys think we can try that hug thing again?”

You laughed as you huddled together again, sniffling and laughing. Then Julie yelled out that you had played the Orpheum and then you were all jumping around, still tangled in each other’s arms.

Eventually, you all broke apart and while the boys started chasing each other around, you turned to Julie. She looked into your eyes and immediately flew into your arms, muttering into your shoulder, “I always wanted a big sister.”

The words warmed your heart and you squeezed her extra hard, grateful that you actually could now. “Well, I’m honored.”

“My family's probably looking for me so..." Julie stepped back from your arms with the biggest smile you’d ever seen on her face, you jokingly bowed to her and she copied the gesture before disappearing behind the door.

You wiped the last of your tears out of your eyes and turned around to find Alex and Reggie were talking in whispers and wearing knowing smiles. When Alex saw you looking, he cleared his throat and nudged Reggie’s shoulder.

“Hey, Reg.” Alex said cheekily, not taking his eyes off of you for even a second. “I was going to check out the next band. You wanna come with me?”

“Sure!” Reggie started strolling towards the door, stopping only for a second to nudge your shoulder and whisper ‘don't do anything I wouldn’t do’ in your ear.

Alex fixed Luke with a pointed look over his shoulder and Reggie gave him a dorky wink before they poofed away. You smiled fondly at the space where they were just standing and awkwardly turned towards Luke.

“Hi.” You said, laughing awkwardly.

“Hi.” Luke muttered back as he stepped forward until he was close enough to grab your hand. “About what I was saying earlier…”

You opened your mouth to say something but he shook his head and pointed to your pocket. “Read it. Please.”

You tugged the note he had given you earlier out of your pocket and carefully folded it open to see that it wasn’t a note at all. It was the love song that Julie had found that day in the garage, the one that he didn’t want anyone to see. You struggled a little trying to decipher Luke's handwriting. The ink was a little smudged and the song was clearly unfinished but it was the most beautiful thing you had ever read. And he had written it for you.

"I didn't leave because we got too close," He said. "It was the opposite, (Y/n), I left because I was scared to lose you, and I know that doesn't make sense because I kind of did w-"

You carefully tucked the paper back in your pocket with one hand and grabbed the back of his neck with the other, pulling him down and closing the last bit of space between you.

Luke's brain short-circuited for a second before he started kissing back, grabbing your waist with enough force to nearly knock you both backwards. It was dizzying and a little desperate, yet weirdly familiar, as if you'd been kissing him your whole life.

Most moments with Luke felt like they were happening in slow motion, but this time it was like a high-speed movie montage of your whole lives. The stolen crayons, the time capsule, the pre performance pep talks, the smell of cinnamon, the ferris wheel, his jacket, the movie nights and songwriting sessions. All of it had led up to this moment.

"I love you." Luke said immediately after you pulled away. "God, I love you so much. I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry."

“Hey, it’s okay.” You laughed, blinking another wave of tears out of your eyes. “I should’ve told you forever ago instead of skirting around it.”

“And what is it that you should’ve told me?” He said teasingly and you rolled your eyes. You had gotten so used to Luke being so shut down or nervous around you that you almost forgot how much of a little shit he could be.

“That I love you too.” You said, unable to stop smiling.

Luke leaned down and captured your lips in another kiss, this time threading his fingers through your hair as he cupped your cheeks in his hands. “I’m never gonna get tired of hearing that.”

You bit your lip to keep another laugh from bubbling up as you looked up at him, feeling completely overwhelmed in the best way possible. "So...what now?"

"I don't know." Luke admitted. "But I know one thing."

"What's that?"

"That no matter where we go, or what we do," He pushed a piece of hair behind your ear. "In life, in death... I'm yours. Always."

-

The End

-

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[fanficimagery]

Misery Business pt. I

Imagine moving in with the Molina's after an incident back home. Instead of being angry, you realize this is your second chance to be truly happy and you really hope it goes better than your first attempt.

Words: 6.1K Author's Note: I'm a sucker for three idiot ghost boys which is why I'm back, only in this imagine everyone is alive. Yes that includes Rose Molina as well :) Soulmate!AU too so have fun with that. FYI, Y/N will be "musically talented" but since I can't write music to save my life then "Y/N's music" will come from a little band that goes by the name of Paramore and by James Arthur.

Julie and three of her best guy friends are in the family studio outside, writing and jamming and just having the time of their life. Alex, Reggie, and Luke are about two years older than Julie, but the boys overlooked the teeny tiny age gap because her killer voice was exactly what their band was missing. The entire high school knew exactly who the boys of Sunset Curve were so they were all surprised when they took sophomore Julie Molina under their wing and rebranded their band.

Julie's family was very supportive of her music, especially her mother Rose, and she let Julie and the boys use her studio whenever they wanted so long as they all kept up their grades. They're usually left alone when Julie and Luke are in writing mode, so it's a bit of a surprise to see Ray and Rose entering the studio.

Alex is the first to notice them, nudging Reggie and gesturing to Mr. and Mrs. Molina, and then Reggie tosses a pillow at Luke's head to get his attention. Luke's rather rude remark is on the tip of his tongue, but his eyes widen upon seeing Julie's parents.

"Jules. Julie!" He hisses. "Your mom and dad are here."

"Hmm. What?" Julie finally looks away from her journal, her eyes widening before a beaming smile breaks out. "Mami! Papi. What brings you two here?"

"Hey mija," Ray says. "Can we talk real quick?"

"Of course!"

She glances at the boys and they're quick to start packing up, but Ray gestures for them to stay put. "It's okay, boys. You can stay for this."

Rose smiles. "After all, you are family too."

Every time Rose or Ray mention that the boys are family, they can't help but smile goofily. None of the boys have the type of relationship with their parents that Julie has with hers, so they're all grateful the Molina's accept them as if they were a Molina as well. Julie smiles as the boys, who are all practically older brothers to her, gather around her and Luke to hear what's going on.

On his way further into the studio, Ray grabs a chair for Rose and she takes a seat while Ray stands behind her, gripping the back of her chair. "Okay," he exhales a little roughly, "so you know the drama your cousin went through a few months ago?"

Julie frowns. "Yeah."

"Well it seems Y/N isn't doing so well," Rose says. "Your tía thinks a change of location is what's best for her."

"Y/N wants to move here?"

"Well not exactly," Ray says. "Y/N doesn't know. If we agree to take her in, then Y/N will be told of her relocation."

Julie nods, looking thoughtful. "Okay."

"Okay?" Ray muses. "What does okay mean?"

"Well I'm assuming you're only telling me because you never make a big decision without seeing what me and Carlos think," Julie says and then smiles brightly. "I love Y/N. Carlos loves Y/N, so I know he already voted yes."

Rose chuckles. "He did. I believe his words were I will throw down for Y/N any day of the week. Bring her home."

Julie snorts. "Of course he did." Then after glancing between her mom and dad, she nods with a gentler smile. "Whatever she needs. I'll even decorate the guest bedroom for her."

"That's nice, mija." Ray then looks over the boys, eyes settling on Reggie. "No flirting."

"I- what?"

"No flirting!"

Luke and Alex snort as Reggie gasps in mock outrage, but everyone knows Reggie is the one to flirt first and ask questions later. Ray and Rose laugh as they ready to leave the studio, Rose walking over to kiss her daughter on the temple before disappearing after her husband.

As soon as the teenagers are left alone, the boys whirl on Julie.

"So who's Y/N?" Alex asks, smiling innocently.

"And what was the drama a few months ago?" Luke wonders.

Julie glances between all three boys before sighing. "I'm only telling you this because it's highly likely she'll be coming soon." She has their full attention. "Y/N is my older cousin. Last year she met her soulmate."

"Aww," Alex coos.

"Or so we thought."

His smile immediately falls. "Oh."

Julie cringes. "Yeah. Apparently some new transfer student at her school liked my cousin so much that he decided he wanted to be her one and only. Really creepy dude," she says. "So somehow he figured out what her words were and made sure those were the first words he spoke to her." Their eyes widen. "When she spoke to him in return, he memorized the words and had them tattooed on. Then he refused to let her see the words, under the guise that they were in a private spot she couldn't see until they got to know each other better, until they healed."

"What the hell," Luke breathes. "That such a-"

"Dick move," Reggie mutters.

Alex nods in agreement. "Yeah. What they said."

Julie smiles sadly at her friends. "She was with him for a year before he met his real soulmate and then he tried to juggle them both. Y/N was really torn up about it."

"Who wouldn't be?" Alex says. "That is so messed up."

"It is. But if there's one thing I know about my cousin it's that she doesn't want people to tiptoe around her." Julie grins then. "So be yourselves like you are with me, just don't flirt with her."

Alex stares down his two guy best friends until they huff and nod in agreement. "I think they can handle that."

Stepping out of the Uber in front of your tío's house, you're grateful you stopped being annoyed with your mom for making you move long enough to accept the money she transferred into your bank account. The ride from the airport to the Molina household wasn't exactly a cheap one and you regretted not letting your family pick you up when you saw what you owed.

But now you're here, one duffel bag hanging from your shoulder and a medium-sized suitcase sitting by your feet. You only have a moment to take it all in before the front door is opening, and your tío and tía are exiting the house to greet you.

"You're here!" Rose smiles and is quick to pull you into a hug. "How was your flight?"

"Decent. Just a little turbulence. I might have barfed. Twice."

Rose and Ray laugh, and then Ray's tugging you into a hug of his own. "We're so glad to have you, mija. Julie and her friends have just about finished with your room. They're really excited to have you here."

"And I'm excited to be here." Pulling out of the hug, you're met with two identical expressions that practically say Are you really?. "Well now I am." All three of you chuckle. "I was a little upset at the short notice, but I'm totally over it. I am a little tired though, so yeah."

"Oh. Of course. Just head on up, mija. You know where the guest bedroom is," Rose says. "Ray and I need to go get some groceries for tonight. Does arroz con pollo sound good?"

You groan quietly. "It sounds fantastic. My mom could never quite make it like you do."

Ray laughs. "Well my sister is not the cook she claims to be. Now go on. Rest up and we'll see you for dinner."

As Ray and Rose take their leave, you grab your suitcase and drag it inside behind you. You can hear laughter coming from upstairs so that's where you head towards, and you're not surprised to see Julie, Flynn, and who appears to be Julie's bandmate Alex tacking up some fairy lights and draping them across your headboard. The bedroom, which was usually bare except for the bed and dresser, has many of your personal things scattered about that had been shipped a little over a week ago now. However the sheer black curtains, the maroon comforter bed set, and the lights they're hanging up are all new.

"A-hem." You clear your throat, smiling when all three teens freeze and turn towards you. "Are you guys seriously having fun without me?" The blonde boy grins as the two girls squeal, you dropping your duffel bag next to your suitcase just as Julie and Flynn launch themselves at you. Your arms are spread wide as they wrap themselves around you and you bring your own arms down around their shoulders to squeeze them in return. "Did you girls miss me?"

"Uh duh!" Flynn is the first to retort.

Julie pulls back just enough to look you in the face. "We're going to have so much fun."

"So much." You can't help but chuckle, your attention then sliding to the quiet blonde. "Alex, right?"

He smiles. "Yeah. Hi. It's nice to meet you."

"You too, man. I keep up with the band on Youtube and can I just say that you absolutely kill it on the drums? I mean holy shit. You're awesome!"

Alex blushes as Julie points at him. "See! Own your awesomeness. My cousin thinks you're cool, therefore you are cool."

Both girls finally release you, Flynn stumbling back to sit on the edge of what is now your bed. Julie stays right where she's at, arm wrapped around your waist as you both stare at her bandmate. You nod and smile at him. "You really are. We definitely need to jam some time."

Alex seems to perk up then. "Y-You're into music too?"

Flynn snorts. "The Molina's are all freakishly talented. I'm almost jealous."

You roll your eyes fondly at Flynn. "Shush. You're talented in other areas." Then looking at Alex, you grin. "I sing and write. Not as amazing as Julie, of course, but I can hold my own. I like to perform-"

"Just not in front of an audience," Julie muses.

"-and just let go. The rush of it all feels good." You turn to pout at your cousin. "And yeah, not in front of an audience of strangers." You stare at Alex once more. "Friends and family is fine, just not like a legit stage. I'll projectile vomit like that one girl in Pitch Perfect." All three teens snort, that movie having been popular with all of them.

Alex then grins. "We'll definitely have to jam then once you're settled in."

A brief moment of silence descends upon the room, but Flynn is not having it. She claps her hands once, garnering everyone's attention. "So before we get comfortable, lets address the elephant in the room." You groan as she smiles broadly. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, guys."

"Really? Your sudden move states otherwise."

"Flynn!" Julie scolds. Alex seems to freeze, his gaze darting between you and Flynn.

Flynn grimaces as she seems to think she's crossed a line, but you merely roll your eyes. "What exactly did my mom tell your dad?" You turn to ask Julie.

"Um," she gulps and fidgets in place. "I was just told that you weren't doing so good after everything that happened."

You snort. "Seriously?" Julie nods and you chuckle, shaking your head. "Guys, I'm fine. Honestly! I got over the heartbreak like a week after it happened and then I was just pissed off. But my friends helped me realize some things and I'm good now."

"But then why did your mom say you weren't?" Julie wonders.

"I love my mom, but she's a moron," you say. You drag Julie over to your bed, kicking off your shoes along the way and crawl to sit against the headboard. Julie does the same and you gesture for Alex to join Flynn at the foot of your bed. He does, smiling to be included. Once everyone's settled, you say, "So Jerry, who was the guy pretending to be my soulmate," you explain for Flynn and Alex, "has been trying to get in contact with me ever since I blocked him on everything I could. A couple weeks ago while I was out partying with some friends, Jerry and his soulmate were at the same party I was at. I didn't notice them, but they noticed me and they somehow managed to come up with the idea that I was stalking them."

"What a bitch," Flynn immediately blurts. Alex nods along with her.

"Anyway, Jerry's soulmate confronted me and I was completely blindsided by how angry she was with me. I mean, Jerry's the one who tricked me! Not the other way around." You shake your head in annoyance. "She made some hella stupid accusations and she threw a punch."

Julie gasps. "She didn't!?"

"She did. Now I'm not stupid, so I let her hit me a couple of times before I took my first swing. Fortunately for me, she clawed me," you pull your shirt down to show them three marks just above your cleavage, "and she was arrested when the cops got there. After giving my statement and getting statements from the witnesses, they determined I acted in self defense and let me go home. Mom took the little altercation as me spiraling and acting out, so she shipped me off."

"Jesus," Julie sighs. "That's messed up."

"It really is. But oh well. What happened, happened, and now I get to live with my favorite people."

All four of you laugh before Alex gestures towards your chest, sobering up some. "I have some cream that you can use so it'll fade the scars. My soulmate likes to skateboard and he gets pretty banged up every now and then so I keep a stash of that stuff for him."

You smile fondly at him. "Yes, please. The first time my real soulmate sees the girls," you shimmy your chest just the slightest, "I don't want him to see my battle wounds."

Julie swats you with the back of your hand and you laugh at her exasperated expression as the other two break down into giggles.

Lounging around in your room, you ask Julie about her other two bandmates but Alex tells you they had family obligations they couldn't get out of. Carlos gets dropped off by his friend's mom and he joyously jumps onto the middle of the bed when he realizes you're finally there. So that's how Ray and Rose find the five of you, laughing and joking in your new room before dinner is ready and making plans to hang out the following day when everyone could meet up.

After explaining to your tío and tía the real reasoning your mother had you sent away, it was like a weight was lifted off their shoulders and they were more at ease in your presence. You laughed at their sheepishness, at how they thought they had a rightfully heartbroken teenager on their hands with no clue how to ease said heartache. But when all was said and done, everyone seemed to be themselves around you.

Alex had shown up that afternoon, soulmate in tow, and immediately you asked to play with Willie's hair. Both boys had laughed, Willie agreed and readily sat on the floor between your knees as Julie and Alex Facetimed Flynn about any upcoming open mic nights they could book. Willie had a box of random hair supplies in his lap and you saw how he kept running his fingers over a feather and some small silver hoops. Without even asking him, you grabbed a couple of silver hoops, a feather, and set them aside. You had him tilt his head and he did so without questions, closing his eyes as you started to part and section the hair on the right side of his head. Alex smiled every time he looked over at the two of you and you happily gave Willie three thin braids about five inches long before letting the rest of his hair hang loose. The two outer braids had the silver hoops clipped in and the braid in the middle held the feather you had braided in with a thin leather cord. When you were finished and then combed out Willie's hair one last time, you told him you were done and had to bite back a laugh at the way Alex gulped. Willie eagerly went to check himself out in the mirror, beaming at his reflection before turning around and pulling you into a hug.

While your tío Ray and tía Rose worked, and Carlos spent time at his friend's house, you and Julie ordered in some pizza for yourselves, Alex, and Willie. They had no plans at all for the day so the four of you went out to Rose's studio garage when Flynn finally showed up.

Flynn has the bright idea to do karaoke, pulling out the equipment and setting up a laptop Julie had in the studio for this occasion.

Flynn killed it on Nicki Minaj's Starships, you and Julie sang Mamma Mia and were joined by a very enthusiastic Alex. Willie absolutely refused to sing, but that was okay because he knew the choreography for Backstreet Boys Everybody and you eagerly pulled him up to dance with yourself and Julie. Tío Ray and Tía Rose showed up with Carlos in tow, and you and Julie laughed joyously as her parents sang through Journey's Don't Stop Believin'.

Everyone was laughing and having a good time, but as the sun was going down the parental figures went inside to talk through dinner ideas and clean up a little.

You ask Julie if she has any originals you have yet to hear, but as she goes to go grab a journal Alex speaks up. "What about you? You said you wrote, right? I need to hear an original."

"I, uh, sure." You shrug. You turn towards Julie, eyeing the laptop. "Are my instrumentals still on there?"

She grins. "Yeah. Can I choose?"

"Go for it." You get up to go see which song of yours she's going to choose, smiling softly when you see her choice. Alex is practically bouncing in his seat, Willie is shaking his head at him in fond amusement, and Flynn looks torn between recording with her phone. When you nod at her, she beams and gets ready to hit record on her phone.

"So before Julie hits play, I just want you guys to know I wrote this song while I was Jerry. He absolutely loathed it when he first heard it because he thought I was singing about someone else." You huff a laugh. "The song was honestly about a couple on a TV show I got fixated on, but he didn't believe me. So anyway, I might be a little rusty, but Julie loves it so here goes nothing.

Julie hits play. The violin starts and you smirk when you see Alex's eyebrows raise. Then the drums, guitar, and bass kick in and his eyes widen just as his jaw drops when your attitude completely changes.

"I'm in the business of misery, let's take it from the top. She's got a body like an hourglass, it's ticking like a clock. It's a matter of time before we all run out. When I thought he was mine, she caught him by the mouth."

You keep singing, singing to Julie, but then it goes silent before the chorus kicks in and you find yourself back to back with your cousin as she joins you. "Woah, it was never my intention to brag. To steal it all away from you now. But God, does it feel so good 'cause I got him where I want him now. And if you could, then you know you would 'cause God, it just feels so.. It just feels so good."

Willie whoops and you laugh your way through the next few lines, rocking your shoulders and even throwing in a couple of head bangs for good measure.

But then the music quiets just so and you face the boys. "I watched his wildest dreams come true and not one of them involving you. Just watch my wildest dreams come true. Not one of them involving.." You head bang now, twisting your head back and forth so your hair wildly flips back and forth. Julie plays the air guitar and you're laughing, having made yourself dizzy in the process. But then as one particular part comes up, you sidle up to Julie's side, your face just inches from the side of her own face as she stares forward. "Woah I never meant to brag, but I got him where I want him now."

Your chest aches from putting your all into your own song, sweat beading at your hairline as you jump around dancing. You're exhausted by the end of the song, but it's well worth it to see Alex's gobsmacked expression.

The studio falls silent, but it's Willie and Flynn who jump to their feet. Their utter amazement and joyfulness makes you a little sheepish, but then Alex is standing to his feet. "Holy shit."

"Right?" Julie cackles. "I've been begging her to play live with us for one song, but she won't."

"Are you frickin' kidding me?!" The new voice has your head snapping in it's direction, the boy in a leather jacket and red flannel wrapped around his waist staring at you in wonder. "What is it with you Molina's and your musical talents?"

Your face flames at his praise, eyes then darting to the boy with shaggy hair and a sleeveless shirt gaping at you. You chuckle nervously and Julie wraps an arm around your shoulders, grinning as she introduces you. "And here we have Reggie and Luke. Guys, this is my cousin Y/N."

"Dude, will you marry me?" Luke's words make everyone laugh out loud, but you freeze.

Julie, having felt you tense up, stares at you. "Y/N? Are you-"

But you cut her off, eyes solely on Luke as you say, "Bro, don't call me dude." Your mocking tone makes Flynn snort.

Not only is it Luke's turn to freeze, but so do Alex and Reggie. Their eyes widen as they stare between you and Luke, your heart beating triple when you realize just who this is.

"Oh my god," Alex mutters.

"Oh my god!" Reggie exclaims, smile instantly beaming.

"OH MY GOD!" Julie shouts, arm tightening around your shoulder. "Did he just- did you just say.." You nod, your breathing becoming a little erratic. Julie notices and turns you so she grips you by the shoulders and you're staring directly into her face. "Hey, it's okay. You're fine. Luke's one of the good ones."

You gulp. "I- it's not that," you murmur. "But he said.. and I need to see-"

Before you can finish, the presence of said boy is right next to you and Julie. You startle at his appearance, but then he's holding out his arm between you and your cousin and you glance down to see the words that have been stamped into his skin since the day of his birth. There on the space just below the crease of his elbow are the words bro, don't call me dude.

You laugh, a little wetly, but no one dares to call you out on it. Instead, you turn and lift your shirt so he can see his own words stamped on your ribs. A faint touch has you flinching away and giggling, and Julie snorts as you pout at Luke who seems to realize you're ticklish.

"OH MY GOD! YOU GUYS ARE SOULMATES!" Flynn shouts. "THIS IS SO COOL!"

And just like that the tension is broken, everyone laughing and cheering. You're having trouble holding Luke's gaze, his crinkled eyes and swoon-worthy smile making you want to reach out and hug him. So when you see his fingers twitch and tap out a beat against his leg before he clenches his fists closed, you cave and pull him into a hug. He hesitates a moment before he sighs, wrapping his arms tightly around you in return.

"Hey. ¿Qué está pasando? (What's going on?) Rose wonders. Apparently the cheering had caught tía Rose and tío Ray's attention.

You and Luke break apart, but your arms remain touching as you both stare at Julie's parents like you'd been caught doing something wrong. And since the two of you can't seem to form words, Julie giggles before filling them in. "Luke and Y/N are soulmates. They said each other's words."

Ray and Rose immediately look at you in shock, and you can feel your face heating up. Slowly, you smile at your tía's concerned expression and immediately she's beaming as she makes a beeline for you. "Mija! That's wonderful news." You laugh as she hugs you and then laugh even harder when you see your tío Ray clamp a hand down on Luke's shoulder. Then releasing you and turning towards Luke, tía Rose smiles as she opens her arms wide before moving in to hug him. "I'm happy for you too, mijo. Welcome to the family." Then pulling back, she says, "Not that you weren't already part of the family, but you know."

Luke chuckles, ears turning red. "Thanks, Mrs. Molina."

"Well this is a cause for celebration," Ray says. "Anyone feeling up to pasta?" Julie, Flynn, and Reggie all whoop in unison. "You going to join us, Willie?"

Willie, never usually around for long periods of time with Julie's family, is surprised to be invited. Alex beams at his soulmate and Willie knows he can't say no. "Sure, Mr. Molina. Thanks for the invite."

"Great," Rose smiles. "Well now that that's settled, I'm going to go make a reservation so we don't give the hostess a stroke when we all walk in. Everyone has two hours before we leave."

Tía Rose and tío Ray congratulate you and Luke one last time before they take their leave. Everyone follows after them, excitingly talking outfit choices, but Reggie remains by the opened doors smiling between you and Luke. A second later, Alex returns and marches a reluctant Reggie away.

Now that it's just you and Luke, the two of you laugh nervously.

"So.."

"So.." You both laugh nervously again and then you're groaning. "This is so weird, but like I'm also really excited."

Luke loses some of his nerves and his shoulders slump. "Really? You're excited?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

He turns sheepish then, averting his gaze as he shoves his hands into the front of his jean's pockets. "Julie might have explained the shitty thing your ex did and yeah. I would understand if you weren't stoked to meet me on your second day here."

He's so genuine in his explanation that you can't help but mentally swoon at this boy before you. You're not sure where the sudden confidence comes from, but you're grateful for it when you step closer and take his face in the palm of your hands so he's staring right at you. "Okay one, my mother didn't properly explain why she moved me here. I'll fill you in later, but I'm telling you right now it's not because I'm heartbroken or anything. And two, I am stoked to meet you. You wanna know why?" Luke can only nod as he pays close attention and you grin at him. "Because the moment realization sunk in, everything just felt.. it felt-"

"Right?" He asks, voice low.

You nod. "It felt right. There was no uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach, there was just elation. Like I found something I didn't know I was looking for until you uttered the words etched on my ribs."

Luke slowly smiles and you let your hands fall to your sides, leaning in and quickly kissing his cheek. "Now come on. We need to get ready for tonight."

His cheeks turn red almost immediately, but you don't say anything as you grab his arm and drag his hand from his pocket. Then clasping his hand within your own, you drag him out of the studio and up towards the house.

Dinner was quite the affair, everyone pushing you and Luke next to one another at the table and cooing over how adorable you two were. Even his parents, Emily and Mitch, had been invited along and everyone smiled throughout the entire dinner. The table was quite loud, but not a single customer nearby or the waitresses could blame you when Reggie loudly explained that they were celebrating newly found soulmates. There was even applause that had you and Luke turning red in the face and then trying to aim a kick at Reggie's shin under the table. Unfortunately, Alex took the brunt of both kicks.

When the weekend was over, Luke and the boys stood by your side on your first day of school. The band had quite the following and those fangirls of theirs were not impressed to see you and Luke hand-in-hand. It was a bit daunting navigating the hallways with a majority of the school's population looking down their nose at you, but then Julie, Flynn, and surprisingly Carrie Wilson (your cousin's arch-nemesis) came to your aide. You understood Julie and Flynn's protectiveness, but Carrie's was a shock and she merely flipped her hair over her shoulder while giving the excuse that no one should be shit on just because they found their soulmate. The girls were stunned, but shrugged it off and let Carrie do what Carrie wanted to do.

Tía Rose and tío Ray saw a lot more of Luke at their home, but didn't put up any fuss. The only thing they asked was that if they were alone in the room, then the bedroom door was to remain open at all times. And not wanting to disappoint them, you and Luke abided by their rules. Because being with Luke.. it was the complete opposite than being with Jerry. There were no nerves, no second guessing, and no jealousy. You were happy to be with Luke and vice versa, and either of you could go out with friends with no twenty questions about who you were going with and where (Jerry seriously did a number on you).

You became Julie and the Phantoms number one fan, alongside Willie and Flynn, and sat up in the loft with Willie while the band rehearsed downstairs. The times you did go downstairs after rehearsals and Luke bounded over to you like an eager puppy, you had to fight the urge to chuck something at Reggie and Julie when they cooed over how cute you were together.

Luckily for you, Luke wasn't into PDA other than hand holding or hugs. But it still didn't stop your friends from mockingly groaning for you to get a room when Luke would hug you from behind and stay there with his chin hooked over your shoulder.

Today is one of the rare days the band left Luke alone so he could spend the time with you, but you're stuck doing Algebra II homework and Luke is going through one of your old writing journals for abandoned lyrics to give him inspiration.

You've been stuck on the same problem for what feels like twenty minutes when you hear Luke sharply inhale. You glance up at him, watching him read through something that's clearly caught his attention. You can't help but grin at his look of concentration and then his expression falls and your heart suddenly aches.

Luke glances up and you gulp. "What's this?"

"What's what?"

He glances back down at the journal in his hands before looking at you once more. "Something titled Train Wreck. It looks like a completed song."

Your expression completely goes lax then. "Oh. That's, uh, I wrote that a while back when my mom and dad were going through their divorce." You close the math book in your lap and hesitantly meet Luke's gaze. "That was not a fun time for all involved. My mind was kind of.. messed up back then."

Luke gulps. "I don't want to seem inconsiderate of what clearly was a dark time for you, but this- this is really good, Y/N. Do you have a melody for it?"

You huff a laugh, shaking your head in fond amusement. Only Luke would be this invested in a song. "I do. I think it's on the laptop in a password protected file.."

His eyes light up. "Can I hear it? You don't have to, I just-"

"It's fine." You get up, heading over to the laptop and powering it up to find what you need. After a bit of searching, you find it and open it up. Letting the melody play, you look up at Luke. "I won't sing the whole thing, but I'll sing a portion of it."

He eagerly nods. "I'll take anything."

You smile at him, nervously taking a seat on a crate in the middle of the room. He finds another crate and places it close to you, wanting to be as close as possible. You close your eyes, smiling, and let the melody wash over you as the lyrics come back to you in a flash. Your heart beat is beating double, but you inhale deeply and let it out slowly.

Losing yourself to the music, you mouth the lyrics to yourself until letting your voice ring out. "Underneath our bad blood, we've still got a sanctum. Home, still a home, still a home here. It's not too late to build it back 'cause a one in a million chance is still a chance, still a chance and I would take those odds."

You open your eyes, chest aching as all those feelings from so long ago come rushing back and make your voice just that much stronger. "Unbreak the broken, unsay these spoken words. Find hope in the hopeless, pull me out of the train wreck." Luke grabs your hand and you squeeze it for all your worth as you keep looking forward. "Unburn the ashes, unchain the reactions now. I'm not ready to die, not yet. Pull me out of the train wreck. Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out."

You meet Luke's gaze then, a little surprised to see his eyes red rimmed and teary through your own blurry vision. "You can say what you like, don't say I wouldn't die for it. I'm down on my knees and I need you to be my God, be my help, be a Savior who can-"

Your voice cracks on the next word and Luke tugs on your hand, pulling you into a hug. A sob escapes your throat as you cling to Luke, but you quickly stifle it against his shoulder. As the melody plays out, you press your forehead to his shoulder before pushing back and sniffling. "I, uh, I'm sorry about that. Everything came rushing back and I-"

"Don't apologize." Luke catches your face in the palm of his hands, thumbs brushing away your tears before his lips press against your forehead. The action is so soft that your expression crumples momentarily, but you quickly mask it when Luke pulls back to catch your gaze. "That was amazing, Y/N! So amazing. And I'm sorry it brought up bad memories, but.. wow."

You huff a laugh, pulling back so you aren't hunched over. Luke, however, refuses to stop touching you and catches your hands within his own. "I should have guessed you'd be easily impressed."

"For you? Always."

You shake your head, grinning. "You're so freakin' cheesy, Luke Patterson."

He chuckles and again you're hit with a sudden boost of confidence that you lean forward, one hand finding the back of his neck so you can bring him to meet you halfway in a kiss. He smiles against your mouth, but the smile quickly falls the second you tilt your head to deepen the kiss. Unfortunately, just as the tip of your tongue flicks against his bottom lip, you're interrupted.

"Can we come in now?" Reggie's voice rings out. "I really wanna give Y/N a hug after hearing that song."

"Reggie!" Julie scolds.

You and Luke pull apart laughing. You both straighten up and look towards the door just in time to see Reggie rubbing at the back of his head as he walks in with Alex and Julie behind him. Hand in hand, you and Luke stand up and chuckle at Reggie's put out expression.

Had you known that having a soulmate felt exactly as you feel right now, you would have known something was definitely up back home with Jerry. And though you will always hate your ex for tricking you the way he did, there's an ounce of gratefulness for the misery he put you through because had he not then you wouldn't have moved and met your true soulmate.

[thedevilliers]

BEHIND THE SCENES — 6:04 p.m to 9:23 p.m.

transcript under the cut (click pics for hq!)   𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 | 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 |  

[TEXT MESSAGES] [BART] heyy emi [EMILIA] heyyyyyyy barty [BART] are you free rn? [EMILIA] yeahh just chillin [BART] sooo haha i was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies? right now? [BART] yeahh in like an hour? if you want to [EMILIA] sure!! i'll see you there!! [BART] cool! see you tonight

[EMILIA, sighing] Tonight... [EMILIA] Tonight!?

[ALEXANDER] Everyone does it these days, dad. [OLIVER] You will not be dyeing your hair, Alex. Your mom would never allow it. [EMILIA] Daddy? [ALEXANDER] Wow. Be more obvious you want something. [OLIVER] Alex. Yes, Emi? [EMILIA] I was wondering if I could go to the movies tonight. [OLIVER] With who? Paula? Sure, go ahead. [EMILIA] Uhm... actually, with Bartholomew. [ALEXANDER] What? You? On a date? [OLIVER] With Bartholomew. This late? I don’t think so. [EMILIA] Please! I’ll come back early. [OLIVER] Emilia. I’m sorry— [EMILIA] Please, daddy! I did all my homework already. I—I have good grades! [ALEXANDER] Nice try. You’re gonna have to cancel. Poor Bart. [EMILIA] Alex! Shush! [OLIVER] Only if you take Sarah with you. She can keep an eye on you. [EMILIA] Yes! Thank you daddy. I’ll bring you something, okay? [ALEXANDER] What? I can’t go out for a month, but she can go on dates? [OLIVER] You sneaked out three times. You’re lucky your mom only knows about one.

[EMILIA] Thank you for tonight! I had a lot of fun. [BART] I had fun too and thank you for accepting my last minute invite. Uh, Emilia. I have something to tell you. [EMILIA] ... Yeah? [BART] I—I think you’re pretty cute. I really enjoy spending time with you. We’ve known each other for so long too. What i want to say is—I like you. [EMILIA] What? [BART] If you don’t feel the same way, It’s cool. I just wanted to— [EMILIA] I don’t. I mean—I do! I like you too. [BART] Then... will you be my girlfriend? [EMILIA] Yes. [THERESA] Who is that, daddy? What are they doing? I can’t see! [OLIVER] Let’s get you to bed, mmm? [THERESA] But I want to know!

[woso-fan13]

19. Whining/Crying

*follows the same characters as Syrup & Strollers*

Your mom showed up to the hotel trying to drag two suitcases in one hand, carrying a diaper bag, cradling a fussy toddler, and pushing a stroller with her elbow. Most of the team was already in the lobby, waiting for the others to arrive, so they jumped up and helped. Kelley grabs your small body from your mom, cradling you closely against her and rocking, shushing you gently. Your little hands grip into her shirt, holding her close. 

Alex takes the suitcases and the stroller, throwing the diaper bag into the stroller, which allows your mom to free herself up enough to go check in and grab her room key. 

By the time she gets back, you have settled slightly. Kelley is still rocking you, your body limp and your head resting in the crook of her elbow. She’s talking quietly to you now, you just staring up at her with your pacifier in your mouth. 

“Today has been an absolute nightmare,” your mom says, running her hand across her face. “Someone went and got themselves an ear infection and hasn’t stopped crying since yesterday morning. And the pressure changes on the flight made it so much worse, she was screaming bloody murder.”

Kelley looks down at you, speaking both to you and your mom, “I doubt it was this little angel. She’s too perfect to be such a menace, right kid?”

“She most certainly was not an angel, but it’s not her fault,” your mom says. “Now, we’re going to go put our stuff away, eat a snack, then take a little nap.”

She reaches out, moving to take you from Kelley, “huh, baby, are you gonna go have a little nap? I’ll get you all set up and you can sleep in your stroller while Mama goes and does her work. Does that sound good?”

Kelley pulls her arms away, still holding you. 

“Do you have meetings?” she asks. 

“Only a few,” your mom explains, “and then some paperwork. It’s only really 3 hours of work, so we’ll be around for dinner.”

“You are absolutely not taking a sick toddler to meetings. I’ll watch her and I’m sure I’ll have loads of help. You go get some work done and let me work my baby magic here,” Kelley insists. 

Your mom shakes her head, “I can’t ask you to do that. She’s been so fussy these past few days, I don’t want to stick you with that. I can manage her.”

“You’re not asking me, I’m offering. Go drop your bags off and do your work. We’ll meet you at dinner.”

“Thank you, Kel, I really appreciate it. I’ll try to move things quickly.”

With that, she places a kiss on your forehead and grabs the bags. By now, you were comfortable with the team and used to being left with them randomly, so you normally would have been fine with it. But you felt icky and your ear hurt, so you cried when your Mama started walking away. She looked back briefly, but she knew you were in good hands. She trusted those girls to take care of you, so she continued to the elevator. 

Kelley shoots Alex a frantic look and Alex starts digging through the bag your mom had left for you. She pulls out a carton of milk and a bottle that you were much too old to be using but refused to give up. Pouring the milk in and screwing the lid on, she flips it upside to check for leaks before hanging it to Kelley. She pulls the pacifier out of your mouth and pops the bottle in before more tears come. 

You suckle on the bottle, the comforting repetition and familiar taste soothing you. By the time the bottle was empty, you had calmed down. Alex hands you the small container of teddy grahams that were in your bag and you accept them eagerly. You see Christen nearby and reach your arms out for her. When she doesn’t notice you right away, you start whining. Luckily, you get her attention before you start crying again and she happily takes you into her arms. She holds you perched on her hip while you work your way through your snack, being sure to offer some to everyone around you. Christen was always your go-to meal buddy and you were thrilled to see her again. 

Once your snack was finished, you got attacked by multiple hands toting the most dreaded weapons. Baby wipes attack your hands and face as you squirm and fuss, trying to get away. But your little body is no match for the persistent wipes so you are reluctantly cleaned up. As soon as they finish, someone slips your pacifier back into your mouth to prevent any more fuss. 

The door to the lobby opens again and more of the players find their way back to the nook you were settled in. Emily and Mal were in this group and immediately came over to greet you. Emily went to grab you and toss you into the air, something you usually loved. But Christen’s grip on you didn’t loosen and she pulled you away from Mal’s tickles. This left both girls confused, looking at you with frowns. 

Kelley speaks up, stealing you from Christen and popping you into Emily’s arms. “Someone’s feeling pretty icky, so be gentle.” 

Emily heads the warning, snuggling you close, “what’s wrong with her?”

“Ear infection,” Kelley responds with a frown. 

“Ouch, poor baby. Her mom’s in meetings?” Emily guesses. 

Kelley nods, “she’s supposed to meet us for dinner.”

Mal was clearly bored of not having your attention, slipping you out of Emily’s arms while she was distracted by the conversation. You go easily, your eyes duller than usual but still happy to see everyone. She snuggles you close, squeezing you tight. You grab onto her shirt with one hand, the other grabbing onto the hair at the base of her neck. You rest your head on her shoulder, your eyes starting to drift shut. 

Alex sees your drooping eyelids, “I think it might be naptime. I think some fresh air could be good, why don’t we take her for a walk in the stroller? She can get some sleep and we can move a little bit.”

No one disagrees, the newly arrived members agreeing to drop their bags upstairs quickly while the others get you settled in the stroller. By the time they get back, they find them trying to buckle your sobbing form into the seat. Emily sighs, grabbing you out of the seat. 

“I swear, I’m the only one on the team who’s good with babies. We could hear her screaming in the elevator, it sounded like you were trying to kill her.” 

She passes you off to Mal quickly. She then pulls out a contraption and begins buckling it on. After a few moments, she grabs you back and settles you into the baby carrier. She clicks you in, making sure you’re secure. You’re chest to chest with her, your ear pressed so you can hear her heartbeat. You calm down, the sound lulling you closer to sleep quickly. 

“We stopped by her room to grab it, I figured it couldn’t hurt to have it,” Emily explains, “I think we should probably start walking before she’s fully asleep.”

The others shake their heads at Emily’s confidence in her baby whispering ability before heading to the front. Alex parks the stroller behind the front desk, asking them to keep an eye on it. Happy to do anything that gets the fussy baby out of the lobby quicker, they easily agree. 

The team walks mindlessly down the sidewalk, no real destination in mind. You were asleep before they reached the end of the block, your body relaxing and your breaths coming in small, warm puffs. 

They meander for a while, eventually ending up by an empty field. Some of the players ran off to start up a little game with a ball that was lying by one of the goals, some of them taking the opportunity to stretch a little. A group of the girls begin walking the perimeter of the field, Emily keeping a constant motion to keep you asleep. 

They spent over an hour at the field. By the end of it, most of the players were sitting or lying on the ground, playing with the grass and talking. Emily was keeping up with the conversation, although she remained standing with a slight bouncing rock. 

Eventually, they would need to get back to the hotel. You would wake up and probably be whiny again, and it was going to be getting dark soon. But for now, everyone soaked in the ease and comfort of the day, enjoying the peacefulness of the afternoon. 

[gamergirl929]

Inner Battle (USWNT x Reader)

Anonymous Request: if you are comfortable writing it could i possibly get a team x baby reader where they are suspicious and eventually find out shes anorexic because she passes out during training and they help her recover (especially chris, tobin cause they're like her mums)

This one is heavy guys, read at your own risk. 

Mentions of Anorexia 

“Has Y/N been a little... Off lately?” Kelley whispers to Alex, the pair watching as you run down field, obviously winded, your legs quaking slightly.  

Alex hums, watching as you skid to a halt, wiping your sweat covered forehead with your sleeve.  

“You guys noticed it too?” Mallory asks as she makes her way to the bench grabbing her water, brown orbs darting to where you are on field.  

Christen jogs over to you, her hand resting gently on your back.  

“Hey, are you alright?” She asks, Tobin and Ali quick to join her.

It seemed as if everyone had noticed your predicament, something you had hoped they wouldn’t catch on to.  

You nodded.  

“Ye-Yeah, I’m fine.” You plaster on a fake smile, the three women sharing a glance.  

“Don’t act tough Y/N, if you’re not you can take a break.” Megan ruffles your hair and you smile.  

“I’m okay, really.”  

Christen and Tobin again share a worried glance, the two knowing full well that you’re FAR from fine.  

“Still, go get some water, okay?” Christen curls a wisp of hair behind your ear and you smile.  

“Yes mom.”

Tobin gives your cheek a pat, the pair watching as you jog towards the benches. 

“She’s lying, isn’t she?” Tobin whispers, earning a nod from the woman beside her.  

“Yeah, definitely.”  

Christen hums, remembering the incident that very same morning.  

                                                         ***

You take a seat at the table, Christen frowning when she sees only a biscuit covered with jelly and butter on your plate.  

She opens her mouth to speak, but before she can, Kelley does.  

“That’s all you’re eating?” She asks curiously, the forward across from you immediately noticing the spark of fear in your Y/E/C orbs.  

“Ye-Yeah, I’m just not hungry.”  

“You didn’t eat much dinner last night either.” Emily comments nonchalantly, again Christen spots that spark of fear in your eyes.  

“Just haven't had much of an appetite recently.” You shrug, plastering on a fake smile that Tobin immediately picks up on when she takes a seat beside Christen, the two sharing a glance.  

“Still, you have to eat kid.” Ashlyn plops down in the seat beside you, ruffling your hair.  

“Yeah, if you want to get big and strong like US!” Kelley flexes, earning an eye roll from Alex.  

“I wouldn’t say BIG...” She teases, the defender gasping.  

“And what is THAT supposed to mean JANICE!?”  

“Exactly what it sounds like, WORM.”  

The two women begin bickering, thankfully forgetting about you, but of course there are two people who don’t forget about you, that being Christen Press and Tobin Heath, the two watching you worriedly.  

“Something’s wrong...” Christen whispers, earning a nod from Tobin.  

“Yeah, there is.”  

The two watch you pick at your food before forgetting it entirely, the biscuit on your plate only having a single bite taken out of it.  

                                                         ***

“Kid, you need to sit down, you look pale.” Ashlyn frowns, brushing your hair out of your face.  

You shake your head.  

“Seriously, I’m fine.” You shake your head, moving back towards the field, suddenly you stop in your tracks, hands shaking.  

“Hey, what’s wro-

Lindsey stops midsentence when you collapse, everyone rushing towards you, but of course, the first to get to you are Christen and Tobin.  

“Y/N, can you hear me?” Tobin cups your cheek, frowning when she feels just how sunken in your cheek is.  

“Christ.” Kelley frowns, as she pulls you into her lap, the defender realizing just how thin you actually are.  

“She’s so skinny...” Alex runs a hand down your arm, the others quick to notice just how much weight you’d lost.  

“EMS is on their way.” Vlatko says as he drops down beside you, he and the women surrounding him worriedly waiting for the ambulance to arrive.  

                                                         ***

The first thing that alerts you to the fact that you’re conscious is the beeping of a machine beside you, the second is the fact that your mouth is INCREDIBLY dry. 

Your eyes crack open, the bright lights above you making your head throb.  

You wince.  

“Too bright...” You mumble, your hoarse whisper making those in the room jump to their feet.  

“Y/N, here.” Christen whispers, slipping a straw between your parted lips, the cool water soothing your sore throat.  

“Easy.” Tobin whispers as you sit up, grimacing, your hand on your head.  

“What happened?” You ask, your eyes eventually opening, as much as they can, the bright light making your head pound.  

Your vision eventually clears, over twenty pairs of worried eyes on you.  

“You fainted.” Christen whispers, brushing your hair out of your face and you swallow hard, grimacing, the ache in your stomach incredibly prominent.  

You glance away, ashamed.  

“Oh...”  

Everyone in the room glances at one another, Christen taking your hand as she takes a deep breath.  

“Y/N, you can tell us anything, you know that, right?” She whispers and you nod, unable to look the woman in the eye.  

“I know...” You mumble, everyone looking at you expectantly.  

Tobin cups your cheek, your eyes locking with hers.  

“Talk to us.” She whispers.

Those three words open the floodgates, tears welling up in your eyes before sliding down your cheeks.  

Christen and Tobin wrap their arms around you, Christen whispering in your ear as she rids your cheeks of tears, but more come, an endless amount of the salty droplets escaping your eyes.  

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” You whisper, Christen shushing you as she holds you close.  

Your remaining teammates circle the bed, getting as close as they can, their hands on you in some way, tears in nearly every one of their eyes.  

“You did nothing wrong sweetie.” Julie whispers, giving your foot a squeeze.  

“Whatever it is, we’re here Y/N.” Kelley whispers, Alex taking your hand and giving it a squeeze.  

“We always will be.”  

You nod, the taste of bile on the back of your tongue, just at the thought of telling the women in the room what you’d been hiding from them.  

“I-

You swallow hard, shaking your head.  

“I don’t want you to hate me...” You mumble, Tobin kissing your temple.  

“We could NEVER hate you.” Ali says, frowning sadly.  

You nod, taking a deep breath, the taste of bile filling your mouth.  

“I-I...” You shake your head. “I haven’t been eating.” You confess, fidgeting nervously under their gaze.  

“I just... I don’t...” You close your eyes, swallowing hard.  

“I don’t like how I look. I’m just so...” You shake your head, unable to close your mouth, the words spilling out.  

“I’m just, I’m just so fat and-

“Y/N.”  

Your mouth snaps shut, your Y/E/C orbs wide and full of tears as they lock with Tobin’s equally tear filled brown orbs.  

“You’re beautiful Y/N.” She whispers, Christen nodding as she runs her fingers through your hair.  

“We love you so much Y/N.” She says softly.  

“And we’re here for you.” Kelley adds.  

“No matter what.” Alex gives your hand a squeeze.  

Your bottom lip trembles as you let out a sob.  

“I thought I had it under control... I thought I...” You shake your head. “I saw a comment on Insta and I... I relapsed.”  

Ashlyn runs a gentle hand down your back.  

“That can happen Y/N, you have to understand, you’re more than this, you’re more than your eating disorder.”  

Hearing that you let out another sob, your body trembling.  

Soon you’re surrounded by your teammates, your family, everyone rallying around you, encasing you in a group hug.  

“We’re so proud of you Y/N, and we’re going to get through this together, okay?” Megan whispers, the gentleness in her voice making you turn towards her, the softness in her and everyone else's eyes making your heart swell in your chest.  

“Promise?” You whisper, each and every one of them nodding.  

“We promise.”  

You turn to Christen, the forward smiling softly as she presses a kiss to your forehead, Tobin at the same time kissing your cheek.  

“We’re not going anywhere and we believe in you.”  

You sniffle more tears cascading down your cheeks as you bury yourself in your family’s embrace.  

“I love you guys so much.”  

“We love you too.”

[vgilantee]

The Manager || Platonic! Sunset Curve x Reader

Requested by anon

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: the guys swear because nobody can tell me that a bunch of 17 year olds in a rock band in the 90’s didn’t swear. I know i said fluff but i had an angst idea and it was too good not to add (i’m sorry). and while i don’t bother with adjusting to the american spelling most of the time, I did for ‘mom’ and ‘flavor’ and i hated it every time i typed it. final note: if i were to do more parts it would become a series rewrite, so if that’s something that interests you, let me know!

Warnings: character death, unhappy home life (no details)

While being the manager for Sunset Curve often felt closer to being a parent sometimes, it’s not a job you would trade for the world. Well, less a job because you weren’t really getting paid, but it was a good gig. You got to see some awesome venues and other small musicians, you quite often got free food from venues, and of course, got to hang out with your favourite boys. They gave you a place in the world, somewhere where you felt at home. They were family. Plus, Luke had graciously allowed you to crash in the studio with him when things got bad at home. 

You swing the door open, duffle bag over your shoulder, and march into the studio. It’s late, again, but your parents had started going off while you were trying to study and your father had mentioned your name, so you grabbed the emergency bag and climbed out the window. Luke looks up from his page and watches as you drop the bag on the ground and flop face down on the sofa. 

“Again?” You hum and nod into the pillow before flipping onto your back. 

“Dad said my name and mentioned something about grades and the band and I left before they could drag me into it further.” You glance over to see he has closed his journal and is resting his forearms on the acoustic in his lap. 

“Smart move.” You laugh and shift again to lay on your side. “The guys are in the house getting food by the way.” As if on queue, Reggie walks in with a stack of pizza boxes, Bobby has his arms full of bags of various snacks, and Alex is carrying an open cooler full of bottles of soda. 

“Oh hey, Y/N!” Alex raises the fingers on one hand in a wave before putting the cooler on the ground in front of the sofa. 

“Parents again?” Bobby gives you a sympathetic look before dropping the bags next to the pizza boxes Reggie had put on the coffee table. 

“Yep!” You pop the ‘p’ sound with false enthusiasm.

“You may as well just move in at this point.” Luke says it like a joke, but it’s been a joke for so long that you all know he says it seriously.

“You know what?” You sit up quickly and give a short nod. “My parents both have work tomorrow, you lot are gonna help me grab what I need.” It was that simple. The boys all make varying statements of agreement before sitting on the miscellaneous chairs around the coffee table. 

--

Luke had suggested you all dress in black for the heisting of your belongings, and as Alex was the only voice of reason, you all ended up head-to-toe in black. 

“Shh.” Luke whips around and presses a finger to his lips when you swing the door shut behind the group.

“There is literally nobody home Luke. And also this is my house. We don’t need to be quiet.” You gesture around the entrance with your hands as you speak, and Luke turns around and pulls the black beanie he insisted you wear, down over your eyes. You swat him away and he shushes Reggie as he laughs at you.

“It’s a heist! You gotta be quiet.” You roll your eyes after putting the beaning back in place on your head, before walking towards the staircase. “Everyone remember the plan?” Turning around you fold your arms and roll your eyes again. 

“School stuff.” Bobby salutes Luke, who nods. 

“Blankets and pillows!” Reggie copies Bobby’s salute, and is also nodded at. Alex rolls his eyes, and with far less enthusiasm holds his hand in a salute.

“Stuffing and zipping up bags.” Luke nods once more then turns to you with an expectant look. 

“Toiletries and underwear.” He taps his foot and clears his throat dramatically, staring at you, waiting. “Oh, right.” You salute him as well.

“And I’m on clothes!” You hear the noise of his hand hitting his forehead as he salutes with a bit too much force. “And if we hear the ‘rents, we move to Y/N’s room as quietly as possible, where we will finish packing what we have and bail out the window. Let’s move out!” You aren’t sure if he expected you all to go separate ways, but you move as a group up the stairs and into your room so that everyone can collect bags. Bobby takes your school bag, Reggie a duffle bag, and Luke and Alex reef a suitcase out from the top of your wardrobe. You swing a drawstring bag over your shoulder as you watch Luke nearly drop the suitcase on Alex, who promptly swears at him. 

With a final salute, you all part ways. You hear Bobby thundering down the stairs as you walk over to the bathroom, rolling our eyes at him. Grabbing your toiletries, including spare deodorants and toothpastes, before moving back into your bedroom where your drawers have been pulled open and clothes are being tossed onto the bed by Luke. You can only watch in horror and amazement as your clothes are thrown out of the drawers, and Alex folds them at an incredible speed. You want to ask him how he is folding them so quickly, but you don’t want to break his concentration. Instead you move to the unopened drawer and collect all your underwear, shoving it into the bag in your hands on top of the items already in the bag. You grab your hairbrush, adding it to the bag, before pulling the strings on the bag and closing it. 

“Need a hand, Alex?” He looks up after placing a folded shirt neatly in the suitcase. He opens his mouth to respond but instead snorts as you are hit in the head with a pair of jeans.

“Shit, sorry!” You pull the jeans from over your shoulder and glare at Luke, who has his hands covering his mouth.

“Screw you.” You flip him off, then fold the jeans and place them in the suitcase. 

The three of you managed to empty all your drawers and were in the process of sorting out what heavier jackets to take from your closet when you hear a door close, followed by thundering feet. The door is swung open and Bobby leans against the doorframe. 

“Mother.” Is all he manages to get out before Reggie tries to push past him and they both tumble into your room, making a thump as they land. 

“Shhh!” You and Luke push your index fingers to your lips, shushing the guys at the same time, but it’s too late.

“Y/N?” You all freeze as your mom calls out for you. You turn to the guys, left index finger still pushed to your mouth, as you point to the window with quick and sharp motions. They all nod and collect the bags and suitcases (a second was grabbed at some point in their packing) and move to the window. You don’t want your mom to know you are home to avoid whatever argument will undoubtedly occur, hence the attempt at silence, but when Reggie drops the suitcase he’s carrying with a echoing thud, you realise that won’t be possible.

“Shit. I’ll meet you at the car. Go!” You whisper harshly at the guys as he raises his hand to apologise and you leave your room, shutting the door behind you to hopefully muffle any more noises they make and buy them some more time. “Yeah mom?” Your mom waits at the bottom of the stairs, arms folded, as you make your way down. “What’s up?” You try to mask your anxiety about the whole situation by leaning against the railing.

“Don’t ‘what’s up’ me. You disappeared last night, and while I know you were at the studio with the band, you could have at least called to let me know that you were okay. Because really I didn’t know for sure because you didn’t call! You could have even called me this morning to say you were coming home. I had no way of knowing if you were safe, or, or, or if something had happened. I didn’t know!” 

“Mom-” You try to say something to calm her down but she interrupts, clearly not finished with her lecture.

“And you’re letting your grades slip! Running around with those stupid boys in that stupid band. You say you’re their manager, but it’s not a job and it’s definitely not a career! You need to pay more attention to class instead of going to clubs and venues with them. Which isn’t safe! Running around Hollywood with those four idiots in the middle of the night, sometimes not even coming home. There are all kinds of dangerous people out there and with no adult supervision anything could happen!” 

“Mom!”

“No. Your father isn’t right about a lot of things but he’s definitely right about not letting you see them again. Being friends with them is dangerous, not because they are, but because none of you have any common sense or self preservation!” 

“Mom, enough.” You rarely stood up to her, and you had never scolded her before, but calling the only four people that truly felt like family ‘idiots’ was the last straw. “I know it isn’t a job, but they are my best friends, and I enjoy going to those venues! I know it could be dangerous but the five of us are always together. My grades haven’t slipped, except maybe a couple of classes by one or two percent. But it’s not going to ruin me. And-”  The door slams shut and you look up quickly from your mother to see your father in the door. 

“Y/N.” Your father speaks very even and monotone, and his moves are all calculated. But his hands are clenched and his eyebrows are furrowed.

“Hi dad.” It was overly formal, and your brain screams at you to run, run from this conversation. But you can’t. You need to make sure the guys are as far away as possible, hopefully even at the car. You don’t think your father would track them down to stop you, but you don’t want to tell your parents you are leaving, and really you weren’t actually sure he wouldn’t track them down and drag you home. “How was work?” Poking the bear was very stupid.

“You disappeared last night, didn’t bother to leave a note or anything and scared the shit out of your mother!” You flinch slightly as he raises his voice. “You won’t be seeing that ridiculous band ever again, I can promise you that.” You glance at the clock and quickly decide that the guys have had enough time to get to Bobby’s car parked in the next street over. So you nod along in faux understanding. “You’re grounded, and you will spend the rest of the night until dinner studying.” You scoff and try to act pissed off, storming back up the stairs. To add to the act, you slam the door shut behind you, before grabbing a hoodie and climbing out the window.

You sneak around the house, watching your parents carefully as they move to the living room. They seem to be arguing again, almost certainly about you. You hop the fence into the neighbours yard then book it down the street to the waiting car. The engine is going and the second Reggie sees you, the windows are rolled down and they are yelling at you to hurry up, Bobby leaning over to open the passenger-side door. You laugh as you dive into the passenger seat. The door is barely shut when Bobby revs the engine and you drive away, a rock song from a mixtape you had made Bobby for his birthday playing loudly through the speaker and the five of you singing along and laughing. 

--

“Boys I have excellent news!” Wrong notes are played and a drumstick is dropped as you fling open the door with a piece of paper in your hand. 

“Christ, Y/N.” Bobby places a hand to his heart as Alex leans down to pick back up his drumstick.

“What’s the news?” Luke places his guitar on a stand and slides over to you. 

“Sit sit!” You gesture your boys towards the sofa on the opposite wall. “I won’t just tell you, there’s no fun in that!” They groan but comply, squashing together on the sofa, Alex with his legs over Luke’s, Reggie sitting cross-legged with his feet under him, and Bobby putting his feet up on the coffee table. 

“Well?” Luke leans forward over Alex’s feet and rests his elbows on his knees. 

“As you know I have been going around to potential venues to get you guys a show that isn’t in a bar that perpetually smells like puke, while you are playing your puke-scented shows and writing new hits.”

“Yeah.” They all reply at the same time and your smile grows.

“And I am also the best manager in the world, especially because of the fact that I am your manager.”

“Yeah yeah. Just tell us.”

“Bobby, quiet. I am building suspense.” Reggie swats his arm as if to say ‘yeah Bobby’. “Anyway. You also know that you are all incredibly talented and you will become the biggest band every.” The guys are all leaning forward and staring at you, waiting for you to finally tell them what news you’ve bought. “Alex, drumroll.” He immediately complies with an enthusiastic drumroll on Luke’s back. “You’re playing the Orpheum!” You throw your hands up as the guys all jump up and celebrate. “Are you serious?” Bobby grabs the piece of paper with the show contract as Reggie picks himself up off the floor after tripping over his feet trying to stand. 

“How did you do that?” Luke is jumping on the sofa and Alex is shaking you by the shoulders. 

“I’m just that good.” You manage so say through the laughing and shaking. 

--

“Size beautiful.” You roll your eyes as Alex groans and Reggie hands the poor bartender the shirt and demo. 

“Thanks.” She laughs as she holds up the Sunset Curve shirt before tossing it over her shoulder.

“I am so sorry about him.” You say genuinely to her, stood between Reggie and Luke.

“No worries. I’ll make sure not to wipe the table down with this one.” She offers them all a polite smile that you can tell is a forced customer service smile.

“Oh, good call. Whenever they get wet, they just kinda fall apart in your hands.” Alex gestures with his hands and you hear Bobby sigh.

“Don’t you guys have to go get hotdogs?” Oh? You realise that Bobby very likely wants to flirt with Bartender Rose and is trying to get rid of you all, finding his bandmates embarrassing sometimes. Luke pushes him back and nudges you with his shoulder as he leans over the bar, giving it a quick drum with his hands.

“Yeah, he had a hamburger for lunch.” He bounces then walks away, and Reggie shoves his shoulder.

“See you before the show.” You elbow him as you follow after Luke and Reg, and Alex bounces to catch up to you.

--

You eye the hotdog as it is handed over to you. You trust the guys but you don’t trust this hotdog ‘vender’ who is the sauce bottle sitting in his engine. You watch as Alex tells him that he spilt pickle juice into the car as you add sauces and toppings to your own. The vender says that it will help and laughs as Alex sputters, looking at you mumbling about how that doesn’t sound right. 

--

“That’s a new flavor.” You nod, continuing to chew as Alex says what you are thinking through a mouth full of hotdog.

“Relax,” Reggie looks over at him, “street dogs haven’t killed us yet.” The logic is sound enough so you all take another bite. 

-- 

You stomach hurt, god it hurt. It was like being punched in the gut over and over again, and your stomach was turning, and with every breath in your sides hurt. You could hear Reggie and Alex groaning over your own noises, but you couldn’t hear Luke anymore. You felt the tears rolling down the sides of your face but you couldn’t move your hands away from your stomach. You barely heard the paramedics arrive over the sound of the blood rushing through your ears, and while you could hear them talking you couldn’t decipher words. 

You let out a sob as a paramedic leans over you. You barely register being lifted onto an ambulance bed, but you turn your head and watch as Alex is lifted into one. As they wheel you out you see a black bag being zipped up. 

You feel light headed as they lift you into the ambulance and you hear Reggie gulp in a breath, before the paramedics swarm over to him. Alex is wheeled in next to you and you see his hand reach out to you. You forcefully peel your hand away from your stomach and hold his hand. You squeeze your eyes shut and hear the paramedic sigh, defeated. You let out a groan, then a sob, and squeeze Alex’s hand as you struggle to breathe. He lets out a pained noise and squeezes your hand back.

Then it’s all gone, and your body is rising. You turn to Alex and see your body, and Reggie’s body, with a version of him floating above his body. You stare at him wide-eyed but he looks past you at Alex. You both watch as the paramedics give up on you and move over to Alex as the heart rate monitor gives a solid high beep. And then he’s rising and looking at you and Reggie. The three of you rise above the ambulance and you hear Alex whisper Luke’s name, looking above just you. You catch sight of him for a second before he disappears. The second he does you feel the pulling that was simply causing you to slowly float up, gave a harsh tug and you were suddenly in a black room. 

Alex cried when he arrived, and you felt yourself panic. You were dead. You just died. You and three of your best friends had just died. Reggie was pacing and Luke had just sat on the ground, head in hands. Your own hands were shaking and you couldn’t look at one spot or person for longer than a second. 

The pulling feeling returns after a while and you are falling, the four of you screaming before landing on a carpet, a girl around your age screaming back at you.

---

Taglist: @parkeret​ @marinettepotterandplagg​ @amazing-socks​ (if you want to be added to a tag list, send in an ask!)

[iridescent-petrichor]

we’ll meet again, chapter seven

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Reader

Warnings: nothing, just going along with the plot of Apocalypse

Words: 1.8K

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You jolt awake to the sound of Peter yelling, eyes snapping open to see him scrambling to the other side of the room you found yourself in. There were green lasers on every side of the wall, encasing you in some sort of cage.

“What’s wrong with you?” Hank’s voice next to you made you turn. He was in his “beast” form, slowly sitting up.

Peter looked down at his hands. “Is that gonna happen to all of us?” He looked up at you for confirmation, but Hank continued speaking.

“No, I just left my meds in the house.” After he stood up, he held his arm out, helping you up as well. You muttered a small thanks in return, still disoriented from everything going on.

“What happened, where are we?” Moira asked, getting no response from any of you.

“Hey, hey!” Raven’s yelling turned everyone’s attention to the top of the room, where the man from earlier was standing behind a window, staring down at you all. You inched closer to Peter, finding a small amount of comfort in the familiarity of your best friend.

“Hello, Mystique.” The man spoke coolly. His voice gave you a chill, only calmed by Peter wrapping an arm around you.

“Major Stryker.” She responded coldly, taking a few steps towards him.

“Colonel Stryker. I wouldn’t get too close to the wall if I were you. It may create some… discomfort.” At his words, you took a step away from the wall, gently pulling Peter with you.

“I’m Moira MacTaggart,” Moira cut in, stepping forward. “I’m a senior officer at the CIA.”

“I know who you are, agent MacTaggart.” Came Stryker’s response.

“You cannot keep me here, in this-”

“Actually I can. A psychic event just destroyed every nuke from here to Moscow.” Peter turned to you, mouthing the words “holy shit” before Stryker spoke again. “That event emanated from exactly where we found you, at the home of the world’s most powerful psychic. So you are going to tell me where is Charles Xavier?”

“It’s not him you should be worried about. There’s someone else. Someone more powerful.” Moira’s words made your heart sink. Someone more powerful?

“If you let us out of here, we can help you.” Raven joined in, growing frustrated.

“Do you really expect me to believe that? You can put on any face that you want, but I know who you are. What you are.” Without saying another word, he stepped away from the microphone and left you all standing there, helpless.

“Um, Moira?” Hank said, catching her eye. “What did you mean when you said someone more powerful than Charles?”

As she began to explain, Peter left your side, shifting your focus as he walked up to Raven.

“Did you know him?” He asked. “Magneto?”

Your brow furrowed as you turned away from Hank’s conversation, appearing back at Peter’s side. He didn’t acknowledge your arrival to the conversation, besides his hand finding yours.

“I used to,” Raven said, not looking at him. “Not so sure anymore.”

“What was he like? Was he uhh- like they say he was- was he the… bad guy?” You could tell Peter was trying to slow his words down for her, half so his desperation wouldn’t shine through and half so she could understand him.

“No.” Her response was immediate, making Peter relax some. “I mean- yeah. He was… Why do you care so much, see his speech on TV or something?”

“Yeah, but, uh…” He cleared his throat, leaning closer to the two of you before continuing. “He’s my father.”

“What?” Raven finally turned around, eyes wide. You were just as shocked, simply whispering his name.

“Him and my mom, they-” Out of instinct, you put your hand over his, stopping him from making the gesture he was about to make while Raven interrupted him.

“No, I know.” She paused for a moment, letting the information sink in as she looked him over. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, he left my mom before I was born. I met him ten years back, but I didn’t know it was him. By the time I figured it out, it was too late. Then this week I saw him on TV again, and I came to that house looking for him? But, by the time I got there,” he exhaled, looking at you briefly before looking back to Raven. “Late again… You know for a guy who moves as fast as me I always seem to be too late.”

“Let’s hope not this time.” She said, and you gave him a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, seriously.”

Before any of you could get another word in, Charles’ voice invaded your mind.

Hear me, inhabitants of this rock. This is a message. A message to every man, woman, and mutant. You have lost your way, but I have returned. The day of reckoning is here. All your buildings, all your towers, and temples… will fall. And the dawn of a new age will rise. For there is nothing you can do. This message is for one reason alone. To tell the strongest among you; those with the greatest power… protect those without.

“How is Charles doing that without Cerebro?” Hank asked, looking around the room.

No one answered, the only sound following Hank’s voice was a sharp knocking at the glass. You looked up, seeing Stryker standing there, impatient.

“I know that voice. It’s Xavier isn’t it, what’s going on?” His tone was so different from before as if all the upper hand he had was lost.

“We don’t know!” Raven yelled, followed closely by Peter’s more childish, “we don’t know, bro!”

Stryker sighed, walking away from the glass. You sighed, leaning your head on Peter’s shoulder. It was nice seeing him again, but everything else around you was just so much. And not to mention losing Alex like that…

You stayed like that for a couple of minutes, trying to regain your composure when alarms started going off. They were faint from where you all were standing, but you could still clearly see the yellow alarm lights flashing in the room behind the window. Whatever was happening couldn’t be good. You picked your head up, taking a tentative step towards the window.

“What are they doing?” Moira asked, not directed at anyone in particular.

“What’s going on?” Hank joined in, as well, all of you staring up at the alarms.

“Hey!” Raven yelled, to no avail. None of you could be heard outside of the cage unless they wanted you to be.

Suddenly, you could hear shouted warnings followed by a round of gunshots. You almost yelped, jumping back at the noise. The five of you stood there, in the middle of the room like sitting ducks. Your eyes kept darting around, trying to get a glimpse of movement in the room, but there was nothing. The alarms continued to blare distantly, but no other sound came.

When you saw Kurt, walk into the room, you blinked a couple times, a mixture of shock and relief on your face.

“Kurt,” Hank said plainly.

“How many blue mutants do you know?” Peter whispered, not taking his eyes off Kurt.

You shushed him, trying to figure out what Kurt was trying to say. He was making small gestures, words not reaching past the room he stood inside. He pointed off behind you guys, but none of you seemed to follow.

“What?” All of you except Raven asked, one at a time. Your brows furrowed as you tried in vain to reach his lips.

Raven pointed to her ear, and Kurt stopped, taking a step back and looking down at the console in front of him.

Whatever he did worked, because then you could hear the crackle of the microphone system.

“St..ay… away… -rom … -e doo-”

“What?” Hank asked again, leaning closer as if it would make him hear better.

“Th- doo- stay -way fr-m th-”

“Get away from the door!” Raven yelled, jumping into action.

“The door!” Peter grabbed your hand, pulling you with him across to the other side of the cage.

“On three!” Kurt’s voice rang out. “One, two-” He stopped, looking at his hand, realizing he ran out of fingers to count with. The count still continued, however, because in the next second, a blast hit the door, shooting debris into the room. You covered your eyes, shrinking away from the blast, not realizing how much Peter was shielding you from it with his body.

Raven ran out first, with you and Peter close behind. In front of you stood Jean and Scott, thankfully unharmed.

“We know where the professor is.” Jean started, looking to Raven.

“I think we might have a way out of here,” Scott said, nodding in reassurance.

“Well, you’ve been busy,” Raven added, taking a step towards them as the rest of the group filed out of the cage.

“We had uh- a- a little help,” Scott muttered, taking off once everyone was safely in the hallway. “Let’s go.”

As you ran, Kurt appeared in front of Scott who barely moved out of the way in time to dodge him.

“Ah! Jesus!” Peter yelled, clearly still not used to being around other mutants.

“Oh, sorry!” Kurt replied in earnest.

  After a bit of running and twisting through hallways with dead guards littering the ground, you found a giant room being used as a launchpad, complete with a jet sitting right in the middle.

“Hey Hank, you think you can fly this thing?” Raven asked, knowing damn well he could if he tried.

“Yeah, I could figure it out.” You smiled at his modesty; Hank was one of the smartest people you’ve ever met.

“Hey, guys.” Scott’s voice grabbed everyone’s attention, turning to him. “Flight suits.”

Raven walked over, assessing the suits before looking back to Hank again. “You’ve got your warplane, let’s go to war.”

“Man, I hope those things fit.” You muttered quiet enough for only Peter to hear you. He snickered, walking up to one of the suits, and taking it out from its case.

  Once you were all changed, everyone began to board the jet.

“Hey,” you stopped Peter, gently grabbing his wrist. He spun around, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah?”

“I’m just,” you hesitated, before looking into his eyes. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

He smiled, placing a hand on your shoulder. “I’m really glad you’re here too.”

“Guys! C’mon!” Raven called out, making you rush onto the jet.

You took the empty seat next to Peter, wringing your hands together in nervousness. To your surprise, Peter was already shoving a stick of gum in his mouth, god knows where he found that. He glanced at you, noticing your nerves.

“It’s gonna be okay. I’ll protect you.” He seemed so confident about it that you felt yourself relax a little. If only you knew what battle you were getting yourself into.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 6 - Going Home

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, bitter to bittersweet, 2.8k

@trevor-wilson-covington is my bestie who makes me these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

The next morning was uncharacteristically cloudy. It took the boys a long time to climb out of bed. Reggie was sprawled over most of the larger bed, and Bobby seemed to have stolen the covers (and Reggie’s teddy bear) to compensate for being curled up into one corner. Luke was face down on the couch and somehow not suffocating to death. Alex had lain awake for a while, staring out the window and watching the light slowly creep further into the room. He’d tried sleeping more and eventually his head was buzzing with too many thoughts to keep it up any longer.

It already felt like years from yesterday. Everything was this image of beautiful long hair and dark brown eyes that were a world away, and yet they had more gravity in them than he’d ever seen. Alex was ruined for tie-dye and puka shells for the rest of his life. He knew he’d see nothing else but Willie in them. Skateboards were in a whole other category. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d just attached himself to another person besides Luke, Reggie, and Bobby.

He heard Reggie roll out of bed and enter the bathroom, and the motion caused the whole room to stir. Luke lifted his head, and after some confused staring at the arm of the couch, turned on his side and sighed heavily. A tired smile came across his face, and he had that besotted sort of look to him - the one the rest of the guys had associated with ‘Julie on the mind’ - and Alex finally understood. Did he look like that now, too?

Bobby sat up abruptly, a look of sleepy disorientation on his face. Reggie’s bear was clutched tightly to his chest, and he had to look down and realize it was there before gently setting it down on Reggie’s side. Luke simply gave him a puzzled look as he wordlessly climbed out of the bed and went to push Reggie over and share the bathroom sink to shave. Alex absent-mindedly ran his hand over the bottom half of his face, feeling the still-smooth skin underneath his fingers.

The morning was full of light chatter, most of them still too tired to gush about the night before. It was already too late to enjoy the continental breakfast the hotel served, and after each of them finished getting ready and packing, they all looked around at each other.

“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’, boys?” Luke said. Reggie’s stomach growled loudly in the pause that followed.

“I’m gonna guess we find food?” Reggie responded.

“Yeah,” Alex said. “I’m pretty sure he’s talking about where.”

All three of them looked at Alex expectantly and he blinked back at them.

“Are you guys just gonna stare or are we gonna eat?” he joked dryly.

They all headed down to the lobby and checked out, dumping their luggage in the van. Even though no one had mentioned the diner, there seemed to be the silent agreement that that’s where they were going. Alex briefly considered suggesting that the guys go to the arcade again, but thought better of it. They were all chill with Willie; he didn’t have to hide anything. Sitting at the same table they had the day before, Alex noticed the place was busy this time around.

A tall man with dark hair approached their table. Alex recognized him from the brief peek out the kitchen door, and the reminder from Willie later: Caleb. He had a clean look to him - pristine was perhaps a better word - and he smiled widely.

“Welcome boys! How are we this morning!” he greeted cheerfully. It greatly contrasted Alex’s first impression, but he thought to keep an open mind. Willie hadn’t really said anything bad about him, only admitted that he sometimes put people off, which Alex could understand if he was running a diner. The charisma was unexpected.

“Oh, we could eat!” Reggie said excitedly.

“Music to my ears,” Caleb said, clapping his hands together. “Anything I can get started for you?”

Alex didn’t pay attention to what everyone else said as he skimmed the diner for signs of Willie. Two other servers were going around but neither of them were him. There wasn’t a proper way to peek into the kitchen either, so if Willie were to show up he’d come through the door. The image of him skating up to them instead of walking nearly made Alex laugh aloud. Luke elbowed him in the arm. Looking up, he saw Caleb waiting for him to order.

“Sorry, uh,” he sputtered. “Toast and eggs, with the banana.”

Caleb merely nodded, as if he had expected as much.

“Wonderful. I’ll have those out for you boys in the blink of an eye.” He turned neatly on his heel. Alex tried not to be too obvious as he attempted to glimpse through the doorway as Caleb entered the kitchen.

“He was nice!” Reggie said.

“Doesn’t count,” Alex told him. “He’s the boss.” It hadn’t meant to slip out sounding that way, but there was likely a bit of truth to it. He was just...disappointed he wasn’t who he’d hoped to see. Alex guessed after so many chance meetings yesterday, reality had to resurface somehow.

Bobby shot him a worried look, but got distracted by Reggie pulling out a napkin and trying to make it into some sort of shape. Alex recalled the frog and wished he had kept it. Reggie’s turned out to be a fortune teller, but since he couldn’t write anything inside he simply used it as a goofy sort of puppet and kept trying to snap at everyone’s fingers.

Luke sat up in that way he usually did like a lightbulb had come on in his head, and he grabbed a napkin as well. Then he looked around, grabbed a pen from the host’s counter, and began scribbling words on the napkin as best he could.

“Got some inspiration?” Alex teased.

Luke shushed him as he focused on getting everything down, and then began humming a melody in a low voice, repeating it to himself. Caleb came back with their plates as he did so. As he carefully laid their orders before them, he eyed Luke in curiosity.

“Are we musicians, here?” he asked with piqued interest.

“Yeah, actually we’re Sunset Curve,” Bobby told him.

“Tell your friends!” Reggie added.

“Well, I certainly have friends to tell,” Caleb mentioned. “You wouldn’t happen to have done any gigs around here, would you?”

“We just played at the Pearl last night,” Luke said proudly.

Caleb raised his eyebrows with a slight smile.

“Impressive,” he mused. “Something tells me you could become big. Consider your meal on the house, courtesy of Caleb Covington.”

All of them looked at him in awe.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Luke said incredulously.

“Oh, of course!” Caleb assured. “You boys deserve all the help you can get to make it in the big leagues. If you ever pass this way again, you can count on us to serve you here and have a place in my hotel.”

“Wait, you own the hotel too?” Reggie asked.

“Just a small monopoly in the market,” Caleb shrugged. “All to serve rockstars like you.”

“”Right on!” Luke smiled, digging into his plate.

“You boys call me if you need anything else,” Caleb insisted as he made off with his empty tray.

All of them ate with enthusiasm. Alex tried to shut up the battle in his mind about how he felt over the whole interaction. Caleb was so generous, how could his first impression have been so wrong? Was he irrationally holding it against Caleb that Willie was nowhere to be seen and that was the only thing bothering him? It didn’t matter, he guessed. They had free food and guaranteed lodging any time they were in Vegas now. That was an investment in the future.

Luke continued to hum and tap and write the whole time, which only bothered the couple sitting behind him. Reggie was bobbing his head along and Alex could see the bassline forming in his head by the concentration on his face.

“Okay, I’m guessing we’re gonna jam this one out on the way back, so who’s driving?” Bobby wondered.

“Trick question,” Alex said. “It’s gonna be me so I don’t get carsick again.”

When they all finished eating Caleb came to clear away their plates.

“I rarely see plates this clean,” he commented. “Looks like you enjoyed yourselves!”

“Compliments to the cook,” Luke said. “They make some gnarly pancakes.”

“I hire the best,” Caleb told him. He rested their plates with one arm as they each got up to leave. “Safe travels, boys. And remember, I’m always looking out for you.”

Alex was the last to leave the booth and took a moment as the other three bounded outside. Caleb raised an eyebrow, waiting to listen.

“Um,” Alex hesitated, wringing his hands. “I met Willie yesterday. Could you just tell him Alex said goodbye? I’d appreciate it.” It wasn't even close to what he wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure how to go about explaining the entirety of the day before to this man.

Caleb gave a strange half nod, saying nothing in return. Alex guessed it was a silent promise - maybe he knew what Alex was actually talking about and wasn’t about to broadcast it to the whole restaurant? He didn’t necessarily come off as straight himself, now that Alex thought about it. It was slightly comforting. Returning a small smile to say thank you, he ran to catch up with the boys.

Bobby tossed him the keys to the van and they all climbed in.

“Okay, let’s get to jamming that song before I forget the best part!” Luke cried.

Alex started the ignition and felt his chest weigh a hundred pounds as he pulled away from the diner. Everything inside wanted to stay. Or find Willie and take him along. He peeked at intervals through the rearview mirror, hoping to see him running out from the diner to say goodbye. A hand grasped his shoulder and he turned to see Reggie looking at him sympathetically. He’d caught onto more than Alex had noticed. They only heaved a quick sigh as Alex felt his body begin to shake slightly and he focused his eyes on the road. It was going to be a long four hours.

Much later, the guys were gathered again at the hospital Julie’s mom, Rose, was at. The rest of them had their acoustics while Alex carried a cheap little djembe drum. They were dog-tired but Luke was pulling every ounce of his energy forward to keep all of them hyped. Currently, he was on the phone with Julie, verifying how soon she would be there with them.

“Hey, Alex,” Bobby nudged him as they sat in the waiting room. “Ballroom Blitz?”

“Now?” Alex said, looking around at the gloomy nurses and residents shuffling about their business.

“Yeah, as a warm up.”

He couldn’t help the smile growing on his lips.

“Okay, we just gotta keep Reggie in check.”

Bobby chuckled and shook his head, knowing it wasn’t going to happen.

Alex started up the beat on his djembe as Bobby grinned. Reggie sat up as he tried to figure out what they were doing.

“Are you ready Steve?” Bobby began, trying to stay soft so it wasn’t too alarming. Reggie beamed as he realized what was happening. “Andy? Mick? Alright fellas! Let’s goooooo!” He came in with the main riff as residents’ and patients’ heads turned to see what was happening. Luke had gotten off the phone and was already grabbing his guitar

They managed to get calmly through the verse before Reggie couldn’t help but let the energy take over.

“I see a man in the back, as a matter of fact, his eyes were as red as the sun! And a girl in the corner, let no one ignore her ‘cuz she thinks she’s the passionate one! OOHH YEEAAH!”

All four of them came together for the chorus.

“And the man at the back said ‘Everyone attack’ and it turned into a ballroom blitz! And the girl in the corner said ‘Boy, I wanna warn ya it’ll turn into a ballroom blitz! Ballroom blitz!” They were all getting into jamming now, and Alex was lost in the rhythm with the rest of them.

A nurse finally approached them with a loud voice.

“OKAY BOYS!” she cried, an expression on her face that meant serious business. Each of them faltered in the middle of playing and looked at her like chastised puppies. “Thank you, you sound lovely. Unfortunately, there’s a few patients we don’t wanna disturb, so if you could please save it for your little thing later, we would like that very much.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they all murmured sheepishly.

“Thank you,” she smiled exaggeratedly and went on with her business. Once her back was turned, Reggie pulled a funny face and shrugged, causing them all to suppress their laughter.

“You guys, we could hear you from the elevator,” they all heard. Turning around, Julie stood behind them shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Ray and her brother Carlos were only a few steps behind. Luke bounded over a chair, guitar in hand, to meet her.

“We ready boss?” he enthused.

“Yeah, we just need to check in. We told her we were coming, but not you guys.”

Like the dork he was, Luke simply made the shaka sign with his hand in excitement. Alex felt newly energized from the song, and knew that what they were doing meant so much to Julie and her family. Everything that had been weighing on him all day could be set aside for this.

Shortly, they followed the Molinas to Rose’s room.

“Hey, mom,” Julie said tenderly. The woman had a scarf on her head, and she looked so tired and weak everywhere except in her eyes.

“Sweetheart, who’s this?” she asked, pleasantly surprised.

“These are my friends, Luke, Alex, Reggie, and Bobby,” Julie introduced. “They’re a band called Sunset Curve, and they wanted to do something special for you today.”

She looked back at Luke and gave him a nod. He began strumming the intro to Your Song by Elton John and happy tears immediately welled in Rose’s eyes. She looked at her daughter and pride emanated from her being.

“It’s a little bit funny, these feelings inside,” Luke sang. “I’m not one of those who can easily hide….” 

Each of them continued to join in as Ray, Julie and Carlos all took turns embracing Rose. She whispered things to them in Spanish and kissed each of their heads, keeping hold of Ray’s hand as the boys continued playing. She couldn’t sing along as she wished, but she mouthed the words to every single song they played. The boys played for only an hour, but it felt like its own little bubble of time. Alex didn’t want to leave by the time it was over.

They had saved Yellow Submarine for last, and it came as a suckerpunch. Even though the song was supposed to be silly and Carlos was doing all the echoes at the end, they could all feel the undercurrent of grief wash through. The words became a metaphor for some fantastical land where nothing was wrong - where Rose was healthy, where each of their lives were fixed, where Willie was with them - a land of simplicity that didn’t exist. But they had created a moment in that tiny hospital room that felt so close to it, and they could all tell.

Alex felt strange that while everyone else had tears in their eyes at this point, he remained dry. He was moved, of course. There was something about meeting Julie’s family and doing this little performance that made him feel warmth greater than anything he’d known in his whole life. It made him wonder what was wrong with him. He watched as Reggie, who was a sniffling mess, tried to comfort a slightly tearful Bobby (which was a rare sight in itself). Luke wrapped his arm around Alex’s shoulders, smiling even with glistening eyes. For what it was worth, the guys made him feel at home and he knew he’d been a part of this just as much as them.

As everyone said their goodbyes back in the waiting room, Julie held out her arms and all the guys came to her at once in a giant group hug.

“You guys, I can’t tell you how much this means to me,” she said, words saturated with gratitude. “I will never forget this. My mom will never forget this.”

They all squeezed tightly before letting go. Luke and Julie’s hands took just a little too long to separate as she followed her dad and brother out of the hospital. Sighing wistfully, Luke watched her go until she was out of sight completely. The image of Willie skating along the street crossed Alex’s mind in a rueful memory. He was definitely going to hammer it out on his drums when he got home.

“Alright, boys,” Luke was saying. “Let’s head out.”

[supercorpkid]

Extraneous Variable 2

Error: n2.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader, Alex Danvers x Niece!Reader, Brainy x Reader.

Word count: 2520.

“AAAAAAAAAAH!” You yell when you realize, and you look at Kara on the other side rushing to open your lab door to understand why you’re yelling. “DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR!”

You look at the clothes they put next to you on the floor and sigh. They are not going to fit your very big and masculine body. And oh no, you have that between your legs.

“What’s wrong with your voice?” You hear Lena’s voice from the other side and look at Kara lowering her glasses. Oh no. You cover your very strange new body part, without touching it, and it’s Kara’s turn to yell.

“She’s a boy!” Kara screams covering her eyes. “My beautiful, beautiful baby girl is a boy now!”

“AND SHE’S NAKED!” You yell at them.

They all have different expressions. Kara looks terrified, like she just saw someone dying. Alex is laughing so hard next to them. Brainy looks like he’s doing some calculation to see where it all went wrong, and Lena is just shocked.

“Can someone get me some clothes?” You beg, trying not to look down at yourself.

“Go buy her something.” Lena says handing Kara her card. Kara flies away and comes back not long later with some bags.

“I’m going in.” She announces, like she’s going into a war, and you hide yourself behind a chair, like she couldn’t see more if she wanted to. “Oh, Rao. My poor little daughter.”

“Can you just toss me the bags and turn around?” You ask and she does exactly that. You’re into boy’s clothes in no time. “Ok, I’m decent.”

“Ok, ok. No need to freak out. We can reverse this.” Kara says and you look at her. She is clearly freaking out. She must be talking to herself.

“Yeah. Sure hope so.” You go to your lab door and open to everyone on the other side.

“My baby.” Lena touches your face, with tears on her eyes. “Oh no, you have a beard now.”

You touch your face and feel hair on your chin. This is worse than being a baby. Much, much worse.

“No.” You feel tears coming up. You’re the largest, tallest person in the room, and yet you feel so tiny and small and sad! “Mommy.” You turn to Kara. “I have a beard.”

“Oh, my poor sweet girl.” You have to bend yourself to fit into her arms, and it is still weird.

“I should’ve stayed a baby. Why are our lives so weird?” You mumble between your tears and feel Kara’s hand easing up your tense shoulders.

“We’ll figure this out, my love.” She passes her thumb on your forehead, then kisses it. It’s instinct, getting your bangs out of the way, before kissing your forehead. They’ve done it all your life, except now you don’t have bangs. You barely have hair if you’re being honest.

“You know what? You look handsome as a boy.” Aunt Alex jokes and you roll your eyes at her. “What should I call you? What name would you like to have if you were a boy?”

“Well, I would very much like not to be a boy right now!” You wipe your tears but see on her face that she’s trying to ease the mood. So you lean into it, otherwise you might just cry non-stop until you’re back into your old self. “But for now, just call me…” You look around trying to think. “Brainiac 6!”

“That’s funny.” But Brainy doesn’t look amused. “As a matter of fact, there is a Brainiac 6 in the family. I’m not quite sure you would like him.”

“Oooh, family drama!” Alex jokes and you smile.

“Who would think Coluans had such a dramatic background?” You add.

“Everyone?” Brainy misses the sarcasm on your voice, making you and Alex laugh harder.

“Would the three of you stop being funny and transform my babygirl back into a girl?” Lena asks. The three of you lower your heads, feeling embarrassed that Lena had to scold you. You all turn back to the computer and the alien tech in front of you.

“Oh no!” You look at the name on your phone, currently ringing. “It’s my girlfriend! I can’t pick up!” You give your phone to Kara. “Here, you answer!”

“Me?” She holds your phone like it’s a bomb in her hands. “Why me?”

“Because I can’t talk to her with a man’s voice, and if I don’t answer she’ll worry. So just make something up!”

“Then have Lena answer!” She tries to pass the phone to Lena, who ignores it.

“Momma, please!”

“Oh boy.” Kara complains, accepting the call, and slowly putting the phone on her ear, like it’s about to explode. “Oh, hi Maya. It’s, um, it’s Mrs. Danvers! So sorry, she can’t talk right now. No, no, she’s fine. She’s just…” She looks around trying to come up with a lie. “Grounded!” She yells, and you furrow your eyebrows at her. “Yeah, I-I had to ground her, ‘cause she…” Kara is hyperventilating in front of you. “Did something bad. Anyways, I had to take her phone away, so you won’t be able to talk to her for a while? I don’t know how this thing works, but yeah. Ok, have a nice day! Bye!”

“Really? You grounded me?” You take the phone from her hands and put it back in your pocket. “Couldn’t have thought of a more believable lie?”

“It’s believable!” Kara says, getting an eyebrow rise from everyone in the room except Brainy.

“Hardly.” He says, instead. “It’s 10% believable. If you had, however, said that Lena was the one who did the grounding, the lie would’ve been 85% believable.”

“Whatever.” Kara huffs upset, crossing her arms. “I’m so going to ground you someday just to shock everyone.”

“Mhm, honey. Sure you will.” Lena shushes her, and you turn your face to the other side to laugh at her. Kara is such a dork.

You’ve been at it for a while now. Brainy seems to have understood the logic of the alien tech, and then misunderstood it a few times by now. You also don’t have any idea of what was done and how the hell you were turned into a freaking boy.

“I need, um, help.” You whisper to Kara and point to your new private part with your head. She looks down on it with furrowed eyebrows.

“Can’t help with that.” Kara tries to move away from you, and you hold her arm, pulling her back to where you’re standing.

“How do I pee with this thing?” You whisper, terrified someone else might be able to hear you.

“You hold it, aim, and shoot.”

“Are you sure you’re not thinking about a gun?” Kara holds her laugh at that and pulls Lena until she is in front of you.

“Ask your mom, I have to be anywhere, but here.”

“What’s wrong?” Lena asks and you look down on your body. Why does it feel so weird to talk to Lena about that? Maybe you should just google it.

“Besides the fact that I’m a boy now? Nothing. I’m fine. It’s fine.” You walk backwards, cursing Brainy for messing with the alien tech and not being able to bring you back.

It’s late at night when they all decide they are done for the day. You try to protest, spending another day on a boy’s body sounds terrifying, but Alex and Brainy don’t give in and Lena looks scared to touch the tech that wiped her memory. You also think it’s best if Kara doesn’t try anything. So you accept your fate and go home.

“It’s not that bad.” Kara says, lifting your chin up, and you roll your eyes at her. “It could be worse.”

“How? I look like a blonde version of Superboy.”

“Good thing your girlfriend is pansexual!” Kara smiles at you, trying to find the silver line. There is none.

“She’s not going to see me like this! I don’t even want to see myself like this. I have been wanting to go to the bathroom for hours now, and there’s no way I’m going to shower with this whole thing happening down there.”

“Just tuck in and sit.” Lena says coming into the living room and you nearly vomit at the thought.

“Ok, I don’t want to know how you know that.” Kara says and you hold your laughter.

“It makes way more sense than ‘hold, aim and shoot’.”

“What do you think it is? A gun?” Lena asks and you point at her with a victorious smile on your face.

“That’s what I said!”

Lena and her impressive power of reading your mind.

Turns out peeing is not as bad as you thought, at least not now that Lena told you that you don’t have to touch it, and you can sit down while doing so. Still, you don’t shower. That’s next level weird and you’re not ready for it yet.

It’s morning and you’re in the kitchen with your moms and it almost feels like your typical routine. It’s only when you talk and your voice startles them, that you realize none of this is normal. You can’t wait until you’re out of this body.

“Alex said she and Brainy are on their way to L Corp for an early start. Do you mind going there and letting them in your lab?” Kara asks and you stand up right away.

“Are you kidding? Do I mind? I might kiss them when I get there!” You rush to the door, ready to fly away. The good thing about being a boy is that you don’t have to hide your secret identity. This might as well be one.

You open the door and look at Maya on the other side. You see her finger hovering the bell like she was just about to ring it.

Oh no, this can’t be happening! Maya is not supposed to be here! She is not supposed to see you like this! No one is supposed to see you like this.

“Hi.” You try, making your voice sound lower than it already is. Which is damn stupid because she never even heard this voice before.

“Hey! I’m-”

“Maya, yeah, I-I know.” You blink at her while she looks at you very confused. Her eyebrows are pinched together and she’s biting her lower lip. “Oh!” You scratch the back of your head. “I’m-um-I’m, you know it’s a long story. But I’m-”

“She’s my-I mean-he.” Kara looks at you with wide eyes. “He is my nephew! Yeah. Jon Kent.”

“Oh, right. Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” Maya raises her hand, and you grab it, giving the weirdest handshake in history.

“I’m sorry to say that your girlfriend is still pretty much grounded.” Kara says, giving Maya a smug smile. “Because you see, I can ground her too! It’s not just Lena! I’m strong enough to do so and I know it sounds surprising but-”

“You know, I don’t think she is surprised.” You stop her, before she blows this for you. “She grounded her own daughter. How crazy, right!”

“Yeah. Wild.” Maya laughs with you. You see a little tinkle in her eyes and you’re almost sure she can see right through your manly body. “I just stopped by to give her this.” She hands Kara a bag with a smile. “I’ll see her when the grounding is over!”

“Which, by the way, I don’t know when that will be. Because I’m still pretty mad at her.” You look at Kara, looking everything but mad, and you sigh.

“Nice to meet you, Maya!”

“Nice to meet you, Jon.” She narrows her eyes at you. “Jon Kent.”

You feel like the collar on your shirt is suddenly too tight around your neck. You try to breathe, but why is the air of the world suddenly gone?

“See you later, Mrs. Danvers.” Maya shrugs and turns around. You’re almost breathing again when you hear. “Tell my girlfriend I’ll wait for her.”

You and Kara look at each other with wide eyes and mouth agape.

“Will do!” Kara says, waving at Maya. “This can’t get any worse, right?” Kara whispers through her smile while still waving at Maya who is not even looking at both of you anymore.

“Sure it can. Just give yourself a minute.” You pat her back and get inside the house. “Why did you tell her I was Jon? What will happen when the real Jon Kent comes to visit?”

“Well, I don’t know! I’m not good at lying on the spot. Neither are you, by the way! You looked like you were about to combust into flames!”

“Next time, I’ll just ask mom! At least she can lie better.” You point at Lena, who agrees with her head without looking at you.

“Yes, Luthors are great at lying and, the ones who are blessed with, also have great hair.” She smiles looking up and gives you and Kara a few minutes to recover from the burst of laughter. “Can we go now?”

“Only if you tell Alex that joke.” Kara agrees and Lena smiles, much too content with herself.

You get to your lab faster than Kara and Lena, and at the same time Brainy and Alex get there. Brainy thinks he’s got it, so you stay by his side for moral support.

You hear a click on your back, and you look behind you to see aunt Alex with her phone pointed at you.

“Jamie was curious.” She explains and you roll your eyes. “Can you turn to me so I can send one of your face?”

“Are you guys serious right now?” You ask and she shrugs.

“It’s not everyday you get turned into a boy, kiddo!” She jokes and you turn to the camera and give her your best smile. She sends the picture to Jamie and giggles at her phone. “Kelly and Jamie said you’re a catch!”

“Ugh. Go faster Brainy!”

Lucky for you, he indeed knows how to reverse it. Or he looks like he knows. You guess you’ll see. Kara and Lena get there, and you feel confident in trying now.

“Should we leave the room?” Kara asks, and Brainy denies with his head.

“I believe I mastered a way of only affecting the man in the room, so you three can stay and I’ll step outside for a minute. Alex?” He calls and she comes closer. “Just press this when I’m out of the room.”

“Got it.” She gives him two thumbs up, and you watch Brainy making his way out of the room. “Ready, babyboy?”

“Ugh, just go on with it already.” You beg and it doesn’t take her much more to press the button Brainy told her.

The room flashes blue, and you stand in front of a mirror excitedly. You see your image changing from boy to girl and you almost jump in excitement.

“YES! IT WORKED!” You yell, so damn happy you actually jump and squeaky. “Guys! I’m me again!”

You turn around to look at Kara, Lena and Alex.

“AAAAAH!”

“WHAT!”

“What the actual FUCK!”

Notes:

Another funny prompt by @oncemoonie I’m having way too much fun with this series.